BATTLETECH: THE FOX HOUNDS

"The Fox Hounds".

 So far the Fox Hounds have performed well in the training scenarios. Notable, they completed the Reconnaissance scenario against a Heavy Mech Lance without firing a single shot and losing only a single ton of armor between them. Two members of the lance counted coup of enemy Mechwarriors during the scenario and all four proceeded to leave the training area in style (walking backwards) despite being under fire.
In Scenario 3, Domino and Ranger very narrowly escaped the board with the flag despite Ranger's mech taking very heavy damage inflicted by Scarlett's Mech. In scenario 4, the Lance successfully completed the raid scenario, with the loss of two Mechs.

RANGER:

Played by Craig. Zachary Fox served for over two decades in the House Davion Military before being badly wounded in a training exercise where a captured Zeus was erroneously loaded with live autocannon rounds. Having had more than half of his body replaced with bionics, Fox was medically discharged due to his wounds. Unwilling to give up the only life he has ever known, he has traveled to Galatea to find work in a new Mercenary Unit and to train his new body in the skills required of a Mechwarrior.

Mech Assignment: Commando

Skills:

Gunnery: 4

Piloting: 5

Training History:

Ranger has completed all of the four designated training missions, participating in a close range city fight simulation in Scenario 1 and completing an efficient reconnaissance in Scenario 2. His demi-lance captured the flag in Scenario 3 and his full lance destoyed the enemy base in Scenario 4.


Notable Events:

[*] Moonwalked out of the training area while under fire upon completion of Scenario 2. Counted Coup on an enemy Mech. Did not fire a shot.
[*] Successfully left the board with the flag in his possession in Scenario 3
[*] Inflicted considerable damage on the Enemy Base in Scenario 4 before abandoning his crippled Mech and escaping on foot.
[*] Ranked second in the Fox Hounds' Training Scenarios. Chose to pilot a Commando.

SCARLETT:

Played by moi, Lishka is a former Agromech pilot from Gunzberg in the Draconis Combine. As both as woman and a farm-hand, she was repeatedly refused entry to Combine Mechwarrior gymnasiums. Determined to become a Mechwarrior, she sold her farm, home, agrimech and livestock to purchase passage and training at Galatea, the Mercenary Star.

Lishka  is surprisingly well-educated, given her home-schooling, and (even more surprisingly, given her clipped, Raslahague accent) possesses a singing voice trained to many styles and disciplines. She has used her funds to acquire an elegant -if revealing- wardrobe, her one extravagance, the rest of her fortune having been dedicated to the pursuit of her new profession. Deadly serious despite her fondness for clothing other female Mechwarriors would consider "frivolous" she is as cold and calculating in the cockpit of a mech as she is brash and brazen outside it.

Mech Assignment: Javelin.

Current Skills: 

Gunnery: 4

Piloting: 5

Training History:

Scarlett has completed all of the four designated training missions, participating in a close range city fight simulation in Scenario 1 and completing an efficient reconnaissance in Scenario 2. She narrowly failed to prevent Ranger and Domino escaping with the flag in Scenario 3. She successfully completed the Raid scenario, escaping only Light damage to her Mech.

Notable Events:

[*]Personally destroyed a Whitworth while piloting an Enforcer in the City Fight Scenario.

[*]Scanned three out of four enemy Mechs in the Recon scenario without firing a shot Cicada, Griffon and Banshee). Counted coup on one opponent piloting a Cicada by tapping it under the chin and proceeding to moonwalk out of the training area. Total damage sustained: lost a 1/2 ton of armor on the right arm. Did not fire a shot.
[*] Hounded Ranger all the way home in the Capture the Flag scenario, inflicting serious damage to Ranger's Griffon until a lucky shot from Domino's LRM 2 crippled her engine.
[*] Completed the Raid scenario without losing her Mech, destroying two buildings and taking only light damage.
[*] First first in her training class, but allowed Ranger first choice of the available Mechs before selecting her Javelin

[*] Increased her piloting skill from 6 to 5 after completing her training.

DOMINO:

Played by Ken. Formerly of the 3rd Oriente Hussars, a young graduate from the Allison Mechwarrior Institute.  After being hounded out of her unit by a senior officer, Domino elected to follow in her fathers footsteps by becoming a mercenary. Her brother, with whom she has an unpleasant relationship at best, continues to serve in the Mark military as an Aerospace Pilot.

Mech Assignment: Assassin

Skills:

Gunnery 4 

Piloting 6.

  

Training History:

Domino has completed 2 of the four designated training missions, participating in a close range city fight simulation in Scenario 1 and completing an efficient reconnaissance in Scenario 2. Helped Ranger capture the Flag in Scenario 3. Escaped with only light damage following a successful raid in Scenario 4.

Notable Events:

[*] Moonwalked out of the training area while under fire upon completion of scenario 2. Did not fire a shot.
[*] Crippled Lishka's undamaged mech with a lucky engine hit from her LRM 2 to the engines in Scenario 3
[*]Ran interference against the defending Mechs in scenario 4 and escaped the board with only light damage to her mech.
[*] Finished third in the training exercises and selected an Assassin from the available Mechs.

VICK:

Played by George. Foa has revealed little of his past, save that he comes from a periphery world. Given his Viking-like styles of dress, speech and mannerisms, certain of his colleagues believe he originally belonged to a band of Periphery Pirates. Foa, characteristically, is silent on the matter.

Mech Assignment: Valkyrie

Skills:

Gunnery: 4

Piloting: 6

Training History:

Vick has completed all four designated training missions, participating in a close range city fight simulation in Scenario 1 and completing an efficient reconnaissance in Scenario 2. In Scenario 3 he narrowly failed to prevent Domino and Ranger from capturing the Flag. In Scenario 4, he destroyed a number of enemy buildings, defence turrets and infantry, but was his Commando was destroyed just 30m from safety.

Notable Events:

 [*] Moonwalked out of the training area while under fire upon completion of scenario 2. Did not fire a shot.
[*] Just missed locating the enemy flag in Scenario 3
[*] Inflicted considerable damage on defending forces in Scenario 4 and destroyed the Enemy HQ building but lost his Mech just metres from safety.
[*]Came fourth in the training missions and selected a Valkyrie from the available mechs.
[*] Improved his piloting skill from 6 to 5 following completion of the training scenarios.

Inquisitor 28mm

I've been working on painting and converting a brand new Inquisitorial Kill Team for GW's excellent but near-defunct Inquisitor narrative wargame. I know I've already been assembling a number of miniatures suitable for this game, but if I ever want to attend a GW sponsored event, I need a warband constructed entirely of scratch-built or converted GW figures.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

Inquisitor Strom Hellbrandt

 Strom is a (very minor) conversion of one of the very early 40K Sanctioned Psyker miniatures from 2nd edition 40K (or thereabouts). I removed the outrageous feather attatched to the broach on his collar and hacked off the barrel of the autogun, replacing it with the very end lasgun barrel instead. I'm calling this new weapon a Bolt Pistol, although in game terms it could work equally well as a Bolt Carbine instead.

Strom is a former Battle Psyker from Battlefleet Ultima, so blue and white (the fleet's colours) feature extensively in his wardrobe and that of his retinue. Most of his close followers have been recruited from the Imperial Navy, with very few exceptions.

Constance Chastity

Constance Chastity is Strom's teenage adept and Interrogator-candidate. The daughter of a fallen admiral and a former ward of the Ordo Hospitaller, Constance was nearly executed for breaking her vows when caught in flagrente delicto with Herman Scheffer, Strom's young and rather handsome confessor. Strom intervened on the girls behalf, arguing that as the girl had taken her vows under duress after being forced into the Ordo by her uncle. Meanwhile, he left his former confessor to rot as the pilot of a Penitent engine. The girl is now Strom's Ward and is undergoing a brief apprenticeship with each of the Inquisitor's favored retainers in turn, after which he will decide if the girl has what it takes to become an Inquisitor. At present, she is receiving something of an education indeed under the careful eye of Sevenfold Joy, Strom's courtesan-assassin adept. Still feeling somewhat guilty over her role in Hermann's penitence, she insists on wearing an armored suit looted from a Dark Eldar pirate into battle, the pain a constant reminder of the human price for her moment of weakness.

Being a former novice of the Ordo Hospitaller, she is also the kill-teams medic.

I know her pose looks a little awkward and off-balance. Originally, she was going to have her back to a wall, but thankfully, that brief moment of madness passed. I really dislike miniatures that carry their own scenery with them -unless they happen to be a machine gun team or something similar.

Armsman Longstride

Armsman Longstride is another of Strom's long-term Adepts, a crew-mate from the Frigate Warspite that followed Strom into Inquisitorial Service. Longstride is an expert man-hunter, a ship-board bounty hunter capable of tracking his prey through any urban or shipboard environment. Put him in the wilderness however, and he's as spooked and as vulnerable as an Ecclesiastic oblate wandering the underhive at night.

This Just In: 40K Rulebook and Boxed Set

Just received this email from Game Workshop:

All-New Warhammer 40,000

This is the nightmare future of the 41st Millennium. The galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is beset on all sides by ravening aliens and threatened from within by Warp-spawned entities and heretical plots. Only the strength of the immortal Emperor of Terra stands between humanity and its annihilation, and in his name, countless warriors and agents do battle against the encroaching darkness... The all-new Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook - your essential guide to playing atmospheric battles in the 41st Millennium - is now available to advance order. With 452 full-colour pages, it's packed with rich background, jaw-dropping artwork, and contains all the rules for fighting pulse-pounding tabletop battles. It includes exciting features such as allies, dynamic close-combat, flyers, psychic devastation and interactive scenery.

To celebrate this momentous release, we have two other incredible editions of the Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook available to order - but they're available in strictly limited quantities, so make sure you place your order quickly. The Collectors' Edition Rulebook is an enhanced version of the Standard Rulebook. Printed on parchment-like paper, each Collectors' Edition is individually numbered between 0001 and 4000, and comes concealed inside a magnetically sealed, wardrobe-fronted box. It is an artefact you will want to treat as something sacred.

The Gamers' Edition comes in an Officer's Signal Satchel, a magnificent leatherette bag in which the Rulebook itself is already stored. Sealed with a toggle, it comes with a thick, reinforced canvas strap, and 12 Munitorum Dice - special edition dice that come in a lasgun power pack tin, and which come in an exclusive red colour for the Gamers' Edition.

To accompany the new release of Warhammer 40,000, there are also Munitorum Templates, which are designed to look like Imperial instruments, and Psychic Powers - the complete set of Psychic cards, which can be used in conjunction with Psychic Disciplines as a great accessory to your tabletop games. Head over to games-workshop.com right now to check out all of these fantastic new products. Don't forget, all of these products are available with fast, free shipping, and a no quibble returns policy. Our friendly customer service teams are always on standby should you have any problems with your order.

Inquisitor Strom

A new character for games of Rogue Trader and Inquisitor in 28mm scale. Inquisitor Strom of the Ordo Malleus. Converted from an early Imperial Guard Psyker.

 

 

Inquisitor Strom

Ordo Malleus

WS: 41
BS: 53
S: 51
T: 54
I: 64
WP: 76
Sg: 80
Nv: 75
Ld: 75

Left-handed

Equipment: Long-Barrel Bolt Pistol (counts as Bolt-Pistol), The Rod of Saint Gyver (Force Rod), The Tablets of Orios (Pentagrammic Wards), Conversion Field, Filtration Plugs, Med Pack, Web Solvent.

Special Abilities: Dodge, Leader, Inured - Treats Terrifying as Fearsome; ignores Fearsome, Daemons only.

Psyker Powers: Blood Boil, Regenerate, Detection.

History:
Born aboard the black ships, to a pair of psykers seeking solace and companionship during the long journey to Terra. Already a teenager by the time the ship entered the Sol system, both of Strom parents were selected for the "honor" of being devoured by the Astronomicon.

Though a a powerful psyker, Strom was already considered too old for training as a Space Marine Librarian. He was instead inducted into the Schola Psykana Navis, becoming a Naval Psyker assigned to the Frigate Warspite, part of Battlefleet Tempestus. As an adjunct to the ships Armsmen, Strom used his mastery of Biokinetics in the course of several investigations, including uncovering a plot by Hrud to infiltrate a mining station deep in the sector. It was his successful defense of the mining station following his discovery of the plot that attracted the attention of Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Haus.

Strom served for many years as an Acolyte, being promoted first to Interrogator, and then to Inquisitor, rather late in life. Much to the surprise of his former master, Strom dedicated himself to the Ordo Malleus soon after winning the Rosette. He has had a rather undistinguished career thus far, having spent the majority of the last twelve years engaged in the long, meandering pursuit of of a dangerous anti-ecclesiastic agitator calling himself the Exile.

It is this pursuit of the Exile that has led Inquisitor Strom to the Dalthus sector.

Personality:
Rational, calculating and somewhat aloof. Hellsing is considered something of a "cold-fish" by his associates, normally lacking any discernible charisma or compassion, despite this ability to feign both on occasion (using in the presence of other Inquisitors or high ranking Adepta). He possesses something of a disdainful streak towards non-psykers, an attitude he is at pains to conceal from others, especially within the Ordo. He displays evidence of an obsessive personality, being excessively fastidious - even going to so far as to clean blood from his clothing and equipment in the midst of combat. He refuses to engage in melee (which he contemptuously refers to as "rough-housing") unless pressed, even going so far as to neglect the daily dueling practice normally affected by Naval officers, retired or otherwise.

Significant Retainers:
Being void-born himself, Strom prefers to recruit his retainers from the ranks of the Imperial Navy and Chartist crews, with the exception of Seven-fold Joy, his courtesan, infiltrator and (occasional) lover. The Inquisitor is accompanied almost everywhere by his two oldest companions, veteran naval Petty Officers Koffin and Toombs. During Strom's naval career, these two Armsmen were his permanent escort, assigned to terminate his existence with extreme prejudice at the first sign of daemonic possession. It is rumored that they perform this task even today. Wherever Strom ventures, Koffin, Toombs, or both, are sure to follow.
Strom's retinue includes several other, lesser adepts recruited to his service. These include Armsman Longshanks, his pathfinder/tracker and Midshipman Venk, his intelligence officer, sage and adjutant.

Modus Operandi:
Perhaps because of his obvious... cranial malformation (Strom refuses to consider himself a mutant, beyond being a psyker) Strom displays an evident distaste for working in the shadows, preferring to operate openly rather than clandestinely where possible. When interaction with criminal elements is required, he sends one or both of his Petty Officers, both of whom have demonstrated some familiarity with shipboard smuggling, pilfering and even contract killing prior to having been press-ganged by Battlefleet Tempestus. Somewhat lacking in social graces, he takes his cue in such matters from Seven-fold Joy. He has little patience for personal social interaction with those he considers intellectually inferior and leaves such matters to Seven-fold Joy -unless he takes a personal interest in negotiations or interrogations. This is often a far from pleasant experience for the subject, as Strom's concept of "delicate negotiations" frequently involves slowly boiling the other party's blood.

Strom does, however, handle all social interactions with other Inquisitors personally. In such conversations he can be surprisingly suave, witty and even urbane. As though he relishes the rare opportunity to converse with an intellectual and social equal.

Political Affiliations:
Strom keeps his political opinions largely to himself. He professes support for no one political affiliation. He portrays himself as a "realist" rather than as a member of any particular ideological faction. However, he is clearly following his own agenda, which may (or may not) be in the interests of the Inquisition as a whole.

Competition:

Dan from Gunner's Wargaming is having a competition to celebrate his birthday.

Check here for details.

Aintsy Miniatures Stock Stolen

Andy Lyons from Ainstry Miniatures had his van broken into a few days ago. Some of the material stolen included his display figures. If anyone sees these figs, or any boxed Ainsty stuff, Crooked Dice and Rogue Miniatures blisters for sale on Ebay, please contact Aintsy castings to let them know. As well as these display figures, they had about 20 boxes of packaged miniatures stolen.

Here's some pics of the stolen display figures:

Inquisitor 28mm Miniatures.

You'll have seen some of these before, but they've been re-based for my new gaming mat. They're all for games of 28mm Inquisitor and 40K Rogue Trader.

Update: Work in Progress Inquisitor for 28mm Inquisitor Games

Better photo's to follow, I promise.

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.

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.