D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on May 21, 2013 8:21:43 GMT -8
I have noticed that if I get a chance to bounce some ideas off people I can mature them from something kinda decent into something kinda awesome. If we had a forum for GMs currently running games that would be pretty cool. Is this a possibility? Stu? So it is written! So it is done!Nice. So I'm working on my Dark Heresy game... While bobbing around in the ocean... for Jackercon 2013(If you can attend please sign up!) www.conplanner.com/ConventionHome.aspx?c=122My current question is: What is the best way to show off a system "Dark Heresy: Warhammer 40K" without being totally railroad/hack fest in just 4 hours ? Should I try to showcase some combat ? skills ? setting ? My plan is to have the PC's sent to investigate an errant Space Hulk that has appeared out of the warp in a near planetary orbit. So it will have some Dungeon Crawl aspects but I don't want that to be the entirety of the con game. Thoughts ? Cheers. Capt. Curt J Silver Pantalones (Spece Marines)
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HyveMynd
Supporter
Dirty hippie, PbtA, Fate, & Cortex Prime <3er
Posts: 2,273
Preferred Game Systems: PbtA, Cortex Plus, Fate, Ubiquity
Currently Playing: Monsterhearts 2
Currently Running: The Sprawl
Favorite Species of Monkey: None
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Post by HyveMynd on May 21, 2013 22:59:23 GMT -8
Sadly I can't attend any of the Jackercon 2013 games. Maybe next year. But I'm happy to offer help and advice. Although I've never played any of the FFG Warhammer 40,000 RPGs, I am pretty familiar with the 40k universe. I spent a large chunk of my youth (and more money than I will every care to think about) playing the tabletop wargame. First though, I need to clarify something Do you want to show off the system or the setting? Or both?
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Post by The Northman on May 22, 2013 6:38:15 GMT -8
I'm a fan of Chaos as an enemy above all others, especially in a DH game. With as deadly as the system is, I don't know that I've ever had an issue with the hackfest concern - that's why they made Deathwatch.
Using one of the more subtle (Read: Non-Khorne) chaos deities would give you the chance to emphasize role playing and investigation with a few combats as possibilities. I know the space hulk trope usually implies that the ship is empty, but what if it's a ship that came back with survivors? Still right up the Holy Ordos' alley to put them to the question, but a lot less Alien.
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on May 22, 2013 6:46:45 GMT -8
Sadly I can't attend any of the Jackercon 2013 games. Maybe next year. But I'm happy to offer help and advice. Although I've never played any of the FFG Warhammer 40,000 RPGs, I am pretty familiar with the 40k universe. I spent a large chunk of my youth (and more money than I will every care to think about) playing the tabletop wargame. First though, I need to clarify something Do you want to show off the system or the setting? Or both? A little bit of both Hyve. I think for those unfamiliar with all 40k's Gothic Future wierdness its a great opportunity to showcase that stuff. But also some combat with the often mentioned by Tappy "Critical Hit Tables". Gush all you want about Apocalypse World games (and they are really pretty amazing)...but Dark Heresy includes about eight pages of BAD SHIT that happens when you get real hurt or on the road to Deadsville. It keeps combat narrative even when the GMs brain is starting to get a bit fuzzified. By the way! WAAAAAHT?? You can't play?!? Balls! What if we expanded it to Sunday ?
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Post by The Northman on May 22, 2013 8:23:16 GMT -8
Gush all you want about Apocalypse World games (and they are really pretty amazing)...but Dark Heresy includes about eight pages of BAD SHIT that happens when you get real hurt or on the road to Deadsville. It keeps combat narrative even when the GMs brain is starting to get a bit fuzzified. By the way! WAAAAAHT?? You can't play?!? Balls! What if we expanded it to Sunday ? Agreed - the crit tables, which borrow heavily from the Rolemaster/Hackmaster family, are one of the greatest parts of that game. I like to farm out GM duties to my players, and sitting one on the crit tables to do dramatic readings of brains exploding and coating the floor in slipper goo is one of the favorites. Back to the original question, since I actually read your snippet at the Con page, if you're already committed to Xenos there are a lot of directions you can take it without boiling it down to a bug hunt. Maybe the crew was saved by xenos tech while they were lost, and removing/destroying that is going to mean killing humans. Maybe the 'Xenos,' creature on board appears to be human, or even a Space Marine, claiming to have been lost for many years outside the reach of the Empire. There are lots of options in the setting that should give you a nice mix. Things I'd emphasize with setting are the harsh nature of Imperial laws and the Inquisition and the morality that plays in to choosing the Emperor's word over what can seem to be 'right.'
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Post by jazzisblues on May 22, 2013 12:01:08 GMT -8
For a 4 hour time slot I basically write 5 scenes and they are
1. Introduction - What's going on and why should they be involved? (30 min - 1 hour)
2. First Conflict - Often a fight, but might just as easily be pure rp (approx 1 hour)
3. Growing Conflict and Story Building - Things get more involved (1 - 1.5 hours)
4. Resolution - Pretty much exactly what you would expect (30 min - 1 hour)
Epilogue - How things played out at the end
5. Spare scene I can throw in if I need to play for time.
Note that the epilogue isn't numbered because it's not a scene per se.
That's the basic formula for a convention game. But then again, my games are usually pretty simple pretty straight forward things.
Cheers,
JiB
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Post by kaitoujuliet on May 26, 2013 10:37:22 GMT -8
JiB, your formula sounds a lot like the Five-Room Dungeon system. I've found that very handy in structuring short adventures.
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Post by Kainguru on May 26, 2013 11:19:15 GMT -8
I've signed up for game cause a) I've been itching to try DH and b) my passing familiarity with the WH40K universe knows it will be a glorious hack fest with bells and whistles galore. It's the how of the hacking that gives it flavour plus give a good intro to the universe and it's tropes . . . Like your promo vid . . . Set the scene, introduce the world a bit like they do in first person shooters with cutscenes and tutorials then let ultra violence commence Plus you can add a twist relevant to the more RP elements of WH40K . . . The bug hunt turns out to be far more than just a bug hunt : ie 'this isn't the mission we signed on for anymore this is something else much bigger and the shit just got real' (a pretty standard trope for any given episode of Dr Who) Aaron
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Post by Forresst on May 26, 2013 12:34:27 GMT -8
I signed up to play because I spent probably a combined total of weeks painting tyranid miniatures and I love them. I know next to nothing else about WH40K except the blue guys shoot the bugs who eat the blue guys and get stronger. But that's cool enough for me.
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Post by Kainguru on May 26, 2013 13:00:40 GMT -8
I signed up to play because I spent probably a combined total of weeks painting tyranid miniatures and I love them. I know next to nothing else about WH40K except the blue guys shoot the bugs who eat the blue guys and get stronger. But that's cool enough for me. Yeah!!!! I played Space Hulk (the stripped down boardgame version) cause it was on sale at the local toy store - then my mates bought a box each and we had massive maps covering to whole table and a shit tonne of Marine Squadrons running around blasting the bugs and each other - we house ruled the shit outta it and drank a lot of beer and ate a load of pizza and had a blast Aaron
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Post by The Northman on May 26, 2013 18:10:07 GMT -8
I obviously have no idea what DT's got in-store, but generally Dark Heresy lends itself more to atmospheric investigation games than combat-fests. You're playing very squishy people.
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on May 26, 2013 21:57:59 GMT -8
Yeah I don't want to lull you into a false sense of total spece marine (i need to find that forum post...) badassery...but some lucky player is definitely gonna rock the auto combat shotgun with explosive rounds. Very useful when "putting the heretic to the question"...
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on May 26, 2013 22:22:15 GMT -8
I'm a fan of Chaos as an enemy above all others, especially in a DH game. With as deadly as the system is, I don't know that I've ever had an issue with the hackfest concern - that's why they made Deathwatch. Using one of the more subtle (Read: Non-Khorne) chaos deities would give you the chance to emphasize role playing and investigation with a few combats as possibilities. I know the space hulk trope usually implies that the ship is empty, but what if it's a ship that came back with survivors? Still right up the Holy Ordos' alley to put them to the question, but a lot less Alien. Great advice sir! There is definitely some if the seeds of my plot in the above. As make the pregens I've found a tendency to want to make sure all the diverse types are adequately represented. Pysker, assassin, guardsman, tech priest and somebody definitely gets one of these... And one of these... And of course Warhammer's Judge Dredd ripoffs The Arbitrator! So yeah your definitely gonna be scrappin a bit...question is who loses a limb first ?
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Post by The Northman on May 27, 2013 5:00:27 GMT -8
One of the reasons I like the setting so much is because it rips so many SciFi sources without hiding it and meshes them into something (mostly) coherent. Starship Troopers and Dredd have always been the most obvious for me.
If including a psyker in the group, just take care to not give it any powers that will easy sauce your plot. I've done that before for sure. An interesting role for another character might be the psyker's handler - even if you only share the information that (the Arb, for example) is there to watch the psyker and put him down if necessary with the player controlling the handler.
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lilappleblossom
Apprentice Douchebag
Posts: 51
Preferred Game Systems: 3.5, Dark Heresy, Only War, Grimm, Savage Worlds
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Post by lilappleblossom on May 27, 2013 7:53:44 GMT -8
I feel that the setting is the strongest part of 40k, though the system is beautiful as well. I'd say feature enemies that are different Xenos races but Chaos tainted. I love me some Chaos. Also, be sure the characters have some mechanical implants to show them what the technology of the universe can do. Also, a Psyker is always fun, if you have a handle on the rules for the powers. If done right the enemies of the 40k universe can leave one hell of an impression, don't be afraid to pull out all the stops.
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