Herald of Oblivion

[Shadow Walker]

If anyone has ordered HERALD OF OBLIVION, please do let me know what you thought of it once you've had a chance to go through it - either by posting a review on the BL site, or by replying to a post on my blog.

I am playing it now and already regret buying it. rules for fighting are clumsy at best. with power fist damage of 1 killing 6 genestealers, each with 5 wounds took forever. and it seems that terminator cannot use his armour save but his enemies can.

[shadowhawk2008]

From editor Christian Dunn:

It's come to my attention that an incorrect version of the Apply Damage section of the Herald of Oblivion rules was included in the book. Errata will be going up on the product page on the Black Library website later today and subsequent printings will contain the corrected text. We've also addressed the issue of the missing Armour Save for the Terminator Armour - it's 3 as many of you guessed.

Enjoy smiting the foes of the Emperor with a fully operational Power Fist!

[Aedes]

Shadowhawk- that is great news! I knew there was something wrong with the rules!
Great it will be sorted out!

[Aedes]

Herald of Oblivion Review
First off- Jon, was it intended to send the terminator in there naked (without an armour save)? Because this make the book near impossible…
As you read on, this might contain spoilers…

General Impression
I really like the premise- playing as a terminator hunting aliens on a space hulk, so I was very interested in trying out this book. I did read/ play these books when I was a kid, and I enjoyed it back then, so this is kind of nostalgia for me.
The book is very good quality, and has lots of nice black and white drawings of the enemies, weapons and the terminator squad members on nearly every page to break up the text. Especially the drawings of the Space Marines are very characterful.
The book is organised in several sections, with a section explaining the rules, the game sheets, a glossary and the adventure text.
People familiar with Warhammer will immediately recognise the stats of the characters with Weaponskill (WS), Strength (S), Toughness, Wounds, Attacks and so on. A nice addition are the “Purity Points” which add a bit more of depth to a story about a honourable loyalist Space Marine.
In the game description it says you should have ONE die ready to play, I personally found that very tedious with the masses of enemies you are facing. I think speed rolling with using at least 6 dice is more practicable.
All in all I think the rules could have been explained a bit more in detail and clearer- I had trouble understanding some things, for example the shooting.
Immersion
It’s quite good, the passages are exciting and you get sucked into there and want to know what happens next. The story starts out when you are transported onto the Space Hulk. It dropped me right into a fight with genestealers where I died twice…
After that I was fighting through a horde of orks and I really enjoyed the section fighting the greenskins. I also think the story about how you find the apothecary is quite neat.
Difficulty
At first you will take some time to get into it and be familiar with the rules- so you will flick backwards and forwards quite a bit. I especially had trouble trying to figure out the shooting- did I have two shots like in 40K with my storm bolter? Or do I just use my one attack?
I used the advanced rules to play through the book, because it is what I am used from playing 40k (well, except that you always use the to hit table for shooting even when in close combat).
My biggest problem was the lack of an armour save- I hope this was just forgotten in the book. Without an armour save, I died twice just right at the beginning of the book. Well, I admit that I had some very unlucky dice rolls, but still- it’s a terminator and it states he is wearing armour- so he is not sent into the space hulk naked I assume?
To have a better chance of surviving, I tried using the 40k terminator armour saves of 2+, but that made it way to easy. In addition, later you are able to find a shield which improves your armour value….In the end, I used a power armour save of 3+ to play through the book.
Fluff
The book is definitely for people who are familiar with 40k. There are no real explanations into the background, the weapons or the equipment of the setting.
I didn’t see any obvious mistakes in the fluff, but I have to admit I am also not a specialist.
Mistakes
Not sure if those are mistakes or intended? Please correct me if I am wrong.
First, the lack of armour saves for your terminator armour- can this be right?
Second- one of the terminators wears a pair of lightning claws- how can he possibly also carry a storm bolter?
Third- What are plasma bombs? Are they supposed to be Melta bombs?
Comparison with another “Path to Victory” book- Beneath the City of the White Wolf
I am doing this comparison, because I had ordered both books together and they arrived on the same day. I also haven’t had the time yet to read/ play through the City of the White Wold, so this will only be very superficial.
The books are of the same good quality and both have the same amount of nice black and white drawings. What I found really positive about the City of the White Wolf (in comparison to Herald of Oblivion) was that the rules were explained better, with an example about how to fight a combat, and the knight in the City of the White Wolf wears actual ARMOUR (4+).

EDIT- Shadowhawk posted above that the mistakes in the rules of this book will be taken care of- hope that fixes the problems I had!

[Cryptic]

I think Terminators on space hulks with hordes of xenos is a dead bore and the most simple idea to mind in creating a book.
Imperial Fists seem to get hardly any decent coverage by Black Library.

Poor them.

[Jon Green]

I think Terminators on space hulks with hordes of xenos is a dead bore and the most simple idea to mind in creating a book.
Imperial Fists seem to get hardly any decent coverage by Black Library.

Poor them.

Hi Cryptic

Perhaps you should try reading the book before dismissing it out of hand.

Just a suggestion.

[shadowhawk2008]

I think Terminators on space hulks with hordes of xenos is a dead bore and the most simple idea to mind in creating a book.
Imperial Fists seem to get hardly any decent coverage by Black Library.

Poor them.

Space Marines fighting Tyranids is the oldest trick in the lore. Such a damn cliche I tell you.

[Aedes]

Shadowhawk- I hope that was sarcastic....to be honest, this is why I play 40k. To hunt tyrannids, orks and heretics
(and mainly rival chapters )with my Space Marines...

I just read through the errata for the book on the Black Library website- and yay, I guessed right, the armour save for the terminator is 3+.
http://www.blacklibrary.com/Download...ald-errata.pdf

[Cryptic]

I may trial the book.
But having played many of these game books in the past, i have always said the same about them.

I like game books, it creates a new path of fun for those fanatical and wanting a break from reading (This is reading still, but on another level)

I like that they are making these game books, don't get me wrong, its just perhaps they could instead do a gamebook about an eldar rogue, expert in the skill of sharp shooting and pitiful at close range, make his way through jungles and catacombs etc. its just more practical.

[shadowhawk2008]

That doesn't mean a Space Hulk assault is any less practical. The old Space Hulk game and the miniatures there in form a very "classical" and recognisable image for long-term fans of the hobby.

[Jon Green]

Basically HERALD OF OBLIVION features Space Marines on a Space Hulk because that's what I was asked to write. BL wanted Imperial Fists fighting aliens, so that's what I gave them.

[wyvirn]

I've been mainly flipping through the book, since without the errata it's a pretty killer dungeon (17 wounds in the first encounter is not fun). From the random plot threads I followed, it was pretty interesting from a fluff perspective. I also liked how there were endings other than 'you die at the hands of X' and 'you saved the planet and lived!'