It is during this Chapter that the Kill-team discovers evidenceof the three tangential objectives, though with the ticking clockof the imminent Warp translation, they will have no time toinvestigate. Instead, they must quickly make their way to what theydiscover is the remains of the Emperors Gaze, a famous vessel ofthe Achilus Crusade, said to have been lost to the Imperium. Aboardthe Emperors Gaze, those fortunateor accursedfew who have thus farsurvived the ordeal await their destiny. What form that destinywill take is a subject of great debate amongst the survivors, andthe Battle-Brothers must tread lightly lest they find themselves,unexpectedly, in the midst of enemies.
CHAPTER III: DARKNESS AT THE COREThough they may have foundtemporary sanctuary, the Battle-Brothers cannot simply abandontheir mission. From their current location, the Kill-team has arelatively clear path to their escape, but three dire threats loombefore them. Should the players choose to undertake one of theoptional objectives, the Game Master can look to this chapter forthe resolution of those individual plots. The first of theseoptional objectives is an infestation of the psychic vermin knownas Enslavers. The second concerns a rogue agent of the Inquisitionand a powerful alien artefact at the heart of Mortis Thule. Thethird, and final, objective takes the form of a powerful Orkwarlord who has built a mighty Waaagh! in the bowels of MortisThule and is prepared to unleash it upon the Jericho Reach. Uponthe conclusion of their chosen optional objective, or should theydisregard all three and focus on completing their original mission,the players must make their way through the final hazards of theSpace Hulk, winding their way to the Imperial vessel. The Kill-teammust hurry, however, as they all begin to feel the tug at theirsouls as Mortis Thule is yet again pulled back to the Warp.
deathwatch ark of lost souls pdf
CHAPTER APPROVED BRIEFINGSpace Hulks are an ever-present threatto the security of the Imperium and the rule of the Emperor, andhave plagued the space lanes at least as long as the Imperium hasstood. A Space Hulk is a conglomeration of star ships, space bornerock, and other, less classifiable objects sucked into, or lostwithin, the Warp. Cast adrift upon the insane currents of the Seaof Souls, the Space Hulk grows ever larger as more wrecks are drawntowards it. Far from being empty tombs, Space Hulks are ofteninfested with all manner of organisms. Most exist in the darkestdepths and the deepest shadows, only emerging to ambush any soulbrave or foolish enough to board their accursed domain during theperiodic interludes where it drops out of the Warp to drift alongthe space lanes of the Imperium of Man.
When a Space Hulk is detected near an Imperial world, theobvious course of action would be to bombard it to atoms. Whilemany wish this were possible, the chance to find lost archeotech orrelics of a bygone age is far too great. This is because SpaceHulks represent an accumulation of vessels, both human and alien,many of them so ancient they predate the Age of Imperium. Themachine systems to be found within these wrecks are beyondpriceless in a
Another of Mortis Thules unusual features is its sheerantiquity. The fact that it was the 427th Expeditionary Fleet thatfirst uncovered evidence of the Space Hulk places it amongst thevery oldest of codified Space Hulks in the Imperiums archives andraises the possibility that amongst the countless wrecks that makeup its vast bulk are the remains of vessels from ages known only bytitles. Should a voidship dating back to the earliest stages of theAge of Technology be discovered and recovered, a glimpse ofMankinds earliest exploration of the stars themselves would beafforded, and otherwise long lost technologies might berediscovered. Few dare to dream what possibilities might be openedup by the adoption of entirely novel methods of space travel, forexample, while others hold such notions as heretical and denounceany that propagate them.
According to the archives of the Deathwatch, the uncharteddepths of Mortis Thule are host to several factions, all of themanathema to the Imperium of Man. These include populations ofGenestealers, Orks, human outcasts, and xenos abominations such asEnslavers. In addition, it is not uncommon for the surviving crewof vessels drawn to Mortis Thule to survive for a brief time,forming small colonies of shipwrecked men and women growingincreasingly desperate and insane with each Warp jump and with eachwave of attacks by the other creatures dwelling within. In truth,it is rare for such groups to survive for more than a few days, forunlike conventional starships, Mortis Thule has no Gellar Field toprotect its inhabitants from the perils of the Warp when it divesinto that unknowable realm. Thus unshielded from the denizens ofthe Realm of Chaos, the souls of those cast adrift on Mortis Thuleserve as blazing beacons for all manner of Warp entities. Deathwould be a welcome relief for these doomed souls, for most arecondemned to an eternity of infernal torment at the hands, teeth,and claws of the fell creatures of the Warp.
Chaos Raiders: Chaos is ever-present in the 41st Millennium, andmuch of the Jericho Reach is tainted with its baleful influence andoverrun by its deluded servants. The devotees of the Ruinous Powerscome in many forms, one of the more dangerous of which are thewolfpack pirates who prey upon the war-torn space lanes of theJericho Reach. Such individuals are less interested in materialbooty and concerned mainly for the souls they can offer up to theirDaemonic masters. Over the last century alone, at least threeseparate groups of Chaos reavers have attempted to utilise MortisThule as
LOST BRETHRENThere are those amongst the Deathwatch who take itupon themselves to record the names and deeds of everyBattle-Brother that takes the Apocryphon Oath, in particular theChaplains who attend the Hall of Glory on Watch Fortress Erioch.Some do this out of duty, others for the honour of fallen brethren,while a few do it because they feel they owe some debt known onlyto themselves. Such Brothers as these are aware of something of thetruth regarding how perilous a boarding action onto Mortis Thuleactually is. While most brethren are aware of a small number of kinwho have fallen on such a mission, others are unfortunate enough tobe able to see the larger picture. They can reel off a long andtragic litany of names, each a Battle-Brother that boarded MortisThule and simply disappeared from the annals of history, his fatenever to be recorded and, most tragically of all, his gene-seednever to be returned to his Chapter. A Battle-Brother in possessionof knowledge of a recently lost Space Marine is forewarned of thelikelihood of encountering his remains and honour bound to recoverhis gene-seed no matter the danger. This allows the Game Master tohave the Kill-team come upon the remains of a fallen Battle-Brotherlater in the adventure, at a time of his choosing. The encountercould take place during an otherwise quiet passage of theexploration of Mortis Thule and be used to impart atmosphere andpathos, or it could take place in the midst of a desperate combatwhen the Kill-team has far more immediate concerns than recoveringthe progenoid gland of a fallen Space Marine. The GM can awardbonus Experience Points should the player respond well to thisencounter.
THE EMPERORS GAZEThe vast mass of Mortis Thule is made up ofstarships of all types, as well as space borne rock and otherdebris. It has long been noted that much of the wreckage of whichthe Space Hulk is composed is destroyed beyond any hope of the crewhaving survived the calamitous accidents that drew their vessel toits doom. Very occasionally, however, a ship caught up in the drawof Mortis Thule survives the impact and meld in such a state thatmany of its crew do too. One very rare example of this is TheEmperors Gaze, a diplomatic vessel lost in the early days of theAchilus Crusade. The ship was struck off of the crusades fleetregistry when it was determined that it had somehow become lost inthe Warp. Of late, however, doubts as to the ultimate fate of theEmperors Gaze have emerged, many of them voiced by the extended kinof the Navigator that was guiding the vessel through the Warp atthe time of its loss. In short, the Navigators peers assert thathad the soul of one of their own been claimed by the denizens ofthe Sea of Souls, then every other Navigator within a hundred lightyears would instantly have known of it and shared a portion ofhis
Worse are the remains of once-proud servants of the Emperor whohave fallen to the baleful Warp energies, trapped withoutprotection aboard the Space Hulk as it plunges into the Sea ofSouls. Whispered legends speak of Sons of Russ lost within on afailed mission, and of furred, bestial shapes that hunt on allfours. Their howls echo across the dead hulls, their new forms sotainted that their gene-seed is unusable. Many Oaths are taken toend their tormented existence, and missions to Mortis Thule haveseen members suddenly leave their Kill-team when the howls areheard and honour demands action.
Humans are not alone in seeking to explore Mortis Thule. SeveralKill-teams have reported a lone Eldar stalking the deep hulls,always withdrawing rather than fighting, to the frustration of theSpace Marines. The Ancient Ones, when questioned or brought onmissions to the Space Hulk, rumble in low tones about a xenosvessel that explosively materialised inside the rock one century,the glowing gems that lined its crystalline hull strewn across theSpace Hulks massive breadth. Xenos and Daemon fight over thesemorsels of soulstuff, with each immersion into the Sea of Soulstainting the precious items. Tales speak of a massive construct ofsmooth, gem-studded material that tears across the hulls,destroying everything in its path with insane fury and devastatingweapons, including its own xenos kin when they attempt to calm themonstrous creature.
Most importantly, Mortis Thule contains ancient devices andsecrets of the Deathwatch, items that cannot be revealed orexplained even to other Imperial agencies within the Jericho Reach.Some were lost on previous missions, while others are only known toexist from Omega Vault revelations. To recover and preserve suchtreasures, there is little a Kill-team would not risk, evenventuring far into the darkness of Mortis Thule. 2ff7e9595c
Comments