Abstract
The humans that inhabit the grim future of the 42nd Millennium live under oppression so dire it borders the comical. Indeed, the level of ‘grim dark’ terror and repression that Imperial citizens are subjected to is commonly understood to be satire of existing repressive ideologies. It follows then, that the Imperium is in a nigh constant state of rebellion across its myriad of worlds. But curiously wherever the players are actually capable of interacting with these rebellions (be that in the various digital products or in the flagship tabletop wargame and the associated TTRPGs) one of two states (or frequently both) apply.
Either it is a partial rejection of the Imperial ways from within the system by someone in power and unwilling to challenge the system at large or, more frequently, those who rebel are themselves so utterly horrific that the Imperium, in spite of all its oppression, is simply the lesser of two evils (such as when dealing with the forces of Chaos or the Genestealer cults).
This presentation aims to outline the procedural and narrative rhetoric of rebellion and insurgency in Warhammer 40.000, as well as the dimensions of community discourse that surround the absence of positively coded rebellion in the 42nd millennium.
Author bio
Fiona S. Schönberg is a queer novelist, narrative designer, TV writer and researcher from Germany.
She holds an MA in Media Dramaturgy and is currently working on her PhD in Media Studies.
She is an Associate Researcher at Regensburg University’s Digital Area Studies Lab, and her research focuses on immersion in narrative games as well as the narrative and political potentials of game rules.
