First, I'm not just new to DH, this is my first GM (or player) experience. I've so far run two sessions, got everyone settled in, and they all seemed to like it so far, getting in to the sessions, so on. However, the thing I have noticed:

They try to loot every little autogun and shotgun. They try to upgrade their weapons to best quality mono this, blah blah blah. What's worse, I can't use power weapons and such against them, because they will just take them. I don't want an arms race. They are 3rd rank (our sessions usually last a full day of playing, about 11:30 to....around 8:30 or 9:00), and already possess a best quality mono sword, a mono knife, a mono bastard sword, and a long las. Granted I gave out the mono knife, but that's just flavor. I dont want the heretics to charge the PCs weilding swords and maces...only to smack the guardsman over and over for no damage. They will, upon returning to anywhere there is a market, attempt to sell everything, looted micro beads, shotguns, anything they encounter.

Any other general tips are also appreciated, I am still very new.

Some ideas:

* Ruthlessly enforce encumbrance and carrying capacity limits. Should they regularly carry more weight than is sensible you have every right to use modifiers to simulate fatigue and physical wear and tear.

The next ones are best used sparingly:

* Weapons lacking proper markings which are illegal to sell and no honest merchant will touch them. Make it hard for them to move their loot and even dishonest merchants will give them very low rates due to the risk involved with such weaponry.

* Cult weapons deeply engraved with chaos symbols and other such heresy. Destruction is clearly the only fitting end for such items.

* Armor made from enchanted human skin.

* Weapons made from the bones of demons.

* Crude yet effective weaponry prone to jamming and only sold for scrap at best.

The list goes on and on. Be fair, remember to reward your players but don't let them get too out of hand.

A curious perdicament I think. But one that's entirely fixable. You can either have your Inquisitor person confiscate all their goods and most of their found/gained money at the end of an adventure...or you can have the rigours of combat make the items they try to loot useless hunks of metal - see to it that the powerpack of a power weapon is shattered somehow when the thing wielding it dies - that the autogun catastrophically jams near the end of combat... aknife shatters in combat. Additionally, you can give them a very strict time limit, give looting events round space, and tell them "you have one round to check bodies...moves count as normal, looting a body is a roll and your full action" essentially. Or you can keep the pressure on them such that if they decide to stall and loot, Wave Two comes barreling down on tehm, catching them utterly flatfooted and with their backs to the enemy. I think a critical or three in teh opening volley into your party might make them reconsider loot in the future.

Quick question: Are your players' characters open members of the Inquisition or are they trying to keep it on the downlow.

If they're supposed to be undercover, any spaceport customs official is going to raise an eyebrow at someone trying to get through customs with a high tech arsenal and no real reason to own it. Expect to spend large amounts of time trying to smooth it over with the Adeptus.

If they're overt, well then let it be an arms race. Next mission have them go up against a single Chaos Marine, a demon who is immune to anything not sanctified,or even a group of Tech Hereteks all armed with Cyber-powerswords.

The other option is an anti-arms race. Sure there are 5 (or whatever number) of them all outfitted with Monoweapons, but make them face 500 civilians armed with Guard Laser Rifles, clubs, zip guns, sharpened knives.

Or the other anti-arms race. 5 Alcoltyes (or whatever) vs one unarmed human female. Just don't tell them that the human female is a psyker with access to Pyro and/or, Bio and/or Telekinesis

Better yet, toss them into situations where strength of arms means nothing. A single Monodominate Inquisitor with a perfect record and respected in the Inquisitorial community begins to take a interest in the characters because he feels all these weapons they've confiscated from heretics may be tainted.

Heck, lets be honest bad guys see a group of people walking into their neighborhood all wearing carpace armor, and carrying an arsenal of top of the line weapons, the bad guys fade to black and can't be found, or start setting up ambushes with IEDs. Plus no carpace armor or weapon is going to stop taint/insanity from occuring if they don't have the skills to prevent it because they focused on being a combat monster.

To be honest my group has access to some really high level gear. My new toon (**** Inquisitor got my last one killed) has access to some nice stuff, sanctified lathe swords (to be honest I may ask him to retcon that into a sanctified chain sword due to him being a Cleric who worships the local saint) a bolt pistol, a SP pistol, a guardsman laser rifle and a navy shotgun (no I don't carry all of that at the same time). That in and of itself is enough to kill almost any and all common people. Problem is I'm not facing common people. Demons don't carry weapons, and if they do they're so corrupted no alcolyte would carry them if they're smart. Psykers don't need them either. Xenos may carry them, but carrying a Xeno weapon is a good way to get the Ordo Xenos into asking questions I'd rather not answer, like why I feel that Xenos weapons are better then Imperial ones.

Plus monoblades don't mean much when you're a single hummie going up against a beserker Orc.

Course you can always play the "captured and your equipment is taken away" card.

Oh, and monoblades are nice, but remember that poweblades will slice them in half without a moments notice.

TBH it just sounds like your players are just playing the game like a computer rpg, which is fine if thats what they want to do, but obviously its causing you problems. In my experience you have two options, you can either go with it and run a high powered , overblown space opera, or you can try to subtley nudge them toward a style of play your more comfortable with.

Off the top of my head try running adventures with lots of talking and investigation, 'Infiltrate the Cult, learn the identys of the leaders then report back, do not alert them to our presence'. Or adventures where the battle is against the enviroment not mooks with guns, 'Your gunship crashes while out in the wastes between hives, you have to walk the rest of the way' cue survival rolls and (big freaking ) animal attacks. Also place them in enviroments where high pen weapons are a bad idea, like the bit in Aliens when the marines realise there underneath the cooling controls of an atomic reactor.

The other method to wean them off the habit, is to make it boring and disgusting. When a person dies, there bowels release, so that cool suit of Carapace the lead bad was wearing is now filled with blood and loose stool water of the worst kind. Even if they find a way to clean it before packing it up, you never get rid of the smell. That guy got a nice gun ? Shame your going to have to cut off his fingers to pry it loose from his death grip. And remember while PC's are busy looting the dead, there vunerable, unless one of them says 'I keep lookout' ambush them while there doing it. Also equip the bad guys with poor quality weapons, and just give them a back up pistol with a few manstopper rounds to compensate.

Finally never offer top dollar, if the Players try and sell on there loot, offer them 10%, let them barter up but especially if they are trying to sell bulk don't offer more than 30%. 'I don't have the credits to buy all that stuff, even if I wanted it.'

Oh just thought, you could have a criminal cartel take an interest in these new 'arms dealers' working there turf, or even the Arbites or the Inquisition itself ? How great for the players to run into another acolyte group sent to investigate them, or even have there own Iquisitor send them to find the truth of these new 'arms dealers' ?

A lot of good hints already given. I especially like the "chaos symbol on weapons"-Thing. This WILL keep the majority of people from buying them!

One thing that goes into the direction of "enforce encumbrance rules" is use common sense about how ackward it is . Just imagine someone who carries two rifles and a shot gun. Imagine the picture. In addition to encumbrance (****! How is this word written??), give them penalities if they are loaded with more then two "long items". It hinders movement. Dodging and fighting will be more difficult. Perhabs -3 or -5.

Just keep in mind that most worlds will have laws about who is allowed to sell weapons ... even if nearly everyone is allowed to buy them!

If they are running around with three long arms each pc, the next group of local enforcers they meet will ask them questions. They armed up to a point that is ridicule, even for a merc. No sane person carries so many rifles, since it is not making sense in any pratical way!

Do not leave them the time to sell the loot . This goes hand in hand with "enforce spaceport customes". They finished the mission. Fine. They debrief with a local contact. Double-Fine. Their master sends them elsewhere, a flight is arranged on a voidship that will leave within the next 4 days. Now let them check for the trade skill merchant to see how many arms they manage to sell in this time.
Without having a shop or market stand
Without having a proper licence
While looking shady just for trying to sell a high amount of used weapons without an official war on this planet
Allow them to sell some of their weapons. Not all. To a really low price. They do not have the "merchant" trade skill? TOO BAD! Substitute it with a challenging intelligence check for finding the right place/persons and a check for charm/deceive/fellowship to smooth out all the things already statet in italian .

In short, do not make it impossibel, but unlucrative. If you start to hand out small niceties at the start of each mission (like a modern torso carapace armour piece for everyone if the mission is sure to involve/end in a major "purification"

Last but not least, send them against beasts! If their enemies are volg pit things; aricadian raubtyr and the mutant carnipedes from industrial complex AXK043e78, they won´t have much to loot for a while. Same is true if your next villians/anatagonist make good use of enhanced creatures like the dreaded cybermastiff or just very a good trainend pack of special-breed Maulerdogs.

Why are you so upset about characters getting stuff? That seems one of the main goals of characters - kill the guy in the big chair in the big room wearing the big hat and taking his stuff. How much of it will they actually use? If you give them a powersword, will suddenly everyone take that talent? If they are 3rd level, are they going to hang on to it for several levels until they can take the talent? Why are you so afraid of mono weapons? They are practically manditory if you want any type of character in melee with an armored opponent.

I just don't see the problem. One sure way to tick off players is take away the things they fought hard to get.

Allow them full access to the inquisitions armory, give a few subtle hints as to what would be appropriate (have a requisition officer comment on scaring cultists away) and then play out what happends. Full power armour is going to alert people fast, the bad guys might call in reinforcements, set traps or simply vanish.

Don't fight fire with fire!

You don't need the cultists to beat them with powerswords, a simple ambush with three on one mono sword wielding guys who start out with an IED or some molotovs. Perhaps a psyker or even bribing the law into making trouble. If they do get good stuff and make arrangements to not be spotted by every criminal on the planet, let them. They've worked for it so why not?

You have some great advice here so far. A few more suggestions:

1) The Imperium is an oppressive fuddle styled society, not a consumerist free market economy. Treat it as such.

Maybe where they are all the shops are 'company owned" and supplied certain items that the nobles in charge deem necessary for the citizens to do their appointed tasks and nothing else. In order to off load the loot, they will have to scour the underworld for a fence and then said fella may only want one or two things and definitely wouldn't want to deal with suspicious individuals or individuals who are drawing attention to themselves. Maybe he'll only by one item every day or so to avoid suspicion, ect. Either way, the players will have to work a bit in order to make a little scratch... a little scratch that may not be worth the effort put in.

Possibly where they are dose not use thrones. The ruling class, in order to maintain control and insure their citizens are heresy free (the powers that be really don't want the Adapta nosing in their business much less the =I= tromping around there back yard!) have their own currency, the Work Credit. This is issued to citizens for a full days work in an amount determined by their job which has been calculated to be just enough for them to get drunk at night or save up and get better tools from the company store to do their job with. These credit transactions are monitor by armies of scribes in cubicle farms looking for any unusual fluctuations that may indicate someone receiving funds from outside sources -a sure sign of miss deeds or trouble that needs to be investigated and put down before someone in power hears about it and starts nosing around. To get around this, the citizens have taken to trading in "relics" so they could have collections just like the nobles but in the end it's just essentially old junk. Rusty spoons are real big, doll heads with a great story about their historical owner, and a corroded comb with hair is a value indeed! If the PC's go to off load loot, they will either come out of it with a set of different equipment or a cherry wood box of rusty spoons that once belonged to the Earl of Belmington 500 years ago.

2) Give them something else to do with their money.

Dose their Inquisitor fund their missions? If so, perhaps he learns of their looting ways. This will put a big ol' smile on his face as e silently congratulates the cell for their initiative and forward thinking. Finally, he no longer has to worry about freeing up resources for them, they will be able to handle the funding of their missions on their own!

Thee missions latter of this thought, they've been looting and doing right good at it. They start looking into some heretic or another and find that he's skipped planet. To go after him, they need passage on the next ship, something that's going to cost in the thousands but their Inquisitor, assuming they have all the resources (and the resourcefulness to get more) will not free up funds. He knows they can do it themselves... and if that heretic gets away, he'll have their heads on a platter. Suddenly, all that loot is being funneled into the acolytes being able to do their job.

3) Do away with a money system entirely.

Say every character has X gear slots and gets Y additional gear slots per rank. This represents the amount of resources said acolyte has at their disposal. They can fill those slots with most anything they wish, but once they are all filled, their resources are completely tied up in the stuff they own and maintaining said stuff, keeping ammo for the guns, charge packs, oils, cleaning supplies, etc. Once it's abstracted to this level, the player will no longer have a reason to loot for cash. The only looting they would need to do is for plot items or to upgrade their items. Though if you are deciding that each gear slot can only hold items up to such and such value, then upgrading might cost them an additional gear slot (bolters are expensive to maintain as well as reload etc) that looting for better items will be curbed or, more realistically, the degree of item better controlled.

4) Finally, dose it really matter?

In about a year of running this game I have come to realize that the right gear for the job makes all the difference to the PC's. I have also noticed that the kinds of weapons that have really isn't that big of a deal. I cursed my self endlessly when my rank 3 or so Arbiter confiscated a bolt pistol off of a heretic until, as he used it in combat I realized that, all in all, he wasn't a god of combat because of it. If anything, the scum was still out killing him with his autopistol on full auto. There's hardly any gear that is game breaking. Some things are just a little better then other things and are a far cry of being able to solve all or even the majority of the acolytes problems. beyond that, the more powerful a weapon, the higher in rank a PC has to be in order to get the talent to wield it effectively. That acts as a wonderful stop to an arms race right there. By the time they can use such a weapon, they are on a level where they very well might need to

Also, just because your PC's are well armed and armored dose not mean there's an arms race. Trust me. A PC with a chain sword and bolt pistol in xeno mesh can still be beaten to the ground by 5 guys with sticks (it's happened). Someone in Light Enforcer carapace can still be trampled down by a mob and nearly ripped apart (yup, that one happened too). And, besides, no matter how armored up the PC's get, most of the enemies they will face can still easily out gun and out armor them. Just look at the Slougth.

Throne gelt is not just official Imperium currency, it is any currency. It could be barks of wood if that's what the local economy uses.

Letrii said:

True, but in the example I gave, the currency that would be the Throne would be the Work Credit, not the bartered junk. The bartered junk is strictly unofficial and one piece of old junk will have radically different values depending who's looking at it and how much they like collecting boxes of rusty spoons from long dead nobles. As such, even if an Adept want to try and figure out what the Throne equivalence of a cherry wood box of rusty spoons was, he would not be able to in their economy as it would fluctuate too much from individual to individual. That and the story that goes along with the time (which must be told when trading of course!) will effect a citizens opinion of the value of the spoons thus altering their throne value further. In the end, a the box of spoons would be indicative of 1-1000 thrones, depending on who you talk to, how you tell their story, and what time of day it is. It will be 10 thrones to one guy, 500 hundred to another.

The thrones only work in an ecconomy dominated by a currency that maintains a somewhat consitant value relation. It fails in an ecconomy dominated by a true barter system which is what i was sugesting ;-)

Which demonstrates why Throne Gelt is used as an abstraction and not an accurate economic model.

Letrii said:

True, they're abstract but not that abstract. When thrones are used, they have a degree of consistency in value. In a strict barter system, a PC can trade item 1 for 200 thrones worth of item 2. However, when he approaches vender 2 with his 200 thrones worth of stuff from vender one, he find that vender 2 has much less need of the stuff and it is now only the equivalent of 10 thrones to this vender. The next vender my see it as 1000 thrones, etc. When dealing with personal need and taste, there is little value consistency.

If the throne were that abstract where it fluctuated so wildly in what it could get you from one person to the next, then there would be no need to even print a price for an item or even deal with the concept of a throne. They can only ever be used in economic models with a consistent currency value and not in a true barter system.

And I think this is starting to get too far off topic now so I'll shut up :-X

Plain and simply, I told my players at the beginning of the game that I expected them to roleplay the spirit of the game... and it is not befitting my personal interpretation of the Inquisition for their agents to be stripping heretics to their undies after every combat. Do I expect that if someone comes after them with a bolt pistol or a power sword, they'll keep it? Yep.

It's even a part of my game rules: aethel.net/darkheresy/rules/stuff.shtml

Just means I have to use one of the several fabulous suggestions above to make the threats rely on something other than gear until I am ready for it to fall into their hands.

My players loot. Not autoguns and such small things unless they have urgent need of them but rather confiscating mansions, bank account and such in the name of the holy inquisition. The inquisitor takes it all of course but if they've been good they might get a bit more leeway in the armory next time around.

I mean, what could be more right than the inquisitor confiscating heretics assets to support his operation? Waste not.

One of the most amusing missions they were sent on was right in the beginning, the group were told that there was a tip that a wealthy and influential head of a noble house was a heretic and xeno collaborator, the mission was to find the evidence and confiscate his assets to remove infrastructure for the filthy dark eldar and slaneeshi cult.

The prime was then taken aside and given the separate task to make sure evidence was found, fabricated or otherwise.

He was, of course, relatively innocent. If you're looking for guilt anyone has skeletons in their closet but no xeno or warp taint. At best he was politically inconvenient, wealthy and had property the inquisition was interested in. Some planted evidence, a few million thrones, properly situated estates and one priceless piece of art for the inquisitor later the acolytes got their requisition forms with the initial credit set to five hundred thrones each and free ammo.

Talking about "my players loot behavior":
In the test game I was running, my flock of pc tended to loot things that were

a) Better then their own stuff
b) Something they needed
c) small & somewhat valuable

So, the guardsmen of my friend Michael started looting energy cells very soon. Partly because "it does not hurt to have a dozen extra" (which he stored in the dozens small pockets of his vest and trousers) and partly to be able to sell some later. Of course, he asked for the quality of the weapons of his enemys ("anything better then my las rifle?") I allowed him for checks, and whenever "his" answers was "no, it isn´t" he left it in place. I am very happy about his behavior

...and my other friend Dirk started with a cleric. He didn´t liked the skills...but it made him have all the money he could dream about. He didn´t spend it outright. He just feeled "save" for being able to buy "special eqiupment"...if it could be bought at all! For him, it was about "keeping the oppurtinty". If he hadn´t had the starting money, he would have looted anything and everything. One of the reason I started out with the =I= providing them with a 500 thrones "for expanses". Found out that it kept them from "over looting", since they knowed that if they would need it, they could afford it.

Help very much to keep the focus on the main action: the story ^^

The characters are not private persons. They are working for an organization vaguely akin to the FBI.

If FBI agents bust up a bunch of gun runners, do they get to take their stuff? No. That is confiscated by the government.

Do your party return to their Inquisitor or his representatives between missions? If so then it is easy to fix. Have them undergo a decontamination procedure, similar to an NBC decontamination. Image the PCs being marched into a room being stripped, having all their equipment confiscated (and destroyed), their clothing burnt. Then having their heads shaved, followed by a shower of Holy Water (or several, depending on their preceived exposure to the Dark Gods) before being placed in isolation cells away from each other, on a bread and water diet for as long as it take to ensure that they are untainted. Before they go on their next mission, they can be requipped to whatever standard you think appropriate.

You may also wish to include a Psychic interrogation or three just to be sure.

Alex

bogi_khaosa said:

I think something more like KGB or fictionalized CIA might be closer to the =I=. They are more of an intelligence agency then law enforcement.

Beyond that, why would the =I= allow local governments or even the Adapta to confiscate items used in or associated with a heresy? Wouldn't that open up a gateway for corruption to spread among those not qualified to deal with such things? Why would the =I= not take advantage of items or funds that have been liberated? Would doing such tarnish their pristine image while their agents are stabbing folks in the dark, paying lip service to daemons to worm their way into a cult, and setting fire to villages where a xenos mind controller was fought?

Also, if they do not confiscate items, how do they fund their investigations? Where dose the funds and all forms of odd equipment (because you never know what odd things an investigation is going to require) and authentic items for undercover work come from? Dose the =I= have to deal with the Administratum to get funding and equipment and, if so, how the hell do they get anything they might need in under ten years allowing them to be the no-red-tape-fast-response organization that they are intended to be?

Whilst I don't encourage my player to loot the dead. I do allow it. After all it's a perfectly good way of re-stocking ammo. The group actually polices itself when it comes to loot which pleases me immensely. For example, a few missions ago the group managed to down an chaos marine. leaving behind a lager bolter and a slightly odd looking power sword. The guardsman made a be-line for the power sword only to have the priest tell him to put it down or die.

Most of the stuff they loot is poor quality crap anyway or they aren't told anything about the loot until it's to late. (gene-coded equipment that won't work, faulty power packs that explode, corruption from contact, serial numbers filed off making them illegal and thus impossible to sell).

None of the group has put in a requesition form and they think that the less they ask for, the better they'll look to there peers for being self-sufficient.

While clearly annoying and inappropriate most of the time, It sounds like your players get a kick out of wholesale looting. So while I would a agree that you need to get them to stop when its inappropriate, you should on occasion allow them to look everything not nailed down. Let them discover and clean out evil arms dealers who work with the beast house (or something), let them really go to town on some looting every now and again, give them each a wheelbarrow and a team of dregs they hired for a throne a piece.

Lootings less of a problem if the acolytes are acutually paid well. Beyond that, just let the players know that the level of detail you apply in expenses will be proportionate to the level they want to put into looting. If they loot every last little item, make sure they're charged for every last item of a meal (+tips), every service at their lodging (+tips), every vox-call they place, etc. Then the kicker - make them do the bean counting since you've got better things to do, and penalize them only if they mess up their ledgers . In the grim darkness of the far future, there is no overdraft protection.

HappyDaze said:

I thought they were called bodyguards and assassins? Also adepts hacking into the Administratum.

Something I told my GM not that long ago regarding money and the party's quest there of... it does not matter. Really, give them each 1 million thrones. And when they go to purchase that suit of powered armor they have been craving simply tell them; 'there is none available.' That's the check and balance here. You, as the GM, can limit the goods that characters wish to buy through any number of means. The amount of coin they carry does not matter. Oh, sooner or later they will start to ask questions and when that happens simply tell them that you have put such items in your game at specific locations. Once the party reach said person/location, they will be able to buy such.

I find that with access to funds, the players in my group want to spend it more on 'fluff' than 'stuff'. Our tech-priest wants a vehicle large enough that he can build a portable lab or communications center. It's something that will be handy now and then but, on most missions, will simply sit there. And it's not something that will overbalance a fight.

Now, in our games the players are expected to fund themselves. Armor, weapons, ammo, meds, services, bribes, disguises, etc. That cost compared to the monthly salaries of non-nobles is crippling and would be worse so if we could not loot every now and then. So it really depends on how your game is played, too. If you run your game such that the Inquisitor is liberal with expenses and upgrades, then I see little need to loot. If he is not, then supplementing ones income is manditory.

So this is a type of problem I've been hearing a fair amount of, which is troubling given the nature of DH, but I suppose unsurprising as it's exactly the sort of issue that would come up normally in most other RPGs. Personally I could give my players suits of power armor and weapons, multi-meltas, and 5 Lehman Russ tanks, and it wouldn't help them too much. Keep in mind, if the players have the freedom to whip out heavy equipment, most of the time they could just as easily call in the Inquisitorial Storm troopers and let them do the dirty work. Obviously players prefer to do things themselves most of the time, and often will be cut off from outside support (such as in the wilds of a feral world). But by and large extra/better equipment is a nice luxury, but not a game breaker. Here's how I handle resource issues:

• Petitions must be filed for permenant field requisitions. Anything reasonable will likely be approved (though having an adept, or skills similar to one, helps a lot in getting the paperwork through), but the rest that was picked up will be sent to the quartermasters or evidence lockers.
• Acolytes don't generally have the time and skills to find a place to offload a lot of loot. Of course a connected Scum might have the skills, contacts, and inclination, but that's why they get paid so little (while the noble is unlikely to bother). So depending on the group, they may not be able to sell anything, let alone dump their loot for a flat percentage.
• Most of the people the acolytes fight have gear that is not desireable to keep or sell (be it marked by cult symbols, of poor quality, or just not very valuable), though melee weapons are generally mono on civilized worlds, or wielded with a great deal of skill on uncivilized worlds where melee combat is more common (called shots past armor or sure strike). Even if everything is mono, it doesn't make a melee weapon terribly valuable, and the wear of combat makes them hardly worth trying to resell used.
• Ammo: They can pick up all the ammo they want, it doesn't sell for much of anything and I don't want them running out most of the time anyway.
• Walking around with heavier gear than is normal for an area will draw attention, and that means cultists/criminals/etc. move elsewhere until the investigators have moved on.
• If the character is in need of a piece of equipment or other resource, they can file a petition to the inquisitor. If the inquisitor agrees, then they have the item. Yay.
• Related to an above point, buying rare or powerful gear draws attention, selling it draws even MORE attention for more people. A little greed can blow an investigation.
• Here's a big one: Availability rules. I don't ever say "no, you can't... period". It's not fun that way. I instead say roll inquiry at -10/20/30 and hang around for days, weeks, or months trying to find it. Oh you failed? Well, those 2 months of downtime are spent, time for the next mission.

In the end though, as I said, money sees more use buying people's information or assistance (or lack of assistance) than it does bying uber equipment. Equipment can be really helpful, but no matter what the players gear combat is not an acolytes main job, that would be the role of a storm trooper.