Others say...

"Solid RGP, and It DOES have a future!!!"
First: Absolutely this does have a future. With the success of the first release, Fantasy Flight Games has picked up the rights to all of the GW "non-miniatures" games. Now, I think that's a weak move as GW is pretty much giving up a cash cow for the US market (but I doubt they know the US market!), but on to the Review!

Pros:
First:
Its a d100 based system. I like that. Too many games try to use cute systems that too many people don't understand the probabilities in play. d100 is simple.

Second:
Combat seems to have all the elements covered without being to draconian. Also, see point one

Third:
Quick character creation. I like that.

Fourth:
Seem to have covered most of the bases for what you're likely to run into in an inquisition based game IF and only IF you are looking to model a campaign on Ravenor/Eisenhorn. Even Gaunt's Ghosts would be covered in large part. A Necromunda style RPG is definitely doable.

Fifth:
None of the problems currently plaguing d20 system with out of control Feats etc.

Cons:
First:
As noted by others, very little material for exploring other aspects of 40k is included. This may be deliberate to keep conflicts between source material down to a minimum, but it's lame. You're outta luck on Space Marines, Eldar, Orks, etc. The predominant members of the Inquisition seems to be Ordo Xenos, but little info on Aliens is presented! More Ordo Hereticus opponents are presented, and few Xenos are presented.

Second:
Character Advancement runs into walls, although I don't know how quickly this would happen. Others have mentioned it, so I won't belabor the point. There does seem to be a "advanced" rule book coming out later in the year, so by the time its an issue for most groups, it may not be an issue any more!

Third:
Too much emphasis on the Inquisition. Admittedly, the Inquisition is a natural source of plot hooks and all of the other peripheral style points you need to keep a game believable, but there's a million other things someone may want to do. I'm not bashing the Inquisition plot line, but other plot lines are completely doable even in the constraints of the source material.


In summary:
If you are a role player and also a 40k player, this is what you've been waiting for. My "cons" are quibbles, you can certainly work around them. The system is one that does enable story to dominate your games, but also doesn't seem to have too many glaring holes so the mechanical bit will be fun too. This is refreshing when the landscape is dominated by an increasingly mechanical group of RPGs hiding under the d20 banner. There's enough things you can do with characters, yet starting characters don't seem excessively weak, and while I haven't proven it, I think this game is likely to be ok with PCs at differing levels of experience, allowing for some interesting party composition.

"Dark Heresy"
This RPG book is FANTASTIC! I am so happy to have been able to get my hands on a copy of this book. Not only is the book itself physicaly beautiful and an example of top notch production, but the game is fun and easy. No matter what you pay for this book, it is worth every penny. Black Industries closes down their RPG section forever in September... be sure you get a copy of this book for yourself!

"It is what it is. The first book in an RPG system."
You can see Dark Heresy's roots in Necromunda and the Inquisitor Games Workshop minitatures rules. The RPG updates these concepts into a more playable RPG system along the lines of the WHFRP.

I am disappointed in the lack of future support for the system. There's one GOOD thing about this though, Black Industries won't nerf the rules with a 3.0 release a year from now.

I needed to respond to the comments in some other reviews about what this book is missing. Any Gamemaster worth his salt can make up for it with other sources. With regard to the lack of races, spacemarines, Chaos magic, etc. Take a look at the character stats. They are very close to 40K stats if you take a basic DH career and account for some XP advancements. Take the equivalent 40k stat multiply by 10 and add a d10 to get the 'ones' value. So I'll use 40K block stats for races not covered. I also plan to convert Inquisitor and Necromunda rules for equipment not covered by DH. And I'll use the WHFRP books for additional Sorcery, Chaos (Tome of Corruption), and Monsters (Old World Bestiary)


I guess what I'm saying is yes there are limits to the book. But in the world of the Warhammer multiverse, there are already lots of other sources a GM can draw upon to fill the holes.

As a stand alone product I won't knock it for BI's lack of foresight/support. It's still an excellent basic RPG system with rich background for any 40K fan. So 5 stars it is.

"Warhammer 40,000 roleplay book is high quality and fun."
This roleplay game set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe is brilliantly produced. The book is hundreds of pages long and filled with high quality color illustrations and background information embellishing the thoughtfully produced roleplay game rules and extensive background information. The best parts of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are present like the career system with all of the dark science fiction aspects of Warhammer 40,000 (40K) intertwined and built on top of them. Although the basic system is set up for characters to play henchman in an inquisitor's warband, there are a lot of different types of characters to be played. Coupled with a "gamemaster" and players who have a lot of imagination, this game has great and extensive creative possibilities.

The first print run of Dark Heresy sold out extremely quickly due to the great fan reaction to the high quality of the book. The only other negative here is that Black Industries (BI), the producer of this game system, is being shut down later this year in a consolidation move apparently sparked by Games Workshop's restructuring due to stock price and profitability concerns. It's a real shame because BI produced a lot of high quality product, like the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay system.

The good news is that Fantasy Flight Games has a contract to continue publishing Dark Heresy and other popular Games Workshop products previously published by BI. The next print run of the Dark Heresy core rule book and the first available from FFG will be available in July 2008.

For those interested in the entire Dark Heresy game system, there are several more products due for release throughout 2008, all of which are likely to be available here on Amazon. These include:
-Character Record Pack
-Dark Heresy Game Master's Kit
-Purge the Unclean Adventure Anthology
-Inquisitor's Armoury, Weapons of the Righteous (detailing weapons and equipment)
-Inquisitor's Handbook (player handbook)
-Disciples of the Dark Gods (sourcebook for Chaos)

"Well its 40K Sort of?????"
I got this because I too play 40K the miniature game and have many figures and all the armies but the Orks.....Now for my review of Dark Heresy..

THE GOOD: The game feels and looks awesome, the book it very well made and is high quality. The world is cool and the game is just like the fantasy version, except for the fewer classes and creatures/aliens than fantasy. But enjoyabl and easy to create or add your own, since you will most likely have to considering that GW doesnt seem to enjoy making money off the hottest game of the century.....If they were a USA company, it would never have been dropped like this, it would have been milked until the sales went south.

THE BAD: Besides the discontinution by a MORONIC company such as GW, who should be banned by all citizens of the USA, I will tell you my thoughts here.. I find the lack of extensive career paths to be annoying and a bad move all in all, they should have done like fantasy and allowed more paths and races from the 40K universe to be selected in the main rules, instead of catering to a select few GW fans of the Inquisition, GW is classic for putting out stuff for failing miniature lines, like their Inquisitor game several years back (it was stupid then, its stupid now), why or why does GW do what they do? The game had potential, but now its a dead carcass and unusable for any extended period of time.

MY ADVICE: Do not purchase this game, it is a nice book and rules system but the lack of future support and any expansion into more extensive careers such as Space Marines, Eldar, Orks, etc., etc., makes it a lousey investment, you may play a few times, like it but in the end you will get bored with the endless investigations and lack of opponents beside chaos, wait and get it on ebay for cheap as as soon as the new wears off, the stores will be looking to unload all the extras as the game is a dead log, thanks to mighty GW once again!