I'm looking to start a BC game with 13,000xp characters - roughly equivalent to starting Deathwatch characters. All characters will begin with 30 Corruption Points and 37+1d5 Infamy (this includes the amounts gained from Advanced Archetypes). I'm seeing that this should allow the following options:

Human + Basic Archetype + 7,000 xp

CSM + Basic Archetype + 6,500 xp

Human + Advanced Archtype(4,600 xp) + 2,400 xp

CSM + Advanced Archetype (3,600 xp) + 2,900 xp

Looking over the Advanced Archetypes, I'm questioning whether they are worth the big hit in experience. While they are certainly stronger than the Basic Archetypes, they are also much less optimized. I'm considering giving characters built with Advanced Archetypes by 600 xp - so 4,000 xp for the human and 3,000 xp for the CSM. Does anyone have any experience with integrating such characters together?

The advanced archetypes really depend on what the player wants to do. The Tzeench Sorcerer's worth it, but I'd say the berserker not so much. The one time I played in a game where they got mixed, it was quickly clear that the advanced archetype was not better unless chosen specifically for what they were designed as. Think of it less as an alternative archetype and more as "I've already decided to build in this direction for a few thousand xp"

Your starting corruption seems high for the given infamy [itself seems a bit low for both the xp and corruptioin ratings given]. A normal starting character, pre-passions, has 0 corruption and 19+1d5 infamy. If you're starting ten under instead of twenty under, you're probably guaranteed to chaos-spawn unless the campaign's "princehood" point was set 'round 75. 90 will probably be impossible without significant use and abuse of the gm-booklet's corruption-reduction methods.

The advanced archetypes aren't optimized, which is a good balancing factor paired with the fact of non-choices when you choose on at a lower xp starting amount.

In your case you'd likely have to go with a case-by-case basis weighing in the archetype's special abilities. The Q'Sal and TSS and Idoltrex special abilities are much better than the Night Lord's special abilities for example instead of just going with a hardfast amount to compensate.

Another argument would also be that getting such special abilities is a balancing factor in itself to weigh up the non-optimized nature.

Kiton said:

Starting Infamy and Corruption Points are based on the book-suggested values of +3 Infamy and 5 Corruption Points per extra 1,000xp at character creation. Starting with an added 6,000xp results in starting Infamy of 37+1d5 (average 40) and 30 Corruption. I'm also using the optional rules from the GM screen, so any caracter can burn their Infamy to reduce Corruption Points at a ration of 1 Infamy to 2 Corruption Points. The 'win level' of Infamy for the campaign will be set to 150, so regular bleeding off of Corruption Points will be expected.

Honestly. you're probably best off dropping the corruption by 10 and Infamy by 5, then apply the changes for advanced Archetypes. Otherwise, even with the option to burn off corruption more PCs will spawn out as opposed to becoming Daemon princes. The campaign I'm running started with starting Infamy/Corruption similar to yours, and a 100 Infamy target for the players, and I can't see more than 1/3 of them making it. Though these fuckers lucked out and made a Grey knight Grand master die of blood loss……

BTJ said:

If you can burn off 2 Corruption by spending 1 Infamy, I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that Corruption will rise too far too fast. Burn 10 Infamy right from the start (and thus starting at Infamy 30) and you drop to only having 10 Corruption Points. That's hardly crippling.