This was originally a word file, but I can't upload it to blogger. So the beginning index is out of place.
Rainmaker Part Two
Index
Page #
1 Introduction; GM Briefing
2 Chapter One: Infiltration
3 Briefing
4 Layout
10 Chapter Two: The Ball
15 Chapter Three: The Siege
20 Aftermath
21 Character Profiles
A miasma of heresy rises in Desoleum. The catalyst, a strange and terrible ritual that touched the skies and stirred the immaterium, hastened the schemes of the innumerable cults, cabals, and conspiracies that infest the planet. One conspiracy has the audacity to claim that their works are the hands of fate. This is the Tarot; Rainmaker is part of the quadrumvirate that rules it. They will shake the cosmos of Askellon.
GM Briefing: Rainmaker Part Two is a continuation of the investigation in part one that revealed a plot to assassinate the planetary governor. The acolytes move from investigating small-time crooks and fighting the hounds of Khorne to infiltrating a noble spire. Treachery is everywhere in the opulent palaces that rise above the crowds. That treachery opens the gates to heresy and Chaos. The acolytes must root out saboteurs, mingle among the ruling class and their servants, and defend the spire from attack by the gathered forces of the eponymous Rainmaker. Not all is as it seems however, and even an ill-fated attack upon a fortified spire advances advances the plans of the Tarot.
Chapter One: Infiltration
The acolytes find themselves on an arvus lighter, a general-purpose cargo shuttle. They are strapped into seats in the main cargo hold. Alongside them is their inquisitor, dressed in nobleman clothes. Also with them is a tall bald man with an athletic build in a dark blue and white security uniform. He has a big scar going down the left side of his face, crossing over his eye. This is Oscarl Lemant, and he is the head of security of House Gotha. He does not look happy to be transporting the acolytes. The ports of the lighter show a spire rising out of the crowds. It approaches a landing pad.
Finding a threatening note after the purge of the cult hideout a week ago, the inquisitor approached house Gotha. He approached the matriarch of the great noble house, lady Principa, and told her of the threat to the planetary governor and to house Gotha. It detailed a grand conspiracy concerning someone named “Rainmaker”, heretical cults, and great house Kotrohman of house Desoleum to kill lady Auld Killian. The stability of planet Desoleum is important to the inquisitor, as revolts and civil war give opportunity to heretics hiding on the planet. The inquisitor and lady Gotha struck up a deal. His operative cells on Desoleum are to investigate the various holdings of house Gotha to see where assassins would strike. The acolytes are one of these cells, and they are going to the upper levels of spire Gotha.
House Gotha’s holdings are being investigated because of a grand ball lady Gotha is hosting for the planetary governor, lady Auld Killian. The planetary governor has been warned, but she, lady Gotha, and the inquisitor decided to keep the threat secret. They wish to catch the perpetrators and house Kotrohman in the crime, and the grand ball is the perfect venue for assassination. House Kotrohman and their patriarch Zarath have long been rivals to house Gotha. They disputed lady Killian’s rise to planetary governor. This is an excellent way to get rid of them. If they are in the conspiracy.
Governor Killian and lady Gotha have doubts about the attack though. They are playing along with the inquisitor to placate them. They want to still go on with the ball because they don’t believe anyone would be brash enough to attack a spire full of a noble’s retinue that is not too far away from the local ports where the navy and involute cadres could send fighters and reinforcements.
Briefing
The lighter lowers to the landing pads at the house Rosa hangar. The inquisitor finishes the briefing to the acolytes. They are to ingratiate themselves as workers and security guards for house Gotha. The acolytes are to seek out suspicious individuals that may be working for the conspiracy. It is a foolish heretic that performs a full-frontal assault again a nobleman spire with its retinue of thousands and defenses. The heretic is flawed but cunning. The wits of the acolytes must be quicker than theirs. Besides routing out traitors, the party needs to find any weaknesses that the conspiracy can exploit. This includes malfunctioning defense systems, entrances to house Gotha that evade the eye, slovenly or greedy guards, and more.
The heretics would be shot out of the sky immediately if they were to foolishly attack with obviously looted valkyries and vultures. House Kotrohman is believed to be involved, they are probably using official codes and other ways to enter Primus airspace provided by the House. Lady Killian and Gotha are to know this, and they have agreed to not warn the navy or involute cadres to this possible attack with the inquisitor. They also know this will pose danger to the guests of the ball, but are opportunists and don't really care much for the safety of the other nobles besides their kin.
The acolytes should keep to their disguises. Only lady Gotha, the inquisitor, captain Lemant, and lady Auld Killian know the acolyte’s true natures. The bosses of the three jobs they can work in will not know. The acolytes have a choice of three occupations (GM note: For ease on the GM): butler, cook, or security guard. These will dictate the threats and areas the acolytes can move around and investigate in. If an inquisitorial presence is sniffed out, the heretics may think twice than to attack spire Gotha. This leaves them alive for further treachery. This will not do. They all must be caught and purged. They have a day until the ball.
Spire Gotha
Spire Gotha is a colossal structure. Its foundations begin somewhere in the upper mainhive, and it rises above the clouds. Nobleman spires are long high-reaching towers that house the noble family, their servants, retinue, and armed guards. The holds of great houses are often made up of hundreds of thousands of imperial citizens. They would be like small city-states on some civilized worlds. The acolytes are asked to investigate the top level where the grand ball rooms, large gourmet kitchens, theatres, swimming pools, and other rooms to entertain guests. This level is about five kilometers wide. This is where an attack would occur. Here are also places that control the spires defenses, coordinate the troops that serve house Gotha, and several landing pads in four hangars. One of these hangars leads directly to the apex level of the spire that holds the ballroom. It enters from the north. The rest connect to a few levels below. These levels do have access to the ballroom level. These are not the only defense emplacements and command rooms but if one were to fall then the spire could be invaded and the invaders could spread up and down the spire. A relatively small number of servants are allowed up here, and the armed troopers number about three hundred. They will be dispersed around when the ball occurs. Most commoners, servants, and troopers are found on the lower levels which stretch on for dozens of kilometers. An array of vox-lines and satellites are found around the spire. There are cameras everywhere.
Layout
The layout of the apex level, the name for this level of the spire that the module takes place and holds recreational facilities, is rectangular and its important locations are located around the edges of the spire. There are series of halls that lead to these places and they radiate out from the center in a rectangular fashion starting from the middle and going out. The inner rooms aren't very important but can be dining rooms, smoking rooms, and other stuff nobles like.
Hangar: hangs on the northern side of the spire.
Ballroom: Lies on the southern side of the spire.
Panic Room Room: Lies on the southeastern side of the spire.
Gymnasium: Lies on the northeastern side of the spire.
Kitchen: Lies on the western side of the spire
Security Room: Lies on the southeastern side of the spire.
Storeroom: Lies on the eastern side of the spire.
Bathhouse: Lies on the eastern side of the spire, but is located slightly more to the south than the storeroom.
In a game sense, the hallways should be able to fit four models from side to side (at least using Roll20 they fit this way).
GM Note: Like I mentioned, I was using a map I googled from RPGmaker but, except for personal consumption by me and a set of players, I don't want to plagiarize for the “official” release of this module. I may make a homebrew one that, while maybe taking superficial elements from the RPGmaker map, will be my own creation that fits my vision of what the apex level looks like.
Landing
The doors of the lighter open and the acolytes are led out. The acolytes presently have their chosen occupation’s uniform. They were outfitted before they rode the lighter. At this time captain Lemant will lead them past a sizable hangar that is busy with other lighters and the unloading of cargo for the ball. Servants and servitors can be seen doing the unloading. If one looks over the side of the pad, they can see more spires rising through clouds. Aeroships fly. Along the back of the landing pad, along the walls of the spire, are automated weapons emplacements. They rotate in patterns, scanning the air. Some lock on to passing aircraft.
A grand door to the inner spire lies open, and one can see the opulent inside. Soft silk rugs, tapestries artisans made from garden worlds, golden and jeweled statues and items adorn the space. This is the grand hall of spire Gotha.
Captain Lemant leads you near the entrance, then turns back and looks sternly at you. He warns them to not disturb the lords and ladies of house Gotha, and if he finds them doing anything outside the agreed parameters of their mission or being a nuisance, he will cause a swift end to this operation. He does not like their presence here, he does not like the inquisition, and he does not like them. He turns around and walks inside.
The inside is warm. The winter weather along with the height made the hangar cold and windy. The hall stretches on and ends at the length of a scrum-ball field. It opens to more paths and rooms (consult map). The acolytes continue until the first intersection of halls and find three people awaiting them. A chubby man with a mustache in a white chef’s outfit. A balding man with immaculate posture and the stiffest upper lip wearing a tuxedo. A man with short raven black hair in security armor with an autopistol at his left hip in a holster and a shock maul on his right. This man smiles warmly. This is Festus Silvanto, Quellus Baranoth, and Lieutenant Jaspar Canto. Captain Lemant introduces the acolytes as the new retainers of house Gotha and send them on their chosen duties.
Chefs
Festus Silvanto is a man with a penchant for lho cigars and is known on Desoleum as one of the best chefs on the planet. He is a jovial man that can switch to anger very fast if someone messes up on his watch. He will lead the acolytes down a few halls to his kitchen. It is a large area filled with multiple chefs and servants. There are ovens, tables, freezers, and more. Servants and servitors bring crates and bags of materials, vegetables, meats, amasec, and more.
The acolytes will be placed on a simple detail, the cutting board.
Challenging +0 Trade (Cook).
1 DoS: The cuts are expertly done. Festus looks over and is happy.
1 DoF: The cuts are sloppy. Festus gets mad immediately. He tells the acolytes if they can’t handle cutting, then they can sling around potatoes and carry crates of amasec.
If they stay in the kitchen: Another chef is waiting for a large buttery soft loaf to bake. He notices a crate of amasec brought in that was opened. He looks to see if no one is looking and tries to pick up a bottle. He then looks confused and puts it back. He walks to Festus and talks to him worriedly.
Challenging +0 Awareness/Deceive/Stealth.
1 DoS: The acolyte can hear the conversation. The other chef asks why there’s a bottle of cough medicine under the drinks. Festus says lord Severan Gotha has come down with something, but he doesn’t want the rest of the house or any other nobles to know. (He’s lying)
1 DoF: The roar of the flames and the work of the chefs and servers drowns out their conversation.
If the acolyte checks and has some knowledge of chymistry (challenging +0 scholastic knowledge: chymistry):
1 DoS: The vial underneath is a poison. It’s meant to dissolve into liquids and act like cyanide.
1 DoF: They don’t know what the liquid is. (If they ask their inquisitor over vox-line)
If they look at the manifest, they will find that the order was signed under Severan Gotha’s name. If they were to bring it up with anyone who knows lord Severan’s hand writing, like another Gotha or one of the heads of the servants of the spires, they can see that it’s a good forgery. The other person trusted with food and drink orders is Festus Silvanto.
Festus Silvanto is trying to poison the drinks of the nobles at the ball. He is not part of Rainmaker’s sect but a separate person that was approached by the Tarot. He is resentful of house Gotha for forcing him to renew a contract that kept him from working on Forraliss, a famous beautiful garden-world. Festus is not a fighter and if confronted will run to the hangar to try to fly away. If caught alive he will be brought in by the Adeptus Arbites to an Arbites fort for judgement.
Servants
Quellus Baranoth is a prim and proper man to a fault. He requires every aspect of spire Gotha to be perfect. The tassels on the rugs are brushed to perfect patterns. The marble floors and columns are spotless. He once found a servant trying to have a quick smoke break and flogged him for spilling ashes on a table leg. Quellus is always in the same proper and stiff mood. He is not one to show emotion. Every movement and act he makes is perfect.
Quellus brings them to the bathhouse. He refuses to go inside. If he looks inside, he will start hyperventilating. Lord Castus, a young scion of house Gotha, hosted a party with other nobles and made a giant mess of the bathhouse. The acolyte needs to clean this up, starting with the shattered statues. An anti-grav dolley is provided.
Challenging +0 Strength to move the statues.
1 DoS: You clean up the bathhouse swiftly.
1 DoF: Your weak arms cannot lift the marble. Quellus will walk in and see your exhausted weak form and send in servitors and other servants to help. He will turn his nose up at you.
If Success: As the acolyte(s) clean up the sauna, they notice something hidden inside a statue. A small compartment was dug in, and a small black beetle-like device with small attachment blades. There are tiny packets with acid and miniature explosives.
If the acolytes ask their inquisitor over vox-line, he will tell them what he and another cell of his found on this. This is a dark eldar device that is meant to allow for domination from a distance away. It requires bodily contact and is often forced in the mouth and throat of the victim where it latches on. It is meant to cause hemorrhaging and death once the victim’s use is done. Someone who put this here could use it for a third party to start shooting up the party or sabotage defense systems.
Someone with knowledge Dark Eldar could tell them what this is. Quellus has that knowledge and planted the mind-bug. Quellus in his search for perfection took a trip downhive to meet with the Mother’s Brood, a Slaaneshi cult. They have contacts with the Dark Eldar and have used these devices in the past. Quellus is obsessed and addicted with perfect, grace, and patterns. He has fallen to lust with sensation. Slaanesh gives him all he wants. He hates the nobility and house Gotha especially.
It needs to be proven that Quellus planted the bug. Xenos technology is proscribed. There is a pict-feed recording in the security office that shows him holding the mind-bug for a second outside of the bathhouse while he was walking in. No one caught it because it was hidden inside a bag, but the bag was open to the camera for only a second. The security office needs someone with clearance to look through the recordings. It will be challenging +0 scrutiny test to look through the recordings.
That or someone could interrogate him, but since there’s no evidence and the only witness that saw the mind-bug inside the bathhouse is the young lord Castus who was drunk and taking legal sedatives and stimulants. That only proves the mind-bug was placed in the bathhouse though and it doesn’t implicate Quellus. Quellus could use this to try to implicate lord Castus who he has known since he was born.
If Quellus is implicated via the video, he will also be taken away to the Arbites fort. This is not the only sign that the Dark Eldar work in Desoleum.
Security
Lieutenant Jaspar Canto is relatively laid back compared to his boss. A man in his thirties in enforcer light carapace, Canto has been fulfilling his oath to house Gotha for ten years. He will strike up a conversation with the acolytes that choose to go to security. He leads them to a security room containing a cogitator and monitors with pict feeds that watches all around the spire level. Six servitors are plugged into two separate cogitators. They are part of the targeting system for the defense mechanisms. Canto says to just try to ignore them. A big double-head eagle statue is found in the left corner. Canto tells the acolyte to take a sit and just monitor the pict feeds. Canto will be back after a patrol.
The acolyte will be in there for a long boring time. Emphasize the acolyte’s boredom. Try to get him to look around the room. The security room is basic. The cogitator monitors this level’s spire defense systems and controls the cameras by rotating them around. There is a desk in the back-right that looks like Canto’s. If they try to look they will find a flask and a pack of lho sticks among files and other things he uses for work as well an extra autopistol magazine. There is a vent near the corner of the room in which conditioned air pours through. The vent is mostly closed off. Challenging +0 Awareness to see if they notice that there’s the weird outline of a shape inside of it.
1 DoF: The acolyte notices nothing.
1 DoS: The acolyte notices there’s some type of black shape inside the vent.
If they try to pry the vent’s cover off, they will find a strange black shape. It fits in the palm of the hand.
Challenging +0 Tech-use:
1 DoF: The acolyte fiddles around with it but gets nowhere
1 DoS: The acolyte opens the device and notices some time of antennae inside. It has a button. If they press it and try to talk through a microbead, they will notice that their communications are not going through.
The device is a jammer planted there by someone. Jaspar Canto did not plant it. Instead another security officer did a day ago. He is now working on a lower floor. The jammer is a dark eldar device that is there for two things. It works as a jammer to try to weaken coordination, an EMP (haywire) device to shut off the defense systems of the spire.
If the acolyte brings the device up with Jaspar, he will request a search through all floors of the spire for similar devices. They will be found in many security rooms, hidden away by perfidious guards. Some will be caught and interrogated. The interrogations will reveal that the guards were bribed by a woman that came into their sections of the spire at night over the course of weeks. This is the matriarch of the Slaaneshi cult, the Incandescent, but the acolytes and the inquisitor will not know who that is.
Foreshadowing: If the EMP/Jammer device is found, the conspiracy has a fallback plan. They will send in Kaevena of the Seratta, an assassin and saboteur. The Seratta are a Dark Eldar group that preys upon the Imperium in Askellon. The conspiracy that plans the assassination is allied with the Seratta. Kaevena will do a test teleport into the security room and will use a teleporter homer to return her to the Hellion, a voidship orbiting Desoleum. She can be quick enough that the spire's security and the acolytes don't notice. Her entry and departure will leave slight frost and the smell of ozone where she teleported. Acolytes with psyniscience can attempt to discern what these signs mean. Acolytes with knowledge of psychic phenomena can use logic to piece together what happened.
Foreshadowing: If the EMP/Jammer device is found, the conspiracy has a fallback plan. They will send in Kaevena of the Seratta, an assassin and saboteur. The Seratta are a Dark Eldar group that preys upon the Imperium in Askellon. The conspiracy that plans the assassination is allied with the Seratta. Kaevena will do a test teleport into the security room and will use a teleporter homer to return her to the Hellion, a voidship orbiting Desoleum. She can be quick enough that the spire's security and the acolytes don't notice. Her entry and departure will leave slight frost and the smell of ozone where she teleported. Acolytes with psyniscience can attempt to discern what these signs mean. Acolytes with knowledge of psychic phenomena can use logic to piece together what happened.
Consequences
If the acolytes keep their identities secret and find each of the items, they will make the life of the coming raiders very hard. However, if they at any point use the name of the inquisition or any authority of the sort, the conspirators will find out if they are not careful with who they say it to and the raid will not occur. This means another attack will be planned. Lady Auld Killian and lady Gotha can call off the ball at this point, or they can still hold the ball knowing that the saboteur’s plans are foiled, and an assault would be repelled. Calling off the ball opens a secondary climax.
Lady Gotha is an opportunist as ever and will argue to still hold the ball, even knowing the danger to her guests. She will have to be persuaded to not hold it. However, if all the sabotage items were found, she will reluctantly reach out to lady Aya Rosa of house Rosa and her Rosa Initiative, a specialized force of sanctionaries. They don't like each other, but lady Gotha knows she wants to stack the cards against the attackers, and lady Rosa wants good publicity for her controversial initiative.
Finding the poison means that there will not be a great distraction throughout the spire level where many nobles are found dying. This will also affect lady Auld Killian and lady Gotha.
Finding the device means that Quellus cannot use it on a security officer which can be puppetted to distract half of the acolytes allies in the climax.
Finding the jammer and EMP means, if the mind-bug is not found, the emplacements and vox communications will still work.
Finding the device means that Quellus cannot use it on a security officer which can be puppetted to distract half of the acolytes allies in the climax.
Finding the jammer and EMP means, if the mind-bug is not found, the emplacements and vox communications will still work.
The Ball
Note: At this point the microbeads of the acolytes and all vox communications will not work due to the Dark Eldar Jammer, if they did not find it. Guests are not allowed to bring weapons. (Acolytes can)
The grand ball room lies near the south side of the spire. Noblemen and gentry stand about, conversing, laughing, enjoying fine amasec and food. Servitors and servants walk around holding plates of food and drinks. A grand orchestra is set near the back of the place on raised rows and provides music for the venue. A set of stairs to the north leads up to another floor with a balcony that oversees the grand hall. A large throne sits on a raised dais and upon it sits an older noblewoman with a large ornate white wig and a lavish dark blue and white ball gown with golden trimming.
There are sanctionaries in the hall. They stand silently, keeping vigil over the space. They are posted around the stairs and two doors at on the balcony. Near the side of the grand hall, sitting on a couch with amasec in hand, a woman who looks to be in her late thirties with moderately long black hair in a navy-blue jacket and pants of fine make with gold trimmings sits looking like she doesn’t want to be there. This is lady Aya Rosa who was dragged here away from her work with the Rosa Initiative, Trading Company, and other Rosa interests including cooperation with the naval and munitorum based Surena family, by her brother Marius Rosa on his return from a perilous adventure. House Surena and House Rosa are aligned. Lady Rosa's initiative contains valkyries and vulture gunships. She may bring them up if she can get to a vox caster. If lady Gotha called her here, she will still show up dressed but will be tensed for the fight.
Challenging +0 Awareness/Inquiry
1DoS: The nobles gossip about lady Aya and house Roa. As the youngest of the Great houses of Desoleum, House Rosa’s rise to power is awash in many rumors. You also know that many of the high lords and ladies do not like her very much, but she has support among the lower gentry.
3DoS: You find out that lady Aya is the creator of the Rosa Initiative, a controversial enforcer program that allows a portion of the Sanctionaries of the Bonds Involute to investigate special interests, noble-bonded gangers and unbonded gangers, and wherever house Rosa points. Sanctionaries usually only care about keeping workers in line and serving the Consortium’s interest. The Rosa Initiative was started when a large hive gang raid occurred to a House Surena weapons shipment which claimed the lives of many Imperial servants and was perpetrated by known bonded gangers and unbonded gangers.
A middle aged looking nobleman with a well-kept mustache and short brown hair will be found chatting in the ballroom. His name is Harthos Rhomana. He will mention the bombings of his clinics in the mainhive by the terrorist named the “Cure” by Imperial publicae broadcasts. He will mention there is evidence that the Cure has murdered a servant of the Adeptes. The investigation falls under Arbitrator jurisdiction now and that grand provost Volkmar has been told. (This is a lead to a separate adventure regarding the Cure and lord Harthos)
The Duel
There are two nobles, Tracius Geneon and Arkon Renii, arguing in the middle of the hall. A rough-looking man in a dark leather overcoat stands by Arkon. A lanky skinny one with long blond hair and fancy clothes, and a more built one with short dark brown hair wearing a modest guardsman officer dress uniform. Arkon is a pompous snooty old-money nobleman that loves to antagonize Tracius. Tracius’s family is relatively new money and is serving as a commissioned officer in the involute cadre grenadiers. He’s more modest than most nobles. They are arguing about the Geneon family’s legitimacy as a noble house. Nobles around them roll their eyes and smile at this. From their expressions, one can tell this is a normal thing between these two. The last time this happened it did not go well for Arkon. An arbitrator (working under the same inquisitor) beat his second, a well renowned bounty hunter named Diana Scythia, and when he went to face the arbitrator himself he yielded before the fight even began. He has been harboring a grudge against Tracius for years. The argument comes to a head. The nobles declare a duel against one another. A temple revelationist (Marius Rosa) will barge in the middle to try to mediate the duel to another room. With lady Gotha’s permission, they secure the gymnasium (located near the north-east of the spire) for the duel. Tracius will look for a second. He is no coward, but Arkon is and will use his bodyguard, an ex-bounty hunter, as a second. He doesn’t want to be softened up.
The acolytes can offer to fight as seconds. The duel will be against the bodyguard first. (Use the Desoleum Bounty Hunter profile from the DH2E Core Rulebook.) Both combatants will be given swords and be forced to discard any armor. The duel is not necessarily to the death, but to whoever yields first. The duel will take place in a 10x10 circular area in the gymnasium. If the acolytes win, and Tracius takes up arms against Arkon, Arkon will yield right before Tracius strikes. He leaves in shame. The acolytes will win a noble ally, and gain peer (Nobility- House Geneon). He can join them in the upcoming assault as a companion party member.
The Call
At one point, a servant will go up to one of the guards on the second-floor balcony’s back door and whisper something in his ear. The guard will put a hand up to his helmet, and then three other guards will join him and go down the hall to the security room. He will have told Lieutenant Jaspar over microbead, or have tried to if the jammer is still in place.
The Poison
If Festus's poison was not caught, then at this point lady Killian and Gotha will be poisoned along with many other nobles. The spire contains trained medicae but it would take them too much time to help. The acolytes and anyone that can help will need to help the ladies medically.
Challenging +0 Medicae
1DoS: The acolyte's use of medical procedure and tools is able to clean the ladies' systems of the poison.
1DoF: The ladies die horribly, writhing and foaming from the mouth on the floor. Civil war is sure to occur.
The Mind-bug
Depending on the situation, the mind bug can be used as a back-up way to sabotage the defense systems and vox communications. Questus will have drugged and implanted the mind-bug of a security officer. Otherwise, the mind-bug may be used to distract half the guards away from the upcoming fight. If the acolytes were to have twenty sanctionaries helping them, they instead have fifteen. The acolytes can try to deal with the individual and will be alerted to their suspicious behavior by Jaspar. They can knock them out to stop them and persuade (through a challenging +0 charm/intimidation/command/deceive) the troops to stay
The Security Room
The guards rush to the security room. They pass a couple of hallways to make their way to the room that controls the weapon emplacements and pict feeds of spire Gotha. There are three possible scenarios.
Scenario 1: The jammer was not found, and the cogitators, servitors, and pict feeds have been shut off via haywire effects. The jammer can be found in the vent and shut off, but the jamming and haywire effect will continue for the next ten minutes. This will prevent the automated weapons emplacements from firing at the coming air-assault.
Scenario 2: The jammer was found. Extra security is placed in the room.
If an acolyte or more was left inside the security room then they will witness Kaevena teleport in. She may be accompanied by two kabalites (which can change depending on the acolytes' strength). Her objective will be to hack the cogitators to shut off the defense systems.
The acolytes rush to the security room. The security room is a bloody mess. The servitors have been dismembered. The guards will be ambushed by Kaevena. The acolytes will find the bodies, and a thin, tall, slender figure with strange black armor working the controls. She is trying to manually disable the apex level and lower levels' vox and defense systems. The figure’s head is slenderer than a human with pointed ears. It moves with inhuman grace. It turns to the acolytes, a strange curved blade with a power field around it in hand. It will try to get rid of them before finishing the sabotage. If they reduce her to critical damage, she will press a button on her belt and teleport away.
If an acolyte or more was left inside the security room then they will witness Kaevena teleport in. She may be accompanied by two kabalites (which can change depending on the acolytes' strength). Her objective will be to hack the cogitators to shut off the defense systems.
The acolytes rush to the security room. The security room is a bloody mess. The servitors have been dismembered. The guards will be ambushed by Kaevena. The acolytes will find the bodies, and a thin, tall, slender figure with strange black armor working the controls. She is trying to manually disable the apex level and lower levels' vox and defense systems. The figure’s head is slenderer than a human with pointed ears. It moves with inhuman grace. It turns to the acolytes, a strange curved blade with a power field around it in hand. It will try to get rid of them before finishing the sabotage. If they reduce her to critical damage, she will press a button on her belt and teleport away.
For Both: If she meets resistance, she will resort to trying to destroy the three cogitators in the room. She will start with two cogitators manned by servitors as part of the defense system. She will leave the manual control cogitator for last. She has to destroy all of them, but if the acolytes fight her off and force her to use her teleporter homer to retreat, then the acolytes or an NPC can manually control the cogitators using a tech-use test.
Rosa Initiative: Lady Rosa will be in attendance at the ball (reluctantly), or will offer her forces to help defend the spire. In climax one, she will have to be brought (to) a vox-caster to call her forces. This will result in vultures fighting the heretic forces in the air, and a bombing run on the request of the defending forces (use Valkyrie profile stats at the end of the module). In climax two, she will offer her forces to supplement lady Gotha's. This will add twelve Rosa Initiative troops to each engagement if the mind-bug is not used, and six if it is. Use the sanctionary profile from DH2E.
The Night Before: The acolytes are allowed to retrieve their equipment before either climax. Their inquisitor shall call up an operative with an arvus lighter to bring their gear in. The equipment will be hidden in crates of Aldermann liquor and will have a forged seal. This is to not alert heretics, as the inquisitor and lady Gotha will have warned her security officers to the attack. The acolytes will be presented as hired guns that are to supplement the guard forces.
Chapter Three: The Siege
Air-Attack
Vulture gunships with the insignia of house Kotrohman, a glassteed raised on its hind legs, approach the spire. A loud rough voice will be broadcasted over a laud-hailer. Rainmaker taunts lady Gotha, tells her that Lord Kotrohman gives his regards, and all vultures open fire on the spire with Rainmaker laughing. The vultures blast apart several air vehicles, ground vehicles, and nobles in attendance. Arvus lighters and valkyrieis will drop corrupt guardsmen, khornate cultists, and four separate figures with grav chutes and begin attacking the spire at all four hangars. The vultures give supporting fire.
If the acolytes saved the weapons systems, then vultures and valkyries will be blasted out the sky before they do much more than blast around the air-dock and the walls of the spire and Rainmaker’s vulture will crash into the northern hangar. He will survive with damage. Mallaithe, a berserker with malefic blackened armor and a great sword he wields will smash out and set upon the spire.
If they didn’t, Rainmaker will release Mallaithe onto the landing pad to create and opening. Unbeknownst to the acolytes, unless one uses psyniscience, the armor and weapon are possessed. Mallaithe will inhumanly growl and launch himself with inhuman speed at the spire’s defenders. Rainmaker will not participate in this fight but instead continue to unleash ordinance against spire Gotha.
The Dark Eldar allies of Rainmaker's conspiracy will not help in the opening waves, but they will periodically teleport inside to snatch noblemen and other humans in the chaos. They are uninterested in the assassination but do want more trophies and slaves. This is their main motivation for helping Rainmaker's conspiracy.
For The Climax (GIANT CHANGES)
Okay so the old version sucked and was too long and you would never get to the other acts. Here's what you do as a GM.
The baseline battle is the acolytes versus the NPCs Mallaithe, Darial Eizen, Wu Tang, and Rainmaker on the spire port. Treat it as a bubble of conflict in the midst of a greater battle. This fight dictates how well the fight goes.
Catching the jammer in time allows for reinforcements in the acolyte's fight
Catching the mind-bug in time adds a squad of five sanctionaries to the acolyte's side.
Calling for house Rosa's help in time adds five sanctionaries to the acolyte's side.
Successfully defending the defense systems will stop the enemy group from getting reinforcements.
Not defending the defense systems in time adds a squad of four khornate cultists and an aspiring champion along with four traitor guardsmen to the final fight.
Not catching the jammer in time loses sanctionary allies.
Not catching the psy-bug loses sanctionary allies. (For more information on the psy-bug look at Greene's Lament)
The poison being successful requires the acolytes to perform Challenging (+0) medicae tests to save the planetary governor. Succeeding or preventing the poison in the first place gives the acolytes an additional 1d5 influence at the end of the adventure. Failure revokes all influence gain.
(OLD VERSION I DO NOT RECOMMEND)------------------------------------------------------------
Okay so the old version sucked and was too long and you would never get to the other acts. Here's what you do as a GM.
The baseline battle is the acolytes versus the NPCs Mallaithe, Darial Eizen, Wu Tang, and Rainmaker on the spire port. Treat it as a bubble of conflict in the midst of a greater battle. This fight dictates how well the fight goes.
Catching the jammer in time allows for reinforcements in the acolyte's fight
Catching the mind-bug in time adds a squad of five sanctionaries to the acolyte's side.
Calling for house Rosa's help in time adds five sanctionaries to the acolyte's side.
Successfully defending the defense systems will stop the enemy group from getting reinforcements.
Not defending the defense systems in time adds a squad of four khornate cultists and an aspiring champion along with four traitor guardsmen to the final fight.
Not catching the jammer in time loses sanctionary allies.
Not catching the psy-bug loses sanctionary allies. (For more information on the psy-bug look at Greene's Lament)
The poison being successful requires the acolytes to perform Challenging (+0) medicae tests to save the planetary governor. Succeeding or preventing the poison in the first place gives the acolytes an additional 1d5 influence at the end of the adventure. Failure revokes all influence gain.
(OLD VERSION I DO NOT RECOMMEND)------------------------------------------------------------
Enemy Waves: There will be three waves for each act. A wave comes every five turns in Act One, every 7 turns in Act Two, and every 10 turns in Act Three.
If weapon emplacements are broken: The attack is designed as a large human wave to break the defenders. Thirty-six NPCs will attack in each wave after the first every five turns in a total of fifteen turns. The first wave contains 42 troops plus Darial Eizen. As the leader of the Brotherhood of Var-Nahesh he will enter the battlefield on the first turn to command the cultists. Buffalo Soldier and Mallaithe will appear in act two (If the attack in act one is successful). The make-up of the troops should be around eighteen cultists with chain weapons and three aspiring champions each leading their own squad of six cultists. Eighteen corrupted guardsmen and three guardsmen officers leading squads of six make up the other part of the waves. The officers each lead their own squads of four
Wave two (Turn 10): Thirty corrupt guardsmen and five officers will enter the battlefield. Outfit one guardsmen of each squad with heavy weapons (Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter, or Autocannon [Limit to ONE per act]). Add the lieutenants of the attackers (Mallaithe, BS, and Eizen)
Wave three (Turn 15): Thirty khornate cultists and five aspiring champions will enter the battlefield. They will frenzy then go on to attack.
If weapon emplacements are intact: All of the leaders of the attack will be present at the hangar in act one. Their valkyrie will be shot out the sky and they will abandon it and use grav-packs to land. and eighteen other NPCs will make it to the hangar. There should be five traitor guardsmen led by one traitor officers and ten cultists with chain weapons led by two aspiring champions. More attackers will come in waves.
Wave two (Turn 10): Eighteen corrupt guardsmen and three officers will grav chute/enter onto the battlefield.
Wave three (Turn 15): Eighteen cultists and three aspiring champions will spill out of lighters.
If weapon emplacements are broken: The attack is designed as a large human wave to break the defenders. Thirty-six NPCs will attack in each wave after the first every five turns in a total of fifteen turns. The first wave contains 42 troops plus Darial Eizen. As the leader of the Brotherhood of Var-Nahesh he will enter the battlefield on the first turn to command the cultists. Buffalo Soldier and Mallaithe will appear in act two (If the attack in act one is successful). The make-up of the troops should be around eighteen cultists with chain weapons and three aspiring champions each leading their own squad of six cultists. Eighteen corrupted guardsmen and three guardsmen officers leading squads of six make up the other part of the waves. The officers each lead their own squads of four
Wave two (Turn 10): Thirty corrupt guardsmen and five officers will enter the battlefield. Outfit one guardsmen of each squad with heavy weapons (Missile Launcher, Heavy Bolter, or Autocannon [Limit to ONE per act]). Add the lieutenants of the attackers (Mallaithe, BS, and Eizen)
Wave three (Turn 15): Thirty khornate cultists and five aspiring champions will enter the battlefield. They will frenzy then go on to attack.
If weapon emplacements are intact: All of the leaders of the attack will be present at the hangar in act one. Their valkyrie will be shot out the sky and they will abandon it and use grav-packs to land. and eighteen other NPCs will make it to the hangar. There should be five traitor guardsmen led by one traitor officers and ten cultists with chain weapons led by two aspiring champions. More attackers will come in waves.
Wave two (Turn 10): Eighteen corrupt guardsmen and three officers will grav chute/enter onto the battlefield.
Wave three (Turn 15): Eighteen cultists and three aspiring champions will spill out of lighters.
Profiles: Involute Cadre Trooper, Involute Cadre Officer, Sanctionaries
Enemy Profiles: Involute Cadre Trooper, Involute Cadre Officer, Kabalite, Incubus, modified Preceptor (Rainmaker and Darial Eizen). Use the Khornate Cult page of the Malice blog for the cultists and their officers.
The ranged attackers will have bolters, heavy bolters, and missile launchers. The attackers have these because build-up of weaponry that occurred in the adventures Rainmaker Part One and the Curious Case of Elias Greene. In the Curious Case’s case, if a party succeeded to prevent the theft, then the attackers will be without their heavy weaponry and will be armed with more mundane lasguns, heavy stubbers, and RPGs (use the RPG profile from Dark Heresy 1E).
The defending sanctionaries will be armed with their autopistols, lasguns, and heavy stubbers. They will be led by captain Lemant. The emplacements will be able to fight the gunships if they are not destroyed or affected by haywire. Without them, the sanctionaries will not have an answer to them, and will have to wait for navy, imperial guard, or Rosa Initiative intervention.
Both the sanctionaries and the heretics will need to take morale tests at certain points. This will either lead to new acts of the battle or stop it. Leaders and officers can help keep the men in line.
Start the acolytes near the northern hangar.
Air Attack: If unimpeded, the conspiracy will invade at the four hangars connected to or near this level of the spire. Cultists, troopers, and other figures will drop onto the hangars and begin the assault. The assault will occur from the north. If the jammer and haywire device was found, then a large brunt of the assault will be destroyed. The northern hangar will have cultists and troopers land. The acolytes and defending guards will only have to try to defend the northern entrances and halls. The Dark Eldar will be periodically attempting to loot and kidnap people in the spire with this attack.
If the acolytes failed to keep the emplacements working, keep thirty per wave with a mix of troops and elites.
If the acolytes succeeded to keep emplacements working, the enemies come in ten per wave, but make them elites. They lose reinforcements in act three.
The enemy elites and troopers, where applicable, will have the better armory of heavy weapons like heavy bolter, missile launchers, and boltguns, and the allies will have their normal equipment. In the four allied squads given each act, give one squad a trooper with a missile launcher, give two squads one trooper with a heavy bolter, and one squad a trooper with a flame thrower.
Act One: If the acolytes choose to help defend the entrances, they will have to repel three waves of cultists and troopers from the hangar. They will come in waves of thirty and are to be separated in five “squads” of four and an officer. Give the same initiative to the squad but not their officer and allow them to act at the same time to save time. They will be aided by twenty sanctionaries (Rosa Initiative increases this to thirty). Split these also into squads of five plus an officer. If they were distracted by the mind-bugged officer, then there will be only ten (to twenty if Rosa Initiative was called). The sanctionaries will bring up stubbers, and heavy bolters to fight off the siege. Cultists will try to enter through holes made with the vultures’ missile assault. On the third wave, Mallaithe will assault the defenders.
On the third wave, roll a morale check for the sanctionaries and the heretic siegers. This involves rolling for challenging +0 willpower. Do this for every squad and officer/elite commanding the squad. The officers/elites may use a command test to rally a faltering squad. If the officers/elites fail, they will take their squads with them. Defenders that fail will retreat inside. Attackers will try to retreat to their lighters and valkyries.
If the acolytes retreat or the majority of sanctionaries lose morale, they will have to retreat and act two begins.
Act Two: The fight continues in the halls of the spire. The cultists try to force their way through the halls. Their warpath leads them to the ballroom and the panic room. The sanctionaries that survived act one, plus more. Mallaithe will show up in wave two to lead the siege. He will rend a swathe of sanctionaries and fight into a room that the acolytes will have to enter. The floor is littered with bodies. This is where Mallaithe's boss fight is
Wu Tang is to sneak around and try to corner the acolytes or flank the sanctionaries. BS and Mallaithe are designed to fight an entire acolyte group. Darial leads the attack from wave two at the back.
Wu Tang and Mallaithe are to perform hit-and-run tactics. When the acolytes or a named NPC fire upon them, they will swiftly retreat to nearby parts of the spire floor. The acolytes can then chase them down and fight them alone.
Wu Tang and Mallaithe are to perform hit-and-run tactics. When the acolytes or a named NPC fire upon them, they will swiftly retreat to nearby parts of the spire floor. The acolytes can then chase them down and fight them alone.
Another retreat or mass loss of morale will lead to Act Three.
Act Three: The fight takes place in the ballroom and/or the panic room. This is where the acolytes need to personally defend lady Gotha. This is similar to Act Two in that another ten, twenty, or thirty guards will appear. These guards will be a mixture of involute grenadiers and sanctionaries (split half and half). Another five waves of thirty each should occur. Same squad system should be used. Anyone who loses morale here, however, will retreat for good.
This is also where Rainmaker will show up personally. Downing Rainmaker will end the attack and the attackers will retreat to air transport or lead a final desperate attack. Mallaithe is protective of his master and will release if he is downed, and try to get the teleport beacon he has to work. Lady Gotha and/or lady Killian dying will lead to the attackers making a tactical retreat with their job done.
Furthermore, this will be when the involute cadres, sanctionaries, and other Rosa Initative forces will have gotten gunships in the air to repel the assault. If the siegers see that they are losing, Mallaithe, Rainmaker, Buffalo Soldier, and Darial Eizen will try to use their teleport beacons to leave. (Note, the aftermath roll still applies and their equipment will have been broken if they are rolled).
(END OF OLD VERSION)------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aftermath
If lady Gotha (and Killian) saved. Lord Kotrohman will be forced to enter a court to determine his involvement in the attack. Lord Kotrohman will deny the charges. The situation on Desoleum is tense but civil war will not erupt yet. The acolytes will find a surviving attacker. Roll 1d100.
1-20 will result in Rainmaker being captured. He is one of the leaders of the grand conspiracy known as the Tarot.
21-40 will result in Darial Eizen surviving and interrogated. He knows a lot about Rainmaker and what he told him of the Tarot. He can also tell them the locations of Var-Nahesh's hideouts, what Var-Nahesh is, and how he was originally approached by the Tarot.
41-60 will result in a Dark Eldar kabalite surviving and interrogated. He can tell the acolytes what the Dark Eldar's relationship with the Tarot is and their leaders.
61-80 will result in a cultist surviving and being able to be interrogated. The cultist can tell them the name the Tarot, what he knows about Rainmaker (not much) and facts about the brotherhood of Var-Nahesh.
81-100 will result in Mallaithe being found. Mallaithe says nothing, and will recover his health over the course of being interrogated. The armor is fused to his body and is a weapon on its own. He will break out, find his sword, then escape to find Rainmaker.
These endings lead to a new adventure, Tenorlied of Traitors, where through investigating the Tarot the acolytes may prove lord Kotrohman's innocence and prevent a civil war. The character who is rolled to be kept prisoner will be interrogated on the first session of Tenorlied to give the acolytes leads.
If lady Gotha (and Killian) died. Lord Gotha and the rest of the houses of Desoleum Primus swear to avenge the planetary governor and lady Gotha. Lord Kotrohman will deny his involvement but will build up his forces to defend his family and hive Jarzin. Desoleum and Jarzin will look for allies among the other hives including Sizzum and the minor hives found around Desoleum. Civil War is likely to happen.
Character Profiles
Valkyrie/Vulture Stats
Type: flyer
tactical speed: 20m/10AU
cruising speed: 1,100 kph
manoeuvrability: +10
structural integrity: 30
size: enormous
armour: front 30, side 30, rear 22
crew: pilot
Carrying Capacity: 12 men
Weapons: One chin-mounted pilot-operated Lascannon or Multi-laser, two door-mounted Heavy Bolters, 2 Hellstrike or Hellfury missiles.
The skimmer rule reflects the VTOL/hover capabilities, Add in Environmentally Sealed; Valkyries deploy from low orbit.
Hellstrike
300m; S/ -/-; 3d10 + 7 Explosive; Pen 7; Blast (5)
Hellstrike
300m; S/ -/-; 3d10 + 7 Explosive; Pen 7; Blast (5)
Mallaithe
Mallaithe is a large figure, six feet and five inches tall. He wears a set of blackened arcane armor inhabited by a daemon named Kashran. Its sister, Keshral, is a daemon that inhabits the very large wicked looking greatsword he welds. The armor covers him from head to toe, and gives him an intimidating appearance. The armor, if destroyed, regenerates (he is not healed by it). Mallaithe is the appellation of a cursed warrior that hailed from Hrax. The Hraxian warrior was named Korvak of Lighting, and he was cursed when he wore the armor and equipped the weapon he has today. After battles which fed the weapons, his mind was destroyed and the daemons took over. What is left is more of a primal beast. Korvak is still there, but barely. He was broken by Rainmaker and now serves him with the help of the sorcerer that is part of the conspiracy. Mallaithe’s armor allows him to ignore certain physical critical effects. Anything that would disable or destroy a limb, ignore. The daemon armor will stitch him together painfully to keep Mallaithe fighting. He is very quick and wields his blade almost effortlessly. He is a berserker now, and the daemons drive him to kill and sate their bloodlust. The daemons are held in check by Mallaithe's ties to Rainmaker and the sorcerer, Atama no Oni, thrice binding the daemons to the armor to keep Rainmaker in check. However, in desperate times, Mallaithe may use his “release” special ability. This releases a binding for the daemons in order to make Mallaithe much stronger. However, in this state, the daemons take more control and will ravenously attack anyone.
Wu Tang
Wu Tang is a native from Bianjing, a frontier world. He is six-feet and zero inches tall. He wears a black stylish duster, black jackboots, a black cowboy hat, a bandana over his mouth, and has a notable afro. He is a soldier of fortune that uses six loaded custom stub revolvers, a custom hand cannon that looks like a large magnum called “Big Iron”, a shock whip, and an Attilan martial arts style known as Shuiniu style (Unarmed Weapons Specialist). He has a superstition about reloading in the middle of battle, hence the revolvers. He gained this from a bad situation he was in. He is purely in this for the money but he does not have many moral quandaries. He does not have a true name. He presents himself as a polite down-home cowboy type, but he revels in battle and will start laughing maniacally or singing when he's winning. His face is permanently scarred and burned from being punished for stealing food when he was younger. He wears the bandana to cover frightening burns. He has two scars over both of his eyes where he was whipped in the face by an enforcer.. He loves killing enforcers, guards, and arbitrators. (He is based on the Bounty Hunter profile from DH2E)
Darial Eizen
Darial Eizen
Darial Eizen is an ex-guardsman and the cult leader of a khornate daemon worshipping cult called the Brotherhood of Var-Nahesh. He was mustered out from the Spinward Front. While he was there he found an idol of the daemon Var-Nahesh, the harvester. He brought the idol back with him and began a cult made up of guardsmen and gangers. He loves war. He is the reason the acolytes know about this plot (refer to Rainmaker Part One). Darial will be decked out in carapace chest-plate and a flak coat in battle. He is supplied by and allied to the Tarot, and this assassination attempt is the brotherhood's initiation into the greater conspiracy. He is a commander at heart, but he is a fearsome fighter. He is not a berserker like Mallaithe nor a flashy gunman like Wu Tang. He fights smart. He commands well. (Use Cadre Officer profile in 2E)
Rainmaker
Rainmaker is one of the leaders of the grand conspiracy known as the Tarot. He is an older man in his fifties with white hair, mesh armor underneath his clothes, a brown duster, black pants, black vest, white dress shirt, and red tie. His true name is Erioch Karpath. Rainmaker grew up on Marnine, and was drafted into a founding regiment when he was young. He was talented at commanding, fighting, and everything to do with war. Rainmaker rose fast through the ranks. He was commanding a regiment by himself in a decade, a rare feat. Rainmaker was responsible for several atrocities committed by the guard underneath his control. His name comes from his interactions with a lost tribe of humanity. He was to clear land for a rogue trader to create a promethium pumping complex. Rather than destroy them outright, he talked with them, lived with them, and learned their culture. One night, he had their young generations kidnapped. He performed a tribal shamanistic dance that was said to bring rain upon the crops of the tribe. Valkyries hovered over the village, slit the throat of hundreds of youth, and let them fall upon the village to scare the tribe into leaving. The blood and bodies fell like rain. That is how he earned the name, Rainmaker. He later went AWOL, and now is a chaos cultist that sows war and unrest wherever he can.
Lady Principa Gotha
Lady Gotha is a distinguished woman in her five hundreds. Diligent use of rejuvenat keeps her looking like a proper noblewoman in her forties. She has long styled blond hair, and is often found wearing fashionable dresses. She is the matriarch of house Gotha, one of the longest lived noble houses on Desoleum. House Gotha is invested in the Involute Cadres, the Jade Foundry, and owns many of the weapons manufactorums that produce Desoleum's silicate lenses. She plays the part of noblewoman and matriarch well, and will often play to stereotype to obfuscate her scheming. She knows the noble game inside and out, and considers herself very pragmatic. She is a major figure in the Consortium, the ruling oligarchy of Desoleum. Her husband, lord Severan Gotha is the family treasurer, but he and the rest of the house know who truly rules the family. (Profile: Apex Prince in DH2E CB)
Lady Auld Killian
A venerable woman, lady Killian has been the planetary governor of Desoleum for centuries. She has seen many things, and is the main actor that the greater Imperium relies upon to pay the tithe. She is a short, portly woman who likes to wear lavish gowns and have her hair groomed in fashionable styles. She often powders her face to the point of whiteness. She is often aloof, even in context of the consortium, so an appearance to a ball like lady Gotha's is a major event. She, like lady Gotha, also knows her way around the schemes and plots of nobles, and was often a major contributor to the stability of hive Desoleum by mediating disputes. She does not forgive easily. (Profile: Apex Prince in DH2E CB)
Lady Aya Rosa
A relative newcomer to the company of the Great Houses and the consortium, lady Aya is a controversial figure. A youth, by noble standards, of a century, lady Aya maneuvered her way to the heights house Rosa now enjoys. Originally groomed to command the involute cadres, she had to take control of her family's interests after the death of her older brother. It is unknown how she was able to make this meteoric rise, and while she is very proud, even she knows she needed help from her house, her houses allies, and other benefactors. She wears her raven black hair in short bangs. She is often seen wearing a uniform in the style of the navy and the involute cadres. She does not care for the fancies of stereotypical noblewomen. She is something of a workaholic. She is very straightforward and is often curt. She has a sardonic sense of humor and is a cynic at heart. Her husband died in their twentieth year together, leaving her three children and her only with the company of her younger brother Marius and the minor branches of house Rosa. Marius is a temple revelationist, and is often away. She does not speak about her older brother.
Lady Rosa's most controversial achievement is the foundation of the Rosa Initiative, a special interest enforcer program. Most sanctionaries have more experience beating down workers, fighting proxy wars, and guarding noble interests rather than fighting crime. After an incident where a raid on a weapons shipment by house Surena, a navy aligned family, had casualties approach the hundreds in deaths of adeptus and noble-aligned men and women. This raid was seemingly carried out by cultists, corrupted sanctionaries and cadre grenadiers, unbonded gangers, and known gangers bonded to noble families who denied being involved. House Rosa, along with many minor houses and the help of a few key players from the noble houses, demanded a program that could be used to stop another incident like this from happening again. This was seen as a subversion of the oath system and was unpopular among most of the great houses. That, along with her obfuscated rise to power, makes her a figure of scandalous rumor. (Use Profile: Apex Prince in DH2E CB)
Marius Rosa
Marius Rosa is a dashing, positive, daring, rally-the-lads type of temple revalationist. Once a munitorum priest assigned to a Praetorian Guard regiment, a poor campaign for the regiment had him sent home. His and Aya's parents were very faithful to the noble standard of the first-born being heir, the second-born going into the military, and the third-born going into the priesthood. Marius was the third. He did gain a fervent passion in the emperor, but rather than preach from the pulpit, he decided to focus his faith into something more pro-active. He often searches through the wastes, space hulks, and ancient places to obtain religious relics and spread the light of the Emperor, either through word or holy flame. He is a friendly sort, and learned his accent and mannerisms from the Praetorian Guard regiment. He almost always has a smile on his face. He is very gregarious. He keeps his hair short and cropped, and is often found wearing his usual expeditionary garb of a cloak and armor. (Use Profile: Temple Revelationist in DH2E CB.)
Harthos Rhomana
Harthos is the head of House Rhomana, a house that is deeply invested in medicae temples and technology. House Rhomana has opened several clinics in the mainhive. A man in his second century, but kept looking in his forties due to rejuvenat treatment, Harthos is a handsome man with short dark brown hair and a bushy mustache. He is often found wearing a modest suit. He is something of a quiet man, and keeps to himself. He is not averse to normal conversation. He is polite and courteous.
Lord Rhomana has a dark secret. Read the module “Nephilim” (not out yet) to learn more. (Profile: Noble in DH2E CB)
Captain Lemant
Captain Lemant is the head of security of house Gotha and the commander of its retainer forces. A bald man found in a grenadier officer uniform stylized with house Gotha's colors of blue and white, captain Lemant is a curt, pessimistic, mean man. He is very loyal to house Gotha and lady Gotha in particular. He will head the defense. (Use the Cadre Officer profile in 2E's CB)
Khornate Cultist (Troop)
Khornate Aspiring Champion (Elite)
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Khornate Cultist (Troop)
Kaevena Serrata
Kaevena is the trueborn daughter of the archon Furemahr. She acts as the head of the Serrata kabal's operations around Desoleum. She in charge of raising human cults directed at worshipping Dark Eldar, gaining slaves, and acting as a saboteur and assassin. She refuses to speak Low Gothic and will only address anyone in Eldar. She does what she does for the thrill. Kaevena and the rest of the kabal are unaware that Slaaneshi cultists are part of the Tarot and that she will be betrayed in the next adventure, Tenorlied of Traitors.
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