Warped Marginalia April to June 2026; Newsletter Feedback, Addendum & Housekeeping
Here's some follow-ups and more from my recent posts as the book moves towards completion!
A big thank you to all those who’ve read, commented or liked my posts. Not only is it helpful for my work, but great to see all the love for Warhammer old and new! In this newsletter I’m going to continue share and highlight some of that.
My Warped Marginalia posts are my project and nerwsletter ‘housekeeping’ posts. (The name is a riff of the White Dwarf coloumn, ‘Marginalia’ which was title of a regular column in White Dwarf during the Rogue Trader era.)
Quick book update - I’ve completed the 1st draft now, I’m re-reading it and editing bits. Also sorting the images for the book. Oh and the cover too - big news on that coming. Lots to announce so please do sign up!
Top 3 popular posts to date:
(Wow! A change to the No.1 spot as the post on LE2 went viral! I did not expect that, but it is good to see.)
A Review of the Last Quarter
On the topic of Which Games and RPGs did 1980s players like and dislike? Big Hair, Big Swords, Big Adventures!
It seemed White Dwarf did a lot of introductions to other games, as someone on FB noted, “It was the articles and adventures for AD&D and MERP that brought me to WD magazine in 1985 and then the magazine introduced me to Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, Judge Dredd, Warhammer Roleplay, Blood Bowl and many others.”
The Oldhammer Fiction Podcast noted that it’s a surprise where Judge Dredd falls here, which it is! “Also surprised that they dont like Judge Dredd very much considering it got a fair bit of coverage.”
One Reddit commenter actually filled in this very survey!
Brian makes the point that lots of readers may not have understood the difference between D&D and AD&D (which were separate) - a point I make re Warhammer the wargame and the RPG.
On the topic of Conan The Barbarian, Warhammer and the Birth of the Fantasy Genre (Part 1) and Exploring the relationship between the 1982 film ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and the original Robert E Howard Stories and some more axe-wielding mayhem! (Part 2)
Let us not forget Dave the Barbarian!
People still play the 1985 Conan RPG, as one Reddit commentator noted, “I still play this version of the game lol.”
A Redditor points out a missing reference: One other minor reference is Thulsa Doom’s snake arrow that kills Valeria. In Howard’s People of the Black Circle a sorcerer does the same thing:
He lifted his head and saw, on the tier above him, a tall, black-robed figure, naked head nodding slightly as he stared down. His whole attitude suggested mockery and malignity. Quick as a flash the Irakzai bent his bow and loosed, and the arrow streaked upward to strike full in the black-robed breast. The mocking smile did not alter. The Seer plucked out the missile and threw it back at the bowman, not as a weapon is hurled, but with a contemptuous gesture. The Irakzai dodged, instinctively throwing up his arm. His fingers closed on the revolving shaft.
Then he shrieked. In his hand the wooden shaft suddenly writhed. Its rigid outline became pliant, melting in his grasp. He tried to throw it from him, but it was too late. He held a living serpent in his naked hand, and already it had coiled about his wrist and its wicked wedge-shaped head darted at his muscular arm. He screamed again and his eyes became distended, his features purple. He went to his knees shaken by an awful convulsion, and then lay still.
A commentor, Thomas, noted the links between RPGs and early Warhammer, “The first 2 editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles were such a weird mashup between RPG and Wargame. You had a lot of individual characters moving around and doing things. Like looking in buildings for treasure, or in the Tragedy of McDeath expansion in WD76 (Glen Woe), in which, the McDeath player could win with a single murderer taking out the opposing king. You didn’t even really need the armies if you got lucky.”
A Facebook commenter reminded me that the cover of the Conan the Rebel book is the same as the one used for White Dwarf 107
Also an interesting thread on roots of Robert E Howard’s ideas for Conan.
On the topic of Another Key Document in the History of Warhammer 40,000 - The Second Citadel Compendium from 1984!
“Iconic” posts a commenter on Facebook!
(Image - The cover of Conan the Rebel book, showing an axe wielding barbarian fighting zombies. This was also used for White Dwarf issue 107.)
On the tribute to the great John Blanche.
Some tributes paint to John in response. Here’s a couple:
Some kind words on the article, “Terrific piece, love seeing the history of the game”
A FB user asked if John did other covers? He did and he did the First Citadel Compendium one.
(Image - the cover of the First Citadel Compendium by John Blanche)
On the topic of Warhammer 40,000 - No Peace Amongst the Stars Nor Peace Amongst Rogue Traders!
Lewis Davies of the Oldhammer Fiction Podcast gave some great commentary:
Ive got a lot to say about this because i think it also highlights a key difference in the meaning of “you will not he missed”
In original RT the key horror of the setting is its size. If you look at those original scenarios, a lot of them are about being a lone planetary governor or inquisitor trying to deal with a problem. The pudding cult has emerged and the only person who can deal with it is you. What there isnt, crucially, is existential threats. There’s no black crusades, way less sense that tyranid fleets could stripmine the galaxy if someone doesn’t stop them, even when chaos does get introduced, its clear these guys are “renegades” the left over bits of an ancient war. The imperium is the only game in town, harassed by a million gnats, he just might never notice that your square milimeter of skin is about to be bitten and your tiny drop of blood will not be missed.
This changes when Advanced Space Crusade reimagines the tyrands as exactly an existential threat. Hive Fleet Kraken is the first “event” to move the setting forward in 40k, and from then on, chaos, by the time we get to 2nd edition, and then the necrons, have the capacity to destroy the galaxy. With this, the meaning of “you will not be missed” changes- you become insignificant not because of scale, but because of stakes: the war we are fighting is for the survival of the galaxy, and no individual matters at that scale. If you fall serving this grand defence, you will not be missed.
I forgot that Tryanids are in Rogue Trader, oops, so fixed that!
(Image - Left shows a Tyranid warrior from the new video and one from Rogue Trader.)
On the topic of Looking back the LE2 - The first ever Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine from 1985
A couple of folks noted LE2’s appearance in the Horus Heresy books as Leetu.
A note too that there is a conversion of this guy in the Rogue Trader book.
Some kind words on the post, thanks! “That article is great! so many little tidbits on the history of this model, thank you for sharing!”
Another user shared a cool pic of one!
(Image -A blue painted LE2 by xptx/Reddit)
Thanks again for comments and feedback!
Links of Note:
TTRPG news! The Merryshire Detective Club Preview is available now
More TTRPG news: Wolfenstein: The Roleplaying Game is coming too.
That one Time Games Workshop was a Video Game Publisher - Codex Compliant
Even more TTRPG news! The great people of Strange Studies of Strange Stories are doing an RPG too!
Phew.
Note! There is more about this project here. You can comment here or find me on BlueSky.
Also note! This book project is a personal one and not affiliated with any company that, in my day job, I work with or partner with.
Also note & note! The very top image is from a medieval document where the scribe added fighting snails, for reasons.
Sadly, I was wrong about Excalibur...
Thanks for the great content. I have a lot to read for the upcoming days! :D