In the game that i'm running there are food riots almost weekly. The PDF have been called in to assist but the arbities are in charge. For a squad (10 arbitrators) of Arbities assigned to "Front-line Duties" what would they be issued?

I'm thinking 6-8 have shields, All have 1-2 tear gas grenades, All have shock batons, then one without a shield has an Auto gun with a few man-stopper and or dum-dum rounds, then the last has a heavy stubber with the same rounds and a tripod.

Or am i going about this wrong and should it just be the PDF?

Or am i going about this wrong and should it just be the PDF?

Naah. It can just be the PDF -- but if you want an Arbites presence there, it's a perfect excuse to include another fairly popular element of the setting!

I would perhaps involve another Imperial Adeptus somehow to give the Arbites a better reason, though, as usually they wouldn't care much for local smalltime criminals unless these riots somehow threaten the hold or efficiency of Imperial institutions on the world. The easiest explanation here would be the location; perhaps these riots happen a little too closely to some Imperial organisation's local presence, so the Arbites are brought in to act as additional protection.

An ideal example could be a temple of the Adeptus Ministorum, where protesters are demanding the wealthy church hand out some of the food it's hoarding. The warrior priests are arming themselves to defend the shrine, and perhaps even have a small militia of locals equipped with basic weapons, but they'd be hopelessly outmatched by the sheer number of rioters. The PDF has been active throughout the region to quell the riots, but in this sector, some Arbites from the local Precinct Fortress have arrived and pretty much do their own thing independently of the military, also providing some potential for confusion and lack of coordination between both forces (kind of like the opening scenes of Jin-Roh, where the Capitol Police have set up their own barricades behind the lines of the Regular Police, conducting separate anti-insurgency operations in the sewers as the regular cops try to push back the riots).

For equipment, I'd ditch the autoguns, as it really doesn't appear like an Arbites weapon. Personally, I'd seek inspiration from the Necromunda Enforcers supplement (copies of which may be around on the internets), giving 6 of them combat shotguns, 2 boltguns and 1 heavy stubber. The Sergeant gets a bolt pistol and power maul or bolt pistol and combat shotgun. All except the Sergeant get a set of power maul + suppression shield.

This will give the regular Arbites two loadouts they can carry simultaneously and swap depending on the situation; at first the shotgun Arbites will keep their ranged weapons on the back and instead provide a wall of six shields, whilst the bolters and heavy stubber can provide fire support and mow down anyone stepping beyond a previously defined perimeter. When the order comes to move in and clean up, the bolter guys/gals will switch to shields and mauls, whereas the six Arbites that previously provided a static defence will switch to combat shotguns and advance.

In addition, the squad will arrive with a Repressor APC, which is essentially an upgunned Rhino with an oversized dozer blade, storm bolter and flamethrower (also used by some of the stationary SoB convents). This would also provide the squad with a place to store spare ammo and their unused gear in case you don't want to have them lug around both loadouts; with the vehicle being right behind them it should only take two or three minutes to swap, assuming a phased gear-up where you'd first have the rear line withdraw and switch to shields, before having them change places with the front line and allow them to get dressed for the occasion. This way, you'd always have a couple shields ready and visible, not giving the rioters an opening to exploit.

Additionally, this allows storing further weapons, so that you could, for example, also have a grenade launcher with choke grenades stashed somewhere.

Happy rioting!

That is fantastic! Thanks oodles much!

Gladly! Good luck in your game.

Bonus scene: Arbites help the local clergy to keep order among the faithful

In addition to what Lynata offered.

(and by the by, from which Comic is that page? I would -love- to know),

I advise to Keep in mind that the Arbites only invovles themselves if imperial rulership, imperial law, member of the imperial adepta or the tithe is jeopardized. In the fluff for DH1st, that meant that the hives on Sybillus (the sector capital) saw regular and frequent Arbites raids in Gunmetal City to ensure that the weapon production is not hindered by unrest.

If the Arbites takes care of something during Food riots, it will be something crucial. The temple is a good example, the seat of the Governeuer could see a guard like that, or if your planet is having to TITHE Food even when it is starving itself, it is perfectly reasonable to have the Arbites have an eye on it. Same is true for the Food being secured for any member of the present Adepta, be it Ministorum, Mechanicum, Administratum or the Arbites themselves.

In regard to your weaponary, you have not enough grenades. 1 or two is not enough in a full scale riot. Five or six per Arbitrator sounds better, and having one fragmentation grenade "if things Need to get ugly" is a good choice. Likewise shock mauls are a must have for everyone as a side arm, as should be a pistol. This could be a heavy calibre semi-automatic or a boltpistol, if the local Precinct Fortress is having some. And they SHOULD have some. Add a servo skoll with a bailing Vox caster over their heads, blarring the People to "stay back!".

The "book of judgement" mentioned riot shields that could "magnetic-lock" to one another, forming a very solid wall.

Oh yeah, good point about the grenades. The Necromunda Enforcers supplement suggests choke gas, but I too like the idea of a few frag grenades to "disperse the crowd". Also, +1 about the servo skull. Make the voice overly calm and robotic!

(and by the by, from which Comic is that page? I would -love- to know),

That one is from Daemonifuge, a 3-part graphic novel miniseries which was, at the time, a rather big project that not only had its own website, but also its own miniature releases and a background article on the GW website.

I've written four mini-reviews about different 40k comics on another forum, each with a quick glimpse into the artwork, that one included. You can take a glance here .

Also note the excerpt of "Pax Imperialis", an Arbites comic!

I have to say, I actually like the 40k comics more than the novels. They're just grittier and, in my opinion, do a better job at portraying the oppressive or outright insane atmosphere of the setting, whereas I was repeatedly disappointed by the novels being "too heroic". That, and the comics somehow offer way more variety in stories and characters, whereas the novels feel like 80% Space Marines.

Note that Black Libary's short story anthologies are a welcome exception from my opinion on the novels, though!

Hey Lynata,

thanks for the info. Does "Demonifuge" Feature the Sororita as a main character? I have a Player in my Group with a SoB, so I think about getting my hand on that one.

@Disperings the crowd
*gives a grim smile* in my game world, Arbitrators are usually outnumbered in any Setting but a very important world seeing a formidable presence in a given City. Thereby, the fragmentation grenades are their final solution before an angry Mobs threatens to storm their lines: if all seems lost, they will NOT turn and run but use Maximum lethal force. That is where the grenades and the automatic weapons come in. Before they lose the line to the rabble, they will just mow them down. My Players talk about a term coined during the times of Napoleon and the German Emperor: "Niederkartätschen"*.

Please take note that this is NOT a regular tactic in my 40k world, no matter how grim-dark it is. I use this with Arbitrators to emphasize that they are NOT "the riot force" but a power akin to martial law who gives the term "serious as a heart attack" a run for it´s money. In my world, the appearance of a squad of armed Arbitrators on the scene is sometimes enough to disperse an unruly mob as they have an according reputation. In turn, the government (whatever it is) is usually reluctant to call in the Arbitrators: if the **** is not already hitting the van, there is a Chance that they bring about an unnecessary escalation. To the dismay of most governments, the Arbitrators do not have to be "called in" but will deploy in force whenever and wherever they see fit.

UPS! Sorry for hijacking the Topic!

*which means turning the "Kartätsche", an early Canon filled with shrapnell like ammonition, against a mob in the streets to "disperse" it. This tactic saw use in that time, having the streets running red with blood was a grim and bitter reality back then.

thanks for the info. Does "Demonifuge" Feature the Sororita as a main character? I have a Player in my Group with a SoB, so I think about getting my hand on that one.

Indeed; the main protagonist is Ephrael Stern, a Veteran Seraphim of the Order of Our Martyred Lady. As a whole, the story is not entirely focused on the Sororitas as Ephrael quickly becomes a fugitive* (the collection of all three books is titled "Heretic Saint"), but still features a number of great appearances of the Sisters -- from the heroic to the tragic.

On the run, Ephrael has to deal with all sorts of allies (few) and enemies (many), so the series has a lot of mostly short but sometimes recurring guest appearances, from different Orders of the Sororitas, to Black Templars and Deathwatch Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Adeptus Arbites, various Inquisitors and their agents, Grey Knights, Eldar and Dark Eldar, and even Ahriman and some of his Thousand Sons. It also provides a rare glimpse onto important religious worlds such as Ophelia VII and Gathalamor.

Most of all, with exception of a short black and white segment printed in Warhammer Monthly, the series has stunning greyscale artwork supported by tastefully inserted CGI.

Black Library does not have much for fans of the Sisters of Battle, so I consider Daemonifuge more or less a must-have in terms of cool stories. For your player, I would also greatly recommend getting the Daemonblood short story by Ben Counter (contained in various BL anthologies such as Dark Imperium or Let the Galaxy Burn ) as well as Faith & Fire from James Swallow, as both stories deal with more "normal" Sisters. Faith & Fire in particular does a good job at addressing the personality of a Battle Sister, and the familiarity within their squads.

(* fun fact: when Ephrael's tabletop miniature still had her own rules, she was able to be deployed with other SoB, but not allowed to join one of their squads and exempt from AoF, reflecting her troubled nature and outcast role in the story)

My Players talk about a term coined during the times of Napoleon and the German Emperor: "Niederkartätschen"*.

Oh yeah, I remember reading about that in history classes. Napoleon was a general of the artillery, after all, and his rise to power began with the civilian government calling upon him to restore peace to the city.

I quite like your interpretation of the Arbites' role and the government's reluctance to call upon them. Judge Dredd as their quasi-official inspiration, but also the Coruscant Guard from Star Wars are good examples here, too.

On the assumption that you can understand German ("niederkartätschen") -- I also wrote this fictional police organisation ages ago for a Star Wars RPG. The article contains not only a general description, but also details about hierarchy and organisation, equipment and tactics. I assume parts of it could easily be applied to local security enforcers.

thanks for link, if I Need some enforcers, I will give it look. Next session is going to be on Temperance, so I will stick with what was provided/summed up there. And yes, my German is far better then my English. It is my first language, after all

@Mr.Chubbles
I hope we were useful to you. If you want some additional "Background noise" to your ongoign Food riot, your characters could become wittness to the local enforcers actually leaving a certain area or district after Arbitrators take up Position there...something about "leaving the war zones to the PDF...".

If you have Arbites rolling out, calling in the PDF sounds fine, unless your local Enforcers are a hard hitting bunch. Just make sure to set the pace and mood accordingly. Bringing soldiers along means war. Full stop. IF something happens at this Point, it will be likely be violent. The moderate People tend to leave as soon People equipped with deadly weapons are seen, unless they live in a Society where they trust in the government to discourage Shooting at People just for goign about and crying havoc....which does not Sound like your average 40k world