I was feeling a little bit of nostalgia over the weekend. Recently, I got into painting miniatures, a hobby I’d actively avoided for a long time. I found out that not only am I fairly decent at it, it’s something I enjoy much more than I thought I would. Got me thinking about little moments that dictate why we do or don’t do certain things.
I actually sort of owe my marriage to Warhammer 40k, Games Workshop and a wise old comic shop owner in a weird, indirect way. I also now know what it’s like being perceived as someone who jumped on a hobby just because it suddenly achieved some mainstream popularity.
Me getting a small amount of hate from a long-time W40k fan is funny, because I’ve been a fan of Warhammer and W40k for at least twenty five years. I even alluded to this interest on this very blog over fifteen years ago!
I’ve just never participated in the hobby outside the video games, and consuming the lore.
I started down the Warhammer lore rabbit hole probably around 1997. I’d gotten ahold of Warcraft II, and enjoyed it. I’d read that Warcraft was heavily inspired by a miniature game called “Warhammer”. I’d seen the miniatures at the local comic shop, and decided to look it up. I thought the lore was just insanely cool, even if the game itself held no interest. Later, I played another obscure Blizzard game called “StarCraft”. I recognized that it also took a lot of inspiration from Warhammer 40,000, a spin off of the original Warhammer fantasy game.
I became even more interested in 2003 or so when I found out Creative Assembly had wanted to make a Warhammer: Total War game initially, but had been turned down by Games Workshop (or at least that’s what I’d read). I knew a similar situation had happened with Blizzard and apparently that’s why Warcraft exists.
Warhammer was just a quiet interest of mine for a couple decades, and something I’d read about when I needed to kill time. It was an inspiration for D&D games I ran, and stories I wrote. But, I never actually owned a single thing related to it except the Dawn of War, and Space Marine video games.
So why didn’t I get into the tabletop game? Why haven’t I been painting Ork miniatures for the past twenty five years? Initially, it was because I was interested in Warhammer Fantasy. It’s also an expensive hobby, and my brother would have been my only person to play against for a while. Ultimately though, it comes down to the words of a wise man at the local comic shop.
Back in 2008 I was working as phone tech support for a local ISP and two or three times a week I’d be on evening, or weekend shift. Those shifts were often blessedly quiet, always incredibly boring, and the weekend evening shifts were even more of both. They limited internet access, but I could read during down time. So to supplement books, I started a few subscriptions at the local comic shop, which was conveniently close to my workplace.
After a couple of job switches, the comic shop was not in a convenient location for me anymore, but I still continued to visit once or twice a month and picked up my comics when I could. My new job had much more stable work hours, and better pay. I found myself with a lot more free time, some extra disposable income, and no social life at all.
I thought playing Warhammer 40k might be a way to help solve my problem. My choices for social activities were pretty minimal at the time. So, taking up a new hobby that required me to be around people to fully participate in was my first thought. I was already familiar with a lot of the lore, so Warhammer 40k was an easy choice.
The comic shop had a game room, sold kits, and I knew they played miniature games on the weekends. So, I asked the owner how often, and if Warhammer 40k was popular. If he’d said that’s what they were playing, I was going to drop about $300 in 2009 money on a Necron army, paint supplies, and see if I could join in.
This is what he told me:
“Aaron, I’m not going to sell any Warhammer stuff to you. I like you and I don’t want to see you get into that. I do have a bunch of guys who come in here that play regularly and they all have one thing in common: None of them are married. Aaron, I think you still have a shot.”
-The Owner, wish I could remember his name, and I hope he’s doing alright.
Message received. I took it to heart and put my extra $300 into Apple stock or something equally boring. Or bought D&D books, I don’t remember.
Little did he know that conversation was pivotal in the direction my life took from that point on. I can’t thank him enough for it. I’ve heard he doesn’t run the store anymore, which is unfortunate because I’d like to introduce him to my wife and child. It’s just too bad I’m almost two thousand miles away and haven’t been there in almost ten years.
Negative stereotypes aside, he was right. I met my wife about two years later. If I’d have gotten deep into the tabletop side of Warhammer at that point, I simply would not have had the resources to make meeting her happen. Likely as not, the opportunity that led me to meeting her wouldn’t have even happened.
When we first met, she was curious about a Games Workshop store in Toronto, thinking it a general hobby store. I was able to explain to her what they sold, what Warhammer was and tell her that story. She thought it was hilarious.
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