Sunday, September 4, 2011

Week 3: Flank March

The fight to contain the Expeditionary forces at their dropzones has been brutal and close, but ultimately fruitless.  The fragmented nature of the command, with decisions made by field commanders rather than Strategia in orbit, has allowed the Imperials to disperse across the continent and prepare enough landing zones to receive significant reinforcements. 

Occupation leaders had hoped that the Tyranid-infested countryside would prove difficult to move through, but Eldar scouting forces were able to guide the bulk of the allied troops away from the alien swarms.  This came as cold comfort to the already decimated Space Marine forces acting as the vanguard: the tremendous casualties sustained have indicated that the Swarms may well be the most deadly foe on the planet.

In the confusion of the breakout, many of the leaders on both sides were incapacitated.  While neither side managed to gain an advantage in this fashion, the thinned ranks among the elite bear some interesting implications to the ongoing war.  With fewer rivals in play, the warlords of the occupation have banded into something resembling a true alliance, with Daemon Princes negotiating with Archons and warp-witches influencing the roiling tides of the Tyranid swarms.  The already united Imperials have suffered from newly born dissension in their ranks, with the hardline supporters of Captain Fabian’s strategies affected the most by the massive casualties.

In order to focus on the retreating Expedition troops, the Occupation was forced to destroy the Defense Towers in and around the drop zones.  With easy access to Talassar’s orbital defenses denied to both sides, the Occupation can focus on the ground war, which favors their heavily entrenched forces.

Week 2 results:
Primary: Expedition
Secondary: Tie
Tertiary: Occupation


Mission 3: Flank March

With new forces on the ground and turmoil in the upper echelons of the Expedition’s command, the next step falls to the field commanders.  The prevailing opinion is that the Imperial forces defending Talassar’s underground cities should be relieved as soon as is practical, but the dispersed landing has left the Expedition forces stranded in an isolated wilderness.  In order to break through to the populated regions, strategists have identified what they believe to be the least cohesive flank of the Occupation forces.  Taking ground will be key to turning the flank.

Primary Objective: Have more units in your opponent’s deployment zone than they have in yours at the end of the game.

Automated code signals indicate that a strategic intelligence and materiel dump was hidden by the retreating Talassarians somewhere in the area.  Retrieving it may be useful, but more importantly will deny whatever resources are contained to the opposing side.

Secondary Objective:  Place five objective markers at the beginning of the game.  Whenever an objective becomes controlled, roll a d6 and add the number of objective rolled for so far.  On a 1-4, the unit that controls the objective takes d6 S8 hits with no AP as they trigger a trap.  On a 6, remove all other objectives from the field.  The player who controls the remaining marker achieves this objective at the end of the game.

The battle field has been identified as a particularly active psychic location.  Whether this is indicative of a Daemon incursion, a past event or a freak alignment of natural forces, either side will be desperate to investigate.

Tertiary Objective:  Nominate one piece of terrain on the table’s center line at the beginning of the game.  This is the centerpoint of the psychic disturbance.  All psychic tests taken within 18” of this terrain will incur perils on any roll of doubles.  To investigate the disturbance, a psyker or independent character must spend one full game turn in contact with the terrain without taking any voluntary actions.  If both players have investigated the phenomenon before the end of the game, this objective is a draw.

4 comments:

  1. Report received by Adeptus Astarte’s from Eldar scouting forces:
    Eldar scouting force lead by Farseer Eldrad himself, having just dispatched an orc war band came across a decimated force of Black Templars and Grey Knights being feed upon by ripper swarms. After a cleansing of eldritch fire, a holo video disk was recovered telling of the marine’s fate. The disk showed there horrible fate at the hands of the hive fleet Cerberus, and the monster now identified as “The Winged Terror of Cerberus”. The scouting forces mission was underway to find an out flanking route for the expedition forces; unfortunately it appeared the swarms movement was in the same direction. Receiving a report to recover Talassaian material hidden in the area, and investigate a psychic anomaly in the same location. Farseer Eldrad knowing the threat that they might face, called upon the Avatar combined with his powerful psychic might in hopes of purging the swarm and the Winged Terror Hive Tyrant. Upon reaching the site an overwhelming Tyranid force was present, but the Winged Terror was fortunately not there. Farseer Eldrad was disappointed at missing an opportunity to confront this monster, but commenced with the attempted purge of the tyranids none the less.
    The Tyranid force covered the battle field faster than could be reckoned. The Talassaian materials were already being converted to bio mass by the Tyranids and a Genestealer brood and there Lord was already in place waiting ambush at the anomaly site. The Shadow in the Warp proved difficult to deal with even for Farseer Eldrad, and nothing the elder scouting force did even slowed the advancing force of the Tyranids. Even the Avatar went down in a massive attack of Gargoyles & Harpies lead by a strange winged Tyranid not known to the Eldar. And like a returning nightmare the Doom of Malan Tai made planet fall at their flank. Foreseeing their destruction, Farseer Eldrad ordered the retreat and took to orbit.
    Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Objectives achieved by Hive Fleet Cerberus.
    Major Victory! Week three.

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  2. Scott Harris achieved primary objective against Steven Harris.

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  4. Lord Draigo of the Grey Knights lead an assassination mission against the being known as Abigar. Scans and first hand accounts leading him to believe this thing is an Unbound Daemon Host and has been wrecking havoc among the Expeditionary Forces. Choosing to assault the monster immediately Draigo sent down a Librarian and strike team of Grey Knights to hold their attention until Draigo could assault the host directly. However, things did not go as planned. Abigar's forces had overwhelmed the ground troops before Draigo could get a lock. Teleporting to the surface Draigo had the drop on Abigar and in a rapid volley of storm bolter rounds, eviscerated the men around the Daemon. Sending Abigar into a blind rage he surged forward with every man at his disposal drowning the paladins in bodies. Through the swirling melee Draigo and Abigar met and just before Abigar could reach Draigo. The latter's Force Weapon punched through Abigar and in a flash of light banished the Daemon Host from the materium. With the assassination successful he teleported out, leaving the blood thirsty guardsmen to their own. Yet all this was at a heavy cost. While the Daemon Host was slain, Draigo had lost 70% of his strike force and half of his paladins to the maddened traitors.

    Primary and Secondary objectives achieved by The Forgotten Legion (Occupation). Tertiary Objective achieved by Grey Knights (Expedition).

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