DH: A Future, Severed - Discussion/Recruitment

[Dosjetka]

++ Dark Heresy Campaign: A Future, Severed ++

+ A discussion and recruitment thread +

Deatrix Cestelle, head of the influential Braunvieh Guild on the feudal world of Zillman's Domain, is found hacked apart in her office late one night with little motive to justify such a brutal murder. The prime suspect is nowhere to be found and the generous use of industrial-grade desinfectant on the crime scene has kept the local investigators from drawing any solid leads. The case has caught the eye of the Adeptus Arbites and, for reasons yet unclear, the Inquisition is gathering assets on the Domain. You are one such asset and it is your duty to uncover the thread of truth from the fabric of deceit and lies, uncover what sinister plot hides behind what appears to be just another crime among countless others.

Welcome, Acolyte.

This thread is to serve as the recruitment and character concept discussion for the proposed game of Dark Heresy (1st Edition).

Dark Heresy: A Future, Severed is the first scenario of a campaign for three to six players that focuses more on investigation than combat, though there will be some deadly action to keep you engaged and on your toes. After all, in the 41st Millennium, the possibility of a violent death lurks at every corner.

The investigation will begin with your characters deployed to the town of Mital-Dorw situated in the northern reaches of Zillman's Domain, a low-tech feudal world where the legitimacy of the king is ensured by his possession of a working lasgun and where accidental visitors often end up burned at the stake for using even the most basic forms of technology. The game is set in 998.M41 in the Calixis Sector, a year before the 13th Black Crusade and the cataclysmic events of the Fall of Cadia and the Cicatrix Maledictum.

For character creation, you may pick any home world/origin (including those found pp. 21-25 in The Inquisitor's Handbook, for example) and choose any career with the exception of Grey Knight. If you wish to create an Adepta Sororitas character, you must follow the career options in The Inquisitor's Handbook and not those in Blood of Martyrs.

In principle, you may select any Background Package and Alternate Career Path as long as your character meets the prerequisites, though I'd appreciate folks letting me know first that way I can check that it all fits together properly and will know what to expect/plan for in future investigations.

The game will begin with all players writing a brief intro to how their characters ended up catching the eye of the Inquisition and their journey to Port Vegmund, the gateway into Zillman's Domain. If you're interested in joining the Inquisition as a lowly Acolyte, bringing the perpetrators of this brutal crime to justice, and bringing the secrets hidden behind the curtain to light, go ahead and post below, including any character concepts you may have started working on.

[Mazer Rackham]

Wow, Dark Heresy!

 

Will keep an eye on this for sure - good luck with the game and happy playing!

 

MR.

[A.T.]

Always interested in some Dark Heresy.

 

Had thoughts on a darkholder techpriest, a few generations separated from the word of the mechanicum aboard a drifting starship, though perhaps a bit sociopathic for an investigation.

At the other end of the character scale a discordant hive scum is all kinds of trouble waiting to happen.

[Steel Company]

Very interested, but keep me in mind as a filler player if needed.

[Xin Ceithan]

Good to see you around, Dos ! 
Gosh, so many games and so little time... I would also like to give the new blood some room to shine first, but will certainly follow this.

[Morovir]

Would it be considered grossly inappropriate to resurrect Dariel Krell almost five years on?

[Trokair]

If I had not already committed myself to two other games (and potentially running one myself, the last day has been a rush!) I would be interested in having a go. Good luck and if one of the other games does not work out I’d happily join in here if there is room at that point.

[Dosjetka]

Wow, Dark Heresy!

 

Will keep an eye on this for sure - good luck with the game and happy playing!

 

MR.

Cheers, Mazer! And thanks for providing the template for my intro post. :tu:

 

Always interested in some Dark Heresy.

 

Had thoughts on a darkholder techpriest, a few generations separated from the word of the mechanicum aboard a drifting starship, though perhaps a bit sociopathic for an investigation.

At the other end of the character scale a discordant hive scum is all kinds of trouble waiting to happen.

Might be a tad too sociopathic though I'm sure we can make it work if that's what you'd like to go with. Not sure what a "discordant" Hive Scummer is: is that also a background package?

 

Very interested, but keep me in mind as a filler player if needed.

Will do, SC! :tu:

 

Good to see you around, Dos ! 

Gosh, so many games and so little time... I would also like to give the new blood some room to shine first, but will certainly follow this.

Thanks, Xin! I hope you'll enjoy watching from the shadows and perhaps you'll join us in the future at some point. :)

 

Would it be considered grossly inappropriate to resurrect Dariel Krell almost five years on?

Not at all if that's what you'd like, Morovir!

 

If I had not already committed myself to two other games (and potentially running one myself, the last day has been a rush!) I would be interested in having a go. Good luck and if one of the other games does not work out I’d happily join in here if there is room at that point.

Cheers, Trokair! :tu:

[A.T.]

Might be a tad too sociopathic though I'm sure we can make it work if that's what you'd like to go with. Not sure what a "discordant" Hive Scummer is: is that also a background package?

From the lathe world book, discordants are a walking jinx on technology. They can't use bionics but things like scanners also have trouble picking them up, and they can sometimes short out things if they can touch them.

 

The darkholder tech priest has the angle of straying from the dogma of the cult without being a radical. There are options to take basic social skills for tech priests in the lathe book, though the combination of darkholder and factor would be a little unconventional - perhaps an inquisitorial thing.

[TechCaptain]

Hmm I haven’t played Dark Heresy before what would you think of helping me build a lone Lunar Venatorii for this?

[Xin Ceithan]

Thanks Dos! I enjoy the diversity DH  brings to developing characters, so this is going to be fun at any rate.

[Dosjetka]

Just as a heads-up, I've lowered the necessary number of players to three because there's no reason it couldn't work with just three characters. :)

 

Might be a tad too sociopathic though I'm sure we can make it work if that's what you'd like to go with. Not sure what a "discordant" Hive Scummer is: is that also a background package?

From the lathe world book, discordants are a walking jinx on technology. They can't use bionics but things like scanners also have trouble picking them up, and they can sometimes short out things if they can touch them.

 

The darkholder tech priest has the angle of straying from the dogma of the cult without being a radical. There are options to take basic social skills for tech priests in the lathe book, though the combination of darkholder and factor would be a little unconventional - perhaps an inquisitorial thing.

 

Thank you for the extra details! A Discordant Hive Scummer would be interesting to play from a narraive perspective in the first scenario: Zillman's Domain barely has any technology on it. This would potentially be the first time your character doesn't mess something up and can find a degree of peace with themselves?

 

I'm personally not really feeling the other option but I in no way want to stop you from playing a character you want to play, so the decision is yours. :)

 

Hmm I haven’t played Dark Heresy before what would you think of helping me build a lone Lunar Venatorii for this?

I can try, but only if you let me know what a Lunar Venatorii is first. ;)

 

Thanks Dos! I enjoy the diversity DH  brings to developing characters, so this is going to be fun at any rate.

I do hope so! That's the aim in any case. :)

[A.T.]

Thank you for the extra details! A Discordant Hive Scummer would be interesting to play from a narraive perspective in the first scenario: Zillman's Domain barely has any technology on it. This would potentially be the first time your character doesn't mess something up and can find a degree of peace with themselves?

 

I'm personally not really feeling the other option but I in no way want to stop you from playing a character you want to play, so the decision is yours.

In terms of keeping both options open until more of the group is formed (I prefer to avoid doubling up) -

 

Hive Scum - a child of Scintilla, where craft and firepower are more valuable than coin. For those that displease the machine spirits of the forges and manufactora there is no chance of productive life in service of the Emperor, and none are more forlorn of the spirits than Sketch. Condemned to a the life of a scavenger and petty thief Sketch's fortunes were unpredictable at best, yet somehow time and again he escaped where others did not and the hands of purges by gangs and arbites alike as if fate offered him some respite for the life he had been dealt, until the conspicuous absence of a recorded presence in the wake of his actions caught the eye of the inquisition.

 

Techpriest - the Vanguard of Contrition, Repulsive class grand cruiser. 8 kilometres long, over 100,000 souls, lost over three millennia. When recovered by the Imperium the descendents of the crew existed as disparate tribes warring for control of the vessels vast cloud mining facilities and scant access to power and hydroponics. Amongst these were the the remnants of the mechanicum, fervently devoted to the maintenance and protection of the vessels archaotech reactor and life sustaining systems at any cost. Deemed to have strayed too far from the omnissiahs light by the explorators of the Imperium the remnants of the mechanicus onboard were purged but amongst the other tribes given over to the inquisition for judgement stood one unnoticed by the tech priests but not the inquisition, an infiltrator of calculated cunning and resourcefulness, and ultimately lone survivor of the Vanguard.

[TechCaptain]

Lunar Venatorii are Storm Trooper Grade Imperial Guard Regiment whose specialty is Cavalry. Usually bikes but they made their name from the few Wyrm Riders they have. ( I am not suggesting a Wyrm Rider.) Anyways they have close ties to the Mechanicus as their secondary specialty is they have small units of Electronic Warfare techs. ( One of my old jobs in the military.)

 

What I am purposing enough is a simple (relatively) Operator of that Regimentos who specializes in information gathering.

[Dosjetka]

 

Thank you for the extra details! A Discordant Hive Scummer would be interesting to play from a narraive perspective in the first scenario: Zillman's Domain barely has any technology on it. This would potentially be the first time your character doesn't mess something up and can find a degree of peace with themselves?

 

I'm personally not really feeling the other option but I in no way want to stop you from playing a character you want to play, so the decision is yours.

In terms of keeping both options open until more of the group is formed (I prefer to avoid doubling up) -

 

Hive Scum - a child of Scintilla, where craft and firepower are more valuable than coin. For those that displease the machine spirits of the forges and manufactora there is no chance of productive life in service of the Emperor, and none are more forlorn of the spirits than Sketch. Condemned to a the life of a scavenger and petty thief Sketch's fortunes were unpredictable at best, yet somehow time and again he escaped where others did not and the hands of purges by gangs and arbites alike as if fate offered him some respite for the life he had been dealt, until the conspicuous absence of a recorded presence in the wake of his actions caught the eye of the inquisition.

 

Techpriest - the Vanguard of Contrition, Repulsive class grand cruiser. 8 kilometres long, over 100,000 souls, lost over three millennia. When recovered by the Imperium the descendents of the crew existed as disparate tribes warring for control of the vessels vast cloud mining facilities and scant access to power and hydroponics. Amongst these were the the remnants of the mechanicum, fervently devoted to the maintenance and protection of the vessels archaotech reactor and life sustaining systems at any cost. Deemed to have strayed too far from the omnissiahs light by the explorators of the Imperium the remnants of the mechanicus onboard were purged but amongst the other tribes given over to the inquisition for judgement stood one unnoticed by the tech priests but not the inquisition, an infiltrator of calculated cunning and resourcefulness, and ultimately lone survivor of the Vanguard.

Either character concept sounds good; looking forward to seeing what you finally settle for.

 

Lunar Venatorii are Storm Trooper Grade Imperial Guard Regiment whose specialty is Cavalry. Usually bikes but they made their name from the few Wyrm Riders they have. ( I am not suggesting a Wyrm Rider.) Anyways they have close ties to the Mechanicus as their secondary specialty is they have small units of Electronic Warfare techs. ( One of my old jobs in the military.)

 

What I am purposing enough is a simple (relatively) Operator of that Regimentos who specializes in information gathering.

I'm currently sorting out my Dark Heresy library and then I'll get to work on creating a suitable framework for the character role/career you'd like to play.

 

When you say you'd like your character to specialise in information gathering, I'm assuming you'd like a character knowledgeable in SIGINT (COMINT/ELINT, with the latter of the two being the easiest to recreate in Dark Heresy as far as I can tell) given your personal background? Or would you like something closer to CYBINT?

[Mazer Rackham]

 

When you say you'd like your character to specialise in information gathering, I'm assuming you'd like a character knowledgeable in SIGINT (COMINT/ELINT, with the latter of the two being the easiest to recreate in Dark Heresy as far as I can tell)? Or would you like something closer to CYBINT?

 

 

I got most of those.  Was waiting on HUMINT, I would have shouted 'House'! 

 

MR.

[Dosjetka]

TechCaptain: Got working on the groundwork for the custom career path for your character. You can find a PDF file of what I have so far here. Your, and anyone else's, thoughts and ideas are welcome.

 

MR: I would've added HUMINT if it were relevant to the character but I don't think it is.

[A.T.]

TechCaptain: Got working on the groundwork for the custom career path for your character. You can find a PDF file of what I have so far here. Your, and anyone else who's interested enough to have a look, thoughts and ideas are welcome.

The verispex adept from the book of judgement may be of interest? They specialise in scholastic lore with a side of tech and logic, and have access to the tech use skill to use the vox-thief (signal intercept) from the inquisitors handbook.

[Dosjetka]

The issue with the Verispex Adept, in my view, is their very scholastic/academic background and their specialisation in forensics. In my experience, a military intelligence agent undergoes basic training like any other trooper and then specialises in collecting intel. There is some overlap with forensics but I'd wager that's once you've been working at collecting intel for a few years.

 

Still, the suggestion is appreciated, AT. Allows me to better define the career path and differentiate it from the other available ones out there.

[TechCaptain]

Thanks guys for this lively discussion. I am loving this, This is perfect for one’s whose background is Vox Adept as I call it. And Dos you hit it pretty right on the head. I like the idea of Vox Thief, but yea that probably should be someone with some experience. You can include cybint if you think it’s appropriate, as I have a background between all that. But K have been Comms, Int, and Engineering for well over 15 years so..... yea I have had a lot of jobs. Anyways, do you know of skills in the counter side as well like jamming, and hiding ones signals? The fact you made that first cut so quickly is impressive to me.

 

I am willing to change or give up any of below, the lore behind it is they are the elite of my subsector so get the best, especially since they come from a moon that trains Scions and have connections to Mechanicus.

Below is what I originally described their standard issue uniform:

Anti-Wicking Body Suit that extends up to jawline

Flak-Weave Combat Pants

Armored Gloves and traditional Cavalry Boots

Over these clothes are Carapace chest, back, and shin plates

Over the Carapace is a Flak-Weave Duster Coat w/ rank epaulets

Covering the head is a enclosed Rebreather Mask and traditional Cavalry Hat w/ rank braids

Over the Duster Coat is a Gear Bandolier w/ power packs, combat knife, frag grenades, uplifting primer, combat rations, and medical supplies

Standard-issue weapon is a Mjorn Pattern M24 Hellpistol in thigh holster

[A.T.]

The issue with the Verispex Adept, in my view, is their very scholastic/academic background and their specialisation in forensics. In my experience, a military intelligence agent undergoes basic training like any other trooper and then specialises in collecting intel.

True. I'd originally been looking at the arbitrator background on that front as they are capable in combat but have a build much better suited to the intel side of things than the guardsmen (like a cheap INT advancment and suitable skills - security, scrutiny, tech use, etc)

[Dosjetka]

Thanks guys for this lively discussion. I am loving this, This is perfect for one’s whose background is Vox Adept as I call it. And Dos you hit it pretty right on the head. I like the idea of Vox Thief, but yea that probably should be someone with some experience. You can include cybint if you think it’s appropriate, as I have a background between all that. But K have been Comms, Int, and Engineering for well over 15 years so..... yea I have had a lot of jobs. Anyways, do you know of skills in the counter side as well like jamming, and hiding ones signals? The fact you made that first cut so quickly is impressive to me.

Jamming and hiding ones signals would likey be an opposed Logic Skill test between your character and whoever's signal you're trying to jam or whoever is trying to uncover your transmissions. There isn't any other skill that would come close to what you're describing, as far as I can tell.

 

I am willing to change or give up any of below, the lore behind it is they are the elite of my subsector so get the best, especially since they come from a moon that trains Scions and have connections to Mechanicus.

Below is what I originally described their standard issue uniform:

Anti-Wicking Body Suit that extends up to jawline

Flak-Weave Combat Pants

Armored Gloves and traditional Cavalry Boots

Over these clothes are Carapace chest, back, and shin plates

Over the Carapace is a Flak-Weave Duster Coat w/ rank epaulets

Covering the head is a enclosed Rebreather Mask and traditional Cavalry Hat w/ rank braids

Over the Duster Coat is a Gear Bandolier w/ power packs, combat knife, frag grenades, uplifting primer, combat rations, and medical supplies

Standard-issue weapon is a Mjorn Pattern M24 Hellpistol in thigh holster

While I appreciate you wanting to play a character drawn from a regiment of your creation, please remember that this game is happening in the Calixs Sector. That entails that your character is either far from home and most likely without the usual support and equipment they would usually have OR you create a similar regiment but with a less elite feel that feels more at home in the kind of low-level scenario we'll be starting out with (remember that the Dark Heresy system allows and indeed strongly encourages you to build up an elite-feeling character over time as you acquire XP, skills, loot, and cold hard cash).

 

With that made clear, let's look at your list.

• "Anti-Wicking Body Suit that extends up to jawline" -> falls under the item "Uniform (Good Quality Clothing)" in your starting gear;
• "Flak-Weave Combat Pants" + "Armored Gloves and traditional Cavalry Boots" + "Over these clothes are Carapace chest, back, and shin plates" + "Over the Carapace is a Flak-Weave Duster Coat w/ rank epaulets" + "Covering the head is a enclosed Rebreather Mask and traditional Cavalry Hat w/ rank braids" -> that seems like a lot of armour for someone who spends a lot of time indoors in front of the 40k-equivalent of a computer and radio equipment letting off large amounts of heat: in my experience as a signals officer, we don't wear any sort of armour indoors and even when we go outside, it's minimal. We can see about giving your character a flak vest but that's about it;
• "Over the Duster Coat is a Gear Bandolier" -> bandolier and duster coat would fall under the "Uniform" designation, as would pouches and such
• "w/ power packs, combat knife, frag grenades, uplifting primer, combat rations, and medical supplies" -> forgot about the Primer, the knife is in your starting gear, as is one power pack if you choose the laspistol, grenades will need to be purchased with your starting money, can give you combat rations as part of your starting gear, medical supplies I'm a bit weary to give out and usually requires specialised training to be effective;
• "Standard-issue weapon is a Mjorn Pattern M24 Hellpistol in thigh holster" -> I can see about giving your character a few hot-shot packs for a regular laspistol or coming up with a type of hellpistol that doesn't give you too much of an advantage in early firefights.

Now, to reflect the elite nature of your regiment, we can give your character the Schola Progenium origin. If you're not familiar with what that is, Lexicanum has a reasonable good overview of it here.

 

The issue with the Verispex Adept, in my view, is their very scholastic/academic background and their specialisation in forensics. In my experience, a military intelligence agent undergoes basic training like any other trooper and then specialises in collecting intel.

True. I'd originally been looking at the arbitrator background on that front as they are capable in combat but have a build much better suited to the intel side of things than the guardsmen (like a cheap INT advancment and suitable skills - security, scrutiny, tech use, etc)

 

They are indeed. I would have suggested that you perhaps create a third character concept for an Arbitrator but, if I remember correctly, Morovir's character is an Arbitrator so there'd be considerable overlap between the two which is something you seem keen to avoid (and rightly so).

[TechCaptain]

I am perfectly fine with him having lost most of his armor and the rest of the notes there. It helps me shape his background. As for the moon to fall among the stars and all that. I ask since he is limited to the equivalent of a flak vest I was thinking a beat up flak weave duster coat would work? And he is basically working with what he can scrounge or buy which is great. I am keeping the cowboy theme lol. And I am so glad to be talking to someone familiar with the field. And your right he would have been mostly indoors ( though in this case in a specialist vehicle of said equipment.)

[Dosjetka]

Armour-wise, how about a flak vest (covers body with 3 points of armour) and a leather duster (which covers body, legs, and arms with 1 point of armour, but will be ignored if you sustain damage to the body as armour doesn't stack in DH and the best armour value is used)?

 

And while yes, in our day and age, signals specialists are usually in either bunkers or vehicles, I think for the purpose of our game and the setting your specialist will have the majority of what they need on their data slate and will use that to hook up to whatever local vox unit their is until they can acquire one for themselves. How does that sound?

[TechCaptain]

Like you read my mind. I was trying to figure out how to ask lol. Warrant Officer Nphrean Gown is coming to life as a sole survivor of his regiment in the sector. Thanks man. ( I use warrant ranks to differentiate between line officers and tech officers.