Howdy ya'll

[roooooot]

I figure it's about time I stopped lurking and got a wee bit more involved.

 

I'm pretty new to wargaming. I played a Dark Elf army back in my high school days (going to date myself and admit it was the mid-90s) and scoffed vigorously when one of my playing partners switched from his Skaven army to 40K with all it's silly sci-fi and "marines in space" in big armor and comically oversized guns and all that. Funny how all that changed...

 

So here I am, I picked up AoBR after much lurking on the GW site and various forums and with the assistance of my wonderfully tolerant gf* realized it was high time to start building a proper army. I figured I'd start with Ultramarines since I had the starter 40K paint kit with a combat squad of them, and it was easy to teach myself painting using a popular army choice. Plus, you know, they are pretty awesome. Soon I will be harassing people with army list suggestions, and bombarding the WIP forums to see how my skills are coming along. Painting and collecting things are my passion right now, thanks to the interwebs I feel my painting skills are much better than I expected after picking it up again a decade later, but I still have an absolute ton to learn.

 

Between painting and collecting, I've been working my way through the fiction. Despite my high school scoffing, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the lore of the 40k universe. I've been moving pretty fast through the Horus Heresy series, and if anyone has any suggestions I am all ears.

 

So anyways, hi!

 

- Loukas

 

 

*She played a ton of AoBR games with me despite hating all things sci-fi while I was learning the rules and really enjoyed it but only on the stipulation that she gets to be 1st world trained army vs piecemeal insurgents; this was the most viable metaphor I could come up with, but also made me have to play as those filthy greenskins a lot. She really does not like sci-fi.

[Olis]

Hail and welcome, brother.

 

If you like, I'd suggest Dan Abnett's excellent Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies and also his defining (and now reasonably long) Gaunt's Ghosts series (my favourite is book 3, Necropolis). I'd also like to suggest our very own Aaron Dembski-Bowden's work, specifically his Night Lords books, Helsreach and The First Heretic. :D

[Zincite]

Welcome to the Bolter and Chainsword, brother!

 

Along with Olisedan's suggestions (I second Necropolis, really good book), the Ciaphas Cain novels are good reading. While they're not all that serious, they present a good view of combat and the Imperial Guard structure, and have a few laughs in them. It's better to read them one by one rather than all in one go. :)

 

Also, Storm of Iron is a good read.

[Ring-around-the-roses]

Read Ben Counter. If you're looking for accuracy, look elsewhere. If you want something hit over the head, he's you're first stop :)

[Hyaenidae]

Greetings! I also would highly suggest Storm of Iron. It's the book that changed my outlook on 40K forever (in a good way, ha!), and since you've been reading the Horus Heresy books already, then you'll be excited to see the Dies Irae, and the infamous nightmare it has become in 10,000 years.

[Warsmith Aznable]

My three favorite 40k books that aren't from the Horus Heresy are Storm of Iron, Titanicus, and Double Eagle. The big anthology Let the Galaxy Burn! is also good with something for everyone, including a particularly good story about a Tyranid invasion. I also second the recommendation to check out A D-B's Night Lords books, as they have some really fun characters in them.