40k is a wargame. Players, generally two, bring their armies to the table and battle against each other. As opposed to D&D which is an RPG with a collaborative element with combat against DM controlled enemies that are designed to be beaten. Here’s a battle video, chosen basically at random to show what a game looks like.

40k relies on having a board and terrain, unlike D&D which can all be done in by talking (“the theater of the mind” if you are feeling pretentious). There is no DM in 40k, just players both following the rules with no hidden rolls behind screens, making it less narrative focused and more straight combat focused. The sidebar here has links to the current rules, and the core rules and quick start guide will be most relevant.

As for cost, it is more of a moneysink than D&D by the nature of making armies rather than single characters, and on top of the Games Workshop has infamously high pricing. There’s a lot you can do to mitigate Games Workshop’s pricing. Investing in paints from other companies is a big one right off the bat. GW makes some good paints, but more often than not you can find the same or better from another company for a lower price. For models, depending on whatever faction catches your eye, you can buy used models on Ebay, scratch build/modify your own, or buy 3rd party approximations. Those last two options are no good in official Games Workshop tournaments, but if you just want to play at independent stores or with friends, I highly recommend it. Is there a faction that you have in mind to try out?

If you want an RPG in the 40k universe, you can try Inquisitor, which has free rules here. It’s designed for 54mm miniatures, but it is not difficult to convert to play with the more common 28mm.

If you are wanting to try out a 40k style skirmish but feeling overwhelmed by the rules, you can also check out third party rules, like Grimdark Future Firefight which is easily compatible with 40k miniatures, but uses it’s own unique rules. It gives the flavor of a skirmish wargame, which although different in details can give you a general idea what to expect.

It can certainly be expensive, depending on pricing and region, but if you look at some guides online for cheap ways to get into it there should be plenty of advice 😊i’ved certainly had lots of fun, drunk and chill games with friends for sure.

The current edition of 40k 10th edition has just released and all of the rules for all the factions and the main game can be downloaded for free so that should help you out. They also have a new game mode called combat patrol which is intended for new players and smaller games (so less investment) they have fixed unit selections but the rules are balanced for the smaller size so it can be very fun you can find the combat patrol rules on their website too.

Best bet would be to:

• pick a faction based on what’s cool
• buy a combat patrol from an independent retailer (non-official shops usually have a slight discount). / if you would rather get paper minis first that works too
• assemble miniatures -try out the game use household items as terrain -if you like it, consider painting them

Er yeah, go look up paper warhammer, there’s lots of great printable sheets but no centralised place they’re aggregated.

It’s a different system, but One Page rules has a starter set with paper minis you can print out. If you find that you like it you can buy actually Warhammer models and try that rule set.

I’ve also played Warhammer online via tabletop simulator.