So I've got two missions lined up for my KT, but for some reason I'm brain locking on the McGuffin portion, so I was wondering if some of the other GMs out there could lend their (superior) storytelling capabilities. The things I'm looking for are compelling ancient xenotech.

FIrst scenario involves investigating why the Tau are digging in area X, as they're trying to uncover some ancient technology (phase two involves cleansing the area). I'm thinking weapons would be the items they're looking for, which is old hat but super easy, or something like an ancient warp drive tech or some other long distance space faring technology. Any ideas out there?

Second scenaro I'm stuck with is similar, but it's an Imperial excavation and the tech in question is stolen by a rogue agent and the KT has to get it back. This time the McGuffin has to be something big enough to get the DW to engage in the chace, rather than having the standard Acolyte or Inquisitor team go hunt the guy down. My thoughts here were some kind of psychic device, perhaps a xenos larva of some kind that they can't have getting out.

Now that I write it out like that, I guess they could be run back to back, with the item the Tau were looking for then stolen by someone that's part of the excavation team that comes in when the Imperials take over the site, but I hadn't actually planned on them being run that way (I actaully have planned out several missions in between).

As always, appreciate the ideas

Perhaps an Eldar webway portal which was buried and thus rendered non-functional in the ancient past. The Eldar have believed it destroyed but somehow the Tau have figured out that some lost Xeno Tech is buried here. Once the Tau, or the Kill-team, dig it up it will become functional again. If the Eldar are aware that the portal if functioning again they could dispatch a scouting force through the portal thus adding a complication for whoever ends up in possession of it.

Well, though Tau are interested in technology, they don't actulaly use the standard warp engines to travel across the stars. They use some weird gravity...thing. I thought of a similar istuation, adn I came up with necrons. That's some good hard technology that both might be looking at, neighter of them know, but could backfire on both of them and the kil team.

I thought of the other senario as well. I don't remeber quite what the object was in uqestion, but a psychic thing was hwat I came up with too, which Chaos became interested in. But an easy way to get the Kill Team after it is to have a technologically inclined inquisitor come up to them and tel them that they're looking for something, or if they find any technology that they'd "Be grateful" Grateful equalling XP or Renoun or something else. Anything too too dangerous though, and they might just smash it as soon as they get to it.

Thanks for the feedback guys! It's giving me more food for thought...

Edsel62 said:

I like the Eldar webway stuff, a lot, though I'm already using a webway in another mission I'm planning, so I'm reluctant to use it a second time. Though I do like the final complication when the KT goes "haha we tought those dirty Tau a lesson" of having them essentially ambushed from whatever it is they dug up

Frostfire said:

Yeah, I think their wierd gravity drive is one of the reasons they're restricted in their territory. That was one reason I was thinking some sort of space transport system- something that would give the Tau long range space faring tech, potentially something that could give the Imperium the ability to move between the start without leveraging the warp as well, which would be super valueable to either race.

Thanks again guys!

Perhaps the device that the Tau are digging up is a planetary interdiction weapon created by the Necrons. A ship fired torpedo that interacts with the planet and creates a Warp Storm making warp travel to the planet impossible but leaves it open for non warp craft to travel there.

Your adventure flow could follow this path. The Deathwatch goes to planet to gain intel on the Tau force and their dig site. The second adventure to convince the local salient commander to attack the location and take it from the Tau, and their participation in the invasion focusing on killing or capturing key earth caste members to gain information about the excavation. The third adventure the Deathwatch determines what the tau were trying to dig up and return to the site to confiscate it, but they find that the IG commander decided to complete the dig, and then the weapon was stolen from them by an elite Tau strike team.

Salcor

One of the tech devices I planned to use in my Rogue Trader game was a quantum communication system, a prototype from the Dark Age of Technology that allowed for instantaneous communication across any distance in the galaxy. The problem is that it is based on recovered Necron technology which may not be entirely inert, or unaware.

Instantaneous communication would be a boon too great for the Imperium to pass up, even if only for the upper echelons of their war machine, and it would certainly be enticing to the Tau (who have nothing even analogous to it, like astropathic communication). You're welcome to nick that idea if it suits you.

Oooh, I like these, consider them stolen.

Thanks all!

What's the name of the Gateway-thingy that links the DW setting with the Koronus Expanse? Maybe the Tua are looking for technology related to that...?

Jericho Gate: HERE

One of my favourite ideas for an ultra-valuable item - that is not immediately advantageous in any tactical sense, but is smaller than a starship or the like - is some type of Juvenat device or apparatus, ideally one that is far more efficient/effective than any previously known such items.

The necrons have these weird gadgets that can isolate planetdfrom the warp and make even the tyranids about them because they royally screw up the hive mind in their vicinity. Maybe the tau are after one.