I don't have much to say about the first game.

KrakDuk however does have a decent summary of its events here. Head to his channel and like, comment, subscribe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fyfH_7zCD4

I might get some details wrong, and this is an extremely simplified summary that is leaving a lot out over the course of thousands and thousands of years. However it will provide some context.

Thousands of years ago, humanity[warhammer40k.fandom.com] entered a period of time known as the Dark Age of Technology[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. This was when humankind was at their peak technologically speaking, and they began to settle other planets. This was accomplished with Warp travel. Most details about this time period are lost to us.

Following this, was the Age of Strife[warhammer40k.fandom.com], when humanity turned all their advanced technology onto each other. Humanity was at risk of extinction. During this period of time, the individual now known as the Emperor of Mankind appeared. He is the most powerful psyker in existence. He is also a Perpetual[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a rare kind of mutant that is immortal. Where did this super powerful psyker, this immortal mountain of a man come from you ask? Nobody knows. There's some theories of his origin, but nothing ever was really confirmed.

The Emperor stepped out of the shadows and started the Unification Wars[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a fight to unite Terra (Earth)[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. After this was the Great Crusade[warhammer40k.fandom.com], which sought to bring all other human settled planets under the rule of the Emperor. This was the beginning of the Imperium of Man[warhammer40k.fandom.com], or just the Imperium for short.



Following that was the Horus Heresy (which left the Emperor mortally wounded, and sitting on his throne decaying), which I will get into later, and then eventually we get to "current day" which is Era Indomitus.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

The "current day" Imperium is made up of several sub-factions. The most common ones you will hear about are...

The Adeptus Astartes, or more simply Space Marines or Angels of Death. They obviously appear in game.

The Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard, or just the Guard. You will encounter them a lot in game.

The Adeptus Mechanicus, or Cult Mechanicus, or Cult of the Machine, which you will encounter in game. I will talk about the Space Marines, Imperial Guard, and Mechanicus more below.

The Adepta Sororitas[warhammer40k.fandom.com], also known as the Sisters of Battle, or the Sisterhood.

The Adeptus Ministorum[warhammer40k.fandom.com], or the Ecclesiarchy, which is the church.

The Inquisition.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

The Adeptus Custodes.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

The Sisters of Silence.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

The Officio Assassinorum.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

And several others.

And within each of these sub-factions of the Imperium, there are even more groups.

The Warp. Also referred to as the Immaterium, the Empyrean, the Aether, the Sea of Souls, Warpspace...

The Realm of Chaos.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

This is more or less this setting's equivalent of hell. An alternate dimension of psychic energy. It's where the Chaos gods Khorne[warhammer40k.fandom.com], Tzeentch[warhammer40k.fandom.com], Nurgle[warhammer40k.fandom.com] and Slaanesh[warhammer40k.fandom.com] reside (along with other powerful beings like Samus[wh40k.lexicanum.com] and Vashtorr[warhammer40k.fandom.com]), and play their "Great Game"[warhammer40k.fandom.com] for dominance over the Warp. It's where the other daemons[warhammer40k.fandom.com] come from. It corrupts. It's terrifying.


It's also how humanity travels and communicates over long distances. See, they never really developed your typical FTL (faster than light) travel like in other sci-fi settings. Instead, they found a way to travel through the Warp using Warp-drive technology[warhammer40k.fandom.com], which allowed them to travel great distances in the Materium[warhammer40k.fandom.com], or realspace, very quickly. Realspace being where us corporeal beings live.

In addition to a Warp-drive, you also need a Gellar field[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. This essentially protects your ship and everyone on board from the Warp, and those that live within it, while you travel through it.

Lastly you need Navigators[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. They are a specific kind of abhuman[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a human mutant[warhammer40k.fandom.com] with a third eye that, as the name implies, allows them to navigate your ship through the Warp. How exactly?

Well, remember how I mentioned the Emperor was mortally wounded during the Horus Heresy, and is now rotting on his throne? Being the most powerful psyker in existence, his very being essentially acts as a lighthouse within the Warp called the Astronomican[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. He is being kept alive (barely, as artwork depicts him looking practically skeletal) by having a thousand psykers a day sacrifice their lifeforce to him, and with the aid of life support systems built into his Golden Throne[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. He can't move, he can't speak, he can't react, he seemingly can't do anything except...be a beacon in the Warp...and be an idol of worship for the Imperium, which he was completely against. This is why heretics call the Emperor things like "corpse god."


If the Emperor dies, the Astronomican dies with him, and then the Imperium's massive empire across the stars is screwed, because they can no longer travel through the warp.

In addition to traveling through the Warp, there are also Psykers[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. Most races, including humans, have psykers in their population. Psykers are beings that are capable of drawing psychic power from the Warp, "sorcery" if you will. Psykers, specifically Astropaths[warhammer40k.fandom.com], are also capable of communicating long distances using the Warp.

The problem with psykers, is that they can also be corrupted by the Warp, and possessed by daemons. As such, they are a valuable tool if they are strong and disciplined, but a weak minded psyker is a huge risk.

Scholar's Lore has some good videos that go more in depth on the Warp, be sure to like and subscribe to him if you want more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7WYqhmvJrY&t=445s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXaIupFgtb0&t=269s

After the Unification Wars, the Emperor made twenty Primarchs[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. To think of them in extremely simplistic terms, they are like mini versions of the Emperor, or super strong versions of a Space Marine. These 20 (technically 21) Primarchs were the Emperor's "sons" that he created using his own superhuman DNA, among other things...

From there, each Primarch had a Legion of Space Marines[warhammer40k.fandom.com] made from their individual Gene-seeds[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. This is the term used for the genetic material that allows the Imperium to create Space Marines. Space Marines are genetically and surgically modified head to toe. They are taller than a normal human. They have a bunch of special organs implanted in them. They receive cybernetic implants. They also undergo chemical treatment, psychological conditioning, and hypnotherapy while in combat training. They are superhuman.

A Space Marine Legion[warhammer40k.fandom.com] was simply put, a Primarch's army, and for a time the main fighting force of the Imperium. One Legion could have well over 200,000 Space Marines in it. The Primarchs, and their "First Founding"[warhammer40k.fandom.com] Legions, were...

1. Lion El'Jonson and the Dark Angels
2. REDACTED
3. Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children
4. Perturabo and the Iron Warriors
5. Jaghatai Khan and the White Scars
6. Leman Russ and the Space Wolves
7. Rogal Dorn and the Imperial Fists
8. Konrad Curze and the Night Lords
9. Sanguinius and the Blood Angels
10. Ferrus Manus and the Iron Hands
11. REDACTED
12. Angron and the War Hounds, later named World Eaters
13. Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines
14. Mortarion and the Dusk Raiders, later named Death Guard
15. Magnus the Red and the Thousand Sons
16. Horus, and the Luna Wolves, later named Sons of Horus, later named Black Legion
17. Lorgar and the Imperial Heralds, later named Word Bearers
18. Vulkan and the Salamanders
19. Corvus Corax and the Raven Guard
20. Alpharius and Omegon (twins), and the Alpha Legion

Bricky has a fun video here about all of the Space Marine Legions and their Primarchs. Head to his channel and give him a like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae2Beeleswc

The Great Crusade was interrupted by an event known as the Horus Heresy[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. This will again be a huge oversimplification of events, but simply put the Primarch Horus[warhammer40k.fandom.com] turned to the Chaos[warhammer40k.fandom.com] gods and this resulted in 9 Legions betraying the Emperor, and a huge civil war that once again brought humanity to its knees.


Most of the Primarchs ended up missing or dead, and the Emperor was mortally wounded and put on life support like I mentioned earlier.

The Loyalist (loyal to the Emperor) Legions are Ultramarines, Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Iron Hands, Imperial Fists, Space Wolves, Salamanders, Raven Guard, and White Scars.

The Traitor Legions (Chaos) are the Iron Warriors, Black Legion, World Eaters, Word Bearers, Emperor's Children, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, Night Lords...and the Alpha Legion (maybe).

All of the Traitor Legions, the Chaos Space Marines[warhammer40k.fandom.com], have been corrupted by Chaos and serve the Chaos gods. Some more than others. And most of the surviving traitor Primarchs turned into incredibly powerful daemon princes[warhammer40k.fandom.com], like Mortarion[warhammer40k.fandom.com] here.




Bricky has another fun video here that goes over some of the biggest overarching events in the Warhammer 40,000 timeline leading up to "current day" including but not limited to the Horus Heresy. Be sure to give it a like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPB3Q59vjR8

After the Horus Heresy, Ultramarine[warhammer40k.fandom.com] Primarch Roboute Guilliman[warhammer40k.fandom.com] was essentially the top dog in the Imperium, as the Emperor was in no shape to rule anymore. I don't want to type his name anymore, it hurts.


Robot Gorillaman felt he had to put measures into place to prevent another catastrophic event like the Horus Heresy. Part of why this happened, was that there was too much power wielded by each Primarch. So he wrote the Codex Astartes[warhammer40k.fandom.com], which is basically a rule book for the Space Marines to follow. One of the biggest changes from this rule book, was that there would be no more Legions numbering in the tens to hundreds of thousands.

Each Legion was broken up into smaller 1,000 man Chapters[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. So where the Imperial Fists[warhammer40k.fandom.com] before numbered around 100,000 they could now only have 1,000 men, and the rest of their members would be broken up into new Chapters with new names like the Black Templars[warhammer40k.fandom.com] and Crimson Fists.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

That would make the Imperial Fists the "First Founding" and the Black Templars and Crimson Fists the "Second Founding."[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

And since then, there have been entirely new chapters created. Some are...unique, like the "Cursed" Founding.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

It's worth noting that there are some Chapters that are not Codex compliant. As for what happens to them for being non-compliant, that differs from case to case, but in some cases that could boil down to letting it slide because they're useful. This is a recurring theme of "looking the other way" or "making an exception" within the Imperium that will come up more and more as you learn about this setting.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3hx9d45i1Gs?si=4gGXWb0vRan1wNY2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbfOE1T1Meg

Among the Space Marine Chapters, there are some special ones. Some especially unique Chapters that standout amongst the rest for various reasons. One such Chapter is the Deathwatch[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. These are a unique "Chapter" in that they only recruit experienced veterans from other Chapters. Specifically, veterans who have shown they know how to put down xenos[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. They work closely with the Ordo Xenos[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a sub-division of the Inquisition dedicated to taking care of xenos threats.

But being a member of the Deathwatch does not mean you leave your old Chapter, it's essentially a temporary position and eventually you can be sent back to your original Chapter.

This is why you can see Space Marines wearing both the Deathwatch symbol and another Chapter symbol. And in this game, you start out as a member of the Deathwatch, but later return to your original Chapter the Ultramarines.


There is an exception to this however. A Deathwatch Black Shield[warhammer40k.fandom.com], which is a Space Marine who has severed all connection to his former Chapter for one reason or another and essentially exiled himself into the Deathwatch.

Scholar's Lore has some videos on the Deathwatch, and another incredibly unique Chapter the Grey Knights[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. Give him a like if you watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3_L6iWxbg0&t=36s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5EXGR8HWO0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDXma2TH3Xc&t=23s

The Thousand Sons[warhammer40k.fandom.com] are one of the Chaos Legions of Space Marines. One of the Legions who betrayed the Emperor. They are affiliated with Tzeentch, the Chaos god of change, intrigue and sorcery. And their Primarch is now a daemon prince, Magnus the Red.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]


During the Horus Heresy, various circumstances led to Magnus the Red and the Thousand Sons fighting for their lives against the Space Wolves Chapter.[warhammer40k.fandom.com] With powerful sorcery, in a last ditch effort to save himself and his Legion, Magnus the Red brought himself, his people and his City of Light Tizca from his homeworld of Prospero[warhammer40k.fandom.com] directly into the Warp, and later reappeared in the Eye of Terror.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]

Magnus, and by extension his Legion, were already prone to mutations, but they had been managing to keep them at bay. Once they were pulled into the Eye of Terror however, due to the nature of the Warp, mutations became unavoidable. Their Chief Librarian[warhammer40k.fandom.com] Ahriman came to the conclusion that something major had to be done to avoid the mutations.


Ahriman[warhammer40k.fandom.com] came up with some powerful sorcery to cleanse all of the Thousand Sons of mutations. When the process was completed however, he realized that rather than cleansing them of mutations, he had cleansed them of their bodies entirely. Except for Magnus, Ahriman, and the rest of the sorcerers[warhammer40k.fandom.com], much to their horror their entire Legion had been transformed into dust. Suits of armor with no will of their own, which can only be given direction by the sorcerers. They are referred to as Rubricae[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. This is why the story of the Thousand Sons is often seen as a tragic one, despite them being a Chaos Legion.


Prospero itself is now considered a Dead World[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a classification[warhammer40k.fandom.com] applied to worlds with no ecosystem, atmosphere, or native life forms. Completely desolate.

The City of Light, Tizca however, which was brought into the Eye of Terror, resides on a new planet called Sortiarius, or Planet of the Sorcerers.[warhammer40k.fandom.com] It's home not just to Magnus and his Legion however. The city also has become something of a haven for psykers seeking the freedom to use their powers openly and however they see fit. It's home to numerous slaves as well, the most fortunate of whom may rise above that station. And it's home to daemons, as well as strange abhumans affiliated with Tzeentch called Tzaangors[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. One of the best known daemons of Tzeentch is a Lord of Change[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a greater daemon.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]


In recent times, Magnus pulled the Planet of Sorcerers out of the Eye of Terror, and dropped it right next to his former planet Prospero. This area of space is now a staging ground for attacks against the Imperium. Especially the Space Wolves, who they loath.

Primaris Space Marines[warhammer40k.fandom.com] are essentially a new "breed" of Space Marine. Roboute and Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl of the Adeptus Mechanicus created them by building off of the old Space Marines as a model. They are bigger, stronger, and faster in pretty much every way and can be 8 to 10 feet tall. They also have even more special organ implants.

The old Space Marines are referred to as Firstborn[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. Firstborn can undergo extremely dangerous, extensive, excruciating surgeries and other procedures to become Primaris Space Marines if they wish. The procedures last for days, and it's referred to as "crossing the Rubicon."

There can often be tension and distrust between Firstborn and Primaris.

Luetin09 has a good video on Space Marine history. If you enjoy it, give him a like and follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44UqfQWdqLk&t=3562s

I mentioned the Adeptus Mechanicus a couple of times, as well as Belisarius Cawl[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. So, what exactly is the Cult of the Machine over on Mars[warhammer40k.fandom.com]?




The Adeptus Mechanicus[warhammer40k.fandom.com] are the men and women you'll see in game wearing hooded red robes, and covered in mechanical parts. They see the flesh as weak, and they worship the Omnissiah[warhammer40k.fandom.com], or the Machine god, and believe in a thing called the Machine Spirit[warhammer40k.fandom.com] as well.

Remember earlier when I said the Imperium has a habit of looking the other way when it suits their needs?

The worship of anything or anyone other than the Emperor should be seen as heresy[warhammer40k.fandom.com] and warrant their eradication based on the Imperium's laws and practices. There's just one problem. The Mechanicus are the main guys who can make your guns and fix your ships and basically keep all the machines in the Imperium running. They have the best understanding of how this stuff works. They are also, despite worshiping the Machine god, loyal to the empire. So the Mechanicus and the rest of the Imperium basically came to a compromise neither side really likes.

"The Omnissiah is just your term for the god Emperor, riiiiight?"

"Uhhh...yeah, sure."

Their beliefs are completely at odds with each other, but they just do their best to wave it away with that "explanation."

Scholar's Lore has some cool videos on the Mechanicus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cBvSaDXIQo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buZs_wf8poY

Tangent time.

The Imperium has a habit of being hypocritical. They want you to purge mutants, heretics, xenos, and psykers.

"Burn the heretic. Kill the mutant. Purge the unclean." A quote that's floated around in Warhammer for ages.

But the Imperium is also completely dependent on psykers and mutants like Navigators for travel and communication. They also enlist other mutants I didn't mention such as Ogryns.[warhammer40k.fandom.com]


And let's not forget the Emperor himself is an extremely powerful psyker and a Perpetual. In fact one of the books suggests that he could become the Dark King[wh40k.lexicanum.com], a theoretical fifth Chaos god.

They want you to kill heretics, but they are completely dependent on the Adeptus Mechanicus who's very existence is practically heretical by nature.

They want you to kill xenos. But the Dark Angels Chapter works with Watchers in the Dark[warhammer40k.fandom.com], some sort of strange little unidentified humanoids.





















Humans have also repeatedly had temporary alliances with different xenos factions. Particularly the Eldar[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. In fact, Roboute was actually dead at one point, and the Imperium worked with a faction of the Eldar who agreed to help bring him back to life. There's even a running joke that Yvraine[wh40k.lexicanum.com] (an Eldar woman) is Guilliman's girlfriend. Even Games Workshop got in on that joke.





















The Imperium has also worked with the T'au[warhammer40k.fandom.com] on several occassions. I believe the Ciaphas Cain[warhammer40k.fandom.com] series talks about that in more detail.

They say not to use xenos technology and daemon stuff, but Inquisitors[warhammer40k.fandom.com] and Tech-Priests[warhammer40k.fandom.com] and others have repeatedly used xenos tech, and there's a Space Marine named Garran Crowe[warhammer40k.fandom.com] who literally wields a Warp-spawned daemon sword that forces him to stay in isolation or else risk corrupting those around him.

























Gyrinx[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a psychic xenos creature that forms a mental bond with its owner, is often owned by Inquisitors, Rogue Traders[warhammer40k.fandom.com], and even members of the Ecclesiarchy.

There's even the Xenos Hybris[warhammer40k.fandom.com], a radical group of Inquisitors who think the path to survival is through cooperation and mutual understanding with xenos races.

The takeaway here is that the Imperium will burn heretics and xenos and mutants and psykers and xenos tech and daemon weapons all day long. But much like real life, if you are an individual with enough power or wealth, or if you are essentially the government, you can probably (to an extent) do what you want. This isn't to say that the Imperium is lenient however, that's still far from the case.

I don't mind this to be honest, as I think that hypocrisy born out of necessity adds an interesting layer to the Imperium that other factions lack. And the Xenos Hybris probably have a good point. Call me a heretic, call me a traitor, I don't care.

...
......
.........
I've definitely made at least a few fans mad with that one.









Moving on.

The Imperial Guard[warhammer40k.fandom.com] is the backbone of the Imperium. This military force is literally billions strong. They are us. Regular humans out there with flak armor, a rifle, tanks, artillery, in the trenches with thousands of other men and women, fighting back the horrors of the galaxy as hard as they can. You'll encounter plenty of them and the Mechanicus in game.

The Guard is often overlooked, especially by newcomers I think. We've all at some point seen the guy who talks about a regular Space Marine as if they are some sort of invincible demigod that can win a fight alone against 1,000 soldiers. This is not true.

And the Guard deserve a lot of credit for protecting the Imperium.


The Guard are pretty awesome honestly. And there's some fan favorite regiments like the Cadians[warhammer40k.fandom.com], Catachan Jungle Fighters[warhammer40k.fandom.com], and the Death Korps of Krieg[warhammer40k.fandom.com] that are really neat.

Scholar's Lore has a really cool video on the Krieg specifically. I don't believe the Krieg are in this game, but they are worth learning about regardless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkX7jzrxIuk

Tyranids? Tyranids is bugs.


Tyranids[warhammer40k.fandom.com] are a species of xenos that came from like...six or seven different directions from outside of the milky way. Which means we don't know where they came from, we don't know how many more there are, we don't know if there's any life left outside of our galaxy. They converged on our galaxy from different directions and they're hungry and that's it.

They travel in hive fleets[warhammer40k.fandom.com], each fleet with their own hive mind[warhammer40k.fandom.com], and basically function like a swarm of locusts. And to these locusts, each planet, and every living thing on the planet, are their crops of food. They are a threat to pretty much everything except chaos demons (who provide no sustenance), and I think Necrons[warhammer40k.fandom.com] (a xenos species made of metal). They constantly evolve and adapt, in part by consuming other species and incorporating their traits into themselves. They are one of the biggest threats to the galaxy, and their arrival is a huge event within the 40k setting. They are not affiliated with Chaos, or any other faction.

Scholar's Lore has videos that break down how Tyranid invasions work, the genestealer cults[warhammer40k.fandom.com] which is a whole different can of worms when it comes to Tyranids, and more, as well as Luetin09 on first contact with Tyranids. Give him a like if you enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuL2cMg6QMQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E3wK_KldJI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl_rSgy5KUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLG1AXvWdjM&t=310s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP-kcMwe340

A hive city[warhammer40k.fandom.com] is a huuuuuge city home to millions, or billions, of humans. Densely populated urban settings. Cities layered upon cities over thousands of years. At the top, the nobility. At the bottom, just...don't go there. Gang warfare like you wouldn't believe, mutants, and worse.











By extension, a hive world[warhammer40k.fandom.com] is a planet that often has its entire surface covered in hive cities.

These worlds are often responsible for manning the factories (manufactorums) that make things like weapons, chemicals, ammunition, and other goods.


Scholar's Lore has a great video about life on a hive world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9QJwLmelVo

If you somehow aren't overwhelmed or lost interest already and you want more information, here's some more cool ones. I encourage you to check them out if you like this stuff, or look for other videos, or even look around the wikis like I do.

There's so much more to learn about that isn't here. More factions including the Orks[warhammer40k.fandom.com], plus sub-factions within each of the factions like harlequins[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. Interesting characters and stories like Malcador[warhammer40k.fandom.com] and Morvenn Vahl[wh40k.lexicanum.com], or the time the T'au tried to recruit a Space Marine. Or when the T'au thought Titans[warhammer40k.fandom.com] were just propaganda. Obscure stuff like Catelexis Heresy[warhammer40k.fandom.com], the Tyrant Star[warhammer40k.fandom.com], Halo Devices[warhammer40k.fandom.com], and the Slaugth[warhammer40k.fandom.com]. I'm still always discovering new stuff. This universe has more depth than anything else out there.

https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Warhammer_40k_Wiki

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCGKPRiJp84

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6jnsX77TCU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqXs-qxQPw&t=101s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf4lxRagpN8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mmcppbwLo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fynWY70sbgg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOK11JkQrNg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVXEYksoE6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbgYaeerXhg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3DsHGDRQ5M

Games Workshop also sells a ton of books. Keep an eye out for announcements and new releases or pre-orders. New items go up on their store every Saturday at 10 AM PST, and new announcements Sunday at 10 AM PSt.

https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-us/black-library/

https://www.warhammer.com/en-US/black-library-pre-order

And official animations at:

https://warhammertv.com/

Warhammer 40,000 video games have been around for awhile. Unfortunately, quality has not always been there. This might be the biggest game in terms of budget that's ever been made for 40k. But lack of budget doesn't mean all of them are bad, so long as expectations are in check.

Dawn of War is actually what got me into 40k in the first place. The base game has been updated this week to come with all standalone expansion packs and DLC.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/4570/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War__Anniversary_Edition/

Same story as above. Base game, standalone expansions and DLC included as of this week.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/15620/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_II__Anniversary_Edition/

Generally agreed it's not as good as the first two, but I don't think it's bad either.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/285190/Warhammer_40000_Dawn_of_War_III/

Mechanicus is a great turn-based game. Mechanicus versus Necrons, because the Mechanicus can't keep their grimy paws off of Necron goods.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/673880/Warhammer_40000_Mechanicus/

Upcoming sequel that lets you play as both the Mechanicus as well as the Necrons.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2532480/Warhammer_40000_Mechanicus_II/

A CRPG from the developers of Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2186680/Warhammer_40000_Rogue_Trader/

This is about the Grey Knights, a unique Chapter that specializes in killing daemons.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/1611910/Warhammer_40000_Chaos_Gate__Daemonhunters/

Darktide had a really rough launch, but it's improved over time. Worth it on a good sale for sure.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/1361210/Warhammer_40000_Darktide/

Space Marine boomer shooter. I've also heard this has some loose ties to Space Marine 2, though I can't personally verify that at this time.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2005010/Warhammer_40000_Boltgun/

Speed Freeks is like Twisted Metal but for 40k Orks. It's F2P and in early access now.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/2078450/Warhammer_40000_Speed_Freeks/

Very much a budget title, but this ARPG lets you play as some neat classes.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/527430/Warhammer_40000_Inquisitor__Martyr/

A VR title. This is the closest we have to a proper Sister of Battle focused game at this time.
https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/1733890/Warhammer_40000_Battle_Sister/

I don't know how many questions I will actually get, but any interesting questions I come across here or in the forums I will do my best to answer.











Newbie Question: How do the Chaos Gods feel towards the Tyranids, and vice versa? Like if they were to were to wipe all life in the galaxy, the God's lose power no?

Also do Tyranids have an endgame? If they run out of food, then what?

(Doesnt need to be super in depth)

I doubt Tyranids have any sort of end game. They act on instinct.

They came from outside of the milky way galaxy. So they'd naturally just move on to the next galaxy if they ate everything here. And space is vast. So there will probably be new life popping up sooner or later. I believe tyranids also eat each other. And seeing as they evolve and adapt so quickly, it stands to reason that they could learn to essentially hibernate for long periods of time or something. Custodes can sit around and not eat or sleep for years. Eat some Custodes, learn how to do this.

If I remember correctly, daemons and tyranids have no interest in each other.

Daemons like souls, and tyranids have none. Tyranids need sustenance, and daemons provide none. I think I heard that they got into a fight once and then basically both just left because they were getting nothing out of it.

Why are they trying to use the Astropathic relay[wh40k.lexicanum.com] if the Tyranid's Shadow in the Warp[warhammer40k.fandom.com] cuts off communication? Why are the Thousand Sons able to use Psyker abilities, or even exist in that area at all if they are basically made of Warp magic, since they are cut off from the Warp?

I know a fair bit of lore, but this one quite frankly stumped me. I had no clue, as the Shadow in the Warp is usually talked about in such a way that it makes those things seem impossible. I went to a Warhammer 40,000 lore community and asked there, and this is what they had to say.

User: Apart from the sorcerer, the Thousand Sons that you see in Space Marine 2 are Rubricae. They are the non-psychic members of the Thousand Sons turned into disembodied automatons trapped inside their power armor as piles of dust. This is due to the actions of Ahriman, the former Chief Librarian of the legion, who cast an unprecedented spell in the hopes of curing the Thousand Sons of rampant mutation that was driving it to extinction. However, the spell was both a success and a failure; it greatly augmented the psychic powers of the psykers within the legion, but at the cost of turning all of its non-psychic members into Rubricae (which ironically did prevent them from further mutating). The Rubricae have no free will of their own and can only be controlled by a Thousand Sons sorcerer.

The sorcerer also only appears after the Hive Tyrant is killed, which severely weakened the Hive Mind's control over the Tyranids on the world. Because the Hive Tyrant[warhammer40k.fandom.com] is the main conduit for the Hive Mind, killing it also greatly reduces the efficacy of the Shadow in the Warp.

User: The shadow doesn't cut off the Warp in the same way that something like blackstone[warhammer40k.fandom.com] does, it just makes it too noisy for telepathy. It's the difference between being actively jammed (blackstone) and interference (the Tyranids using every psionic frequency to talk to each other) if you want to think about in radio terms.

Plus, given that a major plot point involves securing an Astropath and sending a message, I don't think the Recidious System has been enveloped by it yet.

User: In the First mission you use the planetary plasma turrets to destroy the single Hive Ship of this very small Splinter fleet.

Hive Ships are where the majority of ground forms are going to be made, especially the more complex ones like a Tyrant.

The rest of the ships can probably make smaller organisms, and would have had some amount loaded into them to be able to rapidly spread out across a world, but that Hive ship was the core component of the invasion and the fleet.

The forces on Kadaku might be able to make a new one, given a huge amount of time and converted biomass, but the Avarax is probably going to be cleared up by the Guard sufficiently that the invasion there is probably over.

User: Psykers can totally function in the Shadow of a normal Hive Fleet, although they do tend to go crazier than normal from hearing endless whispers. It's nothing that would stop a Thousands Son sorcerer.

This entire guide is just barely scratching the surface of even the stuff I talked about, let alone everything I left out. I may continue to expand it over time, but that really depends on how many people actually pop in and look at this. I love this setting, and I hope you get to enjoy it too.
















The universe has many horrors yet to throw at us. This is not the end of our struggle. This is just the beginning of our crusade to save Humanity. Be faithful! Be strong! Be vigilant!
- The Emperor

Necessity overcomes morality. Never without regret. Never without shame. Yet even immoral victory must outweigh moral defeat. The victor will have a chance to atone if conscience demands. The vanquished lose any such opportunity.
-Roboute Guilliman

Revenge is a dish best served with mayonnaise and those little cheesy things on sticks.
- Osric the Loopy

https://steamproxy.com/id/Xafron/recommended/2183900/