Hey guys!
I've been running a Dark Heresy game set a long, long way from Calixis in a DIY setting known as the Dalthus Sector. Drawn from their previous lives, my acolytes have been inducted into the service of the Lady Amaranthe, a Witch-Hunter of the Ordo Hereticus.Having been brought to Hyades, capital world of the sub-sector, the cell has assembled in the depths of Hive Praxis. Brought to the ominous building known as the House of Forgotten Saints, the Acolytes have been operating under the auspices of Interrogator Brandt, who tasked them with investigating the mysterious death of indentured worker Findus Vigg. My acolytes descended into Acid Falls, a settlement within a district known as the Barrens.
The Cell consists of:
-> Aridius Helbrec:
A hive noble who ran a large information network that stretched across the sector. Having uncovered some important information that made him some key enemies, he has been inducted into Inquisitorial service.
-> Artemis Stroud:
An Arbitrator who made numerous enemies for his ill-advised purges against noble excess. Forced to transfer, he found himself in the service of the Inquisition, who valued his uncompromising nature.
-> Father Zarkov:
An older preacher who, in his glory days, fought alongside the Imperial Guard. Although age (and drink) has dulled his fervour somewhat, he has found a new lease of life in Imperial service.
-> Tech-Priest Majster:
Gained some distinction on the Forge-world of Mutara for destroying a small heretical sect which had sprung up among the workers. Assigned to the Inquisition shortly afterward.
-> Scribe Astelan:
A member of a hereditary guild of scribes deep within an administrative hive. Mistakenly given a forbidden text to illuminate, he was offered a simple choice: Death, or service in the Inquisition. Living to serve, he has had his vocal chords removed, so the secrets he records will remain unspeakable.
-> Neros Varrin:
A Guardsman veteran and stalwart warrior.
-> Lukas Finn:
A hive-rat ganger, incarcerated for his numerous criminal infractions.
Now, my group has been doing really well. As you can probably tell, they've been playing through the "Edge of Darkness" introductory scenario, with the locations renamed so that it suits the Dalthan context. I've really been enjoying it (as have they) and I'm in the midst of planning what to do next.
In the long term , what I want to do is embark upon the monolithic storyline that is the Haarlock legacy (again, with details changed - I really like the pseudonym used by Silar Marr in THOD&A: 'Ezekiel Sunder', so the 'Line of Sunder' may become my storyline...) but in the meantime, my group are still quite junior. Obviously, "Edge of Darkness" shows the characters the absolute worst of the down-hives, and I would like to contrast it by showing them the uphives. In my mind, such jarring juxtapositions are very "grimdark" - we have the baroque and arcane against the high sci-fi, and so the jarring contradiction between the extreme poverty they experienced and the absolute extravagance of the up-hives would be great.
I've seized upon "Rejoice!", and I would like to run it, but I'm having trouble with the fact that it basically railroads the players, giving them very little choice about what to do, and dropping clues every now and then. I love the set-up, and I think that the Strophes are great - though in my setting, Laurent Strophes (or "Amos Haldane") is an old acolyte of the Inquisitor, given leave to return to his life. He is in a position of power because he knows much about the Lady Amaranthe (and her master), whilst the Acolytes are still rather in the dark about her.
Equally, I'm still in the dark as to how to make the adventure more interesting. What I'd like to do is link it into "The Edge of Darkness" by removing the Serrated Query and replacing the "big bad guys" with the Logicians. I think that Theodosia could easily be explained as a bionically-enhanced monster employed by the Logicians to protect their affairs. The uneventful ride between Hive Scintilla and Hive Ambulon is going to be excised, and replaced by the skyship ride from "The House of Dust & Ashes"; I reason that the pirates attacking the Acolytes could be explained by the Logicians trying to prevent pursuit (or it could be coincidental.)
I'd also like to include Siprit Daneen, as I want him to be a key player in later scenarios - his Slaneeshi cult is likely to replace the "Pilgrims of Hayte" when it comes to chasing down Haarlock.
I guess what I'd like is some thoughts and some advice in making the "Joyous Choir" into a more interesting enemy, and perhaps some discussion as to what the Logician plans might be. They don't have to involve psykers, and if it links in with the Edge of Darkness, that would be fabulous - it could even feature the Churgeon returning in the end of the scenario!
Thanks in advance for any discussion, I really appreciate any input you have to offer.