The Grimdark future is looking ... Brighter?

[Kazzigum]

I gotta say that I like what I'm seeing coming out of GW lately for our big, bad 40,000 universe. Reading over the Necron codex, well, I just love it. IMO, it has everything that made the last couple codexes (especially the Dark Eldar) just great. It is just dripping with detail. New troops, new gear, new technilogical doo-dads that are uniquely their own but that do not deviate from the core rules so much as to look just slapped on. There is just so much Bling in there. Gone are the days of a boring codex. Seriously, I love it. As an aside, I'm less concerned with the new codexes and their overall in-game power (though I'm a gamer, so I do not dismiss), but more with the overall thrust of bringing back the detail. If I'm gonna get beat down, at least let me do it with style.

Couple this new codex with the recent rumors of Tau followed by two new Chaos codexes and, well, I'm just loving 40,000 right now. Personally, I see no real reason to doubt these rumors -- the last couple that had this feel to them panned out pretty well. While I don't play Tau (my brother does though), I'm excited for them to become exciting again. And again, I'll love to see new tech that aren't lasguns and bolters. I do play Chaos, however, and I'm drooling over the possabilities. While I roll with all the Chaos gods, I prefer Tzeentch and the Thousand Sons, so the Legion book sounds good. Let's bring on the detail -- I wanna see Chaos tech (gifts/mutations/powers/whatever) dripping from the pages. Sadly, I think that the second Renegades book is getting my fellow Chaos worshippers ahead of themselves. Personally, I believe the Legion book will come as promised. The second Renegades (LatD-influenced) 'book' will be a White Dwarf thing (a la Sisters). I see them doing a LatD type army list while updating/FAQing the current 'Renegade' Chaos codex to be used in conjunction with it. This is the way the original LatD worked -- I see it happening again. After all, though Sisters players claim to be the whiping, err, boys, of 40,000, we all know it is really the LatD. After all, when has the Great Enemy ever got more than 1/4 a codex? Still, I'd love to be wrong here and see a full-on Chaos Renegade codex filled with traitors and mutants and cultists and rogue psykers and ... and ... ... Whew. Sorry, got excited there.

Anyway, I loive 40,000, and I love what I'm seeing now with the game. GW is finally breathing life back into the game. And if you are a Necron player that does not like the new direction of the fluf, well, I can understand that. But don't despair. Enbrace whats there. There is soooo much that isn't just, err, boring, anymore. Sure, the C'Tan are just shards now. But so what? You can still trick them out to just be sick. And who's to say that there isn't a Tomb World where a shard has not risen to rule some how. Just look at it as another HQ choice that you have to sacrifice outa your Elite section. And if you really, really liked the whole Necrons as mindless, killer zombie-robots without much personality, well there are still several options in the new fluff -- my favorite is the Sarkoni Emperor (it just has that whole borg and Terminator vibe going on).

Anyway, Three Cheers for the bright future of a grimdark galaxy!

[wittdooley]

I agree man. I think the new Necron dex is just oozing with personality. It is very well done. I really enjoy how they're making a concerted effort to tie the codecies to not only other codecies, but also to the Black Library fluff.

Exciting times, indeed.

[MaltonNecromancer]

I couldn't agree more. 40K is the most exciting it's been in years; every army has lots of exciting, generally well-balanced options, and every 40K model released in the last three years has been pretty amazing. Especially when you compare something like the old Dark Eldar to the new ones.

You can't argue with the depth of character in the new armies; the acid test for me is: "Can you use individuals from Xenos races as characters in Dark Heresy that aren't necessarily enemies?"

One day I'm going to have my players sit down and have a conversation with the Swarmlord. They will not be expecting it. It will be a disquieting conversation. :)

[Subexarch]

Agreed. And it's not just that they're exciting and have personnality, It's that they have the appropriate personalities. (There are a few exceptions) The new books feel like they "belong" to the armies. They are filled with rules for unique items and abilities that apply to only that faction. And by and large they seem appropriate. I for one, am glad to see the "simpler is better" steamlining aproach fall by the wayside. Now, only 7 nore months till 6th edition. If the Codexes are this good, my what that book must hold!!

[Hive Mind]

I count myself as relatively new to 40k (played when I was younger in 3rd Ed. then came back to it just before Codex: Blood Angels was released in 5th Ed.) but overall I agree with your points. I'm enthused about the current state of the game and where it's going.

In before 'lol, fanboys' , 'lol, failcost', 'WM/H iz the bestest evah!!!111!!!' and 'WAAAAAAAAARD'.

[lattd]

It really is the best its been, started early 3rd and used third edition rules during 4th edition period but 5th is just so good and the models and rules are amazing, i could happily have an army for each race!

[Kazzigum]

I couldn't agree more. 40K is the most exciting it's been in years; every army has lots of exciting, generally well-balanced options, and every 40K model released in the last three years has been pretty amazing. Especially when you compare something like the old Dark Eldar to the new ones.

You can't argue with the depth of character in the new armies; the acid test for me is: "Can you use individuals from Xenos races as characters in Dark Heresy that aren't necessarily enemies?"

One day I'm going to have my players sit down and have a conversation with the Swarmlord. They will not be expecting it. It will be a disquieting conversation. :)

Its funny you bring up Dark Heresy. I have been collecting the books from that game and its fellows purely for the background. I don't play it, but I LOVE the 40,000 setting/background. Those games are soaked in the background -- the cool background. I'm glad to see 40,000 itself move closer to these RPGs in that regard.

Its funny, I guess I've been waiting for this to happen for a couple years now. The last Chaos codex pretty much sucked out the drive to actually play for a while, but I've kept busy reading background, coverting my Voodoo Witch Cult army and tinkering with my Necromunda-Chaos Warbands/Inquisitor Warbands ruleset.

Man, looking back is weird. But back in '88 when I learned to play in the Rogue Trader days I would never have believed that 40,000 would someday supplant D&D as my primary hobby.

[Subexarch]

We sound like a bunch of old geezers sitting around on a porch marvelling at "those new fangled cell phones". LOL


Hey you kids, GET OFF MY LAWN!

[eldargal]

I agree, 40k is in a very good place right now.

[Morgan Darkstar]

Enjoying 40k :D

[Psychosplodge]

I WANT SECOND EDITION BACK!!

There do you all feel better now?:D

[MaltonNecromancer]

Ah, second edition: where a single Genestealer could kill five whole squads of Imperial Guard in a one turn assault, and an Imperial assassin with the right wargear could move 24" in a turn. :)

It was broken, but gloriously so.

[Psychosplodge]

Ah, second edition: where a single Genestealer could kill five whole squads of Imperial Guard in a one turn assault, and an Imperial assassin with the right wargear could move 24" in a turn. :)

It was broken, but gloriously so.
Or a librarian with a displacer field could chase a demolisher round sticking meltabombs on it till it went pop....

[wittdooley]

Where do I get this rulebook.

[Pendragon38]

Or a librarian with a displacer field could chase a demolisher round sticking meltabombs on it till it went pop.... or a squad SM with web guns and reaiper turret aginst orks

[Psychosplodge]

or a squad SM with web guns and reaiper turret aginst orks
Or a shokk attack gun,
or the cyclone random catastrophic launch table....

[MaltonNecromancer]

And because of save modifiers, literally no-one got a decent save, ever. So there was never any complaining about that...

Of course, there was complaining that Marines were slightly more survivable than humans, despite the fluff making their armour sound awesome...

Hmmm.

There's a lesson in there somewhere...


or the cyclone

Ah yes. Who could forget a 6", str 8 -4 sv mod blast template - just enough to crack a hole in the planet? It was one-shot, but what a shot!

[Psychosplodge]

And because of save modifiers, literally no-one got a decent save, ever. So there was never any complaining about that...

Of course, there was complaining that Marines were slightly more survivable than humans, despite the fluff making their armour sound awesome...

Hmmm.

There's a lesson in there somewhere...



Ah yes. Who could forget a 6", str 8 -4 sv mod blast template - just enough to crack a hole in the planet? It was one-shot, but what a shot!
Not quite as fun as the firing every missile off randomly round the table until it hits something....

[Kazzigum]

Yes, there were many great things from those hoary 'ole days of yore -- my favorites being vortex grenades and their horrific ability to just keep spawning more of them and bloodthirsters carrying an axe that contained another one that pops out when you kill (HA! where's my vortex grenade?)the first one. I was never clear if that second bloodthirster also had an axe that contained a bloodethirster, etc.

Anyway, my point was that 40,000 is better now than it ever has been. Why? Because they are returning to that great beginning to mine for details. Leaving the absurd and wonky, well, just broken-ness of the ruleset behind, but returning to those cool 40,000 details that originally grabbed my attention. Now, if the supposed two upcoming Chaos codexes can only manage to capture the feel of those masterpieces that were the Lost and the Damned and Slaves to Darkness in this brave, new vein... Well, they can just call it a day at that point in my opinion. Move 40,000 over to the specialty line with Blood Bowl and go work on something else (and leave us anone!). :D

[eldargal]

2nd edition was great fun but a terrible, terrible ruleset. If you think the whining aout 5th edition being unbalanced and poorly worded is bad it would be a thousand times worse if it were 2nd edition. 2nd edition was blessed by having only a vestigial internet community, no echo chamber turning a minor rules point into some kind of game-breaking cataclysm.

[Psychosplodge]

2nd edition was great fun but a terrible, terrible ruleset. If you think the whining aout 5th edition being unbalanced and poorly worded is bad it would be a thousand times worse if it were 2nd edition. 2nd edition was blessed by having only a vestigial internet community, no echo chamber turning a minor rules point into some kind of game-breaking cataclysm.
you mean like some players blanket refusal to play against space wolves?

It still felt more fun...

[Spider-pope]

you mean like some players blanket refusal to play against space wolves?

It still felt more fun...

Second edition was all fun and games until your entire army was wiped out before the first turn by a virus wargear card.

40k as it stands is a lot better than the previous few editions. Gone are the last of the pamphlets from 3rd edition, every race actually has fluff now - no longer does anyone have to ask "Who are the Dark Eldar and what do they actually want?" and the rules work better than second ed. although i would love to see the removal of the whole 'Instant Death<Eternal Warrior<Instant Death +1<really Eternal Eternal Warrior' nonsense in the future.

Some of the fluff isnt great, Blood Angels were much better in 2nd Ed before Gav Thorpe turned them into loyalist berzerkers, and the Grey Knights were a tad iffy in their background. But overall i'm quite happy with where the game is at.

[Psychosplodge]

You mean you never enjoyed spending an hour setting up to remove half your army in the first turn?

That's the problem these days, no dedication...

[Pendragon38]

You mean you never enjoyed spending an hour setting up to remove half your army in the first turn? That's the problem these days, no dedication...Or worse when your whole army is pinned down because of overwatch and then loseing one or two squads to the roll of a pysco grenades and theatroll chart

[Valkerie]

You mean you never enjoyed spending an hour setting up to remove half your army in the first turn?

That's the problem these days, no dedication...

Half?:rolleyes: Ha! I remember a battle where my opponent played Virus Outbreak on my Imperial Guard. It spread, and spread, and spread. And spread. By the time it ended, I had one figure left. It was a VERY short battle. Fortunately, my opponent agreed to a do over, after discarding that card. I still got beat, of course, but at least I had a real battle.

In fact, that card was so broken, that GW itself told people to stop using the card. The guy who came up with it was quoted as apologizing for it, saying something like, I didn't think one little Virus Outbreak card could cause so much trouble.:o