The thing was, as I grew older I had less and less time to play the game and fewer and fewer friends that were also into the hobby. So I stopped playing. Then I stopped painting the models. And finally, earlier this year I got married and had to sell all my old Warhammer stuff to make space. But I never stopped loving the background to it. The thing was, I always thought that the people in the 40k universe were incredibly stupid; that such a groaning, inefficient and repressive empire as the Imperium could never exists. Why would people let the mechanicus have all the technology? Why would people let the priesthood dictate so much about their lives?
Then I read a book called "Europe's Tragedy", a terribly boring account of the 30 years war in 17th century Germany. And then it clicked. The Imperium was late medieval germany projected 40,000 years into the future. It all made sense; a loose coalition of duchies held together by loyalty to distant emperor with no real authority, where the church had as much say as the nobility and the power of the state was split between a hundred different competing institutions. Religious wars against heretics raged and occasional crusades gathered to push out the 'alien' turks. Of course I'd always known 40k was a future version of Warhammer Fantasy. It was just the game had never felt PLAUSIBLE to me before. I had never realised what a close study of history the game's designers had made it.
And so my love was renewed. I started playing the Dark Heresy RPG because it dealt with the ordinary people, those peasants and clerics that made the galaxy tick over with real lives and emotions and human motivation (not the glory hogging space marines). So, prompted by the
competition "Rebels and Unsung Heroes" I thought I'd show my appreciation for the joy and life-enhancing opportunities 40k has given me by showcasing some of my favourite 40k artwork on dA. Competition winners:
My favourites:
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