Dark Heresy, Interested?

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Hey, I've been umming and ahing about starting up a game of Dark Heresy, a Warhammer 40'000 RP that came out fairly recently, and I was wondering if there are any people who would be interested. Now I'm going to assmue no one knows what I'm talking about so I will explain the premise of the game

Firstly Dark Heresy is a RP game set in Games Workshops grim, gothic, futuristic 40'000 universe, in a similar vein to D&D so its all P&P, it uses a D% system (though it could be called a D10 system too). If you are unfamiliar with the setting then pop into a gamesworkshop of visit their website and seek out the knowledge (if nothing else it'll be good practice for the game ), I can also recommend Eisenhorn books by Dan Abnett as an excellent source of info since they look at the imperium of man from the perspective of a single man and his band of followers, which is how you will see it.

I think the best way to explain what the game revolves around is to give you the blurb from the back:

"You are an Acolyte in the service of the Emperors'
Inquisition. You stand in the front line of a great
and secret war where your duty is to hunt out the
foul stench of heresy, the vile alien, and the twisted
influence of Chaos. You will tread where others
fear, venturing to distant planets, ancient space
hulks and the unsavoury depths of the hive cities.

You will never know fame nor reward, yet if you
stand resolute your deeds will be whispered to the
God-Emperor of Mankind and your name will be
revered for millennia."​

Also here is the games homepage:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/dark-heresy/index.shtml

This is far from the raging battles that are played out in the table top game, you are a small band, working on the behalf of an inquisitor to uncover all manner of conspiracies and horrors. You will see behind the scenes of the Imperium so to speak.

You will be confined to being human, no orks or eldar for you to play I'm afraid, however they come in varying types dependant upon their homeworld (or spaceship in some cases). The levelling system is unique afaik in that it uses rank trees, there are occasionally branches where you choose to head in a particular direction, as you gain a rank you get access to new skills and abilities which you can buy with your XP. There are plenty of skills to choose from, and the equipment is equally diverse.

Anyway this is getting to be quite the essay, and so I'll wrap up, if anyone has any questions or such I will happily write another essay in answer just kidding, though I will happily answer to the best of my ability. In summary:

Are you interested?
Do you have any questions?
And no you can't be a space marine...sorry

 

Sounds interesting (particularly as I'm reading the first of the Horus Heresy books ATM). I'm not clued up on the rules, but I know a little bit about the 40k universe (enough to get by). I'm not sure about the setting but it sounds a bit like the Inquisitor game where you have an inquisitor and his non-inquisitor retinue or is it more like a band of inquisitors?

Were you planning this to be IRC or PBP? Could you give a bit more info on the specific setting you want to use (ie the planet/ship/pit)? Cheers Dave

 

I was thinking PBP since I'm assuming not alot of people would know the rules, and so it can be left to me to make rolls and such in the background. Plus I don't think I can cope with IRC and theres always problems with time zones

As to the setting, well thats where we hit a wall, I'm still working on it all but I'd love to cover a fair few environments. Starting you all on a planet, having you meet up, and then getting you to you mission objective that may or may not require a trip through space

I don't think I made this point in my first post, so I will make it now, no one in your party is an inquisitor. You will recieve your orders from an NPC Inquisitor played by me however you will never see him face to face...well its unlikely anyway.

The point of this game is investigation this isn't a dungeon crawler this is a mystery, its up to you how you go about it, secretively, stealthily, obviously, murderously...it is generally in your best interests to avoid unnecissary fights though since weapons can deal alot of damage in this game (the most wounds a rank 1 character can have is 14, the las pistol [a common gun] can do 3 - 12 damage in one hit)...obviously armour helps

There are 8 or 9 careers (classes) in the game (I've included a rough opinion of them):
Adept - A scholar, focus on knowledge.
Arbitrator - Law Enforcement, focus on combat/investigation.
Assassin - focus on stealth/combat.
Cleric - A leader type, pretty good at everything.
Guardsman - Focus on Combat.
Imperial Psyker - A dangerous class to be near AND play however extremely useful.
Scum - Focus on stealth/investigation
Tech-Priest - Fix broken things, extremely tough due to mechanical implants!

There is also the Sororitas (sisters of battle) but I don't think I'll use them since they are quite challenging to RP and require alot of background knowledge.

Hope this helps and for everyone else who reads this I'll be in the FAI Chatroom as often as I can be so come by if you have a question! (name is Chewbaka)

 

Now that sounds really interesting

I found a little extra info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhammer_40,000_Roleplay

Will I be able to get by without knowing the rules?

 

Like I say I'll try and give you as little to worry about as possible...anything you do need to know I'm going to create a reference document for people just started the character creation bit! Its all work in progress atm really just wanted to know if I'd have an audience when it ready

 

Im up for joining, but would have to be in a month or so, once im back at Uni and after my holiday etc...

 

thats fine i have get a load of resource stuff typed up and it'd be much easier for me to do this while at uni

 

Sign me up. Teensy bit of a roleplay virgin, but there's always a first time

 

I'll endevour to make your first game memorable, do you have any knowledge of the 40k universe Tarrasque? That would help, but isn't completely necissary since anything you don't understand can be explained pretty easily

 

Fair bit, both novels wise, as well as limited tabletop.

 

Count me in as interested too. Like Tarrasque, I haven't done much in the way of role-playing, but I do have quite a large knowledge of 40K- going by the release date of 3rd edition (which I was playing before), I've been involved with it for over a decade. Incidentally, I could probably do just fine as a member of the Adeptus Sororitas due to owning both the current Witch Hunters codex and the much older Sisters of Battle codex from 2nd edition. However, I have no objection at all to playing one of the other character types if you wish to keep 'em out of this campaign.

A couple of questions:

Do the clerics invoke Acts of Faith or the like?
Are the assassins death cultists or Officio Assassinorum initiates? I assume they aren't full Assassins, as that would be more than a tad overpowered.

 

I just want to first say that vast amounts of knowledge of the imperium is not a requirement, it certainly helps to know who's who...anything you don't understand can be clarified pretty easily so don't anybody be put off because they don't think they know enough, theres probably plenty of people willing to help!

I have not yet decided whether to have them or not, but I will have a read over their stuff and come to a decision before things get started

1. Clerics have no special abilities, since they are just normal men of the church, however they are capable of becoming skillful speakers, and can make many friends in the church of the imperium which can open just as many doors when it comes to investigating people and acquiring equipment. They are also one of the few classes that can gain access to Forbidden Lore Talents, which allow you a deeper knowledge of demons and such, making you effective at destroying them. They are pretty tough combatants too! Certainly not to be ignored

2. The assassins career does not represent any strict form of assassin, they can be whatever you want...an initiate in a particular order, a deathcult, a freelancer, a mercenary...its up to you to give them a background and that goes with pretty much all careers with a few partial exceptions.

For instance, a Psyker is always trained by the imperium, however what he did after his training is up to you...maybe you went off to sell your services, maybe you joined a noble house as a personal psyker...its up to you. The other exception I can think of is the guardsman, however you could be an old veteran who has served his time and is no longer in the forces of the Imperial Guard.

Just remember your character is only an initiate in what ever career you choose, so avoid making your backstory too awesome, you have to earn your awesome

I'm working on a reference sheet for character creation so I'll let you know when thats done!

 

Alright, that makes sense.

Don't worry about including them on my account- the other classes look interesting too and it isn't as if I have a special need to play a Sister.

 

I ought to be able to post regularly now so count me in for a definate as well. Quick question, are characters generally picked by hand by the inquisitor or is it more like a call to arms? (I should probably wait and see )

 

Yes you should wait and see, but since I want you to understand your position in the game I'm gonna tell you vaguely

You are a mere cog in the machine of the imperium, maybe slightly better at what you do than most but still just one of a billion others like you...however, you have caught the attention of the inquisition (or an inquisitor), you know not why, but does that matter?

Maybe he (or she) is offering you a way out of a tight situation, or maybe they have simply requested you serve them as a loyal follower of the Emperor, maybe you see some profit in it. Not every servant of the emperor is of noble heart, and not being of noble heart does not make you a bad servant, it just means your motivations for suceeding are different.

While it is the Inquisitor that chose you, it is up to you to decide why you came along...what made your character leave their normal lives to become something more?

Not everyone is deemed worthy to serve the Inquisition, but you have been given a chance.

Hope that covers it, couldn't help but be dramatic about it

 

Well well, what do we have here? I would be very intrested. Having played Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (The father of this system) for a long time and finding the 40k fluff for my liking, I think I'd have no problems. Well, other than this horrible computer that may or may not be dead at any given time.
But yeah, I'm not all too familiar with Dark Heresy rules, but I've skimmed over them and they mostly look like adapted WFRP rules which they, of course, are.

So yes, I'd be intrested. Only one question. Is my Psyker expected to scream incoherably every few minutes or is silent sobbing in the corner enough ?

 

An Inquisitor has, in theory, the authority to request resources or manpower from anyone up to, and including, a Planetary Governor. This isn't always practical, but it is there. As such, they tend to associate with only those they choose to (or see as useful). While a more outward, militant Inquisitor may work openly and so attract a 'call to arms' type of following, many are far more subtle and will only make themselves known to those who they feel they can (or must) trust. Dave did a good job of suggesting some ways in which a character could be drawn into working for an Inquisitor.

I think a better question would be 'what are the chances of my Psyker attracting Daemonic attention?'

'Cause that isn't really all that good an idea.

 

I was wondering when someone was going to ask about the psyker ...well if you play one be prepared to die in a very gory and potentially dangerous (for the everyone else) way!

Again your psyker can be however you like, happy to be blessed with great power, or angry (even sad) to be cursed with these ablitities. Thats up to you, however psykers are put through a rigorous, often life changing (see threatening) program to train them to focus their power safely. This "sanctioning" can leave them horridly scarred (theres a table for it), from a reconstructed skull, a fear of bald, robed women, to hypono-doctrination, causing you to whisper litanies in your sleep. It is unlikely you will be the most balanced member of the group.

While you will start off with nothing more than a few minor powers, used inventively they can be some of the best weapons in the game. And you will quickly grow in power...if you survive that long.

All I'll say is, be prepared

 

Heh, I think I'll go with the "THE VOICES SPEAK TO ME MAKE IT STOP OH MY EMPEROR MAKE IT STOP" -kind.

But yeah, I know a lot about Psykers, and there won't be any complaints if (make that when) he will start to go a-poppin'. Or that he will be basically a mental case with powers. That's actually what's attracting me.

Oh, and another question. What's a PBP? The roleplaying chatroom we have here, at Sorcerer's Place?

EDIT: OH DANG I'm slow today. Play-by-post! Heh, I've been doing that for almost five years now, and I still can't even recognize the term

 

Heh, yeah Play-by-Post would just be easier for me, and I realise it means it goes alot slower but as long as people are willing to put a little time in each day, and stay commited I think it can be very rewarding, expecially since I can take all your flavour text and put it into a big word document story at the end .

I was thinking that the post structure would be something like:

My replies would have the results of your actions, in a narrative form, and then I'd tell you exactly what happened ruleswise, so what you rolled, where you hurt your enemies and how much damage you took and stuff...since relying on flavour text can be a bit confusing.

Anyway thats getting a bit ahead of myself, but I think things are coming along, hopefully get the character gen stuff out to you all in the next couple of weeks! I'll do my best!

Theres 4 of you at the moment, which is a good number, theres room for a couple more I think if someone really wants to join