The Castermere Look

This scenario is an intentional homage to HP Lovecrafts “Shadow Over Innsmouth” story.

The Acolytes have been given a Psy-tracker and tasked with conducting an Psyker audit in the Rutland province of Tephaine Minor Agriworld in the Adranti Nebula. They have a civilian transport van and asked to find the source of a psychic disturbance in this backwoods and back road province. Astropaths have noticed the occasional psychic blip from this direction and they must locate it- it could well be a latent psyker about to tip over into their full power and it’d be nice to nip another Burning Princess in the bud before you can say mass destruction.

As it happens, in the town of Windhaven they do get a blip – a young 10 year old kid called Luc who is psychic. His parents don’t want to send him to the Black Ships, so its up to the PC’s to acquire the kid through persuasion, intimidation or brutul purging of ungrateful citizens who wouldn’t give up their only son to save/feed the God-emperor.

But Luc doesn’t seem quite powerful enough to account for the blips felt across the system. Must be someone else out there. And maybe someone mentions that they aint never heard of no psykers found over in Castermere.

“Castermere? Its not on the map. Where is that?” ask the characters – its not too far away, across the fields and dales from Windhaven. An old mining town that now grows sugar cane. Insular place- no roads lead there any more, and inbred people. Don’t mix or travel with Windhavenites or anyone else for that matter. Have a ***** look to them – large foreheads, small, close set eyes- the “Castermere Look”. Often quite bulky people, the Windhavenites fear and despise the people of Castermere. They’ve been odd, the last 60 years.

Assuming the PC’s take the bait, they can head over to the town. The roads are near-derelict with a river chasm separating the towns and only 1 bridge. Castermere is surrounded by tall wheat and sugar cane fields, and might once have had 5-7,000 people living there. Now most buildings look empty and dilapidated, even the Church to the Emperor Our Father looks abandoned, the doors hanging off and the statues covered in dust. (hip and rib bone fragments can be found behind the nave)

The people shun contact with the PC’s – staying monosyllabic and not venturing out. Many upstairs windows are shuttered or boarded up – quiet sounds can be heard from there – hunched and covered figures might be spied. Some PC’s might suspect a nest of mutants, hidden away by those suffering the damnation of mutation by inbreeding.

The truth is far more deadly- the people of Castermere have been infected by a Genestealer. One whose hybrid decendents now dominate the town.

Scenes I want –

The PC’s discovering that they are out of com range to civilisation and something has just ripped out their vans engine.

Something moving fast, chasing them in the Cane fields.

Bloated, unmoving Patriarch in the tunnel below- loved and tended and fed by the people of Castermere.

Harmless civilians suddenly going wild. Children spying on them to tell their monstrous uncles where the acolytes have gone.

Mayor Westin – Black eyed hybrid.

The Dunkel brothers- hulking, strong brutes with prominent, egg like foreheads and muscles like corded steel.

Roose – boy-Magus- the psychic spark that sent them on this mission. He’s 15 and turning blue and hairless and reaching Psy Level 2.

The Old Man in the Earth – Cult Magus

Brother Whymmes – a drunk rolling round in the gutter. He’s the Ecclesiarchy priest for the village. The community made him lie with a 2nd Generation female or be taken into the mining tunnels below. Now he sees his inhuman child in every shadow and reflection. Roose is his grandson.

To make this halfway survivable, I’m thinking that there will only be 2 actual, mobile Genestealers but plenty of hybrids (mostly human scum or mutant equivalent) a level 4 Magus and Roose, and the Patriarch down in the tunnels.

How have your Genestealer Cult adventures gone?

I happen to have a wee bit of information one Genestealer Cults.

First off mate: If they can detect them psycically, that means that the Cult has put forth a beacon for any roaming Hive Ships to pick up on.

Secondly: Do they resort to inbreeding to keep the gene-pool going? I made a post on the Black Library forums a while back saying how that was possible and the like seeing as how the genestealer gene forces their DNA to recombine and everything. Therefore you might not be forced to incorporate a kidnapping storyline, though it would be a good idea none the less.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Genestealer Cult cycles, but...

First generation: Look more genestealer than human. Can't pass off as human.

Second generation: Look a bit more human and, in low lighting and bulky clothes, can pass themselves off as human

Third generation: Are human for all intents and purposes. From this generation the Magus arises.

Fourth generation: Pure genestealer are born. These must then infect new people to start a first generation all over again.

Anyways, I'd say your scenario looks good, if it has a few kinks lore-wise to be sorted out. Just keep in mind that Patriarchs might be big and bloated, but when need be they can move faster than your average Genestealer. Also, keep in mind that when they discover exactly what that psychic phenomena is (any psykers in your group, according to 40k lore, will notice that it bears a great resemblance to the Astronomicon) that they're going to *HAVE* to (well, not have to, but very much want to) try and kill the Patriarch, lest he draws the attention of a Hive Fleet or the like (By the way, interesting note, if you played Baron Hopes with your players do you remember how the Rogue Trader talked about seeing a "space kraken"? That would be a Tyranit vessel. Don't know if you can or would want to incorporate that somehow, but interesting ide

I'm fairly au fait with the lore. My thought wasnt that the psychic call had started (not enough population and Magi to support it yet) but the maturing boy psyker/Magus Roose had been experimenting. Indeed the cult had been fairly limited in its ambitions because there was only a single Genestealer originally and it sensed there was no Tyranid fleets anywhere in the next 100 sectors, so its cult went paranoid, quiet and isolated rather than trying to take over the planet. (plus, ye'know, homage to Innsmouth and all)

Also I didnt mention a kidnapping plot or inbreeding. The people of Windhaven accuse the Castermereans of inbreeding, but thats because they dont know anything about genestealers. The PC's will get attacked when they discover too much about the town to be let loose to report.

Also 1st & 2nd generation monstrous. 3rd- near human. 4th- Human with big eyes and not much hair. 5th Generation- back to Pure Genestealer. The people in the upstairs rooms behind shutters would be 1st & 2nd generation.

SJE

5th Generation is back to pure Stealers? Hmmm... *refers to Citadel Journal Genestealer article*

*realizes that the Citadel Journal Article doesn't have anything... bugger...* well, so much for that idea. As for the call, I thought it was Patriach based as opposed to Magus. Of course, I could be wrong in this regard seeing as how the Ciphas Cain series and Henry Zou *spits at mention of his name* have been known to take quite a few liberties with lore.

With the kidnapping and like, I'm just giving warning since you might have a smart alec Acolyte wondering how the community has continued to grow without inbreeding and, in addition, why they decided to isolate themselves as opposed to trying to take over or anything like that.

If I was in your RP, my first thoughts would be about getting back so that I could warn the Inquisition (before or after killing the Patriarch) and wondering how far the taint had spread seeing as how Genestealer Hybrid Communities tend to slowly, but surely grow (i.e. whether or not I have to investigate other villages and put them to the torch)

First, I have never run a GS-Cult story. But your sound fun! I did not read the story of H.P, only watch some mediocre (but funny!) Horror Movie based on it ("Dagon").

It would like to add some suggestions to it:

"The Reapers"
Make the pure strains stay out in the field, and make them more then just two. Perhaps five. If some-one enters the village, they make sure these do not get out. In addition, they could be kidnapping folks ("the reaping") and therefore be called "the reapers" by the Castemeres, since they bring in the "Harvest". Take note, you do not have to call them all down at once, since they are "orderd" to patrol the skirts. So, your party do not need to get slaughtered. But if the **** has hit the fan, a group of three stealers closing in might be a good reason for your pc to run for it instead of fighting. A new expierence for your players, perhaps. And a very HORROR-like thing

"The location of Castermere"
Castermere should be more removed then just an hour. You want to be out of reach to any other vox in the other settlement, right? And you do not want anyone larger group to just stroll into town by change, right?

"Why don´t they spread?"
This particular cult could be about "building up critical mass". First breeding a sizeable amount of GS before going out to spread. To better ensure that they are not purged in the beginning, they "stay down". The cult liturgie could go about

"The crop has to grow. And when the harvest has come it will be feed to the world, to the glory of our Father"

Spread it about in the city and in the temple. Make sure that if a pc with "Imperial Creed" reads it, he will notice that it is not part of "general imperial Liturgie". If he is really got, he will find that this isn´t even part of the local (planetary) creed as known! A good hint to the fact that something is wrong.

"The Priest"
Sure, they made him breed. But why didn´t they just killed him off afterwards? My suggestion: give him some taint as well. He, too, will have received the "brother-kiss of Our Father" . And that is the reason he is even more ashamed. Not going anywhere. Doomed. Forlorn. He turned to alcohol to drawn his fears...and since his body is now much better into tolerating it, he turned to rather raw(!) alcohol. Perhabs another tipp-off to the acolythes...after puzzeling a lot of it together. Do not make his head look different. He received the kiss, but it only altered him a little by now. From the neg downwards, perhaps.

With regard to the pitful Brother Whymmes

Well those implanted by Genestealers dont look different- it just affects their mind (implanting loyalty to their offspring and Genestealer masters) and their reproductive systems (now their offspring is genestealer not human) - but the fact that he loves his monstrous offspring, despite all his Ecclesiarchy training is more than enough to drive him mad or to drink. He knows he should purge it, but cant- he loves it and hates it simultaneously.

SJE

Genius Idea, very good. I would watch "Wrong Turn" and "Dagon" for inspiration. If you´re hardcore, watch "The Hills have Eyes" (inbreds and a mining town in one movie...).

The boy could put an eventual "blip", but isn´t the patriarch himself the psychic beacon for the genestealers, also showing powers probably beyond level 2?

While the Patriarch is more powerful, he can control and shield his telepathy so he doesnt attract the interest from the Inquisition or Warp. The Boy is still learning.

SJE

One other image/horror I'd like to include is for any stealthy PC's to spy on a Castermere family and see that most warming of sights -a mother murmering her love and warmth to the white linen wrapped bundle in her arms- caring for her babe and cradling it in her arms. But a closer look shows a small baby genestealer, blue and purple, claws and teeth, feeding not from the teat, but tearing a rat to bloody pieces, magi-mix style.

Theres an insanity point right there.

Babies and insanity points suddenly reminded me of that david lynch movie Eraserhead.

Brrr....

Was thinking of having the baby genestealer chewing on a hand or something, maybe even the mother's own teat... just for creep factor... I'll shut up now...

The mothers own teat... thats some crazy stuff right there. I like the idea of feeding the patriarch in an underground tunnel by the "villagers". This could be a great source for an adventure just venturing out into this underground cave or tunnel on its own. Maybe have the entrane to the tunnel being in the middle of the wheat field itself that the adventures could stumble upon accidentally while trying to get away from the GS's chasing them. They might even try to take some sort of shelter within it before they realize where they are. The desolate church could also be turned into a bloody and perverse sanctuary where the "villagers" defile nature and offer their sacrifices. Regardless, this plot could be used in a variety of ways and i only wish my party wasn't stuck on a trading vessal out in space. My life sucks!

Reminds me of the book "Jerusalem's Lot" by Stephen King, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem%27s_Lot it was written with much influence from Lovecraft and focused on horrors from De Vermis Mysteriis. It's a short story, read it and you might find some inspiration. Especially the climax in the church! It may give you some ideas for the tunnel feedings or a modification of thus

Ahhhhh!

I agree with you Jastley, its alot like the steven king story... without the worm. This story could turn out to be quite sexy, and I am a little turned on by it. Although I do not think genestealers are a fair enemy for a small group of acolytes. Maybe one might work and two would be seriously pushing it, but adding more would be way to hard and even trying to out run them would be near impossible. I had two acolytes fighting some tainted ratings aboard a space hulk and they **** near died in the battle, I couldnt imagine seeing them fighting a genestealer.

Agreed on the difficulty comment... The way I always try to remember when I am making encounters is... Look at the enemies max damage... For example a Genestealer, Claws 1d10+7... not to mention 7 Pen... Thats 17 possible damage in one hit >.> Add that with lightning attack and swift attack. And you have dead PCs.

I don't know about your PCs but none of mine have wounds over 12. And seeing how most stub weapons are able to dish out 12-14 damage on a good roll, that makes for some hairy fights that PCs want to avoid.

And Chacmaster, if the mental image of a clawed infant Genestealer with rows of long pointed teeth pulling red, wet, stringy chunks of flesh from the mothers breasts and she giggles and coos the thing, turns you on... I know I can find a special bolter round to help you with that problem

Jastley said:

Actually come to think of it... I'm going to use this...

Talking about to much genestealer for my acolyte

As mentioned early, just keep them "scattered". Yes, this isn´t making any sense from a pure combat point-of-view (being devided means getting conquered), but it makes sense from a "patrol" point of view ("touch one of them and the rest is alert and after you"). Problem is that the pc need to run for it as soon as they met (and destroyed) one of them. Otherwise, the rest will be closing in. And might just be "herding" them into the direction of the "feeding tunnel" you guys mentioned.

In addition, declaring them to be "one or two generations away from pure" allows for downgrading them while keeping the overall look and feel of them. If the "one-step-away-from-pure" things are fast (and bug-like!) enough, the acolythes might even think that they are REAL ´stealers.

Yeah, theres nothing funny about a 36 charge Nid coming after your PC group rofl.

The Castermere Look

Session 1

The team – (Eisen Nihlus, a Psyker. Tech Priest Severus, Arbitrator Attalus, Battle Sister Innocenta, and the Assassin Vogen) are touring the Rutland province of the Agriworld Tephaine Minor and have reached the town of Windhaven. Their mission has been at the bottom of the Inquisitions priority list for a while but someone has to do it. Apparently the Adeptus Telepathicus of the Astropathic Choir had reported sensing a worrying psychic disturbance every now and again in this region. Potentially it could be a powerful latent about to tip over into becoming a Beta of Alpha and nobody wants another Burning Princess disaster on their hands. The Acolytes mission is to locate and identify the source of this psychic disturbance and deal with it appropriately.

To locate this psychic disturbance, they have a psychic (Eisen) and have been given a Psy-Tracker which the Tech Priest has been operating. (it looks like an old gramophone). They’ve been given 300 Thrones spending money and a white van and as much time as they need to visit every town in the province. Tephaine Minor is a breadbasket to the rest of the Tephaine system, its continents filled with arable agriculture and its technology level and appearance mostly resembles that of the 1950’s Corn-belt.

In Windhaven they get their first, faint bleep on the Psy-tracker. Triangulating in they find a nice normal family- Julia and Derren Smithson and their son Luc (playing on the swing set out back). The Psyker first makes a covert approach, pretending to be a wandering itinery missionary of St Bartholomew the Unlucky as he senses a minor psychic presence in the house- the boy is latent. Kind-hearted Julia presses a worn Throne into his hand, causing him to forget his supposed patron saint and bless her in the name of Saint Augustine before he bumbles away.

The Arbitrator then strides in, introducing himself as an Arbites conducting a census check for tithing purposes and demanding the family gathers. He then interviews them on past, history, family connections, whether they or their son have every experienced anything unusual. Oh no, nothing unusual about them, nor anyone in the town. Windhaven is apparently a good town with nice people, not like those strange, funny looking people in Castermere.

After interviews (including “ So do you know anyone who can do anything ‘unusual’?” , Luc- “Well there is my friend Barney- he can make more boogers than anyone- he once blew his nose for 2 hours!” Player- “That not right! He must be a mutant. I note down his name for purging!” GM- “He’s not a mutant. He’s eight!” ) The Arbites leaves and the team consult. Certainly under the tenets of Imperial Law, the latent psyker kid should be taken in. But they don’t want to expose themselves too early and call in the Capital city Arbites Psyker-capture squad instead.

So that night, they watch as 2 Arbites in full carapace and armed with shock mauls and stunners go round the back while 6 Arbites in full riot gear viciously break down the door, smack down the father with a shock maul to the temple, stun and drug the panicking kid (who finally manifests a Warp Howl) and drag him through the dirt to be thrown into their Black Maria. Meanwhile his mother is in tears and hysterics, begging them to leave her boy, no psykers here, not in Windhaven, all the psykers are over in Castermere, cant they just give her back her only child?

The boy is 8. The next Black ship is due in 25 years. It’ll probably take 8-10 years to reach Terra. He’s never going to see his parents again. He won’t have much human contact, if any, in prison designed to isolate, cow and contain psykers. The rest of his life is already over and by the age of 43 he’ll probably experience a painful and lingering death as he’s fed to the Emperors Golden Throne. But as a result the Emperor can stave off final death a few more seconds and the golden light of the Astronomicon will continue to shine that little longer.

So while the boy was a psychic blip, he was no where near powerful enough to count as a disturbance that could be detected across planetary distances by an Astropath. Having scoured Windhaven, they decide to move along to Castermere. Only to discover it isn’t on the map. The good Sister talks to the local priest of the Emperor the Farmer of Souls and discovers that Castermere is a mostly deserted old mining town with some very insular folks. The road has fallen into disrepair and the people of Castermere neither welcome their neighbours nor stray far from their sugar cane fields.

Interest piqued by this backwater, they attempt to drive there, along a bare earth track. 8 miles from Castermere, the track crosses a deep river canyon- a shoddy and slapdash wooden and metal sheet bridge creaking and groaning under their feet. Believing it wouldn’t take the weight of the van, they armour and arm up and walk the remaining fatiguing 8 miles to Castermere. (GM to power armoured Sister- “So you are taking WHAT? A bolt pistol, bolter with sarissa, a meltagun AND grenades!” Sister- “Far better to have a thing and not need it, than need a thing and not have it” . She barely made it across the weak bridge as a result)

Approaching, the Psyker detects a strange and diffuse faint psychic presence. It’s not localised, but it’s definitely about town, like whispers he just cant hear. He manifests White Noise to protect himself from detection and this mostly drowns out the faint psychic whispers. The town itself is run down and gone to seed- obviously once larger, many buildings are derelict and empty. Many more are tightly shuttered up and sealed. Dust and weeds clog the gutters and the wooden facades and sidewalks are broken and rotted. There is nearly no one on the street, but the party spot many a ground floor curtain twitching or shadow pass behind upper storey shutters and know their appearance and movements are being constantly watched. A curious and pervasive malaise and fear seems to blight this town.

Eisen and Attalus go visit Mayor Bestin in the dilapidated town hall. He too shares the Castermere look- big forehead, balding, small, beady eyes and bulky physique. They claim to be here from the Imperial Census and investigating possible tithe violations “Oh no masters, we exceed our tithe every year.”
“Then why is there no record of your town on the census”
“No idea sirs, we sent all the paperwork 2 years ago. Have you asked in the capitol?”
While obsequious and annoying he does keep challenging the agents story, for they don’t have the proper Census paperwork, and assuring them his is a quiet and poor town that causes no trouble and worships the Emperor.

And increasingly annoyed Arbitrator demands to see the town’s records. “How many people live here?” he demands “Not many, perhaps a hundred?” ventures the Mayor. “Perhaps? For so few, I’d expect you to know exactly!” shouts the Arbites who then supervises the Mayor retrieving a book of genealogy from the mildewed and dusty records office. Eisen in his cover of Census taker, idly leafs through the rotting book, absently noting that the last births were recorded about 40 years ago before getting bored with this scribework.

Vogen the Assassin is prowling round town and trying to avoid the omnipresent sensation of being watched. Near one house with its upper stories firmly shuttered up and boarded over he overhears frightened whispers from inside “Quick, hide” , movement upstairs and then the rhythmical sound of a hammer on wood. It seems the people of this town have gone all Anne Frank on the Inquisition.

Meanwhile Sister Innocenta and Severus investigate the local Templum- a Church of the God-Emperor Our Father, but its derelict and abandoned and its door broken. Despite her outrage, Sister Innocenta senses she is being watched from the house opposite. Marching across she offers a stern greeting of “Blessings be upon this house. Open up in the name of the Emperor” . Instead she hears through the door a nervous “uh… no… its fine. Everything’s fine here”. “Where is the priest?” demands the sister “er… if we tell you, will you go away” comes the quavering voice “Fine.” “Try the tavern” . A little discouraged by the Castermereans seeming fear of strangers and lack of willingness to open the door to a member of the clergy, Sister Innocenta

And indeed the town priest Brother Whymmes is in the (suddenly quiet tavern). A near empty bottle of rum in front of him, he is soon seized and frogmarched back to the abandoned church by the Sister and interrogated. The man is a drunk and babbles on about

“Sins of the father! Tis the sins of the Father made flesh”
“Suffer not the children!”
“Emperor forgive me, the things I have done!”
“Flee now, or burn Castermere to the ground, terrible, benighted Castermere”
“All monsters! We are all monsters! ….. My son….”

The good sister is a little confused. Her life is dedicated to spreading the Emperors Truth through bolter fire and meltagun. Yet this drunken priest cannot be solved merely by shooting him. She must be…. pastoral. Cheer him up. Chivvy him into confession. It doesn’t work- he just keeps moaning about the sins of the Father and asking for a drink. “DRINK! DRINK!”

So Sister Innocenta unleashes her righteousness. Haranguing him as a disappointment to the God-Emperor she admonishes “Strong drink is a mocker!” and that only righteous pain will clear his mind and soul. So she gives him her bless’d scourge (for she is a Flagellant and never leaves home without it) and is a little disappointed when he can only manage a few weak slaps with it. “No, this is how you do it!” she declares –whip-CRACK! “AAArghhhh!!” whip-CRACK! “AAAr!” as his cries of pain ring out across the church (and in RL our local club where everyone thinks we must be doing Guantanomo Bay: the LARP)

Purged of the daemons of alcohol, Brother Whymme finally tells the Sister “There is a corruption here. A terrible sin. The sin of deviance from the Holy Form of Mankind”

“Ah… Mutation!” realises the Sister. That explains the people in hiding “Where are these mutants?”

“Here, shuttered away. Though they sometimes go to the mines for their vile ceremonies. Their true priest is there –the Old Man in the Earth… and things from the darkness… Terrible things that come in the night and kill… Flee… flee now!” begs the distraught priest. But the Sister is not for fleeing and tells the other she suspects some in the town are harbouring muties and lost their faith in the Emperor.

Hearing over commbead that the temple is abandoned and Brother Whymmes is “Weak Sauce” in the opinion of the hard-line Battle Sister, Arbitrator Attalus confronts Mayor Westin on the moral decay of this town ( “ Your priest is a drunk!” “No, he retired”, “Then who is your new priest” “He hasn’t arrived. But we sent a letter to the Eccliasarchy, you know how they are for answering mail!” which them prompts 5 mins of musing about how there is nothing wrong in Castermere except that the Administratum moved offices and lost all the mail) and asks how the town can be faithful if they don’t go to Church? “Well we have prayer meetings….” offers the Mayor weakly. “Then you’ll have one tonight!” orders Attalus. “I want every single person in Castermere to come here in an hour for a prayer meeting. And a true member of the clergy will lead it!” says Attalus who then watches the Mayor rush off to knock on every door. The Arbitrator then patrols the streets, shouting in his loudest voice that everyone is summoned to the town hall for a Prayer Meeting. And he means EVERYONE!

In the town hall, Innocenta, Attalus and Eisen watch as the citizens file in through the single entrance. With the Mayor in the audience, the Sister launches into an impassioned call to faith, preaching that whether in his aspect of the Farmer of Souls, or the Father or the Emperor Victorious, they must praise him. “Praise the Emperor” shouts the sister, revival-style. “Praise the Great Father” comes the response. Innocenta half-pauses for a second at that and presses on with more rousing, hardcore Soriortas doctrine. Attalus and Eisen, pay more attention to the audience. Now with so many examples of people suffering from the Castermere Look before them- the large foreheads, baldness, small, black eyes and bulky clothing they begin to wonder if it is just a matter of cousins marrying. And the look on the Castermereans face – one of utter hatred and barely restrained violence against all of them…. Attalus tries to begin making his way to the door as the Sister preaches on…. For the psyker, the faint whispers he could here are far stronger now. Almost a din of unreconisable sounds.

Vogen has made his way back to the Shuttered House, taking advantage (as somewhat planned) of nearly everyone being in the Prayer Meeting. Easily breaking in, the downstairs is empty and a single, narrow staircase leads up to a locked door from behind which gentle singing can be heard. Peering through he sees a Castermerean woman in a dress holding a white-cloth bundle in her arms, looking down on it with a mothers love and singing a soothing melody to her babe. As she turns away, the assassin silently opens the door and enters. She reaches into a bag and takes out a dead rat which she dangles above her swaddled child. Instantly its seized and ripped apart in a shower of gore and bone- the babe a purple skinned thing all teeth and arms and claws ripping into the rat carcass, blood spraying up to the ceiling!

As the Sister pauses, the gathered congregation of Castermere stand as one, as if from some pre-arranged signal “Get the strangers- they cannot spread word!” shouts the Mayor! Only now do the party realise their true peril as the Castermereans throw off their bulky clothes, extra arms and terrible claws emerging, shotguns and stub pistols and sharp knives in every human hand. Their enemy is not some fearful village of victims, but a multi-armed, hive-minded Genestealer Cult. And the 3 Acolytes in the room they insisted was filled by the population of Castermere are now outnumbered 3 to 100! Most keep their grit, but Attalus gets the shakes at this sudden revelation… (-10 to tests)

Will they survive the doom of Castermere? That’s what Fate Points are for….

To Be Continued….

Great work, had me hanging as I read

Thanks, it was quite a good session. A lot of stuff worked out like I hoped and everyone contributed. Overall I didnt quite expect to get through the mystery of Castermere in one 3-4 hour session, but if there is one thing GMing has taught me is always end on a cinematic cliffhanger so the players can think about how they are getting out of this jam over the week. Also one of the first games where one player walked up and shook me by the hand saying that he really hadnt seen the Genestealer cult. Indeed OOC, only the Sisters player started talking Genestealers only right at the end when the whole village was in the prayer meeting and they could see the Castermere Look made manifest. Rest of the time, they thought it was mutants or some monster in the mines that had the village terrified.

Comments welcome.

SJE

I'm going to use this adventure with my online group soon, loved the play through The sister reminded me of a mother for some reaon XD

cyclocius said:

Cool. Let me know how that goes for you.

SJE

Will do It won't be for a while though, we've not even started and I want to save this for when they've lost the Psyker they're chasing,a warp signature in a small forgotten villiage? Safe? Obviouslly >:-)

SJE said:

I have to say that, if confronted by a fully armored and armed Combat Nun, demanding to see the local priest, I think I'd react in a similar manner, mutations or no.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Good cliffhanger on the session.