So, in RoB they talk about a new portion of the Watch Fortress called the Hunting Grounds, which are used for training and sport to hunt down the Xeno. I'm working on an introductory adventure in this environment, but I don't know how and what it would be populated with.

For instance, I'm torn between having a thing were Aliens are just released into an area to be hunted, or if it would be better to release them in small colonies to let them be entrenched before letting them be exterminated (Like the Training Center in Balamb Garden in FF8). I'd prefer an entrenched enemy if I had my druthers, both to explain their containment, but also because I think it'd be more fun.

However, even likely enemies seem problematic. Even big wild animals seem hard, but I'd like to go with more iconic enemies of the 40k universe. But even that's problematic as there probably isn't a lot of enemies you want to leave alone to their own devices. I've made a list of the potentials in my head, but I'm wondering what you guys thing:

Probably not:

Tyranids : Probably not the best idea to release Tyranids out on their own to do as they please. Normal Tyranid Organisms wouldn't be much without a Synapse creature, and one of those will probably rouse the suspicion of the hive mind toward Eroich

Tau: I just don't see it being easy on the Tau in that environment, that they'd put up a good enough fight, unless one of them was the guy from Fire Warrior. If a whole fire team was caught, which is a big if, I'd suspect they'd probably spend most, if not all of their time, trying to get out. A good release candidate, but probably not someone to live there.

Maybe, but probably not:

Orks : I think Orks would be the ideal candidate to leave on their own in a place like the hunting grounds, except for one thing. Little patch of dirt, and you could have a Waaagh in the making. Even if it could be controlled, it would just take one MekBoy in the making to start building some kinda contraption and suddenly they're loose. I moved Orks to Maybe, because of an idea that I had that perhaps they're being bred in part of experiments by a Magos Biologist to see if he can steralize Ork Spores. Also moved to maybe because perhaps if the overseers of Eroich gave the Orks Axes and some weaponry, maybe they would just be stupid enough not to seek more out. This however theory is disproven quite easily with the equation: More Dakka=Better

Eldar : Normal Eldar seem to civilized and wiley to be left to their own devices in this portion of the place as a group. They'd probably just wait at the door collectively for it to open and sneak out. Though, moved to Maybe because as a small group I could see them going all hunter in order to stick it to the mon'keigh, but if there is a farseer in there, I don't see them as wanting to stay.

Dark Eldar : Same reason as regular Eldar, but are actually the only one that started in the Maybe category. Due to their savage nature, they probably would be decent fighters and would probably relish the chance to try to tear up some Space Marines. But because of their inclination toward chaos, few of them chanting and hooping it up, and suddenly it's inviting Demons into Eroich. If the Watch Commander has said it once, he's said it a thousand times. No demons in the house. You play with them outside.

Could be:

Kroot: Kroot are just savage enough to put up a worth while fight in the hunting ground, bouncing around a tree like area. And they don't pose the danger that Orks do. I could easily see a small colony of them there, considering their abundance in the Jericho Reach.

Vespids : Could be an idea, but I don't know that much about them. Their flight causes problems, but is one of their great advantages. So I'm not sure there.

I'm going to look through some of the Alien books from RT and DH, but what do you guys think? Any Races I've missed due to neglect? Any differing opinions on these?

Without having read the full book description of the Hunting Grounds, take this with a grain of salt.

Putting any of the iconic 40k enemies seems like a horrible idea- not gameplay wise but what was the Watch Commander thinking wise. Keeping any sort of intelligent creature that could potentially escape with secrets of the fortresses location, layout, etc. just doesn't strike me as something the Deathwatch would do (the Imperium, sure, the Inquisition, probably not, but the DW, not at all). It's simply too much of a risk.

I'd expect large wild animals or the like, something that the marines could test themselves against, use for target practice, etc. but not something that might outsmart them or sneak out.

I'd only put low-intelligence creatures in that place myself. And not orks due to how they reproduce.

If you look at page 243 you see that there are Gaunts mentioned that are bred more or less for the purpose of being used in the Hunting Grounds.

As long as they don't have a Hive Mind they are not that dangerous (compaired to when they are controlled by one).

Ambulls!

The whole idea of the hunting grounds is to practice against threats and learn about them. Safe to say that most Marines already know about orcs et al. I'd just make up a load of stuff and send them dinosaur / huge thing with tentacles / swarms of semi-intelligent insect hunting. Heck: Break out your D&D monster manual!

Isn't there a piece in RoB, Watchfortress Erioch, about them being able to reproduce any environment for training, including possibilities for captured/bred species? It's certainly a dodgy area - adding in sentient prisoners to the hunting grounds - but possible, I think. I do recall them having an Eldar and a Tau Ethereal in the holding cells.

I doubt I could see groups of Eldar living in the hunting grounds' cells. They would probably do everything they could to either escape, die, or suicide, I dunno.. But I could imagine a small Ork warband either being captured, or placed in stasis before being transplanted to the Watch-fortress. Of course they would probably spore-breed, but there's a whole adventure right there.

Like I said, dodgy, but doable.

We are sorry the ork den is currently undergoing maintenance, the monthly population purge by nerve gas as begun.

For your convinience, the violent mutant room is ready. We have a very new specimen, it was discovered within the bulkheads of a spaced section of a ship. After months of carnage we managed to capture it. It is vicious in CC and very stealthy, we recommend combat blade and helmetless for optimal challenge.

Would you like to begin the hunt? Press here to know more.

Siranui said:

"The thing's soft tentacled head bursts in a spray of bolter fire, the psychic pressure easing from your minds."

Player A: "Did...Did we just kill a Mind Flayer?"

Player B: "Yeah, count yourself lucky you missed the D's, that Red Dragon was a *****."

GM: "Shut up everyone, the next 10x10 foot room has a Hideous mutant A huge hulking man, with the head of a great bull. Roll for initiative, meatsnacks!"

Players A & B: "Minotaur..."

I'd say use whatever feels right for your campaign. The security and sterilization procedures in place would be able to prevent the escape of any creature suitable for hunting/target practice; I sincerely doubt they would use Lictors or worse in this capacity.

Alternately, the accidental (or intentional) escape of a deadly xenos could make for a cool adventure aboard the Watch Station: suppose that the kill-team was being subjected to a test by the Watch Captain, who (unknown to the players) has authored a scenario in which a dangerous xenos apparently escapes into the facility. Does the kill-team take action and pursue it? Go crying to the Watch Captain? However it plays out, the Watch Station is never in actual danger, but the kill-team doesn't know that until afterward.

Another fun possibility is to pit the kill-team against "xenos" that are actually familiar creatures from other games. Everyone knows and loves/loathes the beholder from D&D... but how does the kill-team react to a huge eyeball-covered xenos blasting deadly radiation in all directions? Or to a pair of bulettes? Or a big-ass dragon? Or the arena beasts from "Attack of the Clones"? Endless possibilities for fun xenos-slaying abound, and there are detailed miniatures available for hundreds of weird fantasy and sci-fi creatures.

Personally, I don't see gaunts as being much of a challenge for marines without the Hive Mind to direct them. Gaunt instinctive behaviour is very animalistic, and they're just not a serious threat without support. Genestealers, on the other hand, are a VERY serious threat (and a good candidate for the mock-breakout scenario above).

Edit: I see some of us are on the same page regarding D&D xenos.

crisaron said:

I laughed so hard when I read that.

I like the idea of D&D xenos, but the group I'm particularly writing this for (though I want it to be open), are D&D entrenched. I don't think as an introductory mission that using D&D xenos would be a good thing, because it wouldn't give the feel of deathwatch. They'd view it as D&D. Also, I'm also looking for examples of horde combat too.

Direach basically tuned into an idea I had too. I was thinking that the team was going through the parts of the Hunting grounds, and there was a breach in a status field and maybe a Tervigon got out and started breeding and a battle errupts between whatever's in the Hunting grounds. Battle Brothers don't know the difference, so they just fight on.

korvass said:

Why would you hunt a Tau Ethereal rather than experiment on it and drain its brain of all knowledge?

@Plastefuchs: I'm not calling you a liar, I'm just saying that seems like a terrible plan. It just sems like they're waiting for a snyapse creature or hive to get close enough to take control of them. The DW have more understanding of xenos than most, right? But do they know what the range of control is, enough that they're cool with having a bunch of them on board their fortress? Even if the Hive fleet can't find Erioch, they might get close.

But then again, that's the whole radical v/ puritan debate, and who is in control of your Erioch is really up to the GM and one should never underestimate the capacity of mankind to make bad decisions .

I like the idea of an escape adventure, I'd personally run it from the 'you just captured 3 bad guys and are transporting them for interrogation' as opposed to 'you put these super dangerous enemies in the holodeck for sport, let's hope they don't get out!' At least that way you have a better reason for having them in the fortress that doesn't seem quite as contrived.

Personally, if you wanted a Jurassic Park(s)/Alien(s)/Preadator(s)/The Island/The Running Man/Hard Target/100 Episodes of Star Trek/etc., I would suggest creating a quarantined planet where they do this type of thing. Put in some orbital defenses and a exterminatus weapon to trigger when things go wrong. The only thing keeping the DW from nuking the place from orbit is a very expensive and very hard to replace kill team is busy trying to find a way off world. Once they get up to the station, they pull the trigger, and they may even have to fight their way to some sort of nuke in order to disable it so they don't all blow up before they make it off. At least that way the Watch Fortress isn't endangered all the time.

Frostfire said:

Where'd you get that idea? Dark Eldar are not Chaos inclined.

SubtleCadaver said:

Lol I was wondering too, why on earth would they summon slanessh!

crisaron said:

Because if you haven't read their background, their behavior smells of Chaos? The whole drinking other people's souls thing and hedonistic behavior implies this heavily.

Aliens?

or, alternatively,

Predators?

Charmander said:

I thought they had a whole thing with Slanessh which is why they changed from normal eldar and....bleh. Stupid purple Hedonistic purple pointies. If you didn't have a new codex nobody'd still know who you were.

Siranna said:

Ah. I see what you did there.

Siranna said:

Ironically, the moment I read about this "hunting grounds" idea, I thought of Orks. And Alien 4.

As previously pointed out, it's probably not the smartest thing to do because there is a certain threat that things may get out of hands if secure containment fails and their breeding gets out of control.

Which is especially why this would be an awesome adventure. And this is 40k, so things are bound to go wrong.

Hunters become the Hunted? Your players actions may decide the fate of the entire station.

Other than that I agree with the idea of animals rather than intelligent creatures. Not only because they are far easier to capture and control, but also because intelligent xenos are usually taken to the interrogation and vivisection chambers, not to the zoo.

And yeah, Slaaneshi Eldar = Dark Eldar. The normal Eldar have soul stones to avoid corruption, iirc.

Lynata said:

That is wrong...

Eldars dark or not created Slanesh a long time ago because of their edoneism. When Slaneshe was created, she hate all the Eldar souls and to this day still tries.

The Eldar went back to the old ways of the being "strait" in order to prevent Slanesh from taking their sould they bid them to soul stones away from Slanesh.

The Dark Eldar us the souls of those they capture to feed Slanesh in this way preventing it from destroying their still edonistict society. Where a Dark Eldar to lower is defence Slanesh would destroy it, see "The Dark Apostle" from black library for what happens when deamonette cross over on a DE ship.

Them feel wrong and chaosy but they only workship Kaine I believe.

The only know chaos aligned races (that wrokship them chaos gods) is the humans as far as I know (The heretics and the Renegade Marines).

Humans do tend to ruin everything.

But if such is the case, woul you put Dark Eldar into the hunting grounds?

Frostfire said:

I still wouldn't put them in the hunting grounds because they're smart, and I just wouldn't want to give smart things the blatant opportunity to shoot my face off and steal my gear.

Unless you're going 80s action movie style in which case absolutely put them there and then wait for things to go wrong and catch the PCs in the middle.

@Lynata: Yes, soul stones are used by 'normal' Eldar to prevent their spirit energy from being eaten by Slaanesh. Dark Eldar don't have these, and so they steal other souls to feed to Slaanesh/replace their spirit stuff that's being eaten by her/him.

crisaron said:

Yes and no. There were no Dark Eldar around back then, just Eldar - the birth of Slaanesh sundered the race into the factions we know today. But saying that the Eldar are Slaaneshi just because they are descendents of a population of which a part (the so-called Pleasure Cults) was responsible for Slaanesh is like saying all Humans are guilty of treason because of the Horus Heresy.

Though that's certainly a viable viewpoint held by some extremist Puritans.

Lynata said:

Well... Sorta, not really.

If you read the current DE Codex, you'll see that Commorragh was extremely hedonistic before the Fall, even compared to what most Eldar were doing around that time. They were essentially Dark Eldar, just without their souls being drained by Slaanesh.

Anyway, they hate Chaos as much as Craftworld Eldar. Lemme put it this way; Craftworld Eldar and Chaos are fighting, and Dark Eldar come across the fight, the Dark Eldar will side with the Craftworlders, not the Chaos.