So I just posted this over in the WFRP section when it occured to me I might get some useful comments or suggestions from here too. Fair warning, it's a doosie of a post.

The Big Picture:

In the galaxy of 40k the Old Ones during their war with the Necrons created a series of Cyphons they intended to offer for a truce. These Cyphons are planetary systems that they found and nurtured psychic-capable life upon. Then to hide it from they war, they hid these systems away in pocket dimensions located inside the warp. These pocket dimensions were link to the material galaxy by gateworlds that the Slann were left to protect. Needless to say the planetary system of Warhammer World is one such Cyphon. Granted, none of this is canon, just what I've come up with. Moving on.

My players are currently involved in a crusade to retake Imperial worlds from the Tyranid Swarm in the Xephilim Subsector. During the swarms initial invasion a small amount of them came to the hidden gateworld inside the subsector. The lizardmen destroyed them, but not before there was a freak reaction between the swarm's "warp shadow"and the Slann's own monumental powers. This collision dropped some of the 'nids on Warhammer World, among them were a small number of genestealers.

The majority of these stray bugs reverted to a bestial state without the hive mind and just died off to the world's natural predators. The genestealers on the other hand, meant to operate as infiltrators that infect and convert thrived amongst the humans in the Southlands. Now, a genestealer cult has taken hold of a human nation in the Southlands and has begun to rise in power rapidly. The Slann-Lord of the gateworld, Lord Regool, has seen this cult's rise and has predicted its expansion across the surface of the entire planet, shortly followed by the subsequent signal to the hive-mind into the pocket dimension. As such Regool meditated and found that the deliqate balance could be maintained if a single group of human beings could be dropped onto Warhammer World, where their meanderings will inevitabley lead to the downfall of this new threat.

Using this knowledge, Regool reached out to the mind of one of these humans and granted him certain abilities he desired in exchange for his subserviance. This human just so happened to be an acolyte for one of the nine inquisitors sent to the subsector to participate in the Imperial crusade. Unfortunately, Eldar farseers in the region have also forseen a future for these humans. It has been predicted that upon their return that they will bring from Warhammer World an artifact that if obtained by the Nurglite forces in the region will spell the destruction of the subsector. As such, in an attempt to stop this from occuring, they launch an assault on the gateworld in an attempt to stop Regool's plan. (Regool knows of this outcome as well, but knows that his gateworld will remain hidden even from the forces of chaos, as such is not concerned with the consqeunces of his actions.)

The Current Situation:

Their own inquisitor in a coma, the group of acolytes are snatched up by another inquisitor for a mission to a ship previously thought lost in the warp. On board were lots of nasty Nurgle zombies, but more importantly, onboard was an artefact the crew had recovered, a sarcohpogus containing a skink priest. The acolytes inadvertantly open it only to have the skink contacted by Regool, and take to defending the servant human. (For any of you DH players that may be wondering this was done using the Dark Pact system, meaning no one else knows about his deal with what he believes to be a daemon.)

Everyone managed to escape the ship just before it exploded (of course) thanks to the interferance of a Nurglite bounty hunter. Upon escaping however, they are picked up by the Dark Mechanicus group that had attempted to study the ship themselves before the inquisition got there. The group then manages to break out and escape from the Dark Mechanicus ship. When the navigation screen is brought up, the skink indicated a piece of empty space, but the inquisitor ordered them to follow the direction anyway. Low and behold, when they arrive, they find the gateworld already enveloped in battle between the Eldar and the Lizardmen. To make matters worse, the Dark Mechanicus managed to follow them and assaults the world themselves in an attempt to steal any piece of archeotech they can get their grubby metallic hands on.

In an attempt to escape the Mechanicus and discover the truth of what's going on the group flies down to the surface only to be shot down by ordinance. The group now is currently rushing through the Slann city behind the skink priest who is doing his best to lead them to Lord Regool's temple.

What's To Occur:

Once fighting their way through the battle, the group will get inside the temple and meet with Regool's emissary. At which point the temple will be attacked and the group is seperated from the other inquisitor and his retinue. The emmissary leads them down to the star chamber to meet Lord Regool, who, instead of activating the gateworld, uses his own powers to send the group down to Warhammer World. His intention is to send them directly to the genestealer nation but due to the actions of several seperate groups on the planet itself the group is flung off course. They'll see several scenes where arcane rituals are taking place in different locations of different groups only to finally pop out right smack dab on the alter inside a Temple to the Horned Rat. Defying death ensues as yet again they make their escape. (Sometimes I think I'm too mean to my players...)

Plans for Warhammer World:

So upon their escape the group one way or another are going to run into a pair of adventurerers, a sigmarite friar and his companion a dawrven shieldbreaker. Doing a slight retconne for the sake of my own story, I'm playing off a rumor I once read where Sigmar was meant to be one of the lost Primarchs. As such, he in whatever state he is in out there, has some sense of what's going on himself. As such he gives the friar a vision that he is to help these strangers go to the Southlands and defeat a great evil. So upon seeing the acolytes he takes them under his wing, and sets out to follow his holy mission. Unfortunately, during their escape, each of the Skaven clans got a good look at these stranger's incredible weaponry, as such the Council of Thirteen demands that they be captured, creating reoccurring villains. Later on, when the players figure out some way to get back to their own realm, a group of Skaven will manage to meander their way along the same path and find themselves under the wing of the grand villain, a radical inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos. I know one such path off the planet I had plan could be the Hermit Lords in Lustria. Then of course they could try and make their way through the polar gates, I suppose. Not too sure about this yet. I could use soem help thinking up ways to get back to the Xephilim Subsector.

Comments and Suggestions:

Please?