PT NAVIGATORS The Return of the Imperial Navigator by Warwick Kinrade BEING THE SCRIPTURES OF TIE ARCH-HERETIC HY'GALAS. SENTENCED TO DEATH BY PLAGELLAPION AT THE HANDS OF PRINCEP TNQUISTORUM 0.762. 1324. §33 prohibited. Tnquisitorial Records reference Beta 04.G84:01 “Por Inquisition Byes only.~ 1 all His loyal servants if would seem that the Emperor, the undying Master off Mankind, isthe absolute ruler of the Imperium. His Godslike Will, His divine light and His infinite armies guard and protect all Mankind against a bostile universe. ‘Those closer to Earth, closer to the ever sbifting centres of power know differently. ‘There is no single purpose that drives the Imperium, though tt would be the greatest heresy to 80 openly oppose the teachings of tbe Ecclesiarchy. The Emperor is an lunmoving carcass, a mind encased in a rotten shell, whose every thought is enslaved lo the surtival of the race. He no longer speaks to his people, He isan impotent cripple twho survives only by the constant sacrifice of bis loyal subjects. Now the High Lords (of Terra sit in His place, interpreting His will and govern the Imperium in His name. Even the mighty High Lords of Terra are not the absolute rulers of Mankind. They ‘assume the mantel of potwer, yet who can bope to bave control over so vast a galaxy, Gn Imperium of a million worlds, whrough the centuries of vested and conflicting interests and millennia of entrenched dogma. ‘There are powers at work within this Imperium besides Him on Earth. These powers wax and wane with circumstance, but they never vanish. In dark corridors and bdden chambers they continue to exert an almost invisible influence, secretive and pervastve, Just such an institution are the Navis Nobilitl, the ancient Navigator Houses. So long fs thetr beritage and so recluse 1s thelr nature that they bave become shrouded tn mystery. rerther pages wiped from Imperial records. it bas heen over twenty millennia since the strange breed of mutant bumans called the Navigators first guided the vessels of Mankind through tbe Warp. The early bistory of the Navigators bas been long forgotten by most. Many tbeortes about their nature have heen forwarded, perbaps the Emperor bimseif no longer remembers, but sealed ‘away in the deepest, darkest, most secure record-erypts of the Inquisition, hidden so bat none shall ever know the truth are ancient texts tbat tell of the Navigators beginnings, of the sinister seerets they bide, of power, wealth, greed and manipulation that is dangerously close to beresy against Mankind, Here follows just part of that previously unkenown tale. 26Navigators ‘THE BEGINNINGS Teas in the 20th lena, inthe Dark Ages of Technology as man was just beginning the perilous colonisation of the galaxy that one man, a man of infinite wisdom, who knew all too well the nature of the Warp and lis dangers, developed the NavigatorGene. It tool centuries of secret work, and a succession of fllures ia the most advanced genetic laboratories of Earth to finally perfect the process by which humans could be altered to allow them t0 "sce" the warp, If Mani! was to conquer the stars then the Warp was the key. Man's greatest enemy had, for once, become Dis greatest aly Colonisation of the stars had begun some 5 millennia eaeier, using. conventional subbight spacecraft. Progress was painfully siow; colonies were separated from Harth by generations and without guidance and protection, che colonies where vulnerable t allen domination or worse The discovery ofthe Warp drives accelerated the process of colonisation and allowed the distant systems to become par of a more unified whole. But warp drives alone where not enough allow ‘apd, long distance journeys across the galaxy. Ships were obliged to use short, dangerous and blind warp jumps risking the ship and her crew with each jump, The fickle tides of the warp tre impossible to navigate by conventional means and many of those early voyages ended in dlsster. WARPSPACE ‘The Sea of Souls is unlike any material ocean, it's tdes do not run with che eguacty of Bats seas. The Immaterium is alive, has ifs own consciousaes, i's own motivations, i contains the motions and thoughts of every seatient creature, and its home to thowe creatures that fed oll these emotions Its the realsaion ofthe darkest side of reality. Tis the place where the worst ‘of spirits and emotions find substance. A dreadful place fll of rorment and insanity for those of the material universe. For those who know how to truly se’ dhe warp, the fundamental questions of Mankind’s existence and the true nature ofthe universe can be answered, and those answers are not for the weak of will or fit of hear, ‘The Emperor knew fall well that the Warp drank he emotions of Mankind, is rage, is lust, ts corruption and ineonstancy that che Warp grew in power and in return sutured these emouons inthe hears of men. A great eyele had been ewablished. Mans weaknesses feed the Warp and the Powers ofthe Warp encourage man fo farther weakness, 2nd $0 on, ad infinitum, ntl Mankind's esrvcton, ‘This is why the Fmperoe set about breaking the yee, by eating a rice apart, one that could not bbe caught up in the Warp powers wap. A race which would be immune 40 the temptations of ‘Chaos, race that could master the seeds of corruption within themselves The Navigators were born, and by seting them free From Mankind's cosmic struggle the Emperor allowed them an insight nto the nature of Chaos that no mere human could ever ave. They could face the insanity ofthe Warp without fear, read is movements, hear is infinite echoes and see ifs endless perturbations, ripples and edales. All Navigators have an snstinetve fel forthe Warp, they know its fickle moods and, with the ad of the Astronomican, use their second sight to Rude Mankind's spaceships through its unpredictable tides. Although the Navigators have a incredible resistance 19 Chaos, thousands of years of repeated exposure tothe Warp have taken a tertile tll. THE EMERGENCE OF THE NAVIGATOR HOUSES The very first Navigators were so precious to the Emperor that he placed them all under bis protcetion, Fach Navigator lteraly belonged to the Emperor, they where untouchable lest the blender should incur a terible vengeance, and dhrough the ceatuses remained 0. Any dealings with the Navigators was srictly controled. By doing this the Beaperor, and later the High Lords of Terra, alo retained some power over the Navigators. Who knew what might become of the tans ifthe Emperor released them from his protection? ven then, as now, the Navigators where shunned by most people, with thelr strange three eyed appearance few would have dealings with them, many in postions of power were jealous of their Prvileged status. Superstition and fear surround the mutants, over zealous and misguided Imisionaries would have Navigators put to death forthe mutated appearance 27Navigators “The Navigators unique positon also gave them great influence over trading and mercantile asics, and ths has not changed for 20 millennia. Over this ume the Navigators have come vo control the Yast majoriy of the commerce across the Imperium. They have ruthlessly exploited their monopoly on long distance interstellar travel to make theie Largest fale incontestably wealthy. Supported by a complex nctwork of fealtcs, oats, tithes and contracts the great Navigitor Houses, such as Medi, Locarno, HalsViat, Sixtus and DavorJarni, have come to control the ‘movement of just about sny and all oods aeoss the Imperium. Nobody does business without the Navigators geting thelr share ofthe profits Navigator Houses are ruled by Novator, the inheritors ofthe family hokdngs. The most powerful iouses vie for the postion of Paternova, the overall ruler of the Navigator Houses, whose powerful influence extends even tothe High Lords of Tera. His every Navigatoc Houses ambition {io ane day cach the position of Paternova, and take over contol of the great Navigator Palace on Earth. The current ruling Patemova is Patcnoval Navis Nobile Francisco Medic Lith. Lesser Navigator families owe fealty to larger houses, who in turn have their own alliances. These Alliances form trading cartels, which compete for kiratve contracts with other wading cares. The Merchant Flees of the Imperium must constanly deal wih these poweefl cartels fr the services fof the Navigators, It sa strained relationship, but one which the Imperium constantly strives to keep the upper hand in. Open conflict is rare, but not unknown, Move covert methods arc often employed: an Assassin's lethal touch to remove a troublesome Novator o¢ his envoys, to be replaced by 4 more amenable family member, i often the only ‘ecoue.So high ae the financial rewards and influence to be gained that assassination attempts are common transaction amongst rival Navigator Houses. ‘Open warfare, in controled fasion, Is aot unknown between the feuding houses. ll control ‘ast wealth and large prokessional mercenary forces are pak! huge amounts to serve the Navigator Houses, Some ofthese mercenary contracts date back thousands of years, such a5 that between House Fied-Usll and the Imperial Governors of Draconis Prime. Every five years House Emed- Use pays the Governor fortune to recruit hall the planetary defence force into their private anny Similar contracts are not uncommon, especialy on Hive Worlds whose massive populations tte thee greatest resource, to be exploted for profit ‘The Navigators, paranoid of thee svals, are afraid to ever be seen a militarily weak, 10 do s0 is vo invite attack or the declaration of a Tradewat- They pay well for loyal service, and fling this they trade in slaves or penitent and train their own soldiry within theic huge private palaces. Slave trading isa lucrative business and so long as taxes and tithes aze pad, the Administatum turns & Din eve TRADEWAR [ATrade War isa limited form of warfare, formally declared berween sval trading fictions. Its permitted by the Administratim under the Navigator Conventions. The aim of the Convention is fo reduce the overall damage to shipping and mercantile interests a well as prevent rival factions from simply destroying one another The rules of 2 Tradewar prescribe formal declarations of intent and restrict permisible targets, The Great Navigator Houses see Tradewar more as an ‘extension ofthe customary means of competition between competing commercial interest, than fs open warfare. During a Tradewar forces directly under the contro ofthe warring factions are Allowed #0 raid each others shipping, attack important mercantile operations or destroy {equipment owned by the opponition. Employees and declared members of val houses become fair game for assassination attempts or direct attack. Violence cannot exiend beyond the direct Cpponition, so subsidiaries and lesser Houses allied to the waring factions are theoretically immune to the effects of a Tradewar, although they often get dragged into direct confi. In practice Tradewars ately last very long, They are expensive in terms of money and manpower, and the profits tobe gained from resting control of commercial contracts, a specie market or shipping routes docs not often justify the expenditure. They also tend to product biter enmites between ‘ral as the fighting is invariably ofa tawdey nature, leaving many scores unsetld. 28Navigators INQUISITORIAL PURGES AND POGROMS The Navigator Houses hold unique postion within the Imperium, they are not answerable to the authority of the Imperium but they do tend to toe the Imperial line because of the mutual benefits tach side receives. So powerful force within the Imperium are the Great Navigator Houses that ‘hey command a place within the High Lords of eera. The Paternoval Envoy fhe curtemt euler of the Navigator Houses’ representative 0 the High Lords of Tera, Heeause of this power the Imperium remains suspicion of Navigator motives. Prejudice sill lurks against their mutated appearance and some whisper that the Navigators have been tinted by Chaos, alli all the Navigators are tolerated only as 4 necessary evi ‘The Inquistors of the Ordo Xenos have been commanded to keep a very dose eye on the Navigator Houses, iis their sacred uy in the name of the Emperor t keep the Navigators in line: Whispers of dissent are ruthlesly crushed by Inguisitorial purges on collending houses, Goods and assets are seized, midnight raids on Navigator palaces are followed by arrests and a Dunging of those seen as tainted, their fate to. be burnt as heretics oF locked sway ln the Tnquistions torture chambers. The Ordo Xenos' relishes such work, and the Navigators have comme to fear their power, but to offer resistance would beng the Iron fist of Imperial Justice down vpon them, and the freedoms they enjoy withia the mercantile world would be lost. Those that fight back are mercilessly hunted down ‘The House DKark, once rulers of the entire Magdallan system, learne this lesson he hard wa. During an Ordo Xenos purge on Magdallan Prime a battle broke out between DKaik’s private mercenary forces and the soldiers of the Impertal Guard under the direct command tthe Inquisition. The Navigator palace at Magdallakeen resisted repeated assaults at the coxt of hundreds of imperial lives. Retabution was swift and brutal inte form of the Adeptus Astartes ‘wo companies ofthe White Scars chapter were deployed onto Magdallan Prime, and following 3 heavy orbital bombardment the White Sears’ ferocious battle brothers assaulted the wall and mercilessly butchered anybody they found inside the palace. Nobody survived the ack not even the Harem slave girls or the servants’ children. Those who fled were hunted down by White Sear pursuit squads. Only the old Novator D’kark himself survived. He was etieved by an Ordo Xenos oquistor, and after 5 years of imprisonment and torre his decapitated head wae delivered 0 the Navigator's Paternoval Palace on Barth, a warning wo all Navigator Houses, Magellan Prime was subsequently purged and its entre population deported to selected Death World, ‘Such brutal methods serve to illustrate the Imperium’ power, bu the Ingulstion does not resort, to the Iron Fist all the time, On worlds where t serves the Imperiums ends the Ordo Kens’ agent rovocateurs will use the fear and disike of the Navigators as 4 weapon of control. The} whip up popular discontent against Navigitors who operate on that wor to the point where mes, Sireced by Ordo Xenos agents, run rot through the sree, hunting ou the mutants, burning, thee properties and killing their servants. Vicious re fights break out asthe Navigator’ servants fight fr thet ves, Those that are caught are lynched or burnt bythe mob as the Adepcus Arles sand by and watch. The Inquisition son going war of repression agains the Navigators Is deed ‘necessary ithe Imperium is to keep the upper hand i the struggle for control ofthe space lanes, ‘THE CURSE OF THE MISBORN ‘As well a their obvious mutation, a single black eye in thee forehead, other lesser mutations are ‘ot uncommon amongst Navigators. Many of the Navigator houses have been subject to 4 vast amount of time in the Warp. Although exceptionally resistant to the powers ofthe Warp, though the generations the malign influence of Chaos has taken W's tll an the physical forms of the Navigators, Most of the families hide minor mutations, the problem is accentuated by the Inter marrying ofthe Great Houses, co secure politcal lances and gin additional prestige Down the millennia this reduced gene-pool has created more cosmetie mutations, obesity oF anorexia Dbulbous facial features, large ears and withered limb are all common anvongst the nobility Of the Navigators. More sinister mutations are hidden from view, the worst siflerers hide within the Privacy of their palaces and never see te light of da, thei hideous deformities hidden from the Imperium behind a mask of wealth and luxury Many Navigator children are killed at birth, their mutated bodies too grotesque even forthe Navigators to accep 29Navigators NAVIGATORS Navigator. Navigator Master 80 pts Novator a 125 pis, ‘There are thrce levels of Navigator to represent the age, taining and experience of individual [Navigators within single Household. Younger Navigators ae likely to be employed on Merchant Feet vessels, More experienced Navigators find positions on more prestigious vessels in the War Fleets onboard the Black Ars, The oldest Navigators, no longer able to expose themselves 10 the Warp sah, will reir 10 2 position within the family holdings to await their chance co become the Novator Most Navigators bear the Curse of the Misborn, so eoll once on the mutations table for each [Navigator atthe beplnning of the game. ‘Navigators are invariably widely travelled individuals, with access to vast resources of money. This scans that many have comve into contact sith exotic equipment and wargear, having had contact ‘wrth alien eces from distant sta systems. 45 pts. Navigator Ata eS) Pak AE SEAE ATS WORE DSA. WEAPONS) Apart from a knife all Navigators are unarmed and have no armour, but a ARMOUR Navigator may choose weapons feely fom the Navigator Weapons and Navigator Armour tables WARGEAR A Navigate ‘ards. A Nova ny take 1 Wargear cards. A Navigator Master may take 2 Wargear may take 3 wargear cards SPECIAL All Navigators have witnessed the horrors ofthe Warp many times, because ofthis they are immune 10 psyhology eased by Daemons of Chaos. “They have an increased resistance to Chaos, especially Daemons, so the Daemonic ‘ack cand has a reduced effect against Navigators. I still ulliies any psychic [power automatically but the Navigator cannot be dragged into the Warp. STRATEGY A Novator may lead his mercenaries in battle. They are rarely well versed in {Tatica Imperium 30 count as having a Stratexy Rating of 1, Novators often leave the command of thei forces in dhe hands of highly pald mercenary commanders. NAVIGATOR POWERS ‘THE THIRD EYE Every Navigator possesses the ability to see and even, ca leser extent, manipulate the Warp. ‘Thelt special sight gives them many stange powers, and these mserious abilities are the objet fof much superstition amongst the common people of the Impesium. Fee of these powers are fven below A Navigator has 1 of thee powers, 2 Nasgator master has 2, and a Novator 3 drawn ‘indomly froma fullset Soi there & more than one Navigator ina force then they may both have the sume power. This is an exception to the rules given in Dark Millennium. Otherwise these powers work exactly ike noemal psychic Powers NAVIGATOR ARMOUR TABLE Flak armour(6 $296) osu 2 ‘Mesh Armour(5 + save) 4 Refractor Field (5+ wnmodifiable save) ..10 30Stub Gun Auto Pistol... asma POL ‘Shuriken Pst. Lasgun Powered SCENARIOS ‘The following are a few suggestions for introducing Navigators into your Warhammer 40 000 fumes. You can also use the Navigators as Impertal Agents and allow any force which ean take such alles to use Navigators. PURGE ‘The Inguibtion has to believe that a Navigators Household is harbouring Chaos Worshippers and ’An inquisor of the Ordo Xenos has been dispatched along with a force ofimperia ‘ou this heresy ‘The Navigator, their servants and mercenary woops, (use Imperial Guards Squads, Necromunla tangs or even Chaos forces) mast ry to survive this onslaught very unwounded Navigator at the end of the batle gains your sean additonal 2 VPs. ‘The Inquisitor forces must kill a many heredes as they ean, and eaprure the Navigators for Interrogation. For each surviving Navigator within 4° of an Inquisitor model atthe end of the ‘game, the Inquisitor player gains +3 VPS, [A Navigator ftom an important and influential houschold has become stranded due to an alien attack oF loeal uprising. Imperial forces have been seat inthe get him and his entourage Out. 31Navigators Set-up the Navigator and any followers hidden in cover ia the centre of the board. Treat the Navigator as the objective of Take and Hold mission forthe rescuers. The excepdion being that Give the aliens, cultists, rebels or whatever the choice of elther the Engage and Destroy or Guessills War mission, and they automaticaly get the Forced March Stategy card TRADEWAR: SABOTAGE Tradewar scenarios pit two Navigator Households against each other, so both players may have Navigators on thei side Choone the Navigator fore fom any army lists. Maybe they are secret Chaos or Genestealer Cultats, have Imperial Backing or a treaty wih local Eldar pirates. Alternatively use Imperial Guard Squads asthe household mercenaries One Navigator Houschold is sabotaging their rivals installation, The attacker must destroy Valuable cargoes orth instllaion buildings themselves, Allow the attacking forces to target crates (C's Wi) and buildings (See Rulebook). For each destroyed they gain +1 VP The defender must kil the atacking Navigators and minimise the damage For each Navigator they kill the defenders gain +3 VPS, ‘TRADEWAR: ASSASSINATION The Tradewar most end, both Households are seeking to kill he val leaders and force a peace ‘on their own terms. Give both sdes the Assassins mission OTHER SCENARIOS As well as using Navigators as Agents ofthe Imperium you can also base your games around Nasigators. Their unique postion as part ofthe Imperium, but not ruled by the Imperium, gives youa lot of leeway for scenarios, Here are some examples: The Navigator and his ships crew could have become lost inthe warp and emerged in a distant alien system or within the Eye of Terror, You can fight interhousehold Tradewars, pit Navigators against Imperial forces 28 the Inquisition seek to Keep powerful Navigator “houses Tepressed, oF rioting mabs hunting Navigators through the streets ‘meri sansnaton atoms spi NAVIGATOR ign onc see wahooe caerema Oe as Sesininr oc crn et WASTE at‘nce you have selected your model all you need to do is give him a third eye, Dri a shallow hole ‘with a pin vice inthe centre of the models forehead, ake a ny piece of BlueTack and rol in into {ball then careful place the ball into the hole. Take your super glue and a pin, and using the Pinhead smear a minute amount of superglue over the BuicTack to give st hard surface. Its chat, Simple. You can do some more converting you lik, adding pistols, swords, force rods or other ‘wangear, but thats purely optional Power Range: 12" Power: 2 THE LIDLESS STARE WARP GAZE The Neier bins ay Warp ner” ‘Tho Navigator can staring doop ite Tombs apc Warp Eye Pics Be Tete rems minnesota hecvy fer emg eon mth toes 3) The evga ompones Woe Revere Anon unr ne tor th hat oft mato fonpuiene Deseo 0) be fe warp roving mine The Naval tnoley. Abed Ral cr fated rush ne of Sh ane ease ou Greta c ke wey os eh was tp” Bath eget het ako a iss too 28 oe IE crestor aa an Doss flooding’ their minds, Remove. the are allowed.) Anybody who fails takes mmol Sa casaly regener other a. Stengt hi casing 1D8 wounds ‘wound score. Tis power has no oct ie aay saa’ nk: ae TY against Daemons of Chaos. a Each vitim must pass a basic armour saving throw. (unmodiiable saves Power: 3 Range: 6” Power: 1 Range: 24” TEMPORAL INERTIA DISTORTION ‘The Navigator alters the tides of the Wiarp, making it feu for enemy ‘The Navigdjor can manipulate the pykere to craw their power from tho tides ofthe Jmmaterum to effect time, Inmatorium, This power can be only The Navigator may use this power on be played against a psyker. i they are ‘single squad. oF on an inva, fefected then all that pysker's powers including hime, and alow that squad wil cost an addtional force card to uso oF individual to take its enti tum whist the Inertia remaine upon them. ‘gain, exactly as if was Is. normal This power remains in play unt turn. The only exception Is that the ulti ‘squad oF individual does not get an adattional psychic phase. This power Cannot be used on vehicles oF weapons batteries.