Does the DW talent have a place in OW? Has anyone used it? Just like in Deathwatch, one of the benchmarks of your character will likely be, IMO, anyway, the acquisition of better gear. You'll start with the flashlight and cardboard box, and someday want to improve it to something more like carapace and, I find I'm not sure what "better gun" I am imagining a Guardsman who isn't a Sergeant or Heavy is shooting to get, but take your pick. Well, getting gear in OW can be chancy, what with difficult Req rolls, a shoddy Munitiorum, occasionally, and stuff, and while I don't remember the book necessarily doing a great job telling us when requisitioned items MUST be returned (it could be after the mission, but they aren't always great with the paperwork when you get home), it isn't yours, and they may, eventually, say "give that plasma pistol back." Well, since the next time might not be so easy to get it, could you just spend some XP, and burn a talent that says "add the chosen item to your equipment list?" It doesn't seem so big a thing, and as your Guards become bigger, more badass Goddamn Heroes!, they are going to want to rely on that gear, rather than get sent to a new front, and then not have the same access. I can see that it COULD be a pain, but it also COULD be really cool, and a nice spending of some XP. Something like the following:

Signature Wargear

Tier: 2

Prerequisites: Munitorum Influence, Special (see description)

Aptitudes: Fellowship, Social

Throughout your many exploits among the Imperial Guard, you have made a name for yourself with a specific piece of equipment. Now you've grown to the point where you define your success by the presence of that item, and the Munitorum, having seen the skill in which you use it, and the importance of your victories in critical times, has seen fit to make certain that, when you need it, that item will be with you. Select an item. That item is permanently added to your Universal Standard Kit. You must have either successfully requisitioned the item before, or recovered it in the field, and brought it back to base intact. This talent is not bought in the usual manner. XP costs for this talent, based on availability of the weapon, armor, or gear selection are below.

Cost Item Availability

... ...

600 Rare

700 Very Rare

800 Extremely Rare

... ...

Items beyond this range require GM permission.

It's not heinous, but it isn't exactly cheap, and while it does do something considerable (I feel it does, anyway), it isn't easy to get, but nice to have. If you are willing to spend the XP, you can permanently have that carapace armor, or that Force weapon or hood that you might be one of the only characters around who can even USE it, and you don't need to keep getting it back, as dice can be fickle. There might even be something in the rules vaguely like this, but I don't think so. Has anyone else used something at least vaguely similar? Using XP to permanently obtain gear that you have specialized in the further use of?

To be honest I dont think it fits Only War at all, your playing guardsmen who get their gear from the Munitorum (even if its from your home group Munitorum) and are already 'borrowing' it long-term. Unlike Space Marines or Rogue Trader your just regular people (even if your augmented in some way), when an item says "Rare" it means that its genuinely rare to the masses (maybe not for your regiment, but a bog-standard civilian would see it differently). So they cant just pull a rare item out their closets and present it to you like it Free-Powersword-Tuesday.

Rare gear is more a reward in-game than a handout for temporary use (unless its single-use) and honesty with the Requisition Test you can acquire anything below Near Unique without massive difficulty.

But I must admit I hated the whole Renown system in Deathwatch.

There is a talent in Hammer of the Emperor that gives you a bonus to command when you wave about an item that is your "signature" but I don't think that spending experience points to keep your overpowered gear makes much sense.

The only gear you have to return is mission assignment gear. The gear that you requisition normally is yours indefinitely, unless you piss of your GM.

Its one of those background things about the Guard, your lasgun and flak armour are lent to you by the Munitorum to fight in the Emperors Name, you are expected to give them back if necessary (though they seldom take them back from the living). So the only thing that your guardsman 'truly owns' are items not given by the Munitorum, such as gifts for services rendered (like a ornate bolt pistol given to you by the Lord Inquisitor) or previously owned property (an old hunting rifle from times as a hunter, pre-enlistment).

That is why loosing your lasgun is considered a crime in the Guard (and punishable by execution) its the Emperor's Property and you lost it (aka: heresy).

Yes, but generally, what yoi've requisitioned succesfully is only returned to the armoury upon your death or if it is really needed somewhere else. In essence, anything you didn't get in a way that bypasses the munitorum can be, at some point, taken away. Anything else can be discovered, taken away and replaced with a bolt to the head for violating regulations.

People are really keen on quoting this "bolt to the head" regulaton stuff about gear acquisiton, but it is an accepted fact that guardsmen will have personal non-issue weapons, trophies and kit. At the end of the day, commissars have bigger fish to fry keeping their regiments motivated and obedient.

As long as an item isn`t looted from loyalists, stolen from the munitorum, clearly xenos or covered in chaos runes The commissariat generally won`t care unless it interferes with a soldier doing their duty in an acceptable manner. Of course there are hardliners but even then soldiers have secretly stashed away contrband for as long as there have been soldiers.

Commissars don`t shoot soldiers for reclaiming useful gear from downed comrades, nor do they intervene when a guardsman uses sanctioned (non-heretical imperial) non-issue kit to do his duty.

It is when a guardsman throws away his lasgun and picks up a shuriken catapult or pulse carbine, or refuses to turn "reclaimed" supplies over he the munitorum that a nearby commissar will be duty-bound to start getting lethal.

My players "redeemed" few Hellguns from Severan Dominate Storm Troopers and one player rolled 10+DoS when he used Charm to persuade Quartermaster to add these weapons to their roster of given equipment.

They had to make then quick work to repaint, remove the Severan Dominate insignias of and add Imperial Aquila. Inside Armoury where they were on constant threat of found out by local Tech-Priest Enginseer.

It was nice to make them sweat as they had limited time to make these modifications.

Joke is they haven't yet rolled badly in Mission Assignment Equipment test so they don't know they might lose them still if there is need for Hellguns.

PS. To me Hellguns shall always be Hellguns, not some Hot-Shot Lasgun. **** you GW, **** you.

Note that I said 'can', not must. If you have a hard-ass commissar around, it can be a great source of tension, f.ex. Otherwise I'd say just don't show it off too much and don't tell the rules laayer from the rival regiment and you'll be fine. As you said Askil, it's just not worth the effort and morale to enforce these rules too strictly. Although according to the Primer they do exist and you can get in trouble for it. Which your GM is fully justified to bring up at the most inconvenient moment :-D