The Long Night Part One: Embers in the Dusk: A Planetary Governor Quest (43k) Complete Sequel Up

[Red Bovine]

No he didn't complete it.

If he had then yes roll.

Click to shrink...

Well did anyone major directly involved in the project get any traits out of this? Even if Vlad got his part cut short he and several other people played a major galactic role here so it seems like it would be worth something.

 

[Adventwolf]

***********************
*The Empire of Ashes has recently informed you that Operation Hecatoncheir has come to a conclusion as a success, with another Ork Conflagration being lured into the Black Imperium. They also mention that Abbadon has eventually laid the blame for your actions on the Assassin Temples. *
***********************
With all the drama going on surprised that people missed this. This is one of the best outcomes for us for a number of reasons with the biggest being tying up the Dark Imperium for the next century or so. People always talking about wanting to play a bigger role on the galactic stage, well this is definitely it here.

On that topic did Vlad roll for transcendence since the operation succeeded?

Click to shrink...

I don't think it was enough for a transcendence roll. Especially since he had to run at the end.

 

[ArchAIngel]

So... I have a idea about how to fuck up the Chaos ritual.

Find the Doomed One.

And feed him to it.

Because he is the god of suicidal last stands, self-destruction for the sake of others, and general self-sacrifice.

So... the perfect bait to "poison the pot" so to speak.

I believe the trope is "Too spicy for Yog-Sothoth."

 

[Red Bovine]

Personally, I'd prefer to have Avernus be a republican democracy.

and socialist.

Seriously, a political paradigm like that would be good, especially if particapatory politics and democratic control over labor is practiced. Lowered inequality, higher education, greater oversight over leaders, and democratic egalitarianism all stand to lower the chance for Chaos.

Personally, I've found it an insult that the only democracy in this quest is a Chaos polity.

Let's not let the fall of the old federation and the commencement of the Old Night have been the end of democratic ideals forevermore. Power to the people! That said, should they give up the responsibilities of collective rule and project their problems to a populist savior-tyrant, then they will have chosen to give away their power, autonomy, and responsibility for the sake of security. They will give away the future to but a few, and leave themselves to be exploited in ignorance forevermore. Such was the folly of the Emperor's rise to power and the Imperium in general.

Click to shrink...

The problem with any political system is that while they sound nice on paper in reality the issue is human nature screwing things up for a number of reasons. Even democracy comes with issues. Honestly the best system seems to be benevolent dictatorship where said dictator is highly competent since you'd end up with someone who was not only competent but actually cared about the people including citizens under them. Ironically if the Emperor was less of a dick and the Horus Heresy never happened Humanity would be way better off unified under someone like him.

 

[random_npc]

Personally, I'd prefer to have Avernus be a republican democracy.

and socialist.

Seriously, a political paradigm like that would be good, especially if particapatory politics and democratic control over labor is practiced. Lowered inequality, higher education, greater oversight over leaders, and democratic egalitarianism all stand to lower the chance for Chaos.

Personally, I've found it an insult that the only democracy in this quest is a Chaos polity.

Let's not let the fall of the old federation and the commencement of the Old Night have been the end of democratic ideals forevermore. Power to the people! That said, should they give up the responsibilities of collective rule and project their problems to a populist savior-tyrant, then they will have chosen to give away their power, autonomy, and responsibility for the sake of security. They will give away the future to but a few, and leave themselves to be exploited in ignorance forevermore. Such was the folly of the Emperor's rise to power and the Imperium in general.

Click to shrink...

the chaos democracy is actually an argument for democracy. Its working fairly well to channel even the destructive nature of chaos into less damaging methods. But Avernus is somewhat socialist if that makes you feel better, the state will take care of you. medicine, education, and basic wargear are all state-provided.

So... I have a idea about how to fuck up the Chaos ritual.

Find the Doomed One.

And feed him to it.

Because he is the god of suicidal last stands, self-destruction for the sake of others, and general self-sacrifice.

So... the perfect bait to "poison the pot" so to speak.

I believe the trope is "Too spicy for Yog-Sothoth."

Click to shrink...

oh my god, that could work.

 

[Ptolemy]

Omake: Avernite Cultural Notes: Matchmaking and Auntie Ng

In mainstream Avernite society there are few ideas as pervasive as the thought that to be alone means death. To be alone means that there is no one to notice the spider appearing on your back, to catch you right before you accidentally touch a patch of poison lichen, or to lend their blade when a tiger leaps out of the wall. To be alone is death.
So strong is this idea that one of the most common fears a parent experiences is that their death, and knowledge of one's own mortality can never truly be escaped on Avernus, will leave those that depend on you exposed.

When these fears and stresses came in contact with the matchmaking traditions of the colonists from the oceanic deathworld Kepulauan Biru, Auntie Ng* was born.

The pressures of Kepulauan Biru produced a society that in many ways resembled what would eventually emerge on Avernus. Cooperation was a necessity, and large interconnected multipartner families were the norm. This system, culturally envisioned as a fabric or tapestry, was supported by a class of professional matchmakers, who ensured that the complex web of familial alliances was harmonious and complete. It was their sworn duty to ensure that loose threads would be woven back into the cloth, so that death's ever tugging fingers could not unravel the great work. These matchmakers not only governed marriage and romantic relations but also friendships, business ventures, and other civic functions. When the colonists of Kepulauan Biru were being gathered it was decided to form a Tithe Clan** of matchmakers to oversee the needs of those leaving the homeworld. This clan would be named the Ng.

In the early years of colonization the Ng, settled in Fair Isle, found great demand for their services. The sense of safety, if not for oneself then for one's children, that the Ng social net provided was highly appealing to the colonists around them. In the years leading up to the beginning of the Age of Dusk, the Ng expanded throughout every level of the city's social strata. Ironically for a group whose original purpose had been to tie together a society spread across disparate archipelagos, by the time of the death of the Emperor the Ng had begun to become highly insular in their mindset, focused entirely on their home city.

It was a sermon by Saint Lin in the aftermath of the Fall that changed that. His words about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable galvanized the clan. Almost as one they came to the conclusion that they had been lax in their holy duty to ensure the safety of their people. So began the Ng diaspora. Over the the centuries, by means of marriage and adoption, the Ng clan has spread over almost all of Avernus. By the time of the four hundredth centennial, it is estimated that a little less than 30% of Avernites do not have an Auntie Ng sitting somewhere nearby in their familial web.

To the Avernite, someone with smiling white lips*** purposefully bearing down on you is a portent that you're about to make a new friend.

* 'Auntie' is the polite means of address for an Ng matchmaker of either gender.
** Temporary family arrangement created between all people tithed to the Imperial Guard.
*** Ng matchmakers have largely abandoned the elaborate white facepaint and veils of their homeworld for reasons of practicality.

@Durin

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure how well this necessarily fits with Avernus, to be honest. Is this intended as some kind of ironic jab at the events of this turn? Tormod's reaction to an us proposing marriage seems to show that arranged marriages really aren't a fixture of Avernite culture.

Matchmaking and arranged marriages, in particular with regards to familial alliances, don't really seem to fit with the notion of Avernus as a strictly meritocratic society where lineage is comparatively unimportant. Arranged marriages fit much better with more patriarchal, hierarchical, clan-based structures. They may be "cooperative", but they aren't really collectivist in the sense that Avernus seems to be, where the need for survival outweighs everything else, because they still ultimately represent loyalty to something other than the common good.

 

[thamuzz]

I'm not sure how well this necessarily fits with Avernus, to be honest. Is this intended as some kind of ironic jab at the events of this turn? Tormod's reaction to an us proposing marriage seems to show that arranged marriages really aren't a fixture of Avernite culture.

Matchmaking and arranged marriages, in particular with regards to familial alliances, don't really seem to fit with the notion of Avernus as a strictly meritocratic society where lineage is comparatively unimportant. Arranged marriages fit much better with more patriarchal, hierarchical, clan-based structures. They may be "cooperative", but they aren't really collectivist in the sense that Avernus seems to be, where the need for survival outweighs everything else, because they still ultimately represent loyalty to something other than the common good.

Click to shrink...

That wasn't what I was going for but I can definitely see how you came to that conclusion. This is basically an expansion on this:

Things got a little awkward when Sol McIntire started stepping out with Mír Sigurdson without first ceasing to step out with Lal Ng. Things got more awkward when, on discovering that Mír was only seeing her, she tried to set him up with Ava Abalone, who was currently dating Hjol Redbeard. It ultimately came out that she was worried about what would happen to Mír if something should happen to her.

Click to shrink...

inspired by the update.

In essence, think less Fiddler on the Roof "you should marry this man because he's rich" and more "You know, I was talking with my friend so-and-so, and they have a nephew who we're quite sure you'll be good friends with. Do you mind if we arrange a meeting?"

They won't arrange your marriage, but they probably introduced you to your future spouses.

 

[Azgrin]

You know, Tormond and Rotbart both need an emotional support Bolehs after this.

Poor guys

 

[10ebbor10]

Don't forget cloning. Why worry about your loved ones when you can make new ones?

 

[Adventwolf]

Don't forget cloning. Why worry about your loved ones when you can make new ones?

Click to shrink...

Because Clones are not copies and they are always lesser and more vulnerable to falling.

 

[random_npc]

You spent a few years looking into the Bolehs Spider to determine how to best make use of it. This was a major issue for you are Bolehs Spiders are an interesting combination of a cheap superheavy melee combatant that will fight ferociously to protect your men and a terrifying abomination that will be able to plummet the morale of an army merely by being deployed alongside them. As such you have decided that the only ways to use them are to have the Guilds start using them, as the one group crazy enough o like them, and create Black Iron Bolehs Spider forces, as the one group suicidal enough to fight beside them.

Click to shrink...

Bolehs Spider are one of the best things I've inflicted on this quest, and at no point have I regretted it. While I worry about the spider's mental health if they are going to be working with the black irons, I almost wonder if they might help some of the irons? sure spider, but when your that broken, a source of unconditional affection and care can really help. Which leads to an issue of someone having an emontal support giant spider.

Issac has recently finished his investigation into the use of Bloom Bees. He tells you that by using Bloom Bee Hives you should be able to increase food production of a region by a good twenty-percent, a massive increase. However to achieve this requires oversight by trained if not particularly powerful Psykers, limiting its use to the Imperial Trust as a whole for the moment. Fortunately the number of Psykers needed is not particularly high, so covering the entire Imperial Trust is still possible. Issac also found that with Bloom Bees the time required to set up flora based defences can be halved, a significant boost.

Click to shrink...

Nice, I bet if we do a biologis study of them we could reduce the amount of psykers they need. 20% food growth, and halfe the time for the trees to grow is pretty amazing. Might make those actions to grow illusion pines viable. Stealth hives.

The Empire of Ashes has recently informed you that Operation Hecatoncheir has come to a conclusion as a success, with another Ork Conflagration being lured into the Black Imperium. They also mention that Abbadon has eventually laid the blame for your actions on the Assassin Temples.

Click to shrink...

Woo! you know, I almost wonder if the assassin temples are blaming it on the Assasin temples? "I didn't know about any opp like that, but it sure sounds like something we'd do." and then every department just makes vague congratulatory statements assuming someone else did it and kept the opp compartmentalized. But this is big, it means the sane powers are going to have more time to roll out their OP tech, and a Conflagration gets broken on something that can take it.

A year ago Archmagos Biologis Maximal finished his examination of the body of the Tyranid Norn Queen that He-Who-Walks-Obliquely delivered. He tells you that while the Norn Queen contains a database of countless incredibly forms of Bio-technology that he is only able to touch the surface of them. In large part this is becase when it gets down to it the Tryanids bio-science is just to advanced. In particular he believes that with effort he should be able to figure out how to reproduce the psychically receptive genestealer claws that Hive Fleet Grábakr uses, allowing you to make weapons out of them for your Battle Psykers that can breach all but the toughest of armour. He should also be able to reverse engineer the basics behind Bio-plasma, though he is as of yet unsure what use it can be put towards.

Click to shrink...

Shiny. The claws we can use, but the bioplasma is going to be amazing for callmus. their into the whole bioweapon thing, and being able to give vat-grown meat robots a plasma weapon, even a kinda shitty one, is a major boon. Or the principles could be applied diffrently, a vat growable plasma reactor sounds like it could have at least niche applications.

Four years ago Fabricator-General Scott finished building the Imperial Trust's first Titan Manufactorum. While it is currently only able to build a pair of Warlords every century, a rate that will take far to long to become relevant, now that a Titan Manufactorum exists further expanding it will be far easier.

Click to shrink...

chicks dig giant robots, I dig giant robots, we dig giant robots, this is the first step towards having a full-blown legion. I suspect the conclave will have all the designs for modernized titans, so we won't need to make our own.

Complete
year one d100=23+50(stats)+115(traits)-150(Void Dragon)+40(triple down)=78: Fail
year one re-rolld100=33+50(stats)+115(traits)-150(Void Dragon)+40(triple down)+15(Paragon Diviner)=103: Success

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.

Click to shrink...

Go rids! but that is a worryingly competent strategy. Everyone is busy with the endless expanes of fractural fires, so banking on no power breaking itself to take you out till you build-up is a fairly good strategy. Guess we know what the empire of ashes will be throwing future Conflagrations at.

year two d100=98+50(stats)+115(traits)-75(Chaos)+20(double down)=208: Critical Success

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.

Click to shrink...

welp. shit. man, I liked the concordat. they were my favorite thing I inflicted on this quest. looks like their up for another culling. On the other hand, their sorcerers will get the buff as well, so talking to them gets a bit more tempting. I wonder if we could shelter them? shits about to hit the fan, so being bound into a box in our vault for a few years would probably sound safe. sure its on avernus, but its better than being mobbed by damon princes looking to drag back a replacement sacrifice.

You spent a few years working on how to best make use of the rather horrifying Bolehs Spiders, one of the few forces in existence that give Avernites major morale issues. Particularly if they are fighting beside them, you can't shoot them if they are on your side.

Click to shrink...

Hee, oh man, i am never going to apologize for inflicting giant pupper spiders on the planet of arachnophobes.

 

[thamuzz]

@Ptolemy
Made some edits, think it works better now.

 

[Doomed Wombat]

welp. shit. man, I liked the concordat. they were my favorite thing I inflicted on this quest. looks like their up for another culling. On the other hand, their sorcerers will get the buff as well, so talking to them gets a bit more tempting. I wonder if we could shelter them? shits about to hit the fan, so being bound into a box in our vault for a few years would probably sound safe. sure its on avernus, but its better than being mobbed by damon princes looking to drag back a replacement sacrifice.

Click to shrink...

Bound in a box in the webway's probably best.

 

[Andres]

Not just for political reasons but also since our line has amazing genetics and narrative laws seems like it would mean quite a bit for having a powerful blood line.

Click to shrink...

It does not have amazing genetics actually. Again and again this keeps having to be brought up but the Line of Rotbart and its like are almost entirely a result of nurture rather than nature. Please remember this time.

 

[Nurgle]

Ok so we can probably use the bio plasma to give our new titans bioplasma. So we can create bioplasma titans. The genestealer claw swords sound nice, but I am worried we will have to do a telepathica actions for them. Which with the way things are we will not be getting omg them in the immediate future.

i am thinking's of putting Aria on create a psyker order of construction so the Administration can build the psyker cities and leave us open to keep our hero's to do research and found orders.

 

[xXxBlueViperxXx]

Ok so we can probably use the bio plasma to give our new titans bioplasma. So we can create bioplasma titans. The genestealer claw swords sound nice, but I am worried we will have to do a telepathica actions for them. Which with the way things are we will not be getting omg them in the immediate future.

i am thinking's of putting Aria on create a psyker order of construction so the Administration can build the psyker cities and leave us open to keep our hero's to do research and found orders.

Click to shrink...

We do have a confirmation from durin that the person founding the order has an affect on how effective it is at the start.
I was about to say if we could spare a psyker with a higher admin but then realised the only one that fits that description is too busy covering for rids.

 

[Karugus]

you mean only has him, his older brother and his older brothers wife, their 3 chidlren, his aunt and her son. Yes Fred has not other family at all

Click to shrink...

Considering I've never even heard of them or seen Fred interact with them I'm not going to retract my position. This seems like part of the flood of fan generated content this quest has of which I'm not particularly a fan. If you don't want Fred to seem isolated by the demands of his position and the deaths of people he's connected with, it's been poorly conveyed.

To add to this, Rotbart has four centuries of this shit under his belt and has lost people over a far longer period of time and has become an expert at burrying that grief to the point its basically invisible, he's used to burrying the dead, Tormod is 50 years old lost both his parents in 17 years and lost Lin who he was very close too in the middle of that on top of all the other shit and deaths he deals with on a daily basis in greater quantities than any other avernite.

Click to shrink...

And that's why Rotbart's mistake is harder to excuse? Because he sees a bit of other people he's lost in Tormod and perhaps unfairly wants to keep those memories alive? That he doesn't see a bit of his wife and daughter in Tormod? And part of why he wants Tormod to settle down is so that he can have more reminders? There's more to legacy and continuing a family line than the rigors of hereditary rule.

I'm not saying Fred didn't overstep his bounds, but I'm saying he did so because he's hurting and he's been incredibly limited in how he can actually show hurt for centuries by this point.

 

[mmgaballah]

Considering I've never even heard of them or seen Fred interact with them I'm not going to retract my position. This seems like part of the flood of fan generated content this quest has of which I'm not particularly a fan. If you don't want Fred to seem isolated by the demands of his position and the deaths of people he's connected with, it's been poorly conveyed.

Click to shrink...

his talking about Xavier and his family , Jane and Jacob as well , there was a knowing Avernus post during one of the turns that explains how family dynamics developed on the planet and it turns out that Jane is considered Rotbarts older sister and Xavier an adopted son

 

[Doomed Wombat]

Considering I've never even heard of them or seen Fred interact with them I'm not going to retract my position. This seems like part of the flood of fan generated content this quest has of which I'm not particularly a fan. If you don't want Fred to seem isolated by the demands of his position and the deaths of people he's connected with, it's been poorly conveyed.

Click to shrink...

Ehhh, that's Xavier, Tamia, Ophelia, the twins Jane and Jacob...

Other members of his family include the crazy uncle in Ridcully, the elderly grandfather in Klovis and his long term employee in Odesseus.

Its rather hard to say that of all people they're fan generated or that they're people he's isolated from.

This is all in update stuff, there's an entire section on this part of Avernite society, albeit one that kinda sprang up around Rotbart.

And that's why Rotbart's mistake is harder to excuse? Because he sees a bit of other people he's lost in Tormod and perhaps unfairly wants to keep those memories alive? That he doesn't see a bit of his wife and daughter in Tormod? And part of why he wants Tormod to settle down is so that he can have more reminders? There's more to legacy and continuing a family line than the rigors of hereditary rule.

I'm not saying Fred didn't overstep his bounds, but I'm saying he did so because he's hurting and he's been incredibly limited in how he can actually show hurt for centuries by this point.

Click to shrink...

Unfair yes arguably.

It probably wouldn't be that big a deal, on another word with a traditional familia structure, but Avernus long since threw that out the window, and if he'd gone about it better then it likely wouldn't be a problem either, but neither of these things are the case so he ended up both insulting Tormod and implying something very non avernite in the worst possible way.

And yes I do blame him for not making use of the people he had available, he's got an entire family, until recently he had Lin and instead he deals with his greif, stress and everything else in probably the worst possible way, more work, which makes more stress.

 

[Karugus]

his talking about Xavier and his family , Jane and Jacob as well , there was a knowing Avernus post during one of the turns that explains how family dynamics developed on the planet and it turns out that Jane is considered Rotbarts older sister and Xavier an adopted son

Click to shrink...

Fair enough. It's just that how much time has Rotbart actually got to spend with Xavier recently? Given how many spend times with were aimed at Syr over literally anyone else I've always kinda assumed he was more than a bit fixated on the idea of the family he could have had with Sif. This clusterfuck has just borne out that opinion. And I already acknowledged Jane as family.

 

[Doomed Wombat]

Fair enough. It's just that how much time has Rotbart actually got to spend with Xavier recently? And I already acknowledged Jane as family.

Click to shrink...

Dedicated spend a year focusing on him, fairly recently I think.

At the very least he keeps in close contact with his family members through various means whether it be letting Jane or Jacob school his ass, or helping Xavier run the department of war.

 

[mmgaballah]

Fair enough. It's just that how much time has Rotbart actually got to spend with Xavier recently? And I already acknowledged Jane as family.

Click to shrink...

Rotbart spent a lot of time with him when he was young but now that Xavier is the guy in charge of all the battle psykers not as much but that is mostly cause they are both very busy

 

[random_npc]

Bound in a box in the webway's probably best.

Click to shrink...

Or our vault. Letting some of the weaker ones ride it out there in exchange for say, their true names and binding oaths might be a cheapish way to get them in our debt.

 

[xXxBlueViperxXx]

Given everything that has happened what do people think the invisible stress meters look like right now.

also I do not want the minor gods in our vault that is begging for a demon incursion while we are still recovering from the last one.

 

[Doomed Wombat]

Or our vault. Letting some of the weaker ones ride it out there in exchange for say, their true names and binding oaths might be a cheapish way to get them in our debt.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, frankly I see three ways out for them...well 4, but you know.

1. Eldar, maybe they're paranoid about letting people in the webway long term.
2. The Krork, move themselves and their people to the protectorates, if they upp their weight they could be safe, but we dunno enough about the krork.
3. Us, I'm all in favour of sticking them all in boxes in the vaults, but we'd likely have to convince the council and we dunno how Avernus would take it.

Given everything that has happened what do people think the invisible stress meters look like right now.

Click to shrink...

Begging for mercy on the floor.