Hello everyone,

I´ve got the Dark Heresy Core rule book in my possesion for some time now, however I havent started a game yet due the lack of player.

Its only me and a friend who are willing to do this, so now I decided to create an adventure fitting for a single player. I know Dark heresy is made for a group of 3-4 PC´s. I havent run a game as a GM since i was a teenager which doesn´t make this any easier for me.

The Idea is to introduce someone who hasnt much of a clue about RP´s and what a RP really is and also is not a WH40k geek like me.

This said, i am curious how you experienced GM´s would handle this and how you´d keep the player from dying in every single encounter.

First charakter my friend rolled happened to be a Cleric. I was thinking I´d make this adventure a prolouge on how he (or someone else who´d like to join the game later) joined the inquisition.

In this case it seems almost obvious. The paradise planet Cleric is sent to another world to assist his brothers in spreading the imperial truth.

once he arrives and joines his brothers something doesnt add up. he gets involved in a secret brotherhood which turns out to be cult of some kind.

the main goal would be unveiling the cult and its heresy to the local inquisition. which in the end would be impressed by the PC and give him the chance to be part of the the inquisition, introducing to him his prospective employer, the inquisitor.

ok this is the main idea. now i need some help with all the details. more investigating and horror stuff, but some combat encounters too, to explain the combat system.

If we can get this together here, it could be a help not only for me and my friend but an example for every new player who is interested in dark heresy or roleplay, but has noone else to play it with.

thank you all in advance

simkin

Daaaaaaaaaaang

You got one hell of a task, there.

hum. Well, firstly, you can offer this person the chance to play two characters. there's a small start. then there's the possiblity that, depending on where you live, if you can find 1 other, then you can give them two chars, and you're good.

But if not, and there's only the one… you could give him three (which is HARD work for both of you.) Scale the encounters, extra fate points, helpful NPCs, different Medicae rules…

And 40k is pretty new for them… humm okay. well you could direct them to the numerous 40k wikipedias, to the rulebooks, or you could borrow them all of your 40k novels (if you have any.)

Good luck, you're in for a ride.

Jeans_Stealer said:

For a first time player handling one charakter seems challenging enough, so more charakter arent an option yet.

this first time adventure should be more of an investigating one. combat should start with the pc being in advantage either by position or enviromental situation. if pc gets ambushed i´d let a npc get the first hit so the pc can get cover and start to think it out.

the goal is to unveil the cult to the inquisition rather than slaying the cultist into pieces. finding the members and leader and whats behind it.

i want this to be not very lethal because i dont want to frustrate first time player…

if i get someone to play this through i might get this person to play in a round with the other who played it and both would be familiar with the combat system instead of having no clue at all.

the wh40k universe is something i could feed in small pieces.

this adventure could start on a medivel world with a king and castle and monastery.

simkin said:

I agree. When I have just two players, I have two NPC's with them. So, if you have just one player, have atleast one, if not 2 NPC's that you control to assist the PC. Once they(him/her) get the hang of utilizing their character in combat, then you can let them control one of your NPC's during combat only. This has worked great for me. Not only does having an NPC around help in combat situations, but it also helps in guiding the characters on the path you want to take, help pointing out clues you thought were obvious but weren't so much, and help instill a sense of paranoia in the group.

Meaning, say the PC and the NPC go to a city and split up to "purchase" something (information). Well, later when the PC is gathering info from an informant, the informant states he saw a person meeting with a known criminal/target the PC and NPC is after. And this person's description is eerily similar to the NPC. You know it's not the NPC because you had an informant call the NPC saying that they know where the target is. Well, the NPC and the informant meet up in the spot, but no target arrives. After awhile the NPC figures it's a false lead, and leaves. Unbeknownst to the NPC, the target knew of the informant and hid, waiting for the NPC to leave. Only the target didn't know about the PC's informant. So what does the PC's informant see? The NPC enter an area known to be a hideout of the target, and then leave. Shortly after, the target arrives. Hence, why the informant thought they meet up with each other.

I do recommend having atleast two players though. But if that is all the Emperor blessed you with, then so be his will.

simkin said:

Ahh, investigative adventures. Always easier said than done my friend. But, in order to assist you in this endeavor, please refer to this link.

www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp

Which, now that I read it again, you already did. Nuff said there.

simkin said:

Yep, you can give this to your PC via hymns/gospels of the Emperor's Feats (narrate this, don't actually actually sing it unless you want too), in murals, paintings, books he reads, quotes written on the walls in the Monastery, other forms of art, etc etc. And also, just by general conversations with normal people.

The medieval setting is great, but I would just let the PC keep his starting equipment. Unless you consider this equipment the Inquisition will give him once he is inducted, then disregard my previous statement.

Ok. I tried to do as written in the sticky and this is what i got so far.

1. The HOOK

the PC is a cleric from a paradise world. he has a profession which in his case is either cook or singing.

The PC is chosen to perform at a concert to the glory of the emperor in a monastry on his homeworld.

(If he is a cook he has to take care of the bankett)

that monastry is on a mountain in a not very good accessible area, however a concert from the top of the planet would do nicely to show the planets inhabitants devotion to the beloved emperor of mankind.

the PC and some other singer (maybe 5) arrive at the monastry in which they immediatly become aware of the silence ruling over this place.

the monks of the monastry do not talk, they dont welcome the new guests, they just sit or stand in their places, probably praying in silence for the blessing of the emperor.

one person is asking for attention while welcoming the new guests. he introduces himself as the abbot. He is a man with common size and an unremarkable face. He shows his guests their room, a hall with several beds, the dining room, the stage where they shall perform their glorious concert and before that, practice for the event.

The PC and his companions then are asked to the dining room where they may eat and have some conversation between themselves.

A little later they are called to the concert hall for practise, to show how much voice they have. since the PC and some other guy sound best, one of them is supposes to be the star of the show.

After the first Night, the PC awakens in the morning after a very deep and dreamless sleep. When awake he discovers that his ears are bleeding and after asking around he finds out that all the others have the same symptoms, exepct for one NPC, who is… Gone.

While at breakfast the PC gets a chance to ask the abbot about the bloody ears who will answer it is not uncommon because of the airpressure in this high region.

tbc..

when asking the abbot about the guy missing, he explains that he came to him with urgent matters this morning. he received message about a death in his family, so he left the monastry early in the morning to meet with his family. he wont be back for the concert.

one of the remaining singers, the one with the birth mark in form of an eagle on his forehead, expresses his sorrow with a prayer to the emperor for the guy and his family.

after the breakfast they meet in the concert hall for practice. the organ is not working, so they have to practice without it. the abbot explaines it is beeing improved for the concert. if the pc wants to inspect it he´ll see that several parts are missing, like the flutes and the keyboard. also its coverplates arent in place. expect for that everything looks normal.

the group makes a break for lunch, then continue practicing. the PC gets commendetion for his voice. after the practice the abbot tells him in private to be ready to take the lead in the concert. which is supposed to be in 4 days.

Day 3

after a long and deep sleep with some twisted nightmares the PC awakes in the morning with bleeding ears again. the others complain about nightmares and the bleeding ears and one realizes that the one other singer is gone.

the abbot will tell the group that the singer asked to leave, after the abbot told him he wont take the lead in the concert. he was ambitious to be the star of the concert and since that wont happen he wouldnt be a part of it after all. the abbot announces the PC will take the lead part and the 2 remaining singer will be the backgroung chorus. both npc´s seem to agree.

Day 4

after a terrible night full of nightmares of the concert and not beeing able to sing because the npc lost his voice, the PC awakes again with bleeding ears. there is only 1 singer left. the one with the birth mark on the forehead was gone.

the other npc seemed very concerned. he was disappointed and in doubt that they could do the concert with only them 2 left.

the abbot explaines he left because he thought they wouldnt be able to make the concert worth his presence with only 3 singers left. so he quit and was gone after the abbot was able to reason with him. the abbot seemed very sad, however he was confident they could still do a great concert. the emperor was probably just sorting out those not worthy to participate in this event.

now they had to practice how to do the show in duett. the organ still wasnt working, but progress could be seen. the keyboard was almost full in place and some flutepipes seemed ready to be installed. Also the coverplates were in place. if the pc inspects it he sees that the cover plates arefully bound in leather. if the makes a good dice throw he discovers a cover plate with a small black eagle shaped symbol on the leather.

day 5

This night the pc awakens in the night when a robed men pulls the npc out of his bed. the pc can stay put and do as if he sleeps or engage the robed cultist in close combat. if he defeats the cultist he discovers that the cultist has a big scar on his throat.

---------------------------- Cut -----------------------------------------

ok this is as far as i can imagine for now.

the npc´s were pulled out of their roomes and butchered, their bones were made into keys for the organ, their skin was taken for the leathercover, the vocal cords were removed and installed into the pipeflutes. all monks have their vocal cords removed for all the other pipes, but the abbot needs a few uncorrupted vocal cords to summon a slaneesh deamon, which would be the first on this paradise world and since this world lives in wealth, would have a great starting point to corrupt this world. this is what the Pc has to prevent. of course not all by himself. the goal should be to uncover this madness and send a message to the lord gouvernour, who will take action by informing the inquisitor of this planet. when the ritual is in progress and madness seems to enter this world, the inquisitor comes to save the day.

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What i need from you guys is more information on how to make that work.

i am still a newbee GM and this is still far from ready…

Ok now i do Step 2 from the sticky.. I am not sure if this is how it was meant in the sticky, so please correct me!!!!

2. Agenda

1 Search the Office of the Abbot for clues

- the abbot is clearly suspicious from at least day 2

- there are letters with something strange clues (any ideas what it could be are most appreciated)

2 Observe the Monks

- the monks dont speak

- they eat only soup

- they dont do anything exepct praying in silence

- something what will give a clue, HELP ME i dont now what yet

3. Discover where the NPC´s have gone

- The Organ in the concert hall is full of bodyparts from the npc´s

- the remains of the bodys have to be somewhere

4. Find out the purpose of their deads

- well they are transformed into a deamonic organ so a deamon of slaneesh can be summoned

- what clues could be there to make the pc sense the presence of slaneesh cult but not too obvious

5. Who is behind this.

- is the abbot the one behind this heresy or is there somone else, maybe a wealthy sponsor living on this planet

- a letter in the office could be a clue to the mastermind

6. Prevent the Ritual from happening and/or inform the Lord Govenour in time

- set the organ on fire, maybe it resists fire, i am not sure

- how get a message out of this isolated place when everybody will try to prevent you from doing such a thing

7. The Inquisition comes and ends this heresy. the npc will be chosen by the inquisitor himself to be his tool in the future. his big achievement in this monastry prevented a world to be tainted by chaos and the npc is now an acolyte for the inquisition.

OK, NOW THAT I Believe i did step 2.. how do i do step 3.. making the links and putting everything together…

i really could use some HELP.

thank you all

ah and keep in mind this is supposed to be a single player adventure

BRAVO!!! I really like your adventure! And in order to help you in acquiring links, I think you should start at the very beginning.

Where did this Slaneesh cult originate from and who exactly is in it?

I would say that for this adventure, with so many people having to go missing and getting butchered, that everyone in that Monastery is a disciple of Slaneesh (to some extent or less). They might not all be hard core fanatics cutting people up and using their body parts, but they contributed something either by supplying their vocal cords/body parts and/or by staying silent. Heck, you could even have one unwilling person with eyes, tongue, and vocal cord missing, who is trying to warn the PC but is unable to because he is considered "old and senile" and has a "care taker."

Anyhoot, lets say they are all part of the cult, with some more than others. Lets say they all became this way because an artifact that was brought to them containing the message of the Slaneesh daemon. One weak willed person became corrupted, who then showed another weak willed person the "light", and so forth and so forth. Where did this artifact come from? Well, that is for another adventure seed. It could of been planted/sent there by the Governor, another Priest, sold to them by a passing merchant, donated as a gift, or mysteriously turned up on their door steps.

Next is the mission. You already know what you want accomplished and resources needed to accomplish it. A musical organ made out of human body parts. So clues can lead to that.

Maybe a priest is seen with his hands all bloody after one of the NPC's go missing. Maybe a room is discovered with blood all in it, a drainage pipe with hair and skin and the smell of iron coming out of it, etc etc. I mean heck, what do the priests do with the rest of the body parts? They don't eat it, that's for sure. Maybe they burn the extra body parts and/or the clothes, and the PC discover the remnants of a belt buckle, comb, thigh bone, etc in the incinerator. Or maybe they use the extra body parts as fertilizer after grounding them up, or for farm animal food, etc. And the PC discovers a finger bone sticking out of the soil in the garden out back that he isn't allowed to go to, or in a pigs mouth, etc etc.

Maybe one of the cultist priests is writing stuff on his bedroom wall in his own blood, when the PC discovers it. Like the PC is walking by the door and he hears whimpering , giggling, whispering coming a room. Upon opening it he sees a priest drawing on the walls with his own blood. The symbols the priest is drawing hurt the PC's eyes to look at, but there is also a message written in the blood. You can have this say "_____ coming is near" (with ____ being the name of your daemon) or anything else you desire. And once the PC reads this, the priest notices him, draws a dagger from his robes, and starts to attack the PC. The fight ends up in the hallway, with other priests coming to stop the fight and drag away the "sick" priest and blockading the room from anyone's entrance besides the Abbott. All the while the PC might be asking the priest to stop attacking him, and all the "crazy" priest can do is moan because he has no tongue or vocal cords (all the PC sees is a scar along his neck and no tongue). Later, you can ask the PC why did he hear whispering when the guy had no tongue? Enter mysterious music.

It could be that in some of the other priests journals that they write, they mention "The rights of passage" and the "removal of unjoyous sounds." These journals (not all the Priests/Cultist should have them, only a few), could have other details too. Like "Brother Liam fought like a mad man. Why did he not want to be part of the _____ coming/resurrection?" And Brother Liam could be a fellow priest gone missing without a trace, or possibly one of the band members.

Anyhoot, I think you get the jist. I do recommend though that you include an NPC that you control to be with the PC and helping him out from time to time. Maybe you are going to introduce a few NPC's later after he becomes part of the Inquisition, but you can add one now too if you like. At the end this, the NPC could also be recruited by the Inquisition but is sent to a different team. And maybe later your PC runs into him, but the NPC is now secretly a bad guy. Best of luck to you though no matter what you decide.

P.S. Did I mention that I really like your adventure?

As for how your PC gets the word out, maybe there is a group of pilgrims / towns people who live at the bottom of the mountain and go up to the Monastery with supplies and messages. Maybe around the 5th day or the day when the PC thinks something is really messed up/bad with this Monastery, this group arrives. You can have one of the towns people ask the PC "Do you have anyone you wish to send a message too? A family member or a loved one on another planet/town/village perhaps?" If the PC still doesn't get a hint about sending a message to the local authorities, your helper NPC can recommend this action. Like "Hey, do you think we should send a message to Constable/Father ____ asking where Brother's/Sisters _______ ______ ______ ______ went?" When in reality, your NPC is telling your PC to call for help incase they go missing too. And a sealed letter can be sent off, written hastily, stating that "Brothers/Sisters _____ are missing and the PC and NPC thinks so and so did something to them." Maybe even one of the townspeople mention that don't go up here as much as they used to, since a few towns people have gone missing on the trip. Now they all wait to travel in a large group once every week or 2 weeks.

It could also be possible that a couple members of the towns people are actually Inquisitor agents undercover and are sent up there because a Father _____ known to be a reliable source to the Inquisitor has gone missing. Even though the townspeople are only there for an hour or so, this is enough time for the agents to discover human remains in the incinerator or soil out back, grab a journal, and possibly sneak a peak at the artifact / human organ. Now those agents have to go with the townspeople back down the mountain, report their findings, gather the rest of the team, and assault the complex. And in the process, saving the PC and NPC from certain doom right before the Abbott plunges the sacrificial dagger into the PC's heart on the sacrificial alter.

Thank you very very much! U just did everything i could ask for. Most appreciated!!!

I will use your advise to finish this. I believe this will work fine.

When It is ready I´ll post it here for everyone to use it the same way I did.

However, there is still something I´d like to know.

Since its a game for bloody beginners, how exactly would one make the first steps into the adventure like an tutorial.

I mean what little tasks could i give him to become familiar with the dice throws… I know I´ll teach him close combat first with a small encounter, but what should i introduce first, if anything. It also would help me to become more used to it too..

Well, but dont worry too much about this… but if you have some advice how you do it with first time players i´d be happy to hear about it

thnx a lot again

simkin said:

Simple. Just throw in a small hunt for some game or something. Then maybe he must fend of an sneak-attack by some wild animals (local wildlife can be dangerous you know…), while he's out hunting.. Should get you going with dice rolls for combat/sneaking/awerness etc. The animals flee whenever he's taken enough damage (or some NPC steps in and helps him out).

Good luck!

What mosern recommended can work. In addition to this, if you haven't downloaded Edge of Darkness, a precreated DH scenario, then do so by going to this link. www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp

Just by reading over it and mentally walking yourself through the motions of that adventure can give you a better grasp of what you need to watch out for.

My second advice to you is stay flexible and go with the flow. If everything is running smoothly, and all of a sudden you can't find something in the rules after looking in the glossary / index / etc and 5-10 mins have gone by…. just wing it. There are no rule Inquisitors out there that will hunt you down for this (least I haven't been Interrogated yet:). The intent of the game is to have fun, so don't get bogged down by the rules so much. If both you and your players can quickly come to an agreement, or you just thought of something on the whim to speed along the fun and the players are having a blast with it, then go with it. As long as everyone is enjoying the game (including you), then that is all that matters. My last piece of advice that goes hand in hand with being flexible and going with the flow, is utilizing the KISS method. Keep It Simple Silly.

Best of luck you to you, and I look forward to hearing how it all went.

Okay, i made some progress. its still not finished, but i am getting there. i just wanted to share with everyone who would be interested.

i also ask for help again…

if you have the time and are in the mood, i would appreciate if someone checks my english…. maybe i use a figure of speech which isnt used in english or something else i did wrong.

as for now i will add the clues and then the npc´s….. when it is finished it gets polished and in pdf so if someone is interested he may print it properly.

https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B2-CSjW7YmsuYXBRc1JJUV9nS2s/edit?usp=sharing

oh and every impression is received gratefully