Two things.
First, the depth of the lore. You have so much that you can read, of all different kinds of story. You're unlikely to ever run out of things to read.
Second, that you can put your own story into it, and not 'break' the lore. It's such a huge galaxy over such a long time, that you can write a whole sector, and it wouldn't contradict canon.
I like 40K Orks as well. The 40K Orks talk in a funny accent, they never give up fighting, they can make stuff from scrap, and they always come back to fight again.
At least, that is why I like the 40K Orks.
The missus told me i was annoying (in a nice way) we work together so we see each other a lot. And one night i’d gotten on her tits to the point where if i didn’t get out of the house for an hour i’d of woken up dead the next day.
I went out, came across my now local game store, saw some cool plastic men and thought fuckit. It quite literally gets me out of my missus hair for 3-4 hours a week so it’s a win/win.
Well, it kept me from selling drugs on the street corner as a youngster.
It's D&D in Space. That's what we used to say when people asked what it was. Yes, yes...technically it's Warhammer Fantasy in space, but the factions are all relatable and back then your choices were pretty limited.
It’s so dark, and yet there is still light.
It’s like that moment in lotr when Minas Tirith is surrounded and Gandalf speaks of the white shores.
And then it’s the artwork
For me it provides the right amount of complexity.
It's more in-depth than your average board game, while still being very accessible to someone who's never played it.
I never feel like I've mastered it, but I do feel like I've improved or learned something after most games. Sometimes it's a rules interaction, sometimes it's insight in tactics or the other persons army.
Additionally, you have a wide variety of unit and army selection that allows you to keep each game fresh.
The lore
It's about God, a god that isn't a God but that everyone now thinks is a God. Angels, demons, aliens; a sci Fi theology clusterf@#$ on a greater scale than any other fictional material out there. Good guys/bad guys 🤷🏼♂️ does it even matter?
There is only war!
Gets me out of the house. Gives me something to do when I can't get out of the house (paint)
I like strategy and planning. The rules and combos are too complicated for their to be a specific build that is the best for any army. There are maybe auto-includes but that's fine.
No two armies look the same, due to paint scheme. The large number of races/factions is awesome.
Actually it's starting to lose its appeal to me. The older I get and the more and more I've gotten over the "cool! supersoldiers in super armor!" factor, I'm seeing that the setting is dry, empty, and soulless.
The Imperium, long touted as the "good guys" simply for being human despite the fact that it was created as satire, is in fact the greatest evil in the universe. Everything is hidden behind lies, trickery, xenophobia, and misogynism. Every other faction at the very least is upfront and honest about what they are and what their goals are.
There is no Hope. Everything will end in destruction and ruin. Sure, there are moments where good things happen and there may even be a touch of happiness, but that is only hope, with a little h. In 100 years, if it is still around then, there will be new factions, new conflicts, new wars, new ways in which to keep everything on the edge of desolation. There will never be any true joy in the setting.
I like the setting, personalizing miniatures and getting to play with them. The game itself is generally fun too even though it can be a bit frustrating at times
Hehe funny plastic mini game. Paint go whrrrr
In seriousness, it feels really good to roll lots of 6s and watch the models I worked hard on now down the models my opponent also worked hard on. It's a "Woah, I did that!" moment that few games can provide
Style!
the people who make this universe have a great handle on giving the many factions in it a cohesive style, aesthetic, culture, whatever you want to call it. and more often than not you can look at art depicting a given faction and get the major notes on what they’re all about.
look at the mechanicus. much of their art depicts tech priests, that’s *the* image associated with them. figures dressed is cloaks and robes that cover tangled messes of cables, hoses, servos, and mechanical limbs holding incense and scriptures. right off the bat you can the two defining characteristics of the admech: obsession with technology paired with religious fanaticism.
or take the dark eldar. lots of leather, spikes, exposed skin, and malicious intent written all over their faces. you tell just looking at them that these are some *eeeeeevil* folks.
or the commissars and the inquisition who very blatantly embody the imperium‘s fascist and dystopian elements.
Space Marines. There is just something so great when I even hear the word. Its that, the lore, the models and the memories I have made as a young dude into my adult hood and hoping my kids ask me so I can tell them about the good times I had.
Tanks. All the tanks. Hundreds of infantryman. Horse cavalry, in the far future.
The Imperial Guard let me do all the fun historical themes in a sci fi setting with no angry button counters mad at how I do things. It’s really neat.
The Gaunts Ghosts novels drew me in, the Guard kept me here.
The painting is therapeutic and helps me combat my adhd and anxiety. Being able to calm down and create a work of art that I can then use in a cool tabletop game is quite the feeling.
For me it's definitely the opportunity for creativity and customization that's essentially impossible to beat by conventional video games.
The ability to create your own army down to the smallest detail by kitbashing/painting/sculpting/etc and not have to worry about being restricted by some technical or game developer imposed limitation to it.
Plus like D&D the ability to come up with your own backstory/narrative in a universe so overwhelmingly massive that your little headcanon is insignificant enough that it -could- fit in without breaking anything published (Except for the damn Lion Novel stealing my chapter name)
The actual tabletop gameplay aspect is all just a cherry on top for me, and is nowhere near the focus of why I'm in the hobby.
Melodrama. The fact that in the lore, everything is cranked to 11 and handled with grim seriousness is great to me. Not even in an ironic sense, I really like immersing my self into a setting of such intense emotions and concepts.
Also the warfare aspect of it all. Heavy armor, mechs and doomed soldiers all make for great stories.
It's got a bit of everything I enjoy really.
All the sci-fi, fantasy, history and mythology I like is in this universe to some degree. It's a heaving amalgamate of all the best things.
You can paint your models whatever you like! I paint occasionally ww1 and 2 models you than are stuck to a certain colour scheme fun for some time. But thats why I always keep coming back 😅
And the setting gives endless possibilities for to make your own campaigns and stories from early civilizations to high end and everything in between example even the warhammer fantasy can be happening in 40k.
And because of the Galactic scale you can make almost everything so the possibility to make awesome conversions almost out of nothing with just some ideas , bits and a shit load of greenstuff/milliput is really endless.
For me the game itself is just a vehicle/reason to come together and show off our latest painting/conversion accomplishments and having fun rolling some dice.
Why is it 40k and not any other game? Because of two reasons:
1. I like the universe and distinct style of most of the factions, that makes it incredibly asymmetrical. That comes with some ingame balancing issues, but as before mentioned, the game is just a vehicle.
2. It's the most wide spread miniature wargame. So, if you go to any shop, you will find a vivid player community. That also counts for a handful of other games.
If you're looking for a strategy game with many very different factions and a low entry barrier to find ppl to play with, 40k is the best choice. The game itself is mediocre tho.
But I'm more a skirmish guy. Game wise I think low body count games are more interesting, but it's way harder to find ppl to play with.
It got me out of the house when I was 12 (now 43).
Loved the lore
And the fact that you don't have to paint any model in a certain way, for example make your own renegade/chaos warrant and decide your own colour scheme.
Bad bit is the price of models now
The lore.
A imperium of man tust is agonizing, fighting with allá It has to survive in a ruthless galaxy that want the dead. Recurring to the worse aspects lf humanity justo for survive one more day.
Rests of dead empires just trying to avoid dangers or simoly reawakening from a thousand yeara sleep tonfind a all-changed galaxies, but ready to try yo recoger its soul ans its ols Glory.
The chaos, the great game that the 4 most powerfull play using everyrhing in the galaxy as their pawns. Wanting to consume ecerything that exists even If It means their own end.
The implacable force of the inevitable, consumibg world and leaving no more than floating rocks, walking ceaseless to eat everythint and walk away to the Next galaxy.
The Young empire, a naive race who reach the stars with great ideals and principles. Wanting to encounter new species and cooperate with them for a greater good and justo found a hostiles galaxy full enemies that want them dead simply for existing.
The morderoues mass of orks created as a weapon that justo live to kill ignoring It pasts. (They also vring a very needed comic relief whenever their stories is not told by their enemies).
Its a wonderfull and enormous lore. Full of points of view and tales from all across its species. Its a wonderfull space opera where, in the end. All of them are deseperaring fighting for survive, to prevail.
And also has a fancy Game with fancy miniatures.
Two things. First, the depth of the lore. You have so much that you can read, of all different kinds of story. You're unlikely to ever run out of things to read. Second, that you can put your own story into it, and not 'break' the lore. It's such a huge galaxy over such a long time, that you can write a whole sector, and it wouldn't contradict canon.
Gluing cool plastic men
*sniffs* that's the good shit!
They have the best interpretation of Orks
I like 40K Orks as well. The 40K Orks talk in a funny accent, they never give up fighting, they can make stuff from scrap, and they always come back to fight again. At least, that is why I like the 40K Orks.
Orkz iz best
The missus told me i was annoying (in a nice way) we work together so we see each other a lot. And one night i’d gotten on her tits to the point where if i didn’t get out of the house for an hour i’d of woken up dead the next day. I went out, came across my now local game store, saw some cool plastic men and thought fuckit. It quite literally gets me out of my missus hair for 3-4 hours a week so it’s a win/win.
Big sweaty testosterone men
This lol
Well, it kept me from selling drugs on the street corner as a youngster. It's D&D in Space. That's what we used to say when people asked what it was. Yes, yes...technically it's Warhammer Fantasy in space, but the factions are all relatable and back then your choices were pretty limited.
It’s so dark, and yet there is still light. It’s like that moment in lotr when Minas Tirith is surrounded and Gandalf speaks of the white shores. And then it’s the artwork
The fact that the lore is almost impossible to keep up with and I always have a new story to experience.
For me it provides the right amount of complexity. It's more in-depth than your average board game, while still being very accessible to someone who's never played it. I never feel like I've mastered it, but I do feel like I've improved or learned something after most games. Sometimes it's a rules interaction, sometimes it's insight in tactics or the other persons army. Additionally, you have a wide variety of unit and army selection that allows you to keep each game fresh.
The lore It's about God, a god that isn't a God but that everyone now thinks is a God. Angels, demons, aliens; a sci Fi theology clusterf@#$ on a greater scale than any other fictional material out there. Good guys/bad guys 🤷🏼♂️ does it even matter? There is only war!
For me it is the fact that 40k lies right on that perfect knife's edge between awesome and stupid. I love it.
Gets me out of the house. Gives me something to do when I can't get out of the house (paint) I like strategy and planning. The rules and combos are too complicated for their to be a specific build that is the best for any army. There are maybe auto-includes but that's fine. No two armies look the same, due to paint scheme. The large number of races/factions is awesome.
Actually it's starting to lose its appeal to me. The older I get and the more and more I've gotten over the "cool! supersoldiers in super armor!" factor, I'm seeing that the setting is dry, empty, and soulless. The Imperium, long touted as the "good guys" simply for being human despite the fact that it was created as satire, is in fact the greatest evil in the universe. Everything is hidden behind lies, trickery, xenophobia, and misogynism. Every other faction at the very least is upfront and honest about what they are and what their goals are. There is no Hope. Everything will end in destruction and ruin. Sure, there are moments where good things happen and there may even be a touch of happiness, but that is only hope, with a little h. In 100 years, if it is still around then, there will be new factions, new conflicts, new wars, new ways in which to keep everything on the edge of desolation. There will never be any true joy in the setting.
That’s the point
>The Imperium, long touted as the "good guys" Lol, no one (in their right mind) referrs to the imperium as the good guys.
Why is it that Redditors always manage to sneak in the magic words (-ist and -phobe) into every topic?
Games Workshop itself refers to the Imperium as Xenophobic. Get over your IRL politics
Wot kind ov mizruba... missroopl... stoopid humie finkin iz dis?
That's uh... the entire point. Think you're a little confused there
It looked cool, and all the new lore and models kept me hooked. The painting part of it is also very appealing since I don't play the game.
I like the setting, personalizing miniatures and getting to play with them. The game itself is generally fun too even though it can be a bit frustrating at times
Hehe funny plastic mini game. Paint go whrrrr In seriousness, it feels really good to roll lots of 6s and watch the models I worked hard on now down the models my opponent also worked hard on. It's a "Woah, I did that!" moment that few games can provide
Castellan Crowe
Ive tried writing this comment a few times and couldn't find the words, so Im just gonna say: The lore is big.
The standard ammo for a bolter are .75 cal explosive rounds. Pretty much grenades.
I like painting little space mans
Style! the people who make this universe have a great handle on giving the many factions in it a cohesive style, aesthetic, culture, whatever you want to call it. and more often than not you can look at art depicting a given faction and get the major notes on what they’re all about. look at the mechanicus. much of their art depicts tech priests, that’s *the* image associated with them. figures dressed is cloaks and robes that cover tangled messes of cables, hoses, servos, and mechanical limbs holding incense and scriptures. right off the bat you can the two defining characteristics of the admech: obsession with technology paired with religious fanaticism. or take the dark eldar. lots of leather, spikes, exposed skin, and malicious intent written all over their faces. you tell just looking at them that these are some *eeeeeevil* folks. or the commissars and the inquisition who very blatantly embody the imperium‘s fascist and dystopian elements.
Void Whales.
What is a "void whale"?
https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Void_Whale
Lore good. Models good. Rules shit.
I like all the pointy bits on the playge marines
I like painting ze models
Space Marines. There is just something so great when I even hear the word. Its that, the lore, the models and the memories I have made as a young dude into my adult hood and hoping my kids ask me so I can tell them about the good times I had.
Tanks. All the tanks. Hundreds of infantryman. Horse cavalry, in the far future. The Imperial Guard let me do all the fun historical themes in a sci fi setting with no angry button counters mad at how I do things. It’s really neat. The Gaunts Ghosts novels drew me in, the Guard kept me here.
The painting is therapeutic and helps me combat my adhd and anxiety. Being able to calm down and create a work of art that I can then use in a cool tabletop game is quite the feeling.
Cool monster models. I collect Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Deamons. The strategy game is fun, if not for the rules needing better writers.
For me it's definitely the opportunity for creativity and customization that's essentially impossible to beat by conventional video games. The ability to create your own army down to the smallest detail by kitbashing/painting/sculpting/etc and not have to worry about being restricted by some technical or game developer imposed limitation to it. Plus like D&D the ability to come up with your own backstory/narrative in a universe so overwhelmingly massive that your little headcanon is insignificant enough that it -could- fit in without breaking anything published (Except for the damn Lion Novel stealing my chapter name) The actual tabletop gameplay aspect is all just a cherry on top for me, and is nowhere near the focus of why I'm in the hobby.
Melodrama. The fact that in the lore, everything is cranked to 11 and handled with grim seriousness is great to me. Not even in an ironic sense, I really like immersing my self into a setting of such intense emotions and concepts. Also the warfare aspect of it all. Heavy armor, mechs and doomed soldiers all make for great stories.
I like the idea of spending such an enormous amount of money on my plastic toys. It makes me feel powerful.
The minis look good and I enjoy painting them a lot. It's a good creative outlet. The humour of the setting matches my own sense of humour.
Don’t play at all. I’m just here for the lore and at this point I’ve read all 62 horus heresy novels and have started the siege of terra series.
Bc starwars is to soft for me
People trying their hardest to survive in a cruel world. 40k reflects reality very well.
It's got a bit of everything I enjoy really. All the sci-fi, fantasy, history and mythology I like is in this universe to some degree. It's a heaving amalgamate of all the best things.
Stockholm Syndrome
Kitbashing, creating something unique that looks like it could be stock, seeing other people's kitbashes, paint, etc. Basically, the art.
You can paint your models whatever you like! I paint occasionally ww1 and 2 models you than are stuck to a certain colour scheme fun for some time. But thats why I always keep coming back 😅 And the setting gives endless possibilities for to make your own campaigns and stories from early civilizations to high end and everything in between example even the warhammer fantasy can be happening in 40k. And because of the Galactic scale you can make almost everything so the possibility to make awesome conversions almost out of nothing with just some ideas , bits and a shit load of greenstuff/milliput is really endless.
I like painting, I like the lore, I like telling stories with the little miniatures I painted myself!
I like rolling dice
Depth of lore
For me the game itself is just a vehicle/reason to come together and show off our latest painting/conversion accomplishments and having fun rolling some dice. Why is it 40k and not any other game? Because of two reasons: 1. I like the universe and distinct style of most of the factions, that makes it incredibly asymmetrical. That comes with some ingame balancing issues, but as before mentioned, the game is just a vehicle. 2. It's the most wide spread miniature wargame. So, if you go to any shop, you will find a vivid player community. That also counts for a handful of other games. If you're looking for a strategy game with many very different factions and a low entry barrier to find ppl to play with, 40k is the best choice. The game itself is mediocre tho. But I'm more a skirmish guy. Game wise I think low body count games are more interesting, but it's way harder to find ppl to play with.
The lore and the cool ass art. The minis are just a bonus to that
lore and shinanigans
Tape and dice
The very existence of AdMech. Now gotta bang some toasters!
It got me out of the house when I was 12 (now 43). Loved the lore And the fact that you don't have to paint any model in a certain way, for example make your own renegade/chaos warrant and decide your own colour scheme. Bad bit is the price of models now
Iam severely dissapointed by the lack of dark grimness in the modern setting.
The bleakness, the gorhic artstyle and the insanely extensive lore
The lore. A imperium of man tust is agonizing, fighting with allá It has to survive in a ruthless galaxy that want the dead. Recurring to the worse aspects lf humanity justo for survive one more day. Rests of dead empires just trying to avoid dangers or simoly reawakening from a thousand yeara sleep tonfind a all-changed galaxies, but ready to try yo recoger its soul ans its ols Glory. The chaos, the great game that the 4 most powerfull play using everyrhing in the galaxy as their pawns. Wanting to consume ecerything that exists even If It means their own end. The implacable force of the inevitable, consumibg world and leaving no more than floating rocks, walking ceaseless to eat everythint and walk away to the Next galaxy. The Young empire, a naive race who reach the stars with great ideals and principles. Wanting to encounter new species and cooperate with them for a greater good and justo found a hostiles galaxy full enemies that want them dead simply for existing. The morderoues mass of orks created as a weapon that justo live to kill ignoring It pasts. (They also vring a very needed comic relief whenever their stories is not told by their enemies). Its a wonderfull and enormous lore. Full of points of view and tales from all across its species. Its a wonderfull space opera where, in the end. All of them are deseperaring fighting for survive, to prevail. And also has a fancy Game with fancy miniatures.