DH 2e Power Level Comparison

By Star Sage, in Dark Heresy Rules Questions

Hey everyone, I remember a few years back we were given a general comparison of each game line (Rogue Trader, Dark Heresy, Deathwatch, etc) and how much experience points a starting character in one game line would equal to in Dark Heresy. If my info is right it went along the lines of

Dark Heresy 1E = 400 xp

Only War = 2,600 xp

Rogue Trader = 5,000 xp

Black Crusade (human) = 8,000 xp

Black Crusade (marine) = 8,500 xp

Deathwatch = 13,000 xp

So a dark heresy character would want another 4,600 xp if he wants to go on wacky adventures with rogue traders and a rogue trader would want another 3,000 xp if he wants to go do stuff with his new chaos marine friends.

But all of that said, what I am wondering is where does Dark Heresy 2E fit into all of this? I could be wrong here but the starting PCs in 2E seem stronger and better off than in 1E so do they count as more than 400 xp? I know you have a set amount of xp you can spend at character creation but the formula above takes into account more than just the experience points you start with since each game had its own "power level" it played at. So do we have a clear answer on this or has anyone managed to figure out a rough estimate?

Edited by Star Sage

Another issue you need to touch upon is the rate of power gained per xp.

In vanilla Dark Heresy you can get incredible much for your xp compared to all the other game lines.

In my group we once reached the conclusions that a RT character should gain twice the xp as the DH1 character to have a comparable progression rate. It seems like DH2 is somewhere in between these two, but we have only superfluously investigated that.

We did not really do the other games. In the end we settled on having all characters build in one system and do "elite advances / packages" to get stuff moved across systems when applicable.

In addition to the gain rate, some of the mechanics (such as psychic potency) and equipment also work differently across the games (which were all balanced to different standards and narrative focuses), further muddying the waters. The "XP comparison" for starting characters is more like a token, hand-waved concession to these games actually taking place in the same setting.

I'm with Alox in that all characters participating in a game should be built using the same single ruleset to ensure uniformity and compatibility as best as possible. The enemies in a game will all be balanced towards the characters it is intended to be played with, so it would make sense to use said archetypes as a baseline for crossovers.

Edited by Lynata

Yeah, even from DH1 to DH2 the power levels are so different.

I rebuilt the spectre cell from Damned Cities into DH2 and they weren't paled in comparison or anything, but they were certainly less potent than their earlier counterparts.

That and Templar Calaxis is utter insanity.

DH1 itself have different progression pre and after ascension. My pc is the only ascended and I get same amount of xp like the others. THe progression is just too slow for me.

Actually, BC human character is 7k xp compared to Dh1.

Current campaign I run have BC and DH1 characters. (Sorry I am quite optimistic and masochistic on working with both systems)

DH1 have cheaper talents, skills and can get more of them , but BC have higher stats base and many skills have -20 instead of halving.

Dh1 psykers have much more powers and more chances on phenomenas before hitting ascension. BC have less power choice, have fettering rules from start and better chances to get immunity from phenomenas.

Another issues is that the reward systems are different : BC have compacts which almost always means BC characters are either enemies or infiltrators.

Well, I don't even start on combat mechanics.

Thanks for all the input everyone. For perspective I am running a game using the Dark Heresy 2e rules but featuring players that are on the less than legal side of the Imperium. Long story short I was hoping down the line to integrate Rogue Trader and/or Black Crusade into things. I simply wanted some greater perspective on how the power level of those games' starting characters compare with the starting characters of DH 2E.

It sounds like that isn't really worth getting too hung up over though.

To be fair, DH 2E is open enough that you should be able to easily recreate any class of the other games within its own system. In addition to better cross-game balancing, it would also mean your RT players are no longer bound by that fixed, class-specific progression scheme. :)

The only thing that bugged me at this point is no Adeptus Assassinorium background.

They might actually be sticking to GW's fluff about Assassins only being sent out for the duration of a mission this time, or it's just a power level thing. The Assassins are kind of strong compared to other starting characters, and it's difficult to justify someone who has not yet completed their training leaving the Temple. Or they thought it'd be too specialised, as the Assassins are even more combat-focused and anti-social than the Space Marines. Even a Callidus infiltrator would only fake it, which could make for a poor roleplaying experience within the group...

Death Cult Assassins, on the other hand, sound like a much better fit. They're pretty much "Assassinorum lite" characters; not quite as powerful, not quite as brainwashed, and they're numerous enough that people can make up their own shrines and cults with their own custom culture and organisation. The Outcast background from the DH2 main book should fit nicely for most such characters!

Yeah, that's fair.

I don't like Outcast though for them. Outcast is Scum for me.

Mhm, I guess I see it more general -- Outcast can be Scum. They can also be bounty hunters (+Desperado), freelance explorers (+Seeker), crazed prophets (+Hierophant) or ... death cultists (+Assassin). Certainly, membership in a secluded cult qualifies as "living in the shadows", and you have to admit that the game-mechanical benefits of this Background do fit the theme!

I have to agree that Outcast immediately twigs as Scum in my mind and while the background bonus is good, it certainly supports someone coming from the hard knocks, rough and tumble lifestyle of a gang. It's kinda like how the Imperial Navy and the Rogue Trader Fleet backgrounds overlap in several areas but they are distinct enough to have separate backgrounds. A separate Cult background would be nice to reflect both good (Death Cults) and bad (Heretics) cults and the fact that Inquisitors do draw on former heretics for their retinues at times.