Hello

I have a missionary in my group and he seems to be getting bored. He strides around with a master crafted chainsword, dual helpistols and a large sniper rifle and does his share of the fighting, he mans the scanners during space missions with his excellent perception and skills, he prays for each endeavor, brings the light of the Emperor to heathens, restores fallen cathedrals and looks after the wellbeing of the crew and even manages some backroom church schemeing from time to time which is basically what a missionary does.

However the other players are using their ninja skills, be it psychic power ninja action with our force sword wielding astropath, the techpriest who can summon metal objects, fly through the air and is more machine now than man, the dashing dual wielding captain who is, after all the captain, the seneschal who was blessed with rather too many fatepoints at CC and laughs though coded locks and puzzles, which leaves the missionary a little left out. It also doesnt help that during CC everyone elses origin paths involve penalties to fellowship when dealing with the ecclesiarchy, rival/enemy Ecclesiarcy, are Tech Priests or Psykers etc etc which kind of rules out group interest in specific churchy missions.

Sure he has Pure Faith and all the anti deamon protection but the awesomeness was lessened significantly when he dealt a whole two wounds to the giant deamon which invaded thier ship before the astropath backflipped and brought his force sword down, reducing the deamon to so much slime of the deck and became the hero of the ship.

Any ideas on how to make the Missionary more important?

You could allow some of the Faith Powers from DH - Blood of Martyrs as Elite Advances for your Missionary …

UberMutant said:

To me this reads mostly like a RP problem in that the character is either marginalized or that he is unable to have sub-plots going that can involve both him as a missionary and the rest of it. Now one plot that I can suggest is that some form of heresy (non-Chaos in nature) has taken root among the crew and its turning them against the Rogue Trader and his closest followers. Now of course you can say that they only purge the problem but if a third or so of the crew has fallen, including many security members, then a purge would cause a full blown war aboard the ship that could leave more than a third of the crew dead, and among them many important officers and specialists. In that case the characters may need the Missionary very much to make the crew come back to the Imperial Creed and its hierarchies.

Or if you want to make it a bit crazy maybe the Missionary becomes a heretics himself (non-Chaos and non-Xenos heretics that is) and thinks that the Ecclesiarchy can go and do something because he will take full use and spread his own creed across the stars now! That could get around the anti-Ecclesiarchy tendencies of the group.

Just some thoughts.

Errr, how scary of a demon was the one in question. Even for a Astropath with a psychicly charged weapon demon powers are no joke.

I found it in Dark Heresy, it was a Charnel Deamon, that snuck aboard during the warp transition. It butched its way through a number of compartments and was chased into the space inbetween decks by the crew, when they faced it down, the Rogue Trader, Arch Militant and several household troops failed thier fear tests badly (the RT curled into a ball and refused to come out until the nasty thing had gone away) but the Astropath passed and the Missionary was immune. After the deamon tore into the techpriest and had its attacks dodged by the astropath and missionary, he attacked and only dealt a few points of damage before the astropath splattered it across the bulkheads.

The player in question is not one to be marginalised, although he is often distracted by a desire to kill things brutally (I did suggest Arch Militant to him, but he liked the missionary).

UberMutant said:

it's always hard to perfectly balance a game.

Anointed weapon you say? Is this Dark Heresy gear?

Yes it is difficult to balance, he currently has a mastercrafted chainsword and his sniper rifle with organgrinder rounds, a bandolier of grenades and two helpistols. My group as a whole don't tend to go for big weapons for some reason, the Astropath was offered a ranged weapon upgrade and she just said "It's ok, I've got my Laspistol".

UberMutant said:

Yup, I know it shows up the Inquisitor's handbook - an anointed weapon does "Holy" damage, which ignores the double tougness bonus that Daemons get.

UberMutant said:

Page 77 of Daemon Hunter.

Any weapon can be anointed, although primitive weapons are the most common. In addition to the stats and qualities the weapon normally possesses, all Anointed weapons are Best Craftsmanship and have the Sanctified quality. The weapons do not retain the Primitive quality; Anointed weapons are crafted from the finest materials and are virtually flawless. The GM should feel free to exercise his creativity and create custom weapons of his own design. Ancient Anointed weapons can simply be randomly generated by the GM using the following tables (roll once on each). Acolytes (especially Clerics) may also wish to construct an Anointed weapon. To do so requires such craftsmanship and near unique unguents that creating an Anointed weapon cannot be done with simple Skill Tests. Instead the creation should be the focus of several game sessions. No Skill Tests should be required under normal circumstances, as crafting a new Anointed weapon is so important to the Holy Ordos in the Calixis Sector that the resources of master craftsman would be readily available to an Acolyte who manages to acquire the necessary items and perform the required tasks. At the end of the process the Acolyte creating the weapon must permanently burn one Fate Point. Acolytes who have no remaining Fate Points may still craft Anointed weapons but the cost is ultimately up to the GM and will no doubt be very steep indeed.

The appearance and potency of Anointed weapons are not limited to those provided on the sample charts, but should assist GMs in creating the weapons, or building weapons used by NPC’s that the Acolytes might encounter. Anointed weapons are each Unique and no cost could possibly be listed, as the sale of an Anointed weapon would bring the full wrath of the Calixian Holy Ordos as well as the might of the Sector Synod to bear on such a heretic.

Anointed weapons are beacons of faith that give hope and inspiration to all around them. Each one has a unique appearance which should be described in as much detail as possible. Below are a few examples that the GM can use as presented or as a guide for creating his own. Each of these options is tied to a type of daemon, and the players and the GM can customize the results to be unique to their campaign and characters. The appearance of the weapon gives a glimpse into its purpose, and any character who takes up arms against the forces of Chaos finds that some foes suffer even greater at the touch of the armament. The weapon allows any character that can see the weapon clearly (GM’s discretion) to spend a Fate Point to automatically
pass any Fear Test caused by a Daemon.

Anointed Weapon Appearance
Roll Result
01-20 This weapon radiates purity, and is without a dent, scratch, or speck of rust visible anywhere on its surface. Clean lines and bright polish give it an aura of utter incorruptibility. It gains the Proven (4) Quality against daemons of filth, disease and degradation.
21-40 This weapon is designed to end matters quickly, with a minimum of bloodshed. Surgical, precise, and cold, it has a reputation with beasts of carnage and bloodshed. Attacks made with it cannot be dodged or parried by daemons borne of blood and battle.
41-60 Simple, functional, blunt, and far from pretty, the mere sight of this weapon is anathema to daemons who venerate beauty above all things. It gains the Unstable Quality against daemons of twisted beauty and debauched pleasure.
61-80 It is said that all things must change, but this weapon seems to contradict that assertion. It seems somehow more solid, more real than other weapons—as though its fundamental nature is truly unbendable. It gains the Toxic Quality against daemons of flux and transformation.
81-00 Ornate and gilded, this weapon is affixed with charms, sigils, and purity seals warding against all manner of evil. The bearer may reroll one failed attack with the weapon each round when attacking any daemon.

In addition to its potency against creatures of the Warp, Anointed weapons provide additional abilities to a hero whose faith in the God-Emperor does not falter. Each weapon has a special ability only usable by characters with the Pure Faith or Unshakeable Faith Talent. In addition to this special ability, a wielder with Pure Faith or Unshakeable Faith may spend a Fate Point before making an attack (before the dice are rolled) against a daemon. This attack cannot be dodged or parried.

Anointed Weapon Power of Faith
Roll Result
01-20 Righteous: This weapon shines righteousness even in the darkest of places. The weapon automatically passes any Tests to confirm Righteous Fury.
21-40 Unyielding: Pure and clean as spring water, this weapon is anathema to daemonkind and they cannot look upon it. Daemons suffer a -20 penalty to Dodge or Parry attacks from this weapon.
41-60 Tearing: This weapon shreds and mars a daemon’s psychic essence as it strikes home. The weapon gains the Tearing Quality against daemons.
61-80 Sacred Shield: This weapon grants a +15 bonus to Parry Tests against daemons and Warp-creatures. Reroll this result if the base weapon is Unwieldy.
81-90 Aetherblade: This weapon ignores the physical armour of daemons entirely, slicing through such Warp conjured material with ease. 91-00 Holy Flame: Daemons struck by this weapon burst into crackling, white-hot flames. Successful hits do an additional 1d5 Energy damage that ignores armour and Toughness.

Many Anointed weapons are particularly fearsome to one daemon with whom they have a history. At the GM’s discretion a character who slays this daemon with an Anointed weapon may burn a Fate Point, banishing it to the Warp for a great length of time. The length of time is up to the GM,
but should require a prophecy to be fulfilled, or great ritual performed, for the daemon to return

UberMutant said:

I'm guessing you're the GM… But just throw some more creed style endeavours at them to do their non-creed endeavours. Or have to fight Chaos and get the Ecclesiarchy's help. The missionary should eat this up and be able to talk the other players into it.