--- title: "Codex Imperialis" subtitle: "Book review" author: Seth publish_date: 2025-08-14 08:00 date: 2025-08-14 08:00 hero_classes: text-light title-h1h2 overlay-dark-gradient hero-large parallax hero_image: book_codex-imperialis-1600x800.webp show_sidebar: true show_breadcrumbs: true show_pagination: true taxonomy: category: blog tag: [gaming, settings, rpg, scifi, wargame] --- I was in a used book store recently and happened upon a copy of the **Codex Imperialis** source book for **Warhammer 40,000** 3rd edition. It was only $11 so I bought it, once again curious about the evolution of the Warhammer setting. This is my review of the book. **Codex Imperialis** was released in 1993, which is 6 years after the 1st edition [Rogue Trader](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_review-rogue-trader-1) book was released. As with **Rogue Trader**, I have to admit that a lot of the early lore in **Codex Imperialis** hasn't changed much even today. Games Workshop has remained consistent with its game setting for 25+ years, and I admire them for it. I find great comfort in the stability of the Warhammer setting, especially as someone who grew up with the fickle universes of Star Trek and Star Wars. **Warhammer 40,000** knows exactly (or at least mostly) what it is, and it holds the line. **Codex Imperialis** has more about each faction (and factions within factions) than **Rogue Trader** did, partly to develop the established lore and also because there had been a few new additions (Chaos, most notably). I find 2 things about the book of particular interest. ## Concise information This book is just 96 pages, and it provides an overview _and profiles_ for every faction of the game. If you owned this and a rulebook, then you could play a game of **Warhammer 40,000**. A profile is a single row of a 10-column table, and for most models there are a few special rules. You could easily jot it down on an index card for convenience, and it would only take maybe 15 minutes. I understand why that's not possible today. There are far more models today than there were in 1993, and the game has explored some interestingly [modular paths](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_warhammer-10-modular-design) (keywords, detachments, and stratagems, for example). Still, I admire how concise **Codex Imperialis** is, and I love that there just aren't that many profiles. Given that a **Warhammer 40,000** profile is based on a d6, I can't help but think that there must be a simpler way to assign profiles even today, but I also realise that a unique profile is a big reason a player buys a miniature. Why bother getting just another Standard Infantry Profile #1 miniature when you have 20 of them already? You wouldn't have to justify another Standard Infantry Profile #1 if the miniature you're considering also has a keyword that can unlock a special attack when its Leader is nearby, and access to a stratagem that prevents enemies from charging, and so on. Even so. I like to learn from success, and this book successfully delivers a lot of useful game info in a very efficient format. ## Template for the future If you look at the 10th Edition rulebook of **Warhammer 40,000**, you'll find that about 100 pages of it essentially mirrors **Codex Imperialis**. There's a page or 2 for each faction and then an army list for a Combat Patrol using that faction. It's a good amount of information that encapsulates what you need to know to fall in love with a faction, and to get into the roleplay mindset of that faction for a game. The mechanics are missing because there are too many miniatures to include profiles, but otherwise the modern rulebook is following the exact same template as the **Codex Imperialis**, and it works. ## A digression about simplified gameplay I can't get away from the idea that there's probably room for a simplified view of **Warhammer 40,000** that would be great for new or very casual players. I've developed my own system, which basically assigns a standard profile to miniatures based on, more or less, base size. A model with a 25mm base gets one profile, a model on a 40-60mm base gets another, and everything else gets another. I throw in a table of special rules to help players grant a miniature the appropriate flavour. It fits on a single A4 sheet of paper and it makes introductory games easy. The argument against that kind of simplified mode is that it tricks new players into thinking the game is one thing when it's really something else. If you learn that a model is Toughness 4 and Save 5+ in a simplified game, and then find out that it's actually Toughness 3 with Invulnerable Save 5+ and a Grenade stratagem, then you might feel disappointed that you wasted all that time memorising profiles in the first place. And besides, not all new players want a simplified introduction. Some people are [here for the complexity](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/game_in-defence-of-complexity). And indeed, there's a strong argument that hacks and house rules are [best left to the individual](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_no-more-errata). Then again, I do believe that many people would play more Warhammer if there were a simple way to do it. I think it could be nice to have that concept seeded by the publisher of the game. Anyway, I digress. **Codex Imperialis** is a fun book that contributes to clean game design, that's the point. ## Codex Imperialis There's not much you get in **Codex Imperialis** that you don't get elsewhere in modern publications, and in some ways you get more in the modern books (because the lore has developed). Unless you're playing 3rd Edition 40k, there's no urgent need to buy a copy. But if you're interested in seeing how the setting has (or has not) evolved, or if you are playing 3rd Edition, then **Codex Imperialis** is a good read.