[OT] Why is there no Warhammer 40K RPG?

[Thyrkill]

I don not play Warhammer 40K but I love the dark, gothic, sci-fi setting (have read several of the novels and really enjoyed them). I think it would be perfect for a RPG, possibly even a D20 version of it. I am not a big fan of GW as a company, but I thought I would e-mail them to see if they were planning anything. Their response was that "they were a toy soldier company" and would not be producing anything along those lines. I thought it a strange response.

I was wondering if anyone has heard or knows about plans to make a Warhammer 40K RPG?...I know I would be very interested.

Thyrkill

 

[Lucias]

Somewhere on the net there was an adaptation of the WFRP rules to 40K...check around the 40K sites and you'll find it. I think one of the main reasons there has been no rpg is because the background is very stratified. It would be difficult to logically get different races "adventuring" together. It could be done, but it pushes the limits of the setting a bit. A single race campaign could be viable though...

If you really are itching for official role-playing in 40K I suggest Inquisitor. It's a very odd, very interesting niche game that appeals to those who both role play and wargame. Very cool stuff if you can dig it. Barring that, Rogue Trader (40K 1st ed.) was virtually as very detailed combat role playing game as the scale was small enough back then that you knew a lot more about your men. It would be a good place to start for a d20 conversion.

 

[Cerubus Dark]

Warhammer 40K RPG

There is a minor conversions for paladium as well. ITs not the best in the world, but it covers the space marines and chaos Khorne Berzerkers.

 

[Giant_Monster]

I beleive there was once a 40k roleplaying game (late 80's?) called Rogue Trader.

 

[Lucias]

Actually Rogue Trader is the first edition of 40K rules. They're not roleplaying but miniature gaming. Thought it's skirmish level and detailed enough that with some work you could make a 40 K rpg.

 

[The Furious Puffin]

Someone is working on a 40K D20 system thingy. He has a thread at

http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9504

which has a link to his web site, where his rules are posted.

 

[Lady Dragon]

There used to be a 40K RPG but that what at least 15 years ago and is probably out of print I've got it somewhere but its was not unpacked the last time I moved.So I can't get to check.I have't played it in at least 12 years.

 

[sword-dancer]

Follow link

http://www.role-play.co.uk/w40krp/

 

[Green Knight]

Somewhere on the net there was an adaptation of the WFRP rules to 40K...check around the 40K sites and you'll find it. I think one of the main reasons there has been no rpg is because the background is very stratified. It would be difficult to logically get different races "adventuring" together. It could be done, but it pushes the limits of the setting a bit. A single race campaign could be viable though...

Agreed. I can't see a multi-racial party of adventurers gallavanting across the galaxy. And even if there were, there would be no place they could go. The Imperium and Eldar, for instance, hate each other. They exchange ambassadors, but that's pretty much the extent of the contact between humans and eldar, so I don't see a party of both being allowed on either an Imperial world or an Eldar Craftworld.

Nor do I see Space Marines as a viable player character class, considering how rare (unheard of?) it is for Space Marines to be operating on their own.

At BEST I can see a band of normal human freebooters, or Eldar pirates, but that's about it. Maybe a mix if they're if they're operating outside the fringes of the Imperium, with some Tau thrown in. Or Ogryns (ogres) and Ratlings (halflings).

A much more viable option would to actually play units in the various armies. For instance, play a squad of Space Marines, or Eldar Rangers. Of course, in that case, everyone would have to play the same class, pretty much.

Whatever the case, it wouldn't be easy to turn a world designed as the backdrop for constant warfare into a viable role-playing setting.

 

[DMaple]

A Necromunda gang or Inquisitor type game would be your best option. Inquisitor is almost halfway between an RPG and a Wargame although it lacks decent character generation rules or any balance (Not that balance is required for an RPG).