So I've got a basic idea for a good simple adventure to start the players off with, but thought I should come to you folk for more ideas.

The players are both new rank acolytes, this will be their first adventure.  What I figured is that they'd been recruited some time back but up until this point they'd not yet been entrusted with an actual mission, and had pretty much been playing library assistant for Van Vuygens' researches into local xenos history.

A report has come down however, a request for investigation from the Ecclesiarchy of one of the local worlds. It seems there's something of a rising star lay cleric in the area, and he's been amassing considerable influence and followers.  The Ecclesiarchy is generally disinclined to intervene so long as the layfolk are keeping true to the good word of the Emperor but this particular cleric has been gaining a dangerous amount of influence at the expense of the proper sanctioned church, and moreover, his message is rather extreme even by Imperial standards.  In particular it seems his message has been littered with implications of corruption against the Ecclesiarchy.  

Clearly he is a heretic, and must be dealt with, but the Ecclesiarchy is afraid to move against him on their own as this rogue minister has amassed a considerable following and their manpower on the planet is slim, not enough to take out a raging mob.  They're also concerned as to what has led to this heresy, whether he's simply a misguided fool, or something more sinister, and want the cause discovered as best as possible before the heretic is purged.

Van Vuygens has been passed down this request because of a general lack of Inquisitional manpower, and the Lord Inquistors have a less than flattering view of Van Vuygens work, seeing him as wasting his time on wild theories and speculations.  Van Vuygens disagrees, obviously, and feels that his Acolytes would be better served continuing his own investigations, and so the players are pressed into their first real field assignment.  

The heretic himself is, of course, a Wormhost, infected by colony of psychic mind worms taken residence in his brain.  His true purpose is simply to eventually foment a revolt, to feed the ritual of summoning that will bring the Harvesters, a xenos plague from beyond the galaxy that previously wiped out an entire xenos population in the sector.  Whether they'll get any clue of this is uncertain, short of cracking open his skull and finding the worms.  Depending on how things play out they might not have any clue there's a larger conspiracy at work just yet.  

So, I'm fuzzy now on details of how events might transpire.  I'm thinking maybe I just need to come up with details on the city they'll be investigating, leaving some clues as to where he might've gone recently, possible hints of strange alien activity of some kind.

Not to put too fine a point on it; declare the world to be openly Heretical and call for a scourging. The Ecclesiarchy serves at the direction of, and at the pleasure of, the Emperor himself; they are the font of the Godhead in this pathetic Galaxy, and the first line of defense against the forces of the Void that seek to wipe out all of humanity and, by extension, the Empire itself. There are subversive elements here that need to be eradicated before their taint can spread beyond their own system. Establish a cordon, and wait for the bombardment from orbit - its the only way to be sure.

Honestly, in WH40k, this is the Way of Things. We've got another million worlds or so to prop up the Emperor, this one won't be missed.

Now, the real question is - what about this world or its people makes it worth preserving? Answer that, and you begin to know why and how your PCs will need to be deployed to deal with it.

IMO, of course.

I think you over state the frequency of application of the Exterminatus protocol.  Besides which, if you take that attitude about EVERYTHING, then the players never get to have any fun.  

I mean, if the Imperium just nukesd every planet that showed the slightest hint of heresy, what the hell would all those Space Marines and IG spend their time doing?

The cleric is traveling between planets in the system around the time that the PCs are heading towards the planet he's expected to be on. His ship has a malfunction and makes a crash-landing on a terraformed-to-marginal-habitability moon. His followers enter a frenzy and seize at least one Imperial Navy ship to begin transporting fanatics to recover him. He's never going to be as isolated as he is now, so the PCs have to rush in after him.

The cleric, of course, has survived the crash, though most (but not all) of the crew are dead. The maimed and traumatised wander the ship, while the cleric and his cadre of fanatical bodyguards are attempting to capture the bridge and transmit a SOS.

I'm with werekoala on this. The empire would never hesitate to remove a lay priest just because he has amassed some followers.
I don't think they call down the exterminatus at every opportunity, but assassins or a squad of guardsmen would certainly be dispatched even if the adeptus wouldn't do anything.

Quote from: J Arcane;247071I think you over state the frequency of application of the Exterminatus protocol.  Besides which, if you take that attitude about EVERYTHING, then the players never get to have any fun.  

Why don't you just have the PCs running an unrelated errand for Van Vuygens on the planet , discover the growing influence of this heretic, inform their master and begin investigating. This way the PCs are the center of attention and if things get out of hand they have a good reason to call in the big guns.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: Saphim;247098I'm with werekoala on this. The empire would never hesitate to remove a lay priest just because he has amassed some followers.
I don't think they call down the exterminatus at every opportunity, but assassins or a squad of guardsmen would certainly be dispatched even if the adeptus wouldn't do anything.

They might want to discredit the cleric or discover if he's part of a wider conspiracy first. As well, PCs in Dark Heresy _are_ assassins and guardsmen.

Are the Acolytes operating as open and public agents of the Inquisition here?

If not, you might want them to infiltrate the movement.

If so, the cleric will certainly be notified fast of the Inquisitions' involvement.  He may not (probably will not) realize that it's just two junior Acolytes.  Having the Inquisition "bearing down on him" may accelerate his plans or tip his hand before he's ready.

The flip side to this is that your Acolytes may end up in something MUCH bigger than they were intended to handle.  That's the good stuff.  

So, I see two possible, initial forks for thier mission: either they show up and ask to join the movement or they show up flashing the Inquisitorial Seal and making people run in (probably misplaced) fear.

Sounds like a good time!

The Emperor protects.

-Tom

I was being semi-serious; I know wiping out whole worlds isn't a light undertaking, but depending on where the adventure heads it could well come to that, especially if the Badness is what you seem to be implying.

As above, yes, taking him out would be well within the Law, but if it spreads beyond just one man and his followers, it could get nasty quick.

Besides, think of the pretty fireworks!

Quote from: Werekoala;247198I was being semi-serious; I know wiping out whole worlds isn't a light undertaking, but depending on where the adventure heads it could well come to that, especially if the Badness is what you seem to be implying.

As above, yes, taking him out would be well within the Law, but if it spreads beyond just one man and his followers, it could get nasty quick.

Besides, think of the pretty fireworks!

Well, in part, I figured the purpose of the investigation would be to see if such a thing is even necessary.

IE, if the players determine he's just a lone nut, then a bullet to the head may be all they need, whereas if they catch hint of Chaos or xenos influence, that's when more drastic measures may be in order.

Throw the PCs off the trail but having them find proof of corruption in the Ecclesiarchy and have the worm heretic try to get the PCs to aid his side.   Get them to doubt the official story they have been told and play up the jealousy of the priests versus the good works of the heretic.  

The psychic mind worms will want to play off the various powers against each other long enough for them to get a foothold on the sector.