(Back you fiends! Back to hell!)
So here we are with the third and possibly final book in Dark Heresy 2E's series of sourcebooks dedicated to the major Ordo's of the Imperial Inquisition.
Overview :
Enemies Beyond deals with the Ordo Malleus, the oldest and most secretive of the three primary Ordo's of the Imperial Inquisition. The Ordo Malleus are Daemon Hunters, dedicated to preventing Daemonic Incursion wherever possible, and putting an end to them where they cannot. Theirs is a secretive war that by necessity is hidden from the bulk of the Imperium's population, with only their peers in the Inqusition and figures in equally high positions of authority fully aware of their work.
Just like the other two books in this series Enemies Beyond contains new backgrounds, homeworlds, roles, talents and equipment of great use to the Daemon Hunters and those who serve them. The book also provides the new Astropath elite advance and two new Psychic Disciplines in the form of Sanctic and Malefic daemonology as well as rules for the creation of Daemonhosts and rites of summoning, binding and exorcism.
In addition to these new rules the book provides further background material focussed around the Askellion Sector and the Daemonic incusions that have plagued it over the millenia. The book also contains general information on the Ordo Malleus, their methods and servant as well as an overview of the four great Gods of Chaos and the nature and methods of their Daemonic servants.
Let's take a more detailed look shall we?
Fluff :
The quality of the fluff and background writing remains excellent, and I very much enjoyed the short story at the start of the book which gives an excellent piece of insight into the operations of an Ordo Malleus team of acolytes and how they operate.
The book begins in the same manner as the other two, with an overview of the Ordo Malleus, how they operate, and the enemies that they face as well as the methods they use to attain their goals and battle the Enemy Beyond. This is followed by a short analysis of Radicalism within the Ordo Malleus and the types of Acolytes they make use of. This is followed by fluff information dedicated specifically to the Askellion Sector and the oft-mentioned Vaxi Atrocity which is examined in greater detail from the perspective of the Ordo Malleus and it's part in that calamitous event.
This is followed by overviews of the four Chaos Gods, the manner in which they and their servants operate in the Askellion sector (with Nurgle being the most prominent amongst them), and the nature of those that dedicate themselves to the dark powers. Next come details on a selection of power groups (both Inquisitorial and otherwise) that are either composed of or are of interest to the Ordo Malleus. These are particularly interesting, and an excellent source of allies and antagonists for games set in the Askellion sector, as well as of ideas for games set elsewhere.
The entirety of Chapter 1 is peppered with sidebars detailing famous inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus (including Eisenhorn, Ravenor, Covenant and Torquemada Coteaz) as well as a selection of events and notable daemons that threaten the Askellion sector.
The third chapter of the book contains more fluff information, starting with overviews of a number of planets / installations suitable as sites for Malleus adventures. These include the Daemon World of Kul, the Prison World of Nexum, and the Astronomicon Relay Station The Emperor's Song. Each of these is accompanied by alternate rules for characters hailing from that world, as well as details on the unnatural fiends that threaten those worlds and an investigation template that can be used to build a full adventure or provide ideas and hooks for one set elsewhere
Next come details on the servants of the Chaos Gods, their Daemons. I'll go into my issues with the provided crunch for these creatures in the appropriate section, but for the most part the fluff is solid even if it's nothing new to long time 40k players. Just like the planetary information sections each God's section is followed by an investigation template, providing further ideas for adventures.
All of the above are useful, being an excellent source of ideas and adventure hooks for anyone planning to run a Malleus based adventure. Along with the smaller sections of fluff such as item descriptions and information scattered throughout the book Enemies Beyond retains the high writing quality of the previous publications in the series and it is an absolute pleasure to simply read idly in addition to it's use as a source book.
Though the fluff is overall very good, I do have a pair of issues which are not necessarily Fantasy Flight's fault. The first is that the book overwhelmingly focusses on the forces of the four major gods of chaos, with virtually no mention being made of unaligned daemons such as furies and other such minor warp entities. I take issue with this as I've always been a fan of Undivided/Unaligned daemons, despite the fact that in recent years Games Workshop's fluff has leaned towards completely sidelining such entities in favour of the four primary gods. Enemies Beyond even follows through on the recent(ish) fluff decision that Daemon Princes MUST ascend due to the intervention of one of the four, rather than the older fluff that claims that a mortal can achieve Princedom via a variety of different methods and that there are other gods and warp entities of tremendous power in the warp aside from Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeench. I dislike this change, as to my mind these changes are imposing a degree of unecessary order and limitaiton on entities that are, by their very nature, chaotic. The warp is vast, technically infinite, and it's impossible to catalogue everything that lurks in it's depths or that claims some sort of twisted divinity.
Secondly we have the Exorcised role and the books rules for performing Exorcisms. Both claim that once a character has been exorcised they can never again be possessed by the Daemon that possessed them. This is a change from the older fluff that stated that once a character has been possessed and exorcised they are COMPLETELY immune to Daemonic possession in any way, shape and form. Again I favour the older fluff, as it makes characters that have undergone Exorcisms that bit more special, as well as linking into the long standing fluff of the Exorcists Space Marine chapter and their brutal training methods.
Both of these complaints are purely personal and subjective complaints, but then what else is a personal blog for? Aside from those two issues the rest of the fluff is very solid and I have nothing else to really complain about.
Crunch :
So we've taken a good hard look at the fluff provided in the book, what about the actual rules? Well there's a LOT to cover, if nothing else Enemies Beyond provides plenty of options both for the players and the GM to play around with, something I'm a big fan of. It's impossible to accuse Fantasy Flight of skimping on content with these books, something I've really come to appreciate as whether or not you're running games using the opponents each book is dedicated to you'll still find something of use to you or your players.
After the introduction and overview of the Ordo Malleus we move onto Chapter 2, which begins with more character options for the servants of the Ordo Malleus (and as I've just stated, the other Ordo's as well). We begin with a selectin of new homeworlds in the form of Daemon Worlds, Penal Colonies and Quarantine Worlds. Next up we have a new Background, the Exorcised (which I'm very much a fan of despite the minor fluff issue that I've already mentioned), and the Crusader role for melee based characters. I really like the Crusader role, partially due to my own love of the concept of armoured, sword and shield bearing warriors marching into battle in a science fiction (well, let's be honest Science Fantasy/Horror) setting.
All of these are interesting and well thought out, providing interesting new options to the players, though just like in the other books there are a few odd choices when it comes to Characteristic Modifiers and the like. The Crusader's special role ability is particularly powerful, giving as it does a +X bonus to melee weapon damage and penetration whenever they attack an opponent with a Fear value, where X equals that value. I don't regard it as being overpowered however, due to it's relatively narrow application, though of course the usefulness of the ability varies depending on what kind of opponents they're going up against.
The final character option provided by the book is the Astropath Elite Advance. I like the fact that this has been added in as a separate advance from the standard Psyker (though the Psyker advance is a prerequisite), and the advance itself comes with a selection of unique talents that both evoke the supernatural flavour of these blind mystics as well as providing them some very useful mechanical abilities. The Astropath advance is accompanied by a selection of Astrpath-specific psychic powers, and whilst I understand the reasoning behind their restriction I personally see no reason why they shouldn't be available to any Psyker with access to the Telepathy discipline. The Mind Scan power in particular is one that I would personally regard as being a common weapon in the arsenal of any Inquisitorial telepath.
Once past the character options we move onto some new Reinforcement Characters (the Culexus Assassin and Daemonhost), which though solid in and of themselves suffer from being Reinforcement Characters. I've already made my opinion of that particular mechanic clear in previous reviews, so I shan't belabour my repeatedly made point. The chapter them moves onto the equipment section, which is stuffed full of powerful and useful wargear ranging from Psycannons and Daemon Hammers to Heavy Power Armour and Psyocculae. The rules are all solid and my girl in particular got a little overexcited when I mentioned that the book contained stats for Power Glaives due to her unholy love for polearms. Personally I'm a boring old Sword and Board man.
Just like the previous books Enemies Beyond contains a selection of unique "relics", each of which is more than suitable as the focus of an adventure, or even a series thereof. Unlike the xenos and heretical artifacts of the previous publications these are all remnants of Daemonic Incursions and are all of great value to the appropriate parties. Following these "Daemonic Remnants" are the rules for the creation and use of Daemon Weapons, which though somewhat perfunctory are fairly useful. Personally I've always been a fan of the slightly excessive rules found in the ancient Realm of Chaos books, but if you've got access to the Black Crusade books then there's plenty of scope for overlap between the two.
After the artifacts and daemonic items we've got the rules for two more Psychic Disciplines, namely Sanctic and Malefic daemonology. For those unaware these are a pair of disciplines that deal directly with Daemons and the raw power of the warp. Sanctic daemonology focusses on banishment, exorcism and a mixture of defensive and flame based offensive powers. Malefic daemonology is instead a tool for Daemon summoners and provides powers that augment their authority over the denizens of the warp as well as debuffs and a few offensive abilities. This is followed by some basic rules for summoning which again I find somewhat lacking, especially compared to the rules for daemonic rituals in the Black Crusade books which I'm a big fan of. I honestly think that Enemies Beyond should have contained similar rules instead of a simple series of Forbidden Lore and Willpower tests, one of the few failings of the book in my opinion.
Now we come to some more character options, in the form of a selection of new talents. While most of these focus on both resisting the foul influences of Daemonic entities (as well as augmenting the abilities of Daemon Summoners and other such characters) there are also a few very useful talents applicable to any kind of acolyte band. There's a good selection of talents all of which I can see plently of application for, both for the DH party I'm running with my girl, and the bunch of penal legion reprobates I'm sporadically putting through hell with Infinity Circuit and company.
After the talents we have the rules for Daemonhosts, Exorcism and Possession. Unlike the aforementioned rules for Summoning these are quite comprehensive, dealing with the generation of statistics for Daemons, different types of possession, varying binding strengths for Daemonhosts, and reasonably comprehensive rules for exorcism and surviving possession. All of these rules are solid, with plenty of options for representing different types of daemons each with their own methods for corrupting and consuming those they are bound to. All positives, and I'm sure plenty of GM's will get a lot of use out of them, especially if they have one or more players who they can trust to be their "Inside Man" when setting up stories and adventures based around Daemonic Possession.
Next up we have one of my favourite parts of the book, the rules for Daemonic Pacts. Daemonic Pacts are deals that players and NPC's can make with the denizens of the warp, giving them some sort of benefit in exchange for service, a sacrifice, or some other kind of price. I love these as a plot device and mechanic as they allow players and antagonists to dabble with the Daemonic without delving into possession, summoning, or other overt daemonic manifestations. That and I've always enjoyed the idea of power coming at a price, and playing with how far a character go when sufficiently desperate or driven. As well as rules for entering into a pact in the first place the rules present 7 different kinds of pact, each with a selection of Boons and Banes that effect the character making the pact.
Boons are the direct benefits of the pact, with examples being longevity, knowledge, martial might, familiars and psychic power. Banes are the pacts downside, and range from obvious effects such as mutations and insanity to more subtle effects such as obsessions and the wonderfully flavourful "Subverted Doom" bane which causes a close friend or ally to die instead whenever a character uses a Fate Point to prevent their death. Finally characters entering into a pact must also pay it's price, in the form of service to their Daemonic patron, sarifices, sacreligious observances, or the damnation of their soul.
All in all I really like the Pact rules, and intend to make good use of them in the future.
Finally we have what I would regard as the most underwhelming set of rules in the book, those for the daemons of the four Chaos Gods. Whilst I wish that the book had rules for unaligned and unusual daemonic entities other than the usual Bloodletters, Horrors, Daemonettes and the like, I do realise that in a book dedicated to the Ordo Malleus such stats are necessary. That's not my real issue though, whilst I appreciate that the book (combined with the Core Rulebook) provides rules for the common Daemonic servants of the Four Gods as well as for Daemon Princes, the problem is that it does nothing to make them seem, well, Daemonic.
Perhaps I should be clearer, the rules provided for the various Daemons, Gifts and the like are fine, but they simply make the Daemons in question feel like stat blocks and piles of wounds that can be treated like any other enemy. The book does nothing to make fighting Daemons feel special, aside from the bog standard Baneful Presence and a short section on how to utilise relics and legacies of a Daemon Princes mortal life as weaknesses and weapons against them (which admittedly I really do like). I think that Daemon's should be something special, beyond the aliens and heretics that the Ordo's Xenos and Hereticus battle against on a day to day basis. Perhap's that's something I'll address in the future, but for the purpose of this review I'll simply say that the Daemon rules are perfectly servicable, though nothing special.
Art :
Much like the other books in the series, that in Enemies Beyond remains very solid, with a variety of artists providing some excellent pieces of work to illustrate the work of the Ordo Malleus and the threats that they face. Unfortunately due to the subject matter of the book there's a fairly large amount of John Blanche "art" within it's pages, not that it's unexpected due to how much he's produced over the years on the subject of Daemons. That aside though the art remains very good, I'm still a fan of the layout, and there are perhaps two or three pieces in the entire book that I'd class as being or poor quality by comparison to the rest of the illustrations.
I realise that I've basically been repeating myself for all three of these reviews, but in all honesty there's little else to say about the quality of the art in these books. For the most part it's excellent, there's a little bit of reprinting from older Fantasy Flight publications, John Blanche continues to rear his messy, badly painted head, and there are a handful of less than stellar illustrations here and there. That's about it, and to be honest it's not an unfavourable assessment of these books art quality.
Conclusion
Overall Enemies Beyond is another solid entry into Fantasy Flight's catalogue of Dark Heresy products. It's content ranges from excellent to passable, though in my opinion there's considerably more of the former than the latter. I find this book to be a very good resource both for GM's and players, and I'd more than recommend purchasing it whether you're running a Malleus centred group or not, if only for the story ideas and extra character options.
So, with that said we've come to the end of the current crop of releases for Dark Heresy 2nd Edition, all of which I own with the exception of the adventure Forgotten Gods. Unfortunately nothing else has been announced for the game line since the release of Enemies Beyond, and it's entirely possible that nothing will be. Even so I'm happy with what we've had, and my girl and I have been having a lot of fun with our characters and adventures. I'm planning to go into more detail with regards to those adventures soon, with my girl and I intending to write up and chronicle both the adventures themselves and the house rules that we've adopted over the last year or two.
Watch this space kids, and venerate the Immortal Emperor.
Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael
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