Warhammer 40K Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum Starter Set Review

The others have found their way into the Inquisitor's service, but I was literally made for it. After passing trials at an early age, I was then molded into the tool that now serves the Imperium at Inquisitor Halikarn's request. The others may have misgivings, but I never do. The Inquisitor points, and I obey. But this hive city? This miracle? Even I have my doubts. But if there's corruption, either way, I will find it and snuff it out.

We've been fans of Cubicle 7's Warhammer roleplaying games for a while, and you can read our review of the Age of Sigmar Soulbound starter set here, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game starter set here, and the starter set for the other Warhammer 40K roleplaying system that they produce, Wrath and Glory, here.

Corruption and Miracles

Similar to Cubicle 7's Warhammer fantasy roleplaying systems, their sci-fi Warhammer 40,000 (or 40K for short) roleplaying systems also have 2 options, with different mechanics and styles. The Wrath and Glory system that we've looked at here uses 6-sided dice, similar to the tabletop wargaming system, and is much more combat-focused. 

Imperium Maledictum (which we are looking at here) uses a D100 system similar to that of the WFRP system that Cubicle 7 also produces and is much more focused on investigation and social encounters. Think of the split of systems between heroic systems using D6s (Wrath and Glory / Soulbound) and street-level using the D100 system (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Imperium Maledictum).

All of the previous starter sets we've covered recently have been out for a year or two, but the Imperium Maledictum starter set is brand new, released this month.

The Tools Of The Ordo Hereticus

Following the pattern of the other Cubicle 7 Warhammer roleplaying starter sets we've covered, Imperium Maledictum contains all the components for 6 players plus a Games Master to play through their first adventure and beyond. Each player gets a pre-generated character sheet, which we'll go into more detail about below, along with some quick reference sheets for all the rules they need to play.

The Games Master, who runs the adventure, gets 2 books, the Blazing Seraph, the core adventure and rules tutorial for Imperium Maledictum, and Rokarth: A Guide to the Hive, a sourcebook full of details background details for the hive, a giant city structure, and its inhabitants, from the ruling noble houses, merchant guilds ad the gangs that run the underhive.

It also contains some random encounter tables for the different levels of the hive that can be used to flesh out the introductory adventure or expand into a full campaign in Rokarth before picking up more Imperium Maledictum books.

The set also includes a custom set of dice, 2 10-sided dice, one with the 10s (10, 20, etc) and the other with 0 to 9 to show a number between 1 and 100 when rolled together. The dice have custom markings, and any 1s are represented by the InquisitoriaI I symbol. Out of all the custom dice in the 4 Warhammer starter sets, these are my favourite.

I say the same things in all my reviews of the Cubicle 7 Warhammer starter sets, that the Games Master needs to do some prep (which is standard for all GMs), but here if you're not a Warhammer 40K fan already it would be very helpful to read a little beyond the starter set books.

They do a great job of introducing the system and the hive, but a wider understanding of the setting would be beneficial, especially as this is aimed at the lower levels of society and is a lot more intrigue and investigation-based. Having a great understanding of that will make your games much more fun and vivid for your players.

Those Who Serve The Imperium

The Imperium Maledictum starter set includes 6 pre-generated characters, and similarly to the other starter sets, each character comes with a fold-out sheet full of background details to flesh out the character beyond the stats. Also, similarly, it includes a great spread of characters to introduce players to the setting.

Players can choose from a zealot of the Imperial creed, armed with their faith and a chainsword, a covert infiltrator, an Imperial scribe, who's knowledge and data access usually proves more useful than any of the combat effectiveness of the other characters, a sanctioned psyker, a powerful magic user allowed by the Imperium, a mechanically augmented member of the cult of the machine god, who amusingly is the best healer for the fleshier members of the team, and an Imperial soldier.

Unlike in the Wrath and Glory starter set, where some characters can be at odds with the others, here, they are all entirely dedicated to Inquisitor Halikarn and share the same passion for the Imperium. They're all unique characters, so they don't always get along, but they're entirely joined up about their mission and reasons for working together.

Not Only War In Warhammer 40K

The Imperium Maledictum system requires players to roll 2D10 to get a number between 1 and 100, needing to score under their skill to succeed. The GM can add or subtract to the character's skill, depending on how hard the test is. Success levels (SL) can then be used to work out how well you succeed (or fail), and the 10s number rolled is subtracted from the difficulty of the test. The number left is compared to a table to show how successful you have been.

There is also the opportunity to gain superiority during the adventure, which can be used to further boost your SL. This is gained by learning about the enemy, the battlefield, and each other, and the mechanic plays extremely well into the investigatory nature of the system and rewards players for doing social and research encounters rather than just blasting their way into and through situations. 

Imperium Maledictum Starter Set Final Thoughts

The Imperium Maledictum starter set is a great introduction to the style and mechanics of the system, but not the setting as a whole, so if everyone is completely new to Warhammer 40K, some background reading is advised first. The focus on the other aspects, over bringing war to your enemies (which it still does well), is really brought out with the pre-generated characters, and the adventure takes players through that.

The components and design are of the quality standard I've come to expect from Cubicles 7's starter sets, and the range of characters and detail in the sheets is fantastic. I think that the only thing missing from the set is a small Warhammer 40K primer document for those new to the setting, but that detail can be found easily enough online. Otherwise, it's a fantastic product, with a great adventure and an awesome custom dice set.

The copy of the Warhammer 40K Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum Starter Set used to produce this review was provided by Cubicle 7.