Inquest Help (Enemies Within)

By Gregor Eisenhorn, in Dark Heresy General Discussion

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could explain how Inquests work to me? Perhaps I'm missing something but from what I can gather they don't seem much different from a Campaign Template as presented later in the book, just more generic. They seem more of a format for creating your own campaign (being somewhat guided by your players' choices) rather than rules for an actual means of conducting investigations within a campaign such as a pre-published adventure? Honestly though I'm not sure, I'm kinda confused as to their purpose?

All the best,

Eisenhorn

From my understanding Inquests are a tool for the GM to use when the players begin an unexpected investigation. It gives you a way to keep score of their progress and fill in details on the fly. It's a messy way to run a game, and you should never intentionally plan an adventure around Inquests. But if your back is against the wall and they want to investigate something you never intended you can easily break for five minutes and structure an Inquest.

As the the specifics of running an Inquest, I am uncertain. I have not needed to fall back on them yet.

Edited by Oridaellin

From my understanding Inquests are a tool for the GM to use when the players begin an unexpected investigation. It gives you a way to keep score of their progress and fill in details on the fly. It's a messy way to run a game, and you should never intentionally plan an adventure around Inquests. But if your back is against the wall and they want to investigate something you never intended you can easily break for five minutes and structure an Inquest.

As the the specifics of running an Inquest, I am uncertain. I have not needed to fall back on them yet.

This pretty much mirrors my suspicions but yeah, it's definitely confusing. Has anyone here used them yet?

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could explain how Inquests work to me? Perhaps I'm missing something but from what I can gather they don't seem much different from a Campaign Template as presented later in the book, just more generic. They seem more of a format for creating your own campaign (being somewhat guided by your players' choices) rather than rules for an actual means of conducting investigations within a campaign such as a pre-published adventure? Honestly though I'm not sure, I'm kinda confused as to their purpose?

All the best,

Eisenhorn

I believe The Grim dark pod cast episode 57 covered the inquest system in a two hour special.

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could explain how Inquests work to me? Perhaps I'm missing something but from what I can gather they don't seem much different from a Campaign Template as presented later in the book, just more generic. They seem more of a format for creating your own campaign (being somewhat guided by your players' choices) rather than rules for an actual means of conducting investigations within a campaign such as a pre-published adventure? Honestly though I'm not sure, I'm kinda confused as to their purpose?

All the best,

Eisenhorn

I believe The Grim dark pod cast episode 57 covered the inquest system in a two hour special.

Thank you! I'll have a listen to it right away and check back in.

Well, I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. A nice tool to have has a just in case, but unlike Explications, it's a lot of work for the GM. I'll use it if my players ever look like they're gonna head in that direction but until then, I will withhold mentioning it to them.

The way I read that section of Enemies Within made it seem like it was an Investigation-themed Endeavor from Rogue Trader. Something that the players start/come up with, not necessarily the GM.

A good summary - it just gives a mechanic for how to judge how far players have got. The Inquest idea seeds are quite cool, though.