The Wargate Presents
Imperial Assault
2013 Warhammer 40,000 Battle Campaign
Caelum Subterraneous, Pandaemus Subsector
On an Explorator world in the Malificus Aestus system, things are not at all what they seem.
For some time now in the underground cities that dot the surface of this nearly forgotten rock, wars of heresy have raged against the rule of the Imperium. The burgeoning populace of this colony places ever more and more strain on the structure that is the Administratum, breaking down the order to the point of near anarchy. As the skitarii armies move across the barren surface of this sun-blasted world, rebel militias have seized control of important outposts. The few Adeptus Arbites enforcers that came to help quell the unrest in the populace are taxed to the limit.
The planet's rulers are in dire peril of losing control totally. Desperate, he has sent request for aid to the nearby systems of Kordent and Pandaemus Offensio. It is by luck alone that the astropaths of the Mardannon Crusade caught the wailing of Subterraneous's plea...for the Black Templars have dispatched several warships from the crusade to investigate and put down the rebellion.
Yet as the crusade drew near, the real horror of this mass rebellion came to light. A new and horrifying threat is revealed that makes the previous land wars on Subterraneous seem as tiny fires to a raging inferno. Insidious as such foes are, it was too late to prevent anything by the time the Imperial forces realized they were not just fighting the rebel workers and anarchists. Chaos Space Marines erupt from hidden bases and landed on seized spaceports. Warmaster Laserwulf had arrived, and with his Most Hated came the Black Legion.
Now, the forces of the Crusade have arrived. The Lumisi Geared and Novus Soldati form the backbone of the Imperial army, and their officers have sworn to wipe the chaos threat from the planet!
Caelum Subterraneous has miles and miles of majestic caverns. The explorator hab-domes that criss-cross the planet's barren surface are just the tip of the massive underground laboratories and fabrication plants. The chaos menace is entrenched and hidden, and will take a great toll on the armies of the Mardannon Crusade if care is not taken. This enemy must be destroyed, and the Imperial Guard will annihilate the forces of the traitors or be annihilated themselves!
Campaign Rules
- This campaign will use basic Influence rules to determine each player's standing on his team. Influence scores will be averaged to create a Team rating. Influence is calculated as a players' win percentage.
- An army will have 1 Warlord. This warlord can be any HQ selection in the player's roster, and does not have to participate in every game. The warlord trait will be rolled upon fielding the unit for the first time in the campaign, and that trait will be retained until the unit is destroyed in-game.
- When a warlord is destroyed in-game, roll a d6. On a 4+, the warlord trait is retained. On a 1-3, the unit will have a new trait when next deployed, or the player can select a new unit to be his warlord.
- The campaign will encompass all games played in January, February and March. The campaign is over on April 1st, 2013.
- A title shall be awarded to the player with the highest personal Influence on the winning team.
Campaign Updates
- (1.6.13) - Lumisi divisions approach the upper works of the Yevault colony and are met by the Most Hated. A brief firefight ensues, and the rebels are driven off the colony's entrance.
- (1.13.13) - As Novus Soldati divisions enter the cavernous city sprawls, dug in Chaos units from the Most Hated spring a deadly trap that spells doom for the Imperial soldiers.
- (1.20.13) - The Novus Soldati bravely push forward towards the infested hab-domes at the edge of the Hive Nexus, but the Most Hated have secured the best emplacements and fire lanes far ahead of time. The Obliterator Cults prove to be a great obstacle, and the Imperials are forced to withdraw.
- (1.27.13) - The Most Hated attack, having secured the upper hand. The Lumisi Geared regiments along the underground highway were unprepared for the ferocity of the counter-attack, and paid in the wreckages of many tanks. At the same time, a small group of Black Legion berserkers led by none other than Kharn the Betrayer himself assault along a particularly dense section of the highway cluttered with stalagmites and old buildings where the power had been cut. There, they found Novus Soldati waiting for them, and were repelled with minimal casualties.
- (2.3.13) - Novus Soldati regiments attempt to find a weak point in the Chaos defenses, but were repelled on two fronts by Black Legion and Most Hated marines entrenched in strategic bottlenecks. Two entire divisions were held up, and crippling casualties incurred. Lumisi Geared regiments are caught sweeping military firebases by berserkers led by Kharn the Betrayer, and unexpected aid comes from the mysterious eldar. Yet the intervention of the mysterious aliens does not help the beleaguered Imperial Guard.
- (2.10.13) - Novus Soldati and Lumisi Armored sections cut the power to a large section of cavern occupied by all sorts of Chaos forces. Moving in battle tank and artillery sections, the Lumisi fix firing solutions on the enemy held bastions. The Novus infantry form ranks and deliver a hail of punishing fire at anything moving in the dark. The result is a glorious Imperial victory, yet the war is far from over. Chaos forces still control many of the manufactorum, and the damage to the infrastructure of Caelum Subterraneous has already been great.
- (2.17.13) - The Imperial advance is short lived, as more of the Most Hated's Obliterator cults crawl forth from the hidden caverns beneath the planet's crust! The Novus Soldati massed in great numbers to push forward into the depths to reach lost power generators, which are critical in maintaining the atmosphere in the great caverns of Caelum Subterraneous. However, the chaos scum were waiting - and the plasma fire of Obliterators claimed many lives that day.
- (2.24.13) - Abaddon himself is seen striding through the streets of a fairly nice loam-hab, casually slaughtering Lumisi squads foolish enough to get close. Further on, Black Legion Terminators engage Lumisi armor elements, but the arrival of Most Hated Obliterator Cults curtail their effectiveness. War Turtles space marines attempt to assault Obliterator positions, but are forced back and pinned again and again.
- (3.26.13) - The Novus Soldati attempt to change tactics against the relentless barrage by the Most Hated Obliterator cults, but the enemy's firepower is too much to counter. After horrifying losses, Crusade High Command pull the Imperial regiments back to the surface and begin to draw up new plans for the attack.
- (3.3.13) - Damaged and demoralized, the Novus Soldati begin a retreat towards the surface zones to reconvene with Crusade High Command. Yet, as one arm of the Imperial Assault recoils from massive casualties, the Lumisi Armored regiments drive deep into Chaos held hab zones and root the enemy out of his hiding spot with repeated artillery bombardments. Both the Black Legion and the Most Hated are both given this treatment and withdraw outside the firing solutions, but the progress made by the Imperials is not enough to swing the tide back fully...
- (3.10.13) - Dark Angels Adeptus Astartes made planetfall to assist the Lumisi Armored divisions still driving into Caelum Subterraneous. However, the Astartes were driven back to the landers as soon as the Obliterator cults of the Most Hated sighted them. Lumisi artillery pounded the underground bunkers as much as was possible, but were forced to withdraw after a lengthy firefight with and assault by Black Legion terminators serving THE LASERWULF.
- (3.17.13) - Abaddon steps things up by co-opting several Obliterators and attacking the newly erected Strongpoint near Millson's Downroad, a large path deep into the inner barrows of Caelum Subterraneous. Surprised and pinned down by the protected tanks and artillery blasts, a few of the units attempt to break through the strongpoint, including a unit of Black Legion Terminators that managed to destroy two tanks behind the Aegis...but were washed away in a sea of las fire by the patient and waiting Novus Soldati. It was a close fought battle, but Abaddon decided to withdraw from the sight of the punishing guns and bide his time...for now.
- (3.24.13) - Lumisi Geared Regiments struggle to push back the tide of hellish Obliterators coming from deep within Caelum Subterraneous. The Black Legion begin to fall back, but the Most Hated scream with defiance at the Imperials attempting to push them out of this underground theater of war. Meanwhile, the Crusade's new strongpoints make it tough for Most Hated marines attempting to secure vital supplies and intelligence. In the dark of Caelum Subterraneous, the Aegis lines and automated guns have changed the nature of the Imperial juggernaut...but it is too little, too late.
Campaign Results
Chaos wins the campaign!
The Imperials have taken another pummeling from the Chaos Space Marines, and the Most Hated have a strong record for wins. Combined with Black Legion forces, it was too much for the Imperials to handle.
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| Space Overlord Jerry Wargate and his team mate, Captain Video! |
Jerry Wargate's Brotherhood of the Most Hated has beat out almost all the competition once again! The Obliterator cult sported three full units, and for the next campaign we've been promised a list incorporating 3 full units of Mutilators as well. Looks like LASERWULF's ruthless plans will soon come to fruition!
Captain Video was Jerry's stalwart team mate, and managed to destroy enough Imperial units to score the same as the highest result on the Imperial team. Their average score carried the day!
Congratulations to Jerry Wargate, this year's Space Overlord!
Warmaster LASERWULF sneered as they brought the multilasers to his chamber. He told them before that he wanted lascannons.
"I told you before", LASERWULF growled to the nearest cultist, "I only want LASCANNONS!" The last word was punctuated by a backhanded chop to face, and the cultist leader reeled back.
"My lord..." one of them ventured, "the damnable Imperials carry only a few! The only las cells we could scavenge were the laspacks the infantry carried and these fine beauties..." The cultist gestured to the pallet of multilasers, and his flock began ooing and ahhing the scraps.
LASERWULF strode to the pile and inspected it. Multilasers. Ah well, at least they were las-packs. They would serve in some fashion.
"Leave me." he growled, and the cultists moved away quickly. LASERWULF turned back to his command console, which he had darkened when the offering arrived. It came back to brightly lit life with a flick of his finger, and he regarded the three dimensional plans he had been working on for so many years.
Soon, he would have the raw materials and facility to build his command cruiser. LASERWULF was working towards a dream he had for a long, long time. As long as he could remember. That dream was a huge battleship brimming with laser weapons. With arcane science, they would alter the laser weaponry and the resulting technology would provide this ship with a pulsar-like weapon of horrible magnitude.
"Now I have to name it..." LASERWULF returned to his throne to regard the pile of multilasers. Me motioned for servitors to remove it to the laser bay, and as they wordlessly went about their business he mused in silence on his dark throne.
With the Imperials still milling about the surface of Caelum Subterraneous, his forces could pretty well move as they pleased. With the brunt of the Crusade welling up to hit this place, soon he would have to move the Brotherhood away. LASERWULF just needs a few more lascannons...