Hello I've just gotten back into DH and I noticed folks talking about version 1, 1.5, an now DH2. I just saw the beta for V2. What I don't get is what do folks mean when they talk about the other two versions. Is v.1 the BI version and 1.5 the FFG one? And with this new version coming out next month should I even bother with my FFG core book?

It's needlessly complicated, because that's how we roll.

Actually, there are only two editions: 1e, as devised by BI and then reprinted and expanded upon by FFG, and the upcoming 2e from FFG.

1.5 may refer to:

-Updates to the core engine introduced in Black Crusade/Only War;

-The hypothetical expansion upon those updates proposed by some people when it turned out the upcoming 2e will use a completely different engine;

-The displeasure of some people when it later turned out that FFG chose to backpedal on the introduction of said new engine and went back to making the upcoming 2e compatible with said Black Crusade/Only War rules. Those who actually liked the proposed new engine sometimes call the reverted 2e "1.5" to show that they think the previous beta variant was better and more progressive.

In short, you needn't bother. You're probably better off not thinking about it.

Good to know thanks. Guess I'll be sticking with my core book then. Having tried combat last night I never realized how brutal combat can be. I've played the other 40k games like BFG, necro, inq and this game is by far the hero hammer I've been looking for.

Not to put the other systems down, just that I'm digging playing fluffhammer. Until this came Inq is/was a cool game for this type of thing tho with higher stats if I remember right.

I can only presume your players didn't figure out cover yet.

Cover is the literal implementation of The Emperor Protects.

"Cover is for Weak!"

- Last famous words of Chaos Champion charging Sabre defence platform line.

It wasn't pretty and it wasn't the first or the last time same player did something like that

I've had the books for ages for the fluff and to serve for inspiration for games of Inq. When I get my group going I'll remember to mention the use of cover. As to DH2 is it a book or just an FAQ coming out next month?

I've had the books for ages for the fluff and to serve for inspiration for games of Inq. When I get my group going I'll remember to mention the use of cover. As to DH2 is it a book or just an FAQ coming out next month?

I'd suggest sticking to the old DH/RT/DW/BC/OW system for a while, anyway, supported by the little homebrewing it needs to make it work. Exactly how DH2 turns out is.. not clear.

At first it was completely incompatible with the old system, but they apparently went back to the drawing board to take the evolutionary/iterative approach instead of the complete revolution/overhaul that they did at first.

So... that sounds very promising, but the first version of DH2 didn't exactly inspire. It might work out amazingly (a new iteration of the WH40kRP line with updated rules for a DH-styled setting/approach) but it might also end up terribly (a mutant between the original WH40KRP system and the.. thing.. that was the first DH2 betas).

But either way, no, not a FAQ. Completely new book, new line, new sector/setting with very little association with the old one(s).

I'll be looking forward to it. Good to know I'm in good company then.

From what little I've seen of the DH2 forums I'm guessing with the new system each character would get a certain amount of the to perform their actions? If true sounds interesting, kinda reminds me of Inq, if not could someone please explain it.

I'm looking forward to the bit about helping the gm with the investigation part of the game. Although tbh with some common sense and imagination the rules seem fine to me, IF your only playing DH. Is DH2 supposed to be the one book to unit the other book? Because I've also got rt and DW, along with Inq handbook, ascension, blood of martyrs, bf koronus, rites of battle, purge the unclean, rites of battle, and the two gm boards for DH an rt.

I'll be looking forward to it. Good to know I'm in good company then.

From what little I've seen of the DH2 forums I'm guessing with the new system each character would get a certain amount of the to perform their actions? If true sounds interesting, kinda reminds me of Inq, if not could someone please explain it.

There were Action Points in the first iteration of the beta. At this point, there's really no telling whether they'll survive the overhaul 2e is currently undergoing. Most likely not, seeing as backwards compatibility with OW is back on the agenda.

Personally, I think it was a very weak system. Some people really liked it, though, saying it opened up great tactical possibilities. I disagree with this sentiment, but to each his own.

I'm looking forward to the bit about helping the gm with the investigation part of the game. Although tbh with some common sense and imagination the rules seem fine to me, IF your only playing DH. Is DH2 supposed to be the one book to unit the other book? Because I've also got rt and DW, along with Inq handbook, ascension, blood of martyrs, bf koronus, rites of battle, purge the unclean, rites of battle, and the two gm boards for DH an rt.

Most likely it will be about as compatible with previous games as they are between each other - yet another attempt to polish the same ol' engine which will cause a few minor quirks when porting over old content. There's no indication so far that it's planned to become the One Edition To Unite Them All.

Welcome aboard, cypherx32. Be sure to check out the Errata in the DH Support section of the website- it contains lots of tweaks to the rules that will make your games run better. And while you are there, check out the free introductory adventure, Edge of Darkness- it's generally considered the best introduction to the game out of any of the published adventures (although it lacks tactical maps of key locations, so be warned: it requires some prep-work from the GM to be playable).

There were Action Points in the first iteration of the beta. At this point, there's really no telling whether they'll survive the overhaul 2e is currently undergoing. Most likely not, seeing as backwards compatibility with OW is back on the agenda.

Personally, I think it was a very weak system. Some people really liked it, though, saying it opened up great tactical possibilities. I disagree with this sentiment, but to each his own.

I liked the idea of Action Points, since it "made sense" to be on a very basic level. You have a certain amount of time to do stuff, and you spend that time in various ways.

As to whether it was actually well-crafted or worked well.. I find myself agreeing with you. There are good arguments for the Action/Half-Action system too, and when dealing with super-fast characters, there could just as well be traits for that, to add extra Reactions or Half-Actions, Unnatural Speed, Unnatural Agility, etc, etc.

The basic assumption of characters should be the ones which are the primary subjects of the setting, which means regular humans. Everything else should be moulded around that, that's where special rules come in. And for regular humans, the Half-Action/Full-Action system makes perfect sense, and actually physically limits humans in a reasonable manner.

Welcome aboard, cypherx32. Be sure to check out the Errata in the DH Support section of the website- it contains lots of tweaks to the rules that will make your games run better. And while you are there, check out the free introductory adventure, Edge of Darkness- it's generally considered the best introduction to the game out of any of the published adventures (although it lacks tactical maps of key locations, so be warned: it requires some prep-work from the GM to be playable).

Since I'll be the gm that would be me. I looked at the errata an FAQ and it seems monolithic. I guess that has to do more with me stil trying to learn everything. Could someone please be my Rosetta Stone and give me a quick rundown on what parts exactly will help me run my games better. Again thank you to everyone for their helpful advise.

One very important thing that you can cede on your players, have them check the errata for adjustments to their respective Careers, there's lot of important additions there (particularly vital for the Guardsman, who gets some extremely good stuff in the errata).

You'll definitely want to check up on psychic powers and rules for two-weapon fighting. That's all I remember, I haven't actually used DH rules in quite some time (ever since Black Crusade came out with major rules revisions, we've been using it as the basic ruleset).

If memory serves the Core rules, pef and re-prints, were updated with the errata fixes. So.. Check your Core against one of the red text entries in the errata. If they're identical, you can safely ignore the errata.

Ok, mine says its a second printing and it says 2008. So even tho my book doesn't have the extra notes like for dual wielding it looks like the core mechanics are the same. Of coarse next month this will seem moot.

If you have a physical book I found it very helpful to go through with a pen and mark or write-in the errata. If you don't want to mark up your copy, post-its will do the trick. Unless my book is older than I thought it was they haven't printed a version of the core book with all of the errata (some of it is definitely in there).

If you're brand new at GMing, try running the adventure in the back of the book. It will give you a good feel for how it goes and you'll almost definitely be forced to do things off the cuff to deal with things the players latch onto that the book as has no answer for. The best advice I can give to a GM is: be good at improv. Knowing the rules is a close second, so make sure you have a pretty good idea how to do tests and run combat.

I checked my own copies, and CPS is right. Both have most of the errata changes, but not all of them.

- We play a hybrid of the different 40K lines, so it's been quite a while since I used the DH Cores. Sorry for the confusion.

EDIT: Cores, plural, referring to the PDF & print copy of the same book, just to avoid further confusion

If you have a physical book I found it very helpful to go through with a pen and mark or write-in the errata. If you don't want to mark up your copy, post-its will do the trick. Unless my book is older than I thought it was they haven't printed a version of the core book with all of the errata (some of it is definitely in there).

If you're brand new at GMing, try running the adventure in the back of the book. It will give you a good feel for how it goes and you'll almost definitely be forced to do things off the cuff to deal with things the players latch onto that the book as has no answer for. The best advice I can give to a GM is: be good at improv. Knowing the rules is a close second, so make sure you have a pretty good idea how to do tests and run combat.

Funny, I was just thinking about using the post it notes. Before I start I'm also going to read my old eisinehorn books to get me in an investigative mode.