Wrath & Glory Affliction Ascendant [PDF]

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CONTENTS PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

IV

INTRODUCTION Introduction..................................... 4 Adventure Summary........................ 4

Running This Showdown............... 17

Additional Rules for Psykers............ 5

The Descent.................................... 18

The Tora Armis Insurrection............. 6

The Ascension................................ 18

Taskforce Endless Struggle............... 6

The Return..................................... 19

I

Resolution ..................................... 20

PART ONE: DROP

Awarding XP ................................. 20 Profiles........................................... 21

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

Preparations..................................... 6 The Drop.......................................... 9 No Safety.......................................... 9 Hard Landing................................... 9 Planet Strike................................... 10 Ancient Signals.............................. 11

II III

Rites of Battle................................. 23 Battlefield Ruin.............................. 24

PART TWO: THE PIT

1st Company Veteran...................... 25

Under Construction........................ 11

PART THREE: THE VAULT No Heroes Buried Here................... 15 The Eternal Prison.......................... 16

2





CREDITS Cover Artist: Felix Tisch

Cubicle 7 Creative Team: Dave Allen, Emmet Byrne, David F. Chapman, Walt Ciechanowski, Tim Cox,

Artists: Dániel Kovács, Sam Manley,

Zak Dale-Clutterbuck, Cat Evans, Runesael Flynn,

Jamie Noble Frier, Erin H Rea, and Felix Tisch

Ben Fuller, Tim Huckelbery, Dániel Kovács, Elaine Lithgow, TS Luikart, Rachael Macken,

Writer: Martin Lloyd

Rory McCormack, Dominic McDowall, Sam Manley, Pádraig Murphy, Ceíre O’Donoghue, JG O’Donoghue

Editor: Lynne Marie Meyer Publisher: Dominic McDowall Proofreader: Christine Crabb Special thanks to the GW team. Graphic Designer: Rachael Macken Published by Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd, Producer: Cat Evans

Unit 6, Block 3, City North Business Campus, Co. Meath, Ireland. Printed in China.

Cubicle 7 Business Support: Tracey Bourke, Anthony Burke, Elaine Connolly, Andrena Hogen,

First edited: November 2021 V1.0

Donna King, Kieran Murphy, and Cian Whelan

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2021. Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay, the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay logo, Wrath & Glory, the Wrath & Glory logo, GW, Games Workshop, Space Marine, 40k, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Doubleheaded Eagle logo, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likeness thereof, are either ® or ™, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world, and used under licence. Cubicle 7 Entertainment and the Cubicle 7 Entertainment logo are trademarks of Cubicle 7 Entertainment Limited. All rights reserved.

3

AFFLICTION ASCENDANT INTRODUCTION

ADVENTURE SUMMARY

Affliction Ascendant follows a squad of Absolvers

The Death Guard captain and Chaos Lord Putradyne

Space Marines as they join the battle for Tora Armis

Corporis is on the brink of ascending into the Realm

and attempt to hunt down and kill the Death Guard

of Chaos as a Daemon Prince. He orchestrated the

officer Putradyne Corporis. In doing so, they unearth

uprising in Tora Armis and is using the psychic

secrets from the ancient past and encounter long-

energy unleashed by the resulting battle to open his

forgotten foes.

route to Nurgle’s Garden. He has constructed psychic conductors to channel the energy he needs and has

This adventure is suitable for Tier 4 characters with the

attached them to the foundations of the city spire.

IMPERIUM and ADEPTUS ASTARTES Keywords. At the GM’s discretion, other characters might be added to

While constructing the psychic conductors, Putradyne

the team if they have a sufficiently strong relationship

unearthed something that appeared to be an ancient

with the Absolvers of the Gilead System.

missile base containing planet-killing virus bombs. Putradyne diverted some of his workforce to investigate

4

After completing this mission, the characters could go

this and hopes to detonate the bombs as his first act

on to further adventures. Alternatively, you might want

after Ascending. Doing so has the potential to turn

to play one of the other mini-campaigns in this series

Gilead Primus into a fecund garden of plagues, a grand

and join the fight for Tora Armis from the perspective

gift to Nurgle that’s sure to earn his favour.

of characters at Tiers 1, 2 or 3.

Putradyne doesn’t know that three thousand years ago,

SENSITIVITY WARNING

members of the Absolvers Chapter battled the Great Unclean One, Botuthrax Clostidia, in this very location and trapped the daemon inside. Is it coincidence that Putradyne is digging in the exact location where a Great Unclean One is buried, or is this the hand of Nurgle at

This adventure features the horrors of warfare

work, seeking the return of a beloved servant?

in the 41st Millennium, corruption, madness, mutilated corpses, biological horror, evil magic,

Putradyne’s plan is progressing, but he is about to

and mutation. This is all normal fare for

encounter several problems:

Warhammer 40,000, but it is possible that some content might make members of your group

u A team of Imperial Agents have learned the

uncomfortable. After you’ve read through, check

location of his planned ritual (in the preceding Tier

in with each of your players and change the

3 Adventure, Lord of the Spire), and a team of

adventure to suit their needs, if necessary.

Astartes have been dispatched to stop him (the

daemon hungry for power. The Agents’ orders are to track down Putradyne and kill him before he can ascend. The presence of

PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

players’ Agents). u There are no virus bombs, just a weakened greater

PART ONE: DROP

Part Four: Affliction Ascendant

In the final battle, the Agents must choose whether they want to:

the recently released Great Unclean One Botuthrax Clostidia complicates their task.

u Stop Putradyne’s ascension.

Part One: Drop

u Destroy their ancient foe, Botuthrax Clostidia.

of a Warp-storm that formerly raged above the spire,

u Spare the spire.

The squad’s transport encounters the lingering effects and they must battle daemons within. At their landing site, they find the first evidence that Astartes have

Affliction Ascendant is a roleplaying game set in a

been here before.

battle. There’s plenty of combat, but there should be

Part Two: The Pit

some social interaction as well. Keep the tempo high and impress the confusion and mayhem of the situation

The Agents encounter Putradyne’s psychic conductors

on the players. Be sure to read the whole adventure

and the disguised daemon Botuthrax Clostidia.

before playing the first session and familiarise yourself

Part Three: The Vault

The Agents discover the site of an ancient battle and an empty prison. When the Agents learn the identity of the escaped prisoner, ancient protocols are triggered,

with the key events.

Additional Rules for Psykers

Throughout this mission, psykers must roll 1 additional

giving the Agents sanction to call in vortex missiles,

Wrath Die on all Psychic Mastery Tests, as Putradyne

potent weapons that will obliterate the entire city of

Corporis's actions weaken the borders between reality

Tora Armis.

and the Warp.

5

THE TORA ARMIS INSURRECTION

PART ONE: DROP

Tora Armis is a minor spire located on the equator of

Buckle up.

From low orbit to the surface in a matter of minutes.

the hive world Gilead Primus (Wrath & Glory, page 304). Three months ago, the ruling van Staten family reported food riots and then fell silent. Eighty-seven days after contact was lost, Imperial forces launched

PREPARATIONS

an attack to retake the spire. The assault is now into

Seen from Fury’s Blade, the surface of Gilead Primus

its second day, and the Gravediggers' penal brigade,

is a red wasteland, partially obscured by clouds of

backed by Leman Russ tanks, has succeeded in

toxic fog and punctuated by spots of metallic grey.

breaching the main gates of Tora Armis. Armoured

From this height, even the vast spires look small and

columns are pushing into the spire to destroy the

insignificant. Only the immense floating platform of

remaining rebels. A small squad operating on behalf

Brassyl is a recognisable landmark.

of the Inquisition has uncovered evidence that a Chaos Lord and former Death Guard Plague Marine is

Magnifiers on the observation deck have been trained

behind the uprising. These events are explored in the

on Tora Armis for days. The edges of the spire crackled

preceding adventures (Bloody Gates, On the Wings

with light a day ago as the Astra Militarum launched

of Valkyries, and Lord of the Spire).

their assault. Now the only sign of fighting is the smoke clouds that pour from the spire.

TASKFORCE ENDLESS STRUGGLE Taskforce

Endless

Struggle

was

dispatched

by

Archdominus Aexekra Vakuul to bring the rebellious

While the Space Marines await the order to deploy, they can do the following: u Select a Rite of Battle, the benefits of which they may trigger during the adventure by spending Glory (see page 23).

spire back under control. It comprises mechanised and artillery regiments of the Gravediggers, with

u Select equipment. Any Adeptus Astartes character

support from the Order of the Sanctified Shield, the

may trade their basic equipment for Wargear of an

Tech-Priests of Avachrus, and an airborne company

equivalent value +10 (or simply take an additional

of Tempestus Scions. The taskforce is commanded by

10 points of Wargear) from the armoury aboard

General Hacker of the Astra Militarum, who has contact

Fury’s Blade.

with the battle cruiser Fury’s Blade of the Absolvers Chapter, aboard which 15 Battle-Brothers are available for rapid deployment.

u Take ammunition. The squad receives three reloads for each of their weapons. Describe the Chapter’s Servitors and orderlies reverently preparing the squad’s weapons, reciting the names and histories of each piece of armour as they dress their superhuman masters, and patiently making minute adjustments to the built-in cogitators and targeting systems. Note that their Power Armour includes a voxcaster that transmits their location and everything they say back to the Fury’s Blade: no matter how dangerous their mission becomes, their battle-brothers are with them in spirit.

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Twenty-eight hours after the assault begins, Astra

a great harvest. What he seeks was never there. I

Militarum

see a prisoner, starving and weak. I see twelve cold

command

reports

a

major

daemonic

infestation, but they are confident they can contain it.

guardians, their bones as white as their armour.’

Six hours later, you are called to a briefing chamber. A flickering hologram of your commanding officer

Blood drips from Makrina’s ears and nose. His hand

Captain Menon addresses you. One of the Absolvers’

spasms and knocks the unused cards to the floor.

Astropaths is physically present, standing at a tall, white lectern, his bowed head and deep hood hiding

What do you do?

his blind eyes. If the Agents awaken Makrina from his trance the ‘Brothers. Inquisitor Dikaisune has informed me that a

Astropath collapses in pain, weak, but alive. The Agents

team operating under her auspices has found evidence

gain 1 Glory. If the Agents allow him to continue scrying

of a Traitor Astartes within Tora Armis. Her team are

he says the following, his voice becoming louder and

doing all they can to learn the location and identity of

more distressed with every word:

this individual. I want you ready to deploy the instant coordinates are available.

‘I see a garden, rich in bounty and full of life. Behind

PART ONE: DROP PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

it lies a mountain. There is a pathway to the mountain ‘Further, Astropath Makrina reports disturbances in

that must not be walked. I see a grin that splits the

the Warp. I have asked him to undertake a scrying

sky. I hear laughter. I am hungry, so very hungry.

prior to your deployment. Astropath Makrina?’

There is joyous laughter. The spire city is gone. Only the laughter remains.’

The Astropath pushes back his hood and begins laying out cards of the Emperor’s Tarot, placing them face

The blood dripping from Makrina’s eyes and nose turns

down and then slowly upturning them, one by one.

black, and boils erupt through his skin. His body bloats

There is a pause as his mind reaches out into the

and rots rapidly, and he screams, clutching his head. In

Empyrean, then he speaks in a whisper.

seconds, the bleeding swells from a trickle to a tide, and Makrina collapses, dead. The GM gains 3 Ruin, and all

‘I see angels falling forever toward a rotten city. I see

present must make a DN 3 Corruption Test (DN 4 if

a warrior, bearing gifts for his lord. He has brought

Makrina exploded).

7

///++1111010011110

0110100011011101

001111++

// MAJOR INCIDENT LOG: ASSAULT ON TORA ARMIS.

COMMENCING MAJOR INCIDENT LOG.

ZERO HOUR GST 3.433.211.

STANDARD SOLAR INCREMENTS. 3.433.211

ASSAULT ON THE WALLS LAUNCHED. PENAL LEGION CASUALTIES WITHIN

4.433.211

CONFIRMATION OF HERESY AMONG DEFENDERS.



5.433.211 8.433.211

22.433.211 23.433.211 25.433.211

29.433.211

31.433.211

OUTER WALL CAPTURED. ARMOURED COMPANY DEPLOYING.

THEOTHANATOLOGICAL HERESY REPORTED. JUNIOR ENEMY COMMANDER IDENTIFIED AS CRAVAX.

AIRBORNE ASSAULT LAUNCHED, STRIKE TEAM INFILTRATION INITIATED. GATES BREACHED. STRIKE TEAM REPORT WITCHCRAFT IN UPPER LEVELS. BREACH STORMED, BEACHHEAD ESTABLISHED. CRAVAX TERMINATED.

ARMOURED COMPANY ENTERS SPIRE. SCIONS REPORT HEAVY FIGHTING AT PERIPHERAL LINE.

LOYALIST FORCES CONTACTED, MILITARILY INSIGNIFICANT. ENEMY

COMMANDER IDENTIFIED AS RAUROK, A WITCH. TERMINATION ORDERED.

ASTRA MILITARUM REPORT ENCOUNTERING ZONE ANATHEMA, HAMMER OF THE INQUISITION DISPATCHED. MAJOR DAEMONIC INCURSION REPORTED,

CENTERED ON CATHEDRAL OF THE EMPEROR TRIUMPHANT. CATEGORY 1 WARP-



32.433.211

33.433.211

35.433.211 37.433.211



PREDICTED PARAMETERS.

STORMS DETECTED OVER TORA ARMIS. ORBITAL PERIMETER ESTABLISHED.

ASTRA MILITARUM REPORT OUTBREAK OF WALKING PLAGUE. ESTIMATE 90% OF SPIRE’S POPULATION INFECTED. ARMOURED FORCES ESTABLISHING DEFENSIVE PERIMETERS.

BEACHHEAD UNDER PRESSURE FROM DAEMONIC ASSAULT. REINFORCEMENTS CUT OFF BY WARP-STORM.

HAMMER OF INQUISITION CONFIRM ZONE ANATHEMA.

HAMMER OF INQUISITION REPORT PRESENCE OF TRAITOR ASTARTES.

>

38.433.211

STRIKE TEAM REPORT RENDEZVOUS WITH SCIONS AT PERIPHERAL LINE.



SIGNIFICANT STORM-RELATED CASUALTIES.



40.433.211

CATEGORY 2 WARP-STORMS DETECTED. ASTRA MILITARUM REPORT

BEACHHEAD SECURE. STRIKE TEAM ENGAGED WITH RAUROK. CATEGORY 3 WARP-STORMS REPORTED OVER TORA ARMIS.

40.655.211 HAMMER OF INQUISITION REPORT LOCATION OF TRAITOR

ASTARTES. LEGIO XIV CONFIRMED. CLASS IV EMPYREAN

40.656.211



8

BREACH INDICATED.

COMMENCING MISSION LOG.

THE DROP

NO SAFETY A Warp-storm raged over Tora Armis until mere hours

‘Proditorum Interficere. Invicta Astartes.’ The words

ago. Even after it dissipates (see On the Wings of

of the traditional Absolvers exhortation sound in your

Valkyries), minor disturbances remain. The lingering

ears and are followed by the clank of the ship’s anchor

tendrils of the storm brush against the Agents’ craft on

points disengaging. Your harness clamps tightly onto

their way into the spire. Trapped in the Empyrean time

your armour. A moment later rockets fire, and you feel

has no meaning, and the legions of Nurgle waiting

the pressure increase as your Thunderhawk Gunship,

above Gilead Primus attack the stranded ship.

a precious resource in the Gilead System, accelerates. On the door before you a chronograph reports the time

All Agents start strapped into seats for the drop.

until planetstrike. 48 seconds. 47 seconds.

Each counts as Hindered (3) until they release their harness. This is a Free Action.

The temperature begins to rise as the Thunderhawk hits the lower atmosphere. The only sound is that of

In the confines of the passenger hold, any BLAST or

the thin air rushing past outside. 34 seconds.

FIRE weapons will hit every combatant.

The rushing gets louder. Your helmet displays report

The creatures attacking the Agents are Plaguebearers

that Fury’s Blade has fired orbital lasers, punching a

(Wrath & Glory, page 350), and there are two of them

the hole through the top levels of the spire. You’ll exit

for every Agent. While the Thunderhawk is under the

the ship and enter the spire there. 22 seconds.

effects of the Warp-storm the Plaguebearers’ Plague

PART ONE: DROP PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

Swords gain −2 AP. After three rounds of combat, the A tendril of black nothingness flickers briefly inside the

clock ticks over to 11 seconds, the daemons vanish,

ship, then vanishes. 16 seconds.

and the ship emerges from the Warp-storm and plummets toward the ground: the crew didn’t survive

Components whine as several of the ship’s systems

the brush with the Warp energies.

shut down and restart. 14 seconds. Silence. 12 seconds.

HARD LANDING

Silence. 12 seconds.

As the ship drops, the Agents have two choices: attempt to steer it to a safe landing, or hope for the best. One Agent may attempt to pilot the Thunderhawk safely

Silence. 12 seconds.

to the ground with a DN 6 Pilot (A) Test, preceded Hideous shapes drag themselves through the walls of

by a DN 3 Strength Test if the character attempting

the ship as though it were soft rubber. They clutch

it doesn’t have the ADEPTUS ASTARTES Keyword.

long blades of nothingness in their scrawny arms.

You may also spend Ruin to reduce the number of

Each has a single eye, which is fixed on you.

successes, up to a maximum of 3 Ruin.

HARD LANDING Result

Landing

Failure

Guidance Failure: The ship collides with the side of the spire and eventually comes to a halt on its side. Everyone takes crash damage: Damage 14, 6 ED. Add 2 extra ED for anyone not in their drop harness. Exiting the pod takes a turn and requires a DN 5 Athletics (S) Test.

Success

Rough Landing: On landing, everyone takes crash damage: Damage 12, 6 ED. Add 2 extra ED for anyone not in their drop harness.

Shift

Safe Landing: All Agents are unharmed.

9

THUNDERHAWK GUNSHIP

The Corpsetide

The crypt is packed with ten thousand Poxwalkers (Wrath & Glory, page 351).

Thunderhawk Gunships are rare and precious

Each round, the squad can fire to hold back the

resources in the Gilead System. They’re primarily

Poxwalker tide that surges towards them. Tracking

intended as transports for battle-brothers of

individual casualties is senseless when fighting a

the Adeptus Astartes, but they're also heavily

horde of ten thousand foes. Instead, any Agent armed

armed, with a Turbolaser, Lascannons, six

with one of the following May make a DN 6 Ballistic

Missile Pylons, and numerous Heavy Bolters.

Skill (A) Test.

To deploy a Thunderhawk indicates what a high priority this mission is to the Absolvers.

u A weapon with Rapid Fire

If the Thunderhawk lands safely (see Hard

u A weapon with a Salvo rating of 3 or more

Landing, page 9), the Turbolaser (use Lascannon profile, Wrath & Glory, page 217, but increase

u A weapon with a Blast rating of 6 or higher

ED to 6) is still operational, and an Agent in the ship can fire it using their Ballistic Skill.

u A weapon with the FIRE keyword u The Thunderhawk's Turbolaser

PLANETSTRIKE

On each round in which the majority of Agents

The ship’s weight and momentum drag it through

tide. Each Shift on an attack counts as an additional

layers of the hive spire, the structure weakened by the

Agent succeeding.

succeed, they kill enough Poxwalkers to hold back the

assault of Fury’s Blade’s lasers. When the movement finally ceases, you are deep below the surface of Gilead

If the Agents fail to hold back the tide, the Poxwalkers

Primus, in the pitch darkness of a pit many miles

close to melee. The Poxwalkers fight as two Mobs

deep. A little light trickles down from levels above,

of 30, giving them a maximum of 15 extra dice on

giving you just enough illumination to see the utter

each attack. At the start of each round, the Mobs are

devastation around you

refreshed to full strength unless the Agents score four successful shooting attacks against the tide.

Hundreds of corpses surround your ship. Without more light, it’s not clear if they were incinerated by the laser fire from Fury’s Blade or destroyed by your own

Reaching the Exit

It takes two rounds for most Agents, including Space

landing. In your earpiece, you hear a mission update.

Marines in Power Armour, to reach the exit. It takes

‘You are in a crypt, and that crypt should not be. These

three rounds for Space Marines in Terminator Armour

bodies should have been recycled immediately. Proceed

to reach the exit. If the Thunderhawk landed off target,

with caution: all is not as it should be. Scans show

add an additional round.

access to deeper structures at the following location. May the Emperor’s strength steel you.’ Pict-icons in

Each round the Agents are in melee combat counts as

your helmet point the way to a target 75 metres away.

half a round for the purposes of Movement.

In the shadows of the crypt, between you and that

The exit from the crypt is a heavy plasteel door set

target, thousands of humanoid shapes lurch clumsily

in an ancient bulkhead and locked with a keypanel.

in your direction.

Opening it requires a DN 5 Tech (Int) Test and takes one round. Closing it from the other side takes an

GM Note: If the Thunderhawk Gunship suffered a

additional round.

guidance failure, increase the distance to 100 metres,

10

and add a round to the time needed to leave the room

Alternatively, the Agents can destroy the door. It has a

(see Reaching the Exit, right).

Resilience of 12 and can take 10 Damage.

If the Agents destroy the door, they will have to think of a way to seal it once through, although the narrow space means they’ll only have to hold off one Mob or score two shooting successes each round to hold back

PART TWO: THE PIT PART ONE: DROP

the corpsetide while they do so. A long-dead signal echoes from the depths. If the door is destroyed, the Poxwalkers eventually force their way through, no matter how the Agents seal it. From Part Three onward, you may use the Battlefield Ruin option The Corpsetide (see page 24). Once the door is sealed, the Agents may pause to Regroup. If they do so, you gain 2 Ruin.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

PART THREE: THE VAULT

Sergeant Valance’s recorded warning continues to

PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

play. Thousands of bodies futilely dash themselves

ANCIENT SIGNALS

PART TWO: THE PIT

against the door behind you. Before you, a broad passageway leads to a deep pit 70 metres wide and

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

bounded by a broad spiralling ramp. In the sides of the

The moment the Agents have the door open, their

pit, you can see layers of ancient construction, most of

armour detects an encrypted broadcast on an Astartes

them crushed and compacted by the weight of the spire

vox channel.

above, strata of plasteel and rockcrete laid down over millennia of Human settlement.

‘Warning. This is Sergeant Valance of the Absolvers Chapter. This sector is under the protection of the

Three huge pillars rise to the ceiling, each one

Absolvers. Withdraw or face destruction. I repeat.

assembled from ancient bric-a-brac and crudely

Withdraw or face the Emperor’s judgement.’

smelted alloys mined from the walls of the pit. Waves of nauseating energy radiate out from them.

The warning repeats every ten seconds. Two dozen Servitors line the sides of the pit. Even from Aboard Fury’s Blade, Tech Adepts set to work to see if

this distance, the signs of decay and mutation in their

any record of Sergeant Valance can be found.

organic components are obvious. Any Agent entering this area must make a DN 3 Corruption Test (DN 5 for psykers). As well as the normal consequences of failing a Corruption Test (Wrath & Glory, page 286), any Agent who fails becomes Vulnerable (Wrath & Glory, page 200) until they leave the pit. They repeat the Test each time they re-enter the pit until they succeed. Agents who succeed are immune to the effects, even if they leave and re-enter the pit.

Level 1: The Servitors and the Survivor

This pit was excavated by hundreds of labourers recruited from Tora Armis, assisted by Servitors. When they finished the work, the labourers lined up, expecting to return to the surface. Then the Servitors massacred them. The corpses form a charred mass throughout the whole of Level 1.

11

The Agents’ arrival triggers the Servitors to attack.

‘Have you got any food?’ he asks, ‘It’s been days. I

Use the Combat Servitor profile (Wrath & Glory, page

haven’t eaten in so long.’

334) for the Servitors. Four Gun Servitors are spread out around the top of the ramp in heavy cover, and two

Once, this person was Blojak Craijic, a labourer who

groups of six Combat Servitors with Servo-Arms and

survived the massacre. Now the body is little more than

high-intensity Plasma Cutters (Plasma Pistols, Wrath

a flesh puppet for the Great Unclean One Botuthrax

& Glory, page 218) patrol the rest of Level 1.

Clostidia, who is weak, exhausted, and desperately hungry after his escape from the vault. Botuthrax

12

When the fight is over, a solitary survivor emerges

found Blojak in the rubble, took control of him, and is

from the rubble.

using him as an additional mouth and stomach.

With a clatter of metal, a figure appears from beneath

If the agents give Blojak food, he devours it in seconds,

some panels. He stands up and peers at you nervously.

cramming it into his mouth and asking for more. If

He’s a Human male, dressed in shabby overalls,

asked for information, he’s vague on details of what’s

seemingly of a kind with the deceased workers. He

happened in Tora Armis. He says he had to work ‘so

stumbles toward you, shaking and sweating, running

hard, so very hard for so long’, but he doesn’t know

his fingers nervously through his greasy brown hair.

what he was building or why. He reveals:

u A giant armoured warrior accompanied by Servitors went into the vault.

have a single round to act. If they attack the swarm with flame or Melta weapons, Botuthrax is weaker when the Agents encounter it again in Part Four:

u They returned later and headed into the cavity in Level 3.

Detecting the Daemon When the agents encounter the survivor, Botuthrax’s

Affliction Ascendant (see page 17).

Level 2: Route to the Vault

Descending to Level 2 reveals a large cavity excavated

disguise is almost perfect, but it deteriorates over time

in the side of the pit. It’s currently storage space

as the daemon's nature corrupts Blojak’s corpse. Ten

for construction equipment. There’s evidence that

minutes after meeting the Agents, Blojak’s skin is

Servitors moved something heavy out of the tunnel

blotchy. After 20 minutes he’s covered in sores and

(the bodies of five Absolvers in suspended animation,

lesions. After half an hour, his stomach tears open

taken away on Putradyne’s orders). A dataslate on the

beneath his overalls. Agents with a Passive Awareness

floor holds a single entry from over 3,000 years ago.

of 2 or higher see that something isn’t right with his

PART ONE: DROP PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

belly. Around this time, Blojak’s eyes turn yellow and his tongue grows immensely long. He slavers and licks the air, and his transformation is unmistakable. At any stage, psykers can make a DN 3 Psyniscience Test to establish that Blojak is controlled by some kind of Warp entity.

What Botuthrax Wants Botuthrax has very little idea what is going on, and its first desire is information. It assumed Putradyne had come to free it, but the Death Guard ignored Botuthrax and left, taking the sleeping bodies of five Space Marines with him. Botuthrax wants to know: u How long has it been imprisoned? u What’s going on? u Who was the Death Guard who opened the vault?

///++110101001011 01010111011011 101101110++//

OUR VILE ENEMY COULD NOT RESIST

THE POSSIBILITY OF CAPTURING

THE VIRUS BOMBS, AND NOW THE

BEAST IS IMPRISONED WITHIN THE LIVING BODY OF ONE OF OUR MOST VENERATED BATTLE-BROTHERS,

CAPTAIN ANTIMONUS, THE HERO OF VULKARIS. MANY BROTHERS FELL

BATTLING THE DAEMON, INCLUDING

CAPTAIN ORIS AND LIBRARIAN

TRANT, BUT BOTUTHRAX CLOSTIDIA

IS NO LONGER FREE TO UNLEASH ITS

u Who are the Agents and what are they doing?

PESTILENCE ON THE GILEAD SYSTEM.

For each question Botuthrax learns the answer to, you

THE BATTLE BROUGHT THE HIVE

gain 1 Ruin. If Botuthrax somehow learns of the Great Rift, you gain 2 Ruin.

Dispatching the Daemon At some point, Botuthrax will no longer be able to hide the fact that Blojak’s body is unnatural. The body is weak, with the stats of an ordinary Imperial Citizen (Wrath & Glory, page 327), and Botuthrax puts no effort into keeping it alive. When the body is destroyed,

DOWN ATOP US, AND THERE IS NO PROSPECT OF RESCUE. WE WILL

SECURE THE AREA AND ACTIVATE

OUR SUS-AN MEMBRANES. WE HAVE

THE SATISFACTION OF KNOWING

THAT WE KEPT OUR OATHS, AND THAT OUR GREAT ENEMY IS HERE WITH US, IMPRISONED FOR ALL TIME.

it dissolves into a swarm of writhing maggots, flies, and worms, which sink through the floor, leaving no trace of their passing. While this happens, the Agents

13

When the Space Marines encounter the name

If the Agents don’t discover this for themselves,

Botuthrax Clostidia, their vox-casters crackle into life,

Captain Menon’s voice once again comes over vox:

and Captain Menon addresses them. ‘This is a terrible power indeed. Astropath Makrina ‘Brothers, Chapter records reference the daemon

speculates they are conductors, carrying the energy

Botuthrax Clostidia as a threat greater than anything

of a million suffering souls from the battlefields above

we expected to encounter within the spire. I am

to somewhere deeper in the spire. May the Emperor's

ordering you to divert to investigate this prison. But

strength steel you.’

make haste. May the Emperor’s strength steel you.’ If the Agents press for more information, Captain Menon supplies: ‘Botuthrax Clostidia is the reason Vulkaris became a plague world. Its work complete, it moved on to Gilead

DESTROYING THE PILLARS

Primus — but here, we stopped it. We lost many of our

Simply shooting the pillars won’t work, even

finest. We cannot let their sacrifice be in vain.’

with something like a Plasma Cannon. They are

Level 3: Deeper and Deeper

too large, tough, and heavy for that. Given time, they could be brought down with Chain Fists or Power Fists. The moment someone cuts into a

A giant cargo elevator squats at the bottom of the pit.

rod, they must make a DN 10 Corruption Test

Faded signs suggest it leads into an ancient mine. The

as twisted, decaying energy courses through

elevator is a giant metal platform 10 meters wide on

them. Persisting long enough to destroy a pillar

each side. It descends into the tunnel at a 45-degree

requires a melee weapon able to do at least

angle along a metal track. If the Agents don’t trust the

15 damage with an AP of at least −3, a DN 8

platform, they can walk down the mineshaft.

Willpower Test to fight through the pain, and a DN 20 Corruption Test on completion.

Once the Agents start their descent, go to Part Four: Affliction Ascendant (page 17).

The Pillars

If the Agents brought a substantial supply of Melta Bombs or Krak Grenades, they can attempt to demolish the pillars. Destroying

The pillars that descend from the ceiling to the depths

one pillar requires sufficient weapons with the

of the pit are vast agglomerations of metal salvaged

EXPLOSIVE Keyword to do 50 points of damage

from the sides, melted and roughly reformed. It’s

in total (e.g.,, a Krak Grenade does 14 damage;

clear that these parts have been fused together with

four of them inflict 56 points) and a DN 5 Tech

extraordinary heat. Agents looking at the pillars feel

(Int) Test to rig the explosives. Destroying the

uneasy, and anyone approaching them feels nauseous.

pillars this way avoids Corruption Tests.

Characters with the PSYKER Keyword have a much stronger reaction. They feel feverish as well as

For each pillar destroyed, it takes Putradyne an

nauseated, and to their eyes, the pillars pulse with a

additional turn to achieve his ascension and

sickly energy.

Botuthrax restores one fewer Wound each time it uses Hideous Growth (see page 21).

A DN 5 Tech (Int) Test reveals the pillars are aligned with the pillars that support Tora Armis. A DN 5 Psychic Mastery (Wil) Test reveals the pillars are conductors, channelling energy to a point somewhere beneath them. It seems that the earlier Warp-storm, the Poxwalkers, and the psychic energy of the battle raging above are generating the energy coursing through the pillars.

14

PART THREE: THE VAULT

The dust of three millennia covers the floor, but in places it has been disturbed by the deep imprints of Power Armoured boots and the only slightly lighter tread of Servitors’ feet. Dirt and oil from the digging outside muddies and softens the ground.

PART ONE: DROP

A long-dead conflict comes to life as an ancient foe is revealed.

Signs on the walls indicate this structure is an ancient missile silo.

NO HEROES BURIED HERE

The breach the Agents enter through connects to a corridor that makes a circuit of the whole base. A hundred meters from the breach, an airlock leads deeper into the installation. It was sealed but has been

Beyond the triple-sealed blast doors you see the interior

carved open with cutting tools. On the far side of the

of an Imperial military base. Messages carved into the

airlock, two sentry guns have been torn apart by Bolter

walls in front of you read:

fire. The corpse of a Servitor sprawls in the doorway.

‘Turn back. There are no heroes buried here. There is

A DN 4 Tech (Int) Test reveals extensive, recent, and

no treasure here. There is only death. Bury this place

rapid corrosion on the sentry guns, consistent with the

deep. There is only death here.’

blighted weapons of the Death Guard.

These words are repeated again and again on the

Not far from this entrance is what was once a

walls. They are written in High Gothic and Low Gothic,

barracks. The door is marked with Imperial biohazard

in the native dialects of Gilead Primus and the battle

runes. Inside are 40 neatly arranged body bags,

cant of the Absolvers, in the Cant Mechanicus and the

each containing a skeleton. Every corpse wears an

slang of long-dead hive gangs. The same message is

Astra Militarum dog tag, identifying the wearer as a

broadcast across every wavelength your vox-casters

Gilead Gravediggers trooper. A DN 4 Medicae (Int)

can receive. The only exception is Sergeant Valance’s

Test reveals the soldiers were killed by an extremely

announcement, on an encrypted Astartes channel,

virulent bioweapon that warped their bones.

PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

seemingly coming from deeper within the base.

15

The next significant location is a control room. Four

‘Oaths of vengeance have been sworn against

chairs face long-deactivated banks of cogitators. A DN

the daemon Botuthrax Clostidia. Chapter Protocol

5 Tech (Int) Test indicates the cogitators are loaded

Unceasing Vigilance activated. Use of orbital vortex

with what look to be firing protocols for virus bombs.

bombs authorised. Repeat, launch of orbital vortex

The cogitators have not been accessed for 3,000 years.

bombs authorised.’

Beyond the control room, a tunnel leads to the launch

A minute later, a previously unknown voice addresses

bay, where a yet more curious sight awaits the Agents.

the Agents via their vox system.

THE ETERNAL PRISON

‘This is Lord Militant Taleria Fylamon. Under no circumstances, I repeat, under no circumstances will I permit a vortex strike on Tora Armis. Acknowledge.’

This chamber is 30 metres in diameter, its sides scarred by Bolter and plasma fire. An adamantine

While the Agents are responding, a third voice comes

plinth dominates the centre, a suit of Power Armour

over the vox.

enthroned atop it. Twelve Power Armoured figures stand before the plinth, their hands folded on their

‘This is Company Captain Menon of the Absolvers.

chests and their weapons by their sides. Their Power

The Lord Militant has no authority over the Adeptus

Armour bears the livery of the Absolvers, but is

Astartes. Lord Militant, this is no longer your fight,

marked with acidic burns, deep slashes, and signs of

and no longer your decision. Brothers, Fury’s Blade

rapid corrosion. Among the dead are a captain and

is standing by for vortex deployment at your request.’

librarian. Within the armour only skeletons remain. If the Lord Militant makes any response, her A DN 4 Investigation (Int) Test reveals that the Space Marines died in battle against a massive creature of the Warp. Their armour is damaged and without power. However, there is enough Bolter ammunition for each member of the squad to take one reload. As the Agents explore the room, they can see the plinth in more detail. The ruined figure chained to the throne is a suit of corroded Absolvers Power Armour, a badly damaged skeleton still inside it. The bone has rotted, and a stinking, putrid sludge coats the inside of the armour ,which is even more corroded and decayed than the exterior: something vile was trapped inside, held captive by purity seals and holy tablets as well as sturdy chains. The armour is too badly damaged for the Agents to glean any useful information. This was, however, the staunch Astartes whose physical form and iron will held the Great Unclean One in check. A few moments after the Agents establish that Botuthrax Clostidia is not in the vault, they receive an automated transmission.

16

transmission is blocked.

PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

u Round 5: No developments in this round. u Round 6: If he has not ascended by now, Putradyne is transformed into a Chaos Spawn (Wrath & Glory, page 352). u Round 7: If the Agents haven’t defeated it,

Beneath the spire, two evils struggle for supremacy.

Botuthrax Clostidia regains its strength. The Agents can continue to assault it, but their weapons can’t

Deep beneath Tora Armis, so deep down that the

damage its pestilent bulk. The vortex bombs fall

chamber is surrounded by real rock, the air thrums

soon after. The entirety of Tora Armis is destroyed,

with psychic potential. The raging battle above has

including the daemon’s corporeal form, and the

released masses of psychic energy, which Putradyne’s

Great Unclean One returns to the Realm of Chaos.

conductors are delivering to this deep cavern, where it will provide the power he needs to open a path directly to Nurgle’s Garden. But Putradyne’s plans have gone awry. He had hoped to celebrate his ascension by releasing virus bombs on Gilead Primus, but they turned out not to exist.

RUNNING THIS SHOWDOWN

PART ONE: DROP PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

Players are used to winning. That’s certainly a Worse still, the Greater Daemon Botuthrax Clostidia,

possibility here, but it isn’t likely. Both Putradyne and

whose liberty is Corporis’s last great gift to Nurgle before

Botuthrax are formidable foes, and together they’re

his ascension, is now devouring the psychic torment

more than a match for the Agents. Still, here are some

he needs to fuel that ascension. The Great Unclean

tactics that might work if the Agents are intent on

One means to help, knowing that in its full power and

defeating both of them.

with Corporis ascendant, they can claim Gilead Primus for the Great Corruptor. However, Botuthrax regaining

Delay Them: Without intervention, Putradyne ascends

its strength delays Corporis’s progress, for which the

in four rounds. Botuthrax is fully restored if he reaches

Agents should be deeply grateful, because if Putradyne

60 Wounds. Finding a way to delay either of these

ascends, the world of Gilead Primus becomes a grand

outcomes creates a space for victory.

offering to Nurgle. What comes next will be decided in battle.

Distract Botuthrax: Putradyne is absolutely fixated on his ascension. But Botuthrax has been nursing a

Keep track of what happens in each round of this fight.

grudge against the Absolvers through 3,000 years of famine. Annoy it, and it stops feeding to concentrate

u Round 1: Putradyne summons Plaguebearers and begins his journey to Nurgle’s Garden.

on destroying his ancient foes. Needless to say, this is a two-edged sword.

u Round 2: Rocks begin to fall from the ceiling. You

This encounter is set up such that the Agents face a

may spend Ruin to trigger the Rocks Fall Battlefield

choice. Do they call in the vortex bombs, sacrificing

Effect (see page 24). Putradyne’s progress slows.

their lives and obliterating Tora Armis? Doing this means they defeat either Putradyne or Botuthrax but

u Round 3: Botuthrax arrives. Putradyne’s progress slows even further.

allow the other to escape. Or do the Agents attempt to defeat both and risk unleashing both evils on the Gilead System?

u Round 4: If he has not been delayed or destroyed, Putradyne ascends at the end of this round.

17

THE DESCENT

u The Agent said nothing: DN 4

As the squad make their way into the mines they are

u The

contacted by Putradyne Corporis, who has gained

Agent

responded

only

with

abuse

or

catechisms: DN 5

access to their vox frequencies. u The Agent argued or conversed with Putradyne: Your vox begins to emit a static, intermittent hiss. Your

DN 6

contact with mission control glitches and then fails. A voice wheezes in your ears, the speaker struggling for

u The Agent sympathised with any of Putradyne's views (which should be unthinkable): DN 9

every breath. Use the following fragments of conversation, or

Astartes encounter Traitor Marines very rarely, and the

improvise your own.

experience of speaking with one is likely to linger for many years, reminding them that even a battle-brother

‘Absolvers. You are fortunate to have come this far.

may stray from the light of the God-Emperor.

You will be here at the end and the beginning. I am ready to leave this life, this long war, and ascend to fight a greater battle. I am bound for a realm of life and plenty. Come and watch.

THE ASCENSION You emerge from the mine into a vast cavern of natural

‘The Emperor? Have you ever seen Him? I fought in

rock. Three metal conductors are embedded in the

His Legions, when I was full of youthful stupidity. He

ceiling, presumably the counterparts of the pillars

commended us for valour when we carried the gates

above. The space around them is twisted and distorted,

on Vaxus. He sits, perishing on His golden throne,

black slashes of nothingness breaking through reality

the galaxy clenched in His dead fist. He offers only

and coalescing into unholy, impossible shapes.

stagnation and death, where the Plague Father promises life and renewal to this suffering Imperium!

One end of the cavern is filled with a thick, buzzing cloud of flies. Through the swirling mass of bloated

‘I have Sergeant Valance here with me. Sergeant

insects, you glimpse an armoured figure, one hand

Valance and four of his lackeys. They’ve been sleeping

clutching a vast maul, standing in front of an altar.

at their posts for millennia, a poor way to keep an

Laid upon it are the bodies of five Absolvers. As you

oath I think. They won’t ever wake. They’ll help me

look on, Putradyne Corporis raises his Power Maul

onwards. A final offering from this life before I ascend.

above his head and brings it down upon each of them.

I have killed so many of your kind. The Emperor’s war

Fresh blood gushes from their armour. Putradyne's

has made fratricides of us all.

hollow voice, artificially amplified, echoes around the chamber: ‘Behold, Grandfather. I have brought you

‘Did you find Botuthrax? Did you see what they’d

gifts. Five sons of the false emperor. He has fallen. I

done to it?

shall rise.’

The honourable Absolvers deceived it,

ambushed it, locked it in a cage and starved it. It was once so full of life and bounty. It renewed so many

A rip in space appears behind the altar — a gash in

worlds with its father’s gifts.’

reality through which you glimpse another realm. It is a realm of endless death, decay, and rebirth.

Whenever Putradyne isn’t talking, the Space Marines’

As you watch, forests wither and are consumed by

connection with the Fury’s Blade is restored.

parasites, their matter broken down and transformed into billions of larvae that mature, fly, and die in the

At the end of the conversation, each squad member

space of seconds, only for newer, stranger masses of

makes a Corruption Test with a DN based on how that

vegetation to spring forth from their rich mulch.

squad member responded. A path of filth leads from the altar into this nightmare landscape. As Putradyne sets foot on the path, it is

18

clear his journey is more than physical, as every step

The Agents are free to pursue Putradyne, the two

costs him huge effort. Beyond the boundary, thousands

realities seeming to blend together as they do so.

of tiny creatures are waving and cheering, though it’s

However, each round they spend in combat with him

impossible to tell whether they’re urging Putradyne

requires a DN 5 Corruption Test.

on, or mocking his attempt. Among the crowd, oneeyed daemons look on, recording every moment of

The Agents can attempt to block Putradyne’s progress

Putradyne’s progress toward the Realm of Chaos.

by getting in his way or dragging him back. If Putradyne does not reach Nurgle’s Garden within six

On the farthest horizon, something vast as a mountain

rounds, his attempt at ascension has failed.

range, shifts and turns its attention to the struggling figure of the Traitor Marine.

A look of disappointment spreads across the faces of the Nurglings as Putradyne’s progress falters, and

In the first round of combat, Putradyne turns his

their cheers become uncertain. As the gateway to the

Plasma Pistol on the Agents, while chanting in a twisted

Realm of Chaos closes, Putradyne collapses, utterly

tongue. In the second round, seven Plaguebearers

exhausted. His flesh shivers and ripples, strange new

materialise to support him, dragging themselves out

growths erupt out of his armour, his helmet cracks

from amongst the corpses of the sacrificed Absolvers.

open, and you catch a glimpse of his eyes — open in

This can be prevented with a successful DN 8 Deny

horror as a riot of mutations run rampant through his

the Witch Test.

body, reshaping flesh, bone, and nerves, until nothing

PART ONE: DROP PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

is left but a mindless Chaos Spawn. Each round, Putradyne advances farther along his path to Nurgle’s Garden. If he is able to progress for four rounds, he sets foot in the Realm of Chaos and is welcomed as a Daemon Prince.

THE RETURN In the third round, Botuthrax Clostidia enters the fray.

The waiting Nurglings erupt in cheers and whoops as Putradyne arrives in Nurgle’s Garden. He has

The roof of the cavern shakes, dislodging rocks that

crossed over into the Empyrean, and your blows and

plummet downward. Then a part of the roof gives

bullets belong to a reality he is no longer part of.

way, and a vast mass of maggots, worms and flies

His limbs elongate, and his armour is absorbed into

drops down and lands among the rubble with an

what remains of his flesh. He raises his maul in a

audible squelching noise. No sooner has the mass

mocking salute, and the portal closes. Nurgle has a

landed than it starts to knit itself into a giant, bloated

new champion.

form. Immediately some of the streams of Warp energy that swirled around the altar attach shift toward the daemon, as if drawn by a magnet. The Great Unclean One giggles and grins as it gathers up its guts and shoves them back inside its ruptured stomach, along with a scattering of Nurglings who came bubbling out of the wound. ‘Ah, Putradyne’, it says, its voice a deep rumbling belch. ‘What a feast you have prepared for me. A moment to gather my strength, and I’ll hold these little maggots off for you.’ It has only been a few seconds since it landed, but already Botuthrax Clostidia has grown larger and more substantial. On the pathway, Putradyne stumbles, and suddenly his goal looks farther away than before.

19

Should the Agents approach Botuthrax:

RESOLUTION

The Great Unclean One unleashes a massive yawn and peers at you from behind its decaying brow with

If the Agents are defeated, the spire is obliterated

eyes older than stars. It blinks in recognition, and a

by vortex bombs launched from Fury’s Blade, but by

great red slash opens in its face, revealing vast brown

the time the bombs fall, both Putradyne and Botuthrax

teeth and a pustulent red tongue. ‘Astartes.’ Its voice

have retreated to the Empyrean. The supply of ball

rumbles in your minds. ‘You cannot be the ones who

bearings is disrupted, with knock-on consequences

imprisoned me. But you will do.’ Its jaw distends, and

across the system. Putradyne and Botuthrax return

it vomits a tidal wave of putrescence in your direction.

seven months later to wage war on Gilead Primus.

Botuthrax is here to feed. It has regained much of its

If the Agents called in vortex bombs, the spire is

former strength from the energy being channelled

destroyed, along with Putradyne and Botuthrax.

through the spire. Each round, Botuthrax uses its

The immediate threat is ended, but the entirety of

Hideous Growth Ability to gain 5 Wounds.

Tora Armis is destroyed. The loss of life — and the hit to the production of resources — is tremendous.

Botuthrax begins this scene with 40 Wounds, unless

The relationship between the Absolvers and the Lord

the Agents burned its remains in Part Two. In the

Militant is soured, perhaps irreparably. Their fraught

latter case, it begins the combat with 20 Wounds and

relationship leaves enormous holes in the Gilead

2 personal Ruin. If the Agents destroyed any pillars,

System’s defences, through which enemies new and

reduce the Wounds it gains from its Hideous Growth

old pour.

Ability by 1 for each pillar. If the Agents defeated both foes, the spire is saved. If Botuthrax achieves a total of 60 Wounds (it begins

The supply of ball bearings is restored.

with 40) read the following: If

the

Agents

defeated

either

Botuthrax

or

The daemon roars with laughter, doubling, and then

Putradyne and did not call in vortex bombs, the

tripling, in size. Its bulk expands to fill the cavern,

other foe escapes and the spire is saved. The supply

crushing you against the walls, which shatter,

of ball bearings is restored. The foe that survived

revealing a vast nothingness beyond. The daemon’s

returns to wage war on the Gilead System. If Putradyne

laughter shakes the ground. Far above you, Tora

ascended, Gilead Primus becomes a breeding ground

Armis trembles on its foundations. Restored to full

for new diseases, many of which become epidemics.

vitality, Botuthrax Clostidia lurches out into the void. ‘Tell your people I am coming. Tell your people I will

If the squad defeated neither Botuthrax nor

devour a city for every year of my imprisonment. Tell

Putradyne, and did not call in vortex missiles, the

your people their bodies will be home for my larvae,

spire is saved. The supply of ball bearings is restored.

and I will turn their worlds into gardens of decay.’

Seven months later, a vast horde of daemons and Death Guard invade Gilead Prime, having spent the

You will never be free of Botuthrax’s laughter. It

intervening months massing their forces on the plague

pursues you as you retreat from the cavern. It echoes

world Vulkaris (Wrath & Glory, page 309). If you’re

in your ears as you fight through hordes of daemons

not planning on playing through this storyline, inform

to reach the Imperial lines. It torments you as you

the players of what happens as an epilogue.

relay its warning to your horrified commanders. And whenever you look at the stars, the Great Rift grins back at you like the mouth of a hungry daemon.

20

AWARDING XP Award 3 XP for roleplaying and having fun. In addition,

BOTUTHRAX CLOSTIDIA, GREAT UNCLEAN ONE

the following awards are available: Tier

1

2

3

4

u Save Makrina: 2 XP

Threat

E

E

E

E

u Defeat the daemons aboard the Thunderhawk

KEYWORDS: CHAOS, DAEMON, MARK OF NURGLE

Drop (0–8 XP)

Gunship: 2 XP u Safely land the Thunderhawk Gunship: 1 XP u Defeat the Corpsetide: 3 XP

S

T

A

I

Wil

Int

Fel

16

10

4

6

10

8

10

Resilience

The Pit (0–6 XP) u Per pillar destroyed: 1 XP The Vault (0–4 XP) u Investigate the control room: 2 XP

Defence

Wounds

Shock

5

40

14

BONUSES

Affliction Ascendant (0–8 XP)

Architect of Ruin: The GM gains 1 Ruin at the start of each of this Threat’s turns.

u Prevent Botuthrax’s escape: 3 XP u Avoid dropping vortex bombs: 2 XP

PROFILES Use these profiles for the adventure’s antagonists.

BOTUTHRAX CLOSTIDIA, GREAT UNCLEAN ONE Greater Daemons come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and power levels ranging from obscene to apocalyptic. Having been chained beneath Tora Armis for millennia, Botuthrax Clostidia is weak (for a Great Unclean One) but still terrifyingly powerful.

PART THREE: THE VAULT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

SKILLS: Default 8, Weapon Skill 10

u Investigate the eternal prison: 2 XP

u Prevent Putradyne’s ascension: 3 XP

PART TWO: THE PIT

PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

10 + Skin Folds (3), 13

u Detect Blojak’s possession: 2 XP

PART ONE: DROP

Beloved of Nurgle: This Threat may use Ruin Actions and has 5 personal Ruin. Massive Bulk: Botuthrax Clostidia is huge and immensely difficult to kill. It has 40 Wounds. ABILITIES BATTLECRY: Pestilential presence: Anyone who sees Botuthrax must make a DN 5 Fear Test. Anyone not wearing a sealed suit must make a DN 7 Resolve Test or gain Poisoned (7) as their nerves burn. ACTION: Bileblade: 16 +4 ED, AP −3, Inflict Poisoned (5) Lashing Tongue: 12 +4 ED, AP −4, Inflict Poisoned (5), Inflict Staggered (4) Avalanche of Flesh: Botuthrax falls on its opponent. 10 +8 ED, AP −, Inflict Prone (4) Hideous Growth: Spend 2 Ruin. Botuthrax Clostidia regains 5 Wounds. Pestilent Tide: Spend one Ruin. A wave of diseased flesh and acidic rotting matter spews from Botuthrax’s guts. This is a ranged attack with the following profile: 12 +2 ED / AP −2 / Range 16 / Blast (4) Crushing Bulk: Spend 2 Ruin. Botuthrax charges forward like a pestilential cannonball. Its target and any allies within 5m are crushed under its mass. Roll to hit once; compare the result against each Agent’s Defence separately. RUIN: Nurglings!: Spend 1 Ruin. A single band of 20 Nurglings disgorge themselves from Botuthrax’s guts and act immediately. DETERMINATION: Spend 1 Ruin to roll 10d6. Daemons can roll Determination against Mortal Wounds. Any Wounds negated by Determination are ignored instead of being converted to Shock. Conviction

Resolve

Speed

Size

5

5

5

Ggtn

21

PUTRADYNE CORPORIS, CHAOS LORD Putradyne Corporis has fought the Long War for years beyond number, and he can feel immortality beckoning. His body is swollen and bloated, his corpse-white skin

PUTRADYNE CORPORIS Tier

1

2

3

4

Threat

E

E

E

E

KEYWORDS: ADEPTUS ASTARTES, CHAOS, DEATH GUARD, MARK OF NURGLE S

T

A

I

Wil

Int

Fel

5(9)*

7

5

5

6

3

2

blooming with disease. Damage to his armour reveals rotten and decayed organs spilling out of lesions in his paper-thin skin. He is animated by the Plague Lord’s blessing and his own furious will. Putradyne’s Wargear is ancient. His armour is the colour of decaying bone, with the symbol of the Death Guard and the eight-pointed star of Chaos emblazoned

Resilience 14 (Cataphractii Terminator Armour), Powered 4* Defence

Wounds

Shock

4

12

10

SKILLS: Default 5, Awareness 9, Ballistic Skill 8, Weapon Skill 8

on the pauldrons. Cracks and gashes in the ceramite

BONUSES

reveal his bloated frame within. His huge Power Maul

Architect of Ruin: The GM gains 1 point of Ruin at the start of each of this Threat’s turns

crackles with energy, and his Plague-Spitter Gauntlets project a corrosive mixture that rusts and decays anything it comes into contact with. Putradyne suffers from the Withered and Enduring

Champion: This Threat may use Ruin Actions and has 1 personal Ruin. Space Marine Implants: Gain bonus dice and options for Actions from Space Marine Implants.

Life mutations. As Nurgle has cursed him to eternal

ABILITIES

life, he must ascend or be transformed into a Chaos

ACTION: Plague-touched Combi-Flamer: 8 +2 ED / AP − / Range 6 – 12 – 18 / Bolt, Inflict (On Fire), Pistol. On a successful hit, reduce the AR of the target’s armour by 1. Power Maul: 14 +4 ED / AP −3 / Range 2 / Brutal, Power Field

Spawn. Should the Agents slay Putradyne before he ascends, his corpse immediately revives as a Chaos Spawn; once this is slain, he is truly dead.

RUIN: Veteran of the Long War: Spend 1 Ruin to add the game’s Tier as ED to all attacks this Threat makes this round. Death to the False Emperor!: Spend 1 Ruin to Charge, gaining +2 bonus dice to the attack Test. DETERMINATION: Disgustingly Resilient: You do not need to spend Ruin to roll Determination for this Threat. Roll 7d6. This Threat can roll Determination against Mortal Wounds.

22

Conviction

Resolve

Speed

Size

5

5

7

Lrg

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

RITES OF BATTLE Before entering battle, Space Marines perform a variety of rites to focus their minds on the coming conflict. These might involve optimising the configuration

Affliction Ascendant introduces two new rules for

of their armour and weapons for the coming fight,

games of Wrath & Glory. During the mission, Astartes

rehearsing tactics with their squad, or steeling their

players can spend Glory to activate the benefits of

mind for the challenges they expect to face.

rituals they performed prior to arriving in Tora Armis. These rituals reflect the way veteran Space Marines

Each member of the squad with the ASTARTES

work as a coordinated unit, the result of decades of

Keyword may choose to undertake one of the following

training and experience.

rites before entering battle. These benefits can be activated during play by spending Glory at the start of

You can spend Ruin to trigger effects on the battlefield

the Agent’s turn.

as the Agents attempt to complete their mission. Perhaps a far-off sniper or artillery observer takes an

Note that these rites are only available to Tier 4 and

interest in their position. Perhaps the terrain in front of

can only benefit groups of Astartes who have had time

them is mined, or a patrol of enemy soldiers is about to

to train together or who share a [CHAPTER] Keyword.

PART ONE: DROP PART TWO: THE PIT PART THREE: THE VAULT PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

stumble across them.

RITES OF BATTLE TABLE Rite Emperor’s Blade

Benefits Wall of Steel: You fight to defend your battle-brothers. Allies with the ASTARTES Keyword within 2m of you add 1 to their Defence against melee attacks. Cost: 1 Glory. Staggering Blow: Make a melee attack. If you hit, the next successful attack against the target by an ally with the ASTARTES Keyword gains +2 damage and -2 AP. Cost: 2 Glory. Fury of the Astartes: Yelling battle cries, you lead your battle-brothers into the fray. For one round, any allies with the ASTARTES Keyword gain the Counter Attack Talent. Cost: 3 Glory.

Furious Fire

Fire Discipline: Through sharing targeting data and coordinating fire, you deny your target Cover. Pick one enemy you can see. Until your next turn, any ally with the ASTARTES Keyword who targets them ignores Cover. Cost: 1 Glory. Storm of Death: In carefully rehearsed patterns, the squad lay down a blanket of fire. Until your next turn, allies with the ASTARTES Keyword reduce the Multi-Action penalty by 2 if shooting. Cost: 2 Glory. Designate Target: Your suit cogitators analyse a priority target, sharing information on its weak points with your allies. Until your next turn, any ally with the ASTARTES Keyword who targets them gains +2 ED and −1 AP. Cost: 3 Glory.

Strength Unyielding

Tactical Positioning: Your targeting systems highlight and share the locations of enemies, allowing your brothers to find Cover. Until the end of your next turn, all allies with the ASTARTES Keyword gain +1 Cover against shooting attacks. Cost: 1 Glory. Danger Denied: Until the end of your next turn, all allies with the ASTARTES Keyword roll 2 extra dice on Determination Tests. Cost: 2 Glory. We Shall Not Yield: Any Agents with the ASTARTES Keyword who are Dying may make a Last Stand (see Wrath & Glory, page 194) without suffering d3 Traumatic Injuries at its conclusion. They must still spend all their remaining Wrath (minimum 1). Cost: 3 Glory.

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BATTLEFIELD RUIN During the battle, you can spend Ruin to trigger different effects on the battlefield. The options available

BATTLEFIELD RUIN TABLE Cost

The Corpsetide: A Mob of 30 Poxwalkers have made their way down from the crypts and engage the Agents.

1

Visions: Visions of Tora Armis consumed by decay disturb an Agent, clouding their vision and breaking their concentration. They must make a DN 5 Conviction Test or become Vulnerable till the end of the current encounter.

2

Rocks Fall: A massive chunk of rock falls from the roof of the cavern. Make a DN 6 Athletics (S) Test to dodge the Blast (4) attack. Damage is 12 +4 ED AP −2.

2

Pitfall: The massive weight of a suit of Power Armour sends the wearer crashing through the floor. One Agent must make a DN 8 Athletics (S) Test or become Hindered (3). They may attempt a new DN 6 Test each round to get out of the hole they have fallen into. Assistance from another Agent reduces the DN to 4.

3

Warp Tendrils: Black ribbons of nothingness whip toward the Agent. Make an attack with a pool of 8 dice and the FIRE Keyword. Damage is 6 +3 ED and ignores armour.

3

Nurgle’s Miasma: Armour rots; equipment malfunctions. Each Agent must choose one of the following:

are listed in the mission descriptions. You can trigger effects in narrative time or combat time. Effects triggered in combat time take a turn, as if

Effect

1

an additional NPC were involved.

u They lose a point of ammunition. u They receive −1 to Armour. u An augmetic ceases to function. u Fatigue and sickness cause −1 Willpower.

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CHARACTER ARCHETYPE: 1ST COMPANY VETERAN ‘I have spent centuries at war so billions of others may know peace.’ − Brother Horatio of the Ultramarines 1st Company

Lifetimes of warfare have honed your skills and turned you into one of the most feared warriors in the galaxy. Traditionally, the warriors of the 1st Company are the finest, most able, and best equipped fighters a Chapter of Space Marines has to offer. They are organised into Vanguard and Sternguard squads. Vanguard squads fight up close, assaulting their foes with lethal melee weapons; Sternguard fight at range, using powerful Boltguns to devastating effect. To reflect their skill at arms and proven valour, exceptional veterans of the 1st Company are awarded Terminator Honours, sometimes displayed as a replica of the Crux Terminatus, indicating that they have the right to wear Terminator Armour on the field of battle. The stone Crux Terminatus is worn on a Terminator’s

1ST COMPANY VETERAN TIER

4

SPECIES Adeptus Astartes XP Cost

330

PART ONE: DROP

KEYWORDS: ADEPTUS ASTARTES, [CHAPTER], IMPERIUM

PART TWO: THE PIT

SKILLS: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Ballistic Skill 5, Leadership 3, Scholar 1, Stealth 3, Survival 1, Weapon Skill 5

PART THREE: THE VAULT

ARCHETYPE ABILITY: Master of Warfare Add 1 to the damage of all weapons.

WARGEAR:

PART FOUR: AFFLICTION ASCENDANT

Terminator Loadout: Terminator Armour, Storm Bolter, Power Sword or Power Fist, Crux Terminatus. Terminator Assault Loadout: Terminator Armour, Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield or two Lightning Claws (S +5/ 5/ −1 -/ Brutal, Force, Unwieldy (2)) or a combi-weapon with the ADEPTUS ASTARTES Keyword, Crux Terminatus. Sternguard Loadout: Aquila MkVII Armour, Bolt Pistol, Special Issue Boltgun (with an additional −1 AP) or Heavy Flamer or Storm Bolter or Heavy Bolter, 3 Frag Grenades, 3 Krak Grenades. Vanguard Loadout: Aquila MkVII Armour, any two weapons with the ADEPTUS ASTARTES Keyword.

THE DEADLY BATTLEFIELD

INFLUENCE: +2

SUGGESTED ATTRIBUTES

XP Cost

40

ATTRIBUTE

S

T

A

I

Wil

Int

Fel

RATING

6

6

6

5

3

3

1

SUGGESTED SKILLS

XP Cost

22

Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Ballistic Skill 6, Scholar 2, Stealth 3, Weapon Skill 4

left pauldron. Astartes tradition maintains that each Crux contains, at its core, a fragment of the armour the Emperor wore when he slew Horus ten-thousand years ago. In this way, 1st Company veterans are connected to the very beginnings of the Imperium, and the millennia of warfare that have sustained it.

CRUX TERMINATUS Cast in stone and mounted on the bearer’s Power Armour, the Crux Terminatus is the ultimate

In the Gilead System, members of the Absolvers’ 1st

symbol of valour in the Imperium.

Company are often trusted with missions of great

Effect: +1 Influence, +1 Resolve

importance, for they command more respect than

Value: 10

almost anyone else in the system. A Chapter might

Rarity: Very Rare

use a veteran as an ambassador, diplomat, messenger,

Keywords: ADEPTUS ASTARTES, IMPERIUM

or bodyguard, dispatch them to eliminate a particular target, or even assign them command of supporting troops from the Astra Militarum. As a result, 1st Company veterans often find themselves taking part in missions far beyond the battlefield, in the company of unusual allies.

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