Welcome to this grand adventure. Given the intriguing disposition of our party, I wanted to offer a couple moments of thought for any adjustments people might want to make. Currently, we are looking at:
3 psykers (2 mystics, 1 crusader)
2 techpriests (1 sage, 1 warrior)
1 clergy (seeker)
1 gunslinger (desperado)
1 medic (chirurgeon)
I had hopes that we would end up with enough applicants to run two tables (essentially as two operating teams for the same inquisitor in the same field of action). I have reached out to those who backed out at the last minute with build assistance, and will see in they want to come on board.
Back to the topic of adjustments, you are all agents of the Inquisition who have been active for a while. As such, you have had time in transit to "train" and improve yourself. Everyone gains the following:
CHARACTERISTICS
You may move 3 points around amongst your characteristics. You can take all three from one, and give to another, or divide it up as you choose.
SKILLS
You gain one from each of the following
1 - your choice of Awareness, Inquiry, or Scrutiny
2 - your choice of Charm, Deceive, Interrogate, or Intimidate
3 - your choice of one Common Lore
4 - Linguistics in one language of your choice
WOUNDS
You gain 1 bonus wound
This may very well leave some of you with more Experience to spend. If so, please spend it!
STARTING GEAR
Please put down a few requests for anything that may be requested or significant to your character, and I will grant everyone a starting load out.
Also, could everyone give a 2 sentence intro of their character and how long their have served the Inquisitor.
Hey folks! Thanks for having me, I’ll get Ptah fully up to speed later today. Looking at the other characters, I think Dynarius and Ptah will get along fabulously!
I am excited to bring Keira to life in this game.
Keira is a survivor - a rebellious child-of-privilege turned tortured-slave-girl turned grifter and bounty hunter. She is a skilled gunfighter, and talented with stealth and deception.
As for gear, she would have lots of pistols of different types, some light armor (maybe armored bodyglove or light flak), and stealth items (stummer, camo cloak, etc).
I will look over the skills and see what it does for me. I will move 2 points from Str to Agi.
Bachu is scary. Bachu is strange. Bachu sticks out like a sore thumb. To his comrades he is friendly. Bachu is a bit of a heretic. He has "unusal" beliefs. He see's the officials of the Imperial Cult somewhat as frauds. They haven't stood before the Emperor. They haven't had the Emperor in their mind. How could they know what the Emperor wants or desires. Bachu has been with the inquisitor for a while, seven years and served him well as an interrogator.
Bachu's gear is pretty basic loadout. I have the basics in his sheet. Only other thing I could maybe use is a comm bead. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Unless you want to give me a force whip force staff or Animus Hammer. :)
Can you open gameplay so we can dot and delete and it will show in our campaign tab please?
Reporting in!
Ontzlake is a man painfully aware of the fine line he walks between what he believes he is meant to do and what he has been told to do: the highest honor in the Imperium is to battle the enemies of the God-Emperor and earn his love, but being in the Emperor's direct presence has reduced him to a comparatively non-combat role, a situation that only changed recently when the Inquisition conscripted him, and one Ontzlake knows can be revoked at any time, making him hungry to serve and excel.
I was in discussion with our GM via PM about the possibility of adjusting Ontzlake away from the Astropath role to differentiate him more from Bachu, but I was wondering how you might feel if there was a distinction with Bachu being a better Astropath than Ontzlake is (since you have more Telepathy powers than I do, and I'm adding some Divination and Pyromancy further down the line once I get Iron Arm and Warp Speed earned), and thus creating some narrative friction there since Bachu overcame his traumas to excel in the role the Imperium assigned him, while Ontzlake jumped at the first opportunity to escape his duty and fulfill his more selfish ambitions?
I'd be okay with maybe adjusting off the Astropath portion if it comes to that, but I kinda worry with Ontzlake's strong focus on Biomancy and possibly later Sanctic powers, I'd just be replicating Heinrix from Owlcat's Rogue Trader. :P
Two more announcements:
FIRST The Gameplay thread is open. Please dot in and then delete your post.
SECOND After wrestling with the Aptitude system, and then looking into the details of each different character, I have decided to throw it out. When purchasing anything with experience, you count as having "2 Aptitudes" - I hope this will allow players to build the character they thematically want, rather than being punished because their concept does not align with a published structure. SO, you likely need to review your experience expenditures now...
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I was in discussion with our GM via PM about the possibility of adjusting Ontzlake away from the Astropath role to differentiate him more from Bachu, but I was wondering how you might feel if there was a distinction with Bachu being a better Astropath than Ontzlake is (since you have more Telepathy powers than I do, and I'm adding some Divination and Pyromancy further down the line once I get Iron Arm and Warp Speed earned), and thus creating some narrative friction there since Bachu overcame his traumas to excel in the role the Imperium assigned him, while Ontzlake jumped at the first opportunity to escape his duty and fulfill his more selfish ambitions?
Play what you want to play. You are not stepping on any toes. Bachu will mostly be telepathic powers. He will eventually play people like puppets. I don't see any pyromancy at all and I doubt any divination though I need to look at those again. Basically he's job is to gather information and disseminate it. Read a mind, maybe plant a false memory, make em forget or take total control. Other than that if a power can induce fear or something akin to it, he may do it.
I had originally planned for Maxim to be this sort of religious knight type character, but then leant into the medic role as a twist into more of a knight hospitaler when it seemed like we had quite a few tanky-bruiser types. It seems like several of us are capable at melee, but we don't have that "tank" anymore (where did the sisters go?!). If I undid my swapped characteristics, I would go back to having a 43 Strength, then could swap Fel for Int to still get a high Int for Medicae. Thoughts from anyone?
Maxim is a very tragic character, I will fill in more soon. Need to review my XP spending.
Dotting in, didn't see this until just now and don't have time for a full post. The tossing of Aptitudes makes me rethink some things; I actually primarily picked Warrior because it gave me the right Aptitudes for most of my Talents.
Real quick as well, what do you mean by "3 points from Characteristics?" literally 3, or 3 "advances" (i.e. 15 total points)?
I kinda worry with Ontzlake's strong focus on Biomancy and possibly later Sanctic powers, I'd just be replicating Heinrix from Owlcat's Rogue Trader. :P
*Stares in unsanctioned diviner from a lost planet.*
Right! Thanks for the selection, GM! Also, hi everyone, looking forward to this game a lot, especially with a retinue as cool as this one!
I've done the updates of Venatalia's sheet. It went, uh, weird.
Regarding gear - No idea what I'd want, but I've had the 'vibe' of her home planet being a mountainous frontierish planet, and she's definitely a talented survivalist (Unless climbing is required). A combi-tool might also be nice, because the unsanctioned mutant needs to piss off the Mechanicus, the Nobility, Ecclessiarchy and the Astropaths in equal measure.
I don't know if the GM wants to deal with the extra work that comes with an animal of some sort, but I like the idea of a mount or a pet of some sort. Something like a battle-cat or something like a non-augmented grapplehawk? I'll take a look in the wiki to see if there's anything that's flavourful. Maybe the Razorwing from Rogue Trader? The game mentions that they are trainable.
Regarding combat, we have a pistol-toting gunslinger lady, and a shooty techpriest - With some of the perception-related talents and psyker abilities, as well as the navigator things from Rogue Trader, I think leaning into staying away and probably having a long-las might make sense, especially with the ork infested planet - they do like their enemies close.
The introductory description:
Venatalia treads the line between primitive witch an eccentric frontier noblewoman with her aloof statements, odd quirks, admirable survivalist skills and enviable etiquette skills. Similarly at home at high courts and the wilderness, it's mostly the hives and masses of mankind that throw her off base. She's a recent addition to Inquisitor Bouchon's retinue, and while she's clearly not completely adapted to the Imperium at large, she has shown surprising aptitude in learning on the job and improvisation.
I did just notice that we have three frontierish noblewomen, and both the techpriests and the astropaths have a standard and a, uh, non-standard one. The poor doctor will gray prematurely even without the horrors of the universe.
Play what you want to play. You are not stepping on any toes. Bachu will mostly be telepathic powers. He will eventually play people like puppets. I don't see any pyromancy at all and I doubt any divination though I need to look at those again. Basically he's job is to gather information and disseminate it. Read a mind, maybe plant a false memory, make em forget or take total control. Other than that if a power can induce fear or something akin to it, he may do it.
I was in discussion with our GM via PM about the possibility of adjusting Ontzlake away from the Astropath role to differentiate him more from Bachu, but I was wondering how you might feel if there was a distinction with Bachu being a better Astropath than Ontzlake is (since you have more Telepathy powers than I do, and I'm adding some Divination and Pyromancy further down the line once I get Iron Arm and Warp Speed earned), and thus creating some narrative friction there since Bachu overcame his traumas to excel in the role the Imperium assigned him, while Ontzlake jumped at the first opportunity to escape his duty and fulfill his more selfish ambitions?
Awesome! I'm personally excited to see how the two of us play off each other! :D
In regards to gear, it's no secret that a Force Sword would be the holy grail of equipment for Ontzlake, but I absolutely do NOT expect him to get his hands on one right out of the box. I do want the moment he receives his Force Sword to be special. Until such a time, he will make do with whatever sword the Inquisition will allow him to carry. Better armor than the mere flak armor from the Adeptus Astra Telepathica background is most likely essential to. And lastly, a knife like I've indicated he wears around his neck, along the lines of the Mercy Blades used by Sanctioned Psykers in the guard and because Hraxians are just generally Knife Nuts as a culture.
I'll wait for an answer to StormDragon's question to ensure I'm calculating Ontzlake's upgrades correctly.
Ceasillia was a highborn, though her noble house no longer exists. And while she enjoyed her time amongst the clergy, she still would have jumped at the opportunity to serve the inquisition had it been her choice. She seeks to root out the corrupt, whether they be influenced by the forces of chaos or by the same simple human greed that infected her own family. She has served inquisitor Bouchon for a little over two years now.
For the bonus language I was thinking because she grew up in a major trade hub she might have learnt a language spoken by the league of Votann. Though I'm not sure if they even have their own language or if you would find them in this sector of the galaxy.
For starting gear I was thinking either a pict recorder or a dataslate so she has a way to record information and confessions.
Dynarius is a friendly sort, by the standards of his brotherhood. That, however, still leaves him as being largely unsettling to those not attuned to the mindset of the Mechanicus as a whole, much less the sub-sect of Electro-Priests.
Many find his eyeless gaze unnerving, and his disdain for the flesh may come across as if he pleasures in inflicting suffering, but those who get to know him find that he often has their best interests in mind and merely wishes to help in his own way.
On the sliding scale of pure orthodoxy to pure heresy, he is somewhat right of the middle as an Explorator-aspirant and while in previous days that might have ended with demotion to servitor (if he was lucky) should any overhear his ramblings, with the ascendancy of Cawl to right hand of the regent, sentiment like his is slowly becoming more common among the priesthood.
Good evening all. To Storm Dragon's question, this is in fact the movement of one 3 numerical points. So you could subtract 3 from an Agility of 30, reducing it to 27, and add it to a Strength of 38, increasing it to 41. It's a chance to tweak a couple of your Characteristic scores.
As you edit you Experience expenditure, please ensure the updated details are included in your character profile.
I have sent several of you PMs through the messaging system, please read and address accordingly.
Venatalia let me take a look at what's in the books for animal companions and corresponding rules.
Caesilia I am intrigued by the idea of a language spoken by the Leagues of Votann, and am okay with it.
Ptah’s not unfriendly but much like Dynarius, he’s naturally unsettling in the standard Mechanicus fashion.
He finds a great amount of ideological alignment with Belisarius Cawl, eagerly embracing the stranger sides of human understanding and pushing the boundaries of what is permissible within the Imperium.
The mention of the League’s language is interesting, I wonder if it’d have a specific name? Googling it gives nothing, but I wonder if something like Kynsrede could work.
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Venatalia I did a little research and there are some limited rules for using the Survival skill for training and handling animals. I don't have my old DH 1e books at home, will need to swing by storage and see if I can find any more reference material in there. In short, I am definitely up for you having a companion, but would want some kind of XP cost to offset how powerful it might be.
Ptah 7-Kappa it's funny you mention that. When I was on Lexicanum, I had to laugh when the language listed said "unknown".
TO EVERYONE I am going to post gear later today. Could everyone please confirm that their character has been updated to include the adjustments posted here in the Discussion thread? If anyone has any other questions or would like to make more changes prior to the start of game play, please ask now.
For soon, the Darkness is coming....
No problem! I'm fine with it just being a narrative thing for now, and I do dread the potential issue with initiatives if need be. I've got hands in many pies at the moment, so I'm not against figuring that out later - she already has the Psychic Power and the skill at the moment regardless!
I think the character sheet should be finished, I did double check and discover I hadn't updated my skills after playing around with them, but that should be the final version.
I am good to go.
Dumb question, are the skills the earlier post meant to treated as free advances or increasing the base from character creation? Just not sure if I need to bold the skills I pick or not.
They are additional skills that start at the rating of "known", as though gained as part of character creation. If you receive a skill twice it does not become further advanced, but rather you can substitute another skill. And to increase them to trained you would pay the normal cost.
Does that clarify?
Yes, thank you!
I will update my character in just a little bit and I'll be good to go then.
Okay, I've made my shift of points, taking even MORE from my BS and putting into Agility.
I'm taking Inquiry, Deceive, Common Lore (Imperial Creed) and Linguistics (Chaos Marks) to reflect his backstory and how Bouchon recruited him (tricking a rogue Astropath Chaos cultist and backstabbing him at an opportune moment), but I'm not sure if I have to make any actual adjustments on the sheet since making a Skill "Known" simply removes the -10 penalty for using a skill untrained.
I believe that's everything? Let me know if there's still something you need.
I've finished adjusting my stats. Are we still going to split up into 2 smaller teams or are we staying as 1 bigger one?
And for equipment, were you asking for things we would like on-top of what we normally start with according to character creation? Or are we not using those rules and we're just getting whatever we agree on?
Oh yeah, equipment. I should probably look in the book. I wish there was an equivalent to Electrostatic Gauntlets so I didn't have to spend so much XP mimicking the base function of my weapon.
Not sure if it was necessary, but I went ahead and swapped to the more strength dominant build, to embrace a little bit of his nightly origins while also being a physik/medic. I am all set to go to this point.
For starting gear requests, given his feudal origins, I assume maxim would still have some kind of a medieval-esque armor, maybe mail and a shield. For arms an appropriate sword or mace, and likely also a pistol and either rifle or shotgun. I kept him solid projectile, matching with the archiac Firearms of his homeworld. And a medikit of course.
Looking over gear, some potential stuff I'd want:
-Shock Whip
-Webber or Web Pistol
-Cranial Armour implant/cybernetic
--Maybe some kind of armor in general. Technically Corpuscarii don't wear any but I'd like this character to live and Subdermal Armour only does so much.
-Ferric Lure implant; top of the list for cool factor, bottom for practicality.
-Utility Mechadendrite; if this is too much, I'd like a regular Combi-Tool
-A variety pack of grenades
Always late to the party. I am good to go!
N00b question here, sorry: how exactly do I determine my actual number in a skill again? I just want to make sure the free skills I've picked are shown accurately.
Right, so there's two types of skills - Basic and Specialist.
If a skill is Basic (Most of them), you start with it at Untrained, where you have the connected characteristic -20 (so if you have 30 Str, and you're not trained in Athletics, you have an Athletics skill of 10)
If it's a Specialist Skill (Lores, Operates, Navigates, Linguistics and Trades), then you don't have it at all and can't roll it.
If a skill is asked to be rolled with a different attribute (Like a Fellowship Intimidate for a veiled threat instead of the standard Str one), then you take your normal bonus or penalty to the skill and apply it to that characteristic.
OHHHHH so if it's a "Known" skill it's just your rating in its respective characteristic?
Yeah, it's a raw stat check once it's trained and then you get a +10 for every level it's trained after that. So if you had a 40 in Ballistic Skill and were Experienced (Rank 3) in that skill, you'd have a check of 60.
Thanx!
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I just realized I never did my "intro", hopefully that has not been the holdup.
The agent known as Ash by most is often a figure of mystery, for those who know him only in passing see a scarred, disfigured man who hides behind a hood. Yet they appreciate his skill in both mending wounds, and stepping into combat.
For those who know his given name of Maxim, or his assumed surname - Ashvayne - they have likely learned the tragic tale of a penitent knight who survives to defend, but who failed to save those he loves the most.
I think everyone's ready now?
I think so! I think the GM is busy with the equipment sheet and the rest of starting things.
Which means, anyone have any thoughts about character connections with one another based on what we've done for our transcripts? Stuff will definitely happen in play, ofc, but general 'just like in subhive 42.B, eh', and attitudes to one another might be a fun way to fill the time at the moment.
I can definitely say that Venatalia would be both discomforted by the astropaths being sanctioned, and also subconsciously comforted by their calming effect on the Sea of Souls.
I think I'm good to go.
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Certainly worth discussing! Like I suggested earlier, Ontzlake might feel a tad jealous that Bachu is, to put it bluntly, better at being an Astropath than Ontzlake is. Feeling more comfortable in his role in the Imperium than Ontzlake did. With Venatalia on the other hand, he may not know what to make of her exactly. Having come from the world of sanctioned psykers, the idea that an unsanctioned one may serve despite that is almost unfathomable, prompting a mix of contempt ("Why didn't you seek Sanctioning as soon as you were rescued?!") and pity ("Your eyes may see while mine do not, but I fear your world may be just as dark, for you have not been given a chance to see the Emperor's light the way I have.")?
Let me know if I'm pushing boundaries too hard. We're supposed to be a cohesive unit after all, so we need to feel comfortable with each other to a certain extent rather than pointing at each other Spider-Man style and yelling "HERESY!" so Bouchon has to go "Children, do I have to separate you?" :P
I do know that Ontzlake would probably view Ash as a kindred spirit: a servant of the Emperor who not only does his duty as per his profession, but as a warrior as well!
In the meantime, how 'bout a little moooooood music, courtesy of the illustrious battle-brothers of the DragonForce chapter? (I know, this is Dark Heresy, not Wrath & Glory, but I just had to share this new release!) :P
Man, I WISH this was Wrath and Glory. I have no doubt this game is gonna be fun but that system is so much easier to do stuff in lol. So much simpler, but somehow feels even more flexible.
Storm Dragon Has Wrath & Glory come a long way from its initial release? I spent a small fortune for some kind of pre-order (maybe it was a Kickstarter?) and the system I received was a total mess. I know that Cubicle 7 has it now, but after spending so much to receive a really messy, chaotic system, I never got back into it.
As for Keira, she's an adaptable survivor who has served the Inquisitor for several years. She knows her worth, and is happy for her role, but perhaps might feel a little unimpressive with a trio of psykers, two tech-priests of mars, a clergywoman with a (giant?) chainsword, and a mutant medic. She would likely be closest to Venatalia and Caesilia, given their similar backgrounds and skillsets.
Storm Dragon Has Wrath & Glory come a long way from its initial release? I spent a small fortune for some kind of pre-order (maybe it was a Kickstarter?) and the system I received was a total mess. I know that Cubicle 7 has it now, but after spending so much to receive a really messy, chaotic system, I never got back into it.
They did a full "Second Edition" of the game, yeah. The Core Rulebook is completely overhauled. In addition to a lot of the rules being polished, it's also now...readable. The formatting of the 1st edition was awful.
Plus, Paizo's very own Thurston Hillman has done some freelance stuff for it!
I like that! Maybe there'll be discussion on what sight or blindness truly is! Nothing like some Psykana discussion to make people's heads hurt, hopefully only metaphorically.
I did see Wrath and Glory when that came out, but I never actually engaged with it, I was mostly looking at Rogue Trader the TTRPG. There being a second edition for Wrath and Glory sounds like it might merit a now look, but I do try and limit myself to one new system per year nowadays!
Keira, I think there's definitely some merit in being just your everyday idea of a badass pistol swinging infiltrator gunslinger. Gives credit with the everyday citizens of the Imperium! I can see some frontier chatter, complaints about the air in a hive or a voidship or, you know, similar things popping up.
I like that! Maybe there'll be discussion on what sight or blindness truly is! Nothing like some Psykana discussion to make people's heads hurt, hopefully only metaphorically.
Truth IS subjective, according to my divination!
I like that! Maybe there'll be discussion on what sight or blindness truly is! Nothing like some Psykana discussion to make people's heads hurt, hopefully only metaphorically.
In my professional experience, eyes are a hindrance that we are better without. Why does not everyone simply maneuver by feeling the currents of the Motive Force? 'Tis much more efficient.
I am heading out of town tomorrow March 28 and the plan is to be back on Monday April 1st. I will be able to read posts but don't expect me to post anything that requires formatting as I only have my phone.
Just doing a quick check-in, you doing okay GM?
I am very excited to slay some heretics, hoping this gets moving soon? Is everything okay, or do you need anything from us?
All ready to go here. Glad to hear everyone is ok.
Me too!