Hey Dark Heresy fans!

I just posted up an overview of Creatures Anathema along with revealing the cover!

Check out the Creatures Anathema overview .

Is that a Lictor?

That's a Lictor.

Reading now.

Sounds like the book I was hoping for! All my reservations about the product so far has mostly boiled down to wanting more information. Mostly I love the approach and can't wait to see some fleshed out background and not just a load of stats. I'll start the ball rolling- when's it out then?

OK, sounds like it's just what I need -- when is it available?

So, is there any word on a release date since Amazon still has the December 29th, 2008 release date?

Snidesworth said:

mmmmmmmmmm.... lictor.

*drool*

I wanted Necrons, too... but I won't get greedy. Can't wait!

Guess I'm still a fence sitting, if for no other reason than no matter what computer OS, browser, or whatever, that I use I cannot see the darned image.

Kage

Gentlemen, that is there a lictor.

I really hope they have a section on the Genestealer Cults, now that brings back memories.

Kage2020 said:

Went back to the image on another computer and it didn't display. Saved it on this one, but it was corrupted. Thankfully, I have a solution. Not a perfect one, but it'll do until the news post is fixed.

I had read somewhere that this book would be of use to players in some capacity. I now see that what was meant by this was "Handouts." I was hoping for Necromunda -styled beastmasters in my ignorance. Ah well... I'm the GM in this sector, so I'm still quite pleased.

With this book, one could potentially head in the direction of a beastmaster, at the very least, give ideas for critters for them to control.

I want it now .

Edit : Thanks for posting this, Ross... I needed an idea of the scope of this work. (Not that I wasn't going to get it... you publish it, I'll buy it)

I have to say that the first in house developed FFG Dark Heresy supplement looks pretty darn promising. From the overveiw, it sounds like the book is just what I was hoping for, a mixture of unique Calixis sector baddies and old favorites like Genestealers and Orks. FFG picked some good people for the Dark Heresy team, the game is in good hands.

Thanks for the info Ross...

I just have one simple question about the creatures presented in the book: Do any stats go above 100?
This has always been a bugbear of mine in WHFRP and I hope that the design team has taken this opportunity to put it to rest :-)

well, I already knew there'd be Lictors, Genestealers, Orks (or at least an Ork) and an Ambull in the book, but it's nice to see the cover.

I wouldn't bet on there being Genestealer Cults though.

This is the book Ive been waiting for since the main rule book arrived in my mail box last February. More so then the Inquisitor's Handbook, Purge the Unclean and Disciples of the Dark Gods. I wish it were a bigger book with more monsters.

I admit it, Im a stat hound. I love stats. I want stats. So sue me. I am hopeful that this book is similar to the WFRP Beastiary with a section of notes, information, public knowledge and scrutiny and a section for STATS.

But IM sure I will not be very disappointed in the book. We all will have some degree of disappointment, we always do.

My biggest disappointment is that I will be in Afghanistan when it comes out.

But fortunately, I wont be there very long and it should be waiting for me when I return in March. The biggest problem there is what is the priority, the book, or the girlfriend?

Your problem is what would you use as a punch line should you encounter bin Laden on top of a mountain...

The book looks amazing, and I'm looking forward to it, especially after how great DotDG is.

But there is one problem I have with it. I presume it's Calixis centred. So what are the Lictor and the Genestealers mentioned in the overview on Designer's Diary doing there? It's far from main courses of Tyranid expansion. Besides, as of 815.M41 the First Tyranid War is finished, and Hive Fleets Leviathan and Kraken haven't appeared yet. AFAIK until the appearance of Kraken in 993.M41 and battle for Ichar IV the Imperium believed the Tyranids were a defeated threat, with Administratum questioning increased mobilisation in Eastern Fringe.

I know that the fan demand for Tyranids is great, but the designers must tread carefully in order not to step into the trap of DH's historical setting and it being set in the past of the Imperium. It already happened at least once, with DotDG mentioning Amalathianism as one of the oldest doctrines, while in reality it's only about 500 years old in DH.

Sorry to be nitpicky, the book surely will be great, but we all know "A single continuity error blights a lifetime of dutiful service"

Idaan said:

Well, the Genestealer was going to appear in Disciples of the Dark Gods originally, as a captive of the Beast House (risky captive, if you ask me - I'm assuming they don't know how to remove the Ovipositor). and Genestealers have an annoying habit of infesting starships...

...Starships that can travel great distances, on journeys lasting several years

I'm interested in seeing the rationale for the Lictor though - I had an idea for a Lictor cult at one point

Come on m8. You don`t have to be playing in just the Calixis Sector... The book is meant to be covering Calixis and some more. That argument is just not valid.

HorusZA said:

Do you mean that it's good or bad if stats go above 100?

kennetten said:

At least according to the Caiphas Cain novels, tyranids weren´t considered as defeated after Battle fot Maccrage, there were still plently of Behemont splinter fleets (or Kraken and Leviathan vanguard fleets... who knows..). Also tyranid codex and 5th edition rulebook clearly states, that there are and were plently smaller tyranid fleets, some of them, as Tiamat reached at least borders of Segmentum Obscurus (altough it was IIRC M37 and nids weren´t recorded as nids...) Or I remember rumbling of the tech-priest, who tough that tyranids were in our galacy long time before and seed it with their organisms (Ymmagril (sp?) genestealers, Catachan devils and plently of others).

Don´t underestimate the bug threat:)

I think it's a very good thing to go above 100.

If you stick to the 1-100 scale, very large creatures become difficult to fit into the system.
I remember the discussions on the old WHFRP forums trying to come up with reasons why a S65 character cannot simply arm-wrestle a S65 Dragon

HorusZA said:

You dont really need over 100 since we do have Size rules. Its simply a matter of scale. Each size larger would gain a natural +10 to strength vs strength tests just from sheer mass.

So an average size human going against a hulking ogryn would naturally suffer the -10 penalty while the ogryn would gain the +10 bonus.

So the S65 human and the S65 ogryn would become S55 and S75, then add in the effects of Unnatural Strength (x2) for the Ogryn and the human is gonna get whooped in S vs S contests.

Since a dragon would be enormous or massive, the modifiers become +20 or +30 and -20 and -30.

Or however it would finally work, that is just a general idea.

Jephkay said:

You may be pleasantly surprised by the Verminspeaker Elite Advance that's in the book, then...

Idaan said:

When the book is narrated by a Calixis character and placed in a year it narrows it down, yes - agreed. BUT, because of the fans (what people wanna have) and the not so unlikely scenario that the character may have visited other sectors as well, creatures foreign to the Calixis sector also fits in the book.

My first point still stands though. Even though a character "narrates" the book I don`t take that literally. It`s still just a rpg.