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Lure of the Expanse is just that sort of chart. The initial adventures helped us to see what Endeavors can do for us, and showcased some of the differences between Rogue Trader and Dark Heresy, but this adventure guide truly showcases the long term goals of the game and shows a GM how to traverse these dark shores.
Before we continue, I want to relate a few facts about myself. I got into gaming very young. My first real product was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, by Palladium Books, and the infamous Red Box. I know that my mom bought the Red Box for D&D and that I bought the TMNT book, but I truly cannot remember which came first. I remember running TMNT for my friends because their mom’s were convinced that D&D was the devils work, so they were mutant animals in the Dragon lance setting. I still remember them trying to negotiate the Draconian into their new animal society thinking they were mutant lizards 20 years ago…
Since then I have run just about every game, and I own almost all the games I run. I say almost because I sold my collection of Old World of Darkness materials to a friend of mine. To say it was a complete collection is understating it, I am something of a role playing collector but not just of old module and rare works but of settings and systems. I almost never run pre-packaged games as I, as a storyteller (my preferred title), prefer to tailor my games to the players and I have rarely found a campaign that sufficiently meets my players needs. I have run a few as-is, however, such as the Tower of Fear collection from Dead lands Classic.
This is a playtest review of my experiences running this adventure. I have a hard time seeing some of the mechanics on paper, and I greatly prefer running adventures to theorizing about possibilities on how it might work. I say this because I am terrible judge of maybe, this is about what happened when I ran the adventure and my thoughts on each of the parts. It’s my intentions to review each of the three segments of the adventure and how my players interacted with each chapter. THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
To start, let’s introduce my players. To protect the guilty only the characters names will be referenced. First up is the Captain, Guile Faedra. Guile was a prisoner on a prison planet, the victim of Tech Heresy. Normal on the outside the experiments left him twisted under the skin, making him hate the Mechanicum in all their forms for their lack of involvement and later their betrayal as they branded him dangerous when they discovered him. His only friend in that hole was a fallen missionary named Mord Hadden. Mord had been mutated by the toxins of his home world; those mutations left him almost half serpent. His faith in the emperor was such that even these trials would dissuade him, condemned for his mutations he ministered in the prison world and was supported by Guile in their darkest times. They were freed when a very distant relative, and Warrant holder, died and the Inquisition found that he was a more direct descendent of the original Warrant holder than the scion of the line. Guile was given the impression that the Inquisition would rather a tortured pair of mutants hold this warrant than the current scion, a disturbing thought to say the least.
Mord and Guile were freed with the condition that a small unit of Space Marines be stationed on his ship. They would never get involved in his doings unless it was shown to be a willful alliance with the ruinous powers. As they took control of the dynasty they discovered that the disgraced daughter of the former Trader, Allondra Fadrea, had done a number on their flag ship. Spending a majority of their diminished dynastic wealth on their flagship, the Frigate Resolute Sword, they were able to restore her and re-enable their Teleportorium. A year later finds the team arriving in Port Wander where they pick up their new Arch Militant and ships Security Officer Zola Tarbonna. Zola was raised on a hive world and ran her own gang until she was run off world by local Adeptus Arbites and become something of a galactic mercenary before impressing Captain Fadrea and joining the Sword. The other member of the team was the Explorator Tor, who was part of the original crew and risen to his rank by falling out with the ships Magos, condemned to represent the Mechanicum to a captain who hates the Tech Priests.
I was a bit surprised at the crew; I expected a Navigator, an Astropath Transendant, a Rogue Trader, and an Arch Militant. The Tech Priest was something I could see, but the one who ended up playing the mutant missionary was a bit odd for me but I doubt my players even noticed.
Chapter 1: Eye of the Needle
Eye of the Needle sets the explorers off on a desperate 10 way struggle for a planet called the Dread Pearl. Ok, for the record: that is a terrible name. The second I said it in the game the immediate response was “Like Pirates of the Caribbean?” And the answer is No. That was the Black Pearl, but the name of the planet immediately conjures images of the movie trilogy. Remember when I said that these early adventures are like looking into the eyes of the creator’s soul to see what they saw? Pirates…. IN SPACE…..
Aesthetic choices aside, let’s continue.
The Eye starts off with explorers arriving in Footfall (which is directly on the other side of the Maw, the only way into the expanse safely) with the players looking for an invite to an exclusive psychic reading of the treasure planet Dread Pearl. Suddenly the Pirates jokes started flowing and they were asking if Footfall was like Tortuga in the movies. I described something more of a superstructure floating incomplete in space, with holes that starships can fly through. I then reminded them of the scale, that their frigate had a crew upwards of 60,000 and that they will never see some decks of the ship for lack of ever needing to. Eyes started to widen as they started to get an idea of how massive this station was and we moved on.
The chapter covers finding the foretelling on Footfall, the race to the uncovered planet, and then a struggle for the information on that planet. The Footfall chapter has several events, which can be used or not as the party composition allows. There is a pretty good selection of events to choose from to give the Storyteller a chance to ensure that the party gets an invite to the auction for a chance to be in the foretelling. I was initially concerned that they would not be able to close the deal and get into the Foretelling, the auction is a real choke point. If they really fail at getting into the auction, and getting one of the winning bids, then the story comes to a screeching halt. Following the foretelling there are some more random/optional events as the characters race to their destination. The chapter concludes with the hunt on a distant world for… The real map to Dread Pearl! Of course they have to deal with the other captains racing to the planet as well, either by allying with them, keeping ahead of them, or removing them from the race.
I noticed that all the optional encounters were opportunities for other character types to shine. There are two encounters that are, for all intents and purposes, mandatory. The first is a noble event where the nobles and Traders try to show off how courageous they are by eating strange (and disgusting) foods. The second is a meeting with the magpie race called the Stryxis, which is both a chance to trade for supplies and information. These two were clearly created with the titular character in mind, the Rogue Trader, to show off his leadership qualities. The other events showcase the other characters, like a street fight and a shake down from some fake officials at the station. I really liked that these were not mandatory, so my crew did not suffer for not having some of these characters, but were included to give each player time to shine. I also like how each of these little encounters did not include any major plot elements, I have seen some adventures where they include important plot elements in the side events which always makes me feel like I have to give the players a chance at the information presented. It never goes well when I try that.
How did my players fare?
My players landed on Footfall and heard of the gathering held by a noble which mandated their presence. After changing into slightly more appropriate gear they started making their way across the docks to the holdings of the noble. Along the way they encountered the Kroot, since of my players actually has a Tau army I allowed the Captain to hire them as his personal bodyguards. With his new Xenos friends they continued on to the actual party.
The Missionary and the Arch-Militant mingled, the Tech priest struggled to understand what was going on and the Captain hobnobbed. When it came time to try dishes he went for the most bizarre. Eating it he avoided the nasty side effects, mutatation, and was presented with the offer to attend the foretelling on the sly. After probing for what would be required the game devolved into a debate over what he would have. One of the things that they had a very hard time understanding is the scope of their wealth. They had a starting profit factor of 39, but what that meant seemed to elude them. I pointed out that this was not true money, but a measure of their dynasty’s wealth. I also pointed out that, as far as I understand it, they have access to legions of resources to manage their new trade routes and smuggling deals. The rub was that only the charter holder and his direct assets could claim those contracts and establish those routes. After a while their true wealth started to dawn on them, a fact that we rolled into Role-play with the Seneschal advising them of what they have access to. Once they realized that they could just make stuff up, more or less, to represent parts of this wealth the rest of the story went smoother.
They bought into the foretelling by offering the still beating heart of an Eldar Farseer. (Ironic, I know) The foretelling goes off as planned, but the Missionary wills himself out of it. As soon as they are able they flee to their ship and take off. As they are pulling out of the system they come across Lord Admiral Bastille fighting the invisible ship. As a rare act of kindness Captain Fadrea comes to their rescue and the two of them drive the attackers off. Leaving on amicable terms they both jump into the warp to seek the Pearl.
Their trip passes fairly uneventfully and they prepare for the inevitable race on the surface. As they arrive they encounter the strange merchant race of the Stryxx. Their trading comes to mostly naught but the find out more about the planet they are coming closer to and hear of the Hated ones. Unfortunately their Xenos understanding is fail-riffic, so they leave knowing only that a race the Stryxx hate may have founded, and may be on, the planet they are approaching.
Equipped with a Teleportorium the trip to the surface was very quick and stealthy, and fantastic rolls to triangulate their destination makes their arrival even more efficient. The giant bugs were very well received as the wasps made my players squirm. As they arrived in the ruins they began to realize that others were closing in with them and they raced to the conclusion of the first adventure.
The Eldar made a suitable impression on the team. There were more than a few curses at the Warlocks as they unleashed fire attacks while their buddies cut them up. Even though the players didn’t know it, though, they never had a chance between the players and their 60 or so solders they brought with them. They took their readings, dropped a bunch of grenades and teleported out.
Their flight from the system found them at odds with the raider class vessels in orbit. In desperation, due to them not being able to get away fast enough to avoid their attacks, they make a deal with the Lord Admiral. As the Admiral opens up on their pursuers the players flee, giving him the information that they found.
Chapter 2: The Heathen Stars
Second part of the adventure covers the five mini-adventures that explore five locations in the Heathen Stars. Each location is accompanied by a gazetteer to give the location some flavor, the location of the Eldar ruins to get a fix on the Pearl, and an adventure that integrates both. There are three planets included: Dross, Vaporius, and Zayth. Zayth is a war world, a planet covered by land ships engaged in eternal war between the different ships. Vaporius is a desert world inhabited by mutant psychics called Priest-Kings who rule by the power of addictive waters. Dross is a graveyard world where the strange electromagnetic energies disable ships, inhabited by those who prey to the Sky-Father to give them gifts it is both primitive and dangerous. There are also two Void locations, one is a floating ruin in space where an ancient space hulk arrives and the other is gate to a dangerous other realm known as the Processional of the Damned.
Again I was impressed with the gazetteer information and the adventures. They seemed well thought out and, while a little like a railroad, well considered for the different approaches of the players. Each has suggested Achievement points for the different bargains and deals that can be made at each destination. We used four, the book suggests stretching this chapter out as long as the players are having fun with it and that’s how I rolled with it. As soon as they started getting distracted and the endeavors started dragging on they found the true co-ordinates and set sail for the true pearl.
The first visit was to Zayth, the war world. The adventure went exactly as planned at first; they found the ruins, and then beat the armies to the shuttle. Once the Tech Priest learned what they were fighting over he presented it to the captain for him to with as he wished, it was no surprise when he gave it to the Gun-Masters. They then traded the same information to the other ships in exchange for Archaotech they have access to. Endeavor completed they moved on to the next stop.
The next stop was the planet of Vaporius. Again they started out as planned and found the ruins of the Eldar temple and got their readings. As they were getting ready to leave the Captain decided to explore the strange glass cities, but things did not go well with the kings as the captains expectations of kneeling masses at his proclamations of the emperor’s light and purity was met with stony silence. They returned to their ships and fired the ships batteries at the planet with only resulted in the death of those outside the palaces. They decided to return later and wage a more expansive campaign later. No endeavor was completed.
Their next stop was to the void location near the hulk. After getting their readings they started exploring the vessel. As they have been going on and on about getting a cruiser I modified the encounter, they engaged in a running fight to take control of the Light of Terra and in the end claimed it as a prize. Achievement points awarded.
The fourth stop was the processional of the Damned. After some debate they went through the gate and arrived in the haunted other space. This adventure went almost exactly as planned, they entered the system and started rescuing the survivors. As they jumped out they decided to add them to their crew, but they seemed to be losing interest in these little stops here and there. At this point I announced that they had the coordinates they needed to find the Pearl and the jumped into warp for the last time.
The one adventure I did not use was the one I found the most interesting, I fully intend to expand it quite a bit and launch it on my players as an adventure to restore the Light of Terra. The adventure details a world where the falling ships and wreckage becomes temples to their Sky-Father, and the players have the opportunity to mine this place of its ancient technology by pretending to a prophesized messiah figure. Like the other adventures it seems well thought out, but as I am sure you have surmised my players did not approach problems very often in the way the writers assume they will.
I did not really have too much trouble with the section, only that my players were exploring their new roles and had a bit of a hard time when their plans did not work out as they expected. The liberal use of security forces also changed the dynamic of the game a little for me; I am used to tuning a game for the players at the table. The addition of 30-60 troops has changed the dynamic of the battles and how I approach their encounters.
Chapter 3: The World Beyond
The final chapter is the planet they have spent the rest of their time struggling to find. The planet is presented as the final reward for them. The true prize is a world shaped by the Eldar into a paradise, after the fall of their empire some humans discovered and colonized it creating the legends of the planet. Wrapped in a warp storm that surrounds the planet, the storm only abates every so often to allow outsiders in.
As they warped in the discovered several other ships were inbound as well. The captain decided to push his luck and charged forward. Galvanizing his crew for the strange effects of the shrinking storm he solidified his arrangement for the Lord Admiral as a 50/50 split. With the Admiral taking on all comers behind them they raced to the planet surface.
The planet was quite disarming after all the borderline hell’s they had discovered. After teleporting down with their complement of 60 guards, they spread out to investigate the planet. They discovered the sword but no one who tried to use it could pass the willpower test. They decided to box it as a relic and move on. The Missionary bonded the cat creature, which in turn revealed signs that they were being followed. The general consensus was that it was another trader and they moved on into the ruins. The statues become the next point of interest as one of my players correctly assumed that they were Wraithguard. Dropping some grenades on them proved to be very satisfactory to them, after which they moved on when I pointed out that they were out of grenades after a sufficient amount were blown to hell.
The natives were a very engaging encounter to them. We must have spent an hour or two negotiating with them and getting them on their side. In the end I awarded them the bonus points for getting gems in the ocean as they began arraigning large scale teleportorium transfers of gems to their ships in exchange for other items and relics. I got the sense that they saw themselves as pirates plundering a native Caribbean isle of its bounty in their negotiations.
At this point slavers started showing up and a running fight started complicated by other explorers rolling in with their forces. As the battle devolved the captain started offering to teleport the natives to his ship since they were ill prepared to defend themselves in this fight. About this time the Eldar showed up and threw their lot in.
As the battle rose to fevered pitch the players went after the Eldar while their guards held off the other forces. The pathfinders ambushed them and killed the missionary with a lucky shot as they charged the Farseer. The fight ended up with the other players holding the pathfinders off while the captain went toe to toe in melee combat with the Farseer, and with its death the storm started closing in. They teleported back to their ship with the planets settlers and the Lord Admiral crippled a few ships on their way out of the storm stranding the slavers and a few other captains on the planet.
In the end the players were a little pissed that they did not get to keep their prize, but the cruiser was a nice prize. I returned their lost profit factor from the auction with an additional 4 points for their adventures. They began making plans to explore this world called Dross to get parts for the Light of Terra.
Overall
As I stated in the beginning, I feel that this book is a mirror to what the designers of the game had in mind when they were writing it. They were on a diet of horror and swashbuckling adventure, with no small amount of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movies. There are too many parallels to make here, so let’s just say it’s a lot. I do feel that this adventure is a lot less railroad than I thought it would. I sort of expected a plot that would force itself down the players throat, the reality is that the game plays very well with the basic assumption that the players are a bunch of mercenaries only out for profit. Since it’s not all that altruistic I found that they behaved much more to form, and when they deviated it was much easier to handle.
I also felt that a lot of time was spent making sure that everyone on the crew had time to shine, which was nice. Too often I see a particular career ignored or, even worse, its assumed that someone will be able to do something and when they cannot it’s a show stopper. The book did a good job of presenting situations and letting the players decide how to resolve them, very few assumptions are made about how they handle the individual challenges allowing me to easily adapt when they jumped the rails.
Even if you don’t intend to use the adventures there is a ton of information here about the five planets, two stellar hot spots, Eldar technology and ship parts, and campaign construction. I get the feeling that the Heathen Stars section is very much what the normal adventures are envisioned to be: jump into a system, check out the planets, do a little adventure, profit. Since I initially struggled with the games freedoms this was very informative and instructive of how to structure a longer term game.
The style is, for me, spot on. The book drips atmosphere, but this is what I expect from these products. I have yet to come across the Warhammer 40K RPG product that doesn't.
The substance is more than I had hoped, but there were a few points that were a little off. I would have liked some more information in the second chapter, it felt a little like popcorn: you love it when your eating it but you forget about it later. Don't get me wrong, its great stuff but I feel as if something was missing in the middle. Maybe some material got cut that I am sensing there, or maybe there was more to be had from the writers. I guess I will never know.
No one, as of this writing, really knows what is next for the line but I have high expectations. Here is hoping we can indulge the Lure of the Expanse for some years to come. For me this was definatly a buy.
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