Games Workshop removed “men” from the classic Space Marine “And They Shall Know No Fear” quote, and renamed the Emperor in White Dwarf 515.
Games Workshop just stirred the pot, this time with a subtle edit in White Dwarf 515 that has people talking. The legendary “And They Shall Know No Fear” quote, the one etched in every Space Marine fan’s brain since forever, has quietly dropped the word “men” and the “Mankind” from The Emperor.
Yep, “These men who give themselves to me” is gone. Poof. Vanished like a Guardsman on leave in Commorragh. And to make things stranger, “steel sinew” got swapped to “steely sinew,” which somehow breaks both the rhythm and the poetry of the passage.
For a piece of lore that’s practically scripture, that’s a big deal. Here is the latest.
Breaking Down the “And They Shall Know No Fear” Change
Original saying, from the 3rd Edition Rulebook
New quote from White Dwarf 515.
Here’s what’s new with “And They Shall Know No Fear”:
- The Emperor is now called “the Emperor of Humanity” instead of “the Emperor of Mankind.”
- The line “These men who give themselves to me” has been cut.
- “Steely” was changed to “steel.”
The original quote had a satisfying beat, pairing lines by syllable count. Removing that middle line doesn’t just tweak the tone; it messes with the flow (as someone picked up on Reddit). The pattern of 8-syllable couplets is gone now.
It’s like cutting a riff out of a Metallica song and pretending no one would notice.
Lore or Logic: What is Games Workshop Doing Here?
Quote from Horus Heresy Book I: Betrayal.
Now, there are a few theories flying around about all this… The most popular is that Games Workshop is future-proofing the lore for female Space Marines. That aligns neatly with the recent Custodes lore adjustments, the “Terminus Decree” retcon, and, let’s be honest, those suspiciously feminine new Space Marine head sculpts.
Still, “humanity” feels like a corporate-safe swap; less about gender, more about modern readability. The irony? “Humanity” sounds less personal. The original line spoke of individuals who give themselves to the Emperor.
The new version reads more like an HR memo. It’s also interesting to note that this was the penultimate issue of White Dwarf that outgoing editor Lyle Lowery handled, but it’s unclear if he is responsible for this obvious adjustment to the lore.
Was This the AI’s Doing?
The recently dropped Terminus Decree used em dashes, which usually indicates AI.
There’s a spicy theory making rounds that this might be the unintentional work of AI-assisted writing. Given that GW is letting machines handle more WHC articles and even some lore, it’s not wild to think a small phrasing tweak could’ve slipped through unnoticed by the White Dwarf team.
AI does like to make things more generic and gender-agnostic, so maybe it just took the line out and no one picked up the change. Especially with steel going to steely, it might have made another change to help the flow.
If so, this would explain the oddly mechanical rhythm of the updated version.
What This Could Mean for 40k 11th Edition
Lore changes rarely happen in isolation. With the next edition of Warhammer 40k arriving soon, it’s entirely possible this tweak foreshadows a broader refresh of how mankind (err, humanity) is portrayed in the Imperium.
Could we finally see a female Space Marine? Maybe. Could this be a one-off edit that accidentally sparked a lore war? Equally likely.
But one thing’s clear: this tiny text tweak has reignited a massive debate about how far GW should go when modernizing a setting built on grimdark tradition.
Final Thoughts on Female Space Marines and the “Emperor of Humanity”
In Warhammer 40k, words are lore, and lore is sacred. Changing “men” might seem minor to an outsider, but to hobby veterans, it’s rewriting one of the fundamental pillars of 40k. The pacing, the weight, the tone; all part of what made that quote iconic. Losing that line feels like dropping a verse from the Imperial Creed.
And let’s be honest, the community has long memories. Between the Custodes tweaks, the Terminus Decree rewrite, and the ongoing rumors about Space Marines going co-ed, this just adds another purity seal to the theory that 11th Edition is bringing major narrative shifts.
Call it progress, call it heresy; either way, this edit feels clunky. The original poem wasn’t just flavor text; it was the Emperor’s creed, perfectly balanced between myth and menace.
If GW is preparing for female Space Marines, they’d better handle it with the gravitas it deserves, not through quiet retcons in the back pages of White Dwarf.
Fans can adapt to change (slowly for some), but not when it feels like someone swapped their boltgun for a water pistol mid-battle.
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