Ambush at Carf Gakl

AS I didn't get to play on (40K) Friday, Finnegan and I set up a little narrative scenario set on Brind's World. Finnegan noted that I haven't played my Guaiacan Commandoes for some time, so I thought I'd play with them. (Though I wonder if this observation was made because initially my idea had been we'd just use the same forces we had used or planed to use for 40K Friday, and the force I originally planned to use included the Bullet Hose and he may have been just a bit reluctant to face it - really, who can blame him!?)

Brind's World 4.268.018.M42

Long before things went south on Brind's World, members of the Inquisition had heard whisperings, they were beginning to have their suspicions that things were awry. Agents were dispatched. But as the rogue trader cartel running the planet had strict control of the communication networks on the planet and of the astropaths that provided interstellar communication, it was difficult to get word back toothier masters. When the forces of the Imperium finally intervened, the Inquisition came with them, and Inquisitors sought out their agents to bring them back into the fold.



This is what brought Inquisitor Arndol Fornath of the Order Xenos to the remote village of Carf Gakl, deep in the equatorial jungles of Brind's World...



With him he brought his two most trusted acolytes Brother Recce and Brother Howe of the Adeptus Ministorium and a Troop of an Astra Militarum Regiment that had been deployed nearby. A flight of Imperial Navy valkyries had brought them to a landing zone nearby and they had proceeded on foot to the village where they found a scene of carnage. Bodies strewn everywhere in varying states of decomposition.

The Platoon had just finished it's initial sweep of the village and were just being tasked to set up a perimeter when initial contact reports started coming in....



"CONTACT! NORTH WEST - HOSTILE XENOS IN HEAVY ARMOUR - 60 METRES CLOSING!"



"CONTACT! NORTH EAST - HOSTILE XENOS WITH SUPPORT WEAPONS - 50 METRES CLOSING!"



"CONTACT! EAST - HOSTILE XENOS MOB - 30 METRES - CLOSING!"



"By the Throne!" Cursed the Inquisitor, "The Orks is a brutal but cunning foe! I should have know this was a trap the moment I set eyes upon the village! Lieutenant! We must get your troops out of here and back to the Valkyries!



The Troop Commander barked out orders; "ALL SQUADS!  LAY DOWN SUPPORESSING FIRE AND PREPARE TO FALL BACK TO THE VALKYRIES FOR EXTRACTION!"

Then to Sergeant Parker of 1 Section at the north end of the Village "Parker! Clear a path for us!"

"Aye-aye, sir!" Parker voxed back.


SCENARIO

This is more or less the Ambush Scenario out of the Core Rulebook (pg. 198). The Inquisitor and his attendants were set up in the middle of the South half of the table and had to exit off the north edge of the table. The Orks were set up around the West, North, and East edges. We added in a variable turn limit (the Valkyries could only hold the landing zone for so long before being overrun or presuming the landing team dead...)


TWIST

There is a roving pack of fire-breathing, reptilian predators in the area (locally known as Brind's World Basilisks). At the beginning of each player turn roll a d6 - on a 6 they enter at a random corner or centre of a table edge (rolling d8 to determine which). From then on at the beginning of each movement phase they move 6" towards the corner or centre table edge opposite from where they entered. At the beginning of each shooting phase they breath fire at the closest models within range. At the beginning of each charge Phase they will attempt to charge the closest models within 12".

Brind's World Basilisk

M 6"  WS 3+  BS -  S 4  T 5  W 2  A 4  Ld 6  Sv 5+
Bite and Claw - Range: Melee, Type: Melee, S-User, AP -1, D1
Fire Breath - Range: 6", Type: AssaultD3, S-4, AP 0, D1, Automatically Hits


FORCES

Imperium

Inquisitorial Detachment
Inquisitor Arndol Fornath - HQ - Warlord - Inspiring Leader
Brother Recce - Adeptus Ministorium Priest - Elite
Brother Howe - Adeptus Ministorium Priest - Elite
Astropath Zandow - Elite
Vanguard Detachement (+1 Command Point)

Astra Militarum Detachment
(5 Troop, A Squadron, #2 Commando, 222 Guaiacan Commando Regiment)
Lieutenant Werner - Troop commander - HQ
#1 Section - Infantry Squad - Commanded By Sgt. Parker - Troops
#2 Section - Infantry Squad - Commanded By Sgt. Parker - Troops
#3 Section - Infantry Squad - Commanded By Sgt. Coltraine - Troops
Patrol Detachment - ("As Catachan" Regiment Key Word)
4 Command Points Total

Orks
Warboss Blitzaag - HQ- Warlord - Might Is Right
Weirdboy Werzap Rotmaw - HQ - Smite, Warpath
Boyz (20) - Troops

Boyz (20) - Troop
Meganobz - Elite(?)
Lootas (5) - Heavy Support
Patrol Detachment - 3 Command Points

Note: I didn't really worry about Power level in this one. I think I had about 20-25 Power Level. I told Finnegan that. But I also told him to take whatever he wanted - whatever he thought an cunning Ork warboss would bring to an ambush or just whatever he though would be FUN to play with. I think his force was around 40 Power Level... I understand his choices. He's wanted to bring those Meganobz into a battle for some time, but was always limited by the Power Levels we were playing at. But he couldn't JUST bring the Meganobz - my guys would have just run around them, he had to bring something that would block the troops - the anvil on which his Megnobz hammer could strike! Hence, all the other stuff. So the outcome was kind of written on the wall from the get-go... and I think he kind of felt a little bad about it afterwards - but I wasn't the least upset about this at all - he did exactly what I asked - he brought what a cunning Ork commander (or ANY commander, ever) would bring to an ambush: OVERWHELMING ODDS! For me the challenge of the scenario simply became less of can I get the majority of my guys out (as the original scenario suggests as victory conditions) to can I get ANY out at all!?  

Also Lieutenant Werner was a Platoon Commander which is technically and Elite Unit not and HQ... I COULD have just taken a Company Commander, which IS an HQ unit which is the exact same Power Level (both are PL2) and just called him a troop leader to satisfy the rules for a battle-forged patrol detachment... but I think that's silly. This was OUR game. I didn't feel I NEEDED a company commander to lead a platoon's worth of men so I took a platoon commander and called him an HQ element!

THE GAME

The Orks got the first turn...


ROUND ONE - ORKS TURN



"HERE THEY COME SARGE!"

"Wait for my command! Remember: Short Controlled Bursts! Missile Team: Load Frag!"



On their first turn the Orks surged toward the village on all fronts.

1 Section, at the north end of the village, took heavy fire from the west and lost three men.



WAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHH!!!!

In the Southwest corner of the village an Ork mob swept over the Guaiacan positions! Despite their deadly accurate fire, they could not stem the green tide.



"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM, MAN! THERE'S TOO MANY!"

"COLTRAINE'S DOWN! THEY GOT SARGE!"

"GAARRHH!!!"

3 Section was overrun and annihilated!


ROUND ONE - IMPERIAL TURN



"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"

Everyone headed North on the quickest path out of the village directly toward the LZ where the Valkyries were waiting! While the Inquisitor, Astropath, and Troop command Section moved with all haste, the Infantry Sections fired as they moved in an attempt to suppress the Ork advance...

(I issued a Front Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire order to 2 Section, taking up the rear, and they got 24 Lasgun shots on the Orks mob that overran 3 Section - between that and the Plasmagun and Missile Launcher they took down 6 Orks... but it wasn't nearly enough...)



At the North end of the village Sgt Parker spotted giant armoured orks approaching from their left and heavy gunners setting up on their right. He ordered the missile team to see if they couldn't KRAK open one of those tin cans on the right while directing the rest of the squads fire at the Orks gunners to the right.

The gunners Krak missile sailed off into the jungle and found it's mark striking the armoured ork square int he head! It detonated with a mighty crack and pitched the hulking behemoth over back wards! Once on it's back, legs in the air, it continued to roll - until it was right back up on it's feet! The giant tin can on feet looked from side to side wondering how it got to be so far behind it's fellow brutes and quickened it's paced to catch up!

(for the first time EVER I actually HIT SOMETHING with a KRAK missile!!! I even WOUNDED it... so of course the blighter saved it... UGH! So annoying... Meganobz... they're basically Ork Terminators...)


ROUND ONE - ORKS TURN



The Ork mob at the south end of the village heaved towards 2 Section blasting away at them with their crude shootas and sluggas. Troopers Bool and Limwick went down in the fusillade.



The Meganobz and Boyz at the North end of the village also continued to roll forward. Firing at they advanced. The Boyz managed to take down Trooper Collins, who was shooting at the Lootas.



A staggering volume of fire erupted from the jungle where the heavy gunners had been spotted setting up. Trees were sawn in half, clouds of foliage where blown hither and thither, half of one of the building was blown completely away - all the while peels of maniacal, cackling laughter emanated from the depths of the jungle... but somehow everyone remained unscathed....?



Orks Charged 2 Section - another was brought down with overmatch fire. Brother Howe preformed a "Heroic Intervention" bellowing out an inspiring hymn while doing so:

"Onwards Emperor's So-o-o-oldiers
of the Astra Militarum
Slay the wretched Xenos 
With your Blessed Lasgun!"

Unfortunately 2 Section was utterly wiped out... But Brother Howe fought on and took down another of the Orks...



At the other end of the village, the Meganobz clanked into contact with 1 Section - they're pretty speedy, despite their unwieldy look!



Brother Reece also preformed a "heroic intervention", but before he could even get a single blow it, he was scooped up in Warboos Blitzagg's mighty power claw and snipped not-so-neatly in two... The rest of 1 section was wiped out by the Meganobz...

ROUND TWO - IMPERIAL TURN



Their escape to the North cut off by the Meganobz, Inquisitor Fornath led the dwindling survivors of his expedition out of the village to the east.



He hoped to skirt around the heavy gunners and make it to the landing zone before the Valkyries found their position untenable and took off!



Brother Howe continued to fight the Ork Mob single-handedly, hoping to buy some time for his brothers-in-battle. He held them back, but failed to take any down. The Orks blows finally found their mark and Brother Howe was wounded...


ROUND THREE - ORKS TURN



The Orks Lootas spotted the Survivors trying to escape out the east side of the village and lit them up,  massacring the Command Squad that was escorting the Inquisitor - leaving only the Astropath, Lt. Werner and the Inquisitor...

Brother Howe was also lost, taken down by the Ork horde that mobbed him.


ROUND THREE - IMPERIAL TURN



The Brind's World Basilisks showed up at the South edge of the village... and they were HUNGRY!



Astropath Zandow, Lt. Werner and Inquisitor Forath made a run for it past the Lootas - it was their only chance to make it to the drop zone on time. They hoped the Lootas would take pot shots (and miss!) and not attack them in close assault and figured they meganobz were too slow and too far away to catch them at this point...

For a blind guy, that Astropath runs pretty fast! The Emperor guides him, I guess...



The Basilisks were just within 12" so they attempted a charged - which they failed. The Orks got overwatch fire, however, which wounded one of the Basilisks.


ROUND FOUR - ORKS TURN



The Megan's advanced - 10" they went! GAH! I though they might catch me the following turn if I didn't advance far enough. The Lootas did shoot. They totally missed the Astropath, killed Lt. Kerner,  and injured the Inquisitor.



Then the Meganobz charged... Wait.. WHAT!? Ah, yes... Apparently Orks units within 6' of a Warboss may charge even if they advanced... (THRONE!).

(Ooooh that Blitzagg is a cunning fellow....)

The Astropath and Inquisitor desperately fought off their assailants, but it was utterly hopeless against their savage, relentless, heavily-armoured, mechanical attacks....

Kind of sucks that they were killed and didn't even get a chance to swing back, because both the astropath and the Inquisitor might have had a chance at denting those mighty tin cans... Oh, they still would have ultimately lost.. but it might have not seemed so much like an execution...



The Orks had it out with the Basilisks, for giggles, I guess... I think they killed the basilisk in the end, but the initial mob of twenty orks was reduced to two...

Ao the entirety of 5 Troop, A Squadron, #2 Commando, 222 Guaiacan Commando Regiment, along with Inquisitor Arndol Fornath and his attendants Brother Recce, and Astropath Zandow, were officially listed as "Missing, Presumed Dead"...

Good Fun.

As much fun as tournaments like Battleforce Recon and competitive play like 40K Friday are, THIS is the sort of play that I love best - narrative games with an almost role-playing element, that could be weaved together into a campaign of sorts.... y'know.. if everyone didn't die... (but DID THEY...?!) Hope we can do this again soon!


Coming Soon To Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

We've been playing a LOT of games this week - not just 40K - like, a lot of boardgames too. So I'll probably post an update that later this evening... Then...? I don't know... Hopefully I'll get some work done on the sisters this week... and maybe some more games of 40K...?