It's pretty obvious that this section of Lure of the Expanse tried to be pretty railroady and didn't even consider that players would be desperate to salvage the ancient Battleship. As such, many many many people on these boards have salvaged the vessel, or done something enough off script to skip the entire third part of the section, and I'd like to hear the stories!

My group recently "finished" this part of the adventure and made sure there was no way I could misunderstand that they wanted to salvage the vessel. Surprisingly (and thanks, I think, to the hell I put them through to get a GC refurbished) they had no intentions of keeping it for themselves, rather from the first moment they saw it they had decided to give it back to the Navy. I played up Captain Roth's madness as much as possible as they proceeded through the first couple parts of the adventure, wining over the Iron Kin, the Voidwalkers and the Wargars fairly quickly (our RT has a very high Charm roll and Unnatural Strength from the dinner on Footfall). During this period the hot topic of discussion was how to "care" for Captain Roth, with the RT deciding to just simply kill him when the time came. He prepaired for this by spreading a story to the tribes that the Oracle must die for the world to be saved, and he had himself presented as the Herald of change. They bought it hook line and sinker (due to good preperation on the RTs part, good rolls and the circumstance that he had 1k fanatical Drusian follows along for the ride).

After restoring power, the RT went to the bridge alone to talk to Roth. They already knew about the cogitator and where it was, so he was bassicaly trying to reason with the man. I went into drama mode, listening to the arguements, twisting them in the mad mind of the captain and then coming back with reasonable reasons why he should take the ship out past the edge. I had Roth seem less insane bit by bit during the conversation, before finally appealing to the RTs long term goals (the continuation of Drusus' campaign into the expanse). My player had a sad look on his face as he reached out and crushed Roth's skull, with an unhappy and sorrowful comment about the sad choice he had to make. So I had him roll 1d10 insanity, which pushed him over into a trama, and he rolled horrible for willpower, so he was struck mute for 3 days as a sort of repentance for what he did.

They won over the Pale Sons after speaking with the Mother and that was that. I gave them everything in the special hold (which honestly, won't unbalance the game to much further) and they'll get some ImpGuard equipment as per the rumor cutout. But they're also going to have problems getting all the systems to work right, and of course anything else I can think of as they try and get it back to the Calaxis Sector. It's going to cost them time though.

They've also ended up with a good number (10k) new Crack primitive light infantry in the form of the Wargar tribes, who have sworn fealty to the RT due to his amazing martial prowess. That's going to be fun to add to the Regiment of House troops that they've already got, along with the Drusians.

Luckily, I knew they'd figure out how to salvage it, so I've already worked out the reward from the Navy and the Imperium and how it'll tie into other storylines I've been planning around them. My RT said he actually felt bad about having to kill the Old Hero, and accepted the Insanity without question. The rest of the group were smiling the whole time we were playing that section out, and some even appeared to be about ready to cry. All in all it was a good session.

Of the "we salvaged the ship" stories I've heard; this sounds like the best played.

The sequence of events with my players was remarkably similar to yours, except that they killed off the Wargars and Pale Sons (both of whom they viewed as too unruly). In fact the RT fought the Mother in single combat, and except for a well-timed Dodge roll as he pushed his power sword up into her brain, she certainly would have smashed him to a bloody paste (power armor or not).

The group recognized that Roth was a hero of the Imperium, and they certainly weren't crazy about killing him, but they viewed it more akin to putting down a rabid animal. Plus, there was simply no chance they were going to let a perfectly salvageable battleship become lost forever. Therefore once they gained control of the ship's systems the RT himself placed a bolt round into Roth's head.

Like yours, my group had every intention of giving the Light back to the Navy from the first moment they laid eyes on it. The hard part is actually going to be keeping the ship a secret long enough for their Dynasty to conduct field-repairs so it can limp back to a major dockyard in the Calixis sector. For that reason they haven't even notified the Navy yet.

Cavgunner said:

That's a pretty big assumption - in many areas the life support doesn't work anymore, the majority of the technology is broken, and the only thing that 100% works is the warp engines, and there's no evidence to suggest the Geller Field works, so using it is suicide.

So how is it salvagable, without several ships and properly trained salvage crews there to help ensure it is secure, and to tow it to somewhere to start scrapping it (since it'd take longer to fix it up than to build a new one)? And aren't you meant to be in a race against time with rivals, in order to get the coordinates to the Black Pearl first?

It's a pretty big assumption to say that it's unsalvageable as well Millandson.

No where does it say that it would take longer to salvage than build a new one. In fact the spine is in nearly perfect shape (nothing to say otherwise) most of the internal decks are fine, it's primarily the outmost sections that need to be repaired and the rest of the components. Obviously the main drive is working fine after the Explorers get done in the engine room, and the power conduits are a-ok, as well as the core control systems.

Point being is that the main mass of the ship, the portion that would take centuries to build is perfectly ok. Sure it may take centuries to clean, but the material cost has already been met and dragged back to the Imperium.

Now had the adventure stipulated that the spine was broken in multiple parts, and that there were many different chunks that might have atmosphere, then I might agree with you that it's an untenable position. But the Light is salvageable by the standards set forth in 40K.

And my PCs happen to have a specialized salvage fleet able to take care of most of the problems raised.

Larkin said:

Stop right there. The source material does not suggests the vessel is salvageable - and instead specifically indicates all the ways it isn't and what the players can expect to SALVAGE from the situation (ie. loot).

If you wish to take liberties and assume it's more than just an adventure location that ends and is either A) a non-functional historical relic that is worth more than B) a collection of valuable scrap - that the players can expect to turn a small but tidy profit in any short-term situation is up to you.

Citizen Philip said:

How about we don't Stop Right There?

The ship can fly off on it's own and make a Warp Jump. The argument can be made the ship won't survive this final journey. But it can't be argued that the primary components- Drive, Warp Drive, Bridge, etc- are in some state of functionality. Ships in the 40K setting are routinely salvaged after spending thousands of years drifting about in as bad a state as the Light of Terra.

It was made clear in the initial post that this thread was about how some groups used the gaping plot holes to break free from the railroad plot of Lure of the Expanse and do something they weren't supposed to. Therefore, stating what the FFG crew intended to happen in the adventure isn't any sort of proof.

Now, the arguments that it'd take decades to get the Battleship fully functional again and that the Imperial Navy wouldn't let such a vessel be claimed by someone else- they're good reasons it can't be salvaged by the PCs (hence my own players towing it back to Port Wander- an major Endeavor in itself- and turning it over to the Navy there). But the fact that FFG hasn't given written permission to run the adventure that way? Not going to work for me.

In addition to salvaging the Light of Terra, my own group ended up making a deal with the Eldar. Between hostile Eldar and several rival Dynasties, the RT had already worked out that he wasn't going to end up owning the Dread Pearl for himself long before the finale. So when the PCs managed to cripple an Eldar ship, instead of finishing it they told the Captain they wanted to make contact with the Farseer behind things. They made a deal to sabotage the attempts of the other Dynasties to claim the Pearl, in exchange for various "Considerations"- specifically, they now have non-hostile contacts with the Eldar to use in future Endeavors, and were able to eliminate several rivals and have it blamed on the Xenos.

Nothing in the books said my players should be allowed to take this course. I just felt they should be allowed to do things their way and go with their idea, and that it'd end up being more entertaining in the end.

Thank you Tanta. Phillip, if you read the rest of the post, I do explain my reasoning, so if you stop right there, you miss the good parts.

And what is an RT game without taking liberties? DH with a starship I think...

Tantavalist said:

My response was directed at a specific element of the original premise and a follow-up response, and not what any particular group was given liberty to do. I am supporting the statement: It was not intended, as written, for the vessel to be salvaged. It is absolutely clear the vessel was not intended to be recovered – it is up to the GM to either follow the intended direction of the adventure segment or not. Should the GM – allow the vessel to be recovered that is their choice. The GM can invent any number of reasons that make this operation impractical or impossible in-order to follow the spirit of the adventure segment; in the exact same way you may argue for all the reasons it is practical and possible: That is not the point, nor the intention of my response – I’m not arguing about the content of any respective game, play group or GM decision.

The stance that the vessel is not intended to be recovered is fully supported by the material. No one is arguing rule 0, the issue in question is the intention of the source material: and that point is not debatable, it is quite clear.

For the record it is poor form to criticize the source material to justify your choice to deviate from its intended direction: It’s your game and your choice to make these decisions without making an excuse to make it more interesting for you or your players.

Larkin said:

Enjoy your game, the ambitious assumption that the vessel could be recovered can lead to excellent gameplay and development: within the context of the greater story of the supplement, recovering the riches of the Pearl, I would argue that this ambiton is blind and the players are failing to see the forest for the trees - however, to each their own.

Citizen Philip said:

Well sorry m8te but you are probably the only GM to think that the Dread pearl is even a good adventure as is... The Light of Terra is the obvisou hole but there are many others.

The only part I like is the dinner with the Warp stuff.

Loosing both the pearl in the end and the Light of Terra is enough to piss of my players anyway. Since is a do all that for nothing "again" scenario.

Oh no indeed your players may have been short sitted enough to start holling gems as they land on the Black pearl (funny i tough that was the stupidest short sitted move of the premade, sure lets make a big red sign we are here to the other traders by having landers going up and down...)

we only played a part of the storry, the end, but had the same effect on my ppl as you say, bad taste in the mouth... but If I where to play the 1st parts too, then I think my players would simply abandone the mission and start to make plans on how to restore the ship, no matter how much better a planet sounds, a battleship is a freaking BATTLESHIP!!! theres no way they would let it pass there grip...

Khensu said:

it's many times like that in the premade, they think you rplayer don't see our grand they can be. Even the cruiser in the intro premade 2 out of 2 salvaged it even if I said it's not worth it they reply "Don't care, we spend time to fix it, 10, 20 years..." then you steam roll them in the 2nd part!

"Ouff 2 out of 2 what no choice? Stop doing premades pls" I am scared of having them run that game as is! Lol

A story is only as good as the person that tells it. If your players were so hellbent on getting the maiden world - why didn't they just bring their ship into low-orbit or crash it right down and wage a war against the Eldar forces? There's a webway on that planet that will link you back to the Imperium, right? it's been done in DH and there's definitely precedent in other 40K material - excluding the gateway already included in the adventure. Bonus points for forcing the other RTs into the problem with you. Of course the material doesn't suggest this ending, but you could do it.

It's just as likely or unlikely as salvaging a battleship that was written to disappear into legend again, right?

You'd get more from the maiden world too.

Citizen Philip said:

Now I'm looking forward to how my players will handle the Dread Pearl, since if it makes sense and the adventure doesn't have anything that will gainsay it, it'll work.

Like their salvaging of the Terra. That was completely the players, from the moment I read the description of the ship, they were talking about how to get that bad boy back to Imperial Space.

So to get my thread back onto topic, please feel free to share how YOUR PLAYERS decided to take on the task of the Light of Terra, intentions of the adventure fulfilled or thwarted.