Xeno Investigation Team 117

Intro

Welcome! This is the page for FoxAlpha's Dark Heresy PbP game, Xeno Investigation Team 117. As a wiki, it is open to be edited by any participant in the game, so go ahead! In particular it would be cool to have all the character sheets on the wiki - see below for a list... Who wouldn't want to die in the service of the Emperor?

This formatting is stolen largely from the 3-5_Against_the_Giants_Campaign D&D PbP game wiki page.

Player Characters

• Invictus "Mort" Stark (Martenzo), Imperial World Assassin
• Constantine Havelock (Nick the Lemming), Noble Adept
• Mirhku (Faustus21), Explorator Fleet Guardsman (Skitarii tech-guard)
• Rotha the Blade (Lestaki), Feral World Assassin
• Mordecai "Crisis" Kaanamer (Kathel), Hiveworld Scum
• Sivus Wollsey (Mr Adventurer), Mind-Cleansed Imperial Psyker

OOC intro

The idea is that the Ordo Xenos would maintain sleeper cells, which could be activated as needed and attached to inquisitors similar in the manor of deathwatch squad. However instead of epic space marines, we have mortal acolytes. More information will become available as you arrive, talk to each other, and recieve direction.

The Story Begins

All of you lived normal lives, as normal as lives can be in the 41st millennium. Part of you always felt like the quiet life that you were leading was a false one, one that did not suit you or feel right. You felt like a different person under your skin. Then, your suspicions were proven correct. While watching a pictscreen, you caught sight of the oddest shade of red. That image, set off hidden triggers inside your mind. You remembered your real life, and your real purpose, to serve the god emperor. You went to the place where you had hidden your gear, and awaited instructions. They came quickly. Soon you found yourself on Sareno, in a small traveler's chapel. Here, priests provide food and shelter to pilgrims passing through on their way to holy sites. Walking within the stone walls, you enter the unused catacombs. One of the old chambers has been left open for you. Inside is a holoprojector connected to a palm scanner. Also inside the room is a storage case, locked with a similar print scanner. Here your programming finally ends, returning all of your senses to you.

The room is twenty feet by twenty feet. The floor and walls are composed of thick gray stone, cut in large blocks and held together by a similar colored cement. The ceiling is arched, and made of rough red brick. The room was most likely an oven once, based on these features. A single case, five foot wide by three foot high and long. It is marked with a faded inquisitorial seal, and a print scanner. The case appears to be made from solid metal, of a silvery variety. The holoprojector is covered with a thick later of dust, as is everything else in the room. The projector is mounted on a wooden table, just big enough to contain it.

Setting Background

Sareno

A medium sized blueish ball of rock and gas situated in an otherwise uninteresting system. Its atmosphere is composed mostly of clorine and several noble gases, making it extremely toxic to humans. If not for large concentrations of materials used in the production of plasma weapons and the power core's for space marine power armor, the planet would have been written off as a navigational hazard. Instead, the planet boasts a pair of massive hive cities.

Sareno orbits a binary star system of dull yellow stars. They provide enough light but very little heat. Only the thick atmosphere of the system's planets keep their surfaces above freezing.

Sareno 2

A hive of only 3 billion (estimated), its primary focus is supplying the needs of the miners who toil in isolated pockets across the planet's surface. It is ruled by an appointed Imperial Guard General. The hive is run under a military structure do to the importance of the minerals mined here.

Sareno 1

Otherwise known as the old hive. The massive, man made mountain was once home to over 30 billion people. It boasted an elaborate network of noble houses and teeming factories, producing all manor of goods. Then, 152 years ago, riots broke out in the lowest levels of the hive. The enforcer squads were unable to contain the violence, and a series of terrorist attacks disabled the life support of the upper levels. Essential personnel for the mines, and what nobles survived were evacuated to Sareno 2. The remainder were left to their own fates. The ruins of the hive are currently off limits and access is available only by the planetary general.

Enforcer Teams

The imperial guard units stationed on the planet are mainly concerned with protecting the mining sites and enforcing the quarantine of Sareno 1. Thus, the role of enforcing the laws within the hive is held by mercenary enforcer squads. Privately trained and equipped these small teams arrest and provide protection throughout the hive. According to the charter the planet was founded on, any imperial citizen can start an Enforcer Team, but there is no requirement on the government of the planet to ever call upon their services. Most of these teams are composed of honest men, interested in keeping order. However, some have fallen to the lure of money and power.

Common Equipment

As the planet lacks any natural animals or plants, those seeking personal protection are forced to rely on imported flak armor. Those seeking a personal firearm, will be pleased by the planet's collection of well built las weaponry, most have their beams calibrated in a blue spectrum. Solid projectiles weapons are disliked because they consume oxygen at a much higher rate. The planet also has some of the finest smiths who still understand the art of constructing plasma weaponry. Void Suits are a common item and available at very low cost. Food is normally composed of processed fungi, and imported meats and vegetables. There are several vendors who oversee these imports, but the cost of real food is higher than average. Medical care is above average, with cybernetics extremely common as mining injuries are common and often disfiguring.

Transportation

Travel inside the second hive is based around a series of public trains that run along circular tracks on the outside surface of the hive itself. Travel between levels is tightly controlled, requiring access through a checkpoint. If one desires a personal mode of travel, small electric ground cars are available as are servitor powered rickshaws.

GM Rulings

Starting Equipment

All players will need to add the following items to their inventory.

Inquisitional Coin

A small coin roughly two inches across and composed of adamantium. The coin bares the insignia of the Ordo Xeno. It bares the inscription: Protecting Those Within From Those Without. The opposite side of the coin bares the number 117 and its owner's name. These coins are rare and given only to those in service of the Inquisition in order to prove their status.

Emperor's Reprieve

A simple cylinder as thick as the average man's thumb but nearly a foot in length. It is composed of steel, with a twist off cap on one end. Under the cap is a red button. Inside the cylinder is a spring loaded needle containing a rapidly spreading virus, coded for each acolyte's specific DNA. Injection will cause rapid cellular decay. Death is painless and instant, with the body dissolving to base components within a matter of minutes. The needle is long enough and sharp enough to pierce armor and void suits. It is meant as a last resort to prevent capture, painful death, or to remove all evidence that the acolyte ever existed.

Starting Trades

You can exchange any of your starting equipment for list price in Thrones - there's no need to sell for half if you want something different to begin with.

Psychic Powers

Since the rules state that you may roll dice up to your Psy Rating when attempting to achieve a power's Psychich Threshold, you may opt to roll no dice, and therefore achieve a PT equal to your WP Bonus plus other modifiers (or 2 x WP Bonus + mods if you used Invocation). This means you can completely avoid the risk of Perils of the Warp and Psychic Phenomena with very low-PT powers.

Character origins

The GM would prefer that you not be from the planet the game is taking place on. None of the other characters had this option and it does give you an unfair advantage.

Rules not from the core book

Please provide a page reference if you use rules from the Inquisitor's Handbook. As there are no other books published at the time of writing, we'll have to see about other sources...

Threads

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