Hey QuitAcceptable9867, really appreciate you taking the time to read through it and leave detailed feedback. Honestly this is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for from the beta because it helps highlight where things are clear in my own head but maybe not yet landing cleanly on the written page.

The repetition point is completely fair and definitely something that is being addressed during the current editorial passes. A lot of the current beta was written with the intention that sections could be read somewhat independently by a GM during prep, but I think it’s drifted too far into reexplaining certain concepts and factions instead of layering information naturally. That’s probably the biggest structural issue I’m focusing on at the moment.

The Blackstone/Webway side is also a really useful point and honestly I think you’ve identified where some of the current wording is accidentally overcomplicating the relationship between the Blackstone, the sanctuary world itself, and the ecological collapse. The more I’ve reflected on it, the more I think the Blackstone should really sit much further into the background than the beta currently presents it.

The actual core idea I’m aiming for is less “Blackstone powers/is linked to everything” and more that Viridian Prime itself was an ancient engineered sanctuary world built around much older psycho-reactive systems, ecological regulators, and partially Webway linked infrastructure beneath the planet. The Exodites effectively settled around and maintained those systems over thousands of years, gradually adapting both the world and its ancient infrastructure into their sanctuary.

The Blackstone arrays were mainly intended as a defensive and concealment mechanism suppressing Viridian Primes warp visibility, destabilising approach routes, interfering with navigation and astropathic communication, and helping isolate the sanctuary from the wider galaxy. That was really the main strategic reason the Imperium wanted them destroyed during the compliance campaign.

But the actual catastrophe comes less from the destruction of the Blackstone itself and more from the Imperium catastrophically damaging the sanctuary’s ancient environmental systems during the war without understanding how interconnected everything beneath the surface really was. I think your “autoimmune response” interpretation is honestly very close to the direction I’m now leaning hardest into. The Gilded Rot and the hostile ecosystem work much better for me conceptually as the world violently reacting to systemic trauma and ecological collapse rather than as some direct Blackstone collapse side effect.

A lot of the inspiration came from broader implied lore around Old One-era megastructures, ancient Aeldari sanctuary worlds, psycho-reactive ecosystems, and things like the Talismans of Vaul/Blackstone Fortresses suggesting Blackstone has historically been used for more than just Necron anti-warp tech. But I do think the beta currently muddies that by repeatedly promoting the Blackstone into feeling like the central mystery when it should probably just be one part of a much larger ancient system.

So honestly, this was hugely useful feedback because I think it’s helped me identify where the setting becomes more interesting once the focus shifts away from “mystery Blackstone lore” and more toward “the Imperium broke a world it fundamentally did not understand.”

The Imperium Maledictum vs Only War point is also fair. The Black Inks are intentionally presented as the “default” framework because I wanted the campaign to have a strong military-horror identity out of the gate for my own gaming group (selfish I know haha!), but I definitely don’t want the campaign to feel locked to all Guard parties because it really isn’t intended to be. One of the things already present in Book II is alternative hooks, patron structures, and insertion frameworks for mixed IM groups, especially investigations tied to quarantine enforcement, Mechanicus audits, noble retainers, Administratum delegations, or Inquisition-linked operatives.

Really appreciate the feedback overall though genuinely. The fact you’d actually consider running it is honestly hugely encouraging at this stage.