History DependingOnTheWriter / TabletopGames

!!!In General:
* This can be a problem in games when, for whatever reason, a player can't make it to a session but the game continues anyway. One way to get around the absent player is to entrust their character to another player or the GM for that session. As a result, this character may end up doing or saying things they wouldn't normally do or say.

!!!By Game System:

** Many of the differing writers can't seem to agree on wether the new setting is LighterAndSofter than the previous incarnation of ''Fantasy'' and their ''40k'' counterpart or not, and nowhere is it more apparent then in the title character. Depending on which author you read, Sigmar is either a GodOfGood who wants to redeem and save those deceived and corrupted by Chaos, or a LawfulNeutral tyrant who will slaughter anyone with even a degree of corruption.

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} has an absurd amount of canon. Even just the core codexes includes dozens of books over the years, and there are also hundreds of stories, other source books, video games, board games, and other assorted media. It would be basically impossible to keep it consistent, and to some extent Games Workshop doesn't seem all that worried about trying. This has lead to the somewhat infamous statement "everything is canon but not everything is true".

** Depending on the book and author, the Imperium of Man is either an empire whose evils are [[NecessarilyEvil an appropriate response to how horrible the galaxy is]] or [[FascistButInefficient needlessly cruel and plunging them deeper into self-destruction]], nor can they seem to decide if these evils are InherentInTheSystem and the whole thing was unredeemeable from the moment it started, or if the system can be saved by enough good actors. [[https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/11/19/the-imperium-is-driven-by-hate-warhammer-is-not/ Official statement released in late 2021]] is that the Imperium should not be rooted for, fan consensus is that [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing they failed at showing as much]].
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' suffers from similar problems as 40k. The amount of content and lore that has been created and licensed over nearly 30 years is basically impossible to keep straight and again to some extent they're not even trying. Even broad concepts like how entire cultures work within the setting vary wildly, although they do tend to have their roots in the same basic concepts.
* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'':
** Many of the differing writers can't seem to agree on wether the new setting is LighterAndSofter than the previous incarnation of ''Fantasy'' and their ''40k'' counterpart or not, and nowhere is it more apparent then in the title character. Depending on which author you read, Sigmar is either a GodOfGood who wants to redeem and save those deceived and corrupted by Chaos, or a LawfulNeutral tyrant who will slaughter anyone with even a degree of corruption.
** Likewise, depictions of the Cities of Sigmar varies between them being people out to reclaim the homelands they were driven out of in the Age of Chaos, or colonising-exploiters little better than 40k's Imperium of Man. This case is [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] somewhat by the sheer number of Cities, and them being fairly decentralised, so it's plausible that different cities have different ethos. Still, depictions can generally by categorized into three groups: the licensed novels from Black Library will more often tend towards acentuating the negative, with more of a KnightTemplar depiction of Sigmarite culture/religion. The books from the ''TabletopGame/{{Soulbound}}'' RPG will instead be portrayed much more sympathetically, and the Battletome rulebooks will fall somewhere in the middle. WordOfGod is that the Battletomes should be taken as the most accurate depiction of any given faction.
* White Wolf hires freelance writers to write their ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' books, often assigning different people to write different chapters. Normally, it's not that noticeable, but the Infernals book bears mentioning. In some chapters, there are obvious hints that [[NobleDemon hey, Infernal Exalts don't HAVE to be evil]], but in other chapters you're beaten over the head with the fact that [[AlwaysChaoticEvil all Infernals are horrible evil monsters and can never be good, ever]]. WordOfGod has since cleared up what the creators ''intended'' to get across, but it's still a hotly-debated subject.
* White Wolf tends to have a few problems with this, and one stand-out example is in ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', where the writers kept going back and forth on what "Banality" was, aside from "the death of hope." Banality was [[ScienceIsBad trying to define and tie down the world too much]]... except the [[GadgeteerGenius nockers]] kept insisting that the moon landing resulted in the biggest rush of glamour anyone had seen in several life times. So Banality was [[MeasuringTheMarigolds boring, ultra-focused practicalities]]... except there were sample [=NPCs=] who got Glamour from those activities because of mindset. When it got to the point that ''{{LARP}}'' was associated with the [[WeirdnessCensor Autumn People]], you knew there was a basic communication breakdown. Sadly, the line was cancelled before ''The Book of Glamour'' (which would have laid out some basics on Glamour and Banality) could be released.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
** [[OurGnomesAreWeirder Gnomes]] tend to fluctuate quite a bit depending on who's writing the current sourcebook, largely because, unlike most of the other iconic races, gnomes have never really had a concise "deal." Some of this is down to different settings or different subraces, admittedly, but even then, ask three ''D&D'' writers to describe the average gnome, and you'll likely get four different answers. Their exuberance, sense of humor, and creativity are all common traits, but it's barely present in some takes (which basically treat them as even shorter dwarves) and all-consuming in others (to the point of them coming across as a whole race of TheLoonie). They can also range from being one of the most spiritual and nature-oriented races, living in wilderness burrows and talking to animals, or one of the most concrete and urbanized races, living in big, well-established cities. Also, due to bleedover from the [[BunglingInventor tinker gnomes]] of ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}}'', there's the question of whether gnomes in other settings also boast advanced technology, and if so, how well it actually works. This goes so far that even their most common favored class has changed over the years, going back and forth between bard and illusionist--prior to 3rd Edition, gnomes couldn't become bards at all.
** Saint Cuthbert, one of the chief gods of the ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'' setting. Whether he is a [[GoodIsNotNice somewhat gruff and majorly strict but overall goodnatured]] god who also acts as a god of wisdom and sense, or a KnightTemplar LawfulStupid zealot who preaches the eradication of chaos, ranges heavily depending on the edition and who's writing him. In general, if he's featuring in ''Greyhawk'' content, he will likely be the former, while if he's featuring in "setting-neutral" content, he will be the latter. Part of this is that ''Greyhawk'' has a more extreme KnightTemplar god to contrast him, namely Pholtus; if Pholtus is being acknowledged, Cuthbert will be the more sensible and reasonable one. This even extends to his alignment, which is either LawfulGood, LawfulNeutral, or one with tendencies of the other.
** Also hailing from ''Greyhawk'' is Robilar, who has basically always been LawfulEvil, but what kind of evil he represents ranges heavily. He was originally conceived of as a NominalHero: more or less completely amoral, but not actively malevolent and [[EvenEvilHasStandards having lines he wouldn't cross.]] This changed in the ''Greyhawk Wars'' storyline, where he was willing to sell out his friends and try to kill them. Even his creator cried foul on that one, which led to a retcon that it wasn't really him.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': Many of the differing writers can't seem to agree on wether the new setting is LighterAndSofter than the previous incarnation of ''Fantasy'' and their ''40k'' counterpart or not, and nowhere is it more apparent then in the title character. Depending on which author you read, Sigmar is either a GodOfGood who wants to redeem and save those deceived and corrupted by Chaos, or a LawfulNeutral tyrant who will slaughter anyone with even a degree of corruption. Likewise, depictions of the Cities of Sigmar varies between them being people out to reclaim the homelands they were driven out of in the Age of Chaos, or colonising-exploiters little better than 40k's Imperium of Man.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': Many of the differing writers can't seem to agree on wether the new setting is LighterAndSofter than the previous incarnation of ''Fantasy'' and their ''40k'' counterpart or not, and nowhere is it more apparent then in the title character. Depending on which author you read, Sigmar is either a GodOfGood who wants to redeem and save those deceived and corrupted by Chaos, or a LawfulNeutral tyrant who will slaughter anyone with even a degree of corruption.

** Depending on the book and author, the Imperium of Man is either an empire whose evils are [[NecessaryEvil an appropriate response to how horrible the galaxy is]] or [[FascistButInefficient needlessly cruel and plunging them deeper into self-destruction]], nor can they seem to decide if these evils are InherentInTheSystem and the whole thing was unredeemeable from the moment it started, or if the system can be saved by enough good actors. [[https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/11/19/the-imperium-is-driven-by-hate-warhammer-is-not/ Official statement released in late 2021]] is that the Imperium should not be rooted for, fan consensus is that [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing they failed at showing as much]].

** The authors can't seem to decide if the Space Wolves are a chapter of headstrong {{Boisterous Bruiser}}s who love fighting, particularly [[BloodKnight against worthy opponents]] or a chapter of grim, battle-hardened warriors who look at fighting and protecting the weak as their solemn, sworn duty. The Horus Heresy books have thrown yet another layer of confusion into the mix by painting the Space Wolves as the Emperor's executioners, to be dispatched to kill off ''anyone'' who needs killing, regardless of whether they are ally or friend (which seemingly goes against the Space Wolves' long-established love of honesty and honourable fighting). Different sources also either paint the Space Wolves as fanatically loyal to the Imperium, or as having little tolerance for the Imperium as an entity, but still believing in their duty to humanity. Also, in the novels they tend to be honorable barbarians with Nordic titles that happen to use Wolf totems a lot in their heraldry; in their codexes and campaign books they use the word wolf in the names of ''absolutely everything'' and lead packs of wolves into combat while riding bigger wolves.

* White Wolf tends to have a few problems with this, and one stand-out example is in ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'', where the writers kept going back and forth on what "Banality" was, aside from "the death of hope." Banality was [[ScienceIsBad trying to define and tie down the world too much]]... except the [[GadgeteerGenius nockers]] kept insisting that the moon landing resulted in the biggest rush of glamour anyone had seen in several life times. So Banality was [[MeasuringTheMarigolds boring, ultra-focused practicalities]]... except there were sample [=NPCs=] who got Glamour from those activities because of mindset. When it got to the point that ''{{LARP}}'' was associated with the [[WeirdnessCensor Autumn People]], you knew there was a basic communication breakdown. Sadly, the line was cancelled before ''The Book of Glamour'' (which would have laid out some basics on Glamour and Banality) could be released.

*** Some of this may be explained by the fact that there are [[PowerLevels different degrees]] of anti-psychic ability, but only the fittingly-titled ''[[Literature/{{RavenorVsEisenhorn}} Pariah]]'' has acknowledged the discrepancies, and only in a couple of throwaway lines.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' suffers from similar problems as 40k. The amount of content and lore that has been created and licensed over nearly 30 years is basically impossible to keep straight and to again to some extent they're not even trying. Even broad concepts like how entire cultures within the setting act vary wildly, although they do tend to have their roots in the same basic concepts.

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} has an absurd amount of canon. Even just the core codexes includes dozens of books over the years, and there are also hundreds of stories, other source books, video games, board games, and other assorted media. It would be basically impossible to keep it consistent, and so some extent Games Workshop doesn't seem all that worried about trying. This has lead to the somewhat infamous statement "everything is canon but not everything is true".

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' suffers from similar problems as above. Games Workshop licenses out a whole lot of books, games and so on, to the point that there's virtually no way to keep all the lore straight and to be honest they're probably not even really trying. Even broad concepts like how entire cultures within the setting act are inconsistent.

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} has an absurd amount of cannon. Even just the core codexes includes dozens of books over the years, and there are also hundreds of stories, other source books, video games, board games, and other assorted media. It would be basically impossible to keep it consistent, and so some extent Games Workshop doesn't seem all that worried about trying. This has lead to the somewhat infamous statement "everything is canon but not everything is true".

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} has an absurd amount of cannon. Even just the core codexes includes dozens of books over the years, and there are also hundreds of stories, other source books, video games, board games, and other assorted media. It would be basically impossible to keep it consistent, and so some extent Games Workshop doesn't seem all that worried about trying. This has lead to the someone infamous statement "everything is canon but not everything is true".

* TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} has had such an enormous list of novels, codexes and other source books it's basically impossible to keep it consistent. This has lead to the someone infamous statement "everything is canon but not everything is true".
** Prehaps the most consistent rule is that whatever faction is the main focus of a book will kick ass, but only appear in the other codexes [[TheWorfEffect to make that side look good]]. For example the Imperial Guard, who in a Space Marine based book will just run away and die, and in a guard based book will be courageous humans in impossible war situations.

** Orks are usually not meant to have any connection to the warp, instead generating their own power simply by proximity to other Orks. But some writers have described them interacting with the warp and attracting demons in exactly the same way as human psykers. Their technology suffers similar issues, sometimes being crude but functional equipment built by instinct, and entirely usable by humans if the need arises. Other times it works entirely by ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve, with a box full of loose scrap metal able to work as a powerful gun as long as the Orks collectively thinks it will.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' suffers from similar problems as above. Games Workshop licenses out a whole lot of books, games and so on, to the point that there's virtually no way to keep all the lore straight. Even down to how entire cultures within the setting act.

** Prehaps the most consistent rule is that whatever faction is the main focus of a book will kick ass, but only appear in the other codexes [[TheWorfEffect to make that side look good]]. For example the Imperial Guard, who in a Space Marine based book will just run away and die, and in a guard based book will be courageous humans in impossible war situations. The 2nd Edition Tyranid Codex actually had a company of Space Marines get wiped out seventeen minutes after their BigDamnHeroes moment.

* Discussions of a sort of UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny within TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} will generally have at least one fan stating the abilities of each army while being portrayed in an adaptation will always depends on the adaptation. Especially the Imperial Guard, who in a Space Marine based book will just run away and die, and in a guard based book will be courageous humans in impossible war situations.
** This actually happens to every faction: They kick ass in their own codex, but only appear in the other codexes [[TheWorfEffect to make that side look good]]. The 2nd Edition Tyranid Codex actually had a company of Space Marines get wiped out seventeen minutes after their BigDamnHeroes moment.
** Given how vast the [=W40K=] 'verse is, both extremes (and everything in between) could coexist.

*** Sometimes happens to Khorne as well. While he's well-established as being the Blood God, and has always had a tendency to be worshipped by [[AxCrazy crazed berserkers]], he has also been described as a god of martial honour. This is more prevalent in older background material, and has largely been lost to {{Flanderization}}, but some authors still depict him/his servants in this way (such as in the 2012 audio drama ''Chosen of Khorne''). It's much more prevalent in works dealing with the version from the other Warhammer setting, who may or may not be the same character.

** Orks are usually not meant to have any connection to the warp, instead generating their own power simply by proximity to other Orks. But some writers have described them interacting with the warp and attracting demons in exactly the same way as human psykers. Their technology suffers similar issues, sometimes being crude but functional equipment built by instinct, and entirely usable by humans if the need arises. Other times it works entirely by ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve, with a box full of loose scrap metal able to work as a powerful gun as long as the Ork thinks it will.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' is written by dozens of different writers so this happens a lot. Even down to how entire cultures within the setting act.

** The Ultramarines have received a particularly nasty dose. They have no less than three overarching portrayals: Creator/GrahamMcNeill's, which portrays them as [[LawfulStupid predominantly hidebound idiots]] who suffer a psychic fracture at the concept of disobeying the Codex Astartes, even when it's clearly not working; Mat Ward's, which portrays them as a someone who every other Space Marine Chapter wants to emulate on some level; and the rare "middle way" which portrays them as traditionalist but not suicidally stupid about it, and while they're respected no Chapter is exactly going to give up its own rites and ranks to duplicate them (previously thought extinct, it was recently sighted in ''VideoGame/SpaceMarine'').

** The Ultramarines have received a particularly nasty dose. They have no less than three overarching portrayals: Creator/GrahamMcNeill's, which portrays them as [[LawfulStupid predominantly hidebound idiots]] who suffer a psychic fracture at the concept of disobeying the Codex Astartes, even when it's clearly not working; Mat Ward's, which portrays them as a CanonSue who every other Space Marine Chapter wants to emulate on some level; and the rare "middle way" which portrays them as traditionalist but not suicidally stupid about it, and while they're respected no Chapter is exactly going to give up its own rites and ranks to duplicate them (previously thought extinct, it was recently sighted in ''VideoGame/SpaceMarine'').

** Exactly how ignorant most Imperial citizens are of Chaos varies between authors. Sometimes they may be familiar with legends or rumours about the Horus Heresy, the Warp, or the nine Traitor Legions and their Primarchs, while at others, they are not only ignorant of Chaos, but also of other, more mundane threats like aliens. Even high-ranking Space Marines vary from knowing almost nothing about Chaos beyond its existence (enforced by the Inquisition via [[LaserGuidedAmnesia mind-wipe]] in the more extreme cases), to having a working, if basic, knowledge of the Chaos Gods and their main types of daemons.

** Genestealers have also changed quite a bit from their early incarnations. Initially an army in their own right, they became first an infiltration force for the Tyranids and now tend to be little more than a standard assault troop with no variations of unit types and no army list of their own. In some literature they still act to weaken planets and call in the Tyranid fleets, but often this function seems all but forgotten. As of 2016 the Genestealer cults are back complete with army rules, but the models are only available in a GaidenGame so far.

** Exactly how ignorant most Imperial citizens are of Chaos varies between authors. Sometimes they may be familiar with legends or rumours about the Horus Heresy, the Warp, or the nine Traitor Legions and their Primarchs, while at others, they are not only ignorant of Chaos, but also of more mundane things like aliens. Even high-ranking Space Marines vary from knowing almost nothing about Chaos (enforced by the Inquisition via [[LaserGuidedAmnesia mind-wipe]] in the more extreme cases), to having a working, if basic, knowledge of the Chaos Gods and their main types of daemons.

** Exactly how ignorant most Imperial citizens are of things like the Chaos, daemons, traitor Space Marines, etc. varies between authors. Sometimes they may be familiar with legends or rumours about the Horus Heresy or the Warp, while at others, they are even ignorant of relatively mundane things like aliens, let alone more dangerous things like Chaos. Even high-ranking Space Marines vary from knowing almost nothing about Chaos (sometimes enforced by the Inquisition via [[LaserGuidedAmnesia mind-wipe]]), to having a working, if basic, knowledge of the Chaos Gods and their main types of daemons.

** Exactly how ignorant most Imperial citizens are of things like the Chaos, daemons, traitor Space Marines, etc. varies between authors. Sometimes they may be familiar with legends or rumours about the Horus Heresy or the Warp, while at others, they are ignorant of relatively mundane things like aliens. Even high-ranking Space Marines vary from knowing almost nothing about Chaos (sometimes enforced by the Inquisition via [[LaserGuidedAmnesia mind-wipe]]), to having a working, if basic, knowledge of the Chaos Gods and their main types of daemons.

** Exactly how ignorant most Imperial citizens are of things like the Chaos, daemons, Traitor Space Marines, etc. varies between authors. Sometimes they may be familiar with legends or rumours about the Horus Heresy or the Warp, while other times, they might even be ignorant of relatively mundane things like aliens. Even high-ranking Space Marines vary from knowing almost nothing about Chaos (sometimes enforced by the Inquisition via [[LaserGuidedAmnesia mind-wiping]]), to having a working, if basic, knowledge of the Chaos Gods and their main types of daemons.