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I love the 40k universe.
I love the Dark Heresy rules.
Seems like a match made in heaven?
Well actually, no. I have this feeling that Dark Heresy is only about what the title says - Heresy, and that's it. The PCs go around stopping heretical activity, time after time after time.
So what I want to ask you Paizo-goers is: has anyone thought of any other uses for the game-system? A friend of mine mentioned he might like it in a post-apocalyptic setting. What are your thoughts?
Cheers! :D
I love the 40k universe.
I love the Dark Heresy rules.
Seems like a match made in heaven?Well actually, no. I have this feeling that Dark Heresy is only about what the title says - Heresy, and that's it. The PCs go around stopping heretical activity, time after time after time.
So what I want to ask you Paizo-goers is: has anyone thought of any other uses for the game-system? A friend of mine mentioned he might like it in a post-apocalyptic setting. What are your thoughts?
Cheers! :D
Hiya.
Kindasorta...yeah. :) We had previously adapted the WH40k Rogue Trader book (and acomapnying Realms of Chaos books) to use the WHFRPG rules. Now that Dark Heresy is out, it's not *too* hard to convert most of the old stuff. There are web-based projects that are developing carrers, equipment, weapons, etc., for many of the things found in the above mentioned books.
Of course, you could alwyas port it to some "points based" rules system like GURPS or Hero System and just use the Dark Heresy book as the 'filler fluff'.
Paul L. Ming
Hiya.
Last time we played was a while ago (pre-Dark Heresy). IIRC, we were all Rogue Traders. We had booked passage on a rather large freighter. We were hired for something (can't remember), and we needed to be at another planet. However, along the way, we discovered that the cargo holds contained a platoon of space marines a couple terminator marines, etc....who were guarding a group of drugged-up psychers for some 'military reason' who were to be used on the planet we were going to. Of course, we had a couple traitorous space marines & terminators who revealed themselves as soon as we entered the void.
We barely survived (hiding mostly), and when the ship exited the void at the world we were at, all hell broke loose. We tried to escape in a shuttle pod...IIRC, we all died before reaching it, except for my wife's character who made it as far as launching the shuttle before it was shot down.
All that took a few sessions, with lots of RP'ing, puzzle solving, etc. Lots of fun! :)
We had other games prior to that, those basically involved playtesting and writing our "RPG" version of Rogue Trader; hunts for demon cultists, crazed princes of hive worlds, a trek through a killer-alien infested jungle to some eldar ruins, etc. Take a 'normal' WH40K battle scenario and "RPG'ize" it so that the players would be the ones described in the intro as "Many loyal subjects of the Empire died to bring this info to light...". (re: the loyal subjects that died... :) ). Lot's of death, but a LOT of fun too...none of us had any expectations of "long-lasting" characters in the WH40k universe, so it was all cool.
The biggest problem with Dark Heresy that I see is that it puts the PC's as "special", then tosses them into a world where life is cheap and death jumps out and goes "BOO!" before you've had your breakky. Of course, if the GM "fudges the hell" outta things, characters will live...but if a GM stays true to the 'feel' of WH40k...lets just say a 50-sheet pack of character sheets should be sufficient for a player in a campaign. :)
I ran a couple of home games of Dark Heresy that were essentially CSI:Necromunda, where the PCs were an elite investigation team attached to the Adeptus Arbites.
The nature of the 40k universe is such that it is possible to convert almost any adventure, of any nature.
Dungeon crawl: The ancient space hulk, Emperor's McGuffin, has popped out of the warp near to the PCs home planet. The PCs must explore/kill the rogue psyker/elimate the resident orks/retrieve the tech artefact that was lost there the last time it appeared.
Wilderness adventure: A valkyrie transport containing [what/whoever] has crashed on some Feral/Death world. Atmospheric warp storms are preventing sensors locating it. The PCs must go in on foot and find it.
Political/Intrigue: Some planets in the Imperium are still at a feudal level, so actually have kings, kidnapped princesses, scheming barons etc. Simply change the castle guards weapons to lasrifles, and you're sorted. Other planets have teeming cities (not just hives, or Forge worlds), remote fog shrouded coastal villages, PDF keeps on the borderlands...
["What? Ye seek the lost Caverns of Quasqueton? Aye, legend has it there was a techno-heretic made his lair there, generations ago, but the local PDF drove him out and sealed the place. The Mechanicum were meant to send an investigation team, but I guess they had better things to do. No, I can't say I know exactly where it is. Ye can ask the old hermit who lives in the polluted woods - he used to be a member of the Administratum, afore he went mad. Watch out for the Throne-cursed mutants who dwell in the woods, though. If ye do see 'em, just call out 'Bree Yark' - that'll scare 'em off"]
Even if you stick to the Inquisition, remember that they have the Emperor-given right to interfere in whatever they see fit. So any adventure where the PCs are tasked to do something by the guild/knightly order/criminal syndicate/mysterious contact can be replaced by a short astropath message from their Inquisitor.
Hmmm... Now to convert Curse of the Crimson Throne to it!
That isn't a bad idea!
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I have been working on a d20/Pathfinder conversion of Dark Heresy as a fun, mental exercise in this thread:
Link
I am always looking for advice and feedback, so please feel free to join the conversation.
Last Fall, I ran a Dead Space one-shot using the Dark Heresy rules. It worked pretty well. Lot of fun was had by all, especially due to each characters write up and individual goals, which included the fact that everything all the other characters knew about them was a lie.