i have realised he hard way that giving people a boss in this game dosnt work out. it not that they killed him its that they are finding it dull and repetative. so im planning on releasing them into the wild however im wondering. how do you suggest i prepare for not knowing what, when , and where there going to go. i have no idea what planet they are going to when our sessions start and i dont know thereplans there and have a feelig it will be hard to write up campaigns around them.

Ah, yes, the old sandbox challenge…

There is a way to make it work. Sketch up a few places, and a few significant NPC's. Give the NPC's an agenda, and a timeline for completing same. Run the resulting sim. Then wave a few possible courses of action in front of the players and see which one they pounce on. Gamemastering a sandbox game requires a certain amount of staying fluid and thinking on your feet, but it is quite doable.

Also, and perhaps even more important, talk to the players. Ask them what their character's goals are. Ask them for a backstory. Do they have any NPC's they care about (spouse, child, lost love)? Any NPC's they hate, like an old rival? That should be good for a few plot hooks.

In the Screaming Vortex, setting is also important. What world are they stuck on? There's nothing that says leaving has to be easy, and that can constrain their options considerably. If you get stuck, you can always throw in a random Dark Eldar raid, Necron attack, Grey Knight attack, or daemonic incursion to try and kill off everything in the immediate area. Life in the Vortex ain't easy.

Cheers,

- V.

I thought that's what Compacts and Endeavours where for, the group decides what it wants to do ahead of time in collaboration with the GM and then you as the GM fill in the blanks and bring their Compact to life with complications and challenges before the session.

DW

black crusade was actually designed in a way that you don't need a boss but the party should allways have a mission, turn to the psyker and tell them that they have discovered the possible location of a powerful relic that would further there goals and that working with the rest of the group would allow them to aquire it. write up a compact to that effect and you should have several sessions of play time right there.

just because there isen't a chaos lord telling them what to do dosent mean they are uncontrolled, they are controlled by there passions, desires, and resorces use those to get them to act.

Additionally, it may be helpful to have the players decide on what they want to do at the end of or between sessions. This way, you have some time to prepare for their actions.

When you find yourself at the bottom of your GM Chest of Tricks™, there is always one lat reprieve - Magic.

Space Marines? Former ally/rival/nemesis in their chapter has recently turned or shown up exiled in the Calixis Sector/Screaming Vortex (Planet X either way), and this position of vulnerability is the perfect opportunity for coercion/revenge. Or a Daemon Weapon.

Apostate? There's a powerful artifact (as mentioned above) or subtler source of power that could be an extremely potent tool for mass manipulation (self-replicating chaos idols, powerful and easy to reproduce chaos imagery, etc) located on planet X.

Renegade? Extremely potent power armor warded against chaos/stealth field/force field resides somewhere on Planet X - obtaining it could put the heretic on a more level playing field with a Space Marine (if such a thing can be had). Or a Daemon Weapon.

Psykers? As mentioned above, give them a vision of power, the locus of which is on Planet X.

Khorne follower? They wake up to find an intricate map of blood leading to a location of a daemonic weapon or powerful foe to be slain, currently on Planet X.

Nurgle? Something has gone awry and the Heretic's immune system has begun to purge his body of impurities. He must travel to Planet X and obtain a rare mutagenic gas compound only known to exist there to reverse the effects or be scorned by the Lord of Blight.

Slaanesh? Planet X is a world consumed with reckless warp spirits that contain the perverse emotional discharge from the birth of the Chaos Lord and followers who pilgrimage there often discover new and profound passions along with sublime, visceral experiences of the flesh.

Tzeentch? Magic, magic magic, magic magic magic magic magic. Magic.

1 - find evil lair

2 - clean evil lair

3 - find starship

4 - claim starship

5 - raid weaker opponent

6 - get attacked by boss of weaker opponent

7 - Attack boss of the little boss

8 - claim spoil/ fame and followers through talking or cohersion

9 - find/make/steal good weapons

10 - find/kill/claim big target and get god rewards…

11 - etc.