Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War - Soulstorm Message Board  

I've played Dawn of War since the first one came out four years or more ago, and after going through Dawn of War, Winter Campaign, Dark Crusade and now Soul Storm, I'm still uncertain who the good guys and bad guys are in this game. Or if the game actually contains good guys and bad guys. I play Imperial Guard most of the time but, sometimes I get the feeling I'm fighting for a Medieval tyranny in the form of a misguided religion. With their inquisition and other forms of totalitarian practices, the Guard come off only better than the others in that they don't embrace pure evil as Chaos and the Dark Eldar do. The Tao fight for the Greater Good, but does anyone even know what this is? The Eldar who try and help the "inferior, younger, races," in their battle against the Necrons, and the Dark Eldar, seem to be misunderstood but, their practices aren't far removed from the others. The Imperial Marines, said to be the most honest and sincere, have their good points but, they don't hesitate to wipe out entire races, or eliminate the Guard or Sisters of Battle whenever they get in the way of one of their Purges. The Sisters of Battle, the newest of the Imperial fighting forces, and the darlings of the Emperor, are as fanatical in their way of thinking as anyone, and they to will stop at nothing to cleanse what they deem a corrupt system, including killing off the Imperial Guard or the Space Marines given the chance. The Orks are primitive savages in most respects, and don't embrace a political way of thinking other than living for war. They don't play favorites or turn on their allies, because they don't have any. The Necrons are unemotional machines set on killing off all living things, so if there is any good in these guys it would be in their way of thinking.

In conclusion, I can find no race that could clearly be considered the good guys in this game, and for those of us seeking to fight on the side of good, we haven't any choice but select the lesser of the two evils. As I said I like the Imperial Guard but with their practices, it is a wonder they don't advance in rank and power by assassination of higher ups. In my way of thinking there is no good guys or bad guys, just some who are meaner and more evil than the others. Still I love the game and hope they don't change it too much from what it is now. If there was a race that could be considered the good guys, this would overshadow and take away from the game as we know it. So even though I am contradicting myself somewhat, I say leave things as they are and let it ride. I'll still fight with the Imperial Guard and everyone else can fight for whatever side they choose.

Dude, the dicothomy between good and evil, in a wicked universe like the warhammer 40000 one, is plain useless. To use Caesar's words... "si vis pacem, para bellum" (if you want peace, prepare for war). Every goal you want to achieve will probably clash with other people who don't agree with you, and when this happens, you only have one choice to make: kill. or be killed.
In the end, i think that if there's a real "bad guy" in the game, that would be the necrons. I mean, they "sold" their souls to the four ancients to get eternal "life", got tricked, and now want to kill everyone else because their gods want souls. Pretty lame, eh.

Fight for the God Emperor today, as tomorrow, you will probably be dead.

Lame but they're almost undead.And plus they were creatures with very a limited life.If you want go on www.Lexicanum.com and you'll see everything about the known world of DOW.

it was actually more than four ainceints it was alot more than u think get the codex for them and u will see

Acutally, yeah, they're undead. Mechanical undeads, to be correct. thanks for the link, i'll give it an eye as i'll have 10 minutes

dang!! u even made a conclusin....impressive

I have been playing WH40K for years. Both table-top and PC series. And read almost all books thath were published about the universe of WH40K. And as far as I understood, there are no good or bad characters. OK, if you still want to find some - they would be definitely Space Marines (chapters like Ultramarines and Space Wolves). Yes, they are cruel enough. But the world of Warhammer40k is not for crybabies. Here only the strongest may have a chance to survive.
If you try to find a Good Guy from a fairy-tale for 10-year old girls here - you will never find it. The ideas of Good and Evil in WH are relative. And it is always a war. And war is not a place to look for idealists.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll include this in my review when I write it. You're the first one to actually voice my sentiments on Warhammer. Right, if you want good guys you need to play Fall of Liberty, World in Conflict or some other game. I hope they keep things they way they are. It is after all just a game, a good game, I might add and trying to put in good guys would ruin the whole thing. I like the Imperial Guard myself, they aren't too bad, and they do what they have to to get the job done. Too bad our own army in real life doesn't take some lessongs from W40K.