Little assistance needed.

[Kriegsman]

Kriegsman here.

So far with my 13 hours of being on this site for the first time it's been nice.

Love to see other people's work etc and everyone here seems friendly.

So that is why I'm asking on where to catch up with the lore.

I have very little knowledge about Warhammer but would like to get fully into it so i can understand everything better and hopefully actually be active on here.

In all honesty seeing so many talented people and others who have understanding of the lore just terrifies me in a way.

So i would like some general suggestions from the experts here at B&CS.

any specific YouTube video i could watch?

Some other sites to get lore from?

Where to start with the lore?

Any suggestion is very much appreciated.

I apologize deeply for my ignorance brothers and sisters.

[MadGreek]

I started in rhe hobby also ignorant of the lore. My friends suggested my army for me (Blood Angels) based on how I wanted my army to be - jump packs and chainswords.  The BA codex gave me some lore. Then I bought some books and read them. Then the regular Space Marine codex gave me.more lore.  Then I started googling and finding resources. I think I still go to 40K lexicanum (something.like that, I'm doing this from my phone). Just start googling , there is a lot out there. Others will have more information for you, but that's a start.

[MadGreek]

Also just found this - https://ageofminiatures.com/warhammer-40k-lore/

[Grotsmasha]

If you don't mind reading a physical thing, grab either the 8th, 9th (just because they're older and will be cheaper) or 10th Ed. Rule books, they have a great summary of the wider lore and will give a solid base to expand our into specifics.

[andes]

I think Arbitor Ian's lore playlist is a pretty good place to start if you like video: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKWxQVKVdMK9yM3oVo-ZNLZ2tUwvrheZI

 

Once you've finished there, perhaps check out Luetin's lore videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl6BRvEJ-auZ5aYPHj1B3pKJ_pLjg9qNU

 

Welcome, frater! You're in for a great ride...

 

 

[sonsoftaurus]

Welcome!

 

For me the gold standard is the Lexicanum:

 

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

 

Start anywhere and follow the infinite rabbit holes. 

[Captain Idaho]

Depends on the complexity and depth you wanna go and whether you want to appreciate the levels of understanding of the lore some of the Veterans have...

 

If you really really want solid 40K grounding... go for Codex Imperialis from 2nd edition. If you can, get the 2 edition rule book and wargear books to go along with it.

 

That'll give you a good foundation. 

 

You can then read more modern stuff to see which events match as well as some things that have been replaced such as Eldar using lasguns etc. The character and feel of the old stuff is unmatched by recent lore so keep that in mind, as you might find some of the newer stuff jarring due to the changes.

 

Of course, you might not want to go for that deep dive and that's cool too. 

[Marshal Reinhard]

1 hour ago, Captain Idaho said:

Depends on the complexity and depth you wanna go and whether you want to appreciate the levels of understanding of the lore some of the Veterans have...

 

If you really really want solid 40K grounding... go for Codex Imperialis from 2nd edition.

For once I agree. A big regret of mine i dont have my physical copy of it anymore. I'd rather look back at it though than the a lot of the recent ones, though those are usefull too for more modern events and such.

 

I think a big reason the 2nd edition books is that the approach to the game was still almost a bit RPG-lite like, so there's very heavy world building.

 

The caveat of course is that we got some retconned info in there too, like some info on orks.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Marshal Reinhard

[Wormwoods]

Oculus Imperia - https://www.youtube.com/@OculusImperia - does a lot of 30K, the backstory to the lore rather than the modern lore, but he's by far the best on YouTube when it comes to presenting things from an in-universe perspective. Really solid stuff, great backgrounds for the Legions, for the major Xenos (so long as you remember he's talking from an Imperium-centred perspective).

 

Otherwise, as mentioned above ArbitorIan has done some great lore vids. Treats the loose, often comedic nature of the canon well. Is happy to point out things that were true, or became true, or are intentionally vague. 

[Captain Idaho]

26 minutes ago, Marshal Reinhard said:

For once I agree. A big regret of mine i dont have my physical copy of it anymore. I'd rather look back at it though than the a lot of the recent ones, though those are usefull too for more modern events and such.

 

I think a big reason the 2nd edition books is that the approach to the game was still almost a bit RPG-lite like, so there's very heavy world building.

 

The caveat of course is that we got some retconned info in there too, like some info on orks.

 

Steady on. You agreed with me about something else earlier in the year as well.

 

Oh man, it really is the end times. 

[NovemberIX]

I third ArbitorIan, but caveat Luetin, in the videos I've watched they get basic facts wrong and make up nonsense to fit it in. WesHammer, Baldermort and The Templin Institute are other lore and history channels I like that I generally feel are more reliable.  Helsreach is a fan movie that I'd say is as close to cannon as can be, and dramatizes the events in an engaging way.

 

For less "academic" explorations of the lore and story, MajorKill channel and most ironically, a big chunk of AlfaBusa's The Emperors Text-To-Speech Device story with the caveat that both are comedic in nature, and both very crass.  Emp's TTS is a fictional fan work, it takes cannon the least seriously and is essentially it's own concurrent setting, but their exploration of the factions of 40K are based in fact. MajorKill is just very Australian :D There is also an irritant who says such hateful rhetoric and uses 40K to justify it, that GW accidentally nuked their own fanbase to stop them using appending warhammer to their structure-used-to-commemorate-victories-in-battle name.

 

There are a ton of PC games that will explore bits and pieces of the universe such as Mechanicus, Inquisitor, and Space Marine. But also agreeing with everyone else, the old Codexes and rulebooks are great resources, I'd also recommend copies of Forgeworld's Imperial Armour campaign Books. If you're into space marines, then IA 2 and Badab War are the two best to explore.  

The only thing I can really add is that 40K (and 30K relatedly) are a buffet to choose from, no matter where you start, there will be more to explore.

[gideon stargreave]

Fourth arbitorian he does lore and interestingly he also does history of lore. He is charismatic and a nice guy and is a member of one of the best gaming clubs I’ve had the pleasure of visiting