I guess my question would also be what happens when 90% of the PCs and NPCs all have Unnatural Toughness rather than just a few of them? Felling is meaningless to a schmuck, right, but what happens if you're fighting tougher opponened?

As for the sister joining, sounds like a very clean/easy house rule to me!

well, ultimately the swing on average damage isn't all that much, just 1 point more with felling (assuming a toughness of 4).

Figure the average on 1D10 is a 5.5, but with the possibility of RF we'll up this to a 6, also makes the math easier.

By the book, Space Marine bolter does 2D10+5. Tearing, on average will raise the average damage roll by 2 points (using the averages rules from l5R with has a XkY mechanic with D10s and is very applicable here, as w/ tearing a bolter does 3k2+5 pen 5 damage). This averages out to 12 from the dice + 5 + 2 or 19 damage. -8 for Unnatural Toughness w/ Toughness mod of 4 and you have 11 damage going through (reduced by armor as normal, w/ pen 5 on the round)

w/ the felling mod I posted above you'd have 1D10+8+2 or 10+6(the 1d10) or 16 points of damage going through. Minus 4 for the toughness bonus, and 12 points are getting through (reduced by armor w/ pen 5 on the round) on average.

Now, with toughness bonus of 5 the "through" damage changes to 9 and 11 respectively, and will continue to increase as the toughness bonus goes up. This, however, is balanced by the fact that while on average the felling bolt round does a bit more damage, it's burst damage (the actual breadth of the damage bell curve) isn't as broadly defined and there is less variance on the damage. Which, ultimately, makes threat assessment a bit easier.

You are right, having to keep in track that the standard weapon had felling and keeping track of toughness bonuses could be hard, but it isn't that hard. And in return you have less RF craziness (3D10 has a higher chance of hitting a 10 than 2d10).

Again, not sure it would be for everyone, but it keeps the averages similar and the curve more predictable, so some might like it. I can't say how it would work in an actual DW game, as well, I'm not using it in mine.

P.S. This can also make "civilian" bolters a threat with their stat from DH, as you just add Felling to the gun (not the extra damage which is from the higher caliber) and end up with 1D10+5+2 or 13 damage on average, reduced to 9 damage normally (before armor) as opposed to it being reduced to 5 damage (before armor) with Unnat Toughness.

Heavy Bolters I believe were left at 2D10 either way, but not 100% sure right now.

You can't look at the difference between TT and RPG versions. One is made to be fairly even between "armies" so that there is a chance for a given army to beat another. However, the RPG is NOT balanced that way or else why make up the Hordes rules at all? In the TT a Guardsman has a fair chance to beat a Space Marine in CC whereas in the RPG the single Guardsman would be a puddle of innards and blood inside a second.

I think the reason for the difference is to show that as per the fluff and stories about Space Marines is that they are a few steps above and beyond the normal human average in terms of skill, strength, weapons, armor, tactics, willpower, etc. Even when compared to the awesome abilities of the Sisters of Battle the average Space Marine, in the fluff and stories, would outclass them.

Just look at the difference between the two play styles in the RPG. In DH you take on a few scrubs for the most part and at the end you fight a big baddie (while most of the game is taken up by intrigue, investigations, dialogue, etc) whilest in DW you are commonly fighting that "big baddie" but about 500 of them at a time while one of the "big baddies" is a Daemon Prince or worse.

muzzyman1981 said:

It's absolutely true that the TT game doesn't, and shouldn't, translate straight across into the RPG. But I maintain that the TT game is the only objective source of relative scale . Which is more powerful, a laspistol or a boltpistol? The characters in the Black Library novels perform heroic feats with both weapons, so that isn't really a viable yardstick. Only the TT game provides an objective measure of the strength of the two weapons relative to each other.

muzzyman1981 said:

-And the increased level of detail in the RPG can justify a slight difference in power level between two "Strength 4" weapons- but an Astartes boltpistol being drastically more powerful than an Imperial Guard heavy bolter?! That's preposterous...

muzzyman1981 said:

So why isn't every single Space Marine armed with a power weapon? -Or tactical nukes, for that matter? The truth is that even the most elite troops are still subject to factors like manufacturing limits and basic economic factors.