When our narrative campaign began nearly 21 months ago, there were only a handful of planets on our star charts. Yet, as often happens with a narrative campaign, the “story” goes in directions never imagined. Thus a number of additional worlds have made their mark on the great happenings of the Corvus Cluster.

What follows is a list of our original worlds—and our newly discovered worlds—so that there is a single record of what we know of the Corvus Cluster as of 3 210 736.M41:

Original Worlds

Bast’s World—I cannot remember now why this world is on the star chart. I can only assume I saw a 40K map somewhere that placed this planet/star in the same geographic area where I’ve placed the Corvus Cluster.

Brimlock—An established part of 40K lore, Brimlock is a “tribute world” that produces war material for the Imperium. It also is noted for its dragoon regiments and its manufacture of ornate firearms.

Dal’yth—Also part of official 40K lore, Dal’yth is a Sept world of the Tau. It was incorporated into the Tau Empire during the Second Expansion, and it’s going to get a good kick in the you-know-what during the Damacles Campaign that begins in 746.M41.

Eudoxis—Orbiting this star is the long-isolated world of Pyrsmos, which was doomed millennia ago when it entered a radioactive ion cloud that forced millions of Imperial citizens to flee (and killed hundreds of millions more who were abandoned to their fate).

Now free of the ion cloud, the world’s ruins are coveted for their abandoned technology. The world is now a verdant world of forests and overgrown cities—and apparently some animal life also has survived, most notably giant—and dangerous—insects. (Which will finally allow me to use the multitude of Starship Trooper bugs I purchased years ago.)

Helios—The major forge world in this region, Helios is a cypher. It’s location is unknown, stricken from all star charts. That is as it should be. It was on Helios that the Knights of Altair, along with several other chapters, were created as part of the 23rd Founding in the 37th Millennium. That suggests it is a secret repository of the critical gene seed of the Astartes.

Petronius—A desert world where a small band of Imperial Guard were betrayed by a Tech Priest. Their adventure, which involved a horde of giant insects, a nuclear bomb, and their ultimate betrayal by the Inquisition, is documented in Incident on Petronius IV.

Sculptor—The majority of fighting in the Corvus Cluster has been centered in this system of gas giants. The mining world of Hegira, which is a terraformed verison of Mars, has been invaded by orks, while nearby Dar Sai, a backward agricultural world, has been attacked by the Tau. Another world in the system, Belzagor, is an overpopulated and poverty-stricken manufactorum world that is seething with sedition and public unrest.

Shard of Damnation—The Shard of Damnation is a mysterious Space Hulk that has haunted the Corvus Cluster for millennia.

Vengence—This system appears on several 40K star charts near the Corvus Cluster. It seemed fitting to include it. For a long time, it was simply a name on the star charts. I later placed the planet Morkai in orbit around this star. (See below.)

New Worlds

Al’gel II, the most populated of the ork-infested worlds of the Al’gel System.

Al’gel II—An ork-infested stellar system, whose most important planet, Al’gel II, is Earth-like. The Tau made the decision to invade Al’gel II to disrupt a budding WAAAGH! that would threaten the Tau sept world of Dal’yth. (Tau prepare military action against Al’Gel System)

This world was was created for two reasons: One, the Gaffer and I are fighting a substantial campaign between Imperial Guard and orks on Hegira, but I was looking for a setting for the occasional Tau-ork clash—but without complicating the Hegira campaign with a new combatant.

Two, I was interested in a setting that allowed me to write some fictional history that, on occasion, would prove the setting for some tabletop battles. Most of the fighting in the Al’gel system will be in my imagination—I hope an epic struggle that ultimate could lead to an expanded war that impacts the overall story of the Corvus Cluster.

Belliose—The administrative center of the Corvus Cluster, Belliose is home base of the region’s Imperial Navy. It also is home of Johann Feracci and Captain Adeon Drake, two of the sector’s most colorful Rogue Traders.

Morkai—Our favorite Rogue Trader, Adeon Drake, visited Morkai, a dying desert planet in Ambush on Morkai. Seeking to acquire some valuable illicit xeno artifacts, Drake was ambushed by his arch rival, Count Johann Feracci.

The world—located in the Vengence System—has quickly become one of my favorites, as it has immense potential. Its desert ecosystem will allow me to use my many historical Middle East buildings, and as I wrote up a “history” for the planet, I uncovered all kinds of potential adventures involving mutants, Chaos cults, giant sand worms, and an Imperial-allied Knights army.

Stigmata—I’m not sure what possessed me to paint up yet another army, but when looking for a simple, story-driven convention game to host, the Necrons just popped into my mine. Captain Drake almost got himself killed on Stigmata in a recent convention game, titled “Pyramids of Stigmata: An Adeon Drake Adventure.” Whether we return to Stigmata in the future, you can be sure that the world will be the launching point for more nefarious Necron activity.

Indeed, I’m certain that the Corvus Cluster will rue the day when Drake and Abnightus visited Stigmata.

A New Map

A two-dimensional star chart is useful in giving visitors a sense of the geography of the Corvus Cluster. But it’s misleading. Two worlds can appear as neighbors on a two-dimensional chart but actually be dozens of light years apart along the galactic plane.

To help clarify matters, I’ve designed a three-dimensional star chart that offers—as best as I can—a more accurate positioning of the many worlds of the Corvus Cluster. To learn more about this chart, click here.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog that documents our adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.