Codices (List)

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Warhammer 40,000

Codex (plural "codices", but "codexes" is also occasionally used) is the name of a source book for Warhammer 40,000 armies and factions containing background information, pictures, and rules.

1st Edition

While the term "Codex" was not yet used, a number of books were comparable. Like the more modern editions, they included units and rules that were compiled from White Dwarf.

2nd Edition

Boxed set volumes

The 2nd Edition box set included three Codex-style books in addition to the core rulebook.

Codices

The 2nd Edition was substantially more colourful and the new Codex books reflected this fact. More detailed information, such as background and organisation, was included, adding more depth and details to the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Campaigns and Supplements

3rd Edition

The 3rd Edition Codexes were much smaller and less detailed than the second. This is because several new races were invented and five or six codexes a year could be produced.

Revisions

Some Codexes were amended or rewritten during 3rd Edition.

3rd Edition
Dark Angels
Revised
Dark Eldar
Revised
Imperial Guard
Second Codex
Chaos Space Marines
Second Codex

Campaign and Settings

Within the 3rd Edition a new type of Codexes were published. Rather than providing information on a specific force, these included new rules and background for environments or planetary campaigns.

4th Edition

With the introduction of the 4th Edition of Warhammer 40,000, the Codices have been updated and re-released. The fronts of the Codices are back in a consistent style, as it was in the 2nd Edition.

Campaigns and Expansion

As in 3rd Edition, the 4th Edition of the rules also introduced Expansions, Codexes that don't deal with a single force, but rather expand the rules for select settings and situations.