Friday 17 December 2021

The Challenge XII Quadrant Map



Greetings, My Space-Fairing Challengers!


We interrupt our regular programming with this breaking news. Our Rogue-Trader, Sir Sidney Roundwood, has just returned from his perilous journey to the outer reaches of the mysterious Challenge XII Quadrant. After a lho-stick and and an amasec-laced eggnog, here is what he has to report: 


'The Challenges of the last two years have been very much earth-bound.  First, we had a long-lost tropical island to investigate, and then a dangerous dungeon under Snow-Lord’s Peak.  Nonetheless, for Challenge XII, we leave behind the dark halls of stone, rising up from the sandy shores of Challenge Island.  In fact, we leave behind Earth completely, and venture into the vastness of Spaaace... (ed. Sorry, I couldn't resist.)


Imagine for a moment, a sky of inky darkness.  But look more closely and, as your eyes adjust,  you can see planets and moons, a comet and satellites, and the tiny feathery whorls of dim nebulae.  


This year’s Challenge features the Challenge XII Quadrant, drawn from worlds in literature, gaming, roleplaying, cinema, horror and the imagination.  


From your observatory, relaxing in your orbiting star-yacht (another Rogue Trader perhaps), you can trace the arcs of meteors and plot the course of the stars.'  


So, consulting your star-charts, arcane almanacs, runes, messages from the Warp and perhaps the Hitchhiker’s Guide, you will find the following astronomical destinations, along with their associated challenges. 


*Please note that I have kept the challenges (usually two choices per location) purposefully open and flexible, hopefully providing sufficient elbowroom for creative interpretation.



The Outer Ring

Vulcan: Something Logical; Pointy Ears

Solaris: Deception; Illusion

Arda: Fantasy; Tolkienesque

Caprica: Doomed; Ambush

Death Star: Hubris; Of Questionable Design

Skaro: Strange Doctors; Weird Robots

Klendathu: Bug War; An Invasion Gone Bad

Glorantha: Quest; Runes; Heroes

Istvaan V: Betrayal; Heretical/Heretics or Loyalty/Loyalists

Babylon5: Operatic; Low Budget Fun


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The Middle Ring

Perelandra: Venus; Oceanic; Temptation

Noel’s Comet: Friendship described miniature, along with a loquacious story (You know, as Noel would say, 'Why use 10 words when ten thousand will do.')

LV426: Aliens; A Really, Really Bad Idea

Arrakis: Desert; Worms; Spice; Machiavellian

Cybertron: Robot(s), Transformation/Transformative

Vogsphere: Bureaucracy; Black Comedy

Corsucant: Imperial; Good vs Evil


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The Inner Ring

Altair IV: Forbidden; Old Robots

Gethen: Ice; Cold; Androgyny

Krypton: Weakness; Superhero

Terra: Earthbound; Home

Lune: Witchcraft; Changing Tides; Moods, Sorcery

Xanth: Never Ending; A Unique Talent

Mars: God of War; Barsoom; A Mysterious Neighbour

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The Quadrant Hub

The Challenge XII Star: This anomaly can only be investigated by fulfilling a task defined by your Daily Minion.


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The Map Rules

You can start your journey at any point along the Outer Ring, or chart a journey on 'Sarah's Star Yacht' if you wish.

'Sarah's Star Yacht' will take you to any planet within a your current Ring for the cost of a painted female figure.

You can move to an inner Ring by 1) completing 4 locations; 2) travelling through a 'Warp Maelstrom' after finishing a location adjacent to one (along with 3 other locations in the ring) ; or 3) travelling through 'The Great Abyssal' (again, after completing 4 location in the ring). 

Each completed location (including Sarah's Star Yacht) awards 20 bonus points in addition those points scored from the entry.

Locations accessed by a 'Warp Maelstrom' awards 30 bonus points. The destination will be determined randomly by your Daily Minion.


Hmm. I'm sure I've missing something... If you think of anything I may have overlooked, or not explained properly, feel free to ask in the comments! :)

Looking forward to exploring with you all!

Next: A Guide for Posting from our Tuesday Minion, Tamsin!

- Curt

30 comments:

  1. This looks like an awesome challenge.

    A couple of quick questions. Is there a miniature needed for the Warp Maelstroms? Similarly, do we have to paint anything for The Great Abyssal?
    I assume we can bypass the Maelstroms to travel further around the current ring? Can we return to a ring at a later point in time?

    I'm off to look through my collection to see what I have to prioritize. :D

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    1. Glad you like it Stuart. As outlined above, you just have to complete a location next to a maelstrom to access it. Same with The Great Abyssal, you just need to complete a location adjacent to it , or be 'dropped' into it via Sarah's Star Yacht. You can bypass both of these anomalies to continue along a ring. And yes, you can move back and forth amongst the rings using the system mentioned above.

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    2. Thanks for the clarification, the Great Abyssal was a bit vague. Challenge Quadrant seems interesting, I have already planned to have no plans and now I'm planning the Quadrant. Job well done! :)

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    3. I always aim to please. ;)

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  2. In each ring, do the planets we choose have to be adjacent, or can I do 4 planets anywhere in each ring? Also, if you wanted to use the Great Abyssal would you only need to do one planet fromeach ring? I'm sorry if I've missed the answer to these in the text above 😔

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    1. I assume you need to choose adjacent planets, since Lady Sarah allows you to jump to another planet on the ring.

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    2. Yes, Teemu is correct. Similar to previous years you have to follow a path unless you use Sarah's Yacht. If you decide to backtrack, you can ignore the planets you've already completed.

      The Great Abyssal is a cleft between the three rings, which allows you to move freely between them. Think of it as an elevator where the 'floors' are the rings and you can 'step off' onto the planets on either side of the Abyssal (Klendathu and Skaro for the Outer Ring, Vogsphere and Cybertron for the Middle Ring and Terra and Krypton for the Inner Ring).

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    4. That's great, thank you! I can't wait to set the star charts and cast off. Great map, as always, thank you.

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  3. Whew! I was hoping this would come out before I write my "How To Format and Publish Your Posts" post.

    I suspect that I will be going "pure" again this year and skipping the map.

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    1. A pity. You will be missed in the star lanes. :)

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  4. Oh man you chaps have outdone yourselves this time! The sheer amount of references the locations entail is just downright brilliant!

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    1. Delighted you like it Sander. There are a few in there that I think you and Arthur will enjoy. :)

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  5. I agree with Sander...it will take a minute and a few more to ponder my plans now. Did I miss the Curtgueld? Besides that I'm good to go! ;)

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    1. Curtgeld is a donation to a charity mentioned in the starting post, IIRC.

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    2. Yep, the 'Curtgeld' is the charity. Thanks for the reminder Teemu.

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  6. This is brilliant! Have a lot of planning work to do this weekend... these challenges always sparks my creativity and take to the limit

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  7. Very cool not sure I will be able to manage too many of these, especially as I do not have too many female miniatures planned and these seem necessary to move around.

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    1. I think you may be surprised Adam, we've provided lots of grist for the 'mill of the imagination' here. Besides, having a few more female figures in the collection is certainly not a bad thing. ;)

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    2. if Lady Sarah would only view ships as Female I would be all set, alas she has threatens to loose bears on anyone suggesting such point ;)

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    3. Ships and cars and any other vehicles that break down or cause issues are of course female! Everyone knows that!!!

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  8. There's a lot of fantastic options in there to ponder over the coming months. Not sure I'm going to get too far through this year, but we shall see :D

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  9. Lovely stuff. I find the maps really get my paint juices flowing and gives a focus on where to begin the assault on Lead Mountain.

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    1. I'm all for encouraging the flow of, er, paint juices. :)

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  10. Just noticed, is that 30 bonus points on top of the 20 points for the challenge location for accessing it randomly via a warpstorm? or 30 instead of 20?

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  11. Really pleased to see the locations are a lot less specific and more open to... interpretation... than last years!

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  12. Do you have to complete four planets on each ring before you can descend?

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    1. Sorry, I just saw this. Yes, you should have 4 planets done before you change rings.

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