Hello to all experienced DH GMs,

I'm new to GMing DH and 40k in general and was hoping for a little advice with my campaign…

Our group has played a number of games over the years- WoD, CoC, D&D, Star Wars, etc. so we're pretty experienced with P&P. Most are new to 40k, including myself. Since we're new to the rules and setting, I was thinking of starting out with 'Edge of Darkness' as my story base to get our feet wet with the system and provide some GM guidance as I get used to it as well…

From there I would branch out into my own story- we usually run campaigns that are 13-17 sessions, and Edge of Darkness sounds like it would take up 3-5 or so. I have been reading DotDG and Radicals Handbook for some story/adversarial ideas to take it from there. I plan to just change the end of Edge as necessary to point to the proper adversary/next chapter focus.

Some questions:
1) I'm having a tough time deciding what Ordo to make the group. There's just so many options that I can see them having fun with (although I know they are looking forward to some good ol' interrogation). What do you think if I did something like make their initial Inquistor a servant of all the Ordo's and then they could choose as a group, an Ordo/Inquistor to be assigned to. I'd give them multiple leads at the end of Edge- maybe an alien artifact (Xenos), a lead to a cult (or the EoD ending as written) (Hereticus), or some dark tome (Malleus). Do you think this is a good idea in support of the game context or should I just talk to them ahead of time and let them decide?

2) Anyone see any issues with using EoD as a primer and then branching out from there to a Xenos/Hereticus/Malleus campaign? I'd also like to see what classes they are interested in playing and their backstory info so I can make my part of the story more dynamic.

3) Any other tips based on the above?

Thanks in advance…

Gunrile said:

Personally, I would not say this is how the Ordos work. They are optional networks consisting of people focusing on specific tasks, and I would expect the overlap in interests as well as support from the network result in subtle political rivalries between the three major Ordos.

Most importantly, an Inquisitor does not strictly have to be a member of any Ordo. It just makes his or her job a lot easier and so is a no-brainer for most - although the network's backup does not come for free, and all members would surely be required to prove their usefulness (hence rivalries potentially escalating). Pros and cons.

Perhaps it would help to see the Inquisition like some sort of police, and the various Ordos as different branches of specialised investigation - just like in the real world, where you have one department for vice, another for drugs, and yet another for homicides. Still, even police officers who are not members of such departments "dabble" in it during their daily routine. In fact, their chance to do "a bit of this and a bit of that" is much higher, because they are not tasked with duties focusing entirely on their specialisation. So, if you want your players to do "a bit of this and a bit of that", why not have them just be normal police officers, if you get my drift?

Note that your players' Inquisitor may still have individual contacts into each of the Ordos (rarity, but explainable), such as perhaps his/her old mentor - I would merely advise against a full multi-Ordo membership.

There is currently more source material and modules available aplicable to the Ordo Hereticus, and the least for the Ordo Xenos; worth taking into consideration.

Gunrile said:

Greetings and welcome to DH!!! Glad to have fresh meat….. I mean, new members. In order to assist you in your endeavors, I will attempt to answer your questions/concerns from my own opinion and/or experience with Warhammer 40k. Now, I am not a die hard fan, but I started playing Warhammer 40k TT (Table Top) since about 12 years ago and have played DH and RT since it came out. I have no doubt that you and your merry band of gentlemen/ladies will greatly enjoy this diverse and richly entertaining game. So, without further adue, to the questions!

1) As Lynata mentioned, it isn't really normal procedure for an Inquisitor to be a member of all the Ordo's. There are technically three major Ordo's: Ordo Malleus (The Threat Beyond), Ordo Hereticus (The Threat Within), and the Ordo Xenos (The Threat Without). In addition to the three major Ordos, there are an unknown number of Ordos Minoris. Some of them are: Ordo Sepulturum (investigates plagues), Ordo Sicarius (polices the Officio Assassinorum, and the
Ordo Chronos (investigates time anomalies). Other ones that are not mentioned by name, but by area of expertees are the Ordos created to police the workings of the Blackships, the Imperial military and others whose sole task is to purge the ranks of the Inquisition itself.

To assist you in looking up various 40k/41k lore quite easily, please refer to this website. wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page#.UGzsDK7upNs

A possible solution, if I may, is to make an Ordo that has no purview on what it investigates. Meaning, the Ordo will have no ties to the other Ordo's, but it will dabble in all their affairs. It could be a dying Ordo, with only a few Inquisitors left, because most have switched over to the specific Ordo's since it's creation. Pretty much along the lines of what Lynata mentioned. The problem with this is that other Inquisitors could possibly be sneering down on this Ordo, and say it is old and outdated, and that it's members never get anything done correctly, etc etc. This is just an idea, and is not written in the rules (then again, it is not written in the rules that you can not do this either

The idea of implementing multiple Ordo leads into one campaign is a great way to do it. Though another way is to have short 1-2 sessions on each of the major Ordo's specialities, and after the players complete them all, ask them which ones they enjoyed. For example, for Ordo Malleus they are sent to discover why some hive workers are killing each other in such gruesome manners. While investigating it, they get attacked by 2-3 Astral Spectres. Case solved (you can make it as detailed or short as you want, I am just giving you the highlights). For Ordo Xenos the players are traveling on a Frigate to investigate/return for further training, and upon exiting the warp in a certain "quiet" sector of space, the Frigate gets attacked by Xeno raiders. Could be Orks, Dark Eldar, Eldar, Rak'Gol, Stryxis, a Xeno you create, etc. etc. For Ordo Hereticus…. EoD.

2) Nothing wrong with this. If you also want some other ideas of where to go to after EoD, then please refer to this link. www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp

3) None other that what is already mentioned. Best of luck to you and your crew, and glad you joined the Forum.

Wow, this is all really helpful feedback. Thanks!

I like the idea noted above of treating the Ordo as 'departments' that all the players can sort of dabble in. Perhaps i'll keep them in Ordo Hereticus (or just that their inquistor has ties to that network) and then they can dabble in the others. Maybe cross paths with another group of acolytes in the Ordo Malleus and have a conflict or potential support depending on how they play it. Sounds like you are all saying it may be a good idea to operate with a 'less ties/attachment to a specific Ordo' attitude the better (at least for a new DH group).

I was just looking for a unique way to judge what they were most interested in as a group to make it more enjoyable (rooting out heresy vs. hunting down daemons vs. protecting from xenos).

Either way, i'll start with EoD as a learning primer for all and after those few sessions, use it as a lead into the larger story of tracking down who the bigger fish is here behind EoD adversaries, whether than be daemon, xenos, or cult.

I thought I would enjoy just trying out one of the larger 'trilogy' packs of adventures, but after reading through them a bit, i'm finding i'm not liking how I might naturally tie them into EoD, and in general maybe I prefer filling in my own blanks as to what the overarching story is (even if it is a bit more work). Seems like reading more of the adversaries presented in the other source books (DotDG, etc.) might be the best way to figure out ch 2 and 3 of my campaign (if EoD is Ch 1). I was thinking Ch 2 would be figuring out who's behind Ch.1 and then facing off in a space hulk in Ch 3 (might use Shades of Twilight as a template for something if I can tie it all together).

I'd like to give them all a good 'feel' for the universe by being broad and showing them the many facets, but i'm afraid it also will be too overwhelming. If anyone has any good recommendations for adversaries from the source books, please let me know.

You can also keep that info secret: not all new acolytes (or Imperial citizens in general for that matter) automatically know the whole concept of Ordos; The Inquisition is known, but not too known.

You can keep it silent and only "take it out" only when the players are deeper into the =I= to be trusted with such information, letting time for you to pick the best ordo for your player's attitude/play style/startegy etc etc…