Warhammer Quest: Darkwater is shaping up like a proper grimy co-op crawl in the Mortal Realms.
You and up to three friends dive into the Jade Abbey, trying to stop the daemon prince Gelgus Pust from turning it into a Nurgle wellness retreat. Every player picks a unique hero, and these are not anonymous stat blocks. Each character has a story, a signature kit, and mechanics that really lean into their personality. Consequently, half the fun is matching your own playstyle to the right doomed idiot with a weapon.
Moreover, the game gives you seven heroes in total, with four core options and three unlockable badasses you earn over time. Each brings a distinct role, from classic tank to weird control mage. Additionally, their gear can be upgraded as you delve, so they grow alongside your campaign. So let us walk through who is who, how they play, and which sort of player they will tempt first.
Meet the Core Four
Edmark Valoran is the obvious starting point, both in the lore and on the board. In the story he is an arrogant, embittered warrior who loudly claims to be the best fighter in Hammerhal Aqsha. In game he absolutely leans into the tank role, trudging into the thick of things and soaking aggro. Moreover, his Shield of the Manticore lets him reliably block incoming hits, then his bad temper fuels ripostes that punish anything foolish enough to take a swing. If you love charging forward, rolling buckets of dice, and complaining about limping from encounter to encounter because you keep body blocking for everyone, Edmark is your guy.
Drolf Ironhead is a wonderfully odd duardin who prefers marshes and forests over mountains. On the map he plays like a wrecking ball pathfinder. When Drolf sprints he ignores lethal and snare hexes, so traps and hazards barely slow him. Additionally, his ranger kit lets him bypass blocked hexes entirely, which is a massive deal in the maze like Jade Abbey. If you enjoy racing ahead, grabbing objectives and hoovering up treasure while your friends groan, this is your hero. He even has a crossbow so you can pick off stragglers and pretend you are helping while you rummage through loot.
Bren Tylis is the hero for anyone who believes they are cursed by bad dice. She carries relics of Saint Yondara, and the saint actually does something about your luck. Each turn you choose to reroll all of her move rolls, or all attack rolls, or all save rolls. Moreover, this global reroll lets you lean into the moment you care about most, rather than praying for spikes. Her relic knowledge also means she has a chance to hold on to certain rewards that would normally get discarded, which is a neat efficiency boost. If you mutter about cursed dice every game, Bren will feel like a personal apology from the design team.
Inara Sion is the quiet support brain of the group. She has lived long enough to remember the Abbey before Pust ruined it, thanks to Aqua Ghyranis she carries into battle. On the board she is all about positioning and ally protection. She can conjure a barrier of sacred water to create a blocked hex wherever needed, then use her Blade of Flowing Waters to reposition that barrier as she moves. Consequently, she is fantastic at cutting off enemy routes or dropping an emergency wall between a fragile friend and an onrushing Cankerborn. If you enjoy clever plays, battlefield control, and keeping the chaos just barely managed, Inara will feel very satisfying.
Fury, Hooves, And Arrows – The Unlockable Powerhouses
Once you progress, the roster opens up with three more heroes that add even spicier playstyles. Drasher Vorn is chief of the Arak Klor tribe, and his whole deal is the cursed artefact called the Ebon Claw. It grants bestial strength at the small cost of maybe turning you into a frothing berserker. In game, Drasher builds fury whenever he takes damage or enemies die around him. Additionally, if the fight is quiet he can self inflict pain with the Ebon Claw to generate more rage. When his fury peaks he explodes into a whirlwind of violence, smashing everything nearby. If someone in your group already answers every puzzle with “what if I hit it really hard”, they are morally obligated to run Drasher.
Kelthannor takes things in a very different direction. He is a Kurnothi Forest Prince with a centaur body, which already makes him visually distinct in a sea of two legged heroes. His quadruped frame gives him reliable movement and the stability to fire his bow while constantly on the move. Moreover, he can charge through and leap over lesser foes as if they were difficult scenery, loosing accurate volleys as he goes. He is fully committed to taking the head of the Prince of Sores, and his focus shows in his rules. Additionally, his hunting horn can energise allies, bumping them a hex at a crucial moment. It may not sound like much, yet in a hex crawl a single extra space often means living instead of faceplanting. If you like mobility, ranged play, and subtle support, Kelthannor hits all those notes.
Control Freaks, Spirit Friends, And Vines
Finally we have Jacobus Vyne, who exists for players who crave control in a game that naturally leans into chaos. He is a Jade Wizard attuned to the Realm of Life, absolutely determined to keep Nurgle out of the Everspring. In game he feels like a spatial puzzle wrapped in a robe. By focusing, he summons his spirit ally Wisper and can use it as a conduit for attacks, or even swap places with it completely. Moreover, this lets him be in the right spot without physically walking through danger. His Vineroot Staff can entangle enemies, lowering both their movement and their attack power. Consequently, Jacobus is ideal for slowing the board down, pinning key threats, and giving your party breathing room while everyone else does their wild nonsense.
Growth, Upgrades, And Choosing Your First Hero
Across all seven heroes, Darkwater leans hard into party variety. You can run a bruiser heavy squad, a control heavy team, or a weird mix of speed, tanking, and wizard tricks. Moreover, this is before you layer on rewards and loot found during your quest. Each hero has signature equipment that can be upgraded as you progress, and the four core heroes also have alternative character cards to unlock later. Consequently, there is a nice sense of long term growth and replay value baked in.
Outside the box, Games Workshop is even running a little email based mini adventure called Forge Your Destiny. You do not pick a hero there, yet you choose how you respond to events around the Jade Abbey via email choices. Additionally, that short narrative may help you decide which character to try first in the full game if you are paralysed by options.
Summary
In the end, Warhammer Quest: Darkwater is not just “four generic heroes walk into a dungeon”. Edmark, Drolf, Bren, and Inara already cover tank, scout, luck fixer, and support control in very Warhammer ways. Moreover, Drasher, Kelthannor, and Jacobus crank things up with rage mechanics, centaur mobility, and life magic trickery. Every character has a strong theme that flows straight into their rules, which is exactly what a good co-op dungeon crawl needs. So if you are already eyeing the Jade Abbey, start thinking now about whether you want to be the wall, the spear, the guide, or the wizard yelling at everyone to stay in formation. Next week the Darkwater team will unpack the core rules, and then we can really start theory crafting our doomed little parties.
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