Only War Introduction (Pre-Game Topic)

[Trokair]

26 minutes ago, Mojake said:

I won't force you to take what I rolled for you...

 

7, 3, 5, 5, 4, 18, 14, 9, 11

I asked for stats and these are the stats I got, fair is fair (even if the dice gods are having a laugh, for that has a total of 76). 

 

Edit, applied the 1 reroll to the 3, got 15, so thats nice.

Edited 16 hours ago by Trokair

[Machine God]

15 minutes ago, Trokair said:

I asked for stats and these are the stats I got, fair is fair (even if the dice gods are having a laugh, for that has a total of 76). 

Remember that they start at a base of 20. 

 

 

Better yet buy some new D10's and segregate then from your old ones. 

 

Or roll 9x D20 

 

Or allocate points. 

 

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Machine God
Other methods

[Mazer Rackham]

Drop the lamp pack and re-equip the drop harness, and I think that's a pretty good set.

 

Gives Blackjack a nice armour option to fall back on.

 

EDIT:

1 hour ago, Necronaut said:

Fortunately for @Lysimachus, as a weapons specialist his character comes with a built in gun-caddy. To wit:

 

*Pulls meltagun from rucksack*

 

....and instantly becomes encumbered, meaning he takes -10 to the shot to kill the tank, fails and gets crushed.

 

RIP Bagger Vance. 

 

Those changes made drop the PBI down to 23-25 Kilos. Should be in spec for that 5-Iron now...

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Mazer Rackham

[A.T.]

15 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Result = Massively encumbered at SB+TB (6), SB/TB (7) required (45kg).

 

Regular specialists can get their comrade to carry some of their gear (it's an actual talent in the game).

 

Speaking of which - for the generic guardsmen how are we currently looking in terms of specialities? Do we think we'll need an operator at some point?

[Necronaut]

1 minute ago, A.T. said:

 

Regular specialists can get their comrade to carry some of their gear (it's an actual talent in the game).

 

Speaking of which - for the generic guardsmen how are we currently looking in terms of specialities? Do we think we'll need an operator at some point?

 

An operator or medic would round things out nicely in my opinion, unless we wanted to go extra hard in the paint as far as dakka, then a heavy weapons bro would be quite appropriate.

[Lord_Ikka]

Going to be down again today as Nurgle's Blessing has returned, but looks like Medic is wanted? If do, I'll roll him up probably Wednesday if everything works out. 

[Mazer Rackham]

Just to add a caveat, if you take the Stub weapons, you need to also take the Training. Most of the Specialists have Las OR SP Weapon Talents, and if you don't use your starting XP to buy them, you're stuck carrying a weapon you're using at -20.

 

 

[Machine God]

Remember that Talents have Prerequisites. 

 

Maks has a better Perception than his Agility so I wanted get him Combat Sense, but as he only has 23 Perception I had to give him Quick Draw. 

 

 

 

[Trokair]

I think I have made my character as far as I can aside from XP spend and the additional regiment equipment as that has not been finalised.

 

A few questions at this point.

• I assume the Ripper Gun comes with one full clip of Ammo in it; do I start the game with any additional clips?
• I have added weight to all Items that I could find with a weight listing; do I assume the remainder have negligible weight for carrying/encumbrance?
• Ogryn do not start with Weapon Training Low-Tech, Do I need it to use the Ripper Gun in melee (uses stats for warhammer)?
• I assume that most of the general kit comes in a ogryn variant so that I can use them (uniform, etc), as for the weapons & equipment (lasgun, krak grenade, lascutter) that Ogryns can’t use do they go into squad supply or what do I do with them?

 

 

Also a few GM requests please.

 

1. Can the Mono edged (from hardened fighters) starting knife have the Ogryn-proof quality applied for it for Por, just so he can use it.

 

 

2. The companion, Jarrow, in the original conception was a phantom/imaginary/some such that only Por sees/interacted with. Perhaps a trooper (or a composite of several) that he severed alongside of who has died (and Por does not know), or got deployed elsewhere (and Por does not know) etc, you get the idea.

 

Por thinks Jarrow is his friend and if asked where Jarrow is will reassure the asker that Jarrow will be right back, just running an errant for the Commissar (or some other plausible reason to not be there right then and there).

 

Mechanically he is a companion and dose all that companions do, but fluff wise he is not their but Por thinks he is. Any mechanical interaction of Jarrow with the game/other players etc happen, but the fluff explanation is always something that fits with Jarrow not existing, so for example if Jarrow mechanically carries something then perhaps Por put it in his bag but forgot, or if Jarrow mechanically opens a door then perhaps it was any other player/comrade that was nearby but Por thinks it was Jarrow etc

 

Would this be ok with you? If not I can run Jarrow as a flesh and blood comrade, I just like the idea of a phantom comrade to keep Por company.

 

 

3. Por currently has a movement of 2/4/6/12 (due to Ag14 due to low initial roll and Ogryn -10) the +1 on the movement chart from Size is the only thing preventing Por from being movment 1/2/3/6.  Would you give me either 1 or 6 extra points in Ag to either make reaching Ag bonus of 2 easer (ie only a simple advance away, some point in the future when I can afford it*) or reach it straight up so that after the Size modifier his movement is 3/6/9/18 so that he does not lag behind the team. Willing to take a reduction in stats elsewhere to compensate if required.

 

*With the Starting XP I can’t buy even the simple AG advance, let alone the intermediate.  

 

[Trokair]

12 minutes ago, Machine God said:

Remember that Talents have Prerequisites. 

 

Maks has a better Perception than his Agility so I wanted get him Combat Sense, but as he only has 23 Perception I had to give him Quick Draw. 

 

Related to this, dose the Talent prerequisite waiver (page 73) on character creation also apply to talents from regiment, doctrines and so on or only for talents from speciality.

 

28 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Just to add a caveat, if you take the Stub weapons, you need to also take the Training. Most of the Specialists have Las OR SP Weapon Talents, and if you don't use your starting XP to buy them, you're stuck carrying a weapon you're using at -20.

 

 

In light of that do is our equipment spend back to this:

 

Microbead (8)
Chrono (2)
Grapnel & Line (5)
Laspistol Sidearm (5)
Common to Best Flak Armour (10)

[Mazer Rackham]

23 minutes ago, Trokair said:

I think I have made my character as far as I can aside from XP spend and the additional regiment equipment as that has not been finalised.

 

A few questions at this point.

• I assume the Ripper Gun comes with one full clip of Ammo in it; do I start the game with any additional clips?

 

Yes, Page 1, FAQ. You get three magazines.

 

23 minutes ago, Trokair said:

• I assume that most of the general kit comes in a ogryn variant so that I can use them (uniform, etc)

 

Yes. Orgyn sized Flak, uniform etc.

 

23 minutes ago, Trokair said:

•  as for the weapons & equipment (lasgun, krak grenade, lascutter) that Ogryns can’t use do they go into squad supply or what do I do with them?

 

All the stuff goes into your locker.

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Mazer Rackham

[Mojake]

22 minutes ago, Trokair said:

I assume the Ripper Gun comes with one full clip of Ammo in it; do I start the game with any additional clips?

 

Specialist weapons come with 3 magazines total.

 

22 minutes ago, Trokair said:

I have added weight to all Items that I could find with a weight listing; do I assume the remainder have negligible weight for carrying/encumbrance?

 

If you can sense-check that the items seem negligible in weight then I'm happy for you to assume that. Do you have any examples?

 

23 minutes ago, Trokair said:

Ogryn do not start with Weapon Training Low-Tech, Do I need it to use the Ripper Gun in melee (uses stats for warhammer)?

 

Anything from your starting talents don't need to have prerequisites. It uses the stats for a Warhammer in melee but is still a heavy weapon which you're trained in - you're good.

 

27 minutes ago, Trokair said:

I assume that most of the general kit comes in a ogryn variant so that I can use them (uniform, etc), as for the weapons & equipment (lasgun, krak grenade, lascutter) that Ogryns can’t use do they go into squad supply or what do I do with them?

 

Correct that things are sized to you, I'd say that the weapons however would be replaced by your Ripper. The Departmento wouldn't issue lasguns and cutters to an Ogryn.

 

29 minutes ago, Trokair said:

Can the Mono edged (from hardened fighters) starting knife have the Ogryn-proof quality applied for it for Por, just so he can use it.

 

That's fine by me.

 

30 minutes ago, Trokair said:

Would this be ok with you? If not I can run Jarrow as a flesh and blood comrade, I just like the idea of a phantom comrade to keep Por company.

 

It's a cool idea and I'm okay with it, but the thing I'm struggling with is it effectively makes an invincible Comrade. Every time you're hit, your Comrade takes the hit on a double, or is hit with blast weapons. So I'm not sure how it would work WRT taking damage/moving through health states. If you have any ideas I'm all ears?

 

34 minutes ago, Trokair said:

Would you give me either 1 or 6 extra points in Ag

 

I'm happy for you to start on 15 Ag since you rolled so badly - can say that he has a twisted ankle or something for mission 1 

[A.T.]

As a thought - snipers doctrine for regimental rivalry, with the triplex as our regimental weapon rather than the longlas.

 

Gives an all ranges boost and adds a bit of spice to the downtime depending on the regiment chosen - perhaps we don't like the tempestus (Iconoclasts and all) or a more local rivalry based on homeworld clans (deployed together as one world despite local inter-fighting)

[Mazer Rackham]

On my crusade to make everyone more miserable, I have complied this:

 

Ruck/Sling bag	2
Mess Kit	0.5
Canteen	1
Sleeping Bag	1.5
Blanket	1
Tools	1.2
Lamp Pack	0.5
Grooming Kit	0.3
Rations (1 Week)	3.5
Uplifting Primer	0.2
Dog/Holotags	0.1
Poor Weather Gear	0.5
Total:	12.3

 

The weights are Kilos. Poor Weather Gear is 0.5 because it's a Poncho. A poncho liner would add roughly 0.5 again. A parka or Goretex coat with a liner would be closer to 2.0 all in, by my reckon.

 

As with any sane individual, this doesn't have to be carried around at all times, we strip out what we want for the mission.

 

Edited 10 hours ago by Mazer Rackham

[Machine God]

2 hours ago, Trokair said:

 

3. Por currently has a movement of 2/4/6/12 (due to Ag14 due to low initial roll and Ogryn -10) the +1 on the movement chart from Size is the only thing preventing Por from being movment 1/2/3/6.  Would you give me either 1 or 6 extra points in Ag to either make reaching Ag bonus of 2 easer (ie only a simple advance away, some point in the future when I can afford it*) or reach it straight up so that after the Size modifier his movement is 3/6/9/18 so that he does not lag behind the team. Willing to take a reduction in stats elsewhere to compensate if required.

 

 

A characteristic is a total of 2D10 and then adding 20, to get something between 22 and 40. 

 

So did put in a roll of 4 add it to 20 to get 24 and then subtracted 10 for being an Ogryn? 

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

@Trokair for Throne's sake, lad, take these dice:

 

36, 37, 33, 32, 32, 33, 34, 32, 24

 

GM hasn't forced those others on you, and you're breaking your bonce over them, so just have these, ok?

 

@Machine God Not to put words in Tro's gob, but I'm sure he knows what he's doing by now. 

[Trokair]

2 hours ago, Mojake said:

If you can sense-check that the items seem negligible in weight then I'm happy for you to assume that. Do you have any examples?

 

For the following standard kit items I could not find a weight listing. Given the earlier point by Mazer about weight limits I was double checking everything.

 

• One uniform
• One set of poor weather gear
• One rucksack or sling bag
• One set of basic tools
• One mess kit and one water canteen
• One blanket and one sleep bag
• One grooming kit
• One set of cognomen tags or equivalent identification
• One primer or instructional handbook
• Combat sustenance rations, two weeks’ supply

 

I know it matters less for an Ogryn character as they naturally have more carry capacity, but still wanted to check.

 

Also I see Mazer had a go at home brewing some reasonable weights for these (or if they are from the books could you point at where, just out of curiosity as I though I had looked thoroughly)

 

 

2 hours ago, Mojake said:

Correct that things are sized to you, I'd say that the weapons however would be replaced by your Ripper. The Departmento wouldn't issue lasguns and cutters to an Ogryn.

 

Good to know, will remove Lasgun, krak grenade and lascutter from sheet.

 

 

2 hours ago, Mojake said:

That's fine by me.

 

Thank you.

 

 

2 hours ago, Mojake said:

It's a cool idea and I'm okay with it, but the thing I'm struggling with is it effectively makes an invincible Comrade. Every time you're hit, your Comrade takes the hit on a double, or is hit with blast weapons. So I'm not sure how it would work WRT taking damage/moving through health states. If you have any ideas I'm all ears?

 

As he exist mechanically any time he would take damage I’d mark it on the sheet. Fluff wise I’d say that Por gets concerned or agitated when he thinks Jarrow might have gotten hurt, such as from a blast, and if Jarrow ‘dies’ then maybe he goes quiet/away fluff wise (and non functional mechanically obviously) until a new comrade can be acquired, and then Por can see Jarrow again, thinking that Jarrow recovered from his wounds or some such.

 

Mechanically Jarrow functions like any comrade, including leaving cohesion at times if the situation calls for it. For example if everybody is going into a dark/cramped space Por as an Ogryn might refuse due to ‘Its Dark in There’ but Jarrow as a normal human (to Por) would have gone inside and was now out of cohesion.

 

Sound ok?

 

 

2 hours ago, Mojake said:

I'm happy for you to start on 15 Ag since you rolled so badly - can say that he has a twisted ankle or something for mission 1 

 

Thank you.

 

 

44 minutes ago, Machine God said:

So did put in a roll of 4 add it to 20 to get 24 and then subtracted 10 for being an Ogryn? 

 

Exactly, could have fixed it with the one reroll, but used it instead on the lowest stat which was a roll of 3 on BaS.

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Trokair
Edit, so sorry, forgot the Balistic Skill apreviation issue again, have ediedted to BaS. I will learn one of these times, honest.

[Mojake]

On 5/9/2026 at 7:22 PM, Mojake said:

Regiment Name: ???

Regimental Insignia: ??? (a description is fine)

Regiment Background: ???

• Why was it raised?
• What are their beliefs?
• What state are they in?
• What is the commander's name?
• What does the uniform and/or armour look like?

Squad Designation: ???

Favoured Basic Weapon: ???

Favoured Heavy Weapon: ???

 

Any more thoughts on the bits on orange in the above, folks? I think meltagun and autocannon was thrown around for favoured weapons, but there wasn't too much discussion on them.

 

I think it could be a good idea to have a linguistic touchstone for names of the locals of Mirabor, perhaps one for the settlers and one for the natives - although the latter being similar to Aztec is working quite well. If we come up with a relatively consistent naming convention, I'll flesh out the CO.

 

I was thinking about the regiment name; since we've thrown around the idea that the great-grandparents' generation are settlers from an old Guard unit, and the planet being sparsely populated, it makes sense to have had roughly 5-10 foundings since Mirabor was settled based on the manpower tithe and one or two emergencies. So perhaps something like the 8th Mirabor Rifles (or Mountaineers). I reckon the regiment was raised as part of the planet's tithe, but where the campaign starts is up for debate - are we relatively green, or have we seen our fair share of action and have been re-ordered into a new squad to bulk out losses?

 

@Trokair:

 

r.e. equipment, the rules state that an average character can reasonably carry their weapons, ammunition, and "several pieces of miscellaneous equipment in a rucksack, satchel, or similar container" without issue, and that you only need to calculate exact weights when a character attempts to carry unusually heavy loads (like three heavy weapons and thousands of rounds of ammo). Because the items you listed are everyday bits and bobs that are worn or in a backpack, they can fall under the assumption of what an average soldier can reasonably carry into the field, i.e. don't worry about it 

 

Happy with your justification for Jarrow, it's a fun idea and looking forward to seeing it!

[Mazer Rackham]

23 minutes ago, Trokair said:

Also I see Mazer had a go at home brewing some reasonable weights for these (or if they are from the books could you point at where, just out of curiosity as I though I had looked thoroughly)

 

Some of it's off a fan compilation of stuff, some of it is guesswork, estimating IG canteens may be Imperial Quart (0.91kg).

 

Blackjack will want a second canteen, probably.

[Trokair]

 

1 hour ago, Mojake said:

I was thinking about the regiment name; since we've thrown around the idea that the great-grandparents' generation are settlers from an old Guard unit, and the planet being sparsely populated, it makes sense to have had roughly 5-10 foundings since Mirabor was settled based on the manpower tithe and one or two emergencies. So perhaps something like the 8th Mirabor Rifles (or Mountaineers). I reckon the regiment was raised as part of the planet's tithe, but where the campaign starts is up for debate - are we relatively green, or have we seen our fair share of action and have been re-ordered into a new squad to bulk out losses?

 

How about: 8th Mirador Mountainbreakers, speaks to both origin in mountains and being sappers.   

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Trokair
Spelling

[Lysimachus]

I like it, but teeny tiny nitpick - Mazer's suggestion was Mirador, not Mirabor.

 

I both prefer the sound of it with the 'd', and I like the meaning he mentioned for a Frontier World - a lookout or watchtower?

 

 

[Mojake]

13 minutes ago, Lysimachus said:

I like it, but teeny tiny nitpick - Mazer's suggestion was Mirador, not Mirabor.

 

I both prefer the sound of it with the 'd', and I like the meaning he mentioned for a Frontier World - a lookout or watchtower?

 

Right you are, not sure when I let that mistranslation slip thorough.

[Machine God]

55 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 

Some of it's off a fan compilation of stuff, some of it is guesswork, estimating IG canteens may be Imperial Quart (0.91kg).

 

Blackjack will want a second canteen, probably.

 

A British Quart (2 Pints or 40 fluid ounces) is the equivalent of 1.136 Litres. 

 

 

 

[Lysimachus]

1 hour ago, Mojake said:

 

r.e. equipment, the rules state that an average character can reasonably carry their weapons, ammunition, and "several pieces of miscellaneous equipment in a rucksack, satchel, or similar container" without issue, and that you only need to calculate exact weights when a character attempts to carry unusually heavy loads (like three heavy weapons and thousands of rounds of ammo). Because the items you listed are everyday bits and bobs that are worn or in a backpack, they can fall under the assumption of what an average soldier can reasonably carry into the field, i.e. don't worry about it 

 

 

Does that mean I don't need to go through and add up Cal's stuff? He hasn't got anything that isn't his standard weapons/gear?

 

Secondly, does that mean we dont need to upgrade our Flak armour to Best in order to wear it? The extra point of AV is nice, but it's a massive chunk of that 30 points...

 

 

Edit: Re weapons, I might leave his laspistol and clips in his locker anyway? He's got a lasgun for long range, melta for up close, and machete for CC. No dual wielding skills, so the pistol is largely useless at the moment anyway?

 

 

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Lysimachus

[Trokair]

2 hours ago, A.T. said:

As a thought - snipers doctrine for regimental rivalry, with the triplex as our regimental weapon rather than the longlas.

So second Drawback to get Marksman and +2 BaS and swap the M36 Lasgun (and its variable mode) from Line Infatry for a longlas? Not sure where the triplex is comming from? Or was that meant as a (with GM aprovale) substituion for the Longlas and M36 Lasgun.

 

The benefits are nice, however Necro, Ikka and yourself are the ones most affected by a default weapon swap if I have evrybody’s role down right. 

 

 

2 hours ago, A.T. said:

Gives an all ranges boost and adds a bit of spice to the downtime depending on the regiment chosen - perhaps we don't like the tempestus (Iconoclasts and all) or a more local rivalry based on homeworld clans (deployed together as one world despite local inter-fighting)

 

If that is not going to get us shelled by our own side then maybe its fine. I am a little vary though of taking drawbacks if we don’t desperately need the extra points.