[Warhammer 40,000] What would you run/play?

[Kiero]

Forget that Black Industries is producing 40KRP: Dark Heresy as we speak for now. Let's imagine you're about to play, or indeed run a game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

If you're GMing it, what's the focus? Is it about stuff going on inside the Imperium, or beyond its borders? Are the protagonists humans or xenos-breeds? Is this an action-oriented game? What would be your system of choice?

If you're playing, what's your character of choice? What kinds of things would you be hoping would be going on? What would be your preferred system?

If possible can we avoid the usual interminable arguments about whether or not Marines are suitable PC material and the like. Fine talk about whether or not you'd have them in your games, but please refrain from telling other people they should or shouldn't be allowing them.

[horseboy]

While playing Apothecary Gilligus of the Raven Guard Chapter would be cool, I'm pretty sure they're not allowing marines until far later in the series.

For start? Hmmmmmm........

Some way to work in my Treadheadedness. Maybe a lascannon ace for a Leman Russ? Granted no sane GM is going to allow a LR, but at least it would be a fun story.

[Neon Knight]

First off:

The players and DM come together and collectively pick a faction/race. All player characters come from that faction or race. One game, we're all guardsmen. Next game, we're all orks. Next, we're all Inquisitorial Stormtroopers. Next week, Space Marines. Continue this flavor of the week one shot method until all options have been exhausted.

As for the game style: Action. That's all 40k is really good for. Shooting and killing stuff in interesting ways.

System? I dunno. Maybe D20 Modern?

[Exarch]

I really think it'd depend on what my group wanted to do.

I like the idea of playing as an Inquistor + retinue or a Storm Trooper kill team. With the Inquisitor, it provides everything from suspense to genocide, whereas with the Stormies you can have a lot of fun as far as tactical combat goes (imo, you'd be more geared up for it rather than with an Inquisitorial game). Also, as an Inquisitor you can make up some excuse to have one or two xenoes in the entourage.

A rogue trader would likely be similiar to the Inquisitor, with less "kill, burn, purge!"

Playing as a Space Marine would be kind of fun, but it'd get silly after a little while. Staying human, or Eldar or Tau, would be more interesting, as it (should) be easier to die with them.

Playing as Eldar would be difficult, because their main combatants are Aspect Warriors, and they'd have such an alien way of thinking (even more so than regular Eldar), that it could prove difficult without some ironing out. And even then, I don't see members of different aspects working together. One aspect warrior + rangers/guardians + Warlock/Farseer? Sure.

Tau would be fun too. I think that'd be more combat, as their don't have as much inter-race intrigue as the Imperium and Eldar. But you could play as a mech!

I generally feel that Chaos shouldn't be playable, as it'd be difficult and down right annoying without smart players.

As for the rules set? D20 future, probably. I have a link that someone converted for it (there's an errata for it, but I'm not sure where it is. Balances out the absurd weapon damages).

[horseboy]

System? I dunno. Maybe D20 Modern?

http://www.blackindustries.com/?template=40k

Keep up with the times, man! They've got their own game.

[Neon Knight]

Forget that Black Industries is producing 40KRP: Dark Heresy as we speak for now.

Hence why I suggested D20 Modern.

[Kiero]

While playing Apothecary Gilligus of the Raven Guard Chapter would be cool, I'm pretty sure they're not allowing marines until far later in the series.

Like I said in the OP, forget what Black Industries are doing for the purposes of this thread. It's about what you'd want to run/play.

[Rigel Cyrosea]

I'm currently running a 40K game.

It's an Inquisitor and retinue idea, with the focus on investigation and discovery of a chaos cult. It's set on an Imperial world. The system we use is the one linked in my signature. (heavily modified d20 future)
My players are:
A Space Marine of the White Scars chapter, focusing on close combat.
A Sanctioned Imperial Psycher.
An ex-Seeress Bounty Hunter.
A tough, former Imperial Gaurd, Bodygaurd.

I homebrewed a Space Marine Advanced Class, which the character takes levels in until he becomes a full Space Marine. (After six levels) The Space Marine we have is actually not a full battle brother yet (he only has 5 levels of the class), and can't wear power armour due to the lack of a Black Carapce.

We haven't been going that long yet, but it's worked out fine so far.

[R4ph]

I played in a 40k game once on a different forum. We were playing an "elite" squad within the Chancers, sent into a downed ship to retrieve a chimera while the rest of them died outside. Was good fun, GM used GURPS, but we were more or less free forming it and he added the mechanics later. I was playing a pyromaniac demolitions expert who'd ended up in the Chancers after burning down a building during a stealth op.

[horseboy]

Hence why I suggested D20 Modern.

Woops, missed that part.
Hm, yeah, still have to go Space master. Nothing like dead is dead. Especially with an "H" shrapnel crit.

[Bassetking]

I would run an Orky game. More Dakka. More Choppa. Da' Red wunz go fasta' and da' blue wunz iz more lucky.

Gorkamorka!

WAAAAGH!

[Xuincherguixe]

I've kind of been following 40,000 but I haven't spent any real money on it (depending on how you count some of the video games).

Now, since I don't know that much about the game I shouldn't be designing it. But if I was for whatever reason I would write the rules as reasonably open ended character creation wise. Write up stats for just about everything, and the GM can decide what's appropriate.

Chances are, that'll be create characters within a faction. And lets be honest that will almost certainly be Space Marines. They're probably the most playable rather than least from what I can tell. Still, I'd try and make it playable for any faction even if it doesn't make sense.

I'd really want to find some way of getting a group of Chaos players to work. I loves me the Chaos.

[Sulecrist]

I ran an Inquisition game. I can't say anything about the mechanics, but it went well.

The party infiltrated an opera house to stop a cult of Nurgle from circulating daemon-possessed condoms. I think that was the high point of the first adventure arc.

[Zak3056]

Some way to work in my Treadheadedness. Maybe a lascannon ace for a Leman Russ? Granted no sane GM is going to allow a LR, but at least it would be a fun story.

Oh, I dunno--if you had a relatively small group, it'd probably be a fun game to have the players as the crew of a Russ. Just because you have a tank doesn't make you invincible, and there are plenty of stories to be told here (for an example, see the movie Sahara... no, not the recent action flick, but the Bogart movie (or the Jim Belushi remake, if that's your thing.))

That said, I don't think I'd want to roleplay in the 40k universe. The backstory is just so... depressing. Makes for an excellent wargame, but not it's not so much of a "hey, wouldn't it be fun to BE there?!" title.

[GunMage]

If I did a 40k game, it would be a bit different than the examples so far, because I would use the Rogue trader era fluff.

The pc's would be some sort of mecenaries, and would probably wear power armor.

I would use living steel's rule.

Oh, and demon possesed condoms. Yeah. I am so stealing that.

[horseboy]

That said, I don't think I'd want to roleplay in the 40k universe. The backstory is just so... depressing. Makes for an excellent wargame, but not it's not so much of a "hey, wouldn't it be fun to BE there?!" title.

Hmm...You know what would be cool? To actually role play there but be a small organization that's dedicated to making everybody's lives better. To push back the darkness and attempt to rekindle the warm light of humanity's soul. Then find out you were chaos cultists all along. Damn you Tzeentch!

[Xuincherguixe]

That said, I don't think I'd want to roleplay in the 40k universe. The backstory is just so... depressing. Makes for an excellent wargame, but not it's not so much of a "hey, wouldn't it be fun to BE there?!" title.

Well, Call of Cthulhu is pretty popular and that's way more depressing. Even with it's population of trillions, if you're a human you're at least very slightly useful to someone or something.

Shadowrun is kind of taking a beating, and the bleakness of that setting varies a fair amount. Though I suppose that's likely in a Warhammer 40,000 game too. In one session it may be that a stray round can kill you, in another you might make the whole universe a happy place somehow.


Bleak roleplaying can be a very interesting experience. Less laughing, but it often gets you thinking more.

[Destro_Yersul]

Rogue trader/ Rogue trader's friends. Plenty of opportunity for sneakiness and bashing things there. Often both at the same time. I think that offers a lot of potential.

[Zak3056]

Bleak roleplaying can be a very interesting experience. Less laughing, but it often gets you thinking more.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against darker settings (I've always particularly enjoyed Shadowrun and Call of Cthulhu, actually) but 40k is just so much... bleaker.

In most settings, individual acts can be meaningful (you may have gone insane while investigating something in CoC, but at least it usually counts for something.) In 40k, not so much--"Huzzah, we have killed all of the spawn of Chaos that have infested this world!" turns into the Inquisition saying "Nice job" as they warm up the bioweapons to exterminate you and everyone else on the planet. :)

It feels (to me) as if the only viable campaigns are either those that are FAR away from the main plotlines (the Humphrey Bogart/Leman Russ idea above) or be thrown directly into the thick of things (the Inquisitor squad idea above) which allows for more stability, lots of action, but little real consequence (we have banished Fgifhewk, deamon of Tzeentch! ... again ... until he comes back next week.) Anything in the middle seems doomed, since the setting wants to work against it.

Like I said, just a personal opinion... I'm sure others would get quite a bit out of it, but it's not so much for me.

[Xuincherguixe]

I think there's something to be said for say being a roving band of... somethings. Mercenaries? Pirates? Traders? One big advantage there is that it would be easy to have several characters of different races.

[sikyon]

They met in a tavern. A radical inquisitor (With retinue), a Tau commando, Space Marine Captain, and an Eldar Farseer. On a primitive planet. They have to fight their way to the spaceport to commandeer a vessle and get the hell off. The planet has native Orks, hidden tomb of necrons, Dark Eldar Raiders, Chaos direct assault, and recently a Tyranid Hive ship crashed on the planet from local sector fighting.

The campain would be fighting their way through the Orks, then stumblig on the necrons OR nids. After that they reach urban outskirts to find Dark Eldar Slavers slaving away, fighting through which they must hold off a Chaos Assault until they Commandeer an Imperial Navy ship, which resists because it has troops on the ground but Inquisitor = Greater.

Classes would be like the following: Inquisitor - levels primarily through increased retinue size (may take NPC's) and enhanced psychic powers, Space Marine gains stat bonuses and feats like a fighter, Eldar gains psychic powers/able to summon allies from warp gates, Tau gets more Skills/Much Better equipment(only one able to use Tau weapons, which will generally be stronger). For the last one equipment delivery may be a problem.

[Kiero]

That said, I don't think I'd want to roleplay in the 40k universe. The backstory is just so... depressing. Makes for an excellent wargame, but not it's not so much of a "hey, wouldn't it be fun to BE there?!" title.

Have you read any of the Black Library novels? In particular the Eisenhorn and Ravenor series' paint a very different picture of life inside the Imperium, away from the fronts. Lots of roleplaying potential and a lot less basic black depressing too.

[Matthew]

I would run it as a Rogue Trader Game (i.e. the PCs are Rogue Traders in the 40K sense) and probably use a conversion of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay to run it, though D6 Space/D20 Future might also suffice.

[Zorg]

I'd put one of the player's as Govenor of a Hive World, and things have been getting out of hand since a madman started a new religion based around the premise that a vast floating pudding would appear and make life better for everyone - the people have stopped working, even the military has been affected and he can only rely on his few closest associates (other players).

Yesterday he caught his mother reading a pamphlet entitled "The Pudding is Comming - ten reasons why you should believe". Have the setup that the prophet of the religion, the Rev Jeronimo Kipling, will be conducting a whisltestop tour of the run down city bottom district of Tumbletown. The governor and his disguised comrades have to assassinate him, pin it on a rival religious group (either the Anadentists or the Church of the Lucid Shirt Button), then escape.

Rogue Trader was awesome

Otherwise have them as bountyhunters or mercenaries, allows for a bit of roaming and for greater variety in characters.

[Death Giant]

I'd choose the Tau

[Exarch]

You know what? I think Shadowrun may be a good system to use for it. Sure, you'd have to tweek it a bit...but it's pretty much there. Armor, deadly weapons, different races. But it'd have that really gritty feeling that a single bullet could kill you, something that d20 generally doesn't have.

[dr.cello]

I've always loved the fluff of the rangers for the Eldar, though I am admittedly not the most knowledgeable person alive on matters 40k. But as I understand it, they left the Craftworld and aren't welcome back, so they wander, and see things man (or Eldar, in this case) were not meant to wot. Plenty of opportunity, there.

The biggest problem is the fluff is geared towards large-scale combat. Outside of the endless war in the grim darkness of the far future, we don't know that much about the world.

[Funkyodor]

As a 40k player we tried bastardizing the 40K rules and do some RPGing using Witch Hunters w/ Guardsman bodyguards and one guy played a Vindicare Assassin against a renegade outpost turned Chaos (Alpha Legion); and we did a second one with Gaunts Ghosts against Tyranid outpost containing a Broodlord (they insisted on fighting it, I was gonna put a couple of normal Hormagaunts and a hidden Lictor...). We never thought of trying to house rule AD&D using Level Adjustments for higher powered humans and ab-humans. The cultures I can think of that might include multiple diverse races are Tau with Human Auxilliaries and Kroot, or Chaos with 1/2 Demons and Demon possessed ab-humans, or Guardsmen with Ogryn and Ratling allies, Or Orks with Grots and Squigs. Eldar guardsmen would be a good idea also. The hardest to design rules for would probably be Tyranids because they are just so foreign. Using a bastardized d20 modern system would be the way to go.

[Duff]

An Orc campaign with the PCs as the escort/enterage/minder for an orc psycher (I've forgotten their propper name).

All they have to do is not loose him, not die and not have the psycher blow up anything important including himself!

[its_all_ogre]

actually i have always wanted to run a game like necromunda.
as to only being suitable for hack n slash(or shoot and burn) thats like saying dnd is all about the killing, robbing and xp gaining.
the 40k universe is a full world or background of fluff, i have kept some of the older books for the background for when i am in need of inspiration in writing some new background. they are really good for pumping fluff into their worlds (GW that is).
i think a group of desperadoes trapped in a hive world that is being infested by tyranids would be harsh and deadly, like aliens but worse!