Okay here is the idea: a rogue trader (npc) has aquired his warrant for the dual purpose of colonization and pirate hunting. This rogue trader gathers the players as his command crew. The players all know the captain from somewhere but can never remember the specifics. The captain is a rather mysterious figure. Wearing voluminous robes and staying hooded continuously it is hard to tell much about him. One thing he makes no secret of though is the mutation an encounter with the warp left him with, clawed hands. The deep disturbing voice the issues out from beneath the hood is equally adept at commanding legions as it is at charming diplomats and negotiating prices.

The game would pick up as the group starts on an endeavor to establish a colony on some random world. The idea is to see how long it takes the players to realize they are members of a genestealer cult, the rogue trader is the magus, and they have been seeding genestealer cults across the expanse. Then see how the game goes from there. (My players 50/50 on wheather or not they would just go with it or try to put things right.)

So what do you all think?

this would be extremely atypical behavior for a genestealer cult. 

As I recall, Genestealers spread by infection/infiltration.  why would they take on crew that ISN'T infected?  My read is that they'd take on new crew, infect 'em and then put them to work (in between random breeding sessions of course).  they wouldn't take on new crew, put them in a sensitive position on board ship…and then NOT control them.  that doesn't fit to me.

My thinking is that they would be infected, but not even realize it, until the players figure things out. At that they would have the chance to break free. This would be the atypical behaviour, but heros get special things like that that normally would be impossible. The idea would be that the dynasty got infected by the cult and is pretty much entirely taken over, with the current magos being the actual offspring and dynastic heir of the last holder of the warrant, allowing this expansion of the cult into a much larger form than the typical cult would be. 

Cryhavok said:

It might be more interesting to have them wake up on a slab in a medicae bay, wounds healing and an Ordo Xenos inquisitor standing over 'em telling them that they're now human again but that he's got a mission for them….

or if you REALLY want to mess with their heads, have a daemon of Tzeench or Eldar farseer come to their rescue, leave them with all the information necessary for them to strike back at the magus…then just vanish into the void.  do they go after their revenge?  what will the results of their actions be?  how will this further then ends of chaos and/or the Eldar…?

On another note, why do you keep reporting threads, Cryhavok?

Sorry, autocorrect. *Repost*

my players *hate* Eldar and daemons of Tzeench.  they never know what's actually going on…daemon shows up, gets them out of a bind, puts them back on track…it drives 'em nuts!  the Eldar are worse - they KNOW that the Eldar only work to benefit themselves, so when an Eldar ship appears outta nowhere, cripples a wolfpack raider that was about to ambush 'em, and then vanishes without saying a word…they start wondering how this helps the Eldar.  But they often feel as if they have no choice but to play along.  they hate it, but at the same time it's their main goals so they keep pushing.

Those are just off the top of my head. im sure with some thought behind it we could come up with actual good reasons for damn near anyone to rescue them.

Oh how about this one: while setting up a colony they stumble into a yuvath mechanism that frees them by implanting some unknown yuvath device in them. Que the doom timer.

I wonder if I could get the group separated and apply multiple different rescues to the characters? Or do you guys think that would be a bit much?