EQUIPMENT AND LOOTING

The Stuff Game:

Okay kids, let's not beat around the bush. The cooler the stuff relative to the characters, the more the stuff game happens. And 40k has some really cool stuff.

So I'm going to spell out my philosophy on stuff in Dark Heresy:

I wouldn't put it in the hands of an opponent if I didn't realize it would probably end up in yours. Feel free to hang onto or sell/trade what you can (see below). But I can assure your Inquisitor would not have good things to say if he knew you didn't turn over or destroy a tainted xenos weapon. (And if you think none of your team mates would rat you out for brownie points.. well you were bound to meet a messy end anyway.) As a GM, I do not condone stealing from other PCs, which includes routinely pocketing everything from a downed foe before your allies know what's on them. I understand that being selfish may be in your character's nature, but there are a few places where the player enjoyment supersedes the excuse “but my character would do it.” I have seen this issue cause too many hard feelings Out Of Character. I'm not asking you to sell things off and split them down to the throne (this isn't D&D). I'm not even saying two characters might not get in a race to see who can grab the cool power sword off the dead enemy. But if I notice a pattern of someone getting greedy to the detriment of other players.. well I do control the universe. Enough said.

So, you got some cool stuff that won't get you accused of radicalism. What can you do with it? Well obviously you can use it. If you can you know.. use it. You can turn it into the Inquisition armory and see what else they have on the shelves. There are no hard rules for this, but if you're not looking for something TOO unusual (relatively.. you might be surprised as the amount of hexagramically warded armor Ordo Hereticus has) you can probably get something worth about half the value of what you brought in. If you bring in stuff easily found at the corner munitorium, you'll just be laughed at. The Inquisition has enough autopistols, thank you. (Plus you'll look pretty foolish lugging a sack of them around on your mission.) Or you can sell it. I don't have hard rules for this either, it will depend on the item and where you are, but generally expect to get less than half the item's value in thrones.

Once you have the thrones for something, you can purchase all but the most exotic items in the books with little difficulty, though some might require a wait. A few might require you to call in some favors.

Dark Heresy also adds it's own little unique twist to the stuff game: requisitioning / petitioning for stuff. Use common sense on this, pg 281 of the core rulebook says it well. The section on the Inquisition about making good impressions on people also applies. Note (particularly as you advance in status) you may also have the opportunity to request mission specific supplies for use during a single mission. These requests will be handled by individuals other than your Inquisitor, varying with the circumstances.

And the warp gazed back...