Contains Spoilers for the Chemical Burn adventure!

We’re about to kick off Season 2, based on the IM Starter Set. I thought it’d be a good idea to recap Season 1 first.

The three player characters – Arn, Jaq, and Kael’ion – undertook a critical mission in Hive Rokarth to uncover and eliminate the source of an unsanctioned biochemical called Gratis. Their patron, Arch-Confessor Pater Nosticus Persuivant, a somber leader in the Adeptus Ministorum who is responsible for all the souls in Rokarth, tasked them with this mission. He feared that such a substance might distract the devoted from their worship, and thus wished it eliminated. Persuivant emphasised clandestinity, as he had more pressing work and was not inclined to draw attention to himself. Jaq felt a sense of purpose in this new assignment, noting that Arch-Confessor Persuivant, the Arch-Confessor to Voll, saw something in him.

Here’s a summary of their actions:

  • Initial Assignment and Mud Gate Investigation (Session #1)
    • The mission began with Jaq piloting an Arvus Lighter into the Mud Gate, Rokarth’s largest port. Jaq, who had never flown anything quicker or more nimble, expertly guided the craft through the downwash created by gargantuan fans and avoided collision with a large conveyance vessel.
    • Kael’ion, typically operating in mid-levels, found the noise and sheer volume of the lower hive’s people, vessels, grinding haulers, and thudding machinery oppressive. She interfaced with a cogitator to acquire a basic map of the surrounding area.
    • While investigating the Mud Gate, they observed subtle signs of illicit dealings, noting individuals in peculiar, decrepit noble attire exchanging small items.
    • They encountered Eregan, a smuggler, sprinting towards them in a panic as he fled Macharian Vigilites. Jaq didn’t hesitate to hold Eregan in place, and Arn ensured he wasn’t going anywhere, allowing the Vigilites to apprehend him after he was shock-mauled. A man in a red leather jacket (later identified as Raguel the Red) paid close attention to this event before slipping away when they tried to tail him.
    • They navigated an ambush by local kids who had seen Jaq secure the Lighter with a signet ring and attempted to tail and ambush the party as they made their way, slightly lost. The threat was resolved through intimidation and a crushed hand.
    • The team then proceeded to the Thaler Hostelry, a designated safe house given to them via Priest Daleron, who relayed the Arch-Confessor’s instructions. They exchanged a pass phrase (“All hail the martyrs”) with Janelle, a seemingly ancient woman with a bad case of hiver’s lung, to gain access to their secure room.
  • Interviewing Vidame Gullar and Heading to the Manufactorum (Session #2)
    • While preparing at the safe house, they experienced a hivequake, which Arn found terrifying, keeping him on edge despite his efforts to help a trapped man who died a painful death, pinned to the ground.
    • They travelled downhive to the Cathedrum of Obligatory Modesty to interview Vidame Gullar, a former noble whose body and mind had been evidently wracked by Gratis addiction. Kael’ion ascended the cathedrum using a grapnel, seeing herself as a shadowy insect against a gargantuan monument, finding the idea of an Omnissiah devotee using augmetic grace on a gaudy symbol tickling.
    • During the interview, Jaq nearly drew his laspistol when a distraught woman showed blasphemous contempt with her look, but he found clemency.
    • Gullar, a sickly shell of a man with sallow, dry, cracking skin and rheumy unfocused eyes, was prone to rambling stories and referenced dreams of “the God-Emperor speaking through the stars”. He revealed that he procured Gratis from an administrator at Battery Manufactorum 6.938 (whom he believed was dead) and described its blissful effects on toil. He also implicated the Vylathi Knives in the distribution. He stated that their “shared friend” (now understood to be Arch-Confessor Pater Nosticus Persuivant) ensured his disappearance without tarnishing his noble name.
    • Following this lead, the party made their way to Manufactorum 6.938 to stake it out for dealers.
  • Confronting Raguel and Discovering the Amaranthyne (Session #3)
    • At Manufactorum 6.938, they observed Vylathi Knives dealing Gratis to workers waiting for the shift change. Arn created a distraction by throwing open his cape, revealing his uniform and chainsword, then engaging a ganger in a swift, one-sided fight with a kick, and gunning his chainsword, thinking “Distraction? Yeah, that’ll do”.
    • Kael’ion executed a timed drop, her knee hitting the small of a ganger’s back hard, while Jaq pressed his laspistol to another’s temple, growling, “This is a Civitas mark Laspistol, known for its durability and reliability. Do exactly as we say or you’ll find out why!”. When Raguel darted for a hidden knife, a masked mechanicus adept quickly pinned Raguel’s hand to the wall with preternatural speed, causing a scream of pain. Raguel respected the precise bladework, thinking it would leave a pretty scar. Kael’ion left a non-scarring wound on the Knife’s neck when he suggested a reward for Raguel’s safe return to The Pit.
    • They seized a Knife on watch, learning Raguel the Red was the primary Gratis provider and could be found at The Pit in the Bowels or the Edifice of Tears.
    • The party moved to the Edifice of Tears, an open-air bar, observing various gangers and a strangely tattooed person in shimmering robes (Xanthe, an Amaranthyne cultist) moving from penitent to penitent. They spotted Raguel and followed him and his companions to the Thaler Hostelry.
    • At the hostelry, they applied some ‘pressure’ to Nedabeus, another manager, who then gave up the location of Raguel’s room. Confronting Raguel in his room, under threat of Jaq’s shotgun waved in his face and eventually a knife through his hand, the pragmatic Raguel started talking. He revealed that a new gang called the Amaranthyne supplied him Gratis from the Bowels in exchange for battery packs ‘acquired’ from the Manufactora. He also stated that their base was The Pit, which used to be exclusively a Vylathi hangout, and offered to take them there to make a deal.
  • Infiltrating The Pit and Thermal Warning (Session #4)
    • Raguel led them to a private maglift down to the Bowels and The Pit. They witnessed a visceral fight where Ofelia, an Amaranthyne Duelist moving with graceful, languid, dance-like movements and smiling to expose two rows of bleached-white teeth perfectly sharpened to identical points, defeated Alecto, a Vylathi Knife, with a simple, almost lazy strike. The crowd roared, though many solars were lost as they hadn’t expected this outcome. Arn later fought and defeated Hortensia, a dreg boxer with tight cords of muscle and a bluish pallor, in the Pit, finding his calm amidst the maddening thump of the crowd. Decima and Raguel seemed pleased.
    • Decima, the Pit boss, suggested they investigate the Amaranthyne at Thermal Warning, a bar in the Bowels.
    • They took a hauler to Thermal Warning. Jaq and Arn spoke with Lethe, a Vylathi Knife lieutenant, whose ostentatious and almost undamaged Flak Jacket and Power Knife marked her as wealthy, who directed them to Ulixes, an Amaranthyne cultist. Kael’ion observed from a dark corner, noticing Ulixes’ shaved head, ritual scarring, and bright, textured clothing. She knew instantly they were “made” when Jaq chanced a surreptitious glance over his shoulder at Ulixes as they left.
    • Upon leaving, they realised they were being followed by Ulixes and three companions who stood in unison.
  • Confronting the Amaranthyne in the Temple (Session #5)
    • Outside Thermal Warning, Ulixes and three accomplices ambushed them. Two were eliminated by two barely audible, almost simultaneous shots (from a shadowy assailant, later a calm stranger). Arn took care of a third with his flamer, while Kael’ion and Jaq brought down Ulixes, who obsessively touched the textured fabric of his cloak as he and it burned. A nearby drum of chemicals caught light and exploded, briefly incapacitating Jaq.
    • A calm stranger offered a map to the Amaranthyne’s ‘temple’, hinting that they were getting a bit close to his ‘business’. The team disposed of a Vylathi Knife’s body, whose face was caved in, by dropping it into a pool of acid in a darkened area of the Bowels.
    • They followed the map into the Pipeworks, a difficult and multi-dimensional navigation challenge incorporating “up, down, under and over”. Kael’ion initially struggled with the newly exloaded information on the dataslate, but Jaq took over navigation at a sheer wall, using his magboots and a rope to establish a route, much to Kael’ion’s slight displeasure as he usurped her role as navigator. Arn found the place unsettling, his “nervous sight” kicking in, showing darkness not obscured and people taking on an etheric shimmer. He noted lithe, graceful movements from an adjacent room and a shrill laughter, believing they thought they were playing with him. He cleared a storage room with his flamer, engulfing an opponent in flames, and noted a disturbing timbre to their screams, a “note of unsettling pleasure”.
    • They reached the Amaranthyne Temple, a converted workshop and former Imperial Shrine, now defaced with disturbing sigils. They quietly took out a guard, but their entry was betrayed by a creaking door. Inside, they found three individuals heavily under the influence of Gratis.
    • Combat ensued: Arn flamed a room; Kael’ion shot a cultist (and was wounded); Jaq hit another cultist; and Arn finished one with his chainsword.
    • They discovered chemistry apparatus for reverse-engineering Gratis, strongly suggesting the Amaranthyne were not the original source.
    • A voice visited their minds, one at a time, compelling them to “leave”. They resisted individually and as a group, but as explosions erupted from the flaming storeroom, they reasoned it was indeed time to retreat. As Jaq left, he glimpsed a grinning figure with ritual scarring and a bulbous, throbbing forehead.
  • Returning to the Safe House and New Orders (Session #6)
    • Fatigued from their ordeal in the temple and the Pipeworks, where Kael’ion felt her injury made everything harder and her steadfast footing required focus, they decided to return to the Thaler Hostelry safe house. Kael’ion took efforts to scratch identifying marks off their hauler.
    • They abandoned the hauler to avoid potential Vylathi Knives retribution.
    • They nearly had a confrontation with the Cutters, another local gang, who asked what they were doing down there. Arn’s quick action, smacking away the Cutter’s hand before he could whistle for others and facing down raised guns, defused the situation.
    • Upon reaching the safe house, a Cherub delivered a new message from their patron. This new message, from Arch-Confessor Pater Nosticus Persuivant, tasked them with investigating an apparent miracle within three days/rotations.
    • Arn, exhausted, fell asleep immediately once the hauler engine roared to life.

The characters successfully investigated the spread of Gratis, navigating dangerous locations and confronting various criminal and cultist factions. They ultimately uncovered the Amaranthyne Cult and discovered that the true source of Gratis lies deeper in Rokarth. Their actions also revealed that the Amaranthyne were obtaining Gratis from another group in exchange for stolen battery packs.

Until next time,

Owen