Dark Heresy, Session 1: Tattered Fates

I'm still a month behind, but getting these typed up when I can. On the 19th of June, our group, having come off my own Pathfinder campaign, had decided to play something different for a change, and David took the reins, deciding to run the Dark Heresy campaign, Haarlock's Legacy.

Now, knowing that David has owned the three-part adventure since the books dropped, I haven't looked much into them, in an effort not to spoil anything for myself, as a player, but I've seen plenty of scathing remarks made about the series. I'm not sure of the basis of most of them, just the general consensus that the arc is almost impossible to run/play. One reviewer has even said that he "would rather convert AD&D 2nd Edition modules to Dark Heresy than run Haarlock's Legacy again." I hope this does not bode ill for our own campaign, but time will tell. At the moment, everyone seems to be having fun.

Anyway, I somewhat digress, and as I said, we got together to play Dark Heresy. Taylor and I brought characters that we had made, but the other three decided to take advantage of Dark Heresy's ability to completely randomize a fully-realized character until they gain more knowledge of the setting and system. Despite not choosing a single thing about their character (except possibly gender?), I believe everyone was happy with what they ended up with.

We awoke groggy, obviously drugged, amongst dozens of other people, on the gritty floor of what appeared to be a theater of some sort, perhaps an arena, which was confirmed when we discovered the floor was also littered with bones and great doors, closed with heavy grates lined the edges of the place. Then the howling began.

Those around us panicked as the sound grew louder and one of the grates opened. A couple of us ran over and grabbed bones, ready to fend off whatever was coming through, but one of the xenos canids broke through our picket and began to maul some of the civilians. It was gruesome, but we redoubled our efforts, not knowing what else to do.

Some of the others were looking for a means out of the place and after a few moments and maulings later, a man was seen above, in the seating over the arena wearing a bird-like mask and a flowing cape that resembled wings, who then made his way over to a machine and performed the rites to lower a ladder, then made haste out of the area.

I did not personally witness this man, but Nicodemus related it to us other four, and I have little doubt in his words. The man is likely part of the Machine Cult, since he was able to easily manipulate the machine spirit of the ladder device. Nicodemus, though very learned and obviously knowledgeable in those same rites, had difficulty, himself, in persuading the spirit to retract itself.

Though a twinge of guilt over the loss of the civilians struck me, I reminded myself that my companions and I serve the God-Emperor, and the thought that we might have been especially targeted is gravely feared. We have no contact with our superior, and the drugs have hindered us greatly. I'm having trouble remembering some names, like those of our employer and even some of my own band. Hopefully this will wear off soon.

At any rate, we made our way through corridor after corridor. This place seems to be a manufactorum for meat processing, but we've not encountered much life in the place, save for a few barbarous worker-menials, from which we gathered weapons after killing them in defense of our own persons. The savages seem to be wearing leathers from the skins of any beast they can, including humans. Though we serve the Emperor even in death, through giving our bodies for rations, etc., I find the practice of wearing the skins of our fellows revolting and possibly blasphemous.

I'm not terribly sad to say that one of the witches in our company lost an eye in one of the skirmishes, but they now sport, mostly due to the sheer amount of damage upon their own bodies, our best armor recovered so far. The arbiter, it should be noted, wears some of the grotesque skin-leathers. I find that detestable.

This place is dangerous, and obviously not all is as it should be, we have been sneaking through, as best we can, with as little confrontation as we can manage, but perhaps the weapons we have recovered will see us out of this Emperor-forsaken hole.


??, Hive Worlder Enforcer (Arbiter 2) - Angela
??, Void Born Neonate (Imperial Psyker 2) -  Paul
??, Void Born Neonate (Imperial Psyker 2) -Tami
Nicodemus, Imperial Worlder Scrivener (Adept 2) -Taylor
Mohrdecai, Cadian (Fortress World) Guard (Guardsman 2) - Me