Pandemic-Era Narrative-Driven Campaign Ideas

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Please add your thoughts, opinions, or desires anywhere in here, with or without a name tag like [chris].

We're looking for a smaller scale campaign that we can play until a vaccine becomes widely available. Let's target a rough time scale of 6 months (Gonna be a bummer if no vaccine by February), mostly smaller games that are easier to play on outdoor tables or in well-ventilated rooms in our homes.

In narrative terms, it would be cool if this game could act a bit like a prequel or narrative set up for the larger Season 3 we had originally planned, with all 4 Chaos factions, Grey Knights, Orks, Tyranids, and Marines.

Anti-Covid Protocols
Obviously, games should be postponed or rescheduled if either player starts to wonder if they might be sick. We're in no hurry, and it's better to be safe.

Games should only be played outside or in well-ventilated rooms.

Players should be masked at all times.

Only touch your own models, dice, tape measure, etc. Try to touch table and terrain as little as possible.

Any other ideas for how we can do this safely?

Big Picture Setting
Somewhere near the edge of subsector Hades lies the Astheneia system. Astheneia may or may not also be peripheral to Warzone Laevenir. Our story begins some years after the Fall of Cadia and the Cicatrix Maledictum (time is a funny thing these days), when the Imperium is beset on all sides from within and without and cries for help routinely go unanswered.

Astheneia system
Astheneia III was a Maiden World when the Aeldari ruled the galaxy, but far away from the center of their empire (which is now the Eye of Terror). As such, when the Fall of the Eldar came, Astheneia was spared from becoming a true Daemon World, but still counts among the Crone Worlds: All the Eldar in the system were immediately slain, and the taint of Chaos indelibly stained the system, but the fabric of reality held.

Astheneia was a tomb system until Imperium explorers arrived during the Great Crusade era, and marked Astheneia as containing extensive alien ruins and technology. The Adeptus Mechanicus were summoned, and were initially ecstatic at their discoveries, but plans to make Astheneia III into a forge world were eventually shelved after the system administrator admitted that some ancient evil dwells in the system, and continuously corrupts the hearts and minds of mortal men.

Of course, the presence of a pervasive ancient evil that drives the system's occupants mad didn't stop the Mechanicus from continuing their archaeological digs for millennia, or various pirates and looters from trying to steal the valuable archaeotech out of the ruins and from the transports of the Mechanicus. So a durable human presence grew in the Astheneia system.

Astheneia I (Hot Rock)
No atmosphere, small tidelocked Mercury-like world, extensive caves all over.

Was used as pirate base by both Eldar and Human pirates at various times over the last 8,000 years.

Astheneia II (The Jungle)
A jungle death world, some feral humans live on the surface, and the planetary governor rules his tiny empire from an orbital palace. Extensive archeotech remains because locating and removing artifacts from the surface is very dangerous. A small Mechanicus garrison on the surface occasionally carries out excavations at promising locations in the dense jungle, mostly using robots and servitors.

Astheneia III (Astheneia)
A crone world, full of empty and smashed Eldar cities, most excavated to some extent by Mechanicus forces. The system seat is in the spire of the planet's one Imperium Hive City, which is eerily half-empty as it was built before the system rulers came to accept that the planet is effectively haunted: they remained in denial for over 5000 years after discovery of the system, until the planet's third Chaos rebellion managed to kill the Planetary Governor and Mechanicus Overlord.

The whole planet's industry is devoted to supporting the archaeological excavations of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The world is almost always rotten with cults and rebellion because of the pervasive taint of Chaos, so there are several different Genestealer Cults and Chaos Cults, competing to overthrow the governor and claim the Hive.

Astheneia IV (The Ocean)
A water world, with only a few archipelagos of islands, and numerous large rafts that drift with the currents. The planetary governor estimates a total of 3,0,00,000 human inhabitants, spread very thin. He rules from the only city on the planet, on the largest island. The planet mostly exports fish and algae.

There are Eldar ruins on some of the islands, and in some of the shallow seas, but all have been thoroughly picked over by the Mechanicus, so little archaeotech remains.

Factions and Players
Obviously, I want everyone to be able to play the factions they want, and feel like they can play a meaningful part in the story throughout. So to that end, this section is mostly speculative with me guessing at what would make everyone happy. If you don't like anything here, let's change it until we're all happy.

The timing of the transition of each player from their first half to second half roles can be adjusted as needed, but I like the idea of the campaign having sort of different phases: once the Tyranids show up, everything is different. Before that, the arrival of CSM voidships and the manifestation of Daemons in our reality also mark a distinct change in the nature of the conflict.

First Half
Scott: GSC almost ready to topple Astheneia III, whose plans are hurried by the psychic call and the arrival of the Inquisitor.

Chris:  Imperial Guard force of the corrupt governor of Astheneia III, and Slaanesh cultists who try to steal the artifact that made the psychic call.

Toby: Mechanicus forces, the real Imperium rulers of the Astheneia System, and the Inquisitor who answers the psychic call when the Mechanicus dig up the artifact, possibly Khorne cultists as well

Aidan: Rival GSC faction on Astheneia, and the Lamenter Space Marines who initially accompany the Inquisitor as he comes to the Astheneia system.

Alex and Ben: Eldar pirates and/or Craftword Eldar who come looking through the webway for their long-lost artifact, seeking to destroy it before it draws the Tyranids this way.

Second Half
Scott: Tyranids! who arrive, drawn by both the psychic call and the ripe GSC, supported by GSC as appropriate.

Chris:  Emperor's Children, drawn by the call, coming to aid and recruit the Slaanesh Cult. Probably most of the Imperium Governor's guard forces are dead by this point in the story...

Toby: Same Mechanicus and Inquisitor forces as first half, plus whatever Khornate CSM/Daemons/Cultists make sense. I imagine Khorne forces show up when/if it looks like Slaanesh might run away with the artifact...

Aidan: All Lamenters, all the time!

Alex: Thousand Sons who answer the Call, and/or the same Craftword Eldar from first half who are looking to keep the situation from boiling over and threatening their farseen futures...

Ben: Grey Knights who respond to the Inquisitor's request after Daemons are sighted in the system, and/or the same Craftword Eldar as above.

Initial State of Astheneia System
The kickoff event of the story is that an artifact is found by Mechanicus archaeologists in a deep mine into the depths of an ancient Eldar city. As soon as the staff is touched by human hands, it emits a psychic scream that is heard by all psykers in the sector.

Psychic screams aren't as uncommon in the as they once were, but this one still attracts attention: It doesn't translate well into human words, but revels in the debauchery of the pre-fall Eldar, celebrates the slaughter of their fall, and welcomes the birth of it's Lord Slaanesh...but wonders where it's new masters are and why it has been alone so long in the dark?

The astropaths who serve the Mechanicus and the planetary governors are clear about the nature of the call, and the system rulers know that this call is more likely to bring enemies of the Imperium than friends or reinforcements. The wise among them move to fortify their positions, and send out their own calls for aid.

An inquisitor only a few systems away answers the call, and requisitions the aid of a company of Lamenter Space Marines to come to the defense of the Astheneia system.

The Chaos Strike Cruiser Endless Joy changes course in response to the call, bringing it's Crusade of Emperor's Children to claim the artifact and bring it back into the service of Slaanesh.

And many Eldar hear the call, both farseers on craftworlds and common pirates. The pirates wish simply to claim the artifact for their own and harness it's power, or perhaps to take advantage of the humans being distracted. The farseers fear what the artifact means for their carefully foreseen futures, and mount an expedition through the webway to influence events towards their own inscrutable ends.

Deep in the dark of intergalactic space, below the ecliptic plane of the galaxy, a Tyranid hive fleet subtly alters it's course, and puts on more speed. It had already been heading generally towards subsector Hades, but now the first stop on it's tour of destruction has been decided.

But the immediate problems for the rulers of Astheneia are closer to home:  Astheneia is rotten with cults of all sorts, who interpret the call as the long-awaited signal to begin their competing revolutions.

As the local mechanicus forces that unearthed it transport the artifact back to the hive city, they are ambushed by Slaaneshi cultists.

Whoever ends up with possession of the artifact is likely to then be attacked by GSC. It turns out that the planetary defense forces have been thoroughly infiltrated by those who await the arrival of the Star Children, with perhaps less than 50% of Guard forces on Astheneia loyal to the Governor.