 Goto [ Index ] |
Which is all to say that if you are playing or running Rogue Trader already then your Game Master should definitely pick up “Edge of the Abyss” - the most recent supplement for Rogue Trader line of Warhammer 40.000 role-playing games; and if you are not playing or running Rogue Trader already then maybe you should start to. :) “Edge of the Abyss” is product firmly intended for the GMs and it succeeds in that role. Whereas the previous Rogue Trader supplement “Into the Storm” adds a lot more items, starship components, vehicles, powers and so on – also known as crunch - to a Rogue Trader game that both players and GMs get to use, “Edge of the Abyss” adds more background information, plots, adversaries, factions, locations – fluff in other words – for the GM to use. For all the space dedicated to fluff, “Edge of the Abyss” still manages to give the Rogue Trader GMs a surprising amount of crunch (and good advice on how to use it). My only major gripe with this book is that there isn't more of it!
Physically “Edge of the Abyss” is a sturdy and attractive product as most Fantasy Flight Games role-playing products tend to be. The book is hard-cover, 144 pages, the pages are glossy and full-colour, and the font is easy to read. After two careful reads I'm yet to find any major gaffes in editing and proof-reading, aside from a few spelling mistakes that a word processor spell check probably would not have caught. The art in this book is gorgeous. I have been critical in the past of some of the art pieces in other FFG Warhammer 40.000 role-playing games as well as re-using the art from Games Workshop books, but there are no such complaints when it comes to “Edge of the Abyss”. From the stunning panel of a fleet of Imperial warship hurtling into the warp drawn from an unusual perspective, to the very creepy Chaos cultists clad in space suits, to the evocative portraits of the characters in an adventure at the end of the book (more on that later), the art in this book delivers. There are only a couple of exceptions to this throughout the book, but they are more of a personal taste.
The contents are divided into a brief introduction and five chapters. Throughout the book there are also excerpts from a diary of a Rogue Trader's companion that comment on the relevant material – they are whimsical, yet also often informative. I will briefly cover each chapter and comment on its highs and lows. One note of warning: the chapter descriptions assume at least a passing familiarity with Warhammer 40.000 or Rogue Trader role-playing products. If you possess neither, you can skip to the conclusion for a more general summary and thoughts to avoid confusion.
Chapter I is an assorted collection of in-character fiction, documents, and tales that shed light (albeit a dim one) on some of the more terrible secrets of the Koronus Expanse – the lawless and barely explored region of space where Rogue Trader games usually take place. Most are either of the vaguely defined dire horror variety, or of the blandly bureaucratic variety (where the horror hides between the lines or must be inferred by the reader), but my favourite is a darkly funny time travel tale. I won't go into too much detail as it would really spoil the fun of piecing together the evidence of a greater plot from these pieces. It is the shortest and potentially the weakest chapter of the book, not because of the quality of writing, but because it offers little in terms of definitive information to a GM.
Chapter II describes in great detail a selection of worlds and locations within the Koronus Expanse. There are ten such “Islands in the Void” described in this section, although several of the entries are really a collection of a number of locations or worlds. One of the best things this chapter does is to provide several sample Endeavours (a Rogue Trader game term for an adventure leading to a lasting commercial venture and hopefully profit) for each location that the GM can use as a plot hook to lure – ahem – interest the players to.
In order of appearance, the entries are as following. Lucin's Breath is an extremely valuable yet deadly world turned into a battleground between two powerful Rogue Traders and their allies, with a darker secret lurking under the icy surface. Dominion of Mazes describes several worlds that used to belong to a long-extinct alien race and now attract treasure hunters, there are also a couple of items that might find their way into the players' hands. The Stations of Passage describe several 'safe' locations within the passage of space that leads into the Koronus Expanse, which the players could investigate, visit, or use to conduct clandestine dealings. The fourth entry is the planet Naduesh and probably my favourite entry of the lot – it is a world of primitive humans living in the ruins of a mighty civilization, yet the world itself is wholly artificial. The Breaking Yards is a location that the players would likely be interested in as a source of starship components or a safe place for repairs, but I don't think it is interesting enough on its own to warrant a full entry. The Ragged Worlds is a collection of three worlds each with some sort of mystery or opportunity for players to pursue. Seventh entry – and maybe the weakest one – is The Siren Star – a star whose radiation 'song' lures ships to their deaths; it's neither terribly interesting nor does it offer much for players to investigate or reap profits from. Somnium VIII is a haunted world (literally) with a neat background story and just enough danger and wealth to tempt players. The eight entry is Illisk, and it is another location that I enjoyed in particular – a dead world of gigantic machines, mysteries, and involvement of an interesting faction. The final entry is The Serpent's Cradle, which contains a lot of vague hints and mysteries and rumours, but unfortunately does not offer too much in the ways of definitive information for a GM to work with; it is useful only if the GM plans on involving the Eldar in the game.
On the bright side each GM will find something to like in this chapter, but on the less-illuminated side some entries are more lacklustre than others. Also, a couple of entries in this chapter are more detailed descriptions of worlds and locations already discussed in the Rogue Trader Core Rulebook, and I would have appreciated more brand new locations instead. Finally, some of the locations suffer from a rumour overload – the authors hint at this or that, but do not give the readers a lot of straight answers for the various mysteries. This might be done deliberately in order to give GMs more creative leeway in using these locations, but some readers might be put off by this.
Chapter III is probably my favourite chapter of the book, as it gives a Rogue Trader GM what he really needs – foes to use against the players. These range from alien races, to cultists, to rival Imperial organizations. In addition, each rival entry includes either Endeavours or Complications (bad stuff that might happen to the players' Endeavours at the GM's discretion) that the GMs can use as adventure ideas and plot hooks. It's just one more indication of the intended user of this supplement, and a thoughtful touch. Remember how one of my gripes about Chapter II was that it did not contain enough new locations? Well, fortunately there are more to be found in this chapter! The big section on Orks in the Koronus Expanse contains the history of human contact with Orks in this region, description of Ork worlds, the gathering Ork warhost, three Ork leaders, and appropriately named Ork battleship Da Wurldbreaka, intended to be used only against veteran players. Those players and GMs who have been complaining of the paucity of information about the Eldar in Rogue Trader should be relieved, as the entry on the Eldar factions in the Koronus Expanse is quite extensive, informative, and enjoyable. The Eldar factions range from traditional Craftworld Eldar, to mercurial corsairs, a Dark Eldar cabal, and a fourth mysterious genocidal Eldar faction. This entry also includes two Eldar characters with full stat blocks, and stats for an Eldar cruiser.
The entry on the Kroot is the one I liked best, firstly because there is not a great deal of information on the Kroot in general, and secondly there was not previously much information about the Kroot in the Koronus Expanse in particular. Fortunately this entry goes into a lot of detail about the Kroot arrival in the Expanse, the different tribes that now live in the Expanse, a bit on their cultural practices, and even information on how to go about hiring Kroot mercenaries. The Rak'Gol entry is about a new alien race that is becoming a threat to Rogue Traders in the expanse. I won't spoil the race too much, but suffice to say – I liked their appearance, concept, and mix of low and high technology, but did not like that the Rak'Gol are presented as opponents and nothing more – as written there are no avenues for social interaction between the players and the Rak'Gol. The good news is that this entry includes stats for the Rak'Gol and a Rak'Gol ship. The next entry is about the Stryxis – physically repulsive nomadic alien merchants with a penchant for bizarre trading practices, biotechnology, and slavery. This entry is wonderfully written, goes in depth about the various aspects of the Stryxis, includes advice for GMs on running negotiations between the Stryxis and players, and also provides several stat blocks, items, and a Stryxis ship – a very well-rounded entry indeed.
The last two entries are diametrically opposed to each other. The first details the various Chaos cultists, pirates, and reavers in the Koronus Expanse. All manner of foul servants of the dark gods are contained here, from barbarous and cannibalistic sorcerers of the Saynay, to warlike pirates of Iniquity, to the great champion of Chaos Karrad Vall and his warhost. The entry doesn't stop here however! Instead it gives the GMs eight new psychic/sorcerous powers to equip worshippers of Chaos with, expanded rules for sorcery and becoming a sorcerer, a stat block for a Saynay sorcerer, two new daemons, a powerful general of Chaos along with his stats and the stats for his ship. The last entry is for the Imperial organizations that may become allies or rivals for the players. Unfortunately, unlike the Chaos entry that includes both lots of background information and new rules and stats, the Imperial entry focuses only on the background information. To be sure, there are some interesting factions contained in this entry, particularly the Disciples of Thule who search for lost (and possibly forbidden) knowledge, and a somewhat unorthodox missionary faction. My biggest gripe about this entry, aside from the lack of new rules or stats, is the rather short entry on the Inquisition in the Koronus Expanse. This could have been an excellent opportunity to tie the Rogue Trader game more closely to the Dark Heresy role-playing game and to give the GM more ideas for crossovers between the two.
Chapter IV goes into great depth about six Rogue Traders who are active in the Expanse and can serve as allies, rivals, or enemies. Each entry (except one) has detailed biographical information, a profile on behaviour, appearance, and so on, a section on what sorts of things each Rogue Trader is pursuing, and finally stats for each Rogue Trader and their flagship. I suspect that most GMs will be happy with this chapter as a source of either ready-made rivals/allies for players, ideas for adventures and intrigue, or as pre-made stat blocks (whether for characters or ships) that can be recycled into brand new characters and ships with a bit of a fluff change. I only have one negative thing to say about this chapter, which is that one of the Rogue Traders – Sarvus Trask – is a character that FFG has been using as a generic Rogue Trader in art and one of the pre-made adventures, and his entry reads appropriately generic and bland compared to other Rogue Trader captains in this chapter.
The final chapter contains an adventure titled “Vaults of the Forgotten” featuring some of the new factions and antagonists that “Edge of the Abyss” introduces. It involves an archeological mission, a sort-of-a-murder mystery, an alien invasion, and a tense hunt in a maze. It has nice write-ups and art for all of the important characters in the adventure, stats for all of the major characters and enemies, as well as all the new rules and effects necessary to run the adventure. Furthermore, there is a helpful guide on how to run this adventure at different Endeavour levels (each giving the players more Profit as a reward), several potential adventure hooks to get the players into the adventure, and how to tie this adventure into future Endeavours. Having already run it, I found it to be an enjoyable and well-written adventure that can be completed in one or two sessions, with a good balance of investigation, social interaction, mystery, and combat. I would not advise running this adventure, however, for characters below Rank 3, or else it could be too deadly and the chances of success too low. My only complaints about it are: that it does not feature any spaceship combat (which is a big component of a Rogue Trader game), it needs more than one map, and that the final encounter can devolve into making several repetitive dice rolls instead of being suitably climactic.
Final Thoughts: “Edge of the Abyss” is an excellent and useful supplement for any Rogue Trader GM. Its strengths are the amount of background information crammed into it, coupled with a good amount of crunch (rules, stats, items, powers, etc.), and helpful advice and GM-specific information (such as how to use a particular antagonist or a location for an adventure, a commercial venture, and so on). Furthermore, it includes a rather good adventure and plenty of ideas for further adventures. Its main weakness is perhaps that it tries to do too much in a limited number of pages, and thus feels a bit incomplete. In a sense, “Edge of the Abyss” could be two or three different books: the locations and worlds of the Expanse, the adversaries one could likely encounter, and the rival Rogue Traders to challenge. By limiting each potential book to a chapter, the final product left me with a sense that it could be much more than it already is. However, this is not a slight against the material within the book – most of it is excellent and I foresee both myself and other Rogue Trader GMs getting a lot of mileage out of “Edge of the Abyss.”
Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
