The Edge of Darkness An Introduction to Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Dark Heresy Design and Writing: Alan Bligh Thanks to: John French Editing: Mike Mason Black Industries Manager: Mike Mason Graphic Design and Layout: Adrian Wood Head of BL Publishing: Marc Gascoigne Cartography: Mark Raynor If you have any questions, thoughts or undying praise for The Edge of Darkness, why not visit www.blackindustries.com to get in touch? A Black Industries Publication First published in 2007 by Black Industries, an imprint of BL Publishing BL Publishing Games Workshop. Ltd Willow Road Nottingham NG7 2WS UK All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners. This PDF is free for download. Please do not host it on your own site, nor link directly to this site, but direct people to www.blackindustries.com so that they can download it for themselves. BL Publishing cannot accept any liability for any damage caused by the use or mis-use of this file. Any download is strictly at the risk of the user. Copyright © Games Workshop Ltd 2007. All rights reserved. Games Workshop, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, Dark Heresy, the Dark Heresy logo, Black Industries, the Black Industries logo, BL Publishing, the BL Publishing logo and all associated races and race insignia, marks, names, characters, illustrations and images from the Warhammer 40,000 universe are either ©, ™ and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2007, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. www.blackindustries.com 1 The Edge of Darkness It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die. Yet in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battle fleets cross the Daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor’s will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio- engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name but a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants—and worse. To be a man is such times is to be one amongst untold billons. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of the thirsting gods. “The greatest resource our Holy Imperium possesses is the fathomless multitudes of humanity itself. No power is mightier and no force more dreadful when turned to a single purpose. By human hands alone we have remade stars in our image. By this token the wise know that true power lies in the mastery of blood and bone, in the very meat of mankind.” —Quastor General, Brantus Hurst, Departmento Munitorium Penitential Command. 2 recommended, as each will have more Introduction than a fair chance to shine as the adven- Using the Edge of ture progresses. Darkness The Edge of Darkness is an investigation- In order to help out novice GMs a far based introductory adventure for use with amount of advice on running the adven- This adventure is intended Dark Heresy. It is intended for a group of ture and using the rules has been included as a prelude to Dark two to four players and will probably take in the text. Heresy—Black Industries’ three or six evening sessions of play to com- forthcoming role playing plete. The adventure starts with a mysterious Adventure game of intrigue, adventure death connected to a forlorn district of the and horror in the 41st Mil- vast hive city of Scintilla. The circumstances Background lennium. This adventure surrounding this death have piqued the focuses the Acolytes being interest of the Inquisition and the player- Heresy and evil takes root most readily and “undercover” agents. Edge of Acolytes will be called upon to act covertly most easily in forlorn and forgotten places, Darkness is a self contained to explore the matter further. If you’re plan- be they on distant worlds, in isolated com- adventure intended for ning to play an Acolyte in this investigation, munities or, as here, in a place that has Acolytes fresh to the Inqui- you should read no further—as you’ll spoil become the victim of disaster, economic sition’s service and can be the mystery! However, if you are going be starvation and slow neglect. In the shadows used as a taster for some of the Game Master (GM), then read on. of the mighty spires of Hive Sibellus on the the themes and stories that world of Scintilla, in a run down and decay- the game focuses on, as GMs Briefing ing district called the Coscarla Division, a well as, an immersive intro- duction to the whole The Edge of Darkness is a mystery criminal and heretical conspiracy has taken Warhammer 40,000 universe. adventure and has much in common hold. Using the destitute and fearful popu- The adventure also with a detective story, with the first lous as a shield and a ready supply of makes an excellent prelude “clue” being the discovery of the body “material” when needed, an individual going to a start of an ongoing of a hab-worker named Saul Arbest. by the name of “the Churgeon” and her series of adventures if you From here the PCs are presented with a lackeys have set up a hidden medical facility already have the Dark number of different leads to follow, to conduct horrific and forbidden experi- ments. In order to mask their activities, the Heresy Core Rulebook which in turn will generate further clues in your hands; in which and information, leading them ultimately tech cult has infiltrated and secretly usurped The Edge of Darkness control of both a local Alms House and the case just ignore the Quick to the uncovering of a conspiracy of Start Rules listed here. heretical science which, if not stopped area’s enforcers to further their ends, and is supplying chemical serums to criminal For obvious reasons, the by the Acolytes, could lead to the deaths full extent of Dark Heresy’s of a great many more people. narco-gangs in order to induce their com- plicity in the cult’s dark plans. rules and systems cannot be As with many such investigation and repeated here, however a interaction based adventures, there is no The Churgeon is a renegade tech-adept in the employ of the heretical cult known as sampling of basic game exact “right” or “wrong” path in Edge of mechanics can be found in Darkness. Although some approaches the Logicians. She is a bio-sculptor whose particular area of interest is the creation of the Quick Start Rules on and pursuing certain leads will be more page 25 (we suggest that effective than others. Indeed, the wrong (illegal) alchemical serums and artificial organs to augment human biology. She GMs print off these rules question in the wrong ear, or the overt pages for their players to display of force too early in the adven- requires live human subjects for experimen- tation and the downtrodden people of use as handy reference). ture will have very unpleasant Additional rules and GMs consequences as the villains of the piece Coscarla have proved a ready source of vic- tims. She has no care for the lives of her tips have been strategically will become aware of the PCs investiga- dotted around the sce- tion and consequently come “gunning” servants or for those her macabre experi- ments kill or mutilate, and already her nario—do make sure to for the Acolytes with possibly fatal read through these rules results. Open adventures (like this one), servants have “vanished” scores of Coscarla’s people. One such abducted experimental carefully. Six introductory reward clever, imaginative and involved Acolyte Player Characters players, and unravelling secret plots, subject, a man named Saul Arbest, managed to escape before dying on the transit rail. It (PCs) have also been cre- pursuing the truth behind strange ated for your use and these events and uncovering dark conspira- is his body, once discovered, that sparks the Inquisition’s interest in the matter and the can be downloaded from cies in this fashion are some of the core the Black Industries web- themes that Dark Heresy deals with. involvement of the Acolytes. Once the Churgeon’s current round of site. Other than this This is not to say that adventures such adventure, you’ll need some as this lack action, or indeed horror, far tests are concluded, she intends to cover her tracks by releasing a biological agent to ten-sided dice (d10) ideally from it, as in this case the villains two per player, and of behind the plot are monstrous individu- mimic the effects of a plague outbreak, killing perhaps tens of thousands of people course some willing play- als guilty of gruesome crimes who will ers! have to be stopped by force.