"They terrify us because they are us."
-Elthira Windshard, Lothern Merchant
Excerpt from Temple of Spite, Cubicle 7 2026
Review by GM Brad
In Autumn 2025 an announcement for the upcoming 5th edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) caused concern amongst the community that the beloved WFRP 4e would be losing support. Interviews with Cubicle 7 (C7) helped to address concerns, with Dave Allen stating during an in-house interview that backwards compatibility was a focus, and players would be able to continue to use their existing books. C7 has cemented that comment with today’s release of “Temple of Spite”, the first release for WFRP 5e. Released prior to the updated Core Rules for 5e, Temple of Spite carries all of the 5th edition copyright and trademark legalese on the front credits, giving legs to Dave’s promise that the editions would be compatible.
Right away, fans of the series and those who have WFRP 4e books and supplements will see both similarities and telltale differences in this publication. The main WFRP logo remains unchanged, while the page trim has a stark, and welcome, difference. WFRP 4e books had a trim consisting of four stacked images ending in the Bad Moon that was aligned to the side of the page. Upon opening the review pdf for Temple of Spite, the first thing that caught my eye was the gold trim around the edges of each page, immediately making this release distinct from the WFRP 4e releases I have reviewed prior. Still, in classic C7 fashion, this document is filled with beautiful and amazing artwork to truly capture the thematics of the Warhammer Fantasy world.
The Druchii of Naggaroth
With just under a decade at the helm of the Warhammer tabletop games, Cubicle 7 has a general format that they follow for their productions, a format I personally enjoy. This first 5e release comes in at an estimated 128 pages (may change as edits occur as the pre-order pdfs go out) with 14 sections. While prior releases for 4e that we reviewed often had under 10 sections, Temple of Spite has a number of shorter sections, including seven sections for the distinct Druchii groups presented within.
Temple of Spite gives a quick summation of how the Druchii, formerly known as the Dark Elves, came to be following the first war of Chaos, the death of Aenarion, and Malerion’s attempts to seize the throne. The high level overview of both the forming of Druchii society and the shattering of the former kingdom of Nagarythe into Naggaroth gives GMs aspiring to add these anagonists to their game just enough information without overwhelming them. For instance, knowing that the Druchii look indistinguishable from their cousins is a great piece for GMs to create subtlety, betrayal, and mistrust within a campaign. This crucial component helps further explain Warhammer lore, tying into the Dwarfen hatred of Elves that comes from Malerion’s orders to start the War of Vengeance, which is the focus of the Black Library novel, The Great Betrayal (War of Vengeance #1) by Nick Kyme.
It's a Setting, Not Just a Sourcebook
Warhammer Fantasy fans are familiar with the horrifying and fascinating history of the Black Arks of Naggaroth. Built upon chunks of sundered land from the forces that ripped Nagarythe apart into Naggaroth, the Black Arks are propelled through both standard and magical means. Giant floating cities and citadels, these creations can travel across the seas, raiding any and every coastal town, sowing terror and despair where they travel.
The twenty pages that make up this third section of Temple of Spite carry a wealth of information for GMs. Focused heavily on the Ark that is this tome’s namesake, GMs can find a wealth of information in this section including: background and history on the Ark; prior voyages; an Ark map of key locations; and the power and politicking of the society of the Ark – all of which are crucial to adventures set in this locale.
Boarding a Black Ark is not easy, despite how it appeared in the 2006 MMO Warhammer: Age of Reckoning. These ships don’t just pull up to the beach, requiring players foolish enough to attempt to board one to do so from sea or air. Fear not, for Cubicle 7 has already thought ahead to how ridiculous and crazy our parties can be, including four quick examples of how to get (or find) oneself aboard. Having found their way aboard the Ark, your players are likely to find themselves in a bit of trouble as non-Druchii wandering the streets. Aiding GMs is a detailed and impressive random encounter table that can be utilized. Broken down by the location that your players find themselves in, such as a militarized area or one frequented by Druchii of status, the random encounter table is almost four tables in one and details the potential for interactions with Druchii that range from NPCs being indifferent to downright dangerous when the murderous response is rolled.
A more recent trend I have seen by Cubicle 7 in their Imperium Maledictum releases is the outline of a potential campaign from a source book. The Temple of Spite gives us two distinct five part outlines that GMs can use as inspiration of the base of a campaign. These outlines contain just enough information to support the creation of a campaign without having too much prepared information as to be restrictive. One of these outlines, The Seaborne Citadel, is themed around a party surviving their time aboard The Temple of Spite. With a nod to Marienburg and Wrecker’s Point, both of which are slated to be a focal point at the launch of WFRP 5e, this outline is a smart add to serve as a launching point for a current 4e or future 5e campaign.
Monsters, Magic, and Murder - There's Something for Everyone
The remaining twelve sections spanning 75 pages encompass a wealth of additional material to grow and expand your games. Following The Corsairs of Captain Flariel in 2024, Temple of Spite is the first WFRP supplement to include details on Druchii NPCs for your games. Repeating the stat block of the Dark Elf from Corsairs, and similar to other WFRP supplements, the stat blocks for these generic NPCs are meant to serve as a springboard and starting point. However, the upgradein the stat blocks format from the WFRP 4e supplements to the WFRP 5e supplements cannot be understated.
While some may not appreciate the change, I love that these new stat blocks are more akin to what Cubicle 7 did with the antagonists for Warhammer: The Old World Roleplaying Game. Having what each feat/trait does on the NPC stat is much easier than the inevitable search for a trait that you just can’t remember during the game.
Along those same lines, the addition of the Kharibdyss from Sea of Claws was a smart move by Cubicle 7 to ensure it was in a central location and updated to the upcoming 5th Edition. As we continue to receive more supplements and books for 5th edition, I hope this trend continues.
In my years of GMing, I have learned a lesson that many, if not all, GMs learn: players love loot as much as they love the adventure and story. I was quite excited to see the first glimpse of what the new item stat blocks will look like with the upcoming 5th edition, and Temple of Spite gave me enough of a glimpse to leave me wanting more. New Druchii weapons suggest much of what we know with equipment in WFRP is remaining, with item qualities, flaws, and damage all aligned with 4th edition.
From ships, to poisons, to the infamous Sea Dragon Cloak of the Dark Elf corsairs, Temple of Spite has the mainstays that would be expected of Dark Elf NPCs. However, no Druchii book would be complete without Dark Elf Sorceresses. The Dark Magic section includes 7 pages of overview, including the history of why there are normally only female Sorceresses, the rules for using Dark Magic with your NPCs, and an all new, Dark Magic specific complications table. Whenever a Dark Magic spell is dispelled, a ritual is interrupted without completion, or any time a casting is 4+ success levels above the casting number, a Dark Magic Complication must be rolled.
Temple of Spite also brings us a new talent for any Elf player or NPC, “Gifts of Khaine”. By devoting themselves to Khaine and worshipping the God of Murder, the individual gains access to eight distinct gifts. Whenever an acolyte of Khaine draws blood from an opponent using a melee skill, they can elect to test to use a gift of Khaine as a free action. Well done, Cubicle 7, for making sure that Khaine had 8 unique gifts to give those who follow…
The Players and Patrons of the Ark
Temple of Spite includes seven distinct groups that live, fight, and die on or for the Black Ark. While we won’t dive into the specifics of each of these groups, there is something here for every GM’s game. From Valerion’s Blackswords (a group of mercenaries) to The Scaleflayer Menagerie (the Temple of Spite’s Beastmasters), the supplement includes an overview of each group. It also includes their goals, where to find them on the Black Ark, what they may be doing in The Old World, their dispositions, and three encounter hooks (easy, medium, and hard) that a GM can take and run with. Quite honestly, this section is one of the more crucial, so make sure to spend some time with it when you pick up this supplement.
I’m pleased to see that the Patron and Nemesis system that began to move over to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay after it’s inception for Warhammer 40k: Imperium Maledictum is continuing with 5th edition. Temple of Spite includes rules for designing Dark Elves to fit your campaign, as well as three pre-generated NPCs and suggestions on how to use them as either a nemesis or patron. It’s a good way to wrap up this excellent first release for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: 5th Edition.
Dead Suns Verdict
Temple of Spite is a 4.5/5, and a recommended buy for GMs and collectors and a great sign of what is coming for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 5th Edition.
While commentary among the community has been a bit confused and surprised to see a 5th edition sourcebook/supplement before the Core Rulebook, I am very glad they are already migrating to the new formatting of 5th edition with all future releases.
You can pick up your copy of Temple of Spite here.
Thank you to Cubicle 7 for providing a copy of Temple of Spite for review.
Review by GM Brad.
Dead Suns Company did not receive additional compensation for this review.