Hi Guys,

I have never been that good in 40k fluff, but I've GM'd WFRP alot so ... anyway my adventure (campaign) is supposed to be something like this :

A Death cult enleases a drug upon a hive world.

Act 1 - Get to the stuff

1) Briefing from the inquisitor

2) Researching the gangs

3) Underground Xenos bar fight (discovery of a mutant pitfighter)

4) Prove their worth (players must steal an artifact from a museum)

5) The Ritual (Invitation to the drug ritual)

However now I need to start writing up act 2, to infiltrate the cult, know what the cult is about. I've been thinking of installing their inquisitor as indeed a member of this cult ... anyway, I need new ideas and suggestions ...

What's Xenos about the bar?

Remember that while the acolytes are being sent on this their inquisitor shouldn't really bother with it, he/she's got other things to deal with that are much more important than some drug making gang...for now at least.

What does the drug do?

Remember that while the acolytes are being sent on this their inquisitor shouldn't really bother with it, he/she's got other things to deal with that are much more important than some drug making gang...for now at least.

I know this is how DH1 is but this doesn't have to always be the case. There's no reason the PC's patron couldn't be a prominent figure in the campaign that PCs see/work with regularly. Just avoid making them a DMNPC who outshines the PCs.

A fair point. I'd just make sure there's a good reason for it nonetheless.

You will also need a good reason for the Inquisitor to go after this cult if he is secretly a part of it. Why would he send his acolytes to investigate? Internal power struggles? Disagreement on the drug business? For that matter, is this a fully heretical death cult or an ordinary death cult with an heretical element? Is the reason the Inquisitor does not deal with it himself that he could compromise his position in the cult?

As for act 2 - what is the endgame of this conspiracy? Usually it works well to consider the endgame and then working backwards from that.

For general DH conspiracy writing I would recommend TheFlatline 's excellent Running an Investigation/Conspiracy Adventure from the DH1 forums:
http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/53940-running-an-investigationconspiracy-adventure/

One more thing: have a contingency plan in case the PCs blow the adventure out of scale. That Inquisitorial Badge they have is really-really useful, and believe me, it won't take long until the party recruits the help of the local Arbites forces, and arrive at the ritual with a Repressor filled with Arbites hunter-killer teams.

What's Xenos about the bar?

Remember that while the acolytes are being sent on this their inquisitor shouldn't really bother with it, he/she's got other things to deal with that are much more important than some drug making gang...for now at least.

What does the drug do?

Actually I was thinking that in the underground crime scenes, there is a pitfight scene that uses a captured alien race or a mutant. Not sure yet what to use.

The drug produces hallucinations but an overdose can create mutations.

Thanks for the advice lads I'll try to use the advice .. maybe write out the scenario so other people can use it.

What's Xenos about the bar?

Remember that while the acolytes are being sent on this their inquisitor shouldn't really bother with it, he/she's got other things to deal with that are much more important than some drug making gang...for now at least.

What does the drug do?

Actually I was thinking that in the underground crime scenes, there is a pitfight scene that uses a captured alien race or a mutant. Not sure yet what to use.

The drug produces hallucinations but an overdose can create mutations.

I've got an idea. How about the drug is produced from the sweat glands of the aliens, but it's only potent after the aliens have been in a fight? Something about the mixture of hormones and adrenaline.

Sounds awesome

@only harvest it after a fight
Please take note: if you have such Special conditions of harvesting this drug, it is either very unlikely that you will be able to mass produce OR you will Need to put a lot of effort to mass produce. Most drugs that are the notable menaces of Society are those you can basically produce in a living room. Needing the xenos beasts to fight means a high demand on logistics (opponents, battle places, replacement for deadly wounded xenos creatures, etc.).
If you go this way, either think about why the drug is noted and important although it is not largely available or think about the logistics, where the Arenas are located and why it went unnoticed by now.

These are all things that CAN be answered, but one Needs to think about it. At least on a Level that allows the Players to kick in "suspense of disbelief"

@The cult, the Inquisitor and the involvement
A "Death Cult" is basically about killing, not about polluting or drugging up or causing mutants. Well, at least the stereotypical asassassine cults are. If you use a cult akin to the one Batman faced in "a new beginning" (a cult dedicated to take out weak elements of Society to safe the whole) you have something your Inquisitor could see valuable.

The reason the Inquisitor is now turning against (parts) of the cult he belongs to could be a Change of policy: the cult wants to create mutants now in order to make those a more obvious threat to Society so that there might be an anti-Mutant progrom, "cleansing Society". If your Inquisitor is against "spreading Mutation to eredicated Mutation", he has reason to send agents of his own to eradicate those parts of the cult involved in that plan. I if the Inquisitor wants to Keep the cult as such but only wants to shut down this one Operation/splinter cell.

Not really the chemicals they get out of the harvesting are too potent to just take, so they have to dilute it quite a bit for varying versions each more potent (think moonshine with x's) so while they get a vial of the stuff each dose usually only uses a drop overall.

these are indeed good ideas ... however I've taken another turn for the drug. Actually it is a 'common' drug, it's wine. However a Slaneesh cult mixes the wine with the blood of a baby (there fore my hook is, alot of baby's are getting kidnapped in the Hive). The drug is only sold within the higher areas of the Hive, so it's not as common and usefull for others ...

Other stuff I have been thinking, I pressume the acolytes will try to contact local gangs to find out who is selling the drug. While saving a gang member from a bar fight, they ar sligthly introduced into the gang. To earn the gangstrust, they are ordered to steal an ancient artifact in a museum. This artifact is needed by the cult to awaken a Deamon. However the cult found out their gang link is selling the 'drug' for a very high price in lower hive ranks, therefore the cult doesn't trust him anymore and he gets murdered.

So now the players have an artifact the cult actually wants, and they will be hunted down by the cult.

these are indeed good ideas ... however I've taken another turn for the drug. Actually it is a 'common' drug, it's wine. However a Slaneesh cult mixes the wine with the blood of a baby (there fore my hook is, alot of baby's are getting kidnapped in the Hive). The drug is only sold within the higher areas of the Hive, so it's not as common and usefull for others ...

Uhm, I'm pretty sure that wine "enriched" with baby blood is an common drink for the upper class in the IoM anyway, and you don't need an evul cult for this kind of... esoteric drinking habits.

these are indeed good ideas ... however I've taken another turn for the drug. Actually it is a 'common' drug, it's wine. However a Slaneesh cult mixes the wine with the blood of a baby (there fore my hook is, alot of baby's are getting kidnapped in the Hive). The drug is only sold within the higher areas of the Hive, so it's not as common and usefull for others ...

Uhm, I'm pretty sure that wine "enriched" with baby blood is an common drink for the upper class in the IoM anyway, and you don't need an evul cult for this kind of... esoteric drinking habits.

what about a mix of baby blood & blood from a deamonhost?

It does sound a bit disturbing assuming this happens as common as anything in IoM

these are indeed good ideas ... however I've taken another turn for the drug. Actually it is a 'common' drug, it's wine. However a Slaneesh cult mixes the wine with the blood of a baby (there fore my hook is, alot of baby's are getting kidnapped in the Hive). The drug is only sold within the higher areas of the Hive, so it's not as common and usefull for others ...

Uhm, I'm pretty sure that wine "enriched" with baby blood is an common drink for the upper class in the IoM anyway, and you don't need an evul cult for this kind of... esoteric drinking habits.

what about a mix of baby blood & blood from a deamonhost?

Welcome in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium !

Nah the cult only targets the children of specific genetic matches in the upper noble houses. This is creating dissent in the ranks as the nobility thinks people are acting out personal vedettas in a shadow war. The sister famulous also get involved because they are messing with their work.

Nah the cult only targets the children of specific genetic matches in the upper noble houses. This is creating dissent in the ranks as the nobility thinks people are acting out personal vedettas in a shadow war. The sister famulous also get involved because they are messing with their work.

Hey, superb I will use that one for sure !!! Thanks !!!!

Welcome in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium !

Glad to be here

So - acoltyes are told to investigate a drug business.

Key thing here is what my players called "Why Us" - not a despairing plea (well, occasionally) but "why is this a matter for the Inquisition?".

Crime is a matter for the local oathsworn magistratum types. Worst-case scenario, 'federal' crimes - those occuring cross-planet or directly harming assets or members of the Adeptus Terra - become an issue for the Adeptus Arbites. The Inquisition only really gets involved if it believes that some sort of extremely dire shennanigans are occuring. That's why the Faceless Trade is such a common feature in games - smuggling a.n. other drug isn't legal, but it's not a matter worth the Ordo's time.

I would personally play up the fact that this doesn't seem worth the acolytes time. If the Inquisitor is doing this because of his cult connections - i.e. he's essentially providing the cult with some patsies to take the fall for stealing the daemonic artefact - then let them wonder why their master's pushed them into investigating this, right up until the point someone says the word 'artefact'.

Anything can be conected to chaos/xenos/heretics.

Take the drugs for example: This actually happened in one of the Eisenhorn/Ravenor novels. It had "Flects", pieces of glass wrapped in red paper that messed with your mind when you stared into it: later revealed to be shards of glass from a ruined hive on a daemonworld.

So - acoltyes are told to investigate a drug business.

Key thing here is what my players called "Why Us" - not a despairing plea (well, occasionally) but "why is this a matter for the Inquisition?".

Crime is a matter for the local oathsworn magistratum types. Worst-case scenario, 'federal' crimes - those occuring cross-planet or directly harming assets or members of the Adeptus Terra - become an issue for the Adeptus Arbites. The Inquisition only really gets involved if it believes that some sort of extremely dire shennanigans are occuring. That's why the Faceless Trade is such a common feature in games - smuggling a.n. other drug isn't legal, but it's not a matter worth the Ordo's time.

I would personally play up the fact that this doesn't seem worth the acolytes time. If the Inquisitor is doing this because of his cult connections - i.e. he's essentially providing the cult with some patsies to take the fall for stealing the daemonic artefact - then let them wonder why their master's pushed them into investigating this, right up until the point someone says the word 'artefact'.

The drug causes mutations in higher doses. That's really enough for the Inquisition to get involved. I'd say that normally such a thing would be a matter for the Adeptus Arbites, but the Inquisition might very well be involved, such as sending Acolytes to infiltrate after the Arbites have failed with their more ham-fisted measures.

Also, going with the idea of the xenos glands, that definitely has Inquisition written all over it. No way, no how that the Arbites aren't mandated to at least consult the Inquisition when the adepts start finding out that this thing is of alien origin.

Thanks for all the replies lads. I've been reading up on all 40k fluff from the rulebook and the first edition.

Currently the Acolytes will be on Baraspine hive world, where all things will start ... it all depends on how they investigate. Maybe they bumb into something else who knows

May I ask which of the Ordos their Inquisitor is from?

You may, ordo hereticus

I made my Players meet their Inquisitor first thing while on their Rogue Trader "escort" ship. He introduced himself right off the bat. In the lore of PCs the players have met their Inquisitor but the Players themselves have not yet, so for a gameing point of view I wanted the players to know what they think of their inquisitor and how they want their PCs to act. The Inquisitor wont assist them on their missions unless he needs to like take out a big bad, but other than that the Inquisitor is away or doing his own thing. The acolytes also kept in touch with their Inquisitor to make for a little roleplay, and as some advice for the Acolytes.

Depends on the cult in the past I find cults of Tzeentch are more challenging because they pull more strings and make sure they benefit from the lose of others which also makes for more options in story role play wise. Nurgle cults are hard to get rid of because their endurance. Members die they come back to life they seem to be the ones with the strongest roots in worlds, from some of the lore I read. I think Hive Desolum is a good example. These are just my opinions.

Maybe instead of the Inquisitor bring in a NPC the players can relate to and trust then it turns out their being led to their doom in order to make the "Champion" of Chaos stronger. Thats a plot twist. Or you could have the cult go two war with another cult that causes major collateral damage and it is up to your acolytes to either infiltrate one "or both" cults to help weaken both factions before you call in the Sisters of Battle to help clean house. Just some ideas im throwing out there