Here's an idea for a particularly risky campaign thread I had and wanted to get fb on.

Basically if I get a campaign together I want to add this as an important metaplot device but it could be risky.

Inquisitor Ezu Grhaile, noted for her extreme views on the tyranid menace and its status as the greatest threat facing the imperium, has begun advocating a bold and innovative, or heretical and treasonous as some call it, plan to fight the tyranids in the jerickho reach

She advocates ceasing all offensive operations, as well as most defensive ones, against the tau in the sector.

As she so reasonably put it "If a world and it's people are lost to the tyranids, it and they are done and gone forever. The world's resources, it's very life, will be consumed by the tyranid fleet to create more hive ships, more hive fleets and more tyranid horrors. The people are dead and consumed, their bodies turned into resources for the tyran ids, and new hive ships will be borne to repeat the cycle until every world in the imperium is eaten and every human consumed.

"If a world falls to the tau, the world still lives, the people still live and both may one day be reclaimed by the imperium. As such, it may well be better to allow the tau to take some worlds while we devote our full force and fury to the vastly greater tyranid menace. Later, after exterminating the last of the tyranid presence in the sector, we can turn our attention back to the worlds taken by the tau and reclaim them, bringing their population back into the emperor's light and making the imperium stronger and larger than before."

Needless to say her plan has generated... .intense debate among the high powers of the Jericho sector, with many calling for her incineration while others say their is much wisdom in her words. In general those who have seen the tyranid fleets in actions and the results of their attacks on worlds often find themselves hard pressed not to agree with at least some of what she says. Those who have only faced the tau tend to be her most rabid opponents. They claim the tau's warped philosophy and insidious ideas would be so corrupting that they would destroy more imperial citizens than the tyranids and it's better to die in the jaws of a tyranid than to have your soul corrupted and damned by the tau.

So i was thinking of adding this as a thread, a metaplot, and basically let the players decide who they support. I could see it as a debate between players and could make things interesting if we can avoid PvP level conflict. While i would remain neutral on the issue as a GM I personally favor Grhaile's idea, well, especially since it's actually my idea of course.

So what say you my brothers? Would this be a good metaplot to work in to let the players think on and debate among themselves? And of course if anyone wants to steal it go ahead.

Oh, as a sop to those who believe the idea would lose the souls of the people, she offers the possibility of infiltrating teams of devout missionaries and underground agents on such worlds as will be left to the tau to create a solid imperial cult underground to keep the emperor's faith alive and await the return of the imperium, so when humanity comes to reclaim it's own there will be many willing to accept the emperor's light and welcome the righteous. This would minimize those utterly lost to the tau and make reclaiming the worlds easier when the time comes. So her plan does offer a sop to those who take a less pragmatic, more spiritual view of things.

Basically the tl;dr version is:

"Don't bother with the Tau around here and focus on fighting the 'Nids, we can reclaim the worlds later!"

Any Deathwatch Marine should at that point be saying:

"With respect Inquisitor I must disagree. Both are filthy xenos and should be purged. The Tau are just as insidious and lowly as the Tyranid threat and we cannot overlook them nor allow them to make new gains or capitalise their existing ones."

By their very nature a marine should be somewhat put off by this and while it is possible to make alliances with the enemy these are only temporary and while it is convenient for them to do so. While as an Inquisitor their word is law and a marine must obey a direct order from an Inquisitor, behind closed doors the marine may legitimately claim that the actions taken by this agent of the Inquisition are heretical and radical and would be seen with as much scorn as Inquisitor Kryptman.

Kryptman for context suggested burning and committing worlds in the path of a tendril of fleet Leviathan to the wrath of exterminatus. By purging them of all life and committing genocide on an immense scale killing billions, he would strip the fleet of materials to utilise. He was successful in slowing the advance of the fleet and crippling it. He is however stripped of title and a warrant is out for his arrest and execution.

I feel that if your inquisitor were to suggest such words to me as a marine, I too would be considering raising a complaint via sergeants/captains that this is akin to radicalism and heretical to the Emperor. If you are not careful and do not play this correctly you may create a situation where your players may think that your Inquisitor has been manipulated by the Tau in some way, perhaps bribed to look the other way and thus they may attempt to probe this further or seek intervention from a higher inquisitor.

could be interesting, I would say one very important question would be how are the watch commanders reacting? As strongly as an individual marine might feel about an inquisitor, and may refuse their orders if they believe them to be heretical. If those order came from a watch commander though,duty would compel them to act.

Another thing that may spice things up is if their are senior marines that could way in as well, say a Scythes of the Emperor marine might be favor of such a plan, while a chapter that had suffered humiliation by the Tau ( white scars maybe?) might have the opposite feelings, then there is a Tyranic war veteran from the Ultramarines who also saw action in the Damaculas gulf who might have a more balanced take on it.

Oh and just wait till Ebongrave gets wind of this plan

I think in the Canis Salient chapter of the Jericho Reach supplement there is a plot hook that really fits your idea.

Basically the KT is assigned to bodyguard an Inquisitor partaking negotiations about a cease-fire around one of the worlds of the greyhell-front. There is a nice twist in there, and my KT really had some good fun with it. Don't wanna spoiler too much

Also, Ebongrave hates you and would possibly like to execute you.

ebongrave can suck a needle round.