Monday, July 15, 2024

Chapter 8: The Rescue?

 As the "Domination" and "The Crusader's Sword" make their journey towards Iaeid, they receive an unexpected Vox transmission. It comes from the Mechanicus Research Center slightly off their flight path. The Captain of the Strike Cruiser decides the Martian personnel must be rescued. They won't have much time as the Hive Fleet follows not to far behind. 

As they close in on the Station, word reaches them that Tyranid Vengeance Drones are approaching and it appears that some have veered on towards the Station! A race against time...


The Mechanicus Station with the hangar deck seen at top right. The ascending decks go counterclock-wise. The top deck has already been pierced by Tyranid Boarding Spores and is not shown. The two Imperial ships are shown on the left (and if you look very carefully you can just make out the Station just above the Strike Cruiser), while the Tyranids are to the right. We used this to keep track of race against time...

The two Navy Breaching Squads arrive by Arcus Lighters and are greeted by the silent Kastelan Robot. Note, please ignore the green masses on the deck. These tiles were used for an earlier Space Hulk game and I didn't have material to recast, so...)
On Deck Five (just below the Tyranid breach, the first Hormagaunt appear in the elevator shaft while a Skitarii is on overwatch. The green die seen on the lab deck refer to the number of game turns the lab needs to download their vital information form the Main Frame...
The Skitarii slays two of the Tyranids, but more arrive and he is charged...
The unfortunate Skitarii are not good melee fighters, and he is soon butchered by the Hormaguant. A second Skitarii fails to drop even one, before he too is taken down (right side). A Genestealer joins them as they assault the bulkhead doors leading to the research labs. The Servitors are taking position at the doors to buy time...
Green Die seen on the blue cover represent the hit points remaining on the doors, which had 4 to begin with. The first door (on left) goes down very quickly, but the Servitor drops the first Hormagaunt!
And then the first Terminators arrive. Their commander had the quick thinking idea to use their own boarding torpedoes on Deck 4 to make a more rapid appearance! It turns out to be an excellent choice as the two Hormagaunts assaulting this particular door were crushed by the arriving elevator from below! Note that this particular door had only one hit left; very fortunate timing!
The Servitor is overwhelmed by Hormagaunts. The Skitarii prepares to defend his Mechanicus breathen downloading the vital information...
The Genestealer seems incredibly inept assaulting his door, while the Terminators are cleaving their way through the Hormagaunts. You can make out the Elevator tiles, seen with the yellow/black markings on the floor...
The Terminators make their presence felt as they take down the Tyranids...
With the labs on Level 5 successfully downloaded their data, evacuation may begin. The Terminators continue to mop up even as more Genestealers drop down from above through the elevator shaft...
But the Tyranids are not done yet, as some begin to infiltrate onto Deck 4, surprising a Skitarrii...

Back on Deck 5, the terminators hold off the Tyranids, as the Mechanicus personnel are evacuated...
The Skitarrii is overwhelmed by Hormagaunts on Deck 4...
A Servitor sacrifices itself as another Skitarrii and Terminator arrive to seal off this latest Tyranid infestation...
Tyranid Warriors now appear on Deck 5, wounding a Terminator before it puts down not one but two Warriors!..
As yet another Warrior appears, the Terminators now begin to evacuate Deck 5...
On Deck 4, Skitarrii and Terminators hold off the Tyranids as the personnel continute to evacuate the deck...
Up on Deck 5, Tyranid Warrior with Bio-Ranged Weapons approach the central lab, as the last Terminator Rear Guard is preparing to drop down to Deck 4...
A Skitarrii. and their Marshal attempt to stop the Tyrnaids but a Genestealer kills one and wounds the Marshal...
The Marshal wounds the Genestealer but then is cut down...
The Skitarrii may have been wiped out, but the Terminators still rule the Station, and with the staunch defense, the personnel have all been evacuated to the Landing Bay...
Unfortunately, on Deck 2, 8 of 10 armsmen of a Boarding section have been cut off, and are soon losing members...
Tyranid Warriors are making short work of the armsmen...
The last of the armsmen are lost, but the Mechanicus personnel have all been loaded onto transports to be moved to the waiting "The Crusader's Sword"...
As the last Imperials launch away from the Station, the lone Kastelan, takes down several Warriors and receives one wound. Amazingly, only a few Servitors were lost from the Stations' personnel, although the ten Skitarrii and the Magos were lost along with 8 Naval Armsmen. The Tyranid fleet arrived about two turns late in its attempt to cut off the Imperials. It turned out to be a enjoyable adventure. Now the Imperials must continue their voyage to Iaeid to spread the warning of the coming Tyranids.


























Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Chapter 7: The Ambush!

 The Strike Cruiser, Imperial Light Cruiser, and Frigate, following the recovery of the landing party from the Space Hulk (represented by the grey mass and the imperial ship stuck into it...

The Dauntless Class Lt Cruiser "Emperor's Rage"

The Imperial Frigate "Domination"...
The Dark Angel Strike Cruiser "The Crusader's Sword"...
Suddenly and unexpectedly, a Tyranid Fleet is sighted! ( Bottom right; its what drew the Landing Party back to their ships)
Tyranid Void Ships, first two are Kraken and the third, equivalent to an Imperial Cruiser...
This particular beastie is armed with boarding spores along with the feeding tentacles...

The Imperial and Marine vessels begin their maneuvers...
The Imperials move and shoot first, but all miss. The Tyranids put one shot to the Frigate, but the shields hold. (A Blast marker is placed to signify the non-penetrating hit)...
On their next turn, the Imperials get hits, but no penetrations as the spores which live near the ships absorb the blasts. The Tyranids get four Boarding Spores at the "Emperor's Rage...
The close up on the "Emperor's Rage". She will destroy one of the Spores, but the other three unload their frightful cargoes into the cruiser's interior!
The Imperial Forces get three hits on the enemy, but none penetrate...
But wait! "The Crusader's Sword" destroys one of the Krak vessels! (Second Blast Marker)
As the Tyranids continue their attack on the "Emperor's Rage", four more Boarding Spores contact the flank of the cruiser. One will be destroyed by the defense turrets, but the other three reinforce the Tyranids inside the Imperial vessel. There, Hormagaunts and Genestealers are battering their way though defending Naval Armsmen towards three targets; the Bridge, the Engine Room, and the Magazine!
The Imperials get in some very good shooting, getting hits on three different Tyranids...
Caught between the Frigate "Domination"and "The Crusader Sword", a second Krak ship is vaporized...
Unfortunately for the Imperium, the "Emperor's Rage" is struck by yet three more Boarding Spores. One is again intercepted, but by now, the Tyranids have overwhelmed the Navy Armsmen, and are battering the various blast doors. It will be only a matter of time. "The Emperor's Rage" is ordered to a stop to ask for assistance...
"The Crusader's Sword" successfully strikes another Krak...
And it too is destroyed!
Then, a horrific discovery! More Tyranid ships are maneuvering around the Space Hulk, and one appears to be a Hive Ship!
It is a indeed a Hive Ship, surrounded by swarms of Drones whose mere existence is to protect the Hive!
On board the "Emperor's Rage", as the Blast Doors to the Bridge are smashed down by Tyranid Warriors, the Captain gives orders to scuttle the Cruiser. Unfortunately for the crew, the Tyranids have already entered the Engine rooms and Magazine, and there is no self-destruction. The crew will be devoured, along with the fine Cruiser! "The Crusader's Sword" and "Domination" make a swift and successful retreat. They must alert the Governor on Ieaid of the disaster...



















Chapter 6: The Underhive

A second Genestealer Cult raid, this time on a small Arbites station located deep beneath the Ieaid Hive. The Station is seen to the right with a patrolling officer on upper deck to the left...

A Corpse Grinder Juve (lowest gang member) foolish stepped out of cover and was immediately put down by the overlooking Arbiters...

An overhead shot as the attack reached high gear...
Unfortunately (again) a camera glitz cost me the remaining photos. The raid was unsuccessful as well, with the raiders wiped out and only two Arbites going down. The Cultist need some seasoning!


 

Thursday, July 4, 2024

Chapter 5: Planet Ieaid: The Wastelands

 Before the Task Force was sent to investigate the Space Hulk, trouble was brewing on Ieaid itself. Unknown to the Imperium, a small Genestealer Cult was growing in the shadows. Attempting to gather weapons, the Leadership of the Cult decided to raid an Ironhead Prospecting settlement deep in the Wastelands.

The small Promethium Drilling Site #325A6...

The Prospectors included a Charter Master (located just left of brightly colored crate at center), 2x Drill Masters (Champions), 2x Drill-Kyn (Gangers), and 3x Diggers (Juves). The titles see in parenthesis comes from the game Necomunda. The Cultists included 5x Acolyte Hybrids, 10x Neophyte Hybrids, and 4x Aberrants. The attack started poorly as the Cultists succeeding only in causing one Ironhead to temporarily go prone, while return fire dropped 2 Neophhytes...
A more detailed look at the Cultist casualties...
The Cultists charge in and while concentrated fire from the Ironheads drop one of the Aborrants (top center), another nearly reaches the back of one of the Diggers (bottom center)...
The Charter Master rushes out to save the Digger, attacking the Aborrant, while Ironhead weapons fire take down two Acolytes...
Fire brings down another Acolyte while a second Digger sees an Aborrant charging towards him unhurt by his fire...
The Charter Master takes down not one, but two of the Aborrants, but is himself cut down by the remaining Aborrant. It is the first loss to the Ironheads!
The struggle comes to a bloody finish, as the Aborrant smashes down a Digger, but then he and the remaining Cultists go down to accurate Ironhead fire...
The first attempt by the Cultist to gain strength has failed!







Saturday, June 15, 2024

Space Hulk: A Tale: Chapter 4: Through the Gauntlet

 With the warning now passed among the Breachers, Skitarii and Terminators, it become a mad rush to escape this alien vessel so that they could teleport back to their ships. At one point, one of the Breacher squads was about to be overrun, even as the Magos arrived with his warning...

A disaster has occurred! All the remaining photos have been lost! It was an amazing finish as the majority of the Terminators remained in the cavern to fight with the Brood Lord and his Hive Guard. With the Apothecary restoring life not once but twice, and restoring wounds as well, the Brood Lord was put down and the remainder of the Tyranids lost their governance, allowing one Breacher Squad and the Terminators to withdraw to their ships. To find their ships are under attack...but that is another chapter...