Warhammer 40K, explained – Polygon

Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop wargame performed with miniatures that first launched within the Eighties, alongside rulebooks filled with extra fluff and lore. Many years later, that fluff has sprawled out into its personal huge narrative universe, and the lore has been tailored into novels, audio dramas, films, animation, and video video games. Warhammer 40K, the media property, is at the moment in pre-production as a TV and cinematic universe led by Superman and The Witcher star Henry Cavill. In the meantime, the wargame is about to enter its tenth version, which goals to be extra accessible and pared-down than earlier variations.

You’ve doubtless seen photos from the model, or bulletins a few new sport or adaptation within the universe. If you happen to’re interested by this enormous franchise, you most likely need to know: What’s the world of Warhammer 40K about? Let’s dive in.

What even is a Warhammer 40K?

Picture: Video games Workshop

There was little energetic curation of Warhammer 40K canon. As a substitute, Video games Workshop and its publishing arm Black Library has taken the stance that all the things ever written about its sprawling lore is “true” — all of it’s canon, roughly since its inception within the Eighties. Identical to precise historical past, no single narrator or historian within the grim darkness of the far future is 100% dependable. As a substitute, it’s as much as the reader to sift by means of all of the dusty — and extremely collectible — tomes with a purpose to parse its main sources.

Very like actual historical past, it may be arduous to piece all the things collectively. Fan wikis and boards will be esoteric and filled with correct nouns. In the meantime, for the reason that narrative has by no means been rebooted or retconned, there are few official on-ramps for brand spanking new gamers. Nevertheless it’s attainable to have interaction with the 40K fandom with a working begin, gathering up bits of its almost 40-year backstory as you go alongside. We’ve created this information with newcomers in thoughts, and we’ll pepper our primer with suggestions for video games, books, movies, and even complete factions that you simply would possibly need to study extra about.

Warhammer 40k’s setting

Picture: Video games Workshop

Warhammer 40K started as a pastiche of science fiction and fantasy tropes. As an example, trying again at its inception within the late ’80s, you’ll discover components from Frank Herbert’s Dune, with a God-Emperor, a hatred of AI, and the spacefaring Navigators. However, even early on, you’ll additionally discover extra literary call-backs, together with nods to John Milton’s Paradise Misplaced.

Its earliest official work, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Dealer (written by Rick Priestly), begins with a preamble, a sort of Star Wars-style opening crawl that lays out essentially the most fundamental details that the reader must know. It’s been modified and altered over time, however listed below are the unique phrases from 1987:

For greater than 100 centuries the Emperor has sat motionless on the Golden Throne of Earth. He’s the Grasp of Mankind by the need of the gods and grasp of 1,000,000 worlds by the would possibly of his inexhaustible armies. He’s a rotting carcass writing invisibly with energy from the Darkish Age of Expertise. He’s the Carrion Lord of the Imperium to whom a thousand souls are sacrificed daily, and for whom blood is drunk and flesh eaten. Human blood and human flesh — the stuff of which the Imperium is made.

To be a person in such instances is to be one among untold billions. It’s to stay within the cruelest and most bloody regime conceivable. That is the story of those instances. It’s a universe you possibly can stay in as we speak in the event you dare — for this can be a darkish and horrible period the place you will see that little consolation of hope. If you wish to participate within the journey then put together your self now. Overlook the facility of know-how, science and customary humanity. Overlook the promise of progress and understanding, for there isn’t any peace amongst the celebs, solely an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods.

However the universe is an enormous place and, no matter occurs, you’ll not be missed…

Later rewrites of this piece add in references to the top-selling House Marines and their comrades, however the bleakness of the God Emperor’s reign has by no means been in query.

Meet the Imperium of Man

Earlier than we delve into the finer particulars of the fashionable setting, it’s clear that humanity shouldn’t be regarded as the great guys in 40K. From the very starting of the franchise to the present day, the Imperium is among the most villainous factions in the whole galaxy, as merciless or maybe extra merciless to its personal residents than it’s to outsiders it considers to be a risk to its lifestyle.

The Imperium stay the franchise’s nominal predominant characters. They offer the bigger fiction its point-of-view in most cases, and take in a lot of the highlight. That is much more excessive with the House Marines, Video games Workshop’s prime sellers. Authors will usually hype them up and reward their virtues, outright ignoring or in any other case skipping over uncomfortable subjects like their tendency towards fascism and their origins as brainwashed baby troopers.

So, why are they so dang enjoyable to examine? Take Frank Herbert’s Dune, gothic Christian imagery ramped as much as 11, and big struggle machines. Throw all of them in a blender, and also you get 40K’s Imperium of Man. Battle nuns drop cathedral tanks from orbit on their enemies. The Adeptus Mechanicus, a transhuman faction of non secular cyborgs, chant non secular rites to the machine spirits inside tanks. The Astra Militarum, also called the Imperial Guard, is a faction made up of trillions of regular dudes in flak armor whose commissars urge them ahead at gunpoint. It’s a wild tackle dystopian, far-future sci-fi, far faraway from any of our present issues. The Imperium fucking sucks to stay in, nevertheless it’s enjoyable to examine, and so they have one redeeming high quality — they aren’t the opposite guys.

Really helpful Media:

House Marine is a strong and accessible motion sport that stars Captain Titus, an Ultramarine at struggle towards the Orks invading Forge World Graia.

Darktide is one of the best likelihood you’ll must discover a Hive Metropolis for your self. The extent design and soundtrack are immaculate and make Warhammer 40K really feel very tangible.

The Vaults of Terra sequence by Chris Wraight is a procedural crime drama that takes place on Terra, on the foot of the Golden Throne itself.

The Inquisition novels by Dan Abnett make up a sprawling trilogy of trilogies, packed filled with day-to-day life for the poor souls within the Imperium — and the Inquisitors who watch over them.

Hearth Caste by Peter Fehervari is an Apocalypse Now homage, instructed by means of the story of Imperial Guard troopers pursuing warriors of the T’au Empire.

From 15K to 40K

Picture: Video games Workshop

The Imperium is predicated on real-world historical past, however because it’s to date sooner or later, there are some huge gaps within the timeline. We all know that the Emperor of Mankind and his closest group of allies are Perpetuals, immortal people which can be reborn into new vessels after perishing. They’ve been within the background of all of historical past, pulling strings and establishing items on the chess board. Listed here are a few of humanity’s historic eras that find yourself setting the scene for 40K.

Darkish Age of Expertise (~15,000-25,000 CE): Lengthy after we had been all gone, humanity hit its pinnacle and created a completely automated area utopia. Then, the AI-controlled Males of Iron rose as much as kill humanity — and virtually succeeded. For this reason AI has been outlawed in 40K; the acronym now stands for abominable intelligence. As a replacement is a sort of horrific bio-engineering, which makes use of human minds and our bodies as the fabric for brand spanking new robot-like entities like servo-skulls and servitors. The Darkish Age tech that survived often crops up time and again within the fashionable timeline to trigger some sort of drawback, however we in any other case know little or no about this period.

Age of Strife/The Lengthy Night time: With area journey shut off and the Males of Iron revolt leaving humanity in ruins, the survivors fell to civil struggle, Mad Max: Fury Highway fashion, however throughout a number of star programs. The Emperor of Mankind confirmed up on the primary stage, created a defective race of transhuman troopers generally known as the Thunder Warriors, and forcibly united humanity beneath his banner. Giant components of the race had been stranded as a result of their faster-than-light tech went down with the Darkish Age of Expertise, and so they had been left to face fixed assault and enslavement from alien xenos.

The Nice Campaign: The Emperor used his gang of genetic scientists to enhance upon the Thunder Warriors, who had been all dying horribly. Step one was to create 20 good sons based mostly on the Emperor’s personal DNA, however Chaos interfered by taking these Primarch and yeeting them to the far corners of the galaxy. The Imperium of Man started to scour the celebs, trying to find the Primarchs even because it started bringing all human worlds again into the fold – whether or not they wished to affix or not. Throughout this time, two Primarchs had been disappeared by the Imperium for unknown causes, and completely scrubbed from the historic file.

Picture: Video games Workshop

Horus Heresy: The Horus Heresy is the civil struggle that adopted the Nice Campaign. For these residing within the present timeline of 40K, the Heresy — and even the Primarchs themselves — are the stuff of fantasy and legend, solely recognized by means of the practices of Imperial cults and scraps of historical past handed down by means of the generations. Their story, set within the 12 months 30K, has change into so well-liked that it’s now its personal standalone wargame accompanied by over 60 novels. It is a huge Greek tragedy, the place half of the Primarchs fall to Chaos and insurgent towards their tyrannical father. Ultimately, Horus is obliterated and the Emperor is badly wounded, resulting in the sluggish decay of the Imperium and the institutionalization of a compulsory faith worshiping the God-Emperor. Ironic, contemplating the man was a mega atheist, however he’s too busy sitting on the Golden Throne — an historic little bit of tech that simply barely manages to maintain him alive — to have any say about it.

Warhammer 40,000: That is the period that the majority followers of 40K, lapsed or in any other case, consider once they consider the franchise. However, for real-world many years, the “predominant plot” of the universe sat stagnant; there have been no additional progressions in the primary setting, simply new editions of the sport that had been pumped out on a roughly three-year cycle. As a substitute, the Black Library and publishing arms of Video games Workshop fleshed out what life was like within the Imperium of Man with works like Dan Abnett’s Inquisition novels, or Sandy Mitchell’s Ciaphas Cain novels. Smaller-scale tales unfolded on this setting, however there have been no main shake-ups till current years.

Period Indomitus (42,000 CE): Within the Gathering Storm marketing campaign complement books launched in 2017, one loyalist Primarch — Ultramarine and administrator extraordinaire, Roboute Guilliman — returned. Sadly, across the identical time, Chaos additionally break up the galaxy in half, creating the Cicatrix Maledictum. Warhammer 40K and its prolonged supplies have centered on the response to Guilliman’s return and the brand new nature of the post-split galaxy. A second loyalist Primarch, Lion el’Jonson, has just lately returned as nicely, establishing a post-Heresy grudge match for the very way forward for the Imperium itself.

The Final Antagonist: Chaos

Picture: Video games Workshop

The Imperium sucks, nevertheless it’s so terrible for a cause — and that cause is Chaos, the ever-present enemy that feeds off humanity and would love nothing greater than to maintain them as slaves and soul cattle.

Chaos is powered by the Warp, a roiling mirror realm of emotion that exists parallel to realspace. The Warp is a corrupting drive; whereas Imperial Psykers and House Marine Librarians use the stuff to struggle off the enemies of mankind, they’re frequently susceptible to corruption — or of by accident summoning a demon. You’ll be able to’t escape these malevolent energies, particularly after the Cicatrix Maledictum was torn throughout the galaxy and the Warp started frequently spilling out of it.

There are 4 predominant Chaos Gods, though current marketing campaign books just like the Arks of Omen have centered on some mini-Gods and better daemons who need to earn a promotion. Every God corresponds to some sort of highly effective emotion.

Khorne is a god of warfare and brutality; his motto is “Blood for the blood god, skulls for the cranium throne.” Tzeentch is the god of change, and is a patron to sorcerers and schemers across the galaxy. Nurgle is a god of life, illness, and decay, spreading plagues across the galaxy. Slaanesh is a god of extra and pleasure, born out of the heights of Aeldari hedonism. Patrons of Chaos can observe one god, or all 4 in the event that they really feel like they only can’t commit.

The pure minions of the Chaos Gods are daemons, also called the Neverborn. These are creatures from the Warp that may solely materialize in realspace when particular circumstances — like copious quantities of human sacrifice — are met. Cultists and double brokers across the galaxy work on behalf of the Neverborn to make their manifestation attainable. The Gods and their followers frequently compete within the Nice Sport, and so they’re all as more likely to backstab one another as really struggle a foe collectively.

However there are not any troopers of Chaos as ardent or dedicated because the Chaos House Marines who fell within the Horus Heresy. Horribly mutated, pressured to eke out an existence within the Eye of Terror, and continually scuffling with what stays of their morality and humanity, the Chaos House Marines are a tragic mirror of their brothers.

Really helpful Media:

The Night time Lords Omnibus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden takes on the unimaginable activity of turning a pack of Chaos House Marines into likable heroes — and pulls it off, with a facet order of tragedy.

The First Heretic is one other novel by Dembski-Bowden from the Horus Heresy sequence, exploring the origin of the Chaos House Marines — and why they’re not fully guilty.

Sabbat Struggle, The Tomb of Vichres, a brief story by Justin D. Hill, is a harrowing account of what it’s wish to be a Chaos footsoldier.

Xenos, the aliens subsequent door

The varied alien races of the 40K galaxy usually are not a united entrance; the one factor they’ve in widespread is that they don’t seem to be humanity. Every of them poses a risk to the Imperium of Man in personal approach, however they’re all as more likely to struggle one another as roll up on Imperial forces. Most of the xenos race are tied to the Struggle in Heaven, a very historic battle between the Outdated Ones and the C’tan that performed out over 65 million years in the past. The Outdated Ones and C’tan used a lot of our present xenos races as proxy forces.

Aeldari

Picture: Relic Leisure

The Aeldari (previously generally known as Eldar) are area elves, and so they share most of the identical traits as their cousins in different fantasy media. They’re an aloof species, masters of sorcery and one-time rulers of the galaxy. They’ve entry to the Webway, a system of extra-dimensional tunnels that permit faster-than-light journey with out exposing oneself to the Warp. Regardless of all these sick advantages, their race is now outlined by their explosive fall to hedonism and hubris. The Aeldari turned so decadent and conceited that they murderfucked the Chaos God Slaanesh into existence. Oops! Many of the Aeldari pantheon was killed, shattered, or kidnapped to the realms of Chaos, with one notable exception.

The survivors of the Fall have splintered, selecting alternative ways to outlive. The Asuryani use Craftworlds, former journey ships the dimensions of planets which have been retrofitted to change into their main habitat. The Drukhari torture, maim, and wreak havoc on innocents, escaping Slaanesh by continually revitalizing themselves, Elizabeth Bathory-style. The Harlequins are warriors who double as performers and artists, protected by Cegorach, the Laughing God. There are additionally the Exodites — comparatively rural Aeldari who stay on Craftworlds and experience dinosaurs — and the Ynnari, a brand new faction with recruits from all different Aeldari who pursue the beginning of a brand new God of Dying.

Really helpful Media:

Path of the Eldar is an omnibus that dives into Craftworld society from quite a lot of views, giving a strong concept of the cultures and every day lives of those unusual aliens.

Path of the Darkish Eldar is identical factor — besides it digs into Commoragh and the sinister machinations of the Drukhari.

Warhammer TV’s Hammer & Bolter sequence, In The Backyard of Ghosts (subscription solely), is a shifting story about Aeldari magic and the ties that bind us to our households.

Orks

The unique satire and humor of 40K nonetheless exists, and the Orks are one of the best instance of it. These guys worship gods named Gork and Mork, like to struggle, and go away spores behind that multiply and develop into extra Orks. The Orks had been initially Krorks, engineered by the Outdated Ones of their struggle towards the C’tan. Over the millennia, they’ve devolved into big inexperienced footie hooligans. Whereas different armies boast terrifying know-how or fastidiously honed weaponry, the Orks will strap a bunch of rockets to an asteroid and experience it hooting and hollering right into a spaceship like a bunch of massive inexperienced Dr. Strangeloves. Backed up by a military of little grot minions and pumpkin-shaped beasts referred to as squigs, they’re at all times having a blast in a galaxy of solely struggle — it’s everybody else who finds them terrifying and deadly.

Really helpful Media:

Shootas, Blood, and Teef is a whimsical run-and-gun sport the place you play as one a part of a mighty Ork WAAAGH!, destroying all the things in your path.

Brutal Kunnin’ by Mike Brooks is a surprisingly humorous story of Orks pitted towards tech clergymen.

Ghazghkull Thraka: Prophet of the Waaagh! by Nate Crowley shines a light-weight on the Orks’ largest star, through a story spun by considered one of his banner-holders to the Inquisition itself.

Warhammer TV’s Hammer & Bolter sequence, Outdated Bale Eye (subscription solely), is a tall story instructed from the Ork perspective.

Tyranids

Picture: Video games Workshop

It’s about time we talked in regards to the Tyranids, as a result of these hungry boys put the Zerg to disgrace. The Tyranids are a drive from exterior the galaxy who will function the primary antagonists of Warhammer 40K’s tenth version boxed set and the upcoming House Marine 2. They’re a extremely adaptive organic drive who devour planets and populations and switch them into gas for extra Tyranids. Tyranids are backed up by Genestealer Cults, nefarious organizations that infiltrate human societies with the eventual aim of overthrowing native resistance and lighting a beacon for the Hive Fleets to return and nom on the planet.

Really helpful Media:

The Devastation of Baal by Man Haley is the epic battle of Hive Fleet Leviathan and its very earnest effort to utterly destroy the Blood Angels chapter of House Marines on their residence world of Baal.

Day of Ascension by Adrian Tchaikovsky is all in regards to the Genestealer Cults and their sneaky plans to unfold the great phrase of a bug’s life.

Warhammer TV’s Hammer & Bolter sequence, A New Life (subscription solely), will assist in your understanding of how Tyranids assault from with out and inside.

Necron

Picture: Video games Workshop

As soon as written as terrifying area Terminators (Arnold-style, not House Marine-style), current revisions to the canon have given the Necron far more depth. An historic race cursed to undergo beneath a radioactive solar, the Necrontyr made a cope with the satan for an finish to their struggling. The C’tan used biotransference to take away mortality and flesh from the Necrontyr, remodeling them into the Necrons. Whereas they ultimately settled down for a protracted slumber, the Necron are waking as much as reclaim the galaxy — all whereas they battle with immortality and the curse of biotransference.

Really helpful Media:

The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath is among the greatest 40K novels interval, and does wonders to flesh out its Necron stars — you already know, regardless of all of the metallic.

The Twice Lifeless King by Nate Crowley shines a light-weight on the enigmatic Silent King’s court docket, telling a story of Necron the Aristocracy and their ambitions.

The Templin Institute does an ideal job presenting an in-fiction lore dump on the Necron that received’t put you to sleep.

T’au Empire

Picture: Video games Workshop

The T’au Empire are the latest youngsters on the block, solely rising as a galactic civilization throughout the final 5 thousand years. These blue-skinned, mecha-loving aliens imagine in an idea referred to as the Better Good. The T’au are divided into 4 castes — water, fireplace, earth, and air, and dominated over by a gaggle referred to as the Ethereals. The T’au will prolong the hand of friendship and clarify the worth of the Better Good to potential new worlds. Those that decline will doubtless be inspired to rethink, by means of both diplomacy and tender energy, or extra direct army motion.

The Empire is small, and expands a lot slower than their rivals — however they’re additionally a significantly better place to stay than the Imperium, and so they’ve constructed a coalition of different alien races who struggle beneath their banner.

Really helpful Media:

Voice of Expertise by JC Stearns stars a human member of the T’au, swayed by the Better Good. This human perspective provides us new perception on the Empire.

Damaged Sword by Man Haley is one story from a bigger omnibus detailing a battle between T’au and House Marines.

Leagues of Votann

The Leagues of Votann are area dwarves, beforehand generally known as Squats, who had been a part of the unique setting when it launched within the Eighties. Beforehand, it had been claimed that the Tyranids had devoured the Squats, however Video games Workshop just lately reintroduced them because the Leagues of Votann. Seems they’ve been hiding in plain sight all alongside, together with on one of many galaxy’s most populous programs, Necromunda.

The Leagues are a extremely expert group on par with the Imperium and the T’au technologically, however much more insular and nomadic, relying on the sect. The Votann had been as soon as human, and so they left the Sol system within the Darkish Age of Expertise. After numerous generations of genetic manipulation, distance from humanity, and good old style evolution, they’ve change into their very own species fully – one which deeply distrusts the Imperium. They even stay alongside Ironkin, who appear suspiciously much like the Males of Iron who almost killed humanity throughout the Darkish Age of Expertise. The Votann get alongside simply high quality with the Ironkin, presumably as a consequence of their comparatively open minds.

The Leagues of Votann worship Ancestor Cores, monumental supercomputers that eclipse something the Imperium has to supply. These Ancestor Cores are slowly breaking down, like a pc with too many Chrome tabs, and they’re more and more unreliable as guides. This, mixed with the Cicatrix Maledictum, means the Leagues should as soon as once more enterprise out into the galaxy.

With that primer behind you, you’re free to get began by yourself private journey by means of the world of Warhammer 40,000. Possibly that’s a better appreciation of the franchise’s greatest video video games, or a number of months’ subscription to Warhammer Plus for much more deep cuts of lore. You might additionally begin gearing up for the tenth version: The following iteration of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop sport guarantees to have a good decrease barrier to entry than earlier ones. Seize a number of pots of paint, and get began portray miniatures now for the discharge this summer time.