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2011/03/31 04:22:27
Subject: Re:Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
The Black Sepulchre, an adventure for Dark Heresy, is available
The hand appears to have a fraction of malign intelligence within it. It speaks to those it believes it can corrupt. Attempts to silence its voice have proven useless. Currently Savant-Militant Grendel is engaged in a struggle of wills with the dark entity that now takes home within. He is one of the fair few trained in the psychic arts required to hold the beast at bay. I have sequestered the acolyte Grendel in an airlock aboard the Righteous Indignation. I am monitoring him as I decipher Thrungg’s journal and should he lose control I will jettison him into the void and instruct the captain to purge his remains. It will not be a permanent end to the artefact, but it will buy us, according to my research, a thousand years and a day. – From the correspondence of Binder Morgaine
When a decadent noble uncovers a heretical artefact of dark origins, the Inquisition is sent on an investigation from his palace to a lost fortress on a distant world. Can you solve the mysteries of the Haematite Cathedral before it’s too late, and uncover a conspiracy that threatens to set the Calixis Sector ablaze?
Uncover the Mystery
The Black Sepulchre, an adventure for Dark Heresy, is now on sale at your local retailer and through our webstore! This gripping story tasks Acolytes with solving the riddle of an ancient and powerful structure. In the process, they’ll uncover a truth so dark, the Calixis Sector may never recover from its discovery...
The Black Sepulchre is the first installment of The Apostasy Gambit, a Dark Heresy campaign that takes a cell of Acolytes from investigating the tragic history of a warped Cathedral to crusading against a conspiracy at the heart of one of the Imperium’s most vaunted organisations. The Black Sepulchre can be played on its own, or it can form a part of the grand Apostasy Gambit campaign. What’s more, this adventure is designed for all levels of play, so beginners and veterans alike can explore its varied paths to success.
Head to your local game store today and discover the dark mystery that awaits!
This new trilogy holds more interest for me than the previous one. Why? Well, for a variety of reasons.
This is sounding good overall, and I do dig the name too.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2011/03/31 10:21:18
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
We refuse to take sides in this anymore. And we refuse to let you turn us against one another. We know who we are now, we can find our own way between order and chaos...
It's over because we've decided it's over. Now get the hell out of our galaxy! Both of you.
"Whoever takes purple sash is purple, and follows purple leader." I follow purple tau. Theophony
2011/04/01 00:44:32
Subject: Re:Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
FFG wrote:
Into the Screaming Vortex A preview of Black Crusade, the upcoming Warhammer 40,000 Roleplaying Game
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be corrupting players this summer. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview from Andrew Hoare, one of the writers for Black Crusade. Among other contributions, Andrew wrote about the various regions in which your Black Crusade campaign might take place. Thanks, Andrew!
Black Crusade takes a departure from Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader and Deathwatch, presenting its own unique corner of the Warhammer 40,000 universe – the Screaming Vortex – but wrapping its questing pseudopods about the Calixis Sector, the Koronus Expanse, and the Jericho Reach too. The Screaming Vortex is a warp storm, situated between the Calixis Sector and the Jericho Reach, and within its boiling heart, Chaos rules supreme!
Campaigns of Black Crusade can be set in any of these four locations, or all of them. Each offers a different sort of game, providing a grand arc that can see characters rise from ambitious aspiring champions all the way up to mighty Chaos warlords.
While the Calixis Sector, the Koronus Expanse and the Jericho Reach are all detailed in their own core rule books and supplements, the Black Crusade rule book presents the Screaming Vortex. Players and GMs are free to begin their campaigns wherever they like, drawing on the information presented in any of the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay books, but the Screaming Vortex is designed as the ideal jumping off point. After all, what would-be champion of Chaos would not seek to gain dominance over his rivals before turning his fell attentions onto the hated Imperium of Man?
Where Chaos Reigns
The Screaming Vortex is the ideal setting for beginning characters to gain skills and experience and, most importantly, garner the dark blessings of the Ruinous Powers. So anarchic is the region within the Screaming Vortex that no coherent system of governance exists, though many warlords have sought to impose their will upon it. Instead, each world stands alone, the savage populations masters, or victims, of cruel fate.
While a region of tempestuous and random energies, the interior of the Screaming Vortex can be divided into three broad categories. No map or star chart can ever describe the true configuration of the vortex, for it exists as a hybrid of the real and the unreal, and is subject to no natural law. The ebb and flow of its tides can be imagined as a vast celestial whirlpool, the tides of the Sea of Souls wild and heaving on the outer edges and becoming increasingly rapid and perilous nearer the centre. The outer edges are host to a myriad of planets known as the Gloaming Worlds. These are accessible via the 13th Station of Passage, a hidden portal located deep within the Koronus Passage, and each is a savage place of anarchy and war. Past the Gloaming Worlds is the so-called Inner Ring, where the interface between the real and the unreal truly breaks down. The worlds of this region are places of insanity and Chaos, nightmarish regions shaped by the will of mad gods and brutal warlords. Beyond the Inner Ring is the Lower Vortex, a region entirely steeped in the raw stuff of the Warp. Here, the only planets to be found are horrific Daemon Worlds, where the servants of the Ruinous Powers make eternal war upon one another. At the heart of the Lower Vortex lies the Frozen Heart, and the Ascendant Spiral, a route by which a mortal strong or insane enough to have looked upon that which lies at the centre of the Screaming Vortex might escape, if the Ruinous Powers will it.
Games set within the anarchic Screaming Vortex are all about power. The player characters seek to gain dominance over their rivals, earning as they do so the dark blessings of the Ruinous Powers. Adventures within the Vortex can encompass a massive range of types, including simple battles for territory to complex and involved conspiracies. The deeper one travels into the Vortex the more power one might amass, for the worlds within the Inner Ring and the Lower Vortex hold secrets millions would, and indeed have, died for. Artefacts of terrible potency await those with the strength to seek them out, and beings of incalculable power dwell on the Daemon Worlds of the Lower Vortex. Of course, the ultimate goal of any truly worthy champion of the Dark Gods is to unite the disparate factions within the Vortex and to lead them in a Black Crusade against the unsuspecting Imperium, smashing through the 13th Station of Passage and descending on the weakling defences of the Calixis Sector.
The Unholy in a Pilgrim’s Land
Those who choose to take their campaigns outside of the Screaming Vortex will find a setting at once familiar and alien. If the Calixis Sector is a threatening environment for an Inquisitorial Acolyte, consider it from the point of view of a Disciple of Chaos! Institutions that appear from within as crumbling and impotent are to the outsider vast, cyclopean edifices of galactic domination. Players of Black Crusade get to see the Imperium afresh, through the eyes of those who hate it and seek to tear it down. But beware, for the agents of the Inquisition are everywhere, and no one can be trusted!
The Koronus Expanse is a region ripe for conquest, and one where those who tread the Path to Glory can carve out entire empires beyond the light of the hated Emperor. With countless worlds and resources just waiting to be discovered and claimed, and numerous secrets predating the rise of man buried beneath the surface of long-dead worlds, the Koronus Expanse offers unlimited possibilities.
Lastly, there’s the Jericho Reach. Here there is only war. The worlds surrounding the stellar phenomenon that is the Hadex Anomaly are completely under the sway of Chaos, and their peoples have rejected the crusading Imperium. Upon the scorched battlefields of a hundred war worlds and more, the servants of Chaos face the greatest champions the corpse-god Emperor can muster, and slay them in the name of the true powers – the Gods of Chaos.
Yay! The game has a setting!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
And now for some news that's far more exciting than GW's own half-hearted attempt at a Grey Knight Codex...
FFG wrote: Tragic Ends A look at Daemon Hunter, the upcoming Dark Heresy supplement
Two weeks ago, we announced Daemon Hunter, an upcoming supplement for Dark Heresy. A powerful resource for campaigns featuring the servants of the holy Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition, Daemon Hunter features information and background on the Ordo Malleus in the Calixis Sector, the Daemon hunter’s trade, and the Malleus armoury. Today, Dark Heresy’s developer took the time to share some additional details on this exciting title.
Daemon Hunter gives Game Masters and players the ability to tell stories that have deep and powerful themes. In a universe as grim as the 41st Millenium there are tragedies every day. The death toll of any given day in the Warhammer 40,000 universe is uncountable, and wars rage on inexorably. In such a world, what could possibly qualifies as tragic?
A Never-Ending Battle
Real Heroism is easy to recognize in Warhammer 40,000. It’s those who stand against the unstoppable tide of the Warp, and through opposition stall it, if only for a moment. A Hero is someone who fights, knowing that his enemy can never be truly defeated. Tragedy, therefore, are the events that occur when a guardian fails. The lives that are lost when a lone squad of guardsmen can’t hold the line that crucial moment. The souls devoured by chaos when the Acolytes fail to stop the sorcerer’s ritual.
Few tragedies, therefore, are as grim as when a champion must become the monster to rectify his own failure. What man could keep his grasp on sanity when he must snuff out the lives of every human being on an entire planet... because he failed.
That is the nature of the Exterminatus. It is a last resort in the Inquisitor’s toolbox used to hold back the hands of midnight for a decisive minute. A terrible choice that Inquisitors must face when their servants falter against the daemonic, heretical or alien. In Daemon Hunter, the writing team was able to tackle this horrific choice, discussing how the Inquisitors in the Calixis sector choose to enact such an action, and how they go about it.
The Weight of Worlds
The brutal pragmatism required of an Inquisitor can drive even the strongest of minds into insanity, and the Ordo Malleus within the Calixis sector has taken steps to alleviate some of this burden. An Inquisitor is not alone in his decision to declare an Exterminatus. He has the Collegiate Exterminatus to consult. Comprised of Banishers, Inquisitors, high ranking Ecclesiarchal figures and members of the Scholariate-At-Arms, this group advises Inquisitors, shouldering for them, to some small degree, some of the terrible burden they carry.
Of course situations may demand quick action, and an Inquisitor must sometimes act quickly. With Daemon Hunter these tragic legends can be told. The story could begin with a cell of Acolytes who choose to pay dearly, buying a critical moment against an inevitable Daemonic Incursion. The tale can continue with an Inquisitor leading Grey Knights against the legions of Chaos swarming the doomed planets Imperial cities. Finally the saga ends with a desperate Inquisitor aboard his strike cruiser, sending his Acolytes once again into certain death, to activate a Virus bomb before the bridge of their vessel is breached by the forces of Chaos.
Daemon Hunter gives GMs the tools they need to tell these stories in the “Grim Darkness of the Far Future”. Players take on the roll of Heroes holding a torch in the infinite blackness of insanity and the warp. Will you survive long enough to be counted among the myths of Warhammer 40,000... or will you be just another statistic in the logs of some Adeptus Ministorum logician?
I do so love that GK picture. That Cultist is seriously fethed.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/04/01 00:46:41
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2011/04/01 07:32:46
Subject: Re:Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
Last time, we looked at an overview of Mark of the Xenos. This week, the Mark of the Xenos design team is pleased to present the second preview for the book: the menacing Dagon Overlord. This massive Tyranid Hive Tyrant has gained a reputation amongst the forces of the Orpheus Salient as a powerful and deadly threat, a Tyranid leader that arises time and again to attack the forces of the Imperium in the Jericho Reach.
The Dagon Overlord is a great tool for GMs who want to showcase Hive Fleet Dagon and personify the Tyranid menace in a single form; created by Owen Barnes, this deadly being is just one of the many xenos organisms found in Chapter I: The Alien Threat.
Read about this vicious predator in Dagon Overlord (pdf, 956 KB), available for download on the support page, and gain the upper hand for your next foray into battle.
We’ll have more previews over the new few weeks. Stay alert for your chance to study the enemy, and look for Mark of the Xenos this spring!
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2011/04/12 13:50:04
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
As the battle for Castobel rages on and the remaining hive cities fortify themselves, the Dagon
Overlord appears again at the Battle of the Nine Bridges, crushing an entire Planetary Defence Force
regiment and sweeping the defenders from the field. Hazy pict images gathered after the battle from a
servo-skull show what seems to be a mountain of corpses gathered at the feet of the Overlord.
I think Khorne is gonna be preeeeeeeetty ticked off
2011/04/12 14:06:32
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
We refuse to take sides in this anymore. And we refuse to let you turn us against one another. We know who we are now, we can find our own way between order and chaos...
It's over because we've decided it's over. Now get the hell out of our galaxy! Both of you.
"Whoever takes purple sash is purple, and follows purple leader." I follow purple tau. Theophony
2011/04/12 14:15:25
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
I do hope they do designer diaries on the other parts of the book before it gets released.
Indeed, I'm always interested to hear about the thoughts that went into the writing process and then what, if any changes, were made later.
I find that's the most frustrating aspects of, for example, the WD designers articles : they hint at this sort of process but never really go into the nitty gritty of why X/Y/Z was done. Most annoying.
Not least as it leaves the impression that changes are made without such a process, which you'd think would be something they'd be keen to dispel.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2011/04/12 14:23:37
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
The reason I'd love them to focus on the non-Xenos aspects of this book in their designer dairies is that I feel most DW players might gloss over the 'Heretics' section they talked about in the previous Designer Diary for no other reason than 'ZOMG! Tyranids & Tau!'. I know the book's called Mark of the Xenos, but there appears to be much more than just some Tyranid and Tau stats in there.
Anyway, this is the book I'm looking forward to the most in the whole upcoming line up. Ok... second most. Church of the Damned is the one I want the most, but that's for completely different reasons.
reds8n wrote:Indeed, I'm always interested to hear about the thoughts that went into the writing process and then what, if any changes, were made later.
Yeah. It would be so awesome to know the process that went into writing, testing and changing these rules.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2011/04/12 14:26:42
For GW perhaps (maybe next time they can use M. Night Ward as the dart board), but not the FFG guys. They seem to care more about the integrity of their work and less about pushing whatever's out next.
I don't trust Amazon. They're hopeless at just about everything, especially estimated shipping times and release dates.
That said, Maelstrom does put it to 25/06/11, and Maelstrom usually has their release date anywhere from 4 weeks to 1 week behind the general release date. So sometime in June I'd say.
Liesure Games UK seems to get them first (or is one of the first to get them), so it's best to go off them.
H.B.M.C. wrote:I don't trust Amazon. They're hopeless at just about everything, especially estimated shipping times and release dates.
That said, Maelstrom does put it to 25/06/11, and Maelstrom usually has their release date anywhere from 4 weeks to 1 week behind the general release date. So sometime in June I'd say.
Leisure Games UK seems to get them first (or is one of the first to get them), so it's best to go off them.
With Amazon, they(meaning Amazon proper) don't get their shipments from FFG until everyone else does.
Silly to an extent, but I guess it makes sense.
2011/04/12 23:48:09
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
Makes sense, Amazon sells at a discount undercutting the stores that build their games. It's big enough they have to sell to AMazon but they make AMazon wait so the real frothers like me go out any pay full retail.
Same logic for waiting few months on doing PDFs.
Anyway the point is, it's not out this month.
2011/04/14 04:19:48
Subject: Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
Got my copy of Black Sepulchre yesterday, only really had a brief flick through, but seems the usual high quality FFG product.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2011/04/14 08:19:39
Subject: Re:Dark Heresy - Rogue Trader - Death Watch - Black Crusade news and rumours
reds8n wrote:Got my copy of Black Sepulchre yesterday, only really had a brief flick through, but seems the usual high quality FFG product.
I ordered my copy today.
I've heard from a pretty reliable source that the second part of this series is going to be more awesome than the first part - possibly even the most awesome book FFG has ever put out. Can't for the life of me think why though...
Love it. I love the two different reactions that Captain Scipio will give you. I'm definitely going to have to get Dark Heresy now after reading through this tiny little adventure book and getting some serious scenery ideas.
Spoiler:
The Black Sepulchre wrote:"Men of the Protectorate!" yells Captain Scipio, hanging onto one of the handholds mounted overhead. "We drop in thirty seconds! Come down fighting and check your targets!" He shoots you a nasty look, "And you. You're coming down in the false chapel. Find the proof you need and try not to get yourself killed!"
That's if you're a 'new' Acolyte.
High ranking characters get the last part replaced with:
"Sirs, the battle plan has you coming down in the false chapel, I leave it to you to find the proof you need and we will try not to get in your way.'
