A Prison for Gods: The Final Score and the Narrative Consequences

The Final Score (The boring bit).

So while the final battle was finished, so too was the final round up of points. As it was the end of the whole Phase Strategic Objectives such as the flags gained from Bastians and from Manufactorum were added alongside the points for holding the Shard Keys.  

A bit out of date, will update soon.

The final scores stand as the following.

• 1st Place: Rory and his Black Scorpions
• 2nd Place: Eivind and his Tyranids
• 3rd Place: Chris and his Dark Eldar (with side order of chaos) 

Unexpectedly, the overall victor points wise was the nigh unbeatable Black Scorpions Chapter, dominating the territories of most worlds and seizing the majority of the planets key points. Next came Eivinds elusive Tyranids.  Beginning being largely ignored in favour of other nemesis opponents, the Tyranid swarms took the rest of them by surprise.  3rd came the Dark Eldar of Chris, Ozzy the Archon has been a celebrity and comic genius during this campaign, offering gratify and sheer anarchic mayhem.

Magnus shared in the glory of the Bringers of Fire earlier on only to be left to fend for his own. Interestingly enough, in the finale, they had stuck to their allegiance to the Necrons with their former Space Marine allies, much to the hatred of Thomas' Imperial Guard.

William, a new player to 40k at the offset, suffered tremendous losses from the start, but as the campaign continued adapted tactics and produced the most new figures for his growing Craftworld. Near the end, he was seen as the greatest threat to Rory next to Eivind, sadly time ran out, and not enough ground could be retook.

Thomas, or Lucky as he would be known, came to enjoy an almost bizarre streak of bad luck with plasma.  Seriously.  It was weird. Having the hardest losses in the campaign, his personal moral and spirit to continue the fight despite the casualties was only paralleled by his in game Preacher, who became a thorn in the side of the Black Scorpions.  Even going so far as to bring in rogue elements from the questionable chapter, further straining their mutually held hatred.

In the end, the biggest game maker was sadly Real-Life, as games ground to a minimum in the last few months. But more on that later.

Tis but a scratch!

Aftermath Narrative (The fun bit).

There was so much history built up from this campaign (which was the initial point, screw the scores!) something to form new games from.  Old grudges to take us to new places and old.  The key points are below, but I will add new stuff if immediately relevant!



Of the White Hand and the fall of Ozzy.

The Iybraesil Craftworld was in morning.  Songs and laments called in every spire and crystal garden as the dead were counted and the spirit stones set in the Infinity Matrix.  More Wraith Bone suits would be needed to mount the increase in dead warriors.

Though their goals had been accomplished, the campaign had been a trial of fire for the warriors of the white hand of Iybraesil. The mystery of Rust, the dead crone world had finally been solved to a point, though in pushing their Dark Kin, had they set the coarse for the Archon's fall to chaos? Had their actions caused their undoing? Rust was still occupied by the Druchi of Ozzy, an insult that would have to be answered.  Eventually.

Though for now, the predictions of this new Necron threat to the Galaxy had been proven, and prevented.

The ancestors had been right to fear this sector. The Necrons had been there, just as they had feared. Their plan unknown, but undoubtedly too evil to speak of. For months, the Eldar had battled the Necrons' unwitting allies, clinging to any glimmer of hope that the Necrons plan might be uncovered. There had been few victories and much death. The losses to Craftworld Iybraesil insurmountable. Time and time again their hopes and lives had been extinguished.

Luckily, in the end some idiot Mon'Keigh pointed his stupidly large gun at something he knew nothing about and accidentally stopped the Necrons entire plan.

Iyanna Stormrunner stepped into the cavernous chamber. The enormous metal statue loomed over her. She had failed her Craftworld, but her life would not be for nought. She would be the Young King, sacrificing herself to wake the Avatar. Her life for the survival of her Craftworld. Even as she fell, a warm glow emanated from the midst of the towering statue. The stench of burning blood filling the air...

I love my job.

Meanwhile, Ozzy, Archon of the fallen Kabal was having far too much fun.  Whole planets under his domain, slaves beyond counting, ancient artefacts from the war on heaven?  If he could only rid himself of these voices in his head, of these annoyingly playful daemons that danced in his mind or the predations of Lucious the Eternal (who by the way was a hoot at orgies), maybe he could get back to Commoragh and kick Vect out of that chair?

Then again, maybe these Emperors Brats could be useful?


Of the Scorpion and the Priest.

In the aftermath of the death of Solemnum, the Faustian Conflict took on a new shape as the fighting forces adapted and changed interests.

The Black Scorpions, victorious at little cost, took the machine works of Nolan, the survivors evacuated from Warrens End and the spoils of the many territories and withdrew in good order. Enemies awoke to find the neighbouring sectors completely bereft of the giant marines, their fast void ships making quick work of blockades and leaving the sector for their home in the Helios Sector.
They had been called back.  Word of their actions in the Faustian Schism had reached unsympathetic ears and both the angered Adeptus Mechanicus, who had been horrified by the Space Marines blasphemous theft of Mechanicum property, and the Inquisition who had heard tales of witch craft and mutation demanded investigation.  The whole Chapter, which had been under fearful eyes before, would come under attack.  First by trial, then maybe, if things did not go well, by the Imperium itself.

However, with the spoils of war and the Black Scorpions own reputation for survivalism, the Helios Sector was heavily fortified to the point of paranoia. Could the Imperium afford a repeat of the folly of the Astral Claws?

Only time would tell...

Link to Rottimus' account. for more details on that!


Regiments at odds.

Trooper 23/3345 looked at the new markings on the starship wall.  The bulkhead had been decorated in the numbers of the dead.  It read like a maddening formula for most, but for him he saw people. To a point.  Each one an act of redemption.  His gaze though, unburdened of his gas mask for once, was staring at the golden mount.  "The Last Duty", the Stormsword super heavy battle tank was engraved their with her crew. Certainly the cog heads would mourn the loss of the tank, but the act would be remembered.

He stared at his hands, bandaged.  Like many of the plasma troopers.  He had been informed that sabotage was likely. The why was still beyond them. It wasn't his job to think about such things, but he did wonder. The Inquisition?  There had reportedly been a traitor working for the aliens. The Mechanicum?  They hadn't been much help. The Officers were petitioning the Ecclesiarchy and the Munitorium already, regarding the Black Scorpions. Someone knew something.  Maybe Inquisitor Dormenghast.

Trooper 23/3345 clenched his hands and fed off the honest pain.  Kreig lived of pain and loss, it was pure.  He just needed a new enemy to fight.

The map says that way!

Not in Kansas any more.

Brother Cyras feeled his way into the dark, The Duat as it had been called was impossible. It had taken everything he had to find an area with gravity and light.  After he had emptied an entire clip of bolt rounds on the portal crystal, he had blanked out from a wash of green lightning.  His armour was burned, blackened and dusted in charcoal.  The systems were flickering angrily as the machine spirit ached, but that wasn't the problem. his battery power was running low. Hunger and thirst were not the immediate problem.  Air was.  This place varied so much in its atmosphere...

He checked his bolt gun, stroking it and soothing the spirit within. 3 times he had encountered the Guardian.  A giant of immense power.  He had seen it move through walls, seeking him.  It had fought with something else, equally big.  And it had recently lost.  He was not alone.

As if summoned by the thought, the hairs on his neck stood, cracking with static.

"Tell me all you desire, and I will give it.  Tell me all you will give, and I will desire it..." 

A shadow loomed over him consuming the last of the light.

Next time, I'll be doing a bit of a review of our own campaign. Any questions, throw them down below and I'll be sure to answer them!

Thanks for reading! 
R

A Prison for Gods: Finale.

So after 7 months of gaming the Prison for Gods campaign is finally over. Last saturday the players were invited to one last narrative driven game as the forces of the Faustian Schism attempted to reach the ultimate prize: The gateway to the Duat, resting place of the Necrons sealed away technologies, and the most dangerous of Ctan.

As is typical of such events, not everyone could make it, but we did have a nice complement:

• Rory "Rottimus" with his undefeated Black Scorpions Space Marines.
• William "Wimaro" with his new and beautifully painted Ibraesil Craftworld Eldar.
• Chris "Soundslave" with his perverted and insane Dark Eldar with their famous leader Ozzy.
• Thomas "Lucky" with his determined and plasma shy Krieg Imperial Guard.
• Magnus "Sneaky bastard" with his Black Watch Imperial Guard.
• And me.  With my Necrons.  You know, the freaking antagonists of this adventure.  

Remember that last bit.  Because it matters.  It really does.

The Finale. (Lotsa pics!)

Around the orbit of the rogue world of Solemnum fleets of all the forces engaged with each other and the heavy automated defences of that mysterious planet. Burning black on red as its very core reignited with the heat from the local star, Solemnum was awakening. Having since long been in the cold, it was said that the kiss of a red star would open the gates. There had been truth to this. Energised by the boiling core of the planet, the ancient technologies that lay under the surface like bones took in that hyper-geothermal energy and powered itself.  

The only point on the planet which was not simply deadly Pylon networks, was a simple ziggurat, located north of the equatorial belt.  

Only a few of the forces in orbit above managed to send down forces, and of them, little would ever make it.  Between the violent magma storms and the Necron defences, it had been clearly stated as a suicide mission.  But then, promises had been made and there had been truth to them.  Threats old and dark, power unimaginable.  Many would risk death.

The Objectives.

The strategic objectives for the game were simple enough, the Ziggurat would yield a massive 6pts at the end of the game, while the Pylon and the Power Conduit would give 3.  Each player, took a secret Agenda card, depicting their personal intent.  Though on two sides, each player would have their own objectives, which would affect the game, and their allies.  As we found out, to horrendous levels!

They could either choose:

• Duty - Selfless Glory
• Ascendancy - Selfish Glory
• Destruction - Wanton Anarchy

Each one gave bonuses to one of the tables, and hinted at things that could happen on the board.  

Turn One.

The game started with the Dark Eldar revealing their allegiance to the last force anyone could exp- nah, who am I kidding. Chaos had allied with ozzy it seemed, as a Hellbrute took up office at the Pylon structure, instantly giving the Dark Eldar the reserves bonuses. 

Meanwhile, Lucius the Eternal deployed on the Ziggurat itself, already prepared to breach the Prison proper.  With the Shard Keys in their possession, most of the Necron defences and security would open to them. 

The Necrons had deployed two squads of ten warriors around the ziggurat, poised to take the fight as soon as possible. 

Though the Necron side had won deployment, after a reminder from Wimaro, the Dark Eldar side attempted to Seize the Initiative, and won!  Which was bad for them. As reserves would be coming on in turn one on a 4+.

The following is sadly a brutally simple report of what happened...

Reserve rolls prove to be highly unreliable, the majority of Black Scorpions are delayed while the majority of Iybraesil Craftworld Eldar turn up with devastating effect,.

The Necron Warriors make a move to seize the Pylon from the Helbrute as their strongest allies are refused a landing space.

And promptly fail to do anything worthy of note.

A typical sight, especially in 7th Edition...

After failing to Breach the gate on turn one, Lucius charges into the arms of the waiting Lych Guard, whose 3++ saves prove to be a pain.  Locked in combat, the two groups would get to know each other quite well...

The skies fill with fliers as the Dark Eldar's only air support delivers its Necrotoxin payload on the Necron Immortals, with disapointing results.  Imperial gunships deliver punishing lascannon support.

On the left, Dark Eldar Haemonculus and his body guard deep strike with perfection and no scatter to bring 3 "poop" guns.  Necron endurance is the only thing which saves them from total annihilation.

The Black Scoprions finally arrive, at the foot of the Ziggurat with an impressive display.  And then Rottimus fails his charge roll (3"!), meaning assured pain in the next enemy shooting phase.  A key point in the battle.  Tears may or may not have been shed, cups of tea required.

The fight for the Ziggurat heats up as Ozzy gambles everything by teleporting in on the hotspot.  As the rules for the portal borrow from the rules for Embarkation, he would have to endure a whole turn before being able to try and enter!

The Dark Eldar Scourges would provide more than a little help in this game, sniping with Dark Lances from afar, they proved yet again to be more reliable then the Ravager.

"Spare me from the destructive stupidity of Mon Keigh 'bravery'"
- Heard from an Iybraesil Dire Avenger.

Taking aim on the Power Conduit, the Shadow Sword "Last Duty" fired its Volcano Cannon.  The Power Conduit, a control node keeping the planets geothermal discharge in balance shook from the hit that overloaded its many ancient defences.  The Shadow Sword would fire two more times during the game, every attempt to stop it defeated by luck or by the Super Heavies sheer raw toughness.

The 3rd shot, saw it kill its prey. The entire freaking planet.

Managing to roll on the Cataclysm table, Thomas gleefully revealed his Agenda was Duty, gaining him a +1 on the chart in his mission to destroy the gate by any means necessary.  He rolled a 6.  Meaning the planet would die, quickly and violently.  A clock had been started and each turn from now on, everything there would take a strength 10 ap 2 hit.  In hindsight, this was waaaay too much.  But damn did it feel like the world was ending.

Half the boards figures disappeared as the crust opened and poured lava death across the battlefield.  Grand Warlords and tanks were taken out scorched and blackened and entire unites were vaporised by sudden gusts of superheated air.

Despite the chaos, the fighting continued. More Necrons deployed, though what was a populated board quickly got reduced to desperate heroics by survivors and new reinforcements. 

The fighting between Lucius the Eternal and his opponents would come to an end as his "girlfriend" turned up to help.

Hey.  Can you hear something?

Another rules quandry.  There would be sadly... several.  Seriously, screw 7th.

Obligatory butt shot.

 In the end, Ozzy of the Dark Eldar was locked in combat, to be taken out by falling chunks of burning rock.  Even Lucious the Eternal, as he ran for the crystal at the top, was knocked away by the storm. The Daemonic entity of the Keeper of Secrets though, charged in, removed form sight by an incandescent snap of green lightning.

Within the Duat, the Deamon Queen tapped into the secrets there within, corrupting some of the ancient Prison for her master.  Filling herself with the secrets of Necrodermis and Ctan solar energies.
However, before she could re-emerge as an angel of death, another angel of death ran in behind her.

No-one knows what happened within the Prison, as Brother Cyrus took on the one way trip, closing the Portal behind him.  Trapped within with a dimension of danger and a raging Slanneshi daemon as his only partner, his fate would be another story...

Meanwhile, the planet breathed its last as entire continental tectonic plates split and ruptured.  The surviving forces fled, many having their promised treasure denied, some wondering if the losses were worth it...

In the end, the Ziggurat was held by the Necron side, as was the other two objectives, winning an otherwise losing battle.  Though the prison had been breached, the planet itself had been slain, and the Daemon which had managed to become something even worse, denied escape.  For now.

Of the Overlord of the Necrons, his delayed trip and late arrival would need review...


An over-larged skeletal hand wrapped around the Cryptek's extended skull, gripping tightly, drawing the servent high.  Overlord Hautsi regarded the squirming Cryptek as he forcibly scanned his  coding. Lines of Necrontyr, calculations and script screamed across his vision, stopping as he found what he had expected.  

"SO. YOU ARE ALLIED TO ANOTHER." He stated.  Slamming the Cryptek against the sheer black wall.  The wall cracked, but not as much as the Cryptek's skull.  The mewling static informed him that he had broken his vocal emitter. 
"ThE OtHErs, We, wE feaRed YouR IntEnTions."

The Overlord dropped the Cryptek, who clumped up like a toy mannequin. 

"THE TRAZIAN DYNASTY HAS ALWAYS BEEN SLAVES TO GODS. GODS OF OLD LEAD US TO BETRAYAL.  THE FAKE GODS LED US TO DAMNATION.  THE NEW GODS I WILL FORGE WILL NOT.  WE WILL WORSHIP THEM, AND THEY WILL DO OUR BIDDING."

The Overlord was pacing fists clenching, he was panting, more as an ancient habit then born of any need.  The repair protocols on his face plate were malfunctioning, his death mask shifting from a skull to something more organic but at the same time infernal: Snarling and bestial.

"BuT WHy?  Said the Cryptek, the blood red Anhk of the Dynasty now changed to that of his true allegiance, that of Sautek.  "wE Don'T NeEd TheM!"

Hautsi crooned over the Cryptek, face inches away. 
"BECAUSE THE NEW GODS WILL HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO UNDO.  THE POWER TO BRING BACK WHAT WE LOST. WHAT WE TRULY SACRIFICED FOR THIS."

"OuR SOuls?" The Cryptek chuckled, green discharge like liquid lightning erupting from the cracks on his skull.

The Overlord came closer, eyes of balefire burning, the Cryptek, despite all of his immense knowledge of the technoarcana, could feel the rage, the insanity.

"NO. OUR CHILDREN."

And that was that.  Next up, the boring bit, the results.

A Prison for Gods: The final day. (Mission Brief)

As the rogue planet warms enough to allow passage, all the sectors forces move in to seize the prize, their mission: To open or seal shut the gates of the Duat. The Prison For Gods. Desperate to arrive as soon as possible, forces breach through the new atmosphere, risking raging storms to land and assault the enemies. But alliances are unknown, and there is no time to arrange for battle lines. Only the ferocity and the quick thinking of individual units will carry the day.

Atop the ziggurat, the instigator of this whole schism, responsible for every death by proxy waits for challengers.

The Armies

All forces for this mission are technically Attackers, and are advised to focus on Deep Striking units and units with Outflank. Grand Warlords must be taken.

The Battlefield

The Games Master will set up the board as displayed below, depicting mission intelligence. All Objectives are at this point unknown but some information will be present to allow for guess work. The lack of terrain is deliberate and depicts the bleakness of Solemnum's surface.

Between the planetoids turmulent storms, several detected defence pylons and the enemy ships, landing on the planet will be an excercise in loss.  Not to mention accuracy and dealing with what fate gives you.
Do not expect any plans to go as intended. Inform all line officers that initiative is allowed for this mission.

Objective Markers

There are a total of 3 Objectives on the map, as Described in the Warhammer 40,000: The Rules. One is the Ziggurat, the other two are the High Yield Obelisk and the Pylon.  These are also dynamic Objectives that rely on Players accomplishing feats in the game. Be warned however, certain actions will have certain consequences for the whole sector.

Deployment

Fixed Warlord Traits are suspended for this game to ensure no rules contradictions occur.

Players with Shard Keys may deploy 3 Units, anywhere on the battlefield at the start of the game in order of roll off and using table edges to establish deployment zones and retreat edges. In addition, these 3 Units must be accompanied by the Players' Grand Warlord. No unit may deploy within the usual range as per Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, however special rules operate as normal.

All other Units are in Reserve and arrive under the Rules below.

First Turn

At the start of the first turn, all players reveal their alliance cards and the relevant players begin rolling for reserves.  Reserves in the first turn are on 4+, continuing as normal with 3+ from the second turn.  

Game Length

This Mission uses variable game length as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.

Victory Conditions

At the end of the game, the player who has scored the most Victory Points is the winner. There are no circumstances for a draw. However, certain events during the mission may allow for a "moral victory," as well as affecting the final count up.

Primary Objective

At the end of the game, each Objective Marker is worth 3 Victory Points to the player that controls it. One Objective is worth 6 Victory Points.

Secondary Objectives

Slay the Warlord, Slay the Guardian (Classified), Slay the Overlord (Classified), Cause a Cataclysm (Classified), Breach the Gate (Classified).  

Mission Special Rules

Planetary Assault, Shock Tactics, Uncertain Alliances, The Fate of Billions.

Mission Reserves: This mission uses the Reserves rules from Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, modified as follows:

• All of the Players units except for those with Shard Keys must start the game in Reserve.
• All Players count as Attackers for the sake of the following Special Rules.

Planetary Assault

If a mission has the Planetary Assault special rule, the Attacker uses the reserves rule from Warhammer 40,000: The Rules with the following modification.

Instead of making Reserve Roles from the start of the second turn, the Attackers make Reserve Rolls from the start of the first turn.

Shock Tactics

If a mission has the Shock Tactics special rule, all of the Attacker's units that have the Deep Strike special rule and deploy via Deep Strike can charge in the same turn that they arrive from Reserves.

All of the Attackers Infantry, Jetbikes and Skimmer units that do not already have the Deep Strike special rule gain the Deep Strike special rule. This units cannot charge in the same turn they arrive from reserves.

All the Attacker's other units arrive from Reserves as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules. These units cannot charge in the same turn they arrive from Reserves.

Units that disembark from a Transport cannot charge in the same turn they arrived from Reserves, even if they or their Transport have the Deep Strike special rule.

Units arriving by Outflank do so normally, as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.

Uncertain Alliances,

During the first turn, the sides have yet to be established. At the start of the first turn, all players reveal their alliance cards and the relevant players begin rolling for reserves.  Reserves in the first turn are on 4+, continuing as normal with 3+ from the second turn.  

The Fate of Billions

As this is the last battle, all infantry units possess the Stubborn special rule.

Certain scenery items and certain actions during the game (revealed on and during play) will have consequences for the campaign and the planets in the Faust sector.