The Emperor's Lament [DH] OOC Thread

[Dosjetka]

I look around at the others.

"Why are we here?"

As written here, just below the "hidden" tab, I would like you all to write in the third person. Please edit your post in the campaign thread to reflect this.

[Morovir]

Fixed now.

[Conn Eremon]

I'll be playing Grim as having some severe pre-disposed biases based upon his personal experiences as a Hiveworlder. The point will be to have those constantly present, but hopefully well-hidden (Grim hopes, the more astute or socially perceptive characters may see right through it), and eventually overcome as he becomes more worldly and, more importantly, comes to know and depend upon the rest of the team.

[*Furyou Miko]

Aiya. Sorry, guys. I forgot we were meant to be starting yesterday (it's been a busy weekend getting things ready for the bathroom to be refitted, and I've not been online).

 

For now, to make up for it, notes on Malai?

 

 

 

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +TRANSMITTED: VALON URR

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +RECEIVED: LUGGUUM

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +DESTINATION: SCINTILLA

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + DATE: 4311724.M41

+ + + + + + + + + + + +TELEPATHIC DUCT: BETA-THRI RHO

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +REF: AS/58896478522/OS

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +AUTHOR: SISTER ANGELIKA, ORDER OF THE WHISPER

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +SUBJECT: MISSION REPORT: MALAI

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +THOUGHT: "Through faith can barbarians be cleaned."

 

Lord Governor, Lord Ecclesiarch,

 

Please find attached my recent action report. Emperor be with you, I'm heading for Sentinel to wash some of this dirt off.

 

Your servant,

Sister Angelika of the Order of the Whisper

 

>>ATTACHED PLANETARY DATA DOWNLOAD<<

>>PROCESSING<<

>>DOWNLOAD COMPLETE<<

 

Name: Malai

Segmentum: Unknown

Sector: Unknown

Subsector: The Periphery

System: Sinophia

Population: Unknown

Affiliation: Imperium

Class: Feral World

Tithe Grade: Unknown [Pending appraisal]

 

Malai is a small, young ocean world covered in scattered islands no more than ten thousand miles across. It is sparsely populated by tribes that maintain a mid-iron age level of technology, subsisting on low-grade crop farming, hunting and, primarily, fishing.

 

The Malai peoples are effective sailors, and their highest levels of technology are focussed around their construction of single and dual-hull sailing vessels constructed with the mortise-and-tenon method and caulked with either tar or natural rubber.

 

A minor note is that a minor mutation is common amongst the Malai tribespeople, in that they are often born with cat-like eyes. One of the tribes in particular appear to have devolved into an abhuman race resembling homo sapien hirsutus. Local legend has it that this Serem tribe were blessed (or cursed) by the sea god for some ancient guardianship. Investigating in person was beyond the scope of my mission, but they might have something worthwhile under the ice up there.

 

Prior to conversion, the Malai faith revolved around two gods, the Sun and the Sea, and their servants, the rivers and the ascended ancestors. Conversion is an ongoing process, with a chosen tribe, the Tenin, having been the subject of a fifteen year infiltration by an agent of the Orders Sabine. Due to the high level of inter-tribal trade across the populated areas of Malai, it is expected that full conversion will be complete within fifty local years (roughly seventy Standard). The Sun God has been remodelled as the Emperor Above, while the Sea God, who holds both lover and antagonistic roles in the Malai cosmology has been aligned with Saint Malcador. The ancestors remain their servants, and the rivers their guardian angels.

 

A prophesy has been made of a River God arising in the form of an armoured giant to choose the Emperor's ruler over the world once the world is prepared to receive Administratum governance. Assitance from an Astartes chaplain will aid the smooth establishment of world governance.

 

Good luck with that one.

 

[Conn Eremon]

Conn, the enforcers are different to the Adeptus Arbites. The enforcers are who you mention here, who are generally loyal to the planetary govenor and can be as corrupt as you mention, and deal with petty crimes, but the Adeptus Arbites are far more strict than that, and are generally more highly trained, and adhere firmly to the Lex Imperialis, dealing with higher forms of crime, such as those listed in the Book of Judgement.

Since my reply is pure OOC, I'll put it here.

 

Grim's home world had both Arbites and enforcers, and while he certainly doesn't have the full picture on what goes on within either of those groups, his experiences with them leads him to view them as indistinguishable from each other and equally corrupt. Basically, he can't tell the difference.

 

It's purely Grim's ignorance and prejudice, and directly translates to his relaxed view of the law.

[Morovir]

Ah. I see. All is forgiven (but not for Grim - ignorance is no excuse).

[Conn Eremon]

Long day at work ahead. Won't respond until tonight, -8 GMT.

[*Furyou Miko]

More Malai;

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v205/KaguraHakubi/IK%20and%2040K/malai_zpshnqftnis.png

 

[Dosjetka]

Miko: No problem! Glad you're back and active again. :)

 

Now, looks like we're waiting on our Assassin to say a few words. No pressure though, Mol. Your character is probably more of the silent-type. ;)

Whatever happens, I'll be posting a large chunk tomorrow evening to really get this show on the road. The idea is to introduce you to your new mentors and to give you some information about your next assignment. :)

 

Charlo: Haven't forgotten about you. Will PM you tomorrow morning!

[Commissar Molotov]

Indeed, I've been reading all the various posts. I imagine Talon would rather keep his mouth shut and seem an idiot than open it and remove all doubt. 

 

 

I spoke to Dos regarding my plans for the character - I see him as having been rather heavily indoctrinated by the cult, such that he doesn't have the greatest skill at making conversation. He is 'a' Talon - his name is his rank, nothing more. I see that service with the strangers of the Cult will perhaps afford him the opportunity to grow somewhat. 

[Olis]

Good to see you making your debut, Mol. ^_^

 

Also - does Boolean come off as a little bit arrogant? I hadn't imagined it as a character trait for him at the start but what with the folio describing him as arrogant, I thought I'd dabble a little for the sake of the character. :)

[Dosjetka]

The arrogance thing popped into my head when I read your first bit of character background. You mentioned him taking the name 'Prismatica' as his own and the other Tech-priests being a bit put off by that. I assumed that they thought he was arrogant to take the name of a great, legendary member of their order/cult, even though he isn't actually an arrogant character and I didn't consider him as one at all. I hope that makes some sort of sense. :sweat:

[Olis]

Aha. Well... he won't be massively arrogant. Probably. We'll see. ^_^

[Conn Eremon]

Character flaws are to be expected in a 40k roleplay. This is the 41st Millennium, and nobody is a good guy, not even the little people. Plus, I kinda find it fun to play off of the cues given by other players. For example, Miko's last post had her character believe Grim was looking down on her. Playing along with that, I figure maybe Grim will see her mutation not as a cause for disgust or fear, or even just something to overlook, but as a flaw he could use as leverage. Down the road, maybe it'll be as benign as "Hey, we're both imperfect, but we're in this together and we can do this," or maybe it'll turn into "Do not speak to me of purity, cateye." Or how I'm taking a "relaxed view of Imperial law," and having it so that in Grim's mind it's more a lack of respect for those that enforce Imperial law. Which he sees as well-founded, but may in time understand was small-minded.

 

So if others see you as more than a little arrogant, well maybe you are. Maybe you just aren't aware of how arrogant you come across. Techpriests aren't exactly known for being socially adept. If Boolean is arrogant, would he be able tell? Maybe the unaugmented will corrupt you with their presence, making you more in tune with your baser humanity. Or maybe you'll stay arrogant to the end.

 

Maybe we'll all overcome our flaws, turn ourselves into a well-oiled Inquisitorial machine. Or maybe we'll succeed in spite of our ongoing issues with each other.

 

Or maybe we'll all die ignominious deaths. So long as it's a fun ride.

 

It sounds like many of us have in place flaws designed to be grown out of, after re-reading Mol's post above about Talon. Seems to me like whatever conflict Dos has planned to throw us into should have us overcoming our differences soon enough.

[*Furyou Miko]

Yep. Caral's flaws are the innocence and naivety that balance out her simple, honest faith. She's also slightly paranoid - she's used to people looking down on her for being a feral worlder with cat eyes.

 

That's one of the reasons I see her getting along with the techpriests in the end. They don't look down on her for being a feral worlder. They just look down on her for not being a tech-priest. XD

[Charlo]

Quite funny, because I was somewhat trying for arrogance, or at least just a total lack of faith in anyone still of the flesh.

 

Luther isn't too willing to form any sort of bonds with people after what happened the last one...

 

Plus RPing is much more fun when you all start off a bit hard and wary!

[Dosjetka]

I'm really enjoying the interactions so far. Great stuff! :) I'll intervene with my own post in a couple of hours or so.

 

Mol: Sent you an e-mail. There's no rush though so reply when you have the time to.

[Dosjetka]

Update posted. Take your time to read through it before replying.

On another note, I would like to address the issue of Skill Tests. As Mol has mentioned previously, I am planning on mixing the Dark Heresy rules with a hefty dose of narrative for this campaign and while there are no hard-and-fast rules for this "style", I think I should clarify what I expect from you the players.

Since I assume that you have read the update post before reading this, I will use an example from that piece of text. In Lady Flavia Orlean's description you will find the following sentences:

Her torso and legs are clad in a matte black bodyglove over which sits armour of curious and decidedly non-Imperial design. On the black belt that sits across her waist hang two holsters, each containing an ornate-looking pistol with an unusually elongated barrel.

The more tech-minded characters would have doubtlessly noticed the unusual armour and weaponry. No further details are given because most of you have no further knowledge about the different types of armour that exist in the Imperium. However, Olis, with his character who has the Trade (Armourer) Skill, could request a Skill Test to know more about Orlean's armour or pistols using orange text. Likewise, a player with a character who has the Forbidden Lore (Archaeotech/Xenos) Skill could also request a Skill Test to know more about those items though the results would differ from what Prismatica would see, simply because a weaponsmith does not look at/know of/notice the same things as an archaeologist.

Similar "rules" apply for interaction tests: when you are having a conversation with someone in a normal manner, no test is needed. However, when you wish to influence the other person (using Charm, Command, or Intimidate), lie to them (Deceive), distract them (Blather), speak to them in an unfamiliar language (basically anything other than Low Gothic, with the exception of Lingua Technis under normal conditions, ie. in a relatively quiet environment with litte-to-no distractions and no interruptions) or try and peer behind their 'mask' (using the Scrutiny Skill), you need to request a Skill Test in the same manner as explained above.

Due to the nature of PBP RPG's, I cannot intervene before you post and say "uh, you need to ask for a Skill Test there, mate".

With that explained, make sure you check your character sheets to familiarise yourselves with which Skills you have so that you know in which situation you can request a Skill Test. If ever in doubt, ask anyway and I'll let you know whether or not that Skill is relevant to the situation or not.

I hope that was clear to all though if you have any questions or require more clarification, please do not hesitate to ask.

Lastly, I'm always looking for feedback concerning my lengthy posts. The first one was rushed and it shows but I've spent quite a bt of time writing the second one so I'd appreciate your thoughts on what I have posted. Thanks!

[Commissar Molotov]

Talon [PER 32 (no modifiers)] vs Orlean [AG 58 (includes +10 Silent Move bonus)]

Dice roll (1d100): Talon [70] vs Orlean [20]

Three degrees of failure for Talon results in him not only not seeing Orlean move but also him being taken by surprise by her sudden reappearance behind the group.

 

 

Getting the group off to an auspicious start! 

[Conn Eremon]

I'll post later today, as usual, but out of character: I'd back the Krell as leader. In-character, I'll back only myself, or just be quiet but unhappy with the decision.

 

 

About dice rolls, are all rolls to be made by yourself, Dos? I won't mind it, just clarifying. If it's already been said, I missed it.

[Commissar Molotov]

It raises interesting questions, because combat (for example) could slow down to a ridiculous crawl without Dos making certain decisions for us. 

When going into combat, it seems that we'll have to set out our "overall gameplan", such as "I'm going to be attacking from behind, if possible. If attacked, I will parry until injured, at which case I will try to break from combat..." 

 

This would allow Dos to do multiple rolls at once, without waiting 6+ hours for each "step" of combat. 

[Dosjetka]

Talon [PER 32 (no modifiers)] vs Orlean [AG 58 (includes +10 Silent Move bonus)]

Dice roll (1d100): Talon [70] vs Orlean [20]

Three degrees of failure for Talon results in him not only not seeing Orlean move but also him being taken by surprise by her sudden reappearance behind the group.

Getting the group off to an auspicious start!

Never underestimate Throne Agents.

I'll post later today, as usual, but out of character: I'd back the Krell as leader. In-character, I'll back only myself, or just be quiet but unhappy with the decision.

About dice rolls, are all rolls to be made by yourself, Dos? I won't mind it, just clarifying. If it's already been said, I missed it.

I look forward to your post!

The dice rolls will be made by me, in the fashion displayed in the "action thread".

It raises interesting questions, because combat (for example) could slow down to a ridiculous crawl without Dos making certain decisions for us.

When going into combat, it seems that we'll have to set out our "overall gameplan", such as "I'm going to be attacking from behind, if possible. If attacked, I will parry until injured, at which case I will try to break from combat..."

This would allow Dos to do multiple rolls at once, without waiting 6+ hours for each "step" of combat.

I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with combat but yes, that is the rough idea of it. The first combat will probably be rather slow while we all figure out how it works but as we go along I'm hoping that we can streamline the process and make it as efficient, but exciting, as possible. Tough challenge but I'm looking forward to it.

In any case, this first Chapter is going to be rather low in actual content specifically so that I can figure out exactly how I want to run things but also so that I have the time to explain it all to the players. However I promise that the pace will pick up in Chapter II once we've ironed out the wrinkles and really gotten to grips with this hybrid roll/role-play style.

[Dosjetka]

Before I forget, Charlo and I have now fully fleshed out his character, Luther Ionsight, the Prefecture Magisterium agent. I'll be uploading his character sheet and updating his dataslate accordingly. What might interest you as players is that Luther has a very rare pistol and is paranoid about losing it/it getting damaged. The weapon profile is the following:

Name: Arc pistol | Class: Pistol | Range: 30m | RoF: S/-/- | Dam: 1d10+4E | Pen: 2 | Clip: 6 | Rld: 2Full | Special: Haywire, Recharge | Wt: 4 kg | Cost: 4'000 Thrones | Availability: Very Rare

I have tried to make it a pistol that is somewhere between the humble las pistol and the powerful plasma pistol in power, but that also 100% Mechanicum and fits Charlo's character. As such, the damage inflicted is 1d10+4 which is halfway between the las pistol and the plasma pistol. It also has a Penetration value of 2 which ignores most low-grade armour (I figured that the arc pistol would burn through leathers and grox hides, as well as melt low-grade metal armour). It also has the Haywire trait which causes its shots to cause extra damage/disruption to any tech-piece directly affected or near the target (1d10 roll each time it does at least one point of damage to determine how strong the disruption is). This made sense for a character like Luther because he can use his weapon to shut down heretical technology. However, to balance out the power of the pistol, it only has 6 shots in one clip (called permacapacitors), Luther only has one extra clip, the clips are very hard to come by (in the fluff, too), the pistol must recharge between each shot, aaaaaand Luther is paranoid about any harm befalling his prized weapon because it is an AdMech relic (represented by the Guardian of the Relic Trait on his character sheet).

This is a bit of an experiment so we'll see how it plays out. If the results are successful, you might be rewarded/sold/be able to loot some nifty custom weaponry/equipment later on down the line... if you survive everything between yourself and that custom gear, of course.

[Conn Eremon]

So, say I want to do a skill test before making my post, because it will inform how I react. Would it be better to post it here, then use the results you give me to develop the actual post there?

 

The example I have in mind is pretty much the same skill test you did for . . . Talon, I think. Grim's all about being a securities specialist, which means being attentive of his surroundings. I'd like to know if I was equally as surprised to know they were there, or if I had something of an awareness.

 

For example, if Grim had noticed them, maybe he'd feel confident enough to speak up on his own behalf. But if he had been surprised by them, maybe he'd be shocked into silence or awed by their sudden appearance.

 

So should I say here that I would like an awareness test?

[Dosjetka]

To keep in-game elements together, please post your orange-text request in the story thread (look at Mol's in-thread request for the format).

And yes, it's an Awareness test. However, do you wish to make a test to see if you detected them as they waited in the shadows, to see if you noticed Orlean's movement, or both?

Morovir: I chuckled at your post. However, don't forget that non-Imperial does not automatically mean Xenos. It could also mean something related to Chaos or a non-Imperial human group.