Hey all. Long time Rogue Trader GM here, decided I wanted to give Dark Heresy a try.

So what would you consider to be the "must have" books for Dark Heresy. Core rulebook, obviously, but what beyond that?

And where is the best place to start in the modules? I know many of them are meant to be played sequentially, so where is the best place to start, and which ones are the most fun?

Well, past the core book...

You have the Inquisitor's handbook for gear, and a large bulk of replacement ranks. Many would consider it "essential."

You have the Disciples of the Dark Gods/Creatures Anathema that provide enemies, great for a GM.

In the case of modules, DotDG contains a personal favorite, The House of Dust and Ash, that my party particularly "enjoyed".

Some of the free modules on this site are also good for lower level games.

Many of the others are more themed, Radicals/Blood of Martyrs/Daemon Hunter, and depends more on the type of campaign you're looking to get into.

In general though, I have enjoyed using bits from all the books, but your milleage may vary, etc.

To me, the best books are The Inquisitor's Handbook and Deamon Hunter.

Also, nearly forgot... If you're playing a high level campaign (anything past rank 8), then Ascension is pretty much mandatory.

Desciples of the Dark Gods is my favorite book after the Core Rulebook- tons of insperation for cool scenarios and adversaries in that one. I'm in the minority, but I think the Inquisitor's Handbook is over-rated. The best official module- by nearly unanimous opinion here on the Forums- is Edge of Darkness , available as a free download. Creatures Anathema doesn't have much geared toward lower level characters, so that one isn't a must at first.

riplikash said:

Disciples of the Dark Gods and Inquisitors Handbook are a must have in my opinion followed by The Radical's Handbook if you like the theme. DotDG is great because you have great background of heretical organizations of about all shades, besides stats for a few fitting critters and some more equipment and psychic powers. IH is great because you have loads of less generic weaponry as well as interesting background, homeworld and alternative career options.

riplikash said:

Check out Edge of Darkness. It is free, it is fitting for beginners (players and characters) and it is great fun.

Disciples of the Dark Gods.

Very original, lots of imaginative foes and cults, and very well-written, even mysterious and spooky sometimes.