Psyker Hunt

We played another game last week, which I GM’d, so I’ll describe it out of character. The uprising is gathering pace, and the ‘stealer infection rate on Jeriko Reach is reaching critical mass. All of the psychic background noise generated by this caused one of the few Astropaths on the world to go mad, and he ran off into the wastes clutching his head, his only desire to shut out the chittering that haunted his every waking hour.

The Henrie Boys.

The cult.

Captain Jack took his Henrie Boys gang (around 2000 Necromunda gang rating’s worth of guys, counting as Van Saars). The Pontiff took the same value in Genestealer Cultists, using the Underhive Bestiary in the Outlanders book. He took a Magus, three Purestrains and around eight Brood Brothers.

I briefed each player secretly. I told Captain Jack that his contacts at the Imperial Mining Concern had passed on the info about the missing Astropath, stating that the Guard Garrison was out in force looking for him, but looking in the wrong place. If he could recover him, the Garrison would surely pay a high reward.

I briefed the Pontiff that the Uprising had heard of the missing Astropath too – just think what they could do to/with an Astropath!

So I made a piece of terrain to represent a deserted wasteland scavenger hut in which the Astropath would hole up. Unknown to the players, he’d be accompanied by a Squat bodyguard. The scenario was built around a Necromunda Gangfight, with the added objectives above. The Astropath had the Mental Assault Wyrd power, which he would ise every turn on the nearest model, from inside the hut. The gangs would have to take him down in close combat and carry him away in order to win.

The game started out with the Purestrains going crazy, as they always do! Even one Purestrain is an absolute tank in Necromunda, so three were pretty hardcore. After a couple of turns of carnage the Henrie Boys managed to get some payback as their shooting took its toll.

And then something entirely unexpected happened. The Astropath rolled a double 1 on his psychic test and was subsequently possessed by the daemon! I hadn’t planned for that, but that’s why you have GMs I guess. A kind observer lent me a Skaven model and a hideous rat-like fiend from the Warp erupted from the hut intent upon rending the flesh of every living thing within reach. It was closely followed by a fleeing Squat bodyguard, who I decided had not been paid enough to see his employer turn into a daemon before his very eyes! The Henrie Boys had been closing on the hut and knew they had just one chance to escape with their lives. Everything opened up on the daemon, causing six wounds, but incredibly only knocking it down.

At the that point, the cultists decided discretion was the best tactic and failed a bottle test, instigating a withdrawal (we always disengage when a gang fails a bottle test, we don’t just stop the game and pack up!). As the cult fought its way clear the Henrie Boys opened up on the daemon once again – if they didn’t, it would be up and undoubtedly tearing them apart. Fortunately for the gang, they disintegrated it, sending it back to the warp from whence it came.

The daemon emerges - the Henrie Boys have just one chance!