I was rereading my copy of Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods and was reminded of the heresy of the Temple Tendency.

The "Temple Tendency" or "Temple of the Saviour Emperor" are the remnants of the pre-reformation ecclesiarchy which was purged along with Goge Vandire after the Age of Apostasy. It has quietly spread into the Calixis Sector and is not seriously suspected to be there by the local Inquisition. The beliefs are generally held by interconnected lines of noble families who act subtly to preserve their faith and gain influence.

My notion is that a rogue trader dynasty could be populated with members of the Temple, whether originally or through marriage with believing noble houses. A dynasty offers unique opportunities for the Temple, which I'm trying to hash out.

* Setting up colonies where the obvious faith is either very friendly to Temple concepts (church armies, church wealth, church power above all other adepta) or at least amongst the rulers. The main weakness is that since the Temple mainly spreads through family lines, discovery of a Temple colony would point a big sign at that founding dynasty.

* Transport of shade priests and pontifexes within and without the Calixis Sector.

* Bringing economic might (and actual) to bear on ecclesiarchy interests, who the Temple regard as heretics and usupers.

* Finding lost secrets of Imperial history which could aid the Temple's cause (example given in Edge of the Abyss, a graveyard world of interest to the faithful).

Any more notions?

Well it's not like the colonies have to have great edifices showing what they worship. I mean, they they pretty much worship the same person, just in different ways. So the most obvious religious symbols would be the most common ones worshiped by everyone, while the few specific ones linked to their cause could be brought out/uncovered when needed.

And the family line need not be direct. It could also be diluted, like a distant cousin, or disowned bastard child. They could even forge papers/documents/test showing they have no family allegiance to the Dynasty in question, when in actuality they do, but someone would have to dig deep to find it. They could even have one person who has no relation to them at all be the "Governor," when the real power is the two mid-ranking Seneschal errand girls that don't 'appear' to be that all clever or sneaky.

Other options that could benefit the Temple Tendency

-bringing disease ridden goods to Ecclesiarchy colonies, while planting false lies that the Ecc. Priests are trying to punish the wicked for a minor slight. The ones that follow the true calling (the Temple Tendency's) are giving healthy food

-planting false evidence in colonies that have a strong Ecclesiarchy faith, that they are tainted by xeno's/chaos/something. Only by cleansing them with fire, can they be saved.

-convincing RT A/Chartist Captain B that diverting those much needed air purifier systems / habitat dwellings / space heating banks from dying world C, would be better off (and more rewarding) at semi-thriving world D.

-paying Pirates / convincing Orks that colony E is rip for the taking, especially when Transport X comes in and is unloading supplies with it's shields and weapons down.

-some Shade Priests pose as Ecc. Priests, and hire RT F to convince colony G to give up Holy Relic H for a higher cause of spreading the Emperor's Word into the stars. Shortly after receiving Holy Relic H from RT F, rumors spread that Pirates stole the Relic and killed the Ecc. Priests. No one knows where it is now...... And if RT F goes looking for the Ecc. Priests, trouble ensues (either false rumors that RT F was behind it, or consorted with someone to get rid of Hold Relic H, or out right attacks from other RT's who were giving false information)

Yea, that is all I got so far.

Some great ideas! With the Temple, subtlety is emphasised again and again. So ways to hurt the ecclesiarchy without it leading back to them (easily) are key. Come to think of it, their assassination cells could surely find berth on a RT vessel...

Hi there,

first and foremost, do -not- have colonies with open "church armies". It is one of the most prominent laws that the "church" is no longer allowed to keep men under arms.

Unless of course, this colony is in fact a "shade colony". If one comes to think of it, it should not be to much of a problem for an RT to settle a planet without anyone outside of his own ship even knowing about that colony.

- the colonists themselves will not know if they are known to the larger Imperium. Not for generations to come, with the only exception being the colonial leaders (which might be adherents of the TT..or perhaps the whole colony is!)

- aside from the command staff, the RT ship´s crew itself might now know. Sure, they know that they travel, they know the name of the colony but who outside of the command crew is knowing the details? Like "is the colony registered with the Adepta Administratum? For what reason was it founded? What are the people like that live there? Where do they hail from?" Next to nobody. And I could imagine they do not give a **** while toiling on till next generation.

- the supplies a RT buys could be mistaken for those of a different (legal & confirmed) colonization attempt. Who is going to cross-check if the Dynasty is buying supplies for four or five colonization attempts? Might happen, but not on a regular Basis. And even if it is checked: an RT has a written letter of "do next to whatever you seem profitable outside of the Imperium, we do not care". So, he bought supplies for a colony without ever having registered one with the Administratum. So what? An RT has the right to buy and sell next to everything to next to everyone. "Proof me that I did broke a law" might be the defense of an RT, as one would actually need to do this in order to call him in on his deeds. Good luck with that!

- if found out, the colony might not even be "traceable". If the leaders (fanatical believers of the TT) keep their mouth shut, how shall you tell who the RT is that arranges for supplies and further colonists? Of course, the colonists themselves know where they hail from but what if they are, too, fantatic believers of the TT? Or at least half of them? Think about the "Jonestown" inccident in Guyana (the whole religious mass murder/mass suicide), but lift it up to the Level of a minor colony.


Some in TT could try to build up their own "fringe Empire" this way.

Subverting the faith of a ship (an frigging RT ship) might work, too. Over Generations, replace the priests with shade priestd. Ship communities are isolated communites. After a while, you have your little group of stern followers of the TT. Is that changing the Emperium as a whole? NO! But for those who actually BELIEVE it is about each and every soul they can "save" and every such hidden community would be a precious thing that would ease the sleep and death of a shade Pontifex for he would rest -knowing- that he achieved something by spreading the true faith and perserving it far out among the stars.

I would refrain from any action that would make the commoners raise up aganist "the church". Even if it is the WRONG church, it does not help to teach the masses to turn against the men of the God-Emperor. It is just the wrong thing and dangerous since it could destroy the faith of men in their one and only saviour and benevolent ruler, dividing them further.

Bringing along demagoges, so.... having assassins at Hand... planting families of true believers into new colonies... that might work.

EDIT: Gramma-gramma-gramma

It occurred to me that a secret colony would need loyal navigators. Either loyal to the dynasty or the faith, preferably both. They're the ones who truly know where the colonies are after all.

I don´t have the RT core rules at hand, but isn´t there a Navigator character option called "rogue lineage" or even "forbidden lineage"? Members of those lineage might be l ess inclined to tattle-tale to the Imperium, even if they aren´t adheretens to the TT themselves.

Oh! Talking colonies and COLONISTS.

How about the following...

an RT "buys" colonists. They can "buy" Ratings and such form the prisons of a hive, why shouldn´t they buy colonists that way?
Then, they "trade" said colonists.... or at least this is what they believe. They are swapping ships two times, all being kept in greatholds like prisoners. In fact, it was a simple "back and forth" exchange to fool the colonists. Keeping them in different great holds ech time might make them actually believe they were on different ships. Then, have your shades colony... if all blows up, they will be able to tell that they were hailing "from the hive world of Bellas, we were given to the care of an RogueTrader, the Hanson Dynasty. But he traded us further and we don´t know whom to. Then we were traded again and then finally told to settle here. Live was not bad..."

Go on, question Lord-Captain Allistos Hanson. "Oh! THAT!" *laughs* "yes, I know I traded them. Heretical colony, you say? Oh sweet Throne on Terra! I traded them to (ship recently set out to years of travel or ship that went missing in the warp later)."

Even better, buy human slaves from pirates or xeno slavers. FREE THEM and tell them so! Don´t tell them your true name, they might think you are Lady Liarson the Generous of House Liarson, and have them populate your little colony. Twice as good, thrice as hard to trace.

There are shrouded houses who have fallen on hard times and need to make profit, and renegade houses who are actual outcasts from the rest of the Navigatiors. Either I could see being a lot more flexible when it comes to the morality of those they work with.

I like that bait and switch. I love these suggestions,

By the by, the TT does not need to have actually been married into the RT he or she wants to use. It would be enough to place a Missonary that is an adherent to their cause into the command staff of said RT.

Who is in charge of all spiritual things regarding the RT in question? The clergy in his command staff. Who will take care of the details? Who will suggest the missionaries to "hire" when the RT is about baptizing some heathen population? You got it...

Another valuable asset: simply have dealings with an RT in regard to berthing. You can hide your own members from the Inquisition by smuggling them onto an RT ship, just being stowed away onboard in some cabin for the next two to five years. Have the =I= search the Imperium from core to rim, spinward and back. "Catch me if you can". If you one can make it to Port Wander and has a purse that is fat enough to rend cabin on an RT ship for a couple of years... well. Buy a lot of books, this could be a boring stay. But if it means avoiding the pyre....

Actual combat training is a fine thing, too! And one can actually get it in the Expanse, first Hand experience included. In our real world, radical political factions sometimes advise their followers to enter Military Service for a term. "Keep your mouth shut about your opinions and do your term: have the state that you despise train you for FREE so you can take up arms against it once it is the time to!" is a credo I did not make up but read about in a news paper article.

Now, think about adherents of TT hiring as armsmen on an RT ship. Perhaps one that has an arch militant who is an adherent of the cause himself. Those adherents would get a training, likely get some actual combat experience AND could cash in the payment for it, perhaps only to donate some of it as funds to buy arms and explosive once they end their term onboard the RT ship, being ready to fight a shadow war back in the Calixis.

If you want to make the whole thing less militant, have some TT noble lineages or trade house masters provide FUNDS to some colonization attempt (or other RT endeavour). Of course, those who put money on the table might want to have a factor along. One that can make "suggestions" to the RT. Or have some other demand fullfilled. (see above).

A relevant story.

A prior RT campaign I'm aware of had one character who took the "Dark Secret" option on his character's lifepath. This got exposed to an Inquisitor. Before torture was even mentioned, his character voluntarily gave up every single Temple member he was aware of. Lots of damage to the Temple in Calixis, that character got to walk away and even stay as command crew on that RT vessel.

Roll on another campaign with the same GM but Dark Heresy. My Magos Lexmechanic was secretly a follower of the Temple. And during the course of investigations on a planet, he discovered that the RT vessel was in orbit and that the hated traitor was on board. And that another Inquisitor, a reknowned puritan fanatic with her own cruiser was also in orbit. My character gleefully passed along information about this "filthy heretic who somehow escaped the God-Emperor's justice" without revealing his own identity. The last seen of the traitor was the RT vessel fleeing the system with the fanatical Inquisitor in hot pursuit,

The power behind the throne is a time honoured road for those who want influence but who want to be targeted less often. The faithful seneschal who advises, the voidmaster who suggests new trade routes, etc.