Mister Monster's Workshop

Tag: Dark Heresy

  • The Imperial weisenheimer

    The Imperial weisenheimer

    I still haven’t finished any of the remaining Aberrant books. I started on Underworld just to see if it was any easier than Player’s Guide, and it was, a little, but not enough to let me get through more than a third of it. I am so done with this game, I kid you not…

    I have, on the other hand, started sketching out my next Dark Heresy port in a little more detail. I give you, The Adept! I think here I have come up with a reasonably workable way of presenting someone whose superpower is to know a lot of stuff without having to turn each one into a separate move, Corruption has also been personalised so that each Career moves towards a different tragic end, but in a way that hopefully feels cool and flavourful instead of being a chore.

    We’ll see how the rest turn out – I’m sketching on The Arbitrator now.

    THE ADEPT

    Origins:

    [ ] Forge World
    The hyper-competitive environment fostered by the Tech-Priests taught you that academia is just another form of war. You can spend 1 Righteous Fury to get +1 forward to any Analytical roll.

    [ ] Imperial World
    As a scribe for the Administratum, you have a thorough understanding of the logistical underpinnings of the eternal war effort. You gain the Subject: War for your Common Lore move.

    [ ] Schola Progenium
    At the Schola, you were submitted to the rigours of a classical education. You gain the Subject: Philosophy for your Common Lore move.

    Starting moves:

    [X] Common Lore
    Choose 1 Subject from the list below, and also gain Imperium as a Subject. When you encounter one of your Subjects (your decide), tell the GM which weighty tome you once read something related to the situation in, and in what way the author of said volume was biased, sloppy, or otherwise not entirely reliable. Then ask the GM a question pertaining to the Subject and situation. The GM tells you the answer insofar as you would reasonably know it, keeping in mind the flaws of your source.

    • Adeptus Arbites
    • Administratum
    • Astromancy
    • Bureaucracy
    • Chymistry
    • Ecclesiarchy
    • Imperial Creed
    • Heraldry
    • Legend
    • Machine Cult
    • Occult
    • Tech

    [X] Researcher
    When you can use a library to research a topic, you are considered to have access to every Subject the library covers for purposes of using the Common Lore move. However, searching a library takes a while – the GM decides exactly how much, but certainly more than the mere seconds to recall something you already know.

    Basic moves:

    [ ] Attentive
    No detail, however insignificant, is beneath the notice of a true bureaucrat. Increase Intuitive by 1.

    [ ] Brilliant
    Your rational mind is honed to perfection. Increase Analytical with 1.

    [ ] Common Lore: Well-Read
    Requires Common Lore. Choose 2 additional Subjects for your Common Lore move.

    [ ] Common Lore: Scholar
    Requires Common Lore: Well-Read. Choose 2 additional Subjects for your Common Lore move.

    [ ] Contempt for the Flesh
    When you endure the effects of heat, cold or fatigue, roll +Disciplined instead of +Unyielding.

    [ ] Delver Into Forbidden Lore
    Requires Forbidden Lore. When you can use a library to research a topic, you are considered to have access to every Subject the library covers for purposes of using the Forbidden Lore move.

    [ ] Forbidden Lore
    Choose 1 Subject from the list below. When you ask a question about one of your Subjects, you gain 1 Corruption Point and the GM tells you what you might reasonably know. She then asks you what tale of horror you encountered this blasphemous fact in.

    • Cults
    • Heresy
    • Inquisition
    • Mutants

    [ ] Gopher
    When you fearlessly advance on the direct orders of a theoretical superior, roll +Disciplined instead of +Fierce.

    [ ] Logical Extrapolation
    When you assess the available facts, roll +Analytical. 10-14, you make an educated deduction about something interesting that has previously happened in this place,. 15+, the same, and the GM also tells you where and how you might try to learn more about it.

    [ ] Medicae
    When you provide medical care, roll +Analytical. 9-, you clean the injuries, but that’s all you can do without more expert help or more advanced facilities. 10-14, the patient immediately heals 1d5 Wounds. No further uses of this move is possible on the patient until they have either taken or healed at least 1 Wound. 15+, the same, but the patient heals 1d10 Wounds.

    [ ] Mind Like a Fortress
    Increase your Corruption Limit by 3.

    [ ] The Men of the Mind
    When you command their respect towards scribes, bureaucrats or scholars, roll +Analytical instead of +Charismatic.

    [ ] Speak Language
    When you hear a strange tongue for the first time, roll +Analytical. 9-, the language or dialect is unknown to you. 10-14, thanks to your studies, you can communicate a bit awkwardly in the language or dialect. 15+, you speak the language or dialect like you were born to it.

    [ ] Stickler
    You are a slave to proper procedure. Increase Disciplined by 1.

    [ ] Unremarkable
    When you stay beneath notice by mindlessly carrying out dreary, time-consuming tasks, roll +Disciplined. 7-9, clear an Exposure box, but without something to occupy your mind with, it strays to dangerous topics. Gain 1 Corruption Point. 10+, the same, but you fill your mind with nothing but servile piety and escape Corruption.

    Advanced moves:

    [ ] Armour of Contempt
    When you roll to gain Corruption Points (NOT when you gain a fixed number of them), reduce the result by 2.

    [ ] The Art of War
    You line up a shot with the same care that you apply proper punctuation. Increase Precise by 1.

    [ ] Common Lore: Walking Encyclopedia
    Requires Common Lore: Scholar. Choose 2 additional Subjects for your Common Lore move.

    [ ] Common Lore: Savantus Supremus
    Requires Common Lore: Walking Encyclopedia. Choose 2 additional Subjects for your Common Lore move.

    [ ] Cross-Disciplinary
    Select an Advance from another Career.

    [ ] Forbidden Lore: Dangerous Obsession
    Requires Forbidden Lore: Unhealthy Interest. Choose 1 additional Subject for your Forbidden Lore move.

    [ ] Forbidden Lore: Unhealthy Interest
    Requires Forbidden Lore. Choose 1 additional Subject for your Forbidden Lore move.

    [ ] Its Gates Locked and Barred
    Requires Mind Like a Fortress. Increase your Corruption Limit by 3.

    [ ] Lecturer
    You have learned that people are more likely to listen to your rants if you make them interesting. Increase Charismatic by 1.

    [ ] Master Chirurgeon
    Requires Medicae. When you provide medical care, the patient heals 2 Wounds more than indicated.

    [ ] Practical Application
    Select an Advance from another Career.

    [ ] Pragmatic
    A rational person takes whatever path promises the greatest probability of success. Increase Treacherous by 1.

    [ ] Scurrying Rat
    Requires Gopher. When you circumvent a threat by staying out of sight and relying on little-used paths, roll +Analytical instead of +Treacherous.

    [ ] Sound Constitution
    Increase your Wound Limit by 3.

    [ ] Total Recall
    Requires Brilliant. You can perfectly memorise large swaths of information. You can always ask the GM for any detail of your past life experience, no matter how seemingly trivial or irrelevant at the time. If given a few moments, you can completely memorise maps, lists, documents, etc, and later examine them at your leisure from memory.

    Corruption moves:

    [ ] Blasphemous Insight. Your thoughts have escaped the safe confines of Imperial thought, proving you with flexibility of thought at the cost of growing corruption. When you apply your intellect, you may choose to take +1 forward to the roll at the cost of gaining 1 Corruption Point.

    [ ] Powerful Secrets. Your study into esoteric knowledge has allowed you to kindle the natural psychic ability of all humans. Choose 2 Minor Psychic Powers from the Imperial Psyker’s list. You can activate them at the cost of gaining 1 Corruption Point per activation. When doing so, you must chant and gesture in a way that anyone even slightly knowledgeable will recognise as sorcerous.

    [ ] Thirst for the Unholy. Every taste of the terrible truths of the world renews your will to go on even as it damns your soul. When you roll to gain Corruption Points (not when you gain a fixed amount of them), hold Righteous Fury.

    [ ] You can no longer resist the temptation to use the secrets you have learned. You immediately attempt an ill-fated sorcerous invokation that gets out of control and rips open a hole into the Warp, into which you disappear screaming never to be seen again. Make a new character.

  • Fiddling with Talents

    Fiddling with Talents

    This week, I have been working on my Dark Heresy port. I’ve decided that I’m mostly satisfied with how the rules work, but they need to be easier to look up. Since the system is so based on slight upgrades to existing abilities, it leads to a lot of flipping back and forth through files to figure out what a character is even capable of. That won’t do.

    The approach I decided on is to make each player’s character sheet less of a copy-paste from the rules and more something you build up according to the rules. That way, you can ignore all the rules that don’t affect that particular player, and concentrate on what applies to them, personally.

    So I’ve been writing the basic moves up like this:

    When you show healthy paranoia, roll +Perception. 10-14, you achieve a Minor Success. 15-19, you achieve a Basic Success. 20+, you achieve a Major Success.
    • Minor Success: if you are in some sense in danger at the moment, you sense an eerie feeling of menace, but no details of the nature of the threat.
    • Basic Success: the same, but if you are in fact in danger, the GM also gives you a hint as to how and why.
    • Major Success: you learn precisely what the danger is.
    • Absolute Success: you not only learn what danger is threatening you, but also the most promising way of avoiding it.
    Examples: Stopping to smell the air, glancing behind you, thinking back on what danger signs you might have missed.

    Then a player will start out with a move that looks like this:

    When you show healthy paranoia, roll +Perception. 10-14, if you are in some sense in danger at the moment, you sense an eerie feeling of menace, but no details of the nature of the threat. 15-19, the same, but if you are in fact in danger, the GM also gives you a hint as to how and why. 20+, you learn precisely what the danger is.

    Examples: Stopping to smell the air, glancing behind you, thinking back on what danger signs you might have missed.

    Then, if that player takes the Awareness (Known) Talent (which bumps up the results of a successful move to show healthy paranoia), the move gets altered to this:

    When you show healthy paranoia, roll +Perception. 10-14, if you are in some sense in danger at the moment, you sense an eerie feeling of menace, and the GM also gives you a hint as to how and why. 15+, the same, but you learn precisely what the danger is.

    Examples: Stopping to smell the air, glancing behind you, thinking back on what danger signs you might have missed.

    And if the player further takes the Awareness (Trained) Talent, which adds an additional result on a roll of 20+, the move again gets rewritten to this:

    When you show healthy paranoia, roll +Perception. 10-14, if you are in some sense in danger at the moment, you sense an eerie feeling of menace, and the GM also gives you a hint as to how and why. 15-19, the same, but you learn precisely what the danger is. 20+, you not only learn what danger is threatening you, but also the most promising way of avoiding it.

    Examples: Stopping to smell the air, glancing behind you, thinking back on what danger signs you might have missed.

    You see what I mean. At every turn, the player’s sheet only contains the information that will apply to that player themself. This would absolutely not work if we were still using pen and paper like some sort of savages, but of course these are modern times and everything is stored in easily edited .txt files.

    I do worry that this will make it more troublesome for the players to choose new Talents, since now the information on what a move actually does and the information on how it is altered by a Talent will exist in two different places. But I’ll see what happens when I have a chance to run a session with the new PDF.