So my gaming group will be playing No surrender within the next few months (we wont start until end of the month most likely), and I need a way to keep them invested in the game after no surrender without relying on another book campaign.

Now one member of the group (the psyker) is increasingly becoming more corrupted due to terrible rolls throughout the last campaign. My plan is to reveal at the end (or near the end) of this campaign that his psyker character was in fact the one who was behind the events of No Surrender (and Final Testimate to a lesser degree) and has been a powerful servant of Tzeentch (maybe even the changeling) the whole time. When this is revealed he will lead the party into a trap and disappear after revealing his deception (tzeentch worshippers love to boast).

This will be the cliffhanger at the end of No surrender and hopefully the next few parts of the campaign will involve the players being seconded to the Inquisition and tasked to hunt down this character who will be working to some unknowable plan to throw the sector into disarray so that Chaos forces can conquer it. (Note: by this point the character is an NPC and the player will roll a new character)

So my overall question is: Is it a good idea to have one of the squad members betray the group?

1. Does the guy want a new PC?

2. Is he okay with betraying them?

3. How far back did he turn traitor?

4. What will you do when they work for the Inquisition game wise?

If the player is cool with this, excellent story!

Otherwise... a bit invasive.

Well, if the character is so corrupted that he will be lost as a playable PC no matter what, I can see this working.

Common courtesy would involve discussing it with the player before hand though. Unless you know he's they type of person that just can't keep a secret...or you want him to be surprised as well.

Generally though, talking it over with the player in question is always the best option. Having a clear idea what you can offer him in return is a good idea as well. If you can present him with the character creation options for his new character, he will have something to look forward to. At that point, he is not so much thinking about the character he lost, but rather looking forward to the new and exciting character he is gaining. Granting him a small benefit such as a choice of high quality gear for his new character would be a further incentive to work with you. Best Quality gear is generally quite difficult to get with usually only a minimal mechanical difference (BQ plasma weaponry excepted...) when compared to Common quality equipment.

I have already spoken with the player about this (actually it was partially his idea in the first place) and this is something that they want to do. I think they just wanted a new character but I like their current character so this will be a way of keeping them alive while they get a chance to play their new character. Also I will let them play as their old character whenever he shows up in the story.

The player has been making bad rolls and has been unlucky to the point where it almost looks like they were trying to sabotage the mission (this is explained away by him being a 150 year old psyker who isn't quite sane) but I thought it would be cool if in reveal later that these "accidents" were really them trying to sabotage the mission.

Now that makes quite a story!

Then it seems like it would definitely be a good idea, Robomummy! Exciting plot twists ftw!

Without a doubt an interesting twist on the story! Do you have access to Black Crusade? If so, May I suggest you make up a conversion to a renegade psyker so that the character may live on as a recurring and deliciously evil recurring NPC!

This is all kinds of awesome. We've had this occur in the past and it makes a great story and gives the players plenty of fodder for in-jokes around the table. Game on.