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Thread: RPGs

  1. #21

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    While I am a player in a D&D 3.5 campaign at the moment, that is actually far from the only RPG experience I have. I've succesfully GM'd both a Star Wars (old West End Games system, not D20) and a Serenity campaign, and played in a long running Pendragon campaign as well as dabbling in several other systems.
    I agree with you that the GM really needs to know when to ask for what kind of skill check in Dark Heresy, since the difference between easy tasks (with +20 etc. to the die roll, or not requiring a roll at all) and difficult tasks (with -20 and such) is huge.
    From previous sci-fi games, I guess I'm just used to really cinematic effects, where the heroes can improvise really wild actions (flying space ships into buildings while jumping out at the last moment etc.). In Dark Heresy, the fairly narrow skill descriptions force a much more 'realistic' kind of roleplaying, it seems. The characters are, as you say, not heroes (yet).
    It's a change of pace for me but I'm going to give it a try, I just hope my players can adjust as well. I'll give them some warnings at the start though.

    As a side note: I pre-ordered Rogue Trader as well (although I think I prefer the Inquisition fluf). I'll probably be buying Deathwatch if the system is compatible, although I would never dream of playing a space marine myself (neither in a roleplaying game nor on the tabletop...)

  2. #22

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    Really, after a long time of consideration and thought, I have in fact figured out the ultimate reason I dont like DH. (and d% based systems in general actually)

    The reason is that being lucky is always better than being good.

    For example: My character is an aweseome assassin that has super skill training in awareness, has great perception, and heightened senses in everything that matters. Im good at noticing things.

    My friend's character is a guardsman with average human perception, and is trained in awareness. Aka, he is not oblivious, and can see things that arent completely obvious.

    Time comes to roll an awareness check. I roll a 70, he rolls a 20. Result? I fail utterly, and he succeeds spectacularly.

    Now, the initial response to this is of course "Well duh, he rolled better than you". But thats just it, I can never be so skilled that it doesnt matter if he rolls better than me. If he rolls better, he performs better, almost regardless of his level of skill and proficiency. (this isnt entirely true to be fair, since they do have degrees of success, but in most cases those are of dubious value, and if I roll 'failure' he still infinitely out-performs me)

    Consider a similar situation in DnD. I am awesome and have a high wisdom, training, and skill focus, so my bonus is +15. He has an average wisdom, and is trained. He has a +8. (and being trained in a skill in 4th is a much bigger investment than it is in DH)

    We roll perception, and he rolls a 17, and I roll a 9. His total result is a 25, and mine is a 24. We achieve almost the same result, he because he was lucky, and I because I invested resources into being good at something. And if he wasnt trained, I would have gotten a better result than he did.

    Ultimately, when I play DH, I just never feel like the skills and talents that my character has really matter at all. Especially when someone else has a guy with a heavy stubber and the ability to roll below 20 every now and then.

    Also, melee sucks >=P

  3. #23
    Battle-Brother
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    I love DH because it`s 40k! Simple as that!

    After reading the Eisenhorn trilogy I just couldn`t believe it when they announced that the roleplaying game was going to be released!

    Being a GM also makes me shape the world to fit my twisted imagination. And, believe me, it`s not always "pretty"... I can`t elaborate as children may be reading this

  4. #24
    Veteran-Sergeant
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spartan View Post
    Being a GM also makes me shape the world to fit my twisted imagination. And, believe me, it`s not always "pretty"... I can`t elaborate as children may be reading this

    Argh, a daemonworld!? EXTERMINATUS!
    "All power... demands sacrifice..." ~ Sindri Myr

  5. #25

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    I'm sorry but DH=Paranoia+CoC which means that DH=win QED

  6. #26
    Battle-Brother
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    Have just finished a mission based on the Anphelion Project IA book. it was absolutely awesome! The book contains alot of cool pictures and telepathic messages that one can use to enhance the feel of the story.

    Being in an inquisitor`s retinue and getting in battle reports containing cool images of Space Marines and scary ones of Tyranids really helped the players get the feeling of being in a world of pain!

    I used the Genestealer stats from Creatures Anathema and made other "versions" like Termagaunts, Hormagaunts, Harridans, fexes aso based on those. Being in the situation they were, the players got access to every piece of equipment listed in Anphelion Project book. Not surprisingly, two players decided to man the twin-linked lascannons in the main base complex shooting harridans and fexes, while four others drove around in 2 Hellhounds dodging, shooting and running over genestealers and gaunts!

    All in all a very nice and deadly mission full of action, consentrated on survival. Everyone had a ball!

    To my big surprise they actually got off-moon with the leaving Red Scorpions... by threatening to blow up the Thunderhawk with their manned lascannons. Needless to say, Commander Cull wasn`t very pleased.

    I wonder what the Red Scorpions will do with them...?

    Any evil suggestions is welcome gentlemen.

  7. #27
    Banned
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    Wait til they hit orbit. The Red Scorpions put on their armour and open the airlock. Save vs explosive decompression.

    Or wait til the guys go to sleep and just have the marines kill them then. Or when they need to eat or something the marines tell them they have no food with them. Save vs passing out from hunger.

  8. #28

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    I'm running my 2nd DH Campaign and I have to say my players love it. Personally I think that working for the Inquisition means you should be doing great things as opposed to the whole unwashed masses things. Now the first part of the campaign for us was running around a Space Station generally wreaking havoc. That got me a chance to gauge the players and allows me to fluff up for the real meat of the campaign which is going to result in a major decision for the players that would affect the entire galaxy. I like the system and they personally love the crunch factor that a stray shell can obliterate a character.

  9. #29
    Scout
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spartan View Post
    I love DH because it`s 40k! Simple as that!

    After reading the Eisenhorn trilogy I just couldn`t believe it when they announced that the roleplaying game was going to be released!
    The problem with this is that DH doesn't represent the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies well at all...how many times in the Ravenor trilogy did Nayl and Swole get into a fight where the deciding factor was their agility? Almost always, but that's very little like how combat works in DH. In DH, the better character will be the Guardsman with the heavy stubber and carapace armor, despite the fact that--in Abnett's inquisitorial fiction at least--most acolytes will wear armor no more blatant than an armored bodysuit (definitely NOT carapace) and carry little hideout stubbers for concealability.

    This all being said, I was in the campaign with Spanky (though my "Westworld" bandit had some teething problems, eventually she became moderately reliable as far as rolling was concerned), and it was a blast. Honestly, for all the faults, I'd like to run a DH campaign sometime; unfortunately, I'm too flighty and too moody for any of my regular group to trust me as a GM any longer.

  10. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by mono View Post
    The problem with this is that DH doesn't represent the Eisenhorn and Ravenor trilogies well at all...how many times in the Ravenor trilogy did Nayl and Swole get into a fight where the deciding factor was their agility? Almost always, but that's very little like how combat works in DH. In DH, the better character will be the Guardsman with the heavy stubber and carapace armor, despite the fact that--in Abnett's inquisitorial fiction at least--most acolytes will wear armor no more blatant than an armored bodysuit (definitely NOT carapace) and carry little hideout stubbers for concealability.

    Sounds like the GM has an issue with controlling resources, not an issue with DH....

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