October 14th is Official Warhammer Day this year!
For the uninitiated, Warhammer 40,000 (40K) is a miniature tabletop wargame produced by Games Workshop.
It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world and with a particularly strong following in the United Kingdom, where it started out 40 years ago. It is still very much a tabletop strategy game and then some. It is full of fantasy characters like elves and dragons but with a futuristic - science fiction twist. It borrows elements from many classic science fiction and fantasy classics such as Lord of the Rings, Dune and Runestaff.
Warhammer Gaming & News
My connection to Games Workshop (and hence Warhammer) started in the mid 80’s. I bought, and still have, a 1st edition Talisman game and I played the board game version of Blood Bowl long before it was converted to the video game format. I bought and painted miniatures (when they were all die-cast metal) and I love the basic concept of what if Wizards, Clerics, Orcs, Elves, and Trolls alike from a medieval, fantasy universe were still around 40,000 years later?
In recent Warhammer news, British actor Henry Cavill, a super fan of Warhammer, has signed as executive producer to develop a Warhammer series alongside Amazon Studios and Vertigo Entertainment. One of his Warhammer favourites is the Total War – Warhammer Series and a character called Cavill, a high elf loremaster, was even named for him. He expressed his enthusiasm for Warhammer 40K games and fiction, by saying he "genuinely can't get enough of the lore they have built over the decades". No wonder he is positioning himself front & center in the Warhammer universe.
Warhammer Video Games
The first Warhammer video game came out in 1991 with Gremlin Interactive’s, Heroquest. There are now over 100 Warhammer video games made by various video game developers. The fact that it has so many incarnations make it particularly relevant to the voice acting community . There are many routes to find work related to Warhammer themed games, animations, audiobooks & audio dramas. Because of my affinity to the franchise, I’ve always been excited to see Warhammer audition opportunities.
Personally, I have been fortunate to be cast in 4 games to date. Two are card-based combat games in the tradition of Magic: The Gathering (Warhammer 40k Horus Heresy: Legions and Warpforge). Over the years I have provided upwards of 20 characters for these games. I also was cast as The Psyker in Warhammer 40k – Inquisitor Martyr and I’m thrilled about the upcoming release of Owlcat Games Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader on December 7th, 2023, in which I will portray one of the companion characters, Abelard Wersarian. Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader was the title of the first edition rule/sourcebook for the tabletop game published in 1986, so this game is generating quite a bit of interest.
I can see the Warhammer of today going from strength to strength with more content and more opportunities for both voice actors, screen actors, gamers, and fans. Already you can attend Warhammer Fest, a convention dedicated to the franchise, visit Games workshop retail outlets, subscribe to the Warhammer+ dedicated streaming service, or even buy a plushy. If you haven’t discovered Warhammer yet, now might just be the time. If you do, it might be worth practicing the war cry... FOR THE EMPEROR!!!
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