Black Crusade - Heretek.pdf - Black Crusade - chesschempion

Heretek

Mechanicus chose to embrace. Consequently, their research

often extends speciically towards areas that are forbidden

to loyalist Tech-Priests. These include sapient technological

artefacts, the physiology of the psyker, the ways of the

Immaterium, and the vast array of xenos technologies.

Because of the nature of their split, these fallen Tech-

Magos lack a central authority or consistent belief structure.

Because of this, their ideology is far more diverse than that

of their former brethren within the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Hereteks may shun the Omnissiah as a false god, worship

him as a part of the Ruinous Powers, or simply ignore their

former beliefs to focus on their research.

“The path of the Omnissiah has left humanity dithering in the

darkness, incapable of advancing on the paths of knowledge.

Embracing the warp reveals technology that the primitives on Mars

could never dream of wielding.”

– Magos Caine of the Five-Fold Path

L ong ago, during the darkest hours of the Horus Heresy,

the Legions of the Adeptus Astartes turned against each

other. However, they were not the only organisation

subjected to schism. The Mechanicum, the Tech-priests of Mars

and keepers of the secrets of technology, dissolved into war. The

renegades sided with the Warmaster Horus, unleashing dark

technologies and dabbling in warp heresy, before inally being

driven from Mars by the resurgent loyalists. Those renegades

led the Imperium into the far corners of the galaxy. There they

became the irst Hereteks, a dark mechanicus, corrupted Tech-

Priests enthralled to the warp

and heretical technologies.

As these technophiles

embraced their new

masters and the ways

of the warp, they

ignored all of the

strictures that

the Adeptus

P l a y i n g a B l a c k c r u s a d e H e r e t e k

The following are some of the ways a player can play and

portray a Heretek. Of course, these should be considered

guidelines and suggestions, not directives nor canon. If a

player comes up with their own backstory and character

personalities, they should feel free to explore them.

Even among the open-minded Explorators of the Adeptus

Mechanicus, there are subjects which must be avoided at all cost. A

Heretek enthusiastically violates those strictures, exploring xenos

technology, archeotech from the Age of Strife, and dabbling in

matters of the warp. He may even be bold enough to develop

entirely new devices, innovating and combining components in

forbidden manners. He might even go so far as to share the tools

of his trade and the secrets of its ways with those who have not

been trained by the Cult of the Machine God.

Now he actively seeks out new technology and continuously

experiments with new techniques in matters that his former

brethren forbid. He no longer believes that any information,

experiment, or device can be ignored. Rather, he deliberately

focuses on those technologies that the cult’s teachings once

taught him to avoid, with particular interest in fusing the

warp with technology. Few things are beyond the Heretek’s

scope of interest, though inevitably many of his inventions

and constructions tend towards the tools of war.

As he builds these weapons for his fellow devotees,

the Heretek has also invariably rebuilt his own body. It

may be that he has few organic components left and

those that remain are often marked by the blessings of

the Chaos gods. His enhancements not only improve

his technological acumen, they also invariably grant

him additional abilities in combat. He is likely to be much

hardier as well as much more capably armed.

Some think of those referred to as Hereteks to be a

uniied force, like the Adeptus Mechanicus itself. This is not

the case—there is no galaxy-spanning Heretek organization.

Rather, there are countless iefdoms and Forges, each ruled by

a fallen Magos (or several Magi) powerful enough to dominate

cadres of their fellows and enslave thralls and servants. Just as

amongst the warbands of the Traitor Legions, the corrupted

Tech-Priests ight and war amongst each other, or even exist

aloof and apart.

Hereteks often follow a path of constant innovation. He

may be capable of powering devices directly from the warp and

controlling them with summoned spirits. He might dabble with

concepts of mechanical sapience, memory transference, or even

attempt to capture and preserve souls within his devices. Many of

s t a r t i n g s k i l l s , t a l e n t s & g e a r

A Heretek must be Human.

Characteristic Bonus: Hereteks gain +5 Intelligence.

Starting Skills: Logic, Common Lore (Adeptus

Mechanicus, Tech), Tech Use, Dodge or Parry, Security or

Tech Use +10, Forbidden Lore (Archeotech) or Forbidden

Lore (Xenos) or Forbidden Lore (Warp), Scholastic Lore

(Astromancy) or Scholastic Lore (Chymistry)

Starting Trait: Mechanicus Implants (see page 144).

Star ting Talents : Die Hard, Technical Knock,

Weapon Training (Las, Primary, Shock), Weapon

Training (Bolt) or Weapon Training (Plasma) or Weapon

Training (Power), Mechadendrite Training (Weapon)

or Mechadendrite Training (Utility), Meditation or

Total Recall, Armour-Monger or Weapon-Tech, Lesser

Minion of Chaos (Must be servitor or servo-skull) or

Cold Hearted, Enemy (Adeptus Mechanicus)

Starting Gear: Best-Craftsmanship Lascarbine,

Common-Craftsmanship Power Axe or Good

Craftsmanship Great Weapon (Greataxe), Light

Carapace Armour, any two Good Craftsmanship

cybernetics, unholy unguents, combi-tool, dataslate,

Optical Mechadendrite or Utility Mechadendrite or

Ballistic Mechadendrite with Laspistol, Lumenin

Capacitors or Maglev Coils or Ferric Lure Implants

Wounds : 12+1d5

H e r e t e k s i n t H e V o r t e x

There are countless Hereteks or their equivalent

scattered across the galaxy. Those encountered in the

Screaming Vortex are most likely to hail from the

regions surrounding it. A B l a c k c r u s a d e Heretek’s

career may have begun on one of these worlds.

The Lathes: The Lathe Worlds are the principle Forge

Worlds in the Calixis Sector. Though they stringently

work to apply their dogmatic principles to all things

they do, there are those Tech-Priests who reject such

hidebound thinking and rebel. A Heretek who hailed

from the Lathes comes from a dogmatic background and

may well have succumbed to the lure of Chaos while

researching sequestered knowledge from the dark days of

the Horus Heresy and the schism in the Mechanicus, or

even forbidden research from the Dark Age of Technology.

These characters are likely to focus on accruing additional

artefacts and data necessary to expand upon the research

which led to their banishment.

The Explorator Fleets: The Adeptus Mechanicus

sends Explorator Fleets deep into the Koronus

Expanse, seeking lost knowledge. The Explorator

Magos are already predisposed to curiosity and easily

tempted into exploring secrets they should not. Warp-

tainted or xenos technology may hold an unhealthy

fascination to them and it is entirely possible for one to

discover something that sets him irmly on the path to

damnation. Hereteks who follow this path are likely to

be dominated by their curiosity.

The Forgotten Worlds: There are worlds within the

Koronus Expanse, such as the war-world of Zayth,

where humanity has been out of touch from the

Imperium for millennia, and the Tech-priest orders

have been corrupted by innovation and unrestricted

thought. Such experimentation may lead entire schools

of these technologists to the path of Chaos. Individuals

subjected to these beliefs might also beseech the

Ruinous Powers for protection when their heretical

ways are discovered by the Imperium and persecuted.

The Dark Forges: There are Forges that have long

fallen to Chaos, feudal bastions of dark engineering

and damned craftsmanship, such as Forges Castir and

Polix on the Hollows and the war-forges of Sammech in

the Hadex Anomaly. A Heretek from these forges may

have never trained under the stiling strictures of the

Adeptus Mechanicus and may have startling and radical

viewpoints on the nature of the Machine God and its

interaction with Chaos. They are likely to be the strangest

and most terrifying of their brethren, to the point of

barely being recognisable as human. Their research may

be completely esoteric or it might be so focused on the

paths of the Ruinous Powers that all who viewed it could

be overwhelmed by its malevolence.

s P e c i a l a B i l i t y : t r a i t o r t o M a r s

The Heretek was once a Tech-Priest of Mars (or has been

equipped by those who were). He still possesses the tools

of his former life. The Heretek gains the Mechanicus

Implants Trait (listed above), as well as two Good

Craftsmanship Cybernetics of his choice (also listed

above). In addition, he gains the Binary Chatter ability.

This ability increases the loyalty of all minions who are

servitors or other cybernetic constructions by 10.

these inventors mindlessly hew to the idea that new information

is always better than established techniques. For them, the joy

of a new idea or the recovery of an unknown technique is an

exhilarating triumph, even if that idea or technique has already

been made obsolete. With each new development, his passion for

further success grows as does his hunger for new information.

The Heretek is often driven by his hunger for knowledge

and is willing to use the Ruinous Powers as a source. At other

times, he seeks out legends of xenotech and archeotech. He may

even coordinate raids upon Imperial strongholds for the sole

purpose of recovering their records of such legends. In many

Hereteks’ minds, there is no greater cause than technological

advancement. Any sacriices may be made towards that end.

It is relatively rare for a Heretek to earn a title of daemon

prince. All too often, these characters end up transformed into

a component of one of their own creations, with too little

left of his own physical body to even receive such a reward.

However, those who are granted this boon continue to spread

their warp-tainted technology across the galaxy.

Black Crusade - Heretek.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: