Inactive Inquisition Quest: Mysteries of Brocante

[Baltika9]

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is

Boss said to leave it, and I will trust his judgement. There are greater problems afoot and the arbites can deal with this now. There are jurisdictions for a reason.

 

[CappenVarra]

Lignum Vermem

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is

you need to be at least <DEVOUR SOUL> tall to ride the Inquisition rollercoaster

 

[Azira]

I agree with Kalarion.

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is

 

[baud]

I'll leave the vote open a few more days, but I won't make any promise on the date of the next chapter

 

[baud]

okay, here's the tally:

[x] Stay and try to bring Magos Zhou to justice
Gondolin, ChumBucket, Endemic

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is
Kalarion, ERYFKRAD, daveyarsegallant, CappenVarra, Azira, Baltika9

 

[ChumBucket]

okay, here's the tally:

[x] Stay and try to bring Magos Zhou to justice
Gondolin, ChumBucket, Endemic

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is
Kalarion, ERYFKRAD, daveyarsegallant, CappenVarra, Azira

Forgot Baltika9

 

[baud]

okay, here's the tally:

[x] Stay and try to bring Magos Zhou to justice
Gondolin, ChumBucket, Endemic

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is
Kalarion, ERYFKRAD, daveyarsegallant, CappenVarra, Azira

Forgot Baltika9

He must have been lost when I formatted the tally. Thank you

 

[baud]

​

Part 18: The Ones Who Walk Away from Wahun

[x] Leave the city and the situation as it is

You remember the mass graves. The patients, comatose and dying in Hangul. The storehouse and its mixed smells of human flesh and metal, the extra body parts discarded in skips.. But you also remember what can a single Daemon do. What lurks on the other side of the veil. How fragile the situation on Brocante is. And you come to a decision.

"I understand. But as you said, our work here is done. We will go back to Villeneuve."

You take a look at your acolytes, Telemacus throws you a bitter look but stays silent, while Electryos is harder to read, though seems more in agreement with you decision.

"I'll tell Vince of your return. When do you think you will arrive at Villeneuve?"

"I think there should be a train back soon enough, Electryos, do you remember the time?"

"Yes, there's one which leaves at dawn in a few hours then it's a week of travel. I should be able to secure us seats by using Mechanicus credentials."

"Right" you continues "Inquisitor, Regarding the Magos, can't you do more?"

"Well, the local law enforcement wouldn't dare act against a Magos, the Arbites won't be moving without good enough proofs, the planetary governor might, but only after the harvest is done, when most proofs would have been removed, so that would create a crisis with the Mechanicus. And as he's a power hungry fool, he'd most likely mess this up. And as for Mars themselves... It'd depends on which member of the Collegiate Extremis hears our case, but most won't care about humans from the outside of the Adeptus. So no, nothing more. If that is all, safe travels to the three of you."

"Thank you, Inquisitor. We'll report back to Vince once we're back in Villeneuve. The Emperor protects."

You cut the connection, leave the building and you slink back into the darkness of the streets of Hubei, guided by Telemacus. The train station isn't far away and once there, Electryos successfully get you on the train.

"Well, the only way to easily get you onboard was to give you an emplacement in the servitor bays. It won't be comfortable, but no one will come looking here."

And indeed your accommodations are barren, little more than an empty metal box set just behind the locomotive. And this is how you leave Wahun, hidden away for the duration of the travel.

---

So thank you for sticking with me. The next arc is more or less planned, but before I post the next part, can I ask for your feedback? If it wasn't obvious, it's not something that I have done before, so I'd be interested if you have some (constructive) criticism, regarding the general writing, how the 40k adaptation holds up and the CYOA parts.

 

[Kalarion]

Two criticisms, one personal. For the personal (as in, a personal pet peeve of mine), your prose. Lots of grammatical errors, some spelling, several times where the narrative didn't "flow" well. But I'm not sure that's something you can really fix in a CYOA environment (after all, who could you have edit your work since we're all participants?). The second is the back-and-forth on mechanics transparency (dice rolls, what affects them). Making the mechanical side totally transparent or making it totally visible both work, but trying to mix the two is a little jarring. You might want to have yourself a long noodling about which direction you want to take the next arc wrt that.

I really enjoyed this first arc, and I thought you did a competent job running the show. This is one of those times I really miss being able to brofist and salute.

 

[Endemic]

Two criticisms, one personal. For the personal (as in, a personal pet peeve of mine), your prose. Lots of grammatical errors, some spelling, several times where the narrative didn't "flow" well. But I'm not sure that's something you can really fix in a CYOA environment (after all, who could you have edit your work since we're all participants?).

Well, English isn't his first language, so I think we can forgive some errors of that nature. It was a pretty decent first attempt, all things considered.

 

[baud]

Two criticisms, one personal. For the personal (as in, a personal pet peeve of mine), your prose. Lots of grammatical errors, some spelling, several times where the narrative didn't "flow" well. But I'm not sure that's something you can really fix in a CYOA environment (after all, who could you have edit your work since we're all participants?). The second is the back-and-forth on mechanics transparency (dice rolls, what affects them). Making the mechanical side totally transparent or making it totally visible both work, but trying to mix the two is a little jarring. You might want to have yourself a long noodling about which direction you want to take the next arc wrt that.

I really enjoyed this first arc, and I thought you did a competent job running the show. This is one of those times I really miss being able to brofist and salute.

Thank you for the feedback. If you find grammatical/spelling errors, I don't mind being corrected.
Good point for the flow, I'll have to work on that (and the grammar/spelling).

Perhaps I should have told, but there's no real "mechanics" behind the rolls (mostly because I would have never started this quest if I had tried to use a ruleset). Rather, when I want to have a possibility of failure, I just eyeball a success chance, write down the possible consequences and roll the die/ask the thread to roll it. And I like having the players here roll the dice, to add some interaction

 

[Kalarion]

Thank you for the feedback. If you find grammatical/spelling errors, I don't mind being corrected.
Good point for the flow, I'll have to work on that (and the grammar/spelling).

Perhaps I should have told, but there's no real "mechanics" behind the rolls (mostly because I would have never started this quest if I had tried to use a ruleset). Rather, when I want to have a possibility of failure, I just eyeball a success chance, write down the possible consequences and roll the die/ask the thread to roll it. And I like having the players here roll the dice, to add some interaction

I wouldn't presume, especially since I'm participating in a game you're running :D. And the explanation about dice rolling makes sense.

Cheers! I look forward to your next installment.

 

[ChumBucket]

I just eyeball a success chance, write down the possible consequences and roll the die/ask the thread to roll it.

Ah the classic DM Standby...

 

[baud]

ARC II: CULTISTS OF BROCANTE
​

Part 1: Once more unto the breach

Following your departure from Hubei, you had seen the view from the narrow apertures of your wagon switching from the rolling fields of Wahun to mountains and then to the bleak leftovers of the strip mining that took place on Brocante the previous centuries, legacy of its designation as a mining world. Cooped as you were in the servitor bay, the two acolytes and you tried to pass the time, with Telemacus reading (life and death of Saint Ambroise of Karlovac), Electryos tinkering with small pieces of technology and as for you,

[] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus
[] you repeated close combat drills in the narrow space, either with your combat knife or with a piece of tubing that approximated the length and weight of a basic sword. You're most proud of how you didn't hit even once either of your comrades during your exercises.
[] you read the various guides and random facts compilation about Brocante on your dataslate.
[] write in (but keep in mind that you're still stuck in the servitor bay)

But in the afternoon, on your third day of travel, Electryos suddenly re-enters the wagon

"Telemacus, Balda, grab your stuff, we have to exit the train at the next stop. Which is in two minutes!"

As you scramble to gather your belongings, you ask for an explanation, with Electryos answering

"You know how I was able to exchange messages with Interrogator Vince, using the comm line of the railway? I just received new orders and just in time, praise the Omnissiah for this."

"What do we have to do?"

"Vince's latest investigation has revealed a compound of the Bloody Fist not far from CoronduNor, which where the train is stopping. Normally he'd send a bigger group, but apparently the cultists are preparing to leave, or perhaps something else, so we have to stop them before they do."

"Just the three of us?"

"No, with the message was a one-use auth code that would allow use to requisition local forces, either PDF or enforcers. And the Inquisitor is sending a team led by Kyriakos for the clean up, but they won't be there in time for the assault."

"That creep? Throne, I can't stand him and his..."

You cut Telemacus' complain.

"He has the trust of the inquisitor, it is not our place to question his choices. Electryos, anything else?"

"Kyriakos' team will try to call us on vox frequency Charon-Scar-sixteen to coordinate, once they are in range. We should be able to get a vox-caster from whichever group we requisition."

You step off the mostly empty train on the platform of a decaying train station: the headhouse is an empty shell of rusting metal, off to the side, a pair of burned out freight wagons are left on an overgrown track and you don't see any personnel, just a loading servitor abandoned next to a boarded up ticket booth. As you move to exit the station, Electryos adds.

"Vince also said we'd have to gather as much intel on the cult as possible, it seems we haven't seen the end of them yet. And to take care of not letting any proscribed knowledge spread in the local population. Which means..."

"That we might have to purge those who helped us and any other witnesses. Or bring them back to Villeneuve for 'debriefing'." You add, knowing full well why it is the case and what might happens if it is not enforced.

From where you exit the station, you can see that the city ahead of you isn't in much better state, rows of run-down houses dotted with the dilapidated machinery of disused refineries, all covered by grime and with the horizon closed off by slag heaps. Some of the refineries are in the process of being dismantled, the noise of tools ringing in the air as they are reducing the buildings in pile of scrap metal to be reused elsewhere. As you consider where to go, Telemacus starts speaking

"In addition to the enforcers' precinct and the barracks there's a local Redemptionist chapter that could provide us with some additional fighters, fearless zealots would be properly motivated to fight heretics like those we're facing."

"It's true that such industrial decay is a fertile ground for such Redemptionist cults," Electryos says "but I'd hardly call them reliable, especially if we want to gather information on the Bloody Fist cult and not see it go up in flames. Also, let me remind you that we're on a limited time-frame: Vince's intel suggests the cultists will move out around nightfall and their compound is some distance outside of town, so I don't think we'll have time to requisition them in addition to any official forces."

The redemptionists would surely provide more fighters, but less disciplined and not as trained as the other options. The enforcers might also be trained in gathering information or at least not destroying it while fighting. Taking a decision, you start looking for a car to go to

[] the enforcer precinct to requisition them
[] the PDF barracks to requisition them
[] the Redemptionist chapter to ask for their help


AN: the first choice is more of a character development choice and won't have much bearing on the rest of the arc.
I'm trying something slightly different, more combat focused this time, we'll see how it goes.

Also choosing to go with redemptionist or PDFs doesn't mean you won't be able to gather any intel, it means it'll be harder, but there will be some choices to mitigate that

 

[True Ukrainian]

Pray for wisdom.

Recruit enforcers.

 

[Baltika9]

[X] you read the various guides and random facts compilation about Brocante on your dataslate.
[X] the enforcer precinct to requisition them

 

[Azira]

[x] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus

[x] the Redemptionist chapter to ask for their help

BURN THE HERETICS IN RIGHTEOUS FIRE!!!

 

[Kalarion]

[x] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus
[X] the enforcer precinct to requisition them

 

[ERYFKRAD]

[x] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus

[] the PDF barracks to requisition them

These

 

[ChumBucket]

[x] you repeated close combat drills in the narrow space, either with your combat knife or with a piece of tubing that approximated the length and weight of a basic sword. You're most proud of how you didn't hit even once either of your comrades during your exercises.

[x] the enforcer precinct to requisition them

 

[CappenVarra]

[X] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus
[X] the PDF barracks to requisition them

also, dude, if you can't be bothered to spell "Wuhan" correctly in your own LP, i'm having a hard time believing in your devotion to the shining cause of the Emperor

 

[baud]

[X] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus
[X] the PDF barracks to requisition them

also, dude, if you can't be bothered to spell "Wuhan" correctly in your own LP, i'm having a hard time believing in your devotion to the shining cause of the Emperor

It's been Wahun from the start, following GW's tradition of mangling IRL names when creating background stuff and just using Wuhan would have been too much on the nose, even for 40k. Though I erred and typed Wuhan a few times in the thread, but by now all should be corrected.

Preliminary tally (counting both options separately):

[x] you prayed to the Emperor for wisdom and guidance on what happened in Wahun, interspersed with meditations upon Telemacus' copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus
daveyarsegallant, Azira, Kalarion, ERYFKRAD, CappenVarra

[X] you read the various guides and random facts compilation about Brocante on your dataslate.
Baltika9

[x] you repeated close combat drills in the narrow space, either with your combat knife or with a piece of tubing that approximated the length and weight of a basic sword. You're most proud of how you didn't hit even once either of your comrades during your exercises.
ChumBucket
---

[X] the enforcer precinct to requisition them
daveyarsegallant, Baltika9, Kalarion, ChumBucket

[x] the PDF barracks to requisition them
ERYFKRAD, CappenVarra

[x] the Redemptionist chapter to ask for their help
Azira

 

[Azira]

Not enough fire in these votes. I am disappoint.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Not enough fire in these votes. I am disappoint.

Plenty of fire in the ovens.

 

[ChumBucket]

Not enough fire in these votes. I am disappoint.

You want DISCUSS? Ok, I'll give it a go...
I chose "you repeated close combat drills in the narrow space," as last mission we avoided a combat because of the possibility of CQC. Maybe we are practicing out of regret over not standing our ground? From a meta standpoint, we are dealing with a group of cultists that sound like they worship Korne; I don't like our chances of avoiding melee with only a few simple side arms. We must be ready to prove the righteousness of our Emperor's will on the field of battle, and practicing our martial skills can be a way of honoring him. Prayers alone are not enough to enforce his will.

I went with the Enforcers as the update said we would have to do some investigating and they will be good at shaking down the local population for information. And while they might not be as combat ready as a squad of PDF's, they will be slightly better trained at fighting in claustrophobic urban environments.