Deathwatch offers a brand-new roleplaying experience by focusing on elite, special-missions style action at the furthest fringes of Imperial space, involving some of the greatest heroes and deadliest opponents the Warhammer 40,000 universe has to offer! You need a budget 4 rules.

Well, I haven’t reviewed every single Deathwatch book yet, so I suppose I’d better get a move on (wouldn’t want FFG to officially announce the second edition before I get through the first edition, eh?). The Outer Reach bills itself as “A Guide to the Darkness Beyond the Crusade,” and thematically the book centers around The Dark Pattern (which you’ll find a lot of references to in other Deathwatch books). The Outer Reach delivers on the three things it promises on the back of the book – information on the Dead Cabal (members of the Deathwatch who study the Dark Pattern), the Outer Reach (whence one finds many of the worlds comprising the Dark Pattern), and the Necrons (what with the Dark Pattern being about them and all – or does that count as a spoiler? Probably not if it’s mentioned on the back on the book and there’s a Necron on the cover). And did I mention that there’s a lot about Necrons? Presentation Graphic design and editing maintain their usual standards for Deathwatch. The art is OK, I guess, although I got a bit bored with greyscale pictures of techno-skeletons by the time I was done.

Contents If you haven’t been checking up on your Deathwatch maps recently, the Outer Reach is the part of the Jericho Reach that is beyond even the most tenuous grasp of the Achilus Crusade). If you’re looking at the map, the Outer Reach basically starts with the rightmost planets that are labeled. The Dead Cabal (~40 pages) – This chapter presents background on how the Dark Pattern came to be known to the Imperium, and on the eponymous subgroup within the Deathwatch that is dedicated to deciphering the Pattern.

With Dead Vigil watch stations (several of which are detailed) scattered throughout the Outer Reach, the Dead Cabal monitors a variety of (mostly) dead worlds for whatever ephemera may be there to be detected. Also included are detailed write-ups of the higher-ups currently running the Dead Cabal, a Dead Stations Vigilant advanced speciality, Dead Stations Vigil solo and squad modes, several Oaths, and handful of relics. A GM will further find several adventure hooks for use as Dead Cabal missions. Lost Worlds of the Jericho Reach (~50 pages) – A gazetteer of worlds that are not quite as dead as they seem – ten worlds, with 3-4 pages per world.

And half of them don’t even have Necron crawling around! None of these worlds has any sort of human/Imperial habitation, so there are lots of xenos to exterminate and mysteries to unravel. We’ve got chaos civil wars over here, Tyranids battling Eldar on the maiden world over there, and we’ve got Necrons reactivating on the hive world-turned-toxic-disaster-area on the third planet.

The chapter also has limited information on the Black Reef (there’s more info on it in ) and less limited information on the Slinnar Drift. There are also about 10 pages on the Conclave of Tears, a disparate (but very small) group of Eldar who are seeking to manipulate events in the Jericho Reach, but for unclear purposes. A Dynasty Returned (~40 pages) – This is Necron central, with a history of the Necron generally and some specific emphasis on the ancient Necron Phaeron (super high-level lord type) who is currently busy being insane after waking up on the wrong side of the crypt. He is the subject of the prophecy of the Dark Pattern, and something has gone very, very wrong. This chapter delivers write-ups of six high-level Necrons in the Jericho Reach (including the Phaeron), and a lot of information on ‘normal’ Necron adversaries (even standard Necron reassemble themselves and carry pretty nasty firearms).