I may be GMing a game in a few months (need to system familiarize) in order to allow a different GM to play. Suffice to say i would like to do a 'write your own". I've thusly created a world for the adventure to happen on; please provide feedback.

World: Settlement 237, “Gold Horizon”, Imperial World

Pop: ~ 2.4B. Moderate urbanization focused around resources and key infrastructure supported by collectivized farming communities.
Geography: Two medium continents, Landing and Lifeline, are predominantly temperate are located just north of the planet’s equator. These have a broad mixture of plains and rolling hills. Vegetation is Terran standard, but with little old growth due to substantial ecological damage ~400 years ago. A distinct lack of major mountain ranges suggests a very old planet. South of the equator exists two much smaller continents, Immortal and Bannerman. Bannerman is a predominantly arid continent with three major rivers, and substantial promethium reserves. Immortal was a heavily jungled environment, but is now little more than irradiated wasteland. The oceans are largely dead due to orbital bombardment secondary effects.

Government: Autocratic Oligarchy. The government is titularly headed by a Lord Imperialis, who acts as the planetary governor and speaks for the planet to in the eyes of the Imperium. However, his power is largely a matter of personality and political savvy, as almost all planetside activity is controlled by the three major offices. Each of the remaining three houses retains one major office (Lord Marshal, Lord Bursar, and Lord Populous) which affect planet wide affairs in matters of military, trade, and domestic policy respectively. Currently these are Tiber, Otho, and Vespas. Under each major office, there are the two minor offices controlled by the two other houses, which maintain control of several of the agencies. Even united they lack the power to contest the major office, but they can effectively delay any action of the major office for years. The offices rotate between houses every fourteen years, and each house selects its own representatives internally. The next rotation is due in five years.

Planetary Governor: Lord Imperialis Gabla Tiber

Adept Presence: The Adminstratum retains a palace in the Capital of Zarhoff, and Arbites are present in at least company strength in all major cities. The Eccelsiarchy has spread over the planet in great numbers, maintaining several shrines and temples. A moderately sized sororitas monastery has been established in Zarhoff. The Adeptus Arbites also controls a small orbiting space station (no more than two thousand personnel) from which they and the Administratum may operate. Less common knowledge is that this station also retains several kinetic weapons and siege supplies from initial Administratum regime change. The Adeptus Mechanicus maintains a low level of involvement, primarily in industrial zones and key infrastructure.

Trade: 237 has reached the point where it is internally self sustaining with a food, resources, and products cross trade creating emerging co-dependence between houses. The main export, and economic tithe, is promethium from the continent of Bannerman. Its secondary export is low cost-to-benefit mercenaries.

The local tech base can produce some of the more common staples of Imperial Technology, but most higher technology must be imported in small quantities. No reliable development projections indicate future world specialization.

Military: Local PDF forces number ~3.7m including Air, Land, and Planetary Defense Weapons. PDF nominally loyal to Lord Marshall, but tend to follow their officers. All officers in the rank of colonel and above are vetted by the Lord Marshall and his under offices to prevent rebellion. PDW officers control the planet’s two anti-ship missile sites, and are extremely political in nature.
Arbites monitor and supervise both anti-ship missile batteries. Both are pre-targeted for kinetic bombardment.
Land forces are predominantly infantry deployed in static defenses. Limited motorization is typically used to move forces strategically, or tow heavy weapons. The PDF has some comparatively small mobile groups used for quick reaction or combined for use as offensive spearheads

Air is extremely limited, and is mostly focused on transport. Small numbers of thunderbolts are used, but often limited by maintenance and training costs.
Each house maintains 200-220k house troops, typically better paid, better equipped, and better trained than the PDF. They would prefer more, but with only moderates industrial support, this is already ruinously expensive. House numbers are projected to decline within the next seventy years.

237 must provide one line infantry regiment (~4000 pax) as a tithe every two months. A permanent founding ground has been established on Landing as a result.

Religion: The Ecclesiarchy strictly enforces a standardized Imperial Creed. Mutants are executed on sight. There is a distinct anti pysker bias, and these individuals tend to hide from the population at large.

History: Settlement 237 was established as a joint venture between minor Houses Tiber, Otho, Macarin and Vespas. The Imperium provided a one hundred year remit from the tithe in order to incentivize initial colonization and strengthen the sector. Several other noble houses in the Reach have decried this as the result of clear bribery and corruption, even as they petition for similar rights. Initial landing was made at Zarhoff on the continent of Landing, and this city has since become the capital and the only major spaceport on the world.

With a spaceport established, each house quickly expanded into its own enclaves and expanded to the natural limit of resources as they rushed to profit from the tithe free period. Within the first fifty years , boundaries had been drawn. Inevitably control of resources lead to conflict, and the War of Dominance began. For nine years, inconclusive conflicts raged between the houses, each of whom maintained extensive house troops. Whenever one side looked to gain a true advantage, a shifting of alliances would ensure return to the status quo. Over 23 million military casualties were suffered, and ~70 million civilians were lost in this period. Productivity plummeted to zero. House Macarin, being bled dry by other sector interests, decided to solve the issue with one master stroke: they seized orbital control with three converted freighters and two frigates, one of which was lost, and delivered over 500 megatons of ordnance against their Vespa opponents on Immortal, effectively crushing that house and the planet’s best source of light metals. The other houses capitulated immediately thereafter.

With the resultant atmospheric change, mass die off began and the colony prospects quickly approached zero; the subsector governor ruled House Macarin had acted against the interests of the Imperium, and an Administratum government was imposed by force. Resultant pacification required diversion of three Battlefleet frigates and half a million guardsmen. Macarin’s sector wide interests were terminated to pay for re-establishing colony feasibility. Without other prospective colonists, Vespa acquired what remained of Macarin’s charter lands. The Administratum maintained control until twenty years after the remit ended, at which time the currently established system of government was created. It has endured for three hundred and sixty nine years since.

Seems pretty solid, but do you have the cast of NPCs to back it up?

I have them in concept, basically orienting along faction/methods/goals lines, but certainly haven't hung the flesh on the bones yet.

Looks pretty good and well detailed.

My only minor eye quirk was that a planet of farmers and promethium refinders tithes an Imperial Guard regiment every two months? That seems like a rather substantial drain on resources when you combine it with the large PDF and House armies. Granted there are Imperial worlds that produce far more troops than this, but chances are good you already know the names of such worlds. More than Promethium, this world's chief export appears to be Imperial Guard. I would come up with some good solid fluff for your planetary Guard, since they will be a fairly common sight at least within the subsector. It doesn't have to be all inclusive, but some basics on uniform, standard wargear, tactics, that sort of thing. They sound a bit like conscript light infantry to me, but then this is your world! Flamers should be a common squad support weapon, obviously! Perhaps when an officer graduates from the local acadamies they are presented with their new rank insignia and a shiny new gilded flame-pistol, the mark of the officer corps? Or maybe since it is a temperate and largely flat world the local Imperial Guard (also the House troops and maybe even the PDF) produce Rough Rider brigades of cavalry troops? If this is the case then perhaps it is local custom that all honour duels are only legally binding if conducted on horseback! Or perhaps BOTH cases are true, with the more highborn soldiers serving in the cavalry and the lowborn serving in the infantry. Naturally the horsemen have better equipment and food than the footmen, and naturally the conscript footmen grumble about it, but the thoughtful Departmento Munitorium was kind enough to provide plenty of those nice stern men in the really cool looking black leather coats to maintain order and discipline.

I have to say, I really like this planetary write up. If you write a game half as good as your setting it should be a total blast for your players!

You already have the groundwork laid for big thick fatty slabs of political intrigue, so it looks like you are pretty set here.

Just add a good villain group (or better several! just not all at once.), add accolytes, shake vigourously and serve.

Hmm...a point I hadn't considered, though ti makes sense..since Calixis is not incredibly warzone esque, I guess those regiments woulnd't just be fed into the maw, so 24,000 men a year actually builds up a bit.. Which leads to a question...once a regiment has been stood up, who sets to keeping it running? Do recruits get repple deppled in, or does the regiment slowly bleed to nothing until its broken up into components or earns the right to colonize? Being the Imperium, there's porbably an answer like d)all of the above, but what is standard practice?

I understand that standard Imperial practice (while there are exception) is to let the regement slowly bleed away throught attrition. Weakened regements will be merged with other regements. I expect some "old" regements might be "retired" to garrision duties or resettled somewhere. Generally, it's fight until you die and forget about ever seeing home again.

As it stands, I have completed my plot outline, and Sector level characters. If anyone would be so kind as to volunteer for peer editing, please speka up.

Gimme gimme, just plop a PDF up somewhere.

I've sent the sector level NPC via friendship request. Give me an e-mail and I'll shoot the plot outline to you. Its a bit long for PMing.

Oh, and heres the guard, as per suggesstion

Guard Regiments: The Men of 237

While not endowed with a particularly creative name, the naming tradition for regiments form 237 certainly helps with keeping the logistics and book keeping in order, much to the relief of staff officers everywhere. Regiments are simply designated “1-237. 2-237, 3-237” and so forth, with an I for infantry or a C for cavalry following the designation“1-237 (I)” for instance. Since the planet is current training 421-237 (I), its understandable that no one really wants to track who exactly are the Hellhounds, the Emperor’s Pristine, and so forth.

Infantry

The Infantry regiments are drawn predominantly from the urban masses and the near urban area of 237, or are converted directly from the PDF. The former is more prevalent than the latter, as most senior officers in the PDF are connected to one of three houses and have no desire to see their prestige given over to the Imperium. They are composed of twelve companies of line infantry, supplemented by a battery of field guns and a heavy weapons company. Companies tend to use lasguns and flamers, (though autoguns are common in older regiments prior to recent increases in industry, and the PDF uses autoguns almost exclusively) supplemented by heavy stubbers and a handful of crude missile launchers. While local manufacture provides for the small arms and field guns, traditionally the Lascannons and Heavy Bolters assigned to the heavy weapons company are brought in from off planet. Everything they own is carried either on their backs or drawn by draft horses.

They are, at its simplest, line infantry. They take and hold ground. While they do not possess the infiltration and concealment skills of light infantry, the guerrilla capabilities of death worlders, or the specialist assault training of some heavy infantry, nine times out of ten an Imperial Commander doesn’t need those skills. He needs men who can go forward in good order when told to attack, and who hold the line when told to defend. A 237 infantry regiment can do that, and can do it without any special considerations beyond rations and ammo.

Cavalry

The Cavalry regiments are typically drawn from the more rural areas and collectivized farming communities on 237, as each man providing his own horse reduces the cost of founding a regiment substantially. It also proves he can probably ride. While they enjoy a reputation for having more Elan than their infantry brethren, and as such are much more popular with nobles, they are often shunned by career officers and the real power seekers as 237 doctrine places them in a distinctly supporting role. The cavalry regiment consists of eight troops (companies), and a light mortar company for fire support. While they carry las carbines and flamers and heavy stubbers much like the infantry, the lack of heavy weapons and true artillery makes them much less effective in terms of raw combat power.

237 cavalry fights as dragoons, using their horse to move them rapidly outside of contact, but dismounting to fight as infantry when engaging the enemy. Like most 237 doctrine, this is a direct result of the War of Dominance, where it was discovered that glorious thundering charges over the open plains tended to meet equally glorious, thundering deaths at the hands of automatic weapons and massed fire from the infantry. An Imperial commander will often use these regiments as a poor man’s mechanized infantry or scouts, capable of covering long distances relatively quickly to either find the enemy or set up a defensive line on key terrain before foot soldiers can arrive. They may not have firepower of true mechanized infantry or sentinel scouts, but they don’t need fuel, spare parts, maintenance depots, enginseers, and the general massive support trail that follows vehicles. This is especially useful on secondary fronts.

Soldiers

“There are those who think that every soldier should have every martial skill the Emperor might care to devise. There are those who think every regiment needs to be drawn from only the best of the best, and that it should possess a particular hallmark skill for its ever lasting glory. They are wrong. All a Guardsman needs to know is to how to march, shoot, and dig. When the artillery and the heavy stubbers open up, a trooper doesn’t need to know how to track an enemy by his scent, or use the fifth nerve pinch technique. He needs to be below ground and ready to shoot whatever is coming afterwards.” –Col. Grukov, addressing the Officio Indoctrina of the Lord Martial.

Individual guardsmen are trained in a rapid twelve week course focused on teaching discipline, fitness, basic equipment use, and marksmanship. Recruits identified for special weapons training attend an additional four week course. The prized standard is recruits to be able to do what they are told, march fifteen miles a day, dig their portion of a trench line, and be able to shoot accurately and in accordance with the commands of their NCOs and officers. While the training curriculum does cover close combat, first aid, and some other areas, these are not considered nearly as important as the big three. Marksmanship in particular receives nearly a third of the training time. Cavalry troopers have a notable exception in that they trade marching for iron discipline in maintaining their animals and riding gear, as well as training rapid deployment from mounted to dismounted formations.

Individual guardsmen are equipped with simple flak jackets, Cadian style helmets (albeit without any electronics), their individual weapons, gas masks, trench shovels, their pack- gear, and their khaki trench coat. It is the trench coat that will become synonymous with service for most 237 guardsmen. The trenchcoat is one of the few truly quality items he is issued, and he will spend almost all of his field time wearing it. It keeps the mud off of undergarments during weeks on the line, living in the dirt. Turned up, the collar keeps the dust out of lungs from endless marching. Worn just so, it pads the shoulders from the kick of recoil or the weight of a field pack. The trenchcoat keeps the cold at bay, and does its best to fend off the rain and snow. The trenchcoat becomes an improvised stretcher for the wounded, and very often becomes the funeral shroud for the dead. As one might imagine, veterans tend to retain the trench coats long after their service has ended.

NCOs
“The most important thing a sergeant can do is make sure his men are keep the pace and shoot when they’re told” –Direct quote from NCO additional training classes

As most regiments are founded directly from the population rather than converting PDF units (and thereby disenfranchising the politically connected commanders of those units), NCOs are identified by a series of simple tests upon entry, and those earmarked as having above average leadership potential during initial training. These men go through an additional ten weeks of training, aimed as much at beating into their heads that they are above their former peers as it is imparting any particular skills and expertise.

As such, 237 NCOs are not particularly tactically minded, though those that survive long enough invariably pick up some tricks on the way. They are far more concerned with making sure their guardsmens’ gear is in working order, that no stragglers fall out on the march, and that everyone is shooting when the officers tell them to shoot. The major flaw in the system is that invariably, sergeants and corporals only know the gear and unit a little better than their charges, and so lack the air of expertise many other regiments NCOs have by default. In addition, as NCOs are selected in initial entry training, there is no way of knowing how they will react in battle. For these reasons, the initial campaigns of most 237 regiments tend to see the NCO corps thinned out by darwinistic means, and proven soldiers are promoted from the ranks.

Junior Officers

“On the defense, the flamers protect the line, the line protects the stubbers, and the stubbers kill the enemy. On the offense, the stubbers let the line move up, the line lets the flamers move up, and the flamers kill the enemy. The secret to war is simple: have the right weapons in the right place shooting at the right targets.” -Excerpt from standard tactical lectures for 237 officer cadets

The Junior officers in the 237 are trained and focused extensively on two things: the proper creation of interlocking fields of fire, and being an example of all the military and social virtues. In the War of Dominance, the fact that they are usually very good at the first lead to them suffering horrendous casualties trying to live up to the second. None the less, they still tend to carry little more than a pistol and sword of some sort, even on the front lines. They are usually from well off families, and have had some sort of formal education before going through eight months of officer training. An officer’s life, even that of the lowliest lieutenant, is full of social customs centered around the regiment he is in.

Tactically, most of their work is done before the battle begins. They are assigned a sector of of trenchline to defend or a lane to attack by their senior officers, and set about emplacing their weapons to either kill the enemy most efficiently on the defense, or provide continuous covering fire on the attack until their units are close enough to go to work with flamers, hand grenades, lasguns on full auto, and just as often, trench knives and shovels. Once a battle begins, the most pressing decisions one might have to make is when to open fire, when to shift the line infantry from semiautomatic to full auto (typically once the enemy is about to get through the wire), or when to cease his covering fires on an assault so his own guns don’t shoot the final charge in the back.

Senior Officers

“Gentleman, as you can see, a properly entrenched force, faced with adequate artillery, will lose three to seven percent of its strength every week while under bombardment. Using this, for a successful attack, the enemy must be reduced to less than four hundred men per kilometer. Then, in a general advance, it will cost one guardsman for every twelve and a half centimeters of ground taken. Using storm tactics, the guardsman will buy you thirty three centimeters of ground. From this we can learn four vital lessons. One: Artillery must be kept firing constantly. Two: It is better to use storm tactics. Three: it is better to be on the defense in your trenches rather than attacking the enemy in his. Four: no matter how you fight against a well prepared enemy, warfare is murderously expensive, and will deplete most forces quickly. The commander’s art, then, is to bring up more men and more shells, faster than the enemy can.” –Lessons from the War of Dominance lecture series, given to all 237 officers in the grade of major and above.

Senior officers for 237 regiments are often drawn from the PDF, unlike most other positions. This invariably means they are politically connected, though whether their assignment is a convenient way to get a political rival off planet, to dispose of an upstart subordinate, or the officer in question favors his prospects for success and glory elsewhere differs from man to man. Generally speaking they are accomplished socialites, and have worked within the bureaucracy and political system that governs upper advancement. They also tend to have the names of Tiber, Otho, and Vespa somewhere in their lineage.

For all that, they are excellent planners and staff officers even if tactically they have little imagination. A Colonel in the 237 knows in his bones that war is a matter of keeping the guns firing and the trenches full. As such, rates of march, timelines for replacements, and the amount of shells necessary per day for the field guns are far more important than such niggling matters as maneuvering and terrain. As such, they rarely go on to be higher commanders in the Guard, but many a general staff has former 237 officers in it. Their scientific and statistical outlook makes them exceptionally good at the tons (literally, if you weigh the parchment) of coordination and basic planning it takes to keep forces the size of most Guard expeditions simply moving, let alone supplied and synchronized.

Doctrine

All 237 doctrine is based of their experiences in the War of Dominance during the settlements early days. With minimal technological support, and predominantly open terrain, the only way for an army to survive against automatic weapons and artillery was to dig in. As technology has not yet reached the point where air or armor assets can be procured in any quantity, the basic doctrines of the 237 have remained unchanged for four hundred years. Simply put, whenever a 237 regiment stays still, it starts to dig. Shellscrapes become foxholes, foxholes become trenches, trenches start to include bunkers, gun pits, and additional lines until a miniature fortress has been dug out of the ground.

The ideal is to put these forces where an enemy has to attack them, and the best way to get there is to outmarch the enemy. Cavalry are ideal for this, as they can simply outpace the footsoldiers, and have good positions established days before the infantry arrives. Having marched to an advantageous position, the digging begins, and the troopers slaughter the enemy who attacks across open ground. This has actually proven surprisingly effective against enemies such as the orks and tyranids, where being a special snowflake is not nearly as important as staying alive long enough to empty your ammunition into the onrushing horde. And if one trench line falls, there’s usually another just behind it, ready to keep up the wall of fire. Against opponents such as the Eldar and other highly mobile forces, it is obviously far less useful and 237 regiments often find themselves cut off or bypassed without once having their well prepared positions attacked. Of course, given enough guardsmen, you can build a long enough trenchline…

On the attack, the 237 favors extensive artillery preparation, followed by the use of storm tactics. Company sized attacks use artillery and heavy weapons to isolate a small portion of the enemy line, and then rush to a single specified point behind a creeping barrage. Once the company has gained a foothold, it flows through the enemy lines, bypassing strong points and creating disarray. Only then does the bulk of a regiment cross the killing ground under their own covering fire, hopefully while the enemy is busy trying uproot the lead company. Needless to say, the lead company is not usually expected to survive, only to survive long enough. Once it arrives, the great mass of men surges through the enemy lines with flamers, hand grenades, and weapons on full auto, mopping up strongpoints and generally killing and dying in face to face fights beyond the control sergeants or officers. If the officers think the position can hold, the regiment consolidates a new line on the ground it just took. If not, its time to retreat to the friendly trenches before the enemy overwhelms the attack with numbers. As a side note, when the enemy is retreating from such an attack is considered an ideal time to attack yourself, as he is likely masking the fires of his own heavy weapons.

Armor is never available in enough numbers to be used as a decisive force in its own right, and tends to be penny packeted out to infantry assist in critical attacks and defenses. On the attack, it advances with the lead company to help suppress and reduce enemy bunkers and heavy weapons near the designated point of entry. On the defense tanks and fighting vehicles are deployed behind the trench lines, waiting for the enemy to become enamored with killing the infantry before emerging unnoticed to kill enemy tanks and support weapons.

Air is generally directed against enemy artillery parks, and columns of men and supplies being moved up in the rear areas.

And, for an embarassing question, how do i look at my PMs on this forum?

General Message, Cell Belthor

I have selected all of you to serve the Emperor’s most Holy Inquisition for reasons of which I am sure you are well aware. Up until now, you have been entrusted with relatively simple tasks so that I could ascertain whether or not you truly had any value. I have concluded that you do, and I am assigning you your first true duty in my service. Given your relative inexperience, I am assigning you a great responsibility in operating without a handler. I expect regular reports to be made to me via astropath concerning your mission. <ACCT AND TRANSMISSION DETAILS ATTACHED.> You may rest assured your performance will be noted; neither I nor the Emperor have the time or resources to waste on
failures.

Mission brief is attached.

The Emperor Protects.

MISSION BRIEF, CELL BELTHOR, DESTINATION SETTLEMENT 237

++ Victory needs no explanation, defeat allows none++

I have of late gained word that several Xenos artifacts of a most intriguing nature have entered circulation among the worlds of Golgenna Reach. Most of these fall in the province of the Arbites, who will undoubtedly serve the Emperor in burning those responsible for their distribution. However, three items of note are rumored to be worthy of the Inquisition’s investigation. These are a small, purplish crystal of xenos make, a rune inscripted spear, and a small bag of xenos runes carved in metal. I have determined these to be too heretical in nature to entrust to Arbites recovery.

Settlement 237 is one possible point of distribution for these maleific items. You are to travel to said world, and attempt to gather any information you can on the artifacts concerning their nature, trade, or current owners. Report all information immediately through previously arranged channels. You will not disclose your nature as agents of the Inquisition without direct orders from myself. Your standing orders are to avoid the disruption of other xenos or heretic activity on world prior to acquiring the Xenos artifacts or confirming they are off world and there is no further information to be gained.

There is a small hab in the capital city of zarhoff <ADDRESS AND GEO INF ATTACHED>that one of my seneschals has arranged for your use as a safe house. Locally manufactured autoguns and flak jackets have also been diverted to this residence. Should direct action be necessary, these weapons are the most common available on 237, and will help to hide the nature of your team from prying eyes.

3,500 thrones are available for expenses upon your arrival. <BANK AND ACCT INFORMATION ATTACHED>. I will open more funds if I deem it necessary. I will point out that a disturbing trend among my newer recruits to use their assigned resources to race out and equip themselves with the finest implements of death they can buy, only to find to they have no way of greasing the right palms, acquiring information, and generally covering the operating expenses involved in walking disguised through every aspect of society. Those who lack such foresight are of no use to an inquisitor, though I am sure I can find them an appropriate service to the Emperor on the front lines.

I have taken the liberty of attaching a suitably recent summary of settlement 237 for your perusal en route. I am sure you will find it most edifying.

Allow me to stress the importance of your remaining discrete in this operation, it takes but one hint of the Inquisition’s presence for these artifacts to melt away into the subsector, only to emerge at the head of a ruinous enemy decades later. Report all information directly to me, alert no others.

+++ Upon his most trusted Servants the Emperor sets his keenest eyes+++

I read over these posts plus the "special data packet" that you sent via PM. Very nice prep-work for this game. I especially like how the players will be determining what kind of Inquisitor they serve based on their decisions and actions in-game... A definate nice touch. If any of you reading this are planning on playing in Cheese's game it looks like you are in for one heck of a fun ride. I could say so much more, but I don't want to give away any of his plot points. Put simply, I would be happy to play in this game.

TFTD: Service demands sacrifice. What will you give?

Thank you for the effort. If you have any hints on stat balancing characters, that would be useful as well.

- Know criminal factions?

- Favored sport

- Know heretical factions? Know troubles in the past?(where there ever Inquisitorial action taken on 237?)

- Local belief (any local rumors or belief atypical to the Imperial creed?)

- Favored Imperial creed. (are they fanatical zealots in general, are they preaching the more violent repentant, self flagellation or are they a more "relaxed" society?)

other toughs if you want to develop the world more.

AppliedCheese said:

When my group started all we had was Dark Heresy and some of the related books to work with so when people generated their characters I added an extra GM step in character review. I calculated the average dice rolls for each character's stats and then compared the results. In our case it ended up to be somewhere between 13 and 14. If a player rolled noticeably lower on average then I gave them the option to re-roll. I also allowed re-rolls of the entire thing if they got "boring" rolls... "Wow, nothing but 9, 10 and 11 on nine rolls?" Ever since Rogue Trader came out I have also made the points-buy method available to players who are generating new characters. They get the option of 9 sets of 2D10 rolls with one re-roll arranged as they see fit or a 110 point-buy (min 4, max 20) but I make the player pick which option they are using before the dice start rolling.

One of my players at one point ate about 900 faeries and now has the magical ability to average 18.9 on 2D10 rolls so long as no one is looking at the rolls. If you have one of these too then I recommend the points-buy. And no, you can't "Emperor's Fury" on a stat roll!

Interesting. I was talking more on NPCs, but that is useful as well. As it happens, our traditional GM had some RL health issues, so last night I was shoe horned in to kick starting the adventure. Between character gen, and getting through the first two bullet points on the plot summary (of session 1) they have not had to really face opposed checks or shooty enemies, so at most I've had to quick gen a single stat here or there for minor NPCs (Though of course, being an adept of the 4th class in the customs house is, of course, infinitely towering above the common proles, such as those adepts of the 5th class...)

It looks like my group is pretty well balanced:

A hiver scum - The 80's guy, complete with briefcase and wink-thumbs-up-point. The only one of the team with a BS of 30+

A minor decadent noble son (not the inheritor) who was fopped off on the local arbites of his home world to keep him occupied while the rest of the family tended to making money. I let this one in as the party wanted to attempt to pose as a new noble trade interest and jaded relic collector. Decent combat skills, but nothing spectacular.

An Assassin. Feral and choppy. And mostly quiet.

An adept, not too terribly personal, but quite handy with an auto-quill, a ledger, and the local bureaucracy.

So, a big one is they didn't bring any pyskers. I'm guessing the mission brief and planet scared them off. As much as I was looking forward to unleashing nine barrels of hell for disturbing the locals, it really fits with my idea of a new group anyhow. I always felt that "independent" pyskers were a valuable enough commodity that Inquisitors wouldn't just send them with every mission.

The other kicker is that they are, for the most part, substantially more melee based than shooty.

Given this, I need a bit of help toning encounters to play to their strengths yet still be challenging.

AppliedCheese said:

Since they are new characters (as well as new players) it is generally a good idea to have their first few fight scenes against some basic trash goons. Give them a mix of crude melee and ranged weapons and make sure the mooks don't have BS50 and Autoguns. Once they get the hang of the game system then start turning things up a notch. Make tactics become more important down the line... "Looks like some serious muscle has laid in an ambush ahead with overlapping fields of fire. Good thing you spotted that lookout!"

I also use this to see which of my PLAYERS are paying attention sometimes. The fact that they are facing disorganized rabble or well coordinated enforcers with standardized wargear is in and of itself a clue that I am dropping for them.

For mooks and relatively minor minions I tend to use generic templates, perhaps modified to suit the organization they serve. For named NPCs I usually grace them with a unique stat-block. If you are pressed for time and need a few "standouts" in an otherwise identical mob then take your cookie-cutter template that the mob is using, then add an advance roll or two from the GM screen booklet to the leader types.

Since the PCs' team favours melee combat in a mostly "shooty" universe stage some of their early fights where they can make a conscious decision as to what tactics they intend on using. Get them used to thinking in terms of picking their battles and forcing their foes to fight them up close when they can arrange it. The other thing you can do is provide a helpful hint or nudge if they get stuck in the first few games.... Have the Adept test Logic, success earns the hint that dead acolytes can't report to their Inquisitor! If the baddies have a few fortified stubber nests overlooking a nice, clear killing-ground then it is probably bad to charge... But hey, if they can figure out how to sneak around behind the fighting positions and then give the gift of frag grenades then YAY TEAM!

A bit of irony that melee and shooty work on a sine curve isn't it? At the lowest levels, you smash things with axes because your primitive (granted players are past this, but universe wise). In the middle, bayonet charges get gunned down. At the end, everyone is wearing power armor, or daemonic, or so **** fast that you can't track them with bullets, and its back to melee with power swords...

I'm considering modifying their first encounter to be less shooty. I had intended there only to be so low skill autoguns involved, but if that goes wrong I may TPK them by mistake. So now the challeneg is creating a band that would willing take on a noble entourage yet isn't exceedingly professional or well armed...

Right now I'm playing with the concept of a "broken down lorry" ambush, with the weapons you can't carry in public being inside the lorry. If the flamer fails his test dramtically (and he will, regardless), the back side of the truck goes up in flames, as do the three shooters back there, now its only a handful of guys with pistols and knives.