Previously we discussed the importance of creating your Patron in Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Imperium Maledictum. But your Patron needs agents — that’s you! This week, we’re looking at how you’ll create characters in Imperium Maledictum. 

Character Creation

There are eight steps when creating a character in Imperium Maledictum, including determining Characteristics, Skills, Talents, equipment, and background information. But the most formative of these steps are determining your Origin, your Faction, and your Role. You can choose these yourself, or take a chance and let the dice decide — and nab yourself some bonus XP in the process!

Origin

The circumstances of your early life are known as your Origin. This step influences which Faction you may end up serving — a Voidborn has a much higher chance of becoming a member of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica than someone born on an Agri World, for example. Your Origin also grants you a bonus to your starting Characteristics, such as +5 Intelligence for those born on Forge Worlds, or +5 Willpower for those raised on Shrine Worlds.

There are 10 Origins to choose from in the corebook: Agri World, Feudal World, Feral World, Forge World, Hive World, Shrine World, Schola Progenium, and Voidborn.

Faction

Your Faction determines the type of drudging toil that would have consumed your life had you not been recruited by your Patron. Some Factions search for specific attributes, such as intelligence or even aptitude as a Psyker, but most require only an endless stream of bodies to fuel their great work. Your choice of Faction affects your Characteristics, Skills, Talents, Influence, and starting equipment.

There are 9 Factions to choose from in the corebook: Adeptus Astra Telepathica, Adeptus Mechanicus, Administratum, Astra Militarum, Ecclesiarchy, Inquisition, Navis Imperialis, Recidivist, and Rogue Trader Dynasty. 

Role

Your Role is the manner in which you serve your Patron. Your Patron has elevated you from the rest of Imperial society, spending precious time and resources to ensure you can do what they need you to. Your Role may be what you naturally excel at, the logical evolution of your previous life, or something entirely different. 

Your Role describes how you are most likely to approach challenges, and how you will contribute to the group’s success. Your Role determines a lot about how you will play the game: when your Patron needs to gather information, a Savant might be their most valuable operative; they might need assistance from a Penumbra to procure secrets stealthily; an Interlocutor might be essential for negotiation when violence isn’t an option, but the threat (or implementation) of violence from a Warrior might be necessary.

Your Origin and Faction are clear designations within the world of Warhammer 40,000, but your Role is a more fluid term. Your Role is not usually a title, though some may describe you that way (some Warriors are pretty clearly warriors, for instance), but more of a broad classification of how you serve your group and your Patron. Your Role gives you a choice of Talents, grants a number of Advances in Skills frequently associated with the Role as well as in a number of Skill Specialisations, and provides some equipment.

There are 6 Roles in the corebook

• Interlocutors have an aptitude for communication and can sway others with their words.
• Mystics have an understanding of the mysteries of reality, and possibly a connection to the unreality of the Warp.
• Penumbras are masters of stealth and subterfuge. They use these skills for varied ends, from espionage to assassination.
• Savants are scholars, experts, or artisans. How they come about their knowledge and expertise varies, from rigorous study, to cerebral imprinting, to communing with non-Human entities.
• Warriors are fighters through-and-through. They can use any conceivable weaponry to do their job, and have the armour and know-how to come through it alive.
• Zealots bear the flame of an all-consuming passion. Their fanatical faith drives them to achieve the seemingly impossible, at the cost of their own well-being.

What is Imperium Maledictum?

Imperium Maledictum is a new Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game set in the glorious Macharian Sector, forged from the thousand worlds conquered by Lord Solar Macharius, one of the greatest commanders in the long history of the Imperium.

Centuries after the Lord Solar's death and elevation to sainthood, the Macharian Sector is — at first glance — a bastion of Imperial might. In truth, the entire sector balances upon the knife-edge of peril; beset by heresy and betrayal from within and alien menaces from without. For the rule of the Imperium to prevail, servants loyal to the throne must step forward and pledge themselves to the sector. Their trials shall be lethal, their rewards paltry, and their likely fate a thankless death. But in the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, who could hope for more? 

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 organisations 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?

Over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing more information on Imperium Maledictum, ahead of its launch in early 2023. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter, and keep an eye on our website so you don’t miss anything!