“Dark Pursuits” by Tim Cox is the introductory adventure found in the back of the Dark Heresy 2nd Edition core rulebook. I’ve had mixed results with back of the book adventures in the past, but “Dark Pursuits” bucks the trend and is, in my view as a long time Dark Heresy player, a fantastic introduction to the Dark Heresy roleplaying game. This adventure features a heavy amount of investigation mixed with, and leading to, gritty combat – in my opinion, the perfect balance for Dark Heresy. This review is primarily spoiler free, but will include spoilers in the final section.
The adventure puts the players into the game rapidly, wasting little time with unnecessary setup. As an introductory adventure, it is assumed that the players are new acolytes within a new warband, but can accommodate an existing warband of experienced characters with careful increases to encounter difficulty by the GM. Given the largely player directed nature of Dark Heresy (here’s some guns, go find the heretics) it can be hard to generalize the length of the adventure. My group took two sessions to finish a shortened version of the adventure modified by players choices, but I think this is a good reference point to consider.
Equally important, the adventure quickly established that rich, grim, dark Dark Heresy feeling. Without recourse to spoilers, my veteran group emphatically declared, “Yup! That’s Dark Heresy, baby!” as a result of a dramatic scene early on. This is best left as a surprise to the players as it is a real eye opener, but GMs wishing for a sneak peek are directed towards the t-shirt worthy piece of art on page 422. The read-aloud text is very effective at establishing the tone and feel of Warhammer 40k. The text is both evocative of the senses through its rich descriptions, but also makes great use of Warhammer 40k specific terms and phrases.
The adventure begins with the investigation of a minor nobleman acting out of character. As the players investigate clues, they are led lower and lower into the hive city, encountering the seedier elements of the Imperium. Part Two sees a raising of the stakes and an acceleration into the adventure’s climactic combat conclusion. Some may criticize the plot for being standard Heresy fare; nobles grow tired of worldly pursuits and seek out strange artefacts leading to a doom spiral, but this is exactly what an introductory adventure should be: an example of standard Dark Heresy play.
As an experienced Warhammer 40k GM, but new to Dark Heresy 2nd Edition, I found the adventure quite easy to run. The background and synopsis sections provide sufficient detail while remaining brief enough to be reviewed as required during play. Required and suggested skill tests are clearly marked, easy to see at a glance, and are set at an appropriate difficulty. A common GM error in Dark Heresy is the failure to properly assess skill test difficulty. Many tests should be given a bonus (+10, +20, etc.), but often many GMs will default to +0 making the game unnecessarily difficult. I was pleased to see that in the introductory adventure, the proper example was set with many tests at Routine (+20) difficulty. The follow-up and conclusion section provides good suggestions for further adventures, and clearly indicates what XP and other rewards should be provided.
Within the pages of the adventure there are some nice pieces of art to help set the mood and communicate details. This includes the aforementioned delightful image on page 422. I found the maps included to be quite lacking, however. My Warhammer 40k RPG group rarely uses the maps and minis approach due to the extreme ranges possible within the system, but maps are nonetheless a useful way to understand the physical spaces involved in both exploration and combat. Those maps that are included have a visually appealing, stylized feel to them, but do not provide much utility to the GM. Maps are conspicuously absent in the abandoned manufactorum and the deep tunnels for the final encounters. While the distances involved in Warhammer 40k often rule out the use of tactical map and minis play, a general floorplan style layout can be a great aid. For me, this style of map was missed within the adventure.
Overall, I recommend this adventure to other GMs. It is well written, relatively easy to run, and provides a stock Dark Heresy experience useful for introductory or low-level play. I will now transition to discuss some more specific points of interest to possible Dark Pursuits GMs. Be warned, there are spoilers below. It is advised only GMs considering running this adventure proceed further.
…
Seriously, don’t look if you are going to play an acolyte in this adventure!
…
The sable trader, Zax Holthane, is a great example of how social encounters have changed between editions. If your players negotiate with Zax it is easy to get confused by the lack of social skills on his stat block. It is important to note all this is now governed by PC interaction tests and Zax’s Disposition as stated on page 427. Check out page 227 for the rules on Disposition and Social Interaction. If your players fight it out with Zax, then be wary of his Bolt pistol. The penetration and damage output can make short work of all but the toughest novice acolytes. Use Zax’s personality and armament to adjust the encounter difficulty. Dial up the difficulty by making good use of the Bolt pistol; dial down the difficulty by having Zax try to escape, leaving his minions behind the stall for time.
Suvfaeras the Daemonhost can be a, literally, terrifying foe to the PCs. The makeup of the warband will factor greatly into how much of a challenge Suvfaeras will be. I had a relatively combat capable warband which decided to eventually forego subtly and acquire weapons from the local enforcers prior to facing the daemonhost. They were able to make fairly short work of the encounter by most passing their fear checks and then opening up with automatic weapons. Do not be afraid to adjust the difficulty on the fly by increasing characteristics or even adding wounds to Suvfaeras’ profile mid-fight. In other systems I would be critical of how much GM adjustment is required for Suvfaeras, but in Dark Heresy the possible combinations of acolytes in a warband ultimately makes encounter design more art than science.
As written, Arch-Heretek Somnius Halbrel is meant to survive his encounter with the PCs at the climax of this adventure. He may seem fairly tough with generous wounds and decent armour, but there is a risk of him falling to combat-capable PCs. Heed the author’s guidance to play up the threat of Suvfaeras during the final encounter. You may wish to use Halbrel’s Plasma pistol to down an acolyte or two, but this is a dangerous balancing game to play. I would recommend looking to the pistol as a narrative escape tool. When things go sour for Halbrel’s objectives, something that should be easily apparent due to his 60 Intelligence, have him escape down a tunnel or corridor and block the way behind him with precisely aimed plasma bolts. As an Arch-Heretek, surely he would have the knowledge to collapse an entire corridor with machine-like precision shots. His escape can easily come across as cheap, so use this method or an alternative with has a high degree of narrative coherence to mitigate against that feeling.
Christopher Hunt
Latest posts by Christopher Hunt (see all)
- Command School – Deterrence and Compellence - July 11, 2019
