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Back in my teenage years, I started 40k. My army was eldar. I liked them because of their aloof sophistication, their raging against a world that they understand better than anybody else, but just can't get ahead because of a bunch of inferiors. I liked the dying race desperately looking for a noble end. Of course, I was also suicidally depressed all those years ago, so it makes sense now.

But this thread isn't about my personal story. What I'm getting at is that there was a reason, as a teenager, i was attracted to an army. When I grew up, I was attracted to different armies. It struck me today that perhaps every army has a "teenage" reason to get into the army, and an "adult" reason to get into the army.

For example, in the case of guard, teenagers seem to be "TANKS! TANKS! WOO!" or to be impressed with artillery, or to be like "hey, I like my national army, and imperial guard is like the real modern army that I wish I were part of." The "adult" reasons for playing guard, for example would be something like "I'm used to getting by with what I have, and I understand the need to do whatever it takes, whatever individual sacrifice for all of us to succeed. Furthermore, I understand how cold, brute numbers determine things and how important logistics are. I like how downtrodden people are given the chance to be important to something larger than themselves, however insignificant they are." If you've been poor, or if you've had children, or if you're used to 'dealing with it', or a bunch of other "adult" attitudes, there would be "adult" reasons to get into guard.

So I'm opening this up to everyone else. I can think of a lot of "teenage" reasons to get into armies. DE are all about being anti-social and worshipping sex, drugs and twistedness. CSM is all about individualist rebellion and aesthetic indulgence and punk music. The "teenage" attitude towards ork is nothing but teenage "waaaahness" and being thoughtlessly annoying and chav-tastic. Etc. Etc.

So the question is, what are the "adult" reasons to get into your army? If you're 30, and probably have a couple of kids and work a steady job and pay your taxes and are living in a committed relationship, etc., what would attract such a person to your army?

I got into eldar at 19 (actually, got into GW period when I was 19. I was a traditional historical gamer for 4 years at that point).

I wasn't a typical moody teen, though. I just liked their design.
By the time they got their re-write and current setup, I was 22.
Their raging against the dying of the light status was tragic, but not emo tragic.

I'm still attracted PURELY by the look of models as to whether I will play that army. Not the fluff, not the arcing backstory. I'm shallow that way.

I got Into White Scars Because, at the aage of 15-16 i was enamoured with the biker lifestyle.
Tau now because of their "We love you, love us back or die" attitude

I can share a teen end on getting into the game.



I imagine "adult" reasons to play 40k could be a love of sci-fi, a chance to play a game with the family, and/or a way to be with other people as an adult outside of the workspace.

It is not a reply to your question. But I know in 30 years I'll be in the old folks home pushing plastics around from a wheel chair. We just won't be the checkers and cribbage crowd. As far as Adult versus Teenage reasons, any reason you chose a particular army is valid as a choice. For myself i originally chose IG because it allowed me to use my Necromunda figures.

I started Dark Angels when they dropped. I was 15 and angsty and moody and angry at stuff, so a chapter based around that plus the new hotness models got me painting green right quick. When I was younger I painted Ultramarines because blue was my favorite color. When I was 17, had a beard and was in a metal band, I started playing Space Wolves. I've since shaved my beard, cut my hair, and shelved the Space Wolves, and the Dark Angels sit in a case at my parents' house. I was really against playing anything that wasn't in power armor, and I really didn't like Chaos since my biggest gaming rival was a CSM player and I always thought their rules were ridiculous. A lot of that was just me being whiny though, even if Lash still rubs me the wrong way.

I can't think of too many strictly "adult" reasons I've gotten into armies. My Crimson Fists came about because I had retro models and wanted a retro paintscheme, my Guard started because I liked planet Rambo, and my Iron Warriors started because I dig caution stripes. I don't even totally know what drew me to Valhallans either, as the Russian front was never really my biggest area of interest in WW2.

In other words, I can plainly define why I chose armies as a teenager for teenage reasons. I can't put my finger on armies I've chosen as an adult, but then again I'm in my 20's so I'm pretty much an adult in name only. I look forward to someone asking this question again in five years, maybe I can answer then!

So, I'm going to shock everyone here, and say that the army I picked with a more "mature" intent was orks.

That's right. Orks. And not the super serious, uber grimdark orks, I'm talking the wacky, da red wuns go fasta, the neva enuf dakka orks. And do you know why? Because they live in the crappiest universe imaginable. Everyone hates them. They have crummy technology, were abandoned by their own creators, and are essentially a slave race. Life didn't give them lemons, it gave them a sledgehammer to the face. And you know what they did with it? They took that mallet, made it more choppy, painted it red, and beat life's skull in with a brick, just because they could. They refuse to let life bring them down, and proceed to have time of their (short) lives. And why not? If all you'll ever see is war, why not enjoy it? These are the guys who literally flew straight into the gates of hell (the eye of terror) to find the greatest fights ever. and had a great time while doing it, even as hideous warp entities swarmed around them.

I'm going through a lot in my life right now, and while I know I'm well off compared to most, i still have periods where i'm very down or depressed. But everytime I see my orks, I can't help but smile. If they can take the hellish nightmare world of grimdark 40K and turn it into the the journey of a lifetime, then I should have no trouble getting my own life on track.

Which adds to the other "mature" facet of the orks. Any ork can make a name for himself if he's willin to fight and win. Even ghazgkull himself was once one of da boys. And although he had a bit of help from da dok, he still had to fight his way to the top. Every nob, every warboss and warlord, was nothing more than an average ork boy when he started out. No other army or force in 40K works like this. A guardsman , no matter how well he fights, will never become a lord general. A necron warrior will never become a kryptek. Etc. But ork boys all have the potential to become one of the greatest warbosses the galaxy has ever seen. It's pretty inspiring to me at least. Of course, there are other things, but those two qualities drew me to orks more than any other.

Also, forgive any typos, its hard to type stuff like this on a KiN phone (look it up, you'll get a laugh)

Kinda like the above guy. I got into the hobby at 13, and went straight to the orks. I did it though because they were a fun wacky crazy army (2nd edition). They fired blobs of snotlings through the warp into someones tank, or gretchin (I refuse to call them grots) would ride pulsa rockets across the battlefield. Your Weirdboyz could go balistic, or their Minderz would have to slap them around.

The army was just pure chaos in a can, and it was hilarious to play. I don't think I ever won a single game in 2nd edition, but I didn't care because it was such a blast.

The change of orks from 2nd to 3rd almost made me give the hobby up all together... but I moved onto Space Marines, and then eventually Eldar once I moved out on my own and could start really affording to support multiple armies.

My first army was the Eldar, also back in high school. I got into them for the specialty idea. The way they were initially described to me, was to think of them as an orchestra or symphony. Everything must play in perfect concert, or the whole thing will fall apart. This appealed to me, and then I read their fluff. I have been hooked ever since!

I got into 40k when I was around 28... maybe 29... At first I wanted to play Orks because of their craziness... a bunch of green barbarians in makeshift vehicles. I ended up starting Space Marines first because of a Space Wolves novel and the Battle for Maccragge starter. I was attracted to how the Space Marines were these elite armored warriors with apparent super powers. I just thought they were intense. Nothing really adult about it... just bigger, better, stronger type of thing was what attracted me. I don't have an adult reason for my choice of army that I can think of. Closest thing I think would be how I like that they're like a loyal brotherhood of warriors supposedly honorable and disciplined.

I was 26 when I started playing 40K and the first army I collected was Orks. Because I loved the idea of converting all mannor of stuff for Ork use. I had all these ideas of how to personalize the army. So I got into it for what you could call advanced modeling. Not something I'd call teenage.

Since then my motivation for 40K has primarily been the models. If it looks cool, I'll collect and paint it. What the armies represent really hasn't had much bearing on what I've collected and painted. Its pretty much been solely the aesthetics aspect that has kept me into the hobby and why a Marine army was the last army I've completed.

I got in at 25. I chose Grey Knights because of their eternal struggle in defense of reality, that their role was to oppose something inimical to existence. I've always liked stuff like that, bordering on Lovecraftian and Far Realm beyond-all-mortal-comprehension cosmic horrors, and the faction that opposes them was very appealing. And of course, I'm picking up Daemons now because they ARE that madness from outside reality.

I've picked other armies up based on the aesthetics of their core units. I love the image of power-armoured troops crashing down from the sky, so I have Blood Angels. I have a fascination with necrotized undead, so I have Death Guard.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
So, I'm going to shock everyone here, and say that the army I picked with a more "mature" intent was orks.

That's right. Orks. And not the super serious, uber grimdark orks, I'm talking the wacky, da red wuns go fasta, the neva enuf dakka orks. And do you know why? Because they live in the crappiest universe imaginable. Everyone hates them. They have crummy technology, were abandoned by their own creators, and are essentially a slave race. Life didn't give them lemons, it gave them a sledgehammer to the face. And you know what they did with it? They took that mallet, made it more choppy, painted it red, and beat life's skull in with a brick, just because they could. They refuse to let life bring them down, and proceed to have time of their (short) lives. And why not? If all you'll ever see is war, why not enjoy it? These are the guys who literally flew straight into the gates of hell (the eye of terror) to find the greatest fights ever. and had a great time while doing it, even as hideous warp entities swarmed around them.

I'm going through a lot in my life right now, and while I know I'm well off compared to most, i still have periods where i'm very down or depressed. But everytime I see my orks, I can't help but smile. If they can take the hellish nightmare world of grimdark 40K and turn it into the the journey of a lifetime, then I should have no trouble getting my own life on track.

Which adds to the other "mature" facet of the orks. Any ork can make a name for himself if he's willin to fight and win. Even ghazgkull himself was once one of da boys. And although he had a bit of help from da dok, he still had to fight his way to the top. Every nob, every warboss and warlord, was nothing more than an average ork boy when he started out. No other army or force in 40K works like this. A guardsman , no matter how well he fights, will never become a lord general. A necron warrior will never become a cryptek. Etc. But ork boys all have the potential to become one of the greatest warbosses the galaxy has ever seen. It's pretty inspiring to me at least. Of course, there are other things, but those two qualities drew me to orks more than any other.

Also, forgive any typos, its hard to type stuff like this on a KiN phone (look it up, you'll get a laugh)

This seriously just raised my respect for the Orks tenfold. Idk how I ever could of hated them before..

On topic: I started back in HS when I was around 14 or 15, and really liked the look of the Dark angels with the whole secretive life and angst.

Then I went to the Eldar and loved the feel of them being a fading race who would fight on against the spectre of extinction. The look of the models and their background made me fall in love.

Lastly I picked up chaos to be the rivals for my brother's Space Marines. I learned about the Night Lords and their betrayal (thanks to Lord of the Night), and never looked back.

I picked the Deathkorps Of Krieg when I got into the hobby after a break of a few years. What drew me to them is their will to do anything they are orderd to and the fact that they will never yield whatever the universe trows at them.
And beside their rank and file men look very good

I started with Chaos Marines when I was 15 solely because they were a broken mirror of Space Marines.

I play Dark Eldar now for one reason and one reason only....speed!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I generally find that I have no need to identify with the motivation of an army to play it. It is more about how their play style gels with my methodology.

(not to offend, but the OPs comment on why play DE implies that we are all secretly sadists, which is not true)

I think it does us a disservice to label some reasons for choosing a faction as young or immature. Getting into IG because tanks are awesome is just as valid as any other reason. I got into Grey Knights because I really like the imagery of medieval knights in space.

I got into IG as a teenager because I loved all the badass tanks and the hordes of guardsmen. It was all so cool.

I got into deamons because I wanted to paint pretty colours. So I have, if anything, regressed.

I got into GK because they are labeled as the best of the best. Always outnumbered. Reminded me of the movie 300. IG because they are like real life people fighting all ofthe evil terrors amongst the galaxy. And im only 15.

I got into Death Guard because I liked the aesthetic.

The slightly more mature reason for playing them was because I liked their resilience and their determination, their refusal to surrender or compromise.

I love Eldar because they are the perfect tragic hero. Everything they do is only to die, all in a hail mary attempt to make up for their own fallings from grace.

Black Templars I like because I really enjoy the Crusades from a historical standpoint. Additionally I personally enjoy their fluff a bit better than the other Space Marines available where they fight out of brotherhood and not rank. Allows you to make up really good fluff.

 MrMoustaffa wrote:
So, I'm going to shock everyone here, and say that the army I picked with a more "mature" intent was orks.

That's right. Orks. And not the super serious, uber grimdark orks, I'm talking the wacky, da red wuns go fasta, the neva enuf dakka orks. And do you know why? Because they live in the crappiest universe imaginable. Everyone hates them. They have crummy technology, were abandoned by their own creators, and are essentially a slave race. Life didn't give them lemons, it gave them a sledgehammer to the face. And you know what they did with it? They took that mallet, made it more choppy, painted it red, and beat life's skull in with a brick, just because they could. They refuse to let life bring them down, and proceed to have time of their (short) lives. And why not? If all you'll ever see is war, why not enjoy it? These are the guys who literally flew straight into the gates of hell (the eye of terror) to find the greatest fights ever. and had a great time while doing it, even as hideous warp entities swarmed around them.

I'm going through a lot in my life right now, and while I know I'm well off compared to most, i still have periods where i'm very down or depressed. But everytime I see my orks, I can't help but smile. If they can take the hellish nightmare world of grimdark 40K and turn it into the the journey of a lifetime, then I should have no trouble getting my own life on track.

Which adds to the other "mature" facet of the orks. Any ork can make a name for himself if he's willin to fight and win. Even ghazgkull himself was once one of da boys. And although he had a bit of help from da dok, he still had to fight his way to the top. Every nob, every warboss and warlord, was nothing more than an average ork boy when he started out. No other army or force in 40K works like this. A guardsman , no matter how well he fights, will never become a lord general. A necron warrior will never become a kryptek. Etc. But ork boys all have the potential to become one of the greatest warbosses the galaxy has ever seen. It's pretty inspiring to me at least. Of course, there are other things, but those two qualities drew me to orks more than any other.

Also, forgive any typos, its hard to type stuff like this on a KiN phone (look it up, you'll get a laugh)

My hats off to you sir. Well said.

I got started playing tyranids because it was the only army taht no one in my group was playing, I got tired of them really quickly after that and then started really looking at armies. i got Dark Eldar next and really enjoy them, I chose them because of ships and fast paced battles they needed. when im playing a game i dont think of the drugs and sex crazed Dark eldar, i think Combat drugs and hoping to roll a 6 for a free pain token.

 Kaldor wrote:
I think it does us a disservice to label some reasons for choosing a faction as young or immature. Getting into IG because tanks are awesome is just as valid as any other reason. I got into Grey Knights because I really like the imagery of medieval knights in space.

This. This is a hobby, so why do we have to think about whether people like our reason to play certain army? Is this where I quote that C.S.Lewis's growing up quote?

It's rather hard to pick your 1st army on some "deep"/"adult" fluffy/tactical reasons, unless you have friends who can lend you an army and you're a big fan of the 40k.

Myself for example, when I started this hobby, I had no knowledge of the entire game, only thing I knew about the 40kverse is that the only designer they have in the grim dark have a fetish for skulls, so I picked DE all because of their look, there was no way for me to have done this based on some tactical reason, as their stat lines, weapons or whatever made absolute no sense to me, even when they started making sense to me, in my early 40k days, I thought a toughness test is some horrifying thing as I mistakenly thought T3 is the standard, and 4+ sv is something to be proud of.

If you're into sci-fi and like playing strategic board games, why not? It's just like any other hobby...though I'd be a lot more careful with my minis around kids.

Started with Necrons at teens because I really like their fluff (the old one, the new gakky fluff NEVER HAPPENED! I literally cut the fluff part in the new dex out and replaced it with the old one. No, I'm serious. Really.) and they are easy to paint - I hate painting. I love converting models 'n stuff but painting is a major pita and thus, Necrons take the cake.

I like their 100% rational thinking aka mindless machines. Sure, our fluff is similar to the Tyranid fluff aka "A major threat lying outside mankind's grasp" sort of a boogeyman-army, but having any army of undefeatable, mindless robots certainly is a lot cooler than those uninspired FOR ZEE EMPERAAAH tin cans.

My army was Tau.

Teenage reason is I guess the anime influence (though I haven't ever watched Gundam or any of the really mecha heavy ones, Ghost in the Shell is my favourite) and lots of nice guns.

Adult reason is they have a society built around everyone working together to improve life for the whole.

An individual Tau's role in the society may be strictly defined by their caste but they rise through the ranks of their caste purely on merit. In the Fire Caste a Shas'la who shows leadership potential will become a Shas'ui in charge of a Fire Warrior team. If he continues to perform well then he'll advance to piloting an XV8, then become a Shas'vre team leader, commanders bodyguard and finally will be a commander in charge of his own Cadre. No politics to mess with which results in someone being promoted above their ability. If you've reached a high rank it's because you earned it through hard work.

I started Tau when I was around 13-14. I loved the idea of a scientifically powerful race that used advanced technology (such as rail guns and Crisis suits). Their motto "For the greater good" struck a chord and made so much sense to me.

Between 14 and 17 I never really stuck with an army after that. I'd shift around between Tyranids, Chaos and Necrons. I guess it was reflective of my life back then (moving between groups of friends due to fallings out).

I started IG after turning 19. I was attracted to the more Victorian British side after playing DoW2 and listening to the IG general talk. His code of honour and refined facial hair combined with plight of the lowly guardsmen made for a very interesting back story in my head. Inspired by this I set off to make a Krieg-esque, very 1900's British, trench fighting army.

Now that I'm 20 I feel really attracted to a cultist based, chaos piratey warband because pirates and daemon worship is cool

My first army (Tau) I chose because.. well.. they looked cool. At that time gundam was all the rage, so I picked up the mecha-suit-utilitarian-space-popes. This wasn't what I wanted however. I wanted to use tyranids, because I happened to have enjoyed starship troopers a great deal, though everyone in my local group had severe nerdrage against nids, and promptly told me "no-one will play against you if you pick tyranids." Two years later, (literally weeks before the new nids book) I found a new group to game with, bought a hive tyrant, two warrior boxes, and four of the awesome gant/gaunt boxes GW used to have, and the Tau haven't seen the tabletop since

If you read what orks think about the world and the races their view is free of all political bs you see in current day world.

Oomans are pink and soft, not tough and green like da Boyz. They'z all the same size too, so they'z always arguing about who's in charge, 'cos no way of telling 'cept fer badges an' ooniforms and fings. When one of them wants to lord it over the uvvers, 'e says "I'm very speshul so'z you gotta worship me", or "I know summink wot you lot don't know so yer better lissen good". Da funny fing is, arf of 'em believe it and da over arf don't, so 'e 'as to hit 'em all anyway or run fer it. Wot a lot of mukkin' about if yer asks me. An' while they'z all arguing wiv each other over who's da boss, da Orks can clobber da lot

But they all talk like children. How can you stand that?

Well I got into warhammer when I was as young as 11!
I started on Eldar, cause they looked awesome, and no-one else had em! Continued to like em through my angsty high school years, for the whole 'we are superior, but failing against the horde'

I also got into chaos marines, for the aesthetic and whole 'UNLIMITED POWAR!!!'

I have never liked the imperials, and every attempt at collecting them results in conversion to chaos


Von Chogg