1st time GM looking for advice

[Canis-Sapiens]

I introduce some of my friends to inquisitor a few weeks ago. We just played a few games for everyone to learn the rules, shooting combat psychic powers etc and now i'm planning to put together a short campaign. This is the 1st time i have desinged and GM'ed my own campaing so i could use some in put on what i have created.

The player briefing at the top is what i will give them, the rest is just notes for my use. The rules and creature stats have been pulled from various files in the mega pack and for those interested i'l be using my ghorgon model from fantasy as the horror. the idea is that the 1st scenario will most likely be against NPCs so the characters can use up some ammo and perhaps get injured. My friends will be desinging their own characters for the 1st time though i have said no power armour and stats mainly in the 50-70 region. i am allowing bolt guns but they will have no reloads or belt/drum mags. if all goes to plan there will be 4 players plus me as GM so in the 2nd scenario it will be who ever can get the sword and get out without being possessed by it or eaten by the horror. I am hoping someone will choose to play a chaos alligned character who might welocome the possession and the daemonic power it gives.


The caverns Aharoni – Player Briefing

Stories of an ancient temple belonging to a long destroyed chaos cult in the caverns below the hive city of Aharoni Prime in the Tergius system first came to your attention several years ago. Along with rumours of a powerful daemon sword housed within as well as many other artefacts the cult had gathered. Like many others you sent operatives to explore the city's underhive searching for the temple but they returned unsuccessful.
Now news has reached you that a recent series of violent seismic events has caused the ground outside the eastern gate of the city to collapse revealing large open caverns filled with crumbling buildings and many miles of tunnels. Reports from a local Adeptus Mechanicus exploratory team indicate the presence of glyphs and insignia carved into the stone work of the tunnels. They also mentioned packs of mutated giant rats, spiders and other creatures that attacked when they tried to move deeper into the tunnels systems.
Other prospectors searching for valuable artefacts and pieces of forgotten technology have returned their minds destroyed by fear and gibbering about a horror that dwells in the darkness.
The sword and the other technologies with in the temple cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. 





Four main caverns have been exposed and each player must secretly choose which to investigate searching for the entrance of the temple. The entrance to the tample is in a random cavern (choose secretly so no one knows and reveal after all players have finished their 1st game. Those players who choose one of the others or choose correctly but are driven off will arrive d6 turns late in the final scenario.
If only one player chooses a cavern they will only face off against the creatures that live there. If two players choose the same cavern they will meet and depending on allegiances or players RPing the meeting can fight or work together to search, either way they will still have to defeat the local creatures to undertake a full search of the cavern.

Local creatures, 4d3 giant rats, 3d3 mutant canines or 3d3 giant spiders.
Between the 1st and final scenarios all location injuries will be healed back 2 levels unless the character is dead and a characters injury total will be reduced by 3d10 to represent medical treatment received before continuing the search. All persistent effects are removed.
No ammunition is gained between scenarios.

Environmental Conditions
The seismic activity has left the area highly unstable – at the beginning of each turn on a d6 roll of a 6 an aftershock occurs. Characters in the open must pass a Str test at -10 or be thrown to the floor pinned then spend his first action that turn recovering. Characters on ledges or the upper stories of buildings will fall if within 2 yards of the edge if they fail the Str test and a subsequent Int test.
As a result of the cavern roofs collapsing the ground is covered the rubble sprinting is considered a risky action and anyone failing will trip and be knocked prone 

The small beasts detailed below should be treated in a similar way to Cyber Mastiffs and always dodge rather than parry. They only have one location to injure (use chest injury chart) and are dead if it becomes crippled.

Giant Rat

Equipment: Teeth (count as knife)
Special Abilities: Dodge
WS   BS   S    T    I    Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
42     0     28  32  63   7       2    14   18
Speed   Base Injury   System Shock   Consciousness
    4             3                    6                       16

Mutant Canine
Equipment: Large fangs (count as short sword)
Special Abilities: Furious Assault
WS   BS   S    T    I    Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
53     0     56  51  63  19     2    41    34
Speed   Base Injury   System Shock   Consciousness
    4             5                    10                      26

Giant Spider
Equipment: Web glands (web pistol) Poisoned fangs (knives with stun toxin) Armoured exoskeleton (AV4)
Special Abilities: Wall crawler
WS   BS   S    T    I    Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
48     36   48  62  78   24     1    31   34
Speed   Base Injury   System Shock   Consciousness
    5             6                    12                      31

The Horror (ghorgon)
Equipment: Weapon limbs (Dmg 2d6+7(str bonus) unarmed attacks do d3+8)
Special Abilities: Terrifying
WS   BS   S      T     I    Wp   Sg   Nv   Ld
69     0    124  152  73   47    23   54    48
Speed   Base Injury   System Shock   Consciousness
    5             15                30                          72
The horror lives inside the temple and is initially sleeping in a hidden location when the characters enter. Any noise within 10 yards of its sleeping place will wake it as will anyone trying to pick up the daemon sword.
The Horror has the same injury boxes as regular characters with the following modifications for its additional limbs. Its mutated physiology and rage make it immune to stunning.
D100 Roll Location
95-00 Head
89-94 Upper left arm
83-88 Upper right arm
68-82 Chest
62-67 Lower right arm
47-61 Abdomen
41-46 Lower left arm
31-40 Groin
16-30 Left leg
01-15 Right leg

The daemon sword Verdana
Containing the bound spirit of a daemon prince of khorne Verdana possesses the daemonic attributes: deathlust, gnawing, warpflame and vampire it has a will power of 90 and will instantly try to possess anyone who picks it up. To resist possession the character must pass a Willpower test with a modifier of the difference between their willpower and the Verdana's. If they pass the test they may either choose to drop the sword or use it. If they keep it they must take another willpower test each turn as the daemon inside tries again.

[krenshar]

How many characters are you allowing each player?  Personally I'd be wary of allowing more than 2 per player in the final game because: a) it's likely to make each turn rather slow as well as a headache for you; and b) depending on your scale and table size, it could get rather cramped.  Especially with a ghorgon on the table now I've looked it up!  I'd consider calling it an extra-large target and giving additional bonuses to shooting against it.  Maybe as much as half the large target bonus again.

[Canis-Sapiens]

The horror should prove a very interesting point in the game when I bring the model out of hiding and place it next to someones inquisitor. I have deliberatly made it tough enough that causing more than one level of dmg per hit will be difficult but with no armour so it can easily be wounded. Since it cannot be stunned it wont be slowing down until its crippled or dead. I dont intend to let anyone escape with the sword until the horror is out of action apart from possible the chaos player. It would lead nicely to another scenario where any surviving inqisitors have to hunt him down.

As to the number of characters I am wavering between 2 and 3 per player. I might go with 2  and lower the number of NPC creatures in the 1st scenario, having to take out 8 or 9 mutant spiders with only 2 characters might end up being tedious.

[Canis-Sapiens]

I know i'm double posting but i could really use some input on what you guys think of the scenario/special rules.

I have also made a small addition to it. If some one holding the sword doesnt drop it for 3 turns they become permanently possessed and bonded with it. I'm thinking of warning the players what is happening each turn. osmething along the lines of after turn 1, the flesh of their hand starts to melt and flow around the sword hilt, turn 2 bony protrusions extent fomr the hilt to start to join with the fingers and after turn 3 the bones of their fingers become part of the sword hilt.

Its unlikely to happen but i like the idea of members of a warband perhaps being forced to shoot their own inquisitor while the chaos warband just stands there laughing.

[Cortez]

The Daemon Sword thing is an interesting idea. Inquisitor Cortez got stuck with her Daemon sword in a similar fashion (although in her background fluff and not during a game). I think you'll need to consider how the bonding process will react to different characters. For example how will it work with a strong willed character or a trained psycher who may be able to resist the bonding process (a wp test could be employed, if they fail it the sword starts the bonding process or something similar). You'll also need to consider characters with other defences such as hexagrammic wards, or a pariah, or even what will happen if the character who picks it up already has a Daemon Sword. You don't necessarily need specific rules for the various possibilities but I do think you need to consider how to deal with them (It'll save time later).

Good luck running the campaign.

[Canis-Sapiens]

I ran the campaign on saturday and it went very well. 2 guys chose the correct cavern and had a fight in the 1st scenario. They were playing a puritan and an devout radical so came to blows quickly. The puritans got driven off so the radical entered the 2nd scenario 1st. The puritan, and the other 2 a chaos magos and another radical all entered on turn 4.

As it turned out winning the 1stround didnt turn out well for the radical, alone on the board he sprinted his warband toward the sword in he middle right past where the horror was sleeping. It woke up and charged out. It ended up with 5 actions, charged his inquisitor who was closest quite literally tore his head off in turn 2.

It was much sooner than i had intended to reveal the horror but it worked quite well in the end apart from for that radical. The puritans came on nearby and decided to shoot his remaining warband members rather than the horror. While the chaos magos and his men went for the sword and the 2nd radical tried to shoot the horror.

The 1st radical's men fled past the puritans with the horror following and it of course started ripping into them much to everyone ammusement.  5 turns of shooting between 3 warbands finally took it down at which point the chaos magos was holding the sword and about to turn into a daemon. At that point the surviving servants of the emperor started working together. The 1st radical had a guardsman still walking, the puritan iquisitor was alive but his men were out and the other radical warband was still intact.

The begining of turn 8 the magos turned into a daemon and used warpflame from the sword to incinerate 3 people then legged it leaving his 2 henchmen to be taken out of action by some vengeful inquisitors.

All in all it was a good laugh. Having 12 characters on the table at once was a little bit much but it worked ok. Having the horror charge out when only one warband had arrived was entertaining but a bit harsh on the player who basically got minced especially when the puritans held a grudge from the 1st round. My friends all had fin though and i now have to write a scenario where the survivers hunt down the now daemonic magos.

[krenshar]

If you've time to recreate the battlefield and take a few photos, it'd be great to see some in the In The Field section.  If you can persuade your players to add their own versions of events to the thread, it might also buy you some time for writing the next scenario. 

How did the aftershock rule work out?  Did you find the game slowing down a lot when a character on a gantry had to roll against Strength and then Initiative?

Also what's your plan for the minced radical's player; are you going to give him control of the daemonic magos in the next game or allow him to form a new warband?

[Canis-Sapiens]

The battlefield for the final scenario was fairly simple, a circle of ruined 2 and 3 story buildings around the edge of the board with and altar bearing the sword in the center, i had marked on my map which building hid the horror.

The aftershock rule didn't have much effect in the games though i did find it a nice addition. With only a 1/6 chance of occurring i think there were only 5 across the 3 1st round battles and only 1 in final and no one failed the str test while above the ground.

I dont know what the radical will do, i need to discuss it with him. His 2 henchmen survived although with a couple of acute injuries each, his inquisitor is dead though after taking a critical hit to head from the horror. I am happy for him to create a new warband for the next scenario if that is what he wants, perhaps a friend of the deceased hunting the puritan who he blames for his death. The chaos player will be continuing with his now daemonic magos, i am thinking of allowing him to boost his stats but in the next battle he will alone and hunted since his henchmen got take out of action.

I was very happy with the 1st round fights, having warbands facing off against just NPC's gave my friends more time to get used to the rules before the slaughter of the final battle. I probably wont bother with such fights next time but i am thinking of putting a few of the giant rats in just to make things more interesting 

[Cortez]

I wouldn't worry too much about the Inquisitor being killed. I'm sure he can make a Captain Scarlet style 'amazing recovery'.

[krenshar]

Sorry, I was clearly having a bit of a brain-fail last night; I completely forgot that the cult magus was a player character.  I blame a 24hr gaming event at the weekend.

Depending on how long it takes the surviving inquisitors to track down the daemon, the 'dead' radical's henchmen might have time to recover.  And no self-respecting radical should be without an apprentice ready to avenge them.

[Canis-Sapiens]

We played the follow up scenario last weekend where the three inquisitors tracked down and surrounded the daemonic magus. The radical inquisitor who was killed by the horror in the previous game made a james bond style recovery though he now has a bionic brain and heavily armoured bionic head not to mention a serious grudge against the puritan.

We set up the board using mordheim style ruined buildings representing an area of the hive that had been destroyed in the earthquakes the magus started at one end of the board and had to make it off the otherside alive while the 3 inqiusitors entered from a random board edge on turn 2.

As you can see it was always going to be hard for the magus since he was outnumbered 9 to one though i gave him aa boost of 2d10 to all stats and the Impervious ability. He retained the sword from the previous battle of course since it is now part of his hand and a bolt gun that he started with. Though after the 2 prevoius battles he only had 7 rounds left.

It seemed to start quite well for the magus when the minced radical came on behind him and the other radical and the puritan form the 2 sides so there was no one blocking his way. The chaos player decided to be suitable daemonic and ran straight at the other radical bolt gun blazing and sword in the air. By the end of turn 3 the radical inquisitor and one of his henchmen were out of action but the puritan and the previously minced radical who had forgotten their hatred for the moment positioned themselves well and the magus took 9 shooting hits in the 4th turn effectivly ending his escape.

In turn 5 the puritans and the surviving radical henchman took the magos out of action while the other radical realising the magos was doomed shot the puritans in the back then legged it.

All in all i think it was a great little campaign, 3 games each and four new players introduced to inquisitor. I am trying to convince one of the others to design their own campaign so i can lpay next time and have given them all the links to the mega pack. Hopefully they will join here as well so we can write it all up from 2 or 3 perspectives in the in the field section.

[MagosIgnusKhan]

I know i have already said this IRL but thanks Canis for the campaign and of course for introducing us to inquisitor.

As you guys can probably guess from my tag i played the chaos magos in the campaign and even though i expected from the start to be fighting 3 to one odds came out fairly well after the 2nd scenario.

As a newcomer i have to say the rules are way more complecated than i had expected, i have been  a 40k player for years and thye seemed a little over the top but i see why they are now for the story element. I loved how everyone seemed to get into character and the massive grudge that formed and bascally gave me the win in the 2nd game. I'l shoot the guy i dislike and worry about the daemon sword later. Ok i got taken out of action in the final game but i still managed to take out 3 guys before it happened.

I'l take some time and write up a full background for my warband at some point, it will be the magos and his henchmen before they found the sword

[Koval]

Well, in that case
WELCOME TO THE CONCLAVE

Some of us are working on rewriting some of the rules, so if you thought they were complicated, that might change.