For me it was simple. The Imperium was forced upon you. Chaos was a choice more or less. Now, I'm not saying we're the good guys; far from it. But that's the beauty of 40K, there are no good guys (Tau maybe at some extend?). With the Imperium it all starts with the forced unification of Terra. Slaughter. Then the Crusade. More slaughter. And they keep bringing worlds under Imperial Compliance, forcibly most of the time. "Oh you don't want to be a part of the Imperium and remain independent? No problem, we'll invade and imperialize the sh*t out of you". Nah, that just won't work for me. They're practically space Nazis. Also: Does this makes sense to you? For me it's horrifying. Yes Chaos is one of the reasons behind the collapse of the Imperium and the state of Emperor, I give you that. But as Spirit Of Rock said, Chaos does nothing more than letting worshipers indulging and enoying their human nature to its' fullest (and of course there are many that get the raw end of the deal, but isn't that common in every aspect of life?). The Imperium does nothing more than trying to suppress everything. All in the name of survival. But what does survival mean? I don't want just to survive. I want to live. And in any case, if the Emperor or Russ would listen to Magnus for five freakin minutes, the outcome might have been completely different. But no, no way, his favorite son was corrupted. A legion turned to Chaos because he irreversibly wounded the pride and honor of their Primarch by snatching him forcibly away while his comrades were killed to the last rebel. A legion turned they were constantly assigned to rear-echelon or siege duties, essentially the same duty as their brothers in Imperial Fists had, but unlike them, they never got any praise for it. A legion turned because the Emperor ridiculed them on a massive scale, just for believing he was a God, instead of, let's say, sitting down and having a long talk with their Primarch. A legion turned because their Primarch was castigated by the Emperor for carrying out the same actions that had once been deemed so vital to the Imperium's formation. A legion turned to Chaos, because the Emperor refused to listen to one of his sons. Is this love, trust, equality and compassion? Not in my book. The Emperor could potentially (at least 3 of them could have turned any way) have 5 more legions by his side when the Heresy started, but no, he forced them into Horus' side with his own actions. Chaos on the other hand offers immense power, knowledge, freedom to do as you please and a chance to enjoy life in a grim universe full of death and war (even as extreme perversions in some cases). My point is, that in the Imperium they dictate the way you'll live. In Chaos you choose your own life. The Emperor tried to bring a new Golden Age for Humanity. Instead, we got technological stagnation and intellectual regression, political repression, constant exploitation of the many by the few, rabid xenophobia and often savage religious intolerance. All the evils of humanity that the Emperor had hoped to bring to an end have only proliferated during the 10,000 Terran years that the Imperium has ruled the human race in his name. No. I shall not have any of that, thank you very much. P.S. I will never forgive what they did to the Thousand Sons. Ever.
The chaos gods are brilliant conceptually. I shall break them down as follows. Nurgle:- Maybe on a conscious level you know that living forever as a rotten lump is not a good decision but in a moment of pain or terror Nurgle is a really obvious choice. Anyone who has ever been seriously ill can remember that moment of utter self-pity when you'll do anything for the pain to end. Imagine having cancer for example, however at peace you might be intellectually, your survival instinct will be screaming at you to do ANYTHING to survive. I can easily see me considering Nurgle worship at the lowest points in my life. Khorne:- Ever been seriously physically assaulted or had your life threatened? Or maybe your body was untouched but as Tim Minchin says "Sticks and stones my break our bones but words can break hearts". I've had moments where I have considered lashing out and harming someone. How many people can say they've never wanted to turn their pain or anger or fear into a righteous smiting of the person who hurt you? You might find the idea of becoming a berserker to be unpalatable, but in that moment of anger or fear you're not thinking clearly, you just want to defend yourself and/or hurt someone who hurt you. Tzeench is easy, modern man has always craved knowledge and power. Maybe that sorcerer NEEDED power to accomplish his goals, and thought he could dodge the consequences of chaos worship. Anyone who has ever outsmarted an opponent or used guile to escape a sticky situation can see the appeal of Tzeench. Obvious sorcerous power is just a fantastic bonus. People like the modern interpretations of Sherlock Holmes are what you can become under Tzeench's guidance. Has anyone seen the film Limitless? Tzeench worship is the NZT of the 40K universe. Slaanesh can be described as temptation. Ever been in a bar and tempted to have one more drink when you know you shouldn't? No one likes a hangover but many people end up with one every morning because they can't resist temptation. Ever wanted to shag someone you ought not? How many marriages end that way? Any student who goes out dancing instead of doing their work is worshipping Slaanesh by a tiny degree. It spirals out from there into the more serious stuff. The aspect of perfection is also easy to understand if you have ever trained really hard at a game or sport or art. Anyone who has ever been desperate to do something really well, to the degree of obsession knows the touch of Slaanesh. This is only a tiny fraction of some quite complicated ideas but I hope it helps anyone who wanted something to think about.
Do not forget about Malaal. The renegade Chaos God still lingers within this dimension, albeit much less noticeable than the other Gods.
Indeed if you check the thread about chaos god allegiance you'll see I said I'd take Malal over any of the big four
http://forum.eternalcrusade.com/threads/which-chaos-god-is-the-best.172/page-30#post-19022 I think it's in there
