Trying to flesh out a few ideas for a Dark Heresy campaign that I might be running at some point.

• I want this to be very much a combination of investigation and horror - old DH1 style
• Setting is Hive Desoleum. There's enough places fleshed out in it and near it that it seems a nice environment to use.
• The players will generate their inquisitor jointly with me - if the Inquisitor's background, interests and temprament doesn't really fit, I'll come up with something else.
• I want subtlety to be a big thing; so the players will have a 'home base' set in the mid-hive that is their centre of operations and may get attacked if they screw up by anything from a couple of heavies to a section of Involute Cadre, depending on who they've annoyed and whether they know how dangerous they really are.
• I have the idea of a mid-hive luxuries store/warehouse specialising in out-hive and off-world goods - it's got a secure warehouse and garage, explains the presence of and interest in odd curios, provides a good reason for people to travel and 'new faces' to pass through, including up-hivers and off-worlders, and I can see the sanctionates being prepared to issue a license for a sensible amount of independent armed security oathed to the owner ('sensible' meaning half a dozen laspistols and a shotgun or two racked in the back - I suspect the actual concealed arsenal will be somewhat more, PCs being PCs).
• Because Bad Puns and In-Jokes should always be indulged, I'm thinking " Universal Imports ".

A big part with any Dark Heresy mission or campaign is the "So What?" factor. The Hive has umpty-ump groups of oathsworn bodyguards providing security to factories or apex noble families, the 'regular police' of the Sanctionates of the Oath Inviolate, and some sort of limited 'federal presence' from the Adeptus Arbites where Adeptus Terra personnel are involved or Lex Imperialis is violated.

So there's always a question of why the Inquisition got involved in the first place. Inquisitors do not investigate muggings, or murders, or robberies - unless there's something odd that comes out in the process; a noble or secret acolyte being the victim, something impossible or heretical about the murder, etc, etc. The medicae mortuus finding the gene-tech implant wrapped around Saul Arblest's spine in the original DH adventure, Edge of Darkness , is a good example (I always thought that was just a brilliant adventure all round).

A big part of the background is the mid-hive and underhive gangs, so I wanted to throw in some sort of organised crime into the setting; giving a big, shadowy organisation which can (try to) punish the players for tanking their subtlety rating once it becomes aware of them.

The Faceless Trade is an obvious one, but I'd like something a bit different and another one (which got picked up on in some Sandy Mitchell books) is psykers - a rogue psyker is a helluva dangerous thing for a criminal syndicate to possess, but it could be a terrifically potent asset; especially something like a prescient or a telepath - pyromancers are essentially just walking flamethrowers but for organised crime the ability to read minds and edit memories is literally priceless. After all, crime is ultimately a business - the goal is to make money and not get caught, not to gun people down week after week.

As a result, I can imagine a criminal syndicate so inclined actively "helping" to hide emergent psykers from the Ordo Hereticus and the Adeptus Telepathica Astra - in return for indentured service. The comments about the authenticity of Inquisitorial IDs in a recent thread makes me think about a 'fake' Ordo Hereticus witchhunter team that might help in acquiring the psykers.

I don't imagine they'd treat them especially well - they're not the scholastica psykana (though they would probably need at least one competent instructor acquired from somewhere), and still probably suffer the standard Imperial citizen's prejudices/hatreds re psykers. The most efficient way to deal with the psykers is to alternate large doses of sedatives and spook, as required, a precious few null collars and/or kill-switch implants for the really dangerous ones, and to essentially beat compliance into their tame witches.

This works fine, until, without realising it, they scoop up an alpha -level psyker. Who objects to having compliance beaten into him/her, and, after escaping, is now trying to murder everyone they see as responsible for what happened to them.

Meaning the acolytes have to find the psyker, whilst he's trying to kill syndicate members (including members they don't know about, who as far as anyone else is concerned are high-ranking members of society, even Apex Nobles), without the syndicate catching on that they're agents of the Inquisition (real ones this time!) poking around their operations (which are heresy at the very least) and having them murdered before they can reveal to anyone why this psyker has started playing vigilante and why they are targeting them in particular.

And don't forget that one thing the half-insane murderous alpha remembers about the people who threw them into the hell-hole was that they had sigil rings with the symbol of the Inquisition....

Any thoughts for missions, scenes, characters or sub-elements of the story are greatfully received!

I like that - although I think that alpha level is a bit much. Maybe make him originally be omega or something, but he bargained with a daemon for more power? So now he's chaos corrupted (probably to Tzeench), and may have to start his own cult in exchange for the blessings, or want to "liberate" and enslave other psykers for their power.

That way his capture is more realistic, and it lets you introduce an element of Chaos later on.

Seeing as the Xenos book has been announced, you may want to have some in your campaign - both for variety and in case you fall in love with something from the other book and want it to integrate seamlessly into your campaign. Maybe have the syndicate deal with a Heamonculi for Cold Trade stuff and ways to control psykers?

I personally always decide on this kind of thing at the start to let threats scale fluidly with the PCs power level.

Hmmm...

Some sort of a bargain with a daemon is a nice one, or else 'vampiring' the strength of other psykers. I think I prefer the latter at the moment. It certainly explains how their strength increased, and means they have the potential to become even more of a threat later.

Alpha-level may be a bit OTT - omega is a pariah, though. I think Kinsky from the Ravenor series was claimed to be a Beta-level?

Faceless trade stuff is a good call for how they might get psy-suppressing stuff. I'd probably stick to drugs, but a combination of Scholastic Lore (Chymistry) and Forbidden Lore (Xenos) would open up some extremely interesting leads (read: " What the feth is this stuff? It's not human in origin, whatever it is ." conversations)

(...)

I don't imagine they'd treat them especially well - they're not the scholastica psykana (though they would probably need at least one competent instructor acquired from somewhere), and still probably suffer the standard Imperial citizen's prejudices/hatreds re psykers. The most efficient way to deal with the psykers is to alternate large doses of sedatives and spook, as required, a precious few null collars and/or kill-switch implants for the really dangerous ones, and to essentially beat compliance into their tame witches.

(...)

Perhaps, but perhaps not. If you come to think about it, the Syndicate knows that they are having people there that are able to read minds, to choke you with a thought and to teleport out of a cell if given a chance ONCE. It is hard to keep such people under control against their will for a longer period of time, especially if you want to keep them functionable. After all, how well can you issue commands on somebody you have only brought out of a near-coma a minute ago?

There are other methods of securing obedients, so. Give them a place, hide them and make sure they know that their cover -blows- if you don´t take care of hiding them. That they -need- you. Help them with their "problem". Give them something "to ease the pain". The stuff is highly addictive, of course. Supply them. You are a friend, a helping hand. Of course, everything comes with a prize. The stuff they need to do for you.

Of course, an addict psyker is dangerous, too. But if the drugs keeps them "nice", it might be that they are less prone to act violent to get what you want.

Well, if you have access to enemies within, I believe they include a psyker summoning ring on port Aquila. (I don't have the book on me right now, but I think that's the name.) In theory, you could connect the two, possibly doing the port aquila adventure planned in the book. It could provide a chance to get off world for a while if the players get restless.

Any thoughts for missions, scenes, characters or sub-elements of the story are greatfully received!

So, you want a "fake witch-hunter" or "fake Inquisitor" running around? How about adding one that WAS part of a witchhunter´s retinue at some Point, but than left and was later "bought" by the Syndicate? Have a look at the following DH1st NPC, especially on the armsman Mackenzie

http://www.darkreign.org/articles/07-06-2013/witch-hunter-riccard-retinue

Imagine the following:

Riccard was put down for his self-righteous escapedes. Another powerful group (Arbitrators or an akolyth cell) decided to put an end to him. Mackenzie might have even had part in it, perhaps betaying his erstwhile master "to do the right Thing" (which to means: getting off scott´s free and perhaps even gettng some coin). He took up at the trade of a bounty hunter again (his license was still good and, so far from home, what else should he be doing?) and ended up on Desoleum. Since he was not to choosy about the contracts, the Syndicate learned about him ("a bounty is a bounty, yours are as fine to me as everyone elses"). And after they learned that he had actually WORKED for Witchhunter, he became a counsellor of sorts.

He helped the forgers in telling them how official symbols and papers needed to look like. He told them about the manners and Habits, about the names of those higher up he knew and about the procedures, so that those faking to be the Witchhunter would be able to Play "pomp & circumstances" without the fraud being obvious. He even joined the team (wearing a mask) on the hunts for Psykers, as he was experienced in putting them down ALIVE (the first reflex of man fearing he is a nascent psyker might be FLIGHT when strangers come calling for him, after all).

If your group investigates "that witchhunter", and get descriptions off him or wittness that tell him what he told them, they -might- find out that the sigls used are similiar to that of Witchhunter Riccard and that this guy is dressing and TALKING like him... and that Riccard was executed two years ago in a neighboring star system, for overstepping his bounderies. If they search for the surviving cell members, the might find out about Mackenzie and that was registered as arriving on one of the space ports in Desoleum... and that he never left so far....

If you want to make this tricky, have other of the cell still being alive, but on other, neighboring worlds. Deny their names, perhaps the characters need to visit the neighboring system and check with the local Arbites who the surviving cell members were.

Oh! And since your DH2nd, make sure to either Change the references to the home worlds of the NPC..or just Import this worlds into the Askellon sector

I think that's a good idea; the best person to help you fake an "inquisitor" is someone who was a senior acolyte.

Plus, it gives them a much more dangerous potential opponent when you're potentially being hunted by someone with forbidden lore (Inquisition) who knows the ordos as well as (or better than) you do.

It also essentially gives you a 'third faction' - you've got the psyker, anyone they've freed and whatever entity/entities are whispering in their ear (who want the syndicate dead and just have general mass-murdering psychosis issues with the Inquisition), the syndicate (who want to hunt down the rogue psyker but not at the expense of exposing themselves to the Inquisition), and the former interrogator and his immediate henchmen (who don't want the Inquisition to find out what they've been doing since they "retired").

If anyone remembers the merc organisation Pressure Point from the first Dark Heresy adventure book, one could have them be something like that - hired by but not exclusively for the syndicate.

Oh, I remember "Pressure Point", although were just a side note. But a nice one. Thing on the side: do you know the SciFy channel series "Killjoys"? Unlike most "Feature films" SciFy is producing, this one acutally isn´t crap & Features a large bounty hunter Organisation, doing things for different Kind of factions, on the Basis of "agents doing stuff on a contract/Warrant basis". Much like the Malfian Bloodsworn, but without the blood-letters.

Talking about the "renegade acolyth", I would not make him a SENIOR acolyth. The higher up somebody is, the more likely it is that somebody keeps taps on him. If you do use Mackenzie and don´t use him as part of the Syndicate (but instead having him as a free lancer who just USED to do some counseling and Jobs) said Mackenzie could use his still-legal bountyhunter credentials to put himself on the trail of said psyker (if the Happenings make the local law enforcement put up a bounty).

But really, if he grows afraid of the ACTUAL =I= going after the case, I guess he would not go to war when it is just him (freelancer). Instead, I think he would go into hiding. If the characters manage to track him AND make him talk, they would be rewarded with some solid leads towards the syndicate. But tracking somebody used to track other People might be a pretty hard task.