Space Marine to Dark Heresy

Howdy folks!

Today I want to talk about Dark Heresy. Yeah, we're going to be swapping game systems in a few weeks, and I thought it might be a good thing to go over some stuff that's been on my mind.

In 2009 we started our Mardannon Sector campaign's first RPG game, which I called Space Marine 2009: Shattered Destination. The game was built from Dark Heresy, after it had been out for a while and we all had time to digest the rules. However, my players felt that it would be hard to roleplay the Warhammer 40,000 universe, that it was too restrictive. So I built a ruleset that would allow us to play Adeptus Astartes (before Deathwatch arrived). We played a good length game, where all players were Space Marines. Everyone had a blast, and I think I did a good job proving that with the correct preparation and the right considerations, the setting is one of the best available. Never mind it seems to be the in-house favorite.

In Shattered Destination, the Space Marines taking part in the crusade to liberate Ordavis (mostly Imperial Navy and the Mardannon Crusade of the Black Templars) attacked the surface with a mighty planetfall, only to have their attack fall to ruin amidst defenses the Imperial forces were unaware were on the planet. The survivors of the ill-fated planetfall rallied in the wastes far beyond the hive cities and made their way to a hive yet to be afflicted with the orkoid menace.

What they found was far more disturbing.

The traitorous Alpha Legion had been lying in wait. With a great trove of stolen and appropriated siege tanks, the Legion rolled out of Rasheen and drove straight for the Imperial base at the Ordavis Prime Hive.

The rest is recorded in our last Warhammer 40,000 campaign, the Battle for Ordavis.

Soon, we'll be returning to the Warhammer 40,000 universe via Dark Heresy, only this time we're going to be playing it vanilla style! That is, right out of the book. We'll also be using the Inquisitor's Handbook. I'll probably go over both of those in my next Rulebook Rumination so until then I just want to hit on a few things you guys should be keeping in mind during character creation. Remember, we use miniatures, so any mini you have or want to use is definitely on the table! Just remember - no space marines, xenos or anything other than a human. Imperial, at that.

Dark Heresy has character delineation just like anything else. In this game, instead of Race and Class you get Homeworld and Career Path. Your character will select (or roll randomly) from a homeworld that basically functions as his race. Homeworlds are chosen according to type, and we'll select a world from the Index Mardannon to be your specific homeworld. Your homeworld will determine what Career Paths you can choose from and gives you extra traits as well. The homeworld types are:

1. Feral World - You come from a world with very little technology or civilization.
2. Hive World - You hail from a world of giant cities.
3. Imperial World - Your planet of origin is much like modern Earth.
4. Void Born - You were raised in space, aboard a huge ship.
5. Forge World - Your homeworld is one of the fabrication worlds of the Mechanicus.
6. Schola Progenium - An orphan, you were raised by the Imperium.
7. Noble Born - You were born to a family of Imperial nobles.
8. Mind Cleansed - Who are you? Who am I?

In addition to those 8 origin points, you'll need to choose a Career Path as well. Career Paths are very similar to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Careers, but are more linear. You simply rank up, take alternate ranks and elite advances to flesh out your character. There are also 8 choices for Career Path, and they are:

1. Adept - A thinking man, not nescessarily good at combat or social niceties.
2. Arbitrator - A member of the Adeptus Arbites, the long arm of Imperial Law.
3. Assassin - A killer for contract.
4. Cleric - A preacher of the Imperial Creed.
5. Guardsman - A fighting man, a soldier.
6. Imperial Psyker - A mystic with various psychic disciplines.
7. Scum - Criminals, outcasts, thieves and miscreants.
8. Tech Priest - Member of the Cult Mechanicus, very skilled with machines.
9. Adepta Sororitas - A Sister of Battle a.k.a. Nuns with Guns a.k.a. Bolter Bitches.

With these in mind, conceptualize your character. Lets find a miniature for you to use, and we'll either order it up or you can simply use one of the thousands of minis floating around the Wargate. We want to have painted character miniatures at least!

As a final note, the group's Inquisitor is one Corvus Mandera of the Ordo Hereticus. We had a vote some weeks back where the question was put the the group about which Ordo they would most like to serve, and Hereticus won the vote almost unanimously. He won't be around much in this campaign, but it's good to know who's got your back.