This will also be my first time running anything in Only War - I have/am running two games in both Dark Heresy and Deathwatch.

Being that this is a new system for me and a campaign that I have no previous experience with, is there anything I should look out for or be aware of specifically regarding this campaign? What have your past experiences with it been?

Also, I know the generic (and common sense) advice to read the campaign thoroughly beforehand, and get my prep work in. I am mostly curious what has worked well for you and what you think should be avoided.

Just in case you need to know, my group has 8 players - Sergeant, two Weapon Specialists, Ratling, Heavy Gunner, Medic, Tech Priest and an Operator. I also created a Commissar NPC just in case I need to make an appearance every now and then to throw a wrench into things or give them a side mission.

Thanks!

We run the pre made missions with random newly rolled regiments as one offs, running my own campaign with the main regiment. With this, you really need to pay attention to what they're doing, because when Commissar Salieri jumps in, you need to be sure if they're lying or telling the truth. This was the main thing I noticed. Also, have him hurt people who lie or mess him around, if you don't use the comrade rules (I'm guessing not). I rolled a D6 everytime, and they soon stopped messing him about.

The campaign seems to assume your players won't notice they're being played. If they have someone with considerable authority in the group, such as a commissar, who is trained to and should notice heretical orders, you may wish to be careful how you phrase things in the mission briefings. Ergo, your commissar NPC might be a bad choice in that regard. The techpriest may have plausible reasons to jump ship early, grab your commissar and team up to blam some people in camp.

In other words, word your briefings very carefully, perhaps even omit certain details that would set a techpriest or a commissar off and blame them on "bad intel" or have some scouts executed for treason and pin it on them instead.

OK thanks. That makes sense. The Commissar won't be making an appearance in this campaign until perhaps late in the second act or in the third act if at all. I was thinking his first intro to the team would be a rescue mission to get him back during the very last stages of the mission as a whole.

Drath, I don't understand what you mean about using comrade rules?

Alot of people don't use the comrade rules presented in the rulebook, especially larger groupings like yours. In book, it states that if they lie he kills off a comrade. If you don't, then I'd roll a damage D6 everytime, though I'm harsh and my group like it that way. If yours doesn't, perhaps a D6-2 to a minimum of 1.

I am using the comrade rules. Given that it is a PbP this won't be a problem. So it looks like we are going to have some awesome executions.

Fair enough then. I myself had him drag them out to be flayed then hung. Much more effective at intimidation than just being shot, and saves ammo.

Fair enough then. I myself had him drag them out to be flayed then hung. Much more effective at intimidation than just being shot, and saves ammo.

I disagree. Here is why:

http://youtu.be/clb6bFlgTuk?t=44s

"I'm so sorry that things got so messed up with Captain Fordham and everything".....

Enter Samuel L. "Commissar" Jackson.

I am using that line EXACTLY if/when that happens. Bravo.

Any time I can make a Tarantino reference that works in game, I do it. Otherwise, what's the point?

'Everybody shut the hell up and listen to me yell, goddamnit!'

"I am tired of these motherfukin heretics on this motherfukin Hervara!"

'Why the hell are there mutant snake-xenos on this motherfukin plane?!'

So, the drop ship is currently in a free fall and the team sergeant is yelling for everyone to stay in their harnesses.

Time for a TPK.

No, I am kidding. The Operator and Tech Priest seem to be set on getting out of their seats and seeing what the problem in the cockpit is. But still, I love it when my players think me hinting that they are able to get out of their harnesses with tests is a trick and opt to stay in.

It is just beautiful.

One of my players wants to use a chimera to run over the gretchin, which I am totally cool with. I just don't know exactly how to roll it.

I suggested a +0 operate test vs. the Gretchin (as a whole) Ag score to get out of the way. Should they fail the majority of the group gets hit - or at least the width of the chimera gets hit (since I made a map that isnt a problem). How do I determine damage? Or should it be a no brainer, those that got hit got smashed to death?

How would you do it?

Edit: It looks like it would be the Ram! action and the damage would be 1d10+30 plus another 1d10 for every 10m it moved in the round.

For formations I treat the degrees of success on the ram as the number of formation members hit, allowing my Operators to actually feel useful with their vehicles when they're drowning in rebels hehe.

I was thinking of adding to the carnage based on his DoS. I am with you, brother.

How did you guys treat the "ramshackle fortifications" shown on the lame map?

Never actually ran the adventure.

I'd need to know more to give an opinion.

Dude, that is literally all it says - and only on the map, not in the written adventure section.

My guess is that it is one of those vague "throw some baddies at your guys HERE and HERE" type deals. So, I will have to throw some various things at them to see what they can take and what they cant.

Ork formations protecting emplaced heavy weapons hiding behind rusted metal barricades, probably using a cover value of 8 or so to represent how rotted and horrible it is. Emplscrd guns though, definitely.

Yeah that sounds good to me. They are definitely necessary because the PCs are heading a convoy of Chimeras out of these caverns.

If you'd like, I can give you my Skype details should you like advice, ideas and the like on the fly.

So, I went ahead and turned the Gretchin into a Formation (20) with the Runtherd as an Overseer - you can see where my Deathwatch horde experience comes into play here as with the current rules on Gretchin attacks, this big of a formation is way overpowered.

So, I dropped their bonus to attack to 2 times the formation size. I also imposed a +20 to hit against them for their formation size, while also imposing the -10 penalty because they are weedy.

So, I have some players about to toss grenades at them. On a successful hit I was going to auto kill as many as the blast rating for their ordnance, as well as 1 for every DoS of the throw. Does that sound... like too much?

nah. Gretchin is weedy, let them feel awesome for the first encounter.

I ended up looking at the map I drew and decimating all the Gretchin that actually fell in the radius. The 4 meter radius of the tube charge ripped apart 10 Gretchin.

It isn't my player's fault I bunched them together so tightly on the map. Oops. Needless to say, they felt awesome.

I personally use huge Ork formations that make them ridiculously lethal if handled wrong, using the official rulings and all.

Suffice to say when a mob of 50 Shoota Boyz led by a Nob with a Deffgun appeared, the PCs all dived for cover.