Hey everyone,
I just wanted to see if anyone here would mind reading over the beginning three pages of a module which I have started writing, and let me know how it sounds. It is a horror based campaign, with inspirations from H.P Lovecraft. It will be focused on investigation and puzzles with an emphasis on picking ones fights wisely. I am intending for it to be taking place in the hive Tenebra, where a terrible accident took place involving a psyker/sorceror cult which displaced the hive city from reality and into a warp infested version of reality . I want to incorporate three separate levels of corruption. The first will be essentially normal, the vast majority of the citizens are living quite happily however they are timeless and immortal. The second has some minor corruption and the warp is quite present all around, and the third will be an absolute horror where only the most evil and brutally corrupted things live. I am intending to have the Pcs forced to navigate between the levels of reality, (though I am not sure what mechanic I am going to use for that), in order to escape and prevent the ultimate destruction of Scintilla.
Thanks regardless, constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.
Anyways here it is:
Start:
(Isaac Maisinkov, 6 ft 2 brown thinning hair, large amount of scars and he carries a notched power sword on his back which no longer functions)
Begins on a massive carrier ship, Inquisitor Isaac Maisinkov has summoned the acolytes for their first mission.
Introductions blah de blah de blah (as they are customized to player's attitudes and responses)
Your first mission is to investigate possible missing ships around Lachesis, Scintillas' moon. I suspect that the reports are just the cause of common piracy and thus feel that I can entrust it to you, the newly enlisted. Your mission, investigate and eliminate the threats. I will provide you with a pilot, and a scout ship.
For the God Emperor!
(Gestures for acolytes to follow.)
Leads them to ship and then leaves.
Female pilot Quintilla Venria comes up, you can see that she is a veteran just by the amount of scars she has covering all her visible skin. She grimaces after the style of a grin and asks reduntantly "coming?" whilst boarding the ship.
The ship is cramped, without many amenities but thus is life. After a short while the ship takes off and begins the 3 day trek to Scintilla.
Shortly the acolytes can see the massive hive world growing bigger in the windows/view screens. The ship begins to turn a bit as it skives past Scintilla towards the moon Lachesis. A few minutes pass, when suddenly a shuddering is felt throughout the ship, it slowly intensifies until it is impossible to not fall over. Amongst the shuddering, one can hear the ship groaning and creaking as it begins to break up. The pressure of the ship suddenly disappears and everyone makes Toughness to prevent themselves from passing out. On failure they go unconcious, on success they stay awake one round, and must make a new Toughness test at the beginning of each round. Those who stay awake see the ship buckling and breaking around them, surrounded by a greenish, purple aura.
Everyone loses 1 fate point.
Everyone awakens at about the same time in pitch blackness. Eerily there is no sound. The air is hot, humid and a stench of sulphur taints it. Suddenly a great wrenching shock rocks the ground, and a distant boom signals the cause. The shock causes some of the debris overhead to fall, and the acolytes are bathed in a reddish light coming from the night sky. They can see that they are inside of a building of sorts, a ship sized hole has been punched through the upper layers. The night sky is like nothing anyone has ever seen before and upon looking at it, must roll -10 Willpower or roll on the shock table after which they gain d5 insanity. The stars seem to roil as if they were in a constant state of flux; the light they give off is a deep bloody red, and it feels completely wrong. (The light on ones skin causes a feeling like bugs crawling over it, and it shortly causes a headache. Psynicience to detect the warp tainting the light.)
Looking around the acolytes see that they are inside the now destroyed ship which they were travelling in. The ships hull has been rent in in-numerous locations, and it has an odd bend to it. It looks like a giant grabbed it and bent it with his hands while someone took an infinitely sharp razor and carved at the hull. It appears to have been painted red with blood. It is deemed irreparable by anyone with any tech-use. The pilot is not present and the on-board servitors appear to be completely dead as their head casings are cracked open and brain matter is oozing out. All valuable tools and devices on-board have been destroyed and are beyond salvaging.
Outside the ship is a nightmarish scene, the buildings around are cracked and decaying. Where the light shines on them seems to ooze blood but upon closer inspection there is none. The walls and ground seem to crawl a little bit as if they were alive, however they stop when someone is standing on, or touching them. There is vegetation is growing all around, a smell (It is the smell that everyone individually hates the most) comes off them, and they look as though they are on the verge of death.
A great many buildings are collapsed, however there are three which still have more or less open doorways: one is to the north, one to the northwest and one to the south east.
The door to the north opens into a small building which has mostly collapsed allowing the ghastly red light to make it appear bathed in blood. There are almost no practical things in here but there are quite a few pieces of memorabilia. Photos of a happy family with two kids, one boy one girl. When looked at the faces twist and mutate until they look monstrous even though one can tell who they used to be still. Upon twisting they move up to the front of the picture and the picture bends as though they are trying to get out, after a few seconds an angry scream issues forth. Willpower to avoid shock table. Other things include a stuffed animal with bleeding stabs. Ripped clothing.
The door to the northwest looks odd and opens into a house which feels odd. Light is limited. Perception to notice the entire house is seated with irregular angles. The door is canted 18 degrees to the left and the living quarters are canted 24 degrees to the right. There is a staircase to nowhere, indeed the door it leads to does not open and there is nought but solid wall behind it. On top of it all after a short amount of time within the house the feeling of being watched starts bothering the party. But the feeling is not a normal being watched, it feels like the gaze is one of unimaginable malignancy and anger watching them. Found amongst the wreckage of the house, is a poor quality bolt pistol with 2 shots in it.
Within the house to the south-east is nothing, but pitch blackness. Indeed it is so complete that light sources do not light even a meter in front of the bearer. Upon walking further in, the light becomes more dim but heavy breathing begins to emanate from the far side of the house. Walking towards it causes it to increase in speed, until it is fevered. After a small amount of time a beast rushes towards the party and it is initiative. This battle is fought in the dark and therefore the party suffers -20 to hit. (unless they increase the light by leaving.) The beast is very humanoid and yet looking into its warp twisted eyes makes it very clear that it is not. Its’ skin is sloughing off revealing greenish black muscle and thus causes a fear test. Upon being struck by this being one must make agility or suffer d5 corruption as its fluids sink in any exposed skin, burning through armor and clothing. Upon dying the beast melts into a puddle of black ichor which, gives off a smell much like the vegetation outside does.
After about 2 hours of in-game time, players start to feel itchy and painful even under what they are wearing, and nothing helps. Every minute after and every minute after that, everyone suffers a level of fatigue. Once everyone passes out roll d5+7 corruption.