I think it would be interesting to Run a dark Heresy game where the Characters don't start out with any connection to the Inquisition, and their knowledge of the Enemies of Man are fairly limited, or only deveoped in one area. sure, they know they exist, but only as abstract concepts. how much more frightening would it be for the Guardsman to return home from decades on the Spinward Front, fighting Orks and recidivists, only to find that his wife just sacrificed their only child in a ritual to Slaanesh? How prepared is a Psyker when he attempts to probe a seemingly average citizen's mind for thoughts of rebellion, and encounters the horrific Alien consciousness of a Genestealer Cultist? what will the Underhive ganger do when he goes to pick up a shipment of Obscura, and instead finds that the guys he's supposed to deal with have been slaughtered by a Bloodletter the criminals failed to bind upon summoning? How does an investigating Inquisitor react when he finds these people, who have seen too much to be left unchecked, but have proven themselves too useful to simply be executed?

Given that my players already have a fairly decent idea of what characters they want to run, i'd be especially interested in running a game like this: A Guardsman Returns from war, and finds that his wife and kids have been ritualistically murdered in their hab block appartment. this is the seventh case like this the Investigating Arbites officer has had in the past month, and for all his callousness, he just can't find it in his heart to say no when the bereaved and enraged guardsman demands to be with the Arbitrator every step of the case. when the two go next door to question the tenant, an administratum clerk, if he's heard or seen any thing strange, he says that he hasn't but he's more than willing to help them if they let him on the case. what they don't know is that the Clerk is also an unsanctioned psyker, who believes one of the things he summoned accidentaly is responsible for the murders, and only he knows how to send it back to the warp where it belongs. Finally, the case has caught the attentions of the Inqisition, who is sending one their best Inquisitors (a GM controlled character) down to investigate. he is quite surprised to find that an Arbites officer, a Spinward Front Veteran, and an Administratum official have done much of his legwork for him. just how do they know where to look?

what are your thoughts on this? do you have any tips for running a game with less inquisition involvement?

I think it would be interesting to Run a dark Heresy game where the Characters don't start out with any connection to the Inquisition, and their knowledge of the Enemies of Man are fairly limited, or only deveoped in one area. sure, they know they exist, but only as abstract concepts. how much more frightening would it be for the Guardsman to return home from decades on the Spinward Front, fighting Orks and recidivists, only to find that his wife just sacrificed their only child in a ritual to Slaanesh? How prepared is a Psyker when he attempts to probe a seemingly average citizen's mind for thoughts of rebellion, and encounters the horrific Alien consciousness of a Genestealer Cultist? what will the Underhive ganger do when he goes to pick up a shipment of Obscura, and instead finds that the guys he's supposed to deal with have been slaughtered by a Bloodletter the criminals failed to bind upon summoning? How does an investigating Inquisitor react when he finds these people, who have seen too much to be left unchecked, but have proven themselves too useful to simply be executed?

Given that my players already have a fairly decent idea of what characters they want to run, i'd be especially interested in running a game like this: A Guardsman Returns from war, and finds that his wife and kids have been ritualistically murdered in their hab block appartment. this is the seventh case like this the Investigating Arbites officer has had in the past month, and for all his callousness, he just can't find it in his heart to say no when the bereaved and enraged guardsman demands to be with the Arbitrator every step of the case. when the two go next door to question the tenant, an administratum clerk, if he's heard or seen any thing strange, he says that he hasn't but he's more than willing to help them if they let him on the case. what they don't know is that the Clerk is also an unsanctioned psyker, who believes one of the things he summoned accidentaly is responsible for the murders, and only he knows how to send it back to the warp where it belongs. Finally, the case has caught the attentions of the Inqisition, who is sending one their best Inquisitors (a GM controlled character) down to investigate. he is quite surprised to find that an Arbites officer, a Spinward Front Veteran, and an Administratum official have done much of his legwork for him. just how do they know where to look?

what are your thoughts on this? do you have any tips for running a game with less inquisition involvement?

I love running games like this. I really like how you've set up the way everyone will fall together at the start of the story. Are the players already settled on these characters or is this just you spinning out ideas?

Anyway, playing without Inquisition backing can make a big difference, but also it need not. It's not an uncommon adventure premise to send the acolytes off undercover with little to no backup. That's effectively little different to not being part of the Inquisition at all, save that they wont have been handed mission parameters at the start by an Inquisitor. So I'd say the two things you need to make sure are covered without an Inquisitor is (1) a clear mission purpose - shouldn't be too hard and (2) a source of support or advice. For this second one, you might want to have some disposable NPCs on hand for advice and equipment / information contacts. If not over-used, self-destructing NPC help is pretty useful in keeping a game rolling. Without a position in the Inquisition, the PCs could feel a little lost and an NPC or two to give advice can help. When I've provided help in this way, I've usually enjoyed having that NPC killed or lost just as the PCs have started to depend on them. Makes for a nice removal of their support structures and the fear that results distracts from the fact you've been helping them.

Anyway, in terms of the Inquisitor's agent you mention, who has been sent down... that has a BIG RISK of overshadowing the PCs and robbing them of their own initiative.

I would seriously consider having the Inquisitor's agent be undercover the entire mission. If you want them to know that there's a possible Inquisitorial presence around, that could be cool. It might really rack up the paranoia knowing they could be on the Suspect List and it will give them a feel for how the Inquisition is perceived by the general populace.

Anyway, just some thoughts. It's a really cool idea. You must do this!

I've been wondering if DH2 would be better if it allowed for groups working for everyone from Rouge Traders to Chaos cults rather than assume you work for an Inquisitor. We have the rules in place so why not make one intercompatabal line.

I like this idea. It might make sense, and I don't know because you didn't go into specifics, to make the inquisitor relatively new to his rosette. He's only now working to build a core, competent team of acolytes. As opposed to an established inquisitor who has delegates tasks to numerous cells and deals with sector politics.

In terms of playing with a group of characters that aren't overly universe savvy, one way to handle things is to never describe things using their names. Do your best to deny players their out of character knowledge. Try to word descriptions of daemons, xenos etc in away that players aren't immediately going to pick up on the fact that what they're facing down is actually a Firewarrior, or an Eldar, or a Bloodletter.

If executed well, it can really heighten the sense of confusion and wonder when new enemies are encountered. It just takes a little careful description on the GM's part.

In terms of playing with a group of characters that aren't overly universe savvy, one way to handle things is to never describe things using their names. Do your best to deny players their out of character knowledge. Try to word descriptions of daemons, xenos etc in away that players aren't immediately going to pick up on the fact that what they're facing down is actually a Firewarrior, or an Eldar, or a Bloodletter.

If executed well, it can really heighten the sense of confusion and wonder when new enemies are encountered. It just takes a little careful description on the GM's part.

This is very good advice.

An idea for a group project which would be cool, would be a very short primer on the setting, perhaps written in-character even, which presented things from an Imperial subject point of view. It would omit information about Xenos and Daemons and the Ruinous Powers. It would have a short and shocked section on Heresy and how evil it is. It would make a useful tool for players not familiar with the setting. I might take a shot at writing one. Imagine the shock of a Hive Worlder or Imperial Guardsman used only to the odd rival gang fight or putting down the odd insurrection respectively, to suddenly encounter Dire Avengers - a group of superbly organized and efficient tall warriors in plumes with frightening masks who mow down people like wheat and move like no human should. Or to see their first Genestealer hybrid, it's third clawed arm reaching toward them! Scary!

In terms of playing with a group of characters that aren't overly universe savvy, one way to handle things is to never describe things using their names. Do your best to deny players their out of character knowledge. Try to word descriptions of daemons, xenos etc in away that players aren't immediately going to pick up on the fact that what they're facing down is actually a Firewarrior, or an Eldar, or a Bloodletter.

If executed well, it can really heighten the sense of confusion and wonder when new enemies are encountered. It just takes a little careful description on the GM's part.

This is very good advice.

An idea for a group project which would be cool, would be a very short primer on the setting, perhaps written in-character even, which presented things from an Imperial subject point of view. It would omit information about Xenos and Daemons and the Ruinous Powers. It would have a short and shocked section on Heresy and how evil it is. It would make a useful tool for players not familiar with the setting. I might take a shot at writing one. Imagine the shock of a Hive Worlder or Imperial Guardsman used only to the odd rival gang fight or putting down the odd insurrection respectively, to suddenly encounter Dire Avengers - a group of superbly organized and efficient tall warriors in plumes with frightening masks who mow down people like wheat and move like no human should. Or to see their first Genestealer hybrid, it's third clawed arm reaching toward them! Scary!

If you end up doing this, please share.

I always write a page or two about the setting for my new players, but I always feel like it isn't enough. Meanwhile, asking them to read entire books is too much (though I still strongly recommend Eisenhorn to everyone who wants to play DH).

I've been wondering if DH2 would be better if it allowed for groups working for everyone from Rouge Traders to Chaos cults rather than assume you work for an Inquisitor. We have the rules in place so why not make one intercompatabal line.

By announcing a game that essentially invalidates all of the other games (RT, DW, BC, OW), which are still being actively developed, sales in those lines would cease as consumers decide to wait for the new version to be released. This is known as the Osborne effect . FFG have specifically stated that they are not converting the other lines to the 2e rules, most likely to avoid this scenario. This doesn't mean that they won't do so later on, though.

I'd just like to point out that "specifically stating they are not converting the other lines" means nothing. That you (and several others, including myself) have said they may eventually do so should already be creating the consumer doubt of which you speak.

I'll only believe FFG will not convert the other lines if they refrain from doing so until I have died. Otherwise, their statement is a liar's marketing tactic. Only time will tell, eh?

In terms of playing with a group of characters that aren't overly universe savvy, one way to handle things is to never describe things using their names. Do your best to deny players their out of character knowledge. Try to word descriptions of daemons, xenos etc in away that players aren't immediately going to pick up on the fact that what they're facing down is actually a Firewarrior, or an Eldar, or a Bloodletter.

If executed well, it can really heighten the sense of confusion and wonder when new enemies are encountered. It just takes a little careful description on the GM's part.

This is very good advice.

An idea for a group project which would be cool, would be a very short primer on the setting, perhaps written in-character even, which presented things from an Imperial subject point of view. It would omit information about Xenos and Daemons and the Ruinous Powers. It would have a short and shocked section on Heresy and how evil it is. It would make a useful tool for players not familiar with the setting. I might take a shot at writing one. Imagine the shock of a Hive Worlder or Imperial Guardsman used only to the odd rival gang fight or putting down the odd insurrection respectively, to suddenly encounter Dire Avengers - a group of superbly organized and efficient tall warriors in plumes with frightening masks who mow down people like wheat and move like no human should. Or to see their first Genestealer hybrid, it's third clawed arm reaching toward them! Scary!

If you end up doing this, please share.

I always write a page or two about the setting for my new players, but I always feel like it isn't enough. Meanwhile, asking them to read entire books is too much (though I still strongly recommend Eisenhorn to everyone who wants to play DH).

I just started putting one together and was going to start off with an in-character one for an Agriworld and then realized there's no suitable background. There's no Imperial World background in DH2! I only just noticed this. Your only option for being from any kind of "standard" Imperial World is to go High Born, which could be from anywhere but isn't really the same thing.

There's NO IMPERIAL WORLD!

Excellent ideas for sure. I was also pondering a similar idea but it would take place in the distant past. The idea was to have the PCs involved in various ways to aid the Emperor in his cause. They wouldn't know him personally but they would eventually get noticed by Malcador for their deeds. With a few plot twists and alterations to canon material during the events that become the Horus Heresy they would get caught in a warp portal or some such phenomenon. This portion of the campaign is to get them familiar with the original Imperial Truth.

The next thing they know, they wake up naked in a cryochamber. They are freezing cold and take a look around. They see that the room they are in is dark with a light flickering off and on. Little do they know, they are in the 41st millennium. They stumble around in a panic and find blood splatters and trails of blood into the darkness. They are on a ship of some kind. Their future Inquisitor would be somewhere in the ship trying to survive along with another acolyte or two.

Imagine the horror they would have when they see how the Imperium turned out.

Excellent ideas for sure. I was also pondering a similar idea but it would take place in the distant past. The idea was to have the PCs involved in various ways to aid the Emperor in his cause. They wouldn't know him personally but they would eventually get noticed by Malcador for their deeds. With a few plot twists and alterations to canon material during the events that become the Horus Heresy they would get caught in a warp portal or some such phenomenon. This portion of the campaign is to get them familiar with the original Imperial Truth.

The next thing they know, they wake up naked in a cryochamber. They are freezing cold and take a look around. They see that the room they are in is dark with a light flickering off and on. Little do they know, they are in the 41st millennium. They stumble around in a panic and find blood splatters and trails of blood into the darkness. They are on a ship of some kind. Their future Inquisitor would be somewhere in the ship trying to survive along with another acolyte or two.

Imagine the horror they would have when they see how the Imperium turned out.

That... is profoundly horrifying and brilliant... and horrifying. I can't imagine the reaction of people from those ancient days at seeing what came of it all.

The recent Black Legion supplement for the tabletop had a little snippet about a Terminator squad that stumbled upon a cryo chamber in a Space Hulk. Inside was a pre-heresy Luna Wolf. He wasn't overly happy when he found out what happened.

This is one of the reasons why I like the new character creation system.

I would love to have even some more background, role and homeworld options.

This would also allow more easily to run other campaigns inside the WH40k outside the inquisition which wilk never get their own line.

Like a adeptus arbites task force in a hive :-)

Like a adeptus arbites task force in a hive :-)

Would the hive be called Mega City One, by any chance?

I cannot get rid of the feeling that you wanna make fun of me... ;D

Honestly, I think it would be interesting to play a small arbites department for special investigations.

Including an Investigator, a SWAT operative, a chirurgeon who rules the morgue and a psyker who can pick up supernatural trails.

As the arbites are usually sent to a planet other than their home planet, different homeworlds for the characters wouldnt even be an issue.

I cannot get rid of the feeling that you wanna make fun of me... ;D

Honestly, I think it would be interesting to play a small arbites department for special investigations.

Including an Investigator, a SWAT operative, a chirurgeon who rules the morgue and a psyker who can pick up supernatural trails.

As the arbites are usually sent to a planet other than their home planet, different homeworlds for the characters wouldnt even be an issue.

I kind of ran a campaign like that. The PCs were an acolyte cell, but 3 of them were arbitors from the same fortress precinct in hive Sibellus and the other 3 were basically specialists that an Adeptus Arbites task force with a similar mandate would have had. And indeed, I had them investigate a couple of AA cases along the way that had nothing to do with the Inquisition, where they officially worked for the AA.

It can be a lot of fun

I cannot get rid of the feeling that you wanna make fun of me... ;D

Hee hee! No, not at all. I thought it was an open secret that the Arbites were closely modelled on Judge Dredd. Put them in a Hive city and the parallels are almost inescapable!

Plus you can take it.

You know...even I have feelings...