Hey, all.

Well I had a particularly fun session this week where I really got to mess with my PCs on several occasions. No GM fiat, no pre-knowledge, just good, honest planning on the part of the players opponents. I'm in a good mood.

So share some of your dasterdly tricks and devilish rueses.

Some of my favorites:

Some Eldar ambushed my players, who fled through a warp portal (ship and all). The Eldar did not follow them through. After completing an adventure on the other side it was time to head back through the portal. They readied their shields, guns, and forces, and barreled through the portal at full burn. However the Eldar were gone.

They had left an asteroid in front of the portal.

The PCs had just finished several encounters and finally reached the eldar artifact that their psyker needed to scan . As they approached the pedestal Hadarak Fel (their arch rival) stepped. As the arch-militant prepared to gun down the exposed rival he produced a kill-switch style detonator and informed them that may be an unwise decision. All he wanted was for them to allow his psyker to scan the artifact at the same time they did (so they both would know the location of the treasure world). They raged of course, to which he responded in his effeminate falcetto, "Haters gonna hate". He extracted a promise of non-agression for the day, they both scanned it , and he prepared to leave.

As he walked off he turned one final time and said, "A parting gift", tossing them the kill switch detonator.

There had never been any explosives.

I love the last one.

I have a bad habit of being too realistic. Explosion kill people what ever amount of life you may think you have etc... It's just the type of thing my player would be so upset about giggle!

Stolen!

Suspensors and anti-grav technology doesn't work without gravity to work against. Just spinning up a reference frame and hoping for the best is not going to cut it.
This means that that heavy bolter the Arch-Militant is toting just got a whole bunch more awkward when they have to board an unpowered derelict. It also means, that the uppity Explorator with Maglev Transcendence is going to have to walk, and either carry or have someone carry his servo-skulls when he visits the Babylon 5-alike trade station...

No ship can be protected by more than one field or shield generator simultaneously (an extension of the rules on personal shields), and it takes a while to shut down one and spool up another safely.
Needless to say, this makes ships very vulnerable when entering or leaving the warp, and a particularly cunning and/or lucky foe could take advantage of that. Ships with heavy lance armaments and at most a light macrobattery (either mars, or occasionally mere thunderstrike) became very popular in my campaign world.
My players have, however, managed to take advantage of this one- they'd just finished looting what appeared to be an astartes fiefdom (although none of their characters had any idea which astartes it belonged to), and were maybe 3 hours from their planned jump point out of the system, when I decided to actually hit them with the planned encounter with an astartes vessel that they'd spent the last three weeks (game-time) getting steadily more paranoid about. Just when they were starting to relax, in other words. I ruled that they had been particularly unlucky, and the ancient cruiser pitted against them had over-shot her jump point slightly, and wound up at a ridiculously short range, on a reciprocal course (warp exit at 4VUs from their dinky little frigate, on a reciprocal course). Through incredible jamminess, the party managed to make a close strafing run and knock out the cruiser's maneuvring thrusters and survive launching a failed hit-and-run, and a failed attempted to send a cogitator virus via vox. Said party now has a heroic tale of the time they bea... fac... were near some Night Lords briefly and ran away.
It also makes combat in the warp very dangerous (as it should be), although actually finding another ship outside real space is the kind of legendary feat that has not happened, and will probably never happen in my campaign (unless and until those very annoyed Night Lords catch up with them...).

Anyone with the necessary augmentation and ability to speak/understand Binaric can be infected with a cogitator virus by hard-plugging into an infected machine spirit, receiving and opening a vox/noospheric data-dump, or actually hearing the program being chanted/broadcast.
My group's Explorator is currently under a serious cloud with the Mechanicus, as he heard one such piece of scrapcode while wandering the wrong part of Footfall. He then exloaded it to their ship's primary transit cogitator while preparing for a warp jump to a forge world. And so the forge world's orbital dock was infected when inloading the ship's navigational data by vox... This very nearly caused a system crash across an entire forgeworld, and, more importantly, nearly cost the Dynasty a very important trade agreement.
All infected systems that the party care about have since been scrubbed.

A particularly nice one i've had.

My players acquired an STC template (they don't know what for other than somekind of anti grav vehicle).

They decided to hand it over to the Mechanicus to avoid any trouble and played three seperate factions off against each other to acquire maximum loot. They ran an auction, organised by the obsidian emporial on footfall, between the Cult of Sollex, Explorators of Thule and the Masters of the Lathes. The Emporial told them in advance that their fee would be 20% of the winning bid, to be chosen by them. My players agreed.

Having now got the winning bid (and by the God Emperor, its WINNING indeed), the Emporial have sent their list containing their cut. The cut includes an archeotech lance array that was part of the winning bid. Although there is still an option to negotiate, my players desperately want this lance.

So now they are in a terrible position of either letting go of the archeotech lance array, giving up something more attractive to the Emporial or double crossing the Emporial (which would be a hideously bad idea). I'm running the next session tonight and am intrigued by what they'll do.

This is from our DH campaign from a while back but my players still keep bringing it up.

One of our players was playing as an Eldar Pathfinder and after a while we realised that it was 1 - too powerful, and 2 - not going anywhere as ascension loomed. In the end we decided to let him become an npc as the current campaign had just finished and the player rolled up a character of the same exp.

Next session comes around and I tell the players they are being called back to the tricorn for a celebration on capturing a very dangerous fallen inquisitor, but that they need to go via Landunder to pickup some equipment they left behind, meanwhile the eldar will be travelling directly to the Tricorn to under go some tests to prove his continued loyalty to the throne. At this point the players were expecting a nice smooth transition of the eldar to a powerful npc ally.

As they arrived at the tricorn they were met by an armed guard and thrown in the cells. after a few days of tests and no-one telling them what was going on they were dragged before a very angry Astrid Skane (the groups inquisitor) and informed that the Xeno had escaped and they were to track him down or there heads were on the block.

after being lead a merry dance they found a former safe house that the eldar had used on solomon, and several storage crates gene-coded to the some members of the cell. Each crate was for a specific person and contained a gift from the Eldar for helping him whilst in the service of the inquisition. One of the people who didn't get a crate was the groups redemptionist arch-militant (used as a bounty hunter) who saw the groups scum receave 200K+ thrones from the traitor they were chasing - a p-v-p shootout resulted in 2 bionic legs needed for the arch-militant, and the scum needing surgery - this actually sparked a fantastic in-game rivalry between the two characters as each blamed the other.

A little while later on Bront they tracked down another safe house and I left them a nice trail of breadcrumbs suggesting the eldar had gone to port wonder, a data-slate sitting on the top of a desk in plain sight. The group took this as the truth, didn't bother searching any more, and left for the Port. On arrival the data-slte provided them with a thank-you msg from the xeno saying he was now back on his craftworld as they had gone the wrong direction - I got a few evil looks for that one.

Surak

Actually, my players got me a good one last session. Like a good 90% of the GMs here, I'm running through the Lure of the Expanse. The crew is running a highly customised frigate, packed full of xenotech components, a Hrud Power grid (uses Auxillary Power grid rules, but with critical hits destabilising the Geller Field), Yu'vath Grav-sails and an Eldar Corsair Mimic Engine.

***ARK OF THE FORSAKEN SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW***

So they discover the Light of Terra. With greedy PC hands rubbing together, they eye off this treasure trove. Even damaged to the level that the Light of Terra is, there's no possible doubt that the Imperial Navy or the Adeptus Mechanicus would pay billions of thrones for this ancient and sacred hulk. In my head I'm laughing, I know that yon captain is going to con them into repairing the basic systems, then he's going to jump that baby straight into the warp. The players find the aptain, who whispers out his desire to see the stars once again and begs the players to restore his ship so that he might control her once more. The players agree and, like so many others, immediately disgorge a small army of naval security teams and Kroot Mercenaries to deal with clearing out the locals. Everything is going according to plan.

Then the Explorator player, who has been sitting quietly, thinking all this time, speaks up, "Brethren, I have an idea...". Immediately I start feeling a slight, slow dread creep across me. The Explorator player doesn't often give ideas to the group, but ehenever he does they tend to be completely left field and the other players lap them up. "The scans of the Light of Terra indicate that moving her a good distance will cause additional damage to her superstructure," information I had handed out earlier after a focussed augury, "can I suggest an alternate proposal?"

They listened. They agreed. I wept.

The Explorator and the Primaris Medicae aboard the ship perform some extensive surgery on the Light of Terras captain, placing him within a Prometheus Chamber (sorry, I can't remember if that's the correct name - stripping down to a brainstem and living in a jar, detailed in the Inquisitors Handbook) to keep him alive for longer. They then install the Mimic Engine in the Light of Terra and hook it up to the Auger Arrays and back in a loop into the captain. The Captain can give the ship an order, that order is interpreted by the Mimic engine as its new instructions on what to broadcast, the captain reads his input from the augers and sees his orders have been obeyed as he decreed. The captain is silently cut off from the bulk of the ships actual systems and the plasma drive tubes and warp engine are disabled by tech-adepts so even if he wanted too, the captain can't go anywhere. A number of the ships crack security teams are left onboard the Light of Terra to organise the surviving tribal natives into work crews, ratings and combat teams in case another trader finds and tries to board her.

I was flabberghasted. In an hour of gameplay, they had derailed the entire canonical plotline for the Ark of the Forsaken AND managed to effectively claim an Emperor-class battleship hull.

Now I'm afraid to let them near the Processional of the Damned.

Haha, that is awesome. I applaud your players!

I think everyone should applaud his players...

My fav so far was a good use of the allure of chaos. Mind you, this was from a DH-campaign, but I believe it is very useable for RT as well. First some background: Our group played through the Purge the Unclean campaign with me as a player. My personal mainplot during the whole campaign was how my charming gunslinger scum fell further and further towards slaanesh, enthusiastically and subtly cheered on by her boyfriend Siprit Daneen (of npc fame from first part of that campaign). At the very climax of the campaign she managed to complete her dark pact and backstab the entire party, including stealing the only spaceship off the planet and making a bombing run over friendly troops on the surface, before escaping with boyfriend out into the sector on a bonnie-and-clyde-ish tour of crime and debauchery. An awesome scene.

A few months later (in RL-time that is) we have begun the Tattered Fates campaign, rolled up completely new characters that are acolytes to our former group (one of whom are now inquisitor). This time I am GMing. During the happenings in House of Dust and Ash (the prequel from Disciples of the Dark Gods) the fresh acolytes makes a new aquaintance in the form of two wonderfully charming people that seems to know exactly how to have a good time and who gets along fabulously with everyone. It is not until one of the acolytes routinely checks all visitors at the auction against the Inquisitorial threat rating datapad they have brought with them that the players realise it is actually the slaaneshworshiping couple of my old character and her boyfriend they have been having such a good time with. Much pruifying of self ensues for the characters, much laughing and ennui ensues for players. Then they realise that the relative powerlevels between the groups is by far to big to even try an apprehension (of course their Inq has ordered his former friends, now heretics, taken alive. He wants to have a little... chat with them. Catch up on old times so to speak) so they settle for a close observation of the couple.

Later all shades of **** hits the fan and our heroes are way out of their depth in a really desperate position, outgunned and outwitted. And up comes the friendly couple and offers a helping hand. Completely for free, just for good friendship, no bonds... And it is apparent that they do have the skills, hardware and connections (and they still have that spaceship you they stole from our last group) to take the acolytes safely out of harms way. What follows was Excellent disgusted but polite roleplaying as the players stubbornly refuses their unselfish offers of help. That was absolutely wonderful!

My players have just pushed me a little too far...

Like many groups, we are currently playing Lure of the Expanse. The group rolled a very high profit factor at start, but consequently has this flimsy, small raider for a ship. They have been doing quite well on the planets but weren't careful enough with their ship, and consequently it got beat up; 2 hull points left after successful extended repairs. This occurred in the Processional of the Damned. Since their weak ship has frustrated me as much as the players, I bent the rules in their favour and generously allowed them to salvage a more potent ship from the Processional. They found a nearly intact, good quality Firestorm frigate, and got it running. It's a nasty piece of work, and I'm glad since now I can throw some proper space-based challenges at them.

So, the players have headed off to the Dread Pearl in their new, loaded frigate. The raider is not going with them, as they sent that ship back to Footfall with a skeleton crew. The skeleton crew contains no PC's, is composed exclusively of NPC's of questionable competence, and is really a skeleton, 5 crew points or so. The raider, in addition to being badly damaged, has had a few of its key systems hastily removed and installed on the frigate, so it's missing inconsequentials like dorsal weapons. And, of course, its a long voyage through uncharted space to get to Footfall. Now, here's the kicker: said raider is carrying all the loot they've accumulated to date, as the players didn't want to risk the valuables when they faced their competitors at the Dread Pearl. (!) Since the Processional was their next to last stop in the Heathen Stars, that would be nearly all of the loot. They got massive hauls from Zayth, Vaporious, the Ark of the Forsaken, and the Processional, and it's all stowed aboard one flimsy, badly damaged, toothless raider flown by a few inept NPC's... Said loot, incidentally, also contains a certain self-aware Mechanicus probe that they think (incorrectly) has been rendered dormant.

My players innocently assume that the raider will be waiting for them when they get back to Footfall. Guess again. Naturally, it will have vanished without a trace. I expect much whining. Then again, they really asked for it!

Cheers,

- V.

I always loved to let players roll and roll and roll and finally get the nice shiney big gun, then inform them that they didn't make the roll for AMMO.

Captain and ship's crew of 'His Imperial Jewels' (they named the ship, don't ask me why...) really really hate the slave trade that takes place in the Expanse. realizing that there is simply no way for the players to put an end to the slave trade..at least right now...the captain decides that he's going to just purchase slaves and free them from being oppressed. since he's trying to found a colony on another world, he needs colonists anyway so he figures it'll work out.

so they haul ass to Footfall and meet with a member of the Stryxis. the Xenos easily agree to the terms of the captain's proposal, asking only for a small token from each of the bridge crew (and a small bit of coin, a couple pallets of filter plugs and two bottles of amasec from the captains private stock). the captain is a bit suspicious but hey, he's gonna free humans from the claws of foul Xenos scum so it's all good, right?

the ship goes and does other things. at the appointed time, they jump to the agreed upon coordinates and meet with the slave trader's main transport station, and are introduced to their new cargo. See, the Stryxis didn't just collect slaves and train them to be colonists. Oh no. they also brutally conditioned them against even the THOUGHT of slave revolt, and additionally conditioned them to worship the Rogue Trader (both mental and genetic conditioning). They will literally work themselves to death in his name. Suffice it to say...the Rogue Trader (and his fellow crew) were horrified. I played up the creepy aspects of the slave trader, eager to show off the product to his customer and happy to detail the means taken to condition the Rogue Trader's new colonists.

After that game session the players all discussed taking 'hatred: Stryxis' as an elite advance. they HATE those aliens now.

Ahahaha yup if they send out a raider full of loot unprotected they may have the same issue with me (75% chances of happening)

Keep on sending me those nice ideas!

My players are trying to decide right now if they will thake a 30% human crew or a full mutant crew for now... Lol and the Missionary (npc) on ship and is flock have hatred : mutants!

Fun for me!!!

Well, the nastiest trick I've pulled on my players was just before my RT campaign started, back in DH. Some of the characters are the same, so it's somewhat relevant. It was a spaceport sniper ambush.

The characters recently stepped off their landing shuttle, on a paradise planet they were sent to investigate heresy on. After a detour around in the warp and some merry adventure, they finally got there. But cultist snipers awaited them on the airport, and with longlas one of them managed to get an instant on the assassin, killing him instantly(crazy roll and his body literally exploded, hurting the others nearby).

A long fight ensued, as they advanced from cover to cover, almost getting shot to pieces by the snipers. More disaster struck, and the psyker managed to botch a trivial psychic test, enacting perils of the warp and rolling...100. He got sucked into the warp and was not seen again... for a while. The player burnt a fate point, and was spat out later, a bit more insane and corrupted than before.

Another character died the same session, as they cornered a rogue Magus in a hab block, and he used a flamethrower in a one-man doorway, burning one character to crisp while badly hurting another.

It was the climax for the DH campaign, before moving over to the RT one. Quite an epic fight they got, with lots of casualty. I enjoy player casualties, in the sense of the in character despair and sadness it creates. Very thematic for the 40k universe, not even heroes are safe.

Oh man this was an epic sounding game Im going to be doing something simular for my groups soon hope they can take it out don't want them all dead in the last session