I guess I always avoided Warhammer because I thought I knew what it was all about. In my mind it was a very complicated tabletop game for the hardest of the hardcore who want to roll fist fulls of dice and field massive armys with dozens of models. I had played a couple other miniature games like Warmachine back in the day and enjoyed but I never thought Warhammer was for me. Boy was I wrong.
My eldest son Gabe (who turns 18yo this year) and I had started investigating some tabletop games like Armada and the SnapShips game. It was at this point that the universe sent us a message.
A brand new game store opened up within walking distance of our house. It took over a previously vacant building right next to the grocery store we go to. Over the Brick is a great little shop full of hobby stuff but I’d say that about 60% of the space is given over to Warhammer in all of its various incarnations. We were tantalized by all the cool looking models and ended up walking out with the “Recruit Edition” starter set.
This box contains about a dozen models and some starter rules so that you can have a little Space Marine vs. Necron battle and learn the basics. It’s an excellent “learn as you play” experience with a light narrative element that was a lot of fun to play through.
I think I speak for both of us when I say that I was not prepared for the lore in Warhammer 40k. I have played a few other table top games and generally the story always feels like an afterthought to me. Something “extra” that they cooked up after designing the game. Like a paint color applied to an already built house. The lore in 40k is some of the best science fiction I’ve read.
On Kiko’s recommendation I started with a book called Horus Rising and I can’t believe it. Here’s the text message I sent to Jerry and Kiko after starting the book:
The Space Marine story has its hooks in me and I had to grab the Codex. Now it’s time to pick a chapter and get to painting.
I feel like I am standing on the edge of a very steep drop. I am just starting to understand why Warhammer is such a big deal and it's very exciting. It helps that the game is mechanically really smart and incredibly fun to play but I honestly can’t stress enough how cool this setting is. Gabe picked up the Codex for his necrons and kept having to read passages from it to me outloud because they were so cool. I just want more 40k at this point. I want to read more books, play with more models, play the video games, is there a cookbook? Is there some sort of “organs for models” program I can take part in?
Last night before bed I was sketching and thinking about what Space Marine chapter I want to play. Here’s the first of what I am sure will be a lot of 40k art from me:
-Gabe out
