I was recently asked by a friend or two to investigate Warhammer 40,000 (referred to as 40K by most) and determine if I would ever consider playing.
I borrowed a friend's book and spent some time reading it. I won't lie- it's math heavy. There are a bajillion numbers that factor into everything like whether you can hit and if you stand or sit to pee. There are numbers in every dang page and they were not obvious or self explanatory to me in any way.
I used to play (I remember the rules being MUCH simpler then). I have seen many games run and enjoy the atmosphere. I love seeing the models. I like hearing about army lists, troop options and ridiculous scenarios just as much as I like hearing about the adventures of your favorite RPG character. It's fun.
However, that 40K book made me wonder if someone had swiped my alphabet soup and blenderized it with an algebra book. There were way too many numbers for me to follow the spirit of the newest rule set, much LESS keep up with 10+ Codex and their variants to know the individual rules for my army.
I like simple. I honestly don't know the rules of too many systems I play.I roll the dice & trust the person I play to be fair with me. I am fair with them and it usually works for me.
So for now I just admire the plastic dollies and watch grown guys blow each other up. And I avoid the math.
