Hey, I've been asked to run a black crusade game for a group of friends, should only be around about 4 players and I've run 2 pretty successful campaigns using the 40k games, a rogue trader and an only war.

A couple of issues I'm having at looking over BC is if I were to run it I'd want it to be more of a slow paced game ending with the hammer that is chaos, what I mean is if they want to turn a planet on itself they would need to go in under cover and be able to move about the masses.. How would I do this? or is this a pipe dream, does BC have to be all about making the largest possible explosion and just being evil to be evil.

Also I need some ideas for music, obviously without lyics just good background tone.

Cheers,

Hi Deadly Fox, there's no reason at all why you can't run a slow paced game with undercover operatives. The system is pretty flexible and caters to all game styles.

It would also be a good chance to field the much maligned apostate as this type of game perfectly suits their skills of infiltration, deception and corruption. Any of the four basic human archetypes though would be quite workable as their roles can easily be used to mimic similiar roles within the imperium. Any Tzentch based characters should be quite effective too as creating a web of lies and intrigue would be well suited to their skills as well as allowing them to pay homage to the Lord of Lies and Subterfuge with their actions.

The game could have quite a paranoid feel with the group constantly worried about being uncovered and exposed deep in the heart of Imperial territory far away from any substantial allies.

It would probably be harder to do if you were allowing Chaos Space Marines, although Alpha Legion types might be well suited to this type of operation and possibly the Dark Apostle (though I haven't got the rules for these yet so I may be mistaken).

It also allows you to use wargear that probably is very underused in BC, such as forgery and disguise kits as well as a host of other interesting items.

In answer to your question of theme and mood there is certainly no reason you need to be cartoonish or evil for evil's sake. The characters may be quite evil and corrupt but outwardly appear to be normal or even saintly people or they themselves may be simply misguided and ignorant with generally good intentions. All this is determined by you and your troupe depending on what works for you and not the fluff of the book.

The last thing you might want to be careful with is mutations, either removing them altogether or controlling them yourselves to ensure no obvious ones are picked up by the players. It might be a little bit hard to convince that guard that you are their replacement when you are spouting four arms and a reptilian centoid body…….

As GM you could manually choose the mutations for the players if you still wanted them to use them so only subtle ones may be chosen. The Gods may choose to bestow Illusion of Normalcy on the characters all the better to carry out their nefarious plans.

Good luck with it mate and don't be discouraged, I think intrigue and role-play heavy games are much under-rated and probably the most enjoyable of all when done correctly.

At least from what I gather, I'm on board with Amroth here. The game seems to lend itself particularly well to sneaky Chaos. Though it is doubtful you would get the experience you want from the Screaming Vortex (unless they plan on turning a Chaos world against itself, which is a cool idea on its own) you probably know enough about the Spinward Front and Kuronus Expanse to use one of those worlds as the adventure.

I would also agree that Space Marines would be difficult to use, though workable. If you have read the Simon Spurrier book Lord of the Night , it is comparatively easy convince a commoner that a Legionnaire is a loyal Astartes, since their experience of the Angels of Death comes from stained glass windows and monuments. With an apostate supporting this claim, this could make for a VERY interesting story arc.

If I were to take a stab in the dark, I'd say your principle adversaries would be the Ministronum and the Custodes or local Enforcers. Fighting local gangs or cults might make for a good warm up or provide a sense of setting.

Good luck on the game, It should make for a very cerebral experience.