30k Rogue Trader Battle Report

Anti-Horus terrorists strike! The travails of the Horus Heresy...

As noted in our previous posting here on the blog, our great friend Curt was in town for a short visit over the Easter long weekend.  We staged an Epic 30k game that saw Byron's newly painted Death Guard get their first taste of action on the gaming table. The game was great fun, another opportunity to enjoy a great game in a great setting with some excellent friends! But the gaming wasn't finished - Curt was back briefly on Easter Monday before he and Sarah had to return to Regina, so we had a chance to push the toy soldiers around the table one more time!

The poor Sons of Horus column has been hit by vile so-called "Loyalists"...what will happen next?

Curt and I really enjoy the 30k setting, and we also have great memories of Rogue Trader, the original rules for 28mm sci-fi skirmishing from Games Workshop. So I thought I would set up a little Rogue Trader game set in 30k for Curt and I to play that night.

Survivors of an Astrates-sized IED...probable some vile thing devised by the Mechanicum...

Sons of Horus Chaplain prepares to lead the Scribe (hidden among the Marines) to safety, no matter how pissed he is that some Loyalist dopes blew up his ride...

While the current edition of the 28mm 30k/40k game really tries to be a mass-battle game (and hey - it looks like GW will try again...let's reserve comments on that for another time...) but what is so fun about Rogue Trader is that a very small force can offer a very engaging game. That is what I hoped to set up for Curt. An extra twist - I set the game up to be cooperative, where Curt and I would play on the same side against random actions by the opponent.

The Raven Guard move out, keen to get some measure of revenge...oh, and defend the Emperor, I guess...

The scenario envisioned an ambush by Raven Guard Marines against a Sons of Horus armoured column, on an un-named, but presumably somewhat road-to-Terra-adjacent planet.  As keen followers of the setting will know, the Raven Guard were one of the Legions trapped in the "Dropsite Massacre".  But Horus couldn't kill ALL the loyalists...some Raven Guard survived, joined isolated garrison units etc. to fight on as a so-called "Shattered Legion" - fun and entertaining for a scenario, part of why I love 30k so much...

The Raven Guard move in to mop up...

Horus' own Legion goes down fighting in close assault!

So for this game, we imagined a detachment from the "Shattered Legion" of the Raven Guard landing on some planet to cause some trouble for the Sons of Horus.  The Warmaster's XVI Legion happened to be transporting a high-value persona - represented by Curt's wonderful tribute figure painted for me during the 2015-16 Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - and they are ambushed by a small force of vengeful troops from the XIX Legion, the Raven Guard.   The numbers of figures on each side were small - 20 Raven Guard tactical Marines, with a high-ranking hero to lead them (probably a bitter survivor of the, er, "incident" on Isstvan V) and 15 Sons of Horus with the Scribe, who fought only with the goal of getting the Scribe off of one of the long table edges, and dying properly for the Warmaster, humanity's last hope...overall, this would be almost nothing for a 7th edition game, but plenty of models for a Rogue Trader game.

Curt and I each took command of some Raven Guard...

The Chaplain plots the escape...

The Raven Guard have other ideas...

The game opens with all of the vehicles already knocked out by cunning IED-type devices placed by the Raven Guard force.  The Sons of Horus realize they are being attacked by pro-"Emperor" terrorists, and try to organize an escape for the Scribe (he has important information the Warmaster needs to have his dark Mechanicum allies drain from his skull, uh, "preserve"...yes, that's it) while the Raven Guard move in to capture the Scribe, get a little revenge for events on Isstvan V, and escape before the heavy reinforcements from the Sons of Horus arrive...

Meanwhile, a point-blank gun battle develops...I love Rogue Trader...+1 to hit at this range! Suck it, Warmaster!

So Curt and I played some basic Rogue Trader as the Loyalist side, with the Sons of Horus moving randomly against us.  Our goal was to capture what Dave V would have referred to as "The Potato" - the Scribe - and kill a bunch of Horus' lads in the process!

On this night the Loyalists were successful. They slaughtered the Sons of Horus down to the last Marine, and captured the Scribe for their own purposes.  They paid a high price (about 50% casualties), but given their level of motivation, I've no doubt these Sons of Corax were pleased to have delivered a small counter-blow against the followers of the Warmaster.

Loyalists...so fixated on anger...if they would just chill, this whole Heresy wouldn't have needed to kill billions...but anyway....

Things end poorly for this acolyte of Horus...

The Sons of Corax achieve a measure of revenge...but the memory of Isstvan V will endure...

In all the game lasted about an hour-and-a-half.  It was basic, not-too-detailed, but tons of fun. I just love Rogue Trader, and I love 30k, and the two work well together.  Is Rogue Trader flawless? Well, or course not...the more narrative you can be, the better the game will be. And with Rogue Trader, less is more - in this game, everyone was carrying bolt guns other than the officers.  But it can still be a lot of fun, and I hope to run a variant of this scenario sometime for the broader Fawcett Avenue group!

It was great to have this little bit of fun with my great friend Curt. Until next time! Horus for Hope!

Contemptor Dreadnought for the Raven Guard

Reinforcements for XIX Legion

This is a Contemptor Dreadnought for the XIX Legion in GW's Horus Heresy/30k setting.  The model is the plastic dreadnought from the "Betrayal at Calth" box set, and he has a few decals and brass etch details added on from Forge World.

The "Betrayal at Calth" box set is a gold mine of Horus Heresy bits and figures.  I was glad to have access to a plastic Contemptor Dreadnought model, as I thought it would be much easier to assemble than the resin ones from Forge World.  In the end, it was a bit of a mixed bag - certainly a lot easier to assemble, but the arrangements of the parts is very disappointing, leaving very little option to customize and give the model much motion.  As such, he looks a bit wooden (and maybe that's OK - I mean, the "pilot" is nearly dead anyway, right)?

He just wants to shake hands...

For weapons I opted for the multi-melta, to give the Raven Guard a bit of heavy stopping power, and also because multi-melta.  The other option was the assault cannon, which I admit also looks cool, but I have something else in mind down the road to assist the Raven Guard with assault-cannon-related issues.  Besides - there are already other elements of the force to handle cannon-related files. The downside is that, because of the way the model is laid out on the frames, if you want to use another weapon (i.e. not the assault cannon or multi-melta), you have some heavy carving in front of you - not impossible, but just short-sighted by GW, in my view - why not make it fully compatible with the FW weapons?

But then, why am I surprised when GW does something in a short-sighted fashion?  Anyway, it is still a decent model, and you'll have fun assembling and painting yours no doubt!

Soo...what's on that name plate?  Ummm...well....

The one detail that I had the highest hopes for is also the one detail I completely buggered up.  Some background: I really like the brass etch accessories from Forge World.  They are perfect for a little bit of customization of models just like this, adding more character than a decal alone can, but stopping short of the all-out look of the specified customized dreadnought chassis available for the different Legions.

Multi-melta - for close inspection of enemy vehicles and facilities

So I thought to make this guy look a little extra cool, I would use some brass etch Raven Guard symbols (the shoulder and knee plates), but to really set him off, I figured "I'll give him a name plate!" After all, the cool painters give their dreadnoughts funky names.

Brass etch stuff DOES really help things pop - when you don't screw up the painting

So I stuck it right below the "helmet" of the dreadnought.  I told myself that I would paint it white, which would make it really jump out, look awesome etc...anyway, I totally, totally bungled the paint job on it - to the point I can't even make out what that name was supposed to be (something "Corax", maybe...?).  In fact, it looks all scratched out in a way that resembles the odd markings seen on the vehicles and machines who follow the Warmaster...maybe this model is trying to tell me something...

An unknown soldier, due to poor painting...but otherwise very scary

Anyway, behold "Name Undetermined" - valiant warrior of the Raven Guard. No doubt an Imperial Committee will be duly appointed to decipher his actual name...likely the markings were blurred by the insipid agents of the Warmaster...

Team photo of the XIX Legion forces so far...

So after starting with a few test models last fall, my XIX Legion detachment has grown to 46 or so infantry and one dreadnought.  A decent size for an infantry force - just need to add some vehicles for these fellows now...

Mor Deythan Strike Squad for Raven Guard 30k

Mor Deythan Strike Squad from the XIX Legion

Some more reinforcements for the XIX Legion.  This is a "Mor Deythan" strike squad, an elite unit of the Raven Guard in the 30k/Horus Heresy setting.  The figures are from Forge World.

Very nice sculpting job by Forge World - I really enjoyed these figures

These figures blend a number of concepts which seem to me, on paper at any rate, not to work together.  Heavily armoured troops, equipped with sniper rifles, who are really good at infiltrating, yet still dressed in ornate armour that marks them out, and would appear to be intended as a kind of shock force.  Those should not all go together...but somehow they do. I'm not sure which designed sculpted these figures, but my hat goes off to him or her - great job!

Fancy shoulder plates...

Fancy helmets...

Fancy everything...Corvus Corax must have contacted a brand consultant for these troops

The figures are wearing ornate Mk VI "beakie" power armour (it seems that the Raven Guard and the Alpha Legion both have a lot of "beakie" stuff, for whatever reason) with fancy cloaks and nasty sniper variants of bolt guns.  There are a lot of optics, targeters etc. which add nicely to the look of the troops.  

Kneeling figures - not generally a favourite pose, but it works for these models

Another partial view of the fancy shoulder plates

When you dress like this, I'm not sure why you bother with flash suppressors or silencers, but hey - whatever works!

While there were a few casting issues, overall the models were a lot of fun to paint and I'm pleased to get this unit finished.  Perhaps the only downside is that, due to the size of some of the figures, I had to use the stupid new 32mm bases for these figures - something I'm generally resisting for my Marines.  I thought it would be OK in this instance as they are a special unit/special case.

Lots of dramatic swirl in the capes

Scoping out targets for the Emperor...

These models can represent either one or two elites choices for a Raven Guard force, depending on the size of the game and the circumstances of the scenario etc.  I am looking forward to getting these fellows out for some 30k gaming on the Fawcett Avenue tables this summer!

Raven Guard Heavy Support - Autocannons Galore

Some heavy hitting support for Corax's fellows...

Ten guys with autocannons? Ten guys with autocannons.  Gotta love the Horus Heresy!

Work has been pretty nuts lately, diverting me from much hobby time for painting (much less gaming).  But I whittled a gun out of a bar of soap, bluffed the guards, and managed to get a few things finished.  Here is a Raven Guard heavy support squad armed wall-to-wall with autocannons.  The Marines are wearing Mk III armour.

Embossed shoulder plates add the perfect touch as always

I had finished a few of these guys for a Rogue Trader game we played not that long ago (although it seems like ages ago), but managed to round out the whole group of ten models just recently.

Sergeant with crazy comb and crazy gun

The original autocannon models called for the ammo can to be mounted off the back of the Marine armour, with a kind of belt feed mechanism working around to connect under the front of the weapon.  While possible in theory, the reality of the models and of Forge World's "quality" (great sculptors, wonderful designers, but clearly they don't give much of a sh*t about consistent casting) was such that there was not enough heat guns, boiling water and fast timing in the world to get even a single model assembled that way, much less ten of them.  So I just cut them up and mounted the ammo cans right below the autocannon.

I like the little targeting device they include for officers...

I like how it turned out - makes the gun even more impractical looking, which in turn (to my mind at least) makes it look like something the Imperium would have approved. "Sure, nobody can really use this in a practical way, but these are Space Marines we are talking about - commence production immediately."

Practical weapons of the 30th millenium...

Continue to love the MkIII armour - the best models out there!

The tactical usefulness of this unit will be, well, "interesting". They will blow away things like Rhinos and bikes - fun!  But mostly I just like the crazy appearance.  It underscores the dark, armed excess of the heresy setting and the Space Marine Legions.  Why send one guy with an autocannon, after all, when you could send ten? I mean, do you love the Emperor or not?

Ready to make a stand on Istvaan...

Stay tuned for more reinforcements for the Raven Guard..

30k Battle Report - Drop Site Party on Istvaan V!

It's time for a change! The XII Legion readies to finish off the dupes of the false "emperor"

Over the past couple of months I have been painting up some Raven Guard for further 30k mayhem on the table.  It's not a very big force at this stage - about 40 figures, no vehicles or dreadnoughts.  Not quite enough for a game of 30k under the current rules, but I was really keen to get them out on the table for an initial bloodletting.  So we decided to play some old-school Rogue Trader instead!  Dallas was kind enough to host the game two weeks ago, and set up a table for us.

Sons of Horus heavy support squad - locked and loaded

XVI Legion moves into a blocking position

The scenario was set on Istvaan V - home to the infamous "drop site massacre".  So you already know up front how this was going to end for the Raven Guard...the scenario featured the small Raven Guard force - two 10-man tactical squads, a 5-man support squad with autocannons, and a Preator and some bodyguard and command figures.  They realize they have been betrayed, and as their Legion brothers are massacred around them, this group looking to break out and escape into the hills.  They were trapped by a mix of Sons of Horus and World Eaters.  The Raven Guard would start in the middle of the 6' x 4' table, and their objective was to exit as many Marines as possible off of either short table edge, representing survivors who would head off into the hills and begin the guerrilla campaign against Horus.

Raven Guard survivors gather around a crashed shuttle, and prepare to make a break for it

XII Legion tactical troops take up a blocking position

It would not be easy. The traitors outnumbered the Loyalists almost 2-1, and featured a number of daunting weapons, including a support squad with five heavy bolters, another support squad with five multi-meltas (!) and a support squad with 10 volkite calivers! I tried to set expectations for the Loyalist players accordingly, reminding them the battle was known as the "drop site massacre", not the "drop site stalemate" or "drop site surprise win"...

Some heavy support for the World Eaters

Raven Guard heavy support lines up on some targets

Conscripts Dave and Dallas played the Raven Guard, while Indo and Mike F. took command of the enlightened followers of Horus. And as I said, we used the trusty old Rogue Trader game engine, but I did make a few adjustments - the toughness of the marines was increased to "4" from "3", and the basic save of Marine power armour was increased to "3+" from "4+".  Basically, we were just reflecting the "current" stat values of the marines in the old game.

Praetor prepares to confront XII Legion command

Covering fire! Autocannons try and buy time for the Raven Guard escape

And so the "drop site massacre" was on! The Raven Guard opted to break en-mass towards the World Eaters, wary of the heavy bolter squad from the Sons of Horus (remember, in Rogue Trader, heavy bolters are "following fire"...). Dave and Dallas used their autocannons for covering fire. Dave's Raven Guard Praetor led his command group into a direct confrontation with Indo's World Eaters Centurion and a smash-down featuring duelling veterans, standard bearers and leaders ensued.

A pitched battle, there is no mercy...

The Centurion for the World Eaters takes a lot of wounds, too many for the medic to do anything about...

Indo's multi melta vapourized a number of Raven Guard troops, and the Sons of Horus (although pleased to let Angron's clowns bear the brunt of the fighting) picked off a number of the retreating Raven Guard.  Mike F had a bit of a rough outing with the heavy bolters, so they were not as devastating as I expected them to be, but Dave and Dallas were also careful to avoid them to the extent they could...

Dallas' tactical squads make a break for it, led by the Company Champion

The Sons of Horus mop up...ouch...

The Raven Guard commander and his entire retinue fell heroically in combat, although not without killing nearly all of the World Eaters' command (the surviving standard bearer would be in for a promotion, assuming Angron wouldn't get mad at him for some random reason and kill him too).  The Raven Guard heavy support troops also fell, although not before taking several traitors with them.

The close assault between command groups grinds on...

With only one survivor when it's all over...

Dallas lost one whole tactical squad in the fighting retreat - many to Sons of Horus bolters and heavy bolters.  But his second squad managed to (mostly) skirt the ominous multi-meltas of the World Eaters and slammed into a World Eaters tactical squad blocking their escape.  Over several turns of tough close fighting (remember, you could use your pistols in close combat with Rogue Trader), the Raven Guard punched their way through...by the time we called the game, eight Raven Guard (out of a starting force of 31) escaped.  I assured Dallas this was a decent outcome, and his survivors now represented like 20% of the Legion's active combat strength...they would head for the hills, join their surviving Primarch, and wage a dark and difficult guerrilla war against their betrayers...

Crash! Dallas' tactical troops look to break through...

I just love Rogue Trader, warts and all, and it was a lot of fun.  The guys approached with the proper spirit - particularly Dallas and Dave, looking to take as many traitors down as possible.  While this game would have been a very, very small game by the current standards of the rules, in Rogue Trader this was actually a very, very big game, and we managed to get it done.  Looking back, I should have increased the movement of all of the marines to 6" from 4" just to speed things up a bit.  But overall, I loved it.  I particularly like how the close combat is generally a grind, particularly between two evenly matched opponents.  Even the more heroic figures - the Preator and the Centurion - didn't just automatically kill everything they touched.  It was a great fight.

The Raven Guard overwhelm Angron's troops to make their escape...or, some of them do, at any rate

Thanks to the guys for playing - great for the Raven Guard to get their first game in! Big thanks to Dallas for hosting - and for putting the table and terrain together! I do really need to get some more vehicles painted, but one thing at a time...