Fair enough regarding Common Lore, you have done a good job so far so I'll withhold judgement until I actually see your write-up

I still feel weird about having such rare knowledge as Daemons and Xenos in the same skill, but to be perfectly honest I had completely forgotten about the Specialist Knowledge talent. I guess it's just a matter of wrapping my head around a different way of handling things.

Paranoia seems like a "healthy" thing for Acolytes to develop over the course of their service. You could also have a trauma involving various psychogenic movement disorders (shakes, tremors, spasms, speech disorders...)

Side note: Out of Ammo-Despairs does not have to be in combat, a GM once had my character run out when I rolled a Despair on a Fear check. The group was exploring an abandoned space station and we had to make a Fear check due to the spooky atmosphere, I rolled a Despair and the GM basically said my character had a "Predator-moment", firing blindly at nothing until the weapon was empty. Got some weird looks from the rest of the party after that

1 hour ago, TKKA1992 said:

I question whether or not downtime in a voidship should present x2 Setback for void-born; or if downtime spent in a warzone should be an automatic failure for war-born.

As for potential traumas, some that came to me include actual depression or despair, severe anger issues or lashing out at authority figures, and a general misanthropy (or hatred of literally everything) if you can find a way to swing it.

That's a good point. Might include a disclaimer about how different backgrounds can influence what bonuses and penalties apply. Solid suggestions for traumas too, some might be hard to put mechanics to but I think there's some nice ideas in there I can work with.

(( Edit: For some reason the shock table made a blank table I can't seem to remove in this post, so yeah, re purposed for another use. A list of traumas. As a note, Ego Barrier is basically the same sort of thing as corruption, except you just die instead of become a corrupted monster, just going down instead of up. Stress is Insanity track. ))

Conversion
The character’s mental state has manifested as a psychosomatic cry for help or defense mechanism. When the character feels ignored or risks thinking about or confronting something that they wish to avoid, the begin to suffer splitting headaches. Despite the nature of the triggers, said headaches are very real and cripplingly painful.
Rank 1: The character gets a headache sometimes when under stress or when they think about a handful of specific, unpleasant experiences.
Rank 2: The headaches grow in strength, and their causes seem to form a pattern in regards to specific situations or memories. The character gains the ‘Conversion’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to incapacitate their own character with cripplingly painful migraines.
Rank 3: The headaches get worse, often accompanied by extreme dizziness or even blindness. It is hard to do much of anything until they pass.
Rank 4: The headaches become even more extreme, such that a single bad headache can leave the character off balance for the rest of the day. When you benefit from the ‘Conversion’ Trauma Aspect you may choose to gain 1 Fatigue in order to gain an additional Luck at the same time. Unlike other Fatigue, this Fatigue cannot be removed by anything other than time and rest.

Delusional
The character believes something which simply is not true, and they cannot be convinced otherwise. The belief is usually of a
worrying nature for others when they discover it, and may be either innocent and seemingly mundane for those not in the
know (like believing that a dead parent is still alive) or outlandish and obviously impossible (like believing that they are
invulnerable).
This Trauma is intended to represent a single strong delusion that the character believes, or occasionally a small number of
related delusions that support each other, as opposed to believing in new delusions at random over time.
Rank 1: The character has moments where they seem to “forget” the facts and substitute their delusions instead, but
if confronted are easily reminded of the truth.
Rank 2: The character becomes strongly convinced of their delusion, and only rarely ever thinks otherwise on the
subject. Confronting them about it leads to evading the topic as much as possible. The character gains the
‘Delusional’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to play out the delusion or portray it in
the character’s actions during the session.
Rank 3: The delusion grows stronger to the point that even direct evidence of the truth is met with denial, or even
violence.
Rank 4: The character takes comfort in their delusion, retreating from the world. Whenever the player would gain 1
Luck from playing out their Delusion during the session, they can choose to remove 1d6 Stress from their Stress
pool (but leave the size of the pool unchanged) instead. This still counts as the activation of that Trauma Aspect for
that session.

Grandeur
The character becomes highly defensive and incapable of admitting faults. Not simply shifting the blame onto others, but
angry that you would even talk about them in anything less than a perfect light.
Rank 1: The character becomes defensive and reluctant to accept criticism.
Rank 2: The character suffers from a need to be thought of as infallible and formidable. The character gains the
‘Grandeur’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to have the character respond to slights or
criticism with hostility.
Rank 3: The character, in their insecurity, begins to consider even offhand comments as potential slight if they think
they imply a lack of respect.
Rank 4: The character’s sense of superiority is totally out of proportion, and they even forget their place in the
presence of authority figures. But a strong sense of self, even a misguided one, has its uses. Whenever they trigger
the Grandeur Trauma Aspect, they may choose to remove 3 Ego instead of gaining the Luck. This still counts as the
activation of that Trauma Aspect for that session.

Histrionic
The character thrives on praise, and demands recognition what anything they deem an accomplishment. When they are not
accommodated to their liking, they tend to become moody.
Rank 1: The character is easily flattered, and is overly proud when complimented.
Rank 2: The character takes their praise personally, and any lack of it even more so. Accomplishments of the
character, anything from genuine feats to simple favors, now come with an expectation of applause. The character
gains the ‘Histrionic’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to make the character moody or
passive aggressive when overlooked.
Rank 3: The character becomes even more needy, and their reaction can turn to outright anger if they feel taken for
granted.
Rank 4: The comfort the character takes from the admiration of others is almost an addiction in itself. The character
taking visible joy or satisfaction upon being praised or flattered now also counts as a valid trigger condition for the
‘Histrionic’ Trauma Aspect.


Infantile
The character rejects responsibility and regresses to a highly dependent state. They become crippled by important decisions
and defer to others to solve their problems. Let the adults handle it.
Rank 1: The character becomes nervous when asked to take the initiative, fearing making the wrong decision. At
the same time, they still become upset if the outcome is not to their liking.
Rank 2: The character flees from responsibility and avoids personal agency. The character gains the ‘Infantile’
Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to avoid making decisions, and becoming hysterical
or withdrawn if forced into a such a situation.
Rank 3: The character becomes clingy, depending on others to do things for them or tell them what to do.
Rank 4: The character actively pushes any agency it might have into the hands of others, denying all personal
responsibility. When you gain luck through the ‘Infantile’ Trauma Aspect, you may give the resulting Luck to
another player involved in the same scene instead of keeping it. Doing so lowers your Stress and Ego by 1.

Insular
The character becomes paranoid and untrusting, doubting the good intentions of others and seeing threats where none exist.
Rank 1: The character has trouble trusting strangers, and refuses help from people they do not know.
Rank 2: The character starts to not just doubt strangers, but assume them to be malicious or threatening. The
character gains the ‘Insular’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to have the character take
measures to avoid or otherwise protect themselves from strangers.
Rank 3: The character has doubts about the trustworthiness of even their friends and allies now. Kind actions are
assumed to have ulterior motives.
Rank 4: The character believes others to be out to get them and is eternally vigilant for any threat. But even a
broken clock is right twice a day. The player may now spend 1 Luck to automatically determine whether a given
person or group means them harm or is after them. However, they are given no proof whatsoever to support this.
Convincing others about the threat you have identified may be difficult.

Mania
The character suffers from a mental imbalance that makes them manic, a state of mind where the character is overcome by
the need to be constantly doing something.
Rank 1: The character seems especially energetic, becoming tense or agitated if confined or forced to sit still for
long periods.
Rank 2: The character begins to suffer manic episodes. During these episodes the character is uncharacteristically
impulsive and easily distracted, as well as displaying an increased desire to talk at great length (usually about
themselves or other topics they enjoy) or perform some activity immediately. The character gains the ‘Mania’
Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player initiating and sustaining a manic episode during the.
Rank 3: The character’s manic episodes become more extreme, and their behavior during them either risky or selfdestructive (such as binge eating food they enjoy, performing dangerous stunts or spending all of their money on a
frivolous shopping spree). The character also begins to have trouble getting a full night’s sleep.
Rank 4: The character’s mania is even more extreme, frequently suffering episodes and being awake at all hours.
However, the same manic state that keeps them from falling asleep when they want to also keep them going in other
cases. In any session where the player previously triggered the Mania Trauma Aspect, they can later ignore 1
Fatigue they would gain.

Morbid
The character develops an unhealthy fascination with something that should terrify or revolt them. This interest does not
drive them to perform violent or perverse acts, merely makes then freakishly comfortable with something that should repel
them.
Rank 1: The character because curious about a specific topic that most people find repulsive or frightening.
Rank 2: The character’s interest rises to the point that they seek out the object of their fascination, or information
regarding it. The character gains the ‘Morbid’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to
witness their morbid topic firsthand or otherwise seek it out.
Rank 3: The character likes to talk about what they have seen and what they know, unable to really understand that
this topic is taboo.
Rank 4: The character’s relationship with things repulsive and terrifying is far from normal. While this will likely
make them an outcast over time, it does give them a +15 Misc bonus to the Bravery skill.

Nervous Tick
The character develops some involuntary physical action which they perform occasionally but becomes pronounced when
agitated. Examples include a facial tick, shaking hands, heavy breathing, or trembling.
Rank 1: When agitated or stressed, the character occasionally suffers a specific nervous tick. They don’t know they
are doing it, but if pointed out to them it is within their power to stop it.
Rank 2: Their nervous tick becomes more common, and when stressed they cannot stop even if they try. The
character gains the ‘Nervous Tick’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to bring up their
nervous tick when appropriate. Though doing so broadcasts the character’s discomfort to anyone even remotely
paying attention to them.

Overstimulation
The character becomes easily overwhelmed by audiovisual stimulation, making them feel assaulted by the sheer volume of
sights and sounds around them in a chaotic environment.
Rank 1: The character finds being in large crowds, noisy places, or bright and colorful lights to be annoying.
Rank 2: The character suffers episodes triggered by being around too much noise or visual distractions. These
episodes can be defined by hyperactivity, panic or withdrawal. The character gains the ‘Overstimulation’ Trauma
Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to have the character suffers from such an episode in response
to too much going on now.
Rank 3: The character becomes less tolerant of excessive stimulation, and their episodes longer lasting or more
extreme.
Rank 4: The character’s tolerance drops significantly, and anything more than a small group has a chance of setting
them off. The ‘Overstimulation’ Trauma Aspect may now be triggered (and benefitted from) up to two times in the
same session.

Sadistic
The character likes causing others pain way more than they should. It’s even hard for them to resist doing so when presented
the opportunity.
Rank 1: The character begins to enjoy seeing others suffering, either physically or emotionally, but do not yet feel
compelled to be the cause of it themselves.
Rank 2: The character finds the idea of causing others pain to be strangely enticing, though the desire not to be
caught or punished for doing so still weighs heavily. The character gains the ‘Sadistic’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by
the player going out of their way to cause distress or physical pain to another person during the session.
Rank 3: The compulsion to hurt others is stronger than ever, and the player is at risk of taking it too far or throwing
caution to the wind to do so.
Rank 4: Nothing satisfies the character quite so much as indulging in their sadism anymore. The ‘Sadistic’ Trauma
Aspect may now be triggered (and benefitted from) up to two times in the same session.

Self-Defeating
The character rejects their own self-worth to the point that they begin to sabotage themselves, either consciously or
unconsciously. They almost seem to thrive on failure.
Rank 1: The character starts to avoid positive reinforcement and compliments, feeling uncomfortable with praise.
Rank 2: The character begins to undermine themselves, making avoidable mistakes seemingly intentionally. These
are rarely serious, but usually obvious things like leaving important documents at home. The character gains the
‘Self-Defeating’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to set themselves up for failure.
Rank 3: The character is no longer content to simply fail, and instead feels compelled to make sure that those
around them hear about their mistakes and failures. That the character is responsible for the failure is usually left out
of the tale.
Rank 4: The character now seeks out failure like most people seek out success, sabotaging even things that they
depend on or enjoy. The ‘Self-Defeating’ Trauma Aspect may now be triggered (and benefitted from) up to two
times in the same session.

Sore Loser
The character avoids confronting their shortcomings due to concerns about their inferiority. No matter how they failed, it is
the fault of persons or factors beyond their control.
Rank 1: The character becomes angry whenever a failure of theirs is brought up, becoming defensive or changing
the subject.
Rank 2: The character begins to concoct fantasies that explain how something was not their fault, such as blaming
technicians for improperly calibrating their Eva or that their mistake was an intentional ploy on their part. The
character gains the ‘Sore Loser’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out of their way to explain away a
mistake or flaw with untrue fantasies or excuses.
Rank 3: The excuses and fantasies become more elaborate and obviously untrue, veering into paranoid conspiracies,
contradictory straw men or playing up the impossibility of the task at hand. Anything to shift the blame away from
themselves.
Rank 4: The character begins to buy into their own excuses, cushioning themselves in a fantasy world where
nothing is their fault. Whenever Sore Loser Trauma Aspect is triggered, they may choose to remove 3 Stress instead
of gaining the Luck. This still counts as the activation of that Trauma Aspect for that session.

Unfocused
The character loses touch with the world and has trouble engaging with what is going on around them. Symptoms include
periods of withdrawal, forgetfulness and boredom.
Rank 1: The character starts to lose interest in most goings on, dismissing things they think don’t apply to them.
Rank 2: The character suffers episodes of withdrawal from the scene around them, manifesting as being forgetful or
bored to the point of inaction. The character gains the ‘Unfocused’ Trauma Aspect, triggered by the player going out
of their way to have the character avoid being involved with the current scene.

Then there is bigger than Traumas... breakdowns

Breakdowns from failed insanity checks basically called Stress test.

Apathy
Effect: The character shuts down emotionally for an extended period of time. The character suffers a -10 penalty to
Intelligence and Empathy as the character is quiet and disengaged, suffering from an inability to get emotionally invested in
what is going on around them. This may cause the character to be unable to qualify for the prerequisites of certain talents they
have already purchased, and likewise affects all Skill Groups and Specializations based on those scores. When this penalty
causes a character to fail a test, it is because they performed below their actual ability due to apathy and lack of focus.
End Condition: This Breakdown lasts until the character suffers either a Stress Break or an Ego Break, at which point they
become overwhelmed and their bottled up emotions come back in full force, reducing them to a hysterical state for some
hours. This may necessitate the character being removed from the current scene, or even the session. After that, the penalty is
removed and they can functional normally again. Mostly.

Mute Response
Effect: The character becomes crippled by social anxiety to the point that they become physically unable to speak when
agitated, pressured or surrounded by other people. This is often frustrating for the character, as they may wish to speak but
cannot work up the will or the calm to do so.
At the start of each session, the GM rolls 1d6. Later, the GM may (up to that many times per session) invoke this Breakdown
and force the player to test Composure. On a success, the player may act normally despite their anxiety. On a failure, the
character locks up and loses the ability to speak or otherwise communicate in words for the rest of the current scene, though
they may still hear and act otherwise. Another player taking your character aside and away from stress or distractions to test
Persuade against you to successfully calm you down can end the effect early, but otherwise you can only wait until the scene
changes to another time or location.
End Condition: In any session where, after a successful Composure test, you confronted the source of your anxiety or
distress for that scene directly you may spend 1 Luck or 1 Enrichment to remove this Breakdown from play.

Repression
Effect: The character starts to block out memories, burying them and denying them so hard that their conscious mind is not
even aware of the missing memories until directly confronted about them. The player must choose one highly stressful event
that has happened to the character recently (preferably the event that pushed them into the Breakdown, but this is not
required) as well as one other memory that is deeply important to the character. The character completely forgets and ignores
both memories, becoming evasive, agitated or disoriented whenever they are brought up.
To qualify for this Breakdown, the two lost memories must be significant enough that the character’s actions or interactions
with those around them are significantly altered by the lack of them.
End Condition: If the character gains another Trauma, this Breakdown is removed as the memory block fades. If the player
is forced to confront physical evidence of what they have forgotten before that time, the memories come back suddenly and
traumatically, and the character gains 2d6 Stress.

Unrest
Effect: The character loses the ability to sleep, either due to terrible dreams or simply lying awake due to stress. This is
usually tied to a root cause, such as a traumatic event on their mind, a constant fear that they cannot stop thinking about, or
something that is otherwise haunting them. While only somewhat distracting after first, eventually this insomnia takes a
tremendous toll on the character’s mind and body.
On the first session after this Breakdown is gained, the character begins the session with 1 Fatigue due to their lack of rest.
On the session after that, they begin with 2 Fatigue. On the third session 3, and so forth. The only maximum limit is that the
character will, at most, begin the session with 1 fewer Fatigue that it would take for them to actually pass into
unconsciousness. Sleep does not come easy.
Should they be knocked unconscious during the session through gaining Fatigue, at the start of the next session the Fatigue
resets to 1 and continues from there.
End Condition: When at 2 Fatigue or more, the character must find a way to vent their demons that are plaguing them. This
could take the form of seeking closure, confronting their fear, or confessing whatever secret is keeping them up at night.
Once done, they treat fatigue the same as any other character would from then on and this Breakdown is removed.

Wearing Thin
Effect: The character acquires a coping mechanism that they have to use to calm down, but it turns self-destructive. This is
usually something easily performed that doesn’t raise too many alarms, until some stressful circumstance causes you to start
performing it excessively and with visible detriment to yourself. Examples include washing your hands until they become
raw, biting your nails until you taste blood, or eating until you throw up.
You cannot spend Enrichment unless you performed your coping mechanism to excess in the previous session. You do not
lose Enrichment you are unable to spend, you simply cannot spend what you have gained.
End Condition: After you have spent a total of 6 Enrichment while suffering from this Breakdown, spread out over no fewer
than two sessions, you may choose to end this Breakdown at any time.

There we are, hope some of that helped!

Hmm mental trauma. We could always look at examples taken straight out of the fan created Adeptus Evangelion for Dark Heresy rules adapting Evangelion. Its actually very similar to the critical damage table, in that its a d1`00 with +10 for certain amount of failure.

Angelic Fear
Unlike in DH, the pilots from Evangelion are well protected and more than armed to deal
with the angelic menace, it is possible for a well-trained individual trained to not actually
feel terrorized by their presence. Furthermore, Angels are something antithetical to humans
and bizarre in appearance to the point that many of them do not even appear threatening...
until they demonstrate their power, that is. Everything tumbles down after that.

When provoked, Angelic Fear requires the pilot to pass a simple Willpower Test. Any bonus
they get against fear tests applies here as normal, as well as any form of fear immunity they
possess (such as immunity to low Fear Ratings provided by a high Insanity score). Unlike
normal Fear, this Willpower Test to resist is not penalized based on the Fear Rating of the
Angel in question. Instead, the Angelic Fear Rating only determines the severity of the
Angelic Shock table.

Angelic Fear is triggered on a per-pilot basis as they encounter one of a number of triggers.
Certain specific scenarions or Angel attacks will trigger an Angelic Fear test on their own,
but regardless of those situational concerns any pilot will test Angelic Fear using the Fear
Rating of the Angel whenever they gain insanity or remove Ego while in combat with it, or
move within 20 dam of the Angel for the first time. The strength of the hostile Angel’s AT
Field bearing donw on you has such a psychological effect at close range that even an
experienced pilot can find themselves overwhelmed.

A single, special exception to the above rule exists. If an Evangelion is defeated (but not
simply rendered without power) or the pilot within it is killed (or forced to burn fate to
survive) all remaining Evangelions on the field must test Angelic Fear.
Each pilot must test against Angelic Fear as often as it is triggered, but may only ever fail an
Angelic Fear test once a session. After that, while terrible things may still happen, the pilot
has managed to get enough of a grip to keep their cool.
Should they fail this Test, they should roll 1d100 and add +10 to the result for each value of
the Angel's Fear Rating on the following Angelic Shock table.

Angelic Shock
Table - Roll Effect

01-30 - The character is taken aback, recoiling reflexively from the source of this shock; they may only take a Half Action on their next turn as their attentive gaze is held captive by the disconcerting sight.
31-55 - The character is sickened and shaken by what they have just witnessed, and are at -10 to all Tests from their intense nausea until they snap out of it (see Shock and Snapping out of it in Dark Heresy). The character gains 1 insanity point.
56-75 - The character can barely abide the thought of close contact with the atrocity that triggered this shock, its surface almost seems to writhe and squirm before them. They will avoid entering melee combat range with the trigger if at all possible. The character’s WS is halved and they gain an insanity point every time they are hit by a melee attack, until they snap out of it. They also gain 2 Insanity points immediately.
76-90 - The character is frozen in terror, standing still, and cannot take actions (though they are not stunned) for 1d5 rounds unless they snap out of it before the duration is over. Gain 1d5 Insanity, this feeling of cold dread won’t be easily forgotten.
91-100 - The character is gripped by their primal instinct, and whether they choose to rationalise it or not attempt to flee from the scene by whatever means they have available for 1d5 rounds, unless they snap out of it before the duration is over. Gain 1d5+1 Insanity, the helplessness and horror they felt today may become a reoccurring nightmare for the character.
101-105 - The weight of what the character has seen causes their mental state to crash, and oppresses their body as heavily as it overwhelms their mind, causing them to immediately gain 1d5 levels of fatigue and 1d5+2 Insanity.
106-110 - The character begins to lose control over their own body as their mind withdraws and the most primitive parts of their brain seem to scream. They may only take Half Actions for 1d10 rounds or until they snap out of it. The character gains 1d5+3 Insanity.
111-115 - The character panics. They are desperate for help or even just cover of any kind, anything to make them feel more secure. If an ally is located within or equal to the characters running distance, they will move to them and then until they snap out of it, grab at them, attempting to initiate a grapple and hold on for dear life (Not choosing to inflict damage in the grapple). If there is no such ally, the character takes 1d10+2 Insanity points and cowers on the ground, unmoving, until they snap out of it.
116-120 - The characters mind has seen enough and takes a brief vacation from this cruel, cruel world, leaving him dazed. They are unable to take actions of any kind (but are not Stunned) for 1d10+1 rounds or until they snap out of it. Gain 1d5+2 Insanity. It is quite likely they see strange and terrible visions during this time.
121-130 - The character, in a flash of adrenaline fuelled paranoia, has had quite enough of everyone. And everything. They’re all equally responsible for forcing you to see what you’ve witnessed here today. The character will immediately begin attacking the nearest viable target, friend or foe, to the best of their ability, and with personal safety not a priority (For instance, using furious assault and all out attack if applicable), until they snap out of it, are stunned, or knocked unconscious. If their target is destroyed, they will move on to the next nearest. If they successfully injure an ally, they gain 1d10+2 Insanity points when their rampage ends.
131+ - The character suffers a rather more permanent case of escapism, and becomes catatonic until the end of combat. They gain 1d10+4 Insanity, and likely will have deep seated trauma relating to this experience for the rest of their life.

Alright, more updates inbound.

Quote

Dark Heresy Changelog 1.6 –

• Storm quality renamed to Auto-Fire (Only). This is how it’s recorded in FFG’s own rules for Star Wars, so it’s been changed for consistency’s sake.
• Variable now only costs an incidental to activate; the original maneuver cost was a mistake. The same was done for Maximal.
• Lore skills tweaked; there is now a third lore skill, Common Lore, covering general knowledge such as information about the various Holy Adeptus, planetary information, knowledge of Imperial lore, etc. Scholastic Lore is changed to no longer cover these topics. Adepts now start with Common Lore as a career skill instead of Forbidden Lore. This change was made because I was finding in my own test sessions that Scholastic Lore was a bit too much of a potent skill; it came up very frequently and covered too many bases. This change should make it a bit less of a potent skill, but still legitimately useful, and Common Lore should also be very useful.
• Mental Trauma rules revised completely, with a new focus on developing individual traumas that increase in severity over time, rather than a bunch of unrelated traumas. Various minor parts of the rules were tweaked to accommodate this.
• Added a note to make it clear that cybernetics can’t raise characteristics above 5.

Quote

Liber Heresius Changelog 1.2 –

• Wyrd Elite Advance reduced to 5XP cost. This makes it a mechanically viable option; previously it cost just as much as buying a rank in a Psychic Discipline, which made it a very poor choice balance wise.
• Hardened Soul and Strength Through Conviction modified to suit the new Trauma system.

Dark Heresy Core - LINK -

Liber Heresius - LINK -

Updated Character Sheet to reflect the skills changes (no printer friendly version done yet, unfortunately, I'll add it to the OP when ready) - LINK -

The Mental Trauma rules probably still need a lot of refinement and some more examples, but I'm happy enough with them to put them out in the wild.

Just a quick update here; the lack of activity doesn't mean this is dead, not by a long shot. I've just been pretty busy with a hectic work schedule and starting to study again, so this has been on the backburner a bit (although work is getting done steadily, just slowly).

I'll try to post more regular updates in the coming weeks.

Thanks for all your hard work on this Tom - it's been a big help as going to run DH for the first time for a newbie group and prepping in advance using Genesys, as it would suit our group more than DH's number crunchy mechanics. ( I've been introducing them to D100 mechanics via Delta Green but I think it would be too much especially with introducing WH40k lore on-top of that.)

I'm very familiar with 40k and all DH1/2 content but there's a few conversion quibbles I'm wondering how potentially you or anyone else have dealt with.

1.) Errata - There's no actual description for Melee light; just assuming that covers Brawl?

2.) Skill test scales from +60 to -60 which for the most part can be merged into Genesys's difficult checks (both skill and social based ) without too much difficulty; but if you want to be granular with it - would it be more appropriate to throw in setback/advantage dice rather than upgrading (i'm thinking the former.)

Thanks! - looking forward to the further development.

Good call on the Melee Light. I think in an earlier edition of the PDF I had it explained, but that writeup must've been eaten in the editing process at some point. Will make sure to fix it up before the next release. You're right in your assumption; Melee (Light) covers Brawl as well. I made that decision because I thought the Light vs Heavy distinction had more relevance for 40k; outside of power fists, brawling isn't too crucial to the setting, so rolling it into another skill seemed suitable.

In terms of converting over test difficulty, I play fairly loose with it. Usually I try to work out if some of the difficulty would be coming from environmental or situational factors, which I factor in as Setback dice rather than Difficulty. Rough formula is -10 = 1 Difficulty, -5 = 1 Setback, although I don't adhere to that too closely. I tend to just go with what feels appropriate rather than adhering too closely to DH's original difficulties.

No worries! Cheers heaps - that makes sense. I was kinda going down that avenue because that aligns with Genesys mechanics but just wondering if there was a direct conversion methods from DH to GS in mind.

On 2/16/2018 at 5:24 AM, Tom Cruise said:

Just a quick update here; the lack of activity doesn't mean this is dead, not by a long shot. I've just been pretty busy with a hectic work schedule and starting to study again, so this has been on the backburner a bit (although work is getting done steadily, just slowly).

I'll try to post more regular updates in the coming weeks.

Doing 11.5 hour days with 1 job, and 4 for the other, so I totally understand what you mean by hectic work schedule.

Question: In the core book it says to use discipline for fear checks but you have resilience listed as the primary fear skill. Was wondering if it was an oversight or intentional.

I think you mean Cool?

In that case yes, it was intentional. Discipline is already doing a lot of work in this setting in particular, so I felt like it made sense to shift Fear over to Cool. That way, your Discipline handles dealing with extradimensional threats (Corruption checks), and Cool handles fear. I think it makes a reasonable amount of sense; Cool is meant to be the skill for keeping a clear head in adverse situations, and it evens out the balance of skills better (Discipline is already kind of an auto-pick for most characters).

Also speaking more generally, apologies for the silence! Been very busy in real life, currently half way through moving house and starting a new university course, so my schedule's pretty swamped. I'll endeavour to start getting some more updates out once things have settled down in the coming weeks. Still monitoring communication channels though if anyone wants to make suggestions or anything like that.

Please consider a Deathwatch, Rogue Trader, and Only War expansion. Also a a mixed force (titans, etc) section would be awesome. Thx

No worries it has been a very awesome read. I'm actually running a game this saturday i have converted shattered hope for my players using your dark heresy guide. Of course not actually owning microsoft word makes it a little hard to put the right formatting in there. I opted to stat the pregens as seasoned characters with 50 exp after creation to make them a bit more unique for new players. Figured i'd share it for the community.

The Adventure: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lmpeGc-tQQ8MLztQrmrdgUJl8wy2ME73Oq2JzV6C6fM/edit?usp=sharing

Pregens: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9gtbtgcfm49gvbt/Pregens.rar?dl=0

Original Adventure: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2008/10/31/free-demo-shattered-hope/

On 3/13/2018 at 7:26 PM, DanteFaustus said:

Please consider a Deathwatch, Rogue Trader, and Only War expansion. Also a a mixed force (titans, etc) section would be awesome. Thx

Eventually, I am sure it will be. Its just a matter of time, and interest. There are many things to adapt after all. I was part of the beta for both Rogue Trader and Only War. Some of those will be very easy switch overs, since they use the same basic concepts already set up by the core book here. It was the same way in Dark heresy, to Black Crusade, to Deathwatch, to Rogue Trader, to Only War in the FFG books as well.

Haven't been here a while.

Our sessions are going very well, and your updates are nice and well-received.

I absolutely love the progressive Trauma rules.

Keep it up!

This is an amazing homebrew, both visually and in terms of game design. Props for that, I'm having a blast playing this conversion!

After a few sessions played, I was wondering if psychic attacks are perhaps a little underpowered, given their high costs in resources (strain + risk of rolling in the Perils table). With the usually high soak values most enemies have (and players as well), and the increased difficulties from adding upgrades (which mean less successes), weapons tend to shine much more than psychic attacks. I guess this problem stems from the fact that in the base game soak values tend to be much lower.

Having shared these concerns with my GM (I'm not playing a psyker though, so take this with a grain of salt), we toyed with the idea of having the power deal double the base characteristic to bring them on par with ranged weapons, but perhaps that's too much of a buff.

Oh, and an unrelated question. Are psykers supposed to add 1 disadvantage die when manifesting powers in armor providing 2 or more soak, as stated in the GCR?

On 3/30/2018 at 9:50 AM, javiersac1 said:

This is an amazing homebrew, both visually and in terms of game design. Props for that, I'm having a blast playing this conversion!

After a few sessions played, I was wondering if psychic attacks are perhaps a little underpowered, given their high costs in resources (strain + risk of rolling in the Perils table). With the usually high soak values most enemies have (and players as well), and the increased difficulties from adding upgrades (which mean less successes), weapons tend to shine much more than psychic attacks. I guess this problem stems from the fact that in the base game soak values tend to be much lower.

Having shared these concerns with my GM (I'm not playing a psyker though, so take this with a grain of salt), we toyed with the idea of having the power deal double the base characteristic to bring them on par with ranged weapons, but perhaps that's too much of a buff.

Oh, and an unrelated question. Are psykers supposed to add 1 disadvantage die when manifesting powers in armor providing 2 or more soak, as stated in the GCR?

Psychic attacks are definitely underpowered by design in that the risk of perils is always a bane. Being a Psychic is supposed to be not massively rewarding due to what you open yourself up to. Eventually once you mitigate a bit of the peril issues, you can start being very powerful, but in all honesty, I have tested it out, and it works out quite well in terms of combat and gameplay, because not all of what they do is combat oriented. I felt the psychics in the base game were overpowered to a huge degree, even with perils, as the perils can benefit as much as harm. Having Run Dark Heresy campaigns for 5 years, I would say this one gets more what I would want out of them, by depowering them a bit, but still you can get them to a level of competence, but it takes time.

Wait until a similar concept to the "Radical's Handbook" comes out, as that in the base game, made psychics have much more tools to their trade, and weapons to an Acolyte's arsenal in terms of Radical techniques and practices.

On 04/04/2018 at 2:45 AM, Mathadar said:

Psychic attacks are definitely underpowered by design in that the risk of perils is always a bane. Being a Psychic is supposed to be not massively rewarding due to what you open yourself up to. Eventually once you mitigate a bit of the peril issues, you can start being very powerful, but in all honesty, I have tested it out, and it works out quite well in terms of combat and gameplay, because not all of what they do is combat oriented. I felt the psychics in the base game were overpowered to a huge degree, even with perils, as the perils can benefit as much as harm. Having Run Dark Heresy campaigns for 5 years, I would say this one gets more what I would want out of them, by depowering them a bit, but still you can get them to a level of competence, but it takes time.

Wait until a similar concept to the "Radical's Handbook" comes out, as that in the base game, made psychics have much more tools to their trade, and weapons to an Acolyte's arsenal in terms of Radical techniques and practices.

Having read the Psychic Powers section much more in depth now, I guess you are right.

What strikes me most is that while weapon-wielding characters are better combatants than psykers, psykers are incredibly powerful in social situations. A telepath can overcome almost any social obstacles with good rolls. Not that that is bad, of course! Now, I can't wait to play a psyker.

Hey. So my group wants to test this conversion out, so I started converting the adventure from the back of the second edition core rules. I was wondering if anyone here could look at what I have and see if I have it right? I can remove this if it creates any issues, but it can be found HERE .

14 hours ago, kaleotter said:

Hey. So my group wants to test this conversion out, so I started converting the adventure from the back of the second edition core rules. I was wondering if anyone here could look at what I have and see if I have it right? I can remove this if it creates any issues, but it can be found HERE .

Oh, dude, I am literally running that right now. Just did character creation and the first part of that adventure this week. Thanks for this!

Oh, thats pretty cool. I'll be tweaking things, so if you have anything to suggest, tell me about it and I'll see what I can do. I'm a little worried about the Last enemy and Genesys balance, so it might need work.

Just wanted to mention that I also support splitting the lore skills up. I think a big theme of DH1 and DH2 was the partitioning of knowledge. Forbidden knowledge should be very hard to come by, and partitioning them like they are in those books is an important part of conveying that.

Considering running DH using these rules soon so I'll post any feedback I have then.

Hey, i've been gming a campaing for couple of months now with this conversion, and i must say it is excellent work. The games are fast and fun, and the quality of the conversion is almost perfect.

I did make a few tweaks to the rules and skills, just to be closer to the grimmer Dark Heresy:

Skills:

• If player wants to use a skill in which he does not have any ranks, upgrade the dificulty by one (convert 1 purple->red)
• This reflects the DH penalty when you are not proficient in a skill
• It encourages players to actually spend some xp to get basic skills, regardless of their attribute (Brawn 4 char never getting any athletics)
• If you are totally unproficient with a skill, now you have a potential for despair, which is always fun , and kinda "realistic" because you dont really know what you are doing

Knowledge skills:

• I added a new skill called Knowledge common (so there are 3 skills as in DH: common, scholastic, forbidden)
• I use DH specialisations, there are 22 common, 13 scholastic and 13+ forbidden (13+ cause xenos is multiple)
• I copied all the skills and put them here in this doc https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mEBZlth5gc4l4oVBygQ-HCkAapFu3KklD03PXx0ddY8/edit?usp=sharing
• If you have a specialisation you know and can roll your skill, otherwise you cannot
• Everyone starts with Knowledge common as their class skill, and everyone gets 2 common specialisation for free on char creation
• For every new skill point invested in Knowledge Common you get new INT+1 specialisations from the Common list
• For every new skill point invested in Knowledge Scholastic/Forbidden you get new INT specialisations from their respective list
• This way INT characters can spend xp on lots of specific knowledge specialisations, but sill they will not know everything, which is better character and lorewise imho
• Other characters can invest points to know something specific, so it reflects their background / expertise, but are otherwise ignorant, as per grim dark where knowledge is truly valuable and dangerous

Let me know what you think.

12 hours ago, kravTzar said:

Skills:

• If player wants to use a skill in which he does not have any ranks, upgrade the dificulty by one (convert 1 purple->red)
• This reflects the DH penalty when you are not proficient in a skill
• It encourages players to actually spend some xp to get basic skills, regardless of their attribute (Brawn 4 char never getting any athletics)
• If you are totally unproficient with a skill, now you have a potential for despair, which is always fun , and kinda "realistic" because you dont really know what you are doing

Excellent little house-rule. It's simple and very effective - perfect!

Not so much a fan of your Knowledge skill changes, but I realise there are many different tastes on the subject, and as long as it works for your table - great!