Tags
FFG, Future, Games Workshop, Guns, RPG, Science Fiction, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k
Dark Heresy, the Warhammer 40,000 RPG
I remember when Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) first hit the scene with that glorious hardcover “Rogue Trader”. The setting is a mashup of Warhammer Fantasy and Dune, with extra demons thrown in for good measure and an immense star-spanning empire that exists to protect humanity, but possibly at the very cost of what makes us human.
It kicked ass on so many levels.
20 years later we finally got the RPG version – originally released by a Games Workshop imprint, and now licensed to FFG. The first of the three RPGs in the 40k line is Dark Heresy, where players take on the roles of an Inquisitor’s retinue, seeking out and destroying heresies of all kinds throughout the Imperium.
It’s dark, bleak and sexy.
Character creation starts out pretty random – rolling dice to determine the character’s home world (Hive world – one of the planets almost entirely covered in hives, giant cities that are nearly worlds unto themselves) which in turn determines the character’s starting stat die rolls, as well as what careers are available (although I’m going to roll for career too – there’s an optional table for that), and a few starting traits.
I end up with a young man from the underhive who is skilled in hand to hand combat, but less so with ranged weapons. He’s strong, not very tough, and pretty charismatic. Born to a factory worker family, he also managed to get himself out of the underhive without joining the military, but instead by turning his charisma towards becoming an arbitrator. While working as an arbitrator, he assisted an inquisitorial team as they rooted out an xeno infestation. The majority of the arbitrators assigned to the job were killed, the rest retired to other planets. A few ended up in the retinue of the inquisitor. Once in inquisitorial training, a crazed psyker from the rimworlds tells him that “the gun is mightier than the sword”, the kind of fortune a truncheon-wielding peace officer doesn’t really want to hear, but he takes it to heart, brushes up on his marksmanship and begins carrying a shotgun in his duties.
One last set of die rolls gives us his appearance as well as his name.
Name: Solomon Flair
Career: Arbitrator
Rank: 1 – Trooper
XP: 0 (400 Spent)Build: Lanky
Height: 1.8 m
Weight: 65 kg
Age: 27 (Adult)
Skin: Fair
Hair: Dyed (bright red & yellow, originally brown)
Quirk: Set of Piercings (lip, nose, eyebrow)Weapon Skill: 38
Ballistic Skill: 35
Strength: 35
Toughness: 26
Agility: 33
Intelligence: 29
Perception: 36
WillPower: 34
Fellowship: 45Wounds: 11
Fate Points: 2Traits
Accustomed to Crowds – Crowds are not difficult terrain, no Agility penalty running or charging in a crowd.
Caves of Steel – Tech Use [Int] is a basic skill
Hivebound – Survival tests at -10, -5 on all Intelligence tests outside of a “proper hab”
Wary – +1 InitiativeImperial Divination
The Gun is Mightier Than the Sword (+3 Ballistic Skill)Skills
Speak Language (Low Gothic) [Int] | 29%
Literacy [Int] | 29%
Common Lore (Adeptus Arbites) [Int] | 29%
Common Lore (Imperium) [Int] | 29%
Inquiry [Fel] [+10] | 55%
Scrutiny [Per] | 36%Talents
Basic Weapon Training (SP)
Melee Weapon Training (Primitive)
Rapid ReloadKit
Shotgun and 12 shells
Brass Knuckles
Knife
Flak Vest
Good Quality Uniform
Stimm (3 doses)
Injector
Arbitrator ID
Chrono
Flask of Amasec
51 Throne Gelt
Dyson's Dodecahedron 
i will use him as a good guy in bad dreams adventure of my own mind, so he can give some informations as a currier between two active nsc inquisitors in play, but must be protect by ALL cost of the party back his way to the other inquisitor.
it is, by the 1st book a good guy per dice. you give him the right story by the dice choice with your words, 😉
so i remember me, too, as my group get this damm feeling, like at werewolve and vapires – to use add books to get “superduper variants”.
be at the minimum (base infos of the start book) to get a maximum fun is a good role and law if someone read this and will start this dark-roleplay-game.