Today we’re looking at the last two chapters of the Imperium Maledictum corebook before wrapping up with a review!
The Gamemaster
The trickiest bit of making a Game Mastery chapter in a corebook is making sure that the game feels accessible and easy to run. To help with this, Imperium Maledictum opens up the chapter with a section that helps with setting expectations of the group. In addition to discussions of the Golden Rule, Session Zero is discussed here as well, which is invaluable in a game as bleak as this.
Speaking of bleak, safety tools are mentioned, along with being able to calibrate the horror of the setting from explicit to implied depending on the preferences of the group. I can’t stress how important this is for me personally, given how extreme unfettered exposure to the Grim Darkness gets in Warhammer 40,000.
Tones and Themes are tackled next, helping build the kind of tone that players should expect in the game. Buy-in is necessary here, as while the game can be fun, there are no shiny happy endings in Warhammer 40,000, and that’s something that carries over to Imperium Maledictum. This might not faze people who are used to say, Call of Cthulhu, but anyone who might be coming in hoping for a game where they Captain America the setting will be in for a bad time.
Running the game is discussed next, where the GM is given various tools from Investigation Complication tables and tips on how to handle and pace investigative scenes and combat. Handling factions and influence is discussed here as well, which will be helpful to GMs who haven’t had an opportunity to try running something with similar frameworks before.
Finally the Chapter ends with a discussion of rewards, and a toolkit of optional rules that GMs might want to introduce to their table.
The Bestiary
This chapter is a massive selection of Imperium Maledictum scale threats to run into. Each is given a statblock and a couple of paragraphs description. As expected in a game set within the Imperial Worlds, most of the threats are from inside the Imperium itself, likely agents from other factions or the various heretics or criminals that infest the cities.
That said there are a few Xenos threats that are given attention here, with the Aeldari, Drukhari, Kroot and Genestealers given a writeup. This is fine given the fact that the Xenos won’t be as common.
The least common threat and most terrifying would be the Daemons. This section has a clear warning that these aren’t meant to be something that the investigators will run into often, and when they do, it should be a Big Deal ™.
Review
I have no doubts that Imperium Maledictum is the Warhammer 40,000 game that I’ve been waiting an awful long time for. It does a great job as a “spiritual successor” to Dark Heresy and improves on it in ways that doubles down on the investigative angle in a terrifyingly corrupt Imperium that makes one wonder how the entire thing is still somehow operational given that it’s held together by duct tape and prayers to the God-Emperor of Mankind.
Mechanically, the game stands out in terms of supporting careful and clever investigation thanks to the Superiority mechanics which rewards finding things with actual advantage in an confrontation. Add the Faction and Influence bits and you get a game where you are constantly favor trading with a host of groups that have their own agendas.
Setting wise, the Macharian Sector is HUGE, and a masterwork of building a setting where every planet is enough to kick off a full campaign. The writing team clearly brought their best work to the table and I applaud them for the effort.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how pretty the book is, in the bleak and dire Warhammer 40,000 sort of way. Cubicle 7 has never failed in terms of artwork for their Warhammer RPGs and Imperium Maledictum is one of the better ones. The layout is also easy to read and the tables are easy to reference. Having page references built into the margins helps a ton as well.
Imperium Maledictum is a very, VERY easy recommendation for anyone who enjoys Warhammer 40,000 from a more human angle. Sure you won’t be a Space Marine here, nor will you be going into fistfights with the Orks, but if you’re looking to do some good old Eisenhorn-style adventuring while putting few bolt pistol shells into the skulls of a heretic, you’ll find it right here.
For those curious about Imperium Maledictum, it’s a great time to get started as Cubicle 7 has just released the Starter Set!
You can pick up the PDF of the corebook for $29.99 and the Starter Set for $19.99
You can also choose to grab these over at the Cubicle 7 Webstore
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