Space marines of the 41st millenium
I'm gonna try a different tack with this game, assuming it ever happens: I'm gonna lay out the plan ahead of time, so that everyone knows what the game is about, instead of challenging the players to discover that on their own.
The Big Idea
The players are Space Marines from a Chapter seeking redemption, sent on a secret mission to put down an insurrection. They must have the wisdom to deploy their awesome might at the appropriate time. They must ensure that the Emperor's property is not damaged. They must uphold the laws of the Imperium, and those who disobey will be judged.
The players are authority figures, and the challenge will be to know how and when to use that authority. The fun part will be when it's finally time to pull out the stops and load the bolter with whup-ass!
Duration
The game would last a finite number of sessions; at some point the players will have accomplished their goal and will want to leave.
The Rules
Moved to Space Marines in the Vineyard
The Characters
Characters would be, obviously, Space Marines, from the Astral Claws chapter. There's no real restriction on what sort of Space Marine you want to play; it could be a Librarian, or a Chaplain, or whatever, but you don't get extra dice for it. Just choose your Traits differently.
The players should all be of roughly the same rank. The Sergeant will be an NPC. Auxiliaries such as Librarian or Chaplain or Apothecary or Techmarine have no formal rank, as they're outside the heirarchy. When attached to a unit, the Sergeant has ultimate authority, though opinions from auxiliaries are always welcome.
Further, there's more marines on-planet than players, so I'm gonna ask everyone to make two characters. It's easy in DitV (er SMitV), and it's fine if one of them is your "primary concept".
I'm gonna have a few additional rules to DitV's character creation system, they're listed below:
The Setting
The Imperium of this game is different from the Imperium made familiar by official works. Beyond the Imperial propaganda lies the truth of the matter. Space Marines - Background Primer
The protagonists: Disgraced Space Marine chapter the Astral Claws. With the disappearance of Lugft Huron, their apostatized chapter master, they seek to regain the Emperor's favor without committing themselves to the fanaticism common of chapters such as the Imperial Fists.
The setting: The once-great planet of Belegos is under attack from insurgency. Myr Wosek, the acting master of the Astral Claws, has volunteered two entire Tactical Squads to stabilize it, and in doing so, hopes to set his brothers on the path of redemption.
