Work Life Balance - fixing it

Work, Life Balance, or what I've not got much of these days... ...hence a wargame, the first in a while.

"Get To Tha Dropship!"

An Imperial deep space monitor on Deathworld Hudson needed repair.  A team of technicians were escorted in by Marines,  they need escorting out for pick-up.

Objective: Marines must escort more than 50% of technicians to the other side of the board for pick-up by Imperial Navy Dropship.

Problem, this is a man-eating plant and  creepy-crawly infested Death-World.

Marines and technicians must cross the infested valley to get to the dropship

Marines surround their delicate charge, 6 technicians

Why won't the the armoured Imperial Navy Dropship get closer for pick-up?

Deathworld creepy-crawlies (Ambuls) and Creeper vines

 

A Catachan Devil, a nasty bug, more Ambuls and Creepers

Whoosh, Marines open up on flora

Burnt to a crisp, but the dice are rolled every separate firing event, if its a 6 then the local denizens are attracted to the firing

Cautious advancing

Marines fan out to protect the techs

A Spiker next to a Man-trap is engaged by Marines

Out in front Marines pour fire on a Spiker, to no effect

Other than managing to wake something up...

Ambuls move towards the noise

Power armour deflects spikes

The Spiker's head moves, fires and

Down goes the flamer-equipped Marine

More Uglies aware

The Catachan devil sniffs out Marines

And moves in close

Shooty time, the Devil soaks up hits, it takes a lot to stop one of these

Uh OH...

The Devil closes in

Elsewhere everything else moves closer

A vicious close assault, the Devil is dealt with, at the cost of two Marines

 A tech strays too close to a Creeper and is snagged

The other techs look on in terror as Ambuls surround the Creeper-snagged Tech.  Techs now have FEAR

 Marines circle their charges while Ambuls close in

 Good Shooting!  One down

 Another down

 Squish, the tech captured by the Creeper expires

 Spikers move slowly in

 Ambuls charge into the mob

 A tough melee

 One Down!

 Ouch!

 Two down, Ambuls lose the melee

 Marines regroup to fire

 And completely miss everything on one flank

 Same on the other - worst round of firing EVER

 See this guy, He's got a heavy Bolter that can't hit anything.  Not one hit all game

 Ambul charges back into melee

 This time Marines go down, they lose and retreat, Techs flee in FEAR (Psych effect not crazy caps)

 Ambul follows up

 Marines have no choice, they must fire into the melee

 Oh Great, now they hit and kill what they aim at.  Pity its the techs (random target roll for hits)

 Heavy Bolter finally beads on a target

 And it takes down the Ambul

 Marines take advantage of a lull in Deathworld reinforcements (no 6's rolled on response to firing) to advance, clearing the way as they go

 Still no 6's, Marines near their objective

 Got to the Dropship.  Marines deliver the traumatized survivors to the dropship

Marines board the ship.

The lull in reinforcements enabled the Marines and techs to escape, but the Marines fail in their objective.  Only two Techs got out, if the Marines hadn't gunned them down themselves, 5 techs could have got out.  Its just as well the Techs are too traumatized with Fear to write the AAR.

Conclusion: Deathworld Hudson, aptly named.  Visit only with extreme prejudiced, and a squad of Marines in escort.

A decent tick in the WLB fun category, and another enjoyable 40K Rogue trader game with some twists and turns in the action.  I forgot how much Marines morphed from their beginnings as OK human troops in decent armour into the uber elites they became.  I also forgot how relatively simple this game was.  Sure it has flaws as a competition game, but as a pick-up game it is fun.

Next 40K game, perhaps some Eldar action?