RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to Game Proposals, Input, and Advice

13:09, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Warhammer 40K RP.

Posted by Cataclysm
Cataclysm
member, 29 posts
Mon 15 Apr 2019
at 03:42
  • msg #1

Warhammer 40K RP

So this is just an attempt to gauge interest in the genre on this site.  I have not been active here for close to 5 or 6 years.  I have a very spotty history running 40K games which was it's trademark essentially.  As I recall, interest would be massive for the onset of a game and then it would quickly taper off to death within a month or two afterward.  Literally every 40K RP board was like this for a while when I was active here.

Are there still WH40K players around even?  I haven't kept up with the genre at all.  Anyways, if there happen to be, chime in please.  I'm considering starting up something taken out of my ample notes from previous work.  It would follow one of 3 possible paths.

1. Straight up Dark Heresy 2nd Edition - Dark Pursuits/ Desolation of the Dead/ Forgotten Gods - This was a serious campaign I pumped some time into right when 2nd edition came out.  The campaign I ran IRL went for 6 months, my attempt online sucked.  2 people went awol after 2 weeks and it just sputtered and I stopped giving a _____ after that.

2. Rogue Trader - This is a mess of a headache to prepare and run but I am extremely partial to the Frozen Reaches campaign.  Get down to the nuts and bolts, design the starship together, figure out the roles together.  Roll dice to see who gets to be the most mutated, jacked up wierdo of the bunch?  (My bet's on the astropath)

3. Deathwatch - Super space marine game?  Surprisingly not as convoluted as DH or RT combined.  Space marines are big dumb hack and slash robots that don't need a lot of story... BUT... how cool would it be if there was a deathwatch game that had an arc similar to the cinematic style of Aliens or Predators.

If you are a willing and able 40K player which would you rather have?  I'm talking long run, though.
kbdevil1a
member, 164 posts
Mon 15 Apr 2019
at 04:19
  • msg #2

Warhammer 40K RP

My first choice would be Dark Heresy, after that Rogue Trader, then Deathwatch, but I'd be happy to play in any of them!
Luctius
member, 12 posts
Mon 15 Apr 2019
at 11:43
  • msg #3

Warhammer 40K RP

I would also be happy to play any of them.

That said I think I prefer Dark Heresy and Deathwatch over Rogue Trader with published adventures. In my mind Rogue Trader deserves a more free-form approach.
Hatten
member, 217 posts
I'm sorry,
what?
Mon 15 Apr 2019
at 12:26
  • msg #4

Warhammer 40K RP

I'd love to play some Dark Heresy, but in this particular case I've already read the published adventure with the intent of running it myself so there's no mystique left in it. If you make something else, then I'm on board with that. Rogue Trader is great fun, and I haven't read any of those adventures but it is, as you say, hardest to run, especially with pbp.
Arbentur
member, 127 posts
Mon 15 Apr 2019
at 14:56
  • msg #5

Warhammer 40K RP

Haven't done much DH2.0 but both it and RT would be the sort of games that I would go for before a Deathwatch game.  DW can work in the same way OW can but you need better crew than if you were running OW.  OW is easy cause lives are supposed to be expendable so if people drop the game?  So what recruit conscript more just like the Imperium does to bolster the ranks.

I'm going tangential though.  I'd enjoy all three but lean towards the first two.
Alectai
member, 379 posts
Mon 15 Apr 2019
at 21:41
  • msg #6

Warhammer 40K RP

There's always a goodly amount of interest in 40K RPs, the issue is staying around.

That being said, my preference is for RT or DH2.  Ideally, I'd even like to try the new Wrath and Glory game too, but I'm not sure there's enough supplementary material there yet to work.
Retias
member, 215 posts
Tue 16 Apr 2019
at 08:12
  • msg #7

Warhammer 40K RP

I'd express interest in a Rogue Trader game, certainly. The lore is good fun, but the mechanics can be a touch unwieldy at moments. I'm wondering if you might have dabbled in the Fate system? It offers a lot of narrative elements, and, for me at least, feels like a very streamlined system.
kbdevil1a
member, 166 posts
Tue 16 Apr 2019
at 08:23
  • msg #8

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Retias:
the mechanics can be a touch unwieldy at moments


Yeah that's my concern with RT as well

Alectai:
I'd even like to try the new Wrath and Glory game too


I'm definitely interested in Wrath and Glory, unfortunately I don't have the rules yet
This message was last edited by the user at 08:25, Tue 16 Apr 2019.
jamat
member, 582 posts
P:5 T:7 W:0 F:0 B:3
Tue 16 Apr 2019
at 10:45
  • msg #9

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Reading wrath and glory at the moment really solid rules and has a great 40k feel to it
Cataclysm
member, 30 posts
Wed 17 Apr 2019
at 04:11
  • msg #10

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Awesome!  Good to see a decent amount of interest here.  Seems like the lean is towards DH with a good amount for RT as well (maybe tweaked a bit to make it less burdensome and non published sandboxish play).

quote:
I'm wondering if you might have dabbled in the Fate system?


Years ago.. barely dabbled with it.  Using it to supplement an RT game is something I'd consider but I'm still just toying with ideas right now.  It's on the table though.

quote:
Reading wrath and glory at the moment really solid rules and has a great 40k feel to it


I'm going to have to check it out.  I haven't heard anything about it until now.

As stated, I'm well out of practice but I moved recently and have all my books and old campaign stuff scattered in stacks around my desk in a sort of standby until I could start throwing time into it.

Honestly, the only reason I'm considering a published hook is because it sets the game up quick and dirty.  I covet the books for source material and embellish as needed, letting the arcs be character driven.  Fresh takes are always more work so for me it's trying to find that balance.

Question for all of you in general:  Have any of you come across any exceptional approaches to running either DH or RT on play by post that just improve the quality of the game?  House rules, erratas, optional tables, clever mapping or use of imagery, etc?  I'm always looking for things like that.
Arbentur
member, 128 posts
Wed 17 Apr 2019
at 13:14
  • msg #11

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Using a published module tends to let you get into the meat of the game quickly and that helps mitigate some of the join and drop syndrome from waiting too long to get things going.  Even if you only use part of it to segway into your own direction.  Sometimes it can pigeon-hole you because of how it is designed in setup but usually you can make tiny adjustments that don't negate the adventure at the start.

Though of course if you have a full fledged setup in your mind then you won't need the published stuff at all unless you just like the story it tells and want the PC's to go through it as a primer/basis for things going forward.

In either case though it's generally better to have a setup where if the players don't post anything after a set time you advance things as if they stood around being dolts.  Sometimes the simply act of regularity keeps them posting as well...worked well enough with an Only War game I was in for close to three years.
Hatten
member, 218 posts
I'm sorry,
what?
Wed 17 Apr 2019
at 13:26
  • msg #12

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Especially seeing quite a few familiar names here, I'd love to do some games.. Even if I'm predisposed to Dark Heresy, and I'd definitely play the published games if that helps.
Arbentur
member, 129 posts
Wed 17 Apr 2019
at 13:30
  • msg #13

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Been awhile hasn't it Hatten?

Only other good suggestion I have is if you do RT think of it more like an Ascension game...there is a lot of perceived freedom and it can make a game stall.  Long as everyone keeps moving the game keeps going.  If the mass isn't moving, have the RT make a call and it happens.  If the RT is quiet and the underlings are proactive they can move things forward too.  Ultimately though the power is in the RT hands.
kbdevil1a
member, 167 posts
Wed 17 Apr 2019
at 15:03
  • msg #14

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Yeah the problem with some of the previous 40k games I've played is that they never really got off the ground, and I think a published investigation could definitely help with that, so I certainly have no problems there
Alectai
member, 380 posts
Thu 18 Apr 2019
at 00:46
  • msg #15

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Agreed, DH2 is better than DH1 I think for the purposes of 'investigation' type games, but DH1 has a lot more content released over the years it was a thing.
GhostShipBlue
member, 126 posts
Punk rock joy!
Molotovs in stemware.
Thu 18 Apr 2019
at 19:16
  • msg #16

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

My preference is DW but I'm fine with BC, OW or RT too. DH is all right but I have yet to see an investigative game work well as PbP.
This message was last edited by the user at 18:12, Fri 19 Apr 2019.
Alectai
member, 381 posts
Thu 18 Apr 2019
at 22:43
  • msg #17

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Yeah, mystery games are hard to do online.
Cataclysm
member, 31 posts
Wed 24 Apr 2019
at 04:00
  • msg #18

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Dark Heresy game will be ready for applicants in a few days.  Thanks for the feedback all, cheers.
jamat
member, 585 posts
P:5 T:7 W:0 F:0 B:3
Wed 24 Apr 2019
at 20:13
  • msg #19

Re: Warhammer 40K RP

Look forward to applying
Sign In