Codex: Leagues of Votann

Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition

by Games Workshop

The Kin are a clone race of resilient and pragmatic warriors, who together form the ancient Leagues of Votann. Massed into mighty Oathbands, they emerge from the stellar tumult of the galactic core to conquer worlds, claim resources, and lay waste to any who threaten their Holds.

The Leagues employ advanced technologies in trade, industry, and warfare alike – riding to battle aboard rugged and powerful armoured vehicles, and wielding weapons that channel the fundamental forces of the cosmos. Their natural resilience is augmented by powerful force fields and formidable body armour, as well as the remarkable cloneskeins that lace their engineered bodies. Yet their greatest asset is their sheer indomitable will – unfaltering and level-headed, each warrior considers their comrades to be family, and would gladly face any peril in order to keep them safe. The Leagues know that their Ancestors are watching – and will endure any hardship or face any foe rather than fail in their duties.

This comprehensive book is a must-have guide for those who collect and play the Leagues of Votann. It contains all the rules needed to play a Leagues of Votann army – including the most prominent of the individual Leagues – along with dutifully-recorded background lore detailing the nature of the Ancestor Cores, the structure of Kin society, and the recent push from out of the galactic core.

Inside this 104-page hardback book, you'll find:
– In-depth background information revealing the history, culture, and military practices of the Leagues of Votann
– Astounding artwork showcasing the technology and society of this stunning new faction
– All the rules you need to play a Leagues of Votann army, including datasheets for all-new units, Skeinwrought psychic powers, Customs for the various Leagues, and more
– Rules for Crusade campaigns and narrative games that allow you to gather rare resources and pursue bitter grudges
– An 'Eavy Metal showcase featuring superbly-painted Citadel Miniatures, demonstrating the range of colours and heraldry employed by the Leagues

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, 40k

104 pages, Hardcover

Published November 5, 2022

About the author

Games Workshop Group PLC (often abbreviated as GW) is a British miniature wargaming manufacturing company. Games Workshop is best known as developer and publisher of the tabletop wargames Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.

Reviews

[T R Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back when I first started playing Warhammer 40,000 the Squats were one of the major powers in the galaxy but they were soon retconned and then relegated to minor appearances in the background. The Leagues of Votann are the modern reimagining of the Squats with new rules and background for the latest edition of the game.

The new lore for the Kin (the name they call themselves) is quite interesting and manages to keep the general Space Dwarf feel (short and high-tech space miners and traders) while adding some new ideas such as the use of cloning, bioengineering and ancient artificial intelligence. The artwork for the book is also brilliant with the piece showing a Kâhl squaring up to a World Eater being a particular favourite.

The rules section of the book includes all the rules needed to play a Leagues of Votann army in the game, of course, but has been criticised for being overpowered even by the usual Codex Creep standards forcing Games Workshop to put together a couple of balancing FAQ.

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review covers the book's input to the fiction of the Warhammer 40,000 setting - it does not reflect the book's gaming potential or usage.

Warhammer 40,000 is a fantasy game with a sci-fi paintjob, but over nearing 40 years that paint has been re-done and re-done creating a unique dark sci-fi world of techno-barbarism in the far future. Space Dwarfs were present at the origin of the setting, but were discontinued largely due to Games Workshop's designers struggling to find a unique story for the space dwarfs to tell in the setting.

Leagues of Votann provides a worthy story for the space dwarfs. The Leagues of Votann are, unusually in 40k, where humanity is largely presented as a monolithic entity united by the theological oversight of the Imperium, a species of human - the descendants seemingly of ancient mining and exploratory corporations or co-operatives - who now are entirely clones (transferring the traditional dwarf solidarity around family and clans nicely into sci-fi) quasi-ruled by ancient Artificial Intelligences - the Votann - which are databases updated partially with data from the brains of dead 'Squats' (the old term for space dwarfs in 40k, now regarded as a human slang term) but are suffering after millennia of operation - and are a closely-guarded secret of the species.

I hope very much that Games Workshop's Black Library arm will find some good sci-fi author to further fill out this interesting new angle on what humanity is in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

[Dr. Thomas Wilkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the kin. Some nice art too!

[Mikael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Games Workshop tries something new with something old, Light on rules but contains a good amount of lore to start off with.