What do you think FFG will do for DH?

Considering there are RT and DW that need support, am I to suppose that they will probably make a long pause in releasing new DH books?

What are your own speculations?

I don´t think that it will make a huge difference. While cleaning up my "desktop", I stumbled upon "knowledge is power" pfd pamphlet where Ascension & all parts of the Haarlock-Triology where announced for 2009. So, they can take as huge a pause as they please

Talking Haarlock, Marketing wise: One could speculate that after we growed used to "70 pages for 25,- EUR" (my local currency) FFG could start to mill out smaller expansions. Not like "Adventures" or "Triologies" but like "Worldbooks". I think most of us would buy a 70 pages book for "Dusk" or even "The three Hives of Scintilla". Besides world books, books focussing on a certain (non-)ascended careers could be fashioned this was as well (similiar to what AD&D did for their classes).

My biggest fear for DH, whatsoever, is that after the release of "Ascension", "pre-Ascended" could lack further support. Face it, the start of our little hate/love child DH was bugged due to the changing of "mothership" midway. RT profited from all the critic posted in the forum in the form of rules changes. So much that some of said changes/additions (like some parts of the psyker system) are taken from RT and introduced into DH:A.

This is my real fear: that DH will become the unloved "step child" while DH:A will get all the attention from it´s "mother".

But all in all, this is all rambling and crystal gazing. Let time tell the story ...and write our critics afterwards

Setting information is always something good in my book. I've enjoying the Gazeteer segments from Tattered Fates and Damned Cities; I'm looking forward to the stuff in Lure of the Expanse as well as info on Malfi in Ascension. Dead Stars will hopefully have info on Dusk (and Mara, though there probably isn't much info you need to know). I'd certainly enjoy a book dealing with the big name planets of the Calixis Sector, something which would be relevant for both regular and ascended DH games.

I was flicking through the old "Marienburg: Sold down the River" expansion the other day, and really enjoyed it. There's nothing wrong with a really big, chunky, old fashioned setting sourcebook. People have been wistfully dreaming of a "Calixis Sector Sourcebook" for ages now...

Gregorius21778 said:

Well... looking at last DD about Ascension it seems not... I mean, the biggest psy power system change from DH to RT was the vanish of the threshold in favor of a characteristic test.

In Ascension will be the same, you'll have you treshold as you used to in normal level DH (given you didn't change it when RT came out ).

This is just an exemple, but I don't really think they will try to change things to solve the supposed 'problems' spot out from the masses after it came out... Also, i consider the game very well done and very interesting.

One thing I'm almost disappointed relating DH to RT is that in RT (for obvious reasons, I know, but still bugs me a little) they got rid of the career progression tree DH have... setting wise it's logical, but it gave me a strange feeling as well... I hope never to see something like this happen to DH (even if DH:A will have non-tree careers )

I think a Calixis sector sourcbook would be the best bang for the buck. There's so much that's been touched on that could be expanded which would be a great help for a GM.

Having said that the travel difficulties imposed do help limit inter stelar travel which is good for a GM who doesn't want players going on several light years of tangent. But Rogue Trader doesn't have that limit so it might be better to have a setting book.

An expanded creatures aneathema would be nice. I need Necron stats that aren't absurd fanwank like a crackhead needs a fix.

Gregorius21778 said:

Some great ideas here, Hives of Scintilla (description of Sibellus, Tarsus, Tenebra, Gunemtal City and Ambulon with NPCs, alternate ranks and adventure at the end), Blighted Worlds (Dusk, Sleef and other planets with very thin barrier between warp and realspace) should be grat additions even as 90-page long books. I don´t think there would be far too many Ascension-power level books, two are most probable (some sort of Throne Agent´s Handbook and Dark Gods Themselves)

I don´t want to open to open heated discussion if the Inquisitor´s Handbooks is "puritan" as Radical´s Handbook is radical (what, in my opinion, isn´t true) but I would like to see Puritans Handbook as I think there are many things it can cover. Oh, and some sort of Servants of the Imperium (hehe, not the comic, but book detailing branches of Adeptus Terra and Adeptus Ministronum (with bits of Inquisition in it)) and Calixis Sector Companion.

Still, I would be completely satisfied with Knowledge is Power II for time being. IIRC Ross mentioned that there are several DH yet unannounced expansions in working, in one of the previous Designer Diaries.

Zamnil Blackaxe said:

Wouldn't that be better placed in a DW supplement? Since they're compatible systems (for the most part), anything that comes out for any of the games should be portable to the other systems in some ways.

Why view them as separate?

LeBlanc13 said:

Personally, I fail to see how DH/RT players could convert to DW. I cannot even dare to think that the game mechanics would allow a 'conversion' rules from a regular grown-up human to a SM.

egalor said:

Creature stats are the same format aren't they? That's all we're talking about here, right?

If you're talking about character parity, there are definitely gaps between these levels. Ascension should address that and bring DH up to RT levels. Not sure if DW is going to be a 3rd tier or somewhere in the 2nd tier power level.

The guns work the same. The monsters are formatted the same. The fluff, of course, translates across.

There are more similarities than differences.

DH characters in a DW type game would not be transitioning into the game by being made into Space Marines. DH begins a new character at Rank 1; 400XP. RT begins a new character at Rank 1; 5,000XP. This places the character a little more then halfway through a DH characters Rank 5. Basing speculation off of this, it is reasonable to expect that; as far as Rank/XP, a DW character will likely fall about midway through an RT Rank 5 or ascended DH Rank 9; ~18,000-19,000XP.

We'll see; hopefully this year as planned.

-=Brother Praetus=-

I'm hoping by conversion to DW that they weren't referencing characters transitioning to the Space Marine career. That of course is not possible based on the marine screening processes and the fact that marines have to be selected before, or at the beginning of puberty for any of the implants to take affect.

As far as the games are concerned, the characters will be able to interact with each other and at varying ranks share be capable of RPing side by side. For long term campaigns it could seem forced to have a guardsman tagging along with marines, but anything is possible in the name of the Inquisition....except it seems female marines.

I'd love another Creatures book. Not a re-do or a 'second edition', but a whole new book, with a greater variety of adversaries, even Ascended Adversaries. Especially expanding the canon races. Inventing their own is cool, but a few more Tyranid, Ork and Eldar entries would be ace, as would stats for Tau and Necrons (although we might get those last two in Deathwatch).

BYE

I'd like an alternate campaign book. The careers in Dark Heresy are pretty iconic and could just as easily reach potential in a number of different roles. Maybe a book envisioning one or two alternate slices of the universe appropriate for "ground level" types of characters. Examples would be Imperial Guard, technoarchaeologists for the Adeptus Machinicus, or a group of freelancing mercs in a Shadowrun-esque style game.

A source book for each class. Covers more abilities, new subclasses, world settings for each class, even characters from some of the more famous worlds like Necromunda, Attila, Mordia etc. Go into the world of that class much more indepth, like what's boot camp like for guardsmen, the underworld for scum, learning religion for the priests. And they could make them short enough to get a steady supply of supplements.

- "Expanded creature tome". Expand the established canon races ( Eldar, Tyranids, etc. etc. ) plus add some Ascended level villainy.

- Cross-over campaign. An epic plot that gives the chance to tie characters from all three systems together.

I hope with Dark Heresy that they continue to support the full range of the game. That would like WOTC to stop supporting DnD from levels 1-19 because they released the epic level handbook. I concurr with the Calixis Sector book(s), since it would give more depth to the sector we are all playing in (although I would prefer for them to go back to the structure that Black library had created with fan built worlds online.) I would also like to see a few more campaigns in vein of Call of Cthulhu's Mask or Horror on the Orient express. It is funny that many game developers often quote that adventures and campaigns are not often created because they only sell well to GMs. However, Chaosium seems to pump out a lot of campaigns that are globalspanning in scope. I don't see why Fantasy flight could not work in the this vein, ie continue releasing campaigns like the haarlock's legacy but perhaps put a little more player content in it as well.

salcor

There will have to be a new creature book out when DW comes out, though it could come out before possibly giving more of a taste the powerful xenos the DW will have to deal with.

Possibly a three book set Hereticus, Xenos and Malleus. Each one focusing more on specific threats each ordo deals with, with possible alternate ranks and tools that order may have available. It would allow some people to only get one but most will get all three since many of the threats will cross paths with other orders.

A book on non-inquisition factions (and also not specificly antagonists). It could add more depth to using the mechanicus, imperial guard and ecclesiarchy in the game along with other movers and shakers that aren't specificly cults. Possibly more details on the 'Other' assassin groups. And could include many extra character backgrounds even rules for the acceptable abhumans, rattlings, ogren, nightsiders.

Though since all 3 books will be almost one unified system eventually they should come up with a name for books that are for all 3 'settings'. Since a new creature anthema could be useable for any of the systems it could be under a unified label instead of just 'Looking' like its for say deathwatch. Then for the fluff part it would have input and hooks for all three settings....what the inquisitions thinks/knows about the XX, sightings/profit potential of the XX in the kronus sector for RT (and ship stats if space faring), and battle reports from fighting XX from the deathwatch (with mass battle tactics used by the race).

And if going for full system books each of the main core antagonist races could have a small book kinda like the army books for the mini games. With stats for many varieties, their tech and space/ground vehicles. With much more indepth lore for them, some might be a stretch but I'm pretty sure a 90 page book just on say eldar would be easy especially since it's bound to have an adventure. One each for the Eldar, Tau, Orks, Greenskins, Tyranids, and Necrons. They wouldn't be too useful for a full cult/chaos based DH game but Ordo Xenos, RT and DW would all deal with them.

My best guess is that there will come world books. Maybe a Chaos book, or a book on hive cities. Perhaps the long-awaited vehicle book, but they could as well make a book like that can be used for all three games set in the W40K universe: Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader and Deathwatch.

It does somehow feel a bit like closure, after Ascension. After all, even higher power levels for your acolytes would transfer them to the place where RT and DW are. But I distinctly remember a post by Ross Watson in which he said that a long line of new products will be continued for DH after Ascension. Would be cool to have a new pdf document with upcoming products.

Lask said:

I think your idea for the three books is probably one of the best ones that has popped up on this forum. And they could be the basis for supporting all three systems in one book. Each book could have adversaries for dark heresy, DK Ascension/Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch. You could also introduce some of the other information that fans will be calling for like the Grey Knights chapter in the Malleus handbook. Hereticus could introduce levels of the Sisters of Battle, or introduce offical Sisters of Silence that are on the level of Deathwatch. I think this is a winning idea and Ross and the guys should start on it right away.

Salcor

I thought the necrons have not been encountered yet in the timeline when DH takes place... Most likely, we will never see official stats for them.

-cynr

Cynr said:

They're not identified as a unified menace or tangible proof had surfaced until 80 some-odd years into DH's future after they were recorded attacking Sanctuary 101. Once they were recorded and others did other reports and misinterpreted statements suddenly make sense. They were active prior to that point, just not identified or linked to one anouther and the greater whole. Heck, there's tech-priests in the Rogue Trader game poking what appears to be a Necron Tomb World... it's only a matter of time.

As books go, though, I'd definitely have to agree that a kind of guide to the Calixus Sector would be great! Coming up with good sets is always the most labor intensive part of me getting a story together. Anything that would help with that aspect would definitly get my money.

A Calixis Sector sourcebook that expands on stuff like the Brontian Longknives, the Asartes presence in the sector and perhaps infomation about neighbouring systems and how they interact with the Calixis.

An alternative setting to Dark Heresy based on the eastern side of the Galaxy where Acolytes have to contend with Tau friendly Governors, Xeno monsters that may or may not be Tyranid vanguards as well as the usual signs of the archenemy at work.

Graver said:

I can always use more locations for my players to trash and I would kill for more info on the Imperium's society and politics so such a guide would certainly hit number 2 on my shopping list... and that's only because I don't have the Inquisitor's Handbook yet.