So, I'm pretty new to Inquisitor, but I'm going to take a shot at playing it with my skeptical friend on Friday.
He is an experiences D&D player so most of the calculating and stuff is familiar to him. I wanted to make some simple characters, which should I use? What should I am for? Can I use the points system from the back of the rulebook o try and balance said characters?
I have four Inquisitors, two Techpriests, two Enforcers, two Arco-Flagellants one Mutant, one Daemonhost and one Assassin available.
I'd prefer to use at least one Enforcer and the Assassin!
Thank you so much for your help in this, it means a lot.
Steffen
Quote from: Wifstrand on February 14, 2011, 06:01:56 PM
So, I'm pretty new to Inquisitor, but I'm going to take a shot at playing it with my skeptical friend on Friday.
Well, to start with, I'd recommend reading the articles linked under "Everything you have been told is a lie" on the site front page (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/conclave.html).
Inquisitor is often misunderstood as a game, and your friend is probably skeptical at least partly because of this.
So, it's worth being able to explain how Inquisitor is neither and both of an RPG and a Skirmish game, else he'll probably end up looking at it as an RPG and end up even more skeptical.
QuoteCan I use the points system from the back of the rulebook to try and balance said characters?
No. It's pretty much universally accepted here that system is utter garbage.
Ultimately, Inquisitor games are not exactly meant to be balanced. The characters should be reasonable in their skill level and equipment, but that does not necessarily mean both sides are the exact equal of each other.
If any really big issues arise, they should be dealt with some GMing to straighten things out a bit.
~~~~~
Anyway, as to which characters you should take - whichever ones will make the coolest story. Inquisitor is of course about the narrative.
It Is all about the story, but for your first game, use one character each or just one character. Make him feel more at home and you DM while trying to do some tasks that require you to learn the rules. It can also make a nice introduction to a campaign.
I'm going to disagree with the one character thing - it's a good way to learn the rules, but for a first demo game I'd suggest three characters each and if you need to simplify then ignore a few rules and some modifiers. Attempt to run an exciting action packed game where characters pull off heroic feats and all sorts of cool stuff happens. Then, once you've got your friend hooked, go back and worry about playing the game properly - but get him hooked first!
I found that one of the best scenarios to get people interested in Inquisitor is a zombie apocalypse.
Set up some awesome terrain, a few ruined buildings etc. Get the player to set up his characters (if there's only one player I'd suggest giving him 3- 4 characters). Spawn wave after wave of mindless zombies on the table edges.
That was what my first Inquisitor game was, and it worked.
Zombie rules discussions:
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1278.0
http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=481.0
I'd agree that two or three character's per player is preferable-it's pretty easy for a character to get knocked out by a lucky hit, so it's better if that isn't the end of the game. I'd also recommend a scenario that has the player's wandering whether they have the luxury of finishing off a stunned opponent. As far as balance goes, I've found it very hard to judge how powerful a character will be except by actually using them, but also that the game is fairly forgiving of differences in power-just try to avoid characters powerful enough to level anyone in their path. I've found the worst are those which combine a high WS/BS, a particularly lethal weapon such as a boltgun or powersword, and a high speed value.
i'll second what Alta said, alternatively a good old shoot out at the OK corral is always good, gives a way to help them understand that the game is an RPG tabletop game rather than a traditional rp.
alternatively watch a couple of decent gangster or spaghetti westerns for inspiration and let the bullets fly.
just finished re-watching Mesrine Part 1 and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly so have loads of ideas all jumping around..... Alta!!! you want to try a Bank Robbery mission?
You said that your pal was a role player, so I would suggest that you actually create a small scenario rather than just a shoot out. I introduced a fellow gamer a while ago, and he was rather sceptical too. He loathes GW and generally will have nothing to do with their games. Guess what-he loved =I=!!
What I did was give him an Inquisitor and his henchmen, wrote up a short story, background and a very simple scenario with two antagonists. It worked great! He emediately got "in character" and was upset when his (ie himself) inquisitor got wounded and after not very long he was muttering things lïke; "see what you heretic likes my death cultist then" We had a great game, and in fact had to play another one straight away! My friend is well and truly hooked.
While it may work to have just a shot-out as a first game, I really must emphasise that =I= is all about the narrative, and from my personal experience, (not just with my latest games) is that you should use that edge over other games right from the start.
Good luck with the gaming!
I have taken everything you have said into consideration, and I have come up with a simple scenario which happens to utilize the few resources I have available at my place (where we will be gaming today) - a 4' by 6' table, buildings from my gaming club, the crashed flyer from the Battle for Macragge and copious amounts of whiskey.
This is the BG. Please note I've never written BG before, and please note that I have only fleshed out the Inquisitor - I simply ran out of time!
QuoteCHARACTERS
Inquisitor Jacobuus von Schneiden was born on the planet Crucius. Known for their staunch sense of order and duty and unfaltering loyalty to the Imperium, his family had a proud tradition of providing able sons to serve as officers in the Imperial Guard, the Planetary Defense Force (PDF) and the Adeptus Arbites. During the time of his upbringing the massive underclass was corrupted by a Chaos Cult, starting an enormous revolt. Jacobuus' father was a senior sergeant in the local Adeptus Arbites divison stationed in the sector and was quick to respond. Though putting up a valiant fight against the rioting mobs of gangers, mutants and worse, von Schneiden sr. mustered every bit of his famous resolve he and his squads were butchered to a man. Every Enforcer was mutilated and tortured before being strung up on spears, lamp posts and anything the rebels could find. Being the commanding officer in the field Von Schneiden sr. received an especially gruesome treatment, being made an example of to all the loyalists.
Jacobuus von Schneiden inherited all of his family's traits, and fighting his way through every type of education his planet could provide, he quickly proved to be brilliant in every task he bend his mind to. Joining the Adeptus Arbites as soon as he was able to, he was especially ruthless when facing rebels and those would turn from the Emperor's light. His many successful apprehensions and downright exterminations did not go unnoticed by the Ordo Hereticus, and an aged Inquisitor took Jacobuus with him and gave him proper training in the proper ways of the Orders of the Emperor's Holy Inquisition.
Today, Jacobuus von Schneiden is a staunch (kill everything, no toleration-philosophy) and has absolutely no tolerance for those he deems to have fallen from His grace even in the slightest. He is brutal and direct both in battle and when conducting matters of politics.
His equipment reflects his personality; he wields a pump-action combat shotgun with which he has painted many walls crimson red with the bodies of the faithless. From a loyal member of the Adeptus Mechanicus he received a master-crafted bolt pistol. Von Schneiden is particularly fond of this weapon for its ability to completely obliterate a man's torso with a single well placed shot.
Despite his young age and rank he masterfully wields a power sword with the same directness as his other weapons – if his target is heretical in nature he is fond of playing with it, slowly hacking it apart before letting it bleed out like the rebels on Crucius did with his father.
He will ruthlessly purge anyone in order to get to his target – as they say: "The end justifies the means", and what does a few civilian casualties as collateral damage mean in the greater picture, right?
Arbites Special Agent Kayleen is also from Crucius, and she was drafted by von Schneiden simply by virtue of having graduated top of her class then proceeded to deliver impressive results already from the get-go. Special Agent Kayleen shares von Inquisitor Schneiden's burning hatred of anything treacherous, rebellious or heretical and will go to any length to apprehend or punish (or both) those found guilty.
Very brash and straightforward – will get in the thick of it ASAP.
Blablabla
Explorator Omnis Potis is a valuable member of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Just as his peers he is driven by an insatiable hunger for knowledge and a desire to move himself closer to the Omnissiah, the Machine God, by replacing parts of his body with holy bionics and machinery.
His primary interest is plasma technology. He is currently investigating cult rumours about an STC which supposedly contains blueprints for stable plasma technology – all of the advantages and destructive power with no instability.
He will do anything to secure knowledge, but his own survival comes first. If he is injured he will be unable to continue his quest, something which is unthinkable to him.
'Courageous' but with a strong sense of selv-preservation. Cruel and heartless (bionic and all).
Mordian Iron Guard Veteran Jackson is your bog-standard dude from the Iron Guard.
General BG
Where: Hive City Raevolus on the planet Cassidar on the Eastern Fringe.
Facts:
- Isolated by warp storms for three and a half centuries.
- Before the isolation began the planet only had a small Ecclesiarchal contingent. During the period isolation the Ecclesiarchy slowly lost its power and the people's worship of the God-Emperor of Mankind waned. This resulted in a populace still loyal to the Imperium as an organization for humanity, not really to the Emperor.
- Populace is not in rebellion per se, but their faith in the Emperor is low.
The scenario:
QuoteHive city. They have a sort of highly advanced, unmanned (to explain the small size of the crashed flyer from the BfM with a sort of miniaturized, stable form of plasma reactor technology for a power source. As the 'bad guy', I will try to get a hold of it. As the good guy, my friend will try to [EXCOMMUNICATE] up my day.
We will start far apart with the flyer in the middle. We should both hurry towards the center, because when my friend comes within X inches (20?) we'll roll a D100 - theres a 50/50 that the reactor is still in the wreck and we will need to duke it out, if not I got there first and claimed the reactor (explaining why I am so close to the wreck) and I will have to make it away by moving to the side (instead of backwards, which would be difficult for my friend.
Now I just need to come up with something that prevents the game from becoming simply a Mexican shootout or me running and him running after me.
A couple of things - are you playing at 28mm? 4'x6' is fine for 54mm but for 28mm you might want to use a smaller table so more time is spent on action rather than moving around trying to find each other. Also, the shotgun, bolt pistol & power sword wielding guy is a bit over equipped with powerful weapons which can make the game much less fun as your opponents will drop like flies - I'd lose either the bolt pistol or power sword. (I didn't check the others, but if they're all so heavily armed then you might want to change them too.)
Oh yeah, we're playing 54 mm.
Going off the top of my head, here are the characters and their weapons:
Inquisitor:
- Pump-action combat shotgun
- Bolt pistol
- Power sword
Enforcer:
- Suppresion shield (4)
- Lasgun iirc
- Shock mail
Tech Priest:
- Stubber
- Chainsword (breacher implant)
- Bionics and stuff
Veteran:
- Lasgun. Nothing else - I love my Black Army Models Space Guard model too much!
It wasn't clear to me, but is that two warbands each with two character? I would swap the bolt pistol for a stubber or the power sword for a normal sword, but otherwise the equipment seems okay.
Two times two. Him with Inquisitor/Enforcer, me with Techpriest/IG Veteran.
Looks good, I like your backstory!
I would echo Kaled's comments - on face value, it looks like the Inquisitor's team will steamroller the techpriest. Suppression shields are dirty in close combat, and a power sword/bolt pistol combo will shred anything at range or up close. Inquisitor is not a game of perfectly equal forces sparring off against each other, but for a starter game, you want the outcome to be nail-bitingly close :)
I suggest swapping the Veteran and Enforcer around to level the playing field a bit, or perhaps give the techpriest an extra chap in his warband to make up for the lack of butt-kicking gear. Maybe give him some automated defences the Inquisitor must overcome or (my favourite solution) throw some cultists onto the table to soak up some lead from the Inquisitor before he reaches the techpriest. You can't go wrong with cultists!