The Fifth Grand Conclave Part One: Arrival at the Grand Conclave and its Superpowers
- Location
- Alice Springs, Australia
The Fifth Grand Conclave Part One: Arrival at the Grand Conclave and its Superpowers
Your journey through the Webway with the Imperial Trust's delegation to the Black Library, where the Fifth Grand Conclave will take place is rapid, showing how much the local webway has been repaired since you first trod this path all those centuries ago. This is the first time Nurma Kessle has accompanied you to the Grand Conclave, and she seems slightly overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the forces represented and the legends attending.
The Grand Conclave is a meeting of every power in the galaxy that can be called Sane, from isolated worlds hiding on the edges of the galaxy to superpowers like the Empire of Ashes, Krork or Necrons. You are proud to say that you played a role in its creation, as it is the single greatest reason that only the Dragon remains a true threat to the galaxy.
Its hosts are as always the Ynnari, the Eldar of the Empire of Ashes, under the command of their resurgent pantheon. Where once Ynnead and Cegorach stood alone as the gods of a people seemingly doomed to die spreading themselves thin keeping the galaxy from being consumed by one of the countless rampaging apocalypses in order to regain their pride, now a pantheon of over a dozen gods presides over a growing power, led by countless heroes returned from death by the efforts of Isha.
The Ynnari's combination of seers and the Webway have allowed them to be the most active members of the Grand Conclave, moving against rising threats before they gather steam and reinforcing doomed positions with just enough forces. This has placed them in a position of not exactly leaders of the Grand Conclave, as it is a far too fractious and independent group to ever have leaders, but more the trusted coordinators.
With less than two hundred billion living eldar and a hundred times that wraiths the Ynnari are by far the weakest of the superpowers of the Grand Conclave, despite the fact that between their mastery of the warp and the blessings of their god their individual quality is unmatched. They make up for this weakness with their mastery of stacking the fight in their favour and downright cheating.
Until recently the other superpower within the Grand Conclave has been the Krork, the soldiers of the Old Ones. Reborn from the seed of a single legion rescued from the galleries of Solemnace, the Krork have emerged from their long war with the Orks, having broken the back of their feral children successors and slain their child gods. The disciplined legions of the Krork fight once more against those that would end the galaxy, and are determined not to be found wanting again.
Until recently the Krork have been caught within an endless tide of orks, fighting a centuries long siege against everything that the disorganised nature of the orks allowed them to bring to bear against their hated foes. Since achieving victory they have expanded their territory massively, covering a good portion of Segmentum Ultima which they use to create a steady tide of fleets and armies to feed into the Dragon War. Until the joining of the Necrons the Krork were by far the greatest military power within the Grand Conclave, and are probably the third greatest power currently within the galaxy.
Where the Eldar rely on manoeuvre and deception for victory, the Krork are far more conventional, using combined arms tactics and endless reserves to grind down their foes or crush them in sudden blitz's.
The Necrons have only just joined the Grand Conclave, after first deciding that they can not stand alone against the Void Dragon and then realising that even a loose alliance would not be enough to ensure victory. While most of the younger races have had little conflict with the Necrons in living memory, there are several polities that have, and the issues between the Necrons and the children of the Old Ones remain deep. It remains to be seen how well they can work with the Grand Conclave, but even taking a step to join and not being denied is a hopeful sign.
It is centuries since the Necrons finished the War in the Void, in which they met the Tyranid superfleets outside of the galaxy and slowly grounded them out of existence, a fight which the Silent King has revealed almost wiped out the Necrons as well. While much of their lost fleets and legions have been rebuilt, the Necrons are not the galaxy shattering force that won the War in the Void, or the War in Heaven all those aeons ago. Saying this they are still the masters of Ka, and even in their weakened state are probably the most powerful military force within the Grand Conclave.
In war the Necrons rely on a mix of the expendability of their legions and the advanced techno-sorcery of their crypteks, pinning their foes in place with honestly terrifying forces and then deploying something to change the tides of battle in their favour.
As you have Nurma give you an overview of the main powers within the Grand Conclave you examine the [age] hand, and hope that she is up for the task.
Your journey through the Webway with the Imperial Trust's delegation to the Black Library, where the Fifth Grand Conclave will take place is rapid, showing how much the local webway has been repaired since you first trod this path all those centuries ago. This is the first time Nurma Kessle has accompanied you to the Grand Conclave, and she seems slightly overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the forces represented and the legends attending.
The Grand Conclave is a meeting of every power in the galaxy that can be called Sane, from isolated worlds hiding on the edges of the galaxy to superpowers like the Empire of Ashes, Krork or Necrons. You are proud to say that you played a role in its creation, as it is the single greatest reason that only the Dragon remains a true threat to the galaxy.
Its hosts are as always the Ynnari, the Eldar of the Empire of Ashes, under the command of their resurgent pantheon. Where once Ynnead and Cegorach stood alone as the gods of a people seemingly doomed to die spreading themselves thin keeping the galaxy from being consumed by one of the countless rampaging apocalypses in order to regain their pride, now a pantheon of over a dozen gods presides over a growing power, led by countless heroes returned from death by the efforts of Isha.
The Ynnari's combination of seers and the Webway have allowed them to be the most active members of the Grand Conclave, moving against rising threats before they gather steam and reinforcing doomed positions with just enough forces. This has placed them in a position of not exactly leaders of the Grand Conclave, as it is a far too fractious and independent group to ever have leaders, but more the trusted coordinators.
With less than two hundred billion living eldar and a hundred times that wraiths the Ynnari are by far the weakest of the superpowers of the Grand Conclave, despite the fact that between their mastery of the warp and the blessings of their god their individual quality is unmatched. They make up for this weakness with their mastery of stacking the fight in their favour and downright cheating.
Until recently the other superpower within the Grand Conclave has been the Krork, the soldiers of the Old Ones. Reborn from the seed of a single legion rescued from the galleries of Solemnace, the Krork have emerged from their long war with the Orks, having broken the back of their feral children successors and slain their child gods. The disciplined legions of the Krork fight once more against those that would end the galaxy, and are determined not to be found wanting again.
Until recently the Krork have been caught within an endless tide of orks, fighting a centuries long siege against everything that the disorganised nature of the orks allowed them to bring to bear against their hated foes. Since achieving victory they have expanded their territory massively, covering a good portion of Segmentum Ultima which they use to create a steady tide of fleets and armies to feed into the Dragon War. Until the joining of the Necrons the Krork were by far the greatest military power within the Grand Conclave, and are probably the third greatest power currently within the galaxy.
Where the Eldar rely on manoeuvre and deception for victory, the Krork are far more conventional, using combined arms tactics and endless reserves to grind down their foes or crush them in sudden blitz's.
The Necrons have only just joined the Grand Conclave, after first deciding that they can not stand alone against the Void Dragon and then realising that even a loose alliance would not be enough to ensure victory. While most of the younger races have had little conflict with the Necrons in living memory, there are several polities that have, and the issues between the Necrons and the children of the Old Ones remain deep. It remains to be seen how well they can work with the Grand Conclave, but even taking a step to join and not being denied is a hopeful sign.
It is centuries since the Necrons finished the War in the Void, in which they met the Tyranid superfleets outside of the galaxy and slowly grounded them out of existence, a fight which the Silent King has revealed almost wiped out the Necrons as well. While much of their lost fleets and legions have been rebuilt, the Necrons are not the galaxy shattering force that won the War in the Void, or the War in Heaven all those aeons ago. Saying this they are still the masters of Ka, and even in their weakened state are probably the most powerful military force within the Grand Conclave.
In war the Necrons rely on a mix of the expendability of their legions and the advanced techno-sorcery of their crypteks, pinning their foes in place with honestly terrifying forces and then deploying something to change the tides of battle in their favour.
As you have Nurma give you an overview of the main powers within the Grand Conclave you examine the [age] hand, and hope that she is up for the task.
[] Nurma Kessal is a young prodigy in her second century of life- Nurma's sheer talent has led you to pick her as your successor over the heads of others centuries her senior, she will have trouble at first, but if she is given time to grow she may be able to fulfil the expectations of your successor. 10 points of acquired traits and 15 points of innate traits, lowest initial stats but highest growth potential.
[] Nurma Kessal is a genius in her third century of life- Nurma is a talented leader that lacks the seasoning of some of your Hands, but should be a capable leader and will grow into a great one given time. 20 points of acquired traits and 10 points of innate traits, decent initial stats and high growth potentional.
[] Nurma Kessal is a skilled leader in her fourth century of life- Nurma is one of your older Hands, and has developed her skills to a high degree, though she still has some room to grow. 30 points of acquired traits and 5 points of innate traits, high initial stats but low growth potential.
[] Nurma Kessal is an old veteran in her fifth century of life- One of your initial Hands, she is already a worthy leader for Avernus, though she will never approach reaching the expectations that your people have of your successor. 40 points of acquired traits and no points of innate traits, highest initial stats but lowest growth potential.
There are 3 main forms of traits
Innate Traits are traits that are part of what you are, they include things like genius, your species and similar. They are near impossible to gain and lose and do not contribute to your Trait Value but do contribute to your skill value.
Acquired Traits are traits that you have gained over your life, and are the vast majority of all traits. They contribute to both Trait Value and Skill Value .
Artefact Traits are traits that reflect the artefacts you wield, and as such do not contribute to either Trait Value or Skill Value .
Trait Value is one of the main factors determining how easy it is to gain new traits, and the higher it is the harder it is to gain new traits.
Skill Value is another factor that affects how easy it is to gain new traits, and also determines when you reach the boundaries of Paragon and Transcendent.
[] Nurma Kessal is a genius in her third century of life- Nurma is a talented leader that lacks the seasoning of some of your Hands, but should be a capable leader and will grow into a great one given time. 20 points of acquired traits and 10 points of innate traits, decent initial stats and high growth potentional.
[] Nurma Kessal is a skilled leader in her fourth century of life- Nurma is one of your older Hands, and has developed her skills to a high degree, though she still has some room to grow. 30 points of acquired traits and 5 points of innate traits, high initial stats but low growth potential.
[] Nurma Kessal is an old veteran in her fifth century of life- One of your initial Hands, she is already a worthy leader for Avernus, though she will never approach reaching the expectations that your people have of your successor. 40 points of acquired traits and no points of innate traits, highest initial stats but lowest growth potential.
There are 3 main forms of traits
Innate Traits are traits that are part of what you are, they include things like genius, your species and similar. They are near impossible to gain and lose and do not contribute to your Trait Value but do contribute to your skill value.
Acquired Traits are traits that you have gained over your life, and are the vast majority of all traits. They contribute to both Trait Value and Skill Value .
Artefact Traits are traits that reflect the artefacts you wield, and as such do not contribute to either Trait Value or Skill Value .
Trait Value is one of the main factors determining how easy it is to gain new traits, and the higher it is the harder it is to gain new traits.
Skill Value is another factor that affects how easy it is to gain new traits, and also determines when you reach the boundaries of Paragon and Transcendent.
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