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How do I find out about the back-ground? I am reading horus heresy and I've read stuff on wiki, but I do not know much about anything, besides orks. I have been feeling a bit sheepish about talking about 40k. I know a bit about deamons and the warp and space marines but I was in a conversation about space marine visor, helmet, breathy, mask, thing and I forgot to explain that I did not know much about the background and I got a bit embarrassed cus' I am normally [told] that I am a bit of a know-it-all..., and yeah.., I'm rambling aunt I?

So, shall I get a book..?, or sommthin'?

The traditional way to do this is by surrendering your social life and most of your disposable income :p. Although some of us have made a good deal of progress by kicking that pesky sleeping habit.

Is there something specific you wanted to read into? Because if not then most of the stuff I know is from the codex's and the rulebooks (The older ones contradict current fluff but are filled with stuff that is no longer addressed). Third edition is when I started playing, I joined a group of friends for a while that were into actual Rouge Trader games and they filled me in on a ton of content. I took a hiatus for the fourth and early fifth but I'm still on par with most of the goons on this site making me think that the new material isn't as content rich as the earlier stuff or just hasn’t changed.
NOTE: This is CRUCIAL! What you read in the Black Library novels will almost always directly contradict what the rules of the Tabletop (TT) game are. This is true to a lesser degree with the fluff from the gaming material.
That Lexicanum site has a lot of the older stuff listed but unless you know what you are looking for you'll just be reading an encyclopedia cover to cover.
Lastly if you’re worried about being flamed and\or ridiculed for not knowing something don’t be. I’m not saying it won’t happen in fact I’m saying it will, just don’t worry about it.

lexicanum.com
it is a good place to start

Focus on a single topic to learn then read up on that, then when you think your OK with that fluff; choose another topic to read up on. Just don't do to many topics otherwise you won't have any social life.

Thanks you have been a great help. I will look at the site, and is wikipedia a good idea?, it is where I learnt most what I know about orks.

Vet Sergeant Travis wrote:Focus on a single topic to learn then read up on that, then when you think your OK with that fluff; choose another topic to read up on. Just don't do to many topics otherwise you won't have any social life.

Who needs a social life when you could be informing yourself on how to better serve the Emperor.
EDIT: As for Wikipedia, it is okay, but not really worth the time if you are going to use Lexicanum.

zilegil wrote:I will look at the site, and is wikipedia a good idea?, it is where I learnt most what I know about orks.

Wikipedia's information is more sketchy. It's supposed to be a real world encyclopedia, so the information isn't always there. Lexicanum (wh40k.lexicanum.com), on the other hand, was designed from the start to be a fluff resource for 40k, so there are more updates and better information. If someone wants to add information on a particular subject, chances are ridiculously high that they'll add it to Lexicanum, not Wikipedia.

Or, more succinctly:

Wikipedia yawn, Lexicanum gooooooood.

Thanks, it has been a big help!
I even learnt a bit about orks.

How about books?

I am reading Horus heresy, but should I try something a bit newer narratively [Is that proper grammar? ] ?

I don't know anything about books, but as they say, read Lexicanum and perhaps (in my view at least) try out some of the video games... Dawn of War being a nice one.

Although they do take liberties with the fluff at times they are very immersive and do give you a feel for "the feel" of the universe...

Though, there are no mechanical levitating cherubs or monkish choirs...

The problem with the books is that there is alot of contradiction amongst Black Library authors, so information gained from the books might be suspect. They are however, a great way to catch up on the history of the universe.

The fluff section from the codices are a more "reliable" source of information, as are the non-story Black Library books. The Liber Chaotica, and the Xenos book are good ones.

Hell, if you want the answers to specific questions, PM me, and I'll answer the best I can. Always happy to help someone new to the hobby.

By Horus Heresy, do you mean the artbooks or the novels. Both are really good reads, but if that's your only source of background they could be a bit misleading for the 41st Millenium.

For novels that give a good overview of the workings of the universe, you should try some of the more Inquisitor-based ones, since they tend to interact with a lot of different agencies. A really good one is The Inquisition War, which touches on regular people's reaction to Space Marines and Eldar.

For a good 'general Imperial background' I'd recommend...

The Inquisition War by Ian Watson - old fluff, but good info on Genestealer Cults, Navigators, Eldar, Space Marines and the fall of Inquisitors.

Gaunt's Ghosts series by Dan Abnett - specifically the first three or four, for the interaction between Guard Regiments, Chaos Cults and the high-up Guard command.

Crossfire by Matthew Farrer - for a more 'real' look at an Imperial world and it's citizens, plus good interaction between Church, Navy and Arbites.

Most Space Marine books are AWFUL, mainly because the whole point of Marines is that they have no personality, but if I had to recommend one, it'd be Brotherhood of the Snake by Dan Abnett, which portrays them quite well.

For more 'facts' than novels, Lexicanium wins every time, good 'general overviews' are...

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperium
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Horus_heresy
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fall_of_the_Eldar

Or, of course, there's the absolutely hilarious...

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Warhammer40000

Sounds like the OP wants to learn as much as he can about Orkses...

Honestly, if you are leaning to the greenskins, go with Lexicanum. They are great with getting your feet wet. Supplement that with Wiki's (I'm going against Candroth on this one) cuz Wiki will give you info that will coincide with Lexi as well as give you additional info.

Honestly though, if you got the money, buy the newest Codex. That'll give you the bucketload of info on Orkses. And if you got the extra cash, buy the old codii (codexes???) too.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Doh!

Just re-read the OP. Sounds like he's going Space Marines. Dude, that's a whole different boat. If yer going for Spess marines, I'd still say go buy the codex.


The Horus Heresy is a good way of getting the faaar background of what happened to shape the 40k universe and why people hate who they hate, but any 4th or 5th codex with get you up to date on what's happenin right now.