My Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay group recently finished a campaign (with me as GM) so I thought I may as well run a campaign of Dark Heresy while waiting for the 3rd edtion of WFRP to come out. Though there is one problum: one of my players knows nothing of the 41st millienum or warhammer 40k. Now let's make it clear that he dosen't read the rule books (because I own them and because he dosen't want to read them).

I have a list of things I want him to know before and possibly during the game so I need him tell him while putting it in terms that he could understand without it taking hours to explain everything (becuase he usually wants to get the game right after character creation). So without further delay here is my list:

1. I want him to know what it means to be an acolyte of the Inquistion. I was thinking of giving a secret agent anology ( you are a secret agent for the most powerful orginization in human history). Would this give him the wrong idea? Are there any other ways I can explian what an acolyte does without taking too long?

2. I want him to know how different life in the Imperium is then life in current day America (how different the culture is, how brutal the Imperium really is).

3. I want to show him how technology works differently then in our world (I want to explain the ideas of the Adeptus Machanicus and the machine spirits).

4. I want to show him how space travel is different (He has already watched every Star Wars movie and already gets the concept of hyperspace but I have to show him that the warp is different. I also need to show him that starships are different from thier Star Wars counterparts apperance-wise and function-wise)

In addtion to explaining the setting to my players I need to decide the Ordo of the Inqisitor. I was thinking of either Xenos or Malleus. Mostly becuase my group is probubly getting used to chaos cults and I wanted a change of pace. I know I could get some varity from Xenos but what about Malleus? How could I get some good anagonists if daemons are so rare?

After reading the title, why not go for that? Let him keep his character from WH, and then have the Imperium land on his planet, or maybe have them abducted by xenos or some such. Then let them explore the Imperium and learn about it first hand, from the awesome sizes of their Hives, their spaceships, the demons of the warp, and Imperial Guardsmen shooting lights at them. The systems are close enough that a direct crossover could work very well, and as far as the Imperials are concerned the party would just be another bunch of Feral/Feudal planet and that their Emperor of the Reich (if not just mistaken for the God Emperor) would probably just be the planetary governor the populace knpws nothing about.

I'd love to do a game like this myself, but my players all know about WH 40k. And I've just played a game of Shadowrun to Earthdawn crossover so it works (even if those rule systems are really not compatible).

I'd let them keep their talents etc., although any clerics using divine magic would be considered witches is the Imperium, as they would unwittingly draw their powers from the warp.

Friend of the Dork said:

An interesting idea but I am not sure it will work for me because both of my players played non-human races in WFRP for I am not sure how I would approuch this. My second player has already created a Hive World Pysker. Though I am sure I could translate the characters from WFRP into the scum career somehow but I would rather have them create new characters. Though I like the idea of introducing them to the setting as I go along as I did much the same thing when I first introduced my players into the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Both of my players know Star Wars so would comparing it to that be a good idea?

Hmm, well, in a way, having players who know little about the setting can be a blessing. You get to show them, rather than tell them, about it.

Maybe print them each up a little card with some background information with what their chararacter would know, based on their career and homeworld. So everyone would know that:

The only true God is the God-Emperor of Mankind. All other Gods are false, and lead men to ruin. All worlds owe the God Emperor their worship, their tithe, military service, and their Psykers.

Technology is as dangerous an art as Sorcery, best left to the Tech-Priests, who oversee the rites by which the machine spirits blessed by the God Emperor, who they call the Machine God or Omnissiah, may be appeased.

Psykers are sorcerors, whose power risks corruption of the soul and the summoning of demons. All Psykers are to be given to the Inquisition when the time for tithe comes. Only a few Psykers, blessed by the Emperor, are tolerated to return, and then in His service alone. All others are witches and must burn. (On Feral Worlds, Psykers would be Shaman, and may serve the Emperor until the time to depart comes. However, they may fall to the temptation of witchcraft meanwhiles and must be watched. For Void Born, Psykers are a blessing, but a dangerous one).

Aliens seek the ruin of mankind. Those few who are not loathesome on sight and instantly hostile seek to mislead men for their own purposes and **** their souls.

Mutation is the outward sign of spiritual corruption, caused by sin, sorcery, or the touch of daemons.

The Inquisition watches the Imperium for enemies within and without. Even the governors of the planets and sectors must bow to their authority. To cross them is death, or worse. Do not even speak of them further, or people might whisper that you have something to hide...

Maybe to give them a better feel, you could have them meet up with a vetern Guardsman early on, and have him talk about things like Commissars shooting fleeing men, a battlefield Sanctioned Psyker being possessed by a daemon and begging his commander to kill him before it took control, the sheer hopeless feeling of using Lasguns against some nameless alien menace, and then the last minute arrival of salvation: a platoon of Space Marines. That should give them a good solid intro, if presented with suitable drama.

There is a primer on dark reign.

http://darkreign40k.com/forum/index.php?topic=2236.0

Xenos? Die!

Ehm, well dwarves and halfings could be handwaved as strange humans, or maybe mutants. They won't be liked, but many places they won't be shot on sight either. Elves can be concealed rather easily, although Eldar are not really tolerated.

But anyway if you plan to make new characters you could have them all come from a feral or feudal world, in which case they have probably only heard about the Emperor and vaguely about the Imperium. It shuld be fairly easy to descrive the world as having a supersticious people, hating the witch and those who are different. Some planets in the Imperium doesen't even have a tithe, which means limited or no interaction with the Adepta. let them chose if they want the feral background or Imperial, although they shouldn't have much common lore Imperium, instead give them another free skill(some slightly useful skill).

Then insert dramatic event, maybe Inquisitor Claus is coming to town, an invasion of orks coming from a space hulk (with shootas and chain axes), a Rogue Trades crashing on the planet and recruiting the PCs to get his ship moving (digging it out perhaps), maybe having them find clues that the planet was once settled by the Imperium with modern tech. A quest could involve the locating of old tech to get the ship of the RT or Inquisitor to get his ship operational, during which time they can learn some about the Imperium from one of their experts.

It helps if the PCs are either bored of their world, displeased about their social standing, criminals or a combination of the following. Even a Noble could work, as long as he's somewhat disposessed, escpaping from usurpers or rival nobles, or a criminal sort.

In the Star Wars game I play in the GM/DM used this method of introducing us to his campaign (except he used a Jedi), and we did't even know we were playing SW). It worked pretty well, although I suggest you don't spend too many adventures on the home planets, the idea is to get into DH after all. You'll have to tweak starting skills, available classes a bit, but just remove the modern stuff and replace with equally good abilities, and/or let the PCs save some starting xp to get modern skills/talents later in the game withoit losing out.

**** I want a make such a campaign some day...