Open play can be easily played with the basic core rules, with more advanced rules being added on later on as you begin to master the game. Open play allows players to just grab some models, place them on the table, and start playing. The latest edition of the rules actually allows for three different ways to play, these are Open Play, Narrative Play, and Matched Play. The 5th edition was also the edition where Matt Ward turned the Ultramarines into a bunch of goddam Mary Sues.Ĩth Edition Rulebook Source: įinally, in 2017 we received the latest iteration of the rulebooks through the release of the 8th edition of Warhammer 40k. The overall rulebooks released during this edition were. The Grey Knights received their codex during this edition as well.

Some of the factions that previously had their own codices were incorporated into other factions, for instance, the Catachan Jungle Fighters were incorporated into the Imperial Guard Codex. The newest edition also went into further detail on the Warhammer 40k fluff, especially detailing a lot of Imperial fluff. 5th edition also added the “line of sight” rule, meaning an attacking model has to have an actual line of sight on its target. The fifth edition added running mechanics to the game, as well as changes in the use of cover, vehicle ramming. The third edition also came with codices for expansions to the game, these were Armageddon, Eye of Terror, and Cityfight.Ģ008 was the year that I first got into Warhammer 40k through the boxed set of “Assault on Black Reach”, this was also the start of 5th edition. After all, can Fascist-Xenophobic-Space-Catholics really be considered the good guys when they spend most of their time committing genocide? The third edition was accompanied by the release of the following codices. The third edition is also where a lot of the “grimdark” began to take over the narrative of the game, blurring the lines between who the good guys and the bad-guys. It was during this edition of the game that the narrative began to take a more Imperial-centric point of view. Overall the change to the rules opened up the game to a wider and younger audience, increasing the reach and popularity of Warhammer 40k. The streamlining was met with disdain from many veteran players which saw the new rules as too simplistic. Although the rules were still very similar to the previous two editions of the game, there was an effort to streamline the rules by removing some of the more complex concepts from previous editions. The new rulebook was referred to as the Big Black Book and featured the Black Templar chapter of Space Marines. The third edition of the game was released five years later in 1998. Warhammer 40k introduced several codices for several factions, including The starter box of the game also included 20 Space Marines and 20 Orks, buildings, dice, and templates (used to mark the range of a flamethrower attack, as well as the blast radius of several weapons). The second edition box set also includes the books “Codex Imperialis”, “Wargear”, and “Codex Army Lists” which detail the background of the universe the various factions within it. Second editions shared the same rules for shooting and battle as Necromunda, another Games Workshop game that takes place within the Warhammer 40k Universe. The second edition of the game was released in 1993 and was included in the starter box. At the time that first edition was released there was no such thing as a codex, however, there were several books which served within that capacity, these books were.Ģnd Edition boxed set cover Source: The first edition of the game also had a more RPG feel to it, as the original rules were heavily influenced by the RPG games of the time such as Dungeons and Dragons. First edition also featured three other races that later editions did away with. The narrative of Rogue Trader was not as centered toward the Imperium as later editions, and more openly encouraged some cross-faction cooperation as opposed to the more xenophobic Empire of more recent editions. Rogue Trader was essentially the first edition of the game, which set up the initial setting of the Warhammer 40k Universe. In 1987 Games Workshop released a science fantasy version of their Warhammer game titled, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.

Warhammer 40k factions