Blackstone Fortress - The Hidden Vaults

Well... it was time...



We took down the Null Gravity Abyss.... We braved the Corridor of Death... We conquered the Deathmaze... We descended into the... er... Descent...?

And then we gathered FOUR MORE CLUES....

It was time to attack...

THE HIDDEN VAULT!




This is the "Prize", should we succeed....



A sealed envelope only to be opened upon completion.



As I was preparing the final game, I noticed that the envelope was the same size as an exploration card.... I'd originally thought it might be some kind of ITEM that one of the characters might get to play, but upon this realization started to wonder if if might be sort of a "BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE..." situation and wonder what might be in there... I knew from reading the scenario that to win you had to open the stasis vault... but started to speculate on what might be in there - perhaps ANOTHER chamber (or series of chambers) and... and... maybe the explorers would have to all FIGHT EACH OTHER TO THE DEATH!?

I mean, in the fluff, they are all allies of convenience. Drake often mentions that in any other situation he would have shot these filthy xenos that infest precipice...

Could it be...!?

Only one way to find out!?

(Y'know, assuming we actually SUCCEEDED in this Expedition!)

As with the other Strongholds there is a "access route" that has to be played through before getting to the actual Hidden Vault. Unlike all the other strongholds (which generally have a four card access route) this access route had EIGHT Exploration Cards - but they were, as with other stronghold, all mixed together before being dealt out (so, it could, in theory, all be Challenges... or all be Combats...)


Exploration Round One: Challenge



Yikes! Good thing this one came up early - this could be deadly if it happened later in the exploration - if there was an Explorer with a few wounds...

Initially I though, "let it attack Dorg!" but then felt that was a little "cheaty"... He IS our meatshield... there to protect us... But would a skulking sneaky Ur-Ghul REALLY try to take down the LARGEST possible victim...? Also, it does say "EXPLORER" and, technically, I think Dorg is a "Retinue Character".



So it attacked the Ratling Twins - Caused two wounds and a grievous wound! Luckily they successfully saved the grievous wound and one of the other wounds on their Defence rolls... and then got rid of the wound with their vitality roll in the Recovery phase...


Exploration Round Two: Challenge



Bzzzzot! I think only one wound was actually caused and it was either saved... or reduces and then recovered... Wasn't a big deal. No permanent damage...


Exploration Round Three: Again, Challenge



So I set this up...



And everyone was like, "we don't HAVE to do this do we? No? Fuck it, let's just head to the Vault..."


Exploration Round Four: Combat!



And an ambush at that!

This looked bad. There were only two groups, but both were groups of REALLY NASTY close combat monsters... that were within charge range... and all went before us!?



The Ratlings decided to use their Illusion Prism. It's a discard card and, on one had, I was loathe to use it so early in the expedition - I mean, what if there was something NASTIER later on, right? But... I figured... I might not GET to the "later on" if those freaking Ur-Ghuls SHREDDED the ratlings in the FIRST round of the FIRST combat!?



So the closest Ur-Ghul turned and savaged the other Ur-Ghuls, killing one, wounding the two others. Would have been better if it had killed all three... but the one that the Prism was played on was the big concern as it was closest to the Ratlings and, if it hadn't had the Prism played on it it would have shredded them. The two wounded ones did attack... but at least that was only SIX attacks instead of TWELVE! As they had to go around the Ur-Ghul that was attacking them, we figured the most direct route would have been to Dorg...

Sure, in games terms, it is the exact same distance to the Ratlings - or Locarno... and if there had been a Hostile Player who was... y'know... actually TRYING to kill all the explorers, they would have sent the Ur-Ghuls after the weaker ones... But we're playing this more like a fun self-directed role-playing game - more focused on "narrative". There is nothing the rules that dictates WHICH of the closest Explorers a Hostile has to attack.

Fluff-wise, there's an argument to be made that Dorg - the brute that is there TO protect the Exlorers would step up and meet the Ur-Ghuls charge... so...



Shadowguide had performed a Gambit and switched places with the Nega-Volt Cultists in the Initiative order, and so she charged out and stabbed a few of them with her Power Blade... then Pious Vorne Burned the rest as she ran past.



Locarno finished off the last of the Ur-Ghuls and the Ratling twins went to see what they'd been protecting. A Clue! Oh, good... we needed more of THOSE now!?



As we were just getting ready to exit, we rolled reinforcements for the Ur Ghuls... Four of them... and the Ratlings were standing just close enough to the Portal that the would all pile out and attack (Reinforcements arriving show up in hexes next to the portal nearest any of their surviving group -none, in this case - or closest to the nearest explorer... and then attack the nearest explorer if there is one in range and visible, otherwise they move...) If I'd been ONE HEX further away, this wouldn't have been an issue as the Ur-Ghuls don't shoot. they would have arrived and moved... but then the Ratlings could have just sprinted for the Maglev chamber and be gone... as it was, they were RIGHT THERE and would be savaged... so we used up ANOTHER discard card in this first combat...



Then, in the EVENT Phase ANOTHER Ur-Ghul arrived ("Not Dead Yet" event)!?

Luckily the Ratlings went BEFORE the Ur-Ghul in the initiative order and they just blew it to pieces (they are NASTY up close with their stub guns!) and fled to the Maglev chamber!


Exploration Round Five: Challenge!



Well, that was easy! Phew!


Exploration Round Six: Combat!



We got this one... Bottlenecking Corridors, Giant-Freaking-Ogryn in front of us to block all those guys that might try to rush us...



Which way to go.



Dorg was left at the intersection "on Guard" - if he's "on Guard" he actually gets to make an attack at the first Hostile that comes into contact with him - if he'd moved another hex, that would have put him in contact with them and thus none would be moving into contact with him. As it was... none of those three closest moved into contact anyway, they stood there and shot at him - or fell back!? Luckily some of the others charged in... unfortunately Dorg wasn't able to take them out with his free attack.



Everyone else took care of the Nega-Volt Cultists and waited for the Ur-Ghuls to run through the fire.



One of them was too damned smart to just run through the fire...



The Traitor Guard get brave and attack!



and for their troubles they were burned to death by Pious Vorne!



One group burned...



Then the next...

She really is awful... I think she has probably killed more than the rest of the explorers combined...



Chasing down the Ur-Ghul and making for the Escape Chamber.



One last Traitor Guard lurking in the shadows.



While we COULD have all just ran into the Maglev chamber and escaped... Shadowguide had extra activation dice (and a Move of FOUR) so she sprinted down the hall and stabbed him... just to be sure...


Exploration Round Seven: Challenge



"...each explorer CAN attempt..."

"So, we don't have to...? PASS!"


Exploration Round Eight: Combat!



One more combat...



We're just about there!



Dorg doing his "plug the gap" thing while Pious Vorne does her "Bring-The-Cleansing-Flame-of-The-Emperor-to-the-Heretics thing".



She, perhaps, got a little overzealous, and charged after the group of Traitor Guard. (can a Zealot even BE OVERzealous?!)



Didn't quite get them all... Whoopsie.



Somehow she survived their counter attack... and then Shadowguide came dancing along and slaughtered the rest of them.

Vorne has an Automated Medical Servo Skull that has been SUPER handy - it removes a wound EVERY event phase (at the end of each turn of combat!) and that's REALLY helped out!



As we were getting ready to leave- piles of reinforcements came piling out of the portal... but it was far too late, we were GONE!


The Hidden Vault



Well this is it... we made it to the Hidden Vault!

So... there are some special rules here... all of the hostiles are reanimated by the Blackstone Fortress - so they're slower - not that it's a big chamber and there's anywhere to outrun them - but they all have an extra wound. AND no reinforcement rolls are made - if there are any of the group still on the table, those that have been taken out of action just immediately come back! The only way for a reprieve, is if ALL member of that group are taken out before their activation comes up. If THAT happens, none return and their Encounter card is replaced with a new one from the deck and then all of THOSE come piling out of the portal!



Oh, and then there is the ANNIHILATION BEAM! which zaps out from a central hex and remains pointed in one direction the entire turn. If hostiles are in a hex that it blasts or moves into it, they are simple destroyed. If an Explorer is in it when it moves or moves through it, they make a Desteirty check. Fail = Dead, like suuuuuper dead, right now, no recovering. One success = Four Grievous Wounds - which pretty much guarantees they'll be out of action... Two Successes = TWO Grievous wounds... which is pretty awful as well...

Oh and the door to the maglev chamber has to be opened... and there's a chance it can slam shut after each explorer activates, locking the remaining explorers inside... and any explorers beyond trapped outside, alone, with all those reanimating hostiles...

Wow...



Pious lead the charge!



She burned the entire lot of Traitor Guard waiting just outside the Chamber. It took a few passes with her flame, but earned us a brief reprieve!



Locarno took out two Spindle Drones.. but they just came back on their next activation.



It's pretty clear we needed to push through to the far end of the chamber nearest the Stasis Chamber as quickly as possible... All the while keeping out of the potential fire lanes of the Annihilation Beam...



Locarno and the Ratlings lead that charge... it's hard when there are hostiles blocking the way, though! Damned unthoughtful of them!



Nega-Volt Cultists replaced the Traitor Guard that Vorne has wiped out...



Spindle Drones were finished off and replaced with Traitor Guard - which piled out and injured Amallyn Shadowguide!



Vorne burned them all, though...



The following turn,  Vorne charge through and helped clear out hostiles from around the Stasis Cube.



Everyone pushing through - getting crowded around the Stasis Cube...



One of the events was a "Brief Reprieve" - leader picks a Hostile Group still on the board - no reinforcements arrive for them next turn. This probably totally saved us... There was ONE remaining Traitor Guard by the Stasis Cube. If all six of his buddies cam piling back out of the Portal, we'd have been done for...



More Traitor Guard and ANTOEHR Rogue Psyker replaced the Nega-Volt Cultists at the other portal... luckily they were going really slow...



WE managed to clear out the Rogue Psykers and Traitor Guard that following turn, so would have a brief reprieve from hostiles coming out of Portals 3 and 4 for a turn and that allowed us to start opening the Stasis Cube (takes three turns - each event phase, if there is an Explorer in contact with the cube, and NO HOSTILES in contact with the explorer...



The Event that turn was also amazing - Flurry of Fire - the Annihilation Beam fires in ALL SIX DIRECTIONS! That would be BRUTAL in the first part of the scenario - if still trying to GET TO the Stasis Cube - and part of the group made it through and were still dealing with hostiles... as it was, this happened at the PERFECT time and annihilated almost all of the hostiles on the table!

(I wish I'd had something to show the beams going in all four directions...)



So we opened the Stasis Cube a little further.



the following turn, PILES of hostiles came pouring out of the Portals... but they were too far away to do any good... (or do any harm, depending on how you look at it!?)

And so we opened the Stasis Vault...



I wasn't a Fight-To-The-Finish-Death-Match amongst the explorers...

THANK THE EMPEROR FOR THAT!!!



Amanda read it out - there is some narrative fluff and a benefit for ONE explorer... We gave it to Amalyn Shadowguide, since she seems to be the Character Amanda likes the most and will continue to play through the further quests in the Fortress.


Precipice




There is a precipice step - it said on the card we all got 10 bonus spend points! I wasn't sure how Legacy cards were to work going forward, so I drew one anyway - Chaos Space Marines!

In the deck were a few more countdown cards and the Chaos Beastmen.



The Ratling Twins picked up a few goodies from their own ship.



Locarno grabbed some stuff from HIS own ship...



In the end EVERYONE went to their own ship and picked up all the goodies. (Though Shadowguide had to go through all of her resources and discard down to ten...)

Wow! What an EPIC conclusion to this first Quest!

I did, afterwards, have a brief look through the next two potential quests (The Dreaded Ambull and Traitor Command - they are the "next potential" because I have all the minis painted for them! The other two will need a bit more work!) and some of my questions about how things proceed going forward - are discovery cards ADDED to the base Discover deck? are Clues still of use? How are the new Encounter and new Exploration cards added in? Are the Legacy cards still used? What of wethe Chaos Beastmen we never drew? Are the other cards still in effect (Spindle Nano-Virus, Heightened Threat Level, Debris Storm)?

In the two I looked at they have completely separate Discovery decks that are used and are NEVER mixed with other Discovery cards. There are very specific instructions about which encounter cards are added to the deck - and how others are used - same with Exploration cards. Both say there is no Legacy step and, as mentioned, state some Encounter cards are used and some others are specifically not (things that, in the Quest for the Hidden Vault, are determined by the Legacy cards) I'm guessing they're just not used at all (so, a bit of a preprieve from the Spindle Nano-Virus, Heightened Threat Levels of the Spindle Drones and the Debris Storm...?)

Not sure when we're going to play next - and start the quest to retrieve the eggs of The Dreaded Ambull!? Maybe we'll take a break and play some other games... Or maybe we'll ride this wave of excitement about the game and just keep playing!

When we do continue, Amanda seems content to keep on playing Shadowguide and Vorne. I do like Locarno and the Ratlings, but I feel like maybe I SHOULD change things up a bit... try others out... but which ones!? The others just seem so... boring... (well... until I get Murad and Magellan finished!)

Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming blog:

I just need to finish writing up some fluff for the 3rd Squad, 2nd Platoon, B Company, 5th Necromundan Regiment... then I'll post that...

After that...?

Well, here's what's on the workbench at the moment...



LOTS of STUFF!!! CHAOS stuff, mostly.



Some Obliterators for my Emperor's Children Chaos Space Marine Force. (and one of the Blackstone Fortress: Escalation Chaos Firebrands beside them!)



More Raptors! One of the Knights has made its way back onto the workbench as well!?



Murad and Madellan and some of the other Escalation figures...

Which do YOU think will be next!?