This one hits a little too close to home

how do these books read? are they more geared to pre teen and early adulthood or do they actually have a decent storyline? I am between books right now and need something with some depth and I find it interesting. I usually chew through about 1k pages a week if  a series captures my interest.

I post this only because of who started this thread.




40K:  Where nobody's anatomy can physically work in their oversized combat suits.  I must presume they're all just powered suits and the entire body of the
driver is in a capsule in the torso.

40K:  Where a great conceptual universe ends up saddled with games that are only stupid RPGs, retarded MMORGs, or lame as shit turn-based combat.
It's a game universe that could only be served proper justice by a carefully balanced combination of FPS and campaign modes with space travel portions
that are themselves as comprehensive as DOOM (reboot) and Elite: Dangerous or Star Citizen.

they are pretty adult, some have sex and other stuff in them but its not a main feature. most have made up swear words like remake of Battlestar Gallactica did.  Some authors of course are better than others.  Most of the books suggested earlier are some of the best written ones but they pump out a bunch each year from a bunch of authors now, it has really taken off.

They are about one or more of the main factions, and the colossal scale of war in the 30K/40k universe.  The bleakness of it, and those that become victims and those that excel at it.  There are one off books, trilogies, and several series and the longest running one is the Horus Heresy with about 50 books now.

Some of it is War with similar groups, and some is war with the aliens of various types, some not in the main factions that are part of the game.

most brick and mortar bookstores carry them in the scifi area, some have them near the graphic novels.  

they also have a full line of just the fantasy series which is a bit like dungeons and dragons and warcraft. has magic and stuff like that.  while in 30/40k only librarians and pyskers and a weird boyz and farseer and one or two others have anything like magic.




"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."

Lol, wut?

FPS games are for teenagers or adults with low IQs.

So you're saying it's kind of like a tamed-down version of Chicago with a little bit of Detroit mixed in?  

some are fast, but a lot of them have puzzles and problem solving mixed in.  the other thing you are playing against other people , where as a lot of other games either the pc ai cheats with resources or it just plain is too easy.  I play all types of games, but fps are some of my favorite.


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MMORGs and MOBAs are for the most childish of minds. They're really popular with 12 year olds.  Want to really get cerebral? Learn chess.  40K is fantasy and a very visually oriented one at that.  It demands a more enveloping point of view than anything can deliver other than a first person point of view with freedom of movement and action, or in other words, FPS with added campaign elements.

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I don’t play online or multiplayer games (actually don’t play many games anymore), but I totally disagree with you on FPS being the best genre for the WH40k universe, RPG and strategy would be best in my opinion.

The first couple DoW games were pretty good. I really wish someone would make a good 40k RPG, preferably where you play an inquisitor.

Space Hulk would make a great squad based FPS, but from what I’ve read the last Space Hulk game wasn’t very good.

Maybe a 40k FPS/RPG hybrid like Skyrim would work.

I liked the spacemarine game. Campaign was fun and multiplayer was a blast before all the cheaters ruined it.

there is a 40k mod out for Arma 3, the colors are more gaming than realistic but some say its fun.
There is Only War Arma 3 mod

I might agree that there might be room for other modes of play in a WH40K computer game,  but without an FPS mode as PART of the game, I'd have no interest in playing it.

The Warhammer universe is rich enough to challenge any game artists and level designers.

Thanks for the info, I will definitely have to check it out. I been following more on this as the thread gets longer and it sounds like some pretty sweet stories.

This is my dream.  If Bethesda was allowed to develop a 40k game in the vein of Elder Scrolls it would truly do the universe justice.

Set it in a system of planets so you could travel between them at some point mid-late game.  They could release sequels and DLCs set in different systems to really make a franchise out of it.

Make the first one so you can at least play as all the Imperial or Chaos factions and release the Xenos in the second game when they have enough money to justify it.

this dude makes custom figures, he has about 2 dozen space marines at least.
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My two nephews are starting to play. I bought them the newest box set. Yes, I am the favorite uncle.

Yay, finally found a second “Giant Gatling” gundam weapon add-on pack for my renegade guard.  I’m trying to make a significant portion of their vehicles look like they’re old, out-of-use patterns, cobbled together from several donor vehicles, so some weapons alterations are part of that.  In this case, Hydras with big ass gatlinga instead of the quad autocannons.  Still using the same weapon stats, just a conversion for appearance’s sake.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the universe of 40k, allow me to explain briefly about the Emperor.

There are lots of short stories and old lore that are no longer considered canon. Most of them deal with the 30k time period, and are being overwritten by the Horus Heresy series.

That being said, I will offer what is currently an "official canon" synopsis of the Emperor:



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At some point in the early Bronze Age, in Anatolia, a child is born who will eventually become the Emperor of Mankind.  His origin is officially unexplained, though he is the most powerful Psyker who has ever existed in the universe.  This, coupled with his insight and intellect, make him functionally a god.  He is a militant atheist.

Normal Psykers wield what might be described as telekenisis, precognition, visual distortion, or even outright "magic" like hurling lightning bolts.  Most know one or maybe two "skills."  

They are one in a billion; exceedingly rare for most of Earth's history, they are more abundant in the trillions of trillions of trillions of people who inhabit the Imperium of Man in the 41st millenium.  They are strictly controlled by the Imperium because one rogue, untrained Psyker could potentially destroy their culture or planet.

The Emperor spent most of His 'youth' guiding mankind here and there, imparting helpful lessons or inventions where He thought they might help.  He didn't take leadership roles for long and generally tried to keep hidden.

Mankind eventually progressed to a Golden Age of Technology.  They had technologies that were indistinguishable from magic.  They spanned the galaxy, and used enourmous machines called Standard Template Constructs to build anything they needed on worlds they colonized.  New machines and inventions could be sent galaxy-wide just by transmitting their digital Template to the STC machines.

During this time mankind invented intelligent machines who would eventually rise up and turn on them.  The "Men of Iron" destroyed what humanity had built, and cast humanity into a Dark Age before being beaten at great cost.  Because of this, all forms of AI are forbidden in 40k, machines can be programmed and they can be very animalistic but none of them can legally possess anything like a human consciousness.

Fast forward a few-thousand years and Earth (Terra) is a festering shithole.  Most of the oceans are gone, cities are everywhere, no one understands how to create technology, few of them can even operate what they have left.  

The Emperor finally has enough.  He genetically engineers loyal immortal bodyguards, the Custodes.  Then He mass-produces an army of genetically superhuman warriors with limited stability or shelf life.

He goes around the world conquering kingdoms and stamping out religions.  A large portion of humanity willingly follow Him, the rest do so after he conquers their leaders and makes Himself known to them.  This is called the Unification Wars.  At the end, the Emperor is Lord of Terra.

He has his Custodes kill the remaining, insane survivors of His mass-produced army.  He spends years working on 20 genetically engineered "sons," superhuman giants who will be loyal paragons to lead his armies and rebuild the worlds of mankind.  They are called Primarchs.  

They will be warriors and leaders unlike any other, stronger even than his Custodes.  Somehow they become scattered across the galaxy before they had even left their pods.

He then makes a second, much larger, functionally immortal army.  He genetically modifies suitable human recruits.  This time they are mentally and physically stable, superhuman in every way.  He uses the genes of the Primarchs in their creation.  He calls them the Space Marines, and will use them in his crusade to reunite the worlds of humanity.

First, however, the Emperor takes back Luna (the moon) and travels to Mars 'alone.'

Mars is a world of factories and high technology.  Where the Golden Age had been one of science, Mars is a world of religion. Everything mechanical works because the Machine God wills it.  If something breaks prayer is just as necessary to repair it as parts and tools.  The people of Mars are often mechanically augmented, and most of them are hooked up to what is essentially a wireless neural internet.

When the Emperor arrives He heals one of the Martian war machines by simply touching it.  They greet Him as the Omnissiah, the living embodiment of the Machine God.  Despite His hatred of religion, the Emperor allows them to continue the cult of the Machine God as long as Mars agrees to help Him in His efforts to reunite humanity at large.

The Martians agree to supply the Emperor with as many ships and war machines as He needs, they supply troops and assets of their own to the effort as well.  The Emperor, in exchange, grants them political independence, representation in the Terran government, and adds a second head to His eagle flag to represent the new alliance.  The Imperium of Man is born.

The Emperor finds or constructs a device called the Astronomican, essentially an interstellar lighthouse which He powers with His abilities.  This will allow for accurate interstellar travel through the Warp by giving His Navigators something to get a bearing on when they jump their ships.

The Emperor launches the Great Crusade to reunite the billions of colonized worlds that have been separated since the Dark Age of Technology.  He leads His legions personally into battle.  He conquers hostile worlds and embraces those who wish to rejoin peacefully. No one is allowed to remain neutral, they join or the Emperor kills as many of them as He has to until they join, then establishes what amounts to a colonial government before leaving for the next world.

At some point the Emperor discovers Horus, one of His Primarchs, on a planet the crusade visits.  Horus becomes His right hand, and together they lead the Great Crusade across even more of the galaxy, eventually recovering 18 of the 20 Primarchs.  They are each given command of the Space Marine legion that was created from their genes, their genetic "sons."

The Emperor is a militant atheist because the only real "gods" are the dark powers of chaos that dwell in the Warp and prey on human emotion.  Any belief in the supernatural is a gateway to them.  He wants to build humanity into a powerful race of Psykers but knows they would be corrupted by chaos before they could evolve that far along.   Interstellar travel through the Warp also risks corruption.  

He decides to kill two birds by making humanity a trans-dimensional world to navigate through and habitate while they evolve.  They will be relatively safe from Chaos there once He is able to kill and evict all the demons that overran the alien race that originally built it.  He calls it the "Webway Project," and keeps it a secret from all of his crusading armies including his Primarch sons.

He decides to go back to Terra to pursue the Webway Project full time.  He makes Horus Warmaster, first among equals, and places him in charge of his brothers and the entire Great Crusade.  He takes His Custodes and returns to Terra.


----

Below is where the old lore stands.  The epic fight between Horus and the Emperor hasn't been published yet in the Horus Heresy.

The Emperor is referred to as a corpse because after Horus betrays Him he eventually lays siege to Terra and fights the Emperor.  The series hasn't got there yet, but in the old story Horus is infused with the powers of all 4 chaos gods and physically beats the shit out of the Emperor, who holds back out of love.  When Horus is about to kill Him, the Emperor simply rips his soul out and destroys it with his godlike powers.



The Emperor is placed onto the Golden Throne, a mysterious and ancient life support system and psychic amplifier.  Though His body was broken and He was near death He was mentally as strong as ever.   Why He can't heal himself,  whether He actually looks like a corpse or not, and the limitations of his powers are unknown.  He does still keep the Astronomican lit, and has done so for the ~10,000 years He has sat on the Throne.

He is also still conscious, and influences events in the galaxy via his "living Saints," His faithful, and other agents. Despite His wishes, virtually all of mankind worships Him as a god.  Ironically, their extreme faith in Him serves to protect them from the corruption of chaos for the most part.

Even Roboute Guilliman, the Emperor's only Primarch still fighting for the Imperium in 40k, remarks that if the Emperor is functionally a god it doesn't really matter whether He admits to godhood or not. Basically "a rose by any other name."


This brief synopsis of the Emperor is way longer than I expected and I left a good bit out.  None of this is spoilers either, the 40k universe is just incredibly vast in scope.

Good summary.  There are so many stories in the 40k universe.  Has tons of potential.

Yeah it is kinda overwhleming at first

Ok, so I just committed to trading a bunch of unopened Infinity stuff for a Cadian start collecting box and the new AM 'dex, so I need to flesh out a minimum of 750 to 1000 points of IG.  I have placed an order with my FLGS for a Cadian Defense Force box, but it won't be in stock at GW for a couple weeks so I've got some time to figure out where I'm going with this army.

The Start Collecting box contains:
1 Leman Russ Battle Tank
1 Cadian Heavy Weapon Team
1 Officio Prefectus Commissar
10 Cadian Shock Troops.

The Cadian Defense Force box contains:
1 Astra Militarum Chimera
1 Astra Militarum Leman Russ
1 Astra Militarum Cadian Heavy Weapon Squad
1 Astra Militarum Cadian Command Squad
20 Astra Militarum Cadians

I was thinking of using the include heavy weapons to attach a team to each squad of 10 Cadians and the command squd, and perhaps getting another HWS for mortars or lascannon support (maybe figure out a way to base all the weapons from HWS?).  Also maybe getting another three Chimeras to keep everyone mobile? Or just a Valkyrie for some air support?  Or more Leman Russ' because dakka, hell even a Baneblade/super-heavy could be cool, if stupid expensive.

Thoughts?

One thing to keep in mind is that the missile launcher doesn’t go on the tripod, and doesn’t need to go on the bipod mount that the mortar uses.

The point being that one heavy weapons sprue could probably get you three heavy weapons teams, if you configure it right, and use the ML and mortar bits with regular Cadian troopers.

For my first IG army, I magnetized the top of the tripod and the bottoms of the lascannons, heavy bolters, and autocannons.  That way I could swap them out.

I heard Warcraft was originally WH Fantasy but something went wrong with the licensing.

The Heavy Weapons Squad comes with all 5 weapon options on the sprue.  You will get 6 kneeling guys on the same sprue.  

Go on Ebay and order another (12) 60mm bases.  I use bases from Proxie Models, they are usually cheaper too.

Order some "28mm sandbags" from Ebay also, since some of the weapons need tripods and you only get 3.  Heavy Bolters look badass just laid on sandbags.

You get 6 kneeling legs in the squad sprue.  You only need one kneeling guy per weapon, his spotter can stand.  There are 12 low weapons so you need 6 more kneeling legs.  Again, get the bits from Ebay.

The spotters can stand, so get  enough standing legs for them.

Order 24 Cadian heads and 24 Cadian torsos from Ebay.  As far as arms, you can order the lasgun arms or binocular arms or whatever.

The Missile Launcher guys can both be standing.

If you get all the bits from the same store it should be like $15-20.

Pic of HWT with standing spotter made from extra bits.  28mm sandbags from Ebay.

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As far as what to add to your army, I suggest Hellhounds.  They are a surprise hit.  The Chimera didn't fit with my tactics at all, I don't see the point in driving my Guardsmen closer to things that will dismember them.

The Chimera is the base vehicle for the Hellhound, so I stuck an Inferno Cannon from a Landraider into the turrets on mine, added some promethium tanks and dozer blades, and now they are infantry-eating Hellhounds.

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Baneblades are also badass with the new Codex,  I have one covered in Heavy Flamers.  In the new edition all of a model's weapons can fire at a target regardless of which way it's facing.  This represents that the model is an abstract and in reality could turn as needed.

In gameplay it means that anything charging my Baneblade gets 8D6 auto-hits just from the flamethrowers before it track-rapes the survivors.

1x Twin Heavy Bolter
4x Twin Heavy Flamer
1x Demolisher Cannon
1x Baneblade Cannon
1x Autocannon
1x Heavy Stubber
4x Lascannons

It's a lot of points because it's a lot of FUCK YOU.

Here's a shot of my Excidius Rex, currently only basecoated:

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Fantastic!  Thanks.  I actually just ordered a dozen 60mm bases from ebay, so I'll start looking at the others.  That will definitely stretch the box and my dollars.

What size magnets did you use, if you can remember?

Awesome!  Thanks.

Once you have a decent selection of GW sprues, and it sounds like you have that covered, use Ebay to build your existing bits into more guys.  

I got 30 torsos, arms, legs, and heads from a guy for like $15 shipped.  I don't need duplicates of all the little extra bits that come in the box.

Same thing for vehicles.  My Razorbacks and Hellhounds were made from the 50% cheaper Chimeras and Rhinos.  I added their weapons from other vehicle sprues I had.

40k isn't a cheap hobby, but it doesn't have to be retardedly expensive either.  About a third of my 30,000+ point collection is made from adding Ebay parts to the sprues I already had.

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The Adeptus Custodes.

Immortal, incorruptible, unquestioningly loyal. They are the Emperor's bodyguards and companions.

They are warriors without parallel, and capital-D Dicks of the highest order.  They are Dicks to everyone from Space Marines to human children.  They make Cato Sicarius seem tactful and polite.

Their Dickishness is only exceeded by the Emperor Himself.

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In the excerpt below, Diocletian is a Custodes.  His companion, Zephon, is a Blood Angels Space Marine.  They are walking through a group of refugees sheltered in the halls of the Imperial Palace.

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I dunno that staff says Alpha Legion go me.

This Polish guy is pretty cool. HEMA and Warhammer!

The Legiones Astartes, the Space Marines.

I'll do the loyalists, one of the heretics can do their guys.



These are the "First Founding" Legions,  many other chapters exist in the 40k universe that are descended from these guys.

LEGION I

Dark Angels

Primarch: Lion El' Jonson

Homeworld:  Caliban (destroyed)

They are known for being extremely secretive, and spend a lot of time secretly infighting with former members of their legion.  They are jokingly referred to as "secret traitors" due to this.  

Their Primarch has been asleep deep within their base for nine thousand years, and none of them know it.

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LEGION V

White Scars

Primarch: Jaghatai Khan

Homeworld:  Chogoris

The White Scars use bikes, landspeeders, and anything else that helps them move fast.  They are Space Mongols.  

Their Primarch disappeared 9k years ago while riding fast in the Webway.

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LEGION VI

Space Wolves

Primarch: Leman Russ

Homeworld: Fenris

The Space Wolves were supposed to be Vikings in space, but instead are wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolf wolves.  

Their Primarch went into the Warp 9k years ago, but said he would be back for Wolftime.

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LEGION VII

Imperial Fists

Primarch: Rogal Dorn

Homeworld: Terra

The Imperial Fists are the praetorians of Holy Terra itself.  They guard and defend the homeworld of the Imperium, and the Imperial Palace itself.  

Rogal Dorn is missing in action or possibly dead, he disappeared after a fight following which only his hand was recovered.



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LEGION IX

Blood Angels

Primarch: Sanguinius

Homeworld: Baal

The Blood Angels are partially insane because their Primarch, beloved by all, was slain at the hands of Horus.  They are extremely loyal to the Imperium and are masters of jump pack assault.  

They occasionally have been known to drink the blood of their enemies.  Their Chapter Master, Dante, is considered to be the oldest living Space Marine.

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LEGION X

Iron Hands

Primarch:  Ferrus Manus

Homeworld:  Medusa

The Iron hands "improve" on their already superhuman physiques by replacing as many of their organic parts with mechanical parts as they can.  

Their Primarch is dead, betrayed and slain by one of his brothers.  They are masters of mechanized warfare.



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LEGION XIII

Ultramarines

Primarch: Roboute Guilliman

Homeworld: Macragge (Ultramar System)

The Ultramarines are masters of tactical analysis.   Their strength is their ability to rapidly learn and adapt.  They are good at everything, but not the best at any one thing.

Their Primarch was wounded and kept in stasis for 9k years, now he is revived and is Lord Commander of the Imperium.  

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LEGION XVIII

Salamanders

Primarch: Vulkan

Homeworld: Nocturne

The Salamanders are loved by Imperial citizens because moreso than any other legion they believe in protecting the common person at all costs.  They are specialists in flame weaponry. Their homeworld is a radioactive hellhole and they all have onyx-black skin as a result of this.

Vulkan himself is a "perpetual," which means he is completely immortal.  If he dies, he eventually comes back.  He is currently dead or missing, he told his Legion he would come back after they complete an elaborate scavenger hunt that he set up.



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LEGION XIX

Raven Guard

Primarch: Corvus Corax

Homeworld: Deliverance

The Raven Guard are masters of stealth and jump packs.  They have a preference for the older "beak" style power armor helmets.

Their Primarch was a master of guerilla warfare and was said to have been virtually invisible when he wanted to be.  He accidentally made some abominations while attempting to improve on the Space Marines.  He was last seen 9k years ago headed for the Eye of Terror.

This thread should be the OFFICIAL 40K THREAD

Heck, it should be stickied!

Magnus did nothing wrong.

Death to the Imperium that betrayed us.

Also:



Hydra Dominatus!

For the Emperor!

I'm Alpharius, and so is my wife.

It was a long time ago, so I don't remember exactly.  If I had to estimate, though, probably 1/16" diameter.

I play Magic the Gathering at a local gaming store that sells WH. I am debating just getting some to paint myself.

It looks relaxing.

3

HKocher only plays indie side scrollers from Steam.

I'm looking to achieve a blued steel finish, like an old revolver, on a couple of the models I'm painting now. I've tried a blue wash over a gunmetal base coat, as well as mixing in a couple drops of blue paint into my base, but so far nothing looks quite right. Any tips?
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Do you have a picture of how you want the finished product to look? I used to be a pretty good painter.

I've been playing and buying GW products since my younger brother got me the Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules and a box of plastic skeletons for Christmas in like '86 or '87.  

I got into 40k right when 3rd edition was released.  I'm a slow painter, so I will typically start an army and before they're painted a new edition or codex release will usually decimate what I thought was cool about the army rules-wise.  After that happened a few times, most notably to my Khornate CSM force I started in 3rd, I went to strictly collecting and building armies based on what I think is cool in looks or background.  I stopped playing when in 5th when it seemed that GW would never, ever see fit to make my berzerkers feared in melee ever again.  

Then I strayed.  I played a lot of Warmachine/Hordes and some Infinity.  Then Privateer Press started acting like GW did in the late-90s and early-2000s in regard to dinking with their rules, invalidating stuff I liked, basically nuking their forums, etc.  This gave me a dry spell for about 6 months before Shadow War: Armageddon hit shelves.  I'm one of those dickheads that managed to source multiple boxes and have enough of that terrain to make a pretty dense 4'x6' table.  Then 8th dropped and I'm digging the shit out of it.  

I'm currently working on two different armies.  One is a resurrection of my World Eaters from long ago.  When working on an idea for a Shadow War conversion I came across a picture of a mini that someone bashed together from an AoS Slaughterpriest and an Adeptus Mechanicus Magos and gave it a try myself.  Mine didn't turn out exactly like the one I saw, but I'm pretty pleased with it nonetheless.  I really like how easy it is to change shit around with the plastic models.  Only problem was that the scale was WAY off.  This guy is the size of a fucking terminator without even wearing any armor.  Well, then GW came up with their Primaris marines.  And these guys were developed, at least in part, by Belisarius Cawl, a member of the Adeuptus Mechanicus.  So I got to thinking, what if a Mechanicum magos assisting Cawl got his hands on the geneseed and used it on himself after hearing the whispers of Khorne?  (Okay, I get that Khorne doesn't whisper, but bear with me here)  And then he escapes into the eye of terror and wrests control of a warband of World Eaters from their current leader?  

Well, I'll tell you what if.  Of course he would be hunted.  Hunted by a group of Mechanicus warriors who are desperate to cover up their mess.  And because I dig the aesthetic and background of the Imperium of Man, I'm also going to add in a smaller detachment of Iron Hands marines who have been called up because of their close relationship with the Mechanicum.  And also I think it would seem reasonable for an Inquisitor to get mixed up in all this.  

Ideally I'm hoping within the next year to have two 2,500 pt armies assembled (I'm not even going to try to kid myself on them being painted).  This will allow me to play my son (12yo), or him to play his friends whenever anyone feels like it.  

I'm also planning on buying everyfuckingthing that GW releases for Necromunda.  Back in the day I played a metric shit ton of both Necromunda and Mordhiem (my favorite of the two).  That grey area between tabletop wargame and rpg where those two games existed really scratched an itch for me that I haven't really found in any game since, SW:A not withstanding.

40k fan checking in!

I don't collect or play the table top games.

But I do read the novels and play the PC games.

Currently, playing Space Hulk: Deathwing which is fun and the maps/details are just awesome.  The gameplay is meh running solo but playing co-op is fun.

I do love the lore of the universe since it seems to be never ending.

Space Wolves and Titans FTW!

And I'll throw in my recommendations for those looking to get into the fiction.  

While they're well written, DO NOT start with the Horus Heresy books.  If you're unfamiliar enough with the property enough to be asking where to start I'll assume the following isn't talking down to you.  If it is, well, sorry.  Okay, the HH books take place 10,000 years before the current timeline of the setting where the game takes place.  And when I say "game" I mean the tabletop game, the computer games, and the pen & paper RPG.  While they're (mostly) pretty well written and worth a read, the HH books are not where I'd recommend you start.  

Furthermore, the 40k universe is IMMENSE, and because of that I'll give the following recommendations.

If you want to learn more about what the humans in the Imperial Guard in the 40k universe experience, start with Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts or the Caiaphas Caine series by Sandy Mitchell.  Both of these guys are capable writers, with Abnett being the better of the two in my opinion.  

If you want to learn about the inner workings of the enforcement arm of the Imperium of Man, read the Eisenhorn books.  If you can get your paws on the omnibus edition, do that.  This series should probably be required reading no matter what.  It's well written and gives a really good intro into all kinds of stuff about the Imperium and the 40k world overall.  

If you want to get into how Space Marines are made and how they fight and how they work, give William King's Space Wolf books a read.  While the Space Wolves are not your standard codex chapter, this gives you an idea of how powerful they are and how they go from relatively normal humans to being genetically engineered superhuman death machines.  

And if you want to see what the enemy of the Imperium is like, get Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Night Lords books.  They're pretty kick-ass.  

Now, it's been pointed out before that a lot of what the Black Library puts out is uneven at best.  Some of it is downright unreadable.  Most of it is alright.  And some is really good.  The nice thing about it is that if you read something and you don't like it, you can probably find something else that's to your liking.  

It was pointed out at least once already that I saw in this thread that you'll miss a lot of what makes the HH interesting if you're not at least somewhat familiar with the 40k universe before you go back to see the 30k universe.


ETA: if you can find a copy of the short story collection Let The Galaxy Burn, don't pass up on it.  Some of what's in there has been retconned away, but overall it's pretty fun and includes my favorite Dan Abnett short story The Fall of Malvolion which tells the story of a Tyranid invasion of a planet from the perspective of an Imperial Guardsman.