Ok, there's a nice thread about how the ultramarines get no love in 40k. (Picking a color scheme that doesn't remind people of the smurfs might help, guys! Just sayin'...) As irt went on it began to gradually mutate or warp into a discussion of alliances in the 40k universe. (Maybe some **** tyranids got into it and began contaminating the thread's DNA with mutagens, or chaos cultists began letting the warp in...)
In any event, rather then threadjack another guys thread, which does unintentionally happen now and then without offense being meant, it became clear the thread was leaving it's intended topic, so to be respectful I decided to start a separate thread on alliances in 40k.
The big bone of contention ("Bone of contention". I'm surprised that isn't an actual piece of wargear in 40k yet...) was some bit about the blood angels and the necrons (!!!) teaming up to exterminate some tyranids, and this wasn't fanboy fic, this was official GW (Spit!) printed material.
So yeah, some discourse was made re hoe iw should be impossible for the Imp to deal with xenos, given the whole "Suffer not the xenos to live!" and "the xenos commits the crime of existence!" rhetoric it spews constantly for the masses to believe. (0r else.)
But then again even in 40k's universe there is a certain degree of reality. And occasionally rhetoric has to take a back seat to reality if you're going to survive, let alone become a power bloc in the galaxy. I'm sure way up in the echelons of the imp the high lords and those near them know some more of human history than the masses get to. They know that early on the eldar frequently warned humanity of certain things they should not poke at and certain places they should not go lest terrible things be unleashed. Naturally humanity never listened to the eldar and went charging straight in, and usually suffered terrible consequences as a result. So, the high lords and their close minions know, the edlar have actually given humanity advice it should have heeded. So maybe not all xenos are all bad all the time despite the pap they feed the masses.
I'm sure the HLoT have listened to eldar wisdom on occasion and possibly even acted on it. Not for public consumption, of course. And yes you can't really completely trust the eldar as they'd rather see an entire human world burn than have an eldar stub his toe 2,000 years later. Still, there have been times...
Likewise when survival is on the line sometimes you have to be pragmatic if you're going to survive to say "Praise the emperor!" again. When the tyranids are coming to devour your world to make more hive ships so they can get stronger and devour more of your worlds and the eldar are offering to help defeat them, even if for their own reasons, you probably take their help. Even if the eldar benefit in some way. Ditto for the tau. Hell, I could see an ork human alliance in the face of the tyranids. I think orks like humans more than tyranids, humans are orks favorite enemies. Fighting them is more fun that fighting the bugboys. Likewise orks are a colossal green pain in humanities's collective ass but they've lived with them for like 10,000 years. That's more than is possible with the bugs. IG and orks fighting against the nids collectively? Yeah I could see that.
I still have a problem swallowing the whole blood angels/necron team-up against the nids, but in deathwatch it was made clear that the nids are a threat to the necrons even if not exactly how or why. But clearly at least one necron dynasty has had it's living metal ass severely chewed on by the nids. (I would love to see more on how/why the nids are a threat to a non biological race. We had a thread on it discussing possibilities but no solid answers.)
even discounting the blood angel/necron thing there are several species i could see the Imp allying with no matter how reluctantly.
There are several factions in 40k who seem to exist for more than just fighting and destroying everything. Many are just about nothing but total destruction like the nids, who just kill, eat, evolve, grow, repeat. Chaos seems to exist to destroy everything it can. But still other factions have more on their minds, occasionally, than killing and destroying.
Given a chance humans will pursue creative courses. Building civilization, creating art, science, culture, etc. Enjoying things if life like cooking, family, sports and just plain having some fun.
Eldar are obviously interested in art, culture, etc, and mainting these things when and how they can.
Tau would, given the chance, do all they could for the greater good and to build and improve their society.
Hell, even an ork occasionally likes something besides a good fight. Orks will from time to time take off to enjoy "da fina fings in life." like a good long drink session at the brew house, a nice squig steak, a game of cards with his buddies, a belch/fart contest, maybe even a good race around the town in their buggies once in a while with a few teef bet on the outcome.
So there are factions that at least occasional want to do more than kill and destroy, and maybe they can occasionally work together to survive.
Alliances with chaos are pretty hard to swallow. The iron warriors are one of the more reasonable, intelligent factions but even they hate the imperium with a cold passion. I don't really see chaos and the imperium, or anyone, allying much, as chaos by it's nature can't keep it's **** word on anything. I could kind of see chaos coming to the aid of an imperial world, tho. Say the imperium abandoned a world in the face of the tyranids and the people are terrified, betrayed and at their lowest. Ok, so chaos pops up with an "offer". Chaos forces show up to 'save' the world and the populace spits on the Imp and joins chaos. It could and probably does happen. I mean, the nids may be the best recruitment tool chaos ever had if chaos plays it right. "So, you were loyal to the emperor for centuries, and what happens? The tyranids show up and your imperium cuts and runs out on you, leaving you to be consumed. Hmm, are you sure loyalty to the corpse emperor is such a good thing? If you want to be saved, we're here now, and we'll give you the same deal the imperials did: Pledge loyalty to us and we'll protect you, unlike the imperials who've left you to be eaten by a ho0rde of bugs. What say you?"
So you might have IG and chaos units fighting bugs, but that would be more a defection from the imperium than an alliance.
Anyway, what alliances can you see happening in deathwatch, since this is a deathwatch board? How would you justify them? What would you consider going to far?