Alright, so my players have boarded a Space Hulk in the Screaming Vortex. Now one of my players, he plays an Apostate who is a very powerful sorceress (used DH rules because psykers and sorcerers are two different thingsmechanically and narratively, despite what BC says) and he wanted to know 1: Is there a way to lock a Space Hulk into a stable orbit of some sort and prevent it from taking another joyride through the Warp? and 2: Is there a way to purge the remaining Warp Influence from the Space Hulk? #2 mostly came about because a large portion of the Medicae Bay in the Hull they're inhabiting actually is flooded with blood.

Any ideas?

For Reference, I did build the Space Hulk using Ark of Lost Souls.

My usual scepticism regarding crossovers aside, I think the easiest way to solve issue #2 would be to establish a new geller field around your base, either by installing a new generator or by reactivating one of the existing, ancient machines from the wreck you are now calling home. You could even make it an adventure by having a sort of "race against time" where your players must reach multiple locations throughout the Hulk and reactivate the generators there, whilst a powerful daemonic presence inhabiting the Hulk recognises the group's actions as a threat and attempts to stop them now. Once the geller field is strong enough, it should also prevent the Hulk from triggering new rifts in the Warp all by itself, eliminating issue #1.

Alternatively, you could attempt an exorcism, though this is probably something where Inquisitorial forces would have more knowledge and experience about - that being said, I'm sure that somewhere in the Vortex there is someone who knows even such secrets, and would be willing to assist ... for a price.

And for a third option, the psyker could attempt to bind the daemonic entity that causes these phenomena. This should probably be the preferred way to go, considering that the first two options should by all rights also inhibit the player's own powers, for as long as they are in the "dampened zone". Can't fling fireballs without accessing the Warp, after all. Plus, as a bonus effect, a "loyal" daemon bound into your base would also be a powerful tool to retain control of the Hulk and defend it against the players' enemies.

... and not just the ones from the outside. Hulks are pretty big, so chances are the players are not alone ...

Lastly, don't be afraid to simply "make stuff up" if it suits the scenario and you feel your group would be okay with it. As you already pointed out yourself, the material is (often intentionally) contradictory, and you have just as much right to invent new rituals or artefacts as the people at FFG, BL, GW, FW, etc.

I like the way Lynata puts that! And I really like how it tastes like a grand adventure that could easily span multiple sessions.

So, I am not sure that "being inside a Gellar field" hampers the use psionic powers inisde of it. But that again is an age-old debate in the forums, as far as I remember.

Anyway: instead of an "excorzism" I would call for a summoning. A large ritual and/or multiple minor ones were "the force of the warp" are appeased so that the Hulk stays were it is...for another year or so

Cleaning an entire space hulk of "warp teint" is an undertaking that should be measured in years, so. And I could imagine that "the Gods do not abide" (corruption points as "price for failure" after achieving this).

Getting the thing into the stationary orbit of something...tricky! Besides a lot of dice roles for Scholasitc lore to get it in a steady, non-declining orbit one would something to actually tow the thing there....

I say "towed" because I simply cannot imagine that messe up wreck can be steered again. If we talk "multi-ship-wreck-hulk" here and not "just ship". In the later case, it might be done but it will be HARD to VERY HARD. The price of failure? Crashing the thing into the planet if you do not manouvre the gravity fields just right!

If you think about it, you need a lot of things to be done and proberbly alot of support for that. Manpower. A lot of it. And that is GOOD for a game! So go, make the players gather the forces, strike up plans, build interesting adversaries and problems... I am sure the gods are smiling on you (as long as you do not grow all overeager about exorzising anything )

Possible solutions to both issues

-A ritual

-A Daemonic pact. e.g. You keep out, and we will give you X

-If the group has a Heretek, let him/her begin working on it. It will be cooler to the player(s) if they accomplish something like this without outside help. The GM should ally and help to come up with ideas if needed.

-Let the Hulk drift and acquire more mass, then bring on slave crew to rebuild it from the inside out and purge the unclean sections, one by one. Who knows what mysteries they uncover and what threats/allies lurk within?

For 2, the 'bind/ally with the demon' seems like the most fun. For 1, not quite what you want, but sorcerors are able to at least semi-reliably guide hulks through the Immaterium - I don't remember which book, maybe a Chaos Codex, talking about how Tzeentch sorcerors are good if you want to use a hulk to invade the Imperium. Or maybe it was talking about Ahriman doing it to get around. So, would steering it so it bounces between the same two or three locations work?

I say "towed" because I simply cannot imagine that messe up wreck can be steered again. If we talk "multi-ship-wreck-hulk" here and not "just ship". In the later case, it might be done but it will be HARD to VERY HARD. The price of failure? Crashing the thing into the planet if you do not manouvre the gravity fields just right!

That sounds awesome. Perhaps the players can enlist the help of one of the Pirate Princes?

Also, good idea about the summoning! The problem seems to be that the influence of the Warp is "wild" there, so all that's needed would be someone .. or something .. to "control" it?

I say "towed" because I simply cannot imagine that messe up wreck can be steered again. If we talk "multi-ship-wreck-hulk" here and not "just ship". In the later case, it might be done but it will be HARD to VERY HARD. The price of failure? Crashing the thing into the planet if you do not manouvre the gravity fields just right!

That sounds awesome. Perhaps the players can enlist the help of one of the Pirate Princes?

Also, good idea about the summoning! The problem seems to be that the influence of the Warp is "wild" there, so all that's needed would be someone .. or something .. to "control" it?

Depends. The problem is that it's pretty much non-functional at the moment, so they may take the opportunity to stab you in the back, take what they want and leave you on an inert hulk on a degrading orbit.

That's a question of relative infamy and resources, of course, and it's not a problem that can't be overcome. If you ever want to make it operational(ish) again, the Pirates of the Ragged Helix are your most easily accessible source of trained crew, too, so getting that relationship in early isn't a bad plan. An unexplored hulk probably has plenty of useable salvage you can pay them off with.

Trying to bind the daemonic influences is a good idea. Why destroy something if you can use it?

Cleansing the rest of the hulk could take forvever, but again, mutants and daemons are just resources to be acquired.

Don't forget to add in a WAAAAGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it is a "multiple ships rammed together in a ball" kind of space hulk. I never thought of Geller Fields, and I always thought they just prevented daemons from barging in on your wine-tasting event (RT moment). Their plan currently is to use their five frigates (slaaneshi one, nurgly one, tzeentchy one, khorny one, and of course, MALICE because special snowflake renegades) to tow the thing into high orbit and make it into a moon, then systematically purge the ship of the MANY wild warp effects. halls flooded ankle-high in blood are the least of their problems, they haven't met the Eldar Harlequins using the hulk to catch a ride into the Vortex. So no WAAAGH! just murderous space elf jesters. Lots of good ideas, I think they'll have a space hulk home base soon enough (again though, Harlequins) thanks everyone!

No WAAGH? Just a little one? Please?

Lots of good ideas, I think they'll have a space hulk home base soon enough (again though, Harlequins) thanks everyone!

Keep us informed about how it goes, will you? While I dislike "deadly space elf jesters" nighly as much as those overrated green skinned foul-breathers, I am very curious to know about how this plays out.

Oh. talking curious: what infamy does your group have already?

they haven't met the Eldar Harlequins using the hulk to catch a ride into the Vortex. So no WAAAGH! just murderous space elf jesters. Lots of good ideas, I think they'll have a space hulk home base soon enough (again though, Harlequins) thanks everyone!

First thought when reading this was

"Why would Space Elf Jesters use Hulk to gain access to Vortex? Can't they use Webway?"

Then it hit me, "Yep, game encounter. You don't have to have logic in that."

Never read and try to post reply in the morning unless you have had you coffee

@Filliman

I have used this to make some levels and specific spots for Space Hulks for DW/BC/OW and off course to the Space Hulk board game. When I tried the link it was still working.

Hopefully it comes handy, I for one loved it

First thought when reading this was

"Why would Space Elf Jesters use Hulk to gain access to Vortex? Can't they use Webway?"

Then it hit me, "Yep, game encounter. You don't have to have logic in that."

Never read and try to post reply in the morning unless you have had you coffee

Game encounters don't have to be an excuse for (seemingly) nonsensical occurrences - in most cases, it is quite possible to build just about anything simply by appealing to other factors, even if they could just as well be interpreted in another way. The less random a game appears, the better, imho.

For example, if I were the GM, I could try to justify it by claiming the webway is unreliable within the Vortex due to interference from Warp phenomena (certainly there's a lot of those in the Vortex!). An attempt to use it could risk a daemonic encounter, or even the users "getting lost". It could also be an attempt at sneaking into the system, out of fear that a webway exit would be discovered by the entities dwelling at their destination, and the target of their assassination becoming aware of the imminent attack, thus making their job harder.

Anyways, I too would like to hear what becomes of this.

In all honesty, I completely forgot the Webway was a thing when I made that encounter. Also, their Infamy is pretty different. I decided to experiment with starting at 0 Infamy. The result of this is that players did a bunch of bargaining and trading and outright murdered a few (unimportant) people for services and gear, and by the time they got Infamy, they only use it to cow peasants into submission because they found roleplaying the trading/bargaining/theft/pillaging to be way more fulfilling. But anyway, perhaps a downside to that is that some people have 20 Infamy while two players have 40. To keep the game going at player request, I lowered Infamy rewards for completing Compacts, and my players love taking their minion and allied PC to left-field and letting things go where they fall, which usually includes Glorifying Acts that leave me stunned (just think of this phrase: "Are you not entertained?!" and then BAM. daemons.) The Harlequin encounter is actually going down tonight, and their plan is to trade salvage for geller fields at forge polix, and just for Misha, I have a little WAAAGH in my back pocket. We will see what happens tonight.

Alrihgt, update for all you interested people. The harlequin encounter went in an unexpected direction. my Alpha Legion Chosen told the party to run while he challenged them to single combat. he lasted four rounds against them, I still do not know how, before they cut him to ribbons. his last words were, beautifully enough, "Just as Planned". this allowed the nurglite heretek to set a trap for them using his prized jury-rigged plague-spweing flamethrower. as they turned to him, he filled the corridor with Nurgle's Rot, which they caught in time and went the other direction, giving the party just enough time to bolt into an auxiliary plasma reactor which they proceeded to rig to explode. deciding the space hulk was not worth death by murderous jesters, they proceed to flee out the reactor room, right into the loving arms of a mega-armored nob. the harlequins right behind them, they took their chances with the orks, passing all of the fairly difficult agility tests to weave through the crowd of orks while the orks comically killed each other trying to kill the party. the harlequins are by now leaping on ork heads to follow the heretics. the party falls flat on their faces into a desecrated imperial chapel, where a chaos terminator and about a hundred other people turn and stare. after sealing the door, they had about five seconds to ask who he was, turns out he's the guy the harlequins want,a dn Terminator already knew they were here for him. so seeing their opportunity, they open the door and let the harlequin troupe go wild in the chapel while they fled for their lives. in essence they let the harlequin troupe handle about two secondary objectives for them. they then let the harlequin troupe leave while they hid in servitor bays. then when the troupe left (quite frankly the troupe was not interested in the group as much as they wanted the Terminator Marine), they quietly left their hidey-holes, snuck back (failing spectactularly several times, attracting orks each time) and disarmed the bomb in the auxiliary plasma reactor, and began using minions to clean up the orks while they dealt with the Alpha Legionary's body. by that i mean they stripped him of everything including gene-seed (for snacking of course) and launched him into the void. then they proceeded to drain the blood-filled hallway....into a large pool that our World Eater Forsaken adores to death. they ended on a high note: they cleaned out the orks, got life support going on one of the ships, and made more of the hulk accessble to explore. they completely forgot though, that the harlequins are still aboard....so yeah, fun night. so now i have a question. they want to salvage a ship from the hulk to actually get around in. the ship they picked is in *okay* condition, all the bits still work. how long would it feasibly take to fix it up enough to fly it, provided they tow it into a well-equipped port to do it? i was thinking a year or two, but this feels short. ideas?

Remember when I said stunning Glorifying Acts? their dice must really love heresy, because this kind of thing, where they pass their rolls easily, happens quite often. I said unexpected above because this group usually gets REALLY defiant with fate. Like, stand their ground and dare said big bads to take a swing/shot. their fleeing was unexpected. Alpha Legion, whaddya gonna do?

Honestly if I was them I would bargin/pact with the daemons of each respective ship which makes up the hulk this way you got defensive systems that would deal with any pesky people you don't want around. Plus you got some daemon and warp backup. if it works out the problem would be the price of said pact and being able to for fill it.

Plus I assume the blood comes from the khorne ship right? won't he be mad that they are taking his pool of blood?

Overall can't wait for you to post the next part of your groups crazy journey.

so now i have a question. they want to salvage a ship from the hulk to actually get around in. the ship they picked is in *okay* condition, all the bits still work. how long would it feasibly take to fix it up enough to fly it, provided they tow it into a well-equipped port to do it? i was thinking a year or two, but this feels short. ideas?

If that ship is located on the outside of the Hulk, forming its "crust" if you will, it should be possible - but it's still going to be wedged in tight, very likely blocked by other craft that would have to be dealt with first. I imagine they're going to need lots of void-suited helpers with powerful laser drills to cut it out.

The good thing is that they could simultaneously begin to repair the internal machinery so that it can make a Warp translation on its own rather than being towed (which I imagine would be quite risky), thus bringing the ship into a proper dock (for fixing its armour and secondary systems) on its own power.

2-3 years for the whole endeavour sounds okay to me, but they have to bring in a lot of manpower, which means finding people as well as transportation and logistics for them! The party would, in effect, create a sort of archaeological dig site next to the Hulk, after all.

Manpower isn't a problem for them, their only issue would be keeping themselves on-task long enough. I misspoke when I said they needed it to get around (tired as all get out) they want to use it for trade to trick out their own ships. Still the rest stands, it would get them more if it worked under its own power at least. And yes, they did check to make sure none of the ships had what they wanted. And, after talking to them as a group over Steam this morning, their new plan is to simply wrench the whole thing apart and sell it for salvage, because they're nervous about more eldar coming to finish the job. Although, our Forsaken has a really metal set of Terminator Armor now (or will, when the Heretek and his assistants finish repairing it in, oh, 2 months)