Eladrin=Eldar and Dark Eldar
Elves=Exodites
Orcs=Orks
Humans=Imperium and Chaos Humans
Dwarves=Demiurg(or Squats for those who refuse to accept their extinction)
Warforged=Necrons
There might even be some more equivalents that I didn't list. You might have to make some fluff changes, but has anyone else tried this?
They also have a 40k roleplaying game you might want to check out.
Would it just be the races from 40k, or the actual Game's Workshop universe? Since all of the races are constantly at war with each other, I don't see how it could work unless everyone played the same race or maybe a human/eldar combo.
They also have a 40k roleplaying game you might want to check out.
I've checked out the WH40k RPG and for some reason it didn't click for me. Maybe it was the humanocentrism that didn't do it for me. I figure most parties would probably have to be one or maybe two races at most. You could probably do Humans(Chaos) and Orcs together, Human(Imperium) and Eldar, Human(Slaves) and Dark Eldar. It would definitely have a lot less racial diversity in a party than your average D&D game, but I think it could have a lot of interesting possibilities.
You could probably do some unconventional comboes of races if you found good enough reasoning and had a little bit of suspension of disbelief.
Just remember to make everyone crazy
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The Blood Axes are an Ork clan and were the first to encounter the Imperium. During their exposure and battles they picked up many human tactics, such as using camouflage (although often it is too bright to actually disguise the Ork) and retreating when they're losing. They trade with humans for equipment and vehicles, and have even worked as mercenaries for the Imperium at times (such as the Battle at Big Toof River). All of these things lead followers of other clans to brand them as dangerously treacherous, cowardly, and downright un-Orky. Most Blood Axes are back-stabbing Kommandos. Their clan symbol is two crossed axes.
Pistols could be Hand Crossbows with the Offhand feature and the ability to not provoke OAs from the target you are firing at when firing in melee.
Rifles(i.e. Bolters/Lasguns/Splinter Rifles) would be identical to Longbows mechanically
Assault Guns would be half range Longbows with a +3 weapon proficiency bonus.
Heavy Weapons would be Great Bows but make them Load Move and give them something along the lines of Brutal 2 and/or High Crit.
A couple examples I had I'll list below.
Shuriken Catapult=Quick Assault Gun +0
Flamer=Flameburst Assault Gun +0 Fire damage
Gauss Flayer=Deathstalker Rifle +0 Necrotic damage
Sniper Rifle=Sniper's Rifle +0
Las Pistol=Magic Pistol +0(lolz) Radiant damage
Bolt Pistol=Tyrant's Pistol +0
Rail Rifle=Jagged Heavy Weapon +0 Force damage
Reaper Launcher=Forceful Heavy Weapon +0
I use Savage Worlds, which is an excellent system and easy to streamline to 40k.
With that being said, a campaign could take place on the fringes of the Imperium, a place cut off from the Imperium millenia ago and one that was never found and reintregrated into the Imperium.
There's bound to be plenty of those, even if they're not clustered together.
Have it be a place for rogue traders and all sorts of odd party groups will occur.
Presto!
It's done!
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P.S. I believe that the most interesting part of the 40k setting is exploring the culture so I like setting my campaigns in "classical" 40k planets... feudal, hive worlds and so on and play on how the PCs are different in simply having travelled between planets (if not systems!).
P.P.S. How would you convert the Immaterium to 4E?
Maybe its something about a society that is on the verge of extinction and is in desperate need for hope for the future. Maybe its that the backbone of their army consists of poets, artists, and farmers. I think the Eldar story is the most sympathetic and sticks with me as a person more than the other factions' stories.
Actually I think it would be interesting to see a campaign done in 4e on a FEUDAL world (I.E. still middle ages). I could see feral orks, maybe some exodite eldar. Ogres obviously=Ogryn. Wizards would be sanctioned psykers, trained to control their powers specifically, whereas Warlocks would be Chaos Sorcerers, who wield pure Warp magics to blast foes. The Chaos Worshipers could follow some less powerful Chaos God (which would explain the different kinds of D(a)emons. maybe Chaos people should be Shadar-kai to represent their warp-influence? goblins would obviously be Grots. Plus Imperial worlds often have distinct alien species that could make up for a bunch of monsters. Minotaur could be Chaos-corrupted Beast-folk.
Isn't that pretty much Warhammer Fantasy? I've heard people theorize that the WH Fantasy world is a world trapped in the Eye of Terror untouched by outside sources.
Isn't that pretty much Warhammer Fantasy? I've heard people theorize that the WH Fantasy world is a world trapped in the Eye of Terror untouched by outside sources.
Well... no. See, there would still be high tech from the rest of the 40k universe and stuff, and ships would arrive and stuff occasionally, but it would still be in the 40k universe, the fuedal world thing is more so that the rules don't have to be drastically changed, and because I just think it's a cool concept.
They were connected at one point, with the Warhammer world just being a world in the 40k verse, but they were officially separated. As of now, the only connection is through the Warp (as per the Liber Chaotica, the Warhammer Realms of Chaos and the 40k Warp/Empyrean are connected, which isn't all that hard to believe given the nature of the Warp as a separate dimension of pure energy effected by emotion, there's really no limit to the worlds it could potentially connect to, and since the laws of time and space don't apply there...
Well... no. See, there would still be high tech from the rest of the 40k universe and stuff, and ships would arrive and stuff occasionally, but it would still be in the 40k universe, the fuedal world thing is more so that the rules don't have to be drastically changed, and because I just think it's a cool concept.
They were connected at one point, with the Warhammer world just being a world in the 40k verse, but they were officially separated. As of now, the only connection is through the Warp (as per the Liber Chaotica, the Warhammer Realms of Chaos and the 40k Warp/Empyrean are connected, which isn't all that hard to believe given the nature of the Warp as a separate dimension of pure energy effected by emotion, there's really no limit to the worlds it could potentially connect to, and since the laws of time and space don't apply there...
I agree that running things on a feudal world would make it easier, but the only real challenge I can see with running something in the standard parts of the 40k universe is the technology and that really isn't too hard to account for. All you have to do is tweak and reflavor the weapons and armor. Power armor for instance might be mechanically the exact same as plate armor, Gauss Flayers might be longbows that do necrotic damage, etc. Maybe change some of the proficiencies that classes get so that everyone has proficiency in hand crossbows(pistols).
All of the classes are pretty much accounted for in some way in normal 40k worlds.
Fighters: most melee characters probably count as Fighters in 40k
Warlords: Commisars, Warbosses, Autarches, Commanders, etc
Rangers: Pathfinders, Snipers, most long range specialist units
Rogues: Imperial Assassins, Wyches, Mandrakes
Clerics: the Wordbearers legion and all of the imperial ordos strike me as having the standard WH 40k Cleric, but other societies would have some even if they don't have an appearance in the tabletop game.
Paladins: Black Templar, see above for Cleric
Warlock: Chaos cultists/sorcerors, maybe could be reflavored for Haemonculi
Wizard: Eldar Psykers, Tzeentch sorcerors
Swordmage: Eldar Warlocks
All of the primal classes would probably be present in the populations of feral Orks, Humans from border worlds, Exodites, and Kroot.