Only War - Free Companies

Restrictions for Free Companies

Adjusted Drawbacks: Free Companies cannot take the Condemned or Conscript drawbacks, due to their nature as an all-volunteer force. By definition, ‘Free Companies’ are comparatively free within the wider context of the complex Imperial feudal hierarchy; as such they cannot be draftees or penal legionnaires upon the company’s creation. Furthermore, Free Companies may take two Drawbacks with a maximum limit of eight regimental build points between them if they so desire, and in fact MUST pick at least one drawback that does not inherently conflict with their chosen Philosophies, to represent the flaws inherent in an independent free-standing body of mustered soldiers.

Restricted Homeworlds: Free Companies cannot be founded on a Penal Colony, Lathe World, Fortress World, or Schola Progenium, nor can they recruit from them; Schola Progenium and Fortress World Player Characters would be bound by higher oaths to the Imperium of Man, and Penal Colonists would be unable to leave their world unless called into Imperial service. As such, Free Company Player Characters cannot be generated using these homeworld options unless given special narrative permission by the GM with some good justification behind it. Meanwhile, Lathe World Player Characters are firmly bound to the will of the Cult Mechanicus, which precludes the formation of an independent company of soldiers-for-hire, imposing the same restrictions as Penal Colonists, Fortress Worlders, and Schola Progenium Player Characters.

Restricted Regiment Types: Due to the exorbitant costs of acquiring and operating exceptionally rare and powerful machines produced by Mechanicus Forge Worlds, Free Companies cannot be Armored or Superheavy Armored Regiments. Large numbers of heavy armored vehicles are beyond the reach of all but the most affluent of mercenary forces, and even most Rogue Traders would balk at the expense of fielding more than a few squadrons. The concept of a full regiment of tanks backed by all of the necessary support elements to keep them functional is simply unthinkable outside of the Imperial Guard or the most famed and legendary Rogue Trader dynasties or noble houses. Exceptions may exist in the case of mercenary auxiliaries hired to supplement planetary defense forces, many of which are armed in a manner akin to famous Guard regiments, such as those from Cadia, but this is not relevant to a Free Company’s founding.

Restricted Specialities: Due to the fact that Free Companies are not Imperial Guard regiments, and do not have the backing of any major Imperial institutions except while on particular contracts, Player Characters do not get access to any of the following Support Specialist classes: Commissars, Stormtroopers, Ratlings, Ogryns, or Sanctioned Psykers. The exceptions to this are Free Companies from Ratling Worlds or Ogryn Worlds. Techpriest Enginseers and Ministorum Priests are, however, still permitted. The Cult Mechanicus is known to indenture tech-adepts into the service of private enterprises as overseers for matters involving machine spirits, and being a mercenary or part of a Free Company does not require a lack of adherence to any of the myriad sects or offshoots of the Imperial Creed, nor does it dictate a lack of faith on the Free Company’s part. Ministorum Priests are still accepted, and even shown a special reverence. Soldiers, even mercenaries, are often superstitious, especially in matters of faith.

NOTE: Particularly permissive GMs might allow the use of the Stormtrooper speciality in the guise of a Free Company Veteran, which represents a member of the Free Company that is more battle-hardened, disciplined, or well-trained than many of his fellows. Mechanically, these Free Company Veterans ‘count as’ Stormtrooper Player Characters, but their status as members of a Free Company opens the door to other roleplaying opportunities than would be dictated by a Stormtrooper member of a regular Imperial Guard regiment.

Adjustments to Regimental Standard Kit: Any Regiment Type that offers an M36 Lasgun or a Lascarbine and any charge packs as a Main Weapon for the regiment may spend 5 points from their Regimental Standard Kit budget to change their Main Weapon to an Autogun, four magazines of ammunition, and two magazines of either Manstopper or Dum-Dum Rounds instead, or a variant of lasgun that is not normally available (such as the Merovech-pattern Assault Lasgun (from Rogue Trader: Into the Storm), the Drusus Prime-pattern Lasgun (Dark Heresy 1st Edition, Inquisitor's Handbook), or the Minerva-Aegis Lascarbine (Dark Heresy 1st Edition, Inquisitor's Handbook) as examples) and four charge packs. Exact patterns for Main Weapons may be discussed and provided by GM discretion, but should not exceed Scarce rarity under any circumstances.

PHILOSOPHIES - You must pick one, but you may pick two if you wish. These Philosophies cannot in any way conflict, either with each-other or with the mandated Regimental Drawback your Free Company must take.

Psytheists - 1 Points - A heretical view held by many apostates, psytheism is a barred school of philosophy and theology that reveres and adores psykers as an emerging force of great power and danger to the enemies of Mankind in the 41st Millennium, some even viewing their powers as holy defenses against the unclean or blessings from the God-Emperor. Even in the case of those who do not possess psychic powers themselves, many will take great risks housing or aiding unsanctioned or rogue psykers out of a misguided belief that they are performing some service to humanity for which they will eventually be vindicated by history. A Free Company is a logical place for psykers and those who aid them to go to ground, as they travel farther afield than many common citizens and live in sufficiently chaotic conditions to be difficult to identify conclusively from a distance. Every PC receives the Psyniscience skill at Rank 1 for free, and they also receive the Guardian Talent for free, but only under conditions where the person using the talent would be defending a psyker from harm. If the PCs wish to use it to defend non-psykers, they must purchase the talent as normal. However, the Free Company may be pursued or deemed a threat by numerous Imperial institutions if discovered for what it is, not the least of which would be the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition or the Adeptus Arbites.

This Far And No Farther - 1 Point - The Free Company has become known for a staunch unwillingness to cede ground to the enemy except under truly dire circumstances. This has culminated in numerous past occasions where the company’s leadership will dig in and form hardened positions out of otherwise untenable ground, declaring firmly that the enemy will not pass. Once per Mission, the Squad’s leader (if they have one; if not, the same decision can be made by mutual consent among the players) may declare that a particular location or site will hold against a coming enemy attack. When this declaration is made, any PCs from the Free Company automatically treat any cover they create, occupy, or otherwise make use of in defense of that location as 50% more durable than it would ordinarily be. In the case of fractions, round up.

Scum - 1 Point - The Free Company’s rank-and-file (and most of the officer corps, most likely) are dregs, gangers, and armed thugs more than a professional force of mercenaries. Many of their activities off the battlefield are illegal wherever and whenever they ply their trade. Any PCs seeking to acquire contraband items receive a +10 modifier to the Logistics roll. Furthermore, all PCs start with Peer (Underworld). However, they receive the Enemy (Local Enforcers) Talent as well.

Our Word Is Our Bond - 2 Points - The Free Company is founded on a firm ideal of adherence to one’s sacred word, and it is a rare thing that can sway a warrior of this band from fulfilling an oath he has sworn. If a character from the Free Company swears an oath of some specific nature (ie. it cannot be ‘I swear to kill any Ork I see’, but it could be ‘I swear to kill the Ork Warboss leading the army we fight’), he gains a +10 bonus to all Willpower tests made in pursuit of that oath. If he ever goes back on his oathgiven word, abandons an oath he has sworn for any reason, or is forced into a position where an oath he has sworn is no longer possible to uphold, he receives 1d5+1 Insanity Points. Each PC can have a number of ‘active’ oaths equal to his Willpower Bonus, but the bonuses from these oaths do not stack with each-other under conditions where they would intersect.

Nothing Crushes the Spirit of Man - 2 Points - The Free Company has a view of the Imperium’s people that demands they defend them wherever they find helpless civilians at risk. Whether it is defending peasants and habworkers from a tyrannical dictator whose continued rule may go against the Emperor’s grand plans for humanity, or holding the line of a planetary capital against an Ork invasion, the Free Company fights harder in defense of civilians. Once per session, the Squad’s leader may declare the Squad’s intent to protect civilians against those who threaten them. In such circumstances, the Squad receives a +20 bonus to Willpower rolls to resist Fear and Pinning. However, the company’s altruistic nature often forces them into battles they might otherwise avoid, and this makes it difficult to field more expensive or maintenance-intensive gear due to battle damage. The Squad takes a -5 penalty to Logistics rolls to acquire any Rare gear, with a cumulative -5 penalty for each increment of rarity beyond that. This penalty does not apply to Mission-Issue Gear rolls, Regimental Standard Kit, or gear that would constitute Speciality-issue equipment such as a Medic’s medikit.

Staunch Professionalism - 2 Points - The Free Company’s ideals and beliefs revolve around a solid code of professional ethics, which will vary between companies. Such codes often have much overlap, usually including the adherence to their contracts to the bitter end, some kind of ‘no looting’ policy, and a consistent demand for no unprofessional behavior on or off the battlefield. This professionalism is noticed and respected by their employers, and their soldiers are often treated accordingly - for however long it takes for the war to turn against them. The Free Company is barred from ever taking the Scavengers Special Equipment Doctrine and every PC must make a -20 Willpower test to ever break company regulations (in or out of combat - specifics must be decided between the players and the GM, but should be adequately strict), but the PCs receive a +20 bonus to their Squad’s Logistics Rating until such time as the Warzone Conditions change to either ‘Losing Badly’ or ‘Ceasefire.’

Opportunists - 2 Points - The Free Company’s tactics and overall attitude reflect that of pirates, underhive gangers, and brigands preying on the weak. Their strategies are often considered dishonorable but brutally effective by their peers. If the Squad gets a Surprise Round against an enemy, they receive a +2 to Initiative when the battle begins in earnest, and also gain a +2 to any damage rolls made during the Surprise Round. However, characters from the Free Company are treated as having a -20 penalty to any Interaction skill tests with Guardsmen, PDF, or other Free Companies that would view their tactics with particular disdain or otherwise would not appreciate the company’s talent for ruthless opportunism in battle.

The Corps is Mother - 2 Points - The company hires its recruits from within a select collection of camp followers, the company’s dependents (children of the company’s full members, wives or husbands who wish to take up the gun alongside their spouses, etc.), and other such individuals for whom the Free Company is hearth and home. Alternatively, they recruit only from a particular world or region (perhaps a patch of territory on a certain world the company or a particular patron of the unit, if any, controls), much like many chapters of the Emperor’s own Space Marines. This commonality of culture and brotherhood makes the company much more loyal to one another, but denies them the variety and skills of ‘outsiders.’ If two or more PCs attack the same target within a round, they may use the higher Willpower score between them for any Willpower rolls for the duration of that round and the round after. However, the Free Company may never become a Mixed Regiment unless the other component regiments are all recruited from the same source, and merely differentiated by Standard Kit, Doctrines, or regiment type, effectively barring new recruits from other worlds altogether. Furthermore, all PCs from this regiment take a -20 to all Interaction skill tests against members of other Free Companies, Planetary Defense Forces, or the Imperial Guard due to their massively-insular nature.

Xenophiles - 3 Points - Whether the Free Company’s travails have brought them into close contact with deadly xenos weaponry they’ve learned to appreciate, or they simply have a particularly scholarly bent and are lured to the forbidden, the regimental rank-and-file are knowledgeable in matters of xenotech and alien lore. Each PC in the Free Company begins with one rank in Forbidden Lore (Xenos), as well as the Peer (Underworld) talent for free, and receives a +10 modifier to any Tech-Use or Operate (Surface or Aeronautica) rolls to tamper with, use, repair, or inspect damage to xenotech of any fashion, so long as they can identify the device, its function, and means of operation. However, their open-minded nature towards xenotech is not without risks, and the members of the regiment suffer a -10 penalty to Willpower tests to resist xenos psychic powers or mind-altering effects imposed by xenos artifacts. Furthermore, if the Free Company’s affinity for xenos technology becomes known to the Inquisition or Adeptus Arbites, Imperial justice is likely to follow.

Death Cultists - 3 Points - The Free Company’s membership, one and all, are devoted to one of the Death Cults that celebrate the Emperor through death, and see their killings as divinely sanctioned, or even ordered from on high through ‘divine’ visions, readings of the Emperor’s Tarot, or other esoteric means (many of them of questionable veracity). Death Cults are not uniform in their belief systems, but some commonalities often exist, such as the potential for human sacrifice in the name of the Emperor, a fascination with bloodshed, or a particular affinity for certain kinds of weapons. Each PC receives the Jaded Talent for free due to their constant exposure to acts of extreme violence in the name of the Emperor. Furthermore, upon taking this Philosophy, the players select a certain weapon type (Power weapons, chain weapons, lasweapons, solid projectile weapons, etc.). When wielding a particular weapon of that type, they may roll -20 Willpower at the beginning of each Mission to gain the Tearing Quality for that weapon for the duration of the Mission. In the event a weapon has the Tearing quality already, it instead receives a +2 to damage and Pen. Each PC in the Free Company also receives 2d5 Insanity Points, and if a member of the Free Company ever gains a Malignancy, their first is always Obsession (Blood). Furthermore, if they are not wielding the Death Cult’s favored weapon type after succeeding in the Willpower roll to gain Tearing for their regiment’s preferred weapon type, they receive a -10 to Ballistic or Weapon Skill Tests, and a -3 to Damage and (if not already 0) Pen to all hits made with the weapon they’re using. Pen cannot go into the negatives from this penalty, but damage can.


The Flesh Is Weak - 3 Points - The Free Company is particularly blessed by the Omnissiah, and their outlook reflects this. Augmented heavily and almost as much machine as man, the regiment almost certainly has close ties to the Machine Cult, but the Ecclesiarchy and much of the Imperial citizenry views the company with suspicion and fear for the extent of their modifications. Each PC starts with the Machine (1) Trait. All characters in the Free Company suffer a -20 to Interaction Skill Tests with anyone outside of the Free Company, apart from Forge Worlders, Lathe Worlders, and members of the Machine Cult, and all PCs receive the Enemy (Ecclesiarchy) Talent for their perceived faithlessness.

Death or Glory - 3 Points - The Free Company prefers high-risk, valorous engagements and particularly daring surgical strikes to routine patrols or common guard detail behind the lines, and where there is death and battle, there is glory to be had. The PCs receive a +20 to their Squad’s Logistics Rating when acquiring equipment for the purposes of a Vital mission. This bonus does not only apply to Mission-Issue equipment, but to any other gear that the squad sees fit to acquire for the mission in question. However, the equipment MUST be expendable, disposable or otherwise perishable (extra explosives, ammunition, disposable electronics, or rations, for example) if it does not constitute Mission-Issue Gear. Other applications of the bonus may be provided as per the GM’s preferences on a case-by-case basis, but any such occasions must involve preparation for a high-risk mission of significant importance and cannot be invoked lightly.

He Who Stands With Me Shall Be My Brother - 3 Points - The company is bound together by their experiences on the field of battle and the horrors of war they face on a daily basis. They may be as tight-knit as a regiment of the Guard in distant warzones fighting the enemies of the Emperor, in some cases. This strong bond makes coordination on the battlefield much easier, comrades able to discern changes in combat conditions from something as minor as the tone of a fellow warrior’s voice over the vox. Any member of the Free Company who rolls Command tests to issue orders to Comrades receives a bonus to the roll equal to their FB (Fellowship Bonus)x10, and Cohesion with their Comrades is maintained within an additional 10m beyond the norm for that Free Company. Furthermore, if any PC attacks an enemy that an ally has attacked within the same round, they may reroll 1s and 2s for damage without spending Fate Points. However, if a PC’s Comrade dies for any reason, they receive a cumulative -10 penalty to all Willpower rolls for the rest of the mission (or large-scale battle) for the loss of a close friend (or possibly family member, lover, etc.) for each Comrade lost. If a fellow PC dies, however, then all other PCs receive 1d5-1 (to a minimum of 1) Insanity Points for the scars of such a close associate’s death on their psyche. These penalties will only apply under conditions where the loss of the fellow PC would be so jarring - likely it would take several missions for a new bond to form with a replacement, but the impact and threat of losing a brother in arms they have grown to view as a member of their fellowship can be devastating to even the most battle-hardened warriors.

Let None Find Us Wanting - 3 Points - The Free Company is a crusading company dedicated to one of the myriad sects of the God-Emperor's holy faith, and views warfare to be a religious calling. Many such companies take up arms in the service of particularly pious Rogue Trader houses, fight in holy wars between sects of the Imperial Cult, or join in the Ecclesiarchy’s Wars of Faith while thinly-disguised as Frateris Militia. Their faith is such that they can endure terrible blows until they feel they have served the Emperor well enough to be allowed to die. On a successful Willpower test to resist Fear or Pinning, characters from the Free Company may Frenzy as a free action, even if they lack the talent to do so. Furthermore, if a PC burns a Fate Point, they are restored to their full Wounds in addition to shrugging off any effects imposed by Critical Damage (the sole exceptions being lost limbs and Blood Loss), such as Stunning and accumulated Fatigue. However, upon character generation, the number of Fate Points the PC has upon creation is immediately lowered by one, and if the PC ever disengages from combat with mutants, perceived heretics, or traitors to the Imperium for any reason, they immediately gain 1d10+1 Insanity Points.

Death Squads - 3 Points - The Free Company specializes in operations that have much to do with purging dissidents or ‘soft targets’ such as armed civilians and other populist uprisings. When the loyalty of their own PDF or paramilitary enforcers is in doubt, Imperial governors of an especially ruthless bent seek out and hire companies of sanctioned terrorists from offworld. These men and women are hardened killers all, and the worst nightmare of many a rebel has been made reality by their work. The Free Company’s skill with indiscriminate terror tactics imposes a -10 penalty to attempts to dodge Blast, Flame, or Spray weapons, and weapons with the Blast or Toxic Qualities increase the values of these weapon qualities by 1. However, any character from the Free Company suffers a -30 penalty to Interaction skill tests other than Intimidation or Interrogation when dealing with civilians or dissidents of any kind, even ones they are temporarily allied with, under any circumstances. This also applies to Logistics tests that involve any kind of barter or bargaining with civilian populations. The sole exceptions, subject to GM approval, are groups that are just as bad as they are.  Furthermore, every PC from this company automatically starts with 1d10+5 Insanity Points, and the Enemy (PDF, Planetary Enforcers, Imperial Guard, and Adeptus Arbites) Talents.

Mutants - 3 Points - Derided by the countless hordes of pure humanity as twisted abominations and filth fit only for labor or extermination, mutants with an opportunity often rally together and escape their worlds of origin, seeking new suns under which to bleed and die to retain their freedom on the run from Imperial persecution. Many are hired by unscrupulous or desperate parties eager to win a war...even against the mighty armies of the God-Emperor. Upon taking this philosophy, every PC gains a Minor Mutation, once stats are rolled, Speciality is selected, and starting XP is either spent or decided to be saved. As Only War lacks a Mutation table, talk to the GM about specifics, but they should never be significant or massively powerful. Furthermore, every PC automatically receives the Enemy (Adeptus Arbites and Ecclesiarchy) Talent for their twisted origins, and they may be hunted by the Inquisition or Adeptus Arbites for their crimes of genetic deviance.