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I am all for more orderly because besides a few points I am all confused about alot of who is where kind of stuff.

Sorry for the double post how does enhancing PDF work? I am thinking of leaving a training Cadre at the Cogger PDF camp and training them to be a resource of Bike and Buggy Troops using the resources the Inquisitor and outlying towns can provide.

Or maybe I can have them and just get them hopped up on chem inhalers? The Chem Dogs aren't picky

I think we should give BlackJack a chance to finish the gargant.

Great job on the latest pieces. Especially to you, Smudge, that one was rather epic and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Chazz, don't forget about my lord Inquisitor joining in on the funeral.

I thought you had a Lord Commissar? :?

Anyhoo, I got my Lord-General and Captain going. Don't forget them.

Hopefully this meeting is (relatively) peaceful. My Guard have had a rough go of it so far

Would be a shame if some Orks got in again, crafty buggers that lot

Good thing my Scions got the drop on their commando leadership, should make things more complicated if they happen

I doubt anything will hapen, if it does though Exitar has his terminator plate.

In case I've never mentioned prior Exitar wields a special Crozius, it's like a 2 handed mace almost.

You know. I was going to have my Eldar drop in, but now I don't think so. Kharne is going to be a big meanie

Hey guys, after the 15th I'll be able to drop my stuff in and take part properly.

I do have a question though, and every time I ask this, I get a vehement "yes we're going somewhere", but no definable answer... What is the long-term goal supposed to be, other than hitting one another?
Neither of my forces are take ground, hold ground, scrap forces, and they need a reason to stay on Crion. The same logically applies to most people.

And without accidentally killing and rushing this, like what happened to #1... How long is this going to run for?

It feels like COF 1 was rushed to make way for this mega super awesome idea that had to be done right now, and then this one has just.. sat... here...
Which is not to diss the quality of their excellent writing, or the people taking part... But this is so opaque, and I can't feel the direction of this.

WK: Maybe if you wouldn't be Eldar...

BC: I feel that this Crusade is forming into sides fighting for the control of Crion, we have different factions looking for different goals.

This Crusade should last atleast another few months I would hope ending with a climactic battle or series of such.

Yeah I'm not expecting it to end now, but last time I got no real answer, and got the post from TS, along the times of "Why would this end in the first section of the story?"

There's smoke and mirrors and GMing, and then there's giving no sense of anyone getting anywhere. :s

I feel ya. seeing how everyone is on separate sides I don't see factions widdling away or just one side making a winning push.

If this ends, it will end like the last one, in a 30k worded bang

I hear ya. And I'm not asking for an explanation of TS's master plot, I'm asking for more explanation than small events and "take back Crion!".

We've gone from multiple writers a day, to significant writer drop off and a kind of atmosphere of apathy I guess.

To be fair, the first Crusade's overarching main plot wasn't there from the start either. It organically grew from what everyone was doing and from a few curveballs thrown by the GM's (see the Hybrid invasion).

As for the master plot for this Crusade, I think TS' Daemon Prince is planning something big, and whatever it is, I don't think many of our characters would like to see it come to fruition. Now, 90% of everyone in the Crusade doesn't even know the guy exists yet, but if someone (say someone with skills in infiltration, manipulation and general mindfethery) would drop some hints here and there...

I checked recently out of curiosity more than anything less to see how long COF1 lasted, 7 months. CoF 2 has also lasted 7 months yet it still feels like it just kinda getting started and as someone else mentioned Real Life has crippled this forum as of late.

I think CoF2 needs to end when it fits the story not just some arbitrary length of time, but for that to happen we do need some direction, sure my guys have their own agendas and goals but I mean an overarching one like the vault on Gallor Prime (if I am not forsaken)

Just my two cents, keep up the stellar writing folks !

Ezra Tyrius wrote:To be fair, the first Crusade's overarching main plot wasn't there from the start either. It organically grew from what everyone was doing and from a few curveballs thrown by the GM's (see the Hybrid invasion).

Actually, I think I'd caused the Gallor Prime event from a chunk I'd written during the Mogrok Incident. One kinda just led to another.

As for the master plot for this Crusade, I think TS' Daemon Prince is planning something big, and whatever it is, I don't think many of our characters would like to see it come to fruition. Now, 90% of everyone in the Crusade doesn't even know the guy exists yet, but if someone (say someone with skills in infiltration, manipulation and general mindfethery) would drop some hints here and there...

I, for one, would like to have something to fight for. Something NPC and threatening to all of us defeat/work against.

Irishpeacockz wrote:I checked recently out of curiosity more than anything less to see how long COF1 lasted, 7 months. CoF 2 has also lasted 7 months yet it still feels like it just kinda getting started and as someone else mentioned Real Life has crippled this forum as of late.

I think CoF2 needs to end when it fits the story not just some arbitrary length of time, but for that to happen we do need some direction, sure my guys have their own agendas and goals but I mean an overarching one like the vault on Gallor Prime (if I am not forsaken)

Just my two cents, keep up the stellar writing folks !

Yeah, by this time in COF 1, we'd reached a conclusion. That's not to say that it was perfect, but I'd certainly like a kickstart to this one. It doesn't need to end on a time, but a natural conclusion - but seeing as we've had no main story added, it's hard to have a natural progression.

Maybe we could have a brainstorming session and figure out what we could do?

A brainstorming session sounds like a good idea

Here's an idea: what about an invasion by a sect of the Dark Mechanicum? They could be looking to enslave the system, find some lost STC tech (that the Loyalists then try to keep out of everyone else's hands), or something else entirely. They'd form a genuine threat to everyone, Xenos and Human (and even Traitor) alike, as their cold, uncompromising logic would probably dictate the complete and utter annihilation of everyone who stands even remotely in their way.

Also, legions of corrupted Skitarii, vile Hereteks and even monstrous daemon-possessed Titans would make for some very interesting battles, in my opinion

The Dark Mechanicum sounds cool but in my opinion Crion is kind of crowded at the moment and I believe we can do something with what we have already, such as TS's daemon prince or Evergreen's nids (if he ever comes back) or perhaps an ancient armory or treasure trove that we need to find that would make us fight each other, it would have to be different from gallor prime thought and not just a carbon copy.

I believe the Blood Dragons have great potential in that regard, perhaps some untouched ruins with ancient automated security or something idk

Im not against the Dark Mechanicum idea, im just throwing out my own

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:
A brainstorming session sounds like a good idea

Here's an idea: what about an invasion by a sect of the Dark Mechanicum? They could be looking to enslave the system, find some lost STC tech (that the Loyalists then try to keep out of everyone else's hands), or something else entirely. They'd form a genuine threat to everyone, Xenos and Human (and even Traitor) alike, as their cold, uncompromising logic would probably dictate the complete and utter annihilation of everyone who stands even remotely in their way.

Also, legions of corrupted Skitarii, vile Hereteks and even monstrous daemon-possessed Titans would make for some very interesting battles, in my opinion

Sounds an awful lot like SIVA from Destiny - imagine if that had played a part in the death of the Blood Dragons Chapter.

I think whatever we go with should be related with the Blood Dragons. So much potential there.

Perhaps even radical changes to the map as a result - some cities might be wiped clean or some regions actually destroyed by an inbound Space Hulk - possibly containing more threats and stuff.


How about this as an idea:

An old Blood Dragons Battle Barge, carrying the last survivors of the Chapter who had fled, but had been infected by the tech-virus. They had made a deal with a Dark Mech faction long ago to stave off the Orks on their world, or the Chapter asked the Dark Mech to make the life on their world more fruitful for labour (making Crion a better Agri World) but also accelerated the development of Orks and various other large lizards to create the Dragons? Dark Mech were never paid back for their deal, and released the tech plague. Beset upon by the accelerated growth Orks, Necrons (hunting the AdMech? IDK), and the tech virus, most Blood Dragons and their allies (Titan Legions, Knight Hosts, auxilia, etc) flee the system with the rest staying behind to die, unaware they are hosting the virus. They are corrupted, the Dark Mech board the ship, and due to Warp shenanigans, they return now on Crion to reap their harvest, only to find it in the throes of a civil war and invasion.

Boom. NPC enemy, the AdMech can divert their attention to combating the tech virus (if you want, Buttery), enough variety for all sizes of conflict (Titans, Knights, guardsmen, Astartes), and some nice closure on the Blood Dragon history. The Space Hulk might crash down and wipe clear an unused continent, allowing for new reason to explore the hulk and find archeotech for boosts to rolls, but at risk of taint or allies turning against you, and a large event and unified enemy.

Of course, the Civil War campaign and general Chaos v Imperium plotlines need tying up, but they can actually resolve when everything merges into one warzone (a la Gallor Prime or Grimdi).

EDIT - I do see Irish's point of working with what we have though. Ewrhyt'eikl seems like the most suitable BBEG we have, IMHO.

I think the problem (like the Gargant) is that the collaborative events seem to end after everyone submits one or two rolls. I think they should stretch out longer, cause, I'll be honest, I have nothing to do atm, most likely the same as most of the other AFK writers. I'd say that instead of bringing down the Gargant in one post, from one person, it should've been a multi-post thing. I kinda encountered this problem with DnD, cause I'm the GM 24/7. If there's something that everyone can strive to attack, people have fun, and if that thing that is meant to be colossal and amazing, and totally not meant to die after being poked in the right area, DOES just that, people drop off and get bored. I don't think the Gargant should still be running NOW, but I think if we let it run for another twoish weeks, with all sides doing grueling hit and runs on each other, or something like that, it would be more enjoyable and easily pave away for the end-game.

So, this has turned into a rant for the Gargant instead of what it was meant to be. My bad lads, I'll refine it as best I can.

TL;DR stretch events out please

well for Dark Mechanicum stuff running around I know my two armies with their close ties to a Forge World would be center stage for some of that.

But I was under the impression the Gargant was literally created to give folks something to do in lieu of just punching each other. In terms of content, that's didn't come from the main GMs?
And again, while I really like the suggestions in this thread, I feel like we're having to do that to give purpose.

I do not think we should have to adhere in this story to "wrap up in x weeks", but asking people to invest infinite time effectively is also not fair.

My problem is that 2 of my 3 armies got caught up in longer running events that I couldn't really roll for or do much about (after the air roll for New Pavus I couldn't do anything), and I'm still trying to determine a direction for my armies

If we go with smudge's suggestion I have an idea on how to make it work.

 Sgt. Vanden wrote:
I thought you had a Lord Commissar? :?

Anyhoo, I got my Lord-General and Captain going. Don't forget them.

Whoops! I meant Lord Commissar. My bad!

As for the topic of storyline: A great big enemy would be a lot of fun, whatever form it takes. And I agree that it would be cool if it hit a continent. Or maybe even better, lots of different parts of the planet/moons. So then everyone has something to do, and it doesn't become a giant single event (maybe that for the grand grand finale). That way everyone doesn't have to wait for everyone else's rolls, we can just deal with the places near us. Wither that's 'Twerky's deamons popping up, the return of evil cyber-marines, dragons popping up everywhere, or whatever it is.

I again, like the idea, but I query why it's Smudge who had to suggest it... it is a credit to Smudge's creativity, but generally players do not create their own obstacles to that degree.
Again, creating that amount of stuff player-side feels like sandboxing. And considering a well structured story was killed, and people had to scramble to do so, it feels like sour sandboxing.

On a tangential note, and not in a CoF 2 esque, project-killing query... Would something that did have a fixed timeline be possible?
A couple of us were talking about how interesting it could be to write in a 12 month crusade that had things that change in actual time (say, 6 major "season" events).
But would fixed timescales (albeit lenient) feel too pressured?

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
I again, like the idea, but I query why it's Smudge who had to suggest it... it is a credit to Smudge's creativity, but generally players do not create their own obstacles to that degree.
Again, creating that amount of stuff player-side feels like sandboxing. And considering a well structured story was killed, and people had to scramble to do so, it feels like sour sandboxing.

I get where you're coming from, but I personally think that events like these are necessary for the overall quality of the stories told. Also, I think Smudge's suggestion is more the accumulation of what's been brewing in this Crusade since the start, rather than his own creative ambitions; the lack of any overarching plot or defined end goal has left a lot of people unable to find things to do. I mean, sure, one could claim that capturing Crion and its moons is the ultimate end goal, but given the amount of factions and forces present, that would take an extremely long time to accomplish (not to mention the fact that some players would have to get their factions 'eliminated' to achieve that).

Also, I'll admit that the big events of the first Crusade (Gallor Prime, Hybrid Invasion, Archarus' ascension) heralded in the story's end rather quickly, but we can make sure that that doesn't happen this time around. The Dark Mechanicum invasion could run for a significant time, building up to a crescendo in which it is repelled or destroyed, after which the survivors have to rebuild and reform to take up arms against one another again - beginning a new story arc that doesn't require the start of a new Crusade.