The series, expected to premiere later this year, will consist of eight 48-minute episodes. It aims to bring the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40K universe into the familiar D&D gameplay format, offering a unique blend of futuristic dystopia and classic role-playing mechanics.
Something very exciting is coming soon ?@_Peachy_Tips_@thathappychap@danunsupervised#warhammer #dnd #warhammercommunity pic.twitter.com/Ik4CdlXZjd
— Louise Sugden (@Sughammer) January 18, 2024
Concept and Setting
Dungeon Master Daniel Saye explained the concept to Polygon:
“I’ve always wanted to tell a story in those 40K worlds, but it was a number of series by Dan Abnett that was my intro into street-level Warhammer.” He added, “Rather than, say, armies with thousands of Space Marines and numberless, faceless hordes of Tyranids, some of Abnett’s best work is just a couple of guys for whom a laz pistol is fancy.”
Saye set the scene for the campaign: “For this story, we start out in the hive with our team. The very first moments of the first episode are our team trying to bust up a heretical ritual, and the story plays out from there.”
Character Creation and Development
Louise Sugden, known for her artistic contributions to various Games Workshop properties, shared insights about her character creation process:
“I’ve never had a DM like Dan. He is fantastic, and the seed he gave us was basically like, ‘Oh, Louise! You like Necromunda! What have you always wanted to be in a Necromunda setting?'”
A key feature of the series will be the use of miniatures and terrain built and painted by the players themselves. Saye enthused about the production process:
“When you’re working with people like Peachy and Louise, they bring a level of not just talent, but loving passion that is impossible to replicate. I can’t wait till you can see that: the conversions, the paint jobs, the everything. The sets are beautiful.”
Show Format and Accessibility
The show’s format aims to be more accessible than some longer-running actual play series. Producer Jamila Hall explained: “Coming from a film background, what I was interested in was, how do we package this content in a way that can be consumed in a more commercial way, in a more popular way?”
Saye added, “We’re not trying to compete with that longform storytelling. It was more [asking], how do we tell more short, succinct, self-contained stories?”
Louise Sugden expressed her enthusiasm for the project: “It’s one of the best things I’ve done since I quit Games Workshop. Hundred percent. This is the kind of thing I would have loved to have done when I was on Warhammer Plus and stuff like that.”
For fans of both Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer 40,000, “Heretic Hunt” promises to be a thrilling fusion of two beloved gaming universes, brought to life by familiar faces from the tabletop gaming community.
The full interview and additional details about “Heretic Hunt” can be found on Polygon’s website, where tabletop editor Charlie Hall provides an in-depth look at this upcoming series.