Designed as a proper introduction to the Warhammer 40K setting of the Dark Heresy game, this can either be used as the opening adventure in a campaign with characters created using the core rulebook or as an extensive taster using the quickstart rules provided herein. It's not the short scenario so many offer, this is a full adventure that ought to take several sessions to complete. Both this adventure and the original demo adventure Shattered Hope, which was released in advance of the pulication of the core rulebook, work well to get a campaign going before playing the adventure in the core rulebook, Illuminations, or launching into your own scenarios. Indeed, it's possible to play both if you want.

It opens with some flavour text that gives an idea of the scale and style of the universe that is about to become your virtual reality, a sweep of rich grandeur with a hint of decay in which individuals do not matter - yet the actions of the Acolytes (the party) can make a profound difference. It sweeps swiftly on into the adventure introduction for the GM, noting that the adventure text contains plenty of hints and advice for novice GMs so that it should be easy to run for those new to GMing as well as to this particular game... and this is no idle boast, everything is explained clearly with tips on how to run the game as well as details of what is supposed to be going on.

The adventure itself comes in three parts, beginning with the Acolytes being instructed to investigate a murder... and whilst violent death is not unusual, bodies that show quite so much surgical tampering and illegal organ grafting are! The trick is to discover who is engaging in such heretical science without falling victim to them, of course. The Acolytes will have to delve into the dead man's life and past, and if successful their investigations will lead them to a confrontation with the rogue surgeon...

The main NPCs are introduced with neat pen-portraits that make it easy to play them, and the adventure itself is laid out clearly. Atmospheric descriptions abound, and - this being intended as an introduction to game mechanics as well as setting - opportunities to use the rules are signposted with notes on what needs to be done at each point. The investigation will lead them into an industrial 'hive' and the descriptions here paint a vivid picture of what the place is like, while the game notes allow the Acolytes to do pretty much whatever they please to further their investigation whilst giving the GM all the information he needs to accommodate their actions and provide them with the clues that they need. Again, once they find the villain's lair, it will be up to them how they deal with the situation. And, should they survive, there are notes on how best to further develop the adventure.

Appendices cover some quick-start rules for those who do not have the core rulebook, complete stats for all NPCs involved and a player handout. The rules are well explained, and this part could make a useful handout for new players who do not own the full rules. Six pre-generated characters are supposed to be available for download separately from the Fantasy Flight Games website - but if they were when this first came out in 2008 they aren't there now!

Overall, this gives an excellent impression of Dark Heresy and the adventure is a good one, mixing a lot of investigation with the opportunity for at least one good fight at the end. If pure combat is your thing you may find this a bit dull, but those who enjoy a mix of interaction and violence should be satisfied.