The Storming of Bastille Round 3

Silence dominated the great hall as the censer bearing servitors took their place at the altar. The fumes curled and twisted around the mighty being knelt before them, its head bowed in prayer. 

"I shall purge the unclean. I am the bringer of fire and light. Where my hand falls, none shall stand." intoned the warrior in gold.

"We stand with you." The voices of the Space Marines behind said as one.

The golden figure arose, and grasped the hammer laid before him. He turned to the assembled warriors of the Imperial Fists and raised the mighty weapon above his head.

"Brothers. The arch enemy hammers at our gates. As Lord Dorn once defended the Imperium form Chaos, so now must we protect the citizens of Hive Primus. Arm yourselves, steel your souls, this will be a fight like no other." Lysander, First Captain of the Imperial Fists marched down the aisle, his stern face fixed on the horizon. Before him, the balcony overlooking the square flickered with eery light. Outside, the skies had turned dark and unnatural shadows cast themselves about. The screams of those whose own nightmares were besieging their minds filled the air. Chaplain Lo Chang appeared at Lysanders shoulder.

"Our scouts have reported the location of the enemy. The Black Legion have established a portal at Bastion XIV" he said.

"Then we have our target. Notify Inquisitor Vindomus we are moving out of the Hive. Order all remaining militia forces to hold the north gate. Vindomus has put Knight Paladin Tywin at our disposal, inform House Lannister of our plan."

"It will be done, Captain."

With that, Lysander turned and began preparations for war.


So, this round has been interesting!

Several alliances were temporarily brokered, notably between the Black Legion and the Chaos Daemons, the Tau and Dark Eldar and the Imperial Stars and Charcarodons. In the manner of the outbreak of WWI, each attack triggered an aggressive response from the allies, leading to two huge battles!

 As you can see, lots of attacks on the Imperial held worlds! As it happens, when designing the campaign rules, I had stipulated that base hexes could only be attacked from and adjacent hex, and not from a space port, but we were so taken aback at how quickly the map moves escalated, that we just went with it!

Here are some pics from Sundays big battle day:

Game 1: Tactical Escalation, Imperial Stars and Charcarodons (4,200pts)  vs Tau and Dark Eldar (4,000pts).

Deployment: Short table edges meant limited maneuverability in such a big game! With the Tau and Dark Eldar needing to stay mobile, things were looking grim from the start for the Xenos!

Turn 1: The Xenos alliance attacks swiftly, but face a vast number of space marines, and their Stormlord!

The Imperial Stars take a defensive posture, daring the aliens to come to them!

Result: A win for the Imperial forces!

Game 2: The Scouring, Imperial Fists, Inquisition, Imperial Guard and Space Marines (4,000pts) vs Chaos Daemons and Chaos Space Marines (4,000pts).

Deployment: Ser Tywin of House Lannister holds the right flank alongside the forces of the Inquisition and Imperial Fists.

Captain Lysander drops onto the left flank right in the face of Be'lakor and his Balck Legion cronies. He proceeds to weather the storm of firepower and ultimately kill Be'lakor in hand to hand. The Black legion never got out of their corner thanks to his heroic efforts.

Meanwhile over on the right flank, Greater Daemons drop from the skies. Luckily, Ser Tywin is able to finish off the Bloodthirster, the traitor Knight and the Lord of Change in close combat thanks to a lucky roll for prescience! Though it turned out to be not so lucky for the caster, as the enemy knight toppled over and landed on top of his squad, killing them and the nearby scouts!

Attention turns to the Black Legion in the second half as a trio of Storm Talons scream in to finish off the traitor armour

Result: Victory to the Imperium!

All four attacking armies were driven off the worlds they had attacked ready for Phase 4 this Saturday!

Phase 4 will be a turning point in the campaign...


Lysander surveyed the battlefield. Few corpses littered the ground, the Daemons having vanished back into the warp and the Black Legion having fled his wrath. He had struggled with the shadow-creature, his blows simply vanishing through its incorporeal form, but as it had taken solid form, the Hammer of Dorn had struck true. Things could have gone very differently, Lysander knew now what manner of foe Vindomus had tracked.

Even now the Inquisitors men were sealing the warp-breach. Curiously, he had not been able to contact the Inquisitor herself, though he trusted his men to protect her should the arch enemy strike back. 

"My Lord, communciations are worsening, the warp clouds even the most minor of attempts" a disheveled looking Astropath said as he shambled up to Lysander.

"It is the warp portal, its essence clouds your mind" Lysander spoke, his eyes never leaving the burning husk of the traitor Knight.

"No my lord, with all due respect, it is not."

"Explain"

"The warp is resurgent across the system, this portal is powerful no doubt, but its influence is not that great."

"Then what is causing it" Lysanders eyes finally met the blind ones of the Astropath.

"I cannot explain my Lord. It as if something approaches through the Sea of Dreams. What I sense, is merely the bow wave of its presence."

"Return to Hive Primus. Consult your brethren. I would have answers immediately"

Lysander turned and headed towards the waiting Thunderhawk, his mind more troubled than ever...