AN INTRODUCTION TO BLACK CRUSADE Credits

Lead Developer Licensing and Development Coordinator Sam Stewart Deb Beck

Writing and Development Executive Game Designer Owen Barnes Corey Konieczka

Editing and Proofreading Executive Producer Graham Davy and David Johnson Michael Hurley

Graphic Design Publisher Adam Taubenheim with Brian Schomburg Christian T. Petersen

Cover Art Matt Bradbury Ga m e s Wo r k s h o p Interior Art Matt Bradbury, Dave Gallagher, Zach Graves, Sept13, Licensing Manager Owen Rees Florian Stitz, Kev Walker Head of Licensing Managing Art Director Andy Jones Andrew Navaro Head of Intellectual Property Art Direction Alan Merrett Kyle Hough

Production Management Eric Knight Special Thanks to the Playtesters “Get Off the Love Boat” Thaadd Powell with Justin Baller, Tim Flanders, Mack Martin, Ross Watson, Deb Beck, and Sam Stewart. “You Bid Babies?!” Jordan “Milly” Millward with Keri Harthoorn, Kyle-Harthoorn-Burton, Kieren Smith, and Julia Smith. Rex Vogen.

Fantasy Flight Games FANTASY 1975 West County Road B2 FLIGHT Roseville, MN 55113 GAMES USA ™ Copyright © Game Workshop Limited 2011. Games Workshop, Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer 40,000 Role Play, Black Crusade, Broken Chains, the foregoing marks’ respective logos, Black Crusade, and all associated marks, logos, places, names, creatures, races and race insignia/devices/logos/symbols, vehicles, locations, weapons, units and unit insignia, characters, products and illustrations from the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the Deathwatch game setting are either ®, ™, and/or © Games Workshop Ltd 2000–2011, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. This edition published under license to Fantasy Flight Publishing Inc. All rights reserved to their respective owners. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Product Code: BCP1 Print ID: 1033APR11 Printed in the USA

For more information about the Bl a c k Cr u s a d e line, free downloads, answers to rule queries, or just to pass on greetings, visit us online at www.FantasyFlightGames.com

2 eeis cos h Imperium’s the across Heretics for hunt its in relentless is especially Inquisition The foe. your as itself counts humanity of much Imperium, contend with, and as outcasts from the mustHeretic dangers a only fromthe far are ways fickle their and gods The with. consort to hoped they powers very malevolence and pitiless indifference of the flesh their twisted and their minds screaming,broken by the cruel die more gods million the a of light the in bask to enough high rises that mortal every for and peril, with fraught is that pathhowever, a is It few. favoured their of one become and you around those above up rise might you that so favour their for Chaos of Powers the beseeching glory, to path the walk to chosen have you carnage power, or for revenge, thirst your In powers. forbidden of master or gods dark of follower Imperium—a you take on the role of a renegade from the the champions of theDarkthe champions Godsthemselves! of as you tread the path to greatness and take your place among the yours be revengecan and glory of both yet And chosen.have rulers the by out Imperium and their cursed corpse-god for the calling you cast thought, of schools dangerous and gods forbidden of follower a Heretic, a are individual—you any just not are Yetyouimaginable. bloodyregime most and cruellest the in live to is billions.It heretics, mutants, andworse. barely enough to the hold ever-presentoff threat fromare aliens, they multitudes, their all for but worlds, name uncounted his on in battle give armies Vast will. Emperor’s the of stars, psychicAstronomicon,the manifestation the by waylit distant their between route only daemon-infested the warp, the the of miasma cross battlefleets Mighty vigilance. may never die. truly for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he Imperium the Technology. of of LordAge Carrion the is He a is He Dark the frompower armies.with invisibly writhing carcass rotting inexhaustible his of might the by worlds million a of master gods,and the of will the by mankind of sat master has the is He Emperor Earth. of Throne Golden the the on immobile centuries hundred a than more For B What Crusade isBlack ? It isthe41st k c a l o e mn n uh ie i b oe mns untold amongst one be is times such in man a be To Yet in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal Millennium

C e d a s u r

is a roleplaying game in which in game roleplaying a is free from theImperium. theshadowof live to chance the awaitsand power and glory enough, long God-Emperor. Despite these perils, for those who can survive breath he will never be free these of most hated agents the of worldsHereticdrawscountless a longbeyond,as as and and The following sample characters have been specifically specifically been the have for designed characters sample following The P larger player groups by adding additional Chosen or or Chosen additional adding by characters. Renegade groups accommodate player can larger adventure this although provided, are characters Four different booklet. this of page 16 on begins e r -G d e t a r e n e B n e k o r C C a r a h s n i a h

rve avnue that adventure preview c s r e t 3

Broken Chains Character Name: Asrodel the Fated Player Name______Character Type: Chaos Space Marine Archetype: Forsaken Character History: Asrodel is a Chaos Space Marine known for both his martial pride and honour, and his thirst for victory at any cost. He believes he is destined for greatness, and this drive to succeed left him at odds with his previous warband. During an honour duel with his warband’s champion, Asrodel found himself losing. Rather than accept defeat, he drew his bolter and shot the champion at point blank range. The remainder of the warband was incensed at this breach of their warrior code, and Asrodel joined a wolfpack of pirate reavers to flee retribution. He was captured during a skirmish with Battlefleet Calixis. Pride: Martial Prowess Failing: Betrayal Motivation: Perfection

Weapon Skill Ballistic Skill Strength Toughness Agility Intelligence Perception Willpower Fellowship Infamy (WS) (BS) (S) (T) (Ag) (Int) (Per) (WP) (Fel) (Inf )

10 8 5 0 4 3 4 9 4 7 4 2 3 1 4 6 3 9 3 2 3 0

SKILLS Trained +10 +20 +30 Pl a y i n g As r o d e l t h e Fa t e d Athletics (S) x x x o As a Forsaken, Asrodel stands apart even from other Chaos Awareness (Per) x x o o Space Marines. However, he tolerates anyone, including Dodge (Ag) x o o o human Disciples of Chaos, who do not challenge his Intimidate (S) x x o o martial prowess. He is not incredibly friendly, but is more Stealth (Ag) x o o o than willing to work with the other Heretics to survive. Asrodel is at odds with his own nature. His overwhelming GEAR desire is to become a peerless warrior, second to none with Scavenged power armour, Legion bolter, 3 Legion frag grenades, Knights bolter and blade. However, he also wants to win, and if it of Blood combat sword. (Asrodel does not begin play with this gear) appears he might lose, he’s more than willing to cheat.

TALENTS AND SPECIAL RULES Swift Attack: As a Half Action, Asrodel may make a melee attack with a +0 modifier to his Weapon Skill Test. If he succeeds, he scores one hit on the initial Degree of Success, plus one additional hit for every two additional Degrees of Success. These hits may be allocated to anyone in melee with Asrodel. Unnatural Characteristics: Asrodel adds +4 to his Strength and Toughness Bonuses due to his Space Marine implants. ARMOUR WOUNDS Scavenged Power Armour Total: 18 Armour Points: 8 Current______Special: Grants +20 Strength Fatigue______MOVEMENT INFAMY POINTS Half Action: 4m Full Action: 8m Total: 3 Charge: 12m Run: 24m Current______Permission granted to photocopy for personal use. © Games Workshop Ltd 2010. © Games Workshop for personal use. to photocopy granted Permission WEAPONS Name: Legion bolter Class: Basic Damage: 1d10+9 Pen: 4 Range: 100m RoF: S/3/– Clip:24 Reload: Full Special Rules: Tearing Name: Combat Ssword Class: Melee Damage: 1d10+10 Pen: 2 Special Rules: None Name: Legion Frag Grenade Class: Thrown Damage: 2d10+2 Pen: 0 Range: 30m RoF: S/–/– Clip:1 Reload: – Special Rules: Blast (4)

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4 Special Rules: Tearing Class: Melee Name: Chainsword Special Rules: Tearing Range: 30m Class: Pistol Name: Boltpistol Pride: Charm aid from theInquisition.Throne Agents captured Ninaandsentencedhertointerrogation andexecution. Orrik indeeddied,consumedby warp fire inhis bedchambers.very However, Marcus survived thedaemonicassassin,andfrantically sought more than a pittance and minor retinue of servants. Incensed,went toMerrick’s eldestchild, Orrik.OrrikandhisbrotherNina Marcus consolidated thepower theBlack Household,leaving of Ninawithlittle made a dark pact with a powerful daemon: her soulCharacter History:NinaBlackfor began asthethird life Merrick child Black, of apowerfulRogueher Trader. brothers’ Uponhisdeath, theBlack Warrant deaths. Weapon Skill 4 2 (WS) Character Type: Human Character Name:NinaBlack Ballistic Skill 3 2 Damage: 1d10+5 RoF: S/2/– Damage: 1d10+5 (BS) WEAPONS 3 6 Strength (S) Clip:8 Toughness 3 5 Pen: 2 Reload: Half Pen: 4 (T) Failing: Deceit 41 Archetype: Renegade Player Name______Agility (Ag) Armour Points: 6 Carapace Armour accomplish ends. her her. betrayed that to However, others Imperium workthe with will she and brother her against revenge always is which motive, true her to as woman obsessed with revenge. Nina is not above fooling her companions However, beneath her exterior lies pleasant a dangerous and calculating underlings. reluctant most even the command a blade, weapons are her her true words. She or can motivate, persuade, with skilled Though leader. charismatic and charming a is Black Nina P Stealth (Ag) (Per)Scrutiny Dodge (Ag) Deceive (Fel) Charm (Fel) Awareness (Per) Athletics (S) Charge: 9m Half Action:3m usual +10forStandard Attacks). the of (instead modifier +0 a at made are attacksher chainsword.These with attack one and pistol her with Attack Standard one make TwoWeapon Wielder: Tests based Fellowship successful (either Skill orCharacteristic Test). to Success of Degree one adds (Fellowship): Adroit (Nina doesnotbeginplaywiththisgear). chainsword. pistol, bolt armour, carapace Black House Desecrated n i y a l Intelligence 3 6 (Int) g MOVEMENT ARMOUR N TALENTS ANDSPECIALRULES a n i Perception 3 1 Run: 12m Full Action:6m (Per) B Nina’s charm is legendary. She automatically legendary.She is charm Nina’s a l As a Full Action in melee combat,melee in Action Full a As may Nina Motivation: Vengeance c SKILLS Willpower k 3 2 GEAR (WP) Current______Total: 4 Fatigue______Current______Total: 12 INFAMY POINTS Fellowship 5 3 (Fel) 5 WOUNDS x x o o x x o o x x o o x x x o x x x o x o o o x o o o Trained

+10 4 1 Infamy

+20 ) (Inf

+30 ™

Permission granted to photocopy for personal use. © Games WorkshopBroken Ltd 2010. Chains Character Name: Ciro Player Name______Character Type: Chaos Space Marine Archetype: Chosen Character History: The Alpha Legion warrior who refers to himself only by Ciro was captured within the heart of the Calixis Sector, on the shrine world of Maccabeus Quintus. He eliminated two platoons of Maccabeus Janissaries before his capture. Though the Inquisition does not realize it, Ciro allowed himself to be captured so four of his fellow Alpha Legionnaires could steal an ancient and valuable tome from the cathedrals of Maccabeus Quintus. Now incarcerated by the Inquisition, he trusts in his own resourcefulness to escape. Pride: Devotion Failing: Hubris Motivation: Legacy

Weapon Skill Ballistic Skill Strength Toughness Agility Intelligence Perception Willpower Fellowship Infamy (WS) (BS) (S) (T) (Ag) (Int) (Per) (WP) (Fel) (Inf )

10 8 4 2 4 7 4 5 4 2 3 9 3 8 4 9 4 1 3 4 3 5

SKILLS Trained +10 +20 +30 Pl a y i n g Ci r o Athletics (S) x x o o Ciro believes in a cause larger than himself, the overthrow Awareness (Per) x x x o of the Imperium of Man and the ascendency of the Chaos Deceive (Fel) x x o o Gods as the true powers in the galaxy. His devotion to Dodge (Ag) x o o o them and to the idea of working towards this monumental Intimidate (Str) x o o o goal sustains him against adversity. However, this can lead Scrutiny (Per) x x o o to him being dangerously overconfident. Stealth (Ag) x o o o Ciro is reasonably open and even friendly towards his GEAR fellow Heretics, although when he speaks he manages Heavily modified Mark V power armour, Legion bolt pistol, Mark M to avoid revealing any information about himself or the Stubcannon (Ciro does not begin play with this gear). mission that got him captured.

TALENTS AND SPECIAL RULES Bulging Biceps: Normally characters cannot fire a Heavy weapon without bracing it first. Ciro has the strength and training to fire this weapon without bracing it first. Unnatural Characteristics: Ciro adds +4 to his Strength and Toughness Bonuses due to his Space Marine implants.

ARMOUR WOUNDS Mark V Power Armour Total: 19 Armour Points: 8 Current______Special: Grants +20 Strength Fatigue______MOVEMENT INFAMY POINTS

Half Action: 3m Full Action: 6m Total: 3 Ltd 2010. © Games Workshop for personal use. to photocopy granted Permission Charge: 9m Run: 18m Current______WEAPONS Name: Legion bolt pistol Class: Pistol Damage: 1d10+9 Pen: 4 Range: 30m RoF: S/2/– Clip:8 Reload: Half Special Rules: Tearing Name: Mark M Stubcannon Class: Heavy Damage: 1d10+10 Pen: 3 Range: 100m RoF: –/–/8 Clip:100 Reload: Full Special Rules: None

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6 Pride: Craftsmanship over totheInquisition.The Inquisitionhopestodiscover hisexperimentswent justhowfar before destroying him. When Mechanicusothers andonhimself. theAdeptus discovered hisforbidden experiments, Bore was theorder castoutof andturned curiosity intotheshadowrealm, theimmaterium. Hebegan experimentingwithwarp-spawned mutations, grafting thembothonto theMachine God,andbecameaTech-Priest.into themysteriesof However, Bore’s work onGellarFields andwarp driveshis fuelled Character History: Weapon Skill that of a human, so once skin... it’s so onto their of ahuman, that grafted “improvements.”After all,the flesh of daemona is superior to Tech-Priest. However, his idea along. of helping often involves potentialconvincecanhefellow his Tech-Priests rightwasallthathe escape to perfect his designs, believing that should he succeed,research he performed, and regrets his exile. Now he wishestheAdeptus to Mechanicus. Instead, he genuinely believes in the particularill-willharbourstowardsnoformermasters in his HephastiusBoresomewhatis unique amongst fellows:his he P 3 1 n i y a l (WS) Bore is a friendly and helpful individual, especially for a Character Type: Human Character Bore Name:Hephastius g H Ballistic Skill 4 2 (BS) e p Hephastius Bore hailed fromHephastius originally the Lathes, Forge worlds within the Calixis Sector. There Bore was inducted s u i t s a h 3 4 Strength (S) B e r o 6 Toughness 4 2 (T) 31 Failing: Regret Archetype: Heretek Player Name______Agility (Ag) Special Rules: Cannotberemoved Class: Melee Name: LuminenCapacitor Node Special Rules: Accurate Range: 100m Class: Basic Name: Las-rifle Special: cannotberemoved Armour Points: 3 Integral armoured plating Charge: 9m Half Action:3m Tech-Use (Int) Stealth (Ag) Security (Int) Medicae (Int) Forbidden Lore (Warp) Dodge (Ag) Charm (Fel) Awareness (Per) to thewarp-spawned fleshgrafted tohisbody. UnnaturalCharacteristics: node meleeweapon. capacitor luminen the him giving combat, in capacitorsdischarge his this into energy. tap His las-rifle never runs can out of ammunition. In addition, Bore he electricity. may as bio-energy store and generate Capacitors: Luminen plating, andluminencapacitor nodes, astheyare built intohisbody). notbegin play with his las-rifle, but does begin play with his armoured Integralarmoured plating, luminen capacitor nodes, las-rifle (Bore does Intelligence 5 0 (Int) MOVEMENT ARMOUR TALENTS ANDSPECIALRULES Perception 3 2 Damage: 1d10+2 RoF: S/2/– Damage: 1d10+4 Run: 18m Full Action:6m (Per) oe s qipd ih i-aaios that bio-capacitors with equipped is Bore WEAPONS Bore adds +2 to his Toughness due his Bonus to +2 adds Bore SKILLS Willpower GEAR 4 3 (WP) Motivation: Innovation Clip:— Current______Total: 3 Fatigue______Current______Total: 14 INFAMY POINTS Fellowship 3 4 Pen: 10 Reload: — Pen: 0 (Fel) WOUNDS 7 x x x o x o o o x x o o x x x o x x o o x o o o x o o o x o o o Trained

+10 3 2 +20 Infamy If) (Inf

+30 ™

Permission granted to photocopy for personal use. © Games WorkshopBroken Ltd 2010. Chains Willpower (WP) Willpower describes a Heretic’s mental fortitude, how well he Rules can withstand the multitude of horrors in the universe, and serves as a key measure for psychic potential.

heSummary following pages summarise some of the most Fellowship (Fel) important rules in the Black Crusade game, especially Fellowship is a Heretic’s ability to interact with others, to those needed to play through the preview adventure: deceive, charm, befriend, or lead. TBr o k e n Ch a i n s . Infamy (Inf) Character Anatomy Infamy measures the renown a character has built up amongst peers and opponents alike. Infamy has many uses not covered In Black Crusade, each player controls a character, also in this supplement. However, one important detail is how it known as a Heretic. Heretics are as varied as the crimes they affects Infamy Points. are condemned for and the gods they offer allegiance to, gifted with individual powers and trained in a multitude of skills. In addition to personality, disposition, and background, Ch a r a c t e r i s t i c Bo n u s e s exactly what a particular Heretic is like is defined by a set of All Characteristics have an associated bonus. The Characteristic Characteristics, Skills, Traits, and Talents. Bonus is equal to the tens digit of the Characteristic.

Ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s Ex a m p l e Characteristics represent a Heretic’s raw ability in a variety If a character has an Agility of 34, his Agility Bonus will be 3. If of physical and mental areas. There are nine different he has a Willpower of 41, his Willpower Bonus is 4. Characteristics, each rated on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the Characteristic score the better. Characteristic Bonuses are often used as modifiers. Since these bonuses are determined by the Characteristic, they may rise and Weapon Skill (WS) fall throughout the game. Should a Characteristic take a penalty, Weapon Skill measures a Heretic’s competence in hand-to- that penalty likewise applies to the Characteristic Bonus. hand fighting, whether using fists, knives, or chainswords. Skills Ballistic Skill (BS) The following skills represent only a small sample of those Ballistic Skill reflects a Heretic’s accuracy with ranged that will be available in Bl a c k Cr u s a d e . Each skill has a weapons, such as lasguns and boltguns. governing Characteristic, which is needed when the character utilizes the skill (see below). Strength (S) Strength is a measure of a Heretic’s physique and determines Athletics how much he can carry as well as how hard he can hit with Governing Characteristic: Strength melee attacks. Athletics cover all kinds of intense physical activity such as running, swimming, or climbing. A character will call upon Athletics when Toughness (T) he wants to scale a challenging cliff face or cross a fast-flowing Toughness defines how easily a Heretic can shrug off injury river. Athletics is usually used as part of a Move Action. and how resilient he is to toxins, poisonous environments, and other physical ailments. Awareness Governing Characteristic: Perception Agility (Ag) Awareness reflects a character’s ability to perceive hidden Agility measures a Heretic’s quickness, reflexes, and poise. dangers and to notice small details about his physical surroundings. Awareness is not tied to any one sense; it Intelligence (Int) encompasses them all. Awareness differs from Search in that Intelligence describes a Heretic’s acumen, reason, education, Awareness is more instinctual; it is tested passively or in and general knowledge. response to a subtle change. Making an Awareness Skill Test is usually a Free Action. Perception (Per) Perception measures the acuteness of a Heretic’s senses and Charm determines how accurately he perceives his surroundings. Governing Characteristic: Fellowship Charm is used to befriend, persuade, or influence others in ways that are generally perceived as positive, or at least non-hostile. Making a Charm Skill Test usually takes about a minute.

8 Fellowship. Making anIntimidate Skill Test isaFullAction. allow more subtle uses of Intimidate that rely on Intelligence or While Intimidate is usually backed up by Strength, the GM can Intimidateis used to frighten, coerce, bully, or threaten others. Governing Characteristic: Strength Intimidate and howtointeract withitswarp-spawned powers. knowledge of some of the denizens that live within the warp, exists that realm separate the from real-space known as the warp. It immaterium,also covers his the about knowledge character’s the represents Skill (Warp) Lore Forbidden The Governing Characteristic: Intelligence Forbidden Lore (Warp) Combat ActionDescriptionsonpage 12formore information. blow. See a dodging otherwise or way the of out jumping by hit negatea to combat Reactionin a as used is skillDodgeThe Governing Characteristic: Agility Dodge conceal theirtrueintentions. otherwise a or whenever falsehood used a someone is tell to It wishes character lying. of art others, the persuade governs or Deceive befriend to one allows Charm as Just Governing Characteristic: Fellowship Deceive skilled at Securityisaquick mind. be to requirement overriding the situations, these in useful is hand deft a Thoughlocks. mechanical simple to systems cogitator encrypted and hatches bulkhead mag-sealed from Security is the ability to access and break into security systems, Governing Characteristic: Intelligence Security through falsehoods, aswell asinterpret obscure information. Scrutiny is the Skill that allows characters to detect lies and see Governing Characteristic: Perception Scrutiny death whencause of studying abody. the determine to used be also can Medicae patient. his and Using of Damage. point Medicae is a Full Action for both the character additional using the skill one inflicts degrees three the than more by to failure A Bonus. equal Intelligencecharacter’s Damage removes Test Medicae successful humours. A body’s the of balance the restoring and wounds The Medicae skill is used to treat and heal injuries by closing Governing Characteristic: Intelligence M edicae 9

Broken Chains Stealth Governing Characteristic: Agility Table 1-1: Test Difficulty Stealth is the ability to remain unseen or hide from an opponent. Difficulty Modifier Stealth is most commonly used to lay ambushes or sneak past Easy +30 guards but can also be used to help others hide or to camouflage Routine +20 objects. Using Stealth is usually part of a Move Action or a Ordinary +10 Reaction when an opponent is trying to spot the character. Challenging +0 Difficult –10 Tech-Use Hard –20 Governing Characteristic: Intelligence Very Hard –30 A character can use Tech-Use to repair mechanical items or figure out how unusual technical artefacts work. A Tech- Characteristic. To make a Skill Test, add any relevant Use Skill Test can take anywhere from a minute to an hour, modifiers to the Skill’s governing Characteristic, then make depending on the complexity of the task. Extra degrees of a percentage roll. If the result is equal to or less than the success on a test can reduce the necessary time. modified Characteristic, the test succeeds. If the result is greater than the modified Characteristic, the test fails.

Tests Un t r a i n e d Sk i l l Te s t s ests are the basic way of determining success or failure in Sometimes a character may want to use a skill that they do a game of Black Crusade. When a Heretic performs any not possess, such as trying to hide without the Stealth skill task that could have dramatic consequences—affecting or climb without the Athletics skill. In these cases they can Tthe story, a character’s health, a delicate negotiation, the safety of still make a test against the skill but suffer a –20 penalty, the group, and so on—a test should be performed. effectively reducing the Characteristic they are testing against by 20 points for that Test only. The Core Mechanic h a r a c t e r i s t i c e s t s 1) Determine the Skill or Characteristic to test. C T Sometimes a Heretic wants to attempt something not 2) Add or subtract any relevant modifiers to the skill or covered by a skill. In such cases, a Characteristic Test can Characteristic. be used instead of a Skill Test. The GM determines the 3) Make a percentile roll (1d100). most appropriate Characteristic for the test, then the player 4) If the percentile roll is less than or equal to the skill or makes a percentage roll. If the roll is equal to or less than the Characteristic being tested, the test succeeds. Characteristic, the test succeeds. If the roll is greater than the 5) If the percentile roll is greater than the skill or Characteristic Characteristic, the test fails. being tested, the test fails. Te s t Di ff i c u l t y Degrees of Success Not all tests are equal. Forcing a malnourished underhive and Failure ganger to back down from a fight and doing the same to For most tests, it is enough to know whether a character succeeds a daemonhost both require Intimidation Skill Tests, but the or fails. Sometimes, however, it is useful to know how well a latter is clearly harder than the former. But how much harder character succeeded, or how badly he failed. This is particularly is one from the other? This is where test difficulty and the important in certain combat situations, such as firing a gun role of the GM both come into play. capable of a semi-automatic or fully automatic burst. In some cases, the difficulty of a test is predetermined by Measuring degrees of success and failure in a Skill or the rules; in other cases, the GM should decide the difficulty Characteristic Test is straightforward. After the percentage and consult Table 1-1: Test Difficulty to determine the roll is made, compare the roll with the modified Characteristic appropriate modifier. The difficulty modifier is applied to the score. If the test was passed, the character has scored one degree governing Characteristic associated with the test. of success. For each full 10 points by which the Characteristic Note: Bl a c k Cr u s a d e has a wider range of difficulties, was exceeded, the character scores one additional degree of however a simplified version is presented here. success. Conversely, if a test is failed, the character gains one extra degree of failure with each additional 10 full points by Co m b i n i n g Di ff i c u l t i e s which the test was failed. There will be instances where multiple factors make performing a particular action easier or more difficult. If a situation calls for two or more bonuses or penalties, simply Skill Tests combine all modifiers together and apply the total to the skill The most common type of test a Heretic performs during the or Characteristic. game is a Skill Test. Each skill is governed by a Characteristic. The maximum modifier that can be applied to a Skill Test or For example, the Dodge skill is governed by the Agility Characteristic Test is +60 or –60.

10 Spending one Infamy PointSpending oneInfamy thefollowing: allows oneof Points. However, Infamy anabbreviated list ispresented use here. to Black ways of In variety a appropriate. are there Crusade, deems GM the that special under circumstances session game a of middle the in session, possibly gaming or next the of beginning the at restored are Points Infamy Spent one. by reduced is pool that spent, is Points,A Heretic Infamy has a limited pool of and when one by mitigating bad results or turning a mishap into good situations fortune. manipulate to Heretic a allow Points Infamy Using Infamy Points own luck. their make they essence, Infamy—in own their from stem abilitiesexceptional their blessing.Instead, his for need no have Heretics Corpse-Emperor, the of lackey the worshipers Unlike Bonus. Characteristic Infamy their to equal Points Points. applies Infamy Infamy here—the useof use of Black Crusade, more than can be covered here. However, one reflection of their reputation. Infamy has a great many uses in what separates himfrom thematerium. lesserbeingsof is Infamy Heretic’s a anything, than More women. and men backgrounds,wellordinaryexperiences and beyond of those abilities, with individuals potent are they that recognition a is Infamy their and gods, the by notice them gain prowess Heretics are infamous individuals. Their fell deeds and amazing what happens: determine to steps these followbegins, combat new a When Combat Over on Initiative Order. Round.whicheachThe orderTurnsin resolved aredepends (non-player characters controlled by the GM), takes one Turn Rounds,Turns, character,Actions.Each and NPCs including Combat is usually resolved using structured time divided into • • • • • • • The players’ characters have access to a number of Infamy a Characteristic, Infamy an with play begin Heretics All Recover alllevels Fatigue. of Recover from beingStunned. recoverInstantly 1d5Wounds. Count ashaving rolled a10forInitiative. be chosen afterdiceare rolled.may This test. a to success of degree extra an Add dice are rolled. beforechosen be Thismust test. a to bonus +10 a Gain Re-roll testonce. afailed The there-roll results of are final. The Roleof Combat Infamy view n h cs o a i, h caatr ih h hge Agility higher the with Characteristic goes first. character the tie, a of case the In combat. of Round each during Turns their take characters NPCs,lowest.fromto highest orderThiswhichthe in is the the of those including rolls,Initiative the all ranks GM The S applies forallsuccessive Rounds inthecombat. rollthe of TheresultCharacteristic). Agility his of digit tens (the Bonus Agility his adds and 1d10 rolls character Each At the start of the first Round, each character rolls for Initiative.S Two.immediately toStep hasbeen he because caught unawares combat by his enemies. no If one is Surprised, moveof Round first the on Turn his loses character combats Surprised A many Surprised. be is nobody will where there and combat, a of beginning the at once, happen any only can if This Surprised. determines are characters GM the combat, a of beginning the At S otne o ly ucsie ons ni te obt is combat the until complete. Rounds successive play to Continue S the Round” nowend. of end the “until of duration a specify that effects lingering Once each character has taken a Turn, the Round is over. Any S Turn, andsoforth. the his takes and Character in Active the characterbecomes Order Initiative next the resolved, been have Actions his Activethe Character performcan moreor one Actions. Once Turn,Character.Activehis the During as known Turnis his taking currently character The Turn. a takes character each InitiativeOrder,the of top the characterat the with Starting S I F tive v i at i t i n e t e t e t e t e t e t e v i p p p p p p T T O S F F

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T r u o e k a

d n a T s n r u 11

Broken Chains Table 1-2: Combat Actions Action Type Short Description +10 bonus to hit as a Half Action or +20 to hit as a Full Action on the character’s next Aim Half/Full melee or ranged attack. Make a melee attack with a +30 to Weapon Skill Test, the attacker cannot use the All Out Attack Full Evasion Reaction (in other words, he cannot Dodge) until his next Turn. Charge Full Rush at an opponent and make a melee attack with a +10 bonus to Weapon Skill. Evasion Reaction Test Dodge Skill to negate a hit. Full Auto Burst Half Make a ranged attack at a –10 to Ballistic Skill, gaining one hit per Degree of Success. As a Half Action, the character moves a number of metres up to his Half Move value, or Move Half/Full as a Full Action, the character moves a number of metres up to his Full Move value. Reload Varies Reload a ranged weapon. The character moves a distance up to his Run Move, enemies receive a –20 to Ballistic Run Full Skill to hit him and a +20 to Weapon Skill to hit him. Make a ranged attack at a +0 bonus to Ballistic Skill, gaining one hit on the first Semi-Auto Burst Half Degree of Success, plus one hit for every two additional Degrees of Success. Standard Attack Half Make one melee or ranged attack at a +10 bonus to Ballistic Skill or Weapon Skill. Use Skill Varies The character may use a Skill.

or more subtypes. Action subtypes don’t do anything in and Actions in Combat of themselves, but they are used to clarify what a character is During each normal Round, every character gets a Turn to and is not allowed to do in a variety of special circumstances. act. On his Turn, a character can take one or more Actions. For example, a character that is Immobilised cannot perform any Actions with the Movement subtype. Ty p e s o f Ac t i o n s Every Action is categorised into one of the following types. Us i n g Ac t i o n s During his Turn, a character may perform one Full Action or Full Actions two different Half Actions. A character could, for example, A Full Action requires a character’s complete attention to make an All Out Attack (Full Action) or Aim and make a accomplish. A character can take one Full Action on his Turn Standard Attack (two Half Actions). and cannot take any Half Actions. A character may not make two Actions with the Attack subtype in the same turn. In addition, a character may not make Half Actions Ranged attack actions if engaged with an opponent in melee, A Half Action is fairly simple; it requires some effort or unless he has a Pistol weapon. A character may use a pistol concentration, but not so much that it consumes a character’s weapon against an opponent he is in melee with, but he still entire Turn. A character can take two different Half Actions tests Ballistic Skill, and does not get the Point Blank bonus. on his Turn instead of taking one Full Action. A character Likewise, a character may not make Melee attack actions cannot take the same Half Action twice in the same Turn. against someone he is not engaged with. A character is engaged if there is an opponent with a melee weapon within striking distance of him, generally a metre or less. Reactions A Reaction is a special Action made in response to some event, such as an attack. A character receives one Reaction Mo r e Ac t i o n s each Round. Unlike the other types of actions, a character The combat actions described in this booklet represent usually performs a Reaction when it is not his Turn. only a sample of the options that will be available in Bl a c k Cr u s a d e . Free Actions A Free Action takes only a moment and requires no real effort Combat Action by the character. Free Actions may be performed in addition Descriptions to any other Actions on a character’s Turn, and there is no formal limit to the number of Free Actions one character can These Actions provide characters with a variety of options take. The GM should use common sense to set reasonable in combat. Some of these Actions allow the character to limits on what can be done in a few seconds. attack enemies, while others allow them to move around the battlefield, reload, or a myriad of other tasks. Each Action has a Type, Subtype, and Description. Ac t i o n Su b t y p e s In addition to its type, every Action is also categorised into one

12 Weapon Skill Test theCharge. madeat theendof line up with his target. The attacker gains a +10 bonus to his attackerthe so straightline a and buildin speed mustcan be Charge the of metres four last The Bonus. Agility his times three to equal attacker’sdistance the ChargeMove,a within away,metres four still butleast at be targetmustThe attack. singlemelee targetdeliversa his atand The characterrushes Subtypes: Attack, Melee, Movement Type: FullAction C Test, but hecannotEvade hisnextTurn. untilthestartof personal safety. He gains a +30 bonus to his next Weapon of Skill expense the at attack melee furious a makes character The Subtypes: Attack, Melee Type: FullAction A Aimingare benefits of lost. the or attack an be The must performs character +20. the action to next bonus the increases Action Full a as Aiming attack. an as made TestSkill Ballistic or WeaponSkill next the to bonus +10 a grants Action Half a as Aiming attack. precise more a perform to time extra spends character The Subtype: Concentration Type: ActionorFull Half A l l m i r a h O g t u e A a t t c k Test negates oneadditional hit. Evasion the on success of degreeeach Bursts,Semi-Auto or EvasiontheTest automatically fails.When Evading AutoFull wouldneed tomove further than this toavoid character the attack the then If metres. in Bonus Agility character’s the than to the edge of the area as of effect, long as it is no awayfurther as a flamer), Evasion a successful Skill Test moves the character (such weapon effect area an Evading When avoid. to difficult especially are automatic bursts fully semi-automatic or firing Some attacks, such as those made with grenades,Evading Auto-Fire andArea Effect Attacks flamers, or guns character make canusually oneReaction only each Round. a that remember but attacks,ranged and melee both avoid connects and deals Damage normally. Evasion can be used to (and missed thus no Damage is rolled). have the If Evasion Test to fails, the attack considered is attack the last and the moment at way the of out gets character the succeeds, test the If test. the make to order in attack the awareof be must character modifier. A +0 a Testwith by Skill Dodge attacka making the avoid to attempt can character the rolled, is Damage before but hit, is character a After Turn. his not is it when perform can character a that Reaction a is Evasion Subtype: Movement Type: Reaction E n o i s a v 13

Broken Chains Fu l l Au t o Bu r s t Se m i -Au t o Bu r s t Type: Half Action Type: Half Action Subtype: Attack, Ranged Subtype: Attack, Ranged The character fires a roaring burst of fully automatic gunfire at With cold precision, the active character shoots a burst of his enemies. The attacker must be wielding a ranged weapon semi-automatic gunfire at his enemies. The attacker must be capable of fully automatic fire to take this action. The attacker wielding a ranged weapon capable of semi-automatic fire to makes a Ballistic Skill Test with a –10 bonus. If he succeeds, take this action. the attack scores a hit for every Degree of Success (in other The attacker makes a Ballistic Skill Test with a +0 bonus. words, one hit on the initial success, plus one additional If he succeeds (gets one Degree of Success), the attack scores hit for every additional Degree of Success). If the character a hit normally, plus one additional hit for every two additional chooses, he can move a number of metres equal to his Agility Degrees of Success, up to the weapon’s Semi-Auto Rate of Fire. Bonus, as a part of this action. If so, the modifier for the Test becomes –10. The number of extra hits scored in this manner St a n d a r d At t a c k cannot exceed the weapon’s fully automatic rate of fire. Type: Half Action Subtype: Attack Mo v e The character either performs one melee attack by testing Type: Half or Full Action Weapon Skill or one ranged attack by testing Ballistic Skill Subtype: Movement with a +10 bonus. The character can spend a Half Action to move a number of metres equal to his Agility Bonus. As a Full Action, he may Us e a Sk i l l move twice that distance. Type: Half, Full, or Extended Action (varies by circumstance) Re l o a d Subtype: Miscellaneous Type: Half, Full, or Extended Action (Varies by Weapon) The character uses a Skill, which typically involves making Subtype: Miscellaneous a Skill Test. Declaring this action allows a character to reload a ranged weapon. The duration of Reload (Half Action, Full Action, Ot h e r Ac t i o n s etc.) is dictated by the weapon’s description. There are many more combat action options in the full game of Bl a c k Cr u s a d e . Additionally, the GM may allow players Ru n to perform special actions not covered by any of the rules. Type: Full Action Such improvised actions should usually involve some kind of Subtype: Movement Skill or Characteristic Test. The character runs at full speed, covering a distance up to triple his movement. Until the character’s next turn, ranged attacks against him suffer a –20 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests, but melee attacks against him gain a +20 bonus to Weapon Skill Tests.

We a p o n Qu a l i t i e s

Certain weapons have special abilities called Qualities. Though there are a wide variety of Qualities available in Bl a c k Cr u s a d e , in Br o k e n Ch a i n s there is only enough room for a few Qualities. Acc u r a t e Some weapons are designed with precision in mind and respond superbly to skilled hands. They grant an additional bonus of +10 to the firer’s Ballistic Skill when used with an Aim Action, in addition to the bonus granted from Aiming. When firing a single shot from a single Basic Weapon with the Accurate Quality benefiting from the Aim action, the attack gains an extra 1d10 damage for every two degrees of success to a maximum of two extra 1d10. Bl a s t (X) Many missiles, grenades and some guns create an explosion when they hit their target. When working out a hit from a Blast weapon, anyone within the weapon’s blast radius in metres (indicated by the number in parenthesis) is also hit. Roll damage once and apply it to each person affected by a blast. Te a r i n g Tearing weapons are vicious devices, often using multitudes of fast-moving jagged teeth to rip into flesh and bone or simply blasting massive wounds in flesh. These weapons roll one extra die for damage, discarding the lowest die rolled.

14 A (but seeEvasion Reactions, previous). Characteristic,modified hits the attack the than less or equal is roll the If test. other any like resolved are these of Both attack.ranged a performing Test Skillif Ballistic a or attack attacker makes a Weapon the Skill determined, Test been if he has is Characteristic performing a modified melee the After S Circumstances below). Combat (see hit to modifiers any Apply Test.Skill Ballistic a Weapon make to a attacker the make requires attack ranged to A Test. attacker Skill the requires attack melee A S the attack ispossible, follow thesesteps: either case, the attacker must be aware of his target. Assuming engaged in melee, unless he is firing a pistol class weapon. In is attacker the if made with be cannot combatattacks Ranged target. his melee in engaged be to attacker the require checkingrequirementsattack.basic the attacksthe for Melee made, the GM should verify that the attack is even possible by or ranged weapon, the process is the attack—thesame. Before an attack is the is combat characters are fighting, after all. in Whether armed with a melee Action common most The The A he iskilled. Wounds,character’s the equals Damage the Wounds.When his to equal amount an to up A Damage take Damage. can take combatant characters fighting, of consequence a As Injur remainingAny Damage isrecorded by thetarget asDamage. attack. the off shrugs target the less, or zero to Damage the Bonus and any Armour Points that Toughness protect his him. If this subtracts reduces target the total, Damage the From S Damage total. the is result attacker’sTheBonus. the Strength addweapon, any indicated modifiers. Finally, if the attack involved a melee apply and die appropriate the number.Roll a minus or plus Each weapon has a damage listing, which is usually a die roll, S D e t e t e t e t • • • • a t t s e n i m r e t e Step Four:Step Target applies Damage Three:Step Attacker determines Damage Two:Step Attacker makes atest One:Apply modifiersto Step attacker’s Characteristic p p p p F T T O c r e k e e r h o w r u o e n ttack y : A : A ’ s : C : A T D a t t P P r a a r a h a t t y l a m a g c M t e r e k c c r e k g A i d o i t s i r e t e M P P

f s e i l s e k a s r e i c D

a o t a m a T

t s e g e D while –20, at are Ballistic Skill Tests darkness are at –30. in made Tests Skill Weapon D any particulartest. of has thefinalsay about theDifficulty are some of the most common encountered in combat. The GM between life and death for a Heretic.equipment The or followingskillful use circumstancesof tactics can often make theuse ofdifference beneficial circumstances as possible. A good plan, andsuitablevarietya otherof factors. Characters should make asmuch terrain,weather, the of effects reflect the totactical situations, mannertoSkill Tests. These combat circumstances canbeused Thechanceshitting of combatin modified canbe similar a in Combat Circumstances restrictions. space to due simplified are booklet this in rules injury The C targets (i.e., Surprised targets), gain a+30 to hit. unawareattack to TestsSkillmade WeaponBallistic or Skill U a–20penalty.melee combat withanotheropponentsuffers in engaged is that target a hit to made Tests Skill Ballistic S targets that are engaged inmeleecombat withthecharacter. gain +30. Note that this bonus does not apply when shooting metres three within target a hit to Testsmade Skill Ballistic P Damage against such atarget, roll twiceandadd theresults. otherwise helpless target automatically succeed. When or rolling unconscious sleeping, a hit to made Tests SkillWeapon H attacked by oneormore alliesgain a+10bonus. WeaponSkillTests being targetalso whoa is melee hit in to G gravity a–30penalty. suffer zeroor whilstsnow arduous in standing terraindeep such as in standing difficult terrain, such as whilst mud, a suffer –10 penalty. made Tests Tests made Evasion and Skill Weapon such limbs. asloss of colourful critical damage effects, including permanent injuries n i t o o h t n i o i t i r n a i s s e n k r a e r a w a n l e F F p g i s s e l c c n i B l a t l u g B k n a l g D U k c a l T T

o t n i r o r a a m a r a p C A g g e d a s u r s t e M s t e g s u o u d r e e e l e will include a full array of of array full a include will C T m o n i a r r e b t a 15

Broken Chains Broken GM Gu i d a n c e In addition to the information presented in the main text, there will be numerous ‘GM Guidance’ sidebars Chains throughout the adventure itself. These sidebars will provide the GM with tips, advice, and general guidance “Heresy: such a simple word for such a complex idea. And like so on how to deal with aspects of the rules, the actions many of the titles bestowed by the followers of the Corpse-God, of the players and the development of the plot. GM utterly meaningless.” Guidance also provides an insight into the design of —Karnak Zul the adventure, explaining the intention behind an encounter or NPC and how its role or place in the r o k e n Ch a i n s is an introductory adventure intended to adventure was envisaged. give players a chance to experience the Black Crusade roleplaying game. In this adventure the players take on Fortunately for the characters, the gods had other plans. Bthe role of Heretics, outcasts from the Imperium of Man who Awakening after several centuries in stasis (when the power to have dedicated their lives and their fates to a path of rebellion, their stasis caskets finally fails) the characters discover that the personal glory, and the worship of the Dark Gods. Theirs is an Chains has become lost in the warp and drifted far off course. existence fraught with peril as they must battle against both While they slumbered, the ship has fallen into a state of chaos constant persecution by the Imperium and the capricious nature of and ruin, its crew turned feral and its systems failing. Adding the Ruinous Powers themselves. For those that survive, however, to their woes, other dangerous individuals and creatures have great rewards await. Everlasting glory is one such reward, as is escaped thanks to the failure of the stasis systems, including the chance of apotheosis—elevation to daemonhood. Those several members of the Inquisition intent on retaking the ship. who can triumph against both the Imperium and rival followers It now falls to the characters to escape before the Imperium’s of the Ruinous Powers may even grasp the power needed to lead claws close around them once and for all. their own Black Crusade against the Imperium of Man. One thing the GM should note after reading this adventure This adventure can serve as a jumping off point for games is that there are quite a few secondary adventures or activities of Bl a c k Cr u s a d e and further adventures for the Heretics in the players can participate in if they want to. This can draw the chaos and carnage of the 41st Millennium. out the adventure so that it takes two sessions or more. To run this adventure in one session, the GM should Getting Started adhere to the following events. Specifically, he should limit To run this adventure you will need one player to take on the the number of combats the players get involved with. role of the Game Master (GM), 2-4 players to take on the • The Heretics (player characters) wake up, learn the roles of the Heretics and ideally at least two ten-sided dice situation by consulting the cogitator, and get their gear (1d10) for each person playing. All the information required from the Laboratorium. In doing so they have a brief can be found within the pages of this booklet, including fight with some of the feral humans, driving them off a quick start version of the core rules, background on the quickly after killing one or two. adventure setting, detailed information on the adventure • The Heretics locate a command key in the Warden’s itself and pre-generated characters. Some background on the Tower (bypassing the bilge entirely). During this time Warhammer 40,000 universe, in which the Black Crusade they may come across some feral humans, but any show game is set, can be found at the start of the booklet, however of force sends them fleeing in a hurry. the adventure has been designed to be self contained and no • The Heretics encounter Queen Scarna. Dispatching a prior knowledge of the setting is required. few of her Carrion Hunters will convince her to offer the Before running this adventure, the Game Master should be aid of her minions, or just stay out of their way. sure to read it thoroughly. • The Heretics discover Karnak Zul the Daemonhost and must decide how to deal with him. • The Heretics make their assault on the Bridge in a final, Adventure Overview climactic battle with Interrogator Crane and his Acolytes. Br o k e n C h a i n s takes place entirely on an Imperial prison barge The victor will gain control of the ship. known as the Chains of Judgement. A vessel of the Emperor’s Inquisition, the Chains was tasked with transporting heretics Th e St o r y Th u s Fa r ... and renegades from across the sector to the torture chambers Captured by Imperial forces in 487.M39 the Chains of Judgement of the Inquisition, where they were to be thoroughly and began its life, ironically enough, as a renegade destroyer brutally interrogated before execution. This was to be the fate fighting against the encroaching Angevin Crusade—the of the player characters. They are dangerous heretics, captured Imperial invasion to conquer what would eventually become by the Inquisition but too valuable to execute on the spot. the Calixis Sector. Considered too small and poorly armed During their incarceration aboard the Chains they were placed to be of immediate use to the crusade, it was offered to the in stasis caskets to be held in limbo until such time as the Inquisition, to aid in rooting out heresy in the fledgling Calixis Inquisition saw fit to release them and begin their torment. Sector. The Chains of Judgement was repaired and refitted as a

16 specialised interrogation orlong term incarceration. for Scintilla to heretics conveying with tasked barge prison prisoners contained within, starting a general uprising. It also also It uprising.general a starting within, contained prisoners of masses the unleashed and hold prison main the in guards around the ship.rampage Into an free orgy was of destruction,daemonhost the it killedhost, manyhuman of theits within forcedobeyRenthor’stoit commands. Although stillthat trapped bonds the loosen to crew the of member weak-willed a the voyageof last the During escape. to under Renthor’s control. body of a human so that it could remain outside the warp and the within bound daemon a Zul, Karnak named daemonhost a was weapon greatest destroy.His to swore the he against forces very fight to warp the of powers fell the used who Chains withaniron fist. the ran he InterrogatorCrane, second-in-command, capable the aboard them incarcerating responsibleInquisitor capturingfor player the characters and took command. A harsh and dangerous man, Renthor was the cell hewould notget far. servitors, ensuring that should a prisoner somehow escape his level as well as ‘no go’ corridors patrolled by packs of murder the form of a complex system of gates and locks between each in security added has vessel the so and guards of contingent much spacegiven over tocells, there was littleleftforalarge so With onboard. them bringing their after immediately captives question could Inquisitors where chambers interrogation/ medicae extensive with refitted also was vessel The them. among worst the for reserved chambers stasis solitary special with prisoners, 10,000 of upwards hold to capacity the time one any at and holds, prison into munitions assaulttroops ortocarry hassincebeenconverted thousands. Much of the space once given over to weapons and of crew a vesselwith wasa it point, widest kilometreits a at half almost and length in half a kilometreand a years. Over the down altered and destroyer,modified Iconoclastheavily The However, Zul hated its imprisonment and awaited a chance Renthor also had a dark secret: he was a radical Inquisitor On the Marines or any humans. or any Marines GM has a group that does not include any Chaos Space of Heretic or another, and may need to be changed if a encounters are Also, certain tailored to favour one type find characters allies. human their as challenging as combat Marine situations Space Chaos that ensure to designed specifically abilities have certain book the of more adroit at social encounters or other tasks. fight,moredangerous and while oftenhumans aare in aware that Chaos Space Marines are considerably tougherChaos Space Marines and ‘mortal’ humans. allowsGMs shouldplayers be to play two very different types of characters, One of the unique aspects of aspects unique the of One GM M However, because of this, the adversaries in the back s e n i r a s ae o te ul f n old an of hull the on based is Judgement of Chains Chains’ last journey, the infamous Inquisitor Renthor n a d i u

d n a c H e : C s n a m u s o a h . With his With Judgement. of Chains B k c a l

S C , it compelled compelled it Chains, e d a s u r p a c a the has Chains e is that itthat is

the hopethat somethingwould change aboard thevessel. in wait, to forcedwas it end change.the In meaningful little affect could but systems, cogitator ship’s the into tap could which time the prisoners had devolved into feral cannibals. It even learn the codes that would open the armoury hatches, by God-Emperor. the for ship the reclaim could they and dead, be all would longerthatBy prisoners them. time,the support hoped, they planning to remain there until the reserve generators could no prisoners mightescape. Navigator, theymightendupanywhere, andinthat timethe a Without call. distress astropathic their to responded vessel Imperial another before years be might warp,it of out ship the dropped they if hand, other the On prisoners. the from safe were they hand, one the On bridge. the in themselves sealed and ship the down locked servants) trusted most or daemonhost within. ThenCrane was able doors,armoury the trappingseal to the on the deck of the armoury, binding the daemonhost in place. died Renthor activated a set of binding wards he had inscribed wounded mortally and formerits master. However, before he Inquisitor Renthor confronted it fight, the prisoners.During theship’sslew Navigator, thevessel’s pilot withinthewarp. utn gon fr h dsedns f t fre inmates, former its of descendants the for ground a hunting become have decks lower the jailors, the of absence the or incite a daemonic incursion. neglectAfter centuries of and riot, escape, to try should within contained those lest ship, the of rest the from isolated remain to designed specifically havebeen deckslower the doors,blast sealed and corridors, bulkheads,warded of metresby ship the of rest fromthe off torture and chambers and housed its violent and dangerous cargo. holds Sealed prison its created Inquisition the where ship,the decks these are of part remote and secureThe most L which thecharacters mayencounterduringtheirescape. Decks,Bridge,theand eachwiththeir localesown perilsand dividedbe intothree clear areas: Lowerthe Decks, Upperthe asafe to barge prison theancient harbour. While the orguide off a way find the bridgecontroltheandto shipsections where either of canthey depths the from up climbing decks, its traverse must forming intocannibalistictribesledby a“carrionqueen.” twostates. Somethecrewof have reverted feralato existence, captives;theirtrappedthoseof living, betweenanddead, the filled with the detritus of the Inquisition anddecks the and shatteredchambers, corridors, remains of kilometres with vessel vast a andthe warp. Even in its state of disrepair and decay, void the both it to exposure remainsunshielded long of stresses the under itscrew is largely dead and gone and the vessel is coming apart memory.distant a place, safeguardsremainin its of While many derelict for centuries and its order and grandeur will have become ower Decks s h caatr aae, the awaken, characters the As Zul remained trapped in the armoury. It took it decades to Instead, Crane and his Acolytes entered their stasis caskets, Acolytes Alpha (his Acolytes remaining his and Crane Zul attacked the armoury at the head of a howling mob of Tothe escape and win theirwinandfreedom, Chains charactersthe Chains has dozens of actual decks, these can a be a drifting a been has Chains 17

Broken Chains Sanctum Gate: Located at the sternward end of the interrogation chambers is the portal to the Upper Decks and access to the rest of the ship. Designed so that there might only be one way in and out, the Inquisition ensured that the sole exit to the lower decks would be well guarded. Even after centuries of decay, the Sanctum Gate security station remains deadly to those not permitted to pass through its hallowed gates. While the armed Storm Troopers might be gone, the murder servitors and sentry guns quietly track all those seeking escape. Over the last 200 years, the Carrion Queen has discovered that one can pass through the gate into the prison holds. However, any attempts to pass back through into the Upper Decks meet with death. Thus, it has become a favoured way to cast out members of the Carrion, as well as a dubious refuge for her enemies.

Pr i s o n Ho l d s Once used as troop billets and vast munitions stores for the vessel’s guns, the majority of the Lower Decks have been converted into the Prison Holds. It was here in endless rows of cages that thousands upon thousands of captives of the Inquisition would languish awaiting either torture or death. Unlike the Medicae Deck above, the Prison Holds are largely open; a single vast chamber stretching almost the entire length and width of the ship, crisscrossed with gantries and barred enclosures. In this way the jailors could see into every part of the holds at once and keep a close eye on inmates packed into their suspended cells. After over 200 years, the Prison Holds are still largely intact, though numerous cages and gantries have collapsed making passage where they stalk each other in an endless fight for survival from one end to the other difficult. The size of the chamber and a continuation of their nightmare existence. and the damage to the ship’s life sustainers has also had another effect after so long, and now fierce winds howl down the length of the holds as the air scrubbers randomly activate. Me d i c a e De c k Key locations in the Prison Holds include: Located just above the main prison holds, and closest to the Warden’s Tower: Like a knife through the heart of the Prison upper decks, the Medicae Deck (or interrogation chambers), Holds, the warden’s tower is a vast spike stretching hundreds of was where the Inquisition would slowly and painfully extract metres from floor to ceiling. Surrounded by a web of gantries secrets and confessions out of its captives. This is also the area and walkways, it was from here that the Inquisitorial jailors in which the characters first awaken, housed in a stasis crypt would watch their captives and control the hundreds of gates along with dozens of others kept alive and in limbo between and bridges that allowed passage through the holds. Now it their tortures. Like most of the lower decks the Medicae Deck has become a tomb. During the first uprisings, the guards on is a dark and disused mess, its chambers and corridors choked duty sealed the bulkhead doors. There they remained until they with debris and its walls smeared with filth. Originally this died, safe from attack but without food or water. deck consisted of a dozen or so adjoining interrogation Cage Runoff: The floor of the prison holds was a vile sea of chambers surrounded by a spiral of holding cells and store fifth during the rule of the Inquisition, the waste of thousands rooms with access throughout. Now, as decks collapse and of inmates continually raining down from above (usually after hatches corrode shut, only a few clear paths from one end of passing through the cages of those unfortunate enough to be the deck to the other exist. close to the bottom). This waste would then trickle into huge Key locations on the Medicae Deck include: vats before being pumped down into the Bilges for recycling. Hunting Ground: The spiral corridors of the deck have Today the cage runoff is still a treacherous place were scavengers become home to a myriad of vermin which thrive on the hunt for lost tools and food among the ocean of dried filth. ancient, desiccated meat left over from the Inquisition’s work Chain Bridge: Central to the Prison Holds is the chain here. Largely consisting of hardy vacuum rats and dust spiders, bridge, a vast revolving steel walkway, dozens of metres these creatures are the preferred food of the less fortunate wide and several hundred long. Via a system of pulleys and feral humans, those either cast out by the queen or too weak hydraulics, the bridge can be raised, lowered and rotated to to become a member of the Carrion.Trapped by the Sanctum reach every level of the Prison Holds. Despite being badly Gate, they scratch out a miserable existence. corroded and damaged, use of the bridge remains the quickest and safest way to cross the holds.

18 inhabitants while growing fat andpowerful. living ship’s the of discord and misery stayed. the on quietly have feeds which creature a few such of a domain the is on, Nest Pestilent movingThe before chaos spread or immaterium the have infiltrated its of hull. While most were content to slaughter creatures countless warp, the through Pestilent Nest: Pestilent which revel inthebutchery that onceoccurred here. and has remainsbecome a haven functional for darker things component parts. their Though the machinery to has been reduced silent for many and years, it down stripped be would recycling. the Bodies for prisoners where dead send was would Inquisition Bilges the past, times In Orchard: Body Key locations intheBilges include: the thinairandfoulatmosphere theBilges. of feeble creatures live in constant fear, gasping out their days on or unable to pass through the Sanctum Gate. These hunched, queen the join weakto above,too Holds either Prison those the from denizens the of some to Bilges home become The capacity.also have reduced a at albeit though function, to continued has Bilges the of machinery the and has changed little warp, the into vanished vessel the since In time void. the the into expelled than rather recycling for bilges the to down pumped be abovedeckswould Waste the from hissing and thumping machinery which keep the vessel alive. of myriad recyclers,a and reclaimators the of home the are the of guts living bilges;the the are ship the of bowelsvery the In B and well ordered as befitted a vessel of the Inquisition, of a vessel humming to the orders its captainof and officers. These days befitted as ordered well and armour.and arms Thesedeckspristine of were once supplies its and systems, weapons its crew,vessel’s the to home the levels,Aboveprison Decks Upper primary the werethe once Upper Decks l i C running into collapsed passages. into collapsed running forced being to double or backconstantly after ceiling open climb through doors, rents in the floor,and walls pry to having are they know them letting by players tothe chaos of feeling this impart GMcan the deck, a or corridors as needed. As the characters move through what deck they are on, he should feel know free toplayers add the rooms as long as ship; the the of about layout exact much too worry to need doesn’t GM the reasons, For these decks. byupper the suffered trauma the mention to not damage, and neglect of byyears 200 complex more even made been has which of All chambers. and rooms, corridors, of maze a and bridge the to up bilges the of point lowest the from decks of metres in length and many hundred wide. It has dozens The GM g s n i a h . As vital to the vessel as its bridge, the Bilges the bridge, its as vessel the to vital As Chains. s e s vs si, huad of thousands ship, vast a is Judgement of Chains n a d i u During the During c e : M time drifting unshielded drifting Chain’stime a P P n i g

e h t

etitd ra o ti dc wee i ad et r barely are maintained by thestruggling sustainers. life heat and air where deck this of areas restricted the and of best, inhabitants atthe even perilous is it Bridge, the to Decks Upper the warp.the lossto its during While passage throughexists still vessel the damagecatastrophicto of result the vacuum;hard and steel twisted of nightmare utter an Decksare Upper the known astheGullet,toget unwanted ridof objectsorpeople. awayanything nearby. Queen Scarna uses thelargest these,of tunnels have been broken open and work intermittently to suck and the failure of large parts of the life Deckssustainers, Upper the of somemuch of of destruction thesethe bulkheads.After the behind unseen down way its work would Decks Upper the from waste and Bilges, Upper the in recyclers the the with linked Decks once tunnels Conveyance Gullet: The opponenttothosefightinginthepits.as any Worn and temperamental, this equipment can provegates.blade as deadly and servitors sentry as such acolytes, its test to incorporate some of the old equipment used by the Inquisition to created been have pits fighting the halls, training old the in Decks.Housed Lower the prisoners from up broughtcreatures or and other each against either amusement, her fight for minions her has often Scarna Queen Pits: Fighting armour,pieces of andbroken tech. blades,tarnished glittering of monument teetering a throne, loot scavenged by her minions are often incorporated into her of pieces choicest The prisoners. and food for Decks Lower DecksUpper the the of into down parties hunting sends and with Carrion Hunters. From here, Queen Scarna controls much Carrion Queen are vast and well guarded and always teaming Throne Shardsof and Scraps: The throne chambers the of Key locations intheLivingQuartersinclude: bloody entertainmentsandtheworship theDark Gods. of in indulging while other each on preying and DecksLower here they live out their semblance of existence, hunting in the Fromqueen. their and Carrion the havenfor a havebecome and intact mostly remain Quarters Living the Decks, Upper and missions betweentasks. Largely spared the carnage God-Emperor unleashed on the rest the of the to pray and eat, sleep, to place a was Decks Upper the of section this halls, training and storerooms, chambers, barracks, of series a of were acolytes Inquisitorial ship.the of heart Consisting locationthe this near in housed lower-ranked and crew The L up the old shell lifts from the magazine at the prow of the of prow the at magazine the from lifts shell old the up DecksGun byclimbingthe is to access only the Lifts: Shell Key locations ontheGunDeck include: has remained untouched sincetheshipwas firstcast adrift. or avoid the servitors, there is plenty to salvage, some of which the Gun Decks. For those that can find a way in and overcome to get to and overrun with murder servitors, the Carrion avoid reducing ground targets of capableto dust easily with prolonged guns massivebombardment. Difficult hull, its of length the down cannon macro of banks twin carried still it size, the though Even G n i v i n u D g Q e c s k s r e t r a u was lightly armed for a vessel of its of vessel a for armed lightly was Chains limit themselves to very to themselves limit Chains 19

Broken Chains Karnak Zul’s Prison: Released from his cell in the Lower Th e Fa t e o f t h e Cr e w Decks during the uprising, the daemonhost Karnak Zul rampaged across the decks in an orgy of destruction and In its prime, the Chains had a crew that numbered in murder. It was only when he joined the fight to breech the the thousands, not counting scores of acolytes and Armoury that he was finally stopped by Inquisitor Renthor. Inquisitors or the tens of thousands of inmates held in Trapped within a warded circle on the threshold of the gun its holds. When the vessel was taken by the warp and vault, he waits for his chance to be free. the prisoners rose up against their captors, many of the The Bloody Path: During the uprising, the gates of the crew were killed, or devoured by the daemons which Armoury were assaulted again and again by the prisoners and the managed to slip though the vessel’s weakened Gellar remains of their bitter struggle can be found stretching from the Fields. Those that remained joined with the prisoners edge of the vacuum gates up to the gun vault itself. Thousands of or became tribes unto themselves, and have slowly bodies from both sides still choke this area and those wishing to devolved over the centuries into ferals indistinguishable pass must crawl or dig their way through the crumbling corpses. from the men they once guarded. Known to the Carrion as the Bloody Path it is also a favoured haunt of all manner of hunters, especially maddened murder ship. During the uprising, the prisoners detonated the ship’s servitors which will lie in wait among the bodies. magazine (full of macrocannon shells and anti-ship ordnance), tearing a huge rent in the Chains and collapsing decks both Br i d g e above and below. Only a single, twisted, poorly maintained At the highest point of the ship stands the bridge, the control tunnel survives through the rubble, leading to the lifts and a centre for all its functions and from where its captain once 100 metre climb in thin atmosphere and blistering cold. ruled with absolute power. Completely untouched by the Ordnance Gallery: Central to the Gun Deck is the Ordnance madness of the Lower and Upper Decks, the bridge has Gallery, where the master armsmen and chief gun marshals remained sealed for over 200 years, its wards and safe guards directed the gun crews loading and firing the macrocannons. unbroken by the Carrion Queen, the most cunning prisoners, For some reason, the gallery has also become an assembly or any of their descendants. A vast dome surrounded by point for murder servitors (perhaps their limited minds vista panels (tarnished by years of dust and solar debris), the remembering it as a place of authority) and the creatures will bridge occupies several levels, with the captain’s throne at the often drag their kills or wounded prey here. centre. On each of its levels, banks of servitors remain wired Servitor Workshop: When the magazine exploded, it into their control stations, while far overhead, the navigator’s dislodged several macrocannons and pierced the vessel’s oculus hangs like a blister at the dome’s apex. launch bay. While not equipped with interceptors or In addition to the locations detailed above, the Chains of bombers, the Chains was modified to carry two launch tubes Judgement is also home to a variety of powerful NPCs and that could fire boarding torpedoes for the swift capture of creatures. For details on these denizens and their agendas, renegade vessels. These torpedoes would often be packed the GM should refer to Appendix: Allies and Antagonists with murder servitors to ‘clear out’ a ship before the arrival on page 29. of the Inquisition. In the explosion, many of these were broken open and their servitors activated. Now the servitors use the remains of their torpedoes as a workshop where they return for parts (from their fallen brothers) when damaged or worn by age. GM Gu i d a n c e : Th e Na t u r e Shuttle Bays: The Chains is equipped with several prison o f He r e s y transports and Aquila Landers for transit from the ship to The player characters are Heretics condemned for the surface of a planet. Several shuttles are still operational, crimes against the God-Emperor. This is, of course, a however while the vessel remains at warp, they are useless. completely Imperial perspective and assumes that the characters consider themselves bound by the laws of Ar m o u r y the Master of Mankind. It is worth remembering, and As part of its role as an Inquisitorial support ship, the Chains reminding the players, that being a Heretic and being a also needed a store of weapons for acolytes and Inquisitors, soulless evil monster are often two very different things either to aid them in personal missions or to arm populations (though they are certainly not mutually exclusive). The against uprisings, and as such maintained a large, well-secured characters are Heretics only because they adhere to a armoury on board. Two factors have kept the Armoury largely different set of beliefs or principles than those set down untouched, and certainly beyond the reach of the Carrion by the Ecclesiarchy, Administratum or Adeptus Arbites. Queen, in the two centuries it has been adrift. The first is The GM can also use this approach when dealing the sealed bulkhead door, inoperable by any of the Carrion. with NPCs, portraying them as unjustly persecuted The second is the presence of the daemonhost Karnak Zul; rebels struggling against the totalitarian behemoth of trapped in a warded circle during his escape, he is unable to Imperium rule (a concept not too difficult to embrace leave the Armoury but quite capable of striking out against considering the nature of the Imperium). After all, even those that enter his domain. evil men are often righteous in their own minds. Key locations in the Armoury include:

20 T the status updates: series of status updates. Any of the characters can easily search However, more answers liewiththecogitator column. likelythisissystem failurea rather thananythingintentional. tell can Tech-Use Skill the with characters power; lost have and what has awakened them? It’s obvious that the stasis caskets above it.The hatch isnotsealed,andcanbepriedopen. hatch in the wall of the crypt, with the legend “Stasismonitor Crypt XX”the status of the stasis crypt). cogitatorThere isis alsoa 41st a Millenniumsingle, computer;closed thiscaskets, device’scogitatorathere iscentrecolumnthe Note:(GMina task was to flickeringtwobyonly emergency luminen globes. Besides the stasiscaskets lining thewalls. The room islow-ceilinged andlit ih hi caatr, h G cn ed r aahae the paraphrase or following tothegroup, bringingthemuptospeed: read can GM the characters, their with and are clad only in simple sack-cloth robes. armour,weaponsor their of have any not do charactersplayers’ adventure,the inpointthethis stasisAtcrypt. the intoentry Part I:Bellyof time captureof were held in “Investigative Laboratorium V.”secondA notation mentions that certain items inyour possession at Installation Obsidian Magna for debrief and summary termination.when you were interred. A notation indicates you were to be taken to The first entries in the cogitator’s memory list your names and the dates slumbered, andwhat inthattime? hashappened you have long how just wonder; but help Youcannot age. and own caskets. You also note the wallstheir and floor arefrom thick with dust emerge yourself like others see you around Looking guards or armoured troopers stand waiting with manacles ready. leering no though, Strangely casket. your from stumble you you as greeting crypt stasis the of lights feeble the awoken, have you Now fate. your change to powerless journey, the out ride to limbo of state a in held stasis, in placed were you criminals, the Tricorn Palace await you. Befitting your nature as dangerous the Calixis Sector and its capital Scintilla, where the dungeons of of worlds core the for course a on barge prison a Judgement, the aboardincarcerated and Imperium the of agents by captured and down hunted been having fate, similar a share you varied, are crimes your Though Inquisition. the by death eventually and torture imprisonment, to your sentenced for and crimes God-Emperor the by Condemned heretics. are You The column’s display screen is operational, with a blinking The characters’ first thoughts are likely to be where they are, The characters awaken in a small, circular room with a dozen Once the players have had a chance to familiarise themselves to be very limited and restricted to events preceding their200 years in stasis. Their knowledge at this hepoint adventure is going begins as the player characters awaken from the Beast Chains of of Chains reveal information: thefollowing pointsof (See “GM’s Guidance:The Servo-Skull.”) the information curt the characters request, a more often with a simple “data not found.” with in responds voice—sometimes it mechanical queried, When failing ship’s systems. the cogitator to access remote a simply is servo-skull hover.particular to This it allowing suspensors, and systems mechanical with filled now is it servant, Imperial devoted a hovers infront them. of and column the of out pops servo-skull a accept, characters the Should point.” “remoteaccess a deploy to terminaloffers • • • • • caskets deactivating. Lockdown protocolsinactive.” crypt I-XIXterminationprotocolsactive.” on stasiscryptinhabitants.” to Unable protocols termination crypts. Initiating protocols. stasis lockdown maintain on operations maintain power. to percent Unable 1 below generation power “Reserve memory. interred inthesestasiscaskets forover two centuries. Youyears.hundred twobeen have for continue they that stamps Decks Medicae 3. Deck switching totertiaryreserve plasmapower generators.” Medicae on I-V Investigative Laboratoriums Sealing 3. Deck Medicae on I-XX crypts stasis Sealing Decks. Upper and Hold Prison between Gate Sanctum Emergency effect. lockdownin uprising active.protocols Sealing status updatesfromyour caskets, interrupted bythismessage: weeklyidentical and regular of months three areFollowing this The servo-skull’s access to the ship’s cogitator systems can of skull the drone—once mechanical a is servo-skull A the effect, emergencyin standbythe to due point, this At hr ae hy now? they are Where Alpha Acolytes can be found on pages 29-30. the and Crane both on information More superstructure. command andbridgeship’s the onlocated casketswere are the senior Inquisition staff aboard the vessel. Their stasis or the Alpha Acolytes are, the servo-skull replies that they casketscharacterswhothe deactivated.”ask Cranenow If stasis Acolyte Alpha deactivated. now casket stasis Crane “Interrogator deactivated: also have caskets stasis other information,the servo-skull also volunteers that the ship’s this revealing up.Upon them woke systems power ship’s characters? the up woke What What is Crane doing now? hundred metres afew fromonly theircurrent location. equipment? their is Where vessel, just aft of the main Prison Hold. the of Decks Medicae the prisoners,security on located access to the command superstructure they must escape must they superstructure command the superstructure?to access command the reach they can How the destruction of the vessel undertaken as a last resort.”“Standard protocols require Failing summoning that, aid. “Stasis crypt operations switching to emergency standby. Stasis Stasis overridden. protocols termination XX crypt “Stasis the cogitator’s in message final the reach you Eventually, You scroll through the updates, quickly realising via the date- “Pending...pending...pending...” “Lockdown pendinguprisingresolution.” protocolsineffect, prisoner General hold. prison main in triggered “Alarms tss rp X, eevd o high- for reserved XX, Crypt Stasis All the servo-skull can supply is that Investigative Laboratorium V is V InvestigativeLaboratorium The declining state of the the of state declining The 21 o gain To

Broken Chains the Prison Holds through the Sanctum Station. This is the only way into the Upper Decks. To open this door, GM Gu i d a n c e : t h e Se r v o -Sk u l l they need the correct command key. What the servo-skull does not tell the players is why their stasis The Chains of Judgement is a huge ship, and some players crypt overrode the “Termination Protocols.” This happened (particularly new players) may be at a loss as where to thanks to one of the ship’s more dangerous denizens, the begin in their adventures. The servo-skull provides a daemonhost Karnak Zul. Trapped in the Armoury of the method with which the GM can guide and prompt his Upper Decks, Karnak Zul has some limited ability to affect group, without making them feel like they’re being the ship’s systems. He could not override the lockdown railroaded into a particular course of action. The GM can protocols, but when the ship lost enough power to shut them use the servo-skull as much or as little as he chooses to off, he could save the player characters from destruction. aid the characters, giving them advice or clues or even Now, it hopes they will travel to the Upper Decks to defeat manipulating the ships systems to help them (such as Crane, and in doing so free him. opening or closing hatches or imparting directions to important locations). The servo-skull can follow the A Bl o o d y Be g i n n i n g characters anywhere, and is generally ignored in combat. Once outside the crypt, the characters find themselves in the An experienced GM and player group, on the other shattered remains of the Medicae Deck. It is dark, dingy, hand, can do without the servo-skull entirely. This might and littered with debris and should help impart what a bad require a bit more work on the GM’s part and a bit more state the ship is in. The first location is a circular corridor investigation on behalf of the players, but the results can connecting Stasis Vaults XVI through XX. The other three be more rewarding. However, if a group expects to finish stasis crypts are deserted. Each has several former inhabitants this adventure in one session, the GM should probably still in their caskets. Everyone else is dead, apparently killed use the servo-skull to help keep them from spending too by plasma venting into the casket interiors—a grim reminder long figuring out where to go and how to get there. of the fate the player characters nearly suffered. A tarnished map on the wall (or projected in a hololithic can also give the characters a chance to look for improvised display by the attendant servo-skull) shows that this area is weaponry. A successful Challenging (+0) Awareness Test connected to the rest of the Medicae Deck (and specifically finds a makeshift knife or pipe that can be used as a club. Any Laboratorium V) by an adjoining corridor. of these weapons is fairly basic, dealing 1d10 damage plus the The GM can allow the players a few moments to take stock character’s Strength bonus and imposing a –10 penalty to hit. and come up with a plan, probably either to try to find a way to However, it gives them something to use until they can get the Upper Decks or find a way off the ship altogether. The GM their equipment back.

22 ky hwvr te wl nt e be o as hog the Sanctum Station. through pass to able be not will they however, key, a havethey DecksUnless Station.Upper Sanctum through the the to up or Hold Prison the into continue—down to ways walked the the deck,length of they will have discovered two have they Once 18. page on described is Deck Medicae the of remainder The deck. the explore can Heretics the gear, here forexamination, only afterall! rangedweapons—theykept wereany being for ammunition of clip one only is there otherwise, decides GM the unless However,operational. are weapons lockers, the the of effect of lockers preservative the stasis of because Surprisingly,perhaps own. severaltheir in laboratorium the throughout stored ofthe are gear and weapons Their several within. died of who crew bodies mummified long-decayed the of and casks substances, and beakers ofscientific sealed various stains, collection a nightmarish equipment, several autopsy tables marred with ancient blood- find they Inside theirnumber.at leasthalf using theirowninstead. Heretics’ weapons, the use to how know not do theymeans appear.they whenHowever,nature sight feral on their Heretics TheCarrion areferal,little better thananimals, attackand the laboratorium,andareattempting dragtodown itthe corridor. one of the suits of Chaos Space Marine Powerover Armour their out weaponsof the and gear. Three of themarea. have Even managed as the charactersto get arrive,inaccessible previously this into theyget to findthem allowed and thehatch Carrion fighting eating, discovered that the powerprowling loss the unlockedMedicae Deck the in Laboratorium’shopes of outsomeone’s finding already stumbled somethingacross it.SixCarrion Hunters, worth failure, he must makemust a he failure, combatant fails to hit his target by more than three degrees of a if and difficult is wind the in and gantries the on Fighting before leaping up to attack or push characters off the gantries. a with cages only (spotted the within dead the among hidden lying hunters the here, Carrion the with clash another have also may They inside. a way find a can key, firearms, they even and find if to place likely a servo-skullis the suggestsit thatquerying and hold, Warden’sthe the spot Towereasily of centre can the they in or cages down acrossgaps grip.whiletight keeping a progress their During climb to Heretics the forcing winds, the high and gantries the to damage the given going slow and the andequipment, Heretics must traverse aid the Prison Holds. This will be difficult more and possibly a key, find To L ac coe o t smi. o oie h vns wl hidden (well vents the notice To summit. its to close hatch and the only remaining ways in are the vents or an emergency or even downintothemuck theCage of below. Runoff over, hanging from the falling edge, mean or plummeting could to a this lower discretiongantry GM’s the At footing. his ock andKe Once they have seen off the Carrion and regained their regained and Carrion the off seen have they Once Once dispatched, the Heretics can access the laboratorium. The Carrion flee like animals if the Heretics manage to kill find to arrive V,Laboratoriumthey to travel they Assuming ot f h acs pit it te oe ae el sealed well are tower the into points access the of Most RoutineTestAgility (+20) Difficult (–10) (–10) Difficult Awareness Test) y or lose or vision to only a few metres, having light sources few and far far and metres, havingsourcesfew few light a only to vision oppressiveBilgesthe the byup restricting nature play can of GM The around. all groan and creak hull the of sounds the the from and breath foggy,to thick, hard different is and above.air decksThe noticeably place, vile a are Bilges The Bilge Rats or at leasthisremains, are somewhere intheBilges. that one locator beacon is still operable. It appears the warden, a Tech-UseRoutine(+20) revealingTest them, activate can that power enough have still systems Tower’sWarden’s second, The beacons. locator and with implanted wardens, were individuals senior such several to issued were keys the Warden’s Tower that indicate two things. First, command key, the GM can have them find ancient parchment records in characters must look elsewhere. sad history of the ship. There is, however,the about more no keysome herelearn and and the look to choose they if here also allow the character to access some of the ship’s logs from rounds.pistol bolt and bolter Legion 1d10+10 The can GM two degrees success on of an awareness Test finds a with safe weapons.However,Legion use Warden’snot Towerthe did in guardsweapons—the Legion any are here exceptionThe weapon. per once search only can Heretic Each weapons). energy of case the in success of degree per shots 1d5 with ammunition for one of their weapons, (or a single charge pack (+0) Awareness Test , a Heretic can find 1d5 hard rounds of a on success of degree everyFor ammunition. comparison to the Heretic’s gear). However, they can scrounge the of weapons Most are in a ammunition. sad state of decay and (and generally weaponsworthless in discover also will skeletonsuniforms,guards,than morein they Hold but little Security Test can open the tower’s hatches. an inside, fit Once space. can narrow the Marine) through Space Chaos a (not human a only however test, no requires hatch emergency the Opening ceiling. the meets it where around searchTest Skilland , Athletics (+0) climb up close to the tower’s summit, requiring a Tofind the emergency hatch, at least one theof Heretics must a way in and passing a under grime) requires at least one character actively looking for If the Heretics are unsure where to look for a command a for look to where unsure are Heretics the If Inside the tower they find the ancient corpses of the Prison rely on their guns whenever they are needed. are wheneverthey guns rely on their them and give them a near unlimited supply, so they can blazing. Alternatively he can make things a bit easier for out each countround and to think carefully them before forcing going each, in guns two or clip a only them give can he gritty, and desperate things keep to wants until ammo more on If the GM the Upper Decks. reach they the Armoury gain to unlikely be will they as is, determine how difficultthe nextsection course of ofthe will adventure This GM. the the to Warden’sup in Toweris find Heretics the ammunition of amount The GM n a d i u Routine (+20) Awareness Skill Test. c e : A n o i t i n u m m Ordinary (+10) (+10) Ordinary Challenging Challenging 23

Broken Chains between and having strange noises constantly echoing down get from one end of the corridor to another can be run as a the dingy tunnels. combat. At the beginning of each round, make one Ballistic The Bilges have become the nest of a daemon of Nurgle that Skill Test for each Heretic (counting the guns’ effective refers to itself as Lurgach. Lurgach found its way aboard the ship Ballistic Skill as 50). Success means they suffer a 1d10+5 when the Gellar Field flickered briefly, then discovered it was Pen 7 hit from the sentry guns. trapped when the Field restored. Since then it has made its nest The guns can be destroyed via shooting or melee attacks, in the ship’s Bilge, perhaps being drawn to a normally filthy however it takes a hit dealing 15 damage to destroy one. The environment, perhaps because the bodies made for an appealing guns do not deploy from their armoured boxes unless someone food source. Now it nests within the centre of the Bilge, coating is in the corridor to shoot at. The door is another matter, as it the walls of its lair with corpses. One of those corpses is the is completely resistant to small-arms fire. However, enterprising corpse of the warden who bears the command key. Heretics may invent some way to cut their way through it. They Almost nothing comes to the Bilges anymore, not even may even convince the Carrion Queen to open it from the far the Carrion outcasts. In the suffocating stench and sickening side, though they’d still have to destroy the guns first. filth, the Heretics eventually find their way to the centre, and If, however, the Heretics have a command key, they can Lurgach’s Nest. deactivate the gate and pass through unhindered. Lurgach does not attack the Heretics immediately. A Either destroying or deactivating the gate alerts Crane cautious and relatively stupid entity, it prefers to fight only to their existence. He quickly searches through the ship’s what it’s sure it can kill and consume, and the Heretics cogitator systems and learns that they survived the termination (especially if there are Chaos Space Marines in their number) protocol. If they still have the servo-skull with them, he can are more formidable fare than it’s used to. In a burbling voice, track their progress through it, and dispatches a team of five Lurgach asks the Heretics what’s brought them to its lair. Alpha Acolytes to impede their progress. No matter what they tell it (whether they lie or be truthful) The Acolytes set up an ambush in an abandoned galley Lurgach agrees to get them what they want, whatever they the Heretics must pass through about twenty minutes after want. First, however, it wants food. Fresh food, in the form of they enter the upper decks. While they remain hidden, the corpses of the feral humans roaming the ship. Crane addresses the Heretics via the servo-skull’s vox, and If the Heretics go out and kill a feral human and bring the tries to convince them they should submit to the will of the corpse back, Lurgach devours it voraciously and disgustingly, Inquisition for redemption and a swift demise. He also hints then demands more. In actuality, it has no idea what the that they are being used by someone else on the ship, and Heretics want, but its limited mind sees a chance for meals. this other individual will do far worse with them than the Eventually, the Heretics may realise the daemon has no intention of helping them. They can attempt to threaten it, though this requires success on a Hard (–20) Intimidate Test. Alternatively, they can attack the beast. Though Lurgach cannot be truly killed, once reduced to zero wounds, it dissolves into a slimy mass and slithers away. Once Lurgach has been cowed or bested, a quick search of its nest locates the warden, and with the body, the key. If the GM needs to have the Heretics fight Lurgach, use the profile for Zul without the “Strength of Possession” Trait (page 30), but increase its Toughness to 50. However, Lurgach is in no way supposed to be a challenging fight, so he should be fairly easy to dispatch.

Sa n c t u m Ga t e Pa s s a g e Once the Heretics have a command key, they will be able to pass through the Sanctum Gate and enter the Upper Decks. If they attempt to pass through the Sanctum Gate beforehand, they’re driven back by automated sentry-guns. The Sanctum Gate is actually a long (50 metre) corridor, with a dozen sentry gun emplacements covering the entire length. These weapons are still operational, powered from a tertiary reserve atomic pile. Past them is the gate itself, a thick adamantium slab. At the entrance to the corridor (the part closest to the holds) there is a massive skull with a socket replacing the mouth, into which the command key may be inserted to shut down the gate. If the characters do not have a command key and attempt to get through the gate (proceeding past the command key socket at the entrance), the sentry guns open fire. Trying to

24 O the Heretics encounterintheirclimb. damage of form generatesome to Hazards Deck Upper 1-3: living quarters, the the GM he can, chooses,if roll once on Table into emerge they Before worst. steadily get will chaos the on press they as damage,and structural massive suffered clear to it the players that the Upper Decks make are a mess and have should GM The corridors. warped and bulkheads have fallen down from above, creating a nightmare of twisted through numerous collapsed sections of the ship where decks to fight for their lives. Once they have dealt with Crane’s ambush theywillthenbefree toentertheUpperDecks.dealt have they Once need lives. their Heretics for the fight and to fire open to men his orders Crane eventually progresses, insulting or bargaining,conversation, way.the Howevertheir in lies that obstacle major the is he he harbours for the enemies the of Imperium, making it clear an idea of what a driven man he is and of the seething hatred chanceplayersthe for parlayto Crane. with They getshould Inquisition ever could. The GM can use this opportunity as a The climb from the Sanctum Station lead the Heretics directly Q becoming trapped or separated. Hazards also make interesting places for the GM to spring ambushes from Carrion, Carrion, from ambushes spring or Murder Servitors. to Acolytes, Alpha GM the for places interesting make also Hazards separated. or trapped becoming members group possibly 1d10 and least damage at in resulting failure with appropriate, Testas Perception or Agility, T Deck Hazards warp. enter Once the GM the Upper proper the characters exploring, and can rollDecks begin 1d10 on the decay as and later and by impacts uprising the during were damaged The Upper Decks horrendously T n e e u 10 7-9 5-6 4 1-3 Roll a e h Labyrinth of b The time and difficulty it takes to navigate a hazard is up to the GM, but can require either a Strength, Strength, Toughness, a either require can but GM, the to up is hazard a navigate to takes it difficulty and time The e l h cib no h Upr ek. hs s o an way not their work to is need they and This transition instant Decks. Upper the into climb the Gate,Sanctum the characterspast the nce begin can 1-3:U B

o n e k o r Abyss: The area is divided by a chasm where the decks have torn and separated. Rope, leaps of faith and and faith of gap. to the bridge required be may leaps chains human Rope, separated. and torn have decks the where chasm a by divided is area The Abyss: The on wreckage. themselves or cut pits into unseen darkness. fall slowly they very lest proceed must utter characters into plunged is zone this but lighting feeble have ship the of areas Most Black: Pitch swim. underwater an might require also but through be waded area could A flooded The ship Flooding: of is of full millions litres of from butfluids filthy harmless water to reeking promethium. to another. once from piece of debris by leaping avoidedbe or crossed to or walls floor the of areas forcing plasma, with awash is area the light, orange an in Bathed Leak: Plasma even more difficult. progress making gravity, without often also are areas Vacuum sealed). void is armour their help,as to able be may party the in Marines Space Chaos (any across get to two or suit void a scavenging somehow or detour a means decompression of area An Vacuum: Hard Hazard f S Part II: P P Chains whenever they try to get from one section to another, to represent the extensive damage to these decks. to these damage to extensive another, the to represent to section one from get try wheneverthey c r e a r D C p e c s n i a h k

d n a H s d r a z a S s d r a h aro, hy il o isaty eoe lis Frt Scarna First, allies. become instantly not will they Carrion, understand what about. her,to arethey lying likely will and if know not does she even if clever still warp, is she However, the Imperium). as the or (such planets, granted for take might characters the concepts the of many understand not will likely and Gothic the GMshouldremember speakinbroken shecanonly Low defeat the of daemon and Interrogator. When running Scarna bargainto the tries and she exodustribe the her in aid for of throne,scrap her on sight fearsome A audience. an for room throne her to led are they then her) kill and in storm than to theirqueen. them lead hunters strangethe a battleas or honour march of continuous a be could Quarters Living the through passage them. Thus, the characters, on the actions depending of their uncooperative,however, killto hesitatenot will she trying in provethey course)—if of minions her arrive(throughof one they when alliance of offer an make to tries still queen the hunters, her to hostile but nothing been havecharacters the way.her in if Evenstand both Crane arrived newly this and Zul Karnak both that knows,though, She seen. be cannot it high so ceiling a and food, of herds spaces, open vast with pict recordings found in the living quarters that show worlds most (one of the reasons she has risen to power) and has seen than cleverer is warp,Scarna the in drifting are they that or is voidship a what know even wouldn’t Carrion the of most the escape to them use to wants she minions, until now. How she reacts to their presence on their depends actions up into the living quarters and the domain of the Carrion Queen. If the characters make a bargain and secure aid from the from aid secure bargainand a charactersmakethe If (rather queen the with meet to choose characters the If her via characters the of progress the watched Having Table Upper @-@: Chains drifted in the . While Chains. 25

Broken Chains wants them to prove themselves to the tribe by displaying their prowess at arms and cunning. This can happen in one of GM Gu i d a n c e : Mu r d e r Se r v i t o r s several ways. A Chaos Space Marine, for example, may simply demonstrate his prowess at arms by killing one of her Carrion The murder servitors should be of little real danger in front of her, which terrifies and impresses her (a Difficult to the combined power of the Heretics, especially if (–10) Intimidate Test opposed by a Challenging (+0) the characters have plenty of ammo for their guns or Willpower Test from the Queen would be required: this is can gang up on individual targets. Murder servitors slightly more difficult because Scarna is somewhat inured to unfortunately don’t always play fair, and favour stealth threats of violence after growing up on this derelict vessel). and numbers as much as brute strength. The Gun Decks Alternatively, a silver-tongued member of the party may are also teeming with the things and it is possible that demonstrate their persuasive abilities—a Challenging (+0) one or more characters may be overcome, especially if Charm Test or Deceive Test opposed by a Challenging they go off scouting alone or get separated from the (+0) Willpower Test made by the Queen. Success means they group. In these cases. the GM should remember that are able to convince or trick the Queen into aiding them. murder servitors do not always kill (generally when Finally, if the players are not proactive in either intimidating their prey stops struggling they consider it dead) the Queen into submission or convincing her to help, the and will drag an unconscious or critically wounded Queen may request they complete a challenge to impress her. character back to the Ordnance Gallery where they She is a capricious individual, and having the Heretics run can be rescued later. hither at her beck and call reinforces her feelings of petty superiority. Should the Heretics accept doing her drudge- free to ignore this new danger, but if they do then Crane will work, the Queen may detail one of the following tasks. The have a powerful card to play when they try to take the bridge. GM should also feel free to expand on their challenges if Getting into the Gun Decks is not easy and they need to he chooses, or insert interference from Crane and/or Zul climb the shell lift through poor atmosphere and hazardous (neither of which want to see the Heretics gain the support conditions. This requires a successful Athletics Skill Test of the Carrion). from one member of the group—who can then lower a rope Fight Pit: One of the Heretics must enter the fighting pits or power cable to the others. Halfway up the ascent (when the without a ranged weapon and defeat a murder servitor (2 in characters have re-grouped on a mid-level ledge), the GM can the case of a Chaos Space Marine). The pit is also filled with have a swarm of Murder Servitors attack. A number equal to spikes, blade gates, and razor pits which the character could the group +1 attacks. Half appear at the onset, then one per use to their advantage. round until all have arrived. The Heretics are at a disadvantage The Hunt: One of the Heretics must travel to the hunting fighting on the ledges and footholds of the shaft and suffer a ground and track and kill a feral human. This will require -10 to all Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill tests. at least a Tracking Skill Test and may become more On the Gun Deck, four Alpha Acolytes, including a Tech- difficult if the feral is part of a pack, or vermin try to steal Priest (he will be armed with a hotshot lasgun, as may other the character’s kill. Acolytes depending on how many Chaos Space Marines there Deep Scavenging: One of the Heretics must journey to the are in the group), are trying to get to the Servitor Workshop Bilges and find a piece of treasure for the queen’s throne (i.e. to reawaken the machine spirit of its command cogitator and an interesting piece of broken tech). The Bilges is unstable and use it to control the servitors. they will have to avoid patches of ‘quick filth’ and possibly a The Heretics can use stealth to get the drop on the Acolytes, stray exiled Carrion from below. but they have to be careful. The GM should make it clear to the players that this deck is crawling with murder servitors; shadows can be seen in the distance while scratching and the Murderers skittering can be heard echoing from afar. Crossing the deck Once the Heretics have begun exploring the Upper Decks, either and reaching the Servitor Workshop is all about being quiet. before or after their audience with Scarna, Zul contacts them The GM should have the characters nominate one of clandestinely. This is through the daemon’s psychic powers— their number as a scout, who must make one Challenging one of the Heretics suddenly hears a voice whispering in the (+0) Stealth Skill Test to first lead them to the Ordnance back of his mind. Read aloud or paraphrase the following: Gallery and then another to get to the Servitor Workshop. Whenever they fail a test, 1d5+1 Murder Servitors arrive. The use of guns or explosives will attract another 1d5+1 You suddenly hear a thready whisper scratching at the back of servitors within 3 rounds. Should the group persist in using your mind, as if someone was speaking inside your skull. “Crane... guns or explosives 1d5+1 Murder Servitors will continue to he is your enemy. He is our enemy... yes... be warned. Crane has arrive at 3 round intervals, quickly packing the corridors with sent his minions to defeat you. The murderers... the servitors. He their desiccated bodies. At some point the GM can have two has sent his proxies to take control of them. They are on the gun of the Alpha Acolytes ambush the group, likely only fighting deck... hurry...” a round or two of combat and setting off a frag grenade (to attract more Murder Servitors) and then falling back. Crane has sent some men to take control of the swarms Adding to the dangers on the Gun Deck is a large amount of of murder servitors up on the Gun Decks. The Heretics are ammunition for the macro cannons stacked along walls and in

26 D 17. Still trapped by the binding wards enacted by Inquisitor by wardsbindingenacted the bytrapped Still 17. ak h eupet n te kl t cnrl l te murder servitors asCrane intended. the all control to skill the and equipment the lack murder dozen servitors (with a a successful half of control take even or cogitator the destroy can they Acolytes, the defeat they Should Acolytes. Alpha the attack to in them luring and Servitors Murder of with ordnance and making a rolling bomb or baiting a swarm for the players coming up with cunning plans—such as filling a shell trolley reward GMshould the and fight stand-up Murder adozen tough Tech-Priest.a the be bycontrolled will This Servitors and Acolytes Alpha the off fight to need the environment totheiradvantage. reward should GM exploit playersto the vein,allowingcreative this thinkingin A group. the overwhelm to that packs threaten out wipe even or servitors, murder off draw to explosion an off setting perhaps ammunition, the of nature theHeretics frompossibly theirfoes. cuttingoff effectssuch as making floors collapse or blocking corridors,off down. The GM may also decide that shell explosions everyonehaveand fight takesthe damagein2d10 knocked is other and GM can roll 1d10. On a result of 1 or 2 it hasplayers set know).off some For shells any las or bolt shot that misses its target,thedanger the without testing (theshouldGM lettheappropriate of knows weapon bolt a or weapon las a with armed character Any shells. of stack a off cook could shot stray a as dangerous corridors. This means firing energy or bolt weapons can be very ih ank u, erig h tuh f hi mysterious their of truth benefactor. Read aloud orparaphrase the thefollowing: learning Zul, Karnak with up meet and Armoury the to come Heretics the Eventually T e h salvation, as you shall be the architects of mine.”salvation, asyou shallbethearchitects of voice isthesame you heard inyour headbefore. eyes glowing, it bares its teeth in a rictus grin. When it speaks, the approach,youcorpse’sground.theEvenasthe lifts. head Its off wards carved into the ground, a withered corpse hovers two metres clear. There, bound by smoking chains and surrounded by glowing 200 years ago, andtheprisoners who attacked them. aredried bodies, and mummified corpses the of crew who defended Everywhere this place the walls. score explosions and floor, the litter casings shell overturned, and shattered are weapons of the sequenceintodoor, itswingsopenwitha lingering groan. enter you once enough, Surebrain. your whispersinto numbers of inset in the bulkhead next to it. However, almost instantly, a string flickering key-pad a a with sealed, is door door.The find vault massive and bulkhead wrenched-open a exit you passageway, collapsed partially and cramped another yet navigating After u, f ore i te amnot etoe o page on mentioned daemonhost the is course, of Zul, When the Heretics make it to the Servitor Workshop, they unstable the of use make may Heretics canny However, k r a “Hello, my friends. I am Karnak Zul, the architect of your of architect the Zul, Karnak am I friends. my“Hello, blasted is space of patch a destruction, the of centre the In Inside, you find the once orderly armoury in utter ruin. Racks D V n o m e a d i o

d n a Hard (–20) Tech-Use Test). They

e h t D e e p

the host must meet several requirements. It must be living, be must It requirements. several meet must host the cross orbetray theHeretics, andaidsthemwithoutaproblem. double-weakenedattemptto its not in does state,daemon the is stronger than it claims, but is actually quite weak). However, on their own, as Zul claims to be too weakened to aid them (it Cranefight mustthey host, new a withdaemonprovide to the not choose they If Heretics. the to up entirely is choice This Crane. fight Heretics the help will it says exchange, it In decayed. completely almost is host current its as host, new damage, ignoringArmour andToughness. 1d5 takes Heretic the fails, or succeeds it Test.Whether the backlashdeals damageoption whoHeretic this makes the to brute using a wards strength, the break also can Heretics The Test. via a symbols on succeeding new few a disrupting (adding wards by the of accomplished energies the be can This wards. binding the shipjustenoughtoget port. ittoasafe navigate could Heretics the that admits it daemonhost, the they realize he’s not telling the whole truth—if they confront Scrutiny Test Heretics free it. The Heretics may make a not strictly true (see page 29), but it can do so, is and will the if This Vortex. the into ship the navigate can that creature take therenegade refuge ononeof worlds within. ableto be may they centuries) twointervening the in to close VortexScreamingthe (which the However, if they plunge the ship into the warp storm known as shouldCrane succeed, theHeretics are just asdoomed asitis. theImperium thestrickento vessel. Zulpresses thepoint that summoning beacon, distress astropathic an activate and warp die out after 200 years. Now, they hope to bring the ship out of discovered by the Imperial Navy or at leastthe the that prisonershope would stasisin waiting caskets, in refuge took They Acolytes. trusted most his with afterthe prisoner uprising, Crane sealed himself on the bridge Crane’s of them attempt warned totake control themurder of servitors. that one the also was It caskets. stasis the on protocolstermination the aborted who one the was it that them Heretics—quicklyinforming the with itself ingratiate to possibleeverything does Thus,it this. knows it Theabilitythe with ones Heretics areonly free the and to it, Renthor 200 years ago, it has remained imprisoned until now. If the Heretics do decide to provide Zul with a new host, new a providewith to Zul decide do Heretics the If a with it provide Heretics the that asks Zul free, Once the interrupt must Heretics the Daemonhost, the Tofree Zul will attempt to convince the Heretics that it is the only Zul goes on to tell the Heretics about Crane and his plans— However, Test. Strength (+0) Challenging to see if they believe Zul or not. Success means Routine (+20) Forbidden Lore (Warp)Lore Forbidden (+20) Routine has driftedhas perilouslyChains would eventuallybewould Chains Challenging (+0) 27

Broken Chains and it must be reasonably powerful, either Queen Scarna, one of the Alpha Acolytes, or one of the Heretics (Zul promises Battle for the Chains to return the body after it’s killed Crane!). Preparing the If the Heretics have got this far then Crane has decided host for the ritual requires a Challenging (+0) Forbidden they are too dangerous to hunt down. Instead, he’s set Lore (Warp) Test. If they do so, Zul certainly helps them up a defence around the Bridge, specifically the main lift kill Crane. However, once it is done, it immediately drops corridor’s bridge entrance. the ship’s Gellar Field (the barrier protecting it from the warp The entrance opens onto a large (fifty metre across) open around it) so it can escape. What happens to the Heretics is no space at the bottom of the Bridge. It’s surrounded on all sides concern to the daemon. by balconies, on which the desiccated corpses of servitors and Either way, Zul reveals there are two paths to the bridge. crew still sit at their stations. The Acolytes have set up defensive The first is the main lift corridor. However, Crane expects them positions along the edges of the open space—barricades made to come this way, and has set up a solid defence around the from debris. Crane is above them on the first level of balconies, corridor’s entrance onto the bridge. The second way is up the attempting to drop the Chains of Judgement out of the warp. air ducts. This requires an Ordinary (+10) Athletics Test The defensive positions provide good cover against an (Chaos Space Marines must make a Very Hard (–30) Athletics attack from the lift entrance (a –20 penalty to any Ballistic Test instead, due to their large size). Success means they are Skill Tests to hit the Acolytes), and anyone attempting to close able to sneak onto the bridge and ambush the Acolytes. Failure with them must spend one round in the open to get to them. means they reach the bridge, but the Acolytes are ready for However, the air ducts open directly behind the Acolytes, them. Alternatively, the party can split, with some going up the allowing someone who approaches unnoticed to attack them air ducts, and others the main lift corridor. directly (if they are noticed, the Acolytes will be waiting for them with guns drawn when they come out). Do you know who I am? There are two Acolytes and two murder servitors, plus one additional Acolyte for every Heretic. The Acolytes fight There is another way to deal with Karnak Zul, though it may to the death. Once half have fallen, Crane joins the battle be slightly riskier. The Heretics can bank on their Infamy to personally, leaping from the balcony and attacking the most cow the daemon, counting on the fact that their names may be dangerous opponent. known in the warp and Zul may not be willing to cross them. If the Heretics allied with the Carrion Queen, she sends At any point during the negotiations, a Heretic may make an a dozen of her Carrion Hunters to aid them. If they have Opposed Challenging (+0) Infamy Test with Zul. Success acquired Zul a new body, the daemon fights alongside them. means that the daemon has indeed heard of them, and their See “Running the Battle.” reputation convinces it they are not to be trifled with. The daemonhost agrees to aid them, and will not double cross them in any way. If they get control of the ship, it will safely navigate them to a world within the Screaming Vortex.

Ca l l t o Ar m s Having dealt with both the Carrion Queen and the daemonhost, the Heretics are now in a position to storm the bridge and take control of the ship. The GM should make it clear that Crane is ready to take the vessel out of the warp and contact the Inquisition, so time is of the essence if they are to make good their escape. Once the characters have formulated their plan of attack and gathered their allies, the final battle can begin. Part III: A Path to Glory he final part of the adventure focuses on the Heretics battle to take control of the Chains of Judgement and defeat Interrogator Crane. Should they be successful, they will Tthen be able to guide the vessel out of the warp and find safe harbour far from the clutches of the Inquisition.

28 terrifying, where their next adventures canbegin. the GMchooses. whereverVortex the within exits it until warp-currents the on Vortex.about the tossed enters be it There,will that it so A themselves. Intelligence Test ship the pilot to attempt chooses). GM the wherever out spat and can either be killed, or tossed about on the tides of the warp they (If don’t stop it, it. the warp stop rips through the ship,to and the Zul Heretics kill and fight must they instead. VortexOtherwise the into them take and cease to it causes a by TestIntimidate (+0) Challenging successful A time). all for warp the in lost being for or death entails (likely them this what and and do to field trying immediately it’s is what the of Heretic aware Any drop warp. the to to ship controls the expose Field Gellar ship’s the adventures.series of new a begin can renegadeHereticsworlds, wherethe the of one near warp of out drops it Vortex.There Screaming the as known storm warp the into vessel the guides grudgingly and Occulum Navigator’s the enters daemonhost the body, new a giveit not did but Zul with allied they If happen. can things several of one point, that ship.At the of controltake Once Crane is defeated and the bridge taken, the Heretics can Conclusion the end). in daemon a by wereduped butescape,managed to they (as surviving against theodds. and Inquisition the from escaping for Infamy +4 gain they Vortex,the into themselves pilot and him Vortex,kill the or If the Heretics are able to either convince Zul to take them into R s d r a w e In any case, the Heretics end up somewhere strange and strange somewhere up end Heretics the case, any In can Heretics the it, freed never they or killed is Zul If approaches and madly laughs it body, new a has Zul If If If Zul drops them into the warp, they only gain +1 Infamy and divide them so he can fight them one on one. them one fight can he so them divide and on the Heretics but using his fellow Acolytes to distract can he Insteadthem. behind on going fighting confused the describe allies. their for wounds tracking or the fight,without making lots of rolls to hitand damage shouldfocusonly on theactions of theHeretics during to create a grand melee. To make the GM’s job easier he potent the he number ofweapons, can increase Acolytes or allies of lots have they Alternatively,doors.if blast or cover as such advantagesenvironmental them give or foes of number the reduce can he abilities allies, any the get to reflect to battle didn’tmanagewoundedor are they IfHeretics. the of final the modify can GM The e h t GM Challenging Willpower(+0) Test daemon the from Crane should fight cautiously, focusing his attacks attacks his focusing cautiously, fight should Crane B e l t t a n a d i u allows them to nudge the ship just enough c e : R n i n n u g

Difficult (–10) Difficult opposed dangerous, when especially encountered inlarge numbers. their bellies. Though poorly armed and organised, they are still fill to meat for ship the scour who cannibals feral are Hunters The debased descendants of crew and inmates alike, the Carrion “Is itfoods?” C tokillothers willbetrying them. while allies become may encounter—some will Heretics the NPCs key of number a are there adventure the Throughout zealous and determined man, Crane delighted in his mission of the aboard sector the of parts remote to master hisfollowing oftenyears, many and forloyally Renthor served Inquisitor of hand right the once was Crane “The God-Emperor willhave hisdue.” I her Int,WP, andFel. profilesame the has Scarna to +20 with Hunter Carrion a as her tribeinanexodus from lands. theChainstomore plentiful Heretics, she sees a chance to fulfil herkill and who lifelongany would dare her.oppose With the arrival the of ambition and lead decks,upper the moreher food bring to directsminions she her cunning, violence, the of and an insatiable tribes cannibal appetite. the rule Fromto her throne in CarrionScarna,thesimplyQueentheascallher,or risen has be going downmy gulletquick like knifeandwarm asblood.” “Mmmm, tastymorsels moves andtalksthinkslike soon men,but C when fightingaChaosSpaceMarine. 2d10+6 damage instead of 1d10+3. This ability only applies deal they means bonus.Success +20 a groupwith entire the for roll attack one make Marine, Space Chaos engagea can dangerousHunters Carrion targets.threehighly least as at If Up: Gang Weapons: PipeClub/Scrap (1d10+3). Knife Armour: None. Skills: Awareness, Dodge, Stealth. Movement: 3/6/9/18 o r r e t n Carrion H n o i r r a n o i r r a 3 WS 5 Antagonists 1 BS 0 Allies and Carrion Hunters recognise Chaos Space Marines Space Chaos recognise Hunters Carrion Appendix: g 3 H Q unter S r o t a 5 n e e u s r e t n u 4 T 0 C 3 Ag S e n a r 0 c a n r a 2 Int 0 through Judgement of Chains 3 Per 0 A Judgement. of Chains 2 WP 0 Wounds: 8 1 Fel 5 29 - Inf -

Broken Chains hunting down heretics and dragging them bloody and broken Rifle (150m; S/–/–; 1d10+5; Pen 2), or Hotshot Lasgun before Renthor for judgement. Having risen from the Scintillan (100m; S/2/–; 1d10+4; Pen 7; Tearing), Power Blade underhive, Crane viewed the brutality with which he undertook (1d10+5; Pen 6). his job as his due for hard work and devoted service to the God- Target Priority: Alpha Acolyte teams include one member Emperor. This ruthless attitude and determination is likely why with a hotshot lasgun plus one additional member with a he was the only ranking member of the ship’s crew to survive. hotshot lasgun per Chaos Space Marine in the group. The When Zul sabotaged the ship’s warp drive and cast them adrift, Acolytes are seasoned combatants; they know that regular Crane fought alongside Renthor in trying to suppress the lasguns have little chance at taking down a Chaos Space inmate uprisings. When Zul arrived and slew his master, he Marine, so anyone armed with a hotshot lasgun directs his saw the hopelessness of the situation and made plans to ensure fire at the Chaos Space Marines present first. Depending on his survival, though not before trapping the daemonhost in the situation, Alpha Acolytes may even pick up their fallen the armoury. Even as the ship fell into chaos and its crew were comrade’s weapons to try to kill a Chaos Space Marine, rather slaughtered, Crane and a handpicked group of acolytes sealed than wasting time with weapons they know have little chance themselves in the bridge and placed themselves in stasis. Crane of hurting them. figured when the ship finally returned to real space, most of the prisoners would be dead and he could reclaim the vessel in the Ka r n a k Zu l name of the God-Emperor. “Our paths are intertwined, you and I; help me and you help yourself.” Interrogator Crane The daemonhost known as Karnak Zul has long been a slave WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel Inf to the Inquisition. Bound to mortal flesh more than 400 years ago by Inquisitor Renthor, late master to Interrogator Crane, 50 50 45 45 40 40 40 50 40 10 he was used for centuries as a tool to hunt down heretics and rebels. Like all daemons, Zul knows well how to bide his Movement: 4/8/12/24 Wounds: 15 time and while he chafed under the shackles of Renthor, he Skills: Awareness, Charm, Deceive, Dodge. secretly plotted his revenge. Finally, after almost two centuries, Armour: Carapace Armour (AP 5) . his chance arrived in the form of a weak-willed enginseer Weapons: Bolt Pistol (30m; S/2/–; 1d10+5; Pen 4; and a perilous emergency warp jump. Manipulating events Tearing), Power Sword (1d10+9; Pen 5). Zul was able to cripple the Chains of Judgement and escape his Conversion Field: Crane is better protected than his armour cell. His plans for freedom, however, were dashed during the suggests; he bears a small force field generator surrounding him chaos that followed, when, even as he struck down Inquisitor in a hazy field of defensive energy. Whenever he takes a hit, roll Renthor, he was trapped anew. For two centuries now he has a d100. If the result is a 50 or lower, the hit has no effect. languished in a warded circle while the vessel drifts aimless Two Weapon Wielder: As a Full Action in melee combat, in the warp. Unable to control events outside his cell, he can Crane may make one Standard Attack with his pistol and one still observe, and has been watching the characters, waiting attack with his Power Sword. These attacks are made at a +0 for their stasis crypt to open (as so many others have over the modifier (instead of the usual +10 for Standard Attacks). years) so that he might use them at last to make his escape and be free of his withered mortal shell. In q u i s i t o r i a l Al p h a Ac o l y t e “Burn, heretic scum!” Karnak Zul When he went into stasis, Crane chose a handful of his most WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel Inf capable acolytes to join him (known as his Alpha Acolytes due to their standing in his cadre), knowing that they would 25 25 20 20 30 40 40 50 45 25 be needed when he awoke. Capable and devoted members of the Inquisition, the acolytes are dangerous opponents, well Movement: 3/6/9/18 Wounds: 10 armed and willing to kill without a second thought. Skills: Awareness, Stealth, Charm, Deceive (+10). Armour: Psy Field (AP 6). Weapons: Claws (1d10+2; Pen 2). Inquisitorial Alpha Acolyte Strength of Possession: If Zul gains a new host, increase its WS BS S T Ag Int Per WP Fel Inf WS and BS by +25 and its Strength and Toughness by +30 (bringing all four stats to 50). Finally, it gains new weapons: 40 40 35 35 35 30 40 40 30 - - Psy Blast (100m; S/–/–; 2d10; Pen 5) and Warp Claws (1d10+7; Pen 8). Movement: 3/6/9/18 Wounds: 12 Skills: Awareness, Stealth, Dodge. Armour: Mesh Armour (AP 3). Weapons: Lasgun (100m; S/3/–; 1d10+3; Pen 0), or Long

30 tarnished by age but deadly nevertheless. the years, many more of these foul things remain, withered and corpses back to the their masters. stalk Though many they have perished nature, over passages of homicidal the vessel, ambushing trespassers a and dragging with their programmed and morecousins.their benign than Armedblades with hooksand Hunchedevilthings, murder servitors aresmaller quicker and the sizeablea maintained Judgement guards,murdercontingent of servitors. for resources and space limited With Murder dangerous. quite thosevariants.servitors are oneof are variants some harmless, are servitors, many Thoughduties. single-purpose or tasks are manual simple Imperium perform to the designed hybrids human/machine of lobotomised feature ubiquitous One “Kill, Murder, Death.” M they send to fight a Human, if possible.they sendtofight aHuman,if one every for Marine Space Chaos each fight twoto send to If multiple Murder Servitors engage the Heretics, they attempt to them. eliminate and combat in threatsgreatest the recognize programmed are Servitors Murder Protocols: Threat weapon’s Penetration to8. their double they higher, or 8 an is roll die the if damage, rolling armour.Whenvictim’s a in spots weak the locate to ability uncanny an Weapons:haveRazor Servitors Murder Weapons: Murder Blades(1d10+5,Pen 4). Armour: Armour Plates (AP6). Skills: Awareness, Stealth. Movement: 3/6/9/18 M 4 WS of spreading madness and disorder in his wake, even working to aid both the characters and their enemies in equal equal in enemies their alive. and to keepuncertainty just characters measures, the both aid to working even wake, his in disorder and madness spreading of Alaxtanis: to free. achance her be it gives if antagonists main other the with in lot her throw or characters, the help may she intent, and thought in Alien Maw. the of edge the on TelashyrUnbloodied: the help most. his need they when them on turn to only characters the befriend may he man, a of brute brawny A God-Emperor. the serve to chance second a as awakening his sees He rumours. defeatist spreading for death to sentenced guardsman ex-Imperial An Vorg: Kras some hide to perhaps include: could NPCs such Afew reactors, crime. ancient plasma its detonating by itself ship the destroy to want they or seek, they ship the in may also have goals different away.They to the themselves or main antagonists there hidden the is PCs—perhaps have some who potent of artefact Crane Chaos hidden like agents Imperial other or crimes, their for condemned characters, the like heretics be could They both. or allies, enemies, become either can NPCs additional characters These emerge. the themselves which from ones the like crypts stasis other many the mention to not souls, of thousands to home still There Queen. the Carrion is, however, plenty of scope to add additional NPCs if the GM as the chooses, ship is vast and B GM r e d r u urder Servitor 5 n e k o r BS - -

C n a d i u s n i a h S 5 A Chaos Sorcerer devoted to the Great Deceiver and quite, quite mad. When he is set free, he thinks only only thinks he free, set is he When mad. quite quite, and Deceiver Great the to devotedSorcerer Chaos A S 0 s r o t i v r e only goes into detail on the major antagonists aboard the the aboard antagonists major the on detail into goes only 4 T 0 c e 3 Ag : A 0 Wounds: 10 1 n i d d Int Not all the prisoners are even human, such as Telashyr, as such are even human, prisoners pirate the Eldar caught raiding a NotDark all 0 3 Per 0 g M 2 WP 0 e r o - Fel - NPC Chains of of Chains - Inf -

s Chains of Judgement of Chains : Crane, Karnak Zul, and and Zul, Karnak Crane, : 31

Broken Chains CLAIM YOUR DESTINY WITH THE POWER OF THE DARK GODS!

Br o k e n Ch a i n s is an introductory adventure for the Bl a c k Cr u s a d e roleplaying game. For centuries, the starship Chains of Judgement served the Inquisition of the Imperium, transporting the most dangerous renegades to their doom. Now, however, the Chains of Judgement is lost in the warp. The imprisoned renegades have one chance to escape their fate and take the first steps towards leading a Black Crusade.

Br o k e n Ch a i n s is an introduction to black adventures and eternal damnation in the grim darkness of the far future. Welcome to Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay.

A set of basic rules are included to help players and Game Masters become familiar with the Bl a c k Cr u s a d e roleplaying game.

This free booklet gives you a taste of the exciting new roleplaying game from award winning publisher Fantasy Flight Games. Bl a c k Cr u s a d e will be available late summer 2011. FREE NOT FOR RESALE

TM