Also we could pretend that we know something and start counterintuitive actions that will forced Shadow to response to it
The Radiant Shepherd - A Warhammer 40K God-Emperor Quest
- Thread starter Azel
- Start date
- Mature
I'm sorry but it already happened.
Let's not lose sight of Ghazzy, we got a warning about him and undoubtedly he'll be relevant next turn.
There's also the matter of Iyanden, if we manage to save them, it would be a great stepping stone towards showing we're willing to work with the Aeldari.
There's also the matter of Iyanden, if we manage to save them, it would be a great stepping stone towards showing we're willing to work with the Aeldari.
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Not really. Don't think we can and we have too much to do.
Convey that Malakbael is where the Choral Engine is, and to tell Raskian.
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Should we set the Ordo Malleus on Be'lakor or whatever the daemon of shadows is?
[X] Only Human
-[X] Commune
--[X] Baldo Slyst (4 points):
---[X] Fine. Cards on the table, Ecclesiarch. Behold what You had planned, how Your golden path for humanity was turned aside, the eternal mockery of this Imperium compared to what You had planned...and you Baldo, you are a part of it. You come here before Me, as if you need Me to tell you what you must do? While I burn My oh-so-precious power to speak to you, billions of humans suffer and die. The Enemy's plans come to fruition all around us and horrors skitter in the darkness. Behold, if you dare, the very Loom of Fate that I and the Enemy play upon. Behold Cadia, lynchpin of the Enemy's great plan.
---[X] I don't believe in you or your Adeptus Ministorum, because for every Celestine, for every one of your priests and sisters who can see with a child's eyes the plain crying needs of humanity, there are a hundred self-absorbed fanatics like you, and ten-thousand corrupt fools. The Enemy could not ever dream of doing to your Ecclesiarchy (not Mine, never Mine) what your own have already done to it. Look now, Baldo, at your own soul within that vast loom. Do you see the touch of the Enemy there? Do you see any excuse at all? All of it, has only been you. If you want My favor so badly, take a hint from My Living Saints and earn it. Humanity has endless needs, and I would help them all if I could. If every human were willing to spend themselves helping one another, if even all of your damned priests were willing to do that, we would have seized victory before I first stepped beyond Terra into this galaxy of horrors, all those millennia ago.
---[X] I don't have any more time to spend on you, little priest. I don't hate you. I've seen too much to call up the fire I lashed upon Terra's priests in the Unification Wars, learned too much of human weakness and my own. I'm just so disappointed. My touch will linger on you, after this. Do whatever you want with it. I have nothing else for you, no great Revelation, no final truth. The horror is precisely as it seems. That is My burden, and now yours. Fight, or succumb to the Night, as you will it. The next time you pray to Me, have something to show for it. Prove your Ecclesiarchy is worth something, and I will fill it and you with blessings that no living man has ever known. And tell the Throne Wrights not to break anything on your way out. Baldo Slyst, son of Terra.
-[X] Guide the Tarot:
--[X] Belisarius Cawl (1 Point): Cadia. The Destroyer's hidden superweapon, clad in blackest stone, and the role it is destined to play. Deny him.
--[X] Orpheus Sector (1 Point): Send visions of a deathless host rising from its grave and with their grim scythes glowing of green death, snuffing out the great torch in the sky before reaching for the rest of the heavens.
-[X] Blessing or Curse:
--[X] Belisarius Cawl (3 Points): Cawl's mind is already sharper than any mortal could hope for. But he has shed so much of himself, trying to optimize the compression of his very soul. Spare him that horror you inflicted on yourself, may he have capacity, may he have coherence, may he be inspired as you were in the gene-labs of Luna.
--[X] Calibron Laan (1 Point): Selflessness and perspective for one who has it not. Fight, you fool.
-[X] Commune
--[X] Baldo Slyst (4 points):
---[X] Fine. Cards on the table, Ecclesiarch. Behold what You had planned, how Your golden path for humanity was turned aside, the eternal mockery of this Imperium compared to what You had planned...and you Baldo, you are a part of it. You come here before Me, as if you need Me to tell you what you must do? While I burn My oh-so-precious power to speak to you, billions of humans suffer and die. The Enemy's plans come to fruition all around us and horrors skitter in the darkness. Behold, if you dare, the very Loom of Fate that I and the Enemy play upon. Behold Cadia, lynchpin of the Enemy's great plan.
---[X] I don't believe in you or your Adeptus Ministorum, because for every Celestine, for every one of your priests and sisters who can see with a child's eyes the plain crying needs of humanity, there are a hundred self-absorbed fanatics like you, and ten-thousand corrupt fools. The Enemy could not ever dream of doing to your Ecclesiarchy (not Mine, never Mine) what your own have already done to it. Look now, Baldo, at your own soul within that vast loom. Do you see the touch of the Enemy there? Do you see any excuse at all? All of it, has only been you. If you want My favor so badly, take a hint from My Living Saints and earn it. Humanity has endless needs, and I would help them all if I could. If every human were willing to spend themselves helping one another, if even all of your damned priests were willing to do that, we would have seized victory before I first stepped beyond Terra into this galaxy of horrors, all those millennia ago.
---[X] I don't have any more time to spend on you, little priest. I don't hate you. I've seen too much to call up the fire I lashed upon Terra's priests in the Unification Wars, learned too much of human weakness and my own. I'm just so disappointed. My touch will linger on you, after this. Do whatever you want with it. I have nothing else for you, no great Revelation, no final truth. The horror is precisely as it seems. That is My burden, and now yours. Fight, or succumb to the Night, as you will it. The next time you pray to Me, have something to show for it. Prove your Ecclesiarchy is worth something, and I will fill it and you with blessings that no living man has ever known. And tell the Throne Wrights not to break anything on your way out. Baldo Slyst, son of Terra.
-[X] Guide the Tarot:
--[X] Belisarius Cawl (1 Point): Cadia. The Destroyer's hidden superweapon, clad in blackest stone, and the role it is destined to play. Deny him.
--[X] Orpheus Sector (1 Point): Send visions of a deathless host rising from its grave and with their grim scythes glowing of green death, snuffing out the great torch in the sky before reaching for the rest of the heavens.
-[X] Blessing or Curse:
--[X] Belisarius Cawl (3 Points): Cawl's mind is already sharper than any mortal could hope for. But he has shed so much of himself, trying to optimize the compression of his very soul. Spare him that horror you inflicted on yourself, may he have capacity, may he have coherence, may he be inspired as you were in the gene-labs of Luna.
--[X] Calibron Laan (1 Point): Selflessness and perspective for one who has it not. Fight, you fool.
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It's fucking Be'lakor, most powerful of all Daemon Princes. I sincerely doubt some Inquisitors are going to do much. We already have a lot on our plate and we need to pick our battles, and that means leaving others to die.
Give me a sec to write out a plan.
Okay everyone, I still very much believe we should at least observe Titus, my reasoning has been mentioned before so I won't glaze him more than I have.
Can we talk with Constantine again? If so maybe now would be the time to send him off with the other tech priests to secure the Choral engine? Hell, could we deploy the Grey Knights there while we're at it?
Besides that, we should do something to appease the Star Child, maybe bless and revive Celestine or bless the Sanguinor? Actually, the Iron Hands are being haunted by a Daemon pretending to be their Primarch right now, that actively encourages them to be unfeeling and disregard human life, so maybe we try to help them over come their curse (I.e tell them that having feelies ISN'T A FUCKING WEAKNESS YOU IRON WARRIOR-WANNABES SO KNOCK IT OFF!!
Would it also be possible to give Dante a blessing to make him younger? Like take his 1000 years of experience and give him a body that puts him at his peak and that should hopefully help him out.
Other than that, given the warning we got of Ghaz, we should maybe displace a whole Deathwatch chapter onto Armageddon to help off him.
Can we talk with Constantine again? If so maybe now would be the time to send him off with the other tech priests to secure the Choral engine? Hell, could we deploy the Grey Knights there while we're at it?
Besides that, we should do something to appease the Star Child, maybe bless and revive Celestine or bless the Sanguinor? Actually, the Iron Hands are being haunted by a Daemon pretending to be their Primarch right now, that actively encourages them to be unfeeling and disregard human life, so maybe we try to help them over come their curse (I.e tell them that having feelies ISN'T A FUCKING WEAKNESS YOU IRON WARRIOR-WANNABES SO KNOCK IT OFF!!
Would it also be possible to give Dante a blessing to make him younger? Like take his 1000 years of experience and give him a body that puts him at his peak and that should hopefully help him out.
Other than that, given the warning we got of Ghaz, we should maybe displace a whole Deathwatch chapter onto Armageddon to help off him.
We need to be efficient with our actions. The Choral Engine is now a prophetic goal of Mars, they'll get it done. The only thing that's needed there is assistance to the Throne Wrights, but it can wait one turn. Celestine and all other Living Saints are immortal, tied to our existence. We can probably get her back in the Materium sooner and stronger, but it's not a priority.
Astartes don't really suffer weakness from aging. The only case of a space marine getting old enough to have their body fail was one who got hit with a time-acceleration weapon. Ghaz is a dead end, IMO.
My intention with the Ecclesiarch is to inspire him to have the revelation and crusade of selflessness all on his own. More mysticism can puppet a man like that, but he'll still fuck up because he hasn't reformed his basic outlook. I want him to see that he'd be doing more good for the Imperium literally giving alms on the street than begging us for a miracle, and then try to do better than that.
Astartes don't really suffer weakness from aging. The only case of a space marine getting old enough to have their body fail was one who got hit with a time-acceleration weapon. Ghaz is a dead end, IMO.
My intention with the Ecclesiarch is to inspire him to have the revelation and crusade of selflessness all on his own. More mysticism can puppet a man like that, but he'll still fuck up because he hasn't reformed his basic outlook. I want him to see that he'd be doing more good for the Imperium literally giving alms on the street than begging us for a miracle, and then try to do better than that.
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There is the issue of the coming battles with Imotekh against Helbrecht and Grimnar, and of course, the Kraken, and the Leviathan soon behind it.
Maybe we can put off the Imotekh thing, but the Tyranids are about to start coming in overwhelming force.
I really don't feel comfortable putting off the incredibly important project of the Golden Throne.
Finally, I think that the point pushing Cawl towards Cadia would be better spent elsewhere. Cadia will draw him in regardless, because it is the lynchpin conflict to come.
I do however kind of like your idea behind the Ecclesiarch.
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My concern is to get Cawl after the Blackstone Fortresses and to show up early, not simply to get him to Cadia. That was Abaddon's trump card, and Cawl can stop it if anyone can.
I again emphasize that the Nids are bugs. They're a big deal, but we can't get distracted by them and there is no silver bullet for dealing with them. Kryptman's current course is actually amazingly good and better than what I was expecting, so we should eventually commend his strategy to be the Ordo Xenos' primary one.
The good news is that Chaos can't bless the Necrons or even redirect their fleets. Aid from them would have to be very indirect, and Helbrecht's armor of contempt is probably the strongest in the galaxy.
I again emphasize that the Nids are bugs. They're a big deal, but we can't get distracted by them and there is no silver bullet for dealing with them. Kryptman's current course is actually amazingly good and better than what I was expecting, so we should eventually commend his strategy to be the Ordo Xenos' primary one.
The good news is that Chaos can't bless the Necrons or even redirect their fleets. Aid from them would have to be very indirect, and Helbrecht's armor of contempt is probably the strongest in the galaxy.
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ChiefTurtle117
The Sigillite
- Location
- Holy Terra
My proposal for a plan.
[] Scatter Shot
[] Guide the Tarot: Orpheus Sector and especially the Caracol System: Send visions of a deathless host rising from its grave and with their grim scythes glowing of green death, snuffing out the great torch in the sky before reaching for the rest of the heavens.
[] Guide the Tarot: High Marshal Helbrecht: Send visions of wolves made of shadows fallen at the claws of innumerable chitin and flesh that knew no honor. The faithful knight bound in the cross must confront it with his zealous brethren, where one knight falls, two more must rise if the tide of flesh is to be overcome.
[ ] Guide the Tarot: Logan Grimnar: an old wolf bares its fangs, yet one fang is golden and far longer than another other, before a storm that destroys all life.
[] Guide the Tarot: Arcadian Leontus: a warlord riding a horse of metal and flesh rallies his army to fight a marionette of cannon, claw and tusk, tugged by two ephemeral green giants, on the planet named for the end of days.
[ ] Commune with the Ecclesiarch
-[] The methods of the Ecclesiarchy are wasteful. Worthless priests luxuriate on thrones and offering false prayers while the faithful masses starve and languish. The work of Sebastian Thor must be continued, reform the faith. The priesthood, including you, must cease to be a hindrance and false shepherds, and instead become the mentors and exemplars towards righteousness, devoted service and selflessness.
[] Bless the Ecclesiarch. Improve his sense of rationality and reason, refining his faith.
[] Bless Logan Grimnar.
[] Scatter Shot
[] Guide the Tarot: Orpheus Sector and especially the Caracol System: Send visions of a deathless host rising from its grave and with their grim scythes glowing of green death, snuffing out the great torch in the sky before reaching for the rest of the heavens.
[] Guide the Tarot: High Marshal Helbrecht: Send visions of wolves made of shadows fallen at the claws of innumerable chitin and flesh that knew no honor. The faithful knight bound in the cross must confront it with his zealous brethren, where one knight falls, two more must rise if the tide of flesh is to be overcome.
[ ] Guide the Tarot: Logan Grimnar: an old wolf bares its fangs, yet one fang is golden and far longer than another other, before a storm that destroys all life.
[] Guide the Tarot: Arcadian Leontus: a warlord riding a horse of metal and flesh rallies his army to fight a marionette of cannon, claw and tusk, tugged by two ephemeral green giants, on the planet named for the end of days.
[ ] Commune with the Ecclesiarch
-[] The methods of the Ecclesiarchy are wasteful. Worthless priests luxuriate on thrones and offering false prayers while the faithful masses starve and languish. The work of Sebastian Thor must be continued, reform the faith. The priesthood, including you, must cease to be a hindrance and false shepherds, and instead become the mentors and exemplars towards righteousness, devoted service and selflessness.
[] Bless the Ecclesiarch. Improve his sense of rationality and reason, refining his faith.
[] Bless Logan Grimnar.
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You speak of it as a trump card, all he did was throw it at Cadia when his initial plans failed. It's not a trump card, it's a multipurpose tool that can be brought down like all other ships with sufficient effort and defense.
We don't need a silver bullet for the Tyranids, we just need a warning so our servants are prepared when they arrive.
That doesn't mean that Imotekh being neutralized wouldn't save a lot of lives and resources.
[X] Plan Armageddon to the Kraken
-[X] Commune
--[X] Baldo Slyst (4 points):
—-[X] Tell him that you look upon the state of the Imperium and find yourself… disappointed. When I set out to build this Imperium I envisioned that all of humanity would eventually live in a new Golden Age where they would know neither hunger or poverty and could be great enough to carry themselves without my assistance. And yet even here on Terra untold billions suffer in squalor, shackled by ignorance and blind adherence to dogma, kept under boot by cruel masters who only demand more, toiling away in miserable lives spent for the benefit of the decadent and corrupt who have grown fat from the labor of countless menials they so callously disregard. And here you are, one of the most powerful men in all the Imperium, who could move fleets and shape worlds at a word… spending months at a time on your knees before me begging for a miracle. You are right to see yourself as a servant to me, but you and the Ecclessiarchy as a whole have forgotten that you also should be servants to humanity. The Priest who demands a towering and gilded cathedral be constructed while surrounded by a squalid ghetto and cares not for how many thousands die to make it, is no true servant of humanity. Any great shepherd must try to uplift their flock to the best they can be.
—-[X] Also, while there are Xenos that are undoubtedly deserving of extermination such as the Orkz and the Tyrannids, there are groups out there that are more… agreeable and we can stand to benefit working with more, or at least spare resources fighting them than other threats, such groups include the Craftworld Aeldari, the Jokaero and the Tau in the Damocles Gulf. Regarding the Latter, while naive and arrogant, they can still be useful, if not as allies, then at least as a buffer state. Try to get someone to reach out diplomatically to set boundaries on their expansion, non-aggression pacts, and see how they can help us, whether it be tech-exchanges or defense agreements.
—[X] Blessing (2 points): Helbrecht
—[X] Blessing (2 points): Commissar Yarrick
—[X] Curse (1 Point): The Inquistor(s) who seek to have the Celestial Lions assassinated for daring to speak out against their abuse of power. May their treachery be exposed.
-[X] Guide the Tarrot (1 Point):
—[X] Orpheus Sector (1 Point): Send visions of a deathless host rising from its grave and with their grim scythes glowing of green death, snuffing out the great torch in the sky before reaching for the rest of the heavens.
-[X] Commune
--[X] Baldo Slyst (4 points):
—-[X] Tell him that you look upon the state of the Imperium and find yourself… disappointed. When I set out to build this Imperium I envisioned that all of humanity would eventually live in a new Golden Age where they would know neither hunger or poverty and could be great enough to carry themselves without my assistance. And yet even here on Terra untold billions suffer in squalor, shackled by ignorance and blind adherence to dogma, kept under boot by cruel masters who only demand more, toiling away in miserable lives spent for the benefit of the decadent and corrupt who have grown fat from the labor of countless menials they so callously disregard. And here you are, one of the most powerful men in all the Imperium, who could move fleets and shape worlds at a word… spending months at a time on your knees before me begging for a miracle. You are right to see yourself as a servant to me, but you and the Ecclessiarchy as a whole have forgotten that you also should be servants to humanity. The Priest who demands a towering and gilded cathedral be constructed while surrounded by a squalid ghetto and cares not for how many thousands die to make it, is no true servant of humanity. Any great shepherd must try to uplift their flock to the best they can be.
—-[X] Also, while there are Xenos that are undoubtedly deserving of extermination such as the Orkz and the Tyrannids, there are groups out there that are more… agreeable and we can stand to benefit working with more, or at least spare resources fighting them than other threats, such groups include the Craftworld Aeldari, the Jokaero and the Tau in the Damocles Gulf. Regarding the Latter, while naive and arrogant, they can still be useful, if not as allies, then at least as a buffer state. Try to get someone to reach out diplomatically to set boundaries on their expansion, non-aggression pacts, and see how they can help us, whether it be tech-exchanges or defense agreements.
—[X] Blessing (2 points): Helbrecht
—[X] Blessing (2 points): Commissar Yarrick
—[X] Curse (1 Point): The Inquistor(s) who seek to have the Celestial Lions assassinated for daring to speak out against their abuse of power. May their treachery be exposed.
-[X] Guide the Tarrot (1 Point):
—[X] Orpheus Sector (1 Point): Send visions of a deathless host rising from its grave and with their grim scythes glowing of green death, snuffing out the great torch in the sky before reaching for the rest of the heavens.
Cant forget about Armageddon. We have Ol' Ghazzy to deal with after all.
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This is something I really can't agree with. The Ecclesiarch still has his own agenda, he's not a superhuman so he can't bear as much detail, getting him to command the Captain General is really getting jurisdictions and authorities crossed, and just the general idea isn't what I support, putting scarce resources into saving Eldar and not humans from the Kraken.
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Also between him needing convalescence to recover from our presence alone and the warning from the Star Child and Logical Mind, this might very well just break his mind, or set him on a terrible path contrary to our desires. We have been warned, explicitly warned, about being careful with influencing the Ecclesiarch.
Having Iyanden in our debt could be a big boon for us in getting the Eldar to have an alliance with us. It is one of the most populous of the Craftworlds before 4/5ths of them got OMNOMOM'd by the Nids, and if we help them here they could then move on towards helping us with Kraken elsewhere if we can preserve their strength.
But on second thought, I am reconsidering that 3 things might be too much. I'll remove that part and just stick to getting him to care more about helping people and calling off the Damocles Crusade.
He does, but I think you're being a bit too harsh on him. Like what you're saying to him sounds less likely to get him to change for the better and more to get him to commit suicide or go full REPENT!!!! mode.
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And the voice that speaks like a machine noted care was needed because of irrationality.
There is no Damocles Crusade.
The Emperor's words there are harsh, but I think they are both true to him in a way that makes sense and they aren't a total rejection. He commends Celestine and those with simple, productive faith and tells Slyst outright that he'll bless him if he does better and follows that path. The main thing I'm trying to impress here is perspective, which if anything I think would prevent the Repent spiral.
It's saying to him outright - The Emperor doesn't care if you repent. The Imperial Cult isn't even the Emperor's business. He can change that, but if he's unwilling to bring the same fervor to charity and defense of humanity that he does to spamming us with prayer and begging, the whole institution is hopeless anyway. This is honestly about as much effort as I think should be spent on the Imperial Cult until it shows signs of improvement.
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Hmm, there was one 250 years ago, and I thought the second conflict was the second Damocles Crusade, but I was wrong. There still will be a conflict in the Tau's Third Expansion Sphere though in 41.999 so might as well try to head that off with actual diplomacy.
That would require me to know. And there isn't canon on it. So not unless something in the quest obviously forces them to commit.
You already did. You sent him a vision about it already.
Most people call that second conflict the second Damocles Crusade even though it isn't officially named that.