Depending on whether you guys want to do it, here's the skeleton of a setup for an Inquisitorial Band/Deathwatch vs Whoever campaign. Aeldari, Chaos Marines or Necrons on the planet? A genestealer infestation? Who knows. The protagonists could be normal-marines and not the Deathwatch I suppose, but I would like to see the boys-in-black on the stream again, if possible. Anyway...
The Zeta-9-34-8852 system is in the Bellator Sector, Segmentum Pacificus. While light-years from any major trade routes, the system's only planet; an icy wilderness-world locally known as Morgan's Grace, is home to a privately operated gas-mining operation and orbital transfer facility.
A warp-tide anomaly sees to it that the system plays host to more than it's fair share of space-hulk activity, so Zeta-9 is patrolled by a small Imperial Navy fleet of five system-monitor ships, bolstered by the warp-capable cruiser Starhammer. The system is also home to a manned astropathic relay station which is in orbit around Zeta-9 itself.
Almost 3 standard years ago, the astropathic relay suddenly ceased transmissions. An Adeptus Astra Telepathica troubleshooting team was dispatched to deal with the problem, but for whatever reason, has not been heard from since. Inquisitor Hefner, Ordo Xenos, became aware of the station's problems while heading an investigation into sub-sector piracy. He dug deeper and found that the consortium running the gas-mining concern had been dissolved after a number of their bulk haulers had been gone missing. In all cases, the last verified ports of call for each of these ships had been the leg of their journey before reaching Zeta-9. The consortium had not had the resources, or apparently the will, to evacuate the planet and the current status of any remaining mining personnel on the surface of Morgan's Grace or its associated orbital is unknown.
Similarly, the status of the naval fleet is also unknown. It is not unheard of for out-of-the-way monitor fleets to be out of contact for extended periods, but the time of the inquisitor's investigation, the Zeta-9 fleet's system security status reports were overdue by 25 months. A report had been filed but, due to bureaucratic inertia, any followup of the fleet's fate had gone by the wayside.
The Inquisitor took it upon himself to determine the fate of the system. To that end, he assembled a team of specialists and requested aid from the Deathwatch. Watch Captain Roma, from the Watch Fortress of Watcher Keep, answered the inquisitor's request.
Hefner's ship, the Stenotritus, and Roma's strike cruiser, the Sword of Vigilance, have now arrived in-system.
From analysis of radiation-residues and debris fields, there is evidence that a multi-ship void-battle took place in the vicinity of the largest of Morgan's Grace's moons between 27-32 standard months prior. There are no signs of any of the five Imperial Navy system monitors or the Starhammer.
While it still has main power, the orbital transfer facility is no longer in a wholly-stable orbit around Morgan's Grace and has not responded to hails.
One of the missing private bulk-haulers has been located. Although its primary reactor appears to be offline and its four portside cargo holds are open to space, the ship, Grand Duke Gregori, still has backup power and has fallen into a short-term stable orbit around Zeta-9. It too, has not responded to hails.
Medium range scans have located the astropathic relay station and found it is dead in space. While the structure is still largely intact, whatever destroyed the station seems to have done so from within. Its orbit has been completely destabilized and if not recovered, it will slowly spiral into Zeta-9 over the course of the next 18-19 months.
Hefner's hails to the four mining operations on Morgan's Grace have, thus far, gone unanswered, but preliminary augeries have found signs of activity around a collection of ancient xenos ruins in the south-western hemisphere of the planet, some 50 kilometers from Mine Head Gamma. It is the only verified activity on the planet.
I didn't go to the LVO but I'm still a reasonably OK-ish person.
I'm not sure the Imperium of Mankind know what that means.
Anyway! Thanks for the awesome idea Icendar! We are always open to suggestions and ideas of any type.
Just as a heads up/spoiler we are looking at revamping something things for Dark Apocrypha Season Two (Coming soon to a viewing device near you!). I'm planing on focusing things on a more long form campaign with the weekly stuff feeding into a larger plot, over the course of ten weeks or so (not counting Codex/special event weeks), I'll post a thread for that soon if people have suggestions.
Sure they do. Read your Ravenor book (the first one) - on Eustice Majoris, the manufacturing cartels license tech and expertise, at exorbitant fees, from the AdMech for some heavy industries. There's private citizens and corporations (all the Necromundan Industrial Houses, for eg) that, while they could be crushed or seconded by any number of Imperial organizations, still operate (with various degrees of success) in Warhammer-land. Hell, look at every Rogue Trader ship - they're all private concerns.
EDIT: I've been busting my *** all this afternoon trying to find an old article I once read (in the mid 90's) that was titled something like "Yes, you can still get a pizza in the 41st millennium." that answered this sort of question, but it doesn't look like it made it to the internet. That's is a shame, because it was pretty funny.
I'm really happy you're looking at an overarching longer campaign, though. That's my fave way to play 40k. I hope it is for other people too. One off games are fine... but the story is where it's at.
Last edited by Icendar; 11-20-2017 at 11:14 PM.
I didn't go to the LVO but I'm still a reasonably OK-ish person.
Abe and I have finished up all the upcoming Season 2 of Dark Apocrypha special characters.
There will be DRAMA
There will be new Heroes and Villains
There will be deaths
But no longer will you have to see your favorite Dark Apocrypha characters get bland generic rules. OH no - we've let their ingame performances (and a lot of on on-stream shenanigans) shape their rules.
I'm writing them up now - it wont be long.
Here's some tantalizing teases for you:
Quantum Exaltation Station (Neferkara the Oppulant's personal Ghost Ark)
Special Ability:
Venga Bus : A the start of each Necron turn choose one of the following abilities:
- Get On and Move Your Body: +2" Movement for all Necron Infantry units within 6" of the QES
- Hey Now, Hey Now, Hear What I Say Now: -2" to charge distance rolls for any enemy units declaring chages on Necron units within 6" of the QES
And the Mystery Man of Season 2, the hulking:
Babu Khan...
More soon.
Last edited by Bigred; 12-29-2017 at 02:00 AM.
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Love the Segmentum Map. Took me a while to find all the cleverness. Think I'm still missing some.
Hey GW. Thanks for my emperor forsaken blight haulers!!!
3 for 75 is way better than i hoped
Seconded
I was surprised there was not a planet Astley (Adeptus Terra Designation: dQw4w9WgXcQ) in the T'au encroachment and I thought "Dax IV" would be a destroyed world
And I really, really hope that Icendar is a fortress world with how close those Ork raids are getting...
Love it all.
I didn't go to the LVO but I'm still a reasonably OK-ish person.
Last edited by Bigred; 01-12-2018 at 06:33 PM.
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