Oh hello all, I got a copy of Deathwatch Core Rules for Christmas, pushing me off the fence I'd been on for some time and into the interesting realm of RP. The slight catch being that I've never participated in one before or even have run one, so this is a little much, but I'm extremely excited by the prospect.

My friend, who's played different flavours of D&D, has been giving me the gist of how it's supposed to work, and I think I have a grasp, but I'm looking for your advice to get me going.

One thing I do have going for me, is that I have an incredibly comprehensive grasp on the lore of the 41st Millenium. I've been immersed in it for more than a decade, so I have a rock solid background with which to pull from and a good understanding of how most stories in 40k end up happening.

I've done a little reading on the reddit forum, and they've given me some idea of how to act, but I could always use more tailored feedback, which I will gladly accept here.

One very important question I would like answered immediately is, how do I convey the setting to the players? Do I have to make a map of the immediate area for the players? Do I convey it through words? Perhaps an interpretive dance? (The plan is to play with about 3-4 people using Skype. So transferring files won't be too hard.)

I have a general idea for the first serious mission to test my players with when we get it going.
Typical desert Hive World in the midst of a full on apocalyptic invasion of Orks, classic Armageddon type scenario. Guardsmen, Space Marines, Titans, Gargants, the whole lot. The Kill Team is tasked with stopping the largest Gargant in the WAAAAAGGGHHH, and cutting off the head of the invasion. Normally, you would send in a Warlord to do this sort of thing, but two factors are pressing in this scenario. The Gargant is currently crossing over one of the largest Promethium fields on the planet, and the second is that the Ork Mekks in this WAAAGGHH have been consorting with the Weirdboyz to rig their Gargants and Stompa's to explode in the largest and most violent explosions when the pilots of the engines die. The Gargant is being commanded by a Weirdboy, who's psychic connection will trigger the reactor to explode apocalyptically if it can send the signal.
The Kill Team must infiltrate the Gargant and kill their way to the command room, when they arrive, they must pinpoint the exact location of the Weirdboy pilot and relay that to the Vindicare Assassin who'll use a turbo-penetrating null round to nullify the Weirdboy and his power. Thus stopping the Gargant in its tracks.

Plenty of challenge for the most elite Xenos hunters. But this could also be the perfect mission for the culmination of a campaign. So we'll see how it works out.

So give me your thoughts and impart your wisdom! I need your knowledge!