Product Description

The Enemies of Man are Legion. The Alien, the Beast and the Daemon are but a few of the horrors lurking in the shadows. The Inquisition's mandate is to bring the Emperor's Light into the darkness and utterly extinguish those that oppose the might of the Imperium. A variety of menaces, from the Fenksworld Pit to the Xothian Blood Locusts, plus an overview fo the Calix Sector's infamous Deathworlds. Assessments and counsel from notable members of the Inquisition on exterminating each foe. Destroy these foul creatures in the Emperor's Name. Suitable for players of all levels. A copy of Dark Heresy Core Rulebook is needed to use this supplement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100506 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

At last a decent supplement for DH!
As an experienced GM I know what I want from RPG supplements. I want masses of information that will enhance my games, with plenty of ideas for scenarios, stats, etc. Creatures Anathema finally delivers a good supplement for DH that ticks all the right boxes.

The previous supplements have been, to be charitable, poor. I am amazed by the positive reviews on here, obviously from people who have hours to read through pages and pages of self-indulgent guff. All the three prior supplements have been well-written but flattered to deceive. They looked good but said very little. They have been characterised by leaden weight of unecessary detail. The style has been stultifying, incredibly wordy and actually provided very little information. Take Disciples of the Dark Gods for example. This supplement actually contains precious little but background fluff. Any GM worth their salt can make up a few minor chaos cults. The deliberately obtuse and confusing colour text is neither helpful nor does it expand on the game. These supplements read as if hours of self-satisfied writing has gone into saying very little indeed. Compare this to Tome of Corruption for WFRP and the writers should hang their heads in shame. For similar sized books one provides acres of detail, stats, careers, monsters, spells, etc, all concisely written and easy to navigate, with no waffle and nonsense. The other is DOTDG. Similarly I invite anyone who gave a 4-star review to Inquistor's Handbook to actually weigh up what is contained in it. Precious little. It promises to greatly expand the game but provides a few new backgrounds and one (count 'em), one, new career class. Sparse.

The other problem is the crippling restriction of the Calixis Sector. Firstly I am quite able to invent a minor sector for myself, it's a no-brainer. Secondly what has been done is hardly inspiring, it is pretty humdrum and dull. There is nothing innovative or exciting here, just predictable worlds and characters. I know GW have chained the writers but still, come on.

Other GMs and players I know had had enough. I had bought the supplements hoping for an improvement and after DOTDG I decided enough was enough. I could write my own guff. What I wanted was meat, genuine stats for serious opponents, not z-list minor Calixis Sector stuff. A proper set of new weapons. A book of new careers. Stuff that would enhance the game and not self-satisfied noodlings.

Well at last we have it. It's not perfect but it is a huge step forward. Here we have firstly serious stats, for things people want stats for, like genestealers, together with interesting new creatures. Along with this we see the end of interminable waffling and short, to-the-point adventure ideas, ideas for using the creatures, etc. This is more like it, solid writing, well-pitched. On the minus side, it's short in terms of what it contains. What's there is good but for £30 a few more stats would be nice.

Please, please, please let this be the template for the game from now on. Ditch the endless, boring fluff and get into the meat of the game. Get that dull Calixis Sector into the background where it belongs and make this into a genuine 40K RPG, i.e. what the fans actually want from DH.

In short a massive step in the right direction after the first few disappointing supplements. This needs to be the start of a new and focused direction for a game badly in need of new momentum after some very weak books.

Good read, could have been longer.
Im a big fan of DH and I'm glad that FFG are still rolling out the source books and its not another Hogshead-esque multi-decade wait for key books. Creatures Anethema is a good source book and what is in there is interesting and the individual creatures/ entries seem well thought out.
But could there not have been more? I liked what I read, but I couldnt help feel that I'd been served a short measure.

Other than that, I am still glad that I bought it and will no doubt use what it offers in my regular gaming group.

Delayed - due Late Feb/Early March
For Info:

"Creatures Anathema is a bestiary of enemies for your characters to face. Each monster is fully detailed and described, including plot hooks that make it simple to place each challenge into an existing game, or to build a story around a particular creature. In addition, Creatures Anathema contains rules for new, exotic alien gear and some new player character options.

Creatures Anathema contains both monsters unique to the Calixis Sector as well as classic creatures from the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Presenting over 50 creatures for use in a Dark Heresy campaign, this 128-page, full-color hardcover tome is a handsome addition to any RPG bookshelf."