High above the shining orb that was Hetraxis Prime, Captain Coruscant gazed down through the viewport. Restless, he drummed his fingers on the sill, the servo-assisted gauntlet leaving impressions in the metalwork. Six months they'd been here. Six whole months on this clapped out freighter in high orbit with nothing to do but gaze out of viewports. And wait. Still, the pay could be worse, though the lack of activity and anonymity of his employers was beginning to grate. Wait, they said, and when the alarm sounds head for the Teleporter. That was another thing- a rust bucket like this had no business containing such an enormous and advanced teleporter suite. And the secrecy- Even as the commander of the Cataphracts he had been unable to see anything of the ship, or even more than a handful of the crew.
He turned back to face the room full of Cataphracts on stand by. All were in full power armour, armed and waiting. The rest of the company were stood down at the moment. His gaze moved from face to face and saw boredom on each one. And the room was strobed with red light, and a keening noise filled his universe, and with a start he realised the alarm was sounding. He jammed his helmet on and headed for the Teleporter, the deck pounding as twenty of the toughest mercenaries in the Segmentum followed. The comm-link in his ear was alive with chatter and he strained to pick out the intel he would need, "Contact, hostiles sector 5...we're pulling back...Sergeant Drayma, respond...fast movers inbound in s....no life signs detected" The Cataphracts took their positions around him, as the blast doors closed, "Nothing on Auspex, we can't get a lock...med-evac to sector 5, we are taking heavy f-aaarrrggh..." , the suite was filled with a blinding white light as the Teleporter powered up, its energies reducing the vox chatter to garbled static but just before arcane technologies whisked him through a tiny crack in space and time Captain Coruscant was just able to make out a transmission that chilled him to the bone, "contacts identified, ident confirmed...Necrontyr..."
Hello and welcome back. Today, a Battle report. I had a couple of old friends, Dave and Ali over the other weekend, they used to do a fair bit of gaming with me back in the day and after a bit of a hiatus were keen to have a game over a beer or two. So I cooked up a scenario and bought some beer and set up a game for them. I decided we'd use the 2nd ed rules as it would be vaguely familiar to them and it was something I'd been playing a bit recently. And I asked Ali to bring his Necrons.
The Scenario
The Inquisition have found an ancient artifact of obvious alien power. Being totally unimaginative they named it the Shard of Infinite Darkness. Desirous of its arcane cubic secrets they took it to a secure and top secret facility-Ordos Xenos Research Station 217 on the planet Hetraxis Prime. Here, they studied it and attempted to unlock its power but despite years of effort had failed to make any headway. The Station itself is defended by several mercenary contingents, who are not even aware that they in the service of the Inquisition, some of whom openly patrol the surrounding area, and others who await in a disguised freighter in high orbit.
Half a galaxy away, in a forgotten tomb, the Necron Lord Rubix was annoyed. One of his favourite toys, that had kept him occupied during the eons between bouts of exterminating all life in the universe, had gone missing, and he couldn't find it anywhere. Despite turning out every cupboard and looking under all the sarcophagi it remained elusive. In frustration he turned to more arcane means of searching and eventually discovered a website where a conspiracy theorist named the StarChild claimed to have seen a similar cubic artifact in the hands of a human inquisitor. Swiftly, he revived enough warriors for a raiding party and boarded his personal Starship in pursuit!
The table was laid out with the research station in the centre of the table. Large mountains and jungle and ruined buildings were placed around it.
Dave took the Inquisitorial forces under his command-
The Research Station is armed with a Twin Linked AA Autocannon and 2 lasguns covering the walkway.
A Security Team of 7 men armed with lasguns and laspistols.
A Cyborg with powerfist and Grenade Launcher.
These would all start on the table, the security team patrolling.
In Reserve he had Captain Coruscant's Cataphracts- A Captain with Thunderhammer and plasma pistol, wearing power armour, and 4 combat squads of 5 Cataphracts, Variously armed with Lascannon, flamer and heavy plasma guns. These would arrive just off table and move on after the alarm was sounded.
Ali took command of Lord Rubix and his raiders.
These consisted of a Lord, 14 warriors and 4 Destroyers.
I would Gamesmaster.
Ali's task was to get as close as possible without being spotted by Daves patrols or the alarm going off. In hindsight I may have made this a little too easy as Dave managed to raise the alarm almost immediately! He then had to get into the research station and search it (without getting killed) , find the Cube and escape off the table! Simple eh? To be honest I didn't think he'd find it difficult, Necrons have a beefy statline!
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Opening moves; the Necrons try and use the ruined city to cover their advance but
Trooper Drek spots them instantly and sounds the alarm, and is immediately killed! |
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| The Destroyers head for the station, the now active Cyborg and Security team respond. |
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The Field of Battle with the Cataphracts arriving at the far end beyond the Research Station.
Most of the Security team are dead, though the AA guns atop the station have taken a heavy toll
on the Necron Destroyers. |
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| The Catphracts Advance! |
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| But the Necrons are closing in! |
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With the AA guns knocked out the Destroyers head for the Objective.
Landing on the Parking Platform they dismount and smash their way in. Unfortunately
once inside they get lost- One falls down an elevator shaft and other manages to get into
the Xenos enclosures where its is promptly eaten by an Ambull. |
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Despite the Combat Cyborg's efforts the Necrons mop up the remaining
Security Troopers with little difficulty. |
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Both sides advance to the Station and the Necrons split up- Some fight their way in while
Lord Rubix and his Warriors hold back the Cataphracts! |
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Lord Rubix prepares to run "DiePunyMortalDie.Exe" but repeated whacks from a thunder
hammer turned this into a "Fatal Error" and he promptly crashed... |
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More Necrons surge into the Research Station and take up the search. One
ends up in a Trash Compactor but 1000010 01101111 01100010 finds the cube and
they head for the exit!
|
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With Necron casualties mounting time is running out- The Destroyers on the landing pad were
out of action so two warriors hotwired the parked Skycar to take the cube to safety . Their fellow
Warriors provided covering fire as they sped off, gunning down Captain Coruscant! |
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Only seconds after takeoff they are hit by a stray plasma bolt and the Skycar
goes out of control wedging itself in the side of a ruined building. 01000010 01101111 01100010
and 01010011 01110100 01110101 dive clear |
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They climb down and sprint for the table edge but around the Research Station the
Cataphracts firepower proves too much and another Warrior falls. Unable to resist the call of ancient
technosorcery the remaining Warriors phase out!
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01000010 01101111 01100010 jumped clear and managed to land on the walkway, and rolled for cover. Not a moment too soon as the primitive SkyCar exploded behind him. 01010011 01110100 01110101 must have bought it, he thought, but stood up to see 01010011 01110100 01110101 stood on the walkway, looking slightly battered, but the living metal already repairing itself. Clutching the Cube they leaped down and climbed through the rubble to safety. Nearly there, thought 01000010 01101111 01100010, just a few more yards till we've cleared their Teleport Jammers. Catching his foot on a tangle of ancient wiring he went down, the Cube falling from his grasp, metal fingers questing for it, and as he felt the irresistible call of the Tomb from half a galaxy away the searching became more desperate. He forced himself to reach it, his fingers brushing its surface, and then closing through it as they lost their physical form, the panic rising as he scrabbled for it as it faded from view. The cube lay there amidst the ruins of a long forgotten civilization, the breeze gently covering it with dust and vegetation, and there, with its six brightly coloured sides untarnished by the millenia, it lies still.
Conclusion:
This must have been one of the greatest games I've ever had the pleasure of taking part in. Partly the scenario worked pretty well, and partly it developed its own narrative as it went; the Necrons were so close to victory being only a single move from safety when they Phased out! Partly its down to the models and Scenery which all looked the part, and of course the atmosphere of being with two old friends, beer and music was just great!
In future I'd make some changes- Make the Necrons harder to spot in the Sentry phase at the start, and make sure they bring scarabs to disrupt the Cataphracts shooting- Their disruption field would have been very useful!
Credits
Beer consumed was Stella Artois Cidre and Marstons EPA.
Music Provided by Two Steps from Hell (The Battlecry, Invincible and Skyworld albums) .
Ankles were duly nudged by Bella.
Scenery Chewing provided by Monty
Inquisitorial forces from Em4 Miniatures
Necrons from Citadel.
After Action vittles from Kash22. I had the Blue Buffalo...
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