The Vaults of Kekes'stular
In the years following the Fall, much chaos and strife enveloped the worlds of the Eldar that survived the initial birth-scream of She Who Thirsts. Distant, far-flung colonies, these planets were quickly consumed by the clawing needs of Slaanesh and the tide of daemons that poured from the newly born Eye of Terror.
There were, however, those worlds that survived, thanks to the heroism of those Eldar who had not yet succumbed to the decadence of their brethren. One such world was Kekes'stular, the Gate That Is Barred.
Here, an Eldar mystic whose name is now lost struck a bargain to save his pristine world from devastation. He risked his soul by communing with a congress of Daemon Lords--wily lieutenants of Tzeentch, from whom all sorcery flows. He struck a pact to marshal the forces of the Changer of the Ways to defeat the legions of the Prince of Pleasure in exchange for dominion over the planet and nine-times-nine other such planets of the Eldar. The forces of Slaanesh were no match for the intricate plots and sorcerous power of the Tzeentchian forces, and were quickly defeated.
Before the debt could be paid, however, the mystic broke his bargain and imprisoned the great Daemons in a series of psychic vaults scattered across Kekes'stular. This Eldar, now known as The Oathbreaker, knew that his world was saved, but only temporarily, and so he tasked the great Craftworlds of the Eldar to remember and to guard this maiden world against all incursion, lest the Daemon Vaults be disturbed and the doom of Kekes'stular be released.
Aeons past, and the mighty craftworlds dwindled in number. Some forgot all about the Oathbreaker's pact, others fell to darkness, and still others belittled the threat. But others remembered, and watched.
10,000 Years Later:
Bigboss Grumfrag Panzee-kicker crunched an Eldar guardian underneath his spiked boot. The wiry warrior crumpled like a paper boat and spurted blood pretty far. Not really far enough to be impressive, though. Grumfrag surveyed the battlefield for any other possibilities. Maybe a fat one. Yeah, a fat one would spurt a mile. Especially if he got a running start.
"Boss! Boss!" One of his nobs ran up, his shoota over one shoulder and a bunch of Eldar face-lasers under one arm. Grumfrag considered knocking the nob down and taking the face lasers--them things were pretty sweet. He could maybe get a mek to bolt one to his jaw and then shoot face lasers at any git who looked at him sideways. Yeah, that would be dakka. He drew back his powerklaw and got ready to clobber the nob something good.
The nob ducked the swing and shot Grumfrag in the face with the shoota. "We found something really huge, boss!"
Grumfrag poked at the hole the gun had left in his jaw. "Oy! You dented me gob! Gimmie them face-lasers."
The nob looked at his collection. "What fur?"
"Payment! Or I just smacks ye and takes them, eh? How bout that?"
The nob thought it over and, while he was thinking it over, Grumfrag crushed him with his power klaw and took them anyway. "Now, let see this big thing."
It was a building of some kind, made all out of that weedy bone-stuff, but with no doors. The Eldar had fought like crazy to defend it but Grumfrag couldn't see why. It didn't have guns or spikes or skulls or nothing on it. The orks who had survived the battle were surrounding it now and shooting at it, but their bullets were just bouncing off. Were he boss of a bunch of weedy hummies, he might have had to tell them what to do next, but as they were Orks, a bunch of his lads were already building a giant cannon mounted on rockets pointed at the most likely side of the weird structure. One of his Meks, Noknorb, was supervising. "Oy! Whatcha got there, Nok?"
Noknob twiddled his thick fingers in excitement as his grots worked frantically behind him. "Boss, we got a big gun, see, but it also is gonna charge at the building on rokkits while it's shootin.' Dakka-dakka! Kump this panzee building good!"
Grumfrag nodded and looked for the giant red button that should fire the weapon. "Good." He knocked a few grot oilers out of the way and pushed it.
FOOOM!
The cannon fired, shooting about a half dozen grots alone with it. Then the whole cannon propelled itself in a kind of cartwheel motion towards the walls, crushing the remaining grots and smashing at least ten boyz on the way. The explosion was simply amazing. Grumfrag and Noknorb both watched in appreciation as a wall of the place collapsed. "That was a good'un." Noknorb said, wiping dust from his goggles.
Grumfrag was about to nod in agreement when he heard something. He cocked his head--it seemed to be coming from inside the weird building, which seemed to now be glowing with a weird, rainbow light.
It was laughter. Hysterical, maddening laughter.
Grumfrag smiled and pulled his slugga. "Looks like we've got more to krump yet, mates!"
The Overview
So, the Orks (played by my friend Mike, who is new) invade a maiden world with a heavy military presence (the Eldar--my long suffering opponent, Fraley) and release daemons on the world (Me) who start to claim the planet. The Daemons want to convert the world to a warp-filled hellscape, the Eldar want to trap the sundered vaults and save their maiden world, and the Orks just want to have a good fight (and busting open vaults seems like a great way to get one).
We would play it in 3-game arcs, just like in the other campaign I'm doing (The Scouring of Myrvaal V). We start small (500 points) and move steadily upwards.
Here's the first arc:
Craftworld Eldar: Scouting the Menace
The Eldar of Craftworld (name TBA) have discovered the Maiden World of Kekes'stular is under attack, but more must be learned! Seeking answers and vengeance, they arrive on the planet.
Location: Temperate Landmass, sparsely populated
Opponent: Chaos Daemons
Strategic Objective: Discover possible source of the invasion
Round 1: Arrival
Point Level: 500
Scenario: Vanguard Strike/Purge the Alien
Terrain: Idyllic Plains
The Eldar begin by clearing a region surrounding an uncorrupted webway portal. No daemon must be suffered to live.
Eldar Victory: The daemons are purged from the area. Round 2, Scenario A
Daemon Victory: The daemons are too numerous to be effectively destroyed. Round 2, Scenario B
Round 2: The Search
Point Level: 500
Scenario A: First Contact
Scenario B: Dawn of War/The Scouring
Terrain: Ancient Ruins
The Eldar search the ruins of ancient cities for secrets needed to unlock the nature of the threat.
Eldar Victory: The Eldar learn of a dark prophesy about to come to pass. They must warn the Craftworld! Round 3, Scenario A
Daemon Victory: The Eldar have no answers, but they know that this world is in danger. Round 3, Scenario B
Round 3: The Withdrawal
Point Level: 750
Scenario A: Feigned Retreat
Scenario B: All-Round Defense
Terrain: Ancient Ruins/Wilderness
The Eldar seek to return to the Webway to bring news of the terrible fate befalling Kekes'stular.
Eldar Total Victory (3 Wins): The Craftworld is warned of the pending Daemon invasion and knows how best to combat it.
Eldar Partial Victory (2 Wins): The Craftworld is warned, but the message is garbled or incomplete. More investigation is needed.
Daemon Partial Victory (2 Wins): The Eldar escape, but will not be able to warn the Craftworld before the next part of the plan.
Daemon Total Victory (3 Wins): The Eldar are destroyed, and the Craftworld has no warning of what is to come.
First battle has already been fought! Stay tuned for the report!