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Me and a couple of friends intend to pool some spare cash together and get the basic Deathwatch rulebook and GM set. We're new to RPGs and are more or less clueless as to the differences between DH, RT and DW. To my understanding they all use the same basic rules, is this correct? If yes, are all the rules for, for example, Deathwatch included in the DW Core Book or do we need something else to play (the GM set will obviously help)?

Secondly, and this is assuming that they all use the same basic rule set, what's the main differences between the three games, other than what you play as?

All you absolutely need is the main rulebook and some dice. The GM set is handy but far from necessary.

As to the differences between the games: It's mostly a matter of . . . er, scale? But you're right to note that it has a lot to do with who you're playing. In DH, you're acolytes for an inquisitor -- so a small party of capable but far from invincible guys struggling to solve mysteries and . . . well, stay alive actually. You're not that powerful or well-equipped compared to what you might have to face. The rules reflect that. In RT, by contrast, your party represents the "bridge crew" of a Rogue Trader's vessel. The scale is much larger: you've got a huge ship, thousands of crewmen vassals, plenty of resources -- and, of course, your ambitions are far grander than those of an acolyte. And the rules reflect that you can conquer planets, open trade between sectors, wage minor wars with xenos scum (or trade with them or even employ them), etc, etc. Now with Deathwatch, you're a Space Marine; not a puny table top tac squad marine but a full-blown Black Library "give me a thousand soldiers, failing that give me one" Space Marine. As powerful as you are, however, you need to work with your squad to take down the alien threats so the rules have a lot to do with how the party works together.

In a broad sense, all three games are fully compatible. They just focus on different aspects of the 40k world and their particular rules focus on their particular aspect.

While they are generally the same system, you can run into some wierd completely unbalanced things if you try to convert something from one into the next (even if using the rules FFG gives). Its best to pick one and stick with it for the PC's and just occasionally use an NPC from one of the others since the GM can hand-wave off the really OP or underpowered stuff as needed behind the GM screen without the players knowing. For instance, a player running an ascension level inquisitor with the same XP as a marine player will have much crappier equipment and be markedly less survivable yet be able to decimate a squad of marines with his markedly higher psyker abilities. My coGM and I wanted to satisfy a player request and incorporate a PC inquisitor and ran into that problem. While the system does scale, it doesn't do it particularly well.

The psychic rules changed from RT/DH to DW significantly but I'm not familiar enough with the RT/DW ones to comment much further. Other than that, you go up a level in power with each system. Starting characters in RT have 5 more starting out in every attribute than DH players and DW players are 5 more than RT. Weapon skills in DH are bought for an individual weapon type (you learn laspistol but not autopistol) while in RT you learn pistol in general. In DW, you simply know how to use every weapon used by marines starting out. Wounds and survivability as well as gear get better in RT compared with DH and the best in DW. Hope that helps.

Cheers to the both of you, that really helped.


Just a quick side-question: What kind of dice do we need? I'm assuming D6s and something else? D10s? D20s? D4s? Are the neccesary dice included or is it just the book?

Just d10s, no d6s required. Players need at least 3 d10s, with on having the count in the tens (10, 20, 30, 40, etc) and the other two with single digits (1, 2, 3, etc). Some weapons like the lascannon need 4 rolled but even the standard bolt pistol and rifle need three to be rolled for damage. It's probably a good idea for the gm to have 6 or more in two separate colors so he can roll for more than one group or type of enemy at the same time.

If you want I can PM you an adventure I wrote for our first game.

I feel that if you want a proper RPG it's quite hard to do it with Deathwatch compared ot the other two, but thats a prefrence. Space marines are really poweful.

Just remeber when using d10s use two different colours, one to represent 1-10 and another for the tens

If everyone in the group is brand spanking new to pnp rpgs you might be doing yourself a favor by going with something a little more rules light than the FFG 40k series. As a first time DM, trying to remember all the rules and make a fun adventure can be a lot to juggle. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game 1st edition is about the easiest game to learn i have ever played if you don't mind playing fantasy over Sci-Fi.

But, if your hell bent on doing 40k, I think DH or RT would be a lot more fun if your going to focus on RP, DW if you would rather spend more time fighting. DW would probably be easiest to DM Though, since all you have to really do is come up with a few missions and maybe make up a few big baddies who are running the show.

They share the same basic rules, but they all support different types of campaigns/stories. Deathwatch is all about killin' stuff. You fight and fight and fight some more. Rogue Trader is the pulp adventure game, more or less. Dark Heresy is, at its heart, a detective game, a grim and dark version of Scooby Doo.

That's a rather simplistic description of the three. There is far more to all three games than "Kill/Pulp Sci-Fi/Grimdark Scooby-Doo".

I'll say the same thing that I say all the time in these sorts of threads:

You get out of an RPG what you put into an RPG. If you approach Deathwatch thinking that it's just going to be non-stop killing, or if you approach Dark Heres as a 'scooby doo' mystery, then that's all you're going to get.

Three weeks ago I had my players negotiating with the Tau for the release of a rogue psyker, and chasing down the remnants of a previous kill team. I've got my Dark Heresy players leading an uprising against a Xeno-controlled government. The idea that you 'have' to play each of these RPG's in a certain way is just absurd.

I'm the DM for our local Deathwatch game. We have someone who was interested in playing a sister of battle and I will be the first to tell you that when you cross books you usually get a character with one glaring strength and one glaring weakness. The Sister of Battle is very difficult to hit at range and does some massive damage at mid range but if she is ever in melee she gets torn to bloody bits (learned this from making a genestealer ambush, if it wasn't for her faith talent that allowed her to miraculously revive she'd have been a bloody spot on that space hulk). I wish the group that I DMed for was a little more RP oriented -_- It seems that they manage to turn every scenario I put them in into a bloodbath. They have fun at least so there isn't too much to complain about. Here is a little tip to the wise when it comes to making encounters Don't be afraid to make hard encounters. Not only does it make them think more about the combat, it makes them *gasp* have to consider retreat or ways to collapse bridge/destroy power generators/spend fate points to jump on it's back and spend another to slam the frag grenade in it's armor/etc.

H.B.M.C. wrote:That's a rather simplistic description of the three. There is far more to all three games than "Kill/Pulp Sci-Fi/Grimdark Scooby-Doo".

There definitely is, but the generalizations I made were the things that differentiate the 3 at a most basic level. Each game will do 95% of what the others will do, and what I posted was, more or less, the other 5%.

Phototoxin wrote:If you want I can PM you an adventure I wrote for our first game.

While I'm a bit slow to respond, I'd love to have your adventure! I'm just about done with my first one, but it might be a tad short so having another one as back-up would be awesome!

Manchu wrote:All you absolutely need is the main rulebook and some dice. The GM set is handy but far from necessary.

As to the differences between the games: It's mostly a matter of . . . er, scale? But you're right to note that it has a lot to do with who you're playing. In DH, you're acolytes for an inquisitor -- so a small party of capable but far from invincible guys struggling to solve mysteries and . . . well, stay alive actually. You're not that powerful or well-equipped compared to what you might have to face. The rules reflect that. In RT, by contrast, your party represents the "bridge crew" of a Rogue Trader's vessel. The scale is much larger: you've got a huge ship, thousands of crewmen vassals, plenty of resources -- and, of course, your ambitions are far grander than those of an acolyte. And the rules reflect that you can conquer planets, open trade between sectors, wage minor wars with xenos scum (or trade with them or even employ them), etc, etc. Now with Deathwatch, you're a Space Marine; not a puny table top tac squad marine but a full-blown Black Library "give me a thousand soldiers, failing that give me one" Space Marine. As powerful as you are, however, you need to work with your squad to take down the alien threats so the rules have a lot to do with how the party works together.

In a broad sense, all three games are fully compatible. They just focus on different aspects of the 40k world and their particular rules focus on their particular aspect.

What kind of dice? I just ordered this game and the gamemaster toolkit.... and i didnt know what kind of dice i need.... typical D+D dice? or are there special dice like the ones for warhammer fantasy roleplay?

briurso wrote: What kind of dice? I just ordered this game and the gamemaster toolkit.... and i didnt know what kind of dice i need.... typical D+D dice? or are there special dice like the ones for warhammer fantasy roleplay?

You need about a half dozen d10's (ten sided dice) for the whole table if you want to share between players and the GM. Individual players only need 3 each generally but occasionally a weapon like a lascannon or a horde attacking will do more dice.

Thread Nec from May guys.