Hub Part 2 - Round 3

So after the carnage in the darkness with the spies - I forgot to mention it was night fighting for the first 3 turns. The forces in the Hub moved their operatives to take control of weapon caches and ammo dumps.

This scenario concocted by Joel had a central objective worth 3 VP.  Now if any shooting attack passed within 6" there was a chance the ammunition exploded harming whatever was nearby.

I did not play this round, my Inquisitor took to the side lines as Cody arrived with his Grey Knight force.  In the ruined streets around an Imperial garrison the elite of the Ordo Malleus found themselves surrounded by Tyranid forces.  The two Dreadknights promptly took control of the central objective while their Terminator armoured brethren took defensive positions behind the garrison's defence lines.  Alien beasts surged from the dark streets and a fierce fire fight raged.  Stray fire even detonating the coveted supplies.  When the smoke cleared I believe the Grey Knights had control of the objective and set about purging the area of the xenos beasts.

 The Blood Angels found themselves encountering an enemy from the darkest days of their history.  The Daemons had come for Sanguinius' children.  The Inquisition did not receive a report from the Astartes forces on the outcome of this engagement which bodes ill for that Imperial detachment.  The zone in which they fought had the remains of some large archaic building in it.  It is feared that it may have been a repository from the Hub's earliest days and that corrupt artifacts were present to attract the warp creatures.



Here are the intercepted communications from the Ork vs Tau battle.

Orks - sniper drones + cover + night fight = bad! However the warboss got the last laugh as the falcon claw missed, and promptly responded with Power Klaw to the face!

Tau - Rumours of an ork force in the mountains led the Tau commander to move in for suppression. Despite the low light conditions the Tau forces used superior firepower and night vision technology to utterly annihilate the Ork forces, leaving some straggled young orks sulking in the background. Despite complete tactical superiority again the Tau commander issued a challenger to the Ork commander who was presumed to be almost expired thanks to the many rounds of fire his squad had suffered. Slinging his guns the ork and Tau commander charged each other. Despite landing a direct hit the siege gauntlet suffered a major malfunction and did not damage, the commander ejecting to safety and his bodyguards fled but were cut to ribbons. (Loss 2-1)

So even though the Imperial forces suffered losses this round their early successes had put them back in control of a majority of the Hub's strategic areas.  As the various commanders healed from their injuries and reassessed their forces, information about the whereabouts of their most hated opponents came filtering in.  Little did they know they were being lured into a trap!

Hub Part 2 - Round 2

So a few weeks ago we played the second session of our local narrative 40k campaign.  Here is the next report at last.

Game 2 was an interesting one that Joel had concocted.  Each side had their 750 point force but at the bottom of both turn 1s, a spy would arrive for each side.  This unit had the stats of a Space Marine Captain including Iron Halo.  They had to be placed 12" away from your own units then scatter 2d6.  You could only score Line breaker with your spy but it would be worth 3 points.  We had a standard objective each as well.

So the match ups were my Inquisitorial force vs Daemons.  Orks vs Blood Angels and Tau vs Tyranids.

My forces met the Daemons in the ash wastes outside a storage complex.  The Inquisitorial mechanised forces formed a defensive line amongst the slag heaps.  Flesh Hounds lead by a Herald rushed the right flank using the terrain to counter fire lanes.  Invoking the Book of Names the Herald bolstered the Hounds save.  The Great Unclean One took a defensive position behind a massive heap to cover any agents escape while Daemonettes and Horrors headed toward my lines.

The spies arrived and the Daemonic agent hung safely on the left flank well behind the daemon infantry.  The Inquisitorial agent misplaced his rendezvous position and found itself deep in the enemy lines, end zone in sight but the Nurgle greater Daemon close by.

The Chimeras and acolytes within did their best to thin the Hound pack but their increased save and speed had them barrelling through the Imperials back lines.  The Inquisitorial agent failed to escape the GUO and did its best to fend off the monstrosity but the Iron Halo failed and he was destroyed.

The Daemons agent ran up the flank now dealing with the Flesh Hounds but last minute mass fire destroyed that agent as well.

I think the game was a draw or minor win to the Daemons and I learnt that the Flesh Hound pack is a very fast threat on the table.

Highlights from the Tau and Ork camps

Orks - Both spies happened to be in the same building! As they broke from cover they both got brutally cut down. This game ended a turn too early for the Orks to claim the necessary objective (only got 3 rounds in).

Tau - After a tactical withdrawal into the ruins outside of the city, the force was again ambushed, this time by the tyranids. Accurate fire from the sniper drones brought the big monsters down quickly and the fire warriors moved to secure vital supplies for the expedition. The headstrong commander wished to try his new onager siege gauntlet issued by the fire caste, leading his bodyguards into a withered ground of tyranid warrior class creatures. Severe almost mortal damage was averted thanks to overall control off the battlefield though the loss of all crises suits was disappointing. (Win 8-4)

If we were to play that scenario again the agents would have to come in like normal reserves as one player would always be at a disadvantage with both arriving at the same time, then one being very vulnerable.

This round resulted in an even bigger advantage to the Imperial Forces and their allies. Next round involves some resupplying

Hub Campaign - Part 2 - The Imperium Strikes Back - Round 1

This past weekend we finally got organised and had the second part of my narrative 40k campaign.  Joel from Brush of doom had concocted some interesting scenarios for us to play out, all of which bit him in his green Ork arse!

So the participants on the side of the Imperium were Ryan with Tau, Conan with Blood Angels and myself with Inquisition/Grey Knights before Cody took over. We were flexible with force building for the narrative so instead of Coteaz I took a normal Inquisitor and we counted that they unlocked the Henchmen as troops per Coteaz's rule  The forces of Destruction were Stu with Daemons, Aaron with Tyranids and Joel with Orks.

All the games were 750 points with no flyers, special characters, fortifications and allies.  Only one troop was required from the players codex but like last time a force had to include either a Chaos cultist unit or an Imperial Guard squad.

I will report on games I played in and have some notes from Joel and Ryan to add.

I used a kitted out Ordo Malleus Inquisitor, 3 units of Henchmen - 2 units with plasma in psybacks, 1 with melta in chimera, Eversor Assassin, Psyfleman Dreadnought.

The first round had a suprisingly destructive rule attached.  Due to the forces of Chaos laying booby traps/IEDs or having daemonic forces lurking in the Hub's shadows, whenever any save made by a model in cover was required, the targeted unit had to make a leadership test.  If passed normal armour or cover saves were taken, if failed the cover save was worsened by 1 and the unit took d6 S3 hits in addition to what they were saving from.  

I played Joel, Inquisition vs Orks.  I got the warlord trait which allows the warlord and unit to outflank so after a couple turns of our forces exchanging fire my Inquisitor, his attached unit and their chimera rolled onto Joel's back field and poured fire into his Loota block.  Joel did take out my Imperial Guard squad holding an objective with his Nob bikers but prior and post assualt shooting took them out. The Imperial fire combined with shadowy attacks ruined Joel's boyz.  Joel also failed to notice an Eversor Assassin hiding behind a Razorback which took out his scouting Deffkopta in the first turn.  Joel suffered badly from the scenario rules loosing a lot of Orks to weakened cover saves and the S3 hits.

The other games were in the 'good' guys favour putting the forces of Order way out in the lead.


Joel's perspective - the biker gang found themselves on the wrongside of the tracks getting intercepted by the Hub Inquisition.  Despite putting on a good show a late sneaky back field arrival by the Inquisitor put an end to the fun.

and Ryan's - A patrol was ambushed in the city ruins by Daemonic forces while performing reconnaissance for a potential Tau outpost.  Significant loss of life from the Fire warriors Drone section of the expedition, however the Daemons were held back and the objectives secured.

I believe the Blood Angels and Tyranids performed mutual destruction on each other either getting a draw or minor victory to the Blood Angels.

Next, Game 2 involves a bit of espionage...

40k Campaign - Violent street fights in the Hub

So yesterday had some brutal small scale firefights in the depths of the Hub.

Some modifications and clarifications were made to the lists. Yes players could use special characters and the cultist or Imperial Guard unit could be used as their compulsory troop.

We all played the Battlefield recon mission from the back of the hardback 40k rulebook. It entails sides only having 1 objective each worth 2 points and the bonus points from warlord, first blood and linebreaker.

Round 1 - Ashen Angels vs Daemons
I took charge of the Ashen Angels as they made preperations to enter the sub levels. As they coordinated with PDF units holding an Imperial garrison, daemonic forces in league with cultists tore their way free of the warp.

The Tzeentchian fiends took the Marines by suprise and after a volley of warp spawned flame the tactical squad was seriously depleted. As the marines and guardsmen desperately attempted to hold the strongpoint Terminator reinforcements arrived from the left flank, pouring bolt rounds into the Flamers.

The Sorcerous leader of this coven raced down the barricaded streets flinging bolts of eldritch energy into the Terminators while gibbering horrors materialised to take hold of the now defenderless Imperial base.

After a heated firefight between the towering Imperial bastions the Terminators were reduced to a single man, though with Assualt cannon churning he failed to withstand the Sorcerers onslaught of magic. Having cleared the defenders from this key location the cultists who had observed the skirmish from the safety of a bastion headed off under the guidance of their daemonic lord.

Win to the Chaos side.

While we played that out Joel and Conan had a streetfight between Orks and Blood Angels in the sub industrial zones. Joel can report in more detail but I believe after the Orks failed to dislodge 2 guardsmen from their objective the control of the territory was a draw.

Round 2 - Ashen Angels vs Orks

The Orks seeking out their newly spawned kin happened upon a patrol of marines in a former habitation block which had fallen into disrepair. The marines entrenched themselves at the end of a clear thoroughfare sighting the mass of greenskins marching into the area.

With a whir of rotor blades the Orks copter swung through the tenemants spying the black armoured marines and hailing his fellows let fly with his rockets! A marine was torn apart as the missile hit its target and the Ork warboss encouraged by the prospect of a fight belted down the street with his warbike, swerving into the shelter of a ruined plaza as the Imperial guns attempted to fix on him.

Marines moved into the ruined apartments and let fly with bolter and plasma rounds at the Orks while the guardsmen failed to strike the warboss who now bore down on them. As the Ork boyz bustled down the street towards the Imperials, filling the air with rounds from their shootas, the warboss broke cover and crashed into the guardsmen. With dismay the humans flailed at the green warlord but with a bloody crunch of his powerclaw he easily broke the unit and ran down the survivors.

The marines retaliated and with concentrated fire brought the Warboss down. However the Shoota boyz were not be to discouraged and with a roar continued to advance adding more ammunition to the hail of fire from their crude firearms. After the early salvo the ork copta had harrased the power armoured marines but with little success had fallen back to a safer distance to add to the marines suppression.

With the green tide thinning and marines still falling the firefight ended in a stalemate. A handful of Tactical marines and the terminator sergeant hunkered down and the avenues end while Ork 'yoof's retrieved thier immature spores growing in the rubble.

While that was played out Aaron and Conan had a dispute over territory with the bedraggles Blood Angels coming under attack from Alien monstrosities. It seems a Xenos cult had been dormant within the labour forces and with the growing violence made their move against the Imperial establishment.

A massive Hive beast successfully spawned numerous 'gants' throughout the conflict, threatening to overwhelm the Imperial defenders numerous times. However as the local defence force held their stongpoint and the marines met the alien horrors out on the street, the imperial defenders eventually taken over by the Brood forces.

Round 3 - Ashen Angels vs Tyranids

With things not going well for the Imperial forces, the marine patrol moved to the industrial area where the greenskins and Blood Angels had come to blows. Picking their way through the metal works and catwalks the astartes came into contact with the reported xenos hive beasts. Taking position in a tall steel structure the Imperial Guard layed down long range fire as the marines moved out on the ground level to halt the xenos progress.

Cutting down Genestealers early on did little to halt the swarm and with some success the identified Tervigon added more to the infestation. As the small xeno forms swarmed through the girders and bracings a unique bioform floated into view. The marines held their distance as this 'Doom' pulsed out waves of psychic attacks but the marines managed to weaken it before it ruptured itself with a burst of psychic energy.

Eventually the Imperial forces were reduced to a solitary marine as the remaining guardsmen fled from the alien creatures. With any resisitance cleared from the area, the brood followers found an abandoned drinking establishment and sated themselves on the spoils while the hunter-slayers spawned by the brood mother stalked off in search of new prey.

Again a loss and Conan fared a similar defeat at the hands of the daemons. However a glimmer of hope appeared as Cody having arrived from work brought the cheese into play. With an Imperial Guard squad as minimum he used a Heavy incinerator Dreadknight and none other than Draigo himself. Needless to say things did not go well for Joel's Orks and a single victory point was gathered for the oppressed Imperial forces.

So it had been a very one sided day with the agents of disorder running rampant over the Imperial defenders, this would make it very difficult for the authorities to maintain their fragile hold on the deepest parts of the hab blocks.

With a grind of stressed servos the power armoured figure hauled himself atop the towering steel framework. Striding across the groaning steelwork he halted at the platforms edge and gazed out through crimson lenses at the foundation of his new domain. Gunfire barked out in the stygian gloom and this leader of traitors and murderers smiled within his horned helmet.

It mattered not that his blade had yet to be drawn here. It mattered not that his own chosen were veritably seething at their restraints to engage in the disorder. His agents had whispered their words into the ears of those dissident and they had acted against the Imperium with their own means, however alien or eldritch they may be. Screams of rage and terror alike joined the gunfires melody and the Lord of damned warriors was pleased, knowing that the corpse god's ignorant followers were being put to death.

Let them dispatch their pitiful guardsmen and feebly loyal Astartes to quell this chaos, the more they sent down here into the depths meant an easier climb upon the heap of their remains to the next fields of conquest.

Playing both sides - GM'ing the Campaign

This weekend I will be hosting some players for a variety of gaming. These will include the start of my narrative 40k campaign, some D&D(my regular players can use their Monday night characters) and NZTC practice with Warhammer Fantasy.

Joel and Conan have been kind enough to send in their backgrounds and Initial lists for the campaign so as GM I'd better point out what I'll be using. Now as GM I plan on using forces for both sides and filling in where needed.

"This is Henry Mackryn for the Chyrossian News Network, reporting from outside the Governor's Palace on Chyross Prime.

Chyrossian Governer Marcus Towerson has relayed his official apologies to Imperial institutions in the Sector, in regards to a decline in productivity on the IDCC/the Hub. His office has informed the numerous clients and dependants as to the investigation and ongoing performance management of high ranking staff running the IDCC. This aims to determine where the breakdown between the indentured population and the administration has occured. He has assured that the manufactorum facilities of the Adeptus Mechanicus will be unimpeeded by any delays in components or materials handled and distributed through the 'Hub'.

Governor Towerson has authorised the deployment of additional Defense Forces to the habitation blocks of the Hub and assures the public that the rumoured reports of Xenos and Astartes sightings are the ramblings of obscura addled vagrants. Our sources have been very specific in their descriptions of Astartes sightings. Red armoured marines in the sub manufactorum districts, engaging in street level firefights with criminals in green gang colours and tribal markings and the leak of pict captures showing a small strike craft of the Ashen Angels chapter docking in the PDF bays on the main Orbital defence array, portray Governor Towerson's comments as simple words to placate the affluant Chyrossian citizens on the Prime world.

This reporter thinks that a conflict on the Hub was inevitable. With a historical decline in housing and services for the working population and a massive increase in interstellar trade and the stresses in must be putting on the security systems and protocols something was bound to give in the bustling heart of our sector.

Back to you in the studio Jansah."

Since I bought Dark Vengeance as soon as it was released I thought I would use both forces included to form the basis of my campaign forces.

For the Dark Angels I will label them as the Ashen Angels, then I can nicely use the various Blood Angel models and parts with the Dark Angels and any new additions that may come out in the new year. For now I will use the Space Marine codex for simplicity.

5 man Terminator Squad inc Serg with Power Sword, Assault Cannon and Chainfist

10 man Tactical Squad inc Serg with Plasma pistol, Plasma gun and Plasma Cannon

10 Imperial Guard inc Grenade Launcher and Autocannon

This will nicely represent an Astartes Strike Force allying with the resident defence force. I can combat squad the Tactical squad for flexibilty and the Terminator Sergeant will be the functioning Warlord until I include a real HQ choice.

For the Chaos side I came up with the following

Chaos Lord, Khorne, Plasma pistol, Axe(Sword)of Blind Fury, Sigil of Corruption, Vet of long war

5 Chosen inc Champ with Lightning Claws, Power axe, Power Fist, Vets of long war

10 Cultists inc Flamer
10 Cultists

Obliterator

Much more aggresive build with the Lord and Axe in there but they're Chaos and they're on the Hub to cause some serious trouble! Represents one of the Chaos Warlords who has infiltrated the Hub's Industrial levels and herded out some cultists to cause mayhem.

MIA Blood Angels - Hub campaign

Next campaign force to debut was sent in by Conan who will be playing on Saturday.

FIRST THERE WAS THE LIST.

Brother-Chaplain Tiberius (formerly Sergeant Tiberius).
- Make-shift Crozius Arcanum (really just a bloody big power-mace), Rosarius (an Iron Halo taken from the corpse of the former mission-commander and forged into a mask bearing the visage of Sanguinius) & an infernus pistol. [115 pts]

Tactical Squad 'Spada' (now in the grip of the Black Rage and practically Death Company).
- 5 Marines with bolters and close combat weapons. [100pts]

Squad Delta747 aka "McManus's Iron Weasels", "The Iron Weasels" or more commonly "those Weasel bastards..."
- Sergeant McManus, his latest 9 PDF recruits of questionable moral fibre & a rather handy flamer. [55pts]

Terminator Squad Invicta
- Sergeant Quintus & 4 Terminators with an assault cannon. [230]

Total: 500pts.

THEN THERE CAME THE FLUFF...

Several years before the current situation on Chyross IV aka "The Hub" a squad of Blood Angel marines were sent to assist with an Inquisitorial investigation. They never reported back and the Ordo Hereticus never disclosed their true purpose.
Recently reports of the rapidly escalating chaos on the planet reached a nearby Strike cruiser with sightings of black-armoured Space Marines claiming to be Blood Angels. The ship's commander ordered a swift response, despatching Terminator Squad 'Invicta' to deal with what could be brother-marines suffering from the Black Rage. They teleported to the planets surface to meet with the less-than-reliable witnesses, 'McManus's Iron Weasels' - a local PDF squad, who claimed to know the errant marines' whereabouts.

Finally tracking their objective to deep within the under-city, Squad Invictus were prepared for a bloody but brief confrontation. What they did not expect was fully-aware marines, holding on to their sanity and led by an unknown Chaplain. This 'Brother-Chaplain Tiberius' turned out to be the former sergeant of the squad, and went on to reveal that they have been fighting against the forces of Chaos - the influence of which is amplifying the effects of the Black Rage. He claimed that he had seen visions of Sanguinius, beseeching him to don the armour of a Chaplain that he might guide his battle-brothers away from madness.

Eventually convinced that the Chaplain's words were true, Squad Invictus joined forces with the remains of Squad Spada to invesitgate and combat the worshippers of Chaos. As "McManus's Iron Weasels" had a reputation for frequenting the less savoury districts of The Hub, they were ordered to assist and begrudgingly complied. Now this unlikely force, united by (somewhat) common goals ventures deeper into the bowels of a city gone mad. Who knows what horrors await them there...

Orks in the Hub!

Joel from The Brush of Doom sent me through his background to post for his campaign force.

In the depths of the Hub a community of orks has been growing from some spores that were accidently smuggled there by a a sushi chef. These "yoofs" are starting to shed there teef and become "da ladz" and the next generation is coming through. Meanwhile a Missionary warboss and his trusty copta buddy have found themselves on the planet having hijacked a transport ship. Working their way (read "speeding dangerously") through the lower levels causing havoc (humans are less tolerant of evangelical Gork followers than the average ork) they chanced across "da green gang" who became disciples of Gork and seek to spread the Waaagh whereever they go...once they figure out how to get out of the Hive.

Warboss: Warbike, Pklaw, Attack Squig, Cybork body 150

30 Shoota Boys: Nob-Pklaw, 'eavy armour, Bosspole,big shoota 230
10 Nurgle cultists "yoofs": flamer 75

RokkitCopta 45

500

This is a perfect example of what I want out of these early steps for the narrative campaign. Fantastic job Joel!

40K campaign - Heresy in the Hub

The Imperial Distribution Centre for the Chyross system or The 'Hub', has been the centre for transport and goods in it's region of space for centuries. The world on which the IDCC was built was once Chyross IV but with cavernous storage facilities, sprawling habitation blocks for the indentured labour forces, skyhook relays for the orbital transit platforms and fortress like spires filled with Imperial bureaucracy, it bares no resemblance to the planet surveyed by the Priesthood of Mars.

In recent months criminal activity and violent crime has seen a steady increase within the labour population. The security forces based on the Hub have been stretched to their limits, with extreme cases of Arbite units going missing in the subterranean hab blocks. Civil unrest and public protests against the ruling administration has also been reported. The Chief Administrator Gollen Corschel has applied to the Imperial Governor on Chyross Prime for aid. Governor Marcus Towerson has authorised units from the Chyrosian Planetary Defence Force to reinforce the Hub until the civil unrest has been quelled. If this behaviour in the labour population was to escalate further, the effect on the systems and production of the Hub would be disasterous for the sector.


The forces responsible for these increasing disturbances are agents of the dark powers of Chaos itself. Units of Traitor Marines have secreted themselves within the labyrinthine levels of the Hub's Industrial zones. Making contact with minor cults within the populace, they have fanned the fires of resentment in the beleagured labour clans. Letting the newly heretical fanatics take the brunt of Imperial pacification, the Traitor Astartes siphon more resources towards their nefarious goals.


This is the outline for the setting of a narrative campaign I am about to start for 40K. This campaign is open to any players I know in the area, even those a bit further away could participate if they want too. My intention is to provide a localised setting for our games other than a random collection of terrain on a table. For newer players and those who have made the transition to 6th ed it could be a way to start a new army or just get some models painted that have been neglected for sake of competitive play, It could of course have the end goal of getting a nicely thematic army painted up for competitive play as well.

As I am taking part in a 'Tale of X Gamers - Horus Heresy' set up by Pete at Fields of Blood, this could be an oppurtunity to learn the ways of Warhammer Pew Pew Pew(as someone called it)and help shape those Heresy forces too.

I am currently painting up the Chaos forces from the Dark Vengeance box set because without this the fantastic miniatures would just join all the other hordes of grey plastic and metal in the boxes of my gaming room. I know that some of the DV units are not that flash if at all for competitive play, but on a smaller initial scale they could be perfect for causing trouble on the Hub.

This Saturday will have the first games for the campaign at my place - Sunday will be more Fantasy focused though with small forces we can always do a bit more 40k. Forces are to be based around '40k in a flash', combat patrol, 40k in 40 minutes etc. Wins for either side at this stage will stack points and start to indicate how initial encounters are shaping the environment and inhabitants of the Hub. I have no restrictions on any codex I can think of as long as the player can come up with an appropriate reason for being on the Hub. Its a very large, very old place so whether its a 'counts as' Genestealer cult, Eldar Outcasts or an Inquisitive Necron Overlord I don't mind at all, just pick a side you will contribute victory points to, either the Imperium or Chaos forces.

Later on I plan on having random events happen within games as one side or the other brings greater forces to bear on their opponent. Team games are always fun and in the future if people are enjoying it a bit of Apocalypse could be planned.

For those chaps coming to game this weekend and wanting to start shaping the narrative these are the restrictions around your forces.

Army limitations
Each player’s army must conform to the rules below:
• Armies are no more than 500 points
• You must have one troop choice
• You may have one HQ choice but no more than one. You do not have to take an HQ choice.
• You may spend any remaining points on anything from your codex list from the Standard Troop Organization chart.
• No special characters allowed
• No vehicles with a total armor equal to or greater than 33 for front, side and rear armor combined.
*Depending on your alliegence you MUST include either 1 unit of Chaos Cultists from Codex Chaos Space Marines or 1 single 10 man unit of Imperial Guard chosen from the Infantry Platoon(this does not include the usual platoon command and 2-5 squads - just 1 10 man squad is required). These represent local forces embroiled within the growing conflict. They will be treated as Battle Brothers to your parent forces under the 6th ed ally rules for purposes of the narrative.

Usually these type of rules have a restriction on wounds, monstrous creatures and 2+ armour but unless players have any major issues I would like people to play with what they like within the limitations. Someone may really want to paint up and use a Terminator squad for example. I have a lot of various Imperial Guard, Chaos Cultist and Necromunda models if people want to make use of them or proxy for their 'local' forces.

If interested, have questions or already coming please feel free to comment here or email me. I have already been sent a brilliant story and list From Joel at Brush of Doom about his Ork 'Priest' and his cult of Gork!

Should be good fun and motivate me to post more narrative battle reports.