Monday, August 17, 2020

Daemon World Campaign - Scenario #5 - Onslaught of the Daemon Engines!

A murky, greenish-purple, otherworldly haze hangs over the battlefield. In the distance shapes can be made out belching black smoke, moving about in a lurching, shambling way and making roaring, clashing noises like a train collision... 

SCENARIO

The object of the challenge is to destroy as many of the Daemon Engines as possible. the Daemon Engines include a Venomcrawler and two Obliterators

Autonomous Engines: The Daemon Engines will take a turn of their own, at the end of the Round, after all the players have gone. They will attack (move towards, shoot at, charge and fight against) the unit that most recently attacked them. If no units have attacked them, they will simply attack the nearest unit. 

Endless Onslaught: If any of the Daemon Engines are destroyed, a new one will teleport onto the field as close to the center of the table, not within 9" of any of the Players forces, at the end of the Daemon Engine's Movement Phase.  

Mission Objectives

Damage the Daemon Engines (Progressive): if you force damaged at least one of the Daemon Engines during the Round, you score 5 Victory Points at the end of the Round.

DESTROY the Daemon Engines (Progressive): If your force destroyed any Deamon Engines during the Round, you score an additional 5 Victory Points per Daemon Engine destroyed, at the end of the Round. 

Victor Bonus

If there is one, clear victor, they may choose one Crusade Relic to find amongst the ruined engines. If two, or more, are tied, then no one gets a relic and each may simply pick a second unit to be Marked for Greatness. 

Other Rules

Daemon World Battlefield Twist:

Otherworldly Fog - a murky greenish-purple haze hangs over the battlefield. Enemy units beyond 18" cannot be targeted. Targets beyond 12" are -1 to hit - with both shooting and Psychic Powers. 

FORCES

Four Chaos Warlords and their Retinued took part in this battle. Details can be found on:

Daemon World Crusade Forces

(I've tried to keep this page current - so if you are reading this much after the game report was posted you are likely seeing the force as it was AFTER the game - or at the end of the campaign, if you are reading weeks, months, or YEARS later!? Regardless, it should give you some idea of the forces involved...)  


THE GAME

All set up and ready to wreck stuff. 

The Starting Daemon Engines! The flag isn't an objective marker - it was just to mark the centre of the table - to help determine where the replacement daemon engines would arrive on their turns, as they were to be teleported onto the table as close to the centre as possible, that wasn't within 9" of any of the players forces. 


ROUND ONE

The Thousand Sons started off and charged forward! The Exalted Sorcerer attempted to use Weaver of Fates - Ian rolled low and decided to use a command reroll - to get a higher result, so he wouldn't get DENIED - and rolled the same thing. The WArpsmith used his Brass Collar of Bhorghast and denied it, and the Sorcerer suffered Perils of the Warp - luckily he only lost 1 wound! His Prescience ability went off, but Gift of Chaos was denied by Xoilaz Gafar - the Emperor's Children Sorceress! 

The Rubric Marine's Sorcerer used Tzeentch's Firestorm... but caused no wounds. 

The rest of the Rubric Marines blasted away at one of the Obliterators and caused two wounds. 

The Tzaangors then charged the Obliterator the Rubric Marines had been firing at - two rounds of fighting brought it down, but not before losing a few of their own.   

The Tzaangors used their consolidation move to move into contact with the second Obliterator - who then fought and killed another tzaangor or two. 

The Thousand Sons scored 10 Victory Points - five for causing wounds, another five for the one Obliterator take out of action. 

The World Eaters moved a bit. The Warpsith Cursed the Venomcrawler. Everyone shot at the Venomcrawler. Then the Chaos Space marines charged the Venomcrawler and took it out of action. 

The World Eaters also scored 10 Victory Points - five for causing wounds to Daemon Engines, another five for taking out the Venomcrawler. 

The Death Guard Shambled towards the centre of the battlefield, slightly. They unloaded with everything they had. Unfortunately, "Everything they had" consisted mostly of bolters - Strength 4, no AP... The did some damage to the remaining Obliterator, but that was about it. 

The Death Guard scored 5 Victory Points for causing wounds to Daemon Engines

The Emperor's Children surged forward to the discordant beat of their malevolent melodies! 

Excessive fire blasted away the rest of the Tzaangors - and then Lord Felzik and the Head-Hunting Soroibus Tortus Noise Marines charged the exposed Thousand Sons Exalted Sorcerer... and tore him a new one... or two... possible six. 

On the Daemon Engine's turn a Venomcrawler and Olbiterator returned - as close to the centre of the table as possible without being within 9" of any of the players forces... turned out to be BEHIND the World Eaters forces!  

They blasted away at the Cultists and Helbrute causing two wounds on the Helbrute and taking two cultists out of action. The Obliterator that was still on the table took out THREE of the Death Guard's Leprosy Lads.


ROUND TWO

The Rubric Marines Sorcerer leader, failing to learn from mistakes made by his Exalted Sorcerer, attempted to manifest Tzeentch's Firestorm again... and again it was Denied by the World Eater's Warpsmith and his Brass Collar of Bhorghast - the Perils of the Warp killed the Sorcerer.... 

The Rubric Marines, seeking vengeance, blasted away at the Soroibus Tortus Noise Marines, carrying off three of them with fire from their awful, awful -2AP flamers... I don't know why Slaanesh hates Khorne so much... they're pretty straightforward... Tzeentch and the Thousand sons are the WORST. 

The rubric Marines bolted fire and their awful cannon-thingie destroyed the last surviving Obliterator that started the game on the table - for another 10 Victory Points - Damaging Daemon Engines, Destroying Obliterator.. 

The World Eaters turned their attention to the Daemon Engines behind them. The WArpsmith destroyed the Obliterator with it's Meltagun. The Helbrute caused 5 wounds to the Venomcrawler and the Chaos Space Marines charged it!

Despite the extremely violent trashing about, neither side caused any damage in melee!? 

Another 10 Victory Points for the World Eaters - Damaging Daemon Engines, Destroying Obliterator. 

The Death Guard, lacking Daemon Engine Targets, blasted away at the Emperor's Children, in hopes of stopping the ruckus they were causing with their Sonic Weapons... The Leprosy Lads took out on of the Sabbatum Nigreos Noise Marines!

Lord Felzik and the Cadentiae Morbo Chaos Space Marines charged the remains of the Rubric Marines.... because... why not!? They shot one and took out four more of them in melee and two more left due to failed morale. The Rubric Marines took out ONE of the Cadentiae Morbo Chaos Space Marines!

The Sabbatum Nigreos Noise Marines charged the Leprosy Lads, Lord Slugbottom performed a Heroic Intervention, and then Xoilaz Gafar charged Slugbottom... which... it occurs to me might have been out of order... but Gafar would have charged the Leprosy Lads anyway and THEN Lord Slugbottom could have done his Heroic Intervention... we're all having so much fun, we sometimes get a little excited and get ahead of ourselves... 

The Leprosy Lads were taken out of action by the Sabbatum Nigreos Noise Marines and Xoilaz Gafar grievously injured Lord Slugbottom... but not enough to KILL him... BIG... MISTAKE... Slugbottom then crushed the life out of Xoilaz Gafar - for the THRID TIME in this campaign thus far! He's got something against Sorceresses or something... 

Returning Obliterators arrived closer to the centre of the table, this time, as things had thinned out some. I had kind of though of straight up saying the Daemon Engines wouldn't attack the Emperor's Children - as they ARE Emperor's Children DAemon Engines!!! But that seemed a little TOO cheaty... and I'd already won three of the games so far... and there was no denying that the remains of Soroibus Tortus Noise Marines were the closest to one of the Obliterators... I guess we could say in their insane blood rage they lashed out anything nearby not even able to recognize friend or foe... The Soroibus Tortus Noise Marines died in a hail of "friendly fire".

the Venomcrawler finished off the last of the Khorney Kultists and World Eaters Marine - the Aspiring Champion did one more wound on the Vencomcrawler with his Power Axe.


ROUND THREE

The sole-surviving Rubric Marine fell back - like the big scaredy-chicken-man that he is... 

the Warpsmith cursed the Venomcrawler and then the Helbrute unloaded on one of the Obliterators, and then the Warpsmith finished it off. 

The Warpsmith then charged into melee with the Venomcrawler and did some more damage, but it was the Chaos Space Marines that finished off the Venomcrawler... 

The World Eaters scored 15 Victory Points - damaging Daemon Engines, Destroying TWO! 

The Death Guard did a LOT Of shooting at the last Obliterator on the table... but didn't manage to take it out. 

The Sabbatum Nigreos Noise Marines fought a desperate battle against Lord Slugbottom - in the end Slugbottom took out tow of the Noise Marines, leaving only Ozimandus on the field of battle...

The Emperor's Children took the bait and charged the craven, chicken-hearted Rubber Marine and lost one more to it's flames... for all the attacks (10 shooting, 9 melee), failed to cause a SINGLE WOUND... nah, those Rubric Marines aren't overpowered at all!? 

Ozimandus managed to finish off Lord Slugbottom - avenging their lost Sorceress! 

The DAemon Engines all returned in a pack! One Obliterator caused FIVE wounds on the World Eater's Helbrute and the other took out one of the Death Guard's Dysentary Dudes. The Venomcrawler, having just arrived, did little damage with its Excruciator cannons... It's more of a Melee creature... 


ROUND FOUR

The Emperor's Children had learned their lesson the turn before and in consolidating, surrounded the Rubric Marine - so he was unable to retreat this time... and Lord Felzik destroyed him utterly... 

Yeh World Eaters regrouped, no longer having DAemon Engines at their backs and fired off a few shots at the newly returned ones, with little effect. The Warpsmith did managed to restore 3 lost wounds to the Helbrute, though. 

For once it was the Death Guard that dealt some serious damage to the DAemon Engines, the Bubonic Boyz took out one of the Obliterators, and the Dysentry Dudes Meltagunner one-shotted the other! They scored 15 Victory Points this round for having done so! 

the Emperor's Children took a few pot shots at the World Eater's Helbrute, but did little damage... then the Venomcrawler charged the Dysentery Dudes between fire and the melee, two of the Plague Marines were killed and three wounds were dealt to the Venomcrawler. Both returning Obliterators fired on the Bubonic Boys - taking out FOUR of them! 

ROUND FIVE

The Helbrute stood still, for once, and made use of the Fire Frenzy stratagem and completely shredded one of the Obliterators, leaving only one. 

The Blood Bolters Chaos Space Marines charged the Venomcrawler - to see if they could make it THREE, but their luck seemed to have run out... they did no damage to the VEnomcrawler and lost one of their own in the process. 

Still, the World Eaters Scored another 10 Victory Points, pretty solidly sealing their VICTORY! 

Brother Brutt, the last of the Bubonic Boys, joined in the Melee against the Venomcrawler, causing ONE wound... which was enough to score the Death Guard 5 Victory Points more... but that was about it.

Emperor's Children taking pot shots at the Hellbrute... 

Returning Obliterators finished off the Helbrute

In the very last Fight Phase, the Venomcrawler killed one of the Death Guard and three of the World Eaters marines, and each of the opponents managed to cause one wound on the Venomcrawler - but not quite enough to take it out AGAIN! 

END GAME

So the World Eaters FINALLY scored a victory with 45 Victory Points (The Death Guard had 25, and the World Eaters had 20... in my notes I had the Emperor's Children scoring 5.... but I'm not sure when or WHY I would have attacked the Daemon Engines!?) 

Lord Felzik, of the Emperor's Children, gained 7 Experience Points (one for just showing up, one for taking out a third unit in battle, 2 for their agenda *REAPER*, and I gave him the 3-point Marked for Greatness Bonus) - almost as many as he had in the previous four!? This put him at 16 Experience Points and made him Battle Hardened! He chose a Melee Weapon Upgrade - making his Power Sword a FLESHBANE POWER SWORD - handing for cutting down those thousand sons (to a Few Hundred Sons). The rest gained experience, but none quite made it to another level up. Xoilaz Gafar was close... but not close enough... 

Finnegan gave the Bubonic Boys the Marked For Greatness bonus -as they seemed to be the most successful in the game, and gave the Reaper agenda Bonus to the Dysentery Dudes - which, finally, made them level-up. They took Cool-Headed for their Battle Honour! The Leprosy Lads failed their Out of Action Test, but Finnegan just gave them a battle scar, and then removed it with a Requisition Point spend on Rest and Repair. 

The Tzaangors AGAIN failed their Out of action Test!? That's THREE out of FIVE games! The O'd Dusty Boys Rubric Marines were marked for greatness and that brought them to 16 Experience Points and a new level - they chose some Ranged Weapon Enhancements - the Sorcerer got a Master-Crafted Inferno Bolt Pistol (+1D) and the Rubric Marine with the Soulreaper Cannon took Armour Piercing... because AP -3 just wasn't good enough!? It's now AP-4... fun. 

The Warpsmith claimed a Conversion Field for his prize! The Blood Bolters Chaos Space marines also gained a level and will need to pick Battle Honour. 

Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog: 

I have some Grey Knights I've been working on and finished up a squad and a bit over the weekend, I'll probably be posting pics of the full Crusade Starter Force that I now have ready... sort of... (I'm 5 Power Rating shy of the 50 that you really need... but when I finish up the Dreadnought, I'll be over and need a Requisition Point to add it in!) 

Thursday is the epic conclusion to our Daemon World Campaign. 

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