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).

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).

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!

H.B.M.C. wrote:How to build'a bett'a daemon!

So proper Grey Knight rules and a Daemon system for Chaos that stretches beyond "Summoned Lesser" and "Summoned Greater".

How can FFG continue to get so right what GW continues to get so wrong?

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.

Forsaken Archetype (pdf, 572 KB)
Heretek Archetype (pdf, 576 KB)

Read the pages linked above to learn about these upcoming character Archetypes, then visit our newly updated Black Crusade website!

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.

Katie Drake wrote:Picking up my copy tonight... very excited!

Kid_Kyoto wrote:

Katie Drake wrote:Picking up my copy tonight... very excited!

Of which book?

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.

kronk wrote:Forgive my ignorance...

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!