Greetings!

I've been lurking about these boards so often, sunlight's starting to bother my eyes... Now that I have a Dark Heresy campaign up and running, questions are beginning to crop up that I'm hard-pressed to answer. The first one I have is simple: What do the acolytes in your campaigns do in-between their missions for the =I= ? Do they have social lives? Hobbies? A favorite place to have a drink?

The setting for Dark Heresy is new for me, and I read what I can, but there are some things I can't wrap my head around... When our gaming group played Shadowrun, for example, there were many sessions that consisted of simply roleplaying a "night on the town" -- bar hopping, dancing, dating, etc. The runners met and developed "relationships" with various NPC's, and organizations, which after some time, generated their own stories, creating character goals and strongly influencing the campaign. Those "downtime" sessions helped everyone to develop their characters and a "feel" for the setting, more than most runs ever did. Because the gaming group created their own "virtual community" of sorts, the whole experience was the best we'd ever had in gaming.

My problem in visualizing Dark Heresy is that I cannot see the acolytes having "lives". It's hard for me to picture the cell's cleric bar-hopping, the assassin going to see a "chick-flick" with his best gal (or even having one), or the psyker doing anything but... well... whatever it is psykers do. I want to make sure the campaign continues down the right track, and I want to start developing a "world" around the characters and their lives -- but I'm unsure of how to do that. I need help, because I'm having a tough time visualizing anything outside of the =I=. Granted, that might be all there is in the far future, and if that's the case, I can referee mission, after mission, after mission... but I feel like we might be missing out on even richer stories overall.

I'm not planning on turning the whole thing into a soap opera! I just want to help provide a more well rounded story to my group of gamers.

So could anyone share with me what the acolytes in their own campaigns do in between missions? Share their views on how they see the characters interacting with society at large? When they aren't melting down heretics into so much grease, of course...

Thanks for any help or advice you can provide!

Senex

The amount of life a character as outside the =I= is really dependent on the game and the character. If you want them to have a life outside the =I=, then they very well can. The problem you're having is you're trying to imagine them having a Shadowrun life outside the =I=.

When a character is not on a mission, then they will gravitate to their own kind and they will socialize with said kind. When the Shadowrunners went club hopping, they weren't mixing it up with all classes and types of people, they were, in effect, socializing with their own kind -the party animals and those who lived on the edge, not the 9-5 soccer moms or the devout religious nuts. What you have to figure out is who the PC's own kind is.

When the cleric is left to his or her own devices, what would she do and what other clerics/ men and wemen of the faith would also do the same. When they're all doing that same thing, how would they interact? Is the cleric devout and chased wholly embracing the vows of poverty that Thor embraced or dose he or she love the extravagance and free children the church can offer?

Dose the assassin belong to a society of assassins or does he or she work for themselves. If they work for themselves, how do they get targets outside the =I= and, if they don't, what do they do with their time when not on a mission. If it's training, who do they train with and what kind of relationship is formed there? If they are a part of a society or cult, who are the other members and how do they socialize with those members? Are there any special holidays/killing days they all observe? Is there any special rites and rituals that draw them together for a night of blood and celebration?

How about the psyker, dose the psyker belong to the adaptus astra-telepatica? If not, who owns him or her and if it's the =I=, what do they have the psyker do in "down time"? Is there other psykers engaged in the same activities? Dose the psyker have a mentor that helps teach them the way of their powers? How dose that relationship work?

All the characters have a life, no matter how stark it might seem at first. In 40k., there is a very strong and prevalent apprentice/master system of learning so quite a few acolytes might have masters out there to learn under and socialize with. Others will have guilds, agencies, and cults to be a part of when not purging the unclean. Perhaps, if devoid of persoanal lives, they have to develip cover identities, or simply train which also involves other human beings. Just figure out who and what the PC's are and what they would really do for a bit of human contact now and again -after all, i don't care how grimdark the future might be, people need people and that will never end. Your acolytes are no different and they will seek out those of like mind to be with. You just need to know what that mind is.

I think humans are still humans and require some form of downtime, no matter what it's like. Mostly, it is up to the players to see if they want to roleplay that out (as opposed to just being aimed at a case and let go), and if they do, it makes for great character growth. But hey, theory is nice and all, but here are some examples:

My players spent quite a good time on Reth, a pleasure world in the Tephaine system. Since they had to wait for some documentation to arrive, they decided to familiarise themselves with the local culture and thus went barhopping and party-crashing, this was good as it provided them with the all too necessary bonding the new cell required, and also made them aware of what the locals were like and the local political situation, which was even useful later! It also offered a backdrop for the PCs to talk amongst themselves about their respective pasts and adventures.

If the group is ever investigating nobility, or even normal people, it is inevitable that they will be forced into relaxed settings. Mascarade Balls, sports events, open markets and all may be part of the action, but they also offer that backdrop into the setting and characters. At another time our group was forced to establish a safehouse in the underhives, and while knowing the area and acquiring equipment the group inevitably got to know the local past-times, gambled a bit and made some friends and enemies which are still around. Our Arbitrator even joined a local racing rig as a hobby.

Even aboard their official ship, with missions going on, that happened. The Space Marine in our group, for example, made friendship with a mercenary unit on-board, and spent most of his time training with them and even joining the lot for drinks (and could that bastard drink prodigiously, mind you), so much that he burned one of his fate points while in the process of saving his drinking buddies.

Warp Travel takes time, and even with daily training and studies there's always time left to socialise amongst themselves. I usually go with "Well, you spent about a month in transit, what did you do in the mean-time?" and there are often answers involving the organized regicide tournaments, kitchen raids (those cooks are keeping the best food hidden, it's a conspiracy!) and meeting crew members (a few of the most memorable NPCs came from that; we all remember fondly the gunkeeper who was doing time for being late on a library ticket, for one).

Give Eisenhorn a read, he shows that quite well. No one would question he's one of the most successful Inquisitors around, and he's often throwing dinners for his servants, playing games with his immediate cell or having some sort of downtime.

I mean, 38,000 years is not enough for us to stop being human, right?

I don't think there's many worlds with the sort of nearly-present-day sort of nightlife, but as Graver said, there certainly are passtimes. In the Hives, activities range from Holos (movies basically) to bloody arenas. Nobles and the upper crust might frequent extravagant balls or dinners, or find their ways to the best seats in the worst of the fight pits. Most PC classes are based on careers of some sort. Guardsmen might return to service or work as bodyguards or bountyhunters. Assasins might return to their society, as has been mentioned, work freelance, slum in the underworld, or use their ill-gotten wealth to seduce noble-born beauties. Psykers might return to duty (savants) or leave behind worldly concerns for pure study (scholars) or the simplicity of Temple life (templars). Any Acoylte, knowing the Inquisition is a path to wealth and power, might pursue their inquisitor's interests on their own time. Anyone with a skill from the Trade group might use it as a career in itself, or pursue it as a hobby.

In my campaign, first downtime (on a hive world) is on the horizon. So "what to do". I will focus here on the "hard cases"

What could a cleric do in his "free time"?
Leaned on nowadays christian subcultur, he could meet with like-minded (other clerics) in "social circles" to read and debate seldom religous texts and dogmas. This will happen in the home of one of the circle (people switching being host) or might happen in a decent place (if the outside of the world HAS decent places!) in style of a pic nic. In worlds without thinks as such, people could gather in the church yards, at the steps of the cathedrals or at the feet of a statue of saint.

The cleric could have hobbies. Perhaps he likes to paint/illuminate or plays an instrument. He/she could do this alone or with some-one like minded. Playing regicid (the WH40K-Version of chess) could be done... even in social circles / clubs (there the clergy could mix with adepts, scribes and nobles).

clerics is middle or high status could be invited to events of corresponding social classes. In the middleages, it was not uncommon for a Bishop to join a falk hunt ... or to be host of such an event! Since the cleric of WH40K are even more militants, hunting IS a good pastime for them (if affordable).

Leaning on a greek world view, a more "physical" priest could be part of circles who are into wrestling ("real wrestling", not this show-stuff!) or could be part of a "Pistol Shooting Club".

He could spend his free time with people he meets as his "job". This could include
Teaching (sermon/classes)
Watching the populace for mutants
Making copies of religous textes
Running a libary

These are sources for people he could meet outside the clergy to develope links for past time activities.

The only extended downtime my games acolytes have gotten so far has been: space travel, hospital visits, and time spent as prisoners.

They do however manage to squeeze in a night of debauchery here and there anytime they get to civilization, or while spending time in port waiting for a ship to arrive.

Personally, I love downtime roleplay. My players do a lot of it in my game between missions, and I always bug my GM about it in the game where I play.

I think one of the primary differences (at least in my experiences) with downtime RP in Dark Heresy versus other games is that a lot of it tends to be with the Inquisition. One you join, you don't tend to make a lot of new friends outside it. I'd say at least 50% of downtime roleplay in my group tends to be with other members of the Inquisition, either in a social or political capacity. The other 50% is largely composed of roleplay with people from their backstories who are still accessible to them or who I am have involved in my metaplot.

I try to repay my players for making detailed backgrounds by making sure those elements come up and are integrated into the game.

I find downtime essiential for plot building.

Thanks for all of the replies and advice!

After we finish up with their current mission -- assuming there are survivors -- I will sit down with everyone and discuss matters with them. I'll see what THEY think each acolyte would be up to between missions. Our psyker has already mentioned working on developing an alias in the Tarsus Upperhive as a soothsayer. It would be her way of improving the character, but also allow the character to become eyes and ears for her =I=. I'm sure our assassin will be after contracts, and so forth.

As for the clubbing that everyone got used to... We'll see. But one bit of advice stands out to me: stop comparing the downtime in Dark heresy to that in our old Shadowrun campaign. They are two different animals.