Agents of the Inquisition, Warhammer40K (recruiting)

[Lobo Lurker]

The Where: Majeskus 16, a nearly forgotten corner of the Imperium in an abandoned Mechanicus Mine/Smelting Factory-Settlement currently occupied by indigenous squatters. Sector: Ultima Segmentum.

The When: Year 137.M41; in the early stages of a greenskin invasion.

The How: You are agents of the Imperial Inquisition, Ordo Xenos. Your team has been tasked to track down and bring to Imperial Justice the rogue inquisitor Jaina Splinth for crimes against the Emperor, for forsaking her oaths of office and for consorting with the witch, the alien and the corrupt denizens of the warp.

Rogue's Gallery

Game Thread

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System: Mutants & Masterminds, 2nd Ed. (Ultimate Power).

Anyone Interested? I'm looking for 4-6 enthusiastic players who can post at least once daily Wed-Sat. If so, lets see some rough concepts (no full characters yet please).

Looking for:
1-3 Interrogators (apprentice inquisitors)
1-3 Combat Specialists (close, ranged, stealthy or otherwise; bounty-hunters, commandos, elite warriors, hive gangers, sisters of battle, etc...)
0-2 Support/Savant staff (go-to guys for knowledge, hackers, tech-priest mechanics, pilots, medicae, etc)
0-2 'Weirdos' (nobles, mutants, navigators, rogue traders, space marines, fanatics, assassins/death cultists, sanctioned/rogue psykers, astropaths, anything really).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Interested Players
1. hewligan
2. Relique du Madde
3. Shayuri
4. Drerek
5. Karl Green
6. <one spot open if anyone wants in>

Character Creation: Power Level 9, 160 Points; maximum trade-off +4/-4

 

[hewligan]

How important is knowledge of the system? I haven't played it before. I know 40K canon reasonably well, and would like to participate, but may as well be honest and say that I don't know M&M 2e at all (although any system with the tag-line "ultimate power" can't be bad!)

Rough Concept Character: Kai "Sky" Tokaru

Physical Description:
Late 30s, handsome face that still shows strong elements of his ancient Japanese roots, black hair shorn short, flecked with grey, light stubble and a silvered winding scar that runs along his left jaw line. 5'11", slim, muscular build. He has the Xeno Catechism tattooed in pale ink onto his left arm, almost invisible, but always with him. He tends to wear black, practical (free movement) gear, tight fitting, with a long black overcoat with upturned stiff collar. His piercing grey eyes are generally hidden behind thin black glasses, and his face seldom belies any emotion.

Background:
Sky is a greenskin expert, but his knowledge came at a price. As a young boy, traveling with his parents to the local hub for transfer into Imperium training (for he had exhibited great natural skill in piloting ships), they had been attacked by pirate greens. His parents were killed along with the majority of other passengers, but Sky and a few hundred others were kept as live larder. Over three months the number of prisoners was whittled down until only a few dozen remained. During this time Sky tried again and again to raise some resistance, but the people were not warriors, and went meekly to death. Eventually he took things into his own hands.

He seldom speaks of this time, but what is known is that he killed several greens with his own hands, before infiltrating the central piloting systems and jacking in to control the ship. He sent it hurtling towards the nearest planet, and then locked the system. He escaped in a small shuttle pod, but took nobody with him. Their failure to act against their captors had made them traitors in his eyes.

Sky piloted his tiny craft to the nearest planet, watching the hideous bulk of the greenskin's craft plow into oblivion before following it down. It was two years before he was picked up by a passing Rogue Trader, Andu Rowen, signalled by the beacon from Sky's ship.

Sky, now 16, was too old for training, but Andu saw potential in the young man and used him as a backup pilot, slowly becoming almost a father figure to the young man. When, three years later, a greenskin invasion of a nearby system was handed to Andu's crew to investigate, it was Sky who led the incursion team, and reported back on the alien artifact the greenskins were attempting to recover. There was no time to send in the Deathwatch, and Andu sent his best men down. They did not return. Sky, ignoring orders, went in alone using a stolen incursion pod.

His success in the mission did not go unnoticed. He was sought out by the Ordo Xenos, not to be one of their own, but as a possible sleeper. He spent four years working for the Order in a notorious pirate haven, acting as a collector of information, and learning the language of the greenskins (among others).

His loyalty and usefulness did not go unnoticed, and when the call came in for him to assassinate a powerful greenskin pirate lord, it was as much as test of his ability as a real need for the Empire. He passed with flying colours.

He speaks little of his times since then, for they were spent in service to the Ordo Xenos. First with his extensive training, and later stationed with a shifting group of Rogue Traders. Sky is a gatherer of information. One whose hatred can be hidden behind a veil while he insinuates himself with the enemy, learning from them before he snuffs them out.

He has been sent against many alien races, mostly as an information gatherer, someone who can gain their confidence, but it is the greenskins that he reserves his most wicked fury for.

Weapons and Quirks:
Sky carries a thin bladed knife, kept razor sharp. It is his weapon of choice, meaning he prefers to kill slowly when he can.

He prefers single handed weapons, such as pistols, and is not really big of heavy-combat. He believes most missions can be completed using intelligence and turning the environment in your favour, rather than by blowing holes in walls.

He speaks many languages, but doesn't have time for idle talk.

He is happiest among the scum of the universe, for it is from their lips that secrets spill.

He once let an orc baby live after an attack. He knows it probably died anyway, but to this day he still wonders why he let it live, wonders if perhaps there is some weakness in his resolve.

 

[Lobo Lurker]

If you know d20, you can get Mutants and Masterminds. The only big difficulty will be creating your character.

 

[hewligan]

If you know d20, you can get Mutants and Masterminds. The only big difficulty will be creating your character.

Not a problem. I can download it at one of the PDF sites. It is cheapish. I won't do anything until you decide who is to be involved, and then if you like my character concept let me know and within a day or so I will be able to create a character using the rules.

I do know d20!

 

[Lobo Lurker]

I guess no one else is interested. Sorry hewligan.

 

[Relique du Madde]

I'm sort of in the opposite boat from hewligan. I'm interested in playing another mm game (and I know some of the rules) but I know little to nothing about WH 40k.

 

[hewligan]

That is a shame, because I think that this sounded like quite an original combination of WH40K, M&M, and on a D20 forum ... should have been a fun one to participate in.

If you decide to run it elsewhere online, let me know.

 

[Lobo Lurker]

Hi Relique, the basic conceit of Warhammer 40k is... well, this link might help. CLICK HERE.

Nutshell History--
30k years ago: humanity discovers the Warp (dimension of pure chaos). Traveling in the warp is faster than light so humankind colonizes the galaxy (there are lots of hostile aliens).
30-20k years ago: Golden Age of Humanity followed by the Dark Age of Technology (science for sciences sake w/out regard to the consequences).
-- Humankind is unable to travel the warp due to extensive storms that destroy any ship attempting to travel. Human society degenerates.
12k years ago: The Emperor (most powerful psyker ever) is born, unites terra and creates 12 or so Primarchs (uber-powerful giant soldiers). Based on Primarch's genetic material, he creates Space Marines (giant human super-warriors). With the legions of Space Marines, lead by thier Primarchs, the galaxy is reconquered. Emperor retires to Earth.
-- ~1/2 of the Primarchs rebel and declare war on the Emperor, lead by the chosen of the Primarchs, Horus (known as the Horus Heresy). Emperor and loyal primarchs defeat Horus and his rebels, but Horus deals the Emperor a mortal blow; he's dying.
10k years ago: Emperor is entombed on the Golden Throne. 1000 psyker's souls are sacrificed to him daily so that he cannot die. Emperor turns his unmatched psykic ability to creating the Astronomicon (a beacon in the Warp, allowing navigation).
Present: The Imperium is the harshest regime imaginiable. The Emperor technically rules but as he's basically a corpse (most humankind regards him as a living god) the Lords of Terra and the Holy Inquisition do most of the ruling. Daemons bleed out of the warp through rituals and tears in the fabric of reality, aliens threaten humankind and both psykers and mutants are an ever-present threat within Imperial Society.
- Society has decayed to the point where new technology cannot be created... all the good equipment is ancient as modern science cannot hold a candle to science from the Dark Age of technology. Technology is treated as a religion (the Cult of Mars, the Adeptus Mechanicus maintains/services technology). Most people are ignorant of science and are slaves to the massive bureaucracy of the Imperium. Human life is worthless as there are untold billions of them out there.

This is just a nutshell. Warhammer 40k, violence and darkness constantly tinted by the occult. A very cool setting.

This all started out as an RPG setting but turned into one of the most successful tabletop wargames on the market. That's why most of the source/background material is divvied up into Army Types. The link above has fluff information. games-workshop.com should provide more info about the game itself.

Not knowing much yourself, your character could easily be from one of the fringe worlds of the Imperium who, by dint of his skills/qualities, was offered a position in the Inquisitor's retinue; the Imperium is filled with individuals who don't really know what's going on.

Possible archetypes: bounty hunter, knight, assassin, cultist, arbites (police), sanctioned psyker, astropath, navigator, imperial guardsman, naval recruit, nobility, tech priest, savant (person of learning), and many more.

Races: Human, Ratling (small humans; stable mutation), Ogryn (large humans/ogres, stable mutation) and Mutant (ostracized socially, exterminated on sight in other places). I'm hesitant to allow space marines (maybe just one).

 

[Lobo Lurker]

As agents of the Inquisition, Ordo Xenos you're tasked with protecting the Imperium from the Xeno (alien); whether that be aliens themselves, xeno technology or xeno artifacts (beneficial or otherwise).

Relatively well-known alien races/empires:
Eldar/Dark Eldar (elves): ancient, completely destroyed civilization. Home planets destroyed in some sort of cataclysm. Now roam the galaxy in giant craftworlds (super-massive space ships). Eldar are staunch opponents of Chaos; Dark Eldar revel in chaos but seek it for their own purposes.
Genestealers: Think the alien from the alien movie, but actually intelligent. These things are the pre-cursors to a Tyrannid invasion. They land, kidnap victoms and control them psionically to breed. 2nd/3rd gen genestealers are indistinguishable from humans.
Jokaro: Vaguely orangatan-like creatures that are not obviously intelligent but seem to have a genius for building extremely high-tech devices. Very rare throughout the galaxy.
Necron (high-tech undead): souls encased in ancient (so super-high tech) armor. Unmatched super-science and unable to die.
Orks (orcs on steroids): As big, strong and tough as a space marine but typically as dumb as a rock. Orks live for battle and it is theorized that they themselves were a weapon devised by a now extinct race.
Squats: A now extinct strain of human that evolved/adapted/mutated to life on the high-gravity core worlds in the galaxy. They've been wiped out by Tyrannids.
Tau: The newest/youngest race in the galaxy. They're divided into castes and possess high technology but no pysker abilities.
Tyrannid (think alien xenomorphs): An extra-galactic threat that assimilates all forms of life into themselves. All technology is organic. United by a massive hive-mind (all tyrannids basically being a single mental entity).

There are lots of other, random, aliens as well such as space vampires and other, more unclean aliens...

Words from the Emperor... "suffer not the alien to live"

There are no "good" races in Warhammer 40k. The heroes are just trying to do the best they can with what they've got. The Imperium is just as bad, if not worse, than the threats it protects against. But without it humanity would be wiped out.

 

[Elric]

I'm not really interested in another M&M pbp at the moment, as I'm already in two of them, but if you're just starting M&M and want some detailed character creation examples I have two of them in my roll call thread on Atomic Think Tank, here

It's a great system- good luck getting a game started!