I was thinking the other day about the history of the 40k galaxy, the evolution of various xenos races within that galaxy, and how they all interact with the ruinous powers of the warp. I suspect that a lot of people won't agree with this, but it occurred to me that there virtually all xenos can be categorised into one of four broad classes according to their relationship with the warp and the chaos powers:

1. THE FALLEN

It is clear that over the multimillion year history of the Milky Way galaxy, a number of xenos races have fallen completely under the sway of the Ruinous Powers. Examples in the canon include the Saruthi, Laer and Yu'Vath. There are no doubt others, and there are some - like the Rak'Gol of the Koronus Expanse who are either completely under the influence of the warp, or so tainted that they are about to become a Fallen race.

Obviously the ways in which a race can become Fallen are various, but it seems clear that the influence of the warp acts like a sickness, a poison that spreads throughout a xenos culture, subsuming it completely. Races that are highly unified, or geographically limited to a single planet seem to be more prone to such intrusion, as the warped members of their own race are able to get hold of non-tainted holdouts and either convert or execute them.

So I'm suggesting that "Fallen" is a class of xenos race. In order to count as "Fallen" under my definition, every single member of the race must be under the influence of the Gods of Chaos. If there are any non-tainted holdouts who oppose the Chaos Powers, the race counts as "Tainted" instead - see below.

Fallen races are on a one way ticket to self destruction. The Saruthi in the Eisenhorn books are a good example. Their society becomes twisted, their original racial objectives and values totally swept away and they begin to rapidly wither and die as a species. The only thing that can prevent a Fallen race committing mass suicide or self immolation in a wave of atrocity is the presence of nearby xenos races of a different type who the Fallen can war with or infect with Chaos at the behest of the Dark Gods.

The Novel "Legion" shows that humanity almost became a Fallen race...at the peak of the Horus Heresy, if Horus had won, it would (potentially, arguably) have led to humanity turning inwards, engaging in brutal wars and wiping itself out within a century. This also suggests that there is a "tipping point" whereby if more than half of a race turns to chaos, there is a strong chance that the entire race is doomed to become Fallen.

2. THE TAINTED

The tainted is another class of xenos race. Tainted races have encountered chaos, and some (or at the very least, one) of the members of the race have turned to the worship of the Ruinous Powers. They are on the same path as the Fallen, but not so far advanced.

Under this definition, if even ONE member of the race has turned to chaos, then technically the race is Tainted.

The classic example of a Tainted race is humanity. At the height of the Horus Heresy, fully half of the human race was briefly under the control of the Chaos Gods: even now, ten thousand years later, a vast number of humans commit atrocities in the name of the Gods of Chaos on a daily basis.

Most xenos races are Tainted. The Orks are Tainted to a very minor degree - but if even one or two Stormboyz worship Khorne, they count as Tainted. The Eldar are Tainted too: the entire race, like humanity almost became Fallen, but stepped back from the precipice.

A race may spend its entire history being Tainted: they may never transcend to any other state. The Eldar are at least aware that there are other states out there, and aspire to them, but are unlikely to acheive them anytime soon.

Falling is not necessary the ultimate outcome of every Tainted race, but it is a logical possibility. If one individual from a race can Fall, then so can the race entire. Given the immortal patience of the ruinous powers, from their perspective once a xenos race achieves Tainted status, then it is only a matter of time before they Fall.

Most Tainted races will remain in a state of eternal conflict between those members of the race who have fallen to Chaos and those who haven't. This is a war for survival, and there can only be two outcomes: the race will either Fall or Ascend.

3. THE ASCENDED

The third class of xenos is really a theoretical one: there are no clear examples of them in the canon. However, logically, if a Fallen race is one where those individuals who worship chaos totally wipe out or convert those who oppose them, logically there is the theoretical possibility that the converse may take place: a Tainted race might completely wipe out all of those of their own kind who worship the Chaos powers.

An Ascended race has spent a period of time as a Tainted race, but has succeeded in wiping out its taint completely. However, the nature of Chaos is that it feeds off and is created the primal emotions and fears of living creatures. If, in wiping out their Tainted compatriots, a race despairs, seeks change, becomes angry or finds pleasure in its work, then that race opens itself to chaos reasserting itself at some future date.

Therefore, to truly Ascend, a race must not only defeat all parts of its own society that harbour warp energies, but defeat all aspects of their own soul which give rise to the Chaos powers. They must ascend to a higher state of enlightenment, becoming immune to those weaknesses of the soul which nurture the Gods of Chaos.

As I say, there are no examples in the canon of such a race. But in my putative scheme, Ascended xenos races have not only defeated chaos within their own society, but are intrinsically immune to chaos. They cannot fall to chaos because they do not generate negative warp energies. Every member of the race is a calm, enlightened Bodhisattva, and a deadly enemy to chaos.

There are examples of individuals achieving this state within the canon. The Sensei are said to be immune to the predations of chaos as they do no generate negative warp energies. (though this doesn't explain the "Grey Sensei.") Individual Illuminati may achieve something like this state, but only if they are immensely strong willed.

We don't know of any races ascending, though. It may be that the Old Ones achieved this state, though their disastrous relationship with Chaos implies otherwise. Some races aspire to Ascension: the Eldar path appears designed to move its exponents in this direction. The Eldar are akin to Buddhists who sincerely wish to walk the road to enlightenment, but are not always strong enough to do so. Perhaps only the greatest Farseers or the Harlequin Solitaires are able to call themselves Ascended. But perhaps not.

Any race which does Ascend is likely to be a very strange one by human standards. They would not necessarily act in a logical manner: self interest is not necessarily something which defines them. They would likely appear benign and mysterious, but as they know that Tainted races must find their own way to defeat Chaos, they are unlikely to actually act as mentors to them. They are likely to also be few in number: the act of wiping out the taint in their society may leave their numbers very low.

4. THE INNOCENT.
The Innocent are raceswhich have not fallen to chaos to any degree...yet.

This may be for any one of a number of reasons: sheer chance, cunning design, or ignorance of Chaos. They may be more intrinsically resistant to the wiles of chaos, but unless they actively Ascend, they are simply Innocent, and could become Tainted at any time.

The Tau are examples of an Innocent race. (Unless Commander Farsight's odd behaviour can be explained by the fact that he has fallen to Chaos, in which case, they are a Tainted race.) Farsight aside, there are no known examples of any member of the Tau race falling to chaos. It is suggested that they have less of a warp presence than other races, and as such may be less vulnerable to Falling. However it is unlikely that they are completely immune.

21st century humanity would count as an Innocent race: at this stage in human history, no one was aware of the warp and not a single human had fallen to it. (Unless you believe some of the Thousand Sons' theories about Magickal archaeology.)

The Tyranids are also arguably an innocent race. Their own warp presence appears to render them far less vulnerable to the influence of the warp...though Genestealers have been known to fall to Chaos, which arguably would render the whole of the Tyranids a Tainted rather than innocent race.

The Necrons are an Innocent race. As effectively dead creatures, they are not open to the soul pollution inherent in the living. The Necrontyr may have been innocent, but given their martial hubris may equally have been Tainted.
So the fate of most races would seem to be to go down the following path:

INNOCENT
I
I
FALLEN - TAINTED - ASCENDED

To move from Innocent to Tainted, and thereafter to become either Fallen or Ascended.

Anyway, that's one theoretical view of the interaction between xenos and chaos...any thoughts?

I'd say an excellent post and a very interesting topic. I agree with most of what you have writen even if I have a diverging opinion on some points.

I think that your idea about Innocent, Tainted and Fallen races are very accurate although I would say that the aspect of an Ascendend race is directly impossible. As I see it once a race has become tainted by Chaos it is impossibe to ever get rid of the taint of the Warp as it will also be just behind the cornor and waiting to sweep forth and thus even if a race would manage to at some point destroy all its Warp-tainted that race would still remain tainted in my eyes as the influence can always return. My main beef with the concept of an Ascended race is that I don't think that there is a division between negative and positive Warp energy or that it would have any meaning as to the Warp there's just emotion and energy that feeds it without any such division and thus any race that has a soul, with some few exceptions like the Tyranids and possible the Orks, are linked to the Warp in a way that can't be severed and hence an Ascended state is impossible. Once a race has become Tainted it is a war to prevent it from becoming Fallen or driving it into becoming pawns of the Dark Gods with no possibility to ever go back to innocence or somehow cast of the predations of the Warp.

There is however one more point that I would like to contend with you on and that is the idea that a Fallen race would be fated, as I understood your text to mean, to self-destruction. I personally do not think that a Fallen race would per necessity due oblivion in the long or short term as a matter of course although I will agree that they will be changed a great deal by the influence of Chaos and it could well lead them to oblivion even if there are no external enemies to focus upon. In contrast I think that it would be very possible to exist under the influence of the Warp also in the long run even if it would profoundly affect the race in question and the possibility of self-destruction is present. I will however admit that I am not all that well versed in the 40k fiction and I know that I could thus be very wrong but these are my thoughts on the matter.

Orks don't really fit into any of these categories. They are well aware of chaos, heck one waagh is stuck in the eye fighting an eternal battle against demons. But they are incapable of falling to chaos. They simply don't see the point of worshipping something that isn't there to bash their heads in and tell them to follow. A warboss does this, so they follow him. They don't worship him, and even their own gods (most likely not real gods in the sense of the ruinous powers and the eldar gods) are mostly used to start fights! Mostly about which one is cunnin' but brutal and which is brutal but cunnin'.

There were some in the old fluff, but it's been removed in the most recent codex.

Nids would also fall into this category, as would Necrons.

Ghaundan said:

I'm not sure since I would think that the Orks, Necrons and Tyranids could easily be fit into the Innocent category in terms of their relations with Chaos since Chaos has no influence over them.

The wording of innocent makes it feel that the race is capable of falling to chaos and it's just a matter of time and chance, which it isn't for those races.

Reread the part about genestealers falling to chaos, can you link to some source of this? I'm not all up to date on tyranids but that would be an interesting read.

Necrons don't seem to really fit the bill either since their goals will ultimately kill the chaos gods, no worshippers = no gods.

I don't mean to sound negative, the list is great and there seems to be lots of effort put into it. There's alot of minor races not mentioned often that would be useful to have some extra background material to work with.

Gurkhal said:

Khornate Ork stormboyz are a minor feature of the Orkish canon. The old Freebooterz Orkish army list book (2nd ed 40k, I believe) had rules and background for them, and there was even a miniature. So yes, Orks are a Tainted race by my clasification. They're certainly an unusual example of a Tainted race, as they're unlikely to fall any further to chaos given their powerful gestalt warp presence. But by my theoretical classification, they are Tainted.

Chaotic genestealer cults are also a feature of the canon. Genestealer cults that are failing or doomed to die will occasionally set up Daemonic pacts to reinvigorate their followers. I believe White Dwarf 114/115 had rules for daemonically possessed genestealer patriachs as part of a wider genestealer cult army list. So Genestealers are a Tainted race...but does that mean Tyranids are a Tainted race? Well I guess the jury's out on that. The Genestealers are sentient Tyranid bioweapons, not actual Tyranids.. .but presumablythey share some of the same DNA. It's a hard one to call. On the whole, I'd say Tyranids are Innocent under my classification, but Genestealers are Tainted.

Necrons are Innocent. There is no evidence of any Necrons ever having fallen to Chaos (if you discount the old "Chaos Android" miniature.) As they're a dead race, with no souls, it's highly unlikely that they CAN fall to chaos. (That said, however, chaos has been known to have a warping effect on things like guns...vehicles...spaceships, so you never know.) But on the whole I'd describe them as innocent.

I woud stress, I'm not implying any value judgement in this classification system. Being Tainted isn't "worse" than being innocent, it's simply a way of defining how xenos interact with Chaos. the short form definitions would be:

1. FALLEN: Every single member of this race is under the influence of Chaos

2. TAINTED: At least one member of this race has fallen to Chaos, and the potential remains for further members of the race to fall to Chaos.

3. ASCENDED: Although this race was Tainted in the past, it has purged itself of taint, and is now incapable of falling to Chaos

4. INNOCENT: No members of this race are known to have fallen to Chaos.

No classification is "better" than any other. The (purely theoretical) Ascended category sounds good, but if one thinks through the implications of being an Ascended race, it's likely that they'd be decidedly odd. They would probably be the survivors of a vicious civil war in which they've wiped out all other members of their own race.

Gurkhal said:

You see, there is evidence of individuals - even whole groups - achieving a kind of Ascended state in the canon. I would describe the Grey Knights as having achieved this. No Grey Knight has ever fallen to Chaos. Given their intensive training, their faith and their strong psychic powers, and the fact that it is hinted that they don't generate the warp energies which feed the Chaos Powers, the Grey Knights are kind of an example of what an Ascended race would look like. But because they're part of humanity as a whole, the Grey Knights could never become an ascended race: not unless the whole of the rest of humanity were wiped out.

So yes, there is some mileage in your argument that a xenos race achieving an Ascended state is impossible. Like I say, it's a theoretical category.

Older 40k canon speaks in terms of the Emperor being aware of the risks of becoming a Tainted race, and that he saw his role as nursemaiding humanity through a transitional period into a psychic race strong enough to resist chaos. That was arguably his plan all along - to guide humanity to an Ascended state. We all know how that worked out!

I would suggest that the Craftworld Eldar have been trying to achieve a similar state. The Eldar are a bit like alcoholics attending AA meetings: they know they walk a knife edge betwen transcending their limitations or falling to them completely. The Eldar are wise, but their overactive and sophisticated psyches render them far more prone to the temptations of depravity...and by extension, chaos. Their attempts to become and Ascended race aren't working out too well, either.

As for your point about Fallen races, I do really think that a Fallen race is completely doomed. Once Chaos has a hold of every single member of a race, that race effectively stops being a race, and starts being a parade of monsters. The only way a Fallen race would have any future is as pawns of the Chaos powers. Using the analogy of Chaos as a disease, if the Fallen race has the means to infect other races nearby with their Taint, the Chaos Powers will permit them to live only for as long as this can be achieved. Once a race cannot spread its taint any further, it will collapse, Saruthi-like, under the weight of its own atrocities.

Old fluff had that stormboyz could fall for chaos, the newest codex (and thus newest fluff) says it's outright impossible for orcs to follow a chaos god. They just don't grasp the concept. I LOVED the idea of stormboyz when I read about them, but they're out. So by the most recent fluff, they're innocent.

Ghaundan said:

Interesting...I have that new Ork Codex, but must admit I'd missed that point... Do you have a page reference for that? I'll check it when I get home! I'm not saying you're wrong, it would just seem an unecessary break from from some nicely colourful old background... It annoys me when aspects of the background are swept aside because a new writer dislikes them!

If correct, then yes, by my rough and ready classification, Orks are Innocent.

Interestingly, in terms of warp resistance, the Tyranids and Orks adopt a similar strategy: a kind of gestalt warp presence, a racial identity that shadows them from within the warp, which grows in strength when they are numerically strong, and which protects them from the malign influence of the more destructive warp entities.

Hey, had to get home first and get my hands on the codex. I cant' seem to find it but I'm almost sure I had a similar discussion here somewhere and was given a reference. I'll have to look it up and get back to you!

And neat about the genestealer cult reference, read abit about them but not alot.

****, no edit button: Closest I could find, and it seems I'll have to admit defeat on this:

From Into the Storm, pg 61 - sidebar entry Kaos an' Kurupshun:

Orks in service to the Chaos Gods, or even succumbing to the corrupting influence of the Warp, are so rare as to be essentially unheard. . . Consequently, Orks don't gain Corruption Points.

Hi Lightbringer,

as far as I remember, the actual rules for "Rogue Trader" state that Orks cannot get corruption points. If I remember this right, this means they cannot be tainted. If they cannot be tainted, all of your mentioned examples in regard to the Orks can be considered "ret-conned". I will try to find & cite the page from "Into the Storm" as soon as I can lay hands on my books again.
Please take note: I think that this RT rule simply SUCKS. But RAW is RAW

@Your general topic:
I think it is very hard to caunt a race as "tainted" as soon as even one of their numbers is tainted by chaos. Your body does not die because one cell dies. Your body does not mutated because one cell mutates. I would not count a race as tainted as long as their is no significant number of members who is tainted. What ever is a "significant" number is of course open to debate, but "a single one" is too narrow a margin.

Gregorius21778 said:

This was GW-mandated - the option for corrupted Orks was never going to exist.

That said, my use of the phrase "so rare as to be essentially unheard of" does allow them to exist if you want them to within your own campaign...

I actually think that the Ork chapter from Into the Storm is one of the best written pieces in recent 40k - a carefully considered and entertaining "state of the art" summary of Orkishness as we currently understand it. I hadn't read it as precluding Orks falling to chaos, but I see your point, Ghaundan and Gregorious. As written, it does appear to suggest it is unlikely that Orks will fall. N0_1_H3r3, if you're out there, do you have any thoughts on this point?

If the consensus is that Orks DON'T fall to chaos at all, I'm happy to accept that under my clasification, they'd be classified as Innocent rather than Tainted.

Personally, I like to think that it is incredibly rare for Orks to fall to chaos, but not unknown. I still like Khornate Stormboyz!

As for your point about calling a race "tainted" on the basis of one single individual, I accept that this sounds harsh. But to take your "one cell in a body" metaphor further, I'm suggesting not that one cell has died, but that one cell in a body has been infected.

If Chaos is a disease (I know it isn't, but this is just an anology, bear with me) then just that one infected cell is all that is needed to theoretically spread the infection to every other cell and kill the patient. It need not ALWAYS happen; some will live with the infection while carrying it, (the Tainted) and some will overcome it and become immune (the Ascended). But the risk is there that the Infection/Taint will spread among the other cells/individuals in that body/race and lead to a terminal infection...(the Fallen.)

(Sorry, slightly messy analogy there!)

EDIT: Aha, you jumped in while I was typing, N0_1! Shame about the Stormboyz. What has GW got against them, I wonder? They weren't hurting anyone!

Lightbringer said:

It was issue 118. My first issue of White Dwarf!

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Nice wording indeed. Personally, I don't like the concept of Chaos immunity. One of the things I like about it is that anything can be corrupted. Why not Necrons? There are plenty of examples of Chaos-corrupted technology (again, ignoring the chaos android). And since we are talking about "outdated" fluff, I also recall that it was possible to roll a tyranid for your first edition Realm of Chaos style warbands. The tyranids of yesterdecade are nothing like they are today, but I felt the need to include that tidbit for posterity.

Lightbringer said:

As I see it, the average Ork gains very little from devoting itself to Chaos. Orks have a great psychological advantage when it comes to the matter of corruption - they're content. The common goals and ambitions of Orks are ones that can easily be fulfilled without external help.

Orks wage war and commit acts of casual violence (otherwise known as conversations within Greenskin society) with joy and enthusiasm. They are not driven by the rage and hate that fuels Khorne, and they regard their strongest foes as precious and valuable things. An Ork would, arguably, be happy if he could fight forever and nobody ever died... because Orks love to fight first and foremost, and will brawl and battle to the end of time all by themselves.

Ork society is one where change comes with strength, and strength provides the means for change. Orks seeking to challenge a superior will inherently increase in mass and power in anticipation of their challenge, and a culture of might-makes-right means that the only thing needed to exert influence on their own society is brute force. The schemes and plots of Tzeentch have no place within Ork society, and Ork psykers draw their power from the gestalt psychic presence of Ork-kind, rather than tapping directly into the Warp.

Orks are hardy, physically and mentally. They are seldom prone to illness, recover quickly from physical trauma, and actually grow larger and more powerful in the aftermath of crippling injuries. They are not inclined to despair, and often react to fear and confusion by charging at an enemy (they understand running away, but place no particular stigma on it). Fear and pestilence are Nurgle's tools... and the Orks have no real concept of either.

Orks are adrenaline junkies, craving the rush of combat, the din of gunfire and explosions, the wind in their face from travelling really fast... Orks are thrill-seekers. But their tastes are simple and their attention spans short. Orks are easily amused, and the grand temptations of Slaanesh are of greater pleasures and more intense thrills... but what could an Ork desire more than he already has? If an Ork craves violence, it will punch somebody. If it craves speed, it will hop on a bike or trukk and sate that craving. If it craves noise... fire a shoota in the air, throw a stikkbomm, or just have a shouting competition.

The Chaos Gods can often the Orks little, because the Orks are happy with their existence, and you can't tempt a being that is content. A few, a rare few, may succumb to these temptations... but by and large, Orks are dangerous to everyone because it's very difficult to dissuade them from an invasion of a conflict, because they seldom have any goals beyond the conflict itself. You can't deter an Ork from attacking somewhere by surrounding it with guards, because the presence of guards promises a good fight.

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Are they really though? Don't lesser Orks -- let along Gretchins -- envy the nobs?

bogi_khaosa said:

True, but those Nobz were lesser Orks themselves once, as were the Warbosses and Warlords above them. Ork physiology and Ork culture combine to result in a society where the ambitious will thrive, because the ambitious Ork - often the one with the greater spark of natural cunning as well - is the one that quickly becomes physically larger and consequently dominant.

It also seems to be ingrained into Ork psychology that size, importance and authority are all the same thing - listen to the big Ork when it shouts at you, because it's big and thus in charge. There's even a quote in the 1999 Codex: Orks that suggests as much -

"Oomans are pink and soft, not tough and green like da Boyz. They'z all the same size too - no big'uns or little'uns, so they'z always arguing about who's in charge, 'cos there's no way of telling 'cept fer badges and ooniforms and fings."

That's not the full quote - there's another couple of sentences - but it does seem to illustrate a society where the concept of politics apparently doesn't exist.

To paraphrase the Eldar philosopher Uthan, the Orks triumph because the great and damning philosophical questions that doomed the Eldar and taint Mankind are things that no Ork will ever bother to ask. The things that caused the Fall of the Eldar, which caused the Horus Heresy... those kinds of things typically don't occur to Orks in the first place. They exist without angst or strife, and care not for existential quandries or deeper understanding of the universe.

I imagine a race like the Slaugth to fall into the innocent category; while aware of Chaos - they're entirely immune to it due to the entire race being Untouchables.

Another possible rationale for orks' incorruptability (in WH40KRP, at least- the tabletop game has gone back and forth on the issue...) is that the ork race was created artificially, genetically engineered by the Old Ones to fight against the C'Tan millions of years ago (according to the 3rd Edition Necron Codex). Thus, while they are psychically "active", they may not have true "souls" of the kind the Chaos Powers find so tasty...