Alright gents, I'm devoting most of today on the new site for the Dark Heresy RPG. The game is set in the 40K universe so it's near and dear to most of us. Additionally, the RPG system is very well supported with 3-5 books coming out every month. Fantasy Flight (publisher) has three systems that are used interchangeably; Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader and Death Watch. Dark heresy is all about working in the shadows for the Inquisition; Rogue Trader is being a privateer where all characters ride on the same ship and explore the galaxy; Death Watch is all about being a Space Marine and killing. Each are considered separate in terms of available player character types and story potential but all are compatible with one another. It is common for all of the games to be mixed and matched as a campaign broadens (with a few house rules of course). Think of it as the deparation of Dragon lance and Forgotten Realms. Both used the same system with small differences in skills and abilities.
The books are a little more expensive than D&D and shadowrun. The tradeoff is the sheer volume of information in them and the quality of construction. I have never seen a finer product (minus all of the misspelled words). I've spent days trying to wrap my brain around all of the details in the book and I'm still coming up short.
The game system is best suited for post and play as it's percentile based. While I enjoy rolling tons of D6s in opposed dice rolls, a percentage system is really easier to relate to and will be easier to manage for the way we will do this (ie. you have a 30% chance to hit the target with a LasRifle... since the target is moving you have a -10% penalty).
Regarding site setup, the main blog area will be reserved for the narrative story and pictures. You'll interact with the GM via comments to the main blog similar to how we comment on all the posts in madwars. The side columns will be for resources and character sheets. When we go hot I would recommend each of you have a thin binder with a heap of clear page holders so you can print out and maintain handouts, character sheets, and special details about your character which you must keep hidden from the rest of the group (heresy and chaos lurk in the most Pius of individuals). Printing stuff will enable you to look at multiple images at the same time which will be necessary to decipher codes and look for clues. I'm hoping to add an element to these games that has lacked in years past... "more than mere hack and slash."
So far I've got my hands on the Dark Heresy Rulebook, Rogue Trader Rulebook, The Inquisitor's Handbook (DH), The Radical's Handbook(DH), and The Lure of Expanse(RT). I think for the begining all you guys will need is either the Dark heresy Rulebook or the Rogue Trader Rulebook. It will take you a few days to read through and figure out how to develop a character and of course the detailed game mechanics. In fact, we may need to group chat to lay some ground rules. Does everyone have a googlemaile account? I'd like to have a live chat session next Saturday to make sure all are on the same page. Please send thoughts and suggestions until then as I spend the rest of the time working the site.
The books are a little more expensive than D&D and shadowrun. The tradeoff is the sheer volume of information in them and the quality of construction. I have never seen a finer product (minus all of the misspelled words). I've spent days trying to wrap my brain around all of the details in the book and I'm still coming up short.
The game system is best suited for post and play as it's percentile based. While I enjoy rolling tons of D6s in opposed dice rolls, a percentage system is really easier to relate to and will be easier to manage for the way we will do this (ie. you have a 30% chance to hit the target with a LasRifle... since the target is moving you have a -10% penalty).
Regarding site setup, the main blog area will be reserved for the narrative story and pictures. You'll interact with the GM via comments to the main blog similar to how we comment on all the posts in madwars. The side columns will be for resources and character sheets. When we go hot I would recommend each of you have a thin binder with a heap of clear page holders so you can print out and maintain handouts, character sheets, and special details about your character which you must keep hidden from the rest of the group (heresy and chaos lurk in the most Pius of individuals). Printing stuff will enable you to look at multiple images at the same time which will be necessary to decipher codes and look for clues. I'm hoping to add an element to these games that has lacked in years past... "more than mere hack and slash."
So far I've got my hands on the Dark Heresy Rulebook, Rogue Trader Rulebook, The Inquisitor's Handbook (DH), The Radical's Handbook(DH), and The Lure of Expanse(RT). I think for the begining all you guys will need is either the Dark heresy Rulebook or the Rogue Trader Rulebook. It will take you a few days to read through and figure out how to develop a character and of course the detailed game mechanics. In fact, we may need to group chat to lay some ground rules. Does everyone have a googlemaile account? I'd like to have a live chat session next Saturday to make sure all are on the same page. Please send thoughts and suggestions until then as I spend the rest of the time working the site.
My Dark Heresy book is on the way but may take about a week to get here. As I mentioned to you earlier I was wondering if it would be easier to have a different story occurring for each character simultaneously instead of one single storyline. That would eliminate waiting for each player to post to move the story along. Each player would move at there own pace. Then maybe once or twice a month we get together online/chat and have a single adventure together. Perhaps the individual adventures could somehow lead up to or be incorporated into the larger story. Is that possible? Too much work?
ReplyDeleteIs very possible and is a great suggestion! There will definitely be times when characters are separated. My thoughts are if nothing is posted by a certain time of the day then characters are controlled by the GM (as an NPC)with default actions. "If he dies... he dies."
ReplyDeleteIf an entire week passes with no posts then the characters will be separated from the main part of the group and will possibly turn into NPCs... causing players to generate a new character. I would really like to see the group have to work together and post on a daily basis... Only takes a couple of minutes and if it's kept up it'll be part of the daily routine. I could not imagine a one man army able to live through the ultra-violence associated with the 40k universe.
Just got an email alerting me that my book has shipped. It has begun.
ReplyDelete