Quote from: fonkaygarryI'd like to see one, myself.

Well, OK, here's what I can remember:

we saw the "average" spacemarine (Say an ultramarine cince they were the 'stock' space marines) as being something like this:

Strength was about 20, or 3.5x the strength of a normal human, IQ was about 12 since only the smartest of the recruits survived the tests, Dex was also 12 due to massive training and augmentation and Ht was like 14, after all the biomods and such.

To reflect the various biomods they had combat reflexes, Very Fit, Rapid healing, enanced senses (vision, hearing and smell), Damage resstance of about 4 on the main body to reflect the black carapace, DR 3 to reflect the tougher skull, high pain threshold, Photographic memory, resistance to most poisons, temporary resistance to vacuum, the ability to gain survival based kinowledge of an environment if they ate an animal from it, resistance to radiation, innate attack (Spits poisonous acid.) and the ability to hibernate, which was regarded as a low cost feature since it plaued little direct role in most games.

They had a few disadvantages too, like Intolerance for damn near anyone who wasn't a proven loyal imperial citizen, fanaticism 6 (for the emperor), requires biochem monitoring, hazardous duty 6, probably a SM of +1 (certainly while in armor) and overconfident.

Skills were mostly combat related, a marine would have guns (Tl whatever 40k is) bolter, chainsword, melee combat, tactics, imperial histoty, chapter lore, religion (Imperial, chapter) but few, if any, non military skills.

That's all BEFORE adding in his power armor, autosenses, bolter, chainsword, frag and krak grenades, etc....

If you're interested in more detail, hold your nose and go over to the gurps forums at sjg. Try to avoid andy hackard and quoltar, and ask for stats for a WH40K space marine in gurps 4e.

Quote from: JMcL63So, I made my first post, then went back and reread Erik's opener and thought, "D'oh! You've taken completely the wrong tack with your recommendations of those points-driven supers systems." I've been trying to take a different tack then.

First off: you have to decide what kind of space marines you're going to play:

• a particular chapter
• the Deathwatch- ie. marines from different chapters operating as special forces (this is probably the most interesting for a roleplaying group)
• the Grey Knights.

This choice will effect the key attributes you'll need.

The first attribute that you need is Orthodoxy or somesuch. That is: how closely does each marine's chapter adhere to the Codex Astartes? This can be set on any scale you wish, but essentially the value will range from 0 to 1. The Ultramarines are the classic example of Orthodoxy 1, the Space Wolves of Orthodoxy 0. I would suggest that the Dark Angels and the Blood Angels are somewhere in between. I can't decide where those two would fit on the scale.

What flows from the Orthodoxy rating? Well, the less orthodox a chapter is, the more likely it is to be subject to oversight or interference by the Inquisition- ie. to suffer a complication in play. Less orthodox chapters will also have less rigid doctrines, which could give them more flexible skill-sets. However, less Orthodox chapters are also more likely to have unstable or tainted geneseed. The Blood Angels' Black Rage is the classic example of this.

How would Orthodoxy work as a mechanic? Well, I can imagine some kind of competitive test. The rules would vary according the base system chosen, but lower Orthodoxy should be favoured in solving novel problems, while higher Orthodoxy should enjoy advantages when dealing with the Imperial authorities, eg. the Inquisition. Also, if you were to choose to go the Deathwatch route then the potential for conflicts of Orthodoxy between PC's, plus the fact that the Deathwatch are the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition, should provide plenty of opportunities for highly charged roleplaying.

This is just the germ of an idea. I hope it helps.

You're right on this, different chapters often had variations and such. To play a "stock" marine go with the ultramarines, they were the baseline marine model.

QuoteI want the maximum amount of pretense I can get.

Metal Action Violence Unlimited: A Game of Action, among and between Marines

The only stats are relationships, either to your fellow marines, or to your Violence. Relationships are rated in a single die of any type (d4, d6, d8, d10), whereas Violence is a stat that mixes up different dice of different sizes. A conflict is resolved in a two single rolls: you roll all your Violence dice and add it up on the Killin' Table to see how much Violence you dish out. Then you reroll just the relationship dice, and you ONLY survive if you get a 1 on any of those dice.

Now, new relationships to a marine start at d4 - that's comradeship. In between fights, you have roleplaying scenes, where you try to escalate your relationship. d6 is the kissin', d8 is hot marine-on-marine lovin', and d10s are killin' said loved one for some dramatic reason. If you DON'T escalate a relationship between battles, then cross it out, and move that die into the Violence pool, adding another metaphorical weapon to your arsenal. (A la "Flamethrower of Broken Dreams".)

As you see, you're encouraged to build up relationships, then cut them down in order to focus on your Violence and weapons of war and so on and etc. etc. etc.

Quote from: DevPMetal Action Violence Unlimited: A Game of Action, among and between Marines

[...snip...]

As you see, you're encouraged to build up relationships, then cut them down in order to focus on your Violence and weapons of war and so on and etc. etc. etc.

You know, that's almost sublime...

!i!