Shadows over Ultramar - An INQ28 campaign

[Torben Kastbjerg]

Greetings!

I'm a recent member here to the Conclave, but I have been a long time lurker and have gather a good deal of inspiration from this fine site in preperation for my own, and first, venture into trying out an Inquisitor Campaign. However, as I'm not much for doing what has been done, I've chosen to take a somewhat different approach to the game... which I'll come to eventually in the following.

Shadows over Ultramar

Basic Premise:
I've long thought that Ultramar was an interesting anomaly within the Imperium, and being somewhat interested in Roman/Greek mytholodgy and history, I figured it couldn't go all that wrong choosing this particular region as the offset for my campaign. It has some background details already, but it is open enough for me to make up stuff as I go along. In other words, it was perfect.

The Idea of the Campaign:
I've played in a dozen campaigns over the last couple of years as being an avid TTG/RPG'er and I've seen far too many campaign fade into obscurity. This made me think on what could be done to avoid this effect, and thus I'm taking an approach outlined as following:

1) As long as there's a GM, there's a Campaign. Players may come and go as they please, and thus, the campaign will not be directed by getting together five people every Xth day to play. Thus, as long as there's a GM and a player, the campaign will go on.

2) No fixed date for the gaming. I know this works for some, but the group I regulary game with have such off-matched schedules that arranging it weeks in advance never seems to succeed. Thus, it's going to be a bit more on-the-fly.

3) No primary characters. Although there will be certain movers and shakers of the factions involved, there shouldn't be a big need for any single character. Unless the narrative requires it, of course. In that case, then if the player doesn't show, the GM will take over that persons character.

4) In between game 'roleplaying'. It's not really roleplaying, but all players involved are encouraged to write some notes or ideas as to what their characters are doing. One player will be designated 'leader' of a faction and will thus dictate that factions course of action in between games.

5) All players have a Character in each Faction. Mainly to prevent weird narratives and bolt-on fixes for players that happen to show up after all. This simply means that if Faction A & B are at it again, and the Faction head of C & D both have showed up, then they'll have characters within Faction A & B and can therefore join in on the fun.

Right, that's basically it in regards to campaign mechanisms. Does it sound too unwieldy or weird? Does it sound interesting? I'm hoping it'll work and I'm going to test it at any rate, unless grizzled GM's have better suggestions of course

The Factions of the Campaign:
I'll expand on this as more and more ideas surface for the factions. So far there's the following four playable factions (player controlled) and a two NPC factions (for me to add spice to the games).

Charter House Moristan
A large shippingfirm with a charter for all shipping across the whole of Ultramar. Wealthy, but not as powerful in the sectorpolitics as they'd like to think. They prefer things just as they are, and thus they're rather conservative in regards to the politics of the sector (what little they have to say about it anyway).

Nobilis Equillibrium
Rebel Nobels who are out to remove the Ultramarines as the primary governors of the Ultramar Planets. They have some political support within the Imperium itself, but nothing directly has been proposed. For most nobles it's more of a sunday-tea-club, whilst others have styled themselves as Guerilla Leaders, taking the fight in their hands to remove the oppressive Ultramarines from their seat of power.

Church of the Allfather
Even within the shining example of a sector such as Ultramar, there are those who seek to tear it down and let the ruinious powers run rampart across the sector. Most are former members of the Nobilis Equilibrium (some present members) as well as the usual gamout of renegades, mutants and cultists. Primarily an udivided cult, there are strong sympaties towards Tzeentch.

Ultramar Enforcers
Seeing as the Ultramarines are, well, marines, there's not much in the way of Imperial Organisations within Ultramar. Those that are have been reduced to skeletoncrews and are usually kept at that state to prevent outcries of heresy within the Imperium. Thus, the Adeptus Arbites primary role of Law-enforcement has been granted to these Enforcers. They're an inter-sector-wide bureau and have far reaching branches and divisions; some might even say they're every bit an Inquisition as the real Inquisition.

Gladiator Guilds (NPC)
Minor slavers and merchants trading in the lucrative business of bodies; whatever that body's purpose might be. Of course, being mostly made up of Gladiators, then they're the primary source for bodyguards and tough muscle for any organisation within Ultramar.

Ultramar Underworld (NPC)
All sorts of organized crime; gangs of misfits; cat-burglars and so on. I'm thinking of a better name to suggest that most crime within Ultramar is actually well-organized, but so far a good name eludes me.

---

Well, that sort of wraps it up for now. I've tried to keep this wall of text to a minimum, and bear with me if the english isn't up to snuff - second language and all that.

I'm still working on a good "take-off" scenario that pits the four factions against each other and sets the scene for the campaign to come. I'm not quite sure of the actual storyline of the campaign just yet. Then again, I've only got a few scattered notes (what you see here is all the text that's actually past the point of notes), so comments and ideas are more than welcome!

Cheers

[TheNephew]

It'd probably help to have some sort of common objective, focus or imminent catastrophe to force the factions to fight over - this will help players choose what they want to do, and bring more characters into believable conflicts.
Without this there is a small risk that the campaign will just be a long string of semi-aimless skirmishes with the Enforcers going through rounds of defending itself from the cultists, suppressing a guerilla uprising, defending from cultists...
With a common objective to compete with, all four factions have a ready-made reason to compete with all of the others at the same time.

[Torben Kastbjerg]

@TheNephew:

You're absolutely right, and it had me think over it for a couple of days. Luck would have it that I borrowed a bunch of old White Dwarfs, and in one of them were the rules for Rogue Trader era robots... and that made me come up with this Campaign Objective...

Grinding Gears
During the Horus Heresy, the planet of Konor was one of the uncounted warzones to which the Legio Cybernetica had shipped maniples of their most devastating machinery. They fought with pride, valour and simple minded circuitry against the traitors and rebels, and most were lost during this conflict. However, there has always been whispers and rumours abound regarding a lost cache of the Legio's robots, and recent events (the Archeological Dig at Bilida, on the outskirts of the Konor Skymountains) have proven the rumour to be true! An ancient dataslate has been found, which indicates the whereabouts of the parts needed for the Legio Cybernetica to rise again... and wouldn't you know it, if the four factions are all interested in this archeotechnological prize!

Ultramar Enforcers:
Centurius Valdéer, head of the Konor Enforcers, have always been at the forefront of organizing the Ultramar Enforcers into a even more coherent machine of justice. Bordering on technoheresy, he has devised a plan for even tighter control on the more unruly parts of Konor. He deperately needs men of valour, who are uncorruptible and unflinching to settle the score against the Underworld once and for all. However, such men are hard to come by, but with the news of this arechotechnological marvel, right within his very own juristidiction, it would seem that his plan - heretical as it may sound - could actually come to fruition...

Charter House Moristan:
Astronuntiae Captain Sigiswald Jamaar never cared much for Imperial politics. He found that the less he thought about it, the happier he would be. But orders have come from up high, and orders are to be followed. It would seem that the Charter House feels that their powers are waning; and the profits that could be made from attempting to retroengineer these Archeotechnological wonders into something they could sell are beyond measure. And thus, it has fallen to Captain Jamaar to secure this wonder...

Church of the Allfather:
The wyrds have foreseen this event, long before the archelogical dig uncovered any of it. And the omens have spoken. This archeofact would serve the greater scheme better than any mere vessel of flesh would. For the biochip within would be a prime candidate for the daemonprince Araz'ghai the Vile entrance into the world of mortals. This robot maniple must be found...

Nobillis Equillibrium:
For years now, the selfproclaimed Generallissimo Bertral van Meristoles, have fought a bitter guerillea war against the Ultramarine opressors. And whilst his men have the training, they lack the firepower. While they have the hearts, they lack the minds. And while they have the spirit, they lack the brutality. When news came that the rumours of the lost Maniple was true, Bertral van Meristoles gathered his most competent men, and set out to claim this miracle of technology for themselves; then they would be able to finally take the fight to the Ultramarines...

---

So there it is! I'm still working on how to convert the robot rules from the White Dwarf into Inquisitor rules; but as a starting point for the campaign I hope it'll work out just right. The idea is that all factions would need to find certain rare items on Konor; enlist aid of shady characters and so on to gain access to the Legio Vault. And who knows what archeotechnological horrors awaits the there...

The idea for the campaign is that I'm going to have a small playtest this week which will be a prequel to the campaign; pitting some Ultramar Underworld thieves against the Adeptus Archeologicus just as they have secured the key piece of the quest for the robots. Depending on who wins, then the first real scenario of the campaign will start out with the winners of this campaign doing a trade with one of the factions.

I.e. if the Thieves win, then they'll try and sell it to the Cult of the Allfather, and the Enforcers will not have access to that many men, as those who are present will be undercover agents.

If the Adeptus Archeologicus wins, then they'll be present as they hand of the 'tech to the Enforcers (who are now in full battlegear) because it is "confiscated". The Nobilis Equillibrium will then have more of a force present, as they're fighting their hated opressors...

Comments?