Kill team operatives are willing to risk life and limb on shadowy missions against elite foes, but even they fear the idea of venturing into a space hulk. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for you, that’s exactly what they’ll be doing in the Kill Team Annual 2023 – Season of the Gallowdark.
This annual is a pure, unadulterated gameplay companion combining the rules for every kill team, terrain piece, mission, and campaign from the entire Gallowdark season into a single, 296-page supplement. It’s the most concentrated, feature-packed book since the Kill Team Compendium, and it’s absolutely essential for all players looking to take their operatives into the close confines of a deadly space hulk.
The annual packs rules for 10 full kill teams into its pages, including those from the Into the Dark, Shadowvaults, Soulshackle, Gallowfall, and Ashes of Faith* expansions. Aggressive teams like the Hand of the Archon and Fellgor Ravagers mix with stalwart defenders including the Imperial Navy Breachers and Hearthkyn Salvagers, or capable all-rounders like the Exaction Squad and Hierotek Circle to give players a huge choice of gameplay styles to pick from.
These aren’t digested entries to save space – each team includes both their regular game rules and their unique Spec Ops content, so you won’t need any other book** to play a complete narrative campaign with them.
All nine basic Critical Operations missions are present – those which use just the Killzone: Gallowdark terrain set – alongside a further 36 Shadow Operations missions so you won’t run out of games to play any time soon. Each Shadow Operation uses unique mechanics and terrain pieces, with missions ranging from supply runs and sabotage raids to frantic fights for the last few escape pods as the killzone itself disintegrates around you.
Missions within the narrow hallways of the Gallowdark are an altogether different experience to open-air Kill Team, as vantage points and killing fields give way to claustrophobic confines and tense stand-offs around vital choke-points. These are fast, brutal affairs as a single brave charge through a hatchway results in desperate melee, and sharpshooters struggle to draw a bead amid the press of bodies.
With all of this content to work through, you may be spending some time in the depths of the space hulk, so why not claim a chunk of it for yourself on a Gallowdark expedition? These narrative excursions can be neatly slotted into an existing Spec Ops campaign or used as the basis for a new operation entirely, and link several missions together into a wider struggle for control over critical territory within the hulk.
Campaign Masters can plunge their players into perilous situations as lights fail, ship walls breach, and gravity becomes more of a suggestion. All you’ll need besides these rules and your terrain is a simple pack of playing cards, making it the most accessible way to add new gameplay, narrative, and excitement to your campaigns.
The Kill Team Annual 2023 – Season of the Gallowdark is up for pre-order this Saturday.
* While not part of the Gallowdark narrative arc, the kill teams from Ashes of Faith are included as a bonus.
** Besides the Core Book, naturally.