"The Gol'Kut Crusade" - A Warhammer 40K RP of the 42nd millennium

[Jb]

Greetings, one and all.

I have been toying with the idea of a larger scale 40K RP, set in the most current time period of the 40K setting, and pretty much just came up with this.

It is the early years of the 42nd millenia, the Tau are planning expansion, the Necrons are awakening, and the God-Emperor is secretly fading away as his Golden Throne begins to fail.

Nevertheless, within the Imperium it is business as usual!

The Governor of the Gol'Kut system - named after the capital planet - has been lacking in his tithes to the Imperium for some time, and in a rash and perhaps foolish move has fully renounced his loyalty to the Emperor and all who serve him. Those planets closest to him, crushed as they were by overbearing Imperial tithes themselves, were more than ready to take up the cause of their more powerful neighbour, and so the Gol'Kut Consortium was formed as a mutual and defensive organisation against the expected backlash which the Impierum was certain to send.

This backlash, when it came, was somewhat weaker than first anticipated - a few hundred regiments of the Guard, a small Adeptus Soritas stike force, and an Imperial delegation - a classic underestimation of ones enemy.

The entire force was wiped out in a matter of weeks, few living to limp back into Imperial space and tell their tales to any who would listen.

Now a larger, better equipped and superior force, is being assembled to take a crusade headlong into the jaws of the enemy, and with it to re-establish control of the system or cleanse it utterly.

As players, you will be in command of the crusading forces, getting a choice ranging from an entire Guard regiment to a smaller but more formidable Astartes strike force detatched from their mother Chapter(s).

Know this though, that the enemy is not some crazed Chaos worshipping group of warbands, but a well armed and well organised - previously Imperial - collection of planets in a rather extensive system on the Imperium's fringe.

So, who shall take up the call, who shall join the Emperor's holy crusade?

[Rotmouse]

Count me in, dear sir!

[Jb]

Thank you, I'll take it! ;)

[Jb]

@Rotmouse Edited it, please feel free to state whether you're still interested or not. :)

[Letter Bee]

@Jbcool, The only way I'm playing a 40k RP is so that I can defile the Canon, defeat the Imperium of Man, and establish a happybright land of happybrightness where the Old Religions of Earth (or rather, progressive interpretations thereof) and Friendly Atheism/Secular Humanism are reestablished.

Can I have the Gol'Kut Consortium, then?

[Jb]

Can I have the Gol'Kut Consortium, then?

@Letter Bee

Oh, you'd like that would you?

Let me tell you a couple of things, and we'll see if you still feel the same..

1) You're likely to lose.

2) If I see any Canon defilement, I'll ask you to stop and leave the RP; this mainly depends on just how far you go in defiling it.

3) You can be part of the Consortium - a general, an admiral, a scientist, a mentally deranged preacher, it's up to you! - but I shall be at the head of both sides of the RP (as GM, so more of a guiding influence over the whole thing really.)

If you can deal with these, then feel free to fight for the enemy.

[Letter Bee]

@Jbcool, Damnit. And, well, here is the bits of Canon Defilement I want to do:

1.) For perfect knowledge of Progressive Interpretations of Old Earth Religions and Friendly Atheism/Secular Humanism to exist in the Gol'Kut consortium despite 10,000 years of Imperial Rule.

2.) For the Gol'kut's ruling class to be secretly descended from the Interex and have Interex tech.

3.) For the Gol'kut to have Sensei and Illuminated (people who were possessed by Daemons but drove them out through pure willpower; yes, that's a Canon thing) and are now invisible to Chaos/Psykers in their ranks.

[Letter Bee]

Sigh...I'm asking for the Moon/Luna, am I?

Sorry for disturbing you when you're tired and about to sleep; I'll just withdraw my interest in the RP.

@Jbcool

[mcpop9]

Would you be opposed to an inquisitorial team being controlled by someone?

[Cleopatra]

I actually had something similar in mind.

[Jb]

Would you be opposed to an inquisitorial team being controlled by someone?

@mcpop9

Eeeeh, it would depend; I'm not opposed to it, but I'd need details before I approved it.

I actually had something similar in mind.

@Cleopatra

O rly?

Please, tell me more.

[mattmanganon]

Interested. I'm currently interested in taking the Imperial Guard or my own Homebrew Marine Chapter.

I assume a Titan Legion/Knight House are out of the Question?

[Rotmouse]

So we are going to be high ranking officials of the IA/SM/SoB/... who will be more of bickeing bastards trying to get a piece of Gol'kut by sending other people to their deaths?

I have to adit that I liked the previous "dirty dozen" of morally questionable guys more, but I am willing to give it a try since it's WH40k (or 42k?).

Would it be possible to play something like a disguised space marine from Alpha Legion helping the Consortium or some prominent priest of Mars send to find a piece of archeotech that is supposed to be hidden on the Gol'kut?

[mattmanganon]

@Rotmouse Oooh, I love this idea. Even though we are all working for the same guy, we are each working for our own ends. The Imperial Navy intentionally withholding assistance from the Sororitas so they can swoop in for the save to give their own ego's a stroke. Inquisitors sending wave upon wave of Space Marines at a building of no strategic value whatsoever, because the building contains a trinket of extreme value to said Inquisitor. A Mechanicus Magus ordering hundreds of regiments of Imperial Guard to hold the line against in-surmountable odds so he can get one tiny piece of technology.

I do like the idea that we'll have to make alliances within our own army in order to not get dicked over.

[Jb]

Interested. I'm currently interested in taking the Imperial Guard or my own Homebrew Marine Chapter.

I assume a Titan Legion/Knight House are out of the Question?

@mattmanganon

No homebrew, that goes for anyone and anything, and as for titans and the like, it hasn't gotten out of hand enough (yet) for them to be neccessary. Although it may well come to it by the end.

Imperial Guard, that's fine.

So we are going to be high ranking officials of the IA/SM/SoB/... who will be more of bickeing bastards trying to get a piece of Gol'kut by sending other people to their deaths?

[...]

Would it be possible to play something like a disguised space marine from Alpha Legion helping the Consortium or some prominent priest of Mars send to find a piece of archeotech that is supposed to be hidden on the Gol'kut?

@Rotmouse

Short answer, yes...to all of it; we'd need to discuss via PM, but I see nothing wrong here.

[...]

I do like the idea that we'll have to make alliances within our own army in order to not get dicked over.

@mattmanganon

You know, matt, sometimes you come up with some great stuff - this is one of those times!

I'd have to say that I also like that idea, and I can dig it.

[mattmanganon]

You know, matt, sometimes you come up with some great stuff - this is one of those times!

@Jbcool

I am the Erik Bischoff of RPG, for every absolutely brilliant idea I have, I have about 20 bad ones, then insist on going through with all 21 idea's...

Also, if no Homebrew's are allowed, I may take the Mantis Warriors, I imagine that they will see this as a means of redemption after their heretical behaviour at Badab.

Ultimately, I'll wait until we find out who is interested in what, then I'll take whatever slot we are lacking in. E.G. i'm not going to go Imperial Guard if 3 other people want that as well.

[Jb]

So we are going to be high ranking officials of the IA/SM/SoB/... who will be more of bickeing bastards trying to get a piece of Gol'kut by sending other people to their deaths?

@Rotmouse

Did forget to mention that you can post from multiple PoVs, what I mean is that your 'main/primary' guy might be a Guard Colonel or such, but you can post from the view of a Guardsman on the ground etc as well. Main character(s) are just the one(s) that will be used for the 'central plot' and all the bickering/politics/etc that go with it.

I'd say that the highest ranks for a player would likely be higher-tier officials E.G. Regimental Guard commanders, Space Marine Captains, etc. So not one guy in control of all the Guard on the crusade, or all the Astartes, but you get my drift.

[mattmanganon]

Another Idea that I may explore is possibly controlling a small Eldar strike-team that is attempting to rescue a "Classified Asset" that is in the sector, trying to use the war to cover their movements. Being that the Imperium are blowing the shit out of everything, they aren't stopping to ask questions or investigate anything.

Honestly, something that I'd suggest in this is saying "You can have 1 character that nobody is allowed to kill without your permission, everyone else you control are as expendable as you'd expect." I mean, if you are temporarily controling a Guardsman who gets thrown into a fist-fight with 5 Space Marines, it's pretty safe to say that poor little Guardsman isn't getting out of that with his breathing privileges intact. However, if you are playing a squad of Space Marines beset by a horde of Cultists, then it should be for the players to decide which will come out on top.

[Jb]

Another Idea that I may explore is possibly controlling a small Eldar strike-team that is attempting to rescue a "Classified Asset" that is in the sector, trying to use the war to cover their movements. Being that the Imperium are blowing the shit out of everything, they aren't stopping to ask questions or investigate anything.

@mattmanganon

No.

Honestly, something that I'd suggest in this is saying "You can have 1 character that nobody is allowed to kill without your permission, everyone else you control are as expendable as you'd expect." I mean, if you are temporarily controling a Guardsman who gets thrown into a fist-fight with 5 Space Marines, it's pretty safe to say that poor little Guardsman isn't getting out of that with his breathing privileges intact. However, if you are playing a squad of Space Marines beset by a horde of Cultists, then it should be for the players to decide which will come out on top.

Agreed, and good idea.

[Frengo]

My knowledge of 40k lore is weak, but how hard can it be to get to grips with?

I command a regiment of cannon fodder, and have to lead them into suicidal missions for the glory of the Emperor.

That's pretty much it, isn't it? All I need to do is research the weapons in play, an Imperial regiment's composition, and then boom, I'm good to go.

If you need another body to make up the numbers, I'm willing and probably abled.

---

Edit:



Well that seems simple enough. Where are the Guardsmen coming from? Lots of different planets? Or is there a main contributor?