Warhammer 40k Lore

Hey so I've been playing Warhammer 40k video games since I was a kid.

starting with the dawn of war RTS games I've always enjoyed the settings, races, and characters.

Ive never fully understood the entire background story of the 40k universe. Decided i wanted to start reading the books .. Ive put off doing so for 16 years.

Im a fan of the Orks and was recommended this book.

Its been really good! I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm not sure if this is a good starting place to read on WH40k though, But I do like it because it focuses on the orcs.

I'm also a fan of the space marines, chaos, and necrons.

Anyone familiar with WH40k lore and Books?

Any recommendations?

WH40k has some wild stuff in it and I'm trying to dive in.

@sargentd: Yeah I actually made a post about this a few weeks ago (got few responses), but I'd like to know some too.

Space Marines especially, but I'd love to read books about other factions as well. Orks are super interesitng.

Most of what I know of 40k have been from video games and the wiki/lexicanum. There's a number of youtube channels that provide a lot of lore without the need to read all the books and codexes.

For me it's Imperial Guard all the way.

This book on Thrakka is pretty awesome. breaks down how the orcs think/function and their hierarchy and gods. Pretty brutal too, its funny the orks life sounds horrible to us but for them its a beach blast everyday living in 40k. Orcs in 40k are so much cooler and dynamic than ones in LOTOR or even Warcraft tbh.

If the other books are like this one I'm going to check a bunch out. I'm also into the space marines. How can you not right? badass armor suits with chainsaw swords and jet packs!

From what I've read online the Horus Heresy books are suggested by many as a good place to start. Its a prequel to 40k taking place in 31k. Apparently this series gives the best introduction to how 40k came to be, the beginnings of the imperium of man.

Horus rising is the first book in the series, I ordered it on amazon. its now sitting on my shelf. I will start that when I finish Thrakka.

@sargentd: Yeah aren't orks like a fungus or something, and that's how they grow and spread?

@mrbojangles25: yeah they are half fungi and half animal. Come from spores in the dirt.

Snotlings at the bottom, then the grots above the snooting's, grots push the snotlings around and make them their slaves, then the orcs do the same thing to the grots, war bosses push around the weaker orcs. They eat each other sometimes and constantly have skirmishes with each other but usually not full blown war.

One of the most interesting things is how their tech works.. They really don't know shit about how to build this crazy weaponry they have. Its all based in like belief. Its like a psychic ability. If the orc smashes the pieces together with the intentions of it doing something, if enough orcs believe it to be true.. it becomes true and just works lol.. Which is hard to beat.

also orcs can take a lot of damage, orc can have its head cut off and sewed onto another orcs body and live... What's cool to me about the orcs is they seem to be the only faction in 40k that's having a good time. Their whole existence and being is based on being in constant WAAAG. They love to fight, its their favorite thing. So these green bastards are having the time of their life while the other factions are going through hell lol

Luetin09 on youtube has a great and very long series of videos on 40K lore. He is a good story teller too.

just a hint on warhammer 40K though: if you think the Imperium of Man and the Space Marines are the good guys....oooh boy. everyone is nasty and pretty evil. The story of how the imperium of man came to be is a great story though.

I believe it! looking forward to jumping into Horus Heresy series. No faction seems to be clean in 40k.. maybe the tyranids.... since they are just aliens that care about survival. But they are disgusting killing machine.. Seems like every faction is brutal asf

It's literally trillions of creatures--humans, aliens, demons, etc--fighting each other. Definitely brutal.

How does the introduction go? "In the grim dark future there is only war" lol.

I like what you said about the Orks, though, how they're the only ones that are really happy. I mean if there is only war, and peace causes you literal pain, than you gotta be pretty happy with the "only war" part of existence lol. I've always thought the Orks were cool but in that context I've suddenly liked them a lot more.

funny I came into Warhammer 40k the same way as yourself, and also gravitated towards the Orks. I remember learning about this phsycik ability/technology that works purely on their dumb belief and that just made me love them even more.

I put hundreds of hours into Dawn of War II's multiplayer as the Orks, I just found it so funny and cool how one of their best units were just big-ass Orks (the nob-squad) who you could upgrade with hammers. The other factions were rolling out crazy advanced mechs and tanks and you'd just be wrecking their shit with big buff dudes with hammers.

however despite enjoying 40k i've never gone deep into the lore.

this post make me want to read some of these books myself!

majorkill also another good yt channel on it

I've bought some books, but never read them entirely.

The Templin Institute youtube channel has some good lore videos. Clear narration, underlayed with background music and 40k art and animations.

Other videos i think would be a good start to get into 40k.

Imperium of Man

https://youtu.be/Z9xMnVfg_n0

THE EMPERAH... of mankind

https://youtu.be/gJzBYraabec

And a lot more...