For alternate careers, there are 6, and half are all Careers, or Human. Red Consecrator, Reliquarist, and Witch-Finder are pickier, with most careers (5), any non Explorator, Navigator, or Astropath, any Non-Psyker, respectively. I haven't read each AC to see which ones are actually good, IMO, but that's the breakdown. Being that Tech-Priests are sort of the wrong religion, and Psykers and Mutants are shunned by the religion, it makes some sense that they get hedged out of half; they also got Navis Primer, so there's that.

For alternate careers, there are 6, and half are all Careers, or Human. Red Consecrator, Reliquarist, and Witch-Finder are pickier, with most careers (5), any non Explorator, Navigator, or Astropath, any Non-Psyker, respectively. I haven't read each AC to see which ones are actually good, IMO, but that's the breakdown. Being that Tech-Priests are sort of the wrong religion, and Psykers and Mutants are shunned by the religion, it makes some sense that they get hedged out of half; they also got Navis Primer, so there's that.

Yeah, the Navis Primer really didn't have anything for Astropaths. One alt career in the whole thing. Not much at all.

Except the glorious, glorious Soul Ward discipline.

For alternate careers, there are 6, and half are all Careers, or Human. Red Consecrator, Reliquarist, and Witch-Finder are pickier, with most careers (5), any non Explorator, Navigator, or Astropath, any Non-Psyker, respectively. I haven't read each AC to see which ones are actually good, IMO, but that's the breakdown. Being that Tech-Priests are sort of the wrong religion, and Psykers and Mutants are shunned by the religion, it makes some sense that they get hedged out of half; they also got Navis Primer, so there's that.

Yeah, the Navis Primer really didn't have anything for Astropaths. One alt career in the whole thing. Not much at all.

Except the glorious, glorious Soul Ward discipline. Emperor be praised for that one.

Yeah, the Navis Primer really didn't have anything for Astropaths. One alt career in the whole thing. Not much at all.

One Alternate Career Rank, astropathic choirs, an elite advancement package and two entire Disciplines. Coupled with a metric ton of fluff and multiple other options not specific to Astropaths, but to everything around them.

Or were you being sarcastic? It's hard to tell sarcasm from stupid sometimes.

Except the glorious, glorious Soul Ward discipline.

For alternate careers, there are 6, and half are all Careers, or Human. Red Consecrator, Reliquarist, and Witch-Finder are pickier, with most careers (5), any non Explorator, Navigator, or Astropath, any Non-Psyker, respectively. I haven't read each AC to see which ones are actually good, IMO, but that's the breakdown. Being that Tech-Priests are sort of the wrong religion, and Psykers and Mutants are shunned by the religion, it makes some sense that they get hedged out of half; they also got Navis Primer, so there's that.

Yeah, the Navis Primer really didn't have anything for Astropaths. One alt career in the whole thing. Not much at all.

Except the glorious, glorious Soul Ward discipline. Emperor be praised for that one.

And voidfrost. Also hexicars are only for soul-bounded and there aren't many soul-bounded non-astropaths hanging around.

So, can anyone tell me roughly what the Beastmaster does? What does it add to the table that a normal Survival/Wrangling test doesn't cover?

Yeah, the Navis Primer really didn't have anything for Astropaths. One alt career in the whole thing. Not much at all.

One Alternate Career Rank, astropathic choirs, an elite advancement package and two entire Disciplines. Coupled with a metric ton of fluff and multiple other options not specific to Astropaths, but to everything around them.

Or were you being sarcastic? It's hard to tell sarcasm from stupid sometimes.

I was not being sarcastic, though I admit its hard to read in text. sorry bout that.. There is a lot to love in the book, and I do love the new disciplines and the familiars are rock solid. But I was really hoping for a sanctioned psyker. But, this ain't the thread. Just have always wanted a Rogue Trader to have some Psykana connections to get him a battle psyker or psykana templar or something. You can make it work, but it takes some doing.

What can you tell me about the new Reqliquarist career? Rank? Can Rogue Traders take it?

Any interesting new gear items?

I might have to get a copy of this, just as soon as they make it available on download.

What can you tell me about the new Reqliquarist career? Rank? Can Rogue Traders take it?

Any interesting new gear items?

Yes, RT is one of the five, and it's good from the get-go. They spend Fate to read history, if you weren't already spending Fate. Otherwise, they have some decent Advances access, mostly Skills.

Conversion beamers made it in. Some crazy grenades and missiles, and Space Marine melee weapons, sized for regular folks, too. A few of the relics are nice, but relics, and so one-of-a-kind, hard to get, and then deciding to use it, or display it, sort of like Skyrim.

It looks like my favorite AC in this book, and feels a bit like the Colt Trade Broker, Xenographer, and other "stuff-specialist" options.

I was a bit disappointed (in my admittedly brief reading) that there didn't appear to be much discussion of the relationship of missionaries (or other agents of faith) & those who could be considered difficult, theologically - tech priests, astropaths & navigators.

I was a bit disappointed (in my admittedly brief reading) that there didn't appear to be much discussion of the relationship of missionaries (or other agents of faith) & those who could be considered difficult, theologically - tech priests, astropaths & navigators.

On the one hand, yeah, it really did focus on the parts of the job involving the faith and journeying out to planets that have never seen the light of the Emperor's guidance before (or in a while). That part I did really like. On the other hand though, there's a lot of talk in most of the other books about what happens when one powerful organization meets another that doesn't have to just do what the first party wants. Typical negotiations, barter, joint ventures, or war...you know, the usual RT fare.

I really would like to see a substantial book on Explorators though. I took a brief look at The Lathe Worlds, but didn't feel overly impressed by it (admittingly, I may not have caught the good stuff).

I really would like to see a substantial book on Explorators though. I took a brief look at The Lathe Worlds, but didn't feel overly impressed by it (admittingly, I may not have caught the good stuff).

The problem with The Lathe Worlds is that they focus on exactly that - The Lathe Worlds. A lot of the Mechanicus info in them is still viable, like the info on the various subfactions and the organization of the Mechanicus, but there isn't really that much to add about the Explorator fleets that hasn't been mentioned in various other books. Getting a really small supplement on the Explorator fleet, no more than seventy pages, would be kind of cool though. It'd fill out and collect the data from other sources and present it in a more collected form.

I really would like to see a substantial book on Explorators though. I took a brief look at The Lathe Worlds, but didn't feel overly impressed by it (admittingly, I may not have caught the good stuff).

The problem with The Lathe Worlds is that they focus on exactly that - The Lathe Worlds. A lot of the Mechanicus info in them is still viable, like the info on the various subfactions and the organization of the Mechanicus, but there isn't really that much to add about the Explorator fleets that hasn't been mentioned in various other books. Getting a really small supplement on the Explorator fleet, no more than seventy pages, would be kind of cool though. It'd fill out and collect the data from other sources and present it in a more collected form.

The one big question I have is what a full Explorator fleet looks like to FFG. In Battlefleet Koronus, we got a great look inside the Imperial Navy in the expanse, along with the Station Watch and some notable ships. I think it'd be fun to see a functioning Explorator command that hasn't managed to get itself lost, corrupted, or torn apart in the Expanse, and see some of the toys they play with on a day to day basis.

Sure, at this point I've created a Mechanicus hierarchy for myself, along with ships, minor Forge annexes in the Expanse, and specialty ships; but I really like the books, and they're usually willing to create items that I'm hesitant to houserule in.

Also, having just finished reading through it, I think the adventure in F&C is the best mini adventure they've written for one of the focus books so far. There are a lot of modular encounters, a few bits of fun lore about the locations, and great hooks for future adventures or for filling out the exploration.

This might not be a book for someone not interested in the Imperial Creed, but otherwise is an excellent addition.

What can you tell me about the new Reqliquarist career? Rank? Can Rogue Traders take it?

Any interesting new gear items?

Yes, RT is one of the five, and it's good from the get-go. They spend Fate to read history, if you weren't already spending Fate. Otherwise, they have some decent Advances access, mostly Skills.

Conversion beamers made it in. Some crazy grenades and missiles, and Space Marine melee weapons, sized for regular folks, too. A few of the relics are nice, but relics, and so one-of-a-kind, hard to get, and then deciding to use it, or display it, sort of like Skyrim.

It looks like my favorite AC in this book, and feels a bit like the Colt Trade Broker, Xenographer, and other "stuff-specialist" options.

Darn, I have been a little cash strapped but I may have to pick this up soon. Any cool power weapons?

Cognatine Hammer, Lightning Claws (yep, not just for Space Marines, anymore), Witch Lance, Praesidium Protectiva, Storm Shields, and a relic or two.

Ohh ohh ohh Storm Shields? *becomes giddy like a little kid* I want! I want!

what the party needs a gene modded arch militant with quasi terminator armor storm shield and thunder hammer thats going to be fun.

Lol at this rate the Astartes will soon be obsolete!

Then who will the fanboys drool over, and get into fights about who's best?

Occasionally, this game makes me go "hmm", because it doesn't seem TOO difficult to get some good troops, maybe some Gland Warriors, if you know the right Magos, and supply them with power armor, something the military can only get for their Tech-Priests, and Space Marines keep for ages, since making more is a pain, but which the Rogue Trader can get by the boxful. Does sort of make the "one per planet" Marines seem a bit unnecessary. Of course, I do know that some things aren't THAT easy for even affluent Rogue Traders to find/acquire, but it was nowhere so easy in DH, and an Inquisitor is SUPPOSED to have the authority to get whatever they need.

I think part of it is in the roles: theoretically, a rogue trader is bringing back new resources and new technology to the Forge World he's build relations with. For a good rogue trader - the kind that could get suits of power armor - they're likely to be substantial amounts of resources and fine pieces of archeotech (or Xenos tech, depending on the Magos). In those cases, the RT is paying huge amounts for a handful of suits that would otherwise be produced for crusading fleets.

Now, this may just be me, but I've always seen an inquisitor as more of a zero-sum player. They exist to destroy not create. A Forge World would be much less likely to trade for a hundred suits of quality power armor when the Inquisitor is just demanding it.

Of course, that isn't a hard and fast rule, since even the RT book shows that there are some Inquisitor lords with the resources and connections to get what they want. But considering there are a lot of RTs who never obtain armies of gene modded aired

Monsters, that doesn't seem misplaced.

I guess it all depends on what the GM is willing to allow.

Edit: I guess what I'm trying to say is that, if you have a good relationship with the Magos armorer, and bring a Forge World back an archeotech ship and a couple transports full of rare raw materials, they might be willing to let you have a few suits of armor otherwise meant for a crusade a few sectors away (GM willing)

Note that Astartes have a great deal more benefits than just wearing power armor. If you really look at them, they have some benefits that no amount of gene modding is going to copy. My players have elite troops with excellent equipment that kick ass across the Expanse. Those troops still look upon the Astartes with awe, for good reason. Your troops aren't going to have Unnatural Toughness or the ability to fight for days without sleep or fatigue becoming a factor. Your troops will never get centuries of combat experience, or have access to some of the relics that they do. You will never have superhuman troops that are also psykers who don't really have to worry about Daemons ripping their way out of their heads. Your troops are far more likely to cave in to fear fighting daemons, or be hopelessly mutated by warp exposure as well. Astartes are seen as Angels of Death because their various benifits add up to make supremely effective troops.

I am not saying that you shouldn't build yourself those elite units. Those units will save your life and make capturing more ships for your fleet relatively easy. Having 10,000 experienced combat troops to do boarding actions makes it a lot easier to take a ship by boarding. Having elite soldiers as your personal guard means that you are a lot more likely to survive encounters. Equipping your troops with filament grenades and plasma flamethrowers will definitely pay off. From a Imperium wide perspective elite troops are extremely important and win wars. But remember, step quietly around the Angels of Death lest they turn their eyes upon you. (Or figure out a way to get a Kill Brother or two for your personal guard....)

My comment was purely tongue in cheek ;-). Still the gap between the Angels of Death and us mere mortals does seem to be diminishing