Warhammer 40,000; Vigil

[The Imagination]

~ Warhammer 40,000; Vigil ~

~

"The answer you seek, Lord Admiral, is within the the problem of the question itself. You cannot simply inquire about the survival odds of the Imperium for it is already long doomed to fail. It is a question of whether or not pure and faithful humanity can prevail..."

"And what are your thoughts on that particular matter, Lord Commander?"

"..."

"Lord Commander...?"

"Even though...every single threat before us is infallible proof of our mutually assured destruction or indoctrination...every victory behind us proves otherwise. Our race is an impossibility of imperfection perfected, Admiral. Wherever pure, untainted humanity will go to from here is anyone's guess."

"Farewell...Lord Commander..."

We find ourselves perched along as observers to the dawn of the forty-second millennium. The Imperium of Man, in all of it's grim and tainted glory, has crumbled into thousands of splintered factions. It began on Cadia, when Abaddon sacrificed his physical form to become the living vessel to a massive warp storm. The entire sector was swallowed whole as the Eye of Terror grew larger than ever before. Meanwhile, tragedy befalls upon Terra as the Golden Throne rusts into a dysfunctional state. The entire planet trembled with quakes as what little remained of the Emperor began erratically twitching, and in the very blink of an eye it all happened. An electrical surge of psychic energy transformed a home into a graveyard for hundreds of billions of citizens, ranking from the most powerful and influential to the most pathetic scum in the galaxy. Thousands of Imperial ships traversing the Immaterium had been lost forever, and the true time of ending had begun.

Backstory

~

The Approaching Dusk...

A beacon has shown itself to all the forces of the galaxy. Situated within the outer fringes of the Ultima Segmentum, what can only be described as a psychic beacon completely outmatching the power of the Astronomican has continued to shine brightly for the last decade. Only four Imperial battlefleets had survived the utter chaos of the Fall of the Imperium, and had reorganized their forces within the beacon's sector. For the better half of ten years, no other outside contact was possible for the sector's obscurity and the beacon's power allowed it to throw other's off it's scent. Yet nothing would last forever in the end, sadly.

It was on the fifth day of August, the 19th year of the 42nd Millennium. Reports came in from the outermost rim of the Alisae Sector, thousands of hostile contacts swarming all radars. Having expected a hive fleet of Tyranids, the four battlefleets met face to face with an armada of battle barges bearing the various banners of the Ruinous Powers. It was Chaos Undivided come knocking upon their doors, seeking the power of the psychic beacon. As they proceeded to exchange fire, the massive ensuing conflict caused the destruction of a nearby moon. The astroid debris knocked out entire fleets on both sides, causing an effective stalemate.

Regrettably, aboard that very moon was a yet another strange beacon. Not psychic, but mechanical in nature. It's assured destruction had been the chiming bell to awaken a darkness within the galaxy. There had to have been a reason for the oddly clustered twenty one planets orbiting around in one sector. Regardless, Vigil would remain the one untainted garden world. It's forefront defenses still unprepared against the rise of the cryptic machines.

As the Chaos Armada reassembled, they met head on with the remaining three battlefleets of the shattered empire. After a solid week of conflict, the Armada punched the hole they needed to storm the planet. Space hulks carrying the plagues of Nurgle crashed along the dozens of hive cities planetside, hundreds of Khornate and Tzeentchian battle barges taking Imperial forts by sheer force. It took over two months for the Imperial forces to regroup, counter attack and reclaim a concrete territory. Reports soon came in that thousands of gigantic space hulks just struck a massive Tyranid Hive Fleet head on beyond the mid-rim's asteroid field. Currently engaged in a stalemate, they continue ruthlessly and recklessly fighting with no side gaining on the other. Unidentified vessels have reportedly entered the west- southern fringes of uninhabited glacial islands, while rumors of Dark Eldar ships reinforcing the Chaos Armada concern the ground troop's resistance. Vigil, at the heart of the Alisae Sector, has become the eye of the storm for a war prophesied to change the course of the galaxy forever.

~

Are We Merely The Playthings of Gods?

~ As prophesied by both sorcerers of Tzeentch as well as Imperial sanctioned Psykers, nine individuals from various backgrounds would gather unexpectedly on the planet of Vigil. These individuals have been titled many things, the Conduits of Fate, the Saviors of the Galaxy, the Keys to the Immaterium in rare manuscripts...

- The Vigilant Guard (Space Marine Chapter Master or High Ranking Imperial Guardsmen)

- The Symbol of Courage (Imperial Guard Commissar, Tank Commander, Space Marine Battle Brother, Sister of Battle or otherwise forefront soldier leading others into battle.)

- The Siphon of Blood (Khornate Berserker, Khornate Space Marine, Traitor Guardsmen or Bloodthirsty Cultist of any background aspiring to become a daemonic lord of Khorne.)

- The Harbinger of Decay (Death Guard or Plague Marine of any background aspiring to become a daemonic lord of Nurgle.)

- The Envious One (Either a high ranking Dark Eldar, Noise Marine or heretical Sister of Battle of any background seeking to become a right hand daemonic servant of Slaanesh, killing anything that gets in the way of their goals.)

- The Prophet of Ending (A Thousand Sons Sorcerer or Tzeentchian Psyker cultist willing to sacrifice everything to become a Lord of Change.)

- The Hallowed Observer (A male or female Tau Commander in charge of a scouting force of significant size and power.)

- The Brutally Cunning/Cunningly Brutal Warlord (An Ork Warboss of legendary size, strength and intelligence. Speaking more fluently than any other Ork before him, this warboss is a living and breathing conduit of Gork and Mork. On the battlefield he is a ruthless, apocalyptic force driven by berserk tendencies. In his calmer stages, he is a cunning strategist capable of maintaining full control of the many flows of battle conducting beneath his fingertips.)

- The Passenger (Played by me, a rogue trader whose role in the uncovering events is yet unknown.)

Timeline of the 42nd Millennium

001.M42 - Abbadon the Despoiler conveys his spiritual energy to become a vessel to Warp Storm Vindication, Cadia and other surrounding sectors are swallowed into the now expanded Eye of Terror

002.M42 - The Golden Throne rusts away, becoming completely dysfunctional. As the Emperor seemingly dies, all of Terra is enveloped within a surge of psychic energy. Thus begins the disorganization of the Administratum, the splintering of the Astra Militarum and the disbandment of planetary governments from the Imperium of Man.

004.M42 - Ork fleets are appearing in dozens of systems across the galaxy, converging toward the Ultima Segmentum. Warbands from the Thousand Sons and World Eaters conflict heavily within the Eye of Terror. The Seven Plagues overwhelm hundreds of civilizations within the Segmentum Obscurus.

007.M42 - Thousands of Ork warbands pillage their way through the Ultima Segmentum. The Thousand Sons and World Eaters warbands form a strained alliance named The Ruinous Pact, Death Guard legions join them.

008.M42 - The Angels of Ecstasy join the Ruinous Pact, cultists of all loyalties number in the hundreds of billions as thousands of battle barges storm out from the Eye of Terror. Ork warbands continue pushing further into the Ultima Segmentum as Tyranid Hive Fleets pop up around the outer rim of the galaxy.

009.M42 - Sorcerers of Tzeentch compile the Prophecy of Vigil, detailing future events in vague and cryptic detail. They confess that even the Lord of Change himself holds no power to how the coming events will shape and change the universe forever.

012.M42 - The Segmentum Obscurus is declared lost to the Ruinous Powers. Chaos effectively controls an entire sector of the galaxy.

015.M42 - The largest Waaagh! In ever recorded history gathers outside the Alisea System, preparing to take on over a dozen Tyranid Hive Fleets encroaching toward Vigil.

019.M42 - The Alisae Orbital Conflicts begin, starting off with a stalemate on both Chaos and Imperial sides. Eventually the Chaos Armada manages to wipe out another 1/4th of the Imperial battlefleets, giving them the space needed to land several warships on Vigil. The War for Vigil begins as the Seven Plagues of Nurgle begin eradicating the Eastern Hive City Collective. World Eater and Thousand Sons legions annihilate hundreds of Imperial forts in the first two weeks. Two months later Imperial Command commences an operation known as October Rain, reclaiming a fourth of lost fortresses and storming Death Korps and Armageddon legions through the Eastern Hive City Collective. The war is about to get even more interesting, however...

Forging your Key

~ Creating your character will be a relatively freeform and open concept. You are encouraged to create your titled character with as much liberty as you feel reasonable, without making it too overpowered. But, to make things simple, i'll outline an optional template.

Title: (Chosen prophetic title)
Name:
Appearance: (Pictures are fine, however if choosing worded detail I expect a good and vivid use of imagery.)
Equipment/Weapons Loadout: (Please be reasonable with this, not every species can carry five weapons and two hundred pounds of equipment on their backs.)
Psychological Profile: (A brief explanation of their personality and any quirks they might have.)
Brief Biography: (Notable battles fought, events witnessed/participated in, strange happenings, contacts or relationships made, etc.)

[Templar Knight]

May be interested, my potential sheet would be the Prophet of Ending.

[The Imagination]

Good to hear it!

[Flagg]

Interested, probably as an Imperial warlord for the Vigilant Guard.

[LupusIntus]

Interested.
Would likely roll up the Siphone of Blood, or perhaps the Symbol of Courage.

[The book of bad juju]

OI, Boss! Diz computa thingy iz sayin' it's gots an open position for a Brootaly Cunnin' boy! It sounds loiks a purfect fitz!

Iz interested!

[docblargle]

I was kind of interested in the prophet of ending. However, for the greater good, I will be the tau.

[The Imagination]

Heh, real good to see more interest! I'll be updating descriptions for each role by tonight and hopefully start it up tomorrow or Wednesday!

[LupusIntus]

Simply wonderful, darling. This looks like a delightful gathering! I'm so looking forward to- Oh, pardon me.
*clears throat*
HACK THEM! SLASH THEM! THE WORLD WILL DROWN IN BLOOD!
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!

[The Imagination]

Feel free to go ahead and work on applications! If any two players wish to go after the same title, PM me for ideas.

Pathfinder has filled the Symbol of Courage, the last Imperial Guard spot is the Vigilant Guard.

[Pathfinder]

Hey guys, I'm just moving Arkos over to here.

---

Title: The Symbol of Courage

Name: Arkos Leantes

Appearance:

Equipment/Weapons Loadout: Tyrannic War Veteran Power Armor, Relic Bolt Pistol, Loi-Pattern Burning Blade, a chain of frag grenades meant to take as many of the bastards with him as possible, and the Banner of Macragge.

Psychological Profile: Arkos is tired. For centuries he fought and killed for the Emperor but when he learned that the thrown and all of Holy Terra was destroyed, he fell into a deep melancholy. He gazed upon what was left and for the first time, he knew fear. However, after the brief mourning period he shook off the shackles of grief and returned with a vigor he hadn't felt since his first several decades of his service. Renewed with a cause, Arkos armed himself with the weapons that could be saved and took up the Banner of Macragge. Arkos views himself as the last generation of standard bearers and is adamant to uphold his role as one.

If we are doomed to die than we shall cause the Ruinous Powers to choke upon us on our way out.

Brief Biography: Arkos has personally been in more battles than he could possibly ever remember however one battle is forever branded in his mind. He is a veteran of the Battle of Marcragge, a sergeant at the time. When the drop pods landed he and his battle brothers saw first hand the devastation of the tyranid hordes upon their home world. The fighting brutal, savage, and bloody. However everyone knows what happened afterwards, the 1st company was destroyed and the 3rd and 7th were sorely diminished but they had come out victorious.

Since that whole sordid affair, Arkos was one of the first batch of Tyrannic War Veterans to join the reconstituted 1st company and has since then been in many other battles involving the Tyranid hordes.

[docblargle]

Title: The Hallowed Observer
Name: Commander Triumph /Shas'O Vior'La Shi'ur
Appearance: Face and Battlesuit
Equipment/Weapons Loadout: O'Shi'ur uses an experimental XV22 command stealth suit. Commanding a large scouting force, O'Shi'ur has access to a variety of gear for his battlesuit, and often changes his suit's loadout to suit his current needs. However, here is his general threat loadout.
Twin-Linked Arm Mounted Burst Cannons
Shoulder Mounted Missile Pods
Command Drone
Gun Drone
Shield Drone
Psychological Profile: Shas'O Shi'ur is steadfast in his belief in the greater good. He is noble and honorable to all he has dealt with, ally and enemy alike. He is slightly naive in that he believes that most races of the universe, aside from the Tyranids and Orcs, can come together and thrive under the guidance of the ethereals and their teachings of tau'va. His only blemish in his faith in the ethereals is he questions their decisions regarding Commander Farsight. In combat, O'Shi'ur follows the Tau doctrine of observing his enemy for a weak point before striking, preferring to hold back his forces until the opportune moment. In most social scenarios, O'Shi'ur is fairly direct and to the point, preferring to stay towards business. However, in private with his friends he is far more approachable and congenial.

Brief Biography: Shas'O Shi'ur is a relatively young Tau commander, but has served in a variety of situations. He has both fought as a soldier and commander against Orcs and Tyranids alike, with a few engagements against rebel human auxiliary worlds as well. As a fire warrior, O'Shi'ur quickly demonstrated his skill and competence in battle, and eventually commanded a squad that would be known for both bravery and tactics. O'Shi'ur was quite infatuated with the XV25 stealth suits, but certainly did not complain when he was called upon to pilot an XV8 crisis suit after his trial by fire. O'Shi'ur spent an equal amount of time perfecting both his skill and tactical knowledge, and considered Commander Shadowsun his personal hero. O'Shi'ur was promoted to the rank of Shas'O after a daring mission in which he rescued an ethereal from an Orc invasion of a frontier world, holding the horde back until reinforcements arrived. O'Shi'ur was placed in charge of a scouting fleet, whose purpose was to patrol the edge of Tau space to preemptively strike at any invasion force until backup arrived. Recently, activity close to the border of tau space has the ethereal's nervous. After deliberation, they chose to outfit O'Shi'ur with the latest prototype XV22 command stealth suit, and sent his scouting fleet to investigate the disturbance.

[mattmanganon]

Title: The Vigilant Guard
Name: Kurn Wolfstalon
Appearance:

(This is my actual Space Wolves Warlord. I am, hopefully, soon going to get him professionally painted.)


Equipment/Weapons Loadout: Force Staff, Psy-Cannon, Runic Tartaros-patter Terminator Armour, Belt of Russ.
Psychological Profile: A being of indeterminate mental condition. Having lost most of his chapter to a trap by their most hated of enemies, the Thousand Sons, Kurn has become increasingly more desperate, turning away from some of the more established doctrines in order to ensure the safety of humanity. Many would call him a heretic for actually rescuing an Eldar Farseer, but desperate times called for desperate measures, as he see's it, the Eldar are deceitful, but they share a common enemy in Chaos, and with the destruction of the holy mothers of Fenris and Terra, allies are a commodity that one must suffer aliens to live in order to survive. Kurn may be a Rune Lord, but he will always be at the forefront of the charge, riding astride Russ, his great Cyberwolf. Much like his Primarch, he believes that Psyker powers do not give one the right to fight without honour, but can be used to tip the tide of battle in his favour.
Brief Biography: A being of great psyker potential, born on the Holy Mother, Fenris, he grew up as most youths did, hunting in the unforgiving wastes. Then, one night, whilst still a boy, his brother took him out fishing, an activity that they both enjoyed. Whilst on the ice, they were confronted by a giant Fenrisian Thunderwolf, a creature that his tribe considered to be invincible behemoths. The Wolf attacked his brother, who barely managed to escape, thanks to the intervention of Kurn, who roared a roar that the great Wolf King, Leman Russ, would have been proud. The Wolf doubled over in pain before seemingly being lifted into the air and thrown clear across the lake. It retreated and Kurn fell unconcious, but just before he did, he saw The image of a giant, metal man, clad in the pelt of a wolf, and adorning his head with its skull, approaching him. the Sky Warriors came for him, taking him to their great fortress atop the highest mountain on Fenris. They tortured him far beyond the breaking point of any 7 year old, but it was all because they knew he could take it, they sensed a powerful connection to The Warp inside of him. He was taken to the middle of the wastes and braved the 1000 mile walk back to the fortress, as all aspiring Sky Warriors do, and upon returning, was greeted by the Wolf Lord, Ulrik. Over the following years, he was trained by the various Rune Priests, before his powers grew to the extent that he was given to Njal Stormcaller, the Rune Lord, for training.

Eventually, he was finally sent into battle for the Space Wolves. Fighting against the forces of Chaos. His psyker powers proved enough to overcome even a Great Unclean One. The rest of the campaign proved successful and he was granted Terminator Honours for his feats agains the Daemons. He was then placed under the direct command of Wolf Lord Mogh Ironfang. Mogh was an excellent commander, specializing in mechanized warfare, as with most other "Iron" lords. Kurns abilities to control the elements proved useful, creating blizzards to mask their approach, summoning ice shard storms to cut down the unsuspecting foes, and even manifesting the jaws of the World Wolf in order to destroy their more heavily armoured enemies. The pair cut a bloody swath through the chaos lines that surrounded the Eye of Terror. But, it was not to last, when Abaddon finally succeeded in his plans of expanding the Eye of Terror, their battlegroup was answering a distress call from the Mordian sector, which, Although fortunately took them away from the Eye before it engulfed them, Cadia and the Holy Mother Fenris, unfortunately turned out to be a chaos trap, set by The Emperor's Children. Mordia fell in 180 hours... Even the assistance of Eldar that had followed the Slaaneshi worshipers in order to ambush them once they sprung their trap, proved in vain, Mogh was killed in a duel against the Chaos Lord, succeeding in killing him, but too weakened by the fight to fend off the Keeper of Secrets that rose from the fallen Chaos Lords body.

Kurn accepted the field-promotion to Rune Lord in order to take control of the remaining forces and called in the all-retreat. Knowing that the battle was lost and planning to take their forces to regroup, before committing to a counter attack. With the extreme losses at Mordia, his Space Wolves number only 79. But, took solace in that he was able to rescue over a thousand Mordian Guard that joined his cause. Just as he was in the planning stages of the counter attack, he received word that a fleet was massing at Vigil and so set course. If humanity was at its twilight, then it was going to go down fighting.

[Templar Knight]

Title: The Prophet of Ending
Name: Ezekiel Mephisto
Appearance:
Equipment/Weapons Loadout: Bolt Pistol, Rune Staff, Engraved Combat Knife, Heresy Pattern-Power Armour
Psychological Profile: (A brief explanation of their personality and any quirks they might have.) TO BE WRITTEN
Brief Biography: (Notable battles fought, events witnessed/participated in, strange happenings, contacts or relationships made, etc.) TO BE WRITTEN

[The Imagination]

Hmm, yes. This is very good, aside from Templar Knight who has yet to finish this all looks good, everyone is accepted so far. I'm looking forward to seeing your completed sheet, Knight!

Just a heads up, i'll be finishing my character sheet soon. The OOC will come up within the next few hours.

[The Imagination]

So i'll be giving everyone an army and unit count under their accepted sheets in the first post. Some armies will be big, some small. Keep in mind you don't even really have to be strategic or command them in any way, it is entirely up to you how you wish to use or not use them. If you don't wish to use them, than they will simply be the forces fighting alongside you.

Foreword; Nothing you can do will save them, in fact you can even contribute to their losses in various epic ways, from final stands to sacrifices to surprise attacks. Chances are though, regardless of which faction is winning based on all of your actions, i'll be killing off most of your forces by the climactic end.

[The Imagination]

The OOC is up in the Advanced section! I'll compile the rest of the accepted sheets into the first post. I reserved the Siphon of Blood for LupusIntus due to their interest in it, but they can still apply for any other roles if they wish. The Prophet of Ending is of course reserved for Templar Knight until he finishes. So thats about it, thanks to all those showing interest and all future players/collaborators! Lets make this an epic roleplay to remember!