The Worst Fates In Warhammer 40k Lore

Key Takeaways

• The Imperium of Mankind oversees over a million worlds and trillions of people, living under oppressive conditions.
• Psykers face horrific fates, from being trained as Sanctioned Psykers to being sacrificed for the Emperor.
• The warp, Daemonculaba, Nurgle’s Rot, and the Drukhari showcase the extreme brutality and darkness of Warhammer 40k.

The grimdark setting of Warhammer 40k has seen a surge in popularity, with its dedicated fan base and high-profile video game releases, such as Space Marine 2. While 40k reaches a broader audience, it remains one of the most brutal settings in sci-fi history. The Imperium of Mankind spans the galaxy, on over a million worlds. The trillions of humans living under the Imperium exist in the most oppressive and draconian society imaginable.

Most Imperial citizens live tedious, harsh lives filled with backbreaking work, with little hope for improvement or advancement. However, in the 41st millennium, some fates are even worse. The Imperium has some truly horrific punishments waiting for heretics or malcontents, while the xenos races or followers of Chaos seek to corrupt, maim, or worse.

8 The Black Ships

Payment of the Imperial Tithes

In Warhammer 40k, for humanity, the Imperium’s rule is absolute. A million worlds, containing trillions of people, all working for the continued existence of the Imperium and the God-Emperor. While some worlds enjoy more freedom than others, all must pay their imperial tithes. In a galaxy where human life is considered disposable, this payment often comes in the form of people.

For those who exhibit psyker abilities, the Black Ships are inevitably their fate. If a Psyker shows great potential, they are then trained to become Sanctioned Psykers and will be put to work for the Imperium, living short, violent lives that often end horrifically. However, for many people who have only a little warp ability, their fates are far shorter. From the Black Ships, these people will be herded back to Terra and taken to the Imperial Palace. Here, in one horrific moment, their bodies and souls will be sacrificed to the Emperor. A thousand people each day are taken for this purpose, so the Emperor may live another day to maintain the astronomican.

7 Servitors

A Tragic Fate for Millions

Long before the Emperor unified Terra and founded the Imperium of Man, humanity developed to a technological peak known as the Golden Age. This pinnacle of human achievement would come crashing down when the artificial beings, known as Men of Iron, started a devastating war against their human creators.

Because of this war, AI is strictly outlawed in the modern 40k setting. This has led to gruesome advances in human augmentation. For those who have fallen to the very bottom of society or have failed in their duties, their bodies and minds can be repurposed and turned into servitors. Augmented with robotics and lobotomized, these lost souls are a large part of the Imperium’s workforce. These former people are now simply tools used for manual labor around the vast dystopian future that is Warhammer 40k.

6 Defeating Lucius The Eternal

A Rare and Terrible Fate

Lucius the Eternal is one of the most renowned and feared Chaos Space Marines in the galaxy. A member of the Emperor’s Children, Lucius was obsessed with becoming the greatest swordsman ever to live. As the legion descended into decadence and depravity, Lucius followed. He would ritually scar himself upon victory, transforming his body into a labyrinth of pain.

While he was considered one of the greatest duelists, he would eventually lose to Commander Cyrius. However, this would not be the end, as Lucius was a champion of Slaanesh. The Chaos god would bestow a terrible curse on anyone who found pride in victory over Lucius. Commander Cyrius was the first, as his body developed scars, his hair fell out, and his skin grew paler. Eventually, Lucius the Eternal fully emerged, with the face of Commander Cyrius left screaming upon Lucius’s armor.

5 The Warp

A Daemonic Hell Dimension

The Warp is a dimension outside normal space where all living energies flow. It is filled with daemonic entities, shifting currents, and violent warp storms. The Gods of Chaos live in the warp. It’s where their power is the greatest, and their Realms of Chaos can be found. For humanity, the warp is a necessary evil. Traveling through the Warp shortens the spaces between the stars and allows the Imperium to function on a galactic level.

To protect spaceships from the dangers of the Warp, ships are fitted with Gellar Fields. However, as with all technology, these can fail. When this happens, the people onboard are exposed to the full power of the warp. This leaves them open, at best, to madness or death and, at worst, to daemonic possession or extreme mutation.

4 Penitent Engines

A Terrible Punishment

The ruling religion for humanity, the Ecclesiarchy, is one of the most powerful and influential factions within the Imperium. The zealotry of the God-Emperor’s faithful is praised as it is feared. For heretics who seek redemption or those who have failed in their duties and gotten people killed, the severe punishment is the Penitent Engine.

These large walking death machines are commonly used by the sisters of the Adepta Sororitas as heavy infantry when waging war. The condemned are hard-wired into the machine using neural connections and powerful chemicals implanted in their brains and spines. They’re placed into a constant frenzy, spurred on by the need to find forgiveness. Exposed for the world to see the Penitents march into war in an attempt to find death. These sorry souls are a living reminder to all to stay on the righteous path of the Emperor.

3 Nurgle’s Rot

A Disease of the Body and Soul

Of all Nurgle’s numerous creations, his greatest disease is Nurgle’s Rot. This most virulent of afflictions is a scourge on the galaxy and can spread through populations extremely quickly. While the Chaos God of Decay spends many hours brewing his various infections, none is more feared than The Rot. The disease is essentially incurable, as its victims exhibit countless symptoms that affect not only the body but the soul.

Nurgle’s Rot is an unnatural disease infused with warp energy. Those infected do not die quickly but suffer as their bodies become bloated, rotting carcasses that eventually sprout horns and a single eye. Their body and soul transform from a once mortal human to one of Nurgle’s foot soldiers, a Plaguebearer. These monsters are mindless drones who have fully embraced Nurgle’s gift and are now eternal slaves to his will.

2 The Drukhari

A Sadistic Culture Built On Pain

During the Fall, when the Chaos God, Slaanesh, came into existence, the ancient Aeldari empire was destroyed. However, the Drukhari were saved from oblivion due to their location in the Webway, in the dark city of Commorragh. However, they did not fully escape Slaanesh. To save themselves from She Who Thirsts, the Drukhari must feed their souls with pain and suffering.

The Drukhari are not a warlike race; they do not care for empire or land. Their society is built on pain. To be taken by the Drukhari is a fate worse than death. After thousands of years, they have become adept at prolonging pain. The malicious Haemonculi may even keep their victims alive indefinitely, subjecting them to all manner of unimaginable experiments. Dying quickly is a luxury in Commorragh that few victims get to experience.

1 Daemonculaba

The Horrific Creation of New Chaos Marines

Few fates in Warhammer 40k achieve the horror of the Daemonculaba. This sadistic and morbid project was created by the Iron Warriors legion after they stole uncorrupted gene seed from the Imperial Fists. The goal was to create new Chaos Marines for the heretic legion.

The Iron Warriors took captured women and turned them into mutated human incubators. A young male would then be placed into the womb to transform into a Chaos Marine. These young men would emerge from the tortured women alive but without any skin. However, some would also be mutated by the process and be cast aside. The males who survived the process unaltered were given new skin from the flayed bodies of slaves. They would then join the ranks of the Iron Warriors in the ongoing war against the Imperium. The Daemonculaba project was eventually destroyed by the Ultramarine Captain Uriel Ventris.