Not being great on generating ideas myself... but one ressource I find invaluable is this list: http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/plots.htm Also, what I do when I get stuck is watch some TV series (not soaps), as they tend to have just the complexity and length of an average RPG scenario (just make sure you pick some that your players haven't watched). You can take the essence of the storyline and rearrange the bits and pieces to fit your background - it's easier that one thinks at first. Finally, I have found writing very helpful. Just writing the outline of a scene I have in mind somehow magically gets my mind working on the "how did this transpire" part. It is important to relax, though, and just write without censoring your thoughts. I like your ideas so far, and my advice would be to just go along with what you already have, chances are your players will do things that spark other scenarios. If not, talk to them, ask them what they liked so far and what not, it might give you leads on what to do next - and in any case, you're human and doing most of the work so the group can have fun, so don't hesitate to ask for a break for a couple of weeks so you can find your inspiration again. Good luck!

Hello everyone! Since a lot of you were so kind as to help me with this scene, I am happy to report that it went exceptionally well. I went for the "drugged experience of forgotten memories" thing, a sinister rite complete with praying and chanting (it's fun to have your players repeat what you say in unison ), and tied it up with some trauma about crewmates who died in an inferno unintenionally caused by my psyker's emerging powers. My players were totally absorbed in the rite, very dense atmosphere, a wonderful sense of foreboding, they even felt like their characters are closer now, which is just the way I like it. Only thing that did not work perfectly was the actual "boss fight": I had come up with a system to make manifesting Pyromancy powers really difficult for my psyker, and easier the more battered he got by his Alter Ego, who happened to be vulnerable to Pyromancy. But he got clobbered down so quickly and then had so much luck with the dice that the entire combat only lasted about 4 rounds. I always have that problem, either the fights drag out endlessly due to very resistant opponents that don't deal much damage, or it is over in a blink and I have to do my best not to wipe out my cell... But, oh well, the point came across and we had a fun session, so thanks a lot everyone!

Gee, I love the DA Mages ^^ That system sounds cool... though it reminds me more of the actual Sanctioning Rite - which PC psykers have already undergone in most cases. Mental note: next chronicle start have the psyker PLAY his Sanctioning XD At this stage they should have fairly proven that they can resist the Immaterium, and since he's kind of trapped in his own dream, having him encounter daemons seems inappropriate (also, I'll have to be careful with overusing daemons, since one of them plays a major role further down the road). However, rolling WP for him the longer it takes him is an excellent idea, as is punishing failure with insanity and corruption points, I'd have completely forgotten about that!. I'll even ramp up the difficulty over time methinks, and throw in a lot of penalties at the end (let him work for his imba powers ~whiplash~). If any of you might have a crisp idea on what could have happened to include a teenager, fire, anger and the awakening od psychic powers, that would be a bonus Other than that, thank you very much everyone! I'll get to work tonight (oh curse you, real-life work!) and tell you how it turned out in play after the coming weekend

hm, I just got back from bed, being half-asleep seems to be beneficial to thinking Maybe the awakening of Silvanus powers had something to do with him going frenzy, causing a fire in the process and dooming some of his shipmates to death by flame, so that's why he tries to avoid that kind of emotion. Given that, conjuring fire in the first part of the ritual would of course not work ~evil grin~ I could give him bonuses for his Pyromancy rolls in the fight, the more battered he gets, the higher the bonus - i.e. the more he faces his anger, **** the consequences, the better his chances of winning get.

Aaaaaalright.... thanks for your input everyone so far, you're being very supportive! (is that the right word....?) Sorry for the following wall of text, I really tried to make it as short as possible. @Librarian: That was kind of what I initially envisioned, but since I know that the player already settled for Pyromancy, I'd think it futile to even have him make a Test on any other Discipline. But it will definitely be some kind of psychic ritual, and there will definitely be an emphasis on the different possibilities of solving a problem (i.e. Disciplines). I like the aspect of Chaos though, that's brilliant. @Lynata: If you would have a mind to look up those Harrowing rules, that would be immensely helpful! Acutally having him fail that test would not be that much of a problem. For various ingame reasons, my inquisitor is extremely protective of said psyker and would not under any circumstance have his life endangered, even if it means blemishing his own reputation (sounds weird, but makes sense in the chronicle). So even if he'd fail, I'd have the cavalry ride in and save his ass - that would even be conducive to my evil plans ^^ As for enforcing backstory on him, I did ask him beforehand and according to his total lack of reaction, he does not mind me surprising him, so I won't hold back. So, from the input you've kindly given me so far I'd concoct something like this. Silvanus undergoes the Tentatio Delectis, the Trial of Choosing. The point of that trial is to unlock the hidden potential within the Neonate, a source of power poetically called "that which is at bottom of one's heart". Since my psyker seems to lean towards Pryomancy, I'd guess the emotion that fuels his powers would be RAGE (not too uncommon in 40k philosophy...). That would actually add a nice contradiction to the character, for the player depicts him VERY composed and disciplined, almost inhumanly so. So, to that end, he has to take part in a rite conducted by the elders of his coven - I have those already fleshed out - each one representing one Psychic Discipline. Probably intimidating and very much reminding of the suffering inflicted on him on Earth. He is required to ingest a potent hallucinogenic that puts him into a trance, loosely steered by the attendant Telepath. In the ensuing lucid dream he might be able to manifest a power of each Discipline and he might briefly brush with Chaos as well. When the dream moves on, he will find himself on his home vessel, the Obsidian Edge, and encounter his Alter Ego, that forgotten part of him that dwells on the past and can't let go because Silvanus has completey supressed that memory and the pain that goes with it (that fits with the reoccurring subtheme of the chronicle, the "Enemy Within"). He will be forced to witness and relive what has transpired that fateful day he was exiled from his home, all the while being whispered to by the ghost that is him, who tries to coax from him the anger he hides so well by being REALLY mean and twisting the knife in the wound. What could have happened? What could trigger a latent psyker's powers to emerge, preferably in a destructive fashion? Whatever it is, it will hopefully cause some raw nerves on my pyker turning the tension between him and the dream-self into hostility. Since the Alter Ego represents all the undealt with, the trauma inflicted on Silvanus by the awakening of his gift, it needs to be defeated, so let's escalate from emotional cruelty to "physical". Hm... I guess I could let Silvanus fight with the temporary illusionary powers at his disposal, making the enemy really hard and wearing him down until he is almost defeated and frustrated enough to reach for that anger smoldering inside him, enabling him to consume his opponent in whitehot psi-flame... You know... "use your rage" XD Well, that would be what comes to mind (it's quite late here, yawn), so if you have any comments/ideas, I'd be happy to hear them. Thx!

@Cogniczar, I'll be playing live, assuming I got you right, cos I don't know what PbP means. Me and my players will be sitting in our kitchen with dim light and atmospheric music playing @Lynata: hmmmm that's a very interesting idea, having him just unlock the skills instead of choosing them (considering the player has already made his choice anyway). I never thought of that! Also, very good hint to "bastardize" other coming of age rites. Funny enought the idea correlates with what I thought up being half-asleep last night: having him drugged by his coven so he's hallucinating and has to face something that horrifies him, only being able to get out /survive if he manages to come clean with himself, probably by unlocking his full potential. Kind of a rip-off from Dragon Ages's Harrowing and Luke Skywalker's vision in the swamp, but what the heck, we loved those, too. Since he did not provide me with detailed backstory for the character (sigh...), I thought of slapping on him a repressed memory of the awakening of his powers, something he does not remember but that nevertheless causes him trouble (like unintentionnally killing some of his shipmates / friends / loved ones or whatnot). You know, facing that which he feared most all of his life (himself and his powers). No idea how to cast that in game terms, though ^^

Good evening folks, my group's psyker is about to choose his Discipline for Major Powers the next session, and I'd like to play a short "fluff" scene with him instead of simply having him throw firebolts all of a sudden (my players like their little single threads). However, I seem to be a bit uncreative these days, probably due to winter blues, and nothing really ftting comes to mind. I've had some vague ideas, but nothing yet that I deem worthy of fleshing out. I'd think that considering the power and responsibility that comes with wielding major powers, finding out what Discipling a Neonate is leaning towards should be some kind of ritual, a sombre and intimidating at that, and probably involve senior psykers from all disciplines, but beyond that, I'm kind of at a loss... So if anyone has a spontanious idea or could point me to a source of inspiration, I'd be very grateful. I've loosely incorporated the coven system from this darkreign post http://darkreign.org/article/musings-upon-internal-structure-scholastica-psykana-calixis21-11-2013, and my Psyker has between missions been tutored for the time being by a very thorough and strict Biomancer who is not above punishing wrong answers with the occasional bio-lightning. So, yes, he is used to being treated harshly. Thank you very much in advance, my flat-lining mind appreciates it!

Glad to help @ Darth Smeg. Though I think you'll need to rewrite the Demon Vessel package a bit if you're intending to not let the player know about his predicament, atm the effects are fairly obvious. I'm still battling this problem, so if you are giving the matter some thought anyway, I'd be happy to share your ideas. My first idea is, as mentioned, to camouflage the demonic power as Faith Talent (p. 100 Blood of Martyrs). The PC in question is an Arbitrator-Confessor and follower of the Cult of the Emperor Revenant, and the player intended to buy Faith Talents all along but I didn't let him till now. I remember one scene from Eisenhorn where Cherubael appears as pure white light. I was always fascinated by the seemingly innocent, chaste appearance of a Daemon, and it strikes me as particularly ironic that my oh-so-righteous-and-faithful-confessor should not only carry a demon but that also said demon shelters right under the light he seeks to spread. Only a rough sketch though, need to read throught the Faith and Demon Vessel thingies again...

Ah yes, I knew the Demon Vessel thingy felt somehow familiar - alas, poor Thonius... But that demon was enormously powerful, I remember a scene where Carl uses his powers to destroy a young man in a gory and obvious fashion and Ravenor is sitting by, oblivious, one of the most powerful psykers of all times or what. I agree with SomVone that you'd have to know what you're looking for, but psi-screening after exposure to warp incursion might exactly do that. Ravernor didn't know that Thonius had looked into the corruped glass shard, but my inquisitor knows exactly what the akolythes have been fighting. But well, as a servant of Tzeentch my demon might as well be slippery, cunning and able to avoid detection by constantly changing, me thinks. Have any of you made experiences with the Demon Vessel package? Does it work, rulewise? I'm curious.

Thanks for your suggestions, Saldre! I forgot to mention above, the PC is not a Psyker (but as I understand the RH, the Demon Vessel Package is not limited to Psykers), and right now if he knew he carries a demon inside him he'd kill himself faster than you can spell exorcism, so I am really not going to blow the secret to the player What skill would be used for detecting the demon, just out of interest? Psyniscience? Or is there a special Telepathy power? Well, I'll be going for a mixture of option 1b) and 2), and toying around with the idea of camouflaging the demon's emerging powers with the faith talents the player is planning to buy once he's accumulated enough XP (yes, I'm trying to wear down this PC's faith and confidence in his own righteousness ) Thanks again for your input!

So, one of my PCs managed to get "infected" by a demon of Tzeentch, basically a modified version of the Demon Vessel package on page 66 of the Radical's Handbook, but neither he nor his player know what's happening. However, the PC has been experiencing disturbing dreams lately, and now, worried about them, he has very politely requested an audience with his inquisitor, a skilled Telepath. I am wondering... would a Telepath be able to detect a demon "infection" in a human being? Are there rules for this, what would he need to do? I'd rather keep the demon a secret until later on (the demon vessel is going to play a major role further down the campaign), but for a variety of reasons my inquisitor is very unlikely to turn down the akolythe's request. Any help on this?

Old thread, but anyways. All of the above, plus: Your Psyker-Player seems to be the Munchkin-Type, he's picked all the skills and traits that make him more powerful instead of the ones his Character would choose and could logically aquire. Maye he'd be better off playing Aberrant or Exalted, but as you have settled to playing DH, here's some things you might want to discuss with him roleplay-wise. Templar Calix strikes me as the Jedi of 40k, upright, noble, walking in the light. Sorcery seems to be the vilest, most feared craft a human being can possibly ever learn (if I'm not mistaken, I only know Sorcery from the Radical's Handbook). Why on Terra would a Templar Calix want to be a sorcerer? A player wanting those extremes should at least come up with a very convincing story about the how and why. Same for different branches of Major Psychic Powers. It's hell for Psykers to gain enough control over their abilities to survive Sanctioning, let alone master one of the Major Disciplines. Your Psyker seemingly has at least one Telepathy Power and one Biomancy Power, meaning he has either Mastered one Discipline and moved on to the next or he (again) picked through the Powers, which IMHO should absolutely not be allowed. I played with a munchkin type like that once (not as a GM), always wanted more, more, more, talented in combining seemingly harmless effects for imba impacts, and on top the hell of luck with the dice. Never was happy with the kind of RP the rest of the group wanted to play, dialoge, atmosphere and the like, quit in the end. Maybe you should have a talk with the player about what he and what you do expect from roleplaying, about what being a psyker really means, what he thinks his Character is like, psychologically, not by the rules. And if you find that it's not the thing he's interested in, you should maybe consider having him play a different character (or, hell maybe Exalted, for real). Just my two cents.

hokay, thanks guys. I'll go for the slowing option too. It seems inappropriate for an imperial inquisitor to engage in vanity surgery, so I can actually make our inquisitor the "wise old man" type (seemingly, at least) without bending the rules too much and incuring the grimdarker's anger.

So, during our last gaming session me and one of my players had a little discussion about the above topic, and I'm asking you all for clarification. His point was that, as long as any given individual is subject to Juvenation therapies, its appearance remains effectly frozen at the age the therapy started. So you will never be able to tell the true age of a person who is currently undergoing Juvenation treatment, only maybe the fact that she might do so due some unnatural smoothness of features (much like real life people who have undergone extensive cosmetic surgery). I myself always thought, Juvenation treatment slows the natural ageing process to a creep, so that a person who is about 300+ years old might look like some 80 years. This thesis is mainly assisted by the mention of a lot of old-looking inquisitors in the Eisenhorn and Ravenor books (who on earth would willingly choose to look a hundred years old if it's not necessary?). So, which version is canon, and what happens if a person discontinues Juvenation after using it for some decades? Does he age normally from that point on, or would his real age catch up with him very fast (i.e. most probably leading to his death in a few years)? Thanks for reading and replying!

Without having read the entire thread, how about picking things from your player characters past as sidestorys? Players usually LOVE having a session that revolves almost entirely around their character, when they can shine and really play their part. It makes them feel appreciated by a (most of the time) cruel GM, which overall adds to a good gaming atmosphere. Most player generated preludes offer plenty of hooks for scenario ideas. And as it is personal, the player(s) will be highly motivated to divert from the main quest path.

Ah yes, that part about Lilly’s apartement being raided seems to be missing in my copy (there's a whole passage where two sections from other chapters are somehow fused together, strange enough I’ve not found a functioning copy around…). Makes sense this way. Saul goes missing, she reports it, pokes around too much, raises the wrong kind of attention. The Churgeon sends someone after her, but Lilly (who already is suspicious of her surroundings) decides to wait one more night in her brother’s chamber, hoping for him to come home finally, before she leaves Coscarla. The Snatchers raid her own rooms but don’t find her and return empty-handed. Therefore, the Churgeon sends them back the other night to look for her again, where they (maybe) meet the Akolythes. I think I’ll just leave out the part about Sauls room being broken into. Could be fun for my players to figue out how to get into the apartement without being seen. Thanks a lot for the help! Concerning the opposition: Vehzeel, I have three characters, a feral world assassin, a schola progenium arbitrator and a voidborn psyker. They all have very good attributes and reasonable equip (methinks), and thanks to an infernal luck still have their fatepoints all. The Arbitrator is a tough guy (13W, flak armour and helmet) and equipped with a “St.Varnee's Wrath Handcannon” and a Mark III Lasgun, the Assassin is an Agilty-monster wielding some immense twohanded blade (Fedrid something, don't have the books with me right now), and my Psyker is a non-combattant type who favours tricky powers like Psychic Stench and the like. They are fairly clever and way to careful for my taste, so better to give them something hard to chew on than to bore them, I believe.

Hello everbody. So, I just read Edge of Darkness for the second time and I still can't figure out one point. Maybe it's because my english ist not the best, maybe because there is a garbled passage in my digital copy of the scenario. Haven't found something via Search either, so I'm pretty sure it's a dumb question (sorry for that). Spoiler ahead! What on Terra happened to Saul Arbests living quarters? When the Akolythes are supposed to go there, they find Lilly Arbest hiding in her brother's room and it's been apparently been broken into. She mumbles something about "staying here just one more night, and it saved my life!", and I honestly don't understand what happend or is happening. Did she break into the room? Why should she? How did it save her life, who tried to murder her (she would doubtlessly say something if she had escaped a Body Snatcher attack)? Also, the scenario mentions two Body Snatchers coming after Akolythes who try to stake out the apartements at night, and I fail to see why these should be in the quarters of the Arbests (seeing as Saul Arbest is already gone and Lilly apparently supposed to be dead). I'm honestly a bit lost here, any clarification greatly appreciated. And while I'm at it: Does anybody have some advise for ramping up the opposition (stat-wise) to better fit a group of rank 3 characters instead of beginners? That would be very kind, thanks in advance!

Ah yes, that sounds reasonable. Thanks for the suggestion, I think I will handle it that way. Though, thinking about it, someone hit by two shots from two toxic weapons should actually be poisened twice, which would not work out with this method. But nevermind, I'll get them zerged down anyway

Hello, I've a quick question concerning the same problem: An Assassin has the Dual Weapon Wielder and Dual Shot Talents and is armed with 1) Autogun with a red dot sight (+10 BS to WS) 2) Needle Pistol (Accurate, Toxic), Toxic inflicts additional damage, Accurate increases the bonus from an Aim action by +10 So, if the Assassin Takes a Full Aim he would get +30 when afterwards firing the Autogun (+20 Aim, +10 red dot sight), and also +30 when firing the Needle Gun (+20 Aim, +10 Accurate). What happens if he takes a Full Aim and then shoots both pistols at dual shot? Would he get a total bonus of +40 (+20 Aim, +10 Red Dot from the Autogun, +10 Accurate from the Needle Pistol)? And what happes to the Toxic Damage? As the target gets technically hit I'd say it applies just as if hit on a normal attack. (I've searched the Forum, but I could not find a thread for this particular question, or I've overlooked it.) Any help greatly welcome!

hm, I'd say that depends on what you feel makes DH different from other RPGs, not everyone loves thes same things about one setting, methinks. Edge of Darkness seems fine, I would also recommend (with reservations) Illumination from the Core Rulebook. It is about faith and being blinded by it, so if you like the religious aspect of DH, you might like this. BUT this one needs a lot of homework from the GM to make it logical and interesting (for example, the PCs are sent to investigate but the GM has to come up with all the facts and coherences himself), to keep it from being overly railroading and to add some personality and background to the NPCs, especially Aristarchus. Yet, I have GMed Illumination with a lot of extra work and my group and I really liked it. Plus, its included in the Core Rulebook, so its effectively "free".

Thanks for the lexicanum links, that cleared up a whole bunch of other things, too. And as they write that almost noone ever crosses through Eternity Gate, I guess Santioning does not involve seeing the Golden Throne with one's own eyes.

Hello everyone, I will soon start a new DH group - and possibly a longer campain - but I'm not entirely familiar with the setting, so I just have a few questions for background and a request for inspiration concerning psykers. Where does a Psyker go to after Sanctioning? I understand that all playable Psyker-Characters have been taken to Terra for Sanctioning, and then back again. It's the "back" part that troubles me – do they send the psyker back to where they came from, or just anywhere where they are needed? I.e. does my player's Psyker need to hail from the Calixis Sector, or might he come from anywhere in the galaxy, or is it even common for Imperial Psykers to work where they grew up? The question's background is, the player chose a Rogue Trader origin for his Void Born Psyker, and I will need a Rogue Trader NPC later on (lucky me ), so I thought maybe this would make for an interesting encounter for the Psyker. Only works if it's not completely unrealistic, though. How does a Void Born Psyker from a Rogue Trader vessel get onto a Black Ship? I guess his powers woke up during an emotionally demanding situation (I hope the player will come up with something dramatic, else I have to think of something), but then what? Will the crew capture him, drug him and then set out for a journey to find a Black Ship? These are not famous for travelling fixed and known routes, as far as I know, so how would they find one, and would it even be worth the trouble, wouldn't they rather just dispose of the dangerous individual? What is Terra like? As the most sacred place in the galaxy, I am prone to think of it as some kind of Eden, but as this is the Grimdark™ Future, I'm probably wrong. And, while I'm at it, does Sanctioning involve beholding the Golden Throne and the Emperor in person, or is this reserved for the sacrifice psykers? Adeptus Astra Telepathica and the Scholastica Psykana After a bit leafing through "the Internet" I found that the two words that are more or less used arbitrarily. However, I though that the Adeptus Astra Telepatica are the Imperial organisation responsible for Sanctioning (and that Astropaths are not their only area of influence), while the Scholastica Psycana is the lore of the psyker, so to speak, a credo/science/conditioning concerning Psykers. Is that correct? How does a Psyker meet the Inquisition? Finally, I humbly request a bit of inspiration for bringing my Psyker into the Inquisition. I have a small scene prepared for each character of how they first stumble into one of the Agents and how and why they are picked to serve the Inquisition, because 2/3 of the players are completely new to the setting. But I'm a bit at loss concerning my Psyker, as they are sent from Terra to take up some fairly high ranking positions in Imperial society, as I understand it, and I simply fail to come up with an event that would be small enough for one or two scenes and significant enough to draw the attention of the Inquisition… What kind of job would a Void Born Pyker with a strong will (and probably a tendency to think out of the box and not take authority overly serious) take up anyway? My last resort is that Silvanus was sent to Scintilla specifially to serve the Inquisition and have his first scenes be some kind of trial from his new masters, but that somehow feels dull and as I didn't find anything about the Scholastica Psycana training I would't know how to test him anyway. Maybe someone has a spontanous idea? Thanks a lot for reading and input!