The Liber Cluster

[Olis]

Nice use of the Ghostlands, Cormac. To be honest my own idea for them was a bit hazy, so seeing it added to is great. Also something to think about: Verdinant/Verdinand. Specifically his name. I think the Liber is a big enough place that a couple of versions of his name are common enough. :)

[incinerator950]

Low gothic will have multiple versions of the same name.

[incinerator950]

I'm going to introduce Wartorn unit variations, such as Stalker Bolter/Las cannon sniper units, and the Mulcher AA Defiler variant.

[Conn Eremon]

Whoops. When I first read the name, it popped in my head that you were giving the ol' sci-fi treatment to 'Ferdinand,' and I guess that connection stuck. You are right, though, on name variations existing. One just has to look at our own world, especially when language barriers are involved, to see the truth of that.

 

Glad you liked it.

[Olis]

it popped in my head that you were giving the ol' sci-fi treatment to 'Ferdinand,'

 

My favourite method of making names for sci-fi settings. Pick a name and give it a jiggle. I did toy with the idea of having a Zygmunt but there's one of those in the Ravenor Trilogy so I moved over to Verdinant. ^_^

[Vesper]

A little something for Olisredan's new sub-sector (I'd like for some other people to think about some more, too!):

 

The Ghostlands have always been a difficult region for the Imperium to retain control. Though situated on an incredibly stable Warp route and filled with resourceful, life-sustaining worlds, it curiously and inexplicably tends to be the site of what is dubbed as Warp ‘effluence.’ Vessels trapped in the Warp that had long ago failed to arrive at their intended destination somehow find themselves washed up in the Ghostlands. Rarely are these vessels occupied by humans. More often than not, such encounters tend to be of xenos origin or worse, and are swiftly dealt with by Battlefleet Colvin. On the rare occasion where human vessels are expelled from the Warp in this region, they are often not just greatly displaced from their intended destination but may also be displaced temporally as well. It instances of the latter that has earned the region its name, as multiple ships have been encountered exiting the Warp from some ancient time. It is for this reason that the Inquisition keeps an incredibly pronounced presence in the region, as such instances are quickly covered up. What actually happens to these lost souls, only those of the Inquisition know. As always, they say little to nothing on the matter to outsiders.

 

 

However, there was one incident that the Inquisition failed to sequester in time. In 476.M37, a grand cruiser exited the Warp, blaring distress signals picked up by over a dozen outposts, worlds and fleets. Within the week, the distress signal was cut off as Inquisitorial vessels responded to the call. The official word on the event was that the grand cruiser was a ghostship, utterly vacant. The distress signal was set on loop. The vessel was identified as belonging to a Rogue Trader dynasty, but the Inquisition regrettably was forced to destroy the vessel for it had been tainted by prolonged exposure within the Warp.

 

 

It was a difficult story for many to swallow. The Inquisition was adamant on the veracity of their report, but tales had spread like wildfire from those who had picked up the distress signal before it had been cut off, and they did not agree with the official story. The vessel had identified itself as the Sword of St. Gotthardt, a well-known Ecclesiastic crusadeship. What made this ship so well known is because of to whom it was the personal command ship. The same person who had, just over a thousand years ago, disappeared when the ship failed to arrive at a rendezvous. The same man that the one who had been sending out the distress signal claimed to be. A man whose name every single properly Emperor-fearing citizen of the Colvin Sub-sector knows by heart. A man whose tomb was the goal of the pilgrimages of trillions, but whose remains had never been found.

 

 

Verdinand, the distress call had said. Beloved Saint Verdinand had returned to His people after many long centuries. And despite extensive purges and propaganda campaigns, the Inquisition was wholly unable to prevent this knowledge, knowledge that they denied, from spreading.

I like it a lot !

You could populate the graveyard with a void kraken. I've read about those in a Rogue Trader RPG book. They feed off minerals (so ships are a feast to them).

Edited August 16, 2014 by Vesper

[Conn Eremon]

I'll take a read through my RPG books on them, check them out. But yeah, that is a nice idea. Perhaps the unusual nature of the area attracts a pair.

 

Do you remember which source/campaign book it was in?

Edited August 16, 2014 by Cormac Airt

[Vesper]

I'm afraid not. I've read them all quickly, two days ago.

One thing's for sure, it's in a RT RPG book.

 

EDIT : Try "Koronus Bestiary", it's in it, apparently.

 

And the cool picture, just to tease.

 

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131121140553/rogue-trader/images/2/2a/Void-Kraken.png

Edited August 16, 2014 by Vesper

[Conn Eremon]

Heh, I got a shelf of about two dozen. Oh well, that is what table of contents and indices are for.

[Vesper]

Koronus Bestiary, dude !

[Conn Eremon]

Oh, I am definitely going to have to use that.

[Vesper]

Glad you like the idea ! Those things are plain frightening.

[Conn Eremon]

I'm gathering some data again for an update to the second post, and I was really trying to finish it tonight. But I got to page 51, but I am so tired at almost 2 in the morning that not only did I almost name the doc for Olisredan's subsector 'The Eisenhorn,' not only did I keep forgetting which doc to copy/paste everything into and which to write up a short summary, but when I got to Vesper's Slaaneshi warband's 2nd post summary, I realized I had called them 'The Pokemon.'

 

. . . Yeah, I'll finish it tomorrow.

[incinerator950]

Are they led by a Slaaneshi warlord named Surge?

[Conn Eremon]

Nah, a mysterious, poisonous individual known as Koga. :p

 

Anyway, I have a story arc planned out that I intend to drip feed over course of the week. Hope you all enjoy!

 

 

 

523.M37

The belief that St. Verdinant has returned remains strong. The Inquisition hunts down and eliminates many of the more vocal believers, however a particular conglomeration of cells on Colvin Majoris itself proves particularly difficult to purge. Referring to itself as the Cult of the New Dawn, it calls to Verdinant the Archmartyr to lead Mankind from the decadence and desultoriness of modern life. On four separate occasions, there have been successful assassination attempts on the cult’s leadership; however, the group proves adaptive, quickly fading away only to reemerge once more.

[Olis]

A story arc and it involves Verdinant? I must know more... ;)

[Vesper]

Great job with the first two posts, Cormac. It has been a while since I looked at those, and they took huge proportions.

[Conn Eremon]

Things I had typed in my Post 2 doc before I finally went to sleep:

 

The Wartorn - Pack of World Eater brothers gaining Inquisitorial credentials that would have never been otherwise granted them.

 

The Exquisite Exiles - Slaaneshi warband that followed Ktevaa Sero to the surface of the world, but not another one.

 

 

lol wut?

Edited August 16, 2014 by Cormac Airt

[helterskelter]

All was black. The stillness of darkest space, the void between the stars. Then all was Chaos, the stillness destroyed by a rupture of pure madness, from which darted forth a sleek arrow. Clad in bone and black, it was built for all the speed a spacebourne vessel of the imperium could muster, but it's mission here involved no speed. It came to a full stop as the rent in reality sealed behind it, and from within it's depths the astropaths began to chant. They had come seeking Doom. They had come to say its word, and end the enemies of mankind.

Unknown to those on this vessel however, it signalled a return. This return would bring Doom, and vengeance, and fire. None would stand in its way.

Edited August 17, 2014 by helterskelter

[Olis]

Doom on you! :D

[Ace Debonair]

Things I had typed in my Post 2 doc before I finally went to sleep:

 

The Wartorn - Pack of World Eater brothers gaining Inquisitorial credentials that would have never been otherwise granted them.

 

The Exquisite Exiles - Slaaneshi warband that followed Ktevaa Sero to the surface of the world, but not another one.

 

 

lol wut?

Now I'm picturing a puritan loyalist Inquisitor and a khorne-berserker-turned-inquisitor working together to fight crime in the buddy cop comedy of the year.

[incinerator950]

"Sir, why are there Arch traitors declaring Blood for the Blood Emperor?"

[Conn Eremon]

Now I'm picturing a puritan loyalist Inquisitor and a khorne-berserker-turned-inquisitor working together to fight crime in the buddy cop comedy of the year.

"Sir, we found a large amount of bodies that appear to been murdered as some sort of ritual killing. Each body is positioned on its back, the severed heads propped up by their feet."

 

"You could almost say they were . . ."

 

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

 

"God-Emperor damn it, Bob! 'Head over heels.' How hard would that have been?"

 

:p

 

Anywho, I did get caught up, so I will be updating the 2nd post tomorrow. In the meantime, here's the next bit:

 

538.M37

Riots reach a fevered pitch on Colvin Majoris. The Cathedral of St Verdinant is a site of near-constant bloodshed as armies of local arbites and planetary defense forces struggle to keep maddened hordes from swarming the facility. The Governor’s Tower is barricaded, the Faust family hiding behind their walls from the angry voices below. Three lesser scions of the Gubernatorial Family are killed by the mobs, their armored cavalcades overrun by the press, body parts flowing across the top of the crowd like grotesque trophies. Inquisitorial offices are targeted, and many agents are killed. Investigations have revealed known members of the Cult of the New Dawn as being the primary instigators, however pursuit is hampered by the large turnout and belligerence of the crowds.

[L33TFROG]

 

Now I'm picturing a puritan loyalist Inquisitor and a khorne-berserker-turned-inquisitor working together to fight crime in the buddy cop comedy of the year.:blink:

"Sir, we found a large amount of bodies that appear to been murdered as some sort of ritual killing. Each body is positioned on its back, the severed heads propped up by their feet."

"You could almost say they were . . ."

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

"God-Emperor damn it, Bob! 'Head over heels.' How hard would that have been?"

479.M34

Due to an adminstrative error, a group of World Eaters, known as the "Wartorn", gain Inquisitorial credentials that would've never otherwise been granted to them. After going on a series of wacky adventures and hijinks, a strike forces is sent and purges them. Said strike force is then purged for their daring strike on the Inquistion's sacred authority.

[Olis]

538.M37

Riots reach a fevered pitch on Colvin Majoris. The Cathedral of St Verdinant is a site of near-constant bloodshed as armies of local arbites and planetary defense forces struggle to keep maddened hordes from swarming the facility. The Governor’s Tower is barricaded, the Faust family hiding behind their walls from the angry voices below. Three lesser scions of the Gubernatorial Family are killed by the mobs, their armored cavalcades overrun by the press, body parts flowing across the top of the crowd like grotesque trophies. Inquisitorial offices are targeted, and many agents are killed. Investigations have revealed known members of the Cult of the New Dawn as being the primary instigators, however pursuit is hampered by the large turnout and belligerence of the crowds.

 

 

Those poor, virtuous parasites peers! What did they do to deserve such an ignoble fate? They most certainly did not live off of the hard work of the people, nor did they waste more in a day than a commoner could live on for a year! Such products of refined inbreeding, taken from us at their zenith! We'll never see their like again... 

 

 

 

So, Cormac. This is starting to sound ominous... mixing things up a bit are we?