The person who would play a D.W. is really into he roleplaying and not a power play when it comes to combat. If fact he is more of the guy that would help everybody else. Thats why i thought it would be a good idea for him to play a stronger charactor ... he seem to be a little disaponted that everybody else is doing something cool and he is just laying down suport fire.

I know he wouldnt take advantage of the considerable power a D.W. gets, so i am leaning towords letting him play one. I have talked about it to the rest of the group and they are ok with it so.

The storyline is going to be that they are sent to take down a high priority "noble" of a planet that is thought to be going roge. They have assined the squad a DW to make sure they get the job done. They will realize that the noble is a Heretic and needs to be killed. The thing is this is suposed to be a secret opperation so the DW play will have some down sides in fitting in to the crowed.

What do you guys think

Well, If you are going after one guy, a DW marine might be a bit much, unless the noble has control of the entire PDF and has them all guarding his base, AND has multiple warp entities/demons wandering his parapets in full view. That might be a job for a squad of DW. In your idea, and how it is infiltration, it would probably be best to have the marine in some kind of support vehicle out of view. A gunship or something, then have him fly over the targets and go to town while the Acolytes slip in through the chaos. Then maybe have the marine's vehicle damaged, crash, and he holds off a score of foes with various heavy weapons the Acolytes usually wont see. Then when his ammo depletes, he can break out his melee kit and goes to town even further. That would be pretty fun, and be a lot more than laying down supporting fire. You could even have a party Guardsman join with him? .

Don't forget dude, this is just our comments. You are the big cheese when it comes to your game. If you want to let your player run a Marine, good stuff and all the best. If that is going to make the most people happy, then that is for the best.

Karl Marx said:

For a Deathwatch marine to be sent on this mission, there would need to be some kind of xeno involvement. Maybe give the Noble a powerful xeno bodyguard/entourage...

Adeptus-B said:

Ya I was think they will be involved ... but they wont know that ... i want to leave them in the "dark" about what is really going on.

Stats for Kroot mercs are in several Rogue Trader sourcebooks, if you think that might be a way to go with the idea. Perhaps the noble has come to believe in the "greater good." Call the hive Sandford, or the noble family.

"Here come the 'Fuzz.'"

-=Brother Praetus=-

Polaria said:

I'd say that depends on what defines a DH character. There are a lot of paths and options in DH, and if your campaign allows for a combat focused character to actually have fun then this doesn't make them a bad character. If DH was totally predefined and combat focues characters couldn't succeed then why would they even include power armor as an option for characters?

Polaria said:

True enough, most of their skills and talents are combat focused, but so are many guardsman and a number of scum. DW Marines aslo start with a number of lores, can drive vehicles, track, navigate, and have a firm understanding of tactics. Intimidate and interrogate can be purchased as can search and the like. Certain DH character's also don't to the undercover thing very well- your storm trooper, hierophant, magos. They all have similar problems and have to be given solid cover stories. And for those characters that have gone combat support, chances are things like fellowship will be a dump stat, but the DW Marine will start with a reasonably good characteristic and actually be able to bluff his way through things better than say the guardsman.

Polaria said:

It's true that the DW Marines get some cool abilities from being synchronized with a squad, but I wouldn't consider that crippling. They have plenty of talents, abilities, and equipment to still put up a considerable fight. They'd also still get their solo mode abilities, some of which are ridiculous indeed.

Polaria said:

I'm not sure where you get this- you can't say they're the best at killing and outclassed by DH characers at the same time. I probably don't know the DH books and all the expansions as well as you so you probably know of an ability/talent/weapon that I don't, but given my knowledge I don't know of any cluster of items that could allow an out of the box character to swiss cheese a marine. If this were the case, I don't think you'd see nearly as many posts on the DW forum regarding how ascended characters get turned into pulp in a DW campaign and how can they fix it- if you've got a build that can do this, perhaps you should let those players know, they'd love to be able to toss their wives/gfs/folks that don't like the idea of playing men a bone...so to speak.

Polaria said:

This I think is where I agree with you for the most part. When mixing any of the three games together, the GM is going to have to put in some extra work to make sure that the game is balanced, and each character gets their chance to shine. It's no doubt extra work for the GM to mix and match here, and can cause all kinds of unintended consequences. You also need players that are mature enough to deal with the differences, and not focus on stats and power gaming. But then again, that to me makes for a better campaign anyhow.

Though to say the SM isn't useful, and that haing a 2.3m tall heavy guy who can wear a hat and coat to cover up that carapace (and the fact that it's described as a film that is hard and under the skin with some ports on it), it's all about how the adventures are structured, and the personality and motivation of the SM, and how the rest of the team is built.

Karl Marx said:

So I think there are a number of motives to get a DW character involved. To stick with the fluff, if you're looking for the DW marine to be 'assigned' to the inquisitor or group then there would likely need to be a known Xenos threat, meaning at least the DW marine would know about it. Otherwise, why would they call in the DW, and not a favor to another chapter, the sororitas, or the grey knights?

For motives outside of xenos threats though, some sort of relationship with the inquisitor or man in charge and the DW marine could be a good starting block. Perhaps the marine owes the inquisitor a debt of honor. Perhaps one of the suspected enemies of the campaign is an old enemy that they both encountered, preferably together- maybe before they were inquisitor and DW marine, and the character is looking for a way to get involved to settle old scores. As the DW works outside of but along side the Inquisiton, perhaps the DW wants the marine to investigate the investigators- to gather information on something that the cadre is up to or dealing with, and the fastest way to get that info is to have him go on missions with them (the Empire is a giant bureaucracy, maybe the information request is taking it's sweet time due to some form of future red tape). Maybe the inquisitor has asked for him as a bodyguard (not a task the DW takes under most circumstances, it needs to be special, but then again these are PCs). Maybe if they know of the guy they're after, the marine is sent in as firepower suport (harder stretch if the group has some heavy hitters like an assassin).

I think to keep them working together will be the harder trick- the main enemy would need to kind of keep things tied together for them, present a common and immediate threat in order to keep the DW engaged with the team and away from his battle brothers. Too much slow time and not enough danger and the marined would be inclined, or expected to be inclined, to say 'call me when something is happening that I can help with'

Dont forget that it also provides the alternative to make up marines which aren't necessarily part of Deathwatch, that does open up a lot more reasons than just pounding Xenos (dont get me wrong, I love crushing weeboos and space elves!) they aren't as good in some ways, so it might be better to wait and see what comes along in the way of expansions in the product line to see if theres a few alternate careers to customise them a bit.