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Angelman
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CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 14:56

Hey y'all,

I'm temporarily away from my DoW & CMCM books while doing some preping for CotG, and I find myself in need of some clarification/reminder. I seem to remember there are some minor story threads connecting these adventures, right? Do I remember correctly that the rogue marines in DoW have been injected with the same faulty Neomorph spore vaccine that the Cronus scientists developed from the Draconis strain of the black goo? Was it ever suggested how this happened? Does DoW assume anyone survived th CotG ('cause, depending on how one runs CotG, survival might be a very tall order!)?

Furthermore, IIRC (having only skimmed the campaign), the vaccine thing/Draconis strain is a big part of the background plot of FW, too, right? Again, what is the connection to the CotG story?

As you might have guessed, I intend to tie these scenarios closer together and play up any connective tissue for a grander meta-plot experience that I know my players will love.

Finally, a bonus prediction: The ship that black goo-bombs Fort Nabrasks in DoW is confirmed in the subtext to be an Engineer ship, right? (Although no PC/NPCs realize it?). If so, I bet The Heart of Darkness is going to revolve around an expedition back to Draconis/Lv-1113 to confront the "gods" that left the black goo & Neomorph stuff (in "ancient pre-human ruins") in the first place, right? Thoughts?
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged
 
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Grimmshade
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 17:12

I'm currently running DoW after running CotG, and your are definitely correct about the black goo Draconis vaccine being the same in both. I'm unsure how the Marines were given the same strain, except in CotG there is a chance for the ship to return to Earth. I was fortunate enough to have our play through of CotG end with a very Covenant type ending that leaves this possiblity wide open.
I hope you are right about HoD, and it's a trip to Draconis to confront the threat there.

Edit: also, I'm tying my home campaign to these cinematic scenarios, and my home campaign deals with the bird like species seen in the Prometheus art, so I'm definitely leaving the black goo bomb ship ambiguous for now.
 
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Angelman
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 18:29

I'm currently running DoW after running CotG, and your are definitely correct about the black goo Draconis vaccine being the same in both. I'm unsure how the Marines were given the same strain, except in CotG there is a chance for the ship to return to Earth. I was fortunate enough to have our play through of CotG end with a very Covenant type ending that leaves this possiblity wide open.
Phew! Good to know I'm not completely delusional (yet) ;)
I'm gonna keep this connection in mind when I'm running CotG and look out for natural ways of bridging the two adventures. In short, SOMEONE will probably survive, unless the players goes out of their way to ensure that everyone dies.... which is not unheard of, of course :P

I hope you are right about HoD, and it's a trip to Draconis to confront the threat there.

Edit: also, I'm tying my home campaign to these cinematic scenarios, and my home campaign deals with the bird like species seen in the Prometheus art, so I'm definitely leaving the black goo bomb ship ambiguous for now.
That's a cool idea. How do you conceptualize the space bird thingy? What does it do, in your campaign?
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged
 
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Grimmshade
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 18:49

I don't have all the specifics yet, but I see them as a race/species that the Engineers made a dark deal with, probably in exchange for black goo. I also see them as somehow the possible origin of the "egg" part of the Alien.
It's definitely something that I need to brainstorm more.
So far the PC's in that campaign have explored an ancient crashed bird alien ship and encountered something like the black goo or Queen Jelly inside.
 
DeusXLondon
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 19:24

HI All,

AM, you are right about a connection. CM pg 170 section on Project Life Force explicitly states that Blackguard troops from Fort Nebraska(DoW) boarded the Cronus before the Chariot folks on Montero arrived, and they retrieved samples of the Draconis vaccine. These were later shared with Gen. Vaughn, so it's in the CM FW arc too.

Page 177 box on the Draconis strain says "For more, see Chariot, DoW and upcoming Heart of Darkness" :) So it's definitely part of HoD!

DX
 
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Grimmshade
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 19:42

Nice find DeusX!
That's what I get for not having read the entire Fort Nebraska section yet. (Although I may change it for my game, since we had survivors and the Cronus heading to Earth.)
 
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Angelman
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Fri 01 Oct 2021, 19:57

HI All,

AM, you are right about a connection. CM pg 170 section on Project Life Force explicitly states that Blackguard troops from Fort Nebraska(DoW) boarded the Cronus before the Chariot folks on Montero arrived, and they retrieved samples of the Draconis vaccine. These were later shared with Gen. Vaughn, so it's in the CM FW arc too.

Page 177 box on the Draconis strain says "For more, see Chariot, DoW and upcoming Heart of Darkness" :) So it's definitely part of HoD!

DX
Thank you, @DeusXLondon! :mrgreen:

I love that they wrote in a rationale for the Draconis strain connection. I'll keep this official explanation as a back-up in case everyone on Cronus bites the bullet (or xeno), but if I can, I'll build a closer connection between any GotC survivors and later stories. If, say, Clayton escapes the Cronus with a jar-full of black goo and a captive Dr. Flynn, I'll definitely have them name-dropped or make a cameo appearance in DoW or FW in some capacity, and have them be the ultimate source of the Project Life Force sample. ...except, that might screw with the timing as Project LF probably got the goo a while a go? Hm...
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged
 
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_ArthurDallas_
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Sat 02 Oct 2021, 06:09

Grimmshade, I really like your idea of the bird species that made a doom deal with the engineers for the black goo. This is really cool.

is it the bird species in question, here : https://www.iamag.co/prometheus-concept ... rousel-540

that comes from here : https://www.iamag.co/prometheus-concept-art/

just giving you some ideas that are coming to me right now ... first you could call the bird species "The Draconis Species" ... they may have a link with The 26 Draconis system ... you may find a moon there with a old Draconis Temple (site) ... The Black Goo comes from the caves and it's a strange secretion from the species with something else (something old and deadly) ...

thanks.
 
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Grimmshade
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Sat 02 Oct 2021, 17:23

@ArthurDallas
This is the bird creature from the mural in Prometheus.
IMG_01241.jpeg
IMG_01241.jpeg (101.7 KiB) Viewed 1826 times
There is also an image of hands that resemble the hands of this bird alien holding an Alien egg, which is what have me the idea that they offered the eggs to the Engineers.

Also, they resemble a bit the "elephant" suit that the Engineers wear (and was in Alien, the Space Jockey). Maybe they are also the inspiration for the Engineers suit.

So... I'm thinking they gave the Engineers the black goo, possibly in eggs. Also... Maybe they betrayed or were betrayed by the Engineers and that's what we see with the Space Jockey ship at the start of Alien.
 
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_ArthurDallas_
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Re: CotG, DoW, & FW meta-plot (spoilers)

Sat 02 Oct 2021, 18:04

this is very good and cool. great thinking you made.

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