Returning to Helsreach

Christmas of 1988, my parents gave me Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. The illustrations in the book fired my 14-year-old imagination in a way few other things had before or since. In particular, a series of illustrations and accompanying text describing a settlement called Helsreach stirred images of a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than even Mos Eisley.

Fast forward 24 (!) years later and I long to game in that setting. I still have almost all of the Space Pirate, Adventurer and Mercenary figures my folks got me that Christmas, too. Sadly, the original RTB01 box of plastic Space Marines is gone. I only have parts of five or six of the marines remaining. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the old RT-era figure designs. It may be the nostalgia speaking, but they definitely don't make them like they used to.

The setting for 40K back then was open for adventure. Chaos was on the horizon, Grimdark was off in the future. It wasn't exactly a happy place to inhabit, but it wasn't covered in skullz and spikez. Space Marines weren't Space Nazis, Orks weren't green buffoons, the Imperial Army (!) wasn't a Human tide butchered in their millions. The Eldar were fruity then too, though. Remember Squats? How about a Zoat? Genestealers had a big gaping maw for a face.

Enough reminiscing, back to Helsreach.

I want to do some smallish games set in and around Helsreach. As I mentioned, I still have my assorted ne'er-do-wells, as well as some (not many) Imperial Army figures and plastic Imperial Guard figures. I'll need to procure some Space Marines from that era. The plan is to have the two sides be Space Marines against an insurgency made up of the aforementioned ne'er-do-wells with the Imperial Army/Guard guys as deserters.

Stay tuned for details.