The Basics

1 THE BASICS

The basic system of the game is Black Crusade, using the Dark Heresy 2 updates to rules whenever is convenient (i.e. in how Fatigue works, that kind of thing). A notable exception is psychic powers: to avoid excessive complication, we use the Black Crusade rules for using wychcraft (such that Pushing makes things easier to cast, but much more dangerous for the caster).

The minutia of the mechanics may be abbreviated or summarised in actual play by the GM. For example, suppose that your Heretic wanted to charm a character with small-talk, before getting on to the real subject of conversation: the nature of their relationship with the local Deacon. The player might post as follows:

I lean in, perfect teeth bared, my smile enchanting but predatory. I encourage Lady Francesca to talk about herself, feigning interest in her petty life, engaging with her and making her feel listened to. Slowly, I drive her towards the real topic of conversation: what she really thinks of the local Deacon. At the crucial moment, I ask her the following: “You have quite enchanted me, Lady Francesca: what a delight. I can only suppose how much the Deacon must appreciate your company in the Church.”

I smile that predatory smile once more: “Unless, of course, he is a bore? I have never met the man.”

Your post may be largely descriptive, as above, or instead phrased as a combination of abstract and narrative. For example, you might state that you want to use the Charm skill to get Lady Francesca to open up, before beginning the narrative section regarding your precise questions on the Deacon. Alternatively, if you are pressed for time, you might post entirely in the abstract (though, for the sake of roleplaying, I’d hope this wasn’t the norm). For ease of use, please use square brackets (‘[ ]’) when you are posting in the abstract.

In response to a post like the one above, I will do a variety of things. I will roll Charm for you for the small-talk, applying positive modifiers to an Inquiry Test should you succeed. I will then make an Inquiry Test, giving you additional positive modifiers if I feel you have roleplayed well or otherwise adeptly pressed the Lady’s buttons. Having done this, I might post as follows:

You are engaging and receptive, and you resist the urge to check your Chrono as the Lady excitedly drones on about the minutia of her daily life. She really is a bore, and utterly self-absorbed, and it is a struggle to drive her to the topic of another human being. However, you are skilled in the delicate arts of conversation, and by the time you mention the Deacon, she is in a gossipy, conspiratorial mood.

It seems that the Lady does not particularly like the Deacon: he too, it seems, is self-absorbed, and with neither individual particularly willing to listen to one another, both appear to their eyes as boorish and selfish. It gives you plenty of material from which to plot, but one particular sentence especially catches your attention:

“Of course, he’s [i]very[\i] friendly with that chorister Jacob. Such a pretty man, isn’t he, that Jacob? What a happy coincidence how thoroughly the Deacon enjoys the delights of music, hmm?”

When it comes to combat, the process will be even more summarised by the GM. As a GM, I will try to maximise your combat effectiveness, perhaps rolling an appropriate Intelligence Test for your Heretic if there is a particular strategy that might otherwise be overlooked. I won’t ask you for a Round by Round detail of your Actions, instead conducting a combat on your behalf and involving you at crucial moments. For example, suppose that your Heretic has gone to confront the Deacon, hoping to blackmail him regarding his extramarital affair with the chorister Jacob. Your blackmail hasn’t gone well, and you’ve changed tack: you want the Deacon dead. As such, you post as follows:

I bore of this Deacon’s indignant bluster. With a snarl, I whip my laspistol from my robes and blow him to pieces where he stands. If the churchman is too swift, I’ll dive for cover and see if I can take him out.

Note that this post of yours mentions something of a strategy: that is, taking cover and engaging in a more protracted, safer confrontation. As a GM, I’ll honour this as much as is feasible. Behind the scenes, I begin rolling the combat. You achieve a Surprise Round and shoot the Deacon, but he’s tough and takes the shot. You both get to cover, but your rolls aren’t great and you’ve only got five Rounds before his guards arrive. Worse yet, you take a nasty shot to the shoulder. Rather than give you the details of what happens each Round, you might receive a post like this:

You draw your laspistol in the blink of eye, a whip-crack of light striking the Deacon to the gut and sending him reeling with a surprised grunt of pain. Smiling with savage satisfaction, you dive to cover as his stub revolver sends a bullet flying inches from your head. Trading fire, the sandstone columns are half-blown apart, throwing up choking dust as you engage in a deadly exchange of fire.

You reel as a bullet finds your shoulder. The blood is flowing dangerously and, as you press yourself against the pillar, you curse at the pain and the sound of the Deacon’s guards approaching. Your prey is injured, but his reinforcements are inbound and you’re injured too. What do you do?

Note that I don’t ask what you do Round by Round, but instead ask only what you want to do at a crucial moment: the combat isn’t going particularly well, so it’s up to you whether you stick around or make a bolt for it. This avoids slowing down play by attempting to conduct a full, detailed combat on an online forum.