Was honestly thinking more Gaia's Stepdaughters and Morgan Industries from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Because while the spire may be terraforming the world, unless a planet remains an agri-world (the later stages of which would be factory farming on a global scale) the place goes down routes that utterly destroy the biosphere, Terran or not (mining, manufacturing, Hive world etc). All in the name of stripping every last resource out of the planet to feed into the ever-hungry maw of the Imperium.
I wonder what kind of deamons that the other three will wind up with. I have this image of the Scarlet Cavalier having literal dogs of war. Maybe give the Azure Magus some gremlins (little tinkering monsters) or owls. The Violet Rogue could get rats or mice or felines like a panther.
That is a valid way to resolve the contradiction, but my point is that her name doesn't really play into that theme, and that isn't the only way to resolve the conflict. I'm not trying to argue her opinion should change, just pointing out that she picked a really weird way to integrate her death domain into her existing framework.
That is a valid way to resolve the contradiction, but my point is that her name doesn't really play into that theme, and that isn't the only way to resolve the conflict. I'm not trying to argue her opinion should change, just pointing out that she picked a really weird way to integrate her death domain into her existing framework.
That is a valid way to resolve the contradiction, but my point is that her name doesn't really play into that theme, and that isn't the only way to resolve the conflict. I'm not trying to argue her opinion should change, just pointing out that she picked a really weird way to integrate her death domain into her existing framework.
That's fair enough, but it's also her first title and the one she used to introduce herself to the world at large. It may not be her true name in a Warpy sense, but it's still something of significance to her that says something about who she is.
Speaking of, I wonder if 40k could have Nagash flavored Undeath.
Edit: I mean, obviously, given that each and every version of 40k is basically headcanon, but I'm always interested in having elements or Fantasy in 40k.
As for your question, closest I can think of is warp-fuckery being able to, in some cases, suspend death until killed by the holy, which let's be honest, was pretty much how necromancy worked in the fantasy version to begin with.
I wonder what kind of deamons that the other three will wind up with. I have this image of the Scarlet Cavalier having literal dogs of war. Maybe give the Azure Magus some gremlins (little tinkering monsters) or owls. The Violet Rogue could get rats or mice or felines like a panther.
Better than centaurs might be Ipotanes (like a Minotaur, except with horse parts instead of bull parts) - that'd fulfill the "humanoid" condition for first lesser daemon species.
VR can have monkey/parrot hybrids, combining the two iconic pirate sidekick animals, for his counterpart to VM's bunny people.
For AM... I dunno, some kind of magitach golem things? Or maybe blue not!Jawas.
"By the power of the Maiden, She Who Harvests, are our lives made sacrosanct! By Her very hand is our home preserved against depredation! By Her will is Peace kept! And you seek to defile all that She has helped us build. But the Gladeworlds will stand forever, Imperial Dog!"
Ordo Malleus interrogation transcript TH-38. Last words of captured Thorn Cultist Nedregard Short
First known mention of anomaly "Gladeworld"
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"In these days after the Emperor's Victory, it is easy to forget the horrors of the past. A grim reminder can be found in the slow return of Daemon Worlds, those hellish intrusions of Warp into the Emperor's galaxy. Each ruled by an arch-daemon, records show that they were fiercely fought over by the forces of Chaos in elder days, with control representing the dominance of a given power in the twisted power struggle between the Four.
"The amount of Daemon Worlds under the control of the Verdant Witch worshipped by the Thorn Cult is therefore alarming. Called "Gladeworlds" by her daemons and mortal slaves alike, they superficially resemble agri-worlds or pleasure worlds. But do not be deceived! These are no places of honest labor in the emperor's holy name, nor a place of earthly rewards for his servants. No, this is a den of temptation the likes of which haven't been seen for thousands of years! Three of the most pious of Acolytes from the retinue of High Inquisitor Visit-Ruination-Upon-The-Infidel were covertly inserted onto the surface of the oldest known Gladeworld, formerly the agri-world of Equinox, and their reports form the best insight we yet have into the devious methods of temptation used by the Witch and her followers.
"The team of one Interrogator, one Guardsman drawn from the former PDF of Equinox, and a Mechanicus Initiate Priest was inserted into a patch of wilderness outside the known radius of the original colony capital by Holy Translocation from an Assassinorum Stealth Ship in orbit, and made a base camp. After going over plans together, the three began their observations and reports. But in the middle of their preliminary environmental scans, they were attacked by a daemon of the Green Witch. In the face of such horror, the Interrogator of course attempted to purge the monstrosity, but the foul worldmind of the Daemon World impeded him. First jamming his weapon, then his other weapon, and his 19 other weapons. Finally he attempted to charge the daemon to purge it's foulness by the touch of a holy warrior, only for the ground itself to rise up against him, and render him unconscious.
Ordo Malleus investigation report, "Gladeworld Equinox" PT 1
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"At 0809 Equinox time, WORLDTREE detected Imperial transporter signatures touching down outside Redwood City. Huntsman Varness was dispatched to investigate, with Special Operations Squadron 7 escorting him and providing backup, if necessary.
At 0857 Equinox time, Huntsman Varness made contact under cover of a localized Elysium Field, reporting a suspected Ordo Malleus strike team. Upon making contact, the suspected leader of the team attempted to open fire with kinetic weaponry, only to be rendered unconscious by compounding Elysium Effects. The two companions who witnessed this fled into the bush with their fallen commander. Squadron 7 followed to gather covert intelligence"
Equinox Peace Corps incident report 528
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"Ok, ok, you're ok, you're alive, calm down. So. Situation report, Daemon World Equinox investigation mission. Terran time… 1328 by my chron. Mid-morning local time. Sergeant Jerjerrod Mills, reporting.
We hit the ground in west-ish Goldsheaf. Within the hour we had a contact. Boss tried to open fire but his gun didn't work. None of his guns did. Which is groxshit, because I know for a fact he had a blessed bolt pistol in that stupid jacket of his. That should have worked, at least. Anyway, when the guns didn't work he tried to charge the bogie with his knife, and he tripped and hit his head on a rock. Matrina's looking over him now, says he'll be alright-ish. Which is good, I guess? Means we don't have a good excuse to get out of this place.
What? Right, report. Ok, environment. … It's a forest. Looks pretty normal. Looks exactly like I remember, honestly. Maybe a bit overgrown since I left. Pretty sure if I went looking for it, I could find that swimming hole all the rich kids went to to make out. Haven't seen any animals, but that's not a big surprise, everything Terran on this planet knows to keep away from the dumb lumbering humans, and we're well within the old colony zone. No real difference from what I remember.
OK, the contact. Yes, that's new, thank you so much, Matrina. Frickin gearheads… bogey was humanoid, standing about 2 meters. Didn't have a visible weapon, or make any aggressive moves. But it just appeared out of the undergrowth, and it's skin… looked like vines and bark, honestly. If it hadn't been moving and saying something I couldn't make out over the Boss yelling his head off, I'd have thought it was a dummy made to mess with us. So… some kind of plant daemon. Which tracks with what the reports said about the daemons in charge of this place. Yes, I read the reports, Matrina. Yes, I can read! Ugh. Anyway, once the boss wakes up, we're going to make our way to a settlement that should still be near here. Figure since I'm technically a local, I can just say I'm on leave and visiting the Veteran's Hall there or something."
Voice recording, Evidence Exhibit C in Heresy trial In Absentia of Jerjerrod Mills. Charge: Unlicensed Literacy
Friday: Sermon on the Emperor! (Recurring!) (Mandatory!) (Cancelled!)
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"Well, well, well. Look who decided to let us all know he wasn't dead!"
"Uh. Hi, Amelia. I'm, uh, on leave? Hey! Ow! Leggo!"
"Over a hundred years and NOW my favorite cousin decides to take leave? You couldn't have dropped us some mail every now and then?"
"I- ow, quit noogieing me!- I got reassigned! And after that I heard that- Ow!"
"I don't care what you heard! You still could have called! Hmph. You're far too thin. Do they feed you in the Guard?"
"I-"
"Doesn't matter, I'm taking you to get something to eat. Bring your friends, too."
"Lady Amelia, should I assume our meeting is being cut short?"
"Yes. Terribly sorry, Mayor-"
"None of that, now, I understand. Family's important. Welcome home, lad."
"Come on, Jerry! We're going to the capital!"
Mechanicus body microphone recording from unit M-120189141
Evidence Exhibit B in Heresy trial In Absentia of Jerjerrod Mills. Charges: acknowledging relation to Daemon World resident; failure to reject heretic
Kinda just wanna get this posted so it doesn't sit in my drafts forever.(Perfect is the enemy of done.) Hope it makes any kind of sense whatsoever. Its evolved as I've gained more information and kinda grown beyond what i originally intended. Part 2 coming at some point.
In the face of such horror, the Interrogator of course attempted to purge the monstrosity, but the foul worldmind of the Daemon World impeded him. First jamming his weapon, then his other weapon, and his 19 other weapons. Finally he attempted to charge the daemon to purge it's foulness by the touch of a holy warrior, only for the ground itself to rise up against him, and render him unconscious.
Upon making contact, the suspected leader of the team attempted to open fire with kinetic weaponry, only to be rendered unconscious by compounding Elysium Effects
While I am not sure it would work that way, it certainly is a funny image, enough I am not sure if it would beat emptying every gun he had then exhausting himself by trying to knife them only to have absolutely nothing happen.
Regardless, Elysium will be an endless font of frustration for the imperium.
"Hi Everyone!" You pop in at a good moment, materializing in a pulse of verdant green in the middle of the room. Your hair immaculate--as is proper--your garb properly sewn together and your eyes shining like a bluebell beacon. You preen at the attention--and the swell of energy you already feel now that you've re-established your connection to time as mortals understood it.
A pillow smacks you in the face.
"ONE HUNDRED YEARS" Dana glares--she's still a Good Girl of course, but now she has cute ears and is shinier and has taken the time well! "You've been sitting there ONE HUNDRED YEARS" Do you know how hard it is to be in charge of a rising heretical cult?" Oh no she's actually a bit upset. "When everyone expects you to be the voice of reason as everyone goes mad with power now that it's okay to do new things now?"
"I dunno, it seems pretty happy as far as I can see?" Layla smirked, feet kicked back on the table as she leaned back on her chair. "I've certainly had a great time--planet's a big place and there's lots to explore now that you don't get blown up anymore for going too far out the borders."
"It's the principle of the thing!" Dana turns on the smaller pirate--who just gives a cheeky grin in the face of the First of the Chosen. "You just went around doing whatever you want!"
"I helped!" Elliot supplies--he's a Good Boy too! "I handled some of the paperwork!"
"You're the new guy, you don't count" Dana waved it off--he deflated. Wasn't he with the group for almost as long as everyone else though? It must be a joke! You can even feel it by the lack of any real deep hurt!
"I wouldn't even call it 'Mad with Power' " Amelia interjected. "Truthfully, after the Event of Year three, people seemed to settle down and we didn't need to worry about anyone else deciding to try and create any infinite source of delicious bacon."
...
Okay you have to take a look back into what happened there, you might not be able to spread influence back in that period but you were sure that had to be a bad joke...
oh
oh goodness
Okay! Maybe sending Rainkeeper with a book of mystical script and letting anybody who asked him read from it was a bad idea. Oh dear that was a proper mess, good on Dana to regulate who gets to talk to him afterwards!
"Well, what's a hundred years between friends!" You add, smiling. "Besides, I'm sure there's all kinds of things we can do together now that we're all together again!"
"Project NOMAD is still on the backburner" Elliot opened his notebook. "Then we've got our early attempts to develop a void-merchant marine to see if we can exploit the rest of the star system. Our internal economy is in good shape and shouldn't need any real intervention right now. A token speech might be in order?"
"Oh! Right! I saw that!" You whip your fan out. "Hohoho! I haven't tried to pop into the Tree yet, but there's no reason I can't project myself through it if I want to interact with anyone!"
"You might want to keep that on the downlow." Layla cautions, you turn to her, blinking owlishly. "They've all sort of gotten this... Image of you in their minds"
"Don't you go there..." Dana almost snarls You wonder what it's all about? Before Layla can chime in though, Dana turns to you. "I think it would be for the best if you kept any public appearances to a minimum. Just for the sake of keeping the peace."
Goodness, you don't really understand, but. "I'll trust you then!" You tap your fan on your wrist a few times. "Still, it almost feels like things are going too easy. What do we even have to worry about now? We can just cuddle up, grow, and be safe in the days ahead!"
"We have a problem"
Niamh drops in--she looks much better than she did before! She's still favoring the leathers and furs from before, but she wears it now over neat clothes, and it looks like she's actually gotten something decent to eat now and then! Good for her that it's all working out.
Of course, everyone else seems to be looking suspicious at the whole business--Niamh isn't deterred by their confusion though!
"A prophecy has been spoken, and fate turns" She maintains a straight face as she turns her gaze to you, bowing her head in submission before proceeding. "We will have guests soon."
Huh, you weren't planning on having any guests.
"What kind of guests are we talking about?" Dana asked--Niamh shook her head. "Unclear, the readings only warn of potential peril. We must make suitable preparations in the time we have remaining."
"Well then!" You smile, and put your fan away. "Shall we get down to the day's business?"
Chapter Two: Reaching Out
Ensure the 'Guests' don't ruin everything (PRIMARY)
Establish home-grown Voidcraft, explore your home system (PRIMARY)
Ensure Equinox becomes a capital world worthy of being your heartlands (PRIMARY)
Gain at least one Ally (SECONDARY)
Complete your basic Army List (SECONDARY)
Achieve a Rank 6 Cult (SECONDARY)
You are a Scope 3 God
You currently have 6 Tokens of Favor
You have 5 Heroic Cultists
You have a Rank 4 Cult, generating 5 Manpower
You have taken the Sorcery Domain! And in doing so, unlocked the magical power of teaching any rando schmuck the symbology and language that alters the very fabric of time and space to make magical things happen! Of course, doing so is a complicated task even in the modern warp, especially if you're not going to demand a large price for the right to use your power! Things can sometimes go wrong. Sorcery On changes the normal rules--even mortal generated die bonuses now contribute to Miracles when Sorcery is On. However, should the d100 come up as doubles, a Phenomenon occurs, which modifies the final result in a method that ranges from being awkward to potentially life threatening. With one exception. A roll of 00 (Representing '100' ) instead will give an unexpected side effect that nonetheless turns out to be for the better. Great power may be found with this Domain, but great peril can be found as well, use it wisely!
Preaching Actions
[ ] Speak to the People! (DC ??)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Connection, Sorcery) It's good to be back, and it's good to be able to talk directly! Of course, your people want to actually go over what you have to say before you say it, which is very confusing! You're not sure what's going on but you'll take their word for it and do your best!
[ ] Modernize your Dogma (DC 75)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Connection) Society has changed in some simply dizzying ways since you went to sleep! While the Dialogues did a great thing keeping everything all glued together until now, it is running into certain concerns regarding it never being written assuming the Cult was in charge of anything. Maybe see if you can nag someone to write a new edition? Or an addendum? Or maybe some new chapter or something? Gosh, this is all so complicated
Infiltration Actions
[ ] A Quiet Census! (DC 60) (1 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Connection) Everything seems pretty okay! Everyone seems pretty happy! But there's a decent group of people who are less happy, you should make a point of finding out what's wrong so you can fix it!
Charity Actions
[ ] Party Time! (DC 50) (1 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Connection, Earth, Elysium, Sorcery) You're back! You're awake! What better way to celebrate than to throw a big party in Redwood City open for everyone! People'll love this, you're sure of it, especially if you make sure to provide some nice special effects for everyone!
[ ] Stars Above and Beyond! (DC 80) (2 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Weaving, Earth) Your Lotus Star Reactors are a brilliant idea! Unfortunately, nobody can create them without your help, because the're super complicated and apparently the magic you used isn't something your Ratosk can wrap their heads around. So clearly this means you should build a whole bunch of them and just leave them lying around for people to do something with!
[ ] Make a Nice Place for guests! (DC 70) (1 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Weaving, Earth, Elysium, Sorcery) You've got guests coming and they might not want to kill you! Just in case, you should make sure there's some pleasant guest quarters in the World Tree for them to hang out in! It'll be nice to have even if they turn out to be bad guys that you need to outfight, because eventually someone is going to want to make friends, right?
Kinetic Actions
[ ] Project: NOMAD Part One: Big Fish? Big belly! (DC 70) (Manpower cost waived by remaining Tokens)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Weaving, Earth, Endurance, Sorcery) Strapping guns to a Leviathan was a nice idea at the time... But even with the new techniques, it's not actually very well designed for going pew-pew. They had the idea of just making it able to carry a lot of friends though and have those friends carry pew pew for them! But that means giving them a lot of space to get in and out which means a lot of changes which means this is going to be a little time consuming!
[ ] Project: NOMAD Part Two: Birds! (DC 75) (1 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Weaving, Earth, Endurance, Sorcery) They're not really birds, they're more... Choppy flying bladey things, but they want to give them a bird name and that's A-OK with you! Let them hang out on top of a Leviathan and spill out and project all the pew-pew for you! Plus they can even carry the Flower Knights with them as an added bonus! It's like some kind of... Flying, Flower, Knight... You'll need a better name for this order you think.
[ ] Giant Friendly Crab! (DC 80) (1 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Weaving, Earth, Endurance, Sorcery) You had a brilliant idea, watching some of the sea life do their thing. Armored light walkers, with reinforced shells, lots of guns, and the ability to jump around and reposition as needed. Sure they're not super fast and maybe not able to get everywhere you'd like, but they're still faster than Belladonnas and you can stick a really big gun on them if you can. This can't be a bad idea
Sorcery the Domain just means you're empowering your dudes to push beyond their limits, but it doesn't remove the innate risk of "oops' that Sorcery has.
So "Sorcery-ON" means that your mortal assets contribute to Miracles, but if you roll dubs now you have Fun Times.
[ ] Stars Above and Beyond! (DC 80) (2 Manpower)
-[ ] (Attached Cult Tokens)
-[ ] (Sorcery On/Off)
-[ ] (Available Domains: Weaving, Earth) Your Lotus Star Reactors are a brilliant idea! Unfortunately, nobody can create them without your help, because the're super complicated and apparently the magic you used isn't something your Ratosk can wrap their heads around. So clearly this means you should build a whole bunch of them and just leave them lying around for people to do something with!
Well, Lotus Reactors are probably a must-have for getting into space due to the power generation requirements, but we also really don't want this project to go badly.
Sorcery the Domain just means you're empowering your dudes to push beyond their limits, but it doesn't remove the innate risk of "oops' that Sorcery has.
So "Sorcery-ON" means that your mortal assets contribute to Miracles, but if you roll dubs now you have Fun Times.
That sounds like they do the same thing? Is it double-risky to use both the Sorcery domain and the Sorcery On option for the same action?
Edit: Wait, I think I get it now - Sorcery On removes the safeties and adds the double mechanic while Sorcery domain removes the safeties and adds the usual +10 bonus. I assume using both would therefor remove the safeties and add both the double mechanic and the +10 bonus?
