Bringing GURPS into the 41st millennium

[Corlock Striker]

Originally Posted by Kage2020

It's actually amazing that a universe that is purportedly predicated upon shades of moral grey actually takes an absolute mechanism to model this (more out of confusion, though).

Well, I think the issue here, is that to us looking at the 40k universe from the outside, everything seems to be shades of grey. After all, yes the Imperium are the "Good Guys" but not in the way we typically see the good guys, as it is a totalitarian government, and if you disagree with them in any way you're a heretic and killed. But if one were to actually live in that universe, it very much would be absolute in terms of it's morals. Because of the existence of the chaos demons and the like. So, within the universe it is very black and white, it is only with an outsider's view of the universe that it's all shades of grey. Also, looking at it from the inside, one shade of grey (which is your only choice as a human, the Imperium) is more white than the others. Just saying.

[Kage2020]

Okay, the throw-away comment seemed to go from A to D without going through B and C.

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Huh? Drugs are a way to Slaanesh, conspiring to Tzeentch, and killing to Khorne (I'm not sure if saying that maintaining bad hygience is the way to Nurgle.)

If you will forgive me, this is the kind of thing that causes much confusion in the game setting. There is a difference between something being morally abhorrent and something being absolutely so. Thus, killing is bad within a given set of mores, but not necessarily so absolutely in all cultures. Also, it tends to conflate the object with the emotion/process.

Thus, corruption as result of direct contact with the warp? Fine and dandy? Because you took the Pulp Fiction of going to "powder your nose" does not mean that you're going to become a victim of Slaanesh.

That is why I say that there is confusion in the game mechanics and published materials on this matter, or at least from the supplements that I have read. While it is presented as one thing it is often represented as cultural mores, but then the rules do not extend to carry this through (because it would be horrendously complex to do so!).

I guess to be productive out of this segue I would merely argue that if you're going to deal with Corruption then leave it to people that have direct contact with the warp (which can include contact through a proxy artefact, book or whatever), but not because you happen to do some wetwork on "innocents."

Originally Posted by Corlock Striker

Well, I think the issue here, is that to us looking at the 40k universe from the outside, everything seems to be shades of grey.

Cultural relativism, aye. One of the better justifications for the somewhat sketchy writing in the GW universe is that increasingly materials are being written from the perspective of the Imperium of Man, thus explaining the materials that you see in, say, The Radical's Handbook, Disciples of the Dark Gods, etc. Thus, progression/research in the Adeptus Mechanicus is not orthodox, therefore heretical, therefore bad, therefore evil, therefore Chaotic.

It actually has a certain amount of genius to it if one takes it that way since it does present cultural absolutism.