Here are the character creation options you’ll have in Warhammer 40k RPG Imperium Maledictum
Start planning your Imperial agent early.
Warhammer 40,000 RPG Imperium Maledictum has revealed the various character creation options players will have at their disposal in the upcoming roleplaying game - and Dicebreaker has an exclusive first look.
Announced last year, Imperium Maledictum is a spiritual successor to classic Games Workshop RPG Dark Heresy from studio Cubicle 7, maker of Age of Sigmar: Soulbound and the latest edition of 40k RPG Wrath & Glory.
Rather than bulletproof soldiers and superpowered Super Marines, players’ characters are everyday citizens of the Imperium, tasked with investigating mysteries and uncovering - or sowing - conspiracy on behalf of a powerful patron associated with one of the universe’s influential factions. That patron will be created by the GM and players before they begin their campaign, with their allegiance influencing the agents’ interactions with other inhabitants of the Macharian Sector.
When it comes to players’ own characters, they’ll be able to create their agent from a combination of unique skills and talents, along with an origin, faction and role - the game’s effective equivalent of class and race options seen in traditional tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons.
A character’s origin outlines their background on one of the system’s planets (or in the case of the Voidborn, somewhere between worlds). Rather than needing to choose a specific planet from the Warhammer 40k universe - though there’s nothing stopping that - players pick from one of 10 possible origins in the core rulebook: Agri World, Feudal World, Feral World, Forge World, Hive World, Shrine World, Schola Progenium or Voidborn. A character’s chosen origin influences their possible faction and starting traits
Speaking of factions, we already knew there would be nine influential groups for players’ agents - and their patron - to side with. We now have a full list, ranging from the militaristic Astra Militarum (familiar to veteran 40k players as the Imperial Guard) and bureaucratic Administratum to the tech priests of machine cult Adeptus Mechanicus and telepathic psykers of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. You can also choose to throw in with the state church of the Ecclesiarchy, the secret police of the Inquisition, the Imperium’s starbound navy - Navis Imperialis - the human explorers and merchants of the Rogue Trader Dynasty or the outlaws known as Recidivists.
A character’s faction determines what equipment, skills and other elements they start with, and doesn't necessarily need to align with the faction of their patron.
Arguably players’ most important choice in Imperium Maledictum will be their character’s role, which acts as an equivalent to class in other tabletop RPGs and defines their available talents, skills and specialisations, along with some extra equipment.
Players will be able to pick from six possible roles in Imperium Maledictum’s core rulebook. Zealots are driven by passionate - and possibly self-destructive - faith, while Mystics provide insight and a potential link to the mysterious psychic dimension of the Warp. Meanwhile, Interlocutors excel in communication and influence, stealthy Penumbras are rogue-like assassins and spies, Savants are scholarly bastions of knowledge, wisdom and expertise, and warriors are, well, good at fighting.
While roles are crucial to a party’s interactions and encounters, Cubicle 7 describes a character’s role as “fluid” in Imperium Maledictum. The titles are encouraged as more loose ideas of an agent’s place in the group - and how they serve their patron - rather than the more explicit definitions of a character’s origin and faction.
A character’s origin, faction and role combine with skills, talents, equipment and their background information to form a complete character in Imperium Maledictum. Players can choose to customise each aspect as they like, or roll to randomly generate a character - with the upside of starting with bonus experience for leaving it to chance.
Warhammer 40,000: Imperium Maledictum will release its core rulebook later in January. A boxed starter set will follow later in 2023. While neither the core book or starter set will include playable adventures, they will be followed by a series of free scenarios released on online, along with supplements that detail the factions of the sci-fi setting.