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I'm going to be getting one of the aforementioned rulebooks over the weekend from FLGS. However, I can't quite decide between the two. Which do ye of dakka recommend?

~~Yzz

I voted DH but realized I made a lot of assumptions about what you're looking for.

I think you ought to provide more information along those lines.

I've read good (& hilarious) anecdotes about Dark Heresy and it seems to have a lot more rp opportunities (due to the sheer spectrum of interactions that can occur), while Deathwatch seems a little more hack'n'slash due to the general nature of Space Marine contingent.

I'm completely open to either one.

~~Yzz

Do you want to RP the grimdarkness, live on the edge and get into the imperium ? Play DH.

If you want to banzai through hordes of aliens and heretics, pick DW.

That said you can RP in both, I've only GM-ed DW and most of my players were of the KILL IT WITH FIRE mindset so I think that DH lends itself more to RPing. Again it depends what you're looking for.

Fighting chaos space marines would be difficult for human acolytes but standard fare for DW space marines.

A lot of people have complained because they wanted Dark Heresy to be about high-powered Inquisitorial agents flipping out and killing everything, when it's more low-powered agents that need to earn their Licenses to Kill if they survive. I'd keep that in mind.

In DH I'd think a Chaos Space Marine would be a boss, maybe even a campaign boss... Maybe, for powerful campaigns, an entire small squad/warband might be the 'opposition' but I'd expect all but the Big Bad and his retinue to be opponents that need to be taken out indirectly:

The PCs are recruited by Inquisitor Hotpants who needs some local viewpoints on planet Muckball. He sends them on a mission to capture a local cult leader who either gets captured or accidentally killed. Either way, clues point to an ancient nemesis of Inq. Hotpants, who conveniently locks herself in the bathroom for the duration of the campaign because the player characters are more fun to watch.

They're set against Lord Sniffles, who has 3 bodyguards and a selection of other specialist-types. Lord Sniffle's evil plan is to turn Planet Muckball into a veritable temple of disease by releasing a bunch of super-viruses, and he's infiltrating the very secure plant where they make those virus bombs the Imperium likes to use.

The PCs are attacked en-route to the 'super secure' bomb factory, which is an excuse for a set-piece where they get to kill a single Nurgle-themed Assassin-type by doing something cool. As an idea, they're on a train, the only way to defeat the incredibly tough assassin is to re-route the train car so it dumps the Marine into the convenient nearby bleach sea.

At the factory they find it's heavily infiltrated by cultists and end up hitting the fail safe, which nukes the place. Inquisitor Hotpants is disappointed, but not enough to do anything besides dispatch her minions... I mean, her pawns... I mean, her associates to follow up another clue.

After an uneventful shuttle ride to the moon, the PCs discover a lab/temple where an old biowarfare facility has been reactivated. More cultists are killed, and there's a squad of Chaos Space Marines incoming. Fighting them head on is a Bad Idea, but if they can get to the comm room they can signal a lance strike from an orbiting naval vessel...

Coming off the success (and with some extra advancements now) they follow some other clues and eventually have the showdown with Lord Sniffles in his isolated volcano lair where the Inquisitorial Minions get to be bad-ass and take on the Lord Sniffles and his bodyguards, dozens of cultists, and some more specialists with the help of a small army of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers in red shirts, Inquisitor Hotpants, and a pony. The end. Or is it?

I'm assuming you already have Rogue Trader? If not, then forget the other two, at least for now. Many people (not just myself) prefer RT out of the 3 core systems for 40kRPG.

Where's the 'Get both!' option for the poll?

Go dark heresy, into ascension, and then deathwatch. That's the scale of power.

Rogue trader can be placed at any point after the 1/2 way point in dark heresy. It can also become ascension level easily, plus your players get a ship!

You can play a dark heresy game any way you want. Mostly combat, with little investigation? Sure. Mostly investigation/roleplay with little combat? Easy. Deathwatch isn't really geared for easy roleplay, I mean your a flipping spaz marine.

Start with dark heresy, then work your way (and any players you have) through it and the other books. They are all excellent game systems.

Balance, you are the king.

personal opinion here is that dark heresy is more about interacting with the imperium around you, deathwatch is more about interacting with your squad-mates . At least from a role playing standpoint, both can be very rewarding but one requires a lot less work from the player characters.

Captain Idaeus wrote:personal opinion here is that dark heresy is more about interacting with the imperium around you, deathwatch is more about interacting with your squad-mates . At least from a role playing standpoint, both can be very rewarding but one requires a lot less work from the player characters.

That's a neat way to look at it!

For me, the actual 'combat' for Space Marines seems almost boring. Realistically, a 'normal day' is ending the existence of a few dozen heretics, so only gaming the big fights makes sense. (Note: I've heard DW has some neat rules for swarms and hordes of lesser critters... If they're good, use them!) What would interest me with Space Marines is what would cause them to break or bend from their course. What would cause them to ignore orders.

A lot of this is true of all 'military' RPG campaigns: The Player Characters are part of what is effectively an amazing structure for railroading them as they can be ordered to do whatever the GM wants (as a superior officer can, well, order them...) and punish them if they try to go off the rails. That, to me, can be very boring and/or result in a lot of situations where the scenario has to force situations where the PCs are on their own.


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Manchu wrote:Balance, you are the king.

Thank you! I'm too busy to even think about running a game these days and play with a great GM (much better than me) so I get ym random creative desires out here among other places.