After undergoing contamination testing at Bastion Serpentis, the Acolytes are (hopefully) declared free of warp taint. The Inquisition is uncertain that the situation is so crystal clear back on Iocanthos and the Acolytes are tasked with returning to Stern Hope to determine if any of the populace was infected by the Daemonic incursion brought about by Abbot Skae. In the time since the Acolytes were last there, Seth the Voice has been waging a war against Warchief Kos’ke and the other leaders of the Ashleen. Amid this ongoing slaughter, the Acolytes arrive and are courted by both sides eager to have the favour of the agents of the Imperium. Is this just another tribal war like countless others on Iocanthos? Or is the unseen hand of Tsyiak guiding events, drawing the Acolytes back to Stern Hope and the revenge of the Dancer at the Threshold?

Has anyone carried on to this adventure path? My group has been sifting through investigation mission after investigation mission and I figured it'd be a good time to give them a nice break with some straight up action. However, action does not mean that story should be sacrificed.

After watching and loving Prometheus, I feel very inspired by it to make monolithic representations of the Old Gods of Iocanthos, with a primal theme to the whole story.

Some ideas I really want to include:
-Iocanthos has a forgotten pantheon that predates human settlement, once worshiped by an extinct xeno race. Tsyiak is an Old God from this pantheon.
-This particular tribal war is being guided by Tsyiak, but I want the plot to involve the extended pantheon since the Crow Father was already encountered in isolation
-The gods are dark manifestations of primitive aspects that can be found in wildlife and nature: Lies/Deceit(Tsyiak), Fertility, Evolution, Elements, Destruction, Death.

The Ashleen and the Voicers are at war, and somehow there is a larger picture to this. And that's where I need help, I can't figure out a story to involve this prehistoric primal theme with the current situation on Iocanthos.

Noctivagent said:

You've lost me a little. I think you want to include every deity into your story arc, but I'm not sure….. If you only what to include a few, that's easy. When you have to many twists and turns though, then you tend to lose people.

1) If Tsyiak is openly guiding the Ashleen people through a prophet (like this person is considered Tysiak reincarnated just like Imperial Saints can be), than Seth the Voice sees this Tsyiak prophet as a charlatan and wishes him ousted. A third party of Ashleen assassins, guided by a hidden Death deity, is lighting a match to start this war by assassinating key figures that are encouraging peaceful solutions and also conducting overt raids impersonating one faction or the other.

2) Tysiak is hidden, but has seduced a powerful Warlord with his lies, convincing this Warlord that Seth is actually the voice of the vile Tysiak deity trying to usurp power from the Warlord reducing his chance to harvest enough Ghostfire pollen for the coming tithe. This has lead to out-right war, with Seth's rabble mostly being slaughtered.

3) To somehow include the Evolution (and maybe Fertility and Evolution are now one and the same) deity in the story, their could be a secret cabal of witches that are hiding babies born with specific birth marks, on certain times and dates, under a red moon, etc. These babies just happen to have the gift (curse?) of being born psykers, and some of them could be adults now with pretty potent powers.

4) Elements deity uh……… It rains allot.

J/k. There is a group of Ashleens who think they are being led by the deity of Elements. This deity has promised that it will rain more if they burn Ghostfire plants. And who is this deity in all actuality? The deity of Destruction. He just likes to see the world burn.

I hope that's what you were looking for Noctivagent.

I would suggest that the old gods (or one of the old gods) needs to want something in particular. Maybe they just want to be worshipped properly again. Maybe they want to come to the planet in avatar form. Either way they are trying to manipulate the people in order to bring this about.

Maybe Tysiak needs the people to believe some great lie. You could have some fun with this. The lie could be imperial or a subtle twist on an imperial tenet. That way it is a challenge to your acolytes when they discover what it is, and that it is supposed to be a lie.

Thanks guys! Those are some awesome ideas and definitely got the gears turning.

So far the plot is shaping up to be a series of deadly battles, wherein each one will show these themes. Each battle will play much like a scenario in itself, with its own mysteries and plot.

@BrotherKane: I'm thinking each desire from these gods should be nearly alien to human thought, since they are so significantly prehistoric. To grasp their concepts in the most human way, it is that they feed off of their associated concept, gorging themselves in the substance that they need to survive. It's a simple idea, and one that could potentially provoke metaphysical discussion.

@Nameless2all: Thank you, completely what I was looking for! Using those ideas, the Death assassins are most likely the instigating event, followed by Tsyiak's seduction to really start the war. The elements, burning ghostfire comes next, and who heralds the elemental destruction but evolution itself with the psykers.

I think the next biggest question is regarding the climax. How would I end this? I don't see it being a pleasant ending, and most likely including all of the themes at once. Again drawing inspiration from Prometheus, the stage could be set in monolithic ruins that serve as a tomb for the Old Gods, their ancient bodies still living but turned to stone from the immense amount of time they've been there.

I'd make it a classic "you were helping the bad guy all along twist." The Crow Father is a being of lies and deceit, but also anger and wrath. Being sent back into exile after being so close to being reborn had to sting, a lot. So now the Crow Father immediately begins to put a plot back into motion. With his near success the rest of the pantheon makes their own bid for power. This puts a lot of strain on Iocanthos and weakens the Crow Father from returning as quickly as he wishes. With every "God" pushing to create their own reality on Iocanthos, the Crow Father is left to watch his plans crumble. So who does he decide to bring in? None other than the ones that stopped him in the first place. Manipulating the Acolytes like he did Aristarchus, he pulls them back to Iocanthos and secretly helps them to defeat his brethren. The Catch? With every "God" that gets defeated, the Crow Father's Influence gets stronger. What's better, there's the part of knowledge being the most powerful thing here. Do the Acolytes even realize that Tsyiak is part of the same pantheon as these other beings? Are they confident that the Crow Father has been beaten, or are they constantly waiting for him to return?

What made Illumination so great was the book made good use of misdirection. It made it an investigative process and a bit of bold decisions to make it such a fun adventure. You've got to do the same here. Perhaps the only way they'll beat the Crow Father this time is by taking something from every other "God" and using the combined power to beat him? And then the war with the Voicers could be used significantly, perhaps an influential choice in the war could be linked to how they beat the Crow Father. Maybe the only way to let the Ashleeners live, is to let the Crow Father succeed? Something nasty like that. Is my suggestion.

I found out that one of my players has already played through illumination once before, so this sparked an (insidious) idea to completely throw him off rather than ask him not to meta-game the scenario. The consecration ceremony goes through without a hitch, for the most part anyway.

Everything plays out mostly the same, until the part when Raine and Kos'ke leave the encampment. After the battle and argument, as they are leaving Kos'ke tells the acolytes that they are honored among the Ashleen… that the Crow Father has shown him the truth and that they have the blood of heroes.

There is no attack on Skae after that, so no reason to go to the Ashleen. The Consecration ceremony plays out with Aristarchus' tarot cards glowing and flying in the air as Abbot Skae becomes possessed by St. Drusus(Tsyiak's deception - his eyes glow white and he has great wings behind him), he tells of the Voicers' attack being the first of many, and that true warriors of the God-Emperor should honor the Ashleen and the Crow Father alike by joining the Ashleen in the coming war.

Then St. Drusus looks at the crowd with horror, exclaiming that "The servants of Gwahlur are among you!" From the crowd comes an attack from Voicers shouting "Die heretics! Tsyiak is tainting your minds with lies!" Abbot Skae is slain by a red-eyed Brother Severus saying intently: "The First King demands death!" Aristarchus becomes near mindless, repeating the phrases of St. Drusus in an empty-eyed rant. Brother Lamark lies wounded, telling the Acolytes to seek out either the Ashleen or the Voicers, and uncover the truth.

That concludes part I: Illumination, and then begins part II: The Moon That Never Was

To summarize the story concept for part II, the Ancient gods of Iocanthos have been cursed to remain as stone for billions of years until moonlight shines upon them. They rest in forgotten tombs, building their strength by feeding on their respective domain. The Ancients(with their domains and tombs) are as follows:
Tsyiak: Lies, Deception - The Black Cathedral
Ishnigarrab: Evolution, Fertility - Womb of Ishtar
Malacodor: Elements, Destruction - Conclave of Dust
Gwahlur: Death - Hall of the First King

(I believe it was said that Iocanthos has no moons, but I'll take some creative liberty with this) As the Red Moon approaches after billions of years, the Ancients are making a bid for power to emerge from their tombs and lay claim to Iocanthos as a stepping stone to secure influence throughout the Calixis Sector.

Tsyiak's goal is to convince the Ashleen that he is the God of True Prophecy, and trick the tribes(and acolytes) into destroying the other Ancients so he will not be opposed in his dominance.

Ishnigarrab influences the rate that Psykers are born, in a bid to utilize Malacodor's destructive power, working against Malacodor with the concept that in order to create you must destroy.

As Malacodor destroys the land with the warp energy he channels for uncontrollable psykers, he plans to destroy the Ancients' tombs entirely.

While Tsyiak and Malacodor continue to kill and destroy, they constantly feed Gwahlur the strength for him to send more to the slaughter and constantly rise in influence - planning to use his amassed strength to personally fight against the other Ancients in a cataclysmic battle.

Regardless of what side they join in battle, there's a strong chance that the Acolytes will unleash at lease one of these Ancient powers to torment them for the rest of their careers

Thanks for all the help guys! I'm not entirely done with it, so any feedback is appreciated. Suggestions anyone?