Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-6134883-20130512151633/@comment-7855563-20130512180240

If you want to be technical, Roboute Guilliman is Scipio Africanus, who single handedly lead and structured the Roman military on more than one occasion. Scipio Africanus also had many tragedies in his life, with a similar effect on him as it had on Roboute.

The Fall of Damnos was a good book, but did little to paint Ultramar's politics. It painted the story of the Second Companies worry that Cato Sicarius wouldn't be chosen as the next Lord of Macragge. It left more to the imagination than it explained. The Senate of Ultramar is based upon the oligarchies of the ancient latin societies in which a senator is either chosen by the senate to take a seat, or inherits the seat from their father or grandfather. This governing system does not exist in the present world.

As for experiences, it is simple to say that Warhammer 40k and its many characters, stories, and canon is from experience. To say that it has no place in a discussion is to dismiss the fact that many of the stories and canon is from the experiences of the writers, modelers, and individuals who influence the stories in their own ways.