Hey guys, I've never GM'd anything before and my players have never played a RP game before and we'll be having our first game soon. There's only 2 players and a possible 3rd and they've chosen to play a tech-priest and an assassin. I'd just like to get some input on my ideas.

I am going to run the game in missions, so the inquisitor (or his lackies) will brief them and send them on their way (this will be the flavour speech at the beginning). They will be set objectives to achieve and it will be up to them how they go about it.

My first mission I have is pretty standard Sci-Fi fare but I hope it will be interesting enough and diverse enough to encourage the players. It goes like so:

"A research post on the moon of (a planet tobe named) has gone silent, the last transmission from the station consisted of frantic screams and viseral noises before being finally cut off. It has come to the attention of the ordo Xenos (the order they work for) that the station may have made an important discovery. The Inquisition needs to know. So they are sending a small team to enter the facility and discover what happened there as well as download as much data as they can from the central Data Core, the Imperial guard PDF have been asked to lock down the area but not enter the station (The inquisition don't want them burning vital research in their eagerness)"

So Primary Objective: Locate and retrieve the data from the data core.

Secondary Objective: Discover what befell the stations crew and find any survivors for questioning.

I plan on them entering a 3 level complex (1 ground level, 2 below ground level and 3 basement), completely powerless so they have to travel to the station basement to restart the generators before heading to the stations Data Core located on level 2. On their way they are free to explore other facilities and if they desire piece together the story of Station Alpha 6. The stations crew discovered some seemingly dead genestealer corpses buried in the ice, bringing them in for autopsy they began disection when 2 of them awoke and quickly over powered the scientists (I was unsure if the genestealers would be too much for the new characters so I have prepared to introduce them as weakened because of the wounds suffered from the partial disection). The main grunt of the enemy will be hybrids ie. the dead research crew. Though I plan to include one survivor to be found who has locked themselves in the security office though he will be very jumpy and possibly more of a hinderance than a help.

While not the most inspired story I thought it would do for a learning exercise if nothing else, plus its a scene they can relate to from films which may help them ease into it.

Thoughts and opinions? Are genestealers too tough for new characters? Any thoughts to the future? Possible genestealer cults on the main planet leading to a full invasion, can the acolytes find proof and give the early warning in time?

Some of you may suggest running a pre written campaign and we may well do that if this doesn't work out as well as I hope. One of my players has an interest in GM'ing too so we thought we could take in turns and run seperate campaigns. Hope I haven't bored anyone with my nice wall of text.

We met a wounded genestealer in our last session, he surprised us and managed to burst through an airvent and run up to us before anyone could do anything, he was of course first act after the surprise round as well, where he proceded to attack our adepta sororitas with all limbs available. She was rank 5, just like the rest of us, was on full health and wearing a power armour and she still ended up on -7 after the first round. I haven't seen the stats for genestealers myself, but that incident left a lasting impression.

If you want ideas for upcomming missions I don't think I can give you a better suggestion than to check out the following thread:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=70&efcid=3&efidt=22402

It's full of great mission ideas.

Hmmm well I may have to have a think and make that section a little more cinematic or something to avoid killing my characters they do have a rediculous speed and they have a pen of 7 or something so armour is pretty useless.

Thanks for the link to the thread will definately check it out!

Just remember, as the GM you can alter the threat level of any encounter as much as you need to. These 'stealers have been buried in ice for how long? > Half their arms hang limp and useless at their sides and their carapaces are cracked and damaged (the researchers had started to study them). Reduce their armor and toughness, give them wounds. The researcher-hybrids don't have to be insane killing monsters either. Depending on how long it has been since the station went dark, it can take a few months for true hybrids to form. The first victims are just hosts to the DNA.

Have a few threat levels set up, start with your next to weakest creatures and if the acolytes blow through them take it up a step. If not, you can tone it down a bit if you have to. Numbers matter with 'nids as well... you can make them more or less a challenge by just adding or subtracting additional creatures.

Roll with it and I think you will have a good first encounter on your hands.

Morham said:

If you feel up to it you could always try and stat up a hormogaunt, their a lot less nasty than genestealers but still dangerous.

Shadowkat said:

Yeah this is what I was thinking of doing, it seems like the best option, although I like the hormogaunt idea it doesn't really lend itself to the campaign plans that are beginning to form in my mind.

We played a simple combat scenario tonight just to get used to it, a warehouse with some heretics in had to be raided. I think I went a bit easy on them and am now a little more confident in how much punishment they can take. They enjoyed it though and they are definately interested in continuing so I guess thats good : ) It also gave me a nice setup for another story since they had to retrieve an item (a heretical book) for their inquisitor, so thats a nice little hook since we don't know why or what he wanted it for (perhaps their Inquisitor wants to study it. HERESY!)...they managed to put a nice bullet hole through it though which he wasn't too happy about

Tomorrow night my friend will have a go at a bit more of an elaborate combat mission. So I'll be on the players side of the table! I'll hit them with the Genestealer scenario next time, suggestions are still welcome especially for stats and stuff cos I'm always too generous to my players by nature : /

Hormagaunt doesn't really make Geogrphical sense since a gaunt is part of the hive fleets which are pretty far from Calixus. The wounded Genestealer makes more sense and adds a much greater sense of danger.

You could have them find it appearing almost dead and then have hit run into the ventalation systems creating a case of no one knowing just when they are going to be hit a purestrain Genestealer.

Kaihlik

Yeah I was reading the 40k http://www.lexicanum.com/ entry for genestealers and the way they are described as forward scouts/infiltrators sounds alot cooler. especially since they could be the ones that due to some freak solar incident missed the main planet...which brings the question what happened to the rest? Enter the Genestealer cult!

Anyway I think I'm starting to enjoy GMing alot and can't wait till I get the whole rewards and challenge sorted out...wish I wasn't such a big softy : P

I like the idea of them seeing it, but it disappearing before they can act meaning they know something is hunting them, they just don't know where it is...I wish I could throw a lictor at them : ( lol.

Assuming you have Creatures Anathama then here is a list of things that could make them less scary; remove the multiple arms trait due to damage and have its wounds slow it down enough so that it doesn't benefit from unnatural agility, reduce its natural armour, reduce its toughness bonus by 1. All or a combination of those will probably make the Genestealer dealable with a low level group.

Another idea would be to have a toxin vial implanted in its brain that will kill it instantly, the players find this information in a log after the Genestealer has escaped but there is no sign of the control slate for it. You could then have them run around the station looking for this thing as it stalks them through the corridors with the help of its hybrids. If you were feeling really mean you could have it not even work in the end (they do have a resistance to poisons).

Kaihlik

Kaihlik said:

Thanks for those suggestions for making genesteals less deadly they will be very useful, yes I do have creatures anathema hence my desire to use it

As to the toxic vial, while a nice idea and probably something I will keep in mind for future stuff I don't think it will fit in this case. I get to play my cleric tonight, can't wait! He's a hammer wielding, pistol shootin' Singing Priest.