Forbidden Lore

(Intelligence)
Aptitudes: Intelligence, Knowledge


All Forbidden Lore Skills represent knowledge forbidden or hidden to the average citizen of the Imperium of Man. In many cases, it is a heinous crime to even possess such knowledge and is often sufficient to warrant termination at the hands of the Inquisition, so a character must tread carefully when revealing what he knows.
Forbidden Lore has several different Specialisations. Specialisations are described in greater detail on page 113. The Specialisations are as follows:

Adeptus Mechanicus: An in-depth understanding of followers of the Machine God, including such things as their rituals, observances, beliefs, core philosophies, and specific knowledge of the Universal Laws.

Adeptus Astartes: Knowledge of the practices, organisation, and home worlds of the Imperial Space Marines and their Chapters including blasphemous knowledge of their rites, rituals, and beliefs.

Codex Astartes: Understanding and interpreting the Codex Astartes and how it relates to the organisation, deployment, and tactics of the Space Marine Chapters.

Archaeotech: Knowledge of the great, lost tech devices of past times and clues to their mysterious functions and purposes.

Daemonology: Lore about some of the most infamous warp entities and their twisted physical manifestations.

Heresy: Wisdom concerning acts and practices deemed heretical by the Imperium, the most contemptible heretics of mhistory, and their acts.

The Horus Heresy and Long War: The origins and history of the 10,000 year long war between the forces of the Ruinous Powers and the Imperium of Man.

The Inquisition: Understanding this secretive organisation of the Imperium, its Ordos, common tenets, and famous Inquisitors.

Mutants: The study of stable and unstable mutations within humanity, their cancerous influence and mutagenic development over time, and some of the studies and books on the topic.

Navigators: Secret knowledge about the Navis Nobilite families, their breeding programs, common mutations, and prominent patriarchs.

Pirates: Knowledge of the scourge of the warp lanes, their tactics, infamous vessels, and notorious captains.

Psykers: Skill in identifying psykers, the physical effects of their powers, the danger they cause, and the general extent of their capabilities.

The Warp: An understanding of the energy of the warp, its interaction and interrelation with realspace, and how its tides and eddies affect travel between the stars.

Xenos: Knowledge of the minor and major alien species known to the Imperium, the threat they pose, and their general appearance.

A successful Forbidden Lore Test imparts information from the GM to the player. The GM may impart more information if the Test scores additional Degrees of Success.

The GM can call a player to make a Forbidden Lore Test when:

• He seeks information about potential cults active on an Imperial world.
• He wishes to learn about the dangers the Inquisition may pose to a potential undertaking.
• He wishes to learn more about the mysterious monoliths on a desert world.
• He seeks information on the operations of the dreaded Eldar.
• He desires to learn the True Name of a powerful Daemon.
• He seeks the proper procedure to summon a warp-spawn.
• He wishes to know more about psykers and psychic abilities.
• He must recall information about the Traitor Legions and their ongoing war against the Imperium.

Example Modifiers
+30	Learning of the existence of xenos races such as the Orks or Tyranids.
+20	Learning of the Warp and what it is.
+10	Remembering the existence of a heretical text.
+0	Learning of the nature and events of the Horus Heresy.
–10	Remembering obscure xenos races in local regions of space such as the Rak’Gol.
–20	Understanding details of the nature and motives of Daemons and Warp entities.
–30	Learning a Daemon’s True Name.

Skill Use: Free Action.