Year of War 40k: Apocalypse Part 1

Watch-Master Pyrannius examined the auspex display and sighed. Mere hundreds of feet away were the powerful walls of Valdegard, once the military and administrative center of the planet's local government. As the ancestral home of the planet's Warlord (a positon roughly equivalent to an Imperial Governor), the walls were impressive. Solid worked rockcrete walls hid a complex skeleton of plasteel reinforcements and specialized void shield arrays made the stronghold a nightmare to assault- though, unfortunately, the filthy traitors who now occupied the walls never even had to fire a shot before the city fell.

Apparently the corruption started at the top on this world, and the current Warlord invited the blasphemed legions of Chaos into his very home. It is said they looked to be loyalist Dark Angels- and by the time the local defense forces realized their deception other heretics had overwhelmed their positions. Now the blood-stained banners of the traitors flew high and proud above the walls he would now have to overcome.

You see, near Valdegard's center there had been strange reports. A hidden chamber beneath the town square suddenly revealed by construction, filled with strange bone-like structures. A huge statue of ivory crackling with alien power. Pyrannius had to either remove it or destroy it- which was a task made far more difficult by an enemy power occupying his objective. Luckily he didn't have to attack the fortress alone, and even now two regiments of the Guard (most notably the Vostroyan Infantry and an Armored Spearhead led by a powerful Shadowsword) were starting their assault. Turning, the Watch Master pulled his glaive from the wall and gave the order to begin the descent. The attack was about to begin!

Strikeforce Obsidian, backed up by the 'Litany of Annihilation' Shadowsword
tank.

Most of the reserves- all in tanks or able to arrive via deepstrike. 

The Fortress of Valdegard and the ruins of the surrounding suburbs.

The Litany and Corvus (as well as some guard) attempting to take on the fortresses
left flank.

A Kill Team makes its way through a graveyard while Vostroyen Heavy
Weapons Team fill the ruins.

A closer look at the vindicare, with Brother Balthasar the Ven. Dreadnought
supporting two blobs of conscripts.

The Vostroyen Leman Russ and the Deathwatch Razorback 'Oathmark' set up
the heavy hitters on the far right flank.

Chaos warbands dominate the long right side of the wall, supported by an
Infernal Defiler. 

Chaos sigils lift high, even as the traitor Dark Angels (Fallen? Alpha Legion?)
take up positions in the towers. 

Unbeknownst to the defenders, Aleksandr the Culexes Assassin is already in position.

First blood! Casimir the Vindicare Assassin kills a Dark Angel
Primaris Lieutenant directing the Devastators. 

Without fear or heisitation the Corvus (filled with a Kill Team and Watch Master Pyrannius)
flies over the walls, killing a Scout with its bombs before lighting up the defenders. 

After a relatively poor turn of shooting at the walls, the Fallen responds to the Shadowsword
threat with a deep strike assault to mixed success.

The Deathwing Terminators (if they can really take that title) also jump
in, looking to counter the troops inside the Corvus.

Deadly accurate Krak missiles from the Chaos Warbands take the
Oathmark out of action.

Oh no! A twist, Ork Roks rain from the sky, unloading whole mobs
to bring their own version of war to the world- though it will be the
Imperials who take the brunt of their assault. 

A War Wagon, and whole mob of Power Nobs. 

On the far right we see Killa-Kans and other armored targets smash into the
Vostroyens. 

And the last Rok lands hilariously directly 'onto' one of the walls, crushing
all the defenders...

... And unleashing a horde of bikes!

The wall is breached for the second time, with Deathwatch fighting a
successful (if bloody) campaign on the left flank! 

The last traitor Dark Angel in the tower died with a snarl that turned to a gurgle as Pyrannius's glaive sliced through armor and bone. How the forces of chaos had a Primaris Marine in their employ, he did not know- or even if the figures swollen corpse was the work of the Imperium or some foul Chaos sorcery. Even now his men were taking to the walls, but below?

Over every channel of communication, Imperial Guard were screaming. Hyper accurate fire from the walls decimated waves of men even as the greenskin hordes ran rampant through their lines. Foul Orks- how they came to this world through the Imperial Fleet overhead was a mystery to him, but he could not focus upon their paticular brand of foulness now. He watched as Brother Sergeant Arden, a marine wearing the brilliant white wings of a loyalist Dark Angel, pick up the false Chapter Banner and toss it over the wall. If he had anything to say about the foes which surrounded them, he was keeping it to himself.

"-- atch Master, come in!"

"Speak."

"Kill Teams have dropped into the Fortress. They are fighting their way to objective now."

"Understood. We will continue fighting here. Strike swiftly brothers."

Now, all they had to do was hope that the reinforcements rolling up would be enough to hold the attention of the Chaos forces. They would soon see...

Bloodborne 40k: A Good Hunter

When the galaxy found itself ripped unsunder by the warp, thousands of planets and systems found themselves cut off from aid, with the very light of the Golden Throne blotted out by sheer overwhelming chaos. Many systems simply ceased to exist, others finding themselves simply isolated bastions of civilization trapped within the maelstrom of madness.

Mensis Prime is a planet on the brink of total collapse. It appeared to weather the storm for decades with a fair amount of success, with the local Ministorum forming a close partnership (and rivalry) with the Tech Priests dominating large swathes of the planet to keep the populace cowed and loyal to the Imperium. These two factions worked together to create Hunters, a paramilitary organization of expert killers and assassins designed to use any means necassary to keep the horrors at bay. Both sects, of course, so removed from the normal iron grip of Imperial oversight began to grow apart from the original beliefs that they promised to protect. The Tech Priests dug deep into the planet, and the orbiting moon to discover a veritable treasure trove of xenos artifacts to experiment and utilize- including the mysterious 'ichor' that could be refined into a drug of tremendous healing potential. The Martyrs and Deacons of the Ecclesiarchy on the other hand found themselves drawn increasingly to the worship of strange icons and relics that dogma claimed were handed down by the Emperor's chosen themselves.

Even as the two factions began to skirmish with each other for power, squashing or consuming all other political entities around them, their carefully erected veneer of control began to fall apart. The Ichor began to prove, at least in some ways, to be tainted- causing many individuals to mutate and take on horrific chitinous forms. At the same time those closest to the relics of old found themselves twisting to better serve the warp-bound daemons trapped within under the guise of holy relics. Some preachers took to the streets to rile the common folk into a bloodthirsty fervor, while others secluded themselves to learn new secrets from an ever-changing god.

With Daemons and Xenos roaming the streets, it would appear all will soon be lost on Mensis Prime- the only hope lies on the shoulders of those willing to take up the Great Hunt. The only question is if they can cleanse the infestation before falling to the worlds taint themselves!

Little is know about Alexsandr's origin. A pilgrim from a faraway system, he found himself quickly wading through lakes of fiendish Ichor. On the tabletop, he counts as a Culexus Assassin.

Martyr's Helm: Mensis Prime was well known for its Martyr's, who wore crowned helms to seperate themselves from the heaving masses. Consecrated with prayer, each of these rare halo's shield a wearer's mind and body from warp manipulation.

Containment Sentinel Set: Attire worn by the Xenos Hunter's charged with keeping the alien taint from spreading past the quarantine zone. The lightweight ebony plate, fueled  by an experimental power source of unknown origin, allowed for surprising feats of strength. The blood and fluids which splattered across the thick alabaster coat after a night of hunting were often harvested by the Magos Biologis for their ill-advised experiments.

Chain Spear: One of the trick weapons utilized by the Mensite Xenos Hunters. Resembling a short steel javelin, the weapon can be transformed into a long length of whipping chain to better keep the bearer out of the deadly range of a Xenos's claws. The broad, heavy spear head is designed to catch and bury within chitin, a testament of the days when aliens were desired for live capture as well as extermination.

Mindshard Handcannon: A brutal firearm with a set of revolving barrels. Designed by renegade Techpriests aware of both the Shadow of a Xenos Horror below and the tainted scholars above, the mechanisms of this weapon siphon warp energy to empower every deadly shot.

40k Year of War Campaign: Game 1

Prelude: 

A little diplomacy could have gone a long way. The two lines of battle, one blue-grey and one black squaring off against one another across the dusty xenos installation could have been natural allies under other circumstances. To the eyes of the Space Wolves, the brothers of the Deathwatch must've seemed like ebon-clad scavengers looking to pick at the scraps of their recent victories. The secret nature of the Deathwatch's mission and the brazen 'I's' that proclaimed their close ties with the Inquisition meant that a pair of terse transmissions resulted nothing in scoffs and bolter fire. To think, bloodshed over half a dozen faint Xenos energy readings...
The Game:

The first of my 'Year of War' games in the local ladder campaign. My Deathwatch army (Strikeforce Obsidian) against Tactical Advantage owner Chris Ormando (who always has tables open for anyone who wants to come in a shoot space lasers).

Strikeforce Obsidian [75p]:
Watchmaster Pyrannius : Warlord, Bane of Monstrosities
Captain Raoul Giant-killer:  Jump pack, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer, Beacon of Angelis
Brother Balthasar: Venerable Dreadnought w/ Twin Lascannon/CC + Heavy Flamer
Kill Team Gascoigne: Sarge w/ powersword + combi-plasma, combi-plasma, combi-melta, x5 stormshields w/ bolters, vanguard with twin lightning claws
Kill Team Baptiste : x2 Frag Cannons, Sarge w/ power maul + bolter,  x2 powerswords + x2 bolters
Kill Team Aegos: x3 Frag Cannons, Sarge with combi-melta/power axe, combi-melta, Vanguard vet w/ handflamer + chainsword.
Oathmark: Razorback w/ twin lascannons, stormbolter, and hunter killer
The Furtive Benediction: Corvus Blackstar w/ Assault Cannons, Stormstrike missiles, hurricane bolter

The Ashen Stalkers [75p]:
The Jarl: Captain w/ Gravis Armor and relic sword
Techmarine
Rhino
Stormwolf
Wulfen: Hammers and Shields! x5
Bloodclaws: Powerfist x6
Intercessors: x5
Hellblasters: Plasma Incinerators x5
Venerable Dreadnought: Hammer and Shield

The Benediction with two squads fly up the field, with Pyrannius babysitting
Balthasar and the Oathmark on the right flank with Kill-Team Gascoigne defending
objective three on the left. Captain Raoul bides his time until the second turn. 

Some aeriel dogfighting, with minimal damage on both sides.

Brother Balthasar weathers a storm of infiltrating hellblaster plasma
fire. Moments later the hellblaster's are dead, and my Watchmaster
is down after a botched duel with the Space Wolf Jarl.

The Stormwolf goes down, but the Wulfen are unharmed. The Captain and Intercessors
are gunned down, while most of the Deathwatch Kill Team's are butchered or shot apart.
Apparently they forgot to charge their stormshields. 

Even as the Wulfen and Techmarine are finished off by the Oathmark
and Balthsar, the Benediction manages to secure the center
objective on the last turn of the Deathwatch game!

Only to be smashed into pieces by the Space Wolf Dreadnought in
an act of vengeance! Still, it isn't quite enough...

Deathwatch Victory!

It was touch and go there at the end of the game, but even though I tried to lose myself the game with a few stupid moves I ended up pulling it out in the end. I was very lucky on my tactical objective draws, and what objectives weren't in my control were normally attainable through manuevering of my Blackstar.

Still, the game really game down to one charge and Brother Balthasar up in his tower managed to hold. I should note that the Space Wolf Jarl was pretty crazy in his role of a character killer. I'll have to prioritize him for the lascannon's next we meet!

Watchmaster Pyrannius- scarred but alive!

Conclusion:
" Finally, Watch Master Pyrannius pulled himself up off of the dusty ground. The fighting was for the most part over, and already he could see his pale armored opponents disappear into the sandstorm building all around them. A pain in his side caused the warrior to grimace as the memory of the gravis-clad swordsman's prowess in their brief duel bubbled to the fore of his mind. Despite his size, the Space Wolf had been lightning quick- apparently only the appearence of Kill-Team Gascoigne and the pinpoint fire from the Ancient Balthasar managed to drive him off before he could deliver the finishing blow. He hoped that he'd never had to cross blades with that champion again.

A call drew his attention back into the present as the hatch of the Razorback thunked into the ground behind him. Turning, the Son of Dorn greeted Brother Demetrios with a curt nod before indicating to the stack of reinforced canisters filling the troop compartment.

"Are these the source of the power spike in the area?"

Demetrios nodded before leaning over and popping open the lid on the nearest container, revealing the dimly glowing capsule within. Before their very eyes strange alien runes drifted along its crystalline surface. Those were not Tau sigils.

"Excellent. Make room for the critically injured and head to the Rendezvous site. We'll make repairs on the Blackstar and join you back on the ship. At least this skirmish wasn't completely senseless. " he took a deep breath "May the Emperor guide your path."