Editing Dark Heresy Second Edition (section)

=== Background ===
Next, you pick your background to determine starting skills, talents, equipment, background bonus, and background aptitude. Background bonuses are mostly new stuff. Background choices are:

*'''Adepta Sororitas:''' (Introduced in Enemies Within) The bolter gals are immune to Corruption, but receive extra Insanity points any time they're exposed to something that would normally cause Corruption. Additionally, only they can take the Sister of Battle Elite Advance. The strange thing, however, is that it doesn't say anywhere that your character has to be female. This could mean that this also allows for the existence of the Frateris Militaris - that ad-hoc (and technically illegal, the best kind of illegal) army the Ecclesiarchy uses to make riots and shit without having a literal army.
**Starting Skills: Athletics, Charm or Intimidate, Common Lore (Adepta Sororitas), Linguistics (High Gothic), Medicae or Parry
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Flame or Las), Weapon Training (Chain)
**Starting Equipment: Laspistol or hand flamer, chainblade, armored bodyglove, chrono, dataslate, stablight, micro-bead
**Starting Aptitude: Offence or Social

*'''Adeptus Administratum:''' Dealing with the Administratum's clusterfuck of bureaucracy lets characters with this background count the availability of an item as one level more available than it would usually be when requisitioning (e.g. an item of Average availability counts as Common).
**Starting Skills: Commerce or Medicae, Common Lore (Adeptus Administratum), Linguistics (High Gothic), Logic, Scholastic Lore (player's choice)
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Las) or Weapon Training (Solid Projectile)
**Starting Equipment: Laspistol or stub automatic, Imperial robes, autoquill, chrono, dataslate, and medikit
**Starting Aptitude: Knowledge or Social

*'''[[Adeptus Arbites]]:''' Arbitrators can reroll any Intimidation and Interrogation test, substituting their willpower bonus for degrees of success on the reroll.
**Starting Skills: Awareness, Common Lore (Adeptus Arbites, Underworld), either Inquiry or Interrogation, Intimidate, Scrutiny
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Shock) or Weapon Training (Solid Projectile)
**Starting Equipment: Shotgun or shock maul, either Enforcer light carapace armor or carapace chestplate, 3 doses of stimm, manacles, 12 lho sticks
**Starting Aptitude: Offence or Defence

*'''[[Adeptus Astra Telepathica]]:''' Experience dealing with the Warp allows an Adeptus Astra Telepathica character to grant Psykers within 10 meters that roll on the Psychic Phenomena table an increase or decrease on the roll by up to the Telepathica character's willpower bonus, making them a godsend to psyker-heavy parties. If the character is a Psyker himself, he will also gain the Sanctioned trait for free; anyone else with the advance is considered a rogue psyker, which never ends well.
**Starting Skills: Awareness, Common Lore (Adeptus Astra Telepathica), Deceive or Interrogation, Forbidden Lore (The Warp), Psyniscience or Scrutiny
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Las), Weapon Training (Low-tech)
**Starting Equipment: Laspistol, staff or whip, light flak cloak or flak vest, micro-bead or psy-focus
**Starting Aptitude: Defence or Psyker

*'''[[Adeptus Mechanicus]]:''' The cogboys' obsession with cybernetics makes all cybernetics two levels of availability higher than usual (e.g. Rare becomes Average).
**Starting Skills: Either Awareness or Operate (player's choice), Common Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus), Logic, Security, Tech-Use
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Solid Projectile), Mechadendrite Use (Utility)
**Starting Trait: Mechanicus Implants
**Starting Equipment: Either Autogun or hand cannon, monotask servo-skull (utility) or optical mechadendrite, Imperial robes, 2 vials of sacred unguents
**Starting Aptitude: Knowledge or Tech
**Note: Can be very versatile; careful selection of cybernetics around your chosen role is critical. 

*'''Adeptus Ministorum:''' Those who serve the Imperial Creed gain a 20+ bonus to tests instead of the usual 10+ bonus when spending fate points to gain bonuses to tests.
**Starting Skills: Charm, Command, Common Lore (Adeptus Ministorum), Inquiry or Scrutiny, Linguistics (High Gothic)
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Flame), or both Weapon Training (Low-tech) and Weapon Training (Solid Projectile)
**Starting Equipment:  Hand flamer (or warhammer and stub revolver), Imperial robes or flak vest, backpack, glow-globe, monotask servo-skull (laud hailer)
**Starting Aptitude: Leadership or Social

*'''Exorcised:''' (Introduced in Enemies Beyond) An Exorcised character counts his Insanity bonus as 2 higher for purposes of avoiding Fear tests (so they start the game immune to Fear 1). Additionally, he can never again become possessed by the same Daemon that once possessed him; the jury is out on whether that means the same type of Daemon or the specific Daemon who possessed him the first time.
**Starting Skills: Awareness, Deceive or Inquiry, Dodge, Forbidden Lore (Daemonology), Intimidate or Scrutiny
**Starting Talents: Hatred (Daemons), Weapon Training (Solid Projectile, Chain)
**Starting Equipment: Autopistol or stub revolver, shotgun, chainblade, Imperial robes, 3 doses of obscura or tranq, disguise kit or excruciator kit, rebreather, stablight or glowglobe
**Starting Malignancy: Starts with one Malignancy chosen from the Core Rulebook Malignancy Tables
**Starting Aptitudes: Defence or Knowledge

*'''Heretek:''' (Introduced in Enemies Without) Knowing something as a Heretek makes a Tech-Use test to comprehend, use, repair, or modify an unfamiliar device, easier as he gains a +20 bonus if he has one or more relevant Forbidden Lore skill specialization at least Rank 1 (Known).
**Starting Skills: Deceive or Inquiry, Forbidden Lore (pick one), Medicae or Security, Tech-Use, Trade (pick one)
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Solid Projectile)
**Starting Trait: Mechanicus Implants
**Starting Equipment: Stub revolver with 2 extra clips of Expander bullets or Man Stopper rounds, 1 web grenade, combi-tool, flak cloak, filtration plugs, 1 dose of de-tox, dataslate, stablight
**Starting Aptitude: Finesse or Tech

*'''[[Imperial Guard]]:''' Team players as well as fighters, Guardsmen can reroll damage rolls of 1 and 2 if attacking an enemy that an ally attacked since the end of the Guardsman's last turn.
**Starting Skills: Athletics, Command, Common Lore (Imperial Guard), Medicae or Operate (Surface), Navigate (Surface)
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Las), Weapon Training (Low-tech)
**Starting Equipment: Lasgun (or laspistol and sword), combat vest, Imperial Guard flak armor, grapnel and line, magnoculars, 12 lho sticks
**Starting Aptitude: Fieldcraft or Leadership

*'''[[Imperial Navy]]:''' (Introduced in Enemies Without) Close Quarters Discipline gives Imperial Navy characters one additional degree of success on Ballistic Skill tests made at Point-Blank range, at Short range, and while engaged in melee.
**Starting Skills: Athletics, Command or Intimidate, Common Lore (Imperial Navy), Navigate (Stellar), Operate (Aeronautica or Voidship)
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Chain or Shock), Weapon Training (Solid Projectile)
**Starting Equipment: Combat shotgun or hand cannon, chainsword or shock whip, flak coat, rebreather, micro-bead
**Starting Aptitude: Offence or Tech

*'''Mutant:''' (Introduced in Enemies Within) Being a warp-tainted freak forsaken by the Emperor isn't entirely terrible. Sure, you start out with 10 points' worth of corruption and a mutation (obviously), but on the bright side you can choose to fail tests to resist malignancies and mutations and choose to take a mutation in the place of a malignancy.
**Starting Traits: One of the following: Amphibious, Dark-Sight, Natural Weapons, Sonar Sense, Sturdy, Toxic (1), Unnatural Agility (1), Unnatural Strength (1), Unnatural Toughness (1)
**Starting Skills: Athletics or Acrobatics, Awareness, Deceive or Intimidate, Forbidden Lore (Mutants), Survival
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Low-tech, Solid Projectile)
**Starting Equipment: Shotgun (or stub revolver and great weapon), combat vest, heavy leathers, grapnel and line, magnoculars, 2 doses of Stimm
**Starting Aptitude: Fieldcraft or Offence

*'''Outcast:''' The dregs of society are tougher than they seem, counting their toughness bonus as two levels higher when determining fatigue.
**Starting Skills: Acrobatics or Sleight of Hand, Common Lore (Underworld), Deceive, Dodge, Stealth
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Chain), either Weapon Training (Las) or Weapon Training (Solid Projectile)
**Starting Equipment: Autopistol or laspistol, chainsword, armored bodyglove or flak vest, injector, 2 doses of Obscura or Slaught
**Starting Aptitude: Fieldcraft or Social

*'''Rogue Trader Fleet:''' (Introduced in Enemies Without) Having to deal with aliens, a Rogue Trader Fleet character gains +10 bonus to Fear tests caused by aliens and +20 bonus to Interaction skill tests with alien characters.
**Starting Skills: Charm or Scrutiny, Commerce, Common Lore (Rogue Trader), Linguistics (pick one alien language), Operate (Surface or Aeronautica)
**Starting Talents: Weapon Training (Las or Solid Projectile, Shock)
**Starting Equipment: Autopistol or laspistol (fitted with Compact weapon upgrade), shock maul, mesh cloak or carapace chestplate, auspex, chrono
**Starting Aptitude: Finesse or Social