“They came upon our position like a river of red; an unbroken line of armour and guns stretching across our battle lines. Without a word they opened fire, and I witnessed destruction the likes of which I had never seen. Minutes passed, and still they kept firing. With so few of us left, I knew it was the end, and at that moment, as I took one last look at the grim facades of these soldiers, I knew the Machine God was real. I threw my weapon away and awaited his judgement."
      – Last recorded testament of Vasallis Noch, the Butcher of Sahcrin

The Lathe Worlds , a supplement for Dark Heresy , is coming next week! This invaluable tome reveals the secret history of the Lathe Worlds, from their mysterious founding to their current struggles against tech-heresy. What’s more, players will gain access to new Alternate Careers such as the Mech-Assassin and Agent of the Lords Dragon, and arm themselves with weapons and gifts of the Omnissiah. And in a thrilling new adventure, your team will journey to a lost comet-station, where they’ll stop renegade tech-priests from heretical experiments into the Warp!

As we prepare for its release, we’re pleased to present a word from contributing writer Matthew Eustace (H.B.M.C. on our forums):

I’ve long been fascinated with the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Imperium’s own “empire within an empire.” They always seemed like an enormous organisation that constantly sat in your peripheral vision – never front and centre, yet you always knew they were there – and when the chance to expand upon the Mechanicum’ history within the Calixis Sector came up I jumped at the chance.

Philosophical Differences

One area of The Lathes Worlds that I enjoyed writing was any place where I could take parts of Calixian history, such as the Meritech Wars or the War of Brass, and inject that history into both the new alternate careers as well as various types of weapons and equipment. Two great examples of this are the Crimson Guard and Cult of the Pure Form. These two organisations rose from the ashes of terrible wars, yet exist as polar opposites to one another – one an army of enhanced soldiers loyal to the Mechanicum, the other a group that sees the Mechanicum as a dire threat to humanity!

The Crimson Guard, also known as the Venatorii, are the elite forces of the Lathe Worlds. Unique to the Calixis Sector, their history stems from the decimation the War of Brass wrought upon the regular Skitarii forces of the Lathes. Built up whilst the regular Lathe armies recovered, the Crimson Guard have almost become a kind of Mechanicum special forces, and unlike most branches of the Adeptus Mechanicus are known to work with the Inquisition as advisors and bodyguards. The Cult of the Pure Form finds their origins in the aftermath of another horrific conflict, the Malygrisian Tech-Heresy. They view cybernetics as a blight upon humanity and something that sullies sacred flesh. Their whole existence focuses on undermining the Machine Cult and “liberating” poor souls who have found themselves “defiled” by cybernetics.

Another Mechanicum trait I like is the way forge worlds manufacture equipment that is similar in function yet has its own local spin (a Mars-Pattern Lasgun versus an Accatran-Pattern Lasgun, for example). Using the history of the Calixian forge worlds I took this idea and ran with it for many of the weapons and equipment within the Armoury. The Perinetus-Pattern Servo Harness, the Midath-Pattern Power Glove and the Het-Pattern Rapier tap into the histories of these worlds to better bring them to life, making them more than simple tools or weapons, but things that have a logical place within the larger Calixis Sector.

I’m sure Dark Heresy players will find a wealth of mechanical miracles within The Lathe Worlds ’ pages. The Mechanicum has always played a large role in our campaigns, and once this book is out I’m certain that there will be Tech-Priests everywhere!

Dark Heresy is a roleplaying game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, a setting in the grim darkness of the far future. Players take on the roles of Acolytes serving the Inquisition, rooting out heresy and corruption from within the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man.