Ahead of its reveal at today's Warhammer Skulls event, I got to speak to Owlcat producer Anatoly Shestov about Warhammer 40K: Dark Heresy, the studio's next big CRPG to follow up the breakout Rogue Trader. Here are my big takeaways from the conversation:
- Dark Heresy is based on the TTRPG of the same name, like how Rogue Trader was based on, you guessed it, Rogue Trader.
- You play as an Imperial inquisitor investigating heresies and conspiracies on an embattled world.
- Jaunts offworld didn't sound like they were off the table, but the focus is a single planet with diverse biomes, rather than Rogue Trader's sprawling sector of space.
- Contrasting with the enormous Von Valencius flagship, we'll get a smaller, sleeker ship more like Knights of the Old Republic's Ebon Hawk.
- Replacing Rogue Trader's trinary morality meter (iconoclast, dogmatic, heretical) is an inquisition-focused radical-traditionalist spectrum.
- Shestov promised a big graphics overhaul and revamp of the RPG system from Rogue Trader—both sound like a much bigger jump than the one between Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous.
- There's a morale/intimidation system for both your party and enemies, and I was told you could tailor whole character builds around scaring your enemies so much that they surrender.
- Shestov described a significant detective/investigative element to the game, one where there wouldn't be "canon" or "correct" answers, and instead an emphasis on the Imperium of Man's idea of justice.
