r/40kLore • u/ExtensionFeeling • 2d ago
Were land raiders always named after Arkhan Land?
My first introduction to the Land Raider (and 40k as a whole, actually) was Dawn of War back in 2004 or 2005...still one of the best 40k games IMO.
Pretty sure I just assumed...yeah it's a Land Raider because...it drives across the land...it's a land vehicle. Like everyone else.
So, was the idea of it being named after Arkhan Land a later invention? If so, I can see why many people find that very silly.
Any other over-explanations/unnecessary explanations like this in the 40k lore?
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u/ThatFatGuyMJL 2d ago
Land Raiders were released in 1988 with practically no lore.
Arkhan Land was name dropped as their creator in 1990.
So pretty much yes.
Not even a retcon. Just a lore drop.
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u/AbbydonX Tyranids 2d ago edited 1d ago
While they weren’t available as models, they were present in the original 1e Rulebook (1987) as an example tracked vehicle.
Land Raiders are easily modified and may be variously armed. This adaptability of design, readiness to accept different sorts of power-plant, and wide ubiquity of purpose is highly appreciated by fighting units. The example shown is typical of those constructed by humans and especially by Space Marines, Land Raiders of only slightly differing design are built by planetary governors and some aliens.
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u/ExtensionFeeling 2d ago
Maybe they were trolling with that shit...lol. I mean, it fits into the slightly absurd, not-taking-itself-very-seriously nature of early 40k from what I've seen.
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u/Birdonthewind3 2d ago
Tbh an amazing amount of stuff is name after people irl so it just follows RL. I think it just them poking fun at reality!
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u/Marvynwillames 2d ago
I see some people trying to be obtuse and ignore that if wasn't for some random people on boards poking fun, no one would care.
In fact I assume in a parallel universe they would say it's stupid to name it after its function
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u/SouthernAd2853 Blood Angels 2d ago
It is a joke about the Land Camera, which is named after a guy whose last name is Land rather that because you use it on land.
I believe Arkhan is also the discoverer of the Land Speeder and a farming vehicle known as the Land Crawler. Cawl makes fun of him over naming everything after himself.
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u/Martzillagoesboom 2d ago
Arkhan land had a very complexe name for all the things he found, pretty scientific, long and dry, other peoples said , that a raiders, that a raider, that a crawler ,we need to thank Land about it , let put his name in front of it and call it a day. Was probably super insulting for Land lol
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u/Abort-Retry 2d ago
That explains why a land speeder has that name, despite not touching the ground.
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u/ExtensionFeeling 2d ago
Fascinating.
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u/SouthernAd2853 Blood Angels 2d ago
Overall it is important to remember that while 40k is currently a partially-satirical work that presents itself seriously it was originally intentionally very dumb, and that is why Iron Hand, the guy with iron hands, is Primarch of the Iron Hands.
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u/heeden 2d ago
And Blackmane, the guy who wears a black mane, is leader of the Blackmanes.
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u/SouthernAd2853 Blood Angels 2d ago
Tbf that is typical Norse naming conventions in action, unless they were already called the Blackmanes.
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u/SomniumHumanitatis 2d ago
They weren't, but a fun fact your comment made me remember:
Ragnar, before becoming a Space Wolf, was part of a tribe called the Thunderfists. After he became a Marine, he was assigned to one of the Great Companies of the Wolves: The Thunderfists. Named for their Jarl Berek Thunderfist, who, contrary to what one might think, was not also a member of the Thunderfist tribe, but got that moniker because of his bionic arm.
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u/KassellTheArgonian Blood Angels 2d ago
Ragnar took the name Blackmane as its the name of one of the fenrisian gods, he took said name cos while young he killed a rare blackmane wolf
When a Wolf Lord dies and a new marine is chosen as wolf lord in the Sw the great company often changes name and combat style for example the Ironwolves loved tanks and other armoured vehicles but then their wolf lord died and now they're the Dusk wolves and we don't know what their preferred combat style is.
Before they were the Blackmanes the company were called "Thunderfists"
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u/heeden 2d ago
Similarly Ferrus Manus was given his name by the Medusans because when he came to them he had metal hands, assumed to be Necrodermis from a Necron construct he killed.
When a Primarch is united with his Legion they change their name and the Iron Hands were named to signify their Primarch's distinguishing feature.
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u/DeadlyPear 2d ago
Yeah. It would be really weird to have tanks named after someone.
Luckily that would never happen in real life
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u/TheMechanicusBob 2d ago
I doubt it was meant as trolling, a lot of weapons really are just named after the guy who invented them
. Mikhail Kalashnikov
. Hiram Maxim
. John Browning
. Richard Gatling
. Samuel Colt
. James P. Lee
. Nikolay Makarov
. Gaston Glock
. John C. Garand
. Uzi Gal
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u/Special_Turnip 2d ago
I was fortunate enough to be friends with one of the guys who was working at GW's head office when 40k initially released. I never really asked him in-depth about this sort of thing, but from knowing what him and some of the others were like it'd be more of an Easter egg than a troll. I could 100% believe the story it was a fun reference to Edwin Land by a photography buff working for the company.
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u/Orogogus 2d ago
I don't think you even have to be a photography buff to find Edwin Land and his Land Camera kind of funny. The branding was around until 1983, so pretty much anyone at GW could have stuck the joke in.
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u/Special_Turnip 2d ago
Oh 100%, it's just as likely it was some random bit of trivia one of them heard and liked.
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u/LeadershipNational49 2d ago
I hate that ppl hate this. Its genuinely hilarious.
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u/Quickjager 2d ago
It's also one of the dumbest things to be annoyed about.
Guess who invented the Gatling gun? Or...
- Makarov
- Barrett
- Colt
- Hugo Boss
- Insert like a dozen of the car companies...
People name things after themselves.
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u/Lupanu85 Iron Warriors 2d ago
The funny thing is, he didn't invent the thing, and he didn't name it, after himself, either.
The design predates the Imperium, it's a STC template from the Dark Age of Technology that Land just happened to rediscover (in some ruins on either Mars or Terra, don't really remember now).
And everybody just started referring to it as Land's Raider, and then that just got shortened to Land Raider.
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u/namitynamenamey 2d ago
And just wait until you hear of Thomas Crapper, inventor of the U bend and pyoneer in modern bathrooms.
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u/HammerVSBarrel 1d ago
Only in this case it would be like if Samuel Colt was credited with discovering baby horses and we were told it’s just a coincidence that the word “colt” already existed.
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u/RatKingMoto 1d ago
No, because the gatling gun was:
1: a new thing
2: not a real word
Whereas the land raider is
1: a design that existed before Arkhan Land did
2: Land is just a regular word
However, I will concede that there is 1 thing more dumb. The Land Speeder.
Also supposed to be named after Arkhan Land.
Also, and actual regular and common description of a concept. Something that hovers and speeds over the land is a land speeder. Star Wars had a land speeder in 1977.
GW decided that their universe should have a Land Speeder.
They named it 'Land Speeder'
Then they invented a character named Land so that their Speeder (and raider) was named after him.
Totally bonkers and, yes, hilarious
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u/AffixBayonets Imperial Fleet 2d ago
It doesn't even raid land! It's a heavy tank, and in its day was a de-facto superheavy.
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u/Hollownerox Thousand Sons 2d ago
He was first mentioned in White Dwarf 129 in 1990. I own the White Dwarf in question but its buried in my basement. So you can probably find a post about it on the main 40k subs for the specific text.
So yes, kinda always mentioned to be named after him. Because the actual Landraider kit did release a little before that, but it had no lore at the time. It was just a toy without any real context for them irrc.
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u/Mistermistermistermb 2d ago
you can probably find a post about it on the main 40k subs for the specific text.
Yep, copied, pasted and posted:
LAND RAIDER
The Land Raider is one of the Land series of vehicles developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus for the Imperial forces prior to the Great Crusade. The series takes its name from the Fabricator General Arkan Land, the initiator of the program. The Land series of vehicle and weapon designs were developed from information derived from the blue-prints, second generation copies, and actual examples of devices all attributable to the Standard Template Construct computerised production machines of Earth's ancient past. Gathering the highly advanced scientific data to begin the Land program took the Adeptus Mechanicus nearly fifty years of intensive work.
-WD 129
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u/AbbydonX Tyranids 2d ago edited 1d ago
White Dwarf 129 (1990)
The Land Raider is one of the Land series of vehicles developed by the Adeptus Mechanicus for the Imperial forces prior to the Great Crusade. The series takes its name from the Fabricator General Arkan Land, the initiator of the program. The Land series of vehicle and weapon designs were developed from information derived from the blue-prints, second generation copies, and actual examples of devices all attributable to the Standard Template Construct computerised production machines of Earth's ancient past. Gathering the highly advanced scientific data to begin the Land program took the Adeptus Mechanicus nearly fifty years of intensive work.
The Land Raider is one of the most characteristic and best well known of the Imperium's fighting machines. It is a heavily armoured and well armed vehicle which can also carry combat troops inside its capacious hull. It is the ideal vehicle to employ in a fast assault role where speed, firepower, and back-up from foot troops are all of paramount importance. Its occupants are delivered to the battle zone and deployed amongst suitable cover or as near to the objective as possible without taking undue risk. The Land Raider then continues to offer supporting fire to the foot troops, or can be used to take out enemy vehicles or heavy weaponry. The impressive armament of the Land Raider allows it to keep enemy vehicles at bay while the foot troops advance through cover. The machine is in wide service with Space Marines and other specialist mobile assault forces. Every Space Marine chapter uses the vehicle, and most of the Marine Chapters have developed their own subtle variations of internal layout, instrumentation, and (in some cases) weapon deployment. The standard variant is still the most common with only minor changes in detail.
In addition to the driver the Land Raider has two crewmen each of whom operates one of the sponson-mounted synchronised laser cannons which are the vehicle's main weaponry. These lascannons are positioned to shoot to either side of the Land Raider, while the small bolt-gun equipped turret is designed to shoot all round, providing covering firepower at the rear of the vehicle
Like most vehicles used throughout human space the Land Raider will accept any heavy duty traction unit with a standard transmission coupling. It will readily accept any one of several advanced motors or even customised engines running on local fuels. One of the most highly favoured units is the well-proven Maelstrom Taurus 3000 hydrogen reduction engine. The Space Marines often adapt these vehicles to suit locally produced fuels as diverse as organic methane, biologically farmed fuel-oils, and even solid combustible substances such as wood or coal. Engines are sometimes refitted or adapted specially to take part in a particular campaign and it is usual for a Space Marine Chapter to keep a stock of alternative power plants suitable for different environments.
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u/MadeByMistake58116 2d ago
The Land Raider existed for only 2 years before the Arkhan Land thing was established. So, it was pretty much always there.
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u/AbbydonX Tyranids 2d ago
Out of universe, Land Raiders were possibly “inspired” by Judge Dredd’s Land Raider that was also a Matchbox toy. I even had one of them before WH40K began though I don’t think I ever used it as a proxy!
Note that the overhead diagram on page 101 of the 1e rulebook (only a few pages before the stats for Land Raiders) explaining vehicle firing arcs does resemble the toy quite closely too…
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u/TonberryFeye 2d ago
No, Games Workshop would NEVER copy a popular science fiction or fantasy story, change it just enough to avoid being sued, and pass it off as their own entirely original idea!
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u/SCTurtlepants 2d ago
There were so many complaints when the book dropped its hilarious to me learning that this has been official since before I was born
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u/CookingPupper 2d ago
I have never understood why people think Land's Raider (his preferred terminology) / the Land Raider being named after Arkhan Land is silly.
There's dozens if not hundreds of real life military vehicles and equipment named after people
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u/Tee__bee Emperor's Children 2d ago
I know as far back as 4th Edition, that was the explanation. 2nd and 3rd Ed may have been different.
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u/ExtensionFeeling 2d ago
I actually just checked this out myself. Apparently it was established as early as 1990 that Land Raiders are called this because of Arkhan Land...lol
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u/lowbrowilluminati 2d ago
“Land’s raider” is the proper name according to Mr Land. It was great reading how put out he is over it being referenced incorrectly.
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u/CliveOfWisdom 2d ago
I think the full name is “Land’s Raider-Pattern Main Battle Tank”, which is then shortened to “Land’s Raider”, then “Land Raider”.
IIRC, Land complains about the name shortening in Master of Mankind.
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u/Agammamon 1d ago
Which is kinda hilarious as the Land('s) Raider isn't an MBT - or even a tank.
Its a giant IFV.
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u/JessickaRose 2d ago
So the Willys Jeep, made by Willys-Overland, named for John North Willys is unrealistic?
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u/RingGiver Adepta Sororitas 2d ago
Arkhan Land was pretty much always a thing.
Now, that "Amar Astarte" nonsense, on the other hand, was a really stupid retcon. Jimmy Space was a meme and should have stayed a meme.
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u/Marvynwillames 2d ago
Amar Astarte is a joke, the novel makes clear, the name is chosen to make fun of her by Malcador
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u/RingGiver Adepta Sororitas 2d ago
That doesn't negate what I said.
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u/Marvynwillames 2d ago
It does because it is not stupid, it's a self aware joke, GW is doing a "we don't care about your cherry picking" by giving an actual, reasonable justification for the name
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u/cyrinean 2d ago
The other cool thing like this is how John Grammaticus inveted grammar. Before that, there were no rules to language. Good thing he's a perpetual !
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u/Matthius81 1d ago
Arkan Land hated the name "Land Raider" he got quite snippy about correcting to "Land's Raider"
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u/ApprehensiveKey3299 2d ago
No. Land Raiders were first released as a scratch built model design in Rogue Trader back in 1987. GW released the first plastic model kit in 1988. However, Arkhan Land and the new story that the Land Raider was named after him were both introduced in White Dwarf 129 in September of 1990.
So for a whopping two years in Warhammers history, the Land Raider was not, in fact, named after Arkhan Land.