Well, according to the Upcoming section, Book of Judgement was released. Just checked Nobleknight.com and it is indeed available.

Anybody got it yet?

I'm really hyped for this book, so first impressions and reviews are very much welcome!

I very much doubt anyone has got it yet. My FLGS hadn't heard about it when they made their orders for the week, so it is very unlikely that actual shops will have it yet. I am guessing this announcement really means "released" as in "our distributors can now sell it to shops", rather than the books actually being on the shelves. Now, online retailers are a different matter, but as they have presumably only just been allowed to sell it, no one will actually receive their copy today.

Tomorrow for the quickest of online retailers maybe, and actual shops next week is my guess.

I don't have it, but I have read it (or a version of it just before it went to the printers). It's a great book. I love the Investigation Chapter - so many ideas can spring from that section alone. I also love all the magnet-based technology the Arbites. It's quite minor, but gives a cohesive feel to the whole thing. The additional careers are nice (I love the one that gives you a kind of Blather that is basically 'legalese'), and there are new Cyber-Mastiffs!

Looking forward to getting a hardcopy.

BYE

Picked it up at my FLGS last night.

I must say the magnet tech is slick.

Basic contents:

There is a two page list of crimes and punishments. It covers, or gives enough of an idea, of where crimes should fall.

The book really pushes the distinction between Enforcers and Arbites.

Several background packages and alternate career ranks, both criminal and law enforcement related.

Some really neat gear and weapons. As mentioned, the mag-tech is awesome.

Adventure - didn't dig into it, just skimmed the npc's.

Lots of fluff on Arbities, their commanders, and their roll in the Sector.

Let me just say after a quick skim through....

Seems like a good book that covers a broad range of material. A few things fall quickly into GM's option, but I think it pretty solid overall.

My DH character now wants to raid an Arbities armory.

The best part of the book is that they got rid of the terrible and unreadable handwriting script font on the "letter" pages.

ItsUncertainWho said:

Nice. I fear it will take again ages to be available here in Old Europe...

Could you tell us what alterate careers are in the book and maybe also background packages and cell directives? I would really appreciate any such info.

Luthor Harkon said:

I will if someone else doesn't beat me to it. I am at work so it will be late tonight or tommorow before I can post anything.

Alt Carrers off the top of my head:

Chastener (Detective/Bounty Hunter)

Cyber-Mastif Handler

Verispex (Crime Scene/Forensics Specialist)

Magistrate (Smarmy Lawyer / H.B.M.C's favorite, I think)

The other alt careers I can't remember, a couple are along the lines of a minor crime lord, a criminal fixer (think "The Wolf" from Pulp Fiction), a wandering marshall, and another one or two.

Background packages cover hive gangers, underhive merchants, members of criminal organizations, and more.

Sounds cool.

Can't wait to check out the Investigation section and the Verispex career.

Another must buy, I see.

Glad I'm an adult with a steady job and a wallet that can take the punishment FFG dishes out

Ordered it today, I'm gonna get it Monday.

One Step closer toward Only War!

Here is the full list of backgrounds, alt career ranks, and cell directives.

Background Packages
Cold Trader
Enforcer
Hive Gang Member
Imposter
Kasballica “Noble”
Proven Innocent
Sibellus Scrounger
Underhive Merchant

Alternate Careers:
Chastener
Cyber-Mastiff Handler
Malifixer
Magistrate
Slate-Agent
Suffering Marshal
Verispex Adept

Cell Directives:
Deferred Executions
Hive Gang
Interdepartmental Co-operation
Task Force

Suffering Marshals are great. Sort of a wandering Bounty Hunter/Arbite Commissar that goes around executing people who have been found guilty.

Tell me though, ItsUncertainWho, as you have the final version of the book, I have a couple of questions:

1. Does the Suffering Marshall have Pistol Training (Bolt) in his list of available advances?
2. Does the Cyclopea-Pattern Power Maul have any special rules beyond Power Field and Unwieldy?
3. What's the Penetration on the Judgeslayer Handcannon?
4. What type of claws does the Grapplehawk have?
5. What's the Penetration value of the Contego-Pattern Bomb Disposal Servitor's demolition charge?

That's all the questions I have.

BYE

1. Does the Suffering Marshall have Pistol Training (Bolt) in his list of available advances?

Yes

2. Does the Cyclopea-Pattern Power Maul have any special rules beyond Power Field and Unwieldy?

Shocking and Special are also in there. It's a nice weapon.

3. What's the Penetration on the Judgeslayer Handcannon?

6

4. What type of claws does the Grapplehawk have?

Shock Pulse and Rending

5. What's the Penetration value of the Contego-Pattern Bomb Disposal Servitor's demolition charge?

5

Hopefully those all meet with your approval.

Thanks for those answers. They are what I was hoping for, especially the Judgeslayer's penetration value.

BYE

ItsUncertainWho said:

I am hoping it resurrects my interest in 40K RPGs. It seems to have the stuff I like about Dark Heresy in it, new backgrounds, new career ranks, fluff and an adventure.

I have found most of the recent RT, DW and even Black Crusade to be very dry reads.

Thanks a lot for the info!

As Matthew Farrer was involved in the wirting of this supplement, I wonder wheteher they use the Adeptus Arbites hierarchy/nomenclature as in the Shira Calpurnia novels or as in the DH books so far; or at least whether they describe that there is a difference somehow and why.

ItsUncertainWho said:

Can you tell some details about the cell directives?

H.B.M.C. said:

What is then the difference to a Mortiurge?

@Luthor Harkon:

I always imagined the Mortiurge to be some kind of sanctioned killer, while the suffering marshal might be a 40k-version of Wyatt Earp or the myriad of western movie characters inspired by the likes of him. A wandering lawman, essentially.

@Topic:

Sadly, there don't seem to be any new homeworld options included. I was hoping for penal world characters being introduced to DH... :l Seems like we'll still have to convert them from RT, along with the fortress world inhabitants.

Do you think FFG has abandoned the idea of publishing new homeworld options for DH? I was quite disappointed when Daemon Hunter didn't bring up any new options and now BoJ failed to do so, again...

Sounds like this books may be a good investment then. Thanks for the reviews of said volume.

I wouldn't say they've abandoned the idea of new Homeworld types, but what else is there really to cover? Deathworlds perhaps, but they're not all that relevant to the Ordo Malleus or the Adeptus Arbites. We got new Homeworlds in Blood of Martyrs because it made sense in context.

Anyway,

Luthor Harkon - You wanted Cell Directive info...

Deferred Executions - Essentially a group of criminals led by a single law abiding citizen (Arbite, Cleric or Sister). They can use Fate to ignore Fear, and have a select group of stealth and searching skills. And Lightning Reflexes, which is nice.

Hive Gang - Deep cover cell of Acolytes acting as a Hive Gang. Got to have a Scum or someone with the Hive Gang background package. Paranoia, Tech-Use and Hive Dialect all part of the deal. Their table covers Hive Gang related things, like Pistol Training, Street Fighting, Underworld Lore, Deceive, Disguise and so on.

Interdepartmental Co-operation - ... is an oxymoron in terms! Mixed team of Inquisitorial forces and Adeptus Arbites. Need Acolytes of Rank 3 or above. Everyone gets some sort of skill of their choice (Inquiry, Search, Scrutiny, etc.). Table covers a lot of varied things, such as Shock Weapon Training, Take Down, Common Lore Imperium, and so on.

Task Force - Specialist cell put together to eliminate a specific target or group, usually work with local authorities, can have a decent amount of power. They can either be sent to hunt down a specific type of target, ranging from Heretical (get Lore (Heresy) and they become harder to Deceive), to Xenos (get Lore (Xenos) and a bonus to identifying Alien tech), to Daemonic (get Lore (Daemonic) and a bonus against Fear caused by Daemons). Their table is small, but has all the 'investigation' style upgrades (Scrutiny, Search, Interrogation, Inquiry, Awareness, and Talented for both Scrutiny and Search).

Hope that helps.

BYE

Gregorius21778 said:

I meant that they stress the differences between what enforcers are and what arbites are, how their job descriptions differ, and how and where their authority overlap. They go into some detail into how different the roles of the two groups are and the enmity the enforcers can feel towards the Arbities and their thuggish mentality and tactics.

Gregorius21778 said:

Sort of, is the best way to answer that. Mostly yes, but some people may not be happy with it others will be. It's a relatively simple and humorous list.

@Uncertain Who
Thanks for the reply and the verification. I think I´ll have to see for myself but the notion that there are some examples for "conflicting areas of responsibilty" between planetary Enforcers and the Arbites makes it already a worthy read for me.

@all
Is anybody able to expand further on the new alternate career ranks? This are of main interest to me since my players feel hamstringed by the careers (at least from time to time they do) and I am always eager to have some inspirations for alternate ranks / elite advances.

And what is a "Malifixer"? A fence/black marketeer who specialized into forbidden tomes and artifacts?

Basic rundown:

Chastener (Arbite, Assassin or Guardsman). All about Intimidation, Interrogation, unarmed fighting and Stealth. He gets the criminals to talk.

Cyber-Mastiff Handler (Tech-Priest). It's a way for Tech-Priests to get things like Wrangling and Shadowing and so on, plus specialist Cyber-Mastiff commands. Pretty self explanatory there.

Malefixer (Scum). Basically a mafia spy. Deceive, Scrutiny, Blather, Search - that sorta stuff.

Magistrate (Adept). Arbite Lawyer. Has the Legalese Talent (I'm not kidding). Common Lore Arbite, Bureaucracy, Judgement, Orator, Charm, Command, etc.

Slate Agent (Any). Can have mind wiped and then reprogrammed with new skills whenever necessary.

Suffering Marshal (Arbite, Assassin, Guardsman or Scum). Free-roaming Arbite executioner who goes around finding those that have been pronounced guilty and then he kills them. Survival, Tracking, Awareness, Navigation. I see him as a combination Bounty Hunter/Commissar.

Verispex Adept (Adept). Arbite CSI w/total recall. Need to find something at a crime scene, he's your guy.

BYE

Thanks for the infos, H.B.C.M

Now I really start to wonder where the "fluff"-difference between a Mortiurge and said "Suffering Marshal" is. The only thing that comes to my mind is that the Mortiurge might be along killing people not judged guilty. Which is a very dark twist on the oh-so-legal Arbites.

The Suffering Marshal brings the law, the Mortiurge brings justice!

@ Gregorious21778;

think of the marshall as a judge dredd figure, while the mortiurge is more like the punisher!