# GW Easter Eggs



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Ok, not really sure what to call this thread...

i've always known that GW/FW/BL stick things in their fluff that has some link with our world and real events and places and people.

There's blatant ones, like "Birmingham, the Black World..." which make us giggle inside 

Then there are more obscure ones, like basing Lukas the Tickster on the Norse God Loki, even going as far as modelling a lock of hair on his belt but not explaining why in his fluff (but if you read anything about Loki, you'll know why it's there).

But sometimes they catch me out. And on this occasion it was _Flight of the Eisenstein_ that did it. No, I was lazy and always thought this was a simple corruption of Einstein the famous scientist. However, I am also a history buff and recently got round to finally reading a book on Stalin. One of Stalin's entourage happened to be Sergei _Eisenstein_, a prominant film director who happened to make a film called _Battleship_ in 1925... now that makes much more sense for the name of a fleeing starship! 

But maybe I'm wrong and have read too much into it and in fact GW did just corrupt Einstein and it's coincidence they happened to corrupt it in a way that named the ship after another historical figure. 

We'll never know, but what I want to know is what's the most obscure/funny/blatant reference you've found in the fluff?

+Rep for worthy entries 

Rev


----------



## TomG (Oct 11, 2010)

I'm not sure if it's true but a mate mentioned to me that Ghazghkull _Mag Uruk Thraka _was a sly one at Margret Thatcher. Say the Mag Uruk Thraka a few times and you can hear it...or it's just me.
It would make sense, both of them are damn scary and I'm sure couls both tear a Space Marine limb from limb!


----------



## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

haha... I think you give the creators way too much credit assuming they know about the other Einstein. I think...:laugh:


----------



## KhainiteAssassin (Mar 18, 2009)

cheeto said:


> haha... I think you give the creators way too much credit assuming they know about the other Einstein. I think...:laugh:


actually alot of easter eggs added in tend to be researched first and i would not be suprised in the least if they meant it as a reference to BOTH Einsteins.


----------



## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

KhainiteAssassin said:


> actually alot of easter eggs added in tend to be researched first and i would not be suprised in the least if they meant it as a reference to BOTH Einsteins.



I'm not so sure. I would have agreed with you before reading Abnetts interview.


----------



## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Just having a look now, found some that could be abit too obscure. Take Keeler for instance. Leonarde Keeler invented the polygraph, an invention to discern the truth. Keeler brought the truth of Horus treachery to the Imperium and helped Dorn and others become convinced that the words she and the others carried were true. Also Keeler is apparently a crater on the moon, Keeler herself obviously ending up on the moon.

Like i said, obscure one like the above for now, but i'll continue looking.


----------



## Worldkiller (Jun 16, 2010)

Sly Marbo is a reference to Sylvester Stallone, who is famous for the role of Rambo, which Marbo is an anagram for and the actor's real life nickname was Sly.

The Last Chancers (13th Legion) are based off the film "The Dirty Dozen", and the character Colonel Schaffer is named after Arnold Swarzenegger's character's name in the rough draft of the script for Predator.

The story of Angron (a gladiator leading his fellow slaves in rebellion against their oppressors) is analogous with that of the Third Servile war in ancient Rome, which is known for producing one of the most heroic figures in history, the gladiator-turned rebel general Spartacus.

Lord Solar Macharius is based on the historical figure of Alexander the Great, born in the year 356 BC; Macharius was born in 356.M41. The name of Macharius's father, Pella, derives from Pella the capital of ancient Macedonia and the birthplace of Alexander.

Abaddon is a figure in Christian mythology, and I believe he is the gatekeeper to hell in said mythology.


----------



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Wordkiller got some good ones there, from the blatant (Sly) to the obscure ones about Angron, pretty interesting stuff (which now makes me wanna read up about those periods of history...)

The Keeler one is also interesting, that and the Angron history are prime examples of GW ripping off history, but in a good way, coz those who want to will learn something.

The one about Margaret Thatcher just has to be true! Please  haha I will dish out some rep later but apparently I have dished out to much over the last 24 hours...

keep em coming!!


----------



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Worldkiller said:


> Abaddon is a figure in Christian mythology, and I believe he is the gatekeeper to hell in said mythology.


And the Despoiler currently holds the Cadian _Gate_ in the present 40k universe.


----------



## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Just on a small side note, he did say Heresy easter eggs, not 40k


----------



## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

When we say GW is ripping off history we must remember after a certain period of time in history writers were no long creating completely original material but were borrowing ideas and making it their own.

Look up a french theorist with the last name barthes and you will understand what I mean.


----------



## Androxine Vortex (Jan 20, 2010)

Magnus the Red and Leman Russ were rivals of each other. The Thousand Sons weer based on Middle Eastern mythology while the Space Wolves were based on Nordic mythology. But Magnus was the name of an old Viking King. Ironic who kills Magnus now isn't it?


----------



## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Lets not forget the massivey obvious Kasper Hawser aswell.


----------



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

haha, yeah, Hawser/Hauser got me wondering as soon as I read the name, I knew it was a name I knew from somewhere else. Then it all came back to me...

On a note about the title of the thread, yeah, sorry, I should have said _GW Easter Eggs_ or something, it was just that I thought of it as I was reading a HH novel. If any mods read this, please change it to something more appropriate, we wanna cover the whole 40k universe and I'm pretty sure there are just as many eggs in fantasy... Nagash being the one that springs to mind (though I'm not a fantasy player at all...)


----------



## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

Nergel is an ancient babalonian diety of pestilance and death

Nurgle is the chaos god of death, peastilance amnd decay.

Ahriman in Zoroastrianism
In ancient Persian religion (Zoroastrianism), Ahriman (aka Arimanius or Angra Mainya) stood high in the ranks of the enemies who opposed Ahura Mazda (aka Ohrmazd or Oromasdes). Ahriman is thought to be the first personification of "the Devil" because Zoroastrians believed in a completely dualistic form of religion. 

Aparently the story of curze has a lot to do with apoc. now


----------



## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

TheSpore said:


> When we say GW is ripping off history we must remember after a certain period of time in history writers were no long creating completely original material but were borrowing ideas and making it their own.
> 
> Look up a french theorist with the last name barthes and you will understand what I mean.



This. Reminds me of what I see in the world today, where everything that was old is new again. In the 50's we saw society turn away from the mom and pop shop in favor of the grocery store, the milk man was replaced by the pasteurization and refrigerator, and locally grown produce lost it's luster in comparison to imported produce. Suddenly, everyone is going nuts for organic and buying local... re-enter the mom and pop shop, and I even read about milk men delivering non pasteurized fresh milk again...

I'm pretty sure a lot of ideas have been borrowed from history. It's not stealing, it's fun and gives the stories we read depth. What I kinda doubt is that the authors actually are as well versed to know about the Einstein from Russian history. Something tells me one would have to be a real history buff to know anything about that. Take me for example. Always been a huge fan of history... know nothing about Russian film makers in history... TheReverend is clearly a greater history buff than I and I suspect the authors as well.

I can't find the reference to Thatcher. How am I missing this, and Sly Marbo? That is so obscure that I'm not sure if is the stretch of an overly imaginative reader, or an astute reader of an overly imaginative author :clapping:


----------



## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

cheeto said:


> This. Reminds me of what I see in the world today, where everything that was old is new again. In the 50's we saw society turn away from the mom and pop shop in favor of the grocery store, the milk man was replaced by the pasteurization and refrigerator, and locally grown produce lost it's luster in comparison to imported produce. Suddenly, everyone is going nuts for organic and buying local... re-enter the mom and pop shop, and I even read about milk men delivering non pasteurized fresh milk again...
> 
> I'm pretty sure a lot of ideas have been borrowed from history. It's not stealing, it's fun and gives the stories we read depth. What I kinda doubt is that the authors actually are as well versed to know about the Einstein from Russian history. Something tells me one would have to be a real history buff to know anything about that. Take me for example. Always been a huge fan of history... know nothing about Russian film makers in history... TheReverend is clearly a greater history buff than I and I suspect the authors as well.
> 
> I can't find the reference to Thatcher. How am I missing this, and Sly Marbo? That is so obscure that I'm not sure if is the stretch of an overly imaginative reader, or an astute reader of an overly imaginative author :clapping:


Well the sly marbo thing its is really just blatant and out there plain and simple.IMO! also keep in mind many of these highly reputable writers have advanced degrees in english, history, and writing in general.


----------



## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

TheSpore said:


> Well the sly marbo thing its is really just blatant and out there plain and simple.IMO! also keep in mind many of these highly reputable writers have advanced degrees in english, history, and writing in general.



Of course. I just recently read an interview with Dan Abnett, my personal favorite 40k author and in it he claimed to do very little research and mostly pulled his material from the vast imagination of his particularly gifted mind. Well... he didn't refer to his mind as such, that's just my strong opinion of it. Before I read that I would have assumed a lot of historical research would have gone into a lot of these books. Knowledge of history certainly contributes to a large part of my imagination and probably because part of me wishes I would have been a part of it. I love history. I would simply be curious to know what parts are historically based and what parts are coincidentally connected. Of course not knowing only makes the entire subject that much more fun!


----------



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

It would be interesting to know how many authors do some research and how many simply flip open and encyclopaedia at a random point and take the first name they see. 

My own experience of writing is that I do do a bit of research when I'm taking names. I do read quite a bit of history and though I don't remember it all some things stick in your mind, which might be the case for Abnett. The beauty of the subconscious 

back on subject I'll throw in a funny one from the Space Wolves codex, which can only be blatant:
One of the wolf lords is named _Erik Morkai_, and his brother is _Irnest the Wise_... Morecambe and Wise anyone? haha (old school British comedy double act)

Rev


----------



## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

TheSpore said:


> Aparently the story of curze has a lot to do with apoc. now


Indeed so: Konrad Curze expresses a personal philosophy very similar to Kurtz in Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. Heart of Darkness was written by Joseph Conrad. So that's: Conrad/Kurtz-->Konrad Kurze.


----------



## Maligant (Mar 27, 2011)

I remember in one of the HH novels that there's a reference to the battleship _Eisenstein_ being named after an ancient Remembrancer, so I believe the author DID know what they were naming the ship after rather than it being a mashup of Einstein.

There's a couple of silly ones from the Ciaphas Kain novels... The name of the ice world 'Simia Oricalcae' loosly translates to 'Brass Monkeys' (The inquisitional 'editor' of the story believe that the name comes from some sort of statue depicting a monkey, however there is a British saying that goes "it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" and so cold whether in general is referred to as being 'Brass Monkeys')

There's also a reference to England in the novels, a footnote that mentions the Britanic cluster who's inhabitants are obsessed with a sport translated into imperial gothic as 'Grass-hopper' - possibly due to the fact that whenever one of the teams throws the ball, the other team all leap into the air. This is, probably, referenceing cricket. (cricket/grasshopper? geddit? geddit?!)

There's others... but I can't remember them.

I'm sure I also remember a Chaos-infested wall quoting Metallica lyrics in one book... (one of the Space Wolf books I think)

Edit: just remembered something else about 'grasshopper' - nobody outside of the Britanic cluster seems to understand the rules properly. I really need to read the Kain novels again...


----------



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Well if you look at the ground history of 40k.

First mankind going to to colonize the galaxy during the Dark Age of Technology. This is Earth 40.000 years ago when we went from the Middle East, broadened out across the planet and inhabited Africa, Europe and then at last mankind moved all the way to America and the final part was South America. It moves all the way into the Antiquity of Greece, China and finally Rome where we flurished.

Then the Age of Strife came, everybody was cut off from each other. This is the Dark Ages where knowledge and progress disappeared.

Next step is the Great Crusade, thats the Renaissance, the rebirth of Mankind. Then we have the Horus Heresy, that could be translated into the World Wars. ADB mentioned something 40k was heavily applied from the World Wars, especially from a British perspective.

And the present 40k they are threatened from different directions, Orks on Armageddon, Chaos on Cadia, Tyranids are coming in from another galaxy and Necrons are arising. Eldar are dying and so is the Emperor. Thats like our present day, soon we will run out of oil, the greenhouse effect and deseases becoming immune against penicillin, economic crisis and so on.


----------



## bobss (May 18, 2008)

forkmaster said:


> Well if you look at the ground history of 40k.
> 
> First mankind going to to colonize the galaxy during the Dark Age of Technology. This is Earth 40.000 years ago when we went from the Middle East, broadened out across the planet and inhabited Africa, Europe and then at last mankind moved all the way to America and the final part was South America. It moves all the way into the Antiquity of Greece, China and finally Rome where we flurished.
> 
> ...


It's a fitting theory. It's just... well, mankind (NOT civilisation) began in sub-Saharan Africa, some 2-5~ million years ago. Not the Middle-East, although that may well be the birthplace of farming. Farming = Civilisation.


----------



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

bobss said:


> It's a fitting theory. It's just... well, mankind (NOT civilisation) began in sub-Saharan Africa, some 2-5~ million years ago. Not the Middle-East, although that may well be the birthplace of farming. Farming = Civilisation.


And don't forget that South America was colonised long before the Spanish arrived, so saying it was 'last' is kinda faulty logic 

back to teh original thread...

Typhus: "Host of the Destroyer Hive" AND _"Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Rickettsiae"_. Kind of an obvious one there...

Inquisitor Karamazov, goes back to my love of Russian History again: _"The Brothers Karamazov is a passionate philosophical novel that enters deeply into the ethical debates of God, free will, and morality"_ Quite apt really...


----------



## Mob (Nov 14, 2010)

cheeto said:


> I just recently read an interview with Dan Abnett, my personal favorite 40k author and in it he claimed to do very little research and mostly pulled his material from the vast imagination of his particularly gifted mind. Well... he didn't refer to his mind as such, that's just my strong opinion of it.


That's odd, as he's said he does a lot of research before. Isn't there a youtube vid where he talks about all the norse stuff he's reading for Prospero Burns? And at BLL he said when he decides on a plot (ie the Ghosts in a WWI trench war, pirates in Warhammer Fantasy world) he goes and reads up on the historical analogues and then applies that stuff to his creations. 

I mean, just earlier tonight I caught one he did at the start of _Prospero Burns_. Boeotia is a state in Greece, right? That got invaded by the Persians of the Achaemenid Empire in the classical wars. What legion invades Boeotia in 30K? The Thousand Sons. Who are made up of recruits from the Unification Era Achaemenid Empire according to _A Thousand Sons_...


----------



## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

Mob said:


> That's odd, as he's said he does a lot of research before. Isn't there a youtube vid where he talks about all the norse stuff he's reading for Prospero Burns? And at BLL he said when he decides on a plot (ie the Ghosts in a WWI trench war, pirates in Warhammer Fantasy world) he goes and reads up on the historical analogues and then applies that stuff to his creations.
> 
> I mean, just earlier tonight I caught one he did at the start of _Prospero Burns_. Boeotia is a state in Greece, right? That got invaded by the Persians of the Achaemenid Empire in the classical wars. What legion invades Boeotia in 30K? The Thousand Sons. Who are made up of recruits from the Unification Era Achaemenid Empire according to _A Thousand Sons_...


Just stating what he said in one interview. Maybe it depends on the book.


----------



## constantin_valdor (Apr 8, 2011)

For me the most notable ones are found in the Ciaphas Cain books the few that spring to mind without grabbing a copy are 'flux capicators' 'eyor dedonki' a planetary system called sodallagain and a star wars reference im sure i could find more once i find my books lol


----------



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Well I think one of the most obvious easter eggs is Horus himself. Taken from egyptian mythology, being the son of the sun god Ra, and something about turning. _A Thousand Sons_ book even makes a reference to old egyptian mythology when they heard about the news of his betrayal.


----------



## cheeto (Apr 1, 2011)

forkmaster said:


> Well I think one of the most obvious easter eggs is Horus himself. Taken from egyptian mythology, being the son of the sun god Ra, and something about turning. _A Thousand Sons_ book even makes a reference to old egyptian mythology when they heard about the news of his betrayal.


The historical connection to this one is what drew my interest to the entire 40k universe 20 years ago. Ancient history was always one my favorite subjects.


----------



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

cheeto said:


> The historical connection to this one is what drew my interest to the entire 40k universe 20 years ago. Ancient history was always one my favorite subjects.


I remember when I heard the expression of Horus, this was back during the 3rd version of the game, BT were the postal boys of GW. I knew next to nothing about GW fluff (in regards of what I am aware of now) and that name caught me. Something in the lines of "10,000 years ago, when the Emperors most trusted son Horus turned half the armies against his father". That made an impact on me, but I felt also at the same time "Hey, didnt they stole this from Egypt?" :biggrin:


----------



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Sorry for bringing a dead thread back to life, but I found some other stuff interesting; named planets. First we have Prospero and Caliban which accroding to Wikipedia are from a play by William Shakespeare:



> Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, who (with his infant daughter, Miranda) was put to sea on "a rotten carcass of a butt [boat]" to die by his usurping brother, Antonio, twelve years before the play begins. Prospero and Miranda survived, and found exile on a small island. He has learned sorcery (referred to as his "Art" in the play), and uses it while on the island to protect Miranda and control the other characters. On the island, he becomes master of the monster Caliban (the son of Sycorax, a malevolent witch), and Ariel, an elemental who has become enslaved by Prospero after he is freed from his prison inside a tree.
> 
> However, at the end of the play, Prospero intends to drown his book and renounce magic. In the view of the audience, this may have been required to make the ending unambiguously happy, as magic smacked too much of diabolical works; he will drown his books for the same reason that Doctor Faust, in an earlier play by Christopher Marlowe, promised in vain to burn his books.


Then we have Fenris, which is from Norse Mythology, which is the Great Wolf which would swallow the Earth whole at the Ragnarök (end of the world), which funnily enough is the synonyme of Armageddon, the biblical version of it.

Typhon (both the planet of DOW-games and the First Captain of the Death Guard) and Tartarus are from Greek Mythology. 

Then we have Abaddon from Christianity as well, being a great beast and the name translates as the destroyer.


----------



## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

my personal favourite in terms of names anyway
Erik Morkai and his twin brother Irnist the Wise
named after morecambe and wise


----------



## Callistarius (Aug 17, 2010)

Poetry lesson ahead, and this one is not even a subtle ripoff: 

_The Dark Angel_


DARK Angel, with thine aching lust To rid the world of penitence: Malicious Angel, who still dost My soul such subtile violence! 
Because of thee, no thought, no thing, Abides for me undesecrate: Dark Angel, ever on the wing, Who never reachest me too late! 
When music sounds, then changest thou Its silvery to a sultry fire: Nor will thine envious heart allow Delight untortured by desire. 
Through thee, the gracious Muses turn, To Furies, O mine Enemy! And all the things of beauty burn With flames of evil ecstasy. 
Because of thee, the land of dreams Becomes a gathering place of fears: Until tormented slumber seems One vehemence of useless tears. 
When sunlight glows upon the flowers, Or ripples down the dancing sea: Thou, with thy troop of passionate powers, Beleaguerest, bewilderest, me. 
Within the breath of autumn woods, Within the winter silences: Thy venomous spirit stirs and broods, O Master of impieties! 
The ardour of red flame is thine, And thine the steely soul of ice: Thou poisonest the fair design Of nature, with unfair device. 
Apples of ashes, golden bright; Waters of bitterness, how sweet! O banquet of a foul delight, Prepared by thee, dark Paraclete! 
Thou art the whisper in the gloom, The hinting tone, the haunting laugh: Thou art the adorner of my tomb, The minstrel of mine epitaph. 
I fight thee, in the Holy Name! Yet, what thou dost, is what God saith: Tempter! should I escape thy flame, Thou wilt have helped my soul from Death: 
The second Death, that never dies, That cannot die, when time is dead: Live Death, wherein the lost soul cries, Eternally uncomforted. 
Dark Angel, with thine aching lust! Of two defeats, of two despairs: Less dread, a change to drifting dust, Than thine eternity of cares. 
Do what thou wilt, thou shalt not so, Dark Angel! triumph over me: Lonely, unto the Lone I go; Divine, to the Divinity. 
*Lionel Johnson*


----------



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Callistarius: f*ck me, how did none of us EVER know about this?! I'm a big fan of Victorian Literature and have even read The Dark Angel a couple of times. hahaha.

I've just finished reading Deliverence Lost and The Outcast Dead so here's some quick and dirty findings:

*Outcast Dead:*
The Custode Saturnalia: Saturnalia is a Roman festival celebrating the god Saturn. This is just a coincidence in my opinion, in that the Custodes have taken their names from Terran history and the historical association doesn't link to Saturnalia's story in the novel necesarily.

Rogal Dorn: there are any number of historical Dorn's that were either poets or philosophers, there's also an American General Dorn. Who knows what influenced his name (unlike Johnston, Russ or Sanguinius, for example). 

Atharva: the Thousand Son's name relates to ancient Indian sacred texts if I remember rightly. 

Severian: the Luna Wolf's name could be more interesting, as a journeyman named Severian is the main charactor in a series of novels by Gene Wolfe... better ask Mr McNeill what he's been reading lately 

*Deliverance Lost:*
Corvus Corax: Corvus is latin for raven or crow, Corax is greek for crow. Wikipedia also informed me about a British experimental UAV called Corax developed by BAE systems in 2004, obviously later than the naming of the Primarch but still interesting. 

Vincente Sixx: has just got to be a reference to Motley Crue, combining Nikki Sixx (bassist) and Vince Neil (singer). If it's not, it's a giant coincidence!! 

Salaro An: Commander of the Hawks. I could be clutching at straws here but is ancient Sumeria the Great Lord of the Sky was called Anu and he was also symbolised by a hawn and/or a sun throughout later incarnations. 

Anyway that's some banal and some interesting and some that are probably simply tenuous at best.


----------



## Mob (Nov 14, 2010)

forkmaster said:


> Well I think one of the most obvious easter eggs is Horus himself. Taken from egyptian mythology, being the son of the sun god Ra, and something about turning. _A Thousand Sons_ book even makes a reference to old egyptian mythology when they heard about the news of his betrayal.


Egyptian Horus has four sons. The Mournival, anyone?


----------



## bobss (May 18, 2008)

Where do we draw the line between inspiration and Easter Eggs? The vast majority of things already mentioned in this thread are simply inspirational references from history. Horus Lupercal and Horus from Egyptian mythology being the most obvious. It adds a philosophical depth and cultural flavour to the series that most Black Library publications lack.



CorvusGuardXIX said:


> One of the Alpharius's used the override code peta, orpheus, epsilon, which spells poe. As in Edgar Allen Poe.


This is an Easter Egg.

It serves no purpose beyond its own existence. It's not inspirational because it isn't affecting something crucial such as characterisation. For example, the story of Horus from Egyptian mythology shares similarities with that of Horus Lupercal, and indirectly Jesus Christ. However, this is here to elicit a chuckle from the reader if they recognise it. It's paying homage to the author who was a major contributor in the formation of the mystery genre. Considering the intruiging nature and secretive plot of Deliverence Lost, this makes sense. It is an Easter Egg because it serves no prupose beyond the homage it pays and its possible comedic value. The code could have represented D-O-Y-L-E and would have changed not a single thing.


----------



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

bobss: I see your point. I'm just pointing out anything of interest, mainly because some people might not get the references. And of course, references to Motley Crue are way more fun than pointing out the more obvious link between Horus Lupercal and the Egyptian god Horus...


----------



## Xisor (Oct 1, 2011)

Bobbs: I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but things like Ahriman having a translated copy of the Voynich manuscript - not only is it an Easter Egg, it's an in-joke too.

Others:
- In an early space battle in _Fulgrim_, a starship called "The Heart of Gold" is "improbably destroyed". Explanation.
- One of the Inquisitors in _The Thorians_ is called Umbeco Eto. Explanation.

Those are 'good' Easter Eggs, IMO.


----------



## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

Xisor said:


> - In an early space battle in _Fulgrim_, a starship called "The Heart of Gold" is "improbably destroyed". Explanation.


Hahahahaha how did I never pick up on that!! Brilliant.


----------



## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

Loki? Everyone knows Lukas the Trickster is Mike Hucknall from Simply Red


----------



## cloghaun (May 4, 2011)

Not sure if this has been mentioned or if it's a stretch but here goes:

"The Council of Nikaea" has certain parallels in both name & historical reference to "The Council of Nicaea", or "Nicea", depending on who's spelling. Anyway, for those who aren't Roman Catholic, the Roman Emperor Constantine I, got all the Christian Bishops (Primarchs) together and discussed/determined the divinity of Jesus Christ.


----------



## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

...and they decided that he was a psyker, and that his powers had endangered the fabric of the earth, and that he was to be stricken from all records.

Wait, no.


----------



## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

The homage is still there though without a doubt. Sure they were discussing a different subject and of course a different outcome, but you'd have to be an idiot not to see the reference to it.


----------



## Hachiko (Jan 26, 2011)

I think it would be cool on this list to name inspirations/homages that were very deftly done (a la the Horus and four sons/Mournival one) and actual Easter Eggs.

It's like in A Song of Ice and Fire, many say in the first books there are parallels to the War of the Roses. Ok, cool inspirations. But I really liked the Easter egg of the Robert Jordan/Wheel of Time namedrop in A Feast for Crows.

As far as 40K goes, I haven't picked up on too many. In Imperial Glory, which draws heavily on the Zulu story, there is the battle at the Ork's Rift (Rorke's Drift). I'll keep an eye out for any more.


----------



## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

Angel of Blood said:


> The homage is still there though without a doubt. Sure they were discussing a different subject and of course a different outcome, but you'd have to be an idiot not to see the reference to it.


Yeah, I know. I'm being facetious, really.


----------



## Hachiko (Jan 26, 2011)

Know this is more of a name homage than a Easter egg, but Miriya from Swallow's Sisters of Battle series is obviously taken from Miriya, or Milia, the power-armour wearing fighting ace from Robotech (Macross).


----------



## Hachiko (Jan 26, 2011)

Bumping an old thread. Found a name-based Easter Egg that as a New Yorker I found to be cute.

Currently reading First & Only, and there is the scene where Gaunt and Zoren are discussing how they know Fereyd. Zoren states that he was on a peacekeeping mission on Idolwilde, in the main city-state, Kenadie.

This is a nice reference to John F. Kennedy Airport (most commonly referred to as 'JFK' or 'Kennedy'). The original name for Kennedy airport? Idlewild.

Don't know why Abnett used those names at that part in the story. Maybe he was there for a connecting flight or something when he was writing that scene.


----------



## Thousandth Son (Jan 28, 2010)

Dunno if it's already been mentioned but there's a ton of Lovecraft references through several books (Pnakotic Manuscripts being mentioned in A Thousand Sons, as well as the Mad Scholar Alhazred, for example). The Hall of Leng is also a reference. Hm, I'll probably remember more soon enough.


----------

