Dark Heresy Play by Post: House of Dust and Ash

[JonHook]

I am Imperial Psyker Festor Sorebol.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Awesome. I should be able to get the supplies moving on monday so it'll be ready to go by friday or so.

[Dawnsteel]

Judge Raltus Argyrum, of the Adeptus Arbites. 

(Not real sure on the structure here...you get the idea.)

[Tadanori Oyama]

Judge Raltus Argyrum, of the Adeptus Arbites. 

(Not real sure on the structure here...you get the idea.)

Titles at this Tier are, funny enough, very simple. Most classes gain their own name as a title at Tier Five, the point when they leave their apprenticeship or whatever other training they where on.

So, a Tier Five Arbitrator is official known as an Arbitrator. Same with Assassins, Clerics, and some others. Guardsman become Veterans.

Anyway, you get to be a free wheeling law man. Just like a bounty hunter, only your legal and fully official.

[Dawnsteel]

How much work would you like me to do on character creation?

I have some separate backstory ideas bouncing around in my head...apparently, Dark Heresy is what I think about now, when I'm doing something mindless at work.

[JonHook]

I on the other hand, do not have a book, so I am at my master's mercy on character creation. 

[Tadanori Oyama]

You'll have it in a few days, Jon. The relivent bits sooner if I can finish properly extracting the character creation pages from the PDF. In the mean time, please do each out that site I linked before, the character generator goes through the steps very well.

As for your creation, feel free to start if you can. Your playing 4000xp characters. Remember, you can only access a new Tier after spending the minimum XP to reach it. You can do stats with one of tweo methods: roll 2d10 for each stat and at your Planet Base for base attributes or use a point buy system and spread 100 points across your Planet Base scores as you see fit (no more than 20 out of the 100 points per attribute).

If you want to roll for stats than roll in the thread.

Jon, if you want to stat creation sooner I can start walking you through it now.

[JonHook]

I am at your disposal. We can create my character however and whenever you'd like.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Cool. So first choice is home world. Because one of then big deals within the Imperium is the purity of the Holy Human Form there are no real divisions of race among humans. There are only humans and mutants. Localized adaption to envrionment is generally not considered mutation so backwater Ferals with fangs and something approaching claws are still considered human (and much sought for positions in the Imperial Guard).

The game has five world types, which in turn have divisions of their own.

Feral World- Your world is harsh and unforgiving. You may have had some tech but not much. It mades you tough and strong but you have troubl getting along with others.
Hive World- Your world was a hyper poluted super city world. You where born and raised in a city that housed billions of humans and rose into the sky like a strange twisted tower. You understand the need to work with others as a matter of course but overcrowding and lack of nutrition have weakened your constitution.
Imperial World- Your world was average (as far as an average exists in 40k). It might have been a high technology world, a holy shrine world, or even a throw back feudal world. The end result was a balanced upbringing.
Void Born-You aren't from a planet, you where born in space, aborde one of the fleet vessels. This made you selfrelian and focused but false gravity doesn't form muscles correctly and you are somewhat weaker than others.

Origin World effet base attritubes as well as Class choices. Psykers exist on all worlds so you have no restrictions. I'll list the specific stat bonuses/penalizes shortly.

[JonHook]

Void Born-You aren't from a planet, you where born in space, aborde one of the fleet vessels. This made you selfrelian and focused but false gravity doesn't form muscles correctly and you are somewhat weaker than others.

Dude! Festor is totally Void Born! I love it.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Excellent choice. Void Born come in many types, just as other people.

The type of ship they where born on determines much of their personality.

Some Void Born are the children of Imperial Guardsmen, born onboard an active military vessel and grow up with rigid discipline and Imperial devotion. Others are born on pilgramage ships, moving from one world to another and could spend most of their lifetime in space.

Base attributes are equal to 20+2d10. Void Born apply 15+2d10 to their Strength but 25+2d10 to their Willpower, which gives them a slightly better bite at the Psyker Class. They also have some advantages in that they are well adjusted to space. They don't suffer gravity sickness and seldom become disoriented.

However, they do pay for it in some places. Void Born have the lowest base Wounds of any Planet, starting with 6. Imperial and Hive start at 8, Ferals at 9.

[JonHook]

I believe Festor to be born on a military vessel, his father drilled the Imperial party line into his brain, but Festor's weak body prevented him from becoming a guardsman like his father, and was the utter disapointment to his father and family.

Once Festor developed his psyker abilities, he knew the Imperium was his destiny not only to satisfy his Imperial beliefs, but to also show-up his bastard of a father. Festor hates his family, especially his father, with a passion, and strives to advance through the Imperium as fast as he can to show his father that brains are far better than brawn.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Your gonna make a good Psyker. Bitterness is a big thing for them.

See, there's this little problem the Imperium has: the God Emperor is dead. Or maybe not, they aren't really sure. What they are sure of is that if they don't fuel the Golden Throne, the place where the Emperor resides, then it won't work and they'll lose their nagivational becon. If that happens then the Astropaths can't navigate the whole of the Imperium. The Imperial Guard will be paralized and the Emperor's armies will be unable to move to defend the Imperium, turning one Empire into a million small ones, defenseless against xenos and daemons and heresy.

So, the Golden Throne must be fueled: with the souls of Psykers.

Anyone who displays mental talent is tested to endure the temptation and dangers of the Warp, what Psykers draw power from, the same place daemons come from and the Chaos Gods live. Those who pass come into the serve of the Imperium. Those who fail travel on the Black Ships to Holy Terra to do their greatest duty.

Most fail.

On a military ship the local Psyker Militant would've tested you. And the test ain't nice. Psykers have a special table of side effects, things that happened to them during their testing. You can use that or come up with something of your own. Some Psykers loose all their teeth, some can not longer speak, some have sections of their skull replaced, occationally they go blind in one eye. Somethimes they never nearly fail the test and begin play with a few Madness or Corruption points. Or you can elect to have had an exceptational testing.

[JonHook]

On a military ship the local Psyker Militant would've tested you. And the test ain't nice. Psykers have a special table of side effects, things that happened to them during their testing. You can use that or come up with something of your own. Some Psykers loose all their teeth, some can not longer speak, some have sections of their skull replaced, occationally they go blind in one eye. Somethimes they never nearly fail the test and begin play with a few Madness or Corruption points. Or you can elect to have had an exceptational testing.

Ok, tell me if this will be ok, and how it can be or should be reflected in the game mechanics.

Unbeknownst to Festor's parents, while in the womb, Festor was originally one half of a pair of twins. But, during cellular development, Festor's twin was absorbed into Festor's body, thus he became what is known as a Chimera. A single person born with two sets of DNA, his own and his absorbed twin's. To the outside world, Festor was born as a fairly normal, if not scrawny, baby.

During "The Test", Festor's body was warped, and even though Festor succeeded in the test, the end result was that his left arm was withered into an almost useless limb, and his left should opened and Festor's twin brother emerged!!! Festor now has a vestigial twin on his left shoulder. His twin has a tiny head and tiny arms, but his face looks mummified with lips that open and close at the same time as Festor's as he talks or eats.

I don't think the vestigial twin will have any major impact on the game, but it is damn creepy to look at.

Vestigial Twin Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestigial_twins

[Tadanori Oyama]

That is horrorly disturbing and completely perfect for a 40k game. Well done sir. Your going to fit in really good during this adventure.