The Conclave

Afternoon all,

The date for the Spring Conclave is confirmed - it will take place on April 24th 2010.  I've booked six tables, including provisionally booking the Imperial City (but we may not get it as there's other events on that day).  I've started writing the campaign pack for the day and will release further details over the coming weeks.  Also, I'll be approaching a couple of people to ask them to help me with GM duties and the running of the day.

So, you've got four months to build a warband, sort out your travel/accomodation arrangements.  I'm looking into arranging food like we did at the IGT - so if you have any requests as to what form that should take, let me know.

- Dave


EDIT:

I've gone through this thread and so far the list of attendees is as follows (names in bold have confirmed their attendence);
Kaled
Robskib
Kasthan
Necris
Van Helser
Heroka Vendile
Myriad
Holiad
Greenstuff_Gav
Brother_Brimstone
MarcoSkoll
PrecinctOmega
Adlan
Anacron
Inquisitor Ranovack
Nakartai
ein

I'll update this list as I get more responses from people...

---

+ To: All members of the Carthaxian Conclave
+ Priority: Alpha
+ Subject: Death of Lord Grolin

It is with deep regret that I must announce that this morning Lord Inquisitor Marcus Grolin, head of the Carthaxian Conclave, was found dead in his private study by members of his household staff.

Lord Grolin, aged 317, has been a member of the Carthaxian Conclave for a little over two centuries.  During much of his long and glorious career he was a member the Ordo Hereticus, eventually rising to the position of Master of that Ordo.  He was later invited to succeed Lord Roemar as head of the Carthaxian Conclave, a position he has held for almost sixty years.  Notable events in his career include Scourging of the Folixian Cult, the Prosecution of General Fangorn, and the Trial of Inquisitor Yund.

Lord Grolin had been suffering continuing health problems for some time, and it is believed that these were the cause of his death; however, as is customary in these circumstances, a full investigation will be carried out to verify this.

I know that everyone will be saddened by this tragic event, and on behalf of the Carthaxian Conclave I would like to express my sympathies to Lord Grolin's friends, colleagues and members of his staff.

May the Emperor watch over his spirit.

Lord Inquisitor Calleia, Acting head of the Carthaxian Conclave


+ To: All members of the Carthaxian Conclave
+ Priority: Delta
+ Subject: Appointment of a successor to Lord Grolin

With Lord Grolin's passing, it falls to us, members of the Carthaxian Conclave, to choose his successor.  As is tradition, we will now enter into a period of quiet reflection and contemplation during which we will all pray for guidance from the Emperor to ensure that we might choose wisely.

Members of the Conclave are invited to meet at the Inquisitorial Fortress on Tigguo Cobauc on 0310010.M42 when Lord Grolin's successor will be appointed and announced.

In the meantime I will continue to lead the Conclave during this difficult time of transition.

Lord Inquisitor Calleia, Acting head of the Carthaxian Conclave



Inquisitor Lord Grolin, head of the Carthaxian Conclave, is dead - ostensibly of natural causes, but who can be sure in days such as these.  With no clear successor in sight, numerous candidates have stepped forward in an attempt to claim the position for themselves.

Your character has been drawn into this web of politics and intrigue, and their actions will help determine who succeeds Grolin as head of the Carthaxian Conclave.  By tradition, any Inquisitor has the right to put himself forward as a candidate; however in the past no Inquisitor Ordinary has risen to head the Carthaxian Conclave.  In the run up to the High Conclave, the candidates must vie for nomination.  At this stage, candidates will seek to drum up as much support as possible from their peers and other influential members of the Imperial elite.  In the past, unscrupulous candidates have dispatched agents authorised to use any and all means at their disposal to ensure the candidate's nomination.  The final list of nominees will be announced at the High Conclave, where the new Lord Inquisitor will be decided by a ballot of the Conclave's members.

Who your character chooses to support in the race for the succession is up to you.  Your player character may be a member of the Carthaxian Conclave who feels that the position ought to be his and hence you may decide to campaign on their behalf.  More likely though, you will decide to campaign on behalf of someone else - the player briefing pack (which will be made available on the day) will contain details of some of the leading members of the Carthaxian Conclave, ones who would have the support of their peers should they be nominated.  Alternatively you could create an NPC of your own and attempt to win sufficient support for them to succeed Lord Grolin.

Similarly, your character's reasons for supporting their chosen candidate are for you to decide.  If your character is an Inquisitor, then they may have thrown their support behind their chosen candidate in the hope of increasing their influence within the Conclave.  There is also plenty of scope for non-Inquisitorial warband to take part in the campaign.  Your character may be an agent, willing or unwilling, of one of the candidates who has been dispatched on a mission to ensure the succession.  Or they could be a member of another organisation with something to gain by a particular candidate rising to the position of Inquisitor Lord.  Agents of disorder may also have an interest in influencing the succession, perhaps by destabilising the Conclave so they can work their plans while the Conclave fights among itself.



The Spring Conclave will take place at Warhammer World in Nottingham on April 24th 2010.  Registration and handing out of player packs will start at 10am, with a view for gaming to commence at 10:30 and continue until around 17:00 leaving some time at the end of the day for free-play.  Players are welcome to join the event later in the day, however this will decrease their chances of winning the campaign.

There are no hard and fast restrictions on the types of characters you can bring, however you are asked to bear in mind the following guidelines when choosing your warband;

• The theme for the day is Inquisitorial politics, so preferably your characters should be ones who have an interest/involvement in the workings of the Carthaxian Conclave - see above for some suggestions as to why different characters may be involved.
• You can bring as many characters as you like, however the maximum number of characters you will be allowed to use in each game is three; in some games you may only get to use one or two characters.
• One character must be designated your principle player character and this character must play in every game.  In most cases this will be the warband leader but it could be a trusted henchman.
• You can include any archetypes you like in your warband, but to reduce headaches for the GMs when it comes to 'balancing' the scenarios it is probably best that your principle player character is one that is not too contraversial (such as a powerful alien or a Space Marine).

For each character you will need;

• A painted 54mm model representing your character.  This must be modelled using WYSIWYG principles, and as we are playing at Warhammer World, the model must be predominantly composed of GW parts.
• A completed character sheet for the character.

You will also need to bring;

• Dice (D6s, D10s & Scatter Dice)
• Tape measure
• Pens, pencils, erasers etc
• Inquisitor Reference Sheets

Optionally you may want to bring;

• The Inquisitor rulebook (either in book form or a printout of the PDF version).
• The Inquisitor Annuals 2002 & 2004

Robskib and I will be GMing on the day, but we need a ratio of roughly one GM to every three players, so the more players who turn up, the more GMs we will need.  Kasthan has already volunteered to GM if needed, but I may be asking for more volunteers on the day depending on how many people turn up.  If you are willing to GM, then feel free to bring along any NPCs you may want to use - the scenarios I have planned are fairly loose and GMs will be able to modify them as they see fit.  I will run the final game, and there should be some time for free-play at the end of the day so the GMs should have chance to play a game or two as well.



The ruleset to be used for the campaign is that contained in the PDF Living rulebook available to download from the GW website.  All players will be expected to use these rules, however the GM may impose whatever house rules he chooses.  New players are more than welcome to take part - it would be helpful if you have read the rulebook, but the GMs and other players will be happy to talk you through your first few games.

You may use any equipment, skills, psychic powers etc that you wish, including ones you have created yourself - however bear in mind that time spent explaining non-standard rules will impact on the limited gameplay time available.

Some of the scenarios in the campaign may be won by means other than violence, and so players and GMs are advised to familiarise themselves with the following rules for persuading and threatening your opponents characters (taken from PrecinctOmega's draft Inquisitor 2.0 ruleset).

Persuasion
Often there will be occasions when one character wishes to talk another character into doing what he wishes.  Persuasion is an opposed test with the persuading character making a Leadership test using half-Leadership.  If he is successful, the target must make a Willpower test on half-Willpower, modified by -10 for each degree of success* the persuading character had in his Leadership test.

Note that the target must be able to hear or otherwise understand the meaning of the persuading character.  Players should use common sense when determining whether a character can be persuaded to do something and the GM should arbitrate any disagreements; however, a persuaded character will not shoot at or attack the persuading character.

A persuaded character may spend Actions considering the persuading character's offer by making a Sagacity test.  If this is passed then the character is no longer persuaded.

Note that a player may choose for a character to be persuaded without testing.

Threaten
When persuasion fails – or a character isn't a persuasive type – then threatening might work.  Threatening works in exactly the same way as persuasion, but the target tests against half-Nerve.

The following skills relate to persuasion and threaten tests;

Brutal – The character may choose to make threaten tests using his Strength instead of his Leadership.
Intimidating – The character may make threaten tests using his full Leadership.
Persuasive – A Persuasive character may make persuade tests using his full Leadership.

* The persuading character receives one "degree of success" for every full 10 points by which his Ld test is passed.



As a final note, this campaign takes place within the Chronicles of the Carthaxian Conclave setting that has been running on The Conclave for some months now.  Players are therefore encouraged to use that thread to chronicle the part their characters play in determining the outcome of the succession.  This could include their characters actions in the run up to the event, how they fare in the games on the day, or what they do in the aftermath of the new Inquisitor Lord being appointed.

So how will the day be split up? Many short games like the IGT where everyone takes turns to GM and play, or a select number of GMs running longer scenarios?

Traditionally, one of us has run the day (including a table), with a couple of trusty co-GMs to run a couple of other tables.

Around 3-4 games for each player is the norm.  Depends on course on what Dave's got in his head.

I should be able to come down for this.  I'll get looking at flights.

Ruaridh

The format will be very much as Van Helser says - a few games, the 'winners' of which will play in the final big scenario. More details once I've finalised the campaign pack...

I'm going to attempt to finally make something like this! Knowing my ability with painting I'm worried that I will end up rushing things and ruining my models =p What sort of level of painting is required, not really meaning quality wise, more level of completeness?

well GW tend to stipulate 3-colour minimum in their tournaments, but we really don't care.

Yep, don't really care too much - obviously nicely painted models look good in photos, but the day is about the games so it doesn't really matter if they're only roughly painted. As we're playing at WHW, models should be made of predominantly GW parts - not that I care, but if a member of staff takes exception and asks for a model to be removed then their decision is final.

As the IGT, a few minis were entered in the painting competition that weren't even 50% GW minis, but neither of our judges seemed to notice.

R.

Yeah, the staff at WHW don't seem to care about non-GW models (for Inquisitor at least) but there's always a chance that someone will decide to enforce the 'GW models only' rule... Personally I tend to ignore it, but make sure I have at least one GW model just in case.

Very much looking forward to it.

I shall have to finish the work on the last two of the current set of greens, then, as and when I get my hands on some more brass wire and a new box of green stuff, I shall start work on some new models to bring.

Quote from: Nakartai on December 23, 2009, 01:11:54 PMWhat sort of level of painting is required, not really meaning quality wise, more level of completeness?

Well, it'd be nice for the models to at least not have undercoat showing, but don't feel the models have to be immaculate. The paintwork I took to the IGT was horribly rushed and far from exemplary, but there were no complaints. (That said, I hope to bring more impressive looking models to the Spring Conclave.)

Quote from: precinctomega on December 23, 2009, 04:14:51 PMAs the IGT, a few minis were entered in the painting competition that weren't even 50% GW minis, but neither of our judges seemed to notice.

Well, said models were hidden amongst heavily converted GW models, or indeed largely sculpted models (although, by a truly strict definition, that probably counts as less than half GW).

Either way, if a staff member staring at the models close-up didn't have complaints, I'd be truly surprised if a staff member merely casually passing would spot anything. At the IGT, I'm not sure we ever got more than a few glances from the staff anyway.

Still, has anyone here actually had such a problem at WHW?

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on December 23, 2009, 11:23:57 PM
Well, said models were hidden amongst heavily converted GW models, or indeed largely sculpted models (although, by a truly strict definition, that probably counts as less than half GW).

2/3 of my warband were sculpted  ;D

Hi guys, just to let you know I have available accommodation.

I live about twenty mins car/motorbike ride from WHW or a bus route that will drop you off at the QMC near WHW (its about 10 mins walk from there).

I can house about 10 people max (over the first 3 will be on the floor). Food can be provided, but if there are lots wanting to stay I will need a little money to cover costs (parents will not be happy having 10 people raid the fridge).

Stay can be on the Friday or Saturday (or both).

A few things to note:
1. I have 2 dogs and a cat (those with allergies etc)   
2. I'm vegi thus no meat in the house (but I can make a mean cooked breakfast)
3. You can get to mine from either Derby, Nottingham or Long Eaton train station.
4. I only have a motorbike, so if you don't have a car you'll need to get the bus

That is about it. Post a reply, then PM for further details.

QuoteI'm vegi thus no meat in the house (but I can make a mean cooked breakfast)

...and any discussion as to whether those two assertions are or are not mutually exclusive should be taken to Arkhan's Mind.

I've been given a leave-pass by SWMBO for this date, just so long as we aren't in the middle of moving house.  Which we might be.

R.

looks like i'll be going; working sunday tho :P

I should be in attendance

will be good to be back

I'm looking for a volunteer to help me with a few things for the Spring Conclave.  Basically I need someone who's prepared to share GMing duties on the day, and who can help me finalise the campaign pack for the day - checking over the scenarios, proof-reading and the like.

Also, when it comes to the big day we'll probably need a few more GMs.  I guess we'll need roughly one GM for every three players, so the more people who turn up the more GMs we'll need - just something to bear in mind...

Check your emails dave!

I'll GM if required. Either to share top boss job or to run a few games. Just PM me Kaled and we can sort something out.

Okay, well as Robskib was first, he's won the position as my right-hand man for the day.  I'll send the campaign pack through and you can take a look at what I have so far - there are a couple of gaps which I'd like some input on...

Thanks for the offer Kasthan - chances are I'll be looking to you to GM on the day, but we can discuss it more closer to the time when I have a better idea of how many people are likely to attend.

My plan is to keep the scenarios fairly open-ended so GMs should have a lot of leeway in how the games are actually played - they definitely won't be stuck merely running through my script.  My current plan is for GMs (including me) to each run three games.  The players who are 'winning' after those three games will play in the final scenario, which I'll GM, and while I'm doing that there'll be time for the GMs and anyone who didn't make it through to the final game to set up a game or two of their own so all being well, everyone will get a chance to play at least one game.

I should be coming but it depends on how much work I've been given. I go back to school that week. Is there any cost?

Nope, the Spring Conclave is free to enter.

I have a question to add myself.

I'm in the middle of sketching designs for the 5 "main" characters in Marco's entourage with the intention of bringing them to the Spring Conclave. I don't know how many characters you'll allow on the table per player, but it's obvious that it's not going to be 5.

With this in mind, do players need to use the same character combination in all games, or are they allowed to swap out characters between scenarios (within the bounds of reason)?
I know that in my normal games, I pick my characters based on what objectives I've been set*, but I don't want to make the assumption that I can necessarily do the same here - some people might feel that "optimising" a warband in such a manner would be unfair.

*So, if it's a capture-alive scenario, I'd bring the Arbitrator with the net launcher and shock maul - but if it's a "repair the signal beacon" scenario, I'd bring the Tech-Adept.
Of course, there's a certain amount of fairness, roleplay and character/player knowledge gap involved with this. If the game's objectives have just been sprung on my Inquisitor, I use characters based on who he would have otherwise had with him, which may well be a less than ideal combination for what he now needs to do...

I'm fine with it either way - I'd just prefer to know what to expect in advance.

Obviously, it's Dave's event.  But in the previous two Spring Conclaves, one run by Necris and one by me, this was perfectly acceptable.  Even the PPC didn't have to turn up in every scenario.

R.

My plan for the day is that players must designate one character who must take part in every scenario; I guess for most people this'll be their warband leader but it need not be. Then you're free to bring a pool of characters to swap between to make up the rest of your warband.  Whether you get to know what the scenario is before you select your characters will be up to the individual GMs.

Quote from: precinctomega on January 23, 2010, 08:49:23 AM
Obviously, it's Dave's event.  But in the previous two Spring Conclaves, one run by Necris and one by me Van Helser, this was perfectly acceptable.  Even the PPC didn't have to turn up in every scenario.

R.

My understanding has always been that everyone took it as a given that you had a single group of non-interchangeable characters, I don't recall ever being told or seeing any different. But fair enough.

Barring some unfortunate accident/crisis, I can confirm my attendance.  Flight, train and accommodation all booked.

Now, to get a new warband ready...

Ruaridh

yeah, seeing as VanHelser has paid for our accommodation (with cooked breakfast, really splashing out this year), I should probably say that I shall indeed be attending on the 24th.

Excellent - glad to hear you guys can make it. :)

I've updated the first post in the thread with more details of the event.  Hopefully it all makes sense, but please ask if anything is not clear.  I intend to post this on a few more forums in the hope that we might get a few new recruits, but I thought I'd run it past you guys first so you can tell me what information I've missed.

- Dave

all looks good to me

Quote from: Kaled on December 21, 2009, 12:40:52 PM

• You can include any archetypes you like in your warband, but to reduce headaches for the GMs when it comes to 'balancing' the scenarios it is probably best that your principle player character is one that is not too contraversial (such as a powerful alien or a Space Marine).

Damnit!  ;D

This Ok (http://www.conf-federation.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14323.0)?

Quote from: greenstuff_gav on January 31, 2010, 11:50:38 PM

Quote from: Kaled on December 21, 2009, 12:40:52 PM

• You can include any archetypes you like in your warband, but to reduce headaches for the GMs when it comes to 'balancing' the scenarios it is probably best that your principle player character is one that is not too contraversial (such as a powerful alien or a Space Marine).

Damnit!  ;D

I did think about your marine when writing that - it is only a guideline, and I don't really mind if you ignore it as I think most people are happy that you'll play the character in an intelligent way (and fantastic conversions always get a lot of leeway as far as I'm concerned!).  It's really there to discourage people from using warbands solely made up of very powerful characters who'll simply wipe the floor with their opponents - of course, players tempted to do that should also note that in some scenarios, force of arms will not win the day.

QuoteThis Ok (http://www.conf-federation.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14323.0)?

Yep, I was going to ask people to post the details of the event on any forums where there might be interested members.  If you do that, could you post a link to the forum on here and also ask people to let me know if they plan to come along (just so I have some idea of how many player packs I need).

Quote from: Kaled on February 01, 2010, 07:18:52 AM
It's really there to discourage people from using warbands solely made up of very powerful characters who'll simply wipe the floor with their opponents - of course, players tempted to do that should also note that in some scenarios, force of arms will not win the day.

hence playing him as a diplomat; a slight edge when it comes to intimidating people :D
he's also technically unarmed (it's a relic! he's not gonna draw that sword unless he really needs to!)

anyone with powerful characters needs to be wary of how they play; GM is God and should encourage characterful actions and punish OOC ones :)
(i wasn't above having a lascannon armed marine wandering in to attack powergamers in my campaigns :D )

Sounds like fun. I think I've got my own story for the day all ready already. (Fun with grammar!)
Marco's mentor, Inquisitor Byssus, is a rather manipulative type (who'll definitely have his own preference for a successor), who'll have sent Marco and his entourage to act in the interests of his choice of candidate. Whether Marco necessarily agrees with that choice...

On the note of powerful characters, although I may well not use her, I plan to bring Frost's model with me because Marco would almost certainly call in such an ally for an event of this importance.
She is certainly more formidable than most of my characters - but nowhere near being as powerful as a typical Space Marine.
We'll see how things go on the day - if I think she'd be too much, I won't use her. (Although, if I don't, it leaves the option for an account of what she was sent off to do instead in the RP section.)

Now, I have to follow this up with a question on Inq 2, not having ever read any more than the few snippets that make their way onto the forums. (I will admit that I've already nicked the new version of Blademaster though!)

Quote... for each degree of success the persuading character had in his Leadership test.

Based on what I know of Dark Heresy (never played it, unfortunately), I take it that a degree of success is a pass by a full 10 points?

Just to clarify, there is no problem with people bringing powerful characters.  If someone wants to bring a Mentor Legionaire, Adeptus Custodes or Necron Pariah as part of their warband, I'm not going to stop them.  However as a player's principle player character must play in every game, I don't want to end up in a situation where GMs don't want players to use their main character but the campaign calls for them to be there.  Thus the suggestion that the principle player character be one that isn't likely to give the GM a headache.

Also, in case you hadn't guessed, the last game will take place at the High Conclave so it would make sense if your principle player character is one who could feasibly be invited or somehow sneak himself in.  For example, an Inquisitor could hire an ork freebooter to do his dirty work in the run up to the High Conclave, but if that ork were to turn up at the Inquisitorial fortress then he'd be shot on sight and so the Inquisitor would be a much better principle player character than the ork.  On the other hand, a chaos magus could, by some arcane means, infiltrate the conclave and so would be a suitable principle player character.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on February 01, 2010, 01:00:40 PM
Based on what I know of Dark Heresy (never played it, unfortunately), I take it that a degree of success is a pass by a full 10 points?

Yes, I'll update the original post to state that.

so, did anyone notice it's Salute day?  ::)

Quote from: greenstuff_gav on February 02, 2010, 02:14:36 AM
so, did anyone notice it's Salute day?  ::)

1/365 chance, bound to happen eventually!

Quote from: Kaled on February 01, 2010, 05:28:52 PMThus the suggestion that the principle player character be one that isn't likely to give the GM a headache.

Well, Frost isn't colossally powerful (she is still human*), but she wouldn't be as fair or logical a PPC as Inquisitor Skoll.

*As it is, I've probably got a character that's more of a threat in any given area - but Frost is formidable in most areas.

I'd quite like to get to use her, but that will depend somewhat on the will of the GM and the appropriateness of the scenario.

Chances are there will be games where the sides are not numerically equal, so you ought to find an opportunity to use Frost in a way that is appropriate and where she won't necessarily totally dominate the field.

Excellent. Now I just have to go and finish her model.

... and for that matter, start the rest of them.

I've been doing some more planning for the event and have decided that there will be four games in the initial stage followed by the final scenario.  Robskib and I will be GMing all day, but if we get more than six players (and based on based experience I'm hoping there'll be 15-20 of us) then obviously we'll need more GMs.  To ensure that as many people get to play as possible, I will be looking to experienced players to GM one game in the first round and play three - obviously playing one less game will mean that's one less game you can win, but it's also one less game that you can lose so it just about evens out.  Alternatively a table of experienced players may wish to share GMing duties between them and all play, which is also fine.  I'll supply details of a few scenarios, but bear in mind that they will be pretty simple and if you're GMing then you may wish to spice them up with NPCs, additional objectives, or even replace them entirely with scenarios of your own devising.  If you're new to the game or don't want to GM for whatever reason, that's fine too - Robskib and I will be around to cover those games.  Obviously, if more people decide they want to GM all day then I'm happy with that too.

As you might guess, five games means that lunch is going to have to be a fairly hurried affair and is timetabled for just half an hour (although you can go for lunch as soon as you finish game two so you can take a longer lunch if you like).  There is another event on at WHW that day and so ordering lunch at the bar may not be feasible.  Therefore people may want to bring their own lunch, or we could pre-order pizza like we did at the IGT - if people are interested in that option then let me know and I'll take orders closer to the time.

It's clearly been so long since I last played Inquisitor that my account has disappeared!  Maybe you lot changed servers or something...  Aha, a little exploration reveals new servers in August 2009 - that would explain it.

Anyway, I'll bring my regular bunch of radical alien-hunters along to this party.  They came along to some Inquisitor GT once upon a time ('08 perhaps?) and had a pretty fun day, so I'm looking forward to getting back into it.  I might even paint them!  (I hate painting.)

I also quite enjoy controlling the world GMing too, so I can do some of that.

Quote from: Anacron on February 11, 2010, 12:09:37 AMMaybe you lot changed servers or something...

There was a malicious attack on the servers last year. It wasn't directed at the 'Clave specifically (it was aimed at another site), but it brought down everything on the server.

And as there were apparently no back-ups, everything that was on the forum before was lost in the process.

QuoteI also quite enjoy controlling the world GMing too

Ah, I detect megalomaniac tendencies. Excellent! ;D

~~~~~

Five games in eight hours does sound on the tight side. If you think it's possible, then by all means go with it - but I'm used to running games of perhaps two or three hours normally.

The Spring Conclave tends to follow the IGT's lead in encouraging fast, furious games that should take between 45 and 60 mins to play out.

It can help, in many respects, if you chop a foot off each end of the 6 foot table for paperwork and suchlike, and just play on the 4'x4' in the middle.

R.

I'm not necessarily saying it's a problem*, but I at least wasn't entirely prepared for the IGT's pacing - the sudden gear change from games of normally about twice the length probably showed nastily in my decision making speed.

I've been going back over the recordings I took at the IGT, and there are some painfully long silences when I'm thinking (fortunately, less so towards the end of the day). Stupidly, I hadn't really thought through the logic of bringing characters I wasn't entirely familiar with yet to games that I knew would be faster than I was used to.

~~~~~

*Well, in some ways, it can be. I've got an idea for a scenario I'd love to run at the next IGT - if it plays out in the kind of way I'm envisioning, it should be a memorable game to mark the upcoming 10th anniversary of the game.
The issue however is that it might not fit into the available timeslot.

Hi, sorry for a relatively late post, but as it looks more likely that I may be able to get transport for this, and will have models by the time it's ready I thought now would be a wise time to ask.

Two of my three models will be made with exclusively GW bitz, but Zophar is based on a Smart Max model, the only GW bitz of him being his weapons. Do you think i'd be reasonably safe using him, or do you think it would be wise to nominate one of his henchmen as my primary character? I only ask because if Zophar is my primary character and must be in every game, but then i'm not allowed to use him, I'd be left in an awkward position.

Unlike most who post on this forum I can't just bring another band instead, as Zophar + co is my only warband (and i don't think i'll have the financial capacity to create another by the 24th April).

As anther point, would Zophar be an acceptable character for such a campaign? As a man(/daemon) devoting his life to causing as many problems for the Imperium as possible, would an acceptable motivation be that he is taking the opportunity to try and wreak some havok, with the overall ambition that he may be able to make large parts of the sector fall vulnerable to rebellion etc (with the eventual aim of conquest in the name of chaos)? After all, what better time to try and fell a large sector of imperial space than when the Inquisition is distracted?

I think it would be rather interesting, but i realise it may cause problems of inclusion for the people making the story.

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on March 11, 2010, 10:20:18 PMDo you think i'd be reasonably safe using him, or do you think it would be wise to nominate one of his henchmen as my primary character?

You should be reasonably safe. In amongst the Conclave's heavily converted (or indeed, entirely sculpted) models, a non-GW model should be able to hide very easily. That is, if the staff even spare the Inquisitor games a second glance.

... and while I can't speak for Kaled, I don't imagine that in the unlikely case that a player is left unable to use their PPC, that they'll be stopped from playing on a such a minor technicality.

QuoteAs another point, would Zophar be an acceptable character for such a campaign?

Certainly. Someone like that could certainly have interests in getting a more easily manipulated Inquisitor Lord at the head of the Carthax sector.

Although that said, he would certainly need to be very careful... trying to involve oneself in matters where those involved are inherently strong willed and suspicious individuals who would be resistant to his psychic trickery would be a big risk for him.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on March 11, 2010, 10:44:41 PM
Although that said, he would certainly need to be very careful... trying to involve oneself in matters where those involved are inherently strong willed and suspicious individuals who would be resistant to his psychic trickery would be a big risk for him.

Zophar strikes me as the kind of man not to back down from a challenge, especially with such high stakes  ;D

Also, I was thinking about the role of Zophar's powers, and fluff-wise i thought the real role they would play was to get him past guards etc... For example, Kaled mentioned having to end up in a fortified fortress type place, and Zophar's manipulation, while less effective on inquisitors, would prove invaluable in getting past those guarding the HQ. For the inquisitors... the gigantic sword and gun he carries aren't just for show  :P

ANyway, thank you very much for the response, i'm starting to get excited about it already! It may well be my first 54mm Inquisitor game being played with my own characters (having, in the past, only used friends characters or 28mm characters of my own).

EDIT: Found the mention

Quote from: Kaled on February 01, 2010, 05:28:52 PM

Also, in case you hadn't guessed, the last game will take place at the High Conclave so it would make sense if your principle player character is one who could feasibly be invited or somehow sneak himself in [....] a chaos magus could, by some arcane means, infiltrate the conclave and so would be a suitable principle player character.

Yep, Zophar sounds like he'd fit in very well.

And yes, in the unlikely case that the WHW staff do ask a player to remove his PPC from the table, I'll allow them to use a different character instead.

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on March 11, 2010, 10:56:05 PMFor the inquisitors... the gigantic sword and gun he carries aren't just for show

Nor are the ones carried by the Inquisitors... ;)

Like I say - big risks. Like you say - big payoffs.

Not that I'm saying he couldn't be a character here - indeed, he can fit right in - but I can imagine that Sarthuul neither wants himself (if himself is even the right term for a daemon) or his prized human toy to fall into the hands of the Inquisition.
And of course, if he's found out, then the work he's done will get put in jeopardy as the Inquisition tighten security and checks.

So, I still think he'd need to approach these situations with a particular degree of care, attention and subtlety roleplayed in his actions. You can choose otherwise if you'd like, but still, one does not simply walk into Mordor.

Must get the new Necris (AKA Niska) finished, as well as his new warband

hmm I see a great struggle about to begin as my dammed finger is not healing as well as I had hoped.

As the Spring Conclave is now only about a month away, I'd like to get a better idea about who is planning to attend so I have some idea how many player packs to make up etc. If people could post (or PM) saying whether they're planning to attend, then I'll start putting together a list of definite/provisional attendees at the top of the thread.

- Dave

I'm a definite.
I have accommodation available for those that want to stay (http://www.the-conclave.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=434.msg5894#msg5894)


Just got some painting and character sheets to do. (Must get something into the Carthaxian Conclave thread)

Character sheets

must print out a few dozen more

I'm a definite attendee, hopefully with a new warband to show off (if I get my paints unpacked in time!).

Looking forward to the day muchly.

May also be worth mentioning now that I think I am going to run an autumn/winter Conclave event to make up
for the lack of a GT in December. I'll be aiming to have the day in October. Details to come in time.

Ruaridh

Myself and someone who looks a bit like me were planning to attend, new models and all.

I've started a list of attendees in the original post - names in grey are people who've expressed an interest and those in bold are ones who've confirmed their attendence.

So far, no one has got in contact regarding the offer of food I made earlier in the thread.  I'm quite happy for people to make their own arrangements, however I have been told that there's another event on the same day and Bugman's is likely to be busy (up to a 40 minute wait apparently, which is more time than I'd scheduled for lunch!).  We have the option of pre-ordering pizza again like we did for the IGT - a 12" pizza is £6.95 and the choices are Ham and Pineapple, Pepperoni, Meat Feast, Roast Vegetable or Cheese and Tomato.  If we do want to pre-order pizza then I have to get the order in by April 9th at the latest.  Send me a PM if you want to pre-order food.

Well I'm a confirmed attendee, tickets and hotel booked and paid for. Personally not a fan of pizza, so I'll just be getting lunch from the giant Sainsbury's across from the hotel in the morning I suspect.

i will be going  ;D
should be bringing BoB, who failed to get out of bed in time for the GT :lol:

pizza i'll pass on; packed lunch for me  ::)

I'll be there, short of some complete catastrophe.

... and I'm hoping that I've already used up this year's quota of complete catastrophes and that I'm in the clear until 2011. But I guess I shouldn't have said that, what with Sod's law and all... crap.

No particular plans for lunch yet - I'll work that out when I'm not suffering from lack of sleep.

Fluff wise, what's the difference between an intimidating and a brutal character? Is it that an intimidating character carries the implicit threat of violence whereas a brutal character is outright violent? I'm trying to work out which Severin would have...

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on March 24, 2010, 05:30:09 PMFluff wise, what's the difference between an intimidating and a brutal character?

I'd say that Intimidating characters are more the ones who you know can and will make your life a living hell if you mess with them. Brutal ones are the ones who'll just kill you.

I think that probably answers your question - but that's if he should have either. I can't really see a pit fighter being the type who would try to get around someone with threats rather than just fighting them.

I was thinking more in terms of if he was with Sarthuul who was 'forcing him to behave'. If, for example, the two were surrounded and alone, Sarthuul may well try and talk his way out of it (he being that type), and Severin rampaging probably wouldn't help his cause; the two would just be killed. However, if he coerced Severin into being the 'muscle behind his words', they may make it out alive (that is, until Zophar feels he has sufficient upper hand to let Severin loose).

I agree Severin, by his own decision, would never choose to NOT kill a 'slave of the Imperium' (he, of course believing himself to be a righteous saviour of the slaves - freedom in death), but he ultimately answers to Sarthuul, and Sarthuul, I feel, would be more than capable of persuading Severin to 'hold back' for a while.

I would, of course, RP accordingly, only making brutal tests when I felt it would be characterful.

Thanks for the response, and feel free to pick me up on anything i've said if you disagree.

Well, in that case, I'd be tempted to give a rule to Sarthuul that means he can make threaten tests using Severin's strength if Severin is "obviously in the vicinity".

It seems that it'd be more appropriate to have it so that it's explicitly Sarthuul who's issuing the threats: "Perhaps my bodyguard has escaped your attention.  You can do as I say, or I can let him have his playtime early today."

I very much like that idea. For the 'obviously in the vicinity' point, we can say if the character Sarthuul is threatening has line of sight to severin - after all, it wouldnt be a very good threat if they couldn't even see him!

Thanks for the suggestion, i'll be sure to implement it.

This isn't directed at Brimstone or anyone else, it's just a general point, but the Persuasive/Intimidating/Brutal skills should only be used where the character really embodies those traits (much as with any other skill).  GMs can always give modifiers to persuade/threaten tests depending on how convincing the characters argument/threat is.

EDIT: So far I have three orders for pizza, four including mine - if anyone else wants one, let me know asap.

sorry cant come due to exams

Exams aren't important when compared to ensuring the future stability of the Carthaxian Conclave!

Looking forwards to seeing the rest of you next week...

Quote from: Inquisitor Ranovack on April 16, 2010, 08:14:29 PM
sorry cant come due to exams

When are these exams?? I've got two major project hand-ins to have finished by the Friday following the meet, and I've got to travel nearly half the country to get to Nottingham, stay two nights and only get back home mid-Sunday.
Why I do this to myself I'm not quite sure... perhaps it's a substitute for the fact I don't spend all my money on alcohol like my friends do...

Heh, I've got the opposite problem. It's not that the Conclave is getting in the way of events after it, but that everything is piling up BEFORE and using up my painting/modelling time.

I'll have to haul some serious arse to get everything ready in time, but it can still be done...

... provided I don't set myself on fire or something, which is not entirely impossible, given that I'm testing some incendiary projectiles tonight.

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on April 17, 2010, 03:57:24 PM

I'll have to haul some serious arse to get everything ready in time, but it can still be done...

Likewise

the new necris needs finishing

Also did I order pizza or not? I forgot

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on April 17, 2010, 03:57:24 PM

... provided I don't set myself on fire or something, which is not entirely impossible, given that I'm testing some incendiary projectiles tonight.

This is why this forum is great, I think...

I'm both too poor for the journey, and have 3 essays and 2000 words of my thesis to do, a sum total of... 9000-12000 words?

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on April 17, 2010, 03:57:24 PM

I'll have to haul some serious arse to get everything ready in time, but it can still be done...

For me it's balancing revising for exams (which, granted are a couple of months away but i have a VERY high offer to meet) with trying to learn the rules. This will be the first game i play that isn't with my friend and his cousin, who would constantly help me with the rules side of everything as we played. Even then, I only played a couple of gams with them, and they were at 28mm. This will really be my first proper game of Inquisitor, and I want to make sure i don't mess everything up with my loose grasp of the rules...

As a side note, this;

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on April 17, 2010, 03:57:24 PM
... provided I don't set myself on fire or something, which is not entirely impossible, given that I'm testing some incendiary projectiles tonight

Is excessively awesome.

Don't worry about having a loose grasp of the rules, as long as you know the basics people will help out with the rest (they always help me anyway!). Need to revise the rules this week myself...

Must... finish... characters!

R.

I think it's kind of awesome that my attendance depends on the anger of a volcano...

With the flight ban looking like it'll be extending, my attendance at the Conclave is looking less and less likely. Hopefully the ash will dissipate by Friday and stay away until Sunday so I can get back. I'm afraid to say a nine hour train journey from Inverness is going to be a bit too inconvenient for me.

Start your prayer servitors now

Ruaridh 

Hmmm, a volcano is pretty good as excuses go!

Going by the BBC, airports in the north could be open tomorrow morning, with the rest of the country maybe following later in the day.  Here's hoping...

Morning all,

With the Spring Conclave now just a few days away, I figured it was time for a quick reminder - registration will start at 10am, then there'll be an introductory briefing and gaming will start at 10:30.

As well as your characters and all the usual gaming paraphernalia, it would also be worth bringing the odd model who can act as an NPC (a guard and/or a mysterious contact if you have one would be perfect).

It would also be worth spending a little time figuring out you character's motivations as regards the succession, and who they might support (or you can wing it and figure that out on the day!).

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I am expecting experienced players to each GM one game during the day, so please come prepared. I will supply some basic scenarios, but you are free to modify them as you see fit (or even to discard them altogether). There will also be the option to play games without a GM so everyone can play.

I look forwards to seeing you all on Saturday.

- Dave

Sorry for the double (or is it triple?) post, I'm having to do this from my phone...

One thing I forgot in the above message - those people who have pre-ordered pizza will have to pay me on the day, and I'll make one payment at the bar. I'm unlikely to have much, if any, change so would appreciate it if you could attempt to bring the exact money.

The only models i have outside of my warband are WIPs - they've been built but not painted properly. Is it worth bringing them, or will there be enough brought by others to mean  they're not needed?

Also. other than dice, rulebook, character sheets and models; is there anything else i'll need to bring for the game?

Looking forward to saturday, should be good.

None of the scenarios need more than one NPC (except the final one, and the necessary NPCs are already sorted for that), so we don't need many - I imagine other people will bring some painted NPC models, but you can bring your WIPs to show us if you want.

The only reason a game would need more NPCs is if someone makes up their own scenario that needs more.

Dave did I order a pizza?

and how much is it?

Yes, you did order a pizza, a ham & pineapple one.

They're £6.95 each.

cool I shall have £7 for you on Saturday  ;D

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on April 21, 2010, 12:35:56 PMAlso. other than dice, rulebook, character sheets and models; is there anything else i'll need to bring for the game?

A tape measure and a copy of the quick reference sheet (http://www.mediafire.com/?x13whktnw22) wouldn't be a bad bet.

crud I need a new tape measure

Also, don't forget to bring cameras - and more importantly, don't forget to use them!

Minis are all done!  Character sheets are done!

.... and I have a BIG surprise to bring with me.  ;D

R.

Quote from: precinctomega on April 22, 2010, 04:24:48 PM.... and I have a BIG surprise to bring with me.

It had better not be a sack of parsnips. While certainly both big and surprising, they do not make for good gaming table food.

they would however make good stand-ins for the Killer Doom Vegetables of Vegaisle IX  :P

Expect Wicked Willie's model to be slightly different from the last post on here. He's been..... upgraded. Did someone say 'armed to the teeth?' :D

Well, looks like everyone's favourite unpronounceable Icelandic volcano is behaving itself, so I should be catching my flight down tomorrow. Good times.

Ruaridh

Hmm is a bolt revolver enough or should I bring a big beefy shotgun along to just for good measure.

looking like I might just be undercoated (though new necris could almost get away with that)

dammed wife demanding attention all the time

i still gotta finish my character sheet :(
curse the afternoon shift! curse it!

I had all my character sheets done but just managed to erase one of them  :-\

Bolt revolvers normally suffice.

What fun. I'm coming by train, and I've got tickets pre-booked. And I've just discovered that the self-serve ticket machine at the local station is out of order.

Annoying though that discovery is, the fact that I found out early enough to deal with the problem rather than by turning up to find it that way at half past five on Saturday morning is pure luck.
It means making a trip into town tomorrow to go to the ticket office, but it could certainly be worse.

~~~~~

Anyway, I've revised my exact plans about which characters I'm bringing with me. I wasted quite a lot of modelling time with procrastination and that meant that a lot of stuff has had to be put on hold.
Still, I've got enough models to make up the warband. Both Marco and Silva, who'll be joined by a guest appearance from Shayna*.

*Shayna Leith being the name that got put to the Commissar I sculpted back in that week spanning January/February. I've not yet had the chance to use her in a game, and she's unlikely to have a warband of her own for a while, so I'm drafting her in for these games.
I've set her out as a political liaison for the Commissariat who Marco's temporarily borrowing as a guide. Whether that's to help with the local politics or the actual environment will vary.

I'll also have Frost, although she's probably going to remain in the model case most of the time.

Would have been nice to finish some of the other models, but they can be "assigned to secondary objectives elsewhere" as far as this event.

Quote from: Brother_Brimstone on April 22, 2010, 10:53:13 PMDid someone say 'armed to the teeth?'

Frost's standard loadout is 12 individual weapons and enough ammunition to be able to kill an entire rifle company.

And for her, that's not over-armed. She sometimes really does have to kill off that many people.

Gosh-darnit!

Inverness airport is closed 'til noon.  Flight down is at two, so might still be alright...

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you - hope your flight goes ahead as scheduled.

Last night I made some speedy repairs to the Valkyrie (damned volcanic ash in the engines!), and I think I have everything ready to go. I'll be travelling over tonight, and may not have internet access when I arrive (except on my phone), so if anyone has any last minute requests or questions, ask them soon.

rulebooks - check
tape measure - check
conclave dice - check
miniatures - check
camera - check
trillby hat - check
packed lunch - check
car fuelled up - check
character sheet - damnit!

I'll be keenly keeping an eye out to hear what goes on at the weekend! Good luck to all the participants. :)

Hello All,

Hope you have a fun day.

I also hope that you take lots of pictures for those of us who aren't attending.

Good news everybody! I am currently sitting in my hotel room in Nottingham. It'll take more than a cloud of ash to stop me!

Euan (Heroka Vendile) has made it down as well.

See you all tomorrow.

Ruaridh

Well we've broke for lunch all going well so far

Got back about 6.30. Nackered. Many, many thanks to Dave and everyone else who ran today.

Currently waiting for photos to upload to Photobucket, all 113 of them!

Thanks Gav for being my big friend in blue. Also to PO and Marco for putting up with my GMing. Oh,Marco no more crotch shots please.

See you all in the flesh soon, hopefully sooner than the Grand Tournament next year.

Huge fun and big "thank you" to Dave who put in an unspeakable amount of effort, creating over a hundred separate characters to act as the dramatis personae in the event's backdrop of sources, allies, suspects and corpses.

Highlights for me included my two main characters - one in power armour with a power blade - being held at bay for three turns by a haggard (and heroic) mutant with a spear; Zoltan Enobarbus giving Kasthan's Inquisitor a centre parting with a power sword; and watching Inquisitor Necris, inches from seizing power in the Carthaxian Sector, topple five storeys to a spine-cracking demise.

Oh, and having my own plasma cannon to threaten people with was fun, too!

R.

Thanks to everyone who attended - I had a really enjoyable day; even if my characters did have a tendancy to die.... a lot.... Massive thanks to Dave for all the effort he put into making it such a great day. Also, thanks to Ruaridh who guided me through my first game.

If i were to name some highlights, they would involve Gav's Space Marine picking up Severin and using him to kill Zophar, Severin somehow shearing an NPC's chest from his body and Wicked Willie using a demo charge to disintegrate an Arco-Flagellant (as well as collapse a couple of buildings!).

I will add my own pics to the picture thread that has been started.

Quote from: precinctomega on April 24, 2010, 08:43:48 PM
Huge fun and big "thank you" to Dave who put in an unspeakable amount of effort, creating over a hundred separate characters to act as the dramatis personae in the event's backdrop of sources, allies, suspects and corpses.

yeah, that... top job Dave!
some cracking miniatures on show and some crazy-mad playing going on.. the scenario i ran had an Inquisitor leap onto a moving truck, have a hrud shoot it with a plasmarifle and cause it to crash into a building while the inquisitor leapt to safety!

cheers all for attending and once again to Dave for organising and Rob for GMing all day!

Fun was definitely had by all. Superb effort by Dave with the campaign paraphernalia and keeping things running smoothly throughout the day.

Let's hope I can get some tables booked later in the year for an autumn conclave!

Ruaridh

Evening all,

Glad you all had fun - just a quick post with the results...

After the first four games, Ruaridh Dall had managed to gather the most influence and put forward Inquisitor Goddard as the first of the nominees to succeed Lord Grolin.  Tony Wallace had gathered almost as much influence, and nominated his namesake, Inquisitor Necris.  Gav Fry, Nicholas Carpenter & Euan Forrrest were tied for third place in the influence stakes - and the fates decided that Nicholas would get to nominate the third candidate and chose Lord Calleia, acting head of the Conclave.

The final game took place at the High Conclave, where the player characters were called upon to cast their votes.  At the end of that game, Necris took third place - his chance to win the lordship having been dented when, after a rooftop swordfight, he fell five stories and landed in a bloody heap in front of the assembled dignitaries.  Goddard came second in the vote after an impassioned speech on his behalf by Lisa Theobald impressed the voters; but in the end it was Calleia who received the most votes, and was inaugurated as the new Inquisitor Lord Carthaxian.  Therefore Nicholas Carpenter was the winning player, and his characters won much influence in the Conclave having supported the new Lord Inquisitor in his rise to power.

I was really happy with the way the day went, we had fourteen attendees, loads of great characters and models which made for some fantastic games.  The campaign mechanics seemed to work well, and as requested I'll post the campaign pack and the sheets of contacts in a day or two.

I'm looking forwards to reading people's write-ups of the day in the Chronicles of the Carthaxian Conclave thread - although the Carthaxian Conclave has a new head, there is much discord and strife between its members; even Calleia has his enemies, having already survived his first assassination attempt.

- Dave


EDIT: Ooops, almost forgot.  Special thanks to Rob for helping me run the day and making sure everything went smoothly - without his help it really would've been chaos.

Quote from: Kaled on April 24, 2010, 10:27:42 PMEuan Forrrest

Dave, I know I have more "r"s than the dictionary spelling, but this is ridiculous   ;)

Clearly you earned an extra 'r'.

It was certainly an enjoyable day.  I'd like to say I also thought all the GMs did very well too, which really helps - Krud was never short a pipe to shimmy up or a truck to explode :).

Well, I enjoyed myself as well. Made a few silly mistakes (Next time, disable BOTH the Valkyrie's engines!) which didn't exactly help my performance on the day, but winning isn't the point of Inquisitor.

Quote from: Kasthan on April 24, 2010, 08:26:08 PMOh, Marco no more crotch shots please.

I can't be blamed if my characters happen to have pinpoint accuracy.

Quote from: precinctomega on April 24, 2010, 08:43:48 PMOh, and having my own plasma cannon to threaten people with was fun, too!

Plasma Cannon! (http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/yy3/MarcoSkoll/Spring%20Conclave%202010/IMG_2602.jpg) (Not my best photography ever, but meh.)

I'm almost tempted to turn up next time with a replica of Frost's coil-rifle (http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb122/RagnarokEOTW/IMG_2252-1.jpg), which is easily one of the most complimented pieces of modelling work I've ever done. It's nice that it's quite so liked, because when I did the design work in this drawing (http://ragnarokeotw.deviantart.com/art/In-the-Shadows-Revised-140155061), I was doing a lot of work to make sure it was original, but clearly recognisable as being "40k".

Of course, any such replica runs a fair chance of being a working replica, but that's just me being me. ;D