A Warhammer 40,000 Question of Dates

[Elays]

I'm writing fluff for my guard, but I'm not sure when to set them year-wise. Since so much of their action was during the Medusa V campaign, I want use the Fall as a big part of their history. So, does anybody know the year of the destruction of Medusa V?

[Bryn]

Well, Medusa was colonized in 241.M37. It doesn't say when the Fall happened, except for being 250 years after the Schism. Unfortunately, the History on the Site is written from the POV of being at the time of the war itself. The same goes for all the info in the faction things. You could try emailing GW, or just come up with a date sometime during M41. Alternatively, you could not mention dates at all, instead saying things like 'three years before the events upon Medusa V'.

[Selrahc]

Isn't the Fall of Medusa V supposed to happen after the 13th Dark Crusade of Abaddon? Which would put it somewhere in the last days of the 41st millenium.

[madfool2]

The last bit's of M41. 999

[Wehrkind]

Just to clarify, those date conventions are set up as year number Millenium number, correct?

So the current date is 007 M2?

[Saithis Bladewing]

It's more likely to be listed at 007.M02, but yes, you get the idea. Year number - millenium number.

[Wehrkind]

I suppose they never stated why they decided to rewrite the dating system, or what event they mark time from, did they? I recall a date in that format being given as the begining of the Great Crudade by the Emporer, so the founding of the Imperium can't be said event. I suppose it could be from some event in the dark age of technology, but one would think that keeping that system imposed on different worlds would be sort of a neat trick without strong central authority.

Something tells me the designers gave it far less thought than I did...

[Selrahc]

Something tells me the designers gave it far less thought than I did...

Not true. In the third edition rulebook there was double page thing about the imperial dating system in the background information chapters. Long and full of rambling theories by imperial scholars, since it was from an in universe perspective.

Unfortunately I've sold my third edition rulebook, so I can't give you any quotes.

[Wehrkind]

Huh, I'll be damned. I have a 3rd edition one floating around; I will have to check it out.

Thanks!