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I'm curious how well players are adapting to playing Space Marines? Any very non-Astartes moments popping up? This only comes to mind because I'm getting ready to kick off my DW campaign and I'm by far the most familiar with the 40K setting in my group. We've played other settings for years but most have only roleplayed personalities that would be unbecoming of one of the Emperor's grandchildren.

Gridge wrote:I'm curious how well players are adapting to playing Space Marines? Any very non-Astartes moments popping up? This only comes to mind because I'm getting ready to kick off my DW campaign and I'm by far the most familiar with the 40K setting in my group. We've played other settings for years but most have only roleplayed personalities that would be unbecoming of one of the Emperor's grandchildren.

mostly appropriately in our group except for a few times. players still occasionally will try to hoard items reflexively ("ooooo, that guard captain has a plasma pistol and i wanna keep it!!") as well as do things unbecoming a space marine (like having a primarly objective as saving someone, killing them by throwing a frag grenade into a close combat they're involved in, and then suggesting they torch the body to keep it secret).

warboss wrote:

Gridge wrote:I'm curious how well players are adapting to playing Space Marines? Any very non-Astartes moments popping up? This only comes to mind because I'm getting ready to kick off my DW campaign and I'm by far the most familiar with the 40K setting in my group. We've played other settings for years but most have only roleplayed personalities that would be unbecoming of one of the Emperor's grandchildren.

mostly appropriately in our group except for a few times. players still occasionally will try to hoard items reflexively ("ooooo, that guard captain has a plasma pistol and i wanna keep it!!") as well as do things unbecoming a space marine (like having a primarly objective as saving someone, killing them by throwing a frag grenade into a close combat they're involved in, and then suggesting they torch the body to keep it secret).

Yes, that is something I could see happening in my group. I think adjusting to playing characters as rigid as most Astartes will be a problem for many, especially those who aren't very familiar with the setting. I intend to have players read all the background material in the book, especially the how to play a space marine section beforehand and then just hope for the best. It is still going to take some work to keep the play feeling somewhat like 40k...maybe having one of them turned into a servitor if things go too out of control or just sent back to their chapter in shame. This would be an extreme case scenario though. I do, after all, want players to have fun and interject comedy into the game I just want to keep it in somewhat of a framework so that the feel is maintained.

You may want to run an introductory game with pre-written characters. A lot of people seem to think that role-playing is only about writing and playing whatever character you like (often without consistency because it's off the cuff) but with games set in 40k (where there is actually very little appropriate anaology to real life) I think it's important to adopt an actor-like apporach: think like you have a script and need to figure out how to act it out convincingly. Have players think less about "what would I do in X circumstances" and more about "what would my character do." The pre-written characters will help get them use to this and once they have that basic familiarity with assuming a character (literally: playing a role), you can start having discussion with them about characters that they want to write themselves.


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Manchu wrote:You may want to run an introductory game with pre-written characters. A lot of people seem to think that role-playing is only about writing and playing whatever character you like (often without consistency because it's off the cuff) but with games set in 40k (where there is actually very little appropriate anaology to real life) I think it's important to adopt an actor-like apporach: think like you have a script and need to figure out how to act it out convincingly. Have players think less about "what would I do in X circumstances" and more about "what would my character do." The pre-written characters will help get them use to this and once they have that basic familiarity with assuming a character (literally: playing a role), you can start having discussion with them about characters that they want to write themselves.


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I won't take as far as to make pre-mades for them since we have all been gaming so long (in excess of 20 years), I know they would rebel at the idea. But I will be guiding those who are unfamiliar with the setting and basically building it with them and explaining things as we go. One of the players has passing knowledge of 40K and once things get rolling I'm hoping that he will start to steer the party (after I've given him a bit of direction). I'm considering recommending Space Wolves to those not used to Space Marines. It will be less of a jump from the years of playing fantasy themed games and there's a little less starch in their collars. Ideally, I would love it if I could get them all to read Rynn's World and Helreach to get more into the mind of a Marine, but that's not going to happen.

Manchu's right. RPGs aren't what would I do (in a world with no consequences and infinitepower... hello interner) but rather what would my character do.

Phototoxin wrote:Manchu's right. RPGs aren't what would I do (in a world with no consequences and infinitepower... hello interner) but rather what would my character do.

Ideally,yes. However,most,but not all,rpg'ers start out playing basically as themselves in whatever world/setting as whatever class. Then,some gamers mature and start looking at things from the standpoint of "This is my character,and this is what my character would do," rather than,"My character is me,and this is what I would do."

That's exactly why I recommend teaching players that they are actors -- not playing a videogame.

My first misson on deathwatch our team leader decided that we needed to sacrifice one of our serfs to open an ancient alien door (he is a blood angel so facepalm). well me being a ultramarine couldnt abide by that and the rest of the killteam agreed with me. i threatend that i would shoot him if he killed that serf. he didnt end up killing him but we all decided that he isnt gonna be team leader anymore.

Has the group played in W40k in a different setting? Maybe Rogue Trader or Dark Heresy would suit them better to begin with, then shift back to Deathwatch once they have found out a bit about marines?

I am in a similar dilemna at the startup of a homebrew DnD game. I haven't ruled out any classes or races except Shardmind, Shifter, Psion and Ardent, but I've given 5-star ratings plus some notes for how appropriate each other option from PHB1-3 are. I am hoping people will pick 4/5 star options, rather than all going for 2/3 star options, or, worst of all, 1-star options. I'd pretty much have to run a completely different campaign if that were the case. I can cope with a couple of oddities, but I am hoping for some help from my players overall, and I have asked them to consider that when making their characters.

They have played Dark Heresy with another GM but I'm not sure how much that campaigns follows the feel of the 40K world. At any rate, I'm writing solo adventures for each player and talking with them about the marines. Their solo adventures will serve the purpose of inducting them into Deathwatch and familiarizing them with the setting. There is now only one that I think will not adapt his personal playstyle very well but the person I'm going to assign as team leader (who is also the player most familiar with Warhammer in general) will help keep him in check. The first few sessions will probably be a bit of, "Are you sure you want your Marine to do that?". And, as I mentioned, I won't shy away from teaching a repeat offender a lesson by shipping them back to their Chapter in disgrace (probably to be turned into a servitor) and having them start a new character. I'm sure they'll come around...these guys have been gaming for 20 years. 40K is just a unique setting.

The risk is that you may just make them hate the setting. Not sure what to say about that though.

It seems like a overriding guideline for a Deathwatch GM is never punish the players for doing things the way a Space Marine should, and in fact reward them.

Zackman_88 wrote:My first misson on deathwatch our team leader decided that we needed to sacrifice one of our serfs to open an ancient alien door (he is a blood angel so facepalm). well me being a ultramarine couldnt abide by that and the rest of the killteam agreed with me. i threatend that i would shoot him if he killed that serf. he didnt end up killing him but we all decided that he isnt gonna be team leader anymore.

You forget to mention that said leader was a dumb-ass who names his Blood Angel "Bubba". So glad I hadn't arrived yet for that expedition.

Fifty wrote:The risk is that you may just make them hate the setting. Not sure what to say about that though.

It's not likely to cause them to hate the setting. I've known them all a very long time and I can't see them reacting this way if I have to punish a character (which I would only do under extreme circumstances and after appropriate warnings). In the end it is most important that at least some of the feel of the setting is captured. If they decide that playing characters who are under rigid codes of conduct (some more than others) is not to their liking then I would rather not put the work into writing adventures. Again, this is not likely as none of us would wreck a campaign that someone is putting work into creating. There may be a learning curve but I think that they will warm to portraying awe-inspiring, angels of death who terrify friend and foe alike (even if those xenos won't admit it).