Shadows of Commorragh - part 18 - the campaign structure

A Tale of the Dark City

"Come in, little one, sit down and listen to a story.

I will tell you a tale of cruelty and malice, a tale of venom and spite, a tale of Wyches and Dragons. I will tell you the tale of the revenge sought by Morghdrax Bleaksoul and his accomplices. I will tell you of Meriseth and Tagather, Izurad, Jaenis and Bahreneq, Ravneth and Baesheque.

You do not know these names now, but, oh! You will soon and you will not forget them, oh no. Their terrible deeds will chill you to the bone.

Who am I, you ask? My name is Lakbyrn the Parched. I will be your guide here in Low Commorragh. Tread carefully little one, for this is not a place for the unwary."

~ 🝁 ~

"Our tale begins with the leaders of two great houses: Daisan Verkosian, Drachon of the Dying Sun, and Lady Anielyn, Succubus of the Blade Denied. Some say that they were lovers, years ago, and that together they tried to seize control of the Kabal of the Dying Sun for themselves.

The stories tell of a night when three Dark Muses visited Daisan, after a successful real-space raid, and started him on his path to tragedy. For a long time after that night, the pair schemed and plotted, hidden away in the pocket-universe of their private oubliette; Oh! How Anielyn played on Daisan's arrogance and pride, driving him into greater ambition.

But when they were about to strike at the Kabal of the Dying Sun, they found Archon Vorl-Xoelanth was prepared for them - one of their trusted lieutenants had betrayed them. Their warbands were ambushed and slaughtered. The few warriors that escaped Vorl-Xoelanth's retaliation fled, scattered and took refuge among the lost and the wretched of Low Commorragh.

There, Daisan and Anielyn started to rebuild their power base, all the while trying to exact revenge on each other. They became ever more bitter and conniving in their attempts to bring each other down. The rivalry between the two was, by now, the stuff of legend in the bleakest corners of the Dark City, each controlling a vast network of wretches and exiles, Parched and mercenaries ready to do their bidding. And so began a bitter secret war between the two former allies.

Later, rumours spread that Lady Anielyn had secured an allegiance with the Haemonculi of the Hex and that they would provide her with a new, extremely powerful elixir of their own devising called Hurrikhaine, said to boost the wits, speed and strength of those tainted by it.

Daisan Verkosian was determined to prevent that, but he could not be seen openly challenging such an established Haemonculi Coven. Once again, he looked for proxies to strike a fatal, preemptive blow.

For her part, Lady Anielyn tasked her cronies to discreetly shadow the Haemonculi and their servants, lest they fell victim of an accident and the supply of elixir did not reach her."

~ 🜾 ~

The campaign structure will follow this tale of betrayal and revenge, with each player taking the role of one of the wretched Low Commorragh warbands that were used as pawns by Daisan and Anielyn in their shadow war.

• A Knife in the Dark
  Daisan Verkosian's proxies attempt to sabotage the facilities where the elixir is said to be stored. Lady Anielyn's cronies are waiting for them.
  [Possible scenarios: Disrupt Supply Lines, Vital Sabotage (from Elites), Recover Intelligence, Objective Ultima (from Elites)]
• Cornered
  The rumour about the facilities was just a smoke screen. No elixir was to be found there. Even worse, Daisan's proxies now have to cross Lady Anielyn's territory to get back to their master. [Possible scenarios: Ambush, Surrounded (from Elites), Terror Tactics, Crush Their Champions (from Elites)]
• Revenge
  The mercenaries start to take things personally. Defying their masters' orders, they mount a retaliatory strike. [Possible scenarios: Assassinate (with the loser of the previous game as the assassin), Sweep and Clear, Rampage (from Elites, with the loser of the previous game as the attacker)]
• Espionage
  Both Lady Anielyn and Daisan Verkosian rein in their mercenaries and order them to quietly gather information so that they can plan their next moves.[Possible scenarios: Recover Intelligence, but with civilians models as moving and fighting objectives, as if the gangs try to get hold of possible Hurrikhaine users]
• Make them talk!
  The information collected so far is not enough for either party to get the upper hand. There is no other option but to capture members of the rival gangs and interrogate them. [Possible scenario: Take Prisoners]
• The great escape
  Battered and maimed, the captured Aeldari still have some fight left in them. And as they break from their prisons, they'll dish out as much pain as they can. [Possible scenarios: Escape the Facility (with the loser of the previous game attempting to escape), Escalating Conflict (from Elites)]
• Epilogue
  The Hurrikhaine has been located! Carried in the body of one of the Hex's slaves, it is en route to Lady Anielyn hideout. But the drug-mule is going through the hunting grounds of rogue Medusae. [Possible scenarios: Shifting Priorities, with two false objectives replaced by the Medusae (which start fighting) and the real objective being Ozunhar (moving and fighting, of course!)]

If the unfolding events on the table-top and in the evolving story take an unexpected turn we might choose other missions to continue the tale.

~ 🜑 ~

Dramatis Personae

The Bleaksouls

A mismatched band of exiled and dispossessed Drukhari who follow Morghdrax Bleaksoul. They are a disparate bunch of outcasts who have all sorts of reasons to be bitter and resentful. They have come together under Morghdrax's leadership but they don't have a single focused target for their venom. They are united only by their quest for revenge upon those who have brought them low.

But, as every Commorrite, they are all plotting to move up the hierarchy of the Dark City. Returning to their former place in society or to climb out of the gutter.

Mael Dannan

Best described as Commorrite scum for hire, the Mael Dannan do not hold loyalty to a single Archon, Succubus or Haemonculus but act as mercenaries to whoever can provide them with enough souls to make the shedding of blood or taking of prisoners worth their while.
The group are based on multiple large battle skiffs that scours the districts of Low Commorragh looking for contracts, victims and recruits. Recently they have been sited around Port Carmine with the Mael Dannan taking payments from both the Slashed Eye Kabal and the Stolen Conscience in their never ending feud.

Recruiting large number of Scourges, Hellions and Ur-Ghuls into their ranks has earned the Mael Dannan a reputation as a group that will employ the basest recruits and tactics to fight the dirtiest of wars.

The Void Phoenixes

Yrule Vivithrax paused in front of the long sealed Webway portal. It was a minor one, leading from a disused spur of the Webway into the Sprawls of Low Commorragh. As a Drachon of the Obsidian Rose, he had used it often to smuggle the peerless weapons produced in his Kabal's workshops. Should Overmistress Khromys have found out about his dealings, retribution would have been terrible. But that was another life. The one he lived before being Reborn in Ynnead. And in the Whispering God's name, he was now returning to Commorragh. He turned to his brothers and sisters. Some, like him, were eager to see the Shadow City again. Others, had never set foot in it. All were ready to bring the hope of the Seventh Way to the wretches of Low Commorragh. And they knew that in the lawless Sprawls, they would have had to fight before anyone listened to them.