Remembering 40k: Rogue Trader

Hi folks,

Well, it is that time of year again and work is rolling me in the foam. I don't have much time for painting, so my mind has turned to past gaming experiences...

I don't know how everybody else feels out there, but Rogue Trader seems to be a benchmark in my gaming circles. To have played Rogue Trader is to have been there right at the very beginning. It is at the very least a venerable rules system, which established the 40K universe. Subsequent editions of 40K have transformed this fledgling universe into the juggernaut that we all now enjoy, each with their own quirks, and I have loved all of them in their time. Rogue Trader had a distinct roleplaying feel to it, with lots of fun rules and units to choose from. Flipping through the rulebook, seeing the roots of the universe you enjoy, brings on the feels. Here is a trip down memory lane:

Dark Angels make their debut. Womble marines with red stripes!

Pages and pages of exotic plant life. Pages well spent! MOAR sponge weed!

Some more old paint schemes.

A Space Marine, an Imperial Guardsman, an Eldar and a Squat walk into a bar...

The Fang was smaller in those days...

Raising the grim/dark flag on Iwo Jima Secundus.

If you have any good memories of Rogue Trader let me know in the comments. I'll have a post for each edition, so let me know when I hit on your favourite :-)

See you across the table,

M4cr0



For My Battle-Brothers in France

Dreadtober Part 2

Hi folks,

In case you missed it (...and I very nearly did...) last month was Dreadtober! I found out about it with three days to go and immediately started work on a Dark Angels Dreadnought. A unit of three Dreadnoughts is on my To-Do list this year, so it seemed like a good time to get the ball rolling. I spent an hour of frenzied cutting, filing, gluing and green-stuffing to get him to the stage where I was ready to paint. Here is a link to the WIP article if you are interested.

Then things got a little crazy at work and with the kids... and with the bones in one of my toes...

Anyway, I didn't stay on top of posting my progress, so I figured I would show everyone the finished product. I am planning on working on the base when I do the other three Dreads, but for now the paint job is done.

I have converted the missile launcher into an assault cannon. I figured the assault cannon and magazine would be easier to move over than the equivalent pieces on the twin-linked autocannon.

The twin-linked autocannon is an old one from Forgeworld that I have had lying around for a very long time. I actually ordered an older mark of autocannon but Forgeworld sent me the wrong one. I converted it with Ork ammo belts to make it look more like the one that I wanted, but the barrels are a lot longer. I may still shorten the barrels a bit; I still can't decide :-/

The banner is another old one that I have touched up a bit and re-framed. Again, I may knock up another one in the long term but for now it is a good place holder. I like the double meaning behind the picture. In one way it reflects the nature of the Dreadnought itself; a son of the Lion was brought low but has risen again as an Angel of Death. It also marks this Dreadnought as a keeper of a grim/dark secret; the Lion was betrayed and the Dreadnought stands guard over all He once stood for.

Or something ;-)

Once all three of Dreadnoughts have been finished and based properly I'll give myself a green stamp, until then, I am content to say that I gave Dreadtober my best shot: all eight barrels worth! If it runs again next year I'll be starting early.

See you across the table,

M4cr0

X-wing: Escort Duty

Hi folks,

Don't you just love escort missions.

Yeah, me neither. They always remind me of the computer game missions that you have to re-do over and over and over again; the quintessence of rage-quit. This in mind, Wade, Sgt Waz and I decided to have a craic at the X-wing escort scenario but shake things up a bit with some surprise fleet composition.

On the Imperial side Wade and I settled on a Decimator (Rear Admiral Chiraneau, Ruthlessness, Hull Upgrade, Weapons Engineer and Darth Vader) and a TIE Defender (Colonel Vessery, Expose and Stealth Device). That meant we were going to be outnumbered but capable of doing a lot of damage.

Sgt Waz chose Luke Skywalker (R2-D2), Arvel Crynyd, Keyan Farlander and a Rookie X-wing pilot. He had a pretty tight plan; keep the X-wings close to the shuttle while the A-wing and B-wing run interference. With numbers on his side, and the ability of his ships to give the shuttle an extra evade token, we figured the scenario would be close fought. We were right...

Early in the game the fleets closed with each other and exchanged some long range shots, which were particularly effective against the Decimator. The Defender also scored some lucky hits against Luke's X-wing.

Sgt Waz flew Arvel right into the teeth of the Decimator and gave it hell, knowing that taking it out would be a serious blow to our ability to destroying the shuttle. Arvel's ability played right to Sgt Waz's "strengths" (he is not very good at judging distances and often crashes into ships he is trying to shoot down!).

Delicious chocolate asteroids...

As the leading edges of the two fleets met the Defender destroyed Luke. The Decimator began taking shots at the shuttle and using Ruthlessness to damage the escorts. The B-wing poured fire into the large ship in response. The Rookie X-wing stuck to the plan and stayed with the shuttle as closely as possible whilst taking pot shots at the Defender. None of them hit though, dat Defender be evasive.

The TIE Defender turned on the shuttle whilst the Decimator began the lobourious task of turning around, engaging with its turret and using Darth Vader to maximise damage. In the effort to keep the Decimator in his B-wing's sights, Sgt Waz tried to pull one too many red maneuvers; we kept moving him in the wrong direction as fast as possible :-) The Rookie pilot made up for it, pulling a K-turn and blasting the Decimator to pieces at long range.

The Defender uses Expose to put more damage on the shuttle. With its 6 shields and 6 hull, the Imps needed to keep up the pressure.

The Rookie bags the Decimator, taking Darth Vader out in the process.

With half the Imperial fleet a cloud of expanding gas and the shuttle three turns away from safety, the equation was clear. The TIE Defender had to stay on the shuttle's back and the shuttle had to keep heading for the board edge. The other Rebel ships had free reign to harass the Defender. Arvel opened fire first, but did I say the Defender is evasive?

My roll against Arvel's attack. This was the last turn I would be rolling 4 dice...

The shuttle weaved its way towards safety whilst my Defender poured fire into it. A rookie TIE reinforcement made a pass on the shuttle as well, then took some shots at the B-wing for good measure (we had agreed at the start that this would happen if an Imperial Ship was lost early).

At the start of the last turn the TIE Defender had lost its Stealth Device and was reduced to two hull points. Knowing that he would not get a shot off from Arvel before it was too late, he used the A-wing pilot's action to give the shuttle an extra evade token. Keyan Farlander had a chance to destroy the Defender first but was unable to score enough hits. In return the TIE blasted away at the shuttle with 5 dice due to the close range and Expose. It managed three hits, making victory achievable, but the shuttle rolled a single, crucial evade. With the addition of the evade token from Arvel, the shuttle was left with just a single hull point, allowing it to leave the map edge to the safety beyond!

The thrilling final turn. Missed him by that much.

What a terrific game! Short-handing the Imperials really made for tight contest, with the Rebels flying circles around their enemies for once. Enjoy it while it lasts, rebel scum ;-)

See you across the table,

M4cr0