Warhammer Quest: Darkwater is a solo or co-operative adventure where you and up to three friends band together to try and rescue the Jade Abbey from the contagious clutches of the daemon prince Gelgus Pust and his band of bilious followers. When you play, you’ll be taking up arms as a band of heroes, such as the arrogant and embittered Edmark Valoran, or the mage Jacobus Vyne and his – dare we say it – adorable animal companions.
Each hero is their own character, with a backstory and their own goals that impact how they play in the game. In this part of the adventurer’s guide, we’re going to see how they act in-game, what their core equipment does, and what kind of player each character might appeal to.
It wouldn’t be proper to start with anyone other than Edmark. He is, of course, extremely good at fighting – possibly the best warrior in all of Hammerhal Aqsha if you believe his boasts, though he may end up a little humbled as he comes up against Mulgoth the Cleaver and his Blight Templars. In-game, Edmark is a fighter and tank who wants to get stuck right into the thick of it, able to reliably block incoming blows with the Shield of the Manticore, and riposte furious flurries from his enemies thanks to his explosive temper. If you like charging forward, rolling dice, and grumbling as you limp from encounter to encounter because you’re taking all the aggro, Edmark is the character for you.
Drolf Ironhead is a peculiar duardin, more at home in the marshlands and forests of the Everspring Swathe than the mountains of his kin. He still has that signature duardin stubbornness though, navigating the arboreal labyrinth by hacking his way straight through tough obstacles. When Drolf sprints in game, he’s able to ignore the effects of lethal and snare hexes on the maps – traps or environmental hazards that harm or hinder you. His ranger’s kit lets him bypass blocked hexes entirely, which is perfect for navigating the maze-like Jade Abbey. It's also great if you like to rush ahead of the group to secure objectives lay claim to treasure tokens to a chorus of groans from your pals. He even has a handy crossbow for picking off stragglers, just so you can claim you’re helping while you look through your treasures.
Pretty much every gaming group has someone who is fully at the whims of what they perceive to be “bad dice” , a phenomenon they claim follows them around from set to set of delightful numbered cubes. They might be interested in playing as the formidable Bren Tylis, who bears the relics of her ancestor, Saint Yondara. Benefitting from the saint’s guidance, a player can choose to re-roll either all her move rolls – all characters but Drolf roll a dice to determine movement – all her attack rolls, or all her save rolls each turn. Surely not every roll can be ruined by bad luck! Her experience with dusty relics also means she has a chance to hold onto rewards that would otherwise be discarded. No littering in Ghyran!
For those who really value supporting their allies through clever plays, Inara Sion is the pick. She’s old enough to recall the Jade Abbey in its prime, thanks to the restorative properties of the Aqua Ghyranis she carries into battle with her. She’s able to summon a barrier of water formed of this sacred liquid, creating a blocked hex in a place of her choosing. It's useful for blocking off routes that the followers of Pust might take, and her Blade of Flowing Waters lets her effortlessly reposition it while she’s nearby, just in case you need to quickly stop a Cankerborn from flattening an ally too focused on looting or fighting.
These are the first four fighters, but it’s not the whole roster. You’ll eventually unlock three more heroes you can use in the game, each one bringing extra play styles to the table.
Drasher Vorn is the chief of the Arak Klor tribe of Ghur, a people who use the artefact called the Ebon Claw to grant themselves bestial strength, all for the low, low cost of potentially becoming a mindless berserker. While the Ebon Claw has ensured that his tribe has thrived over the years, it has also caused them to lose their humanity, and so he now journeys to the Everspring to purify it – and why not vanquish some Nurgle worshippers on the way? As Drasher takes damage, and as enemies are slain, his fury builds until he explodes in a whirlwind of rage. If there’s not much action, Drasher can use the Ebon Claw to self-flagellate, building his fury that way. Even more so than Edmark, Drasher is the character for those in your party whose answer to every question is “what if I hit it really hard?”.
If you just like being different, why not opt to play as a quadruped in a game of bipeds? A centaur body means more reliable movement and the stability to fire a bow while on the move, so Kelthannor is your choice if you like mobility and aiding your allies from afar. The Forest Prince is a Kurnothi who has fully committed himself to taking the head of the Prince of Sores, and will not rest until he succeeds. A master of mobility, he is able to charge through and leap over lesser foes like they aren’t there, all while letting loose volleys of arrows with unerring accuracy. Despite his aloofness, Kelthannor is more than happy to energise his allies with his hunting horn, causing them to move a hex. It might not sound like a long way to this bounding centauroid, but the two-legged folk need all the help they can get.
Some people prefer to be in control of everything when they play a game, which is a little hard when your co-players are a berserk man-beast slapping themself to build up their anger and a little wrecking ball of a duardin smashing through terrain. Still, Jacobus Vyne allows control over at least some part of this chaotic experience, being a powerful Jade Wizard attuned to the Realm of Life and determined to prevent the followers of Nurgle from contaminating the Everspring. By focusing intently, he can summon his spirit ally, Wisper, which he can use as a conduit to attack through, or even swap places with entirely. His Vineroot Staff can entangle enemies, reducing their movement and attack power, which is great for keeping everything under control. Ah, a bit of calm. Isn’t that better?
With seven heroes to pick from (eventually), your adventuring party can be as varied as you like, and that’s before you start tooling them out with rewards that you’ve received as part of your quest, or looted along the way.
Each hero's signature equipment also has an upgraded version that you can discover. The four core heroes have alternative character cards to unlock, too, but we’ll leave you to discover those – and all the intricacies of how these characters work together – when you play Warhammer Quest: Darkwater yourself.
Until then, don’t forget to sign up and Forge Your Destiny as you head to the Jade Abbey through a series of emails. You won’t be choosing a character, but you will be choosing how you respond to various events, and exploring the ruins around the Everspring. Your mini-adventure might just help you figure out which character to play first if you’re feeling a bit spoilt for choice!
Next week we’ll be taking a look at the rules of Warhammer Quest: Darkwater, as we get closer to release.
