Imperial guardsman [QUEST][40K]

I read this thread a while ago and it gave me the idea for this quest. Now, I have some notes and plans for this, but please keep in mind that I have little experience with GMing and this is the first time I've GMed anything online and I have no idea as to what I'm doing.

We are using a system loosely based on GURPS 3rd ed because that’s what I’m most familiar with. The system has been heavily simplified to work better with the quest play by post system and I will be taking care of the number crunching, so don’t worry about that.

**************

Your name is [pick a name] and you are a resident of Korval III, an imperial world of lush forests, clear rivers and little civilization, less than a billion souls call it home. Still, this world must pay it’s tithe in material and men and you were chosen as part of the payment. Instead of [choose your previous desired profession], finding a wife and settling down, you were conscripted into the imperial guard, the Korval 253rd regiment.

Still, your society was kind enough to prepare you for the ordeal ahead of you, your basic imperial guard training was supplemented by the local experts and you were trained in [choose your extra training]. Even among your fellow recruits, you stand out with your [choose your bonus stat].

You ship out in two days and you were given free time to spend in whatever way you wish. It will be the last time you see your home.[write in]

**************

Pick anything you want, but here are some suggestions that may or may not be useful in the future:
Training: (pick 1)
[]stealth
[]accuracy
[]melee(knife and bayonet fighting)
[]heavy weapons
[]vehicle operation(includes chimeras)
[]traps
[]something else

Trait: (pick 1)
[]strong
[]brave(you pass most fright checks by default and get a bonus on the others)
[]strong minded(gets you a bonus on all mental checks, including fright checks)
[]fast(move/run speed, bonus dodge)
[]healthy(you are more resistant to poisons, diseases and are slightly more likely to survive injury. Overlaps with strong minded and dexterity in some areas)
[]dexterity(you are more likely to hit with weapons, thrown items etc. Stacking this enough times gets you other bonuses)
[]something else

Free time(pick 2):
[] Go out for a drink with your friends
[] relax in the wilds
[] keep training(what kind of training?)
[] talk and say goodbye to your family
[] something else

**************

Character sheet outline:
Weapons: Korell-pattern lasgun(has full auto, single shot and steady beam modes of fire), 10xpowerpack(160 units of power each), mono knife/bayonet, long-las(single shot only, fires slower than the lasgun), Mars pattern plasma pistol, 4 pistol sized plasma flasks(20 units of hydrogen), Hellgun, 2 frag grenades, 1 krak grenade, 2 flash grenades, 1 demolition pack.

The Korell-pattern lasgun can fire at full auto with 3 shots per second, each using two units of power, or you can use a single shot per second each about twice as powerful as full auto shots, using 5 units of power per shot. You can also set it to produce a single, steady beam, but this is not intense enough for most combat uses. It is instead used to slowly cut through metal or something else. Uses a power unit per second.
You can tone down the power setting if you want to.

The laser dissipates as it moves forward and you hit for about half power at five hundred meters. The maximum effective range is about a kilometer and a half. It won't breach armour at that distance, however.

The powerpack is more or less universal and you can adapt it to most devices. It also recharges on its own, 1 unit of power every 30 minutes. You can speed this up by putting it near or into a heat source, but recharging it at 1 unit per 5 minutes lowers the maximum charge.

The long-las fires a single laser bolt of greater intensity then your lasgun, has no recoil and a perfectly adjusted scope. Taking a few seconds to aim with it lets you reliably take out targets eight hundred meters away from you. You suspect you could do more, but that is the longest firing range you could improvise on the ship(from one corner of a cargo bay to the opposite one). The length of the barrel and the bulk of the rifle make it difficult to acquire targets rapidly, so using it as anything other than a sniper is rather impractical. Nothing stops you from trying anyway, of course. Your long-las weakens at about 900-1100 meters, depending on the atmospheric conditions.

The plasma pistol is the most destructive handheld weapon currently available to you, but it is imprecise at long range and the plasma bolt quickly loses effectiveness as it flies further away from you.
The standard setting uses two units of hydrogen and the highest uses three units of hydrogen. The weapon needs three seconds between shots to cool down if fired at max setting. Shooting any faster increases the risk of overheating, overload and explosion. Even using the standard setting risks overheating and making the weapon useless until repaired, but it is highly unlikely to explode.

Plasma flask – it contains the hydrogen used by the plasma pistol. It contains enough hydrogen for ten shots at the standard setting and refilling it requires specialized non-portable machinery. One of these can be found in the main armoury of the “Protector of the Second”.

Mars pattern Hellgun – It has single shot, 3-round burst and full auto modes of fire. All modes of fire deal equal damage. The hellgun drains 5 units of power per shot. It has a maximum effective range of 1.3 kilometers and it hits at half power at 400 meters (600 in vacuum)

Armour: Finely crafted suit of carapace armour – protects your entire body, but it’s weaker on the joints and neck. The set includes a helmet with built in optics that improve your low-light vision. The optics inside your helmet are compatible with your targeter and rebreather

Mars pattern voidsuit – it protects your entire body, it contains a gas mask and a rebreather with an internal air supply. Well, it’s not actually air, it’s a complex mixture of different gasses slightly more efficient than just air, but it’s close enough. It also features thrusters whose main use is to let you move around in areas of low gravity, but you can also use it to give yourself a boost and move quickly or jump.
The suit is very heavy, but there is also a major issue with the design – it is bulky. This combined with its weight makes anyone wearing the suit tire out quickly.

Equipment: maintenance kit, water canteen, 6xration bars(edible just about forever, will keep you going for a day each), uplifting primer, clothing, auspex, rebreather, targeter, camo cloak, 5 com-beads.

The auspex is capable of tracking targets seventy meters ahead of it.

The rebreather covers your entire face and it is compatible with your helmet, but it restricts your peripheral vision.

The targeter will help you fire all ranged weapons. It is more effective if you give it a few seconds to find a proper targeting solution, ideal for sniping.

The camo cloak blends in with your surrounding very well and masks you heat signature. This will make you more difficult to spot and you can hide from auspex sensors by standing still and wrapping yourself with the cloak.
It also makes an excellent blanket with its ability to retain heat, but masking yourself from auspex in warm areas gets uncomfortable very quickly.

Com-beads are small and light devices that transmit audio to eachother. A set of com-beads needs to be attuned to each other and when that is done, every sound made close to one of the beads in the set is reproduced by every other bead it is attuned to. The com-beads have a range of about 1.5 kilometers in optimal conditions.

Other possesions: Mechanicus robes, 90 cigars, 4 bottles of expensive wine, 2 bottles of aged brandy, damaged autopistol.

Abilities:
Guardsman basic training – includes shooting, melee fighting, following orders, basic stealth techniques, technical training(basic), setting traps and other techniques. You also know the basics of operating a vehicle, but you have no experience actually driving one.
Supplemental training: you can wear carapace armour without tiring out too quickly and you have some experience firing a plasma pistol.

Oratory training – you have a good idea as to what you should say and how to say it to inspire people.

Tech adept basic training – you know how to use and perform routine maintenance on most standard STC devices.

Accuracy – you spent more time than necessary practicing your aim and it shows. You are more likely to hit and picking specific parts of a target you want to shoot is now a viable tactic.

Voidsuit training – you spent two weeks practicing movement in the suit, and this lets you significantly reduce the fatigue penalty inherent in the suit.

Strong mind

Sanity modifier +3

Fatigue modifier +1

Awareness – you are more likely to notice details or hiding foes

Eidetic memory 2 – You can perfectly recall everything you sense and think. This also makes it much easier to study mental skills.

Machine empathy (weak) - Through your connection with the machine spirit in your implants, you can feel other machine spirits. Due to the low level of this ability, you can only feel particularly strong machine spirits, particularly familiar spirits or ones in a very intense emotional state.

Important people and their positions on the ship:
Atmus – head techpriest
Aestate Vim – Primaris psyker
Spectatre Figuram – Head priest
Acinus Terram – lord-captain of the “Protector of the Second”
Tactus Arboritus – General of the Imperial Guard, commands the regiments aboard the “Protector of the Second”

[X] Accuracy
[X] Strong minded
[X] Talk and say goodbye to your family
[X] Relax in the Wilds

Enjoy our homeworld while we can. It's almost certain we'll never see it or our family ever again. Reminder yourself that you're fighting so war never comes to places like this.

[x]accuracy
[x]dexterity
[x] talk and say goodbye to your family
[x] Go out for a drink with your friends

[x] Accuracy
[x] Strong minded
[x] Go out for a drink with you friends
[x] Relax in the wilds

Can I get a name, a desired profession and a tie braker on the free time actions, please?

With pleasure,

[x] Accuracy
[x] Strong minded
[x] Go out for a drink with you friends
[x] Relax in the wilds

and I suggest Farmer for the lulz. no good on names other then us just being known as MC

Well how about Alexander as a name and Hunter.

Alexander work for me, consider what planet we for hunter sound good. As for free time actions...maybe playing cards or better yet fishing.

You walk to ‘Tarkus’, a tavern and your favourite meeting place, knowing that you will find your friends there. You walk in and, sure enough, you find them. Mika, your neighbour notices you first and immediately greets you “Alexander, there you are. We thought you wouldn’t show up for a moment there!”
“As if I would miss one final night with you all.” You reply.
They pull up a chair and you take your seat, taking one last look at them. There is Mika, of course with his ever cheerful disposition, Gand, Hadria and Vex, all of whom you hunted with often and Valentine, one of the few in the village to worship the machine god instead of the emperor. You even considered going for more than friendship with Hadria, but it it’s pointless now.

The day passes quickly with card games, drink and song and you get ready to leave.
“You are leaving already? I thought you had one more day.”
“Yes, I have more time, but I still wanted to spend some time out by myself.”
“Not going to visit the folks back home?” “No.”, you respond. “I said my goodbyes to them a while ago, I just want to relax outside for a while before I go.”
“It’s been nice knowing you, oh great defender of the imperium. Here’s one last toast to your survival!” Hadria rises a glass and the rest of you quickly follow suit.

You finish saying your goodbyes and walk to your favourite waterfall where you set camp and go to sleep. The next day, you swim in the lake, fish in the river and walk in the forest, going through old memories of hunting with your father, with your friends and, sometimes, by yourself. It’s a beautiful day.

+1SAN

The morning comes quickly. You pack up your possessions and board the shuttle with the other guardsmen. There are thirty of them in the metal box, their faces solemn.
[]spend the trip in silence
[]start a conversation(about what)
[]write in

Character sheet outline:
Weapons: Korell-pattern lasgun(has full auto, single shot and steady beam modes of fire), 2xpowerpack(160 units of power each), combat knife/bayonet.

The Korell-pattern lasgun can fire at full auto with 3 shots per second, each using two units of power, or you can use a single shot per second each about twice as powerful as full auto shots, using 5 units of power per shot. You can also set it to produce a single, steady beam, but this is not intense enough for most combat uses. It is instead used to slowly cut through metal or something else. Uses a power unit per second.
You can tone down the power setting if you want to.

The powerpack is more or less universal and you can adapt it to most devices. It also recharges on it's own, 1 unit of power every 30 minutes. You can speed this up by putting it near or into a heat source, but recharging it at 1 unit per 5 minutes lowers the maximum charge.

Armor: Korell-pattern flak suit+helmet+combat gloves+combat boots – protects your entire body, but it’s weaker on the joints, neck, hands and feet(the metal cap in the boots means your toes are safe, but the rest is leather).

Equipment: maintenance kit, water canteen, 6xration bars(edible just about forever, will keep you going for a day each), uplifting primer, clothing.

Abilities:
guardsman basic training – includes shooting, melee fighting, following orders, basic stealth techniques, technical training(basic), setting traps and other techniques. You also know the basics of operating a vehicle, but you have no experience actually driving one.

accuracy – you spent more time than necessary practicing your aim and it shows. You are more likely to hit and picking specific parts of a target you want to shoot is now a viable tactic.

Strong mind

If you can think of anything else you want to add to this list, let me know and I will consider it.

[X] Sleep.
Theirs nothing we will miss more then this when the bullets start flying, so savor it!

[x]start a conversation, try to learn something about you fellow guardsman's. Introduce yourself and ask for names etc. ts good to known a people you alongside you will be fighting

Oh. I just realized that I never told you where you were going. You are in a shuttle headed for a spaceship in orbit. Considering how long warp travel can take, you won't get to a battlefield for quite a while now.
Or you can end up on a battlefield yesterday, you never know for sure with warp dickery.

Note: I have found nothing about the layout of imperial ships, this is all guesswork I extrapolated from pictures.

*******************

You briefly consider sleeping it off, but the ride will probably take a half an hour or less and the overcrowded shuttle is not very comfortable. Besides, getting to know your future comrades in arms is probably a good way to spend your time.
“So, how did you all end up joining?” You ask, trying to break the heavy mood.
“I got picked up from the PDF.” Responds the one furthest away from you. “So, it’s not much of a change for you, is it?” a tall, heavily muscled man speaks.
“Yeah, can say that. I’m Don Honneley, by the way.”
You take the chance and speak “I’m Alexander Adahn, I was a hunter.” You introduce yourself and the big guy follows suit. “Jonareth Gatsby, I worked in a quarry.” The others quickly follow suit and you find it difficult to remember everyone at first. There are farmers, a lumberjack or two, all common professions requiring little education.
It makes sense, you think. The governor wouldn’t send people he invested time and money in to the guard.

The trip takes less than half an hour and you quickly exit. You are now on the main hangar of the Lunar-class cruiser “Protector of the Second”. A short, black haired man with a round, rather pig like face leads you towards your quarters in the starboard barracks and explains the outline of the ship.

“The main chapel is on deck three, in the back of the ship, but there are six others, four of them attached to the barracks. The engine and power core are in the back of the ship, the barracks and galley are on decks five and seven, one set of barracks on each side of the ship, there are medicae on decks four and seven and the command bridge is on the very top of the ship. The cargo holds are scattered throughout the ship and the shuttle bays are on the sides. The ship itself is seven kilometres long.”
He stops and turns to you all “Decks below ten are unsafe. Nobody is stopping you from going down there, but nobody will mourn you if you get killed or get maimed by disobeying my warning.”

[]anything to say or ask?(insert question/comment here)
[]just keep going

[X]Keep going, but remember about levels 10 and lower being dangerous, we might find loot, because the more dangerous the hunt, the better the Meal.

Note: I would appreciate some feedback. Is the interest low because of my terrible writing, or did I just pick a bad time? Or something else?

**********************

Dangerous, huh? You know an opportunity when you hear one.

You pass through the wide metal corridors as the man speaks, taking note of everything as you move. You even see some techpriests with all those metal bits sticking out of them. It takes you some half an hour to reach your quarters.

It is a modest place with two bunk beds, four trunks big enough for your equipment and a bathroom for the four of you.
“We use a twenty four hour system here, lights go out at 22 and come back at 7. Your have training duty tomorrow, your sergeant will be here at 8 to give you your orders. ”
That still leaves you with a day of free time. How do you intend to spend it?

[] explore the ship
[] get to know the people you are living with(anything in particular you want to talk about?)
[] write in

Bad time

666 servant Grail war as God emperor of mankind, Took the spot light man.

[x] attempt to get laid or get to know the ladies.

We likely to die soon, we might as well get laid.

Huh? I am trying and failing to igure out what you are talking about.

EDIT: nvm, I found it.

[x] explore the ship

Get a feel for it. Plus you've never been off-planet before. And it's a freaking spaceship!

[x] explore the ship

Indeed, this is a wonder of the Emperor!

[x] explore the ship, especially the decks below ten.

Note: the benefit of having a small number of voters is that I can write for all three options you voted for.

**********************

As you walk through the tight side corridors, the phrase “The ship is seven kilometres long” is starting to sink in. It took you thirty minutes to reach your quarters and the shuttle bay was on the same side and deck as the barracks. This chunk of metal is probably as big as some cities back home! You place what few personal possessions you have in the trunk and move out to get a better feel for the ship.

There are many corridors, some barely a meter wide and some big enough to fit a battle tank through, but the one thing they all have in common is that they are rather confusing and you soon find it difficult to keep track of your location.

You decide that it would be prudent to ask for a tour of the ship or at least some directions from a young woman wearing the red robes of the Mechanicus. The hint of curves beneath those robes had nothing to do with your decision. Really.

“Hey, can you help me? I just got to the ship today and I’m trying to get used to the place.”
“So, you actually want to learn about the machine that your life will depend upon for the rest of this trip? That’s a new one, most of you guardsmen are too busy trying to find new ways to get alcohol rations to think about the ship.”
“Yes, that’s me, always the responsible one. So, how about a tour?”
She looks at you, shrugs and speaks “I don’t see why not. The machine spirit has been appeased and I don't have much to do until we make the warp transition.”

The next few hours pass quickly as she shows you the ship, how to use the elevators and some shortcuts. The ship has some magnificent sights, from massive cavernous rooms to the miniature computers, automated doors, huge mobile machinery and the glowing plasma reactor.
There are also outright disturbing sights like the bands of slaves moving
cargo under the whips of their overseers and the brain-dead servitors staring at you with their empty eyes.

You notice that her tour does not include deck ten. Or any way to get there. “What about the lower decks? I haven’t seen any elevator that goes below level nine.”
“You shouldn’t go there. The ship is over a thousand years old and the lower decks are mostly cargo holds that nobody used for a long time, so it became a popular place for runaway slaves, criminals and mutants to run away to. Combine that with the lack of maintenance and you get a very dangerous place to live.”
“What if there is something valuable down there? Think it would be worth a look? “ you ask.
“There probably is. Oh, I know that look, you’re thinking of going down there. ”
“Yes, I am and it would be a lot safer with someone who knows how all of it works down there. Want to come along?”
“You mean, just the two of us? I’m a junior adept and you’re barely a recruit. No, but if you can find others, I would consider it. And at least one of them must have real combat experience to make this worth the risk.”

Eventually, she shows you back to your quarters and you are ready to part.
“Thank you for the tour. You know, I just realized that I still haven’t asked your name.”
“My name is Vita. And you are...” She looks at the nameplates recently inserted into the slot on your door “Alexander, right?”
“Yes, that’s me. Good night, I hope to see you around sometime later.”
She leaves and you go to sleep soon afterwards.

You wake up at seven, clean up, eat in the galley and put on your equipment. The sergeant comes soon afterwards. He is clearly not from your planet, as he stands out with darker skin then the people of your homeworld. His armor has numerous scrathes and patches.
“I’m sergeant Cad, you will be receiving your orders from me from now on.”

He leads you to the nearest chapel and you spend the next hour in prayer. At nine o’clock, you proceed to cargo hold 2, your training ground.
In the middle of a firing exercise, you hear the loudspeakers activate and a mechanical voice speaks:
“Prepare for warp transition in thirty minutes.”
Thirty minutes later, you hold onto a sturdy ladder and the ship flows in front of you for a few seconds before stabilising. You still feel... strange, like everything around you is flowing in and out of focus, but get used to it quickly.

“That’s normal.”, Cad speaks. "Everyone reacts to the warp differently, but you will get used to it." He wastes no time, points you to the powerpack box and training continues.

[at least 3 weeks transit time what do you want to do during it]
[]do nothing, just train and keep your head down
[]socialize with your fellow guardsmen
[]try to get people to explore the lower decks with you.
[]write in

You can mix and match choices, btw.

[X]socialize with your fellow guardsmen
[X]try to get people to explore the lower decks with you.

Sounds like the best choices, training will improve our skills and its obligatory, socializing has the benefit of making bonds, probably increasing our survival chances and explore has the risk of death and of reward.

[X]socialize with your fellow guardsmen
[X]try to get people to explore the lower decks with you

Let's put together an adventuring party! We have a ranger and a thief (she can probably disarm traps, anyway...). We need a psyker and an alcoholic midget to round things out.

[]socialize with your fellow guardsmen
[]try to get people to explore the lower decks with you.
[]go and keep talking to Vita, learn more from her.

EDIT:also, does vita look like this?

http://www.desura.com/members/soljazakafu/images/female-adeptus-mechanicus