Endeavours

Group Endeavours are those that require the input of the full group. If a member of the party does not want to participate in a Group Endeavour then it cannot succeed unless the GM rules otherwise.

Campaign of Whispers

Though powerful figures in their own right, a patron’s stature and reputation can always be improved. The Characters can attempt to spread word of their patron’s prowess to a particular Faction. The Characters must have access to influential members of this Faction to do so — whether or not they do is up to the GM.

To succeed each member of the party must contribute to a Hard (−20) Extended Persuasion Test requiring a total of 8 SL, with one Test allowed per Endeavour. If the characters succeed, their Patron gains 1 Influence with the chosen faction. Patrons rarely show gratitude for such puffery — it is merely what is to be expected from loyal servants.

The party may also do the opposite and attempt to ruin the reputation of their Patron. Perhaps they have come to suspect their Patron of heresy, or the Characters themselves have turned their backs on the Emperor! This works as described above, but if the Characters succeed their Patron loses 1 Influence instead. Each time the Characters attempt this, roll a d10. If the result is less than or equal to the number of attempts they have ever made to blacken their Patron’s name, their betrayal is discovered. The consequences of this are up to the GM, but should be ruinous.

Combat Training

The party may train as a group, learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses and preparing for any battles to come. During the next adventure, they may put this training to use by starting any one combat encounter with +1 Superiority.

Bolster Defences

If the party has a primary base of operations, such as a voidship, bunker, a hidden den or other bolthole, they may make efforts to reinforce it. This might involve placing hidden traps, obscuring the location of their base, improving its armaments, or otherwise making it easier to defend. The Characters gain +1 Superiority should their base ever be raided (or, in the case of a voidship, boarded). This endeavour may be taken multiple times, providing a maximum of +3 Superiority. Events during a mission may degrade these defences — the GM should inform the Characters if this has occurred when they visit their base of operations.

Individual Endeavours are those a single Character attempts during a period of downtime. Other Characters may be able to help, as they would for normal skill tests, but if they do so they must give up one of their own chances to undertake an Endeavour.

Banking/Speculation

The Imperium is a dangerous place. Walking around with a wealth of askels, fancy attire, and equipment is asking for desperate infractionists, downtrodden workers, or the tithe-driven Administratum to take their share and then some. Rather than carrying around a large sum of solars, you may instead choose to invest it.

The finances of every world of the Imperium operate differently. As long as the planetary tithe is fulfilled, the economic details of how it was managed are of no concern to the Imperium. Thus, on many worlds opportunities for speculation exist in various legitimate (and illegitimate) business concerns. If you wish to invest some of your hard earned askels in such a venture, choose a number between 1 and 20. The higher the number, the riskier the investment, but also the greater the potential returns. For now, there is no need to do anything else.

During the next Between Missions period, the GM should roll 1d100. If the result was greater than the chosen number, the venture was a success and the amount invested increases by a number of percent equal to the chosen number. If you wish to withdraw any or all of these askels, you must take a further Commerce Endeavour.

If the result of the 1d100 roll is less than or equal to the chosen number, the entire investment is lost — xenos raiders, Administratum audit, or simple fraud draining the fund of its value.

Commission

Little in the Imperium is new, for much knowledge and technology has been lost over the millennia. The rarer and more complex the item, the more likely it is to be an ancient relic, carefully guarded and passed down through generations of users. As a result, only the richest and most privileged individuals can commission the creation of new equipment. Even this will be based on ancient plans, some older than the Imperium itself.

Commissioning a piece of gear first requires locating a capable Tech-priest, and it may require your Patron’s intervention to secure their services. If you already know of one, the GM may rule that you can skip this stage. Otherwise you must locate one using the Seek Expert Advice Endeavour before choosing to Commission anything.

Once you have found and secured their services, you must pay the Tech-priest the full cost of the equipment before they begin. This may be paid in askels, which
represents expenditure on required materials and expertise, but just as often the Tech-priest may demand some favour or assistance of the characters. You can also request that they add additional Item Qualities applying the relevant cost alterations. Common and Scarce equipment is normally ready in time for your next mission, but Rare and Exotic equipment can take weeks, months, or even years to create depending on its cost and complexity — meaning that at the GMs discretion, you may need to complete several Missions before the piece is ready.

Consolidate Influence

Along with blood, toil, and faith in the Emperor, the Imperium runs on Influence. As your character works to advance their Patron’s goals, they will gain a reputation, make enemies, and perhaps even a few allies. Once you have gathered at least +1 Influence with three different Contacts of the same Faction, you can use your sway with them to attempt to better your reputation with their Faction. You should declare which Faction you are trying to improve your Influence with, then make a Challenging (+0) Rapport Test. If you succeed, increase your Influence with that Faction by +1, and reduce your Influence with each Contact of your three chosen contracts by -1. They will benefit from the increased Faction Influence, so they still effectively enjoy the +1 — it has simply spread to everyone else in that Faction thanks to their positive account of you.

Failure has no effect, though a Fumble reduces your Influence with one of your contacts by -1, as you have simply asked too much of them. At the GM’s discretion, increasing Influence in this way may involve the promises of future favours. Under normal circumstances it is not possible to increase your personal Influence with a Faction beyond +3. If it would be possible for you to do so, that Faction may attempt to recruit your Character, or you may consider retiring your Character to leverage their new-found influence and become a Patron in their own right. You should discuss this with your GM.

Crafting

Often if you have the skills, tools, and time, the best way to ensure you have the right equipment for the job is to craft it yourself. In most cases, only a Tech-priest may even attempt this endeavour. Usually the cost of the raw materials needed to craft a piece of equipment equal to one quarter of its listed price, and must be purchased before crafting begins, with their Availability determined by the GM based on the Availability of the equipment to be created.

To craft the equipment, make an Extended Tech (Engineering) Test, with the Difficulty determined by the equipment’s Availability.

Difficulty Table

SL required

The number of SL required to complete your equipment is determined by the GM, usually using the listed price of the equipment as a guide. Each Crafting Endeavour allows you to make one roll towards your Extended Test — marking the number of successes you have achieved so far on your character sheet. Unfinished work can be stored in a safe place between Downtime Endeavours, or stored on your person if feasible.

When the work is complete, make one final Tech (Engineering) Test. On a success, the item functions as expected. On a failure, it works, but has one Flaw of the GM’s choice. On a critical success, it has one additional Quality of the character’s choice.

Devout Worship

Adherence to the Imperial Cult is expected of all citizens, with regular prayer and sermons mandatory on most worlds, but some clergy undertake even more pious exhibitions of worship. They may undertake pilgrimages, conduct elaborate ceremonies, or engage any other number of allegedly pious activities.

If you undertake a period of worship during your downtime, make a Challenging (+0) Lore (Theology) Test. If you are successful, your Unknown total increases by 1 until the end of your next mission.

Exhaustive Drilling

You spend your downtime familiarising yourself with a chosen weapon, disassembling and reassembling it, drilling with it, and otherwise becoming so acquainted with every bolt, scratch, and dent that it feels like an extension of yourself.

Select one weapon you own and mark that you have drilled with it. During your next mission, while using this weapon, you ignore any Fumbles you suffer.

Medicae in Extremis

There are many devastating injuries that you can suffer while undertaking your duties, a number of which may linger until a trained medicae can see to them. If you are suffering from an Injury you can seek Extended Treatment to recover from it. If
you are well acquainted with a skilled chiurgeon or a rejuvenat specialist then this Endeavour can be taken immediately. If not you must undertake the Seek Expert Advice Endeavour to first locate a skilled medicae.

During Extended Treatment, a medicae can make three separate Tests to apply Treatment to one or more Injuries you are suffering. One or more of these tests can instead be used to install or apply an augmetic replacement, with the cost of the limb added to the cost of treatment.

Garner Reputation

Sometimes all it takes is time, favours, and a well placed bribe to secure friends in high places — at least  for a time. You spend the week courting members of a specific faction in an attempt to ingratiate yourself with them and secure benefits for you and your allies.

Choose a faction you have previously encountered and make a Challenging (+0) Rapport (Charm) Test. If you succeed, you gain +1 Influence with that faction until the end of your next mission. If the result of this Test is a Fumble, you should record this. Future attempts to court the same faction are Difficult (-10), and receiving a second Fumble results in -1 Influence instead.

Income

If you find that your patron’s stipend isn’t satisfactory you may want to use your downtime to generate some income. Select a Skill or Specialisation that you have Advancements in and discuss with your GM how you plan to use that skill to generate funds. You could use Weapons Skill to partake in underground fighting matches, Piloting to operate a loader at a nearby dock, or even Stealth to simply steal funds. Once you and your GM agree on how you plan to make money, you roll a Challenging (+0) Test using the chosen Skill or Specialisation. For each SL, you gain 100 Askels by using your skill during your downtime period, or 150 Askels if you were able to make use of a Specialisation.

Scout Surroundings

You spend your time getting to know your immediate area, walking through the slums, talking to the residents, dodging infractionists, and otherwise becoming closer to the strange or mundane locality you find yourself in. Choose an area no larger than a city, void station, or hive district to be the target of your exploration and mark on your sheet that you have scouted it. During your next mission, you gain Advantage on Intelligence (Lore) and (Navigation) Tests to answer questions about or navigate through this location.

Seek an Expert

Whenever you’re looking for a skilled chirurgeon, a talented Tech-priest, or an Astra Militarum quartermaster familiar with every word of the Imperial Munitorum Manual, you are looking for an expert in their field.

Finding a suitable expert who is willing to share their expertise is the hard part. Most experts are NPCs with 1-3 Skills or Specialisations that the party lacks. The GM may also rule that no such experts are available in the local area. Otherwise, you must pass a Challenging (+0) Inquiry Test to track down an expert. The difficulty of this test is increased to Difficult (-10) if the expertise sought is Restricted and Hard (-20) if it is considered heretical by Imperial standards.

If the test is successful, or you have already met a suitable expert during your travels, you find an expert willing to talk and spend your down time asking questions and researching their area of expertise — after which, getting them to shut up about their obsession is the true challenge.

During your next mission, you may gain +2 SL on a single Test relevant to the Skill or Specialisation the Expert claims.

Training Rites

Whether it’s sparring with a partner, practising your aim, or pouring over a dusty tome, nothing beats good practice when it comes to staying on top of your game. Select a Skill that you have at least one Advance in to be the focus of your practice and make a Challenging (+0) Test using it. If you succeed, mark on your character sheet next to the skill. Once during your next mission, you can choose to gain Advantage when you use this skill. If this Endeavour is taken multiple times, you can select the same or different skills to gain additional uses of Advantage during your next mission.