Well, my group is attempting to continue the exploits of our DH1 characters and we are attempting to convert them to DH2. We were just on the cusp of Ascension and we have roughly 14,000 XP. At first pass, I don't think 14k XP is equivalent in DH2. I think we should have far more than that, based on the fact that character creation is now 3-tiered instead of 2-tiered (homeworld & class is now homeworld & background & role) and the tiers of the skills are more expensive not to mention the talent tiers.

Is anyone else running into this scenario? 14k XP just isn't enough to rebuild the character with mostly the same set of stats, skills & talents, etc. Or am I just complaining as PCs are wont to do for more XP?

~ alemander

Character advancement in DH2 is so different than in DH1 that there isn't a fast and easy way to convert characters. I'd pick an arbitrary XP total and create a new character sheet to match the old one's concept as closely as possible. Aptitudes are flexible enough that you can buy any skills and talents your original character used.

If your characters were near Ascension level, I'd start them with around 70 Influence. This puts them near the required level for Inquisitors, so if one character is on track to become one it should be a short while before he qualifies.

You can increase all your stats by 5 to match the new baseline for characters if your GM agrees. Likewise, DH2 characters have about 1 more Fate than their DH1 counterparts, so if your GM is especially merciful he might award another to everyone.

Well, how similiar is DH2 to Black Crusade? If answer is "very", then there was a rough and ready converter of previous lines characters to BC Heretics, IIRC. Could it be any help?

Well, how similiar is DH2 to Black Crusade? If answer is "very", then there was a rough and ready converter of previous lines characters to BC Heretics, IIRC. Could it be any help?

It uses the BC combat rules, but character creation is much more like Only War -- you pick a home world, background and role, each of which gives you some Aptitudes. Anyone can take any skill or talent, but advances are cheaper if you have the Aptitudes on which the advances are based.

If there's a DH-to-OW character converter available, that would be a good place to start instead.

I think Torag was talking more about the rules for converting Dark Heresy characters to Black Crusade. The rules for this are on page 281.

It might take tweaking for transferring things like infamy for influence.

I still haven't got the rules yet but I assume you still pick an archetype for DH2 or something similar which will determine the aptitudes the characters can use to progress talents and skills from there on in.

That's a system fix, otherwise Covered in Weasel's approach is a very practical way to go about your conversion and will probably give you a better fit for your characters and their concepts than any designed system is going to.

You could even just go bugger it and move all the skills, talents and other stats straight over (taking note of amalgamated skills) and then just work out what the new experience point level of the group is and go from there.

Thanks all for the help. I will give the BC conversion rules a look to see if that helps. I also thought about just take the DH1 character wholesale into DH2 with no changes and seeing what the XP total is, but it will clearly be high. Just taking the old Arbitrator and Sound Constitution which were nearly every level and only at 100xp per (early on), the cost for a non-Warrior in the new system is extreme.

I think the best method is Covered's for sure. I will just build the character as close to what it was in concept and see what the XP total is after that and take that to the GM.

~ alemander

Well, how similiar is DH2 to Black Crusade? If answer is "very", then there was a rough and ready converter of previous lines characters to BC Heretics, IIRC. Could it be any help?

It uses the BC combat rules, but character creation is much more like Only War -- you pick a home world, background and role, each of which gives you some Aptitudes. Anyone can take any skill or talent, but advances are cheaper if you have the Aptitudes on which the advances are based.

If there's a DH-to-OW character converter available, that would be a good place to start instead.

Not really; DH2 has aspects unique to it that confer abilities to the character. BC, OW and DH1 do not have these at all.

Youd' be better off starting again.