Mission
The Scouts set up the terrain, leaving a stretch of "highway" bare at the top. They had the option to sit tight and out of line of sight for as many turns as they liked, and I gave warning that I'll play the enemy intelligently. Commanders may hide behind walls, or they might hold back and not come on at all if threatened.
Game
Alpha Squad chose to hold back and let the enemy move first.
The convoy had cultists in the vanguard, with elite troopers following. Two renegade commanders led them.
One the renegades were out in the open, Alpha Squad opened fire, decimating the cultist squads and injuring the commander up front. He survived the sniper fire, and started shouting orders to his men...
The injured commander ran to hide behind cover, using the cultists as a distraction. The next wave contained a sorcerer, leading a mutated spawn on a leash. Alpha Squad fought on, but they were bogged down by the swarm of heretics.
The elite troops had brought a missile launcher, and they played out a long range explosive duel with Oberon.
A Chimaera transport rumbled on, possibly transporting more reinforcements.
The scouts advanced to assault range, and the real killing began. Frag grenades were hurled through the air, accompanied by unrelenting sniper fire. The scouts followed up with a charge, and soon the cultists found themselves hard pressed.
Heretek troopers disembarked from the Chimaera, launching a salvo of plasma fire at the unsuspecting scouts. Another commander stepped unto the field, leading two Spawn. Alpha Squad held on, though chances at victory were slim.
And only at this point had the enemy showed its true nature. The scouts ripped their voxbeads out of their ears, as the network filled with static, then cries and garbled shouts. A Rhino transport rumbled unto the battlefield, decked out in blasphemous sigils.
A squad of Chaos Space Marines disembarked, ancient power armor gleaming.
The traitor legionaries moved out and opened fire, although their progress was impeded each step. Outmatched, the scouts fought on, resisting heroically.
The Chaos Marines seemed impervious to weapon fire, and they kept advancing, pushing the scouts ever backward. The goal of the mission changed, from assassination to survival. Alpha Squad focused on getting out alive and bringing word to Danicus.
Fortunately, the sniper scouts were well entrenched, and the enemy could not reach them in time.
Aftermath
A mission with a twist, although it went down a lot differently than what I envisioned.
I had the player roll a die after each round the alarm went off. The Chaos Marines could have come on turn 2, which would have changed the dynamic of the game. Their late arrival all but ensured the minor victory condition: survive! But it also made it impossible for the already weakened scout squad to achieve major victory: eliminate the marines.
A lot of scouts were taken out of action - 8 out of 10. Prudently, 2 command points were preserved for rerolls on the damage table. However, against all odds, there were no permanent deaths, and only a few major injuries. At this point, I cheered and booed in turn at the tenacious young warriors who just would not die!
Storywise, the instigators of the rebellion have been revealed! The Uprising on Mane Primus had entered its final stage.
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