Alpharius wrote:The 'reasons' are obvious - to antagonize and/or 'troll' here on Dakka.

BrookM wrote:I had a chat with one of my FLGS staff about meshing the three systems together. The thing is, yes you can, but you really shouldn't, unless you like having games where the strengths and weaknesses are aeons apart from one another.

H.B.M.C. wrote:

BrookM wrote:I had a chat with one of my FLGS staff about meshing the three systems together. The thing is, yes you can, but you really shouldn't, unless you like having games where the strengths and weaknesses are aeons apart from one another.

I'd disagree with that. I think the three should be meshed together, as the narrative possibilities it opens up are endless. Besides, I'd say it's less a problem of levels and more a problem of implementation. You cite the example of a Sisters tagging along with some Marines. Reverse that - a group of Acolytes with a seconded Deathwatch acting as a bodyguard, or perhaps a pair of Deathwatch assigned to a rebellion Rogue Trader to keep an eye on him. DW Marines start at about cLvl 4-5 RT/cLvl 8-9 DH, so if the characters are properly buffed to around the same level things should work. And even then, Ascension level DH will mesh perfectly with DW.

H.B.M.C. wrote:Not at all.

DH contains two systems unique to itself - psychic powers and the way money works/how you buy things. RT contains two system unique to itself - the way you buy things/profit factor and Endeavours. DW contains a few systems that are unique to the game, but in no way impact anyone else - renown, requisitioning equipment, mission objectives, and squad tactics/stances/modes. RT/DW contain one system unique to them - their psychic power system.

Now, Ascension has the RT/DW psychic system added onto the existing DH system, and converting either one to the other is not a big issue. The monetary systems don't stop the games from working together, especially as Ascension has a far more abstracted version using 'Influence' similar to RT's 'Profit Factors', and DW's requisition/renown system would not impact the other two games as Marines don't 'buy' things, so there's no need for the systems to cross over (Acolytes wouldn't Requisition Marine equipment any more than a Marine would earn Thrones to spend at a store). There is no reason why a cell of Acolytes can't be involved in an RT Endeavour that has several DW-style Mission Objectives. It's not a stretch, and fitting it into the rules should not require much effort (it'd make things more fun really).

The core rules are the same. Ships in RT work in Deathwatch. Adversaries from the Ascension book work in RT. A Deathwatch Marine could be part of an Acolyte Cell in DH. All will work, as most of their unique rules only apply to them, rather than impacting the game overall.

Alpharius wrote:
And if DEATHWATCH does well, and I think/hope it will, it might mean we WILL see an Ordo: Xenos release in 40K 'proper' too.

H.B.M.C. wrote:Reverse that - a group of Acolytes with a seconded Deathwatch acting as a bodyguard, or perhaps a pair of Deathwatch assigned to a rebellion Rogue Trader to keep an eye on him.

aka_mythos wrote:There are already rules for them. I just don't get why so many people want an SoB option in Deathwatch. There is already a game for that. SoB don't operate in the type of operations Deathwatch do, so I'd see it as a bit of a stretch to justify a protracted campaign.

Kroothawk wrote:Well, there are official Sororitas rules since the second book of Dark Heresy.

Melissia wrote:
As for female Space Marines, I actually found that roleplay rather interesting, as we played up how unusual it was and how suspicious everyone was of her chapter during that roleplay. Was an interesting challenge.

Melissia wrote:

As for female Space Marines, I actually found that roleplay rather interesting, as we played up how unusual it was and how suspicious everyone was of her chapter during that roleplay. Was an interesting challenge.

BaronIveagh wrote:

Melissia wrote:

As for female Space Marines, I actually found that roleplay rather interesting, as we played up how unusual it was and how suspicious everyone was of her chapter during that roleplay. Was an interesting challenge.

Personally, I don't understand why the SoB arn't used on the same level as Space Marines in these games. Most fluff seems to view them right up there with SM, at least from the perspective of the Imperial citizen, and the TT rules they are not that far apart.

CaptainLoken wrote:There are rules for Adepta Sororitas in DH. They are in the Players Handbook. Their Power Armor has an armor rating of 8 and grants a Strength bonus of +20%, and they use "human" bolters. They even have Faith outlined in the book.

Astartes Power Armor also grants 8 points of armor, and the +20% Strength bonus as well. However, their Bolters do an extra d10 in damage.

What you said is the REAL difference between the two...Unnatural Strength and Unnatural Toughness. These are HUGE modifiers, as many weapons can cut right through your armor, even Power Armor, but not your Toughness Bonus. So, Astartes are SUPERIOR in every respect to normal humans in both dealing and taking damage.

CaptainLoken wrote:There are rules for Adepta Sororitas in DH. They are in the Players Handbook. Their Power Armor has an armor rating of 8 and grants a Strength bonus of +20%, and they use "human" bolters. They even have Faith outlined in the book.

andrewm9 wrote:Ascension strongly implies however that Battle Sisters wear ligth power and receive no strength bonus and they use non military bolt weapons.

Alpharius wrote:Seriously - stop it already.

Frazzled wrote:Modqusition on. This has moved past the news and rumors stage. Closing it down now.

Frazzled wrote:Modqusition on. This has moved past the news and rumors stage. Closing it down now.

I don't know where your friend got his information from but it is completely false. The three hundred copies we shipped to Gen Con were planned to sell out and sent to the the show to spark interest and excitement in the book and has nothing to do with the thousands of books heading to Europe for sale, nothing has changed or been diverted because of Gen Con. Stay tuned to the web site for details as we get closer to the launch of this awesome tome.

Best,

Steve Horvath

VP Marketing & Communication

Fantasy Flight Games

FFG wrote:The Gen Con debut of Into the Storm, the latest supplement for Rogue Trader, was a great success. For the thousands of fans not among the lucky few who picked up a copy, we're happy to present this designer diary from Jason Marker, one of the writers of this exciting title.



Hey everybody! My name is Jason Marker, and I'm one of the newest members in the stable of Rogue Trader freelancers. When my assignment came for Into the Storm, which entailed expanding rules for social interaction tests, profit factor, and designing new Endeavours, I was honoured and excited. So, with my new copy of Rogue Trader in hand, a group of 40K fanatics as friends, and the sure and helpful leadership of Ross [Watson] and Sam [Stewart], I dove straight into the assignment.

First off was an expansion of individual interaction tests using both Fellowship and Lore skills. In Rogue Trader, only Fellowship skills, like Charm and Command, can be used to manipulate the outcome of an interaction with an NPC. What I wanted to do was expand the rules already in game, and allow for the use of Lore Skills in social situations. See, I figured that winging it in a fast-talk situation is one thing, but a Rogue Trader who can use a Lore Skill to give themselves a leg-up in a negotiation is even better served. A successful Lore Test would give the player some kind of information about the NPC that make the players job easier. Think of it as using context clues in a conversation, like knowing the significance of a medal worn by an Imperial functionary, and using that knowledge to distract him. There are also some new modifiers that affect the final difficulty depending on how the final outcome of an interaction test will affect the NPC. In other words, it's easier to get someone to do something for you when it's beneficial to all parties, not just to you.



Next on my list was creating rules for social interaction challenges. Now, as those of you who already play Rogue Trader know, when a group of players want to pool their skills in the course of exploring the unknown, the GM can construct an exploration challenge. What Sam wanted was a similar game mechanic for social interactions, the ability for characters to pool their social skills during parties and negotiations to further the interests of their Rogue Trader. This would allow one player to talk shop with a friendly admiral while another spoke at length with an important functionary and charmed his pants off... all the while racking up levels of success or failure toward completion of the party's stated goals. In designing these rules, I wanted the success or failure of each member of the party to have very real consequences on the outcome of the Interaction, as is the case with the Exploration Challenges. Negotiations are a tricky thing, especially with a number of strong personalities at the table, and it's easier to ruin a negotiation and scuttle a trade mission than it is to bring one to a successful completion.

Once the Social Interaction part of my assignment was through, I moved on to new endeavours. For Into the Storm I designed two new types of endeavour: the Meta Endeavour and the Background Endeavour. A Meta Endeavour, an early example of which was first seen in Lure of the Expanse, are essentially huge, time and resource consuming endeavours made up of the standard endeavours found in Rogue Trader. Massive, galaxy-spanning affairs, they allow a GM to build a whole campaign filled with goals and rewards for his players. Background Endeavours, which were probably my favorite thing to work on, are endeavours that players start and leave to their “people” to finish. They run in the background while the players are off doing something fun like blowing up Orks. Their success or failure is determined by some secret rolls made by the GM, and if the wheels come off while the players are off gallivanting around, well, that's their problem for not making sure proper steps were taken to ensure success.



Lastly, I did some work expanding the Acquisition and Influence Rules. Mainly what I did here was put the brakes on rampant spending by Rogue Traders within game. You can't just roll into, say, Footfall or Port Wander and start flashing Thrones around without attracting some attention. While some is good, the appearance of wealth being every bit as important to a Rogue Trader as his actual wealth, it can also attract unwelcome attention. Spend enough and you can attract attention from all manner of criminals, pirates, and crooked officials, all of whom more than willing to separate an unlucky Rogue Trader from his money. For influence, I added a number of modifiers that make it more difficult for a Rogue Trader to use his reputation to help him get what he wants. Honestly, the further away from your usual base of operations you are, the less likely it is that anyone's heard of you, and there are plenty of benighted, backward little corners of the Koronus Expanse that haven't seen a visitor in millennia.

In all, the whole experience working with Fantasy Flight and the Rogue Trader setting couldn't have been better, and I'm looking forward to more upcoming releases!

Rogue Trader is a roleplaying game set in dark gothic far future of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. Players take on the roles of explorers aboard a Rogue Trader's ship, searching for profit and adventure while discovering new alien cultures and threats in the uncharted regions of space.