[40K RPG] Combined news thread (UPDATE 30/01/16 Enemies Beyond is out!!!)

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**BrookM**

H.B.M.C. wrote:
BrookM wrote:Haha, I could certainly tell which parts you have written.

That's 'cause I told you!!!

No go and bask in the glory that are my rules for vehicles catching fire!

Well that and after giving it a good read, I could really see it was you. Congrats, you got some tells of your own.

H.B.M.C. wrote:
BrookM wrote:As for vehicular combat, I'm trying to avoid the standard 40k terrain for that, along with 28mm models for that part. Regular infantry engagements / skirmishes will get the 28mm on a grid map treatment, but vehicle segments will either be abstract or done with Epic minis.

Sadly I don't have stocks in gold, so don't have enough money to buy Epic minis.

Amen to that, I'm giving the swap shop a try, no way in hell am I going to cough up €40,- for a boxed set from which I only need one or two minis tops.

**warboss**

Melissia wrote:
warboss wrote:The rules do allow that by simply taking a guardsman trained in its use who gets it free.

a) IF one of the player characters wants to play a heavy gunner. But what if they don't? Suddenly, for no reason, the squad is without a heavy weapon? That's rather silly.

b) And even then they have to use one of the starting weapons for the class, not necessarily the choice weapon of the regiment. So if you list a lascannon or plasma gun as the favored weapon of the regiment, you're boned. Hell, I couldn't even find where the favored weapon rules ARE when I first created a regiment, they're stuffed way back in a different section with no mention in the regiment creation rules-- using the regiment creation rules as they are with no houseruling, no player-created regiment has favored weapons.

As I said, I'm gonna be doing a lot of houseruling in my game. It's a good game system but it definitely needs work.

itemized above for ease of responding.

a) I'd like for my storm trooper to be a psyker but that doesn't mean that the game rules have to comply... in your case, you want a heavy weapon without a heavy weapon character and the rules actually allow for that with a logistics roll.

b) Then you make a logistics roll prior to the first game (or even during char gen). Favored weapon gives you a +10 and you trade in your current starting heavy weapon for an even larger bonus to the roll. It's really not that difficult to get what you're talking about with the existing rules as is.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

H.B.M.C. wrote:
BrookM wrote:It's better than letting every character have a a Multi-Melta for free.
Agreed, the favoured weapon thing is a bit unclear and could do with a bit more clarification or something helpful like "If picking X it allows your heavy / specialist to take it instead of the standard choices"

That's also a great idea. Something along the lines of:

"A Heavy Gunner starts with either a Missile Launcher w/5 Frag Missiles or a Heavy Bolter w/1 Box of Bolt Shells. Alternatively, the Heavy Gunner can start with their Regiment's Preferred Heavy Weapon (and the requisite weapon training) and 2 reloads for that weapon."

... and...

"A Weapon Specialist starts with either a M36 Lasgun w/4 Charge Packs, a Flamer w/2 Fuel Canisters. Alternatively, the Heavy Gunner can start with their Regiment's Preferred Basic Weapon (and the requisite weapon training) and 2 reloads for that weapon."

**Melissia**

Melissia, you know better. Rule #1 - MT11

**BrookM**

Re: Favoured Weapons. I've shot FFG an email regarding that and some other things I came across. I do hope that they put it in somewhere and apply it to both the Heavy Gunner and Weapons Specialist. Though if they don't, we can fix that with a little GM magic.

**Kid_Kyoto**

Out of curiosity for one of my passions, does the game have anything on non-combat vehicles ie trucks, jeeps, armored limos and civilian vehicles?

**BrookM**

As far as I can see, nope.

**PrimarchX**

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Out of curiosity for one of my passions, does the game have anything on non-combat vehicles ie trucks, jeeps, armored limos and civilian vehicles?

No. I would dearly like to see GW address a family of wheeled utility and prime movers for the Guard someday.

**BaronIveagh**

PrimarchX wrote:
No. I would dearly like to see GW address a family of wheeled utility and prime movers for the Guard someday.

BL does make reference to them on occasion. There's an anti-grav limo in one of the CC books, for example.

**PrimarchX**

I picked up Honor the Chapter at my FLGS today and just cracked it open.

The following chapters have in-depth coverage (8-9 pages)
Black Templars
Storm Wardens
Blood Ravens
Red Scorpions
Marines Errant
Flesh Tearers
Crimson Fists
Howling Griffons
Nova Marines
Raptors
Carcharodons

There's a chapter containing rules on drawing up a 'Codex' marine, which on first blush I think means a non-Deathwatch marine so you can extend games to playing in the Chapters themselves. There's then a section on Successor chapters from the Blood Angels, Dark Angels and 'Codex' in brief. Finally there's a section creating a Legion of the Damned marine as a player character (!).

There's then a lengthy chapter on cool named relics from many of the Chapters covered in the book followed by a brief chapter on the Space Marine chapters and how they shape the marines coming to the Deathwatch.

**H.B.M.C.**

Best Relic in the book:

A Jump Pack w/Built-in Backpack Ammo Supply!

Yes, a Jump-Packing Devastator!!!

And finally, after waiting for so very, very long - my Sword Brother returns to Deathwatch. How I've missed him!

**warboss**

H.B.M.C. wrote:Best Relic in the book:

A Jump Pack w/Built-in Backpack Ammo Supply!

Yes, a Jump-Packing Devastator!!!

And finally, after waiting for so very, very long - my Sword Brother returns to Deathwatch. How I've missed him!

Lol, which chapter does that belong to? As a side note, a jump pack devastator has always been an obscure option. I was rockin' a heavy bolter with my jump pack while hovering since '11!

While I doubt it was on purpose, the length of time you can hover corresponds well with the amount of full auto bursts you have in a clip as well as the average length of a combat.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

PrimarchX wrote:I picked up Honor the Chapter at my FLGS today and just cracked it open.

The following chapters have in-depth coverage (8-9 pages)
Black Templars
Storm Wardens
Blood Ravens
Red Scorpions
Marines Errant
Flesh Tearers
Crimson Fists
Howling Griffons
Nova Marines
Raptors
Carcharodons

There's a chapter containing rules on drawing up a 'Codex' marine, which on first blush I think means a non-Deathwatch marine so you can extend games to playing in the Chapters themselves. There's then a section on Successor chapters from the Blood Angels, Dark Angels and 'Codex' in brief. Finally there's a section creating a Legion of the Damned marine as a player character (!).

There's then a lengthy chapter on cool named relics from many of the Chapters covered in the book followed by a brief chapter on the Space Marine chapters and how they shape the marines coming to the Deathwatch.

Can you relay some of the info on the Space Sharks? Their history as given in the badab books would make it seem like Deathwatch service is a very unlikely thing due to their travels afar. Also, to what extent do the Flesh Tearers differ from Blood Angels? Do they give any service to the dying nature of the chapter? I'd suspect not too much as the time period is several centuries before the normal 40k one.

**H.B.M.C.**

If your GM let you take a backpack ammo supply and a Jump Pack at the same time then they need to be slapped. I don't even let Tactica Marines take BP Ammo Supplies.

Anyway, the Chapter that gets it are the Hawk Lords. There are a lot of Chapters mentioned in this book, and even if they don't get specific rules for their Chapter, the 'Codex Marines' section is there to use as a template for Chapters that don't have rules (rather than having to create your own from scratch using the Create-a-Chapter rules from Rites).

As far as the Sharks go, it’s fairly standard “mysteries and half-truths” that we’ve come to expect from these sorts of ‘vague’ Chapters. Doesn’t make it bad mind you – the Space Shark section is quite interesting, and their rules are a lot of fun. I think it does a good job of bringing them into the Jericho Reach/Deathwatch setting without ruining the mystery or leaving you wondering what on earth is going on.

The only Chapter in the book that I’m not really a fan of are the Crimson Fists. No offence to them, but the Crimson Fists didn’t get interesting until most of them were blown away in that explosion, and as far as the timeline for Deathwatch goes that hasn’t happened yet... so they’re just a Codex Chapter with bits of Ultras and Imperial Fists. Not all that distinct. I prefer the Howling Griffons and Flesh Tearers (who rock!) and the Blood Ravens are pretty nifty as well.

PrimarchX: Quick question. In the Codex Chapter advance table, is Dodge/Dodge +10/Dodge +20 there, and if so, how much do they cost?

**warboss**

H.B.M.C. wrote:If your GM let you take a backpack ammo supply and a Jump Pack at the same time then they need to be slapped. I don't even let Tactica Marines take BP Ammo Supplies.

I said "in the clip".

**H.B.M.C.**

Slap him anyway!

**warboss**

Droma wrote:
warboss wrote:As a side note, is there a table for xp/level anywhere? Also, is the first aptitude missing from the characteristic and aptitude table on page 66?

There is no xp/level table because a character can buy anything as long as they meet the pre-req and have enough xp. The biggest limiting factor is the logistics system keeping their gear in check for the most part.

As for the aptitude no it's not missing. The name of the characteristic is also the name of the aptitude. If you look at a lot of the specialties and regiments they provide aptitudes like ballistic skill, weapon skill, wisdom, etc. So if you want cheap ballistic skill increases then you need both the ballistic skill and the finesse aptitudes.

Thanks for the clarification on the xp... I guess I was just expecting an xp per level table like their other books. Not being intimately familiar with DH, are these starting characters "balanced" for zero XP plus their customization bonuses (300 or 600)? If you wanted to bring a character into another game like RT or DW, do you just give them the 12,000xp to spend like starting DW characters? Or do they start higher up the chain like RT ones?

Automatically Appended Next Post:

H.B.M.C. wrote:As far as the Sharks go, it’s fairly standard “mysteries and half-truths” that we’ve come to expect from these sorts of ‘vague’ Chapters. Doesn’t make it bad mind you – the Space Shark section is quite interesting, and their rules are a lot of fun. I think it does a good job of bringing them into the Jericho Reach/Deathwatch setting without ruining the mystery or leaving you wondering what on earth is going on.

Cool. I'd be curious to see if they get a modifier on the random armor roll (like one of the Dark Angel successors) due to their older wargear to fit their fluff IIRC.

H.B.M.C. wrote:Slap him anyway!

He probably would have allowed it but I (as co-GM as we alternated after each mission) would have slapped some RAW balance into him. I'm a fairly by the book GM whereas he's more cinematic in his approach. I was practically begging him for hefty negative penalties to my BS when hover firing the heavy bolter as I didn't consider that to be a stable firing platform.

**H.B.M.C.**

I’ve just gone through the thread and removed a bunch of my own posts. I’m afraid that despite my abundant enthusiasm I’m going to have to cool my jets on the Only War beta for the time being. I can’t and won’t get into why, so I’d ask that we all just leave it at that. I’ll still read any issues, problems, ideas or incites that you guys might have for Only War as you go through the beta rules, and I may even be able to channel them in the right direction, but that’s about it.

Meanwhile: Honour the Chapter – it’s awesome. Go buy it!

**warboss**

I'll respect your decision but I feel that I should remind you that you're a professional now... if you're going declare exterminatus on your posts in the thread, you should do it in style with a themed gif!

**H.B.M.C.**

And now that Honour the Chapter is out, we have the news to go with it, and something we don’t often get – a look into how the artwork is done:

FFG wrote:Bringing the Vision into Focus
FFG's Art Department Presents a Closer Look at Honour the Chapter

Honour the Chapter, a comprehensive supplement for Deathwatch, will be on store shelves in just a few days. Today, we’re pleased to present a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of Honour the Chapter by FFG Associate Art Producer Mike Linnemann. Mike agreed to take us through the process of how FFG works with artists to create the perfect art piece for a book like Honour the Chapter. Thanks, Mike!

As Honour the Chapter is mere days away, it’s high time that we gave you a little insight into some art. This type of preview, called a “Sketch to Final,” focuses on a piece of new commissioned artwork and talks about how that piece of art travels from inspirational idea to finalized product. Today, we’ll look at a chapter plate from the upcoming Honour the Chapter supplement.

Initial Planning

Before every RPG book is created, an art director meets with a producer and discusses the art descriptions. Honour the Chapter was produced by Tim Flanders, a Space Wolves loving man who took an incredible amount of time thinking about each image that would be carefully placed within the pages of Honour the Chapter. After going through every image to be created, I went back to the chapter plates and read his art description:

A Space Marine Captain of the Blood Raven’s Chapter leading a squad of Blood Ravens in a charge out of a drop pod. The Captain is wielding a lightning claw and a plasma pistol, the other Blood Ravens are tactical marines with bolters.

I then asked him what motivated him on this particular artwork, to which he replied, “What is something that only Space Marines get to do? The answer is a drop pod assault. What has more impact than several tons of ceramite and plasteel fired from orbit, carrying a squad of Adeptus Astartes warriors into the thick of battle?”

I looked at the list of artists that I could call upon and found that the trusty and talented Matt Bradbury, a British fellow that enjoys working on Space Marines, was available.

The First Sketches

Here is what Matt turned in for his first sketch:

I knew ahead of time that Matt loves to send in semi-final works as sketches. We loved the imposing grandeur of the stance and the slight twinge of arrogance in the Blood Raven’s swagger. What we did not see, and desperately needed, was the scene of Space Marines arriving. They never travel alone, and the team aspect of the Space Marines was not quite exhibited.

I asked for two more fast sketches. Here is the first sketch I received back:

The first image of a Space Marine charging out of a drop pod is mighty cool. It brings movement and action directly into the piece. It even forces your eye to want to turn the page. If you’re a Scott McCloud fan, you’ll notice the concept from Reinventing Comics (his book) of pushing the viewer toward the right, building a “tease” for the next page, whether it involves the story or not. I like the image; it’s interesting, but it opens itself for interpretation. I’m always up for a good homage, but this takes the “marine” coming directly into battle perhaps a bit too close to literal:

Those are United States marines storming Normandy, June 6, 1944. I love the conceptual idea of tying brave marines fighting for freedom and Space Marines in the far future beating back Xenos threats, but there is a better way to depict the scene.

The Second Sketch

The second new sketch really showed us a strongly branded image that we wanted. Were any Xenos armies to see that image, they should be rethinking what they’re doing...if they’re able to think, of course. Both new sketches gave us a great insight into what drop pods look like and the impending battle that is immediate, but this one gave the awe inspiring power and the inevitability of fired up Space Marines landing.

This is a Space Marine invasion; bolter char is going to be the only thing remaining on this world.

Here is Matt’s final:

Notice how solid the foreground Space Marine is standing. Notice that there are five Space Marines shown. (They move in groups of five or two groups of five to make ten.) As Space Marines are organized not unlike the military, showing them as they would look in battle was key for us in this image. You’ll also notice that this type of superhero image used quite often in comic books, movie posters, and high school basketball line ups. Why, you ask? Power. It exudes it, and Space Marines relish in it. It brings the truism of “Might is Right” into a depiction that brings forth the physicality and the order that the Codex Astartes demands. We wanted impending doom and wide-eyed emotion. We got it. We wanted to keep viewers looking at this page, no teaser or preview to flip to the next. We got it. We needed to balance the sheer emotive quality with areas of detail to move the eye. We got it.

Did we get what we wanted? Yes, and then some. You really need to see this up close.

Thanks, Mike! Look for this great art, and much more, when Honour the Chapter invades store shelves in just a few days!

I need to get this book!

**PrimarchX**

H.B.M.C. wrote:
PrimarchX: Quick question. In the Codex Chapter advance table, is Dodge/Dodge +10/Dodge +20 there, and if so, how much do they cost?

Yes, it's there. 400/800xp IIRC.

**H.B.M.C.**

Excellent. That's all I wanted to know. Thanks.

**BrookM**

Someone slap that FFG article writer, those are US Army troops storming up the beach, not USMC.

**narked**

Definately going to have to grab Honour The Chapter if it adds more to the Flesh Tearers and adds in Red Scorpions. Official rules now for all the chapters I use in 40k, huzzah!

**endtransmission**

It will be interesting to see their take on Red Scorpions. I'm a few books behind now... I must pick up the missing ones from all of the systems... and then take off six months from work to try and catch up on reading them all :/

**PrimarchX**

By the way. Is FFG's Upcoming section completely FUBAR, at least for 40k RPG?

Example: The Koronus Bestiary has been ON THE BOAT since Feb 12 and Honour the Chapter has been AT THE PRINTER since June 12! As we know, Honour the Chapter is now out and there's still no sign of The Koronus Bestiary.

**BaronIveagh**

PrimarchX wrote:By the way. Is FFG's Upcoming section completely FUBAR, at least for 40k RPG?

Example: The Koronus Bestiary has been ON THE BOAT since Feb 12 and Honour the Chapter has been AT THE PRINTER since June 12! As we know, Honour the Chapter is now out and there's still no sign of The Koronus Bestiary.

You expect anything different?

*is waiting for the inevitable 40k mod for Skyrim. FUS RO RUSS!*

**H.B.M.C.**

We know this already, but I'm just being consistent:

FFG wrote:Honour the Chapter is Now On Sale
Add this Deathwatch Supplement to Your Library

“They shall be pure of heart and strong of body, untainted by doubt and unsullied by vainglory. They will be bright stars in the firmament of battle. Angels of Death whose shining wings bring swift annihilation to the enemies of Man. So shall it be for a thousand times a thousand years, unto the very end of eternity and the extinction of mortal flesh.”
–Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines

The brethren of the Deathwatch are the champions of humanity, the elite of the elite, and the very best the thousand and more Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes can produce. But while many Battle-Brothers are drawn from the most well known Chapters—the Blood Angels, the Space Wolves, the Ultramarines, and others of the First Founding—still more hail from lesser known bodies, the Successors of the great Legions. Some of these Chapters are every bit as famous as their celebrated progenitors, while others are all but unheralded. Nevertheless, all are heroes.

Honour the Chapter, a supplement for Deathwatch, is now on sale at your local retailer and on our webstore! Honour the Chapter provides a wealth of options for players interested in characters drawn from Chapters created during the Second or subsequent Foundings. This comprehensive tome contains new character creation rules, a wealth of relics unique to each Chapter, and plenty of guidance and adventure seeds for Game Masters.

Epic Heroes

For more on Honour the Chapter, here’s a word from its lead developer, Tim Flanders:

Since the Core Rulebook, we've had a good chance to cover our core of Space Marine Chapters, and with First Founding we were able to bring the remaining progenitor Chapters to the fore. But now, for the first time since the inception of Deathwatch, we will be giving a huge number of the other myriad Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes the attention they deserve. I think players are going to really enjoy the chance to play Battle-Brothers from Chapters throughout the Imperium, each with as much depth as the Chapters we've covered in our past products.

Of course, with all this variety comes a price. Trying to form a Kill-team out of Battle-Brothers from such disparate backgrounds, all with their own histories, combat doctrines, and philosophies is tough work. Thankfully, we've covered that, too! GMs will find Honour the Chapter indispensable for making the most of their campaigns, by highlighting the strengths of their players, their characters, and the relationships between the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. In this way, they’ll really make their players feel like the epic heroes of the Imperium that they are!

For ten millennia, Space Marines from a thousand chapters have fought and died in the name of the Emperor of Man. Pick up your copy of Honour the Chapter from your local retailer today, and take your place among the legends of the Adeptus Astartes!

It always annoy me when that quote doesn't end properly. It should say "And they shall know no fear!" at the end.

**Manchu**

Can any of you fine chaps tell me which books (DW I presume) detail the Tau?

**H.B.M.C.**

Hmm...

The Deathwatch Core Rulebook sets up the Jericho Reach, including the Tau's involvement. It also specifically gives stats for Crisis Commanders, Stealth Suits, Fire Warriors and Gun Drones.

Mark of the Xenos has numerous Tau entries to give players lots of extra Tau things to kill.

The Achilus Assault expands the background and history of the Jericho Reach, including the areas with the Tau, humanities first contact with the Tau within the Reach, and the conflicts they've fought so far.

The Jericho Reach goes into great detail on, you guessed it, the Jericho Reach. Roughly 1/3rd of the book is dedicated to operations within the salient the Tau inhabit, and all the things the Deathwatch are doing to fight them.

Rising Tempest is a 3-part adventure where the aim is to stop the Tau in their tracks. They feature as the main adversary in all three parts, although you do face several other foes during that period.

Und das ist alles!

**BrookM**

You are forgetting the GM kit, which has Kroot and Vespid.

**Manchu**

H.B.M.C. wrote:Und das ist alles!

Ach, so muss ich alles kaufen! Oh well, it'll keep me from buying any more grey plastic from a certain company.