Warhammer 40K (I know it sounds weird)

Support and Suggestions Podcast Arc Suggestions
#1

So I’m new here and it kind of feels weird that the first thing I jump to is making a recommendation for an arc. So let me preface with this: I wouldn’t be making such a suggestion if a) I didn’t really like the show, how it’s hosted, it’s community and how it reacts to material presented in the cast and b) I didn’t know for a fact that the material wouldn’t be treated super well with the same kind of geek love and objectivity (I know it sounds contradictory but think about it) as any other subject.

So what am I recommending? Warhammer 40K and it’s universe.

This franchise is particular because it’s both old (23 years) and new (its star is rising). It spans several media from its origins as a tabletop war game to an upcoming CGI movie (Ultramarines). It’s spawned a plethora of video games and literature. It is truly a multimedia phenomenon and it has its roots in one of the geekiest hobbies known to man.

So in the spirit of getting to know something new, I think it’d be neat to have a look at Warhammer 40K and its universe. The franchise has borrowed themes or has had themes borrowed from by a variety of movies and literature.

Just my two cents.

Oh, and awesome podcast. Love it. As a guy who’s on the road a lot, quality casts are my lifeline to sanity and yours is one of the tops of my list.

Cheers,

#2

Welcome aboard! It’s always fun to see what brings people out of lurking mode (because it’s ALL OVER the place.) This one is unique. I don’t think we’ve had a game suggestion before (Well, there’s been a sorta-Mass Effect thing going on in the 'casts, but aside from that.)

I guess it depends upon how familiar the Crew is with Warhammer. Feel free to make suggestions. I understand there was a fanfilm that got shut down?

#3

I don’t THINK the cast is familiar with 40k but I could be totally wrong, it seems like something Sean would be into but he’s never mentioned it

#4

Well, part of the reason I’m suggesting this particular franchise is that it goes beyond the game from which it originates. It’s not just a game anymore but a pretty rich universe. I can understand that not being familiar with the subject matter might be a strong deterant though.

I’m more then willing to supply some suggestions on where to start learning though.

Thanks for the welcome. I heard somewhere that the GWC community was the friendliest in Sci-fi.

#5

My thinking too. It’s up to Sean at this point.

You heard that right. The neat thing is that even if it doesn’t get picked up, you’re sure to find some folks who are into it.

#6

For instance Gwensdad is super into it and I’m just starting out, just ordered up a Chaplain with Jump Pack, SM Battleforce, and some brushes/paint from GW and Reaper

http://forum.galacticwatercooler.com/showthread.php?t=2653

An old thread

#7

Me and mine are pretty heavily into it. Like I said though, one of the great thing about the hobby is how it’s sci-fi in so many incarnations. On one hand it covers so many media and on the other it touches so many classic themes (Starship Troopers for the power-armored super soldiers, Aliens for the Tyranids, Necrons are a neat nod to Terminator, etc. )

Glad to see others are into the hobby. Maybe I should also post some pics of my army…

Cheers,

#8

Shouldn’t be too hard to get Sean into it really I would have thought.

There are Giant city sized Mechs!(as well as every size down to man size)

It’s sort of like Transformers! :smiley:

#9

How did I not notice this thread before?
Anyway, I think it would be best placed in the book club cues. Maybe with one of the series (Cain series maybe?) or a stand alone (Titanicus).

#10

That’s why I think it’d make a great if maybe over-ambitious arc: Some will see it more as a literature thing as there are dozens of novels set in that universe. Others will think of it more as a computer game thing as there are half a dozen of those at least. Movies are coming out. The tabletop game itself spans between art and strategy. Even the type of sci-fi is varied enough to find fertile ground in almost any imagination.

#11

I think WH40K would be awesome, especailly as part of an arc about the Sci-Fi RPG’s. 40K is a fantasticly diverse universe with a surprisingly indepth background. Games Workshop have wisely expanded the franchise to beyond the games with the excellent Dawn of War video games, Black Library books, and the Ultramarines movie. I have been fortunate enough to interview the creator of Inquisitor Gav Thorpe, and Black Library editor Nick Kyme.

#12

I know Sean’s read a number of the novels, and I’ve read a few short stories. (Sean loaned me a collection when my book ran out on a trip one time.) So I guess I’ve been exposed to it (and know a bit about the basics) but really don’t know that much about it. Some of the figurines I’ve seen are truly awesome, though.

#13

If you are looking for a really good series of books for insight into the Warhammer 40K universe, I cannot recommend the “Eisenhorn” trilogy by Dan Abnett enough. Ian Watson’s “Inquisitor” is also rather good (the sequel Harlequin is dire though). However, the appeal for me lies in the incredibly detailed and diverse background to the universe.

#14

The best resource as a primer for the universe is really the core rule book. Skipping ahead to the color section will give you a quick history of the universe and the various factions. This is by far the best way to get the broad strokes of the setting. From that point on it’s pretty much about specialization. Each media from the video games to the books usually focuses on a particular faction or even a faction within a faction to give that particular point of view.

If anyone’s interested I could write up a quick primer with some references to various pieces of material as to perhaps serve as starting point. In stead of an arc that might be a good way of giving the setting some exposure.

And for anyone wonder, no, I do not work for Games Workshop (the developers for 40K) but I did volunteer to run events for them for a while. That’s the level of interest I have in that franchise.

#15

Whoo 40k! I’ve been working on painting a Tyranid army on and off for years, and right now my online gaming group is taking an extended hiatus from a Dark Heresy campaign.

Another good collection to read would be Sandy Mitchell’s Ciaphas Cain HERO OF THE IMPERIUM books. I enjoyed the hell out of those.

#16

The entry on tvtropes will eat your time but give an OK overview (something on tvtropes eating your life? NEVER!) but also has a good list of the book series available.

#17

Online gaming group? In what capacity…? Like message board? Or aim chat? or some other program?

#18

Speaking of good sources of material for 40K, you can do far worse than pick up the original Rogue Trader edition of Warhammer 40,000 (ie not the RPG by FFG). I remember sitting down to read the rules and being blown away by the level of detail in the background material, and thinking “this would be awesome to play in”.

#19

Rogue Trader as in the first edition of the game from way back when? 'Cause that’d be great if it weren’t so hard to get a hold of.

I have a lot of the older codexes and army books and although some of the background they have today is really good, back then they really packed in the fluff and setting into those books.

Sithwitch: Post pics of your 'nids!

#20

I think I’ve got 2 copies of the original, several of it’s suppliments, and (somewhere) lots from 2nd edition. The background problem comes that GW retcons stuff more than Marvel, so background changes on the whim of the writer. Granted, I think part of the “Horus Heresy” book series is to create a “solid” record of that but many other things change frequently.
Actually, I still think just a reading of the Horus Heresy series (published to date) would be a great book club thing. That or CAIN! (greatest…hero…ever)