Whilst serving as your Interrogator during the Darquintius Campaign, you uttered "A blanket is woven from a thousand threads" - a phrase that aptly describes the situation unfolding here on Libuscha. Eldar. Orks. Tau. Even the taint of Chaos - this is indeed a forsaken world! Presently my investigations lead to Libius Severus, a man of means, dubious loyalties and essential information.
Monitoring planetary communications, my staff located Severus in the Eastern quarter of Jansoom Port hiding from the Adeptus Arbites. We cannot afford to reveal ourselves yet, nor can I allow for Severus to fall into the hands of the planetary authorities. Speed is therefore of the essence. I have assembled a strike team and we are now approaching Jansoom. It appears the Imperial Guard are in the area; however, I will be taking no chances - nothing will sway my resolve in exercising the Emperor's will.
Your devoted servant,
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Time for another battle report. After the recent Little Wars foray and a gruelling schedule in the office, I've been keen to both play and write-up a game - something with a bit of a narrative that would give me an excuse to use some of my more recent terrain items AND play the game in my recently cleaned shed*.I had commenced playing this particular game using the Terminator Genisys rules but found it just wasn't flowing for me... it's that darn measured movement thing again - it constrains the game, well at least cramps my style. So I reset the pieces and started again, using my R40k Version 2.0 setting/rules - essentially Rogue Planet with some of my own house rules, all set in my own little corner of the Warhammer 40,000 universe named Libuscha.
*Interestingly enough, my shed is all too regularly in a need of being "recently cleaned".
The Location
Jansoon Port is a sprawling industrial area that can accommodate small freighters and their cargos. A warren of landing pads, warehouses and places of ill repute - it's a dense, dirty and poorly lit part of Libuscha Prime best avoided whenever possible.
To the West is the major landing pad that can be accessed by adjoining plascrete blast bollards. To the north of the bollards is a two-story warehouse. From the warehouse roof runs a T shaped walkway along the Northern edge of the district while to the south is a walkway leading to a large, multistory building. The building is accessible via a door facing the West and a ladder to the South. Inside, the building leads to the roof-top where a small landing pad can be reached by two sets of stairs.
Three Encounter Markers are placed on the board: one to the North-East near the grating, another to mid-board, next to the giant extractor fan and the third to middle-South, at the exit from main landing pad's blast bollards. Upon an enemy Unit established LoS on an Encounter Marker, a Skill Check is made - see Special Rules below.
The Forces
Rogue Planet units only have a few stats being CQ (Close Combat), RAT (Ranged Combat), DEF (Defence) and Armour (Light, Medium or Heavy). Various weapons and traits allow for some situation-specific actions and buffs (e.g., Carbines provide a +1 buff when shooting at lightly armoured targets) and a Team will typically have an Energy Pool, that can act as a buffer to offset damage - I like to think of it as a measure of Team morale. There's also a point/cost mechanism to aid game balance, but I didn't bother worrying about it in this instance - this was a thematic, not competitive game.
The Inquisition - 7 Models, 4 Units and 5 Energy
- Tylo Haariginer (Leader) Inquisitor CQ 4(5), RAT 4, DEF 5, Light, Small, Bolt Pistol (FX Ranged + Armour Piercing Rounds) and Power Fist - 2 Energy Points
- Yana Yaya, Pilot and Mechanic 3/3/4 Light/Small, Boltgun (Carbine + Armour Piercing Rounds) and Evasion - 1 Energy Point
- Petrusch Garssener, ex-Imperial Guard 3/4/3 Medium/Small, Hellgun (Carbine + Hollow Point Rounds) - 2 Energy Points
- Four Kroot Mercenaries 4/3/3 Group/Small, Plasma Rifle (Fantasy Ranged + High Impact Rounds) with bayonet (Great + Blade) - 0 Energy Points
Groups (like the Kroot) play a little differently from the usual Independent Units - they can't avail themselves of the Team's Energy Pool to offset losses and are damaged somewhat differently as well. They need to maintain some coherency but largely they're a great excuse to put some more models onto the table.
The Imperial Guard - 7 models, 4 Units and 6 Energy
This list is exclusive of reinforcements - the Units themselves are randomly revealed using the Encounter mechanic I've described above.
- Captain Sonnet (Leader) CQ 3(4), RAT 5, DEF 5, ARM Light and equipped with a Power Sword and Plasma Pistol (Fantasy Ranged weapon) - 2 Energy Points
- Commissar Gallus Rifrost 3(4)/3/4 Light/Small, Plasma Pistol (Fantasy Ranged weapon) and Power Sword (Powered + Blade) - 2 Energy Points
- Tactical Fire Team (4 men) 3/3/3 Group/Small, Lasguns (Carbine) and bayonets (Blade) - 0 Energy Points
- Imperial Battle Suit 3/4/4 Medium/Small, Duel Autoguns (Carbine) - 2 Energy Points
The Objective
Libius Severus is holed up on the second story of the Eastern-most building in Jansoom.
The Inquisitor Team is intent on reaching Libius Severus and then escorting him to a location where he can be interrogated at Tylo's leisure. Escorting Libius back to the Team's transport is a heroic victory whilst utilising other means is a marginal victory.
The Inquisitor Team is intent on reaching Libius Severus and then escorting him to a location where he can be interrogated at Tylo's leisure. Escorting Libius back to the Team's transport is a heroic victory whilst utilising other means is a marginal victory.
The Imperial Guard, unaware that they are dealing with an Agent of the Odos, are investigating the unauthorised landing and looking to secure the area. Apprehending the unidentified operatives will secure the Guard a heroic victory.
Special Rules
Encounter Markers
Resolution of an Encounter involves (1) randomly allocating one of the Force's Units and (2) determining as to whether they're surprised, prepared, etc via an unmodified Skill Check and reference the following list for the outcome:
- Critical Success ("The ambush is set and here they come!") - Provide the Force with Two Action Points and interrupt the current Player's Turn i.e. switch the Turn's Initiative.
- Total Success ("In position and ready...") - Provide the Force with Two Action Points.
- Partial Success ("Contact!") - Provide that Force with a single Action Point.
- Failure ("Head's down!") - No Action Points awarded but the Team can avail itself of any of the Team's unused Action Points.
- Total Failure ("What? What's that?") - No Action Points and the Team is prevented from making any Action or Counter-Action during the Turn.
Imperial Guard Reinforcements
At the commencement of Turn Six and each subsequent Turn, the Imperial Guard may be reinforced as additional troopers are called into the Jansoom Port in response to the arrival of the unauthorised transporter. At the cost of 1AP, the Imperial Guard can make an unmodified Skill Check and consult the following table to see the outcome:
- Critical Success - Can choose the Unit or Zone, the AP is refunded and a Delta Token is awarded.
- Total Success - Can choose the Unit or Zone.
- Partial Success - Random Unit and Zone.
- Failure - No reinforcements arrive.
- Total Failure - No reinforcements arrive and no future Reinforcement checks can be attempted for the Turn.
To determine a Zone randomly, simply roll a d4: 1 = West Southern Edge, 2 = Center Southern Edge, 3 = East Northern Edge and 4 = East Southern Edge.
As a default, a Fire Team of 4 Imperial Guardsmen will arrive - either Assault or Tactical, at the Imperial Guard player's discretion. At a cost of a further 1 AP, the Imperial Guard player can forego the Fire Team and instead roll a d4 and take the following reinforcement 1 = a single Support Weapon Trooper; 2 = a single Captain; 3 = a single Commissar; or 4 = a Tactical Space Marine.
So the Guard Player will be facing a trade-off decision as the game progresses: forgoing proactive attacks to hinder the enemy, else bolster their depth-in-defence.
Some of Rogue Planet's Rules and Mechanics
By the way, I don't play vanilla Rogue Planet - recently I've been employing some tweaks of the rules, most recently written up here else described on this page.
Action Points
In Rogue Planet between 1 and 6 Action Points are generated each Turn by each Team. The Kroot are designated a Group, so act together and need to retain a degree of cohesion. Tylo, Yana and Petrusch are all independent, so need to be individually activated. It's worth noting that only Tylo (as Leader) can perform 3 consecutive Actions, all non-Leader Units can only perform 2 consecutive Actions. I've been playing a slight variation on the rules, whereas a default 4 Action Points are generated each Turn instead of 3, making for a slightly more risky roll if a player decides to try their luck and shoot of 6 in the Turn. I won't actually bother recording each side's alotted Action Points during each Turn, if you're really interested you can largely work it out from the narrative.
Action Points are used to do things like Move, Charge, Shoot and perform Counter-Actions like Opportunity Fire (Op Fire), Return Fire and Dodge.
Turn Initiative
The Turn's Initiative is awarded to the player with the most AP in the round. If the players have the same AP, then they roll off d6's with the highest number winning. If their Leader is still alive and deployed, the player can roll an extra d6 (choosing the highest result). If they had the lower AP in during the prior Turn, they can add +1 to their roll.
The side that wins the Initiative can decide which Faction plays first e.g., even if you have more AP than your opponent, you might want to make them go first allowing you to Counter all their Actions and then act unopposed during your phase of play.
Skill Checks
Determining an outcome of an Action in Rogue Planet is typically resolved by rolling 2d6 and applying some modifiers. High doubles are great (Critical Successes), low doubles are bad (Critical Failures), a total of 10+ generates a Total Success, 7-9 a Partial Success and 6 or less a Failure. Partial Successes and Failures (at a minimum) provide the opponent with additional Actions.
Modifiers account for things like cover (-1) and different equipment (e.g., Carbines get +1 shooting vs Light Armour) etc. Also, there's an Attack vs Defence skill comparison. Finally, some special circumstances call for the use of a 3rd d6 called a Rogue Dice - think of it as a power-up device and it's often employed to work out what happens in Counter Actions.
Energy Pool
Each force has a collective resource called Energy that can often be used to offset damage etc. It's useful to think of it like moral or something because once it has been depleted, the Team starts taking real losses. It works very well for low count skirmish games, but it wouldn't really work for large mass battles. I've previously written some thoughts about it here.
---- THE GAME PROPER----
I won't bother detailing the Initiative and Action Point generation each Turn - what transpired will be pretty obvious in any event. Also, rather than describing each and every roll of the dice, I'll taper off as the game progresses - if you're really interested in a blow-by-blow account, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Turn 1 - Disembarkation
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| "BOOWHOOSSHHH!!" |
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| Four Kroot disembark the Dyson, readying their Plasma Rifles to provide fire support for Tylo, Yana and Petrusch. |
The Kroot will be used to provide fire support during the operation: a role that will be aided by securing the high ground which will give them a +1 buff to their Shoot Skill Checks.
Unfortunately, the Kroot's plasma rifles aren't equipped with advanced targeting devices. Without such devices, they will be limited to targeting their nearest, valid target, limiting their effectiveness somewhat.
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| Tylo, Yana and Hans exiting the Dyson Lifter and ready for action. |
"Yana, you're in reserve and for Throne's sake keep that Dyson running," instructed Tylo. "If things go caba shaped, I don't want to be waiting around for a lift!"
Ratcheting his Bolt Pistol, Tylo addresses his bodyguard. "Petrusch warm up that Hellgun and to the East, double-time!"
Turn 2 - Contact
Petrusch performs two Move Actions [2AP] and then sights the first Objective being [randomly generated] Commissar and a Tactical Fire Team of Imperial Guardsmen. Expecting the worst, the Guardsmen open fire without a second thought [the rolled a Partial Success, providing them with a single Action Point which they use to perform an Op Fire Counter-Action]. Their fire proves ineffectual [Skill Check roll made by Petrusch with a Rogue Die = 6 + 2 and R1 = Partial Success] and Petrusch holds his ground.
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| "Surrender to the mercy of the Emperor! You men: OPEN FIRE!" |
The Kroot, altered by the noise move to the South of their rooftop [Move 1 AP] and fire down upon the unsuspecting Guardsmen, [Shoot Skill Check with +1 for height advantage, +1 for RAT/DEF differential = 2 + = roll 2d6 = 5 + 4 = 11 = Total Success] - their plasma rifles proving more than capable of penetrating the Guard issued armour. One Guardsman withers to the ground as a plasma round bisects his torso. [A Shoot Total Success vs a Group causes the absolute difference between the Attacker's RAT and Defenders DEF (and a minimum of 1) i.e. Kroots RAT4 vs Guard DEF3 = 1 Model is downed].
Turn 3 - Breakthrough
Petrusch attempts a Dodge Counter-Action @ 1AP, meaning the Guards' Shoot Skill Check is accompanied by a Rogue Die. They roll a 1 + 2 + Rogue1 = Failure = Dodge Success. A further FX roll yields a "Most Impressive" result, meaning Petrusch can move about 9" - almost enough to enable him to Engage with the Commissar. Additionally, the Failed Skill Check also provides the Inquisitor Band with a bonus Action, which must be used straight away, interrupting the Guard's Turn.
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| Tylo Haariginer making his way through Barsoom Port... hang on, what's that next to the extractor fan? |
Tylo is now in line-of-sight with the 2nd Encounter Marker located next to the extractor fan. A random roll yields an Imperial Guard Battle Suit and awards the Unit a single Action Point for the Turn.
In an attempt to regain the initiative, the Imperial Guard turn their fire onto Petrusch [Shoot to which Petrusch declares a Return Fire. Skill Check roll = 3 +3 + Rogue 3 = Failure and 3 Points of Damage to the Guard] who's return fire very nearly cuts the remain squad members down to a man. Yana then moves from the landing pad [a free Move action granted by the Guard's failed Skill Check], intending to move into support her rather preoccupied Teammates.
Meanwhile, in the rooftops, the Kroot attempt to move to the East as well but are foiled by the treacherous environment. [The Kroot attempt a 'daring' Move Action but fail with a roll of 1 and 6 - fortunately it wasn't a Critical Failure, but all the same, it does generate an additional 2 free Actions for the Imperials.Commissar Rifrost draws his Power Sword and engages Petrusch. [Free Action - Commissar Moves to engage Petrusch]. The Hellgun is unwieldy in close combat and Rifrost's blade deftly cuts into Petrusch's upper arm leaving him gasping in pain. [Commissar melees with Petrusch rolls 5,4, R6 = 1 Damage, Team Energy now 2].
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| Heading to the doorway to his right, Tylo is caught between Captain Sonnet to the East and a Battle Suit to the West. |
Tylo skirts around the pillar, moving to the East, surprising Captain Sonnet, who was emerging from the North [while Sonnet was revealed, his Encounter check resulted in a Failure]. "Yield Heretic!," shouts Sonnet, unaware that he is addressing an Inquisitor, as all he sees is Tylo's bellowing Storm Coated silhouette as he rapidly closes.
Turn 4- Sound the Alert
Commissar Rifrost activates and smashes his Powersword down upon Petrusch...
Power weapons roll a Rogue Die to accompany the Skill Check. During a melee, the defender can choose to fight aggressively or defensively - especially useful when employing a poor close-combat but otherwise resilient. Petrusch's CQ and DEF are both 3 and normally his Medium Armour could help him weather the storm some; however, Power Weapons also have an Armour Piercing trait, making his armour LIGHT. Rifrost rolls a 5 + 4 + Rogue 4 = a success with a matching Rogue die does the match result in damage - that's 4 points of Damage, which is more than the Team's remaining Pool!
...cleaving his Hellgun in two with a powerful downward stroke that follows through and leaves him crumbling to the ground in a pool of blood, struggling to maintain consciousness. All the while, plasma continues to rain down from above, with another Guardsman blown off his feet.The Koot performed a Shoot Action which the Guard attempted to Return Fire. The resulting Total Success meant another Guard is rendered ineffective, further reducing the Group's strength to 2 Units. It's worth noting that the Return Fire isn't very likely to succeed (17%) but, unlike the Shoot Action, it can do between 1-6 points of damage i.e. it has the possibility of wiping out the entire Kroot squad in a single volley! This is especially useful when it comes to Groups as they are unable to leverage the Team's Energy Pool - both Return and Op Fire can provide very tactically sound options to otherwise under-strength units.
Turn Five - the Heroes trade blows
Captian Sonnet hurdles forward [2 Moves] to engage Tylo, narrowly avoiding Tylo's Bolter fire [Tylo attempted an Op Fire Counter in response to both Move actions] and slashes out with his Power Sword. [A Failed Skill Check, which means that the Sonnet is injured by Tylo, as Tylo was fighting agressively]. Tylo seemingly clutches the blade mid-strike and barges his shoulder into the Guard Captain.
The free Action resulting from Captain Sonnet's Failed melee attack allows the Kroot to attempt moving down from the rooftops to block the doorway. Such a transition would normally require two Move Actions; however, a Daring Skill Checked Move can be attempted instead. Their skill check is successful - well better than successfully - they rolled doubles which means the Team is awarded a Fate token. Free Action sees the Kroot make a Daring Move and Critical Success = award a Fate Token.
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| Tylo and Sonnet trade blows whilst Commissar Rifrost closes in. |
Tylo's Power Fist allows him to throw Captain Sonnet [Partially Successful Throw Action] sending him flying North, luckily avoiding impact with a wall. This provides the Battle Suit with the opportunity to move Eastwards and close in on Tylo.
Turn 6 - Target Sighted
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| Whilst guarding the door, the Kroot are exposed to the Battle Suit's fire. |
As Tylo and Libius climbed the stairs, the Kroot successfully jump down and block the Tylo's pursuers [a Totally Successful Daring Move Action, countered by the Battle Suit's Op Fire] despite the continual stream of fire being directed their way by the Battle Suit.
Remaining in without cover within a Battle Suit's vicinity is not a sustainable position. While the Kroot are riddled with metal slugs [Totally Successful Shoot Action by the Battle Suit], Captain Sonnet pursues Tylo into building amidst the ensuing chaos [a Successful Daring Move Action, to account for him needing to regain his footing].
Turn 7 - The Climax
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| "This way you tin headed grox!" |
Only one course of action remains to Sonnet: a desperate dash to intercept Tylo and Libius before they make their escape. Emerging from the interior of the building, he hammers up the stairs [2 Move Actions], powers up his pistol and opens fire upon Tylo [Shoot Action - it's worth noting that despite being a Leader, Sonnet can only perform three consecutive Actions]. In his desperation, he misses [Shoot Failure] and Tylo moves onto the landing platform, pushing Libius ahead. [The Leader's "Combat Stunts" trait allows them to make a limited Move when they're the target of a failed attack - kind of doing all that action hero sort of stuff].
Outside, the Commissar guns down one of the Kroot mercenaries [1 Successful Shoot Action] in his efforts to support Captain Sonnet. But is it a case of too little too late?
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| Tylo escapes with his target whilst Captain Sonnet can only watch in frustration. |
Epilogue
That was a blast! I was worried that I may have had the balance out of whack, but not so - it was just right, especially when played to the narrative. I most assuredly mucked-up some rules, sequences, etc but a measure of a game is the enjoyment it generates, and by that measure it was great. Some thoughts:- The Terrain. Was perfect. Just enough cover and variation - any more and it would have been at the expense of the story. Any less and the objective would have been met altogether too fast. It was just right. I love using my own terrain creations as well and I can't really see myself buying a commercial kit (except that Knights of Dice stuff is rather tempting...).
- Pawns. Rogue Planet has a mechanic called Pawns. They're a way of stacking (typically) Heroes with additional traits. For example, the Ammo Grunt Pawn lets the Unit fire twice for 1 AP i.e. doubles your rate of fire. I think providing Tylo with some Pawns would work. He's a little bit fragile, given he has Light armour - that means he could die on a Critical Hit. Something to offset that just slightly would be good, else he could be out of the game almost straight away. Then again, it's a risk and reward thing, so maybe that's keeping with the spirit of the game?
- Special Rogue Dice. I've been meaning to do it for a while now: introducing a Rogue Dice Pool which can be used to simulate a limited supply of special ammunition, charges on a defensive field, combat stims or whatever. Also, for the leaders, instead of killing them outright, how about penalising them with Rogue Die - they'd still remain on the table, but if every Skill Check is offset with 2-3 accompanying Rogue Die, then you'd be loathed to use them whatsoever. Yes, definitely something I am going to explore in the future.
How did you enjoy the above? Maybe tempted to give the game a go? I'd love to hear about it!
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| Don't you just love the dodgy special effects? Mouse on a piece of wire, some cotton wool smoke effects and the operator's hand visible?? |