It was a misty December in the late nineteen-eighties when a friend of mine presented me with a packet of three Space Marines. From the moment of that fateful episode, I became a committed Warhammer enthusiast.
This is the book that started it all, and spawned a gaming empire.
What appealed to me immediately about the Warhammer 40,000 universe was its' attempt to combine tactical elements with a linked campaign wherein players forces would gain experience, as well as the dark tone of its' environment. Here at last was a space-opera style universe with an "edgy" undercurrent.
All the familiar races from fantasy literature were present Humans, Elves (Eldar), Orcs (Orks), Dwarves (Squats) even Ogres (Ogryns). Seeing the classic races in this dangerous new guise was irresistable.
This original version of the Warhammer 40,000 rules set is the sole resource for those seeking knowledge of the "lost" races of the 40K universe--the Ancient Slaan and clever Jokaero. The Warhammer environment is rich, deep, and dark.
Trying this skirmish level miniatures wargame on the tabletop, however, left much to be desired. After only a few games it was clear that sound tactics could be too easily overcome with a single die-roll. Some game elements were too potent, others practically invincible.
Psionic combat was downright astonishing--psykers reduced elite troops to shreiking cowards, telekinetically dropped tanks on hapless infantry, and generally wreaked havoc. I need hardly recount the horrors of a genestealer swarm under the influence of the dreaded Temporal Distort.
Imperial robots stood unflinching in the fiercest storms of fire, and dished out a tornado of counterfire. Assassins gleefully tossed vortex grenades, only to be consumed by the blast radius when the sphere of negative energy suddenly tripled in size or worse, split into multiple vortices.
The Warhammer battlefield is appropriately desperate and chaotic, but ultimately unsatisfying. However, the book itself is a must-own for those interested in the early history of this pervasive game.