Warhammer Quest: Darkwater Origins (2026)

Games Workshop and their retail partners have quietly slipped a brand-new, smaller-box introductory set into the wild: Darkwater Origins.

Spotted landing on doorsteps across North America via an exclusive Barnes & Noble release at a modest $47 price point, this compact box acts as a prequel experience for the core Warhammer Quest: Darkwater system. But what exactly are we getting in the box, and how does it stack up for collectors and veterans of the Lair? While the main Darkwater core box commands a massive footprint, Origins scales things down into a streamlined, highly portable package:

• The Heroes: Instead of the core box lineup, players get Hexbane’s Hunters—the fan-favorite witch-hunting warband straight out of Warhammer Underworlds, complete with their bulldog hounds.
• The Boards: 4 double-sided board tiles to build your subterranean delves.
• Enemies & Tokens: To hit that $47 price point, Games Workshop opted for a pared-down component list. All adversaries—including Gelgus Pust, Belga, Shaman Foulhoof, cankerborn, pox-wretches, and mire kelpies—are represented entirely by cardboard tokens, alongside Inara Sion, who serves as a narrative objective rather than a playable character. Even the treasure markers are cardboard.
• Cards & Encounters: 19 encounter cards (including 3 boss cards), hero character cards, and specific equipment layouts.

Rules and Compatibility

Story-wise, Origins functions as a prequel campaign to the main game. Mechanically, the rulebook keeps things familiar—the rules are virtually identical to the core system, utilizing the same quick-reference framework, though dropping the heavy campaign and skirmish progression modes found in the big box.

Crucially, cross-compatibility is fully supported. The rulebook provides straightforward guidance for slotting the Origins heroes directly into the main Darkwater game, and vice versa. Even better for miniature collectors: the cardboard enemy tokens are cut to the exact same dimensions as the standard miniature bases from the core game, making it easy to substitute physical models if you already have them in your collection.

The Distribution Hurdle

As is often the case with these exclusive partner releases, availability has proven frustrating for international hobbyists. While North American fans enjoy easy online ordering and quick shipping, tabletop enthusiasts in the UK, Europe, and regions like Poland are left looking at steep overseas shipping costs or waiting to see if copies surface on secondary markets like eBay.

Final Verdict

At $47, Darkwater Origins is a neat pickup. If you're a completionist looking to expand your hero roster with Hexbane’s Hunters, or if you want a lighter, self-contained entry point to introduce friends to the system without dragging out the full core box, it's well worth a look—provided you can track down a copy without getting battered by international shipping rates.

Blood Bowl Player - Warhammer Quest

Although we haven't played the new Warhammer Quest in a while, a few months ago I finished up an Ex-Blood Bowl Player for that game.  For the miniature, I used an old Blood Bowl human player (that I now use as a proxy for games of Blitz Bowl).

I based the rules mostly around the old Ex-Blood Bowl Player for the original Warhammer Quest, created by Jason Hill, whose rules were originally published in Citadel Journal #16 back in 1996.

Games Workshop Announces "Blackstone Fortress" - 40K Warhammer Quest!

Games Workshop recently announced Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress - a 40K version of Warhammer Quest. The game will come with eight different explorers for players to choose from, including a robot, a Kroot warrior, a Ratling, and an Eldar warrior, (the others appear to be additional members of the Imperium).

Each session of Blackstone Fortress will take two to three hours, and it is played on a hex-based board instead of the squares familiar to the original Warhammer Quest. It will also include D8s, D12s, and D20s in addition to the ubiquitous D6.

I've wanted a 40K version of Warhammer Quest since the mid-1990s (even failing miserably at creating my own version many years ago), so I'm very excited to find out more about the release....

Warhammer Quest Figures - Hingle McCringleberry and Skeletons

As mentioned earlier, we've started playing Warhammer Quest again after a twenty year break.  I've started to paint up each player's character, so we can play the game painted (which is always more fun and cinematic). Below are Hingle McCringleberry the Savage Orc and two skeleton minions for the Necromancer Feghor Blackfinger.

I used Kroma Crackle Media, mixed with Vallejo's Magic Blue for the base.  I waited until it dried completely, then I dry-brushed it with Vallejo Electric Blue.  I then painted on brown tone dip.

Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower

A few weekends ago we tried out the new Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower.  Back in 1995, we played the original Warhammer Quest a number of times over the summer break.  We wondered if this new version would live up to the fond memories of that time.  We used some custom character templates I made to allow us to use original Warhammer Fantasy characters and models, (as we wanted to limit the new Age of Sigmar models).

In all, the game was fun, although very different from the classic.  There are good decisions and the turns can go by fairly fast.  Each character seemed unique and was fun to play.  The narrative structure of the game was appreciated, and help create a cinematic experience.  As for level of fun, most wanted to try the next scenario in future gaming sessions, so I declare that as success.

Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game

We played Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game last weekend.  It is a four player card game (with dice) from Fantasy Flight Games.  We only got about 75% through it since it was the last game we started and it was getting late.  I played the Warrior Priest, my character from the original Warhammer Quest back from the 1990s.  I even brought out my old miniature to hang out while we played....  The game is fun and similar to other card/dice combination games from Fantasy Flight, such as Blood Bowl: Team Manager or the Space Hulk: Death Angel card game.  We got down the mechanics and are ready to go for our next gaming session.