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The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up
- Thread starter Durin
- Start date
CyberNinja
Lost in blizzard, presumed eaten by Canadians
- Location
- Maine
DAOT would probably be Custodes/Thunder warriors and Temple Assassins or look at all the human remnants during the crusade that had cyborg enhancements capable of going toe-to-toe with Astartes legions, stuff like that. Pretty sure everybody on the moon were some form of supersoldier given even the techpriests couldn't take it until the GEOM killed everyone.
- Location
- Berkeley
Right now I'd say the biggest benefits would be in boosting naval performance.
The Well of Urd KE weapons provide a very substantial boost to a very powerful class of naval weapons. The hyper plasma reactor would give Vanaheim a major boost as well, even if it takes 15 years, as they run fast ships which benefit a lot from an increased power budget.
I'd like to hold off on the typical reactor improvements until Scott's Young trait drops, as those both cause as much of a hit as upgrading the Titan does. There's also the stealth tech upgrade tree we unlocked, although unless it's fairly cheap and easy I'd like to hold off for a bit there.
The factory ship stuff would be nice I guess, but we're not exactly hurting for production right now.
- Location
- Alice Springs, Australia
1. yes
2. yes
2b. no real need, growth is steady
3. died
4. yes
I guess it wouldn't do shit for AM/EM then?
HanEmpire
Delicious
What kinds of traditions do the War-Scholars of Biharti have:
1) fluff-wise?
2) game-mechanic-wise?
- Location
- Alice Springs, Australia
1. they are a tradition focused on the study of the art of war, in all of its forms
2. the traits
More Distant Information
- Location
- Alice Springs, Australia
Tidings from Beyond the Storm Part One: The Galaxy Changes
The following document is the summary of the clearest possible translation of the information gathered on Fjol IV. This information has been cross referenced with records on the sector where possible. It should be noted that the Eldar written language is incredibly complex and heavily idiomatic and therefore difficult to translate. Where the translation is unclear it will be marked with the translator's best guesses shown.
One important discovery that has been made is that according to the records found on Fjol IV, the planet had been colonised five years before you invaded, which was twenty years after the death of the Emperor from the Nine Worlds point of view. However according to the Dark Eldar's information it has been seven times that long in the greater galaxy, a full one hundred and forty years. This suggests that it is likely that time is passing slower within the Warp Storm currently surrounding the Nine Worlds which means that the data found on Fjol IV may go obsolete far faster then expected.
Part One: The Galaxy
The following document is the summary of the clearest possible translation of the information gathered on Fjol IV. This information has been cross referenced with records on the sector where possible. It should be noted that the Eldar written language is incredibly complex and heavily idiomatic and therefore difficult to translate. Where the translation is unclear it will be marked with the translator's best guesses shown.
One important discovery that has been made is that according to the records found on Fjol IV, the planet had been colonised five years before you invaded, which was twenty years after the death of the Emperor from the Nine Worlds point of view. However according to the Dark Eldar's information it has been seven times that long in the greater galaxy, a full one hundred and forty years. This suggests that it is likely that time is passing slower within the Warp Storm currently surrounding the Nine Worlds which means that the data found on Fjol IV may go obsolete far faster then expected.
Part One: The Galaxy
According to the information gathered, the collapse of the Imperium had begun the second that the Emperor died. With the Astronomican going out all long range communication and travel became impossible, cutting each region from every other region, which in effect splintered the Imperium into thousands of pieces, the largest of which covered as many as a dozen sectors but most being far smaller, a single sector being the most common size. For the first century Imperial authority remained strong in each domain, with the old Imperial Sector Governors keeping control of their sector. However as time went by more and more of the Sector Governors either lost their power, overthrown by revolt or alien invasion, or declared independence from the Imperium and set up their own states. This has resulted in the vast majority of human territory devolving into a patchwork of small nations, or Petty Imperiums as they have come to be known. The size, morality, and power of the Perry Imperiums vary wildly but according to this data the Petty Imperiums general lack the power or defences to survive in the long run. There are four main exceptions to this which have been classified as the Isolated Sectors, The Mechanicus Domains, The Astartes Protectorates and the Oddities.
The Isolated Sectors are the most simple of the Petty Imperiums likely to survive, being those that due to either being in the middle of nowhere or for some other reason are hard to reach. These areas are likely to survive due to obscurity and having the time to build up their defences against those threats that do find them. While the Imperial Trust could be classified as an Isolated Sector it fits as an Oddity better.
The Mechanicus Domains are regions centred around powerful Forge Worlds generally under the control of the Mechanicus. These domains rely on the production capacity and technology of the Forge Worlds along with the resources of the rest of the domain to maintain their power base. Most of these domains are stable, having taken all the ground that they need and not being inclined to take any more but there are several exceptions to this, one of which is expanding rapidly in Segmentum Tempestus. Many of the Mechanicus Domains are falling under the influence of the Abomination (or that is what we think Humanity's Folly means) or the ancient enemy (either the C'tan or the Necrons) but many others remain loyal to the Machine God.
The Astartes Protectorates are those regions under the protection and (usually) control of a Space Marine Chapter, or occasionally more than one. The vast majority of these are centred around a Space Marine Homeworld and range in size from a single Sub-Sector to Ultramar, which now contains over five thousand worlds under the protection of dozens of chapters. The Astartes Protectorates rely on the Space Marines for survival, both as their most powerful warriors and as a unifying force. Apart from that the policies and form of the Astartes Protectorates are as varied as the Chapters of Space Marines that give them their name.
The final classification of durable Petty Imperiums has been dubbed the Oddities, which is what those states that are likely to be able to survive for some other reason are being called. These reasons range from the presence of an overwhelmingly powerful crusade fleet to those that are just organised, skilled, and stubborn enough to survive anything that the galaxy can thrown at them.
In conclusion, despite the splintering of the Imperium into thousands of successor states, most of which will fall over the next millennium, the Imperial Trust is not the only remnant of the Imperium that is likely to survive the Second Age of Strife.
The Isolated Sectors are the most simple of the Petty Imperiums likely to survive, being those that due to either being in the middle of nowhere or for some other reason are hard to reach. These areas are likely to survive due to obscurity and having the time to build up their defences against those threats that do find them. While the Imperial Trust could be classified as an Isolated Sector it fits as an Oddity better.
The Mechanicus Domains are regions centred around powerful Forge Worlds generally under the control of the Mechanicus. These domains rely on the production capacity and technology of the Forge Worlds along with the resources of the rest of the domain to maintain their power base. Most of these domains are stable, having taken all the ground that they need and not being inclined to take any more but there are several exceptions to this, one of which is expanding rapidly in Segmentum Tempestus. Many of the Mechanicus Domains are falling under the influence of the Abomination (or that is what we think Humanity's Folly means) or the ancient enemy (either the C'tan or the Necrons) but many others remain loyal to the Machine God.
The Astartes Protectorates are those regions under the protection and (usually) control of a Space Marine Chapter, or occasionally more than one. The vast majority of these are centred around a Space Marine Homeworld and range in size from a single Sub-Sector to Ultramar, which now contains over five thousand worlds under the protection of dozens of chapters. The Astartes Protectorates rely on the Space Marines for survival, both as their most powerful warriors and as a unifying force. Apart from that the policies and form of the Astartes Protectorates are as varied as the Chapters of Space Marines that give them their name.
The final classification of durable Petty Imperiums has been dubbed the Oddities, which is what those states that are likely to be able to survive for some other reason are being called. These reasons range from the presence of an overwhelmingly powerful crusade fleet to those that are just organised, skilled, and stubborn enough to survive anything that the galaxy can thrown at them.
In conclusion, despite the splintering of the Imperium into thousands of successor states, most of which will fall over the next millennium, the Imperial Trust is not the only remnant of the Imperium that is likely to survive the Second Age of Strife.
Unsurprisingly, the information gathered has more detail on the condition of the Eldar in the galaxy than on any other race, or indeed every other race. Much of this information is comprised of worthless details. While the Dark Eldar may care about which Archons fell in the initial stages of the Fall of Commorragh, it is all meaningless to you.
Much of the oldest information is already known thanks to Headmaster Ridcully's vision of The Birth of Ynnead but there are several details that he missed. The first and possible most significant is that every living Farseer was among those who were sacrificed, removing the Craftworld Eldar's greatest weapon, for a time at least.
More interesting is that fact that the birth of Ynnead triggered a schism among the Dark Eldar with the majority who wished to continue their old ways and a minority who sought the protection of Ynnead. At first it seemed that Asdrubael Vect would quickly exterminate those that opposed him, as he always has been able to, but then his opponents started escaping through previously unknown portions of the Webway and Harlequins started getting involved, always on the side of those renouncing the old ways
After a period (we think a year but it is unclear), the last of the Dark Eldar to renounce the old ways had left, leaving the Dark City calm. While many believed that this was the end of the problem or that the next stage would be conventional assault, some of the wiser, or more cowardly, Archons did not and began to evacuate their assets to the Materium. The next blow was against a group that the Dark Eldar did not even think were vulnerable., over the next few weeks the Dark Muses, the gods (or rather the closest they have to gods) of the Dark Eldar were assassinated by the Laughing God and left strung up in central locations within Commorragh. This was enough to shake the faith of the Dark Eldar in the certainty of their victory.
Shortly after the last of the Dark Muses was found the main attack began, with hundreds of million of Eldar Warriors, the entire might of Saim-Hann accompanied by countless Ghost Warriors, many of types never before seen. While the Dark Eldar could normally wipe out even the entire might of a major Eldar Craftworld with little issue the addition of the countless Ghost Warriors, many of them far more deadly then the previously known versions, were a different matter. Among the new forms of Ghost Warrior located were the Aspect Wraiths, equipped with larger, more powerful versions of the equipment they wielded in life and the Wraithseers wielding all the powers they had in life. To make matters worse for the Dark Eldar, the Birth of Ynnead and the breaking of the connection with Slaanesh has allowed the Eldar to safely draw greater amounts of energy from the Warp, boosting the effects of their psychic powers significantly.
This assault, with its seemingly infinite reserves of Ghost Warriors proved to be capable of continually driven back the Dark Eldar, at least at first. It was during this period that many more Archons saw the writing on the wall and started to evacuate their forces to the Materium. When Asdrubael Vect unleashed the most wonderful and uncontrollable weapons that the Dark Eldar have ever designed in their millennia long history, driving back the attacking Ghost Legions, for the first time it seemed that the flight was premature.
Then Ynnead entered the fight. The Dark Eldar thought that they had some clue to to the power of an incarnate god from the Avatars of Khaine and the Greater Demons of Chaos. They were wrong. Ynnead proved to be enough to wipe out the remaining Dark Eldar, tens of billions strong hidden behind some of the most powerful defences in existence, in less then an hour. Little is known about how Ynnead achieved this as no Dark Eldar who saw it lived long enough to tell the tale.
With the coming of Ynnead and the fall of the Dark City the Craftworld Eldar cemented their control over the Webway and scattered the Dark Eldar over the galaxy. There is no indication on how many Dark Eldar escaped or where they escaped to in the information recently captured and it is doubtful that anyone has a complete list.
Much of the oldest information is already known thanks to Headmaster Ridcully's vision of The Birth of Ynnead but there are several details that he missed. The first and possible most significant is that every living Farseer was among those who were sacrificed, removing the Craftworld Eldar's greatest weapon, for a time at least.
More interesting is that fact that the birth of Ynnead triggered a schism among the Dark Eldar with the majority who wished to continue their old ways and a minority who sought the protection of Ynnead. At first it seemed that Asdrubael Vect would quickly exterminate those that opposed him, as he always has been able to, but then his opponents started escaping through previously unknown portions of the Webway and Harlequins started getting involved, always on the side of those renouncing the old ways
After a period (we think a year but it is unclear), the last of the Dark Eldar to renounce the old ways had left, leaving the Dark City calm. While many believed that this was the end of the problem or that the next stage would be conventional assault, some of the wiser, or more cowardly, Archons did not and began to evacuate their assets to the Materium. The next blow was against a group that the Dark Eldar did not even think were vulnerable., over the next few weeks the Dark Muses, the gods (or rather the closest they have to gods) of the Dark Eldar were assassinated by the Laughing God and left strung up in central locations within Commorragh. This was enough to shake the faith of the Dark Eldar in the certainty of their victory.
Shortly after the last of the Dark Muses was found the main attack began, with hundreds of million of Eldar Warriors, the entire might of Saim-Hann accompanied by countless Ghost Warriors, many of types never before seen. While the Dark Eldar could normally wipe out even the entire might of a major Eldar Craftworld with little issue the addition of the countless Ghost Warriors, many of them far more deadly then the previously known versions, were a different matter. Among the new forms of Ghost Warrior located were the Aspect Wraiths, equipped with larger, more powerful versions of the equipment they wielded in life and the Wraithseers wielding all the powers they had in life. To make matters worse for the Dark Eldar, the Birth of Ynnead and the breaking of the connection with Slaanesh has allowed the Eldar to safely draw greater amounts of energy from the Warp, boosting the effects of their psychic powers significantly.
This assault, with its seemingly infinite reserves of Ghost Warriors proved to be capable of continually driven back the Dark Eldar, at least at first. It was during this period that many more Archons saw the writing on the wall and started to evacuate their forces to the Materium. When Asdrubael Vect unleashed the most wonderful and uncontrollable weapons that the Dark Eldar have ever designed in their millennia long history, driving back the attacking Ghost Legions, for the first time it seemed that the flight was premature.
Then Ynnead entered the fight. The Dark Eldar thought that they had some clue to to the power of an incarnate god from the Avatars of Khaine and the Greater Demons of Chaos. They were wrong. Ynnead proved to be enough to wipe out the remaining Dark Eldar, tens of billions strong hidden behind some of the most powerful defences in existence, in less then an hour. Little is known about how Ynnead achieved this as no Dark Eldar who saw it lived long enough to tell the tale.
With the coming of Ynnead and the fall of the Dark City the Craftworld Eldar cemented their control over the Webway and scattered the Dark Eldar over the galaxy. There is no indication on how many Dark Eldar escaped or where they escaped to in the information recently captured and it is doubtful that anyone has a complete list.
There is little detail on the forces of Chaos in this information but we have put together what we could.
To begin with Chaos Cults have been growing all over the Imperium since the death of the Emperor, with at least a quarter of the successor states openly worshipping Chaos and a similar percentage being controlled by Chaos worshippers operating behind the scenes. As disastrous as this may seem the proportion is far lower among the petty Imperiums that are likely to survive the next thousand years and few of those with the potential to become major powers are Chaotic.
Currently the most powerful Chaos empire in the old Imperium is the Pirate Empire of Huron Blackheart, which has expanded out of the Maelstrom to cover over a hundred sectors. To make matters worse several Chapters of Space Marines have fallen to Chaos in this region and have joined the Pirate Empire, giving Huron Blackheart one of the most powerful forces of Chaos Space Marines in the Galaxy.
The most powerful Chaos force in the galaxy remains the armies of Abbadon the Despoiler in the Eye of Terror. Currently these armies are in the process of forcing their way though the Cadian Gate, a process which the Dark Eldar estimate will take another hundred years or so. As well as the sheer skill and courage of the Cadians the reason that this has been taking so long is that the Eye of Terror has been one of the major battlegrounds between the Abomination and the Chaos Gods.
To begin with Chaos Cults have been growing all over the Imperium since the death of the Emperor, with at least a quarter of the successor states openly worshipping Chaos and a similar percentage being controlled by Chaos worshippers operating behind the scenes. As disastrous as this may seem the proportion is far lower among the petty Imperiums that are likely to survive the next thousand years and few of those with the potential to become major powers are Chaotic.
Currently the most powerful Chaos empire in the old Imperium is the Pirate Empire of Huron Blackheart, which has expanded out of the Maelstrom to cover over a hundred sectors. To make matters worse several Chapters of Space Marines have fallen to Chaos in this region and have joined the Pirate Empire, giving Huron Blackheart one of the most powerful forces of Chaos Space Marines in the Galaxy.
The most powerful Chaos force in the galaxy remains the armies of Abbadon the Despoiler in the Eye of Terror. Currently these armies are in the process of forcing their way though the Cadian Gate, a process which the Dark Eldar estimate will take another hundred years or so. As well as the sheer skill and courage of the Cadians the reason that this has been taking so long is that the Eye of Terror has been one of the major battlegrounds between the Abomination and the Chaos Gods.
The other races of the galaxy get little mention in the information captured on Fjol IV and so we can not develop a clear picture on how they have reacted to the changes in recent times. We have done what we can and the following information is the fruit of our efforts.
In the time since the death of the Emperor the Orks have become one of the major forces in the galaxy, spreading over entire sectors in a green tide now that the Imperium no longer has the unity and power to oppose them. Several huge new Ork domains have been formed and are giving every indication that they are here to stay. No matter how we look at it Orks are going to be one of the major threats to the Imperial Trust for a long time coming.
There is little mention of the Tyranids in the data that has been gathered but from what we can determine the Tyranids are making a comeback, taking advantage of the collapse of the Imperium to consume Imperial Worlds and rebuild their own numbers.
Surprisingly there is little mention of the Necrons but what data there is seems to suggest that the Necrons have split into two major factions and are having a major civil war.
In the time since the death of the Emperor the Orks have become one of the major forces in the galaxy, spreading over entire sectors in a green tide now that the Imperium no longer has the unity and power to oppose them. Several huge new Ork domains have been formed and are giving every indication that they are here to stay. No matter how we look at it Orks are going to be one of the major threats to the Imperial Trust for a long time coming.
There is little mention of the Tyranids in the data that has been gathered but from what we can determine the Tyranids are making a comeback, taking advantage of the collapse of the Imperium to consume Imperial Worlds and rebuild their own numbers.
Surprisingly there is little mention of the Necrons but what data there is seems to suggest that the Necrons have split into two major factions and are having a major civil war.
Part Two: The Valinor Sector
The vast majority of information found on Fjol IV is an analysis of the Valinor Sector, within which the Imperial Trust is located. While much of this data is current tactical and political information that is likely to be already obsolete there is still a good bit of useful information. We have discovered that while the majority of the sector is either infested with Orks or has been consumed by Tyranids there are several holdouts, including Valinor itself.
The vast majority of information found on Fjol IV is an analysis of the Valinor Sector, within which the Imperial Trust is located. While much of this data is current tactical and political information that is likely to be already obsolete there is still a good bit of useful information. We have discovered that while the majority of the sector is either infested with Orks or has been consumed by Tyranids there are several holdouts, including Valinor itself.
Currently a massive conflict between the Orks and the Tyranids covers at least half of the sector. The Orks are from the Gehenna Sub-Sector, a collection of seven systems that has been under Ork control since time immemorial and has often been a threat to the Valinor Sector. According to the Dark Eldar's records the Orks launched a major Waaagh eighty-five years after the death of the Emperor. The fact that both of the sectors major Naval Bases, Vanaheim and Valinor, were trapped behind Warp Storms meant that what resistance the human worlds attempted was futile and within twenty-two years most of the sector had fallen.
One hundred and seven years after the Emperor died a Tyranid Hive Fleet (more likely a large splinter fleet) arrived and the Ork dominance of the sector was challenged. For the first decade the Tyranids quickly pushed back the Orks, consuming a dozen Ork held worlds before several new Waaaghs joined the fight, one from the Gehenna Sub-Sector and one from outside the Sector (no more detail is given). From that point there were three major Ork armies (whether they were independent Waaaghs or divisions within a Waaagh is not made clear) fighting against the Tyranids. Their leaders were Grorz the Brutal, who led the initial Waaagh and prefers simple straightforward attacks and ground combat, Thorug One Eye, who led the second Waaagh from Gehenna and commands an unusually large number of Speed Freaks, and Garkill the Konqueror, an Ork pirate who led a Waaagh from outside the system and is a surprisingly good general. Currently the main battlefield is Sub-Sector Olympus, a heavily populated and central Sub-Sector fifty light years from Vanaheim.
Thanks to a steady stream of reinforcements coming from outside the sector, most of whom had heard that there was a good fight happening, the Orks have been slowly beating the Tyranids. Despite this there is no reliable way to predict how the war will progress and anything could happen by the time the Warp Storm around the Imperial Trust dies down.
One hundred and seven years after the Emperor died a Tyranid Hive Fleet (more likely a large splinter fleet) arrived and the Ork dominance of the sector was challenged. For the first decade the Tyranids quickly pushed back the Orks, consuming a dozen Ork held worlds before several new Waaaghs joined the fight, one from the Gehenna Sub-Sector and one from outside the Sector (no more detail is given). From that point there were three major Ork armies (whether they were independent Waaaghs or divisions within a Waaagh is not made clear) fighting against the Tyranids. Their leaders were Grorz the Brutal, who led the initial Waaagh and prefers simple straightforward attacks and ground combat, Thorug One Eye, who led the second Waaagh from Gehenna and commands an unusually large number of Speed Freaks, and Garkill the Konqueror, an Ork pirate who led a Waaagh from outside the system and is a surprisingly good general. Currently the main battlefield is Sub-Sector Olympus, a heavily populated and central Sub-Sector fifty light years from Vanaheim.
Thanks to a steady stream of reinforcements coming from outside the sector, most of whom had heard that there was a good fight happening, the Orks have been slowly beating the Tyranids. Despite this there is no reliable way to predict how the war will progress and anything could happen by the time the Warp Storm around the Imperial Trust dies down.
There are currently four different human polities in the Valinor Sector, each of which seems likely to last for at least another decade or two. Given that one of them is the Imperial Trust that leaves three other factions to go over.
The first and most powerful of these holdouts is Sub-Sector Valinor, which includes the the Sector Capital and main naval base as well as the Sector's largest Hive World. This Sub-Sector has been cut off from the rest of the galaxy by a Warp Storm and has maintained Imperial rule, not even knowing of the Emperor's death yet. How they will react to the new galaxy when the Warp Strom surrounding them ends will be interesting to see and most likely violent. One worrying possibility is that Valinor has already fallen to the Abomination and that the lack of change and good order is a reflection of its fall.
The second holdout is the Fortress World of Danaan on the coreward side of the sector where it holds the best route though the Danaan Nebula. This world is one of the oldest worlds in the sector and has been a fortress world for as long as anyone's records stretch, with Muspelheim claiming that it was a fortress in the Dark Age of Technology. Danaan has several massive underground fortress-cities which have strong enough defences to make storming them impossible and have enough production capacity and food production to withstand siege near indefinitely. When combined with the demi-legion of Titans, Space Marine task force and veteran Imperial Guard armies it is easy to see how Danaan has survived so long. They seem to be led by a council consisting of the Imperial Guard Lord General, the senior Astartes Officer and the First Princeps of the Titan Legion.
The final holdout is the Civilised Worlds Collective in Sub-Sector Annwn, a collection of eight worlds dominated by the industrial world of Cobalt. This group of worlds had the good fortune to be on the opposite side of the sector from the Gehenna Sub-Sector and had suffered few Ork attacks before the Tyranids arrived. Thanks to the arrival of the Tyranids the Civilised Worlds Collective has managed to avoid any major attacks from the Orks. According to the Dark Eldar they are building up their defences and military as fast as possible but are unlikely to be able to hold out against either the Orks or the Tyranids if a major assault is launched on them. This makes the Civilised Worlds very vulnerable and susceptible to siding with the first group that can promise protection, whether it is the Imperial Trust, Valinor or even the Abomination.
The first and most powerful of these holdouts is Sub-Sector Valinor, which includes the the Sector Capital and main naval base as well as the Sector's largest Hive World. This Sub-Sector has been cut off from the rest of the galaxy by a Warp Storm and has maintained Imperial rule, not even knowing of the Emperor's death yet. How they will react to the new galaxy when the Warp Strom surrounding them ends will be interesting to see and most likely violent. One worrying possibility is that Valinor has already fallen to the Abomination and that the lack of change and good order is a reflection of its fall.
The second holdout is the Fortress World of Danaan on the coreward side of the sector where it holds the best route though the Danaan Nebula. This world is one of the oldest worlds in the sector and has been a fortress world for as long as anyone's records stretch, with Muspelheim claiming that it was a fortress in the Dark Age of Technology. Danaan has several massive underground fortress-cities which have strong enough defences to make storming them impossible and have enough production capacity and food production to withstand siege near indefinitely. When combined with the demi-legion of Titans, Space Marine task force and veteran Imperial Guard armies it is easy to see how Danaan has survived so long. They seem to be led by a council consisting of the Imperial Guard Lord General, the senior Astartes Officer and the First Princeps of the Titan Legion.
The final holdout is the Civilised Worlds Collective in Sub-Sector Annwn, a collection of eight worlds dominated by the industrial world of Cobalt. This group of worlds had the good fortune to be on the opposite side of the sector from the Gehenna Sub-Sector and had suffered few Ork attacks before the Tyranids arrived. Thanks to the arrival of the Tyranids the Civilised Worlds Collective has managed to avoid any major attacks from the Orks. According to the Dark Eldar they are building up their defences and military as fast as possible but are unlikely to be able to hold out against either the Orks or the Tyranids if a major assault is launched on them. This makes the Civilised Worlds very vulnerable and susceptible to siding with the first group that can promise protection, whether it is the Imperial Trust, Valinor or even the Abomination.
State of the Outside
This is a brief overview of the information supplied by the Ultramarines about the area surrounding the Imperial Trust. You should remember when reading it that it may be severely out of date by the time that the Warp Storm ends, given that you seem to be moving at nearly a tenth the pace of the surrounding galaxy.
To begin with the main force in the surrounding area is the Orks, having taken the entirety of the sector apart from Valinor and the Imperial Trust when the Ultramarines arrived. They are split into three separate domains, one under the command of Ulg the Unstoppable based in Gehenna, one under the command of Kazag the Mighty based in the former Civilized Worlds Collective and one under the command of Garkill the Konqueror based around his fleet, though Danaan is also in his sphere of influence. As is normal for Orks these Warlords mostly focus on fighting each other but occasionally unite to fight a common enemy, such as the Golden Legions of Valinor. They are no different from how Orks have always been, and can be dealt with by traditional tactics.
The only other force in the sector is the Valinor Sub-Sector, recently released from the Warp Storm and totally under the control of the Abomination. It military forces, the Golden Legion, are a highly disciplined and effective fighting force that has proven to be able to make significant gains against the Orks despite being heavily outnumbed and dealing with a veteran force. According to Captain Julius while the Golden Legions are highly disciplined, near unbreakable and highly skilled have little initiative and are vulnerable to decapitation strikes.
The closest Imperial Remnant is the Dragons Nest, a Astartes Protectorate under the command of the Blood Dragons, a chapter descended from the Blood Angels. They currently command the majority of a sector but are caught between the Orks, mostly under Garkill and Ulg, the Golden Legions and a force of Necrons, as well as several other lesser threats. These numbers have forced the Blood Dragons to train a large, well equipped regular force and to expand their numbers to several times the Codex Astartes limit. The Dragon's Nest is the polity most likely to be willing to ally with you and will be mighty allies indeed.
The only other Imperial Remnant in the area is the Petty Imperium of Karnas, a collection of a dozen worlds centered on the old recruiting world Karnas, which was famous for its seige specialists. This petty Imeprium while not as strong as the Dragons Nest is more secure due to the fact that the only faction attacking it at the moment is the Orks under Kazag the Mighty.
This is a brief overview of the information supplied by the Ultramarines about the area surrounding the Imperial Trust. You should remember when reading it that it may be severely out of date by the time that the Warp Storm ends, given that you seem to be moving at nearly a tenth the pace of the surrounding galaxy.
To begin with the main force in the surrounding area is the Orks, having taken the entirety of the sector apart from Valinor and the Imperial Trust when the Ultramarines arrived. They are split into three separate domains, one under the command of Ulg the Unstoppable based in Gehenna, one under the command of Kazag the Mighty based in the former Civilized Worlds Collective and one under the command of Garkill the Konqueror based around his fleet, though Danaan is also in his sphere of influence. As is normal for Orks these Warlords mostly focus on fighting each other but occasionally unite to fight a common enemy, such as the Golden Legions of Valinor. They are no different from how Orks have always been, and can be dealt with by traditional tactics.
The only other force in the sector is the Valinor Sub-Sector, recently released from the Warp Storm and totally under the control of the Abomination. It military forces, the Golden Legion, are a highly disciplined and effective fighting force that has proven to be able to make significant gains against the Orks despite being heavily outnumbed and dealing with a veteran force. According to Captain Julius while the Golden Legions are highly disciplined, near unbreakable and highly skilled have little initiative and are vulnerable to decapitation strikes.
The closest Imperial Remnant is the Dragons Nest, a Astartes Protectorate under the command of the Blood Dragons, a chapter descended from the Blood Angels. They currently command the majority of a sector but are caught between the Orks, mostly under Garkill and Ulg, the Golden Legions and a force of Necrons, as well as several other lesser threats. These numbers have forced the Blood Dragons to train a large, well equipped regular force and to expand their numbers to several times the Codex Astartes limit. The Dragon's Nest is the polity most likely to be willing to ally with you and will be mighty allies indeed.
The only other Imperial Remnant in the area is the Petty Imperium of Karnas, a collection of a dozen worlds centered on the old recruiting world Karnas, which was famous for its seige specialists. This petty Imeprium while not as strong as the Dragons Nest is more secure due to the fact that the only faction attacking it at the moment is the Orks under Kazag the Mighty.
Xenos of the Outside
As well as the normal Orks, Necrons and Tyranids there are two major Xenos species in the region that are numerous enough for Captain Julies to take note of.
The most worrying of the Xenos species are the Nexx, a insectoid species that has yet to invent faster then light travel but has still conquered a entire sector using generation ships. The Nexx are an ancient species that the Imperium has known about for over five thousand years, but given that they were restricted to a single very heavily fortified system has never had the time and available forces to wipe out. This changed around fourteen hundred years ago when a Nexx worker caste inventor discovered a alternate dimension from which he could draw near infinite amounts of energy. The Nexx immediately began replacing their larger reactors with AD reactors and greatly increasing their technological level by brute force. Around three centuries later they built the first Nexx Colony Ship, a colossal generation ship capable of housing a billion Nexx for over a hundred years and reaching 0.8c due to conventional acceleration. Using these ships they slowly spread out over the surrounding regions, coming into conflict with the local Imperial Sector Fleet. While at first they were losing these conflict severely this changed with the death of the Emperor thirty years into the conflict, when the Imperial Sector Fleet was wiped out by the resulting warpstorms. The surviving Nexx, all three worlds of them immediately started going on the offensive, eventually conquering the entire sector. While in many ways this sounds like a normal post Imperial story it differing in one major aspect, the alternate dimension that the Nexx figured out how to draw power from was the Warp. According to Captain Julius it is not clear exactly when the Nexx started worshiping Chaos Undivided but it is clear that by the time of the Emperor's death it was their only religion. The Nexx Navy relies on slow, large warships with powerful but inefficient energy weapons and shields and are best deal with by boarding actions while their ground forces are mostly poorly equipped Chaotic levy's but have powerful superheavies.
The only other new xenos species in the region that the Ultramarines believe could be a threat are the Sahaar, a species consisting of foot long reptiles that holds around half a sector. Not to much is known about the Sahaar except that they are loners by nature, with their only cities being military fortifications and industrial hubs, that they currently lack any religion, and that while not incredible expansionist they are willing to take advantage of any easy oppetunity that they can to expand, of which their were many in the years after the Emperor's death. On the ground they rely entirely on Mechs and armour, as their size prevents infantry from being worthwhile against any other species. In space however they rely on suspiciously Imperial naval technology and their small size to create a warfleet that is better ton for ton then any of the post Imperial remnants. Captain Julius has not personally engaged the Sahaar so has no advice for dealing with them.
As well as the normal Orks, Necrons and Tyranids there are two major Xenos species in the region that are numerous enough for Captain Julies to take note of.
The most worrying of the Xenos species are the Nexx, a insectoid species that has yet to invent faster then light travel but has still conquered a entire sector using generation ships. The Nexx are an ancient species that the Imperium has known about for over five thousand years, but given that they were restricted to a single very heavily fortified system has never had the time and available forces to wipe out. This changed around fourteen hundred years ago when a Nexx worker caste inventor discovered a alternate dimension from which he could draw near infinite amounts of energy. The Nexx immediately began replacing their larger reactors with AD reactors and greatly increasing their technological level by brute force. Around three centuries later they built the first Nexx Colony Ship, a colossal generation ship capable of housing a billion Nexx for over a hundred years and reaching 0.8c due to conventional acceleration. Using these ships they slowly spread out over the surrounding regions, coming into conflict with the local Imperial Sector Fleet. While at first they were losing these conflict severely this changed with the death of the Emperor thirty years into the conflict, when the Imperial Sector Fleet was wiped out by the resulting warpstorms. The surviving Nexx, all three worlds of them immediately started going on the offensive, eventually conquering the entire sector. While in many ways this sounds like a normal post Imperial story it differing in one major aspect, the alternate dimension that the Nexx figured out how to draw power from was the Warp. According to Captain Julius it is not clear exactly when the Nexx started worshiping Chaos Undivided but it is clear that by the time of the Emperor's death it was their only religion. The Nexx Navy relies on slow, large warships with powerful but inefficient energy weapons and shields and are best deal with by boarding actions while their ground forces are mostly poorly equipped Chaotic levy's but have powerful superheavies.
The only other new xenos species in the region that the Ultramarines believe could be a threat are the Sahaar, a species consisting of foot long reptiles that holds around half a sector. Not to much is known about the Sahaar except that they are loners by nature, with their only cities being military fortifications and industrial hubs, that they currently lack any religion, and that while not incredible expansionist they are willing to take advantage of any easy oppetunity that they can to expand, of which their were many in the years after the Emperor's death. On the ground they rely entirely on Mechs and armour, as their size prevents infantry from being worthwhile against any other species. In space however they rely on suspiciously Imperial naval technology and their small size to create a warfleet that is better ton for ton then any of the post Imperial remnants. Captain Julius has not personally engaged the Sahaar so has no advice for dealing with them.
A Diviners Report on Ultramar
Headmaster Ridcully has recently done a major divination of the conditions of Macragge and the Ultramarines, during which he gained much information. To begin with he found that Ultramar is now the center of the Imperium Secundus, a confederation that stretches over a hundred sectors and is guarded by a full hundred Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. Most of these chapters are descended from Roboute Guilliman but there are also decedents of every other loyalist Primarch barring the Lion and the Wolf in their ranks. While the Imperium Secundus is supposedly ruled by the Ultramarines in practice it functions more like a confederation, with each chapter and the worlds it rules being highly independent. The Imperium Secundus is far stronger then any of the Ork Empires or petty Imperiums that surround it even its mighty guardians are being driven back by the forces of the Tau Empire, now the most powerful polity in the Eastern Fringe and rapidly expanding into a major power. As a result of this war the Imperium Secundus is being forced to rapidly adept, having discarded large segments of the Code Astartes and started the practice of reverse engineering the Tau technology for their own use.
Headmaster Ridcully foresees that this war will continue until "The Destroyer rises" about which he can see no more.
Greater Divination (Necrons, threats, particularly our sector and Dragon Nest sector): High Grandmaster Ridcully spent a year attempting to divine what he could of the Necrons, in particular whether they posed any threats to your area. He found that the Atum Dynasty is a potential threat but only if forced to be due to the fact that the vast majority of their forces are elsewhere. In fact most of the Necrons in the galaxy left seven hundred years ago under the command of the Silent King. Now they are fighting war on a level not seen since the darkest days of the War in Heaven, using weapons they dare not use within the galaxy to drive back the Great Devourer.
Free Action: Greater Divination (Eldar): High Grandmaster Ridcully spent a year divine the state of the Eldar in the galaxy. To begin with he finds that the Eldar remain in three groups, the Empire of Ashes or Ynnari, the Dark Eldar Enclaves and the Exodites.
The Ynnari are the most powerful of the groups despite numbering only a few tens of billion thanks to their uncountable Wraith Legions and control over the Webway. Fortunately for humanity the Ynnari are far less self-centred then any other Eldar Ridcully has heard of, in large part due to the fact that one of the main domains of their Goddess is Atonement, and the Eldar have much to atone for. As such the Ynnari have devoted themselves to the protection of the galaxy and the annihilation of the Dark Prince, so that they can atone for the devastation that The Fall unleashed on the galaxy.
The Empire of Ashes is based entirely in the Webway, which is slowly being repaired of the damage inflicted upon it. This make it impossible for most enemies to attack anything but the Ynnari Warhosts, which are sent out into the galaxy for a range of reasons. The most common reasons are to protect and strengthen those that the Ynnari consider future allies, to exterminate the Dark Eldar, to weaken the forces of the Dark Prince, and to nudge the Weaves of Fate for the better. The Ynnari have a close relationship with the Reborn Krork, and have even proven to be willing to guide them though the Webway.
Within the Ynnari there are several factions that have a level of independence. These factions include the Ghost Councils, who lead the Wraiths as their goddess commands, the Aspect Shrines which are now led by the Phoenix Lords and the Harlequins who as always move at the will of the Laughing God.
The Dark Eldar upon being driven out of the Webway were forced to spit into a series of Enclaves scattered throughout the galaxy. These Enclaves are each well hidden and incredibly well defended, which is the only thing saving them from the vengeance of the Ynnari. The Dark Eldar within them continue to raid the nearby worlds for slaves and souls, though many have instead conquered entire sectors which they uses to feed their ravenous need for souls. While the birth of Ynead the thirst was ended and the Dark Eldar have taken to using the souls they capture to power a larger variety of pain engines and similar technologies. The majority of the Dark Eldar Enclaves have fallen to the Dark Prince though several of the most powerful remain uncorrupted, including one led by Vect himself.
The final group of Eldar as those Exodites that did not join the Empire of Ash. These Eldar groups have often hidden themselves on Maiden Worlds that have since been colonised by humans, and are often the power behind the throne. One way that the Exodites maintain the power of their human puppets is by providing them with advanced technology utilised by since extinct species that the Eldar once encountered.
The Ynnari are the most powerful of the groups despite numbering only a few tens of billion thanks to their uncountable Wraith Legions and control over the Webway. Fortunately for humanity the Ynnari are far less self-centred then any other Eldar Ridcully has heard of, in large part due to the fact that one of the main domains of their Goddess is Atonement, and the Eldar have much to atone for. As such the Ynnari have devoted themselves to the protection of the galaxy and the annihilation of the Dark Prince, so that they can atone for the devastation that The Fall unleashed on the galaxy.
The Empire of Ashes is based entirely in the Webway, which is slowly being repaired of the damage inflicted upon it. This make it impossible for most enemies to attack anything but the Ynnari Warhosts, which are sent out into the galaxy for a range of reasons. The most common reasons are to protect and strengthen those that the Ynnari consider future allies, to exterminate the Dark Eldar, to weaken the forces of the Dark Prince, and to nudge the Weaves of Fate for the better. The Ynnari have a close relationship with the Reborn Krork, and have even proven to be willing to guide them though the Webway.
Within the Ynnari there are several factions that have a level of independence. These factions include the Ghost Councils, who lead the Wraiths as their goddess commands, the Aspect Shrines which are now led by the Phoenix Lords and the Harlequins who as always move at the will of the Laughing God.
The Dark Eldar upon being driven out of the Webway were forced to spit into a series of Enclaves scattered throughout the galaxy. These Enclaves are each well hidden and incredibly well defended, which is the only thing saving them from the vengeance of the Ynnari. The Dark Eldar within them continue to raid the nearby worlds for slaves and souls, though many have instead conquered entire sectors which they uses to feed their ravenous need for souls. While the birth of Ynead the thirst was ended and the Dark Eldar have taken to using the souls they capture to power a larger variety of pain engines and similar technologies. The majority of the Dark Eldar Enclaves have fallen to the Dark Prince though several of the most powerful remain uncorrupted, including one led by Vect himself.
The final group of Eldar as those Exodites that did not join the Empire of Ash. These Eldar groups have often hidden themselves on Maiden Worlds that have since been colonised by humans, and are often the power behind the throne. One way that the Exodites maintain the power of their human puppets is by providing them with advanced technology utilised by since extinct species that the Eldar once encountered.
Free Action: Greater Divination (Loyalist First Founding Astartes Chapters. Don't spend too much time on the Ultramarines, since we've divined them previously.):
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent a year divining the condition of the loyalist First founding chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. One of his first reports was the fact that two of them, The Imperial Fists and the Iron Hands had been wiped out, both fallen to the forces of Chaos.
The fate of the Dark Angels remains unclear, with the chapter, and indeed all of the Unforgiven having split during the Fall of the Imperium, though into how many factions is unclear. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that many of the factions exist solely within the Inner Circles of their respective chapters, and have plans unknown to the common Battle Brother. The largest collection of the Dark Angels and possibly the only ones with a true claim to the name are a ten thousand strong force based in the Rok, though this force is unknowingly split between at least four separate factions despite seemingly being an united chapter.
The White Scars were almost entirely wiped out in the aftermath of the Fall of the Imperium,scattered over the galaxy with their homeworld lost to the Red Corsairs after the Fall of the Imperium. Many of the surviving White Scar have taken up a nomadic existence, trading their services to the Petty Imperiums and human Remnants in exchange for supplies and recruits. While most of these bands remain loyal to the ideals of the White Scars some have fallen to the whispers of Chaos.
When the Imperium fell eleven of the twelve Great Companies of the Space Wolves were scattered far from their homeworld of Fenris. They each revived a final order from their Great Wolf Ragnar Whitemaned transmitted hours before the Emperor's death, "Good hunting! Make our deeds legendary and glorious. Die well, my brothers. Die well!", and die well they did. For the following centuries the rampaging Great Companies of the Space Wolves caved a bloody swathe though their foes, with the Fall of the Imperium seeming to only motivate them to push themselves well beyond their limits. However even the greatest heroes fall and this was no different for the Great Companies of the Space Wolves. Fenris itself was defended by the final Great Company under the command of Ethelred the Breaker who forged one of the mightiest Astartes Protectorates around it. However the proximity of Fenris to the Eye of Terror and the Black Imperium of Abbadon the Despoiler resulted in its ruin. First Magnus the Re, Daemon Primarch of the Thousand Sons led his legion and those whose aide he could bargain for into the Fenrisian Protectorate, a force that even the Space Wolves, by now number several thousand could not hope to match. Despite this the combination of the ferocity that the wolves of Russ fought with the preserve their world and the timely betrayal of Mangus by the Fallen Wolf Tosdak proved to be enough to banish the Cycopse and his legion back to the Warp, though at heinous cost. It was then that word arrived that Abbadon himself was leading a Black Crusade into the heart of the Fenrisian Protectorate. The handful of surviving Space Wolves met them at the frtress world of Garm, fighting with all they had to slow down the Black Crusade and buy time for Fenris until finally the last of them, the legendary Dreadnought Bjorn Fell Handed fell in combat after fighting his way though first the legions of the Despoiler, then the Bringers of Despair, Abbadon's personal guard of three hundred Terminators and finally nearly slaying Abbadon himself. After Abbadon telaported to the safety of the Planet Killer he ordered it to fire on Garm, clearing the path to Fenris and ending the tale of the oldest and most mighty of the Emperor's Space Marines. However it was to late, as the desperate defences of Garm was being fought the Rune Priest of the Space Wolves were coming with the world spirit of Fenris, and though it with the Primal Warp. With its aid they were able to throw a Warp Storm around the system, which has so far stymied any attempts to bypass it.
The Imperial Fists fell shortly after the fall of the Imperium, when the Iron Warriors led by their dread Primarch hunted down the surviving Imperial Fists, wiping them out and taking the Phalanx for his own.
The Blood Angels remain on Baal where they lead one of the most embattled of the Astates Protectorates, caught between the forces of the Red Corsairs, now the second largest Chaos Imperium in the galaxy and several major Ork domains. Alone among the Sons of Sanguinius the Blood Angels have managed to keep the three Curses of the Blood Angel in balance, not stepping don the Path of Rage, Path of Blood or the Path of Doom, though many individuals within the chapter have trodden on of of the three cursed paths.
The Iron Hands fell within the last century, when Abbadon the Despoiler led a Black Crusade to crush the Astrtes Protectorate that had formed around their homeworld of Medusa. Despite the heroics of the Iron hands and their legions of well equipped soldiers before the forces of a fully fledged Black Crusade all of their efforts proved futile.
Little has changed with the Ultramarines and the Imperium Secundus since Ridcully last viewed them almost a century before, though they have recently declared a crease fire with the Tau in order to wipe out all of the Orks in their region, a mission that between the two forces seems to have been surprisingly successful.
The Salamanders fared far better then any other chapter in the wake of the Fall of the Imperium due to the return of their Primarch. Under the leadership of Vulkan they have been protecting certain key worlds in a large area while working on improving their fortifications and technology. These worlds stretch over a massive area, range from Nocturne all the way to Ryza. In part due to the efficacy of the Salamanders and the fact that Vulkan often has them wear the colours of their successors so far no one seems to have realised just how far their plans extend. Ridcully sees evidence of some other force meddling here, though he can not say what it is. Yet.
Finally are the Sons of Corax, the Raven Guard, whose fate is the most shroud of any of the Chapters. Ridcully tells you that where the chaos and disorganisation of the Fall of the Imperium shattered many chapters and forced them to retreat to the areas around their homeworlds it seems to have had the opposite effect on the Raven Guard. The Raven Guards preference for stealth and precision attacks proved to be invaluable in the yeas after the death of the Emperor, when Imperial forces were often outnumbered and poorly supplied. Their are countless tales of an invasion force being crippled by a carefully timed assassination or raids on their supply depots allowing a Imperial Remnant to live one more year as black clad Astartes fade into the shadows. Interestingly these events have continued to occur without a pause since the Fall of the Imperium, spread out all over the galaxy despite the loss of the Astronomicon. Several forces plagued by these assaults have attempted to chase the Raven Guard down to Deliverance, only to find that they could not locate it. Somehow. Ridcully can't see it either though he knows that it is still there.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent a year divining the condition of the loyalist First founding chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. One of his first reports was the fact that two of them, The Imperial Fists and the Iron Hands had been wiped out, both fallen to the forces of Chaos.
The fate of the Dark Angels remains unclear, with the chapter, and indeed all of the Unforgiven having split during the Fall of the Imperium, though into how many factions is unclear. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that many of the factions exist solely within the Inner Circles of their respective chapters, and have plans unknown to the common Battle Brother. The largest collection of the Dark Angels and possibly the only ones with a true claim to the name are a ten thousand strong force based in the Rok, though this force is unknowingly split between at least four separate factions despite seemingly being an united chapter.
The White Scars were almost entirely wiped out in the aftermath of the Fall of the Imperium,scattered over the galaxy with their homeworld lost to the Red Corsairs after the Fall of the Imperium. Many of the surviving White Scar have taken up a nomadic existence, trading their services to the Petty Imperiums and human Remnants in exchange for supplies and recruits. While most of these bands remain loyal to the ideals of the White Scars some have fallen to the whispers of Chaos.
When the Imperium fell eleven of the twelve Great Companies of the Space Wolves were scattered far from their homeworld of Fenris. They each revived a final order from their Great Wolf Ragnar Whitemaned transmitted hours before the Emperor's death, "Good hunting! Make our deeds legendary and glorious. Die well, my brothers. Die well!", and die well they did. For the following centuries the rampaging Great Companies of the Space Wolves caved a bloody swathe though their foes, with the Fall of the Imperium seeming to only motivate them to push themselves well beyond their limits. However even the greatest heroes fall and this was no different for the Great Companies of the Space Wolves. Fenris itself was defended by the final Great Company under the command of Ethelred the Breaker who forged one of the mightiest Astartes Protectorates around it. However the proximity of Fenris to the Eye of Terror and the Black Imperium of Abbadon the Despoiler resulted in its ruin. First Magnus the Re, Daemon Primarch of the Thousand Sons led his legion and those whose aide he could bargain for into the Fenrisian Protectorate, a force that even the Space Wolves, by now number several thousand could not hope to match. Despite this the combination of the ferocity that the wolves of Russ fought with the preserve their world and the timely betrayal of Mangus by the Fallen Wolf Tosdak proved to be enough to banish the Cycopse and his legion back to the Warp, though at heinous cost. It was then that word arrived that Abbadon himself was leading a Black Crusade into the heart of the Fenrisian Protectorate. The handful of surviving Space Wolves met them at the frtress world of Garm, fighting with all they had to slow down the Black Crusade and buy time for Fenris until finally the last of them, the legendary Dreadnought Bjorn Fell Handed fell in combat after fighting his way though first the legions of the Despoiler, then the Bringers of Despair, Abbadon's personal guard of three hundred Terminators and finally nearly slaying Abbadon himself. After Abbadon telaported to the safety of the Planet Killer he ordered it to fire on Garm, clearing the path to Fenris and ending the tale of the oldest and most mighty of the Emperor's Space Marines. However it was to late, as the desperate defences of Garm was being fought the Rune Priest of the Space Wolves were coming with the world spirit of Fenris, and though it with the Primal Warp. With its aid they were able to throw a Warp Storm around the system, which has so far stymied any attempts to bypass it.
The Imperial Fists fell shortly after the fall of the Imperium, when the Iron Warriors led by their dread Primarch hunted down the surviving Imperial Fists, wiping them out and taking the Phalanx for his own.
The Blood Angels remain on Baal where they lead one of the most embattled of the Astates Protectorates, caught between the forces of the Red Corsairs, now the second largest Chaos Imperium in the galaxy and several major Ork domains. Alone among the Sons of Sanguinius the Blood Angels have managed to keep the three Curses of the Blood Angel in balance, not stepping don the Path of Rage, Path of Blood or the Path of Doom, though many individuals within the chapter have trodden on of of the three cursed paths.
The Iron Hands fell within the last century, when Abbadon the Despoiler led a Black Crusade to crush the Astrtes Protectorate that had formed around their homeworld of Medusa. Despite the heroics of the Iron hands and their legions of well equipped soldiers before the forces of a fully fledged Black Crusade all of their efforts proved futile.
Little has changed with the Ultramarines and the Imperium Secundus since Ridcully last viewed them almost a century before, though they have recently declared a crease fire with the Tau in order to wipe out all of the Orks in their region, a mission that between the two forces seems to have been surprisingly successful.
The Salamanders fared far better then any other chapter in the wake of the Fall of the Imperium due to the return of their Primarch. Under the leadership of Vulkan they have been protecting certain key worlds in a large area while working on improving their fortifications and technology. These worlds stretch over a massive area, range from Nocturne all the way to Ryza. In part due to the efficacy of the Salamanders and the fact that Vulkan often has them wear the colours of their successors so far no one seems to have realised just how far their plans extend. Ridcully sees evidence of some other force meddling here, though he can not say what it is. Yet.
Finally are the Sons of Corax, the Raven Guard, whose fate is the most shroud of any of the Chapters. Ridcully tells you that where the chaos and disorganisation of the Fall of the Imperium shattered many chapters and forced them to retreat to the areas around their homeworlds it seems to have had the opposite effect on the Raven Guard. The Raven Guards preference for stealth and precision attacks proved to be invaluable in the yeas after the death of the Emperor, when Imperial forces were often outnumbered and poorly supplied. Their are countless tales of an invasion force being crippled by a carefully timed assassination or raids on their supply depots allowing a Imperial Remnant to live one more year as black clad Astartes fade into the shadows. Interestingly these events have continued to occur without a pause since the Fall of the Imperium, spread out all over the galaxy despite the loss of the Astronomicon. Several forces plagued by these assaults have attempted to chase the Raven Guard down to Deliverance, only to find that they could not locate it. Somehow. Ridcully can't see it either though he knows that it is still there.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent a year divining the Krork, the reason behind the Green Awakening. His first discovery is that over the last thousand years the Krork have been slowly carving out a massive empire in the North-Western area of Ultima Segmentum. This region covers almost three hundred sectors, over a percent of the galaxies largest Segmentum and has the Krork in control of over nine tenths of the inhabitable worlds. The worlds that the Krork hold are heavily fortified and devoted entirely to war, whether it is growing and training new Krork or supplying and equipping the Krork Warhosts. Those worlds not controlled by the Krork are controlled by either humans or xenos living in Krork Protectorates, where the Krork allow other races to keep their worlds in exchange for some form of support and never interfering with the Krork in any way.
The Krork themselves are divided into three castes, the Workers (or Grots) who are the main industrial class, the nameless who make up the vast majority of the militaries numbers and the Krork themselves. The nameless are recently grown Krork who have had a level of tactics and discipline beaten into their skulls but are in many ways similar to the Orks you are familiar with. This is a terrifying prospect by itself as the nameless are equipped with heavy, high quality carapace armour and powerful weapons, which they have the discipline to use properly when a Krorkish officer is nearby. As a nameless gets more experienced, and larger it will often show a level of intelligence or interest enough to attract the attention of the Krorkish officers, at which point it will be given a named moved into one of the houseless formations. These houseless are generally around the size of what you would consider to be the larger Scarboyz and the smaller Nobs. The houseless formations are units with a far higher proportion of Krork then normal, mostly around one in twelve, from which the older more intelligent recently named houseless are selected as sons by the Krork. When a houseless is selected as a son he is adopted into the house of his father, who will then spend the next decade training him in the way of the Krork using a mixture of psychic techniques and advanced technological educational tools.
This brings Ridcully to the Krork themselves, the true heart of the civilisation despite only making up a twelfth of the population. The Krork are all highly educated about war, and in many cases other fields of life. In battle each Krork, who is at least the size of an Ork Nob, wears highly sophisticated power armour and wields weapons of terrifying power and variety. However each Krork has their own speciality, including the genetic paths of the Engineer, the Doctor, the Overseer and the Warlock as well as several other paths.
Under the leadership of Grand Marshal Garzorane, a hero of the War in the Heavens, the Krork lead their people into war, and to them everything is war, for a single mandate, to protect the races of the galaxy. They are willing to fight any foe and commit any atrocity needed to fill this duty. In this they work with their allies, the Eldar who freed them from Solemnace, where they had been part of Trazyn the Infinite's collection. They have also recruited a large number of Jokaero, who are responsible for their most advanced weapons as they always have been.
They are both one of the larger unified forces in the galaxy, with tens of thousands of worlds and a population of something like a quadrillion, and one of the advanced, using brutally powerful psychic powers in conjuration with technology that only the Necrons and Eldar can hope to match. Currently they are slowly and steadily expanding, preparing themselves for the many Waaagh that will be directed at them even as Krork Warhosts ravage Orkish domains all over the galaxy under the guidance of the Eldar.
The Krork themselves are divided into three castes, the Workers (or Grots) who are the main industrial class, the nameless who make up the vast majority of the militaries numbers and the Krork themselves. The nameless are recently grown Krork who have had a level of tactics and discipline beaten into their skulls but are in many ways similar to the Orks you are familiar with. This is a terrifying prospect by itself as the nameless are equipped with heavy, high quality carapace armour and powerful weapons, which they have the discipline to use properly when a Krorkish officer is nearby. As a nameless gets more experienced, and larger it will often show a level of intelligence or interest enough to attract the attention of the Krorkish officers, at which point it will be given a named moved into one of the houseless formations. These houseless are generally around the size of what you would consider to be the larger Scarboyz and the smaller Nobs. The houseless formations are units with a far higher proportion of Krork then normal, mostly around one in twelve, from which the older more intelligent recently named houseless are selected as sons by the Krork. When a houseless is selected as a son he is adopted into the house of his father, who will then spend the next decade training him in the way of the Krork using a mixture of psychic techniques and advanced technological educational tools.
This brings Ridcully to the Krork themselves, the true heart of the civilisation despite only making up a twelfth of the population. The Krork are all highly educated about war, and in many cases other fields of life. In battle each Krork, who is at least the size of an Ork Nob, wears highly sophisticated power armour and wields weapons of terrifying power and variety. However each Krork has their own speciality, including the genetic paths of the Engineer, the Doctor, the Overseer and the Warlock as well as several other paths.
Under the leadership of Grand Marshal Garzorane, a hero of the War in the Heavens, the Krork lead their people into war, and to them everything is war, for a single mandate, to protect the races of the galaxy. They are willing to fight any foe and commit any atrocity needed to fill this duty. In this they work with their allies, the Eldar who freed them from Solemnace, where they had been part of Trazyn the Infinite's collection. They have also recruited a large number of Jokaero, who are responsible for their most advanced weapons as they always have been.
They are both one of the larger unified forces in the galaxy, with tens of thousands of worlds and a population of something like a quadrillion, and one of the advanced, using brutally powerful psychic powers in conjuration with technology that only the Necrons and Eldar can hope to match. Currently they are slowly and steadily expanding, preparing themselves for the many Waaagh that will be directed at them even as Krork Warhosts ravage Orkish domains all over the galaxy under the guidance of the Eldar.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently seen much of the Black Imperium of Abbadon the Despoiler, the largest and most powerful force currently in the galaxy. He tells you that the core of the Black Imperium is a swath covering the entirety of Segmentum Obscurus, half of Segmentum Solar, and a portion of Ultima Segmentum. In total over two hundred thousand worlds make up this region. There are also a large number of chaos polities all over the galaxy that owe allegiance to the Black Imperium, though these vassals rarely provide material support to Abbadon.
Abbadon leaves the majority of his Imperium to their own devices to a large extent, though he has installed a Sector Lord in each sector. The Sector Lord is provided a tithe of men and material by the rest of the sector and has the authority to call on all military forces within the sector to deal with a threat. Above the Sector Lord are the Region Lords, who control dozens to hundreds of sectors and are appointed directly by Abbadon himself. Region Lords have large forces of the Black Legion under their command which they can augment with levies from their various sectors. It is the Region Lords who set the tithes within Sectors and who are tasked with defending the worlds within their domain. From external enemies anyway. Above the Regional Lords are Abbadons Lieutenants, each of whom has their own duties and powers within the Black Imperium.
The primary military forces of the Black Imperium is the Black Legion, which combines countless veteran Astartes with numberless hordes of mortal soldiers and vast fleets. The Black Legion generally stays out of the internal power struggles of the Black Imperium, and seeks glory in combat with the many foes of Abbadon. Almost all of the regional Governor's come from the ranks of the Black Legion, so there is much to be gained for those who can earn Abbadons favour. When the Black Legion goes to war it is often supported by local levies raised from nearby sectors and by assorted Chaos warbands seeking glory. When a threat to great for even this force to defeat arises Abbadon calls a Black Crusade, calling levies from all over the Black Imperium and from its varies vessels. While the larger Black Crusades are commanded by Abbadon himself it is not unknown for a Black Crusade to be commanded by one of his Lieutenants.
Abbadon leaves the majority of his Imperium to their own devices to a large extent, though he has installed a Sector Lord in each sector. The Sector Lord is provided a tithe of men and material by the rest of the sector and has the authority to call on all military forces within the sector to deal with a threat. Above the Sector Lord are the Region Lords, who control dozens to hundreds of sectors and are appointed directly by Abbadon himself. Region Lords have large forces of the Black Legion under their command which they can augment with levies from their various sectors. It is the Region Lords who set the tithes within Sectors and who are tasked with defending the worlds within their domain. From external enemies anyway. Above the Regional Lords are Abbadons Lieutenants, each of whom has their own duties and powers within the Black Imperium.
The primary military forces of the Black Imperium is the Black Legion, which combines countless veteran Astartes with numberless hordes of mortal soldiers and vast fleets. The Black Legion generally stays out of the internal power struggles of the Black Imperium, and seeks glory in combat with the many foes of Abbadon. Almost all of the regional Governor's come from the ranks of the Black Legion, so there is much to be gained for those who can earn Abbadons favour. When the Black Legion goes to war it is often supported by local levies raised from nearby sectors and by assorted Chaos warbands seeking glory. When a threat to great for even this force to defeat arises Abbadon calls a Black Crusade, calling levies from all over the Black Imperium and from its varies vessels. While the larger Black Crusades are commanded by Abbadon himself it is not unknown for a Black Crusade to be commanded by one of his Lieutenants.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently spent some time focusing his sight on Vulkan, the Primach of the Salamanders. He begins by telling you that Vulkan was thrown almost directly from the fight with the Beast on Ullanor in M.32 to Nocturne as the Emperor died, in what some claim as one of the Emperor's final acts. On this Vulkan remains silent. Since then Vulkan has been leading the Salamanders and many of their successors in efforts to covertly safeguard and fortify a large region of space even as they build a reputation in it. According to Ridcully in the near future Vulkan will start moving openly, and will forge one of the greatest Imperial Successors in the Galaxy, with only the Forge-Empire of Callamus and the Imperium Secondus matching it it, though with time it may grow beyond even their power. In this he will be supported by no less then three of his brothers, as the Raven, the Wolf and the Warhawk will move to join him.
There are many reasons that the Quartus Imperium will grow so powerful, may of which can be laid at the feet of Vulkan and his brothers. The combination of their incredibly leadership skills in both war and peace, knowledge of ancient technologies and sheer reputation is one of his greatest assets. Also there is the fact that the region that he is laying claim to contained many of the Imperium's richest and most powerful worlds. However the most importance advantage of the Quartus Imperium is the preparation that Vulkan and Corax have put into its creation, which will allow it to come into existence with fortified worlds, mighty armies and disorganised foes.
There have been several forces supporting the creation of the Quartus Imperium from the beginning, the most open of which is the Raven Guard under Corax, who made contact with Vulkan soon after the death of the Emperor and have been working with him and the Salamanders ever since. There have also been some far more subtle supporters, ancient allies that Corax and Vulkan made in the millennium where they moved separate from the Imperium.
Ridcully tells you that the mere existence of these allies was hidden behind layer after layer of misdirection and concealment, and that he only found their existence by the combination of his near unique talents and sheer chance. While he found out no more then their existence, the sheer efficiency of the concealment tells Ridcully that the number of allies is few, and that they number among them one or more of the greatest seers in the galaxy. There are three known seers capable of concealment of this level, Magnus the Red, Ahriman the Prodigal Son, Eldrad Ulthran of the Ynnari. Two Gods may also be capable of this feat, the Laughing God and the Architect of Fate, though Ridcully has seen the workings of the Architect of Fate in the past and does not believe that it is his hand at work. There are also other forces that may be capable of these feats, such as the arcane technologies of the Necrons and there is always the chance that there are unknown actors able to act on this level.
There are many reasons that the Quartus Imperium will grow so powerful, may of which can be laid at the feet of Vulkan and his brothers. The combination of their incredibly leadership skills in both war and peace, knowledge of ancient technologies and sheer reputation is one of his greatest assets. Also there is the fact that the region that he is laying claim to contained many of the Imperium's richest and most powerful worlds. However the most importance advantage of the Quartus Imperium is the preparation that Vulkan and Corax have put into its creation, which will allow it to come into existence with fortified worlds, mighty armies and disorganised foes.
There have been several forces supporting the creation of the Quartus Imperium from the beginning, the most open of which is the Raven Guard under Corax, who made contact with Vulkan soon after the death of the Emperor and have been working with him and the Salamanders ever since. There have also been some far more subtle supporters, ancient allies that Corax and Vulkan made in the millennium where they moved separate from the Imperium.
Ridcully tells you that the mere existence of these allies was hidden behind layer after layer of misdirection and concealment, and that he only found their existence by the combination of his near unique talents and sheer chance. While he found out no more then their existence, the sheer efficiency of the concealment tells Ridcully that the number of allies is few, and that they number among them one or more of the greatest seers in the galaxy. There are three known seers capable of concealment of this level, Magnus the Red, Ahriman the Prodigal Son, Eldrad Ulthran of the Ynnari. Two Gods may also be capable of this feat, the Laughing God and the Architect of Fate, though Ridcully has seen the workings of the Architect of Fate in the past and does not believe that it is his hand at work. There are also other forces that may be capable of these feats, such as the arcane technologies of the Necrons and there is always the chance that there are unknown actors able to act on this level.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has spent some time recently looking into what the Destroyer that he foresaw attacking the Tau Empire and the Imperium Secondus is. He tells you that while much of its actions are veiled from even his sight he can confirm that the Destroyer is either a complete C'Tan or one approaching completion and that it will command countless legions of Necrons. In particular those that are infected by the Destroyer Virus, which it introduced into their makeup during the creation of the Necrons. Thanks to sabotage from the Ynnari the Destroyers forces will move slowly but will be such a threat that the Tau Empire and the Imperium Secondus will form a close military alliance to contain it, an alliance that will last until… And he can see no further then that.
High Grandmaster Ridcully recently gave you a report on the Forge-Empire of Callamus, the most powerful human remnant of Segmentum Tempestus. Callamus is a Forge World located to the south of Bakka, in the furthest reaches of the Segmentum. It was founded in M40, and since then has had a meteoric rise until it is spoken of in the same breath as Ryza. Unlike many Forge Worlds Callamus has always been highly active, with its powerful armies and fleets participating in battles across the galaxy, an act which earned them many allies both within the Mechanicus and without as well as one of the most powerful armies in the Adeptus Mechanicus. This led to it being the natural leader of its region after the fall of the Imperium, a region which also had several other Forge Worlds of lesser renown. The areas under the protection, and later control, of Callamus were quickly industrialised by the Tech-Priests, with every world turning into either a Resource World, an Industrial World or a Forge World. This allowed the Forge-Empire of Callamus to develop a powerful military which was used to expand the Forge-Empire. The Adeptus Mechanicus of Callamus is well on the radical end, treating its menials far better then most and encouraging innovation, though not without taking great care.
As things stand the Forge-Empire controls eighty sectors, each of which is split between one of more Forge Worlds. These Forge Worlds owe allegiance to Callamus and pay tithes to it but are in many ways independent. The armies of Callamus resemble the traditional force of the Adeptus Mechanicus write large, though they do wield several new forms of technology developed by the Forge-Empire over the years. As well as the all pervasive Orks the Forge-Empire of Callamus must deal with the Ophelian Theocracy to its north, the largest and most powerful of the Golden Imperiums of the Abomination, the expansionist Maynarkh Dynasty of Necrons to the South and countless attacks by the Dark Mechanicus. So far they have been able to hold their own, and even occasionally gain ground but the Green Awakening has raised the pressure on the Forge-Empire of Callamus to a new level.
As things stand the Forge-Empire controls eighty sectors, each of which is split between one of more Forge Worlds. These Forge Worlds owe allegiance to Callamus and pay tithes to it but are in many ways independent. The armies of Callamus resemble the traditional force of the Adeptus Mechanicus write large, though they do wield several new forms of technology developed by the Forge-Empire over the years. As well as the all pervasive Orks the Forge-Empire of Callamus must deal with the Ophelian Theocracy to its north, the largest and most powerful of the Golden Imperiums of the Abomination, the expansionist Maynarkh Dynasty of Necrons to the South and countless attacks by the Dark Mechanicus. So far they have been able to hold their own, and even occasionally gain ground but the Green Awakening has raised the pressure on the Forge-Empire of Callamus to a new level.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently given you a report on the Dark Eldar Enclaves, which formed after the birth of Ynnead who drove the Dark Eldar out of the Webway. He tells you that of the near one thousand enclaves that initially formed less then a hundred still exist, either because of enclaves being wiped out or due to multiple enclaves in a region combining.
To a large part the reason that so many enclaves were destroyed in the early years was due to the fact that many Dark Eldar continued with their usual raiding despite the loss of the mobility provided by the Webway and the safe have of Commorragh. This led to many of them being eventually tracked down and scattered by their victims and rivals.
Those Enclaves that survived did so for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are a greater level of caution then normal, superior military might or even forming alliances with other factions such as the forces of chaos.
Over the hundred remaining Dark Eldar Enclaves almost half of them have fallen to chaos, most often to the Dark Prince, and are starting to become just another Chaotic faction. However many of these groups have come under precision attacks from the Empire of Ashes, which while not able to destroy or even cripple them have significantly impacted their ability to produce the more advanced Eldar technologies, keeping it out of the hands of Chaos for a bit longer.
As expected the most powerful of the Dark Eldar Enclaves is the one founded by Vect, which lies in the galactic core on the westernmost edge of Ultia Segmentum. This area is based around an ancient fortress of the Eldar Empire that Vect appropriated as a bolthole thousands of years ago, and has the majority of the surviving Dark Eldar in it. As soon as Ynnead was born Vect saw the writing on the wall, and began moving his forces, industrial capacity and treasures to his bolthole while ensuring that his rivals would be positioned on the outer defences where they would not have a chance to escape from the Eldar Goddess. This act of spite backfired on him when Lady Mayls fulfilled her bargain with the Laughing God and opened the way for the attackers, reducing the amount of time that Vect had to flee by hours. Despite this setback Vect's new enclave was a powerful force from the start, with enough military might to match entire Craftworlds and a near unassailable fortress as its heart.
In the centuries since the Fall of Commorragh Vect has ruthlessly kept his people from falling to the lures of Chaos, refusing to allow them to serve any master other then himself. However in recent years the approaching threat of Abbadon's Black Imperium, the rising power of the Orks and the ever growing danger of the Empire of Ashes has led to him making the decision to throw in with Chaos. As things stand he is currently in negotiations with the Dark Prince, attempting to sell the souls and technologies of his people for the highest price he can, a price that will be upheld by an ancient artefact that he holds.
Ridcully is unsure how much longer negotiations will last but when they are concluded the forces of the Dark Prince will gain a major boon, with the dark technologies and skilled warriors of the Dark Eldar boosting their strength even as their God gains power from the worship of an entire nation of Eldar.
To a large part the reason that so many enclaves were destroyed in the early years was due to the fact that many Dark Eldar continued with their usual raiding despite the loss of the mobility provided by the Webway and the safe have of Commorragh. This led to many of them being eventually tracked down and scattered by their victims and rivals.
Those Enclaves that survived did so for a variety of reasons, the most common of which are a greater level of caution then normal, superior military might or even forming alliances with other factions such as the forces of chaos.
Over the hundred remaining Dark Eldar Enclaves almost half of them have fallen to chaos, most often to the Dark Prince, and are starting to become just another Chaotic faction. However many of these groups have come under precision attacks from the Empire of Ashes, which while not able to destroy or even cripple them have significantly impacted their ability to produce the more advanced Eldar technologies, keeping it out of the hands of Chaos for a bit longer.
As expected the most powerful of the Dark Eldar Enclaves is the one founded by Vect, which lies in the galactic core on the westernmost edge of Ultia Segmentum. This area is based around an ancient fortress of the Eldar Empire that Vect appropriated as a bolthole thousands of years ago, and has the majority of the surviving Dark Eldar in it. As soon as Ynnead was born Vect saw the writing on the wall, and began moving his forces, industrial capacity and treasures to his bolthole while ensuring that his rivals would be positioned on the outer defences where they would not have a chance to escape from the Eldar Goddess. This act of spite backfired on him when Lady Mayls fulfilled her bargain with the Laughing God and opened the way for the attackers, reducing the amount of time that Vect had to flee by hours. Despite this setback Vect's new enclave was a powerful force from the start, with enough military might to match entire Craftworlds and a near unassailable fortress as its heart.
In the centuries since the Fall of Commorragh Vect has ruthlessly kept his people from falling to the lures of Chaos, refusing to allow them to serve any master other then himself. However in recent years the approaching threat of Abbadon's Black Imperium, the rising power of the Orks and the ever growing danger of the Empire of Ashes has led to him making the decision to throw in with Chaos. As things stand he is currently in negotiations with the Dark Prince, attempting to sell the souls and technologies of his people for the highest price he can, a price that will be upheld by an ancient artefact that he holds.
Ridcully is unsure how much longer negotiations will last but when they are concluded the forces of the Dark Prince will gain a major boon, with the dark technologies and skilled warriors of the Dark Eldar boosting their strength even as their God gains power from the worship of an entire nation of Eldar.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has spent some time over the recent years divining what Large Ork Waaaghs are currently active in the galaxy. He fund that there were around a hundred level three Waaaghs currently active, most of which are engaged by of of the galactic powers. There are also two tier 4 Waaaghs, Conflagrations that are currently active, a number that is liekly to increase within the next few decades.
The first and largest is almost a thousand sectors based in the galactic core between the Black Imperium and the Krok, and is currently pushing in both directions. Where its assault on the Krok has failed to make much progress the Black Imperium has not fared as well, though a Black Crusade led by Abbadon himself is currently being mustered to change this. Ridcully foresees this front turning into a bloody war though could go either way, to be honest you hope that Abbadon wins.
The second is only a hundred sectors strong and comes from the Ghoul Stars to the North-West of the Krok, and is mounting a major assault on the Krok. So far the Krok are holding their ground and even driving the Okrs back but if another major front opens against them this could change.
The first and largest is almost a thousand sectors based in the galactic core between the Black Imperium and the Krok, and is currently pushing in both directions. Where its assault on the Krok has failed to make much progress the Black Imperium has not fared as well, though a Black Crusade led by Abbadon himself is currently being mustered to change this. Ridcully foresees this front turning into a bloody war though could go either way, to be honest you hope that Abbadon wins.
The second is only a hundred sectors strong and comes from the Ghoul Stars to the North-West of the Krok, and is mounting a major assault on the Krok. So far the Krok are holding their ground and even driving the Okrs back but if another major front opens against them this could change.
Over the last few years High Grandmaster Ridcully has been focusing his sight on Ultramar in order to gather more information about it in advance of the proposed meeting. The Imperium Secondus remains a highly confederate system, with each of the hundred Chapters having a high level of independence, though they still owe fealty to the Ultramarines. The Imperium Secondus has also grown notably since it was last examined, now spreading over a hundred and fifty sectors.
The Imperium Secondus as a whole is almost defined by its relationship to the Tau Empire, the only other major power in its region and one that it has been at war with for almost its entire existance. It is this relationship which has forced the Imperium Secondus to end many of the precepts of the Codex Astartes, as the Tau started to develop counters for the Ultramarines tactics, and it is this relationship which has forced its Tech-Priests to start ignoring one of the Warnings and begin reverse engineering Tau technology in order to prevent the Tau technological superiority from dooming the Imperium Secondus.
The war between the Imperium Secondus and the Tau Empire, now known s the Chivalrous War, has changed greatly over the centuries for which it has been fought. While at first it was a traditional war of extermination, with no mercy being given or expected as time went by and other threats made their presence known agreements were made to limit the vulnerability that the war put both polities in. These agreements, known as the Cyhtheria Conventions for the world on which the first was signed have dominated the war ever since. While in many ways the fact that the war has remained a stalemate since their singing is a result of these Conventions, the war was a far more bloodying stalemate when they were signed and had almost resulted in the forces of chaos and Orks gaining far to much power as the Tau Empire and the Imperium Secondus focused on each other.
The first Convention is known as the Convention of Honour, under which parley will be accepted, agreements made honoured including parole, in which paroled forces will not fight in the war for a century, and the Conventions as a whole will not be exploited for one sides gain. This Convention exists to ensure that he remaining Conventions are honoured and work as intended.
The second Convention is the Convention of Limitations, in which it is agreed that no more then a tenth of each empires forces will be engaged in combat or deployed near the front lines at any time, and no more then a quarter in any ten year period. Paroled forces do not count towards total forces in this Convention. This Convention ensures that neither empire ever focuses too much on the war, ensuring that they can still deal with external threats.
The third Convention is the Convention of Enemies, in which it is agreed that ceasefires can be called, either locally on a larger scale, when a major force of mutual enemies is encountered. This is to allow for the mutual foes to be wiped out by the empire that encountered them without having to worry about devoting forces to guard against the other empire. There are even clauses in this agreement allowing for the two empires to work together if the threat justifies it.
The final Convention is the Convention of Restraint, in which it is agreed that both empires will attempt to avoid inflicting major damage to the industrial base of the other, and will not destroy industrial capacity rather then let it be captured. This Convention also encourages both empires to accept surrenders and offer parole, avoiding bloody last stands. This Convention exists to prevent the war from reducing the combined military capacity of the two empires, and rendering them more vulnerable to external threats.
Currently a ceasefire has been declared between the two empires as a result of the Green Awakening, and both empires are working together to wipe out as many of the Orks n their part of the galaxy as possible. This effort is made much easier by the fact that the Orks never grew in numbers in their region of the galaxy like they did in most places after the Fall of the Imperium, in large part due to the Cyhtheria Conventions.
The Imperium Secondus as a whole is almost defined by its relationship to the Tau Empire, the only other major power in its region and one that it has been at war with for almost its entire existance. It is this relationship which has forced the Imperium Secondus to end many of the precepts of the Codex Astartes, as the Tau started to develop counters for the Ultramarines tactics, and it is this relationship which has forced its Tech-Priests to start ignoring one of the Warnings and begin reverse engineering Tau technology in order to prevent the Tau technological superiority from dooming the Imperium Secondus.
The war between the Imperium Secondus and the Tau Empire, now known s the Chivalrous War, has changed greatly over the centuries for which it has been fought. While at first it was a traditional war of extermination, with no mercy being given or expected as time went by and other threats made their presence known agreements were made to limit the vulnerability that the war put both polities in. These agreements, known as the Cyhtheria Conventions for the world on which the first was signed have dominated the war ever since. While in many ways the fact that the war has remained a stalemate since their singing is a result of these Conventions, the war was a far more bloodying stalemate when they were signed and had almost resulted in the forces of chaos and Orks gaining far to much power as the Tau Empire and the Imperium Secondus focused on each other.
The first Convention is known as the Convention of Honour, under which parley will be accepted, agreements made honoured including parole, in which paroled forces will not fight in the war for a century, and the Conventions as a whole will not be exploited for one sides gain. This Convention exists to ensure that he remaining Conventions are honoured and work as intended.
The second Convention is the Convention of Limitations, in which it is agreed that no more then a tenth of each empires forces will be engaged in combat or deployed near the front lines at any time, and no more then a quarter in any ten year period. Paroled forces do not count towards total forces in this Convention. This Convention ensures that neither empire ever focuses too much on the war, ensuring that they can still deal with external threats.
The third Convention is the Convention of Enemies, in which it is agreed that ceasefires can be called, either locally on a larger scale, when a major force of mutual enemies is encountered. This is to allow for the mutual foes to be wiped out by the empire that encountered them without having to worry about devoting forces to guard against the other empire. There are even clauses in this agreement allowing for the two empires to work together if the threat justifies it.
The final Convention is the Convention of Restraint, in which it is agreed that both empires will attempt to avoid inflicting major damage to the industrial base of the other, and will not destroy industrial capacity rather then let it be captured. This Convention also encourages both empires to accept surrenders and offer parole, avoiding bloody last stands. This Convention exists to prevent the war from reducing the combined military capacity of the two empires, and rendering them more vulnerable to external threats.
Currently a ceasefire has been declared between the two empires as a result of the Green Awakening, and both empires are working together to wipe out as many of the Orks n their part of the galaxy as possible. This effort is made much easier by the fact that the Orks never grew in numbers in their region of the galaxy like they did in most places after the Fall of the Imperium, in large part due to the Cyhtheria Conventions.
High Grandmaster Ricully has recently been looking into the progress of the War in the Void as the first of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. He tells you that the War in the Void is entering into its most decisive segment, with the Tyranids deploying almost all of their remaining forces in three great breakthrough attempts even as hundreds of splinter fleets attempt to bypass the Necron blockade. If the Necrons manage to hold for just a century longer without letting anything though their victory will be assured and they will be able to begin turning their attention back to the galaxy, however this is also the time in which the Necrons are most likely to let an Tyranid splinter fleet past the blockade into the galaxy. Given that each of the splinter fleets is every bit as large as the mightiest of the Hive Fleets that assailed the Imperium that would be a major problem. Ridcully was able to locate half a dozen splinter fleets that seemed to be the most likely to reach the galaxy and where they would hit, and got the impression that the Eldar will keep their eyes out for them and try and destroy them before they can start growing in power. Though like every galactic power since the Fall of the Eldar Empire both the Krork and the Empire of Ashes have to deal with the fact that there are far more disasters that need intervention underway then they have forces able to intervene, so any such intervention will have to be balancd with what else thse forces could be doing.
High Grandmaster Ricully has recently been looking for what has happened to the missing Avatars of Khaine as the second of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. He found that while the missing Avatars of Khaine are hidden from even his sight he was able to catch a glimpse of who has been taking them: Arhra the Fallen Phoenix and his Incubi.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently been looking at what Ahriman is doing as the third of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. Despite the countless wards and illusions that Ahriman hides himself with, some of which can stop the sight of the gods themselves Ridcully was able to gather some information. It seems that Ahriman is currently hunting down information on the Paths of Ascension, and creating a cult that worships him as a God of Sorcery. Worrying information to be sure given that he may be after Saint Lin's discoveries.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently been looking at Mars as the fourth of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. He tells you that while the rest of the solar system is under the utter control of the Abomination, with Sol having become the first known Daemon Star, Mars is different. Mar is protected from the Warp by countless obsidian pylons, similar to those once found on Cadia. While the pylons shroud Mars and a large area around it from even Ridcully's sight he can see the countless legions of machines that are constantly pushing back the forces of the Abomination in the space between Mars and Earth, and the fact that the null zone is growing. Ridcully tells you that one day Earth, and the rest of sol, will fall to the machines, and the galaxy will tremble before the wrath of the Void Dragon.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently been looking for the Deceiver as the fifth and sixth of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. After a few years of effort he was able to gather a bit of information, much to his own surprise. First he found that over the last few thousand years the Deceiver has gathered all of his shards from the Necrons, making him one of the few currently whole C'Tan. The only other information that Ridcully managed to get about the Deceiver is that he is currently running a long con on one of the galaxies powers. Not exactly surprising.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently been looking into whether there are any other free C'Tan as the seventh of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. He is relatively convinced that there are no other C'Tan in the galaxy that are anything more together then a single shard and outside the control of the Necrons. Long may it stay that way.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has recently been looking for unknown galactic threats as the eight of the twelve divination actions that he will undertake for the Eldar. He is relatively convinced that there are no other threats to the galaxy that he does not know about in at least broad strokes, at least in the near future.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent some time trying to determine if Rogal Dorn would return, as one of the last loyalists Primarches whose death was not fully confirmed and whose location is unknown. Unfortunately he found that Rogal Dorn perished fighting the First Black Crusade as history claims.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent some time trying to determine what happened to Lion El'Jonson, the Primarch of the Dark Angels. He tells you that Lion El'Jonson spent much of the Imperial era in a coma deep within the Rock, but that shortly before the Death of the Emperor, someone woke him, and hid him from even Ridcully's sight. While Ridcully is unable to see who woke El'Jonson or where they went he was able to see that Lion El'Jonson both knew and respected the one who woke him. From what you know of Lion El'Jonson the list of people he has ever respected is short, greatly limiting the number of beings who may have woken him.
High Grandmaster Ridcully has attempted to determine the exact nature of the ritual that Arhra the Fallen Phoenix is attempting to conduct using the shards of Khaine. He tells you that from what he can tell the ritual is an attempt to combine the shards in order to allow Khaine to be reborn with a material body. From what Ridcully can see the forces of Khorne are trying to steal the shards for their own ritual.
High Grandmaster Ridcully turned his sight in onto finding out what happened to the Assassin Temples of the Imperium at the request of the Eldar. He found that like many Imperial groups they were warned about the Death of the Emperor, and retreated to the Fortress of the Soulless in preparation. Since then they have been working with their allies, who Ridcully can not see, to help bring order to the galaxy. While normally Ridcully would be highly worried about not being able to see who their allies are he tells you that rather then being hidden by some outside force they seem to be hidden by their location in the Fortress of the Soulless, a place so cut off from the Warp that even his eyes can not see into it. It seems that while Ridcully is incredible at seeing past wards and overwhelming power he is little better at dealing with Blanks then any other Seer.
While High Grandmaster Ridcully was requested to look into where a Conflagration building up in the Core is most likely to go he was diverted by a deal being made not that far away. There Asdrubael Vect made a deal with the Dark Prince, one that both were bound to follow to both the letter and the spirit by the oathstone on which they swore. This oath echoed though the Immaterium to those who have the ears to hear it. Ridcully is one of the handful of mortals with the skill to determine what was said, as Asdrubael Vect swore the souls, possessions and knowledge of himself and all that serve him to the Dark Prince, and the Dark Prince swore never to withdraw his favour from Vect and to give Vect command over every Eldar sworn to the Dark Prince. Ridcully tells you that there were several other oaths sworn that day, but non reverberated to the same level as that oath, which will change the galaxy, for the worse.
High Grandmaster Ridcully was once again requested to look into where a Conflagration building up in the Core is most likely to go. He found that the Conflagration is likely to head directly towards the area of the galactic core held by Vect and his now Chaos Eldar. This will result in a brutal fight but one that Vect is most likely to be the victor in.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent some time locating the other Tyranid breakthrough fleets for the Eldar. He found twenty-five fleets in total, two in Ultima, six in Obscurus, nine in Pacificus, seven in Tempestus and the remaining one in Solar. From what he can tell around half of the fleets are headed into the territory of a power large enough to wipe them out, but the remaining dozen are potential problems, inducing no less then four in Pacificus.
High Grandmaster Ridcully was taken to one of the few remaining Shrines of Khaine to still posses an Avatar in as part of an attempt to divine the location that Arhra had taken those that he stole. While Ridcully was not able to give an exact location, he was able to determine that the Avatars were being held in one of Khaine's most sacred locations. Given the Khaine's poor relationships with the Eldar there were only ever a handful of places that could fit this category, most of which now lie within the Eye of Terror. As Ridcully was carrying out this divination he also found how few Avatars still remain in Eldar hands, with little over a dozen having avoided being stolen.
High Grandmaster Ridcully recently made an attempt to narrow down the location that Arhra the Fallen Phoenix is hiding the missing Avatars of Khaine. Despite the heavy wards, and the very nature of his hiding place Ridcully was successful in this task. He found Arhra in Margtageth, the world where Khaine defeated Kaelis Ra, the Nightbringer, which still bears the scars of that confrontation. This world is currently under siege by the forces of the Blood God, under the command of no less then three Exalted Bloodthirsters who are steadily making progress despite the best efforts of its Incubi defenders. Arhra himself is hurriedly conducting a ritual aimed at returning his god to life, though the chances are slim that he will succeed in time. Ridcully is rather terrified by the fact that all but twelve of the nine hundred remaining shards of Khaine are involved in this ritual. On hearing this the remaining Phoenix Lords left to Margtageth, taking with them eleven of the remaining twelve shards, saying only that they may be needed.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent some time looking into the War in the Void for the Eldar. He found that the war is reaching its climax, with the Tyranids, now evolved enough to not need overwhelming numbers to outmatch the Necrons, launching an all out assault on the Necron blockade. While the battles that Ridcully sees are far smaller in scale then they were when he last looked, with casualties having taken their toll on both sides, they are being fought with a level of desperation that Ridcully has never seen before. Both the Necrons and Tyranids know that the fate of the galaxy rests on the next few decades. With every splinter fleet that fights its way though the blockade and every year that the war continues the Tyranids come closer to building up their numbers in the galaxy enough to match the battered Necrons, who dare no use their greatest weapons with the galaxy. On the other hand with every area cleared by the Necrons they are able to redirect more forces to closing the few gaps in their blockade, and to wiping out the handful of Tyranids who reached the galaxy before they can grow to much. Ridcully tells you that the height of the war will be over within fifty years, and that fifty years after that the last of the Tyranids in the local area of the intergalactic void will have been hunted down and exterminated.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent some time looking into the Black Imperium. He found that the Black Imperium is on the verge of defeating the current Orkish Conflagration that is attacking them, thanks in large part to the use of Blackstone Fortresses to destroy several key systems. In the coming few years a dozen Tyranid Hive Fleets will be hitting the Black Imperium, before the forces pulled out of position to deal with the Orks return. This will allow the Tyranids to gather a decent amount of momentum, forcing Abbadon to call a Black Crusade against them. This Black Crusade will eventually wipe out all of the Tyranids in or near the Black Imperium but will tie down a large portion of Abbadons forces for most of the next century.
High Grandmaster Ridcully recently spent a year having a look at how much progress the Void Dragon is making in its attempts to break out of the Eye of Terra. He tells you that Terra is currently on the far side of Sol from Mars, in order to put more distance between it and the Void Dragon. This distance is needed for the Void Dragon's inexorable legions have already pushed back the forces of the Abomination off Venus and are now laying siege to both Mercury and Jupiter. From what he can see Ridcully estimates that you have at least a century before the Void Dragon claims victory, and no more then three centuries.
High Grandmaster Ridcully was able to finally bypass the Void Dragon's Null Zones enough to get a good read on what it plans to do after taking control of Sol. He found that the Void Dragon intendeds to take control over the surrounding area, heavily fortify it and then slowly push outwards until its forces grow large enough that it believes it can take on the rest of the galaxy at once and triumph.
High Grandmaster Ridcully spent a year looking for incoming galactic scale threats from the forces of Chaos. He found evidence that chaos was preparing a Grand Ritual to weaken the Veil between the Immaterium and the Materium, which if successful will boost the powers of all Psykers, though Soercerers will recive the largest benefit due to the greater influence of their patrons, and more worryingly greatly decrease the difficulty that daemons have entering and staying within the Materium. While Ridcully was not able to gather much information about the ritual he did find that the sacrifices included thirty-two gods, five major Warpstorms and innumerable mortals.
High Grandmaster Ridcully focused a great deal of his time an energies gathering more information about the Grand Ritual that Chaos is in the middle of. He first found that the ritual will be conducted in the five Warpstorms that will be sacrificed for the ritual. Those being the Vortex of Despair in Segmentum Solar, The Storm of Magnus in Segmentum Ultima, the Storms of Judgement in Segmentum Tempestus, the Gate of Fire in Segmentum Pacificus and the Siren's Storm in Segmentum Obscurus. Each of these Warp Storms was created by one of the five Great Gods of Chaos, and it is that gods forces that will be conducting a the ritual within it. The ritual itself will consist first of the mass sacrifice of countless trillions over an extended period to strengthen the Warp Storms, then the sacrifice of the captured gods to grant them significance, and then the Warp Storms themselves and a fragment of the Five Great Gods of Chaos (most likely an Exalted Greater Daemon) to bind the Immaterium to the galaxy. The sacrifices of the mortals has already begun, and the sacrifice of the Gods will begin within the next couple of decades, and last for nine years. The final sacrifice will take a single year, after which the ritual will be completed.
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A massive post here, trying to think about some long range planning for 50 years out. This took a lot of effort to gather together so I really hope it will spark some discussion.
Basically we want to be ready in fifty years without leaving things unprepared.
So first thing to consider is the current colonization and expansion.
We are planning to attack the Orks again and seize a bunch of planets. We seized 3 out of 8 in Garkill's domain. Assuming it takes five years for the campaign, and then five years for the pre-colonization work, that means that new colonies in this batch will have about 30 years to prepare. That is probably doable, but we want to make sure we don't overextend.
We will see how much demand there is for new colonies at the end of this turn, but I think three or four more is the max we should seize. I also think we should not expand again prior to whatever this threat is in fifty years.
Then we have the two big ones (which is why I left them for last).
Basically we want to be ready in fifty years without leaving things unprepared.
So first thing to consider is the current colonization and expansion.
We are planning to attack the Orks again and seize a bunch of planets. We seized 3 out of 8 in Garkill's domain. Assuming it takes five years for the campaign, and then five years for the pre-colonization work, that means that new colonies in this batch will have about 30 years to prepare. That is probably doable, but we want to make sure we don't overextend.
We will see how much demand there is for new colonies at the end of this turn, but I think three or four more is the max we should seize. I also think we should not expand again prior to whatever this threat is in fifty years.
Next up is upgrading our city defenses.
I think we have 1 more major city action (6 years), and five Small Hive actions (40 years), plus Dis (12 years) for a total of 58 action years in administration. Considering that we effectively have four slots (since Thaddeus can work on these) I think we are pretty good in terms of space. (Total of 200 action years available in Admin).
Additional things to consider - perhaps we ought to consider the Azure Isle railways after all. Most external threats have ignored the Azure Isles, this new threat might not. That would be an additional 18 years of actions. Plus it might create alternate connections to Elysium.
Duat does not have a small hive, we probably want to establish one there, that will be another 20ish years of administration actions.
Educational Review is a 1 years action with a surprising long term payoff, might be worth using as a spacer in Admin actions to get expedites at the right spot.
What else can we do with the remaining administrative actions? We probably have 100 years left or so.
Well the first option is to focus on continuing to improve our defenses, possibly with re-founding the destroyed cities (Blacktyde, The Bayou). But we'd need to brainstorm some ideas here. How exactly can we improve the defenses? For example, would some kind of sally port outside the cities be helpful? I'm thinking of something like a tunnel and an exit allowing a large sally force to attack the enemy from the rear and then retreat back to the cites? Might only be applicable in terrain that allows the concealment of the sally port (like Lindon or the Spine, maybe the Everglades). Potentially new Kinetic Weapons or Gravitron Weapons could be useful and adapted from the ship based weapons to city based? Might depend on what we learn about the nature of the coming threat.
Maybe some kind of forward defenses (infantry bunkers?) that are expected to be overrun (so collapsible tunnels allowing the defenders to retreat), but allow us to impose a cost on approaching armies setting up a siege. Disposable Turbo-Laser Destructors? (Since we got the cheap versions). Adding comm jamming equipment? Heck, maybe we should set up a permanent minefield around each city. It's not like people are taking picnics out there. I don't know, we need to brainstorm things like that.
The second option is to make cities bigger. We could probably expand one major city in each region into a Small Hive. That would give each region two large hives. Small hives also have some defensive advantages, particularly against orbital bombardment. They also simply have more militia and so are harder targets in an invasion.
There are also variations on the first and second options. For example, maybe expand all the cities in the Azure Isles into Small Hives. This region has reached capacity, and they are the most isolated cities.
The third option is the most aggressive option. We could try to expand to another region. The main advantage we gain from this is forcing the enemy to spread out their forces. If the new region is connected to the rest of Avernus cities we would also still be able to use railway lines to move our forces around to were they are needed the most. Assuming we would have to wait until after the next campaign against the Orks is finished we are probably looking at 35 years to pull this off.
This would require at least around 15 years of military actions (probably more, but overlapping actions in the same 15 year period), followed by at least 16 years of city founding (assuming 6 cities, this would be 48 action years worth, but all overlapping). Additionally around 10 or so of the military and administration actions would overlap. That would gives ~15 years of further development to put in the railway and improve any defenses. So we could get it done before the 50 year warning is up. But that would tend to assume that we have no other suddenly needed actions within that time period). If we need to spend any administrative actions on colonization this is probably not viable.
Of the possible regions to settle, Eta is probably too big to expand to in the time we have, and Kappa is across an ocean, so despite the attraction of meeting the lizardmen, it would be cut off from the rest of Avernus settlements. That leaves region Theta, a frozen forest and taiga. It would also expand our defenses northward, possibly allowing the creation of alternate rail routes connecting Elysium to the rest of Avernite settlements and making it so Casarrondo isn't as exposed on our northern fringe.
The fourth option would be to try and entice Nilfheim into a cooperative settlement of Het (Avernus V, the ice world). Since they are also a major producer of advanced material this is a possible thing to do, if the advance material output of Het was sufficient to offset the AM maintenance cost of the defenses. This would involve increased void actions to build more defenses, in addition to admin actions. However it has an advantage over the area expansion in that it can be begun as soon as Nilfheim agrees, and doesn't have the wildlife risks. It might also provide some tactical advantage in void combat having multiple strongholds in space, allowing for alternate threats to an invading fleet.
Building the void defenses for Het would take about 26 Void action years to match our current defenses in other locations. To reach our current goals though it would be more like 50 action years. So doable.
I think we have 1 more major city action (6 years), and five Small Hive actions (40 years), plus Dis (12 years) for a total of 58 action years in administration. Considering that we effectively have four slots (since Thaddeus can work on these) I think we are pretty good in terms of space. (Total of 200 action years available in Admin).
Additional things to consider - perhaps we ought to consider the Azure Isle railways after all. Most external threats have ignored the Azure Isles, this new threat might not. That would be an additional 18 years of actions. Plus it might create alternate connections to Elysium.
Duat does not have a small hive, we probably want to establish one there, that will be another 20ish years of administration actions.
Educational Review is a 1 years action with a surprising long term payoff, might be worth using as a spacer in Admin actions to get expedites at the right spot.
What else can we do with the remaining administrative actions? We probably have 100 years left or so.
Well the first option is to focus on continuing to improve our defenses, possibly with re-founding the destroyed cities (Blacktyde, The Bayou). But we'd need to brainstorm some ideas here. How exactly can we improve the defenses? For example, would some kind of sally port outside the cities be helpful? I'm thinking of something like a tunnel and an exit allowing a large sally force to attack the enemy from the rear and then retreat back to the cites? Might only be applicable in terrain that allows the concealment of the sally port (like Lindon or the Spine, maybe the Everglades). Potentially new Kinetic Weapons or Gravitron Weapons could be useful and adapted from the ship based weapons to city based? Might depend on what we learn about the nature of the coming threat.
Maybe some kind of forward defenses (infantry bunkers?) that are expected to be overrun (so collapsible tunnels allowing the defenders to retreat), but allow us to impose a cost on approaching armies setting up a siege. Disposable Turbo-Laser Destructors? (Since we got the cheap versions). Adding comm jamming equipment? Heck, maybe we should set up a permanent minefield around each city. It's not like people are taking picnics out there. I don't know, we need to brainstorm things like that.
The second option is to make cities bigger. We could probably expand one major city in each region into a Small Hive. That would give each region two large hives. Small hives also have some defensive advantages, particularly against orbital bombardment. They also simply have more militia and so are harder targets in an invasion.
There are also variations on the first and second options. For example, maybe expand all the cities in the Azure Isles into Small Hives. This region has reached capacity, and they are the most isolated cities.
The third option is the most aggressive option. We could try to expand to another region. The main advantage we gain from this is forcing the enemy to spread out their forces. If the new region is connected to the rest of Avernus cities we would also still be able to use railway lines to move our forces around to were they are needed the most. Assuming we would have to wait until after the next campaign against the Orks is finished we are probably looking at 35 years to pull this off.
This would require at least around 15 years of military actions (probably more, but overlapping actions in the same 15 year period), followed by at least 16 years of city founding (assuming 6 cities, this would be 48 action years worth, but all overlapping). Additionally around 10 or so of the military and administration actions would overlap. That would gives ~15 years of further development to put in the railway and improve any defenses. So we could get it done before the 50 year warning is up. But that would tend to assume that we have no other suddenly needed actions within that time period). If we need to spend any administrative actions on colonization this is probably not viable.
Of the possible regions to settle, Eta is probably too big to expand to in the time we have, and Kappa is across an ocean, so despite the attraction of meeting the lizardmen, it would be cut off from the rest of Avernus settlements. That leaves region Theta, a frozen forest and taiga. It would also expand our defenses northward, possibly allowing the creation of alternate rail routes connecting Elysium to the rest of Avernite settlements and making it so Casarrondo isn't as exposed on our northern fringe.
The fourth option would be to try and entice Nilfheim into a cooperative settlement of Het (Avernus V, the ice world). Since they are also a major producer of advanced material this is a possible thing to do, if the advance material output of Het was sufficient to offset the AM maintenance cost of the defenses. This would involve increased void actions to build more defenses, in addition to admin actions. However it has an advantage over the area expansion in that it can be begun as soon as Nilfheim agrees, and doesn't have the wildlife risks. It might also provide some tactical advantage in void combat having multiple strongholds in space, allowing for alternate threats to an invading fleet.
Building the void defenses for Het would take about 26 Void action years to match our current defenses in other locations. To reach our current goals though it would be more like 50 action years. So doable.
Moving on to the Military actions, some actions will be taken up by the campaign against the Orks, others may well be taken up by a colonization effort. However, most of the actions will probably be used for developing new applications for the technology we have.
So I've been reviewing the list of STCs and weapons. I'm not always sure if we implemented them or not.
For example there is the Auto-Doc bed that Drago wanted to figure out how to implement in the guard, but I can't remember if we ever did that. Still, improved medical care and wound treatment for the soldiers is something worth considering.
Stealth Cargo ships? Heck, stealth everything with the recent breakthrough by Tranth. Perhaps development of a stealth focused combined arms division focused on acting behind enemy lines?
We haven't distributed Shield Breaker Rounds to our snipers (Tranth was able to adapt them to use with normal Imperial Sniper weapons). Those will be expensive though.
Specialist Grenadiers are also something we probably ought to start looking at again.
So I've been reviewing the list of STCs and weapons. I'm not always sure if we implemented them or not.
For example there is the Auto-Doc bed that Drago wanted to figure out how to implement in the guard, but I can't remember if we ever did that. Still, improved medical care and wound treatment for the soldiers is something worth considering.
Stealth Cargo ships? Heck, stealth everything with the recent breakthrough by Tranth. Perhaps development of a stealth focused combined arms division focused on acting behind enemy lines?
We haven't distributed Shield Breaker Rounds to our snipers (Tranth was able to adapt them to use with normal Imperial Sniper weapons). Those will be expensive though.
Specialist Grenadiers are also something we probably ought to start looking at again.
300 Land Raider Annihilators
3,600 Testudo-class Guardian Tanks
360 Spider-Crab Heavy Assault Walkers
75 Helheim pattern Spartans
15 Fellblades
15 Fellswords
15 Hellswords
15 Hellblades
15 Hellords
30 Siege Crab Superheavy Assault Walkers
45 Northern Sentinel Titan-Killers
5,215 Conversion beamers
1,784 Vortex Grenades
5,686 Stasis Grenades
I think we did the Fellbaldes and Crab walkers, but these are not listed as reverse engineered.
Links to weaponry in the data cores:
Weaponry and Wargear
Vehicles and aircraft
Other
3,600 Testudo-class Guardian Tanks
360 Spider-Crab Heavy Assault Walkers
75 Helheim pattern Spartans
15 Fellblades
15 Fellswords
15 Hellswords
15 Hellblades
15 Hellords
30 Siege Crab Superheavy Assault Walkers
45 Northern Sentinel Titan-Killers
5,215 Conversion beamers
1,784 Vortex Grenades
5,686 Stasis Grenades
I think we did the Fellbaldes and Crab walkers, but these are not listed as reverse engineered.
Links to weaponry in the data cores:
Weaponry and Wargear
Vehicles and aircraft
Other
On Void Actions I think it best to divide things between the Construction actions, and the rest of the possible actions.
On Construction actions the listing of our Naval forces is so out of date it's not really possible to tell what we have left to do. Between the Descent Destroyers and the Escort actions that's 9 more years, though both can be expedited rather easily. We need to make a list of what we have, what is on order from Vanaheim, and compare it to our build plan, (adding the additional Templar Heavy Carriers that Chapter Master Julius recommends). That way we will know if there is more we need to build for ourselves, or more that we need to order from Vanaheim.
On the other actions we are 24 years from reaching our goals for defenses. 30 years if we include thickening the minefields. I believe this is the last of the large shipyards we intend to construct, 10 years left for that, and perhaps another 18 if we build five more small shipyards. So a total of 58 action years on these. Leaving a little over 40 years left of extra action years to spend on other defenses/actions. Some of those will probably be used for colonization. Maybe if we want to increase our assault shuttle numbers. Probably also some needed for training a Helguard Void Infantry force, and maybe some specialist grenadiers?
Pretty full, which is why I think continuing to use Personal Attentions here is a good plan.
On Construction actions the listing of our Naval forces is so out of date it's not really possible to tell what we have left to do. Between the Descent Destroyers and the Escort actions that's 9 more years, though both can be expedited rather easily. We need to make a list of what we have, what is on order from Vanaheim, and compare it to our build plan, (adding the additional Templar Heavy Carriers that Chapter Master Julius recommends). That way we will know if there is more we need to build for ourselves, or more that we need to order from Vanaheim.
On the other actions we are 24 years from reaching our goals for defenses. 30 years if we include thickening the minefields. I believe this is the last of the large shipyards we intend to construct, 10 years left for that, and perhaps another 18 if we build five more small shipyards. So a total of 58 action years on these. Leaving a little over 40 years left of extra action years to spend on other defenses/actions. Some of those will probably be used for colonization. Maybe if we want to increase our assault shuttle numbers. Probably also some needed for training a Helguard Void Infantry force, and maybe some specialist grenadiers?
Pretty full, which is why I think continuing to use Personal Attentions here is a good plan.
On the Diplomacy side... while alliances with Dragons Nest and Karnas would be useful, they really don't have much to do with our own Diplomacy actions. I guess trade talks with Svartalfheim to buy Super Exitus Rifles. Perhaps some action to reach out to the various independent remnants and provide them with our surplus and outdated Imperial equipment might have some marginal effects (would have to be coordinated via the Trust). The other major actions we could take to improve our situation is to improve relations with the Trolls and Sirens. If we could reach an actual defensive alliance that would improve the defensibly of Avernus.
For the Ministry... not sure what Lin can do to help prepare. Especially if he's busy with the Dragon's Nest.
The Arbites don't have much, except maybe integration of the Super Elites? And I guess Spy Networks plus diplomacy could allow for something useful vis a vis the Mechanicus unrest issue. We also
For the Ministry... not sure what Lin can do to help prepare. Especially if he's busy with the Dragon's Nest.
The Arbites don't have much, except maybe integration of the Super Elites? And I guess Spy Networks plus diplomacy could allow for something useful vis a vis the Mechanicus unrest issue. We also
Then we have the two big ones (which is why I left them for last).
The Mechanicus has to be further subdivided:
For one thing we have 36 years left to expand and upgrade the Forge Cities. Then there are 48 years of actions to establish the Forge-Cathedrals, and Catherdral-Forges (probably can't get all these done).
We want to Repair and Upgrade Sanctus Furorem, which is 10 years (can start in 25 years). We probably want at least one Adjudicator, so that is 4 years. We might have additional Titan upgrade actions after that. Then there is the question of whether we should build more mobile research facilities, or the military versions.
If we use the Free Mechanicus action slot for Fabricator actions that would give us 100 years worth of actions. So that will be 36 years to upgrade the Forge Cities, and 14 years of known actions. That leaves 50 years to be divided between more TItans, production improvements, and additional military improvements.
We want to Repair and Upgrade Sanctus Furorem, which is 10 years (can start in 25 years). We probably want at least one Adjudicator, so that is 4 years. We might have additional Titan upgrade actions after that. Then there is the question of whether we should build more mobile research facilities, or the military versions.
If we use the Free Mechanicus action slot for Fabricator actions that would give us 100 years worth of actions. So that will be 36 years to upgrade the Forge Cities, and 14 years of known actions. That leaves 50 years to be divided between more TItans, production improvements, and additional military improvements.
So there are several things to think about here.
We need some time to implement any advances or discoveries on the military and telepathica side. We'd want at least 10, and preferably 15 years to implement I think. Though Telepathica might need slightly less time than the military.
However, this warp issue thing is getting concerning. So investigating the Sphinxes might be the most urgent action. Plus, even if Ridcully figures it out and we don't need the Sphinxes help, getting them early enough to allow for a significant time for diplomacy might be important.
My suggested order of actions then would be to first a complete investigation on the Sphinxes, followed by the Bionic Implants Investigation (so that we know how long that action is going to take). At that point we can decide priorities, but that's already 12 years of actions, so we probably only have 15 to 20 action years left to do something that will be useful for the threat in 50 years. Depending on the action length of the new items (Dragon Turtle gas, Bioshell, and Bionics) that might already be taken up. We might be able to get one more complete examination done in time for the telepathica to research the abilities. So we might want to think about which one creature is the most interesting from a combat point of view.
We need some time to implement any advances or discoveries on the military and telepathica side. We'd want at least 10, and preferably 15 years to implement I think. Though Telepathica might need slightly less time than the military.
However, this warp issue thing is getting concerning. So investigating the Sphinxes might be the most urgent action. Plus, even if Ridcully figures it out and we don't need the Sphinxes help, getting them early enough to allow for a significant time for diplomacy might be important.
My suggested order of actions then would be to first a complete investigation on the Sphinxes, followed by the Bionic Implants Investigation (so that we know how long that action is going to take). At that point we can decide priorities, but that's already 12 years of actions, so we probably only have 15 to 20 action years left to do something that will be useful for the threat in 50 years. Depending on the action length of the new items (Dragon Turtle gas, Bioshell, and Bionics) that might already be taken up. We might be able to get one more complete examination done in time for the telepathica to research the abilities. So we might want to think about which one creature is the most interesting from a combat point of view.
First let's talk limits. We could probably reverse engineer both the Graviton Weapons and the Gravatic Array withing 24 years or so (depends on how many attempts, but I am assuming three attempts each). Then we would have 20 years or get Vanaheim to repair the Gravatic Array Command Battleship. So it's probably doable at the outside stretch, but then we would have another Command Battleship to support maintenance on. So unless we have some intel that shows the Gravatic Array is super effective against whatever this threat is, I'm leaning towards putting the Array itself on the back burner. Doesn't mean we shouldn't research the Graviton Weapons though.
I don't think we have time in the Fabricator section to build more Goliath Factory Ships, so I'd deprioritize researching that.
Something we are definitely doing is 5 years of Examining Sanctus Furorem.
The remaining Astares Armor will take 3 years to do?
Assuming three attempts needed, that will be 18 years to reverse engineer the Graviton Weapons. We might want to do this early, leaving us some time to add them to current ships (or build more using them). We probably need one cheating action on this.
The Kinetic Weapons I think we have a decent chance of getting in a single turn, so let's be optimistic and say 6 years. Again something we'd like to do early so we can include them in production of ships. We do probably want one cheating action on this.
Vortex Grenades are probably three attempts, so lets say 3 years.
The Secondary Engines are probably one or two attempts, lets say that's 4 years there. Again something we'd like to do early so we can include them in production of ships.
So that's... ~40 years of exploratory research actions?
We also have the reverse engineering actions:
First thing that leaps out to me is that the Hyper Plasma Reactor Part Three does not have any Mechanicus unrest effects. Was it always this way or did that change at some point?
Any way, that is a 15 year action that could help a lot, especially Vanaheim. Again it is something we'd prefer early so that we could take action to implement it.
Then we have the two Very Advanced Reactors actions. Because of the unrest effects we can probably only afford to do one, and preferably after Scott's Young trait is gone. The stable one would help us more, and the hyper would help Vanaheim more. However, if Vanaheim is going to be updating their fleet reactors anyway, then there is a lot of synergy to doing them together.
Looking at this I think we can't do both the Hyper Plasma Reactors Part Three and the Graviton Weapons in time for the 50 year mark, unless we do one of them using the free action slot. We could take some years out of the "extra" 50 years we were planning to give the Fabricator to do both of them. (Probably ~15 action years).
So I'll assume that one of those 15 to 16 year actions is off the list unless we use the Free action slot - which is a decision we'd want to make next turn, because if we are going to do both of them we would want to do them early.
I don't think we have time in the Fabricator section to build more Goliath Factory Ships, so I'd deprioritize researching that.
Something we are definitely doing is 5 years of Examining Sanctus Furorem.
The remaining Astares Armor will take 3 years to do?
Assuming three attempts needed, that will be 18 years to reverse engineer the Graviton Weapons. We might want to do this early, leaving us some time to add them to current ships (or build more using them). We probably need one cheating action on this.
The Kinetic Weapons I think we have a decent chance of getting in a single turn, so let's be optimistic and say 6 years. Again something we'd like to do early so we can include them in production of ships. We do probably want one cheating action on this.
Vortex Grenades are probably three attempts, so lets say 3 years.
The Secondary Engines are probably one or two attempts, lets say that's 4 years there. Again something we'd like to do early so we can include them in production of ships.
So that's... ~40 years of exploratory research actions?
We also have the reverse engineering actions:
First thing that leaps out to me is that the Hyper Plasma Reactor Part Three does not have any Mechanicus unrest effects. Was it always this way or did that change at some point?
Any way, that is a 15 year action that could help a lot, especially Vanaheim. Again it is something we'd prefer early so that we could take action to implement it.
Then we have the two Very Advanced Reactors actions. Because of the unrest effects we can probably only afford to do one, and preferably after Scott's Young trait is gone. The stable one would help us more, and the hyper would help Vanaheim more. However, if Vanaheim is going to be updating their fleet reactors anyway, then there is a lot of synergy to doing them together.
Looking at this I think we can't do both the Hyper Plasma Reactors Part Three and the Graviton Weapons in time for the 50 year mark, unless we do one of them using the free action slot. We could take some years out of the "extra" 50 years we were planning to give the Fabricator to do both of them. (Probably ~15 action years).
So I'll assume that one of those 15 to 16 year actions is off the list unless we use the Free action slot - which is a decision we'd want to make next turn, because if we are going to do both of them we would want to do them early.
Finally, let's look at the Telepathica.
Again this needs to be divided:
Ridcully:
So we're going to want to do at least two years of Cheating, and we have Destructive Freq. (2 years) left to do, and we have Immaterial Resonance (10 years), and Divination, and that's pretty much what is required for Ridcully. Though it's probably worth asking if there is any benefit to having Ridcully organize the Order of Divination Warning, and if there is any benefit for Ridcully researching the Temple Cats.
The main difficulty is the spacing of the Cheating. As the actions it will be used on will have five years in between. We could do both back to back, so that Ridcully fills out five years in between, and then Ridcully can do Immaterial Resonance. Or we could space the Mechanicus attempts out so that Ridcully has ten years in between to do Immaterial Resonance. That might be best so that Ridcully can do it soon, so if there is follow up research we can fit it in.
Tamia:
Tamia actually has several more actions. In addition to Destructive Freq. (2 years) and Songs of War (10 Years) she also has Power Melody Composition (7 years)
Xavier doesn't have any actions specific to him, though it may be worth seeing if he can better research the Hellflame Coral.
Other actions that are general are the Basic Fleet Wards (8 years, can be expedited), as well as the founding of Psyker Orders, and then research.
Remember that several obvious psyker groups already exist:
Other specific ones that we've talked about in this thread:
Divination
Divination warning of attacks (possibly important enough to deserve it's own smaller order)
Research Avernus Wildlife abilities
Research Avernus Wildlife materials
Healers
Daemon Hunters
Siege Warfare
Psyker Disruption (like what we attempted against the Weirdboyz)
Ward making
I might have missed a few others, but please remember that each order costs 6 years to establish. Even if we devoted Xavier to doing nothing but this, we could only get at most eight orders established.
Again this needs to be divided:
Ridcully:
So we're going to want to do at least two years of Cheating, and we have Destructive Freq. (2 years) left to do, and we have Immaterial Resonance (10 years), and Divination, and that's pretty much what is required for Ridcully. Though it's probably worth asking if there is any benefit to having Ridcully organize the Order of Divination Warning, and if there is any benefit for Ridcully researching the Temple Cats.
The main difficulty is the spacing of the Cheating. As the actions it will be used on will have five years in between. We could do both back to back, so that Ridcully fills out five years in between, and then Ridcully can do Immaterial Resonance. Or we could space the Mechanicus attempts out so that Ridcully has ten years in between to do Immaterial Resonance. That might be best so that Ridcully can do it soon, so if there is follow up research we can fit it in.
Tamia:
Tamia actually has several more actions. In addition to Destructive Freq. (2 years) and Songs of War (10 Years) she also has Power Melody Composition (7 years)
Xavier doesn't have any actions specific to him, though it may be worth seeing if he can better research the Hellflame Coral.
Other actions that are general are the Basic Fleet Wards (8 years, can be expedited), as well as the founding of Psyker Orders, and then research.
Remember that several obvious psyker groups already exist:
Other specific ones that we've talked about in this thread:
Divination
Divination warning of attacks (possibly important enough to deserve it's own smaller order)
Research Avernus Wildlife abilities
Research Avernus Wildlife materials
Healers
Daemon Hunters
Siege Warfare
Psyker Disruption (like what we attempted against the Weirdboyz)
Ward making
I might have missed a few others, but please remember that each order costs 6 years to establish. Even if we devoted Xavier to doing nothing but this, we could only get at most eight orders established.
So it might worth a little more detail on how to go about the Telepathica and Mechanicus action slots Next Turn, this is just an example of how to handle it, it would have to be refined:
Explorator Slot:
Y2: Astares Ace Armor
Y5: Hyper Plasma Reactor Part Three w/ Double Down
Biologos Slot:
Y2: Complete Investigation Sphinx
Fabricator Slot:
Locked w/ Dorthonion expansion
Free Slot:
Y1: Graviton Weapons
Ridcully:
Y1: Cheating w/ Double Down
Y2: Greater Divination w/ Double Down
Y3: Destructive Freq. w/ Double Down
Y5: Divination Attacks
Tamia:
Y1: Research
Y2: Research
Y3: Destructive Freq.
Y5: Songs of War
Xavier:
Y1: Create Psyker Order (alt. Fleet Wards).
Expectation that some time the following turn Ridcully would start the Immaterial Resonance research.
Explorator Slot:
Y2: Astares Ace Armor
Y5: Hyper Plasma Reactor Part Three w/ Double Down
Biologos Slot:
Y2: Complete Investigation Sphinx
Fabricator Slot:
Locked w/ Dorthonion expansion
Free Slot:
Y1: Graviton Weapons
Ridcully:
Y1: Cheating w/ Double Down
Y2: Greater Divination w/ Double Down
Y3: Destructive Freq. w/ Double Down
Y5: Divination Attacks
Tamia:
Y1: Research
Y2: Research
Y3: Destructive Freq.
Y5: Songs of War
Xavier:
Y1: Create Psyker Order (alt. Fleet Wards).
Expectation that some time the following turn Ridcully would start the Immaterial Resonance research.
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- Location
- Leeds
Nianque
Verified Dragon
That's the Great Devourer. Not the 'Destroyer'. Besides the Necrons are obliterating that in deep space anyways.Really?
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
For Blacktyde we also need some kind of measures against Berserker fungus, though that should be simple enough.
Also I don't know if we have "disposable" turbo lasers... they're kinda big.
I'm split on this.
On the one hand your logic is good Eta probably is too big, but at the same time its where the Time plains are likely to be located, and the ruins based around studying it.
In addition I'm afraid of moving further north, as the northern most cities suffered during the Incursion, though I admit I am curious about the ice wolves and thunder dear
.hmmmmm, I never really thought of that.
I suppose the Trust says that the nearest world lays claim to all plants 10 light years around to do with as we wish and Niflehiem has been expanding its pop a lot, so I say we give it a go.
Auto docs have been distributed, though they're not as good as a trainned doctor, they're still good IIRC, Stealth everything is a good point, problem of course is the cost.
Shield Breakers are once again a problem of Cost.
@Durin
1. Would champion snipers and the like (such as phase tighers) gain access to shield breakers?
Currently what I want to have a look at here, is the Northern titan killer and the jump pads.
Northern because Titan killer, the pads because I want the ability to rain armour formations on people's heads.
Seeing as a lot of the study of new things we can adapt such as the DT gas and the berserker gas seems to be done automatically (see last turn and the bio circuitry) you might be able to cut down the time a bit.
That being said you may also want to add in a potential for examining the bio circuity of the illusion pines, as Maximal isn't sure he can get them in one go.
This is learning how to repair it, not reverse engineer it.
That's probably outside of Tranth's abilities.
Always that way, its just resising it, not modifying it that much. I also say do it, partially because the Vanir want it, but also because it might make for a nice Titan addition.
Nope you seem to have gotten most of them.
All I can say here is lets get that resonance technquie done, as it seems to be the gateway to the conceptual technique of the island turtle.
I know I'm a broken record at this point but it may be nice to slap a DD on this, Julius has shown great interest in armored warfare and what not.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
Can Ridcully target divination to figure out what it is?
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
On the Psyker Orders, you missed my 'Preservation of Knowledge' Order idea. Though to be fair, that idea both has risks we want to see if we can reduce, and gets the most benefit the more Orders have been founded previously...
But considering that it's basically an automated 'Refound Lost Orders with no loss in Capabilities' Order it's possibly very much worth it despite the risks involved. As it would basically be something to reduce the effects of a crit fail or Nat 1 by a Psyker Order. Not remove them, but reduce the long-term effects.
But considering that it's basically an automated 'Refound Lost Orders with no loss in Capabilities' Order it's possibly very much worth it despite the risks involved. As it would basically be something to reduce the effects of a crit fail or Nat 1 by a Psyker Order. Not remove them, but reduce the long-term effects.
- Location
- Alice Springs, Australia
Stop being so greedy, and demanding all the double downs. There are other actions that need double downs that are just as important, and probably even more important.
Wasn't demanding just asking, sorry if it came off poorly.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
mmm, we may also want to think of another advanced Ramillies (defence specific maybe?) but probably not for now.
HanEmpire
Delicious
The Fortress one is a must. That's the variant that our advisors want our Ramilles to be.
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- Location
- Australia
The amount of damage mitigation a railway will do in regards to the new threat is lesser to the damage that can be caused by the railway by Digging Too Deep. We need to to give the Deep Ones and anything close to them a wide berth.
Instead of psyker disruption according to your example (which is too niche of a job), we should set up an order of psyker-killing psykers, like the Witch Hunters or Psyker Hunters except they're psykers. More Betas and Alphas are popping up than ever before so increasing the firepower we level against them would be a very good idea. Xavier's martial excellence will be especially helpful in founding this order.
Another idea to add to the list is Assassins. Get a bunch of daemonologists/telepaths/diviners and, with Jane's assistance, have them specialise in being really powerful assassins. The war against Garkill shows how invaluable this kind of unit could be. Xavier's own experience with sabotage and (to a lesser extent) assassination would benefit here.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
There's not much we can do there.
The Weapons seem to have ranges that distance can't nullify.
Still don't think we should poke em, but I do want to build the rails.
Wrong Psyker
Psyker vs psyker combat is Aria's thing. She can even beat Xavier if they just stick to powers.
This is more Xavier's thing, though illusionist daemonolgists is probably the best combo.
- Location
- Australia
The rails might be beneficial but it's not worth the risk and there's always something else we could be doing.
Sweet baby Jesus she is awesome.
The three disciplines I included all fill their own niches and have their own unique ways of carrying out assassinations. Daemonologists would be a good fit for one kind of assassination, but not all of them. Basically, the niches are this:
Daemonologists - Pretty much Dishonored
Telepaths - Have enemies kill enemies
Diviners - Sniping