wh40k RPGs – grim adventure in the 41st Millennium

Warhammer 40,000 (wh40k) RPGs

wh40kAlthough I gave up tabletop war-gaming many years ago, I still have fond memories of Warhammer 40,000 (aka WH40k). In fact it was the first I actually owned, way back in 1987. I was pretty keen to give the Dark Heresy RPG a go, set as it is in the WH40k universe (along with Rogue Trader and Deathwatch). As well as playing in a number of campaigns now, I have also run the occasional game at ORC.

I first remember running many wh40k games on a pal’s dining table, including the Epic scale Space Marine and Adeptus Titanicus. I also have a first edition printing of the original wh40k rulebook featuring the cover where the Crimson Fists last stand against Orkish invaders. It’s interesting to note that there is no mention of Chaos or the Chaos powers, although mention is made of warp entities.

More information on the games I run and play in can be found in the wh40k section of the wiki. It also contains details of the PC (Player Characters) I played in other games.

Bleak Midwinter setting for wh40k

Bleak Midwinter is an idea that I’ve had percolating around in my head for a while (and I’ve mentioned it before): a proper crossover campaign, set in the Warhammer 40,000 (wh40k) universe. I’m not talking about just a couple of games involving Space Marines from the Deathwatch RPG, and an Inquisitors cell from Dark Heresy. Oh no, I’m thinking bigger than that (possibly even involving characters from Black Crusade, and Epic scale as well!).

Here’s the plan – a series of wh40k RPG games running at ORC and elsewhere, together with a series of wh40k battles, perhaps being run at Edinburgh League of Gamers (aka [elg]). Ambitious? Very much so. And that’s why I’m going to need some help with it (see below) – I’ll need folk to run and play the games, but also to organise the tabletop battles as I’ve no direct contact with any of the Edinburgh wargame clubs. I’m thinking that If I could organise things, we could probably start running the games in January 2012!

My concept is that Bleak Midwinter is set within the Midwinter Expanse,  a nebula known for its White Dwarf Stars. It would feature Space Marines, Rogue Traders, as well as Acolytes of the Inquisition as the plot gradually develops, leading to large scale battles as the events unfold (each battle or adventure spins off a new plot or battle). We could see large scale space battles, hive worlds erupting into violence and a whole host of things happening that would make a fantastic campaign for all involved.

However, I’d need help. While I appreciate that Games Workshop (GW) would probably jump at the chance to help, I’d rather Bleak Midwinter remained in the hands of the gamers as it were, rather than become a marketing tool. This is a pretty ambitious project, so for obvious reasons I’m going to need some assistance. Here’s how I’m seeing things, breaking them down to their simplest requirements:

  • Writers to help create the adventures.
  • Volunteers to help plan the battles.
  • I’d d appreciate some help creating the campaign itself.
  • Someone to approach the Edinburgh Wargaming clubs to see if they’d be interested.
  • GMs to run the games.
  • Volunteers to run the battles.
  • Someone to keep track of what is going on.

Obviously, I’ve got a major plot arc for Bleak Midwinter in mind, but there’s no reason why events have to follow it. Note that I’m not planning to make money off this; the only donation I’m looking for is time! :)

Sarathis sector

I set a number of my games in Sarathis sector (information can be found on the wiki here), notably the Shadow on the Warp games (Part 1 and Part 2 are on the wiki).

wh40k Player Characters

Here’s a list of my current PCs and also those that have given their lives in the service of the Emperor!

  • Whorl, an assassin from the Feral world of Malebolge. Tough and hard-bitten, he is now famous for using a combine harvester in a hit upon a target.
  • Ferrus Roth - Arbitrator, an Arbitrator Enforcer (Dark Heresy). I see him as a kind of mixture of ‘Dirty’ Harry Callaghan and Gibbs from TV’s NCIS.
  • Brother Sammeal, a Dark Angel Apothecary. Short in  stature for an Astartes, he still managed to beat down a Space Wolf in their ritual contest.
  • Diogenes Valexos, also known as Basilisk. A Navigator PC on the Rogue Trader ship Tranquility. Although a powerful Navigator, he is now more reptile than human, with sharp teeth and claws, the result of increased exposure to the Warp and enhanced Navigator powers.
  • The Screaming Eagles Guardsmen PCs as featured in the Shadow on the Warp games (Part 1 and 2).

Downloads

Black Crusade Action Cards
Black Crusade Action Cards
pdfWH40kBlackCrusadeActionCards.pdf
Version: 1.0
1.0 MiB
35 Downloads
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Casablanca Antique Font
40.1 KiB
222 Downloads
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Ferrus Roth - Arbitrator
1.6 MiB
186 Downloads
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Shadow on the Warp PCs
Shadow on the Warp PCs
rpgDHsarathis.zip
12.4 MiB
186 Downloads
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wh40 Ork Glyphs Font
wh40 Ork Glyphs Font
orksfont.zip
13.3 KiB
99 Downloads
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wh40k Icons Truetype Font
22.9 KiB
150 Downloads
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wh40k Imperial Icons Font
wh40k Imperial Icons Font
imperialfont.zip
28.3 KiB
152 Downloads
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wh40k Marine Chapter Icons Font
21.1 KiB
149 Downloads
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