Alright, so I've been playing with the idea of running an all-Adeptus Arbites game of Dark Heresy, just straight-up using the rules of Only War for just about everything, instead of completely homebrewing absolutely everything I want to "fix".

I was thinking I'd make like 3 (maybe 4) Regiments that players can pick from, representing the different sections of the Adeptus Arbites, but then they'd all have to start with the same Archetype/Specialization/Career, a DH->OW Arbitrator conversion.

Two additional things should be noted: In addition to picking between three regiments, they'll be able to switch out one Professional Aptitude and one Characteristics Aptitude to whatever Professional/Characteristics Aptitude they want, and I was thinking that should they want to, they may work towards realizing any Alternate Rank(s) from Dark Heresy appropriate for Arbites.

So if their Arbitrator is from a Forge World and they say that they want to be a Cyber-Mastiff Handler in the Sectotum Quasetium (Investigative Offices), they just plain are, and I'll work in some of that stuff, being able to take the appropriate Talents freely from the appropriate Alternate Ranks, and so on.

There would be no Comrades, and all potential additional squadmates or associates would be NPC:s, but if the players could make a good case, they'd be able to choose freely amongst the Specialist talents or Comrade talents of the base Only War Specializations.

The only major houserule I'd like to pull right away is one on On weapon talents & proficiencies .

These are the "Regiments" I was thinkin they'd pick from:

Adeptus Arbites, Sectotum Magisterial, Scintilla.

Lawkeeper, Adepts and Command section of Precinct-Fortress Scintilla.

Fortress of the Just, Outside Hive Tarsus, Lord-Marshal Goreman.

Homeworld, Schola Progenium

Chr.Mods: +3 WP, +3 WS or BS.

Starting Skills: Common Lore (Imperial Guard OR Imperial Navy OR Ecclesiarchy, Imperium, War OR Imperial Creed), Linguistics (High Gothic, Low Gothic).

Only in Death does Duty End: Air of Authority or Unshakeable Faith Talent.

Wounds: +1.

Commanding Officer, Bilious

Starting Talents: Paranoia.

Regiment Type, Magisterial Section

Char.Mods: +3 Fellowship, -3 Strength OR -3 Toughness.

Starting Skills: Command, Common Lore (Administratum, Calixis Sector).

Starting Talents: Nerves of Steel OR Combat Formation.

Standard Kit: One pair of Shock-Gloves OR One Officer's Cutlass per character, One Common-Craftsmanship Judge's Carapace OR One Best-Craftsmanship Magistrate's Overcoat. 3 magazines of Stun Shells OR Solid Slugs OR Man-Stopper Bullets per character. One weapon upgrade of Average or lower Availability per character.

Training Doctrine, Judgement

Starting Skills: Scholastic Lore (Judgement), Scholastic Lore (Choose One) OR Common Lore (Choose One).

Training Doctrine, Summary Command

Starting Aptitude: Leadership OR Social.

Special Equipment Doctrine, None.

Adeptus Arbites, Sectotum Coercitor, Scintilla.

Arbitrator Enforcer-Regiment of Precinct-Fortress Scintilla.

Fortress of the Just, Outside Hive Tarsus, Lord-Marshal Goreman.

Homeworld, Choose Any

Any except Feral World, Penal Colony, Penitent, Feudal World or Frontier World, subject to GM adjustments.

Commanding Officer, Bilious

Starting Talents: Paranoia.

Regiment Type, Peacekeeper Command

Chr.Mods: +3 Toughness, +3 BS OR WS, -3 Perception.

Starting Skills: Operate (Surface) OR Navigate (Surface), Awareness.

Starting Talents: Sprint OR Rapid Reload.

Standard Kit: One Enforcer Light Carapace per character, One Enforcer Riot Shield AND Extra Grip Weapon Upgrade for any Basic Weapon OR Auxiliary Grenade Launcher AND Deadspace Earpiece per character, Three Smoke Grenades OR Stun Grenades OR Web Grenades per character (chosen freely; one extra if the Auxiliary Grenade Launcher was chosen). Three extra magazines of any standard ammunition acquired as part of regimental or standard kit.

Training Doctrine, Close Order Drill

Starting Talents: Combat Formation OR Double Team.

Training Doctrine, Soldiering

Starting Aptitude: Offence OR Finesse.

Special Equipment Doctrine, None.

Adeptus Arbites, Sectotum Quasetium, Scintilla.

Investigative Offices of Precinct-Fortress Scintilla.

Fortress of the Just, Outside Hive Tarsus, Lord-Marshal Goreman.

Homeworld, Choose Any

Any except Feral World, Penal Colony, Penitent, Feudal World or Frontier World, subject to GM adjustments.

Commanding Officer, Bilious

Starting Talents: Paranoia.

Regiment Type, Verispex Department

Chr.Mods: +3 Perception OR Intelligence, -3 Toughness OR Strength.

Starting Skills: Awareness OR Tech-Use, Common Lore (Any One), Scholastic Lore (Chymistry OR Cryptology).

Starting Talents: Foresight.

Standard Kit: One Verispex Armour per character, One Verispex Helm per Character, One pair of Carapace Greaves per character, 2 Data-slates per character, One Gene-Printer OR Good-Craftsmanship Heavy Auspex/Vox-Caster-backpack per character, One Skinplant (Hands/Forearms; Basic Dataslate, Calculator, Low-range Lamplight, Chrono). One Mono-Sight for Ius Automatic (Integrated into Verispex Helm).

Training Doctrine, Field Specialists

Starting Aptitude: Tech OR Knowledge.

Special Equipment Doctrine, Augmentics

Standard Kit: The regiment gains an additional +10 on all Logistics Tests made to obtain bionic replacements and implants.

And lastly, this is the Arbites Specialization:

Arbitrator

Characteristic Bonus: +3 Toughness.

Starting Aptitudes: Ballistic Skill, Weapon Skill, Toughness, Fellowship, Fieldcraft, Defense.

Starting Skills: Common Lore (Adeptus Arbites), Common Lore (Imperium), Inquiry OR Awareness, Scrutiny OR Awareness.

Starting Talents : Cold Hearted OR Jaded, Takedown OR Disarm, Weapon Proficiency (Melee, Thrown, Basic and Pistol), Weapon Training (SP, Shock).

Specialist Equipment : One Common-craftsmanship Shock Maul, One Common-craftsmanship Combat Shotgun and 3 magazines of standard ammunition, One Ius Automatic w/ Fire Selector and 3 magazines of standard ammunition. One set of Common-craftsmanship Flak Vest, Flak Gauntlets and Gloves, Flak Greaves and Boots. One Arbites Dress Uniform, Three Arbites Overcoat Service Uniforms, One Dataslate. 8 Adjustable Manacles. 1 Flash Grenade OR Smoke Grenade. All melee weapons comes with Mono, all ranged weapons comes with Vox-Operated and Dermprint Loyalty Spirit.

Starting Wounds: 8+1d5

How does all of that sound?

I've got an open-system here using OW rules if you're interested.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/91337-40k-open-system-titan-legions/

Holler if the google docs give you any problems, be interested in an outsiders perspective thats not in my immediate gaming group

And ****, all of these ideas now make me want to try an Arbites as well. As if the thread about Commissars wasn't enough to stir my interests!

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It sounds quite doable and is an interesting idea for sure - initially, the whole "picking from different regiments" but "everyone starts with the same class" did feel a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but I think I just allowed the term "regiments" to influence my thinking there for a minute, as if it'd refer to different precincts. It sounds considerably better if you'd just replace this term with "department" wherever it pops up.

Personally, I would say that the Enforcers should get comrades, though. They're pretty much the riot police, and operate in squad tactics just like the Guard does.

How are you going to have this all tie together, though? I assume it will be a "mixed" group with players from different departments operating as one team? I take it the plot force them to stay together, as it probably wouldn't make much sense to have them permanently attached to one another?

It does sound a bit overcomplicated compared to the rather simplistic organisation of the Arbites in the Necromunda material, but certainly more in line with "traditional" real life police work. I would've probably recommended focusing on the Enforcement aspect, and having people play a single squad with a Judge as squad leader, rather than having them branch out into different jobs - but I suppose your approach is a bit more like "Dark Heresy with Cops" whereas mine would be a bit closer to "Only War with Cops", in terms of what the players would end up doing.

Also, Arbites and lasguns ... eughh, I have no idea what it says in the Book of Judgment, but I'm used to the Arbites employing shotguns, bolt pistols and -guns, and heavy stubbers, but no lasguns. Was this a deliberate decision?

And ****, all of these ideas now make me want to try an Arbites as well. As if the thread about Commissars wasn't enough to stir my interests!

obligatory wall of pixx

And I realize that it does feel a bit like putting the cart before the horse, but it actually works out fairly well, given that each "Department" has quite a few options, and while the Arbitrator Specialization/Career doesn't fully represent my idea of the perfect representation for an Arbitrator, I ended up fudging the setup on purpose to allow for customization, keeping in mind;

1) Every character is allowed to switch out one Characteristics Aptitude and one Professional Aptitude.

2) Every character gets at least one extra Aptitude from their Department of choice.

The original Arbitrator was ripped straight from Plushy 's Dark Heresy to Only War -conversion, but was way too heavy on the Characteristics side of things, and had some oddities I didn't like, but it all made sense in his given context, so it's not critique, but merely that my context is different, with different assumptions, so I ended up reworking a lot.

And the campaign idea really is just regular Dark Heresy with Cops . Instead of the combat side of the Adeptus Arbites, such as putting down enormous riots and squashing revolutions on a planetary scale, I was thinking of the more general work of the Adeptus Arbites on a peacetime world such as Scintilla - or at least what passes for "peace".

The way I was going to tie it all together was simply running Dark Heresy.. with cops. So the group is put together as a task force and then recruited as Acolytes part of a interdepartmental co-operation task force.

And the lasguns.. yeaah, I think that was just something that kinda sticked in there due to something from the regimental rules and then I just kept accommodating it. I might as well just cut it, honestly.

Updated the creation options; can no longer start with Lasguns/Laspacks.

Anyway, I'm going to use this thread to set some ground rules, and direct potential players to this thread;

1. The idea is to run a game of Dark Heresy operating under the Only War ruleset, in which all the players are part of the Adeptus Arbites and it's various departments within the Calixis Sector.
2. The starting location is assumed to be the Fortress of the Just, Outside of Hive Tarsus on Scintilla, under the overreaching command of Lord-Marshal Goreman.

3. The idea is not to primarily depict the Adeptus Arbites in it's regular duties, and the players will become Acolytes and part of an Inquisitorial Cell as per usual Dark Heresy. They will still, however, be considered part of the Adeptus Arbites and be assumed to perform their duties when not "on duty" in terms of investigative work.

4. The players would be free to take their characters in any direction they want, but the context will not change simply to accommodate them. If you flaunt your influence or feeling of inquisitorial "untouchability", your superiors will take notice. If you acquire and use proscribed hardware outside of acolyte cell missions, questions will be asked. If you start acquiring mutations and do not take care to hide them, even minor ones, you will be caught in random screenings as part of the regular Adeptus Arbites routine.
   
   This is not meant to be penalizing or limiting, or even to prevent powergaming, but merely fair warning; the characters are part of the Adeptus Arbites and will, at some point, be shanghaied into an Acolyte Cell. You are not Inquisitors. You are not even Interrogators. You are simply on loan at the request of an Inquisitor and at the sanction of your Lord-Marshal. Being the servant of two lords, two organizations is as much of a curse as it is a blessing to have your fingers in two pies.

5. All advances taken are to be cleared with the GM. For some reason, this bears mention; this is not to mean that all advances are suddenly "Elite Advances", it just means that I want to be kept up-to-date where you take your character, and avoid certain strangenesses.
   
   For example, why is Common Lore (Screaming Vortex) a Common Lore to Arbitrators on Scintilla? How did you even get access to the Codex Astartes in order to learn Scholastic Lore (Codex Astartes) ?

6. Starting XP is 500, not the regular 300/600 of Only War.

7. You may switch out any one Characteristics Aptitude (Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness, Agility, Intelligence, Perception, Willpower or Fellowship) that you have for any one other Characteristics Aptitude that you want, at any point during character creation.

8. You may switch out any one Professional Aptitude (Offence, Finesse, Defence, Tech, Knowledge, Leadership, Fieldcraft or Social) that you have for any one other Professional Aptitude that you want, at any point during character creation.

9. Rules for Acquisition will follow the standards of Only War, counting each Fortress-Precinct as it's own Regiment for those purposes, adjusted by the needs, positions and influence of the Arbites Squad/Acolyte Cell. The players will be able to spend the 30 points usually available to acquire Additional Standard Kit Items.

10. All items gained on creation (Department + Arbitrator Specialization) are considered part of the "Standard Regimental Guardsman Kit" for all intents and purposes, which means that such items are more or less freely accessible and replenishable when necessary, at the appropriate Fortress-Precincts.

11. The "Universal Standard Kit" contains one uniform, one set of poor weather gear, a set of basic tools, a glow-lamp, one grooming kit, one set cognomen tags, one instructional handbook, and one days worth of rations.

12. Thrones will be loosely tracked and will be used to acquire objects, weapons or gear in various circumstances outside of official channels or when not at the appropriate Fortress-Precinct or similar; the standard income for the players on special assignment is 200+2d10 Thrones/month. Should the players acquire exorbitant amounts of wealth, this might be moved into the realm of Rogue Trader's Profit Factor system.

13. Scorch is a ******.

14. The Favoured Weapons of the Adeptus Arbites as a whole is, for the intents and purposes of this game and how it plays with the rules of Only War, the Ius Automatic and Combat Shotguns.

Check your GM privilege

Check your GM privilege

>Player Justice Warrior

>in my campaign

>mfw

I pitched a similar idea under "Alternative Campaign Thoughts", if you want to add to/critique/borrow from it.

Sounds pretty nice to be honest, I'm hoping FFG could borrow some of your ideas for DH2 supplements.

You are going do play test this with with a regular group?

Not likely, which is why I put it out for others to look at and consider. So far I've put up (very) rough Arbites and Sororitas campaign concepts.

I really REALLY like this idea. I was working on something similar for OW, mostly because the only things I could think to do with the game as a whole were either Judge Dredd, or a 1 shot of Aliens...