Capture the Archo Logist

This game was set on another (yet to be named) planet in the Jeriko Reach system near the Maelstrom, and the scenarios were set individually for each team. With Clara Toft the Archo Logist being GM’d by the Pontiff, the Alpha Legion’s tasks were to capture her and also to collect as many items from the 2 domes as possible. The Lictor just had to get in there and sample as much of the local population (with extreme prejudice) as possible.

The game started off with Clara and guards deployed between the two domes, followed by the chaos gang deployment in one corner opposite. I had made some blip counters for the Lictor which were placed strategically around the board, with the GM informed as to which the genuine article was.

The Lictor and Blips

The Alpha Legion gang

The game started slowly with the Marine lead gang cautiously approaching the domes, being wary of the blips movement. The moment of contact still came swiftly, with the two guards proving utterly hopeless at protecting the Logist who ran for the larger of the two domes. Instead of pursuing the now cornered Logist the Alpha Legionnaire went into the smaller dome, and it was at that point that the Lictor struck taking down the two gangers it charged with ease, and following up into the small dome.

A round of shooting from the Marine and those that could see through the door caused a wound on the Lictor, which then dived into combat with the result of taking out the Marine. While that was going on a ganger went into the larger dome to hunt down Clara, and everyone else went onto over watch while waiting for whatever came out of the door.

The dash between the domes saw the Lictor take another wound from the crossfire. Once in the dome the ganger was quickly dealt with, but this allowed Clara to escape into the arms of the chaos gang who were also looting the smaller dome for all they were worth (dragging out the limp body of the Marine, no doubt). Again fire from the gang into the doorway caused another wound on the Lictor (more on this in a moment) causing it to cower out of sight. It was at this point the Chaos gang bottled out and began withdrawing, the cunning Lictor sensing this waited for the Heavy with the multi barrelled heavy stubber to move before charging out of the door. Unfortunately the fire from the rest of the gang was more accurate taking the Lictor down, and out of the game.

This ended the game with the Lictor Victorious, causing the gang to bottle and the gang coming out well by capturing their target and having some loot. Later checking the stats for the Lictor I found it had only 3 wounds on its profile, however this was balanced out as the 5+ save should have been unmodified so it wasn’t such an issue.

In the end game sequence the Lictor had a full recovery, as did most of the chaos gang. Not so for the Marine who ended up with a leg wound, the injury table rolls were the strangest I’ve seen with 5 full recoveries rolled!

The current stats for the Lictor can be found here. http://www.lastsummer.com/necronet/gangc.asp?id=208

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!

The Henrie Boys expand!

Just to keep you all updated with the state of play in regards to the Henrie Boys gang. They are doing really well, considering they have only played in three games, and now have a gang rating of over 2000!

http://www.lastsummer.com/necronet/gangc.asp?id=174

For the future I plan to use the Ash Wastes supplement to design a vehicle or two (the ones that are almost finished from my WiP's), and I may also bring in some more gangers. Having earned over 1200 credits from selling off the two war robots and other items that were scavenged, the gang is in a really strong position to push out the rag tag forces of the Pontiff. I maybe able to convince the Guild to give me more of a voice on the Planetary Council, and put some pressure on the Guard contingent to look elsewhere.

Patrol Drake Mention in Dispatches

Just a quick update on Patrol Drake's Necronet profile following the bank hiest game recently played (battle report soon!). This is game 11 for Drake's section, so they're getting pretty experienced, but I haven't kitted them out too much as I hope to buy a vehicle or two for them in the future, using the rules for vehicles given in the Ash Wastes expansion.

Patrol Drake

New characters - Balthasar Brass & Guards

Jeriko reachs' Mines Guilder with a negotiable conscience and a habit of developing a lack of optical perception and memory in the presence of large ammounts of money.

Corrupt.. nah....

Balthasar Brass is nearly always seen in the company of his bodyguards Nando and Hal who, while not the brightest boys on 'The Reach', are deceptively deadly and have almost certainly seen Imperial military service in the past.

The Henrie Boys

Details of the Henrie Boys' gang can be found here: http://www.lastsummer.com/necronet/gangc.asp?id=174 .

I'm aiming for the gang to be proficient at shooting, and less so at close combat, as you'll see the characters have a dirty 'old west' feel to them. This is to represent them not coming into contact with the regular towns folk, or even the garrison on a regular basis. I'm hoping this will keep the eyes of the various factions turned away, however there has already been a meeting with some pirates and there is a report to follow soon.

Gangfight results

Following the ‘Gangfight’ battle (Firefight at Asakhim Valley) between the cult and the garrison, the campaign stats are as follows.

We played with 700 credits worth of troops each (counting starting values, not including earned advances etc). The result of the game was a win for the garrison, the cult fighters eventually failing a bottle roll. Neither side lost any ‘characters’, so none of the models taken out of action had to roll on the serious injuries table.

The Cult controls the following territory:
Old Ruins
Holestead
Old Ruins
Slag

After income and rolls on the Rare Trade chart, the cult gained a red dot laser sight and a set of infra goggles. It has 108 credits left.

The Garrison controls the following territory:
Settlement
Slag
Mineral Outcrop
Settlement
Settlement

After income, and a roll on the Rare Trade chart, the garrison gained a hot shot laser pack. However, their grenade launcher exploded during the game and had to be replaced (130 credits), leaving the garrison with a disturbing 1 credit left in the regimental kitty!

Experience points earned Corporal Drake a roll on the advance table, which resulted in +1 BS, and the grenade launcher specialist gained a roll too, which gave her +1 WS.

Rescued

Following the ‘Rescue’ battle between the cult and the garrison, the campaign stats are as follows.

The result of the game was a win for the garrison in that they rescued the captured corporal. The patrol was decimated in the process however, but no actual fatalities were sustained, the survivors limping back to base in the hours following the battle.

The Cult controls the following territory:
Old Ruins
Holestead
Old Ruins
Slag

After income and rolls on the Rare Trade chart, the cult bought a bio-scanner and a silencer. It has 195 credits left.

The Magus sustained a serious injury – Partially Deaf (-1 Ld). One hybrid earned 5 experience points, and another 2.

The Garrison controls the following territory:
Settlement
Slag
Mineral Outcrop
Settlement
Settlement

After income, two rolls on the Rare Trade chart, and the equipping of the three native volunteer troopers with autoguns, the garrison bought a skull chip as rare trade, which was given to the corporal. They have only 17 credits left (clearly the garrison is underfunded!).

The grenade launcher trooper sustained a ‘Blinded in One Eye’ serious injury, and earned enough experience points for a roll on the advance table. This resulted in +1 BS, which cancelled out the eye wound nicely! The rescued corporal earned 1 experience point, and the missile launcher trooper 5.

+++Stay tuned for in-character updates from both sides (and try to figure out where the truth lies!)+++

Campaign progress 1 (out of character)

Following the ‘Loot and Pillage’ battle between the hill tribe and the garrison patrol, the campaign stats are as follows.

The Cult controls the following territory:
Old Ruins
Holestead
Old Ruins
Slag

After income and six rolls on the Rare Trade chart, the Cult has 186 credits left, and bought (or looted from the supply drop) hallucinogen grenades, an auto repairer and a bionic eye.

As all the fighters engaged in the ambush were ‘henchmen’, no experience was earned.

The Garrison controls the following territory:
Settlement
Slag
Mineral Outcrop
Settlement
Settlement

After income and two rolls on the Rare Trade chart, the garrison has 55 credits left, and bought (recovered from the one supply canister they retrieved) a power fist and a power sword.

During the income phase, the settlements yielded 3 ‘juves’ (press ganged locals) who will take part in future games once miniatures have been put together.

No experience was earned, but the heavy with the grenade launcher suffered a serious injury, which resulted in a leg wound (-1M) and the corporal leading the patrol didn’t return. The next mission will therefore be a Rescue scenario to recover him, as soon as a special hostage model has been made.

Action points – let’s name our territories and main fighters?