I've run into a small problem in my game. Basically, my players are searching for a weapon that is practically a tech artifact on Scintilla, and they've gone to the ecclesiarchy for information. I used a common corrupt priest as their source. The group holding the weapon are is small, mostly incompetent tech-cult that has a potential for greater heresies.

I gave my players a data-pad containing the information the priest could give, but now I don't know what information the data pad should have in it. I have the framework for the mission set up so that the players can find several different sources of information. This basically means what information the priest has won't be everything the players need, but only a clue to further informants and other sources.

What I want to know is, what do I say in this data pad that will give my players a hint?

Hi Sunhammer,

well, if you would like us to come with some possible "clues" it would be easier for us if you tell us what these clues should be point at
In short: what is this Cult and the Weapon all about?

A general source of information the priest could have are confessions of people "who know somebody who is involved in this strange things". So, the pc could have a kind of "log" where the priest has noted who might know something fishy in regard to the topic the pc approached him with.

The cult is about recreating lost technologies or replacing them with new technologies. They operate in the middle and under hive of Hive Sibellus, but have some low level contacts in the upper hive. Not very threatening, but it is a brand new campaign where the first mission is supposed to be an test to get the characters initiated into the Ordo Malleus.

The weapon is one of a pair of bolt pistols created just after the Great Crusade. They were designed for one of the early Inquisitors, and they are capable of firing Astartes size bolt shells without ripping off the wielder's arm. Like I said before, the tech-cult isn't very good at what they do, and they really have no idea what they have in their hands.

That right there can really help, by simply giving the PCs some disinformation, rumors, or even done right wrong information. Since they are not techno savvy they that can help out too (ex- fueling up the a old vehicle with the wrong kind of oil, or just not using the tech for it original purpose).

DJSunhammer said:

This sounds like the Logicians could easily take an interest in any of the "less incompetent" cultists and will almost certainly stage a raid of their own to steal the artefacts if they catch so much as a hint of their existance, likely using some sort of monsterous tech-heresy to accomplish the deed. Now insert the new but hopefully semi-competent Inquisition agents into the scene and start poking around. Suddenly the tragically-incompetent (and occasionally funny!) hereteks are caught between two superior (and to them, unknown) forces and begin to flail and lash out against their attackers in a desperate bid to extract themselves (and their find) from harm's way. Essentially have a DERP heretek cult serve as the foil to instigate a three-way scramble for the "prize". No matter who makes off with the goods, the other groups will continue to work at recovering it from their rivals, so you could set up at least an entire story arc if not an entire campaign around this theme. Of course if one of the rival factions were to unintentionally destroy the artefact (or deliberately do so to deny the other factions) then you can launch into a political hornets' nest of inquests and petty vengeance as the Ecclesiarchy, Adeptus Mechanicus, several Inquisitorial factions, various Adepta and a few brash Rogue Trader houses all scramble to assign blame to their rivals and find suitable scapegoats!

To start things off I would slip a few indirect clues onto the Dataslate and make the team chase the info down so they get a taste for investigation. Maybe a friend/family member/co-worker of a cultist has told a Confessor about "strange behaviour"? A street preacher has recently switched topics of their blustering harrangues... This is noteable because local tradition dictates that speciffic sermons are delivered on speciffic dates, but this abrupt change in pattern is uncharacteristic for the old hardliner. A concerned citizen has reported "strange and possibly illicit activity" to the local Enforcers but the citizen's claims do not match established criminal patterns or gang activity for that district. A junior Techpriest has noted anomalies in several systems they are duty-bound to monitor and has filed a routine report to his superiors, who are currently studying the data to determine if the aberant statistics are a message from the Omnissiah or merely malfunctioning sub-nodes. A local warehouse has reported several missing monotask servitors and are seeking restitution for the theft. Mixed in with all the hearsay and anecdotes are little morsels of truth that can eventually be puzzled together to point to the heretek cult