I'm sure most of us have gotten a chance to step into the muddy boots of the Imperial Guard and fight the good fight.

But how are the other organizations of the Imperium affecting your game? The secretive Ordos of the Inquisition, the top-notch pilots of the Imperial Navy's air wings, the superhuman Astartes, the various Adeptus Terra… How are you guys using them in your campaigns?

My series of one-shots has the Inquisition assassinating key enemy personnel, heavy air support from atmospheric fighters and bombers, and a near-constant Mechanicus presence due to the local regiment's fondness for strike vehicles.

From my point of view it affects IG as follows…

Adeptus Astartes - they exist and if you're lucky you will see them somewhere in the distance doing their job

Inquisition - fear them and provide them all necessary support on their secret missions

Adeptus Arbites - they are deployed on Imperial Words far from combat zones where they keep peace and persecute criminals

Adeptus Mechanicus - that strange half-machine guys who tamper with heavy equipment

Imperial Navy - transport from battlefield to battlefield and support on call… if…

Ecclessiarchy - they offer prayer, confession and comfort

Grubisha said:

You know these guys are known to participate in combat if the planet is under attack.

Adeptus Astartes - The Space marines would be background fighters, as in not part of the players story, if they were ever to be deployed along side Astartes. The Astartes would most likely not even notice lowly Guardsmen if they fought side by side anyway. If i was to use Marines along with the players i would make the marines seem very inhuman and careless about the players, not even recognising their courage and skill.

Inquisition - I could see an Acolyte "infiltrate" the squad to complete a certain mission given by his Inquisitor, or an Inquisitor using the squad for his own purposes. They would most likely not get the truth about their mission though and be mostly regarded as resource to be spent for the Imperium.

Adeptus Arbites - If they were to defend a planet i could easily see the players fighting along side Arbites, and be envious of their equipment (armours, weapons, tanks etc.).

Adeptus Mechanicus - AdMech would mostly cause trouble for the squad in all things tech related, or send them to retrieve some small trinket that seems useless (and probably is) to the squad, but they will have to put their lives on the line anyway.

Imperial Navy - I would use them to transport the players around or bombard them from space. Probably have some rivalry thing going on between to two groups.

Ecclesiarchy - Most likely to abuse and use the squad, but the players will feel like these guys are better and nicer to them than most other groups.

Departmento Munitorum - Will be used as a Pain in the ass for the players with all their rules and regulations. They will give random crap that is useless for the situation at hand, but may be handy in some almost non-existant situations.

Astartes: Sometimes, when things are going horribly, they come screeching down like so many fireballs from the sky, and within hours have annihilated a well defended target that we just could not break through. On these days, we owe them thanks only second to The Emperor. Sometimes they even don't treat you like you were dirt.

Other times, they will strike at all within reach like a raging berserker, or even commit treason against the Imperium by assaulting our own for their gains, and yet go unsanctioned for their acts [blood ravens, grey knights for example].

Its said that whether they will side with you, consider you to be as nothing yet demand you praise and bow to them, or be the enemy can often be given a solid estimate by tacticians by their colors. But to actually see one is often a once in a lifetime opportunity, and so the circumstances may color one's view of them for life.

Inquisition: When something claims its with the inquisition, you're already fu**ed. They tend not to show their hand so easily, and you could spend years fighting alongside one of their agents, especially when dealing with chaos, or fighting cults or even traitor armies. But if they actually show themselves? Either your unit's about to go do something suicidally heroic, or you're all about to be killed for heresy, whether or not its there. If you're really, REALLY lucky though? It might just be a charlatan.

Arbites: Often equal to or better than the PDFs, there seems to all-around be a lot of working with these guys.

Mechanicus: Well what choice do you have? There's a few in every regiment, they keep things running, if you're on REALLY good terms with them they can soup-up that gun of yours a bit. Very annoying to be around, but who else would willingly rush through an artillery barrage to get your chimera's treads in working order, without even a commissar staring them down into it?

I could easily see an Inquisitor/their agents or acolytes pulling a squad of guardsmen under their control for only a "low tier" threats. Perhaps there simply are no usable inquisitorial assets in the system, and they just need some location that is under control by cultists taken under control. I don't think it always has to be a case of the inquisitor is using the squad to escort them into the center of the genestealer hive.

KommissarK said:

"if"… they will defend, of course, but they are not ment for frontline deployment

Grubisha said:

They excel at urban warfare though.

Grubisha said:

Of course not, but if the fighting comes to the streets they normally do their beat on, well, lets see…

-Carapace Armour
-Shock Mauls, occasional power maul
-Combat Shotguns
-Rhino APCs
-Repressors
-Supression Shields
-Excellent Training

Just saying that its an entirely reasonable, and quite interesting force for a squad of guardsmen to encounter in an urban warzone. Helpful, but not so overly powerful that it cheapens the experience.

There have been reports of arbites strongholds holding out for years during planetary rebellions.

Astartes: Usually limited to mission briefings, but every now and then an objective might be holding out until an Astartes force arrives to secure it more definitively ahead of the main crusade forces. Similarly, there might be occasional opportunities to fight alongside a stranded or lone Astartes, or see them from afar. The main reason to keep them away is because they will overshadow the PCs, who are, in fact, the heroes of the campaign, and their arrival can feel a lot like Deus Ex Machina unless foreshadowed.

Arbites: The Adeptus Arbites are some hard, hard chaps, but I'd put them about on par with the PCs (who are meant to be exceptional Guardsmen) in talent. Their gear is fancy and their toughness legendary, and so having them show up during a rough urban fight or the PCs go to the aid of a besieged Precint-Fortress could be really cool during urban battles. Gruff, murderous supercops fighting alongside hardened veterans? Awesome.

Inquisition: Likey to be there in any warzone, at least to observe the situation, the PCs should be approriately terrified of them, whether or not they've done anything wrong. PCs should always dread being 'requisitioned' by the wide-brimmed hat-wearing man or woman chatting with their Company Commander. A good source of suicidal-seeming missions or special operations for an experienced and famed team of Guardsmen, since Inquisitors are always looking for talent and can order the services of literally anyone.

AdMech: The Squad might actually have an AdMech character, if they include an Enginseer, meaning they might get tied up in AdMech shennanigans out on the field. The best way I've found to do the AdMech is to play them a lot like an exaggerated version of tech-support. Dismissive, frustrated with the end-user, and generally reluctant to help the PCs, despite their vital role. It should often feel very uncomfortable to have to ask for their help.

Ecclesiarchy: Again, you could actually have an Ecclesiarchy PC if you have a Priest. Depending on how pious their regiment (or squad) is, the PCs will likely have very different feelings about the Priests. They could see them as brave and righteous ministers, or in a more cynical regiment, a group of crazy REMFs who have no business being on the field and who mostly exist to get troops killed, trying to run at a tank with a giant chainsaw. Either way, you can get a lot of mileage out of their fanaticism.

Navy: Oh, sure, you buggers get to sit up in orbit where it's safe, sipping tea and flying planes, while we go crawl through the mud. I've always thought of the relationship between Guard and Navy as similar to Guard and Stormtroopers: You're glad when a wing of Valks shows up or a target takes an orbital bombardment, but resent them getting to sit in orbit.

And one you forgot: Administratum: Because forcing the PCs to escort a Munitorium Quaester as he or she goes to tell the Catachans they got too much equipment and need to politely return some of it to HQ would be utterly hilarious. And possibly lethal. Considering the level of bureaucratic messups possible with the Random Equipment tables alone, there's a lot of room for the PCs to be dealing with the Administratum-types and their auto-quills!

The Officio Assassinorum might be an interesting bunch to be requisitioned by, for example the players could (when they're more experienced) be sent to escort a Vindicare into position. With the ultmate roll of acting as his bait. Certainly not a department you want to be working with particularly closely.

DW

DarkWinds said:

Personally, I doubt the party would be informed that their mission is to aid an Officio Assassinorium operative. They would just be given a mission, and probably used as a sacrificial pawn. Still, it would make for an excellent hook.

-They could actually observe the assassin, and possible friendly fire (terrible for the party, but could be "fun").
-Perhaps they are working with a "friendly" assassin, who is able to subtly aid the party along the way (a vindicare just happening to kill that one Ork Weird Boy before he manifests some power).
-Perhaps the party completes the assassin's mission for them

KommissarK said:

That's more how I see it. Officio Assassinorum is too secretive to share any intel on their operations with grunts, and it's agents are too well trained to require protection from the Guard, but they can definitely use a good distraction to make the life easier for their agent.