Webway Revealed!

For those of you that are interested Imperial spies were able to secure a copy of the Eldar webway in the Locara sector. By doing this the Eldar (both normal and dark have now become their own faction. No news on how this will work, but it is going to be interesting to see the changes within the Sector.

Hmmmmm..... The plot thickens......

This week the Radiation storm that has been raging since the 2nd week of the campaign suddenly ended. It destroyed a bunch of warp lanes and created a bunch of new ones. This makes sense given the change in points for movement so players/factions will have to think a little more about what they are going to do before they do it. There was a couple of Planet Strikes this week, HERA was attacked by a Nercon force and they destroyed the Salamanders and Imperial Guard who were holding the planet. Also, this week the Fang of Tzeentch was able to move to ARCHIMEDES and stop the Imperial Planet Strike there. That gave yours truly and a bunch of other Imperials free ride back to DANATH. This week, another person came forward complaining about the Pawn rule. I wish I had known that there were issues so it could have been sorted out. Of note the Imperials were 4 -0 for Planet Strikes with the Pawn rule and 0 - 4 without, looks like I shot us in the foot. With the changes it appears the a campaign is going to be a little more tactical for movement.....hhhmmmm.......

Cut off, Conditions worsen, Attack!

The Storm has gotten so bad that all but a few of the warp lanes are open. All the planets no longer provide any rest points. Talk about a perfect time to attack! The Imperials continued to push the pace and were rewarded with another successful planet strike against the Xeno strong-hold of LOS DEIMOS. I was an epic battle involving (I believe) over 500 pts but in the end the Imperials were left holding what has become the hub of the LOCARA sector. There have been a couple of other developments, the Pawn rule which allowed either the head of the Xeno's faction (Dracon) or head of the Imperial faction (Inquisitor) to submit moves for players on their team (provided that they allowed it) has been removed. Also, the points earned for both playing games and resting on planets have changed. Now instead of earn 3 pts with a win you will earn 5, then 3 for a draw and still only 1 for a loss. The resting bonus is now 5 pts when on a planet and seeing as there is now a even number of planets I'm happy to see the introduction of the new rule. The version of the rules that we are shifting to is 1.2 and it will also allow you to create a Nemesis (once you have 25 pts) on the opposing faction and when you play against them it earns you way more pts. In addition, you can now play a second army for earning pts but it has no other impact on the campaign. With the changes in the rules there was some confusion about when you had to attack so there are a couple of Xeno armies that are on planets that didn't attack but will be next week. For anyone that is interested there is still time to get in on the Return to LOCARA campaign. Here is the forum where everything is being run through and these are the rules.

The Storm grows and lightning strikes twice!

This week has been eventful to say the least. The Radiation storm that has been brewing since the beginning of the campaign has stretched across all most the entire map and done significant damage to the warp lanes. It is impassable and looks like it is going to sweep right on through. Players that are on planets effected by the storm are starting to not only not get bonuses for holding the planet but in some cases are actually starting to lose points!!! You can't have a serious storm without some lightning and that came in the form of not one but two successful planet strikes against HARSADED and ADAMA. So this is the strongest position that the Imperial side has been in since the beginning of the Campaign. Another interesting note is the mysterious energy source that had been moving around on the Xeno side of the map collided with The Royal Falcon (TRF) and destroyed his army (not teleported them back to RYIIS, the Xeno Homeworld but destroyed them)!!! At first I thought it was a neat trick to allow TRF to change armies but Orbital101 has just come up with new rules for having primary army which you play on the map but that you can have multiple armies from either side and get points for playing them (allowing players more freedom to change it up if they need a break from one force or another). There is still lots of gaming to be had and I'm curious to see what is going to happen with the storm and how it is going to continue to effect the Locara system.

The plot thickens!

One good Planet Strike deserves another! The Xeno's have claimed HARSADED and again dropped the Imperials down to having a single planet. This wasn't part of the original plan but I think it could work. The rules for Planet Strikes and movement have changed this week so it is going to now be easier to conduct Planet Strikes (you can now do them the turn you arrive into a subsector) but if you lose a Planet you have to wait 2 weeks before you can attack it again. Movement on the other hand got much more expensive. If your only going a single subsector there is no change but the further you move the more pts it costs to move, so now people will have to think about where they want to go before they start moving. I think that the next couple of weeks are going to be the turning point of the campaign, but only time will tell...

Finally the Imperium Strikes Back!

This was the first week that the Imperium actually took a planet back from the Xeno filth that have been rampaging across the Locara sector almost unchecked. We went to HERA and spanked The Red One Eye off it. Of course while we did that there were some big changes in how Planet Strikes are going to be done (they will happen the same turn as you arrive in a subsector vs waiting a week) also movement in the system got way more expensive, so we will have to think about moves before we execute them. I've also won a 3rd LIVE to Win challenge (which are great fun to try and grab and the bonuses rock!) and have been retired from the contest to allow more players the chance to win. The Xeno's have set up the potential for a Planet Strike on HERSADED but I'm not sure that they are going to be going through with it given that the Imperial Fleet was extremely close and moving back into the sector that they would be trying to attack. I'm very interested in seeing this week's map and to start planning our next major offensive.

Setting up the Dominos!

So after the Imperial Side learned the error of it's ways we have set up the worlds of the Locara Sector to fall like Dominos! Ok not so much but it sounds better that way. We underestimated the Xeno's desire to hold onto Adama and they were able to surge forward and protect it. Also this week the Royal Falcon moved into Samiel and destroyed the Imperial Space Station called the "Daughter of Venus". I was sad to see her go but she served her purpose allowing us Imperials to pull our heads out of our collective rear ends and get into the game. It looks like we will be able to attack and take at least one other planet in the sector this coming week, but we have a real problem of the Xeno's having way more pts than us. There is talk of changing the rules for people moving around the map. I guess we can get from one spot to another way to quickly and that is making it possible for people to fly all over and not think about what they want to do before doing it. There is also talk about allowing Planet Strikes to happen the turn that someone arrives in a Planets location. I'm a big fan of this as it allows the attacker to have the inituative vs announcing to everyone that he's going to attack there and then letting the defending has a bunch of buddies move to help defend. I'm very interested to see what happens this week and if the Imperials have finally gotten a planet from a strike action.

Hand me the lube! 3 up, 3 down!

So....that didn't go as planned....We had 3 armies move lead the way on Planet Strike actions against the Xeno filth and the dirty cowards were able to stop us. Not since Istevaan V has there been such a drop zone massacre. Luckily for us we are the Imperium of Man and the one thing we have lots of is men. So the War Master is back in his planning chambers coming up with what we are going to do given this less than ideal outing. On another note I was able to do two really cool things this week. My Wife (Mrs Big_Willie) played Space Hulk for the first time and enjoyed it (could have been the wine) she spanked me a couple times but let us play enough games so I could earn pts for the campaign. Also, I played Gub in some boarding actions. He changed his list and brought some serious Battlewagon's to play. They did very well and he took me out, then I challenged his manhood saying that he couldn't play another game in an hr so it was a big rush to get another game in before closing time. This time I came out on top so we ended up splitting the games. In another interesting note Gub was voted into power as the Drachon for the Xenos faction and I was voted in as the Inqusitior. Now when he and I play games they are worth a whole lot more pts and we both have some special rules that we can use to help or sides. So we may have a blood nose but the fight is far from over!

The Imperium Strikes Back!

This week we can see that the Imperium is striking back with 3 pers moving into position to commit planet strikes. Joyous Oblivion has moved to Hollin's world where Demons under the command of The Royal Falcon hold the planet in their warped grasp. Sallieman has moved to Los Deimos to wrest control from the traitor marines who currently hold it and Steel Paladin moved to Adama. We sorted ourselves out a little by elected a Lord Marshall but not everyone seems to agree with his plans so this could be interesting as we continue to find our stride. I think I will try and re-enforce either Adama or Hollin's World so that we can finally give the old Xeno scum a bloody nose. In other news Gub won the "Live to Win" Challenge and got 100 pts to spend on any one planet strike, which is pretty cool. One of these days I'm going to have to give the live to win challenge a try (Live to Win is a bonus contest that Orbital101 made up to allow extra participation and a way of getting more points). I'm all lined up to play Gub tonight and I have a feeling a well dressed ork is going to get spanked!

Game Day 2009 at Greedo's

So Game Day 2009 (not to be confused with Games Day, done by GW) has come and gone and it was a blast! Greedo and I were able to play 2 games of 40k, a game of Axis and Allies: Europe (with Fathers) and a game of Space Hulk (with Fathers). We linked the 40k games and the Space Hulk game into a mini-campaign and it went something like this:

First game of a mini-campaign. A rogue planetary governor has decieded that he will no longer follow the Throne on Holy Terra and declares himself to be the new Emperor. Space Wolf Strike force intercepts distress call from remaining few loyalists and move to crush the rebellion. The Wolves conduct an initial capture and control against the Traitorous scum and table them losing a single marine at 1500 pts.

Second game of a mini-campaign. Pressing the advantage from the furry of their initial success the Wolves drive straight for the governor, to cut the head off the snake (literally!). This time they encounter much stiffer resistance in the form of the governor's elite mechanized force backed with anti-aircraft guns and heavy tanks. The governor is slain by a berserking Ragnar Blackmane while the rest of the force takes terrible losses. (Greedo thought this should have been a minor win for me or a tie, I though it was a win for him, but since I'm playing in a campaign and can use the pts we agreed that I "won"). Upon killing the governor it is determined that he was only a pawn of a gene-steeler cult that had infected the upper echlon's of the planets society. The Steelers have fled aboard the Space Hulk "Frightful Anguish."

Final game of the mini-campaign. The Wolves bravely entered "Frightful Anguish" and made slow progress initially. The Steelers tested the defenses, propping for holes until they finally were able to sneak into the Marines midst. Several Wolf Guard went down swinging and in the end it was the Wolves that were able to accomplish their mission and destroy the slumbering Primarch and Magus of the Steeler cult.

In the annual Axis and Allies game with the Fathers we were playing the Europe version. It takes place in 1942 I believe and the US is just entering the war and Germany is at the height of it's power. I played ze' Germans, Greedo the USSR, my Dad the UK and Greedo's the US.

The game started with the normal push of Germans into the USSR which met with limited success and the German Navy thumping the crap out of the Royal Navy (some very lucky rolling). The Russians counter attack and are successfully defended but not across the whole front. The UK attempts to give the Royal Navy a chance by getting 3 cruisers. The US sends some air power to the UK and begins increasing the strength of their Navy to deal with the German Uboats.

Next round the German Navy takes out a great deal of the UK convoy lines across the Atlantic while attacking the newly minted UK cruisers. On the western front Germany begins a delaying action against the Russians while transport ships are built and deployed. The Russians continue their advance reclaiming all of the territory they had lost and setting themselves up for a significant push into German next turn. The UK hurting from their loss of income are only able to afford a bomber. The US opens several of the convoy lanes and allows some much needed income to flow into the UK coffers.

In an all or nothing move the Germans launch an amphibious landing against the UK. The offensive consists of 3 Panzer Divisions and 2 Infantry Divisions supported by 3 fighter wings, 2 bomber wings a cruisers and battleship. The UK falls with only a single bomber wing and Panzer Division left. The remaining Uboats in-circle the island to stop friendly re-enforcements and win Germany the game.

The Games was awesome fun and I had a couple lucky dice rolls and the Allies had a couple of unlucky ones. This game would have gone the other way with just 1 or 2 more kills for the Allied side as if the Amphibious landing had failed the USSR was set to roll all over German in the coming turns.

I had an awesome time and can't wait for Game Day 2010!

Adama falls!!

In a daring move Gub's Orks backed up by a great deal of Xeno/Heretic support launched a successful planet strike against Adama. This would have bee a crippling blow if it wasn't for the opening of several new warp lanes to allow for the Imperials to regroup. The other planet strike that failed was Twinlinked's Necrons attempted to take Hersaded. It looks like the Imperials are finally getting their act together and the loss of Adama is really starting to make all the Imperials commanders realize that they are going to have to start working together. I've voted that Sallieman be made the new Lord Marshall of the Locara sector, but we will have to see if other Imperial commanders agree. It looks like I'm going to get my wish and face off against Gub and his Orks again, just this time it is going to be a boarding action. This means I may have a chance to win some good pts and help out the Imperial side.

New Warp Lanes means new plan!

With the creation of new Warp lanes it is now possible to move around the map much fast and there are more places to launch attacks and more places to defend from. Worlds like Los Deimos and Adama just became more valuable for controlling traffic on the "Imperial side" of the sector. I'm thinking about moving to Riel as it is now directly in the way and should help be get into a boarding action a little sooner.

Imperial's finally begin to mobilize

Finally the Imperial Warmachine is starting to mobilize! After much hand ringing and debate the War Council has begun to make decisions and move Imperials forces to Samiel (where a brand spanking new Space Station (with covered exhaust vents) has been built), Harsaded and Adama. These movements were done to bolster the defences of those planets and choke off the warp lanes cutting the Xeno offensive in half (ok, maybe it's more like 1/8 but you get the idea). With Game Day (Greedo and I have an annual day) happening shortly I can see the Wolves fighting traitor guard and Steelers within a Hulk happening soon. I thought that Ann00bis and Gub were going to conduct a planet strike but nothing like that has been announced yet, so I'm still hoping that I can swoop in and get a couple of boarding actions against Gub's Ork Horde.

The Xeno invasion continues!

I wasn't able to play any games this week and my plan to have the enemy is working just not like I had hoped. Instead the enemy has gone around my sub-sector and looks like they are attempting to take Adama and Harsaded. I was under the impression that you needed to announce a planet strike on the turn that you tried to but I'm still a little unclear. A major note is the creation of the Daughter of Venus Space Station. It is located in Samiel and charges all enemy who transit through or stay in Samiel they are taxed 50 pts or whatever they have until they run out and are emergency transported back to their home world. I'm going to be seeing Greedo in a week or so and I think that we will be able to get a couple of games in so that means I should be able to get a couple more points for the Imperial Side. I'm interested to see what happens over the next week with planet strikes and movement of Xeno forces. Plus we have the big tournament coming on 28 Feb and the results of that may help swing the favour of the campaign to the Imperium's favour.

A week late but here was the first Locara map updates

This is basically how the campaign started following a 1250 pt tournament. Winners at the tournament were given first choice of planets and a head start on collecting points. I unfortunately was unable to make it to the tourny but I hear it was an awesome time. Like with all beginnings there were some missteps like all the Imperial players near Hera. We all weren't totally sure of the rules and were trying to conduct a planet stirke but we weren't nearly coordinated enough. I think that next time we will be able to pull it off. If your interested in learning more about or joining the campaign check it out here.

Return to Locara

For the last month or so the Ottawa 40k community has started a campaign called "Return to Locara." I've never had the chance to play in a campaign of this complexity and number of people playing. The head guru of this campaign is also the main reason why Ottawa has a fantastic major tournament "The Game Summit" which runs a winter and summer skirmish. Thanks for all the work Orbital101. Rules are fairly simple, you have to play the same Army book throughout and you have to be on either the Imperial or Xeno/Heretic side. Games can be played against anyone so long as they are on the other side and you can report 3 games per week. 3 pts for a win, 2 for a tie and 1 for a loss. There are a couple of other ways to gain pts and it doesn't have to be 40k that you play it can be any 40k based game (Space hulk, Epic, Inq and Rogue Trader). The pts are then turned in for moving around in the sector or conducting planetstrikes and boarding actions. One of the big things that I was surprised about was how much more I'm enjoying playing a campaign vs tournament play. I know that I still have a bit of the old "go out and thump your opponent" but it's starting to fade. One of the major things I've noticed is that it is harder to organize all the campaign players than I would have thought. Not to say that there hasn't been an effort one of the local guys even started our own Imperial Forum so we can coordinate our defense and restoration of peace in the Locara sector. I've attached a copy of the campaign map below so that you can follow our progress. In turns of games I've been playing against lots of Orks lately and been fairly lucky which has generated some good points. I'm looking forward to having some more good games and playing in the next tournament in support of the campaign on 28 Feb.