FFG wrote:Dark Heresy Second Edition Beta Version 2.0: Update #4
News From the Developers of the Dark Heresy Second Edition Beta



Hello Dark Heresy Second Edition Beta Testers!

Every week, we will post a weekly update to keep you informed about the progress of the beta. This post will include any big news involving the beta, guidance on where we would like you to focus your attention in the coming week, and a PDF update to the beta document to keep you informed of the most recent tweaks and changes to the Dark Heresy Second Edition core rules.

This week’s update (pdf, 4.8 MB) can be found on the beta support page and includes new items (in red). Additionally, there is a dedicated thread in the Game Mechanics forum in which you can discuss any feedback directly related to this week’s update. As always, you can email us directly at darkheresybeta@fantasyflightgames.com to best ensure we see your feedback too. As a reminder, when you submit your feedback via e-mail, it is most helpful to us if you consolidate multiple questions and comments into a single message, rather than sending a separate e-mail for each question or comment.


Testing the Beta

As mentioned above, each week we will concentrate on a certain aspect of the Dark Heresy Second Edition rules that we would like you to focus on testing in that week. This will allow us to take a deeper look at individual features, and help facilitate more in-depth discussions. Keep in mind, however, that these topics are just the focus for the week, and you are welcome to continue testing whatever aspect of the rules you wish at your own pace. Any and all feedback is welcome at any time.

For next week, we'd like everyone to concentrate on Chapters VIII, IX, and XII, covering Narrative Tools, the GM, and NPCs and Adversaries. Regarding Reinforcement Characters, does the system for calling in heroic individuals to aid the warband work well? Are the sample characters useful and balanced? If possible, try them out in your games and let us know if they are fun additions for your warband's adventures. We’re also planning on creating a GM Sheet, analogous to the Player Sheet, for the GM to use to record and reference important information. Any ideas or suggestions for this sheet would be welcome as well as suggestions for the new GM Screen. Finally, are there any problems using the NPCs or Adversaries in Chapter XII or in the Seeds of Heresy adventure? Do any of them need adjustment, different weapons, or new skills/talents? We plan on fine tuning them once the rest of the rules are settled, but any feedback now would be great.

We look forward to your thoughts and opinions as the beta progresses. Thank you all for your invaluable feedback and insight during this process! We appreciate your help in making Dark Heresy Second Edition the best game possible!

 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, I just noticed something. There are three different sets of rules for sickle swords in Black Crusade, each with it's own special rules.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 BaronIveagh wrote:
You know, I just noticed something. There are three different sets of rules for sickle swords in Black Crusade, each with it's own special rules.

Despite its name, the Kursian Sickle Sword is more closely related to the Sica or Acinaces than a Khopesh.

The more you know!

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Thanks Baron. I'll be sure to ask you next time I want to grind down some reality to insert into my space fantasy game.

And a sica can be used in a reverse hold to catch and disarm people. That's the point.

FFG wrote:Advance Your Abilities
An Only War: Shield of Humanity Designer Diary



Recently, we announced Shield of Humanity, an upcoming supplement for Only War. Shield of Humanity offers new Advanced Specialities to help your forces hold the line in the Spinward Front.

In today’s preview, developer Max Brooke takes a closer look at Advanced Specialities in Shield of Humanity.

A Word from the Developer

We first explored Advanced Specialities in Hammer of the Emperor, the supplement focused on Guardsman Player Characters. In Shield of Humanity, we return to these rules for high-tier character advancement and introduce new Advanced Specialities for the archetypes featured in this book: Ratlings, Ogryns, Ministorum Priests, and Tech-Priests.

When the RPG team outlined the Advanced Specialities for Guardsman Player Characters in Hammer of the Emperor, we decided that they should be extremely open-ended and flexible, and that Guardsmen should not only have access to Advanced Specialities, but also to other core Guardsman Specialities. This let us reflect the fact that Imperial Guard troopers acquire many different sets of skills in the field, and also capture the idea that the idea of universal ranks does not apply within the Imperial Guard. Each Regiment is organised differently, and while some might have specialised titles for the soldiers charged with handling the demolition of enemy fortifications, others merely rely upon troopers who happen to have acquired relevant knowledge of explosives during their service. And, at the end of the day, while two different soldiers of the line might wage war in completely different ways, both are expected to fulfill roughly the same duties in most circumstances, and it is merely their approach to a problem that varies.



Obviously, the completely open-ended model we used for Guardsman PCs wasn't going to work for Support Specialists. By their nature, Support Specialist Player Characters fulfill unique, focused roles, taking on tasks that the rank-and-file soldiers around them are not trained to handle or not physically capable of completing. So instead of giving them a wide field of options for a character to choose from as he picks up the skills to survive another day in the meat grinder, each Advanced Speciality for Support Specialists instead represents a character growing more and more focused on one particular aspect of what already makes that character exceptional.

While a veteran Guardsman character likely possesses a broad base of abilities that let him be flexible in different circumstances, a highly experienced Support Specialist has become extremely proficient at his particular job, and executes it in a way nobody else can. Ogryns and Ratlings possess physical capabilities that surpass those of even the strongest or most sharp-eyed Imperial Guard trooper, and Ministorum Priests and Tech-Priests carry ancient, dread secrets of their respective orders that grant them powers that seem supernatural to the uninitiated observer.

To reflect this, each option had to feel unique, and help differentiate the character even further from the rank-and-file. The RPG team discussed how many options each Support Specialist PC should have, and we ultimately settled upon three to four for each one, depending on the particulars of the Speciality in question. This number gives players an interesting spread of choices for their characters from a mechanical standpoint, but doesn't spread the themes of a given Support Specialist too thin across the different options. When I sat down to develop a first draft of the rules for each Advanced Speciality in Shield of Humanity, I knew that the team's goal was to have each one to focus on one of the most iconic themes of the Support Specialist in question.


The Ratlings

In the case of the Ratling, for example, this meant examining the idea of Ratlings and pulling out three of the major themes associated with these diminutive abhumans. Ratlings are obviously known as snipers, and while their base Speciality emphasizes this role, it seemed right to let a Ratling develop this talent even further with an Advanced Speciality (which we explore in the Longshooter). For many of the same reasons that they make good snipers (their natural stealth, their keen senses, and their ability to traverse rough terrain to reach the perfect spot), Ratlings are often used as scouts by the Imperial Guard. The Trailblazer focuses on this aspect of Ratlings, giving them the equipment to help them stay hidden and the dirty tricks they need to survive if they are caught behind enemy lines.



Finally, Ratlings are known for being socially adept (or, at least more so than many of their fellows in the trenches) and capable of scrounging, wheedling, and stealing supplies as necessary; the Fixer represents this side of Ratlings, and members of any squad that has access to a Ratling with this set of skills will be sure to have any equipment that they need to get the job done (but might find themselves missing other personal possessions at various times).

I'm looking forward to hearing the interesting stories that players and GMs create around their Crimson Exemplars, Ogryn Bulwarks, and their Incinerant Priests, as well as how they use all of the other exciting new resources in this book.


Pre-Order Today!

Thanks Max! Pre-order your copy of Shield of Humanity today, and prepare to hold the Spinward Front in the Emperor’s name! Then, keep checking back for more news and information related to Only War, and Warhammer 40,000 Roleplaying

 BrookM wrote:
Whoever wrote the description for the "CALIXIAN INFANTRYMAN’S PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS TRANSCRIPTION DEVICE" has earned a raise.

 BrookM wrote:
Whoever wrote the description for the "CALIXIAN INFANTRYMAN’S PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS TRANSCRIPTION DEVICE" has earned a raise.

alphaecho wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
Whoever wrote the description for the "CALIXIAN INFANTRYMAN’S PORTABLE COMMUNICATIONS TRANSCRIPTION DEVICE" has earned a raise.

Is it up there with the official reply to the adept who came up with the 'cheap' idea of using 'free' asteroids to bombard planets! Now where was that printed?

While the construction of the Calixian Infantryman’s Portable Communications Transcription Device varies greatly from planet to planet, its function is vital. Every Guardsman tithed from a world within the Calixis Sector is expected to have a rudimentary understanding of its operating procedures so that he may communicate when Vox-operators are not available.

Typically a gripped cylinder with a reservoir or staining liquid, the device has also been manufactured successfully on primitive worlds such as Iocanthos using soft breaking metal or fissionable residue encased in a strain resistant substance, usually milled on site. When a staining liquid is used, it can be manufactured from a variety of substances found throughout the Calixis Sector including, but not limited to, flora/fauna compression, animal excretion harvesting, or synthetic means. This source can often affect the hue of the staining liquid.

The “por-com,” as many Scintillan regiments have come to call it, is typically issued with locally rendered Calixian Infantryman’s Portable Communications Notation Devices. These can be harvested from fauna rendering processes or created synthetically.

A Poor Craftsmanship Calixian Infantryman’s Portable Communications Transcription Device is unreliable. Whenever a Guardsman wishes to make use of one, he must roll 1d10,; on a 1 or 2, the device fails to function. An Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test will allow the Guardsman to perform the Drusian Litany of Gesticulation, calling on the power Saint Drusus to restore the device to working order.

A Best Craftsmanship Calixian Infantryman’s Portable Communications Transcription Device functions even in locations without gravity and has multiple reservoirs that hold different pigments of staining liquid.