Sorry if my search-fu sucks and this has been discussed before; if so, just drop me a link please

I'm intending to surprise my Dark Heresy/Ascension players here in the next gaming session or two by providing their impetuous leader the means to get them all in some seriously deep crap, and unfortunately for them, I've got a number of different scenarios tailored to the weaknesses in his gameplay style to make this a nigh certainty, though I'm trying to time it to right before the session ends so that when we come back everyone will be thinking 'How the hell will we dig ourselves out of this?" when instead I'll present them with the Space Wolf characters I had them roll up some time ago.

The story isn't too relevant for this post, but suffice it to say that the SW have kept tabs on these folks and have elected to send in some troops to dig them out of the problem, so that way I get to tell them 'Hey, don't screw this up, if you all die now, you kill your normal toons too!"

The question: any recommended ways to adequately/properly simulate a full squad of Space Wolves? Ie. I would figure that because they're all same-chapter and not whored out to the Deathwatch, that in terms of Deathwatch mechanics they'd receive a bonus to squad cohesion... not really sure how much as I haven't run a deathwatch game so not sure of a nontrivial-yet-nongamebreaking amount. Figured I'd ask the folks regularly running Deathwatch games what they figured on, as I'm sure a few of you have spent some time thinking about this.

If all turns out well, I plan on reusing a slightly different form of this idea in the not-so-distant future to provide brief breaks from 'all that talking crap' to my more hack-n-slash inclined players.

There are a few things to consider. If you're starting them out as DW characters, they won't be new SMs. At the least, they'll have gone through the Blood Claw, Grey Hunter, and Long Fang positions. Since SW units don't receive reinforcements, that means that the group will have served together for a long time. Because of that, I think you're perfectly justified in giving a Cohesion boost.

The other thing to consider is that since all of the characters are SWs, they all will be able to benefit from Squad Chapter Abilities. That alone is a huge boost since it can save on Cohesion expenditure and those Abilities will provide a much bigger bonus, affecting everyone instead of just a few members.

As for what else you can do to simulate a group of SMs that have experience? That depends on how much you care about ignoring the DW Squad rules in your attempt to model an experienced unit that has fought together many times. Another non-rule that you could look at is giving a slight bonus to any rolls that could result in a loss of Cohesion, such as the Hive Tyrant's "The Horror" ability.

I guess it mainly comes down to how firm you think the DW Squad rules should be and how tough you want to make this group.

Brand said:

I don't plan on making them super tough as these folks are going to be playing bloodclaws for their segment... with the idea being that they're going to be the distraction from the main force which is going to end up getting pinched up, forcing them to take the initiative and actually save the party -- all of this no doubt sounds like overkill that no chapter would do, except there are some valid storyline points revolving around this that makes the party's ability to complete its mission a matter of honor for the SWs.

The idea is that these SWs aren't just throw away characters, so I don't want to start them too amped up, as I'd like them to be able to play these guys again. Sorry if I'm a little vague, but I know at least one, possibly two or three of my players read the forums once in a blue moon, so I'm trying to not hit them with massive spoilers

I do appreciate the input though, you've given me a few things to consider that I hadn't before.

You're welcome. Since these aren't DW characters, being just regular SMs (as if any Space Wolf could be "regular"), you'll want to take a look at pg. 36 of the main book. At the least, the characters should probably lose the Deathwatch Hypno-conditioning and the Deathwatch Training Talent. Any other changes really come down to how you want to model the characters. For example, I know some would argue to drop the Astartes Weapon Training and just give the weapon proficiencies that young Blood Claws would have. You could either do that or just wave it off as the hypno-conditioning giving them all proficiencies. If I remember correctly, Ragnar in the SW books was able to use a Bolt Pistol without ever having held one before thanks to the hypno-conditioning, but true proficiency with the weapon only came with practice and experience.

Hehe. I love exploiting player flaws.

All being able to use the same chapter pattern is a nice big advantage. You might want to give an extra point of Cohesion per rank to represent the fact that they're a close team already, but if they're Bloodclaws, then maybe not... they're supposed to be wild and inexperienced, after all. It's not until later that they'll become a perfect team.

Loose the Deathwatch Training for sure. Other than that, I'd say that you were good.