Alright, so I'm going to start an Only War game with some friends who know jack about 40k, but are willing to read up and familiarize themselves with the lore.
Veeky Forums, please help me teach them about 40k, post helpful articles, links, pics, etcetera.
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>Go to Warhammer 40k wikia and just hit random page over and over
>Bookmark ones that are informative or interesting
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That Emperor is in dire need of a Text to Speech Device.
As dumb as it sounds, watch "If the emperor had a text-to-speech device" on youtube. It's entertaining (for fans at least) and certain episodes explain lore in simple terms. It's enough for a starter to not be overwhelmed.
That's no help to someone that isn't already super enthralled by it.
Give them a copy of the Guardsmen's Uplifting Imperial Primer, and nothing else.
Then let them find out along with their characters what the galaxy is really like.
Well, here's the imperium in a nutshell at the least:
youtube.com
Best post, do this OP and you'll do great!.
have your players look at major legions and have them learn what drives them and affects them.
In particular I would say the Space Wolves, the Blood Angels, the Dark Angels and Ultramarines for the Imperium(maybe imperial fists and salamanders if it is heavily involved). The players should also look into the Word Bearers, Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children and Thousand Sons, these legions and their Primarch's are important for insight into Chaos and why some might join.
For general Grimdark, look at the Inquisition, Imperial Creed and shit like Servo-Skulls
I'm assuming that your players will be human and so in the spirit of role play, don't have them research the xenos. Just give your players these general sterotypes;
Eldar are assholes
Tau are Space Commies(who don't fight in glorious melee combat)
Orks are monsters that don't make logical sense
Tyranids are monsters that make logical sense
Necrons are terminators (movie, not 40k)
and everything else is heresy.
I have no copies of the Guardsman's primer sadly. Anyone have any pdfs I could send to them?
Also, thanks for all the helpful posts mates, really appreciate it!
One big detail about 40k is that most humans don't know much about what's happening beyond their home world and most of what they think they know is wrong. The main reason for this is that nobody cares enough to tell them about what's out there.
The first time that the PCs of an only war campaign learn that Orks exist could very easily be when they are deployed against them.
So what I'd suggest is that you work with the players to design the world their regiment is from. There are some key points to hit:
- Planet worships the Emperor as the only god. The Imperium doesn't care how
- The Imperium demands a tithe. The planet provides it.
- All psykers get handed over to Black ships.
- Hate the witch, xeno, mutant, etc.
Everything else varies from planet to planet.
Then the campaign starts and they get shipped off to a warzone against an enemy that they didn't know about until the briefing (if there is a briefing). Anything that a players doesn't know is something that their character doesn't know either.
Pretty much episode 16 and 17 should do it.
Thanks mate, I've got a few small details about their homeworld, but this here is perhaps one of the most important points I need to make. Much appreciated!
Oh, and does anyone have any pdfs or scans of the Imperial Guardsman's primer? I'd totally send them a link and have them download it and read it, tell them to think from the guardsman's perspective.
Lexicanum is probably your best bet.
I would seriously disregard the youtube series recommended because it's probably filled with unfunny and untrue memes.
>Give them a copy of the Guardsmen's Uplifting Imperial Primer, and nothing else.
Are Only War characters all literate at the start ?
Because I wouldn't give it to the players of characters without literacy.
All non-Death, Primitive, and Feudal worlds are literate, iirc. The regiment is from an Imperial World, so they are literate.
Consider pirating a few copies of DOW Winter Assault and Dark Crusade if any of your players do RTS games. The campaigns are a pretty fun way to brush up on the basic lore.
I'd also recommend avoiding any of Veeky Forums's stories, homebrews, and the giant retarded reddit-blog, unless you want your players coming into the game thinking it's a comedy setting that is.
Yeah, I know not to send them towards the memes. Need to keep it somewhat serious. What's nice is that one of my friends actually read the intro lore and the side story in the beginning of the Core Rulebook, he actually liked it, which is nice.
What major Lexicanum pages would you recommend, both for a quick read, and a long read.
Having players come up with the details of their homeworld can make them attached to it and, by extension, the rest of their regiment.
It might even give you plot points you could use.
That's a good idea, would probably help a bit.
Here's what I've come up with so far, they're an American WWI themed regiment:
Reigment name:
48th Merikkan Siege Battalion.
Imperial World
Siege Infantry
Phlegmatic
Scavenger
Favoured Weapons:
Stub Rifle (M1903 Springfield).
M34 Autocannon (37mm mle 1916 TRP)
Standard Kit Bonuses:
Good Combat Shotgun Main Weapon (Browning Auto 5).
Good Stub Pistol Sidearm (M1911 w/aftermarket magazine).
Best Suit of Flak Armor.
2 week's extra rations.
Good Knives (Trench Knives).
The Imperial World Merikka was named after an ancient civilization believed to have once been on Holy Terra, whether this is true or not, it is a source of pride to her citizens, as they believe it a link to Holy Terra, and the God-Emperor.
Variant Patterns:
>Khor'ved Pattern 'Eviscerator' M34 Autocannon Mk. VI
>+Incredibly Lethal
>+Rapid Clip Ejection
>-Small Clip
>Khor'ved Pattern 'Crippler' Stub Rifle Mk. III
>+Incredibly Lethal
>+Criplling Munitions
>-Bulky
>Khor'ved Pattern 'Mauler' Combat Shotgun Mk. II
>+Venerable Design
>+Rapid Clip Ejection
>-Small Clip
If things go to shit to earlier than expected and you want to keep the game going think about throwing in a freeblade knight to bail them out but only do it once. You could have them protect a downed knight who is honored bound to help them later
Honestly, I'd probably let them die then and there, to show how short life in the guard can be.
Of course, I'd probably end up doing this anyways, because it's awesome.
Also, I love this pic.
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he may never truly die.Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat to humanity from aliens, heretics, mutants -- and far, far worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
That's literally all you need to know.
Ha, true enough!
I always read it in pic related's voice.
Huh. That's actually a pretty cool regiment you've got there user.
But yeah, just do what everyone else has said to do, and you'll be golden.
I hear Patrick Stewart.
Whenever I think of him, I always think of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. The best emperor who was sadly, but neccesarily, struck down in my favorite Bethesda game.
>The Imperial World Merikka was named after an ancient civilization believed to have once been on Holy Terra, whether this is true or not, it is a source of pride to her citizens, as they believe it a link to Holy Terra, and the God-Emperor.
That's a good starting point for the players to hang details on.
Personally I'd have let the players stat out their regiment, except for parts that are plot related.
Since they are new to 40k I'd have also have given them some sort of las weapon. Just to make them understand why they are the standard weapon of the guard.
Yeah, you're right. Really, I made the regiment on a whim, I'll probably have them create their own when everyone's together.
If they want a badly designed regiment, let them have it.
If they want to swap out the lasgun for something else, tell them to imagine a situation where the regiments supply lines are cut off for a long period. Point them at the rules for recharging las weapons.
What they do with that knowledge is their choice.
Again, you're right once more! Thanks for that.
I'll give them the Hammer of the Emperor, and The Core Rulebook, that way they can design their regiment using those two books, as well as mess around with the variant pattern rules.
There is a copy in the Mega folder in the Warhammer 40000 general.
Wrong pic.
...
>47092028
>What major Lexicanum pages would you recommend, both for a quick read, and a long read.
Can't recommend any specifically on the top of my head, but any pages with dealing how the Imperium generally functions, the Imperial Guard in a general and its technology, general knowledge about the class of world they come from and ones they might fight on, and possibly the enemies they might face. (However the with regards to the Guard and the enemies it faces the Imperium seemingly makes heavy use of propaganda that doesn't come anywhere close to telling the full story. I believe this is just for the grunts though.)
>favorite Bethesda game
I thought I was the only one. You are not alone, brother.