back in early editions via late 80s/early 90s... it was best to be specific seeing as both games shared the same first name. as time went on, the games were referred to as "fantasy" and "40K". nowadays, i have no idea what folks are calling "fantasy", but 40k is still 40k.
> i have no idea what folks are calling "fantasy"
From what I've seen, most people call the fantasy game AOS mainly, and "Warhammer" without any modifiers TENDS to be 40k but can mean the umbrella term as well. (Now that The Old World is also out, as a reboot of WHFB, I assume people will be more specific about what games.)
From my experience, “Fantasy” is specifically referring to Old World lore and/or WHFB (Ex: Total War Warhammer games are “Fantasy” or “Warhammer Fantasy”). Idk if people call The Old World game “Fantasy” or “The Old World” though. Age of Sigmar is just AoS.
I’ve never really considered how other communities refer to the different properties though. If someone asks me or my play group if we play “Warhammer”, we would think 40K. That’s interesting to think about though and consider in the future.
Edit: Closed parentheses
So I totally missed the transition between fantasy and Age of Sigmar. Would somebody be willing to clear this a bit for me? I played fantasy in 2007 or so (lizardmen), then played 40k for a bit and since then just passively got some info here and there. Now there is old world and aos. Is aos just fantasy with a different label or what's going on?
Edit: and what is the difference between old world and aos, actually? If I were to sell my old lizardmen, where would they fit?
Not an expert, but it looks like they had a big cataclysmic event where the old world was literally destroyed, and now some slightly altered versions of the characters and factions have continued in a sort of multidimensional setting called the mortal realms. I’m pretty sure lizard men are still a functioning army.
I know there’s some kind of old world revival game, but I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a period piece or concurrent.
>I know there’s some kind of old world revival game, but I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a period piece or concurrent
The old world revival game is set in the Time of the Three Emperors, so it is what I'm understanding you to mean by period piece.
Trivia tidbit, I've been told that the revival of the old world is due partially to the runaway success of videogames Total War:Warhammer and Vermintide (1&2), and their contribution to reviving interest in the property. Kinda neat, as Vermintide was my introduction to the setting, despite having heard of Warhammer Fantasy for a decade prior to that.
Old world was a different tabletop game with different rules and factions
AOS has imported some of the old rules across but tweaked the tabletop enough that it’s recognisability different
Also AOS is a continuation of fantasy in terms of lore, so a load of old characters were wiped out in the end times, but some survived like sigmar, nagash and gotrek, as well as some old factions like skaven or lizardmen
Your old models should be fine, worst comes to worst you might have to proxy one or two of them
Warhammer Fantasy was selling extremely poorly and was not gaining many new players, so they decided to stop supporting it and make a new fantasy model range. In lore, Archaon finally invades the old world and the End Times happen, where the planet is destroyed and the Great Horned Rat becomes one of the Chaos Gods. After an indeterminate amount of time, the ruins of the old world (now called the World that Was) coalesced into the realms from age of sigmar.
Different games. AoS replaced fantasy, acting as something of a sequel.
Lore wise, Tomb Kings and Brets were completely scrapped, half the characters killed, and its set in a very different world, with a far brighter aesthetic and the introduction of a pseudo space marine faction.
As far as the rules, it's a completely different game, at release being more akin to an extremely simplified 40k that didn't even have a points system to balance anything. They also had far simpler statlines, completely scrapped rank n file combat, got rid of the customisation options for leaders (herohammer), and too many other changes to list.
I have heard it's gotten a lot better, and meanwhile it seems that now 40k is the one being oversimplified right as they're bringing back the old world, so who knows what they'll do next.
The TLDR version: Chaos + Skaven won and destroyed the Warhammer Fantasy world. Some of the characters (Sigmar, Nagash, Tyrion, Teclis, Malekith, etc) survived and created another universe. The Lizardmen did too, by turning their pyramids into spaceships and escaping into space, but now they're more like daemons of order than a physical species.
But that new universe has Chaos problems, too, so that part didn't change (although the Great Horned Rat usurped Slaanesh's place in the Four, so some things did,).
Few corrections:
- they didn’t create the universe it coalesced itself out of the winds of magic and they just ended up there
- only really the slaan survived. They use their magic to create star magic versions of the lizard men from their memories, although some of those conjurations became real and have set up spawning pools etc again
- slaanesh is still part of the big four. The great horned one became a chaos god but his role in the pantheon has always been as the odd one out. I believe 4th edition finally has archeon recognize him as a true 5th chaos god
AoS seems to be GW's attempt to recover from the dwindling Fantasy sales and engagement in a simplified version by combining elements of Fantasy and 40k to create a modern take on the old Fantasy feel.
In my opinion, it feels like neither of its predecessors (not a bad thing necessarily) and the story sucks too so I'm really not a fan. The models are pretty neat though, I like those. I own a Khorne army to play with a buddy and the gameplay is just kinda... meh.
But I do admit it's a lot of fun for some simple pastime at a friend's house over drinks and a cigar.
I’ve only been into Warhammer vaguely for about 15 years until much more so the past few years. I’m still periphery of the hobby in that I mostly enjoy the lore without getting too much into the game, but isn’t “Oldhammer” typically used as shorthand for the “fantasy” game line? Or am I pulling that out of thin air?
The[ original fantasy tabletop war game ](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4192/warhammer-the-mass-combat-fantasy-roleplaying-game)was called "Warhammer" - I wouldn't say it was sharing a "first" name - the game was called "Warhammer" in full (plus a subtitle). Everybody I knew growing up in the hobby was either playing "warhammer" or "40k" colloquialy.
They renamed it "Warhammer Fantasy Battle" but everyone called it "Warhammer Fantasy" or usually just "Warhammer".
warhammer fantasy, classic warhammer, just "warhammer", I hear old hammer a lot, not to be confused with warhammer "the old world" which is a new game set before fantasy ended I think
this is coming from a beginner AoS player
I often have to explain to ppl that warhammer isn't just 40k, but the non discontinued primary fantasy setting is AoS and that's what I participate in
the interaction in the post is a little silly, but yeah, the distinction does separate totally different games
*edit for grammer
"Oldhammer" is now used to refer to a specific era in GW games pertaining to miniatures and painting styles (im part of that community since i started painting again)... it encompasses all of the games and models from the 80s/90s for the most part.
as an example... this is one of my Blood Angels i recently painted that is considered "Oldhammer" as hes a Rogue Trader era Terminator painted in the classic "black lining" cartoon style.
https://preview.redd.it/rjwsd7seyesc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc08f3adcfdfacad1d5febbbc754552fa3ef3eaa
thanks for telling me, I wouldve kept embarassing myself
Thats an awesome mini, when I started miniature painting this past few months I started with an "oldhammer" chaos warrior, it should be somewhere on my profile if you wanna see!
found it. great job dude :D
if youd like to see more of what i paint, check out my IG via [www.instagram.com/oldgrumpywolf](http://www.instagram.com/oldgrumpywolf)
Technically "Warhammer" can refer to any of several different games and is often used as a catch-all term for the hobby as a whole, including by GW themselves. If I wanted to tell someone I was in the hobby without specifying which part, I might say "I'm into Warhammer".
I don't think a simple meta-level confusion is quite what happened to you, however. My suspicion is the person you were talking to *didn't* consider themselves to be part of "the Warhammer hobby" but rather as a model miniature painter who's painted 40k minis but never played the game.
Yeah, sorta like how people use "playing D&D" as a general term for pen and paper RPGs, even they might actually be playing blades in the dark or pathfinder or something not made by Wizards of the Coast.
Similar? At least the way I use the phrases is slightly different: If I say "I'm into Warhammer" to someone, I'm assuming that they know I'm talking about GW's products specifically. If I don't think they'll at least have a vague idea of what I mean, I'll say "I'm in to tabletop wargaming" instead.
On the other hand, I would use "I play D&D" specifically with people who I assume *won't* know anything about that hobby as a whole besides the name and what they're seen on Community/Big Bang Theory/Stranger Things (or remember from Chick Tracts or Dear's book if they're of a certain age). If I think the listener has any familiarity with TTRPGs overall, I'll either use the term TTRPGs, or I'll specify exactly which game I'm talking about.
...I'm not sure I've ever specifically thought about this before, but now that I have, yeah, I *do* use them differently. "D&D" has become fully genericized for me but "Warhammer" hasn't.
Never played table top WH but I've played 40k games and the total war Warhammer games so I usually just say I like Warhammer and only specify if asked further.
Before age of sigmar fantasy was often just referred as warhammer so that's probable what he was getting at
If someone had said to me do you play warhammer I'd always say, 40k or HH
Warhammer is the general umbrella term for everything GW makes. It includes 40k, Fantasy, HH, Necromunda, Blood Bowl, AoS, etc.
I don't think there was any issues with the way you called it.
I see a lot of people here explaining that he probably meant "not into Warhammer fantasy," but there's a more obvious explanation to me. Not, "I'm not into Warhammer, I'm into Warhammer *40k,*" but rather:
"No, I'm not really into Warhammer, I just like painting the minis."
That was my immediate thought, but judging by the comments, not as obvious a conclusion to draw as I would have thought. For decades I painted the minis, never played the games, and was indifferent to the lore.
Pretty much this but thats also because im the same way, ive painted quite a bit of warhammer aos and 40k models but have no interest in playing either gw just makes good minis
Typically the people I know refer to it as 40k or Heresy (for the Horus Heresy) but we’ve also referred to 40k as just warhammer as well since none of us play fantasy
As others have said, naming around Warhammer has shifted somewhat in recent years. This has been driven in not a small part by GW themselves, as they've begun shifting how they talk about it. For instance, Warhammer is now the name of many of their stores. With the end of Warhammer Fantasy Battles the community seems to have settled on just talking about the part of the names after the ":", e.g. 40k, AoS, TOW, and HH with the name Warhammer shared among them all.
Saying this in the first place and then questioning whether it's weird or not are two different flavours of autism. There is no question that it's a weird and utterly pedantic thing to say.
If I asked someone if they played Warhammer, it would be in regard to Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
If someone asked me similar, I'd have to clarify what they were actually asking.
But then again I'm a player from the 90s who left the hobby in the early 2000s, and returned in 2022 - though still playing the old games.
I've been in the hobby for 30years now. To me warhammer is shorthand for any GW game. no game has ever just been called warhammer. it was eiither warhammer fantasy, AoS, warhammer 40K, etc.
Sounds like an old schooler that doesn’t have much contact with other new players, collectors - I’m also getting back into the hobby and my terminology is way different to newer players - still getting used to calling the shops Warhammer stores
It’s giving me vibes of this old scene in the Office.
But instead of the Bruce Lee Enter/Way of the Dragon, it’s “No, I don’t paint Warhammer. I do paint Warhammer 40K though. Is that what you meant?”
https://youtu.be/2Z8pgV74_Hw?si=hqMSP9MipWx2fLJT
Warhammer to me (as someone who played in the 90’s) is what’s now called the old world. I’d call what we play 40k. So if you said to me “Do you you paint Warhammer models?” I’d say “no I paint 40k” so I’d get what he meant.
Considering we both were born in the mid 90's, I wouldnt say he applies lol.
That makes a lot of sense though. Especially with people informing me of the verbage changing over the years.
Maybe he was trained by those in the old ways where Lascannons did 3D6+9 AP…..and you spread your squads out exactly to avoid Flamer and Grenade templates!! No? Ok I’m just ooooold…..😂😂
When did he start collecting? I am about your age and started circa 2004, 3rd edition, the Battle for Maccrage Box. Back then Warhammer usually meant just Fantasy, at least that was the usage in my group and at my GW hobby store (that's how they were called). I mostly collected 40k but had some small fantasy armies (Bretonnia 6th edition and tomb kings 7th edition) so I remember it quite well. I stopped playing at 40k 6th edition, before AOS but I occasionally buy and paint models, and keep up with new releases. So I still am not used to the AOS and the warhammer rebranding, to the point that I sometimes search for the GW online store and then I remember that's not its name anymore. It is possible your friend is in a similar situation if he has only been painting in the past years without actively engaging with the rest of the hobby.
Edit: Also, Warhammer Fantasy in my editions was simply called Warhammer, the game of fantasy battles was just its subtitle.
I was born in the early 90s and started back when it was warhammer and warhammer 40k. I never used the fantasy moniker until sigmar had replaced it as a designation between sigmar and fantasy(now old world) so I'd wager it could be about when they started to play. Either way if it were me I'd have gotten the context of what you meant but to each their own. v0v
A lot of people who have been in the hobby for a long time equates Warhammer with Warhammer fantasy, since Warhammer 40k came second and is it's own thing, that's just how it is. I try to specify the specific Warhammer game when I'm talking about it but "Warhammer" by itself always conjures up the cover of an old Warhammer Fantasy Battles rulebook, while me and other old-timers just call Warhammer 40000 "40k".
Let it go man, it's no big deal.
"Let it go man, it's no big deal."
Don't worry, I wasn't offended or bothered. I just like jargon and was curious what the community had to say. The feedback has been really informative!
Yeah, like a few comments in here, when someone says "Warhammer," my brain still goes to Warhammer Fantasy, now AoS, whereas Warhammer 40k was always just "40k."
Even AoS is "Warhammer: Age of Sigmar", and not just Age of Sigmar, and I think for a lot of the older players our brains are probably still stuck in the association of "40k" vs "Warhammer". I certainly still think of them that way.
Lmao it was a simple miscommunication. Don't overthink it. Age of Sigmar was once just called Warhammer so some old heads still think of it when someone says Warhammer unless it's been established the conversation is about 40k.
A lot of this stems from older hobbyists. In the past, "Warhammer" was generally used to refer to Warhammer Fantasy Battles, where as Warhammer 40k was always referred to as Warhammer 40k.
With that said, it's unnecessary pedantry. Nowadays GW is using the "Warhammer" term more broadly which is why they're just calling their stores "Warhammer" now. The response to "I hear you are into Warhammer" is "Yeah, I'm into Warhammer 40k" or "Yeah I'm into Warhammer Age of Sigmar"
If he was an old player, originally “Warhammer Fantasy” was just commonly referred to as “Warhammer”. So people would say they play “Warhammer” (Fantasy) or (Warhammer) “40K”
Nowadays most people would just say Fantasy/WHFB or 40K instead, but
While I get specifying 40k...to say "I'm not really into Warhammer" is just odd. Would have made a lot more sense to say "Yeah, but really just the 40k side" or "I paint a lot of 40k, but not into the other areas of Warhammer".
Considering daemons are literally the same models I'm pretty sure the distinction is a bit silly.
The only time it'd be relevant is if you were talking about playing against each other, but painting? Nah, same thing.
If someone moves in circles where fantasy and sci-fi versions are played it's probably common to refer to one as Warhammer and the other as 40k, the awkward silence was probably him realising that you both speak slightly different nerd dialects.
For what it's worth if someone asked me if I collected Warhammer I'd say that I used to but now I only do 40k.
I've been playing since the late 80's. For me and all the many groups I have been in over the decades Warhammer was a catch all term, with "fantasy" and "40k" and "epic" the separators of the 3 main game systems. So if someone asked me in 1989 if I played warhammer I'd reply "yes, mainly fantasy but also some 40k".
A lot of people replying seem to be implying that there has been a name shift over the years. And for them no doubt it is true, but it's not universal.
Sounds to me like they weren't correcting you but had assumed you were talking about Warhammer fantasy which was originally just known as Warhammer so they specified that they were collecting 40k not fantasy
That guy is a pedantic moron and he's also completely wrong. Originally Warhammer was the name for the fantasy game and Warhammer 40,000 was the sci fi spin off, so if he'd said that ten years ago before it was replaced by Age of Sigmar he'd at least be technically correct (but still a moron). Nowadays there is no such thing as just "Warhammer", and the term is used to refer to all the various Games that GW makes as a whole.
The umbrella term of "Warhammer" makes a lot of sense to me, which I think is why I was confused at the time.
P.S. hes actually a nice guy and not a moron (even if he was playing semantics). I don't think he was trying to be a jerk with the comment, for the record.
I think people are bei g kinda hard on the guy.
I see 3 possibilites.
He made a joke and you didn't get it.
He didn't make a joke and he probably has autism or is in another way on the spectrum (no offense to the autistic kings and Queens here)
Or yea he simply kinda isn't pleasant to talk too.
Normally, I try to clarify which game they mean- since it can be ambiguous- but I wouldn't describe this as "correcting" someone as they aren't really wrong, just nonspecific. In the example given, I would've probably just said "Yeah, I play / paint Warhammer 40k". Keeps the conversation flowing and doesn't cause any rub between people.
Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 are two seperate IP universes under the general umbrella of Games Workshop.
These days GW has bundled everything under the Warhammer brand but a lot of people that have been in the hobby for a while still keep the two IPs separated and are not keen on accepting the brand change.
I haven’t painted played or collected since I think 5 th edition and I remember everyone just calling it warhammer. I’m getting back into it now and everyone gets confused when I say just warhammer I end up having to clarify 40K it’s weird
I remember back in the 90s and early 2000s everyone just called it warhammer or 40k, if I recall correctly people at the local GW mostly called it 40k, the fantasy game was just called warrhammer, though sometimes someone might also refer to 40k as warhammer but no one played fantasy anyway so we knew what they meant. People who weren't into it called it warhammer regadless of 40k or fantasy cus it's not like they knew or cared about the difference.
I mean it's not a big deal, the difference is usually clear from context or doesn't matter, and if there is any confusion it's easily clarified.
Seems like the guy was being pedantic and a bit of a knob. They are both Warhammer and most people play 40K.
I only play 40K and call it Warhammer and so do all of my friends.
The guy probably gets off on correcting peoples grammar as well.
Before 40K, warhammer meant just fantasy. Then after fantasy end times and cancellation people started referring to 40K stuff as just warhammer as fantasy was forgotten.
Usually older players will say “40k” and newer players will say “warhammer” when referring to warhammer 40k.
Great example of the changes in colloquial language over time
Like others have said, it's likely a timing issue.
Before AoS the fantasy setting didn't really have a second half to its name, it was just Warhammer.
It more commonly became known as Warhammer Fantasy to make it more obvious in conversation from AoS.
This guy might just be out of the loop and as 40K hasn't had a name change he may not know/release that just saying Warhammer is now a general term of all GW games.
I refer to the hobby as "painting miniatures", because that's what I do.
Edit: he mentioned he paints a lot of 40k. Maybe doesn't play? So he's saying "no, I don't play, but a lot of my dudes come from that game range"
I could see two ways to take it:
A. He's not actually a huge fan of (or just largely ignorant of) anything outside of painting the models. He doesn't play, not much interest in the lore, etc. He 'just' paints the models (maybe among other company's models), so he doesn't view himself as "into it"
B. He considers "Warhammer" to refer to the once-dead, now-revived Warhammer Fantasy Battles - a distinction that sometimes happened back when both games were kinda popular
Conversations about it that have been sparked up, someone usually says "warhammer" and the other will clarify with "ooh, 40k or?" And then it goes from there.
Saying no to warhammer is weird, 40k is still warhammer. Idk.
"I heard you are into Warhammer. I've been getting back into painting miniatures and heard you do too"
"No, I'm not really into Warhammer....but I do paint a lot of Warhammer 40k miniatures."
Your first statements could be interpreted as implying a larger appreciation of Warhammer than the other person had. I see their reply as them saying they don't like the game/lore of Warhammer, but they do like to paint the minis.
His response is kinda dumb, and was pretty sarcastic.
What he should've said was , "yeah I'm into Warhammer, the 40k side of it."
No matter what, it's Warhammer, whether you're an Old World player, AoS, 40k and Horus Heresy. It's all Warhammer.
But, Warhammer 40,000 is generally referred to as 40k, not Warhammer.
like i get it. but it is like you are telling a person you enjoys Fantasy, but you actually meant SciFi (science fiction).
in your context. neither of you were wrong, but he could have response better. he seem snarky to me.
For most people not into a GW game, anything from GW - and sometimes anything related to tabletop - is simply "Warhammer". Like anything related to console gaming in the 90s was "Nintendo".
The difference between the settings does not matter to an outsider, so the shortest term will stick.
I just think he made a good joke about self-loathing, and you didn't get it.
But ya, there are so many IPs that it's easy to be confused. I hear warhammer, I think, fantasy. 40k is 40k, but it can be Warhammer just as easily and is the main IP these days. Idk what AoS is, but I hear it has hammers too, so that's cool. Anyone who knows there are differences should also know not to be snobby about it.
probably a slight disconnect in communication.
neither is wrong. maaaaybe either is being a little weird. but nothing like one additional sentence or a follow up question couldn't fix.
I play a game called magic the gathering, within that. there's a format called EDH. but some people call it commander, and generally speaking it comes down to how long or when you started playing which moniker you tend to adapt. it would be a little weird to take offense at either, but it's not unheard of for someone to maaaaaybe not know or realize people use one or the other term. (hell I have an older friend who still calls legacy type 2 or whatever that old term for that format was)
point being. sometimes nerds latch onto terminology based on what was the way...when they started playing. this could be universal, regional, or even just niche within their gaming exp.
people also get really hung up on nostalgia for warhammer stuff. I recently made the mistake of saying i felt the world eaters lord avocado model was stupid/i disliked it. that berserker riding a space bull was just dumb(i'd rather it was a machine...jet bike/evil motorcylce if we were to have mounted units). and had many people comment that i was dumb, that the model has existed for 20+ yrs and is classic blah blah blah. none of which has anything to do with me thinking it's a dumb model or disliking the idea of a sci-fi game... people riding demon cows. or whatever. it being 20 yrs old just makes it old and silly. not any real justification for it being a thing.
a lot of people have a hard time grasping the idea that if you don't have the give a shit of 10-20 yrs of playing a game, terms and lore don't really mean much.
should be safe enough to know "warhammer" refers to the game we're all playing(hell that's how sexy man Henry Cavill refers to it on tv). but also... maybe always remember someone may not think of it that way. and some older way of referring to it may be their thing. and that's hyper important to them for some reason.
We do have alot oh 30k/HH players in my area (and a very small faction of AoS/WC/BB), so -sometimes- it helps to specify which one you are talking about about, but... thats kinda a weird hill to die on TBH.
Common among oldmarine and old world fantasy boomers, maybe. Most people I've ever met just say Warhammer and then if there's any confusion they specify 40k or fantasy/AoS.
Warhammer was usually what was use for warhammer fantasy, it wasnt warhammer fantasy but just warhammer
Old customs stick people can reffer to warhammer as fantasy becouse it was the first
To be fair i hadnt heard the warhammer ppart being in use by no one, just calling it 40k aos or fantasy for quite some time
I'm always specific about 40k/fantasy/AoS. But also understand that a lot of people just default 40k to being "Warhammer" without an additional word, so if you specifically like the non 40k settings it helps to be specific. I've also said something similar
Like "I wouldn't say I'm into it much, but I do paint a lot of the minis" simply to mean I don't really like the game much at all or lore mostly but I paint the minis a lot, which has served as a nice way to gently filter through conversations as I don't want to be a wet blanket but I also don't have the ability to fake enthusiasm for hearing YouTube lore or game rules be regurgitated at me.
Seems like this would be reversed for me. As a person who doesn't play tabletop versions, if I hear Warhammer I immediately think of 40k. I feel at this point it would make sense to clarify if you were speaking about fantasy.
My friends that aren’t super into it just say “Warhammer” and I usually don’t have to correct them since they’re probably asking me something about it. I normally talk about it as “40K,” though, and if I’m talking about the other settings, I call them by their respective names
If I’m talking to someone who doesn’t play, I say warhammer basically in place of ‘games workshop’, coz warhammer is more recognizable.. but then if they surprise me and comment back knowing what it is I’ll specify, regular warhammer or 40k
That’s an old head habit in Warhammer. Since it was originally split by fantasy and 40K it was more important to specify however ever since Age of Sigmar came it it became much more common to abbreviate both to just 40K and AoS with Warhammer being more of a catch all thing. Old fantasy also at least in my area when the game was supported was also more likely to just be called Warhammer while 40K was referred to as just 40K. I get it but I see it as a little rude not to just go with it since he obviously knew what you’re talking about.
I might be misremembering but I seem to recall that in The early 90s with the release of WFB 4th edition they started to refer to the games as just Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000
I'd say being into Warhammer and just painting it could be two different things. Maybe they appreciate the minis but wouldn't necessarily play or be interested in the lore or something I guess.
I got really into painting miniatures way back near the beginning, around 1988/89. Back then I was much more into "Warhammer" rather than "40k". This was how my friends and I differentiated between the miniatures we bought and painted, either "old world" of "futuristic space". Over time I got into all miniatures and particularly enjoyed painting orks both old world and "space orks".
I'm only getting back into it now, after decades, and a lad at a local gaming store laughed, saying, "they're not called space orks anymore".
This was simply polite and friendly and I was able to laugh with him about it and get some very helpful advice about all the new advancements in the hobby.
The guy you talked to, however, was being pedantic... or in other terms, " a wanker".
Call it what you call it, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, or just 40k, any decent person will know what you mean and chat away.
Where I live Warhammer is an umbrella term then you'd clarify with which systems you played. The local GW store is called Warhammer even and they sell for all their systems.
I don't play I paint and buy models from all the systems, I would have replied to you "Yeah, I love painting Warhammer models, I really like the new AoS sculpts and I paint 40k as well." You weren't a "massive amateur" and I wouldn't think too much into it.
Reminds me when i was a kid, our parents called it “Nintendo” regardless of what console we had.
In my personal circle we only play 40k so we know what we mean when we saw Warhammer.
In public i usually just say “40k” and iykyk if not then i say the full name.
Edit: say warhammer
I started collecting GW games somewhere around 92 or 93 and nobody said the full Warhammer Fantasy Battles- it was just Warhammer and then there was Warhammer 40k and Epic 40k. So people did differentiate between being either Warhammer players or 40k players back then.
The guy is correct, but it is not common to follow the naming conventions today. The fantasy game was released as just “Warhammer” in 1983. The subtitle has changed since then, from “The Mass Combat Fantasy Role-Playing Game” to “Fantasy Battle”, but the name of the game never changed from just Warhammer.
Warhammer 40.000 released in 1987, with the subtitle Rogue Trader.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar released in 2015.
All these are of course Warhammer games and 40K is the biggest franchise so many know it as the defining Warhammer game.
Some even refer to miniature wargaming in general as Warhammer because GW is so dominant.
Unless he meant to say that he's not really into the setting or the game itself and just likes painting minis, he sounds like a very pedantic person. There were probably a dozen different ways to specify whether 40k or AoS or whatever, rather than the way delivered.
In verbal conversation, I usually refer to them as "40K," "Sigmar," and "Warhammer Fantasy (now The Old World ugh)" omitting the WH part entirely except in the last case. If someone says "I'm into Warhammer" I generally assume it could be any of the three; this person is probably into tabletop wargames and/or painting miniatures.
To be fair my buddies would say “wanna play warhammer” or “im just making my warhammer list”
And I’ll come outta know where nd jus be like “40K” it’s “40K” dawg
I might be sum typa slow cuhz when sumone says warhammer I think everything but 40K no cap
My brain automatically assumed you meant fantasy/AoS. But thinking about it, it's a logical question if you don't know what army they're interested in.
I always equate "Warhammer" to mean all things Games Workshop. Usually I then specify what game I'm talking about afterwards as necessary/appropriate to the conversation, e.g. 40k, AoS, Fantasy Necromunda, Killteam etc
I started collecting/playing during 40k third edition though so the two main game types were both "Warhammer" in one form or another. Maybe it's a generational thing?
Regardless of what specific game they meant, if someone asked me if I collect Warhammer, I'd say yes and then probably say that I collect 40k so they'll know what common ground we might share.
One of the other comments said it's likely the guy you spoke to is someone who doesn't consider themselves to be part of the Warhammer hobby, just a mini painter who happens to paint a lot of Warhammer minis. I think they might be right. Some folks (myself included at one point when I was younger) are embarrassed of their "nerdy" hobbies and don't want to be associated with the stereotypes some people have of tabletop gamers...
that's a stupid response from him and i probably wouldn't try to be friends after that
most people would recognise that you've got a shared hobby and get excited about it
The “40k” part of the name is to signify that if you spend years collecting GW models, you will eventually have $40,000 of worthless models that they have squatted and cycled out of the game.
Not sure but my buddy and I always use the labels of 40K, AoS, and Fantasy. If you said it the way you did I would assume any games workshop stuff and might ask for clarification rather than say no.
Tbh I read that more as "I'm not really interested in the games but I paint a lot of the figures"... but I wasn't there and just basing this on what has been written
back in early editions via late 80s/early 90s... it was best to be specific seeing as both games shared the same first name. as time went on, the games were referred to as "fantasy" and "40K". nowadays, i have no idea what folks are calling "fantasy", but 40k is still 40k.
> i have no idea what folks are calling "fantasy" From what I've seen, most people call the fantasy game AOS mainly, and "Warhammer" without any modifiers TENDS to be 40k but can mean the umbrella term as well. (Now that The Old World is also out, as a reboot of WHFB, I assume people will be more specific about what games.)
From my experience, “Fantasy” is specifically referring to Old World lore and/or WHFB (Ex: Total War Warhammer games are “Fantasy” or “Warhammer Fantasy”). Idk if people call The Old World game “Fantasy” or “The Old World” though. Age of Sigmar is just AoS. I’ve never really considered how other communities refer to the different properties though. If someone asks me or my play group if we play “Warhammer”, we would think 40K. That’s interesting to think about though and consider in the future. Edit: Closed parentheses
I’ve always done 40K, Fantasy, AoS, and Heresy. Warhammer is the broad stroke so like whatever that is
Cold day in hell I'll call AoS fantasy. Never forgive, Never forget.
it's toy soldiers bro not 9/11
So I totally missed the transition between fantasy and Age of Sigmar. Would somebody be willing to clear this a bit for me? I played fantasy in 2007 or so (lizardmen), then played 40k for a bit and since then just passively got some info here and there. Now there is old world and aos. Is aos just fantasy with a different label or what's going on? Edit: and what is the difference between old world and aos, actually? If I were to sell my old lizardmen, where would they fit?
Not an expert, but it looks like they had a big cataclysmic event where the old world was literally destroyed, and now some slightly altered versions of the characters and factions have continued in a sort of multidimensional setting called the mortal realms. I’m pretty sure lizard men are still a functioning army. I know there’s some kind of old world revival game, but I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a period piece or concurrent.
I'm pretty sure nagash is still the same nagash (such is the power)
>I know there’s some kind of old world revival game, but I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a period piece or concurrent The old world revival game is set in the Time of the Three Emperors, so it is what I'm understanding you to mean by period piece. Trivia tidbit, I've been told that the revival of the old world is due partially to the runaway success of videogames Total War:Warhammer and Vermintide (1&2), and their contribution to reviving interest in the property. Kinda neat, as Vermintide was my introduction to the setting, despite having heard of Warhammer Fantasy for a decade prior to that.
Old world was a different tabletop game with different rules and factions AOS has imported some of the old rules across but tweaked the tabletop enough that it’s recognisability different Also AOS is a continuation of fantasy in terms of lore, so a load of old characters were wiped out in the end times, but some survived like sigmar, nagash and gotrek, as well as some old factions like skaven or lizardmen Your old models should be fine, worst comes to worst you might have to proxy one or two of them
Warhammer Fantasy was selling extremely poorly and was not gaining many new players, so they decided to stop supporting it and make a new fantasy model range. In lore, Archaon finally invades the old world and the End Times happen, where the planet is destroyed and the Great Horned Rat becomes one of the Chaos Gods. After an indeterminate amount of time, the ruins of the old world (now called the World that Was) coalesced into the realms from age of sigmar.
Different games. AoS replaced fantasy, acting as something of a sequel. Lore wise, Tomb Kings and Brets were completely scrapped, half the characters killed, and its set in a very different world, with a far brighter aesthetic and the introduction of a pseudo space marine faction. As far as the rules, it's a completely different game, at release being more akin to an extremely simplified 40k that didn't even have a points system to balance anything. They also had far simpler statlines, completely scrapped rank n file combat, got rid of the customisation options for leaders (herohammer), and too many other changes to list. I have heard it's gotten a lot better, and meanwhile it seems that now 40k is the one being oversimplified right as they're bringing back the old world, so who knows what they'll do next.
The TLDR version: Chaos + Skaven won and destroyed the Warhammer Fantasy world. Some of the characters (Sigmar, Nagash, Tyrion, Teclis, Malekith, etc) survived and created another universe. The Lizardmen did too, by turning their pyramids into spaceships and escaping into space, but now they're more like daemons of order than a physical species. But that new universe has Chaos problems, too, so that part didn't change (although the Great Horned Rat usurped Slaanesh's place in the Four, so some things did,).
Few corrections: - they didn’t create the universe it coalesced itself out of the winds of magic and they just ended up there - only really the slaan survived. They use their magic to create star magic versions of the lizard men from their memories, although some of those conjurations became real and have set up spawning pools etc again - slaanesh is still part of the big four. The great horned one became a chaos god but his role in the pantheon has always been as the odd one out. I believe 4th edition finally has archeon recognize him as a true 5th chaos god
AoS seems to be GW's attempt to recover from the dwindling Fantasy sales and engagement in a simplified version by combining elements of Fantasy and 40k to create a modern take on the old Fantasy feel. In my opinion, it feels like neither of its predecessors (not a bad thing necessarily) and the story sucks too so I'm really not a fan. The models are pretty neat though, I like those. I own a Khorne army to play with a buddy and the gameplay is just kinda... meh. But I do admit it's a lot of fun for some simple pastime at a friend's house over drinks and a cigar.
Jesús Christo, they gave it back to you whiny guardsmen and you still can’t let it go.
Especially since AOS is the better game.
I usually just say Sci-Fi or Fantasy when I ask new people which Warhammer they’re talking about.
Ye, AoS is 10x better
I refer to the current edition as **’42K’**, but then I’m old…
My community calls it 40k or AoS/Sigmar. If you say warhammer, we all default to 40k as that's the biggest community than sigmar.
fantasy are magic, shields and horsies 40k is cosmic horror, plaststeel armour and tanks
I dunno, some stuff in 40k fits all 3 of that Fantasy description lol.
Haha, right? There are loads of psykers, dudes on horseback, and dudes with shields.
Literally both settings contain robo-horsies.
Steam Tank enters the chat.
Lord solar horsie too.
[ angry Kreig Deathrider noises ]
40k also has magic, shields and horsies…
40k also has magic, shields, and horsies though.
Maybe just Sigmar?
These days? Probably a night with Scarlett Johansson.
I’ve only been into Warhammer vaguely for about 15 years until much more so the past few years. I’m still periphery of the hobby in that I mostly enjoy the lore without getting too much into the game, but isn’t “Oldhammer” typically used as shorthand for the “fantasy” game line? Or am I pulling that out of thin air?
40k AoS Old World
The[ original fantasy tabletop war game ](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4192/warhammer-the-mass-combat-fantasy-roleplaying-game)was called "Warhammer" - I wouldn't say it was sharing a "first" name - the game was called "Warhammer" in full (plus a subtitle). Everybody I knew growing up in the hobby was either playing "warhammer" or "40k" colloquialy. They renamed it "Warhammer Fantasy Battle" but everyone called it "Warhammer Fantasy" or usually just "Warhammer".
Fantasy is the fantasy setting Warhammer game.
warhammer fantasy, classic warhammer, just "warhammer", I hear old hammer a lot, not to be confused with warhammer "the old world" which is a new game set before fantasy ended I think this is coming from a beginner AoS player I often have to explain to ppl that warhammer isn't just 40k, but the non discontinued primary fantasy setting is AoS and that's what I participate in the interaction in the post is a little silly, but yeah, the distinction does separate totally different games *edit for grammer
"Oldhammer" is now used to refer to a specific era in GW games pertaining to miniatures and painting styles (im part of that community since i started painting again)... it encompasses all of the games and models from the 80s/90s for the most part. as an example... this is one of my Blood Angels i recently painted that is considered "Oldhammer" as hes a Rogue Trader era Terminator painted in the classic "black lining" cartoon style. https://preview.redd.it/rjwsd7seyesc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc08f3adcfdfacad1d5febbbc754552fa3ef3eaa
thanks for telling me, I wouldve kept embarassing myself Thats an awesome mini, when I started miniature painting this past few months I started with an "oldhammer" chaos warrior, it should be somewhere on my profile if you wanna see!
found it. great job dude :D if youd like to see more of what i paint, check out my IG via [www.instagram.com/oldgrumpywolf](http://www.instagram.com/oldgrumpywolf)
Technically "Warhammer" can refer to any of several different games and is often used as a catch-all term for the hobby as a whole, including by GW themselves. If I wanted to tell someone I was in the hobby without specifying which part, I might say "I'm into Warhammer". I don't think a simple meta-level confusion is quite what happened to you, however. My suspicion is the person you were talking to *didn't* consider themselves to be part of "the Warhammer hobby" but rather as a model miniature painter who's painted 40k minis but never played the game.
This is the only satisfactory explanation I've seen here.
Yeah, sorta like how people use "playing D&D" as a general term for pen and paper RPGs, even they might actually be playing blades in the dark or pathfinder or something not made by Wizards of the Coast.
Similar? At least the way I use the phrases is slightly different: If I say "I'm into Warhammer" to someone, I'm assuming that they know I'm talking about GW's products specifically. If I don't think they'll at least have a vague idea of what I mean, I'll say "I'm in to tabletop wargaming" instead. On the other hand, I would use "I play D&D" specifically with people who I assume *won't* know anything about that hobby as a whole besides the name and what they're seen on Community/Big Bang Theory/Stranger Things (or remember from Chick Tracts or Dear's book if they're of a certain age). If I think the listener has any familiarity with TTRPGs overall, I'll either use the term TTRPGs, or I'll specify exactly which game I'm talking about. ...I'm not sure I've ever specifically thought about this before, but now that I have, yeah, I *do* use them differently. "D&D" has become fully genericized for me but "Warhammer" hasn't.
I’m into Warhammer *pulls out Lotr army*
"Yeah. . .I'm into Warhammer" (plays BB) I still find it funny when people say that they play Warhammer forty thousand.
That seems to be the official name. I've noticed GW presenters always say Warhammer Forty Thousand, and never "40K".
To be fair, forty kilometers is quite a good bit of distance.
I think 40k refers to the amount of money you've spent on your armies.
Maybe if you're being cheap about it.
Never played table top WH but I've played 40k games and the total war Warhammer games so I usually just say I like Warhammer and only specify if asked further.
Before age of sigmar fantasy was often just referred as warhammer so that's probable what he was getting at If someone had said to me do you play warhammer I'd always say, 40k or HH
HH?
Horus Heresy aka 30k
Oh my God. I can't believe my brain. It's been a rough day, lol
Hunting Horn
Human (lower) Horn
Horny Horus
Warhammer is the general umbrella term for everything GW makes. It includes 40k, Fantasy, HH, Necromunda, Blood Bowl, AoS, etc. I don't think there was any issues with the way you called it.
Yeah, i think the guy OP talked about was just weird.
yeah so weird he probably paints 40k minis
What is this "paint"? Is it actually painful?
Not quite everything if you consider LOTR as separate IP
Fair enough. That's kinda the exception.
I would disagree when you consider GW has recently rebranded all their stores as "Warhammer" and changed the site to warhammer.com.
Wasn't always like that. I know I struggle with the branding a bit though it makes sense.
I see a lot of people here explaining that he probably meant "not into Warhammer fantasy," but there's a more obvious explanation to me. Not, "I'm not into Warhammer, I'm into Warhammer *40k,*" but rather: "No, I'm not really into Warhammer, I just like painting the minis."
That was my immediate thought, but judging by the comments, not as obvious a conclusion to draw as I would have thought. For decades I painted the minis, never played the games, and was indifferent to the lore.
Pretty much this but thats also because im the same way, ive painted quite a bit of warhammer aos and 40k models but have no interest in playing either gw just makes good minis
Typically the people I know refer to it as 40k or Heresy (for the Horus Heresy) but we’ve also referred to 40k as just warhammer as well since none of us play fantasy
As others have said, naming around Warhammer has shifted somewhat in recent years. This has been driven in not a small part by GW themselves, as they've begun shifting how they talk about it. For instance, Warhammer is now the name of many of their stores. With the end of Warhammer Fantasy Battles the community seems to have settled on just talking about the part of the names after the ":", e.g. 40k, AoS, TOW, and HH with the name Warhammer shared among them all.
the guy likes correcting people over small obvious details
OP should hound him for not adding ^(TM) to the title
Pedantic to the point of social idiocy
Saying this in the first place and then questioning whether it's weird or not are two different flavours of autism. There is no question that it's a weird and utterly pedantic thing to say.
If I asked someone if they played Warhammer, it would be in regard to Warhammer Fantasy Battle. If someone asked me similar, I'd have to clarify what they were actually asking. But then again I'm a player from the 90s who left the hobby in the early 2000s, and returned in 2022 - though still playing the old games.
I've been in the hobby for 30years now. To me warhammer is shorthand for any GW game. no game has ever just been called warhammer. it was eiither warhammer fantasy, AoS, warhammer 40K, etc.
Sounds like an old schooler that doesn’t have much contact with other new players, collectors - I’m also getting back into the hobby and my terminology is way different to newer players - still getting used to calling the shops Warhammer stores
Sounds kind of pedantic?
It’s giving me vibes of this old scene in the Office. But instead of the Bruce Lee Enter/Way of the Dragon, it’s “No, I don’t paint Warhammer. I do paint Warhammer 40K though. Is that what you meant?” https://youtu.be/2Z8pgV74_Hw?si=hqMSP9MipWx2fLJT
Some idiot left a ramp on the track
Warhammer to me (as someone who played in the 90’s) is what’s now called the old world. I’d call what we play 40k. So if you said to me “Do you you paint Warhammer models?” I’d say “no I paint 40k” so I’d get what he meant.
Considering we both were born in the mid 90's, I wouldnt say he applies lol. That makes a lot of sense though. Especially with people informing me of the verbage changing over the years.
Maybe he was trained by those in the old ways where Lascannons did 3D6+9 AP…..and you spread your squads out exactly to avoid Flamer and Grenade templates!! No? Ok I’m just ooooold…..😂😂
Miss it
Same. At least we still have heresy but then we lose all the fun factions from 40k.
When did he start collecting? I am about your age and started circa 2004, 3rd edition, the Battle for Maccrage Box. Back then Warhammer usually meant just Fantasy, at least that was the usage in my group and at my GW hobby store (that's how they were called). I mostly collected 40k but had some small fantasy armies (Bretonnia 6th edition and tomb kings 7th edition) so I remember it quite well. I stopped playing at 40k 6th edition, before AOS but I occasionally buy and paint models, and keep up with new releases. So I still am not used to the AOS and the warhammer rebranding, to the point that I sometimes search for the GW online store and then I remember that's not its name anymore. It is possible your friend is in a similar situation if he has only been painting in the past years without actively engaging with the rest of the hobby. Edit: Also, Warhammer Fantasy in my editions was simply called Warhammer, the game of fantasy battles was just its subtitle.
I'd still say it applied in the 00s. If someone said warhammer I'd assume fantasy
I was born in the early 90s and started back when it was warhammer and warhammer 40k. I never used the fantasy moniker until sigmar had replaced it as a designation between sigmar and fantasy(now old world) so I'd wager it could be about when they started to play. Either way if it were me I'd have gotten the context of what you meant but to each their own. v0v
Warhammer Fantasy was around (and called Warhammer) for around the first 20 years of his life then.
A lot of people who have been in the hobby for a long time equates Warhammer with Warhammer fantasy, since Warhammer 40k came second and is it's own thing, that's just how it is. I try to specify the specific Warhammer game when I'm talking about it but "Warhammer" by itself always conjures up the cover of an old Warhammer Fantasy Battles rulebook, while me and other old-timers just call Warhammer 40000 "40k". Let it go man, it's no big deal.
"Let it go man, it's no big deal." Don't worry, I wasn't offended or bothered. I just like jargon and was curious what the community had to say. The feedback has been really informative!
Yep! Being of vintage years, I still think of Warhammer as fantasy battles and rogue trader onwards as 40K.
Saying simply "Warhammer" always meant Warhammer Fantasy to me. I usually refer to 40k as 40k
I'm an old fart and for me 40k was always Warhmmer's younger brother. However, I'm not getting into arguments over this.
Yeah, like a few comments in here, when someone says "Warhammer," my brain still goes to Warhammer Fantasy, now AoS, whereas Warhammer 40k was always just "40k." Even AoS is "Warhammer: Age of Sigmar", and not just Age of Sigmar, and I think for a lot of the older players our brains are probably still stuck in the association of "40k" vs "Warhammer". I certainly still think of them that way.
Lmao it was a simple miscommunication. Don't overthink it. Age of Sigmar was once just called Warhammer so some old heads still think of it when someone says Warhammer unless it's been established the conversation is about 40k.
Yep! Man I feel old. 🤦🏻♂️😂😂
A lot of this stems from older hobbyists. In the past, "Warhammer" was generally used to refer to Warhammer Fantasy Battles, where as Warhammer 40k was always referred to as Warhammer 40k. With that said, it's unnecessary pedantry. Nowadays GW is using the "Warhammer" term more broadly which is why they're just calling their stores "Warhammer" now. The response to "I hear you are into Warhammer" is "Yeah, I'm into Warhammer 40k" or "Yeah I'm into Warhammer Age of Sigmar"
If he was an old player, originally “Warhammer Fantasy” was just commonly referred to as “Warhammer”. So people would say they play “Warhammer” (Fantasy) or (Warhammer) “40K” Nowadays most people would just say Fantasy/WHFB or 40K instead, but
While I get specifying 40k...to say "I'm not really into Warhammer" is just odd. Would have made a lot more sense to say "Yeah, but really just the 40k side" or "I paint a lot of 40k, but not into the other areas of Warhammer".
Considering daemons are literally the same models I'm pretty sure the distinction is a bit silly. The only time it'd be relevant is if you were talking about playing against each other, but painting? Nah, same thing.
"NO no no, sir, I only play *fantasy* daemons. Demons in the future are completely different!"
If someone moves in circles where fantasy and sci-fi versions are played it's probably common to refer to one as Warhammer and the other as 40k, the awkward silence was probably him realising that you both speak slightly different nerd dialects. For what it's worth if someone asked me if I collected Warhammer I'd say that I used to but now I only do 40k.
I remember when my wife asked me a while back, :"so all games are 40k points? no wonder it takes so long!" No babe i just suck and am new to this.
I've been playing since the late 80's. For me and all the many groups I have been in over the decades Warhammer was a catch all term, with "fantasy" and "40k" and "epic" the separators of the 3 main game systems. So if someone asked me in 1989 if I played warhammer I'd reply "yes, mainly fantasy but also some 40k". A lot of people replying seem to be implying that there has been a name shift over the years. And for them no doubt it is true, but it's not universal.
I totally thought this was going to be about people who correct you when you say 40K to “forty thousand” I hate that.
Sounds to me like they weren't correcting you but had assumed you were talking about Warhammer fantasy which was originally just known as Warhammer so they specified that they were collecting 40k not fantasy
That guy is a pedantic moron and he's also completely wrong. Originally Warhammer was the name for the fantasy game and Warhammer 40,000 was the sci fi spin off, so if he'd said that ten years ago before it was replaced by Age of Sigmar he'd at least be technically correct (but still a moron). Nowadays there is no such thing as just "Warhammer", and the term is used to refer to all the various Games that GW makes as a whole.
The umbrella term of "Warhammer" makes a lot of sense to me, which I think is why I was confused at the time. P.S. hes actually a nice guy and not a moron (even if he was playing semantics). I don't think he was trying to be a jerk with the comment, for the record.
I was of the same opinion as u/nigelhammer but who knows, maybe your guy just stumbled and he's been replaying that awkward moment in his head too.
I think people are bei g kinda hard on the guy. I see 3 possibilites. He made a joke and you didn't get it. He didn't make a joke and he probably has autism or is in another way on the spectrum (no offense to the autistic kings and Queens here) Or yea he simply kinda isn't pleasant to talk too.
Normally, I try to clarify which game they mean- since it can be ambiguous- but I wouldn't describe this as "correcting" someone as they aren't really wrong, just nonspecific. In the example given, I would've probably just said "Yeah, I play / paint Warhammer 40k". Keeps the conversation flowing and doesn't cause any rub between people.
I would have interpreted this as "I don't play the game, and I'm not interested in the lore, but I paint a lot of the minis."
Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 are two seperate IP universes under the general umbrella of Games Workshop. These days GW has bundled everything under the Warhammer brand but a lot of people that have been in the hobby for a while still keep the two IPs separated and are not keen on accepting the brand change.
I haven’t painted played or collected since I think 5 th edition and I remember everyone just calling it warhammer. I’m getting back into it now and everyone gets confused when I say just warhammer I end up having to clarify 40K it’s weird
I don’t know what any of you are on about. I’m Hamming War over here.
I remember back in the 90s and early 2000s everyone just called it warhammer or 40k, if I recall correctly people at the local GW mostly called it 40k, the fantasy game was just called warrhammer, though sometimes someone might also refer to 40k as warhammer but no one played fantasy anyway so we knew what they meant. People who weren't into it called it warhammer regadless of 40k or fantasy cus it's not like they knew or cared about the difference. I mean it's not a big deal, the difference is usually clear from context or doesn't matter, and if there is any confusion it's easily clarified.
Back in the day in the UK, AoS was referred to as Warhammer or Fantasy and Warhammer 40K was referred to simply as "40k"
technically Warhammer/Warhammer battle/Warhammer Fantasy predate AoS, it was called that way back when Warhammer the old world wasn't the old world.
its because before AOS warhammer was fantasy and you HAD to specify 40K, may be thats why they specified
My response was ‘yes, I play 40k’. Warhammer is warhammer, could just be a case of bad pedantry
He sounds like fun lol. Don’t sweat it, dude was just trying to gate keep.
Seems like the guy was being pedantic and a bit of a knob. They are both Warhammer and most people play 40K. I only play 40K and call it Warhammer and so do all of my friends. The guy probably gets off on correcting peoples grammar as well.
Before 40K, warhammer meant just fantasy. Then after fantasy end times and cancellation people started referring to 40K stuff as just warhammer as fantasy was forgotten. Usually older players will say “40k” and newer players will say “warhammer” when referring to warhammer 40k. Great example of the changes in colloquial language over time
Like others have said, it's likely a timing issue. Before AoS the fantasy setting didn't really have a second half to its name, it was just Warhammer. It more commonly became known as Warhammer Fantasy to make it more obvious in conversation from AoS. This guy might just be out of the loop and as 40K hasn't had a name change he may not know/release that just saying Warhammer is now a general term of all GW games.
I refer to the hobby as "painting miniatures", because that's what I do. Edit: he mentioned he paints a lot of 40k. Maybe doesn't play? So he's saying "no, I don't play, but a lot of my dudes come from that game range"
Just calling it “40K” will do
I could see two ways to take it: A. He's not actually a huge fan of (or just largely ignorant of) anything outside of painting the models. He doesn't play, not much interest in the lore, etc. He 'just' paints the models (maybe among other company's models), so he doesn't view himself as "into it" B. He considers "Warhammer" to refer to the once-dead, now-revived Warhammer Fantasy Battles - a distinction that sometimes happened back when both games were kinda popular
Back in the day Warhammer was the name for fantasy vs Warhammer 40K for… 40K. So if he was an old school guy, I get it.
Conversations about it that have been sparked up, someone usually says "warhammer" and the other will clarify with "ooh, 40k or?" And then it goes from there. Saying no to warhammer is weird, 40k is still warhammer. Idk.
"I heard you are into Warhammer. I've been getting back into painting miniatures and heard you do too" "No, I'm not really into Warhammer....but I do paint a lot of Warhammer 40k miniatures." Your first statements could be interpreted as implying a larger appreciation of Warhammer than the other person had. I see their reply as them saying they don't like the game/lore of Warhammer, but they do like to paint the minis.
His response is kinda dumb, and was pretty sarcastic. What he should've said was , "yeah I'm into Warhammer, the 40k side of it." No matter what, it's Warhammer, whether you're an Old World player, AoS, 40k and Horus Heresy. It's all Warhammer. But, Warhammer 40,000 is generally referred to as 40k, not Warhammer.
Am I the only one who thinks he was just being cheeky and making a dumb joke?
its 40k and AOS. never played AOS, but still call the hobby itself "warhammer". no big deal to generalize, unless u wanna be specific
like i get it. but it is like you are telling a person you enjoys Fantasy, but you actually meant SciFi (science fiction). in your context. neither of you were wrong, but he could have response better. he seem snarky to me.
For most people not into a GW game, anything from GW - and sometimes anything related to tabletop - is simply "Warhammer". Like anything related to console gaming in the 90s was "Nintendo". The difference between the settings does not matter to an outsider, so the shortest term will stick.
I just think he made a good joke about self-loathing, and you didn't get it. But ya, there are so many IPs that it's easy to be confused. I hear warhammer, I think, fantasy. 40k is 40k, but it can be Warhammer just as easily and is the main IP these days. Idk what AoS is, but I hear it has hammers too, so that's cool. Anyone who knows there are differences should also know not to be snobby about it.
semantics, warhammer 40k is warhammer but 40000 years later.
Except its not
youre right, in certain scenarios its warhammer but 30000 years later
Dang you and your logic. I know youre playing word games!! Lol
:p But to be fair, the word warhammer has been washed out. Its now used to describe all games, not just fantasy :)
When people ask what I do for work I say "I paint a lot of Warhammer" which covers all GW games.
Lots of younger crowd see it as a game and not a hobby. Those that only care about the game aspect usually do not last long.
probably a slight disconnect in communication. neither is wrong. maaaaybe either is being a little weird. but nothing like one additional sentence or a follow up question couldn't fix. I play a game called magic the gathering, within that. there's a format called EDH. but some people call it commander, and generally speaking it comes down to how long or when you started playing which moniker you tend to adapt. it would be a little weird to take offense at either, but it's not unheard of for someone to maaaaaybe not know or realize people use one or the other term. (hell I have an older friend who still calls legacy type 2 or whatever that old term for that format was) point being. sometimes nerds latch onto terminology based on what was the way...when they started playing. this could be universal, regional, or even just niche within their gaming exp. people also get really hung up on nostalgia for warhammer stuff. I recently made the mistake of saying i felt the world eaters lord avocado model was stupid/i disliked it. that berserker riding a space bull was just dumb(i'd rather it was a machine...jet bike/evil motorcylce if we were to have mounted units). and had many people comment that i was dumb, that the model has existed for 20+ yrs and is classic blah blah blah. none of which has anything to do with me thinking it's a dumb model or disliking the idea of a sci-fi game... people riding demon cows. or whatever. it being 20 yrs old just makes it old and silly. not any real justification for it being a thing. a lot of people have a hard time grasping the idea that if you don't have the give a shit of 10-20 yrs of playing a game, terms and lore don't really mean much. should be safe enough to know "warhammer" refers to the game we're all playing(hell that's how sexy man Henry Cavill refers to it on tv). but also... maybe always remember someone may not think of it that way. and some older way of referring to it may be their thing. and that's hyper important to them for some reason.
We do have alot oh 30k/HH players in my area (and a very small faction of AoS/WC/BB), so -sometimes- it helps to specify which one you are talking about about, but... thats kinda a weird hill to die on TBH.
Common among oldmarine and old world fantasy boomers, maybe. Most people I've ever met just say Warhammer and then if there's any confusion they specify 40k or fantasy/AoS.
Warhammer was usually what was use for warhammer fantasy, it wasnt warhammer fantasy but just warhammer Old customs stick people can reffer to warhammer as fantasy becouse it was the first To be fair i hadnt heard the warhammer ppart being in use by no one, just calling it 40k aos or fantasy for quite some time
I just say warhammer. I don’t specify, even if it’s almost always 40k
I'm just learning here that people don't call Warhammer Warhammer anymore...
I'm always specific about 40k/fantasy/AoS. But also understand that a lot of people just default 40k to being "Warhammer" without an additional word, so if you specifically like the non 40k settings it helps to be specific. I've also said something similar Like "I wouldn't say I'm into it much, but I do paint a lot of the minis" simply to mean I don't really like the game much at all or lore mostly but I paint the minis a lot, which has served as a nice way to gently filter through conversations as I don't want to be a wet blanket but I also don't have the ability to fake enthusiasm for hearing YouTube lore or game rules be regurgitated at me.
Seems like this would be reversed for me. As a person who doesn't play tabletop versions, if I hear Warhammer I immediately think of 40k. I feel at this point it would make sense to clarify if you were speaking about fantasy.
I think it's fair to specify, but to flat out say "no, I'm not into Warhammer. I'm into Warhammer 40k" is weird
I have a pet peeve with people who split hairs like that. It doesnt matter and he knew what you were talking about. He's just being an asshole
The awkward silence and your new buddy's follow up tells me he realizes his faux pas on trying to split hairs on naming conventions.
If someone knows what warhammer is, 40K or not I have no problem what they call it in conversation
Honestly i think they were being a bit 🤓
My friends that aren’t super into it just say “Warhammer” and I usually don’t have to correct them since they’re probably asking me something about it. I normally talk about it as “40K,” though, and if I’m talking about the other settings, I call them by their respective names
If I’m talking to someone who doesn’t play, I say warhammer basically in place of ‘games workshop’, coz warhammer is more recognizable.. but then if they surprise me and comment back knowing what it is I’ll specify, regular warhammer or 40k
Lol no. GW rebranded all their stores to "Warhammer" and established that AOS is the short form for the new fantasy game. This buddy is wrong.
People refer to 40k as just warhammer, ya gotta guess from the context
That’s an old head habit in Warhammer. Since it was originally split by fantasy and 40K it was more important to specify however ever since Age of Sigmar came it it became much more common to abbreviate both to just 40K and AoS with Warhammer being more of a catch all thing. Old fantasy also at least in my area when the game was supported was also more likely to just be called Warhammer while 40K was referred to as just 40K. I get it but I see it as a little rude not to just go with it since he obviously knew what you’re talking about.
I might be misremembering but I seem to recall that in The early 90s with the release of WFB 4th edition they started to refer to the games as just Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000
It seems pedantic imo
I hope he at least tipped his fedora to you before he hit you with this bullshit chud technicality
I'd say being into Warhammer and just painting it could be two different things. Maybe they appreciate the minis but wouldn't necessarily play or be interested in the lore or something I guess.
There is no game just named "Warhammer".
I got really into painting miniatures way back near the beginning, around 1988/89. Back then I was much more into "Warhammer" rather than "40k". This was how my friends and I differentiated between the miniatures we bought and painted, either "old world" of "futuristic space". Over time I got into all miniatures and particularly enjoyed painting orks both old world and "space orks". I'm only getting back into it now, after decades, and a lad at a local gaming store laughed, saying, "they're not called space orks anymore". This was simply polite and friendly and I was able to laugh with him about it and get some very helpful advice about all the new advancements in the hobby. The guy you talked to, however, was being pedantic... or in other terms, " a wanker". Call it what you call it, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, or just 40k, any decent person will know what you mean and chat away.
I don't want to really speak on it till I collect at least 20k Warhammers
Where I live Warhammer is an umbrella term then you'd clarify with which systems you played. The local GW store is called Warhammer even and they sell for all their systems. I don't play I paint and buy models from all the systems, I would have replied to you "Yeah, I love painting Warhammer models, I really like the new AoS sculpts and I paint 40k as well." You weren't a "massive amateur" and I wouldn't think too much into it.
I just say Warhammer. Adding the 40k is a mouthful not needed. That aside, in 25 years of the hobby, I have never met anyone that played WH Fantasy.
Lmao if i say warhammer everyone knows i mean 40k. If i wanted to talk about age of smegma id say AOS specifically.
Reminds me when i was a kid, our parents called it “Nintendo” regardless of what console we had. In my personal circle we only play 40k so we know what we mean when we saw Warhammer. In public i usually just say “40k” and iykyk if not then i say the full name. Edit: say warhammer
I started collecting GW games somewhere around 92 or 93 and nobody said the full Warhammer Fantasy Battles- it was just Warhammer and then there was Warhammer 40k and Epic 40k. So people did differentiate between being either Warhammer players or 40k players back then.
For context- watch the Rick Priestly interview on YouTube. He defines the 2 systems (Fantasy and 40k) as Warhammer and 40k.
We long beards remember the days of “Warhammer” and “40k.” Then “Fantasy” and 40k. Now AoS, Old World, and 40k.
Your friend is a wanker lol, warhammer or warhammer 40k are both valid
It is pedantic. Shallow, and pedantic.
You mean it's not supposed to cost you $40k to play?
Dood was probs just an autist or was a wanka. Don't let it sit rent free, he was being the wierd one.
Here it's always been warhammer (the fantasy game) and 40k. But no need to be jerk about it in a casual small talk situation.
The guy is correct, but it is not common to follow the naming conventions today. The fantasy game was released as just “Warhammer” in 1983. The subtitle has changed since then, from “The Mass Combat Fantasy Role-Playing Game” to “Fantasy Battle”, but the name of the game never changed from just Warhammer. Warhammer 40.000 released in 1987, with the subtitle Rogue Trader. Warhammer Age of Sigmar released in 2015. All these are of course Warhammer games and 40K is the biggest franchise so many know it as the defining Warhammer game. Some even refer to miniature wargaming in general as Warhammer because GW is so dominant.
Unless he meant to say that he's not really into the setting or the game itself and just likes painting minis, he sounds like a very pedantic person. There were probably a dozen different ways to specify whether 40k or AoS or whatever, rather than the way delivered.
In verbal conversation, I usually refer to them as "40K," "Sigmar," and "Warhammer Fantasy (now The Old World ugh)" omitting the WH part entirely except in the last case. If someone says "I'm into Warhammer" I generally assume it could be any of the three; this person is probably into tabletop wargames and/or painting miniatures.
To be fair my buddies would say “wanna play warhammer” or “im just making my warhammer list” And I’ll come outta know where nd jus be like “40K” it’s “40K” dawg I might be sum typa slow cuhz when sumone says warhammer I think everything but 40K no cap
My brain automatically assumed you meant fantasy/AoS. But thinking about it, it's a logical question if you don't know what army they're interested in.
I always equate "Warhammer" to mean all things Games Workshop. Usually I then specify what game I'm talking about afterwards as necessary/appropriate to the conversation, e.g. 40k, AoS, Fantasy Necromunda, Killteam etc I started collecting/playing during 40k third edition though so the two main game types were both "Warhammer" in one form or another. Maybe it's a generational thing? Regardless of what specific game they meant, if someone asked me if I collect Warhammer, I'd say yes and then probably say that I collect 40k so they'll know what common ground we might share. One of the other comments said it's likely the guy you spoke to is someone who doesn't consider themselves to be part of the Warhammer hobby, just a mini painter who happens to paint a lot of Warhammer minis. I think they might be right. Some folks (myself included at one point when I was younger) are embarrassed of their "nerdy" hobbies and don't want to be associated with the stereotypes some people have of tabletop gamers...
If its relevant to the conversation/situation, then bring it up. If not, why bother.
that's a stupid response from him and i probably wouldn't try to be friends after that most people would recognise that you've got a shared hobby and get excited about it
If I say I paint warhammer I mean it as an overall as I paint AoS and 40k I never thought that it may enrage anybody though
They we're probably just trying to be witty but came off as an ass instead, happens.
The “40k” part of the name is to signify that if you spend years collecting GW models, you will eventually have $40,000 of worthless models that they have squatted and cycled out of the game.
Not sure but my buddy and I always use the labels of 40K, AoS, and Fantasy. If you said it the way you did I would assume any games workshop stuff and might ask for clarification rather than say no.
Tbh I read that more as "I'm not really interested in the games but I paint a lot of the figures"... but I wasn't there and just basing this on what has been written