FFG 40k RPGs Update thread

[Formerly Wu]

I can see the rationale for a new core book. The current core books present settings and themes as much as they do actual rules. An Imperial Guard expansion, while doable for Dark Heresy, would be warping much of the DH setting material (based around intrigue, investigation, and horror) in an effort to conform to the expectations and requirements of life in a galaxy-spanning military organization. Given the choice between that and providing a whole new raft of setting material and background fluff, I can see why they went the latter route.

Personally, I am just unreasonably excited at the prospect.

[Killgore]

"Alright guys, so you're ordered to assault the opposing trenchlines. You're all sprinting? Yeah, good choice probably. Roll for difficult terrain test...ah, well that's not good. Three of you stepped on land mines. Roll for damage...yeah just keeping rolling, you're gonna need new characters. Oh, and Jim, your guy slipped on some week-old entrails and twisted his ankle. You can't move for...oh, wait nevermind, a Titan exploded half a mile away, you're dead anyways. For The Emperor, good game and all that, let's grab some beers down at Murph's..."

Great for a quick game, however think of all the cool scenarios that could be designed, for example:

Valkyrie Down! Fight off the hostile locals untill you are rescued,

Stranded! Your drop ships left without you, get to the next evac point,

Theres something wrong with Private Johnson! One of your squadmates acting weird, what could happen?

and then theres the all out kill em all games that we know are so popular with the 40K crowd :P

[greenmtvince]

I'd use my experiences from deployments to bring a certain level of realism to the campaign as a GM.

"You and your buddies huddle around a holocaster. You throw in the disc for 'Quick and the Moderately Agitated' for the 5th time since arriving on planet sandstorm since the PX has yet to stock anything new beyond a slew of children's holos. The smells of half eaten meals in styrofoam containers claiming to be surf 'n turf waft through the room, although it tastes like nothing you know from your homeworld. Just as the holo flashes to life with Pete Prometheum firing his stubbers and hopping into a speeder, you hear the 1st Sergeant:

On your feet! Corporal Simius! Grab two of your team. We need a special detail to get all the voxcaster serial numbers off the Chimeras in the motor pool. Go!"


I love the IG, unfortunately between those periods where PCs are getting gunned down as fast as I could roll the dice, I can't see much opportunity for roleplaying:

PC1: "Hey, I'll trade you my veggie omlet ration for your grox stew."
PC2: "okay"

GM: "The captain grants you all a weekend furlough in the local town of 'Hidden Slaanesh Cultsville' what do you do?"
PC1: "We're going to goto the tavern and get drunk."
PC2: "And if there's any girls there I wanna do them!"

[Wrath]

@greenmyvince:

PC3: " <from another room> heeeeyyyyy, where are the Cheetos?"

[Gunless Ganger]

I'd use my experiences from deployments to bring a certain level of realism to the campaign as a GM.

"You and your buddies huddle around a holocaster. You throw in the disc for 'Quick and the Moderately Agitated' for the 5th time since arriving on planet sandstorm since the PX has yet to stock anything new beyond a slew of children's holos. The smells of half eaten meals in styrofoam containers claiming to be surf 'n turf waft through the room, although it tastes like nothing you know from your homeworld. Just as the holo flashes to life with Pete Prometheum firing his stubbers and hopping into a speeder, you hear the 1st Sergeant:

Hah - yeah it sounds like exactly what would happen if you try to play as a grunt in any kind of "realistic" modern/sci-fi war game!

A lot of sitting around waiting for orders ....

[ThousandPlateaus]

Wait, what? Only War isn't a supplement any more but is instead a whole new system?

[Monospot]

I, for one, am beyond giddy about a new system.

First of all, want to know how to use this as a campaign? Read any Gaunts Ghosts novel.

More importantly, this is another step towards my grand unified campaign theory...

[Grimbad]

Take the role of a Guardsman with one of twelve distinct Specialties, offering unique skills to your squad to complement those of your comrades. Will you bring the light of the God-Emperor to the battlefield as a Ministorum Priest, or will you wield the Imperium’s most cutting-edge technology as a fearsome Storm Trooper? Perhaps you’ll tend to the machine spirits of the Guard’s many war machines as a Tech-Priest Enginseer, or lead the charge as your squad’s Sergeant.

This setup feels thematically wrong for the core book of an IG rpg, in my opinion.

[ThousandPlateaus]

This setup feels thematically wrong for the core book of an IG rpg, in my opinion.

Agreed. I'll reserve judgement until the book is out as the previous FFG output has been first-rate, but this just doesn't 'feel' right to me. I suppose if seen as the mother of all sourcebooks for informing GM writing then it'll be a real treat, but running an RPG campaign in a warzone with such a variety of troop types doesn't seem much like a lot of the 40k setting that we're used to - it reads like a bit of an awkward fudge. A mixed bag of (for example) a stormtrooper, an enginseer and a guardsmen running around on their own wouldn't have the autonomy within many situations to *be* running round on their own, it could easily all feel a bit Scooby Doo (if that makes any sense to anyone else).

Still, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it and having a read through.

[AndrewGPaul]

Just because the book gives you the option for those different characters doesn't mean you need to use all of them at once.

[Grimbad]

Just because the book gives you the option for those different characters doesn't mean you need to use all of them at once.

Of course not. And it would be fine to use all of them at once for a Last Chancers type of deal, and the book might have a few different arrangements that would make sense of it all, and maybe the regular old Guardsman really won't be totally overshadowed by all these specialists. But it's not the best first impression. I now have doubts about the tone it will give the rest of the book. We'll have to wait and see.

[BigRob]

My worry for this corebook is that large parts of it will just be cut/paste from previous works, like rules, weapons etc.

I'm hoping to be proved wrong but you never know. FFG have been pretty good so far, but this development means I see alot of potential new "Core Rulebooks". That Ork suppliment and Eldar suppliment we have been waiting for will now be new games (play as the Ork warband....wait I would buy that!), a Necron campaign, heck there could be a game released for each army book ever mentioned. This all means that for a few copy/paste extras you can put the cost of the book up by Ł30-Ł40.

[ThousandPlateaus]

Just because the book gives you the option for those different characters doesn't mean you need to use all of them at once.

No, of course: although we'll have to wait and see if groups of vanilla characters can function in particular situations without the appropriate specialist. Going on previous books, I can only suppose that groups in Only War will be at their optimum by taking a 'one of everything' approach: fighty guy, shooty guy, talky guy, techy guy, clever guy. Naturally, this is a limited viewpoint on how to build a gaming group and can often lead to dull, prescribed games, where characters end up doing the same thing over and over, but it's definitely within the assumed mechanics of play. It's an easy team composition to narrate for Inquisitors or Rogue Traders whilst retaining a fluffy atmosphere, whereas I'm not sure that it is for a Guardsman-based RPG.

That said, this is only presupposition based on previous books and the paragraph that Grimbad has posted, and as already mentioned I'm willing to give FFG the benefit of the doubt until I see the book, it was just a general musing.

[Grimbad]

My worry for this corebook is that large parts of it will just be cut/paste from previous works, like rules, weapons etc.

I'll wildly speculate/wishlist that Only War is close to the 'final' revision of the 40kRP system. It's returning to a (relatively ) baseline human ability range, after Dark Heresy started there and the later books pushed the limits of that system in handling of extreme characters and situations. Black Crusade, I hear, made some core revisions to address many of the big issues, especially the problems with Ascension/Deathwatch-level abilities, and (with luck), Only War will be a flexible system that starts at illiterate, shivering conscripted space peasant and scales up to regimental command, and from there they can use the same system for Dark Heresy II or whatever. Makes a degree of sense considering that it began as another Dark Heresy expansion.
Or maybe they'll keep doing new corebooks. Who knows.

[Ghal Maraz]

And in the meantime...

Plots Within Plots
A preview of The Tome of Fate, the upcoming Black Crusade supplement

“The manipulations of Tzeentch are complex, eternal, and endless. Foil one scheme and two more come to fruition, like the severed heads of the fabled hydra. What might seem like failure is but one step on a long and winding path that only those who have been blessed with the insight and power of the Changer of Ways may follow."
–Attributed to Ankhu Anen, Guardian of the Great Library of Prospero

Last month, we announced the upcoming release of The Tome of Fate, a supplement for Black Crusade. The first of four books delving into the darkest secrets of the Ruinous Powers, The Tome of Fate presents invaluable information on the Lord of Lies. In its pages, players will learn of his dark servants, both daemonic and mortal, and how his influence is felt across the Screaming Vortex. With new weapons and psychic powers to aid them, Heretics can go forth across that unholy stretch of stars and beyond into the depths of the fallen Imperium, ready to challenge Fate and make it their own.

A Thousand and One Plots

The entity or sentient warp force known as Tzeentch is perhaps the most enigmatic of the so-called Chaos Gods or Dark Powers. Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, is the god of sorcery, scheming, mutation, and change. He embodies mortals’ desires for evolution, improvement, innovation, and progress as well as their dreams of wealth, prosperity, and a better tomorrow. While many perceive these motivations as healthy, wholesome, and perhaps even necessary to mortal existence, Tzeentch, the Great Conspirator, works to corrupt the aspirations and ambitions of humankind and xenos alike, and to leverage these hopes and dreams for his own nefarious ends.

Today, we’re pleased to present a preview from the pages of The Tome of Fate. Those who futilely attempt to fathom the will of Tzeentch sometimes refer to his web of schemes as the Thousand and One Plots, but his lies are in reality far too numerous to count. Nevertheless, we welcome you to download this brief excerpt (pdf, 1.5 MB), that you might better divine his true will without losing your mind entirely.

Do you possess the force of will to stand among Tzeentch’s chosen? Keep checking back in the coming weeks for more previews of The Tome of Fate, and look for it on store shelves later this quarter!

[ThousandPlateaus]

Now that sounds awesome.

[Ghal Maraz]

Aaaaaand, as expected:

Eleventh Hour
Be among the first to play Only War at Free RPG Day, June 16th, 2012

“I’ve seen some miserable balls of dirt in my time, but this place really is a boil on the **** of the Emperor-damned universe. I mean, an eleven hour day and a three hour night: hardly any time to get anything done at all."
–Sergeant Dryak, 14th Recon, Catachan 233rd

In fewer than eleven hours, the Imperium will commence its orbital bombardment of an Ork-infested death world. Unfortunately for you and the other members of the Catachan 233rd, that may not be enough time to reach the safety of a firebase. Can you traverse kilometres of dense, xenos-covered jungle in time to escape? And when faced with time-consuming questions of duty, honour, and compassion, will you remain true to your principles, or abandon them in a moment of self-serving desperation?

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to once again participate in Free RPG Day, an annual event that encourages RPG enthusiasts to demo current and upcoming titles. Last week, we revealed Only War, an all-new standalone Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game in which players take on the roles of soldiers in the Imperial Guard, the galaxy-spanning armies of the God-Emperor.

Now, you’re invited to take part in Eleventh Hour, an introductory adventure for Only War! When your superiors abandon you on the sweltering surface of a hostile world, will you have the strength to embody the ideals of the Imperial Guard?

Duty and Honour

Taking place June 16th at a retailer near you, this free introduction to Only War includes a full adventure, four pre-generated characters, and a set of basic rules to help players and Game Masters become familiar with the Only War roleplaying game. See if your local retailer is participating at the Free RPG Day Retailer Locator.

Do you live in the Roseville, Minnesota area? In honor of Free RPG Day, the Fantasy Flight Games Event Center will be giving away free copies of Eleventh Hour, and Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay developers Andrew Fischer, Max Brooke, Tim Huckelbery, and Mack Martin will be in attendance to answer questions and run introductory sessions. Sign up now at the Event Center to play Only War with a 40K RPG designer!

The bombardment will begin soon. Grab your gear and get moving, soldier!

[reds8n]

Black Crusade stuff ..

More Chaos, Less Confusion
Download the new Black Crusade Errata / FAQ and sow Chaos across the worlds

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ff...usade-logo.png

Ultimate power doesn’t have to be confusing. The life of a servant to Chaos already demands strength and cunning. Your enemies come after you with blades and bolters, and the bodies and souls of lesser servants are prone to breaking down, unable to bear the gifts bestowed upon them by the Ruinous Powers. As you war to spread your reputation across the Screaming Vortex, aspiring to have your accomplishments recognized by the Dark Gods themselves, you want clarity in your actions, not confusion.

Responding to player feedback, the Black Crusade design team has drafted errata and an FAQ (pdf, 11.0 MB) to update your campaign. A printer-friendly version of the document is also available on the game’s support page.

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Producer Tim Huckelbery on the Black Crusade Errata / FAQ:

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The Black Crusade Errata / FAQ document addresses the mechanics issues our player base identified in the Black Crusade Core Rulebook, Game Master’s Kit, and the adventure, Hand of Corruption. Although many of these issues are relatively minor, we hope that by correcting and clarifying where needed we can further improve and streamline the game’s play.

For example, there was some confusion over player characters’ starting experience, and the characteristics tied to certain skills. Both of these have been clarified. In the case of the Intimidation Skill, we concluded that Intimidation in Black Crusade, specifically, should be more a factor of the Heretic’s willpower than a measure of their strength, especially in the Screaming Vortex where you should never judge your foe just by his size.

There were lots of questions about how to work the “Heavy” and “Throwing” Weapon Specializations in the Talents and Traits chapter, and these have been properly removed to make that area work as intended. We also clarified the Charge Action, and it is now clearly articulated so that Heretics can perform a Standard Attack (or Grapple) at the end of a charge, but not a Swift Attack or All Out Attack.

We also addressed some of the common questions we’ve received from players in person or online. The document answers more than 25 Frequently Asked Questions, and we feel that making our responses available to all players will improve the Black Crusade experience. Thanks to everyone for your questions, comments, and, of course, for playing!

Errata for the Errata God,
–Tim

[reds8n]

Tome of Fate preview:

The Legions of Change
A preview of The Tome of Fate, the upcoming Black Crusade supplement

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ff...book-right.png

“And what [of your] Imperium... It was built with the toil of heroes and giants, and now it is inhabited by frightened weaklings to whom the glories of those times are half forgotten legends."
–Attributed to Ahriman of the Thousand Sons

Last month, we announced the upcoming release of The Tome of Fate, a supplement for Black Crusade. The first of four books delving into the darkest secrets of the Ruinous Powers, The Tome of Fate presents invaluable information on Tzeentch’s dark servants, both daemonic and mortal, and how his influence is felt across the Screaming Vortex. With new weapons and psychic powers to aid them, Heretics can go forth across that unholy stretch of stars and beyond into the depths of the fallen Imperium, ready to challenge Fate and make it their own.

In our most recent preview, we presented a look at Tzeentch’s Thousand and One Plots, and we learned of the inherent futility in any attempt to decipher the Lord of Lies’ countless schemes. Today, we’ll tremble before the raw power of one of his most potent servants, the Thousand Sons Sorcerer.


Exposed to the Warp

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Ten thousand years ago, Horus and the Traitor Legions rebelled against the Emperor of Mankind. The resulting civil war tore the Imperium asunder and ended only when Horus was slain by the Emperor’s hand during the Siege of Terra. However, the Emperor was also mortally wounded and subsequently confined to the arcane Golden Throne. He remains there to this day, worshipped by the citizens of the Imperium as a living god. The defeated Legions withdrew from Terra, most splitting into smaller warbands and continuing to wreak havoc amongst the many worlds of the Imperium. Eventually, these traitors were hounded out of Imperial space and forced to seek refuge in the Eye of Terror and the worship of the Dark Gods. The Chaos Space Marines dwell there still, and they remain a constant threat to the stability of the Emperor’s realms.

Of these Legions, the Thousand Sons actively worship the Changer of Ways, plotting and scheming from the shadows, often using trickery and guile to gain the advantage over their foes. The Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons number amongst the most powerful of the servants of Chaos. For centuries they have dwelt within the Eye of Terror, emerging only to pursue new paths of heretical study and inflict vengeance on the Imperium. Exposure to the raw power of the warp, as well as Ahriman’s Rubric, has corrupted these sorcerers in body and mind, while the untold time spent pursuing their dark arts has only magnified their considerable psychic abilities.

Download this excerpt from The Tome of Fate (pdf, 3.2 MB) to learn more, and look for it on store shelves later this quarter!

[reds8n]

and the world is a better place !

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ed....asp?eidn=3263

Hail the Omnissiah! He is the God in the Machine, the Source of All Knowledge."
–Magos-Lector Vad Kapellax, at the first Convocation of the Lathes

For ten thousand years, the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus have led the Cult of the Omnissiah. From their bastion Forges on the Lathe Worlds, they control all Holy Technology in the Calixis Sector.

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of The Lathe Worlds, a supplement for Dark Heresy! This invaluable tome reveals the secret history of the Lathe Worlds, from their mysterious founding to their current struggles against tech-heresy. What’s more, players will gain access to new Alternate Careers such as the Mech-Assassin and Agent of the Lords Dragon, and arm themselves with weapons and gifts of the Omnissiah. And in a thrilling new adventure, your team will journey to a lost comet-station, where they’ll stop renegade tech-priests from heretical experiments into the Warp!

Carefully Guarded Secrets Revealed

In the Imperium of Man, technology is commonplace...but it is also mysterious and unfathomable. Such knowledge is the carefully guarded domain of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and has been for thousands of years. They are the Cult of the Machine God, worshipping the Emperor as their Omnissiah, the Perfect Sum of All Knowledge. Their Explorator fleets search across the galaxy for lost knowledge from ages long past. Their mechanically augmented tech-priests on thousands of forge worlds strive to preserve what precious little data they retain. Both quests continue, though they are mere flickering candles against the oppressive darkness of stagnation and ignorance. With each century, actual understanding descends to dogma, rote instruction, and myth, as priceless knowledge is lost forever.

Within the Calixis Sector, the Adeptus Mechanicus is centered on the Lathe Worlds, and from these three planets the Mechanicum oversees its domains of forge worlds, research stations, orbitals, and even entire systems. From these worlds, precious knowledge and holy technology flow throughout the Sector, while the Cult Mechanicus carefully hoards even greater secrets for its own, inscrutable purposes.



The Lathe Worlds allows Dark Heresy players to delve deeper into the mysteries of the Adeptus Mechanicus within the Calixis Sector. The Cult of the Machine God stretches across this region and beyond, ruling each of its worlds in the name of the Omnissiah, outside the purview of the Inquisition or other Imperial agencies. The Lathes struggle to control their domains, however, and dark areas of the Sector hide countless tech-heresies and dangerous researches.

A Word from the Developer

For more on The Lathe Worlds, here’s a word from its developer, Tim Huckelbery:

The Adeptus Mechanicus has always been a big part of the Warhammer 40,000 lore, and The Lathe Worlds gives us a great opportunity to explore this mysterious organization and how they operate in the Calixis Sector. I’ve always loved the insane science of the Mechanicum, and it was great to work with fellow fans to produce this book. Past Dark Heresy supplements had some fragments of their sects and forge worlds, but here we really reveal the scale and power of the Cult of the Machine God.

Players will get a host of new Mechanicum careers and armory items inside, but we’ve also included the virulently anti-tech Cult of the Pure Form for those not who do not worship the Omnissiah. The actual Lathe Worlds themselves were also great fun to create. These forge worlds, research stations, orbitals, and other domains of the Adeptus Mechanicus make for a wonderful collection of places worthy of Inquisitorial attention, especially those isolated locations engaging in forbidden research and mad science. GMs will get a host of such settings in this book, complete with NPCs and adventure seeds for their Acolytes to explore, investigate, and (if they are lucky) not end up as Servitors!

Look for more on The Lathe Worlds in the coming weeks, and in the third quarter of 2012, begin your quest for knowledge in the name of the Omnissiah.

..yyeess !!!