Started off small. 500 points against Wimaro (check out his awesome stuff here: https://www.instagram.com/craftworldeldar/?hl=en)
The plan is to play small games and build a narrative campaign organically from what happens in the games.
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500 points -
Eternal War - 4 objectives
Harlequins vs Imperial Guard
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Captain Kolt and Commissar Gneist paced back and forth. The 42 men of 1st Platoon, Echo Company stood at attention. Their uniforms immaculate and weapons shiny and ready for action. It had taken months but slowly the Korgen Planetary Defence Force had started to take shape. Korgen had enjoyed the protection of the Black Scorpions Space marine chapter for decades. Pirates, aliens and opportunists alike knew to stay away. Decades of relative peace had led to productivity and prosperity but severe neglect of the armed forces. Lazy commanders, unfit men, poor equipment maintenance and bad discipline all round. Kolt and Gneist were one of many teams sent here to batter them into shape. Orders from on high. All systems prepare for all out war. Kolt pondered his orders. Nobody knew why or what was coming, but he'd knew better than to question a strategy coming directly from a Chapter Master. Kolt silenced his worries. Today was the day! A baptism of fire for these men. Gangers had been reported to be using strange forbidden weaponry in the skirmishes outside the city. Search, investigate, eliminate and report back. The men piled into their chimeras and moved out through the gate.
The vox crackled into life, the commander of the chimera ahead reporting in. 'Captain! We're here, Goldun is empty sir, there's no one here'. Kolt jumped up, and slammed the door button lowering the ramp. He walked out into what used to be Goldun, a small hamlet that was usually bustling but it was deadly silent. No sign of the haggard merchants and ragged drunks, no music or smells of cooking. Kolt had a bad feeling. 'Mortar teams!, set up here with me, Gneist, move into the town and keep and eye open!
TURN 1
Wimaro went first, moved his two Starweavers up and out of cover, right into my face. The solitaire moved close too. 8 fusion pistols took out the first chimera with a massive explosion! the 2nd chimera was wrecked too. The shuriken cannons wiped out the two mortar squads too with devastating effect!
I fought back! The remaining chimera took down a starweaver with concentrated fire. The harlequins that bailed out were subsequently singed to death by a flamer and lasguns!
Captain Kolt watched in horror. He saw something flicker in the distance, something impossible. Strange colours and flitting movement, sparks, little beams of light obscuring something closing in. something closing in fast! Before he could thing the mortarmen in front him began to collapse into chunks of bloodied flesh. Kolt dived to the floor as thousands of shards of metal fizzed through the air. Kolt felt a wash of searing hot air blast over him as he saw the lead chimera vapourise in a gigantic explosion. Purple, black and glowing, the jumped, dived and danced across the road with impossible grace. Kolt's only consolation was a gout of flame from 2nd squad that consumed the strange beings as they screamed in pain. Kolt gathered himself and began shouting orders. 'Ambush! Disembark, Firing lines, Firing lines! Supressing fire!
Turn 2
Wimaro closed in, the final chimera exploded without trouble. Fusion pistols making quite work of the tanks. 42 men had become 25 or so in one turn. Another few died to shuriken cannon fire and close combat eliminated a squad. My men were now in deep trouble.
I fell back with my two remaining squads, and used the orders to 'Get Back in the Fight!' They turned around and unleashed lasgun fire, and flame and autocannon, taking out the last starweaver and the harlequins. All that was left now was the solitaire and the troupe master which were now wounded.
REMAINING TURNS
The turns went quickly and involved me being charged, losing men, falling back and my commander ordering them to get back in the fight. Each time I managed to do damage, rapid fire lasguns against toughness 3 is effective. The solitaire went down with a grenadiers command point. The WHOLE squad can use their grenades. 8 d6 s3 shots against one guy! I eventually killed the troupemaster, but not before he laid low my brave commander.
Kolt was proud. His newly trained men were handling themselves well. Moving under fire, laying cover fire, moving back, throwing grenades to cover their retreat. Kolt could see Gneist in their midst directing them brutal efficiency in between popping off shots with his bolt pistol. The strange figures were unearthly, bounding and leaping in and out of battle, each slash parted a head from shoulders, severed an arm or gutted a soldier. The screams were deafening but Kolt could see, the alien momentum was faltering. Before he could issue another order and black clad figure leaped over the battle. Kolt could barely react before he was run through and his arm was missing. Searing hot pain struck him and he fell to the floor. As he lay there, his life blood flowing out, his men turned around and bathed both him and the dark figure in lasgun fire. The last thing Kolt saw was a grenade roll towards him and the wounded figure.
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| Gneist and the survivors retreat. |
Conclusion
Victory for the Guard... but at grave cost. A mere 8 remaining men... out of 44 soldiers and 3 chimeras. The lasgun is made fun of but it works. In hind sight Wimaro should have tried to take out my commander earlier, i should have placed my mortars somewhere much safer. I also made a mistake with my mortars. They are two wounds each, I used old school rules where I though stg 6 meant instant death. So they were removed a little early.
Fun game to open our narrative, a pyhrric victory. As for Captain Kolt, I used the character death table here: https://rottimus.blogspot.com/2012/09/crusade-of-vengeance-character-death.html to see what his final fate would be: I rolled out of a 12... a 4 - BUT a -2 modifier because he died in single combat against the enemy warlord. He DEAD!
'Get up and keep moving shouted' Gneist. 'It's a two day march back to the gates and there may be more of them. Move move move!' Gneist's legs were on fire as they marched back through the wastes. Kolt's had saddened him greatly. They'd served together for almost a decade. A good man. Two of his men were dragging several of the alien bodies along with their strange equipment. These were no gangers or mere waste-dwellers. These were Eldar... of some strange creed. Gneist knew little about such things but he knew the Black Scorpions would want to know alien filth were in their midst!
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