Warhammer 40K: Core Rulebook (Hardcover)
The galaxy writhes in the mailed fist of all-consuming conflict. The Imperium of Mankind teeters on the brink of annihilation, beset upon all sides by heretic warlords, daemon-summoning witches and rapacious alien empires. In every star system and upon every planet, fierce battle rages as loyalists, heretics and aliens tear reality itself apart in their war for dominance. Every day the flames rise higher.
This is a more terrible era than ever before, and there is no peace amongst the stars...
The Book
A 368-page hardback, this is the essential book for any fan of Warhammer 40,000 - everything you need to know to collect, build, paint and play with Citadel miniatures.
It starts with an overview of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby, covering the four areas of Collect, Built, Paint and Play, including descriptions of open, matched, and narrative play.
Dark Imperium
In the first of the book’s huge lore sections, you can read all about the state of the galaxy after the Cicatrix Maledictum - the Great Rift - tore open across the galaxy, dividing the Imperium in two. Humanity faces its greatest challenge in more than ten millennia as the forces of Chaos run rampant across the reeling Imperium even as alien warlords seek to take advantage of the untold devastation wrought upon the Emperor’s realm.
A gatefold also includes an ornate depiction of the planets and the Sol System, as well as a map of the entire galaxy, calling out key war zones so you can see where the action hot spots are currently situated. Dark Imperium continues by covering in brief the Imperium's military wings, its bureaucratic institutions and even its other, more clandestine organisations…
As you read on, you'll learn more about the constant flux of the Imperium's borders and gain insight into the Imperial Creed's attitude towards abhumans, psykers and, worst of all, mutants and heretics!
Lastly, Dark Imperium provides a brief overview of the four Dark Gods of Chaos - including their immortal daemonic legions, sycophantic followers and dread mortal champions - as an ever-present threat to the Imperium.
The Saga Imperialis
Upon delving into the next part of the lore, you'll enjoy a high-level overview of the history of Mankind, from its very beginnings, through the early Ages of Terra and Technology, the Ages of Strife and Darkness, all the way up to the Age of the Imperium in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. It continues to reveal the events of the Age of the Dark Imperium and the Gathering Storm in the time before the Great Rift tore open – and the Age of Witches that followed during the Psychic Awakening. Finally, it lays the foundations of the Indomitus Crusade, following the reborn Primarch Roboute Guilliman's visitation with his father, the Emperor, on Holy Terra.
As you continue, you’ll glean insights into the Imperium's stance against the Alien - covering the Orks, the T'au Empire, the Aeldari, the Necrons and the extragalactic Tyranids - the Daemon and the Heretic.
Bringing this section to a close are four short pieces of fiction, which bring the grim reality of the Era Indomitus to life in incredible detail.
The Warriors of the Emperor, The Lost and The Damned and Xenos Invaders
These sections cover every faction in Warhammer 40,000 and will offer you an in-depth understanding of each one, the threat they pose and their place in the galaxy. There is also a stunning miniatures showcase for each faction, depicting them as they would appear in battle and with narrative descriptions.
The Rules
The first section of the core rules covers the basic rules of the game, and takes you through the rules that apply to the seven phases of the game: the Command phase, Movement phase, Psychic phase, Shooting phase, Charge phase, Combat phase and Morale phase.
