Warhammer 40,000

Rulebooks

The rules of the game are detailed in a series of rulebooks published by Games Workshop. The rulebooks are copyrighted and are not available for free. The latest edition of the core rulebook is the 8th, published on June 2017.

Playing field

The playing field is a diorama of a battlefield that comprises scale models of hills, trees, buildings, walls, and other features. Games Workshop sells a variety of terrain models, but players often use generic or homemade ones too. The playing field can theoretically be of any size, but a typical game is played on a table where every part of the field is within the players' reach (the core rulebook recommends a width of four feet^[4]). Unlike certain other miniature wargames (such as Battletech), Warhammer 40,000 does not use a grid system. Players must use measuring tape and templates to measure distances. Distances are measured in inches.

Miniature models

Games Workshop sells a large variety of plastic and metal models for Warhammer 40,000. Games Workshop doesn't sell ready-to-play models. Rather, it sells boxes of model parts. Players are expected to assemble and paint the miniatures themselves; Games Workshop also sells glue, tools, and acrylic paints for this purpose.

Each miniature model represents an individual warrior or vehicle. In the rulebooks, there is an entry for every type of model in the game that describes the capabilities of the warrior the model represents. For instance, a model of a Tactical Space Marine has a "Move characteristic" of 6 inches, a "Toughness characteristic" of 4, and is armed with a "boltgun" with a range of 24 inches.

Assembling armies

Models are classified into "factions". In a matched game, a player can only use models that are all loyal to a common faction, such as "Imperium" or "Chaos".^[5] Thus, a player cannot, for example, use a mixture of Tau and Ork models. Each faction has its own strengths and weaknesses due to the warriors and weapons it has access to. For instance, the Tau faction favors ranged combat because it has few melee-warrior types.

The players must agree as to what "points limit" they will play at, which roughly determines how big their armies will be. Every model has its own point value which roughly corresponds to how powerful the model is, e.g. a common Space Marine is valued at 13 points, whereas a Land Raider tank is valued at 239 points.^[6] The sum of the point values of a player's models must not exceed the agreed limit. A game with a 1,000 point limit will last about two hours.^[7]

Each player places his models in starting zones at opposite ends of the playing field. All models are grouped into "units". Models in the same unit must stay close to each other. They fight in unison and take damage in unison.

Moving & attacking

At the start of his turn, a player moves each unit in his army by hand across the field. A unit can be moved no farther than its listed "Move characteristic". For instance, a unit of Space Marine models can be moved no farther than six inches per turn. All models in a unit must stick together; each model must finish the turn within six inches of another model from its unit.

After moving, each unit can attack any enemy unit within range of whatever weapons and psychic powers its models have. For instance, a Space Marine Librarian armed with boltgun can shoot any enemy unit within 24 inches, or discharge magical lightning at any enemy within 18 inches. The player uses dice rolls to determine how much imaginary damage his models inflicted on the enemy. The player cannot target individual models within an enemy unit; if an enemy unit suffers damage, the enemy player decides which models in the unit suffered injury.^[8] If a model suffers more injury than its "Wound characteristic" permits, it dies. A dead model of an infantry is removed from the playing field. Disabled vehicles are left on the field, as they can be used for cover by surviving models.

Victory conditions

Victory depends on what kind of "mission" the players choose for their game. It might involve exterminating the enemy, or holding a location on the field for a certain length of time, or scoring the most points after a certain number of rounds.

Influences

Priestley cites J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Dune, Paradise Lost, and 2000 AD as major influences on the setting. Priestley felt that Warhammer's concept of Chaos, as detailed by his colleague Bryan Ansell in the supplement Realms of Chaos, was too simplistic and too similar to the works of Michael Moorcock, so he developed it further, taking inspiration from Paradise Lost.^[9] The story of the Emperor's favored sons succumbing to the temptations of Chaos deliberately parallels the fall of Satan in Paradise Lost. The religious themes are primarily inspired by the early history of Christianity and Catholicism.

The Imperium of Man is a critique of organized religion and authoritarian thinking:

To me the background to 40K was always intended to be ironic. [...] The fact that the Space Marines were lauded as heroes within Games Workshop always amused me, because they're brutal, but they're also completely self-deceiving. The whole idea of the Emperor is that you don't know whether he's alive or dead. The whole Imperium might be running on superstition. There's no guarantee that the Emperor is anything other than a corpse with a residual mental ability to direct spacecraft. It's got some parallels with religious beliefs and principles, and I think a lot of that got missed and overwritten.

— Rick Priestley, in a December 2015 interview with Unplugged Games^[10]

Imperium

The Imperium of Man is an empire that spans most of the galaxy, united in its worship of the Emperor of Mankind. Imperium society is characterized by superstition, authoritarianism, bureaucratic inefficiency, and technological stagnation. The Imperium believes aliens are foul creatures fit only to be exterminated.

Of all the factions, the Imperium has the largest catalog of models, which gives Imperium players a lot of flexibility in designing their army. Warriors available to the Imperium include:

• Space Marines - Genetically-augmented warrior-monks. Their infantry is tough and versatile.
• Imperial Guard - The main terrestrial army of the Imperium. Their infantry are cheap and weak, but their vehicles can be very powerful.
• Sisters of Battle - Female warrior-nuns who form the military wing of the state church.
• Adeptus Custodes - Genetically-augmented bodyguards of the Emperor.
• Sisters of Silence - female warriors who project auras that suppress psychic activity.
• Skitarii - the militant wing of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which is a religious sect that manufactures and maintains most of the Imperium's advanced technology.
• Imperial Knights - colossal bipedal combat vehicles.
• Imperial Navy - the space-borne navy of Imperium (playable in the Battlefleet Gothic spinoff game).

Chaos

Within the parallel dimension known as the Warp dwell the Chaos Gods, who are monomaniacal and depraved entities who feed on the emotions and souls of mortals. The Chaos Gods have the ability to twist the minds of mortals, amplifying certain emotional traits and inspiring reverence, like a supernatural form of brainwashing. Worshippers of Chaos tend to be insane, violent, and depraved.

• Chaos Space Marines - Space Marines who worship the Chaos Gods.
• Chaos Daemons - supernatural servants of the Chaos Gods.

Eldar

The Eldar are a derived from the Elves of Warhammer Fantasy. They are an arrogant race of aliens who view most humans as vermin (they call humans "mon-keighs"). Once upon a time, they had an empire that dominated the galaxy, but it was destroyed in a magical cataclysm, along with most of the population. The surviving Eldar live in scattered communities across the galaxy.

There are three major sub-factions of the Eldar:

• The Craftworld Eldar, live in colossal, city-sized spaceships. They are very proficient in the mystic arts, and provide a wide variety of psyker models for the game.
• The Dark Eldar live in a pocket dimension known as "the Webway". They are sadistic people who torture sentient beings to extend their own lifespans. Dark Eldar do not practice the mystic arts.
• The Exodites live on planets on the fringes of the galaxy. Their technology is a little primitive, and they make use of dinosaurs and other great beasts in lieu of vehicles.

Eldar infantry tend to be highly specialized. "Howling banshees", for instance, are only good at melee combat. They also tend to be frail. Because of this lack of staying power, Eldar infantry is often subject to severe, and sometimes unrecoverable, losses after a bad tactical decision or even a series of poor rolls. In some terms, they are a "glass cannon". Successful gameplay is often stylized by outnumbered Eldar units which outmaneuver the opponent and kill entire squads before they have a chance to retaliate.

Tyranids

Tyranids are a mysterious race the comes from outside the galaxy. They migrate from planet to planet, devouring all life in their path, as if their purpose in life was simply to exterminate. Tyranids are linked to a psychic hive-mind; individual Tyranids become dumb and feral when separated from it. Their technology is entirely biological: their ships and weapons are living things that are grown rather than manufactured.

Tyranids have a preference for melee combat. Tyranid infantry units tend to be fast, hard-hitting, but frail. They are also cheap, meaning Tyranid armies in play tend to be large. Tyranids have the most powerful counter-measures against enemies with psychic powers — many Tyranid units possess the "Shadow in the Warp" trait, which makes it harder for nearby enemy psykers to use their powers.^[11]

Tau

The Tau are a progressive race of blue-skinned aliens who have a small but growing empire located on the fringes of the Imperium of Man. They seek to subjugate all other races, supposedly for the benefit of all; they call their cause "the Greater Good". Though they may appear self-righteous, humans who live in the Tau Empire do tend to have a better quality of life than Imperium citizens. Many Imperium worlds have willingly defected to the Tau Empire.

Tau armies have a strong preference for ranged combat. The Tau do not have any psykers nor units that specialize in countering psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks. Most Tau vehicles are classified as flyers, skimmers, or jet pack infantry, meaning they can move swiftly over difficult terrain.

Necrons

Necrons are an ancient race of skeleton-like robots. They are waking up from millions of years of hibernation in underground vaults, and seek to rebuild their old empire.

Necrons are characterized by strong ranged firepower and tough armor. They are known primarily for their trademark "gauss" and "reanimation" abilities. As robots made of "living metal", many Necron units possess the ability to reassemble themselves after being slain and fight on. Being machines, Necrons possess maximum leadership across all units but are also relatively slow moving outside of some transports. Necrons do not have any psykers, which means them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks.

Orks

Orks are a comical race of green-skinned brutes. Their culture revolves around war and they fight for the sheer pleasure of it, if nothing else.

The Orks are units tend to be slow-moving, cheap, and tough. They have a preference for melee combat.

Rogue Trader (1987)

Rogue Trader – the first edition of Warhammer 40,000

The first edition of the game, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, was published in 1987.^[12] Game designer Rick Priestley created the original rules set (based on the contemporary second edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle) alongside the Warhammer 40,000 gameworld. The gameplay of Rogue Trader was heavily oriented toward role-playing rather than strict wargaming. This original version came as a very detailed, though rather jumbled, rulebook, which made it most suitable for fighting small skirmishes.^[13] Much of the composition of the units was determined randomly, by rolling dice. A few elements of the setting (bolters, lasguns, frag grenades, Terminator armour) can be seen in a set of earlier wargaming rules called Laserburn (produced by the now defunct company Tabletop Games) written by Bryan Ansell. These rules were later expanded by both Ansell and Richard Halliwell (both of whom ended up working for Games Workshop), although the rules were not a precursor to Rogue Trader.^[14]

In addition, supplemental material was continually published in White Dwarf magazine, which provided rules for new units and models. Eventually, White Dwarf provided proper "army lists" that could be used to create larger and more coherent forces than were possible in the main rulebook. These articles were from time to time released in expansion books along with new rules, background materials and illustrations. All in all ten books were released for the original edition of Warhammer 40,000: "Chapter Approved – Book of the Astronomican", "Compendium", "Warhammer 40,000 Compilation", "Waaagh – Orks", two "Realm of Chaos" ("Slaves to Darkness" and "The Lost and the Damned"), "'Ere we Go", "Freebooterz", "Battle Manual", and "Vehicle Manual". The "Battle Manual" changed and codified the combat rules and provided updated stats for most of the weapons in the game. The "Vehicle Manual" contained a new system for vehicle management on the tabletop which was intended to supersede the clunky rules given in the base hardback manual and in the red softback compendium, it had an inventive target location system which used acetate crosshairs to simulate weapon hits on the vehicle silhouettes with different armour values for different locations (such as tracks, engine compartment, ammo store, and so on). "Waaagh – Orks" was an introductory manual to Orkish culture and physiology. It contained no rules, but background material. Other Ork-themed books instead were replete with army lists for major Ork clans and also for greenskin pirate and mercenary outfits. The "Realm of Chaos" books were hefty hardback tomes, which included rules for Chaos in Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Warhammer Fantasy Battle (3rd edition).

Second edition (1993)

The second edition of Warhammer 40,000 was published in late 1993. This new course for the game was forged under the direction of editor Andy Chambers. The second edition came in a boxed set that included Space Marine and Ork miniatures, scenery, dice, and the main rules. An expansion box set titled Dark Millennium was later released, which included rules for psychic powers. Another trait of the game was the attention given to "special characters" representing specific individuals from the background, who had access to equipment and abilities beyond those of others; the earlier edition only had three generic "heroic" profiles for each army: "champion", "minor hero" and "major hero".

Third edition (1998)

The third edition of the game was released in 1998 and, like the second edition, concentrated on streamlining the rules for larger battles.^[15] Third-edition rules were notably simpler.^[16] The rulebook was available alone, or as a boxed set with miniatures of Space Marines and the newly introduced Dark Eldar. The system of army 'codexes' continued in third edition.

Towards the end of the third edition, four new army codexes were introduced: the xeno (that is, alien) races of the Necron and the Tau and two armies of the Inquisition: the Ordo Malleus (called Daemonhunters), and the Ordo Hereticus (called Witchhunters); elements of the latter two armies had appeared before in supplementary material (such as Realm of Chaos and Codex: Sisters of Battle). At the end of the third edition, these armies were re-released with all-new artwork and army lists. The release of the Tau coincided with a rise in popularity for the game in the United States.^[17]

Fourth edition (2004)

The fourth edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released in 2004.^[18] This edition did not feature as many major changes as prior editions, and was "backwards compatible" with each army's third-edition codex. The fourth edition was released in three forms: the first was a standalone hardcover version, with additional information on painting, scenery building, and background information about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The second was a boxed set, called Battle for Macragge, which included a compact softcover version of the rules, scenery, dice, templates, and Space Marines and Tyranid miniatures. The third was a limited collector's edition. Battle for Macragge was a 'game in a box', targeted primarily at beginners. Battle for Macragge was based on the Tyranid invasion of the Ultramarines' homeworld, Macragge. An expansion to this was released called The Battle Rages On!, which featured new scenarios and units, like the Tyranid Warrior.

Fifth edition (2008)

The fifth edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released on July 12, 2008. While there are some differences between the fourth and fifth editions, the general rule set shares numerous similarities. Codex books designed prior to the fifth edition are still compatible with only some changes to how those armies function.^[19] The replacement for the previous edition's Battle for Macragge starter set is called Assault on Black Reach, which features a pocket-sized rulebook (containing the full ruleset but omitting the background and hobby sections of the full-sized rulebook), and starter Ork and Space Marine armies. Each army contains a HQ choice, either an Ork Warboss or a Space Marine Captain.

New additions to the rules include the ability for infantry models to "Go to Ground" when under fire, providing additional protection at the cost of mobility and shooting as they dive for cover. Actual line of sight is needed to fire at enemy models. Also introduced is the ability to run, whereby units may forgo shooting to cover more ground. In addition, cover has been changed so that it is now easier for a unit to get a cover save. Damage to vehicles has been simplified and significantly reduced, and tanks may now ram other vehicles.^[19] Some of these rules are modeled after rules that existed in the Second Edition, but were removed in the Third. Likewise, 5th edition codexes have seen a return of many units previously cut out in the previous edition for having unwieldy rules. These units have largely been brought back with most of their old rules streamlined for the new edition. Fifth edition releases focused largely on Space Marine forces, including the abolishment of the Daemonhunters in favour of an army composed of Grey Knights, a special chapter of Space Marines, which, in previous editions, had provided the elite choices of the Daemonhunter's army list. Another major change was the shift from metal figures to Resin kits.

Sixth edition (2012)

Sixth edition was released on June 23, 2012. Changes to this edition include the adoption of an optional Psychic Power card system similar to that of the game's sister product Warhammer Fantasy Battle as well as the inclusion of full rules for flying vehicles and monsters and a major reworking of the manner in which damage is resolved against vehicles. It also includes expanded rules for greater interaction with scenery and more dynamic close-combat.^[20] In addition to updating existing rules and adding new ones, 6th Edition introduced several other large changes: the Alliance system, in which players can bring units from other armies to work with their own, with varying levels of trust; the choice to take one fortification as part of your force; and Warlord traits, which will allow a player's Commander to gain a categorically randomized trait that can aid their forces in different situations. Replacing the "Assault on Black Reach" box set is the "Dark Vengeance" box set which includes Dark Angels and Chaos Space Marine models. Some of the early release box sets of Dark Vengeance contained a limited edition Interrogator-Chaplain for the Dark Angels.

Seventh edition (2014)

Announced in White Dwarf issue 15, pre-orders for May 17 and release date of May 24, 2014.^[21]

The 7th edition saw several major changes to the game, including a dedicated Psychic Phase, as well as the way Psychic powers worked overall,^[22] and changeable mid-game Tactical Objectives. Tactical Objectives would give the players alternate ways to score Victory Points, and thus win games. These objectives could change at different points during the game.^[23][24]

As well as these additions, the 7th edition provided a new way to organize Army lists. Players could play as either Battle-Forged, making a list in the same way as 6th edition, or Unbound, which allowed the player to use any models they desired, disregarding the Force Organization Chart.^[25] Bonuses are given to Battle-Forged armies. Additionally, Lord of War units, which are powerful units previously only allowed in large-scale ("Apocalypse") games, are now included in the standard rulebook, and are a normal part of the Force Organization Chart.

Eighth edition (2017)

Announced on April 22, 2017^[26], pre-orders for June 3^[27] and release date of June 17, 2017.^[28]

The 8th edition was a major revision of the previous edition to the game, making it easier for new players to enter the hobby and start playing. In this respect, the game introduced the Three Ways to Play concept: Open, Matched, and Narrative.^[29] The core ruleset was simplified down to 14 pages, as a free PDF booklet available on the Games Workshop website.^[30] The more complex rules still remain in the game mechanic, found in the updated hardcover Rulebook. The setting behind 8th Edition has also been updated, with the Galaxy having been split in half by the forces of Chaos^[31] and the Primarch Roboute Guilliman returning to lead the Imperium as the Lord Commander, beginning with reclaiming devastated worlds through the Indomitus Crusade.^[32]

The 8th Edition also introduced a new box set called "Dark Imperium", which featured a new faction, the Primaris Space Marines, as well as introducing new characters and rules to The Death Guard.

Novels

Following the 1987 initial release of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 wargame the company began publishing background literature that expands previous material, adds new material, and describes the universe, its characters, and its events in detail. Since 1997 the bulk of background literature has been published by the affiliated imprint Black Library.

The increasing number of fiction works by an expanding list of authors is published in several formats and media, including audio, digital and print. Most of the works, which include full-length novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and audio dramas, are parts of named book series. In 2018, a line of novels for readers aged 8 to 12 was announced, which led to some confusion among fans given the ultra-violent and grimdark nature of the setting.^[37]

Video games

The first two video game based on Warhammer 40,000 were an adaptations of the Space Hulk spinoff game, published by Electronic Arts in 1993 and 1995. Games Workshop then passed the license to develop Warhammer 40,000 games to SSI, which published three games in the late 1990s. After SSI, Games Workshop then gave the license to THQ, and between 2003 and 2011 THQ published 13 games, including the Dawn of War series. After 2011, Games Workshop changed its licensing strategy: instead of an exclusive license to a single publisher, it now broadly licenses a variety of publishers.^[38]

Board Games and Roleplaying Games

Although there were plans to create a full-fledged Warhammer 40,000 "pen and paper" role-playing game from the beginning,^[39] these did not come to fruition for many years, until an official Warhammer 40,000 role-playing game was published only in 2008, with the release of Dark Heresy by Black Industries, a GW subsidiary. This system was later licensed to Fantasy Flight Games for continued support and expansion.

Formerly Games Workshop licensed a number of Warhammer 40K themed products to Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Games specializes in board, card and role-play games. Included in the licensed product were:

• Horus Heresy – a board game focusing on the final battle of the Horus Heresy the battle for the Emperor's Palace; this game is a re-imagining of a game by the same name created by Jervis Johnson in the 1990s.
• Space Hulk: Death Angel – a game with a merge of board and card game mechanics, based on the popular "Space Hulk" board game, featuring Space Marines against Genestealers.
• Space Hulk: Death Angel, The Card Game – the card game version of Space Hulk. Players cooperate as Space Marines in order to clear out the infestation of Genestealers on a derelict spaceship.
• Warhammer 40,000: Conquest – a Living Card Game where players control various factions of the Warhammer 40,000 setting in order to rule the sector.
• Forbidden Stars – a board game that pits 4 popular Warhammer 40,000 races against one another to control objectives and secure the sector for themselves.
• Relic – an adaptation of the board game Talisman to the Warhammer: 40,000 setting.
• Dark Heresy – a pen and paper role-playing game where players may assume the roles of a cell of Inquisitorial acolytes, or assume a different and equally small-scale scenario following the game's rules. The recommended scenarios and ruleset present a good balance between investigation and combat encounters.
• Rogue Trader – a pen and paper role-playing game sharing many of its core mechanics with Dark Heresy, where players assume the roles of Explorers, whose rank and escalated privileges allow for travelling outside of Imperium's borders. Due to extensive expansions upon Rogue Trader, campaigns can be largely different and alternated by game masters. Its most significant difference from any of the other Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay titles is that it contains rules for capital spaceship design and space combat.
• Deathwatch – a pen and paper role-playing game, also sharing many of its core mechanics with Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, it allows players to role-play the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, who are the gene-enhanced superhuman elite combat units of the Imperium of Man. In light of this, its ruleset heavily emphasizes combat against difficult or numerically superior enemies, rather than negotiation and investigation, compared to Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader.
• Black Crusade – a pen and paper role-playing game, also sharing many of its core mechanics with Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch, Black Crusade allows players to role-play Chaos-corrupted characters. This installment will be concluded with supplements. It is notably different in that it allows much more free-form character development, with experience costs being determined by affiliation with a Chaos God.
• Only War – The newest installment of FFG's pen and paper Warhammer 40,000 role-play, Only War puts players in the boots of the Imperial Guard, the foot soldiers of the Imperium of Man. Despite the human-level capabilities of the characters, it also emphasizes combat over interaction, much like Deathwatch.

Film

On December 13, 2010,^[40] Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie was released directly to DVD. The movie is a CGI sci-fi based around the Ultramarines Chapter of Space Marines. The screenplay for the movie was written by Dan Abnett, a Games Workshop Black Library author. The movie was produced by Codex Pictures, a UK-based company, under license from Games Workshop. The movie utilized animated facial capture technology from Image Metrics.