(Dark Heresy) Had a crazy idea for a Space Marine campaign.

[Imperialus]

Wrote up a brief outline for a few NPC's that I see as being important early on in the campaign. Eventually these guys will be background leaders taking care of the little crap that the players don't want to bother with. Last thing I want the game to do is bog down in details. The PC's are there to kick ass and take names, not manage an economy.

Name: Veteran Sergeant Issah
Role: Advice/Information/Training/Explains Campaign Goal
Combat: Some combat, very limited.
Bio:
Veteran Sergeant Issah is more important than the emperor himself in the PC’s eyes, at least in the beginning. The emperor himself won’t step in and beat the out of them if they fall asleep after being on watch for 53 hours. Sergant Issah will.
He’s the typical ‘seen it all’ NCO.
Couple hundred years old at least.
Has always trained scouts.

Issah gets injured in the crash and never completely recovers so his combat potential is minimal. He can eventually take over the ‘houskeeping’ duties for the PC’s. His injury prevents him from joining them in the field but he can be completely trusted to run things while the PC’s are away. PC’s can also come to him for advice but he eventually stops giving orders. Can train new recruits. Think of him like Duncan Idaho from Dune. Goes on about honour a lot.


Name: Bryce
Role: Advice/Plot Hooks/Eventual Manager
Combat: Extensive Combat. Fights along side PC’s but never becomes a marine.
Bio:
First local that helps the PC’s.
Wandering loaner.
Very trustworthy, loyal, Never betrays the PC’s unless they really ask for it.
Rogue influence on PC’s.
Devil may care attitude.
Counterpoint to Issah.
Ahh screw it, he’s Han Solo.
Fills a wide variety of roles with ‘local ingenuity’.
Needs to be competent in combat. Relies on speed and hit and run tactics.
Has an awesome bike tricked out for the wasteland.

Bryce is a young 18-19 year old kid that the PC’s encounter early on. He helps hide them from the tyranid forces that chase them around in the beginning. He introduces them to other locals and helps rally them to the cause. Sticks around directly until he’s no longer useful in combat or the PC’s start ignoring him. Then he moves more to the background. Serves as a spokesman for the locals that sort of thing. Keeps his ear to the ground, and the locals love him. Eventually starts taking care of more day-to-day planetary governor type stuff to keep the players from micromanaging any more than they want to.

 

[Cergorach]

Hate to burst a bubble, but chapters don't splinter.

If an entire chapter is declared dead and a new one is ordered to be created, gene-seed will be implanted into a 1,000 new marines. Chapters don't have more then a 1,000 marines (with a few exceptions, like the Space Wolves), there are no more then a 1,000 chapters. Sometimes detachments are lost in the warp or presumed dead, replacements are 'bred' and the missing marines show up a hundred years later, taking the maximum over a 1,000. But most often a chapter isn't at full strength and often there aren't a 1,000 chapters (due to losses). The only time Chapters were split up was right after the Horus Heresy, chapters went from 100,000 marines, to 1,000 marine chapters.

Chapters get a 'new' homeworld from the emperor, that's where the bodies for the new marines come from, the same emperor that 'commissions' a new chapter.

What about being one of the original 1,000 marines of a new chapter, your all still scouts. Your team is being sent on their first 'real' combat mission as scouts. With 'real' I mean that your already hardened veterans compared to other humans, but rookies in the eyes of other marine chapters. Your mission is to liberate the planet, your only one of a few squads of scout marines (the rest of the chapter is deployed in other systems in the region). There are also a few Imperial overseers watching you from orbit/moon/where-ever. They are there to evaluate the chapters performance and watch for physical and mental anomalies (if you want to spice it up, the players aren't told from witch chapter they are 'descendants'). That way their actions don't only impact the world they're trying to liberate, but also directly impacts the future of their chapter. Supplies can be salvaged, supply caches found and the occasional supply drop. There have been Space Marines for 10,000+ years, so there's bound to be some equipment laying around that could be used...

Generally scout squads operate in units of five, so five players would be ideal. But if you have fewer, some might not have survived entry, have been MIA, or have already been slain. If a character dies, a new one could be introduced by a surviving member from another squad joining up with your squad. Inter squad competitions with whom will achieve their objectives first, most kills, etc. These guys might be devout Space Marines, but they're also relatively young, and still a little bit human.

 

[Imperialus]

Hate to burst a bubble, but chapters don't splinter.

If an entire chapter is declared dead and a new one is ordered to be created, gene-seed will be implanted into a 1,000 new marines. Chapters don't have more then a 1,000 marines (with a few exceptions, like the Space Wolves), there are no more then a 1,000 chapters. Sometimes detachments are lost in the warp or presumed dead, replacements are 'bred' and the missing marines show up a hundred years later, taking the maximum over a 1,000. But most often a chapter isn't at full strength and often there aren't a 1,000 chapters (due to losses). The only time Chapters were split up was right after the Horus Heresy, chapters went from 100,000 marines, to 1,000 marine chapters.

Chapters get a 'new' homeworld from the emperor, that's where the bodies for the new marines come from, the same emperor that 'commissions' a new chapter.

Actually the word 'approximately' gets thrown around a lot in the fluff when describing how many marines there are in the Imperium. There are approximately 1000 marines in a chapter and approximately 1000 chapters. It is not a constant. There was an entire founding that went bad at one point.

Also I can't imagine that Chapters have enough geneseed to spontaneously create thousands of new marines. It's described as being very rare and very valuable. I see the process as being much more gradual and organic. Successful chapters expand their numbers while weaker chapters shrink. Eventually a chapter will grow large enough that it can no longer be considered approximately 1000 strong. That's when it splinters.

As far as the decision of where their homeworld should be it really isn't the emperor who decides, it's the High Lords of Terra. The emperor isn't big on decision making anymore. The Administratum isn't going to want to give up a valuable and productive planet for the marines to take over. It wouldn't pay any taxes anymore and besides the Marines don't want to take over some civilized place where the recruits are going to suck. That's why the first task of the chapter is to conquer it's homeworld. It is deliberately chosen to be unpleasant. The idea of going at it alone is just tradition.

What about being one of the original 1,000 marines of a new chapter, your all still scouts. Your team is being sent on their first 'real' combat mission as scouts. With 'real' I mean that your already hardened veterans compared to other humans, but rookies in the eyes of other marine chapters. Your mission is to liberate the planet, your only one of a few squads of scout marines (the rest of the chapter is deployed in other systems in the region). There are also a few Imperial overseers watching you from orbit/moon/where-ever. They are there to evaluate the chapters performance and watch for physical and mental anomalies (if you want to spice it up, the players aren't told from witch chapter they are 'descendants'). That way their actions don't only impact the world they're trying to liberate, but also directly impacts the future of their chapter. Supplies can be salvaged, supply caches found and the occasional supply drop. There have been Space Marines for 10,000+ years, so there's bound to be some equipment laying around that could be used...

My concern about that is more a gameplay issue. By having the entire campaign serve as nothing more than a 'test' the players might not have the same motivation if they know the eventual goal is to sit at the helm of their own chapter and have a hand in it's evolution. The lack of an ability to make a difference is one of the big problems I see with the 40K verse and trying to translate it into an RPG. I'm of the personal opinion that a long campaign should create some kind of real lasting effect on the 'big picture'. A test doesn't have the same effect. It'd be kinda like in a D&D campaign dropping the PC's into some wizard created dungeon and by the time they emerge they're level 20 and the campaign ends. Just in this instance the Imperial overseers are the wizard and the dungeon is a planet.

Generally scout squads operate in units of five, so five players would be ideal. But if you have fewer, some might not have survived entry, have been MIA, or have already been slain. If a character dies, a new one could be introduced by a surviving member from another squad joining up with your squad. Inter squad competitions with whom will achieve their objectives first, most kills, etc. These guys might be devout Space Marines, but they're also relatively young, and still a little bit human.

Well I have 3 players so I'm thinking one dead scout, one live scout plus the Veteran Sargent is a good starting number. Replacements will be a challenge but I agree as long as they arn't too frequent it's possible for the PC's to meet up with other marines who join them as PC's.

*edit* also I expect it would be less than ideal to create an entire new chapter out of scouts. Even with their genetic drive a thousand scouts arn't going to be able to pull off an operation like that. They'll need mentors, guidance, and experience at their disposal to become real marines.

 

[Imperialus]

A few more NPC's

Name: Scout Rynard
Role: Combat Support/fills empty role in party
Combat: Right in the thick of it till the end.
Bio:
Member of the PC’s scout squad.
Viewed as equal to the PC’s.
Fills needed role(s)
Acts like a proper marine all the time.
Never goes against players will (he might have ideas but the decision is theirs)

Scout Rynard is the only other survivor from the crash. He’ll grow with the PC’s and fill any gaps in the party makeup. For example if no one becomes an apothecary he’ll take on that role. He is generally agreeable to the PC’s ideas unless they want to do something really off the wall. I need to be careful that he does not turn into a DMPC. His role must always be secondary. Can’t let him outshine the PC’s. I’ll try and roleplay him as I see a proper marine behaving. He can also serve as a temporary PC in the event of a death until there is an opportunity to introduce a new PC.

Name: Prince Raynard
Role: Local Contact/all around handyman
Combat: Moderate. Will support marines in certain circumstances. He’s an early leader of their militia.
Bio:
Son of a warlord.
21-22 years old
Helps rally militia
Has legitimate contacts.
Generally deferential to the PC’s but can be opinionated.
Might eventually become commander of their non marine army.
Good leadership.

Prince Raynard is an adventurous young nobleman with a taste for combat and conquest. He sees the marines as an opportunity for advancement. He will avoid direct challenges to their leadership but that doesn’t mean they can disrespect him. He’s old noble blood and should be treated as such. He serves as an intermediary between the PC’s and the locals, particularly the ‘civilized’ ones. He becomes the war leader while Bryce becomes the civilian. Depending on their relationship with him he might be another contender for planetary governor. Not as populist as Bryce but he has definite leadership capabilities. He will likely be the defacto leader of the first local military forces they organize. He has (by local standards) extensive mechanical capabilities.

Name: Lord Raynard
Role: Prince Raynards father/plot hook/guidance/Local leader
Combat: None. He’s too old. The PC’s need to keep him safe.
Bio:
Once a powerful warlord.
Handing the reigns to his son.
Provides an early base of operations.
Doesn’t live to see campaign completed.
Font of local knowledge/legends ect.

Lord Raynard is the leader of a small city state sized chunk of territory. This will provide the first real base of operations for the PC’s. He’ll also provide early adventure hooks due to his knowledge of local history. He won’t last the entire campaign however. He’ll die somehow and either his son or Bryce will take over.

 

[doghead]

general - dark herasy

I'd argue this, at least if you go by the fluff (which is more my intention) rather than the wargame itself which needs to be balanced so that SM's don't dominate everything ...

We are not going to agree on this one so I'll leave it at what I've posted so far.

I tend to fall between you and Cergorach on the question of Chapter establishment. I don't think chapters are splintered as a rule. But the universe is big, and there is plenty of room to manoeuvre in the setting. I scratch built some marines from non-White Dwarf miniatures. The story was they were a unit that had been cut off from their chapter for generations, and had developed their own technology.

I think that the 'isolated' scenario can incorporate the idea of the PC's seeing the world as their future. It could be achieved as simply as having one of the last communications indicate that the probable duration of the storm is centuries.

I do like the idea of having old equipment supply depot - especially the idea of a slumbering Dreadnought. I don't know what Blood Rage is, but I can guess the drift, and yes, a potentially insane Dreadnought would be a interesting dilemma.

Genestealers are tough opponents. Genestealers can rip apart a marine in Terminator armour. Their psychics are brutal, and they can infiltrate the native human population. Yes, you do have a resistance group, and the genestealers are divided into competing factions. But my money would be on the stealers if they are played with any sort of smarts. Especially against three scouts - even with guidance.

There seems to be something of an internal conflict within the game proposed. The campaign is a co-ordinated attempt to conquer the world. In which case, three scouts would just be minor players in the whole plan. Yet you want the players to feel like they are shaping their chapter's evolution. For them to play a leading role, then the other marines, many of them full marines from what I understand, are going to take a back seat to a bunch of newbs. Not really the heroic space marine personified.

I hope that some of this helps. I know I like getting feedback, especially stuff that challenges my ideas. Whatever you go with, I hope that you have great fun. I have always thought that WH40K would be a great world to RP in.

doghead
aka thotd

 

[Imperialus]

Thanks for the advice... My thoughts.

Well at the beginning at least, the only other Marines they'll know are Veteran Sargent Issah and Scout Rynard. Issah takes a back seat because he's a career NCO. Sure he has a boatload more experience than them but he has no desire or drive to raise any higher in rank. Not only that but his injury is too difficult to repair so he'll need to keep in the background. Scout Rynard is equal to the PC's.

As far as other marines go I'm thinking that the scouts were part of the first wave. It'd make sense since their job would be to secure a landing zone for other marines and scout the surrounding area. The veteran marines would have remained on the ships as a second assault wave. None of the big ships survived. This means that the entire command structure of the chapter has ceased to exist. If the PC's do come across a more experienced marine who starts trying to take over from them that'll be fine, he'll just have to eventually get killed so the PC's can take his place. Otherwise they might find a few marines operating without any local support. They end up differing to the PC's because they have a power base of their own, and the locals trust them.

I agree with you on the Genestealers. They are pretty nasty pieces of work. I do have the old RT era army list for a Genestealer cult however and some of the other 'generations' like the Maelignaci are considerably weaker than a Purii Stealer. Even the more powerful cult members like a Primacii are rarer and Magus are extremely rare. Also there well be some forces from the hive fleet itself present. the 'gaunts' Hormagaunts and Termagants for example are about on a par with guardsmen in the TT game. Last but not least there are also genetically pure humans who fight for the Tyranids, either as mercenaries or slave soldiers. These guys (especially the latter) will be the bottom of the barrel, poorly armed, hardly trained, and likely the first opponents the PC's will come across.

Also I'm thinking that the Tyranid's suffered heavy losses in the attack on the planet. Since their ships were wiped out, the Norn Queens would be dead. This means no hanky panky for the Nids which means they would be quite weak themselves. Sure they can hold the planet, but not much else. That's why the resistance organization has survived for so long. The nids just don't have the capability of mounting a major attack.

*edit* also I don't want to ignore the locals either. Remember, these people have survived for generations on a world where their landlord views them as a source of protein. They'll probably know more about the Nids than anyone else in the Imperium. They'll know that Gaunts are stupid, and only come after you if they see a weapon, you can ambush them really easily. They'll recognize any kind of genestealer hybrid on sight, they'll know that if you aim between the 3rd and 4th peice of chitin down from the warriors head you'll hit a weak spot in his carapace. The list goes on.

 

[reason]

and 1000 years later...

My Lord-Inquisitor Zerbe,

I will be blunt. I am but a humble servant of the Throne, but I cannot pretend to like the way in which this latest duty has been thrust upon me by your office. I see the hand of that slippery whelp Belsepan in this imposed exile to the Periphery, and rumor piled upon rumor. When I return to Scintilla upon the conclusion of this affair, I will consider our dataslate clean of obligations.

As your office directs, preparations are underway to move my staff, Brother-Captain Andros' squad and a company of Captain Merth's elite to our Ordo Xenos mission upon Vaxanide. Upon arrival, I will of course be taking the position of seniority from that meandering fool Inquisitor Equeth. He has, should this tottering stack of rumors prove true, lost an affair of importance. I would expect no less from one assigned to watch over hives piled high with the multiplied, inbred descendants of backwater yokels. His century of service in Vaxanhive has not distinquished him.

I would not presume to suggest you are unaware of the nature of the duty ordered under your own seal, but I shall set forth the matter as I understand it, following a review of the materials. There are certain irregularities of account that I will see brought to the Emperor's light - you may be sure of that.

---

I. By all the data archives my savants have investigated, no warp route has ever been forged from Vaxanide to the halo stars beyond. This is due to the Void Dancer's Roil, whose storms would tear apart any vessel searching for passage through the Empyrean.

II. Yet I am now possessed of an account by the captain - I will not dignify a peddler by using his purchased title - Umbolt Garin, telling of a fantastical voyage through the Roil some three hundred years ago in the frigate "Ten Lance Embers," once of Battlefleet Scarus. The manuscript is indeed of age, but I scarce credit its authenticity at this stage. This is hearsay; every archive, even the Umbis Librarum beneath our feet, is filled with the tranc-dreams of voidfarers.

III. My savants and Ordo seers can find no other record of Garin or the Ten Lance Embers. I am compelled to admit that this is unconclusive, given the habits of rogue traders, and I have placed Astropathic messages to the Ordos Scarus in search of confirmation - with no great expectation of success.

IV. Garin's account, enclosed as part of a missive to the Administratum of Vaxanide, was discovered 97 years ago by orbital scavengers, in a cutter frozen into an eccentric passage about Vaxanide. The missive was placed within Administratum records, and it seems, the librarum of the Ordos Vaxanide. Here, I see falsehood. How is it that our Ordo Xenos became aware of this document, yet did not act upon it, nor seek to establish its authenticity? My instinct tells me that it was indeed shown to be a voidfarer's fantasy and nothing more - but then why no record of evaluation under the seal of Inquisitor Equeth? I conclude that either some of the dataslate has been wiped clean, or that this is all a fabrication. The truth will out under my hands.

V. I am given to understand, and it was not included within the materials provided to my staff, that the peddler's account was newly brought to the attention of the Ordo by Inquisitor Ru-Tariy, lately come under the influence of Belsepan. You will see why I regard this entire matter with suspicion.

VI. So to the meat of the account: that Garin discovered a feral xenos world he called Greenspike, orbited by the remnants of an ancient naval engagement. Whilst void servitors grappled frozen Imperial and unknown xenos machinery from the wreckage, Garin and his peddlars took to the surface at the base of strangely-forested mountains that pierced the atmosphere, for their auspex saw signs of further salvage. There, they began to search amidst "the hulking fragments of a burned vessel, crushed with the violence of its passage," assaulted by feral xenos whom they rightfully slew or drove away.

This next I cannot credit was, if true, buried in the Librarum as if of no consequence: that the xenos returned in force, led by a number of Astartes, bearing feral arms, clad in armor of wood and raising banners inked in High Gothic as the Raging Hands. Garin and but a few of his peddlers escaped the bloody assault alive, and did not return to the surface. Shortly thereafter, the Roil became ever more unsettled, the single warp route discovered Garin's navigator threatened to collapse, and the Ten Lance Embers returned to the Imperium.

VII. Just as for Garin and the Ten Lance Embers, there is no record upon Scintilla or in nearby Administratum archives of an Astartes Chapter of the Raging Hands. The heraldry reproduced by Garin is clearly that of a successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists - or, as for all of this material, an imaginative forgery.

VIII. So to the matter of the Astartes: Brother-Captain Andros of the Deathwatch, and the lately arrived squads of Imperial Fists under Brother Callas, whose light strike vessel is our transport to Vaxanide. I will not speak ill of the Brother-Captain. I have conversed with him at length on this matter, and his loyalty to the Ordo Xenos and the Emperor's service is beyond question. He was, as you well know, the last of the Ordo Calixis Deathwatch for many years after the attempted xenos defilement of Granithor 150 years past, and I served beside him in that grim time. As the sole continuation of the line, he carries the honor of a hundred Deathwatch Astartes from a 900 years of service in this Ordo Calixis, a fragment of the bone of each sealed within his armor, and he carries it well. He is a hero of his Chapter, the Imperial Fists, and yet humble enough to regret the awe in which the line marines of Brother Callas hold him.

For my part, I regret that the honor of the Brother-Captain and the steadfast service of the Deathwatch has been abused in this matter. Brother Callas has crossed the Empyrean for near half a year on the rumor of a lost Chapter that consorts with a xenos breed. I can only speculate as to how the missive of the peddlar captain Garin came to the attention of Brother-Captain Andros and the Imperial Fists in such time as for an Astartes force to lead the initiative of the Ordos. Beslepan again.

---

I will, despite my doubts, prosecute this matter to the fullest. I will bridle the Imperial Fists and discover the truth of Garvin's manuscript. Should there prove to be a warp route through the Roil as described by the peddler, I and my most trusted retinue will follow to bring the Emperor's light to all who have fallen from the path of righteousness - regardless of the desires of the Fists. They are servants of the Throne, no less than we, and must recognize the need to enforce the Emperor's will, even when it requires the death of those who were once brothers.

I hardly need add that should I find this all to be fantasy, built upon fabrication, my every effort will be be devoted to uncovering those responsible within the Ordo Calixis, and there will be a reckoning.

Your servant in the Imperial Light,

Inquistor-General Xamadres Woll

 

[Testament]

I agree with you on the Genestealers. They are pretty nasty pieces of work. I do have the old RT era army list for a Genestealer cult however and some of the other 'generations' like the Maelignaci are considerably weaker than a Purii Stealer. Even the more powerful cult members like a Primacii are rarer and Magus are extremely rare. Also there well be some forces from the hive fleet itself present. the 'gaunts' Hormagaunts and Termagants for example are about on a par with guardsmen in the TT game. Last but not least there are also genetically pure humans who fight for the Tyranids, either as mercenaries or slave soldiers. These guys (especially the latter) will be the bottom of the barrel, poorly armed, hardly trained, and likely the first opponents the PC's will come across.

Also I'm thinking that the Tyranid's suffered heavy losses in the attack on the planet. Since their ships were wiped out, the Norn Queens would be dead. This means no hanky panky for the Nids which means they would be quite weak themselves. Sure they can hold the planet, but not much else. That's why the resistance organization has survived for so long. The nids just don't have the capability of mounting a major attack.

As a huge fan of all things 'Nid, I've gotta point out a few things here:

1. Purestrain Tyranids will not use humanoid slaves. Bugs eat anything that isn't bug, pure and simple, including 'Stearler Hybrids. And after subjugating a planet, the fleet goes and eats all its non-synaptic creatures anyway to reclaim their material.

2. Even if you kill all the Norn Queens, that won't stop the bugs coming. The only sure way to stop a Tyranid invasion is the total annihilation of EVERY SINGLE Synapse-Active creature in the fleet, or they'll all start evolving up the stream (Warrior to Tyrants, Tyrants to Dominatrix and so on) to replace what's been lost.

2a. Bugs reproduce FAST. Really, really, really, really fast. As in Orks wish they could reproduce like that. Don't forget that at Maccrage there were enough of them to overwhelm Imperator class Titans, and Behemoth hadn't developed the Bio-Titans yet. When Bugs hit a planet, they hit it in numbers that start at the millions, and tend to go up. If this planet withstood any kind of 'Nid invasion, it must have had some serious back-up. Potentially from Eldar or a Necrontyr Tomb. If it was a Tomb though, then the planet it pretty much doomed anyway, since the Eldar will have it earmarked for annihilation, and the things inside that Tomb will be starting the Harvest.

3. Hormagaunts are an especial nuisance, since they asexually reproduce near the end of their lifespan, laying a couple of hundred eggs each.

Thankfully you can get around all these problems if you just have the planet being controlled by a Genestealer Cult. Those things are hell on wheels anyway, and have their Brood Brothers as human thralls to use as cannon fodder. Especially if its a far-flung cult, away from the normal Tyrannic invasion routes (Eastern and Southern fringes, and of course Leviathan which is coming up from below the galactic plane), it means that the Hive Fleets are a long ways off, since 'Stealer cults are psychic beacons for the Hive Mind.

Actually, ending the campaign with the Shadow in the Warp (the horrifically powerful psychic blanket of a Hive Fleet, which blots out the Astronomicon and all Astrotelepathy) descending could be kind of cool...

 

[Imperialus]

I realize the whole campaign is kinda playing fast and loose with cannon but I can likely get away with it (only one of the other players has ever played 40K). Even if I just use the logic of 'it's a big galaxy, weird stuff happens'. It'll also keep the player who's familiar with the setting from having too much of an advantage over the other two.

My concepts for the organization of the Nids themselves are still in a pretty early stage but what I'm thinking is dividing the landmasses into 3 big chunks. One will be dominated by the "Brotherhood of the Empire". It'll feel like almost a tiny microcosm of imperial society except even more paranoid (if that is even possible) and significantly more backwards tech level. The government is run by the descendants of loyal PDF forces and Arbites. The entire society has a siege mentality and they're constantly at war with the Nids.

As far as the Nids go. When the fleet (and norn queens) were destroyed a massive psychic backlash whipped through the Nid forces. The two Dominatrixes present tried to rally their forces and in the process the connection between the two of them was severed. Each one sees herself as the true descendant of the hive mind and views the other as resources. They're constantly at war with each other and the Brotherhood of the Empire.

The second larger of the two continents was/is the home base of the genestealer cult. When the scout fleet invaded one of the two Dominatrixes landed here and made contact with the stealers. When she realized they were cut off she realized she'd need to exploit the planet long term and simply consuming everything wasn't in her best interest. She formed an alliance with the patriarch and the proceeded to set up a society that is almost a bizzare parody of the Imperium. Everyone under her control is a member of the genestealer cult and they preform devotions to her and the genestealer patriarch. It's considered a high honour to be 'blessed' by the genestealers kiss for example. Other than that life continues largely as normal... at least if having tyranid warriors patrolling the streets can even be considered normal. People pay taxes (usually anything that can be directly consumed) have jobs, families, and personal lives but they are completely dominated by the cult and the Nids. They even fight in the army. What's more, in a remarkable evolutionary leap she realized she liked it when her food started worshiping her. She's not only keeping the population alive as a permanent resource but also because they amuse her.

The third mid sized continent is controlled by the second dominatrix. Without the influence of the genestealer she's a much more traditional tyranid. She hasn't wiped out all life yet, but she's well on her way. The landscape looks like it's been strip mined and the human population is slowly becoming 'domesticated'. They're kept in large pens, forced to breed constantly, fed a gruel made of raw proteins and growth hormones to accelerate their growth and generally treated like cattle. Most of them have even begun to loose their sentience. She's smart enough not to wipe everything out completely, she knows that her resources must be managed but she approaches the problem very differently than her counterpart. While the stealer/dominatrix realizes that by keeping human society somewhat intact they will continue to produce new food the solo dominatrix simply sees them as a resource to be managed.

I know this flies in the face of how tyranids 'should' behave but in my experience the less monolithic you can make something in an RPG the better. Having an instinctual drive to consume everything is fine in a wargame but doesn't work so well as an opponent in an RPG.

 

[Testament]

I know this flies in the face of how tyranids 'should' behave but in my experience the less monolithic you can make something in an RPG the better. Having an instinctual drive to consume everything is fine in a wargame but doesn't work so well as an opponent in an RPG.

No arguments here on that count really. A normal bug invasion has the YAGD* factor that Call of Cthulhu and WH40K inherently possess, turned up to 11. Going by the fluff, short of an utter miracle (like large-scale Eldar intervention, or something similarly major), a Tyranid invasion means you are the planet is DEAD, end of story. Not really good for a long-term campaign, but great for a con game or a shortburn

The question of what killed the Norn Queens in the first place still remains, but its perfectly fitting for the 40K universe for it to be a mystery. Especially considering that something powerful enough to do that in the 40K universe is almost certainly not Imperial in origin.

*You're All Gonna Die!