Herding Cats - Part 3

Decided to hold off on the post for the previous session/mission and just wait for the lads to get through it - hence the lateness of this entry! :-)

So the last two sessions involved the successful sabotage and destruction of a Tyranid hive ship, in which the marines and Inquisitor Faustus played a major part. A hive ship is in essence a massive single Tyranid organism, capable of travelling through space as part of large fleets of similar vessels. They are living, breathing entities and produce in their bowels of birthing chambers the many varieties of infinitely adaptable Tyranid organisms which are subsequently dispatched to planets to infiltrate, overtake and devour.

These hive fleets are all part of a large entity known as 'The Great Devourer' - a single entity that stretches over light years of space and is controlled in all its terrible aspect by the Hive Mind. What this means for the game is that the players not only have to deal with nasty, insatiably hungry alien creatures but also the possibility of a crushing psychic presence as well.

(For any un-WH40K-enlightened geeks, think of the creatures from the 'Alien' movies, combined with elements of the Borg from 'Star Trek'. Even nastier though - there is evidence to show that the Borg at least are capable of being reasoned with or at least capable of responding to logic. Tyranids? Not so much.)

As mentioned, ranged firepower is definitely where it's at when dealing with the 'Nids, and I've been pretty impressed so far with all of the Astartes weaponry (Space Marine weaponry is of a higher standard than 'civilian' equivalents), and it certainly gets the job done.

Going toe-to-toe (or should that be toe-to-claw?) with things like Genestealers and so forth is a very different and much scarier proposition however, and there have been some nasty near misses. As I mentioned previously, the game designers at FFG have done a very good job with the scaling of enemies and the 'feel' of fighting creatures like the Tyranids. Sure, the marines will have the edge at the beginning of combat, assuming they think things through and set up properly for sustained fire, but if it comes to close combat? Things can turn ugly, very quickly!

So with all of this in mind, Killteam Sanvean did very well - even managing to take down a Hive Tyrant in the process, although things may have gone differently for the players had the alien monstrosity popped up where it was supposed to; in the middle of the group!

They destroyed the synapse centre of the ship (essentially it's brain!), rescued some high-ranking Imperial Navy officers from their ailing transport - which was slowly being broken down by a digestive chamber after being swallowed whole by the hive ship - and destroyed the shielding system which also allowed the Imperial cruiser to utterly destroy the Tyranid monstrosity and save the world of Avalos below.

As a result, the proclamation of 'Exterminatus' was revoked for Avalos, the Killteam given much honour as a result of their exploits...and the growing legend of Inquisitor Faustus continued to grow :-)

To close, the first seeds of the campaign proper were sown...

Upon arriving back on the Imperial cruiser, Lord Inquisitor Faustus is informed that a message awaits him in his quarters. Upon examination of the strange device - a large holo-crystal set in a golden plinth, bearing only the mark of the Blood Angels chapter - Faustus consults with Captain Sanvean, who is a Blood Angel himself.

Sanvean explains that the device is a blood-crystal; an archeotech* device used for secure communication, only activated by a drop of blood from the intended recipient. Faustus does so, pricking his finger against the intricate plinth squeezing a single drop on the crystals surface. A deep red glow emanates from the gem, which slowly unfolds and projects a likeness of Mephiston, Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels and one of the most powerful psykers in the Imperium!

Faustus, Sanvean and his team find themselves requested to report to Baal - the homeworld of the Blood Angels chapter! - to assist in a matter of utmost importance to the Emperor's Finest.

Mephiston's ominous warning of the despised taint of Chaos on Baal rings fresh in their minds...what awaits the Astartes and the Inquisitor?

Stay tuned :-)

* Archeotech devices are examples of technology from the period of Imperial history known as 'The Dark Age of Technology' - they are beyond the ken and ability of most humans currently alive in the 41st Millennium. All are valued relics and are only capable of being maintained, not recreated - even among the Techpriests and the Brotherhood of Mars, these devices are considered enigmatic and all are to be venerated.