Comissariat: MMUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! BLAM! Attempts to depict His Immortal Majesty's Comissariat in an unfavourable light are tantamount to HERESY! Anyway, I didn't want to sound all condescending, sorry for that. Second language and all that stuff. It's just that the inputs are varying wildly, with some people knowing the crunch intimately, while others arguing based on fluff or even common sense. And then there's me, clogging the tubes

I think all the adversities the Sons of Dorn suffer provide excellent narrative potential for character growth. If I ever make a PC, it will be an Imperial or Crimson Fist, with the High Gothic motto "Palma sub pondere crescit" as his personal heraldry

Welcome aboard! There's a whole supplement on Space Hulks, the Ark of Lost Souls, including a space hulk mission generator; and if you want to surprise your team, you might want to check this thread too: http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/84142-space-hulk-vermin/ What's the composition of your KT?

The group is quite imbalanced - in a team of 4, 3 Marines are melee-orientated, even the Apothecary. Bloody Storm Wardens and their unhealthy obsession with duels. And on top of this, the heavy weapon support is a Tactical Marine, so bonuses apply only to a heavy bolter (using Bolter Mastery), not other heavy weapons. He'll retcon himself to Devastator, and I'll allow it, but I'll still have to both cater to and challenge the choppy characters. To be honest, the flop of the Alpha Legion scenario was probably due to a miscalculation on my part. What I hoped for was epic combat and some limelight for all of the sword-wielders by giving them more or less equal opponents, but it didn't work out as expected. Any ideas where did I make the mistake?

Kinslaying usually is just under heresy in such a tight-knit group as a SM chapter, so their crimes had to be truly outrageous. For massacring cities in misguided zeal - I think a Battle-Brother would rather share his doubts with the Chaplain, especially so in case of the the Templars. Not to mention the flamer - destroying a fellow marine's geneseed suggests something far beyond killing civilians. If I were the player, I'd spin it so that he killed his squad to save them. Maybe some form of possession took them. Maybe they were trapped, and something baleful prepared to destroy their very souls. Go for something very, very sinister and grimdark. The secondment to the Deathwatch might be a punishment for failure, or some sort of personal penitence for the kinslaying, either dispensed by the Chaplain, or chosen voluntarily. It might be a way for the Castellan to get him out of sight until the dust settles, because his new squadmates, not allowed to know the details, were distrustful towards him. It might be, that the being responsible for the incident was heard to be in the Jericho Reach - the Templars are not participating in the Crusade in force, so he was sent to prove the rumours first, and call his vengeful brothers in. In short, I'd make him a tragic figure, haunted by inner demons. He needn't be torn and doubtful, if you want a stereotypical Templar - the incident might even reinforce his hatred and zeal. What do you think?

There is a fan-made Eldar supplement, the Children of Isha, made by a then-FFG freelancer (IIRC), where the Avatar stats are detailed along with major Eldar warrior types. See it here: http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/92294-children-of-isha/?p=916919

There's often no clear consensus, that much is true. What makes it worthwhile, though, is the sharing of experiences - you can float an idea here to see what did and didn't work for others, what consequences a decision might have, and what possible uses or abuses (or, sometimes, well-defined rules) you missed. The rulebooks are not some sacred text, the Comissariat won't chase you down for minor - or, for that matter, major - deviations. If you want the Word of God, there's some form to ask questions directly from the developers, if memory serves right.

I just finished it yesterday, so here are my experiences: -The whole dungeon creep feeling was a success. My players instantly recognised the sleeping metal warriors, and while the characters remained blissfully ignorant to the galaxy-consuming level of danger, the situation instantly became tense. I used periodic tremors, humming noises and described the waking monolith field in detail to add a sense of urgency. -While meeting the Guardian of the Tomb, I sent the scarabs behind them, as Kshatriya suggested. Boy, those faces. -The base requisition is extremely high, and some of it gets spent on unusual items. It's worth to track what toys they have at hand and devise some way to use a few exotic ones. For example, I sent a few Spectral Harbingers in with the scarabs to add some more tension and also to let them use their fancy cluster mines on the corridor walls. -The Alpha Legion encounter didn't work well for me - I pitted 6 Traitors against my 4-strong KT to provide some challenge, and it took very long. The threat level was more or less all right (although next time I will send twice as much Elite as the number of the KT), but to track 10 individual character through rounds and rounds took forever, and the players didn't enjoy it that much, so towards the end the combat devolved to simple number-crunching. I think some variety is needed - a powerful lieutenant, or a heavy weapon team, perhaps?

So I'll run the conclusion of A Stony Sleep, the underwater city, on Sunday. The KT consists of an Assault Marine (Black Templar), Librarian (Blood Angel), Apothecary (Storm Warden) and a Tactical Marine with heavy weaponry (Ultramarine). The map is bordering on the useless, that much I know, so I'll make my own, but is there anything you used to spice the scene up? Any advice?

I feel vast potential for future Funny Stories material What Chapter did you choose? Did you stay with your Space Shark?

An Administratum official is doubtlessly capable of inconveniencing the Tigers. There's a whole scale of escalation, ranging from verbal to something bordering on sabotage, like redirecting orbital civilian traffic or automated bulk transport barges above the Ork-infested area to block it from strikes. He might contact other institutions, too - if there's an ancient shrine to the Emperor on infected ground, a high-ranking family member of the governor or a Rogue Trader supposedly enslaved by Orks, or the planet feeds a nearby Forge World, he can quickly gather allies. The only thing I'm unsure about is who has the authority to declare martial law. The Comissariat surely can, just as high-ranking IG officers, but Astartes? Are they so far removed from the official Imperial procedures, that such a token nod to the bureaucracy doesn't even occur to them? The Astartes, on the other hand, might just simply invite the hapless drone to their strike cruiser for some meeting, and lock him up, until the issue is resolved, or get the IG on their side and let the Administrator complain to an unlucky "liaison between civilian and military authorities."

Your KT went a little overboard with all the "contemptuous of lesser men" thing - I kind of imagine what happens if a Chaplain spots that. Away to the pain glove with y'all!

My group mostly consists of players not intimately familiar with 40K, and sometimes they have similar questions regarding RPG crunch or in-universe lore. Stuff I never thought to question, because I liked it from the beginning. And, sometimes, common sense is on their side - you know, the "hey, that's actually logical, why this has never occured to me" questions. Because of that, the keyword is immersion - whatever helps immersion for them, may come, whatever breaks it, needs to be purged. Since it has been established here that Deathwatch is an actual art form, I feel more at ease now to tweak things a bit.

Thanks for the clarification, herichimo, so the crunch seems to be clear, and there are no additional rules about the topic in the books. It might be worth mentioning, though, that Frenzy prohibits the usage of psychic "techniques", not Psychic Powers, which is likely just an oversight on the writers' part, but it doesn't really make me feel at ease when the underlying logic feels faulty. I'll talk with the player before deciding, because the house rule appears to be both more logical and more entertaining, and the whole issue will be moot in a few sessions anyway - Mental Rage is available at level 1 for Blood Angels, after all.

I like horrendously dangerous. Rolling effects are so much fun, and the only time my lib lost control resulted in a very anti-climatic "all the escaping heretics around you just forgot where they left their car keys" effect. I think the abilities of a frenzied librarian are not necessarily damped, he just finds it bordering on the impossible to focus and shape them. On the other hand, I aim to retain the in-universe consistency, even at the price of making house rules, so right now it's either both bonuses and energy channelling (without Mental Rage compulsorily at Push level, meaning Psychic Phenomena rolls) applying, or neither. And, of course, the dangerous option is winning

Technically, it is made possible by a "psycho-reactive crystal" - the very same crystal which focuses the warp energy for additional damage. So it would be an acceptable answer to say that the intense blood-lust drowns out the minute psychic resonance between the crystal and the mind of the wielder. That's my dilemma: how far the blanket ban on "psychic techniques" extend? I actually like Avdnm's second proposition: allow it, but make losing control dangerous. Edit: The way I interpret the fluff, if you change the attributes of a real-world object with your mind, it is a psychic phenomenon. If the only criterion is being "attuned" to the weapon, anyone could get the bonus for any regular sword if wielded long enough.

Sounds cool - you should write that up in details in the Funny Stories thread. I know I'd like to read it

Well, apparently Frenzy is how the Blood Angels' Red Thirst manifests in the crunch. Librarians might be more resistant and disciplined, but they're by no means immune. And it provides a neat contrast with the regular angelic image, just like in the fluff in general, so I support it. Not to mention that I'm planning to test the Librarian's willpower from time to time, when the combat is particularly gory, to see whether the Red Thirst takes him. And yes, there's a Templar in the party. Fun times await. That's a good point, I agree with the reasoning. And if he does it once while frenzied, I might actually force him to try it again and again in the next rounds, because he cannot stop. I better have the Daemon Prince stats ready.

I have a Blood Angel Librarian in the party, The character recently obtained the Frenzy talent, and I need some help to clarify some minute details. The description of Frenzy (Core Rulebook, p. 119) says this: Unless the character has a Talent that allows him to do so, he may not use Psychic Techniques whilst in Frenzy. Now it is clear enough that using Psychic Powers while frenzied is out of the question, until Mental Rage, the talent specifically allowing this, is on the character sheet. It is easily justified in fluff, too, because mindless frenzy and the immense concentration needed to shape the energies of the Warp don't go well together. But where is the limit of conscious action, and where does instinct take over? So in case of a Librarian force weapon user, is he allowed to: a) take the test to "channel psychic force and killing will into the blade" for extra damage? I'm on the fence about this - psychic force seems to be banned by Frenzy, but it's all about killing will. So does this action constitute as a Psychic Technique? b) add the Psy Rating Bonus to the Force Sword's Damage and Penetration? I found no background for this in crunch or fluff, so I have no idea. It would seem weird, though, to see a Force Sword working only as a simple sword in the hand of a Librarian. The bottom line probably is the following: How much, and what parts, of this psychic action are conscious? I want to ban all conscious psychic actions, until prerequisites are met, and allow the instinctive ones. And, of course, what is the definition of Psychic Technique? Do you have any advice to offer?

Well, most writers (and players) are human, so there's no escaping that. Otherwise your character seems well thought-out. That might give some pointers to the OP's player. It is always easier to GM for people with a clear idea in mind about who their character is and what makes him work.

It is actually a fair approximation. You know, I did a few years of fencing myself in grade school - that is how I was able to explain to the players how it works. I had beautifully executed attacks parried by the opponent if I was a bit too slow or too predictable, and the other didn't even had to be a better fencer than me. It's not a counterattack, it's just somehow ruining your opponent's plans. It's always easier to destroy than to plan and build. Not to mention that it's friggin' rare to block an attack with your own sword outside movies - even fencers rather just step aside, and if you have a shield - well, that's the whole point of shields. Or pauldrons, come to think of it. I wouldn't block a sharp thing with my own sharp thing, or it quickly stops being sharp. Dodging bullets is a bit more complicated, and I think here the GM too has to get a bit more creative with the NPCs. If someone stands out in the open and starts blasting away at you, you probably have some small chance to jump aside, but shooters should do their thing smartly - try to get the characters caught in crossfire, or just shoot and move away when sniping. I guess my point is that superior fighters show their superiority by choosing time, terrain, circumstances, weapons or (in our case) combat action better. A dice roll is the ultimate oversimplification, and I prefer pitting two combat actions against each other to pitting two dice rolls against each other. Hey, look how filthy Genestealers provoke almost philosophical musings. Nice.

I'll gladly and proudly take part in the eternal ruination of the Space Sharks if it means some official GW fluff will include a Futurama reference. Is this the first step on the road to corruption? I better report to the nearest Comissar... Check the Black Crusade Core Rulebook (or the Master Bestiary, here). It has some vicious chain weapons to use as a starting point. On the other hand, chain dagger. Anyway, Chain Axe or Halberd might work, and if you really, really want to go for overkill, check the Eviscerator stats. The thing is, chain weapons usually have the Tearing quality. I don't know how well does it work with Razor Sharp. The Eviscerator was the only man-made weapon where I found them paired. Any thoughts on this?

Gentlemen, I present... the Reverse Scuba Suit, Winner of the Prize of the Academy of Inventors in the long-gone Year 3000. Perhaps the blueprint survived in an STC? Anyway, a relic chain-axe sounds correct fluff-wise. Basically any melee weapon enabling epic rip & tear could work here.

There is some slightly far-fetched but interesting speculation on 1d4chan about them being loyalist Night Lords successors. The official fluff offers no support for this theory, but there are quite a few uncanny resemblances, so you might take Night Lords gear and weaponry, remove the whole "death is nothing compared to vindication" part, double the already existing "terror and brutally overwhelming force" pattern, and your Carcharodon relic is ready to go.

You can look into some Polynesian lore, too, for fluff inspirations. Space Sharks are already described as having pacific tribal face tattoos. And Maori warriors, for example, were quite big on the "make an ambush and leave no survivors" idea (to avoid the whole ritual blood vendetta cycle). The extremely limited resources of some Pacific islands led to some wholesale slaughter quite often. Weapon-wise they were big on spears and wooden clubs, sometimes lined with shark teeth, so a bolter relic might not be a good fit, but I'm behind the idea of a shark launcher.