Hello all. I'm new here and completely new to role playing games as well. A few friends and I decided to get into it as we want something more creative and mentally stimulating come hobby/entertainment rather than video games, as has been the norm. Choosing this to be done with 40k was a no brainer for me as I've been an avid fan of it's stories and universe itself for some time now.

I have a question though…

Going over the products here, it seems as though there's a lot of ''supllementary'' books which host new careers, rules, information, etc. Is there any big loss if one chooses just to stick to the core stuff first? If we were to create characters and play out some things, are we expected to have to wipe and later add certain things when dealing with these supplements? How does this transition exactly go with characters? With these new rules and whatnot, does it drastically change how we will have become accustomed to playing?

I don't really expect this game to expect people to buy all these things at once before diving into it, but I'm just concerned over how a transition would go is all.

Your replies are much appreciated. Thanks in advance. =)

Mmm, and another question I forgot to ask…

With new books and adventures, characters can be retained as are, correct? They can be built up over many different additions I would assume?

And are there any possibilities in transferring characters into completely different brands? Like say one from Dark Heresy to Black Crusade or Deathwatch? Of course there would have to be changes to a degree as the nature of careers and whatnot are different between games, but I was just wondering if it was at all possible that something like this could be worked out.

Thanks again in advance all who reply.

If you are starting off, I think you are better off just using the core book and the free adventures from the dark heresy support material. If you must have a supplementry book, then I would suggest the Inquisitors handbook, just to get the home world options and a larger selection of weapon.

Of the supplementary books, Disciple of the Dark Gods is nice. It has lots of enemies and a nice adventure to go with it.

As for transferring characters to different brands, I think it is relatively easy to do that with Rogue trader. I do not think that it is feasible to have them converted to Deathwatch and I am not that familiar with black crusade.

Alright, but when I do come to the point where I wish to dig into all these other supplements with new information, additions, and whatnot, am I to simply implement it? Like with new information on home worlds for example. Would we just add such a thing in with our characters, as if it's always been there?

This all may sound pretty ignorant lol. Am just totally green to all this…

Meaning, would you change characters already in play because you found something in a new book you just bought?

I suppose you could do that, but I'd advise against it, it's simply too much of a hassle, in my opinion.

I'll advise you to simply buy the core rulebook and stick with that until such a time where you are more comfortable with the rules, setting and roleplaying in general.

Adding more books and rules when you're a beginner is just unneccessary and something you don't need to thing about just yet.

Also, have fun

Defaeco Omnis Malum said:

You can play the game with just the Core Rulebook (but be sure to check out the official Erratta ); the supplements mostly just expand the players' options. Some of those options can be applied at later levels, but some require a character to be Rank 1, in which case the ship has sailed on that option if you don't have the book at the time of character creation. The minimum books I would recommend: everyone- player and GM- should have the DH Core Rulebook ; ideally at least one person in your group should also have the Inquisitor's Handbook (and be willing to lend it out)- this has a lot of info that didn't fit in the Rulebook. Unfortunately it also contains some 'broken' (overpowered) weapons that encourage 'min-maxing'… Beyond that, there is nothing absolutely vital, but the supplements provide some good insight on fleshing out specific types of characters: Blood of Martyrs is very useful to Clerics, Book of Judgement is helpful to Arbites, The Lathe Worlds has a lot of info for Techpriests. The bad news is that these later books are effected by 'power creep', and the GM needs to review any piece of equipment or career option before allowing players to take it. You really don't want Rank 1 charaters walking around in power armour (or equivelant). Everything inthese books should be considered optional and subject to GM veto… For GMs, Desciples of the Dark Gods is a great source for adversaries and adventure ideas. Creatures Anathema less so, but if you are playing Ordo Xenos you will want to get it eventually.

Defaeco Omnis Malum said:

Yes, unless something specifies Rank 1 as a requirement.

Defaeco Omnis Malum said:

Yes and no… The experience point totals are calculated to be equivelant across the systems, so that a high-Rank DH character should be comparale to a mid-Rank Rogue Trader character or a low-Rank Deathwatch character. That said, there are some mechanics specific to each system that don't translate well between systems; if you plan on doing cross-overs, the GM will need to be very familiar with the systems in question and prepared to do some tinkering to make them work togeather…

Defaeco Omnis Malum said:

As GM you can do whatever pleases you and the group - remember to have fun playing, don't let the rules come in your way. The rules are there to guide you, not to limit your game.

With that in mind, there are normaly no issues related to putting in the additions from new sourcebooks/supplements in your game. F.ex. in our group(s) we play Dark Heresy, but uses mostly the streamlined combat mechanics from Black Crusade and we allow equipment from Rogue Trader as well.

But I wouldn't worry too much about these things to begin with. As long as you have the Core Rulebook, you are good to go. Do a few pre-made adventures first, then try creating some on adventures your own - just remember to prepare for the unexpected, as players usually never does what you plan for.

Hi and welcome to the hobby!

I'd advise you to start off really easy, in fact you can go to the support page for DH and download "The Edge of Darkness". A pretty good adventure and also includes som easy starting rules. It's better to start off small and then expand and include more and more rules as your group becomes more comfortable with the system. Otherwise you're left with "we'll start by learing this entire book in one go" and the game might slow down to a crawl.

Other books are useful, some for players and some for the GM. Inquisitors handbook is a good first choice, the rest can come as you feel the need. And don't worry, even though much of it regards character creation there's nothing stopping your players to change their characters to fit the new choices presentet in inquisitors handbook or any of the other.

Defaeco Omnis Malum said:

I did spent quite a bit of time putting a Rogue Trader character into Dark Heresy, and it was not easy. There are some compromises that can be made, but mostly the progression rate does not match (i.e. give the RT double xp and have them buy skills from RT book). Apart from that though, the systems are completely the same with very minute differences.

I wouldn't head out to buy Rogue Trader as the first supplement to Dark Heresy though. Disciples of the Dark Gods and Creatures Anathema and much better sources.