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Sometimes there are things in non-40k works that would fit into the setting pretty comfortably. I'm currently playing through the DLC for Dark Souls and I met this guy: the Chained Prisoner.. You can't really make it out in the picture, and in the game I was trying not to be flattened by it, but essentially it looks like a grossly bloated mutated human wrapped in chains, with a metal spike sticking out of it, and it attacks you by trying to stick you with the spike or by swinging the ball and chain it's tethered to as a flail. This is taking place in a city where the inhabitants have been warped into gibbering mutants with heads covered in eyes. It struck me that the whole thing was pretty grim (not to mention dark, of course), and now I might try to work an encounter based on it into an Only War adventure.

So I ask you: have you ever encountered something a bit grimdark in another setting that would be at home in 40K?

For use in Dark Heresy, I find that browsing image catalogs on Facebook or the web, such as Dark Beauty Magazine, various steampunk/CyberGoth catalogs and Gothic Culture & Fashion blogs can introduce one to a whole lot of costumed models who are near-perfect images of PCs and NPCs to be found in the 41st millennium.

A lot of photographs of American Civil War battlefields, taken either during or immediately following the battle, can set certain scenes well. Any WW2 war photography can, as well.

Using pictures from actual war, while grimdark, is messed up because they're real.

Target Games' old Mutant Chronicles/Warzone game had a lot of DNA in common with 40k. The setting was more or less WWII in space with Space Germany, Space America, Space England, Space Japan, Space Catholics and Space Cyberpunks vs Space Zombies and Space Cyberzombies.

http://www.webring.org/l/rd?ring=doomtrooper;id=2;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mutantpedia.com%2Feng%2Findex.htm

Tons of great settings and ideas to be yoinked.

 Sturmwächter wrote:
Using pictures from actual war, while grimdark, is messed up because they're real.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Using pictures from actual war, while grimdark, is messed up because they're real.

From a storytelling perspective, and because the youngest player in my group is in her mid-20s with the oldest in his mid-40s, I don't find it to be a problem. I also find that, sometimes, it might make players consider the effects of their actions, and, perhaps, just a bit more willing to interact with NPCs rather than just blowing them away.

I used RL firefight footage off youtube as background noise during firefights in Only War, and the players seemd to like the ambiance.

Read something from a fantasy book when i was in my teens ive forgotten the title but basically theirs people kidnapped and forced into a gladiator style arena to fight along side different people (dwarf elf human lizard monster humanoid) im setting up a smiler even with my brother in his death watch using my tau his space marine and khonr zerker. seems to fit to me figured dark eldar or slanesh would be the most likely enemy's in this scenario.

I always thought that the Dead Space games would fit pretty well into the 40k universe. The marker could some sort of warp artefact.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Target Games' old Mutant Chronicles/Warzone game had a lot of DNA in common with 40k. The setting was more or less WWII in space with Space Germany, Space America, Space England, Space Japan, Space Catholics and Space Cyberpunks vs Space Zombies and Space Cyberzombies.
http://www.webring.org/l/rd?ring=doomtrooper;id=2;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mutantpedia.com%2Feng%2Findex.htm
Tons of great settings and ideas to be yoinked.

Interesting, I didn't know much about Mutant Chronicles other than having seen the film adaptation (make of that what you will) but a bit of Googling shows the 40k similarities - similarly there are things like 2000AD strips (though I think that's pretty much known to have been an inspiration for 40k anyway).

Psienesis wrote:

 Sturmwächter wrote:
Using pictures from actual war, while grimdark, is messed up because they're real.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Using pictures from actual war, while grimdark, is messed up because they're real.

From a storytelling perspective, and because the youngest player in my group is in her mid-20s with the oldest in his mid-40s, I don't find it to be a problem. I also find that, sometimes, it might make players consider the effects of their actions, and, perhaps, just a bit more willing to interact with NPCs rather than just blowing them away.

I agree, I think it is possible to have settings, etc inspired by real life history without being disrespectful. I also agree that trying to show war as something other than running around blowing stuff up is to be commended.

kwah wrote:Read something from a fantasy book when i was in my teens ive forgotten the title but basically theirs people kidnapped and forced into a gladiator style arena to fight along side different people (dwarf elf human lizard monster humanoid) im setting up a smiler even with my brother in his death watch using my tau his space marine and khonr zerker. seems to fit to me figured dark eldar or slanesh would be the most likely enemy's in this scenario.

I have given thought before to trying to set up something similar with miniatures - basically the "good guys" pick a kill team-style force where each gets to control one model, representing characters forced to fight in an arena, and they then have to try and break out and fight past enemy squads. Obviously you'd have to give the heroes some pretty powerful special rules and stat boosts if using 40k rules...

 Melissia wrote:
I used RL firefight footage off youtube as background noise during firefights in Only War, and the players seemd to like the ambiance.

Yes, I've given thought to working sound effects into Only War as well, especially if trying to convey the sense of the adventure being one section of a larger battle.

Mr Nobody wrote:I always thought that the Dead Space games would fit pretty well into the 40k universe. The marker could some sort of warp artefact.

They're similar to some of the Dark Souls stuff in my OP (digging up something evil = mutation, survival horror, etc). I think anything where dabbling with ancient artifacts leads to chaos is suitable really.