The Radiant Shepherd - A Warhammer 40K God-Emperor Quest

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This is for the future , but @Azel can we direct Living Saints to intervene in specific battlefields ? And how much action cost does it takes for us to do so
 
A small service announcement: Due to consistent writers block, I'll not continue this quest.

However, @Arcanestomper, who gave me the original idea for this, will be taking over as the QM from here on out.
 
Hello everyone, I've got the next post in the works. Just need to get the thread transferred to me so I can properly threadmark. In the meantime I can still answer your questions.

Signupname said:
This is for the future , but @Azel can we direct Living Saints to intervene in specific battlefields ? And how much action cost does it takes for us to do so
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Directing a living saint to a battlefield would be a blessing action. The amount of power your put into the blessing would determine whether the saint just did a quick morale boost or stuck around for the whole battle. You can also send visions to and commune with living saints like you would other characters.
 
Gabriel_TFA said:
Wasn't that far before that? Like...after or before he created his sons?

If he had his compassion before that, he would not fuck over Angron, Mortarion, Lorgal and few others.
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I have heard two versions one where he only did it at the battle with Horus and another where he did it at the start of the crusade. And with how canon is treated in 40k either one of those scenarios could be true simultaneously due to temporal warp shit or whoever the writer may be at the time. Like the Emperor has gone from super genius to emotionless robot depending on what author is writing them and their biases.

Still if we are going with the he got rid of it at the start I still maintain he needed to in order to make the hard choices necessary during the crusade.
 
Turn 2: A Hand on the Scales
  • Threadmarks
    • [X]Plan: Blessings and Visions
    -[X] Guide the Tarot (1 Point)
    --[X] Loki Sector, with particular focus on Rynn's World: Send visions throughout the sector of fire and unending green tide, mixed with warnings of misfortune and horrific loss due to simple errors in their defenses.
    -[X] Send Visions (5 Points)
    -- [X] Dante of The Blood Angels: Send Dante Visions of the planet Pandrax III, whisper of it's promises of salavation, for both his blood brothers and the Imperium at large, but warn of the threat that the Alaitoc Eldar might pose, that they might destory the relics upon defeat, and impress upon him the need of reclaiming Pandrax's genetech libraries over any physical victory.
    -[X] Blessing (4 Points, 2 points each): tip fortune's favor for both men, do what we can to ensure both men survive and win the battles to come.
    --[X] Ciaphas Cain
    --[X]Ursarkar E. Creed

    A Hand on the Scales​


    The weave of fate lies before you, a tangled and bloody thing. The work of fate weaver after fate weaver even more ancient than yourself trying to bring order to the galaxy, and each time failed. Even your own plan for a magnificent shining humanity has been thwarted by the machinations of the Great Enemy. But you have not been idle these past millennia. You have charted the destinies of billions and contemplated the possibilities. The tug of fate remains in flux, but you see an opportunity. An entire flank lost due to one insignificant error.

    "Something we know all too well, how many of our tiny mistakes have cost our precious resources, billions of lives." The voices are back. Crowding in the back of your mind. This one is tired and weak. Easily ignored. You're already ensuring that this error won't come to pass.

    Across the Loki Sector the cards speak of care and craftsmanship. The omens are ones of green death caused by the smallest errors. Of relying too much on central citadels and mighty bulwarks. Unlike many of your supposed servants the Crimson Fists are not blind to these portents. Not only do they recheck the defences of their fortress monastery, but they also do not place all their faith in one impenetrable bastion. Several companies are split off from the main chapter and set about preparing redoubts and secondary bases on other worlds in the sector.

    By the time the first scouts of the Waagh arrive they find a sector ready and waiting for them. It will be a brutal campaign, but the Crimson Fists are ready to be the shield on which the Orks break. Satisfied you turn your attention elsewhere. To a great champion of yours who still has work yet to do.


    In his vigil the chapter master of the Blood Angels beholds a great shining figure of gold. The presence is awe inspiring, and its words contain portents and tidings of great import. The world of Pandrax III, so small in the galaxy, so insignificant. But it contains a seed that could change everything. But all is not well.

    The figure speaks a warning as well. The treacherous Aeldari lurk in the shadows waiting to deny mankind its glorious victory. The Blood Angels will need to be vigilant and swift in order to ensure that their proper victory is not denied to them. For above all the importance is not Pandrax III itself, but rather the ancient prize it contains.

    Luis Dante awakens. Instantly he is fully alert, for a thousand years of war have taught him to be wary even in the heart of his own citadel. The vision remains with him with clarity beyond even his waking thoughts. He knows that he must go to Pandrax III. He knows that he must retrieve the gene vault. Just as he knows that one die he will die in the defence of that glorious figure. Such is his fate. Such is his duty.

    Calling together the Red Council Luis Dante informs them of their new mission. The Blood Angels must take Pandrax III. They must do so swiftly and without error. There is no dissent. From the youngest scout to the most veteran captain all respect the chapter master's sudden decision. Despite the Blood Angel's ongoing commitments every frontline company is redirected to this new crusade. From the fifth to the first, hundreds of space marines assemble into a mighty weapon to crush the Imperium's enemies. While the reserve companies take over their duties on other worlds.

    A dozen Imperial warships led by two mighty battle barges erupt from the Immaterium over the unassuming agri world. A broadcast is sent warning all present to stand down before their might, but Dante does not wait for any response from the Aeldari present. The vision included the location of the gene vault, and he wastes no time.

    Dante himself leads a team of terminators to deep strike into the gene vault itself. Resistance is fierce. The Altaoic farseer could sense the tides of fate shifting and arranged their defences accordingly. But they cannot resist the direct might of the Emperor's champion. Leaving his terminators to deal with the pathfinder and wraith knight bodyguard Dante plunges forward one wings of fire to engage the farseer in battle. With no regard for his own safety he breaks past the farseer's defence to plunge his axe deep into their chest.

    Behind him the rest of the plan is already in motion. Even as Blood Angel terminators deal with the farseer's remaining pathfinders a specialist team of librarians and tech marines teleport in to find and disarm any hidden bombs or xenos magic the farseer might have left behind. Several are found and disarmed though two tech marines sacrifice themselves to save one data crypt when a haywire mine detonates before they can remove it.

    Of course that isn't the end of it. The Aeldari farseer may be dead, but they are not orks. Decapitating an Aeldari force does not leave them directionless, and even now the Aeldari redirect their efforts inward. Pathfinder groups and vehicles move to assault the small Blood Angel strike team in effort to retake and destroy the gene vaults before the remaining Blood Angel companies drive them from Pandrax III. But Dante is as skilled in defence as in every aspect of warfare. He expertly fortifies the gene vaults and in a masterful display of siege warfare holds out for three weeks before the second company finally breaks through the siege and relieves his force.

    At last the Blood Angels are victorious, though many have died for this victory. Casualties are disproportionate among the first company. The carefully husbanded veterans expended for this prize. Dante regards the gene vaults with a mixture of hope and determination. He does not doubt they will be worth the cost, for such was his vision. He only worries what the future might hold for the Blood Angels now.

    "Ever our shining champions, we must help our sons further." This one you can agree with. Your sons are your pride, even if they have failed you far too often.

    Tech priests are loading the gene vaults for transport back to the Magos Biologis for further examination. What they will find Dante cannot say, but surely it will be of vital importance. For now he has done his duty to the Emperor and Sanguinius. As he always does.

    You vile wretch, Sanguinius was not one of your buried mistakes. He was good, he was kind and they killed him! The Magos, guide the fool so they're given control over their Black Rage but never allow them to forget. Mood description: True loathing. For a moment black rage nearly overtakes you as well. The mention of your most treasured son driving a spike of anger through your soul. But you overcome it. You are above such things now.


    "Do you feel that? The banging thrill of combat and success replaced with the loathing aching rhythm of uncertainty? We must bless them to ensure this task carried out to it's end." Another voice pushing you to action. It drives your impatience at your own limits. If only you could shape the entirety of humanity as you once did.

    Unfortunately you find yourself much more limited, and as such you turn your attention to a lone individual. You turn to the matter of Ciaphas Cain. You find that he is now leading a valiant last stand against a seemingly unrelenting tide of cultists orchestrated by the dark hand of the fate weaver. The threads of possibility tell you that this will be only one of his many "last" stands.

    Through luck, skill, and a healthy dose of fear he is even now about to break into the rebel stronghold and disrupt the summoning ceremony that will bring the feathered servant of the fate weaver into the materium. The victory celebration plays out in your vision. Yet another medal for the Hero of the Imperium.

    Cain will survive as he always does. As he always will. But what if you place a hand on the balance. He will surely stop the plot and save this world, but one lost plot hardly matters to a creature of eternity. In the vast expanse of the future however you see a hint of something even greater. A way to turn a Hero into a Champion.

    You reach out and a chimera suffers a minor engine failure. Just enough to slow Cain's convoy down by a few minutes. Enough for a cultist to make the final sacrifice. Enough for a demon of power to enter the real. Enough for a chainsword with a hint of your divine power, a headache inducing spot of blankness, and the valiant human spirit of your soldiers to deliver a wound that will put that particular servant of the fate weaver out of commission for a few centuries more.

    One final nudge on the scales. You make sure that Cain's favoured Inquisitor is the one to intercept the report. Just to make sure there are no unpleasant consequences for Cain's comrades in this world. Cain himself will of course be fine. Perhaps he will even gain that backwater posting he so fervently desires.

    "Cain should really be made a living saint, if he were to fall... Speaking of, I wonder if Saint Celestine is alright. Poor, poor girl, suffering death a thousand times over in our name... We can spare a thought for her too, right?" The interest in Cain again. It cannot be the Fate Weaver, for their plans have been foiled. But who else would wish to see Cain and Celestine thrive for their own ends.

    You will have time to ponder such thoughts later however. Your soul is shattered across a thousand worlds and you can no longer wield it with the ease of your youth. You feel your power waning. You must use it now.

    Fact: Most efficient usage of limited power must be allocated to highest cost-benefit per individual ratio, therefore concluded: High Lords of Terra optimal target for intervention. You find yourself agreeing with this voice. The precise application of power is a lever with which you once moved the galaxy. Your power is lesser now, but that just means you must place the lever with more care. And there is one last matter you wish to attend to.

    Colonel Creed has a future filled with possibility, but he is yet an ordinary man. You will ensure that he lives to rise beyond himself. Your touch is more obvious here than with Cain. There is no enemy foresight to avoid here.

    So you grant him the gifts of your blessing. You sharpen his mind, bolster his courage, and strengthen his limbs. And from deep within you find you have the wherewithal for one last thing. You nudge the weave of fate just a little to favor the colonel ever so slightly more.

    And then you must rest, but you can still watch as your gifts are well used. As the colonel breaks into enemy strongholds and destroys their hard points. As he duels their champions with sword and laspistol. As he saves countless lives from the Great Enemy.

    "Saving lives, saving humanity, saving our people... That was the whole reason we even did any of this, isn't it? We mustn't forget, we musn't lose sight of this... Of humanity." The voice feels closer now, but its words are laughable. Do it for the sake of humanity. What else could you even consider. Everything you do is for humanity. You have sacrificed your very mind and power for them. They are your charge and you will see them prosper.

    "The navy needs a champion of it's own... It needs... SPIRE!" You recall the days of your great crusade. When you sailed at the head of ten thousand grand ships. But no, you shake off the visions of the past. Your empire's fleets are rusted and scattered now. What difference could one man make?

    "Creed is not enough. No foe will sully proud Cadia's soil under his command but it means nothing if no one could stop the Despoiler's ships from simply besieging the world from the stars. Let Admiral Spire be free of the vagaries of the warp, that Cadia's fleets would bring down any foe." Another voice for Spire. You wonder at this one. You remember the dismissal of your sons previously. What does it see in the common masses that you do not. You find yourself tempted. Could your languishing fleets be grand once more under his command.


    The Emperor's power is tremendous but so are the draws upon it. Every turn, you only have a limited amount to spend on actions to guide the galaxy.

    Plan voting only please.
    You have 10 points to spend.

    [ ] Guide the Tarot (1 Point)
    Use your influence to give cryptic advice to people through the Imperial Tarot. You must write-in what messages you want to send and to whom. The more detailed and complex the message, the more likely that it will be misinterpreted or only understood in part. You can target these messages broadly, like to all governors in a sector, or specific, like sending the message to a single Inquisitor that fulfils a set of criteria you define.


    [ ] Observe (1 point)
    Sometimes you need more information than what your own visions of the present and future can reveal. Spend some time observing a specific place, person or something else.


    [ ] Aid or Hinder Navigators (3 points)
    The currents of the warp are treacherous and many a war was decided by one side receiving reinforcements just at the right time. You can put your finger on the scales by trying to alter the travel time of a fleet, though the gods of chaos might counteract you, especially if you try to influence their followers.


    [ ] Send Visions (5 Points)
    You send a prophetic dream and portends to specific people. Only one individual can receive this guidance, but you can communicate much more detailed information this way with a vastly lower chance of being misunderstood.


    [ ] Displace Fleet (6 points)
    The right person at the wrong place can make all the difference. Exert your will to fling a fleet off course to a different destination than it intended. This is unlikely to work on chaos fleets.

    [ ] Commune (10 points)
    Through a great exertion of your power, you can directly communicate with the soul of another being while shielding them from being overwhelmed by your presence. Communication in this way is always perfectly accurate and your touch will linger on the recipient, making it apparent to anyone that they are acting in your name. This power only costs 3 points if the target has been brought to your throne room on Terra.

    [ ] Create Warp Storm (10 points)
    The warp is never a calm place and with the right infusion of your vast might, you can conjure a storm in it that will make travel in an area all but impossible for anyone without divine guidance. However, your control over this storm is not perfect yet, so the storm might grow larger than intended and you can not control when it calms down again.

    [ ] Blessing or Curse (variable)
    Many call out for you to guide their hand every day. Sometimes you do. With this action, you can directly aid a mortal with a fraction of your power. Investing more points increases the effect. Blessing larger groups or giving very broad blessings will weaken the effect.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Alright. Admiral Spire getting release early huh ? Yeah, that sounds a decent idea.
    So, next up. Spire, the Custodes, direct Kryptman to squashed the Twisted Helix ?
     
    Reasonably effective.

    As the voices conclude with mine own observations on using the High Lords as an Imperium-scale leverage, I propose the use of the Captain General as an instrument through which we push forth our directive and guidance, as well as directing the Custodes on missions of importance.

    Especially since the cost has been reduced from 4 to 3 points for those who have visited the Throne Room.
     
    So success for the Blood Angels and the Crimson Fists, though I do worry about the Angels because Bile did once disguise himself as a Magos to fuck with them.
     
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    We should use Valoris to get the High Council to acquire STCs we know the locations of like the Panacea on Verdigris XI. Together with Assassins to defend against Drukhari heists.

    @Arcanestomper

    What sort of action would be needed to insure the removal of corruption from the Castigator-Titan on Charoneia? And could an action be taken to assist the Grey Knights in making the Warp voyage to it?
     
    I see Dante is being Dante and a total badass that he is! Beyond that I am all for Spire getting out early and having the Emps speak to his High Lords as well. Oh and potentially doing something for Saint Celestine as well.
     
    Personally I reckon lending Cawl a hand would be wise: it is by his hand that half of the successes of the canon Black Crusade for the Imperium can be attributed at least in part.
     
    So my idea right now,
    [] Plan: Saint and Spire
    -[] Aid Navigators of Admiral Spire(3 points)
    -[ ] Send Visions (5 Points)
    --[] Send Visions to Celestine of Cain and how he is meant for greater things. Blessings that are meant for him come, for he can be so much more.
    -[] Blessing (2 Points, 1 points each): tip fortune's favor for both men, do what we can to ensure both men survive and win the battles to come.
    --[] Ciaphas Cain
    --[] Admiral Spire
     
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