Attention, would-be adventurers:

Attention, would-be adventurers: grab a dice and a pencil and get ready for hard choices and action-packed encounters with a new Path to Victory book.

Those of you who played the first Black Library game book, Hive of the Dead, will have fond (or possibly terrifying) memories of desperately trying to escape an Imperial hive city overrun with the living dead, using just a single dice and a trusty pencil. You’ll be pleased to know that second title in our Path to Victory range will be out this Friday. Trade your lasgun for a sword as the action is transported into the dark forests and bleak cities of the Old World.

In Beneath the City of the White Wolf you are a devoted member of the Knights Panther, sworn to protect the great city of Middenheim. You uncover a dark plot and are sent on a quest to discover whatever evils may be lurking beneath this ancient citadel. Expect action, murder, intrigue and the odd monster as you delve deeper into the Ulricsberg.
We had a go at it in the office, and after a rocking good start, our adventure was brought to a swift end by the barbed spear of a night goblin: an ignoble end for a Knight of the Empire.

We thought we’d give you a chance to see if you could do any better. So this week we’ll be playing through the first few pages of the adventure on the blog. You can then vote on what you want our hero to do using the Black Library Facebook page.

We join our hero as he leads a detachment of troops into a dark, Chaos-tainted forest – what could possibly go wrong...

The Drakwald is an eerie place, even with the bright midday sun peering through the foliage, but as you ride your grey charger at the head of a contingent of state troopers you feel no fear. Your patrol has been sent into the heart of the forest to root out the beastmen, and you are determined your mission will be a success.

Behind you, marching in tight formation, are the troops of Middenheim, their white and blue uniforms tattered and filthy from the long weeks of campaigning. Despite this they are stalwart and reliable men, holding aloft the white wolf standard of the city with pride and stout determination. Amongst their number are handgunners and archers, ready to rain death on the enemy at a moment’s notice. Beside them march swordsmen and halberdiers, their grim features showing them ready and willing to take on the enemy as soon as they are discovered.

The path winds through the forest, and you are beginning to wonder if you are embarking on a fool’s errand when you espy something up ahead. Moving forwards, you see the path comes out into a wide clearing which used to make room for a small hamlet consisting of half a dozen wood-built houses. These houses are now nothing more than charred planks and ashes, and it is clear the beastmen have passed this way.

A scout draws your attention to fresh footprints – the unmistakeable cloven hooves of the enemy – leading north-east. If you are quick, you may be able to catch the beastmen who have set this village aflame.

1) Will you press on and pursue the beastmen?

2) Or take time to search the village for any survivors?

Head over to our Facebook page to vote for your preferred choice of action, then check back tomorrow for the next part of the story.
If you want us to let you know when this book goes on sale, you can set a reminder for City of the White Wolf today.

Then todays post

The adventure continues...

Yesterday we began our play through of the new Path to Victory book Beneath the City of the White Wolf.
Our hero Absalom Kross, Knight Panther of the Empire, discovered a village in the Drakwald forest that had been overrun by a horde of beastmen. You had the option of pursuing the beasts, or searching the village for survivors. Voting on our Facebook page, you opted to search the village (a sensible, if not particularly courageous move). Let’s see what our hero found amongst the ruins...

You order the men to make a hasty search of the village. At first all they find are charred bodies and broken furniture, but suddenly one of them shouts you over, drawing your attention to a trapdoor set in the floor of one of the burned out shacks.
Drawing your sword, you pull open the trapdoor and peer inside. Hiding within is no ravenous beastman waiting to attack, but what looks like a frightened old man cowering in the dark. He is covered in cuts and bruises, but otherwise seems unharmed. You help the old man out, reassuring him that you mean him no harm, but he does not speak – seemingly struck dumb by his recent experiences at the hands of the beastmen.

Do you wish to use one of your three Healing Packs to treat the old man’s wounds?

Or would you rather leave him be?

Go to our Facebook page now and vote on the next course of action.

Check back tomorrow on the blog to find out what happens next. We will also give you a first glimpse at some of the stunning new internal artwork in the book, from Lone Wolves illustrator Karl Richardson.

Posted by The Black Library Team

How like the Raven Guard to keep secrets close to their chests, but don't worry, Deliverance comes to those who wait and you'll find out more soon enough.

Sorry we can't tell you more just now, but we'll be dropping little hints about what's to come tomorrow, with the full reveal next Monday. Black is the new black.

Manchu wrote:Exciting! The title seems a little cumbersome, although I get that it's what you call a group of ravens (like a murder of crows).

d-usa wrote:I endorse any and all Raven Guard novels.

Alpharius wrote:

d-usa wrote:I endorse any and all Raven Guard novels.

Careful there!

It all depends on who is writing it...

At this point, I really only want Dan Abnett to write about the Alpha Legion (OK, and Aaron Dembski-Bowden too) because everyone else that gets their hands on them produces less than stellar results, to date...

Kanluwen wrote:He already has in "Cadian Blood".

Nothing substantial, mind you, but he did explore them a bit there.

d-usa wrote:Do we have any rumors/ideas as to what authors are going to be at the Adepticon Black Library event?

Would love to get some stuff signed there.

reds8n wrote: I can only concur with the aforementioned praise for Mr. Werner's fantasy novels, I'm also looking forwards to his Iron Warriors versus Orks 40k book too.

The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare, able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system-crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply materiel for the Legion’s many warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly greenskin invasion when whisperings of rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals?

reds8n wrote:yes way

http://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/siege-of-castellax-the.html

The Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Legion have long been renowned as the masters of siege warfare, able to inflict devastating firepower and unimaginable cruelty upon their foes. On the world of Castellax, twisted Warsmith Andraaz builds his own empire even as a system-crushing ork Waaagh! approaches, and drives his own slaves ever harder to meet their production quotas and supply materiel for the Legion’s many warbands. Their walls are strong and their weapons ready, but how long can the planet hold out against the deadly greenskin invasion when whisperings of rebellion begin to pass between the Iron Warriors’ downtrodden vassals?

Just Dave wrote:A full novel I hope?

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently (some would say too much time), thinking about the Raven Guard. In particular, I’m interested in exploring everything that sets the Raven Guard apart from their brother Space Marines. Some of these traits are well established, of course: their ghostly white flesh, their obsidian eyes, their preference for stealth tactics and striking from the darkness. I’ve tried to incorporate all of these things into my Raven Guard stories so far. But one of the things that I’m really keen on delving deeper into is the rituals of the Raven Guard, their symbolism and beliefs.

In Helion Rain and Labyrinth of Sorrows I took inspiration from the recent Forge World models, which depict the Raven Guard as carrying bird skull fetishes on chains about their power armour. I named these tiny bird skulls ‘corvia’ and imagined that the Raven Guard harvested these skulls as part of their initiation as aspirants – that they had to put their stealthy skills to use in capturing these ravens in the forests of Kiavahr and make totems from the creature’s skulls.

However, when it came to describing the armour of a Raven Guard Chaplain for a new, forthcoming project, ++REDACTED BY THE INQUISITION++, I decided it was time to up the ante. If a typical Raven Guard aspirant was expected to capture a tiny Kiavahran raven with his bare hands, what trials must a Chaplain have to face?

Chaplain Cordae’s armour is unlike that of any Raven Guard seen before. His skull mask is formed from the head of a massive Roc – an enormous bird that lives high in the peaks of the Diagothian mountains of Kiavahr. The bird’s wing bones are spread across his jump pack, and its ribs form a brace across his chest. Cordae believes he carries the spirit of this massive, terrifying bird into combat alongside him, and the last thing his enemies see before they die at his feet is the looming, beaked skull of his mask, peering into their soul.

In Prey, a prequel, of sorts, to the campaign in the Sargassion Reach that began in Labyrinth of Sorrows, Cordae is hunting this beast. As the story opens he’s been in the mountains for nineteen days, wearing only a ritual loincloth, and he’s readying himself for his attack. But has he anticipated just how wily this deadly creature can be…?

'PREY' FOR DELIVERANCE

We showed you a video in yesterday's blog and promised some more news about what's coming on May 7th. To that end, we tracked down our local raven expert George Mann, here's what he had to say:

"I’ve been spending a lot of time recently (some would say too much time), thinking about the Raven Guard. In particular, I’m interested in exploring everything that sets the Raven Guard apart from their brother Space Marines. Some of these traits are well established, of course: their ghostly white flesh, their obsidian eyes, their preference for stealth tactics and striking from the darkness. I’ve tried to incorporate all of these things into my Raven Guard stories so far. But one of the things that I’m really keen on delving deeper into is the rituals of the Raven Guard, their symbolism and beliefs.

In Helion Rain and Labyrinth of Sorrows I took inspiration from the recent Forge World models, which depict the Raven Guard as carrying bird skull fetishes on chains about their power armour. I named these tiny bird skulls ‘corvia’ and imagined that the Raven Guard harvested these skulls as part of their initiation as aspirants – that they had to put their stealthy skills to use in capturing these ravens in the forests of Kiavahr and make totems from the creature’s skulls.

However, when it came to describing the armour of a Raven Guard Chaplain for a new, forthcoming project, ++REDACTED BY THE INQUISITION++, I decided it was time to up the ante. If a typical Raven Guard aspirant was expected to capture a tiny Kiavahran raven with his bare hands, what trials must a Chaplain have to face?

Chaplain Cordae’s armour is unlike that of any Raven Guard seen before. His skull mask is formed from the head of a massive Roc – an enormous bird that lives high in the peaks of the Diagothian mountains of Kiavahr. The bird’s wing bones are spread across his jump pack, and its ribs form a brace across his chest. Cordae believes he carries the spirit of this massive, terrifying bird into combat alongside him, and the last thing his enemies see before they die at his feet is the looming, beaked skull of his mask, peering into their soul.

In Prey, a prequel, of sorts, to the campaign in the Sargassion Reach that began in Labyrinth of Sorrows, Cordae is hunting this beast. As the story opens he’s been in the mountains for nineteen days, wearing only a ritual loincloth, and he’s readying himself for his attack. But has he anticipated just how wily this deadly creature can be…?"

Further deterioration has meant that several of the unique organs of the Space Marines no longer function as they should among the Sons of Corax, while others are not as effective as they once were. For example, the zygote cultures required to grow the Mucranoid and Betcher's Gland do not exist within the Raven Guard and the Melanchromic Organ has a unique mutation that, over the years of service, causes the skin of the Space Marine to grow paler. Eventually they will be as white as their Primarch and their hair and eyes will darken, becoming black as coal.