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So after playing Dawn Of War 1 & 2 (all expansions), reading the first 3 Ciaphas Cain books and seeing the Ultramarines movie I figured it was time to seriously start getting into the seemingly endless lore of the 40k universe. With so much material out there however, I cant seem to figure out where to start. Where would you guys suggest starting off at? Any and all suggestions or help on this matter would be IMMENSELY appreciated.

Thanks in advanced!

What exactly are you wanting to learn about?

Welcome to the forum.


Start with the Gaunts Ghost novel series or with the Space Wolf series. I would to write more, but I have to go to sleep now.

EDIT: And read the rulebook's fluff section.

@Kanluwen:

Well for one, I would like to understand just how the endless war started. What acted as a catalyst for this conflict? When was the realm of man brought into it? How did the holy emperor come into power? Things like that.

@IvanTih:

Thank you for the welcome, I look forward to having a great time with you all.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page

Player updated but a very good place to start.

The catalyst for the endless war was either the birth of Slaanesh, or the Horus Heresy IMO.

You'll want to start with "Horus Rising" and go from there to find out about how the Emperor came to power.

As for the "War against Chaos"...it has no beginning or end.

Horus Heresy series is where I started after playing DoW 1 and 2

If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

What about the warnings on topics that may not be canon? Like this one on the article on squats:

Lexicanum wrote:Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Its Canonicity is in question but was once considered canon.

Basic information about the big players in Warhammer 40K. You can find it here http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page Check out Chaos, Imperium of Man, Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Orks, Tyranids, Tau, Eldar, Dark Eldar, Sisters of Battle, Necrons. While reading about them you will find a lot of links for relevant articles where you can get more specific information about your interests.

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

What about the warnings on topics that may not be canon? Like this one on the article on squats:

Lexicanum wrote:Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Its Canonicity is in question but was once considered canon.

That's not the norm or they've started doing that recently.

Either way, I think you're missing the point. Lexicanum is not fluff. They're a compiler of the fluff.

It's like Wikipedia. They're not a source for academic papers, but they are a compiler of academic papers.

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

What about the warnings on topics that may not be canon? Like this one on the article on squats:

Lexicanum wrote:Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Its Canonicity is in question but was once considered canon.

That's not the norm or they've started doing that recently.

Either way, I think you're missing the point. Lexicanum is not fluff. They're a compiler of the fluff.

It's like Wikipedia. They're not a source for academic papers, but they are a compiler of academic papers.

Exactly. The OP is looking for fluff, so what better place to start than a compilation of fluff?

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

What about the warnings on topics that may not be canon? Like this one on the article on squats:

Lexicanum wrote:Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Its Canonicity is in question but was once considered canon.

That's not the norm or they've started doing that recently.

Either way, I think you're missing the point. Lexicanum is not fluff. They're a compiler of the fluff.

It's like Wikipedia. They're not a source for academic papers, but they are a compiler of academic papers.

Exactly. The OP is looking for fluff, so what better place to start than a compilation of fluff?

The OP is looking to "seriously get into fluff".

You don't go to Lexicanum for that. You go to Lexicanum to get an inkling as to where to refer to for specific topics. And even then it's sketchy, because a few places have references that are wrong.

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

What about the warnings on topics that may not be canon? Like this one on the article on squats:

Lexicanum wrote:Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Its Canonicity is in question but was once considered canon.

That's not the norm or they've started doing that recently.

Either way, I think you're missing the point. Lexicanum is not fluff. They're a compiler of the fluff.

It's like Wikipedia. They're not a source for academic papers, but they are a compiler of academic papers.

Exactly. The OP is looking for fluff, so what better place to start than a compilation of fluff?

The OP is looking to "seriously get into fluff".

You don't go to Lexicanum for that. You go to Lexicanum to get an inkling as to where to refer to for specific topics. And even then it's sketchy, because a few places have references that are wrong.

Lexicanum is like wikipedia, you don't use for an essay because it's not 100% accurate, but you can use it casually if you need a better understanding. Last I checked, 40k falls under the casual category, so he can use it to better understand 40k lore.

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

TrollPie wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Conservationist wrote:If you want to start reading about the fluff, i suggest from the imperial side, especially the space marines, from there link to all notable battles and then races, after that read some some misc. things such as weapons and special characters. You can get them all in Lexi.

Lexicanum is not fluff.

Lexicanum is a compilation of all sources of fluff, and entered in such a way that it is a synopsis.

It provides an overview of most of the major events, characters, locations and items in 40k. How is that not fluff?

It doesn't differentiate between things that have been retconned and things that have not.

What about the warnings on topics that may not be canon? Like this one on the article on squats:

Lexicanum wrote:Previous Edition Warning: This article discusses a topic from a previous edition of Warhammer 40,000.
Its Canonicity is in question but was once considered canon.

That's not the norm or they've started doing that recently.

Either way, I think you're missing the point. Lexicanum is not fluff. They're a compiler of the fluff.

It's like Wikipedia. They're not a source for academic papers, but they are a compiler of academic papers.

Exactly. The OP is looking for fluff, so what better place to start than a compilation of fluff?

The OP is looking to "seriously get into fluff".

You don't go to Lexicanum for that. You go to Lexicanum to get an inkling as to where to refer to for specific topics. And even then it's sketchy, because a few places have references that are wrong.

Lexicanum provides more information on a character or event than a page in a codex, and gives you most of the important details of events within books. Buying and reading a whole series of books just to learn what happened during the HH isn't practical when you could just look at the Lexicanum article for free, or buying the Necron codex to learn the details of the War in Heaven, etc etc.

Macrovian wrote:So after playing Dawn Of War 1 & 2 (all expansions), reading the first 3 Ciaphas Cain books and seeing the Ultramarines movie I figured it was time to seriously start getting into the seemingly endless lore of the 40k universe. With so much material out there however, I cant seem to figure out where to start. Where would you guys suggest starting off at? Any and all suggestions or help on this matter would be IMMENSELY appreciated.

Thanks in advanced!

Notice that he uses the word "seriously".

To get actual fluff or seriously get into the background at large? Hell no, you don't use Lexicanum. To get an overview and an idea as to where to go or what topics are worth reading? Then yeah. Lexicanum's great.

TrollPie wrote:Lexicanum provides more information on a character or event than a page in a codex, and gives you most of the important details of events within books.

Except when it doesn't. The Red Hunters are a good example of this, where Lexicanum incorrectly cites Imperial Armour Volume 7 for what is in a little paragraph blurb that is within a book no longer in publication.

The other thing to remember is that Lexicanum's contributors actually make their own "contributions" to the entries. Again, Red Hunters are an example of this. There's a part in there that is essentially not in any of the cited material and is just a summarization based on the contributor's opinion.

It's like if I were to write an article on Blood Ravens, citing here and there the Index Astartes article and then filling in the blanks with my personal take on them.

Buying and reading a whole series of books just to learn what happened during the HH isn't practical when you could just look at the Lexicanum article for free, or buying the Necron codex to learn the details of the War in Heaven, etc etc.

Did I say it was practical or cheap? No. However, to use an example, the information on the War in Heaven isn't just within the Necron Codex, it's also in the Eldar Codex and briefly mentioned in the main rulebook.

The Horus Heresy as well is a case of it's not necessary to read or own every single book. You can easily skip over Fulgrim, Descent of Angels/Fallen Angels, Battle of the Abyss, and Mechanicus. The real juicy bits are in Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, Flight of the Eisenstein, Legion, Prospero Burns, The First Heretic, and A Thousand Sons. The short story collections as well are starting to contain real juicy bits too.

Start out with both Lexicanum and the 40k wiki. Both are perfct to get an idea of the whole 40k universe.

The rule book for your basic background, then depending on what you want to know from there move onto appropriate novels and/or codex