Phew, life has been busy, so the February game is only going up now. But it was another memorable solo game for the
Rogue Trader project. Also, apologies for some blurry photos. I do miss my old compact digital! Anyway, enough chit chat: on with the show.
The Lamenter scouts have discovered a secret chaos base. They must attack and destroy as much much hardware as possible. At the end of each turn, a random number of reinforcements will arrive (the X number on the Fortune cards). In addition, the fire support robot will switch on when the shooting starts, and once it has warmed up, it will enter the fray. (Start of each turn, roll 1d6. Once the total reaches 21, the robot is go.)
The scouts wait for a chance to sneak towards their objectives, but a wandering cultist forces them to get loud.
Clay Moore, the demolitions expert, sets his first charges against the supply crates.
Moore is intercepted as he heads for his next target. Other threats are dealt with in the background.
This guy put up some fight!
But he goes down eventually and Moore presses on.
Back towards the centre of the table, the squad leader has been a bullet magnet as he tries to deal with a number of cultists. He's the first scout to die, nailed by a shotgun blast.
Another target, another explosive.
And this is where things got interesting. Turn 7.
The robot is now operational. As if that wasn't bad enough, the reinforcements for the turn include a cultist flamethrower and a chaos marine! (This is the figure, who in his
maiden outing took over thirty shots to take down!)
Moore pulls back and sets off the explosives he's planted so far.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom! All three targets destroyed (but I need to make me some nice smoke).
At this point, the scouts face a decision. They can seek to destroy the easy objectives that remain. They can withdraw rather than risk being destroyed by their powerful opposition. Or they can throw everything they have at most valuable and most difficult target, the robot.
Call those options? There's only one thing to do! The scout sniper is first to the target, hoping he can put a shot into a vulnerable spot.
But the robot stomps closer and it turns out the sniper is the one with the vulnerable spot!
By the way, here's the one guy I managed to paint for this scenario this month, making a late appearance in the game, sneaking along behind the robot!
Moore begins hurling grenades, but he fails to dint man or machine. The next turns see him go down four times, only to drag himself up again and again!
Another scout faces the robot and is taken out.
Finally, Moore decides to charge the robot in the faint hope that he can disable it in hand-to-hand.
He is quickly surrounded. He manages to damage the robot, but this tale ends in tragedy rather than triumph.
A failed mission for the scouts (three objectives destroyed, but four left unharmed. Plus the death of the entire team.) However, another great game with a big swing of fortune when the big guns came on for chaos.
That's just fantastic stuff Bill! That robot... brilliant! 'Clay Moore' :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ivor! Yes, the robot was dead nasty. All the scouts had silly names!
ReplyDeleteLove the robot and the explosions (waiting for the smoke indeed!)...very nice and intense report!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, it was a tense game once the robot kicked in!
DeleteGreat AAR Bill, as for the scouts brave but foolish me thinks, some times you need to know when to cut & run, but then that never makes for a good game or story now does it ? lol
ReplyDeletePart of it, I think, was the fact that I was up in the wee small hours finishing the game. My decision-makiking faculties may have been rather affected!
DeleteBrutal...but fun! Great table and figs as always!
ReplyDeleteYes, the robot is a nasty figure. D12 health with a re-roll for Armour, plus 3d10 Shoot. Very tough to take down.
DeleteWow, that was a hard test for the poor guys. Tense and fun report!
ReplyDeleteLooking at this and the January game, the good guys do seem to end up with some tough 'boss fights'!
DeleteSorry Mike C, I accidentally deleted your comment rather than publishing it! I'm really enjoying the project so far - it's getting me to paint and play a good variety of things.
ReplyDeleteAre you using the pulp alley rules for these games? Is been a while since I looked at those rules. I may have to dig them out again.
ReplyDeleteHi chuck, yes, Pulp Alley all the way. They work really well for these kinds of games.
DeleteDo you have any tips or house rules that you can pass along? Id be curious to see the profiles of some of the figures you used in the game like the chaos marine and the big robot.
DeleteOne thing that always confused me about Pulp Alley were the encounter/peril cards. Do the cards represent a figure with their own stats that you fight using the normal combat system or do you go by the peril test on the card and if you pass the peril it just goes away? For instance in your game you pull a peril card and out pops a cultist. Do you just roll against the peril card or do you fight normally?
Hi chuck, I've put up some profiles here: the robot and the chaos marine are in the bottom picture: http://preacherbyday.blogspot.com.au/2017/02/pulp-alley-40k-leagues.html
DeleteWe play the rules pretty much as written: although the Pulp Leagues supplement has some useful little mods for sci fi games that we do use. We're also quite happy to rename abilities to give them a sci fi feel.
Peril cards: your second option is the right one: use the peril test on the card. It goes away whether you pass it or not normally - it's just there for the turn. It simulates things like: I'm opening a stack of crates and there's the risk one will fall on me - stuff like that.
Happy to answer any more questions: it took us a few games to get the rules straight, but we've had heaps of fun with them for a number of years now, so I reckon they're worth getting through the bits that are confusing!
Thanks
DeleteAnother great game, both visually and in the telling.
ReplyDeleteSo many gamers underestimate the importance of setting an scenario. Taking missions from the original 40k book really puts a positive spotlight to this part of a game.
Thanks Will! I know I'm actually not great at building the scenario setting, so this gives me a good help along! You're so right though: it's the difference between a bland game and a game where actions have real meaning.
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