Dark Angel Combat Squad

 Hi!

I needed some quick Space Marine reinforcements for my ongoing Planet 28 project so had a rummage in my lead and plastic pile and selected some of EM-4 Miniatures Space Rangers to act as proxies.

-

The figures are 3 piece plug together models with somewhat static poses but they really remind me of the old Space Crusade marines as they come with a selection of rather awesome heavy weapons. 

I decided to batch paint them just to get through the lot in a reasonable time and it worked out pretty nicely, if tediously and it reminds me why I'm so rubbish at painting armies these days. Despite being around since the mid 90's they're surprisingly good sculpt though so it wasn't too onerous a task to complete the squad, hardly a surprising fact as I believe they were sculpted by Bob Naismith.

I do need to pick up some transfers for them to give them a properly uniform look though, rather than doing my usual hand painted force insignias but they will do for the time being.

The sergeant comes with a power sword and a combination of chunky las pistol and a power drill but game wise, I suspect it will represent a plasma pistol instead. Of all the weapons that come in the kit, the sculpted on sergeants weapon is the poorest and would take considerable work to remove and replace with a bolt pistol or similar but otherwise, the figure is great with is terminator style shades and 90's flat top haircut.

The heavy weapon dude comes with a HMG which I used as a heavy bolter, a large calibre gun that could easily represent a las cannon and a plasma weapon that is perfect for a heavy plasma gun but as I only plan on using them for small skirmishes I figured using the more powerful weapons options was overkill.

The troopers are armed with high tech looking rifles which are nicely detailed and are nice sculpts too, if a bit monopose. I remember back in the day, my wargaming opponent picked up 100 of them to represent a full company but never painted them.

I must admit that I'm tempted to pick up a few more of the sets as they are literally cheap as chips at £3.99 for five and painting up several boarding parties for different chapters ala Space Crusade but noticed that EM-4 have actually sold out so will need to keep such crazy ideas for another day.

Still, I now have a nice elite fighting force to deploy in small skirmishes and I look forward to deploying them on the battlefield in the near future to slay some xenos scum! 

Hopefully I'll get the three remaining Zombies for my ongoing Rangers of Shadow Deep project painted up this weekend but as I'm working, it may take a bit longer but until then, All the best!

Battle Report: Unexpected Encounter in Freeport City

 Hi!

As promised, I managed to play another game last night featuring Inquisitor Fisher and her loyal retainer Geralt the Wolfbane who encountered some old foes in the slums of Freeport City!

The Background

Inquisitor Fisher has heard rumours of more Orks than usual being sighted in the rundown slums of the capitol of Farpoint, Freeport City and has decided to investigate. While it is not uncommon to see several of the more 'civilised' clans such as Bloodaxes, Badmoons or even Deathskulls, the rumours identify the Orks as Goffs and such warlike Xenos infiltrating the Orkish enclaves no doubt is a sign of trouble to come.

While heading to meet with a local Ork representative in one of the less salubrious parts of town, Fisher spots furtive movement and as the Inquisitor and Geralt draw their weapons, a group of Goff Boys burst into view, their ambush spoiled by Fishers keen eye and charge forward bellowing warcrys and firing wildly.

The Forces

As I am using a bit of a hodgepodge of rules, I put together a sample of the forces stats and feats that they can carry out by using Hero Points. 

Inquisitor Fisher is accompanied as always by Geralt the Wolfbane while the Ork force consists of four Goff Boyz all armed with bolt pistols and axes.

The Setup 

The game takes place in one of the slums of Freeport City. It is a warren of dark alleyways, buildings constructed from a plethora of materials ranging from adobe to plascrete and scrap. The street, such as it is, is littered with junk and smells vaguely of boiled cabbage, a sure sign of Orkish inhabitation.

Fisher and Geralt begin the game on the southern edge of the board whilst the Orks begin at the north. The Inquisitor needs to survive the encounter and if possible exit the board's northern edge. The Orks are out for blood and must kill Fisher but will settle for Geralt if the opportunity allows it.

The Game

As I already mentioned, I am using a bit of a random mix of gaming elements, some of which may get bodged further as I play.

Each turn begins with a dice roll to see if any Hero Points are generated using my old Space Crusade dice with the red dice being the Hero's and the white the Villains. These points can be used to perform feats, be they impressive attacks, extra moves or in the case of Fisher, glaring.

Turn one begins with Fisher seizing the initiative and moving confidently forward towards the approaching Orks, snapping off a shot at the distant figures with her las pistol but failing to hit the leering xenos. As the Orks move towards the Imperial agents, Geralt uses his Move It! feat to sprint forward towards one of the Boyz who has foolishly split away from the rest of his companions.

Turn two sees no Hero Points rolled and the Orks take the initiative with the lone boy on the flank rushing towards Geralt firing wildly with his pistol but failing to damage the Wolfbane. In return, Geralt bellows his clan's warcry and charges the Ork.

A stellar couple of dice rolls sees the surprised Ork badly wounded by Geralt's blistering attack and things may be looking up for the Imperials.

The second Ork, seeing the approaching Inquisitor, opens fire with its bolt pistol and despite her armour, Fisher takes a point of damage.

 

Cursing as blood begins to trickle from the graze on her cheek caused by the shell exploding on her shoulder pad and hearing Geralt's warcry, Fisher activates her power sword and lunges at the Ork who fired upon her. Unfortunately, she fails to damage the Ork who nimbly ducks under the glowing red blades swing and loses the spike from the top of his helmet instead of his head.

The remaining two Orks rush down the alley on the western flank, determined to get behind Fishers party and attack from the rear.

The Imperials win initiative in turn three and roll a Hero Point too and Geralt runs his blade through the Ork he had been fighting. As he kicks the corpse of the greenskin off his blade, he hears hobnailed boots pounding down a nearby alleyway and hurries towards Fisher, aware that she's about to be outflanked.

Fisher uses a Hero Point to perform her Imperious Glare feat on the Ork as it tries to swing at her and her piercing ice blue eye makes contact with the red of the Goff and he quails under the judging stare (he had rolled a really good attack dice and the re-roll resulted in him rolling poorly!) Taking advantage of the creatures momentary pause, Fisher sweeps her power blade and sends the beasts head flying from its shoulders.

Unfortunately Fisher doesn't get chance to savour her victory as the two remaining Orks burst out of the alley behind her and one opens fire with his pistol at her unprotected back and sends the Inquisitor sprawling. Bellowing in victory, the greenskin rushes forward to finish the job brandishing its axe but is surprised to find the supposedly deceased Fisher pull herself to her feet and meet his charge with a curse.

The second Ork, sees Geralt emerging from the other end of the alley, covered in green blood from the Ork he slew and opens fire but Geralt avoids the shells and they scream past his head before ricocheting off a nearby wall. 

Turn four begins and once again no Hero Points are rolled. Inquisitor Fisher and the Goff in melee with her exchange a flurry of blows but fail to find their marks but Fisher is keenly aware of the fact that the shot to the back has pierced her armour and she is bleeding pretty badly.

Geralt rushes the Ork that fired on him and in another brutal attack wounds the beast, driving it backwards with a flurry of swings with his punisher sword. In response, the Ork fails to damage the Wolfbane.

Turn five one again sees a decided lack of Hero Points and the swirling melee that continues sees Geralt stagger as the wounded and now throughly enraged Ork smash his axe into Geralt's side, cutting through his armour and into his flesh. Grunting in pain, Geralt swipes at the beast, failing to damage it but driving it back somewhat.

Things are looking equally grim for Fisher as the Ork fighting her proves that a wounded Ork is a dangerous Ork as it scores another wound on her and she fights down the pain and snarls at the beast, determined to wipe the sneer off its face if its the last thing she does.

Turn six begins with no Hero Points being rolled once again but Imperial pluck wins out as focusing all her rage into a well timed thrust, Fisher runs the sneering Ork through and disembowels the greenskin. Pausing to kick the dying creature in the head, she staggers towards the Wolfbane who is bleeding like a stuck pig as the Ork he is fighting scores another hit, breaking his sword arm. 

Before the creature can celebrate, Geralt lifts his pistol and sends an explosive bolt into it's head sending it sprawling to the ground, skull shattered and quite dead.

Conclusion

Geralt slumps and groans, not sure where hurts more, his cracked and broken ribs or his badly mangled arm but sees an equally bloody Fisher glaring down at him. "Come on Geralt, there's no time to lie around feeling sorry for yourself. I'm sure there are more of them out there so suck it up". Sighing, the Wolfbane pulls himself to his feet and painfully follows his boss towards the safety of a local agents compound wondering if he can have a day off after this and plaintively wishing for a drink or ten.

So there we go! Fisher and Geralt have avoided an ambush but what are the Orks motives? Is this a simple attack of opportunity or is there more at work than it appears. Hopefully once they've both been patched up, the Inquisitorial team will be able to get to the bottom of it!

The bodged rules went pretty well and it was a good fun game with the two heroes fighting off a group of goons and my only regret was I didn't get enough hero points to perform any really powerful attacks but I had great fun playing the game and will need to play another soon!

I'm really enjoying playing games with only a handful of figures a side as I can get a game in quickly and don't have to paint too much to get a new force into play either which is a definite bonus.

I've got today off and have a vague plan of playing a game of Planet 28, one of Song of Blasters and one of Brutal Quest which will give me lots to post about in the coming days so watch this space but until then, All the best!

Havok Meets Space Crusade

 Hi!

Just a quick post today as I've been really busy at work but did manage to play out a game or two!

I've been bodging together some really simple rules based on Space Crusade and Havok to allow me to play a super quick skirmish and gave it a bit of a try through the other night featuring Inquisitor Fisher and Geralt the Wolfbane encountering some marauding Orks in the slums of Freeport City.

For those who don't remember Havok, it was briefly released in the mid 90's by Blubird Toys in the UK and had a selection of prepainted miniatures and the odd vehicle. While the rules were super light, I did love the artwork which was very 2000AD and the figures themselves are rather good and sculpted by Bob Naismith no less so have a real Oldhammer vibe to them and I really need to pick up a few more at some point!

Using the Kommander's Manual (or rules leaflet) along with a selection of dice I've had lying around from various games, I quickly statted up a couple of characters and had a bash!

Essentially each character had two actions and to shoot or fight and perform armour saves had to roll a number of Havok dice to see how effective their action was. It's a super simple mechanic but worked fairly well but I decided to add a bit of oomph to it by rolling a red Space Crusade dice with the resulting number being Hero Points that allowed the good guys to add an extra Havok dice to their roll.

It was a really fun game but I need to work on giving each character some more individuality as at present they all have the same abilities. I eventually started rolling an old Sustained Fire dice from 2nd edition 40k when the heroes used a Hero Point with the resulting roll giving them 1,2 or 3 extra dice and the possibility of a fumble which removed one of their dice to spice it up further and it really worked well with Inquisitor Fisher blasting one Ork boy with a fusillade of Las Pistol Fire and allows for some really brutal close combat.

The further addition of a white Space Crusade dice to give the bad guys Villain Points gave them the opportunity to do some unexpected stuff themselves and resulted in Geralt getting badly beaten up by the Ork Boss.

Sadly my phone was running low on charge and I only managed to get a couple of photos but I plan on playing another session this evening and recording the results as well as posting the draft rules so folks can have a bash themselves it they like.

I'm planning on keeping playing around with the dice mechanics and rules themselves so the battle report may turn into a bit of a ramble into playtesting but we shall see how we get on!

In other news, I have a Chronopia post that I've been working on over the last few days following the release of the latest images that have been making the rounds on Facebook but am unsure if I should post it as I may be being a bit too critical. While I was super excited to hear that Chronopia was making a comeback, the more I see, the less I feel it's a viable project and that it's clearly a fan project with a bit of funding rather than a professional product.

If folks do want to know more, let me know and I'll try to reduce the wailing and gnashing of teeth and post my opinion on what we've seen thus far but in the meantime, All the best!

Battle Report: Polypp Infestation!

 Hi!

Well I'm back at work and its been really busy which is fantastic! To celebrate, I managed to play a quick battle report yesterday evening featuring Inquisitor Fisher's party scouring a settlement to destroy a deadly Polypp infestation.

The Background

Following the mission to deal with the Sump Beast, Inquisitor Fisher has been dispatched to investigate the sudden loss of communication with a small settlement called Finbar Station. The settlement is located several hours from Freeport City and Fisher quickly assembles a team to find out what has happened after her Astropath informs her that she can sense strange Psychic emanations from the region. 

Rushing to Finbar Station in her shuttle, her team lands to find the settlement strangely deserted. Cautiously moving towards the settlement's main structure, Geralt points out a strangely glowing patch of fungus like material. Polypp spoor! Drawing their weapons Inquisitor Fisher and her team cautiously enter the building, aware that the settlers of Finbar Station are dead and the dangerous Warp entities must be destroyed before their infestation can spread further. 

The Forces

Inquisitor Fisher's party consists of Fisher who is armed with a power sword, las pistol and has medium armour, Vash Hammersworn who is armed with a Thunderhammer, stub pistol and has heavy armour, Geralt the Wolfbane who is equipped with a bolt pistol and sword and wears medium armour and Chin the Suicide Warhead who is armed with his fists and has medium armour. He is also capable of exploding!

The Polypp infestation consists of a mixture of Shamblers and Beholders who may randomly appear as the team explores the buildings maze like interior. There is also the chance of bumping into a Gorgon or even the Shoggoth.

The Setup

The game takes place in the interior of one of the buildings that makes up Finbar Station. Fisher's team begin the game in the bottom centre entry room and must move through the structure dealing with Polypp spawning points and possible ambushes. 

The first room has a low danger rating whilst as they explore further the danger will increase with more chances of being ambushed as the Polypp intelligence becomes aware of their activities. The objective is to clear each quadrant of spawn points and destroy the Shoggoth which lies at the centre of the building.

The Game

I fancied trying something a bit different for this game and used a bit of a hybrid of the Space Crusade rules using Havok dice. Each character has three actions, to move a square, shoot, close combat or perform a special action. 

For example, Fisher can attack using her power sword using two Havok dice with a skull giving one success and a blast icon giving two successes. The Polypp Shambler would then roll two Havok dice to resist the attack (they're pretty hard to kill!) 

Characters can use one action to rest which allows them to roll a single dice to see if they recover a health point, something that came in really handy in the game.

Entering the first room with the deft application of his Thunderhammer, Vash is confronted by a Polypp Shambler who moves forward to attack him but is charged by Geralt. The ensuing melee sees Geralt fail to kill the warp beast and Chin moves forward, his metal fists thundering into the pulpy creatures hide, wounding but not killing it. 

Fisher allows her underlings to deal with the creature and sets out to destroy the first of the spawn points.

The Polypp attacks Geralt and badly wounds the Wolfbane and a second Shambler appears at the doorway accompanied by a Beholder. Its only the first room and things are looking grim for the team but Fisher destroys the spawn point so no further beasts will appear in the room and her team moves to engage the foe.

Chin destroys the first Shambler with a series of punches and kicks, his robotic limbs a blur of furious movement and the creature dissolves into a foul smelling pool of slime. This frees Geralt to charge the Beholder and a series of swings of his sword bisects the floating monster.

Finally Vash moves to smash the final Shambler with his Thunderhammer but rolls incredibly badly only succeeding in causing a single point of damage to the warp beast.

 

In return the Shambler attacks Vash and causes a wound but is eventually destroyed as the entire team piles in and it too dissolves under the scrum of flashing swords, blazing pistols and robotic limbs. With the first room cleared, Fisher attempts to open the doorway to the next room and steps in.

Despite the higher chance of an ambush, the team only encounters a single Shambler in the room and quickly destroy it and the spawn point. (in the first room I rolled a single Havok dice per turn with a blast icon having an ambush occur. In the second there were two dice rolled, and in the third, three and so on).

Geralt busts through the door of the third room and draws his bolt pistol to cover his team as they move into the room. Appearing from the depths a lone Beholder moves to attack the Wolfbane, its eye beam cutting a deep gash in the wall behind him. Geralt responds by opening fire, lightly wounding the creature but not slowing its advance. Vash moves to support Geralt whilst Fisher is accompanied by Chin towards the door to the next room, confident that her two companions will deal with the spawn point and any creatures they encounter.

Unfortunately two Shamblers appear, one moves towards Fisher while the second trundles towards the Beholder who is engaging the other half of the Inquisitorial party. Again the Beholder's eye beam blazes, this time catching Geralt and causing another wound.

 

Hefting his Thunderhammer, Vash moves round the corner and brings it crashing down on the top of the floating creature destroying it utterly. Nodding his thanks to the Mechanicus, Geralt pauses to patch his latest wound and moves to support Fisher and Chin while Vash moves toward the spawn point.

Combined assault by Fisher and Chin destroys the Shambler before it can act but the remaining Polypp moves forward to close with Vash and attempt to stop the destruction of the spawn point. Vash once again swings his hammer, but it takes his entire three actions to beat the creature to pulp and is badly injured in return. Fortunately no further ambushes were struck and in the subsequent turn Vash managed to destroy the spawn point.

The team then moves into the final room and discovers another Shambler which moves towards them. As her team moves to attach the Polypp and deal with the spawn point, Fisher notices a door to her left and senses she's near the source of the infestation. Opening the doorway reveals a shadowy storeroom that seems to be partially filled with a dully glowing mass. Suddenly the glow intensifies and Fisher finds herself face to face with the Shoggoth. Gripping her Power sword, she charges in, the crimson glowing blade in her hands blurs and cuts deeply into the otherworldly flesh of the Shoggoth.

The Shoggoth slams its great bulk down, trying to crush Fisher but she nimbly skips out of the way avoiding the blow with ease. Meanwhile the Shambler moves towards Vash, the Polypp intelligence knows it's in serious danger and strikes Vash down, leaving the Mechanicus sprawled and unconscious but before it can infect him, Geralt and Chin rush in to kill it.

As Vash falls, Fisher once again strikes out at the Shoggoth with her blade, again cutting deeply into the beast but its unnatural vitality allows it to keep fighting and this time Fisher is too slow and the beast catches her in its sweeping attack sending her crashing back into the wall. 

Bellowing and hooting, the Shoggoth attempts to summon reinforcements but is interrupted by Geralt charging through the doorway and opening fire with his bolt pistol, the explosive rounds detonating in the beasts flesh, sending the creature into thrashing frenzy before it dissolves into a pool of foul smelling slime as Geralt's sword finishes it off.

Stooping over his boss, he hoists Fisher to her feet and nodding her thanks she moves to examine the source of the infestation. Hidden amongst the cargo is a strange, dully glowing container. Obviously of Xenos manufacture, Fisher pulls out a stasis generator and slips the artefact into it for later study. 

Sudden sounds of combat ring out from behind them and she turns to see Chin striking down another Shambler as he stands over the slumped form of Vash. Rushing forward Geralt slings the unconscious Mechanicus over his shoulder and glances at Fisher. There are far too many of the creatures approaching from the gloom for them to deal with. Fisher snaps at Chin " Identification Fisher, Code Tsunami!" and the robots eyes flash red as its suicide protocol is activated. Bounding forward, fists swinging, the robot dives into the mass with a yell of BANZAI! and as Fisher and Geralt make a run for it, he detonates, the fusion bomb in his chest unleashes a wave of fiery destruction on the Polypps and the structure allowing a somewhat singed Fisher and Geralt, still carrying Vash over his shoulder to escape to the safety of their shuttle.

As the shuttle takes off, Fisher contacts her ship, The Shrike to open fire with its lance batteries and Finbar Station vanishes in an apocalypse of orbital laser fire. Fisher is a fan of the nuke 'em from orbit approach as it is after all, the only way to be sure.

Upon her return to The Shrike, Fisher sends Vash off to medical to be purged of any Xenos taint and Geralt wanders off for a bath as she heads to the bridge to report to the Governor General why one of the planets settlements is now a crater of smouldering glass. But where did the artefact come from and who would be foolish enough to unleash a deadly Warp infestation on a planet? Only time will tell and once Vash is back on his feet she intends to study the strange object and divine who needs to face the full might of the Imperial Inquisition!

Well that was an interesting game, especially as it was thrown together without much thought! Does the artefact appear to be suspiciously similar to the Item that the two mercs stole from the warehouse in Freeport City recently for a mysterious employer? Who is behind the death of a town and using Xenos tech in such a dangerous fashion? Only time will tell but until then, All the best!