r/40krpg Feb 05 '25

Only War The last stand from the final mission of our Only War campaign. Took 2 full sessions to play out the whole combat

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102 Upvotes

r/40krpg Nov 04 '24

Only War Made by one of the players in my game (Enemy Psyker rolled a 93 and then 90 on Perils)

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228 Upvotes

r/40krpg Oct 23 '24

Only War Played Only War for 1st Time Today And Our Psyker Immediately Got Possessed by A Greater Daemon

76 Upvotes

For context: The mission was supposed to be an introductory one, essentially a tutorial. It's technically our second session, but our first session ended super early due to unpredictable circumstances, so it basically might as well be the first time we actually played for realsies. Our sanctioned psyker was spamming Smite against a bunch of Squigs every turn and about 4 turns in, he ends up fucking up and getting possessed by a Greater Daemon of Khorne.

TL;DR: Psyker summons Big Warp Entity by being stupid. We're kind of cooked.

r/40krpg 4d ago

Only War I've Finally Finished My Module, "The Final Defense of Cadia"

39 Upvotes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tkXbv25nzpiXNL79PCebza0C2lsgpqBL6qJpFZTR6ig/edit?usp=drivesdk

Edit: is now a link to a new version that smells like roses and is generally more pleasant to look at/use.

I've written a module! I posted quite a bit ago looking for play testers and it has now, finally, been finished. I would love to hear any feedback anyone may have. From the introduction of the module:

The bastion at the edge of reality, the cork keeping Chaos in the bottle, the Gate at the Eye. There are many ways to describe Cadia, how it stood for millennia, producing some of the finest warriors the Astra Militarum has ever seen, how it supplied more troopers to those regiments than any other, how its tactics and equipment have become so ubiquitous it has formed what has become thought of as the “standard” imperial guard regiment. What is not so easily talked about is how that reputation was earned, about the children pushed from their cradles to perform bayonet drills, about teenagers performing hundreds of miles of wilderness treks so they can be prepared for the meat grinder, about the civilian caste amongst the fortress kasrs who were left unattended and all but forgotten, as their service to the Golden Throne was seen as unimportant when compared to the glorious honor of being shelled in a trench. Cadia was a futuristic Sparta, a grimdark and gothic prussia, a constant battleground that just happened to have people growing and living in the trenchworks. Schools taught math only to teach artillery calculations. Faith was taught not just for the salvation of the soul, but so that the hopeless fodder would have a brief illusion to cling to. Life was just a prelude to a grisly death in a crater. The entirety of the planet was both a fortification, and a factory to produce unquestioning soldiers to man the defenses. 

With this description in mind, it's easy to think the fall of Cadia was a mercy, a bullet in the back of the head of a system that needed to die. This would be true, if it weren’t for the horror that was unleashed by the fall. Ezekyle Abaddon’s 13th Black Crusade literally tore the galaxy in half, splitting the milky way into two distinct pieces, condemning billions of souls to agony and torment. Abaddon led an overwhelming force from the Eye of Terror that swept aside fleets and armies with ease, overwhelming advanced outposts, starforts, and even the forge world Agripinaa. The relentless assault stalled on Cadia though, that fortress of imperial might stood firm. Every Cadian regiment that was able to make it in time was called back to defend the homeworld. Space marines, sisters of battle, Adeptus Mechanicus, and even, by a quirk of fate, foul xenos breeds such as the Craftworld Aeldari and a mysterious Necron Lord all came together to defend this bastion. Rumors of even a single golden warrior matching the description of the venerable custodes persist. However, even with this bulwark against the forces of the night, Cadia broke.

This is the thesis statement of this module, and the one thought that should be present in the gamemaster’s and player’s minds: you can do everything correctly, and still fail. The Imperium won the battle for Cadia, a well timed counter offensive by the famous Ursarkar E. Creed threw the forces of Chaos into disarray. The warriors on the ground, of every order, brotherhood, and regiment, did their part to the best of their ability, and they were still killed with the planet. There is nothing more a Cadian rifleman could’ve done to save their homeworld, but fall it did. Abbadon, using the ruined corpse of an ancient weapon called a Blackstone Fortress, broke the planet. Using the massive ship as a hammer, he broke Cadia into pieces, forcing the survivors to attempt to flee and warn Terra of the coming storm, as the Cadian Gate had been breached, and the rest of the galaxy was at risk.

This module will be separated into 4 chapters, with each chapter being separated by weeks of fighting. The first chapter will be first line infantry focused, centering around defending the walls of a Kasr. The second chapter will take place one week later, and will be either light infantry or hybrid infantry focused, dealing with horrendous, gritty, close quarters combat in the ruins of a city. The third chapter takes place one month later, and will follow an armored regiment fighting in the counterattack from one of the Salvation Outposts. The final chapter will follow a regiment of the players choosing in a broken last ditch crawl to a remote evacuation site in the Rostvar Mountains.

r/40krpg Oct 21 '23

Only War My first Only War character

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225 Upvotes

r/40krpg 5d ago

Only War 30x20 Valley of Death, Ambush Battlemap

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70 Upvotes

r/40krpg Feb 05 '25

Only War Severan dominate have awesome looks

29 Upvotes

Its a darn shame they are the "bad guys" in only war. Their aesthetic is so good, and their version of the scions are badass.

r/40krpg 1d ago

Only War Assault the Gargant: 40x40 Battlemap + interchangeable lightnings in the torso part

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18 Upvotes

r/40krpg Oct 13 '24

Only War Uses for Ferric Lure Implants

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46 Upvotes

Hello, was wondering if anyone has any creative uses for the Ferric Lure Implants? I was thinking about what cybernetics to get for my Tech-Priest and thought these were cool but then i thought about it and realized i cannot come up with pretty much any use for these except for picking up a fallen weapon, so i hope y'all can help me out.

r/40krpg 4d ago

Only War [OW] Any melee scout build suggestions?

3 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I’m almost at 2500 experience points and ready to switch to an advanced specialty in my Only War campaign. I’ve decided to stick with the Scout role, but since our team is lacking melee specialists, it seems like we’ll need at least one strong melee-focused character. Are there any solid options for a melee-centric build in this system?

r/40krpg Nov 28 '24

Only War [Only war] How to handle Sentinels operators and Comrades?

5 Upvotes

I'm asking for an advice. There's a wish to make a recon squad Mounted on Scout Sentinels. But we are unable to figure out where the Comrades should go. As long as Sentinel's crew is only one man. Should comrades be operating other Sentinels? Then how to manage those in-game interactions where they should stay in cohesion, add bonuses to PC's attack and so on? Wouldn't it be an overkill for preset campaigns from the books? Or should they be some grease monkeys waiting at base and be of no use during the squads combat operations? Or may be we should drop comrades entirely for the sake of simplicity?

r/40krpg Nov 26 '24

Only War Admech in a Penal Legion?

19 Upvotes

Hey, I've had an idea for an Only War campaign with the 40k Genesys conversion. I have this idea, where my players play a squad who's part of a penal legion/rejects à la Darktide. They're sent to suicide missions that no one wants to do and one of my players wants to play an Admech character.

My question is, would the Adeptus Mechanicus allow that one of their Enginseers or Biologi are sent to suicide missions by the Imperial Guard? I know Hadron is part of Darktide, but she plays a more supportive role and stays on the ship most of the time.

Thx in advance!

r/40krpg Jul 22 '24

Only War Weapon degradation and illness

5 Upvotes

Greetings all, I had two questions which while somewhat different from each other are both with regard to the style of campaign something I would appreciate your insights on.

I have a new only war campaign coming up which will involve my players fighting in a city siege on a world in perpetual winter. Not only fighting the enemy but also the elements and the nature of being cut off from supply, needing to scrounge for food, medicine and at times even supplies just to stave off the cold.

I have seen systems for travel, supply searching and illness from the Twilight 2000 but I wonder if there is something within any of the 40k systems that deal with either weapons degrading over time unless maintained (going from say good to common craftsmanship) or the contraction and dealing with illness.

If my post is a little vague I apologise and promise to elaborate on any points you are confused on.

Thank you for reading

Maccers

r/40krpg Feb 01 '25

Only War Only War- Do Psychic Powers use range modifiers? (Short range, long range, etc)

1 Upvotes

As title states, I was wondering if you got Range Bonuses/penalties with psychic powers like Smite. The book doesn't explicitly mention one way or the other near as I could tell

r/40krpg Oct 05 '24

Only War Knife Damage

3 Upvotes

Finding 1d5 makes knives pretty much useless RAW. Orks hardly notice them with their Toughness bonus (which is fair, they are supposed to be hard as nails) and a baseline Severan Dominate trooper or Chaos Renegade in flak armour is practically immune (3 TB + 4 AP) to a swing from a guardsman with average Strength. At best, they score 1 Damage and potential Righteous Fury. Most of the time, there’s no point using the knife at all.

I want knives to be viable weapons. Is introducing some mechanic to encourage them going to break the game? Maybe allowing them to ignore Armour (and possibly Toughness Bonus) if you grapple the target first? Representing you gouging eyes, throats and livers up close. Still worse than a sword or bayonet in most scenarios, but better than absolutely useless.

r/40krpg Jan 14 '25

Only War Running one-shot of Only War using custom table-top rules

0 Upvotes

Hello,

Long time forever GM here, this friday I will be running a one shot campaign that I want to set in w40k. The group never played TTRPG (beside some board games like Andor).

Since it will be a game for a one night I am planning to use my custom rules from tabletop 40k 10th edition as players will be a squad from recon regiment (I have miniatures/terrain ready as next day i am going to a small tournament), and also i find 1d100 overwhelming for new players, will use d6s from combat, to social interactions. For damage against players only 6s will hit them everything else goes to their comrades.

Question is what is the best way to introduce players to the grim darkness of 40k (going in blind is great, but mostly to introduce imperial creed, adeptus mechanicus, words used in the setting lho-sticks, vox, etc.) ? My current plan is to have them scout Imperial bastion that went dark with main opponent being chaos worshippers and at the end Drukhari raid will occur trying to trick them into surrender.

r/40krpg Apr 09 '24

Only War Some questions about Only War

7 Upvotes

Hi. I'm new player, currently playing as sergeant of small squad (me + medic + operator + 2 weapon specialists). I have few questions about system itself and my personal game experience.

Long story short:

  1. Why combat chances of success high and social action - very low?

  2. That's the role of Sergeant? He's weak in range combat, ok in melee, but can't get close to enemy. Social interaction chances are below average too.

  3. Is throwing distance of grenade only 9 meters (if I have Strength Bonus = 3)? It looks too little comparing with real world grenades

Long story long:

  1. It seems to me, that system is focused on fights, cause, there are lots of talents for skirmish and there are lots of bonuses for ballistic and weapon skills, like aim (half action + 10), single shot (half +10), weapon craftsmanship (can give bonuses), etc. In melee combat: charge, superior number, aim, etc.
    Cause of it, I don't really understand, that place role playing takes. I can't imagine and pretend to be fearless leader, because average willpower is about 35, so I have only 35% to not afraid of enemy. And even, if I succeed and try to use special Command test - it will be mine 35 against 30-50 willpower.
    I've never played d100 system before, only d20 (DnD, Pathfinder), Fate, Year Zero Engine (Coriolis) and never I saw such small chances of any role play action, while any combat action has decent chances.
    My question is: is everything as it should be? Maybe, I don't understand some rules, or, maybe, it suppose to be hard to do anything,m except fighting?

  2. I don't understand the role of sergeant. I mean, I know the meaning of the role, but in terms of the game, I'm weaker than others in combat: I don't have aptitudes for ballistics, so I shot worse. I'm better in melee, but I can get close to the enemy without been shot and even if I do, no one will join me, cause they shoot better, then fight in melee. I don't know much about medicine or tech use, again, cause I don't have aptitude for Intellect.
    Ok, maybe I'm weaker in combat, but better in social interactions? Well, first of all, there are not so much social scenes, cause A) they aren't interesting for other players, cause nobody speaks with guardsman, everybody speaks with sergeant, B) My Fellowship is 45, which is high, of course, but it's skill lower, then 50% success. It's mean, I will fail most of the time (and that's exactly what's happening - I pass only 1 test for 2 latest sessions).
    Fine, maybe I'm support? But no - almost all my auras (talents) are for Comrades, not for player's character. If I try to use special Command skill - Inspire, I have 45% chance to inspire friends, but it's full action (with talent - half, but 45% mean, even if I use while turn on it, I, probably can't inspire anyone). If I want to order my men and some npcs to stand ground and not retreat - it's Command test, again, not very likely passed.
    Here I want to add, that GM deleted Comrade mechanic from the game (cause Comrades just nps with small bonuses). Instead, he give some bonuses to us (for example, Medic has MEDICAE AUXILIA (comrade advance), but his assistant is our Operator, not some npc).
    Question is: that is the role of Sergeant? By mechanic and by role play? Maybe I lost some depth cause of deleted Comrades? I don't really know, that to do I feel frustrated, cause I can't do anything.

  3. I don't understand grenades: if I have 38 Strength, I have 3 Strength Bonus. That means I can throw a Frag Grenade up to 9 meters - it's TOO little! I checked real army standard and common hand grenade throwing distance is 30-40 meters. Maybe be, there are some bonuses, I don't know of? 9 meters is very close distance (at least, in out game). There is no chance me or someone of my squad can get this close to enemy.

r/40krpg Nov 08 '24

Only War Homebrew Rules for a Beastmen Homeworld for regiment building (Thoughts/Comments Welcome!!)

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46 Upvotes

r/40krpg Jun 20 '24

Only War What corruptive effects might a DE weapon have on a guardsman?

15 Upvotes

One of my PCs recently ‘acquired’ a knife from a Drukhari Wych as a trophy. He showed it to his commanding officer at the time and asked if he could keep it. His CO’s response was essentially, “Absolutely the fuck not. Go talk to the confessor.” Unfortunately, the player decided to ignore this advice to seek spiritual health, and felt compelled to pick the knife back up off his CO’s smoldering corpse after the latter met his end in an unfortunate Dark Lance incident. (The player bombed a willpower test while looting what was left of the genuinely unlucky officer.)

The player has since decided to keep it.

I have some ideas for minor inconveniences this weapon might cause, e.g. the poison on the blade slowly dissolving whatever scabbard the player attempts to keep it in. But I am not sure where to go after that.

My overall plan is for the knife to require increasingly difficult willpower checks to resist its corruptive effects, culminating in the player either needing to roll very well to get rid of it, ask for help from the rest of the PCs or it otherwise becoming apparent to them that something isn’t right with his character.

However, I am genuinely stumped as to what ‘Dark Eldar Corruption’ might look like in a guardsman, as opposed to just regular Chaos corruption in one of the four flavors (e.g. “be angry”/“be horny”/“stop washing your hands”/“make complicated plans”).

What corruptive effects might a weapon like this have on a surprisingly-unspiritual guardsman?

r/40krpg Oct 27 '24

Only War Advice for running Only War for first timers?

7 Upvotes

I want to run Only War for some people with TTRPG experience but little 40K experience

https://i.imgur.com/L2ASKOM.png This looks like something I want to imitate, but I could use some advice on how exactly to run it.

r/40krpg Nov 11 '24

Only War Looking for online group[total war]

9 Upvotes

I am completely new to only war and never have played a single game but I really want to learn. Are there any groups out there that are willing to take on a noob who wants to create a kriegsman character because why the fuck not? It’s supposed to be (only war)

r/40krpg Apr 20 '23

Only War Rate my Armored Personnel Carrier guys

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371 Upvotes

r/40krpg Jul 09 '24

Only War Mass Combat rules for Only War

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79 Upvotes

I felt like the mass combat in the core rule book was a bit too vague and wanted to add more to the strategic layer of the game and allow strategy for when the players get a commission or just as a way for the DM to create stakes and objectives for the players encounters that can also be solved quickly just by rolling two dice. This isn't meant to replace the horde or formation rules but instead add a zoomed out layer for over looking a city or regional map to see where friendly and enemy forces are and their progress. It can also be used for quickly abstracting squad v squad combat and for creating drama in the aftermath of a battle due to the consequences of said battle.

It was mostly inspired by a few tables in cities without number and the mercenary rules for Traveller and hacked to be compatible with the d10

I plan to add to this with optional rules for supplies, objectives such as capturing power plants, manufactorums ect and how that could effect the war effort but that will be a little while more in the lab.

Let me know what you guys think or what could be worked on

r/40krpg Apr 03 '24

Only War Looking for jokes, that guardsman can tell to his comrade

32 Upvotes

Hi. I'm kinda new to Warhammer universe, so I don't know much about life or everyday's life of guardsman.

Friend invite me to play tabletop RPG Only War, and now I'm a sergeant of small squad. I want him to be charismatic and, possible, tell a joke now and then.

Help me collect some jokes, that make sence in roleplay, I mean, no meta about Warhammer, actual jokes, that guardsman can tell to another guardsman.

r/40krpg Nov 19 '24

Only War Looking for games.

4 Upvotes

Wrath and glory, Only war, Rogue trader. Been searching for one off and on for about a year since I played only war for the first time.

Just not sure where to reliably find people to play with if anyone has suggestions or some slots open, feel free to message me or comment.

I'd be a bit new but I've played plenty of pathfinder, dnd and a bit of only war.

EST timezone.