Index Mardannon: Urbanus Scapulare Subsector

Urbanus Scapulare Subsector

								1	UrbanusTotalus
	1		2				4	2	Tetrazom
								3	AegisBrutalis
								4	Silencia
			3

The Steel Heart of War

Outside of the lone stronghold of Imperial might, the entirety of Urbanus Scapulare subsector is embroiled in titanic war.  From Urbanus Totalus, the war for the subsector is plotted by some of the best minds in the Imperium.  Indeed, Urbanus Totalus has a long history of powerful warlords, and the planet Refugium is a shrine world dedicated to the Warmaster of the Old Crusade, Kiernan Mardannon himself.

The struggle has become rather one-sided of late.  Unfortunately for the Imperium, many different enemies have brought war to different portions of the subsector.  Xenos overrun several worlds, even systems.  Heretic armies push across the void from a star so ridden with Chaos that daemons cluster upon the surface of its worlds.

Hope is not lost, however.  With Battlefleet Scapulare gathering in force at Urbanus Totalus and the mobilization of no less than ten Imperial Guard regiments from across the sector, the Imperials have one final card to play – a subsector wide crusade meant to rip the fight from the foes of man and fling them back into the starry abyss from whence they came.

Urbanus Totalus System

• Urbanus Mundanus 

• History:  An ancient world that belonged to tribes of men before the Old Crusade, Urbanus Totalus was brought back into the fold of the Imperium after centuries of being lost, cut off by massive Warp Storms in the region.  Ancient hives teem across its surface, having been made in pre-Imperial days of the Age of Strife.  They have been added on to in the countless centuries since, and now Urbanus Mundanus is a place almost totally covered by the endless sprawl of the hives. 

• Geography:  Urbanus Mundanus appears as a mass of tiny lights from orbit, some in massive circular patterns denoting the bulk of the old hives from long ago.  Almost all of the sea has either been boiled away or is built over, so that much of the sprawl actually rests atop the seas or contains it in massive and ancient aqueducts. 

• Inhabitants:  The people of Urbanus Mundanus are inured to some of the most hellish conditions in the Imperium, and also a great many of its perks.  Therefore a great many different kinds of folk can be found amidst the endless sprawl, from hideous mutoid looters skulking in the Forbidden Depths beneath the seas or indeed, the most decorated officers in Battlefleet Scapulare. 

• Galbinus Perbeatum 

• History:  Also belonging to the same pre-Imperial collection of human space-faring civilizations from the Age of Strife as the nearby Urbanus Mundanus, this world hasn’t been developed as severely.  The bulk of the Imperial presence here is actually in the sky, where a massive array of space platforms, satellites and moon bases provide the base of operations for subsector Battlefleet Command.  The people below are knowledgeable Imperial citizens who are amongst some of the most well-traveled folk in the entire Imperium. 

• Geography:  Consisting of 3 large continents and 5 smaller ones, Galbinus enjoys a great deal of ecological preservation.  Large areas of wilderness still abound, even though the surface of the planet has been developed to a great degree with large and medium size cities. 

• Inhabitants:  The residents of Galbinus Perbeatum typically belong to some Imperial Office or Guilder Trade Union.  Almost every citizen will belong to an identifiable official body, a by product of the presence of the Battlefleet Command and inscrutable security measures in place by the Administratum.  

• Refugium 

• History:  Refugium is one of the oldest settled planets in the subsector.  Almost five thousand years ago, the people who lived on Refugium were quite happy to see the Imperial fleet arrive, just in time to destroy an ork pirate fleet that had besieged the planet’s defenses.  Warmaster Mardannon lived here after the Old Crusade had come to an end, and after his death Refugium was declared a holy place – a shrine world to the liberator of Urbanus Totalus. 

• Geography:  Refugium has nine continents and a temperate climate, with drinkable water (in some places) and breathable air.  Most of the inhabitants live in Imperial cities on the largest habitable continent, located in the western hemisphere.  

• Inhabitants:  By and large, the populace of Refugium go about their day as people on an ideal Imperial world would do, however the Ministorum in very present in the social activities of the everyday citizen.  Rites honoring the Emperor and the Saint are carried out daily, and folk are told much about the hostile galaxy in which they live and are protected from by the Imperium.

Tetrazom System

• Tetrazom Tertius 

• History:  Once a majestic agri-world terraformed flat almost three thousand years previous, Tetrazom Tertius is now infamous throughout the sector for the massive attacks upon it by outside forces.  Nearly fifty years ago, the planet was settled by an enclave of Tau from the other side of the galaxy.  Soon after, it was enveloped by a tide of Orks and Chaos.  It has never recovered, and is nearly lost entirely to the Imperium. 

• Geography:  Though composed of five large continents and three smaller ones in a favorable temperate climate, the planet is one of the most hostile in all the sector.  Orks, servants of Chaos and aliens all stalk the wildernesses between the Imperial cities, and in some cases inhabit the fallen cities themselves, as is the case with the emerging Tau nation. 

• Inhabitants:  Imperial strength is still strong in many places on the surface and in the asteroid mines in deep orbit further out in the system.  However, there is rampant lawlessness in areas ravaged by orks or Chaos champions.  Many Imperial citizens have betrayed the Emperor and made pact with the xenos Tau, who have fortified cities they have taken from the Imperium.

Aegis Brutalis System

• Novus Fideles 

• History:  Nearly five thousand years ago, during the Old Crusade, Imperial forces encountered a temperate planet with an indigenous warrior culture.  Swiftly integrated into the Imperium, the people of Novus Fideles have continued that tradition throughout their service to the Emperor.  The Scion Houses of Novus Fideles and their Knights provided a valuable defense, but now their world has been sundered by xenos monstrosities from Hive Fleet Kraken.  One year ago, a dormant hive ship slipped into the system and began the tyrannic cycle. 

• Geography:  Composed of several topographic features spread across 8 continents, Novus Fideles is a large and lush world not too spoiled by mankind’s industry.  However, large portions of the inner continents are being subsumed by a growing tyranid threat. 

• Inhabitants:  The inhabitants of Novus Fideles are technologically advanced, but feudal in their day to day mindset.  Here we see peasants and knights alongside lasguns and tyranids.  The cultures shock can be strong for visitors, and less so for the Fideles, who tend to get over such wonders quickly due to the influence of the Forge Worlds at Incendia Paeniteo…they’ve seen great wonders and accept them as the work of the Emperor. 

• Excerpo Infideles 

• History:  The forge-hives of Excerpo Infideles were erected almost four thousand years ago, after the Mechanicus completed the terraforming of a planet close to Novus Fideles in the same system.  Since then, the hives have produced Knights and their armaments, though not to the extent of full blown Forge Worlds.  Now, fragments of Hive Fleet Kraken have infested the system and draw strength while gathering in the barren wilds of the planet. 

• Geography:  Excerpo Infideles is a barren planet, with little water save greenish bodies high in saline and in some cases, a corrosive acid.  Four large bodies of water exist within the barren expanse, though they are not safe for consumption.  Little other life exists on the planet, and what does is invariably inimical to human life. 

• Inhabitants:  The few inhabitants of the planet are either hive workers or Mechanicus adepts.  Currently, the population defends the hives from the tyrannic assault while holding out for Imperial aid.  We can only pray to the Emperor himself that it arrives in time.

Silencia System

• Silencia Majoris 

• History:  Three thousand years ago, Silencia was discovered by explorator fleets in Urbanus Scapulare.  The indigenous humans were feudal level, and steeped in mystical lore.  Imperial wisdom soon prevailed, and Majoris became a thriving Imperial world.  However, five hundred years past a terrible warp storm brought legions of Chaos to the world, and soon reality cracked apart to create a full blown daemonic infestation.  A quarantine station was set up outside the system, and the system remains uninhabited to this date – except by the daemons of chaos upon its tortured surface. 

• Geography:  Most of the records of Majoris were deleted, but infrequent patrols through the system show a planet in major volcanic and seismological upheaval.  The continents seem to shift about, and rivers of molten lava flow freely upon the surface. 

• Inhabitants:  None known.  All Imperial citizens were purged or evacuated hundreds of years ago.  The only Imperial presence in the entire system is a deep space quarantine station used by the Navy en route out of or into the sector.  The station is heavily guarded by many Navy warships, but is limited to authorized personnel only. 

• Silencia Minoris 

• History:  Silencia Minoris is a small planetoid in the outer portion of the Silencia system, and is widely believed to be a base for interstellar pirates, most notable a large contingent of Chaos Space Marines.  The disposition of these alleged resources on the planet is unknown.  Indeed, even the presence of the arch-enemy’s forces here is unverified and only speculated at in the highest circles of the Inquisition. 

• Geography:  Silencia Minoris is a barren, frozen rock riddled with miles-deep caves.  It has no atmosphere. 

• Inhabitants:  Unknown, suspected renegade Space Marines, Chaos Space Marines and other undesirable.

Rulebook Ruminations: Forces of Warmachine

Ah, the mighty army book.  We see a lot of them come and go, mostly for Games Workshop games.  Today I want to take a moment to talk about the line that brings our Warmachine armies to life, Forces of Warmachine.  These books detail all the units used by each of the armies of the Iron Kingdoms in lavish detail.

The books are extremely high quality, printed on nice glossy paper in full color.  Each of them is packed with huge and colorful artwork, vividly bringing to life the warriors of the kingdoms.  Also included is a more complete background treatment for your force, at least more complete than the ones given in the basic rulebook.  There's also a good sized story opening each volume, to get that extra bit of characterization.

One of the best things about this line is that you don't really need them to game.  All the unit's important stats are given on it's card, which you get when you buy the model (unless it's second hand or from another edition).  Really you want the cards anyway, but the Forces books are nice to have for that extra completeness.  There's a wealth of information on individual units that simply can't be put on a card, but none of it mechanical in nature.

This line was also one of the first to introduce the concept of having hardcover army books to game-dom at large.  Forces of Warmachine volumes are available in both soft and hard cover formats, which adds a great deal to the value for a lot of folks.  It seems to have spread - Battlefront and Games Workshop are starting to turn out better hardcovers, even for the army books and expansions.

All told, if you're considering Warmachine you should definitely pick up the Forces of Warmachine book for  your army.  The characterizations alone are valuable for our narratives, and the books themselves are beautiful.  They look fantastic in a set too, so if you're a collector watch out for these volumes.  You might find them slowly taking up more and more space on your shelf...

The Raiders of the Ruthless East and the DM

In the vast and hugely marketed world of source books and scripts, Middle Earth is a prime place for adventure that is still fresh and unknown to many seasoned gamers.  Not only did this entire campaign happen in Middle Earth, it began simply in Mordor.  Thats right friends, Evil Roleplaying was happening from the start.

Using 3.0 Dungeons & Dragons core rules and various Middle Earth media, I shaped a dark land called Mordor into a the prime ground for evil roleplay. My name is Jerry Wargate, and I will take you on a crash course into my campaign (of Evil!).  I made this campaign because I was told it could not be done, that it wouldn't be fun, that Middle Earth was played out.  Most importantly, I made it out of a long love for Middle Earth.

The long and murderous campaign is now over, leaving in its wake a long list of dead PC's, permanently disfigured characters, as well as over half the party ending the game at level 1.  As DM and responsible master of this campaign, I wish to explain (and even encourage) this state of roleplay that is Mordor.

I started this campaign with the long time dream of simply playing the servants of Mordor, but I little expected the full blunt and hard hitting truths about such servants and the way of life that comes with being employed by the Dark Lord.  I opened with a talk to my players about what we all expected and tolerated in advance, but no one had any real clue of the madness they were entering.  I expected quarreling and tribal leaderships.  I tolerated most all PC interaction: be it fighting, stealing, cannibalism, ect.

Evil Roleplaying in fantasy seems to be frowned upon by alot of gamers.  Myself I always root for the bad guy - the villian or henchman.  They are always more interesting and human than the heroes.  All rp gamers should experience evil roleplay once.  Its a great change-up of speed and makes for a lot of interesting roleplay.  A lot
of players tend to become set on a certain character or class that is constantly re-rolled for every campaign and session.  This can make the gaming stale.

Murder and Robbery were constant!  No loot was really looted correctly until someone died over it.  Only one magical item ever came into the groups' possession.  4 murders over many weekends, and all for a +1 sword.  I kept the magical loot scarce to increase tensions, and I think it did well.  PC's robbing other PC's became a daily routine.

I give a 5 star rating to the group for actual roleplay!  I saw alot of players realing making a good hard push to perform in-character roleplay, and somehow being a badguy is easy roleplay for our group.

I allowed the dead to reroll characters and return to the group at level 1 a few times (more than 10 times).  I believe only 2 deaths were from actual monster or questing play.

Everyone was pleased with that. The group lost three different leaders (bosses) during the length of the campaign.  All in all this was an awesome campaign I enjoyed it, my players enjoyed it, and I hope others will delve into this experience.

Additional Notes

Character Creation
I limited everyone to the Half-Orc race, followed with the class choices of Fighter, Rogue, Barbarian.  Simple and elegant, Middle Earth allowed no orc wizards, orc bards, or orc clerics.  With game integrity in mind, I wanted no magic users or heavy healers, as no over skilled orc ever existed.  I allowed virtually nothing as far as gear and items went, this was done to further the fact orcs are many and never well equiped often.

Player Disclaimer
The first night of play I left my PC's know what I expected and would tolerate. Backstabbing, robbing, murdering, conspiracy, mutiny, cannibalism, lying, ect. is totally expected and tolerated.  I wanted an orc mob that was by the books.  Evil turns on evil often, so why not let us delve into the darkness and depravity?

Game Play
In game the Dark lord musters his forces to train as a military force.  Our PC's were forged into a war party through their trials and tribulations.  Over the period of many weeks and many adventures we ended with 3 of 10 players surviving to level 3, all other players who died were allowed rerolls new characters as raw recruits.

DM Notes
I never could have expected so much murder and thievery, even out of a band of orcs.  The PC's seemed to enjoy the gameplay as much as I did!  No weekend went without some excitement or wild happenings.  Murder and mutiny, thievery and swindling!  It had it all.  Over 12 deaths occured... 90% were Player Killings!

I was also glad everyone roleplayed and then afterwards had no hard feelings on the game. This was a game to be played and explored, and I think it was worthy.  Absolutely not one named character from the book interacted with our PC's, no ring was ever found, and only the dead ones were the lucky ones.  Mordor forced some of the best roleplay Ive seen our club do in a while.

I think also this idealism has allowed my PC's to experience death on an epic game level.  Making a 3.0 character sheet is easy for everyone now!  And it has also taught the lesson.  Its just a game and I can have fun at level one, roleplaying, with absolutely nothing but my character.  I appreciate everyone who played, and I hope soon we can return to Mordor for more of this awesome gameplay.