with an odd problem. idecided to throw a wrench in my players plans by having a lost tau ship show up on their base adn start a little havoc wel,l after the dust settled my players ended up with some tau weapons and a few more "converts". the problem came about when the groups heratic asked about the lone broadside that was in the group. they want to repair it using chaos tech ( the idea for possesing it with a deamon has even been brought up ) i was wondering if anyone else has ever been in this situation. i don't want to just say no as they did fight hard to get it without totaly destroying the suit( an 09 to hit roll with a lascannon finished it off)

and what changes could i make to it to reflec the warped result from there efforts

Well first off I'm 90% positive I read at one point in time (maybe a Last Chancers novel) that Tau battlesuits were DNA protected. Meaning only a Tau could operate them. However, Glorious Chaos does have its ways.

Unfortunately I don't have my Deathwatch rulebook in front of me at the moment - but if you do have access to the book look in the adversary section for details on the regular suit and then modify it from there as you see fit.

On a GM note you could also just rule the lascannon shot wiped out many crucial electronic components and the PCs will need to find replacements before it can be operational. This buys you time to build the mechanics of it as well as makes the PCs feel as though they are accomplishing something awesome.

I would take the oportunity to turn it into a quest, and intoduce the players to qsal as they try to turn it into a deamon engine

Yeah a broadside railgun is pretty powerful so I could see how the players would want to start in an endeavor of fixing the railgun to use to their own devices. There was something that I remember reading in my first bought Dark Heresy Core Rulebook in involves using the game element of fun in your games. Sure the techna behind a Tau broadsuit or railgun maybe intricate and complex but what better thing to throw at a Heretek then a piece of xeno arceotech that is cool, rare and a great weapon. I can answer the daemon in the weapon question with you taking a quick look in Tome of Fate, there is a small few entries on possessed daemon weapons and so forth. I would take the time to gain a copy if this is your desire and read up on a few examples they give, besides the entry and stat block they give a little bio and and background on just such things.

thanks all, i think i will make it into its own little mini quest( may even involve harvisting some tau dna or such hehe) and will give me some time to get the tome of fate since i dont have it yet.

on a related note is it mentianed anywhere what sort of maschine spirit ( or more likley A.I) this sort of suit would have?

I think the suit would be highly automated (more so than power armor), and have impressive AI.

However, I think a Tau design would be borderline incomprehensible to any PC (even a Heretek). Part of the sidequest should be capturing an Earth caste Tau who would be "convinced" to explain the suit's mechanism, because retro-engineering alone shouldn't allow for efficient repairs (not without years of studies anyway).

htsmithium said:

No spirit. I also doubt there would be an AI. If it was an Artificial Intelligence why wouldn't it pilot itself? More like a Virtual Intelligence, that can do automatic compensations and work for the Tau quickly executing calculations and targeting algorithms. It would be like Jarvis to Tony Stark's Ironman. Essentially not self aware, not sentient.

Grimsson said:

What he said (didn't think about the difference)

If you get it demon possessed, you may not need to do repairs, as it might be able to heal its demon engine body by other means. Other than that, there are rules for figuring out how to get necron tech to work for you in the tome of fate. I would start with them and adapt the rules as you feel appropriate for other xenos races.

It's going to be a difficult item to repair and get up and running again. Since it's alien tech from the other side of the galaxy perhaps bring in another element to play with it if you don't want to have the PCs carting it out to every fight but also don't want to nerf it. I'd suggest whenever it takes serious damage and has to be repaired then the PCs wont be able to make it exactly as it was when it came from the factory as they simply don't have the components and know how regarding tau tech. Let the groups Heretek know this in advance so the PCs start to weigh up when to use it or not, if they drag it out for every fight and starts to pile up battle damage it might get slower or take longer to reload it's weapons or it's weapons might take damage and need to be replaced themselves, eventually making some kind of chimera machine of death that will be fun in it's own unique ways as you give the PCs the option of what to try and put on instead of the railgun on the left side. Ammo could also be something they will have to consider… the railguns not so much a problem potentially but other weapons will be hard to find ammo for if the game is set in the screaming vortex.

Mark of the Xenos has rules for broadsides so that could be of use to you as well!

well i have decided to throw in some other complications when we meet up again, word of the strange grey aliens has reached others and now suddenly emmisarrys from qusal, the hollows and an obliterator cult have shown up all wanting access to the strange new tech…ecspessaly the mostly intact broadside

-not to mention there is still the matter of the ship that brought the tau in the first place, none of my players have yet to do anything about it. ( its hiding around in the system they are in trying to figure out how to travel in the vortex and get out) that is listaning in on the players thru an audio pic up in the suit.

plus there are several mutations that can be fun if rolled inside the suit-weapon limb, mecanical form…what not.

- and finnaly if they do dicide to keep it for them selves i think gaius had the right idea, i mean what might the warping influance of the vortex have on the delicate internals…or the already hostile VI hiding in the suit for that matter.

im thinking nothing to dramatic at first, shots miss even thou a hit was rolled, guages reading faulty, life support cutting off at random times…slowly working up to truly horrific things as the suit becomes self aware and/or possesd