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Thanks wyfox. I actually read the lead-up fluff to the campaign and Kolosus is described as a nitrogen gas-giant... that screamed Neptune to me.



The moons are described in terms of their mineral wealth rather than habitability so I figured earth-moon looking moons would be OK. I'm working on two groups of asteroids at the moment. If all goes well they'll be done tonight.


I'll be honest, I've never been a fan of Badger. Probably wouldn't have participated even if I'd known about it.

Nice work on the planet and moons. Very effective.

I love that box. That is a really cool gift.

Managed to miss the BFG moons.. Some nice work you did there!

MOOOOOOONSSSS!!!!!!! Gitsplitta showed us his full moon! *giggle*

That's no moon, its a space stat... no wait, its a moon

Well, I promised regular updates so I'm going to try and make good on that. The main thing occupying my hobby time lately is that I'm involved in a 6-person 30k campaign that a friend of mine is running. We are however, not using GW's 7th edition rules, instead we're using fan-created 8th edition rules. There are 3 people per side... 3 marines and 3 Mechanicus, one of which is Dark Mechanicus. Mechanicus players are all using 8th edition rules & armies for simplicity's sake.

In short, the campaign takes place around a gas giant called Kolosus. Kolosus is ringed by hundreds of moons and moonlets that are rich in mineral wealth, which is why there is such a heavy Mechanicum presence in the area and why it is a point of conflict. Both sides desperately need the resources it holds. That's pretty much it. From that point on we arrange our own battles and develop our own story arcs, which my friend Lee then incorporates into the larger narrative (basically a book, similar to the black books of the Heresy series). Only two weeks in it has been great fun and as gamers are wont to do, the side narratives are spinning completely out of control (I'll explain later). OH, to keep things sane, no named characters are allowed in the campaign... they're all plenty busy elsewhere.

What I thought might be fun was to bring you guys along. Present... well, not really battle reports but little narrative-driven blurbs with photo support so those of you who don't have the luxury of living in an area with a lot of other 40k players can see what it's like. I have to write up narrative stuff for Lee anyway, so I might as well get some extra bandwidth out of all my work! It's actually been quite helpful as it's forced me to define some things about my AdMech that I would have never bothered to do otherwise... which in all honesty has been great fun.

Lets begin shall we? Oh, one more thing... I don't speak Mechanicum so please forgive me if I don't try to write machine language (or even pseudo machine language).



Prologue: The Battle of Diogenes Run

The planet Kolosus is surrounded by mineral rich orbital debris, asteroids and moons, The outer layers have been mined for millennia and as such are fairly depleted. The planet-side and interior debris is still rich in minerals, but navigating the debris field is very difficult and dangerous. There is an access point through the asteroids however where three moons (due to their stable orbits, physical size and gravity) form a permanent corridor to the planet and allow access to the inner parts of the debris field. The moons are collectively known as The Diogenes, named after an ancient Terran philosopher (one of the founders of the Cynic philosophy). The space between the moons was called The Diogenes Gap. Long before the Imperium established control over the area, The Gap was the home of raiders, pirates and the like which would prey on mining ships trying to get planet-side to mine the wealth of the system or, more likely, trying to return home with their hulls full of minerals and ores. The presence of the pirates was well known and among the miners, getting through the Diogenes became known as "Running the gap." Over time, the name of the gap was transformed into "Diogenes Run".

In M29.481, a Mechanicum fleet from the Tharsis Draconis Forge on Mars was sent on an official mission to take control of the Diogenes Run and set up a permanent, defended access point to the Kolosus planetary system. Since that time the Imperium has had control of access to the inner sphere where only officially sanctioned travel was permitted. This has allowed several Forges to set up relatively secure mining operations and has made this one of the most productive resource gathering nodes in the Imperium.



Chapter 1: Tharsis Daconis Forge

Tharsis Draconis Forge is one of the many forges on the Tharsis plateau near the equator in the western hemisphere of the red planet. It is located on Tharsus Tholus, a large shield volcano in the northern part of the Tharsis plateau. There are several forges on Tharsus Tholus, Each takes the "family name" Tharsus and adds their own "personal name"... in this case, Draconis. The forge has always been loyal to Mars and Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal, but the Dominus Prime of Kolosus operations, THX-1138 is a secret member of the Cult of the Omnissiah... thus when The Schism on Mars occurred, being cut off from his home forge he and his installation stayed true to The Emperor of Man,




THX-1138 contemplated the implications of the data stream. As dominus prime of the Tharsis Draconis Forge mining operation on Kolosus, the outbreak of civil war on Mars and the schism of the Astartes was an uncalculable shock. Did Tharsis Draconis Forge still exist? Had it stayed true to the Omnissiah or backed Horus? He hadn't been able to contact anyone outside of the system for months and he only knew of the heresy by intercepting transmissions from other Imperial (or former Imperial) sources. The latter was worrying, as he knew that conflict was not far away. He also knew that there were other Forge representatives in the Kolosus system. Where did their loyalties lie?



If conflict comes, we'll be ready. THX-1138 thought. The Forge had committed a large number of resources to this mining project and he had a fleet of four capital ships at his disposal, with authority to call in more if necessary. It occurred to him that he might be in a more defensible position than even his home forge. His musings and calculations over for the moment, THX-1138 turned to his subordinate SEN-5241.. "We must secure the mining base." he canted in binaric. "Optomize the fleet's position for defense."

"Shall we cease mining operations Dominus?" replied SEN.

"No. The Omnissiah protects us only as long as we serve him faithfully. That means continuing our operation." said the Dominus.

"The Vibrante Draconus reports that the fleet is in position Dominus." reported SEN. "They are patrolling near the orbital station."

The Vibrante Draconus was his flagship... an Imperial battlecruiser. She lead three other cruisers... the Certatim Draconis, Iratus Draconis and Robrum Draconus. While far from a grand fleet, they were well captained and experienced it battle. They would serve him well.






Chapter 2: First Blood


Dominus Prime THX-1138’s concerns about getting dragged into the conflict between the forces of Warmaster Horus and the Emperor were well founded. No sooner had the Tharsis Draconis fleet re-deployed around the space station Diogenese than they were beset by forces of the Sons of Horus themselves. Luckily, the defensive nodes on the “sentinel moons” had detected the approaching fleet in time for the Tharsis Draconis fleet to react. The marine fleet’s flag ship accompanied by several cruisers filled with gene-altered space marines were quickly approaching from the opposite side of Kolosus.




Intercepted communications from the traitor fleet indicated that they intended to seize the station rather than destroy it in order to take control of the defensive network of moons and orbital gun platforms. That would change their tactics and help to even the playing field. The Sons of Horus outgunned the Draconis forces, but the defenders had the station and a variety of guns throughout the defensive network. That would also even the odds. The Warmaster's fleet split around Kolosus in a pincer action. Two cruisers accompanied the battleship Tyrant's End, while two more swung around the opposite side of the planet.




Luckily for the Draconis fleet, the cruisers Iratus Draconis and Robrum Draconis had just arrived near the two isolated cruisers.




On the other side of Kolosus, the situation was far more dire. The battlecruiser Vibrante Draconis and cruiser Certatim Draconis had taken up defensive positions near Diogenese Station and were facing the Tyrant's End and two cruiser escorts.




Shielding the Diogenese was of prime importance, and the two ships moved into position to repel the attack. They must prevent marine boarding parties from reaching the station.




The Iratus Draconis and Robrum Draconis, with the help of fire from the defensive batteries on the sentinel moons, disabled one of the enemy cruisers and caused the other to retreat, badly crippled.




The battle near the station was fierce. While the battleship remained untouched, one of her escorts was disabled and the other fled, badly damaged.




The Tyrant's End let loose her boarding parties and wisely withdrew as she was now alone vs. 4 fully functional cruisers, the station and the defensive network.




Two boarding parties made it to their target...

This is fantastic stuff gits! Nice read!

Great story and pics Gitz, looking forward to the next chapters!

Looking good! Will you be playing out the boarding action with space hulk?

Fluff-tastic. I love me a narrative campaign I do and pseudo-batreps are much more accessible to those of us who've fallen away from the GW-side of things

Chapter 3: The Incursion



Servo-skull surveillance images of the traitor legion, The Sons of Horus, conducting an incursion onto the Tharsis Draconis space station Diogenes. These have been digitally re-mastered so the event can be properly recorded by the cogitators in the Forge archives. Their target was the drone controller for the regional defense grid, marked here with a red arrow. The slow-moving drone needed to be protected from capture by the heretic legion else the regional defense access protocols could be downloaded and utilized by the Sons of Horus. Near the point of enemy embarkation, an emergency signal canted through the station's systems summoned all local combat units, with more on the way. This gave the marines a relatively short period to accomplish their goal. Bulkhead doors slammed shut around the sector, hindering the initial movement of the invaders.




Reavers reach the inner corridors, ready to rip apart any opposition.




Breachers are temporarily slowed by a bulkhead door.




Heavy bolters find an easier way into the main chamber.




The marines were allowed to move into a large, central chamber while the Draconis forces encircled them. As defensive units poured into the breach from all over the space station, the noose tightened on the traitors.




The trap was sprung and most of the heavy bolter squad was killed by a combination of rad gun fire and assault. One of the vanguard squads engaged the marines fully while the other held back to secure the southern passageway.




Skitari vangiard engage the Sons of Horus in hand to hand combat, sacrificing their lives to buy time for the drone controller to escape.




The commander of the assaulting forces was waylaid by a unit of infiltrators who had just finished eliminating the Sons of Horus Reavers.




The traitors came with in a few meters of succeeding in their mission, however the Mechanicum commander stepped in to stop the astartes.




Both routs to the servitor are covered. Though the boarding marines were able to open the passage south, there was too much distance between they and their quarry and the servitor scuttled out of site into the safety of the bowels of the space station. They knew Mechanicum forces would be arriving soon in numbers too vast to resist and fell back to their Thunderhawk.





Chapter 4 happens tonight. Chapter 5 is already played & pics are ready. Just want to finish this little story arc before I go on to something else.

Looks like you had an interesting game. Awaiting the next installment

This is a really neat campaign Gits. Great work on mixing the games up as well! I think the beginning focus on BFG was a great idea!

Thanks CK! Me too!



I have been doing a bit of painting as well. I needed a third primaris psycher as I've been fiddling around with adding a bit of psychic power to my army with a supreme command detachment. I just got 3 old-school metal psychers off e-bay, but in the interim I painted up this guy. I think he's supposed to be part of an Inquisitor's retinue... but he looks like a psycher to me, so I'm going with it!

I was really happy with the paint job until I looked at the close-up photograph. Gods... It does look good in hand though so I'll leave him be. I was actually trying this time... but I suppose the photo is probably 3x the magnification I can achieve with my Optivisor, so I shouldn't be surprised when it looks like crap on close examination. In essence... I can't even SEE this small, much less paint this small. I do have to laugh at this guys Dumbo-ears. I think his Mohawk needs a bit of touching up though.

That's a fascinating read and I really like how the previous battles forge the narrative for the ones to follow!

The psyker you've painted up is from the Hector Rex Retinue, there is an Astropath (Mystic), a Sword Bearer (Acolyte) and an Exorcist (Hierophant). So I believe he is a Mystic, but in this case is a solid choice for an imperial Psyker!

Don' t knock yourself down Gits, that's a very well-painted model.Is that a mohawk or a cable on his head? Towards the front, it looks like cable going into his skull.

Excellent story telling Gitz, these types of games are what I enjoy most about 40k. My only complaint is I could not join in on the campaign. Can’t wait for the next update. Don’t be to hard on yourself, I think the psyker looks very good.

Prologue: The Battle of Diogenes Run

The planet Kolosus is surrounded by mineral rich orbital debris, asteroids and moons, The outer layers have been mined for millennia and as such are fairly depleted. The planet-side and interior debris is still rich in minerals, but navigating the debris field is very difficult and dangerous.

There is an access point through the asteroids however where three moons (due to their stable orbits, physical size and gravity) form a permanent corridor to the planet and allow access to the inner parts of the debris field. The moons are collectively known as The Diogenes, named after an ancient Terran philosopher (one of the founders of the Cynic philosophy). The space between the moons was called The Diogenes Gap. Long before the Imperium established control over the area, The Gap was the home of raiders, pirates and the like which would prey on mining ships trying to get planet-side to mine the wealth of the system or, more likely, trying to return home with their hulls full of minerals and ores. The presence of the pirates was well known and among the miners, getting through the Diogenes became known as "Running the gap." Over time, the name of the gap was transformed into "Diogenes Run".

In M29.481, a Mechanicum fleet from the Tharsis Draconis Forge on Mars was sent on an official mission to take control of the Diogenes Run and set up a permanent, defended access point to the Kolosus planetary system. Since that time the Imperium has had control of access to the inner sphere where only officially sanctioned travel was permitted. This has allowed several Forges to set up relatively secure mining operations and has made this one of the most productive resource gathering nodes in the Imperium.

Awesome report.. nice way to sum up the campaign.

Sounds promising

Chapter 4: The Prize

"Destroy those derelict ships!" ordered the Dominus to second technician LAM-3111. Missiles arced out from multiple platforms and the first strike cruiser disappeared on a blossom of flame.

"Dominus, the second strike cruiser... designated "Sword of Truth", is much too close to the station for safe destruction. Exploding sections of the destroyed hull could pose a threat to Diogenese Station in spite of its void fields.

"Very well" replied the Dominus. "Scan the wreck for survivors and send a contingent of engineers and crew with appropriate protection over to her for reclamation. We'll add her to our fleet."

"Dominus, scans show only a few scattered life-signs aboard... no heavy assets evident."

"Good. Send in the reclamation team. OH, and you'd better send an astropath as well."



Overview of combat area on the strike cruiser Sword of Truth. Vital areas (engine control and navigation) are marked.



A Mechanicum force consisting most of technicians and engineers enters the ship from the starboard side near the navigation node. A unit of infiltrators and two small units of vanguard are assigned to clean up any space marine stragglers. They find themselves hemmed in by locked bulkhead doors.



The remaining Sons of Horus have their own plan. To do an emergency burn on the engines and ram the Mechanicum space station. They, like the Mechanicum... need control of both the engine and navigational nodes in order to accomplish their goal.



A dominus escorted by infiltrators make short work of the bulkhead doors and move swiftly down the hallway towards the engine access point.



The Astropath reaches the navigational node, only to see the chamber go up in a burst of flames as the ship slowly dies, killing several of the technicians and wounding himself!



The vanguard move out, expecting little resistance.



What the Mechanium did not foresee, was that one of those "scattered life signs" belonged to an ancient legionnaire in contemptor dreadnought armor. A god of death amongst so many sheep. The infiltrators through themselves against the monster in the hope of at least slowing him down.



With his escort slain, it is up to the Dominus to stem the tide.



A few technicians stand firm after witnessing the whole-sale slaughter of the Mechanicum elites at the hands of the monstrous god of war. If they can just buy enough time for the astropath to complete his linkage with the ships navigation...



Alas, no. The dreadnought... brother Cecil Longbottom... rounds the corner and effortlessly crushes the life out of the astropath.






Epilogue
written by Lee Zuener

Tharsis Draconis reclamation cohorts were sent to locate and retrieve the hull of the drifting astartes strike cruiser for refit. Shortly after breaching the hull of “Sword of Truth” one such cohort emitted a data burst containing fire control coordinates, evacuation protocols, and several pict captures. The Data burst did not contain the proper encryption protocols and so was not reviewed until. 4396388.M36. Approximately 53 minutes later the Wreck the “Sword of Truth” Ignited its engines and rammed its mangled prow into Diogenes Station. The stations armor was too thick to be breached by such an attack, but the sustained force pushed the it into the gravity well of the nearby moon. Both the station and the Sons of Hours vessel plunged into the atmosphere and detonated on contact with the surface.

It’s unclear if this result had been the plan of the Sons of Horus XIVth company from the start of the engagement or simply the last desperate act of the ships crew, but regardless its effectiveness cannot be denied. With the destruction of the chief defensive structure in Kolosus near space the forces of Tharsis Draconis were forced to persecute the war in a far less aggressive fashion and were opened to assault on orbital bodies in their possession.

Cecil Longbottom?

Very Sons of Horus.....

It's my revenge after having my entire army's butt kicked by a single figure.

I love that rep and photo's Gits! that's what I needed to get me back in the groove! that game looks so much fun and the armies and pics are awesome! a very tense and brutal conflict trying to wrest a victory!

What a great read Gitz, is your group going to continue the campaign or is this the last in the storyline?

Thats an ace read, I really like the narrative spin on the battles!

@nerdfest: It's all thanks to you brother. Without you, there's be no admech army to play.

@Yorkright: This is just one small section of the campaign, there are 5 other players doing their own narratives with each other... I'm just sharing mine.

@Knightley: Thanks! They're fun to do.

I have been painting. Update when I get a chance to take some decent pics.



Automatically Appended Next Post:


Proof that I've been doing some hobbying. First... added some transfers to a couple of EC figures. Bit out of practice so some of the transfer edges or centers are more visible than I'd like, but what's done is done.






Finished the second Bad Moon mekadread. Probably more piddling around I'll do on it for fun as time goes on... but it's at the "officially done" stage.




Got my 3 old-school Imperial psychers primed. Picked up a gizmo for holding the mini while you work on it. I like it. It also can stand on it's own so you can set it down and come back to it later. Not crazy expensive either. Color is a bit off the mark on this photo, the robe is actually purple however the base is dark blue and the top highlights are lighter purple mixed with light blue.

That tank looks stunning. The colours are so vibrant, and the transfers sit well. Great job, man.