Is DH2 worth getting?

By Amroth, in Dark Heresy General Discussion

Its worth it if you can find a copy that isn't comming apart when you look at it...

I did not bother reading entire topic after i noticed flame wars. Anyway i have a little question. Beside new fluff since from what i heard they created entire new sector is there any difference from OW? Since i play DH on OW rules anyway and don't need book just for the same rules. IMO i think using house rules on homeworld and speciality is cheaper ;)

I did not bother reading entire topic after i noticed flame wars. Anyway i have a little question. Beside new fluff since from what i heard they created entire new sector is there any difference from OW? Since i play DH on OW rules anyway and don't need book just for the same rules. IMO i think using house rules on homeworld and speciality is cheaper ;)

Sounds like you got a game running that you are quite happy with, so I guess you already answered your own question. :)

You could check out the new book at some point, maybe there are something that you can pull from it to add to your game.... who knows.

I am running a DH1 campaign with a little rogue trader added in, and I am quite looking forward to see what will happen when my players recreate their chars in this new system... *brace for impact*.

Easy choice for me, I do not have any first edition DH books so second edition is a must buy for me.

Edited by Gridash

After seeing it, it's an easy choice for me too. That is one gorgeous gaming book. But considering all the glue issues posted here on the forums, I'll be holding off for another print run.

Speaking personally, I think dice are rather unimportant. Star Wars has their gimmick dice, and pool building. d100 is old as dirt, and has some issues especially at low percentages. Hell, DnD's venerable d20 is the grand daddy of all gimmicks. Pick your preference, but since its pretty subjective everyone will have their own favorites and dislikes.

What matters more to me is what you do with the data you roll out, and in this aspect no system is perfect. I think its a real shame that DH2 did not update a bit more. They had the potential to do it, but instead they almost calcified the system in the guise of "refinement". After seeing yet more text copy pasted from Only War, copy pasted from Black Crusade....copy pasted from...you get the idea...I think they could have done more. I know they could have done more. I know they tried to do more, and then backed out.

Let's look at one of the systems that's recently gained a lot of ground: FATE.

FATE has become very popular lately, and not because their dice rolling is a superior gimmick. Its actually very simplified. One of the compelling things about FATE is that it takes mechanics and spins it into a dialogue between player and GM in a new and different way. Each character has bog standard stats and skills that affect the dice roll...but they also have something called Aspects. Its the player's responsibility to use his character's Aspects in interesting ways, which can provide a significant bonus to dice rolls.

In brief, you're not just rolling a skill check (though you do that too), you're taking the situation presented by the GM and either elaborating on the information you've been given...or adding your own. Perhaps you introduce a complication so you can take advantage of your "Sure Footed" aspect, such as emptying a bin of marbles over the floor (cartoony I know...but meh). Or perhaps you take the derelict warehouse presented by your GM, and explain how you want to take it "Slow and Steady" to avoid making the old, rotten floor boards creak as you sneak around.

Ironically, DH actually has a mechanic in place that would allow something similar to take place: Degrees of Success.

You could easily expand DoS to do more than it currently does. Allow players to purchase new clues or additional effects with the DoS, not just with the current relatively binary mechanics. Allow unique or special descriptors/abilities to take effect with sufficient Degrees of Success. In combat, allow characters to pick certain critical effects, rather than consult a table, or choose a hit location or cause a unique bonus effect. In social situations, invest dos in making a particularly good or lasting impression, or telling a lie that someone doesn't just believe but feels compelled to act on. And so on.

On the other end of the spectrum, take Degrees of Failure and make it possible to put complications into play, perhaps to avoid a complete failure. You might still get that one absolutely necessary clue, but you managed to piss off the Adeptus guards in the process. You talked to your contact, but some local criminal element got clued into your presence/business.

Make Degrees of Success (and failure) into a currency: A method to guide a dialogue between a GM and the players to create unique effects outside of the scope of a binary dice roll.

Star Wars attempts to give nuanced dice results through unique dice and symbols. This would be in that same vein, but has the advantage that its instantly recognizable to any veteran of the current DH system.

So yeah, I don't regret my purchase of this product. Nor do I think the beta was a superior product. I do think DH2 is a missed opportunity though.

Edited by Bladehate