"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." That's the tagline, and honestly it tells you almost everything you need to know. Warhammer 40,000 is a universe where things are bleak, everyone is at war with everyone, and the good guys are — at best — slightly less horrifying than the bad guys. It's also one of the most gloriously over-the-top science-fantasy settings ever created, and once it gets its hooks in, it doesn't let go.
If you've wandered past a shelf of Warhammer models and thought "that looks brilliant, but I have absolutely no idea what's going on," this one's for you. No prior knowledge needed. We'll get you from "what's a Space Marine?" to "oh, THAT'S why everyone's so miserable" in a few minutes.
So what actually is Warhammer 40,000?
Two things at once. It's a tabletop miniatures game — you collect models, glue them together, paint them, and push them around a table rolling dice to blow up your mate's army. And it's a sprawling fictional universe, built up over nearly forty years of novels, codexes and artwork, that gives all those little plastic soldiers a reason to be shooting at each other.
You don't need to know the lore to play, and you don't need to play to enjoy the lore. Plenty of people just paint. Plenty just read the books. Most end up doing a bit of everything. There's no wrong way in.
When and where is it set?
Roughly 38,000 years from now, in the 41st millennium. Humanity has spread across a million worlds throughout the galaxy — and instead of a shiny utopia, the future turned out to be a nightmare of endless war, religious fanaticism and monsters in the dark. Technology is so old that nobody really understands it anymore; people pray to their machines and hope they keep working.
The galaxy is enormous, ancient, and hostile. Whole civilisations rise and fall in the space between the stars, and mankind is just one of many factions clawing for survival. Which brings us to the miserable heart of it all.
The Imperium of Man
The Imperium is the big one — a galaxy-spanning human empire ruled in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Ten thousand years ago the Emperor was a living being who nearly united humanity. Then his most trusted son, the Warmaster Horus, was corrupted and turned on him in a devastating civil war known as the Horus Heresy. The Emperor won, barely, but was left mortally wounded.
Ever since, he's been kept technically-alive on a golden life-support throne, a decaying not-quite-corpse worshipped as a god by a trillion subjects. It's grim. It's meant to be.
Fighting for the Imperium you'll find:
- Space Marines: genetically-engineered superhuman warriors in power armour. The poster boys of 40K, and the classic starting army for good reason — iconic, tough, and everywhere.
- The Astra Militarum: the ordinary human soldiers, in their untold billions. No superpowers, just lasguns, tanks and grim determination.
- The Adeptus Mechanicus: the tech-priests who keep the ancient machines running, worshipping technology as a religion.
Chaos: the enemy within
The scariest threat to humanity comes from the Warp — a parallel dimension of raw psychic energy that ships use to travel faster than light, and which also happens to be hell. Four Chaos Gods live there, each embodying a dark side of mortal emotion: rage, scheming, despair and excess. Give in to them and you become a servant of Chaos.
That includes the Chaos Space Marines — the traitor legions who sided with Horus all those millennia ago and have spent ten thousand years stewing in bitterness and daemonic corruption. They're the Imperium's own heroes, gone very, very bad.
The xenos: everyone else in the galaxy
"Xenos" is just the setting's word for aliens, and there are loads of them. A whistle-stop tour of the ones you'll bump into most:
- Orks: big, green, and absolutely delighted to be fighting anyone about anything. Gloriously daft and genuinely dangerous. If you like a bit of comedy with your carnage, this is your lot.
- Tyranids: a galaxy-devouring swarm of alien bio-monsters, controlled by a single Hive Mind, that eats entire planets and moves on. Basically the universe's apex predator.
- Necrons: ancient robotic skeletons who slept for millions of years and have woken up cranky, wanting their empire back. Nearly unkillable.
- Aeldari: a proud, dying race of ancient space-elves, brilliant and arrogant, clinging to survival after their own civilisation destroyed itself.
- T'au: the new kids — a young, idealistic alien empire with slick tech and big battlesuits, fighting for a philosophy called the Greater Good.
There are more (many more), but that's plenty to start recognising who's who at the table.
Why it's grimdark — and secretly hilarious
40K takes itself deadly seriously and completely tongue-in-cheek at the same time, and that's the magic of it. It's a universe of noble sacrifice and cosmic horror where a saint might die redeeming a world — and also where an Ork might weld a rocket to a truck simply because it goes faster and makes a satisfying noise. The setting is bleak, but the fandom has a wicked sense of humour, and you're allowed to enjoy both.
The short version
- The setting: the 41st millennium, a galaxy at endless war.
- The main faction: the Imperium of Man, ruled by an undying corpse-Emperor.
- The heroes: Space Marines — superhuman soldiers in power armour.
- The threats: Chaos from within, and a galaxy full of aliens without.
- The tone: grim, epic, and knowingly ridiculous.
Right, how do I actually get into it?
The good news: getting started is easier than the lore is intimidating. You don't have to memorise ten thousand years of galactic history to build your first squad. Pick a faction whose models you think look coolest — that really is the correct method — and go from there.
- New to the hobby entirely? Our guide to the current 40K starter sets is the cleanest way in.
- Never held a brush? Start with painting your first miniature and grab some paints and hobby supplies.
- In or near Barry? Pop into the shop and we'll point you at the right starting kit — no jargon required.
Warhammer 40,000 looks impenetrable from the outside, but nobody who loves it started out knowing any of this. You begin with one model and a pot of paint, and the galaxy fills itself in from there. Welcome to the 41st millennium — try not to get corrupted by Chaos on your first week.
Further reading: still deciding what to collect? Read Warhammer 40k or Age of Sigmar? A Beginner's Guide, then get your brushes ready with How to Paint Your First Warhammer Miniature.
