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My first attempt at a narrative campaign

( All planets are arctic and icy)(No names will be made yet for flexibility)(ignore the lack of chaos)

So in a sub-sector somewhere in the Ultima Segmentum there are 4 planets, one is home to a Tau enclave, another being a long dormant crown-world of a small dynasty.

Before the warp storm, a small tendril of a hive fleet starts to move into the sub-sector. As the warp storm hits, it severs part of the tendril and isolates it in the subsector.

Due to the Necrons protocols, the keepers of the crown world wake their phaeron on noticing the warp storm and tendril fleet. Upon wakening and analyzing the situation, he awakens his fleet, his legions, and his war machines. Preparing to take the sub-sector by force

Noticing the Tau enclave, he creates a plan to use the Tau's diplomatic ways against them. He sends one of his Overlords to meet with the enclaves ethereal caste. When they meet, the Overlord silently showers the ethereals with mind-schackle scarabs. The Phaeron proceeds to manipulate the ethereals understanding of the 'Greater Good' to be the benefit of the Necron dynasty.

Using data from other Necron encounters with Tyranids, he notices the hives dependency on the warp and telepathy. He gathers several scythe class ships and has his cryptek outfit them with the Necrons null field technology. After the ships are in place around the hive fleet(which has, by now, started deploying troops onto one of the other planets)and activates the null fields.

The hive ships go into disarray and start attacking one another. Taking advantage of this, the phaeron sends boarding parties to capture one of the Norn queens for his own experiments. Successfully doing so, the phaeron places the queen in a stasis field and destroys the remaining hive ships.

On the same planet the Tyrannids are on, he builds a facility to hold and harness the norn queen. The warp storm ends. Leaving the once protected and isolated sub-sector, unprotected and vulnerable.

-end of story, for now-
Now the phaeron has access to Tau supplies and personnel, and has the option to use tyrannid forces.

This I believe could make for a great narrative campaign, like the tyranids trying to take the queen back or the mind shackle losing effective ness or the warp storm ends, the possibilities are endless.

So, Dakka, how did I do? What should I improve/change?
I'm open to all feedback and opinions.

Sounds like a fun start to an exciting campaign!

I noticed a manageable plot discrepancy. Now I am no buff on the fluff, but if the small Necron dynasty had been dormant before the Tyranids arrived and only were awakened after the warp storm hit, how would they communicate with other Necron forces to get the essential "data" on Tyranid telepathy and warp dependence? As Tyranids are relatively new to the galaxy, dormant Necrons shouldn't have any knowledge about their existence, behaviors, physiology, etc. Can Necron communications pass through a warp storm?

Incorrect, the Charnovokh, and Sautekh dynasties have had multiple contacts with the Tyrannids. Including on the Shield of Baal campaign, and most of the Canoptek constructs are always awake and receiving information.

Kharne the Befriender wrote:
Incorrect, the Charnovokh, and Sautekh dynasties have had multiple contacts with the Tyrannids. Including on the Shield of Baal campaign, and most of the Canoptek constructs are always awake and receiving information.

Thanks for the correction! I was not implying that Necrons have never encountered Tyranids, rather that his small, dormant dynasty had not, based on his narrative. If the Canopteks are constantly receiving Necron communications from all other Necron forces, especially those that have encountered Tyranids, then that dowels the hole.

No problem, I'm looking for ways to include the other factions

Sounds fun. Minor nitpick: The Tau do have a water caste that specializes in diplomacy including between various species. It's kind of their whole thing. This, combined with the extent to which the Tau will go to safeguard ethereals means that they're much more likely to send a water caste guy to work things out with the 'crons than an ethereal.

Of course, if you mindshackle the water caste and she's all, "Hey Ethereals! Can you come approve this contract and also check out my new mindshackle friends," then you still probably get the same results.

Although there may or may not be brain slugs controlling the ethereal caste... There really needs to be some sort of game dedicated to all the mind-controlling species in 40k.

OK, I'm not to familiar with Tau so thanks for the info, I'll implement that when I put it on paper. Should I add names? Or would that ruin the flexibility?

Kharne the Befriender wrote:
No problem, I'm looking for ways to include the other factions

You could port in all things Chaos simply enough...

The warp storm surrounding your sub-sector lights-up a bunch of latent psychic gue'vesa in your Tau enclave. With there new and radically immature powers they fall prey to the ruinous powers and influences of the warp. Secret gue'vesa cults worshipping the damned gods begin to appear in many of the Tau settlements promoting heretical ideas against the greater good, culminating in the formation of renegade gue'vesa militias and demonic possessions. As the warp storm dissipates, Chaos SM warbands are called to the fray to appease their gods and to pirate resources from the unstability. The Chaos invasion of your sub-sector begins!

Not a bad idea, and since their is chaos, in comes the imperium to kill the heretics and xeno forces? Maybe the elder get involved and the dark elder feed off the carnage? Orks see the fighting and start a wagh? I think that covers all the factions.