The Battle for Tantrum Prime - Battle Reports - Week 1

Week 1 – Lord Madigus Kyle’s Hunting Party vs. Local Imperial PDF
Mission: Kill Points
Deployment: Spearhead


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The ground war for Tantrum Prime had begun with a whimper.

At least in Lord Madigus Kyle’s opinion. The Nurgle Warlord leading this “conquest” had commanded him and his cadre to scout the lands to the north of their initial planet fall, moving his forces away from the fighting that had just started to bloom to the west. Well that was just fine by him. If the plague warriors and pleasure fiends of this united warband wanted to throw themselves at the allied loyal forces without any prior knowledge to their numbers and composition, then they were more than welcome to do so. If his three centuries of prior service to the Corpse God of the Imperium had taught him anything, it was that you had to know your enemy to properly dispatch them. After all, wasn’t that what had lead him to Chaos in the first place? The Inquisition would never gain the upper hand against the forces of the Immaterium if they refused to even understand the basic principles upon which they worked. Damned fools, every last one.

So now they were headed north… Lord Madigus had already sent his personal army of seasoned veterans forward on the ground, creeping between the trees and undergrowth so as not to give away their position. Once the way had been sufficiently scouted he would move in with his small collection of Valkyries and secure a northern base of operations for the warband.

Suddenly the comm in his helmet chirped.

“My Lord, Colonel Klaxo has just spotted local PDF forces in a clearing 2 clicks to our northwest,” said his pilot from the cockpit of his personal Valkyrie transport, Sombra de Muerte. “His scouts are reporting somewhere on the order of fifty to sixty assorted infantrymen and a trio of heavy tanks.”

“Good, good… And here I was beginning to think that my men wouldn’t be getting a chance to work out their frustrations up here in this frigid backwater cesspit. Very well, inform the Colonel that I’m sending reinforcements his way. In fact, I think I could do with a good work out, myself. Get the engines warmed up, we’re going too.”

“As you will, my Lord.”

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The Setup:

My forces won the roll to choose who goes first and I decided to retain the honour as Peter’s Master of the Fleet negated my Astropath, meaning that I couldn’t rely on my outflanking Valkyries coming in when and where I needed them to. I set up Klaxo’s command squad and the two veteran Guard squads in some woods moderately back in my deployment quarter. The squadron of Devil Dogs set up right in the front, as close to Peter as I could and the Chimera full of pissed off Psykers parked right behind them. The two Valkyries set up to either side of the Dogs with the intention of using their Scout moves to flank around both sides of Peter’s forces. The Vendetta Valkyrie “Cazador” was poised to head west whereas the normal Valkyrie, “Sombra de Muerte”, was set to go north so that Lord Madigus and his men could deal with anything trying to work its way around to flank my rear troops. There was a nice wooded hill just to the north of my deployment zone that obscured my Chimeras from the north so that they’d be covered if Peter tried to move in any forces from reserve along that table edge.

Peter’s deployment zone included a few craters and a staggered line of sand-bagged emplacements. There was also some ruins way back in the far corner from my forces. He set up his command squad just in front of the ruins and placed a squadron of Leman Russ battle tanks in front of them to shield them from my initial fire. One of his missile launcher toting infantry squads hunkered down in the ruins behind them. The other infantry squad and his heavy weapons squad full of autocannons settled down behind the sandbags and inside of the lipped craters. His Vanquisher with the Tank Commander inside started off near the ruins as well in order to shield the command squad and the infantry squad from fire coming from the direction of my table edge. Then he placed his three penal legion units and a chimera containing the platoon command squad to the east, right across from my Devil Dogs. He rolled for his penal legion trooper’s “crimes” and got two Gunslingers and one Knife fighter unit. He finished his deployment by placing a squadron of armoured sentinels right across from my Vendetta.

I won the roll to see who got to make their Scout moves first, so the two Valkyries zoomed right up next to his southern and eastern lines. His penal troops shuffled about a bit, but couldn’t move much further due to having to remain 12 inches or more away from my Inquisitorial Valkyrie. He rolled to steal the initiative but failed and the game was on…


Turn 1:

The turn began with the Devil Dogs zooming forward 12 inches to get right in front of the advancing penal troopers. The chimera containing the battle psykers moved up to the north behind them, just at the base of the wooded hill. Lord Madigus and his retinue disembarked from their Valkyrie and hoofed it up onto the wooded hill just north of the chimera, overlooking the penal troopers.

The other Valkyrie allowed the plasma-wielding veterans inside to disembark before moving 6 inches further to the west, putting it in the side arc of all of Peter’s tanks. The plasma gun unit moved up behind a sand bag barricade and set up to blast the armoured sentinels in their side armour.

The shooting phase began with Klaxo ordering his own squad to Bring Down the leman russ tank squad. Their lascannon hit but failed to do any damage and even though, in a moment of amazing long-range accuracy, the Master of Ordnance’s artillery barrage landed directly on top of one of the tanks, it too failed to even scratch the lumbering vehicles. The Vendetta, Cazador, fared a bit better, opening up with all three of its twin-linked lascannons into the side of the Command Vanquisher tank. It penetrated the side armour and apparently hit something vital but non-volatile as the tank shuddered and began to smoke, the tank commander inside popping out of the top hatch and beginning to shake his fist at the encircling aircraft. Near the base of the Vendetta, the veteran squad lit the sentinels up with their plasma guns, blowing one up and shaking the other.

On the other side of the battlefield the Devil Dogs opened up on the chimera surrounded by the advancing penal troopers. One of their melta cannons was just close enough to nuke the transport, turning its front armour into slag and causing the vehicle to explode in an impressive fireball that sprayed shrapnel into the surrounding men. Casualties were light though, and the command squad into managed to escape the blast with minimal losses. The Inquisitorial Valkyrie saw to fixing that problem and opened up on the penal troopers with all of its weapons: two multiple missile pods and a chaingun (really a mutlilaser, but rat-tat-tat is so much cooler than pew-pew-pew). It managed to hose down all three penal units with the large frag blasts from its missile pods, reducing two of them down to less than half a dozen men. The squad hit full on by the chaingun only had two left standing. In the end none of the crazed convicts broke and ran though, and Lord Madigus got a worried look in his eye when the remaining troopers started to scramble up the steep face of the hill towards him. His retinue attempted to vaporize the closest troopers but two of their guns over-heated. Thankfully their carapace armour saved them from killing themselves.

In Peter’s turn the penal troopers managed to scale most of the way up the hill towards Lord Madigus and his band of retainers. The remaining half-dozen or so gunslingers were ordered by the nearby platoon commander to empty their lasguns into the traitors at point-blank range, killing several bodyguards that stepped in front of their master to absorb the literal hailstorm of las-beams. Lord Madigus wasn’t about to sit still and take the oncoming penal legion charge, so he and his retainers jumped down the back side of the hill before the mass of crazed murders could get up to them. The leman russ tanks behind them fired at the Devil Dogs, hitting with every shot and reducing the vehicles to twisted metal and burning puddles of promethium.

Unfortunately the rest of Peter’s shooting was rather ineffective, but his remaining shaken armoured sentinel built up enough speed to round the sand-bagged emplacement the plasma gun veterans were behind and barrel into them. It them proceeded to begin punting the veterans left and right, hopping up and down to prevent the seasoned grunts from sticking krak grenades into its exhaust ports and other vital areas. As much as if would have behooved the veterans to break and flee from the walker so that they could regroup later and give it another volley of plasma fire, they stubbornly held their ground. In the end, they spent THE ENTIRE REMAINDER OF THE GAME locked in combat with the sentinel, never managing to do anything more than immobilize it.


Turn 2:

While Gin’quen, my Callidus assassin, was off doing her nails somewhere in the woods, Kurt Fénix (my version of Sly Marbo) stepped out from behind a pillar in the ruins next to Peter’s company command squad a proceeded to casually toss a demo charge at the backside of the tank they were hiding behind. The explosive charge proceeded to bounce off of the rear armour of the tank and land with a plop in the middle of the command squad. The Master of Ordnance, realizing the threat before anyone else, managed to dive to the ground as the charge went off, turning everyone else in the squad into fine red mist. He stood up to face Kurt when a trio of noises that sounded an awful lot like “FREEM FREEM FREEM” came from behind him, causing the tank at his backside to explode into a million pieces. Cazador had struck again! A blast of shrapnel caught him in the back of the head, and as he slumped to the ground Kurt admired the Master-of-Ordnance shaped space of shrapnel-free wall behind him.

Back on the other side of the battlefield the other Valkyrie continued to waylay the slope-climbing penal troopers as they continued to close on the retreating Inquisitor’s position. Between the chaingun and the missile pods a unit of penal troopers was finally wiped out, but a half-dozen of them from another squad managed to make it into the woods at the top of the hill before the frag blasts detonated all around them. The psykers inside the chimera around the turn of the hill managed to spot the platoon command squad coming up to support the penal troops. They used their Weaken Resolve power to drain the leadership of the unit before the chaingun turret and pintle heavy stubber on the vehicle itself tore them to pieces. One member of the unit remained but he proceeded to break and run from the field of battle in shear terror.

Meanwhile, my other veterans were using sniper fire and frag missiles to keep Peter’s autocannon unit suppressed.

In Peter’s turn the infantry unit closest to Kurt Fénix fired at him with a krak missile and several lasguns. Although Kurt was able to nimbly dodge the missile, even at nearly point-blank range, he took a rather nasty wound from the lasguns. The remaining leman russ fired at the psyker’s chimera, immobilizing and shaking it.

Back over to where Lord Madigus was, a half-dozen penal troopers slid down the south side of the wooded hill, firing their lasguns on full-auto from the hip as they charged into his bodyguards. Lord Madigus was so shocked by their ferocity that he dared not use his potent psychic powers to attempt to halt their charge. Instead he used the fact that they were having to hurdle themselves over the loose skree of the hill to catch them off guard, using his unnaturally high Slannesh-gifted initiative to slay a pair of the troopers before they could even swing. His retainers joined in the fight but the criminals were much too skilled to fall easily to those not used to the flow of savage close combat. In a rather amusing moment for all parties involved, a penal trooper managed to use his lasgun like a club to bat Lord Madigus’s skull probe some 30 meters into a tree, where it exploded like a cheap firecracker. Despite their losses at the hands of Madigus, the troopers held their ground.

Turn 3:

The turn began with Gin’quen the Callidus assassin finally revealing her position in order to melt the minds of one of Peter’s remaining infantry squads. Their minds proved to be a little more resilient than she’d anticipated and a good number of them turned to face her with that “Oh no you didn’t” look on their faces. Meanwhile Kurt had managed to slip around the side of the last remaining Leman Russ tank, sprinting for the missile launcher team that was all that remained of Peter’s only other infantry squad. Just as he was passing by the tank though, Cazador lit it up with another trio of lascannon shots, blowing it to smithereens. Kurt, ever wary of his surrounding, managed to juke the more dangerous pieces of shrapnel, although in doing so he re-opened the lasgun wound he had received earlier.

The snipers continued to pepper the poor autocannon teams, but despite their losses they managed to keep from going to ground or running away this turn. The fight between Lord Madigus and the penal troopers came to a head as he managed to slay another pair of criminals with his power sword. The remaining troopers focused their attacks directly at him, but his power armour and a quick analgesic booster from his chirugeon kept him from taking any noticeable wounds. Finally, the last two troopers broke and managed to scramble up the hill; the clumsiness of Madigus’s own retainers preventing him from using his superior initiative from running them both down. Still, Madigus and his retinue remained just a step behind the fleeing criminals.

Back to the west, Gin’quen charged into the angry infantrymen, killing a couple with her phase sword before their sergeant cut a nasty gash into her side with his chainsword. Kurt managed to close on the missile launcher team, but just as he began his flurry of attacks the wound at his side flared with pain and he only managed to down the loader before the missile-wielding trooper slammed him in the face with the heavy weapon. “You LOSE. Game OVER!” he taunted to the face-down Fénix.

In Peter’s turn the last of the penal troopers continued to run north away from the vindictive Inquisitor. The last remaining autocannon fired at Cazador which was nearly on top of him by that point, but failed to put even a dent in the heavy under-body armour of the craft. The remaining missile launcher trooper turned from finishing off the unconscious Kurt Fénix to fire off another krak missile at the nearby Inquisitorial Valkyrie. His fading combat high threw off his aim though, and the missile hissed past.

In the assault phase the infantry squad sergeant and Gin’quen continued to duel, but her phase sword finally found its mark as she drew and quartered the incredibly brave PDF sergeant.

Meanwhile, in the southwest corner of the battlefield, a triumphant sentinel continued to play kickball with some seriously miffed veterans.


Turn 4:

Just as the last retreating penal trooper cleared the woods at the base of the now-bloody hill, a very angry Lord Madigus Kyle stepped out from behind a tree and shot him dead with well-aimed shot from his plasma pistol. Not but a few yards away, his personal Valkyrie lowered itself to the ground so that the nearby infantryman could see the face of the pilot as he feverishly tried to reload his missile launcher. The lone trooper watched in horror as the gunner in the back seat of the cockpit made the “throat cut” gesture with his right hand as his left hand triggered all of the flier’s weapons to fire at once. The salvo of frag missiles and chaingun bullets…

Failed to do anything at all as there were no more missiles left after slaughtering the penal troopers and the chaingun jammed due to overheating. A smug smile washed over the troopers features as he slammed another krak missile into the launcher’s chamber.

Meanwhile Peter’s lost Scout Sentinel wandered into the backfield of the battle far to the south east, opening up on the rear of the battered psyker’s chimera. It destroyed the chaingun on the turret, causing the heavy stubber gunner to curse as he about-faced to line up the new threat.

The autocannon gunner continued to fire at Cazador, but to no avail. The missile launcher trooper raised his weapon to send phallic death into the cockpit of the other Valkyrie, but the pilot jerked the craft backwards just in time, causing the missile to ricochet off of the hull.


Turn 5:

As the missile launcher trooper threw his weapon down in disgust and raised his middle digit at the retreating Valkyrie, a sniper from across the field of battle cleanly removed his head from his shoulders. A nearby veteran commented as why de didn’t do that a lot earlier. The sniper just shrugged and began to pack away his rifle.

Meanwhile Cazador swooped across the map to fire a single lascannon shot at the obscured Scout Sentinel that was beginning to agitate the nearby veterans that just couldn’t seem to get a clear shot at the twig and mud coated walker. As per usual, its twin beams of death pierced the sentinel, causing it to, of course, explode in a magnificent fashion.

And somewhere else on the battlefield an armoured sentinel continued to bend veterans over its metal knees and beat them like red-headed stepchildren…


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Lord Madigus Kyle gripped his still-smoking plasma pistol as his chirugeon stepped up beside him, holstering his pair of laspistols.

“Well, m’lud, I’d say that was a rather satisfactory little scrap we’d just ‘ad,” added the medic as the Valkyrie touched down in front of them.

“Yes, well. I’m just glad I won’t be the one patching up whatever remains of my retinue.” As they walked up the boarding ramp of the Sombra de Muerte Lord Madigus seemed to have a second thought about something and keyed up the comm inside his helmet. “Madigus to Cazador. Do you read?”

“Sí, senior. Reading ju loud n clear!”

“That was some impressive marksmanship today. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“M’jes, weel I guess we jus picked up a knack for it, ju know?”

“Acknowledged. Keep up the good work. Madigus out.” He closed the connection as he took his seat wihin the belly of the Sombra. “Hmp… ‘Picked up a knack’ indeed.”

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Final Battle Results:
Victor: Lord Madigus; 11 kill points to 2
Total Experience Gained: 6022
MVP: Valkyie Vendetta Cazador

Cazador has LEVELED UP!
Cazador has gained a new Battle Honour: Tank Hunters.

Sombra de Muerte has LEVELED UP!
Sombra de Muerte has gained a new Battle Honour: Reinforced Armour.

Lord Madigus Kyle has LEVELED UP!
Lord Madigus Kyle has gained a new Avatar Bonus: +1 Weapon Skill.

GM:

Congratulations on your victory over the local PDF forces Lord Madigus. The Gods rejoice over the many sacrifices made in their name. Let it be known that you are a force to be reckoned with, let the enemy know that our big guns never rest.

For your efforts the gods have rewarded you an extra 150 experience points for you to spread around to your army, yourself included of course.

Many eyes have taken notice over the course of this battle.

Glory to Chaos!

Thank you, GM!

Glory to Chaos, indeed! The bonus XP have been gifted to Lord Madigus, giving him the 2500 total experience points needed to reach level 3. I will contact you about determining the results of his new level presently, and update my campaign roster to represent the changes.

Again, awesome write up and great job on fighting the locals. I'm gifting you back 500xp points from the battle to uses as you wish for being the first on our team to win/play a game for the campaign. Use it wisely.

Thanks, Tory!