Overview
Ships pursuing raiders towards the Maelstrom must weigh the enemy against the space sheltering it. The storms have long given renegades somewhere Imperial authority struggles to follow. Near the dense regions towards the galactic core, a reliable course can matter more than the number of guns sent along it.
The region lies broadly between Terra and Ultramar. During the Thirteenth Black Crusade its storms expanded into the Great Rift, joining hazards that had once been treated separately. An old chart may still show a boundary around the Maelstrom. For a crew relying on that boundary to tell them where the danger ends, the distinction is now of limited use.
M41 and M42 status
Warp rift and raider haven in Ultima.
Swollen into the Great Rift during the 13th Black Crusade; a storm-zone now joined to the galaxy's wound.
Timeline
Ultima route warnings mark the Maelstrom as a persistent no-go hazard.
Raider activity rises from storm-shielded approaches.
Imperial commanders reinforce nearby systems after repeated attacks.
The Maelstrom expands into the Great Rift, no longer a separate hazard but a southern extension of the same wound.
Explore the surrounding galaxy
Cartographic positions and several administrative details are intentionally approximate where published Warhammer sources conflict or provide no canonical coordinate system.