Dear FFG,

the rewards at the end of OE are fairly abstract, especially for an introductory adventure. Please let me reassure you from playing the RECON RPG, that PCs in a military RPG crave promotions and medals.

So my request to you would be to add to the FS FAQ information if PCs can be awarded any medals or other decorations perhaps and if so under which conditions.

An obvious question would be if there was a Purple Hearts or Bronze Star equivalent. I wouldn't even need to have any rules for any items awarded yet, I just would like to be able to tell the players at the beginning of the scenario that it's possible for them to earn some medal or another. So that players might be able to record any recognition gained (beyond renown points).

Thanks,

Alex

Surely promotions and medals are more abstract than experience points, rather than less so, at least in an RPG environment? Promotion and medals usually have little direct in-game effect and are purely awards to be roleplayed (which is fine).

Anyway, while you are free to do whatever you like in your game I would say there probably would be no rewards of that kind, aside from the possible gratitude of people on the planet. What the characters do in the introductory games is what is expected of them, not something particularly special and noteworthy for a Space Marine of the Deathwatch. Helping repress a xenos orchestrated rebellion, killing a broodlord and infiltrating a xenos vessel and disableing it are par for the course.

They will get to paint a piece of armor for a campaign (knee, elbow pad). they could get a wax stamp with the little paper with a Emperor prayer etc.

Typical SM armor decoration represent campaign the armor and is wearer have been trough.

Here is a site that has listed (with nice color pics) the medals that the Imperial Guard are awarded:

http://www.starbase10.com/gilead/medals.htm

Should give you some inspiration if you really wanted them to have medals... though usual Space Marine awards are better gear, more wax seals and a generally more bad-ass appearance.

@SpawnoChaos Thanks, good site. An official ruling for FS/OE would be better though. Personally I feel if a player or another ends up with a medal or similar reward that they earned fairly and squarely, it will create more enthusiasm for the core rulebook. :-) It makes people want to collect more awards and get promoted, etc. inspiring acts of bravery in the players . :-)

@crisaron I wonder if the Deathwatch might have a different reward system though...

borithan said:

Well, medals are physical items that you can put on display in the game world. Rank is sth visible to your peers too. I advise anyone who doesn't get the thrill of it to play a round of RECON with friends. It can be quite powerful. ;-)

borithan said:

Well, that's an understandable attitude to have. A reward for critically wounded Marines would be nice though. Or think of post-mortem. :-)

Alex

One of the things that I'm hoping with Deathwatch is that we'll see a bit of innovation when it comes down to experience expenditure or totalling. For example, on thing that was suggested in another thread (and another board) is that it might be interesting to differentiate between experience that is used to improve ones ability and, say, that thing that "every" Marine craves: Glory. Well, I say innovation but this is really just pilfering the system that is represented in Pendragon . Glory, in this regard, would be the measure of the Marine—a currency of reputation that other Marines, if no one else, would recognise...

Nasir, in Kingdom of Heaven >>>

Your quality will be known among your enemies before you ever meet them.

Glory in this regard could lead to in-game rewards, such as honours or even the right to ultimately return to ones Chapter and take up a position in the 1st Company. (Of course, not so useful with the Deathwatch!) There might even be "secret societies" within the Deathwatch (why not? they're everywhere else... or are they? ), and at certain points of Glory a Marine might be invested in them, gaining the respect of his fellow society members, a spangly wreath for his armour, or whatever. And, of course, there's always promotion, which isn't necessarily an automatic product of increases in Glory since it can be turned down, but one would imagine that generally speaking the more Glory that the individual Marine has, the more they're going to stand out to their superiors.

Ultimately, though, it would just be great not to see the Rank/level system be used for military rank, e.g. Level 3 is a Brother-Sergeant, Level 6 is Brother-Captain, etc.

Admittedly, since "rank" has been mentioned as being dependent on the specific mission in question, the idea of military rank is more appropriate for a generic game about Space Marines rather than one dedicated to the Deathwatch.

Another thing mentioned on another board was the idea of being able to custom-tweak your power armour when you have earned the right. One of the Designer's Diaries stated that some of those ideas were right with regards to power armour, though whether this is one of them remains to be seen.

For some strange reason, though, I now have an image of players sitting around the table with a name plate in front of them with their characters name, and then pinned to that all the decorations that they have received. I'm not sure whether that's sad or cool.

Errr, the short of it, though, is I agree! I'm hoping that I shall be able to mine Deathwatch for the coolness that the advancement system may represent.

Kage

Kage2020 said:

It's easy to connect certain awards to the renown system: you award the bronze star for x renown points gained on a mission and the silver star for y. FOr long-standing achievements, you get the Emporer's Cross if you have accumulated z renown points in your career.

Kage2020 said:

Not necessarily. It might be satsfying enough to know that promotion would allow a Ultramarine-DeathWatch-SM to function as a UM Captain once his tour of duty with the DeathWatch ends. That way all PCs could be more or less equals in play but compare their promotion achievements. Different chapters could have different awards and different eases of getting promoted.

Kage2020 said:

I think it might be good because it brings across the military nature of the setting, distinguishing them more from DH and RT PCs.

Alex

I believe one of the dev diaries or maybe it was a podcast interview, Ross was saying that the Renown system represents glory and recognition among the Deathwatch and could be used to either 'purchase' (like currency) or just get access to better gear/unique chapter relics (I may be misremembering).

So, I think after some amount of Renown, your marine might be able to carry a relic back banner or a unique power sword formerly carried by a chapter hero.

Radomo said:

Its not the same as being awarded a medal or relic for a particular act of bravery though.

Alex

Radomo said:

It was in the D6 podcast that all of this was mentioned. There are Deathwatch specific items as well as artifacts gifted to the Deathwatch from other Space Marine chapters. These artifacts are what the renown would eventually allow you to wield, some of which could be from your own chapter.

ak-73 said:

Actually I would think that it would be superior to being awarded such a medal. Space Marines are practical, a medal can't help you smite your enemies, but this ancient powersword will. It's a status symbol to carry a relic of your chapter, a matter of honor that only those who are most trusted with it are allowed to carry such things. It's no different than being granted the honor of carrying the company standard... usually you are one of the best that the company has.

SpawnoChaos said:

That's not what I meant. I am saying it makes a great difference whether you get awarded a relic because you have accumulated 23 renown points or whether you saved 2 dying brothers from the feet of a screaming bloodthirster. In the latter case a concrete act of valor is being rewarded. In the former it's accumulated displays of excellence .

Alex

ak-73 said >>>

It's easy to connect certain awards to the renown system: you award the bronze star for x renown points gained on a mission and the silver star for y. FOr long-standing achievements, you get the Emporer's Cross if you have accumulated z renown points in your career.

Renown. I had completely forgotten about that from my last reading of the Designer's Diaries and/or Final Sanction . You are, of course, correct. Of course, there's a difference between "glory" and "renown," but that's a fairly minor point that can wait until I can see how it all works together. Either way, thanks for the reminder. Makes me look forward to looking at what that "currency" can "purchase" in the Deathwatch system.

ak-73 said >>>

Not necessarily. It might be satsfying enough to know that promotion would allow a Ultramarine-DeathWatch-SM to function as a UM Captain once his tour of duty with the DeathWatch ends.

I believe the point that I was trying to make was that it would have little purpose in the Deathwatch game, but commensurately more in generic game. Fair enough point that people might like to know that they could be that if they returned, assuming that the home Chapter would accept them at that rank (see the idea about the interplay of different types of 'experience' as it pertains to rank,

ak-73 said >>>

I think it might be good because it brings across the military nature of the setting, distinguishing them more from DH and RT PCs.

And, as above, I don't think that it's a bad idea!

Kage

ak-73 said:

True

However, when the "norm" for Space Marines would be to save those 2 dying battle brothers at the feet of the Bloodthirster, to scale the walls and single-handedly kill the enemy weapons emplacements, to decapitate the leadership of the enemy with a well timed bolt round, it re-defines the notions that we have for awards.

Given this is seen as being a Heroic endeavour by our standards, but the norm for Space Marines, then it would make sense that you would need to accumulate such feats to gain anything from them.

You are expected to die and give your life in completing your task, if necessary. To live beyond that expectation, time and time again, is when you get "rewarded". Hence, long term accumulation of displays of excellence is what grants those rewards.

Don't get me wrong, there are other rewards for pulling off said tasks even if you don't qualify for anything Renown-point-wise. You could decorate your armor differently; you may be granted a special title that is commensurate with the act performed; you could take a trophy from the dead Bloodthirster to remind everyone you see that you did indeed save those two marines, etc.

For every 500 XP, you get a spike. For every 5,000 XP, a skull.

SpawnoChaos said:

It wouldn't. The norm would be to be shredded to peaces by the Bloodthirster on the by-way.

SpawnoChaos said:

Given the abilities of a SM veteran, your idea of what SMs are capable of is not realistic. Unless newer 40K editions deviate greatly from the older ones, I don't know.

SpawnoChaos said:

Doesn't sound convincing.

SpawnoChaos said:

Official ruling on that would be desirable.

Alex

thegonk said:

I hope to see these included in the rpg:

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Space_Marine_Honour_Badges

Alex

Everything that I mentioned on these boards about Space Marines, etc. does not come from the Table Top side of things, but the novels written about the Space Marines. These sources of fluff are equal to all other sources of fluff.

I am well aware of what the Codices would say about the Space Marines, having owned most of them, and IMO they paint a very pale shadow of what our "would-be" PC's should be seen as and what they are capable of.

If your only perspective on these heroes of the Imperium is from the stand-point of the table top game, then I feel that you are not giving them their fair share of credit.

Again, this is just my opinion. As Kage would say, YMMV.

From the looks of Rites of Battle you won't need any honor as players will be suicidaly heroic if it envolves being put in a dreadnought.

Face Eater said:

It might just be me, but I find this horribly depressing as a motivation for driving a character forwards. "Be suicidal in your heroism and you get to be twinked out as a Dreadnought! How awesomez is that."

...

On the other hand, it would be a good use of "Repute."

Kage

Assuming, of course, that the Dreadnaught rules are for PCs, and not only for NPCs.

Point, and well made. You know that it's going to happen, though.

Kage