Vigil is an insignificant
three planet system orbiting a giant blue star on the rimward border of Drusus
Marches. Once it’s main planet, Vigil III was the centre of an advanced
civilization of unknown void faring species. Now it is listed as a dead world
on the Imperial Astral Charts. Its original rulers were wiped out by vile xenos
slaught many millennia ago, them in turn driven off planet by adeptus astartes.
Today there is an imperial ban on the system, upheld tenuously by Battlefleet
Calixis. Their hold on the world is eroded to such an extent that pirates and
scavengers claim it as their own.
All around Vigil vast debris
fields of a dead warp ships float. These are the tattered remnants of the
Imperial battlefleet sent to assist the Adeptus Astartes of Storm Wardens
chaplain during action known as “Cleansing of Vigil” hundreds of years ago.
Using their warp craft the nefarious xeno slaught caught many of the ships by
surprise, teleporting their boarding parties on board from the planet surface.
Ships burned, fired on each other and made suicidal ramming assaults as slaught
forces took control. Although Storm Warden's vessels made it to Vigil and the
space marines overcame the xenos after bitter fighting, the imperial fleet was
almost completely wiped out.
Afterwards Battlefleet Calixis
sent salvage missions to de-arm the derelicts but their work concerned mostly main
armaments. Vast amount of other tech, equipment and promethium was left on the
voided hulks. Today the Vigil Flotsam sports a healthy mix of scavenger clans,
pirate crews and other shady entrepreneurs making a living on what the debris
field provides.
Lore of the Vigil
After the Cleansing adepts of
the Historical Revision Unit purged most records of Vigil’s past. Some
knowledge remains, however:
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Challenging Common Lore (Calixis Sector/Imperium)
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Success
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Vigil is an insignificant system on the
rimward border of Drusus Marches. It’s three planets orbit a blue giant.
Voidsmen rumour of solar flares, dust clouds and gravity riptides in the
system.
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Success +1
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There are vast debris fields in the system,
remnants of some ancient naval battle.
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Success +2
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Vigil III is inhabitable but suspiciously
little data can be found about the planet in common archives.
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Difficult Common Lore (Adeptus Astartes) or
challenging Forbidden Lore (Adeptus
Astartes) or very hard Common Lore
(War)
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Success
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Storm Wardens chapter fought an action called
the Cleansing of Vigil in the last years of M41.600.
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Success +1
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The action was fought against xeno race of
unknown origin. Most of the fighting took place in tunnels beneath planet
surface.
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Success +2
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The adversary was a heretical xeno race called
slaught who used infiltration tactics to break the astartes combat
discipline.
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Challenging Common Lore (Navy)
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Success
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Vigil system has been cordoned off by the Navy
for hundreds of years
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Success +1
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A naval action was fought in the Vigil system
in the last years of M41.600
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Success +2
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During the last few decades the watch on Vigil
has been reduced to merely a single cruiser.
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Hard Forbidden
Lore (Xenos)
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Success
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Pre M36 an advanced
xenos race ruled Vigil III, later to be wiped out by some calamity.
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Success +1
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The planet is
believed to been invaded by xenos slaught, later driven out by imperial forces.
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Success +2
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Slaught are
nightmare things from some unknown dimension. They are adept at infiltration
and assassination.
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Challenging Common Lore (Underworld)
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Success
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Vigil system has been hotbed of pirate
activity for quite some time.
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Success +1
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Ship parts, promethium and even whole attack
craft have found their way to black market from the Vigil system.
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Success +2
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Some say that Cold Traders have been making a
neat profit from xeno artefacts of Vigil origin lately.
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Vigil System
Details
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Drusus Marches
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“Abhor the Night, it is the Light that Endures!”
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Dead Planet
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Calixis Sector
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Restricted Access
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Segmentum Obscurum
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Aptus Non
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System
Features
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Mighty star (Blue)
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Pirate Den (5 Wolfpack raiders)
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Ruined Empire (Xenos Ruins)
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Inner Cauldron
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Main biosphere
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Outer Reaches
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Vigil I
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Vigil III
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Gravity Riptide
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Large and dense rocky planet
Burning World
High gravity
Moderate toxic atmosphere
Inhospitable
3 landmasses
2 lesser moons
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Large rocky planet
Temperate World
Normal Gravity
Thin tainted atmosphere
Verdant ecosystem
Large asteroid companion
2 landmasses, 4 territories
Expansive forests
Highland swamps
Fertile plains
Frozen swamps
1 industrial metal resource (sustainable)
2 radioactive material resources (limited)
1 archeotech cache (minimal)
1 xenos ruins (significant, unknown species)
3 colonies (pirate, basic industry)
Small herd animals
Stalker predators
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It takes a Hard (–20) Scrutiny+Detection Test
to spot a gravitational rip-tide on
the ship’s auger arrays, and a
Challenging (+0) Pilot (Space Craft)+Manoeuvrability Test to avoid
one. If a helmsman chooses, however, he can
pilot his ship into the tide’s gravity well while making a Hard (–20) Pilot (Space Craft)+Manoeuvrability
Test. Success
means the helmsman has built up enough speed
for his vessel to “shoot the
rapids”—using the speed generated by the tide’s
pull to shoot out the other side at tremendous
velocity.
For
every degree of success, the GM should subtract a day from the travel
time to the starship’s destination. If the helmsman fails the test—or the starship fails to spot and
avoid the tide—the ship takes 1d5
damage to its Hull Integrity ignoring armour
or void shields, and must make a Hard (–20) Pilot (Space Craft)+
Manoeuvrability Test to break free. If it fails it takes another 1d5 damage and must make
another test. This continues until the ship escapes or is destroyed.
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Vigil II
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Starship Graveyard
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Starship Graveyard
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Large rocky planet
Burning World
Normal Gravity
Moderate corrosive atmosphere
Inhospitable
Single landmass
Moon
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Fleet Engagement
The graveyard consists of 13 hulks, and includes
vast fields of unexploded mines, spent volleys of torpedoes and drifting
attack craft.
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Skirmish
The graveyard consists of 6 hulks, all broken
beyond repair but containing salvageable parts.
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Solar Flares
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Each day a ship remains in this area, roll
1d10; on a result of 10 or higher, the ship is
caught in the effects of a Solar Flare, unless it can find shelter in a safe
orbit behind
a sheltering object.
Treat the effects of a Solar Flare as
inflicting
1d5 hits from a Macrobattery with a Damage of
1d10+3. This Damage is stopped by Void
Shields.
Further, the effects of the flare
are spread across such a vast area that it
does not inflict Critical Hits like a weapon with a Crit Rating. Damage past
the Armour
of a Crippled ship still inflicts Critical Hits
normally.
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Dust Clouds
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A successful Difficult (–10) Navigation (Stellar)+Detection Test is required to
pass through a cloud on a proper course. Success means the ship makes its way
through the cloud quickly, but failure means the ship is delayed. For every
degree of failure, the ship must spend an extra day getting to its
destination.
In
addition, the maximum weapon range for ships in a dust cloud is limited by
the it’s density (roll 3d10 at the start of battle, this is the furthest that
all ship’s sensors and weapons will operate). A ship making a
Silent Running Manoeuvre gains +30 to its
Manoeuvre Tests.
Any Tests using a ship’s auger arrays within the
dust cloud are made three steps more difficult.
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Resources on Vigil III
Archeotech Cache – The old battle base of Storm Wardens still lies
deep in Vigil’s marshy highlands. Eroded earthworks and parts of plasteel
ramparts are visible from orbit. Pirates have taken over the base and made a
colony there. Among the ruins they found an ancient Navis Prima detailing an
alternate approach to nearby star systems as used by Storm Wardens all those
years ago. Using this knowledge they have been able to raid the shipping lanes
of Thical and Archaon with impunity and make their escape to avoid reprisals.
Local
threats: Pirates, Predators
Xenos Ruins – In many places on the planet crumbling ruins of
unnamed cities can be spotted. These are all that remains of the unknown xenos
species that ruled this star system many millennia ago. In the ruins one can find
entries to vast, continent spanning network of tunnels and caves the xenos used
for their own indecipherable ends. Perhaps they were built for transportation
between cities or as a means of defence against invaders. Whatever the use, the
slaught took over this network and used it to great effect against the Storm
Wardens.
No-one
has taken the effort to map out these tunnels in any meaningful way. Even
though a large wealth in xenos artefacts could be found in them the pirates and
the hulkers avoid these dark places like plague. They say that vile unnameable
beasts haunt the tunnels, ready to snatch anyone stupid enough to venture into
them.
Local
threats: Pirates, Predators, Slaught Vassal Constructs, Madness
Resources in
Vigil Flotsam
Promethium - There is great
wealth in weapons grade promethium to be gained from the derelicts. Finding and
siphoning it is hard work, and dangerous.
Void ship parts - Circuitry,
cogitators and other things, mostly in poor repair. No major ship parts can be
found on the hulks but there is always something worth selling on them.
Whole attack
craft - All cruisers of the fleet carried Lightning and Marauder wings, not all
of which were destroyed or found. These are few and far apart however.
Xenotech - Slaught biotech is vile and repulsive but highly sought after by
some heretical parties. Necrotic Sceptres, Shroud Cloaks and even viler things
have found their way into Cold Trade from the Flotsam.
Local threats: Pirates,
Hulkers, Perils of the Void
NPC parties in
Vigil System
Hulker's
Alliance
Hulker’s Alliance is a loose
"nation" of scavenger tribes that claim the Flotsam as their own.
They have a complicated system of traditional scavenging rights, marriages,
trade partnerships and dependencies that binds them together. Hulkers take a
dim view on anyone trying to encroach on "their territory". The nominal
leader of the tribes is thain Eniac. He seeks to find better ways than pirates
to get their haul off Vigil but hitting a balance between tradition and profit
may be harder than he thinks. The hulkers have claimed Vigil III’s asteroid
companion as their own territory, though they mostly live on 5 hulks they have
patched up over the years.
Hulker Tribesman:Voidfarer, RT
Core Rulebook, pg 371
Scav Lighter: Arvus Lighter,
Into the Storm, pg. 180
Scav Attack Craft: Fury
Interceptor, Into the Storm, pg. 180
Pirates
Part pirates, part smugglers,
a number of independent pirate crews use Vigil III itself as base of
operations. They haunt the space around Thical and Archaon, hitting the
shipping lanes and vanishing quickly back to Vigil system. The pirates also
ship scavenged materials from the system. Their relationship with the hulkers
is tenuous at best. Their smuggling operations are useful to the scavengers but
there are frequent clashes too.
Many of them are currently
employed by Regis Triplex, seeking and smuggling what they believe to be xeno
sculptures on the planet and in the Flotsam.
Vigil Pirate Captain: Void
Pirate Captain, RT Core Rulebook, pg. 373
Vigil Pirate: Renegade, RT
Core Rulebook, pg. 373
Wolfpack Raider: Wolfpack
Raider, RT Core Rulebook, pg. 209
Commander
Immacolata Marziani, an Aptus Non Agent
Immacolata is an officer of
the Battle fleet Calixis and commander of the only proper fighting ship resident
to Vigil system. Her ongoing mission is to cordon off the planet and monitor
the system. After 40 years on duty this corpulent woman has pretty much given up
on trying to execute her mission. She is more than happy to take bribes (she's
always on lookout for new entertainment to break the tedium) and let things go
on. Her ship, Truth From Error, is a
Light Cruiser built during the Angevin Crusade, way past her decommissions
date. Much of the ships operation is handled by servitors, actual human crew
numbering in few thousand.
Immacolata Marziani: Navy
Officer, RT Core Rulebook, pg. 372
Truth From Error: Dauntless
Class Light Cruiser, RT Core Rulebook, pg. 196
Regis Triplex, Agent of the Amaranthine Syndicate
Fomon, Slaught Infiltrator
The Amaranthine Syndicate has
special interests in Vigil and Regis Triplex is their agent for the area. He resides
on the hive world of Thical, posing as a curio dealer and art afficinado. Regis
uses his servants and agents to do business in Vigil system. His aim is to find
and recover slaught xenotech left in the Vigil after the Cleansing. He currently
employs the pirates to do his work for him, but to his tastes they are rude,
rough and unreliable. Should someone more suitable come along he would gladly
sell out his former retainers and take on new ones. The savings in commissions
owed alone would be astronomical.
In truth Regis is nothing but
a hollow shell of a man controlled by his closest “servant” Fomon. He is a
tall, gangly man of few words and unpleasant countenance. Fomon is a slaught
infiltrator in charge of operations on Vigil. He keeps Regis going and in check
by doses of slaught drugs. He has also embedded a slaught kill parasite into
Regis’ brain. Under interrogation his fragile mind will break and activate the
parasite which will turn the man’s brain into bloody mush.
Fomon uses Regis to gather
slaught weapons and other tech and smuggles them to Malfi. His ultimate goal is
to find enough parts to construct a gateway to the nightmarish home dimension
of his people and bring a force of slaught on the war torn planet.
Regis Triplex: Freetrader
Captain, RT Core Rulebook, pg. 371
Fomon: Slaught Infiltrator,
Game Master’s Kit p. 21
Slaught Vassal Construct
Most slaught on Vigil III were
driven out or killed by Storm Warderns during the Cleansing. The vast
subterranean tunnel networks were too big of a task to clear out even for
mighty astartes, however. A few of the dread slaught battle hulks still haunt
the dark caverns, lying dormant for decades and centuries until brought back to
action by creatures disturbing their slumber. Once roused they are terrifying
adversaries indeed.
Slaught Vassal Construct, DH
Ascension, pg. 209
Possible
ventures
Liquid Gold
- With heresy on the rise in neighbouring Malfian subsector
there is renewed need for flamer fluids. If someone could truly industrialize
the promethium trade from Flotsam they might make a fortune in thrones.
Pirate Hunt - Rulers of Thical
and Archaon feel the pirate threat mounting. Elements of Battlefleet Calixis
have been drawn to Malfian subsector to fight new threats there and the
marauding bastards have become ever bolder. Should someone be able to eliminate
the threat they would be well rewarded.
Vanishing
Remnants – Regis Triplex of Amaranthine Syndicate is interested
in slaught xenotech. Finding such things will not be easy or nothing short of
gravest heresy. Never mind the perils of Inquisition but who is to say that all
slaught were destroyed during the Cleansing? If the characters are not into Cold
Trade Regis spins a tale of “xenos sculptures”, harmless remnants of Vigil’s
distant past. The sculptures are corroded pieces of unidentifiable bronze coloured
metal, varying in size from small rods to pieces larger than a lighter. They
seem to be arbitrarily shaped, some almost graceful but most clumsy and even
downright ugly. These are in truth various pieces of slaught xenotech, weapons,
armour and ship pieces.
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