Charmander said:

Lol, I thought it meant when the final lock opens, it's a huge bore of a piece of artillery that the players are staring into, the last thing that they'll ever see, in true Paranoia RPG-style.

Alex

"The First Heretic" mentions the lost primarchs as having been expunged from all imperial history for some (assumedly) huge treason/whatever.

Maybe the Emperor himself locked one down there?

Given the fact that the Erioch system is obviously artificially created it points to Eldar, Necrons or Old Ones as these 3 are the only races (i am aware of) that have been shown that be able to reshape systems, although this does seem like the complete opposite to a maiden world/system.

Periodically the Vault seems to automatically open a new room that contains 'something' stranely usefull for some specific catastrophy that is befalling the Reach at that moment... this definately points to some kind of temporal or fortelling on behalf of the artifact. Once again Eldar being the most obvious option but Necrons could manage this with tech and even the imperium can acheive similar with the Tarot.

The Xenos killing plague supports humans creating the Artifact but the Necrons would probably (maybe, possibally) be immune to the virus so it could (maybe, possibally) be them.

In the end the contents and purpose of the Omega Vault is to keep the players guessing, unless the plot gets VERY epic I doubt it'll be a good idea to open the core of the Vault. Having a Primarch wake up and start wandering around would most definately outshine ANYTHING the players could do and in a way make the players supporting characters.

Personally if i was to use the Omega Vault as a plot point (and I eventually want to) I think the best way to treat it would be to keep it a mystery and keep the players paranoid... I'm just not sure what they could find in a room that would be cool and vital for a specific mission but still creepy.

Possible ideas for room contents:

Detailed map of enemy fortress including security codes (will only be correct on specific time and date) and watch times.

Marble statue of a high ranking member of the imperial navy perfectly sculpted in chains dressed in the fatigues of a trooper in a penal legion.

The unconcious form of an imperial guardsman reported MIA 2 weeks ago in battle somewhere in the Reach.

I suspect from the GM kit adventure and the upcoming campaign that whatever is in the Vault is part of the epic soryline for DW.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of it being a Primarch, just for the Title "Return of the Primarch".

This would truly be a double-edged blade, as whichever Chapter's Primarch returns would suddenly be catapulted to the forefront.

Other chapters may then get the taste of jealosy. With a little shove from the forces of chaos we have what people truly want, a 2nd grand heresy.

Consider the epic storyline, Jaghatai Khan (White scars) was cpatured by the dark eldar and enclosed in the Omega Vault. The Vault opens it's last door and Jaghatai Khan is reuntied with his blessed chapter.

As he re-orientates himself to the time, he immediatley takes charge of the operations in the Jericho Reach. Whilst annihlating the Tau and the forces of chaos he realises much what Horus said has come to pass.

The emperor is worshipped as divine (heresy)
The codex has reduced his immense legion to little or nothing of it's former glory
The imperium is ruled by incompetent buerocrats
The imperium has barely advanced in the 10,000 years since his loss

The more he examines the past since he has been lost, the more it angers him. The Emperor is now a rotting carcass, nothing of how he was in life. He also lays blame on Dark Angels Primarch Lion El Johnson for his failure to arrive in good time at the Battle of Terra, if he hadn't dallied the day would have been won, and the Emperor alive.

All in he is not impressed, and starts along a treacherous path to bring back the true glory of the Emperor, first bring back the legions in their finest form.

Suffice to say this would be the start of an epic new heresy. He has after all single handedly returned the Jericho Reach to the Imperium, and intends to do more.

As chaos infests his thoughts, and "advisors" demand more action, who can stand against him, he is a Primarch, no-one of his power has walked the imperium in over 10,000 years.

Gathering a legion of Space Marines, he intends to return the Space Marines to their true heritage, gods of battle.

As he gathers forces another miracle, the wakening of Roboute Guilliman. Can peace be negotiated, is Gulliman happy with how the Adeptus Astartes have fallen to the rule of Buearocrats.

(You can switch Khan for any other missing primarch really.)

Pretty epic, and has a great opportunity to bring DH into the DW campaign. With the new primarch giving orders, who is going to care about puny human inquisitors telling them what to do!.

in my storyline it will be something like ancient librarian/sorceror/oracle, with godlike divination powers, probably possessed or batshit insane, bounded to sort of life supporting or other arcane machine that its also his prison but also links his senses and psyche to whole Vault. Or if i will want to put eldar into storyline it will be some sort of librarian who wasn't very clever and taped on exodite world heartstone/ancient eldar artifact with some bizzare results.

it must be something dangerous, arcane yet useful at some point.

Necrons? nice idea. but in my version it would be half destroyed necron lord who isn't any more controled by c'tan. read he is broken, free and very afraid.

Super weapon? exterminatus is super enough for me, besides sector ctrl+alt+del isn't very funny or grim dark.

Primarch closed in Vault? ... to epic for me. almost sound like hippie star trek love parade.

just my thoughts...

So, apparently Mordecai Haarlock (the founder of the dynasty) has set foot on Erioch Watch Station. I'm leaning ever more closely to a Throne of some sort.

Erasmus Haarlocks pacifier?

I have my own theory about this and it puts the Necrons at the center of things (literally). It's somewhat inspiried by the first Mass Effect game.

The Necrons create the Erioch system as a trap for humanity, the Omega Vault that seems to have been human created is placed there as the bait and they guide the Imperium to the system. It can only be found if you know where it is, which suggests to me its creators showed humans the way, though their guiding was likely very subtle.

Once humanity sets up there the presence of the Omega Vault would more then likely prompt them into making it a center of operations for the entire Reach, including the data they collect. That way, the Necron AI at the heart of the Vault has full access to any information the Imperium gathers on the Reach and can use the contents of the vault to ensure humanity achieves the ends they desire before they openly reveal themselves.

Given that no one can enter the vault unless it lets them in, there'd be nothing to stop the Necrons from moving around inside it once it's sealed to the outside world and setting up its internal structure in accordance with current events. Once the Reach is in the desired format the Necrons will be able to capture the center of the DeathWatch from the inside and use it to begin conquiering the Reach for themselves.

"Reserve your space in a Vault-Tec vault today!"

Al-Shamar said:

Yu'vat have that power too and are probably old enough.

And it can't be Necrons as their star travel system collapse stars...

I am guessing that it was made by a psychic race, as it seems able to predict events, so long as they aren't related to the Tyranids (who are somewhat resistant to psychic predictions).

This, therefore, means that the Necrons wouldn't be involved, being non-psychic.

However, it leaves it pretty open. My instinct is that it was as it appears, made by Imperial humans, with possible involved individuals including the Haarlocks, Ordo Xenos, Ordo Chronos and others.

Another possibility is that it was a 'back-up' for the Cabal, who wanted Horus to win during the Heresy in order for Chaos to be defeated.

Ooooh i like that, something made by the Cabal (A collection of xeno). What can be more disturbing but to find the Xeno to be working together!

Budda said:

When I raised that term a few months ago, I was implicitly asked to shut up.

Alex

ObsidianThunder said:

However in False Gods, Horus actually talks of how he pities a brother that would never be and how he accidentally in rage cracks the stasis field by slamming into it. Course GW has been known to pull a "Ministry of Truth" time after time. Like getting rid of the 5th god of chaos, squats, The WHFB world being in the EoT, females not being able to be marines, zygotes, fairmares, starchild, rambones, etc......

The original Omega Vault was a trap and prison for a strongly godlike Necrontyr-spawned Artificial Intelligence (Not a C'tan. Nor a Necron. An AI created by Necron superscience and utterly terrified of the C'tan.).

The Omega Vault today is the result of this AI's slow but inexorable conquest of its prison. The AI and the Vault itself (a weakly godlike intelligence of its own, creators unknown) have been fighting a silent battle for millennia. The items and information exiting the vault in this era (a function the original vault never had) are sometimes the work of the Necron AI, and sometimes of the original Vault, as well as sometimes being the work of both or neither of the two entities.

Neither entity is under any form of external control, but both react to external stimuli and are aware of events in the whole of the Jericho Reach. The items, information and creatures from the vault are their attempts at manipulating events in their favour, each in furthering its own goals. For the AI, freedom. For the Vault, keeping the AI captive. For a long time now, the AI has been winning.

Terminus_Est said:

To be fair, that's because they didn't own the copyright. Females still can't be Marines, and do you mean Zoats?

Siranui said:

No. There are no zygotes in the 41st Millenium. All reproduction is done assexually, were people just split into two. Male and Female are simply just a desgination for how people feel they are. Those who cannot make their decision (which is many) are turned into cyber skulls.

No I kid. I think he means Zoats too.

You all forget the writing over the Vault ; "...And the Last Fortress is Truth". So it seems to hide a great truth or revelation which will be usefull when the Endtime comes. For my understanding a hidden C´tan or or a starchild or stuff like that seems unfitting.

Perhaps its just a scroll or a pice of art. Something tiny and unspectacular that reminds Mankind of something which could help to overcome all the struggle rebuild an the Empire as it was once intended by the Emperor or even some Deity greater than him

When I read that "...And The Last Fortress Is Truth" was over the archway, I automatically thought that the final item in the Vault would be a copy of the Emperor's "Imperial Truth", his manifesto of removing faith and superstition from the galaxy and replacing it with logic and science.

The Emperor reborn himself.

MILLANDSON said:

I like that. that would be a kick in the pants to all the Astartes.

MILLANDSON said:

Or one of the Lost Primarchs, held in stasis since the Great Crusade, charged by his father to perform one final crucial task for the good of the Imperium, as penance for whatever it was he did to require his Legion being condemned.

My thoughts.

1. The doors of the Omega vault show the Emperor strangling a coiling serpent. This could be a stylized version of the Void Dragon.

2. There are a LOT of thinly-veiled Necron references in Deathwatch.

3. From the end of Mechanicum: "Only much later, when Dalia dared return to the silver cavern, did she see that the book containing the grand lie of Mars had been taken.Ten thousand years would pass before the next Guardian was drawn to the Noctis Labyrinthus, but by then the damage had been done."

GM's could have it contain the book, or a transcript of it. This would explain the "grand lie of Mars", and thus "truth".

The Erioch system could even be somehow tied to the Void Dragon eons ago or whatnot. The Watch Fortress looks to be a modified Ramilles class star-fort, so thus built by human hands. Perhaps those in possession of the book put the Watch Fortress far away for a reason? Mere chance that the Deathwatch got ahold of this? Perhaps some small section of the Deathwatch knew the truth and its been lost to time?

This talk of the Emperor made me think of a thought I had some time ago
(maybe not so much in line with this thread, but...):

According to my idea the Emperor, through his early discovery of
the Warp, also discovered that he could travel astrally through it
and (I believe) visit a lot of places before his or others physical
form could get there through 'ordinary' space travel.

Through this ability to travel without physical movement
the Emperor also learnt about many of the places and life forms
that the Crusade later would meet. That way, the Emperor
understood that his Primarchs and other forces sooner or later
would come in contact with Chaos and its creatures/rulers.

Therefore, I believe, it was a old preplanned course for him to move
back to Earth and let Horus lead the Crusade.
It was no coincidence that the Emperor did this just before the Crusade
and its leader, Horus, met creatures from the Ruinous Powers.

I think all this was a test for his Primarchs and his other servants:
would they resist the Pull of the Warp and Chaotic powers? Would
they stand united against the creatures of the Warp and their promises?
With great probability, the Emperor already knew the answer to that: NO.

There is a sort of basic law of Empires. It says, that when the Empire
reach a certain critical width, it is impossible to hold together without some
some sort of provincial subrulers who in turn inherit powers from the
Emperor. These subrulers are always subject to influence one way or the other.
With this in mind the Emperor returned to Terra and tried to plan for the anticipated
future: Civil War.

But I think the Emperor quite frankly became overwhelmed by the
sheer speed and force of the future he anticipated. The great rift that formed in
the Empire went deeper and more fundamental than he could've foreseen.
That way he became the greatest victim and still is.
Could the Omega Vault somehow be tied to this?

One thing I've always wondered is whether one of the missing primarchs fell from grace, because they were raised by aliens and therefore had massive issues with the Emperor's xenocidal crusade.

It would be quite fitting and a major headache for the Deathwatch if the Omega Vault released him after calculating that the Emperor's approach of "Kil the Xenos" had failed and that only with co-operation with the former servants of the Old Ones could the threat of the Tyranids and Necrons be countered.