[DW] Blackthorn/Swordhand: Episode III - The Sundered House

[Mazer Rackham]

Before the team moved, Akkad absorbed the words of their Sergeant. About time, he mused, a smile blossoming onto his lips.  When confronted with a real enemy, it seemed Vaidan was more settled, more secure and direct.  This was a good omen.  Akkad knew that warriors did not fear their commanders making a bad decision, they would not know that until they had been killed - but the one thing all warriors feared was a commander who could not make up his mind.  Not here though.

 

Without thinking about it, he extended his arm and banged his right vambrace on Vaidan's left pauldron in the ancient Terran salute of approval.  He stood straight, saluted him for good measure and then without even looking behind him ran at full speed for the port guns.  The ship was huge, but all that meant was that he had to lengthen his stride.  he could hear and feel the others behind him, he clicked several runes for multi-wide vox.

 

++ The guns will fire in sequence, it is vital we maintain that rhythm, for the Captain will dictate his action upon it.  Ensure you load from the bow to the stern, so that a continuous weight of fire may bear upon the enemy - the ship will always be turning and moving forwards, firing this way will allow close manoeuvres - observe the gun crews first to establish their drill before we interfere, so they may work around us, as opposed to in spite of us.++

 

The relish in his voice was evident and thick.  A powerful focus had established itself in him.  Finally, good honest work, good honest destruction of the vile alien.

To be hated - that is the fate of the Xenos.  To be exterminated - that is the fate of the Xenos...

 

++ Come my brethren and let us feed these alien bastards some good, honest, human lead! ++ 

 

The vox could not steal the savagery of his condemnation.

 

MR.

[Slips]

++Understood, Brother-Sergeant. Where will you be during all of this? Standing guard on the Bridge?++ The Sanguinary Priest asks, noting the lack of mention as to where their squad leader would be posted.

 

+++once solastion gets a reply (on phone no color coding)+++

 

++Indeed we shall. Brother Akkad, Brother Tyber, let us make all due haste. Remember, Tyranids board using living vessels that eat and melt their way through a ships hull with a hideous acid. Take great care to not get any of it on you though we may be forced to enter the abomination to slay it so that it can be safely ejected back into the void.++ he informs his terti-squad.

[Dosjetka]

Vaidan was surprised by the question but did not let it show.

 

"Indeed, Brother-Apothecary, I shall stand guard here and coordinate our efforts."

[Steel Company]

Tyber blinks a couple of times under his helm, it took a moment for Solastion’s words to sink in. Looking to each Solastion and Akkad, before he said ++I will be in both good hands and good company for this. We will not fail.++

[A.T.]

"A nexus point in the ships corridors, with the primary damage control teams for that quadrant", suggested Atratus to his team, "to most rapidly reach any breach."

 

Though their presence might motivate one of the gun crews Atratus doubted they would aid efficiency with their lack of naval experience. The armsmen would know their trade, to kill the xenos was his role here.

[Commissar Molotov]

The deck lurches beneath you as the crew work to carry out Captain Dimitar's orders. The ship's engines flare to life, illumination dimming and the hull seeming to groan throughout the whole vessel. You see and hear servitors automating declaring auspex readings or calculating firing trajectories ready to be communicated to the gun crews belowdecks.

 

It only takes a few moments before the auspex-sweeps are patched into your armour, and you can see a wireframe representation of the battle in the lower corner of your helm displays. You see the two Tyranid creatures seemingly gliding towards the Voice of Thunder, the Navy vessel launching a staggering assault of macrobattery fire. You can see that firepower taking a toll, blasting chunks of viscera and chitin away into the void - but not enough, not nearly enough, to halt their steady progress. 

 

You see the convulsive spasms wracking the bio-ships, the stream of return fire. Solastion's warnings remain fresh in your head - these are no torpedoes or conventional munitions. These spores are filled with Tyranid organisms, ready to devour the ship and its crew in a tide of teeth and claws. 

 

++PREPARE FOR BOARDING. PREPARE FOR BOARDING. PREPARE FOR BOARDING.++ 

 

Captain Dimitar looks over the hololithic display at Vaidan and Ryken. The glow of the translucent display lends him a gaunt look. 

 

"Fine words, Watch-Sergeant. Though we must be pragmatic here. Mine is a fine vessel, but we are outnumbered and outgunned. We must make full speed to Syndalla and deploy your forces. A running battle will serve us better than a stand-up fight."

 

Ryken speaks up. 

 

"Our mission must come first, Sergeant." 

 

"Re-deploy your Kill-Team to the dorsal spine." Your helm display indicates the slender back of the Voice of Thunder, clustered with sensor-minarets and macro-turrets. "Hold there, and you can prevent any boarders reaching the heart of the vessel. At least until we are close enough to deploy you." 

 

You know that Imperial vessels are solid, redoubtable, and built like fortresses to resist being boarded. The Dorsal spine is a central connective accessway - and a key strategic area to ensure that any Tyranids boarding the vessel can be contained and not given free access to roam. 

[Commissar Molotov]

 

Here you see Section 21/21 of the Voice of Thunder's Dorsal Spine. 

 

Your team will enter on the left side of the map, and they can be split across both tunnels as Dosjetka deems fit. Each square is approximately 5 metres. The small red diamonds are two hordes of Hormagaunts, each 30 magnitude. The larger numbered diamonds are five Tyranid warriors, standing tall above their lesser kin. 

 

The small blue diamonds? A squad of Naval armsmen led by a Commissar, taking cover behind a makeshift barricade. 

 

The yellow dotted lines are two security doors that can be closed, but the appropriate commands must be given at the security terminal marked by the yellow squares. 

 

Feel free to discuss this in the OOC thread before Dosjetka gives me your final deployments and we roll for initiative.

Edited July 3, 2018 by Commissar Molotov

[Mazer Rackham]

GM:  Clarification requested - Dumb questions, please indulge -

 

1) The Larger grey squares are boxes/barricades correct?  How tall are these obstacles?

2) Do we know the armament of the Tyranid Warriors?

 

MR.

Edited June 30, 2018 by Mazer Rackham

[Commissar Molotov]

1) Various wreckage and debris from the fighting this far. I will assume waist height for an Astartes.

2) Not until you actually deploy!

Edited July 1, 2018 by Commissar Molotov

[Mazer Rackham]

1) Various wreckage and debris from the fighting this far. I will assume waist height for an Astartes.

Appreciated, thanks :)

2) Not until you actually deploy!

You tease....I like your style ;)

 

MR

[Commissar Molotov]

The sound of ceramite books clanging on the Voice of Thunder's decking fills the air, but cannot quite drown out the screams of the dying and the noise of gunfire over the ship's vox-networks. The boarding is underway, even as you feel the vibration of the cruiser's massive plasma drives burning hard to reach Syndalla. Your helm displays show sub-sections of the vessel turning red as they are breached and tyranid creatures are reported. You know how important it is to ensure the dorsal spine remains free of infestation, less the Voice of Thunder be gutted in space and left to drift.

 

Ahead, you can hear the sound of lasgun-fire, and your auspices register human life. A squad of armsmen putting up a spirited defense of the corridor. Beyond them, over tinny interference, your auto-senses can pick up the drumming of many, many pairs of legs, a stampede of claw and chitin. Battle wil soon be joined, that much is certain.

 

>>STRUCTURED TIME BEGINS<<

 

COHESION: 8

• Vaidan (FEL Bonus = 5, Command +10 = 2, "Favoured Son" Ultramarines ability grants +1)
• Thorvald Armour (+1 Cohesion, -1 Cohesion)
• Tyber Armour (+1 Cohesion)
• Varvost Armour (-1 Cohesion)

INITIATIVE

• VÂRVOST (SOLO) | (49) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 24/24 | FATE 3
• TYRANID WARRIOR 4 | (44) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 48/48
• LOWER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+8 = 13 | MAGNITUDE 30
• NAVAL COMMISSAR | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 18/18
• DAON AKKAD (SOLO) | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 3 | SOLO MODE
• TYRANID WARRIOR 2 | (44) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 48/48
• KHYBER VAIDAN (SOLO) | (39) AG3+10 = 13 | WOUNDS 20/20 | FATE 3
• ATRATUS (SOLO) | (65) AG6+6 = 12 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 3 | SOLO MODE
• TYBER (SOLO) | (43) AG(4x2)+3 = 11 | WOUNDS 19/19 | FATE 5 | SOLO
• TYRANID WARRIOR 1 | (44) AG4+6 = 10 | WOUNDS 48/48
• TYRANID WARRIOR 3 | (44) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 48/48
• GREYSIGHT (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 5
• NYCAX SABAAN (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE X
• SOLASTION ALBIKUS (SOLO) | (33) AG(2×3)+3 = 9 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 4
• NAVAL ARMSMEN | (30) AG3+6 = 9 | MAGNITUDE 10
• TYRANID WARRIOR 5 | (44) AG4+3 = 7 | WOUNDS 48/48
• UPPER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+1 = 6 | MAGNITUDE 30
• THORVALD HAMMERHAND (SOLO) | (47) AG4+2 = 6 | WOUNDS 21/21 | FATE 3

MAP

 

 

COMBAT

 

 

Please don't post in this thread until I give the go ahead!

Edited July 5, 2018 by Commissar Molotov

[Commissar Molotov]

PLACEHOLDER FOR ANYTHING DOS WISHES TO ADD AT THE START OF COMBAT: (Contact me in the OOC with what you want pasted in here.)

>>ROUND 1 BEGINS<<

VÂRVOST:
"Wings of Angels" test: rule allows Vârvost to add 20m to movement rate.
Pilot (Personal) Test: AG49 (15 = PASS)
Vârvost runs (24x2)+20 metres as a full action. 68m will get him behind the right-most obstacle before the safety door.

TYRANID WARRIOR 4:
Run Action (36)

LOWER HORMAGAUNT HORDE:
Run Action (60m)

NAVAL COMMISSAR:
Command Test using Air of Authority: Fel45: 19 (PASS)
The Command to hold affects 4+D10 Armsmen: 2 = 6
4 of the Armsmen break and flee towards the Space Marines.

Standard Attack at the Hormagaunts:
BS45 at ~45m (+30 size bonus) = 99 (MISS + JAM)
Fate Point to re-roll = (39 HIT)
Damage 1D10+5 = 11, Pen 4
TB3 + Armour 3(0)
Horde loses 2 magnitude.

The dog-like hormagaunts roll down the spine corridor in a tumbling spill of hissing teeth and gleaming claw. They bound over the spilled wreckage and hastily-erected barricades, scythe-limbs ready to tear into flesh. Behind, you see the hulking forms of Tyranid warriors, their heavy weapons held low beneath wicked blades. Their chitinous armour seems to gleam in the light.

Vârvost breaks into a loping run, activating his jump pack with a blue flare as the engines ignite. He lands behind a series of armoured crates, in a half-crouch as he gathers himself. One more good leap and he will be in amongst the Naval Armsmen - or what is left of them. Ahead, he can see the Commissar shouting orders to hold their position whilst firing indiscriminately at the horde. At this range, accuracy is less important than zeal. A few of the armsmen stumble back, abandoning their positions and the true terror of their situation hits them.

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by Commissar Molotov

[Mazer Rackham]

Akkad triggers his Demeanour: Maelstrom Warders

 

The Astral Claw kept open vox as they ran.  He spoke to all at large, the way he would to any of his brethren or the other Marines he had called kin, gripping the monumental slab of danger that was his heavy bolter.

 

"Did I ever tell you why this weapon bears her name?" His lips smiled thinly as his eyes darkened in the low light.  Shadow dropped across the brow and bridge of his helm and shed off the steel and ceramite grimace below his glowering visor, an emerald cascade reflected in the shattered glass and metal of dropped tools and dataslates, the spoor of the fleeing technocrats and menial serfs that ran for desperate hope of safety deeper within the Voice, whilst the Armsmen - most of them at least - stood and gave the enemy fire.

 

The Astartes crashed by in their own way, huge men in huge armour, all of them older by far than any human, even the rejuvenat treated ones - their weapons more ancient still, some of them dating back to M.36, some four thousand years ago, made on a dozen different worlds.  Their footfalls crunching onto deck plate millennia old, haste and hatred wed to order, charging into the darkness.

 

"I have known scores of men.  Mortals and Astartes alike.  I remember them all.  To grant the worthy vengeance, or redemption for when they fell or failed."  Here he took a breath and weighed the moment of silence like a storyteller, weaving the tale, pulling the silver thread of meaning through the long flax of parable.

 

"I inscribe the shells Cadence fires with their names.  Today I carry 250 of the fallen and they must find homes in our enemies, rending them asunder."  His inflection was precise, harsh when speaking of the violence he wrought, soft when talking about comrades, the words as gentle as the fall of the banner's shadow upon a burial casket.

 

He let this sink in to those that could hear him as they finally pulled up to their assigned positions.  Through the stale air and heat haze he could sense the burning of lasguns, the stink of smelted chitin running like wax, the sweat of men about to die.  His audio relays cut in, the crack of the weapons, the roar of the beasts, the hallowed timbre of the Commissar barking orders and flogging the flagging spirits of his men to their fate.  Most of all, he could hear the thundering tumult of the onrushing horde.

 

His manner surprisingly cool - even to him - as he remembered:  Argentio and Astael, the brothers. Lamenters in suit, the ferocious blood of Sanguinius burning within them, remoulding them into angels in shimmering golden plate.  Garvald, the Templar, son of Dorn.  Khardesh, Hamuz-El, Tamman, the Astral Claws of Squad Akkad.  Nuramar, Chois, Garad.  The latter were Mantis Warriors, quiet, steadfast.  They had taught him. He broke from reverie and began to speak again.

 

"I shall fire them all and by the Emperor's Providence, do honour to the names they bear." It was more prayer than sentiment, "Then tomorrow, I shall carry another two hundred and more, and the next day and the next, until there are no more names or I am a name on one these shells."  Here he reached into a pouch and extracted a ritually inscribed round.  A masterwork of artifice by an untrained hand, it carried sigils, scrollwork and the name gleamed dully in the half-light, flickering across his faceplate in some kind of eerie self-reference.

 

+ DAON AKKAD +

 

He sighed and replaced the shell.  "This universe drinks lives the way a heavy bolter spits lead." He deliberately infused the words with equal weight, implying that lives were no lighter or heavier than the bullets that ended them, "and that, finally is the great truth - the rhythm of the cosmos - the Cadence of the march."

 

For a moment he retreated into himself, so deeply that he took the others with him, where they heard worlds burning, the clash of arms and the spatter of the bloody kill, the feeling of a wall of Marines, holding back the tide of darkness, standing between the light and the void.  Then he returned to them, his smile rueful.  He patted the holster that Sonnet sat in.  That was for another day.  He hefted his support weapon and braced.

 

Cadence was about to spend some lives.

 

Akkad will generate a Fate Point from his Demeanour invocation (should it be granted).

He will attempt a Cohesion Test as a Free Action to enter Squad Mode;  Target = 7 D10 Roll: 2.

Akkad is now in Squad Mode.

 

He will then Use Chapter Pattern Squad Mode: The Big Guns Never Tire.

He will target (Lower) Termagaunt Horde facing him with a Full-Auto Burst.

BS 47 +20 (FA) +10 (Short Range) +30 (Mag) = 107

D100 Roll: 99 Miss and Jam FATE (from Demeanour)

 

Re-Roll: 99 Miss and Jam.  

 

Akkad cursed and the irony was not lost on him.  Maybe he better stick to punching with Krak Grenades....!

 

MR.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Mazer Rackham

[Commissar Molotov]

>>ROUND 1, CONTINUED<<
 

COHESION: 6

 

INITIATIVE

• [/] VÂRVOST (SOLO) | (49) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 24/24 | FATE 3
• [/] TYRANID WARRIOR 4 | (44) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [/] LOWER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+8 = 13 | MAGNITUDE 30
• [/] NAVAL COMMISSAR | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 18/18 | FATE 1
• [/] DAON AKKAD (SQUAD) | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 3 | SOLO MODE
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 2 | (44) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] KHYBER VAIDAN (SOLO) | (39) AG3+10 = 13 | WOUNDS 20/20 | FATE 3
• [ ] ATRATUS (SOLO) | (65) AG6+6 = 12 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 3 | SOLO MODE
• [ ] TYBER (SOLO) | (43) AG(4x2)+3 = 11 | WOUNDS 19/19 | FATE 5 | SOLO
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 1 | (44) AG4+6 = 10 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 3 | (44) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] GREYSIGHT (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 5
• [ ] NYCAX SABAAN (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE X
• [ ] SOLASTION ALBIKUS (SOLO) | (33) AG(2×3)+3 = 9 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 4
• [ ] NAVAL ARMSMEN | (30) AG3+6 = 9 | MAGNITUDE 10
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 5 | (44) AG4+3 = 7 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] UPPER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+1 = 6 | MAGNITUDE 28
• [ ] THORVALD HAMMERHAND (SOLO) | (47) AG4+2 = 6 | WOUNDS 21/21 | FATE 3

 

Tyranid Warrior 2:

Semi-Auto Burst with Deathspitter against the Naval Armsmen:

BS30(+10 Size Bonus): 27 (HIT)

Damage: 1D10+12 Tearing (Pen 4): (6,9) 21 Damage

Naval Armsmen have TB3 and Armour 4(0)

Naval Armsmen take 1 Magnitude Loss. 

Naval Armsmen suffer a fear test: WP45(-20, Horrifying): 100 (FAIL, 7DoF)

Shock Table: D100+70 = 72 (142)

 

MAP

 

 

 

INITIATIVE

• [/] VÂRVOST (SOLO) | (49) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 24/24 | FATE 3
• [/] TYRANID WARRIOR 4 | (44) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [/] LOWER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+8 = 13 | MAGNITUDE 30
• [/] NAVAL COMMISSAR | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 18/18 | FATE 1
• [/] DAON AKKAD (SQUAD) | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 3 | SOLO MODE
• [/] TYRANID WARRIOR 2 | (44) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] KHYBER VAIDAN (SOLO) | (39) AG3+10 = 13 | WOUNDS 20/20 | FATE 3
• [ ] ATRATUS (SOLO) | (65) AG6+6 = 12 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 3 | SOLO MODE
• [ ] TYBER (SOLO) | (43) AG(4x2)+3 = 11 | WOUNDS 19/19 | FATE 5 | SOLO
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 1 | (44) AG4+6 = 10 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 3 | (44) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] GREYSIGHT (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 5
• [ ] NYCAX SABAAN (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE X
• [ ] SOLASTION ALBIKUS (SOLO) | (33) AG(2×3)+3 = 9 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 4
• [ ] NAVAL ARMSMEN | (30) AG3+6 = 9 | MAGNITUDE 9
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 5 | (44) AG4+3 = 7 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] UPPER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+1 = 6 | MAGNITUDE 28
• [ ] THORVALD HAMMERHAND (SOLO) | (47) AG4+2 = 6 | WOUNDS 21/21 | FATE 3

 

Tyber, Atratus and Vaidan to go next - get your posts up in any order and I will resolve! 

Edited July 5, 2018 by Commissar Molotov

[A.T.]

The vanguard force, smaller creatures to test the defenses and those which drove them on. Atratus raised his rifle as soon as the xenos came into sight firing on one of the larger xenoforms before it could reach cover. A true shot but of little effect against a creature this large as he directed his rifles auger to seek out signatures of heat and movement that might indicate organs hidden behind its carapace.

 

Around him the other astartes moved to add their own fire but to his side Akkads weapon made no sound... it would seem their earlier training exercises had prepared them well.

[Steel Company]

Activating his jump pack Tyber launched himself towards the set of three containers, the lenses of his armour locked on one of the larger beasts, those would be worth foes for him to face, not these little beasts.  Landing just 45m ahead of where he started he came down with an almost jarring amount of force, he still wasn’t completely use to the jump packs. Knowing it would still take a few more jumps to reach his targeted foe, Tyber chose to keep his pistol holstered, even the mass of claws and teeth that he intends to jump over were still outside of range for his bolt pistol, rather let the heavy bolter, which was strangely silent, even after Akkad’s speech over the vox. Looking back to his brother by choice, he could see him beginning to look over his weapon of choice.

 

Tyber couldn’t help but smirk under his helm, the Dragons had not been quick or perhaps reluctant to adopt the heavy bolter into squad use, finding them temperamental at best and unreliable at worst. They had found that keeping the older autocannon to be both simpler to maintain as well as more reliable. He couldn’t help himself for quipping over the vox at Akkad. ++Perhaps your weapon does not mesh well with that backpack supply Ahu. Perhaps next time we should bring boxed ammo belts with us.++ the words carried amused jest and familiarity of siblings joking with one another to lighten the tension in the current environment.

 

Tyber will be 45m ahead, just behind the first of the three boxes.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Steel Company

[Mazer Rackham]

He burned with shame and embarrassment in front of these worthy brothers.  He had noticed Atratus' querying tilt of his helmet as Cadence had failed to fire.  All he could see were red cuneiform icons flashing hot and urgent in his retinal display.  Malfunction: Unknown. ///Diagnose.  Malfunction: Unknown.

 

Akkad slipped into Badabian invective, so colourful, even Sergeant Nabuda would have blushed and broken out a sweat and his anger brimmed up to the rim of his neck seal.

 

++Perhaps your weapon does not mesh well with that backpack supply Ahu. Perhaps next time we should bring boxed ammo belts with us.++

 

The humour punctured his deep crimson mood immediately.  He coughed a chuckle, was about to carry it over the vox back to the big Marine, but stopped.  Tyber had something.  He blink-clicked.

 

There. He adopted a respectful tone.

 

+Brother Sabaan, I can appease this weapon, but a Scion of Mars could do it in a moment.  Could you apply force...here..?+ He sent the information via noospheric link, encoded with Technomantic supplication.  The point indicated the feed belt loading ramp on the port side of the ammunition hopper.  A swift technical knock would do it.

 

+Perhaps you should be an armourer Ahu + His smile was open and easy and it filled the comm channel,+Carve your name into them my kinsman, your ascendance begins! +

 

MR.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Mazer Rackham

[Nineswords]

SAABAN PAUSED BEFORE halting mid-stride. Just as Greysight was about query the Iron Hand, his internal helm systems indicated a re-routing order from sergeant Vaidan, tasking the kill-team to converge on the rear dorsal spine. Vaidan’s command spurt was accompanied by a three-dimensional schematic of the ship, with coordinates marking the rendezvous point. Bright blue diamonds indicated the relative positions of the converging squad. 

 

‘Sabaan?’

 

The Iron Hand was completely still, oblivious to the chaos around him. 

 

+++ Accessing +++

+++ Accessing +++

+++ Accessing +++

 

Greysight's schematic was suddenly augmented with a route through the ship. 

 

‘I have analysed the Voice of Thunder’s secondary and tertiary circulation systems,’ remarked Sabaan. ‘The route I have highlighted through section omicron-gamma of the coolant stores will get us to the designated rendezvous seven-point-two minutes before Brother Vaidan’s estimated projections. Time is of the essence,’ he continued, punching an alphanumeric sequence into the nearest hatch. 

 

+++

 

Sabaan’s projection had been correct, as sergeant Vaidan, Solastion, Thorvald and Vârvost joined Greysight within moments on the gargantuan starboard corridor of the dorsal spine. Greysight had taken a vantage point and braced his bolter, peering through its telescopic mount. Sabaan had moved on the moment they had arrived towards the port corridor, to rendezvous with the others. 

 

‘Report,’ said Vaidan upon arrival. 

 

Greysight turned towards the sergeant, lowering his bolter. ‘Visual contact confirmed, two hundred metres. Imperial Navy are up ahead. Caution is advised.’

 

With a grunt, Vârvost ignited his jump pack and launched himself towards the naval troopers battling the incoming horde. Greysight had expected no less. 

 

The vastness of the dorsal corridor was bathed in the amber light of secondary power systems, and Greysight could make out the distinct profile of the navy armsmen over a hundred metres away. Beyond was a tide of scything claws leaping at speed towards the them, accompanied by a chilling chorus of shrieks and clicking. Looming in the shadows, silhouetted in the darkness were three hulking shapes that towered over the lesser tyranid specimens, no doubt the elite warrior caste of the Great Devourer. 

 

Greysight peered through his telescope once again, as one of the terrible beasts aimed what appeared to be a hideous biological simulacrum of a cannon at the naval armsmen. Without warning it convulsed, squirting the troopers with fleshy maggot-like insects. Screams of the dying followed almost instantly, accompanied by the gruesome sizzling of flesh and armour as the living ammunition burrowed themselves into the hapless humans. 

 

The sheer horror of the bio-weapon broke the minds of the normally disciplined veterans of the Imperial Navy, and they began to flee. Greysight saw, rather than heard their assigned commissar attempt to rally the armsmen as he began to hack and gouge his chainsword into the screaming mass of claws. Vârvost’s timely appearance had made the fleeing armsmen hesitate once again, and they shortly returned to their previous position, firing their hellguns into the oncoming mass, though it was clear they would soon be overrun. 

 

Things fared no better on the port dorsal corridor, as multiple hostile blips appeared on Greysight’s tactical display, rushing towards the Sabaan and the others.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Nineswords

[Xin Ceithan]

As they deployed into the dorsal spine, the somber environment of the ship corridor only served to enforce the appalling wrongness of the Tyranid bioforms. The surging mass of claws and limbs, chitinious plates and oddly covered flesh could not have been more out of place among the gunmetal grey of the Navy vessel.

Sabaan followed the Devastors into the center of the corridor, just a pace behind as not to intervene their field of fire. The Techmarine could almost physically feel the revulsion if the Voice of Thunder's machine spirit at the organic vileness invading it's sacred hull.

His targeting systems begann classification and target priority assessment protocols, as his vision filled with angry red reticules.

Next to him, Akkad lifted the heavy bolter and braced, ready to rain mass reactive shells into the advancing xenos. Sabaan ignored the emotional tirade about naming his weapon and sentimental ornamentation in honour of the dead. He was about to select a target as he heard the telltale sounds of a locked up firing mechanism and jamming ammunition feeding mechanism. Something disturbingly close to a sigh sizzled from his respirator. Once again, the Astral Claw had begun an engagement with a weapons failure.

 

The Techmarine moved closer and began the blessed rituals of unjamming and resanctioning the weapon.

"You should stop making unsanctioned modifactions to your ordonance, Brother.

" Sabaan noted between chanting binaric psalms of appeasement and atonement to the weapon's infuriated spirit. Absentminded, he raised his bolter one handed on his right and sent a boltshell in the closing mass of bioforms. The detonation send fleshy bits and oddly colored ichor up in several direction. The horde continued unimpressed.

"Also, you talk too much."

 

Half action to unjam

Other half Action: Single Attack, Ranged, base 51 against Horde (30?), roll http://orokos.com/roll/640179# 76 - Hit. Not sure about damage versus Horde?

[Slips]

Tyranids.

 

They, alongside Orks, held a special place in his heart; so to speak. Whilst the heretics of the Black Legion were the enemy he desired to see eradicated above all due to the hand they played in the demise of his Primarch, they were a distant threat most of the time due to them being trapped within the hellscape that was the Eye of Terror. But, of the more present and immediate threats to his Chapter and the Imperium at large, that 'honor' belonged to the Orks and Tyranids.

 

Of the two, the Orks were predictable and a known quantity due to being a constant threat to the Imperium since the Great Crusades.

 

Tyranids however...

 

As they entered the dorsal spine and the clamor of battle hit him: the screams of men and the rapport of their lasguns, the shouting of the Commissar, the chittering of smaller bioforms as their claws scraped across metal surfaces and the roars of the larger bioforms as they directed their lessers and fired off their bio-weapons.

 

Solastion revved his chainsword out of reflex, the saw on his exsanguinator doing much the same. They were too far from the beleaguered armsmen to be of immediate aid and his bolt pistol would be ineffective at this range.

 

As his squadmates themselves either advanced or shot with their longer-ranged weapons, Solastion spared no time to launch himself into a full run.

 

Will have to acquire a jump pack... he thought to himself as the glaring weakness in his mobility continued to make itself apparent to him.

 

Solastion will use his full action to sprint/run towards the foul xenos moving ~24m.

[Dosjetka]

+ Placeholder #3 +

 

Vaidan uses a full action and Burst of Speed ability to leg it full tilt towards the 'Nids/Armsmen.

[Commissar Molotov]

>>ROUND 1 CONTINUES<<

 

KHYBER VAIDAN:

Vaidan activates Burst of Speed (now Ag5) and runs 30 metres. 

 

ATRATUS: 

Aim and Standard Attack with Ultra-Pattern Rifle against Tyranid Warrior 4

BS: 42(+10, Short Range, +10, Accurate, +20 due to size) (25, HIT - 5DOS) 

Damage: 1D10+4(+2D10 for 4DOS) 8+5+5+4: 22 (Pen 2+5) (Felling, removes 1 level of Unnatural Toughness)

Tyranid Warrior has TB10(5) and Armour 8(1) 

Damage is reduced from 22 to 16. 

 

TYBER: 

Tyber boosts 45 metres down the corridor. 

 

TYRANID WARRIOR 1:

Deathspitter (SEMI AUTO BURST) against the Naval Armsmen 

Range: 65m (Long Range)

BS30-10: 32 (MISS) 

Move 4m

 

TYRANID WARRIOR 3:

Devourer (FULL AUTO BURST) against the Naval Armsmen

BS30+20(FAB)-10 (Long Range): 18 (HIT, 2DOS)

Hit 1: Naval Armsmen

1D10+9 (Pen 6) = 5+9 (14) TB3, Armour 4(0) = 1 Magnitude Loss 

Hit 2: Naval Armsmen

1D10+9 (Pen 6) = 2+9 (11) TB3, Armour 4(0) = 1 Magnitude Loss 

Hit 3: Naval Commissar

1D10+9 (Pen 6) = 10+9 (No RF) (18) TB4, Armour 4(0) = 15 Wounds

 

GREYSIGHT: 

Semi-Auto Burst against Tyranid Warrior 1 using Hellfire Rounds (28/28)

BS40(+10, SAB, +20 due to Size) = 38 (HIT, 3DOS)

Damage (1,10)+9 +(Righteous Fury =50, D10=4) = 10+9+4 = 23 Damage, Ignoring Natural Armour

Tyranid Warrior is TB10 and Armour 8(0) = 13 Wounds Lost. 

Second hit:

Damage (4,10)+9 +(Righteous Fury = 50, D10=6) = 10+9+6 = 25 Damage, Ignoring Natural Armour

Tyranid Warrior is TB10 and ARmour 8(0) = 15 wounds lost. 

 

Greysight activates 'As Swift as the Wind' Solo Mode Ability (Free Action) 

AG43 = 24 (PASS) 

Greysight moves 4m. 

 

NYCAX SABAAN: 

Unjams Akkad's Heavy Bolter. 

 

Standard Attack against Lower Hormagaunt Horde

BS51 (+30 due to size) = 81 (76, HIT) 

Damage: D10+9 Tearing (7,8)+9 = 17, Pen 4 

Hormagaunts have TB3 and Armour 3 = 1 Magnitude damage 

Explosive trait causes another HIT:

Damage: D10+9 Tearing (7,3)+9 = 16, Pen 4 

Hormagaunts have TB3 and Armour 3 = 1 Magnitude damage 

 

SOLASTION ALBIKUS: 

Runs 24 metres. 

 

NAVAL ARMSMEN: 

Naval Armsmen fire lasguns at Hormagaunt Horde:

(8 x BS30+10+30) (70) = 100, 33, 63, 84, 32, 15, 66, 71

5 hits, plus 4 additional

1D10+1 (Pen 0) against TB3, Armour 3 (5 or more for magnitude damage)

(4, 6, 10, 2, 1, 2, 1, 10, 8): 4 Magnitude Damage to Upper Hormagaunt Horde 

 

TYRANID WARRIOR 5: 

Run Action (36 metres) 

 

UPPER HORMAGAUNT HORDE:

Run Action (just out of range for a charge!) 

 

THORVALD HAMMERHAND: 

Thorvald activates Burst of Speed (now Ag6) and runs 36 metres.

 

>>ROUND 1 ENDS<<

 

 

>>ROUND 2 BEGINS<<

 

VÂRVOST:

Vârvost makes a Pilot (Personal) AG test: AG49 (9, Pass) - Wings of Angels Activates, +20m movement

Vârvost activates Burst of Speed (Now AG6) and does a half move (6 -> 12, +20m) 32 metres.

Vârvost performs a standard attack against the Upper Hormagaunt Horde (~40 metres)

BS41 (+20 for size) = 45 (HIT) 

Damage (7,7)+9 = 16 (Pen 4) against TB3, Armour 3(0) = 1 Magnitude Damage

Explosive quality grants another hit: 

Damage (2,1)+9 = 11 (Pen 4) against TB3, Armour 3(0) = 1 Magnitude Damage 

 

TYRANID WARRIOR 4: 

Run Action (36 metres)

 

LOWER HORMAGAUNT HORDE:

Run Action (60 metres) 

 

NAVAL COMMISSAR: 

Command Test using Air of Authority: Fel45: 31 (PASS)

The Command to "Stand and Fight!" affects 4+D10 Armsmen: 2 = 6

The Armsmen form a ragged firing line as the Commissar conducts a charge action against the Upper Hormagaunt Horde

WS40+10(Charge) +20 (Size) = 70 (82[FATE], 35 - 3DOS)

1 Hit with Chainsword: 1D10+5 (+3SB) Pen 2 (5) = 13 (Pen 2)

Hormagaunts have TB3 and Armour 3(1) = 9 Damage, 1 Magnitude Lost

 

 

 

INITIATIVE AND STATUS

• [/] VÂRVOST (SOLO) | (49) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 24/24 | FATE 3
• [/] TYRANID WARRIOR 4 | (44) AG4+10 = 14 | WOUNDS 32/48
• [/] LOWER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+8 = 13 | MAGNITUDE 28
• [/] NAVAL COMMISSAR | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 3/18 | FATE 0
• [ ] DAON AKKAD (SQUAD) | (45) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 2 | 
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 2 | (44) AG4+9 = 13 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] KHYBER VAIDAN (SOLO) | (39) AG3+10 = 13 | WOUNDS 20/20 | FATE 3
• [ ] ATRATUS (SOLO) | (65) AG6+6 = 12 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 3 | 
• [ ] TYBER (SOLO) | (43) AG(4x2)+3 = 11 | WOUNDS 19/19 | FATE 5 | 
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 1 | (44) AG4+6 = 10 | WOUNDS 20/48
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 3 | (44) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] GREYSIGHT (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 5
• [ ] NYCAX SABAAN (SOLO) | (43) AG4+5 = 9 | WOUNDS 22/22 | FATE 3
• [ ] SOLASTION ALBIKUS (SOLO) | (33) AG(2×3)+3 = 9 | WOUNDS 23/23 | FATE 4
• [ ] NAVAL ARMSMEN | (30) AG3+6 = 9 | MAGNITUDE 7
• [ ] TYRANID WARRIOR 5 | (44) AG4+3 = 7 | WOUNDS 48/48
• [ ] UPPER HORMAGAUNT HORDE | (55) AG5+1 = 6 | MAGNITUDE 21
• [ ] THORVALD HAMMERHAND (SOLO) | (47) AG4+2 = 6 | WOUNDS 21/21 | FATE 3

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2018 by Commissar Molotov

[Mazer Rackham]

Akkad remains in Squad Mode and his own Chapter Attack Pattern.

 

As he felt the heavy bolter respond to to the Iron Hand's incantations, the cuneiform changed from painful amber to soothing green.  He chuckled inside his helm, flexing his eyebrows.  Perhaps Sabaan had a point....he chose to send a quick blurt of acknowledgement, no more, no less, hoping it would satisfy the gruff warrior.  Autosenses locked on the scrambling charge of the enemy in front of him.  His hypnogogic training recalled the genotype instantly. Hormagaunts.  Close Combat Variant.  Overwhelming in mass.

 

Time to thin the herd. The trigger pulled his finger.

 

Akkad will use Full Action: Full Auto Burst at the Lower Horde in front of him.

BS 47 +10 (Short Range) +20 (Full Auto) +20 (Horde Mag) = 97.

D100 Roll: 21 - SUCCESS + 7 DoS.

 

Damage: 2D10 (Tearing) +12 (Dam) +2 (Mighty Shot)

Pen: All shots resolve at Pen 5.

 

1st Hit: 7 + 14 = 21

2nd Hit: 8 + 14 = 22

3rd Hit: 8 + 14 = 22

4th Hit: 5 + 14 = 19

5th Hit: 9 + 14 = 23

6th Hit: 9 + 14 = 23

7th Hit: 10 (RF Auto CONFIRM due to DW Training) + 3 + 14 = 27

Explosive hit: 5

 

Total Damage from attack: 162.

 

Devastator Trait: Unrelenting Devastation

Magnitude Damage (Squad Mode Only): 1D5

D5 Roll: 2

 

It was like a hammer wielded by an angry demi-god.  The concussive sounds reverberated from the walls and down the corridor, momentarily drowning out everything from in front and behind them.  He could feel the vehement force of Cadence chew the air as it cut deeply into the horde in front of him, gobbets of alien flesh and gristle pasting the metal decking and ceiling.  The sound abruptly ceased as the firing cycle stopped.  Ichor dripped from the mangled remains and as the smoke cleared, he peered to see what was left.

 

MR.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Mazer Rackham

[A.T.]

Atratus fires again, keeping the lead warrior squarely in focus and tracking events around him through sound. The numbers of the smaller creatures were quickly diminishing but the delay had allowed them to close dangerously close and he signalled his jump pack to begin cycling, ready to join his brother in combat.

 

The next shot caught a thicker part of the tyranids carapace, thrown marginally off by the vibrations of his pack, and he chided himself for his carelessness. "Brother Akkad, perhaps we should switch targets". The heavy weapon would appear to be their greatest asset against the larger creatures, it would not do to let the horde reach it.

 

d100 to hit = 65 +20 for accurate/aim, +10 range, +20 size. BS 42 = hit by 27

Damage roll 2d10 = 2 and 10, plus righteous fury 5

 

Total damage = 21, Pen 7, Felling (15 damage after armour/toughness to warrior 4)

[Commissar Molotov]

GM: Nice! Three things: 

 

Firstly, you've shown me that I've been doing Righteous Fury wrong (I made Greysight roll for it, rather than awarding it normally.) Thanks for that! 

 

Secondly - you hit, plus 7 DOS. The rulebook for Full Auto Burst says "If successful, the attack scores a hit normally. Furthermore, each Degree of Success scores an extra hit." - so you would do 1+7 hits, no? 

 

Thirdly - under Unrelenting Devastation (p.77) it says tat the extra 1D5 is "if using a weapon with the Blast Quality." - as Heavy Bolters aren't blast, you should do the extra point of damage to a Horde's Magnitude for each hit, yes? 

Edited July 8, 2018 by Commissar Molotov