Witch Hunters: GRIM AND DARK (not really), and 0% system!

[kongming]

Yes, I wish to run something systemless and diceless for a group of people.

Setting: Warhammer 40K

The players will be Witch Hunters (the Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle) and Ordo Hereticus (Witch Hunter Inquisitors)), valiantly defending humanity from the enemy within: the traitor, the heretic, the mutant, the witch (rogue psyker).

Character types available:
(Note: there needs to be at least one "hero" type - an Inquisitor (or Explicator even) and/or a Palatine/Canoness. If no-one wants to play one, I can put some NPCs in.)

Witch Hunter Inquisitor (male or female). These are leader types, can by psykers (access to psychic powers), and get more or less any gear except very specific racial/holy stuff. 0-1 of these.
Explicator (male or female). An Inquisitor trainee. Can be a psyker, some leadership, plenty of good gear. Works best with an Inquisitor in the group. 0-2 of these.
Veteran Guardsman/Commissar (male or female). A seasoned warrior who knows all about fighting and makes a good bodyguard. Given excellent weapons. 0-3 of these. Needs a hero/heroine to guard.
Arbiter (male or female). These people go about the cosmos ensuring people obey Imperial law. Forcefully. Good combat training, decent equipment, and access to an attack robot. 0-3 of these. Needs an Inquisitor around.

Palatine/Canoness (female). The leaders of the Sisters of Battle. Canoness is merely a higher rank. You get power armour, holy relics, faith powers and leadership. 0-1 of these. All of the things below need one of these around.
Celestian (female). An elite, veteran Battle Sister with Faith and excellent weaponry. Usually serve as honour-guard for the Canoness. 0-5
Sister Hospitaler (female). You don't get the armour and weapons, but you get some good equipment and medical knowledge - emergency healing, morale boosting, Faith powers, poisons, viral weapons, torture... 0-1
Sister Dialogus (female). Again, poorer armour, but one piece of excellent weaponry and all sorts of good tech, including a master repair kit and a portable weapon turret. You get to make any vehicles do better stuff, too. 0-1
Sister Superior (female). A sergeant, essentially. You have some Faith power, and also are well trained, with good equipment. 0-2
Battle Sister (female). Well-trained, well-equipped. Considered the "basic" unit, you have a specific area of expertise and unique fighting style. 0-3
Sister Dominion (female). You are adept at striking hard and striking fast. Good at charging into melee and leaping out of vehicles with Assault weapons (flame throwers, melta guns and storm bolters). 0-3
Sister Retributor (female). The heavy weapon expert. You gain a heavy weapon (heavy flamer, heavy bolter or multi-melta). 0-2
Seraphim (female). Equipped with a jetpack, you generate Faith and are ideal for charging into melee. 0-3

Mistress (female). You are equipped with Neuro-whips, and are very intimidating. You can torture enemies, as well as disarming, tripping and instantly killing - versatile weapons indeed. Your best abilities are improving morale and driving allies into a frenzy. 0-1
Sister Repentia (female). Part of a death squad. Very zealous, and almost psychotic, you command a lot of respect. Armed with a deadly Eviscerator, you can deal horrific injuries and kill enemies rapidly. You spread fear easily, are not immune but *addicted* to pain, and improve morale just by still standing. If there is no Mistress around, you're liable to go berserk. 0-3

Players: Up to 6 I guess? Either sex, doesn't matter.

Game elements (non-adult): Violence of the non-sexual variety. Travelling through space and battling heathens (mostly human and daemons), sometimes getting attacked by others (Eldar, orks, Tyranids etc.) Also, time spent in the bases, just interacting, gathering information and making allies.

Combat: It will be taken care of by generally being mature. You're all pretty hardcore, so I don't intend on you dying unless it would be perfectly dramatic and you agree.

Adult elements: At base, love can bloom. The Imperium has nothing against same-sex relationships. Also, general training (wrestling, volleyball, other "keep fit and look sexy in the process" games), as well as Confessions and Penance (BDSM stuff). There is the possibility of being raped by enemies who capture you - or you doing the same to those you capture. Likewise less-bloody, more-erotic torture.

So, interest? Questions?

[Kitikat]

Why? Why must you people do this to me! I have too many games! Stop putting interesting ones in front of me!

*grrrrr*

[Zeal]

I would be interested in playing the Inquisitor.  Or one of the Celestians, if it turns into more of a Battle Sister game.

[Elvi]

Hmmmmm.....I wonder.....like the Mistress or Repentia, but to be honest I have no idea what the game 'is about'.
From your descriptions Kong, I take it, that it's based on an established sort of story?

[Kitikat]

Hmmmmm.....I wonder.....like the Mistress or Repentia, but to be honest I have no idea what the game 'is about'.
From your descriptions Kong, I take it, that it's based on an established sort of story?

Miniatures tabletop-gaming universe, expanded into fanfics, computer games, a pen-and-paper system, etc etc. It's about 23 years old... or at least the original fantasy one is, not sure how long the sci-fi one has been around.

It's quite a complex universe, about as much as the core DnD one I guess.

[Elvi]

*looks at the origional post and rolls eyes*

Yeah thanks Kit....

<snip>

Setting: Warhammer 40K

<snip>

.......if I had opened my eyes and actually looked at the post.....*sighs*

[Kitikat]

LOL

Right, thought it was a bit odd that you hadn't heard of it...
I guess the witch-hunter group is a little less common than the rest. Not quite the same impact as the space marines I guess :P

[kongming]

Marines (especially Angry Marines) have some serious impact.

Anyway, I can answer plenty of questions about 40K you might have, for basic info, if you don't want to brave Google/Wiki for their attempts at info.

[Elvi]

*smiles*
It does sound a good game Kong, however, even though it isn't rules based, I feel that it would be better for those playing to know the game world etc.

I think that I would possibly spoil the game for other players by not knowing it, I know that it has happened to me a couple of times...
So I'll bow out now and wish you luck in getting some good players for what looks like a great game...

[Sherona]

same here. It looks really fun, but like Elvi I would probably just ruin/slow it down for everyone else since I really don't know games and such :) Great luck with it as it looks super fun :)

[HairyHeretic]

I'm game. I'd like to call dibs on one of the Inquisitorial types.

And given I've been playing 40k since Rogue Trader started, I know much ancient lore that has otherwise been lost to the mists of time  :D I'd be happy to guide anyone unfamiliar with the universe of the 41st Millenium.

[Mindhazingsquid]

I would like Sister Repentia.  She looks cool.
About Warhammer 40K I only know two things, it's Warhammer but set in the future and Red makes things for faster (so sayeth one of the orc clans who actually gets a bonus to speed if they have red vehicles).

[kongming]

So, four interested and two who are but are bowing out due to lack of knowledge. Pity, but I understand that.

Okay, 40K is indeed set in the 41st Millennium. The Warhammer Fantasy world is just one planet inside the whole 40K cosmos, and currently, humanity are spreading from world to world, ever growing and being guided by the Imperium of Mankind. They have but one god, the Immortal God-Emperor of Humanity, a man who many times has existed as a human but sacrificed himself for humanity. Currently, he is essentially on life support in his golden throne on Holy Terra (Earth).

There are but three enemies to humanity:
Aliens: the filthy xenos. Kill the Ork, kill the Eldar (elves in space), kill the Tyranid (bugs in space), kill the Tau (Japanese-fanboy-appeasing mech-building British Imperial aliens), kill the Necron (sentient robots).

Chaos: When travelling through the warp (warp-speed/hyperspace etc), you will see horrific daemons. Kill them if they get too close. Out of the warp, yo will sometimes see them break through. Kill them and send them back. Furthermore, there are cultists dedicated to the four Chaos gods (Khorne, the Bloodthirster. Tzeench, the Lord of Change. Slaanesh, the decadent keeper of secrets. Nurgle the friendly, sharing Plaguebearer). They also have the assistance of the Chaos Space Marines.

Humanity: Witches (psychics who are not registered and cannot control their powers), mutants, traitors and heretics. There is only one answer for this: death.

That's probably most of what you need to know, squid. The Sisters of Battle are an all-female fighting force (exploiting a loophole in Imperial law stating "The ecclesiarchy may not have men at arms"), wearing power armour and using decent weapons, especially flame-based. They are essentially nuns with guns. The Inquisition consists of people who are outside of the law. What they say goes. If they ask for something (a gun, a paperclip, classified information, a space fleet, an entire chapter of Space Marines), they get it. They are beyond reproach, and not held accountable for their actions (unless another Inquisitor takes interest in them). Inquisitors can even sign the death warrant for an entire planet if they consider it lost. It will then be utterly destroyed.

The Ordo Hereticus Inquisitors - the Witch Hunters - have a strong alliance with the Sisters of Battle.

So...

Zeal: Inquisitor or Celestian
Kitikat: Inquisitor, Arbiter, Canoness, Retributer, in that order
Hairy: Inquisitorial type
Squid: Sister Repentia

So, I guess I'll keep this up for another day or two to see if there is more interest, then start a thread up and let you guys fight over who wants to be what.

[kongming]

Also, you might want to tell me how much violent action, spare-time and adult activity you want, as well as what kind of adult and non-adult elements you want to see in the game.

[kongming]

Okay, Zeal has informed me that he needs to drop out due to time constraints.

We could do with another player or two! Just let me know - here or via PM!

[HairyHeretic]

We could always abduct Elvi and Sherona into the game ... primitives from some feral world, recently brought back to the light of the Emperor, and unused to the ways of civilisation.  ;D

[kongming]

Ooh, that's a good idea, actually. I mean, usually orphans are taken in to become Sisters of Battle, so they needn't know that much about "things that aren't us".

[Celestial Goblin]

For those who don't kknow how the world of Warhammer 40k looks like, do you know the AD2000 comics and their stuff like 'Judge Dredd', 'Tzar Wars' and that something when they had vehicles flying trough tubes in a futuristic dystopia?

From what I know, these were a heavy inspiration for Warhammer.

Alternatively, imagine Star Wars where Empire is the lesser of two evils and has a thing for medieval-catholic imagery. (inquisition, ships like cathedrals, lots of scary crosses)

The Witch Hunters here are... Well, medieval inquisitors in space. The sisters are warrior nuns in power armour. And you're about as compassionate to people as Judge Dredd serving pope Lord Vader.

Someone please post pictures from the glorious Rogue Trader era, they're as atmopsheric as it can get:)

[HairyHeretic]

Judge Dredd and Nikolai Dante are a bit too technically advanced for a proper 40k comparison. Much understanding has been lost, with items created by the following of ritual, rather than simply knowing what you're doing.

The whole setting is very gothic, very medievil attitudes in space kinda thing. I'll see about posting some proper descritive text later. I have pretty much everything from the Rogue Trader era, either in book or pdf.