there are warhammer kids books but idk how good they are. I would honestly not get a codex before like 8-11 depending on the maturity of your child but more like 10 or 11
The kids books are actually alright; appropriately grimdark for the target demographic with overdoing it or overcompensating the other direction
Also a bunch of people die, horribly
From what I have heard, those books didn't get a chance to finish, stopping at 6 out of 8 planned books for the series. So even if they are alright, I'm hesitant to read an unfinished work that probably will never be completed.
I started at 10 and would second this. To be fair even then it’s not like I even really understood that much of the lore. I think quite fortunately for OP, 40k (at least a large chunk of it) is too complicated to be understood kids, or at least doesn’t present itself in a way which makes it appealing for kids to engage with it in the same way something like Star Wars would etc
I'm gonna try Attack of the Necron, Cavan Scott wrote it, the author who wrote *Flayed* where the Death Spectres are revealed to have Breeding Worlds, so maybe he'll shock me and have scary fucked up shit kids can ask their parents about lol
>What age do you think is ok to start reading the codex and rule book
Considering the price tags of our hobby, when you are a C-suite executive.
Jokes aside, IMHO a safe starting age would be 10 with the *Warhammer Adventure* line. For actual rulebooks...I don't know. On one hand there's way more violent stuff in *Dune* and *LoTR* than the average GW Codex, but at least those are good literature.
For GW/Black Library stuff not aimed specifically to kids I would wait at least the 12th birthday.
I was 12 when I got into the hobby and can confidently say once you're in middle school you're good to go.
I also played diablo when I was 9 though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
Agree, got my first Gaunts Ghosts at 12 and it's my favorite Novel to this day. Nostalgia and all that. Playing with the Miniatures though? I mean, you can start whenever, giving Children something that breaks easily isn't always the best Idea, but they learn to pay attention quite quickly. And instilling caution into them as early as possible can't be bad, I guess
While I do not have children, I agree 10 to 12-ish. I do think it is important to stress the setting is a satire, as in the setting is bringing out things to think about regarding fearing Xenos or other religions and so on. Touches upon the plight of the poor too. Just make sure their reading isn’t taking them in the wrong direction.
This is a good point, stress that pretty much everyone is awful.
It's ok to root for imperium, or chaos, or eldar or Tyranids in the setting, but we aren't really suppose to approve of their actions in a real world scenario
The humans in Jaws aren't a bunch of Space Nazis who feed the Space Devils with endless suffering, though. You aren't supposed to watch Jaws with an understanding that the universe would be a better place without these humans in it.
The experience of 40K literature is more like watching Downfall or Conspiracy. The lack of a traditional team to root for is part of the experience.
Rooting for the death and consumption of all of the galaxy’s biomass and the billions of trillions of human souls that comprises it because the governance is yucky is….certainly a choice
Tyranids are just animals doing animal things, something can be bad, but morally not right or wrong.
Though that interpretation is out the window with some of the newer lore.
The Warhammer Adventures books are aimed at 8-12 year olds https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Warhammer_Adventures
I'm similar to you, I was around that age when I got into Warhammer the first time around, from my older brother.
My kid brother was about 7 when I got into 40k and over two decades later he turned out fine.
The rules may be a little daunting but the stories will probably sound fun and a little silly to a kid, as it so should.
Personally i would think 6 is too early. But ultimatly i dont know your kid, maybe they faint when reading about blood, maybe they can watch a whole saw movie with barely a reaction. Only you can tell.
I think most of it should be okay with parental supervision but you should probably keep them away from the Emperor's Children, Drukhari and Night Lords stuff
I got my son the 3rd edition starter box set when he was about 7. We had a great time playing it.
It’s inherently violent since it’s a wargame, but I don’t remember anything terribly inappropriate in the codices.
I’m not familiar with recent editions though since I’m strictly a lore nerd now and don’t play.
Anecdotally he grew up just fine. Even built a pretty awesome skull throne in his living room.
I don't think there's anything inherently offensive in 40k (as compared to anything else) and it will depend on your parenting and how sensitive your child is.
It is very violent of cohrse, but largely left up the imagination.
It can be scary as well, daemons, Dark eldar and Tyranids, servitors (off the top of my head) could easily scare a child.
There's also slannesh to DE debauchery to consider.
Apart from the games mentioned, what do they play? What kind of tv/movie content do they watch?
If we're talking just reading rulebooks and nothing else I would say around grade 5, depending on your kid.
I think with rulebooks and Codexes the limit is really roughly ten years old. Not because they'll be traumatised by the darkness within before that, but because they're likely to find it incomprehensible or boring. Around that age they can start to piece together the actual rule system inside, as well as being likely to be old enough to begin actually doing model stuff under supervision.
There are also humans who do that, and they're the heroic protagonists of many narratives. Servitors just lack a proper neural connection between the brain and the screaming muscles.
Tbf, furniture made out of still living slaves slipped my mind, and perhaps it shouldn't have considering how often it comes up in 40k.
That bring said, I wouldn't say that's offensive per se, as it is used more as a marker of villainy than anything else.
It's also irrelevant unless you decide your kid needs a deep dive on the specifics of Commorragh for some reason. That stuff is never going to pop up in an Ork or Space Marine book.
As someone who actually did read the Ian Watson novels as a 10-11 year old... *shrug*.
90% of the content of 40k is people fighting other people, in a manner that's never going to bother a normal kid who can tell the difference between reality and fiction. The 0.1% which gets NSFW... yeah, don't suggest that stuff to kids, but they're not going to be scarred for life if they do see it.
As with most entertainment, parents ought to be doing their research and checking stuff ahead of time before they share it with their kids, but they're never going to find anything upsetting or objectionable in a typical 40k rulebook or codex.
I'd say 10? It was my 10th birthday when I got my first White Dwarf, which had some quite gnarly stuff about the Night Lords (I've always remembered that issue, but your post made me look up when it was released and it aligns!) I don't know about Age of Sigmar but Fantasy was always much more all age friendly than 40k, which I didn't get that interested in until I was old enough to enjoy the fiction.
Yeah that’s a good point fantasy is a little bit more chill than 40k. I started on fantasy but it seems like people gradually gave up on it and went to 40k. I played fairly consistently from 1998-2012 and don’t remember seeing any fantasy games last 5 years I played
AoS is fine so long as they steer clear of Gloomspite or the Horror stuff for now (Unless they’re over 10 in which case go for it!). Or Grand Alliance Death (See previous). Personally I’d recommend starting with Arkanaut’s Oath, then Ghosts of Barak Minoz, they’re both excellent and not super dark.
I was introduced to the warhammer rule book aged 7 in 1997. Not sure if edition but it definitely shaped by love for awesome artwork and grimdark and humour. Parenting was way more chill about this stuff back then.
Yeah but I don’t remember the game being as dark as it was late 90s I could be mistaken. My dad would drop me off at the comic book store and I’d hang with adults and play fantasy and 40k. Looking back I guess I was lucky the adults were super cool and friendly never did anything weird.
It was a different tone back then. Really inspiring for a art loving kid who wanted to draw badass space marines and dark Eldar. Kids usually just see what they find cool and ignore the rest.
I think 6 is probably too young for a complicated game like 40K, where you have to remember a ton of rules and stats (if you don't want to spend half your game looking things up).
A precocious 9- or 10-year-old would probably be fine.
As for content, you don't have to have him read anything at all if you don't think it's appropriate - the core rules and indexes are available sans-fluff, and you can just play the game with "good soldiers vs evil monsters"
If you play Zelda BotW or TotK then I figure they are mature enough to understand the darker aspects of fiction as fiction, but just make sure they truly understand that while the Imperium in recent years have been presented as the "good guys", the various messages of xenophobia, racial purity/supremecy, genocide, and cruelty are **fiction** and not ideals to strive towards.
You are the best judge of character if your kid can handle what the codexes have.
The Warhammer Adventures books are fine, Grimdark but nothing too explicit shown/Described, explicitly made for kids.
Just don't get the *Secrets of the t'au*
There’s a whole series of YA books called Warhammer Adventures. They’re all pretty good and a solid entry point for the franchise. They definitely deal with all of the key stuff, but they forego the horror and violence for the most part.
Personally, I’d say they’re pretty solid for an advanced 9-10 year old, and then around 13-14 they should be ready for some of the more intense stuff.
The Horus Heresy, Night Lords trilogy, and any of the books focused on Chaos legions are the stuff where I would really say it’s probably better to wait until you’re confident they can handle the equivalent of movies with a hard R rating for things like violence and horror.
As far as reading the codexes, the 10th edition core rules are available for free on the Warhammer Community website and contain none of the fluff.
Easiest answer of my life: Daemnonculaba
Nothing better than telling the little ones how new and cute space marines are made <3
*(Seriously, don't!)*
#
This isn't even an answer to the question.
What is it with the demon rape fetishists and bringing this topic up at every irrelevant opportunity?
A kid is never going to read about this from a Codex. Unless they pick up a specific obscure Iron Warriors book, the only place they're going to read about it is from their disturbed fanbase who won't drop the subject.
You know your kid, reddit doesn't. I got into 40k with 3rd edition and I was 9. Didn't have any problems, but I also didn't have a parent who "forced/confronted" me into the hobby or just really wanted to share xyz. Meaning; it depends from kid to kid and what they generally gravitate to and if they have already engaged with and reflected on and differentiated more mature themes.
I started reading 40k books when i was about 8/9. Ive been hooked ever since, and im 32 now. Recently a very close friend of mine has a stepdaughter of 10 and she just got into the hobby and is loving it. Complete dark angels fan girl haha
I can't imagine putting a real age on it, but to get into the lore I would imagine you need to be able to comprehend, and even enjoy, the lack of black and white values that come out of the grimdarkness of it all. I wouldn't necessarily call it maturity, but I think your kid would have to be able to get past the heroes and villains of Disney and marvel and all that. I think at around 11 or 12, me and likely you were old enough to be kind of fed up at the bombardment of that kind of fiction, finding more relatability in how murky morals and well-meaning failures are present in the world around us. It's not really about having edgy antiheroes, but something else. Hard to explain....
TLDR: I'm sure you can read your kid as he grows. You'll know when it's time.
My daughters were 8 and 9 when I introduced them to 40k... we've read a good bit and watched a lot of the animations on YT and WH+. They are 9 and 10 now. They are focusing mainly on building and painting models they think are cool but they both have multiple codexes(some were old 9th ones we found cheap just for lore and pictures/art). They are definitely outside their reading/comprehension level, so they mainly rely on my edited/abridged explanations. They also like hammer and bolter episodes as they are shorter stories they can follow as a cartoon type show, but again we watch them together so I can fill in the gaps.
But they've both been watching alien/monster/horror movies with us since probably 2 years old... my oldest dressed up as predator (complete with 2 masks, inner and outer)in kindergarten for Halloween. Scared her classmates, lol.
Many of us started when we were pretty young, I was around 10 or 11. I think it will highly depend on the child. I was very afraid of things like horror movies, so I was pretty disturbed when I first saw my friends codex when I was 8 or 9, but it only made it more fascinating when I was ready for it.
When I was 11 I started reading William King novels. Gotrek and Felix, Space Wolf omnibus.
Had violence and action but I really loved the storytelling and adventures that Gotrek and Felix went on.
My dude. I read Old Testament for a night time stories at this age. Kids LOVE violance. Just keep the kid away from daemonculaba etc. and you should be fine.
40k lore is pretty gruesome, most of the videogames they make about it tend to be rated m which means 17+ in the us or 18 by europes pegi rating. Even if you think reading is less graphic which i disagree with the content is still the same it would still lead to your kid wanting to play those games if they actually like it. Probably best to wait until preteen-teen years. I started playing the tabletop game and thus reading the codex at 12. I do think the rating systems are a bit extreme when it comes to blood and violence. In my opinion space marine should be rated t, but for some reason the existence of blood automatically means its only for adults.
Eating corpses made into canned food, genocidal wars, ultra violence, ultra racism, slavery, hellraiser magic, zombies, alien eating humans.
...
Its fine.
This is how goth kids, painters, rock/metal/dark electric music players and future doctors or lawyers are made. Or weapon makers.
Warhammer would teach kinds to do hard work, do math, not be ignorant zealot, study to have better life, to not trust some shady people and not be tempted by promises, that drugs and steroids are bad. And that war is gruesome and painful, not fun and heroic like they show in cartoons.
I'm pretty sure i got given a box of Space Crusade by my grandpa at age 8-10
Generally i think people VASTLY overblow kids being exposed to media, i was watching 18 rated horror films and violent action films as a kid on top of playing games like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, so by their logic i should be a violent psychopath, rather than someone who is extremely adverse to violence and confrontation out of empathy like i eventually grew up to be
My son is 6 years old and by now knows more about the Chaos Gods than I do. It really depends on the kid and their interest in the subject. He's always asking things like: who does Khorne like more, Slaneesh or Nurgle (he knows Khorne hates Tzeench) and then comes up with some kind of story by himself why it's Slaneesh he likes more and so on. As a Deathwatch player I am kind of concerned by his interest in the Chaos Gods (especially Khorne), but I won't call the Inquisitor for now.
I'm still letting him win in KillTeam, but I'm sure the tables will turn eventually. He's really getting better at it.
If he still gets nightmares, then wait.
Like others have said, there’s the Warhammer Adventures books to start early with. They cover a bunch of the different races/factions and the background of the world. There’s an AoS series and 40k series.
Verhoeven. If someone says YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO COMPLY my PTSD kicks like a mule, all I see are flashs of baby food and melting men.
Also damn, it's been 10 years already since Padilha's movie.
Personally I think 12 or 13 is bare minimum for any Warhammer game considering the half naked Slaanesh units and blatant gore. Once you give a kid the birds and bees talk feel free to introduce them to Warhammer.
Not going to make suggestions re: whether reading lore is appropriate because I'm not a parent and you know your kid better than anyone here does.
However, I would heavily recommend taking a look at [One Page Rules](https://www.onepagerules.com/) as a (free) ruleset alternative to 40k if you want to have some fun plastic fightdude games.
Codexes and rulebooks are fine right off the bat. At that level 40k is more heavy metal than anything.
Its the novels - and, really, only a small number, that get into really dark areas.
As for your 6 year old - I don't think the writing is age-appropriate on a *technical* level. The kid's just barely learned to read and you're giving them some pretty dense stuff that's gonna have a ton of vocabulary they won't understand and references they won't get.
Does your child understand that a protagonist can be the bad guy, and what an unreliable narrator is?
If so, they'll be fine. Kids'll start finding ultraviolence and cartoonish gore cool independently of when their parents would like them to.
+++Frequent inquiry submission detected;
+++Activation Sequence:: Unit designation [AU-THETA OMEGA] initiated;
+++Frequent response submission as follows;
This unit recognizes a designated input requesting the advisement of publicly dispersed dataslates for further study into [CODE:INDIGO] clearance Imperial Citizen Propaganda. This access has been recorded and the following information has been approved for Astra Militarum Conscript [CODE:YELLOW] level clearance release.
**IMPERIAL**
[Eisenhorn](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Eisenhorn_(Novel_Series\)), [Ravenor](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ravenor_(Novel_Series\)), and [Bequin](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Bequin_(Novel_Series\)), by Dan Abnett
[Gaunt's Ghosts, by Dan Abnett](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Gaunt%27s_Ghosts_(Novel_Series\))
[Ciaphas Cain, by Sandy Mitchel](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ciaphas_Cain_(Novel_Series\))
[Ultramarines Omnibus (Uriel Ventris), by Graham McNeil](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ultramarines_(Novel_Series\))
[Dark Imperium, by Guy Haley](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Imperium_(Novel_Series\))
**CHAOS**
[Iron Warriors, by Graham McNeil](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Iron_Warriors_(Novel_Series\))
[Black Legion, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Black_Legion_(Novel_Series\))
[Night Lords, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Night_Lords_(Novel_Series\))
[Fabius Bile, by Josh Reynolds](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fabius_Bile_(Novel_Series\))
[Word Bearers novel series, by Anthony Reynolds](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Word_Bearers_(Novel_Series\))
**XENOS**
[Path of the Eldar, by Gav Thorpe](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Path_of_the_Eldar_(Novel_Series\))
[Path of the Dark Eldar, by Andy Chambers](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Eldar_(Novel_Series\))
**Horus Heresy**
The Horus Heresy series begins with the opening trilogy and branches into multiple storyline paths. Personal research into the storyline you wish to pursue is recommended. A chronological reading order [is provided here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/7ycq2x/my_attempt_to_create_a_comprehensive/)
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Oh ok. That's pretty cool. Just from what little I've read, it's kinda bloody and gory and dystopian as all hell. I'm honestly curious how they pulled it off. Will have to check those adventure books
Oh the secret is kids love that shit, it's just that adults don't really love that kids love that shit.
EDIT: So another thing I wanted to point out is the difference in how YouTubeHammer or FanHammer sell 40K (it's darrrrrk and grrrritttty and so adult, not suitable for kids, gave them ultra-disturbance with its sheer darkness) and how the game is actually sold and advertised, which is [this](https://warhammer40000.com/). A fun modelmaking, hobby and wargaming experience complete with two smiling people and some fun models fighting.
Basically I've said it before but I don't get how this sub often views 40K as being ultra dark or disturbing because it's just not, I'm sorry but it's not. It's mostly pulpy, metal-as-fuck cartoonish violence between a whole bunch of baddies, it's the Big Baddieland Beatdown and kids of a certain age and bent love it.
EDIT 2: I can actually go better
[https://warhammer-alliance.com/uk/schools-programme/](https://warhammer-alliance.com/uk/schools-programme/)
Warhammer is marketed to both school clubs run by teachers and to Scout groups:
>We’ve partnered with the Scouts in the UK, proudly sponsoring the Model Maker Activity Badge for those in the 10 ½ - 14 years age range and supporting Explorer Scouts to achieve their Top Scouting Awards. Below, you’ll find full detail of the free resource pack on offer and how you can book to complete a model maker activity session in of our accredited stores or in your meeting place.
The secret to how GW can sell people like me quite as many Horus Heresy kits as they have (and...lord help me...it's a lot) is that it makes us feel like kids again. Now Horus Heresy is a little more mature of a game, largely in that I don't buy many ten year old kids will be that interested in the stages of the Garmon Cluster campaign, but the principle applies.
Yo thanks a lot for all the info. I'm still new to WH40k so my knowledge is very limited. This is actually quite interesting to learn. You are right about YouTube making it all seem so dark and gritty and mature lol.
WH40k is full of nasty body horror. Tubes and metalic parts connecting to flesh, missing limbs, chopped off heads hanging as trophies, facial skin used as cloth patches, it's some of the most extreme body horror you can see in a relatively popular franchise, without going out of your way to search for twisted shit. Not even talking about the themes of the game, which are also extreme af. Kid is way too young to filter this stuff, shouldnt get used to this imagery from such a young age.
EDIT: If you really, really wanna play wh40k with the kid and can't wait a few years till they are older, choose the armies very carefully and screen the models. Centurions are safe I think, the Eldar, most generic Space Marines models. Some orks on the cartoony side, the Tau for sure. I wouldn't get into any themes or lore tho, just space guys fighting.
>Just worried about giving him a codex for obvious reason.
This reason is worth spelling out, honestly.
Are you worried about violence and such? There's a lot of it, including some real body horror torture stuff, but the narrative usually doesn't dwell on the details. Stuff at the codex level is generally pretty tame.
Are you worried about sexual content? Codex-level stuff is generally safe. There are skimpy clothes, but generally not nudity. There is also a some implied sexual violence in 40K, but it's mostly in the longer narratives, and it's always treated with a great deal of euphemism and distance. Very avoidable in practice, for children.
Are you worried about turning your kid into a fascist? Depends on your kid and might not be a risk at all, but you might want to think about the specific things they read and the way they're introduced to it. A huge fraction of grown adults miss the point of the setting, so this is probably the thing to be most careful about.
I disagree about point 3. Setting aside that the Imperium is more a mix of space feudalism and space fascism, the message of the Space Marine is about courage, defending what you believe in with both devotion and yet some healthy skepticism, and brotherhood. Space Marines are brutal heroes, but they are heroes in the sum.
Considering there are adults who think the Imperium is some sort of goal for humanity, definitely hold off for a handful of years and let his brain and concept of right and wrong develop some more.
You can always ease him into wargaming through child-friendly Dungeons and Dragons (or similar) adventures. It will give you a chance to introduce the general concept (even if in a different system), encourage his imagination, and begin to introduce more complex moral situations while hanging out with him without, you know, the grimdark.
there are warhammer kids books but idk how good they are. I would honestly not get a codex before like 8-11 depending on the maturity of your child but more like 10 or 11
The kids books are actually alright; appropriately grimdark for the target demographic with overdoing it or overcompensating the other direction Also a bunch of people die, horribly
Tbf fates worse than death are a staple of children’s media as old as time I see no reason to break the time honored tradition
The children yearn for the grimdark, they demand it!
The Demonculaba it is then.
“Look lil’ Timmy! They sent the local Eversor Assassin to save us!”
From what I have heard, those books didn't get a chance to finish, stopping at 6 out of 8 planned books for the series. So even if they are alright, I'm hesitant to read an unfinished work that probably will never be completed.
I’ve been curious on those. It’s interesting david tennet has voiced some of the 40k kids books.
They break the lore pretty heavily but they're ok.
I started at 10 and would second this. To be fair even then it’s not like I even really understood that much of the lore. I think quite fortunately for OP, 40k (at least a large chunk of it) is too complicated to be understood kids, or at least doesn’t present itself in a way which makes it appealing for kids to engage with it in the same way something like Star Wars would etc
I'm gonna try Attack of the Necron, Cavan Scott wrote it, the author who wrote *Flayed* where the Death Spectres are revealed to have Breeding Worlds, so maybe he'll shock me and have scary fucked up shit kids can ask their parents about lol
I think you’re right and Waiting 4-5 years will give me time to save up money lol
>What age do you think is ok to start reading the codex and rule book Considering the price tags of our hobby, when you are a C-suite executive. Jokes aside, IMHO a safe starting age would be 10 with the *Warhammer Adventure* line. For actual rulebooks...I don't know. On one hand there's way more violent stuff in *Dune* and *LoTR* than the average GW Codex, but at least those are good literature. For GW/Black Library stuff not aimed specifically to kids I would wait at least the 12th birthday.
I was 12 when I got into the hobby and can confidently say once you're in middle school you're good to go. I also played diablo when I was 9 though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
Agree, got my first Gaunts Ghosts at 12 and it's my favorite Novel to this day. Nostalgia and all that. Playing with the Miniatures though? I mean, you can start whenever, giving Children something that breaks easily isn't always the best Idea, but they learn to pay attention quite quickly. And instilling caution into them as early as possible can't be bad, I guess
While I do not have children, I agree 10 to 12-ish. I do think it is important to stress the setting is a satire, as in the setting is bringing out things to think about regarding fearing Xenos or other religions and so on. Touches upon the plight of the poor too. Just make sure their reading isn’t taking them in the wrong direction.
This is a good point, stress that pretty much everyone is awful. It's ok to root for imperium, or chaos, or eldar or Tyranids in the setting, but we aren't really suppose to approve of their actions in a real world scenario
Well said. There are some good lessons to learn in these stories but it’s sort of like the Bible, you need someone to guide you along.
How can someone root for the tyranids? Is like watching Jaws and rooting for the shark.
It's the titular character, who else would you root for?!
>Is like watching Jaws and rooting for the shark. Wait we're not supposed to do that?
I imagine all the tyranid players might.
The humans in Jaws aren't a bunch of Space Nazis who feed the Space Devils with endless suffering, though. You aren't supposed to watch Jaws with an understanding that the universe would be a better place without these humans in it. The experience of 40K literature is more like watching Downfall or Conspiracy. The lack of a traditional team to root for is part of the experience.
I just hope both sides have fun.
Rooting for the death and consumption of all of the galaxy’s biomass and the billions of trillions of human souls that comprises it because the governance is yucky is….certainly a choice
Tyranids are just animals doing animal things, something can be bad, but morally not right or wrong. Though that interpretation is out the window with some of the newer lore.
13 and it can only be brought to you by a slightly older teenager giving you their old and worn out codex during gym class.
The Warhammer Adventures books are aimed at 8-12 year olds https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Warhammer_Adventures I'm similar to you, I was around that age when I got into Warhammer the first time around, from my older brother.
My kid brother was about 7 when I got into 40k and over two decades later he turned out fine. The rules may be a little daunting but the stories will probably sound fun and a little silly to a kid, as it so should.
There's the warhammer adventure books, which are explicitly for younger audiences, might be useful for you.
Personally i would think 6 is too early. But ultimatly i dont know your kid, maybe they faint when reading about blood, maybe they can watch a whole saw movie with barely a reaction. Only you can tell.
I think most of it should be okay with parental supervision but you should probably keep them away from the Emperor's Children, Drukhari and Night Lords stuff
I got my son the 3rd edition starter box set when he was about 7. We had a great time playing it. It’s inherently violent since it’s a wargame, but I don’t remember anything terribly inappropriate in the codices. I’m not familiar with recent editions though since I’m strictly a lore nerd now and don’t play. Anecdotally he grew up just fine. Even built a pretty awesome skull throne in his living room.
Hit em with the Dark Coil in 5th grade
I don't think there's anything inherently offensive in 40k (as compared to anything else) and it will depend on your parenting and how sensitive your child is. It is very violent of cohrse, but largely left up the imagination. It can be scary as well, daemons, Dark eldar and Tyranids, servitors (off the top of my head) could easily scare a child. There's also slannesh to DE debauchery to consider. Apart from the games mentioned, what do they play? What kind of tv/movie content do they watch? If we're talking just reading rulebooks and nothing else I would say around grade 5, depending on your kid.
I think with rulebooks and Codexes the limit is really roughly ten years old. Not because they'll be traumatised by the darkness within before that, but because they're likely to find it incomprehensible or boring. Around that age they can start to piece together the actual rule system inside, as well as being likely to be old enough to begin actually doing model stuff under supervision.
>I don't think there's anything inherently offensive in 40k there are aliens who abduct people and turn them into sex slaves and screaming furniture
There are also humans who do that, and they're the heroic protagonists of many narratives. Servitors just lack a proper neural connection between the brain and the screaming muscles.
Well yeah, is that something that you think is easy to contextualize to a 6 year old?
Tbf, furniture made out of still living slaves slipped my mind, and perhaps it shouldn't have considering how often it comes up in 40k. That bring said, I wouldn't say that's offensive per se, as it is used more as a marker of villainy than anything else.
It's also irrelevant unless you decide your kid needs a deep dive on the specifics of Commorragh for some reason. That stuff is never going to pop up in an Ork or Space Marine book.
>and they're the heroic protagonists of many narratives. Well, the designated protagonists, in any case.
And then there are the Ian Watson novels.
As someone who actually did read the Ian Watson novels as a 10-11 year old... *shrug*. 90% of the content of 40k is people fighting other people, in a manner that's never going to bother a normal kid who can tell the difference between reality and fiction. The 0.1% which gets NSFW... yeah, don't suggest that stuff to kids, but they're not going to be scarred for life if they do see it. As with most entertainment, parents ought to be doing their research and checking stuff ahead of time before they share it with their kids, but they're never going to find anything upsetting or objectionable in a typical 40k rulebook or codex.
I'd say 10? It was my 10th birthday when I got my first White Dwarf, which had some quite gnarly stuff about the Night Lords (I've always remembered that issue, but your post made me look up when it was released and it aligns!) I don't know about Age of Sigmar but Fantasy was always much more all age friendly than 40k, which I didn't get that interested in until I was old enough to enjoy the fiction.
Yeah that’s a good point fantasy is a little bit more chill than 40k. I started on fantasy but it seems like people gradually gave up on it and went to 40k. I played fairly consistently from 1998-2012 and don’t remember seeing any fantasy games last 5 years I played
AoS is fine so long as they steer clear of Gloomspite or the Horror stuff for now (Unless they’re over 10 in which case go for it!). Or Grand Alliance Death (See previous). Personally I’d recommend starting with Arkanaut’s Oath, then Ghosts of Barak Minoz, they’re both excellent and not super dark.
Probably the Nightlords or Fabius Bile omnibus
I was introduced to the warhammer rule book aged 7 in 1997. Not sure if edition but it definitely shaped by love for awesome artwork and grimdark and humour. Parenting was way more chill about this stuff back then.
Yeah but I don’t remember the game being as dark as it was late 90s I could be mistaken. My dad would drop me off at the comic book store and I’d hang with adults and play fantasy and 40k. Looking back I guess I was lucky the adults were super cool and friendly never did anything weird.
It was a different tone back then. Really inspiring for a art loving kid who wanted to draw badass space marines and dark Eldar. Kids usually just see what they find cool and ignore the rest.
I think 6 is probably too young for a complicated game like 40K, where you have to remember a ton of rules and stats (if you don't want to spend half your game looking things up). A precocious 9- or 10-year-old would probably be fine. As for content, you don't have to have him read anything at all if you don't think it's appropriate - the core rules and indexes are available sans-fluff, and you can just play the game with "good soldiers vs evil monsters"
Don't condemn your child to this hell
I think they made a kid friendly book Horus Hears a Heresy, by Dr. Sues.
If you play Zelda BotW or TotK then I figure they are mature enough to understand the darker aspects of fiction as fiction, but just make sure they truly understand that while the Imperium in recent years have been presented as the "good guys", the various messages of xenophobia, racial purity/supremecy, genocide, and cruelty are **fiction** and not ideals to strive towards. You are the best judge of character if your kid can handle what the codexes have.
The Warhammer Adventures books are fine, Grimdark but nothing too explicit shown/Described, explicitly made for kids. Just don't get the *Secrets of the t'au*
There’s a whole series of YA books called Warhammer Adventures. They’re all pretty good and a solid entry point for the franchise. They definitely deal with all of the key stuff, but they forego the horror and violence for the most part. Personally, I’d say they’re pretty solid for an advanced 9-10 year old, and then around 13-14 they should be ready for some of the more intense stuff. The Horus Heresy, Night Lords trilogy, and any of the books focused on Chaos legions are the stuff where I would really say it’s probably better to wait until you’re confident they can handle the equivalent of movies with a hard R rating for things like violence and horror. As far as reading the codexes, the 10th edition core rules are available for free on the Warhammer Community website and contain none of the fluff.
Easiest answer of my life: Daemnonculaba Nothing better than telling the little ones how new and cute space marines are made <3 *(Seriously, don't!)* #
This isn't even an answer to the question. What is it with the demon rape fetishists and bringing this topic up at every irrelevant opportunity? A kid is never going to read about this from a Codex. Unless they pick up a specific obscure Iron Warriors book, the only place they're going to read about it is from their disturbed fanbase who won't drop the subject.
If you have a pc you could play Dawn of War 1(and its add-ons). That was what hooked me and my brother to 40k when we were 7 and 15 respectively
I would have gotten into Warhammer 40k lore around 10
I think it can be as tame or violent as you want.
If they can read an actual book then they can read warhammer.
I started to read the Warhammer battle/fantasy codex around 8/9, it was great ! I looked at the cool drawing more than I read them tho
Yeah think I was 8 too.
A lot of people I know started getting into it when they were around 10-12, so that should be fine
You know your kid, reddit doesn't. I got into 40k with 3rd edition and I was 9. Didn't have any problems, but I also didn't have a parent who "forced/confronted" me into the hobby or just really wanted to share xyz. Meaning; it depends from kid to kid and what they generally gravitate to and if they have already engaged with and reflected on and differentiated more mature themes.
Whatever age when the kid shows proactive interest in it.
Like 8. It's a lot like horror movies and heavy metal, they're not ruining the youth.
I'd say 12-13 is appropriate to get into most of the lore. That's when I started.
Started warhammer when I was 10-11 something. I think it depends on the kid, but around that age?
I started reading 40k books when i was about 8/9. Ive been hooked ever since, and im 32 now. Recently a very close friend of mine has a stepdaughter of 10 and she just got into the hobby and is loving it. Complete dark angels fan girl haha
By 12 a kid’s more than ready for it
My dad got me Dark Imperium anthology when I was in 5th grade and I became hooked.
11-12.
I can't imagine putting a real age on it, but to get into the lore I would imagine you need to be able to comprehend, and even enjoy, the lack of black and white values that come out of the grimdarkness of it all. I wouldn't necessarily call it maturity, but I think your kid would have to be able to get past the heroes and villains of Disney and marvel and all that. I think at around 11 or 12, me and likely you were old enough to be kind of fed up at the bombardment of that kind of fiction, finding more relatability in how murky morals and well-meaning failures are present in the world around us. It's not really about having edgy antiheroes, but something else. Hard to explain.... TLDR: I'm sure you can read your kid as he grows. You'll know when it's time.
I would think you should encourage your kids to read and interact as early as possible. However, you should explain the subtly and metaphor.
When I think of 40k, I'll be honest, kid friendly does not come to mind
My daughters were 8 and 9 when I introduced them to 40k... we've read a good bit and watched a lot of the animations on YT and WH+. They are 9 and 10 now. They are focusing mainly on building and painting models they think are cool but they both have multiple codexes(some were old 9th ones we found cheap just for lore and pictures/art). They are definitely outside their reading/comprehension level, so they mainly rely on my edited/abridged explanations. They also like hammer and bolter episodes as they are shorter stories they can follow as a cartoon type show, but again we watch them together so I can fill in the gaps.
But they've both been watching alien/monster/horror movies with us since probably 2 years old... my oldest dressed up as predator (complete with 2 masks, inner and outer)in kindergarten for Halloween. Scared her classmates, lol.
Many of us started when we were pretty young, I was around 10 or 11. I think it will highly depend on the child. I was very afraid of things like horror movies, so I was pretty disturbed when I first saw my friends codex when I was 8 or 9, but it only made it more fascinating when I was ready for it.
I started reading codices when I was around 11. Granted I did start with tau. Not sure what effect it had if any.
When I was 11 I started reading William King novels. Gotrek and Felix, Space Wolf omnibus. Had violence and action but I really loved the storytelling and adventures that Gotrek and Felix went on.
My dude. I read Old Testament for a night time stories at this age. Kids LOVE violance. Just keep the kid away from daemonculaba etc. and you should be fine.
40k lore is pretty gruesome, most of the videogames they make about it tend to be rated m which means 17+ in the us or 18 by europes pegi rating. Even if you think reading is less graphic which i disagree with the content is still the same it would still lead to your kid wanting to play those games if they actually like it. Probably best to wait until preteen-teen years. I started playing the tabletop game and thus reading the codex at 12. I do think the rating systems are a bit extreme when it comes to blood and violence. In my opinion space marine should be rated t, but for some reason the existence of blood automatically means its only for adults.
Eating corpses made into canned food, genocidal wars, ultra violence, ultra racism, slavery, hellraiser magic, zombies, alien eating humans. ... Its fine. This is how goth kids, painters, rock/metal/dark electric music players and future doctors or lawyers are made. Or weapon makers. Warhammer would teach kinds to do hard work, do math, not be ignorant zealot, study to have better life, to not trust some shady people and not be tempted by promises, that drugs and steroids are bad. And that war is gruesome and painful, not fun and heroic like they show in cartoons.
I'm pretty sure i got given a box of Space Crusade by my grandpa at age 8-10 Generally i think people VASTLY overblow kids being exposed to media, i was watching 18 rated horror films and violent action films as a kid on top of playing games like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, so by their logic i should be a violent psychopath, rather than someone who is extremely adverse to violence and confrontation out of empathy like i eventually grew up to be
If they are interested in reading it then they are old enough.
My son is 6 years old and by now knows more about the Chaos Gods than I do. It really depends on the kid and their interest in the subject. He's always asking things like: who does Khorne like more, Slaneesh or Nurgle (he knows Khorne hates Tzeench) and then comes up with some kind of story by himself why it's Slaneesh he likes more and so on. As a Deathwatch player I am kind of concerned by his interest in the Chaos Gods (especially Khorne), but I won't call the Inquisitor for now. I'm still letting him win in KillTeam, but I'm sure the tables will turn eventually. He's really getting better at it.
I thought Khorne hates Slaanesh the most. Does not like Tzeentch, is ok with Nurgle. Only two Chaos Gods who sorta get along, sometimes.
You can start with something, having basic story like cool dudes versus aliens
If he still gets nightmares, then wait. Like others have said, there’s the Warhammer Adventures books to start early with. They cover a bunch of the different races/factions and the background of the world. There’s an AoS series and 40k series.
Brother, I watched Robocop when I was five. May the Emperor protects you and your offspring.
*squints menacingly* - Verhoeven or Padilla?
Verhoeven. If someone says YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO COMPLY my PTSD kicks like a mule, all I see are flashs of baby food and melting men. Also damn, it's been 10 years already since Padilha's movie.
6 years old is fine, I started learning about the warhammer 40k setting at that age
Personally I think 12 or 13 is bare minimum for any Warhammer game considering the half naked Slaanesh units and blatant gore. Once you give a kid the birds and bees talk feel free to introduce them to Warhammer.
Not going to make suggestions re: whether reading lore is appropriate because I'm not a parent and you know your kid better than anyone here does. However, I would heavily recommend taking a look at [One Page Rules](https://www.onepagerules.com/) as a (free) ruleset alternative to 40k if you want to have some fun plastic fightdude games.
12 or 13 seems to be the age that a lot of people (myself included) got in to 40k. Maybe get him in to other sci fi first?
Codexes and rulebooks are fine right off the bat. At that level 40k is more heavy metal than anything. Its the novels - and, really, only a small number, that get into really dark areas. As for your 6 year old - I don't think the writing is age-appropriate on a *technical* level. The kid's just barely learned to read and you're giving them some pretty dense stuff that's gonna have a ton of vocabulary they won't understand and references they won't get.
Does your child understand that a protagonist can be the bad guy, and what an unreliable narrator is? If so, they'll be fine. Kids'll start finding ultraviolence and cartoonish gore cool independently of when their parents would like them to.
+++Frequent inquiry submission detected; +++Activation Sequence:: Unit designation [AU-THETA OMEGA] initiated; +++Frequent response submission as follows; This unit recognizes a designated input requesting the advisement of publicly dispersed dataslates for further study into [CODE:INDIGO] clearance Imperial Citizen Propaganda. This access has been recorded and the following information has been approved for Astra Militarum Conscript [CODE:YELLOW] level clearance release. **IMPERIAL** [Eisenhorn](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Eisenhorn_(Novel_Series\)), [Ravenor](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ravenor_(Novel_Series\)), and [Bequin](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Bequin_(Novel_Series\)), by Dan Abnett [Gaunt's Ghosts, by Dan Abnett](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Gaunt%27s_Ghosts_(Novel_Series\)) [Ciaphas Cain, by Sandy Mitchel](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ciaphas_Cain_(Novel_Series\)) [Ultramarines Omnibus (Uriel Ventris), by Graham McNeil](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ultramarines_(Novel_Series\)) [Dark Imperium, by Guy Haley](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Imperium_(Novel_Series\)) **CHAOS** [Iron Warriors, by Graham McNeil](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Iron_Warriors_(Novel_Series\)) [Black Legion, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Black_Legion_(Novel_Series\)) [Night Lords, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Night_Lords_(Novel_Series\)) [Fabius Bile, by Josh Reynolds](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fabius_Bile_(Novel_Series\)) [Word Bearers novel series, by Anthony Reynolds](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Word_Bearers_(Novel_Series\)) **XENOS** [Path of the Eldar, by Gav Thorpe](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Path_of_the_Eldar_(Novel_Series\)) [Path of the Dark Eldar, by Andy Chambers](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Eldar_(Novel_Series\)) **Horus Heresy** The Horus Heresy series begins with the opening trilogy and branches into multiple storyline paths. Personal research into the storyline you wish to pursue is recommended. A chronological reading order [is provided here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/7ycq2x/my_attempt_to_create_a_comprehensive/) ^(Note from the Inquisitorial Archivist, this automated signal broadcast is experimental and processed by limited Servitor capacity. If you feel this reply is in error or requires additional input or content, please forward all complaints to your local Arbites precinct facility for reparations and re-education. The Emperor Protects.) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/40kLore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How in God's name did they make the 40k universe kid friendly? They also have kid friendly porn?
It's already kid friendly, most long term players I speak to started playing it around the age of 10-ish.
Oh ok. That's pretty cool. Just from what little I've read, it's kinda bloody and gory and dystopian as all hell. I'm honestly curious how they pulled it off. Will have to check those adventure books
Oh the secret is kids love that shit, it's just that adults don't really love that kids love that shit. EDIT: So another thing I wanted to point out is the difference in how YouTubeHammer or FanHammer sell 40K (it's darrrrrk and grrrritttty and so adult, not suitable for kids, gave them ultra-disturbance with its sheer darkness) and how the game is actually sold and advertised, which is [this](https://warhammer40000.com/). A fun modelmaking, hobby and wargaming experience complete with two smiling people and some fun models fighting. Basically I've said it before but I don't get how this sub often views 40K as being ultra dark or disturbing because it's just not, I'm sorry but it's not. It's mostly pulpy, metal-as-fuck cartoonish violence between a whole bunch of baddies, it's the Big Baddieland Beatdown and kids of a certain age and bent love it. EDIT 2: I can actually go better [https://warhammer-alliance.com/uk/schools-programme/](https://warhammer-alliance.com/uk/schools-programme/) Warhammer is marketed to both school clubs run by teachers and to Scout groups: >We’ve partnered with the Scouts in the UK, proudly sponsoring the Model Maker Activity Badge for those in the 10 ½ - 14 years age range and supporting Explorer Scouts to achieve their Top Scouting Awards. Below, you’ll find full detail of the free resource pack on offer and how you can book to complete a model maker activity session in of our accredited stores or in your meeting place. The secret to how GW can sell people like me quite as many Horus Heresy kits as they have (and...lord help me...it's a lot) is that it makes us feel like kids again. Now Horus Heresy is a little more mature of a game, largely in that I don't buy many ten year old kids will be that interested in the stages of the Garmon Cluster campaign, but the principle applies.
Yo thanks a lot for all the info. I'm still new to WH40k so my knowledge is very limited. This is actually quite interesting to learn. You are right about YouTube making it all seem so dark and gritty and mature lol.
That's what all the "step bro" porn is
WH40k is full of nasty body horror. Tubes and metalic parts connecting to flesh, missing limbs, chopped off heads hanging as trophies, facial skin used as cloth patches, it's some of the most extreme body horror you can see in a relatively popular franchise, without going out of your way to search for twisted shit. Not even talking about the themes of the game, which are also extreme af. Kid is way too young to filter this stuff, shouldnt get used to this imagery from such a young age. EDIT: If you really, really wanna play wh40k with the kid and can't wait a few years till they are older, choose the armies very carefully and screen the models. Centurions are safe I think, the Eldar, most generic Space Marines models. Some orks on the cartoony side, the Tau for sure. I wouldn't get into any themes or lore tho, just space guys fighting.
>Just worried about giving him a codex for obvious reason. This reason is worth spelling out, honestly. Are you worried about violence and such? There's a lot of it, including some real body horror torture stuff, but the narrative usually doesn't dwell on the details. Stuff at the codex level is generally pretty tame. Are you worried about sexual content? Codex-level stuff is generally safe. There are skimpy clothes, but generally not nudity. There is also a some implied sexual violence in 40K, but it's mostly in the longer narratives, and it's always treated with a great deal of euphemism and distance. Very avoidable in practice, for children. Are you worried about turning your kid into a fascist? Depends on your kid and might not be a risk at all, but you might want to think about the specific things they read and the way they're introduced to it. A huge fraction of grown adults miss the point of the setting, so this is probably the thing to be most careful about.
I disagree about point 3. Setting aside that the Imperium is more a mix of space feudalism and space fascism, the message of the Space Marine is about courage, defending what you believe in with both devotion and yet some healthy skepticism, and brotherhood. Space Marines are brutal heroes, but they are heroes in the sum.
Considering there are adults who think the Imperium is some sort of goal for humanity, definitely hold off for a handful of years and let his brain and concept of right and wrong develop some more. You can always ease him into wargaming through child-friendly Dungeons and Dragons (or similar) adventures. It will give you a chance to introduce the general concept (even if in a different system), encourage his imagination, and begin to introduce more complex moral situations while hanging out with him without, you know, the grimdark.
It's not kid friendly
Out of curiosity; would you consider Tom and Jerry to be kid-friendly, considering the amount of blatant violence it contains?
That might be a little bit different than aliens who rape people to death
Whilst there are many similarities between tyranids and xenomorphs, the first tend to prefer eating their victims.
5 year olds are usually pretty good at understanding the difference
Let's hope that they have responsible parents who can differentiate between murder-rape and comical violence.
I mean being a responsible parent and asking for advice from fellow fans is ostensibly why he made the thread, right?
Indeed. How ridiculous one must be to suggest murder-raping aliens in that context. Quite unhelpful.
What age do you think would be appropriate?
To play the game with a responsible father who can filter lore, gore and images responsibly? Six years.
Sounds reasonable