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Post by hairyheretic on Mar 24, 2004 19:03:55 GMT -5
Well yeah it would be powerful since I'm saying that the Aura of Madness would be whats causing the Portents of Doom and Destruction (Aswell as sending some people nuts and Causing the fore casted doom and destruction) Here's a simple solution. The Aura only affects psychically sensitive individuals. That way it will affect people badly, but only a handfull. Perhaps the deamons of the vessel try to take over these sensitives, in an attempt to escape their own fate, but only succeed in driving them mad, hence they go on rampages on the affected ships / planets / whatever.
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Post by CELS on Mar 25, 2004 4:41:15 GMT -5
Sounds better. But I still don't like the idea of this ship being able to cripple an entire planet, even if it's "just" affecting the psykers, simply by staying in orbit. Even if the ship's patron daemon could give it that much power, I don't see why it would bother. And don't give me that "Chaos works in mysterious ways"-crap
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Post by Lordof on Mar 25, 2004 6:50:15 GMT -5
No thats only Tzeentch
Although Slannesh could be proclaimed to work in interesting ways aswell.
But the problem now is that are we saying that psycicly sensitive people are a large minority?
I really don't think that having 100 people going mad in a ship the size of a Cruiser would be too much of a hassle.
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Post by CELS on Mar 25, 2004 7:00:19 GMT -5
A ship losing all its astropaths and navigator(s) as well as any other psyker is going to be a hassle, since it leaves the ship unable to communicate and unable to find its way back home. That's bad news. If this daemonship can do that with an entire fleet, it's sounding too powerful to me. If this daemonship can destroy all astropaths and Imperial psykers (Inquisitors, etc) on a world simply by dropping into orbit, it's also sounding too powerful.
I think I've made my point. I'll leave it to the other members to agree or disagree with me.
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Post by hairyheretic on Mar 25, 2004 12:35:18 GMT -5
Sounds better. But I still don't like the idea of this ship being able to cripple an entire planet, even if it's "just" affecting the psykers, simply by staying in orbit. Ok, given the activities of the =I= and Black Ships, and screening for psychers, there probably aren't going to be all that many on a planet to start with. Secondly, this doesn't have to be an always on field effect. Perhaps its a deamonic attack ... while the ship is doing this it can't use its normal weaponry. Or perhaps it has a narrow beam .. it can only affect a few miles radius at once .. enough to envelop a ship, but not affect much of a planet at one time.
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Post by hairyheretic on Mar 25, 2004 12:37:28 GMT -5
A ship losing all its astropaths and navigator(s) as well as any other psyker is going to be a hassle, since it leaves the ship unable to communicate and unable to find its way back home. That's bad news. If this daemonship can do that with an entire fleet, it's sounding too powerful to me. Not an entire fleet, but only a single ship at a time. Perhaps its very draining of psychic energy, meaning the ship has to drop back into the warp soon after it does this. If this daemonship can destroy all astropaths and Imperial psykers (Inquisitors, etc) on a world simply by dropping into orbit, it's also sounding too powerful. See my modifications of the idea. I think I've made my point. I'll leave it to the other members to agree or disagree with me. How do you feel about the tuned down version?
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Post by CELS on Apr 1, 2004 8:39:08 GMT -5
Ok, given the activities of the =I= and Black Ships, and screening for psychers, there probably aren't going to be all that many on a planet to start with. True, but you will kill any Imperial psykers and astropaths on the planet. And those are quite important. Not to mention Inquisitors. Oh, and if an Eldar ship happens to be nearby.... Secondly, this doesn't have to be an always on field effect. Perhaps its a deamonic attack ... while the ship is doing this it can't use its normal weaponry. Sounds good game-wise, but too nasty fluff-wise. Or perhaps it has a narrow beam .. it can only affect a few miles radius at once .. enough to envelop a ship, but not affect much of a planet at one time. That sounds a lot better! And even then, I would like that it didn´t kill all or possess psykers instantly, but that it´d kill them if they didn´t get away in time. In BFG, this could be that it has to be within 30 cms of an enemy ship from the beginning of a turn, till the end of the next turn. How does that sound? Not an entire fleet, but only a single ship at a time. Perhaps its very draining of psychic energy, meaning the ship has to drop back into the warp soon after it does this. Or at least that it´s a one-time weapon, game-wise.
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Post by Lordof on Apr 2, 2004 5:10:25 GMT -5
Simple fix
The Ship attacks Imperial Vessals only
The Now Daemonic commander of the Ship has a grudge against the Imperial Navy and will therefore only attack Imperial Navy vessals
Since its Daemonic in Nature the Inquisition will demand that Some ships get sent against this abomination.
That solves the problem of the Ship going into orbit around a planet (Simple it doesn't it has no interest in doing so) or attacking other Imperial assets or other races.
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Post by Kage2020 on Apr 2, 2004 16:07:58 GMT -5
I know it's a bit late to chip in, but the 'demon fleet' has always gotten my attention no matter how it was done. Whether it is the "Dark Force" (or whatever it was called) from Star Wars novels (not possessed, but there we go) or something else... It's just the swarm idea that appeals. Again, it's late... but smaller ships that coalesce into a single entity just strikes me as more fun than your typical "let's put it in a cruiser and call it Betsy" approach. <Kage shuffles back into corner> I'll shut up now! Kage
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Post by hairyheretic on Apr 4, 2004 5:52:44 GMT -5
The swarm is an interesting idea, but it would be awkward to do using the deamonship I think.
On the other hand, they might fit in to some other part of the cursed subsector.
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Post by Kage2020 on Apr 5, 2004 11:01:31 GMT -5
I mention it only because the "daemonship" concept has been used quite a few times that I can remember both in terms of the 'fluff' and the fan 'fluff'. Something akin to the Traveller (New Era) concept of the Virus fleet just has interesting possibilities... Imagine a daemonic consciousness that was spread over the subsector, manifest through the component ships, in a sick material parody of the daemonic pantheon itself. Hmmn, okay, maybe not that but something like that... But, again, it was a rather late suggestion. Kage
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Post by Destecado on Apr 6, 2004 17:38:10 GMT -5
A daemon ship does have possibilities, although I do agree that the madness power is a little over the top. The ship that has been described throughout most of the posts will only effect the BFG portion of the game. Perhaps we can include a force that also impacts more upon the RPG and 40k game system.
A while back, when the Cursed Founding Chapter Approved rules came out, I was toying with the creation of a space Marine Traitor Chapter that used the rules for the Legion of the damned (as detailed in the Chapter Approved).
The back story behind the chapter was that they were newly created and being sent off to their new home world. Perhaps they were a chapter assigned to this sector of space prior to the Frost Wraits. During their journey through the warp, the ship was attacked by a massive daemon host.
The crew fought valiently in an attempt to repel the attack, but they swarmed all over the battle barge. Knowing that they were doomed, the Commander ordered the engines taken off line in an attempt to have them thrown out of warp space.
Unable to take the strain one of the containment vessels ruptured spreading core reactant throughout the engine compartment. The corridors of the ship became like super heated furnaces as a ball of plasma expanded from the engine room to encompass the ship.
The blinding white light slowly faded. The few remain battle brothers found themselves lying sprawled in the corridors of the mortally wounded ship. The daemons were gone as were all of their fallen comrades. When a head count was taken, only 150 brothers remained.
The rest of the story is not important at the moment, suffice it to say, they did not survive the engine explosion, yet they are not actually dead. they exist in a limbo state between this world and warp space.
Other than the 150 brothers on the ship, there is no crew. The crew were actually merged into the ship as it attempted to transition out of warp space. many of the daemons are also trapped within it.
Many of the brothers are unaware of their current half dead state. To them, the ship appears in pristine condition as does all of their equipment. The two surviving librarians of the chapter however are aware of their fate. As the ship was erupting into a great ball of fire the chief librarian called on the Emperor to save to guide their souls to a better place.
The Emperor did not answer his prayer, but something else did. It struck a bargain with the librarians in order to save their fellow brothers. For the most part, the Librarians have the power to pull the ship back into our reality for short periods of time.
They for the most part have become soul collectors. The original thought was to trade these souls for those of their brothers, but the price has become quite high and with each soul they take they fall more into the grip of chaos.
The appearance of the ship in normal space is that of a severly damaged battle barge. From its appearance, it should be a derelict, yet it moves under some unknown power. The marines themselves appear as ghostly apparitions that still bear the wounds they suffered upon the battle barge before its demise.
This spectral ship has come to be know as the Black Wind. the name of the chapter is unknown. Rather than fighting for chaos or imperium, the ship kills indescriminately. Perhaps it is powered by some unknow chaos force that is trying to gather power by using the black wind to gather soul energy from its victims. How does this sound?
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Post by Lordof on Apr 6, 2004 21:30:31 GMT -5
I think they shouldn't have any reference to souls.
Simply put people will see a Cursed Chapter of Marines who have ties with Chaos and have the reference to Soul. They will think of the Black Library book the Soul Drinkers.
Other than that it sounds pretty interesting
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Post by Destecado on Apr 8, 2004 12:09:39 GMT -5
I agree that the stroy does need some revising, as does the number of marines available. The actual back story should really not appear in the write up. It was more for people to have an idea of the force I was talking about.
Honestly, I don't think most people will make the immediate connection to the Black Library and the Soul Drinkers. I really am not even sure what you are referring to. The story of the Black Wind and the spectral marines that it carries should be an enigma.
As has been said earlier in the thread, there could be several stories linked to the same "ghost ship". What ever the story (a mutinous crew that were cursed by the emperor, renegade space marines mascarading as a ghost ship, possessed marines crewing a daemonic ship( it should be left up to those that wish to play the force or who encounter the ship to descide.
It also opens up some possibilities in the rpg if you are playing daemonhunters, you may be assigned to find out the secrets of the Dark Wind. Below is a possible transmission from an inquisitor sent to investigate the most recent appearance of the Dark Wind.
Message from: Inquisitor Corwin Breys
*Begin Transmission*
I have concluded my examination of the remaining members of the Derondin V occupation force. Their answers while less than conclusive have caused me several sleepless nights. Under close examination the general and his men have described figures in the armor and vestments of space marines, but insubstantial. They were unable to reveal any unit markings or designations that may help to identify the chapter of origin. Several gave odd accounts of said chapter members passing through fortifications and other solid objects as if they were not there.
A trooper under heavy sedation insisted that one of these "ghosts" as he termed them walked directly through him. He also made reference to its eyes, but would say no more even under threat of the bosanos (torture). If they be spirits, they are well armed. I examined the corpses and battlefield environs. Though the blast patterns and wounds were consistent with standard bolter weaponry the contorted visages of horror on the faces of the dead were not.
This is the third sighting that I have investigated in the last year. Each time it is the same. Most disturbing of all, there is no trace of bullet fragments in the wounds or shell casings. Witnesses report seeing at least five of these spectral marines falling under heavy fire, yet no body or blood trails could be found. I am attaching the visual archive and sensor readings for your review.
* End Transmission *
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Post by Lordof on Apr 8, 2004 23:17:01 GMT -5
Well a quick rundown of the Soul Drinkers books is in order then
The Soul Drinkers are a latter founding based on the Geneseed of the Imperial Fists.
They had many many years of commendable service.
One day a figure called the Architect of Fate started planting visions in the Head of the Cheif Librarian, Sarpedon, whom beleived he was being directed by the Emporer (Twas really a Daemon of Tzeentch of course) those following Sarpedon were being gifted with wonderous abilities with which to smite the foes of the Emporer (Mutations).
This started an internal civil war with Sarpedon eventually winning by slaying the old chapter master.
To regain an important relic of theirs (The Soul Spear a Weapon weilded by the Primarch) they had to attack a Adeptus Mechanicus base and slay the adepts who had stolen the Soul Spear.
Pretty much they are now renegades.
But links with the Librarians leading the Chapter, Souls, being damned and having ties to chaos forces brings together several common elements of the 2 stories.
So by perhaps having the Librarians form say a council to chose a Master to lead the Chapter (Can easilly be said by a Marine who notices everything is not quite right has excessive visions of death etc.)
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