Quote Originally Posted by Rynjin View Post
The big difference is 40k can be used for a lot of different things. Some things it does well: grim darkness, cool weapons, interesting broad factions.

Things it does poorly: anything that tries to tell a serious plot.
It's perfectly possible to make something that has either a serious plot, a political plot, or both while still being broad, bombastic, and melodramatic with over-the top, scenery-chewing characters. In fact, most of what is regarded as "classic" literature is quite ham-fisted by modern standards, and invariably very self-serious. Opera is, by nature, limited in how subtle and nuanced it can be by the need to have the characters loudly singing their emotions out on stage. Shakespeare was written to be performed on stage to common audiences. Epics from ancient history- The Iliad, Beowulf, Gilgamesh- were not written with gritty realism in mind.

In fact, the over-the-top nature of the Imperium and its dysfunctional, fractious, dogmatic, and overzealous institutions is exactly what makes telling a political story so easy. You don't have to work very hard or explain too much detailed history to newcomers to justify the potential conflicts. "The IG General is jealous of the Space Marine Captain because they get all of the glory" is easy to grasp, as is "The Church and the Bureaucrats have different priorities and neither of them are very flexible, so they don't get along too well".