Hey, Im kinda new to the 40k universe but loving it! I was a big fan of Mutant Chronicles Before (much thanks to the awsome artwork of Paul Bonner) then I tried the WH40k RPG, I have to say its awsome in every way.

My questions are limitless but right now im interested in som artwork where there are armored humanoids with wings and a glowing halo around their heads - who or what are they?

I was thinking about iron halos? jump packs? i dont know though... There is a Picture called "Expect the inquisition" where one of these flying humans are. Anyone who knows this?

The wings are cosmetic they're supplemented by gravity packs or jump packs. Iron halos are a space marine artifact, and large humanoid in winged armor you see is generally a space marine or a depiction of the emperor.

It depends. Angelic depictions and motiffs are common in the Imperium, for a range of reasons.

You could mean Cherubim, which are small, lobotomized children that have had wings and antigrav servos fitted onto them. They are essentially expensive, flying, upper-class servitors that can perform basic functions.

The Sanguinary Guard of the Blood Angels Space Marines Chapter utilizes winged jump-packs (along with other high-end equipment).

A lot of different equipment can give a Halo-like effect, such as a Rosarius (used by many high-profile members of the Ecclesiarchy/Adeptus Ministorum) or a Refractor Field - both are forms of force-fields. The Iron Halo used by the Space Marines often takes the form of a literal metal halo that maintains a refractor field.

What you are talking about is almost certainly Imperial Saints, however, also often known as "Living Saints". The exact nature of what you describe is highly debatable, and I'm sure that Lynata will chime in when she sees the thread. A lot of things in 40k is deliberately left ambigious, and is debatable from the point of both objective observer (that is, us) and in-universe (the point of view of everyone living inside of the universe).

Usually, from an in-universe point of view, Living Saints are examplary individuals that have proven themselves the living embodiments of the Imperium and the Imperial Truth as taught by the 41st-millennium Ecclesiarchy. They are so blessed by the touch of the God-Emperor's mercy that they exhude a golden light, coming to possess a halo of divine grace, and manifest feathered, immaculate wings.

From the position of a cynical outside observer, this is all almost certainly either for show or pure warpfuckery. The Living Saints garner such fervor and belief in those around them that they are infused with the faith of the faithful of the Imperium. The wings can similarly be attributed to artificer-grade power armour with either winged jump-packs, or miniturized antigrav-struts of archeotech make. The "Halo" is similarly not much more than a force-field.

That, or warpfuckery.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Living_Saint

If you would link to the image, it would be helpful in.. helping you.

Edit:

Two good sources of information on 40k.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page - Lexicanum, an excellent source of 40k material and information, and kept strictly canonical. It's very strict and structured, and can give you a wealth of pertinent information quickly.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Warhammer_40k_Wiki - the Warhammer 40k Wikia has more information than Lexicanum, but doesn't run nearly as tight of a ship, and massive sections are practically copy-pasted from the books, or is a swamp to dredge through for relevant information on a topic.

I always recommend Lexicanum first, the Wikia second, for the above reasons. Bookmark both, they're great to have around.

I was pretty much gonna put what Fgdsfg put, though my most likely theory is the Sanguinary Guard or a potential manifestation of one of the Emperors many (surprisingly lively) martyrd saints.

http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/Expect-the-Inquisition-165333046

This is the picture i was referring to. If it helps.

Maybe a living saint then?
Thanks for all answers.

Yes im using lexicanum every day, thank you

Of the picture i got Arco-Flagellants, Penitent Engines, Sister Repentia(i guess?), Witchhunters, cherubim, the rest are not clear to me yet

Yes, I do believe that seems to me to be a Living Saint. But others, as with so much of 40k may get a completely different idea from it.

http://majesticchicken.deviantart.com/art/Expect-the-Inquisition-165333046

This is the picture i was referring to. If it helps.

Maybe a living saint then?

Thanks for all answers.

Yes im using lexicanum every day, thank you

Yes, the flying angel in the upper middle is indeed a Living Saint, surrounded by cherubs.

The large engine with a person strapped to it is a Penitent Engine, and the ones to the lower left forefront are Arco-Flagellants. The ones to the lower right foreground appears to be Sister Repentia, and the rest are assorted witch-hunters, primarily Sisters of Battle of the Adepta Sororitas (Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, the Chamber Militant of Ordo Hereticus).

Quite prominently standing in the midst of that with a Van Helsing hat appears to be a Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor, but that's just an educated guess. There also appears to be a veritable legion of the Fratis Militia.

Edit: I just realized that the cherubs appears to be sporting swords, which is the first time I see any kind of combat-cherub. But cherubs are more or less just flying, expensive servitors, so it's not really strange, just.. never seen it before.

I may be bonkers, but. The great big gigantic city in the background. I don't think it's a city. If you look closely it seems to have wheels and what appear to be tracks on the bottom. Is this some kind of huge troop transport or super-heavy tank that I've never heard of before now? If you guys know, let me know. Otherwise, I'll speculate on the awesomeness.

I may be bonkers, but. The great big gigantic city in the background. I don't think it's a city. If you look closely it seems to have wheels and what appear to be tracks on the bottom. Is this some kind of huge troop transport or super-heavy tank that I've never heard of before now? If you guys know, let me know. Otherwise, I'll speculate on the awesomeness.

I didn't notice that, but given that it's marked with the symbol of the Adepta Sororitas, I wouldn't be suprised. It could be a mobile monastery of some sort. Given what the Imperium and the Mechanicus almost routinely deploy , I wouldn't be surprised.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Capitol_Imperialis Maybe?

armored humanoids with wings and a glowing halo around their heads - who or what are they?

You can even play as one in Black Crusade. All you need to do is to become a Daemon Prince of Tzeench with Daemonic Flight, Armour of Chaos, Lord of Lies and Warpfire Nimbus - combine all that, and YOU are an extremely close equivalent of imperial saint, look exacly like one, and have similar powers.

armored humanoids with wings and a glowing halo around their heads - who or what are they?

You can even play as one in Black Crusade. All you need to do is to become a Daemon Prince of Tzeench with Daemonic Flight, Armour of Chaos, Lord of Lies and Warpfire Nimbus - combine all that, and YOU are an extremely close equivalent of imperial saint, look exacly like one, and have similar powers.

You can play one in Dark Heresy too. Go Biomancy Psyker, get Shape Flesh, use it to give yourself angel wings and the Flier special rule.

Hey, Im kinda new to the 40k universe but loving it! I was a big fan of Mutant Chronicles Before (much thanks to the awsome artwork of Paul Bonner) then I tried the WH40k RPG, I have to say its awsome in every way.

Mutant Chronicles huh? That stuf was awesome to! Dark symmetry for the win!

My questions are limitless but right now im interested in som artwork where there are armored humanoids with wings and a glowing halo around their heads - who or what are they?

That sounds like Adepta Sororitas Seraphim? The halos would be a rare artefact, if you really mean a metallic object, but some artworks give the Sisters "real" halos out of light to represent the image of holy warriors.

The Adepta Sororitas are occasionally called on by the Inquisition, in particular the Ordo Hereticus, when push comes to shove and an Inquisitor requires a mobile force capable of rapid deployment and ruthless efficiency, driven by fanatical zeal.

There is also the aforementioned Sanguinary Guard of the Blood Angels if you are looking for something more bulky:

... but your comment about the Inquisition leads me to believe that you were not referring to Space Marines, as it is unusual to see those two organisations depicted together (technically it does happen in the setting, but it's not at all popular in the artworks, so much so that I cannot think of a single occurrence).

Usually, from an in-universe point of view, Living Saints are examplary individuals that have proven themselves the living embodiments of the Imperium and the Imperial Truth as taught by the 41st-millennium Ecclesiarchy. They are so blessed by the touch of the God-Emperor's mercy that they exhude a golden light, coming to possess a halo of divine grace, and manifest feathered, immaculate wings.

Two small corrections:

"Living Saints" are ultimately just humans who are considered blessed by the Emperor and thus thought capable of performing miracles. A lot of people immediately think of Resurrected Celestine here, when in fact she was only the second-latest example. Her powers - if there is anything miraculous about them at all - are not "standard" for Living Saints.

Sebastian Thor is thought to be a Living Saint on the sole basis that he was able to lead a crusade against Goge Vandire, and supposedly able to calm the Warp to ensure safe passage for his fleet (which could just as well have been coincidence, or the Emperor's own doing, or even Tzeentch ). Saint Joachim, a cleric who fought against Abbadon's forces in the 13th Black Crusade, was likewise suggested to be a Living Saint because he was said to have the same ability. Every single one of the six Founders of the Adepta Sororitas was named Living Saint (including the very first Living Saint, Alicia Dominica) simply due to their role in the execution of Vandire and in ending the Age of Apostasy.

None of them had wings or were able to be reborn or any other obviously supernatural ability.

Secondly, the "Imperial Truth" is an invention of the Horus Heresy novel series which has thus far not seen reproduction in any other source, and which even there was pursued by the Emperor alone. The Ecclesiarchy, which came into being long after the Emperor's death, teaches the Imperial Creed .

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page - Lexicanum, an excellent source of 40k material and information, and kept strictly canonical. It's very strict and structured, and can give you a wealth of pertinent information quickly.

There is no canon , and Lexicanum includes a number of misquotes, invented claims, and fan interpretation.

Lexicanum is a very good index of sorts as its articles tend to add sources to various statements, allowing a reader to check up on the original material. But said checking-up is much recommended, because sometimes an editor puts down a line that the original source did not say (like it was the case with Miriael Sabathiel supposedly being referenced in a Sisters 'dex), whilst other times an editor attempts desperately to create a consistent article from sources that were never meant to be compatible with one another.

As the people writing the material that is referenced in Lexicanum explained in the linked quotes, these writings are not meant to tie into each other and synch 100%. There will be contradictions, simply because one author liked their idea better than what someone else wrote before them. The problem with Lexicanum is that its administrators refuse to accept that this means that sources will inevitably conflict with one another, and often, the only way to deal with this is to select one and disregard the other.

For example, Lexicanum's Deathwatch article references both GW's original material from White Dwarf and the Index Astartes as well as FFG's roleplaying game, even though both contain conflicting descriptions about their hierarchy and affiliation. The editors quitely omitted the contradictions just to produce an article that is, on first glance, consistent - yet it does not say what the linked sources would tell you.

So, just take this as a sort of warning. There's nothing wrong with reading the Lexicanum at all, just be wary and keep in mind that what it says there is by no means some sort of gospel or the only true interpretation of the setting. Because as Andy Hoare said, such a thing does not exist.

Just pointing this out because I got burned badly years ago.

Mutant Chronicles huh? That stuf was awesome to! Dark symmetry for the win!

I've only seen the movie, but felt entertained.

[edit] Duh, I missed post #5 ...

Yeah, I'd say this would be a Living Saint. Likely a different artist interpretation of Celestine?

Just have to mention, the Movie Mutant Chronicles has nothing to do with the game. They took a few names and made it something entirely different.

Thank you all for the replies, for the God-Emperor!

Just have to mention, the Movie Mutant Chronicles has nothing to do with the game. They took a few names and made it something entirely different.

Ahh, a shame when that happens ... I'll never understand why authors won't just go with a new name if they do not respect the original material but instead seek to push their own ideas over the old stuff.

Still, there's a good bit of 40k vibe going on in that movie, for what it's worth.

Just have to mention, the Movie Mutant Chronicles has nothing to do with the game. They took a few names and made it something entirely different.

Ahh, a shame when that happens ... I'll never understand why authors won't just go with a new name if they do not respect the original material but instead seek to push their own ideas over the old stuff.

Still, there's a good bit of 40k vibe going on in that movie, for what it's worth.

While we're on the subject of 40k in movies.. Has anybody seen "Damnatus"?

Is there a thread on Movies? would be nice for some motivation

Movies are rare, at least official ones. GW keeps their IP to themselves, and personally the one movie they did release was lackluster.

the one movie they did release was lackluster.

That's being extremely generous.

That space marine one, with the stupid story, plot holes and god awfull graphics and animation?

Ahh, c'mon, it wasn't that bad. I like to think of it as one of those movies you should have seen once .

It probably helped that I didn't go into it with high expectations and just expected a popcorn action bolterporn flick (come on, it was a movie about Space Marines ), so there was no real disappointment, just mindless entertainment. Something you could enjoy simply because it was 40k.

++++ Command overide: Rant on.++++++

++++ Tought for the day: may the Emperor have mercy.++++

++++ Engage ++++

Story was very vanilla for Dan Abnett, he's better than this. Character models and animation was massively dissapointing. Firewarrior on PS2 had better cut scenes. Altough I 'll admit that it's not easy to animate a guy in armor that must weight a ton, but who moves faster than a normal human (Initiative 4). But they did odd stuff, like having the thunderhawk drop them off so far away from the objective. It's not like the black legion had tons of anti aircraft guns. They could have taken a Rhino is all i'm saying. And they left the landspeeder behind! Tech heresy! Gaaaah!!

Yeah i have an odd sense of suspension of disbelief. I have no problem acepthing things and items, but characters doing odd things gets to me. I'm also the type of guy who starts wondering what i would have done if i was in the characters shoes.

Damnatus on the other hand was a fanmade movie with amateur actors and subpar effects, that somehow still hold up better than Ultramarine's, but on some level it works. But best of all is it's opening:

It condenced everything 40k is in one. single. Immage: A skull with a bullethole floating in space . That's it right there. That's some fanboys knocking the ball out of the park. That's art. And that's what Ultramarine should have been. But aslong as fans can make such cool stuff as Damnatus, there will be hope for the hobby.

++++ Rant Off ++++

++++ Terminus Est ++++

Rant

The things that bothered me most ironically, was how the Space Marines seemed to have armor made out of paper mache, and that scene with the rickety wooden bridge. As you say. Space Marine armor weighs a ton, and they're somehow able to walk over the flimsy wooden bridge with no issue?

Story was very vanilla for Dan Abnett, he's better than this. Character models and animation was massively dissapointing. Firewarrior on PS2 had better cut scenes. Altough I 'll admit that it's not easy to animate a guy in armor that must weight a ton, but who moves faster than a normal human (Initiative 4). But they did odd stuff, like having the thunderhawk drop them off so far away from the objective. It's not like the black legion had tons of anti aircraft guns. They could have taken a Rhino is all i'm saying. And they left the landspeeder behind! Tech heresy! Gaaaah!!

Well, Initiative isn't just movement speed but to a large degree also reflexes and presence of mind. I mean, Ratlings have I 4, too, and I don't think we'd imagine them moving like they are on crack all the time. Hell, Marbo has Initiative 5, Death Cult Assassins have Initiative 6!

From GW's d100 Inquisitor:

"It is a combination of many factors, including the character's reaction time, his observational abilities and general dexterity and agility. It is used to determine how quickly a character can act, and how much he can do. It is also used for determining if he can react to a sudden threat and how nimble he is at performing physical activities, such as jumping and dodging. Initiative is a measure of a character's general ability to perform any physical activity."

Besides, I'm not sure how everyone else imagines Space Marines to move, but I think it'd look comically wrong to have such huge troopers jump around like they're 16 year old ballerinas.

The bit about the plot holes is true, but as you said it probably comes down to suspension of disbelief. I certainly didn't find it as glaringly offensive to the brain as, say, JJ's new Star Trek.

Does Abnett even have experience writing Space Marine stuff? I too thought it was odd that they'd pick him to write it; I always considered him to be more suited for stories involving stuff like Inquisitors and Guardsmen. Maybe GW just felt his famous name would attract more buyers, even though the writer wasn't very comfortable with the material himself?

Good point about the skull in Damnatus, by the way. It certainly sounds artsy.

The things that bothered me most ironically, was how the Space Marines seemed to have armor made out of paper mache, and that scene with the rickety wooden bridge. As you say. Space Marine armor weighs a ton, and they're somehow able to walk over the flimsy wooden bridge with no issue?

Ironically, these bits are in line with older GW fluff:

Codex Angels of Death mentioned Marine armour to have a thickness of about 1 inch at its strongest point (which isn't that much, it's just that naked Astartes are already so bulky that you'd think they have massive armour, not to mention the internal mechanics), and bolters are armour-piercing, so much so that mechanically they'd almost ignore power armour entirely (in fact, heavy bolters do punch straight through it!).

The same source, which contained a rather extensive description of Marine PA in general, also mentioned that the armour can be equipped with rudimentary gravitational dampeners which can lower the mass of a fully armoured Space Marine to that of a normal man - resolving that ancient joke about Astartes getting stopped by stairs .

I guess it ultimately just comes down to people having different ideas about how this or that is supposed to work - which is not surprisingly, given how this IP is riddled with intentionally conflicting background details.