I tend not to believe that section of the website. I mean, it had Black Crusade 'At the Printers' just after it was announced, and I know that that wasn't true.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And now the announcement of what could be the greatest book FFG has ever made. Ever!
FFG wrote:
Who Can You Trust?
Announcing The Church of the Damned, an adventure for Dark Heresy
Around us is darkness and sin. We slip as one ever further into hell. If one could arrest our slide to damnation, but doing so would cost more lives than you can comprehend, is it not right to take that step. Appalling though the price might be, is it not our duty? —Pronouncement of the First Synod of the Maledictor’s Hand
Investigating corruption within the Ecclesiarchy itself is as delicate as it is dangerous, but when an influential leader is suspected of heresy, you and your fellow Acolytes will uncover an ever-deepening conspiracy that could spell the end of the entire Calixis Sector...
Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of The Church of the Damned, an adventure for Dark Heresy!
The Church of the Damned is the second adventure in The Apostasy Gambit, a Dark Heresy campaign that takes a cell of Acolytes from investigating the tragic history of a warped Cathedral to crusading against a conspiracy within one of the Imperium’s most vaunted organisations. While The Church of the Damned continues the events started in The Black Sepulchre, it also includes starting points to be played on its own or as part of your own campaign.
Deadly Mysteries
Dark Heresy’s lead developer took the time to share his thoughts about The Church of the Damned:
By now Black Sepulchre is in the hands of players. I’ve gotten a chance to talk to a few groups who have already played through the adventure and they all have the same question... “What’s next?” The cheeky answer is “Part two; it’s a trilogy!” but the question really dives deeper than that.
Black Sepulchre has a few big moments and ends on a Sector-shaking cliffhanger. Players are dying to know what comes next, where their Acolytes go from the events in Black Sepulchre. Obviously I can’t give that away, it would spoil the surprise, but I can discuss a few teasers.
Dark Heresy is a game of investigation, and while there is plenty of action to be had, the core experience is one of mystery and conspiracy. Church of the Damned sees the Acolytes embracing that role and leading an investigation into the heart of one of the Imperium’s most powerful organizations. Witnesses must be questioned, information researched, and crime scenes examined.
Of course, there is a good deal of combat too, with a variety of new and familiar foes. Hair raising, skin of your teeth, knock down, drag out combat. This may be the deadliest adventure we’ve ever written. Don’t expect to save the entire Calixis Sector and come away with all your fate points... or limbs!
The Maledictor’s Hand, a secret group of fanatical extremists, manipulates the Imperium from the shadows. You and your fellow Acolytes must hurry to stop their dark plot before it’s too late. But who can you trust?
Look for The Church of the Damned on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011!
I've only read about half of Black sepulchre thus far, and have been quite impressed by the overall concept and design, it's the first adventure I've seen which genuinely seems to be playable at different levels of power/experience.
One or two slight reservations about ..a certain element of the story and time, but it's certainly not impossible, and this may well be explained or covered a bit future on.
Does remind very much of Mr. Counter's work for the WFRP range he did.
H.B.M.C. wrote:I tend not to believe that section of the website. I mean, it had Black Crusade 'At the Printers' just after it was announced, and I know that that wasn't true.
That may be true, but my experience for every book is that once it shows On The Boat I find it in stores a 3-6 weeks later.
A preview for Mark of the Xenos, an upcoming Deathwatch supplement
Greetings, Deathwatch fans!
This week, we take a look deeper into Mark of the Xenos, the upcoming supplement for Deathwatch. If you are just hearing about this amazing book, make sure to check out the overview as well as last time’s preview of the vicious Dagon Overlord!
A Space Marine’s Nightmare
Mark of the Xenos is filled with vile xenos and insidious adversaries for GMs to challenge their Kill-teams. This week’s preview features a particularly diabolical antagonist: Magos Phayzarus. Created by Andrea Gausman, this heretical Magos of Samech hungers for that which is most precious to the Space Marine: his Progenoid glands, holders of the chapter’s gene-seed. Phayzarus has re-forged his body into a twisted abomination of metal and flesh for the singular purpose of hunting Space Marines.
Magos Phayzarus is a great tool for GMs to strike fear into the hearts of even the fearless Space Marines. With cunning traps and plans, Phayzarus will do anything to feed his addiction, dissecting the Battle-Brothers he has bested and eating their precious Progenoid glands. Phayzarus is just one of the many treacherous adversaries found in Chapter II: Radicals and Heretics.
Read more about Magos Phayzarus (pdf, 1.1MB), available for download on the support page, and be prepared for his insidious traps!
Stay alert for your chance to study the enemy, and look for Mark of the Xenos in the second quarter of 2011!
I've been really quiet about this book so far simply because of NDA's (you have no idea how many times I've wanted to jump into the threads at the FFG website and correct all the speculation that they're getting wrong!!!), and as it's not out yet I can't say any more (so please don't ask me) but given this preview is out I have to say that out of everything in Mark of the Xenos, Phayzarus is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite new adversary.
I love Tyranids, and we all know I love killing Tau, but despite all the new Tau and 'Nid things in this book, the Phayzarus entry is the thing that I love the most. I read his entry and my head spins with potential campaign/mission ideas.
H.B.M.C. wrote:I've been really quiet about this book so far simply because of NDA's (you have no idea how many times I've wanted to jump into the threads at the FFG website and correct all the speculation that they're getting wrong!!!), and as it's not out yet I can't say any more (so please don't ask me) but given this preview is out I have to say that out of everything in Mark of the Xenos, Phayzarus is without a shadow of a doubt my favourite new adversary.
I love Tyranids, and we all know I love killing Tau, but despite all the new Tau and 'Nid things in this book, the Phayzarus entry is the thing that I love the most. I read his entry and my head spins with potential campaign/mission ideas.
... I'm reading the preview, and now I have ot wonder if FFG is retconning how marine implants work again.
Since the progeonoid is the 18th gland put in, wouldn't that mean that none of the other implants work in the intrim? Particularly say, the ones that are required to work before it's implanted?
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will hit shelves in the third quarter of 2011. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview from Owen Barnes, one of the writers for Black Crusade. Among other contributions, Owen wrote about minions, and their place in a Black Crusade campaign. Thanks, Owen!
Say hello to my little friend
What would a champion of the Dark Gods be without followers to do his bidding? I’m not talking about the mewling hangers-on or floating skulls that follow Inquisitors around, or the legions of crewmen which maintain a Rogue Trader’s vessel; I’m talking about the weird, the wondrous and the down right terrifying entities which a Heretic can bend to his will. With this in mind, it seemed only right that players in Black Crusade should have the chance to take dedicated minions for their characters, whether they were daemons, rogue psykers, traitor Space Marines or pretty much anything they could think of.
To make this happen we have created rules for Minions. Minions are followers which are acquired by taking one of the Minion talents (bought with experience like other talents). The really cool aspect of Minions, however, is that a Minion talent doesn’t represent a specific Minion, such as a fallen Acolyte or death world carnivore; instead it sets a power level ranging from lesser (the weakest kinds of Minions) to Greater (the most powerful). The player then gets to create his Minion based on its level of power, making it into whatever he desires.
Minions are created in a similar way to characters, though given their diverse nature they follow their own set of rules. In essence when a player takes one of the Minion of Chaos talents for his character he builds his Minion by selecting characteristics, skills, talents, traits and equipment dependant on its level of power. This means that if he wants it to be a beast in close quarters fighting, he could put lots of points into Strength and Weapon Skill, choose skills (like Evasion) which will help it in close combat, choose talents (like Frenzy) to further enhance its abilities and traits (like Unnatural Strength) to really make it a force to be feared. Because Minions can be created using all the skills, talents and traits in Black Crusade (including psychic powers) they can really be anything, limited only by the points provided by the talent used to create them.
If you want something done right...
Minions differ from NPCs in that they are completely under the control of the player whose character they belong to, rather than being controlled by the GM. In this way, they are an extension of the player’s character and he can choose their actions, reactions and responses just as he would for his own character. This can be useful in combat situations where a Minion will work closely with its master enhancing his attacks and providing reliable support where even other Heretics might leave him to pursue their own glory. Players can even create Minions with this kind of support in mind, such as a heavy weapon mutant to lay down stubber fire while they charge in or a diminutive servitor with the sole purpose of following its master into melee to ward off attacks with its shield arms.
Minions can also be useful outside of the combat arena and players can create a Minion to cover a weakness in their character or a gap in his skills or abilities. For instance if a Heretic is fearsome in combat but lacks social skills, he might employ a sycophantic envoy with a honeyed tongue to do his talking for him or broker deals with merchants and warlords. Equally, if a Heretic lacks academic or scholastic learning he might carry with him a cogitator core with a powerful but tainted machine spirit to answer his questions, giving it a violent shake if it gets out of line.
While Minions are under the control of the player (and while in the presence of his character will generally do exactly as desired) they do still have minds of their own (or at least what passes for a mind in the case of servitors and the like). This means that if the player sends them off on their own or his character becomes incapacitated and cannot give them orders they might not do exactly what he wants. To reflect this, every Minion has a Loyalty score equal to its master’s Fellowship (plus or minus various modifiers). In situations where a Minion is not in the presence of its master, the GM makes a roll against its Loyalty. If this test is passed, all is well and the player can control the Minion (or it completes its task as instructed). If it is failed, however, the GM takes control of the Minion and chooses what it will do. While this doesn’t mean the Minion will turn on his master or work against him, it does mean it will almost certainly ‘get it wrong’. For example, a Heretic sends his tainted murder servitor to assassinate a rival in a crowded settlement, but it fails its Loyalty roll: there will be murder, but the odds of the target being among the dead are no longer certain.
Menagerie of Chaos
Heretics can have more than one Minion if they take the Minion of Chaos talent more than once. Minions can even be improved by upgrading the level or the talent and giving the Minion more points to spend on characteristics, skills, talents and traits. In addition, when a Minion dies, or is discarded by its master, the character does not lose the Minion of Chaos talent and can (when appropriate to the story) acquire a new Minion to take its place. All of this means that with a few talents the Heretic can surround himself with a core of loyal followers more devoted and specialised than any number of NPC followers or hirelings.
There are also numerous talents which will enhance a character’s Minions or give him more options when using them. Talents like Ancient Warrior and Demagogue will improve the Loyalty of Minions while Unholy Devotion allows a player to transfer hits from his character onto his Minions as they leap into the path of bullets and sword blows. My favourite Minion-related talent has to be Betrayer. This talent allows a Heretic to ‘burn’ a Minion rather than a Fate Point to save his life. The details are left to the player and the GM but one can imagine a Heretic bartering away one of his trusted followers to a cannibal tribe or using their body to seal a breech in void ship’s hull to save his own skin.
Overall the Minion rules reward creativity and allow players to create pretty much any kind of follower they can imagine, which is only just and right given the capricious nature of Chaos!
sonofruss wrote:That is the one that starts the process and activates the other organs
Yeah, except that doesn't work, because the others are supposed to be up and running for years in some cases before the Progenoid is put in, since it's the last thing before the black carapace. So it can't 'start' them, because it's not in their bodies, and it doesn't control the others, because they have to be working already when it's not in their bodies.
sonofruss wrote:That is the one that starts the process and activates the other organs
Yeah, except that doesn't work, because the others are supposed to be up and running for years in some cases before the Progenoid is put in, since it's the last thing before the black carapace. So it can't 'start' them, because it's not in their bodies, and it doesn't control the others, because they have to be working already when it's not in their bodies.
Simply put: the reason the Omnophagea not be working for the Magos without a Progenoid to consume is because he's missing everything else that a Space Marine would usually have.
sonofruss wrote:That is the one that starts the process and activates the other organs
Yeah, except that doesn't work, because the others are supposed to be up and running for years in some cases before the Progenoid is put in, since it's the last thing before the black carapace. So it can't 'start' them, because it's not in their bodies, and it doesn't control the others, because they have to be working already when it's not in their bodies.
Simply put: the reason the Omnophagea not be working for the Magos without a Progenoid to consume is because he's missing everything else that a Space Marine would usually have.
Except that Omnophagea is one of the first 8 implants put in. It would have to be able to function without most of the rest of them. He should be eating the biscopia, which is what releases the hormones that allow the others to work, and is implanted shortly before the Omnophagea.
sonofruss wrote:That is the one that starts the process and activates the other organs
Yeah, except that doesn't work, because the others are supposed to be up and running for years in some cases before the Progenoid is put in, since it's the last thing before the black carapace. So it can't 'start' them, because it's not in their bodies, and it doesn't control the others, because they have to be working already when it's not in their bodies.
Simply put: the reason the Omnophagea not be working for the Magos without a Progenoid to consume is because he's missing everything else that a Space Marine would usually have.
Except that Omnophagea is one of the first 8 implants put in. It would have to be able to function without most of the rest of them. He should be eating the biscopia, which is what releases the hormones that allow the others to work, and is implanted shortly before the Omnophagea.
Before the implants are ever placed in, there's more done to the marines. There's chemical therapies, hormones, etc.
Basically: it's vague enough that we have no clue why/how it would work outside of it.
Hell, it might be simply that he's more machine than man which means there's organs missing from him.
Kanluwen wrote:
Before the implants are ever placed in, there's more done to the marines. There's chemical therapies, hormones, etc.
Basically: it's vague enough that we have no clue why/how it would work outside of it.
Hell, it might be simply that he's more machine than man which means there's organs missing from him.
I have creation of a space marine in front of me. According to this, the only thing added is the implants and extensive hypnoindoctrination. The biscopia is (surprisingly for GW) clearly stated to be the hormonal basis for the other implants. A progenoid only serves to incubate the next batch of implants (in the form of stem cells, maybe?) and some chapters remove both of them from the Marine when they mature. If being a machine was the problem, how would chapters like the Iron Hands exist then?
It's plenty creepy to have a cyborg hungering for parts of your brain, but if I wanted to lift part of Gunnm for a campaign, there are better bits to steal then the brain addicted cyborg that gets stronger from eating brains.
Kanluwen wrote:
Before the implants are ever placed in, there's more done to the marines. There's chemical therapies, hormones, etc.
Basically: it's vague enough that we have no clue why/how it would work outside of it.
Hell, it might be simply that he's more machine than man which means there's organs missing from him.
I have creation of a space marine in front of me. According to this, the only thing added is the implants and extensive hypnoindoctrination. The biscopia is (surprisingly for GW) clearly stated to be the hormonal basis for the other implants. A progenoid only serves to incubate the next batch of implants (in the form of stem cells, maybe?) and some chapters remove both of them from the Marine when they mature. If being a machine was the problem, how would chapters like the Iron Hands exist then?
Do the Iron Hands replace their internal organs upon induction? All we really have on them is that they replace a lot of their limbs with cybernetics, not the internals.
It's plenty creepy to have a cyborg hungering for parts of your brain, but if I wanted to lift part of Gunnm for a campaign, there are better bits to steal then the brain addicted cyborg that gets stronger from eating brains.
There's no doubt about that.
We'll agree that it's a cool character, but with some oddities then?
Just reading Blood of Martyrs, figured it was about time I added another Dark Heresy book to the collection. I must admit I am seriously loving the work FFG are putting into the lines.
After a brief play around with the system, think I am going to restart a new campaign based around Sisters of Battle with Aurelia.
On a side note, I must have been off swimming when you guys where chatting about 'Only War'
I'm so chuffed an Imperial Guard based book is on its way this year. Only spotted it when ordering BoM on Amazon.
Recently, we announced Daemon Hunter, an upcoming supplement for Dark Heresy. A powerful resource for campaigns featuring the servants of the holy Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition, Daemon Hunter features information and background on the Ordo Malleus in the Calixis Sector, the Daemon hunter’s trade, and the Malleus armoury. Last time, we looked at the tragic events that might lead to an Exterminatus. Today, Dark Heresy’s developer took the time to share some additional details on this exciting upcoming title.
Salutations Acolytes!
With Daemon Hunter on its way I thought I’d take a moment to discuss one of the biggest challenges presented when creating the Grey Knights rules. Penned by Owen Barnes, Chapter 6 presented a few difficult creative choices. I’m very proud of how the team found creative answers that just kept giving GMs and Players new tools, rather than limiting options.
Versatile Characters
The first hurdle was power level and theme. As Space Marines, the Grey Knights are clearly as powerful as Deathwatch characters, armed with the best the Imperium can provide. Thematically, however, they are pure Inquisition, fighting Daemons and threats to mankind at the behest of the Holy Ordos. The answer was to build the Grey Knights to function in a Dark Heresy game, but include assistance to make them easily adapted for use with the Deathwatch Rulebook.
The biggest difference between Dark Heresy and Deathwatch are the Psychic powers. Rather than write two separate systems, the design team built many (if not all) of the Grey Knight psychic powers with an Overbleed that allowed the power to affect additional squad members. Combined with the Brotherhood of Psykers talent this allows a unit of Grey Knights to focus their energy on one Pyschic test that is likely to affect them all. This same talent functions differently when using the Deathwatch Rules, allowing the group to gain the effects of the Overbleed (thus boosting them all with Hammerhand, for instance). In this way, the main difference in the two systems core mechanics is bridge, allowing the Grey Knights to feel like Space Marines, but function in both game systems.
Careers within the Holy Ordos
The next challenge was determining which careers to include. After all, a Grey Knight is a Grey Knight, regardless of whether or not he is wearing power armour, terminator armour or strapped in to Nemesis Dreadknight. What’s more, many of the appropriate careers have already been presented in Deathwatch. This gave the design team a lot of freedom to present new information. The three careers unique to the Grey Knights are presented in full detail, compatible with the Deathwatch rules and designed to function alongside Ascension-rank Dark Heresy characters.
While Grey Knights have Apothecaries, Librarians and Techmarines, we focus on the Strike Squad Grey Knight, Purgation Squad Grey Knight and the Purifier. These careers are all a group needs to send a squad of Grey Knights into the thick of battle in service of the Holy Ordos. Campaigns with Acolyte-level characters might uncover a threat so terrible that their patron Inquisitor must take drastic action, allowing the players to take up the mantle of a squad of Grey Knights responding to such a dire situation.
Epic Campaigns
Entire Grey Knight campaigns are also possible, either using the Dark Heresy or Deathwatch rule system. Justicar Maligante commands the strike cruiser Righteous Dawn in his pursuit of his named adversary, the Lord of Misrule. The Grey Knights under his command serve the Inquisition in a variety of ways. The Ordo Malleus calls upon them to pursue threats along the Spinward Front. The Righteous Dawn is one of (if not the) fastest vessels in the Calixis sector, so no military force can respond as quickly to a daemonic incursion the Grey Knights.
Next time, I’ll talk a bit about the quarry of the Grey Knights and the Ordo Malleus... Daemons! After all, what book on hunting daemons would be complete without villains?
So they're including bits that allow for Psyker rule compatibility with both DH and DW systems? That sounds great. I wonder if they'll be porting Astartes weapons into DH as well?
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview from Andrew Hoare, one of the writers for Black Crusade. Among other contributions, Andrew wrote about the mechanics for Corruption and Infamy. Thanks, Andrew!
No roleplaying game about playing the nefarious servants of the Ruinous Powers would be complete without a system for awarding player characters with the ‘gifts of the gods’. Many such gifts boost a Heretic’s abilities, each successive blessing granted turning him into a living manifestation of the dark majesty of Chaos. Others are capricious or unknowable, for no mortal can truly wield the raw power of the warp without succumbing to random mutations of mind, body and soul. The ultimate goal of any true champion of the Chaos Gods is to attain the ultimate gift – Daemonhood – before too many such mutations turn him into a gibbering, thrashing Chaos Spawn.
All of this and more is addressed in the form of the rules for Corruption and Infamy, which we’ll take a look at here.
Corruption
Corruption is a measure of how steeped the Heretic is in the fell energies of Chaos. It could be thought of as a means of gauging how ‘favoured’ he is by the Ruinous Powers, but that would be misleading, because even the most powerful mortal is but an insect to the unknowable denizens of the warp. Rather, Corruption measures how much of the dark blessings of Chaos the character has earned. Corruption is measured on a scale of 1 to 100, with a Heretic moving along the ‘Corruption Track’ by earning Corruption Points in a similar way to amassing Experience Points. Various deeds earn the Heretic Corruption Points, and upon reaching various thresholds he has the opportunity to gain the blessings of the Chaos Gods.
The gifts of the Chaos Gods take the form of mutations, and many of these have a two tier effect. Such mutations have a primary effect, which applies to every character that gains it, and a secondary effect, which is applicable to characters dedicated to a particular Chaos God. For example, a classic Chaos mutation is the Additional Limb, the primary effect of which is to grant the Heretic the Multiples Arms Trait. If the Heretic is dedicated to Khorne, the new limb bristles with bony spines, granting attacks made with it the Tearing quality. If he is dedicated to Slaanesh, the limb is so lithe and dextrous in its movements that its attacks are carried out at +10 to the character’s Weapon Skill. If the Heretic is dedicated to Nurgle, the limb oozes necrotic slime, which grants its attacks the Toxic (1) quality. A character dedicated to Tzeentch is gifted with a limb that darts and writhes in such an unpredictable manner that he can use it to Disarm opponents as a Free Action.
Infamy
Infamy describes how, well, ‘infamous’ a character is. It determines how feared he is, how legendary the tales told of his deeds, and the esteem in which other dark champions hold him. A character’s Infamy stat has several uses in the game, one of the most important being as a marker of the resources available to him. Instead of spending money to gain resources (for the denizens of the Screaming Vortex barter in nothing but souls) the player characters are able to obtain weapons, armour, services and the likes according to their Infamy. Especially infamous characters can simply demand whatever they want from the fearful inhabitants of the Vortex, while less infamous ones must beg, steal and borrow the tools they need.
Apotheosis or Spawndom
There is one key instance when both Infamy and Corruption come together, and that is when the characters approach the final stage of their careers. At the beginning of the campaign, the GM decides the relative ‘difficulty’ of the story arc. Characters are judged or held to account by the fell denizens of the Warp when they reach the stated Corruption threshold, which is generally 75, 90 or 100 Corruption Points. Depending on how much Infamy the characters have amassed throughout their brief service, they might be judged wanting and be reduced to seething, howling Chaos Spawns. If they have amassed a high level of Infamy when they reach the Corruption threshold, they may – just may – have attained the ultimate favour of the Ruinous Powers and be granted the gift of Apotheosis, becoming a mighty and eternal Daemon Prince, the ruin of worlds and ultimate foe of the Imperium.
Most characters will never become daemon princes of course, and the majority will die before the risk of being reduced to a Chaos Spawn presents itself. Those who attain 140 Infamy before reaching 100 Corruption face another fate, one that the GM may handle directly through a drastic change in the direction of the campaign, or indirectly. Such characters have the chance to lead a Black Crusade, amassing a mighty army of heretics and fiends and descending upon the weakling Imperium of Man to reduce all to ruins.
And this is the point of Black Crusade – the path to glory is truly strewn with the shattered bones of those that sought to wield the powers of Chaos without considering that all but the strongest fall by the wayside in the process. Only the very strongest survive, those willing to gamble all for power and immortality. Campaigns have a set time limit, determined by the GM and the players, and the characters burn brightly, if briefly as they rise to ultimate power. Only at the very moment of their judgement, when they reach their pre-arranged Corruption threshold, do they discover the ultimate fate of their very souls. Whatever the result, it can be guaranteed that GM and players will have many tall tales to tell as a result!
So, wait, not only did they keep the detested 100 corruption limit, but now the GM is supposed to create a Time limit because they couldn't be bothered to create a different mechanic?
So much for long campaigns or, you know, 40k-esque thousand year plot by chaos.
I might counter that a good ruleset doesn't have to have the GM houserule the primary mechanics.
While, I grant, my players are quite adept at gaining insanity and corruption, (current houserule divides both by ten to prevent it from being Dark Heresy of Cthulhu), I had hoped they'd do the sensible thing and dispose of it in a setting where corruption is frankly common.
H.B.M.C. wrote:You're also assuming that Insanity and Corruption function in Black Crusade like the do in the other games.
Granted, I'm assuming that raping nuns while burning orphans alive in their orphanage and summoning daemons by the light of said would be reason for one to accrue insanity and corruption. Maybe it takes more then that under the new system, I'd have to read it, but I do know my party, and they'll happily rise to the challenge.
At least four members of my group could be avatars of the four winds of chaos, with the fifth easily subbing in for Malal.
Who's to say that Corruption Points aren't the new name for XP in this version?
Or... if you're worshiping the Chaos Gods would you gain corruption points for doing good deeds like helping Nuns cross the road or not feeding children to Papa Nurgle?
From the depths of Page 2 I summon thee thread! Arise!!!
The Omega Vault opens once again:
FFG wrote:
“They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay, I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies, and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines, and they shall know no fear.” –Prelude, The Codex Astartes (Apocrypha of Skaros)
The Deathwatch team is pleased to present the latest update to the Deathwatch Living Errata (v1.1.1, pdf, 720 KB), now available on our support page. This document has been expanded from the original to cover all current Deathwatch supplements, and to provide answers to many frequently asked questions.
Additionally, this latest version includes an Appendix with updated rules for all Deathwatch weaponry. A new weapon special quality is introduced and many of the stats for current weapons have been re-worked. These new rules have been included to provide a more streamlined play experience to Deathwatch players and GMs alike, and are completely optional.
As one of the lucky contributors to this errata, I have to say I’ve been waiting for this for a while now (and I can’t imagine that it’d be a breach of my NDA to say that I worked on this, given that my name is in the credits at the start). Fixes a number of mistakes that were still present after the last errata (though not all of them...) and has the absolutely 100% optional yet absolutely 100% necessary update to the Deathwatch Weapons.
The game is better with these weapon stats, believe me. I can say from experience that Deathwatch is just more fun using these weapon stats. The Heavy Bolter is no longer the be-all and end-all weapon that leaves everything in front of it in absolute ruin.
Ironically I’ve noticed one mistake already – the updated weapon stats don’t include the note about Thunder Hammers from earlier in the errata. Ha!
So, the people that defend their mistakes to the death in their forum get to write the errata that fixes the mistakes? Or did you write the mistakes to begin with and were just trying to cover up the screw up?
H.B.M.C. wrote:You know what, I'm happy to eat crow here:
What mistakes have I 'defended'?
And these damned-well better be mistakes Baron, and not your own personal bias against 40K fluff and how you think it should be.
IIRC teleportariums + murder servitors springs to mind. I believe your defense was that it can only happen on a lucky roll during ship design or something similar, and that a good Gm would simply deny the party the use of it. (Though, Igrant, the las6t part may have been Kan)
As far as the fluff goes, I'll assume you're referring to the 'Stupid Secret' of the Jericho reach discussion, where, btw: Battlefleet Koronus says I was right and they are shipping supplies through the warp gate to fuel the Crusade, so again, how this stays a secret seems questionable at best.
As someone who's yet to even play a single game of RT, I can't say much about the subject. If I’m wrong about how I thought rules worked initially, then ok, I probably was. I don’t know – I haven’t played the game yet, so I can’t tell.
And I don't know what your fluff concerns with the Jericho Warp Gate are, nor do I really care. Nothing I’ve read really tends to indicate the secret of the Margin (SP?) Crusade and what the Warp Gate is as being ‘stupid’. If the idea seemed silly to me at first, I have been convinced otherwise.
But please, when you’ve got a real ‘mistake’ that I’ve ‘defended’, like the way some rules were worded, or some skills in an alternate career, you just let us know.
H.B.M.C. wrote:As someone who's yet to even play a single game of RT, I can't say much about the subject. If I’m wrong about how I thought rules worked initially, then ok, I probably was. I don’t know – I haven’t played the game yet, so I can’t tell.
And I don't know what your fluff concerns with the Jericho Warp Gate are, nor do I really care. Nothing I’ve read really tends to indicate the secret of the Margin (SP?) Crusade and what the Warp Gate is as being ‘stupid’. If the idea seemed silly to me at first, I have been convinced otherwise.
But please, when you’ve got a real ‘mistake’ that I’ve ‘defended’, like the way some rules were worded, or some skills in an alternate career, you just let us know.
Can't say, don't care about Rules wordings unless they can save my party from a messy death, possibly involving four or five hive tyrants.
For those that don't know but care: teleportariums + murder servitors allow the players to cripple or disable another ships engines at range, and with a very high chance of success, unless the target is immune to hit and run for some reason. Effectively it's an 'I Win' button that can be pressed once a turn.
You need to play RT, HBMC, it's altogether different from the other two in a really fun way! Of course, that is, when you arent rescuing us casual gamers from rules inconsistencies!
Aw c'mon, elected official? What, like the president of the local chess club? Keep it on topic, Baron. Keep personal issues out of it please. Keep this bull up and I'd be happy to report it.
HBMC, I wouldn't even deign to respond to his malarkey.
Keeping it on topic: When is the living errata for Rogue Trader going to be updated? I would have thought it would have been updated soon after BFK, or has it not been as long as I think it has? I was barely aware BFK was on its way when I happened to see it in a local shop.
FoxPhoenix135 wrote:When is the living errata for Rogue Trader going to be updated? I would have thought it would have been updated soon after BFK, or has it not been as long as I think it has? I was barely aware BFK was on its way when I happened to see it in a local shop.
Sorry. I only contributed to the Deathwatch errata*. I have not heard nor been told anything about a new RT (or DH for that matter) errata.
*And all statements related to this errata are made under the conditions that:
1. I do not work for FFG.
2. I do not claim to speak for or on behalf of FFG.
3. I contributed to the errata, and that is all.
4. I cannot and will not discuss the process of working on the errata except to say that it was fun and that as someone who has bitched endlessly about rules consistency in the past with GW products (and even FFG products) it was a welcome opportunity for me to put my money where my mouth is (so to speak) and actually contribute rather than sit in the wings and complain. 5. I hope to do it again in the future.
FoxPhoenix135 wrote:Aw c'mon, elected official? What, like the president of the local chess club? Keep it on topic, Baron. Keep personal issues out of it please. Keep this bull up and I'd be happy to report it.
Auditor. Kan looked it up once, and was disgusted to find it true, IIRC.
@HBMC: It's easier to do with just a couple people. FAQ2010 for BFG was a zoo, and everyone had their own axes to grind.
FoxPhoenix135 wrote:Aw c'mon, elected official? What, like the president of the local chess club? Keep it on topic, Baron. Keep personal issues out of it please. Keep this bull up and I'd be happy to report it.
Auditor. Kan looked it up once, and was disgusted to find it true, IIRC.
Why do you keep talking about me in this thread? I haven't "looked up" anything about you, nor do I regularly post at FFG's site(where I do have an account though, under this same name). Most of my posts there were in a Female Space Marine thread.
Kanluwen wrote:
Why do you keep talking about me in this thread? I haven't "looked up" anything about you, nor do I regularly post at FFG's site(where I do have an account though, under this same name). Most of my posts there were in a Female Space Marine thread.
Nor have I posted there regular for a long time. And I could have sworn it was you, it was actually here, IIRC, and it was something about copyright and producing GW minis illegally. I was pointing out that at my current location, which is not Mercer PA, I really should change that one of these days, that it was technically legal to cast minis as 'Space Marines' etc as the laws didn't recognize intellectual property.
Kanluwen wrote:I can say without a doubt that I have not looked up anything regarding you. So stop your shenanigans, Baron.
Going back through, it appears for once I owe you an apology. It was someone else. For some reason (possibly because you had been taking this person's side previously in the thread in question) I got the two mixed up.
Today we discuss the most fiendish and vile of all known Xenos. Yes, I am of course talking about the trecherous Tau!
FFG wrote:Best of Foes
Greetings, Deathwatch fans!
Today, we’re pleased to offer a designer diary by Andrew Hoare, in which he delves into the Tau psyche and shares insights into the type of campaigns a GM can create with the upcoming Mark of the Xenos. Thanks, Andrew!
A Dynamic expansion
The collectivist Tau represent a major threat to the Imperium’s ambitions in the Jericho Reach. In fact, the Achilus Crusade was originally conceived to expel the Tau Empire from the once prosperous region. It was once hoped that the Tau might be pushed all the way back to their home worlds, opening a new front and defeating them once and for all.
Tragically, the Imperium’s crusade to reclaim the Reach ground to a halt when its worlds failed to welcome their liberation from anarchy or xenos oppression. Worse still, entire human-populated systems took arms against the Emperor’s sanctified warriors and declared themselves for the Ruinous Powers. With the Crusade forced to deploy its armies against this unanticipated threat, the push into Tau-held space stalled and a bitter stalemate ensued. To make things worse, another xenos species has since reared its ugly head in the Jericho Reach, and one that may in the long run force the Imperium to make a very difficult decision indeed. With the arrival of Hive Fleet Dagon, will the Imperium continue to prosecute its war against the Tau, redirect those assets to stall the Tyranid invasion, or will it attempt to fight both at once? Those of a radical bent whisper in dark places of a third option – perhaps elements of the two species might join forces against the extra-galactic Tyranids…
Decisions, decisions
The Tau then represent a wealth of gaming opportunities for GMs looking to broaden the horizons of their campaigns. There are several main ways they can be used, and doubtless GMs will come up with many more.
The most obvious use for the Tau in games of Deathwatch is as the bad guys, plain and simple. Equipped as they are with a staggering range of exotic and devastating technology, Tau forces are a challenge even for the most experienced Kill-team. They are also very different from the slavering bio-constructs of Hive Fleet Dagon, in that they eschew close combat in favour of a lethal combination of firepower and agility, calling for a different approach in combating them.
The second use is far subtler, but allows many engaging narratives to develop. While the bulk of the Canis Salient is engaged against the Tau, fighting a bitter war across dozens of worlds, there are times when the crusade’s supreme leaders have deemed it necessary to circumvent local commanders and sent contact missions to the Tau. While many such missions have resulted in bloodshed and recrimination, some have led to cooperation, albeit hidden from the Imperium at large. Embroiling the player characters in a situation where they are forced to parley with the Tau makes for some truly memorable encounters.
The last use for the Tau is as an outright ally, with the Deathwatch’s finest actually fighting side by side with the collectivist xenos. Obviously, this doesn’t happen often, but when it does it should be a really big deal. There’s even a named Tau leader – Commander Flamewing – who espouses the belief that his Empire and Humanity should pool their resources to defeat the Tyranids, before both are consumed by the unending waves of slavering xenos!
Know thy enemy
Mark of the Xenos contains a wide range of Tau Masters, Elites and Troops, as well as detailed rules for some of the species’ most iconic weapons and equipment. In addition to Tau adversaries such as Ethereals, Broadside Battlesuits and Pathfinders, the supplement describes the troops of several of the Empire’s subject races, including Kroot, Kroothounds, Great Knarlocs and Vespid. Each entry includes an Adventure Seed box, presenting the GM with one or more ideas that can easily be expanded into a full adventure.
The blue peril
Some amongst the Imperium’s most senior leaders would say (in private) that the real danger the Tau represent to Humanity is nothing to do with their rapid expansion into the regions of the Eastern Fringe. In reality, the Tau Empire is miniscule in comparison to the vast Imperium. Indeed, it has been argued that had Hive Fleet Behemoth not descended upon the Eastern Fringe, the Damocles Gulf Crusade would ultimately have conquered the Tau home worlds. While the species does not represent an existential, military threat to the Imperium as a whole, it does however represent something far more insidious. By necessity, much of Humanity exists under a brutal yoke, subject to the most totalitarian of regimes ever to have existed. Mankind is jealous and hateful of other species, and would, were it possible, cleanse the stars of any potential rivals to their destiny. The Tau Empire however, does not oppress its people, and welcomes all who would submit to it, regardless of species. The peoples of the Tau Empire appear content to serve their Tau masters, and will make the ultimate of sacrifices not because they are forced to or have no other choice. Rather, in the Tau’s collectivist and inclusive doctrines they see something truly worth fighting for and spreading across the galaxy to include every species that will submit.
For the Imperium, there can exist no greater xenos threat than one that fights not for territory or resources, or even for racial survival. The Tau fight to enlighten the ignorant, to recruit them into the truth of the Greater Good.
Stay vigilant, your chance to know your enemy is imminent. Look for Mark of the Xenos to appear in the Jericho Reach in the second quarter of 2011!
Blue peril indeed! Damned dirty blue-skins. Kill 'em all!
FFG wrote:
Earn the Favour of the Ruinous Powers Play a Black Crusade introductory adventure at Free RPG Day, June 18th
“Heresy: such a simple word for such a complex idea. And like so many of the titles bestowed by the followers of the Corpse-God, utterly meaningless." —Karnak Zul
On route across the sector to a carry out a sentence of torture, interrogation, and execution, the Imperial prison barge Chains of Judgement has become lost in the warp, drifting far off course. Now, you and your fellow condemned heretics have awoken from stasis to find the ship in a state of chaos and ruin. Competing factions vie for control, including several members of the Inquisition intent on retaking the ship. Can you gain your freedom before the Imperium’s claws close around you once and for all?
Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to once again participate in Free RPG day, an annual event that encourages RPG enthusiasts to demo current and upcoming titles. This year, you’re invited to take part in Broken Chains, an introductory adventure for Black Crusade. When the dark gods show you an opportunity to escape certain death at the hands of the Imperium, will you have the cunning and strength to seize it?
Glory and Power Await
This free introduction to Black Crusade includes a full adventure, four pre-generated characters, and a set of basic rules to help players and Game Masters become familiar with the Black Crusade roleplaying game. See if your local retailer is participating at the Free RPG Day Retailer Locator.
Do you live in the Roseville, Minnesota area (NB: Don't we all? - HB)? In honor of Free RPG Day, the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center will be giving away free copies of Broken Chains, and RPG developers San Stewart, Ross Watson, Mack Martin, and Andrew Fischer will be in attendance to answer questions and run introductory sessions. Sign up now at the Event Center to play Black Crusade with a 40KRPG designer!
This announcement is unsurprising, but no less welcome. They've done this for every 40KRPG, and that's a trend we'd all like to see continuing. Sadly I think that a demo-adventure like this with pre-gen characters will lose some of what Black Crusade is about (the whole alignment and open-ended classless advance system they've talked about in the designer dairies), but still, it's Black Crusade and that's good enough for me.
And for anyone wondering, Andrew Fischer is the 'new guy' on the team.
BaronIveagh wrote:Why does it say 'Free RPG Day 2010'? Are we taking this back in time?
It's been corrected.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Noisy_Marine wrote:Does that mean Black Crusade is already out.
No, this is a preview for it.
As a GW player you might know be familiar with the idea but sometimes companies tell people what they are making and even let them try it before buying
Announcing The Achilus Assault, a sourcebook for Deathwatch.
“The opportunity that we are offered is far too great to ignore. A brief foray, using the assets of the Calixis Sector, could spread the glory of the God-Emperor to millions who crave his light and return untold wealth and glory to Scintilla." –Tiber Achilus, in his bid for command of the Crusade into the Jericho Reach
Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of The Achilus Assault, a sourcebook for Deathwatch! Coming in the third quarter of 2011, The Achilus Assault is a guide to the fires of war raging in the Jericho Reach, from the numberless tides of the Tyranids in Hive Fleet Dagon to the hellish legions of Chaos pouring forth from the Hadex Anomaly and the expansionist aggression of the Tau Empire. The threats presented in this tome provide Game Masters with a surfeit of antagonists and mysteries to confront a Deathwatch Kill-team.
The essence of war, brotherhood, heroism, and duty pervade the setting for Deathwatch. The task of the Achilus Crusade embraces all of these themes, yet it faces great challenges from both without and within. To live up to these ideals is a difficult task, yet it is the fate of the Deathwatch Space Marines in the Jericho Reach to shoulder this duty head-on—they are the first and last line of defence against a myriad of threats to the Crusade of which some commanders are not even aware.
On the front lines
For more on this invaluable resource, we present a few insights from Deathwatch’s lead developer:
The setting for the Deathwatch RPG is a massive war front—the Achilus Crusade—sweeping across the lost worlds of the Jericho Reach. The front lines of this interstellar conflict are a great backdrop for the adventures of the Deathwatch Space Marines battling alongside the Crusade forces, and the Achilus Assault is a brand-new sourcebook that brings all of this into focus for a Deathwatch campaign. The Achilus Assault provides detailed descriptions for some of the Jericho Reach’s most significant planets and warzones to allow players and GMs alike to plan new Deathwatch Missions.
Each of the three major salients of the Achilus Crusade have their own unique themes and deadly enemies. Some foes may be reasoned with, whilst others must be fought to the bitter end. This book describes the major threats to the Crusade’s advance and describes how the efforts of Deathwatch Kill-teams can tip the balance.
With The Achilus Assault, you can bring your Deathwatch campaign into the front lines of the Crusade, and choose which worlds shall be saved, and which shall burn.
Keep checking back for more on The Achilus Assault, and watch for it at your local game store in the third quarter of 2011!
And for those of you wondering why you've never heard of this book, check the old preview PDF they put out a while ago. It used to be called 'The Achilus Crusade'.
H.B.M.C. wrote:You might have to PM me the answer, as I'm not sure if the contract allows you to say what bit you wrote.
We're allowed to take credit for things after they're public. Like, say, that quote. However, I'll need to wait for the book to hit release to discuss anything else. Apologies.
the_dunner wrote:We're allowed to take credit for things after they're public. Like, say, that quote. However, I'll need to wait for the book to hit release to discuss anything else. Apologies.
Nope! You're right. Announcing the book is not the same as releasing the book. I got ahead of myself. My apologies.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And yet another upcoming release:
FFG wrote:Bring Order to Chaos
Announcing the upcoming release of the Game Master's Kit for Black Crusade
“Make war upon the Imperium of Man? What is it you think the Legions have been doing for the last ten thousand years? War does not end with a single victory or a single planet. It is an eternal creature that outlives men and their tiny triumphs." -Arzyn the Silencebringer, warrior of the World Eaters
Guide your players down the path of Chaos with The Game Master’s Kit for Black Crusade, coming in the third quarter of 2011! This helpful resource features a sturdy Game Master’s screen, displaying stunning Black Crusade art on one side and a wealth of useful quick references on the other. In addition, The Game Master’s Kit includes a 32-page full colour booklet with a complete adventure, a selection of useful NPCs, expanded rules for running Black Crusade adventures, and advice for how to run an extended campaign.
Rivals for Glory
Challenge your players with the included adventure, which takes a group of Heretics to the shattered ruins of an infamous pirate empire. Once there, they’ll find a harsh reminder that the Screaming Vortex teems with other servants of Chaos, and in each one burns the same bloody determination to earn glory by any means necessary.
While on a hunt for a cultural relic of great influence that was lost in the wreck of a mercenary transport ship, the Heretics will begin a race for power against ruthless competition. But rival fortune-seekers may not be the greatest threat they face; their prize is on the brutal world of Sacgrave, a warp-ravaged planet that’s home to marauding gangs, horrific mutants, and worse. Gather clues, coerce the local populace, and deal with the planet’s fickle overseer, and you’ll earn the favour of your dark masters.
Glory and power await those willing to learn forbidden knowledge. Look for The Game Master’s Kit for Black Crusade in the third quarter of 2011!
Chapter 3 - The Forces of Chaos Bloodthirster
Great Unclean One
Keeper of Secrets
Lord of Change
Kyrus the Chantleader
Bloodletter
Daemonette
Pink Horror
Plaguebearer
Chaos Space Marine Sorcerors
Khorne Berserkers
Noise Marines
Obliterators
Plague Marines
Possessed Chaos Space Marines
Weapons of Chaos [Noise Marine Weapons, Plague Marine Weapons and Other Weapons]
Chapter 4 - Advanced Adversaries Using Hordes in Deathwatch [New Horde Traits]
Massed Battles [Running Massed Battles]
Turning Points [Using Turning Points, Example Turning Points]
Bloodthirster Great Unclean One Keeper of Secrets Lord of Change Kyrus the Chantleader (Unique Chaos Space Marine Master) Bloodletter Daemonette Pink Horror Plaguebearer Chaos Space Marine Sorcerers Khorne Berzerkers Noise Marines Obliterators Plague Marines Possessed Chaos Space Marines
Plus the other bits (Tyranid Psychic Powers, Horde Traits and whatnot).
H.B.M.C. wrote:You're missing a few things off that list of contents.
Um, no I'm not. And your welcome.
ETA - I suppose I missed the Introduction [What's in this book]. Happy now?
ETA2 - This is p.3 of the book, Table of Contents. There is more in the book, but what I posted is the TOC.
None of which appear in the Table of Contents. The list you put up is missing items like new Chaos Space marine weapons. All and all who cares but I now know better than to post day of release stuff here on Dakka.
H.B.M.C. wrote:Drop the attitude. I just said you were missing information and posted a bigger list. No need to get pissy about it.
Wow. 'Drop the attitude' coming from HBMC? Just wow.
I simply posted the table of contents and instead of saying 'thanks for the info' on a just-released book I got a 'you're doing it wrong' from you. If you wanted to add more info, posting a link to the FFG post or something would of been a nice, collaborative thing to do.
Gentlemen, please treat one another with more civility in accordance with Rule Number One. You've both made valuable contributions so please shake hands and move on.
H.B.M.C. wrote:Book's out, so I can talk about it. Yay.
Ozymandias wrote:Are the Lictor rules the same as the ones in "Creatures Anathema" or are they super-fied for Deathwatch?
Super-fied. Ditto for the Genestealer.
Hmmm... I may have to pick this up then. I was looking to run a DW game similar to the movie "Predator" where the hero's are being stalked by a big bad alien, but the Creatures Anathema Lictor wasn't up to snuff.
CaptainLoken wrote:Just a quick question for those who already have the book: Is Kyrus the Chantleader a Word Bearer by any chance?
Former Word Bearer. Apparently he got traded to another team in the recent draft.
Automatically Appended Next Post: It's a bit of a much of a muchness now that we know it's out, but here we are:
FFG wrote:Purge the Vile Foe from the Stars Mark of the Xenos, a Deathwatch supplement, is now available
Mark of the Xenos, a supplement for Deathwatch, is now on sale at your local retailer and on our webstore! This in-depth bestiary of the monstrous enemies lurking within the Jericho Reach, written by Codicier Taelon of the White Scars, presents any Space Marine with a myriad of worthy challenges. Heed his wisdom well.
Threats to the Imperium of Man
The legendary Space Marines of the Deathwatch are veterans of hundreds of battles against the dread swarms of xenos and lauded as heroes of the Imperium. But the siege against the Imperium of Man is never-ending.
Mark of the Xenos includes commentaries, advice, and vital information that will improve a Space Marine’s attack against any enemy inimical to human life. Separated into four unique chapters that focus on The Alien Threat, Radicals and Heretics, The Forces of Chaos, and Advanced Adversaries, Mark of the Xenos provides players with enemy profiles that feature movement values and weapon damages, ready-made adventure hooks, and even new advanced rules for battling hordes of creatures in massive engagements.
Codicier Taelon’s knowledge-laden book is highly praised by Inquisitors Ghraile and Quist of the Ordo Xenos for highlighting important details about the nature of a Space Marine’s foe, so that he might better destroy it.
In the war-torn Jericho Reach only the intervention of the Deathwatch Kill-teams can tip the balance. For more information about Mark of the Xenos, you can read its overview, a designer diary, a preview of the diabolical Magos Phayzarus, or the vicious Dagon Overlord. Then join the fight against the Deathwatch’s greatest foes; visit your local retailer and pick up your copy of Mark of the Xenos today!
Some great stuff in here, and the updated/tweaked/revised stats for some of the beasties seem well thought out. Kudos to those involved.
Greater Daemons are indeed, pretty much death incarnate, and all the chaos stuff is pretty groovy. The tiny OCD part of me would have liked 1k Sons in there with the other cult troops, but IIRC they've had stats published elsewhere fairly recently so it's understandable.
.. unless I've dreamt or made that whole thing up of course.
New horde traits and the like seem cool and useful, not really experienced enough to comment on them overall.
All in all another great FFG product. Top work everyone !
1. He is indeed size ( massive).
I especially like his Lord of Corruption rule, which instead of righteous fury permanently damages a victims Toughness !
.. I'm not, obviously, going t list the stats for every single thing in the book, but I figure the sonic weapn stats are permissable enough.. and this is, oddly enough, for reviewing purproses ! Go figure.
Sonic blaster : basic,100m,s/2/4 d10+9E,4.
Doom siren : basic, 30m,s,d10+12E,9 Flame ( bit does not set target on fire)
Blastmaster : hail of noise -- basic, 150m, s/2, d10+12E,6, devastating (1), storm.
explosive crescendo -- heavy, 250m,s, 3d10+10E,8, blast(5), devastating(2).
reds8n wrote:1. He is indeed size ( massive).
I especially like his Lord of Corruption rule, which instead of righteous fury permanently damages a victims Toughness !
.. I'm not, obviously, going t list the stats for every single thing in the book, but I figure the sonic weapn stats are permissable enough.. and this is, oddly enough, for reviewing purproses ! Go figure.
Sonic blaster : basic,100m,s/2/4 d10+9E,4.
Doom siren : basic, 30m,s,d10+12E,9 Flame ( bit does not set target on fire)
Blastmaster : hail of noise -- basic, 150m, s/2, d10+12E,6, devastating (1), storm.
explosive crescendo -- heavy, 250m,s, 3d10+10E,8, blast(5), devastating(2).
Now I have a reason to get some of these for representation.
Ok, so they gave Storm to the lower power setting. Right.
The Sonic Blaster still has great issue killing Marines though. Max damage is 19. Add the Pen to that so 23. To the chest a decent Marine has an 18 sink, or 20 sink of their Toughness 50. That's very few wounds and that's with a roll of 10.
reds8n wrote:1. He is indeed size ( massive).
I especially like his Lord of Corruption rule, which instead of righteous fury permanently damages a victims Toughness !
.. I'm not, obviously, going t list the stats for every single thing in the book, but I figure the sonic weapn stats are permissable enough.. and this is, oddly enough, for reviewing purproses ! Go figure.
Sonic blaster : basic,100m,s/2/4 d10+9E,4.
Doom siren : basic, 30m,s,d10+12E,9 Flame ( bit does not set target on fire)
Blastmaster : hail of noise -- basic, 150m, s/2, d10+12E,6, devastating (1), storm.
explosive crescendo -- heavy, 250m,s, 3d10+10E,8, blast(5), devastating(2).
With my group, it is the nickle and dime stuff that eventually get them because they do not roll too well.
Recently, we announced Daemon Hunter, an upcoming supplement for Dark Heresy. A powerful resource for campaigns featuring the servants of the holy Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition, Daemon Hunter features information and background on the Ordo Malleus in the Calixis Sector, the Daemon hunter’s trade, and the Malleus armoury. Dark Heresy’s developer took the time to share some additional details on this exciting upcoming title.
Last time, we discussed the might of the Grey Knights and how they can be used with Deathwatch as well as Dark Heresy. Today I’m pleased to show off an important new tool in the GM’s repertoire: random Daemon creation. Well, as random as the GM wants them to be, anyway!
The Daemonic Incursions chapter of Daemon Hunter dives into the dark recesses of the warp to uncover a variety of new ways to terrify and entertain the players. From a discussion on the nature of Daemons and the Themes inherent in a Daemon hunting campaign, to the weapons most often used by Daemons, this chapter is chock full of new ways to kill Acolytes and Throne Agents.
Charles May combed nearly two decades worth of writing to build a comprehensive system for randomly building unique Daemons for any campaign. A Horror is a scary thing, but how are the Horrors summoned by “The False Whisper” different? What disease are the Plaguebearers on this long forgotten Space Hulk testing? Is it the marrow twisting Bone Ague or the mind rotting Grey Fever?
No two Daemons alike
I sat down this afternoon with a pair of my most trusted d10’s and created this potent Lesser Daemon, completely at random. Compare it to the one found in Dark Heresy, and I think you’ll see how different this Bloodletter is.
The first few steps are pretty standard. I chose the Daemon’s power level (in this case “lesser”) and generated starting statistics (knowing they would change greatly through the process). With a nebulous set of stats floating in the warp, I randomly determined what Ruinous Power this ephemeral child would serve. Khorne, the Blood God, chose my little daemon, and I began the process of shaping him into a Bloodletter.
All Daemons have certain Skills, Talents, and Traits, dependent on their power levels, so I added those to the Daemon Record Sheet. Next came the fun part. I randomly rolled on the Lesser Manifestations table and generated “Bizarre Visage” and “Horrific Horns”. Knowing that I was making a Daemon of Khorne, I chose to give the beast a canine head with twisting horns. Bizarre Visage will force any Acolytes to re-roll successful Fear tests, and the horns further increase the Daemon’s Weapon Skill and give him another natural weapon from which to choose.
Once this was complete, I moved to the detailed section on Khorne, and randomly determined the beast’s lesser gift of Khorne, in this case Daemonic Armour. I selected an Axe (to complement the monster’s Frenzies) and added the Khorne specific skills, talents, and traits.
A Bit of Balance
I could have been done at this point, but I felt like the monster needed a weakness. I am planning to throw this creature at some rank 3 Acolytes (shhh. don’t tell them!) and it’s going to need a good hook. The Acolytes have been tracking a murderer responsible for killing clergy. He does so by summoning Daemons (Bloodletters to be exact) and unleashing them on the unsuspecting clerics. This is one such Daemon. I rolled on the weakness table and generated “Bane”. Earlier in the adventure, they received a cryptic description from a survivor who said “it carried my doom clasped in its hand, I held it high as if it should fear it too.” So the beast is now harmed by Brass weapons, treating them as Sanctified. This is pretty convenient, since the Acolytes can steal the beast’s own Axe!
Well... assuming it doesn’t kill them all first. As cunning GMs can no doubt tell, this monster is a bit more powerful than the one presented in Dark Heresy. It has the Dodge Skill (to help avoiding gunfire) and its toughness is higher. There are a lot of options on the charts, and the Daemon could have ended up with a Hellblade, which adds his Strength Bonus of 6 to the AP of his Sword!
As the final conflict of an adventure, this creature works well, but it could also serve in a variety of other roles. Perhaps several could accompany a Herald and challenge even a squad of Throne Agents. As a Horde (using the rules presented in Deathwatch), they could prove deadly to even Grey Knights!
These rules present a near limitless supply of slightly different Daemon options so that an Ordo Malleus campaign never runs out of monsters to fight. Next time, I’ll talk a little bit about the new Careers and Cell Directives going into Daemon Hunter!
FFG has chosen to release a couple of the Archetypes that I wrote for Black Crusade. These include the actual page layout elements. So, it's worth grabbing them to get an idea of the look and feel for Black Crusade.
I'm biased as hell, but I'm really digging the artwork and the layout. I think those folks did a fantastic job of really capturing a tone.
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011. Today, we’re pleased to present a few pages from the book itself, along with an overview from its lead designer!
Hello, Black Crusade fans! In Black Crusade, the player characters have unrivaled freedom in their advancements and abilities. However, they still need a place to start, and that’s where the Archetypes come in. This week, we’d like to preview two of the eight character Archetypes in the upcoming Black Crusade Core Rulebook, and we figured what better way to do that than show you their entries?
Resourceful Outcasts
Amongst the Chaos Space Marines, there are those who shun the company of their fellows. Some may have run afoul of others within their former warbands and been forced to flee. Others may have struck out on their own by choice. Regardless, these outcasts, sometimes referred to as Forsaken, are hardy and resourceful individuals, even amongst other Chaos Space Marines. They are used to relying only on themselves, and operate accordingly.
Although some may portray Forsaken as loners, many are still willing to work within a warband. A Forsaken is not adverse to working with others, although he almost always has his own motives for doing so. So long as his goals and those of the warband coincide, they have a skilled warrior as an ally.
Masters of Technology
The Heretek is a broad descriptor for a diverse group of individuals; fallen or corrupted Tech-Priests who have forsaken their vows to Mars.
Whether the Heretek is a lone member of the Adeptus Mechanicus gone rogue, or an inhabitant of one of the corrupted Forge worlds such as Samech or the Hollows, he is almost certainly a master of technology.
Hereteks are essential allies of any warband, as they have the ability to repair and maintain equipment as well as dominate technology. However, anyone who assumes a Heretek is a mere supporting character is in for a rude awakening. Hereteks control potent and arcane technologies, and more importantly, are uniquely able to push those technologies to their limits. Electricity, magnetism, and even gravity are all subjects to the whims of a powerful Heretek.
Kind of weird that the Forsaken doesn't come with power armor. Then again, he doesn't come with a bolter either. I hope he's at least good at screaming while waving his chain sword.
You? Unhappy with a 40KRPG release? Will wonders never cease...
Noisy_Marine wrote:Kind of weird that the Forsaken doesn't come with power armor. Then again, he doesn't come with a bolter either. I hope he's at least good at screaming while waving his chain sword.
Notice how it says a Forsaken must be a 'Space Marine', and the Heretek must be a 'Human'. What's the bet that these two things define general starting Skills/Talents/Traits/Gear, and that these 'Archetypes' amend them further?
Looks good! Can't wait to pre -order this. Is there any news on what FFG are going to offer as a pre order gimmick (such as the personalisation gimmick from Death Watch)?
Maelstrom usually gets them a week after everyone else in UK, and the rest of the UK tends to get theirs just after the US, other than Amazon who get theirs a month after everyone. Pretty normal.
But the first copies of Black Crusade will go out around Gen-Con (or be sold at Gen-Con), just like Deathwatch. The GM kit will likely be on sale as well, and release a month later for everyone else.
It looks like if it delays forever from amazon ( since I have the patience to wait this late in my deployment ) I can just have the Black Crusade shipped home, and I will not lose any time for reading them as I intend on having it for a new play group.
Will the Black Crusade and Deathwatch "characters" be compatable? Are they equivlantly scaled and use similar rules?
H.B.M.C. wrote:But the first copies of Black Crusade will go out around Gen-Con (or be sold at Gen-Con), just like Deathwatch.
This is not bull gak. FF's booth at GenCon opening day was the longest line at the convention in 2010. Even longer than WotC's line, which is normally the longest. It was crazy getting around FF's area. I'm hoping they think ahead and have more than one cash register this year. So frustrating... I needs to get my geek on!
Will the Black Crusade and Deathwatch "characters" be compatable? Are they equivlantly scaled and use similar rules?
H.B.M.C. wrote:But the first copies of Black Crusade will go out around Gen-Con (or be sold at Gen-Con), just like Deathwatch.
This is not bull gak. FF's booth at GenCon opening day was the longest line at the convention in 2010. Even longer than WotC's line, which is normally the longest. It was crazy getting around FF's area. I'm hoping they think ahead and have more than one cash register this year. So frustrating... I needs to get my geek on!
I would expect the rules be compatable with the rest of 40k roleplay, just do not expect, a Rogue Trader, Inquisitorial Acolyte, or a Deathwatch Kill-Team to get along like chocolate and peanut butter, I may just end up using Black Crusade to write up recurring villans for my games.
kronk wrote:Will the Black Crusade and Deathwatch "characters" be compatable? Are they equivlantly scaled and use similar rules?
Compatibility between the systems isn't likely to be an issue. DH, RT, and DW are all completely compatible (albeit with some small changes here and there). The big question is going to be how badly new BC characters outclass new DH characters, and how badly those same BC characters are outclassed by new DW characters.
Kanluwen wrote:...Or you could have ordered it through The Warstore, gotten a discount, and paid the same exorbitant shipping but get it shipped within a few days.
Yeah... the discount I'm getting kinda beats whatever The Warstore can do. Notice I said "...and just pay the shipping." Think about that for a bit.
Kanluwen wrote:...Or you could have ordered it through The Warstore, gotten a discount, and paid the same exorbitant shipping but get it shipped within a few days.
Yeah... the discount I'm getting kinda beats whatever The Warstore can do. Notice I said "...and just pay the shipping." Think about that for a bit.
Pft. I still got my copy of Mark of the Xenos before you did.
Have mercy Messrs, I am already torturing myself a lot by solely putting the focus on Rogue Trader, foregoing Dark Heresy and Death Watch until such a time that I can get into all three (or four?) wholly again.
Ah, the internet, where if your side makes a bad nazi joke it's humor, and if the other side does, jump up and down and scream Godwin! BTW: Godwin's law actually has a clause that exempts certain subjects, including anything that actually pertains to, or refers to, or is based on, Nazis, which, I might point out, would, more or less encompass 40k, being a game about, for all intents and purposes, future space Nazis.
I finally have a copy of Battlefleet Koronus and Mark of the Xenos on the way. I cannot wait to get back to the states so I can actually keep up with these books.
FFG wrote:Hunting From the Shadows
A preview of Daemon Hunter, the upcoming Dark Heresy Supplement
Daemon Hunter, an upcoming supplement for Dark Heresy, will be on store shelves very soon. A powerful resource for campaigns featuring the servants of the holy Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition, Daemon Hunter features information and background on the Ordo Malleus in the Calixis Sector, the Daemon hunter’s trade, and the Malleus armoury. Dark Heresy’s developer took the time to share some additional details on this exciting upcoming title.
Salutations Acolytes!
With Daemon Hunter hitting stores soon, excitement has been growing for all the new toys in the toy box. Last time, we previewed a few new tricks for GMs, so this time I thought I’d focus on what Daemon Hunter has in store for players.
Silent Killers
One of the most secretive orginisations in all of the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Holy Ordos. With the three largest Ordos well established, it is high time to slip some of the smaller groups into Dark Heresy. Enter the Ordo Sicarius Initiate. Far from the training grounds of Imperial Assassins, the Ordo Sicarius has little presence in the Calixis sector, but that doesn’t mean their influence is unfelt. The Ordo Malleus certainly knows the usefulness of Acolytes trained by the specialists within their fellow Ordo. Check out this week's preview of the Ordo Sicarius Initiate!
Of course, new Alternate Career Ranks aren’t all that Daemon Hunter has to offer. Several new backgrounds can also be found in this tome of Daemon killing. These backgrounds serve as reasons for conscription into the Ordo Malleus. Be it Corporeal Sanctification, a horrific process by which a servant is prepared for battle against the Daemonic, or the dark souled Fate-Eaters, the new backgrounds in Daemon Hunter make creating a new Acolyte for a campaign a unique experience.
Lastly, of course, are the Cell Directives. One of the dark secrets of the Holy Ordos is that sometimes one of their own must be hunted down. The Ordo Sicarius Initiate, other Assassins, or skill Acolytes may form a cell of Carta Extremis Hunters. Tasked with bringing a fellow Inquisitor to justice, this dangerous task requires dangerous training. This Cell Directive and more await players in Daemon Hunter.
Look for Daemon Hunter, a supplement for Dark Heresy, on store shelves very soon!
For centuries, the starship Chains of Judgement served the Inquisition of the Imperium, transporting humanity’s most dangerous prisoners to their doom. Now, however, the Chains of Judgement is lost in the warp, and the imprisoned renegades have one chance to escape their grim fate. If they succeed, they’ll earn the favour of the Ruinous Powers, taking the first steps towards leading a Black Crusade against the Imperium itself...
Don’t forget! Free RPG day, an annual event that encourages RPG enthusiasts to demo current and upcoming titles, is this weekend...and you’re invited to play Broken Chains, an introductory adventure for Black Crusade! When the dark gods show you an opportunity to escape certain death at the hands of the Imperium, will you have the cunning and strength to seize it?
The Ruinous Powers await
This free introduction to Black Crusade includes a full adventure, four pre-generated characters, and a set of basic rules to help players and Game Masters become familiar with the Black Crusade roleplaying game. See if your local retailer is participating at the Free RPG Day Retailer Locator.
But what if you have a larger group? Today on our support page, we're pleased to offer two additional pre-generated characters for use in Broken Chains! Download them in preparation of this weekend's exciting adventure.
Broken Chains Bonus Characters (high res pdf, 15.7 MB)
Broken Chains Bonus Characters (low res pdf, 888 KB)
Do you live in the Roseville, Minnesota area?
In honor of Free RPG Day, the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center will be giving away free copies of Broken Chains, and RPG developers Sam Stewart, Ross Watson, Mack Martin, and Andrew Fischer will be in attendance to answer questions and run introductory sessions. Sign up now at the Event Center to play Black Crusade with a 40KRPG designer!
And here we can already see the differences between Black Crusade and the other RPG's. Unnatural Strengt/Toughness adding +4 rather than x2, and WS and BS having dividing lines like the other stats always have done. Also, the different way powers are cast - using different characteristics (not just WP). And then there's Infamy.
All very interesting. I look forward to seeing the other characters in this.
Chapter I - The Ordo Malleus The Enemy Beyond
Origins
The Calixian Malleus
The Masters in Council
Holdings
Scholariate at Arms
The Roots of the Scholariate at Arms
Structure
Calixian Incursions
The Bloodwrath Incident
The Fall of the House of Ios
The Protasian Breach
The Purging of Camp 109
Acolytes of the Ordo Malleus
Extreme Measures
Chapter II - Hunter Careers Ordo Malleus Background Packages
Corporeal Sanctification
Daemonic Vanquisher
Fate-eater
Host-Bound
Orod Maleus Career Ranks
Agent of Reliquary 26
Banisher
Cult-Stalker
Daemonym Seeker
Ordo Sicarius Initiate
Pyroclast
Techsorcist
Theomancer
Ordo Malleus Cell Directives
Using Cell Directives
Cell Directives Format
Carta Extremis Hunters
Reliquary Retrieval Strike Team
Scholariate Fatestalkers
Ordo Malleus Retinue
Chapter III - Malleus Armoury Ranged Weapons
Melee Weapons
Armour
Force Fields
Field Rules
Gear, Tools, Drugs and Ammunition
Anointed Weapons
Creating Anointed Weapons
Chapter IV - Daemonic Incursions The Nature of Daemons
Role Playing Daemonic Threats
Daemonic Entity Creation
The Ruinous Powers
Gifts of the Ruinous Powers
Slaanesh
Nurgle
Khorne
Tzeench
Daemonic Beastiary
Daemonic Weapons
Chapter V - Grey Knights Grey Knights in Your Campaign
Origin of the Grey Knights
Grey Knights in the Calixis Sector
Grey Knights in Dark Heresy
Creating a Grey Knight Character
Grey Knight Advancements
Space Marine Implants
General Grey Knight Career
Grey Knight Career Advances
Grey Knight Psychic Advances
Grey Knight Specializations
Strike Squad Grey Knight
Purgation Squad Grey Knight
Grey Knight Purifier
Grey Knight Psychic Discripline
Grey Knight Wargear
Rare and Precious
Nemesis Force Weapons
Armour
Other Equipment
Grey Knights in Campaigns
Character Strength
Interludes
Grey Knight Ascension Campaigns
Daemon Record Sheet
My copy of Mark of the Xenos finally arrived! YAY! I will say it's a much thinner book than I was expecting. I don't know why I thought that, especially since I've known the page count for quite a while, but I just thought the physical book itself would be somehow... grander! Anyway, whatever the case, it's always cool to see your own name in the credits.
And speaking of... credits(?)... the Achilus Crusade marches ever onwards:
FFG wrote:Hive Fleet Dagon A preview of The Achilus Assault, the upcoming supplement for Deathwatch
“Though never a verdant world, the lifeless ball of rock that we discovered was unrecognizable as Tyran Primus. The creatures that did this are a threat to the galaxy and must be exterminated by the light of the God-Emperor.”
—Inquisitor Kryptman, concluding his report on the ruins of Tyran Primus
Last month, we announced the upcoming release of The Achilus Assault, a supplement for Deathwatch. This guide to the fires of war raging in the Jericho Reach, from the numberless tides of the Tyranids in Hive Fleet Dagon to the hellish legions of Chaos pouring forth from the Hadex Anomaly, provides Game Masters with a surfeit of antagonists and mysteries to confront a Deathwatch Kill-team. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview by contributing writer John Dunn.
The Deathwatch development team was kind enough to grant me an opportunity to work on the Tyranids of the Orpheus Salient for Achilus Assault. Specifically, I was asked to focus on the background and methodology that made Hive Fleet Dagon a distinctive force within the Jericho Reach. This meant an opportunity to delve into the rich history of previous Hive Fleets, and to identify those aspects that were special about the incursion within the Reach.
A Question of Scale
Space Marines of the Deathwatch have an opportunity to look at the world of Warhammer 40,000 from many perspectives. Within the Jericho Reach, a battle brother might face a lengthy discussion with a few Imperial officers, then later go to war with his companions against a swarm of thousands of Tyranid monsters. One day’s conflict might be fought on a barren world in its final death throes against the hive fleet, while the next deals with the incursion of a single Lictor upon a bastion of Imperial civilization.
The Hive Fleet Dagon section of Achilus Assault presents a timeline of events that occur when Tyranid forces attempt to devour a planet. With dozens of planets at different stages of the Tyranid invasion, just keeping track of the opposition can be a challenge even for veteran Game Masters. Successfully developing and executing scenarios that take advantage of the themes and worlds of the Orpheus Salient requires careful research, plotting, and a familiarity with the Tyranid swarm. Each stage is examined in detail, along with the goals for the attackers and for the desperate defenders. By using this section as a reference, a Game Master can more easily design scenarios that expose these differences and reflect the desperation of the Crusade forces throughout the Salient.
A Gradual Doom
While there is some variation between different invasions, the Hive Mind is generally consistent in the way that it attempts to devour a planet. Different organisms are used to identify a target system, infest the world, assault the resistance, subjugate the foes, and then absorb the world’s biomass. While a Lictor might play a key role in the earliest stages, the latter become far more dependent upon a Capillary Tower. Knowing which monsters are crucial at these different stages helps the Game Master to choose the foes and helps the players to know which enemies their characters might target to as they attempt to curtail the incursion. Of course, these stages may proceed at different rates, but they are most likely to proceed at a similar sequence throughout the Salient.
It is also important to consider how the attackers change life on a prey world. As the Hive Fleet attacks, there are clear ecological shifts, which typically occur in concert with the military actions. Defenders must be prepared for temperature changes, atmospheric shifts, and even the collapse of structures as biomass is absorbed from the planet’s crust. The very climate of their world may become another lethal weapon to overcome. At the same time, if Deathwatch Kill Teams can successfully target the crucial elements of the incursion, the ecological shifts may be substantially delayed, halted, or even reversed. Without the correct forces, the Tyranids are incapable of conquest.
The Deathwatch’s Challenge
The Achilus Crusade’s forces within the Orpheus Salient are already stretched far too thinly to be effective defenders. As the Crusade scrambles to try to find reinforcements, the Tyranid Swarm moves ever onward through the Reach. This leaves the Deathwatch as the only force capable of assuming responsibility for the xenos incursion. By observing different systems and selectively choosing their targets, the Deathwatch may be able to blunt or even halt the Tyranid attack.
The Orpheus Salient also presents a variety of different planetary systems, each with their own distinctive environments. From the toxic earth of Atonement to the water world of Manuxet, the xenos attacks are endless. By combining these different game worlds with the varied stages of the Tyranid assault, a Game Master can craft a broad range of distinctive environments to create diverse scenarios. By examining the consequences of the Deathwatch actions, he can also decide how quickly a prey planet might proceed along the invasion timeline.
The xenos threat represents the core of Achilus Assault. By presenting a snap shot of the different battlefronts, the book highlights the most key elements in the ongoing Crusade. By assisting the Achilus Crusade, the battle brothers might be able to turn the tide in the Imperium’s favour. Alternatively, if they fail in their actions, the Jericho Reach might soon be devoured by the overwhelming forces arrayed against the Imperium.
FFG seem to be hitting it out of the park with the front covers to their DW books.
Huh, I guess I had a busier internet day than I realized. Between the new Hope Preparatory School release and the Achilus Assault announcement, I'm all over the RPG sphere.
Thanks for posting it so I knew that FFG had released it, H.B.M.C.!
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011. Today, we’re pleased to present a few pages from the book itself, along with an overview from its lead designer!
Hello, Black Crusade fans! In Black Crusade, each player character starts with an Archetype from which his or her character develops. Last time, we previewed two Archetypes, the Forsaken and the Heretek. This week, let’s take a look at two more, the Sorcerer and the Apostate.
Mastery of Body and Mind
Chaos Space Marine psykers are often referred to as Sorcerers. Many are former Librarians, either from the original Space Marine Legions before the Horus Heresy, or more recent traitors from current Chapters.
The Sorcerer is a remarkably competent individual, as he is both a Chaos Space Marine (and thus a formidable adversary in combat) and a psyker. Due to his multiple genetic enhancements and Space Marine implants, the Sorcerer is more robust than an average psyker, and has a better chance of keeping the energies coursing through him under control. Though this does mean the Sorcerer is slightly less powerful than “unbound” psykers and wyrds, his innate force at arms makes up for any difference in psychic abilities.
Leadership and Persuasion
The Apostate’s powers, on the other hand, stem not from personal combat ability, but the talents to sway the hearts and minds of the enemy. Apostate is a general term for high-ranking leaders of men who have betrayed the Imperium (or were never a part of it in the first place). Now they lead grand armies (or a warband of their peers, for starters) against Humanity, or corrupt it from within as a rotten core in otherwise whole fruit.
To accomplish this, the Apostate’s skill set is focused more towards leadership and persuasion. Although these leaders can become as adept at skill of arms as their fellows, a good Apostate knows it’s always better when someone else is ready to die for you.
Although from looking at those PDF's (erroneously listed as being 500+MB in size, which is just silly) I would note that while Apostates can start with a Power Blade, they cannot start with Weapon Training (Power). Bit of an oversight there...
I said a while back that GW had dropped the ball with the Ultramarines movie (as GW drops the ball with pretty much all their licensed products - never really ever leveraging these things into better cross-promotion and sales).
It is with great surprise that I find FFG have done exactly what GW should have done in the first place, with this...
FFG wrote:The Emperor's Wrath Downloadable Deathwatch NPCs from Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie
“Chaos breaks men's souls. Chaos brings the pestilence of daemons. Every time we march from our beloved fortress home on Macragge, we march to face down Chaos, and banish it. Do you think you are ready to do that, Proteus?”
“Yes Captain, I do.” –Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie
Responding to a distress call from an Imperial Shrine World, a fearless squad of Ultramarines are sent on a dangerous mission of investigation. But will they be ready for the foul minions of Chaos that await them?
Downloadable NPC character sheets, based on heroes from Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie, are now available on our Deathwatch support page! Add Proteus, Verenor, and even the revered Hammer of Macragge to your next Deathwatch campaign.
[url=http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/deathwatch/minisite/support/ultramarines/Deathwatch_Ultramarines_promo.pdf]Deathwatch Ultramarines NPCs (high res pdf, 9.5 MB)[/img]
Deathwatch Ultramarines NPCs (low res pdf, 504 KB)
The Galaxy Burns
Ultramarines is a tense science-fantasy action thriller set in the 41st Milleneum, when the galaxy is burning and there is nothing but war. Mankind's sole defence against the lurking alien races are the Space Marines, genetically enhanced super-warriors, for whom loyalty to their emperor is all. The most fearless chapter of this mighty army is the Ultramarines.
Based on the internationally successful futuristic table-top war strategy game Warhammer 40,000, Ultramarines uses state-of-the-art facial capture technology and stunning CGI animation to bring powerfully to life the Space Marines characters and their adversaries. With a voice cast led by Terence Stamp (Superman, Valkyrie), John Hurt (Alien, Hellboy) and Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon, Dog Soldiers), Ultramarines is the first-ever feature length movie interpretation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Download these Deathwatch-compatible NPCs on our support page, and visit www.ultramarinesthemovie.com for more on this gripping new film!
Flamethrower specialists, because when I think of subtle and elegant weapons, in need of specialized training I think of flamethrowers. Geeze, I want to play one.
#9
Ordo Sicarius Initiate
Because a life without techno ninjas just isn't worth living.
#8
Inquisitor Tons O'Bling
For some people high heeled power armor would be enough, but it takes a special woman to pull it off with a giant letter I on her head.
#7
Sally McSpookytatoo
OK, she thinks she's had her skin covered with special wards against demon possession and suchwot, but actually it's just Eminem lyrics. Don't tell her.
#6
Daemonym Seeker
A noble warrior who seeks out the forbidden names of daemons so that he might smite them. He has lost only one battle, to an adding machine printer, but other than that his record is unblemished.
#5
Techsorcist
Cyborgs good. Grimdark cyborg tech priests better. Grimdark cyborg tech priests who exorcize daemons from possessed machines... AWESOME!
#4
Theomancer
Alas poor Jorvic, I knew him well...
#3
Cult Stalker
Look, I spend my day looking at computer screens too but how come I don't look half as cool as that?
#2
Banisher
There's lots of things they could have drawn here, but what would have been as cool as a grimdark Santa with a chainsaw?
#1
An Agent of Reliquary 26
Because only in Dark Heresy can you play a member of Scholariate at Arms.
And... just because I'm still pissed.
#0
Note the credits, and the complete absence of the name Mat Ward!
FFG wrote:Grab Your Chance at Glory Broken Chains, a Black Crusade intro adventure, is available for download.
On route across the sector to a carry out a sentence of torture, interrogation, and execution, the Imperial prison barge Chains of Judgement has become lost in the warp, drifting far off course. Now, you and your fellow condemned heretics have awoken from stasis to find the ship in a state of chaos and ruin. Competing factions vie for control, including several members of the Inquisition intent on retaking the ship. Can you gain your freedom before the Imperium’s claws close around you once and for all?
We at Fantasy Flight Games would like to thank all of the stores, GMs, and players that participated in Saturday's Free RPG Day event, which featured our introductory adventure for Black Crusade!
Claim Your Prize
If you were able to make it to your friendly local game store for this momentous annual event, we hope you enjoyed earning the favour of the Ruinous Powers as you made your daring escape from an Imperial prison ship. But if you weren’t able to experience this exciting adventure, head to our support page to download Broken Chains today.
You can also visit our support page to download bonus characters for use with Broken Chains.
The Fantasy Flight Games Event Center would also like to thank everyone who attended our Free RPG Day celebration, which featured a lively Q&A with the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay design team, as well as several play-with-the-designer sessions. Keep checking back for more on Black Crusade!
Enjoy!
My fav bit? Stats for Murder Servitors. My Rogue Trader Explorator is going to be so happy!
How do they balance the survivability of a renegade guardsmen with an alpha legionaire? Is there some sort of a fate point or luck mechanic that the former gets to make up for the difference in armor/wounds/toughness?
All I can say is that the game works. Humans are squishy (as they should be) and Marines are tough as nails. Smart players working together with a GM that isn't sadistic should do fine.
And there's something else that can help human players as well, but until they reveal that in a designer diary I must remain quite on the subject sadly.
warboss wrote:How do they balance the survivability of a renegade guardsmen with an alpha legionaire? Is there some sort of a fate point or luck mechanic that the former gets to make up for the difference in armor/wounds/toughness?
Paranoia rules? You get 6 Guardsmen to every Alpha Legionnaire?
warboss wrote:How do they balance the survivability of a renegade guardsmen with an alpha legionaire? Is there some sort of a fate point or luck mechanic that the former gets to make up for the difference in armor/wounds/toughness?
Paranoia rules? You get 6 Guardsmen to every Alpha Legionnaire?
That would indeed be humorous if renegade IG got a six pack of characters to burn through on top of fate points!
warboss wrote:How do they balance the survivability of a renegade guardsmen with an alpha legionaire?
One other point I forgot to mention: The CSM Bolters, or 'Legion' Bolters as they're called, are the newer more balanced reduced-damage versions. They're not doing 2D10+5 Pen 5 damage w/Tearing for an extra D10. It's 1D10+9 Pen 4, and no Full-Auto fire, so it scales far far better.
warboss wrote:How do they balance the survivability of a renegade guardsmen with an alpha legionaire?
One other point I forgot to mention: The CSM Bolters, or 'Legion' Bolters as they're called, are the newer more balanced reduced-damage versions. They're not doing 2D10+5 Pen 5 damage w/Tearing for an extra D10. It's 1D10+9 Pen 4, and no Full-Auto fire, so it scales far far better.
I did notice that in the PDF link you posted. They also still have a difference from the sample PC stats between normal human bolters and SM variants (which I'm fine with).
H.B.M.C. wrote:All I can say is that the game works. Humans are squishy (as they should be) and Marines are tough as nails. Smart players working together with a GM that isn't sadistic should do fine.
And there's something else that can help human players as well, but until they reveal that in a designer diary I must remain quite on the subject sadly.
A GM who isn't sadistic isn't doing his job right!
SO I got some questions figured I'd put up the answer publically
First, is Nemesis Daemon Hammers. What's the story with them? Are they possessed hammers...or what? I'm playing a Puritan Templar, so I'm hoping that it's not possessed. Also, if it's not...what're it's stats if you're able to give that much info?
Are Ascended DH characters covered any in it? Maybe some new transition packages or something? New armours for non-astartes?
Anything you can give helps a lot, thanks!
Nemesis weapons including the Daemon hammer are the trademark force weapons of the GKs, none of them are possessed but it does say the NDH is often used by high ranking inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus. Damage is 2d10+5, pen 8, with power field, sanctified and unwieldy.
There are a few background packages but I don't see any transition packages. There are alternate career paths but none of them require anything higher than level 6, most are level 1.
There's a few new armor types including Malleus power armor and Malleus Termi armor and several new fields.
Are the malleus power armors possibly non-astartes?
Edit: I know there's a non-astartes Terminator armour, but are there non-astartes Malleus power armors? I'm thinking that if I take the non-astartes Termi armour, the Deathwatch members might kill me to loot it.
Oh, for a moment there I though Dark Crusade was out. That would bump my FFG's author's copy backlog up to 6 I believe. Not that I expect to get it when it finally comes out either...
LOL sounds fairly self explanatory to me: He wrote something in the book, was supposed to get a copy of the finished book, and so far there are six books that he has not received a copy of.
brolthemighty wrote:Are the malleus power armors possibly non-astartes?
Edit: I know there's a non-astartes Terminator armour, but are there non-astartes Malleus power armors? I'm thinking that if I take the non-astartes Termi armour, the Deathwatch members might kill me to loot it.
Yes there are but I don';t have my books with me to compare the Ascention and Daemon Hunter versions.
His Master's Voice wrote:After some digging in recent contracts, it seems FFG switched from automatically dispatching a free copy to on demand dispatch. I feel stupid now.
Thank you for reminding me. The guy in sales said I'd have to contact the project lead... makes sense now.
Faith in the Emperor shields the Ecclesiarchy from the many terrors of space!
But a field save never hurt...
Only Rare for a field save? Seriously? I would expect Very Rare at the least but I guess they have GM modifiers for difficult to find (populations, location etc).
The original field rules work differently to the more modern field rules. Remember Magos Katakai? I had him using the old field rules, which is why virtually nothing was getting through. That's why Roth had to crash-tackle him in order to bring him down. Energy fields can't stop 90kgs of angry Arbite from dragging you to the ground.
And the fields overload on doubles or something of the sort.
My lucky longlas shot did something like 20 or 30 wounds, not much when looking at a magos' total wounds but the fields are somewhat easier to get through in that aspect.
When you're a space marine however at least you can take the hit. When you're a DH character your godly 12 wounds will not prevent a lucky autogun burst capping the character.
Really looking forward to see how infamy actually works in BC. They didn't have any solid rules in the pre-gen campaign.
You have to remember that Fantasy Flight Games didn’t create the 40KRPG line, at least not originally. The first five products in the line – Dark Heresy Core Rulebook, Dark Heresy GM Kit, The Inquisitor’s Handbook, Purge the Unclean and Disciples of the Dark Gods – were all written by Black Industries. With FFG coming on board to take over the 40KRPG line there were a number of changes as they used their own experience and their own thoughts on game design to change things. This means that the current field rules are different from the field rules that are in The Inquisitor’s Handbook because they were written by two different groups of people.
As for Deathwatch Bolters, and weapons in general, the latest errata includes a set of alternate weapon profiles that rebalances the game and makes the Bolter not the be-all and end-all weapon (and it especially fixed the Heavy Bolter). It’s basically a reduction in rate of fire (S/3/- rather S/2/4) and damage dice (1D10+9 rather than 2D10+5, but that goes a long way. It reduces the instances of Righteous Fury and the Heavy Bolter no longer dominates combat with 10 2D10+10 shots a turn.
And I have a question about righteous fury that's been bugging me. If I score Righteous Fury with a tearing weapon, when I roll again for damage (after confirming the Fury), do I still get the extra die for tearing?
Oh, and if you are shooting at an opponent in melee with you (with a pistol), do you suffer the -20 penalty to your BS?
The new field rules are really simple. A field has a rating (say it’s 35) and you just roll a D100 for every hit you take and if you get equal to or under that number you block the shot completely. Anything over the value gets through. Most fields also have an overload, usually 1-5 or 1-10 or even sometimes 1-15. It means that if you roll that the shot is blocked, but the field is overloaded and burns out (and must be recharged/repaired). The best fields (like a Master-Crafted Storm Shield in Deathwatch) have overload values of 1, meaning they are very hard to short out. It’s been so long since I used the IH rules that I’ve actually forgotten what they are...
For RF, you don’t roll damage again when you roll Righteous Fury, you just roll an extra D10. I know the rulebook says that you roll damage again, but the first errata changed that pretty damned quickly. And no, the -20 BS is when you are firing into melee. So you can’t fire ‘into’ melee when you’re already in melee.
Miss Dee wrote:Like they run out of ammo so they have to use the bolter as a club?
I play with other people in the military, you would think they could come up with some sort of tactical gameplan before going to fight something, but the guy playing squad leader just runs the others into the meat grinder, and then gripes when the assault marines do what they are supposed to do.
Probably just after Gen-Con (with the first batch going on sale duringGen-Con). It's what happened with Deathwatch and, I think, Rogue Trader, so it stands to reason that they'd do it again.
H.B.M.C. wrote:Probably just after Gen-Con (with the first batch going on sale duringGen-Con). It's what happened with Deathwatch and, I think, Rogue Trader, so it stands to reason that they'd do it again.
KOS wrote:Jeez the errata is changing a lot , I have to update myself for my ongoing campaign. At least they have reduced the damage dealt by Bolters.
They did come out with a few books in the meantime. This is only the second version IIRC of the erratta since the game came out so I don't think a review of the problems/mistakes every 6 months is too often. I applaud them for actively trying to fix things instead of burying their heads like their licensor is wont to do.
Noisy_Marine wrote:Is the changed bolter stats supposed to apply to all three games?
Deathwatch only. The games all have their own systems that occasionally use different mechanics or different stats, tailored to the respective characters, their "power level" and the campaign style.
However, the new Daemon Hunter supplement for DH features rules for Grey Knights, thus boosting the old Astartes bolter damage from the old 2d10+0 to the current 1d10+9, so you might say that this indeed is the new standard.
The Introductory Adventure for Black Crusade also seems to use these stats, though only for CSM - which is a bit sad, as I was hoping for some more compatibility between character types. Now you really get pushed into a corner.
Hm well, I guess you won't really see Astartes bolters in Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader ... right? So that makes the 1d10 + 9 Pen 4 the new standard Astartes bolter. Heck, even Chaos is using it!
Well, the Inquisitor's Handbook featured a gun shooting Astartes ammunition, and the adventure Purge the Unclean had an Astartes NPC with the appropriate wargear. Both times the damage was 2d10+0 - but that was back when Black Industries still had the license, Deathwatch was made by FFG.
So yeah, given how the new books are circulating these numbers I'd say that is the new standard for the RPG.
FFG wrote: Standing Against The Good Guys A preview of Black Crusade, the upcoming Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be on store shelves later this quarter. Today, Black Crusade’s developer presents an overview of some of the enemies you’ll face in service to the Ruinous Powers.
Greetings, Black Crusade fans! One of the reoccurring themes of Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay is that the most dangerous foe the Imperium faces is Chaos and those aligned with the Ruinous Powers. This means the players in games of Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch often find the forces of Chaos at the heart of whatever mystery or adventures they participate in.
Defenders of the Imperium
Of course, in Black Crusade the players are the forces of Chaos. Now, they are on the other side of that epic rivalry, facing off against the forces of the Imperium. So, what opposition can the Heretics expect?
The Black Crusade Core Rulebook provides adversaries for numerous power levels. For games involving Heretics attempting to worm their way into Imperial societies and corrupt them from within, the book contains several options. The Administratum Adept provides an example of a low-level Imperial functionary, while the cunning Bounty Hunter and dogmatic Ministorum Cleric promise to be more dangerous foes. Of course, Heretics are just as likely to meet the Imperium on the field of battle. There they’ll need to contend with hordes of Imperial Guardsmen led by fire-breathing Confessors, and the elite Space Marines. But the greatest danger to a Heretic lies in the threat of the Imperium’s Holy Inquisition and their elite warriors, the Grey Knight Space Marines. Can you survive combat with a Grey Knight in Terminator Armour, or match wits with the book’s example Inquisitor, Victoria Aldrich of the Ordo Hereticus?
Equal–Opportunity Enemies
However, the Imperium is just one source of adversaries for a Black Crusade warband. Many of the galaxy’s xenos races have no love for the Ruinous Powers, and some are willing to make special effort to see the Dark Gods’ servants dead. Foremost amongst them are the Eldar, specifically the Chaos-hunting warrior-dancers known as the Harlequins. A single Harlequin is the equal of a Chaos Space Marine, but a troupe of them, led by one of the dread psykers known as Shadowseers, can spell the doom of any warband.
But a warband can avoid the Eldar and still find plenty of trouble. The Eldar’s mercurial and capricious cousins, the Dark Eldar, are well acquainted with the Screaming Vortex. To these decadent xenos, the warbands of the Chaos Powers are equal parts uneasy trading partners to be bargained with, foes to be fought, and potential slaves to be culled. When the latter, the Dark Eldar can mobilize hordes of Kabalite Warriors, backed by the warrior elite known as the Incubi and the eldritch and shadowy Mandrakes.
Finally, a warband can unearth enemies beneath their very feet. Long before humans first left Terra, a race of creatures slumbered in their Tomb Worlds for millennia. Now these Necrons are awakening. An unwary warband may be exploring a seemingly deserted world when they are suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of Scarabs, or consumed by a dreaded Tomb Stalker.
With friends like these...
Even with all these enemies, a Heretic cannot forget that those who might nominally share his allegiance often prove to be the most dangerous foes of all. The Disciples of the Dark Gods are a fractious lot, and the horrible warp entities known as Daemons even more so. A Heretic may just as likely end up fighting a daemonic legion of Plaguebearers or a dangerous Tech-Assassin from the corrupted Forges of the Hollows as he is an Imperial Guardsman. One can never let their guard down, especially in the Screaming Vortex.
Vladsimpaler wrote:Fighting Harlequins would be ridiculous, but hilarious and awesome all at the same time.
By the way, how they going to balance a CSM and a renegade human? I haven't read through this entire thread.
Humans will have more skills than Astartes, and be better in social situations. Or something like that. Plus humans get an extra bonus that hasn't been revealed yet. Maybe extra infamy?
All CSM get are lousy Astartes implants and power armor!
Alpharius wrote:There isn't a social situation in the 40K galaxy that can't be 'solved' via a mass-reactive bolter round to (insert critical organ here)!
Unless the target in question is lacking that organ and/or can regenerate. Always a possibility when dealing with the ruinous powers.
No so, my dear Primarch. There are plenty of ways to create very favourable situations without using a Bolter. I am, of course, bound by NDA until the book’s release, but once it’s out I’ll mention some of the cool things we* did that didn’t involve violence (even if they did result in violence).
*Disclaimer: ‘We’ being my group. I do not speak for or on behalf of FFG.
Could anyone tell me at what rank players need to be to use the Daemonhunter subclasses? Are they ascension level only, or also suitable for lower level acolytes?
ph34r wrote:Could anyone tell me at what rank players need to be to use the Daemonhunter subclasses? Are they ascension level only, or also suitable for lower level acolytes?
2 pages back...
There are a few background packages but I don't see any transition packages. There are alternate career paths but none of them require anything higher than level 6, most are level 1.
ph34r wrote:Could anyone tell me at what rank players need to be to use the Daemonhunter subclasses? Are they ascension level only, or also suitable for lower level acolytes?
2 pages back...
There are a few background packages but I don't see any transition packages. There are alternate career paths but none of them require anything higher than level 6, most are level 1.
Ah, thanks. I will admit I only skimmed the previous pages, this thread is kind of huge and intimidating.
Anyway, here's another Achilus Assault preview, this time of Mephidast the Plaguereaver, and anagonist that forever changed my mind about the power Bolt weapons have in Deathwatch (but that's a story for another day...):
FFG wrote:A Diseased Soul A preview of The Achilus Assault, the upcoming Deathwatch supplement
"I was content to spread my Father’s Blessings across these stars with rust and decay, but you now grow into many and try my patience. You did not spawn here and I insist on learning from where your trails led. There must be even more of you there, and they too need to embrace my art.” –Intercepted Vox Transmission during the Third Battle for the Amaros
Back in May, we announced the upcoming release of The Achilus Assault, a supplement for Deathwatch. This guide to the fires of war raging in the Jericho Reach, from the numberless tides of the Tyranids in Hive Fleet Dagon to the hellish legions of Chaos pouring forth from the Hadex Anomaly, provides Game Masters with a surfeit of antagonists and mysteries to confront a Deathwatch Kill-team. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview by contributing writer Tim Huckelbery.
For The Achilus Assault, one goal was to create some adversarial characters, organizations, and locations to challenge our fearless Space Marines across all fronts in the massive crusade taking place in the Jericho Reach. Among other things, I worked on a character that I’ll be talking a little about today. His name is Mephidast the Plaguereaver, Daemon Prince of Nurgle, leader of the Blessed Tides, and Artisan of the Thousand Thousand Plagues. I’ve always loved Nurgle-themed Chaos, so it was a lot of fun to work on him.
Eternal Hate
It would be easy to simply make Mephidast very powerful and thus a worthy opponent, and as a daemon prince he certainly won’t suffer there; he can draw on untold legions of devoted cultists, renegade militias, and even Plague Marines to back his not inconsiderable personal might. He is also a puissant sorcerer as well as a skilled artisan of new deadly diseases. It is his background and motivations, however, that make Mephidast a bit different.
Born in a voidship during a Gellar Field malfunction, it is certainly possible that something infected him on that fateful date. Or worse yet, his already diseased soul perhaps attracted similarly foul beings that sensed kinship. He is constantly striving to express this pestilent spirit, first to the unfortunate world of his early years and now the entirety of Jericho. This driving need is above any simple desire to kill or destroy those who encounter him or his creations, though those who fall victim to his many plagues or abominations certainly care little in any difference.
Having long ago been granted immortality by his appreciative patron Father Nurgle, Mephidast launches visions that may take decades or even centuries to unfold across the Acheros Salient, which he has come to view as his personal property. He often has dozens of such designs festering at any given time, ranging from rapid plagues that will collapse a hive spire overnight to smaller, more subtle and slower moving rots that could devastate entire systems. With literally all the time in the world he can enact his virulent conceptions at whim, orchestrating them towards his glorious vision of an entire galaxy similarly devoted to his Father.
A minor setback
Up until recently that is, for now the Crusade is interfering with his plans. The Deathwatch and Ordo Malleus are more active than ever, ruining his plagues before they can reach fruition. What was mere frustration has become bitter hatred at these disruptions in his grand purpose and he is becoming more active himself to squash these nuisances. The Deathwatch will perhaps be assigned to investigate signs of his foul tampering, sometimes even through actual Omega Vault direction. Often, though, they may stumble upon the subtle traces of his plots unknowingly, uncovering layer upon layer in a plan that could cripple the Crusade if not stopped.
Examples might include overhearing word of a sudden rise in the mortality rate in a world they are already investigating on another matter, or a series of unfathomable crop failures that seem to leap from one agri-world to the next, or mass suicides that perhaps were perhaps not suicides after all. Mephidast will take unkindly to disruptions that the players might bring to his plague-filled aspirations though and will unleash multitudes of his followers, both daemonic and mortal, against them. Or perhaps he will visit them himself, for he is never above hands on work when his art is involved.
What is even more threatening is that he is also actively working to discover the source of this new surge of combatants. Covering Acheros and the Reach with his necrotic designs was always what drove his immortal life in the past, but now he knows there must be an even larger and more untouched part of the galaxy to be touched by his pestilent hand. Should he be able to unravel the secret of how to travel to these unspoiled worlds, his immortal life would be truly complete. Ah, what plagues he could make on them... should the Deathwatch falter in their duties.
Keep checking back for more, and look for The Achilus Assault on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011!
I have to say the picture is kinda funny. He seems very angry with that book.
And now because Brook is lazy and because the article has a cool picture:
FFG wrote:Things Man Should Not Know A preview of Black Crusade, the upcoming Warhammer 40,000 Roleplaying Game
“The fool, the coward and the ignorant proclaim that the Warp is a realm of unknowable peril and indescribable terror, that it is the hell of countless ancient myths and legends. This is a lie, told by those whose authority is based on lies long forgotten, to keep the masses terrified of the unknown. The Warp is limitless in power and infinite in the secrets it contains; it is knowledge and strength, life and death, and the untapped potential to make and remake worlds. It takes only the discipline and the will to shape it; those who lack that clarity of purpose are liable to be shaped by it instead." –Ahzek Ahriman, Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview from Nathan Dowdell, one of the writers for Black Crusade. Among other contributions, Nathan wrote about the mechanics for Psychic Powers. Thanks, Nathan!
One of the defining factors of the Warhammer 40,000 universe is the Warp. Its presence shapes and informs much of the way the setting works, from the simple necessities of travel and communication across interstellar distances, to the abyssal horrors that dwell within the Immaterium, and the ravening power that a few can draw from it.
Such thoughts were foremost in our minds as we worked on one of Black Crusade thematic and interesting chapters, developing the latest iteration of the psychic power rules and other matters arcane and sorcerous.
The Power of the Warp
Psychic powers are an additional layer in any Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay game, requiring extra rules and abilities above and beyond those that non-psykers use. The system remains essentially the same as the versions in Rogue Trader and Deathwatch, however we took the chance to add some additional material and versatility.
One of the largest changes was the introduction of varying difficulties for powers. Some psychic powers are more or less difficult to wield than others—an element of Dark Heresy’s original psychic rules—so we chose to apply the range of standard difficulties to the Focus Power Tests needed to use different abilities. Added to that is another interesting concept: a variety of characteristics used for Focus Power Tests. Willpower is still king for most Psykers, but diviners may have a strong inclination towards Psyniscience, and some of the nastiest powers in the book are extensions of a tainted soul, powered by the Psyker’s accumulated Corruption.
Of course, the powers themselves are nothing without the means to employ them, and the Black Crusade team set out from the start to ensure that a variety of different techniques and styles were available to psykers in Black Crusade. The core rules don’t change for any of them, but through a variety of effects collectively known as Paths to Power (ranging from burning your own life away for power, to human sacrifice, to rites and ritualistic incantations), and the selection of background and alternative names given for each power, there should be sufficient tools and encouragement for a Psyker character to be unique and distinct.
The powers themselves are numerous, and Black Crusade contains an extensive and diverse collection of psychic powers, spread across three disciplines of generic powers (Telepathy, Telekinesis and Divination) and five alignments of Chaos-specific powers (Unaligned, Tzeentch, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Exalted – the latter being a small collection of dangerous, expensive powers for the mightiest of Unaligned Sorcerers). Some of these powers, such as the infamous Doombolt and deadly Bolt of Change, have long been staples of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. Others, such as the terrifying Primordial Annihilation, are newer fare. However, in either case, we strove to provide a psyker character with diverse, thematic, and even balanced psychic powers, whether those powers are re-imagined classics or something completely new.
To end the chapter, Black Crusade expands on concepts first developed in the other Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay lines—rituals. Rituals are a staple of chaos cultists across the Warhammer 40,000 universe, and Black Crusade allows players to create their own with some simple but customizable rules.
They do have dataslates, but remember that a lot of games are victims of the year they were created in. BattleTech lacked wireless computers for a very long time because at the time of the game's creation such things didn't exist!
H.B.M.C. wrote:They do have dataslates, but remember that a lot of games are victims of the year they were created in. BattleTech lacked wireless computers for a very long time because at the time of the game's creation such things didn't exist!
Rifts gets even better. Despite being a post apocalyptic scifi-fantasy mashup 400 years in the future, the laptop in the first sourcebook had 64mb of RAM and 512mb of storage! GASP! What could they possibly fill all that up with! Its one of the reasons I liked shadowrun's obscure made up computer metrics more... if they're a complete fabrication, they can never seem outdated!
candy.man wrote:I suspect the reason is partly because a DP holding a giant e-reader is not as grim dark as reading an ancient tome.
While I like the detail on the Nurgle Daemon Prince himself, I just thought it was a funny pose that he looked like he was at the smelliest poetry reading ever!
Yet again, from the depths of page 2 I summon thee!!!
FFG wrote:A Daemon Bound Within Razor-Sharp Steel A preview of Black Crusade, the upcoming Warhammer 40,000 Roleplaying Game
“For seventeen long centuries have I remained in this blade, confined within these metal walls. During all of my time of imprisonment you are the first I have seen who is worthy to bear me into battle. Come, take my hilt, and I will serve you in the manner of my kind, drawing blood of your enemies, protecting you in the midst of the fight, bringing you safely home again. Now, draw me from the scabbard and test the fineness of my balance. See how easily I swing, how my keen edge cleaves the air. A good choice, am I not? Willingly you picked me up. Your first mistake. Willingly you drew me. Your second mistake. I do not allow my servants to make three mistakes, foolish mortal…”
– Antinichus, Daemon of the Bloody Blade
Black Crusade, an upcoming roleplaying game that offers players a new perspective on the conflict between the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos, will be on store shelves in the third quarter of 2011. Today, we’re pleased to present a preview from Nathan Dowdell, one of the writers for Black Crusade. Among other contributions, Nathan wrote about the mechanics for daemon weapons. Thanks, Nathan!
One of the most iconic tools of a Disciple of the Dark Gods is a daemon weapon. After all, where would Abaddon be without the Daemon Sword Drach'nyen, or Lucius the Eternal without his Lash of Torment? Daemon weapons are amongst the deadliest weapons a Heretic can wield, though their lethality can sometimes be costly to the unwary or weak-willed. With Black Crusade, it was clear the section on daemon weapons would have to be detailed and comprehensive enough to satisfy such an iconic topic.
The knife in your back
Daemon weapons are a fascinating concept. Though they are terrifyingly powerful weapons (and who doesn’t want a really cool sword?) they are so much more than that; they are sentient entities in their own right. Each is possessed by one or more warp spirits or Daemons, bound creatures of Chaos that empower the weapon they inhabit. Seldom do the Daemons bound within the weapons want to be there, and thus they constantly cajole and threaten their bearer—or just wait for his concentration to slip so they can be at his throat. It requires a powerful will and delicate balance to use a daemon weapon without being consumed by it, and thus they exemplify the overarching conflicts of Black Crusade—the perils of desire and the price of glory.
Expanding from the section in Chapter 6 on Chaos rituals, we proceeded to produce a system that allowed player characters to construct their own daemon weapons and bind a Daemon of their choice within it, allowing the ambitious or power-hungry to create a weapon as powerful as their greed desires, with the accompanying difficulties and costs—binding a Greater Daemon is exceptionally difficult, and the Daemon’s power is too much for most to master, but the resultant weapon will be incredibly deadly. The rules allow players to capture and bind their own Daemons into weapons, meaning that each weapon is crafted to a player’s desires—and the raw whims of Chaos, of course!
The way daemon weapons work has ties to their first appearance back in Dark Heresy. Nobody wanted to create a radically new system that would conflict with what had come before, so the fundamental abilities of a Daemonic Sword or Bolter remain much the same. However, the list of powers available is much expanded and divided along alignment lines, so that a Flesh Hound of Khorne inside an axe produces different effects to a Flamer of Tzeentch inside a flamer. The options are wide enough that even if an entire party has their own daemon weapons, each one will be completely different from the next.
That looks like fun.
BrookM wrote:A bit sadface about a lack of Rogue Trader news.
Citadel of Skulls won't be far off. I'd expect to see it in the same batch as Black Crusade.
And... I see Dakka is advertising Church of the Damned, the next Dark Heresy book (and greatest DH book of all time). That's nice to know.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I'm reading over Daemon Hunter and I just figured out that Reliquary 26 is the Grimdark version of Warehouse 13.
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