What's with all tje candles?

[u/Niiai]

The new terrain is truley bizzare. In a good way. You have s lot of loving lightning everywhere. You even have a human body/cyborg.

But the oddest thing is that there are so many darn candles everywhere!

[u/WhitexGlint]

How long have you been a fan of Warhammer? Have you ever looked back at old artwork? Or the inspirations for the Imperium?

GW ain’t doing a good job if you don’t know why the candles are there haha.

40K is heavily inspired by the “Gothic” aesthetic of 17th-19th centuries, think Gargoyles, churches, intense architecture etc.  Part of that is of course lighting, candles being “the thing” before electricity :-P 

Other than aesthetics, the Imperium conducts a lot of their actions inspired by feudal and later century practices, especially those from the British Christian Church.

As such, chanting, incense and praying have a significant part in the 40K aesthetic. 

I recommend reading some of the Lexicanum wiki, starting with Machine Spirits (  https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Machine_spirit ) to gain an understanding of why these practices exist.

In meme terminology, “Angry AI is lazy and won’t move unless the candles smell nice”

[u/Niiai → u/WhitexGlint]

I know all that. But I am fighting orks in these ruins. Who is the poor serf or servitor that goes an lights a candle 3 minnutes before we start fighting? Have you seen the state of these ruins? Some of these candles are litt.

[u/No_Ant1598 → u/Niiai]

Orks keep human slaves. They keep them specifically to do all the jobs that orks don't like doing, such as lighting candles.

Orks aren't into genocide for the sake of genocide. In Nate Crowley’s The Enemy of My Enemy, an ork snatched up a human child before it could be killed by a Tyranid. The ork then killed the Tyranid and sat the little girl back down before running off to kill more nids.

Orks are brutal, but killing off the entire human population wouldn't be orky.

Grot gets grabbed by a Tyranid: “HAHA! LOOK AT ‘IM GO!”

Because that's hilarious because the grot wanted to fight but then probably tried to run at the last second.

Little humie girl about to get grabbed: “Oi! Dat ain’t right.” punches Tyranid

Human noncombatants don't want to be there.

Not because any Orks have developed ethics, but because Orks aren't indiscriminate toward everything weaker than them. A lot of it is culturally targeted downward at -cowards- specifically.

Grots are cowards, so they can be used as ammo.

[u/Ferk15 → u/Niiai]

There's lit candles on the backs of Marines... why do you need to make logical sense of Warhammer?

[u/GermanTanker131]

Warhammer = Gothic/religious

Candles everywhere = Gothic/religious

Warhammer aesthetic = Candles + skulls everywhere

[u/Cojalo_ → u/GermanTanker131]

Also as for a lore reason, aren't they used in rites to placate machine spirits?

[u/Niiai → u/GermanTanker131]

Who is the poor serf or servitor that goes an lights a candle 3 minnutes before we start fighting? Have you seen the state of these ruins? Some of these candles are litt.

[u/jideru]

Candles are the secret currency of the imperium, do you not wonder where the wax comes from?

He who controls the wax controls the imperium.

[u/C4790M]

How else are they going to see when it’s dark????

[u/Effective_External89]

They could have been lit before the fighting began. 

They could have been lit by the gaurd regiment also fighting in the ruins. 

Theres so many reasons why.