OK. I have just got to share this with everyone. I have been GM of my current Deathwatch group since it's release last year and on 8/28/2011 we finished our epic campaign (everything I put them through was linked in some way or another) with a insane bang that I doubt will ever occur again or will ever topped. But for you understand how awesome this moment was you should try to read the story of my Kill-Team's rise and fall and how things ended on that fateful night. It is a long story but I hope you all enjoy it.
Story: The campaign started out as the usual Deathwatch stuff. Assassinations, sabotage, defense, etc. were all the norm and these were happier days. But the group was controlled by a powerful and secretive Inquisitor named Sigma (based off of Steve Parker's Sigma in his Deathwatch stories) whose face they never saw and who never supplied aid or sufficient information to his Kill-Team on their objectives. The Team also had a Chaplain named Zedos (R.I.P. my favorite character) who was a Black Shield but was soon uncovered as being a former member of the Scourged (for those who don't know, they are Tzeentch followers capable of hearing all lies of mortal men and subsequently driven insane by this ability) and as being Sigma's eyes and ears on the ground. The happy days quickly come to an end as Zedos declares his loyalty only to his 'flock' and not Sigma and as the group asks more and more questions of the suspicious missions, they find themselves in rapidly more dangerous missions with little intel and lack of sufficient arms and armour against overwhelming odds. This often claimed the lives of a Battle-Brother every mission and only spurred the questions and arguments with Sigma (often resulting in them being thrown out of the chamber at bolter-point) to new heights. Things change drastically when the group slays a heavily Puritan Inquisitor in secret (even under the watchful eye of Zedos) and meet other members of the Deathwatch with a grudge against Sigma and his actions and the group find themselves with allies inside fortress Erioch. But tragedy strikes when the group is separated from Zedos under order of Sigma and is not heard of for some time. Things take an even grander turn for the worse when Sigma, disheveled and nervous, calls an emergency meeting of the group and announces that perhaps two whole Kill-Teams have turned their loyalty from the Emperor and sworn themselves to Zedos, who has declared that the world of Bekrin no longer belongs to the Emperor (even though it is a shrine world). But it gets worse when Sigma openly announces that it is to be a cover-up. The world of Bekrin has been over-run by daemons and heretics and the Ordo Malleus has been summoned. Sigma, knowing that the Malleus will attempt to cut this evil cancer from the world before declaring Exterminatus, orders the team to kill their former Chaplain and the rogue Kill-Teams and burn all of the evidence. With dark thoughts in mind, the Kill-Team sets off on a bloody rampage, smiting both daemon and traitor marine with righteous fury (literally) until they arrive at the place where the heresy started, a massive church meant to deliver the Emperor's words to the masses. Once inside, they slay the rogue Marines and come upon a weeping Zedos who tells them of what they had done for Sigma during their service. Suddenly it all becomes clear that every mission that they had taking part in, had only served to make Sigma even more influential and powerful in the Jericho Reach. After an exchanging of words and oaths, Zedos prays for forgiveness before taking the Emperor's Mercy. The group now sullen and mournful after the loss of their Chaplin found their feelings twisted into hate as their old nemesis, Kharmine of the Thousand Sons, shows his hand and shows his delight in making the Kill-Team kill brothers and friend before disappearing. At this time, the group, now enraged, declares that Sigma and Kharmine must both pay and choose to go Rogue. But this does not sit well with some. One of the group refused this and chose to wander the forsaken planet until it's death at the Ordo Malleus hands. Another chooses to simply throw himself into battle mindlessly until he could fight no more. At this point, the charismatic and powerful 'leader' of the group, Uzas, is the last original member of Kill-Team Gamma and declares an oath of hatred against Kharmine and Sigma alike for what they have done. (a Night Lord reference from my friend) But it is a this point that Diedrik (of the Night Paladins[my custom chapter]) enters. Diedrik was their Thunderhawk pilot and also happened to be Zedos's apprenctice/closest friend and he too turns rogue. New members, who equally have tired of Sigma's lies and tricks, join the group and things from here escalate into new heights. (I'm gonna speed it up a little here.) The group, now calling themselves the Harbingers of Truth, claim a Rogue Trader ship for their own and set off into the Hadex Anomaly, where they make both allies and enemies alike and make a name for themselves. Years had gone by, enemies and allies alike had triumphed and died, (we didn't play those years but it was fun to narrate it) and the group had become the leading force in the Anomaly and has all but crushed the Acheros Crusade except for a last major command fortress on Khazant, where the group has trapped Sigma. Also, the group are now far-cries from the proud warriors that they used to be. They are twisted degenerates that have pledged themselves to the Dark Gods and they proceed to throw everything in their power at Sigma's forces. Thousands of heretics and Guardsmen die, Titans burn at the feet of their killers, and Space Marines fight their Traitor brethren in a final last stand. But it is to no avail. The forces of Chaos are too strong and they breach the walls of Sigma's fortress in a killing tide with the their vengeance/Chaos crazed leaders at their fore.
The Final Moment: Ok. I keep this quick (-ish). The group comes upon Sigma, who only scowls at the group and continues to work on something) and his bodyguard and subsequently slaughter every living soul except for their former 'commander', who finally turns away from his work and merely sneers at the group feral dogs who have returned to finish their former master. Arguing follows and Sigma reveals what his grand plan for all of the deceit was and it slightly stuns those who are capable any thought other than blood and skulls (looking at Uzas on that one). He was trying to gather enough forces and in the shadows and under the cover of his Kill-Teams actions to finally be able to end all of the crusades in the name of the Emperor, but of course this will not happen now that he is going to die at the hands of his owns mistakes. Diedrik is given permission to kill Sigma but Zedo's plasma pistol fail to penetrate Sigma's Refractor Field and he then selects Uzas, who is cut and bleeding from a duels with an Angel of Redemption Librarian, to duel Sigma.
Ok... here comes the cool part. Uzas and Sigma (using a Callidus Phase sword) went blow for blow for nearly 7 rounds before Sigma's Refractor field failed him and he took a chain-axe to the chest. (Now keep in mind that we were having a massive storm outside because of that hurricane) A cinematic moment ensued where Sigma fell backwards onto the ground and he manages to prop his upper body against the holo-table he was working on with his soon to be executioner, Uzas standing above him (my friend actually had his hand above his head like he was holding an axe). When asked if he would tell them the truth over an old matter, Sigma merely cackled as blood spilled from his chest and flecked his lips, and Uzas was given the ok to kill him but was stopped when Sigma requested some final words. [Epicness be here ->] Sigma chuckled as he drew a detonator out of his coat pocket and said, "I dub thee hereticus... goodbye." At the very moment my firned who played Uzas started on the down swing of his axe and I said "goodbye" and pressed my imaginary detonator, the power went out for a moment and plunged into pitch black darkness and successfully marked the end of an epic game and the end of our Deathwatch campaign. (Extra: Sigma had ordered several Melta torpedoes to be placed under the fortress and his actions resulted in destroying almost all of my group's warband and made the Acheros Salient almost completely open for the Imperial forces to take. SIgma would be regarded as a madman, opportunist, and hero in certain circles of Imperial hierarchy and Kill-Team Gamma and all of their actions would be erased from all Imperial records)
How cool was that? If you have equally cool moments/campaigns or thoughts on just about anything, fell free to post.
