Warhammer 40,000

Victory depends on what kind of "mission" the players choose for their game. It might involve exterminating the enemy, or holding a location on the field for a certain length of time, or retaining possession of a holy relic for a certain length of time.

Most Warhammer 40,000 fiction is set around the turn of the 42nd millennium (about 39,000 years in the future). Although Warhammer 40,000 is mostly a science-fiction setting, it adapts a number of tropes from fantasy fiction, such as magic, supernatural beings, daemonic possession, and races such as Orks and Elves; "psykers" fill the role of wizards in the setting. The setting of this game inherits many fantasy tropes from Warhammer Fantasy (a similar wargame from Games Workshop), but these two settings are not connected despite the shared name. Warhammer 40,000 by extension inherits many of its fantasy tropes from Dungeons and Dragons. Games Workshop used to make miniature models for use in Dungeons and Dragons, and Warhammer Fantasy was originally meant to encourage customers to buy more of their miniature models.

The setting of Warhammer 40,000 is violent and pessimistic. It depicts a future where human scientific and social progress have ceased, and human civilisation is close to collapse due to war with hostile alien races and occult forces. It is a setting where the supernatural exists, is powerful, and is usually untrustworthy if not outright malevolent. There are no benevolent gods or spirits in the cosmos, only daemons and evil gods, and the cults dedicated to them are growing. In the long run, the Imperium of Man cannot hope to defeat its enemies, so the heroes of the Imperium are not fighting for a brighter future but "raging against the dying of the light". The tone of the setting has led to a subgenre of science fiction called "grimdark", which is particularly amoral, dystopian or violent.

As the setting is based on a wargame, the spin-off novels and comic books are mostly war dramas with protagonists who are usually warriors of some sort, the most popular being the Space Marines. The Imperium is in a state of total war. Many planets in the Imperium of Man are either warzones or heavily burdened by wartime taxation, and civil liberties are heavily curtailed in the name of security.

The source of magic in the setting is a parallel universe of supernatural energy known as "the Warp". All living creatures with souls are tied to the Warp, but certain individuals called "psykers" have an especially strong link and can manipulate the Warp's energy to work magic. Psykers are generally feared and mistrusted by humans. Psykers may possess many dangerous abilities such as mind control, clairvoyance, and pyrokinesis. Moreover, the Warp is full of predatory creatures that may use a psyker's link to the Warp as a conduit by which to invade realspace. Despite their associated suspicion and danger, psykers perform critical services for humanity: their telepathic powers provide faster-than-light communication, which is impossible under the "normal" laws of physics, and on the battlefield they counter the powers of enemy psykers. For all the problems that psykers pose, human civilization cannot do without them. For this reason, psykers must be trained to control their abilities and resist Warp predators. Those who fail or reject this training are executed for the safety of all. Those who pass their training are pressed into life-long servitude to the state and are closely monitored for misconduct and spiritual corruption.

The models available for play in Warhammer 40,000 are divided into "factions". Under normal circumstances, a player can only use units from the same faction in their army. For instance, a player's army cannot include both Ork and Aeldari models because Orks and Aeldari are enemies in the setting.

The Imperium of Man is a techno-theocratic human empire that comprises approximately 1 million worlds, and has existed for over 10,000 years. Its culture is highly religious, with their chief deity being the Emperor of Mankind, an extremely powerful psyker whom they mistake for a god. Anyone who does not revere the Emperor properly is liable to be persecuted for heresy. The Emperor founded the Imperium and is still its nominal ruler, but roughly two centuries after founding the Imperium he was mortally wounded in battle and has been on life support in an unresponsive state ever since. Despite his condition, his mind still generates a psychic beacon by which starships navigate the Warp, making him the linchpin of the Imperium's infrastructure. Although the Imperium has highly advanced technology, it has long ceased practicing science and its technologies have not improved for thousands of years. Imperial citizens are taught to obey authority without question, to worship the Emperor, to hate and fear aliens, and to be incurious about anything that does not concern their duties. Most Warhammer 40,000 fiction has humans of the Imperium as the protagonists, with other races being antagonists or supporting characters.

Of all the factions, the Imperium has the largest catalogue of models and the largest number of subfactions, which gives Imperium players the flexibility to design their army for any style of play. That said, players tend to build their armies around specific sub-factions which have more focused playstyles. For instance, an army of Space Marines will consist of a small number of powerful infantry, whereas an Imperial Guard army will have weak but plentiful infantry combined with strong artillery.

Chaos represents the myriad servants of the Chaos Gods, malevolent and depraved entities formed from the base thoughts and emotions of mortals. Those exposed to the influence of the Chaos are twisted in both mind and body and perform sordid acts of devotion to their dark gods, who in turn reward them with "gifts" such as physical mutations, psychic power, and mystical artifacts. As a faction, the forces of Chaos are malevolent and insane in nature, adopting the aesthetics of body horror and cosmic horror in the design of their models and story details. Chaos is among the oldest and most notable enemies of the Imperium, and the ongoing conflict between those still loyal to the God-Emperor and those who have "fallen" to the Chaos Gods acts as a persistent theme in the setting of Warhammer 40,000.

As with the Imperium, Chaos players have access to a large variety of models, allowing them to design their army for any style of play. That said, players tend to theme their army around a particular Chaos God, which focuses the style of play. For instance, an army themed around Nurgle will consist of slow-moving but tough warriors. Likewise, a Chaos army themed around Khorne will lean towards melee combat and eschew psykers.

The Necrons are an ancient race of skeleton-like androids. Millions of years ago, they were flesh-and-blood beings, but then they transferred their minds into android bodies, thereby achieving immortality. However, the transference process was flawed, as they all lost their souls and all but the highest ranking ones became mindless as well. They are waking up from millions of years of hibernation in underground vaults on planets across the galaxy, and seek to rebuild their old empire. The Necrons have an ancient Egyptian aesthetic to them, although they are not based on the Tomb Kings of Warhammer Fantasy.

Necron infantry have strong ranged firepower, tough armour, and slow movement. Necron units have the ability to rapidly regenerate wounds or "reanimate" slain models at the start of the player's turn. All Necron models have a Leadership score of 10 (the maximum), so Necrons rarely suffer from morale failure. Necrons do not have any psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks as they cannot make Deny the Witch rolls. The Necrons possess "C'tan shards" which function much like psykers, but since these are not actual psykers, they cannot make Deny the Witch rolls, nor can their powers be countered by enemy Deny the Witch rolls.

The Aeldari (formerly referred to as the Eldar) are based on High Elves of fantasy fiction. They are a haughty species who view humans and other non-Aeldari as vermin. Aeldari have very long lifespans and all of them have some psychic ability. The Aeldari travel the galaxy via a network of magical tunnels called "the Webway", over which they have exclusive control. In the distant past, the Aeldari ruled an empire that dominated much of the galaxy, but it was destroyed in a magical cataclysm along with most of the population. The surviving Aeldari are divided into two major subfactions: the ascetic inhabitants of massive starships called Craftworlds; and the sadistic Drukhari (also known as "Dark Eldar"), who inhabit a city hidden within the Webway. There are a number of minor subfactions too: the Harlequins, followers of the Laughing God Cegorach; and the Ynnari, followers of the death god Ynnead. Although it has been 10,000 years since their empire's fall, the Aeldari have never recovered, due to their low fertility and aggression by other races.

Craftworld Aeldari infantry tend to be highly specialised and relatively frail, often described as "glass cannons." Because of their lack of staying power and flexibility, Aeldari armies can suffer severe losses after a bad tactical decision or even unlucky dice rolls, while successful gameplay can involve outnumbered Aeldari units which outmanoeuvre the opponent and kill entire squads before they have a chance to retaliate. Aeldari vehicles, unlike their infantry counterparts, are very tough and hard to kill because of many evasive and shielding benefits. With the exception of walkers, all Aeldari vehicles are skimmers which allow them to move "freely" across difficult terrain, and with upgrades, at speeds only matched by the Dark Aeldari and the Tau armies.

Dark Aeldari are similar to Craftworld Aeldari in that they are typically frail but move quickly and deal a high amount of damage relative to their points costs. Unlike Craftworld Aeldari, the Dark Aeldari have no psykers.

The Orks are green-skinned aliens based on the traditional orcs of high fantasy fiction. Orks are a comical species, possessing crude personalities, wielding ramshackle weaponry, and speaking with Cockney accents. Their culture revolves around war for the sake of it. Unlike other races which generally only go to war when it is in their interests, the Orks recklessly start unnecessary conflicts for the sake of a good fight, because Orks do not fear death and combat is the only thing that gives them emotional fulfilment. Ork technology consists of dashed together scrap that by all logic should be unreliable if it works at all, but Orks emit a psychic field that by magic makes their ramshackle technology work properly. If a non-Ork tried to use an Ork gadget, it would likely malfunction for lack of this magical effect.

Ork infantry models are slow-moving and tough. The Orks are oriented towards melee combat. They can re-roll failed charge rolls. Infantry models are cheap (by point cost), so a favourite strategy is "the Green Tide": the player fields as many Orks as they can and simply marches them across the playing field to swarm his opponent. Orks do have a number of specialised models who can use psychic powers and attack vehicles (among other things), but typically Ork warfare is about brute force and attrition. Ork gameplay is seen as fairly forgiving of tactical errors and bad die rolls.

The Tyranids are a mysterious alien race from another galaxy. They migrate from planet to planet, devouring all life in their path. Tyranids are linked by a psychic hive mind and individual Tyranids become feral when separated from it. Tyranid "technology" is entirely biological, ships and weapons being purpose-bred living creatures.

Tyranids have a preference for melee combat. Their infantry models tend to be fast and hard-hitting but frail. They have low point costs, meaning Tyranid armies in the game are relatively large (many cheap weak models, as opposed to armies with few expensive powerful models such as the Space Marines). Tyranids also have the most powerful counter-measures against enemies with psychic powers: many Tyranid models possess a trait called "Shadow in the Warp", which makes it harder for nearby enemy psykers to use their psychic powers.

There is a sub-species of the Tyranid race called "Genestealers". Genestealers are inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's novella The Shadow over Innsmouth. When a human is infected by a Genestealer, they are psychically enslaved and will sire children who are human-genestealer hybrids. These hybrids will form a secret society known as a Genestealer Cult within their host human society, steadily expanding their numbers and political influence. When a Tyranid fleet approaches their planet, they will launch an uprising to weaken the planet's defences so that the Tyranids may more easily conquer it and consume its biomass.

In earlier editions of the game, Genestealer Cults could only be used as auxiliaries to a regular Tyranid army, but since 8th edition, they can be played as a separate army. Although there is a dedicated line of Genestealer Cult models, a player can also use models from the Imperial Guard (a sub-faction of the Imperium) in their Genestealer Cult army. This is an exception to the common-faction rule and is based on the logic that these "human" models are actually Genestealer hybrids who look perfectly human. Like other Tyranids, Genestealers are hard-hitting but fragile. All Genestealer Cult infantry and bikers have a trait called "Cult Ambush" that allows them to be set up off table and later be set up on the table, instead of being set up in the designated starting zones at the start of the game (similar to the Space Marines' "Deep Strike" ability).

The T'au are a race of blue-skinned aliens inhabiting a relatively small but growing empire located on the fringes of the Imperium of Man. The T'au Empire is the only playable faction in the setting that integrates alien species into their society. They seek to unite all other races under an ideology they call "the Greater Good" or "T'au'va". Some human worlds have willingly escaped from the Imperium to join the T'au Empire. Humans tend to have a better quality of life than Imperial citizens because the T'au do not practice feudalism, but practice ethics, science and encourage the spread of technical knowledge. The T'au are divided into five endogamous castes: the Ethereals, who are the spiritual leaders; the Fire Caste, who are professional soldiers; the Air Caste, who operate starships; the Water Caste, who are merchants and diplomats; and the Earth Caste, who are scientists, engineers, and labourers.

The T'au are oriented towards ranged combat and are generally weak in melee. They have some of the most powerful firearms in the game in terms of both range and stopping power. For instance, their pulse rifle surpasses the firepower of the Space Marine boltgun,[25] and the railgun on their main battle tank (the Hammerhead) is more powerful than its Imperium counterparts. They heavily use the Overwatch special rule, which allows them to shoot back at their enemies when charged with relatively devastating power. The T'au do not have any psykers nor units that specialise in countering psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks. Most T'au vehicles are classified as flyers or skimmers, meaning they can move swiftly over difficult terrain. The T'au also incorporate alien auxiliaries into their army: the Kroot provide melee support and the insectoid Vespids serve as jump infantry.

Games Workshop sells a large variety of gaming models for Warhammer 40,000, although Games Workshop does not sell ready-to-play models. Rather, it sells boxes of model parts. Players are expected to assemble and paint the miniatures themselves. Games Workshop also sells glue, tools, and acrylic paints for this purpose. Most Warhammer 40,000 models are made of polystyrene, but certain models which are made and sold in small volumes are made of lead-free pewter or epoxy resin.

Each miniature model represents an individual warrior or vehicle. In the rulebooks, there is an entry for every type of model in the game that describes its capabilities. For instance, a model of a Tactical Space Marine has a "Move" range of 6 inches and a "Toughness" rating of 4, and is armed with a "boltgun" with a range of 24 inches.

The assembly and painting of the models is a major aspect of the hobby. A player might spend weeks assembling and painting their models before they are all ready for play.

Officially, Warhammer 40,000 does not have a scale, but the models approximate to a scale ratio of 1:60. For instance, a Land Raider tank model is 17 cm long but conceptually 10.3 m long. This scale does not correspond to the range of firearms: on the table, a boltgun has a range of 24 inches, which corresponds to only 120 feet (36.6 m) at 1:60 scale. A model of a Primaris Space Marine is about 4.5 cm in height.

Warhammer 40,000 is meant to be played on a table. The official rulebook recommends a table width of 4 feet (1.2 m). In contrast to board games, Warhammer 40,000 does not have a fixed playing field. Players are expected to construct their own custom-made playing field using modular terrain models. Games Workshop sells a variety of proprietary terrain models, but players often use generic or homemade ones too. Unlike certain other miniature wargames, such as BattleTech, Warhammer 40,000 does not use a grid system. Players must use measuring tape (and templates in other editions) to measure distances. Distances are measured in inches.

An "army" in this context refers to all the model warriors that a player has selected to use in a match. In Warhammer 40,000, players are not restricted to playing with a fixed and symmetrical combination of warriors as in chess. They get to choose which warriors and armaments they will fight with from a catalogue presented in the rulebooks. The players must pick and agree on what models they will play with before the match starts, and once the match is underway they cannot add any new models to their armies.

The players may choose the models they will play with, subject to some limitations. Players should only use miniature models that were designed by Games Workshop specifically for use in Warhammer 40,000, corresponding to the warriors that the player wants in his army. Using wargaming models made for other wargames may cause confusion and spoil the aesthetic. For instance, a player cannot use a model of a Greek hoplite in a Warhammer 40,000 match because the rulebooks provide no rules or stats for Greek hoplites, and Greek hoplites do not exist in the setting of Warhammer 40,000, which is set 39,000 years in the future. In official tournaments, it is in fact mandatory for players to only use Games Workshop's models, and those models must be properly assembled and painted to match the player's army roster; substitutes are forbidden. If a player wants to use an Ork Weirdboy in his match, he must use an Ork Weirdboy model from Games Workshop. Although there is nothing to stop players from using third-party substitute models in their private matches, the danger of doing this is that the players might have difficulty keeping track of what kind of warrior a third-party model is supposed to represent if the model doesn't resemble those depicted in the official Warhammer 40,000 rulebooks. Furthermore, substitute models might not match the size of the proper model, particularly with regard to the base on which the figurine is mounted, and this is important because the space the model occupies on the playing field affects the play. Warhammer 40,000, after all, is not played on a grid.

The composition of the players' armies must fit the rivalries and alliances depicted in the setting. All model warriors listed in the rulebooks are classified into "factions", such as "Imperium", "Chaos", "Tau Empire", etc. In a matched game, a player may only use warrior models in their army that are all loyal to a common faction. Thus, a player cannot, for example, use a mixture of Aeldari and Necron model warriors in their army. That would not make sense, for in the game's fictional setting, Aeldari and Necrons are mortal enemies and would never fight alongside each other.

The armies must be "balanced", ie of equal strength overall. The players must agree as to what "points limit" they will play at, which roughly determines how big and powerful their respective armies will be. Each model and weapon has a "point value" which roughly corresponds to how powerful the model is; for example, a Tactical Space Marine is valued at 13 points, whereas a Land Raider tank is valued at 239 points. The sum of the point values of a player's models must not exceed the agreed limit. If the point values of the players' respective armies both add up to the limit, they are assumed to be balanced. 1,000 to 3,000 points are common points limits. In the most recent edition of the game, power levels are assigned to each model, which can be used to simplify or vary the process of creating an army list. Power levels work in the same way as points but are slightly less accurate.

Although the rules place no limit on how big an army can be, players tend to use small armies of about two dozen models. A large army will slow down the pace of the match as the players have that many more models to handle and think about. Large armies also cost a lot of money and take a lot of work to paint and assemble.

At the start of a game, each player places their models in starting zones at opposite ends of the playing field.

At the start of their turn, a player moves each model in their army by hand across the field. A model can be moved no farther than its listed "Move characteristic". For instance, a model of a Space Marine can be moved no farther than six inches per turn. If a model cannot fly, it must go around obstacles such as walls and trees.

Models are grouped into "units". They move, attack, and suffer damage as a unit. All models in a unit must stay close to each other. Each model in a unit must finish a turn within two inches of another model from the unit. If there are more than five models in a unit, each model must be within two inches of two other models.

After moving, each unit can attack any enemy unit within range and line-of-fire of whatever weapons and psychic powers its models have. For instance, a unit of Space Marines armed with "boltguns" can shoot any enemy unit within 24 inches. The attacking player rolls dice to determine how much imaginary damage their models inflicted on the enemy unit. The attacking player cannot target individual models within an enemy unit; if an enemy unit suffers damage, the enemy player decides which models in the unit suffered injury. Damage is measured in points, and if a model suffers more points of damage than its "Wound characteristic" permits, it dies. Dead models are removed from the playing field. Most models have only one Wound point, but certain models such as "hero characters" and vehicles have multiple Wound points, so the damage they accumulate must be recorded on paper.

Most of the races in the game have units with psychic powers. Psyker units can cause unusual effects, such as rendering allied units invulnerable or teleporting units across the battlefield. Any psyker unit can nullify the powers of an enemy psyker by making a Deny the Witch roll.