So I picked up Warhammer 40K Inquisitor...

[uv23]

What a gorgeous book! The mood, story, themes, art.. its all so dark and gritty and tasty and yummy! I bought it on a whim and now I find myself wanting more. I was wondering what you knowledgable WH40K types would recommend for learning more about the universe, its history and so on. I'm looking more for story than I am for more gaming mechanics. Books, web sites, magazines? Lay it on me...

 

[Numion]

I'm not a WH40K type, but thorougly enjoyed the history and themes in the two Realms of Chaos books: Slaves to Darkness and the Lost and the Damned.

They had a wealth of info on chaos, the emperor, heresy and inquisition. Great stuff...

But those books have collector value today, IIRC.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

If you can get hold of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, the original book published, er, about 1990 or so, it is full of brilliant writing for the setting.

WH40K deserved to be a roleplaying game. So much of the original background and focus was changed over the years, before I lost interest (and ran out of money!) And they have some fun battle ideas, which double up easily as adventure hooks with a bit of work.

 

[uv23]

By the background being changed, do you mean like how certain aspects of D&D have been revised and changed throughout different revisions and game settings?

If anyone has the patience, I would love to have the general premise of the setting. What I've picked up so far is basically that its the 41st century, there are a bunch of demons running around, and there is a giant empire that worships a dead-but-not-dead emperor as their god. There's no real mention of the other races so far in Inquisitor. It seems to be more about hunting down heretics.

And I agree that it certainly seems like it should be a roleplaying game (in fact I wish it was!) Inquisitor seems like it could be an interesting crossover-type game. In the book, they call it a "narrative wargame", and talk about gamemasters and such as though it were a roleplaying game. I imagine that it could be played as such, with more improvisation when it comes to non-combat situations to account for a lack of skill/interaction type rules.

 

[Moe Ronalds]

I've played Inquisitor, and I think it could be a decent RPG, if it weren't for the fact that there were so many rules! Augh! I think if someone were to make D20 inquisitor with the different character types being represented like classes instead and were more balanced, I'd be interested in buying it...

 

[Numion]

At least in the older books the emperor is not only the leader of mankind; he's essential in navigating the space. His soul shines through the warpspace like a beacon (the Astronomicon), allowing mankind to travel faster than light. Without the beacon ships would get helplessly lost, and mankind would be lost.

It's not without a price, though. Hundreds of psychic humans have to be sacrificed to the emperor daily to keep his failing psyche working as the beacon.

Also in the slaves to darkness books it was told that all humans, except inquisitors, were killed if they even knew about the existence of demons.

 

[Dragongirl]

I have never been a miniatures player, but I did pick up both Warhammer Fantasy and 40,000K miniatures rulebooks a while back. They really do have a nice feel and a great story.

 

[Spatula]

By the background being changed, do you mean like how certain aspects of D&D have been revised and changed throughout different revisions and game settings?

Originally the setting was somewhat grim and hopeless, especially when the forces of chaos (the demons) are involved. "In the future there is only war." There were no good guys, every side was basically motivated by its own self-interest. That's changed over the years, some old-timers would probably say it's been sanitized for the kids. So now the humans forces are largely heroic and noble, whereas in the past they were not much better than the demons they're fighting against.

 

[Voneth]

At least in the older books the emperor is not only the leader of mankind; he's essential in navigating the space. His soul shines through the warpspace like a beacon (the Astronomicon), allowing mankind to travel faster than light. Without the beacon ships would get helplessly lost, and mankind would be lost.

It's not without a price, though. Hundreds of psychic humans have to be sacrificed to the emperor daily to keep his failing psyche working as the beacon.

Also in the slaves to darkness books it was told that all humans, except inquisitors, were killed if they even knew about the existence of demons.

Ya gotta love that conflicting fluff.

There is a whole segment of Space Marines, the Grey Knights that are pskyic and fight demons, as does any Space Marine force thats around the Eye of Terror.

So tibits I can think of.

Hyperspace is the "Warp" is a psykic dimenson where the evil gods dwell.

One of the first evil gods was given birth by the race of Eldar (Space Elves) via the their pleasure and excess. The event obliterated their homeplanet and now they move around in huge ships called "craft worlds." Any reall information on those that fell to Slannesh, the god of Pleasure, called Dark Eldar has only come light in the latest edition of the game.

The Space Orks are like Orks with Cockney accents and guns. They actualy are unkillable,but not unstoppable since they regenerate over time. Most of their beasts of burden are actualy mobile fungus. In fact, I think they are fungus.

Squats are Space Dwarves, which was an offshoot of the human race that landed on heavy G planets. They had steampunk, underground artilary and Harley Davidson trikes. They have been phased out.

On the flip side, the Tryannids where just a race that used organic technology (their radios have mouths) But have now become a monstrosity of Starship Trooper porportions. Their popularity was enhanced by adding the Alien rip-off genestealers to their army force. The same marketing tactic didn't save the zoat modeles though, and the stunt even made some people swear off 40K. (me)

The Space Marines come in all shapes and sizes and have slight mutations to make them more wolf or vampire like for you taste.

I don't know much about the new races, the Necron, Tau or Dark Eldar.

 

[Ramien Meltides]

I am a rabid 40k player and I also really enjoy the setting.

Just to clear things up regarding the Eldar... they are a group of spacefaring elves with a rich and vibrant history. In the ancient past their culture was devoted to excess and pleasure, and the psychic energies of that created one of the Chaos gods, Slaanesh. Slaanesh's birth destroyed the majority of the eldar worlds, leaving behind a gigantic warp storm now known as the Eye of Terror.

The surviving Eldar have formed different camps. The Craftworld eldar survived by boarding giant spaceships known as Craftworlds and slowly wander through space, using teleportation technology (known as the Webway, as it appears to be a collection of wormholes through the Warp) to bring their forces to bear. They follow the words of FarSeers, mighty psychic leaders who guide the eldar by glimpsing the paths of the future.

Other Eldar live on the few eldar worlds not swallowed in the Eye of Terror. They are known as Exodite Eldar and have tamed many strange beasts in addition to being more archaic (fantasy-like) than the craftworld eldar.

The Dark Eldar DO NOT serve Slaanesh. They are, however, a throwback to the days of excess as they are much like vicious, ruthless pirates who raid everyone in their path for slaves and resources.

The Harlequin Eldar serve one of the two remaining Eldar gods, known as the Laughing God. They are a nomadic tribe of Eldar who travel the Webway performing tales of the Eldar's past. (Much like a group of Bards)

They have fantastic technology (by Imperial standards) and powerful psychic abilities. One of the neatest things about them is their souls... Eldar believe that when they die, Slaanesh eats their souls. Thus, the craftworld eldar (and some Harlequins and Exodites), carry spirit stones, gems of a particular type that absorb the soul when an Eldar dies. In times of great need, the craftworld eldar construct artifical warriors (like battle robots) known as Wraithguard and Wraithlords... these constructs are then infused with the soul of an eldar warrior within a Spirit Stone, and thus are given the chance to fight again to protect the Eldar. That finishes up the Eldar.