Monday, December 7, 2020

Ruthless Painting - Napoleonic Bavarians!

This will probably be first in a series of blog posts as its something I want to encourage more people to try when painting models for army sized games. Recently, I got back into painting 10mm scale fantasy stuff (more on this at a later date) and I really tried to be as ruthless as I could when it came to the time I spent painting them. I only painted the entire figures in the front rank of units. Ranks beyond that only got painted from the waist up. The backs of the models were just darkly shaded and left. All this was done to maximize the amount of time and energy I had to spend on units that had at least 50-75 little mans in them. I was super happy with the result and wondered if I could get away with it on ranked units for a 28mm game. 

This brings me to four infantry battalions of these cats. 

Enter a unit of Napoleonic Bavarians that I had sitting in my lead pile. These sculpts by Front Rank Miniatures are just awesome - the perfect blend of cartoony and realistic. And crawling with detail. I wondered how I could knock them out with the least amount of effort possible. 

Bavarian troops are some of my favorite Napoleonic units, but they are time consuming to paint!

A game's eye view of the rear of the unit.

Looking close, you can see I skimped on details like coat tails, water bottles, and cartridge box insignia.
Also, the priming was a little rough. However, this is the side of the unit nobody ever photographs or pays
attention to!

The first step in my plan was how to handle the priming coat. Priming is SUCH an important step in miniature painting for armies. The right color can knock out so much time and the wrong color can add hours. For these guys, I choose a spin on zenithal priming. I wanted the back of the models to be dark and wasn't concerned with layering colors to get a bright finish. Conversely, I wanted the front of the models to really pop and again didn't want to spend time layering up from a dark color. 

A black spray was used to prime the back of the model.

The front, where I wanted bright saturated colors,
was primed white. 

Then I painted the flesh and gold on the helmet. As these
colors dried, I painted front of the boots black.

Next, the flesh and gold were washed with GW Reikland
Flesh Shade wash. As this dried; I painted the green facings,
the musket and the backpack with their base colors. The pants
were given a coat of GW's Apothecary White Contrast paint
-focusing only on the front.

A view from the back. I only did the backpack - 
everything else was neatened up with black. 

Everything but the pants and face were given a wash
of Army Painter Strong Tone Ink. One pass was all I'd do 
at this point.

Once the ink was dry, I highlighted some of the green and
filled his jacket in with some GW Lothern Blue. The helmet 
was then painted Black and a wash of thinned down
GW Kantor Blue was used to shade the jacket. A few
remaining details were picked out and
DONE.

Using this method and painting two guys at a time, I managed to knock out about a guy a day. So a unit that might have taken me four weeks only took 2 or so. On the board with 800 of their friends, they look great. Painting your models to a gaming standard doesn't mean laboring away on each of them like they were individual competition level figures. It means looking at them as a whole and deciding what you can get away with - what will draw people's eye and focus their attention and what can just be allowed to fade away. A big part of painting an entire army is figuring out what you need to lavish attention on and what you don't. Both are skills that need to be developed. 

Cheers!











Friday, October 23, 2020

Magnus Might Have Done One or Two Things Wrong...

 Like every good World War II gamer, every Horus Heresy player should have two armies so that they can play as Loyalists or Traitors or just introduce a friend to the game. Look, I don't make the insane rules that bounce around in my skull, ok? I just enforce them. Anyway, after painting a ridiculous amount of Imperial Fists, I thought I'd try collecting and painting a Thousand Sons force. 

The Sons of Prospero ready to do battle.

For this army; I wanted a simple, clean paint scheme that would allow me to get the army on the battlefield fully painted in a quick amount of time. A lot of the How-to-Paint tutorials I found online for 30K Thousand Sons involved undercoating them in a gold and then building up layers of red using gloss colors applied in several layers. These gave great results, and are totally valid techniques for competition painting but I realized it would take me years to finish the army if I tried to do it this way. There had to be an easier solution. I found it in the Duplicolor spray paint line - a metal flake Red made for automotive applications. After a test model, I was set. 

Tactical Brotherhood Primus

This is probably something that I'm going to start harping on pretty hard in the future. The idea of getting nicely painted armies on the board with techniques that don't take forever has become a little bit of an obsession lately. Right now I'm calling it "Median Painting". The idea is to have a fully painted army that is cohesive and looks good in a reasonable amount of time. That last bit is key, because I see great painters with armies full of bare plastic or people who don't like to paint and are trying but getting really bad information. A nicely, but completely, painted army fighting against a similar army on a board where all the terrain is painted is a magnificent sight to behold and experience. I wouldn't trade it for all the Golden Demons in the world.

Tactical Brotherhood Secundus

I painted most of these units in parts. Things like the bodies, arms, heads, packs and arms were primed with the metal flake red. Weapons (and attached hands) were primed with an aged bronze spray (that looks like GW Leadbelcher paint). Afterwards, the model was fully assembled. Trim was painted with GW Retributor Armor then that and red was shaded with GW Druchii Violet Shade. Then the gun casings were painted cream tones. I found that I could paint two coats of GW Soulstone Red over the silver metal hands on the guns and it was almost a match for the main body. Painting one hand per guy this way was definitely a time saver compared to doing an entire model with this technique. These are the kind of hacks that I feel need to get out there more. 

The same techniques were used on the characters and vehicles.

I used the 40k Thousand Sons Terminator kit for my 30k 
guys. Its Tartaros-pattern armor, so it fits perfectly.

I thought I'd keep the Heavy Support Squad simple and
just go for missile launchers. Getting 10 of these guys actually
proved to be a nightmare.

The Tactical Support Brotherhood is gonna be a mean
bunch to tangle with.
Ancient Brother Reshep was made
with some simple conversions of the
standard plastic Contemptor kit.

Man, it has been almost 20 years since I built one of these. 
It was fun, but the kit is starting to show its age compared to 
the newer vehicles.

This kit is an absolute nightmare to 
assemble. I don't think I ever want
to build another...

... that said, I went to town on it - making sure
it all opens up and has plenty of detail inside.

So there they are, about 100 Power Levels or 2k-ish points worth of Thousand Sons. Done in about months of work on and off. All painted to a consistent standard and looking cohesive. Are they the best painted force ever to hit a table? Probably not. But they have a bold color scheme and a harmonious set of paint-jobs, so they will look fantastic on a battlefield. What more could you ask for?


-Cheers!


























  








Thursday, October 22, 2020

Furore Legio

 Hey all! It's been a while, huh? I'm gonna try and update this blog more. I let it lapse in general and the Covid-Time hasn't helped that at all. The upside of going nowhere and seeing few people are that I've been steadily chewing through my backlog of miniatures and projects. First up, I thought I'd share some better pics of my Roman army. 

I've always wanted a Roman force in miniature, and I've tried a couple of times in my life and always been side-tracked by other projects. But this time, due in no small part to the excellent plastic kits by Victrix, I persevered. I built the army to work with my own rank and flank game, Shieldwall, but I think it can easily be adapted to other games like Impetus, Hail Caesar, or Warhammer Ancients. 

The Legion in all its fury...err... Glory!

The army General marker. 

A unit of Praetorian Guard - Heavy Infantry

Three units of Legionaries - Heavy Infantry

Two units of Equites - used as either Light or Shock Cavalry

Two units of Peltast Skirmishers. It was fun to use water effects on these bases and try to great a bit of a diorama feel to them.

Two missile units - one is a Long Range and the other Powerful. The scorpions are Warlord plastics and the archers are by Wargames Foundry. 

Shieldwall tracks hits on units, and this gives me the chance to paint some
of my favorite models that I never get to use - casualties!

I plan on starting a Gallic army for these cats to battle against - that'll be one of this year's upcoming projects. I figure by the time that I finish them, I might be able to play a game in person again! Hope you are all doing well and hanging on through this time. Here's hoping I keep up with this blog more. 


Cheers!
















Sunday, May 24, 2020

Play-by-Email Imperials vs Genestealer Cult - Part 4

Turn 5

 Imperial Agents Sitrep - Gotfret de Montbard is no more. The Crusader was slain by a shot in the back from one of the cowards up on the gantry. Serivina and Aradia have found themselves under attack by a quartet of misshapen brutes - creatures hellish even by the standards of the cultists. Aradia killed one in melee and hurt another, but Severina was pummeled badly taking 3 wounds! The Deathwatch are still in place. Orders?

+++Deathwatch abandoned the truck to save their wards.

“Broken and bloody, Inquisitor Serevina Humiliata bared her teeth at the hulking freaks that surrounded her and the Primaris Psyker, Aradia Madellan. Serevina’s right shoulder armor was caved in and she could no longer feel the arm beneath it. Her vision swam even as she lashed out with her combat blade against the monstrosities. She vaguely heard bursts of gunfire - bolters? Perhaps Neyam’s dueling pistols. The world was spinning. 

The Inquisitor was vaguely aware of the Deathwatch’s hulking forms smashing into the equally gigantic forms of her assailants, but her focus was on trying to avoid the downward blows of two power picks. But her fatigue was showing. Both weapons found her, even as their weilders received retribution. 

“For His Imperial Majesty...” she whispered as she collapsed and the darkness enfolded her.”


The Deathwatch and Neyam Shia Murad turned their guns upon the acolytes on the platform. Guns blazing, they slew them to a man. The Deathwatch then charged the Aberrants, killing one and wounding another. Inquisitor Humiliata struck before the Aberrants, but failed to do anything. Their power picks fell upon her, smashing through her armor and killing her. In return, Aradia did another wound on the Aberrants leaving only one left alive. 

Adeptus Mechanicus Sitrep - The lone genestealer fell back from combat with your superior forces, only to make way for a group of five hybrid acolytes. Gunfire from these monstrosities killed your remaining Skitarii. The abominations then charged you in combat. It was fierce and bloody, in the end only the leader of the Tech-Acolytes and Father Erasmus remained, while two of the foul xenos half-breeds survived. You are still locked in combat with them. Orders? 

+++This one is tough, this is the last turn. I can't get to the terminal, I can't get the hopper that I sent to the wrong location. This is it, I either disengate from combat and go nowhere, stay in combat and win and that is it....
This is what I do. I tell the hopper to slide on over to the other entrance (middle of image), use the engine backblast to move those other fools out of the way, pick up the sample, SKULLROID 13 and me (Krugg, after he disengages from the two hybrids). We are dusting off ! Better to fail the objective and survive than to stick around and die in vain.

Ad beneficia Omnissiah” Father Erasmus whispered as he turned to leave the cave system-turned- abattoir. His sensors were picking up massive amounts of life-readings heading this way. The precious STC template would have to remain on this forsaken rock. The Dominatus’ massive walker began to slowly retreat. 

His bitterness was tempered by the hope that someday he or others of his order would be able to return here and retrieve the holy data fragment. He had lived for more than 600 standard years. He could wait a few more.”


The lander moved over to the entrance. Erasmus, the biologis Deacon and Skullroid moved towards the craft but failed to roll high enough to meet it. The remaining tech-acolyte slew another hybrid acolyte in close combat.

Cult Magus Sitrep - The Tech-Priest Dominus fell back from combat, leaving two Acolytes to fight the Tech-Acolyte. One Acolyte Hybrid was killed in melee, leaving the two Acolyte cultists from very different religions facing each other. The remaining Purestrain now has freedom of movement. The Magus is locked in combat with his rival, the Primus. Orders?

+++Cywyn grit his teeth, focusing his mind on the task at hand.  He chattered to his purestrain brethren, commanding it to escape into the tunnels from whence it came, lest it fall into enemy hands or suffer corruption by the traitor Kyruss, should Cywyn fail in his appointed task... +++
* * *
Send the Genestealer running south, back down the tunnel we came from.  Try to get him out of sight of everyone if movement allows.
Cywyn should use his psychic powers: Smite on Kyruss, and then Might from Beyond on himself and kill Kyruss.   (I'll choose Cywyn to fight with first in the combat phase.)
The Hybrid Acolyte can stay and continue fighting the other Skitarii dude.

Cult Primus Sitrep - Primus Gnorr is engaged in bloody combat with his foe, Magus Stor. The last Aberrant is surrounded by angry Deathwatch Marines. Orders?

+++Fight to last man!

“Cywyn Stor gritted his teeth and deftly parried a slash from his hated foe, Primus Kyruss Gnorr. The Magus focused his mind, marshalling all of his inner strength and sent it as a bolt of pure force into the Primus’ bulbous skull. Gnorr reeled away from the melee, dropping his weapons and clutching his head. His body spasmed with pain until he could last no more, his cranium detonating like a blasting charge. 

The Magus stood back, brushing bits of bone and gore from his finery. Now his authority and position within the coven were assured! And no witnesses besides his faithful familiars. Now, to concoct a plausible story for the reinforcements that he could feel nearby. Perhaps killed by an enemy pskyer? Yes, yes, despite the Magus’ valiant attempts to save his brother, he was overcome. 

The enemy was still here in strength, but the main force would arrive soon. Even more Pure Brethern amongst their ranks. Not even the vaunted Astartes could stop their numbers. No, this day, the Imperium of Man would know no victory…”




Game Results

Despite the absolute beating that the Genestealer Cult received, the forces of the Imperium have not accomplished many of their objectives. With reinforcements inbound, the Cult is sure to eradicate the Emperor’s minions. With the death of Inquisitor Humiliata, no key codes exist to exterminate life on Epsilon Beta Hydros. The cult will endure. 

The Cult of the Four-Armed Emperor under Magus Stor accomplished all three of their objectives:

Primary Objective - Prevent the forces of the Imperium from getting to the landing pad and escaping with the Xenos biosample.

Secondary Objective - Eliminate the threat to your position in the brood by getting rid of the Primus, Kyrus Gnorr. If he is dead by the end of Turn 5, you will have succeeded.

Tertiary Objective - The pure bloodline must be maintained. The Patriarch has gifted you with the presence of a brood of Purestrains. This squad must survive with at least one member by the end of the 5th turn.

The Cult of the Four-Armed Emperor under Primus Gnorr accomplished two of their objectives:

Primary Objective - Prevent the forces of the Imperium from getting to the landing pad and escaping with the Xenos biosample.

Tertiary Objective - The Inquisitor may have the authority to exterminate the entire planetoid. She must not survive. 

The Imperial Agents under the leadership of Inquisitor Humiliata accomplished one of their objectives:

Tertiary Objective - The Deathwatch Kill team must maintain its honor by inflicting at least 3 times as many casualties as it takes by the end of Turn 5. 

The Adeptus Mechanicus force commanded by Father Erasmus accomplished one of their objectives:

Tertiary Objective - Upload combat data by engaging at least 1 Purestrain Xenos in close combat.

With a 5:2 ratio, the Genestealer Cult has won the day! POWER TO THE PEOPLE! DOWN WITH THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSORS!!

Play-by-Email Imperials vs Genestealer Cult - Part 3

Turn 3


 Imperial Agents Sitrep - It seems the enemy is redeploying a bit. A possible leader scurried south towards a mine entrance, while the rebels you previously fired upon have taken up position behind some cover. They returned fire, but it was ineffectual. Additionally, you have received a datenet message from Servitor P-1L0T that the hopper is being attacked. Orders?


+++The Deathwatch stands their ground while the agents advance as fast as they can to the gate. The Madellan will attempt to cast the same power. The Deathwatch will fire on the Neophytes with the Heavy Stubber targeting the HazMat containers hoping to cause an explosion to take out more Neophytes.


“Move, damn you! Move!” Inquisitor Severina barked at her companions. The group began a full force sprint past the blazing fire of the Deathwatch Kill Team. Only the precision of the Astartes allowed them to avoid the maelstrom of bolter rounds. Thank The Emperor for it. 


The blast door protected entrance to the mine loomed ahead of the Inquisitor and her companions. Severina took a second to track them - Aradia was there, looking like she was trying to summon one of her psychic gifts - and the Crusader Gotfret close by - but where was the Rogue Trader? The Inquisitor turned to look back for her, but there was a sudden explosion that bathed Humiliata in a shockwave of heat. It seemed Zariel’s new toy had found a mark. 


“We cannot wait for Neyam! Forward!”


The Imperial Agents got some decent advance rolls except the Rogue Trader who rolled a 1. The Deathwatch killed another two Neophytes through a combination of fire and hitting two of the hazardous waste drums. Your psyker failed to manifest her power. 


Adeptus Mechanicus Sitrep - The cavern you have advanced into has been suddenly flooded by rebel forces from the west. It appears they were occupying the Terminal Epsilon Gamma room. They seemed in poor position to attack, but one did fire a grenade launcher. 1 Skitarii Vanguard was irreparably damaged in the attack. Additionally, you have received a datenet message from Servitor P-1L0T that the hopper is being attacked. Orders?


+++ Father Erasmus & Skitarii will move up normal and fire everything at the unit of baddies ! The remaining 3 units will move as fast as possible North ! I ask the P-ILot for a sit-rep and let him know we are moving to support ASAP.


“Platform is becoming too unstable. Lifeforms assaulting unit. Dust off in 50 seconds. Requesting new landing coordinates.” Servitor P-1L0T’s dull voice echoed across Father Erasmus’ vox speaker. Before the Tech-Priest could instruct the mechanical savant, his combat datasphere was instructing him on how best to deal with the threat in front of him.  Combat tactics and attack vectors bloomed in his mind and the Father passed orders to his Skitarii underlings in an instant. 


Radium shot and plasma fire bloomed in the Skitarii’s advance. The insurgents held firm despite the slew of fire, but then Erasmus himself entered the fray. His vokite weapon incinerated a screaming rebel with murderous precision, followed by his macrostubber opening up with the ferocity of a butcher’s bandsaw. Every inch of the floor, walls and ceiling were painted with the seditious scum’s remains. Still, the Dominus strode forward his cybernetic attendants joining him.


The remaining cultists opened fire, desperately attempting to slow the brotherhood of Mar’s finest troops. Autogun fire glanced off walls, a beam of hot death went wide, and a grenade round impacted Erasmus’ energy defenses pathetically. Nothing could stop the priest, and his mechanical tendrils reached down to shred his foes. 


He paused for a nanosecond, glorying in his triumph and glad to be closer to his goal, when his augmented brain flashed into overdrive with new threat assessments within the next cavern. A fear that would have crippled a normal man swung through Erasmus’ consciousness. He lost combat effectiveness for nearly a full second before regaining his composure. Surely the Omnissiah was about to test his mettle to the fullest.”



Your forces all moved forward, the Biologis Deacon rolling another 5! The Skitarii and Tech-Priest killed 7 of the 10 cultists in shooting, then assaulted and broke the remainder. They are all dead. However, the objective cavern is full of new dangers. The aerospace hopper will lift off at the END of the Genestealer turn. You can then direct it to land in a new position at the END of your next turn. 


Cult Magus Sitrep - You definitely made contact with the enemy. Terrible, terrible contact. A force of Skitarii led by a Tech-Priest Dominus butchered the Neophytes you sent forward to a man. They… they can see you. Additionally, your mind can feel Primus Gnorr nearby - due North. Orders?


+++Cywyn swore under his breath, then chattered in his alien language, directing his minions.  He focused his concentration, reaching once again into the void to summon his dark power...+++
* * *
Hybrid Acolytes: Move aside so the others can fit by (Something like where I've put the red circles in the image.
Cywyn Stor: Move to the side behind them, so he can see the tech priest, but NOT the other unit through the opening (so Smite will target the tech priest).
Purestrain Genestealers, move and Advance into the tunnel, getting as close to the enemy as possible.  I'd like to put as many of them into the tech priest as I can, the rest on the Skitarii
Psychic Powers:  First Smite the tech priest, then Might From Beyond the Genestealers.
If anyone can shoot, take the shots, then assault with the Genestealers.  I'm assuming they will be close enough to shunt some wounds onto the Acolytes with "Loyalty."  Put as many attacks as I can into the Tech Priest, the rest into the the Skitarii.


“Pure Brethren, I beseech you - slay these godless mechanical things!” Cywyn hissed. The purestrain Genestealers swiftly scurried past the obeising acolytes. As the hideous four armed death-dealers made their way forward, Cywyn reached out with his mind and touched the intellect of the half-dead thing floating in the mechanized bio-tank. Cywyn’s mind whispered up against the Tech-Priest’s cold, unfeeling thoughts before he savagely bore down on the priest’s consciousness. Before their minds parted, he could see the liquid in the tank fill with blood through the AdMech leader’s eyes. 


The Magus smiled as his perception snapped back to reality. His elation was fleeting, however. The Pure Brethren dashed into melee with the Mechanicus entourage and there was the sound of heavy fire. One of the cult’s primogenitors went down in a hail of gunfire, another fell beneath the whirling drill of the priest even as their claws pierced armor and ruptured lines. The entrance became a swirling chaos of blood, oil, screeching and mechanical whines. The servants of Mars would not be so easily defeated.”


The Magus manifested Smite and caused 2 wounds on the Tech-Priest. The Genestealers charged, lost one to overwatch fire. They killed a Skitarii and did 1 wound on the Dominus. His repair systems automatically healed one wound. 


Cult Primus Sitrep - the neophytes in your charge continue to take a beating. Two more now sit at the feet of the Four-Armed Emperor. The marines hit two of the hazardous waste barrels, causing a massive explosion. Morale still seems unshakable in the remaining members. On the landing pad, the hopper is beginning to power up, exhaust building up in thick clouds. Orders?

+++ Gnorr will head towards the gate. Have the neophytes attack the Inquisitor and her guys. Bring the Aberrants forward, ready to charge next turn. The acolytes will run down the gantry and try to get the drop on the marines.

"Neophyte Initiate Zgar saw a group of Imperial dogs heading towards the main gate. Instinctively, he knew they had to be stopped. But how? Many of his brothers were dead and those that were left were cautious, unwilling to throw themselves into the line of fire from the black armored marines.

"Faithless welps! Is this how you think you will achieve paradise?!" Zgar screamed at his compatriots. "Follow me!"

The neophyte leader rushed forward, spraying shots from his autogun at the enemy. His boldness seemed to electrify his cult brothers, and they surged forward after him. They unleashed their wrath at an armored servant of the Dead Emperor, bathing him in a torrent of bullets, laser beams and finally claws. Even as they pressed in on him, they knew they faced their own deaths. And they planned to sell their lives at a high cost."



Primus headed towards the gate. Neophytes shot at an Imperial Crusader and did 2 wounds. They then charged, doing 1 more wound to him. Aberrants moved up. Acolytes moved along the gantry to outflank Deathwatch.


Turn 4


 Imperial Agents Sitrep - Gotfret de Montbard took a hail of fire from the remaining degenerate cultists advancing towards the main gate. The creatures then launched an assault on him that brought Inquisitor Serevina into the fray. Two cultists were killed and Gotfret has taken 3 wounds this turn (2 from shooting, 1 in the fight). Serevina managed to extricate herself from the combat. It also appears there is movement to the West behind the cover there AND something is moving on the catwalk above and to the north of you. Orders?


+++Two of the agents make a break for the objective behind the door, the third steps up to help assist in the soon-to-be-a-boot-party melee. The Deathwatch fall back around the truck while the Sgt targets the catwalk if he has LoS.


“Gotfret de Montbard swung his powersword in a deadly crackling arc above his head to ward off his attackers. The Crusader bled from a dozen wounds, but it had done little to blunt his righteous zeal. “Save thyselves, m’ladies!” Gotfret cried as he deflected a pistol shot with his storm shield. 


Primaris Pysker Aradia Madellan sprinted away, trying to link up at the main mine entrance with Inquisitor Humiliata. She turned to look back at the Crusader, focusing her mental energies on his two attackers. Both rebels suddenly stiffened, trembling in terror moments before their heads burst from Aradia’s psychic assault. The Crusader fell to one knee, clearly exhausted, but alive.


Aradia let herself feel hope, but only for a moment as the main gate suddenly burned away like a plastic toy in a guttering flame. As the smoke cleared in the driving rain, the psyker saw saw the form of several Servants of Mars within the cavern. Perhaps the Emperor blessed them after all.”


Inquisitor, Psyker, and Rogue Trader advanced. Aradia Madellan manifested Smite and killed the two neophytes attacking Gotfret. The Deathwatch fell back to the truck and fired on the Acolytes on the gantry. Only Zariel had line of sight due to his elevated position, but caused no wounds. 


Adeptus Mechanicus Sitrep - The entrance to the Terminal Epsilon Gamma room has filled with Genestealers. Just before they assaulted, Erasmus found himself under a psychic assault that his defenses did nothing against. He took 2 wounds. The ‘stealers charged and the Tech-Priest’s macrostubber killed one. The creatures slammed into the vanguard, killing two Skitarii and another wound on the Father. At the beginning of this turn, the Dominus self-repaired 1 wound he had taken. Servitor P-1L0T reports that the hopper has lifted off. It will land at coordinates specified by you at the end of this turn. Orders?


+++A. I want Skullroid-13 to run towards this door. He is eventually going to bust through it like Cold-Smack through the wall like we used to watch on the vidcaster back in the day.
B. Tech acolytes are going to move up and repair Erasmus if they can, shoot pistols if they can and go into melee with the Purestrains.. if they can.
C. The 'Sample' will move behind Erasmus for protection.
- The other units will fight Steel vs. Claw ! There was a day when the Purestrains were the pinnacle of melee... but that was a couple decades ago.
I want the lander to come down on the teal area. We are getting the data, a sample and we are dusting off !


The xenos blocking the hall leading to Terminal Epsilon Gamma were a tedious, albeit vicious, distraction to Father Erasmus. They were keeping him from his precious datum and leaving this world a rightful cinder. Time. He was running out of time.


“My children! Attend me!” Eramus’ voice boomed through the chamber across a crackling vox-caster. The young priests of Mars hurried to obey. 


+++Skullroid-13. Advance and eliminate the blockage to our Imperial allies.+++


The loyal servitor made from the skull of some ancient gargantuan scuttled forward and let loose with its melta burners at the main chamber door. The melting plasteel door cast long shadows as it burned into a lumpen mass of slag. Skullroid-13 turned to its master, hopeful of some kind of praise, but the Dominus was busy. The macrostubber was blowing chunks of alien flesh apart even as his servants charged into battle beside him. The xenos were holding, but just barely. Skullroid-13 may have been sad about this fact, but since it only had the intellect of a very smart pet it mostly was disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm for its efforts. Praise would have to wait.”


Skullroid-13 advanced and let the blast door have it with his melta-burners. The ancient doorways melted into slag under its energy. The Tech-Acolytes and the Biologis Deacon moved up. Father Erasmus’ macrostubber killed another Genestealer. Then the Tech-Acolytes charged. Two made it into melee, killing a Genestealer. The Genestealers tried to murder the Dominus, but it was to no avail. His armored form shrugged off their attacks and his mechadendrites killed another Genestealer. Everyone remaining consolidated closer to the remaining ‘stealer. The Tech-Acolytes healed their high priest for another point of damage. So he has 4 wounds remaining. Aerospace Hopper has touched down. 


Cult Magus Sitrep - The Tech-Priest Dominus has been joined by a group of tech-acolytes. Between the priest and his followers, they killed three Purestrain Genestealers but suffered no damage in return. A powerful servitor blew the door in the central chamber apart, opening the way for Imperial Agents outside. You can sense the Primus outside the door to your North. Orders?


+++Have Cywyn run to the north door. and have the Acolytes charge the Ad Mech in range.  Put "Might" on them if he can still see them after moving.  It doesn't look like there's room to fit the genestealer out of there, but if he can get by, have it run and retreat around toward Cywyn.


“Cywyn Stor’s eyes glowed with warp-infused might as he turned to his Acolytes. 


“Go forth! Save the Pure Brethern. Crush our foes!” He bellowed as lightning arced from his eye sockets and into each of his followers. The acolytes shuddered with unholy power and scurried down the corridor towards their Imperial oppressors. 


Cywyn listened to the bark of their gunfire as he gathered his familiars and made his way towards the northern door. He could sense the presence of his hated rival, Primus Kyruss Gnorr, just beyond. Try as he might to crush the Primus’ mind, some alien presence prevented him. Had Gnorr thrown in with the Imperials? Surely even he was not so debased!


The blast door in front of the Magus suddenly opened, and there in the driving rain stood the Primus. 


“Die, fool!” Kyruss screamed as he threw a lit blasting charge directly at the Magus who was leveling his autopistol. Neither was fast enough to avoid the other’s attack. Howling with fury, the Primus charged. Both leaders were determined to end this in a swirling melee of claws, pistol butts and teeth. 


The Magus and his twittering familiars were slowly gaining the upper hand. A look of desperation was crawling across the Primus’ face. Like any animal, he would be most dangerous in his death-throws.”


The Genestealer flees the combat. The Acolytes advance and fire their autopistols into the Skitarii - slaughtering them. Cywyn advances North, surprised to find the blast door open and suddenly confronted with Kyruss Gnorr. Stor manifested Might From Beyond on the acolytes and then attempted to manifest Smite on Gnorr, but a nearby psyker denied his power. The acolytes charged and killed three Tech-Acolytes, grinding one more as his morale broke. Their own casualties were heavy, three of the acolytes fell to the Tech-Priest and his minions.  


The two coven leaders crashed into one another with unbridaled fury. Kyruss threw a blasting charge while Cywyn leveled his pistol at his foe. Both wounded the other, then met in close combat. Cywyn and his familiars did another two wounds to Kyruss (3 total) and the Primus struck back at the Magus for another wound. 


Primus Sitrep - Your acolytes continue across the gantry. It appears the central door has been destroyed, and the Imperial Agents are making their way towards the entrance. Kyruss Gnorr is just outside of a blast-door as the aerospace hopper landed near him. Orders?


+++ Gnorr will open the door and look for Stor. The Aberrants will move forward and charge the Inquisitor. The Acolytes will shoot the Crusader and then charge the Rogue Trader. For the Four-Armed Emperor!


“Kyruss stooped momentarily as he was washed with rain whipped up from the landing aerospace craft’s descent. Landing? Here?! That fool Cywyn must have bungled this worse than the Primus could imagine. Best to enter the mine now and see what could be salvaged. With any luck, the servants of the Dead Emperor had eliminated his rival for him he mused as he punched in the door’s access code. 


As the massive gate opened, any thoughts of fortuitousness fled the Magus’ mind. Standing before him in all his shabby glory was Magus Stor. Seconds stretched into what felt like hours.


“Die, fool!” Kyruss screamed as he threw a lit blasting charge directly at the Magus who was leveling his autopistol. Neither was fast enough to avoid the other’s attack. Howling with fury, the Primus charged. Both leaders were determined to end this in a swirling melee of claws, pistol butts and teeth.


The Primus was out-numbered. In a fair fight, he might have been able to best the Magus but the craven worm had assistance from his simpering familiars. They slashed and tripped him at every turn. He was losing. But just maybe, he would drag Cywyn to Hell with him.”


Acolytes advanced forward and gun down Gotfret de Montbard. The Aberrants charge the Inquisitor and cause 3 wounds. She does none in return, but the Primaris Psyker manages to do three wounds, killing one Aberrant. The Acolytes fail to roll high enough to charge.


The two coven leaders crashed into one another with unbridaled fury. Kyruss threw a blasting charge while Cywyn leveled his pistol at his foe. Both wounded the other, then met in close combat. Cywyn and his familiars did another two wounds to Kyruss (3 total) and the Primus struck back at the Magus for another wound. 

Part 4