Dark Heresy, Session 9: Damned Cities

We had gone back out to Grey's hab, then, completely at a loose end. Times like these make me miss command structures like in the Guard. No mucking around, you just do as your told. Here, sometimes, I feel like nobody really has a grip on the plot, so we just plod along.

This trip to the habs, though, was my call. Surely, we had missed something? It turned out we hadn't any new leads when we got there, though, so we went over what we know and decided to search out Enforcer General Khan to coordinate our investigation with his.

Before we knew it, however, we were escorted as 'guests' of the apparent rulers of the Undertow, the Rag Court, which consisted of three. Here, I'll call them Creepy, Fatty, and Crazy, because that's what they seemed to be to me. The one, Crazy, even invited us to assassinate the Enforcer General! Assassination of a civil servant of the Empire is a grave offense (unless such an assassination is gone through the right channels and all, but nevermind that), no matter the compensation, which has been rather poor for us since Inquisitor passed.

All that aside, and being prudent, we agreed to take the hit into consideration, and were let go with a small bit more of information after we divulged a little, ourselves.

Earlier attempts to contact Enforcer General Khan met with difficulty, since he was busy in the quorum, but we arrived at the Judiciary and made our way in just in time to hear someone say that we were the Inquisitorial investigation team, not whoever was let in before us, and witnessed a small amount of panic set in before the realization that the impostors were still around and also very dead, much like the other attackers from the other murders.

We engaged these targets (save for our new companions...the pilot hadn't been seen since before we left Haarlock's Folly to visit Grey's hab, and the silent one had ran out of the room as the dead men revealed themselves, be it out of fear or hoping to find the Enforcer General, who knows), but not very efficiently. They can take massive amounts of small-arms fire before they go down, and it took us a fair bit to realize hits to the arms and legs weren't effective at all. Add to this the fact that none of us were laying down effective fire, and things just seemed to spiral out of control early on.

We finally took down one mark, but the other two targets had barely been touched and ammo was becoming scarce. Xantippa (Warp take her soul once she actually dies!) layed on her psychic abilities thick, and - naturally - created no little amount of warp disturbances with the sheer amount of power surging through the area. Were the situation not so dire, I would have shown that damnable woman penance for disrupting His work with her indiscriminate display, but the very strong physical presence of dead men trying to kill us deterred me...for now.

Whatever Xantippa did that set herself alight, or whatever that set her alight, anyway, was punishment enough and besides, Nico was there to douse her after she had burned enough to learn her lesson. Rhia, in the end, put paid to the dead, though it cost us a precious plasma weapon. Rhia immediately paid restitution for her sacrifice of such a holy relic with her leg, and so He took His payment and all was balanced in that effort. A few grenades that detonated in the plasma meltdown were an added bit of excitement and firepower to an already impressive explosion, and it's a small wonder that Rhia lived at all.

Light arms and a big explosion is all it took, in the end, and we were all alive, though needing to regroup, badly, since triage was unavailable to us then.


Cast of Characters
Rhia, Gunpoint (Hive World) Investigator (Arbiter 5) - Angela
Xantippa Thebe, Son of Nightmare (Void Born) ?? (Imperial Psyker 5) -  Paul
Nicodemus, Regulus (Imperial World) Scholar (Adept 5) - Taylor
Mohrdecai, Cadian (Fortress World) Veteran (Guardsman 5) - Me
??, (Feral World) Assassin (Assassin 5) - Sam

Here, we were pretty sure that Khan was the "bad guy". I'm not sure what led to this decision, but it seemed logical to all of us at the time. After the Rag Court offered us a bounty, it just seemed to strengthen our conviction. Perhaps we were all just frustrated that our characters aren't very investigatey and we wanted David to hold our hands? Either way, we assumed we'd put down the Enforcer General, collecting the bounty on his head and solving Sinophia's problems in one fell swoop. How wrong we were to be!


Another aside, even though I dropped the ball on this month, I'm fairly proud that this is the best year (as far as post count goes, that this blog has seen. I've not had much time to actually write out a post, but it's good to get this one, at least out before the year's end.
I hope everyone's holidays are great!

The List, 51-60

Just one more after this one, and the list will be complete!

The List: You Decide Which Game Will Come Next

51. Exalted – The General Direction Once, the Lawgivers ruled the world, but they became mad under their own power and their empires dissolved, almost ending in disaster, were it not for the Elemental Courts and their beneficence. Now, rumors of new Lightbringers, the fabled Lawgivers of old, have surfaced in the World, and things may never be the same again! You may be those same Lawgivers, the Solar Exalted, arisen anew to bring the world to a newfound glory, or you may belong to the Elemental Courts or the vile Abyssal or Infernal aspects, wishing to find the Solars and end their reign before history repeats itself.

52. Geist: The Sin Eaters – Break on Through to the Other Side You died, once, but it was not your time. You’re still here, and now you have a responsibility, but where does that responsibility ultimately lie? The dead need you, but you need something entirely different from them. The reasons you’re re-alive escape you, and only the dead hold them, but if you complete the things those who have passed require, will you find your answers or will your death be forever hollow? Perhaps you need to venture beyond the veil to find what you seek.

53. Street Fighter – Enter Shadoloo You have proven yourself in your various arenas, be they the streets, underground fight clubs, or structured competition, but now you have the attention of people beyond your current sphere, factions that wish to recruit you in the hopes of having someone in the clandestine World Warrior Tournament! Will you and your companions stand against the supposed terrorist organization that sponsors the tournament, or will you support the backers of the World Warriors to continue the legacy of the tournament?

54. Gamma World 3^rd Edition – It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and I Feel Fine In the Before, it’s said that things were all glass and metal and trees. Buildings stretched into the sky and water flowed in clear veins all over. That, and my ass is shiny like a radbeast! Ain’t no clear water, or no buildin’s what stretch to the sky. Why would you want to? The haze would block the view.

And if that weren’t enough, the Pure don’t think we have a right to settle these parts. Too bad the last of us good with fightin’ got killed by that spider-goat the other week. Reckon these fools coming up the way could help…?

55. Rogue Trader – Danger Zone In all the far reaches of the Empire of Man, vast warships of the Imperial Navy ply the space between planets, bringing war to the other space-bound xenos and other enemies of Mankind. You serve the God Emperor’s Navy, too, but expend your duty in one of His Lightning fighter craft, engaging in air superiority, protection runs, and scrambling counter-strikes against everyone from the Dark Eldar to the servants of the Ruinous Powers. Serve the Emperor’s Will as His Ace or go down in a blaze of glory to His name!

56. Only War – One Hundred Million Soldiers for Every Star in the Sky You said goodbye to your home and now have entered the Periphery Sub-Sector on the spinward side of the Calixis Sector to bring war to the enemies of the Imperium of Man, most notably what is possibly the largest Waaagh! to ever be assembled, as well as secessors from the Empire, and a myriad of other menaces. Your squad must protect the values of the Empire at all costs against overwhelming foes, as the Spinward Front competes for resources with the Jericho Maw conflict.

57. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay – Rage in the Plague Age The Skaven have come screaming from their holes, spreading their warp-plague wherever they can. Too many cities have fallen. Perhaps sensing the filth and disease that clings to the tails of the rats, those loyal to the Chaos God Nurgle have begun to stir, furthering their own cause of spreading disease and entropy across the world. Your city is under attack, and though there is little hope, perhaps you can make a dent in the heads of those who oppose the righteous Empire and their sometimes allies.

58. Black Crusade – Come Together Your patrons have tasked you with making certain that their push into the Periphery will go as planned, and it is your duty to serve as Disciples of the Dark Gods. However, tenacious Guardsmen from the Imperium have pushed into your staging zone, and a veritable blockade by an Ork Waaagh! has caused further complications. On top of all of this, they have all concurred that the forces of Chaos must not be divided in this endeavor, making binding the factions perhaps your hardest task at hand. This game will delve into what, exactly, it is that those who serve the Imperium do and think, and will likely feature more social interactions and subterfuge than other WH40K games.

59. MechWarrior/Battletech RPG – Reach Out for the Sky It is the 31st century. Mankind has spread to the stars and spawned titanic stellar empires, each controlling hundreds of worlds across a thousand light years and beyond. Yet the sins of man have followed him from the cradle of humanity. Political machinations of feudal lords plunge whole sectors into war; unscrupulous merchant starship captains smuggle weapons to their own faction’s enemies; greedy military commanders demand tribute from worlds they’re protecting; animalistic pirate kings harvest high technologies and human slaves in lightning raids; betrayals from oath-bound allies leave honorable soldiers growing cold on forgotten worlds; death at the tip of knife from a concubine turned assassin to avenge a world and love lost: it is a time of war. What empire will you swear allegiance to: a warrior merchant of House Steiner; the honorbound samurai of House Kurita; the vat-bred warriors of the Clans; a mercenary that fights only for the highest bidder? 

60.  Oz – Two Women Scorned Oz has come to Oz and the prophecy has been fulfilled. His defeat of the Wicked has brought a short-lived peace to the land, and reconstruction has begun to take place to restore the Emerald City to its glory. However, Elenora and Theodora do not sit idle, and their forces are harrying the peaceful peoples of Oz with increasing frequency. Unsure which game system I will use for this campaign as of yet. 

The List, 41-50

Getting closer to the end! Here's another 10 for you.

The List: You Decide Which Game Will Come Next

41. Werewolf: The Forsaken – Where the Wild Things Are You are born equally of flesh and spirit, and yours is the destiny to rule over both worlds, as your forebears did. However, the wall between the worlds is weakening in a most unstable manner, and if there is ever to be harmony between both sides of the veil, that wall must be maintained for now. The path will not be easy as you venture deeper into both worlds than you would like in a quest for reasons.

42. Pathfinder – Rise of the eXalts Decades have passed since the first humans manifested magical powers. In the early days, those that did rallied behind their kings and queens, and served as champions for their nations, but that time has passed. Whatever unlocked the doors for the evolution of the human race also opened a veritable Pandora’s Box of wonder, and now those things, both dark and bright, encroach into human lands. The years of war have mostly come to an end, and many of those granted magic (the so-called Xalts) stay behind their lieges, but now there are many, and some take a proactive stance to rid the world of or otherwise investigate these new phenomena. Still others try to rid the world of the Xalts, themselves, blaming the Gifted Ones with this new menace.

43. Promethean: The Created – What the Hell Have I? Your life was taken and now you are born of fire, of water, of earth. Yet, you feel the hollow echo where your soul once was. You have been saved from peace, and you will ever search for that which you wish to have again: your humanity. However, there are many that share your path, and everywhere you go, destruction and blight follow. Add to that the fact that there are failures of your kind who wish to snuff what meager light you have just so they can regain a fraction of the feeling of life, which they will never have.

44. FATE/Camelot Trigger –  Once More Through the Breach! Camelot Trigger takes us to an alternate future where the world has suffered greatly under wars and valiant knights pilot their Armours against threats from all over the Solar system. Will you aid John Arthur, “King of Earth” and his allies Gwen of Venus and L4-NC3-L07 as they and the benevolent AI, MerLN, hold the Dragongates safely from vicious machines under the control of MerGN-A? Perhaps your band of knights ply the lanes as Emergents or Brigands, scraping by with what you can? Or maybe you sell your services at whim to the Lords of Titan as champions against other tyrants or roving knights? 

45. DC Adventures – Beholden to Two Towers This is a momentous occasion! You have just been granted “probate” status in the actual Justice League after serving a few years in the Teen Titans. Now, you’re moving up to the big show, with all the responsibility that entails, but sometimes, you’re the only people Robin and the others can count on when the Titan’s chips are down. Do you think you can handle the responsibilities and obligations set before you?

46. Shadowrun – I Owe My Soul to the Company Store Things were probably nice, once. Now’s not then, though. You do what you have to to make ends meet, and that means you Run. But not away, oh no! You run in the shadows for Mr. Johnson, getting whatever ‘he’ needs done, and if you do a good deed along the way, well isn’t that nice. This gig? It’s about lining pockets, not making friends. Now, what is it that Mr. Johnson needs done tonight?

47. Rogue Trader – Where Once Man Has Gone Before There are an infinite number of worlds, of this you are sure. The Emperor’s first Crusades explored and inhabited as many as possible, and now many of those worlds have been lost. What better way to reconnect with humanity’s lost brothers and children than to rediscover what once was found, and if a profit is to be made, then all the better, but Warp travel, hostile xenos, and all manner of other perils also await those who do the God-Emperor’s good work!

48. World of Darkness – The Chicago Chronicles A continuation of the WoD text game, in a format completely left up to you, as the players. This game can be picked up with the characters working independently as supernaturals, or perhaps together as a group taking a Vigil as hunters to rid the world of the unnatural things you’ve seen.

This would probably be the most player-informed campaign I ever run, if chosen, as I want your choices to guide where the game has been since the chronicle left off, and where it will start as the chronicle resumes.

49. Scion – Requiem for the Fallen Cities A great storm has drawn you out to the American west. Dreams of fire and destruction cloud your sleep. Monsters stir and the gods grow nervous. What new threat has reawakened the titans and their ilk?

Due to ancient magics and the twisting of Fate, it is up to you to halt the spread of this growing doom into your world, for only the children of the gods may be able to stop this new menace!

50. Aberrant/Marvel Heroic Roleplay/DC Adventures/Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game – The Initiative This game is based off a dream I posted about on the blog, where superheroes had appeared in the real world and were heavily policed, with sanctioned teams for each state, and all others being labeled as vigilantes. The starting affiliation of the heroes will be up to the players, but the interactions they have and choices made will affect more than just their appearance in the public eye, and on top of that, there’s still villains (or heroes) to deal with!

The List, 31-40

Still rolling along, and past the halfway point with this post!

The List: You Decide Which Game Will Come Next

31. Changeling: The Lost – The Grass is Not Always Greener There lies a land, not far from our own, just through that door or that, where the fae make their homes. You escaped that realm, and wish never to return, but the Keepers value their treasures, and will one day come. Can you hold onto your unraveling mind while avoiding that fate?

32. Pathfinder (3.x Compatible) – Dark Sun: The Measure of Kings (3^rd - ?) Across the barren landscape of Athas, the city-states are held to heel under the imperious might of the Sorceror-Kings. In Tyr, however, rebellion foments. Will the PCs be able to survive the tides of a water-starved world? This will be a continuation/reboot of a campaign I have begun a few times.

33. Pathfinder (3.x Compatible) – Khardtha: Feeling Out Filia  A bright time of exploration and land claims has been announced by the king! Explore the wilds of a new world and carve your own destinies! This will be a sandbox game set in my homebrew world.

34. Pathfinder (3.x Compatible) – Wilderlands: In the Shadow of Heroes The World Emperor has announced that there are riches to be won on the Eastern Marches. Bugbear Falls calls those desperate enough to make a living on the hostile borders, offering them refuge from the monsters, blight, and skirmishes seen in the region. A continuation into the romp through the Sandbox that is my version of the Wilderlands. Our heroes would pick up where they left off, or you can start with an all new PC.

35. Dark Heresy – In Ministeria Angelorum It has been months since your First pulled you together, but the assassin has not made a move yet. Something has made him hesitant, but soon, he promises, the cell must act, and then the Empire will divulge its secrets, or it will bleed until you are satisfied.

This is a continuation of my first Dark Heresy game, ran at Bald Man Games.

36. Mage: The Awakening – …Not Like Its Written in Stone Things were simpler when schoolwork or household chores were the most important thing you had to do on any given day. It’s much the same now, you suppose, but your busywork has become learning to see across planes, tracing the lines of fate, and studying the language of Atlantis, itself. You will be released from your master soon; a full-fledged Mage, thrust into the midst of terrible war with the servants of gods, beings from the Abyss, and the Fallen world, which must never and eventually should all know of the magic that surrounds them.

This campaign will explore how the paths that choose you aren’t always the ones that mold you most.

37. Mummy: The Curse – Who Dare Disturb It feels odd to have awoken. You’ve only done it a few times over the millennia, but something sacred to you and/or the Kingdom has stirred you, and you must act fast if you are to retrieve it before you rest again…if only you remembered where you were, or how you came about being here, or what you had with you when last interred. The others feel it, too. Perhaps you can figure out what it is you need to do before you faces the Judges in Duat once more.

38. Hunter: The Vigil – Like A Candle in the Wind A darkness encapsulates your world. You’ve glimpsed this truth, and you have sworn to stand vigil over humanity, no matter how thankless the job. Your city is burning, literally, and you’ve seen the graves opened in the cemeteries in town. You will not stand by.

39. Marvel Heroic Roleplay – The Civil War In this campaign, your characters will take on the key roles played during the Civil War story arc in Marvel comics, following the struggle of Captain America’s anti-registration side against Tony Stark’s government-backed organization.

40. Pathfinder – The Shackled City AP Evil schemes are afoot in Cauldron, a metropolis of merchants built into the caldera of a long-dormant volcano. To foil the agenda of evil cultists, your band of adventurers must brave haunted jungle ruins, slay mighty dragons, and bind themselves to a layer of the infinite Abyss. Will their swords and spells be enough to save the Shackled City?

The List, 21-30

And so, I'm back to this after a fairly hectic week. Iced in at the moment, so taking some time to make a post. We're about halfway through this list of games, and I do encourage anyone who might be interested in anything they see to comment.

The List: You Decide Which Game Will Come Next

21. Pathfinder (3.x Compatible) - Forgotten Realms 2: Legacies of the Past (13th-40ish)  This one would be a continuation of a game I was running when my old game group split up. Paul would be the only remaining member of the troupe, so I decided to set the starting level for everyone else equal to his character's level. In this one, the PCs must decipher an ancient prophecy to find "Eight Great Evils" that threaten the world and put an end to them using ancient weapons designed thousands of years ago for this purpose.

 22. Dark Heresy - Chaos Rising  This romp into the 41^st millenium would be a more immersive game than my old Monday foray, focusing on the great Ruinous Powers (The Gods of Chaos) and their insidious effect on the Imperium of Mankind, as well as focusing more on the pressures and personal prices paid to become a member of an Inquisitor’s retinue.

23. Pathfinder (3.x Compatible) – Forgotten Realms 3: A Southern Storm (3rd-?)   In the southern nation of Halruaa, magic rules all. It is used as the most mundane tool, making life as easy for the citizens of this secluded nation as possible. Everywhere one looks, opulence bred by magical invention is in view. However, not all things that glimmer are gold, and a deep stain has begun to rise to the surface, threatening peaceful Halruaa, and perhaps the all of the Realms. With this campaign, as with any other FR game I run, I’d like to submerse the players in the setting and flavor and get everyone interested in the unique options and mood of this high fantasy setting.

24. Aberrant – Novas Operandi  In 1998, Orbital Research Station Galatea exploded. In the wake of this disaster, thousands of people across the world manifested incredible powers akin to comic book superheroes. It’s the current day, and Novas continue to erupt at a regular rate, using their powers for good or ill to bring humanity into an enlightened age, or subjugate them under what they believe is rightful rule. Aberrant moves into the realm of government and corporate-governed supers alongside shady backroom deals and other conspiracy as characters find their place in a world that has and is changing faster than even the quickest speedster might be able to keep up.

25. Colonial Gothic – Patchwork Quilt I honestly have only an inkling of what I would do with this game, though it would be set in something reminiscent of Orson Scott Card’s “Alvin Maker” world, set in an alternate early 19^th Century, where New England is still a colony of England, the United States is much smaller, and various other colonies and nations still rule the landscape. Magic is a fundamental force in this young America, and the future is held in the hands of those who would use it responsibly.

26. Deathwatch – Terra Incognita The mighty Adeptus Astartes, or Space Marines, are the elite warriors of the Imperium of Man. Seconded to the prestigious Deathwatch, your Marines will engage the forces of the warp and the Ruinous Powers, learning through their trials that service to the Emperor can exact heavy costs, and that not all is what it seems.

27. Vampire:The Requiem/Masquerade – Checks and Balances To the Kindred, there is one game among the many that stands out in the maneuvers of the Jyhad, and that is Prestation, the gifting, use, and exchange of Boons, or favors, that keep the wheels greased within their baroque society. The characters will become very familiar with this system and how to abuse use it properly to achieve their goals, or they won’t and they will face a very hard (un)life. Prestation will immediately shape their Masquerades, and perhaps become a powerful tool for them as they carry out their night to night lives in the service of their elder patrons. The game will be set in New York, after the war between the factions, with the PCs working under one of the faction leaders to bring the city to a controllable norm.

28. D&D 3.5 - The Defenders, vol. II This game will be a continuance of sorts for a former gaming buddy’s gestalt superhero campaign using the D&D 3.5 rules. The idea is, using a combination of classes, races, and equipment, you create as close as possible, a rendition of an established superhero – or villain (from any comic book source) – and take on and team up with other supers who want to shape the future of Eberron for good or ill!

29. Pathfinder - Curse of the Crimson Throne (2^nd Adventure Path) The city of Korvosa is perched on the edge of anarchy—the king is dead, and rumors whisper that his young queen might be responsible! This urban campaign of decadence and dark dealings casts the heroes against plagues, barbarians, riots, and worse!

 30. Pathfinder – Second Darkness (3^rd Adventure Path) A strange shadow lurks in the sky above the city of Riddleport, and the doomsayers take it as a sign of the approaching end of the world! The true menace comes not from the skies above but the benighted passages of the subterranean Darklands, leading the heroes on a sweeping quest that begins in a star-struck city, weaves through ancient elven ruins, and unmasks the terrible secret of the dark elves!