Welp, this was bleak...

I Don't get why you people get so damn sappy about the Kriegers. I mean, Yes. They're (figuratively) soulless robots. Your point.

Yes, in Theory, it does suck that people are getting mindbroken into killing machines, but in practice, who does it actually suck for? Them? Nothing's Tragic for them, they don't care anymore, that's the benefit of not having emotion. Us? Not even close, because every Krieger that dies "Heroically" doing his duty is one less man who has actual feelings and a life to go back to dead.

It would be understandable if there were some glimmer of a person left in there or a chance of being turned into a relatively normal person, but there isn't. Kriegers are unfixable, irredeemable, and the only thing they're good for is Cannon fodder and they know this. That's actually one of the reasons I like working with them.

They actually do have emotions though, they are just extremely suppressed. The novel illustrates a few moments where cracks in their facade start to show and a character expresses it quite well. They are not inhuman just dehumanized.

1d4chan.org/wiki/Love_and_Krieg
1d4chan.org/wiki/Love_and_Krieg_Spinoffs

1d4chan.org/wiki/Gav_and_Bob

1d4chan.org/wiki/Kharn

>Linking to Love and Krieg
Love Krieg was just typically shy grill waifu faggotry with a krieger masked slapped on.

I loved it because of how crushingly depressing it was. I was depressed for two solid days after reading Dead Mem Walking.

The fact that it had that much of an emotional hold on me for that long made it an excellent book in my eyes.

>"It was disgustingly flavourful."
Oh Kriegers.

I enjoyed it. I must have shit taste. I don't care.

True.

But Terranis Stands. Forever.
Every time I think that phrase U get shivers. Says a lot about how much it struck me.

Thats actually a pretty reasonable statement. I spent three years of my live bouncing between Taiwan and Korea. I met a lot of people from vietnam and japan while i was over there as well, and one of the things i learned is that they all do food very differently. If you ask a Korean about japanese food they will say it is bland. The japs i spoke to all agreed korean food was always to salty, spicy, or sweet. Koreans think Chinese food is greasy. The chinese think korean food is ok, but kinda off. They all have different palates. The idea that a Krieger raised on mre's and shit on his crapsack homeworld would have difficulty stomaching someone else's food is quite reasonable. Its like the first time i gave my buddy kimchi jigea. He spent eight hours the next day on the toilet. It was just meat and veggies same as a soup over here, they were just prepared differently and the spices did not agree with him at all.

This is the best BL book I've read so far. Not only does it manage to accurately capture the grimdarkness and hopelessness of 40k without going full grimderp, it does an excellent job exploring the themes of war and the dehumanizing effects it has on people. You could take all the 40k stuff out of the book and it would still be outstanding.

What a coincidence, my Dad mailed this novel to me just today. Remind me, Veeky Forums, why are the Kriegers treated as disposable soldiers?

Because they're guardsmen. They're all expendable.

Because they are cloned in their millions and millions a year and shipped all over the Empire.

Their ancestors declared independence from the Imperium, which led to a 500-year-long civil war which was fought in a manner like World War 1, but with nukes. During this war, their society became ruthlessly utilitarian out of necessity. Combine that with a maniacal devotion to the Imperial Creed and the need to atone for their ancestor's sins and you get the Death Korps.

wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Death_Korps_of_Krieg

Penance for failing in their duty.

Everyone in the guard is. The only difference is that Kriegers accepted this fate without question.

>Because they are cloned

Didn't someone in a Tau thread wanted to write a reboot of Love and Krieg that was more loyal to the fluff? I liked some of his/her ideas.

Whats up. Still here actually, and still working on it. First thread should be up some time next week.

>One of your squad members asked you about Krieg.
>You told her.
>She did not ask you again. The squad members did not continue talking.
Perfect, truly perfect.

youtube.com/watch?v=4p4XfQeuXZk

I loved Last Chancers years ago but hated that novel with the Desert Guardsmen fighting Tyranids, can't even remember the name. How does this hold up compared to those two?

Much much better.

Dead Men Walking was the book that made me like the krieggers.

There's a passage where they find out if you shoot the necrons with melta guns they don't come back. So they arm grenadier batallions with several meltas and everytime a man with a melta is shot by a gauss flayer he immediately throws the gun away so that it's not flayed along with him. Another guy picks it up and continues shooting.

May pick it up tomorrow then. Thanks user. I started to develop a soft spot for the guard but I hate Imperials fighting non xenos in novels. This sounds grand though.

I really liked that book.

I liked the moment where the grenadier loads the truck with mining explosives, takes the box with his squad mates bones with him so they can share in the glory and kamikaze's the power plant.

Jesus christ.

If you'd like you can get a bit of a preview, a snippet of the beginning.

...

SERVANTS OF THE GOD EMPEROR! HIS HUMBLE FAITHFUL REQUIERS YOUR ASSISTANCE !

I cannot find a working epub of this book anywhere. Only broken ones or 16 pages sample. Help anyone?

go to the 40k general.

so wait lol is this story about some chick trying to get banged by a krieger?

You'll love Baneblade then. It's about tankers but still very humane and orks are actually scary in it. A great book.

The last post is a side story about how our krieger's squadmates decided a good lay might lighten him up a bit and took him for a night on the town.

Their strategy seems to have failed.

Can't find it in the Black Library mega. Where is it?

Nope.
Vast majority of it is in character of a krieger.
Last bit is a prostitute fucking the Krieger, and having as much fun as she was fucking a mad walking corpse.

ahhhh ok, they bought him a hooker and his appearance broke her, thats actually pretty powerful.

Not only his appearance. The way he moves, acts, talks, everything is weird. Read again user.

What is the appeal of this shit cannon fodder regiment?

Pity.

Pity for what? They are stupid enough to believe ''my grandfather's crimes are mine'' no one forced them to be a bunch of suicidal cretins.

Sergeant Brinkerhoff slipped in behind the Lieutenant, coming to attention as he took stock of the room. All of Alpha company was here on the left side, and on the right an equal number of the masked Krieg Corpsmen. At the head of the room behind a lectern stood Colonel Koning and his Krieg counterpart.

Before he had time to wonder why they had been assembled the Colonel spoke. "Gentlemen, I have been informed by Captain Quintus of the Imperial Navy that inbound Tau reinforcements have been detected, and are expected to arrive on planet within five days. It is imperative that we take their stronghold before they are given the chance to reinforce and resupply." He paused briefly before continuing wryly "Unfortunately, their fortress is sealed up tighter than a Sister's legs."

There was a polite round of laughter among the alpha company men at their superiors' joke, though the Skull masked Krieg Grenadiers made no sound. The laughter died off quickly, leaving only one or two men weakly chortling. It was awkward to laugh when half the soldiers in the room were standing there like statues. The Colonel cleared his throat, looking slightly abashed as he did so, signalling the end to the laughter.

It perfectly sums up the krieg, and does a great job of showing just how programmed and dehumanized they are. When a fucking commissar is feeling bad for them and having to order them to stay alive, you know shit is fucked up.

Also, they got some really badass moments. There's a point where they engage some necron flayers in close combat that was absolutely crazy to read. The front rank draws bayonets and fucking RUNS AT THE FLAYERS while the rear rank just pumps the fuckers with melta shots. As the flayers make it to the melta gunners, they chuck it to the next guy down the line, so that the meltas can keep firing as long as possible. All because it was the "most efficient" way to tackle the necrons.

That and the part where they "train" the local citizens into a militia, jesus that part was rough.

One of the better 40k books for sure, even if it's bleak as hell. If you're looking for a nice upbeat 40k series to read op, read Gaunt's Ghosts, sure as sure.

The Commissar gets the tiniest hint of a smile out of him when he says he will be remembered.

And then the Commissar gets killed for the best and worst of reasons

>no one forced them to be a bunch of suicidal cretins.
They get shot if they're not, so they kinda are.
Seriously, they are brought up from birth with a horrendous amount of subservience and self-loathing. In this way, they represent the worst of the Imperium.
It's sad.

"However, we have a plan" He said gesturing to the masked Colonel on his right hand side "The 208th Death Korps have been tunneling beneath the Tau encampment. In light of recent developments we've extended the shifts to speed up the process, and they are projected to break through to the surface in two days."

As he spoke he pulled up a display behind him of the Tau position and pointed to an area that had been outlined in red "According to high altitude scans made by the navy, is the location of their primary AAA battery. We will use the tunnel to insert a strike force inside their perimeter and destroy their anti air capabilities, at which point a combined assault by our air wing and mechanized units will pave the way for a decisive push by the infantry. which will be spearheaded by the 208th."

"Alpha company you, along with the 208th's First grenadier company, have been selected for the honor of preforming the initial strike through the tunnels."

One of the few commissars i really liked. Shame he died like that.The Colonel was by far the best part of the book for me though

Read the book, and you'll realize how wrong you are on this. Ironic that you posted a pic of a commissar, as one is a main character and has some really humanizing moments talking to his men.

>Orks are stupid lmao they just charge and die xD
>Kriegers are amazing ;_;

let's face it Warhammer fans are simply germanboos and would shill Tau if one of their commanders was named Hans

Whenever Orks execute advanced tactics, it scares the Imperium shitless. I think it's actually a somewhat common theme in Imperial Guard novels.

The difference is that Kriegers are actually cognizant of what they're doing. And they do it willingly out of a sense of sacrifice.

>orks just charge and die
they get overcome by blood lust, everyone knows this. Orks aren't stupid either, they serve the will of Gork and Mork, attempting to create a perfect universe that is constantly torn apart by glorious war.

If you want to be technical, kriegers are based more on WWI french aesthetically than Germans.

>german helmets
>gas masks

they are based on germans

Isn't that a play on the thing the Russians did where a whole squad would have one rifle between them, and when the man with the rifle died someone else would pick it up and carry on the charge?

if you think about it they play on a lot of old Russian tactics. Like drowning the enemy under bodies.

>whole squad

no, it was more like 1 in 2, and that was more for enemy at the gates than any sort of established doctrine other than penal batallions, who's jobs included terms like "Mine tramplers" and "Machine gun nest exposers"

Orks are having fun. The Kriegers don't.

More?

I don't know how much i want to dump here honestly. I mean i did want to give a taste, maybe get a few people to look forward to it so i'd have somebody in the thread next week, get some feedback, that sort of thing. But i don't really wanna go dropping too much here. I don't know. I'll think about it. i'm Sorry.

That being said that really is next to nothing now that i look at it.....hmmmm.

Are the Iron Warrior novels any good?

"Emperor's Mercy" from the "Bastion Wars" series also slowly end on a dark note. I haven't read "Dead Men Walking" yet, I want to pick it up now.

"Flesh and Iron" from the same series also doesn't go too well

Not just his looks, everything about him. Krieg doesn't produce men; it produces broken children. They're the personification of how bad things can get. They're supposed to be the good guys.

The day I can read about a Krieger waifu's frozen, sealed off heart be gently thawed and touched through time after time of genuine love and care by a guardsman from another regiment after they were paired together, is the day I'll truly feel complete.

Kriegers are French with a German word for their planet. They're also aware of what they're doing, while the Orks are incapable of considering their own deaths and so charge to them without a care in the world; might as well be picking flowers.

Also the Orks from the Rogue Trader days were much closer to Third Reich Germans in their aesthetic. Even had Stahlhelms and stick grenades.

The top half of the helm is based on the French's Great War helm. The flare at the bottom is classic Stahlhelm though, yes.

Aside from the gas mask (which could just as well be British or French, they were similar enough), all the rest of the kit is French.

>Kriegers are French with a German word for their planet.
user, the only things French about the Kriegers is their trenchcoats and gas masks. Literally everything else is clearly inspired by Germany.

Krieg is objectively the shittiest regiment from a thematic perspective. They have no fucking personality, just tryhard edginess. At least Vostroyans have actual personality while living a shitty life.

Holy shitsnacks

>french

I'll try not to disappoint.

>Other 40k novels at least had moments of emotional gratification in the form of last stands and self-sacrifice that actually paid off.
And that's why those books fail as where DMW succeeded

>They're (figuratively) soulless robots.

*vahallans

Yostroyans are the ones with the fancy bronze and wood equipment and the grenadier's bearskins.

>no one forced them to be a bunch of suicidal cretins

>Recruitment starts almost from birth, and the ability to withstand the hardships of living on an atomic-blasted world is enhanced further with brutal training designed to quickly weed out the weak and unworthy. Mental conditioning is a key part of a Krieg recruit's training, their minds purposefully broken and remade stronger. Absolute faith in the Emperor is installed at an early age, amplifying preexisting cultural norms regarding honour and self-sacrifice to create what the Ecclesiarchy calls a "cult of sacrifice." This mental conditioning also emphasises their role as an element in the greater picture, a pebble in the avalanche which will crush the enemies of the Emperor; as individuals they do not matter, which is why medals and other awards are unheard-of in Krieg regiments, especially since bravery and heroism is to be expected.

Of course they're being forced into it. what do you think would happen if a "recruit" said he didn't want to fight?

>WE WUZ KRIEGERS AND SHIET
>even 1d4chan says they are krauts
>they look like krauts
>they sound like krauts
>they behave like krauts

they are krauts

Sure I get that, but I think 40k works best when it offers a slim ray of hope amidst all the grimdark. DMW just hinted at it and dangled it in front me, making me think there was a slight chance several times until all hope was unceremoniously crushed. The ending just illustrated the complete pointlessness of the entire struggle, alluding to what the commisar proposed at the beginning of the novel, that they should just call in the navy and annihilate the planet from orbit while rescuing those they can.

There was no going out in a blaze of glory, just the hard reality of accepting defeat and moving on.

I assume it was the author's intent to convey this all along. But it still made me feel like shit, I wanted them to pull through so much. But nope.

Guys can you spoiler me the ending? I wanna LMAO at someone's misery Humanity Fuck You.

>People still don't know that Krieg are inspired by every faction in WW1, not just Germans

>Helmet is a lovechild between the Adrian and Stahlhelm
>French coats
>German webbing
>British Masks
>Russian packs

Sure thing Pierre.

In a lot of fan art people paint them without the helmet ridge, or really wehr-up their uniforms. imo they look better on the tabletop in the French blue anyway.

Don't you call me that slur, I'm a Brit.

>I'm a Brit

both are backstabbing, scum of the earth nations so there is hardly any difference

Sure thing pal.

Fuck you.

...

Screw you, we're fabulous elves and you can't do shit about it.

I hate frogs even more now.

Good, because whoever you are, we'll still be cunts towards you and each other.

Someone wrote up a quick scrape about a krieger that received (or issued as he says) a flower. I should have capped it when I could.

>Of course they're being forced into it. what do you think would happen if a "recruit" said he didn't want to fight?
Not the user you're responding too, but i know the answer. If the recruit will not learn, they will teach.

>He's butthurt about not being a part of the two greatest countries on earth
Poor user.