So we're gearing up to start our first black crusade campaign, and as gm i'm having a little trouble thinking of ways to start it off. I'm planning on using the adventure from the back of the rulebook for shortly after we begin and would like to come up with a good way for the party to meet each other and decide to form up for power and glory. Having dm'd for dnd for years i keep thinking of ways that would be good for that game but don't necessarily fit black crusade, so any suggestions would be helpful. The group is fairly versed in the 40k universe, we've played rogue trader and a bit of deathwatch but this is really our first foray into chaos and all the fun it brings with it.

fourtykiller said:

Some ideas for how they've met up

1. Their part of a warband but broke off to make their own way and therefor already know each other from their previous work in the warband.

2. They are guided by the will of a force of Chaos towards some unknown purpose

3. They have a common sponsor that has put them together

4. They are forced to stay together due to the fact that they have no one else around

5. They are part of the same "organization" (I just the term in a very loose sense)

6. They have a common desire or arch-enemy they wish to harm

7. They have escaped from the Imperiasl together and discovered that they work pretty well together

You might want to take a look at Broken Chains. For a demo adventure, it's pretty good. It's based on the classic "You wake up in a prison cell" plot, although this time, the PCs obviously deserve their lot.

I did actually, and i agree it is pretty good. I am not going to use it, but will use a lot parts from it.

They've all crashed on Dross, a world from the Rogue Trader adventure book "Lure of the Expanse". The planet is surrounded by storms that wreak havoc with equipment and there is one specific way to leave detailed in the book. Also, loads of wrecks to loot and natives to convert to the ruinous powers.

The Dark Heresy trilogy for Haarlock's Legacy could be a lot of fun, especially the start of Tattered Fates. Handy way to get a bunch of random characters to start together.

I'm plotting a campaign myself, and liking the idea of starting at the very start: have people create DH/DW characters and run them through an intro adventure where they first get in touch with Chaos and succumb. Then maybe go for a "x amount of time later" thing, tossing in some small, defining scenarios in-between before eventually converting the characters to BC ones and starting properly with an already tightly-knit group (as much as possible when it comes to them chaos people).

Just one way of going about it.

My idea for campaign is simple- to show totalitarian reign of imperium, lies of ecclesiarchy and how they affect everyday life of citizens. My soon-to-be heretics are regular soldier, beaurocrats and unsanctioned psyker, hiding from the law. They will recive a hard blow from the imperial reality and when they will think that all is lost and there is no future for them, someone alligned with one of the cults (most propably tzeentch, depending on their choices) will meet with them and show them that life can be diffrent. They will posses knowledge about gods who will listen to their prayers and answer, in opposition to false emperor. They will see that power is in their reach and if they really want it, no one can stop them.

And when fully converted to chaos, real adventure will beign

Sorry for my terrible english xD

Lots of good ideas for a BC game here. The main problem I see with finding a start is a way that both Disciples of Chaos and Chaos Space Marines can be made to be at the same place at the same time and work together. For myself I'm thinking about getting it in a mix between Chains of Judgment and the start of a BC game that I was part in that died just after start.

The characters would be prisoners on an Imperial installation thanks to some kind of system failure when a powerful daemonhost lets go of its bindings and goes on a rampage, and the first thing it makes is to release the prisoners who immedietly attacks the guards. While this might not sound all that terrible there are many dangerous prisoners like psychers, Chaos Space Marines and horrific mutants who could well make a problem for the guards who are unready for this kind of sudden riot.

The characters escapes their cells and finds themselves on an Imperial station where there is chaos as the prisoners are escaping and with a rampaging unbound daemonhost of a very powerful degree its a battle royal. But the goal is that the characters will be able to find their gear, kick some ass and perhaps pick up some people before escaping of the station's vessel into the void. Depending on how this went there are three scenarios that can happen.

1. They are picked up by a warband headed by a daemon prince who is amused and interested in their escape and so offers them a place in his ranks. And from there the adventure begins. One the characters have struck some XP the thought is that an Inquisition assault on the warband leaves the daemon prince destroyed and the warband is up for grabs, or the heretics might bring the daemon prince low by themselves. From then on its a more free form as the characters makes their own fates.

2. They are lead to the Screaming Vortex with the help of a psyker, sorcerer or daemonhost that can guide them there and then they can gather themselves and start to make a name for themselves.

3. They escape into the Expanse if they want to rush into action at once. This is the one I'm the least favorable towards but I feel the oppertunity should be there.

4. They go to the Calixian Sector, in which case they'll have to be pretty freaking good to survive like that.

I was having a lot a trouble trying to figure out how to bring a group of PCs together, made all the worse by the fact that we're dealing with Chaos. Next Monday will be my first session as a GM in the 40k-universe, which is why I would like to hear what others think of what I'm planning. Some of my players are fairly familiar with the setting, but at least one of the players has almost no knowledge on 40k. At this point the party consists of a sorcerer, a renegade and a heretek (one player has yet to create his character).

I decided to start the campaign with Broken Chains, but instead of having the PCs continue towards the Screaming Vortex, they will emerge from the Warp near an Imperial planet and crashland. This would be due to the Chains finally failing thanks to all the damage it has taken after two centuries of exposure to both the Warp and the void. The crash will of course be detected and the Imperials will be on their way to investigate the crash site.

From there I plan to have them evade Imperial officials searching the wreckage and navigate through the wilderness towards the underhive of a major city. Upon arrival they will be introduced to local packs of mutants, gangs and other unwanted population of the Imperium. At this point, being trapped on an Imperial World with possible allies, potential minions and likely pursuers, the PCs are forced to come up with plans for the future.

Any feedback?

Sounds like a solid set up. With the way that the Compacts system is set up for BC I think you primarily pre-work will be to know how this planet works and from there the players can make their own way kind of. You might want to introduce some kind of character that can be your mouthpiece in the game and give advice etc. when needed to the players if the game comes to a halt.

Gurkhal said:

Lazzuu said:

Normal citizens of empire have no idea about existence of chaos. Not "chaos space marines" but "traitor space marines", not "heretics" but "renegades", warp is just other dimension used for fast travel ect. Imperial propaganda is doing good job with keepeing people in the dark.

The 2 adventures i played started off as:

You had nightmares each nighht, chich slowly got worse as time progressed. after a few weeks, it tells you to go to place X and shows you the faces of everyone else in the warband

OR

you receive a message from a person, who has heard your name some way or another, and wishes you to report to him ASAP. in our adventure it was that they then had to kill another set of people - who were PCs , the humans were brought together to attack space marines stuck in an asteroid belt, SMs feared them until they just went and took the shuttle the humans had used to get therre - and return and are brought into employ