The other day, I posted about the way that I have collected a bunch of obsolete WFB Army Books to act as a cheap source of information about the Warhammer world. Thinking now about the Warhammer 40K universe/s, does anyone have any opinions as to which are the best iteration of obsolete Codices, with the best being those that contain plenty of 'fluff', evocative art, etc. that could be used as - at the very least - inspirational material for 40K role-playing?
Kelvin Green, in the G+ comments on that post, said that while he was happy to draw on latter WFB material for his WFRP games, "40K is a bit different and I'd say my Rogue Trader game had more, er, Rogue Trader influence than anything more recent."
I was of the same mind, when (nearly 4 years ago!! Gah!) I picked up FFG's Rogue Trader RPG. But the additional books are so very expensive these days. I would love to pick up the Book of the Astronomican and the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation, to slot alongside my rulebook and W40K Compendium. Oh, and I dream of getting hold of the 'classic' Ork books: Waaagh!, Ere we Go, and Freebooterz, but my magic money tree is only of a modest size. That said, I understand that the FFG Rogue Trader supplement Into the Storm has some information on playing Orks, and the writer of that section, Sam Stewart, makes plain the debt he owes to the earliest W40K material.
Kelvin Green, in the G+ comments on that post, said that while he was happy to draw on latter WFB material for his WFRP games, "40K is a bit different and I'd say my Rogue Trader game had more, er, Rogue Trader influence than anything more recent."
I was of the same mind, when (nearly 4 years ago!! Gah!) I picked up FFG's Rogue Trader RPG. But the additional books are so very expensive these days. I would love to pick up the Book of the Astronomican and the Warhammer 40,000 Compilation, to slot alongside my rulebook and W40K Compendium. Oh, and I dream of getting hold of the 'classic' Ork books: Waaagh!, Ere we Go, and Freebooterz, but my magic money tree is only of a modest size. That said, I understand that the FFG Rogue Trader supplement Into the Storm has some information on playing Orks, and the writer of that section, Sam Stewart, makes plain the debt he owes to the earliest W40K material.
But back to my original question. Are any of the [cheap] obsolete Codices (or other supplements) a good place to go for W40K role-playing 'lore'?
Opinions welcome.
Not really. At least, it depends on what kind of games you're running. The codices deal with big picture stuff, heroes, wars, religion. At no point does it come especially close to discussing what it's like to be anything other than a space marine in the Imperium. The meaty details of day to day life are mostly kept in those junky novels they churn out.
ReplyDeleteSomeone once showed me a comprehensive 40k wiki, which I'm currently failing to find. I remember it doing a good job of pulling out the good bits for you.
However, the old codices ARE really cool. Anything up to 3rd edition is still meaty and weird.