I'm new to GMing and was wanting what is th best way to play deathwatch. I have seen deathwatch played before and wanted to know. All most every time i see the game played it on a mat just like D&D. what about playing it on a table like you would 40k. Im about to start a campain and wanted to know.

Better to play on a mat with 1 in squers or on a table?

I wanted to know if any one has tryed to play it on a table before and how did it go?

I would mostly use a representative scale, since you could be fighting at ranges of 300m with normal weapons in some cases, or you could be in a small corridor with flamers. The models aren't small enough for a scale that wouldn't end up occupying an entire room. My players just use a whiteboard with lines marked with the relevant distances, and the models are understood to not occupy as much space as it appears they do.

I usually use a mat with 1-inch squares for indoor fights, where conditions will be cramped and long ranges are irrelevant, and on a table with 3-D terrain for outdoor battles, using a tape measure to determine ranges a la the tabletop 40K game. I've found that, in the latter case, a scale of 1" = 1 meter makes it too easy for the action to spill off the table, so I switched to .5" = 1 meter. Even so, that rules out very long range firefights (the kitchen table is only so big...); I haven't staged any yet, but when I do, I'll probably go with 1cm = 1 meter.

I've found using minis to add a level of complexity that isn't always a plus to the game, but in cases where you're dealing with a lot of extra complications it can certainly help. As others have mentioned, you may have issues with range, but that's rarely a huge problem.

If you're fortunant enough to have a copy of the Space Hulk tt game, using the tiles and blip counters is a great way of running a tense combat encounter... just I'd recommend against using actual genestealers in those numbers

I use models and 1"=1' in the game. Seems to work.

Adeptus-B said:

i was think about the came thing for in door and out. keep me up to date on how things go i would like to know.

thanks to all that helped. I just cant what to start my game.

Adeptus-B said:

Adeptus-B said:

i was think about the came thing for in door and out. keep me up to date on how things go i would like to know.

thanks to all that helped. I just cant what to start my game.

I'm actually using a very different method from what is described in rulebook or above. First of all, I don't use scaled maps. At all. I don't use miniatures or models. This is because I want the game experience to be focused more on what the characters see, hear, smell and feel than if enemy is 51 or 52 meters away. I also don't want the players to have "perfect situational awareness" of the battles. Fights are messy affairs. A veteran once said when you are short on everything but targets you are in battle. The way I run my games the players have to deal with the fact that neither them or their characters have all the information. They are blinded by the fog of war.

An example of how it goes in my world:

GM: "It is hot. So hot that power armor systems can no longer fully keep up and you feel the sweat running down the inside of your helmet. You can see maybe 20 or 30 meters into the jungle and spotting out anything that isn't moving is hard. Suddenly you are being fired at. What do you do?"

PC#2: "I'll drop down to one knee and open fire."

GM: "You don't see a target so it will be Suppressive Fire."

PC#1: "I'm okay with that."

PC#2: "I'll move sideways and try to get line of sight."

GM: "Roll for awareness."

PC#2: "Success by one degree."

GM: "As the bolter shells from PC#1:s bolter rip through the thick foliage you see someone moving about 50 meters away. It seems like he is hunkering down and taking cover from suppressive fire."

PC#2: "I'll aim at the spot and take single aimed shot next round."

...and so on

Polaria said:

Yup, we pretty much play the same way. We find that maps and miniatures take away from the immeidcay of the game and often risk bogging everyone down with too many calculations. When a visual representation of the battlefield is requested/appropriate, the GM might sketch it out on a piece of paper.

I agree, giving real mesurements will result in nuding the model that one milimeter extra so he can take the undoable shot from his gun straight under the arm of his brother and thorugh the gap in the librarians force sword, and over the barrels about halfway straight into the head of the ork.

Id say no way.

All i use is blanco papar, a coupld of coloured pens and if they need to they request me to draw out the situation, wich is never on scale, just a tactical overvieuw of your here this is roughly the sqaure room heres the backdoor you can see and this is where you are and where you saw your enemy.

sometimes a line with range is stated for flamer or grenade purposed ( all armor has target tracking and range indicators ) and you can easely know if you can trow that granede or not by just looking. so that line and distance does not affect annything else.

It helps with tactical manouvres as outflanking and going for cover, wile not presenting fixed distances or so. if they misinterpret the drawing they just have to deal with it in roleplay not in measurements.

For the rest I keep them unaware as mentioned by the previous GM's. until they actually make theyr spot roll or some environmental thing gives it away. For example the bullets hitting the wall to the players left would mean the shots come from the right. but not that they came from the third window at the second floor of the ruin behind the burning tank. which if you use models would be easely seen.

That said i last saw a forgeworld environment of an indoor floor ( 4 types ) that can be put togeter like tiles creating some kind of dungeon. If used correctly as in dont put all enemies in until the players actually see them. and use it for tactical purposes rather then measured, It might help them imagine the situation better. though if your good at telling a story you might not need such aids.

that sounds like a good idea thank you. I'm new to all RPG never played them be for. All the information you guys have been giveing is helping out a lot. I just hope may games are as good as yours sounds.

Nogard said:

Is there really going to be more 'nudging' with miniatures than there is with purely verbal descriptions ("Wait- a few minutes ago you said the red one was 20 meters away- when did he move?")? Like anything else, using minis just requires some common sense: players can't pre-measure ranges; you can shoot through friendly figures (since they are moving beings and not frozen in one static pose); and, as you said, you don't put anything on the table/board that isn't in a PC's line-of-sight. I think the decision about minis vs. verbal combat comes down to if you already collected minis before WH40KRP . Either system will work; it's just a matter of personal preference.