Games Workshop Codices vs. Black Library Lore

If you listened to our voxcast about The Devastation of Baal, then you already know Jen and I had a bunch of questions as to how this person did this thing, what was going on during this other thing, and why this one thing was mentioned and dropped. A few kind listeners/viewers on YouTube kindly filled in the blanks for us. Other than the fact we totally blanked on Mephiston being trapped, all of the answers to our questions reside in the Codices from Games Workshop. If we had read the Codex regarding the tyranid attack on Baal, we’d know how Guilliman got to the other side of the Great Rift. If we had read the Vigilus Defiant Codex before reading Spear of the Emperor, we would have known why Calgar was the first vanilla Space Marine to receive the Primaris treatment.

As someone who does not read the Codices, this frustrates the hell out of me. Why isn’t the complete story in the novel? If there’s not going to be a book about what happened to Marneus Calgar and why he needed to become a Primaris Marine, why not provide some background when someone mentions oh btw, Calgar is a Primaris now. Because of my affection for the character, I purchased the Codex to get the full skinny on it.

Holy Throne, this stuff is NOT cheap.

The Codices Are Pricey, yo

Jen and I both, admittedly, spend too much money on book club books, because we’re always snagging the limited editions or hardbacks. Part of that is so we can be timely with the book club, and another part is that we like pretty, shiny things. When 2-3 of these new shiny books release a month, it adds up quickly. This doesn’t even count the books we buy to fill our background knowledge.

The Codices don’t release as often, but they are twice as expensive (or even four times, compared to paperback prices) as a new novel. I cried a bit inside when I bought Vigilus Defiant. It’s why I haven’t bought any additional Codices, despite how much I hear they fill in the novel gaps.

There is also a great possibility and therefore risk that a Codex won’t fill in any new information for the novels. That’s an expensive gamble to make, especially if it doesn’t pan out. I’m not saying that the Codices should guarantee new lore not found in the books every time, because the Codices serve a completely different function than the novels. I am saying that it’s a risky investment for someone who does not play the tabletop game.

And How Is This Any Different From Those Video Game Novels You Read?

Okay, first of all, that’s fair. I can’t imagine reading Gears of War: Aspho Fields without the first Gears of War game under your belt. In many ways, this is similar to knowing the Codices. In order to play the tabletop game Warhammer 40,000, you have to know the rules and background story. Looking at it this way, the video games are the Codices, and the video games are pricier than the Codices to be sure.

That said, however, there aren’t as many video games for each extended lore universe as there are Codices. There are currently 26 Codices and rule books listed on Games Workshop’s website, not counting the supplements (which are $30 each, by the way). In the case of Gears of War, there are six video games. I don’t have to do the math to see which is cheaper.

Are all of these video games crucial for understanding the overall lore for Gears of War? Absolutely not. I could easily argue against Gears of War Judgment, but that’s still one game out of six. The risk here is relatively low.

Why Can’t They Get Along?

I’ve seen the argument that those who read the Codices don’t want that lore reiterated in the books, because they already know it. They want to learn something new by reading the novels. I 100% understand that, but can’t we find some sort of compromise here?

In the case of the novel Cadia Stands, I had no idea that the planet broke (yes, before the guard did) because Abaddon hurled a Blackstone Fortress at it. I had no idea that Saint Celestine was even there, despite the fact it makes perfect sense that she would be. I know (now) that the Codices contained all of this information. The book is fine as it was, but was there no way to mention these things? I finished the book under the assumption that Cadia broke because the Black Legion was stealing the planet’s warding pylons. Maybe mention the Saint’s presence? Just something to round out the full story without going into those full details. At this point, I’d appreciate a footnote explaining where one can find the rest of the story. That’s one thing I’ll give comic books with all of their insane reboots and crossovers.

Not to mention, can we PLEASE have Games Workshop and Black Library WORK TOGETHER when it comes to defining lore? It’s not cool to read in post-rift novels that the Primaris Blood Angels don’t experience the Black Rage, only for the Codex to release and say no they totes do. I get it that the Codices are canon and the Black Library is fluff, but some conversation between the two to stay on the same page would be just lovely.