So, today I've got a two-parter post! Since I didn't want to bog down the forum with two threads from one person side by side, I'll be making my pleas for help and requests for illumination within the same post.

The first question is for a friend, who recently started playing (and therefore has a pretty low level character,) but wants to go for a stealth assassin role. He has a decent amount of starting money because our group has been playing for a while and a more wealthy character decided to lend him some, but he's trying to figure out a way to play a competent stealth character without access to +10s and +20s for Concealment and Silent Move. Other than Stummers, Cameoline Cloaks, and Synskin (the last of which he can't afford yet anyways,) what gear is there available for would-be stealth players?

The second question is my own, and I'm merely seeking advice for playing a potentially quite fun but foreseeably difficult character; An Adept.

I've already written most of him, I am basically just looking for tips, pointers, and suggestions to keep things interesting. He's got utterly miserable combat stats, barely passable Fellowship, very good Willpower, and ridiculously high Intelligence and Perception. (He's a Forge World Adept, giving a +8 to Intelligence to start with, I rolled high, and for Perception I got the 'Big Eyes' mutation off of my Divination.)

For flavor, he's got house-ruled 'Optical Impairment', giving a -30 to vision-based perception when he doesn't have his glasses on. (As a character note, he wears huge thick lenses, which helps conceal his big eyes: It looks like a trick of the light and the glass.)

For personality, he's an alcoholic, gambling chain-smoker who obsessively gathers books to read when he's got the free time or isn't being shot at. I plan on making him a little obtuse, but I am having trouble thinking of fun flavor injections I can give his character mid game other than the obvious humor of having him drunk in the team.

(I wrote this character so I'd have a challenge roleplaying, but that doesn't mean I won't ask for help!)

Grimdark Podcast Episode 1 is all about Adepts.I'd suggest listening to that.

Grimdark Podcast Episode 1 is all about Adepts.I'd suggest listening to that.

It's two hours long... I don't suppose you know where I can skip to just to hear about the Adepts? It looks like most of it is just about the game in general.

EDIT: So, I ended up listening to the whole thing. It was pretty good, but it didn't really talk about roleplaying. Mostly it just brought up builds, player roles, uses in combat and investigation, etc... And that's something I already have planned out pretty thoroughly. I enjoyed it, but it didn't help much. I'm more looking for tips on roleplaying.

As a brainiac with low Fel, he should be constantly exasperated by his team-mates whenever they do not know something. You pass a difficult Scholastic Lore test of some kind, and berate your "friends" for their ignorance.

Apart from that, he could show a more than healthy geek interest in something technical, like weapons, but only on a theoretical level. When being shot at, have him enthusiastically tell his team-mates that the enemies are using Armageddon pattern autostubbers with tracer-rounds, as they make a very distinctive sound! You'll be pleased to know their stopping power is less than that of the Hermadon, but it will still put a cramp on your day!

One way of playing the Adept especially a drunk recluse one is as a bit of a dark horse, intellectual ace up the hole.

So Adepts are more likely to be more curious than their fellows. It doesn't necessarily mean they are anymore rational than their fellow acolytes (they enjoy a good witch hunt as much as the next man) but they will be more interested in finding out why certain details occured. In roleplay terms this means you might not be in the lime light but equally you are more likely to go off alone on a tangent to investigate some obscure fact.

Players like the Techpriest and the Arbite can construct the big picture (there is a ritual going down at the old mill) but it is the Adept who says things like 'Yes but why an obsidian dagger for the sacrifice' and thus uncovers the weakness the deamon has.

As a drunk reclusive type you can play up the old trope 'obfuscating stupidity' http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ObfuscatingStupidity%C2' > Did you ever watch Columbo? You don't necessarily need to be exactly the same but it is interesting way to play it. A slightly bumbling character on the surface but actually razor sharp.

What I would avoid is really trying to hit your players and GM over the head with any of your character traits or indeed as you gain them your skills. The old maxim is true 'Knowledge is power. Guard it well'. Quietly gather the evidence you need, slowly draw conclusions, amass data and above all never let anyone know how much you know.

Remember also that you are still an agent of the Inquisition and are duty bound to act with ruthlessness and precision when needed. Just as the guard character won't wait for approval before blasting the mutant abomination with his melta gun so the Adept shouldn't wait for a discussion if he knows a particular incantation or data code will destroy the heresy the team hunts.

This means work and patience on your part as a player. Draw up notes listen to what the GM says, ask questions OOC about details.

In combat you don't need to rush in and equally your fellow acolytes should respect the fact that you staying at the back isn't about cowardice so much as competance. You can also think laterally about your role. Firing an autogun might not help but maybe calling for Enforcer reinforcements will!

Or maybe you can even be recording the combat with a optical device so that if the bad guys escape you have image capture of them to pass on to Verispex Arbitrator agents.

Out of character playing a distinctly non-combat specialist character can take a certain level of agreement from your GM as well. It is polite to give him a heads up of the type of character your playing so it doesn't become irritating that you want information about obscure facts he may not have.

You may also be more useful to the group going off to strange locations like esoteric bookshops, gambling dens or half abandoned data storage units.

On the one hand you want to know that this worth while and that you won't be out of the action only for the GM to once again say 'yeah you don't find anything' (I've played those kinds of games). On the hand it is frustrating for the GM if one player is always away from the group which can make certain plots quite annoying (like a group kidnapping etc)

Also be patient with the GM, so if you ask for information about the serial number of a hover wagon and he says it will take a day to get that might just mean he needs time between sessions to write up the info.

Any help in getting you thinking about this character?

You could play him as Sherlock, after the drug addicition or before if that's what you'd like, he knows everything loves pointing it out, and enjoys insulting through the most turnabout manners. He should have very odd hobbies something he enjoys because it stimulates him intellectually in a specific manner.

He should make it a point that he doesn't know anything about what he feels isn't necessary to know about, otherwise he'd have learned about it.

This is all EXTREMELY helpful, thank you all.