In the nightmare future of the 41st millennium, Mankind teeters upon the brink of extinction. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens, and threatened from within by malevolent creatures and heretic rebels. Only the strength of the Immortal Emperor of Terra stands between Humanity and its annihilation. Dedicated to His service are the countless warriors, agents and myriad servants of the Imperium.
Dark Heresy is a roleplaying game based upon the universe of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000. The setting of Warhammer 40,000 is a dark, gothic future where the Imperium of Man is beset by dangers within and without. In Dark Heresy players take on the roles of Acolytes of the Inquisition, aiming to uncover and combat the enemies of mankind, be they aliens, heretics or mutants!
Jericus crawls to cover and leans up over a pew. He calls for surrender, then squeezes off a round into the left arm of the nearby trooper. Brimstone blows the man's arm off. He screams and screams as he falls back to the floor screaming until finally death takes him.
The men all around aren't too sure what to do just yet. Then Damien still prone calls out to Haxtes as a wave of energy strikes all the various machines in the chamber. Everyone's weapon, including your own stop working for a moment or two, so does Haxtes. His weapons power down, his lumien pack cycles off and basically Haxtes becomes incapacitated for a moment. Atop that, all of the shotguns you hear *CHA-CHUNK* their actions jam, the triggers stick, and they become useless for the moment.
The troops start to try and clear the jam, but the power of the warp is strong, and only one of them manages to clear their weapon's jam, but still even that one has no function for the moment. Jericus' own Brimstone doesn't work for a few more seconds.
Jericus and Damien...
Jericus (Crawl 1/2 Speed): Brimstone #6: Short Range +10, 12 Hit Left Arm for 10 - 0AP (6AP-7Pen) = DEAD
Damien: Weapon Jinx: 4d10+8 = (7,10,4,5)+8=34 (No Pysk Phenom): Test WP: 12 Success. Overbleed: 6 Enemy Weapons Jam
"This is the very least we can do to you," Jericus announces calmly after all the weapons stop functioning, all the while taking careful aim at another soldier. "You don't want to contemplate the worst we can do. I'll tell you now, it's your boss we're after, not you. Stand with him and share his fate. But if you refuse to surrender, we'll assume you're complicit in his crimes and may the Emperor have mercy on your souls."
Full Action: Aim at #2
Let's see if any of them are smart.
Jericus takes aim on another of the Troopers, who have no weapons to use currently, and already they are down a Gun Servitor and a fellow Trooper. The one that cleared his jam, shouts, "Come on men, there are only three of them!"
Another, with jammed weapon tosses it to the ground, "Only three of them inside! I give up!"
"Me too!"
"Don't Shoot!"
One by one they surrender, valuing their lives over their duty (or paycheck). That one stubborn one is the last one, when all the others give up, he decides he better to and he tosses his shotgun into the pews.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Jericus keeps Brimstone raised and ready to fire (if it will fire, that is), and stands up.
"Gather up their weapons, Damien," he says without taking his eyes off the enemy. "The rest of you, sit down in the front pew with your hands on your heads." He gestures to one of the front pews. "We'll have to bind your hands," he explains. "But if you don't try and cause trouble, I promise we won't harm you." Then he waits until everyone has complied, and hopefully Haxtes has risen, before he speaks again.
He might, but it doesn't say so, plus it was way more fun this way! Maybe future attempts, but if so , then so would Gun Servitors, etc.
Then Troopers comply, they move to the front pew and sit down, hand on their heads as Damien moves out to collect their weapons. Jericus keep them in his sights ready to blow them to pieces if they get out of the line. The echo of battle outside rings out as you secure this room. Moving near to the front of the room you can see the altar at the head of the chapel is home to the body of a grizzled priest whose left arm has been removed. The stump still bleeds onto the floor and hundreds of black feathers have been used to soak the blood. The Chapel at House Thrungg
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
"What went on in here?" Jericus asks the guards, gesturing to the altar with Brimstone. "Who was involved, and where did the rest of the heretics go?" His tone indicates that he expects answers. Honest answers.
Most of the troopers are silent, they keep eyes down, one replies, "I don't know really. Honest, this place was like this when we got here. That's Father Kaerus I think. I don't know." One other man elbows the first, and hisses, "Just shut up already, its bad luck to talk about dead priests."
Further investigation might be warranted.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
"It's even worse luck to lie to the Inquisition," Jericus observes. Then he turns back to the talkative guard. "What do you know about Father Kaerus? And were there any other priests here? LIve ones, perhaps, who it's not unlucky to talk about? I doubt that Fr. Kaerus did that to himself."
It was possible that Kaerus was a dupe in this matter, though far more likely that he was complicit in the heresy and simply stopped being useful.
As he speaks, assuming that the guards are properly secured, the adeptus moves up to the dead priest and examines the scene.
Do any of Jericus' various Forbidden Knowledge skills tell him anything?
The Troopers really don't seem to know much, some of them were stationed other placed, and the corpse was here when they arrived. They seem to be telling the truth, and comply with whatever questions Jericus asks as Damien and Haxtes finish tying them up. "I... I can't remember, I really don't know. I swear to the Emperor I'm not trying to deceive you!"
Jericus then moves around to the back of the alter and begins his inspection. Jericus is trained in human antimony and medicae, and the first thing he notices about the body is that the arm was torn off at the elbow, not cut or cleanly severed. Its a foul realization, one that doesn't sit well with Jericus, but as Lucian liked to say, He's Seen Worse.
Clutched in Kaerus' remaining hand is a treatise on the Imperial Creed, apparently heavily annotated. Jericus takes the papers and inspects them for many long moments.
Routine (+20) Medicae Test 35 vs 93 Success
Routine (+20) Willpower Test 12 vs 68 Success
Challenging Common Lore (Imperial Creed) or Routine (+20) Forbidden Lore (Heresy): 08 Success
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
