Tuesday 30 December 2014

Post Xmas Post

Well Christmas is all done, and everything is getting back to normal for most people.

Santa was good to me this year, I got a lot of what I wanted......

Conquest 40k, a game I've been looking at for a long time. Had to wait until boxing day, and a visit from the in-laws, although I suspect that it was all organised by the wife. I've been thinking about decks and looking at website for the last few days and I'm just as excited by everything I've seen. I'll go in to things more in later posts.

Tickets to the Kings of the North Tournament, a two day, 4 or 5 battle ( will have to check) orgy of 40k, pkus a load of other games. Was 2nd on my list after conquest, and will be featured heavily over the next few onths as I sort my list. I've already got a few ideas but will have to have a look at cost and feasibility.

I didn't get my two laser pens from The Army Painter. I was after both the TargetLock and Markerlight laser pens, as I think they could be useful in games. I'll now spend some of my Christmas money on them and get them from my club. It's always good to support your local club.

So all in all, I got the main things I wanted. I know there isn't much in terms of gaming and modelling, but I've got so much waiting to be painted that I don't want to add to it!

Wednesday 24 December 2014

Christmas

Its almost Christmas and Santa is readying his sleigh for a busy night, so this is my last pre Christmas post and its just a short one to say Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you have an enjoyable day and Santa brings you everything you wanted.

I'll see you again in the New Year.

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Gaming thoughts

Over the last couple of weeks I've managed to get a game in and watch a few others, the luxury of time off! And I've had a few thoughts on gaming, mostly about three way battles, proxy models and fair play. Nothing ground breaking or new I'd imagine, but I thought I'd put my thoughts down on here, it's what this page is about after all.

I'll start with three way battles. I turned up at the club the other day with no game planned, and was invited to join two other gamers in a battle. Now, in principle it sounded like a good idea, in reality its not. Now, a 2 vs 1 is a different matter, these games can be fun and can be useful for newer gamers, as they can discus details and tactics easily with there playing partner but 1 vs 1 vs 1 are not so simple. Even something as simple as deployment becomes challenging, what size table do you use? What deployment zones? Who table edges are who's? If you could put together a 6 sided table you could get around some of these problems, but not all of them. The other issue is time, these games take a lot more time than normal games. With extra set up times and an extra Player turn per game turn, time quickly disappears.

The only fun thing with these games is who to go after, with a whole host of models on the board, there are always targets. We played a 2000 point battle between a chaos army with a few bikes, a raider, 3 obliterators and marines, a wolf army with thunder wolves, scouts, a grey hunter squad and a whirlwind thing, and my Hjaltland LI, so with 6000 points on the board it was a little crowded, even with there extra 2foot of length we put on the end. Personally, I think games like these are not great, and I would much rather just watch a normal game than try and run another 3 way game.

The next week my game fell through at the last minute, 😞 , so I just watched the three other matches that were being played. One thing I noticed in these matches was the use of proxies, or rather there different uses. All three games had proxies of some sort or another, and all for different reasons. The first game was between Elder and Chaos Daemons, all very nicely painted models with some really good conversions. One of the players was proxying one daemon for a different daemon to test out the rules. The second game was SW vs Orks, with the Ork player using Rhinos for looted wagons, again all models were painted up nicely and there was some good conversions. The Rhinos were painted up in orkish colours and all, so you could just as easily called them conversions. The third fight was Chaos Marines against Orks. The chaos army was mostly painted, albeit in rather random colours and with no overall scheme, but most of the Orks were unpainted ( not a problem as far as I'm concerned ) but there were a lot of proxies, mostly Marine bikes for Ork bikes, random armless Orks for various weapons and large plastic dinosaurs for Squiggoths.

Now, proxing for testing rules is not only sensible but also a reasonable thing to do. It means you don't have to spend time, money and effort on something you may not actually want to use. A friend is using some rhinos as wyverns at present to see if he want to run 4 of them in a list, that's about 136 quids worth of models, a lot of money if he decides not to use them. Although if your still proxying after several months it gets a bit silly. Proxing for units with no models, something of  a rarity these days, with a similar model or conversion is also fine in my eyes, as long as it is similar. Using a converted rhino for a looted wagon is fine, both model and fluff wise. I can't think of any other codex entries with out models these days that would need proxying, I'm sure there are some somewhere.

Both of these uses of proxies are fine in my eyes, there sensible and reasonable. The final example of proxying is not so clear cut. The Ork player was proxying a number of different units for different reasons. He was using SM bikes as war bikes, similar in size and shape, they are reasonable proxies, but with no attempt to orkify them, does it make them less valid? Along with using various random Ork models to represent various units, such as plain old Orks boys as Runtherders and random Orks as Weirdboyz, it adds to the question of their validity as proxies. The one example however that I find hard to deal with though is when it comes to Forge World items. Proxying to test rules is fine, as FW models aren't cheap, and no one wants to fork out a load of hard earned cash for something that may turn out to be useless and proxying a plastic dinosaur for a Squiggoth is ok, border line but ok, but 3 is pushing it a little I feel. This is especially so when you know there not doing it short term until they can buy the real thing. The other thing is a matter of scale. What size is a proper Squiggoth? I haven't ever seen one, nor do I have the measurement for one, so how do I know that the plastic dinosaur is an accurate proxy? If its a little out, I won't be bothered, but if its a lot out I would. After all it can make a big difference in a game using true line of sight and base to base contact.

I may well be being a little harsh with my criticism, but I feel that there is a big difference between proxying a model or two in the short term and half an army on a regular basis. Now, I'm more inclined to allow there player in question to get away with this sort of thing as he's just a kid, he's enjoying the game and he's the future of the hobby. It does kind of make the game very one sided if he's bringing lots of FW units or high powered units, all of which are proxies. Maybe it's just me being a grumpy old man. But it does kind of flow in to my next point, fair play.

I bring this up as the other Ork player, playing the SW's, fired a shock attack gun and rolled a double, a 3 I think, meaning he had to place the template on the nearest unit, friend or foe. Now, he chose to place it slap bang in the middle and take 7 hits, when he could have placed it at the edge and taken just 3. Now, he lost 5 boyz, which didn't do to much to him, as he drew the game in the end, but it could have done a lot more damage in the long run as opposed to loosing just 1 or 2 boyz. That's about 9 to 16 hits different in cc, and that could be huge against MEQ's. So what's that answer?

Personally, I think you can look at it in several ways. In friendly games I would play it that either let your opposition choose or choose with them, or just drop it in the middle and let the dice fall as they will, after all its a friendly. In a more competitive setting, I would either draw a straight line and place it on the closest model regardless of what the model is or choose a corner of the unit and go from there, after all its a competitive environment and every wound counts. You can bet that your opponent won't give you easy wounds and their playing for the win as well. I've bent a few rules in my time on the tournament tables, some intentionally, but mostly just by accident or over enthusiasm. Fair play though does require both sides to partake, if one side is playing for the win regardless of the game, them its fair play to use the rules to your advantage as much as possible.

In the end though, its up to the players and the environment your playing in. The main thing though, is to make sure your having fun!

Friday 19 December 2014

blood angles codex

Well, I've had a look at the new codex and I'm impressed. I like it, there are still a lot of options, and many of the lists people said were dead and buried are still alive and kicking. Yes, a pure decent of angels army is gone, as is a pure DC list, but that's not a major problem as two scout troops can be bought for a little over 100 points and that fills your troop tax.

The codex also takes the BA's to where they should be, as they are a Codex Astartes chapter with just a few differences, unlike the SW's and DA's. Personally I would love for the BA's to move away from the codex for the extra flavour. SW's are very different already, DA's should be more different with  raven wing and death wing as more central to their organisation, and BA's should be moved to be more about fast vehicles and assault troops. The Black Templars are another chapter that has a lot of flavour and should be kept as they are. This would in my opinion create a lot more choice and flavour to the general SM force. But I can moan about that more later, back to the BA codex.

As for my lists, well, I need to sit down and work out points, but it looks good to me. There will be some alterations regarding tac squads with heavy flames and assault squads with melta weapons, but on the whole the plan still looks good. Once I've got the list sorted I'll post it up with the others on here, hopefully it won't take too long, but we're rapidly approaching Christmas, so it will probably be in the new year.

Some things I noted about the codex though are;

Although DC are now elite rather than troop, they have come out better than before. As far as I can tell there is not restrictions on the number of units you can take. This means that with 4 elite slots you could take 60 DC rather than just 30. In addition if you wanted more dreads, you can take more as well, potentially up to 4 DC dreads, with 2 Libby dreads as well. So all in all, I think DC's came out up.

Assault marines defiantly came out of the new codex better than before. Again they moved, but being able to take 4 melta weapons for about 135points is brilliant, although I'll be going for a slightly more expensive load out but keeping every one with a pistol and CCW. Still, these boys will be the core of my army and with one of the formations in WD all about assault marines, they will defiantly be hitting my table soon.

Tac squads with flamers for horde control. As far as I could see, there is now nothing stopping me having a hand flamer, flamer and heavy flamer in my squads. Combat squadded, this will put 3 templates in a 5 man squad, stick them in a Razorback with a TL flamer and you'll have even more template death.

Baal preds moving to Heavy is good, as it frees up that extra slot for assault marines, and its really where they should have been all the time.

Drop pods have also made it in to FA as non-dedicated transport. Brilliant for allied guard, suicide demo SW squad anyone?

The codex formation is nothing to shout about, but as I said about the assault marines, I'm looking forward to the WD ones and possibly the Shield of Baal ones as well, but I haven't heard much about them yet.

When all is said and done though, I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to the codex and sorting out my army and getting them on the table.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

My wish list

With Christmas around the corner I thought I would do a spot of wish listing, not just for Christmas but in general as well. Now considering most of my models are still unpainted, or still in boxes (my Valkyrie from June!!) I am not looking for any models for Xmas.

There are a few things I do want for Xmas, the first being the wh40k Conquest card game from FFG, have looked at this and even played a game, this is defiantly no. 1 on the wish list. The next two items are pretty similar, and are the Army Painter laser pens, both the single spot one and the line one. I know a few people who use a pointer to check line of sight and such, and they can be very useful, so I figured I would get one of each and I should be covered for those 50/50 decisions on LoS and the like. Lastly, there is a tournament up this way in April next year. The Kings of the North is a weekend tournament, with 40k plus other games going on, and having played in the last few tournaments run by these guys, I hope to play in this one. As usual, the sole aim is not to come last, that's it, not going to have a fully painted army or going for a WaaC list, so it's about having fun and not coming last!

And that's pretty much it, my Xmas wish list, short and sweet, mostly cos of the amount of unpainted models I already have, I don't need any more.

Also on my wish list for the future are a large number of models;

For my MT force,

Two boxes of 20 man dreamforge Eisenkern Stormtroopers. These are my count as scions, modelled with modified las guns and various bits of kit. 40 blokes should finish my company nicely.

4 Taurox's built to Prime spec, two Gatling armed and two missile armed variants,

Two Tauros with grenade launchers, converted from land speeders and ork wagons
One Tauros Venator with multilasers, also converted from a land speeder and an ork wagon

One Vulture with both 4 MRPs and twin link punisher options, for some extra air power

And for the rest,

One more chimera for my Hrossey vets,

One chimera hull for conversion in to a wyvern, to join the other two for a full battery,

A baneblade super heavy, just because every guard army should have one,

And that's pretty much it, not a very long list, but there are some expensive options on there. None of them are particularly important as I can run everything I want to with what I already have.

Friday 12 December 2014

Blood Angles

As mentioned in a previous post, my second SM army will be based on the BA codex. I have always liked The BA's since an old friend of mine played them way back in 2nd ed. Their Image and fluff always attracted me, and marked them out as something different, although, back in 2nd I was a Wolves player alongside my IG. I don't remember how allies worked back then, if they even existed at all, and my rule book has long since disappeared, but I alwys found it fun playing the two together, classically using the guard as human shields.

This time around, with the aquisition of a number of Khorn Beserkers and not being a chaos player, there really was only one choice, a proper BA attack force. With a good mix of loyal and chaos parts, I plan to build up a very mishmashed force, one on the edge of sanity, using whatever it can find to replenish supplies. In many ways this is similar to my other force, the Disciples, although, for different fluff reasons. The force will consist of a lot of assault marines and a vanguard squad, with a tac squad and possibly stern guard for support. There will also be the standard Baal pred for some extra dakka. I will however be staying away from some of the more unique choices, such as death company and sanguinary guard, as I don't want a BA army in different colours, I want a different successor chapter with its own identity. I know that many of the BA's successor chapters keep a Sanguinary guard to honour there founding chapter, but the Eagle Knights are not confirmed as successors.

So am I looking forward to the codex release, yes I am. It will be interesting to see how many of the rumours play out, and how many are just false doom mungering. Only time will tell on that one, but so far I really like the look of the new kits. The tactical marines look good, and I think that I will be using them in support of assault troops, and so the heavy flamer will be very useful. A tac squad with heavy flamer, flamer and either combi-flamer or hand flamer. I would prob go for hand flamer just cos then I can use it every turn, a strength 3, 4 and 5 templates every turn will wreck havoc with hordes or any squad really, provided I can get a hand flamer on the sgt in the new dex. I prob won't buy the new kits, just convert, as I have several IG flamers and heavy flamers spare. I also like the death company box set, it has lots of options and parts, good for conversion. The only things that may prove problematic are the hand flamers and infurnus pistols. I would like the hand flamers for the tac squads and the infurnus pistols for at least one, if not two assault squads, depending upon upgrades, as I intend to use a squad or two for assaulting vehicles. Although, if all else fails, there is always the vanguard squad chocked full of infurnus pistols and power fists, guarteed to ruin any vehicles day.

One consern is what is happening to the red thirst and descent of angles. Descent of angles is now a warlord trait, which could prove a bit problematic for an allied detachment, but the rule may have been replaced with something else. Hopefully, the red thirst will become an army wide trait in the same way as the chapter tactics for the main SM chapters.

Well catching up with the latest rumours has lead to so disappointment, Assault troops are no longer a troop choice. This is going to mess with my plans a bit, but the formation rumours may well make up for this disappointment. Two heavy flamers in sternguard maybe useful, but it doesn't go with my idea of sternguard as elite hunters.

We'll have to see what rumours come true, and what's just wish listing.

Tuesday 9 December 2014

What next???

So what's next?

Well, the MT list is going to get an overhaul in light of the news about FW, so there will be some Tauros and Vulture gunships. I've got a few ideas for converting some land speeders in to Tauros and Tauros Venator, an example of what I'm thinking about can be found here. There was a better example that I found, modelled around Tallarn IG, but I can't seem to find it again. The Vulture will be the standard Forge World item, unless I can find an alternative that I like. The Vulture will have either twin-linked Punishers or 4 MRPs, still deciding upon that. Also this will all mean that the whole MT list will need reworking, but that will be posted up in time.

In addition, the new BA codex is due out soon, and when I can get eyes on a copy I'll be having a look at my Eagle Knights list to see what changes I need and to see if I still need to convert a Rhino shell in to a Baal Predator. I'll also muse over any information, releases or rumours that I think are interesting or relevant to my gaming.

Also, we can't forget that it's almost Christmas and so there will hopefully be plenty to talk about, with new toys and all.

I'll also try and update on what is happening on my painting table, which is currently nothing, even though I have a multitude of half painted and based models, and also any games that I manage to get in, again probably not many.

On a personal note, things will quieten down on the blog, not only for Christmas, but my wife is due with our second on New Years Eve, so any free time I did have is about to disappear completely!

Friday 5 December 2014

Hildasay PDF

This force is similar in nature to the Eagle Knights SM chapter, it is formed of the remnants of my imperial forces. While I don know the exact amount of models that will be available to me for this force, I do know that it will be very heavy weapon team oriented. From memory I have about 6 missile teams, 6 mortar teams, 6 heavy bolters, 6 las cannon teams and a couple of auto cannons. This means that I can field at least 8 squads of heavy weapons, meaning that I will need to field two platoons, and so at least 4 squads, 2 PCS and one CCS. hopefully I should have the models for this, although I'm not sure how effective the force would be, as it would be a bit of a glass hammer, hitting hard but not being able to take much return fire. Although, with all those heavy weapons, there shouldn't be much to shoot back! In addition to these models, I also have 3 scout sentinels and a hell hound, the one mentioned in the Hrossey vets list.

The fluff,

The Hildasay PDF is a small force, formed around the extensive use of heavy weapons. The reason for this is due to the fact that the planet is a vastly overpopulated hive world, where the planets law enforcement and the Adaptus Arbites form the major power and exist in such number that the PDF has no need to contain large number of infantry units. However the law enforcement forces do not possess many heavy weapons as there main tasks are patrolling the confines of the Hive, where heavy weapons are to cumbersome and would take too long to get in to suitable fire positions, should any exist. Therefore, in the event of an invasion or a more serious uprising, the PDF can be called upon to deploy with there heavy weapons in support of the law enforcement forces.

The reason for the substantial law enforcement troops on the planet is due to the vast overcrowding that is present within the hive world. This is due to some historical disaster that befell the world of Hascosay, around which the moon or Hildasay orbits, and the fact that the moon use to be a prison. With the mass exodus that occurred from Hascosay, the hives expanded massively and almost uncontrollably. This lead to a number of riots and uprisings, as both food, water and supplies ran in short supply. This lead a massive recruitment drive by the local law enforcement amongst both the upper classes and the scum of the lower hive, all recruits draw by the promise of both pay and guaranteed meals. This had the effect of also reducing the available man power and equipment for the local PDF units, and lead to there specialisation with heavy weapons.

These units will be used as support units for my main forces, either the Hjaltland L.I. or the Hrossey Yeomanry, and maybe even deployed alongside the Space Marine chapters, to supply heavy support. On the whole, they probably wont be deployed much, but they are useful to have, as when they are deployed, they can provide some considerable punch.

Tuesday 2 December 2014

The Eagle Knights Space Marines

This is my second SM chapter, the fluff for this chapter is less developed than for the other chapter, as is the army list. There are two main reasons for this; firstly, I don't know exactly what models I will have avaliable to me after I have finished the Emperors disciples. I will have some remaining, including a number of rhino hulls and several CC units, mostly chaos berserkers. Secondly, the list is based off the Blood Angles Codex, which is due very shortly. As such, units may change, war gear will certainly change and points will definitely change. This will mean that the list will have to be rewritten and there is little point rewriting something when I will not get around to using or playing the list before then.

Anyway, here is the fluff.

The Eagle Knights were founded during the 21st founding, and although no official records of there parent chapter exists, it is suspected that they are a descendants of the Blood Angles. This is due to many marines exhibiting symptoms of the red thirst, and to a lesser degree the black rage. While the red thirst is common amongst the chapter, the black rage is not and as such the chapter has not death company. At anyone time there is usually no more than a squads worth of marines that have succumbed the to black rage within the whole chapter.

The lack marines developing the black rage has been put down to the efforts of the Adeptus Mechanicus in Perfecting the gene-seed. While this is seen as an advantage by many, it has lead to a number of issues, one is the tendency for marines to have highly aggressive nature. This has lead to a high number assault marines within the chapter, and an overall focus towards close combat within the chapter. However, the main flaw that has presented itself is the mutations of the marines bone structure, much like that of the Black Dragons. In a similar way to the Black Dragons, the Eagle Knights are viewed with suspicion by the inquisition, with many inquisitors believing the chapter is tainted by Chaos. Although in contrast to the Black Dragons, the Eagle Knights comply willingly and completely with any requests from the inquisition or any other imperial forces, viewing their mutations as a curse not a gift. The main mutations are in the form of bone growths but can form  mutations of the soft tissue.

The Eagle Knights are specialists in close quarters fighting, where their aggressive nature is most useful. Those that are not so aggressive in nature are formed in to tactical squad to support the efforts of the assault squads. As such each company has a larger number of assault marines and fewer devastator squads, usually 5 assault squads and only 2 devastator squads, supported by 3 tactical squads. I addition the chapter also utilises a number vehicles, notably rhinos and razorbacks, tuned up to the limits of possibility, and can often be seen racing across the battle field, hot in pursuit of the jump pack equipped assault marines. It is rare to see an Eagle Knight walking to battle when other, faster methods of transport are available.

Within the Hjaltland campaign, the Eagle Knights have taken on their usual role of shock forces. Wherever there is a strong point or area of strong resistance from enemy forces, the Knights will launch lightning raids getting up close and personal, digging out even the most stubborn of enemy.

Although, they are always happy to serve alongside other Imperial forces, there relationship with the Disciples is strained at best. This is due to the deformities' that each chapter suffers, with the Knights seeing the Disciples with contempt for inviting upon themselves the very thing which the Knights wish to rid themselves of.

A generic assault marine from the Eagle Knights Chapter. This assault marine will be from a "second wave" Rhino based squad, as shown by the lack of jump pack. These marines are used to follow the main assault wave and re-enforce and mop up after the initial assault.

Friday 28 November 2014

Inquisition army list

Well, again this list is mostly theory, having never played with any of it. I have MathHammered it several times, and although I'm not a big fan of MathHammer, the list does stand up well.

The list

Inquisitor 1 - 53
(Tullus) Power armour, Rad grenades, Psychotroke Grenades

Inquisitor 2 - 73
(Adrien) Power armour, Combi-bolter, Psyker ML1

Henchmen 1 - 108
12x acolyte, flak armour, boltgun

Henchmen 2 - 185
5x crusader, 5x death cult assassin, preist, psyker

Henchmen 3 - 185
5x crusader, 5x death cult assassin, preist, psyker


I will also have the option to replace 3 acolytes in the first squad with plasma cannon servitors, bringing the cost up to 204. Henchmen squads 2 and 3 will also have the option of including a second preist at the expense of a crusader, bring the total cost to 195.

In addition I'm still considering the usefulness of Jokearo's and power mauls on the preists. All will add points, but will they be useful points?

The idea for this force, will be to take Adrien with the first henchmen squad and blast away at range, while Tullus and the other squads close and engage in CC, using the crusaders to tank wounds both in the charge and combat, using the DCA to kill whatever the squads charge, hopefully with a little help from the priest and the Inquisitors grenades. If all goes to plan, rerolling 20 attacks, with 17 hits, causing over 15 wounds at AP3, equals one dead marine squad, and that's only with the DCA.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

The Inquisition

So what ties all of these forces together? Who else but the Inquisition! At present the 15th company of the Emperors Disciples, the 56th Dagr Ormr MT, and the Hjaltland Yeomanry battle group are under the direct control of the Inquisition, requisitioned from their respective forces by two inquisitors, Inquisitor Marcas Tullus and  his junior Inquisitor Tamhas Adrien.

Inquisitor Marcas Tullus, is an aging inquisitor, in the twilight of his career, and as such has taken a young inquisitor by the name of Tamhas Adrien under his wing. Tullus has travel the length and breadth of the imperium in search of answers, and is a member of the Xanthism, a radical faction of the Inquisition who believe in studying and understanding the power of chaos, and turning it to constructive purposes. While this is at odd with many an Inquisitor, especially the more puritan aspects of the organisation, it is seen by the members of the faction as the only way to ensure the survival of man.

Tullus has repeatedly been drawn to the Segmentum Pacificus by the turbulent nature of the segmentum and the events that have unfolded there in recent history, including the night of a thousand rebellions.  With the instability and the unusually high level of chaos taint within the area, the chances for study are almost limitless. Horatius Adrien, although a relatively young inquisitor, has already shown remarkable zeal for the Xanthism cause. It is for this reason that the older inquisitor has taken the young man as an apprentice, to guide him and teach him, so that he may continue the work tullus has started. It is also to ensure that he does not stray too far from the path of righteousness in to the darkness.

The view of many of the Xanthities does not meld well with other parts of the Ordos Xenos, and also with the Deathwatch, this has led to many forming alliances of their own. As a result of these differences, it has been necessary to maintain a small force of loyal servants to act as both a bodyguard and also a strike force should the need arise. Tullus has over the years amassed a number of servants from a variety of different backgrounds to act in such a manor. Due to the fact that the inquisitors' work brings them in to contact with many forces of chaos, including the possibility of chaos marines, Tullus has recruited those most skilled with both blade and shield. Those who have shown exceptional skill with a blade have been armed with power swords and those who have shown extreme stubbornness have been given shields, so that when combined these units can defend the inquisitors from even the most skilled and determined foes. In addition to these units, a smaller number of men, who are skilled with a rifle have also been recruited and armed to take on foes less determined. All of the servants in Tullus’ service own both their lives and loyalty to Tullus for many of these warriors, especially those whom skill lies with sword and shield have been recruited from within chaos cults, and in exchange for their lives that have sworn an oath to protect and serve Tullus. The exceptions to this are those who were recruited for their prowess with a rifle, for many of these were recruited from the ranks of the imperial guard and various PDF's.

Tullus and a number of other Xanthities that operate within the segmentum pacificus have formed an alliance with the Emperors Disciples, with who share similar ideas and opinions. As a result of this alliance, the two have fought many battles together and currently the 15h company of the Disciples along with a number of AM and MT forces are currently requisitioned by Tullus for the investigation of chaos taints across parts of the segmentum and in particular the areas of the sabbat worlds that are on the edge of the crusade that is occurring there.

Friday 21 November 2014

Emperors Disciples 2000pts list

This is the 2000pts list for the 15th Company of the Emperors Disciples. This list differs from the previous list as I have not run any part of this list and it is based mostly on theory. Personally I believe that it is a decent list with lots of options and possibilities, but I wont know for sure until I get around from recovering the models from the loft and getting them on the table.

The list-

Chapter master - 165
(Company Master Marcellus), Artificer armour, power sword

Honour Guard - 165
4 Vets, Razorback

Librarian - 90
ML2

Terminators - 240
Assault cannon, 2x chainfists

Dreadnought - 100

Sternguard - 225
5x sternguard, Combi bolter, razorback

Tactical - 145
10x marines, flamer, heavy bolter

Tactical - 145
10x marines, flamer, heavy bolter

Tactical - 180
10x marines, Rhino with stormbolter


Tactical - 175
10x marines, Rhino

Devastator - 170
4x missile, 4xflakk

Devastator - 200
2x plasma cannon, 2x lascannon, 5x marines

A simple list that should be easy to use. The Chapter master and the Librarian will join the honour guard in the razorback and go with the sternguard to deal with any troublesome units, while the tactical marines move on to the objectives and eliminate any enemy soldiers. The squads with the heavy bolter will combat squad, leaving the heavy bolter sections behind for fire support. The devi squad with flakk becomes the main anti air, while the other devi squad combat squads in to the two plasma and two lascannons to deal with different threats, i.e. 2+ saves and vehicles respectively. The termies will deep strike in to the back field and cause as much chaos as possible.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

The Emperors Disciples Space Marines

The Emperors Disciples space marine chapter were founded during the 13th 'Black' Founding and is a small fleet based chapter, that spends much of its time in the outer fringes of the Segmentum Pacificus, guarding the Imperium from enemies from beyond the Emperors reach. The chapter is entirely fleet based and claims no home world, nor dominion over any systems. Instead it roams at will, fighting as and when it sees fit.

Whilst the founding chapter is officially unknown, many, both within and without, believe that the chapter is a descendant of the Imperial Fists, and while the chapter follows the teachings and ideas of Dorn and also Guilliman, they maintain a very different chapter structure. This is due to the fact that the the chapter is a highly mobile fleet based chapter, where each company can operate in relative isolation for long periods of time from the rest of the chapter. As such each company contains a sternguard, a vanguard and a terminator squad, in addition to the 6 tactical, 3 devastator and a single assault squad. This composition reflects both the isolated nature of the companies and there tactical doctrine, preferring long range fire power over close combat, as such the assault squad spends much of its time deployed on the companies attack bikes and land speeders. In addition, the company master maintains a personal honour guard. In addition to the attack bikes and land speeders, each company also maintain a small force of rhinos, razorbacks and predators, with a few companies containing valuable dreadnoughts. 

As many of the veterans are contained within the individual chapters, the 1st company is relatively small, containing only the chapter master and his personal honour guard, as well as the Apothercarion, the Chaplaincy and the Librarius, as well as the chapters Techmarines. However, many of these spend there time with the various companies, usually only returning to the 1st company at the request of the chapter master. The 2nd company, unlike many chapters, contains the chapters recruits, and travels with the 1st company, upon the chapters only battle barge, the Emperors Gift. This mighty vessel is also home to the chapters few land raiders, whirlwinds and vindicators.

As the Emperors Disciples prefer the use of long range firepower over close quarters fighting, spending large amounts of time perfecting their marksman ship, they do not maintain a large number of vehicles. This also shows in the fact that they are specialists in small scale surgical strikes in support of larger Imperial forces. 

Like many of the 13th founding chapters, the Emperors Disciples have suffered a number of tragedies, with the loss of three whole companies to the warp and an additional 3 companies lost to chaos, either partly or wholly turning on the imperium. Two of these companies have been purged to the man, as is only right for a traitor to the Emperor. The chapter also differs from many chapters in how it deals with such losses, and as such the current companies number, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14 and 15, with the lost companies not being reformed, in addition to there being no 13th company.

The chapter  is fiercely loyal to the Emperor, and believes in the complete destruction of the enemies of man, and that it is only this result that matter, not the means and so are willing to use any and all options at their disposal. As such the chapter is more than happy to experiment with xenos weaponry and technology or even delve in the powers of chaos for any advantage. Although the chapter is willing to use chaos artifacts and even the power of chaos itself to defeat the enemies of man, it is careful not to repeat the mistakes of the Relictors or Soul Drinker and other similar chapters. This may have resulted in the turning of the tainted companies and has resulted in the chapter being threatened with Excommunicate Traitoris many times, but it is a risk considered to be worthwhile in the fight for man’s survival. This has however, lead to a number of run-ins with the inquisition and other marine chapters and while the disciples aim to avoid any conflict with other forces of the imperium, it cannot always be avoided due to the closed mindedness of many weaker servants. There has however been some who share the views of the Disciples, mainly those of the Xanthism Radical faction of the Inquisition. This has led to a close working relationship between the emperors’ disciples and several members of the inquisition who operate within the Segmentum Pacificus. This has meant that the chapter has had some protection from those who would see the chapter excommunicated.


The 15th (XV) Company

The 15th company is the newest company of the Emperors Disciples and is commanded by Company Master Marcellus. The company is based upon the Emperors Claw Vanguard Class Cruiser and established less than 50 years, after the loss of the 12th company to the warp nearly 200 years ago and it is keen to prove itself within the chapter. Due to the company’s recent creation, it has not fought in many battles, the largest and most important campaign was the battle of Hjaltland, where the company was deployed in its entirety for the first time in its history. The company is currently not at full compliment, standing at company master and honour guard, 5 man terminator squad, 5 man sternguard squad,  4 tactical squads, 2 devastator squads. The sole survivor of the 5th company, the dreadnought Emperors Courage, also resides with the 15th.

Emperors Disciple's Tactical Marine, notice the yellow helmet crest and hand, in honour of their founding chapter.
 

Friday 14 November 2014

56th List(s)

This post will be slightly different from the previous lists that I've posted for two main reasons. Firstly this is more a of a WIP, as I currently only have some of the models and secondly, this will only ever form an allied detachment or formation, and not my main force. As such the list will be in two parts, what I have and what I am building towards.

Current models - 343

Command Squad - 120
Tempestor Prime with Bolt pistol, Vox-caster, 3x Hot-shot volley gun

Squad Red - 111
Tempestor with Bolt pistol, vox-caster, 7x Scions

Squad Blue - 111
Tempestor with Bolt pistol, vox-caster, 7x Scions

I will be adding some extra special weapons to the above squads (when I get the models), probably flames to compliment and also be interchangeable with the below squads.

The next list will for the ground attack formation, and is currently devoid of models

Ground Assault Formation - max 1010

Commissar - 25
With Bolt gun

Command Squad - 210
Tempestor Prime with Bolt pistol, Vox, 3x Melta guns
Taurox with Gatling cannon

Troop 1 - 245
Sgt with Bolt pistol, Vox, 9x Scions, 2x melta gun
Taurox with Gatling cannon

Troop 2 - 265
Sgt with Bolt pistol, Vox, 9x Scions, 2x Plasma gun
Taurox with missile launcher

Troop 3 - 265
Sgt with Bolt pistol, Vox, 9x Scions, 2x Plasma gun
Taurox with missile launcher

At present, the MT force at the top, is used as part time allies for either of the two AM lists, deep striking in behind the enemy or by a problem unit. The vox casters are there to ensure orders get through, as these are a key part of their effectiveness.  Most of the time, these units will be an either/or choice, rarely used together, but it's nice to have options.

When the formation is complete, the top list will form the vanguard while the formation rolls along behind. The formation can be adjusted as needs be as well, just taking minimal squads drops the price to around 790 or even at the most basic 600pts, although you don't get much for that.



Tuesday 11 November 2014

Militarum Tempestus strike force

The Moon of Nott is a small paradise world orbiting a gas giant, located within the Segmentum Pacificus near to the Sabbat Worlds. The planet is a beautiful green and vibrant place, full of lush green forests and rolling hill with flocks of brightly coloured birds and animals, none more dangerous than the average house pet. The worlds primary purpose is to provide recreational facilities for important servents of the imperium, but it is also the location of Schola Progenia. The world provides the perfect place to study the imperium and the art of war, offering both peace for study and, with the aid of the neighbouring world, practice for war.

The moon of Nott is one of three inhabited worlds within the system. Nott orbits the gas giant of Vindr, along side another inhabited moon, that of Sla. Sla is an airless moon, covered in sprawling factory complexes, processing the materials harvested from Vindr. Although the factories of Sla do not produce any finished products themselves they process and refine numerous raw material for exporting to the greater Imperium for further processing.

The final inhabited world within the system, and the only true planet, is Eyrr. Eyrr harsh unforgiving desert world where the inhabitants huddle together in great towering hive cities. Eyrr itself is generally considered to be a recruiting ground for the Imperial Navy.

Both of these planets provide training for the scions of Nott, and allow the cadets to experience a large number of battle fields, from jungle and woodland, to inhospitable and unforgiving deserts and the vacuum of space. The Factory complexes and hive cities also provide training grounds, not only for the practicing of urban operations but also for more realistic situations. For it is not uncommon for a unit of cadets when maneuvering through the under hives or basements of factories to come up against hostile forces, either in the form of gangs or cultists, and for many it provides the first taste of battle, and for some the last. It is for these reasons that the scions of Nott are specialists in close quarters fighting, especially within urban complexes. As a result, the Dagr Ormr as are also specialists in deep strike insertion techniques, rarely using their Taurox Primes or Valkyries.

The Militarium Tempestus forces on Nott are known as the Dagr Ormr, the Day Serpants. At present, it is the 56th Platoon that is fighting on Hjaltland. The 56th is led by the highly experienced and able Tempestor Prime Agnarr and formed of the platoons Daggri and Dagalien. These units have been assigned the task of mounting precision raids on to targets of high importance, including the elimination of any cult leaders that may still be alive and recovering any artifacts of importance to the inquisition. The strike force also has the task of verifying reports of the presence of Chaos Marines on the planet.



Friday 7 November 2014

Bolt Action

Well, this will be my first non-40k post, there won't be many, as 40k is my main hobby and the main focus of my time and energy. There are however, a few other systems that have caught my attention over the years. The list isn't long, Bolt Action, A Very British Civil War (VBCW), and currently I'm looking at Firestorm Armada and Firestorm Planetfall.

Granted, there are other systems out there and they all have there advantages and disadvantages, Dystopian Wars, and the Legion and Armoured Clash counterparts, X Wing, Malifaux and Dropzone Commander are other systems that spring to mind, but for me, it's the astetics and the fluff side of things that real me in to a game.

The Firestorm games have caught my attention due to the similarities between both Battle Fleet Gothica and Epic, two games I have enjoyed in the past. I have seen several campaigns online that have both elements involved, or rather will do when Planetfall is more available, and the idea sounds good to me. You start off with a points limit, play various space battles, and as you loose ships, you loose resources for your ground troops and therefore how many ground units you can field. Now, I dont know if there is a proper mechanism for this in the rule books, but many of the fan made systems sound very workable. There are only a few factions that I like the look of, mostly the two human factions, the Directorate and the Terran Alliance, but I will have to have a game of two before I think of investing.

Bolt Action on the other hand is a game I have played several times. It's a simple easy game with a very simple system, easy to learn with a great activation system, one I'm planning on trying in 40k. I have had several opportunities to get in to the system, and while I have always wanted to try, several things have put me off in the past. time and money to put in to the hobby being one, although not nearly as expensive as 40k, it's still not free! The other reason has been opponents, not a lack off, more of a difference in attitude. Some would refer to them as rivet counters, you may know them by other name. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against these types of players, for them it's integral to the game and I see their point, it is, after all, a historical war game. But for me it's about the game not the history, after all I watched a game of Russians Vs British last weekend, and a very enjoyable game it was too. Which leads me to the fact that I think I've solved most of the issues, I've found opponents in my local club who have a similar attitude to me in regards for the fun of the game, and secondly, I've been looking at minitures from The Plastic Soldier Company. Now there not very customisable being mostly one part minitures and there not as highly detailed as some of the warlord or perry minitures, but they are cheap, and they will do the job, enabling me to get close to 1000pts of soviet forces on the field for around £50. This includes about 6 squads, two artillery pieces, mortars, machine guns and AT rifles, plus officers and medics and even a FOO. Maybe not the best, most rounded force in the world, but one I can play with and have fun with.

This brings me on the VBCW, I fun game set in 1938 and base on civil war in the UK. Pretty much anything goes as long as it was around prior to 1939. I played many games against Russians, Scottish separatist, local Militia, armeds shop keepers and even local cricket teams! My initial plan was to use the same Russians for both BA Russians and VBCW Norwegians, with the story that they had been sent over by the Norwegian monarchy to assist the British monarchy to re-establish control over Scotland, as that's where I was playing my games at the time. It's a great game, with lots of options, as the game doesn't really have any specific game mechanics, just a lot of fluff and back story.

At the end of the day, war gaming is all about having fun, whatever you do.

Thursday 6 November 2014

Forge World Militarum Tempestus

Just a quick post to highlight some good news for MT players. Grumpy Guardsman over at Cadia's Creed has emailed FW to ask about the FW fliers, and got a response about all of the IA range.

You can find the post here.

Its certainly going to change my ideas for my MT force in the long run.

Tuesday 4 November 2014

The 1313th 2000pts List

This list is a classic MecVet list, reliant on mobility rather than overwhelming numbers like the 851st list.

Company command - 287
Colonel Leith (Stracken), 4x Plasma, Master of Ordinance, Carapace, Krak Grenades.

Tank Command Squad - 530
Major Turvous (Pask) in Leman Russ Punisher with Heavy Bolter Sponsons,
2x Leman Russ Battle Tanks

Non FoC HQ - 225
2x Priest
2x Primaris Psykers, ML2
Commissar

Troop 1 - 136
3x Melta, Sgt with Bolt Pistol, Demolitions and Grenadiers doctrines

Troop 2 - 195
3x plasma, Chimera with Extra Armour, Grenadiers doctrine

Troop 3 - 161
Sgt with bolter, Krak grenades, Chimera with Extra Armour, Grenadiers doctrine

Troop 4 - 161
Sgt with bolt Pistol, Krak grenades, Chimera with Extra Armour, Grenadiers doctrine

Fast attack - 170
Imperial Navy Vendetta

Fast attack - 135
Imperial Navy Valkyrie with MRP's

In addition I also have a Hellhound which I can run as a Devil Dog replacing Troop 1 or as a Hellhound/Banewolf replacing Troop 4, giving some extra flexibility to this list.

How does this list run, well simply it requires getting stuck in early. The Company Command goes in the Vendetta and Troop 1 or Troop 2 goes in the Valkyrie, depending upon who I'm playing. An armour heavy enemy and Troop 1 would go in or for a Heavy Inf strong enemy it would be Troop 2. The LRBT's trundle forward destroying everything that they can, popping transports where possible for the Vets in the Chimeras to close in and finish them off. When the Vendetta comes in it will take out any enemy fliers that maybe around or failing that go for any heavy AV14 vehicles, dropping off the command squad any where its needed to deal with problem units. the Valkyrie comes on and starts shooting up the infantry, dropping off its units where needed, either to deal with important vehicles or heavy inf units, dependant on what its carrying.

One unit that was mentioned but is not present yet is the Rough Riders, they are a work in progress and I'm waiting on all the bits before I can start to build them. When there built they will replace one of the troops, either 3 or 4.


Sunday 2 November 2014

Victoria minitures

Just a very quick post, but just seen the wheel conversion for the Taurox on victoria minitures. Very very cool, just made the taurox's a lot lot cooler in my books. Anyway here's the link.


Friday 31 October 2014

Hrossey Yeomanry

The difference between Hrossey and Hjaltland could not be more stark. Where Hjaltland is a densely vegetated and mountainous jungle world, where as Hrossey is composed of vast open plains. This in turn is reflected in the planets military, with the Hrossey yeomanry being a highly mechanised force, with significant numbers of chimeras. This is to enable the rapid deployment and movement of troops around the surface of the planet. Due to the low importance and low population levels on the planet, Hrossey does not have to supply troops for service in the Astra Militarium, and has rarely done so, arguing that it is a better use of such man power for the production of food supplies than soldiers. The only time that the planet has provided troops for the AM at the beginning of the Sabbat Worlds Campaign, when 5 regiments, the 1287th to the 1291st, were mobilised. At the time, this amounted to over half the regiments that were kept as permanent PDF units on the planet. However, with the current situation within the Sabbat Worlds, a "request" was made to the governor of Hrossey for the mobilisation of a regiment of the Yeomanry, which lead to the 1313th being mobilised alongside the 851st Hjaltland L.I.

With the separatist rebellion on Hjaltland, the 1313th Yeomanry was deployed alongside the 851st L.I. on to Hjaltland. This meant that the yeomanry had to abandon there chimeras and take to the forest on foot, leading to significant numbers of casualties, up to 90% in some squadons. As a result the 1313th is only a shadow of its former self.

The 3rd squadron was one of the luckier squadrons, being posted to support the 1st company of the 851st Hjaltland L.I. and as such, have survived in greater numbers. This is also due to the actions of the commanding officer, Colonel Leith, a man of outstanding courage and determination. The colonel is not afraid to lead from the front, sharing in the risks of the soldiers under his command. While this means taking great risks, it also enables the colonel to react to any situation at a moments notice, making sure the best units are in the best position.

The 3rd squadron is full equipped to deal with any situation, with the 4 sections each armed to deal with a specific task, from tank hunting to taking the many monsters that walk to field of battle. While the 851st rely on numbers to overwhelm the enemy, the 1313th rely on the speed of their chimeras and the imperial navies aircraft to make up for the lack of numbers.

The Yeomanry regiments of Hrossey are supported by various artillery regiments, notably the 56th Artillery Squadron, which is armed with Wyvern heavy mortars, although a few venerable griffins are stored by the squadron. Currently the 3rd wynern batteries 2 remaining wyverns are on attachment to support the 851st.

In addition to the regular forces on Hrossey, there is the local Militia, formed to many of the sons of the ruling land owners. The main unit of the militia forces are the Lancer units, often named after the land owner funding the unit, such as the Kirkpatrick Lancers. The mount of choice for many units is the plains cat, a large tiger like animal capable of carrying a man with ease. The majority of the time, these units are used to hunt down other wild plains cats that are bothering the herds or even just for fun, but in times of war, they are deployed as rapid reaction forces to hunt down any small bands of enemy soldiers that maybe in the area.

In addition to the forces of Hrossey, the planet is also home tons small number of units from Helliar. These tank units are part of a mutual agreement between the two planets, which also involves the stationing of some Hrossey Yeomanry units on Hellier. This arrangement is seen as mutually beneficial as it means each planet can be more specialised in its recruitment and training. At present the Hellier 12th tank squadron is attached to the 1313th yeomanry, with the 6th tank troop supporting the 3rd yeomanry squadron. The 6th tank is commanded by Major Antoun Turvous, astride his Leman Russ Punisher, who is always flanked by his to troop mates in there Leman Russ Battle Tanks.

Tuesday 28 October 2014

The 851st 2000pts list

This is my current 2000pts list for the 851st' 1st company.

Aegis with Quadgun - 100

Regimental command - 237
Commander Ollaw Jhonisoun (Creed), Master of Ordinance, Officer of the Fleet, Standard, Heavy flamer, Flamer, Medipack, Carapace

Company Command - 227
Captian Nicole Thomassoun (Commander) with plasma pistol and Kurov's Aquilla, 4 plasma guns, Officer of the fleet, Carapace

Additional HQ's - 250

2 Priests
2 Commissars
2 ML2 Primaris Psykers

Yellow Troop - 371

Troop Command -
Lt Wischert with boltgun, 4 Flamers, Krak grenades

3 Squads -
all containing Autocannons and Flamers

Heavy weapons squad
3 missile treams with Flakk

Red Troop - 161

Troop Command
Lt Sandersoun with boltgun, 4 Flamers, Krak Grenades

4 Squads
All with Flamers

Blue Troop - 201

Troop command
Lt Andersoun with Boltgun and Melta Bombs, 4 Grenade launchers,

2 Squads
Sgt with Melta Bombs, Melta, Krak Grenades

Heavy Support - 160
Hrossey 56th Artillery, 3rd Wyvern Battery
2x Wyverns, Enclosed

Fast Attack 170
Imperial Navy Vendetta "Wolf Hunter"

Total 1997


So what's the thinking? Simple, Yellow Troop along with the Regt command sit behind the Aegis Line, with the Wyverns at the rear. A commissar joins the HW Missile team, manning the Quadgun for extra BS4 Anti Air shooting. Red troop is split in to two blobs of 20, flanking the aegis line with one squad from Blue Troop in support for dealing with any armour. The Troop command squads go where they are needed to support the troops as they move forward. The Vendetta starts with Thomassouns' company command aboard ready to deploy where needed, using Kurov's Aquila to reroll those get's hot results.

The Aegis line will usually be deployed in to a corner or with a ruin on one side to offer some flank protection. The Officers of the Fleet are there to try and deny enemy reserve rolls. The priests and commissars are there for some Ld bonus', and the psykers are there for prescience and any other useful powers that they get. They will get at least 3 different power and potentially 5 different ones, which means that you generally have 2 useful powers a turn for each psyker.

Friday 24 October 2014

Hjaltland Light Infantry

The Light Infantry Regiments are the main fighting force on Hjaltland, acting as both the Planetary Defence Force and also providing regiments to the Astra Militarium. Due to the size and population of the planet the force is small, usually consisting of a handful of regiments at anyone time, with one regiments being provided for service to the Emperor every ten year.

With the terrain of Hjaltland small continents being so mountainous and covered in jungle vegetation, vehicles are of little use. As such, the L.I. make little use of them, preferring to travel light and on foot through the numerous trails and tracks that criss-cross the continents. As such, much of the equipment used by the L.I. is man portable, such as autocannons for heavy support and missile launchers for anti-air, with flamers, or both the standard and heavy varieties, being common amongst the troops.

The 851st Hjaltland L.I. is the latest regiment to be mobilised for service in the greater imperium, but due to the recent rebellion, and transport errors by the Imperial Navy, has found itself once again on Hjaltland. During the rebellion the 851st gained itself a fearsome reputation for its fighting abilities, and has earned the name the Jungle Hunters, in recognition of there ability and relentless stalking of the Chaos Separatists through the jungles of there home world. Many separatist surrendered upon hearing that it was these warriors that chased them through the jungles, although all this act did was earn them a quick death as the 851st passed by, for mercy was not something to which the jungle hunters were willing to embrace.

The Regiment is currently lead by Commander Ollaw Jhonisoun. Commander Jhonisoun has proven himself to be a charismatic and energetic leader. While he has sometimes been criticised as to cautious, his steady approach and an unwillingness to throw away the lives of his men has earned him a lot of respect by all the members of the regiment. This does not mean that he is not willing to take risks when it is necessary or to sacrifice his men when such actions are needed, such as to hold a valuable objective.

The regiments 2nd in command and first company commander is Captain Nicole Thomassoun. The Captian is seen in a very different light to his superior. Although he is well respected by the troops, he is also seen as reckless and somewhat of a medal chaser, and can often be seen fighting up at the front and on many occasions in front of the line. Wherever possible, Captain Thomassoun like to deploy on to the battle field via the Valkyries or Vendetta's of the Imperial Navy, jumping to wherever the fighting is thickest or where his squads plasma guns can cause the maximum amount of damage. This approach has lead to high rates of casualties amongst the troops assigned to his unit, and is seen by many as a one way ticket to the Emperors judgment. It has also caused many arguments between the commander and the captain, as the captain is very rarely in a position to actually command the first company.

The First company, which is usually formed of 6 platoons, like many of the other companies within the 851st, have been depleted in both men and equipment as a result of the recent rebellion, is currently formed of only three platoons, or Troops as they are know within the Hjaltland L.I., Red, Yellow and Blue Troops. Red Troop, lead by Lieutenant Sandesoun, is tasked as a multirole platoon, to support both yellow and blue platoons. YellowTroop, commanded by Lieutenant Wischert, is tasked as the defensive platoon and is armed with the majority of the units autocannons. Blue Troop, lead by Lieutenant Andersoun, is the main offensive platoon, and contains all of the companies melta guns, a rare and valuable weapon within the Hjaltland L.I.

Tuesday 21 October 2014

The Hamnavoe System

The planet of Hjaltland is located on the outer fringes of the Imperial Segmentum Pacificus, near to the Sabbat Worlds, and is one of a group of planets within the Hamnavoe Star System. The system is comprised of a number of planets and moons. Of the planets only a few are inhabited, namely Hjaltland, Hrossey and Helliar, with the moon of Hildasay being the only inhabited moon.

The Planet of Hjaltland is formed of many small sparsely populated mountainous and heavily forested continents, that are spread across the vast oceans that dominate the planet. The main exports of the planet are the rare chemicals and substances that are harvested from the plants and animals of the forest. Many of these substances are destined for consumption by the nobility of the local and neighbouring systems, either as items of vanity, cosmetics and perfumes, or as medical remedies.

The planet is considered to be of very low importance by the Administratum, and as such the Tithe requirement of the planet is very basic. At present this tithe stands at the provision of 10% of the planets total products, which due to the amounts produced by the planet is collected once every ten years. As such the planet is not required to provide troops to the imperial guard, but as a show of loyalty to the Emperor the planet also provides a full regiment for service to the IG at the same time as the tithe is collected. The Hjaltland Light Infantry regiments are the main fighting force of the planet, and form the planets PDF as well as providing regiments to serve in the IG. The total number of men under arms on the planet can be measured in hundred of thousands and the total population in millions, it was last recorded before the separatist uprising at just under 2 million.

The other planets within the system vary in appearance. Hrossey is the largest planet in the system, although it is still sparsely populated. As a low technology agri-world, responsible for the production of the all of the systems food resources, in addition to the tithe requirement of 25%, most of which is bound for the Sabbat World Crusade. The planet is formed of a few of large continents ,which cover the vast majority of the planets surface, with numerous small interlinked seas. As a result, the planets PDF, referred to the Hrossey Yeomanry, utilise chimeras in large numbers. Again, the planet is not required to field any units within its yearly tithe, and only rarely voluntarily supplies one, the notable exception was at the beginning of the Sabbot World Campaign, when 5 full regiments, over half the PDF's total strength, were mobilized.  

The last populated planet within the system is Helliar. This is an industrial planet of low to middling technology. The main exports of Helliar are numerous chimera based vehicles and the more basic pattern Leman Russ tanks, along with the staple supplies for the Imperial Guard, such as Lasguns and pistols, and numerous heavy weapons, especially autocannons. Much of the equipment produced currently goes to support the Sabbat World Crusade, but a large number of vehicles and equipment  goes towards the local regiments. In addition, Hellair also maintains a small force of Leman Russ tanks, many of which are the more technologically advanced versions, such as Vanquisher and Annihilator variants.

The last inhabited body in the system, Hildasay, is a moon of the dead world Hascosay. Hildasay is a small hive moon and in contrast to the other planets within the system, is vastly over populated. Legend has it that the world of Hascoray was once  a world of riches and technology, one of the main hubs of trade and commerce in the surrounding systems, and the moon of Hildasay was nothing but a backwater slum and prison. As to how Hascosay came to be in its current state, no one can be sure, some say catastrophic natural disaster, others say war and famine and while others say it is due to more sinister reasons. What is know is that any records of said event have long since been destroyed, either by accident or design.

Hildasay has a small military force, comprising of a number of Sentinels and Hellhound variants. The PDF is small in size due to the main force on the planet belonging to the Adeptus Arbites and their local counterparts. These units outnumber the PDF units, both in terms of numbers of men and equipment.

Within the system, there are also a number of other planets, ranging from several gas giants to small planetoids, and numerous moons and asteroids. There are also a number of mining colonies dotted about, supplying many of the raw material needed for production on Helliar.

Right, now that's out the way, I promise the next post will be about the 851st Hjaltland L.I., their history, formation and current composition.





Friday 17 October 2014

The Hjaltland Campaign

I thought that I had better do a little background in to the formation of the 256th BG first, before I get in to the actual units and their individual histories and formation.

The 256th Imperial Battle Group, often referred to as simply the 256th or the BG, was formed after a separatist uprising on the planet of Hjaltland. Due to the systems location and proximity to the Sabbot Worlds, it was not surprising that a uprising by separatists occurred. Lead by cult members dedicated to chaos undivided, and comprised of a number of highly placed officials within both the administratum and the Planets Defence Force. There was also significant evidence that cultists from the Sabbat Worlds travelled to the Hjaltland, influencing the population. With a number of senior PDF officers corrupted by the forces of chaos, the opening salvos for the uprising was brutal and well managed, targeting loyal PDF forces and elements of the Administratum which remained out of the control of the rebels. The result was a complete collapse of all law and order on the planet and the disintegration of all organised resistance. However, the separatists made a critical error, as the recently deployed 851st Hjaltland L.I., along with the Hrossey 1313th Yeomanry, were still waiting on the near by planet of Hildasay for the Navy transports that were to take them to the Sabbat Worlds. These transports had failed to materialise out of the warp, whether they were destroyed on route, redirected or were never even dispatched in the first place remains unknown. However, this enabled local commanders to redeploy there forces quickly to meet the uprising on Hjaltland.

The battle was short and brutal, raging for only a few months. Casualties were high on both sides, especially amongst those units not from Hjaltland. A prime example of this was the Hrossey 1313th, who, deprived of there chimeras, suffered significant casualties in the close quarters jungle fighting. For the 851st the story was different, earning the name The Jungle Hunters, they took every opportunity to exact total and unforgiving revenge on anyone who would sully the name of there homeland.

 At the end of the campaign, the forces remaining on Hjaltland were greatly diminished, as such all the remaining elements from the Imperial forces were formed in the Hjaltland Yeomany Division, to assist the remaining PDF units in the final cleansing of the planet. The Hjaltland Yeomanry Division was formed around the remains of the 851st Hjaltland L.I., and included elements of the 1313th Hrossey Yeomanry, the Hrossey 56th Artillery, the Helliar 12th Tank and Hildasay 9th Fast Attack Wing.

In addition to the elements of the AM currently on the planet, a small force of Militarum Tempestis Scions were also dispatched to the planet. The force, the 56th Dagr Ormr Strike Group, was tasked with hunting down and eliminating any remaining senior cultists that may still be alive.

It was during the fighting that the presence of the Inquisition was first noted. None are sure when they arrived or their reason for coming but they were first sighted in the company of Space Marines from the Emperors Disciples and also the Eagle Knights. Elements of both chapters were seen at various times during the campaign leading strike forces against separatist positions often in the presence the inquisitor. It was shortly after all resistance by separatist forces ceased that Inquisitor Tullas formally requisitioned the Hjaltland Yeomany Division and the MT Dagr Ormr, and is currently preparing for there deployment in support of elements of the Eagle Knights and Emporers Disciples.

Thursday 16 October 2014

First post

Well, I've finally jumped on the bandwagon. I've thought about it for years, in one form or another, but now I've decided to take the plunge. I'm sure that it will take me a while to get the hang of blogger and it's intricacies, but I'll get there in the end.

So, what's this blog going to be about? Well, it's going to be about the 256th Imperial Battle Group.  Never heard of them? Well neither had I until a couple of months ago. With the addition of a number of marine models, both loyal and chaos, plus the addition of a second DV box set, with the release of 7th, a plan was hatched. The core of the battle group will be formed by the valiant Imperial Guard of the Hjaltland Light Infantry and Hrossey Yeomanry, with support from the Militarum Tempestus of the Dagr Ormr and the Space Marines of the Emperors Disciples and The Eagle Knights chapters. The battle group itself was formed by the Inquisition, namely Inquisitor Tullus, with the aim of cleansing a number of systems just outside of the Sabbat Worlds.

I'll go in to more detail over the next few posts as to the composition of the various groups, and also there current state, which mostly is "in a box in the loft", but the basic structure is a number of 2000pt lists with some additions. First up will be my main army, the Hjaltland Light Infantry.