[Damon]

Just started a campaign with my brother and a friend and decided to start this thread to document the various battles we do. It's set on the capital world Archadia Primaris of the Archadian System and is based around the death of the System's Governor and the various people vying to take over from him. The battle reports will be based from the perspective of the various characters involved with plenty of pictures along side.

Here's the initial background for the campaign:


++Incoming Transmission++
...............
++I.D confirmed: Inquisitor Alexandra Veritas++
...............
++Begin transmission++

Inquisitor,

I am sad to inform you of the tragic death of Lord Horatio Octavian XIV, governor of Primaris Archadia and therefore the entire Archadian system. Following a governor’s death it is accustomed that there be a period of mourning of 3 months to pay respect to the dead governor before the successor is announced. During this time the system is run by the Governor’s chief aide, who in this instance is me, Chief Savant Xavier. The position of system Governor is inherited and follows a very long tradition.  The successor is his only son Horatio Octavian XV. He is still a young boy and the Governor’s only other heir, Duke Barnabus Stinson, is claiming the child is unsuitable for the responsibility. However the Ecclesiary and military are also vying for control and will use these 3 months to stir up support and make a stake to the position of governor.

As you can see this position is rather volatile and I, on behalf of the Archadian sub-sector, would appreciate the Inquisitions guidance and support. The various parties are no doubt dreaming up all manner of plots and schemes and I would value the Inquisition’s protection for the rightful heir Horatio Octavian XV.

I enclose some information on the matter that may be of help in understanding the involved parties:


Horatio Octavian XV.

I am devastated by my father, Lord Horatio Octavian XIV’s, tragic death. He was an outstanding, just and powerful ruler who I will miss dearly. It is a terrible loss for both me and the people of Archadia. I will do my utmost to carry on his good work when the time is right.
Extract from Horatio Octavian XV’s speech following his father’s death


He is Lord Horatio Octavian XIV’s only son and therefore first in line for the position. However he is still just a young boy of 13 and may not be suitable to rule just yet. However the position is still his by right and his family have governed fairly for millennia. Perhaps it would be possible for him to rule with I, Chief Savant Xavier, Aide to the late governor Lord Horatio Octavian XIV, as a tutor and advisor. Or perhaps it would make more sense for me to rule in the interim before Horatio Octavian XV is ready.


Duke Barnabus Stinson

Sir which wine can I tempt you with?
Oooh that is rather a large selection there isn’t it?
It is indeed sir. We do proud ourselves for having a large collection of the finest and most expensive wines from all over the galaxy. May I recommend the Illiere sir? It is without a doubt one of the finest wines you will ever have the honour of tasting.
Ah yes. That does sound like a fine wine. I shall have a bottle of that.
Very well sir.
You know what. How would I know that is the finest one? I think I must be fair to the others. Bring me a bottle of all of them.
All of them sir? Are you sure?
Why yes.
But that would cost….
I am well aware what it would cost. Now bring me the wine.
Very well sir. 

An extravagant man who leads an equally extravagant lifestyle to match. He is the cousin of the late Govenor Lord Horatio Octavian XIV and so is second in line to his position. He claims that the late governor’s only son is unfit to rule as he is far too young and inexperienced. Barnabus enjoys the wealth and power that comes with his position and knows full well he will be far richer and more powerful as the governor. He is very uninterested in the actual ruling of the system however so he may be an easy man to influence by those close to him.



General Marshall Scipio

Signal the advance.

Sir. I hate to intrude but we would be wise to wait for the navy’s bombardment first.
The city is heavily fortified and our infantry would be walking into a killing zone.

I’m sorry I don’t think I quite heard you there Major Webb. It must be the hum of the chimera’s engine but it sounded like a major questioning a General’s orders.

I do apologise sir I was merely trying to be of assistance.

Hmmmm. Perhaps your assistance would be better served elsewhere. I know. A fine Major such as yourself is wasted here with me. Why don’t you lead the advance?

Very well sir
Lord General Marshall Scipio – The massacre at Kyphos

A large brute of a man. He is currently in charge of the Imperial Guard regiments raised in the Archadian system. In recent years he has ‘retired’ to live on Primus Archadia, where he coordinates the system’s Imperial guard recruitment, training and distribution. Having said this it is in fact his various aides that do all the busy work whilst he enjoys his large collection of Eig wines and boasting about his regiments’ conquests, which he is of course wholly responsible for. His real desire is to expand Archadia’s military and of course enjoy the increased power of being the Governor of Archadia.

The Imperial Guard is the Hammer of the Emperor. It should not be some feeble blacksmith’s tool but an immense, destructive Great Hammer. So tell me this; how can we create this powerful weapon by wasting our manpower and resources on cultural or intellectual pursuits? What Archadia needs is to industrialise and militarise more. Only then will this humble blacksmith’s tool become the all-powerful smiting hammer of the Emperor.
Lord General Marshall Scipio


His Most Reverend Archbishop Beard Facé

In this grim and war torn universe there is only one thing that will save us. Faith. Only through the purest and truest Faith in the Emperor will we survive the horrors of these dark times
Extract from a sermon of His Most Reverend Archbishop Beard Facé.

His Most Reverend Archbishop Beard Facé is the figure head of the Ecclesiary within the Archadian system. He is a relatively old and frail looking man, but is full of life and preaches enthusiastically. He believes the Archadian system needs to become far more pious and pay greater respect to the Emperor and his church. He would love for the Ecclesiary to govern the sub-sector in order to redress this lack of faith that he believes the people of Archadia have.



I hope this information is of benefit. Thanking you in advance for your assistance.

The Emperor Protects

Chief Savant Xavier,
Aide to the late governor Lord Horatio Octavian XIV and temporary governor of the Archadian system

++Transmission Ends++

[Damon]

The prelude to our first game. Inquisitor Andreas and Godric are charged with escorting the young heir to a safehouse:

“Useless. Fecking useless” grumbled Terek, the driver. The chimera had ground to a halt in the middle of the street and despite the best work of Terek the engine refused to restart. Across from me Sebastian sat carefully cleaning the reliquary he always carried. Next to him Narcia, one of Andreas’s most trusted agents sat clutching her deactivated whip. Horatio sat silently in the corner like he had done the whole journey. He seemed a little freaked out by Sebastian, but then who wouldn’t be. Sebastian’s muscular frame was covered in countless symbols that he had carved into his own flesh. He was a damn good fighter though, as strong as an ox. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of his mace.

“Is there any chance you’ll get her started again?” questioned Andreas, leaning out of the rear hatch, “we need to get Horatio to the safehouse as soon as possible.”
“It’s only down the road. And anyway the arbites have this whole district under curfew. We should be able to keep the boy safe” I replied. Andreas always worried too much. I’d only worked with him a couple of times. He’s too much of a thinker. Doesn’t get enough done.

“I don’t like it. The street’s too open. We could easily be ambushed.”
“Well we’re sitting ducks here anyway. I say we get going. Sebastian and I will take the boy down the street. You and Narcia can flank us and look out for trouble.”
“You know Godric, sometimes your power goes to your head. You forget you’re merely an acolyte whereas I’m a full Inquisitor.”
“I’m just doing the Emperor’s work. If you have any other suggestions as to how to approach this situation be my guest.”
“No need. Your plan will suffice. Let’s get moving. Just be warned. That mouth of yours will be your undoing.”


I’ll post the actual report when I have finished typing it up.

[Damon]

Inquisitor Bartholomew wants rid of the boy, Horatio Octavian XIV, so that Barnabus can come into power as Barnabus is easy to bend to his will. He doesn’t want to give away his motives by appearing himself so sends his two mercenaries, Ghost and Rico, to capture the boy. He also manipulates the local arbites into doing his will by a mix of Inquisitorial authority and his potent psychic powers. They lay in wait to spring the trap on the boy’s escort.


The escort. From left to right: Sebastian, Godric Thorvald, Inquisitor Andreas Aias, Narcia and her cyber-hound Caesar.



The ambush. 3 arbites and ‘Ghost’ For some stupid reason I forgot to put Rico in this photo but he was also participating.



“Stay close to me boy” I order to the cloaked figure next to me. His robes would help conceal his identity from any nosey arbites.  He shuffled along to my left. The streets were quiet except for a solitary arbite blocking the road ahead. No sign of any trouble. What was Andreas worrying about. It wouldn’t be long till we had the boy safely in the safe house.



“Halt this area is off limits” barked the arbite blocking the road.
“Not to an Inquisitorial agent” I snapped back brandishing the Inquisitorial seal. This was not my seal, rather that of my mistress Alexandra. However she was more often or not tied up on other business, often with the Grey Knights. As her prime agent I carried out the majority of her work, the seal granting me the same authority as a full inquisitor.
The arbite still stood firm and was joined by another clutching a shotgun. What was this moron doing? I shall have to have him punished for his insolence after the boy is safe.



I heard a grunt from Sebastian to my right and looked down to see blood trickling down his leg. He seemed unfazed and kept strolling onwards. I didn’t hear the shot, must have been a silenced round. It takes more than a well placed round to take out Sebastian.
“Sniper. Unknown location” I warned the others via my comm bead. Maybe Andreas was right. Feck. An ambush. Need to get the boy out of the open as soon as possible. Charging forwards I crash into the first arbite. He raised his shield but it was no match for my bionic arm. My momentum and strength sent the surprised arbite flying. Just then several shots rang out. Not from the arbites. Rather they seemed to be coming from where Andreas was. I heard the familiar bark of his modified shotgun, signalling he was still alive and that his foe wouldn’t be for much longer.
As I continued past the sprawled arbite I felt a burning spread across my right leg. Sebastian was obviously feeling a little sluggish today as he still hadn’t reached the second arbite, leaving him time to put a shotgun round into my leg. Fortunately it wasn’t serious but slowed me enough for the first arbite to regain his feet and charge at me with his shield. I was too quick for him and stepped aside, drawing my bolt pistol and firing a round straight into his unprotected arm. He screamed as the explosive round ripped his forearm apart. The sight of his mangled arm and the blood pouring forth was too much for him and he fell unconscious. Arbite’s are way too soft.
The other arbite raised his shotgun and aimed but before he could unleash a shot Narcia appeared on the walkway above and put an accurate round right into the back of his unsuspecting head. The helmet no doubt saved his life but the impact of the shot still managed to wound and stun him. 
Hearing fooststeps I spun round to see a female arbite sprinting towards the boy.



Sebastian slammed into her. His large mace embedding itself in her shield, the impact clearly putting her off her swing as Sebastian easily knocked her blow with her shock maul aside. Wrenching the mace clear he swung again this time slamming the monstrous weapon into her unprotected side. The mace clearly smashed the air right out of her as she collapsed instantly to the ground.



That was intense but the three arbites were out for the count and the boy was still unharmed. It wasn’t far to the safe house either. Panic over. I holster my bolt pistol and beckon at the boy to follow.
Just then absolute agony racks through my leg and I collapse to the floor. What the? The sniper. For Throne’s sake I forgot about the damn sniper. I struggle to fight the pain. My leg is gushing blood.



“Sebastain….The…boy” I just about manage to say. My head is swinging. The pain in my leg is unbearable. I just about stagger into cover and collapse in the doorway. My leg is bleeding heavily. I hastily try and stop the bleeding but to no avail.
Meanwhile I see Sebastian sling the boy over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes whilst still clasping his mace in his other hand. He runs off towards the safe house.
My comm bead crackled “Found the sniper he’s mine.”
Good. Andreas can teach that bastard a lesson.
I turned my attention back to my wounded leg. I manage to stem the blood flow and with a grimace stand up. I stagger towards the safe house just as I see Sebastian rush inside with the boy.
“Andreas. The boy is safe. Report? Is the sniper dead?”
No reply.
“Andreas?”
Still silence.
For throne’s sake. What’s he playing at?
“I’ll go find him. His comm bead is probably just playing up” Narcia said.
“Very well. I’ll check on the boy and then get this seen to” I said gesturing to my blood soaked leg

[Andreas]

Here's another encounter during the succession. It was between Inquisitor Andreas and his retinue and Inquisitor Bartholomew and his. The two sides were:


[From Left to right: Daemonhost Wepwawet, Inquisitor Andreas, Scribe Silvanius and Aenid]


[From left to right: Ghost, Inquisitor Bartholomew, Rico and Thrugg]

In this game both sides were looking for the Book of Peresea which granted the owner greater influence over people in order to gain support for their side. Andreas had gained to the codes to the entrance in the previous mission.


A group of figures appeared from the left and stopped just outside the main entrance to the planetary governor’s personal museum in order to find the book of Persea.

“Silvanius, the door” a tall man barked.

An aged man covered in scrolls with a strange contraption on his back entered the code to the door received from the contact and with a metallic crunch the door creaked open. A tall woman dressed in black drew her sword and crept through followed by a man wearing a long red cloak and had a metallic mask over his face after having used detection to see whether anyone lay inside. A hooded figure followed quietly, not making a single sound.

“Aenid, move round to the right and keep an eye out.” The leader of the group commanded.

She complied and headed off, looking for any sign of movement. The rest of the group headed straight up towards the plinth where the book rested.

Meanwhile outside the museum another group gathered, they also wanted this powerful tome. The group were stuck outside with no way of gaining entry.

A man in a white cloak with a golden staff ordered a huge mutant creature to smash down the door.

“Thrugg smash the door” the cloaked figure ordered

The mutant naturally obeyed for he was loyal to the cloaked figure, to the death.

The door was now open and the cloaked figure moved through after the mutant. He was closely followed by two mercenaries, one who goes by the name of Ghost who was a seasoned sniper and his brother Rico who had a fast trigger finger.  The group spread out Rico and the Cloaked Figure took up positions behind the secondary walls so they could see the other group trying to steal the book.  Ghost quickly took a ladder up to the top of the outer wall so he could gain an excellent sniping position; he trained his sniper sight onto the tall man who was trying to access the book on the pedestal.

The group knew exactly what to do and where to go, apart from the brainless mutant who was just standing in the door watching his master from a distance.

“Guard the fecking door you moron,” whispered the cloaked figure.

The mutant grunted in agreement.

The mutant obeyed and went to do the job of guarding the only exit and entrance to the museum.

The masked man reached out to grab the book but couldn’t touch it; it was stuck in a statis field.
“Master Andreas, perhaps this button might remove the statis field and allow you to access the book” Silvanius questioned hesitantly.

“I can work these things out, Silvanius” Andreas snapped

“Of course master”

“Argh, sorry Silvanius, I didn’t mean to snap, its just this book . . . I can feel its power” Andreas sighed.



With a press of the nearby button the statis field collapsed and Andreas reached out to pick up the book, for a second he thought he heard open me but dismissed it as just his head. As Bartholomew’s group fanned out behind obstacles Aenid looked round out of curiosity and happened to see Rico as he ran for cover.
“We’ve got company,” warned Aenid as she ran to deal with this threat. Andreas turned round to see this new threat and collapsed to the floor with a round from Ghost in his abdomen.  Silvanius panicked and ran to a hiding spot, under a ramp, safely away from danger.
Rico, seeing the woman run at him, sword raised, pulled out his autogun and loosed 4 shots off at her. Seconds later she collapsed, out for the count, riddled with bullets.
“Wepwawet, stop him” Andreas commanded desperately.
The hooded figure threw off his cloak to reveal a daemonhost, bound in chains of silver and covered in tattoos of binding. He immediately threw back Rico with a blast of psychic energy, stunning him for the moment. Bartholomew reacted, launching a fireball that barely seemed to harm Wepwawet, who possessed daemon resilience.

Meanwhile, the book had fallen out of Andreas’ pocket when he had fallen to the floor. He heard Open Me again, this time he complied. Smoke seeped out of the book and into the floor and Andreas. He saw his wounds close up and felt rejuvenated. As he got up he felt a rumble beneath him as the ground open upwards. A vortex of pure warp energy forced up the ground he stood on.



He felt his psychic power increase to a new level. He cackled evilly to himself as he tested this new power, launching a ball of warp fire at Bartholomew. He suddenly felt a knife of pain sear into his mind as he threw the fireball. He couldn’t handle this level of power, it was killing him. Desperate to save his followers he lifted up the titanic statue behind him, feeling searing pain wrack his brain again. Slowly he moved it towards Ghost, his mind blinded by revenge. Ghost tried to loose shots at Andreas but missed, too concerned with his own health. He stood up to try and move out of the way of the statue but it was too late, it crashed home and Ghost fell to the floor, crushed by masonry.



Bartholomew saw this and the danger this new Andreas posed and so mustered his psychic strength into a torrent of wind in order to knock him from the pillar of energy but Andreas saw this and formed his mind into a shield, blocking Bartholomew’s attack. By now the Palace Guards had been called by Thrugg’s smashing of the door and arrived in the room, trying to stop the thief. Thrugg charged the guard trying to enter from the entrance, head butting the guard out cold. The others had arrived from other areas and set about trying to re-gain order. However one was disintegrated by warp energy as the pillar of warp energy engulfed him.



Rico, maddened by Ghost’s injury, pulled himself up from the base of the wall and drew his two pistols. Running forward he launched 4 shots at Wepwawet, the nearest enemy he could see. His anger hadn’t blinded his training as 2 of his shots went straight to Wepwawet’s head; killing the daemonhost immediately.



 A wicked laughter was heard in the room as Wepwawet was released from his bonds and looked around the room to find someone who he could possess to use for himself.
“You fool!” Screamed Bartholomew as he felt the psychic body of Wepwawet attack his soul. He tried to form a psychic shield in defence but Wepwawet’s psychic sword slashed that aside and Bartholomew’s mind was open, rich pickings for Wepwawet as he possessed his body, killing him. Instantly he tested his new power, shredding a nearby Guard with a lash of psychic fire. Rico, seeing his master die, ran over to his brother and picked him up, handing him to Thrugg “Carry him you thick oaf.”
“Uhh But the man. He said stay.”
“The master’s dead”
Thrugg lifted the crumpled body of Ghost up and the ran off.

Inside Andreas saw the events that had transpired and, in an attempt to control Wepwawet summoned chains of warp dominance and bounds of daemonic control. He formed these into a banishing attack, sending Wepwawet screaming back into the warp. The power required for this was huge and Andreas felt weak, blood trickled from under his mask. He tried to close the book, ending the vortex but failed, his willpower was not enough. The new Andreas remained in control and laughed as his killed the final 2 guards with a flick of his wrist. Andreas regained his senses and, summoning a huge amount of willpower shut the book. The room went quiet. Normality ensued. Andreas stood up, exhausted. He looked around; Silvanius crept out of his hiding place:

“Master, what happened?”
“Nothing”
“But the vortex?”
“I said, nothing happened. I lost control. I’m okay now”
“Of course Andreas, shall we go?”
“Yes, lets. Can you pick up Aenid please?”

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?” A voice boomed; it was Godric followed by his banisher and a score of guard.

“Godric, during my investigations of this planet I came across information about Bartholomew; he came to look for this book. I followed him here and saw that he had created a daemonhost, it lies there dead. He wanted to use the book to further his control. I arrived too late; he had opened the book and read from it, the power was so great, he killed all the guards.” Andreas replied, adding a psychic undertone to make the idea easier to take on.

“Very well Andreas, follow me”.

[Damon]

Just a spot of background to link the previous game to the next one:

Godric’s agents had been busy investigating the mess left in the governor’s museum. It was clear that foul warp energies had been unleashed there. Bartholomew’s crumpled body lay in an untidy heap on the floor. Andreas had done well to stop the heretic Bartholomew from causing more harm, or so Godric thought. Andreas had laid the blame upon the dead inquisitor, when it was really him who had opened the warp tainted book and who owned the daemonhost. Andreas still held Godric’s trust and there was little evidence to give Godric reason to suspect Andreas. Godric had little time to investigate further, as he and Andreas would be needed to arrange the security for the Grand Mourning Parade for Horatio Octavian XIV that was due in just three days.

………

It was now just two hours before the Grand Mourning Parade was due to travel down the main highway of the capital hive of Archadia Primaris. The memory of the attempted kidknapping was fresh in the mind of the young heir. However to not turn up to his father’s memorial would be not only cowardly but political suicide. If he was to become the new leader of the System he had to stick to the long-standing traditions and show face.

Godric and Andreas had managed to arrange the highest security measures possible. Hundreds of PDF and arbites were dotted around the surrounding rooftops. Many marksmen, surveyed the crowd, trigger-fingers poised to neutralise any threat. Despite being half a mile up they could still see the expressions of those below through their high powered scopes. Numerous undercover arbites were scattered throughout the crowd. A wall of plasteel shields cordoned off the baying crowds and the gentle hum of thousands of shock mauls could just about be heard over the roaring of the crowd. The march itself contained thousands of local troops, though technically on ceremonial duty, their weapons were primed and the soldiers vigilant.

Narcia, Andreas’ most trusted agent, coordinated the rooftop security. Whilst Andreas co-ordinated the operation from the arbite precinct, surrounded by pict screens. Godric accompanied the boy himself, his gleaming white robes not looking out of place amongst the extravagant parade. His hand rested on the grip of his archaic bolt pistol, his eyes scanning the surrounding crowd for any sign of a threat. Surely noone could get to the boy…