Ideas or fluff on ecclesiarchy organizations or groups to use against players, wanted. I enjoy making my players make moral choices in the game. Killing Sable traders isn't a hard thing for them to justify. Having to go up against the ecclesiarchy, might be a bit more interesting. They have already accidentally killed an acolyte of the ordos maleus. Going up against the church should be a lot more fun. (This is also why I started the "saint" elite advance post). The idea I have is to have them go to a shrine world that has a venerated item that might be chaotic. It should make it harder for them to go in guns blazing. Is the item actually chaotic? Is there a cult around it? How do you get something from the church that the church really doesn't want to give up? What do you do if the item might not be chaotic but your Inquisator wants it anyway?

...when I read about E cclesiarchy, I have a big problem with hard moral choices. If they are an obstacle, they are legitimate targets. After all, there is a Ordo created to fight E cclesiarchy when they are out of line! But if you want... well.

Imperial Cults of fanatics who moving around, burning houses and killing sinners, with charismatic priest as a leader.

Corrupted (not Chaotic, just common power-and-wealth) priesthood who use their position to accumulate money.

Priest using fanatical sinners to take control for lower hive levels (and to use jerks from there later).

Priesthood interviened with local nobility.

I as a person agree with you Aenno, (I also found it funny in Black Crusade when chaos was made to sound like American philosophy). But to the players the Ecclesiarchy are supposed to be 'the good guys'. Plus the players having to handle things so as not to start an Inquestion vs. Ecclesiarchy feud is interesting. Problem is I want the players to be unsure who the bad guys are or even if there are bad guys.

"Kill them all, Emperor takes his own". At least, this logic looks completly valid when Ecclesiarchy need to take such decision.

Thing is Ecclesiarchy have all kinds of modern religion extremists issues, from cool-aid drinks and other destructive sects to acts of terrorism, so you can take everything bad you know about churches in real life and pull there. I really can't think about something religion-based bad I read in news that isn't applicable to Ecclesiarchy. Yes, you can also take everything good, because Ecclesiarchy is BIG and different, of course.

One idea I've been toying with is an Ecclesiarchy official controlling, or at least harboring, a death cult. In my scenario, he would use the cult to make the lives of his parishioners better (e.g. removing a cruel factory manager or sanctionary) and seek the help of the acolytes after he lost control. If you want the Ecclesiarchy to be the bad guys, my idea could be twisted so that the priest is using the cult to eliminate his competition and ensure his ascendancy in the church's ranks (the priest could be just power hungry or furthering a heretical agenda).

And like Aenno said, you can look to history for examples. Corruption, witch hunts, and wars of faith are all part of the 40k setting.

Yes, I agree. I'm not big into all the novels and don't pretend to have a complete understanding of Imperial history, which is why I was asking for input. There might be an organisation or group in the church already that I could use and I wouldn't have to re-invent the wheel. The idea I am thinking of using is that a certain saint is about to be disinterred for the anniversary of his death 5000 years ago. The object on the body is either chaos tainted/a tome indicating that the saint was actually anti-imperial (which the ecclesiarchy will not want anyone to see once they find out about it)/a xenos stasis pod that has been keeping the saint alive/a xenos stasis pod keeping a deamon or alien imprisoned/a holy or chaos relic that a bishop really really wants/that the saints body is actually missing/the dead saint is part xeno/or a true book of history that impinges the church. I was also thought the information would make it easier to decide on the item.

True book of history is doubtful. Ecclesiarchy can always declare it forgery and invoke blashemy to everybody who oppose, it happens.

Also it's not so hard to impinges the church. Time when church was on power officially called Age of Apostacy, nobody just take any matter. In good organized totalitarian society you need something more powerful then just show audio recording on central TV and count masses to overthrow the Emperor.

Joeker, any of those ideas are plausible in 40k. Five thousand years is a long time, and any actual knowledge of the individual's life could have given way to myth and legend even before his death.

If you want something along the lines of a 'true' history though, you could have two factions within the Ecclesiarchy debating over some point (doctrine, theology, history, etc) and looking to the objects in the tomb for the answer. Given how hotly believers can fight for what they believer is true, disinterring the tomb could easily result in an outbreak of violence for any number of reasons.

I like the idea of two different factions in the church wanting the item. Makes it much harder for the players to know who or what to trust. Players come in on a report that it might be a chaos item, find it isn't but two sects of the church want it to prove their sect is correct. PCs caught in the middle.

In terms of specific enemies, Imperial cultist followers wouldn't look all that different from chaos Cultists (Troops) in DH2 corebook. Aside from that, If you want a more dangerous choice; Remember that the Adeptus Sororitas are part of the Ecclesiarchy. Your Acolytes should be terrified of the local convent taking "Notice" of them! (Just ask Lynata! ) Somewhere in between those is the Fraternis Militia. This is an unsanctioned and semi heretical military roughly equivalent to the Imperial guard.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: Looks like Lynata and I had similar ideas - hers more factual, mine a narrative take on what you may want.

The entirety of Hive Saturna was abuzz with excitement, for the end of the week heralded the supposed 5000 year anniversary of Lord Drazitine's arrival on Snope's World. The impoverished Rogue Trader is said to have been led to the virgin world by a vision of Saint Corona the Iridescent. The Hive, built over the spot where he first landed, would soon be host to the greatest festival the Asphodel Depths had ever seen. Even the lowliest hab worker was given the week off, an unprecedentedly generous holiday for the dregs that still inhabited the rotting spires.

Lord Drazitine's tomb was set to be opened, and his relics paraded through the terraces of the Platinal Palace in honor of the man who began it all. Chief among these relics was the Shroud Iridescent, said to have been a gift from Saint Corona herself - an item nobody has laid eyes on for millennia. This relic is the focus for the Shimmered, faithful adherents to Saint Corona and her emissary, Lord Drazitine. This holiday is of immense importance to the Shimmered, who are easy identified by the glittering scarves wound around their heads - and their militant zealots who intimidate all nonbelievers.

The rather grassroots movement is lead by Fedrina Reccars, a firebrand preacher rumored to have been born the scion of a Fuel Baron family from Port Languin. She has spent the last month whipping up the faithful in preparation for this momentous festival. She has steadily, through the mass recruitment into his previously-obscure cult, become a dominant figure in the politics of the Hive. Reccars is a hab-hold name, seen as almost a folk heroine to lead the downtrodden into salvation. Her rising fame and perfect image are almost too good to be true, and something about Reccars' otherworldly demeanor seems a bit off...

The skyrocketing popularity of Reccars has been cause for much concern with Cardinal Borolim, the head of the Ecclesiarchy on Snope's World. The fat, infamously pedophilic Cardinal feels threatened by the aggressive young woman. It imperative that the Shroud Iridescent be secured by the Ecclesiarchy, and venerated according to orthodox traditions. If it takes the Adeptas Sororitas sisters of the Order of the Bloodied Veil to make it happen, then that is the price of religious unity. After all, this relic could be easily used for a promotion through the Synod...

While the petty nobles of the Saturnal Court bicker over places of honor and rank in the imminent parades, the stage is set for a different sort of conflict - one which the Inquisition finds interest in...

Nice write-up! Makes me want to jump right into this adventure as well.

Even the lowliest hab worker was given the week off, an unprecedentedly generous holiday for the dregs that still inhabited the rotting spires.

I feel like this part should have an addendum, like: *the average Saturnian day is approximately 8 Terran hours long

Wow! Really great write ups cpteveros and Lynata. OK I'm seeing the shroud iridescent as a holy item, +5 fellowship to the faithful, holy version of baleful aura (5) (-10 to all chaos, -20 to deamons within five meters (I think I got that right)) not too powerful but something worth having and not really a lot of use to the players in the adventure. Rumors of a religious uprising in the hive have caught the Inquisators attention, and she has sent in her acolytes to investigate. While investigating (finding known shimmered with their scarves missing, seeing a battle take place between church agents and shimmered, tracking agents to church, breaking into church, talking to Borolim's upper crust supporters, finding fake shimmered in church, plans for wiping out the shimmered for the theft which hasn't happened yet, orders to the adepta sororitas, adeptas sororitas already at the church in large numbers, talking to shimmered, going to shimmered meeting, finding evidence of fake shimmered blaspheme, talking to Fredrina, not in this order) they find that Cardinal Borolim has planned to fake an attack by the Shimmered, during the ceremony to cover the theft of the shroud and heroic retrieval by Cardinal Borolim himself. Thus giving him an excuse to claim the shroud (I had a vision that Saint Corona wants me to have this) and starting to wipe out the shimmered and kill Fredrina. Unbeknownst to all including Fredrina (maybe) the zealots of the shimmered are planning to march on the ceremony and take the shroud for Fredrina. The players should realize that if this happens there will be a blood bath, wiping out everyone at the ceremony and starting a possible civil war in the hive (Borolim has underestimated the number of Fredrina's followers). The players should realize the only ways to stop this is kill Borolim (a very very hard thing to do ('how many Adeptas Sorortias guards does he have?!?!'), Kill Fredrina (hard to do, she might actually be a saint, might start a civil war), Expose Borolim's plans (he might be able to use his influence to prove the Acolytes are working for Fredrina (they were seen at a meeting), force him to attack anyway to save face) or steal the shroud themselves (if done at the ceremony the Sorortias and the Shimmered give chase (which would be awesome) or if done before the ceremony (dungeon crawl through the tomb). Fredrina is truly inspiring, followers get a +10 to everything when in her presence (including stats) and she may be a saint, proto saint, saintling, or depending on gm as a xenos artifact collector she came into contact with a dark eldar homunkulous experimental device for recreating a tau ethereal or its powers.

Sounds like an intriguing plot indeed!

As a further suggestion, it might add to the tension if the Cardinal had to kill even a few Sororitas to get to the relic, as their deaths could then be attributed to the Shimmered. You'd end up with a bunch of Battle Sisters who definitely want to see blood to avenge their fallen Sisters, which both serves to increase the pressure on the PCs for uncovering the truth, as well as making it challenging to actually convince them that it was the Cardinal all along -- yet rewarded by the Sororitas potentially turning on Borolim in a rather violent fashion, Dominica-style. I'd reserve the killing blow for one of the player characters, though, unless they want to hand him over to the Ecclesiarchy. But if they identify as Inquisitorial agents, the Sisters might be convinced to aid in his arrest.

The murdered Sisters could be envoys from an Order Pronatus who remained with the relic during the ceremony. As they would follow the path of study rather than the path of the warrior, they should be relatively easy to dispatch by Borolim's agents (offworld mercenaries? an unscrupulous bounty hunter? there's some untapped potential for a "miniboss" here).

kill Borolim (a very very hard thing to do ('how many Adeptas Sorortias guards does he have?!?!')

I'd say not too many. Either two normal Battle Sisters, or three Sisters and a Superior would make sense as bodyguards.

However, as soon as news of the fake Shimmered attack get out, other Battle Sisters are likely to mobilise in an effort to purge them for their apparent heresy, moving to confront them within the hive and possibly linking up with the Adeptus Arbites in order to surround and storm their temples as well as any known hideouts.

Furthermore, the Cardinal is bound to have way more "meatshields" than just the squad of Sisters assigned as honour guard, from local Frateris Militia zealots to younger, idealistic priests who either wish to show off in front of their boss or are genuinely prepared to lay down their lives in defence of the Church. Even random civilians might rally to surround the Cardinal with their bodies.

In total, for a shrine world, personally I would guesstimate about 100-200 Battle Sisters from one or more Minor Orders, organised into several Missions or a single Commandery. 2-4 would be assigned to the Cardinal as permanent bodyguards, whereas several dozen might attend the larger ceremony (both as guards as well as for their own benefit), whereas the rest would remain within their fortified convents, training and praying until they receive the orders to move out in order to launch a retaliatory strike whilst the squads already at the ceremony assume defensive positions to repel any further attacks.

Yeah, I had always assumed that there would be a few dead sisters and dead (real) shimmered left behind during the attack. I think the fake shimmered should be mercenaries (unaware that Borolim is planning on killing them at the meeting spot) lead by Brother Treis, soon to be bishop Treis if all goes to plan. The how many Adeptas Sorortias guards does he have?!?!, was more a place holder. Just a way of saying that the PCs would be stupid to try (which doesn't me that they won't). I also think that the mother Superior of the sisters (nearest high rank) should be in on it with Borolin. That way she can override the players exposure attempts and any sisters in the party can be threatened with excommunication for such slander. The plan is to heard the players in to stealing the shroud and leaving the planet. Bromolim still more or less intact and maybe an enemy. (so in true 40k flavor nothing really changes or just gets worse)

I think the fake shimmered should be mercenaries

A nice way to insert dangerous enemies for the players, perhaps even with some exotic gear like one or two unusual weapons (not necessarily xenos, just something you wouldn't usually see on this world .. could even be an investigation hint for the players!).

I also think that the mother Superior of the sisters (nearest high rank) should be in on it with Borolin. That way she can override the players exposure attempts and any sisters in the party can be threatened with excommunication for such slander.

Do you mean Canoness (convent leader) or Sister Superior (squad leader)?

And ... I'm really not sure she should be in on it. The Adepta Sororitas also serve as an internal police force with the express purpose to oppose apostate clerics. What could be the reasoning for a member of a supposedly incorruptible organisation, who has been indoctrinated and lived in a controlled environment from birth, to basically throw her vows away, condone treacherous conduct among the ones she is supposed to watch, and sanction the murder of her fellow Sisters?

It obviously depends on how you interpret the Adepta Sororitas, though. As per GW's own background, there is "nothing an enemy could offer them; they are impossible to bribe and totally incorruptible."

On the other hand, it is your game, and you could use a version of the Sisterhood that is more fallible and open to corruption, including anything from blackmail to drug addiction or even (*shudder*) a love affair.

Do keep in mind, though, that this would also make it a lot harder for the PCs just to survive. If a corrupt leader of the Sisterhood would recognise them as a threat to her scheme, she could easily order her warriors to kill them without even requiring actual proof of their "heresy".

By the way, is there a Sister in the party? As this could mean both complications as well as an awesome increase in potential, given the possible interaction.

Sadly no sisters in the game, I had one player start down the route but he dropped out. The thing is, is it really corruption? Technically there isn't any heresy in the adventure. Politics, yes, but no heresy. I could see a Canoness see the shimmered as heretical to the church, Borolim is retrieving an artifact. afk

One thing you could use is the festivities as a backdrop to all the political intrigue. As I wrote that little blurb, I pictured this massive parade through tall, shimmering terraces. Huge pennants flutter as the throngs of people shuffle past, before a bomb goes off and utter chaos ensues. Maybe the Cardinal set off a false-flag operation, and his Frateris Militia are fighting the Shimmered in the streets while panicked hab workers run about.

I also put in a small hint that Fedrina could be Warp-touched or a heretic herself - so that is one avenue you could pursue as well.

As for the Sororitas, I wouldn't make them a big faction in this scenario, at least if you run it on a Hive World like I wrote it. While there may be some noncombatants, I doubt Snope's World really has all that many Sisters of Battle. If anything, they would be elite bodyguards or something. A more fitting troop for the Cardinal would be groups of Frateris Militia thugs who are loyal only to him. Since it is Snope's World (famous for labyrinthine intrigue, assassination, and poisoning) you could very well include more subtle foes that strike from the shadows in the name of the Cardinal.

Food for thought!

The thing is, is it really corruption? Technically there isn't any heresy in the adventure. Politics, yes, but no heresy. I could see a Canoness see the shimmered as heretical to the church, Borolim is retrieving an artifact.

It certainly is "corruption" (or at least the Sisters would argue so) if the cleric is engineering the unnecessary death of several members of the Sisterhood. Whilst I doubt a Canoness would have a problem with the Ecclesiarchy forcibly acquiring an artifact (she'd probably volunteer her Battle Sisters to help out!), they'd get incredibly suspicious if this operation has to be carried out in secrecy rather than the Church simply demanding the item to be handed over.

This being said, why isn't the Cardinal doing so? The Adeptus Ministorum, as the Imperium's one and only official church, is well within its rights to simply take the relic by force.

I would recommend coming up with a reason why this isn't an option -- perhaps (continuing from cpteveros' scenario) the Cardinals Astral of the Synod Ministra have decided to re-seal the relic in the tomb, a result of lengthy debate with much opposition. Borolim "rescuing" it would establish the Cardinal as a benevolent saviour, and make him some powerful friends among the former minority which has now been proven right by showing that the artefact arguably cannot be kept safe on a holy site accessible to the general public.

This also increases the "moral grayness" factor, as Borolim may genuinely believe that only the Ministorum and its Battle Sisters can guarantee the safety of the relic, and that it would be madness to just seal it away in the tomb, now that the Shimmered are so riled up that they'd certainly loot it sooner or later. Of course, he also craves a promotion, but he might lack the introspection to actually notice what a prick he is. In essence, a villain who firmly believes he does what he does only for the "greater good".

Of course, if you go with the above, the Sisters Pronatus would not attempt to take custody of the relic (at least not until Borolim declares it threatened), but they could still have envoys at the site who were sent to confirm the artefact's sanctity, and to guarantee its purity until it has been re-interred.

The Battle Sisters, in the meantime, would stick to the official decree of the Holy Synod, until Borolim's little scheme manages to convince them otherwise. He could, for example, easily order them to take possession of the relic until the Synod has reconvened to confirm his decision. Understanding the (fake) gravity of the situation, the Sororitas would feel dutybound to accede to his demands.

As for the Sororitas, I wouldn't make them a big faction in this scenario, at least if you run it on a Hive World like I wrote it. While there may be some noncombatants, I doubt Snope's World really has all that many Sisters of Battle. If anything, they would be elite bodyguards or something. A more fitting troop for the Cardinal would be groups of Frateris Militia thugs who are loyal only to him. Since it is Snope's World (famous for labyrinthine intrigue, assassination, and poisoning) you could very well include more subtle foes that strike from the shadows in the name of the Cardinal.

True. Whilst even (important) hive worlds can have a convent of the Sisterhood (Subiaco Diablo near the Cadian Gate hosts the Minor Order Militant of the Ermine Mantle ), the numbers should be much lower than on a shrine world -- between 100 and zero. The latter would probably more fitting for a relatively unimportant region like the Askellion sector, with the Cardinal's bodyguard (still 2-4 Sisters) being a temporary assignment on a bi-annual rotation.

The Sororitas could bring in reinforcements within mere days, though. Perhaps another Damocles' sword for the players? You have this much time to solve the riddle, then the Sisters will just burn everything!

On a sidenote, isn't Snope's World just a civilised world that just happens to have a few rather large cities? At least as per the DH2 core rulebook.

It is a weird, quasi-Hive World in that there is Hive Saturna (the capital, where the Saturnal Court and the Palatinal Palace are) but also settlements like Port Languin and some mining operations.

Snope's World gets a pretty good write up in Enemies Within, which is what I based most of my information off of.

I guess the core rulebook's map is misleading, then. After all, Armageddon or Necromunda don't have their entire surface covered by buildings either, yet still they're called hive worlds.

Either that, or there is some sort of minimum population or hive size, and Snope's World just isn't quite there yet.

I think in the background (going by my poor memory of course) that it was, but after the sector became more established it became less important. I think it was the capital or a major staging area during the agevin(sp) crusade. And since that height its population shrank as business (sector scale) went elsewhere.

Yeah it has definitely sank into decadence after becoming so irrelevant, but there is more to the world than just the one, major hive - which is interesting, because most fluff portrays Hive Worlds as toxic wastelands interspersed with the massive hive structures.

Snope's World is a possible home world that gives an alternate Hive World bonus, which leads me to believe that it is meant to be classified as a Hive World. The map in the CRB is interesting in that it shows a few "Civilized Worlds" but that isn't even a possible homeworld option

EDIT: Speaking of weird planet classifications, what even is a "Factory World" or a "Port World" or a "Munitorum World?" I know Laran 9k is described as a massive staging ground, but that doesn't preclude it from being something else as well. Also, why are there four (five if you count the Factory World) Forge Worlds in this Sector? Wouldn't the AM essentially own Askellon, given that they control a decent portion?

As with everything, every author views the setting a little differently. For me, personally, it'd be too much. Even Armageddon only has two Forge Worlds in its sub-sectors, and the BFG sector generation rules have a pretty low chance to create a Forge World when rolling for planet types.

On the other hand, who's to say that you have already seen all planets that exist within Askellon?

As for those other planet types, I'd assume a Port World is either a Navy bastion or a transhipment centre for the sector's civilian traffic, and a Munitorum World is simply a fortress world dedicated to the Imperial Guard; likely some sort of regional headquarters with lots of training camps and a military academy attached. A Factory World could be either a subtype of Forge World dedicated entirely to goods production (as opposed to a more balanced approach that also incorporates research, biology, etc.), or it is a vast manufactorum centre that has for some reason managed to remain independent of AdMech control and is instead run by one or more guilds like the Merovech Combine in DH1.