Warhammer 40,000 is a world where mighty transhuman warriors contend with terrifying alien monsters, but often its most interesting characters are caught between humans. Throughout the Black Library novels, the inquisitive Gregor Eisenhorn and Gideon Ravenor are depicted as incredibly powerful cyclists, but they would be ineffective without the efforts of ex-bout hunter Harlon Nayl or acrobat Kara Swole. Similarly, author Dan Abnetts Horus Rising It is even more terrifying and terrifying as its events are seen through the eyes of artists and journalists, memoirs such as Euphrates Keeler and Solomon Voss.
Image: Cubicle 7/Sports Workshop
On Friday at Gen Con, publisher Cubicle 7 announced that it is expanding its line of 40K-themed role-playing games to include regular humans, who work in service of more powerful patrons like Niall and Keeler. We do. called Imperium MaledictumThe new game was inspired by previous d100-based games published by Black Industries – including classics such as dark heresy, The theme of this new game is the exact opposite of the high level characters available wrath and glory, Cubicle 7’s marquee 40K-themed tabletop RPG. Expect the fights to be close, and the narratives deliciously dumb.
“with wrath and glory‘You’re more action-focused,’” creative director Emmett Byrne said ahead of the announcement. “You’re playing archetypes and units off the tabletop [wargame], Imperium Maledictum Is [about being] Too many low-level investigators are trying to work against — or working within — the mechanisms of Imperium.”
Players will form their party as a sort of battle band, with each of the characters tied to a powerful protector. That patron may be an inquisitor like Eisenhorn or Ravenor, or it may be a reminder of the powerful religious caste of the Imperium, known as the Ecclesiarchae. Many different options will be made available to players, but the important part is the drive and focus that such mentors will give to an ongoing campaign. They will also be responsible for the search and objectives of the Warband, as well as the resources available to them. But they’ll also invest the characters with the authority they need to break through the Imperium’s crippling bureaucracy.
“In wrath and glory‘If you’re a Space Marine, you do whatever you want,’ Byrne said. “A regular civilian on the street isn’t going to tell you, ‘No, you’re not allowed in this bar.’ whereas [Imperium Maledictum] It’s a lot about your influence, your personal impact.”
Players will be able to use their character’s background to earn boons. Perhaps they went to university at the Schola Progenium, and therefore have links to the scholars themselves or the elite that fund their research. Perhaps he has a history as a petty criminal, and therefore has access to the gangsters and crime bosses who control the underworld. Players will need to use every social connection available to achieve their mentor’s goals.
But sometimes they have to show strength to get the job done.
“At some point, if you want, you can take out your patron’s emblem and start waving it around,” Byrne said. “‘Hey, I’m really important!’ If your patron is an inquisitor, they may not like it because word will get back to them that you burned down the barn and you paid attention to them, that sort of thing. […] at what point do you press the red button where you need to [say], ‘Hey, I have this mighty mentor.’ And yet, people can go, ‘I don’t care.’ It could actually be worse.”
Imperium Maledictum The range of role-playing products is expected to debut in the fall as soon as possible, with a main rulebook, a game master screen, and a boxed starter set. The first official adventures will launch at the same time as a free-to-download PDF.
“One of the things we started doing a few years ago was that we stopped putting adventures in our books,” Byrne said, “with the thought that when you run that first adventure they The dead pages in that book become what you have to carry around with you.” Instead, those expensive pages will be filled with more source material, tables, and background details about the setting.
Byrne said the line would expand rapidly with books on vehicles and weapons. From there, Cubicle 7 will begin publishing faction-specific content, books working for the Inquisition or Astra Militarum, Ecclesiarchi or Astra Telepathica. They, in turn, will be complemented with complementary adventures. Fans will be able to follow the development on the official Cubicle 7 website with more details to follow from a seminar at Gen Con on Friday.
