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In the suffocating embrace of the void, where forgotten stars flicker and die, the ever-encroaching torment of Chaos stretches out it's wicked tendrils, corrupting world and man alike. At times it is subtle, spreading slowly - barely noticed, like an infection in a festering wound. In other moments the unspeakable horrors are far too real, though seemingly defy the very reality they tear asunder. These are the terrors of the 41st Millenium.
Yet in this utter darkness of corruption and madness a beacon shines across the Immaterium - The Emperor's radiant light, an eternal hope for his faithful servants. Called from the misbegotten corners of the Imperium of Man, you are agents of the Inquisition, the most sacred Holy Ordos who seek to confront xenos, daemons, and heretics.
I seek those willing to traverse the abyssal depths of the Imperium's darkest secrets, to confront nightmares that would drive lesser men to madness. Do you possess the fortitude to face the abyss and emerge unscathed, knowing there will be no respite from the unrelenting horrors that lurk in every shadow? Are you willing to sacrifice everything in service to the Imperium, for the path you tread is fraught with peril, and the price of failure is damnation? Then inquire within, and join the ranks of those who wield the chain sword, bolter, and flamer in delivering the Righteous Wrath of the Emperor.
Just remember, in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, and only the faithful will survive.
Greetings all, this is a recruitment for the Warhammer 40,000 RPG - Dark Heresy (2nd edition)
Source Books all Dark Heresy (2e). If there is something in a DH 1e book, or something from one of the sister games (Rogue Trader, Only War, etc) that does not exist in 2e, speak with me and we can consider some kind of update.
I have also included this Handy Character Creation Reference Sheet to assist.
Similarly, this Character Creation tool can be helpful to quickly review starting options.
Characteristics We will be rolling for characteristics per the Core Rulebook. However, to reflect being experienced veterans, four Characteristics will start with a base of 25, and the remaining six with a base of 20. You will also get to reroll three d10 (these could either be used split between three different characteristics, or applied two for one characteristic and one for another).
Experience you will start with 1800 experience to spend on Character Advancements.
Starting Talents any Background that grants a starting talent of Weapon Proficiency (Chain or Shock) will be adjusted to (Low Tech). Both Chain and Shock would require significant advanced training that would build on the basics of melee weapon training. The others could be purchased with experience.
Aptitudes in addition to those Aptitudes gained from your Homeworld, Background, and Role, you may chose 1 free Aptitude - this reflects your character's own unique nature.
Equipment there will be some modifications to starting equipment, as some build are wildly unbalanced. I also have cobbled together an expanded armory from resources found online and from much of the older 1e material. I will share it on the Campaign page.
I ask that each applicant develop a Character Background that includes the character's origin and past life, how they came to serve the Inquisitor, and a few personality traits. It does not have to be a book, but enough flavor to flesh out the character beyond the numbers.
Recruitment Timeline As 40k and Dark Heresy are not the primary focus of the Paizo website, I am not entirely sure how many interested applicants I will get. As of right now, I am going to tentatively say Recruitment will end at 11:59 pm EST on Friday, February 23rd. This will allow for the weekend to finalize any last adjustments to characters, and hopefully announce a retinue on Monday, February 26th.
I am sure I missed some things, so please, ask any and all questions.
Let the Chaos begin!
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Definitely interested in this! I've not had the chance to play the 2e of DH, but I don't think it'd be all that different from the first edition of books. I also have a couple of concepts already, will try and find out the most 'sane' one.
Is there any hints or ideas as to what the game would be about? I know in Dark Heresy you're supposed to be a retinue of vastly different people dragged together under the inquisition's banner, but I feel like I should check first if there's anything in particular you'd like to do or have.
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Since I've been inspired by the (rather excellent) Rogue Trader CRPG game, I've set my eye on a Quarantine World Rogue Trader ship character. Normally I'd go for a little bit more 'masses of the imperium' character, but a little more unique background does seem to fit into the misfits of an inquisitorial retinue, and I had a bit of a creative surge.
I'll work more on the background and give more details (with enough leeway to change things along to fit a team better) but I'm thinking of a person growing up on a settlement that sprung from a crashed ship on a quarantined world few generations ago.
Ooh, a malignancy!
EDIT: Dice are telling a story, it seems... I think I got something.
Haha, of course, I give this broad, setting based intro, but don't give any details about the storyline itself!
You will be playing as established agents serving the Inquisitor Artemis Bouchon, a member of the Ordo Hereticus. He has been an inquisitor since his elevation from interrogator more than 5 decades past. An enigmatic man, Artemis employs a wide variety of tactics in his investigations, allowing your characters to come from all manner of backgrounds. You may have been part of his for 10 years, 9 months, or even only a few days. That is up to you.
The game itself will involve investigation, puzzles, roleplay, and of course brutal combat.
Let's see what the dice have to say...
I am looking at a Frontier World Outlaw Desperado (think olde West gunslinger).
Looks like a pretty sharp start.
Gonna re-roll a tech priest I've had in a few DH games over the years.
All in all, damn fine stats for a tech-priest!
Tried to run my own Dark Heresy game that fell apart, but got the Humble Bundle with all the 2E stuff. Extremely excited to take a crack at it from the player side!
Likely looking at some form of Mechanicus character or maybe a psyker, will do more research and return with an idea.
Ah, beaten by a few seconds. How much overlap is there in between builds? If I made a mechanicus character as well, will it be overlapped a lot by another Tech Priest?
Might go with a Soritas, if that's the case.
Ah, beaten by a few seconds. How much overlap is there in between builds? If I made a mechanicus character as well, will it be overlapped a lot by another Tech Priest?
Ack, sorry to ninja you, Bigrig. There might be some overlap, depending on the route you take with your Tech-Priest. I'm going the Sage route, aiming for knowledge skills, tech-use, as well as being able to supplement it with decent melee and ranged capabilities.
Nah, it's okay! I'm looking into Soritas and it seems way more my style. Feudal world, Novitiate Duelist, melee focused build.
Now to figure out how to actually make a character!
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Seeing a techpriest and a Desperado roll up, I think I might've gotten an idea for the character now.
Presenting Venatalia Rey'a'Nor, noblewoman, hunter and unsanctioned wytch alike.
Centuries ago, the Custos Aureum, a Lunar-Class Cruiser of the Battlefleet Calixis, initiated an emergency warp jump after an overwhelming void ambush by a Freebooter fleet. After the warp's trials and travails, the Custos Aureum reappeared in low orbit of an unknown, verdant world, and underwent involuntary landing. By the Emperor's Mercy, the crew losses were calculated to be merely 73.1%, unfortunately including the majority of the command staff.
The Navigator that initiated the warp jump, one Lady Audacia Rey'a'Nor, survived the crash, alongside the Sanctum Navigatoris. As the ship interred itself at the high peaks of a forested mountain, the chain of command meant that Lady Audacia was now the leader of these lost souls, stranded in unknown territory after the destruction of the Astropath Chorus.
Proving herself to be an exceptional leader, the crashed ship quickly turned into a settlement where macrocannon-loader clans turned to farming barons, troops of guardsmen turning into warlords and generals, techpriests and technomats forging guilds and missionaries keeping the faith in the God-Emperor alive - with the ominous promise that the planet was just a temporary stop.
Alpha-Epsilon-199 was the world, marked as Quarantine due to the presence of Exodites on the planet - kept at a hand away by diplomacy, kept promises of tending to the land, and a shared vision of a common foe to one day arrive. And arrive it did.
A century after the death of Lady Audacia, survived by many children due to political marriages between the now bastardised nobility, the enemy arrived. A Rork landed on the planet, and the locals forged an uneasy alliance to fend off the greenskin scourge, losing ground even with the aid of the united Exodite clans and the barking of the restored macrocannons and lance batteries of the Custos Aureum.
Venatalia was born in the beginning of the Greenskin war, a human-borne child of a Technomat-guilder and an offspring of the Rey'a'Nor. She grew up learning the traditions of the Imperium and the rites of the Rey'a'Nor, the ways of handling a lasrifle and negotiate food, labour and fortifications for the war effort between the divided populace, and plagued by visions both dark and prophetic.
Only by the arrival of the Arcadius Rogue Trader Dynasty, assisted by a few Elder Corsairs, was Alpha-Epsilon-199 saved. As part of the deal, the residents of Aurum Audacien were loaded on the Rogue Trader's ship, with a bountiful haul under the Eldar's watchful eyes. With a well-populated offspring of a Magisterial House, the Navigators with the gift of the Third Eye were accepted as long-lost cousins, and the ones simply claiming blood, and not warp, could enjoy their place in Imperial society. The ones touched by the warp in ways not easily classified, however, were left at an impasse with the Black Fleet's tithe difficult to plan around and with noble blood being uncomfortable to spill.
And thus, came Inquisitor Bouchon's unexpected offer of service to the Throne. A person with valour proven and connections wide is a fine addition to most retinues, and a malady of the flesh can be excused inside the Inquisition and act as a reminder of the forgiveness of the Emperor - or His servants' swift wrath should straying from the path of His light occur. The gift of sight beyond sight, trained by those who have no peer in the Imperium, has been a great aid to the Inquisitor's retinue more than once.
Venatalia is clearly a woman of good stock - tall and thin, as most descendants of those who spend time in the void, but her callouses and tan indicate a lot of time planetside. Dark haired and usually dressed in well-made, but clearly handmade primitive cloak, covering a finely woven suit of Imperial Meshweave, and wearing boots of xenohide and beads. A circlet of finely crafted silver and gold covering her forehead, marked with sigils both High Gothic and unknown, that seems well-artificed by talented crafters. Never removing it while in public, the circlet conceals an undeveloped eyelid, permanently fused closed - a clear mark of mutation.
While uneasy with the masses of humanity, Venitalia conceals this with speech easy flowing and well-pronounced. While whispers and sights beyond sight occasionally bother her at inopportune times and often in her dreams, she attempts to focus on the here and now - a task once much easier. She rarely endeavours to use her wytch abilities, though the eldritch gestures and quirks of the Nobilite often shine through. Her rituals - a prognostication bastardised from House Rey'a'Nor's Navigatorial Rites, often fill the building with dread and unease.
Mechanics wise - I think I'm going for the Mystic (Psyker) build, with a heavy bent towards Divination (maybe something later on). I was also going to ask - with the social things and the quasi-nobility (and quasi-Nobilite!) idea - could I possibly exchange my Distrustful Malignancy for Witch-Mark (the eye, as it is mentioned to be easily concealable) and Night Terrors? If not - I could refluff the character to be a little more aloof, and lean more into the 'had fought a war with primitive orks', or simply work through the Fel penalty with strangers.
Cheers!
EDIT: Wow, this picked up! A witch and a sister, tale as old as time. And a techpriest, this is shaping up to be interesting!
Wow, it's great to see the early interest. So far, we have:
The Lion Cleric Quarantine - Rogue Trader - Mystic
Tara Ravenheart Frontier - Outcast - Desperado
Simeon Forge - Mechanicus - Sage
bigrig107 Feudal - Sororitas - Crusader
This is a great mix so far. I'm excited to see how all these characters flesh out. One of the nice changes going into dark heresy 2e was the expansion of the character creation process to include homeworld, background, and role. The trio allows for a myriad of different character concepts. Here are three "mechanicus" characters:
- forge world mechanicus sage: the classic tech-priest
- voidborn mechanicus ace: master crafter and pilot / operator of tech vehicles
- penal colony mechanicus warrior: surgically altered robo-soldier
- feral world mechanicus assassin: vat growth, bio-enhanced techno thief / hitman
But even if the same home world, background, and role are all taken, a great deal of difference can be established with the characteristics role, and how experiences spent on advances and abilities.
All that is to say, don't be afraid to use the same background, homeworld, or role as someone else in the character you're playing with.
Characteristics I forgot, you also have the option to swap two Characteristics rolled scores.
@Tara It looks like you forgot to pick the four characteristics that start at 25. You may update accordingly.
Looking at Crusader for now. I'm not 100% solid on all of the rules system quite yet, but I have a basic idea and am reading to learn.
I did have a question about backgrounds, is there a set system this is taking place in? Looking at a third or fourth daughter of a feudal world's ruling family essentially 'donated' to the Soritas and eventually being picked up by Inquisitor Bouchon.
Do I pick an existing world or make one up for her?
I would love to play Dark Heresy, a good inquisitorial warband could always use a dutiful lawman - the brutal adeptus arbite!
Wow, that's a roll! And definitely hits the strong points for an investigator. Now to build it out.
First Traveller now Warhammer universe. I am always drawn toward psykers.
32
34
30
44
39
42
RR1 4 30
RR3 9 43
34
RR2 3 33
Home World: Voidborn
Background: Adeptus Astra Telepathica
Role: Mystic
I'll need to see if I can find the pdfs to build the character. I used the Character generator as a guide so I hope all is right.
Using 2 rerolls on Strength (anything is better than snake eyes), 1 on Influence.
Homeworld: Feudal
Background: Adeptus Arbites
Role: still debating between Seeker (investigator), Heirophant (interrogator), Warrior (trooper), and Assassin (cleaner)
Need to figure out the final direction of the character, but maybe the morning will bring some clarity.
Can't....resist...the...Emperor's...call...
Will peruse the rule books and seek inspiration.
CURRENT APPLICANT LIST
The Lion Cleric Quarantine - Rogue Trader - Mystic
Tara Ravenheart Frontier - Outcast - Desperado
Simeon Forge - Mechanicus - Sage
BigRig107 Feudal - Sororitas - Crusader
Trawets71 Voidborn - Astra Telepathica - Mystic
Wanderer82 Feudal - Arbites - ???
@Lion Cleric yes, i am cool with the malignancy swap.
@BigRig we will be using the Calixis Sector, in the Segmentum Obscurus, but I will not be running it rigid. Players are more than welcome to create their own homeworlds and past events, don't feel constrained just by published material.
I am working on a mobile device, but later I will add some more resources to the Campaign to assist with character creation.
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I do love the Calixis Sector, it's just frontier enough to have a lot of mystery. And a great place to pretend to be a Footfallen if anyone asks about your weird abilities.
Much appreciated on the swap. I've made the alias here, and I think I'm done with my finagling, but I'd appreciate some input from, well, everyone. Might've stretched too thin to be able to stare at the glimpses of the Empyrean for the Inquisition, but I think a green-ish to the greater Imperium acolyte with a unique talent might get some leeway. And not being the absolute worst at combat does help.
Ah drat! Only have 1st edition!
Feudal - Sororitas - Crusader
Seems good enough for a Sororitas. Will probably be looking to focus on heavy weapons and eventually get her full power armor, if it goes on long enough.
Oh right, can reroll 3 d10s.
Makes Toughness 29 and Intelligence 33 for a final:
WS: 41
BS: 33
S: 39
T: 29
AG: 36
INT: 33
PERC: 37
WILL: 38
FELLOW: 33
INF: 29
Archpaladin Zousha by all means, hop on board. The system is a little cumbersome to start, but once you get the feel it actually runs pretty smooth. I recommend you use the character creation tool linked above to play around with concepts. It just helps with the initial basics, not spending any experience, but it is useful for quickly mixing and matching homeworld-background-role combinations.
So I totally forgot to apply the 4 "25's" at the time of rolling, they will go to BS, Agi, Per, and Fel. In addition, if I understand correctly, I will swap the rolls from WS and Agi, ending up with a WS 28 (20+3+5) and an Agi 43 (25+10+8).
If a job's worth doing, it's worth dying for
So my rolled stats are now:
WS: 28
BS: 45
Str: 32
Tou: 33
Agi: 43
Int: 36
Per: 41
Wil: 35
Fel: 39
Ifl: 30
What are we doing about equipment? Just follow standard acquisition rules?
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Question, is this story going to be set before or after the shift from M41 to M42?
I ask because I know Owlcat's Rogue Trader game is set in M42, and shows the Koronus Expanse is relatively okay despite being on the wrong side of the Cicatrix Maledictum, and the Calixis Sector is right next door so depending on when this game is set it may influence events in everyone's backstories.
APPLICANTS (FINISHED)
The Lion Cleric - Venatalia Rey'a'Nor Quarantine - Rogue Trader - Mystic
APPLICANTS (In Progress)
Tara Ravenheart Frontier - Outcast - Desperado
Simeon Forge - Mechanicus - Sage
BigRig107 Feudal - Sororitas - Crusader
Trawets71 Voidborn - Astra Telepathica - Mystic
Wanderer82 Feudal - Arbites - ???
APPLICANTS (Interested)
Spazmodeus
Phillip Gastone
Archpaladin Zousha
Everyone, after you roll your characteristics, don't forget to roll your Divination, Wounds, and Emperor's Blessing for your Fate Threshold.
Lion Cleric are you selecting Las or Solid Projectile for your starting Weapon Training (you noted both on your character)? I noted you switched Agi and Per rolls, and if I did the math correct, your four '25s' are: BS, Per, Wil, & Fel.
Tara Ravenheart yes, that all is good on your characteristics. Equipment will be handled once a party is selected, don't stress on it now.
Archpaladin Zousha / GAME TIMELINE we will be playing at the dawn of the 42nd millenium, which is now "no longer the 42 millenium (see the Chronostrife)". But yes, right after the Cicatrix Maledictum was formed. The Celixis Sector stands at the far end of the Segmentum Obscurus, 'not far' from the collapse of Cadia, so the region has definitely been effected in some ways.
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Ah. Yup, I think narratively Las makes more sense - an abandoned planet with a crashed ship would probably have the technology to recharge laspacks, but not necessarily to manufacture bullets. I had Low-Tech and primitive, but I think those are the same in 2e, sorry - I was copying things off of an old alias.
The background gives SP or Las, (ignoring the Shock).
That's correct on the 25s - my bad for not identifying them, I've put a notch in front of them on my character sheet.
Great to know about the Maledictum. I'll be pretty honest - my non-Rogue Trader (the TTRPG) knowledge of the setting isn't the best. I don't think much would be relevant on my end, except for maybe mumbling about prophecies and vague soothsayings.
I think I shall give a Sister Hospitaller concept another shot that I put together for a game, many years ago, which never went much of anywhere.
BS: 16 + 20 = 36
S: 8 + 20 = 28
T: 5 + 20 = 25
Ag: 10 + 20 = 30
Int: 10 + 20 = 30
Per: 16 + 20 = 36
WP: 10 + 20 = 30
Fel: 12 + 20 = 32
Ifl: 6 + 20 = 26
Divination: "Truth is subjective."
Wounds: 9
Fate Threshold: 4
TheWorstFighter welcome to the thread. Two notes on your characteristics, first four of your choice will start at 25 instead of 20. You may also reroll 3d10. Finally, you may swap the roll for one characteristic with another.
In reviewing your favorable / unfavorable characteristics, I'm not sure if you meant to be from a Shrine world but made a mistake and swapped perception and fellowship, or if you intended to be a sororitas from a Daemon world?
I am aware of all that, though your reminder is appreciated! The character's mechanics still are very much being tinkered with.
And yes, the character indeed hails from a Daemon World. It'll make sense once her backstory is finished. :)
trust in your fear, +5 to PER, gain Phobia mental illness
INT = 40
FEL unchanged
T = 30
Here comes a voidborn, Adeptus Administratum Heirophant!
Success! +1 Fate
Max wounds!
"Ignorance is a wisdom of its own": Reduce this character's Perception characteristic by 3. The first time he would gain 1 or more Insanity points each session, he reduces that amount by 1 (to a minimum of 0) instead.
Perfect for a Sister! No need to question Him on Terra.
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So, am I supposed to roll the stats first and select the homeworld, background, etc. to shore up the character's weaknesses, or do I select the character's background stuff first and THEN roll to see their stats?
I worry I might start out with a concept my rolls won't accommodate, handicapping them out of the gate, or that part of the intention is to play what the dice give you instead of customizing your own special little snowflake to melt in the fires of war (this is my first d100-style game!).
Have an idea of what you want to do but be ok changing that idea. Your homeworld determines how you roll. You get two characteristics you roll 3d10 and drop the lowest and one characteristics you roll 3d10 and drop the highest. Needless to say those 3 d10 should be the ones you want the highest score in. Also we get 4 characteristics that start at 25 instead of 20. If you need a stat higher we also get to swap 2 stats.
Thats my 2 cents.
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On the generation, I believe the book advises you to go
Homeworld -> Background -> Role -> Rolls. In this game, you pick an extra aptitude too, and after that you spend your XP. I, for example, was thinking about a secretive, schemey Rogue Trader trained character. After I rolled, I got led into a more psykery and social area, and then I further tweaked some stats to narrativise the dice results (and kindly asked the GM re:the malignancy to help with the narrative I wanted.)
On the second part, my impression is that, yeah, it's a little bit of both. Longer term, (assuming there isn't a truly overwhelming dice result imbalance between the players), it does taper out due to aptitudes. And considering that there's a lot more variety in what characters do in Dark Heresy in terms of challenges than, for example, Only War (which is primarily combat focused) or even Rogue Trader (where you often have the luxury of picking your own approaches and battles), being better in areas that your 'archetype' doesn't necessarily lean into, such as the charismatic Guardsman, or the tough as nails Sage can be a welcome surprise.
Adding to that what has been mentioned, the attribute swap and the permitted rerolls should definitely let someone do very well in their 'main' role. There's definitely a fair amount of the system that is designed to let you get back and running with just dice rolls if the table etiquette is common character deaths, but in my experience with the older 40k games it's rarely the case.
Unfamiliar with the system but I love Warhammer so I might try to come up with something. Definitely dotting for now though.
TheLastGhost, is there going to be anything in the way of an expected posting frequency per player?
I am working on pulling together final details.
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Archpaladin Zousha Trawets and Lion Cleric hit it pretty on the head with their explanations. You can generally follow the path below.
1 - select homeworld
2 - roll characteristcs
3 - select background
4 - select role
5 - spend experience points
6 - flesh out details
7 - equip character
SqueezeMeNow & Steffanio read the above posts by Lion Cleric and Trawets, then use the template I have posted below if you are interested in rolling initial characteristics.
Starting Rolls (delete the space before each ']')
[Dice=WS]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=BS]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Str]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Agi]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Tou]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Int]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Per]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Wil]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Fel]2d10+20[/dice ]
[Dice=Ifl]2d10+20[/dice ]
Homeworld Grants
2 @ 3d10 (drop lowest)
1 @ 3d10 (drop highest)
Campaign Adjustments
4 characteristics start at +25 (instead of +20)
May reroll 3 individual d10
May swap the rolls from one characteristic to another
TheWorstFighter I would like applicants to be able to post once per weekday, and once per weekend.
I have created a applicant spreadsheet and the Campaign Resources folder. As I have been inputting things into it, a few things popped into my mind:
Simeon you did not roll your final Characteristic, Influence.
Starting Talents as I began to add Starting Talents gained from Background, I realized some gave as few as one, others as many as three. As such, I will be rebalancing it as follows: - all Backgrounds grant 3 talents:
-- weapon training (choose two: low tech, las, solid projectile). In addition, if your background granted another weapon training (flame, chain, etc), you may take this in leiu of one of those listed above, or in addition to as your third starting talent. Please note that 'chain' and 'shock' both still require 'low tech' first.
-- a 'thematically-appropriate' talent. many backgrounds already have one, it can be this or something else if you find something that legitimately falls in line with your character background (mechadendrite use for mechanicum for example)
TheWorstFighter I would like applicants to be able to post once per weekday, and once per weekend.
In that case I'm afraid I'm out. :) Good luck with the game!
TheWorstFighter sorry to hear you will not be applying, but I appreciate you being up front with your posting availability.
As applicants are working through creation, if anyone has any questions, needs assistance or is seeking recommendations, I am here to help.