Year to date hobby progress check

 I decided to do a quick count on my painting progress for the year to see if I am keeping pace with last year. 

In 2020, the full year output was:
54 infantry (or equivalent)
3 vehicles/artillery
2 terrain pieces
6 battles played
6 battle reports generated
18 blog posts

The end of April will be one third of the way through 2021. So far my output is:

23 infantry equivalent:10 drop troop recon bikers (counts as 20), 10 stormtroopers, 3 Tarantula sentry guns
0 vehicles
2 terrain pieces
2 battles played
0 battle reports generated
24 blog posts

So far I am ahead of pace on infantry and terrain, on pace for games played, and behind pace for vehicles and battle reports. I am certainly far ahead of pace on blog posts this year, partially thanks to some contributions by Pete and Bill. 

Last year my overall average monthly output was: paint either 8 infantry, 1 vehicle or 1 terrain piece; generate 1.5 blog posts; and either 1 game or 1 battle report.

This year my overall average monthly output is: paint either 12 infantry or 1 terrain piece; generate 6 blog posts; play 0.5 games and not write any battle reports.

I have the photos for one battle report to write so I need to get started on that. And so far I have only worked on my drop troopers so after this next unit, I might switch things up to one of the Horus Heresy armies. 

Secure the Drop Zone: Heavy Bolter Tarantulas

 Before making a hot drop into an active combat zone, the Xhorik 87th will normally drop several Valkyrie loads of sentry guns, or tarantulas as the troopers call them, to secure the drop zone. The automated weapons sweep the area with a wave of high-caliber explosive shells from their heavy bolters and soak up the first enemy counter fire. Their role is to provide covering fire when the drop troopers make their final descent and are most vulnerable. 

Each sentry gun is numbered for organization. Sometimes troopers even give nicknames to favorite guns and ask for them specifically to stay attached to certain platoons. 

Pete's Speed Painting Army - Chaos Cultists

 This army was modeled and painted in around 30 days using a new speed painting method I found online. For perspective, the amount of models I finished in a month would normally take me a year to complete! 

I'll write up some back story and flavor tomorrow evening.

Enjoy!

Join us or die!

The 501st Imperial Stormtroopers: "The Fighting 501st"

Unlike the normal forces of the Imperial Guard that are raised and organized as regiments, the Imperial Stormtroopers are generally deployed as single companies attached to other regiments. The "Fighting 501st" is a renowned company that has been attached to the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops to bolster their ability to perform rapid strikes on strategic targets.

First Squad is outfitted to destroy targets of significance, such as elite units, vehicles or infrastructure. To this end, they are equipped with high-strength melta and plasma weaponry.

Armorium Finished

 I finally finished the Armorium for our three-player legendary battle Point of Desperation. The finishing touch was to add a few Mechanicus decals to give the bunker a bit more flavor. I'd say she is ready for the starring role in the big game!

Vault 17... to the power of delta?

Converting the Calth Chaplain

 I was looking at the two HQ models that came with my Betrayal at Calth box. Since Pete already painted up the Chaplain for his World Eaters, I figure I should do something different with mine so we don't have mirror images of the same model facing off against each other. Since we do not have any Librarians yet between all of our factions, and the big cloak certainly fits the bill, I thought it would be worth a try.

I dug around the bits box for something psyker-looking and found this cool staff. My initial thought was the model on the left with the staff replacing the crozius arcanum and instead of a pistol, his left hand would be open as if casting a psychic power. For hands, I have one that is pointing and one that kind of looks like he is reaching out for a handshake. They both sort of look like they could be casting a power, but I cannot find a hand with the palm outward in the classical look of someone casting telekinesis or fireball that I had in my mind. 

A Librarian is equipped with your choice of force weapon: force sword, force axe or force stave. The problem is that the force stave is S+2 but only AP4, which makes it practically useless in a game system where basically everyone has power armor or better. The force sword is AP3 and the axe is AP2 unwieldly (initiative 1). So clearly a sword or an axe is far superior to a stave in a Horus Heresy universe. So I thought about the option on the right - moving the stave to the magic-wielding hand and replacing the head of the crozius with an axe head, since the guy is already holding a long haft. Then he would be equipped with an axe so that "what you see is what you get" and the staff would just represent his use of his powers and help identify him as a Librarian instead of a dude with an axe and cloak. 

Of course I will look for a more suitable head as well, perhaps something with a hood, although I haven't found one yet. If not a hood, maybe some type of crown or spiked halo that emphasizes the head/brain as the source of the model's power. This one is just a placeholder since it is attached to the legs.

I need some feedback! What do you think?

Xhorik Secundus: Halovox

Xhorik Secundus is the third planet from the sun of the Xhorik system, after Xhorik Null (never inhabited due to its horrific environment) and Xhorik Prime. It was known as Halovox by the local inhabitants when the Great Crusade reached it and is listed in the official Imperial records as Aeternum, the land of the eternal day. It is slightly larger than Xhorik Prime and has a denser atmosphere. Around 40 million years ago, the planet collided with one of its moons, leaving one face of the planet as a massive crater and greatly slowing the planet's rotation. A single rotation of the planet takes 803 Terran days. A journey around its sun is also relatively slow at approximately 9.3 Terran years. The planet's axis has a tilt so there are very long seasons in addition to the very long days. The minimal centrifugal force of the slower rotation causes objects to feel a bit heavier on Halovox than they otherwise would. 

Being farther from the sun than Xhorik Prime, the temperature of Xhorik Secundus would be too cold to support life if it were not for a few factors. The thicker atmosphere holds in more of the sun's heat, but more importantly, the extremely long days allow one side of the planet to stay substantially warmer than it would normally, while the nightime side can become extremely cold with average temperature around -40 to - 80C, depending on the season.

The collision with Xhorik Secundus utterly destroyed the moon and the result is a large, heavy asteroid belt in a close orbit around the planet. This mass of debris results in fairly frequent occurrences of meteoroids entering the atmosphere and either burning up or striking the planet's surface. It also makes passage to and from the planet's surface dangerous, especially for larger vessels unless they are heavily shielded or fitted with suitable weapons for clearing the debris.

There is surface water on the planet, although it covers only around 30% of the surface. This results in a Pangea-style geography with all the land of the planet connected and many rivers, lakes and a few larger inland seas. Rain is relatively infrequent, but the hydrogeology is extremely complex and many rivers are fed by pressurized springs pushing water up from deep below the surface. There is also a lot of water trapped in the crust which is accessible to plants with deep root structures, or to drilled water wells.

View of Xhorik Secundus (Halovox) from the outer edge of the system. From this angle, the impact crater and asteroid belt are clearly visible. Beyond is Xhorik Prime and its two moons.

Campaign Update: World Eaters

The emissary of the Warmaster had arrived. It was a small and rather pathetic-looking creature; it's body an indistinct mass of flesh and steel machinery wrapped in bright red robes. It's hood obscured a face made of metal and bare bone. Moving through the command compound, it exuded an aura of grotesque authority so powerful that the unshakable traitor space marines it passed pressed themselves against the wall in avoidance. 

Zungarz had known this devil among devils would arrive. The success of the traitors at gaining control of the vast production facilities of Xhorik Prime would mean that the Warmaster's eye would be upon them and that the future of the war would start here. The Warmaster was pushing his grand plans forward and would need the industry of Xhorik Prime to provide tanks and ships to carry his dire vision to Terra. The war against the loyalists was not as one-sided elsewhere. Gripping his emblem of Khorne, Zurgarz hurried towards the main chamber, eager to have his audience with the one who spoke for the great Horus.

The herald of Horus was easy to spot despite its short stature. Only the venerable Death Guard terminators, whose minds were likely too rotten to comprehend fear, could stand in the creature's presence. The other marines in the room kept a generous distance. As he approached, Zungarz felt a strong repulsion towards the red-clad figure, an invisible force pushing him away. However, his single-minded desire for glory and recognition gave him a will of iron. The World Eaters chaplain marched fearlessly forward to join in the whispered conversation. Breaking off a hushed sentence, the emissary turned to fix its glowing red eyes on him.

"Who is this man who presumes himself worthy to approach me?" the being of twisted wires and flesh growled. "I am here to speak to Praetor Wolfgang, not his subordinate." 

Zungarz felt a flash of anger at the insult. Wolfgang was dead or at least nearly so. He had been gunned down by loyalist plasma gunners before Zungarz's very eyes. From his position atop the tallest tower at the center of the battlefield, he had witnessed his commander fall before the torrent of lethal energy blasts released by White Scars emerging from a drop ship and one of his Deathscythe bodyguards carry his body away after the battle. That single powerful retainer had sliced an enemy officer in half with his fearsome scythe and also destroyed the last two members of a bike squadron with another masterly swing. By the law of Khorne, that retainer was the new master of the Death Guard, having slain the foes that killed his former Praetor. By doing what his master could not, he had proven his right to command, as well as Wolfgang's unworthiness.

Zungarz, on the other hand, had carved a bloody path through his enemies to plant the flag of the traitor army after tearing down the loyalists' banner. By the days' end, he and his Hell Hounds stood knee-deep in the dead, the corpses of their enemies piled atop one another. He never took a single step back. It was only running out of enemies to kill that finally halted his rampage. 

Zungarz and his Hell Hounds hold the tower and protect the traitor standard from a terminator of the Ebon Keshig of the White Scars.

Campaign Update: Loyalists

Turan Jorma became Khan of the Brotherhood of the Wind after the death of Zherdan. He knew he could not defeat the Traitor forces on the planet of Xhorik Prime, with two Legions arrayed against him and the industrial heartland of the Federation of Unimund within Praetor Wolfgang's iron grip. The White Scars lacked the heavy firepower to counter the Traitors' multitudes of armor including the massive super-heavy battle tanks. For weeks, they fought a campaign of striking and falling back, taking advantage of the Death Guard's methodical approach to warfare to slow the Traitor advance and keep their forces tied up in Kozar. Khan Jorma knew the Loylaist forces on Xhorik Secondus needed time to mobilize for war and he had to give them that time by fighting, delaying and surviving as long as possible. 

Now the end game had come and the main cities of Kozar were finally lost to the Traitors. Khan Jorma and a small band of his Brotherhood had retreated into the eastern mountains, where they knew the terrain well from long years spent campaigning against the orks there. From this hideout, he was prepared to continue the resistance, launching guerilla raids against the Death Guard and World Eaters as they mobilized for the conquest of the rest of the Xhorik system. 

The White Scars Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter Ariunbold launches an air-to-ground Kraken heavy penetrator missile against a Traitor target near a remote industrial site. 

Khan Turan Jorma knew that they needed munitions, fuel and supplies in order to sustain the remnants of his Brotherhood as even a small fighting force. The border city of Beilyr was known to contain a massive underground armorium encased within the shell of a stone outer building in order to blend in with the surrounding city buildings, keeping it secret from anyone seeking to capture its precious contents. The massive armorium was built by the Imperial forces after the compliance of the Xhorik system, as a store for weapons used to outfit the many new regiments being raised in this sector for the continuation of the Great Crusade. It was also used by the Legions to help carry out the war against the orks in the east and for the equipping of new initiates from the local population. Despite the Traitor control of the border city during the war for Xhorik Prime, Jorma's scouts confirmed the armorium was still well-stocked with the war materiel that the White Scars resistance desperately needed. 

It would require a raid deep into enemy territory. Jorma knew he had to strike fast, grab what he could, and escape before the Traitors could bring their overwhelming forces to bear. Speed, stealth, and surprise: this is what his Brotherhood was made for.

Point of Desperation: 3-Way Scenario Setup

Since I am away from home this week and cannot work on the Armorium, I thought we could line out the details of the scenario. 

Game Setup:
Make a Shadow War roll, as described in the same book as the scenario. Winner can choose one of the following game setup parameters. The second highest roller can then choose one, followed by the third player selecting from the remaining parameters. Then all players roll a d6 and the winner can choose the final parameter.

1. Select his deployment zone first. The other two players roll off to choose second.
   
2. Choose to deploy first, second or third. The other players roll off to choose next. Turn order will be the same as deployment order.
3. Choose whether to place infiltrators first, second, or third. The other players roll off to choose next.
4. Select whether there is Night Fighting for 1 turn, or d3 turns, or not at all. And choose whether to use the old rules (roll for spotting distance) or the new rules (units get improved cover save). 

I thought this approach would be more interesting than just rolling for each of these things separately because it ensures more balance (eliminating the possibility that one player wins most or all of these rolls) and it forces some interesting choices as each army/player may prioritize different elements of the battle setup. 

Scenario Map:



As described in the rulebook, a player's table edge will be considered any table edge that makes up part of his deployment zone, so the corner deployment zones will have two table edges each. This is a slight advantage to these deployment zones to makeup for being slightly farther from the objective than the deployment zone on the top table edge. (It provides more flexibility on where reserves enter and where troops fall back to.)

This looks pretty balanced and means it will take even a unit in a transport two turns to reach the objective, giving some time to maneuver before the melee starts. It also means even the slowest units will get there with enough time to fight for it. Each deployment zone is the same size in total area, at roughly 3 square feet. And there is roughly 3 feet between each deployment zone, so that aspect is evenly balanced as well. 

Deployment:
Deployment will use the rules for alternating staged deployment as described in the Decisive Moment scenario. The players will deploy one unit at a time, in the order determined in the Game Setup section above. The player who deploys first will be deploying the first unit of each type: Heavy Support, Troops, etc. I like this method better because it feels more realistic (Fast Attack units would be unlikely to be caught off guard by heavy tanks) and it feels more balanced due to the paper-rock-scissors natures of the unit matchups in this game. 

Other items confirmed:
Only scoring units count for control of the objective (Troops or anything with a rule that counts it as scoring).
Scoring for the objective will be as per the scenario rules (3 points for sole control and 1 point for shared control).