Hello everyone,

I'm new to the Fantasy Flight Games forum, and still a rookie when it comes tot forums in general (mostly a lurker!). I've just started getting into Warhammer wargaming (working on my first 500 points of Warriors of Chaos) and am also very interested in the role-playing games for Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader. In my current role-playing game group we are playing your standard Dungeons & Dragons game where I am the DM. While this is going well, I'm really interested in launching a portion of the group into Dark Heresy. A few have shown interest, but know little to nothing of the setting; while others have a very vague knowledge of the universe. I am the only one who's read enough to know a bolter from a crossbow. I'm wondering if taking the group down this path is madness and possibly even selfish! It seems like without knowing as much or anything about the setting itself it may as well be D&D with chainswords as the player's will be relying on every description to know how their characters should react and likely won't have the same appreciation for plot hooks or NPCs that someone who knows the setting would. Any thoughts on this, or should I force them into it anyway?

One suggestion I've seen time and time again regarding ignorant players is to have them create similarly ignorant characters. Have them all come from the same feudal or feral world and tell them the very few things they know about the Imperium of man and the galaxy beyond their homeworld rather than giving a 5 hour lecture on the "basic" fluff of the setting. Obviously this doesn't work with some careers (psykers are carted off on Black Ships and get forceful exposure, tech-priests would be similarly uplifted), but most can be refluffed slightly to make them feasible. Arbitrators represent a local police force, clerics are lay-preachers who only know enough of the Imperial Creed to do their job and so on. Feel free to alter their gear a bit should you feel that flak armour and las-weaponry is a bit too high tech. Their first mission brings them into contact with some vile threat from beyond the stars or a secret heresy born of their own world and, as they become embroiled in events, they'll come into contact with their future Inquisitor who'll (hopefully) see their potential once the dust has settled and recruit them. At this point your players will hopefully have picked up a few basic things and can swap to a less ignorant character if they want (or their old character snuffed it).

As for the difference between D&D combat and Dark Heresy, just explain it to them before you start. Combat is much more lethal, there is no easy way of regaining wounds, characters who take too much damage can receive debilitating and downright crippling injuries, etc etc. Emphasise that the key is not to get hit at all; take cover, jump enemies so they don't have a chance to fight back and generally be crafty. With luck they'll be receptive to a new style of play, but do make sure that nobody tries anything as foolish as charging down an emplaced heavy stubber with a great weapon.

For my players who are ingorant on the setting I usually hand them the brief guide from the newest W40K Table Top boxed set that has a nice run down on what the 40K universe is. Then I loan them some of the comics I have from 40K, from the old Warhammer Monthly strips to the more recent Boom! studios work.

Those who bite hard enough will be handed various other books such as Scourge the Heretic and the 40K novel anthologies.

Simple

You could make them come from a feral world, I've never played D&D but I'm sure you could port a few recognisable bits and bobs over. Make them create feral world characters (or any type really, but they're from a feral world) who are enlisted by their cities govenor (who's secretly a Xenophile) to go deep into a mountain range to reclaim a "magical" (Eldar) artifact.

As they set off, give them standard opposition, nothing that screams DARK HERESY! but at the same time, nothing so fantasy as to scream D&D!!!!!! When they arrive at at the artifact (preferably on the surface, deep in a mountain range), make it an Eldar web way, too big to carry back, by far.

As the players ponder their actions, have drop pods rain from the sky, throwing ice and water everywhere, as the players fall screaming, they come too with 10 cloaked, masked figures pointing bolters at the players head. They'll be whisked away, interrogated, employed and sent back to the planet to root out the xenophiles, and any xenos they come across.

Bearing in mind, if you do choose this, they musn't have boltguns or other high powered weaponary, they'll have to be in deep cover, as them being the only ones on the entire planet (bar the xenos) with guns is a tad unfair

Also if you do run a game try get them out the dungeon/loot/treasure mentality. Dark Heresy is more about investigating heresy and purging said heresy. Though the great thing is about DH is youcan run any kind of style really.

If any of them have seen/read Judge Dredd then they should be able to grasp the image of Hive cities and Arbitrators.

They only really need to know the basics which is it's a superstitious backward and yet forward styled universe where the hope of progess has been crushed, machines (which are a mix of better than and worse than current day tech) only work thanks to proper prayers to their machine spirits and anyone who doesn't venerate the god-emperor is a heretic that needs burned.

If you want to know anything ask round here or check one of the many 40K sites like http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page and there's loads of mad DH info round here or http://www.darkreign40k.com/

Do it, and start out on a world that doesn't use too much 40k stuff, possibly even a medieval or feral world, introducing stuff like boltguns, astartes, the emperor, eldar etc one session at a time, until it's time to go into the big bad world. Use your players ignorance to your advantage! Have them all play feral worlders, or uneducated dregs who wouldn't recognise a boltgun if they saw one. Have them learn in character and out of character AT THE SAME TIME!

Ahem, sorry, I was carried away by the absolute perfect genius of my idea.

Thanks for the ideas guys. I think I may try something similiar. For the player's that are really interested and willing to read the entire rulebook I'll give them the option to play as whatever they'd like; sent to the planet for some task. The others will likely be feral worlders that get conscripted and aid the other player's and eventually become employed by the Inquisitor. Are the starting adventures that are published friendly to this idea, or should I maybe roll out something myself. I think I'd be willing to go with either option.

Thanks again!