Jericho Reach

The Jericho Reach is a region of space in The Ultima Segmentum,and the setting for the Deathwatch Role-Playing Game. It also has a metric fuckload of xenos, heretics, and other assorted nasties. The Imperium is currently fighting the Achilus Crusade to make the Xenos, Heretics, and Xenos Heretics GTFO. It's also about to be conquered by the Tau, if the Tyranids don't stop over for dinner first. In short, The Forces of Chaos, The Imperium, the Tau, and the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Dagon are about to have the greatest showdown the galaxy has ever seen... If GW and/or FFG would unfuck themselves and advance the storyline (which they kind of did, but in a way that made the whole thing a moot point.)

History

The story of the unending, sector-wide Verdun that is the Jericho Reach started during the Great Crusade, where it, after a long and bloody campaign, was reforged into shining example of Mankind's dominion. It was verdant, prosperous, and strategically located near The Eastern Fringe. After The Horus Heresy, not much changed, except for one thing. The Deathwatch, formed during the Heresy, decided to plonk themselves down there and set up camp, watching for signs of xenos activity from The Eastern Fringe.

Eventually, Anarchy descended over the Jericho Sector, with entire worlds turning to chaos and madness. This coincided with The Age of Apostasy, so response was limited. Meanwhile, Chaos Cultists were shitting themselves with excitement due to a prophecy that was about to happen. In 656.M40, a prophecized planetary alignment buttfucked a hole in reality, Right in the economic capital of the Jericho Sector. Think if a gargantuan, reality breaking tornado just exploded into being in the middle of london, and then daemons started rampaging over the beautiful english countryside, slaughtering/infecting/burning/raping all over the UK. Now supersize every location into the size of a solar system. Yeah. The already wartorn Jericho Sector went completely FUBAR, and though the Deathwatch kept watch and all the death happening in the sector, they never intervened, following some secret prerogative only they knew of. In 755.M41, The Imperium arrived through the rediscovered Jericho-Maw Warp Gate, a giant, ancient, webway-like structure connecting the Calixis Sector and the Jericho Reach, and plans were made to restore order. Meanwhile, The Tau continued to expand into the Jericho Sector, their first known appearance being in 400.M41. In 812.M41, The Shadow Of The Warp descended on The Jericho Reach, disrupting communications for The Achilus Crusade. Soon after, two Tyranid Ships are detected.

Major Nonhuman Species

• The Tau Empire is the major xenos threat Better Alternative """BLAM"""The Emperor of Mankind is the Divine Sovereign of all humans! To betray him is "HERESY!"in the Jericho Sector. As well as the Tau, they also employ large amounts of Kroot Mercenaries and Vespid Stingwings, as well as smaller amounts of Demiurg and Reptilian Mercenaries called Tallerians.
• The Tyranid Hive Fleet known as Dagon appears to be making a beeline right for the heart of the fightan. Fortunately, they will never get there, as time appears to have stopped at 999.M41.
• Various Daemons come pouring out of the Hadex Anomaly, as is the norm around warp anomalies.

Minor Nonhuman Species

• Enslavers, especially in the parts near the Hadex Anomaly.
• Khrave, members of a large, mind-eating race of xenos. I could make a lame pun here, but I won't.
• Lacrymoles, shape shifting xenos often used as assassins. The Deathwatch has fought these dudes on multiple occasions, and it is possible that a shape shifting assassin who killed a bunch of deathwatch and two inquisitors during The Feast of The Emperor's Ascension in 756.M41
• Loxatl, large, sapient, grey lizards who smell like that guy's armpits after a 10 mile march.

In short, everything is horrible, and has been for the past ~4,000 years, and that's before you remember the Hadex Anomaly became one of the endpoints of the Cicatrix Maledictum. Have fun.