"It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he may never truly die. Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat to humanity from aliens, heretics, mutants -- and far, far worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods."
You are adventurers, soldiers, and leaders shining above the teeming masses of humanity. Braving the perils of the Warp. Your vessel, the Crimson Horizon, was a decorated ship of Fleet Dobius. the armada of the late Maximillian Dobius, a Rogue Trader and prince among the stars. Your ship is heavily damaged as you limp towards civilisation for respite and repairs
Home to twenty thousand crew, five thousand since Dobius Folly, the Crimson Horizon is a Sword class frigate. A reliable class of starship, made to take and dole out an impressive amount of damage for such a small crew. Trez Tertius III was newly minted captain in anticipation of conquering a habitable system recently dubbed Dobius Folly. Thus far he has proved an able, if cowardly man. It can be asked, is it truly cowardice to flee certain death and enslavement at the hands of the eldar?
As members of the Crimson Horizon's crew you come from varied backgrounds. You have been aboard the ship six months since you were recruited, four since you watched the burning wrecks of capital ships dwindle in the distance, eldar raiders in pursuit.
Through the mercy of the Emperor, and no small amount of luck, you find yourselves at Corvallis space station. The size of a small hive city, Corvallis orbits planet Daren. Daren is a phosphorus giant that was once rich in agolite, a conductive metal prized by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Times have changed and the heavily populated station is now home to disenfranchised miners that will do almost anything for a handful of thrones. Here, in the relative safety of the Imperium, you hope to repair the Crimson Horizon and put meat on the bones of your skeleton crew. Rumors of treasure on forbidden planets and opportunities for trade and pleasure draw your crew into Corvallis.
While not the heroes welcome you hoped for when you set out on your journey, the Administratum is glad to hear news of the Imperium.
GLOSSARY: If you are unfamiliar with the 40k universe some of the terms and names may seem a bit confusing. Therefore I have included a small glossary of some terms you will encounter most often. This will be updated some as we play, it is simply a quick reference tool. Ask questions via PMs to mine self. Also, here is a site with a decent amount of information: http://www.lexicanum.com/
Adeptus Mechanicus: AKA Tech priests, holders of sacred technological lore. Maintaining ships, tanks, computer systems, weapons and armor. As they gain in power and age tech priests take on more and more augmetics, becoming less and less human.
Administratum: The hierarchy and bureaucracy that runs the Imperium, whether tyrannical monarchies or duly represented electorates, and all the functionaries and flunkies below.
Ecclesiarchy: The Church of the God Emperor of Mankind, observing sacred rites and blessing the weapons of man against all foes.
Imperial Guard: The standing armies of the Imperium. Founded on one world only to be sent across the sector to do the bidding of the Emperor.
Inquisition: The right hand of the Emperor, Seeking out and purging the Imperium of heresy or foiling the machinations of malicious xenos, the Inquisition is not to be trifled with. The Inquisition is made up of many orders and philosophies. (No, you can't play an Inquisitor, it's not what this particular game is about.)
PDF: Planetary Defense Force aka Arbites, the PDF police the Imperium all over. Each PDF unit is based solely on their home planet, and have been known to work with Imperial Guard units on occasion.
Psyker: An individual cursed, few would say gifted, with psychic abilities. From summoning flames to telepathy and dominating the minds of others. (I am going to be very picky about psykers. They are few and far between, and if you were more powerful than a gamma level psyker you would have been picked up by the Black Ships or possessed by a daemon already.)
Throne: The most common unit of currency within the Imperium and also a reference to the God Emperor of Mankind; "By the Throne!"
Xenos: Aliens. This word means aliens. They are not your friends, those that don't want to eat you wish to use you for some nefarious purpose. At most they will only ever be allies of convenience.
Characters: I like to keep my character sketches pretty simple. That being said, there are millions of worlds in the Imperium, and your character originated on one of them. From feral worlds where death stalks every corner to forge worlds spitting out the war machines of the Imperial Guard. Hive cities where gangers fight over resources to imperial worlds where devotion to the Emperor and education are paramount.
After you grew up on whatever world (or ship or station) you career started somewhere. Whether it was the Imperial Guard, the Ecclesiarchy, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Navy, or as an Arbite, maybe you are/were a trader (though not on the level of the vaunted Rogue Traders... yet). Or perhaps you got your start as a pirate or gang leader, perhaps you were press-ganged into Navy service or were the only survivor of a cultist conspiracy. The choice is yours.*
Check my characters section for some examples.
Note: Schematics of the ship and a galactic map will be forthcoming, in our current state we have no need for either.
*Pending evaluation and acceptance, which will be doled out at my discretion. Not all applicants will be accepted.
