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Howdy, long time lurker in this forum, probably a first time poster.

Basically, I've owned the Deathwatch book basically since it's launch and I've picked up just about every add-on and resource available for it. Sadly I've never even played it, since there are a lack of people interested in my local area. (Very North of Scotland).

I finally have found a group of individuals in my local group who are now willing to give it a go, their main problem with it is that it is a Pen and Paper RPG, they are more used to Inquisitor etc. Now I know this game can be played with models/terrain etc but I'm hoping to stick to pen and paper.

I was hoping someone could reccomend how to play it using models if I have to, as in what would the reccomended distances be, as in converting metres (in game) to inches in real life?

Failing that I would just like to know how you represent and understand distances in a Pen and Paper RPG, my basic plan was to simply use a map but I've found that a couple of my locals even with a map can have a hard time distinguishing distances. As an example in a practice game I told a player that a group of Rebels on a gun emplacement was 20 metres away, his response was to try to essentially knife them in close combat, he thought that 20 metres was about the average length of an ordinary room in a house.

Now that was an extraordinary case of confusion but I found that the group as a whole was struggling to imagine the distances being mentioned.

Also as a first timer to GM-ing Deathwatch any advice on how to run the game or useful tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

~Rysaer~

Show them what a meter represents in real life? I am not sure about the conversion to inches for model based play. but under the playing the game section there should be a section on how to do such stuff.

The main thing in any RPG is for you and the players to have fun. If distances are tricky for them. Explain to them the movement and distance mechanics. If the guy who wanted to knife the other at 20m has a character with a high enough charge range with a jump pack they could actually initiate close combat with them. Explain to them how each turn is pretty much a few seconds in real time in game. And if the player cannot charge attack them based on their stats it cannot be done without spending a turn moving closer before attacking. Don't be afriad to put your foot down time to time as the GM. But show players when they are wrong. What they did wrong so they can become better players in the future. The 40k RPGs are learning experiences at times. As a player and a GM I am still learning new things a few years in ( sadly i don;t have a photographic memory and remembering all the rules can be hard heh).

All the best in your games. Find what works for you and your group and stick with it. Remember to have fun!