LogFAQs > #971221345

Dikitain posted...

A lot of systems (I.E. ones not owned by GW or WotC) tend to just require a book. Some of them don't require anything at all and you can get the rules through a PDF. Battletech lets you play games with just little scraps of paper representing your army if you like. The miniatures are just for the people who want them and in no way are required to play the game. Shadowrun has one book for DMs and players, and even that is only "required" if you are playing past level 5.

I have a friend who played competitive 40k a very long time ago, and he said the main reason that people pride themselves on their army is one for props and because in competition it's not just about winning, you are also judged on sportsmanship and how good your army looks.

So unlike most competitions where only winning matters 40k has multiple categories, and even someone that only performed mediocre in wins at a tournament could win the whole thing if they nail the other categories. Keep in mind he played in the era before 3d printers were a thing so you basically paid GW's prices or didn't play.