Hi!

I came to WH40RPG via the WHFRP (from Hogshead). I have nearly no kn owledge about the 40K universe except for that which is written in the rule books. I have begun reading the Eisenhorn Omnibus as most people agree it's the work of fiction. But e.g. the Hours Heresy: I read about it (guy killed the emperero dead) but don't know anything about the background. I don't know why technology is such a big boo-boo etc.

In short: Where can I read up this stuff if I am not interested in the tabletop?

Thanks!

Patrick

Hallo Einbauschrank! Marke IKEA? Oder nur reduziert?

Okay, enough Jokes.

I do not know about good books, but about nice films that might give you the feeling

DUNE (the ORIGINAL MOVIE!) give you a good feeling for the nobles, the warfare, armies and space travel of the imperium. Just get rid of the spice. "The Voice" is a good way of playing mind bending psykers, two! ..and I do not have to mention the fashion ;0)

CASSHERN (asien movie) gives you a good feel for makropoles and the WH40K "larger then live" attitude in machinery, warfare and vehicles

More hints will follow

Spicificly for the inquisition, recommended reading include

• Eisenhorn, what I encourange every new GM and player character with no previous expirance with the 40k universe to read, this sets up an amazing backround package for all three Ordos. Just remember Xenos- kill alians and alian tech, Hereticus- kill witchs and traitors within the imperium, and Mallus- stop and kill cults that set forth demons, then kill the demons too.
• Ravenor Trilogy (after reading Eisenhorn), sets up a good backround on hive cities, and for potential ideas for your campaigns, its also not full of the traditional 40k fluff that most books are (hence Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines, Orks, Eldar, ect ect.) Just money hungry warp traders.
• Gaunts Ghosts (all of them) while this isnt nessisarily inquisitor reading, it does specify how a traditional guardsmen lives, and there are a number of inquisitors working against and for the Tanith First. Also gives more insight to the day-to-day lives of Imperial Citizens, and strong chaos cults that may be featured in some of your Dark Heresy games.

Other then those novels (all written by Dan Abnett BTW), there is a wealth of backround and knowlege in the dark heresy books, and the internet is also a wealth of information.

Good luck,

-Ira-

There is also, if you are prepared to hunt for it, the oft-denied, near-mythical, Fluff Bible floating around the net. This doesn't cover the more 'recent' fluff changes (ie, those from the mid- to late-90s or later), but is a good resource for early stuff.

In a similar vein, the old Realms of Chaos books ( Slaves to Darkness and Lost and The Damned ) are worth hunting down, as is the Codex Imperialis (for 2nd Ed) and the original Rogue Trader rulebook.

In terms of influences- Dune , certainly (indeed, the idea that 'tech is rare and possibly bad juju' seems to be a blending of both the Butlerian Jihad from the Dune universe, and from The Fading Suns RPG); Casshern has something of a 40k 'feel' to it, but isn't quite as good as Dune . You might also want to track down some John Blanche/Jes Goodwin sketchbooks (the early stuff), and maybe Ian Watson's Inquisition War trilogy (just reprinted as an anthology, by the way).

Definitely worth getting the Inquisitor rulebook and the Thorian Sourcebook for it (both available free online here ).

Anything else? Let's see: in terms of flavour and feeling, rather than detail and actual likeness, the Deathstalker series might be worth a read; and the 3rd edition 40k rulebook contains what is still my favourite introduction to the 40k universe (it has actually turned up in both 4th and 5th, and probably 2nd as well, but I saw it first in 3rd ed, and you can probably pick up a 3rd ed rulebook for cheaper than the later ones).

Try also to get hold of Let the Galaxy Burn , Angels of Darkness and maybe Jack Yeovil's Dark Future trilogy (for insight into what formed the 40k universe- pre-collapse, pre-unification, pre- pretty much everything 40k)

Thx, the Fluff Bible seems to be 240 pages of gold

Which Dune movie you referring to? Laurent's version or Hunt's?

Does anyone have a link to the fluff bible?

Even if you're not interested in the tabletop (like I am not), if you have much Ordo Hereticus or Ordo Malleus in your campaign, there is a lot of great info in the Witch Hunters and Daemon Hunters codices for the tabletop game.

I also highly agree with the pointer to the Inquisitor rulebook from Specialist Games, and you can't beat the price (free).

aethel said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but on the Games Workshop website the Inquisitor rulebook is listed as $45, not free.

go to the GW website, then look for the link labeled "specialist games", there under "specialist resources" you can find the different games. look for inquisitor, there you can DL the book as a two-part pdf.

GW Inquisitor resources: www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp

Fluff Bible: www.electric-rain.net/w40kRPG/Warhammer%2040k%20FluffBible.pdf

Letrii said:

David Lynch's

There is also the Inquisition War written by Ian Watson. I really enjoyed this series plus it gives a great view into how the charactors really seem the Imperium of man. For someone that is just starting to get into the 40K setting I really recomand this book to be on your reading list

Gregorius21778 said:

Reading about Iocanthos always seems to trigger memories of Dune and The Spice. Casshern is also a good film if a bit slow (even for an Asian film). I love Asian cinema (on a Korean kick lately) but they really need a little work on their pacing techniques.

One of the Cain books has a reference to Dune too. Cain is reciting the Cathecism of Command and a trooper asked what he was saying. He said nothing and the tech-priest overheard him and and says,"Fearis the mind killer, eh"?

What about the book released book the Black library called The Inquisition? I have that and it is a kind of encyclopedia reference guide to major players and things in the Inquisition.

The Cain books are good for a over all view of how a IG regiment is laid out and how the =][= uses assests.

Gaunt's a bit to specific to one special regiment, though the setings are nice.

The Crossfire Trilogy is very good as an Arbite resource and how they interact with =][=.

Haven't read Eisenhorn, but have read Ravoner and it's a good example on how a =][= might run the show directly.

Of course thier is Scourge the Heritec. It's good for how an Acholyte group would do bussiness without the direct support of thier =][=.

Avoid Worroir Brood. It's a neat concept, but horrible read. The only good thing about it is how backstabby the =][= are to each other.

The first Greyknight book is good for examples of how different =][='s operate or are used and how smart thier adversaries can be.

You might be able to get more Ideas from movies quicker than reading all these books and be able to watch them with your group together so everybody is on the same page as you.

My recomandations are: Spy Game (How to be a smart spy), either Dune (they both have good visuals), Dark City (good visuals), Bladrunner/Fifth Element/Total Recall (good visual and feel for a hive), Ghost in the Shell (though the tech level may not be as polished), Firefly/Serenity (small party dynamics in a Sci-Fi setting), Judge Dredd (corny, but good feel for a Hive planet and how Arbites or just even the local PD would behave).

There's probly more I just can't think of any right now.

When ever I get the chance I mention these books and movies to my PCs and the ones the watch/read them are getting far while the ones that don't aren't meshing well when I change the type of game i.e. from Combat to Investigative/spying. Plus when I'm lost for words I can just make the refferance to what I'm thinking and they get it.