Hi guys,

I've had a bit of a problem with character creation, in regards to what starting items you can choose. One of the group says that the +10 bonus for the item in question being a single item drops it down to being common enough to be bought. However, this seems flawed to me as it means that he can start off with a Refractor Field straight away, which seems a little overpowered. Is this an intentional part of the game's mechanics? Having never used the Black Crusade system, only Dark Heresy and AQscension, very few of my players every acquired any field technology, so it seems odd that they can simply be purchased right off the bat.

Clarification, please?

Definitely intentional. BC is a high-powered game, and assumes your Heretic had a bit of history prior to the point where the campaign starts. Excommunicate Inquisitors, Fallen Rogue Traders, Corrupted Magi (as in, Mechanicum Magos) - these are all acceptable backstories for your starting characters. Not to mention, you can play a CSM who took part in the Siege of Terra.

Yes, you calculate all usual modifiers for the test, including the +10 for a single item, and as long as the total is not lower than -10, it's an automatic get. Likewise, it's been clarified that the Greed +20 acquisition test is also automatic, meaning that a character with it can start with one item with a -30 modifier.

Also, refractor fields are a little less than 1/3 chance of coming off unharmed, and they're obvious when activated. If your player is willing to take the risk, he can actually start off with a Conversion field, getting a more than 50% chance. He just needs to downgrade it to poor quality.

One reason that fields are a bit more accessible is that more ways to counter them have shown up. Haywire weapons are easier and more potent to get, and the Eclipse Pulsator is a surefire way to bring them down, alongside psychic protection. Although the Pulsator has no availability listed, so it's kinda hard to tell how available it's supposed to be.

Their availability also helps counter the fact that more armor ignoring abilities and powers have shown up. Warp Weapons are not uncommon, and several psychic powers ignore both armor and toughness, but not forcefields. Though you and your players might wanna determine just which such powers could reasonably be stopped by such things, so as to avoid potential slowdowns when they come into play.