Wrath and Glory Starter Set

Warhammer 40K Roleplay: Wrath and Glory Stater Set Review

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Published: January 28, 2025 9:00 AM

A simple job they told me. Travel in luxury aboard the Herald Varonius as an agent of the rogue trader Jakel Varonius and glory will await you. I should have known things are never that easy. It went sour pretty quickly onboard, and throne knowns what horrors and schemes await me in the Gilead System. Still, the Emperor knows I'm not in this for the quiet life.

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, and the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game starter set here.

Wrath and Glory Starter Set books.
The Wrath and Glory Starter Set includes 2 books for the GM to run the adventure.

For The Emperor!

Similar to Cubicle 7s'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're looking at here, uses 6-sided dice, similar to the tabletop wargaming system, and is much more combat-focused. Whereas Imperium Maledictum (for which we will review the starter set for next month when it releases), 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.

It's also worth noting that this starter set is slightly different from that released in 2018 by Ulisses Spiele, which we reviewed here. With Cubicle 7 taking on the system, they've updated the books (this version includes a completely new adventure) and changed some of the components inside, all for the better.

Wrath and Glory Starter Set components.
While still of a high quality, the Wrath and Glory Starter Set components don't feel as polished as the other Warhammer roleplaying starter sets Cubicle 7 offer.

Tools Of The Faithful

Like the other 2 Cubicle 7 roleplaying starter sets we've covered, Wrath and Glory 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 below, along with some quick reference sheets for the rules and a map of the system.

The Games Master, who runs the adventure, gets 2 books, the Traitor’s Hymn, the core adventure and rules tutorial for Wrath and Glory, and The Varonius Flotilla, a sourcebook full of details of characters the players might meet, along with ships and local politics, which can be used to either flesh out the included adventure, or create your own to expand beyond the Traitor's Hymn.

The maps, rules references sheets and box don't feel as polished as the other starter sets that Cubicle 7 offer. The sheets are single-sided and there's no rules reference for the GM on the inside of the box. It's not a huge deal, but compared to the others sets, it does feel like a missed opportunity.

Wrath and Glory Starter Set pre-generated character sheets.
The Wrath and Glory Starter Set includes an incredible spread of pre-generated characters that create fantastic party tension with their different loyalties.

The Faithfull and Fallen 

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

Players can choose from a Rogue Trader, who are half merchant half adventurer, a Sanctioned Psyker, a magic user approved by the Imperium, a Sister of Battle, a warrior devout to the Imperium's religious creed, a Skitarius, a heavily augmented human, a Space Marine Scout, a new recruit to the superhuman soldiers of the Adeptus Astartes, and an Aeldari Ranger, a space-elf sniper.

The mix creates an interesting dynamic within the group, and while they may be loyal to each other, they all have higher goals or loyalties. The Rogue Trader is ultimately only out for themselves, the holier than thou Battle Sister would burn everyone she suspected of treachery, the Skitarius is only loyal to the Machine Cult, similar to the indoctrinated Space Marine who would choose their Chapter over anything, and everyone suspects the alien.

I said the same things in my review of the Cubicle 7 Warhammer fantasy starter set reviews, about the Games Master needing to do some prep (which is standard for all GMs), but here it is a little simpler as the game mechanics are a lot more straight-forward (at least in the starter set, there's a lot of extra awesome depth in the full rules). This means that once the GM has a handle on the rules, they can focus on the adventure. They do have to have some ideas ready on the fly for the Wrath dice, which we discuss below, but that's an essential skill for being a good GM anyway.

Wrath and Glory Starter Set custom dice.
The Wrath and Glory Starter Set custom dice help to keep a simple system even faster to focus on the action. Watch out for the 1 on the red dice though!

How To Wage War In The Name Of The Emperor

The Wrath and Glory system uses 6-sided dice (D6s), with each result of a 4+ being a success (or icon in W&G terms). A roll of 6 counts as 2 icons, and the custom dice included in the Wrath and Glory starter set show this clearly, with skull icons for the 4 and 5, and a skull with a halo for the 6. 

This system keeps the game flowing fast, as the Games Master will call out a test target, 3 is standard, and the attribute and skill required for the test. For example, if you're trying to push over something heavy, it would be an Athletics - Strength skill, but if you're trying to jump over a series of obstacles, it would be an Athletics - Agility test. Once the test and difficulty is called, the player rolls a number of D6s equal to the combined attribute and skill they have and simply need to roll a number of icons equal to or above that.

When players collect their dice, they identify one as the Wrath die (the starter set includes a custom red die). This dice has a bonus effect of adding a complication to the roll (success or not) if a 1 is rolled, or the group gains a point of glory or it counts as a critical hit if it shows a 6. I absolutely love this little detail, which, for such a simple mechanic, really adds depth to the rolls, along with keeping players humble. Even when rolling 20 dice for a test requiring 3 icons, that little Wrath dice can still spoil your day with a complication when you succeed.

Wrath and Glory Starter Set Final Thoughts

The Wrath and Glory starter set is a great introduction to roleplaying in the Warhammer 40K setting. The adventure has both intrigue and combat, showing the strength of the system in both areas and really allows you to get behind blasting the enemies of the Emperor. The characters are all fantastic, and if the players have a little background knowledge of the setting, can really get into the depths of the suspicions between each of them. If everyone is coming in cold to the setting, the character sheets do a great job of bringing you in, and telling you who you like and don't. The starter set mechanics are simple enough that you don't need to spend ages working out results, allowing you to focus on the combat, and are a great introduction and stepping stone to the full system. The Varonius Flotilla book allows you to expand well beyond the introductory adventure and gives you a few sessions' worth of material for the GM to work with if you want to test the system more before investing further.


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

 

Review Summary

The Wrath and Glory starter set is a great introduction to rolepaying in the Warhammer 40K setting. The adventure has both intrigue and combat, showing the strength of the system in both areas, and really allows you to get behind blasting the enemies of the Emperor.
(Review Policy)

Pros

  • Great introductory adventure
  • Perfect depth and breath of pre-generated characters

Cons

  • Single-sided rules references and no inside box reference for the GM feel like a missed opportunity
A Potts TechRaptor
| Senior Tabletop Writer

Adam is a Tabletop Specialist for TechRaptor. He started writing for TechRaptor in 2017 and took over as Tabletop Editor in 2019 and has since stood down… More about Adam