Ok, so Fairly new to Dark Heresy But not to 40k been playing for years. Anyway i just started GM'ing. I got my Acolytes through the First Mission, i which they uncovered a Tech-Heresy Group the disgusied itself as a Workers union called the Crucible of Malice. After learning from an Traitor Adept who'd helped them in the begining that what they destroyed was just a Recruitment base, and that the next stage of recruitment was on a Abandonded Orbital Platform. My Question is, What Kind of Foes should they encounter ? I know i want the Crucible to have Connections with the Logicans, and i want the cult to be a Long lasting Foe. But at this point i am apprehensive about throwing Daemons and large groups of xenos or something.

From the More experienced Gm's what would you use???

the acolytes mission is to infiltrate the platform, sabatoge main systems that may still be active and secure a beachead for reinforcement

I would like to ask you some more questions:

This "crucibles", are they just "Heretic/Rebells", do they worship daemons/dabble with warp powers, are they "HereTec" or do they mingle with xenos scum? What they will have at there hands is after all what the pc will encounter.

What is this "space stations" you mentioned? Is it completely "taken over" (infiltrated) by the cult or are they just hiding beneath the "populace" and recruiting in shadow?

Servitors are my favorit "enemy". They make very good guards and due to there mechanic nature they do not go down that easy. Telepathic Psykers have a hard time against them, as well. They are "fun to battle" for pc as well, since the "slow, stupid but powerfull" nature of them asks for "tactic before brute force"...unless the servitores do not have ranged weapons (and bit it a nailgun!) and your acolytes are packing manstopper (as every emporer-fearing acolyth actually does!)

EDIT:
Sorry, missed the "abandoned". But still, what was this station before and what is the cult is using it for now? And why was it abondoned in the first place? A toxic fungus impossible to keep in check? Falling appart and the tech-priest around didn´t knowed how to keep it working? Incorrectable orbit leading it to burn up in re-entry withhin the next month? Site of a battle with a daemonic entity centuries ego and thereby declared "banned" by decree of the Inquisition? Forma shuttle point of a merchant house that lost a trade war, got destroyed and now the station is simply vacant?

The Crucible are a Tech Heresy group, that do dabble in Damonics because they Want to be able to build things using Warp Space Materials. They believe that by doing so they can bring about "the next age" in Human evolution. The Acolytes had two extremley strange encounters in the first mission, they loved it so i'd like to add more of that.

They were.

1. while gaining acssess to a terminal in a Warehouse in the underhive, the doors slamed shut all lights were shut off, they were left in total dark. The lights came back on and they saw that now painted on the walls were the words "Crucible Lives", They heard footsteps in the Darkness, but when the lights came back no one was there.

2. While on a Mag Train to sub deck Ac-4331. The train came to a grinding halt, purple/green lights flickered outside, the lights on the train were put out, Horrendious wailing "sounds like a thousand people screaming". It all stops suddenly when they begin to investigate, they find that the other passengers on the train are all gone. The blood writing is sprawed on the outside and inside of the windows. When they finally get to the lead train the find the driver strung up, his inards spilt out before him, and hertical markings everywhere, again in blood. The windows in this car are all smashed open. Game time that lights were out, about 10mins.

I like Horror aspect.

Now to the Orbital Platform.

The system is having a bit of an Ork problem, which were mentioned but never seen by the acolytes last game. This platform was critically damaged by orks during their entry into the system. As such sections of the platform are airless and inaccessable. The acolytes do not even know if the Crucible are using the platform in reality, they are simply headed there because the traitor cleric (cult magos on planet) said so after interogation.

As for Servitors, I LOVE THEM, while infiltrating the cult compound, they came across a room with 2 and a Heretek. the ensuing gunfire blew their cover and 4 cultist came to help. They were systematically cut down in a hail of shellls and bullets. The acolytes left bloody and on their last legs, so that when they got to my final tests that any failure came with good reason.

Okay, so the station was attacked by orcish marauders. Have you already planed what the cult is doing there or what the station was used for before?

My idea for the station would be that the station was a "shuttle station". Shuttles once transported goods and passengers to the orbital station so that smaller merchant vessels could dock at the station get the "pay load" via huge airlocks. A small station, smaller then most warp cable ships. The "benefit" off such a station is that the it can be "loaded in advance" (say, the three to six weeks a ship takes from X to your planet) so that at the point the ship arrives the loading goes much quicker and the warpcraft isn´t spending to much time "tweedling it thumps" (so to speak).
Now, of course the station is critical damaged and since the orc raids started traders do not visit the system any longer. So, it wasn´t restored and perhaps will not until the xenos presence is cleared from the system.

My idea for the reason for the crucible to take this station:
Abandoned and dangerous places make for good hideouts. Still, shuttles would be noticed. Especially if your planet is "under attack". The Crucible could work under the cover of a salvager clan that got the rights of (or the guts for) scavenging the station for usefull pieces (and is ferociously keeping away any other "scavengers").
Besides the hide-out, the station was the site of a major massaker as orcish boarding parties slew everything and everyone they found aboard the station. The crucible try to make us of this ot summon up daemons (possible khorn related) which they try to bind into machinery. If you have DotG, check "Bronzen Malifcet" for one possible purpose (and enemy!).

You strange occurances could be an daemonic entity already bounded by the Crucible. The agenda of the daemon (I will call "The darkness that scream" for now) is to turn the acoylthes against the crucible, in hope that they will destroy the machinery his esscence is binded into for uses of "gate-slaving" other daemons.
While some contract hinders it from pointing the at the crucible, it isn´t forbidding to "scare the enemy". Which he does with the messages. It taunts the pc but deliberately leaves hints to the pc in the taunts. All in order to incite the pc to destroy the machine..and thereby setting him free (which will "banish" him back into the warp...but better to be seperated from this planes for decades then to stay enslaved to humans!)

Talking enemies:
Possed servitors (complete with minor powers) and animated constructs of metal joints, iron bars and sharp steel bits. Hard to fight something that has no vital organs. Unclean spirits could go about (with the cultists wearing some tainting wards. Will the pc taint themselves with the wards or trust on their willpower?). Take not that unclean spirtis make for good "poltergeists" as well. You could rule that the unclean ones need the pc to fail five frightchecks (or by five levels) before they can muster the strange to try to posess them.

Cool that sound really good. It gives me the following idea based off my own thoughts.

1. Once the Pc's arrive on the station, and begin their infiltration to find the Crucible they see brief glimpses of fighting but are always physically seperated from it.

2. "The Screaming One" is full of outright hatred towards the Crucible as he has been bound to the station to keep several of the critical systems offline. Including stoping the countdown of a Self-Destruction Countdown for the station. It is Bound into a very large construct which is directly linked to the station via a mess of cables/wires. It has just recently come to control a small number of servitors on the station, and has sealed most of the crucible into their sanctums, where they are basically forced to rot and die. The few who are out and about (around 500) are fighting a war of attrition against the mechanical abominations of the Warp twisted servitors.

3. The Pc's are lead on by visions of a dead friendly Npc from last mission. At first it leads them from danger and they begin to believe it is a good thing. It eventually leads them into the bridge of the station, where the screaming ones shell is residing. It forces them to fight it, the win and in a terrible shockwave of light and sound they are forced to watch as the daemon claws its way out of the machine.

4. Moral Decision. The Traped Cultists are obviously going to plead for assistance. The Acolytes are offered ways to butcher the trapped cultists, at no cost to themselves, by the visions, which they eventually come to realize had only strengthend the daemon. I don't believe they would realize the errors of their actions, because they are using the whole, Well they are Chaos worshipping heretic dogs mentallity. For each one of these situations every time they choose "KILL" the daemon will gain a wound during the final battle. For everyone they "SAVE" the daemon loses a wound.

What do you think ?

The problem I see with that is the Crucible are hereteks in the highest degree, ones that dabble in forbidden maltek. I'd say that punishing your Acolytes for killing them might be wrong. Plus they may never realize that they strengthened the daemon at all. After all, they have no base point to compare the daemon's toughness to.

Perhaps it's not just the killing but it has to be in a certain manner. Perhaps this apparition (and I like that idea!) would suggest using technological means, like electrocuting them with some of the station's systems. As "The Screaming One" is bound to those same systems, perhaps that is how their deaths help bolster its power. If you want your Acolytes to show mercy, you're going to need to either show that some of the cultists are just normal criminals who don't deserve death or that something may be off about killing them. After all, if they free a group, then what? What do the Acolytes do with a bunch of cultists if they're too busy to throw them in a brig somewhere?

I t hink the "butcher t he heretek / strenght the daemon" is quiet fine. A "damend if you do / damned if you do not" decision is a good things in my books. Make sure the hereteks try to leave the pc behind once the station blows...

The only thing I have a (personal?) problem with is the "stopped countdown". To have it "stopped", the daemon had to have been there when it started. Which should have been during the Ork assault. Self-Destruct take minutes.

How about making the remaining hereteks arming the self-destruct? Sure, this will free the daemon...but as far as they know, the damage will destroy his hold on the material world as well.. and of course, they do not know about the acolythes fighting the daemon!

Have the "count-down" start somehwere in the middle of the "final battle" with the daemon. If the pc choose to stay and fight, you might even award them an FP each. Since "risky your life to make SURE that this daemon does not escape but is brought down" should be worth an FP. The Daemon, however, will not retreat. He is associated to Khorn and will not willingly leave a battle if there is blood to be had and skulls to be taken.

I see your points, and i like the Crucible arming the self-destruct. I am not sure as to the whole trapped Cultist thing now so i might tweak that a little.

Keep this stuff flowing. Its alot of help.

Versus: Trapped Cultist & Cultist vs. Daemon

I see a problem which I did not perceived earlier: If "The Screaming One" is free (due to "botched binding") and powerfull enough to trap & hold cultists (battling them with servitors and Emporer knows what), why did he managed to destroy "the device" himself? I fear this is point isn´t very logical. Still, I see you really to hand the pc some "opportunity for slaughter", simply to slap them over with this later on (which I think is a GOOD concept).

How about rendering "The Screaming One" unable to harm any member of the cult (part of the "binding")? That gives him good reason to "lead" the pc to the base. Inside the base, "The Screaming One" could be manipulating events to handle the pc some ripe opportunities to slaugther the cult with "equipment", like numb3rc suggested. This could be debris and left over from the battle (imperial and orcish weaponary... the "salvagers" are checked for what they bring down and have to turn in any orc equipment...but not checked for what stays there or what is brought up!).

As an other idea, "The Screaming One" is simply inciting those inside the base with rage. The cultist are quiet short tempered against each other and will rage as soon as have to enter a real fight... in any fight, the players and the cultist have to check for willpower+20. On success, they will be able to go on for a number of turns equal 3+Level of Success. Otherwise, they go Bezerk (Frenzy Talent?). Every person killed in combat on the station is another wound for the Daemon later. In order to be fair, there should be some chances (Runes deciphered with FB:Daemons or Occultismen) that point to a khornate daemon. The "Blood Rush" experience will be a give away as well.

As soon as the area with the device is entered, some cultist should scream something like "protect the device!". A challenging Perceipton check will however reveal that NO Cultist was actually screaming this command.

In the final battle, cover "the Screaming One" with mouthes constantly screaming out a battle cry. Everyone within his daemonic presence must check for "Blood Rush", but as a challenging check. They frenzied nature will make the pc fight "all out" which will be a big benefit for the daemon since it keeps them from planning. Blocking out the sound (with the minor warp scream power or plugging ears or deafing oneself by firing a pistole close to the own ear) will protect against this.

[DREADED DOUBLE POST]

Thanks for all the help GUYS !!!!!

I have figured out how i am going to do this game now.

I plan it taking around two sessions to play it is after all a large station so i think i can drag it out with all sorts of side quests and what not.

But, thanks alot guys.

As a new GM (to DH) stepping into the 40K universe, this thread was informative and helpful. Just want to thank the OP and other posters for all the great info and ideas. Makes me want to finish reading the core rulebook and get to work right away!

Let us know how it went. I am curious to see how this one plays out.

I look forward to seeing how i goes aswell

My friend is being the GM at the moment

We're tying it in with our games of 40k.

- I play Tzeentch Traitor Guard

- He plays Daemonhunters

-another plays Eldar

So the races all kind of fit

course i have to be a antagonist but whatever