Luck is a strange thing. Sometimes it keeps you out of the hands of the Black Ships as a young psyker. Sometimes it lands a Tyranid splinter-fleet on your doorstep. Maybe the Emperor has a plan for you; one that doesn't involve ending up in some monster's gullet. The galaxy is rarely a kind place - but perhaps your luck will hold.
Strange Blooms (Warhammer 40k Tyranid Quest)
- Thread starter QafianSage
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
- Created
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- Ongoing
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0.1 - Until Now
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
So, this quest is something of a whim for me, and the result of long musing on the general interestingness of the Tyranids - less so their endless armies of gribbly monsters, and more the way they act as a strange ecosystem. This is particularly noticeable when their enemies have been defeated and they are in the process of consuming a world, or when the Hive Mind's hold over them has been broken. It's still present in their normal operation, however, in the way that they integrate separate living organisms into symbiotic weapons and so on.
In this quest, I want to explore some of these complexities. You will be playing as a psyker with a strange relationship to the Hive Mind and the Tyranids, the exact nature of which - and what it means for you and the wider setting - you'll be discovering over the first few updates. I'm not entirely sure how long this will last, but we shall see.
It is said that the galaxy is the house of the Emperor; that every world is a room in the vast palace of His spirit. If this is so, then the Emperor is a poor caretaker, though it be heretical to say it. His children throng throughout this belt of stars, but are beset on all sides by monsters, aliens, heretics and worse. And now, disaster has split the galaxy in two, isolating half of the Emperor's flock from the other and, worse, from the light of His Astronomican, the guiding light in the darkness of the Warp.
On which side of the Great Rift did you fall?
-[] [Region] Imperium Sanctus: You are fortunate; when a Navigator looks into the Warp from your world, they can still see the Astronomican's light. Nevertheless, times are grim, as the Imperium reels from the blows it has been dealt, and the forces of the Warp and xenos alike wax in ferocity.
-[] [Region] Imperium Nihilus: You are forsaken. The Astronomican is dark, astropathic communication is intermittent and even time may sometimes run askew. If the Imperium Sanctus is beset, the Imperium Nihilus is on the verge of being overrun.
Whispers ripple through the warp of a planned crusade of liberation and reunification. Some even say it shall be led by a Primarch, returned from death. Or maybe it has already been launched, and has passed you by. In these dark times, it is impossible to tell.
You have not lived a long life, but you just barely remember a time (slightly) brighter. Or that might simply be nostalgia for childhood. But there are dark times, and there are dark times, and your world is beset. A few scattered bio-ships of a starving Tyranid splinter-fleet have found your home and have landed their spores upon it. Unchecked, they will devour your world whole.
Where have these monsters found you?
-[] [Origin] Death World: Your home is a horror - a planet barely fit for human habitation, where the Imperium hangs on with bloodied fingernails. The galaxy has many and varied trials to inflict upon the Emperor's subjects; choose also a world from below:
-[] [Origin] Voidborn: You have rarely, if ever, known the solidity of planetary gravity; you were born in the void of space, and have lived aboard star-sailing vessels all your life. Not all ships are alike, though; pick one from below:
-[] [Origin] Forge World: Nion VI is a faithful world of the Mechanicus, a forge to match any other amongst the stars. In their manufactorums are born the guns, tanks and machines of all kinds put to use by planets for light years around. Now, their skies are choked with spores, and it is only fortunate that so many of the citizens already have augmetics to filter the air they breathe. The Adeptus Mechanicus have unleashed all manner of weaponry, from arcane machines whose mechanics you can hardly guess at to good old gun-servitors, and they have dealt grievous blows to the small hive fleet. And yet the monsters come.
-[] [Origin] Feudal World: To Imperial cartographers your world is classified as 'Narthus Septimus'. You've never heard this name. Yours is a world of empires spread by sword, spear and shield, of men and women who farm for a living, and are swept off by nobility to their country villas for entertainment. Slavery is commonplace, life is short, and the main contact you have with the Imperium is the tales of armored gods who choose a few boys each generation to serve them in the heavens. You have no way of knowing how a wounded hive ship limped to your planet's orbit and spat down a few spores before it shuddered out its death throes. You know only the tales of monsters in the wild.
-[] [Origin] Hive World: Gennerth is a ruined world; between the vast hive-cities are vast plains of salt and bare stone where the toxic wind howls a lament for beauty lost. There is nothing there, though. Life here is in the hives; mountains of metal and human flesh stretching into the sky, their tips glittering above the clouds as their feet are planted in the earth. The space in between is populated by uncountable numbers of human souls - every one at peril. Gennerth's aristocracy was paralysed by a foul xeno-cult, just as a hive ship loomed into orbit. Its fellows had been slain by the system's defense batteries, but one lived to secure orbital supremacy, and the spores have begun to fall.
-[] [Origin] Shrine World: You have never set foot on soil, stone or steel which was not holy, never stood in a place other than under the gaze of the Emperor and His saints. Such is Ichion, a world made sacred by the sacrifice of Saint Ichion Star-Hand, who purged the ork-spores from the planet long ago, making it clean so that it could be built again as a beacon of holiness. And now, foul xenos once more stain its pristine beauty. The guns of the Imperial Navy have failed, and only faith and the weapons held sacred by the cult of Ichion can save you now from the monstrous things which pour onto the surface of this hallowed world.
-[] [Origin] Agri World: Aunia is, by the standards of imperial worlds, idyllic. Vast stretches of open farmland, great forests maintained for rich lumber, herds of prime beasts. Its produce goes not to the mouths of hivers, but to the tables of the nobility, and its inhabitants take pride in their work. Now, though, a hunger greater even than that of the upper echelons of the Imperium comes to sample the fruits of their labours. Undefended, the planet is easy prey for the single bio-ship which limped into the system and is even now driving the PDF back step by step.
-[] [Origin] Maiden World: Though you are human, the world of Lieria is not. It belongs to Exodites of the Aeldari empire of old, who have kept to a simple lifestyle ever since, and are gracious enough to permit some enclaves of 'mon-keigh' to occupy the same planet as them, as you have since before some upstart Emperor on the other side of the galaxy began his conquests. Your peoples live apart, but in relative peace and tranquility; your histories are littered with deeds done by either side in service of the other. Now, though, you are being tested as never before; implacable, ravenous monstrosities have landed upon your homeworld, and ravage its ecology and world-spirit alike. You fight alongside your aeldari neighbours against them, doing what you can, and they claim to have sent for help - but who knows if it will arrive in time, or if it will help all on Lieria, or only a few?
In the end, you are only a
-[] [Origin] Man
-[] [Origin] Woman
-[] [Origin] Other
--[] [Origin] Write in
Named
-[] [Origin] Write in
In a conflict infinitely greater than yourself. The destruction of all that you have ever known; every man, woman and child, will be but a drop in the bucket of the galaxy's wars. There is hardly any division left between soldier and civilian; all that remains now is survival. Not all are equal, though, even in the face of this horror. You are a
-[] [Origin] Child of the Low: You were born into the lowest - and widest - rung of society. You were a peon and a child of peons; a worker in the intestines of a vessel, a labourer in manufactorums, a ganger, a farmer, one of any number of roles.
-[] [Origin] Child of the Creed: You were not raised by parents in the traditional sense, but by an institution, whether that be the Schola Progenium, the Adeptus Mechanicus, a monastic order or some other group.
-[] [Origin] Child of the Vaunted: You were raised at the apex of society; the child of nobility, a planetary governor, or the captain of your home-vessel. You are used to privilege, and have been trained to take up high office.
All your life, you had a sense - something that no-one else spoke of. You did not even know that it was not commonplace - it was as natural to you as breathing to feel the currents of the Warp against your mind, though you never knew them by that name. No Black Ship came to take you away, by chance or fate, and by some stroke of providence you have neither been found a witch nor destroyed yourself. Perhaps you have even found a teacher, in books, in faith or in another, who has given you some guidance.
All that luck may come to naught, though, in the face of the thing that stands before you.
-[] [Foe] Broodlord: It is a four-limbed monster, a genestealer among genestealers. It waits, claws clacking against one another. Sadistic anticipation, or something else?
-[] [Foe] Warrior: It towers above you, its wedge-shaped head crowned with armour, its weaponized limbs ready to destroy. As it sees you, its eyes narrow and it lets out a whistling chitter, but does not fire just yet. Hesitation?
-[] [Foe] Hive Tyrant: The creature is enormous, more than thrice your height and wielding armaments as tall as you. There is a terrible intelligence in its eyes, and more than that an awful wisdom you can barely fathom. It has not killed you yet; what is it looking for?
-[] [Foe] Tervigon: It is the size of a battle tank, walking on all six limbs and attended by dozens of scuttling gun-creatures spawned from its dripping underbelly. It snarls with a sound that reverberates through the ground and up your legs, and its minion-children skitter and shriek quietly, their weapons trained upon you.
-[] [Foe] Zoanthrope: It is twice your height, but seems taller for the way its almost-vestigial body floats above the ground, suspended by a will you can see distorting the air and feel pressing against your own as it regards you. You think it sees you better with its thoughts than its eyes.
There are essentially three votes here - your starting Region, your Origin (world, rank, name and gender), which is a plan vote, and your Foe. These will be each be considered separately. When you post a vote there should be three independent parts to it: The Region, the plan for Origin and the Foe. For example:
[] Region
[] Plan X
-[] Planet Type
-[] Status
-[] Name
-[] Gender
[] Foe
Region can be considered the long-term setting of the quest, Origin can be considered the setting for the first major arc or so, as well as some character creation, while Foe will have ramifications you will see in the next update. No Foe will be impossible to defeat.
Voting will close in 48 hours.
Feel free to describe extra details of a character you want to develop - if they are a Child of the Creed, for instance, you might talk about what kind of creed they were raised in, particularly on more loosely-held Imperial starting-points. Personality traits are always welcome. I will take any such thoughts on the winning vote into account when writing the character.
The next update will have more narrative than choices to it; I just wanted to get the bulk of the choices out of the way before anything else. Strange Blooms will be relatively rules-light to begin with, but I have some plans for rules to implement as time goes on. I may add the Mature tag, depending on how the quest progresses.
Finally, I want to give thanks to @Akai , @BungieONI , @horngeek and @Maugan Ra for helping me with some of the formatting here.
In this quest, I want to explore some of these complexities. You will be playing as a psyker with a strange relationship to the Hive Mind and the Tyranids, the exact nature of which - and what it means for you and the wider setting - you'll be discovering over the first few updates. I'm not entirely sure how long this will last, but we shall see.
It is said that the galaxy is the house of the Emperor; that every world is a room in the vast palace of His spirit. If this is so, then the Emperor is a poor caretaker, though it be heretical to say it. His children throng throughout this belt of stars, but are beset on all sides by monsters, aliens, heretics and worse. And now, disaster has split the galaxy in two, isolating half of the Emperor's flock from the other and, worse, from the light of His Astronomican, the guiding light in the darkness of the Warp.
On which side of the Great Rift did you fall?
-[] [Region] Imperium Sanctus: You are fortunate; when a Navigator looks into the Warp from your world, they can still see the Astronomican's light. Nevertheless, times are grim, as the Imperium reels from the blows it has been dealt, and the forces of the Warp and xenos alike wax in ferocity.
-[] [Region] Imperium Nihilus: You are forsaken. The Astronomican is dark, astropathic communication is intermittent and even time may sometimes run askew. If the Imperium Sanctus is beset, the Imperium Nihilus is on the verge of being overrun.
Whispers ripple through the warp of a planned crusade of liberation and reunification. Some even say it shall be led by a Primarch, returned from death. Or maybe it has already been launched, and has passed you by. In these dark times, it is impossible to tell.
You have not lived a long life, but you just barely remember a time (slightly) brighter. Or that might simply be nostalgia for childhood. But there are dark times, and there are dark times, and your world is beset. A few scattered bio-ships of a starving Tyranid splinter-fleet have found your home and have landed their spores upon it. Unchecked, they will devour your world whole.
Where have these monsters found you?
-[] [Origin] Death World: Your home is a horror - a planet barely fit for human habitation, where the Imperium hangs on with bloodied fingernails. The galaxy has many and varied trials to inflict upon the Emperor's subjects; choose also a world from below:
--[] [Origin] Benkiter: A planet of oceans, Benkiter's seas are almost as deep as the gullets of their inhabitants. Populated by all manner of monstrous creatures, from venomous sting-worms to leviathans capable of assaulting even fortified floating cities, it is a blue hell. It is also home to a certain type of clam whose pearls have a remarkable luster - and this is reason enough for garrisons to be maintained and men to be fed to its monsters. That the Fleet landed here is no wonder; Benkiter is full of biomass, but its inhabitants may test the resources of a broken splinter-fleet.
--[] [Origin] Covyria: Verdant and savage, Covyria is home to innumerable predators, carnivorous plants and prey-beasts scarcely any less dangerous. Continuous application of fire and defoliants to the ever-encroaching jungle-scape is necessary, and the Imperial Knights of House Vanefa are there to stand between the population and the greater monsters which stalk this planet. They will be tested sorely, though, as a new breed of monster comes from beyond the sky: A Tyranid bio-ship has won through the planetary defenses and begun to deposit its cargo onto the surface.
--[] [Origin] Gatun Secundus: In truth a moon rather than a planet, Gatun Secundus is a ball of ice and snow orbiting the gas giant Gatun. Its main purpose is to serve as a penal world, but the prisoners trapped here are not permitted to live on the Emperor's coin without repayment. They mine promethium the previous ecosystem of the world was crushed into, now trapped beneath its frozen surface. The Hive Fleet came here out of desperation, but they will drink the promethium dry before they leave. Biomass is biomass.
-[] [Origin] Voidborn: You have rarely, if ever, known the solidity of planetary gravity; you were born in the void of space, and have lived aboard star-sailing vessels all your life. Not all ships are alike, though; pick one from below:
--[] [Origin] Infinite Burdens: One of the innumerable trade-haulers which carries vast loads of cargo between the stars of the Imperium, Burdens is an old, reliable ship, carrying vast quantities of grain and other produce from an agri-world to a hungry hive world. And she is dying. The Shadow in the Warp forced her back into realspace, and the hive fleet is even now devouring space within her corridors. They will find her fat, juicy prey, and they will move on, further strengthened by this easy meal.
--[] [Origin] Restitutor Orbis: A proud cruiser of the Imperial Navy, Restitutor has fought valiantly, but her guns and void shields were not sufficient. She has wounded her enemies, and slain two, but now the last closes in for the kill, disgorging boarding-beasts to devour her from within. The crew of Restitutor will make them fight for every corridor, and the captain broods in his quarters, waiting for the right moment to take the last of his foes with him into death.
--[] [Origin] Aurum Indictio: The long-serving frigate-vessel of the Gelstat Rogue Trader Dynasty, Indictio has sailed the frontiers of the Imperium, dealt with many strange peoples and come back laden with both wealth and glory. This may be her final hour, though. Returning to a world with which the captain had traded often before, they emerged from the Warp above a ravaged agri-world, with waves of clawed monstrosities writhing across its surface and beating at the beleaguered defenders. A bio-ship has broken away from its bombardment positions and engaged Indictio in combat, downing her shields before vomiting boarding-spores to breach her hull.
--[] [Origin] BIG KRUMPA: The capitals are important. Kaptin Rekkguttah is very insistent on them. You've seen him splatter a gretchin for not pronouncing them right. You're still not entirely sure how you're alive. The Kaptin apparently took a liking to you, for whatever reason (though you think your sparks and explosions are part of it), and kept you as something between a slave, a pet and a jester - his Sparky 'Umie. It's a hell of a trick, to keep it up. And now a giant tentacle-monster has decided KRUMPA looks tasty.
-[] [Origin] Forge World: Nion VI is a faithful world of the Mechanicus, a forge to match any other amongst the stars. In their manufactorums are born the guns, tanks and machines of all kinds put to use by planets for light years around. Now, their skies are choked with spores, and it is only fortunate that so many of the citizens already have augmetics to filter the air they breathe. The Adeptus Mechanicus have unleashed all manner of weaponry, from arcane machines whose mechanics you can hardly guess at to good old gun-servitors, and they have dealt grievous blows to the small hive fleet. And yet the monsters come.
-[] [Origin] Feudal World: To Imperial cartographers your world is classified as 'Narthus Septimus'. You've never heard this name. Yours is a world of empires spread by sword, spear and shield, of men and women who farm for a living, and are swept off by nobility to their country villas for entertainment. Slavery is commonplace, life is short, and the main contact you have with the Imperium is the tales of armored gods who choose a few boys each generation to serve them in the heavens. You have no way of knowing how a wounded hive ship limped to your planet's orbit and spat down a few spores before it shuddered out its death throes. You know only the tales of monsters in the wild.
-[] [Origin] Hive World: Gennerth is a ruined world; between the vast hive-cities are vast plains of salt and bare stone where the toxic wind howls a lament for beauty lost. There is nothing there, though. Life here is in the hives; mountains of metal and human flesh stretching into the sky, their tips glittering above the clouds as their feet are planted in the earth. The space in between is populated by uncountable numbers of human souls - every one at peril. Gennerth's aristocracy was paralysed by a foul xeno-cult, just as a hive ship loomed into orbit. Its fellows had been slain by the system's defense batteries, but one lived to secure orbital supremacy, and the spores have begun to fall.
-[] [Origin] Shrine World: You have never set foot on soil, stone or steel which was not holy, never stood in a place other than under the gaze of the Emperor and His saints. Such is Ichion, a world made sacred by the sacrifice of Saint Ichion Star-Hand, who purged the ork-spores from the planet long ago, making it clean so that it could be built again as a beacon of holiness. And now, foul xenos once more stain its pristine beauty. The guns of the Imperial Navy have failed, and only faith and the weapons held sacred by the cult of Ichion can save you now from the monstrous things which pour onto the surface of this hallowed world.
-[] [Origin] Agri World: Aunia is, by the standards of imperial worlds, idyllic. Vast stretches of open farmland, great forests maintained for rich lumber, herds of prime beasts. Its produce goes not to the mouths of hivers, but to the tables of the nobility, and its inhabitants take pride in their work. Now, though, a hunger greater even than that of the upper echelons of the Imperium comes to sample the fruits of their labours. Undefended, the planet is easy prey for the single bio-ship which limped into the system and is even now driving the PDF back step by step.
-[] [Origin] Maiden World: Though you are human, the world of Lieria is not. It belongs to Exodites of the Aeldari empire of old, who have kept to a simple lifestyle ever since, and are gracious enough to permit some enclaves of 'mon-keigh' to occupy the same planet as them, as you have since before some upstart Emperor on the other side of the galaxy began his conquests. Your peoples live apart, but in relative peace and tranquility; your histories are littered with deeds done by either side in service of the other. Now, though, you are being tested as never before; implacable, ravenous monstrosities have landed upon your homeworld, and ravage its ecology and world-spirit alike. You fight alongside your aeldari neighbours against them, doing what you can, and they claim to have sent for help - but who knows if it will arrive in time, or if it will help all on Lieria, or only a few?
In the end, you are only a
-[] [Origin] Man
-[] [Origin] Woman
-[] [Origin] Other
--[] [Origin] Write in
Named
-[] [Origin] Write in
In a conflict infinitely greater than yourself. The destruction of all that you have ever known; every man, woman and child, will be but a drop in the bucket of the galaxy's wars. There is hardly any division left between soldier and civilian; all that remains now is survival. Not all are equal, though, even in the face of this horror. You are a
-[] [Origin] Child of the Low: You were born into the lowest - and widest - rung of society. You were a peon and a child of peons; a worker in the intestines of a vessel, a labourer in manufactorums, a ganger, a farmer, one of any number of roles.
You are used to adversity, and know how to adapt to new situations, as such a life is precarious. You haven't had much of an education, though.
-[] [Origin] Child of the Creed: You were not raised by parents in the traditional sense, but by an institution, whether that be the Schola Progenium, the Adeptus Mechanicus, a monastic order or some other group.
You have a good education, and have been trained in many useful skills, including discipline. However, your experience of the world outside of the rigid structures of your upbringing is limited.
-[] [Origin] Child of the Vaunted: You were raised at the apex of society; the child of nobility, a planetary governor, or the captain of your home-vessel. You are used to privilege, and have been trained to take up high office.
Your education is excellent, in academic and rhetorical matters. However, to call you 'sheltered' is perhaps something of an understatement.
All your life, you had a sense - something that no-one else spoke of. You did not even know that it was not commonplace - it was as natural to you as breathing to feel the currents of the Warp against your mind, though you never knew them by that name. No Black Ship came to take you away, by chance or fate, and by some stroke of providence you have neither been found a witch nor destroyed yourself. Perhaps you have even found a teacher, in books, in faith or in another, who has given you some guidance.
All that luck may come to naught, though, in the face of the thing that stands before you.
-[] [Foe] Broodlord: It is a four-limbed monster, a genestealer among genestealers. It waits, claws clacking against one another. Sadistic anticipation, or something else?
These creatures serve as infiltrator-commanders for the Tyranids, going ahead of the fleets to locate sources of biomass and sending out psychic signals to draw the hive fleet in. It may well be that this creature called the devastation to your world. It is strong, with claws that can tear through power armour and telepathic gifts which allow it to hypnotise and dominate lesser wills.
-[] [Foe] Warrior: It towers above you, its wedge-shaped head crowned with armour, its weaponized limbs ready to destroy. As it sees you, its eyes narrow and it lets out a whistling chitter, but does not fire just yet. Hesitation?
Warriors serve as shock troops and something akin to company commanders, leading lesser organisms such as gaunts and raveners into battle. Though they lack significant psychic gifts, they are still important links in the synaptic web of the Tyranids, and their body structure is immensely versatile, allowing them to make use of many different forms of symbiotic weapons.
-[] [Foe] Hive Tyrant: The creature is enormous, more than thrice your height and wielding armaments as tall as you. There is a terrible intelligence in its eyes, and more than that an awful wisdom you can barely fathom. It has not killed you yet; what is it looking for?
Hive tyrants are field commanders and generals in the swarm, with potent psychic abilities, a versatile array of armaments and symbiotes, and strength and toughness enough to battle a captain of the Adeptus Astartes or a main battle tank in single combat.
-[] [Foe] Tervigon: It is the size of a battle tank, walking on all six limbs and attended by dozens of scuttling gun-creatures spawned from its dripping underbelly. It snarls with a sound that reverberates through the ground and up your legs, and its minion-children skitter and shriek quietly, their weapons trained upon you.
Tervigons are fed biomass and use this to constantly replenish the ranks of lesser hive-forms, spawning gaunts in great numbers to fuel continuous wave assaults. Though their size gives them some offensive capabilities, as well as the launchable thorns embedded in their thick carapace, they primarily focus on defense and on directing their swarms with their relatively modest psychic abilities.
-[] [Foe] Zoanthrope: It is twice your height, but seems taller for the way its almost-vestigial body floats above the ground, suspended by a will you can see distorting the air and feel pressing against your own as it regards you. You think it sees you better with its thoughts than its eyes.
Amongst the most potent conduits of the Hive Mind's will, zoanthropes are dedicated to the wielding of psychic powers. Almost all of their anatomy is dedicated to this purpose, as they move, defend and even support their bodies with these psychic abilities. They maintain a telekinetic shield, and can lash out with telepathic fury or bolts of reality-warping power.
There are essentially three votes here - your starting Region, your Origin (world, rank, name and gender), which is a plan vote, and your Foe. These will be each be considered separately. When you post a vote there should be three independent parts to it: The Region, the plan for Origin and the Foe. For example:
[] Region
[] Plan X
-[] Planet Type
-[] Status
-[] Name
-[] Gender
[] Foe
Region can be considered the long-term setting of the quest, Origin can be considered the setting for the first major arc or so, as well as some character creation, while Foe will have ramifications you will see in the next update. No Foe will be impossible to defeat.
Voting will close in 48 hours.
Feel free to describe extra details of a character you want to develop - if they are a Child of the Creed, for instance, you might talk about what kind of creed they were raised in, particularly on more loosely-held Imperial starting-points. Personality traits are always welcome. I will take any such thoughts on the winning vote into account when writing the character.
The next update will have more narrative than choices to it; I just wanted to get the bulk of the choices out of the way before anything else. Strange Blooms will be relatively rules-light to begin with, but I have some plans for rules to implement as time goes on. I may add the Mature tag, depending on how the quest progresses.
Finally, I want to give thanks to @Akai , @BungieONI , @horngeek and @Maugan Ra for helping me with some of the formatting here.
Last edited:
0.1 Voting Clarification
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
OK, I realize I didn't make the voting procedure properly clear, and made the mistake of going out on a walk upon posting the thing.
To clarify, when you post a vote there should be three independent parts to it: The Region, the plan for Origin and the Foe. For example, put in spoilers so the voting tally doesn't catch it:
To clarify, when you post a vote there should be three independent parts to it: The Region, the plan for Origin and the Foe. For example, put in spoilers so the voting tally doesn't catch it:
[] Region
[] Plan X
-[] Planet Type
-[] Status
-[] Name
-[] Gender
[] Foe
[] Plan X
-[] Planet Type
-[] Status
-[] Name
-[] Gender
[] Foe
Last edited:
0.1 Vote Tally
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
Okay! First vote of the quest wrapped up, and it looks like we have some winners:
In short, Imperium Nihilus, Hive Tyrant and Plan: Biotech have won the first vote.
I should be able to post the basic rules of the quest and a mostly-bare (for now) character sheet today or tomorrow.
In short, Imperium Nihilus, Hive Tyrant and Plan: Biotech have won the first vote.
I should be able to post the basic rules of the quest and a mostly-bare (for now) character sheet today or tomorrow.
Last edited:
Dice Mechanics and Character Traits
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
So, it's time to describe how this quest's dice mechanics work.
Cyrus will have ten main traits; five Drives and five Skills, each rated between 4 and 8. 4 represents a skill in which you are not practiced or educated, or a Drive you care little for, while 8 represents a skill you are a master of, or the single most important drive to you.
Drives
When a roll is made, a Drive and a Skill appropriate to that roll are determined, d20s are rolled - two, by default. Each die which rolls equal to or under the combined rating of the relevant Drive and Skill counts as a success. If a Focus is relevant and a die rolls equal to or under your Skill rating, two successes are scored on that die. For each 20 rolled, however, you will suffer a Complication - this doesn't necessarily mean you fail the action, but it does mean that something bad has happened, or that you will pay a higher price for success than you wished.
Any given roll will have a Difficulty - the number of successes required to beat it. Successes over this total will be used to provide extra benefits, immediately or later.
In addition to these basic mechanics, the other important factor is Assets. These can represent a wide variety of things, from guns to a pious reputation to an especial skill or talent in a field to the local area being thick with foliage. Assets have a Potency, usually between 0 and 3, and add dice to relevant rolls equal to their Potency. Only the highest-rated Asset adds dice, but if multiple Assets apply, secondary benefits may stack, see below.
Some Assets also give you capabilities you flatly wouldn't have access to without them. Without wings or a relevant psychic power, you simply can't fly, for instance. Some may even allow you to modify dice rolls, such as by re-rolling a limited number of bad dice, giving a certain number of automatic successes or allowing you to ignore a certain number of Complications.
What Assets apply to a given roll will be judged on an ad-hoc basis. Cyrus will have some Assets which stick with them long-term, some Assets which apply only momentarily or can only be used once, and some Assets only accessible when acting in a certain way (e.g. only in person, or when acting by proxy through a specific person).
In some situations, you may be up against other people's Assets, termed Hindrances, which subtract dice or disallow actions in the same manner. You generally can't get through a plasteel wall without appropriate Assets of your own, for instance.
These systems will be used to resolve various challenges in your way, including combat, in a narrative manner but still guided by Cyrus' actual capabilities, and with an element of chance. We won't be tracking HP or similar, but failure in a dangerous situation is likely to lead to injury and other unpleasant consequences.
Character sheet to follow soon. The next couple of updates will include votes for the ratings of Drives, Skills, Focuses and some starting Assets.
Cyrus will have ten main traits; five Drives and five Skills, each rated between 4 and 8. 4 represents a skill in which you are not practiced or educated, or a Drive you care little for, while 8 represents a skill you are a master of, or the single most important drive to you.
Drives
- Duty: Duty is the degree to which you feel bound to honor your place in society, pay respect to your superiors and inferiors, as well as the importance you place on obligations and personal responsibilities.
- Faith: Faith is the degree to which you dedicate yourself to and draw strength from a higher power or principle, whether the Emperor, the betterment of humankind or something else.
- Power: Power represents your drive towards influence and authority, as well as you internal self-confidence and strength of ego.
- Truth: Truth represents the importance you place places upon the pursuit of knowledge, your abiding curiosity and drive to understand the universe and others, even if those truths would be terrible.
- Justice: Justice is a your dedication to fairness, balance, the punishment of evil and the righting of wrongs.
- Battle: Battle describes your skill at arms, awareness of danger, understanding of tactics and strategy, and knowledge of the tools, techniques, and history of combat.
- Communicate: Communicate describes your ability to skillfully engage in conversations, discussions, and debates, as well as oratory, inspirational leadership and other forms of interaction.
- Discipline: Discipline describes your ability to influence and control your own mind and body, the ability to resist the blandishments of others, as well as to focus and concentrate on complex tasks or to endure hardship or exhaustion.
- Move: Move describes your mobility, agility, physical coordination and general athleticism. It is used to walk, run, jump, climb, swim, or otherwise maneuver in situations where speed, precision, stealth, or care are necessary, or when you need to exert physical force in ways other than fighting.
- Understand: Understand describes knowledge, learning and the ability to learn, general awareness, perceptive ability, logical deduction and in-depth comprehension of technical information.
When a roll is made, a Drive and a Skill appropriate to that roll are determined, d20s are rolled - two, by default. Each die which rolls equal to or under the combined rating of the relevant Drive and Skill counts as a success. If a Focus is relevant and a die rolls equal to or under your Skill rating, two successes are scored on that die. For each 20 rolled, however, you will suffer a Complication - this doesn't necessarily mean you fail the action, but it does mean that something bad has happened, or that you will pay a higher price for success than you wished.
Any given roll will have a Difficulty - the number of successes required to beat it. Successes over this total will be used to provide extra benefits, immediately or later.
In addition to these basic mechanics, the other important factor is Assets. These can represent a wide variety of things, from guns to a pious reputation to an especial skill or talent in a field to the local area being thick with foliage. Assets have a Potency, usually between 0 and 3, and add dice to relevant rolls equal to their Potency. Only the highest-rated Asset adds dice, but if multiple Assets apply, secondary benefits may stack, see below.
Some Assets also give you capabilities you flatly wouldn't have access to without them. Without wings or a relevant psychic power, you simply can't fly, for instance. Some may even allow you to modify dice rolls, such as by re-rolling a limited number of bad dice, giving a certain number of automatic successes or allowing you to ignore a certain number of Complications.
What Assets apply to a given roll will be judged on an ad-hoc basis. Cyrus will have some Assets which stick with them long-term, some Assets which apply only momentarily or can only be used once, and some Assets only accessible when acting in a certain way (e.g. only in person, or when acting by proxy through a specific person).
In some situations, you may be up against other people's Assets, termed Hindrances, which subtract dice or disallow actions in the same manner. You generally can't get through a plasteel wall without appropriate Assets of your own, for instance.
Example: Cyrus is investigating the ruins of an ancient Mechanicus outpost, and has found a console which may contain information. To bring it to basic funtionality will be a Truth + Understand roll (because he wants to know the information it contains), but it might become a Truth + Discipline roll if the surrounding environment is so as to require great focus to concentrate on the task, or Duty + Understand if this is being done for the sake of honoring his obligations to his mentor.
Normally, Cyrus would roll 2d20 for this. However, he has implants which allow him to connect to the console directly, which is Potency 1, so she rolls 3d20. Furthermore, he has a Focus in Data Retrieval, so any dice which roll under his Understand Skill will yield 2 successes. When he eventually rolls, he scores 4 successes total - enough to exceed the Difficulty of 3, and so enough to repair and access the console. The extra success might yield an extra scrap of particularly interesting information, or make the repair especially fast.
These systems will be used to resolve various challenges in your way, including combat, in a narrative manner but still guided by Cyrus' actual capabilities, and with an element of chance. We won't be tracking HP or similar, but failure in a dangerous situation is likely to lead to injury and other unpleasant consequences.
Character sheet to follow soon. The next couple of updates will include votes for the ratings of Drives, Skills, Focuses and some starting Assets.
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Cyrus Tranth Character Sheet
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
Cyrus Tranth
The world of Covyria is harsh, and where children cannot be situated with those close of kin in the event of their carers' death, it is not uncommon for those children to be given into the care of greater organizations. One such organization is the branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus upon the world, established in the days of the Great Crusade to service the even then ancient Knight-machines of House Vanefa, to study its vicious and vital wildlife and to delve the ruins its jungle crushes a little more, day by day.
Cyrus bears the surname of the Magos Biologis who raised him, Hakor Tranth. The boy's upbringing within the cult of the Machine God has been strict but rigorous, ensuring that he is well-educated in both the mysteries of steel and flesh. The Mechanicus of Covyria have always been somewhat heterodox, in part thanks to the planet's relative isolation from the rest of the Imperium, and for millennia has harboured a persistent population of Organicists; Magi who see organic augmentation as respectable, or perhaps even equal to mechanical.
Cyrus has attained the rank of official apprentice to Hakor two years past. Since then, he has trained diligently to earn the electoos of a full initiate of the Adeptus Mechanicus. He is determined to persist despite the fickle regard of machine-spirits and biological specimens, which seem to love or hate him by turns.
This sheet will be kept up to date with the current state of Cyrus.
The world of Covyria is harsh, and where children cannot be situated with those close of kin in the event of their carers' death, it is not uncommon for those children to be given into the care of greater organizations. One such organization is the branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus upon the world, established in the days of the Great Crusade to service the even then ancient Knight-machines of House Vanefa, to study its vicious and vital wildlife and to delve the ruins its jungle crushes a little more, day by day.
Cyrus bears the surname of the Magos Biologis who raised him, Hakor Tranth. The boy's upbringing within the cult of the Machine God has been strict but rigorous, ensuring that he is well-educated in both the mysteries of steel and flesh. The Mechanicus of Covyria have always been somewhat heterodox, in part thanks to the planet's relative isolation from the rest of the Imperium, and for millennia has harboured a persistent population of Organicists; Magi who see organic augmentation as respectable, or perhaps even equal to mechanical.
Cyrus has attained the rank of official apprentice to Hakor two years past. Since then, he has trained diligently to earn the electoos of a full initiate of the Adeptus Mechanicus. He is determined to persist despite the fickle regard of machine-spirits and biological specimens, which seem to love or hate him by turns.
Duty: 4
Faith: 7
Justice: 8
Power: 6
Truth: 5
Faith: 7
Justice: 8
Power: 6
Truth: 5
Battle: 5 ()
Communicate: 4 (Charm)
Discipline: 8 (Concentration)
Move: 4 ()
Understand: 7 (Covyrian Biology, Adeptus Mechanicus Systems, Medicine)
Communicate: 4 (Charm)
Discipline: 8 (Concentration)
Move: 4 ()
Understand: 7 (Covyrian Biology, Adeptus Mechanicus Systems, Medicine)
*tumbleweeds*
Psyker (0)
Cyrus' soul reaches fitfully beyond his body and touches the currents of the Warp.
Mnemonic Mantras (1)
Taught by Magos Hakor to his apprentice, these mantras aid in concentration and the focusing of the mind and spirit.
Apprentice Cybernetics (1)
Cyrus' physiology has been quite comprehensively modified to incorporate hardened bones, strengthened muscles and a snaking network of electoos which can be used to illustrate the modifications of his body, displaying the Omnissiah's hand in uplifting mere mortal flesh. Beneath these snake a number of implanted prisnadi; channels which convey energy from a torso-implanted power source to the hands, from which lasgun beams can be projected.
Fortified Physiology (1)
Cyrus' body and genome have been fortified with organic implants, from enhanced kidneys to subtle subdermal armor plating, increasing his physical resilience and resistance to poison, disease, radiation and mutation.
Cyrus' soul reaches fitfully beyond his body and touches the currents of the Warp.
Mnemonic Mantras (1)
Taught by Magos Hakor to his apprentice, these mantras aid in concentration and the focusing of the mind and spirit.
Apprentice Cybernetics (1)
- Apprentice electoos; tattoos which identify Cyrus as an apprentice of Magos Tranth and allow him certain privileges and modes of access.
- Implanted voxcaster; a device which allows Cyrus to speak and understand Lingua-Technis, the holy binary language of the Machine Cult. When undertaking a Communicate test with another person who can speak Lingua-Technis, Cyrus may re-roll one Complication.
Cyrus' physiology has been quite comprehensively modified to incorporate hardened bones, strengthened muscles and a snaking network of electoos which can be used to illustrate the modifications of his body, displaying the Omnissiah's hand in uplifting mere mortal flesh. Beneath these snake a number of implanted prisnadi; channels which convey energy from a torso-implanted power source to the hands, from which lasgun beams can be projected.
Fortified Physiology (1)
Cyrus' body and genome have been fortified with organic implants, from enhanced kidneys to subtle subdermal armor plating, increasing his physical resilience and resistance to poison, disease, radiation and mutation.
Sabine Anate (2)
A pious Lexmechanic and one of the reptilian abhumans known as Scalates common to several nearby worlds. She is very knowledgeable, skilled in data-processing and dedicated to the great Quest for Knowledge which drives the Mechanicus.
Rho-Eta 9 (2)
Though he teaches limited numbers of students at the request of Magos Hakor and is a renowned surgeon, Rho-Eta 9 is best known for his work as a Metasurgeon, incorporating cybernetics, biological augmentations and even some genetics sourced from the wildlife of Covyria itself to produce impressive works. The head of House Vanefa wears an augmetic eye of his design.
A pious Lexmechanic and one of the reptilian abhumans known as Scalates common to several nearby worlds. She is very knowledgeable, skilled in data-processing and dedicated to the great Quest for Knowledge which drives the Mechanicus.
Rho-Eta 9 (2)
Though he teaches limited numbers of students at the request of Magos Hakor and is a renowned surgeon, Rho-Eta 9 is best known for his work as a Metasurgeon, incorporating cybernetics, biological augmentations and even some genetics sourced from the wildlife of Covyria itself to produce impressive works. The head of House Vanefa wears an augmetic eye of his design.
This sheet will be kept up to date with the current state of Cyrus.
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1.0 - Confrontation
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] [Region] Imperium Nihilus: You are forsaken. The Astronomican is dark, astropathic communication is intermittent and even time may sometimes run askew. If the Imperium Sanctus is beset, the Imperium Nihilus is on the verge of being overrun.
[X] Plan Biotech
-[X] [Origin] Death World: Your home is a horror - a planet barely fit for human habitation, where the Imperium hangs on with bloodied fingernails. The galaxy has many and varied trials to inflict upon the Emperor's subjects; choose also a world from below:
--[X] [Origin] Covyria: Verdant and savage, Covyria is home to innumerable predators, carnivorous plants and prey-beasts scarcely any less dangerous. Continuous application of fire and defoliants to the ever-encroaching jungle-scape is necessary, and the Imperial Knights of House Vanefa are there to stand between the population and the greater monsters which stalk this planet. They will be tested sorely, though, as a new breed of monster comes from beyond the sky: A Tyranid bio-ship has won through the planetary defenses and begun to deposit its cargo onto the surface.
-[X] [Origin] Man
-[X] [Origin] Cyrus Tranth
-[x] [Origin] Child of the Creed: You were not raised by parents in the traditional sense, but by an institution, whether that be the Schola Progenium, the Adeptus Mechanicus, a monastic order or some other group.
[X] [Foe] Hive Tyrant: The creature is enormous, more than thrice your height and wielding armaments as tall as you. There is a terrible intelligence in its eyes, and more than that an awful wisdom you can barely fathom. It has not killed you yet; what is it looking for?
The jungles howled and creaked, and skittering things slinked and cried in the undergrowth. This was nothing unusual for Covyria. Since he was a child, Cyrus had been taught that to go into the jungle was death. To go without companions was death. To go without weapons and protection - death. A full Magos might be well-equipped enough to survive the beasts, the poisons, the toxic ivies, the drifting clouds of spores and the strangler-vines, but even that was uncertain. Even augmented, a single mind could pay attention to only so many things at once, and beneath the dark eaves of the deep forests there were always more things which demanded attention to avoid.
Fortunately, he was not alone today, nor was he unarmed or unarmored. A half-dozen Skitarii surrounded him in a knot of steel and servos, their galvanic rifles dark, intent shapes in the shadows of the trees. The only real light was from the gleaming eyes and lumens of the company, and the flames which Magos Karayev periodically unleashed from her mechadendrites to burn through the foliage where the group's earlier path had been. The way had been forged only the day before, but had already begun to grow over again.
The object of your mission is contained in the casket carried behind you on the shoulders of two sturdily-built servitors; the cogitator cores retrieved from the defunct facility which once squatted atop Dig Site HJ118-Lambda. Retrieval of data from the location had been slated for years, but somehow had never quite gotten done. Then the xenos invasion had abruptly increased its priority - against an enemy which made exclusive use of biological tools and techniques, the insights of long-ago Magos Biologis might provide some vital clue, even if the chance was small.
And, though the thought was a grim one, it would be best for as much data as possible to be gathered and preserved within the strongholds of Covyria, depending on how strong the enemy proved to be.
This mission had been perilous, and even with all the precautions possible two Skitarii had already fallen. One on the journey to the HJ118 facility, falling victim first to cordyceptora spores and then to a galvanic round, to save them from the coming misery, the other to sheer bad luck within the facility itself as an ancient structure collapsed atop them.
[] Why did Cyrus choose to go? (Primary Drive)
-[] Duty: Because it was what needed to be done, and because your master told you to do so. (Add 4 to Duty)
-[] Faith: To save the testaments of ancient magi from obliteration, and thus help the Cult Mechanicus preserve this small step closer to divine omniscience. (Add 4 to Faith)
-[] Justice: For the sake of a friend, taking their place to save them from the censure which their inability to go would invite. (Add 4 to Justice)
-[] Power: To demonstrate your worth to your master and others in the Cult Mechanicus. (Add 4 to Power)
-[] Truth: For the sake of the knowledge itself, and what might be learned from these ancient sites. (Add 4 to Truth)
[] Why was Cyrus useful to bring? (Primary Skill)
-[] Battle: For his skill in combat - the dangers of Covyria's jungles are bad enough, let alone when infested by these biomechanical horrors. (Add 3 to Battle)
-[] Communicate: For his ability to cajole and persuade ancient and intractable machine spirits into allowing access to the dig complex. (Add 3 to Communicate)
-[] Discipline: For his unyielding focus, hardiness and steady drive, sure to come in handy on such a perilous expedition. (Add 3 to Discipline)
-[] Move: For his skill when it comes to navigating the tangled jungle and the equally-tangled halls of an ancient Mechanicus research station. (Add 3 to Move)
-[] Understand: For his knowledge of Covyria's jungles and history, and his keen eyes for danger. (Add 3 to Understand)
Still, even with such skills and such accompaniment, it would have been the height of foolishness to venture out of civilization without equipment and gear. He ensured he'd brought a good-quality lasgun (Potency 0), but he had a few other advantages as well.
[] What Assets does Cyrus have? (Choose three; all are Potency 1)
-[] Augmetic Limbs. These limbs' servos or vat-grown muscle allow Cyrus to exert superhuman strength.
--[] Write in: Limb form. Are they mechadendrites or replacements for previous limbs? Are they entirely mechanical, or a fusion of flesh and machine? This will affect which tasks the limb can aid with.
--[] Write in: You may integrate one of the following into the limbs, if you already have them: lasgun, medicae kit, flechette blaster, sensory enhancements, mechanical tools.
-[] Flechette Blaster. A short-range weapon, a flechette blaster launches a shower of dart-like projectiles with the ability to register when they strike a target, signalling other projectiles to home in on them. Deadly against lightly-armored targets.
-[] Fortified Physiology. Cyrus' body and genome have been fortified with organic implants, from enhanced kidneys to subtle subdermal armor plating, increasing his physical resilience and resistance to poison, disease, radiation and mutation.
-[] Galvanic Rifle. A signature weapon of Skitarii rangers, a galvanic rifle fires specialized ammunition which sheathes itself in sparking plasma upon being fired, allowing it to pierce armor and deal terrible damage to individuals, but it is relatively limited in terms of area-damage.
-[] Mechanical Tools. Cyrus has a set of tools dedicated to servicing, repairing, examining and building machines and cogitators.
-[] Medicae Kit. A suite of tools, equipment and substances useful for medical diagnosis and treatment of poisons, injuries and diseases, as well as for examining biological subjects.
-[] Mind Impulse Unit. A means of divine communion for adherents of the Machine Cult, Mind Impulse Units (MIUs) allow human minds to interface directly with the machine spirits that give life and purpose to Mankind's technology via physical linkage.
-[] Mnemonic Mantras. Taught by Magos Hakor to his apprentice, these mantras aid in concentration and the focusing of the mind and spirit.
-[] Navigation Uplink. Cyrus has the equipment to access the geomantic positioning system sustained by satellites and transmitting stations around Covyria, giving him access to maps and positioning data.
-[] Sensory Enhancements. Cyrus' senses have been enhanced, whether with augmetic eyes, a supersensitive tongue or electroreceptive cells, allowing him to perceive the world in novel ways.
--[] Write in: Nature of enhancement. Note that this Asset can represent multiple different implants or modifications.
--[] Choose three modes: Infra-red, ultraviolet, long-distance zoom, microscopy, electrical sense, chemical analysis, infra/ultrasound, enhanced hearing.
-[] Servo-Skull. This cyber-familiar is equipped with a suspensor, a rudimentary machine-spirit and cogitator and pict- and vid-capture technology. It is occasionally ornery, but faithful and will aid Cyrus in scouting, investigation and data processing.
--[] Write in: What is the servo-skull's name?
--[] Write in: You may integrate one of the following into the servo-skull, if you already have them: lasgun, medicae kit, sensory enhancements, navigation uplink, mechanical tools, sonic deharmonizer.
-[] Sonic Deharmonizer. Using infra- and ultrasonic wavelengths, this arcane device induces discomfort and fear in nearby organisms. Often used for dissuading the less potent inhabitants of Covyria's jungles from making a try for a meal, it is also useful in battle and can be tuned to produce a limited range of effects, and to affect only certain types of creature.
As Cyrus trudged through the jungle, mind alive with every rustle and distant shriek, his thoughts turned to base-camp. The expedition had set out from a fortified outpost, and he had a friend awaiting him there. He had met them long ago in the halls of Perua, his home city some hundred kilometers distant from the outpost, and found that they thought much alike.
[] Who thinks the same way as Cyrus? (Secondary Drive and Asset ally)
-[] Kestar Errim, who he met through the Schola Progenium. The son of an officer in the Astra Militarum, Errim is dedicated to his duty as one of the Adeptus Arbites. He understands the harsh demands responsibility can make of one, and will be a staunch ally in the harsh times ahead. (Add 3 to Duty, gain Kestar Errim as an Asset.)
-[] Sabine Anate, a pious Lexmechanic and one of the reptilian abhumans known as Scalates common to several nearby worlds. She is very knowledgeable, skilled in data-processing and dedicated to the great Quest for Knowledge which drives the Mechanicus. (Add 3 to Faith, gain Sabine Anate as an Asset.)
-[] Stennos von Perua, a crotchety old monster of a quartermaster and Administratum clerk, but Cyrus has never met someone so dedicated not just to their work, but to making sure all those in their charge have what they need. Stennos may be ornery as a grox, old as dirt and powered by pure spite, but there's no-one Cyrus would prefer to have supporting him. (Add 3 to Justice, gain Stennos von Perua as an Asset.)
-[] Katerin Vanefa, a child of the Vanefa dynasty and pilot of her own Armiger-class Knight Warglaive chassis, Katerin is bold, reckless and arrogant to a fault, proclaiming her prowess at any opportunity and rising (or attempting to rise) to any challenge set before her. Some would find her tiresome, but fewer than one might think - she is energetic, charismatic, and the life of any group she finds herself in. (Add 3 to Power, gain Katerin Vanefa as an Asset.)
-[] Devan Keiling, an astropath ordinarily stationed in Perua, but brought to the outpost for the sake of his divinatory abilities. Despite his power, insight and psychic skill, Devan prefers to engage in mundane scholarly pursuits, employing servitors - or, on occasion, Cyrus - to read to him, and dictating long and eloquent treatises on matters ranging from philosophy to history to politics. (Add 3 to Truth, gain Devan Keiling as an Asset.)
Cyrus was shaken from his thoughts by a prickling foreboding. It took him a moment to realize what it was which had unsettled him so. There were no more cries. Further off, he could hear the sounds of animals calling out to one another, but close by - nothing.
He had just begun to engage his voxcaster to send a packet of his observations to Magos Karayev when there came a sound like a muted cough, and something splattered against the armor of a Skitarii next to him.
The cybernetic warriors lept into life, swivelling guns towards the direction of the fire and discharging a single probing shot. A bolt of electric fire flashed into the darkness of the forest. Something screamed, then sizzled, then hell broke loose.
A wave of six-legged, armored creatures half as tall as a man at the shoulder spilled onto the path they had cut, sending a hail of biological fire towards the group. The Skitarii weathered it and Cyrus and the Magos were shielded from the death flung their way, but the servitors were struck. The apprentice caught a moment's glimpse of boring-beetles voraciously diving into the constructs' flesh, eating away at all that was not already metal. One sagged to the ground, its legs eaten from beneath it, while the other came apart at the seams of its augmentations. The container for the cogitator cores fell to the ground, but there was no time to pay attention.
From the nearer undergrowth surged a second wave of a dozen leaping monstrosities, armed with talons like sickles. The armor of the Skitarii performed well again, and their integrated blades replied in kind, severing heads and limbs from lightly-armored bodies. Two slipped through the lines, though, screeching as they leaped towards Cyrus, their eyes gleaming with hunger.
In the moment before they struck, Cyrus remembered something he had learned, and acted on panicked reflex.
[] What useful trick from a friend saved him?
-[] "The correct answer to an enemy," as Skitarii Alpha Alsymon CV/6 told him often, "Is a weapon, applied with both care and force." (Add 2 to Battle, gain Alsymon CV/6 as an Asset.)
-[] "When you're in trouble, yell," said Alba Harrison, leaning out of the cockpit of her Valkyrie Sky Talon. "Your buddies can't help if they don't know you're in the shit." (Add 2 to Communicate, gain Alba Harrison as an Asset.)
-[] "There is not always time to engage in long exercises to find clarity," Koton Hosk told him once. "Advice from an elder apprentice to a younger - practice working fast and focused, so you can do so in crisis." (Add 2 to Discipline, gain Koton Hosk as an Asset.)
-[] "When you're out in the jungle, keep your legs bent. Gives you more springin' room." It's a kind of advice that feels right coming from the mouth of a veteran ranger in the Imperial Guard stationed on Covyria. (Add 2 to Move, gain Sabat Ardoa as an Asset.)
-[] "Though it can be refined, all flesh has its failings and flaws," taught Metasurgeon Rho-Eta 9. "It is a blessing, in that there is little which cannot be destroyed with the right understanding." (Add 2 to Understand, gain Rho-Eta 9 as an Asset.)
Cyrus panted heavily as he stood over the remains of the hormagaunts, then looked up to see what had became of the rest of the battle. Two of the Skitarii had fallen, one to borer beetles finding exposed flesh, one to a wave of talons and chitin that dug between plates of armor. Magos Karayev waded into the fray, laying about herself with her phosphor blaster and mechadendrite-mounted flamer, their stark light illuminating the dripping eaves of the forests.
++The Omnissiah guides our fire.++ she transmitted in staccato bursts of binary. ++Slay these abominations in the Machine God's sight!++ Bladed monstrosities melted away before her, and Cyrus raised his own weapon to join the salvo of the Skitarii against the more distant foe.
A half-dozen fell, but more poured into view, and it was only a moment of star-bright intuition which led Cyrus to duck just in time to avoid the worst of another salvo of fleshborer beetles. One still struck his arm, though, sending screaming pain lancing through the limb as it began to burrow. The Mechanicus apprentice threw himself down, dashing his arm against the ground to crush the thing before it could get any further. When he rose again, he saw that another of the Skitarii had fallen; only he, the Magos and three others remained.
The monstrosities had taken losses as well, though. Guided by the magnesium-light of the phosphor shells still embedded in the corpses of the fallen creatures, the combined fire of Cyrus and the Skitarii had whittled their numbers down. Another couple of volleys might suffice to end this threat - if no more remained in reserve to assail them.
Almost as he formed the thought, Cyrus heard the crack, and a shadow emerged from the depths of the forest. Silhouetted against the glow of the phosphor orbs, it was hard to make out the creature's exact proportions. It towered to the height of three men, a jagged-edged phantom, all too solid.
The Mechanicus apprentice heard the rippling growl as one of its four limbs darted down to impale Magos Karayev through the chest, its sheer strength driving through flesh, bone and metal alike. The Magos made her final transmission, a garble of determination and pain, as she fitfully raised her phosphor blaster one last time. It discharged, but the shell vanished into the distant canopy. Her body slumped to the ground, a shell of discarded flesh and steel.
The remaining Skitarii trained their rifles on the creature and made binaric prayers of vengeance. Before they could fire, though, the creature's eyes gleamed with something that was not light.
Cyrus felt something press down upon him and pull away, all at once. It was an ocean of emptiness - a gnawing hunger - the vastness between stars - a scratching, gnawing multiplicity at the walls of his mind.
Dimly, he was aware of the hesitation of the Skitarii, the flickering of their lumen-eyes. The creature stalked closer. He felt its consciousness approach more than he saw or heard the monster's tread. That mind was ancient and calculating, cold as aeons in the void, and yet behind it burned a fire as voracious as any phosphor; a hunger that reached out from its self to drown the lesser sparks of the gun-beasts at its back. And all that was an agent and expression of something deeper, vaster, colder still, looking down on his world from above in the same manner as a man might consider a herd of grox.
And yet, Cyrus found that he could resist it in some small way. There was something in him, a light or spark or galvanic fire that burned at the heart of his soul. Hardly understanding what he did, he grasped the flame and set it in the path of the Tyranid's onslaught. The apprentice's mouth and voxcaster spilled forth mantras and prayers to the Omnissiah, that He might lend His will to defend the flesh, mind, steel and soul of His servants from this horror.
The Skitarii seemed to rally, raising their rifles once more. Three fizzing cracks resounded through the forest. The creature hissed in fury as two struck its carapace, one cracking part of its chest, the other burying itself in a shoulder-joint. A limb scythed out, decapitating another Skitarii as the hiss rose to a shriek and Cyrus found the psychic onslaught renewed. Pain lanced through his mind and body, and he was barely aware of the contorting forms of the Skitarii as he tried to deny the creature once more.
This time, though, instead of lessening the consuming darkness of the monster's psyche, it was as if the flame of his spirit caught upon it like a spark on oil. Power raged out of control, lashing this way and that as it erupted into reality. The creature stumbled back while Cyrus curled into a fetal position on the ground, his limbs spasming as every iota of his being focused on the psychic confrontation. A Skitarii, Octia CV/11, howled and died, their cortical implants seared by sheer mental feedback. The gun-beasts fled, and Cyrus felt himself and the creature falling together, deeper and closer, into the fire.
Please vote as a plan. Each Drive or Skill may only be chosen once (e.g. if you pick Justice primary, you cannot then take Justice secondary as well). You will get to add some more to Drives and Skills next update.
Consider what kind of character you want Cyrus to be - what his strengths and weaknesses will be and why he chooses to act. Drives and Skills are very important factors in both a character's capabilities and their personality; what they value and what they consider misguided. Note that pre-vote, your Drives are all rated at 4, as are your Skills save for Understand and Discipline, which are both 5, due to Child of the Creed.
Assets you choose in this vote will be semi-permanent - essentially, they will stay with Cyrus until you choose to discard them, replace them or something significant happens to break or lose them. They will not simply be lost by happenstance or similar, though Complications and story events may make you unable to access them for a while. Also, you will be able to make use of additional Assets depending on the conditions of a given roll and whatever preparation you've been able to do beforehand.
Voting ends in 48 hours. There will be a 24-hour moratorium on voting to discuss.
Finally, I would like to thank @BungieONI and @GardenerBriareus for help with the chapter, and @horngeek for linking me to a 40k name generator.
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1.0 Voting Moratorium End
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
The moratorium on voting on update 1.0 is hereby ended. The voting will end in 24 hours.
Have fun, everyone!
Have fun, everyone!
1.0 Vote Tally
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
So, we've got a unanimous vote for this one. Swole laser-doc it is.
1.05 - Into the Deep
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
[X] Plan: One Swole Doc and His Alien Space Bug
-[X] Why did Cyrus choose to go? (Primary Drive)
--[X] Justice: For the sake of a friend, taking their place to save them from the censure which their inability to go would invite. (Add 4 to Justice)
-[X] Why was Cyrus useful to bring? (Primary Skill)
--[X] Discipline: For his unyielding focus, hardiness and steady drive, sure to come in handy on such a perilous expedition. (Add 3 to Discipline)
-[X] What Assets does Cyrus have? (Choose three; all are Potency 1)
--[X] Augmetic Limbs. These limbs' servos or vat-grown muscle allow Cyrus to exert superhuman strength.
---[X] Write in: Briareus's description of their form here. Strange Blooms (Warhammer 40k Tyranid Quest) Sci-Fi
---[X] Write in: Integrate the lasgun as described here. Strange Blooms (Warhammer 40k Tyranid Quest) Sci-Fi
--[X] Mnemonic Mantras. Taught by Magos Hakor to his apprentice, these mantras aid in concentration and the focusing of the mind and spirit.
-- [X] Fortified Physiology. Cyrus' body and genome have been fortified with organic implants, from enhanced kidneys to subtle subdermal armor plating, increasing his physical resilience and resistance to poison, disease, radiation and mutation.
-[X] Who thinks the same way as Cyrus? (Secondary Drive and Asset ally)
--[X] Sabine Anate, a pious Lexmechanic and one of the reptilian abhumans known as Scalates common to several nearby worlds. She is very knowledgeable, immensely skilled in data-processing and absolutely dedicated to the great Quest for Knowledge which drives the Mechanicus. (Add 3 to Faith, gain Sabine Anate as an Asset.)
-[X] What useful trick from a friend saved him?
--[X] "Though it can be refined, all flesh has its failings and flaws," taught Metasurgeon Rho-Eta 9. "It is a blessing, in that there is little which cannot be destroyed with the right understanding." (Add 2 to Understand, gain Rho-Eta 9 as an Asset.)
-[X] Why did Cyrus choose to go? (Primary Drive)
--[X] Justice: For the sake of a friend, taking their place to save them from the censure which their inability to go would invite. (Add 4 to Justice)
-[X] Why was Cyrus useful to bring? (Primary Skill)
--[X] Discipline: For his unyielding focus, hardiness and steady drive, sure to come in handy on such a perilous expedition. (Add 3 to Discipline)
-[X] What Assets does Cyrus have? (Choose three; all are Potency 1)
--[X] Augmetic Limbs. These limbs' servos or vat-grown muscle allow Cyrus to exert superhuman strength.
---[X] Write in: Briareus's description of their form here. Strange Blooms (Warhammer 40k Tyranid Quest) Sci-Fi
---[X] Write in: Integrate the lasgun as described here. Strange Blooms (Warhammer 40k Tyranid Quest) Sci-Fi
--[X] Mnemonic Mantras. Taught by Magos Hakor to his apprentice, these mantras aid in concentration and the focusing of the mind and spirit.
-- [X] Fortified Physiology. Cyrus' body and genome have been fortified with organic implants, from enhanced kidneys to subtle subdermal armor plating, increasing his physical resilience and resistance to poison, disease, radiation and mutation.
-[X] Who thinks the same way as Cyrus? (Secondary Drive and Asset ally)
--[X] Sabine Anate, a pious Lexmechanic and one of the reptilian abhumans known as Scalates common to several nearby worlds. She is very knowledgeable, immensely skilled in data-processing and absolutely dedicated to the great Quest for Knowledge which drives the Mechanicus. (Add 3 to Faith, gain Sabine Anate as an Asset.)
-[X] What useful trick from a friend saved him?
--[X] "Though it can be refined, all flesh has its failings and flaws," taught Metasurgeon Rho-Eta 9. "It is a blessing, in that there is little which cannot be destroyed with the right understanding." (Add 2 to Understand, gain Rho-Eta 9 as an Asset.)
Cyrus Tranth fell through fire and into darkness. It was cold and silent, but the silence clawed at his mind like fingers over his scalp and skin. It was like being in a still place underwater, but buffeted at the same time by a blasting gale of particles. He could see nothing, and yet he knew that he was not alone here - there was something else, a solid presence that burned and froze, but seemed little more composed than himself.
Reflexively, the apprentice retreated to his teachings, calling to mind the mantras his master Hakor had taught him. He rolled them over and over in his mind like the tumblers of a lock, and seemed to hear the distant, comforting sound of machinery beneath the still and rasping gale.
The other had gained a grip on its will as well, though. Cyrus felt it forge itself like molten steel into an arrow, intent upon nothing but him. It rushed towards him like a shell from a cannon.
He braced, the mantras of the Machine God growing in his mind until he was steel as well. It crashed into him with the force of the falling sky, but he withstood it, though cracks spread through him. This small victory earned him no respite, though. No sooner had he cracked than the other splintered, sending forth veins of white-hot purpose to infiltrate every crack.
His stomach yawned like the void, his mouth seemed to run hot with saliva. He hungered, and the hunger spread like rust across an ancient hull, rotting the wheels of his mantras to immobility. He could hardly comprehend - he could not comprehend the sheer magnitude of the all-consuming, all-devouring want.
He didn't understand it. How could he hunger so deeply? He had hungered before. He had been nearly starved, when the initial implantation of his augments went awry and his digestive system couldn't keep up with his metabolic demands. But even then, he had known more, been more than hunger.
[] What did Cyrus know, when his body starved him? (Tertiary Drive)
-[] That he was his master's pupil, his juniors' tutor; he could not let them down. (Add 2 to Duty.)
-[] That there was so much more to do and be; he could not succumb. (Add 2 to Power.)
-[] That there was so much more to know and discover; he could not bear to go without learning more. (Add 2 to Truth.)
It wasn't that the hunger receded. It wasn't that the attack faltered. But the other - the mind of the Tyranid monster, Cyrus finally had the presence of mind to fully realize - rushed over and engulfed the memory like a wave over a stone, and then its steel cooled and curled away from its singular purpose, a thousand momentary confusions. Images bled through Cyrus' cracks. It wasn't that he had stopped it or mounted a defense it couldn't breach. It didn't comprehend these things as its own.
It had felt what he had felt, remembered feeling, and had been bewildered. It wasn't that it didn't know of these sensations, but it had never felt them. It didn't seem to be able to process them.
Emboldened, Cyrus tried to make a strike of his own in turn. He willed...
[] How does Cyrus conceive of his attack? (Tertiary Skill)
-[] ...the Omnissiah's wrath to fall on his enemy; guns and arcane technologies to assault its form as battle-hymns rang out. (Add 1 to Battle.)
-[] ...his words to take root in its mind, to strangle and split its thoughts like vines through plascrete. (Add 1 to Communicate.)
-[] ...his body to move, his augmented hands to wrap around the thing and squeeze, to cast it out into whatever nether-blackness lay around. (Add 1 to Move.)
He struggled against it, but the attack had been a mistake. He had opened himself up, and the other took advantage of the weakness. The hunger welled up once more, but more than that it was accompanied by the same gnawing, biting multiplicity as before. It pushed into his mind, grabbing thoughts and tearing them a thousand different ways. It was trying to fill and drown him, spread him so thin that it could devour him - or perhaps he, in his hunger, would devour himself.
Desperately, Cyrus tried to find something to center on. It was hard to think; the other's will beat against his own, each moment splitting it further apart. All he could find was the hope of...
[] What does Cyrus hope for? (Quaternary Drive)
-[] ...Returning to help in the defense of his home. (Add 1 to Duty.)
-[] ...Feeling an approving hand from his mentor upon his shoulder. (Add 1 to Power.)
-[] ...Spending time unravelling what lay within the cogitators Magos Karayev and the Skitarii sacrificed themselves for. (Add 1 to Truth.)
For the second time, the alien mind of the Tyranid seemed to recoil from the thought it could not quite comprehend. Its fear, that it could not emerge unchanged, radiated from it. Cyrus held the hope before him like a lantern in darkness, walking the paths of his own psyche as he searched out the torn remnants of the rest of himself. He stitched them back together and kindled them to light as well, until he hung like a tapestry of stars in the darkness. The other prowled about the borders of his light, unwilling to come closer.
It really was afraid, Cyrus realized. Not of his power, but of what he meant. Maybe it was stronger than he would ever be in the physical world, and with whatever powers it could wield, but this place was not physical. It was not the maddening currents of the Warp, either, which carried vessels between the stars and, if their Gellar Fields failed, drowned them in madness and horror. This was a place of the mind, very nearly pure, and for as strong, wilful and intelligent as the other was, it was… blunt, stunted. All its will and power didn't count for much, not here. Meaning was more, and it was so terribly, pathetically focused.
Cyrus could taste its memories, planet after planet whose devouring it had overseen. He glimpsed the flash of lasgun fire, the bold hues of power armor, being of types he had never seen. He could hear the whisper-skitter of its strategies, the encirclements and traps it had led, the thousands it had personally killed. And through all that, for however old this monster was he, an apprentice of the Adeptus Mechanicus, knew a thousand things, remembered a thousand little, meaningless moments that it could not even comprehend. It recoiled from them, fearful of its un-knowing.
If he didn't know all too well the horrors the Tyranid had committed, it would have been pitiful.
But this was a gift from the Machine God - it could be nothing else, as sacred knowledge itself was the key to this battle. If Cyrus had had any consciousness of something approaching a mouth, he might have grinned as he marshalled himself, all the myriad little memories that he knew intimately, and it knew not at all.
[] (Focuses, choose three from at least two different Skills)
-[] The pleasing ache after Unarmed Combat training. (Battle)
-[] The satisfaction of victory in games of Tactics (Battle)
-[] The wordless oneness with a favored Weapon (Battle)
--[] Write in: Choose a type of weaponry; for example lasguns, plasma weapons, chainswords etc. Subject to approval.
-[] The weaving of speech to Charm another.(Communicate)
-[] The thrilling rush of Command of followers who give their loyalty. (Communicate)
-[] The Empathy that leads one human being to comfort another. (Communicate)
-[] The Composure needed to endure the sting of fear and failure. (Discipline)
-[] The Concentration hard lessons demanded. (Discipline)
-[] The will to Endure the hardships of Covyria's jungles. (Discipline)
-[] The thrill of Stealth to pilfer snacks. (Move)
-[] The terror even his newfound Might would not be enough to lift a crushing beam. (Move)
-[] The joy of Piloting an eager vehicle. (Move)
--[] Write in: Choose a type of craft or vehicle; for example tanks, interceptors, shuttle-craft, mass haulers etc. Subject to approval.
-[] The careful work of Medicine, to stitch a broken body back together. (Understand)
-[] The intricacies and absurdities of History. (Understand)
-[] The wonder of the revelation of Science. (Understand)
--[] Write in: Choose a type of science; for example physics, biology, cybernetics, cogitation, engineering etc. Subject to approval.
It was less an attack, and more like force-feeding. The other shied away from what it could not understand, but there was only so far it could go. With each light, the apprentice could feel himself spreading into his enemy, like a virus overtaking a cell. It tried to resist, but as the cold place receded, he felt himself filling every part of it - the other erased.
He blinked. He moved an arm. Tubes trailed from it, and a medical shift moved as he sat upwards. His body ached in every way it could.
He moved an arm, one of four. It was numb, carapaced. He blinked another set of eyes, and looked out upon the mottled, shadowed green of the understory.
He was in a bed in a medicae center, his arm torn and raw. He was in the jungle, his chest and shoulder cracked and exposed.
He was human, and he was thrice the height of a human.
He did not understand.
And thus we reach the start of the main premise of the Quest!
Please vote as a plan. As with last update, you cannot pick a Drive twice. There will be a 24 hour moratorium on voting, and voting will close in 48 hours from now.
I'd like to thank @BungieONI for helping with this, as always.
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1.05 Moratorium End
QafianSage
Ascending Ape
- Location
- United Kingdom
So, I'm a bit late, but the voting moratorium has ended. Vote, my pretties, vote!