40K Rogue Trader Bat Rep: The Assault on Hadley's Post.

For a breakdown of the scenario objectives and forces, please read the previous post here. In summary though, the Vaulters (Van Saar models) are raiding a trading post normally considered nuetral ground by all factions. It's defended by the owners, their cyborg "Pax" and by patrons from three different factions: Raiders, Vanners (Caraveners) and Scavvies.

I apologise in advance for the picture quality. I'm using a bog-standard off-the-shelf digital camera.

Table-Set Up.

Hadley's Trading Post occupies the centre of the board, with a road to the north. The outpost itself is defended by several sand-bag emplacements to the east, oil drums filled with sand to the south, and metal out-buildings to the west.  On the opposite side of the road can be found some ruined buildings and a small orchard. The road itself is occupied by two wrecks (a bus and a civilian car) and the Vanners' Armoured Truck, currently undergoing repair. To the west of the trading post there is a crashed truck and another, larger ruin. To the east are more ruins and another orchard.

View from the East

View from the West

Defender Set-Up:

Four Vanners, the Raiders and the Scavvies sit around the respective tables in the yard, eyeing each other warily over their drinks. While Hadley (in the trenchcoat) and his youngest daughter serve drinks, Pax and his other daughter keep a careful eye on proceedings. Meanwhile, four other Vanners are out by the truck, carrying out repairs and generally standing around bitching because the boss hasn't sent drinks out to them.

The Yard

The Truck

Attacker Set-Up:

The Vaulters have divided themselves into five groups: two assault groups, a heavy weapons group, a cover-fire group and a lone sniper.

Cover-fire group, set up on the western board edge behind the ruined truck. The leader (minor hero) is third from left.

The Heavy Weapons, coming on the west board-edge from the Tartan Wasteland.

The Western Assault Group.

The Eastern Assault Group

The Lone Sniper on the Eastern Board Age, drawing a bead on the Vanners

 Attacker Turn One:

All five attack groups move into position behind the nearest cover, with the exception of the Heavy Weapon team, who stay put. The Sniper armed with a Needle Rifle opens up first, dropping the Vanner with the number 13 on his jacket with a silent shot to the back of the neck (rolled a 6 to hit and a 6 to wound).

Sniper Take-Down.

Pity these guys can't shoot worth anything.

 His confused buddies are still standing around wondering what's going on when the cover-fire group shoot from their firing positions on the crashed truck. Although the Raiders at their table provide a fine target, they choose to take out the Vanners by the truck before they can spot the Sniper and return fire. However, they fail to anticipate the Vanners bending over their fallen comrade. Two lasguns, an autogun and a Bolt Gun stitch holes along the flank of the truck, just inches above the Vanner's head. One is caught by a ricochet from the solid slug autogun, but shakes off such a minor wound (hit but failed to wound).

Meanwhile, the two heavy weapons gunners armed with a Heavy Stubber and a Plasma Gun also fire at the Vanners by the truck. However, perhaps still winded by moving into position, both heavy gunners fail to hit (rolling 1's). The plasma burst scatters to explode several inches away in the middle of the road, leaving a steaming pit in the tarmac.

The two assault elements are behind cover and have no LOS to the Defenders.

Defender Turn One:

The four Raiders immediately kick over their table and move into cover behind it, gaining soft cover. However, their Heavy Stubber will not be able to fire this turn. The four Vanners sitting around their table move towards the Oil Drums to take cover. Hadley shouts, "Free beers to everybody who shoots a fragging Vaulter!" before he and his daughter move into the main house, taking up position by the North windows. Pax, meanwhile, turns to face the rear, eyeing the distance to the Sniper with his Grenade Launcher ( I forgot these were move and shoot weapons in RT). The oldest daughter stays in place, drawing a beat on the Vaulter with the Autogun. The three Vanners by the truck run to take cover by the sandbags.

The Defenders React

Hadley's eldest opens up the defenders shooting phase with a well aimed shot from her needle-rifle, dropping the autogunner at the crashed truck with a deadly dart. The four Vanners behind the oil drums open up with their autoguns on the other Vaulters behind the crashed truck, though only two can draw a bead to their target. However, the other Vanners now have line of sight to a Vaulter armed with Chainsword and meltagun. The melta gunner takes a glancing hit but shrugs off the minor wound (failed to wound). Meanwhile, one of the lasgun armed Vaulters  is hit and goes down. The Raider chief (Rex) also opens up on the group with his stub pistol, as does his companion with the las-pistol. The final Raider also let's rip with his shotgun. Only Rex manages to land a shot, which hits the Vaulter leader, Graf Ulbrich, inflicting a wound.  The torrent of fire forces the cover-fire group to pass a leadership test but the presence of the Graf ensures that the surviving las-gunner stays put.

The cover-fire group takes heavy casualties.

 On the right, two Scavvies and the three surviving Vanners from the truck open up on the Sniper with auto-guns. Three hits, two wounds and two failed armour slaves and the Sniper goes down, leaving Pax without a target for his grenade launcher. The Heavy Stubber Scavvie curses -all that time spent readying his weapon for nothing. None of them can see the second assault group yet. Not even The Exile, the Scavvies leader,  who leaps into cover in the circular arrangement of sand-bags, only to find (to his horror) that he's decided to take cover in an ammo dump!

With all these guys shooting back, the Sniper had no chance.

Attacker Turn 2:

Angered by his losses, the Graf waves the Assault Teams forward. He and the other surviving member of his cover-fire group moves into a better shooting position. The Heavy Weapons team stays put, ready to fire again.

The Western Assault Team. Next time I'll remember to move the dice. Honest.

The Eastern (and as yet unspotted) Assault Team.

Having rounded the corner into view of the defenders, the first Assault team open up on the autogun armed Vanners.  A lasgun, a plasma-pistol and a melta-gun all fail to score hits. Meanwhile, Graf Ulbrich and his man open up the raiders taking cover behind the table. Ulbrich's bolt-gun blows away the Heavy Stubber gunner just as he's finished bracing his weapon.

Bad Luck Big Guy. Never even got to shoot.

 The Vaulters' own Heavy Stubber and Heavy Plasma gunners open up on the three Vanners running towards the sandbags. The heavy stubber missed completely but the Plasma Gunner drops a template right on top of the middle Vanner, roasting all three in a horrible ball of plasma-energy. Using the following fire ability, he centres his weapon on Pax and fires again, vaporising a steaming line of sand-bags but failing to hit the cyborg.

Although really, all that should be left is three piles of bubbly goo...

Defender Turn 2:

Somewhat annoyed at the carbon scoring and heat-bubbling on his new coat of paint, Pax takes cover by the corner of the building and proceeds to engage the Heavy Weapons team. The Scavvie heavy Stubber moves up to support him while the Exile adroitly leaps out of the sand-bagged ammo pit (soundly mocked by Hedley's eldest -happily perched on a crate of ammo- in the process). Neither are in a position yet to spot the second assault group coming round the orchard.  The Raiders, the surviving Vanners and the rest of the Hedley family stay put.

The shooting from the Western Defenders this turn is very ineffective, failing to drop a single Vaulter. Even a needle-rifle shot from Hadley's eldest fails to find it's target.  Pax is more successful, his frag grenade lands right on target, blowing up the Heavy Stubber Gunner but failing to kill the Heavy Plasma Gunner.

 Summary: End of Part One.

At the moment, things could quite clearly go either way. The Vaulters  have four men down while the Defenders have lost five (well, four men and a woman). However, the two assault groups should be in charge range by the beginning of turn 4, where I expect we'll start to see the superior technology and close-combat gear of the vaulter's begin taking their toll on the defenders. Come back again tomorrow for part 2.