An Introduction to
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Warhammer 40,000 (also known as Warhamer 40k) began as a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop way back in the 1980s with the release of the Rogue Trader hardback rulebook. Since then it has gone through a number of different editions and is currently on its 9th edition.
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Other games set within the Warhammer 40,000 universe that focus on particular aspect of it have also been released by Games Workshop. Many of these use the same models as the core game they are based on while others may use use a different scale to reflect their subject.
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Beyond the games themselves, a range of other Warhammer 40,000 merchandise has been produced. Some of these items are limited run products meant for distribution by Games Workshop, often to mark a particular event, but there are also licenced products that have been more widely distributed Over the years this range has included novels, audio books, computer games, comics, a film, belts, water bottle, badges, wristbands and action figures. The range continues to expand.
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The universe of Warhammer 40,000 is a bleak one, forget the hopeful utopias and technological wonders of other science fiction settings for all of these are long gone in the 41st millenium. Mankind teeters on the brink of extinction either by alien invaders or the horrors of warp space that threaten to spill into our universe.
The armies and unit types available for players of Warhammer 40,000 to field have varied over the years, with some factions disappearing for a time while new ones have been introduced. At present the playable factions are as follows:
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The Imperium is one of the dominant powers of the galaxy. Ten millennia earlier, the God-Emperor of mankind set out from Earth and re-conquered the worlds settled by humans in a previous wave of expansion. At the close of his great crusade, the Emperor was critically injured and only survived by means of the life support technology known as the Golden Throne. He has sat immobile at the heart of this technology ever since.
The Imperium is ruled in his name by the twelve High Lords of Terra, and administered by a vast bureaucracy. On the worlds of the Imperium, the Emperor is now worshipped as a god and no other belief system is tolerated. Dissent is dealt with severely.
The Imperium is defended by a wide range of forces:
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The Imperial Guard is the largest fighting force in the galaxy, drawing its troops from almost every planet in the Imperium. Although its troops are ordinary humans and have only the most basic of equipment they make up for this in their massive numbers of infantry and armoured vehicles that range from Chimera troop carriers up to the lighty Baneblade super heavy tanks.
The Imperial guard also includes a number of abhumans, the descendants of human settlers cut off for thousands of years on worlds that have caused their bodies to change significantly.
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The genetically enhanced space marines are humanity’s greatest defenders. Each marine is worth several ordinary human troops and has the best weapons and powered armour. This makes marines a good starting army since it takes a smaller number of troops to create a viable fighting force on the table.
There are a thousand different marine forces known as chapters and the units available to each as well as their fighting style offer a wide range of options to players.
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Worshippers of the Omnissiah, the Tech Priests of Mars treat producing and maintaining mankind’s technology as a sacred duty. No longer capable of research and development, the Adeptus Mechanicus scours the galaxy in search of lost knowledge while doing its best to maintain what it still possesses. In the game the Adeptus Mechanicus can field a wide range of units from cybernetically enhanced Skitarii infantry up to the massive god-machines known as titans.
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Piloting large walking machines, Imperial knights can be fielded either as support units to other armies or concentraed in armies of their own.
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Note: The unpainted Catachan guardsman in the centre gives you some idea of the size of these machines.
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Holy warriors utterly loyal to the God Emperor, the sisters of battle are an army of well equipped fanatics.
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Man for man, the Adeptus Custodes are the Imperium’s finest fighting men. Formed to be the personal guard of the Emperor, later editions of Warhammer 40,000 have made them a playable army.
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As well as the major fighting forces of the Imperium there are also other Imperial forces that can be added to armies in games of Warhammer 40,000
The Imperial Navy controls the Imperium’s fighting spacecraft and aircraft. In the Warhammer 40,000 game they provide the aircraft for the Imperial Guard’s army list.
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Armed and armoured in a similar fashion to space marines and sisters of battle, the sisters of silence are known for their unnerving anti-psychic aura. This causes them to disrupt the abilities of psykers who get too close.
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The secret police of the Imperium, inquisitors guard against threats from within and without. Inquistors and members of their retinues can be used to add some interesting variation to Imperial forces.
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Although the Imeprium’s assassins, lethal killers each with their own specialised methods of killing, are meant mainly for covert killing their agents can be deployed in support of the Imperium’s other fighting forces.
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Warp space is the parallel universe used by for faster than light travel and is also the source of the power wielded by psykers. Unfortunately it is also home to powerful creatures created from the emotions of living beings in the material universe. These seek to break through into real space to twist it according to their own will.
There are four gods of Chaos, each of which has a unique aspect as follows:
Khorne - The Blood God, Slannesh - The Prince of Pleasure, Nurgle - The Plague God and Tzeentch - The Changer of the Ways
The forces of Chaos are made up of both mortal and immortal beings:
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At the dawn of the Imperium of Man half the space marine legions were seduced by the chaos gods and rebelled against the Emperor. Now ten thousand years later they continue to attack the Imperium while cults of chaos worshippers spring up everywhere from the lowest underhives to the tallest palaces to undermine the Imperium from within.
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As well as marines and cultists, some Knightly houses have also turned to the worship of chaos and these can be fielded in games of Warhammer 40,000. In addition to the powerful weapons also found on their loyal Imperial counterparts, some chaos knights can call upon psychic powers to assault their foe.
Note: The unpainted chaos cultist is included to give an indication of the size of the models.
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Born from the emotions of living creatures, daemons take bizarre forms when they enter the material universe. Even when their bodies are destroyed they are not truly killed, instead just retreating to the warp until they can find another way into our universe.
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Mankind is not the only intelligent life in the galaxy, many other civilisations also exist in competition.
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Rather than being a true alien species the Leagues of Votann are clones that are descended from early human explorers. However, they have remained outside the Imperium and instead exist as an independent force in the galaxy. They have a high level of technology that includes technologies and their societies are inf act led by artificial intelligences that are the Votann themselves.
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Orks are the traditional enemy of mankind and the most numerous alien species. Hardy and living only to fight it seems, their crude society is feudal and they are as likely to fight one another as attack the other species. If they were ever to unify under a single leader they would likely overwhelm the entire galaxy with ease.
On the battlefield Orks are tough to kill and can field large units of infantry supported by bizarre and powerful, yet often unreliable technology.
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A species far older than mankind, the Aeldari once dominated the galaxy but their empire fell due to their own decadence, creating a new chaos god and leaving behind a massive zone of overlap between the warp and real space in the process. Now they are a species on the verge of extinction, few in number but still possessing advanced technology and mastery of psychic powers. The Aeldari may come from any of the following factions:
Living in massive spacecraft drifting in deep space, the craftworld Aeldari are the most common of their kind. A craftworld's army is made up of militia drawn from their civilian population as well as specialists who have dedicated their lives to one particular aspect of warfare supported by highly advanced vehicles and support weapons. Even the dead have a role to play in defending craftworld, their souls placed in wraithbone bodies to continue to fight.
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The Drukhari, or Dark Aeldari, live in the dark city of Commorragh located in the network of passageways through the warp known as the webway. They are the twisted forms of this once noble species that gain sustenance from the pain and suffering of others.
In battle their forces are fast but fragile.
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Aeldari harlequins are mysterious nomads that travel the webway, striking without warning and then withdrawing as they wage their ongoing war against chaos.
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Drawing their forces from all of the other Aeldari factions, the Ynnari are a growing force that aims to save the species from oblivion.
Ynnari army allows you to add extra Aeldai models to you collection without needing a full army of any one kind.
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A relatively young race that is just starting to expand into space. They still do not truly appreciate the nature of the galaxy. Their empire is expanding and has already included several other species that can also be part of their armies
In Warhammer 40,000 the Tau are best suited to fighting from a distance. Generally they perform poorly in close combat, but they do have some tricks up their sleeves for anyone who gets too close.
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The Tyranids are an invading alien species from another galaxy. Their advance through the galaxy grows in strength and they have many forces scouting ahead of the main fleets. There are no individuals among the Tyranids, every one of the myraid of creatures that make up their armies from the smallest scuttling beast the most massive bio-titan and hive ship is the equivalent of a single cell in a living organism linked via the hive mind.
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Travelling aboard vast, living ships Tyranids use no mechanical devices. iIstead all of their technology is biological. They devour the ecosystems of entire worlds in order to gather more biomass to fuel their continued evolution as they seek to consume our entire galaxy.
A Tyranid army in Warhammer 40,000 is a mass of living destruction, using mindless floating spores, vast swarms of expendable infantry and massive monsters capable of ripping apart the most heavily armoured vehicles.
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Moving ahead of the Tyranid hive fleets are Genestealers, alien creatures that infiltrate other societies in preparation for the approaching Tyranid assault. Interbreeding with their host civilisation, these creatures create cults of hybirds to serve them. These cults adopt the tools and weapons of the planet they live on when discovered and forced to defend themselves.
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The oldest species in the galaxy still at large, Necrons are but a shadow of their former selves. Once a mighty species they were tricked by the alien C’tan who they worshipped into becoming robotic automatons.
In Warhammer 40,000 Necron armies are very resilient, with both their vehicles and infantry being difficult to destroy. Even if you do kill a Necron warrior, there’s a chance that he’ll be back rather soon.
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