Play deadly games of Imperial politics in Relic: Halls of Terra! The quest to save the Antian Sector from Chaos takes you to mankind’s homeworld in the Sol System, where you must persuade the ruling powers of the Imperium to support to your cause. You'll have to prove your worth in tough negotiations with powerful organizations such as the self-interested Imperial Nobility, the ruthless Inquisition, and the mysterious Adeptus Astra Telepathica on your way to stand before the High Lords of Terra and the immortal Emperor himself. But be warned: Imperial politics are just as dangerous as any battle inside the Warp Rift, and blackest corruption festers even in the heart of the Imperium.

Relic: Halls of Terra contains:

A side board depicting the Sol System: Holy Terra, Mars, Titan and Luna
Complete deck of orange Threat cards specific to the Sol System
Affiliation tokens that tie characters to powerful organizations
Three new characters and a new nemesis
Additional Scenarios, Missions, Corruption, Threat, and Relic cards

Although pilgrims in untold billions journey to Holy Terra, the doors of the Eternity Gate have long been shut and few are given leave to enter. Of those who have basked in his glory, the fortunate few who have stood at the foot of the Golden Throne, no records tell of what they beheld. But who could put into words such an experience?
–Warhammer 40,000

Enter the Sanctum Imperialis and stand before the God-Emperor in Halls of Terra, an upcoming expansion for Relic! Your struggle to rescue the besieged Antian Sector from Chaos and heresy leads you on a mission to Holy Terra, where you must win the favour of the Imperium’s ruthless leaders and even plead your case to the immortal Emperor himself. If you succeed, you will return to the Antian Sector with incredible power, but failure in this notoriously dangerous political arena may cost you your life.

Today’s preview explores some of the sacred landmarks on the Sol System side board where you must undertake treacherous negotiations with the Imperium’s rulers. It traces the path of your pilgrimage from the moment you enter the Sol System to the very foot of the Golden Throne.

Entering the Sol System

As a stalwart servant of the Imperium of Man, you avoid the fate of those billions of pilgrims who endure appalling conditions simply to gaze upon Terra from afar. You may simply spend two influence to move into the Sol System from either the Battlefleet Antias or the Grey Knight Envoy spaces in the Outer Tier of the Antian Sector. From the former, you approach Terra via Luna, where billions of people dwell beneath the moon’s lifeless surface, and myriad ships cross paths on the way to and from Terra. At this great crossroads, you can use whatever influence you have to secure passage to any space in the Sol System Outer, or Middle Tiers, or you can use your Cunning to gain an affiliation with the selfish and decadent Imperial Nobility. At least one affiliation is necessary to enter the Imperial Palace. Affiliations may also allow you to escape conflict or gain new allies. An affiliation can also be exchanged for two influence.

If you enter the Sol System via the Grey Knight Envoy, you must pause at Saturn’s moon, Titan. Amid the ice and liquid methane lies the fortress of the mysterious Grey Knights, the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Malleus. There, you may be identified as an Aspirant hero and sent to the Chamber of Trials, where you will tested in combat against all manner of daunting enemies. If you prove victorious, you gain a completed mission. If you want to secure an affiliation with the Inquisition, however, you must pass a difficult test of Strength – or lose a life in the attempt.

The Forge World of Mars

From either Titan or Luna you may penetrate the Ring of Iron and set foot on Mars, the Imperium’s first and greatest Forge World and the homeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Mars is ruled over by the Fabricator General, who possesses at least one example of every technological construct and design that exists in the galaxy. If you visit his gargantuan palace, he may grant you the affiliation of the Adeptus Mechanicus, offer you a weapon from his seemingly infinite stockpile, or insist that you contribute one of your armaments to his collection. Mars is also the ancient home of House Taranis, oldest of the Imperial Knight Houses and loyal servants of the Machine God. On the Titan Legion Staging Field these knights train alongside newly-constructed Titans before being deployed to battlefields across the galaxy. Here, you can gain an affiliation with the Adeptus Astartes, or they may charge you with a mission in the service of the Imperium.
The Holiest Hive World

Most inhabitants of the Imperium of Man must be content to dream of setting foot on Holy Terra. Billions of devout pilgrims clog its wide avenues, and within the closed gates of its immense halls, countless Adepts toil to keep the Imperium running. You are among the privileged few who can enter the Halls of Terra, yet privilege does not come without peril. Failure in your negotiations with the Adeptus Arbites in the Halls of Judgement or the Adeptus Astra Telepathica in the Scholastia Psykana may cost you a life, an affiliation, or a Power card. Only the sprawling sanctuaries of the Ecclesiarchal Palace are a true safe haven. There you are certain to gain the affiliation of the devoted Adepta Sororitas, whose convent lies within the Palace. If you already have their favor, by visiting them can earn you a life.

At the end of a massive avenue of ten thousand colossal statues, honoring the greatest heroes of human history, stand the enormous gates to the Outer Palace, surrounded by hordes of fervent pilgrims who might riot at the least provocation. With a single affiliation in hand you can pass through these gates, traverse the labrynthine hives of the Outer Palace, and approach the Sanctum Imperialis.
Inside the Imperial Palace

All your efforts have lead you here, to the gates of the Inner Palace. Here, the ever-vigilant Adeptus Custodes will harshly test your best attribute. If you fail, you must return back to the Palace Gates. If you succeed, you have a choice. You may attempt to navigate the Imperial administration's cyclopean bureaucracy in the hope of standing before the Imperial Senate. Reaching the Senatorum Imperialis requires copious amounts of influence, but the High Lords of Terra reward their petitioners well. They will at least give you more influence and an affiliation of your choice. If you are very forunate, they may even bestow upon you a Relic, perhaps the brightly burning Flame of Nocturne , or the sacred Vessel of St. Basileus .

The other option is to step past the nine towering Titanoliths, travel the mile-long Hall of Heroes, pass through the Eternity Gate's adamantium doors, enter the Sanctum Imperialis, and approach the Golden Throne. There within his fettered, ancient body, the Emperor’s mind stretches out across time and space. Your mere presence before him attests that you deserve to be named a Champion of some Imperial order. A Champion of the Imperial Nobility easily gains influence; a Champion of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica can acquire new Power cards with every test of Willpower. If you have all nine affiliations, the Emperor will transport you instantly to the Daemon World Braxias, on the edge of the Antian Sector's Warp Rift.
Champion Your Cause

Your mission to the Sol System promises unprecedented rewards and unknown dangers. To succeed and return to the Antian Sector as a Champion of the Imperium, you’ll need perseverance and a sound strategy as well as incredible Willpower, Strength, and Cunning. Billions and billions of the Imperium’s inhabitants yearn to visit the majestic halls of Terra. You have the chance not only to enter them as a privileged emissary, but to win the endorsement of the God-Emperor himself.

Upcoming previews will explore the enemies, encounters, and corruptions of the Sol System, as well as the new characters and nemesis introduced in this expansion. Prepare for your mission to the heart of the Imperium, and pre-order Halls of Terra from your local retailer today!

In the unending war for the Antian Sector you have battled plague-bearing daemons and warbands of feral Orks, tainted Imperial bureaucrats and the Striking Scorpions of the Eldar. Now, the Halls of Terra expansion for Relic takes you on a mission to the sacred birthplace of humanity to garner the support you need to save untold billions of human lives.

Yet enemies to mankind thrive even in the ancient heart of the Imperium, and the Chaos emanating from the Antian Sector’s Warp Rift spawns heresy and corruption throughout the galaxy. In Halls of Terra, a new orange Threat deck brings to life the obstacles you may encounter on Mars and Terra, from ruthless Inquisitors to painful ritual purifications. Today’s preview introduces the perils of this Threat deck, along with two new scenarios in which Chaos and corruption spread beyond the Antian Sector, endangering the Sol System and your character’s soul.

Rely on Your Cunning

The very air of Holy Terra may be sacred, but that does not mean that the planet is safe. In your quest to gain the affiliations that can secure your entry to the Imperial Palace (as described in the last preview), you’ll face as many enemies and obstacles as you would in the Antian Sector. These foes are not often conquered, however, with bolters or bombs. Instead, you’ll need superior Cunning to defeat them.

Meeting a self-interested House Courtier is only to be expected on Terra. This clever and savage schemer could outwit and slander you, costing you an affiliation. Winning a courtier’s favor gives you an affiliation with the Imperial Nobility, as well as some helpful influence. Similarly, the best way to gain the support of the secretive and stealthy Officio Assassinorum is to prove yourself to an operative of the Inquisition's Ordo Sicarius that oversees it. Be careful, though: the operative will use your own Cunning against you.

There are also those who seek to undermine the Imperium from within its ranks. A Traitorous Adept could steal your painstakingly earned affiliation, simply because he senses your good intentions. Because of such internal threats, the Inquisition operates even on Terra, ruthlessly hunting down heresy and treason. If accused by them, your innocence won't help you . Your best bet is to use your Cunning to blacklist a rival– if you succeed, you’ll earn the Inquisition’s affiliation for handing over to them the apparently guilty party.

Battle the Black Crusade

Your journey to the Sol System is just part of the greater quest to save the Antian Sector. Yet what erupts from that sector’s Warp Rift can still affect Terra, countless light years away. When the legendary Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler, resurfaces in the Antian Sector, the corruption of the Warp threatens even the Sol System. Twelve times Abaddon has lead his villainous Black Legion to war in the hope of tearing the Emperor from the Golden Throne. Twelve times the Imperium has vanquished his nightmarish army. Now, you and your fellow players are challenged to defeat this Champion of Chaos a thirteenth time.

In the cooperative Black Crusade scenario, you gradually fill the galaxy with the daemons, traitors, and heretics that herald Abaddon’s approach by drawing a Threat card at the start of each turn. In addition, every turn players place a Corruption card on a space in the Sol tier. When you begin your Engagement phase on a corrupted space, you must take the Corruption card as if you drew it. If the Sol tier fills with Corruption, all the players lose. But every time a character enters the Warp Rift and wins a Confrontation against Abaddon, each player removes a Corruption card from the Sol tier. When that tier is free from corruption, all players win.

Affiliation with the pious and merciless Adepta Sororitas may be your salvation in this corrupted and dangerous universe. With it, you might have the fortune to take a Sister of the Order Dialogus as an ally. She causes dice results of both five and six to explode, doubling your chances of incredible success. Affiliation with the Adepta Sororitas also enables you to more easily survive purification through pain , which could purge you of all Corruption cards and grant you more life.

Succumb to Corruption

Some humans give in to corruption in exchange for immediate advantages, even though they recognize the evils of Chaos. The Lure of Chaos scenario provides an incentive to corrupt yourself: once per turn, after a die roll, you may draw one Corruption card to turn a die to any result you want. This could enable you to move exactly where you wish, beat the odds in a dangerous battle, or gain crucial affiliations. Moreover, the scenario allows you to choose whether to activate the Corruption cards you draw, regardless of their number. You can thus avoid an Atrophied Soul while embracing a Mutanous Growth that enhances your abilities.

If any players are free from corruption when someone enters the Warp Rift, those players win the game. Yet, in the grim, dark future, remaining pure is no simple feat and comes at a high cost. You may only avoid corruption in this scenario if you are willing to lose an attribute for every Corruption card you would otherwise draw, as the struggle against Chaos strains your Willpower, Strength, and Cunning. Or, you can fully give in to Corruption and become a secret servant of Chaos operating under the banners of the Imperium. If all players are tainted to some extent, each player adds the activation numbers of his corruption cards, and whoever has the highest total– the direst corruption– wins.

Confront the Impending Chaos

Chaos is emanating from the Antian Sector, stretching its black claws towards the sacred Sol System and no planet, not even Holy Terra, is completely protected from its ruinous powers. In Halls of Terra, you have a choice. Do you strive to remain pure as you vailiantly defend the Imperium of Man? Or do you surrender to the lure of Chaos, and allow your body and mind to be corrupted on the road to victory?

The Warp Rift is expanding and your ship to Terra awaits. Pre-order Relic: Halls of Terra from your local retailer today!