I know I have a bit of a bad reputation on this kind of thing, but I've been thinking, and I think I've solved my problem. Mainly, jumping the gun and getting started before I have any idea what's going to happen, causing me to burn out when the players start catching up and I find myself working constantly to stay ahead of them. I didn't jump the gun this time, I have the entire first arc of the campaign (Which is self-contained and could serve as a hopefully entertaining mini-campaign all by itself) ready to assemble as soon as it's needed, and some ideas for the next part of it.
Anyway, enough trying to sell the idea to you guys because I'm afraid everyone thinks I'm a flake and no one will join because I'll flake. It's Deathwatch Time.
Deathwatch is the third RPG in the Warhammer 40k RPG lineup, and the one that finally brings Spess Mehrens into the mix. Even better, you are full-on fluff marines. Not those silly guys from the tabletop that can die to lasrifles, but the superhuman killing machines of 40k novels. You spit acid, eat dirt, absorb the memories of your foes by eating them, laugh off concentrated volleys of gunfire, and you can rip a guy's head off with your bare hands. As alien-hunters and slayers without peer even among your fellow Astartes, you were seconded to the Deathwatch: An elite multi-chapter force that serves the Ordo Xenos. As Deathwatch, you will be expected to undertake missions even the Space Marines would find ridiculous and suicidal. Make no mistake, the enemies of mankind are savage and implacable. You may be a massively bionic, hard-boiled terminator type, but if you underestimate your enemies you will die. Even if you don't underestimate them, your odds of surviving are pretty slim, but even then, you can make a difference in the universe and the Emperor will be proud.
That's the basic premise of the game. In a nutshell, you are a Deathwatch Space Marine, and you go out and give the enemies of mankind everything you've got. That's not to say it's all combat though, you can also expect to serve as a bodyguard on diplomatic missions or investigations of xenos ruins, a rudimentary investigator if for some reason the Inquisition was unable to uncover your target, and in a warzone you'll have to deal with the other branches of the Imperial Military, some of whom will be unwilling to cooperate with those jerks in the power armor who always steal all the glory.
I'm looking for four or five people, anything in the rulebook generally goes (Although I dislike Wolf Wolfs and ULTIMAROONS you have my blessing to play them if you want). There are also some other chapters being set up by people, namely Salamanders, Iron Hands, and Scythes of the Emperor; I'll accept them if you let me read them and they sound alright. If you have the book you can make the character on your own time. As for the people who don't have the book, we'll set up a time to get together and I'll get you straightened out. If you have the book feel free to join us anyway, we can have a big character creation fest. Beforehand though you should have an idea of what you want to be, and I'll list the choices:
Black Templars - The Black Templars are a Second Founding Chapter, created from the Imperial Fists. They don't follow the Codex Astartes, and currently have way more Space Marines than chapters are supposed to have, which they get away with by constantly being all over the galaxy on various crusades. As a Black Templar you relish slaying the enemies of the Emperor in glorious close combat, and above all you abhor the witch. You hate psykers, and you will have some difficulty interacting with Librarians in your kill-team (Note though, that only Black Templars who are good at suppressing these feelings get seconded to the Deathwatch).
Black Templars wear black power armor and also like to wear black and white tabards akin to those of the Knights Teutonic. A Black Templar cannot be a Devastator or a Librarian. They favor Germanic names.
Ultramarines - The Ultramarines are (sigh) the best. We all hate it and resent them, but they exemplify what a Space Marine is supposed to be. This isn't to say they don't have flaws; they rigidly adhere to the Codex Astartes which isn't always the best thing to do, and they can get really arrogant and high-minded, especially around non-codex chapters like the Black Templars and Space Wolves. Ultramarines wear blue power armor, can choose any specialty, and favor Roman names.
Space Wolves - The Space Wolves are another non-codex chapter. They have an unhealthy obsession with wolves, even going as far as to inject non-human DNA (The canis helix) into their prospective recruits, causing some of them to go completely berserk and turn into monsters. Space Wolves are a bit silly, and like to drink ale and tell stories, so I guess they're kind of like dwarves in a way. As a Space Wolf, you have a friendly (And sometimes not so friendly) rivalry with the Dark Angels, going as far as to have ritual duels with them when the Space Wolves and Dark Angels are fighting in the same battle. Space Wolves wear grey-blue power armor, favor Norse names, and call their Librarians Rune-Priests. They cannot be Apothecaries.
Blood Angels - The Blood Angels bear the geneseed of Sanguinius, the Primarch Horus killed shortly before his final battle with the Emperor. Blood Angels are possessed of angelic countenance and humility, but because of the death of their primarch, they have a tendency to totally lose their shit and turn into raging berserkers. As a blood angel you should be noble and just, but also zealous with the occasional urge to drink blood. Blood Angels have red power armor and favor angelic names like Raphael. They have no restrictions on specialty.
Dark Angels - The Dark Angels are a very secretive chapter, mainly because part of their legion defected during the Horus Heresy and Lion El'Johnson, their primarch, got his ass kicked by his best friend and died while the whole planet blew apart around him. No one but the Dark Angels know about this, and they consider it their damning shame. It is their mission to hunt down every one of their traitors and kill them or make them repent so they can redeem themselves in the Emperor's eyes. As a Dark Angel you should have a degree of distrust for others, stemming from the labyrinth of secrets you live in, and you should be especially monastic, even compared to other space marines. Dark Angels wear Dark Green Power armor and also like to wear ascetic robes. They have angelic names like the Blood Angels, but favor the -iel suffix. I don't know much about Hebrew Grammar so I can't explain it better than that. No specialty restrictions.
Storm Wardens - This is the new chapter made for the Deathwatch RPG. They are crazy Scottish bastards who use claymores and have been known to paint themselves blue before a mission. The Storm Wardens Primarch is unknown, the book isn't clear what chapter they're derived from. As a Storm Warden you should be proud and aggressive, enjoying contests and challenges of all kinds. Single melee combat is the most glorious way to fight, but don't charge the hive tyrant alone. Storm Wardens wear blue and white power armor, favor Celtic names, and have no specialty restrictions. They're my favorite Deathwatch chapter.
Apothecary - The kill-team's medic. You use a pistol and melee weapon and you kick ass at providing first aid. It is also your solemn duty to extract the geneseed of your brothers, should they fall in combat. If you recover the geneseed of a dead marine, his player gets a bonus to his next character. Also, you have to. It's kind of your job. An apothecary is essential to the team, you won't last without one, and since recovering a fallen marine's geneseed is imperative no kill-team would ever be sent out without an apothecary.
Assault Marine - The ones what wear the beaky helmets. Assault Marines use their jump packs to get into melee quickly. They also use a pistol and a melee weapon and kick ass at kicking ass. An important thing to note is that you are not a tank. Your job isn't to tie up powerful melee combatants so they can't reach the other members of your team. You're better suited to using your jump pack to engage the snipers and heavy weapons users so they can't kill your doodz.
Devastator - The opposite of the assault marine. You get the big guns, like heavy bolters, lascannons, and plasma cannons. You're exceptional at ripping people up in ranged combat, and hordes are a joke if you've got a heavy bolter. Try not to get into melee though.
Tactical Marine - This is the meat of the kill-team. You use a bolter and the myriad variants of ammunition available to it to defeat your enemies. While you'll never be quite as good at melee or ranged as a devastator or an assault marine, you can do it well and without you they wouldn't have the versatility to last five minutes.
Librarian - You are wizard. You channel the energies of the warp to smite your enemies, and gamble your very soul for immense power. One of these days you're going to bite off more than you can chew and everything's going to go to hell, but until then you are wizard. You get a bolter and a force weapon (Basically a power weapon that can channel your psychic energy)
Techmarine - A space marine who's divided his loyalties between the Astartes and the Mechanicus, it's your job to keep the machine spirits of the kill-team's equipment happy, and you get some of the coolest equipment, like artificer armor and the conversion beamer. It's also your job to deal with technology when it comes to the mission, and a lot of objectives can be very difficult to accomplish without a techmarine. You will probably need a techmarine in the kill-team.
That's the gist of it. The best day I'm guessing would probably be Friday, I have stuff on Saturdays and Thursdays and Wednesdays, although I might be free on Sunday. If you're interested post.
You live in Watch Fortress Erioch, Jericho Reach, and this place is about to experience real change.
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Topic: Deathwatch - Space Marine P&P Roleplaying - Signups (Read 12524 times)