Warhammer & 40K RPGs Thread III: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Heresies?

This is the thread to discuss all things related to Fantasy Flight's line of Warhammer 40000 and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying games, including Dark Heresy (Both editions), Rogue Trader, Deathwatch, Black Crusade, and Only War. Be it mechanical advice, campaign ideas, suggestions of which sourcebook to buy next, or even ideas for a 40k alphabet book, this is the place to talk about it. Please keep discussions primarily related to the wargames in their threads in the gaming (other) forum.


Useful links:
LeSwordfish's compilation of WFRP and 40k RPG games ITP: exactly what it says on the tin. PM LeSwordfish if you know of another pbp game on this forum that isn't on it.
Fantasy Flight Game's directory of RPGS, including all 5 40k subsystems as well as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: You can find product descriptions as well as previews here, as well as free introductory adventures (Including a highly streamlined version of the system and pregenerated characters).

Thread One
Thread Two: Burning Witches, Heretics, and Fate

I'm going to claim this post for the list of games, if I ever get back to it. Also, we were previously discussing the prospect of a new Fantasy RPG for the new Fantasy line, and what games could be used to run the 40K RPGs.

I love the smell of new thread in the morning. Smells like victory.

Drive me closer! I want to post here with my swordkeyboard!

Depending on the licensing agreement with FF, there may not be a new one in a new setting, unless they were planning on releasing a new one prior to the setting change. For instance, "Imperial Guard" is still plastered all throughout the DH2 book, despite GW mostly switching to the trademarkable Astra Militarum. Yes, there are references to Astra Militarum in the "Imperial Guard" background, but they didn't completely change the name.
However, if they do release another WFRPG, the fluff would likely be in the new setting for consistency's sake. But that depends on sales figures, projections, and GW licensing. They do have that strategy game using cardboard disks set for Fantasy and the card game but I don't think either of them are very fluff heavy, and the new setting would allow for new expansions.

For those of you not still following the old thread, new All Guardsmen Party.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shoggy

Despite an absolutely glacial writing pace, the next chapter of the All Guardsmen Party is finally up!

We head out to catch a cool bug for our boss. Cells are repaired, an incredibly hostile system is visited, Space Marines are met, communications breakdown repeatedly, and a journey is started.

Here's the HTML, archive, and imgur links to The All Guardsmen Party: Tyranid Acquisition Experts:
https://googledrive.com/host/0B3Z9sX...dFWXM/agp.html
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/40747009
http://imgur.com/gallery/iVHrS//

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As for licensing, even GW's own codexes still refer to the Imperial Guard. I'd imagine that the Astra Militarum is a name-change soley for copyright purposes that will be slapped only on models, codecies, and a handful of other places so it doesn't sound so wierd. Can you really blame FFG for largely ignoring the change?

If there is a new fantasy RP it probably won't be for a while, but I don't see any reason it couldn't inhabit the new universe. GW are happy to hand out their copyrights whereever they think there's money to be made - look at the slew of licenced videogames.

Thanks for crosslinking that for me, and expect a serious resurgence in fantasy RP if Total Warhammer does well.

The all guardsman party kills me with laughter every time. This time through I am especially a fan of the amazing upside-down space marine, almost everything Twitch did, and the warp fungus.

Honestly I was very happy with how our DM handled the Marines. We'd sort of worried he'd wind up making them either too comedic and grimdark.

Glad you liked the fungus btw, that was a fun little flashback mission. Our DM has left all Nubby & co.'s shenanigans up to the imagination, so he can retroactively decide what happened when he needs something for the plot. In the middle of that bridge scene he had us all roll Knowledge:This Crazy-ass Ship, then suddenly shifted the setting. Very cool thing. He gets more mileage out of that trick in the future chapters.

Trying to ponder how much XP I should use for making an inquisitor.... Is there somewhere in the book with an experience suggestion for "experienced" acolytes? (DH2e)

New AGP was great to read during downtime at work today. Had to stop myself from laughing too hard a few times and got a few odd looks for it. Your DM comes up with some awesome stuff.

I know I've said it before: I love my group, but I envy you yours. You guys tell some fantastic stories.

Thanks, it's always good to hear that people are still enjoying our exploits.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Turalisj

Trying to ponder how much XP I should use for making an inquisitor.... Is there somewhere in the book with an experience suggestion for "experienced" acolytes? (DH2e)

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Basically whatever seems reasonable. (Assuming 1e because I like my careers) For an Inquisitor I'd suggest literally bottom of ascension for newbies and a thousand or two XP a year.


Out of interest, can anybody give me a point where an extra wound for 100 XP is worthwhile, before you've maxed out you're build's characteristics, skills, and talents? Because everybody I've met in person agrees with me that it's just not worth it if there's any other option useful to your build (which is why I don't like ascension suggesting players buy up lots of instances of sound constitution).

I'm in a Rogue Trader campaign, in which I was the Navigator, but he ended up way more powerful than the rest of the party. The GM and I found a decent story-justified way to kill him off, and I'm making a Voidmaster instead, who's going to be the ship's pilot. Are there any talents, traits, or skills that would be particularly important to pick up for a ship's pilot? I'm working with 10,800 XP, if that's important. I think I'll be going Augmenticist for Rank 4, unless that's a bad idea. Any tips?

Ok, I decided to play my first caster/psyker, a librarian. Perils of the Warp and the setting being what it is, is there anything other than Rite of Sanctioning that will help keep him in one piece?

I know I have the armor and extreme toughness, but are there any little tricks I should watch for with odd little abilities or powers that arent obvious?

Librarians have enough raw power than they can still kick ass while Fettering their powers, so you only need to Push against boss enemies. There aren't any tricky talents though - the talents that help you channel better or reduce phenomena/Perils chance are pretty obvious.

The one DW game I played a while back, the Librarian got proficiency in heavy Melta weapon and carted a Multi-melta around, firing it and launching Smite blasts alternately as the melta cooled off. Between him and our Heavy Bolter Devastator, we pretty much annihilated everything.

I can say I had thought about getting a meltagun for just that reason. Good to know stuff isnt hidden like it can be in other systems.

I did figure I would have to push more often than against the boss monsters, but less Perils is a good thing.

Are you using the reduced weapon damages from Rites of Battle? Base DW is hilariously rocket-tag, one Heavy Bolter full auto burst can reduce pretty much anything in existence to paste even through significant armor, and pretty much any even-numbers fight is Win Initiative or Suffer Critical Damage.

Yes, the Errata'd ones from Rites. Just one more set of them to get confused with some other set of errata. :smallwink:

Perfect timing for this post to be up. Have a quick roleplaying query for anyone who can help out.

In my group's Dark Heresy campaign I run a Voidborn Psyker. Backstory is that he's essentially a Void-rat. Father was a pirate, mother was some generic manual labor worker. Got lifted from the Space Hulk he was living on, to the Black Ships where he was "saved" by his Inquisitor who trained him to serve.

Recently, through a variety of leaps, jumps, and shenanigans he has actually managed to marry a nobleborn girl of a family that is rapidly rising in power, and may very soon be one of the most powerful families on the most influential planet in the sector.

Basically put, my character has basically ended up in a position that should theoretically have been utterly impossible for any Psyker, let alone a Voidborn Psyker, to have ever achieved without abusing his powers, and he basically stumbled into it on a borderline accident. He knows the score, he probably has some inkling of exactly how absurd his current situation is, and I have no idea how he should be responding to his situation.

paranoia, I'd say. Like it can't be for real.

Yes, exactly. Is someone out to get him, or is this not even real?

Preparing to defend his good fortune to his last breath

If you want to reroll, you have a great out for that character who accepts an "Inquisitorial Sanction to Govern with Extreme Diligence". If not, it's probably a Heretic Trap. If it's not a heretic trap, I have no idea how your Inquisitor would allow you to marry a noble, but i got 5 thrones on an awfully vermillion nuptial, if'n yknow what I mean.

Another interesting point: Where is the woman in the line of succession? Depending on how low she is, her family might have figured having a sanctioned psyker in the family would be useful, bonus points if they work for the inquisition? :smallconfused:. Considering most citizens view psykers with fear and trepidation, this is a supremely odd situation... Paranoia and doubt are the most fitting responses.

My money's on a cult of Tzeentch, either the family belongs to one, or one is messing with the psyker's brain and this is all an illusion. :smallbiggrin:

I've finally started to work on getting some setting notes sorted out for the Occurrence Border. There's not much hard information there yet (and won't be until my GM or I can get some serious free time), but if anyone wants to use what there is so far (or add to it), here it is.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Occurrence_Border

As a handful of responses to my Psyker's situation. He's a cautious and paranoid individual by nature anyways.

As far as line of succession this noble family runs on matriarchal succession, so it's his wife that will inherit the title as head of the family, when her mother passes on, not him. Though obviously, at least in theory, he will have a name to swing around with some weight.

From what he has gathered, they do indeed intend to benefit from the fact he has Inquisitorial ties. Said nobleborn girl actually passed up the chance to marry the son of a Lord Commander. With regards to my own character, her father disapproves of the marriage, her mother is hesitant, but was in favor of the idea.

As far as why the Inquisitor would allow my character to go through with it, as mentioned he practically stumbled into it. Long string of coincidences. My character is the dutiful sort, who, when given a task will do everything in his power to complete it, regardless of unexpected surprises along the way. He met his future wife, at a party the Acolyte cell was infiltrating and ended up hitting it off with her. We found that the individuals we were investigating were targeting her for assassination. When the rest of the cell ended up following a Red Herring, my character managed to foil the assassination attempt and saved her life (much to the GM's surprise-- he'd had her slated to die in the attempt, and hadn't expected my character to be able to save her).

Later, we needed a way of cutting through the red tape to arrange a meeting with the planetary governor, so my character decided to see if he could use the "I saved your life" angle with the girl, to see if her family could use their influence on him. She answered that she was more than happy to do it, on the condition my character agree to marry her. My character is the dutiful sort, and saw this as a "small sacrifice" in the way of completing the assignment he was given, so he agreed, and well... my character keeps his promises. So now they're married.

AH! That makes MUCH more sense. The "Saved her life" angle counts for a bit, especially on top of at least somewhat liking your character. She's a) grateful, and b) going to be in a situation where she needs someone who can protect her who she can trust absolutely.
Besides having a name to throw around when necessary, the character's Influence/monthly income should be changing now... Not to mention it might be easier to access nobility in general.

@Shoggy: Love the write up of the Occurrence Border!

"The Spooky Poker Room of the Damned" is my favourite thing on the Occurence Border.

I should add that specifically speaking, technically they've now been married for close to a year. GM decided to hasten events along, as our group's Assassin had met a rather ignoble end, literally the session he got married, so he hurried us along to our next assignment so the player's new character could start playing. There were a number of other details I could certainly include (including the fact that my character had to complete with aforementioned son of a Lord Commander for the girl's hand), but yes. Overall, as mentioned in my initial post, I'm just not sure how to play this character when he's interacting with his new family, or even how he should act with regards to his new position (to be fair, technically HE isn't married to the noblegirl. Technically it's the alter ego his wife's family made for him-- essentially a long lost cousin of another noble family that has been so crippled by recent events that they literally don't have the time or resources to figure out his story's bull****).


I'm not sure if he should feel ashamed of his ignoble heritage to the point that he can't use his title without another member of the family to back him up (how I've been running it so far), how much he should be using his influence, or even leaning on his family's resources (he recently had an eye torn out in a fight and doesn't have the funding for a bionic replacement). And as mentioned in a setting like 40k, and with my character's credentials, I'm not sure if he shouldn't simply be so thankful for his current position that he would avoid pushing the envelope, or if it might be more likely for someone in his position to simply embrace all the perks of the new status.

Either way, thanks for the answers so far. I'll be sure to play up his paranoia a bit more in his interactions with his new wife :P