Minor Worlds of the Vastrid subsector

Hemera is a wet, temperate world with innumerable shallow swampy seas.Existing off the beaten track it was never properly colonised by the Imperium but was eventually settled by the Caligulan Manufacturing Cartel in 745M39. It has a population of roughly half a million working on production of spaceship parts and other metallic bulk items.

Though nominally part of the Imperium the officials of the Administratum have not ventured onto the planet since it was settled, the tithes being handled by the Caligulan cartel themselves. The planet will generally do business with anyone who offers a fair price.

Eris is a small world of tall mountains and pine forests with limited natural resources. Its proximity to the Perseus Deeps puts it outside the sphere of Imperial control, but the settlers of the planet are humans, ruled over by a hereditary monarchy. There are about two million inhabitants, mostly poor farmers, though the capital Erisburg does have a spaceport and trade is brisk in local food produce. Eris is notable as a satellite of a gas giant rather than a planet in its own right.

Minos is a heavily forested world with just under five million inhabitants. It has little or no valuable resources and the planets inhabitants live off he land in nomadic tribes. They are friendly to off-worlders, human or alien and have already been approached by the Tau. The Imperium is aware of this but until recently took little interest in the affairs of nomadic tribesmen. Now the planet's strategic location as a base has forced them to think again.

Aethor is a warm and wet planet who's mountains have been warn down by the process of erosion leaving broad plains rich in heavy metals. There are several mining operations across the planet operate by several mining companies. Most of these are registered in the Imperium though not all are. A few are known to be openly dealing with the UFP, Chaos renegades, pirates and Tau...

Ares is a cold dry barren rock. There is no water or Oxygen and the planet's 50,000 inhabitants are reliant on food and provisions brought in from elsewhere. The system is a research station for anyone who wants to test something out. It specialises in high technology but lies outside the Adeptus Mechanicus control, a fact which irks them deeply. Rogue traders are known to favour the station for testing alien artefacts or recently discovered human technology from the distant past.

Fastblade's Mission

With the Melberg Campaign coming to a close the overall commander of Tau forces in the sector was in agreement with the Ethereals. The next expansion target would be the Zadoc subsector. With the acquisition of Melberg the Tau now had two routes into the subsector, one from Melberg and a second from Cernunnos, the main Tau base in the Aleph sector expansion sphere.

The Vastrid subsector was of little importance, however Sunstrike was unwilling to let the Imperium concentrate their forces in the Zadoc subsector alone. With the defeat of the Imperium in the Aleph subsector itself, the Tau now had a strong ally with direct links to the Vastrid sector, and their new Acquisitions in the Perseus Deeps also provided a workable springboard for a move into that area.

Commander Fastblade, who's cadres had seen only limited action in the Deeps was tasked with this mission, to colonise the Vastrid subsector. The water caste also sent along delegations to begin negotiations with any potential allies in the area, including those governments of neutral planets. Although a small outlay of initial resource, Commander Fastblade was confident that success in the Vastrid subsector would lead to more forces being sent his way.

Fastblade immediately set up his forward base in the Manir system, closest to the Vastrid subsector, while keeping his reserve on better protected Parataea. A third force was kept on Parius, Hubward of the main Tau forces in the sector. From Manir Fastblade set out on 2804.008M42 bound for the subsistence world of Minos, where he hoped resistance would be light and the welcome warm.

Vastrid Background

The Vastrid subsector had been at peace, in general, for a millennium. However peace on the eatern rim of the galaxy is far from quiet. Several Ork invasions had been launched from the Ork kingdoms of Keprok and Magark but most were defeated by instant responses from the Imperial fleet from the ever vigilant forts of Thrace and Ate. However the Ork warlords were forever eyeing the valuable Imperial planets and any major attack usually starts at Farport.

Rimward of the subsector lay the Aleph subsector, now occupied by the rebel UFP. Additionally Vastrid itself lies perilously close to the Perseus Deeps and the Chaos worlds within. Persephone’s status had been unknown for hundreds of years but it was assumed the world, once a populous Imperial planet, now lay under the sway of the Chaos gods.

The Imperial government had never been too keen on defeating the Orks in a bloody war of invasion, nor had it entertained the idea of a purge of the Deeps, for there were other dangers within that murky realm, Necrons, Eldar and strange alien races.

At the beginning of 008M42 the political climate within the subsector began to worsen markedly. The Dark Angels’ behaviour in the Aleph subsector, in unswervingly considering the UFP as heretical drew much quiet criticism from a number of Imperial factors, who blamed them and their sympathisers for losing the subsector. Other more fanatical agents, especially non-radical Inquisitors, considered the actions of the Adeptus Astartes to be beyond reproach, although some of the same still questioned the Dark Angels and their loyalty.

The Imperial forces in the subsector were locked in a bitter cold war, though open warfare between the factions was looked upon harshly by the sector governor and the higher ranking Inquisitors. Still, already skirmishes had taken place following the notorious Aethor incident when a low ranking radical Inqusitor and his retinue were massacred by the Dark Angels after it transpired they had been spending some time negotiating with the UFP and the Tau. By 04.008M42 the radical factions of the Inquisition were martialling their forces and contactin their allies, ready for any showdown to come.

The Adeptus Mechanicus had a particular interest in the Vastrid subsector, as they suspected that in the distant past human settlers carried with them a complete STC. This they believe was lost to the Imperium following a great crusade against an alien race which turned out to be advanced humans lost to the Imperium for millennia. It is a mistake the cult were deeply bitter about, particularly with respect to the Inquisition. Up till then though, they were pleased by the actions of the Inquisition and Dark Angels, since they considered the weaponry and technology of the UFP to be heretical.
The Tau had little interest in the Vastrid sector, but never-the-less they were beginning to send expeditions from their new colonies in the Perseus Deeps in an attempt to spread their influence by diplomacy and trade. This was bound to end in conflict with the Imperium sooner or later. Probably sooner.

The Eldar had their own agendas, some wished to sow further enmity between the other races. Others were actively and openly aiding the Tau expansion while a further group wished to maintain the Imperium against the threat of Chaos. The Chaos powers themselves had forever envied the rich Imperial worlds and many predict a new crusade is just around the corner.

At this time however no single power was strong enough to attack the others in an all out war. Instead 008M42 saw a gradual but steady increase in encounters over smaller, neutral worlds near the fringes of Imperial space. Each power striving to put themselves in as strong a position as possible for any “next phase”.

Vastrid Minor Worlds

Vastrid Campaign Rules

Vastrid Campaign System
The Vastrid Campaign system is predominantly narrative. It’s up to players to organise games and explain the motives of their forces. However there is a very simplistic system to measure the pace of the campaign and it works as follows:

There are five planets in the campaign the control of which is vitally important in tipping the strategic balance of the subsector. Each planet has a number of “points” which represents the relative importance of each planet. They are as follows:

Hemera: 7
Eris: 9
Minos: 5
Aethor: 9
Ares: 7

Every time a game is played (any game greater than 999 points a side, gothic or 40K) the winner gains 1 point for a win, 2 points for a massacre. They may use these points to gain influence anywhere – on any of the planets. Neutral points must be taken before you can start to take a point from someone else.

You can take ANY point no matter who you play. This is influence, intimidation etc and you’re forces’ actions determine how much force you are wielding. However, once one faction/race has ALL the points on a planet, that planet is “locked” and becomes totally under that faction’s control (invaded, coerced etc). You can only take points off these worlds by playing the controlling player – and actually invading the planet.

Once a faction has more than 50% of the planets totally under control, the campaign is nominally “won”, but the campaign will continue, perhaps with an invasion of a major world...
These are the basic rules to get started, new plot devices etc will be introduced later.

Factions
There are a lot of Imperial players at present. To mitigate this the Imperial side has been split into two factions, Imperial moderate and Imperial Zealot. The latter force is hellbent on unyielding policy towards aliens, heretics and traitors while the former is more circumspect and will ally/make peace with forces such as the Eldar and Tau in times of need. The two factions want to avoid open war but will happily fight each other over neutral worlds. However each time the two factions fight, open war comes a step closer.

The Zealot faction is also ridden with paranoia, suspicion and division, not least between the Dark Angels and the Inquisition who are in an uneasy alliance with the Dark Angels who they are deeply suspicious of. The factions are:

Imperial Zealots: Dark Angels, Adeptus Mechanicus, Inquisition forces (Matt, Mick, Nick)
Imperial Moderates: Sons Of Sparta, Other Imperial Guard (Mark, Chris)
Orks: Orks! (Rich T)
Eldar: Eldar (James)
Chaos: All chaos forces, Children of Steel (Colin)
Other: As and when they turn up...

The Vastrid Subsector

Lord Cicerus arrives in the subsector

In the early part of M41, numerous requests for military assistance were detected from planets in the Vastrid subsector. The exact nature of the threat was unclear, but it was apparent that the Imperium risked severe tactical losses and an army was raised and ordered to the region, under the command of General Fillion. Astropathic replies were sent advising the inhabitants of the Vastrid subsector that help was on the way.

No acknowledgement of this message was received, and neither was any notification of the arrival of Fillion's army. This sparked the interest of the Ordo Hereticus, who considered the possibility that Fillion had fallen from the Emperor's path, and seized power in the region for himself. Inquisitor Lord Cicerus was dispatched to the region to investigate, and established a base of operations on the mining world Hogan's Fall. He quickly realised that in traveling to the subsector he had lost several centuries in the warp, and that during this time Fillion's troops had never arrived.

One week after Cicerus' arrival, several Imperial Navy ships were detected leaving the warp near Hogan's Fall. It quickly became apparent that these carried General Fillion and his troops, dispatched hundreds of years earlier but lost in the warp themselves until now.

Cicerus immediately commandeered these troops and added Fillion to his retinue. A more permanent base was established on Hogan's Fall, and further troops conscripted from the local mining population. Cicerus was determined to reclaim the worlds lost for centuries now that help had finally arrived, and so began the Ciceran Crusade.

Current forces in the Crusade include:
Inquistor Lord Cicerus's personal retinue
The Praetorian 24th Rifles
The Praetorian 25th Mechanised Infantry
The Praetorian 14th Dragoon Guards
The Cadian 1112th Armoured Regiment