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View Full Version : DM Help Working on a custom Warhammer 40k in either Fate CORE or Mutants and Masterminds



dreamking
2018-07-25, 08:38 PM
I've been thinking about running a one-shot that takes place in the Warhammer 40k universe, where the PC characters play an Imperial Inquisitor and his entourage. I wanna build a custom system around another system, most likely Mutants and Masterminds or Fate Core, maybe Savage Worlds. Before you all ask, I'm aware of the 40k RPGs, but I feel like it'd be easier to play it in a system I know rather than learn a completely new one.

My main hurdles are choosing which system to build it on. Fate seems easier, but it's also not a system I know very well. I know Mutants and Masterminds better, but I'm having trouble thinking of a proper PL for it. I haven't looked too much at any other system.


Does anyone have any advice based on these issues, or has experience doing something similar?

Nemenia
2018-07-26, 05:18 AM
For me, it depends on what you want to emphasize. Fate doesn't have rules for losing limbs or things going horribly wrong (except in broad terms for the aspects, but it really doesnt get into the really dirty and horrible stuff) But it does allow for larger than life, epic characters and teamwork, as well as huge monsters and battleships and the like to be handled fairly easily. It's also perfect if you're trying to add new mechanics or rules to the system, as that's exactly what it's designed for, just keep in mind that the system likes simple and streamlined mechanics. It doesn't handle clunky things like what you might see in a Tabletop Battle game like Warhammer so well. It's a good system for most of those things though.

Savage worlds is fantastic if you're going for that grimdark, uber realistic and death-covered feel of the 41st Millenium. It's got decent options for characters and gear and the like, though it tends alittle towards the generic, it wouldnt be too hard to add new stuff to it to get what you want, but it would be alot more of an on-the-fly make it up as you go along type of deal. It can certainly handle the oodles of tables you might want to apply to a group of space marines trying to pull off complex skill checks though.

Frankly I would suggest against M&M. Someone might have more insight into it then I, but it's a fairly plain straight forward system about your stereotypical DC and Marvel heroes and villains. It's not really designed to handle the unique differences between people, players, and monsters you might see in Warhammer, and everyone is basically just a Super. There's no real way to make it feel organically Grimdark in my opinion.

I hope you find one you like!

Grod_The_Giant
2018-07-26, 08:35 AM
I'd suggest Savage Worlds-- it should have an appropriately pulpy, violent feel to it.

M&M, while wonderful, really requires two things to be true to work: characters need to be very distinct, they need to be very powerful, and the world needs to be very anchored in the status quo. It doesn't do much to distinguish, oh, "heavy weapon soldier" from "lightly armored soldier," for example. And... it's a superhero game, one best suited for emulating cartoons like Justice League Unlimited or Young Justice. Even low-PL characters are impressively survivable, and game-changing effects are freely available for a scant handful of power points. Whatever you try to run with it will turn into superheroes, to a greater or lesser degree. And while "fantasy superheroes" or "sci-fi superheroes" can be lots of fun (Mistborn, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc), it's... probably not what you want for the grimdark tone of 40k.

Fate... can work for most things, but works best for games that heavily revolve around character interactions. It's good at differentiating characters with mechanically similar skill-sets, but it's not so great at combat. Perhaps most importantly, it's not an easy system to pick up, in my opinion-- to get the most out of it, the GM in particular needs to be good at exploiting the narrative mechanics. If your group isn't already familiar, I wouldn't bother.

Anonymouswizard
2018-07-26, 09:00 AM
I'd go for Savage Worlds, with the following rough benchmarks:
-Average Guardsman: Novice (also an extra if not a PC)
-Average accolyte: Novice or Seasoned
-Average Inquisitor and Retinue: Veteran or Heroic
-Average SM Scout: Heroic
-Average Tactical Marine: Legendary

Characters like the primarchs would literally have a couple of hundred experience points under their belts.

Why? It's pulpy, you can have the PCs recruit allies without the game dropping to a crawl, and who doesn't want to just plonk a horde of 50 Tyranids against the PCs?

Kid Jake
2018-07-30, 01:26 PM
I once did a full conversion for Shadowrun to Mutants and Masterminds 2e, so I'd say that it COULD work; but it might be more effort than it's worth for a one shot. I set the game at PL 3-5, but allowed equipment to bypass the PL. When a PL5 gets hit by a PL15 Rocket Launcher, it usually feels suitably horrific.

If your group REALLY likes M&M, I could see you having fun with it with a little tweaking, but I'd also suggest Savage Worlds if you just want to run things by the book.