First Designer Diary is up!
And my eyes immediately noted Astra Militarum is used. The times are changing...
It's the Imperial Guard, not to worry
While the traditional roles are a bit overexplored, due to DH1, it could be cool.
I'm really enjoying the new art.
Edited by KainusI'm really looking forward to sharing lots more art as we go. They are pretty sweet.
-Tim
I love the new art, particularly the shot of the Inquisitor's desk. My own table lamp and "lap-top cogitator" suddenly seem very unexciting.
I personally like the name Astra Militarum much more than Imperial Guard. Astra Militarum is a lot more non-specific, and it lets you conceptualize your character as a hard-bitten mercenary, Imperial Navy armsman, or noble-born house guard without much trouble.
It's the Imperial Guard, not to worry
To be fair, the GW Design studio treats it the same way. If you read the start of the background section, it begins "The Astra Militarium, more commonly known as the Imperial Guard..." and then doesn't use the phrase 'Astra Militarium' again for the next half-dozen pages....
I'm very impressed with the new artwork, by the way. The artwork has always been one of my favourite things about the books - much the same as the artwork in the old Inquisitor rulebook.
Little details like the 'desk' are brilliant. I'll be interested to see what the xenos in question turns out to be...and the two inquisitor portraits are stunning.
The xeno in the book looks like some kind of Tyrannid. Perhaps the desk belongs to an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor who is about to go hunting...
The trouble with taking part in the Beta is that the design diaries generally don't reveal anything I don't already know.
For instance I'd love to know what, if any, changes were made to the final character creation rules after the Beta.
Part two of the article is up now, where designer Andy Fischer develops an Acolyte for the game:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4878
-Tim
I think that psyker needs a table of some sort. Holding up all those scrolls and candles has to be exhausting!
BYE
Nothing really new, but I do love the art!
I think that psyker needs a table of some sort. Holding up all those scrolls and candles has to be exhausting!
But it would need to be able to follow him on missions. How much Influence does a Table Servitor require...?
Looked pretty cool to me with the only thing I was a little disappointed, or rather annoyed, in was the Backgrounds. Writing up everything as part of the Adeptus Terra gives the wrong idea about the Imperium to me. I'd rather see they used some other titles in that part.
Edited by GurkhalLooked pretty cool to me with the only thing I was a little disappointed, or rather annoyed, in was the Backgrounds. Writing up everything as part of the Adeptus Terra gives the wrong idea about the Imperium to me. I'd rather see they used some other titles in that part.
It is simply FFG's portrayal of the universe in Dark Heresy (and, presumably, the Askellon sector). Since the branches of the Adeptus Terra are the organizations most likely to be investigated, the Inquisition recruits from those organizations because it's members would be the most familiar with it (hence the Lore skills for each Background). It nicely displays the fractures in the monolithic image of the Imperium and how easily a member of the organization can be suborned to another cause. I'd recommend reading the sample Backgrounds in the beta- it gives a good idea of what FFG was going for with Backgrounds.
Also, there's no reason that they can't expand on Backgrounds in future supplements.
Edited by Kainus
Looked pretty cool to me with the only thing I was a little disappointed, or rather annoyed, in was the Backgrounds. Writing up everything as part of the Adeptus Terra gives the wrong idea about the Imperium to me. I'd rather see they used some other titles in that part.
It is simply FFG's portrayal of the universe in Dark Heresy (and, presumably, the Askellon sector). Since the branches of the Adeptus Terra are the organizations most likely to be investigated, the Inquisition recruits from those organizations because it's members would be the most familiar with it (hence the Lore skills for each Background). It nicely displays the fractures in the monolithic image of the Imperium and how easily a member of the organization can be suborned to another cause. I'd recommend reading the sample Backgrounds in the beta- it gives a good idea of what FFG was going for with Backgrounds.
Also, there's no reason that they can't expand on Backgrounds in future supplements.
i don't know. it seems to me that the Imperium outside the Adepta are as likely or even more so to be investigated by the Inquisition as not, and thus draw members who are not formal parts of the Priesthood of Earth.
The way I see it, most Acolytes are going to come from a background that can be represented by one of the Adeptus Terra (or Outcast). If he organizes grain shipments on some backwater agri-world, his job is very similar to that of an Administratum adept even though he is not actually a member of the organization. A member of a mercenary outfit or probably has military experience approximating the training of an Astra Militarum recruit. Even if your character didn't serve in one of the Adepta, their practical experience is pretty close to that of their Adeptus equivalent.
Granted, the backgrounds don't cover someone who is a law-abiding Imperial citizen who works a menial labor job. While such people make up a large portion of Imperial subjects, they aren't likely to have skills useful to an Inquisitor.
The way I see it, most Acolytes are going to come from a background that can be represented by one of the Adeptus Terra (or Outcast). If he organizes grain shipments on some backwater agri-world, his job is very similar to that of an Administratum adept even though he is not actually a member of the organization. A member of a mercenary outfit or probably has military experience approximating the training of an Astra Militarum recruit. Even if your character didn't serve in one of the Adepta, their practical experience is pretty close to that of their Adeptus equivalent.
Granted, the backgrounds don't cover someone who is a law-abiding Imperial citizen who works a menial labor job. While such people make up a large portion of Imperial subjects, they aren't likely to have skills useful to an Inquisitor.
From what I saw in the beta this is absolutely true. Also, the new way of developing character's backgrounds mean it's very likely that future supplements would include new backgrounds as character options. You wanna be a Grox herder? There's probably an app for that coming soon!
Agreed. But mainly I just like adding the extra layer to character creation options:
Homeworld and career means I can be an imperial world scribe, or guardsman. But the adept career massively reduced your access to combat skills, and guardsmen spent massive ammounts of experience if they didn't want to be as think as two short planks.
What if I wanted to be an HQ staff officer, or a quartermaster? How about an arbitrator who was more sherlock than judge dredd? Making a career a blend of background and role gives more options.
HQ staff officer is an OW "Commander" advanced archtype.
A quartermaster is an Sage with the with the IG background
An investigative Arbiter would be a seeker with the Ad Arb. background. (which I think would be the standard rather than the warrior) Being Sherlock homes Vs. Judge Dredd is a matter of personality and subtlety.
I personally think of any DH character in much the same way as I think of 1st lvl D&D characters: They are rank beginners! With the elite advance system, I can even see them advancing into other "Standard" careers. For example: A warrior with the IG background could easily "elite advance" at 2000 xp. into an OW Weapon specialist or Heavy Gunner. (Or whatever if he had the right skill set!) . Further, I think it was intentional on ffg's part to allow for this kind of "Cross platform" Gaming.
HQ staff officer is an OW "Commander" advanced archtype.
A quartermaster is an Sage with the with the IG background
An investigative Arbiter would be a seeker with the Ad Arb. background. (which I think would be the standard rather than the warrior) Being Sherlock homes Vs. Judge Dredd is a matter of personality and subtlety.
I personally think of any DH character in much the same way as I think of 1st lvl D&D characters: They are rank beginners! With the elite advance system, I can even see them advancing into other "Standard" careers. For example: A warrior with the IG background could easily "elite advance" at 2000 xp. into an OW Weapon specialist or Heavy Gunner. (Or whatever if he had the right skill set!) . Further, I think it was intentional on ffg's part to allow for this kind of "Cross platform" Gaming.
I really hope so, that this cross-platform gaming will be a focus in the future.
I'd love to be able to integrate parts of RT and OW into DH more easily. DW and BC are a little more special - but RT and OW are ideal to be streamlined with DH in my opinion.
HQ staff officer is an OW "Commander" advanced archtype.
A quartermaster is an Sage with the with the IG background
An investigative Arbiter would be a seeker with the Ad Arb. background. (which I think would be the standard rather than the warrior) Being Sherlock homes Vs. Judge Dredd is a matter of personality and subtlety.
I personally think of any DH character in much the same way as I think of 1st lvl D&D characters: They are rank beginners! With the elite advance system, I can even see them advancing into other "Standard" careers. For example: A warrior with the IG background could easily "elite advance" at 2000 xp. into an OW Weapon specialist or Heavy Gunner. (Or whatever if he had the right skill set!) . Further, I think it was intentional on ffg's part to allow for this kind of "Cross platform" Gaming.
I really hope so, that this cross-platform gaming will be a focus in the future.
I'd love to be able to integrate parts of RT and OW into DH more easily. DW and BC are a little more special - but RT and OW are ideal to be streamlined with DH in my opinion.
That is exactly my point. I think it would be very interesting to complete a story arc where a a character is recruited off a Feral world and rises up to become an Astartes Brother Captain! Or the rise from a lowly Hierophant, through a confessor on the battlefield. Taking on the role of rebuilding and purifying the new world as a missionary and finally..Returning to the Imperium with the fiery Zeal of an Inquisitor!
Or even be corrupted and continue on the dark side, launching a black crusade...
Exactly!