40K Rogue Trader Bat Rep Part II

Attacker Turn 3

Both assault groups move into position to charge next turn. 

First (Western) Assault Team moves up into charge range.

Second (eastern team) do the same.

The remaining Vaulters stay in position and open fire. In a truly dazzling display of shooting, the defenders take heavy casualties. The Heavy Plasma Gunner, somewhat miffed after having his friend the Stub Gunner splattered all over him, lets rip with the Plasma Gun on it's maximum setting. The Strength 10 blast (aimed at Pax) hits the trading post, blowing it apart as the plasma gasses superheat the remaining moisture within it's timbers. The building collapses, burying Hadley and his youngest under a heap of rubble. Using the following fire rules, the Plasma Gunner shoots again, his beam sweeping across to just catch Pax with a second template, dropping the Cyborg as well.

Uh, wasn't there a building here a minute ago?

Given that this spectacular event means there's no longer a Trading Post to protect, I decide that all the defenders will have to take a rout test at the end of the turn. Amazingly, all the Defenders decide to keep on fighting, despite not having anything left to defend.

Briefly, anyway.

Shot in the back, and who's to blame? Given them Vaulters a bad name..

While Hadley's eldest daughter screams in horror at the death of her family, the shotgun wielding member of the second assault group guns her down from behind. 

Meanwhile, the Cover-fire groups pours shots into the Raiders, dropping the juve armed with laspistols with a well aimed lasgun shot. Meanwhile, the first assault group pours a torrent of fire into the surviving unit of Vanners, dropping one of them.

The Western Defence force starts looking pretty shaky..

...then break and run

These losses are the final straw for the Vanners and Raiders, they rout into the centre of the yard (away from the enemy inflicting the casualties). Unless they rally, on subsequent turns they'll be making a beeline for the nearest (southern) table edge.

That leaves just the Scavvies, with their heroic leader (the Exile) still in the fight.

In the Reserves phase (forgot about this the last few turns), a few members of Assault group 2 who did not shoot and are not in cover move closer to the trading post.

A very, very bad turn for the Defenders.

Defender Turn 3:

The fleeing Raiders and Vanners see the second Assault group appear from around the trees now directly in front of them and peel off, running towards the southern table edge and provoking some irate shouting from Graf Ulbrich, "Don't let them escape."

Run this way! What, towards the cliff? That's the table edge you idiot!

Meanwhile, knowing that the game is up, the Exile shouts for his Heavy Stubber gunner to grab the girl (they're going to be moving to fast now for him to stand still and shoot at any rate) and signals for his other companions to begin a fighting withdrawal to the South. Meanwhile, he charges the Second Assault Group. The two terrified Vaulters, overwhelmed by this caped dervish whirling down upon them armed with bolt pistol and power act fire widely in an attempt to fend off the caped avenger, missing him completely.

Save the barmaid, save the world? More than you know.

Meanwhile the two running Scavvies open up on the First Assault group on the other side of the yard, giving cover-fire to their companion with the Stubber (who's probably wondering what the heck is so important about saving the girl anyway). Remarkably, despite range, movement and cover they manage to drop a Vaulter each. This reduces the assault group's numbers by  a third, triggering a rout test, but under the steely gaze of Graf Ulbrich, none of them so much as twitch.

Who says Scavvies cant shoot?

Not these guys, they're too busy preying Scavvies can't fight.

 In the combat phase, the Exile seeps his power axe effortlessly through the two Vaulters, cleaving them both in twain with a single strike even as he pumps bolt-rounds into the eyes of each (In Rogue Trader, having two close combat weapons doubles your normal attacks). Unsurprisingly given this grizzly display, the surviving members of the unit fail their rout check and leg it.

Run Away! It's some mad Scavvie with an Axe!

The Exile passes his leadership check and does not pursue. Instead, he roars his triumph into the sky, calling for the fleeing Raiders and Vanner to rally, but, although on the same side, they belong to different factions and don't care for his leadership.

Attacker Turn 4.

The routing second Assault Group flees the table via the Southern table edge. The first assault group obeys the Graf's orders and move towards the routing defenders, ready to gun them down if they can. meanwhile, the Cover-Fire group and the Heavy Plasma Gunner move forward into better fire position.

Come back here, we haven't finished with you yet!

 In the shooting phase, the first assault group and cover fire group fail to pick off any of the fleeing defenders.

Defender Turn 4:

The Raiders and Vanners rout off the table via the southern table edge. The heavy stubber gunner enters the ammo dump and reaches the girl. The Exile moves into position, placing the ammo dump sandbags between himself and the remaining Vaulters, as does his two auto gunners.

The first time these Scavvies can say they've "got the girl" some noble had in their sights..

The three Scavvies open up on the second assault group, bringing down two more and triggering a rout check, which they fail.

At this point, Graf Ulbrich sees they way the wind is blowing and calls a retreat. He's succeeded in his secret primary objective, and having already failed his secondary objective when the surviving Raiders and Vanners fled the board, sees no point in losing more men. He calls his men off, and allows the Exile to leave the field, with his unconscious charge in tow

In other words, a Minor Victory for the Attackers.

Campaign:

Graf Ulbrich surveyed the scene, impatiently tapping his foot. No doubt the Imperial frigate permanently stationed in orbit above Bad Landing would have detected that fool Otto Von Albrecht's full-powered Plasma burst and wish to investigate. Lucky for Otto that he hadn't slagged the cyborg with it, or he'd find out what it was like to be on the receiving end of a plasma blast himself. And if the frigate's Naval Secutor's arrived before his slaves finished digging that throne-damned cyborg out of the rubble, all this would have been for nought.

And the Graf's new allies very much wanted that Cyborg -or at least, it's machine parts- intact...

Not far away, the Exile's men sat huddled round a low campfire, muttering to themselves and casting questioning glances towards the spot where their leader sat, cradling the head of unconscious lass from the trading post in his lap and trickling water into his mouth. After a moment, he set the half empty -gourd aside and placed his hands around the woman's temples. His ageless hands began to glow with a warm, bluish nimbus of light. His three companions fell silently, watching him with something akin to reverential awe. Soon, the girls eyes flickered open. His men inhaled, a deep sigh, and then breathed: "Mahdi!"

Thoughts:

It's refreshing to once again play the original 40K rules again after so much time. One thing I've always loved about them is they way it focuses on individual action, rather than the actions of a whole unit. Not in the sense that characters such as Minor Heroes dominate the game (they don't), but in the sense that members of the same squad can quite happily target different enemies or perform different actions from their squad mates as long as they maintain unit cohesion. In my mind, it strikes the ideal balance between small-scale skirmish game, narrative role playing game and squad based skirmish game. I've really enjoyed trying out these rules again in a solo game (just to refresh myself with them after so long)- and I already have volunteers eager to be my opponent in future games of 40K Rogue Trader.