As far as comrades go, I allow my players to roll on a table for a random Common Lore or Trade skill to reflect their background, as well as letting them roll for tests using player stats when out of cohesion. As long as they're in cohesion, the players count as having that skill. Our sergeant burned through comrades so fast trying to get Trade (Armorer) that I had him report before a tribunal to explain the atrocious attrition rate in his squad. After making him sweat in front of 3 Commissars, and some excellent roleplaying/rolling on his part, I gave him a comrade with the skill he wanted.

Who promptly had his throat cut in the encounter described above lol

I am going to steal the **** out of this rule. I am thinking of also giving the PCs the option of choosing which skill their comrade gets, from a premade list (yo, hook us up with that list) at the cost of 100xp. Thoughts? Random skill rolling might be more fun.

I'll post it in the House Rules section either tonight or tomorrow. It just saves time and XP since there are so many Lores and Trades and nobody wants to sink their XP into them. The fact that they can whiff the roll and not get what they want negates the need to spend XP for me.

It's not a solid list either. I regularly filter out skills I KNOW will be useless to them in the campaign.

First coin flip decides between Common/Trade (Heads) tables or Forbidden Lore (tails) table.

Second flip to decide between Common Lore (Heads) and Trade Skill (tails) table.

Roll one die. Assign the comrade's previous profession. The highest number is always "Pick what you want."

So, none of them opted to spend XP (huge surprise, right?) LOL.

Anyways, they went the random roll and I threw a bunch of skill their comrades would arguably, reasonably have. The only FL on my list is Xenos. So far, there have been two CL (spinward front) rolls and one Scrutiny roll. It is going well.

My list is stupid though in that they have to roll 1d60 because I didn't plan ahead very well and assigned numbers haphazardly.

It's just a case of thinking outside the box. There is no reason that Only War needs to be about urm....only war.

Ideas:

• Scenario or entire campaign set aboard a Cruiser taking a three month voyage between sectors. PCs have to deal with assassination attempts on officers by mutineers, low level political intrigue of making sure they are on the third wave of the drop ships (rather than the suicidal first wave), thwarting a group of cultists who plan to bring down the Gellar field. Catch is the cultists are all Commissars so no help from the Commissariat!
• PCs accompany a preacher, Rogue Trader or even Inquisitor to a fuedal world as bodyguards. Fun and games ensue as he is based in the largest settlement on the planet and sends the PCs off to fulfil various tasks Dark Heresy style.
• Some Guardsmen have been involved in a brawl with locals. In the confusion an Administratum official is killed. One of the PCs comrades is for the chop if the PCs don't work to save him...maybe the Adeptus Arbites have got some more information?
• The PCs are part of a company of Guard comandeered by a Rogue Trader. He has isolated them from their Commissars which is good. Unfortunatly he has some rather unorthodox views on inter-xenos relationships. His Arch militant appears to be an Eldar Corsair. Now what does the Uplifting Primer say about this?
• 200 years ago the PCs regiment once fought very successfully alongside an auxillary company of Ogryns. It stands to reason then that the Department Munitorium would choose the PCs regiment to accompany a group of recruiters to a high gravity feral world to try and persuade the Ogryns to join the guard.
• The PCs are a single guard squad stationed on a very very boring mining world. Except every few weeks shuttles land down just over the ridge. If and when the PCs investigate they'll find that the world is being used a refueling station for pirates/smugglers. The pirates are happy to negotaiate as Guard contacts are useful....or there might just be a gun fight.
• Rumour is that the inter regiment lottery has been rigged which is why the ratlings keep winning. PCs have been chosen to investigate.
• The PCs are in a cruiser along with several other regiments. The cruiser is in a decaying orbit around a planet. The cruiser will crash into the planet in three days. Everyone will die. What would the players like to do?
• The Witchhunter Cometh: Two days ago the regiments Commissar was killed and a ruinious symbol carved onto his chest. Now the rumour is that a notorious witchhunter is coming to invesitgate. Last time this happened the regiment in question was virtually slaughtered to a man. Officially the regiment is to stand down and remain in isolation until the hunter arrives. However the PCs commanding officers task the PCs with investigating the murder reasoning that if a culprit can be found it will prevent a regiment wide slaughter. The important point here is that the culprit doesn't necessarily need to be the actual killer simply someone with enough evidence against them (this idea is taken from a WFRP adventure called the Witchhunter cometh. Fan made. The word document can be googled).

Unusual combat encounters might include

• Allying with 'acceptable' xenos such as Eldar Rangers against Chaos warband. And then perhaps covering up the assistance.
• Trying to rally civillian population vs a Chaos warband or Orks. Magnificent Seven style.
• Fighting in absolutely extreme environment ranging from zero gravity, through to in the midst of a volcanic eruption.
• Fighting inside an extreme environment, a breached space craft, a titan (Imperator legs etc) even inside some huge xenos monstrosity.
• Trying to determine whether a friendly regiment are engaging in friendly fire or have turned traitor.
• Trying to protect an over zealous Bishop who has taken to the front lines wielding a sacred relic.
• Trying to ensure a particularly incompetant officer gets fragged in combat while ensuring the group isn't blamed.

It's just a case of thinking outside the box. There is no reason that Only War needs to be about urm....only war.

• Trying to rally civillian population vs a Chaos warband or Orks. Magnificent Seven style.
• Fighting in absolutely extreme environment ranging from zero gravity, through to in the midst of a volcanic eruption.
• Fighting inside an extreme environment, a breached space craft, a titan (Imperator legs etc) even inside some huge xenos monstrosity.
• Trying to determine whether a friendly regiment are engaging in friendly fire or have turned traitor.
• Trying to protect an over zealous Bishop who has taken to the front lines wielding a sacred relic.
• Trying to ensure a particularly incompetant officer gets fragged in combat while ensuring the group isn't blamed.

**** imperator titans, I swear if i ever run a game that involves one I'm having the titan's princeps pour rockrete in it's legs and close of the **** doors! Who designed this thing anyway?

Mind if add a few more ideas?

A penal legion has heard of a way to get their hands on something: this can be something as simple as valuable items they can take with them and use as barter, or a shuttle craft that can take them to a neighbouring world where they hope they can hide from the imperium.

Enviroments don't even need to be extreme to cause all sorts of troubles: Dense fog: you can't tell friend from foe, if you don't use call signs your squad mates end up shooting you, if you DO use them then the enemy will know you are imperial and shoot you.

The squad encounters another group of friendly guardsmen while they were told they were the only regiment operating on this world. The strangers have already killed several of the squads enemies... but can they truly be trusted?

The squad is about to be overwhelmed: suddenly they receive unexpected aid from a squad of spectral guardsmen with eyes of balefire. Together they push back the enemy but when the fighting is over the mysterious strangers have vanished. The only identification they could see was a patch on a guardsmans sleeve, it read: Monsian XIV-XVIII "The Angels".

The 'Choppy' incident. (on their way to an objective, the players found that a general melee had erupted along their path between a large group of ork nobz and slightly smaller group of berzerkers of khorne, all looking for the same objective as the party.)

Being smart, the Guardsmen let them slaughter one another and then call in Arty on the survivors.

But being PCs, the Guardsmen decided best to attach bayonets and charge.

No, and Not quite.

Their chimera has a mine flail and a PC operator who likes to drive aggressively.

I created NPC who can be interesting encounter.

Axel was a guardsman, started as a comrade of one of the players, i rolled a psycho on demanour so i decided that guy likes to talk to his knives especially one he named Betty who he treated like it was his girlfriend. What makes him any more interesting than all this psychos in w40k? Well i will post a few things he done before he was full fledged npc and some of his quotes.

1. One time he threw a knife at the spider on the cave wall near PC,s saying "watch out, spiders can be dangerous"

2. While fighting enemies he was singin

3. After he lost his equipment and borrow 2 knifes then slaughter whole squad of enemies he dropped the knifes saying "it was a pleasure to meet you ladies"

4. Saying to sergant "I like you so i won;t kill you"

5. After promotion of one PC to squad leader he said "Some time ago a wise man said that rank is earned not given. I still had to gut him like a pig but he was wise man nonetheless"

6. While everyone is chilling by the campfire, he stands rapidly shouting "I need to eat a snake" then he runs into the jungle and after a while when party goes to sleep, one of the players wake up and see him near whispering to his knife "i caught him for you baby"

So my players was scared shitless of him . One of players said that he is glad that Axel is on their side.

After he became major NPC in squad i build him like a close combat killing machine. Ofc he is not there to steal their spotlight, I use him as a humoristic relief or when i want to scare players with him being unpredictable. Or sometimes as deus ex machina when players have poor rolls and bad luck or the other way around so if they are doing too good then he can always do something stupid.

Well maybe he is on players side so not much of an encouter but he can be an inspiration how to make crazy enemy

Axel was a guardsman...

Now he sounds like 1 of the Moritat Brotherhood

I ******* LOVE number five. Hahaha.

A little bit of treadomancy.

Currently i start new campaing for veteran characters placed in hive world. Campaing starts after events of salvaging solace with mutant uprising. Hie is without power, entilation and communication. I'd like to hear some ideas what can i throw at players or what missions can they take in that enviroment. Any thoughts?

Not suffocating to death feels like a good start.

Consider your Axel to be borrowed to have a cameo role in my ratling squad.