Keep yer shirt on there, sparky. No need to get buttmad. I would say that that belongs either in the realm of Skillchecks, or under Heavy Weapons; most of the Heavy Weapons in the line are already functionally stationary - it's just that people staring at the tables never notice (or care). And they're all sorted under heavy weapons (Lascannons, Heavy Bolters and the like). Here's your post right here. Look at what you said about them being functionally stationary. As well as your claim that people never notice or care about them being "functionally stationary". That's crazy talk. With Blackbone Bracing and some Synthmuscle and/or power armour, even the weediest of gits can enjoy the benefits of running around with an assault cannon.* *I take no responsibility for characters vuilt with rolled stats. By pure RAW, this is true, but as soon as you take weapon descriptions and narrative into account... not so much. Which was my only point. Here's your second claim, that them not being portable is only true in RAW, but not in descriptions and narrative. So could you try and simmer down and behave a little more civil now, please?

I'm not sure what there is to be misunderstood here. You claimed that Heavy weapons are "functionally stationary", as in unable to be man-portable. This with the implication, I might add, that players who don't have the same opinion as yours are clearly misreading the rules/the fluff. Magellan proved you wrong by the actual rules. You then claimed that their entries in the book backed your fluff assertion up, again with the implication that it was only by RAW that Magellan was right. I then proved that statement of yours wrong by quoting the book. What exactly are you failing to understand here?

Then pray tell, what did you mean by "functionally stationary" and by so casually disregarding all evidence to contrary?

Wouldn't getting the passive scanners from Hostile Acquistions do the same thing, tho?

That's crazy talk. With Blackbone Bracing and some Synthmuscle and/or power armour, even the weediest of gits can enjoy the benefits of running around with an assault cannon.* *I take no responsibility for characters vuilt with rolled stats. By pure RAW, this is true, but as soon as you take weapon descriptions and narrative into account... not so much. Which was my only point. I would say that that belongs either in the realm of Skillchecks, or under Heavy Weapons; most of the Heavy Weapons in the line are already functionally stationary - it's just that people staring at the tables never notice (or care). And they're all sorted under heavy weapons (Lascannons, Heavy Bolters and the like). That's crazy talk. With Blackbone Bracing and some Synthmuscle and/or power armour, even the weediest of gits can enjoy the benefits of running around with an assault cannon.* *I take no responsibility for characters vuilt with rolled stats. By pure RAW, this is true, but as soon as you take weapon descriptions and narrative into account... not so much. Which was my only point. So then, looking in Rogue Trader Core! "Man Portable Lascannon Built for war, lascannons use huge power packs that provide enough energy to punch holes in the thickest armour even at extreme ranges. Lascannons also require separate power packs, which is why they are often crewed by two or more people." "Heavy Bolter (Solar-pattern ) Heavy bolters are a common heavy weapon in the armed forces of the Imperium. Used for anti-infantry and support rolls, they can lay down impressive swathes of fire, able to slaughter enemy troopers and destroy light vehicles with their explosive armourpiercing rounds. Each uses much larger versions of the standard bolt shell with more propellant and greater range. Like all bolter weapons they require careful and regular maintenance, along with ancient litanies to appease the weapon’s spirit. Jamming is often a problem due to their high rate of fire, and when used in two-man teams the loader can expect to be clearing shells as well as loading new ammunition packs or feed belts." We see here to references to what you speak of. "...they (Lascannons) are often crewed by two or more people." "...and when used (meaning Heavy Bolters) in two-man teams..." If it had meant always, it would have said always. Since it says often, it means that Lascannons sometimes aren't used in two-man teams. So there's nothing saying they're not man-portable. In fact, that's right in its name. So the Lascannon can be used by a lone, moving person so long as he has the Strength to carry it. Furthemore, the Heavy Bolter only states that the Heavy Bolter can be used in two-man teams, not that it must be. Ergo, it can be used by a lone man if he meets the Strength requirements. To summarize? It is extremely impolite, nay, downright rude, to make things up on the spot, Fgdsfg. I think you should stop doing that.

Not to mention that this is exactly what the Bracing action is there for. Which, mind you, can be fixed quite easily with the talent Bulging Biceps or, as Magellan pointed out earlier, Blackbone Bracing.

I run 2 RT games currently, One action oriented, and one that's much more scheming and manipulative. The action-based one sees a fight every .. few game session, but around half of those are ship-battles. The scheming one hasn't seen a fight in i while now. They usually avoid or outsmart their )prospective) opponents. The fights they have been in have mostly been ship-to-ship, and repairs are expensive. Intrigue and no assassination attempts? Seriously? No hidden snipers, no poisoned drinks, no bombs on the Command Throne? Yeah, I just don't see intrigue without moments of artfully orchestrated murder every now and then.

That's crazy talk. With Blackbone Bracing and some Synthmuscle and/or power armour, even the weediest of gits can enjoy the benefits of running around with an assault cannon.* *I take no responsibility for characters vuilt with rolled stats. By pure RAW, this is true, but as soon as you take weapon descriptions and narrative into account... not so much. Which was my only point. So if we look at this narrativly then, as you seem so fond of, what exactly is stopping ol Slab Bulkhead, Arch Militant, from carrying his Assault Cannon if he has both the know-how to use it and the muscle to carry it and its load of ammo?

GM Fiat is used in the sense that it is being used to put arbitrary restrictions on players' in-character behaviour and liberties. That is, the GM's interpretation on how certain characters can and cannot act is being used as some sort of balancing act for overpowered Space Marines. In other words, bad GMing. What? According to what, where? Because I double-checked Black Crusade just to make sure, and I'm sure that they were Hulking in size in Deathwatch. That said, even if what you are saying is true (which would be weird as hell; I feel like I'm in some kind of parallel universe where things don't make sense and the ignorant are ganging up on me... nevermind, that's the regular universe) it still wouldn't change the fact that there's no way a Space Marine, as described, could pass as human. So how are they any more different than any other mutant character with the Brute mutation in Rogue Trader? Just call the Space Marine your mutated, moronic manservant if nothing else. Or just, yannow, use the Disguise skill to help pass him off as a tall human. First of all, saying "I can't see any fluff where they took off their armor!" is not a compelling argument for arbitrarily preventing players from using different kinds of gear. I've seen no fluff of a Techpriest making use of a Eldar Starcannon stapled to his Leman Russ. Should I then stop the Explorator from such an act? I've also seen no fluff for a Rogue Trader in power armour, should I then stop the RT from using a suit? Not the same argument at all? How so? Arbitrary restrictions placed upon player behaviour as a result of my interpretation of the fluff. Now, as for your points... 1. See above. 2. I have not done the math for this, so I will conceede this point. 3. Again, the debate has never been about the Space Marine being overpowered against the NPCs. Never. He's overpowered compared to the rest of his party. Anything an Arch Militant can do, a Space Marine can do better. 4. Contrast is all fine and dandy, but it'd kinda suck to the rest of the party when they're stuck being completely redundant in combat... and then suck for the Space Marine when he's completely useless the rest of the time.

First of all, the problem was never to challenge the Space Marine. The problem was making sure that he did not completely and utterly outshine the party in every single way when it comes to combat. That is to say, making the other classes redundant in combat. Second, I quite fail to see how your characters can stand up to Space Marines. How exactly do they contend with his truckload of Unnaturals, for example? Furthemore, why in the blazing heck would a Space Marine not be able to acquire Rogue Trader gear such as RT Lascannons, Autocannons, etc? Sure, he might not get Deathwatch stuff, but what's preventing him from acquiring gear from the normal book? Do the markets suddenly close because they're selling to an Astartes? And if so, what's to stop the RT from acquiring that gear for himself... and then handing it to the Space Marine?

The problem is more along the lines of pretty much every single party member being rendered useless in combat because, well.. the Space Marine is just that much better than them. What do you fancy the Arch Militant doing, for example?

I did a rather insane build inspired by Metal Gear Rising's very own Senator Armstrong. After talking it over with my GM, it was decided that with Best Quality powerfists and Concealed Weapon Bionics from Inquisitor's Handbook, he'd allow me to use metal hands for normal use while also being able to turn them on for good ol' punching. As we house-ruled it that Unwieldy weapons could not Swift Attack, it's not the best of weapon choices. But with all the damage bonuses from upgrades, frenzy, etc, it comes out that he really only needs to hit once to take care of most foes. I do the same thing with my Lady-Admiral (self-proclaimed) Amaretto. Rogue Trader career, of course. She totes around with two BQ plasma pistols, though I am hoping to add a lot more stylish gear to the list once I manage to make those acquisitions. BQ Las-Gloves (lady gloves that shoot lasers!), Melta-rings (so chic!) and more. My self-imposed restriction is that I only allow myself to use weapons I consider befitting of a lady, so there's a lot of unnecessary demands for Best Quality! But then again, I'm quite sure she'd rather than die than be caught looking unstylish.

I find it rather ironic that most people seem to act as if out-of-character knowledge (Emperor was psyker) is something that the average joe, let alone anyone, actually knows about.

So, can anyone tell me roughly what the Beastmaster does? What does it add to the table that a normal Survival/Wrangling test doesn't cover?

Except the glorious, glorious Soul Ward discipline. Yeah, the Navis Primer really didn't have anything for Astropaths. One alt career in the whole thing. Not much at all. Except the glorious, glorious Soul Ward discipline. Emperor be praised for that one.