Some paint, some collect, and others play games in their free time. But for fans of tabletop roleplaying and wargaming, fun is best had when you combine all three. Removed from the stresses of modern life, settings pumped full of cosmic horror and dark fantasy have fast become a refuge for players around the world.
It may sound ironic but few things can be as calming as daring space marines boarding enemy vessels, void-spawned horrors making veritable buffet out of a merchant vessel, or knights in ancient armor warring for their king. Sentiments voice actor John Christie of Kettering knows well.
“I collect mostly Warhammer 40,000 and have a pile of shame of Skaven that I really need to assemble and play,” he told The Clarion about his collection.
“I’ve been loosely in Warhammer through video games. I played ‘Dawn of War’ on a friend’s computer, played both ‘Vermintides’, ‘Total War Warhammer’, and ‘Darktide’. About a year ago me and my friends Aaron, Josh and Karen started chatting about Warhammer and its wacky lore,” Christie added.
Despite being separated by international borders and hundreds of miles, a game group of sorts was in the making. Under Karen’s guidance, Christie would quickly pick up the hobby.
“We’ve all started collections of various sizes and play all on Tabletop Simulator on account of the distance between us and have been playing for a little over a year,” Christie said.
“In the collecting sphere my favorite part is in the assembly of miniature, painting them really stresses me out but the assembling is so therapeutic. It’s so easy to just put on a podcast or video playlist and just start trucking along,” said Christie.
Another of Christie’s mates, Aaron Good, moved over from “Warhammer Fantasy” where he assembled a proud collection of vampires and wood elves. A chance encounter at a friend’s house was what kickstarted his passion for painting minis.
“Around 2005/2006 I was over at a friend’s house and saw cabinet cases full of the fantasy armies owned by him and his older brother. I think they had High Elves, Lizardmen, and some Chaos Warriors between them. I said ‘whoa, these are neat, what are they?’” the Canadian gamer recollects.
Over the course of a few months’ worth of lunch breaks Good’s friend would tell him the lore of each faction. Coupled with window-shopping miniatures online and reading a few game reports, that was enough to get him hooked.
“My first purchase was a Vampire Counts codex, a box of zombies, and a vampire lord mini, which were still made of metal back then!” said Good.
Years later, on meeting the rest of their burgeoning group, Good decided to try out another game and hasn’t looked back since. Good’s collection of 40k miniatures include Imperial Guard, Sisters of Battle aka nuns with guns, and a bevy of other factions picked up over time.
“I enjoy the painting part since I have just enough experience to get them looking good enough for me. I guess it was nice to start painting Vampire Counts back in the day since it’s pretty hard to screw up a skeleton. Gave me confidence,” he said.
A quick look online reveals a number of incredible games full of well-sculpted miniatures tailor-made to satisfy that creative spark. Westeros to Agro-worlds, Ea to Middle Earth, you name it there’s a sandbox waiting to be played in.
In addition to choosing a game system, Good and his friends recommend players pick a faction they like. That might take some research but it can certainly be worthwhile in the end.
“Find a faction you really dig the look, vibe, and surface level lore of. Sisters of Battle appealed to me immediately because they were dope angel ladies. Nothing more complex than that,” Good advised.
Which is where lore and world-building come in. Few settings have invested the decades worth of novels and series that Warhammer has proudly built on over the years. Cool Mini or Not’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” is a rare competitor in that regard thanks to the novels of George R.R. Martin that serve as its foundation. For many, in fact, lore is the reason they collect and/or play.
“I chose to play Tyranids 100% because of their aesthetic and the way their stories are told. They are always the antagonists and feel like an unfeeling, unthinking inevitability. My favorite brand of sci-fi is alien horror but specifically the perfectly adaptive aliens,” said Good.
But it’s his piece of advice that is most important. It is at the heart of what makes playing and sharing such an immersive hobby with friends worth every second.
“Have fun,” he said. “Everyone likes different parts of the hobby so find the parts you like and go all in on those. Much more fun that way.”
Ismael David Mujahid, Executive Editor