![]() They are familiar enough to be convenient points of entry into a strange and dark vision of the future.Įven today, darkness - or "grim darkness," I suppose - is what 40K is known for and I think there's a good reason for that. These alien races draw from both fantasy and science fiction ideas, which I think is part of their appeal. ![]() Indeed, more than half of the book is devoted to detailing what it calls "The Age of the Imperium," when humanity, under the rule of its God Emperor, contends with a variety of alien races for control of the galaxy. Though, at base, it's little more than a skirmish-level science fantasy miniatures game, a great deal of attention was devoted to its far future setting. In some respects, it reminds me of how I used to view the hobby when I was younger, when going to a hobby shop meant, among other things, watching the older guys play and wishing that I could be part of their adventures.īut, as I said, I didn't notice Rogue Trader in 1987 it'd be quite a few years before I started to do so, by which point it had already become a genuine "phenomenon." It'd be several more years still before I had the chance to look at a copy of the book that started it all and, I have to admit, I can completely understand why it became so popular. On most weekends, there are demos being run and I've seen with my own two eyes how attractive the game is to kids of a certain age, who flock to the store to watch it being played. Not only are their 40K video games, but a great many malls across North America have Games Workshop stores filled with painted miniatures and terrain on display. For one, Warhammer 40,000 is, like Dungeons & Dragons and Vampire, one of those properties that has some currency outside of the geek echo chamber. I call it an "important" book because I think Rogue Trader, as the inaugural volume of the larger Warhammer 40,000 game line, kicked off something that's had a lasting impact on the hobby. So, this important 288-page book appeared and it'd be several years before I'd even realized it. There's also the fact that I was just starting college that Fall and had begun to pay increasingly less attention to the hobby outside of my waning interest in both AD&D and Traveller. Partly, this was because I was never much of a wargamer, miniatures or otherwise and partly it was because, at the time, Warhammer in any of its forms just wasn't on my radar. When Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (by Rick Priestley) was released in the Fall of 1987, I took no notice of it.
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