1992 Imperial Firebase

 It's time for another Terrain Log!  Today we're taking a look at another of the card buildings released for Warhammer 40,000, the Imperial Firebase!  As I went over in another entry, Jerry Wargate grabbed us two of the old plastic bulkhead and card buildings that were still pristine in the shrink wrap, and we've been enjoying these pieces for a while now.

This is one of the biggest pieces we own.  It's been put in place on a base like most of the other pieces, and this one's base has been treated with Rustoleum Multi-colored Texture Aged Iron.  I really like the finish of the Aged Iron, and it takes pigment powders really well with it's roughness.  Other than that, the bulkheads were drybrushed in the same fashion as the other pieces that contain this architecture.

The panels with the yellow chevrons were left loose, and can be placed anywhere on the base of the model for increased cover.  There were three in total, and I was loathe to glue them to the card surface of the building.  Even though the card is flat, shiny and two-dimensional the paintings are still utterly awesome, in my humble opinion.

The Firebase is big and asymmetrical, so depending on how it's placed  its effect on the game can be either severe or negligible.  I guess that's your choice when you deploy your army.  The only advice that I can offer is that large pieces like this tend to draw a lot of attention, so bear that in mind when attacking this position or deciding whether or not to defend it.

It's not as rickety as it looks, either - the bulkheads are affixed to the base, and that gives the whole thing a stability it just does not have without it.  I can imagine back in the day that a lot of these met an untimely demise simply from people trying to move it.  Though it wasn't as challenging to put together as the Bastion, it was much less a cohesive whole and definitely required help.

Now both of these pieces rest well protected inside the Terrain Vault, which is growing fat indeed.  In fact, we're going to have to figure out what to do with all the cases, because we need more cases.  We have to use rather large cases for our terrain, because pieces like this need to be able to fit inside them.  Shelves are no good because of the Oklahoma dust, so it has to be a closed case.  The Firebase and the Bastion fill one case by themselves, and there are more pieces already finished.

I guess I should start stacking boxes...

1992 Imperial Bastion

Today we're going to talk about some awesome gear Jerry Wargate donated to us earlier this year.  Of course, we're not talking about it when it was done, because I'm really slow at doing this Terrain Log.  However, in keeping with our plodding pace, we'll now discuss the 1992 card buildings Jerry obtained for us.

The boxes you see in the photo above were produced by Games Workshop way back in 1992, for 2nd Edition Warhammer 40,000.  More than twenty years ago, Jerry Wargate, myself and more than a few others in our tiny little burg used to pine after these buildings.  Of course, that was the days of coke bottle towers, book hills and cardboard tube silos.  We've come up in the world (a little bit), and when Jerry saw these for sale he pounced on them.

Somehow, they were entirely intact!  Both in the shrink wrap - though in that photo above I had already opened it to inventory the kit.  I was pretty excited.  I think our stance on leaving things in the box is known, but in case it isn't - we believe gamestuff was meant to be gamed with, not languishing in a pristine form forever.  So I went to work pretty quick.  Today, we'll examine the Imperial Bastion.

This particular piece is a little large by today's standards.  The center portion is roughly equal to a bastion, but it also has two outside "wings".  Bases of the correct size had to be created, which we took from our standard masonite sheet.  It was given a coat of Rustoleum Multicolored Texture Aged Iron, which is a great material available for a few bucks at Wal-Mart.

We painted the bulkheads, which was a particularly nostalgic experience for me.  It took a moment to figure out how we needed to glue them together and paint them, even though there was an instruction sheet there was definitely a better way to paint the bulkheads after they were already constructed with the building.  Getting it all to go together was more challenging, and took two sets of hands.

I mixed some talus with some dark flock and flocked the inside and pathways of the base.  It's more prevalent in some places than others, but breaks up the monotony of the Rustoleum coat.  It's strewn around as messilly as I could manage and still secure it well with some Elmer's White Glue.

I just had a great idea.  Totally should have hit the base with some weathering powders.  I'm doing that now.  That's a fantastic use for it.  I can blend it into the Rustoleum nicely, and bond it with some rubbing alcohol.  I have no idea why I didn't do that in the first place - I have at least eight more powders I haven't even opened yet...

Index Mardannon: Crusade Update 2013

Since 2004, we have been developing our little spot of the galaxy, which we call the Mardannon Sector.  Several sections of the zone have been detailed in our Index Mardannon segments, but today we're expanding the scope of the Index and adding an update to the running storylines and bringing everyone up to speed on where the state of Warhammer 40,000 campaigning rests.  This treatise examines the forces battling for dominance in the sector and where recent actions have left them.

Imperial Forces

• Black Templars - The warriors of the Black Templars exemplify the determination of the Crusade to dislodge heretic and xenos scum from the sector.  However, with their defeat at Nydrazom during the Chaos Invasion they are disorganized and regrouping a large force of ships while attempting to direct the Imperial forces involved to avert further tragedies.  Now, the Black Templars make haste to Vae Salubrious after the failure of Assault Group Salerio to stop the Black Skull Raiders from reaching that system.

• Ultramarines - Though they have not been seen since the Tessina Incursion (2006 campaign, not recorded), the Ultramarines chapter has pledged half a company to the Crusade.  They will rendezvous with the Black Templars upon completion of their muster at sector command...but that is subject to the vagaries of warp travel.

• Dark Angels - Master Grigori of the Dark Angels pledged his Strike Force of half a company to the Crusade.  After a brief strategy meeting, the Dark Angels move toward Vae Salubrious.  However, there has been no contact with the Master Grigori's strike cruiser since it made warp jump from Pandaemus subsector.

• Blood Angels - Assault Group Salerio was dispatched by the Crusade to stop Warboss Nokk's Black Skull Raiders from arriving in force at Vae Salubrious.  In this, they largely failed.  It is believed that portions of the Astartes section of the Assault Group survived, however no communications have been forthcoming.  Because of this, the Crusade turns it's sights on Vae Salubrious.

• Crusader Guard Regiments - The Imperial armies that accompany the Black Templars in the main crusade fleet have been reorganized into two major groups:  the Strongpoints and Storm Groups.  In effect, the Novus Soldati and the mix of other surviving troop formations (called Revenants, since their original regiments have been destroyed) have been amalgamated into a new regiment with it's own fighting tactics.  Though they suffered greatly at Caelum Subterraneous, it is a direct result of that fighting that has molded these soldiers into the fighting force they are today.  A force that will be directed at Vae Salubrious.

• Lumisi Geared Regiments - Along with the Crusader Guard, the Lumisi Geared Regiments suffered greatly at Caleum Subterraneous.  However, the sheer number of soldiers in these regiments allowed their commanding officers to sue for a command postion in the crusade, which resulted in the appointment of the Lumisi Colonel to the newly formed Crusade High Command.  The High Command is a council which consists of a representative from each of the Astartes chapters, the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, and now the Lumisi Colonel, with the Black Templar Marshal at its head.  This is a major breakthrough for the normal humans on the Crusade as it puts the Imperial soldier's voice on the council.  These regiments made warp jump to Vae Salubrious a few weeks ago, but no further communications have been received by High Command.

• Infinity Watch - Though they have been recuperating on their homeworld of Jade Ryu since the Ordavis Incursion, the chapter has not forgotten what it's duties are.  While the Crusade defends the worlds the Infinity Watch are sworn to protect, the chapter prepares all it's ships and manpower to rejoin the crusade and build new legends for the folk of Mardannon.  Soon, they will mobilize again and add a powerful force to the crusade's building momentum of war.

Chaos Forces

• Umbral Stalkers Cabal - Wreaking havoc across the sector, the Alpha Legion have insinuated themselves into many of the most recent wars, including scouring Ordavis, maintaining outposts on Planet Nokk and the horrible fighting at Nydrazom which first bloodied the nose of the Crusade.  Though splinter cells pop up all over, all the time, the current strength and disposition of the Cabal is largely unknown.

• Brotherhood of the Most Hated - The mad Chaos Warmaster Laserwulf continues his demented quest - to build a laser big enough to punch through the skein of reality.  He has crushed both Imperial and xenos civilizations in pursuit of this dream, and not since Khal-Duraas a thousand years ago has a chaos champion brought such destruction to the sector.  Currently, the Brotherhood has a commanding presence in the sector and even the Crusade itself is trepiditious about engaging his pirate fleet.

• Bile's Band - The legacy of Khal-Duraas lives on.  The warband that once served him has found a new master, and they will soon return to bring terror and death to the Mardannon Sector.  Since they razed the hive of Vogen on Tetrazom, and annihilated the hives of Tessina they grew fat on their plunder.  Now, decades later they threaten to return to reap more of the carnage they crave, for their depraved rituals and indulgences. Soon, the sector will learn that Khal-Duraas did not fade into nothing...

• Legion of Azu'kulman - Chaos begins to stir.  Though the warp is clearly visible in the night sky of most of the worlds of the Mardannon Sector, manifested as a great and terrible eye...trouble is brewing.  Over many worlds, increased psychic activity marks ill omens.  Could all of this be, as the Doomsayers claim, a sign that the Eye will soon open fully??

Xenos Forces

• Black Skull Horde - The scattered ork kingdoms of Magnum Sierra are relatively quiet after Hive Fleet Mah'nunnah hit.  After thousands of years of being rounded up and coralled in Magnum Sierra subsector for thousands of years, the orks here follow the standard cycle of cull, buildup, Waaagh! and cull.  However, it pretty much guarantees a limitless supply of alien soldiers for any ork warlord who manages to create a supply chain...

• Black Skull Raiders - The Black Skull Warlord Nokk is attempting to break out of Magnum Sierra and form a new domain!  If successful, the cunning Warboss could set the stage for a new ork Empire and the re-emergence of xeno power in the Mardannon Sector.  Currently his fleet is heading directly for Vae Salubrious, and all the forces the Crusade can muster are congregating there to prevent this.  However, the Warboss has pulled out all the stops and drove directly for the spiritual heart of Mardannon.  Imperial forces failed to intercept the xenos invaders, and now hope for the citizens of Vae Salubrious rests on the edge of a razor.

• Eldar - Numerous Eldar factions have been flitting around the sector for many years, but not since ancient times before the Old Crusade have they been involved in much fighting.  A Swordwind known as "Killing Frost" has fought both in the alien warzone at Tangrus III (Nokk) and fought during the invasion of Nydrazom against chaos forces.  At the same time, the Dark Eldar Kabal of the Writhing Lash appeared during the Nydrazom engagement and fought with everyone, including their craftworld kin.  Yet a third eldar faction has been present in and watching the events of the Mardannon Sector War with great interest - the craftworld of Tetu'tethann.  As usual, all their goals and motives remain unscrutable, and they seem inhumanly capricious.  However, one thing is certain - eldar activity in the sector is on the rise.

Grim Outlook

The next few campaigns will center on these storylines.  Announcements as to the nature of those campaigns will take place at the appropriate time, but for now it's important to note how grim the darkness of the far future is.  There is ONLY war.

We have something here at the Wargate that a few of you might actually know about.  It's called the Master Campaign Record, or "MCR" for short.  You'll see more of this as we go on, but here's the basic gist.  There's a record of every game played at the Wargate for all campaigns, and this record also gives us a lot of information at a glance.  It helps us remember where campaigns took place, who won them (the "Victor") and who lost the hardest (the "Vanquished").  Yet it is more than that.  You see, there are other values that it tracks that I will talk about when I do an article on the MCR itself.

For now, we know these three facts from the information in the MCR:

1. Bile's Band and the Brotherhood of the Most Hated are the most powerful forces in the Mardannon Sector.  They will become major plot points for the narrative going forward, until another force dethrones them.
2. Chaos and Xenos are overrunning the sector.  The last several major wars have been clear defeats for the Imperials, and the effect is beginning to snowball the Imperial forces down the hill of annihilation.
3. Almost every major Imperial military force has been Vanquished.  This means they suffered a crippling defeat.  Almost every major Chaos and Xenos force has been the Victor, without ever being Vanquished.  This means that almost every enemy force outclasses the Imperials.

It's not too late!  The sector can be saved, but not without a lot of grim and bloody fighting.  There won't be a status-quo to maintain if the aliens and xenos decimate the sector.  Sign your troops up today for next year's Warhammer 40,000 campaign!

The Imperium needs you!

Bleak Pilgrimage Campaign Log

Bleak Pilgrimage

2013 Season 2

Warhammer 40,000 Campaign

Artax System, Vae Salubrious Subsector

The Great and Powerful Warboss Nokk, the Ineffable Gullet, is an accomplished Black Skull Ork raider captain.  His meks have just finished his ships on the planet Tangrus III.  Now dominated by xenos orks, the planet gave up most of it's raw materials to the mekboys a long time ago.  The ork raider's fleet is sizable...and as a warboss, Nokk has quite a reputation amongst many of the ork tribes present in the sector.

He has attracted an even larger Waaagh!  After absorbing other Black Skull bands on Nokk and stamping out the other tribes, those orky warriors quickly gave him fealty.  After readying his horde to leave the tainted planet of Tangrus III, he pointed his ships directly at Vae Salubria itself.  Inexplicably, as he was about to give the order to engage the warp drives - something strange happened.

The Umbral Master, Galean of the Alpha Legion, appeared alone on Nokk's bridge.  After casually killing a few of the boyz that rushed him, the sorcerer called for parley.  Amused, Warboss Nokk decided to listen.  It was well, for Galean had forseen the ork flotilla jumping directly into a powerful warp storm.  As this would derail Alpha Legion plans for that part of the sector, Galean offered his services to the Warboss.  He would guide the fleet to Vae Salubrious safely and quickly, if the orks would only harass Imperial outposts along the way.

So be it, said the great Warboss.

As the fleet left the Naograssa subsector, the Mechanicus deep space outposts at Artax picked up the warp ripple.  Broadcasting a plea for help, a single Blood Angels strike cruiser appears at the Artaxian orbitals.  The Sword of Erebus ordered the stations to be on alert, and that the Blood Angels would avert the coming disaster, whatever it was.

We begin the campaign just as the Ork fleet arrives in the Artax system.  It's too big for the Sword of Erebus and the few Imperial escorts to attack directly.  However, opportunity soon presents itself.  As battleplans are drawn, Captain Salerio of the Blood Angels 5th Company identifies the target of this campaign, plain as the light of the Emperor.

The ork flagship Dumstah must be destroyed.  If it continues on its present course, it will go past Abraxia to Vae Salubrious itself.  The Sword of Erebus must now make a bleak pilgrimage to the holy shrine world, and make sure the orks don't get there by disrupting the fleet.  Now, a running game of cat and mouse will play out across 3 star systems.  If the Blood Angels fail...the shrine world will be crawling with orks, defiling and plundering orks.

The Emperor protects.

---

Campaign Rules

The campaign will be scored as normal Battlefield Influence, save there are only 2 factions.  Players can bring allied forces as they like, and in some scenarios will be restricted in their force selection.  Any number of players can play in a campaign game.  Each week, a scenario will be played with a Game Master.  The Game Master will set up the terrain and objectives, as well as decide deployment zones and adjudicate "hidden" special rules the players will have to contend with.

As we play games with Narrative Game Masters, it will open up many new sorts of game play for us.  Many games from forgotten yesteryear were set up to have Game Masters, and we're going to reconnect with that interesting sort of gaming by having an entire campaign run in the Narrative fashion!

Each week will see the execution of a prearranged scenario.  You'll still deploy as normal, but the objectives and battlefields will be more fixed.  Each scenario will have interesting events and conditions that aren't usually possible in a normal game, and / or each army will receive extra equipment or forces.  Each scenario is designed to be as balanced as possible while still driving the narrative forward.

As in all these games where a Game Master is used, he is the final arbiter of the rules.  Players might not like surprise conditions that adversely affect their game, but be assured everything is planned out ahead of time to not give one side or the other a great advantage during any one game.  The Game Masters won't be playing in this campaign, so have no reason to hinder one side or the other.

The campaign will proceed as a standard Season 2 game, beginning on April 1st and ending on July 1st.  The player faction with the highest Influence score wins the campaign!

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Campaign Updates

1. (4.7.13) - Warp Drop Into Artax
• The Imperial Guard garrison of an orbital station at Artax is taken completely by surprise and destroyed by Nokk's flotilla.  There is nothing left of the south quadrant orbital defenses but debris.
2. (4.14.13) - Artaxian Plunder
• The Raiders see the poor state of the Artaxian defenses and rampage around the southern sector's most populous cities for almost a week, stealing almost everything of value and depopulating the area.
3. (4.21.13) - Set Course for Abraxia!
• The timely arrival of Inquisitor Kylan disrupted the plans of the Alpha Legion, and as a result the ork fleet is delayed by warp storms.  The Blood Angels are commanded to intercept the flotilla before it attacks Abraxia.
4. (4.28.13) - Attack on Station 29-IM:8
• Attacking the next station in the Abraxia system, the orks fall upon a beleaguered Lumisi regiment in a vicious blitzkrieg!  The Blood Angels had been waiting with scout units on the ground, patient for the planetfall that would soon come.  However, the ork force was simply too large, and the Imperials narrowly lose Station 29-IM:8 to the hordes of Nokk.
5. (5.5.13) - On the Rok
• The Blood Angels attempt to land directly on one of the ork roks, but cannot get past the fusillade of orky firepower defending the landing zone!
6. (5.12.13) - The Green Tide
• Near Station 29-IM, the Blood Angels rally with other crusader marines to beat back the greenskins, but they are forced to yield when the center is overrun by killa kans and 'ard boyz!
7. (5.19.13) - I've Got Bettah Loot to Pillage Elseplaces!
• The orks prepare to flee the well prepared Imperial defenses, then discover that they aren't so well prepared.  The final ork assault before the flotilla departs Abraxia takes a massive toll on the Space Marines who attempted to follow them back to their ships.
8. (5.26.13) - Breach
• The Blood Angels attempt to land Assault Group Salerio on the main hulk of the ork fleet.  The orks are prepared, however.  After the hull breach, only a handful of marines and supporting Imperial Guard live to carry out the assault.
9. (6.2.13) - Reaction Swarm
• The hulk's superstructure is weakened as orks comb the decks for space marines.  However, so few are left that the orks never encounter them where they can bring their full force against the valiant marines.
10. (6.9.13) - Destruction Derby!
• The attacking Imperials score a lucky break when their scout forces demolish several key structures inside the hulk, throwing the ork coordination (such as it was) into chaos.
11. (6.16.13) - Heart of the Hulk
• Almost all of the Imperials aboard the Ork hulk die in a futile attempt to assault the main reactor.  The Orks barely notice there are enemies on the ship.
12. (6.26.13) - The Last Hope of Salubrious
• What started as a heroic assault on the ork fleet became an absolute disaster for the Blood Angels chapter.  As the ork fleet hurtles towards the last warp jump of it's crash course for Vae Salubrious, the Assault Group Salerio withdraws from the hulk.  Their ship is barely noticed by the ork fleet and still almost destroyed.  The last remaining Blood Angels send an astropathic warning to the Salubrious jump point, and escapes the pursuing ork ramships.

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Campaign Results

Orks Win the Campaign!

Tough luck for Assault Group Salerio!  The Imperials suffer another crippling loss with the failure of the defense effort.  Now, a fleet of ork ships stand poised to invade Vae Salubrious itself!

The Black Skull Raiders, manned by none other than Jerry Wargate, tore through the opposition this time.  Watch out for more ork heavy equipment in the form of battlewagons and dakkajets next time, as the ork horde is swelling as we speak.  Emeraldwulfe's Assault Group Salerio will have to return for revenge for their brothers in the next round of this saga.  Therein we will battle for the defense of Vae Salubrious itself!

---

"So's then I tellz him, 'Relax, buddy.  I'ze not gunna bash yer hed in, ol' Snakrot'," Nokk slowly intoned to Morgutz, his right hand nob, with a morbid grin. "I sez 'instead I'ze gunna take ten o' yer teefs, two o' yer fingurz...and that shiny dakkagun thar."  He slowly patted the silvered weapon now cradled in his thick, green, clawed hands.

Morgutz took a deep swig of his gloomdraught beer.  "You let 'im off on da cheap, boss."  The nob licked the foam from his nasty ork lips as Nokk slowly nodded.  "Tiz a good fing he makes such good 'draughts."  Nokk nodded more eagerly, lifting his reverie from the powerful new weapon.

"Yerp." the Warboss declared before tossing back his own beer laden mug.  Of course he had his nobs nab up Snakrot's barrels, as well as claiming those teeth and fingers Nokk believed he was owed.  Truth be told, the Warboss couldn't really remember what it was Snakrot owed him for.  Not that it mattered much.

Suddenly, the entire ship rocked with a horrible blast.  Lights of many different colors flare all around, and horrible klaxons started going off.  A blast of steam jetted from somewhere overhead, but both Nokk and Morgutz were more concerned with how much of the gloomdraught they had spilled.

"WHAT DER MORKIN GORK WAS THAT??!!" Warboss Nokk yelled as he shot bolt upright to his feet.  Whatever it was, the danger seemed to have passed, for no more explosions were forthcoming.  The klaxons still blared however, and Nokk quickly shuffled to the control podium and slammed his claws down on a big red button.  Immediately, the klaxons ceased and the normal lights restored.

"Lost mer beer..." lamented the distaught Morgutz.  If a nine foot, six hundred pound ork nob could ever said to be sad, at that moment Morgutz was indeed.  He stared at the floor where the foamy substance had landed after the violent jarring the bridge had just taken.  Upon seeing Morgutz in this condition, Nokk cast about for his own lost mug.  When he saw it empty, tipped over on the ground, he couldn't help but experience a similar feeling.  

Just then, two meks ran inside to Nokk's command bridge.  Nokk glared at them, and they shrank from his gaze.

"Apologies Boss, we had a little...err...problem." one of the meks began to stammer.

"What kind of...problem?" the Warboss growled menacingly.

"Errr...." the same mek continued, and the other one gave him a vicious elbow nudge.  "Beakies, boss.  Beakies on the ship."

"What??"  Nokk grabbed for his new dakkagun, and Morgutz was almost cheered up at the prospect of fighting the big humans.

"It's ok, Boss...it's all under control now."  the other mek spoke up for the first time.

"It iz, izzet?"  The Warboss glared at them, his towering hulk literally gazed straight down into thier wide and fearful eyes, which stared straight up at Nokk's smoldering pits of red.  The horror on the mek's eyes betrayed their full belief in what they told the Warboss, and he was satisfied.  "Fine den."  

The Warboss abruptly turned back to Morgutz.  "Get me cup thar, Morgutz.  I'll get da barrel out again!"

Terrain Log: Cityfight Barricades

Today we're going to look at a piece that languished in the vault here at the Wargate for quite some time before someone dug it out and painted it.  It's a set of Games Workshop Urban Barricades and Walls for Warhammer 40,000 that we obtained shortly after it's release, but for some reason it wasn't even broken out of the shell until just a little while ago.  These are now some of my favorite pieces, they just add that nice bit of embellishment to the board that makes it come together.

Captain Video took these home and painted them up.  From a plain black basecoat, he drybrushed these up to match our "gothic black edifice" motif and they even got the Quickshade treatment.  Now these pieces are popping up on all the battlefields!  Big thanks to the Cap'n for taking the time to help us build the terrain collection.  Sad thing is, this isn't the only piece that was in the vault...but only one.

Still, this is one set from Games Workshop that I might be inclined to acquire more of.  Aside from one (the one with the wrecked Astartes bike) they fit with any game where guns are involved, especially Warmachine.  It might cast a grim pall over Flames of War battles as well!

In other news, Jerry Wargate has donated a fantastic digital Handycam that we will be using from now on.  I have a few pics already taken that I will use in future posts, but from here on out you'll see a marked increase in model photos and they'll (probably) be a lot finer in quality.  Again, thanks to Jerry for his continued support of the club.  For it to come together, you have to make it happen.  He's been there all the way for us.

If you are a Gate Keeper, be sure to vote on the new games coming up next season.  We're attempting a new outlet here - we now have a Facebook page!  I encourage everyone who wanders over there to answer  any questions posed, since we'll actually be taking it seriously when planning out next years' schedule.  It's new, but we'll be adding a lot to it from here on out.

Terrain Log: 40k Manufactorum

Today we have another piece from the Jerry Wargate collection.  This is a Games Workshop Manufactorum, the kit for which can be had from their online store.  Our building here was actually part of an Imperial Sector that Jerry obtained second-hand and we broke apart into it's constituent kits.  You can check out the first part of this story here, in our last Terrain Log.

We wanted to get more "intact" buildings with these kits, so we set up a few bases and took a look at what made a good footprint for a building that could be stored with the others we already have here most easily.  This is one of the pieces that always seems to make it onto the table for some reason.  Folks just seem to like it.

This building was painted a flat black to evoke the gothic feel of some of the old Warhammer 40,000 artwork.  Details were picked out and the whole thing painted by Jerry Wargate, after I had constructed it and the base (which is just a cut piece of masonite).  After he was done with the building, I affixed it to the base and played with some different basing materials I had managed to accrue.

The Manufactorum is quite nice and large on the board.  It blocks line of sight quite well, and since it's a closed building presents a different challenge than your basic ruins.  Although it's swabbed all over with the iconography of the Mechanicus and the Imperium, I think it works quite well for a lot of different games where weirdness is bountiful.

Still, there are two more buildings in this set that have not yet been built!  We have a lot of terrain to talk about in the Terrain Log, and I especially want to get to the ready made Battlefield in a Box stuff we've obtained for the club.  Also, sorry about the long wait this time between posts - it's been nearly a week.  Time for Bone to get with the program!

Army Briefing: Black Skull Raiders

Black Skull Raiders

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Planet Nokk, .M41

Tangrus III is completely annihilated.  Orks rove the plains, hunting horrific tyranid beasts that remain after the invasion of Hive Fleet Mahnunnah a few years previous.  Two massive tribes had always vied for power on this world, which is known by its inhabitants simply as “Nokk”.  The Evil Sunz tribe long held an enclave here, but the great Black Skull Goffs have ruled this part of the sector for thousands of years. Now, something has happened on Nokk that will require the immediate attention of the Imperial war machine.

A great warlord has emerged from the warring tribes of Nokk after the invasion of the tyranids.  When it seemed the six legged monsters would annihilate everything, an Evil Sunz warlord (named, naturally – Nokk) managed to convince the Black Skulls to join his Waaagh!! – and the newly formed horde pushed almost all other creatures off their world.  No humans have lived on Nokk for some time, and since the Tyranid War the necrons and eldar have taken their battle elsewhere.  Tangrus III, now known as Nokk – is ruled by orks. 

Freek Puke

Though Nokk rules the horde, his native Evil Sunz were in the minority compared to the other orks on the planet.  There were many more Black Skulls, but their warlord on Nokk was hemmed into their communities and the tyranid monsters laid siege to them.  The mobile Evil Sunz roaming the ash wastes of Nokk were more maneuverable, and Warlord Nokk of the Evil Sunz was suddenly inspired.  He broke the sieges of the Goff city states, and one by one they pledged to his Waaagh!!

The other clan was not truly receptive of the Evil Sunz ways, but slowly acclimated and ceded that they would not be fighting and winning if it wasn’t for the Speed Freeks.  The roving horde soon had a new vibe – Goff with a dash of Kult of Speed.  They were now the Raiders, and they literally raided hive ships.  As disgusting and unlikely as it sounds, it’s almost certain a great many feasts were held wherein the main course at the orky festival had six legs.

Mekboyz have become prevalent in the horde since the joining of the tribes.  Now, huge fleets of battlewagons, looted Imperial tanks, ork trukks and deffkoptas have been built, and are congregated around the construction site of Warlord Nokk’s most inspired project yet – a great ship that seems to be warp capable on launch.  It took many months of warring and scrounging the wastes and broken cities of Tangrus III, but in the end the Warlord’s vision was accomplished.  The Black Skull Raiders had formed from the ashes of Tangrus III, conquered their world, and built an interstellar transport from the warp cores of salvaged Imperial ships.

The Big Red RokkIt Ship

Building a war fleet has long been Nokk’s agenda.  After corralling all the mekboyz he could find or coerce, he set them to building more and bigger weapons and vehicles for his horde.  However, there were few system ships available to the orkz on Tangrus III, and those were quickly subsumed into Nokk’s horde.  This limited space flight capability allowed the horde to strip several Imperial ships in orbit and use the critical portions of the engines in building The Dumstah, the Warlord’s new flagship.

The great ship was built in the middle of the Dust Plains, where it quickly grew to a size that rivaled the far off mountains.  Free roaming ork bands that wandered the lands around could see the giant edifice from miles around, and made a pilgrimage to the mighty edifice of the ork gods.  In this way, the horde grew to an mind boggling size.  Soon, plans began to emerge of actually leaving the planet on a conquest, and that’s when the comet appeared in the sky above Nokk.

It was a great green ball, and passed very close to the planet.  Strange portents awoke the weirdboyz, and all the greenskins looked upon the green light in the sky and knew that their faith in their Warlord was not misplaced.  For nearly a month, the light of the comet shone at night and the orks took this as a sign of their god’s favor.  The horde labored feverishly, preparing for their foretold conquest of the stars.

Many smaller ships were built for the horde, and every Imperial system ship was refitted to suit their orky delight.  Fighters, bombers and escort craft were built both on the ground and in the Imperial orbital installations the orks had overtaken.  In the end, the flotilla that launched from the Tangrus system numbered nearly forty warp capable ships, and innumerable smaller ones in those holds.

Joined in space by several small Freebooter parties, the ork fleet has grown.  Naograssa subsector is rife with xenos pirates and orks from the greater Black Skull Empire in the neighboring Magnum Sierra subsector.  Some of these bands possessed ships equivalent to a battle-cruiser, and joined the Waaagh! for the same reason many ork bands do – for a fight, for (what passes for) treasure and (the strange ork notion of) glory.

The Black Skull Raiders focus on speed and firepower, and salvage whatever they destroy into more weapons to use in their never ending conquest.  There are a great number of small flying craft accompanying the boyz when they hit the ground, noisily chugging alongside the great battlewagons carrying the horde into battle.  A great Waaagh! has come forth once more from the southeast quadrant – and the Imperial citizens of the Mardannon Sector pray that this will be the only one…

Imperial Assault Campaign Log

The Wargate Presents

Imperial Assault

2013 Warhammer 40,000 Battle Campaign

Caelum Subterraneous, Pandaemus Subsector

On an Explorator world in the Malificus Aestus system, things are not at all what they seem.

For some time now in the underground cities that dot the surface of this nearly forgotten rock, wars of heresy have raged against the rule of the Imperium.  The burgeoning populace of this colony places ever more and more strain on the structure that is the Administratum, breaking down the order to the point of near anarchy.  As the skitarii armies move across the barren surface of this sun-blasted world, rebel militias have seized control of important outposts.  The few Adeptus Arbites enforcers that came to help quell the unrest in the populace are taxed to the limit.  

The planet's rulers are in dire peril of losing control totally.  Desperate, he has sent request for aid to the nearby systems of Kordent and Pandaemus Offensio.  It is by luck alone that the astropaths of the Mardannon Crusade caught the wailing of Subterraneous's plea...for the Black Templars have dispatched several warships from the crusade to investigate and put down the rebellion.

Yet as the crusade drew near, the real horror of this mass rebellion came to light.  A new and horrifying threat is revealed that makes the previous land wars on Subterraneous seem as tiny fires to a raging inferno.  Insidious as such foes are, it was too late to prevent anything by the time the Imperial forces realized they were not just fighting the rebel workers and anarchists.  Chaos Space Marines erupt from hidden bases and landed on seized spaceports.  Warmaster Laserwulf had arrived, and with his Most Hated came the Black Legion.

Now, the forces of the Crusade have arrived.  The Lumisi Geared and Novus Soldati form the backbone of the Imperial army, and their officers have sworn to wipe the chaos threat from the planet!

Caelum Subterraneous has miles and miles of majestic caverns.  The explorator hab-domes that criss-cross the planet's barren surface are just the tip of the massive underground laboratories and fabrication plants.  The chaos menace is entrenched and hidden, and will take a great toll on the armies of the Mardannon Crusade if care is not taken.  This enemy must be destroyed, and the Imperial Guard will annihilate the forces of the traitors or be annihilated themselves!

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Campaign Rules

1. This campaign will use basic Influence rules to determine each player's standing on his team.  Influence scores will be averaged to create a Team rating.  Influence is calculated as a players' win percentage.
2. An army will have 1 Warlord.  This warlord can be any HQ selection in the player's roster, and does not have to participate in every game.  The warlord trait will be rolled upon fielding the unit for the first time in the campaign, and that trait will be retained until the unit is destroyed in-game.
3. When a warlord is destroyed in-game, roll a d6.  On a 4+, the warlord trait is retained.  On a 1-3, the  unit will have a new trait when next deployed, or the player can select a new unit to be his warlord.
4. The campaign will encompass all games played in January, February and March.  The campaign is over on April 1st, 2013. 
5. A title shall be awarded to the player with the highest personal Influence on the winning team.

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Campaign Updates

1. (1.6.13) - Lumisi divisions approach the upper works of the Yevault colony and are met by the Most Hated.  A brief firefight ensues, and the rebels are driven off the colony's entrance.
2. (1.13.13) - As Novus Soldati divisions enter the cavernous city sprawls, dug in Chaos units from the Most Hated spring a deadly trap that spells doom for the Imperial soldiers.
3. (1.20.13) - The Novus Soldati bravely push forward towards the infested hab-domes at the edge of the Hive Nexus, but the Most Hated have secured the best emplacements and fire lanes far ahead of time.  The Obliterator Cults prove to be a great obstacle, and the Imperials are forced to withdraw.
4. (1.27.13) - The Most Hated attack, having secured the upper hand.  The Lumisi Geared regiments along the underground highway were unprepared for the ferocity of the counter-attack, and paid in the wreckages of many tanks.  At the same time, a small group of Black Legion berserkers led by none other than Kharn the Betrayer himself assault along a particularly dense section of the highway cluttered with stalagmites and old buildings where the power had been cut.  There, they found Novus Soldati waiting for them, and were repelled with minimal casualties.
5. (2.3.13) - Novus Soldati regiments attempt to find a weak point in the Chaos defenses, but were repelled on two fronts by Black Legion and Most Hated marines entrenched in strategic bottlenecks.  Two entire divisions were held up, and crippling casualties incurred.  Lumisi Geared regiments are caught sweeping military firebases by berserkers led by Kharn the Betrayer, and unexpected aid comes from the mysterious eldar.  Yet the intervention of the mysterious aliens does not help the beleaguered Imperial Guard.
6. (2.10.13) - Novus Soldati and Lumisi Armored sections cut the power to a large section of cavern occupied by all sorts of Chaos forces.  Moving in battle tank and artillery sections, the Lumisi fix firing solutions on the enemy held bastions.  The Novus infantry form ranks and deliver a hail of punishing fire at anything moving in the dark.  The result is a glorious Imperial victory, yet the war is far from over.  Chaos forces still control many of the manufactorum, and the damage to the infrastructure of Caelum Subterraneous has already been great.
7. (2.17.13) - The Imperial advance is short lived, as more of the Most Hated's Obliterator cults crawl forth from the hidden caverns beneath the planet's crust!  The Novus Soldati massed in great numbers to push forward into the depths to reach lost power generators, which are critical in maintaining the atmosphere in the great caverns of Caelum Subterraneous.  However, the chaos scum were waiting - and the plasma fire of Obliterators claimed many lives that day.
8. (2.24.13) - Abaddon himself is seen striding through the streets of a fairly nice loam-hab, casually slaughtering Lumisi squads foolish enough to get close.  Further on, Black Legion Terminators engage Lumisi armor elements, but the arrival of Most Hated Obliterator Cults curtail their effectiveness.  War Turtles space marines attempt to assault Obliterator positions, but are forced back and pinned again and again.
9. (3.26.13) - The Novus Soldati attempt to change tactics against the relentless barrage by the Most Hated Obliterator cults, but the enemy's firepower is too much to counter.  After horrifying losses, Crusade High Command pull the Imperial regiments back to the surface and begin to draw up new plans for the attack.
10. (3.3.13) - Damaged and demoralized, the Novus Soldati begin a retreat towards the surface zones to reconvene with Crusade High Command.  Yet, as one arm of the Imperial Assault recoils from massive casualties, the Lumisi Armored regiments drive deep into Chaos held hab zones and root the enemy out of his hiding spot with repeated artillery bombardments.  Both the Black Legion and the Most Hated are both given this treatment and withdraw outside the firing solutions, but the progress made by the Imperials is not enough to swing the tide back fully...
11. (3.10.13) - Dark Angels Adeptus Astartes made planetfall to assist the Lumisi Armored divisions still driving into Caelum Subterraneous.  However, the Astartes were driven back to the landers as soon as the Obliterator cults of the Most Hated sighted them.  Lumisi artillery pounded the underground bunkers as much as was possible, but were forced to withdraw after a lengthy firefight with and assault by Black Legion terminators serving THE LASERWULF.
12. (3.17.13) - Abaddon steps things up by co-opting several Obliterators and attacking the newly erected Strongpoint near Millson's Downroad, a large path deep into the inner barrows of Caelum Subterraneous.  Surprised and pinned down by the protected tanks and artillery blasts, a few of the units attempt to break through the strongpoint, including a unit of Black Legion Terminators that managed to destroy two tanks behind the Aegis...but were washed away in a sea of las fire by the patient and waiting Novus Soldati.  It was a close fought battle, but Abaddon decided to withdraw from the sight of the punishing guns and bide his time...for now.
13. (3.24.13) - Lumisi Geared Regiments struggle to push back the tide of hellish Obliterators coming from deep within Caelum Subterraneous.  The Black Legion begin to fall back, but the Most Hated scream with defiance at the Imperials attempting to push them out of this underground theater of war.  Meanwhile, the Crusade's new strongpoints make it tough for Most Hated marines attempting to secure vital supplies and intelligence.  In the dark of Caelum Subterraneous, the Aegis lines and automated guns have changed the nature of the Imperial juggernaut...but it is too little, too late.

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Campaign Results

Chaos wins the campaign!

The Imperials have taken another pummeling from the Chaos Space Marines, and the Most Hated have a strong record for wins.  Combined with Black Legion forces, it was too much for the Imperials to handle.

Space Overlord Jerry Wargate and his team mate, Captain Video!

Jerry Wargate's Brotherhood of the Most Hated has beat out almost all the competition once again!  The Obliterator cult sported three full units, and for the next campaign we've been promised a list incorporating 3 full units of Mutilators as well.  Looks like LASERWULF's ruthless plans will soon come to fruition!

Captain Video was Jerry's stalwart team mate, and managed to destroy enough Imperial units to score the same as the highest result on the Imperial team.  Their average score carried the day!

Congratulations to Jerry Wargate, this year's Space Overlord!

---

Warmaster LASERWULF sneered as they brought the multilasers to his chamber.  He told them before that he wanted lascannons.

"I told you before", LASERWULF growled to the nearest cultist, "I only want LASCANNONS!"  The last word was punctuated by a backhanded chop to face, and the cultist leader reeled back.

"My lord..." one of them ventured, "the damnable Imperials carry only a few!  The only las cells we could scavenge were the laspacks the infantry carried and these fine beauties..." The cultist gestured to the pallet of multilasers, and his flock began ooing and ahhing the scraps.

LASERWULF strode to the pile and inspected it.  Multilasers.  Ah well, at least they were las-packs.  They would serve in some fashion.  

"Leave me." he growled, and the cultists moved away quickly.  LASERWULF turned back to his command console, which he had darkened when the offering arrived.  It came back to brightly lit life with a flick of his finger, and he regarded the three dimensional plans he had been working on for so many years.

Soon, he would have the raw materials and facility to build his command cruiser.  LASERWULF was working towards a dream he had for a long, long time.  As long as he could remember.  That dream was a huge battleship brimming with laser weapons.  With arcane science, they would alter the laser weaponry and the resulting technology would provide this ship with a pulsar-like weapon of horrible magnitude.

"Now I have to name it..."  LASERWULF returned to his throne to regard the pile of multilasers.  Me motioned for servitors to remove it to the laser bay, and as they wordlessly went about their business he mused in silence on his dark throne.

With the Imperials still milling about the surface of Caelum Subterraneous, his forces could pretty well move as they pleased.  With the brunt of the Crusade welling up to hit this place, soon he would have to move the Brotherhood away.  LASERWULF just needs a few more lascannons...

Bleak Pilgrimage Campaign Open!

Welcome back to the Warhammer 40,000 universe for our first 2nd Tier campaign this year!

This will be something of a grudge match between Jerry Wargate's Black Skull Raiders (Nokk's Band!) and the Blood Angels Strike Force Salerio, helmed by the elusive Emeraldwulfe!  However, they will be assisted by other members of the club in the form of allies during the campaign.  This will include members of the club who do not otherwise possess an army for this game, and in this manner we'll be teaching the ins and outs of 6th Edition to these prospective generals for the duration of Season 2.

This campaign will be slightly different in that each game will be helmed by a Game Master.  We've not really tried a full-on Narrative campaign like this, so that is exciting in and of itself.  This sort of game was quite common in the wargaming world many years ago, and this campaign will give us a glimpse of how things were done in the far off days of yesteryear.

Each game will have fixed objectives, which will not be revealed to players until the game begins!  This will be a truly dynamic campaign, but without too many special rules to confuse new players.  Indeed, it will be focused on what kind of cool things can be done with a Game Master presiding over the games.  I'm looking forward to how this plays out, but I've been working on beginner style scenarios that progress to more complicated scenarios over the course of the campaign.

Games will be early in the day on Game Day and should commence no later than noon.  Failure of one party to show up each weekend will result in forfeiture of that game, so make sure your troopers are ready to go and seize the objectives!  The narrative of this campaign is important, since it will affect whether or not Vae Salubrious itself can be attacked by the hordes of Warlord Nokk!

You can check out the campaign page by clicking on the link in the Inner Sanctum or State of Play to the right.  The games begin at high noon this Sunday!  If one side does not show, there will be a call to their allies to step up to defend their position.  Since this is a smaller 2nd Tier campaign, the battlefield will be reserved at the beginning of the day, so bring your forces to either destroy or protect the Imperium!

See you on Game Day!

Terrain Log: 40k Basilica

Welcome back for another Terrain Log, where I fumble about the myriad universes trying to bring pieces back for you.  Today, we have our Warhammer 40,000 Imperial Basilica.  Not only was this sanctuary a place of worship before it got bombed out, but you can still take cover amidst the ruin of the Imperial servants whose skulls adorn the walls!

This piece meandered around the club, and actually required the talents of three Gate Keepers before it was finished.  We work at a snail's pace around here, but things eventually happen - usually all at once.  For this Basilica (which you can buy the kit for at www.games-workshop.com, under Warhammer 40,000 Scenery) I think it was almost a year before it was finished.

Jerry Wargate bought a set of used ruins online way back in late 2010.  After deciding we didn't like how they were put together and that we wanted higher standards going forward, I started the long and arduous process of cutting the pieces down and removing the huge chunks of plastic glue that were holding the rickety ruins together.  It took two days to get these pieces ready for assembly.  Jerry helped me take four different GW buildings apart, then we started to put this one together.

I cut a base from mica board, (I cut one for each of these four buildings that particular day) and set about constructing something that resembled what was on the box.  We had a lot of pieces to sort through.  After looking at some examples, Jerry and I set on this neat "X" footprint.  Then, after priming it up and getting it ready, Jerry went over the whole thing for hours with a paintbrush.  After painting the thousandth skull, he decided he'd had enough of it.  That's when we handed it off to Captain Video for another layer of loving detail, and he even added a coat of Army Painter's Quickshade.

After the good Captain brought it back to me, gave the mica board base a spray with Rustoleum's Beaten Iron and attached the building with Elmer's White Glue.  After that, I mixed up some turf with some different flocks I had.  I have huge bags of talus laying around, so I threw some of that in the different turf mixes I was using.  The grey area on the board around the Basilica itself is the exposed Beaten Iron, and I did a little grading on the rest of the board.  It looks great on our boards, that's for sure.

Big thanks to Jerry Wargate and Captain Video for their continued support.  There are still two buildings left to put together from that lot - something I hope to visit soon since we're speeding up production a little around here.  More stuff on the way - don't worry Captain, I'll have your recent work up on this site in due course!

Army Building in 6th Edition 40k

If you're anything like me, you've already built several armies for Warhammer 40,000.  Every edition we have new things to consider when building our actual lists, whether those changes are brought about by the basic rulebook or the new codex for whatever the newest army is.  For many of us, especially when we possess multiple armies, this isn't necessarily a happy day as it means everything that has come before is now invalidated.  Maybe you have more points now because what you have already collected is cheaper points-wise than it was in the previous edition.  That trend has been going strong since 1997, when GW decided they wanted us to have bigger armies.

Now, however...it's a little more than annoying.

Since the release of 3rd Edition way back when, we've really only had to worry about re-configuring the lists we own when the new army codex is released.  There was the whole "Trial Assault Rules" deal that changed up how armies played, but that was before 4th Edition.  Now, with 6th Edition, they have changed the very Force Organization Chart we're all used to.  A lot of rules from past supplements have been absorbed into the main rules - and even if you don't have a new codex, you still have to pay attention to these changes.  Maybe it's your opponent fielding new units, or worse (as in my case) you realize your army simply isn't up to stuff in the new paradigm.

Let's take a quick look at the new points created by the new Force Organization Chart and the new rules available in the rulebook.  We're not going into individual codecii, this short post will consider the rulebook alone.


Flyers

Well, it's neat and all - but do these machines really belong on the table for the sort of game that Warhammer 40,000 has always been?  Yeah, they've been around for years but not as a solid part of the gaming system.  It used to be that you had to field them in specially prepared games (using Forge World pieces) and that kept it from being overused.  Now, pretty much everyone has flyers, or they will by the end of 6th Edition.

There are a few rules that really make these things worth a lot more than their points value - in effect making them something almost mandatory.  6+ to hit from any ground weapons that do not possess Skyfire, and Blast weapons cannot be used against them since it's a Snap Shot.  Not every army has been issued Flakk missiles (or the equivalent) yet.  I really don't have to point out how that will skew certain lists to the top for the next few years of tournaments.

You might say - "Well, Dave...since you're so clever, why don't you just take some Fortifications or Allies with Skyfire weapons?"  It could be that I don't feel that I should be forced to change my list to account for an artificially created threat (whose presence only thinly even makes sense) or buy the current New Releases to do the same.

Personally, I was fine when these were Forge World pieces.  I really think that this sort of support doesn't belong in a 28mm game, and is best implemented on smaller scales such as 15mm or 6mm.


Allies

An interesting development to be sure.  I don't even know what to say on this matter as I don't feel strongly one way or the other.  We always sort of played this way anyway, and it's nice to see a real rule governing it like Warhammer Fantasy Battle.  There are two points that should be made, however.

First, there will be two types of player who makes use of this rule.  One player will see some tactical advantage of combining forces (how about 4 Demolisher cannons?) cram out the spam with cheese.  The other guy will either be fielding what models he can (because all he has is a few Eldar and Space Marines) or have some sort of "fluff cruft" associate with the army.  Basically, the Power Gamer and the Play Gamer.

Second, I really don't see any real issue with the power gaming.  I've already pointed out that taking Allies with Skyfire is pretty much the only real advantage an army can gain against the new threat implemented by this edition - all other threats and answers were already in place.  If anything, it just lets us see different models more often.  Yeah yeah, you can take nothing but Obliterators and then take 60 orks to help hold objectives - but you could have just used cultists and there's not really much of a difference when it comes down to bullets and beans.

We'll probably only use this rule to create team games easier.  We've seen a lot of these sort of games, but the idea of a "married" list seems anathema to most players.  I've yet to run across one.


Fortifications

So, now I can really jack with the game board and force the scenario to behave in a certain way.  Oh yeah, and since you can give Bastions and Aegis Skyfire weapons, this might be mandatory in your army.  Certain builds are going to find that the Fortifications rule is something they couldn't live without, while other builds will blanch at having to give up 100 points.

It might depend a lot on your build, but your standard "play" is going to dictate whether or not you need a Fortification.  You know what your "play" is - you look at the objectives, you deploy your army, and then they carry out your plan.  Seize and deny objectives.  Score secondary objectives, etc., etc.  If your army has a theme based around a "play", you might definitely consider adding a Fortification over adding a flyer.

Non-MEQ's will probably make the most of this.  It was a real game changer when I added an Aegis Defense Line to my Imperial Guard infantry battalion.  Still, MEQ (marine equivalent, Sv 3+) with a certain play in mind (such as a heavy weapon laden force) can make great use of certain types of Fortifications, and the ability they offer to change the battlefield before the first piece of terrain is laid.


The Changing Game

I for one am stoked about the game changing.  However, since none of these things were explicitly stated, I can see a few folks getting angry after being punished game after game.  I've heard lots of arguments about "flyers are in the game now DERP get a skyfire or your own flyer DERP"!  Yet that's kind of a null argument when you think about it, since the whole snap shots only deal seems kinda tacked on to make flyers a better choice.

So, now you have a totally different army for this edition.  That's fine, it's good to change it up every couple of years.  Maybe you have models you can't use, but just put those aside...they'll probably be usable next edition.  Even if these new additions to the game were simply sales strategies designed to kick out flyer and fortification kits, they've been doing that sort of thing for a long time now.

What's more worrying is the stance that GW has taken lately with regards to their Retail Policies.  Much has already been said about them, and I won't go into the specifics here.  What I will do is put forth the notion that the masses are restless, and GW is on the verge of alienating even hardcore fans like myself.  GW itself would do well to take notice - there are lots of other game publishers, some of them here in the United States, that are more affable and easier to work with.  If they continue to be a huge bully, and continue to price their models higher and higher (despite telling us originally that resin would be cheaper) there's going to be some changes.

Around here, at least.

Terrain Log: Warhammer 40,000 Obstacles and Objectives

As you know, we're hip-deep in Warhammer 40,000 season here at the Wargate, and today we also announce that there will be a separate narrative mini-campaign next season running tandem with Warmachine!  More information on that coming soon, so stay tuned if you want more practice with your armies this year.  For now, we'll take a look at some pieces we like to call Obstacles and Objectives!  Yeah, they are in the Warhammer 40,000 box, but a lot of them work for lots of other games as well.

Don't stand so close to me...or near the toxic explosive chemicals.

These barrels have been around for about ... 15 years or so.  Recently rebased, they've seen more action on the field as Battlefield Debris (that explodes!) and the smaller pieces can also make great objectives.  Easy to make, and a little bit of Burnt Grass to simulate oil spills on the ground.

Praise the Emperor and pass the ammo!

These are some miscellaneous pieces we've collected over a long period of time.  The battlefield accessories were painted by myself and a colleague...oh...12 or 13 years ago, but I dug them out of a scrap box and put them on bases.  The grey asphalt style base is made simply by spraying a base with Rustoleum Beaten Iron.  Looks good, we used it on the road pieces as well.  The Black Reach force fields were painted by...you know, I have no idea.  Look good though.  For the shrines, those are made from bits from the bastions we have, and Captain Video did a great job painting them up.

Tank Traps make it hard to drive around most battlefields, but at least they offer some cover.

These old tank traps are something of an oddity.  Based on some really strong type of cardboard (that got hit with Rustoleum Beaten Iron as well) these are just as old as the barrels and came out at the same time.  They still offer that set on Games Workshop's website...the Battlefield Accessories set in the Warhammer 40,000 Scenery section.  These were drybrushed by novice hands long ago... I just gave them a new base and a new lease on life recently.  They haven't disappointed.

Some obstacles should really be avoided if at all possible.  Especially by those with soft, exposed skin.

Razor wire!  These pieces were based just like the tank traps, but I drove a nail through each end and connected a piece of Games Workshop's Razor Wire.  One of them got a little bent, and the hard cardboard that they are based on is sorta warped now.  Lesson:  don't use hard cardboard for items with tension.  Even the little bit of force exerted by the Razor Wire pulling together was enough to warp this piece.  Next time, I'll stick to the ol' masonite sheet.

That's it for today.  Thanks to everyone for a great game day yesterday.  Next weekend, Imperial Assault will be ending the final few phases of the war for Caelum Subterraneous.  Also, The Temple of Elemental Evil continues to be the most wanton deathtrap of all time, consuming souls at a frightening rate to produce a staggering death toll so far.  Be warned, and stay tuned for more gaming goodness later this week!

Army Briefing: Crusade Strongpoint

Crusade Strongpoint

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Caelum Subterraneous, .M41

As Imperial Guard regiments and more and more Astartes Chapters commit to the Crusade, more and more soldiers are deployed along the battlezones.  The vast majority of those soldiers are guardsmen, and the majority of those soldiers hail from Novus Fideles.  Known as the Novus Soldati, thousands of these brave souls have pledged their souls to the Emperor and their lives to the Crusade.

Originally fielded in separate regiments, during one of the opening campaigns of the Mardannon Crusade proper, the Novus Soldati were nearly destroyed completely by marauding Obliterator cults of Chaos.  The Soldati were brave to a fault.  Lacking any real regimental armored support or artillery, the Soldati regiments were issued only their field gear – no transports or vox-casters.  The regiment attempted to wage war against Chaos the same way they waged war on their home planet, and met with disaster.  It was the loss of thousands of Novus Soldati in the caves of Caelum Subterraneous that prompted the newly formed Crusade High Command to take action and change the way they fielded the regiments.

Combined Regiment Tactics

The High Command Council is headed by the Black Templars Marshal Erasmus, and he is attended by the highest ranking commanding officers of each regiment, and a command representative of each of the other Astartes chapters.  As the disaster on Subterraneous unfolded, the Marshal suggested a new operating order for the Novus regiments.  There had already been mass carnage on other worlds, and there were other regiments who had already been depleted to below fighting strength.  All these regiments would be combined and new tactical applications developed.

The Novus Soldati would be used as the main infantry force for the Crusade, while elements of other depleted regiments would be used to support them.  Though this practice is common on the battlefields, the Marshal actually appointed all new officers from different regiments to head new divisions.  One of these divisional types was dubbed simply “Strongpoint”.  The majority of the remaining Novus Soldati would remain an infantry assault group, but would be supported by elements of the nearly defunct Travertine Subjugators.  The Subjugators were a large Leman Russ formation consisting of standard pattern battle tanks and the exquisite Executioners, whose ancient plasma cannons reaped thousands of souls for the Emperor.  Yet there were few of them left, so the crews were reassigned to Novus sections designated as “Strongpoint” groups.

The regiments were also supplied with new gear and logistical support.  With Aegis defense lines dropped by friendly aircraft, the Strongpoints are assigned artillery officers to coordinate with divisional support batteries.  Once again, the Novus Soldati once again prepare to head to war.

Endless Waves of Blood and Steel

The commanders of the Imperial regiments being reorganized on the surface of Caelum Subterraneous are supremely confident about how the Crusade’s reorganization of the depleted regiments will perform.  The Novus Soldati have fought with the Lumisi mechanized infantry in the crusade, but now the officers from other regiments are indoctrinating the guardsmen in how to fight with the new heavy equipment.

Many of the common soldiers have had their spirits uplifted by the Black Templar’s personal touch, as the Marshal inspected the troops personally, on the ground, before assigning new officers.  The presence of the Space Marines has alternately terrified and elated the guardsmen serving in the Mardannon Crusade, and the personal touch from the “honored masters” has greatly bolstered morale in the wake of the slaughter by the Chaos Obliterator cults.

Abhuman reserves have been assigned to the Strongpoints as well.  Though the Black Templars hate these creatures as they do psykers, they have allowed the ogryns to serve by protecting the anti-aircraft batteries in these newly created battlegroups.  The ogryns do so faithfully, and they are well received by the Novus Soldati regulars.

Perhaps the most interesting of the units assigned to the Strongpoints are the Executioners.  Their ancient plasma coils are dangerous and mysterious, and cannot be repaired easily.  However, the Crusade is organizing trans-divisional field maintenance to help rearm units across the entire battlezone.  Storm Raven transports are seen flying over, carrying payloads of Techmarines and Techpriests who are united in service to both the Crusade and the Machine God.  In this way, the technologically impaired Novus regiments can receive the supplies they need to maintain all the new equipment.

The Strongpoints are important pieces of the Crusade’s overall strategy.  As other Imperial Guard regiments are organized into “Storm Groups”, the focus of the Adeptus Astartes remains on seizing new ground and assaulting enemy positions.  The Strongpoints will be the static formations that hold that ground against counter-attacks, and who act as beach-head forces who can secure a much greater area than the smaller strike forces.

The Mardannon Crusade begins to organize itself according to the fortunes of battle.  Already Marshal Erasmus and the Crusade High Command have shown themselves to be able to break with long standing Imperial Tradition if doing so is in the best interests of the Crusade at large.  The light of the Emperor will be brought to the enemy by the combined efforts of every man in the Crusade, and it will continue to organize what troops and resources it has to create an invincible army of the Imperium.