zombieneighbours said:

The key being in your mind.  I personally have no such associations seeing as I was over D&D long before 4e came out (though what I've seen from browsing the books is pretty disgusting).

The definition of "lore" fits with its usage in discussion of current RPGs.  It is the background material, not just "This town is here", but stories and tales of what lead to the setting's current state.  It's also, as a word, more appropriate to what it actually describes than "Setting", easier to get out than "Background Material", and far more respectful of its intention and importance than "Fluff".

I've no problem with using the term lore with regards to RPG background material.  "Fluff" originated in wargaming and cardgames, where people tend not to view the background material with the same importance as in an RPG.  In wargames and cardgames, to a fairly large extent, only the rules matter.  In RPGs, the rules are pretty much secondary to the lore of the setting.

Regarding D&D4E and the Forgotten Realms, I can forgive them the hundred-year leap in setting time, the massive catastrophic changes to the setting, etc...  I cannot forgive them for leaving bloody Elminster, the Muchkiny Author Insertion Character of all Munchkiny Author Insertion Characters, alive.

Lyinar said:

Agreed.  They finally had the 'fluffy'   best chance ... and still they refused to pull the trigger!  And it's not just Elminster ... it's several others of the Chosen ... the ultimate player-significance-dampeners!  So I have given up on FR completely.  In any future DM'ing I do, it will be in Eberron.  I don't know, maybe that was their intent from the start.

But back to the topic at hand, I do believe their will be some (if not a great deal of) potential for cross-purpose missions in DW.  JMHO. 

I've never seen the downside to 'fluff' personally - I see it as the contrast to 'cruch' - which is the mechanical side of things.  Both are important, and which is more so depends on context. 

'Lore' I find to be slightly infantile.  It sets my teeth on edge in the same way that medieval dialogue spoken with an American accent does.  (It doesn't work, as clearly everyone in the middle ages talked like a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company). Completely arbitrary and ridiculous I know but it's a personal prejudice of mine.

Er. Sometihng on topic perhaps.  There are enough accounts of xenos chaos worshippers (such as the Saruthi in the aforementioned Eisenhorn books) or cults around xenos (e.g. genestealer cults) to allow for plenty of overlap between ordos.

PGMason said:

Agree 100%  In fact, Dragon magazine used to have advertisements comparing themselves to a jar of fluffernutter.

While I can understand there being overlap for Deathwatch and the Sisters of Battle, I find it highly unlikely that Grey Knights would have the same level of overlap.  Only because as the militant arm of Ordo Malleus, it's pretty hard to confuse a demonic incursion with xenos activity or heretical cells.

Really? I can easily imagain a hurried description of an unknown C'tan being mistaken for a discription of a demon princes.

zombieneighbours said:

I agree. Was aiming at something like this with my previous post. Distinctions will not always be text-book clear in the field. So these daemon-worshippers were actually tainted by xeno tech, as part of a sinister plot to quicken psyker development inside the Imperium and pave the way for a xenos invasion that is underway right at this moment? Call in the Deathwatch. Nevermind that ordos Malleus and Hereticus would be just as right to call in their own chambers militant if they happened to sniff the crisis out first.

Now, even if the duties of the Deathwatch per se are straightforward, the inquisitor whom they work with (and many times for) may not be so single-minded in his loyalties, goals and aspirations. This may or may not lead to a conflict of interests, which in turn would generate roleplay.

Sammail said:

I have to say an overbearing Inquisitor who decides to keep ordering around the Kill-team after they've completed their mission, wanting them to purge a chaos cult or some other non-xenos related thing, would be fun.  It'd be interesting to see how the players reacted.  If they just did whatever they were told, they might face a shitstorm from their Deathwatch commander.  If on the other hand they refused, the Inquisitor could get nasty.  Some good stuff there.

Another big difference between the Grey Knights & Deathwatch is that the Grey knights are born & especially bred for their task. The members of Deathwatch are not.

Please do not forget, that the Imperium does not know (in General) that there are different ordos inside of the inquisition.

If there is a Space Marine Team Dropping to bring the Demon and the Cultist to their Deaths, the Planetary Gouvenor would not ask them to stop, because thats not something the Deathwatch does.

No other Ordo should be concerned with such a thing.
See Shattered Hope (DH Adventure) you are expected to be an inquisitor from Malleus, but you arent an inquisitor, and maybe not Malleus.
So nobody had a Problem if you go and kill something, or uncover a heresy.
But interesting it gets, when the Order IS to "stand down" or do something else...

Example from my DH-Campaign:
We "stumbled" over a SpaceHulk, and entered it, without the help of the Astarted (2nd Evening of play).
Because our inquisitor told that battlecruiser to let us. (the Spacehulk would enter the warp in a few hours again, and noone else in reach.)
Because the Cpt. of the IG-Cruiser was pissed from the Inquisitions order he gave us one Pilot and one Shuttle... no other support but VAC-Suits.
We uncovered Humans on the ship... Dead humans. Mostly composed of Dustyflesh and some greenruned-Metalthingies, Controlled by a Green/Metal/Stonetable.
We fought that Zombies, took the stonetable and some of the Heads (where the Implants where).

Returned before the Spacehulk reached his ETL (Estimated Time of Leaving) and then back to Scintilla.
We put the things in a hardly Secured Chest. In the Tricornpalace: We opened it to show it to our Inqiusitor (Hereticus!):
in THAT Moment the Doors swung open and a Xenos Inquisitor demanded that Things, caus it's obvusly his Juridiction... no Argument. we handed it over...
But wanted to see whats in it... and so the adventure began, over this small conflict. Now we have a secret war with that Xenos Inquisitor... but thats anotherstory.

I Think it made clear what I mean?

Do not Care for the Ordothing, unless it's Plot and Fun to play!