Dark Heresy

February 25, 2008 No comments

I’d like to begin by thanking the anonymous benefactor who bought this for me from my Amazon Wishlist. Although I’ve never played the Warhammer 40,000 wargame and probably never will, I’m a huge fan of 40k fiction and the roleplaying game screamed my name. When I heard that Black Industries, the publisher, was going out of business and that this was going to become an orphaned game I considered breaking my vow to buy no new books this year; I was afraid that if I waited it would only be available used, for egregious prices.

This is a pretty book, hefty, well-bound, fully illustrated and color throughout. I think this is one of the last of a dying breed; the cost of publishing has been rising over the years, and with the falling dollar those costs will only increase. I already think a $50 price point is pushing it, so I think it’s simply a matter of time before full-color hardcover core books go the way of the dinosaur. That, I suspect, is why the plug got pulled on Black Industries. The margin on roleplaying books is low, and Games Workshop would likely rather you drop $50 on miniatures or other swag with a bigger markup.

Dark Heresy was the first in an intended trilogy of 40k RPG books. This one deal with playing agents of the Inquisition, and in my opinion offers the most varied roleplaying opportunities. The followup books were to focus on Space Marines and Rogue Traders.

The system is relatively simple, yet crunchy. If you’re familiar with the Warhammer Fantasy RPG, it’s an adaptation of the same system. If you’re not, it’s a percentile system with some familiar d20-like features. Everything is based on characteristics; roll the applicable characteristic or less and you succeed. Skills are Basic or Advanced — trained or untrained, in essence, so anyone can make a roll for a Basic skill but you can only use an Advanced skill if it’s on your sheet. Instead of classes there are Career Paths, where you buy class abilities with experience points, provided you meet the prerequisites. Talents are Feats, for all intents and purposes. Think of it as a sort of point-buy d20, but using percentiles.

The cybernetics system is just kind of there; you spend money for replacement parts that don’t affect your stats, you spend more money for bonuses. Utilitarians and not particularly exciting.

The psyker system is interesting. Each ability is Willpower-based and has a threshold number, which is basically a target number. Roll over the number and it works; roll under it and it fails, with the explanation that the character wasn’t able to draw in enough power from the warp. To keep things interesting, whenever a player rolls a natural 9 on any die when using a power there’s a side effect. Most of them are harmless but add flavor and can be annoying if you’re trying to be stealthy. A few draw the attention of creatures from the warp and can have pretty dire consequences. So, you can roll a 9, fail to manifest the power, and have something bad happen. This reinforces the dark nature of the setting very well.

A little more than half the book is crunch; the rest is fluff, setting material and advice on running an Inquisition-based game. That’s the part that’s most interesting to me.

Will I ever run the game? Probably not, not in this form. I mean, if a game group fell into my lap and this is what they all clamored for, sure. I’ve heard tell of people running 40k Inquisitor games using Dogs in the Vineyard, and that sounds like a more interesting, story-based experience than using a crunchy system. Am I glad I own it? Yup, it’s going on the shelf with all my 40k novels. Would I play this? In a heartbeat.

Tomorrow: More Dark Heresy with Cold Comfort for Change!