I purcahsed Ark of Lost Souls for use in a Black Crusade campaign, rather than Deathwatch, and expect to have to adapt heavily when it comes to the detail of stats etc, but then I tend to run combats and campaigns in quite a narrative style so this isn't much of an issue.

As a stimulating environment for adventure the content hits home quite well, with opportunities presented for much diplomacy and influencing as well as for ass-kicking. The content straddles both a single adventure-like exploration and the much wider material for generating 'random' future escapades aboard this (or with adaptation, any) space hulk.

There are some nice options, with a new and terrifying alien race (well, new to me at least...) and some familiar but no less scary opponents. I particularly liked the way that the text makes the Tyrannid threat sound really frightening.

The main adventure encourages you to make a selection between exploring different major factions / enemies on board, and these are all suitable for adaptation to any party. Instead of trying to stop an Orc Waaagh! I can see my Black Crusade chaos marines trying hard to ally with or control it. Similarly, major alien threats can be a source of new tek, evil alliances or simply outright destruction. In Black Crusade, at least, it doesn't take long for characters to rise to the heights of world- or sector-altering actions, and there is plenty in the Ark of Lost Souls to provide that sort of 'grand' opportunity.

I really liked it and the flexibility it gives. The layout is sensible and accessible for me, and the random generation system is actually quite fleshed-out, generating ideas that have depth and subtlety. As has been said, the whole thing is very much amenable to a complete campaign setting, offering challenges on all scales and for all parties. I am seriously thinking of having my players spend quite some time here, with the aim of somehow turning the resources and factions aboard toward their dark ends.

One particularly good feature of a space hulk is the opportunity to expose your party to xenos they might rarely meeet elsewhere, and this is well exploited by the material with plausible backgrounds. Finally, the chance to justify a Harlequin combat !

Good value, with loads of material and lots to stimulate your thinking. Even if you never plan to spend any time on a space hulk, there is so much here to give them more depth and flavour in your games.

Pleased I bought it, and am going back to read it again now !

5 stars would've been for slightly more surprises or twists, or moments of revelation, as my players like those a lot. Shouldn't stop you buying it though - a great resource, especially for anyone that loves the 40k setting.

A Warhammer 40K adventure/campaign which will appeal to players of all the WH40KRPG games. A major Space Hulk finally appears in the Koronus Expanse, ready to terrorize players with Genestealers, and worse!

While Ark of Lost Souls is meant for Deathwatch Space Marines players, it can be readily adapted for other WH40KRPG games with some work by the Gamemaster. The module is primarily a branching storyline, with significant encounters, and NPCs and enemies described.

The module also includes a descriptive random-encounter generator, which means that this Space Hulk can be as large, and as expansive, as the Gamemaster desires.

Even without inserting randomly-generated story content, Ark of Lost Souls falls somewhere between a standard adventure and a campaign. By adding in additional content, this Space Hulk could be home to an ongoing series of adventures -- a full-blown campaign. That's what I'm planning to do.

Those hoping to use the Ark of Lost Souls in a Rogue Trader, or a Dark Heresy, campaign will have to scale back the strength of the enemies here, or swap them out for appropriately-levelled similar enemies from the Rogue Trader or Dark Heresy creature books.

For those who don't already know, a starting Deathwatch Space Marine is built on 14,000 xp; while a starting Rogue Trader character is built on 5,000 xp; and a starting Dark Heresy character is worth 1,000 xp.

These equivalancies are very rough, because gear, wealth, and specific skills and talents all play a part in how "tough" a character might be -- but some adjustment of the combat scenarios in this adventure must happen if a Rogue Trader crew, or agents of the Inquisition, are investigating the Space Hulk instead of Space Marines.

It's worth noting here, however, that Rogue Trader statistics for Genestealers, and a Broodlord, recently appeared in the Rogue Trader supplement Stars of Inequity.

All in all, I have to give Deathwatch: Ark of Lost Souls a 5 out of 5. It delivers more than I expected, including an intriguing, branching storyline, and a random-content-generator which will extend the lifespan of the adventure setting at the Gamemaster's whim.

In my reviews, a 5 score never means instant perfection for any and all who might look upon the material (I review in the real world); it means that I found a well-made, well-presented product which offered more than I expected, and carried no obvious flaws.

Recommended to any who might be interested.