Uprising on Mane Primus - Finale Story

Danicus looked around. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere, the rebel militia torn apart by bolter and las fire, hacked with combat blades. Two crumpled heaps of power armor showed the bodies of the heretic astartes. Alpha Squad, bruised and bloodied, limped into view. Danicus scanned the hallways one final time for any threats, then holstered his weapons. He nodded towards the scouts, showing more appreciation and gratitude than other men with a thousand words. And then he started barking orders again. The halls needed to be cleansed of the filth. The loyal palace guard, few as they were remaining, had to rally. Beta and Gamma squads were just returning from a mission. They would lead a sweep of the palace, rooting out remaining armed resistance. Alpha Squad could recuperate.

And then the vox chimed.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Alpha Squad

Alpha Squad

Uprising on Mane Primus - Epilogue

Argus stood on the viewport of the Sacrum Pugnus. He leaned on the rail, and fixed his sights on the closed plasteel barrier preventing him to gaze directly into the warp.

Mane Primus.

Argus sighed, and closed his eyes.

He delved into his memories of that world.

***

Argus stood at the entrance of the ruined hab-block, chainsword whirring in his hand. The towering monstrosity of a Chaos Terminator had its back to him. It flicked its chainfist at Boreas, who dodged, but not quite fast enough. The powered teeth bit into the scout. No longer in control of his jump, Boreas crashed into the wall, and slumped to the ground.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Finale Game

Introduction

Alpha Squad took up positions on the ruined outskirts of the palace. Facing them, the 10th wave of rebel militia prepared for the assault. For additional details about the mission, as well as the campaign rules, click here.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #10 Game - Siege

Mission

I set up the board as a simple enclosed maze. Karn, Argus, Boreas and Grigor started in the top right corner (at the infirmary), with the rest of the squad in the bottom right (at the training room). The top left corner had the main objective (the governor's chambers), the bottom left the secondary objective (the data center). So the guys on the lower lane could choose between going for the secondary objective, or helping the rest of the squad reach the main one. Line of sight was capped at 12".

Game

Both parts of Alpha squad advanced into the unknown, soon running into armed resistance.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #10 Story

Karn was carrying the unconscious Argus to safety. He turned back for a moment, firing quick shots with his bolt pistol, then ran on. Behind him, the traitor marine cleared the treeline, and aimed his boltgun. A split second later, he was engulfed in an explosion. Karn vaulted over the small hillock to his position in cover, thankful to Oberon for the covering fire.

He noticed the voxbead in Argus' ear clicking. His wasn't; it must be an external attempt at communication. He ripped out his own device, taking the one from Argus.

'... report. I said, report!' - came the crackling voice of the Thunderhawk co-pilot.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #9 Game

Mission

The scouts set up the terrain, establishing a defensive perimeter some way from the downed Thunderhawk. Their mission: hold back the enemy! Each enemy unit in the scouts' zone at the end of the game meant victory points for the rebels.

The close combat and support scouts hid in the treeline, leaving the snipers and Oberon in the back lines. A large protruding rock provided excellent cover for 3 sniper scouts, while Oberon established himself a nest complete with razor wire.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #9 Story

Karn racked his sniper rifle, and fired. The shot hit, but deflected harmlessly off power armor. The traitor marine howled, his voice distorted by the grotesque helmet. Karn ducked, as his position was showered by bolt shells. He scurried over to another balcony, and looked around. From the neighboring hab-block, another sniper scout held the traitors back for a moment with supressing fire. Then he too had to duck, as the tank opened up again. Although Karn never considered Rhinos to be anywhere near a main battletank, this foul machine, decorated with blasphemous sigils and symbols that made the eyes hurt, was outfitted with some sort of frag launcher and one of those powerful bolters that the marines also carried.

Using the momentary respite, as the enemy concentrated on the other hab-block, Karn stuck his head out. He identified the positions took up by Alpha Squad in an instant. Their situation was dire. The vox was useless, spouting in turn blasphemous curses or ululating cries. Multiple scouts had been incapacitated, or otherwise severely wounded. The enemy was pressing them hard. He saw no way out. Except...
It must have been the Emperor interceding on their part. Karn saw no other explanation. After the final fusilade, the enemy weapons fell silent almost as one. The chaos marines reloaded. The near silence was eerie  after the continuous firefight, and it wouldn't last long. Karn inhaled, then shouted at the top of his lungs.
'Sigma-9!'
He ducked back immediately, and his position was again battered by bolter fire. The surviving cultists added their meager autoguns to the onslaught, and a moment later, the frag launcher on the Chaos Rhino thumped and fired as well. Karn fell back. He could only hope that his squad mates had heard him, and had understood his meaning. He would provide them with some cover - wild shots fired while running... as much as he could muster while making his escape.

Two days later - Emperor knows how - Alpha Squad had reunited at grid point Sigma-9.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #8 Game

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.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #8 Story

Argus stood behind a wall, weapons at the ready. The enemy convoy was en route, belching smoke in the distance. The far off rumble assured him of a few more minutes of calm before the storm. He was tired, but he fought it off. He closed his eyes, mind focusing.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #7 Game - Protect the soldiers

Mission

Start with 5 CP. All rolls done by the player can be CP rerolled.

Variable game length.
Deployment: modified Dawn of War, 12" deployment zones.
PDF detachment: 2x10-man squad of Guardsmen, 1 Chimera.
Major victory: 10 soldiers or the tank survives.
Minor victory: at least 1 soldier survives.
Minor defeat: at least 1 scout survives.
Enemies can seize the initiative.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #7 Story

Gortez aimed down his sights, and pulled the trigger. Across the hab-block, the chest of a renegade squad leader exploded, showering his underlings with blood, gore and bits of bone. The cultists broke, turned tail and ran.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #6 Game - Defend the roadway

Mission

Start with 5 CP. All rolls done by the player can be CP rerolled.

Variable game length.
Waves of enemies appearing in a 6" zone from their map edge. Scouts deploy anywhere.
Major victory: no enemies make it to the opposite table edge.
Otherwise, roll a D6 at the end of the game, and add +1 for every 10 wounds worth of enemies that made it through. 2-4 minor victory; 5-7 minor defeat; 8+ major defeat.
Enemies can seize the initiative.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #6 Story

The vox clicked twice, then went silent for a second; two clicks, then silence; two clicks. Argus responded with the proper code, and the Lux Imperatoris soon descended unto the clearing in front of Alpha Squad. The scouts embarked in good order, the rearguard scanning the treeline with their bolters.

The mission had gone well, but the tidings were grave.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #5 Game - Assassinate the enemy commander

Mission

Start with 5 CP. All rolls done by the player and can be CP rerolled.

Variable game length.

Have 6 ruins/buildings on the battlefield.

When reaching a ruin, the scouts can either breach or besiege.

Besiege: stay in base contact with ruin. At the beginning of next enemy turn, on 4+, the enemy rushes out. Each squad suffers D3 MW. Otherwise, the enemy rushes out the following turn. Each squad suffers D6 MW.

Breach: the scouts who end the movement phase in base contact with the ruin enter the ruin. If they eliminate all resistance by the end of the following enemy turn, they can exit the building in their movement phase as if debarking from a transport.

The first two ruins searched do not have the commander.

For the third ruin and onwards, roll a D6, adding the number of ruins searched thus far. On 8+, you have found the commander and his elite bodyguard. The commander is automatically found in the 6th ruin, otherwise.

Minor victory: kill the enemy commander.

Major victory: breach all 6 ruins.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #5 Story

Boreas aimed his bolt pistol, and pulled the trigger.

Bang! The external propellant exploded in the barrel of the pistol, launching the bolt towards its target.
Froom! The internal propellant of the bolt ignited once out of the barrel, taking the projectile to supersonic speeds in a matter of milliseconds.
Krak! The bolt shell traveled a scant few meters, and penetrated the thick skull of a charging ork, interrupting a savage war cry.
Boom! The mass reactive projectile exploded after the impact, shattering the greenskin's head from the inside. Its comrades faltered for a moment, showered in gore and shrapnel.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #4 Game

Mission

Loosely based on Crucible of War - Meat Grinder. I continuously added ork reinforcements to the table, and had all dead squads put to the side and returning on 4+. This built up a good narrative, and the scouts were able to pick off their attackers at first, with them getting overwhelmed only by the end.
I modified the available stratagems to better fit our play, and gave the scouts the chance to put down two types of booby traps: either 3" range that kill models on 5+ or 6" range that kill on 6+. Either cost 1 CP.

Note that several Scouts - those that were never knocked unconscious - have yellow paint on them.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #4 Story

Argus thumbed the activation rune as he swung the chainsword, and the overworked engine growled to life once more, just as the teeth came into contact with a thick, green neck. The ork's savage warcry was interrupted by an equally savage gurgling sound. Green life fluids splashed across Argus as he decapitated the beast. Shaking the viscera off his weapon, he looked around.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #3 Game

Mission

Loosely based on Crucible of War - Ambush. With no shooting on the ork side, there was no need for them to apply any stratagems. The Scouts could apply a stratagem to seize the initiative on 4+, which they did. This time, their player was stringy with his command points, leaving 1 right to the end.

Note that one Scout - Sergeant Argus - is already painted.

Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #3 Story

Argus ran. His breath came in ragged rasps. His side ached. His head pulsed, each step a muffled thump. But he ran.