RPG Spotlight: ‘Imperium Maledictum’ Lets You Tell Your Own Grimdark Stories
Warhammer 40,000 is brutal, intense, and can be hard to break into. But TTRPG Imperium Maledictum makes the universe very approachable.
Focusing on a regular humans living in the Imperium of Man, working towards one of the galaxy’s many brutal interests, Imperium Maledictum is undoubtedly a Warhammer 40,000. This is far from the first Warhammer TTRPG, and in a lot of ways Imperium Maledictum is the spiritual successor to Dark Heresy. And if you enjoy 40K for how over the top, wild, and dangerous is it, moving into tabletop RPG with these games will feel like a natural move to make.
Imperium Maledictum
Let’s be honest, this is a game for Warhammer 40,000K fans. If you’re not into Warhammer you probably won’t feel the greatest need to pick this game up. But if you are already a fan, this stepping into the same universe from a different angle may just look like a lot of fun. But that goes for every IP specific TTRPG. So for a Warhammer fan, is Imperium Maledictum a game worth falling into? Absolutely it is.
Published by Cubicle 7, the creators of the popular Doctor Who RPG, Imperium Maledictum focuses on the smaller folks in the Warhammer universe. The regular humans trying to get by and survive…. And swearing themselves to a Patron who will give them all of their missions and goals and generally send them out into the plot. Of course, it’s Warhammer, so the patrons are borderline terrifying and the missions they’ll send you on just may kick your butt.
Character Creation & Gameplay
This game is based on a d100 system. Actions will have a difficulty assigned to them, players will roll, and any roll under the difficulty is a pass while rolling high is generally bad news bears. Players may have advantage, which would allow them to swap their tens and ones—so for example, a ninety one could be changed to a nineteen if necessary.
In combat characteristics can help you significantly with bonuses. For example, Strength will boost your melee attacks. But your team also has the ability to have superiority dice, which could be enough to change a miss to a hit and a hit to a really bad hit. It’s a system that toes the line between laying out clearly established rules, and letting cinematics and the rule of cool keep it fun.
Character creation can either result in a bespoke character, made up of all of your carefully assembled choices, or a series of randomized rolls. After rolling up your characteristics and origin, there’s faction (who your patron is), role (how you serve them, for example there is Mystic, Warrior, or Zealot), skills, talents, and gear with many things assigned based on your faction/patron and role.
This game is surprisingly inviting and playable, even if this is somehow your first foray into tabletop roleplaying games. Is the Warhammer universe a brutal one to explore? Sure. But if that’s your kind of fun, this will be too.
If you’d like to learn more about Imperium Maledictum or check it out for yourself, you can learn more on the Cubicle 7 website.
Have you played Imperium Maledictum? What about any of the other Warhammer 40,000 tabletop RPGs? What’s your favorite army? Let us know in the comments.
Happy adventuring!
