Friday, 29 May 2015

D&D 5E : Infernal Bloodline Sorcerous Origin

(YOU! WHERE IS MY LATTE?!)

So, one of the issues with Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition is the lack of additional splats for player characters. In all honesty by this time I expected at least one new players option book to have been released but for the most part we're still stuck with what's in the core rulebook as well as a handful of additions in the Unearthed Arcana articles and the Princes of the Apocalypse players guide. Hopefully something will be released in the near-future but... if's and buts. 

Thanks to this paucity of character options players and DM's alike are somewhat restricted when it comes to customising their characters, leaving the creation of new Archetypes, Races and the like up to each individual group. Fortunately the DMG and various online articles do go into the creation of such options in some detail, making it a fairly painless task.

I suppose I'll get to the point. In my current Tyranny of Dragons campaign one of the players has decided to respec his Warlock as a Sorcerer (we allow 1 Respec per character per campaign, should the player be unhappy with their choices and so long as said changes are within the realms of reason). I've allowed this so long as said characters powers remain diabolic in nature, hellish magic is hellish magic after all. Unfortunately there is currently no Infernal Bloodline Origin available to sorcerers, indeed at the moment they're restricted to the Draconic Bloodline and Wild Magic Origins. Here is my attempt to rectify this.

Sorcerous Origin : Infernal Bloodline

Your innate magic comes from Infernal power, mingled with your blood or that of an ancestor. Perhaps one of your ancestors (or even yourself) made a pact with a powerful denizen of the Nine Hells, or maybe a powerful devil lurks somewhere in the shadowed branches of your family tree. Tieflings are the most common sorcerers of this type, their innately fiendish natures providing a natural conduit for the dark might of the Pit. No matter the source of this taint however it allows you to draw upon the infernal powers of the Nine Hells to destroy and subjugate any who stand before you.

Infernal Mark
At 1st level you gain the ability to speak, read and write Infernal. Additionally whenever you make a Charisma check when interacting with Devils your proficiency bonus is doubled if it applies to the check.

Devils Sight
At 1st level you gain the ability to see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120ft.

Hellfire Invocation
At 6th level and higher whenever you cast a spell that deals Fire damage you may spend 1 Sorcery point, this has the following effects depending on the subjects resistance or immunity to Fire damage.
  • If the target has Immunity to Fire damage, they are treated as having Resistance to Fire damage.
  • If the target has Resistance to Fire damage, this Resistance is ignored.
  • If the target has no Immunity or Resistance to fire damage they take additional Fire damage equal to your Charisma modifier.

Black Pinions
At 14th level you gain the ability to sprout a pair of wings from your back, gaining a flying speed equal to your current ground speed. You can create these wings as a bonus action on your turn and they last until dismissed as a bonus action on your turn.

You may not manifest these wings whilst wearing armour unless it is designed to accommodate them, and likewise clothing may be damaged or destroyed by their manifestation. Aesthetically these wings may take any form at the DM's discretion, most commonly they are either batlike or birdlike with black feathers though they may take any form you desire so long as the DM agrees to allow it.

Blasphemous Authority
At 18th level you gain the ability to summon Devils to aid you in battle. You may spend a standard action to summon either a single Bone Devil or 2d4 Bearded Devils. These fiends appear in unoccupied spaces within 60ft and line of sight and serve you for up to 1 hour or until slain, banished, or dismissed (which may be done as an action on your turn).

These creatures are controlled by the DM though they will obey your orders to the letter, though not necessarily the spirit. The DM may at their discretion allow you to directly control them should he believe them sufficiently intimidated by you or bound to your will (which may require additional skill checks, ability checks or the use of bribery).

Once you have used this ability you must undergo a long rest before it can be used again.

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And there we have it. As usual if anyone has any comments or thoughts on this bloodline please feel free to let me know. Likewise if anyone wants to give it a whirl again I'd love to hear how it plays out.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Saturday, 23 May 2015

Codex Sisters of Battle : Sisters Venatori

(Yeah this was the closest thing I could find without resorting to a PVC clad death cultist. You don't need to thank me)

Today's addition to the Sisters of Battle codex is a little more subtle than a screaming mob of untrained fanatics, a gibbering psychic so filled with self loathing their own powers become an anti-psychic vortex, or angel winged warriors wielding sanctified blades....

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Sisters Venatori :
The commanderies of the Adepta Sororitas are rarely accused of subtlety, their missions of power armoured sisters, marching into battle with prayers on their lips and litanies blaring from the laud hailers of their vehicles make their presence known to the Emperors enemies from miles away. Most of the faithful would say that is as things should be, that the foes of the Imperium know that their doom has come upon them with fire and fury, boltgun and sanctified blade ready to spill the blood of the impure.

The cannier members of the Ecclesiarchy however know that there is a time for subtlety, both on the battlefield and off it. For the Adepta Sororitas this role is filled by the Sisters Venatori, a cadre of Sororitas who undergo extensive training in stealth, infiltration and information gathering. Eschewing the sacred power armour of their sisters in favour of light carapace and cameleoline cloaks they stalk the shadows of battlefield and shrine world alike, their deadly Castigator crossbows ready to dispense silent death to the faithless and fallen.

When deployed alongside their sisters the Venatori act as scouts and skirmishers, moving ahead of the main Sororitas force to locate enemies of the Faith. Once the foe have been found they are subjected to a campaign of sabotage, assassination and psychological warfare, leaving them easy prey for the Venatori's sisters. Off the battlefield they serve as the Ecclesiarchy's spies and assassins, charged with the monitoring and elimination of heretic and apostate alike. More than one supposedly faithful Ecclesiarch has been eliminated by the Venatori, a prayer of condemnation whispered in their ear as a blessed blade slides artfully between their ribs.

Sisters Venatori (Elite) : 65pts

                        WS BS    S    T   W    I     A  LD  SV
Venatori   4    4    3    3    1    3    1    8   4+
Venatori Superior   4   4   3   3   1   3   2   9   4+

Unit Composition : 5 Venatori.
Unit Type : Infantry
Wargear : Close Combat Weapon, Castigator Crossbow, Carapace Armour, Frag Grenades
Special Rules : Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Scout
Act of Faith : Eye of the Emperor
Options :
  • May include up to 5 additional Venatori : 13pts per model.
  • The entire unit may take Cameleoline Cloaks :  2pts per model.
  • The entire unit may take Krak Grenades : 1pt per model.
  • One model may be upgraded to a Venatori Superior : 10pts
  • The Venatori Superior may replace their Castigator Crossbow with a Purgatus Crossbow : 15pts
  • The Venatori Superior may replace their Close Combat Weapon with a Power Weapon : 15pts
  • The Venatori Superior may take Melta Bombs : 5pts
Special Rules and Equipment

Eye of the Emperor (Act Of Faith) : Calling upon the Emperor to guide their blades and bolts the Venatori unleash a storm of precisely placed blows. Their foes falling with adamantine tipped bolts and mono-edge blades punching through the weakest parts of their armour.

This act of faith is declared at the start of the controlling players Assault or Shooting phase. For the duration of that phase all attacks made by this unit are resolved with an AP of 2.

Castigator Crossbow (Weapon)
: Crafted by master artisans especially for the Sisters Venatori, the power of these weapons belies their primitive appearance. From their thrice blessed steel strings to the robust mechanisms of their ammunition feeds they are crafted to the highest of standards. The Venatori are trained to use these surprisingly deadly weapons to eliminate enemy leaders and specialists, sowing confusion and fear in the enemy ranks with barrages of blessed adamantine bolts.

Castigator Crossbow : Range : 16", Strength : 4, AP : -, Special : Assault 2, Precision Shots

Purgatus Crossbow (Weapon) : These mighty weapons are crafted with one function in mind, the execution of Psykers. Utilising an adamantine-weave string and explosive charge to propel meter long bolts of blessed silver they are rightly feared by witches. The hexagrammatic prayers inscribed into the massive bolts destabilise the powers of their victims, causing them to consume themselves in a maelstrom of uncontrolled warp energy. An irony the Witch Hunters find delicious.

Purgatus Crossbow : Range : 24", Strength 5, AP -, Special : Assault 1, Precision Shots, Psy Shock

Cameleoline Cloak (Equipment) : Cameleoline Cloaks are sturdy garments with photo-reactive fibre bundles woven into them. These cloaks change their colour and patterning in response to their surroundings, providing a measure of active camouflage to the wearers.

A model with a Cameleoline Cloak benefits from the Stealth Universal Special Rule.

Psy Shock (Special Rule) :  Psy Shock weapons are specifically designed to turn the powers of the Unsanctioned against themselves, piercing their tainted souls as easily as their corrupted flesh.

Any Psyker who suffers an unsaved wound from a weapon with Psy Shock must make an immediate Perils of the Warp roll.

Design Notes :

Now, obviously this unit is designed to give the Adepta Sororitas an infiltration and skirmish unit, a role I think the Sisters Venatori fill pretty well. The issue was in differentiating them from Space Marine scouts, and giving them access to short ranged but rapid firing and accurate ranged weapons manage that admirably.

This is a mobile unit meant to either harass enemy infantry from cover, popping the heads of characters and special weapon troopers, or to cut apart vulnerable infantry in melee. They're not built to deal with heavy infantry (except on the turn they use their Act of Faith), nor can they threaten any but the lightest of vehicles. A fair balance compensation to my mind.

I did ponder adding a selection of specialist crossbow bolts, but I struggled with the mechanics and have since dropped that idea. However if I come up with something I'm happy with later I'll add them back in. I'm also not 100% happy with the name Castigator for their crossbow design...hmm...

As far as their fluff goes it makes sense to me that the Ecclesiarchy and the Adepta Sororitas would have stealthier agents. Whilst Ecclesiarchy sanctioned death cults provide plenty of trained killers, death cultists lack the patience and discipline of trained soldiers. Being less concerned with efficient target elimination and information gathering, more with ensuring their victims are slain according to the murder-rites of their cult.

Likewise the existence of the Sisters Venatori also hints at the more secretive, insidious aspects of the Adeptus Ministorum. At priests and pontiffs plotting against each other, of hidden heresies and murderous schemes, of corruption and decay at the very heart of the Imperial Creed. Appropriate.

As usual, if you've any thoughts on these ladies let me know. Next time we're going to go for something a little... heavier...

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Sunday, 17 May 2015

Dark Heresy - Enemies Within : Review

(This is all your fault. No its not! Hrkbleagh)

So, it's not been long since I reviewed the core rulebook for the second edition of Dark Heresy, and its already time for me to follow up with its first major expansion. This one has been out for, ooh, about a month now, and I picked it up shortly after its release. Unlike the previous edition of Dark Heresy (and indeed all of the 40k RPG's) this first book is not a general expansion, instead focusing on one of the three major ordos of the Inquisition, namely the Ordo Hereticus.

Overview :

The Ordo Hereticus, also known as the Witch Hunters, are the branch of the inquisition concerned primarily with the investigation and elimination of threats to the Imperium that originate within humanity itself, as opposed to the Daemon hunting Ordo Malleus and the Alien hunting Ordo Xenos. As such their primary targets are cults, recidivists, rebels, mutants and (of course) Witches, the eponymous Enemies Within.

The book provides a selection of additional homeworlds, backgrounds and roles appropriate to agents (and indeed enemies) of the Ordo Hereticus as well as armaments, armour and tools. It also contains rules for the Adepta Sororitas in the form of the Adepta Sororitas background and the Battle Sister elite advance, but I'll get to those in more detail once I reach the Crunch section of my review.

As well as expanded character and equipment options the book also provides rules for Inquests, essentially a system for calculating the success of Investigations that is similar to the Endeavour rules from Rogue Trader, as well as expanding on the fluff for the Askellon sector.

Fluff :

Speaking of which, the books fluff is well written and interesting. It begins by explaining the role and history of the Ordo Hereticus in general before moving on to information more pertinent to the Askellon sector itself, such as the work of the Arch Savant Lord Dyrulli and specific heresies like the Vaxi Atrocity, The Pellucid Way, the Adorii Cults of Juno and the whispered secrets of the Lost Familia.

The last chapter of the book also details 8 worlds of the Askellon sector, providing details about their history, status, and the threats that bedevil them. I'm a particular fan of the Agri world of Temperance, with its history of cults, mind mold infestations and abandoned settlements lending themselves easily to Campbellesque tales of horror amidst the hills and farms. Of foul things lurking in hidden groves, of farmers desperate to improve their flagging harvests no matter the cost in blood and souls, and of twisted abominations shambling from the woods to besiege torch lit villages...

Seriously, go and read some Ramsey Campbell. Do it.

All of these are an excellent source of story ideas, of adventure hooks, and I'm very much enjoying how the Askellon Sector is developing. It feels very different to the Calixis sector, with the Imperium being weaker and the Inquisition having less of a presence in the region leaving Acolytes far more isolated and lacking in support. It also feels far more cohesive, though I'm not sure if that's due to the writers having more experience with 40k by now or due to an increase in editorial oversight. In either case I'm happy with the result.

Crunch :

The first section of actual rules deals with additional character options, starting with extra homeworlds, backgrounds and roles. These being Agri World, Feudal World and Frontier world, followed by the Adepta Sororitas and Mutant backgrounds, the Fanatic and Penitent roles and the Sister of Battle Elite Advance. All of these are solid, fitting in well with the second editions character creation system. Adepta Sororitas background is especially interesting in that its role bonus makes characters utterly immune to Corruption... instead they gain Insanity equal to the Corruption they would normally gain (-1). If you're a member of the Sororitas you won't become a howling mutant, but you will end up a gibbering, frothing madwoman shrieking prayers to the God Emperor whilst wielding a 6ft chainsword.

Excellent.

The Sister of Battle Elite Advance builds on this, the advance itself grants a few proficiencies and skills as well as access to some basic Sisters of Battle equipment, but the real meat is in the Sister of Battle exclusive talents. These are all centered around the use of Fate Points and Insanity, and they're all pretty damn interesting. For example one talent restores a used Fate Point to all friendly characters within line of sight whenever the Battle Sister burns a fate point to survive a mortal blow. Another allows the Sister to spend a Fate Point to increase the damage of her Melee attacks against enemies she hates by her Insanity bonus. All useful and interesting stuff, at the cost of insanity and potential martyrdom. How apt.

I do have some minor issues with the above however. Most notably the Agri World and Feudal World bonuses don't really make sense. The former grants Brutal Charge and the latter allows characters to ignore the maximum Agility rating for any armour they wear. Why? Why is a farmer capable of devastating melee charges? Why is a feudal world peasant trained in wearing heavy armour? For games I run I'll be replacing both of these with something less nonsensical.

My other gripe is that the Sister of Battle advance has an Influence requirement of 50. Again, why? I assume its a balance issue to prevent one of the party creating a starting character with power armour and a bolt weapon, but it seems very arbitrary to me. A Sororitas will be a battle sister from the moment her training finishes, and she has no need to build up a web of influence, favours and reputation before being allowed to complete said training. It just doesn't make sense, and I personally replace that with the good old standby of "GM's Caveat". As well as potentially stripping a Battle Sister of her power armour in certain situations at the discretion of the party Inquisitor.

Next comes the Armoury, which as you'd expect contains plenty of cool toys including Godwyn De'Az Bolt weapons, Purgatus Crossbows, several different kinds of Flamer, and a surprisingly large number of low tech weapons including gunpowder firearms and a selection of crossbows. There's also some interesting melee weapons including Man Catchers and Power Stakes as well as a variety of specialist ammunition types and grenades. Because the Ordo Hereticus really need white phosphorous grenades and incediary rounds. I'm not being sarcastic, they really do...

Then there's some armour and wargear, including Sororitas Power Armour (which seems to lack the internal systems of normal power armour...), Hexagrammatic Wards and Rosarii. Finally we have the vehicles section with rules for the Sororitas Rhino, the Sororitas Immolator, the always-awesome Repressor APC, and the civillian issue Van Cleef's wader.

I really love the Repressor, if my Knights Vigilant could take them I'd be a very happy man.

The next section deals with Profane Objects. Now these are interesting, they're a selection of (as I'm sure you guessed) cursed items of great power. These are really interesting and each comes with its own interesting little snippet of background as well as notes on who seeks such an item and the artifacts own unnatural properties. They range from a cursed music box to a chalice capable of either healing the wounded or causing horrible psychic disasters and I'm a big fan of their inclusion.

Once past the gear and cursed objects of terrible cosmic power we come to a selection of new talents, all of which are appropriate to the Ordo Hereticus and all of which are pretty damn useful. Divine Protection is my personal favourite, allowing an acolyte with a Spray weapon to use it without harming allies in the area of effect... Cue the flamers and maniacal laughter.

These are followed by Minor Psychic Powers, making a triumphant return from the original Dark Heresy. These powers are available to any character with a Psy Rating and have effects that are minor, but still very useful. Examples include Impel (a minor telekinetic shove), Weapon Jinx (allowing the psyker to jam his enemies foes) and Word of Beasts (controlling the actions of animals, just like the old Necromunda Wyrd's). I'm really pleased these have made a comeback, they add an extra element of flavour to both PC and NPC psykers.

Next we have the rules for Inquests. I mentioned these earlier, they're a system for dealing with Inquisitorial investigations in a somewhat more organised manner. It's a simple system based around the party having to gain a set number of Investigation Points in order to unlock Revalations, which in turn push the investigation towards its conclusion. Its simple, and I like it. This is followed by a short section on Radical Inquisitors / Acolytes, with a selection of tools that Radicals can make use of as well as sections on Radical Peers and Cults. Its minimal but at least its useful.

Art :

I don't have a lot to say here, as much like the core rulebook the art remains solid. I'm also pleased to note that the bulk of the books art appears to have been commissioned specifically for this publication. There are a handful of illustrations taken from previous Fantasy Flight productions, and a small number of John Blanche pieces (of course), but in general the art has continued to improve. Good work Fantasy Flight.

Conclusion :

Enemies Within is a solid expansion to a solid system. I have only a handful of issues with it (virtually none compared to the core rulebook), and if Fantasy Flight can maintain this level of quality then I have absolutely no misgivings with the future of Dark Heresy 2nd Edition. It's definitely worth picking up if you've already bought the core rulebook, and I'm already awaiting the next expansion. I'm personally hoping it'll be Enemies Without...

And now I'm going to go and reinstall X-Com.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael.

Friday, 8 May 2015

Codex Sisters of Battle : Penitent Psyker

(Is it me or does he really look like Linus Roache in The Chronicles of Riddick?)

Today I'll be continuing my series of posts expanding on the units available to the Sisters of Battle. Much like the Frateris Militia this is a unit that used to be available to the Sisters of Battle (and by extension the Ordo Malleus), but disappeared after the third edition Witch Hunters codex save for an appearance as an elite career advance in the Dark Heresy Radicals Handbook.

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Penitent Psykers :
Across the Imperium of Man men and women are taught from birth to fear the Witch, to fear the Psyker, to fear those touched by the power of the Warp. This fear is not unfounded, as an untrained or corrupt psyker can unleash horrors beyond the imaginings of most humans. The irony is however that without Psykers, without Navigators, Astropaths and the battle psykers of the Imperial Guard the Imperium would simply not be able to function. This however does nothing to endear gifted individuals to the bulk of humanity, who treat them as pariahs, to be shunned, feared, and hated.

No Imperial institution is more vocal in this regard than the Ecclesiarchy, the guardians of humanities spiritual well being having nothing but contempt for witches, no matter how useful they are. Sometimes however a Psyker will be given over to the custody of the Ecclesiarchy, this is usually the case when a renegade or witch is taken prisoner by the Inquisition or Adepta Sororitas and not instantly put to death for their crimes. Most of these prisoners are destined to die for their sins, but those who show themselves to be truly repentant are instead given the chance to prove their contrition and become Penitents.

Rarely a Psyker already in service to the Imperium will willingly give themselves to the Ecclesiarchy and become a Penitent Psyker. A lifetime of hatred, abuse and self loathing finally becoming too much to bear, with only the promise of forgiveness through penance enough to salve their tortured souls.

Bound tightly with chains of blessed silver, their faces hidden behind ornately carved Witch Cages and psy-nullification masks, they are herded into battle by vigilant minders, ever watchful for the slightest sign of corruption. In battle these tortured souls serve as psychic lightning rods, protecting the faithful from enemy witchcraft, often at the cost of their own lives. A price they willingly pay in exchange for the promise of redemption in death.

Penitent Psykers : 20pts (An Adepta Sororitas detachment may contain up to 3 Penitent Psykers. These do not take up a Force Organisation slot, and do not qualify as a mandatory HQ selection)

                        WS BS    S     T   W    I     A  LD  SV
Penitent Psyker  2   2   3   3   1   3   1   7   -

Unit Composition : 1 Penitent Psyker
Unit Type : Infantry (Character)
Wargear : Close Combat Weapon
Special Rules : Bound Witch, Independent Character, Psyker (Mastery Level 1), Sacrifice
Options
  • May be upgraded to Mastery Level 2 : 10pts

Special Rules and Equipment :

Bound Witch : The Penitent is bound in chains of blessed silver inscribed with holy wards and prayers of detestation. These safeguards serve to keep their powers contained, whilst also generating an aura of holy power that blunts the witchery of their foes.

Despite having the Psyker special rule, Penitent Psykers do not generate Psychic Powers nor may they manifest them. Likewise they do not generate Warp Charge dice in the controlling players Psychic phase, though they do in the opposing players Psychic Phase.

Sacrifice : Years of religious indoctrination instil many psykers with a lifelong hatred of their own abilities, and indeed of themselves. Those that become penitents are more than willing to sacrifice themselves in battle to protect their keepers from enemy warpcraft, hoping that the act will purge their souls of their inborn taint.

When a unit containing a Penitent Psyker makes a Deny the Witch roll, the controlling player may elect to immediately remove the Penitent Psyker from play. If they do so then one of the Warp Charge dice used to manifest the power being denied is automatically nullified.

Design Notes :

From a gameplay perspective the reasoning behind the addition of Penitent Psykers to the Sisters of Battle's forces is to give them a way to properly protect themselves from Psychic effects. Although almost all of the models in the codex have Adamantium Will against any opponent with a goodly number of Psykers they simply won't have enough Warp Charge dice to properly defend themselves. Penitent Psykers plug that particular hole, with their vulnerability (especially to snipers and challenges) being the main balancing factor.

Well, there we are, another (to my mind) useful little addition to the Sisters of Battle Codex. I've got a few more of these left percolating around in my head, a heavy infantry unit, a pair of new Independent Characters, and maybe even some vehicles...

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Sunday, 3 May 2015

Dark Heresy 2nd Edition : Review


Today I'm going to review a book that I've owned for quite some time now, the second edition rulebook for the Dark Heresy roleplaying game. By this point I'm going to assume my readers know 40k (or have at least read the TV Tropes page), and with that in mind...

Overview :

Dark Heresy is a roleplaying game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe that places the players in the roles of Inquisitorial acolytes, serving the aims and whims of that mysterious (and terrifying) organisation, investigating rumours of heresy and apostasy, and fighting the eternal war against the Enemy Within, The Enemy Without and the Enemy Beyond. It's a game of investigation, horror, brutal violence and looming insanity, fun stuff! It's also renowned for the unforgiving nature of its combat system and having 8 pages dedicated to critical damage charts, with results ranging from losing a few fingers to being reduced to a greasy crimson smear.

Naturally there are people who have created more detailed and medically precise charts. Ahh roleplayers...

The original game came out about 7 years ago and had a somewhat fraught release, being released, cancelled, and then picked up again by Fantasy Flight games all within 24 hours. Over the years plenty of sourcebooks have been released along with the spin off's Deathwatch (dealing with the Space Marines of the namesake organisation), Rogue Trader (exploration and conquest on the edge of the Imperium, think Star Trek via Warhammer 40,000, yes its as awesome as it sounds), Only War (the Imperial Guard and the thankless, brutal campaigns they wage against the Imperium's enemies), and Black Crusade (the Forces of Chaos and the inevitable descent into horror and corruption.).

Now Fantasy Flight have decided to release a new edition, bringing the game more into line with the rules in Only War and Black Crusade. After a period of community beta testing it has been released and now it's time for me to pick it apart.

Also yes, I'm aware its been out for MONTHS and I've only just gotten around to reviewing it. What can I say, I've never been one for keeping up with current events...

Fluff :

This edition of Dark Heresy eschews the previous setting of the Calixis Sector in favour of the (admittedly nearby in stellar terms) Askellon sector. I'm very pleased with the fluff that's been written so far, which portrays Askellon as a sector on the brink of total dissolution, with warp travel slowly becoming more and more difficult even as institutions both civil and Imperial begin to fall apart under the strain of the sectors seemingly inevitable collapse. It's wonderfully nihilistic and sets up a region where the actions of the party can easily contribute to the sectors precarious stability, or maybe even speed its collapse into chaos.

An important note is that whereas the Calixis sector had a particularly strong Inquisition presence (to the point where they had a palace on the sectors capital world, known and feared by the entire populace) the Askellon sector lacks that. I'm a fan of this, the Inquisition is meant to be composed of those rare individuals capable of handling the responsibilities and pressures of their position, they should never be numerous, and only gather in large numbers in dire emergencies. The Askellon sector supports this, and reinforces a sense of isolation and self reliance for the party. They can't easily run to the greater Inquisition if they encounter something they can't handle, they have themselves, their mentor, and whatever contacts and allies they can assemble themselves.

The worlds of the Askellon sector presented in the book are well written and interesting, with Desoleum and its system of oaths, debts, and innumerable vicious gangs being a particular favourite of mine. The various Adepta and institutions are presented in a (I hesitate to the use the word but I'm sure you understand my meaning) realistic fashion, and enough adventure hooks and mysteries are provided to support plenty of adventure seeds, character concepts, and story ideas. The fluff is definitely a strong point of the book and I'm looking forward to reading future additions in upcoming books.

I just wish that Fantasy Flight or the Black Library would release some Dark Heresy novels like those written for the first edition, though hopefully they wouldn't get part way into a series and then never release the last book. I'm looking at you Sandy Mitchell....

On a related note, Mitchell's Dark Heresy novels are a fun read, and an interesting counterpart to the Ciaphas Cain novels. If you can find them I'd thoroughly recommend giving them a read.

Crunch :

As far as rules go, for the most part Dark Heresy 2E has been updated in line with Only War and Black Crusade, if you're familiar with those you'll likewise be familiar with how the rules have changed.  On a more general note I'm going to go through the book chapter by chapter and point out aspects of this edition that I particularly like and dislike. Here we go...

1 - Playing The Game : This section deals with the basic rules of the game, and has been updated in line with Black Crusade / Only War, the only major change being to how additional degrees of success / failure are calculated. Previously one degree was earned for failing or succeeding on a test, with an additional degree for every 10 points of difference between dice roll and target number in either direction. Under second edition degrees of success / failure beyond the first are instead calculated by either subtracting the 10's of the number rolled from the 10's of the target number (in the case of successes) or subtracting the 10's of the target number from 10's of the number rolled (in case of failures). Though this does make scoring at least 2 degrees of success / failure a little more likely it also makes calculating degrees a little easier, useful when you're in the middle of an extended combat.

2 - Character Creation : Now here is where this edition begins to shine. The old Homeworld / Profession system for character creation has been modified, and replaced with a tripartite system of Homeworld, Background and Role. This allows a greater degree of customisation than the previous system, and allows more interesting and varied characters.

Homeworlds decide characteristic modifiers, fate points, wounds, and grant some sort of bonus such as hive worlders having an easier time of navigating when in enclosed environments and not being slowed by crowds. They also provide a single aptitude but I'll get to those later. Background provides a selection of starting skills, talents and equipment as well as one of two aptitudes and another benefit dependant on the background. For example characters with the Adeptus Arbites background can re-roll Intimidation and Interrogation tests as well as substituting their Willpower bonus for the degrees of success on their roll. Finally a characters Role determines, well, their role in the party. These range from Assassin and Warrior to Chirugeon and Sage, with a characters choice of role deciding the rest of their aptitudes as well as providing a choice of two talents and a final role-related benefit. The Assassin role for example allows characters to use a Fate Point to deal additional damage equal to the number of degrees of success they roll on an attack.

I really like this system, it provides so much more potential for variety compared to first edition, and indeed compared to any of the first run of Warhammer 40k RPG's. It allows, for example, an Adeptus Mechanicus character who is not a Tech Priest, but instead a skitarii, a genetor, or a even a tech-assassin. An Arbitrator who isn't a grim faced, huge jawed expy of Judge Dredd but a clever interrogator or infiltrator. It even allows combinations that on the surface are bizarre but nevertheless interesting such as an Ecclesiarchal character with the gift/curse of psychic powers, or a tech savvy feral world Adept.

There are some flaws though, in the form of characteristic generation. Going by the core rules stats are rolled one at a time with no option to move them around or reassign them once generated. Each homeworld picks out two stats that are particularly favoured, allowing an additional dice to be rolled (and the lowest discarded) when rolling for them, and a single stat for which the opposite is true, with three dice being rolled and the highest ignored. I take issue with this, I like myself and my players to be allowed to play the characters they want to play, instead of rolling a set of stats and being forced to alter their plans around those or risk playing characters utterly unsuited for their roles.

Likewise though there is a point buy system it caps all stats at 40, with +5/-5 modifiers to each homeworlds chosen stats. This is...well...pointless. As whether these modifiers are used or not all characters have the same ability caps and the same number of points to spend, the only difference being that one stat can be 5 points lower depending on the homeworld chose.

Niggles, but easily fixed ones.

One of the most important features of this chapter is how advancement is dealt with. Instead of providing career paths and levels with a predetermined selection of skills, talents and characteristic advancements, second edition instead uses the same method of progression as Only War. Characters have a selection of Aptitudes, determined by their homeworld, background and role, which correspond to each characteristic, skill and talent. The experience cost of each advance is determined by how many corresponding attributes the character possesses, for example a character with the Strength and Offence aptitudes will pay 100xp for their first 5 point improvement to strength, whereas a character lacking those aptitudes will pay 500xp. Its a simple system that I'm very happy with.

Finally we come to Elite Advances. These are similar to the advanced careers of first edition, Deathwatch and Rogue Trader, in that they are major modifications to a character that have specific prerequisites and benefits. Instead of replacing a career rank they are instead paid for with experience points and provide characters with access to special abilities, new aptitudes, and advance based powers. The Elite Advances provided in the core rulebook being Inquisitor, Psyker and Untouchable, and all are well written with an interesting suite of abilities.

3 - Skills : The skill system remains relatively unchanged, though in line with Black Crusade / Only War the number of skills has been trimmed down somewhat. I only have a couple of comments, firstly that I think the Operate skill and its 3 variants (Aerospace, Surface and Void) seems a bit too simplified, especially considering that the Lore and Linguistics skills still need to be taken multiple times in order to expand a characters base of knowledge and languages, whereas taking Operate [Surface] allows a character to pilot ALL ground vehicles with equal skill.

Secondly I'm a little disappointed that the Specialisation system from the beta wasn't implemented. This system would have consolidated the various Lore and Linguistics skills into a single skill choice each, with a characters breadth of knowledge being expanded by taking specialisations. For example a character could take a specialisation in Eldar and apply that to their existing skills, allowing them to use Linguistics to speak their language, Medicae to understand their biology, and Tech use to attempt to puzzle out their technology. It was an interesting and elegant system that I hope rears its head again at some point in the future.

4 - Talents and Traits : These seem to have been trimmed down somewhat, with talents from multiple older sources being added in (such as the wonderful Thunder Charge talent) whilst others have been consolidated or removed entirely. Notably the social talents seem to have been trimmed down severely, with the emphasis being on combat talents. Traits are mostly unchanged, with Unnatural Characteristics using the Black Crusade / Only War rules variant of being a numerical bonus to the characteristic bonus rather than a multiplier, with half the bonus being applied to degrees of success.

5 - Armoury : The armoury remains a wonderful cornucopia of blades, guns, grenades, and other ways to make people die very messy and unpleasant deaths. As well as the tools and equipment that the agents of the Inquisition need to go about their duties. I do have some lingering problems however, problems I've had ever since first edition. Namely that the characteristics of some weapons are... off. Plasma weapons for example, which are meant to be some of the most powerful personal armaments in the setting, are far weaker than they should be. Likewise certain weapon stats simply make no sense, such as a mundane staff having the Balanced rule whilst a Force Staff does not....why?

As I said, these are not new issues, though I do intend to address them at some point. Those aside the selection of weapons and equipment is very good, with more cybernetics and tools than the previous core rulebook and with most of the item descriptions and rules being far clearer and more concise, all positive developments.

6 - Psychic Powers : This...this section has problems. Not necessarily with the core psychic power rules, but with the powers themselves and with the shoehorned in progression trees that have been introduced as of this edition. The basic rules are (surprise surprise) identical to Black Crusade / Only War, with power manifestation being based off ability checks, and Psychic Phenomena / Perils of the Warp being a constant danger for the incautious psyker. This system is far superior to the first edition rules for warpcraft, and I'm pleased that the update has been made.

With that said, there are as I mentioned problems. The progression tree's are nonsensical at best, and an utterly unnecessary addition. Why does a Biomancer need to know how to blast people apart with warp lightning before they can learn to alter their physical appearance? Why is wrapping yourself in a shield of psychic fire a prerequisite for cauterising wounds with your mind? Likewise a lot of the new power prerequisites make no sense either, most notably several powers have a Willpower requirement of 35... when the Psyker elite advance requires that a character have a Willpower of 40.... was this chapter written by another designer who refused to talk to the others?

Several powers likewise have been nerfed, with the Telekinesis discipline having suffered the worst of it. As I just said I genuinely wonder if this character was handed over to separate writer, if so they seem to have been more concerned with trying to make their own mark on this chapter than actually providing a well written and balanced selection of abilities. This is a subject I'm going to come back to in the future, most likely in depth. That said the power rules are perfectly functional, just (to my mind) in need of alteration.

7 - Combat : The combat rules have been brought in line with Black Crusade / Only War, and are better off for it. As always combat in Dark Heresy remains brutal and (in my opinion) fairly realistic, with suppressing fire, the use of cover, and crippling injuries all being important factors. Notably this chapter includes vehicle combat rules, something absent from the original rulebook.

8 - Narrative Tools : This section includes two of the most important changes to the new edition, the addition of the Influence and Subtlety mechanics. Influence is the 10th characteristic and is used for obtaining favours, equipment, and support from allies. It's essentially the Profit Factor and Infamy characteristics from Rogue Trader and Black Crusade applied to Black Crusade, and I'm perfectly happy with this. Though the use of cold hard cash can be a useful tool the Inquisition is more likely to deal in favours and cpmmetopms than coin, and if the party demand cash the GM can easily work out a value in Influence that can be used for tests to acquire equipment or services. Influence cannot be increased like other characteristics, instead the players must earn it by their actions, though likewise it can be lost due to foolishness or even enemy action. That being a potential adventure seed in and of itself when the party realise someone is eliminating their allies and contacts or ruining their reputation.

Subtlety is new, and fairly self explanatory. It represents how overt or secretive the party are in their behaviour and investigations, with there being benefits and drawbacks to especially high or low subtlety. For example a particularly overt party may find it easy to browbeat others into submission with their authority, but they will also find that their enemies know they're coming and will likely have either fled or be better prepared for their presence than if the party had been more subtle. On the other hand a party that have remained in the shadows will find it easier to surprise and outmanoeuvre their foes but will struggle to call in support from the authorities due to the clandestine nature of their operations. Subtlety is gained and lost through the parties actions much like influence (though it is more easily influenced), and is a very interesting mechanic that I've been enjoying playing with.

This chapter also includes more detailed rules for social interaction and investigation, hints on constructing conversation and investigation structures, and the rules for Corruption, Insanity and Fate Points that have appeared in all the 40k RPG books.

I'm a particular fan of the Disposition rules, which assign NPC's a set Disposition rating which rises and falls depending on the actions of the party. A high disposition is beneficial to the players, a low disposition detrimential, with the rulebook providing a list of personality types along with what how the use of certain skills modifies their disposition and how they act if reduced to a disposition score of 0. Disposition can be tested like any other characteristic to see if an NPC will aid or hinder the party, and I find this particular mechanic to be a useful guide to NPC interactions.

The chapter ends with the rules for Reinforcement characters. These are high powered characters (the examples provided being a Sister of Battle Canoness, a Deathwatch Space Marine, an Eversor Assassin and a Grey Knight Terminator) that the players may spend Influence to bring into play in place of their usual characters. I can see what the designers were trying to do here, to give players a chance to stretch their muscles as the mightiest champions of the Imperium, but I'm really not a fan. I'd rather my character spent influence to call in support from the Imperial Guard, requisition the services of a Naval vessel, or request aid from the Deathwatch than be forced to temporarily bench my character in favour of another. Frankly I think it makes a mockery of the main characters actions, or at the very least denigrates their efforts. Its interesting, I just don't like it.

9 - The Imperium : This is the usual overview of the Imperium of Man provided in every 40k RPG book. Its nothing new or special, but useful when explaining the setting to new players.

10 - Askellon Sector : See my fluff section for my thoughts on the Askellon Sector.

11 - Game Master : This is a fairly standard GM chapter, there's nothing here that hasn't been said in previous rulebooks save for a few system specific tips and hints. Its a useful and interesting read that I wouldn't recommend skipping it, but that's all I have to say about it.

12 - NPC's and Adversaries : This chapter is filled with stats for everything from Pilgrims to Plaguebearers (and I'd so play that RPG), with many NPC's having their own special rules depending on their roles such as the Heavy (a generic oversized thug) having the ability to shove enemies around with their melee attacks. For the most part these NPC stats are sufficiently well written and varied to provide an excellent toolbox for the GM to work with,  however...

Yes there's always a however.

Some of them are nonsensical. The worst offenders that spring to mind being the statistics for the Adeptus Arbites and the Tech Priest. Why exactly is the Arbitrator, one of the elite enforcers of Imperial law, armed with a standard pump action shotgun? Not the oversized Vox Legi, not even a combat shotgun that they'd easily have access to, but a normal shotgun. Likewise I was under the impression that Inferno pistols are extremely rare and powerful weapons, reserved for the most powerful and influential individuals, so why exactly does the standard Tech Priest carry one? Wouldn't they be more likely to carry a masterfully crafted las-weapon or exotic sidearm from the forges and workshops of their forge world?

They're minor issues, again easily dealt with, they just...bother me.

Art :

Now we come to the art. To me this is a very important aspect of any sourcebook, admittedly it has no effect on the games rules, but good art serves as an inspiration to the GM and to the players, helping not only to establish the feel of a particular universe but also as an excellent source of ideas for anyone who stumbles across a piece of art they find particularly inspirational. I've had plenty of incidents over the years where I've perused a book and come across an illustration that has (and this is a term that always causes concern amongst my players) "given me ideas" that have blossomed into anything from a single trap, enemy or encounter to the inspiration for an entire dungeon or important NPC.

So yes, art is important to me. Pay attention Exalted.

How do the illustrations in the rulebook stand up? Well... for the most part they're pretty good. Dark and evocative, filled with the kind of imagery that you'd expect from the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Particularly noteworthy to me are the front cover by Mathias Kollros (which I'd personally love to get a print of for my future gaming room wall), and the work of the artist who did the illustrations for the background sections who's name I'm sadly not aware of. At some point I'll go through the art credits online and see if I can find out who they are so I can properly credit them. I love their crisp, evocative art style and the way in which their illustrations fade out into plain line work at the edges. Its an aesthetic I really appreciate.

As for the rest of the art most of it is perfectly fine, though there's a few blatant reprints from older Fantasy Flight productions, I suppose that's to be expected. Some pieces are great, some are average, some are substandard. Sadly there are also a few illustrations that are...well...awful.

The worst offender is probably a little controversial, John Blanche. I...I REALLY hate John Blanche's art. I know that he's been a huge contributor to the look and feel of the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy universes over the decades but I simply find his work messy and ugly. I'm also sick of his art being reprinted in every damn GW or GW related book book that's released. There are so many artists out there who are far more talented and who deserve their chance to shine. Give them the opportunity Fantasy Flight, and stop mining the same set of sketchbooks over and over again. Please.

There's a few other pieces that I really dislike, most notably the art used on the Psychic Power trees and the map of the Askellon sector on pages 322 and 323. They're absolutely hideous and I've no idea what the art director was thinking when he decided they were going in the book. Thankfully these pieces are relatively few and far between in comparison to the far better art that fills the rest of the book. I just hope that future publications continue to improve in art quality.

Conclusion :

In conclusion Dark Heresy was badly in need of at least an update to bring it in line with the newer Warhammer 40k RPG's, and a completely new edition is very welcome. The new edition tidies up a lot of the more convoluted and nonsensical gameplay elements whilst offering a far more organic system of character creation and advancement, all good moves. However it's still far from perfect, with a handful of problems that, whilst not game breakers, definitely need some attention. Especially if you're a picky bastard with a habit of fiddling with game rules like me.

I suppose that's a whole set of future blog posts.

Overall If you already play one of the 40k RPG's or are interested in getting into roleplaying in the grim darkness of the far future I'd definitely recommend picking it up, it's more than worth it. Just be prepared to do a bit of tinkering here and there and to occasionally get annoyed at terrible art and design decisions.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael