I'm due to start GM'ing a new Deathwatch game soon and, tomorrow night, I'm getting the players round for a character creation evening. However, while reading through the specialities, what they skills/talents they start with and their first Deathwatch advances that they can buy, I have to admit I've become a little confused.

For example, the Techmarine speciality states that they start with Speak Language (Techna-Lingua) , yet the rank 1 Deathwatch advances list the same skills as an advance that can be bought for 200xp. As I read the rules the speak language skill, in it's basic format, would allow the Techmarine to use this skill in an opposed test with no penalty against his intelligence. There is a +10 skill that they can gain in the Rank 2 advances, but is there any reason that a Techmarine, who already gets this skill as a trained advanced skill by default, should choose to pay 200xp to, as I see it, effectively learn the same skill twice?

There are similar confusions for me with regards to the Apothecary and the Medicae skill.

Any light that you kind folks could spread on this matter would be greatly appreciated

All the skills a character gets for free in the 40k rpgs are included in the rank 1 advancements section. I suppose this is for completeness but it can be confusing for new players as it seems to serve no purpose.

A lot of supplements in the other game lines have included 'alternate ranks' for careers - for example there might be a bionics specialist techmarine alternate rank released for Iron hands marines that replaces the starting skills and rank 1 career in Deathwatch with new stuff. the character is still a techmarine so is entitled to buy advances off the rank 1 techmarine list as elites at increased cost - hence they list them all.

The tech-priest cannot buy the training in speak language (techna-lingua) as he already has it for free. In tests he rolls against his full int value as it is trained.

You will notice a similar pattern if you check the general rank 1 advances which includes the 18 or so skills a marine gets for free (but leaves out tactics, scholastic lore(codex astartes) and tracking for some reason).

Basically if you already have a skill trained then you can't buy it unless you have the 'skill +10' option available for purchase.

Hope this helps. I think I confused myself a bit.

Cool, I figured that was the case, but didn't want one of my players to miss out on a skill, or a bonus to that skill, just because I was too pig-headed to ask for help on it.

The reason these "basic" skills were put in the General Space Marine Rank 1 list was stated that not every specialty has access to them, and more specifically in the book that has new specialties. This gives the option or some such that you will be able to make a 13,000xp character using the General/Deathwatch/Chapter/Specialty lists as the lists you use to buy the advances for a custom made character.

Or you could read the box in the book that explains why skills are repeated.

ItsUncertainWho said:

The one that mentions General Space Marine Advances, not Deathwatch advances?

As I saw it, neither of the skills I mentioned would have been covered by that box

It was a simple enough question that had already been answered, not sure why you felt the need for your RTFM post