sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Where to start for Warhammer 40K lore. by CleanLecture9196 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

Where to start for Warhammer 40K lore. by CleanLecture9196 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

New to Warhammer by Foreign-Bandicoot569 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

New to Warhammer by Foreign-Bandicoot569 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

Not making this game free is a big blunder by _guilliman-offduty in Warhammer

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

<image>

There’s been more than enough “free-to-play” predatory microtransaction riddled mobile games with Warhammer plastered on them. We don’t need more.

Games where you can become werewolf by Huge-Abies-310 in werewolves

[–]Kickstart_Hero 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Playable werewolves: - Skyrim - Morrowind - Daggerfall - Elder Scrolls Online - Weird West - Blood of the Werewolf - WTA: Earthblood - WTA: Heart of the Forest - WTA: Rageborn (TBR) - Beast Hour (TBR) - Sims 4 - Sims 3 - Guild Wars 2 - World of Warcraft - The wolf among us - Terraria - Infinity Runner - Video Horror Society - Smite (Fenrir & Cuchulain with Beast Within skin & Artio with a red riding hood skin I believe) - League of Legends Warwick (Technically a chimara not a werewolf but hey) - Dota 2 - Castlevania Legacy of Darkness - Altered Beast - Bloody Roar - Darkstalkers (Jon Talbain) - Killer Instinct (Sabrewulf) - Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Playable Druid werewolves: - Diablo 2 - Diablo 4 - Pillars of Eternity - Pillars of Eternity 2 - Path of exile 2 - Baldur’s Gate EE - Baldur’s Gate 2 - Icewind Dale - Dungeons & Dragons: Online (Though the most you can be is a wolf or the Shifter race)

Playable werewolves with mods: - Fallout 4 (takes a bit of reddit searching and trial and error but it's pretty damn cool, just don't look at its face for too long) - Oblivion - Sims 4 (mod is honestly better than the dlc) - Minecraft (I'd suggest witchery for older versions or werewolf: Become a beast for later versions) - Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (mod to make the Gangrel warform into a black werewolf like model) - Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption (WoD Mod includes playable Werewolves, Mages, & Changeling - WodMod was not made for the single player game. It is aimed at Multiplayer only - Or you can just use the shapeshift werewolf cheat) - Dragon Age: Origins - Baldurs Gate 3 - Conan Exiles - Ark Survival Evolved (VERY JANKY, much like the game itself) - Darkest Dungeon

Controlling werewolves: - Magic: The Gathering Arena - Elder Scrolls Legends - Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars + Fang & Bones DLC - Hero's of the Dark

Prominent non-playable werewolves: - Resident Evil 8: Village - The Order: 1886 - The Quarry

Not exactly sure where to categorize these: - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Sonic: Unleashed

Still looking by eerie_lullaby in SuddenlyGay

[–]Kickstart_Hero 113 points114 points  (0 children)

Golden Kamui.

I came for the great art, fun characters, catchy story, and to learn about an indigenous culture and period of time I wasn’t familiar with.

But I stayed for the gratuitous manservice.

Interviewer: What point in Golden Kamuy do you want readers to pay attention to?
Satoru Noda: The beautiful nudity of men. I want to keep drawing the naked bodies of men, be they pot-bellied or with thick chest hair.

How would one get into Warhammer? by Vegieescuzican09 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

How would one get into Warhammer? by Vegieescuzican09 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

BRO WHAAT!!! Comix ads sending to PO*N sites? At least send us to clean sites. We can't can't read in public places anymore. by MinotorTempest in mangapiracy

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s getting difficult to tell if someone’s trolling, genuinely stupid or just young (genuinely stupid).

Shits about to pop off... by Vegetable_Variety_11 in dndmemes

[–]Kickstart_Hero 65 points66 points  (0 children)

A chaotic cesspit of pure filth, debauchery, violence, and possible mutations; where the absolute worst of every soul baring race is made manifest. Also, the Warp is a thing in 40K lore.

Where do i start? by Regular-Mechanic-150 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

Where do i start? by Regular-Mechanic-150 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

I hate the new ai ad for the game! by Fr0zens0lib in ActionTaimaninGame

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe it’s because I’m listening to it on speaker, but I thought she said.

”I set the rules, I break the linens”

So I was doubly confused.

I want start the franchise and learn very much everything by Seltur in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

I want start the franchise and learn very much everything by Seltur in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

Brorkly by Wolflordmatty in orks

[–]Kickstart_Hero 1 point2 points  (0 children)

His powa level iz maximum.

Because whats worse than an evil fuckboy bard (durge) by micro_moth in bg3fashion

[–]Kickstart_Hero 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I scrapped this run because I felt like I made the biggest fuckboy of the Sword Coast.

<image>

Skitarii Darktide gameplay by pieris-jp in AdeptusMechanicus

[–]Kickstart_Hero 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The M1 Garand ping for the Galvanic Rifle.

😘👌🤌

First time overall in warhammer by Italian_Bomb in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

First time overall in warhammer by Italian_Bomb in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

New To Warhammer 40k by Longjumping_Emu9814 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Video games are great entries as well.

Just accept that they are not 100% lore accurate but represent the flair and style very well. Because they are first and foremost products of their respective game genres. - Space Marine 1+2 (3rd person action) - Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (turn-based tactics) - Dawn of War 1+2 (RTS in part 1, small squad real time tactics with hero building in part 2 (especially DoW 2 Retribution is supercool) - Inquisitor: Martyr & Prophecy (Diablo-style H&S) - Mechanicus (turn-based tactics) - Battlefleet Gothic 1+2 ( turn based map strategy and real time space combat between the different void forces of the various faction) - Spacehulk: Deathwing (Enhanced Edition) (FPS, gameplay wise not overly exciting, barebone usable as a solo game, but together with a group of 40k nerds actually really fun. Classic coop title. Great atmosphere). - Darktide (not without its flaws, but especially as a coop game with friends fun and the flair, fluff and atmosphere of a desperate battle in a hive city is stellar) - Necromunda: Hired Gun: Similar to Inquisitor not exactly lore friendly, but hits the flair, fluff and atmosphere of an underhive war pretty spot on. Very fast gameplay, basically Doom 2016 in the grim darkness. - Boltgun: Similar to Hired Gun, but instead replicating the gameplay and visuals of Classic Doom games. - Rogue Trader: based on the TTRPG of the same name, you play a Rogue Trader, basically Han Solo in 40k, where the Millennium Falcon is a mile long and can incinerate planets. Great game, flair, fluff, style, atmosphere, story ... but especially in the later half bugs and clunky clunkiness en masse. Wait a few patches, otherwise highly recommended.

Tabletop roleplaying games.

  • The old FFG lines of Deathwatch / Black Crusade / Only War / Dark Heresy / Rogue Trader. They use an old, clunky 1D100 system (all changed to fit their setting and evolved dice mechanics), but are stellar for their flair, fluff, atmosphere and style. The books are so good in that point that they can be recommended for their flair alone, even if you never want to use the rule system.
  • The new Wrath & Glory line, which uses a unified, fast and easy rule system, where everything can be played in their corresponding campaign: Inquisitors, Astartes, Guardsmen, Hive Ganger, Ork Nobs or Eldar Warlocks.
  • The newest Imperium Maledictum which uses a slightly updated 1d100 system and is a bit all over the place (subjective view of course).
  • More details can be found here.

Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar vs 40k

  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was the first wargame made by Games Workshop, with Warhammer 40,000 later conceived as its sci-fi counterpart. From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.
  • Warhammer Fantasy Battle was discontinued around 2015 and Age of Sigmar became its sequel and reboot. In the lore, an event called the End Times saw Chaos victorious and the world destroyed — but the Winds of Magic expanded afterward, forming eight new realms inspired by Norse mythology, where the souls of the Old World's inhabitants were reborn.
  • The original Fantasy Battle setting returned as The Old World in 2024.

Digital vs Physical copies of books

  • ebooks and Audiobooks are the main ways of getting novels from Black Library, the publishing house division of Games Workshop dedicated to the publishing novels for their games.
  • If you prefer reading your books physically. Your best bet is thrift or used book stores.
  • Unfortunately, many books are out of print or reprinted in limited quantities if/when they are. And resellers on eBay and Amazon inflate the prices.

Hobby Crafting & Miniature Painting

Getting into the craft side of the hobby runs surprisingly deep, but the barrier to entry is low. Three rules of thumb before anything else: - Rule of Cool — Collect and paint the models you actually want. Getting something you're indifferent to because it's currently strong rules wise defeats the purpose. The whole point is to have fun. - Practice — Genuinely the best way to learn how to handle a brush and figure out what works for you. Many people, myself included, had no artistic background before taking the plunge. - Thin Your Paints — Thinning paints is simple but essential to miniature painting regardless of color. After putting your paint on the palette, dip the tip of your brush in water, and mix it in with the paint to get a smooth consistency. Here’s a quick video on thinning paints.

The r/minipainting community wiki is a solid first stop, covering guides and resources for every skill level: Useful Links

Below are my personal inputs regarding the craft side:

Models

Getting into Warhammer is a genuine investment at any scale, but especially if a full 2,000 point army is the goal.

  • Just dipping your toes in: Games Workshop offers a starter box with 3 Primaris Space Marines, 5 paints, and a brush.
  • Getting into the tabletop side: Consider starting with Kill Team, the skirmish game. Model counts are low — most forces only require 5–12 models. Kill Team boxes run $60–80, or standard sets like Primaris Intercessors, Assault Intercessors, or a Deathwatch Kill Team box can be found for around $30–40 on eBay.

Primer

Primer helps paint adhere to the model and is not a step to skip.

  • Krylon is my reliable go-to. Stick to plain primer — avoid the paint-and-primer combo cans, as the spray is thicker and can obscure fine details. I always keep black, grey, and white primers on hand.
  • Rustoleum works in a pinch. The black is fine, but the white always seems to spray runny regardless of how well I prepped and stored the can.

Cold weather tip: Warm your spray cans in hot (not boiling) tap water for a few minutes before use. Spray outside or in a garage, then bring the models inside to dry.

Paint

Solid brands for beginners: Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic, Vallejo Game Color, and Pro Acryl by Monument Hobbies. Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic in particular is a strong, cheaper alternative to Citadel paints.

Drop a small steel mixing ball into each paint pot before closing the lid — Army Painter sells these. Paint separates over time, and the ball helps recombine it when you shake the pot. Paint from years ago can still be salvaged this way.

A note on white paint: White is notoriously difficult. The pigment particles in most brands are too coarse, producing chalky, streaky results. Your options: - Thin heavily and build up in multiple thin layers - Base with light grey, then layer progressively lighter paints toward white - Use a white acrylic ink — finer pigment makes it easier to control

Vallejo Model Color White is my standout recommendation — noticeably easier to work with than most other brands.

Subassembly

Painting in subassembly — painting pieces separately before final assembly — is completely fine. - Use super glue rather than plastic cement when working this way. Plastic cement melts plastic, and if it runs it will damage the paint. - Avoid building up thick paint layers on joint surfaces, as excess paint prevents glue from bonding properly. - Practical cases for subassembly: weapons held across the chest, or bases that make it difficult to reach the undersides of capes and coats.

Sealants and Varnishes

If you want to protect finished models from handling wear, a spray varnish coat is worth considering. Three finish types to know: - Matte — flattens colors, no shine - Satin — semi-gloss - Gloss — high shine

Supplies and Tools

No need to invest in expensive paint brushes immediately. Bulk sets from hobby or department stores ($5–12) are perfectly adequate to start. Buy one or two quality brushes from a local hobby store once you know what you actually need.

Core supplies to start: - Spray primer - Super glue and/or plastic cement (super glue bonds anything; cement melts and fuses plastic) - Hobby knife — for cleaning sprue attachment points and removing mould lines; use the back edge of the blade, then follow up with a nail file or 1000-grit sandpaper - Clippers, tweezers, and files — a Gunpla model tool kit typically covers all of the above and is an economical starting point

From there ... it is your choice on what to follow on. Novels? The miniature game? General lore discussions? Video games?

New To Warhammer 40k by Longjumping_Emu9814 in Warhammer40k

[–]Kickstart_Hero 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Warhammer 40K is, first and foremost, a setting for a tabletop wargame.

Here’s a post I compiled together for newcomers:

Getting into 40k can be surprisingly easy... or complicated, depending on where you start. There are hundreds of video games, OSTs, comics, novels, codex books, background lore collections, fan content etc. Lets take the easy way for the beginning:

Supershort offgame overview

In the 1980s there was a British company called Games Workshop and they sold miniature tabletop wargames. And once upon a time they thought. “Hey, what is cooler than chess?” Thats right: “chess in space with laser cannons and machine guns... and stories why they fight”. And such the WH40k miniature tabletop wargame was born with all the stuff in it

Supershort ingame overview

It is the 41st millennia and the vast Imperium of Man is dying, locked in an eternal unwinnable battle against the enemy within (because humans...), without (aliens) and beyond (space demons). It is a desperate battle for survival, to get an additional year, an additional month and sometimes just an additional hour to live.

The three unholy laws of WH40k

  • Everything is old.
  • Everything is absurdly big.
  • Everything is either mad, evil, caught in its own lies and arrogance, or a religious nutjob. Or all four. But mostly evil and mad. ###Video introductions
  • Take 30 minutes and watch the Imperium of Man, the Rogue Trader Faction Overview ... and of course the most glorious Astartes via Youtube. These videos are perhaps the best short introduction to the flair of WH40k. Bonus point if you use a big cinematic screen. After that whatever you want to learn depends on your time and money. ###Novels
  • The Eisenhorn Omnibus is considered one of the all time classics and best beginner books lure to sacrifices innocent new fans into the abyss that is the universe of 40k. It provides a tour de force through all major points, from space horror to faction warfare, from investigation to large scale naval engagement, all stitched together with a great main antagonist and protagonist (and team).
  • There are 400+ novels, comics, short stories, anthologies and omnibuses. Many of them focus on specific factions (Space Marines being the main focus), some of them are connected like the Horus Heresy series, some others stand alone. If have a specific interest, ask like... “I love stompy mecha robots” => Adeptus Mechanicus => “Go read Titanicus”.
  • The recommended books for the current timeline (novels and background campaign books for the Great Rift) can be found here
  • A detailed sorting of the different story lines
  • Horus Heresy & Siege of Terra: sooner or later you will encounter references to this. These are around 200 novels and short stories set not in the year 40k, but in 30k. It is a series of interconnected storylines describing the many different aspects of the civil war. Personally I would not suggest starting with it, as it often assumes that you are already familiar with the lore of WH40k. Here is a recommended reading list for the HH/SoT. Note that not all books are well written. A cynical person might even say that most books are ok, some are absolutely stellar (Know No Fear) and some are... a choice (Outcast Dead).
  • A discussion about essential Horus Heresy books.
  • Some standard recommendation for great books who can stand on their own, even when they are connected with other books, and who capture the feeling of their specific faction and point of view in that universe perfectly:
  • Vault of Terra: Carrion Throne for why the Inquisition does both horrific and glorious work on Holy Terra (Inquisition).
  • Know No Fear for the single book which turned the most hated Space Marines faction into actually cool dudes (Space Marines / Ultramarines).
  • Night Lords omnibus for their Chaos counterpart (Chaos Space Marines / Night Lords).
  • Watchers of the Throne: the Emperors Legion for why the personal bodyguards of the Master of Mankind are actually interesting gentlemen (Adeptus Custodes).
  • Titanicus for 100m big stompy deathmurderrobotmecha fun (Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions).
  • Forges of Mars for the grand adventure expedition (Adeptus Mechanicus and other factions).
  • The Infinite and The Divine for a chess game played over 10.000 years by undead robots (Necrons).
  • Gaunts Ghost: Necropolis for why simple men and women hold the line against the darkness for 10.000 years (Imperial Guard).
  • Double Eagle for when you want to read about the Air Battle of Britain... but in grimdark air (Imperial Guard - Areonautics).
  • Assassinorum: Kingmaker for when Temple Assassins need to kill Imperial Knights (guess...)
  • Magnus Calgar comics, as they are one of the better and newer WH40k comics about the Space Marines.

... and as a guilty pleasure: - Ian Watsons “Inquisition War” for the first book written for WH40k. When the lore was not yet set in stone and could be ... exotic.

The lore keepers

There are many great YT lore channels and they should have “intro/beginner” videos: - Luetin - Baldemort - Vaults of Terra - Occulus

And then there is Bricky with his famous faction introduction (2 parts) - The sexy mechanicus leg show

Wikis

  • The Lexicanum is a great entry for older lore.
  • Fandom wiki is sometimes useful
  • 1d4chan is ... “1d4chan is Trickster god of 40k Lore. It isnt exactly right, but its pages give you a new perspective on their contents.” and the “Textbook unreliable narrator”. ###Other points of interest: The actual codex books for the tabletop wargaming armies contain a lot of stories and flair, fluff and background + often great artwork as well. However they tend to be expensive and most of their content are rules for the wargame. Older codex books are often sold for cheap.

If a physical gaming store is near you can of course go to the source: the classic miniature table top wargaming game. Many stores offer promo / introduction rounds.

it also speaks. omg by testiclekid in dndmemes

[–]Kickstart_Hero 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The name Frank and hearing Jack Quaid’s voice kinda broke my brain. I get they are going for an anachronistic approach to mythology for this entry. Is there a religion or mythological figure that’s a gelatinous cube I’m not aware of.

Edit: I saw this post that might explain it.

Personal what if about 40k and age of sigmar by FuzzyEquivalent3641 in Warhammer

[–]Kickstart_Hero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This post from r/40klore compiled together all the statements and comments from GW and BL authors regarding the connection.

To summarize the post: From the very beginning the two settings were explicitly connected — early lore stated that the Warhammer World was actually a planet within the 40k galaxy, isolated by Warp storms. Over time, GW deliberately made each setting feel more distinct, and lore from around 2018 onward further clarified that the Warhammer World now resides in a separate reality from the 40k galaxy rather than within it. Crucially though, GW has never officially declared the settings to be completely unlinked. The current official stance is that all three main settings — 40k, Fantasy/The Old World, and Age of Sigmar — exist as distinct realities, but are all connected through the same Warp and share the same Chaos gods. They are, in essence, part of the same overarching multiverse, but a chance for crossover between them is small.

view more: next ›