Hello everyone,

Some of you may have seen me posting around here a bunch, and it's with a heavy heart to tell you that I am considering retiring my current Dark heresy 2E character. Some of you may be familiar with Jonah Keough, if you've been following along with our Actual Play series (link can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_gaILiLMOM ) but if you aren't, let me lay him on you. A frontiers world cleric with a bit too much sympathy and too little ability to make sacrifices in the name of the Imperium, I've decided it may be in the best interests of my party to retire him and roll up a new character. My motivations for doing so are as follows:

1. Roleplaying. Jonah is a character who unfortunately doesn't mesh well with the rest of his cell or with our GM's interpretation of the 40k universe. Our GM's 40k is a washed out, destaurated world where the vast majority of the population are apathetic at best and the higher-ups are just corrupt politicians using the Imperium's bureaucracy for their own personal gain. While it's a great and accurate view of the universe (and much more interesting than the usual religious dictatorship turned up to 13), it makes it hard for genuinely pious characters to survive.

Also, Jonah's desire to help the common man - his policy being that it's the job of the Inquisition to protect people, first and foremost - is at odds with the rest of his group, who willingly sacrifice civilian lives in vast quantities to achieve their goals. Again, this isn't a criticism of my fellow players, but it makes it difficult for Jonah, and provides an in-character reason for him to want to leave. Also, I don't wish to be a burden to my other players by being obligated to stymie their plans due to roleplaying.

2. Party Composition. Our Party is a very combat-heavy group, and Jonah facilitates this by being the group's medic. However, this combat prowess comes at the expense of subtlety. For most of the campaign we've been hovering somewhere between 40 and 0 Subtelty, which has made life...difficult. Our most recent game session required the most harebrained scheme I think I've ever heard of in a 40k RPG ever to get close to our target. It worked, but would have been much easier if, say, any of us had any social skills. Our lack of a dedicated "face" is a serious detriment to our party, and if Jonah were to retire that would be a role that is badly needed.

3. Mechanics. I'm not going to spend too much time bitching about this, but Jonah seems to have accidentally become the party's meat shield, due mostly to my own terrible dice rolling skills. Having lost all of his fate points, and having been blinded, crippled, and burned by critical damage results multiple times, many of his stats are severely below average due purely to wound results. As such, being able to play a competent character would be a nice bit of fresh air.

TL;DR version: My current character not only is at odds with the group but doesn't bring enough in-game support to justify his contributions, as such a new character may be necessary. So, I'm going to you guys for ideas! Feel free to post any ideas, as detailed or as vague as you like. I'lll likely take elements from a bunch that I enjoy the idea of, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

1) We need a face, badly. Someone who can talk their way into various government institutions and help keep our subtlety high.

2) Without Jonah, we will be without a medic.

3) Our current party contains an Arbites Assassin (long-ranged sniping), an Arbites Untouchable (melee and psyker/daemon hunting), a Fronteirsman Hunter (long, short, and heavy fire) and an Outcast Savant (tech support and stealth). Filling any niches we are missing would be great!

Thanks in advance!

Highborn Adeptus Administratum Hierophant/Seeker, for dealing with bureaucracy/face duties?

A fed-up, chain-smoking adept, who got a crap, but safe, desk job due to family ties? Ended up serving the Inquisition due to a clerical error (his own clerical error). Much better at talking his way out of trouble than doing actual work. Only just passed his Administratum exams due to bull his way through the oral test, making up for low written assignments. Capable at medic duties due to his reliance on stimulants at the work place. He's taken to (soft) drugs, but has no actual contact with drug dealers beyond his pharmacist - he's done more study of pharmacy in his spare time than he ever bothered to study for exams.

It's not always a bad thing to have characters with different viewpoints in the party but I can see how it might not work if all the discussions are always 1 against the rest of the group. It can be a real bummer to play a character with significant characteristic damage and no remaining fate points. Sounds like the character has a solid chance of not living much longer anyway so doesn't seem like a big deal to switch out a little early.

If you go with highborn and adeptus administratum you could consider chirurgeon as your role to get fieldcraft and intelligence to remain the party medic while becoming the party's face from homeworld and background. Another option would be to go with seeker and then either guardsman or outcast to get fieldcraft then pick pretty much whatever homeworld suits your taste that doesn't give crappy starting intelligence or fellowship. Willpower, toughness or agility would all be good aptitudes to get through homeworld (possibly through a doubling up) to try to keep the character alive and/or sane for longer since there is really no way to be really good at social stuff, medicae and retain much combat ability. You could be the jaded crotchety old veteran guardsmen medic.

Some rough idea could be:

Feudal world 4th sibling in line to a significant inheritance with your initial youth in court giving you an insight into intrigue and gossip, but since you are so long down the line when you come of age the family send you off to get a career in Adeptus Administratum instead.

When tithing required the formation of an imperial guard regiment, the family had to show the local ruler that they are willing to send (sacrifice) some of their own for the greater good and you get drafted either as a field doctor or field preacher (chirurgeon or hierophant) - you are after all of good family standing so not just a simply infantry man.

During your time in the imperial guard you have seen what it takes to get things done both in terms of determination and sacrifice, and when you prove you self capable of this you get the attention of the inquisition as a potential recruit.

Feudal World Mutant Hierophant. You were the court jester at your liege's keep, surviving through wit, deception, and mean lute playing. Everyone reviled your twisted form, and looked down upon you - a distinct advantage when it came to hearing secrets. Your life in the background allowed you to build quite the arsenal of tools for blackmail, so you made yourself useful as a spymaster as well as a source of entertainment.

Agri-World Imperial Guard Chirurgeon - A former veterinarian, who cared for Grox, drafted into the Guard, who saw far too many of his boys die horribly. A likeable old fella, but prone to drinking too much, in order to deal with what he's seen.

Void Born Adeptus Ministorum Hierophant - A nomad, born on a travelling pilgrim ship, who has seen much of the Imperium, spreading the word of the Emperor, and visiting a multitude of different Shrine Worlds. Tolerant of difference, likeable, and filled with a quiet, cold, hatred of those who would harm his flock. See: Shepherd Book.

Forge World Adeptus Mechanicus Hierophant or Seeker - An emissary of the Machine Cult, often sent to explain slowed production in layman's terms, or demand explanations as to why raw materials haven't been sent as promised. A talented musician, creates music using a mix of both traditional and technological methods, such as trumpets which play themselves using vacuum pumps. Practises his speeches on his servitor, Binky, who is then ordered to respond with words which the person whom the Tech Priest is to meet, is logically most likely to use.