Hello every one I've got a bit of a problem I am hoping to find some help with. I'm a big Warhammer 40k fan as well as a long time player/GM of table top games. I've been really excited to see all these Warhammer 40k games released, and would really like to get my usual gaming group started in some type of 40k game. The problem is most of my players are either completely unfamiliar with the world and setting, or have very limited and frankly mislead views of the world. I think that they would enjoy the dark gothic world 40k offers.

Our group has played many different settings/systems. They seem to prefer White-Wolf products, namely Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Requiem, and Exalted. We've also had success with Shadowrun, Earthdawn, And Legend of the 5 rings. We've played various other systems as well, but those seem to be the favorites. Most of my players are also familiar with World of Warcraft and Starcraft and seem to enjoy those.

Of my players who have knowledge of warhammer 40k only know a bit about Space Marines. Their idea is limited to understanding they are super-soldiers that are very zealous... though that's about it, i think their main conception of them is that they are ultra-powerful macho types that do nothing but shoot aliens. I'd really like to show them that there's a lot more to the setting and that Space Marines, and more importantly the world as a whole is a lot deeper and more interesting. What can I do to get them interested? How should I approch them with the idea of a Warhammer 40k game? Which game would be best for players like I described with limited to no knowledge of lore and world (Deathwatch, Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader)?

Please any advice would be helpful in this matter.

A couple ways i guess:

-40k novels. Gaunts Ghosts, Eisenhorn, Horus Heresy, etc. could help them get an idea.

- Introduce them to the Dawn of War (and Dark Crusade) games.

- I suppose if they are more familiar with Space Marines, you could run a modified Deathwatch game. Have them deal with some serious insurrections, warp incursions, and through that, you can introduce rogue traders and inquisitors, etc. from the other games, and then see what captivates them most. But that would involve obtaining all the books from the three main games to date.

The DoW games seem like a good starter, as does running the starter Deathwatch adventure (though that one's focus is drastically different from DH and RT - even though DW is a perfect entrance into the franchise, it depends on your players whether or not they might not have more fun with one of the other games). Novels I would advise against, as they require an interest in the setting to be read in the first place. I tried that approach with one of my friends and he still hasn't read a single page...

Other than that, you could try explaining what makes the setting special and sets it apart from other worlds. All the Core Rulebooks contain a small "blurb" that talk about the grim darkness of the 41st millennium and explain it in one of the shortest ways possible. Accompany that with a couple of pictures so that your players may get an idea. You can also link them some youtube videos - user Makkovar has created a number of "tributes" that combine some excellent images with fitting music for an overall very tempting experience: [ Link ]

Ooooor you could watch the Space Marine movie together, possibly as preparation for Deathwatch.

[double post... damned cagey forums!]

You could simply apply the old movie adage of "show, don't tell" here and show them it is something they would be interested in instead of telling them this.

Firstly, given what you said of their bias, I would say that Deathwatch is right out. If they think 40k is all about marines being bad-ass and shooting everything and that doesn't interest them, you really don't want to try and start with that one ;-) Second, Rogue Trader benefits a LOT from the players being strongly invested in the game from the get-go and it also helps that they have a decent feel for 40k and how things work within the grimdark universe so that might not be the best launch point. That leaves Dark Heresy in which the characters are likely to be pretty damned ignorant of the greater world around them and it doesn't matter if the players are as well -hell, I think it benefits a bit from players being a bit green when it comes to 40k. All they need to know then is what their ignorant character knows and what ever propaganda said character was nursed on. Then, as the game progresses, the players world view will get shredded and rearranged right along side of their character and grand revelations about the true nature of things are that much more grand. Since your players seem to like the vampire games, perhaps this changing of world views and the internal questions and struggle ("but... I thought those were monsters and we were the good guys... we are, aren't we?") might be right up their ally.

You don't need to explain any of this to them. You don't have to say word one and they don't have to do a single thing. When you're up at the GM bat one night, have a one-off demo adventure ready. For this, unless you want to put something of your own together for a game that might be played only one night, I would suggest The Edge of Darkness -it's pretty much the exact opposite of space marines charge in and shoot everything. I would also suggest using pre-generated characters for this one-off. That would minimize the amount of work players who aren't interested in the game have to do before you show them that it is in fact a game they would be interested in. The above mentioned scenario comes with 6 pre-generated characters but nothing's stopping you from making more or just using your own. That way you would be able to design some characters with your game group in mind and how they like to play just to make sure they have a decent time of things even with pregens.

After just one night, they should have a pretty good taste for what Dark Heresy is about... and you probably wouldn't have reached the end of Edge of Darkness. You can then ask them how they liked it and see if they would like to finish Edge of Darkness out (hopefully they are fairly curious about what the heck is going on by that point that they want to play again just to see the end... but that means they're still hooked and interested ;-) ). If they do, then you've succeeded in showing them that this is a game they would want to play and once Edge is concluded, they'll be wanting to roll up their own characters and, blam, you guys will be playing Dark Heresy!

Punkxronin said:

Wait, are you saying that's not true? =P

I kid, I kid. But they are ultra-powerful, and they do shoot a lot of aliens... I'm just sayin' is all.