Rogue Inquisitor - 3 Player Game Summary

Last night I fronted up to Axes & Ales (our local gaming club here in Melbourne - link) and ran a 3-player game of Rogue Inquisitor (link). It was as much a test run of some of the new mechanics I've adopted as an opportunity to share a beer and throw some dice around.

The Tempestus Scion Haggor Garseener negotiating a pot of Carlton draught.

The scenario and set-up was simple - within 10-minutes of my arrival we were ready to go. We played a roughly 200-credit 'last man standing' Patrol game (where a Leader is designated, shares their force's energy pool and but does not cause the game to end if eliminated), with Rob selecting an Inquisitor and his retinue, Jayce a band of Eldar, and I took a mere two Space Marines as follows:

Inquisitor Force - 5 Models, 5 Units, 6 Energy @ 201 Credits

• Inquisitor (CQ 4 / RAT 4 / DEF 4) Light Power Armour /Small Size, with Hell and Bolt Pistols (2 Energy /77 Credits)
• Tempestus Scion (3/4/2) Light Armour/Small Size, with Hotshot Laser (1 Energy / 37 Credits)
• Gun Servitor (0/4/2) Light Armour/Small Size, with Heavy Bolter (1 Energy / 48 Credits) 
• Combat Servitor (0/4/2) Light Armour/Small Size, with Neuro Whip (1 Energy / 17 Credits)
• Cyberhound (3/0/2) Light Armour/Small Size, with Lance and Mobility (1 Energy / 22 Credits)

Eldar Force - 7 Models, 4 Units, 4 Energy @ 217 Credits

• Dire Avenger Exarch (4/4/3) Light Armour/Small Size, with Diresword, Shuriken Pistol and Shimmershield (2 Energy / 64 Credits)
• Dark Reaper (2/5/3) Light Armour/Small Size, with Reaper Launcher and Holoshield (1 Energy / 62 Credits)
• Howling Banshee (5/3/2) Light Armour/Small Size, with Blade, Long-strike, Parry, Shuriken Pistol and Holoshield (1 Energy / 49 Credits)
• Guardian Squad (2/3/2) Group Armour/Small Size, with Shuriken Catapults and Holoshield (Nil Energy / 42 Credits)

Space Marine Force - 2 Models, 2 Units, 5 Energy @ 114 Credits

• Marine Captain (5/4/4) Medium Power Armour /Small Size, with Chainsword and Plasma Pistol (3 Energy/113 Credits)
• Support Marine (4/4/4) Medium Power Armour /Small Size, with Heavy Bolter (2 Energy/ 102 Credits)

You might notice there was some material differences in force composition (count of minis) and Energy Pools. That translated to differences in game play which is exactly what's wanted when running a skirmish game i.e. you want to feel that each force is different but relatively balanced... that's not an easy thing to achieve in a game.

I've already stat'ed up Warhammer 40,000 weapons and gear, largely using Rogue Planet proxies. This really helps as it means we can table quicker and players familiar with the W40k meta instinctively know how their Units should run. For example:

• The Eldar have Holoshields which makes hurting them that little bit harder than an Imperial Guardsman (my baseline unit) BUT with DEF 2 and Light Armour, they are materially less resilient than a Space Marine, meaning they'll burn through their Energy Pool relatively fast.
• A Heavy Bolter is a Rogue Planet Machine Gun coupled with Armour Piercing Rounds, allowing both Heavy and Driving/Screening modes of fire and providing the means to inflict more damaged against Medium and Heavily armoured targets.
• The Reaper Launcher combines a Heavy Launcher (perfect for cracking armoured targets), a Scope (allowing for more target selection), and Incendiary Rounds (good against targets in cover and Groups) - at 36 Credits, it's and expensive but dangerous weapon, perfect for Dark Reaper Aspect Warriors.

During the course of the game, each Force also played their Faction Traits. The Eldar 'Foresight of the Damned' worked great, allowing Jayce's Banshee and Dark Reaper to reposition themselves to maximise their chances of dealing with the Space Marines. I used the Marine's 'They Shall Know No Fear' to bolster my Energy Pool after a run of pinpoint Eldar Opportunity and Return Fire all but decimated the Team. Once the Space Marine were eliminated, Rob's Inquisitor broke out his thrice blessed ammunition using 'The Emperor Provides' trait, ensuring that he was able to pick off the remaining Eldar Guardians and Banshee. I really felt that those traits all worked as intended, adding to the thematic feel of the game.

So how did the game run? What happened?

**Note the photos aren't in any particular order - sorry!**

The Eldar and Space Marines were relatively close to each other, so I rushed my Heavy Bolter Support Marine into the Eldar's front line - Marines don't win by holding back! In any event, the combination of Powered Armour, Medium Armour rating and a 7-point Energy Pool meant that I was pretty confident I could weather the storm and deal out more damage than I received. 

It is so good being able to play an intense, exciting game on what amounts to a tiny table!

Straight away everyone was using counteractions, including Opportunity Fire, movement Interceptions, and Return Fire. My Marine did manage to dish out some pain both on the Eldar Dark Reaper and Banshee BUT the Eldar's Foresight of the Damned trait came into play, enabling them to weather the storm and reposition into higher ground and cover - both of which were telling later in the game.

The Eldar Guardians used their Group movement ability to wrap around the terrain - this allowed them to line up against both the Inquisitor and Space Marine forces simultaneously. The Inquisitor's Cyberhound engaged the Guardians which constrained them some while the Inquisitor's Servitors positioned themselves to provide clear lines of fire.

Mid-game, things collapsed quickly for the Space Marines. No less than three consecutive counters to the Marines attempts to eliminate the Eldar resulted in the Marine's entire Energy Pool being used in the blink of an eye! While the Heavy Bolter Marine succumbed to Eldar and Inquisitor Opportunity and Return Fire, the Marine Captain closed in on the Banshee and Guardians. With the Marine Captain caught in the swirl of melee, the Eldar Exarch opened fire, hoping to cut him down in the confusion.

The Marine Captain could have trusted in his Power Armour to weather the storm, however instead he Returned Fire with his Bolt Pistol - and it worked! The Eldar's Energy Pool was already depleted and the Rogue Die result meant that the Exarch took 4-points of damage. Without the ability to offset the damage, the Exarch was eliminated.

It didn't take long for the Eldar to cut the Marine Captain to pieces and then turn their attention onto the now well positioned Inquisitor team. The Guardians were quickly cut down by withering fire and the final duel was held between the Banshee and Combat Servitor. The Banshee's attack failed to connect resulting in the Combat Servitor's Neuro Whip claiming her life. So it was a convincing win for the Inquisitor, with the Eldar taking 2nd place and the Space Marines running last.

So what next? How can we make it even better?

While I had prepared and provided the players with 3-4 page faction Codexes on the night, we would have really benefited from Unit Cards like I had made a few years back - each Card would detail the Unit's stats and reference their special rules etc. I think I'll pursue that.

Speaking of the Codexes (we had the WIP Space Marine, Eldar, and Inquisitor Codexes on the night), they worked a treat. So each Codex includes listing of Units, but I might go one step further and detail some rough force lists aligned with Rogue Planet's Patrol, Strike, Mission and Extended Ops credit guides. Have such pre-generated guides would again reduce the time to table.

Also the original Rogue Planet Quick Reference Sheet (an duplexed A4 summarising all the base rules), updated to reflect these House Rules would be welcomed. The original one is actually great, I am a tad nervous about attempting to generate something to that same standard. My House Rules supplement is currently at 10 not particular dense A4 pages and a new QRS would certainly help tie the project together.

Well it looks as though I've got some more work ahead of me!