Warhammer 40k: Scum and Villainy - Adventures in the Imperium Nihilus

[Jb]

"The Commissar was dead, and our CO too! We had been fighting the very environment itself for Emperor knows how long, I saw twelve good troopers get swallowed by rock...a warp damned rock! I am no coward, but I am just a man, and a saw a chance at freedom - freedom! - and I took it. So shoot me if you have to, but I go to His side knowing that I was in the right.

- Ex-trooper Kortan of the Tarkenton Fusiliers, executed for cowardice and desertion.

The Imperium - and thus most of the known galaxy - has been fractured by the eruption of warp storms from the Eye of Terror, and created a scar that now runs the length of the previously unified realms of mankind. This splitting of the Emperor's domain into the Imperium of Man and the so-called 'Dark Imperium' brings torture, pain and death for many, but for others it brings something which has been lacking in the lives of a great number of Imperial citizens...opportunity.

Under the churning and oppressive wheels of the Imperiums tithes, taxes and everlasting wars, the average citizen would be forced to do something drastic just to make the most of their squalid little lives; with the coming of the cicatrix maledictum such choices have been both taken out of their hands and been expounded upon exponentially.

I am seeking other writers to join with me in a character driven roleplay based around writing and a semi-democratic system - that being that, due to the makeup of our band, their will be no 'leader' to speak of at the beginning - should one arise through IC and OOC discussion and circumstance though, well then that's a different matter.

Our roles within this RP will be those of a group/band/cluster/syndicate etc of extraordinary ordinary characters, like those you might find in a Rogue Trader or Inquisitorial setting but much more on the mercenary side of things.

The choices are pretty inexhaustible in most cases, ranging from the deserter or veteran of the Guard, to a simple village doctor, to a lifetime miner who happens to want out of his painful and unfulfilling life. Each with their own story(s) to be told in-character, but each also thrown together by the fates.

Much like the characters themselves, I'm also hoping to make the RP a series of short arcs - from the hiring of the group by one mob boss to whack another, to gathering information or 'acquiring' something, to being roped into a Rogue Traders retinue, to becoming embroiled in a full scale military campaign (possibly) - all things that could happen within the rather lawless confines of the Dark Imperium.

Guilliman and Dante may be looking to clean the place up a bit, and are making a good start of it, but for all intents and purposes it remains the 'Wild West' of 40k for now.

So, from humble beginnings on some backwater planet of the Segmentum Obscurus to the warp knows where, who wishes to join me? Who wishes to partake in some adventures in the Dark Imperium?

(As always, questions are welcomed and even encouraged, so place feel free to ask them.)

[Banzai Tracers]

Kinda thinking either a House Van Saar tithed guardsman.

Or something more like an Orlock with a mercinary licence and a big ole bike.

[Dead Cruiser]

Would a renegade Astartes be too much for this? Thinking of a Knight of Blood that fucked off when he heard that most of his chapter was headed to Baal to fight Leviathan.

[Flagg]

how about a small time rogue trader that commands the team's conveyance?

[Andreyich]

just how morally unscrupulous will our little gang be? will it be pro imperial enough for some death cultists to join up?

[Jb]

Kinda thinking either a House Van Saar tithed guardsman.

Or something more like an Orlock with a mercinary licence and a big ole bike.

@Banzai Tracers

Sounds good, as long as you have some way to explain why they'd be on the complete opposite side of the galaxy to Necromunda; if you want to go with someone 'based on' or 'like' the aforementioned then that's all good too.

Would a renegade Astartes be too much for this? Thinking of a Knight of Blood that fucked off when he heard that most of his chapter was headed to Baal to fight Leviathan.

@Dead Cruiser

The problem is that I know you could probably write an Astartes without going overboard, so that does made me inclined to say it's fine.

On the other hand, it may well be too much, assuming everyone else goes with more 'human' characters.

I'd also go with someone from an actual renegade Chapter I.E. Relictors, any number of Abyssal Crusade Chapters, a made up one, as the Knights did actually go to Baal and get wiped out - why would a singular Knight just up and leave?

You'd also need to consider, assuming he still had his arms and armour, that eventually he'd run out of ammunition and his armour would likely become too damaged to function properly.

All that said, I'll tell you hwhat (assuming you still wish to go with an Astartes); send me a PM or Discord message outlining motivations and why he's plodding about the Dark Imperium, and we can discuss.

May turn out to be more annoying than it's worth, or could be fine, we shall see.

how about a small time rogue trader that commands the team's conveyance?

@Flagg

I was thinking more that we'd be conveyed by other peoples (NPC probably) transports, ships, etc but you know what? I'd be alright with a small time guy, possibly trying to make his name with little resources and a junkboat, shuttling us around...and you're a more than proven writer that I know I can rely on.

So, yeah, I'd be alright with that.

just how morally unscrupulous will our little gang be? will it be pro imperial enough for some death cultists to join up?

@Andreyich

Depending on the characters, we may be pretty morally bankrupt!

I'd be willing to accept anyone short of full-on Chaos worshippers (closet/partial ones are mostly fine), more 'alien' xenos, and blantly shoot-on-sight characters if the player/writer can give a logical reason as to why they're knocking about/falling in with the group.

A death cultist (singular) is perfectly fine, and if you really want more than one - and can write them as such - then that'd be fine too.

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One thing I'd like to reiterate is this.

This is a co-operative writing effort with characters that may or may not know one another, in a group of beings that have to get along/be on equal enough footing enough that the plot and effort can go forward without constant questions of 'power levels' and 'rank/hierarchy' between everyone.

Everyone wishes to be their own hero, that's understandable, and some would like to write something more exciting that Bill the Shoemaker from the Underhive, this is also understandable and perfectly acceptable, just remember that if you take the role of a rich and well-connected augmented centuries old high ranking super warrior...well, things will get heated.

We're a wee band of ill-fated fellows (or fellowettes) thrown together by the fact that 200 or so years ago the Eye of Terror ejaculated warp all over the galaxy - planets were isolated by storms, some dragged out of real space entirely, structure and power rose and fell like rain showers, and Chaos dragged itself to a top spot in the Dark Imperium - who may or may not know one another, and who will be called upon to do morally questionable and outright horrific things (probably).

TL;DR

Keep your fellow players in mind when thinking of your own character, keep in mind if things make sense - where they are, why they're there, their past and so on - and that's all really!

I'm usually about, so feel free to Discord or PM me here.

Lastly, if anyone wishes to Co-GM, then I'd happily take on a volunteer or two, as I do intend to keep this RP going for as long as I can.

That is all.

[Andreyich]

So uhhh nothing wrong if I make an eye of the Emperor then?

[mattmanganon]

I was wondering if you might accept an Abhuman or Mutant?

[Jb]

I was wondering if you might accept an Abhuman or Mutant?

@mattmanganon

Yes, I would accept either - Abhumans and Mutants are fine.

[Banzai Tracers]

@Jbcool

Humm, i was actually in the process of writing a Necromunda RP game. I have a great many pictures and inspirations on what i wanted to do. So i have this entire idea of northern hive thats a little bit like Georgia. It has its own problems and its set during the dark imperium. I wanted the players to form an impromptu gang, possibly with lineage to one of the main Necromunda gangs. It is set in the Dark Imperium. If you wanna co-GM using this then we can. It could even be entertaining as my gang will have to face off against the PCs and you can arbitrate. And then we could alternate.

The story also revolves largely around what must be done for the acquisition of mercenary licences, to elevate above a normal ganger, but you still need to maintain a territory in order to have enough wealth to survive as well as thrive. Which may alternate between the two depending on the day.

However i did expect something more like human level characters, than Astartese or Warrant of trade holders.

Also there are many, many more hazards and threats to be revealed.

[Jb]

@Banzai Tracers Well I do wish you luck with that then! If you need a Co-GM then I could probably help out, if you'd like - as for this RP, you're welcome to join or not.

@Flagg Not that I've anything against the idea, but would you have an alternative character to that you'd be alright with? Someone with less overall power maybe?

[Flagg]

@Flagg Not that I've anything against the idea, but would you have an alternative character to that you'd be alright with? Someone with less overall power maybe?

@Jbcool

Sure- it's why I asked. Could do a Rogue Trader who's lost his ship, in fact. No vessel, true, but I get to keep the hat with the giant feather.

[Jb]

<Snipped quote by Jbcool>

Sure- it's why I asked. Could do a Rogue Trader who's lost his ship, in fact. No vessel, true, but I get to keep the hat with the giant feather.

@Flagg

Be a literal pirate? The thing is, if he has a Warrant of Trade, he could simply grab a ship or anything that he liked; that being said, if you wish to go with a Trader, I'm not going to stop you. :)

@Flagg@mattmanganon@Andreyich@Dead Cruiser@Banzai Tracers

Righto, I'm going to leave this up for today - see if anyone else is interested (spread the word) - then I'll get an OOC thread up on the Advanced board and we'll go from there.

[Banzai Tracers]

@Jbcool
Yeah i might take you up on that. Im still gonna work on the game int check and you can check it out.

LoL i was just thinking of this comedy skit.

Hello welcome to scum and villany, home of the whapper can i take your order please?

"Hello, i need to get me some scum and maybe a side of villany."

Would you like to supersize?

"Oh god-no."

Thank you sir that will be πhundred dollars would you like to pay in Tibetan Yuan.

[Celsius]

Interest shown

A little bit of note though:
1. I only know W40K from "Dawn of War"
2. I haven't been RPing for the good part of the past 2 years

If those shackles are too much, I am more than willing to just be a reader in this
Looking good, really :D

[Dead Cruiser]

Not my place to say as I'm not GM but having played most of the Dawn of War games I don't think it's really adequate preparation for the RP. This is much smaller scale and far removed from the sorts of conflicts those games covered. Battlefleet Gothic or Necromunda would be more directly relevant I think.

[Andreyich]

Not GM either, but I think willingness to put in effort to abide by lore and make adequate is the most important thing than a strong base.

[Dead Cruiser]

What I mean is, having played Dawn of War is better than nothing, but you'd be entering the RP more or less without a foundation of lore understanding.

[Lady Selune]

I think I'm obliged to give some interest here... Although I am actually interested. Lots of potential characters. Vindicare or Callidus assassin- perhaps one that for whatever reason the brainwashing didn't take to quite as well, leading to them constantly staying on the move to get away from vengeance killings by their temples. Otherwise I think our group is missing a psyker. Perhaps an astropath that's allied to whichever individual is transporting us with some fancy biomagic backups to them.

[Jb]

Interest shown

A little bit of note though:
1. I only know W40K from "Dawn of War"
2. I haven't been RPing for the good part of the past 2 years

If those shackles are too much, I am more than willing to just be a reader in this
Looking good, really :D

@Celsius

Thank you for your interest, and - while I agree with both of my cohorts - I'd have to say that, unless you're willing to do a lot more reading and have the time to do so, it would likely be easier to be a reader.

In short, I'm happy for you to give yourself a go, but constant reference back to Lexicanum or the Fandom Wikia gets annoying even when you do know the setting.

Ultimatley I'll leave it up to you and your own judgement.

@Lady Selune

Happy to have you, although I'll say - due to all three of those options having caused a mess up in RPs of the past - I'm not all that enthusiastic on them...that being said, since it is you, I'd be alright with the psyker if you wanted to opt for that?

I was wondering when someone would get round to that, and if we have one then I'd be happier for it to be someone like yourself.