Designate-228-18

“Only ten of us are left. We delved too deep into this maze, or something is here with us, come from above---I know not which. The expedition, such as remains, will attempt the unexplored gamma region shafts by suspensor platform, aiming for a speculative secondary exit above the prime gate. From there, we may have more options---to stay where we are is to be carved away to nothing, one by one.”
–Vox record of Tyreus Klave, discovered in Archeocomplex IV.b
The Diversified House of the Lords Klave of Scintilla has long
invested in archeostudy across the Golgenna Reach; it is a
proven road to greater wealth and power. Gilded museums in the
spires of Hive Sibellus assure the Lords Klave a grand position
in noble society, whilst trade in unique rarities---even xenos
artefacts, some whisper---swells House coffers. In 735.M41 a
House Klave survey discovered huge gateway markers carved
into equatorial cliff-faces on Designate-228-18: a barren,
bone-dry moon of the Settlement 228 system, comprising a
low-gravity, cool desert waste of grey dust dunes, dark rocky
outcrops, a thin and unbreathable atmosphere, and great dust
storms that churn the dunes.
In 753.M41 Athus Klave uncovered and partially mapped
the labyrinth of Archeocomplex I. Tunnels, deep vertical shafts,
and strangely shaped vaults extended for leagues beneath the
dunes---but all were empty or collapsed, and the expedition
proved a costly failure. In following decades, Designate-228-18
was the subject of lesser academic archeoexpeditions and
modest House Klave patronage; further exploration made
inroads into Archeocomplexes II and III. In 782.M41, artefacts
and tech-remains of unknown patterns were uncovered in the
complex depths and returned to Scintilla. They were declared,
on the flimsiest basis, to be of pagan human origin, evidence
for the Scintillan Empire of Antiquity theory popular at the
time. Their exhibition brought much prestige for the House,
and rumors circled of psy-active materials not displayed, but
traded to greater Houses for princely sums.
On the strength of these relics, favored scion Tyreus Klave
led a well-equipped archeoexpedition to the largest complex yet
discovered---and vanished without a trace. A relief expedition
recovered only scattered equipment and ambiguous vox records.
They departed Designate-228-18 in fear and haste after some
of their number also disappeared.
==Ancient Origins and Present Activity==
Knowledgeable archeoexplorators of Scintilla believe, correctly,
that the ruins of Designate-228-18 are xenos in origin.
House Klave keeps this secret: the Lords Klave do not wish to
lose access to Designate-228-18 should the Administratum
be forced to declare it forbidden. House Klave members are
presently financing a new expedition to the archeocomplexes---the gene material of Tyreus Klave must be recovered. However,
the Holy Ordos is suspicious: whispers of xenos artefacts and
psy-active materials have grown loud enough to be heard in
the Tricorn.
The truth, were it known, is far worse. The vaults of
Designate-228-18 were constructed by the Yu’vath, a warp-worshipping
xenos breed whose empire of corrupted human
worlds bled the Angevinian Crusade for decades. Complexes
like those of the dust moon were used to create Hell Worlds---swirling centers of warp-tides, sustained by foundation-tunnels
of human sacrifice and machine-enhanced psyker agony.
==Archeocomplex IV.b==
Archeocomplex IV.b’s stonework is smooth and featureless.
Thousands of kilometers of tunnels, vertical shafts, and
hundreds of strangely shaped vaults form a vast, layered maze
of unknown extent. The hexagonal or arched passageways
vary in size; some are too small for a man, others are large
enough for vehicles.
Access to IV.b requires navigating a dust-choked Klave drilltunnel
and then descending 200 meters down a kilometer-deep
primary shaft. Auspex mapping has proven useless, and
vox communication within IV.b has a short effective range,
less than 300 meters outside shafts and long corridors, unless
vox-cables are strung through the maze.
Artifacts made of a black, yielding material lie scattered in
deeper reaches of the complex---they are of many sizes and
shapes, but none have obvious function or purpose. Much
deeper within IV.b are isolated human mummies, so old they
crumble at any disturbance. Some are fused with dark artifacts
in disturbing ways. Within the deepest vaults, kilometers
below the surface, lines of human mummies in wall-niches
wear psy-active Yu’vath crowns of the same dark material.
==Yu’vath Resonance==
The Resonance is Yu’vath machinery, much more warp-sorcery
than mechanism. It suffuses the rock of lower levels of IV.b,
dormant and invisible to commonplace Imperial technology. In
the depths, Resonance can work a slow, insidious effect upon
human minds: the Yu’vath corrupted by forcing actions that
fragile minds then justified as their own choices. Explorators
deep within IV.b begin to suffer hallucinations, false memories,
and waking dreams as their minds rationalize what is happening
to them.
Resonance is only active beneath 1 kilometer in depth. The
first time each day that an explorator is alone for an hour, the
Game Master makes a secret Ordinary (+10) Willpower
Test. Failure indicates that Yu’vath Resonance influences the
minds of those exploring the ruins:
Number of Failures:
1: Move to a new location, deeper in the
tunnels.
2: Locate and collect one of the black
artifacts.
3: Locate several more artifacts.
4: Vanish into the depths with his
artifacts to fuse with the Yu’vath
Resonance in an ecstatic death.
At each stage, the explorator hallucinates or constructs
false memories to explain his actions: orders from expedition
superiors; accompanying comrades; that he is following or
fleeing something. As the actions become more bizarre, so to do
the hallucinations. Talking to other members of an expedition
can break the Resonance’s immediate hold by showing the
explorator is in the grip of hallucination---but he still will not
know that his actions were forced upon him.
Whenever Resonance operates on an explorator, any psyker
within chamber IV.b may make a Very Hard (-30) Perception
Test, adding +10 per Psy Rating. If the test is successful, the
psyker feels as though saintly, wondrous presences move far
below and call to the faithful. Two or more degrees of success
reveal the saintly wonder as false, and behind it an ancient evil
suffusing the archeocomplex. A psyker subjected to Resonance
is affected in the same way as a non-psyker, but still makes
this Perception test. On success he feels presences---saintly or
evil---reaching from far below to touch him.
Other psychic powers have the following effects:
*Psychometry provides the same impressions of a saintly presence as the operation of the Yu’vath machines. With overbleed of 10 points or more, the evil behind the cloak is sensed.
*Soul Sight and Mind Scan show minds affected by Resonance to have been disturbed by a subtle, potent force.
==Crown of Wonders==
The crowns set upon ancient mummies are circlets of black,
flexible material, steeped with psy-power and ornamented
with curling projections on the outer surface. They are a
Radical’s prize---and curse, as they slowly twist a psyker’s
mind. Wonders of the Yu’vath bubble up within the mind:
wise, angelic beings that guide humanity to rightful adulation
of the Ruinous Powers and joyous depravity. The lies begin
as a whisper, then grow to a blasphemous torment. Soon, the
psyker cannot distinguish the visions from his own beliefs.
Wearing a Crown has the following effects:
*Lowers the Threshold of all Psychic Powers by 5.
*Limns the psyker in warp-light when using his powers.
*Gains 1d10 Insanity points each full 12 hours the Crown is worn. Resulting Mental Disorders are convictions of righteousness in the visions of the Crown.
A successful Willpower Test is required to remove the Crown after it has been worn for an hour. Failure means the psyker believes he has decided to continue wearing the Crown and may not try to remove it for another hour. The psyker gains 1 Insanity and 1 Corruption whenever the Crown is removed.