I think the awarding of fate points should reward a bit more than just completion of the mission. Also it does require some inspired thinking...

• Work out the weakness, distract the Skae-thing (with party members going into melee or whatever) so a couple of sharp shooters can make the shot. That plan is worth a fate point. It shows teamwork and potential sacrifice.
• Distracting the Skae-thing long enough for someone to talk Aristarchus round. Again it shows teamwork and potential sacrifice.
• Surrounding it and just pouring lots of hot lead into the Skae-thing until it dies. Sorry not worth a fate point.
• A lucky shot/strike from a PC... hmmm depends.... if the PCs were desperate and had expected to die facing the Skae thing maybe worth a fate point. If they were just stupid and couldn't think of anything else then no.

I will be giving my PCs a extra clue in that the Skae-thing will go for a players eyes and hopefully remove one (cheap bionics anyones?)

The Skae-Thing is seriously hard, a single shot/strike will have to do around 53-55 damage, if from an unblessed weapon, to kill it with a single shot...

Have it just Dodge about? Oh, no, no. That's not the Crow Father...

Have it turn the sacred Acquila standard into a spear with which to impale a priest.

Have it shatter a particularly large gun with a casual sweep of its clawed hands.

Have it use the townsfolk as cover.

Have it scoop up a child and toss her at the PCs with bone-breaking force.

And have it laughing on and off the whole time, because it is just having a ball .

Use the above along with Gregorius' suggestion and I have no doubt your players will remember this fight.

TS Luikart said:

The scooping up townsfolk made me think of the Bone warden on the Dark Frontiers adventure for RT. Perhaps, for an extra cool and memorable fight, it never ever dodges. It's "dodge" score and any 'dodge' roles it makes represents it's ability to telekiniticaly grab one of the parishioners and use them as a human meat shield snapping them in to absorb the attack and then, later, even flinging them at the PC's in the same kind of way that a bone warden would, only they're alive, crying, begging, pleading for help and release. Besides, nothing says over the top grimdark awesome like beating a PC half to death with a screaming three year old toddler >:-)

Baldrick said:

Although it is your game, but I do not think that this how fate points are meant to be gained. I cannot find the reference in the core book, but I believe to remember something along the lines of "fate points are either gained for achieving a major plot point or for doing something the HARD & RIGHT WAY instead of an offered easier route.

Defeating the Skae-Thing should be worth a fate point in it´s own right, no matter by which means. It is a major threat that got brought a stop.

Yes, it would be very anti-climax and anti-atmospherical if this is achieved by simply gunning with it down with a salvo from each player in union. But if they manage it to gun it down (desipite all affords of you, the GM, to make the fight something harde and more memorable) they still should get the point.

I'm wanting to keep the fight hard. The adventure is written for a starting party. I've got a party of 7 players who are rank 3 (about to go to rank 4). So I'm having to tweak it up to still keep it challenging.

To quote the 40k Core rulebook. "You may on rare occasions, wish to award a Fate Point to an Acolyte who has accomplished something truly remarkable at the end of a major story arc, but you should be sparing when handing them out."

My personal opinion is that it should be given out roughly as written in the adventure. However I will concede that if they make up a brilliant plan and then execute it in such a way that the Crow Father gets taken down by other means then yes they should get rewarded. However if the players just bowl in through the main door, shooting off 1000's rounds of ammo (which also wounds/kills several innocents), will not get a fate point in my book.

For me this finale session will start on Thursday. I think the players are planning to send some in via the main door and some via a couple of back entrances (which they found during an earlier scout of the place) {yes I know the cathedral in the book doesn't have a back door on the floor plan}.

Gregorius21778 said:

I agree with you. Incidentally, at my first playthrough we had one PC disabled by fear, one hampered and only able to stay far away and take potshots with a las carbine, one shooting with autopistol to little effect, one doing a tad better and my guardsman doing serious damage with the great weapon. It was a tough fight regardless, and the thing took a great deal of punishment to down, and almost killed half the party. But in the end we triumphed.

If we had just gone for the eye right off the bat the fight would concievable be over in a single round.

I can see a new thread spawning... "When to and when not to give out fate points?"