In the lair of the Mutants - Part III

Well, it's been a few years, but I did actually play that third game in the end, but being able to get out of the house prevented me from wanting to sit down and write this one out. Why get back to it after all this time? Well, I've been collating some of my stuff over on my main blog (leadcapes.blogspot.com) and that includes my "superhero" 40k stuff like Inquisitor Kang and, as we're about to see, Kill Team Aesir. There has also been some discussion in the group of using this blog a little more again, so maybe that will play out in the future, who knows?

With an entire Inquisitorial Stormtrooper squad lost to a rabble of mutant scum, the order to purge the site was given, with the nearest team available for the action, none other than Kill Team Aesir, mighty warriors of the Deathwatch! Woe betide the enemies of the Imperium!

Ok, so it's hardly fair, but I've bought along six Deathwatch Veterans for this run, hoping that my rolling will hold out long enough to get revenge for the last two games. I've bought a good core group with Thor, Jane Foster Thor, Volstaag, Fandhal, Balder and Hogun, so my plan is to overwhelm the Scavvies with firepower and then mop up with Thunder Hammers. But we'll see how that goes.

For once, I drew a couple of good cards, so I'm feeling confident going in. To keep things simple, all I have to do is kill the Mutant Psyker, with the enemy deck set up pretty much the same as the previous two games.

The first foe to appear is a lone Scavvie, right in the sights of Volstaag and his Deathwatch Frag Cannon, who wastes no time lighting the heretic up.

Yeah, it's overkill (three times over, in fact), but I'm done with these damn Scavvies and want to paint the walls with their brains.

The next Scavvie to be found is spotted by Hogun, who lacks any ranged weapons, but can still Charge.

With the two cards I drew at the start of the game, I can double Hogun's damage and double it again. With his Power Maul, the Scavvie stood no chance and I moved on to the next Veteran.

My typical luck with this mission finally appears when Balder finds a Scavvie with Autogun and his automatically-hitting Deathwatch Shotgun fails to do anything to the target.

Of course, the return fire is deadly and Fandhal also can't deliver with his Shotgun fire either.

In what would become a trend for the game, the Frag Cannon does the real work, the little scorch mark on the floor being a fun coincidence of the D&D tiles.

The first Scavvie Boss has appeared, and whilst Mighty Thor can't shoot at him, her Storm Shield helps prevent the mutant's attack from doing any damage.

Thanfully, the Odinson is nearby to bring the hammer down, to devastating effect.

Thanks to some good card draws and my having learnt my lesson about staying grouped up, I manage to push forward with no casualties and minimal fuss for a little while.

Even the appearance of a fearsome Big Mutant is something of a non-issue thanks to the mighty Frag Cannon.

The next, very minor, setback, sees a lucky Autogun shot from a Scavvie take Hogun down a wound. Once again, however, Thor makes short work of the filthy mutant.

Finally, Hogun uncovered the hiding place of the Scavvie Psyker, my recurrent nemesis for these games. With psychic powers, multiple wounds and a focus on getting away from combat, he will prove to not be an easy foe to bring down, even with the mighty weapons of the Deathwatch.

In a fun little quirk of the AI I adapted, the Scavvie Psyker backs off and gets the second Scavvie Boss as backup. I try to send Mighty Thor around the back to get into melee with her Thunder Hammer, but instead close off the Psyker's retreat, which isn't a bad consolation prize, all things considered.

Wanting to put the Scavvie Psyker down before he can use his devastating Psybolt to start killing a Veteran per turn, I charge in Thor to attempt to mop both him and the Scavvie Boss up in one go. Sadly, the Psyker survives unharmed and blasts the God of Thunder to the halls of Valhalla.

When you have a Thunder Hammer, every problem looks like a heretic. Using another card to boost my chances of wounding, I charge in Mighty Thor, who doesn't do much better than her namesake, but at least survives the backswing.

Another retreat to find backup at least limits the damage that the Scavvie Psyker can do in his turn, plus both the Big Mutants and Bosses have been pulled from the deck, so only the easiest enemies in the game can pop up from now on to slow me down.

After using Fanhal to clear away the Scavvie, I let him take the risk of getting hit by the Psybolt because he has the lowest damage weapon left on my table and therefore is probably the most expendable. He is removed by the powerful psychic attack, but his sacrifice is not in vain.

Thanks again to the power of the Frag Cannon, the mission is finally complete. It only took three games and going way over powered in the final run, but some of the weakest foes in the Galaxy are finally purged.

As I said above, this game came right at the end of one of the big Melbourne 2020 COVID lock downs, so I didn't have a lot of motivation to continue these games, though I do still have most of the stuff I used to play them. I'm not currently living somewhere where I can set up a big game and I do get to play games at least a few times a week on average, so solo play isn't something I really feel the need to do. Hopefully this was fun to read at the very least, even with a three year hiatus.

Monsters in the Deep Hive - Kill Team AAR

Below is a brief AAR of a three-player Kill Team game that we played with a few narrative elements. We didn't use any alternate rules as covered on this blog previously, just what's in the books, so this is something anyone can do with a little imagination and creativity. 

One of Watch Fortress Asgard's customised "Bifrost" Pattern Land Speeders descended through the toxic clouds of the decaying Hindsk Hive World. Vanguard Veteran Sergeant Brynhildr of the Valkyrie checked that her Xenophase blade, Dragonfang, hadn't moved from its scabbard since she last checked, moments before and shifted her feet to prevent cramping. Beside her, her sister Valkyrie, Sygnet and Gruenhilde, similarly checked their weapons to battle nerves before their descent. The Imperial Space Marines, especially the elite warriors of the Deathwatch, were beyond fear, both physically and spiritually, but the foe they were potentially facing was both insidious and deadly, the Xenos-worshipping mutants known as Genestealer Cultists. The Auspex at Brynhildr's belt pinged and without needing to issue the command, the three Vanguard Veteran Valkyrie jumped into the cloudy abyss. 

Accustomed to a life of high adventure and extreme hedonism, Drako, a descendant of one of the mighty Sensei and thereby the Emperor himself, did not cope well with boredom. He had come to the Hindsk Hive World because of the whispers of dark secrets and foul creatures lurking in the depths of the underhive, but so far, he had only seen a handful of giant rats and endless ruined passages. How was Drako meant to live up to his glorious ancestry if he didn't have something epic to overcome? His musings were broken by the sound of engines whining above, and Drako saw a trio of Deathwatch descending into the ruins nearby; surely they would be doing something interesting... 

 Gruenhilde lands in the ruins. 

Almost as soon as they step out of cover, Barahor (Eldar Ranger) and Kurami (Xenos Psycher) are ambushed by a huge mutant lying dormant in the ruins.

Gruenhilde moves to intercept the monster, but not so quick that at least one of the Xenos scum doesn't fall victim. 

The other Valkyrie land nearby and rush to help their Battle Sister. 

Attracted by the sound of fighting, Genestealer Cultists crawl from the ruins. 

Drako charges into the fight with the big mutant, allowing Barahor to withdraw. The plan is fraught, however and the Sensei Descendant is quickly defeated by the monster.

Sygnet charges in, swinging her massive Heavy Thunder Hammer, but the brutal creature strikes back, taking down the Deathwatch Veteran with one blow. 

Barahor takes aim with his Ranger Longrifle, but the beast seems able to heal itself. 

Genestealer Cultists leap upon Brynhildr, but the mighty Valkyrie cuts them down with her flashing Xenophase Blade. 

Seeing the wave of Genestealer Cultists closing in, Barahor starts to lay down covering fire. 

Seemingly bursting forth from the ground itself, the Genestealer Cultists overwhelm the Sensei Warband. 

After a gruesome struggle, Gruenhilde lands repeated blows of her Thunder Hammer on the mutant, crushing its warped form. 

With the monster dead, both the Deathwatch and Sensei realise that they are about to be overrun by the rampaging Genestealer Cultists and beat a hasty retreat. This is not the last Hindsk will see of both forces however, the decaying world must be purged of evil. 

Fauna of the Sectorum Ludus Bellorum - Part I

Except from "The Journal of Kadmos, Heretek, Bane of Mars, Destined Savior of Mankind" (Author's title) 

Although xenobiology is not an area of particular interest for me typically, I have had my curiosity piqued of late as more and more of our merchant marines have been disappearing on missions. As Alissander insisted that the loss of crew was detrimental to our overall progress, I sent him and Dauntless to uncover the cause of the disappearances. After some brief investigation, they discovered a nest of Ur-Ghul close to one of our mining sites; fortunately, my crew-mates survived with minimal losses to their marine escort. Before sending in my modified necron warriors to clear out the infestation, I took the opportunity to study the habits of these elusive creatures. 

Many believe that the Ur-Ghul are savage, wild creatures, at best tamed by the Drukhari for sport, but my observations seem to contradict this knowledge. Whilst it would be spurious to describe the creatures as having a "society", there is some form of pack culture which can be observed, with an internal hierarchy and even basic tool use. There is a kind of somatic communication, supported with basic vocalisations, and Jace assures me that they have a psychic presence, though how much this assists their interaction remains a mystery. 

Ur-Ghul are known for their carnivorous appetites, finding even my servitors edible, which may have encouraged their use of basic tools, such as bone clubs and even some blades, most of which seem to have been scavenged from their victims. From my observations, the Ur-Ghul appear to have a concept of value, but only in a utilitarian sense; they make their lair in ore-rich caves, ignoring the wealth around them, but will fight over a standard infantryman's knife, as it is of far more use in their lives. 

It seems to me that the Ur-Ghul have some primitive understanding of religion, though from whence this originates, I have no clue. The most senior of the Ur-Ghul I observed wielded part of a broken sceptre and carried a handful of smaller bones that he was wont to "cast" like a tarot. Whether this is is linked to their psychic presence and the Warp beyond that, I have no idea, but it is clear that the Ur-Ghul do have a link to the immaterium, as our Merchant Marines discovered to their dismay when I had them clear out the infestation on our intended mining site. 

Somehow, the Ur-Ghul seem able to pull smaller warp-creatures to them in times of dire threat, particularly of a kind Jace informed me are called "Sanguine-Bellied Void Serpents", brutal, carnivorous monsters found on the fringes of the warp. How much "control" the Ur-Ghul have over the Void Serpents is unclear, but their speed and strength enable them to tear through even Necron metal in close quarters. However, with proper application of heavy weapons, the nest was soon cleared out and our mining activities recommenced. Should we encounter the Ur-Ghul again in the future, I shall make an effort to capture several to determine their suitability for Narcoflagellant modification. 

The Ur-Ghul are used in Narrative Kill Team games using the Genestealer rules, as NPC antagonists and "random encounters" for multiplayer games. The Void Serpents use the Lictor Rules, for some added punch. Ur-Ghuls are from Blackstone Fortress and Serpents are from Malifaux.

Playing the Battle of Bezpyn

Impressed with what you see here and want to do something similar? Well, it's easier than you may think. For the Battle of Bezpyn, we used two commercially available rules sets with only minor modifications. To play, games our group uses Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team from Games Workshop and Maximilian 1934 from Mana Press. As the modifications for Maximilian are more straightforward, let's start there. 

When it comes to the vehicle section of the game, Maximilian 1934 works with no major modifications, all of the vehicles are made using the rules as written. We elected to not introduce a "Z Axis" to the game, as it would over complicate the wonderfully simple rules. The only area in which new rules were needed was to cover interactions between the vehicles and models on foot. It was pretty straightforward to come up with this one-page "cheat sheet": 

-      Vehicles that transport miniatures are marked as “Transport” in their notes section. As this confers bonuses and detriments, this upgrade is free.

-      Cards that deal “Mortal Wounds” instead deal “Critical Hits” to Vehicles. (More on this Later)

Embarking and Disembarking

A model may disembark from to embark to a vehicle either before or after a vehicle has moved; never during a move.

A player declares that a model will attempt to move from or to a vehicle, that player rolls 1D6 and adds HALF of that model’s Move stat to the roll.

A model is considered to have made the jump safely if the base of the model reaches the vehicle or to a piece of terrain.

If the distance is not enough to reach safety, roll 1D6, on a 4+ the model is placed on the edge of the surface it tried to jump from. If the roll is failed, the model plummets and is considered Out of Action, unless it falls to a lower platform, in which case the normal falling rules are used.

A disembarking model may make a Charge move, so long as it has a valid target and there is enough space on the terrain piece for its base.

An embarking model may charge onto a Transport vehicle, picking a target from the models being transported. A model on an enemy vehicle cannot attack crew or the vehicle itself.

Infantry embarked on a vehicle cannot shoot any weapons whilst embarked.

Weapons

Vehicles Shooting at Infantry

All vehicles have 4+ to hit infantry, with range modifiers from Max34 used.

Weapon	S	AP	D	Abilities
Rockets	7	-3	D3	None
Side Arms	3	0	1	None
Machine Gun	4	-1	1	3 Shots
Light Cannon	6	-2	1	None
Heavy Cannon	8	-4	D6	None

Infantry Shooting at Vehicles

As well as normal Kill Team range modifiers, infantry suffer -1 to Hit for each Speed a vehicle is traveling.

Pistols, Boltguns, Shuriken Catapults etc, count as Max 34 Side Arms against Vehilces.

Heavy Stubbers, Shuriken Cannons and Heavy Bolters count as Max 34 Machine Guns.

Melta Guns, Shredders and Fusion Guns count as Max 34 Light Cannons.

Lascannons, Bright Lances and Dark Lances count as Max 34 Heavy Cannons. 

As you can see, the interactions are being kept as simple as possible, as the aim is to have a fun game, rather than play something competitive and finely balanced. In terms of which vehicles are "Transports", this is also played pretty loose, the Heretek Hauler, being a mining craft with an access ramp, can transport models, Deathwatch Jetbikes, however, cannot transport models. We didn't spend too much time working on this section of the game, as the first play test worked well and the Maximilian 1934 section transitioned into the Kill Team section directly. 

Kill Team 
The modifications for Kill Team are inspired by some suggested on the Inq28 Facebook Group. Rather than building "Battle Forged" Kill Teams, we selected teams up to 75 points from any model in the game, with the restriction of no more than one model with a Save of 3+ or better. So no teams of Space Marines or similar. The idea is to create interesting and thematic teams, rather than tournament-level death squads. Take a look at Ross' warband for an example: 

Being a real narrative wargamer, Ross wanted a Kill Team that fit his miniatures, hence using the Thousand Sons, Genestealer Cults, Astra Militarum, Drukhari and Asuryani lists to get the right "feel" for the models. In contrast, Jason's Craftworld Namreb forces are usually entirely Asuryani units. There is no penalty or advantage to sticking to one list or having each model be from a different list. Don't worry about how the makeup of your warband will affect your Tactics and Command points, as that will be a bit different too. With our group, someone building a killer team is pretty unlikely, but with access to every list, it becomes pretty easy to power game. Fair warning. 

So far, we have used the Kill Team Core Manual, Commanders and Elites, with the above-mentioned restrictions and the added caveat that any Commanders be "fair". Just take a quick flip through the Commanders and Elites books and you should get a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. For example, the Genestealer Cult Magus' poor armour save offsets its Psychic Powers and multiple wounds, whereas the Drukhari Archon's 2+ Invulnerable Save and 5 Attacks make it a little unbalanced. 

The normal restrictions on Specialists apply, but due to the Card System replacing Command Points (see below), we tend to find that Specialists have a reduced role in play. So far, we have found it fair to be less restrictive with the "Leadership" Specialty, for example Dauntless (Asuryani Wraithguard) would normally only have access to the Demolitions, Heavy and Veteran Specialties. This is done to facilitate narrative play, with several of the Cards specifically targeting Leaders, thus being without one would be an unfair advantage.

Instead of using the existing Command Points system from Kill Team, we use a deck of cards that have similar (or the same) effects as the Tactics listed in the books. Each player draws two cards at the start of each turn, with a maximum hand size of five, creating a "spending economy" with less incentive to horde cards. Players can discard at the end of the turn, if there's something not terribly useful in their hands. It is assumed that a card can be played at any time, unless the card states something like "Play at the start of the Shooting Phase"; wherever possible we've tried to be clear with what the card does. If two players play conflicting cards, the player with Priority takes precedent. We'll upload the full "deck" at some point as a PDF, but here's an example: 

The cards were put together using 40K artwork searched up on Google and compiled online with MTG Cardsmith: https://mtgcardsmith.com/ Printed up, they can be placed in Standard Sized card sleeves with leftover Magic, Pokemon or whatever cards are lying around (mine are old The Spoils cards). There's no hard and fast rules as to how many cards you need to have or how many copies of each, but a rough guide would be to keep the more "powerful" cards to one or two copies. 

Hopefully, this gives you enough ideas to get going on your own Narrative 40K games, or maybe just try a different way of playing Kill Team at your local club or store. We'll be trying to put a little content as often as we can in between now and when we play our next big narrative game.