Ill be running my first deathwatch session this Sunday, we will start with character background info and creation. Based on time i plan to run a short game that will set up the setting introduce some NPC's and get a feel for combat. Anyone have any suggestions, ideas, or tips that will make the session run better or spice things up, post it.

E=MC² said:

I just started my first DeathWatch campaign recently.. (actually, 2 - 2 different groups) and what I did was sit there with the players during character creation, went step by step with them, and made sure I had my book ready to look up something quick. I also bought the PDF version of the core book and made copies of kepy things for my players... the Armoury section, the skills, talents and traits section, the chapters, specialities and advancement pages, so no one had to wait to look at the book. But I was there with them step by step in character creation, that way you learn where stuff is, your re-reading the rules when they have questions and helping them pick if they have a hard time deciding.

Then, I started off with Final Sanction, the downloadable Mission here on the site. I started off with the simpler mission, because all of us (GM and players alike) have not played this system before. So it is a learning mission for us. I made sure that they knew that we are learning the game on the go, getting things down pat and figuring out the right way of doing things and adding house rules as we go. I also promised them that no one will die on the first mission (unless they are truely stupid) just so they can get the feel of the game.

So far, it has worked, they are all understanding when I realise I and/or we were doing something wrong in the game, (ref: damage to hordes) and made corrections. They are all being patient and helpful as well, and not going crazy on stuff.

Plus, everyone is having a FUN time and can't wait for each session.

The biggest help to me so far, is printing out all the revelent stuff I will be needing (or they will be needing to use) on a regular basis.

Hope this helps you out.

E=MC² said:

E=MC² said:

On thing I made a mistake on going from DH to DW was the change in psyker powers. If you have a simular background might want to give them a once over- Rites of Battle has a nice table on how to convert them which might help you understand. There has been a lot of Errata on things, you may want to read the living Errata if you have not. One of the big ones is Righteous Fury I would strongly suggest you do just one additional d10 rather then the original stated in the book(Devastators with HB can really become a bit overwhelming if you do not). Speaking of which something that has come up a lot on the forums are questions about ROF and how many hits you get. Remember that this is based on the ballistic skill roll's degree of success.

It sounds like you intend to make all the characters together with them, that is good though can be more time consuming then you might realize. You might just want to create some mock battles(perhaps at the watch fortress training grounds) rather then writing or running a whole module that first night. You might want to make the players aware that they are going to be part of a team, and it might not be good to have 2 assault marines and 3 devastators for example, though this could in theory work.

Last thing, Rites of Battle has introduced some very strong starting bonuses, especially when combined with successor chapter rules. You may want to take a look into those and determine if there are things you think are a little too much for what you intend. I have a few players that were initially new to the concept of 40k and seemed to choose things for there mechanical value rather then their Role Playing value, in addition to giving out addtional exp to exceptional role playing I really came down on them when a role playing mechanism came up and they did not respond. For example I had a black templar pair off with the librarian and they watched the northern flank(a good time for a Black Templar lecture/digging remark twords the librarian). Since he failed to pick up on that, besides loosing any chance at role playing exp, he missed his chance to notice something the librarian failed a roll on(since he must have been trying hard to ignore the librarian and looking the other way.) That is just an example of how I run things with that sort of thing, I do not know your overall GM experiance so not sure how much help you are looking for, but I hope I did help you.

After character creation, you may want to them straight away into the final scene of a mission. By going in media res, you have the ability to get directly to the mechanics you want to shake down. After this, they can do whatever the group feels is best between missions, and the next mission they can take on from beginning to end with a bit more confidence in how the rules work.

The first Death Watch game I ran was Final Sanction. It is actually a very long Death Watch mission that may take more than one game session to complete. Running a pre-constructed mission will remove a lot of the guesswork for you. (I think canned missions are better since some GMs become too "invested" in their own missions/campaigns and get overly frustrated when players diverge from what they intended to happen.) So, tips would be:

-Meet up after lunch (or go for an early lunch together but make it a point to be back by "(time)" to get started.

-In character creation, if there's is a history that a player prefers of the 5 listed, let him take it. While rolling for them is neat, I think its better for the players to have histories they think are "cool" and help them appreciate their characters more. The backgrounds don't give any statistics modifiers.

-If you forget where you hit one of the players(your hand hits the dice or whatnot), default it to the Body section. Unless you have an Apocethary your players have no way to shake damage but to spend fate points. Its better to default it to the body and have them take reduced damage than to spite them and put it on their head/arms/legs and kill one of your players by accident.

-If things are going rough and you're beating your players senseless with the encounters, award a fate point for a heroic/epic battle. In Final Sanction any of their fights could be "turning points" for the battle of Lordsholmea good enough reason to award a fate point.

-If you do play Final Sanction, change Genestealer Melee attacks from 2d10 to 1d10, give them Rending Claws (halves the armor of the target if they succeed by 2 degrees of success or more), and give them swift attack. Likely, your genestealers will get a Charge action on their first round, and that 2d10+(static damage) attack is a Marine killer.

-Remember that players(and adversaries) only get 1 attack on a charge.

-Place obstacles on the battle map or denote areas of cover. The "cover" table in the core book lists most cover one would find in a city as 8 bonus armor. If this is too much, make it 4. Remember that cover loses 1 point of armor each time it takes a hit. Cover is important against hordes as they can literally do enough damage to kill a marine in a single hit if you roll well enough.

-Space Marines are bad ass(encourage the players and remind them of this! Its way fun!) , when they destroy the enemies on the table with seeming effortlessness, praise them and remember that they have 19 more fights to go. You'll get your chance. Oh. You'll get your chance...

-Describe the Deathblows of your more elite adversaries. Brother-Librarian Saul rolls an attack with his Force Sword. Dice: 14. "Opposed Willpower check." GM nods and rolls the Opposed Willpower check for the Brood Lord of Lordsholm. Brood Lord's WP is 70. Dice come up 79. GM rolls dodge test which also fails. "He fails and is unable to dodge." Brother-Librarian Saul rolls a 20, giving him 4 degrees of success, granting him 5d10 additional damage. Damage Dice: (some ridiculous figure that brings the badly wounded Brood Lord to negative hit points). "Around you as your Battle Brothers strike down the last of the Genestealers, you steel your resolve and drive your Force Sword into the carapace of the mighty Brood Lord. It hisses and raises a Rending Claw, malice burning in its eyes before your Psker power pulses down the blade causing the Brood Lord to convulse and its chest to rupture around your blade. It collapses to the ground a seething mass of melting flesh and bone.." As an example. When they've accomplished a victory, Role playing it up a bit is important.

-Most importantly, have fun with it. You may not play one of the Kill-Team, but you get to play everyone else, and you get to roll tons of dice and do lots of damage.

Alright, this is long enough. I think the last tip was probably the best.

The first thing i ran was a module of Extraction that i spiced up a bit. ne of the first thing I notied, allowing everyone to pick thier own oaths and everything was that they picked them out, but then there was a ton of adds to ballistic skill that nobody knew. Between the oath, the horde size modifier, the weapon bonuses that everyone had, everyone got confused. I'd suggest if there is universal rules, make sure that everyone knows what they have to use.

After this, I since everyone didn't know he rules when it came to hordes, I thought to be epic that we'd calculate the damage for everyone to feel awesome.

Yeah. dont' do that. it took forever in the calculations. By turn two, the group had done like 2000 damage, and we were like an hour behind. We started cuing up people's turns, where two people were doing their attacks at a time. It did help move things along, I found.

That was alot of feedback in a short time, thanks. All 5 of my players are familear with the 40K world so hopefully i get some great background stories. I think player created settings make the job of the GM way easier. In reguards to what i have planed for the session im going to get everyone to the jerico reach watch fortress through a brief description then, initiation stuff, NPC's and player interaction here, then a test where they will initaly be split up. Players will have to fight there way to a central location, mabey a trap or puzzle in between, then hold off for X amount of time. After wards they are finaly initiated. end session. I hope this will give a good introduction to single and squad combat. One problem i see, is idk what class my players are. Anyone got any class related challenges, also let me know if anything seems weak.

I find that it can be relatively simplistic when it comes down to it. Devistators are awesome against hordes, but don't do well in single combat. Assault marines are at a disadvantage against hordes, but are good in single combat groups. In my first mission, I had an NPC Marine die immediately, so the apothecary had to recover gene seeds in combat (they were surrounded). Least that's what i find anyway. Balance it out and it should be good

But don't be suprised when everything you throw at them DIES easily. And don't be suprised how easy it can be to kill everyone in the group. You gotta be careful, at least in your fist one, till you get a grip on it.

E=MC² said:

Devastators are surprised when engaged in melee(specailly when wielding a HB and can not fire it while getting pounded on). One way I have used to close the distance on my player's devastator was use stormboyz(orks with jump packs).

Librarian against a null can be something interesting for them to encounter.

Assault Marines can get too comfortable with thier increased speed, and ability to do death from above. Called shots to the jump pack and forceing them to ground can put them in an unfamiliar ground.

Apothecarys are good at dealing with trauma of corse, but as a former combat medic I can attest that the worse injuries are those that you can not see; Impact damage that did internal damage, but caused no visable wound. -30 medica test to diagnose. -20 to treat.

Other things I have done to add unexpected elements- Xenos in Cameloline/Tau Tech , Psykers/Sorcerors(PR 4+ for rank 1), Attacks from subterranian xenos/daemons, primative and high tech traps. To name a few.

One thing I always make sure to add to any planet I send them is at least one extreme trait. For example the world they are on now has very strong gravity 1.5x that of terra and strong electro magnetic storms. I do not use pre-gen adventures/ I go with an idea of more remote feral/death-world for my kill teams adventures.

Hope this was helpfull.

I ran this adventure as a prerlude to Final Sanction. It gives you a chance to try out the combat rules and helps set the scene for anyone who doesn't know much about the Deathwatch and the Jericho Reach.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=214&efcid=3&efidt=441728

If you want a short first mission, Final Sanction probably isn't your best bet. For a one-night mission, I would recommend a basic "bug hunt"- sweeping xenos from a building/space staiton/ship. You can scale the number of xenos to the amount of time you have, and have the party encounter them both individually and in varying sizes of Hordes, so both you and the players can get a sense of the party's power level and what constitutes a legitimate threat verse a minor speedbump...

I love the feed back. The session went well we never actually got a chance to play; for various reasons, character creation took a long time. The classes and chapters are as follows.

Devastator: Dark angles

Tecmarine: Dark Angles

Tactical Marine: Space Wolf

Librarian: ?? he was texting us his information

Assault Marine: Black Templar

You think my group could have any more player / player interaction< sarcasm. If anyone has any ideas to make this fun let me know.

For short missions, you could also run Extraction from the Core book. I found that it could be run in one or two sessions. One now that the player's have characters.

The hardest thing I found about the first couple sessions, was that most players don't seem ready to actually take charge in a sandbox environment. This no doubt varies from player to player, of course, but be ready to put in a little extra work figuring out mission details, and be prepared to add in extra player-prompting as necessary.

probably the best advice i can give you for a first mission is to memorize the horde rules. even if you get a reasonable understanding of the main rules for combat, half of them are thrown out the window when facing hordes (both attack and defense). while i like the mechanic, its so fundamentally different from one on one combat that it needs more attention than you'd think at first glance.

E=MC² said:

The BT Assualt marine is going to be a powerful combo if you put anything daemonic in your campaign. DA Devastator is a good combo too, I have one in my campaign. Space Wolf tactical is a great choice I think, there has been some erata for this chapter if you have not read it. Librarians are fun, just a heads up the description of psyniscience is not finished in the core book, you will need to look at the errata for range(If I remeber it is 1d10xwp in meters range for the hieghtned senses). Ya character creation is very time consuming, but it is worth it to do it all together with the GM, you can discover questions and issues and address them befor actual play.

Hello everyone, I am new to this forums and to Deathwatch and what I have read in this post has helped me in getting some persepective of what to do during my first game with my players tomorrow.

Last week we all sat down and drew up the characters and I was actually shocked to have just about every class filled by someone. My players will consist of the following:

Apothecary : Storm Warden

Devastator: Dark Angel

Librian: Dark Angel

Assault: Blood Angel

Tactical: Ultramarine

I already gave them their "homework" assignment of getting backgrounds for the coming game before I thrust them into the Reach. Most of the players (well minus 1 really) do not have a giant knowledge of the 40k universe but I did give them some reading material to better understand a little bit of what is going on or at least the ideas of their home chapter. The great part of this group is since they are all experienced Role Players from other games I think they will fit quite well into this. If there is any other advice you can give to an Old GM with this new toy (so to speak) then I would be welcome to it. Thanks again!

I take it that the guy who knows the background isn't playing the Storm Warden!

I've yet to see anyone who is very into the 40k universe elect to play one. Which one is the experienced player? I take it that the UM is going to be the team-lead?

I'd be tempted to toss them links to the 40k wikis and lend them an appropriate Space Marine novel each about their chosen Chapter, if they are unfamiliar with things.

I always run a small prelude for my players to get them "into position" for the first adventure (somebody else mentioned this above). Its nice to give the players a bit of information as to why/how they ended up in the Deathwatch. Here is how I broke my group up and what it covered:

Kill Team:

• Dark Angel Librarian
• Salamanders Devastator
• Iron Hands Techmarine
• Lamenters Tactical Marine
• Space Wolf Assault Marine

I broke this up into three preludes. The Lamenter and Space Wolf were both already in the Jericho Reach with their respective chapter. Each of them got a small solo prelude. The other three were collected from their home planet and then arrived via the Warp Gate. Once arriving at Erioch each of them were shown to their quarters. Then I took each player one-by-one and had them meet their Watch Captain. He led each of them to the Omega Vault where they swore their Oath of Vigil. Then each player was given a more in depth description of Erioch, along with details of the sanctum of their chapter.

Here is an example of what I used for the Dark Angel. This is missing the part about actually arriving at Erioch as that was mostly out of the book and was more free-form. Also, I've re-used some of the descriptions of Erioch out of the Core Rulebook.

Pre-Erioch: "Ancient electro-candles offer dim illumination to your study, your gene-enhanced eyesight making up for their failings. The corners of the stone chamber are cloaked in shadows, as much of The Rock is. Surrounded by vast bookcases of thick, dusty tomes; you sit at a large oaken desk methodically documenting the latest engagements of your Chapter. It has been weeks since you last spoke with any of your brethren, not an uncommon occurrence.

The silence is broken by a creaking from your chamber door. Instinctively you reach for the hilt of your force sword that sits leaning against the desk. A lone cherub glides into the room upon the soft beat of false mechanical wings. The child-like creature offers a thin scroll case as it lands on the corner of your desk. Looking down you notice that it bears the wax seal of the Inner Circle. The cherub departs as you remove the parchment sheets and begin to read.

"Calibos, the Deathwatch has made its calling and we are oath-bound to answer. Several days from now one of their ships will arrive and bear you away to join their ranks. We have chosen you for several reasons. First and foremost you have proven yourself against the xenos threat time and time again. More importantly however, you are privy to some of our most guarded secrets. We are told you will be called to the Jericho Reach for your term of service. Enclosed you will find documentation of the last known engagement our Chapter had there. We suspect you will find it most interesting. Be vigilant brother."

Looking over the additional documentation you find information pertaining to the capture of a Fallen known as Israfil. It appears he was able to somehow enter the ranks of the Deathwatch many decades ago within the Jericho Reach and even rose to hold the rank of Commander within. During an engagement against a vile race known as the Mire he was secretly captured by forces of the Dark Angels and brought back to the Rock where he refused to repent for his sins. His heretical claims were such that his service within the Deathwatch was atonement for his past.

Two days later a lone Thunderhawk carries you from your fortress monastery to the rapid-strike vessel Raptoria, under command by Ships Captain Victus of the Deathwatch.

Post-Erioch: Time passes slowly within the barren cell, but eventually the door of your cell opens and a chapter serf appears. "Brother, I am Octus, servant of the Deathwatch. Please follow me. Octus leads you away from the cell-chambers and deeper into the fortress. After fifteen minutes of walking you enter a briefing room. Large plasteel chairs surround a square hololith unit. Maps, charts, and banners hang from the walls. Standing in the center of the room is a figure that can be non other than a Watch Captain.

Standing normal height for an Astartes, his armour is impressively ornate and bears many campaign badges. The electro-candles of the room reflect on the silver of his left shoulder pad, a stark difference from the dark blue of his right. Purity seals and scripture adorn his chapter-pad, all surrounding the bright red of the Crimson Fists symbol. His helmet is removed and hangs from his belt. His features are chiseled like most Astartes, with dark olive skin and a black goatee; two golden service studs are implanted into his temple.

"Brother Calibos I am Watch Captain Hektor. The Emperor has seen fit to give you purpose within the hallowed ranks of the Deathwatch. You have earned this due to your unique abilities as a Librarian and your experience against the Eldar. By this time tomorrow you will wear the black and silver, beginning your term of service against the foul Xenos. All Astartes within our ranks will be to you as your own gene-seed, each is your battle-brother and comrade in battle. With formalities out of the way, let us proceed to the Omega Vault. It is here that you will make your oaths to our Chapter. Once this is complete, you will be one of us."

Hektor leads you from the room and on a twisting path downward. As you press on the lighting gets gradually darker, with merely a single electro-candle or glow-globe illuminating the passageways towards the end. The Omega Vault is a sealed series of ancient engines, catacombs, and chambers that sits at the heart of Watch Fortress Erioch. The vault itself is a broadly cylindrical portion of the Watch Fortress that spans many levels running through its core. There is only one entrance into the Omega Vault; a single door forty paces high. The door is sealed and armoured by layered void shields and adamantine plating as thick as a warship’s prow. Graven upon it are the symbols of the Deathwatch and the elder Terran rune ‘Omega,’ surrounding an image of the Emperor strangling a coiling serpent. Above these great doors are words in High Gothic that read, “And the last fortress is truth.”

It is before this door that you swear your Apocryphan Oath, binding you to secrecy, forbidding you from disclosing anything of what you see or experience while serving. The final sentences of this oath that are burned into your memory; "You will watch in the dark places where evil slumbers. You will hold back the night. You will bring justice and war to the malevolent Xenos. You will annihilate the alien and bring unto them the judgement of Mankind. You stand as the bulwark upon which the Imperium persists."

After you complete repainting your armor you are lead away from the Omega Vault and shown around the Watch Fortress itself. Beneath war-tattered banners of glories past, the battle-brothers of the Deathwatch in residence move between cells, practice ranges, armouries and briefing theatres like spectres in a dead city, their numbers swallowed by the vast and labyrinthine nature of the fortress. The Fortress contains vast command cathedrals, numerous servitors and hooded, mind-wiped serfs that keep the Fortress alive and functioning, cloisters of Navigators and Astropaths permanently sworn to service.

There are huge ranges housed in vast chambers where live-fire exercises and marksmanship drills can be performed in environments ranging from tangled ruins to liquid-filled tunnels or the chill of hard vacuum. Alongside these are hundreds of smaller melee and exercise chambers where new skills with blade, fist, and body can be passed from battle-brother to battle-brother. Numerous clusters of armoured fighting cages exist where battle-brothers can test their skill of arms against each other. There are also libraries filled with tactical treatises, past mission logs and spiritual texts for the edification of a battle-brother’s mental faculties.

In addition to these places that hone a warrior’s body and mind, there are sanctuaries in which Space Marines can armour their soul. These scattered sanctums are often centred on the tombs of fallen battle-brothers and are reached by a long and tangled journey into the Fortresses’ deeps. The sanctum of the Dark Angels is located deep within the fortress in a section barely visible under the dim glow of few electro-candles. Deep alcoves are carved into the walls of these catacombs, most bearing an ornate stone sarcophagus. A stone altar marks the center of the sanctum itself, upon which a large tome rests. Bound in heavy leather, it contains the names of Battle Brothers who have served over the millenia at this Watch Fortress.

Your next two weeks are consumed with rigorous training and hypno-indoctrination. At the end of this time Watch Captain Hektor brings you before Watch Commander Mordigael, Master of the Vigil. A Blood Angel by origin, Mordigael is a paragon of the qualities and traditions of his Chapter. His features are sharp and handsome, as if cut from a pale stone statue of an Imperial Saint, while his eyes burn with almost feverish intensity. "Brother Librarian Calibos, son of the Lion. Brother Hektor has relayed to me that you are ready to take your place within a kill team; I concur with his assessment. Welcome to the long Watch, let your weapons bring light to this darkened corner of the galaxy."

Siranui said:

Yup, the person who knows the least about the universe is playing the Storm Warden. The one who does is playing the Dark Angel Librarian. The Ultramarine is the one who started their stats to be geared more towards being the kill-team leader which worked out well today during their initiation into the Deathwatch.

I have given them the links to the wikis and they all did their "homework" of reading up on their home chapters before we started the session. The only one that was still a little in the dark was the Storm Warden (imagine that, right?) but during the session he got more of the hang of it and is doing well now.