Hello all,

So, I recently joined a club and intend to start an Only War campaign. Now, I have experience GMing for Dark Heresy and have been a PC in Deathwatch and Black Crusade, but this will be my first contact with Only War and I know how high the attrition rate of this game is supposed to be.

So, for my question... which regiment should I suggest they play. I intend to give them full freedom to choose as I have several scenarios in my head for most different types of regiments but in order to get a good feel of the game, what would be best?

Let it be known I only have the Core rulebook so the regiments from that are my only options for now.

My first campaign I played in was as the Elysian 13th Helldivers. Gives you a good opportunity to really sink your teeth in and enjoy some awesome opportunities at spec-ops style action.

If you feel really bold for your first time as an Only War GM, you could try running a fully custom built regiment using the rules detailed in the Regiment Creation chapter.

If you have any questions regarding the game, or possible homebrew, I'd be delighted to help. Got years of experience as a Dungeons & Dragons DM, and I have coming up 6 months experience with Only War and already sinking my teeth into system conversions and what have you.

It's an absurdly robust system, man. Go wild. It can take the abuse!

I'd recommend against anything with vehicles other than Sentinels or Chimeras, though.

I loved a custom regiment. Lets you make your own background. (Can be long work. I ended up writing almost five pages on my regiment.) However, I would advise either line or light infantry, as it's a fairly broad spectrum of potential missions for either, with alot of opportunities for variety.

I was starting to lean towards the idea of mechanized infantry if possible as a chimera adds tactical flexibility to games as well as a chance to throw slightly more dangerous foes at the PCs in larger conflicts, but jump infantry and basic line/light infantry are now starting to grow on me. Decisions, decisions...

My most favorable mission was going to involve securing a fuel depot in advance of a main assault against a Greenskin hoard. They would be supported by another squad from their platoon and 3 sentinels from a Catachan scout regiment. They would arrive at the objective only to find a small warband already looting the place. Depending on their caution in approaching the site, a firefight or ambush (planned by them or the Orks) would ensue.

In light of that, which would you say is most suitable?

I would still stick to my guns with the good old PBI, as they already have the vehicular support, and it's always good fun to watch them scramble to handle Orks without their own vehicles to hide behind. I have also been a GM for a long while, and would be happy to help, alongside the Sgt. I however, would rather loan my support to a background role. I.E: If you make your own regiment, i'd be happy to help with background, or other such 'lore' related issues.

So far I've tended to run games with regiments that I've generated for my players.

Generally I've got them to agree on a concept (generally by them telling me they want to be like a specific famous regiment or army or tv show/film/game military unit) and then I've narrowed down the choices from there so that they get to choose specific aspects (mainly the things that arn't obvious as to which would fit the theme I've been given best). We tried where they generated a regiment without my input but that just devolved into days of arguing so we tend to do a more guided approach.

I personally think the existing regiments are fun but that as my group arn't that buried in the lore of 40k they sometimes struggle with the feel of regiments. The exception has been the Valhallans where they got it after I basically explained it to them as being "The Red Army IN SPAACCCEEEEE!". I also have issues with how often famous homeworld guardsmen turn up as it always seemed odd to me that there seem to be catchens, valhallans, cadians, kreigers and so on everywhere (you'd think especially with the catchens where there aren't that many of them to draw from there simply couldn't be more then a handful of regiments at any one time even if a high percentage of them were called to the colours) so I have it as my personal headcannon that those regiments that do exist may be being used on all the high profile campaigns while the assendofnowhere dragoons have to do the not so glorious clean up/pacification/etc jobs around it. I have however used existing famous regiments and just changed their look and background a bit to make regiments from similar situations for my campaigns (I always like to imagine them wearing terrible mustaches and putting on accents "no I'm not a cadian I'm a.... Nidarian Grenadier... yes thats it....").

If you feel really bold for your first time as an Only War GM, you could try running a fully custom built regiment using the rules detailed in the Regiment Creation chapter.

This is the route I took my first time GMing OW. This was, in my opinion, the best way to go.

It took more time - I prepped and created an in depth back story, Regiment and home planet history and gave my players the opporunity to customize regimental insignia, colors, livery and heraldry, which they seemed to really dig.

Bringing it up from scratch gave them a lot more meaning for me personally, and my player's have all really gotten into this regiment and made it their own (literally). I love the freedom this game system has given us as players and GMs to customize the ever loving **** out of our regiments and PCs/NPCs. I would recommend taking advantage of that if you have the time.

If you feel really bold for your first time as an Only War GM, you could try running a fully custom built regiment using the rules detailed in the Regiment Creation chapter.

This is the route I took my first time GMing OW. This was, in my opinion, the best way to go.

It took more time - I prepped and created an in depth back story, Regiment and home planet history and gave my players the opporunity to customize regimental insignia, colors, livery and heraldry, which they seemed to really dig.

Bringing it up from scratch gave them a lot more meaning for me personally, and my player's have all really gotten into this regiment and made it their own (literally). I love the freedom this game system has given us as players and GMs to customize the ever loving **** out of our regiments and PCs/NPCs. I would recommend taking advantage of that if you have the time.

I did the same. God, it was fun. I love writing anyway... 6 pages of backstory writing. Loved every second of that. It was GREAT. I sincerely recommend, if you can.

^ This guy gets it.

We are the 666th Bastards.

My game is entitled "The Emperor's Bastards" and follows a Penal Regiment made up of all ex-Guardsmen and women in their for various reasons getting the worst missions the guard has to offer. Right off the bat, everyone hates them. By the end of the campaign they will either all be dead or anti-heroes of the Imperium.

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and the Bastards are the under-doggiest of them all.

^ This guy gets it.

We are the 666th Bastards.

My game is entitled "The Emperor's Bastards" and follows a Penal Regiment made up of all ex-Guardsmen and women in their for various reasons getting the worst missions the guard has to offer. Right off the bat, everyone hates them. By the end of the campaign they will either all be dead or anti-heroes of the Imperium.

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and the Bastards are the under-doggiest of them all.

We're starting a new regiment soon, but we were the 'Saurian Survivors'. A world ruined by war. Tribes survive only by trade, murder and avoiding the mutants. Armed buggies were the only safe way to get around. Then the Imperium came, grabbed them and, upon convincing them they were emissaries of the Emperor (they had legends that the Emperor would save them one day) most tribes joined up for combat service as a light regiment, armed to the teeth and ready to die for the Emperor that saved them. (Where was cataclysm world and Tauros rules when I really needed them, huh?). However, they couldn't believe the Emperor would ever use murderous scum like Commissars on his own troops, even going so far as to despise them, so that caused some... tension to say the least.

I really hope they fragged some of their Commissars in the midst of battle.

I really couldn't say...

You know... it's war... and when the bullets are flying... it gets dangerous out there.

We should probably stop hijacking this thread, and let him get back to it.

I don't know, man. After a 10-12 day hiatus with no posts, threads like this deserve to be hijacked.

Given I'm going to be doing Tau rules soon...

Gue'vesa / Tau regiment ideas?

Oh, **** I am so on board! Let me think on it and I will get back to you.

Those little smurfy space Samurai have all my feels.

I've got Tau characteristics and specialists all shortlisted so far. Just need to flesh them out. Specifically looking at regimental structures here for giggles. Can throw out some Ork or Dark Eldar ones too as you like.

Tau pathfinder Gue'vesa. Supporting Tau with expendable teams of gue'vesa so the Tau don't have to risk it. Against Nids and stuff. Pulse Carbine, Flak armour /w tau carapace chest piece and a close range markerlight. Photon flash grenade?

Artillery regiment witha Hammerhead anyone?