Most Warhammer 40,000 fiction is set around the turn of the 42nd millennium (about

39,000 years in the future). Although Warhammer 40,000 is mostly a science-fiction

setting, it adapts a number of tropes from fantasy fiction, such as magic,
supernatural beings, daemonic possession, and fantasy races such as orcs and elves;
"psykers" fill the role of wizards in the setting. The setting of this game
inherits many fantasy tropes from Warhammer Fantasy (a similar wargame from Games
Workshop), and by extension from Dungeons & Dragons. Games Workshop used to make
miniature models for use in Dungeons & Dragons, and Warhammer Fantasy was
originally meant to encourage customers to buy more of their miniature models.
Warhammer 40,000 was originally conceived as a science-fiction spin-off of
Warhammer Fantasy. Although the games share some characters and tropes, their
settings are separate.
The setting of Warhammer 40,000 is violent and pessimistic. It depicts a future
where human scientific and social progress have ceased, and human civilisation is
in a state of total war with hostile alien races and occult forces. It is a setting
where the supernatural exists, is powerful and is usually untrustworthy if not
outright malevolent. There are effectively no benevolent gods or spirits in the
cosmos, only daemons and evil gods, and the cults dedicated to them are
proliferating. In the long run, the Imperium of Man cannot hope to defeat its
enemies, so the heroes of the Imperium are not fighting for a brighter future but
"raging against the dying of the light".[18] Through constant sacrifice and toil,
the Imperium delays its inevitable doom. The tone of the game's setting,
exemplified by its slogan "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only
war", shaped the "grimdark" subgenre of science fiction, which is particularly
amoral, dystopian or violent.[19]
As the setting is based on a wargame, the spin-off novels and comic books are
mostly war dramas with protagonists who are usually warriors of some sort, the most
popular being the Space Marines. The Imperium is in a state of total war. All its
worlds, if not warzones themselves, are heavily burdened by wartime taxation and
conscription.[20] Entire worlds are dedicated to industrial production, and
therefore dead and polluted worlds where people barely survive, growing crops and
livestock (which may be as dangerous as enemies of the Imperium) or defending a
certain point of space (therefore turned into giant fortresses where every man,
woman and child are dedicated to defending the world).
The source of magic in the setting is a parallel universe of supernatural energy
known as "the Warp". All living creatures with souls are tied to the Warp, but
certain individuals called "psykers" have an especially strong link and can
manipulate the Warp's energy to work magic. Psykers are generally feared and
mistrusted by humans. Psykers may possess many dangerous abilities such as mind
control, clairvoyance, and pyrokinesis. Moreover, the Warp is full of predatory
creatures that may use a psyker's link to the Warp as a conduit by which to invade
realspace. But for all the dangers that psykers pose, human civilisation cannot do
without them: their telepathic powers provide faster-than-light communication and
they are the best counter to enemy psykers on the battlefield. For this reason, the
Imperium rounds up any psykers it finds and trains them to control their abilities
and resist Warp predators. Those who fail or reject this training are executed for
the safety of all. Those who pass their training are pressed into life-long
servitude to the state and are closely monitored for misconduct and spiritual
corruption.[21]
The Imperium of Man[edit]
See also: Space Marine (Warhammer 40,000)
An imperial guardsman
The Imperium of Man is described as an authoritarian human empire that comprises
approximately 1 million worlds and has existed for over 10,000 years. The faction
dislikes aliens to the point that associating with aliens is a capital offence. The
state religion of the Imperium is centred around its founder, the Emperor of
Mankind, who united humanity millennia earlier. Although the Emperor is its nominal
ruler, he was mortally wounded in battle and is unable to rule directly. Despite
his condition, his mind still generates a "psychic beacon" called the Astronomican
by which starships navigate through space which is vital to the Imperium's
infrastructure.[25] Although the Imperium has highly advanced technology, many of
its technologies have not improved for thousands of years. Most Warhammer 40,000
fiction is written from the perspective of the Imperium, often with humans as
protagonists.
an army of Space Marines will consist of a small number of powerful infantry,
whereas an Imperial Guard army will have weak but plentiful infantry combined with
strong artillery.
Chaos[edit]
A Chaos Space Marine
Chaos represents the myriad servants of the Chaos Gods, malevolent and depraved
entities and demons formed from the base thoughts and emotions of all mortal
sentients.[26] Those exposed to the influence of the Chaos are twisted in both mind
and body and perform sordid acts of devotion to their dark gods, who in turn reward
them with "gifts" such as physical mutations, psychic power, and mystical
artifacts.[27] Like their gods, the servants of Chaos are malevolent and insane,
adopting the aesthetics of body horror and cosmic horror in the design of their
models and story details. The struggle against Chaos is central to the setting of
Warhammer 40,000.[26]
an army themed around Nurgle will consist of slow-moving but tough warriors.[28]
Likewise, a Chaos army themed around Khorne will lean towards melee combat and
eschew psykers.[29]
Necrons[edit]
A Necron warrior
The Necrons are an ancient race of skeleton-like androids. Millions of years ago,
they were flesh-and-blood beings, but then they transferred their minds into
android bodies, thereby achieving immortality.[30] However, the transference
process was flawed, as they all lost their souls and all but the highest-ranking
ones became mindless as well. They are waking up from millions of years of
hibernation in underground vaults on planets across the galaxy and seek to rebuild
their old empire. Necron designs evoke ancient Egypt, although they are not based
on the Tomb Kings of Warhammer Fantasy.
Necron infantry have strong ranged firepower, tough armour, and slow movement.
Necron units have the ability to rapidly regenerate wounds or "reanimate" slain
soldiers. Necrons rarely suffer from morale failure. Necrons do not have any
psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to psychic attacks. The Necrons
possess "C'tan shards" which function much like psykers, but since these are not
actual psykers, they cannot make Deny the Witch rolls.
Aeldari[edit]
A Craftworld Aeldari guardian
The Aeldari (formerly referred to as the Eldar) are based on High Elves of fantasy
fiction. Aeldari have very long lifespans and all of them have some psychic
ability. The Aeldari travel the galaxy via a network of magical tunnels called "the
Webway", to which they have exclusive access. In the distant past, the Aeldari
ruled an empire that dominated much of the galaxy, but it was destroyed in a
magical cataclysm along with most of the population. The surviving Aeldari are
divided into two major subfactions: the ascetic inhabitants of massive starships
called Craftworlds; and the sadistic Drukhari (also known as "Dark Eldar"), who
inhabit a city hidden within the Webway. There are a number of minor subfactions
too: the Harlequins, followers of the Laughing God Cegorach; and the Ynnari,
followers of the death god Ynnead. Although it has been 10,000 years since their
empire's fall, the Aeldari have never recovered, due to their low fertility and
aggression by other races.
Craftworld Aeldari infantry tend to be highly specialised and relatively frail,
often described as "glass cannons". Because of their lack of staying power and
flexibility, Aeldari armies can suffer severe losses after a bad tactical decision,
while successful gameplay can involve outnumbered Aeldari units which outmanoeuvre
the opponent and kill entire units/squads before they have a chance to retaliate.
Aeldari vehicles, unlike their infantry counterparts, are very tough and hard to
kill because of many evasive and shielding benefits. With the exception of walkers,
all Aeldari vehicles are skimmers which allow them to move "freely" across
difficult terrain, and with upgrades, at speeds only matched by the Dark Aeldari
and the T'au armies.
Dark Aeldari are similar to Craftworld Aeldari, with the major difference being
that they have no psykers.
Orks[edit]
An Ork
The Orks are green-skinned aliens based on the traditional orcs of high fantasy
fiction. Orks are a comical species, possessing crude personalities, wielding
ramshackle weaponry, and speaking with exaggerated british Cockney accents. Their
culture revolves around war for the sake of it. Unlike other races which generally
only go to war when it is in their interests, the Orks recklessly start unnecessary
conflicts for the pleasure of a good fight. Orks do not fear death and combat is
the only thing that gives them emotional fulfillment. Ork technology consists of
dashed-together scrap that by all logic should be unreliable if even functional,
but Orks generate a magical field that makes their ramshackle technology work
properly or more effectively (for example, bombs painted yellow make for bigger
explosions, simply because the Orks believe it to be so). If a non-Ork tries to use
an Ork gadget, it would likely malfunction.
Ork infantry models are slow-moving and tough. The Orks are oriented towards melee
combat.
Tyranids[edit]
A Tyranid warrior
The Tyranids are a mysterious alien race from another galaxy. They migrate from
planet to planet, devouring all life in their path. Tyranids are linked by a
psychic hive mind and individual Tyranids become feral when separated from it.
Tyranid "technology" is entirely biological, all ships and weapons being purpose-
bred living creatures.
Tyranids have a preference for melee combat. Their infantry models tend to be fast
and hard-hitting but frail.
There is a sub-species of the Tyranid race called "genestealers".[33] When a human
is infected by a genestealer, they are psychically enslaved and will sire children
who are human-genestealer hybrids. These hybrids will form a secret society known
as a genestealer cult within their host human society, steadily expanding their
numbers and political influence. When a Tyranid fleet approaches their planet, they
will launch an uprising to weaken the planet's defences so that the Tyranids may
more easily conquer it and consume its biomass.
In earlier editions of the game, Genestealer Cults could only be used as
auxiliaries to a regular Tyranid army, but since 8th edition, they can be played as
a separate army. Although there is a dedicated line of Genestealer Cult models, a
player can also use models from the Imperial Guard (a sub-faction of the Imperium)
in their Genestealer Cult army. This is an exception to the common-faction rule and
is based on the logic that these "human" models are actually genestealer hybrids
who look perfectly human. Like other Tyranids, Genestealers are hard-hitting but
fragile.
The visual design of the Tyranids was inspired by the art of H. R. Giger, with the
genestealer sub-race being further inspired by the Xenomorphs from the Alien
franchise.[34]
T'au[edit]
A T'au warrior
The T'au are a young race of blue-skinned humanoid aliens inhabiting a relatively
small but growing empire located on the fringes of the Imperium of Man. The T'au
Empire is the only playable faction in the setting that integrates different alien
species into their society. They seek to unite all other races under an ideology
they call "the Greater Good" or "T'au'va". Some human worlds have willingly
defected from the Imperium to join the T'au Empire. Such humans tend to have a
better quality of life than Imperial citizens because the T'au practice humane
ethics and encourage scientific progress. The T'au are divided into five endogamous
castes: the Ethereals, who are the spiritual leaders; the Fire Caste, who form the
T'au military; the Air Caste, who operate starships; the Water Caste, who are
merchants and diplomats; and the Earth Caste, who are scientists, engineers, and
labourers.
The T'au are oriented towards ranged combat and generally shun melee. They have
some of the most powerful firearms in the verse in terms of both range and stopping
power. For instance, their pulse rifle surpasses the firepower of the Space Marine
boltgun,[35] and the railgun on their main battle tank (the Hammerhead) is more
powerful than its Imperium counterparts. The T'au do not have any psykers nor units
that specialise in countering psykers, which makes them somewhat more vulnerable to
psychic attacks. Most T'au vehicles are classified as flyers or skimmers, meaning
they can move swiftly over difficult terrain. The T'au also incorporate alien
auxiliaries into their army: the Kroot provide melee support and the insectoid
Vespids serve as jump infantry.
Leagues of Votann[edit]
A Hearthkyn warrior of the Leagues of Votann
The Leagues of Votann are a confederation of abhumans known interchangeably as
Squats and Kin, which are based on the dwarves of fantasy fiction. Though Squats
are a subspecies of humanity, the Leagues of Votann stand independent of the
Imperium of Man. Unlike the Imperium, the Leagues of Votann have no qualms about
using artificial intelligence, treating their androids as fellow Kin. Kin culture
is centered around the Votann, extremely powerful supercomputers responsible for
managing the majority of Kin society and keeping records, which have degraded in
performance due to millennia of use. The Kin are extremely competitive and
capitalistic, with powerful corporations (referred to as Guilds) regularly strip-
mining entire planets for resources. While the Kin lack any sort of natural psychic
abilities, they do possess artificial psykers referred to as Grimnyrs, who are
responsible for communicating with the Votann. The Votann are a spiritual successor
to a previously existing Squat faction which was wiped out by the Tyranids as a
diegetic explanation for why they no longer existed after they were removed from
the setting due to not fitting in aesthetically.
The Leagues have a preference for ranged combat and siege tactics. Their infantry
is slow but sturdy, and their weapons are most effective at range.