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Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum Core Rulebook

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Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum Core Rulebook

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Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd.

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Imperium Maledictum is a new Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game set in the glorious Macharian Sector, a sector forged in blood and fire from the thousand worlds conquered by Lord Solar Macharius. It is a sector rife with peril and treachery,

Imperium Maledictum uses a familiar but refined d100 system to draw players into tales of intrigue, betrayal, and conspiracy. Players take on the role of Imperial adepts and citizens recruited by a powerful Patron. These influential figures use teams outside the usual chain of command to undertake grim and perilous missions, furthering their often inscrutable interests. To succeed, players must weave their way through the complicated web of competing factions that make up the Imperium. They must navigate a realm where a whispered accusation can be as deadly as any bolter, plumbing the depths of the most lethal hives and navigating the often far more insidious threats that grace the courts of the highborn.

Do you have what it takes to survive the grim and treacherous adventures in the 41st Millennium?

Imperium Maledictum: Internal Spread of Character Creation Chapter

Imperium Maledictum Internal Spread: Adeptus Astra Telepathica

Imperium Maledictum Internal Spread: Mystic and Penumbra

Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd.© Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2023

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Reviews (8)

Discussions (69)

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Yann E September 28, 2023 10:10 pm UTC

Hi, is this some kind of spiritual successor to the original Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader/Deathwatch system ?

Marcus L September 28, 2023 2:03 am UTC

PURCHASER

I've noticed that there are references to creatures in the book that it suggests GMs use in combat scenarios, but they simply aren't there. For example, one stated option for a PC to achieve Absolution is to kill a traitor marine, but without a corresponding bestiary entry, I don't see how it would be possible to do such a fight. Will this be remedied in future supplements?

bo M August 31, 2023 9:00 am UTC

PURCHASER

Hi
I have a question, is the chaos spawn wounds correct? It is a large elite creature with str 90, tough 90 and will 10, to me 14 wounds sounds to be on the very low side.

Cubicle 7 E August 31, 2023 9:05 am UTC

PUBLISHER

Hi, the chaos spawn wounds are correct. However if you want to make it a little tougher you should absolutely add some more wounds. Hope this helps and have a good day!

Dennis H August 26, 2023 10:09 am UTC

PURCHASER

What is the "Vox frequencies" box for on the Party sheet? Can't find any reference to them in the Core rulebook

Benjamin L August 09, 2023 3:25 am UTC

PURCHASER

Any chance of those hyperlinks? :D I’ve been reading the book and love it, but it’d be fantastic if one could tap a page reference and go to it. The editing is pretty solid with only a few typos here and there, but nothing that detracts from playing. One bit that was omitted was what the Regicide Set does. I’m also wondering if the Martial Training Facility was meant to affect standing with a faction. I love the downtime and warp stuff a lot and I really want to run this game!

Benjamin L July 06, 2023 8:17 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Is the index not hyperlinked? If not are there plans to do so? It’s a huge pain in the butt scrolling back and forth without that.

Benjamin L July 06, 2023 3:10 am UTC

PURCHASER

I have a few questions you fine folks might hopefully be able to answer:
1) After seeing a slew of criticism concerning poor editing and explanations of rules as well as poor layout, have these potential issues been addressed?
2) Are PCs as incapable as some have mentioned or are they just not grimdark superheroes and are capable within the tone of the game?
3) Is the system GM-friendly or a high-prep slog and does it support improv GMing and narrative enjoyment?

Thanks in advance!

steven R July 06, 2023 6:33 am UTC

1) Yes, in terms of editing, explanation of rules for players etc, this is pretty bad but for the sake of brevity, I'll only mention a few of the pacing issues I have with the book.
One of the biggest offenders, IMO, is that players are made to build their group's Patron (which is one of the big shticks of this system) as their very first thing to do in the book. Even before building their own characters! At this point, it is likely that none of the players have any sort of grasp on the system at all and will be confused during the entire process. (speaking from experience on this one)
Another big thing is that this system plays a lot more like tabletop Warhammer with a twist than D&D: Warhammer Edition. This is fine and I like a lot of the systems used here (especially the zone system which I will talk about), but many players will come expecting the latter. To this point, the system's various rules are, again IMO, imperative to understand, at least to a basic level, before making your character....See more That's why I have all new players start by reading the rules (which don't start until pg. 185). I could go on, but you should get the point by now.

TLDR: Yes the editing is confusing and leaves a lot to be desired. You really need to read The Rules section first in order to understand what's going on, and the GM should 100% read The Gamemaster section before session 0.

2) Again, this really plays more like tabletop Warhammer than DnD. I would say that PCs are Elite units, tough to kill and powerful at times, but still very mortal. The biggest thing that sets PCs apart from normal units is the Fate system. Players start with 3 Fate point base. This can be increased through acts of great service to the Emperor or sacrifices in His name or DM discretion. PCs can SPEND Fate points to gain bonuses to rolls and other small bonuses. Points that are SPENT are refreshed at the beginning of each session. Now, if the going gets rough and things look dire, PCs can BURN Fate points permanently to use powerful effects such as choosing the exact roll you get or even cheating death. Fate that is BURNED by PCs is lost forever. This system is very nice in practice as it gives players an edge as well as an opportunity cost to always think about that can keep combat interesting and engaging.

TLDR: Think of PCs as Elite Units, not demigods. Through the use of the Fate system (pg. 220) PCs can enhance their combat prowess or even go so far as to cheat death in order to preserve themselves to fight another day, though at a cost.

3) If you're wondering if you could spin up an entire session's worth of content in an hour, I can honestly say YES! The 'Zone' combat system gives DMs the ability to divide maps into several chunks instead of many many squares or hexes. This allows the DM to draw up battle maps very quickly, all without the need to care about the intricate balance of grid combat. Story-wise, there is an impressive 42 pages covering the various worlds of The Macharian Sector. To the curious, there are 5 sub-sectors with a grand total of 37 star systems. Each of the star systems is given a historic breakdown (some of these are VERY detailed) and a unique adventure hook (sometimes called "Whispers" in the book).

TLDR: Yes! The base systems in the game simplify battle maps and allow for more creative decisions. Also included is what amounts to 37 separate writing prompts, each that could easily fill multiple sessions worth of time and content.

I hope these answers helped and didn't exacerbate any confusions you had prior. If they did, feel free to ask any clarifying questions you'd like and I'll do my best to answer.

Benjamin L July 06, 2023 1:47 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Editing being fixed is a big plus, so that’s good. As far as starting with Patron creation, that’ll be fine with our group. My biggest concern is the level of “usable crunch”, by which I mean mechanics that aren’t so complex everyone is burned out after a few rounds of combat. Complexity is fine as long as it gets out of the way during play. Thanks for the information and please feel free to add whatever you like.

steven R July 06, 2023 7:29 pm UTC

My first answer may have been somewhat misleading. While the editing is being actively worked on and updated, the pacing is what I take issue with in the book. My main issue is that if you read the book linearly, you're going to be in for a confusing time.

For combat in Maledictum, it's good to know a few things from the start. A person's turn in combat is ~3 seconds, not the normal 6, so I try to promote a faster sort of play. The initiative is static, which can be less "fun" for the players but is easier to set up and track through combat, But the biggest thing that is going to slow down combat is players being overwhelmed with choice while still learning the game. The game presents 22 different uses for your Action each turn. None of these are overly complicated mind you, but there are 22 of them. Definitely something worth having a cheat sheet made for your players. Superiority is also a very important statistic that affects the entire party so I usually have the PC with the highest...See more initiative keep track of it throughout combat.

Now, a reason why I think many players struggle in this game is that, again, they try and play it like DnD and not Warhammer. Let me break down a hypothetical combat scenario here that I think will make my point pretty clear.

A PC armed with a pistol is in combat with a gang member who is hiding behind Light Cover while wearing some Flak Armor and has 9 max wounds(or hp).
~Scenario 1: PC takes the Attack action and shoots at the gang member. PC rolls a 26 while his Ranged Attack Skill is a 48. This is a Success with 2 SL or Success Levels. (*You subtract the tens value of the result from the tens value of your Skill. The result is your SL.) The party's current Superiority Level is a 2 so damage works out to the pistols base damage, plus SL, plus Superiosrity level or 6+2+2 which equals 10. However because the PC's roll was a 26 and ends in a 6, the shot hits the ganger in the body, and remember that he is also behind cover. In addition, the ganger chooses to use his Reaction to make a Reflex roll to reduce the incoming damage so things look like this... Ganger's Flak armor reduces damage by 3, he is in Light Cover which reduces damage by 2, and then let's say he rolled for his Reflex and got a Success with 1 SL so we reduce the damage by 1. 10-3-2-1 which equals 4 damage that goes through.
Let's say our PC does the same thing again next turn with a similar outcome resulting in our ganger taking 8 wounds. Nearly dead, but not quite.
~Scenario 2: Our PC sees that the ganger is behind Light Cover and wearing some decent-looking armor so for their first turn the PC instead takes the Aim action and steadies his hands. This increases the range of the PC's next attack as well as lets them choose where exactly they want their next shot to hit and finally negates the target's cover bonus. We move on to Turn 2 and our PC makes the same attack and declares that they want to hit the gang member's unarmored Head. The ganger makes their reflex save with their 1 SL but the damage is 10-1=9 which takes the gang member down to 0 killing them.

TLDR: PCs can fight smarter, not harder.
*Now to amend this entire section, I will say that I have home ruled that the 'Target Location' Action does not negate the target's Cover Bonus as, if it did, there would be no point in using the 'Aim' Action since one could just make two attacks at disadvantage with the possibility of two successes. The classic DnD True Strike is a terrible use of an Action scenario.

This may have been a bit all over the place but in short, I think the combat can be very engaging in Imperium Maledictum as long as there is proper setup on the battle map for different choices to be made.

Benjamin L July 06, 2023 8:16 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I bought it and will look for the things you mentioned. Thank you very much!

Craig G July 01, 2023 3:12 pm UTC

PURCHASER

I added a sheet now for roll20 for those that still play there (like me :).

Michael H June 18, 2023 5:05 pm UTC

PURCHASER

On page 26, the "DIPLOMATIC" section is incomplete, its Duty Boon is missing

Malkav A June 20, 2023 9:32 pm UTC

PURCHASER

This is a simple misunderstanding. If you read the "Duty" bullet point right above that section, you should see the following text:

"(*) Duty: Your Rogue Trader Patron is a Diplomat or a Trader Militant. Both duties have the Duty Boon: Voidship."

Michael H June 21, 2023 8:00 pm UTC

PURCHASER

oh Right, ok thanks!

Dirk W June 16, 2023 8:45 am UTC

PURCHASER

Is there anyone in the Imperium using a Sword instead of an Axe or Hammer?

Dirk W June 15, 2023 1:53 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Thanks for the update! :)
But I think it is, regarding the rules as written, not possible that someone bleeds to death. Or did I miss something?
I think I will use a Toughness check (WHFR4 bleeding rules).

Cubicle 7 E June 15, 2023 1:31 pm UTC

PUBLISHER

PDF has been updated and should appear shortly (ends in 230614), the changes are all detailed on a blog post on our own website:

https://cubicle7games.com/blog/Imperium_Maledictum_Changelog_June2023

Tony M June 08, 2023 1:04 pm UTC

The errata continues unabated I see. I hope you'll all getting medals, or better still, paid.

Bryan R June 03, 2023 12:58 am UTC

PURCHASER

Resolve
On pp 196, left column, last paragraph it says "If, during combat, the Party's total Superiority is greater than the Resolve of their enemies..."
On pp 197, right column, second paragraph it says " If the party has Superiority equal to or greater than a character's Resolve..."
Should it be "greater than" or "equal to or greater than?"
In the first example given the Party's Superiority of 2 is equal to the gang's Resolve of 2 and it doesn't mention Desperation, but the point of this example was tracking how Superiority changes.
In the second example the Party's Superiority gets to 3 and it states "The GM realises that this beats the Ganger's Resolve of 2." So this suggests that it's "greater than" rather than "equal to or greater than."
It also doesn't state at what point the comparison between Superiority and Resolve should be made to see if the enemy become Desperate. At the very instant it happens?...See more

Jason D June 01, 2023 9:37 pm UTC

PURCHASER

Critical Hit question for anyone that might be able to help ..

Let's say I make a melee attack and get a +1 SL and Crit. Great. Now they defend and get +2 SL. My overall SL is -1. Typically that would miss.

But since I rolled a Critical I hit. If you look further one, when determining what Critical you get, it states, "After taking a Critical Hit, roll 1d10 to determine the Hit Location, then deal Damage from the attack as normal."

Well, I don't usually do damage at all. Do I just roll d10 on the Critical Chart for that Hit Location and do no Wound damage, or do I do damage with an SL -1?
Posted this a couple places

Malkav A June 02, 2023 3:39 am UTC

PURCHASER

I think the clause "then deal Damage from the attack as normal" implies "follow standard rules for dealing Damage", and thus provides the answer you're looking. I'll provide a further explanation for future readers who might also have this same question and desire an in-depth explanation (though I'm sure, based on your post, you were already following the same line of reasoning).

For your example, let's assume you rolled a 33 (skill 43) and your opponent rolled a 20 (skill 40). There are three things we need to ask ourselves:

* Does this attack count as a Critical or a Fumble?
* Is this attack successful?
* What damage is dealt?

Let's address the first part. As of the latest version of the PDF: "When you roll doubles on an attack with positive SL, you score a Critical. This happens even if the roll was opposed and your opponent scored more SL than you." So, you absolutely perform a Critical Hit (i.e. roll on the Critical Wounds...See more

Malkav A May 31, 2023 1:11 am UTC

PURCHASER

Here lies another round of in-depth proof-reading. These are errors and comments located in the EQUIPMENT and PSYCHIC POWERS Chapters (didn't quite make it to the RULES Chapter tonight):

* Several misspellings of the word "augmetics" as "agumetics" (p. 112, 118, 153)
* Sentence in AVAILABILITY section refers to Agri Worlds as "Reclaimed Worlds" for some reason? (p. 120)
* Typo in BURST Weapon Trait ("chose" instead of "choose") (p. 124)
* Under MUNDANE WEAPONS in MELEE table, Great Weapon and Flail are identical, save for price and availability (p. 128)
* Under MUNDANE WEAPONS in MELEE table, Axe and Sword are identical, save for price (p. 128)
* LAS WEAPONS section lists "Laslock" as an example, yet no such weapon exists in the book (p. 129)
* Under LAS WEAPONS in RANGED table, the much costlier Las Carbine is inferior to the Lasgun in nearly every way (p. 132)
* Under SOLID PROJECTILE WEAPONS in...See more

Cubicle 7 E June 06, 2023 8:58 am UTC

PUBLISHER

Hi,

Thank you so much for the feedback, we will get these amended. One of the team has emailed you directly, so be sure to check your inbox!

All the best

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