Dark Heresy Play by Post: House of Dust and Ash

[Tadanori Oyama]

I'm taking another shot at a play by post now that I've been introduced to RolePlay Online and I have a ready adventure to try out.

I'd like to run a game with RPPR members on the outside forum using this forum as the review and commincations area so we can share the joy with each other and everybody else.

It's a mid-powered adventure, tier five in the game's mechanics, and throws everybody right into the deep end, making it perfect to continue into other stories, assuming we don't have a TPK.

So, it can be played with between three and six players. Once I get three confirmed I'll start the creation process on RPOL and the count down to game time begins.

People can make their own characters if they have access to the books (I can provide a disk with an electronic copy to players who would like one) or I can create a character for the player. The options are equally acceptable to me, though I would like everyone have access to the game rules so that they can be fully aware of their very wide range of options at all times.

Post interest or spew bitter hate here.

[JonHook]

How much knowledge of Dark Heresy as a setting and as a game mechanic to players need to have?

I have next to zero knowledge of Dark Heresy, so I don't know if I'd be a good player or not.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Knowledge of the setting is not strickly nessicary. All you really need to know is that the game world if roughly 40,000 years in the future and that mankind has been stagnant technologically for 38,000 years. Way back when humans had a man who was basically an incarnate god as their ruler. In present day that man, the Emperor, is on life support inside a giant throne which uses psycic humans as fuel.

The galaxy has millions of colonized planets that are controlled, in the Emperors name, by a massive burocratic mess known as the Administratum and the various subdivision agencies, the Adeptas.

Among these is the Inquistion, tasked with stopping heretics, aliens, and demons. The players are junior members of this Inquisiton, Acolites.

It's a "everything sucks" kind of setting, you can pick up the basics quickly and deep understanding of the universe isn't really needed.

[JonHook]

If you can stand hand-holding me through the rules, I'd like to play. I think I can handle a new game, so I'm in if you'll take a green-horn like me.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Won't be a problem and the system is likely to be comfortable for you. Though I am very familiar with the system I have little practical experience running it so we'll be taking things fairly easy.

While not as general as BRP or Call of Cthulhu, the system employs a percent base. Skills are rolled under a target number which is altered by the difficulty of the circumstances.

Players have eight attributes from which skills are determined (attribute forms base number, skill training raises target number).

Game play is heavy mix of investigation and combat. Combat is very deadly with Hit Points close to 10 and weapon damage rolled on d10s with bonuses. Dodging and armor are vital. Gruesome death is likely.

Game play has both Sanity and Corruption values offering two seperate ways to go mad and shot your friends.

And you can get chainsaw swords.

[Dawnsteel]

And you can get chainsaw swords.

You had me at "chainsaw swords."  Sign me up.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Lovely.

Okay, to summarize for everybody, the class system is fairly open. Classes are given a big table of available training options. There are two divison: Talents and Skills.

Skills offer bonuses to different dice rolls (Tests in Dark Heresy terms) while Talents offer new options or abilities such as weapon attacks or more hit points.

Different classes learn different Skills and Talents at different costs and at different levels of ability. Abilities are bought from a character's pool of XP and for high level characters (measured in tiers from one to nine, this game begins in tier five) the list can be very complex so I definitally suggest access to a copy of the book if you want to do your own character and as I said I can provide that access.

It is also possible for a given class to learn abilities normally outside their range.

For example, a Guardsman can learn "Hidden Lore (Administratum)", a skill normally outside his class' table of abilities, but he must pay more XP for it (in this case 300XP rather than 200XP, so the extra cost is fairly small).

My e-mail address can be found in my profile. Anyone who would like to get access to a book copy, please drop me a line with "Dark Heresy PbP" in the title.

[Setherick]

I'm usually up for games where I can play some sort of religious fanatic. Ask Ross for more details...

[Tadanori Oyama]

I'm usually up for games where I can play some sort of religious fanatic. Ask Ross for more details...

Than is this ever the right game for you. Religous fanatics are high class citizens in the Imperium.

If your interested than I can get started with pregame prep work.

[Tadanori Oyama]

Okay, so to provide some additional background on the adventure for everyone:

You group of Acolites, upon returning from a dead end lead, has been forced to stopover on the world of Solomon. As you touched down you where presented with a summons and a writ from your Inquistor, the high ranking member of the Inquisition whom you all report to.

It explain that you have been, for the time, tranfered to the service of another Inquisitor, one here on Solomon. This is highly unusual but you have little choice other than to follow the summons and meet with this stranger.

[Tadanori Oyama]

The class struture allows nearly any combination of characters to be effective since every class has access to abilities that enhance their skills and their combative ability. Book worm adepts can weild chain axes or handle a long las, a Guardsman can have learned a thing or two about Forbidden Lore or the workings of the great Adeptas.

This is because the two prime focuses of the game are investigation things and killing things. These tasks can be done in either order and are often considered interchangable by the Inquisition.

I'd like only one of each class but players are free to select as they wish.

Quick class summaries are:
Adept- Lots and lots of lore abilities.
Arbitrator- Good weapon and social abilities.
Assassin- Lots of ways to kill things.
Cleric- Good social and combat abilities.
Guardsman- Good access to weaponry abilities and alot of Hit Point boosts.
Imperial Psyker- Psykers have access to power psykic powers and good weaponry options. Slight warning: psykic powers can have side effects such as headaches, blasting your friends, or demonic beings errupting out of your orifices.
Scum- Good social skills and a wide range of abilities.
Tech Priest- Access to information and abilities beyond other classes, very low fellowship ability.

I would also like to recommend this website for it's character generator.

[JonHook]

Ok, the last time we tried to get a DH game going, I wanted to be a Psyker, and I think I still want to be a Psyker. So, if there are no objections, I would like to be the Imperial Psyker! 

[Dawnsteel]

I'd like to read up, surely, but at first glance the name "Arbitrator" sounds totally awesome.  Do Arbitrators get chainsaw swords?
Can I decapitate Jon with it if he starts spewing demons from his orifices?

[JonHook]

I'd like to read up, surely, but at first glance the name "Arbitrator" sounds totally awesome.  Do Arbitrators get chainsaw swords?
Can I decapitate Jon with it if he starts spewing demons from his orifices?

I can't tell you how many times I've tried to solve my problems with a chainsaw sword. My experience is that that only makes things worse. 

[Tadanori Oyama]

I'd like to read up, surely, but at first glance the name "Arbitrator" sounds totally awesome.  Do Arbitrators get chainsaw swords?
Can I decapitate Jon with it if he starts spewing demons from his orifices?

The short answer is yes. Most classes gain their proficency with high grade weapons at Tier Five and Six, which is the tier we're playing in.

To answer the second part, you can only cut off John's head if you get hit location "head". Hit location is determined by reversing the number you rolled to hit the target. "Head" is 01-10, which means you can only hit the head if you roll a number devisible by ten that's under your Weapon Skill. For a combative character it's likely to be between 40 an 45. That means you have to roll a 10, 20, 30, or 40, a chance of 4 in 100, slightly less than the 5% critical chance on a d20. Also, if John makes his parry roll, he blocks the attack.

On the plus side, when using a chain weapon you get to roll damage twice and pick which one you want which doubles your chance of gaining Righteous Fury (scored whenever you roll a 10 for damage).