The Maiden of Golgenna/Haxtes campaign ended a bit prematurely. Which is unfortunate, because it was a cool game and Haxtes was one of the cooler PCs ever to sneakily rampage across the Milky Way. Still, it was no mean feat to continue for as long as we did - the logistics of long-distance play are not insignificant! I don't really expect to return to the campaign either - we has so much other interesting stuff going on right now. So a short wrap-up is in order.

The idea was to run all of the published adventures, put together in a larger context, and woven together with some GM/player generated stuff. The major plot-line was the Haarlock Legacy: the mysterious machinations of the long dead/lost last scion of the Rogue Trader House of Haarlock.

The basic theme of the campaign was: Time.

Or more specifically, is time absolute, or can the past be undone. Or the future manipulated. That's Erasmus Haarlock's quest, to undo the past, so that his loved ones might live again. To this end no craft is too dark, no pact too vile.

In the end Erasmus come to believe only Komus, the Tyrant Star, has the power to undo the past. Which is why he seeks to bring it fully into existence. Unfortunately that would destroy Calixis and surrounding areas, but that's acceptable collateral for Haarlock.

The daemon Balphmoael isn't too keen on that - as a minor, local Chaos god he derives almost all his power from Calixian cults, and would be pretty much reduced to minor daemonhood and mindlessness should Calixis fall. Hence his immense dislike for all things Haarlockian.

Haarlock's touch can be felt from beyond the 'grave' throughout the game. He's a master at creating cults to do his bidding, and to manipulate future events (not through magic, but by making sure he has agents in place to shepherd events in the right direction).

At the very of the game players are given a choice: help Haarlock return from his self-imposed exile within the Tyrant Star or bar his return.

That might sound like an easy choice reading about it here, but the truth is there are advantages to both options!

At any rate I was planning to offer Haxtes 4 basic 'paths' to power:

Imperial Champion: Haxtes could have stayed on the straight and narrow (or at least kept his worst excesses secret), worked his way up the Inquisitorial ladder. He might not be classic Inquisitor material, but he had some very redeeming qualities: the ability to get the job done, the ability to accept collateral, and a complete disregard for his own safety - the mission always comes first. Whether or not he would stray into radicalism is an open question, but I see it as likely: I also think he could be one of those rare people who could actually pull it off, use dark forces to battle evil, without becoming consumed by them. Picking this path I see Haxtes rising far within the Inquisition - and securing himself considerable politic and economic clout, perhaps even becoming the power behind the throne in Calixis.

Lost and damned: Haxtes could also, of course, do the staple fall-to-chaos. He stated out already touched by darkness, and he was a pretty troubled guy. He could easily have become a champion of Chaos in his own right, with one of the Big 4 or a lesser power as his patron (Balphomael would be interested, as he opposes Haarlock's mad schemes). This path could have involved a more Black Crusade-esque campaign, possibly including working inside the Inquisition to bring it down, and ended with Haxtes ascension to daemonhood at the climax of the final encounter. A very worthy path, but somehow I was hoping he wouldn't follow this route too far, as it has already been done so many times in 40k literature.

An old soul: The Eldar seemed to think Haxtes was an Old Soul, an ancient being, born again into this world. A soul that had once been an Exarch consumed by Khaine, but which now, inexplicably, walks the galaxy in mortal (human) form. Exactly how that's possible even their oldest and least sane Farseers couldn't tell for sure. This path would have led Haxtes down the path of the Warlock, ending with his transformation into a living avatar of Khaine at the end (the entire Veiled hand mythology was meant to play into this). Picking this path would have meant considerable influence with the local Eldar and/or Dark Eldar - to the extent that he could just say: 'pass me another ELdar, this one is split' :-P

Scion of Haarlock: Haxtes is a Scion of the Haarlock line. All other things aside this makes sense as Haxtes was the main chanracter and only constant of the campaign. So a plot line that requires/strongly encourages a player to be a descendant of Haarlock would naturally focus on Haxtes. Other PCs/NPCs could also be scions - or just red herrings - but it's Hates who is the True Heir to the House of Haarlock. I had already dropped hints to this effect - but also thrown in a twist where one of the supporting PCs was a blood relation: the portrait of Haarlock in the House of Dust and Ash that changed to resemble Agent Parsifal. I was thinking that Haxtes psychic ways effectively shielded him, preventing the portrait from locking onto him. I though that a cool twist at the time, but alas it never progressed to the point where it could be revealed. Picking this path would lead Haxtes to become the next Haarlock - and immortal wanderer. Erasmus would step back into the past to begin the cycle anew, leaving Haxtes to seek his own destiny.

Something else entirely: I'm sure Haxtes, being Haxtes (and Haxtes being played by the great and cunning Mr. T), could very well have forged his own destiny, either entirely separate from the four 'predestined' paths or, more likely, combining features of one or more with unique elements!

Haxtes in Castor's time: Haxtes' world was epic enough, but still on a whole other level than Castor's. So in bringing in Haxtes as an antagonist for Black Crusade his 'epicness' has been ramped up to a suitable level. Conceptually he's completed one (or more) of the paths to power, and then gone on to evolve even further. I don't think of him as 'the Haxtes', because he was never my character. Instead I think of him as a 'what if' Haxtes.