There is [will be] a lot to do for the first group of people joining this game, but I have every confidence that they will come together in true Imperial Guardsman fashion and complete their tasks in an orderly and professional manner. ;)

For this game, I will keep things very simple for the RTJ: Give the standard "I am so-and-so, born X, old enough to view adult materials on RPoL in my home country."

Then tell me you aren't afraid to die for your Emperor! Heh...but seriously, you will probably face greater challenges here than even on a tabletop game with your most unlucky dice. Be sure to check your need for a permanent character at the door, just as I have put aside any notions of NOT creating heroes and martyrs out of your characters.

I don't care if you've never played Only War before; this will be a good way to get your feet [and bayonet] wet. I don't care if you've played this game every weekend since it was created; this will be a good place for you to learn that everyone needs battle-buddies to survive the far future of humanity. I DO care if you don't have access to the Core Rulebook...I will do what I can to bring you the information you need to be able to enjoy this game with the rest of us.

That's it. Your first name, you're old enough to say bad words and hear tales of gore and violence, and you want to join the military to fight for the Imperium of Man. Then we'll get to the meat of it.

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Once the first group of players has joined, and determined what regiment they hail from, you'll begin the character creation process. Believe me, it will be impossible to min-max or squeeze the rules in such a way as to create a 'broken' character, or one that is 'too powerful or unbalanced'. You will be front-line grunts in almost every respect and will face odds and enemies that are sometimes your equal but more often your better. Cunning, strategy, luck, and overwhelming firepower will be your best friends between now and when the last breath leaves your body.

Each player will create two characters from the start. You will then choose one to be your primary character. The other will be your Comrade. When/if your first character dies, the comrade will immediately become your primary character, and when you get to a point in the mission or campaign where you can find, gain, or requisition another comrade, you will create that one. This will facilitate operations and the smooth continuation of a scene within the game without having to stop for a day [or more] while a new character is rolled up.
   - The initial player characters and their comrades will be humans, though you can choose any world type from the Core Rulebook or Shield of Humanity sourcebook that is allowed. After these two have been made, it will be possible to create a comrade that is an Ogryn or Ratling and have them accompany you onto the battlefield. Remember that Comrades do not use their stats, skills, or talents, though; they are just squishy butlers and assistants shadowing you until you die, or they do.

Roll 2d10 for each of your 9 characteristics and put them in whatever order you want, or use the point buy system, for yourself and your Comrade. You may choose to roll for one and point-buy for the other, or use the same method twice for both. Do not reroll 1's. You may choose to reroll your lowest score but must keep the reroll result.
   - You can, after rolling for Wounds and Fate, choose to lower your Fate by 1 [to a minimum of 1] to give yourself Maximum Wounds. Alternately, you can choose to lower your starting wounds by 3 to give yourself an additional Fate Point [to a maximum of 3].

There are only five Guardsman Specialties available. Those are: Heavy Gunner, Medic, Sergeant, Weapon Specialist, and Guardsman. Wait...what's a Guardsman? That's not in my books...
   - Guardsman is for the grunt who isn't exactly the rank-and-file slob like the guy to his left and right. They use the same profile/template as the Sergeant with the following changes: instead of +5 to Fellowship they get +5 to any one characteristic; replace Starting Skill Command with Intimidate or Survival or Trade; replace Talent 'Air of Authority or Iron Discipline' with any one Tier One talent that the character is qualified for; and replace the common craftsmanship chainsword with a best-craftsmanship knife or good-craftsmanship machete [sword].

All characters get an additional 1000 xp to spend on talents and skills. You are not 'fresh off the drop pods'; you have been a part of this, or previous, engagements during your brief career, and have gained some knowledge of how to survive on the battlefield. Hopefully those things will come in handy.
   - You may choose to only take 500 xp and reroll your starting Wounds and/or Fate, if you like. You must keep the results of these rerolls even if they are lower than the initial rolls.

Basic equipment is spelled out in the character generation. Don't ask if you can upgrade this to that. Don't ask if you can trade this for that. Don't ask if you can have this because you come from that world. Everything is in black and white right there in your choices. Choose what you want to get what you want. Tadaa! :)

Pooling of resources or resource bonuses by teammates is allowed and encouraged after the first mission is complete. When you are on the front lines, there is nothing worse [in gaming] than watching your friend get knocked out or crippled and knowing that they don't want you 'taking their stuff' or 'using their gun'. When the options are share or die, it is pretty clear that stopping the enemy so you can live long enough to fight about ownership later is the best course of action.
   - Similarly, when your unit is in the rear and taking some downtime, you will be afforded opportunities to requisition more equipment, items, weapons, gear, or personnel. You will each be able to make individual rolls, or can pool your requisition certificates in order to attempt to garner better things to help in the fight against the enemy forces.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:01, Sat 29 Oct 2016.

As you will have two characters each, it will probably be easiest for you to each be given access to the game with one character - you've all been issued a Guardsman Serial Number - and then just post your two character sheets in the same Character Sheet field that's been provided to you. Primary on top, comrade on the bottom.

Your character sheet(s) should include all of the usual pertinent information you'll need: Statistics, Skills, Talents, Regiment & Home World [and associated bonuses], Weapons and Equipment, and finally Medals & Citations. I don't have a prefab template or design for Only War characters, but I'm sure one of you can come up with something, or each individually, just so long as it's legible and orderly.

In the bio lines will be the basics of your character that are important to everyone: Put your current character's name in the first line and your comrade's name in the second line. I will change each person's Player Tag to whatever their specialty is, be it Heavy Gunner or Sergeant or whatever. When the Comrade takes over, these things will change and we will move forward from there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:03, Sun 30 Oct 2016.