Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IIIc - Skills Part 3

In this post we'll be finishing off my changes to the skills system. I've already gone over the new skills I've added, as well as the ways in which I've altered the existing skills, so all we have left is to go over my alterations to the specialisations....

Skill Specialisations :

Certain skills have “Adaptive” specialisations. This means that although that specialisation can cover a multitude of different topics it does not need to be bought more than once. Instead it is assumed that given some time to study and practice an appropriate sub-set of that skill in the proper environment (approximately one to six months) their knowledge of that specialisation expands to encompass this. The the GM's discretion certain option may be difficult or impossible to attain without the assistance of practiced speakers. Each of the Adaptive specialisations below is accompanied by a selection of potential Adaptive Skill options, though there are many more and the GM and players should feel free to make up more if appropriate.

Linguistics : The Linguistics skill encompasses the following specialisations...

Chapter Runes : The battle language and private codes of a specific Space Marine chapter.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Imperial Fist War Cant
• Sanguine Speech
• Ultramarine Battle Codes
• Vylka Fenryka Battle Sign

Chaos Marks : The foul languages and ciphers used by the servants of the Dark Gods.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Khornate Gore Runes
• Nurglitch Pox Marks
• Slaaneshi Flesh Writing
• Tzeenchian Serpent Script

High Gothic : The language spoken by the upper echelons of the Imperium, and the tongue of its prayers and liturgies.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Ancient Albionic
• Archaic Sub-Pacificae
• Hy-Brazillian
• Sororitas Battle Chant

Imperial Ciphers : The secretive languages and codes of the Imperiums most shadowy and secretive servants.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Assassinorum Execution Codes
• Hereticus Explicatory Linguistics
• Malleus Sacral Cant
• Xenos Mortinalytics

Low Gothic : The common language of the Imperium of Man, and its derivatives.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Common Gothic
• Armageddon Hive Cant
• Neo Ophelian
• Ultramar Gothic

Millitary Codes : The codes and battle languages of the Imperium's armed forces.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Arbites Lex Sign
• Astra Millitarum Battle Language
• Naval Command Codes
• Tempestus Scion Combat Sign

Techna Lingua : The binaric cants of the Adeptus Mechanicus, their priesthoods and their servants.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Cybernetica Command Liturgy
• Lex Orthodox Mechanicae
• Lingua Artificae
• Skitarii Codes Millitant

Underworld Cant : The secret languages and hidden codes of the Imperiums seedy underbelly.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Faceless Trade Sign
• Hidden Blade Murder Script
• Necromunda Gang Cant
• White Market Trade Code

Xenolinguistics [Select One Xenos Race] : The myriad languages spoken by the foul alien races that plague mankind.

Lore :

Lore skills make use of the Adaptive Skills mechanic, just like Linguistics skills do. However each consists of a basic area of knowledge as well as numerous sub-topics that a character can expand their education to include. For example, Lore : Imperial Creed provides a character with a basic education with regards to Imperial religion, its saints, teachings and history. A character with this skill can elaborate on this to learn about the Adeptus Ministorum, the Adepta Sororitas, and instances of Heresy against the Creed.

Note that there are some topics that overlap between different Lore specialisations, this is deliberate as there are multiple ways to approach different types of knowledge. For example Lore [Adeptus Arbites] would also grant knowledge of Judgement from the Administratum specialisation.

At the GM's discretion having access to a topic from multiple sources, or even just specialising further in a particular topic, can grant a +10 bonus to an appropriate Lore test.

Additionally, for the sake of simplicity the GM may simply decide that for any Lore skill that lacks sub-specialisations all players are fully aware of all topics within that skill.

Academia : Knowledge of all manner of scholastic subjects, that the learned and wise of the Imperium can be expected to have at least a passing knowledge of.
Adaptive Skill Options :
Astromancy
Beasts
Heraldry and Lineage
Legend
Philosophy

Administration : Knowledge of the laws and bureaucracy of the Imperium, and the ways in which it is governed and its laws enforced.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Bureaucracy
• Enforcers
• Judgement

Aristocracy : Knowledge of those who rule the Imperium and its innumerable worlds.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Heraldry and Lineage
• Navigator Houses
• Noble Houses
• Rogue Traders

Imperial Creed : Knowledge of the myths, legends and religious practices of the Imperium, and those that follow them.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Heretics
• Legend
• Specific Cults

Imperial Institutions [Select One, such as Adeptus Astartes, Adeptus Administratum, or Adeptus Mechanicus]* : Knowledge of a particular faction of the Adeptus Terra, their history, practices and membership.

Imperium : Knowledge of the worlds, sectors and locations of the Imperium
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Specific Locations
• Specific Sectors
• Specific Worlds

Occult : Knowledge of the supernatural lore of the 41st millenium, from superstition and old wives tales to daemonic lore and knowledge of Psykers and their 'gifts'.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Daemonology
• Psykers
• Warp

Servants of Chaos [Select One, such as Chaos Cults, Daemons, or Traitor Legions]* : Knowledge of the lost and the damned, the enemies that seek to tear down the Imperium in the name of their dark gods.

Technology : Knowledge of the rites and rituals of Technosorcery, as well as other skills that would once have been called 'scyences'.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Archaeotech
• Chymistry
• Xenotech

Underworld : Knowledge of criminal organisations, black markets and other nefarious activities. Adaptive Skill Options :

• Criminal Cartels
• Mercenary Organisations
• Piracy

War : Knowledge of millitary formations, famous campaigns, tactics and strategy.
Adaptive Skill Options :

• Planetary Defence Forces
• Schola Progenium
• Tactica Imperialis

Xenos [Select One, such as Eldar, Orks or Tyranids]* : Knowledge of the inhuman foes that lurk outside the bounds of the Imperium, and sometimes within.

*Appropriate Adaptive Skill Options for these specialisations include specific sub factions, holdings, and history. For example an appropriate option for Lore : Traitor Legions would be a specific legion, such as the Night Lords.

Operate :

The Operate skill uses the following specialisations. Operate does not have Adaptive Skill Options, unless the GM decides that characters need to learn to use specific subtypes of vehicle.

Aeronautica (Agility) : This specialisation is used to pilot atmospheric craft such as gunships, fighters, and transport aircraft as well as small void craft such a shuttles and interceptors.
Ground (Agility) : This specialisation is used to pilot tracked and wheeled ground vehicles such as tanks, cars and cargo trucks.
Personal (Agility) : This specialisation is used to operate personal, mobility enhancing pieces of equipment, such as jet packs and grav chutes.
Skimmer (Agility) : This specialisation is used to operate low level skimmers, such as land speeders and grav skiffs.
Voidcraft (Intelligence) : This specialisation is used to pilot full scale void craft, such as transports, system ships and warships.
Walker (Agility) : This specialisation is used to pilot vehicles with two or more legs, such as Dune Walkers and Sentinels.

Trade :

The Trade skill remains unchanged.

Design Notes :

Ok, so again we come to why I've changed what I've changed. I mentioned in the previous post that I wanted to reduce the total number of Lore skills in the game, whilst simultaneously collapsing Common Lore, Scholastic Lore and Forbidden lore into a single skill for each topic. I've done the same for Linguistics, with both of these alterations both serving to simplify the game whilst serving as a mechanical balancing tool. In both cases I've tried to keep the total number of specialisations at around a dozen, accounting for subjects that I do believe need specialisations of their own, and I'm happy with what I've rendered them down to.

With regards to game balance, these alterations serve to prevent scholastic characters from wasting their hard earned XP on skills that may come into a play a handful of times in their career as opposed to a more practical (read, millitant) characters abilities being more consistently useful. This isn't D&D 3rd Edition or Pathfinder, where intelligent characters will naturally have more skill points than anyone else, requiring that characters spend their XP with care instead of having a good shot at learning every single knowledge based skill in the game...

Operate, unlike Linguistics and Lore, has had its number of specialisations increased. This is a personal peeve of mine, as I believe that the reduction of Operate to only three specialisations is a gross oversimplification, as is assuming all Operate skills work off Agility. This is easily fixed by increasing the number of specialisations to the six above, and ensuring its very clear that Operate [Voidcraft] is a function of Intelligence, namely a characters ability to calculate thrust vectors, distances and tabulate augur information when plotting a course over tens of thousands of kilometres.

Trade...Trade I'm not too happy with leaving unchanged but at the moment I've not come up with any major alterations that I'm happy with. I considered rendering it down to four Specialisations each centred around a particular use of what could be considered a 'Trade', namely Crafting, Entertaining, Labouring and Professions, but it seemed too broad to work with the Adaptive Options system. I'll have a think about this in the future and come back to it before I finish this re-write.

Next time I'm going to skip ahead a few chapters to combat, as I believe I need to go over that particlar subject before I return to the earlier chapters of the Core Rulebook to address Talents and Traits, Psychic Powers and the Armoury. After that there are a few minor alterations I'd like to address at which point this little project will be complete.

Well, apart from taking a look at the contents of the supplements...

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Codex - Genestealer Cults : Review

(They're coming outta the walls man!)

A couple of months ago, when I wrote my Deathwatch review, I noted how much of a surprise it was to see them getting their own codex. I'm afraid I'm going to have to repeat myself, as I really didn't expect to see these gribbly buggers getting a codex of their own.

Overview :

The Genestealer Cults are an army that hasn't had a list since 2nd Edition, where they appeared in the Tyranid Codex as well as in the Codex Imperialis paperback that was included in the 2nd Edition starter set. You know, the one with the Orks that were absolute murder if you stood on one in the dark.

Anyway, Genestealer Cults are the product of an Imperial (in most cases) worlds infiltration by one or more Purestrain Genestealers. Making use of the Ovipositor positioned under their tongue they contaminate the genetic material of their victims, who then fall under the Xenos' telepathic sway even as their bodies change and they are overcome by the urge to reproduce and spread the Genestealers taint. The children of these corrupted souls are hybrids of human and Xenos, twisted creatures with ridged heads, clawed limbs, and a telepathic link to their Patriarch who by this point will have swollen into a massive, clawed horror that lurks in the dark places of the infected world overseeing the spread of its children.

These corrupted humans form a Genestealer Cult, each successive generation becoming more and more human, making their infiltration of the worlds armed forces and civillian infrastructure ever easier. This continues until the fifth generation, which instead of hybrids is composed of Purestrain genestealers, allowing the cycle to start all over again, as the cult spreads its influence and prepares to rise up and seize control of the world they've infested.

Meanwhile in the void between stars, the Hive Fleets lurk, drawn to the psychic beacon of the cult Patriarch, ready to devour the world that has been weakened in anticipation of their assault.

Lovely, aren't they?

Fluff :

So that's the basics of what a Genestealer cult is, all of which those of you familiar with Warhammer 40,000 will already be aware of. What does the new Codex add to this and how does it expand on the extant fluff?

The book starts with an overview of Genestealers, the Cults, and how they spread their genetic taint through other populations. I particularly like how these sections of the book go into how the cycle of Purestrain to four Hybrid generations and back to Purestrain is repeated for long term Genestealer infestations, with brood cycle after brood cycle lurking in the depths of infested worlds. Scattered through this section are a few diagrams of how a cult progresses and is organised, as well as examples of infestations such as the Trysst Dynasty of Ghosar Quintus (the cult from the Deathwatch : Overkill boxed set), the mechanicus influenced Bladed Cog, and the alchemical abominations of the Twisted Helix. All of which are varied and interesting takes on a Genestealer cult, and give players plenty of modelling and storywriting ideas for their own forces.

Next up are the unit profiles, in addition to the Patriarch, Magus, Purestrains and Hybrids which are familiar to 40k players, the codex also adds a few new units and manifestations of the genestealers curse. First up we have the Primus, the martial equivalent of the Magus, a hybrid groomed and bred for combat and a leadership role amongst the cult forces. Next are the Hybrid Metamorphs, early generation hybrids who are heavily mutated and display all manner of bioweapons like bio acid glands, serrated claws, and boneswords. Speaking of mutants, next on the list are Aberrants, the hybrid equivalent to Ogryns, being hulking, dim witted abominations used as enforcers and shock troopers by the cults. Finally we have a unique vehicle, the Goliath, a converted truck and mining machine that can be used as an open topped APC, or with the addition of a massive rockgrinder, a light battle tank.

All these additions provide much needed variety and character to cult forces. Genestealer Cults also have a couple of standard Imperial vehicles, in the form of Chimera APC's, Leman Russ MBT's, and Sentinel Scout Walkers. The Goliath is my personal favourite amongst the additions, and I'm tempted to grab one and convert it up as a generic human vehicle for use in RPG games and as either scenery or an objective in tabletop games.

There are a few short snatches of fiction scattered throughout, as is the norm for codices, all of which are suitably evocative. I particularly like the awe cult member greeting one of his purestrain spawn during a Tyranid assault, only to be ripped apart by his tainted get. Finally in the fluff section is the usual timeline, though in this case there are no dates on it, and it's simply a list of uprisings and infestations scattered across the Imperium and beyond. I do like that it includes the infestation of a Tau Earth Caste facility, and the cleansing of the Sin of Damnation from the most recent release of Space Hulk.

Overall the fluff is solid and well written, and I like the fact that GW seem to have abandoned the idea that the encounter of Kill Team Cassius with the Trysst Dynasty on Ghosar Quintus was the Imperiums first real encounter with a Genestealer cult. Considering how well established Genestealers were in the fluff beforehand, it was an odd decision and not a particularly well thought out one. Theres also a repeated "Void" theme throughout the fluff, which puts me in mind of more eldritch fiction, with the tainted cults worshipping alien entities that lurk in the darkness between the stars... themes and ideas that have always appealed to my Lovecraft-tainted mind. My one complaint is that there is no mention of two particularly prominent Genestealer infestations, namely the Moons of Ymgarl (which is where the Imperium originally believed Genestealers originated), and Ichar IV, where the link between the cults and the Tyranids was finally proven. It just find it strange that these two phenomenally important incidents are ignored.

Crunch :

So, what about the actual rules? Well, I'll say it now, this is NOT an army that is meant to engage in a stand up fight, it's meant to be played like a cult of stealthy, savage guerilla fighters and genetically twisted abominations. Before we get to the units themselves let's take a look at the armies special rules, of which it has quite a few.

• Cult Ambush : When units with this rule infiltrate or arrive from reserve they can choose to roll on a table. This can result in them being deployed from the controlling players edge, the left or right edges, deploying anywhere on the table from 3" to 9" away from enemy models, or deploying anywhere and either getting to make a round of shooting attacks or charge. This...well.. you can imagine how effective this is if pulled off properly. If you get lucky with a unit of Purestrains you can cause untold havoc, but by the same token you don't have a lot of control over where your units turn up. Unless of course you roll the Warlord Trait that lets you CHOOSE your result on the ambush table...
• Return to the Shadows : In the movement phase units with this rule can be removed from the table and go into ongoing reserve. This is very useful, allowing you to rescue units that are about to be wiped out, or redeploy them to outflank your opponent. Again though the cult ambush table can work very much in your favour, or utterly scupper your plans.
• Unquestioning Loyalty :  Models with this rule automaticaly pass Look Out Sir rolls, and can make them in a challenge. This is a really nice, fluffy addition, representing the hybrids hurling themselves without question in front of the more important members of their cult. It also gives their characters a fair bit more survivability so long as they're accompanying an appropriate unit.

So, what can we take from these rules? Well, that fighting a Genestealer Cult is likely to cause institutional paranoia in opposing players, and that they very much play like the stealthy insurgent force they're depicted to be in the fluff. Honestly these rules do a wonderful job of characterising the army, and if I wore a hat I'd take it off to the designers on this one.

Now, let's take a look at the units and their options...

HQ :

• Patriarch : First up, the Patriarch. A Purestrain Genestealer swollen to tremendous size this chap is lethal in close combat, though lacking in AP2 save for lucky Rending rolls with it's melee attacks. It's nor particularly durable, only having a 4+ armour save and no invulnerable save, but it's got Unquestioning Loyalty, grants Fearless to nearby unit and is a Mastery Level 1 or 2 psykers with access to the Broodmind discipline which I'll describe later.
• Magus : A dedicated psyker, the Magus is a nice, cheap bit of psychic support being Mastery Level 1, granting Adamantium Will to nearby units, and being capable of being upgraded to Mastery Level 2.
• Primus : The aforementioned commander of the cults forces, the Primus is WS 5, I 4 and has 5 attacks on the charge. It's only strength 4 but its armed with a Bonesword, Needle Pistol, and its claw attacks have Poisoned due to its Toxin Injector. Following on from the previous choices, it grants friendly units nearby Hatred. Again its a cheap model, an excellent unit buffer, and surprisingly good in a challenge due to Unquestioning Loyalty giving it a supply of willing bodies to throw at attackers.
• Acolyte Iconward : Finally we have the Iconward, the cults standard bearer has distinctly average stats, but grants Feel No Pain to nearby units (improving it if already present), as well as +1 WS to any unit they join. Again it's a solid buff unit for a fairly low price, and a nasty addition to a melee focussed unit like Aberrants or Metamorphs.

Elite :

• Hybrid Metamorphs : These gribbly blighters are an interesting choice. They have a decent WS, S and I (4 each) as well as two attacks basic and a pair of melee weapons. What's interesting about them is that they have access to a selection of "Metamorph" weapons, that let the unit be customised for all manner of roles such as taking on high initiative foes with the Metamorph Lash (+3 Initiative in Assault) or hunting high toughness opponents with Metamorph Claws (+2 Strength in Assault). Each can have two Metamorph weapons, and can replace their Autopistols with Hand Flamers. Yes, you can have a ten man squad of clawed horrors who also all have flame weapons. Their leader can take a Bonesword, the unit can take a Cult Icon for +1 WS, and they can pile into a Goliath as a dedicated transport.
• Purestrain Genestealers : You know them, you love and/or hate them. They remain as vicious in assault as ever, with their 4 Attacks at Strength 4, Initiative 6, Weapons Skill 6 on the charge with Rending. Cult Purestrains also gave a 5+ invulnerable saving throw reflecting their obscenely fast reflexes, and can only be joined by a Patriarch. If they are however the whole unit also gains Furious Charge. They can't take a transport, but they have Infiltrate and Cult Ambush, so if you're lucky enough to get the Warlord Trait that lets you pick your rolls on the Ambush table you can spend the game terrorizing your opponent with a 20 strong brood of Patriarch accompanied Purestrains leaping out of the shadows, tearing units to pieces, and disappearing before repeating the bloody process all over again.
• Aberrants : The Genestealer Cults heavy assault choice, these big boys are Strength 5, Toughness 4 and have two wounds each. They're only Initiative 2 but they're armed with Power Picks and Power Hammers in addition to their rending claws. They also have Feel No Pain, making them excellent candidates to be accompanied by an Iconward to keep them alive as they hunt down walkers, monstrous creatures and light vehicles.

Troops :

• Acolyte Hybrids : These are units of first and second generation Hybrids, they've got decent close combat stats and average ballistic skill, but they're pretty cheap and get plently of attacks with their rending claws. The unit can also take as many hand flamers as you like, can take a Cult Icon for +1 WS, and one in five can take a Demolition Charge, Heavy Rock Drill, Heavy Rock Cutter or Heavy Rock Saw. They're vicious in melee, as you'd expect, but with Toughness 3 and a 5+ saving throw they will crumble under sustained fire from, well anything.
• Neophyte Hybrids : The shootier troops choice, these chaps have standard Imperial Guard stats save for an extra point of Initiative and Leadership. Two models can either take Heavy Mining Weapons (Heavy Stubber, Mining Laser or Seismic Cannon) or form a single heavy weapon team with a standard heavy weapon (Autocannon, Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Missile Launcher or Mortar). Two can take Special Weapons (Flamer, Grenade Launcher or Webber), and any of then can take shotguns. These chaps are even cheaper than the Acolyte Hybrids, and a great meatshield or potential tarpit, however again they're really fragile.

Fast Attack :

• Chimera*, Armoured Sentinels, Scout Sentinels : These are the standard Imperial Guard issue vehicles, their options and statistics being identical to their mundane counterparts. They give the Cults access to an excellent APC (though unable to carry Purestrains) and some solid mobile firepower, especially with the Scout Sentinels being able to outflank alongside the cults infantry.
• Goliath Truck* : The Goliath is a lightly armoured (11/10/10, 3HP) vehicle, armed with a heavy stubber and a twin linked autocannon, and is open topped, being able to carry ten models (not including Purestrains or the Patriarch). Its cheap, at 50pts, and its status as an open topped vehicle makes is a useful little assault vehicle. As well as being cheap, useful, and looking awesome these trucks have two more abilities of note, the first being the ability to totally ignore Crew Stunned, Crew Shaken and Immobilised results on the damage table, though it still loses a hull point, making them surprisingly durable. The second is its ability to take a cache of Demolition Charges that can be thrown by embarked models. With their short range, and the fact that when a Goliath with Demolition Charges takes a penetrating hit it takes an additional S 8, AP 2 hit they're a situational but potentially powerful upgrade.

Heavy Support : 

• Goliath Rockgrinders : A heavier version of the Goliath Truck (with one more point of forward armour), the Rockgrinder also replaces the twin linked autocannon with a Heavy Mining Laser (a Range 36" Lascannon) and drops its transport capacity to 6 along with losing the Open Topped special rule. The Rockgrinder can replace its mining laser with a Clearance Incinerator or Heavy Seismic Cannon, can take a cache of Demolition Charges, and is also armed with a Drilldozer blade, a piece of wargear that wouldn't be out of place on an Ork Battlewagon. The drilldozer blade allows the Rockgrinder to automatically pass dangerous terrain tests, and adds both 1d6 to its Ramming strength and +1 to rolls on the vehicle damage table caused by ramming. That's not all though, whenever a Rokckgrinder perdorms a Tank Shock, each unit attacked must make an Initiative test or take 1d3 S10 AP 2 hits, with the same again being inflicted on units that fail a Death or Glory attack. This is great, it's wonderful to see vehicles that are actually capable of doing some real damage with ramming making an appearance.
• Leman Russ Squadron : Just like the other Imperial Guard vehicles the Leman Russ is identical to its loyalist counterpart, save that it is equipped by default with an Eradicator cannon, and can be upgraded to be armed with a Battle Cannon, Exterminator Autocannon or Vanguisher Cannon. This is the heaviest unit in the codex, and provides the cults with lots of heavy firepower. If nothing else they're fairly cheap and provide an excellent distraction as the cults infantry and purestrains get into position...

*Available as a Dedicated Transport to Acolyte Hybrids, Neophyte Hybrids and Hybrid Metamorphs.
**Available as a Dedicated Transport to Neophyte Hybrids.

The Codex also includes a selection of Formations, such as the First Curse, the Doting Throng and the Neophyte Cavalcade. I'm not really a fan of the Formations and "Decurion" systems that have been introduced over the past few years, so I'm not going to go into any detail with regards to them save to say that they seem reasonably solid, though there are as always balance issues with them.

Now, I've mentioned a few new weapons in the above entries, all of which are cobbled together from mining equipment and excavation gear, or stolen from PDF armouries. What do they do though? Well, here's a quick overview...

• Clearance Incinerators : Heavy Flamers with Torrent.
• Mining Lasers : These come in standard and Heavy varieties, which are effectively Lascannons with a range of 24" and 36" respectively.
• Seismic Cannons : Now these are interesting. Again these weapons come in Standard and Heavy varieties, and have the Resonance special rule which causes all To Wound and Armour Penetration rolls of a 6 to be resolved at AP 1. They also have a range of 24" and different statistics depending on what range they're being fired at, being S 8, AP 3 at up to half range, and S 5, AP 4 beyond that. Seismic Cannons are Heavy 2 at up to half range and Heavy 4 beyond that, while Heavy Seismic Cannons are Heavy 3 at up to half range, and Heavy 6 beyond that.
• Web Weapons : Now these are a blast from the past, these come in Web Pistol and Webber variants and come with the Blast and Cocooned special rules. Thanks to the Cocooned rule the AP of these weapons is equal to the Strength of the target, making them very effective against lightly armoured targets.
• Heavy Rock Cutters : Now these are nasty, being a two handed Power Fist equivalent with the Snip special rule. Any model wounded by a weapon with the Snip special rule must make a Toughness test or be removed from play. This is...perhaps an issue, as it isn't an Instant Death attack it's impossible to negate it with Eternal Warrior. I'd personally house rule this into being an Instant Death attack on a failed Toughness test.
• Heavy Rock Drills : Another two handed Power Fist equivalent, these instead have the Pulverise rule. Pulverise allows the attacker to replace their normal attacks with a single S 10, AP 1 attack, suitable for smashing vehicles and monstrous creatures.
• Heavy Rock Saws : The last of the Heavy mining weapons is a two handed Chainfist.
• Power Hammer : These are pretty nasty, granting +3 Strength and AP 2 with the Concussive, Specialist Weapon, Two Handed and Unwieldy special rules.
• Power Pick : With fewer special rules but more utility, the Power Pick is +2 and AP 3 with the Unwieldy special rule, allowing it to stack with an Aberrants Rending Claws.

Not a bad variety of weapons, all of which are suitably flavourful and fit well into the armies theme and aesthetic. Now, as well as these unique armaments, the Genestealer Cults also have access to their very own Psychic Discipline, the Broodmind Discipline which is available to the Patriarch and Magus. This discipline is nasty, being built to support and augment a Cult army whilst simultaneously crippling their foes. The Discipline includes the following powers...

• Mass Hypnosis (Primaris) : A nasty little Malediction that drops the target units WS, BS, I and A stats.
• Psychic Stimulus : A blessing that grants a friendly unit Relentless, Fleet, and the ability to charge even if they've run.
• Psionic Blast : A nasty Witchfire with a small blast capable of ripping apart Space Marines.
• Might from Beyond : A blessing that boosts a units Strength and grants them the Rage special rule. Because Purestrains need to be even nastier in an assault...
• Mental Onslaught : A better version of Mind War, that also penalises the targets Initiative in case of a draw.
• Mind Control : This one is hilarious. Mind Control is a Focussed Witchfire that, if succesful, causes the target enemy unit to immediately make a shooting attack against another unit of your choice. Because you really want that 50 strong Imperial Guard platoon to turn around and shred their own company HQ...
• Telepathic Summons : A Summoning power that lets the Cult player summon up any of the infantry units from the codex which then arrive using the Cult Ambush special rule. While expensive, I'd say this power is in need of balancing due to the fact that it allows the units to take any upgrades they want at no additional cost. I'd house rule this power to disallow upgrades with a points cost to prevent abuse.

So that's the Genestealer Cults crunch, how does it stand up? Well, they're a very interesting army, being absolutely vicious in assault and with some decent shooting to back them up but overall lacking in survivability. There are a handful of minor balance issues that I've already mentioned, but overall the army lists power in melee is balanced by their lack of durability. The army NEEDS to make use of its Cult Ambush and Return to the Shadows special rules in order to close with their opponents, as with the exception of their Leman Russ tanks everything in the codex is highly susceptible to being shredded by gunfire before they can get close enough to charge.

I'm interested enough that I'd like to put together a Cult army at some point, and due to owning Overkill I've already got most of the models to do so. To play this army succesfully you have to treat them not as a regimented force or a charging horde, but as a guerilla force of ambushers, raiders, and murderous Xenos predators. Just like their fluff.

Art :

So, the art. Again it's very solid, with almost all of it being original, with the exception of handful of older piece, and of a high quality. Unfortunately the book does contain the now-standard dozen or so wasted pages of awfully drawn colour scheme guides, I'm really hoping that GW drop that particular "feature" soon. Once again there's a complete lack of Blanche, and all of the contributing artists have done very well with regards to depicting the atavistic abominations of the cult, and their corruption of the holy human form.

As for the models, they're universally excellent. The Patriarch, Magus, Primus, Hybrids and Aberrants are the same base models from the Deathwatch : Overkill box, with a few new weapon options being available to the Hybrids. The Metamorphs are a new release, and look suitably gribbly with their skulls developing the signature Tyranid head-plating, and their organic armaments looking both disgusting and deadly.  The Hybrids are great, the base models are wonderful starting points for converting miners, voidship crews and the like thanks to their ribbed armour, and their weapons are a mix of solid slug weapons and converted mining tools that wouldn't be out of place in Deadspace or Necromunda.

That said, the Goliath is my personaly favourite. I've already mentioned my plans for the kit, and I would genuinely love GW to design and release more generic "Imperial" vehicle kits, for kitbash, conversion and terrain building purposes. There's also a few upgrade kits for Cadian Shock Troopers and the appropriate imperial tanks, and while those for the vehicles are fine the upgrade to the Cadians is definitely of lower quality. Frankly, I'm not a fan of the Cadian models anyway, so I can't really make much of this criticism as there's

Both the art and models are very good, I've no criticisms of either, and I'm really pleased with the overall look of the codex and army.

Conclusion :

All in all this is a solid codex and miniature range, both of which I'd definitely recommend. The army has plenty of options and is perfectly capable of standing by itself or being used as an allied contingent to add some melee capability to the Imperial Guard, or firepower to the Tyranids. The art and fluff are both solid, and the models really are excellent and I'd say worth picking up just to paint and model. I've got Overkill and I'll definitely be putting mine together with an eye to using them in RPG games.*

Oh, and I said it last time and I'll say it again...

Sisters Sisters Sisters Sisters Sisters.....

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

*Dear RP groups, forget that you've read this.

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IIIb - Skills Part 2

So in my last post I went over the two new skills that I've added to the game in this revamp of Dark Heresy. This time I'm going to deal with the skills that I've altered, so lets get straight into it.

Rules Alterations :

The existing skills have been altered as follows.

Athletics :

• The “Endurance” special use of Athletics is moved to the new Endurance skill.

Common Lore

• All uses of this skill have been folded into the Lore skill.

Forbidden Lore :

• All uses of this skill have been folded into the Lore skill.

Linguistics :

• All characters begin play with Linguistics [Low Gothic] and Linguistics [Origin Language] at Rank 1 (Known).

Lore :

• Common Lore, Forbidden Lore and Scholastic Lore have all been collapsed into the Lore skill, which represents both a formal education in a particular Specialisation as well as rumours gleaned from gossip, hearsay, independant research and any other sources.
• All three kinds of Knowledge apply to each Specialisation, for example Common Lore [Imperial Guard] will allow a character to learn about local regiments and recent millitary actions. Scholastic Lore [Imperial Guard] represents an education in the Tactica Imperialis as well as knowledge of the organisation and deployment of the Imperial guard as well as their millitary history. Forbidden Lore [Imperial Guard] will allow a character to learn about regiments that have been destroyed in horrific circumstances or fallen to the worship of the dark gods, as well as the specifics of those unfortunate events.
• Different Characteristics can be used for Common and Forbidden lore tests at the GM's discretion,. The use of Perception for Common Lore tests representing information gathered in the characters daily life, overheard rumours, and common knowledge amongst the local populace. The use of Willpower for Forbidden Lore tests represents the inherently corrosive nature of some forbidden knowledge, and the characters ability to parse and understand it in a legible fashion.
• Common Lore tests are performed using either Intelligence or Perception at the GM's discretion and have a +20 bonus to them in addition to other modifiers such as those suggested on p.103 of the core rulebook. Common Lore tests may be made Untrained, at the GM's discretion.
• Forbidden Lore tests are performed using either Intelligence or Willpower at the GM's discretion and have a -30 penalty to them in addition to other modifiers such as those suggested on p.105 of the core rulebook. Forbidden Lore tests may NOT be made Untrained.
• Scholastic Lore tests are performed using Intelligence and have no inherent bonuses or penalties to them. Scholastic Lore tests may NOT be made Untrained.

Medicae :

• See the Combat chapter for alterations to how Healing works.

Operate :

The Operate skill uses an altered selection of Specialisations, see later in this document.

Scholastic Lore :

• All uses of this skill have been folded into the Lore skill.

Security :

• Security has the aptitudes Agility or Intelligence, and Tech.
  Security tests to unpick physical locks rely on Agility, while tests to hack digital locks rely on Intelligence.

Sleight of Hand :

• Sleight of Hand has the aptitudes Agility and Fieldcraft.

Trade :

• The aptitudes of the Trade skill vary depending on the Specialisation being purchased. Exactly what aptitude is used is up to the GM, though some guidelines would be the use of Fellowship for Trade [Performancer] and Perception for Trade [Explorator]

Design Notes :

Most of the Aptitude and Characteristic alterations are aimed to, well, make more sense of certain skills. I've no idea why Sleight of Hand used Knowledge as an aptitude, and likewise I think when piloting a Lunar Class Cruiser it's less important that you're agile and more important that you can calculate thruster burst times and navigational data whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on stellar phenomena and the stress tolerances of your vessel.

Lore's been collapsed into one skill for a few reasons. Firstly because it's always bothered me that a character needs to take 3 skills to have a comprehensive knowledge of a particular subject, especially when going by that logic Common Lore would be a prerequisite for Scholastic Lore and Scholastic Lore for Forbidden Lore. Otherwise a character with Ecclesiarchy based lore skills could learn all about Imperial Saints that have fallen to chaos or been corrupted, whilst having no idea about the actual rituals, rites and practices of the Imperial Creed. It doesn't make sense. Likewise when this edition has collapsed a few skills into each other, such as combining Concealment and Silent Move to create Stealth, the Lore skills have remained separate from each other.

I've mentioned the Beta of Dark Heresy 2nd Edition a few times, and one of the many things it did right was replacing the Lore skills with Remembrance, a single skill that worked in conjunction with a system of Specialisation talents with the different Lore types being made using different characteristics. I've kept elements of that, whilst not keeping the Specialisation system and I'm happy with what I've come up with.

We're not quite done with skills, as I want to take a quick look at the rules for Crafting as well as go through some of the specialisations for Linguistics, Lore, Operate and Trade. After that we'll move onto Talents, and at some point soon I'm going to start putting together a compilation document that I can host and that will contain the latest iteration of my rules alterations.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : My Thoughts So Far...

So, I've been busy the past couple of weeks with work and college assignments, but I've still had time to do a bit of pondering and playtesting with regards to my Dark Heresy Revamped project. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to split this little project into two distinct but interlinked branches, due to different player groups having different expectations of what I'm doing, and my own desire to be able to accomodate both.

Essentially, I'm going to be splitting it into Dark Heresy 2.5, and Dark Heresy 3.0. 2.5 will be, in effect, an updated version of the Dark Heresy rules, essentially updating a few of the issues that irk me and incorporating a few mechanics that I've been making use of with my groups for a while now. Dark Heresy 3.0 on the other hand will take this revamp considerably further, with mechanics undergoing significant alteration due to my own belief that they improve the game.

For claritys sake, here's what I'm planning to alter / incorporate into these versions...

Dark Heresy 2.5

• Altered Character Creation : This is in line with what I've done so far, and incorporates updated and altered Homeworlds/Origins, Backgrounds and Roles as well as a few other minor tweaks. This is more or less complete.
• Altered Skills and Talents : This incorporates my new skills (Endurance and Resolve), as well as tweaks to the Lore skills and a few talents thanks to the changes I'm making to the system.
• Altered Consumables Rules : These are alterations to how ammunition and other consumable resources like medical supplies and the like work. I'm doing this to cut down on book keeping and make the game flow faster, with more of a narrative feel to it.
• Zone Based Combat and Movement : This is perhaps the biggest change I'm making from 2.0, with the rest just being updates and alterations. There are also a couple of tweaks that I want to make to the combat system, especially with regards to Fatigue.
• Updated Equipment and Weapons : Obviously the above changes require some alterations to the existing statistics for weapons and equipment. Not only that but a fair few items have very nebulous rules, and I'd like to nail them down properly with more specific mechanics.
• Updated Psychic Powers : 

Dark Heresy 3.0

While the above alterations are pretty set, those that follow could be considered "Plug Ins", with anyone using them able to treat them as optional house rules and pick and choose. 

• Alternate Resource Systems : This is an expansion on the above alterations, but taken to the next level with Influence being replaced with a series of statistics that are dependant on character actions and rewards, such as Influence, Reputation and Wealth. Each taking the form of both permanent statistics and consumable temporary rewards.
• Benefits of Success / Consequences of Failure : I've already explained this little system in my earlier posts, and it's one that I'm playtesting, along with...
• Damage 3.0 : This is a modified damage system, which replaces the existing Wounds and Critical Damage tables with a system of Injuries and Damage Thresholds. This is currently the most contentious change and the one that I'm playtesting the most heavily.

I'm working on another update tonight, so I'll be posting that up too shortly. I've actually got a week off from work and college, and though there's plenty I want to do, I'm also going to try to catch up on my writing.

For the purpose of this project, I'm going to focus on the components of 2.5 for now, while I playtest those of 3.0 in the background. That'll let me get more content out to my readers, while simultaneously accounting for all the basic changes for my play groups.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IIIa - Skills Part 1

And now we're moving onto Chapter III, Skills. The most important thing I've done here is the addition of two new skills, followed by a few alterations to aptitudes and specialisations and a revamp of the Lore skills. Let's have a look at the new skills today shall we?

New Skills :

In addition to the skills presented in the Dark Heresy Core Rulebook, characters have access to the following new skills and begin play with both at Rank 1 (Known). After the description for each skill are several Benefits of Success and Consequences of Failure that additional degrees of Success/Failure can be spent on after determining the result of the roll.

Endurance [Toughness] :

Aptitudes : Toughness, Defence
Skill Use : Free Action, unless otherwise noted.

Endurance covers acts of physical resilience, such as fighting off the effects of a disease or poison, or withstanding physical trauma over short or long periods of time.

This skill is particularly valuable to explorers, labourers, and others with physically intensive and exhausting professions. Likewise mercenaries, soldiers and the like often develop this skill as they take and survive injuries and trauma.

Whenever a character would (under the basic rules) be called upon to make a Toughness test, they instead make an Endurance test. Likewise any Athletics tests that would deal with acts of physical endurance or stamina become Endurance tests instead of Athletics tests.

The GM can call on a player to make an Endurance test when...

• They are travelling in harsh conditions and must withstand the effects of exposure.
• They wish to push past their usual limits even when they would normally be exhausted (This has been moved from Athletics to Endurance).
• They need to withstand sudden physical trauma or torment that would leave them incapacitated.

Resolve [Willpower] :

Aptitudes : Willpower, Defence
Skill Use : Free Action, unless otherwise noted.

Endurance covers acts of mental resolve, such as fighting off a psychic assault, resisting interrogation, or maintaining your composure when a foe is taunting you or attempting to drive you into a frenzy.

This skill is vital to anyone who risks physical violence as part of their everyday life, as it allows them to keep calm under fire and push forward instead of panicking. Likewise anyone who has secrets to keep or regularly comes into possession of valuable information would do well to develop this skill in order to resist intimidation or interrogation.

Whenever a character would (under the basic rules) be called upon to make a Willpower test to resist Fear or any sort of mental influence, they instead make a Resolve test.

The GM can call on a player to make a Resolve test when...

• They are resisting interrogation and torture.
• They are under fire and need to resist their opponents attempts to suppress them.
• They encounter a terrifying foe or situation, and need to prevent themselves from fleeing in fear.

Design Notes :

So this one's nice and short, but let's have a look at why I've changed what I have.

Endurance and Resolve have been added for reasons I've already gone into in an earlier post. They allow characters to be particularly tough or strong willed without necessarily having to spend insane amounts of XP on increasing Characteristics they may not have the aptitudes for, especially when it's so easy for antagnoists to add bonuses to the tests to resist Shock, Toxic, Fear and the like. It's a balance issue I've run into more than once.

As usual, if you've any ideas or feedback please let me know, and I'll be carrying on with this in my next post.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IId - Character Creation Part 4

With this post we're getting to the end of my alterations to Character Creation in my revamp of Dark Heresy. This time we're going to take a look at Roles and how I've decided to alter them. These are pretty much all alterations to the roles Role Bonuses, so this is a much shorter post than the last two, thankfully. I'm sorry for the late update too, but it's been a hell of a week and I've been very busy. Unfortunately it seems like that'll be the case for at least the next two weeks, but I'll do my best to keep up regular updates.

Ace (Enemies Without p.38) :

• Role Bonus “Right Stuff” : An Ace character may spend a Fate Point to automatically succeed on an Operate or Survival skill test involving vehicles or living steeds with a number of degrees of success equal to the appropriate Characteristic bonus.

Assassin (Core Rulebook p.62) :

• Role Bonus “Sure Kill” : After hitting an opponent with an attack, an Assassin character may spend 1 Fate Point to deal additional damage equal to their Weapon Skill bonus for melee attacks, or their Ballistic Skill bonus for ranged attacks to the first hit made with that attack.

Chirugeon (Core Rulebook p.64) :

• Role Bonus “Dedicated Healer” : A Chirugeon character may spend a Fate Point to automatically succeed on a Medicae skill test with a number of degrees equal to their Intelligence bonus.

Crusader (Enemies Beyond p.34) :

• Role Bonus “Smite the Unholy” : A Crusader character may spend a Fate Point to automatically pass a Fear test with a numer of degrees of success equal to their Willpower bonus. Additionally the first time in a round that a Crusader character hits with a Melee attack against a target with the Fear trait they increase the Damage and Penetration of that attack by X, with X being equal to the targets Fear rating.

Design Notes :

The Ace has been altered slightly to bring them in line with my alterations to how the Operate skill works, namely that not all Operate tests are based on Agility. We'll get into the details of that in the Skill section, but safe to say your Agility counts for little when you're at the helm of a Luna class Cruiser...

The Assassin's Role Bonus has been altered in line with some changes I'm making to the Combat Rules, based around the Benefits of Success / Price of Failure mechanic I introduced in an earlier post. Allowing them to benefit from their degrees of success twice would be somewhat unfair, whilst giving them a set bonus streamlines things a little.

The Chirugeon has had the effects of their Role Bonus broadened to apply to all Medicae tests instead of just First Aid. Whilst admittedly being skilled at first aid is useful, it is purely a combat based benefit when I think Chirugeons should be equally skilled at distilling curatives, analysing outbreaks, and performing autopsies as they are at stitching people back together. Likewise they can use this ability to simply pass a test in the same manner as a Sage, Seeker or other Role.

The Crusader has been...toned down somewhat. Their base Role Ability makes them terrifyingly powerful against anything with a fear rating, which as it stands can lead to Daemons, Aliens and the like huddling in a corner, screaming their apologies whilst the Crusader beats them to death. I've limited their damage/penetration bonus to only being applied to one attack per round in order to bring them down to the same level as other characters, that said I'd like to alter their role ability so it's a little less specific, so we'll have to see if anything else springs to mind in the future.

When I get around to finalising my alterations to the combat system, the Desperado and Warrior may see some changes. However we'll see what happens once I've done a bit more playtesting with them.

Well, that was nice and short compared to the last two posts. That's it for character creation, as I'm not going to take a look at Elite Advances until I'm further on with this little project. As they draw on so many other rules (especially in the case of Psykers), I'd rather get those rules set in place before I start to mess around with them. For the same reason I'm going to leave Alternate Character Creation rules and the like alone until I've done some more work on the system in general.

As usual, if you've any thoughts or recommendations please let me know!

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IIc - Character Creation Part 3

Today we're moving onto Backgrounds, my issues with those that have been released and how I'm going about adjusting / remedying them.

Adepta Sororitas (Enemies Within p.30)

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Adepta Sororitas] with Lore [Adepta Sororitas]

Adeptus Administratum (Core Rulebook p.46) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Adeptus Administratum] and Scholastic Lore [Pick One] with Lore [Adeptus Administratum and any one other]
• Starting Equipment :  Replace Medikit with Tomes of Lore.
• Background Bonus "Master of Paperwork" : An Administratum Adept character may re-roll any Logic or Lore tests once, and may substitute their Intelligence bonus for the degrees of success on these rolls.

Adeptus Arbites (Core Rulebook p.48) :

• Starting Skills :  Replace Common Lore [Adeptus Arbites] and Common Lore [Underworld] with Lore [Adeptus Arbites or Enforcers] and Lore [Underworld]
  
• Starting Talents : Weapon Training [Any two from Low Tech, Shock and Solid Projectile]
• Starting Equipment : Shotgun or Shock Maul, Carapace Chestplate or Light Carapace, Manacles, Uniform, 3 doses of Stimm with Injector or 12 Lho Sticks or Abridged copy of the Lex Imperialis.

Adeptus Astra Telepathica (Core Rulebook p.50) :

• Starting Skills :Replace Common Lore [Adeptus Astra Telepathica] and Forbidden Lore [The Warp] with Lore [Adeptus Astra Telepathica] and Lore [Psykers or Warp]

Adeptus Mechanicus (Core Rulebook p.52) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Security with Lore [Technology]
• Starting Talents : May take Weapon Training [Las] instead of Weapon Training [Solid Projectile]
• Starting Equipment :  Autogun or Hand Cannon or Laspistol, Monotask Servo Skull or Augmetic with an availability of Very Rare or better, Mechanicus Robes, 2 vials of Sacred Unguents.
• Background Bonus "Designs of the Omnissiah" : An Adeptus Mechanicus character begins play with either two Trade skills of their choice at rank 0 (Known), or one Trade skill and their choice of Scrutiny or Security at rank 0 (Known).

Adeptus Ministorum (Core Rulebook p.54) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Adeptus Ministorum] with Lore [Adeptus Ministorum].

Exorcised (Enemies Beyond p.32) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Forbidden Lore [Daemonology] with Lore [Daemonology].
• Background Bonus "Touched By A Daemon" : Replace "Additionally, he can never again become possessed by the same Daemon that once possessed him." with "Additionally, they can never become possessed, being functionally immune to Daemonic Possession save in truly exceptional circumstances such as the direct intervention of a Daemon Prince or other extremely powerful Daemonic entity."

Heretek (Enemies Without p.32) :

• Starting Skills :  Replace Forbidden Lore [Pick One] with Lore [Pick One]
  
• Background Bonus "Master of Hidden Lores" : When a Heretek makes a Tech Use or Trade test to comprehend, use, repair or modify an unfamiliar device they gain a +20 bonus if they have one or more relevant Lore skill specialisations as Rank 2 [Trained] or higher.

Imperial Navy (Enemies Without p.34)

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Imperial Navy] with Lore [Imperial Navy]

Imperial Guard (Core Rulebook p.56) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Imperial Guard] with Lore [Imperial Guard].
  
• Starting Equipment : Replace Grapnel and Line with one Tool with an availability of Common or better (at the GM's discretion).

Mutant (Enemies Within p.32) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Forbidden Lore [Mutants] with Lore [Mutants or Underworld]
• Starting Equipment : Replace Grapnel and Line with one Tool with an availability of Common or better (at the GM's discretion).

Outcast (Core Rulebook p.56) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Underworld] with Lore [Underworld].

Rogue Trader Fleet (Enemies Without p.36) :

• Starting Skills : Replace Common Lore [Rogue Traders] with Lore [Rogue Traders]
• Starting Talents : Weapon Training [Las or Solid Projectile, Low Tech or Shock]
• Background Bonus "For Gold And Glory!" : A Rogue Trader Fleet character may re-roll any Command or Commerce tests once, and may substitute their Fellowship bonus for the degrees of success on these rolls.

Design Notes :

Let's start explaining what I've changed, and why. All of the Backgrounds that grant access to Lore skills have had them altered in the descriptions above.

The Administratum Adept has lost their Medikit, simply because it's not a piece of equipment that makes sense for a quill pusher, especially one who doesn't even begin play with the Medicae skill. Instead they can take a selection of tomes that may at the GM's discretion give them a bonus to the appropriate Lore tests. To me that simply makes a lot more sense. As for their Background Bonus, I'm trying to eliminate bonuses based on Acquisition entirely, as they can very easily be abused and it doesn't make sense to me that an Administratum Adept is better at getting their hands on heavy weapons, power armour and the like when they've spent their life collating tithe records or ensuring that the local Administratum data-shrine has the collect allotments of tea and synth-milk. Instead I've given them a bonus based around Lore and Logic tests that works in the same manner as the Arbites “Face Of The Law” bonus. To my mind it reflects the background a lot more accurately.

I have some issues with the Arbites background for fluff reasons, the most prominent one being that going by the established lore all Arbites are drawn from the Schola Progenium. To me this is less an "Arbites" background and more an "Enforcer" background, reflecting the law enforcement organisations of worlds across the Imperium. I was tempted to change the Background name but...we'll see. At some point I'll write up a Schola Progenium Origin, which could then be used in concert with the existing background to create proper Arbitrators. This split between types of law enforcement is why I've given them the option to take Lore [Enforcers] instead of Adeptus Arbites, and altered the "cosmetic" elements of their starting equipment. I've also noticed that the Arbites background has a very limited selection of Weapon Training talents when compared to the other martial backgrounds, even the Adeptus Ministorum background gives more options, which is why I've increased their number of starting talents and broadened the selection of talents they can choose from.

Adeptus Astra Telepathica, as a Background, is mostly unchanged apart from Lore alterations right now. I've given them the option of taking Lore [Psykers] purely due to my belief that they'd learn about their own kind as well as about the mysteries of the Immaterium, so I want to give them the option to take whichever Lore is more appropriate. This background will undergo further change as I'm going to be undergoing a re-write of the Psychic Power rules as part of this project. For now though I've left them as they are as I'm still working on the final details of that particular system.

The Adeptus Mechanicus background has undergone quite a few changes. The replacement of Security with Lore [Technology] simply seems more appropriate to me, I can't imagine an Enginseer crouched in a corner with a lockpick after all. Not that it's an inappropriate skill with regards to digital security, but I'd say that members of the Cult Mechanicus would have a better grounding in Technology than in overcoming locks and breaching data-vaults. The fact that these skills stack with those from the Forge World origin is very much deliberate, as such characters would in my mind have a very good education with regards to both the organisation they're devoted to and to the mysteries of the machine. The addition of Las weaponry to their weapon training options is simply due to the fact that the Mechanicus produce basically everything, and a simple, easily maintained weapon that can be powered by their potentia coil would appeal to many of them. I've also modified their starting equipment both to allow them to take a Lasweapon and so that that they're not forced to take a Skull or Mechadendrite if they want to be more subtle, or want to take an Augmetic that better fits the players character concept. As for their background bonus, as already stated I am removing Acquisition based character abilities from the game, and for the Adeptus Mechanicus after pondering I decided that giving them a selection of technical skills to choose from would be an appropriate replacement for their improved access to cybernetics.

The Adeptus Ministorum background is currently unchanged, however I will be altering how Fate Points work going forwards, so I'll be coming back to this particular background in the future.

The only thing I've altered about the Exorcised background is how their immunity to Possession works. Back in the old days of Slaves to Darkness and the Lost and the Damned exorcised individuals were stated to be immune to future Daemonic Possession. In fact, that's one of the core concepts behind the Exorcists space marine chapter and I massively disagree with Fantasy Flights alteration to that little snippet of lore. So I've changed it back.

The Heretek has been slightly altered to bring them in line with my alteration to how Skills work, which I'll go into more details about when we get to that section of this project.

The Imperial Guard, Mutant and Outcast backgrounds have been altered slightly, both to accomodate the Skill alterations and to give a bit more variety to their starting equipment. I'm not, for example, entirely sure why a member of an Artillery regiment or a mutant from the dark holds of a void ship would be carrying a grapnel and line with them... Likewise I've given Mutants the ability to take Lore [Underworld] intead of Lore [Mutants] seeing as just being a mutant doesn't mean you understand what you are, and for such individuals knowledge of how to survive amongst the outcasts and pariahs of an Imperial world would be far more useful than scholastic knowledge of their condition.

The Rogue Trader Fleet background is an odd one. Whilst I know what they were going for with it, it doesn't really represent the bulk of a fleets membership, who would be better represented by other backgrounds such as Imperial Navy our Outcast. Rather it is a Rogue Trader "Dynasty" background, that would suit the leaders of such a fleet, the members of the dynasty, and their closest advisors. Anyway, mechanically my major alteration to this class is the adjustment to their Background Bonus with the rationale that just because someone is a member of a Rogue Trader fleet, it doesn't mean they interract with Xenos in any way other than down the barrel of a gun, if they do so at all. Indeed I think that a re-roll based ability that gives them advantages to both making a profit from their findings and commanding the servants of their dynasty makes more sense. This is one that I'm not entirely happy with, so I'll probably come back to this one in the future once I've let it percolate around in my head a bit more.

Anyway, that's all for this section, feel free to let me know what you think and next time we'll be moving on to Roles.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IIb - Character Creation Part 2

So in my last post in this series I went over my alterations to the basics of character creation. This time I'm moving on to my alterations to the Homeworlds, or as I've renamed them, Origins...

Rules Alterations :

Agri World (Enemies Within p.24) :

• Origin Bonus - Strength From The Land : An Agri World character gains a +2 bonus to their Fatigue Threshold.

Feudal World (Enemies Within p.26) :

• Characteristic Modifiers : +5 Perception, +5 Weapon Skill, -5 Intelligence.
• Origin Bonus "Live By The Sword" : A Feudal World character gains the Weapon Training [Low Tech] Talent and the Parry skill at Rank 1 (Known).

Forge World (Core Rulebook p.28)

• Origin Bonus "Omnissiah's Chosen" : A Forge World character gains the Lore [Technology] and Tech Use skills at Rank 1 (Known).

Frontier World (Enemies Within p.28) :

• Origin Bonus "Rely On None But Yourself" : A Frontier World character gains a +20 bonus to Tech Use and Trade (Any) tests when applying personal weapon modifications. They also gain a +10 bonus to those skills when repairing damaged items.

Highborn (Core Rulebook p.36) :

• Characteristic Modifiers : +5 Fellowship, +5 Perception, -5 Willpower
• Origin Bonus "Do You Know Who I Am?" : A Noble Born character begins play with any two Peer talents and one Enemy talent of their choice. They may take the Peer talent twice for the same social group, stacking its effects.

Penal Colony (Enemies Without p.28) :

• Characteristic Modifiers : +5 Perception, +5 Toughness, -5 Intelligence

Quarantine World (Enemies Beyond p.30) :

• Origin Bonus "Secretive By Nature" : A Quarantine World character begins play with the skills Deceive and Stealth at Rank 1 (Known).

Research Station (Enemies Without p.30) :

• Origin Bonus "Pursuit of Data" : A Research Station character gains who reaches rank 2 (Trained) or higher in a Lore skill gains a +10 bonus to any Forbidden Lore tests made with that skill.

Shrine World (Core Rulebook p.40) :

• Origin Bonus "Insanely Faithful" : Once per encounter a Shrine World character may spend a Fate Point upon failing a Fear test. If they do so they count as having passed with 1 Degree of Success, but also gain 1 Insanity Point.

Design Notes :

Ok, change by change from the top...

The alteration to the Origin/Homeworld bonus for Agri-Worlds is simply a case of me changing the ability to something that makes more sense. The first time I read that entry I was immediately confused, why on Terra does being a farmer or herder make you better at melee combat? A straight up buff to Fatigue Threshold makes a lot more sense to me, as such folk would in my mind be hardy, used to working long shifts in tough conditions.

For Feudal Worlds the characteristic modifiers had to be altered to reflect the removal of Influence, and I think that an Intelligence penalty is the best choice as a reflection of the lack of opportunities for education and the pursuit of intellectual passtimes on such a world. That's not to say there aren't any, but the Feudal Worlds of the Imperium are (in some cases deliberately maintained as) dark and violent worlds, where skill with a blade is far more valuable than scholarly ability. The Origin ability has been changed as it was already hilariously overpowered, being replaced with a skill and talent that I think are thematically very appropriate. Now, technically this origin can't represent everyone from a feudal world, it's not appropriate for the peasantry for example, but instead it should be used for characters who are men at arms, soldiers, warrior aristocrats and the like. Anything from a plate armoured knight to a 41st Millenium samurai.

The alteration to the Forge World origin is for fluff reasons, as the Origin Ability from the Core Rulebook only offers combat based abilities. To me it makes more sense to instead give characters from the Adeptus Mechanicus' worlds a basic education in the technology they surround themselves with, as it makes no sense to me that a character could have Weapon Tech yet know absolutely nothing about the weapon they're augmenting...

Frontier Worlds have just had a slight tweak to the phrasing of their ability, reflecting alterations of my own to the games skills and how they're used, again we'll get to that in the Skills section of this project.

Highborn has been altered a few times, the Characteristic Modifiers being altered both due to the removal of the Influence characteristic and my opinion that the aristocracy of the Imperium are not necessarily physically frail. They do however seem prone to excesses, to aberrations of behaviour, to moral failings and the like and replacing the T penalty with a WP penalty and giving a bonus to Perception both plays into that and makes them better at taking advantage of others, to sensing blood in the social water. Their Origin Bonus has been changed for similar reasons, with Influence removed it was useless as it stood, so giving them talents that reflect their web of social contacts as well as the enemies of both an Aristocrat and their family, dynasty or clan. This is closer to the 1st Edition version of the Homeworld/Origin, which in my mind better reflects this particular character archetype.

Penal Colony is another Origin that's had to be changed due to the removal of Influence. It took me a while to settle on a negative Characteristic, and with none of the physical characteristics being appropriate I ended up undecided between Intelligence, Willpower and Fellowship. In the end I went for Intelligence as it seems to me the least essential characteristic for the scum of a Penal Colony, with a lack of smarts potentially being the reason they succumbed to their base natures and committed crimes against the Imperium in the first place... Remember, a plea of Innocence is guilty of wasting my time, Guilty!

Quarantine World as an Origin has been altered due to my personal dislike of highly circumstantial bonuses. Subtlety is a characteristic that not all players even make use of, and for those that do there is a time when a mere 2 point reduction isn't necessarily of much use. Replacing that with skills appropriate to a character who spends their time slinking for place to place and evading both local threats and Imperial authorities makes a lot more sense to me.

Research Station has been another Origin altered due to my changes to how the game works, specifically Lore skills. Again I'll get to the specifics of that when I get to writing that section, but for now I'll mention that I've collapsed the Common Lore, Forbidden Lore and Scholastic Lore skills into a single "Lore" skill, with Common and Forbidden Lore being made with bonuses and penalties as appropriate. I'll go into more detail of that when we get there but that should give you a little insight.

Finally we have the Shrine World Origin, the alteration to this Origin being due to both the weakness of the existing Bonus and that due to it being incredibly luck based its entirely possible (if somewhat unlikely) for it to never come into play. Instead I've taken the Origin Bonus from Ossuar (Enemies Beyond p89) and applied it to Shrine Worlds in general, echoing the option from the original rules to take the Insanely Faithful talent. In my mind it's a lot more likely to come into play, and is in general a far more useful and characterful ability.

And that's all for now, in the next post we'll be moving on to Backgrounds, and thank the Emperor there are fewer of them than "Origins".

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter IIa - Character Creation Part 1

Here we go again, this time we've got my first set of alterations to Chapter II of the Dark Heresy 2nd Edition rules, and the reasoning behind said changes. Let's get straight into it...

Rules Alterations : 

 

Generate Characteristics (p.31) :

• All Characteristics start at 20, with that number being altered by the characters Origin.
• In order to generate their Characteristics, players roll 2d10 nine times, after which they apply these rolls as they wish to their Characteristics.
• If a player wishes to buy their Characteristics instead of rolling for them, they have 100pts which they can split amongst them however they wish. They may add no more than 20 points and no less than 2 points to any given Characteristic.

Aptitudes (p.79) :

• In addition to the Aptitudes a Character gains from their Origin, Background and Role, they may choose one additional Aptitude of their choice.
• Should a character gain the same Aptitude twice from multiple sources, they may choose their replacement Aptitude from ANY available, not just the Characteristic Aptitudes.

Characteristic Advances (p.80) :

• Characters lacking the Psyker Aptitude may purchase upgrades to their Willpower treating that Characteristic as having the Defence and Willpower aptitudes.

Skill Advances (p.80) :

• The Sleight of Hand skill has the aptitudes Agility and Fieldcraft.

Equip Acolyte (p.81) :

• As the Influence Characteristic has been removed, Acolytes simply select 3 items of up to Scarce availability during character creation.
• Instead of selecting 3 items of up to Scarce rarity, an Acolyte may select a single item of up to Rare availability.

Divinations (p.84) :

• When rolling for their Divination a character may either take their initial roll, or they may reverse the digits and take that alternate Divination instead.

Basic Skills (New Rule) :

• All characters begin play with a selection of basic skills at Known (+0). Two of these are new skills, the specifics of which will be detailed in the Skills section of this document.
• These skills are Endurance (T), Linguistics [Low Gothic or Origin Language] (Int), Lore [Origin] (Int), Resolve (WP)

Design Notes :

Now the changes have started to creep in. Like I said the core mechanics of Dark Heresy are solid, but the devil is as always in the details, and this is where I start to tinker with said details. Here is my reasoning behind what I've tweaked...

As far as the generation of Characteristics goes, I like my players to actually be able to create and play the characters they want. The system in the Core rulebook doesn't allow that unless you're fairly lucky, as it's all too possible to have a character concept in mind and generate characteristics that are completely inappropriate and that leave you forced to run something else. So yes, I think you should be allowed to choose where your rolls go, my loosening up for the Point Allocation system follows the same reasoning, with characters no longer being forced to have at least 25 in all their Characteristics.

I've also changed up how the Origin Characteristic modifiers work, making it a flat bonus or penalty. This replaces the rolling systems “Roll an addition dice, and take the two highest/lowest” rule, as well as the Point Allocation system's restriction on how high a Characteristic could be, which always struck me as being completely and utterly pointless.

The basic alterations to Character Aptitudes are due to my firmly held belief that players should have plenty of customisation options. I've had a few incidents over the years where, due to the Aptitude layouts of particular builds, players haven't quite been able to create the characters they want. I'd rather avoid that and let them have the Acolyte (or Heretic, whatever floats your boat) that they want to run. While this does lead to characters being somewhat more powerful and versatile than the norm, I don't mind at all as it allows me to throw tougher challenges and deadlier threats at them.

As for the more specific alterations, namely to Willpower and Sleight of Hand, these are to me simple common sense. Knowledge is NOT an appropriate aptitude for a skill based around manual dexterity and cunning, likewise allowing non-psyker characters to use Defence instead of Psyker for Willpower upgrades allows said characters to have scores that reflect their courage, determination and sheer grit. Something that's very difficult under the core rules as anyone who isn't a psyker has to pay at least the “medium” cost to increase their Willpower.

Letting Acolytes simply take three Scarce items is a necessary alteration due to the removal of the Influence Characteristic. Potentially allowing them to take a single Rare item is another nod towards making characters a little more customisable, a little more powerful. GM's should of course feel free to veto this if they feel the need, but personally I think it's perfectly fine and allows greater character customisation. I've tweaked Divination for the same reason, as it's all too easy to get a highly inappropriate Divination, though oddly in my Girl's party everyone's tended to make creepily appropriate rolls...

Finally we come to the Basic Skills, and the addition of Endurance and Resolve to the game. I'll go into the latter when we get to the Skills section of this project, but for now I'll simply say that I think they're a more than necessary addition. The Basic Skills are just that, skills that I honestly think every character should have access to. It can be assumed that all Acolytes can at least speak Low Gothic, but I'm the kind of person that likes to have such things down on my character sheet. Likewise I'd assume that almost all characters have some knowledge of their homeworld or place of origin, it just makes sense to me.

On a related note you may have noticed that I've been refering to Origins instead of Homeworlds. I've decided (for the purpose of this project) to rename Homeworlds, due to several of them not being, well, homeworlds. Highborn and Voidborn don't refer to specific planet types, and even amongst those that do you could argue that multiple “Homeworlds” could be applied to a single world.

So there we have my basic alterations to Character Creation, but there's plenty more to come and I don't want to overload these posts TOO much. There will be three or four more posts dedicated to Character Creation, which will contain my alterations to the Origins, Backgrounds, Roles and Elite Advances provided by the four published rulebooks, as I think a fair few of those are in need of alteration. Stay tuned for those, and as usual I'd love to hear any and all feedback.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Chapter I - Playing The Game

Today we've got my changes to Chapter I of Dark Heresy 2nd Edition, as well as my reasoning behind said changes.

Rules Alterations :

Characteristics (P.21) :

•  The Influence characteristic is removed, no longer being a core Characteristic.

Degrees of Success and Failure (p.24) :

• Degrees of Success and Failure, once accrued, are spent by the rolling player or the GM in order to elaborate on the effects of a characters roll for good or ill. This for the most part replaces modifiers to a Test that are applied due to
• Degrees of Success are used to improve the effectiveness of a roll, such as allowing attacks to be more accurate or deal more damage, and skill attempts to be made faster or with greater efficiency
• Degrees of Failure are used to apply consequences to a characters actions, such weapons jamming or misfiring when used, or failed skill attempts to causing a character to damage their tools or worsen the circumstances they've attempted to improve.
• These "Expenditures" of Degrees of Success / Failure are referred to as "Benefits of Success" and "Consequences of Failure".
• For the exact details of Benefits and Consequences with regard to particular rolls see Chapter III : Skills, Chapter VI : Psychic Powers, Chapter VII : Combat, and Chapter VIII : Narrative Tools.

Taking Your Time (New Rule) :

• When not under pressure, threatened or distracted a character who needs to make a Characteristic or Skill test may choose to "Take Their Time".
• The GM has the final word as to whether or not a character is able to "Take Their Time" with regards to a Characteristic or Skill test.
• Instead making a D100 roll they instead treat the test results as if they had rolled a 50 on the dice.

Design Notes : 

So I've not changed a huge amount with regards to this chapter, as the core mechanics of Dark Heresy (and indeed the other 40k RPG's) are pretty damn solid. Here's my reasoning behind what I HAVE changed though.

The removal of the Influence characteristic is due to me regarding it as a statistic that is not directly linked to a character, in that it isn't an ability inherent to them unlike their physical and mental prowess. To me Influence is closer to Subtlety or Profit Factor, being a statistic that changes regularly over the course of gameplay as it is accrued, used, and lost. Influence has not been removed entirely from my revamp of Dark Heresy, but it has been substantially altered, something I'll go into detail about when I get to Chapters V and VIII.

The alteration of the rules for Degrees of Success / Failure are inspired by the Momentum / Consequence system from the 2d20 System used by the Mutant Chronicles RPG. This alteration makes the game a little more dynamic, by allowing players to decide how they benefit from their rolls after making them, instead of having to "front load" themselves with penalties whenever they want to do something special like making a called shot. Likewise introducing Consequences to their actions makes the effects of failing a roll more dramatic and interesting than "you've missed" or "you fall down the cliff", simultaneously making failure a far less binary result. One of the effects of this alteration is the effective elimination of "Optional Modifiers", such as for making a Called Shot, though bonuses and penalties due to circumstances, environment and equipment do still apply.

The rules for Taking your Time are a variation on the rules for Taking 10 from Dungeons and Dragons/Pathfinder. While page 24 does state than in situations where there are no real consequences for failure or success characters should simply be allowed to pass tests, this doesn't account for variations in ability between characters. For example a climb up a rockface may be no challenge at all to a fit and athletic character, whilst a less physically capable one would struggle to accomplish the climb. I decided on 50 as the dice result for Taking your Time due to the human average for most characteristics being 30-40, meaning that such characters taking their time should automatically pass tests with a difficulty of Routine (+20).

So that's Chapter I. If you've any thoughts on what I've written so far I'd love to hear from you, whether in the comments or by email so don't hesitate to get in touch and share your comments and criticisms. Next time I'll move on to Chapter II : Character Creation.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

Dark Heresy Revamped : Introduction

(Because I can't leave anything well enough alone...)

Over the past decade or so I've played quite a lot of the assorted Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying games, from Dark Heresy to Rogue Trader, and from Only War to Deathwatch. I'm a big fan both of the setting, having been a 40k player since I was about 10 years old (Yes, I was one of those annoying kids in the shop badgering everyone with stupid questions and getting my greasy mitts all over rulebooks and carefully painted models, I'm sorry), and of all of the RPG's that I've played the Warhammer 40,000 RPG's have been amongst my favourites.

Dark Heresy 2nd Edition is particularly good, and it's got a lot to recommend it, although as I pointed out in my review long ago there's still a lot about it that needs fixing and tweaking. The games I've run for my friends (and especially the narratively focused adventures I've been running through with the girl over the past two years) have taught me a lot, and highlighted for me plenty of issues with the rules, issues that I think I'm capable of fixing.

Today I'm going to start outlining my attempt to do just that, taking everything I've learned from running the 40k RPG's over the years, as well as my experience of other rules sets and gaming systems, to take the Dark Heresy rules and modify, homebrew and tweak them into what I think to be a better system. Some of the rules modifications I'll be introducing have been long standing house rules, others are more recent alterations, and yet more are entirely new having sprung into mind as part of this little project.

For the purpose of this revamp I'm going to be drawing on quite a lot of sources including...

• Dark Heresy 1st Edition
• Dark Heresy 2nd Edition (Beta)
• Black Crusade
• Deathwatch
• Only War
• Rogue Trader
• Inquisitor
• Dungeons and Dragons
• The Dresden Files RPG
• The Mutant Chronicles RPG
• World of Darkness
• and lots more!

Going into this project I've a few goals in mind, which are as follows...

1. To simplify certain aspects of the rules that I see as being overcomplicated, keeping the game as accessible and easy to play as possible.
2. To modify the rules to encourage more cinematic and narrative gameplay.
3. To reduce the need for book keeping and other numerical minuteae.
4. To allow players a greater degree of freedom and customisation with regards to their characters.
5. To bring certain aspects of the game (such as weapons, wargear and psychic powers) more into line with their Fluff and Tabletop equivalents.

The plan is to go through the Dark Heresy 2nd Edition rulebook chapter by chapter, bringing up the rules alterations I've decided to implement as I go whilst simultaneously explaining exactly what the reasoning behind these changes is. To that end my next post in this series will begin with Chapter 1 : Playing the Game.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael