Hi Dark Heresy fans!

This week, I have a designer diary in which I go through the steps to create a Daemonhost using the rules from The Radical's Handbook. Enjoy!

Awesome, thanks Ross! Looks good

Hmm, I am *so* hoping my Psyker rolls to become a deamon-host.

Yay info on Radicals Guide. Though it was partially recycled material I love the new rules for daemonhost. I assume thrice-bound daemonhost are more durable because of their increased tie to the material world? As such I really look forward to the new packages and paths you guys are making. Perhaps the next one maybe?

*Breaks his shrine to Ross who should be done purging the mutant writers from FFG offices*

Am I the only one who finds the Daemonshosts a little... unimpressive?

With a WS of 35 and SB of 2, they're not going to be melee monsters. Fine. They're supposed to be Psy-Monsters instead.

But a suitably advanced Psycher Acolyte will have a superior (or at least equal) Psy Rating to a twice bound host, and I feel a Warp-monstrocity from the beyond should be significantly more dangerous than a mortal serf of the =I=

Perhaps I'm just doing it wrong

Darth Smeg said:

Well, a Dispayrer isn´t that an "combat impressive" Demon to start with. While I have not "done the math" right now, I think that a Bloodletter or a Charneldemon will be more fitting to your needs.

Especially, if you keep the "binding" low, so the strenght isn´t tempered with that much. A "twice bond" is on a rather short leash, I guess.

Talking strenght...onyone a reason why you shall not tie a Juggernaut of Khorne into a human host? Of course, it will be **** stupid, but....

Nah it's not just you, my Acolytes would own this Daemonhost, and they're only rank 5.

Lets do some math though to be sure: Okay if it's basically just a dispayre a twice bound gets on best rolling 50 Toughness and 25 Wounds but on average probably more like 46 T and 21 W. Being Daemonic though you get the X2 T bonus so thats too shabby.

Now the Strength and Agility. Looks like the poor guy rolled pretty bad here as the agility dropped 8 out a possibly 10. At best (for the GM) it'd be 38 but at worst 30. Then the Strength reduction which seems to be an average roll. A best here it'd be 33 and worst 25(!).

So at best (or at GM tweaking "yes of course I rolled that") we could have:

WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel

35 25 33 50 38 30 45 40 10 25 Wounds

On average though it'd be more like:

WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel

35 25 29 46 34 30 45 40 10 21 Wounds

Lets try the good one. Now Assuming it's not a surprise round about half my normal party would be going before this thing, luckily though we could half that again I suspect thanks to failing fear tests. So I reckon my Cleric and Psyker would be in the fight.

Sooo semi-auto Bolt Pistol at it, It would dodge but probably just one of the shots, I roll an 8 for damage (discarding the rubbish 4 thanks to tearing) so thats 3 damage.

Next the Psyker chucks some bio lightning with a chock load of dice overbleeds 4 times (thats about average for her), and we'll say we have to throw an extra range in so just 3 d10 damage. I roll a 3, 5 and 9. So that's another 4 points thanks to ignoring the Daemonic Toughness.

Daemon time. The daemon has regenerate and gets one point back but is still 6 down.

It moves then uses its crazy gaze power on the Psyker hoping to drive her insane but she resists easily.

Soo my Cleric who is actually a flagellanting Redeptionist with the frenzy talent gos all frenzy like as a free action and charges the daemonhost with his berserk charge hitting on something ridiculous like 68 or less with a reroll cause he's a blademaster. So thats a d10+2 (Chainsword) +3 SB+1 Frenzy. Rolls 7 so thats 13 doing the host 3

The Psyker starts up hammerhand...

The rest of the party will start to recover their wits so you can see where this is going.

I think the lesson here is use big daemons, something like a Charnel daemon would be more a lot more challenging. I suppose the good thing is about this is that you could introduce your party to daemonhosts quite early in their career by using low level daemons. Then, as the party ranks up you could have them meet sorcerors using more powerful daemons.

I suppose a lot of us have the novel syndrome of reading about awesomely power daemonhosts that can tear down Titans but there's not much stories about little daemonhosts that would have troubles dealing with 1 Space Marine.

Wow, finaly something exciting! Mm, idea of Juggernaut-daemonhost sounds very, very intresting (guarding Laybyrinth of Blood of course... maybe finaly some ideas how to make Murder Room realy intresting?)

Yeah, and any Demonhost worth his salt will have Catch Projectiles as a Reaction to deal with those pesky Full-Auto-Bursts from your AutoCannon-Carrying Guardsman

Daemonhosts in the DH core book got Unnatural Strength, perhaps Daemonhosts will still get it following the creation pattern in Radical's Handbook?

@Darkshroud

While the presented daemonhost is indeed not exactly powerful (mainly, he's lacking a good attack power), you make some rather optimistic assumptions here: That anyone will manage his WP against the Fear4 + Daemonic Aura, that the host is too stupid to fly out of range of the cleric and the Hammerhanded psyker, that the psyker won't trigger any harmful phenomena with her "chock load of dice", that she easily resists the Gaze despite the Daemonic aura, that everyone hits,...

I am getting a really odd sense of deja vu from this article. I honestly have no idea why

Looking for the Adventure Design Contest. Did I miss it? It it hiding somewhere?

Nojo509 said:

like wise

also any demonhost is nothing to just laugh off. It is a serious abuse of the powers of the warp and only the unclean uses them to full effect