Krikey was having a crappy day.
As a Captain of the Arbites, Precinct 2115, one of the scummiest districts in the capitol, he couldn't believe the reports that lay in front of him.
As a Captain of the Arbites, Precinct 2115, one of the scummiest districts in the capitol, he couldn't believe the reports that lay in front of him.
As a Captain of the Arbites, Precinct 2115, one of the scummiest districts in the capitol, he couldn't believe the reports that lay in front of him.
For several months now, the surrounding populace had not engaged in any riots, all of the "joy" dealers were missing and their street corners left standing vacant, and psyker sightings were at an all time low. If it weren't for the fact that attendance at Imperial worship services, as reported by the Ecclesiarchy, continued to decline at an alarming rate, Krikey could have been a happy man.
But something was seriously wrong in the big city.
For several months now, the surrounding populace had not engaged in any riots, all of the "joy" dealers were missing and their street corners left standing vacant, and psyker sightings were at an all time low. If it weren't for the fact that attendance at Imperial worship services, as reported by the Ecclesiarchy, continued to decline at an alarming rate, Krikey could have been a happy man.
But something was seriously wrong in the big city.
The adversary's spoor had been detected eons ago.
However the galaxy itself is vast and even for an entity such as the Obsidian Engine, for which time itself had no meaning, following the faint traces of its mortal enemy still required effort.
The engine methodically and meticulously sifted through the cosmic markers. Where it uncovered massive devastation, sometimes encompassing entire solar systems, it noted the galactic coordinates, trace energy levels and types, as it sought patterns that might further define the location of its mortal enemy.
To ensure that its passage would not trigger warning protocols in its enemies sensory network, the Obsidian Engine delivered its own version of cataclysmic violence upon the unsuspecting system.
In either case, the results were the same to the innocent civilizations ignorant of their circumstances.
The complete eradication of all life and the planetary bodies they once occupied, now reduced to the equivalent of galactic detritus.
However the galaxy itself is vast and even for an entity such as the Obsidian Engine, for which time itself had no meaning, following the faint traces of its mortal enemy still required effort.
The engine methodically and meticulously sifted through the cosmic markers. Where it uncovered massive devastation, sometimes encompassing entire solar systems, it noted the galactic coordinates, trace energy levels and types, as it sought patterns that might further define the location of its mortal enemy.
To ensure that its passage would not trigger warning protocols in its enemies sensory network, the Obsidian Engine delivered its own version of cataclysmic violence upon the unsuspecting system.
In either case, the results were the same to the innocent civilizations ignorant of their circumstances.
The complete eradication of all life and the planetary bodies they once occupied, now reduced to the equivalent of galactic detritus.
Aaaand we're back.
If any of you still remember me, you will recall that last year, our group undertook a grand adventure with a series of linked Apocalypse games designed to tell a story, understanding that the end of the story would be unknown. What transpired during our games shaped the story line and provided the ending.
The ending of which wasn't what I expected.
I thought that was kind of cool.
So, I want to attempt to that effect again, slightly larger in scope (i.e. more/different types of games) and see how things play out. The goal is to play out our "adventure" over the coming year.
One of the things that I've noticed as my interest in the hobby matures (I'm not maturing, I'm still a little kid in a big body) is my desire to see 40K tell stories. I've noticed that in our group, stories around games are always what we have fun rehashing and remembering.
When my children were much younger, bed time stories were a big deal and something to be looked forward to at the end of the day. I think stories still fulfill a need in us, to engage our imaginations, and give us the opportunity to think "what if?"
I suspect that after all these years, that's what keeps me in 40K. Even if I'm struggling with the motivation to paint something, I still have ideas for new models, new armies (that I won't ever build), and game scenarios leaking out of my ears looking for a table to manifest upon. The depth of the 40K universe is what makes that all possible for me.
So here we are again, the goal of which is to have some fun with friends, do a little modeling, roll some dice, and tell a story.
If you're curious about last year's effort at a story, then you can get caught up here:
If any of you still remember me, you will recall that last year, our group undertook a grand adventure with a series of linked Apocalypse games designed to tell a story, understanding that the end of the story would be unknown. What transpired during our games shaped the story line and provided the ending.
The ending of which wasn't what I expected.
I thought that was kind of cool.
So, I want to attempt to that effect again, slightly larger in scope (i.e. more/different types of games) and see how things play out. The goal is to play out our "adventure" over the coming year.
One of the things that I've noticed as my interest in the hobby matures (I'm not maturing, I'm still a little kid in a big body) is my desire to see 40K tell stories. I've noticed that in our group, stories around games are always what we have fun rehashing and remembering.
When my children were much younger, bed time stories were a big deal and something to be looked forward to at the end of the day. I think stories still fulfill a need in us, to engage our imaginations, and give us the opportunity to think "what if?"
I suspect that after all these years, that's what keeps me in 40K. Even if I'm struggling with the motivation to paint something, I still have ideas for new models, new armies (that I won't ever build), and game scenarios leaking out of my ears looking for a table to manifest upon. The depth of the 40K universe is what makes that all possible for me.
So here we are again, the goal of which is to have some fun with friends, do a little modeling, roll some dice, and tell a story.
If you're curious about last year's effort at a story, then you can get caught up here:
However, that story is over.
There are other stories to tell. This story is about a cult called "Children of the Dragon".
Now part of the reason I've been off the grid is that Real Life (tm) still happens, but also our group really seems to rally around an idea.
Towards the back half of last year, we were going to play out our version of the Badab campaign (FW IA 9 & 10, EXCELLENT books, btw), but as we got closer to working out details and getting people marshaled on the idea, the passion just wasn't there like we had for Pathos IV story.
Maybe it had to do with "I'm Space Sharks, but I have black armor and crosses on my shoulder pads", I don't know. In any event, between Real Life (tm) and the "idea", we lost our momentum. I suppose it could also be that we needed to catch our hobby breath, because the modeling effort associated with the story was pretty intense on the Eldar side.
So we drifted.
Now, the great thing about ideas is that you can't really prevent them from showing up. They just pop out of nowhere (at least for me) and then you're off to the races. So while I went back to giving attention to my Templars (which I still have a ZEALous passion for) something odd happened.
I was fiddling around on ebay (always dangerous) and I got one of these for a good price:
There are other stories to tell. This story is about a cult called "Children of the Dragon".
Now part of the reason I've been off the grid is that Real Life (tm) still happens, but also our group really seems to rally around an idea.
Towards the back half of last year, we were going to play out our version of the Badab campaign (FW IA 9 & 10, EXCELLENT books, btw), but as we got closer to working out details and getting people marshaled on the idea, the passion just wasn't there like we had for Pathos IV story.
Maybe it had to do with "I'm Space Sharks, but I have black armor and crosses on my shoulder pads", I don't know. In any event, between Real Life (tm) and the "idea", we lost our momentum. I suppose it could also be that we needed to catch our hobby breath, because the modeling effort associated with the story was pretty intense on the Eldar side.
So we drifted.
Now, the great thing about ideas is that you can't really prevent them from showing up. They just pop out of nowhere (at least for me) and then you're off to the races. So while I went back to giving attention to my Templars (which I still have a ZEALous passion for) something odd happened.
I was fiddling around on ebay (always dangerous) and I got one of these for a good price:
I always found myself appreciating the "bug" models in the Necron line, so Tomb Spyders, Wraiths, and Scarabs just looked cool to me.
If you're wondering why I feel that way, check here:
If you're wondering why I feel that way, check here:
The thing is, I didn't want to start another army. I really didn't. I still don't.
But then I got this idea about playing some skirmish games, which had spun off of some discussions with Jefe, Gar, and Mo and then I thought about, what if...?
So the "what if?" idea goes something like this:
"What if...a world turned out to be a Tomb World, unbeknownst to the local population?"
"What if...a Tomb Spyder, with its programming damaged by [reasons], began to cultivate a human following by leveraging/co-opting/corrupting local Mechanicum resources?"
"What if...this cult began to worship the Tomb Spyder as an emissary of the Necron shard*, known as the Dragon?"
But then I got this idea about playing some skirmish games, which had spun off of some discussions with Jefe, Gar, and Mo and then I thought about, what if...?
So the "what if?" idea goes something like this:
"What if...a world turned out to be a Tomb World, unbeknownst to the local population?"
"What if...a Tomb Spyder, with its programming damaged by [reasons], began to cultivate a human following by leveraging/co-opting/corrupting local Mechanicum resources?"
"What if...this cult began to worship the Tomb Spyder as an emissary of the Necron shard*, known as the Dragon?"
I think that's the correct terminology. I am very much a neophyte as it pertains to anything Necron-ish. Someone sent me some of the Pre-Latest Codex fluff and between that and my old WDs, I'll be operating with that framework. I don't intend to contradict the current back story, at least intentionally, but I wanted to go back to the Necron roots and develop this effort from that background.
And that got me to thinking about what kind of crazy modeling opportunities could I embark upon as I developed first a Kill team/250 point force, on up to around 1000 points. Seems like a lot of modeling fun for me.
So, sort of an interesting idea, without a huge investment in a new army, yet still provide some ideas to explore, both on the gaming and hobby tables.
Jefe already has significant Inquisitorial assets and I think the rest can do plenty of small scale stuff so that we can play out one part of the story on a planet/system that will be called Persephone.
So that's one of the story arc paths.
The next, which will be a parallel thread to the "Children of the Dragon" story, known as the Starhammer.
The purpose of this arc is to shift to a grander scale of gaming, our personal favorite, Apocalypse. Our group likes big games and as it turns out, a new member of our crew just happens to have 30K of Necrons, most of which is painted.
So, while we're running the skirmish level side of the house, we'll also be scheduling a series of linked Apoc games.
The idea behind this thread sort of comes from the mention of the World Engine in the Necron fluff. I liked the sound of that, but I wanted to add a twist and explain why there might be unholy amounts of Necron stuff flying around space, so I settled on a campaign tree device for running the story and it looks something like this:
So, sort of an interesting idea, without a huge investment in a new army, yet still provide some ideas to explore, both on the gaming and hobby tables.
Jefe already has significant Inquisitorial assets and I think the rest can do plenty of small scale stuff so that we can play out one part of the story on a planet/system that will be called Persephone.
So that's one of the story arc paths.
The next, which will be a parallel thread to the "Children of the Dragon" story, known as the Starhammer.
The purpose of this arc is to shift to a grander scale of gaming, our personal favorite, Apocalypse. Our group likes big games and as it turns out, a new member of our crew just happens to have 30K of Necrons, most of which is painted.
So, while we're running the skirmish level side of the house, we'll also be scheduling a series of linked Apoc games.
The idea behind this thread sort of comes from the mention of the World Engine in the Necron fluff. I liked the sound of that, but I wanted to add a twist and explain why there might be unholy amounts of Necron stuff flying around space, so I settled on a campaign tree device for running the story and it looks something like this:
In this thread, I would like us to play 2-3 large battles involving the Obsidian Engine and various forces. I wanted there to be a reason for big battles involving Necron vs. Eldar (War in Heaven), Necron vs. Tyranid (Bug Wars) and the occasional Imperial crusade (Necron vs. Imperials) as story shapers and something to keep us interesting in the overall plot line as the year progresses. Each of these battles will have an effect on the final battle.
Besides, when's the last time you saw 30K of Necrons?
So I think that's about it for now....I know, the guy in the back wants to know what's the deal with the "Starhammer"?
All I am going to say at this point is, in the immortal words of Rick Priestly, "Never tell the whole story".
Until next time.
Honda
Besides, when's the last time you saw 30K of Necrons?
So I think that's about it for now....I know, the guy in the back wants to know what's the deal with the "Starhammer"?
All I am going to say at this point is, in the immortal words of Rick Priestly, "Never tell the whole story".
Until next time.
Honda
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