Can we confirm for sure whether or not this will be revealed in a FFG book in the future? Honestly; the 40k RPG books are so very good, that these are the only games I've more or less ran 'straight out of the box', with only adjustments being made for my PC's backgrounds and personal story lines.

I don't want to decide what's in there, steadily angle my story towards it, only to find a gorgeously written book is released that totally contradicts my idea.

Any ideas? Mods?

PS. Sensei? Now there's a blast from the past. I think my snaggle-toothed group of oldies will really relish that!

The Truth seldom sets anyone free, as it firstly locks down what is happening, and you can bet that a lot of players would also then know and have the surprise spoiled 'ooc'. Sometimes writing the metaplot down and releasing it works. cf: Torg, Deadlands. The mystery is kept and things seem to work ok. at other times (cf SLA Industries, WoD) the Truth is an enormous disappointment to some people, and the back-lash is immense.

I'd like some more 'stuff' on the Vault, but it ultimately to remain a mystery for the GM to decide upon. Frankly, there's already been some great ideas on this thread, and it'd be a shame to quash them with a published 'no; it's like this'.

I guess we should take precedent from how the Tyrant Star is handled in Dark Heresy. There are lots of various suggestions and in-character snippets, but no out-of universe explanation saying "this is how it is."

Strap in...my theory is a rollercoaster with more dependent tangents than a hydra has heads. I promise it has a coherent point that eventually relates to the Omega Vault. I feel a bit like John Nash at times because I have spent many hours considering the possibilities in the 42nd millenium. I am deeply comforted to read threads like these and see that I am not alone in my yearning for canonical stories to be at least in the same vein as my own imaginings.

First off, my grand conspiracy engine began churning after reading the Black Library's Xenology. It is a wonderful, remarkable publication that is unfortunately out-of-print. It contained the story of an Inquisitor and his increasingly mad Magos Xenologis secreted away on a sparsely populated world where they performed tests and autopsies on various xenos species the Inquisitor had obtained in his career. Check it out if you can find a copy. It's worth reading every word and studying every picture for the following reasons.

Xenology describes a number of species most of us have heard of but are likely not as familiar with as we'd thought. The conspiracy I've concocted (that anchors around a handful of major plot points such as the Omega Vault) begins with the fan-favorite Hrud and the discussion of their pantheon of gods, the Slah-haii. Their mythology's startling similarity to the Eldar pantheon cannot be coincidence. After reading of another xenos dissection the Umbra it should become quickly apparent that these raquetball-size non-Newtonian black spheres that can manipulate shadow and are attracted to warp presences such as Webway gates, are indeed the physical plane's reflection of the Hrud's Qah, He Who Lingers. It should also be obvious that these pieces of Qah are none other than the shattered remains of Kaela Mensha Khaine. The physical plane's manifestation would/could be different than the "pieces" that took root within each Craftworld's Infinity Circuit. I think of it as the different pieces being the remains of a body versus the remains of the mind (or soul).

Second, after reading of the insectoid Q'orl and their disgust for the Eldar, I read of the dissection of a Tau Ethereal and the Xenologis (granted, on the verge of absolute insanity by this point) remarking on the forehead crystal's familiarity. It seems to me that the Eldar, after helping the Q'orl defeat a great enemy, demanded (and ultimately stole) a larval Q'orl swarm queen. The Q'orl queen's method of control and influence over the swarmworld is similar to insects we're familiar with today; it's heavily pheromonal. During the autopsy of a Q'orl species, a crystal-like organ is found to be a natural part of the biology of the Q'orl. If the Eldar saw the opportunity to experiment with mass-scale population control, it could mean the Tau Ethereal's appearance (and therefore, the Tau's seemingly inexplicably rapid advancement) could all be part of an Eldar "ant farm", likely experimenting with developing obedient (to their own leaders, at least) species capable of fighting foes like the Necrons. The Eldar almost certainly lack the kind of skill possessed by the Old Ones to simply create the plethora of species necessary to win the War of Heaven. I see their interference in Tau development as a substitute for wholesale species creation, meant to fulfill the same purpose.

Third is the part on the Eldar and the translation of an Exodite tablet. This is what really set the grand theory in motion for me. The tablet is like a history of the Eldar in pictograms, with a missing chunk at the top (where the story ends). This piece is found and the stencil is sent to the Inquisitor. It, for me at least, depicts the grand story of what was and what will be. The missing pictogram appears to be a human fetus in the womb, surrounded by black spheres (what I think to be the pieces of Khaine). It speaks of Khaine, Cegorach/Laughing God, and this third pictogram being either that which survived the War of Heaven or what survived the Fall and will ultimately defeat the Yngir (the Eldar word for the C'tan). If humanity is being depicted as the Eldar's grand savior or at least the key to reassembling Khaine, then I believe we humans are simply the Old Ones' insurance plan. We may have been monkeys but just as the Tau were uplifted from primal savages by the Eldar, so too would the grandest architects of species creation be able to predict our evolution. Any "sleeper species" such as I think us to be would have to have only developed sentience after the C'tan went to sleep. If we were evolved and aware all those eons ago, we would've been fed upon by the Enslavers and not survived to become the galaxy-spanning Imperium. Our evolution was engineered as collateral, to become the army needed to destroy a force as numerous as the Necrons, without existing so long that we devolve into barbarism like the remarkable Krork who became the uncontrolled Ork.

I believe the Omega Vault to be part of this grand plan for humanity to defeat the C'tan. With the "Last Fortress" of Old Ones' design is a sanctuary tailored specifically to our genome. The Vault is able to predict events and impart useful knowledge or artifacts because the Old Ones existed in a time before the Warp was poisoned by the evils that inhabit it today. Forces such as Tzeentch are not requisite for accurate long-term divination; the Warp's immaterial and timeless nature existed even before it was twisted by the psychic reflections of sentient life in the material realm. I think this means that the Old Ones were capable of predicting the future with such accuracy that they saw the necessity to engineer such a device as the Omega Vault. Within it is the single most powerful weapon in existence: absolute truth of all that was, is and needs to be for the evil of the C'tan to be extinguished. The Eldar may be concerned with the defeat of Slaanesh in order to reclaim their immortal souls, but the wisest amongst them surely knows that a new War of Heaven is a more critical danger. Khaine's resurrection could achieve both of these goals but I believe that it cannot be done without the aid of the Old Ones' secret weapon: Mankind.

Exact details of the "Truth" within the Vault are something I cannot settle on. It could be the means to resurrect Khaine (possibly within the Emperor's body); it could be in the form of a vigilant lost primarch (although this would pretty much invalidate the ENTIRE timeline already established in the tabletop fluff; it could be a big honking space gun, like a Talisman of Vaul version 2.0 (I agree with others that this would be hugely disappointing); or could simply be the secret resting place of the Outsider who could, in its insanity, be concerned with feasting only on the remaining C'tan and disregarding the Young Races until its mad thirst is sated on god-energy (since more careful reading of the Necrons Codex does not specifically, nor implicitly, mention that Dyson Sphere construct as its resting place, like I originally thought).

I love Mechanicum and I really like Kenshin's point made above where the Vault could contain the truth behind the grand lie of Mars. Again, this doesn't so much jive with the established timeline leading up to year 41,000.

Also, if the Ciaphas Cain lore is to be believed, we know for certain that life doesn't simply end at the turn of the millenium, nor does the Imperium seem to be so radically altered by events that an Inquisitor cannot have the wacky commissar's journal recorded and filed by Imperial officials.

One last thing before I cease this inanity. The Sensei/Star Child angle is a certain no-go. That whole story (and indeed, the entire story of the Emperor's birth) has been rewritten. The Sensei Knights, while making for a somewhat appealing sense of romanticism, has been officially declared no longer canonical for years by GW/BL.

Here's hoping you read all this. If so, thank you and bless you.

Some astonishing things to think about. I am now going to dig around and see if I can find that copy of Xenology!

Oberonzero, very well thought out explanation. I read it all and referenced my Xenology copy

I agree that it will have something to do with the C'tan. All lore on all races give an accurate threat assessment to the Imperium and I believe that the C'tan are single largest threat to the Imperium.

The Old Ones created most of the races in 40k, and the tablet suggests that they even created the Tyranids? But, the Old Ones did not create the C'tan and were wiped out by the C'tan. I believe the human fetus in the missing tablet inscription is the Emperor.

But, as to what is in the Omega vault, depending on what GW is willing to give FFG in terms of literary freedom, I believe it will either be this tablet, in its entirety or The Outsider, like you suggested.

I have a few questions though. I haven't read the Ciaphus Cain books, what is it in his journal that you mentioned about the turn of the millenium?

Also, did you make a reference to the Emperor being Khaine? - If so, quite interesting considering that the Emperor apparently could travel through space before humanity could: i.e. placing the Void Dragon on Mars.

I think the reference was to the Emperor's body being used as a recepticle to hold all of the parts of Khaine's restored body together - like a more powerful and permanent avatar shell. So the god is reborn, but within the shell of the Emperor.

Did I get that right?

Yes. One of the possibilities I entertain is the Emperor's husk simply being the vessel for a completed Khaine. It's a long shot and one of the less likely notions I've tossed around.

The Ciaphas Cain novels actually date events that take place years into the 42nd millenium, at least early into its first century before Cain retires and dies of old age (or simply stops journaling about his escapades).

Kilbourne said:

Really? I'd put Tyranids first. After all: We KNOW that they are coming in massive numbers. That much is unknown about the Necrons, and they may never have the numbers of the Tyranids.

I do think that the vault is there as something at least partly to do with the Necrons. I'm not sure it's quite as Empire-shaking as some others, though. After all (and meta-gaming): Erioch and the sector is an FFG creation. Would GW 'outsource' the key to the end of the Imperium? It's like letting a guest writer pen the finale of Lord of the Rings.

It's so tempting to just come in here with

"I think it's a puppy"

and leave it at that, however, I agree that it seems likely to be something to do with the c'tan, however I think it is very likely that it is a question that specifically will never be answered, much like I believe the issue of the lost primarch's. the fact that noone will ever know who they were allows speculation and once the speculation is gone there will be no point to it.

Only issue with being the resting place of the outsider is that the interview in the necron codex with tech adept corteswain implies that he met the outsider on a world with lots of industry where a bloated red star filled the sky? I think thats right I haven't got my copy with me. but he talks about being transported to a place with a bloated red star and meets what I took to be the outsider. This sort of implies it is not inside a vault in a space station, but I might be wrong. personally I think the outsider is in the halo stars in an area of unwarp that the c'tan created before they were forced into hiding

yes, I quote from codex necrons page 59

Emissaries of the One who Dwells Beyond attacked us... (sounds like the outsider)

...When I awoke it was to find I had been transported beyond the Emperors light... (possibly literally to an area of space without the warp, or to the halo stars where the Emperors light does not reach)

...a horizon that stretched up and round to enclose a a bloated red sun... I beheld the master of this domain (seems like a description of the inside of a dyson sphere to me)

Only problem is then it starts to talk about the machine god which I always thought was kindof the void dragon, but I guess it could just be the c'tan in general. or corteswain could be nuts

Remember, for the longest time the Jericho Reach was "beyond the Emperor's light", isolated from the Imperium it once knew but hasn't for about the last 5000 years. The perception of a vast factory, I think, is explained by what we know of C'tan true physiology. It mentions the Void Dragon cavern being wacky with its dimensions (enough that it drives one of its observers to suicide). The Outsider could be inside the Vault and, in its presence, still seem like an impossibly vast complex of insane angles and depths.

the vault can be used as so many plots that anything is possible and its down to the gm to decide lol especially as in the universe i am running it in one off the "lost primarchs " has been found in statsis along with is legion set aside for when the emperor needs him the legion has been awoken in part but only the emperor or one of the primarchs can awaken their primarch. as the only known primarchs active in current time are the fallen ones who are now demon princes that means he aint coming out of statsis for a while lol my players have been hinting that its gonna be some sort of appocalypse where russ awakens his brother to battle their cahos counterparts. we will see how things goes and see if the sons of the drago will get their primarch back maaybe the key is locked in the omege vault.

My theory is that it is the Necrons, and here are my reasons.

• I'm pretty sure somewhere in "The Emperor Protects" there was something about a vision about one of the vaults in the the Watch Fortress opening and your loyal brothers (a.k.a. the DW marines) falling to it's/their darkness. Sounds like the Necrons to me. It also means that it's not so crazy to think that the vault contains the doom of the order.
• It being able to give information based on events means nothing. The fortress could just be linked to observing posts/devices across the Jericho reach.
• An artificially created solar system that cannot be reached through the warp normally. I specifically remember that the Necrons/ C'Tan hate the Warp and that the Necrons don't use warp travel. Anyone else seeing a connection? Maybe a tomb world with a particularily powerful Necron Lord, or even a relic of the C'Tan (or if you're really crazy, the Vault, or maybe even the star holds one of the C'Tan).
• It says that the fortress and vault are human, that just means that humans locked the vault away, hoping that later generations would be able to stop whatever threat is inside. The pathogen, (even if it wouldn't effect machines) would keep Xenos from messing with the Vault.
• If it is the necrons, it would explain why the vault might open up and let them out. Aren't certain Necron Lord's supposed to be able to possess machinery (taking that one from DoW: DC, so might not be right).
• Finally, of the one real story released by FFG, it has Necrons in it, making anyone else think?

Those are all my reaons, if anyone can think of why my conjecture is false, tell me.

PS: Not saying it couldn't be anything else.

I honestly think Necrons is a likely choice, but some counter points or things to think about with your theories...

SPOILERS AHOY!

Vindr20 said:

The Matrix of truth had one of the visions show the final door opening and a shadow emerging, killing a bunch of people in the fortress and the fortress running red with blood.

You might eff up the reach, but you won't wipe out the order. As a game designer, unless your 2nd edition contains a totally different meta-plot you're not going to wipe out your whole backdrop in one stroke. And looking at the overall 40k timeline the DW exists well into 999 M41. Now I totally buy that it could be Necrons, as a secret crusade and secret DW soldiers encountering the Necrons allows FFG to have encounters or a full fledged war with the Necrons well before they meet the rest of the Empire because no one would have been allowed to talk about it outside of the Inquisition. Maybe the watch fortress blows up and a bunch of marines die, could make for some truly epic stories, I just doubt the Empire loses this one.

Vindr20 said:

But the trick is that it's when particular data is found it triggers an opening of a door- some minor events trigger it, and some major events fail to trigger it. The pattern isn't completely clear, and prediction of the future is kind of a big deal.

Vindr20 said:

The main hole I see in this is the same hole I see with 2012 consipiracies and Nostradamus- if we, today, figured out that on X date in the future the world was going to blow up due to some event we were helpless to stop, but we hoped the future could take care of it, would we leave a riddle or comvoluted calendar or would we leave a more clear message that says 'To Do: Figure out how to stop the world from ending due to giant Necron uprising.'

Would the folks from, presumably, the Dark Age of Technology really base the future of mankind or a sector on a hope that by the time 'John from accounting submitting his 25th TPS report into the databanks, which then will trigger the final door to open' the humans would be advanced enough to stop the threat? Or would they leave a more clear message that says 'oh wait, a necron lord is inside, you should be prepared to fight it when the door opens next Tuesday.'

Vindr20 said:

AFAIK this is a special DoW ability granted to the Necron Destroyer Lord. It wouldn't be out of the question that a clever Necron would know how to interface with the machinery, but again, don't you think the people that built the vault would consider that and put the guy in a stasis field or somehow keep him from interfacing with the computers?

Again, I think Necrons are quite the possibility, I would just have to say that if people built a vault to store a giant powerful necron bad guy and no instruction manual, I'd be a little disappointed - mainly because it's been done so much and so many people already see it as a possibility/likely outcome. I would love it if they give us a bunch of clues to tell us it IS necrons and then pull the rug out from under us at the end. Not that they may ever actually tell us- don't know that the Tyrant Start in DH was ever fully defined either.

1. When I said that the DW marines would fall, I didn't mean that it would kill them all, maybe just the ones in the fortress at the time, or maybe they'd evacuate, or that they might defeat the enemy or hold it back. Just meant to say that it is possible that something really bad is in it. Also, I never said when it would happen, maybe it would be at the beginning of the Necron Incursion, or maybe it would happen X years later.
2. But a advanced AI relic from the Dark Age of Tech might be able to figure it out. Theortetically it is possible to predict events accurately if you have all the relevant info. Not likely, but possible.
3. I didn't say that the humans of before knew exactly what they were facing. In addition, for all we know, in another vault there may be information about it, or maybe there were caretakers meant to tell us but they all died out with the huge mess in the Jericho Reach. Another idea would be that they meant to leave a message but they were killed before they were able to. (Not sure how with that pathogen and the weapons of the fortress, but possible)
4. Again, maybe they didn't know exactly what they were dealing with, I wouldn't think that they'd have kept the place in one piece if they knew exactly what they would be dealing with (or that there would be no way of benefiting from it) I was thinking of the Necrons as if the rock that the fortress was built on was an ancient Necron Tomb that the builders didn't fully explore.

I do like your idea, but I would be very disapointed if that happened, I like the Necron's too much. I wouldn't mind some sort of Chaos ending, though. Even then, you're right about no-one knowing about it. The chance is, their never going to tell us.

PS: Thanks for the feedback

EDIT: Somehow i posted this twice.

1. When I said that the DW marines would fall, I didn't mean that it would kill them all, maybe just the ones in the fortress at the time, or maybe they'd evacuate, or that they might defeat the enemy or hold it back. Just meant to say that it is possible that something really bad is in it. Also, I never said when it would happen, maybe it would be at the beginning of the Necron Incursion, or maybe it would happen X years later.
2. But a advanced AI relic from the Dark Age of Tech might be able to figure it out. Theortetically it is possible to predict events accurately if you have all the relevant info. Not likely, but possible.
3. I didn't say that the humans of before knew exactly what they were facing. In addition, for all we know, in another vault there may be information about it, or maybe there were caretakers meant to tell us but they all died out with the huge mess in the Jericho Reach. Another idea would be that they meant to leave a message but they were killed before they were able to. (Not sure how with that pathogen and the weapons of the fortress, but possible)
4. Again, maybe they didn't know exactly what they were dealing with, I wouldn't think that they'd have kept the place in one piece if they knew exactly what they would be dealing with (or that there would be no way of benefiting from it) I was thinking of the Necrons as if the rock that the fortress was built on was an ancient Necron Tomb that the builders didn't fully explore.

I do like your idea, but I would be very disapointed if that happened, I like the Necron's too much. I wouldn't mind some sort of Chaos ending, though. Even then, you're right about no-one knowing about it. The chance is, their never going to tell us.

PS: Thanks for the feedback

EDIT: Somehow i posted this twice.

The fact that it has a big Greek letter on the front implies that it is 1) human made and 2) either really really really old or made by somebody with a thing for ancient dead languages. Or maybe it just looks like an Omega.

a 30k years old book, this book as in big yellow letters written:

WARHAMMER 40,000

Table top rule book.

----++++

"It's all lies! Lies I tell you!!!!!

- Calm down battle brother...

- Lies, Lies..."

BAMMM

" He went on a long vacation right?

- Yes my lord, as you say my Lord... What do we do with the book my Lord?

- It's so full of lies and contradiction, I don't know. Here it says you can do an assault but here it says you can't. This must be a work of the devil or of Tzench!"

Winner, good sir!

-J

Working off the Primarch angle. What if it is Sanginus? (I dont think I spelled his name right) It states very clearly that he had the powers of prohecy. What if he is hooked up to a life support and control system? And what ever is inside the Vault is friendly to Mankind, otherwise what is the point of saving their butts everytime?

My two cents....take it as you will.

P.S. I think its the C'Tan....

-J

Although the smart money very much seems to be on necron involvement, the whole idea of nudging the future about by way of small changes and clues in the current era is particularly Eldar-like.

Jkilla41 said:

I'm afraid Sanguinus was killed by Horus. That's one of the established FACTS. no arguments.

He is indeed one of only a couple of Primarchs who are most certainly dead, with plenty of people having turned up at his funeral. The only less likely candidate for being tucked away in the Vault is Guilleman, I think!

Although I suppose you could have The Lion in there somewhere, it's pretty much known he is around somewhere, why not stuff into a vault somewhere. But I suppose the DW might have noticed the tiny dudes wandering around in hoods.