Warhammer 40,000

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Warhammer 40,000
Cover of the 4th edition Warhammer 40,000 rulebook
Designer	Rick Priestley and others
Publisher	Games Workshop
Years active	1987 to present
Players	2+
Age range	12+
Random chance	Dice rolling
Skills required	Tactical, Arithmetic
Website	http://www.games-workshop.com/

Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K, WH40K, W40K or just 40K) is a science fantasy game produced by Games Workshop. The game depicts combat between the armies of the fictional universe of the 41st millennium using 28 mm scale (approximately 1:65) miniature figurines that represent futuristic soldiers, creatures and vehicles of war. Lines of these miniatures are produced by Games Workshop^[1] and Forge World,^[2] and are available at their brick-and-mortar and online stores.^[3][4] There are currently eleven rival factions to choose from. The ethos is summed up by the game's subtitle slogan:

"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war."

Warhammer 40,000 is the science fiction companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and shares many of the same game mechanics. The Warhammer 40,000 setting is also used for several other games such as Epic, as well as having spread to many other media, such as books and video games.

Contents 1 History 1.1 First edition 1.2 Second edition 1.3 Third edition 1.4 Fourth edition 1.5 Fifth edition 2 Tabletop game 2.1 Overview 2.2 Collecting 2.3 Modelling 2.4 Terrain 2.5 Playing by Internet 3 Background 3.1 Setting 3.2 Armies/races/species 3.3 Notable characters 4 Spin-offs 5 Origins Awards 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (May 2008).

[edit] First edition

The first edition of the game, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, was published in 1987. Game designer Rick Priestley created the original rules set (based on the contemporary 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle) alongside the Warhammer 40,000 gameworld. This original version came as a very detailed, though rather jumbled, rulebook, which made it most suitable for fighting small skirmishes.^{[citation needed]} Much of the composition of units was determined randomly, by rolling dice. In addition, supplemental material was continually published in White Dwarf magazine, which provided rules for new units and models. Eventually, White Dwarf provided proper "army lists," which could be used to create larger and more coherent forces than were possible in the main rulebook.

A few elements of the setting (bolters, lasguns, frag grenades, Terminator armour) can be seen in a set of earlier wargaming rules called Laserburn (produced by the now defunct company, Tabletop Games) written by Bryan Ansell. These rules were later expanded upon by both Ansell and Richard Halliwell (both of whom ended up working for Games Workshop). The prototype game mechanics for Necromunda were also influenced by these men.

One major expansion for Rogue Trader was the book Chapter Approved which gave army lists for the Space Marines and Eldar, albeit of a temporary, primitive form. Another major expansion was the two-volume Realm of Chaos (1988 and 1990) book which introduced the Horus Heresy and the Chaotic powers. The rank-and-file Imperial military organization, previously referred as the "Imperial Army" was then redubbed "Imperial Guard", the change was underlined with a new army list published in White Dwarf which stressed chain of command and platoon organization. This army list was then republished in the red-bound paperback manual Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, along with an updated army list for the Space Marines (instead emphasizing their commando-like flexibility) and one for the Squats, stressing their familiarity with technology, the abundant use of heavy weaponry and their bike- and trike-riding fast attack forces. The Warhammer Compilation paperback also included rules for the Eldar Harlequins, roaming troupes of outcast Eldar (spacefaring elves) which were warriors, troubadours, mimes and dancers at the same time.

During 1990 new elements were introduced like the genestealer - an update of a concept cursorily described in the original Rogue Trader manual - which were turned from occasional nasty critter to a far-spanning menace gnawing at the empire from within, and later revealed to be a kind of "reconnaissance force" for the onslaught of the Tyranid Hive Fleets cruising towards the imperium from the cold depths of intergalactic void. The genestealer cult army list (proposing an interesting melange of human cultist and hybrid monstrosities) was published along with the Eldar army list (instead based on the highly formal, elegant and ritualized combat style of the elf-like aliens) in a yellow paperback manual called Warhammer 40,000 Compilation, while the Tyranid army list was never republished in a manual due to the impending change which would have soon rendered obsolete the original rules. The Orks received a huge deal of attention thanks to three hardback manuals Waagh da Orks]], 'Ere we go and Freebooterz, with the first being made up of nothing more than background material ("fluff") and the other two containing proper army lists for each of the major orkish clans and mercenary contingents (including oddities such as daemon-possessed ork shamans, khorne-worshipping stormboyz and ork-genestealer hybrids). Another short-lived yet intriguing innovation was a vehicle combat system based on paper "datafaxes" to be targeted through clear acetate templates to discover if and where the targeted vehicle had been hit, this too did not survive transition to the 2nd edition.

[edit] Second edition

The second edition of "Warhammer 40,000" was published in late 1993. This and later developments of the game were developed under the direction of editor Andy Chambers. This edition came in a boxed set including Space Marine and Ork miniatures, scenery, dice, and the main rules. An expansion box set titled Dark Millennium was later released, which included rules for psychic powers. Although second edition Warhammer 40,000 was very similar in many aspects, it was designed to be more structured than Rogue Trader. It removed many interesting but complex rules linked to the rich, colourful backgrounds of the major galactic races and organizations. It focused attention away from the highly customizable rank-and-file units of the Rogue Trader version to concentrate more on powerful special characters, major figures within the background, who had access to equipment and abilities far beyond normal units and even regular heroes. This led to an emphasis on small armies consisting of powerful troops, rather than the massive armies which prevailed in the background, which designers such as Jervis Johnson found distasteful^{[citation needed]}. Second edition also introduced the concept of the "army codex"; a separate book that contained the rule information for a single army.

[edit] Third edition

The third edition of the game was released in 1998, and again concentrated on streamlining the rules for larger battles. Third edition rules were notably simpler, and less prone to use arbitrary or overly powerful abilities than the previous editions, in an attempt to combat the trend towards small armies made up of small and powerful individuals. The rulebook was available alone, or as a boxset with miniatures of Space Marines and the newly-introduced Dark Eldar. The system of army codexes^[5] continued in third edition. In addition to army codexes, a supplemental rulebook titled "Cityfight" introduced special rules for fighting in urban conditions.

Towards the end of the 3rd edition, three new armies were introduced, the Tau race, and two armies of the Inquisition: the Daemonhunters of the Ordo Malleus, and the Witchhunters of the Ordo Hereticus; elements of these armies had appeared before in supplementary material (such as Realm of Chaos). At the end of the third edition, these Inquisition armies were re-released with all new artwork and army lists. These new and remade armies had codexes that were far more in-depth and detailed than previous editions in regards to the background of each army within the game's universe - which would later be utilized by the codexes in 4th edition. Because of how in depth the new codexes were, these books are sometimes referred to as "Edition 3.5".

During this time, Games Workshop also held several world-wide events, telling the stories of important wars fought in the game's universe. Players were strongly encouraged to sign up for these events, where they could send in the results of their battles, with the overall results of all players having an influence on the outcome of the war.

[edit] Fourth edition

It has been suggested that Cities of Death be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The fourth edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released in 2004. This edition did not feature as many major changes as prior editions, and was "backwards compatible" with each army's third edition codex. The fourth edition was released in three forms: the first was a standalone hardcover version, with additional information on painting, scenery building, and background information about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The second was a boxed set, called Battle For Macragge, which included a compact softcover version of the rules, scenery, and Space Marines and Tyranid miniatures. The third was a limited collector's edition version of the hardcover book and was leather-bound, its front cover embossed in silver with the Warhammer 40,000 fourth edition logo. Each page was edged with silver foil, and the book was packaged in a protective black leather slipcover.

There are many variations to the rules and army lists that are available for use, typically with an opponent's consent. These rules are found in the Games Workshop publication White Dwarf, the Games Workshop website, or the Forge World publication Imperial Armour.

As of January 2008, the Space Marines, Tyranids, Black Templars, Tau Empire, Eldar, Dark Angels, Chaos Space Marines and the Orks codexes have been published for 4th edition Warhammer 40,000. The expansion Cities of Death was published in June 2006, which introduced additional rules for fighting in highly urbanised areas.

The Black Templar and Dark Angel codexes are stand alone codexes, unlike their third edition counterparts, which were additions to the Space Marine codex. This is supposedly the trend of fourth edition codexes where there will be no 'sub-codexes' being released, though according to Jervis Johnson, (one of Games Workshop's long-term strategy managers), the recently released Chaos Space Marines has been released as a single codex, which is opposite to rumours circulating that the book would be split and released separately for the different legions available. The sister army, Codex: Chaos Daemons was released with a new set of miniatures on the 10th of May 2008^[6]. The Blood Angels codex has been published in White Dwarf in two parts, in UK issues 330 and 331 (although long-term a printed codex is planned), and is available for download on the Games Workshop Website.

The latest major expansion for Warhammer 40,000 was Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse, which was released on 13th October 2007 and includes new rules for much larger battles than previously, with a minimum of 3000 points needed. Apocalypse also includes rules for large units, such as Squiggoths and Baneblades, as well as battle formations such as daemonic Warp Rifts and Space Marine Battle Companies.

[edit] Fifth edition

There has been a new announcement about the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 on the Games Workshop website. It states that the next edition of the Warhammer 40,000 rule set will be released 12th July 2008. According to the Games Workshop website, the arrival of the fifth edition will herald a new era in the history of the Warhammer 40,000 universe; the "Time of Ending," where the Age of Mankind is finally drawing to its end, along with additional background information.^[7] White Dwarf June 08 (UK edition) stated that the new rulebook will include 'True line of Sight' as a major difference to the game which replaces the current system with taking a model's a eye view to check if you can see an enemy model. Also mentioned was a much larger background and modelling sections and suggestions of a counter system for vehicle damage etc.^[8]

[edit] Tabletop game

[edit] Overview

Each player assembles an army of metal and plastic miniature figurines (models) - each usually representing a single military figure from one of the official lists. These armies are constrained by rules contained within the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, as well as in several army-specific codexes (although with the advent of Warhammer 40,000 Apocalypse, players are free to mix troops from different armies). The size and power of the army is determined on a points system, with each unit being assigned a number of points proportional to its worth on the battlefield. Before a game the players agree on how many points will be used as the maximum army size and each assemble an army up to that maximum limit.

Common game sizes are between 400 and 2,500 points and played on tables 4' in width and 4' to 8' in length, but it is possible to play much larger games given time and inclination (larger point battles tend to include multiple players, as well as being played on larger tables). The recent Apocalypse expansion allows for games of 3000 points or more. Games generally run from half an hour to several hours depending on the size of the armies.

Play is divided into turns, with each player moving, firing and engaging in close combat with each squad. Six-sided dice and unit stats are used to determine the results of actions. Each battle, at the onset, is assigned a set of additional rules and a goal (collectively called a "scenario") specific to it. Standard goals range from taking and holding objectives to simply eliminating the opposition, with additional rules including night-fighting and reinforcements. More complex scenarios exist in the main rulebook. Victory is determined either simply by mission objectives or victory points, with points awarded for objectives and eliminated or damaged enemy units.

Some players organize a series of scenarios, called a campaign, where two or more players fight against each other in a number of battles. These campaigns may feature their own special rules, and are typically tied together by a storyline, which might alter according to the results of each scenario when it is played. Every few years, a global campaign is held in which people submit the results of their games to Games Workshop. These results are collated, and together affect the storyline of the game, which is then accounted for in the next rulebook and fiction releases. The most recent of these global campaigns was The Fall of Medusa V campaign which ended in a typically Pyrrhic Imperial victory. Previous global campaigns are The Eye of Terror and the third battle for Armageddon.

[edit] Collecting

In addition to writing rulebooks for the game, Games Workshop also owns Citadel Miniatures and Forge World, two companies which manufacture the miniatures used to play Warhammer 40,000. In addition to the current line of units, Games Workshop makes available past model lines as a part of their mail-order-only "Classic" series. These are models that have been used for earlier versions of the game. This is one of many ways to get certain miniatures which have been discontinued.

As of May 2008, new players wishing to start playing should expect to spend at least £350^{[citation needed]}, but may need to spend much more, for a basic playable army with ample room for customization (1,000 points). This figure includes costs for the rulebook, the army's codex, and modeling equipment such as paints and glue.^[9] Players must also purchase individual units in squads or in boxed sets. The cost of boxed sets varies widely (£5 to £100), depending on the contents. However, the boxed set may not provide for all available options, meaning that players may choose to purchase additional blister packs, each containing one to three models. Blister packs vary widely from £4 for essentially a metallic version of a single plastic model, to £14 for large (2-3 inches tall ) multi part models.

[edit] Modelling

Since the models are hand-painted and assembled by the player, people are encouraged to design their own paint schemes as well as using the pre-designed ones displayed in the various books. They are also encouraged to experiment with miniature conversion using parts from other kits and models, scratch-built components, and modeling putty such as Milliput or Citadel's own "green stuff" also called kneadite and available from other retailers. These conversions are often entered into contests at sponsored tournaments and similar gaming events, including the Golden Demon Awards; an international Games Workshop-run event which judges a variety of entries every year that are on based upon conversion, painting, basing and atmosphere.

[edit] Terrain

Terrain is a very important part of play. Although Games Workshop has terrain kits available, many hobbyists prefer to make their own elaborate and unique set pieces. Common household items like soft drink cans, coffee cups, styrofoam packing pieces, and pill bottles can be transformed into ruined cathedrals, alien habitats, or other terrain with the addition of plasticard, putty, and a bit of patience and skill. The Games Workshop sub-division Forge World also makes numerous detailed resin terrain sets. Games Workshop has also recently released the Cities of Death expansion, which saw the release of three new plastic building kits available at Games Workshop stores. The three building kits share the same gothic motif that ties them in to the 40K world: skulls and the twin-headed eagle (the Imperium's symbol and coat of arms) feature heavily in the overall design of the buildings.

[edit] Playing by Internet

There is a Warhammer 40k module for the board-, card- and tabletop game simulation progtam Vassal. This module enables the player to play Warhammer 40k live by Internet against people from all over the world ^[10]. The module includes a virtual game table, counters, random dice and graphics for most units and characters of all factions ^[11].

[edit] Background

[edit] Setting

Main article: Timeline of the Warhammer 40,000 universe

The Warhammer 40,000 game world is most readily characterized as a gothic science-fantasy universe, set approximately 38,991 years from now (as the year 40,999 is nominally taken as the 'present' time), in the 41st millennium. Most of the major storylines that provide the backdrop and history span over millennia at a time (eg, a 70 year-long civil war, a 1000 year-long crusade). Technology enables select humans to continue living well beyond centuries long, some for thousands of years, although the cost of this extended life typically involves some kind of assimilation with a machine, and thereby loss of much of "the human".

The central and most popular elements of the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Space Marines, anachronistic combinations of genetically enhanced super-soldiers with world-destroying firepower, and crusading knights with an unswerving, fanatical loyalty to the God-Emperor. Their genetic modification enables these soldiers to live "naturally" and maintain their super-human physical prowess for hundreds of years, creating veterans and commanders of immense experience, ferocity and knowledge. These warriors are the elite guardians of the Imperium of Mankind, a dystopian galaxy-spanning empire. They function from an aggressive "first contact" shock troop to the very last line of defense against the enemies of the Imperium.

While Space Marines act as the special forces of the Imperium, the bulk of mankind's military power is the Imperial Guard, which consist of thousands of regiments of billions of normal soldiers of the worlds of the Imperium. While most are tithed from the best of their respective Planetary Defense Forces, some are simple conscripts pressed into service for the endless wars. The Imperial Guard field masses of armour and infantry in fearsomely capable armies able to lay siege to worlds or withstand assaults from their sheer size alone.

The setting of this story is the Materium, the real physical universe we inhabit, with all action here in the Milky Way Galaxy. Much of this is controlled by the Imperium of Man, though it is not the only galactic power. Other races include the Orks, a barbaric humanoid green-skinned semi-fungoid race; the Eldar, survivors of an ancient fallen civilization reminiscent of classic fantasy Elves; the Tau, technologically sophisticated aliens that work for a philosophy called the Greater Good; the Necrons, soulless living metal constructs tricked into slavery by god-like energy beings; and the Tyranids, an all-consuming, all-organic, bio-engineered, extragalactic hive-swarm. A dynamic, galaxy-spanning story line is possible because of a separate plane of existence, the Immaterium or "Warp." The Warp is described as a universe composed of desire and emotion, with currents and eddies that make travelling vast interstellar distances possible yet difficult. As this is a realm of thought, a coalescence yields an often-sinister warp entity. The strongest of these entities are the Chaos Gods, Khorne (a god of rage, bloodshed, and war), Nurgle (a god of despair, decay and pestilent disease), Tzeentch (a god of ambition, manipulation, change, deception, scheming, and sorcery) and Slaanesh (a god of pleasure, pain, depravity, pride, and decadence). The bulk of the forces of Chaos are corrupted Imperial Guardsmen, mutants, social dregs cast off from imperial worlds and renegade Space Marines with the capability to summon daemons.

The Gods of Chaos are reflections in the immaterial universe of the strongest impulses expressed by the inhabitants of the material universe. Their cults have a dynamic and antagonistic relationship. Khorne opposes Slaanesh, while Nurgle opposes Tzeentch. Nurgle is the personification of stagnation and decay, Tzeentch personifies continual change; Khorne personifies hatred and rage, and Slaanesh personifies the epicurean or the sensual (Note: Originally there were only 3 chaos powers; Khorne, Tzeentch, and Nurgle. The Eldar race gave birth to Slaanesh). These four powers are not the only entities in the Warp, but they are the greatest and most powerful. It is said in the background to Warhammer 40,000 that the nature of the Warp is beyond human comprehension and is truly unknowable.

[edit] Armies/races/species

Main article: Warhammer 40,000 species

The Warhammer 40,000 game, and consequently the fictional universe, is made up of many races and species. The main playable armies in the game are the Chaos Daemons, Chaos Space Marines, Daemonhunters, Dark Eldar, Eldar, Imperial Guard, Necrons, Orks, Space Marines, Tau Empire, Tyranids and Witch Hunters. Most races have variant armies. For example, Space Marines are divided into "Chapters", which sometimes have unique traits or even their own rules. Players can create "Successor Chapters".

Examples of variant armies include the following (however, this list is not exhaustive):

• Space Marines: Blood Angels, Black Templars, Imperial Fists, Salamanders, Space Wolves, Ultramarines, Dark Angels,^[12][13] etc.
• Imperial Guard: Armoured Companies, Catachan Jungle Fighters.^[12][13]
• Tau Empire: Kroot Mercenaries, Farsight Enclave
• Eldar: Iyanden, Saim-Hann, Ulthwé, Biel-Tan
• Chaos Space Marine: Death Guard, World Eaters, Thousand Sons, Emperor's Children, Iron Warriors, etc.
• Orks: Speed Freeks, Feral Orks
• Tyranids: Genestealer Cult
• Dark Eldar: Wych Cults

[edit] Notable characters

See also: Category:Warhammer 40,000 characters

The Warhammer 40,000 universe and game are made up of many different characters. The list below contains a selection of the figures and characters that have had the greatest impact on the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe.

• The Emperor of Mankind
• Space Marine Primarchs
• Warmaster Horus
• Abaddon the Despoiler
• Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka
• Eldrad Ulthran

[edit] Spin-offs

Main article: Warhammer 40,000 spin-offs

Warhammer 40,000 has, over the years, inspired many spin-off games. The most popular of these include the miniature-based games Battlefleet Gothic, Epic Armageddon, Inquisitor and Necromunda, all of which have their own website^[14] and are available as "Specialist Games" from the Games Workshop catalogue^[3] (and Gorkamorka a now out of production tabletop game), the Forge World game Aeronautica Imperialis available from their catalogue^[2], the video games Dawn of War, Dawn of War: Winter Assault, Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, Dawn of War: Soulstorm , Fire Warrior, Chaos Gate, Space Hulk, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels, Final Liberation, Space Crusade, Rites of War, Warhammer 40k Squad Command, Warhammer 40,000: Ultramarines and an upcoming unnamed MMO from THQ and Vigil Games^[15]. A wide number of "Warhammer 40,000" novels and background books has been published^[16]. Also released in January 2008 is a role-playing game, Dark Heresy.

Several expansions to Warhammer 40,000 have also been released. Cities of Death deals with city fighting, whilst Apocalypse deals with massive battles between huge armies containing gigantic tanks and titanic god machines with the firepower to level cities.

[edit] Origins Awards

At the 1994 Origins Game Fair, the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design awarded the second edition of Warhammer 40,000 the Origins Award for Best Miniatures Rules of 1993.^[17] At the 1997 Expo, they gave the award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Figure Miniatures Series of 1996 for Jes Goodwin's Warhammer 40,000 Chaos range.^[18] At the 2004 Origins, Warhammer 40,000 was inducted into the Academy's Hall of Fame.^[19]

[edit] See also

• Horus Heresy (card game)
• Armies of Warhammer 40,000
• Bryan Ansell
• Jervis Johnson

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Games Workshop Creators of the games Warhammer 40,000
• Forge World Games Workshop's division that creates resin miniatures
• Lexicanum Extensive Wiki for Warhammer 40,000
• HammerWiki Resource for the Warhammer games

v • d • e Warhammer 40,000 Forces of the Imperium Imperial Guard · Imperial Navy · Space Marines · Daemonhunters · Witch Hunters · Alien Hunters · Sisters of Battle Forces of Chaos Chaos Space Marines · The Lost and the Damned Chaos Gods Khorne · Nurgle · Tzeentch · Slaanesh · Malal Alien races Dark Eldar · Eldar · Orks · Necrons · Tau · Tyranids Locations Armageddon · Cadia · Eye of Terror · Medusa V · Tanith · T'au · Terra Expansions Cities of Death · Apocalypse Spin-offs Aeronautica Imperialis · Battlefleet Gothic · Dark Millennium · Epic · Inquisitor · Necromunda · Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay

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