I'm running a bit ragged this weekend so I'm posting a little background post in relation to the 40k hobby and why a certain person might enjoy and play it. This was done by our lovely regular FeralJim. Enjoy!
It's the background fluff that I love about 40k. The beautiful, gothic imagery in the books. The riveting descriptions of alien life and planets. The dark, intricate atmosphere that Games Workshop's writers have worked to create.
It's all fantastic, brilliant stuff.
But you see, I’ve been slipping. The last couple months have seen me slow down almost all of my hobbying to a stop and I understand why.
So I sat down today and really tried to figure it all out. It was then that I (slowly) came to realize where I had been going wrong.
I don’t paint my soldiers anymore, I build them, undercoat them and call it a day. I’ve long since stopped giving them names and histories based on battlefield results(something I used to do as a child). I keep playing small 500-1000 point games and I just keep using the same 3 standard BRB missions over and over.
When you pick up a Codex and you read through it, when you see the battlefields they display on the inside covers, what do you see? What is it that makes those scenes so exciting?!
[Bigger armies] This means more chance to field specialist units and in larger quantities, want those Terminators AND that Veteran Squad? Why not take both! And a Venerable Dread!
[Themed-boards] Not just a random haphazard of the same terrain arranged in roughly the same spots as last game. Whether it be sweeping hillsides, broken cities, winding rivers or a creeping forest. Give your board a theme. This ties into my next point, which is…
[Story] Have a bit of background to the coming conflict. Do you know my favourite part of any White-Dwarf? The little blurb of character writing they include before each battle report. I want to hear about why the Word Bearers are invading Epsilon IV and just what the Imperium means to do about it. Maybe the leaders of each army are old enemies with large chips on their shoulders and grudges to bear.
These three, simple things can go a long long way to making your game better. Where else can you improve? Well, for one.
[Variety] Running missions from the Cities of Death or Battle Missions supplements (or writing your own!) make the game great. Dawn of War is fun, but so is fighting an entire match with night fighting and *not* having to walk that Carnifex onto the board…
Finally, the thing that I think really makes 40k special...
[Campaigns] There is nothing like a big, multi-day campaign where your game results influence future matches.
Did the Tau successfully defend the Plasma Reactor powering the Southern Continents Defense Lasers? no? Well then next game the Orks start getting free mobs of deep-striking boys from turn 4. All is not lost though, for the Tau have a line of em-placed bunkers defending their side of the board. Can they hold out till Turn 7 when Shadowsun arrives or will Warlord Yrrrmgral-Face find victory?
For me, this is where the action is. This is the sort of stuff that I like to live and breathe. But hey, what's so great about the whole affair is that what works for me doesn't have to be what works for you. In this great hobby of ours everyone gets a chance to find their own path.
Whether that's reading, writing, playing, building or painting. Is up to you.
