I posted this Topic in the House Rules section, but haven't gotten any replies at all, so I thought that I'd post it here instead.

In short, to any players out there who have played or GM'd Dark Heresy and who have either played or simply had access to the WFRP3 rulebook:

Could any of theses themes (eg. Tension Meter, Party Sheet, concept of Fortune Points) be brought into Dark Heresy?

Many of you will argue that the cinematic themes used in 3rd ed WFRP are not suited to the GRIM DARK EVIL setting of 40K. I couldn't care less, and neither will my players, who are not really familiar with the setting. I do NOT want to discuss whether a Party Tension meter is APPROPRIATE for the game, I just want to discuss HOW to feasibly use it.

ANYWAY, here are some things that I'd like to bring over into Dark Heresy in some way:

1. The Party Sheet.

Especially for the tension meter, but also for a common Fortune Point pool. Every other Dark Heresy game I've run usually devolved into bitterness and inter-party squabbles, but not in good ways (the players themselves were getting pissed off). So I'd really like to bring in this visual aid that will remind the players that they really need to co-operate and work as a team (on the surface, anyhow bwah hah hah).

2. Fortune Points

My GM style is dish out random bits of extra experience points as a reward for players who roleplay well in a scene, who come up with great ideas in character (whether the ideas are executed or not) or who contribute to a cinematic experience that makes the game session more enjoyable for everyone. Instead, I'm thinking of just tossing Fortune Points onto the Party Sheet.

Why make it EASIER for the PCs? Well, from both of my previous player groups (ten individuals from varying backgrounds), the majority of them weren't too keen of failing at just about everything at least 50% of the time. Some understood that and roleplayed accordingly, but it really just rubbed some of them the wrong way to come up with a fantastic idea and fail miserably in it's execution, all due to plain old bad luck. Despite any frivolous bonuses that I gave them.

Maybe this isn't a good idea, and will make the game too easy. If that is the case, how can I balance out this addition and make some things HARDER?

3. Boons

How about whenever someone rolls doubles (whether they succeeded on a skill test or not) the GM adds a Fortune Point to the Party Sheet?

Anyhow, have any of you thought of any ways to bring in a bit of WFRP 3 into a Dark Heresy campaign?

The short answer is "yes."

In fact, I plan to port Dark Heresy entirely over to the WFRP3 system.

You'll be able to find it all here after the game comes out and I've had some time to work on it! It's a bit of a daunting task, since I'll have to do the cards for it as well, but I'm sure it will work out fine.

Sweeet! That's good news!

I'll definitely be browsing that site of yours once it's up!

I like the idea in 3e that the GM provides additional fortune points for good roleplaying. These fortune points go into the Party Pool, rather than to individual players, and only once there is enough for everyone do they get distributed. I think that mechanic would work well for any of the various Warhammer-esque RPGs.

schoon said:

I smell an adventure for my group involving time travel and rifts in time and space I'm definitely going to keep an eye out on that site.

I'm also toying with the idea of adding depth to the percentile dice system. The WFRP 3 dice can give so many varied results instead of just pass/fail.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this?

In my first post, I put forward the idea that whenever a Player rolls doubles, whether they succeed or they fail, they get some kind of benefit. Like another Fortune Point is added to the Party Sheet.

I'm unsure about the odds, though.

schoon said:

Bookmarked

Necrozius said:

Try this...

Double 0 = Chaos Star

Double 1 = Comet

Double # that is less than or equal to your Check Digit (example: a 1-3 for a person with a 39) = Boon

Double # that exceeds your check digit = Bane (which would include 'Delays' and similar negative results from other dice)

Owzat, then?

EDIT: I should point out that when I talk Check Digit, I'm referring to the unmodified Character Attribute, without modifiers. So a person with a Atrribute at 39%, with a check digit of 3 who rolls with a +30 modifier will succeed on a 66, but acquire a Bane in the process...

OK, here are some examples of the 'Deep Percentile' die roll, detailed above, in action...

Ex1: Rogue Trader Xanatov swings his power sword at an alien menace. He has a 45 WS, with a Check Digit of 4. He has a +10 modifier from outnumbering the alien with the help of a crew member. He rolls a 55, which succeeds, but exceeds his Check Digit, gaining him a Bane. The GM determines that his hit strikes home, but he has overextended his lunge in the process and gains a point of Fatigue as a result.

Ex2: Xanatov is firing his plasma pistol at an alien menace. He has a 41 BS. The alien is in cover, giving him a -10% to hit. He scores a 33. The shot misses, but as 3 is below his check digit, he gains a Boon. The GM decides to force the alien to make a pinning test.

Ex3: Xanatov is chatting up the wife of the Planetary Governor in order to gain her interest and hopefully some info on the Governor's plans. He has a Fellowship of 57 and rolls a 44, gaining a Boon. The GM determines that he not only succeeds in his seduction attempt, but that any later roll used during 'pillow talk' to get important info will receive a +1 Degree of Success.

Ex.4: Xanatov is trying to strong arm the Governor with information on his disreputable deals. His Fel of 57 has a +20 bonus due to the nature of the info gained. Xanatov rolls a 66. This succeeds but is higher than his Check Digit, resulting in a Bane. The GM decides that word has gotten back to the Governor about Xanatov's trist with his wife (through a loose lipped servant, hidden cameras or the like) and his anger is overriding his sense of self-preservation cancelling out one Degree of Success from Xanatov's roll. As he had no DOS from the roll, this turns the roll into a failure and the Governor refuses Xanatov, who now has a powerful enemy.

Ex.5: Xanatov is trying to escape the wrath of the Governor in his guncutter, but someone has sabotaged the controls. The Explorator is trying to repair them and succeeds, but gains a Baine in the process. The GM determines that the repair is made, but the sabotage was so expertly and extensively done that it took longer than usual and allowed the Governor's forces the time they need to catch up with the Rogue Trader and his cohorts. This means that the Guncutter will have to fight its way back to the Rogue Trader's ship.

Now, the most obvious difference between the 'Deep Percentile' system and the WFRP3E dice system is that these Banes & Boons show up much less frequently. I think this is fine for me, because I would like my special effects to remain just that: special.

For those who want to see effects with more frequency, similar to that found in WFRP3E, than I suggest that instead of only checking the Check Digit on doubles, you check it on every roll, using both dice. So if you get a 36 when you have a 47 stat, then you get a Boon for the 3 and a Bane for the 6, which cancel each other out. This will give you a higher probability of Boons or Banes and also allow for Double Boons or Banes. And Lord help the poor PC who rolls a 00...