Planetary Overview
- Designation: Vordrast (original pre-Imperial name unknown)
- Classification: Death World (Imperial), though habitable
- Type: Small rocky world with low gravity, stable tectonics
- Climate: Temperate to dry-arid regions; scattered micro-oceans
- Ecosystem: Fully xenos-derived biosphere; no Terran species remain
- Orbit: Outer-edge planet in a largely uncharted system
- Warp Presence: Mildly unstable but passable routes; not charted on most Imperial maps
Origin
- Millennia ago, a pre-Imperial exploratory vessel (possibly from the Age of Strife or early Crusade) crash-landed on Vordrast.
- Records lost, and the crew—a small group of survivors—experienced a genetic bottleneck which caused mutations. Over generations, those became stable, and humanity evolved into something almost familiar, but biologically distinct.
- The survivors regressed into barbarism, but eventually rebuilt into a secular, democratic society using scavenged relics and rediscovered technologies.
Genetic Mutation: The Vordrasti
- Stable mutations have taken hold in the population:
- Mild bestial traits: horns, fur patches, golden irises, digitigrade legs
- Enhanced olfaction, night vision, altered vocal cords
- Psychological variance: communal empathy networks, instinctive trust-bonding
- They are not classified as any known Imperial abhuman strain.
- As such, they would be considered mutants and subject to immediate execution under Imperial law.
Vordrasti Society
- Organized as a low-tech secular republic, culturally evolved over ~80 generations.
- Use ballistic and kinetic weaponry, steam-power, rudimentary electronics.
- Science and archaeology are respected: some scholars study the crash-site, others theorize about “the stars.”
- Faith exists only in symbolic form—myths about the “Sky Fathers” and “Forge Saints” echo distorted fragments of Imperial history.
Adventure Hook 1: “The Voice of the Sky”
Premise:
The players are natives of Vordrast, possibly scholars, scouts, or inventors, who stumble upon a way to contact the stars—perhaps by repairing a fragment of the crashed ship or activating an ancient beacon.
Gameplay Themes:
- Exploration of ancient ruins (from the original crash)
- Discovery of tech far beyond their comprehension
- Legends, stories, and whispers of a godlike people among the stars
Narrative Twist:
Players begin the adventure unaware of their mutations—they are described indirectly:
- “Your strong legs carry you swiftly.”
- “The scent hits you before the others notice.”
- “Your claw-like nails scratch the surface slightly.”
These traits are normalized in-world.
Climax:
The players successfully make contact with an Imperial vessel, perhaps a passing Rogue Trader or Imperial navy patrol.
- They are initially hailed as “lost brethren”… until the Imperial envoys arrive and see the Vordrasti in person.
- In horror, the crew simply executes the team on sight and invokes Exterminatus-level cleansing protocols on the planet.
Adventure Hook 2: “The Lost Resource”
Premise:
The players are crew or officers aboard a desperate Imperial vessel, damaged and undermanned in a dead warp sector. When scanning for resources, they detect human beacon on an uncharted world—Vordrast.
As the star vessel approaches the planet complex negotiations about resources, crew replenishment and acknowledgement of the Imperium are initiated through vox-messages.
Initial Themes:
- Resource negotiation
- Cross-cultural diplomacy
- Voyage lenght pressure (supplies/crew issues)
End-Game:
The Vordrasti send envoys—eager, intelligent diplomats who speak a strange but decipherable Gothic dialect.
The moment they step aboard and remove their void-helmets, they are recognized as mutants.
One crew member screams. Another draws a laspistol. The mob acts. The execution is swift—and irreversible.
Climax:
Players must:
- Survive as angry “brethen” turn their archeotech weapons against their vessel
- Possibly purge the entire planet depending on their moral or tactical choices
The tragedy lies in this: the Vordrasti were human once. They never stopped being people.
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 