Captain Rhogen quickly set the team to chasing them down. They could not afford to let one get away - lest they inform their masters and the Strike Force lose the advantage of their stealthy approach.
This is the first of six possible games in our narrative 40K campaign. For more background on what's going on, check out the Introductory Post:
The Signal - a Short Narrative Campaign for Warhammer 40K
Scenario
This is the first of six possible games in our narrative 40K campaign. For more background on what's going on, check out the Introductory Post:
The Signal - a Short Narrative Campaign for Warhammer 40K
Scenario
In this scenario a small group of Genestealer cultists faced with overwhelming odds - must simply try to escape off the far end of the table, with ferocious Imperial forces in hot pursuit.
If the ANY of the Genestealer Cultists get off the far edge of the table, they win - and the Imperial Kill Team loses. An Imperial loss will mean the Second Sons of Hive Primus are made aware of their approach and infiltration into the Hive will be harder. If the Imperium force loses there will be twice as many sentries present in the next scenario and
As a free pdf of the #New40K core rules dropped this morning, we decided to try those out!
Imperial Forces taken out of action have to pass a recovery roll at the end of the game or are out of action for good and will take no further part in the campaign (either KIA or seriously wounded enough to not be able to continue). To pass this check they need to roll equal or less than their toughness on a d6 - so 50-50 for any of the normal humans of the Guard and most the the Astartes have a 66% chance of surviving any injury...
Forces
Imperial Strike Team - Vanguard Detachment (CP Cost: 3)
HQ
1x Space Marine Captain - 5 Power
1x Astra Militarum (Counts As) Company Commander - 2 Power
Troops
1x Veteran Space Marine Scouts (10) - 15 Power
Elite
1x Astra Militarum Command Squad (4) - 2 Power
1x Astra Militarum Veteran Squad (10) - 5 Power
1x Astra Militarum Commissar - 2 Power
1x Astropath - 1 Power
1x Techpriest Enginseer - 2 Power
Power Level: 34
Genestealer Cult Patrol (CP Cost: 2)
Command Benefit (+2 Command Points)
HQ
1x Primus (Ehdmuxnd "the Ebony Viper")
Troops
1x Neophyte
1x Hybrid Acolytes
Power Level: 11
Total Power Level: 45
The Game
SET UP and DEPLOYMENT
The Board. The Genestealer cult got to pick which side they wanted to start from and which side they were headed to, and then set up in the 12" closest to the opposite side to that which they were headed.
Then the Imperial forces set up in the same deployment zone - but had to start at least 9" away.
All ready to go!
Hey... who's that over there!? M'reens! Warn the others! What? Our signals are blocked! RUN FOR IT! THE OTHERS MUST BE WARNED!!
CONTACT: A Patrol of Xenos Filth! They've spotted us! WE can't let them get away to warn the others! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!
ROUND ONE
The Genestealer Cult all advanced - all rolling 5s and 6s - and took off like bats out of hell! I was a little worried they'd scarper off the field before we even got a shot at them! But one team of Marine Scouts got close enough to shoot them up and possibly charge!
The other team booked it around the flank - hoping to deploy in a spot that would give them a decent field of fire to shoot them as they ran past!
The Guard Command team tired to keep up with the Super Human Astartes....
Despite Commissar Biafra's threats, these guard were simply not feeling motivated to get in there...
After softening up their target with a devastating volley of fire, the Marines charged!
Marines are BRUTAL! I can see why people like playing them so much! I mean... they hit AND wound with most of their damned shots!? Finnegan made some insane save rolls - I swear OVER 50% of the wounds I caused were saved with his meagre 5+ save - otherwise I would have wiped out the unit with fire!
Which, now that I think of it, was probably for the best. Had I wiped them out I likely would not have successfully charged either of the other units and would have remained further behind!
As it was, the Marines got stuck in - and were just as brutal in close combat... and Finnegan was just as lucky with his saving throws... I mean, my Guard has 5+ saving throws and I NEVER roll so many successes!
But the time the Round was over only two Neophyte Cultists remained - but they had sold themselves dearly - TWO Scout Marines were down!
ROUND TWO
You stay here! I'll go warn the others!
Genestealer Primus "The Ebony Viper" flees with the Hybrid Acolytes while the last two Neophytes sacrifice themselves by staying behind to hold back the Marines...
Let's get out of here!
The Neophytes did not last long!
On the Imperial Turn the second team of Scout Marines rounded the ruined building and took up positions to bring fire down on the fleeing Cultists... well.. those that could - it just occurred to me that three of them are carrying bolt pistols - which would have been WAY out of range... heh... whoopsie!
Having slaughtered their brethren, the first team of Marine Scouts give chase firing as they moved forward in preparation to assault!
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Three of the Hybrids were taken out by fire from the pursuing marines!
And then they assaulted!
The Hybrid Cultists fought savagely...
Brother Mennod took one of them down...
But then he was taken out by the Primus that finally turned to face them!
ROUND THREE
FRAK THIS!!!
The Primus turned and fled the Marines - ducking into cover behind a long abandoned tractor. (Finnegan also made use of some stratagem to recover the wounds the Primus had lost in the previous melee!)
The Imperial forces closing in!
With a crackle of greenish-purple lightning, Astropath Synthia successfully channeled the power of the WARP to SMITE the fleeing Primus!
The Marines once again charged the Primus - he was wounded twice more by fire as they charged!
Then Captain Rhogen himself delivered the killing blow as he cleaved the Ebony Viper in two with his Power Axe!
So close... yet so far...
My initial anxiety at the cultists initial brisk advance was for naught... Marines are pretty freaking awesome. AS it turned out, only ONE team of Marines, the Captain, and the Astropath did anything at all! The rest just tried, desperately, to get into a position where they could fire... but never were actually ABLE to!
Rolling for recovery afterwards, all three Scout Marines were found to be lightly wounded and totally able to soldier on...
Originally I'd planned on just having the Neophytes and Hybrid Acolytes - without the Primus. But then I got it in my head that we should try and make "Battleforged" forces - mostly so Finnegan could make use of the Overwatch stratagem (which is now a stratagem - not an automatic thing - at least for most armies!).
Mind you it's been so long since I played, I couldn't actually REMEMBER any of the stratagems the Guard uses... and also realized, not having an actual Codex: Adeptus Astartes, I have NO IDEA what ANY of their stratagems are!? (I only have the Index: Imperium 1 that I use for the marines - so they are limited to the three basic stratagems!).
Not that I had all that many Command Points to spend. Command Points are determined by the size of the battle - as this was a "Combat Patrol" - less than 50 Power Level - each side got 3 Command Points... but then I had to SPEND three just to be able to use a Vanguard Detachment. As Finnegan was using a Patrol Detachment, the points he spent were, effectively, refunded to him...
As we were playing we realized we were forgetting to use a number of abilities some of the units had and Finnegan noted ONE stratagem he could use and realized there were probably lots more! We decided that, for the next game, we would FOR SURE make sure we go over all the special abilities and available stratagems!!
I like the new morale. Losing a bunch of dudes in a large unit with shitty morale (y'know, like, my Imperial Guard!) doesn't automatically mean the ALL leave!
Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:
I think next week we are still taking a break from Blackstone Fortress, but have two 40K games planned with Finnegan...
Messing around with possible layouts for Scenario #2 - where the Imperial forces attempt to break into the ruins of Hive Secondus. There will be walls and doors.
There will be sentries - if the Imperial forces are canny (and lucky) hopefully they may make it INTO the Hive without being noticed.
There will also be some big doors blocking or slowing their advance - only the Techpriest will be able will have a good chance at picking those electronic locks...
As a free pdf of the #New40K core rules dropped this morning, we decided to try those out!
Imperial Forces taken out of action have to pass a recovery roll at the end of the game or are out of action for good and will take no further part in the campaign (either KIA or seriously wounded enough to not be able to continue). To pass this check they need to roll equal or less than their toughness on a d6 - so 50-50 for any of the normal humans of the Guard and most the the Astartes have a 66% chance of surviving any injury...
Forces
Imperial Strike Team - Vanguard Detachment (CP Cost: 3)
HQ
1x Space Marine Captain - 5 Power
1x Astra Militarum (Counts As) Company Commander - 2 Power
Troops
1x Veteran Space Marine Scouts (10) - 15 Power
Elite
1x Astra Militarum Command Squad (4) - 2 Power
1x Astra Militarum Veteran Squad (10) - 5 Power
1x Astra Militarum Commissar - 2 Power
1x Astropath - 1 Power
1x Techpriest Enginseer - 2 Power
Power Level: 34
Genestealer Cult Patrol (CP Cost: 2)
Command Benefit (+2 Command Points)
HQ
1x Primus (Ehdmuxnd "the Ebony Viper")
Troops
1x Neophyte
1x Hybrid Acolytes
Power Level: 11
Total Power Level: 45
The Game
SET UP and DEPLOYMENT
The Board. The Genestealer cult got to pick which side they wanted to start from and which side they were headed to, and then set up in the 12" closest to the opposite side to that which they were headed.
Then the Imperial forces set up in the same deployment zone - but had to start at least 9" away.
All ready to go!
Hey... who's that over there!? M'reens! Warn the others! What? Our signals are blocked! RUN FOR IT! THE OTHERS MUST BE WARNED!!
CONTACT: A Patrol of Xenos Filth! They've spotted us! WE can't let them get away to warn the others! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!
ROUND ONE
The Genestealer Cult all advanced - all rolling 5s and 6s - and took off like bats out of hell! I was a little worried they'd scarper off the field before we even got a shot at them! But one team of Marine Scouts got close enough to shoot them up and possibly charge!
The other team booked it around the flank - hoping to deploy in a spot that would give them a decent field of fire to shoot them as they ran past!
The Guard Command team tired to keep up with the Super Human Astartes....
Despite Commissar Biafra's threats, these guard were simply not feeling motivated to get in there...
After softening up their target with a devastating volley of fire, the Marines charged!
Marines are BRUTAL! I can see why people like playing them so much! I mean... they hit AND wound with most of their damned shots!? Finnegan made some insane save rolls - I swear OVER 50% of the wounds I caused were saved with his meagre 5+ save - otherwise I would have wiped out the unit with fire!
Which, now that I think of it, was probably for the best. Had I wiped them out I likely would not have successfully charged either of the other units and would have remained further behind!
As it was, the Marines got stuck in - and were just as brutal in close combat... and Finnegan was just as lucky with his saving throws... I mean, my Guard has 5+ saving throws and I NEVER roll so many successes!
But the time the Round was over only two Neophyte Cultists remained - but they had sold themselves dearly - TWO Scout Marines were down!
ROUND TWO
You stay here! I'll go warn the others!
Genestealer Primus "The Ebony Viper" flees with the Hybrid Acolytes while the last two Neophytes sacrifice themselves by staying behind to hold back the Marines...
Let's get out of here!
The Neophytes did not last long!
On the Imperial Turn the second team of Scout Marines rounded the ruined building and took up positions to bring fire down on the fleeing Cultists... well.. those that could - it just occurred to me that three of them are carrying bolt pistols - which would have been WAY out of range... heh... whoopsie!
Having slaughtered their brethren, the first team of Marine Scouts give chase firing as they moved forward in preparation to assault!
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Three of the Hybrids were taken out by fire from the pursuing marines!
And then they assaulted!
The Hybrid Cultists fought savagely...
Brother Mennod took one of them down...
But then he was taken out by the Primus that finally turned to face them!
ROUND THREE
FRAK THIS!!!
The Primus turned and fled the Marines - ducking into cover behind a long abandoned tractor. (Finnegan also made use of some stratagem to recover the wounds the Primus had lost in the previous melee!)
The Imperial forces closing in!
With a crackle of greenish-purple lightning, Astropath Synthia successfully channeled the power of the WARP to SMITE the fleeing Primus!
The Marines once again charged the Primus - he was wounded twice more by fire as they charged!
Then Captain Rhogen himself delivered the killing blow as he cleaved the Ebony Viper in two with his Power Axe!
So close... yet so far...
My initial anxiety at the cultists initial brisk advance was for naught... Marines are pretty freaking awesome. AS it turned out, only ONE team of Marines, the Captain, and the Astropath did anything at all! The rest just tried, desperately, to get into a position where they could fire... but never were actually ABLE to!
Rolling for recovery afterwards, all three Scout Marines were found to be lightly wounded and totally able to soldier on...
Originally I'd planned on just having the Neophytes and Hybrid Acolytes - without the Primus. But then I got it in my head that we should try and make "Battleforged" forces - mostly so Finnegan could make use of the Overwatch stratagem (which is now a stratagem - not an automatic thing - at least for most armies!).
Mind you it's been so long since I played, I couldn't actually REMEMBER any of the stratagems the Guard uses... and also realized, not having an actual Codex: Adeptus Astartes, I have NO IDEA what ANY of their stratagems are!? (I only have the Index: Imperium 1 that I use for the marines - so they are limited to the three basic stratagems!).
Not that I had all that many Command Points to spend. Command Points are determined by the size of the battle - as this was a "Combat Patrol" - less than 50 Power Level - each side got 3 Command Points... but then I had to SPEND three just to be able to use a Vanguard Detachment. As Finnegan was using a Patrol Detachment, the points he spent were, effectively, refunded to him...
As we were playing we realized we were forgetting to use a number of abilities some of the units had and Finnegan noted ONE stratagem he could use and realized there were probably lots more! We decided that, for the next game, we would FOR SURE make sure we go over all the special abilities and available stratagems!!
I like the new morale. Losing a bunch of dudes in a large unit with shitty morale (y'know, like, my Imperial Guard!) doesn't automatically mean the ALL leave!
Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:
I think next week we are still taking a break from Blackstone Fortress, but have two 40K games planned with Finnegan...
Messing around with possible layouts for Scenario #2 - where the Imperial forces attempt to break into the ruins of Hive Secondus. There will be walls and doors.
There will be sentries - if the Imperial forces are canny (and lucky) hopefully they may make it INTO the Hive without being noticed.
There will also be some big doors blocking or slowing their advance - only the Techpriest will be able will have a good chance at picking those electronic locks...
Nice round up of new40k, sounds pretty good, looks great!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain!
DeleteFun scenario! Looks good too.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Delete