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This aims to be a recap of the Eye of Terror campaign that portrayed the opening stages of the 13th Black Crusade. I am doing this as it appears there is a fair bit of misremembering of what actually occurred or what was actually stated by GW, and of course some people were not around for that particular campaign. I hope this will be able to serve as at least some reference so discussions can actually occur over what actually happened.
First off to understand how the thing went, there were a number of warzones. Some were at "sector level" representing space combat and minor planets, then some at system level, and then more important systems had individual planetary warzones for each planet in a system. There was NO restriction on what types of games could be posted where. You could report BFG game results to a planet warzone or a 40K game to the sector level warzone. The second key thing to understand is that it was Imperial Control that determined who held a warzone, not number of games won. Games had influence only in so far as it affected Imperial Control in a warzone. Other things such as event cards or the threshold effect also affected Imperial Control.
To put it simply, a threshold effect was what occurred whenever a system or planet warzone went past 20%, 40%, 60% or 80% in Imperial Control (in either direction). When that occurred, every other system in the sector or every other planet in the system would suffer a 5% shift in Imperial Control in the same direction. This was to represent the effect of morale, disrupted logistics, and so on. This meant that it was possible for a less numerous faction to outfight a more numerous one. It was NOT a simple brute force contest of who had the most wins. Where wins were reported played a vital role. That was the primary threshold effect. There was a second more subtle threshold effect that hardly mattered: if a threshold effect was triggered, the next level up (sector if it was a system, or system if the triggering warzone was a planet) would experience a 5% shift the next day. This was how the Forces of Disorder ended up eroding some of the Imperial Control at the sector level instead of directly posting wins.
Event cards for the most part did NOT have a huge effect in the overall scheme. Why? Because up til near the end of the campaign, GW did not announce them til the week AFTER they had been played and expired. So players had no idea an event card affecting a specific warzone was in effect until it was already too late to post results into that warzone to take advantage of the card. The cards therefore only really affected whatever "background noise" level of random posting was going on in their warzone, which usually amounted to an insignificant shift in Imperial Control.
I'm going to be doing a sector by sector breakdown of the EoT results as per the WD article. Where indicated in round parentheses I will indicate references to Event cards played during the campaign or possible typo/discrepancies but otherwise the text and results are unedited. The parts quoted are direct from Aus WD 287.
I'm going to start with the 3 most major sectors, as perceived by players. Scarus, up there at #3, would from a background POV have been a major source of reinforcements and war material to the Cadian Gate. However the results of the campaign mean Scarus will be in need of reinforcement itself and will not have the troops or resources to aid Cadia any time in the near future.
"Abaddon recruited massed warbands of Orks to act as mercenary auxilia to his Chaos Legions for the Thirteenth Crusade. Following up on terror raids and cunning feints by the Night Lords and Alpha Legion (2 Forces of Disorder event cards) many Orks banded together into ever-growing tribes that declared themselves as part of the 'Green Krusade' [or Kroosade in some sources - Ork spelling is always a matter of conjecture] in imitation of the grand assault of Chaos. The unstoppable force of the Green Kroosade inundated the Scarus sector [Skar-Uz to the Orks], battering down Imperial defences with sheer doggedness and not a little help from Chaos Space Marines, particularly of the Night Lords and Black Legion. Now the Orks rule Lethe Eleven and Mordax, along with most of Imbrium and Ulant. Gudrun and Nysa Stromolo stand on the brink of anarchy and the weapon forges of Mordax [rechristened Moredakka by the Orks] are infested with lootas of the Death SKull clan, a truly terrifying prospect to the devotees of the Machine God, who know full well the depths of blasphemy against the Omnissiah to which these barbaric xenos will sink.
Battered survivors speak of hundreds of Gargants being built from the debris of war by enslaved servitors and their brutal Greenskin overseers. The squat, menacing forms of more Gargant construction sites climb over the plains of Mordax daily as Ork Mekaniaks race to be the first to complete their machines. Imperial strategists are now regarding the Green Kroosade as a full-scale Ork Waagh! Its Warlords are unknown but it would appear that Ghazghkull and Nazdreg are not among them. Only Thracian Primaris and Elnaur Delta have held firm against the Green Kroosade, bolstered first by the intervention of a Black Templars Crusade (Forces of Order event card), and later by the stalwart defence mounted by the Salamanders Chapter and many other Space Marine contingents. The situation is grim in Scarus, and none can see an end to the infestation given the dire situation across the region."
Scarus (Sector) Initial Control 77% Outcome 75% State Dependable
Thracian Primaris (System) 90% 90.6% Faithful
Elnaur Delta (planet in Thracian Primaris system) 90% 83.8% Dependable
Gudrun 70% 20.2% Unreliable
Imbrium 70% 4.4% Anarchy
Lethe Eleven 70% 0.1% Anarchy
Mordax Prime 65% 0.4% Anarchy
Nysa Stromolo 65% 19.6% Unreliable (typo?, 19.6% should be Anarchy)
Thracian Primaris (planet in Thracian Primaris system) 90% 92.4% Faithful
Ulant 60% 14.8% Anarchy
Relevant event card referenced above was:
Domination of the Strongest 7/19/2003 CHAOS
As the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler pour out of the Eye of Terror the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes are the first to respond. Those near the battlefront hurl themselves into combat, those further away marshal their forces and prepare to voyage to the war. Before they can embark however detached elements of the Alpha Legion land on a dozen or more worlds demanding to face the 'weakling servants of the dead Emperor'. Unable to decline such blatant challenges several Chapters are drawn into pointless battle with the Alpha Legion, thereby delaying them critically. Space Marine reinforcements are slow in arriving to the Thracian Primaris system thanks to the delaying tactics of the Alpha Legion. Play this card to trigger the effects of the Alpha Legion's subterfuge.
Fear Denies Faith 7/20/2003 CHAOS
The shock troops of the Night Lords sew confusion and terror across the Scarus sector, cutting communications and hanging the corpses of their victims from every building. Even the strongest in faith find their confidence shattered when they are forced into an existence of solitude, darkness and confusion. The Scarus sector is beset by the Night Lords, and even the devout find their faith waning. It is only a matter of time before the populace turns to dark powers for its own survival. When you play this card, the Hive Worlds of Imbrium, Gudrun and Lethe Eleven will be attacked by the Night Lords' terror tactics.
Space Crusade 8/21/2003 7:47:09 AM IMPERIAL
The Space marines of the Adeptus Astartes are arriving en masse to throw back the forces of the Despoiler, and first to arrive in the Scarus sector is the legendary Black Templars Chapter. High Marshal Helbrecht quickly secures the local space lanes, ensuring Imperial troop movements are safe from the ever-prowling Chaos Wolf Pack squadrons. The Black Templars deploy upon Thracian Primaris when you play this card. Imperial victories will count for more there for the rest of the week.
Event cards not referenced above:
Apocalypse 8/26/2003 8:03:30 AM NEUTRAL
The minions of Chaos and the forces of the Imperium gather for the last battle, fought upon the bloody fields of every world surrounding the Eye of Terror. As the armies gather, every warrior knows that this battle will decide the future of the Scarus sector… When you play this card, the stakes are raised in the Thracian Primaris system as the forces of Order and Disorder clash in the final conflict.
My analysis of the campaign in this sector from OOC POV:
In the initial disorganized posting of wins in the early weeks of the campaign, Imperial forces took the lead and bumped Imperial control up all across the Scarus warzones. As the action heated up in the Cadian and Agripinaa sectors, the Scarus sector was increasingly abandoned by player groups. The relative vulnerability of Mordax Prime and its status as a forgeworld led to it being picked by Ork players as the focus of their Green Kroosade in an attempt to make their mark felt during the campaign. They succeeded. Focused attacks on Mordax and use of the threshold campaign mechanic by the Orks led to major gains across the entire sector except for the planets in the Thracian Primaris system itself, which was largely ignored by Forces of Disorder attackers due to its difficulty. Aside from some Salamander and Black Templar players that responded to the plummeting Imperial Control levels and that stayed to fight in Scarus for the remainder of the campaign, the rest of the Forces of Order players did not reinforce in significant numbers. The fall in Imperial Control at the system level was slowed but not stopped, and the initial Imperial gains at the sector level (which boosted it initially past its starting 77% level) eroded. By the end of the campaign, the dire state of the majority of warzones in Scarus meant the sector was effectively won for the Forces of Disorder and the Orks made their mark in the campaign as more than just nameless cannon fodder for Chaos or a speed bump for the Tau.
This message was edited 11 times. Last update was at 2021/12/25 07:08:39
Following on from the last post is Agripinaa sector, widely considered the 2nd most important sector of the campaign due to its background as the Cadian Gate's main supplier of food and war materials with Agripinaa being a major forgeworld. Faith may count for much in 40K but a soldier still needs to eat, while tanks need fuel and ammunition. The sector's warzones ended up being a showcase example of the successes the Forces of Disorder had in using the threshold campaign mechanic.
"War came without warning to the Agripinaa sector, the opening moves made by the forces of Disorder as the newly installed governor of the planet Lelithar was assassinated whilst travelling in his ceremonial motorcade. The heretics were gunned down without mercy by the attendant Planetary Defence Force troops, but within hours, first the world, then the entire system, was in open rebellion.
As the full force of Abaddon's invasion hit the sector one man, Regu Hane, was hailed as a saviour - he leda bold counter-attack that suceeded in banishing a horde of Khornate Daemons, and earned himself the title of Beati (Forces of Order event card). Later the mysterious Harlequins intervened in the fighting (Forces of Order event card), but the defenders were stymied when the notorious Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, Lord Erebus, caused the raging tempest of Warp Storm Baphomael to surge forth and engulf the outlying systems of the sector (Forces of Disorder event card).
It was only in the closing stages of the conflict that the Imperium was able to mount an effective defence against the raging hordes of the Ruinous Powers, when the combined forces of a number of Space Marine Chapters broke through the storms and fell upon the invaders with a righteous hatred born of 10,000 years of conflict (Forces of Order event card).
By the end of the war, the planets Albitern, Amistel, Lelithar, Malin's Reach, Ulthor, and Yayor lay in ruins, and a number of other key systems hung in the balance. Though Agripinaa itself still stands, without the agri-worlds of Yayor, Ulthor and Dentor, its populace may yet starve to death, and without the vital materiels provided by the Hive worlds of Albitern, Amistel and Tabor, its mighty forges may yet fall silent. The so-called 'Herald of Nurgle', Typhus of the Death Guard Traitor Legion, has claimed the now blasted world of Ulthor as his own realm, and the nightmare visions of a thousand Astropaths tell of the brith of a new daemon world within the domains of Man.
Further, unconfirmed reports state that one of the Blackstone Fortresses were destroyed by raiders of the Necrontyr off the shoulder of the Lustitia Belt. Senior members of hte Ordos Xenos are en route to the area, and Deathwatch strike cruisers are already engaged in ensuring no vessels other than their own enter the area."
Relevant event cards mentioned above in order of appearance above:
He Who has Nothing can Still have Hope 7/17/2003 IMPERIAL
Despite the ruthless slaughter wreaked upon the Agripinaa sector by the Chaos Legions, the spirit of the Imperium remains strong. One among the common people, Regu Hane, is hallowed as a Saint after single-handedly driving back a wave of bloodthirsty daemons of Khorne. Ulthor, an uprepossessing Agri-world in the Agripinaa sector harbours St. Regu Hane, a holy man whose simple faith dwarfs even the evil of the daemon. When you play this card, the citizens of the Imperium mount a desperate defence, dying in droves to defend their homes and their way of life until help can arrive.
The Dance of Death 7/26/2003 IMPERIAL
Help arrives from the most unexpected quarter when several troupes of Herlequins arrive through the webway on the tails of an Ulthwe Strike Force. With the aid of their alien cousins, the surgical strike that typifies Ulthwe's military actions instead turns into a full scale slaughter. The Harlequins slam into the Chaos spearhead that was forging a bloody path across Agripinaa. The Eldar offensive lasts for days, methodically separating and destroying the Chaos forces. When you play this card the balance of power shifts considerably upon Agripinaa.
Storm Break 8/15/2003 7:59:42 AM CHAOS
The flaring edges of Warp Storm Baphomael roar and seethe with unnatural life, making warp travel extremely dangerous and unpredictable. When you play this card, the machinations of the Word Bearers bear fruit, and warp storms assail the Agrippina system; forces there must fend for themselves until the warp storms abate.
Exterminatus 8/18/2003 9:41:19 AM IMPERIAL
The civilised World of Malin’s Reach has been deemed tainted beyond redemption. Inquisitor Lord Coteaz, on his arrival into the system, orders the ultimate sanction upon the blighted world without a second’s hesistation. The plague of unbelief has spread its tendrils throughout each of the hives, and the stain could never truly be eradicated. If you play this card, Malin’s Reach undergoes a sustained barrage of cyclonic torpedoes that totally annihilates all life signs from the planet. All worlds in the same system are awed by this incredible display of power.
Angels of Death 8/20/2003 4:55:17 PM IMPERIAL
Like bolts of vengeful lightning, the full might of the Adeptus Astartes finally reach the warzones around the Eye of Terror. Imperial faith rises from the ashes, like a Phoenix from the flames and the forces of Chaos reel from the fury of the Space Marines. All across the main war fronts of the Agripinaa and Belis Corona systems, Space Marine forces hurl back the armies of the Ruinous Powers.
Event cards not referenced above:
De L'Outrance 8/29/2003 10:14:24 AM NEUTRAL
On every contested world in the Agripinaa system the combatants feel the decisive moment is upon them. On both sides proud warriors eschew retreat and vow to fight to the death. None will willingly be known to have broken first, none will stand condemned in the millennia to come. In the Agripinaa system neither side will yield an inch. Play this card and victories will become far harder-won.
My analysis:
Once again in the initial disorganized posting in the early stages of the campaign, the Imperials posted en masse to Agripinaa and sent initial sector and planetary control surging. However when the Forces of Disorder Planet Killer player group launched a focused attack on St. Josmane's Hope in the Cadia system, the Forces of Order players flocked to the Cadia system and sector, essentially abandoning Agripinaa sector. When the three Forces of Disorder players that would become known as the Triad figured out the threshold campaign mechanic via examining spreadsheets with the data of the Imperial Control, a group of Disorder players were organized and became a strike force in Agripinaa focused on knocking Imperial Control past the critical thresholds. With Order players either refusing to believe in the existence of the mechanic or refusing to move from Cadia or bickering over who should be organizing collective Order player efforts, this Disorder strike force did most of the damage to Agripinaa that is reflected in the final results. Like in Scarus, the main stronghold of Agripinaa system was ignored, but other systems fell quickly, with one particular 3 day period causing a 15% fall in Imperial Control in all systems except Agripinaa. Sector control slowly eroded but the Imperial surge in the campaign beginning had pushed it to 90+% so even after erosion it ended up higher at the end than in the campaign beginning. For the most part, the event cards did little to affect the outcome either way as players did not find out about an event card til after it had already expired and so both sides were unable to capitalize on them. In the final stages of the campaign, an Order strike group was organized to try and salvage the sector but were consistently outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the larger Disorder player strike force. The Disorder strike force settled for aiding Disorder efforts in other sectors on one day, then on the alternate day undoing Order efforts to raise Imperial Control. This strategy was chosen by the Disorder strike force as Agripinaa's systems were already well mauled while some other warzones in other sectors were still in the balance.
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2021/12/25 07:09:21
Cadia system and sector: Don't think any intro is necessary for this one.
"The Hive Teriax disaster (referenced in Eye of Terror Codex) was the catalyst for a wave of warp storms to roll through the entire Cadian sector. Terror and confusion reigned and, in the wake of the storms, the forces of Chaos struck. In the vanguard was Lucius the Eternal, Champion of Slaanesh and his Emperor's Children. These fiends perpetrated the most unspeakable atrocities upon the planet of Belisar (Forces of Disorder event card). In the face of such horror the heroic action of Captain Lockheart and the 80th Thracian regiment at Weykand Gap restored Imperial morale (Forces of Order event card).
The feeling was short-lived though. On Demios Primary, treachery rendered the orbital defenses helpless to resist the Arch-enemy's onslaught (Forces of Disorder event card). Black Legion assault groups, along with the renegade Space Marines of the Extinction Angels, swept through the forges of the Adeptus Mechanicus scattering the Skitarii Legions like chaff. The Legio Astorum mobilised in defence of its fortress and gradually repelled the invaders. The loss of the forge world's manufacturing capabilities was, however, a serious blow and, weeks after the invasion, Extinction Angel units remained hidden in the depths of the Mechanicus facilities despite the arrival of a Black Templar Crusade to hunt them down.
On Ormantep Black Legion forces were opposed by members of the 13th Company. Iniitally it was not clear who these mysterious warriors were, but their victory over the 9th Black Legion company was ample demonstration of their loyalties. Kergath the Flame, Captain of the 9th, was prey to the Wulfen and the Chaos forces were temporarily driven off (Forces of Order event card).
On Kasr Sonnen, Kasr Holn, Vigilatum, St Josmane's Hope and Kasr Partox, however, the Chaos Legions enjoyed victory after victory. Kasr Vassan was fiercely disputed, the streets running with blood. On St Josmane's Hope, the situation had become so dire that Ursarkar Creed ordered that the planet's reactors be deliberately overloaded, sacrificing the world to prevent it becoming a stronghold of the Arch-enemy (Andy Chambers triggered event after Imperial Control hit 0%). On Kasr Holn, Space Marine reinforcements managed to stem the tide, but on Vigilatum and Kasr Partox the Imperial forces were overwhelmed by a tide of mutants, traitors and renegades. At the forefront, the Black Legion, Word Bearers and World Eaters repeatedly shattered each successive Imperial defence line and turned proud castellum into charnel pits. The invaluable expertise of the Iron Warriors in this type of warfare was rewarded when a new fortress began to take shape on the shattered remains of Kasr Partox (reference to Iron Warriors player group focusing on Kasr Partox warzone).
The Chaos fleet, including one of the Blackstone Fortresses - ancient engines of destruction built aeons past by unknown xenos (Eldar) - gathered above Cadia but they were delayed by lightning-fast attacks on the Blackstone by squadrons of Eldar cruisers (Forces of Order Event Card). Lord Admiral Quarren was quick to take advantage of the delay and his counter-strike flowed from Cadia, to Xerxia and finally Demios Binary (Forces of Order event card). By dint of this cunning manoeuvre Quarren succeeded, first in dividing the main fleet and, then, in pursuing the defeated elements to final extinction. Only those squadrons that stayed close to the Blackstone Fortress remained a threat but the Chaos fleet was now concerned more with survival. Most significantly the Imperial flagship Gathalamor crippled the Merciless Death driving it to the Warp from whence it took no further part in the war.
As an act of vengeance, Abaddon despatched the Planet Killer to Macharia (Forces of Disorder event card). A desperate boarding action by Space Marine Honour Guard failed to prevent the Planet Killer firing, but damaged its shields (GW real life event outcome). As a consequence, debris from the shattered world struck the Planet Killer, which was last seen tumbling away into wilderness critically damaged (Apocalypse mentions Abaddon back in an operational Planet Killer)
As if the task of repelling the legions of the Despoiler was not enough, Vigilatum and Kasr Partox were subjected to slave raids by the Dark Eldar, each inflicting more misery and drawing vital forces from the front line (Forces of Disorder event card). The Dark Eldar next appeared in the Xersia system, where the Relictors anticipated their raid and were waiting for them (Forces of Order event card). The Relictors outdid the savage Dark Eldar in ferocity, defeating them before they could claim any more human prisoners. Defeated and cut off from their warp portals the Dark Eldar fell back to their fleet. They did not expect that Admiral Quarren would have set his fleet in motion so swiftly after fighting the Chaos fleet though. His vanguard smashed into the Dark Eldar fleet inflicting terrible damage and driving them out of the war in the Cadian sector.
As the war raged on, even the universe itself seemed to conspire with Chaos. A subtle change in the hue of the Eye of Terror itself triggered madness on the Ulthwe Craftworld as suggestions implanted over millennia by the minions of the Changer of the Ways were activated (Forces of Disorder event card). Then, on the heel of the original wave of warp storms, solar flare activity magnified throughout the sector adding to its confusion, despair, and isolation (Neutral two sided event card). Confusion can be a two-edged sword though, and in the Cadian system the Lord Castellan, Ursarkar Creed, transferred three regiments of Shock Troops from the Prosan training grounds to Kasr Barrus on Cadia. The movement was undetected and the traitorous Ubridius Light Infantry were completely unprepared for the Cadian counter-attack (Forces of Order event card). It was to be the last significant victory for the beleaguered Cadians as, faced by a seemingly limitless horde led by Chaos Marines who burned with ten millennia of hatred, they were inexorably driven back to Kasr Partox (the Cadian fortress of that name, not the fortress planet). There they turned at bay, but high above them oblivion beckoned in the monstrous form of a corrupted Blackstone Fortress.
The Blackstone Fortress' weaponry beat down on Kasr Partox remorselessly slaughtering the warriors of both sides. Faced wit hthe certain destruction of Cadia's last defenders Admiral Quarren had no choice but to muster his battered fleet for yet another battle. One by one the screening Chaos vessels were peeled away from the Blacstone until eventually it was forced to cease its attack and concentrate upon its own defence. With the end of the Blackstone's attack an uneasy lulled settled on Cadia during which Cred evacuated Kasr Partox while he still could."
Belisar (system) 80% 68.3% Dependable
Cadian (sector) 85% 100% Faithful
Cadian (system) 92% 29.4% Unreliable
Kasr Sonnen (fortress planet in Cadian system) 95% 39.1% Unreliable
Cadia (planet) 95% 39.8% Unreliable
Kasr Holn (fortress planet in Cadian system) 95% 52.5% In the balance
Macharia (hive world in Cadian system) 90% 0% DESTROYED
Vigilatum (naval training world in Cadian system) 95% 14.6% Anarchy
Kasr Partox (fortress planet in Cadian system) 95% 21.8% Unreliable
St Josmane's Hope (penal planet in Cadian system) 75% 0% DESTROYED
Solar Mariatus (resource planet in Cadian system) 80% 32.3% Unreliable
Demios Binary (system) 85% 79.2% Dependable
Kantrael (system) 85% 84.9% Faithful
Xerxia (system) 85% 88.2% Faithful
Relevant event cards in order of their reference above:
The Feasting of Lucius 7/18/2003 CHAOS
Lucius the Eternal, favoured son of Slaanesh, has led his Emperor's Children to the Cadian sector. The planet they have descended upon, Belisar, has been plunged into total war, with much of its population captured, enslaved or worse. It is rumoured that the Emperor's Children stage unholy feasts with their shackled and screaming captives first as 'guests', and subsequently as the main course. The population of Belisar is culled by Lucius and his vile Legionnaires. Worse still rumours of the atrocities wreaked there in the name of Slaanesh spread to other worlds in the system; a wave of terror accompanying them.
Lockheart's Last Stand 7/14/2003 IMPERIAL
Imperial forces are bolstered by the heroic three day defence of Weykand Gap at Belisar in the Cadian Sector. Captain Lockheart and his men succeeded in delaying Titans of the Legio Vulcanum long enough for the rest of the 80th Thracian to escape encirclement and obliteration by the Chaos War machines. Men everywhere are heartened by the story of one man making such a difference in these dark times. All Imperial victories registered for Belisar are increased in value until the end of the week.
The Enemy Within 7/16/2003 CHAOS
As the Grand Fleet of the Despoiler closes on Imperial defences, an unseen enemy within the ranks of the Demios Binary forces reveals his hand. The orbital defence platforms are sabotaged, rendered inoperable and helpless in the face of the invasion. Play this card to reveal your hidden saboteur upon Demios Binary. Chaos victories are boosted until the end of the week.
In the Company of Wolves 7/29/2003 IMPERIAL
On the bleak mining world of Ormantep a fierce battle rages between warriors of the Black Legion and strange wolf-like warriors bearing markings not dissimilar to the Space Wolves… The arrival of these feral warriors saves the mining facilities of Ormantep, allowing the production of much needed war materiel to continue to Cadia.
The Talismans of Vaul 8/5/2003 IMPERIAL
Abaddon has deployed every weapon at his disposal in order to take Cadia, including the legendary Blackstone Fortresses. These massive space stations, known as the Talismans of Vaul to the Eldar, attract the graceful spacecraft of the ancient alien race in unprecedented numbers, falling on these outlying sections of the Chaos fleet to the exclusion of all else. The Blackstone Fortresses deployed around Macharia quickly attract Eldar spacefleets, tipping the balance of power in favour of the Imperials.
The Talismans of Vaul II 8/13/2003 NEITHER
Abaddon has deployed every weapon at his disposal in order to take Cadia, including the legendary Blackstone Fortresses. These massive space stations, known as the Talismans of Vaul to the Eldar, attract the graceful spacecraft of the ancient alien race in unprecedented numbers, falling on these outlying sections of the Chaos fleet to the exclusion of all else. The Blackstone Fortresses deployed around Macharia quickly attract Eldar spacefleets, tipping the balance of power in favour of the Imperials.
The Silver Fox 8/5/2003 IMPERIAL
Admiral Quarren, rallying his forces at Demios Binary, leads the battered Imperial Navy from his flagship, Gathalamor, taking the fight to the enemy once more. Using a brilliant series of feints and false pushes, the admiral is able to disperse elements of the Chaos fleets before engaging and destroying them piecemeal. Rallying brilliantly, the Imperial Navy strikes back against Abaddon’s forces in the Cadian sector. Play this card to damage the Chaos fleet and also rebuild shattered Imperial morale.
Planet Killer 8/25/2003 9:45:21 AM CHAOS
The fight is to the finish and the Despoiler has access to the most terrible weapons of the age. It was a fool’s dream not to expect him to use them. Even he dare not destroy Cadia and its Pylons although anywhere else is at his mercy, and that is a quality Abaddon has long lacked. Play this card upon Macharia. That planet is destroyed.
The Scions of Darkness 7/22/2003 CHAOS
Dark Eldar erupt into the webway from the black city of Comorragh, intent on enslaving the Mon-Keigh and aiding the destruction of the Cadian system into the bargain. They strike at night, making off with the young, the weak and the wounded; the screams of their victims are often the only indication of their presence. The Dark Eldar presence around Cadia makes itself felt in the most sinister and terrifying way. When you play this card, Imperial control is lowered on Vigilatum and Kasr Partox.
Far Seeing 7/31/2003 IMPERIAL
Increased Eldar activity in the Xersia system draws the attentions of the Relictors Chapter of Space Marines. They purge the system with fire and sword, slaughtering three entire Kabals of Dark Eldar intent on enslaving Xersia’s civilian population. All Chaos victories registered for Xersia are decreased in value until the end of the week.
Words Just Remembered 7/25/2003 CHAOS
During encounters with Sorcerers of Tzeentch, Eldar warriors have reported being attacked with a psychihc power that caused disturbing waking dreams. No special attention was given to this particular power as the minions of the Changer have many such powers. In the early days of the thirteenth crusade however this enchantment took on an altogether more sinister meaning. When viewed from the Cadian sector the Ocularis Terribus took on a different hue for several days, a phenomena regarded as a potentially dire portent by the Farseers of Ulthwe, currently passing through the Caidan sector. Indeed the phenomena was an illsign, the Tzeentchian psychic power known as the Twisting Path was capable of implanting deep post-hypnotic suggestions in its victims. The sign in the Eye was the trigger to many of these suggestions. Throughout Ulthwe and all other Eldar vessels witnessing it acts of madness, sabotage and murder not witnessed since the Fall were performed by the victims of the enchantment.
Solar Flares 8/7/2003 NEUTRAL
The increase in Warp Flare activity has an effect on all the stars in proximity to the Eye of Terror. Solar flares begin to occur in a dangerously unpredictable fashion presenting a hazard to shipping and communications. Space engagements in the Cadian sector become extremely hazardous for all involved. Play this card to capitalise on the increased strategic importance of such battles.
Creed of Cadia 8/15/2003 11:31:53 AM IMPERIAL
The Lord Castellan of Cadia, Ursarkar E. Creed, takes advantage of the warp storms raging around the Cadian system to shift troops from planet to planet with no fear of new enemy forces attacking the worlds he strips of defenders. Building his forces he then launches a series of offensives that catch the forces of disorder of balance. When you play this card, the Imperium launches a major assault captained by Lord Castellan Creed upon his homeworld of Cadia.
Event cards not directly referenced above:
The Lion and the Wolf 8/28/2003 9:35:20 AM IMPERIAL
The Dark Angels and the Space Wolves set aside their ancient vendetta long enough for Supreme Grand Master Azrael, and the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar to come to a mutual understanding. To seal the temporary pact, the two Chapters take to the field as one, and prove to the enemy that the combined forces of the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels Chapters are far greater than the sum of their parts. Play this card to unite the two Chapters once and for all upon Kasr Sonnen, enhancing the effects of Imperial victories there.
The Final Push 8/30/2003 10:14:10 PM CHAOS
Abaddon concentrates his forces onto and around Cadia, determined that the Cadian Gate should fall to his hands. Every inch of the planet is consumed by total war, and it is only a matter of days before the fate of Cadia is sealed forever. The forces of Chaos surge into the Cadian gate, committing every man, daemon, mutant and cultist to the downfall of this bastion of the Imperial defence. Play this card to bolster the Chaos war effort upon Cadia once and for all.
Personal analysis to follow in later post.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2021/12/25 07:11:59
First off, something to understand: Cadia the planet was a black hole of a warzone. It was the hardest warzone to shift directly, taking approximately 300 net wins per day over the other side per day in order to shift Imperial Control 0.1%. By contrast, each triggering of the threshold effect moved Imperial Control 5%. That is the equivalent of 15,000 wins per day. So essentially all the people posting wins to the Cadian planet directly were throwing their wins away. Some of the people who claimed the campaign was rigged were using the excuse of things like "I played 5 more games that week won them all and put them on Cadia yet Cadia still lost Imperial Control, so they must have been cheating!". Against 15,000 win equivalents, an extra 5 wins is nothing.
Now, chronologically in the campaign, the battle for Cadian sector and system started out unfocused. After having had their initial push at Nemesis Tessera warzone (elsewhere) defeated, the Forces of Disorder descended on Belisar after finding out about the Lucius event card. The Forces of Order did the same and after a few days of head to head slugging, the Disorder push also stalled and was rolled back. Players from primarily the Planet Killer group decided they wanted to have a prison revolt scenario so organized to focus their wins on St Josmane's Hope. The Disorder side's surge met with success and the players that would become the Triad noticed that each time Imperial Control crossed a threshold (80%, 60%, 40%, 20% Imperial Control), all other warzones in the Cadia system would also fall. When Imperial Control on St. Josmane's Hope hit 0%, Andy Chambers (as stated in the WD article) wanted to give the Disorder side some marker of their efforts so had Creed commit Exterminatus on the planet.
Disorder forces switched to Vigilatum, and the process repeated. Once again the Triad players noted the threshold effect and began to be more confident about its existence. Order players rallied a bit more effectively and kept the Imperial Control floating at about 10%, but by then Disorder players had already moved to Solar Mariatus to trigger the thresholds there. Order players remained afflicted by internal bickering over who (if anyone) would be directing Order players and over the existence of the threshold effects (which some Order players continued to deny).
At about this same time, a group of Disorder players formed a "strike force" to hit Agripinaa systems, and using the threshold effect began rolling back all the Order gains. Most Order players remain focused on Cadia and did not really respond to this in a coordinated way. During the middle weeks of the campaign, Imperial Control in Cadia system continued to erode as the Disorder players under the guidance of the Triad triggered thresholds in succession.
In the last third of the campaign, Order players got more event cards that helped stabilize the situation somewhat by slowing the Imperial Control erosion. They had also attempted to form a organized player group, with a command group calling themselves the UCC (United Command Council), but coordination remained a problem with many smaller subgroups refusing to move or listen to someone else. As Imperial Control rallied in these weeks, an air of complacency and arrogance unfortunately settled on the Order side with players going so far as to claim Order had won and awarding medals to each other. The UCC then made a critical mistake by once more splitting the otherwise immovable wall of the main Order group (which could overpower the main Disorder group in sheer number) in an attempt to salvage Agripinaa. The problem was once split off, this Order splinter group started doing its own thing and stopped listening to the higher directives, essentially re-creating the disorganization that plagued Order forces in the beginning. Then for about a critical week, the UCC got caught up in trivial petty politics when another Order group refused to cooperate with the greater effort as they claimed the accronym of UCC though they were the "United Chapters Crusade" (I kid you not).
While they bickered over who would get the right to use the UCC acronym, Order forces were left without direction and sub-groups began breaking off and doing their own thing again. During this interval, Disorder forces patiently began triggering the thresholds again and rolled back the gains made by the Forces of Order. By the time the United Command Council returned under a new name, I think it was the AFCC (Allied Forces Command Council), it was too late as a significant number of Order players by then had stopped coordinating or listening to any higher command. For some areas like Scarus or Belis Corona, this worked out to Order's advantage as these groups refused to move and kept Imperial positions there from collapsing totally. For areas like Agripinaa or Cadia however, this worked to Order's detriment as they were once again outmaneuvered by the Disorder forces and unable to mass sufficient number to stop Disorder from triggering threshold effects.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Belis Corona sector, site of the Cadian Gate's largest naval facility, and probably 4th most significant warzone in the campaign.
"The hive world of Subiaco Diablo was the first planet in the Belis Corona sector to come under the heel of the forces of Disorder, as the Plague Marines of the Death Guard Traitor Legion unleashed their foulest contagions upon its populace. Soon, the shattered streets were home to the unquiet dead, the Plague Zombies of Nurgle, reanimated victims of the Plague God's choicest gifts. Throughout the opening phase of the invasion, only the convent of the Order of the Order of the Ermine Mantle held out, though at terrible cost, against the shuffling hordes of undead.
At the height of the invasion, something truly unexpected occurred. Defenders on the outlying systems reported contact with Tyranid organisms - at first individual vanguard-organisms such as Lictors, but soon entire broods of Genestealers and Hormagaunts. A splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan, a Tyranid fleet known to be attacking up through the galactic plane, was taking advantage of the mass destruction initiated by the invasion to gain a foothold in strategically vital Imperial space.
Faced with both the pustulant forces of the Death Guard, and the voracious hordes of Tyranids who were, unlike the human defenders, immune to the Plague God's blessings, the forces of the Imperium were hard pressed to defend the vital worlds of the sector. It was first the intervention of Eldar of the Ulthwe Craftworld (Forces of Order Event Card) and then the orbital bombardment of Laurentix (Forces of Order event card) that allowed the forces of the Imperium to fight back, despite the disastrous ambush of forward elements of Battlefleet Solar at the Bairsten Prime jump point (Forces of Disorder event card).
In the closing days of the war, it was only through the coordinated assaults of a number of Adepta Sororitas Orders that the line was held at the Belis Corona sector, thanks to the actions of the renowned Canoness Astra."
Belis Corona (sector) 85% 74.3% Dependable
Belis Corona (System) 85% 60.4% Faithful (typo? 60.4% should be Dependable)
Subiaco Diablo 70% 58.3% In the Balance
Relevant event cards in order of reference above:
The Damned 7/22/2003 IMPERIAL
The reports of the forces of the Ulthwe craftworld entering the system prove to be true, and across the entire Belis Corona sector Strike Forces of Black Guardians pour from nowhere into the heart of hotly contested battlezones. They punch into the Chaos battlelines right at the crux of each battle, turning a stalemate into a victory and a victory into a rout. Imperial forces mop up the remnants of the enemy with ruthless efficiency. Imperial loyalty will be bolstered upon Belis Corona when you play this card.
Death From Above 8/4/2003 IMPERIAL
A battlegroup of the Imperial Navy breaks through a picket line of Chaos Vessels to bombard their forces assembling on Laurentix. Orbital strikes hammer the Chaos forces and destroy whole swathes of traitors and war machines. This bold attack from the Imperial Navy crucially disrupts the forces of Chaos on Laurentix. Play this card to force the Despoiler’s armies to pause in their offensive operations in the Belis Corona system.
Ambush 8/4/2003 CHAOS
Imperial ships, despatched from their forward bases in Segmentum Solar travel through the Warp to arrive at the jump point at Bairsten Prime. By use of fell sorcery Abaddon has been forewarned of this and laid a trap for the Imperial vessels, crippling a great many before they can escape to Belis Corona. Many ships of the Imperial Navy stationed in the Belis Corona system are heavily damaged in this treacherous attack and many more will require extensive refitting in the orbital dockyards before they will see action again. Play this card to drive home the naval advantage gained.
Personal analysis:
In the initial unfocused posting of the early weeks, the Forces of Order briefly swung through Belis Corona and posted en masse pushing the Imperial Control at both sector and system level to high above their initial starting levels. Once the action switched to Cadia system and the Agripinaa and Scarus sector, Belis Corona was almost abandoned. It was at about this point in the midpoint of the campaign that Tyranid players, wanting to make a mark in the campaign, gathered and chose Belis Corona as their target. Their numbers were small so they could only gradually erode the Imperial Control. This slow decrease was largely ignored by the Forces of Order aside from some Sisters of Battle led by a player using the name of Canoness Astra. This SoB group engaged the Tyranids and slowed the erosion of Imperial Control to a crawl though the SoB were not numerous enough to stop it from falling entirely. By their steadfast defense, they were able to stall the Tyranids long enough for the campaign to end, with the warzones still effectively in Imperial hands, though somewhat battered down from their initial levels. The Tyranid players did succeed in making themselves known however and Belis Corona was one of the few sector level warzones where Imperial Control ended up lower rather than higher at the end of the campaign.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Chinchare sector. Perceived by both player sides as being a minor warzone, it was surprisingly included among the 5 major warzones fought over during the final stages of the campaign (when GW closed off all except these 5 warzones to further win posting).
"Imperial forces largely ignored the mostly uninhabited Chinchare sub-sector in the early stages of the war, though the forces garrisoned throughout the system were hard-pressed to conatin the initial surge of invaders. Reports of increased Chaos activity drew more forces there as the war went on and Eldar forces of Ulthwe fought hard and spilt much blood in order to wrest control of the sub-sector from the Ruinous Powers. Ulthwe Strike Forces struck at key points within the systems surrounding Chinchare to deny the forces of Abaddon any cohesion to their armies. Striking behind the lines of the main Chaos thrust, precious resources were diverted from the front lines to dealt with the raiding Eldar in the rear. Those forces despatched to deal with the Eldar were themselves ambushed and destroyed piecemeal. Such superiority brought with it an arrogant belief that hte Strike Forces were invulnerable, but such was not to be the case as Ahriman, sorceror of Magnus the Red, wove powerful magicks to disrupt the path of the webway, twisting it and ripping portions of it asunder (Forces of Disorder event card). Much was the lamentation of Ulthwe as many Strike Forces were trapped forever in the webway or lost in the haunted depths of the Warp.
While Ulthwe reeled from these terrible losses, the Chaos forces pressed their attack and launched a devastating counter-attack against Imperial force, particularly those based in Balzac. The Imperial troops were in dnager of being overrun copmpletely, before being suddenly and decisively aided by Eldar emerging from shimmering warp portals (Forces of Order event card). These mysterious benefactors asked nothing in return for their aid and vanished without a word of explanation. As more and more reports were collated, it appeared these silent Eldar had appeared virtually simultaneously throughout the subsector - effectively stymieing the Chaos attack. As the Chaos forces reeled, the vengeful Eldar, combined with the might of the Imperial forces, were able to rout the followers of the Dark Gods from the sub-sector completely."
Chinchare Initial 45% Outcome 95.2% State Faithful
Relevant event cards in order of reference above:
Etheric Collapse 7/31/2003 CHAOS
The dark sorceries of Ahriman and his Thousand Sons twist the thin tunnels of the webway over the Chinchare sub-sector, ripping vast lesions in the fabric of the webway dimension and rendering entire sections unusable. Several Strike Forces of Ulthwé Eldar are plunged into limbo, or worse, into the warp itself. The hit-and-run tactics of the Strike Forces are crippled by the Thousand Sons’ sorceries. When you play this card, Eldar victories will be severely decreased in value on Chinchare for the rest of the week.
Rapid Strike 7/28/2003 IMPERIAL
Beleaguered Imperial forces are suddenly and decisively aided by black and bone armoured Eldar emerging from shimmering warp portals upon the world of Balzac. Vanishing without a word, these mysterious benefactors ask nothing in return for their aid. Several engagements against the forces of Chaos upon Balzac are turned by the intervention of the Eldar strike forces. Play this card to maximise the advantage this brings within the Chinchare sub-sector.
My analysis:
In the very early stages of the campaign, some Disorder players tried to focus on Chinchare since it started out at a low Imperial Control. Forces of Order players flocked to the warzone in response and overwhelmed the Disorder side in sheer numbers, driving Imperial Control up. When the Disorder players focused elsewhere, some of the Order players refused to move on and decided they wanted to reclaim the sector for the Imperium so they kept posting wins to this warzone. Disorder forces never launched a coordinated or focused attempt at this warzone in the rest of the campaign after the threshold effect was understood since this warzone had only a single location, meaning no threshold effect could be used, which meant the more numerous forces of Order would have had a decisive advantage. One small group of Disorder players attempted on their own initiative in the final stages of the campaign a counter-attack but they only made a 1% drop in Imperial Control and abandoned the effort the next day after seeing the dismal result. The effectively unopposed group of Order players in this sector sent Imperial Control soaring, though in doing so they demonstrated some of the weaknesses that would be crucial to the overall Order campaign loss: namely, they refused to listen or coordinate with a higher level command for campaign level strategy and refused to move from their chosen warzone even when other warzones were crying out for assistance and their chosen warzone was effectively secure.
Nemesis Tessera
The fortress oubliette of Nemesis Tessera, its existence supposedly unknown to all but the highest of the Inquisition, came under fierce attack during Abaddon's Thirteenth Crusade. The systems surrounding the Inquisition fortress experienced hitherto unknown levels of civil insurrection that could not be explained without recourse to the malign influence of the Ruinous Powers. In one such incident, a previously peaceful sect of contemplative monks turned on the populace of Trionora, engaging in a series of bloody massacres across the planet's surface (Forces of Disorder event card). Ordo Hereticus strike teams were despatched to cull these killing sprees - they discovered the barricaded monasteries to be full of corpses, the monks having chosen to end their lives in an orgy of self-mutilation. The monasteries were burned to the ground, the ruins sown with salt and reconsecrated.
While the agents of the Inquisition policed the systems surrounding the fortress, many strange omens and portents were unearthed, all indicating great disaster. Many believed this simply to be the invasion of the Despoiler, but other, more cautious Inquisitors believed it to be something more. These doomsayers were proved right when the blind scryers of Nemesis Tessera detected unauthorised psychic activity within the depths of the fortress itself. Inquisitor Van Hel, a Radical Inquisitor who delved too deeply into mysteries best left alone, had been seduced by the whispered promises of the Ruinous Powers and only the timely intervention of Inquisitor Cyarro prevented a warp rift of cataclysmic proportions. At almost the exact same time, a determined force of Chaos Space Marines launched an attack on the Inquisition fortress and laid siege to it for many months. Only the timely arrival of the Space Wolves saved the beleaguered Inquisitorial forces and the combined forces of the Inquisition and the Sons of Russ were finally able to repulse the attack. Though why the Space Wolves abandoned their station to deploy throughout the Nemesis Tessera sub-sector remains a mystery (Forces of Disorder event card affecting Belis Corona warzone).
Nemesis (System) Initial 99.5% Outcome 100% State Faithful
Nemesis Initial 99.5% Outcome 98.1% State Faithful
Relevant event cards in order of mention:
Apostacy 7/12/2003 CHAOS
The Brothers of the Blessed Enigma have lived a peaceful, contemplative existence deep in the wilds of Trionora for centuries. With word of the coming Black Crusade however, comes the disturbing news that the Brothers of the order have turned upon the populace of the world that houses them, attacking any and all in a berserk and utterly unexplainable outbreak of unreasoning violence. Some say the Mad Monks are agents of the Great Enemy, for only Chaos can benefit from their actions. When this card is played the Mad Monks will wreak their particular brand of havoc in the Nemesis Tessera sector, bolstering Chaos victories there.
The Path of the Radical 7/27/2003 CHAOS
Inquisitor Van Hel has long walked the path of the Horusian, a school of thought within the Inquisition that harbours the belief that Horus was correct in his belief that he could enslave the power of Chaos, but was ultimately weak in that he allowed it to enslave him. Now the fate of Horus is repeated in Van Hel, and the Chaotician has been seduced by the whispered promises of the Ruinous Powers. Through his actions in his research stations upon Nemesis Tessera, Abaddon's cause can only be furthered. When you play this card Nemesis Tessera will reap the fruits of the Inquisitor's folly.
Omens and Portents 8/24/2003 10:47:49 PM CHAOS
Driven by rumours of an artefact of Russ held by the Inquisition, the Space Wolves are drawn to the Nemesis Tessera system. Their absence is unannounced and only comes to light when a force of Black Legion Chaos Space Marines attack from the region supposedly guarded by the Sons of Russ. When you play this card, Imperial forces stationed in the Belis Corona sub-sector suffer a sudden reversal of fortune as Chaos forces rampage from an unguarded flank.
My analysis:
Nemesis was one of the warzones hinted at in the lead up to the campaign itself by Andy Chambers as a softer target to crack in order to weaken harder targets like Cadia. This was before the campaign mechanics had been deduced. So at the start of the campaign, the Forces of Disorder descended en masse to attack and initially knocked down the Imperial Control. However the Forces of Order similarly descended on the warzone and their greater numbers in a straight head to head match meant Imperial Control was sent back to its initial levels. The Forces of Disorder went on to other targets and there was no concerted effort to retake what was essentially a minor warzone and which had no potential for threshold effects, making it a pure brute force numbers warzone. The Forces of Order similarly went elsewhere and the warzone was mostly deserted for the rest of the campaign aside from a small Forces of Order group that insisted on staying to prevent any Forces of Disorder comeback or counterattack (which there was no sign of and which never happened). Like the Chinchare warzone, this could be seen as symptomatic of the larger Forces of Order problem, that of individual groups refusing to move from their chosen warzones even when the larger strategic picture would advise it.
Belial IV (Webway warzone) Webway warzones were opened up mid-campaign and were only available to Eldar, Dark Eldar, and Thousand Sons players to post.
Aeons ago, the crone world of Belial IV was a capital world of the Eldar empire. Deep in the heart of the Eldar homelands, the verdant paradise was all but obliterated when the cataclysmic Fall of the Eldar stripped away thousands of years of culture and beauty and replaced it with madness, desolation and evil. Belial IV became a dust-strewn wreck of daemon-infested ruins and crackling, baleful skies.
Maugan Ra, a Phoenix Lord and therefore a veteran of webway travel, braved the depths of the Eye of Terror on a pilgrimage to the shattered crone worlds, intending to find a faction of Eldar he believed trapped in the Eye of Terror. Taking with him a few of his favoured disciples, Maugan Ra eventually reached the hex-system of Belial. What he found there he would not speak of and he was not seen again until he appeared upon Ulthwé to form the infamous Strke Forces, filled with renewed energy and determination.
Towards the end of the Thirteenth Crusade, many of the Eldar in the system departed from warzones in the Imperial space and gathered upon Belial IV under Maugan Ra's command. They took the fight to the indigenous Chaos forces with such unremitting fury that vast areas were reclaimed by the Eldar (Forces of Order event card). The battle also raged around Belial IV in the labyrinth dimension of the webway, but it seemed that without the guidance of their leaders the Strike Forces were suffering heavy losses to the Dark Eldar and Thousand Sons. The otherworldly guardians of the Black Library, fearing for their shadowy realm's safety, revealed hitherto unknown capillaries of the webway to the Ulthwé Eldar, enabling them not only to escape from the net drawing around them but to stage a series of ambushes that broke the deadlock and turned the tide once and for all (Forces of Order event card).
The final and most decisive, twist to this peculiar theatre of war came when a Daemon horde led a counter-attack against the Eldar consolidating their hold on the crone worlds, as sudden as it was devastating. To the great shock of the Eldar below, the withered and broken Craftworld of Altansar, thought lost to the Warp for 10,000 years, drifted into orbit above the crone worlds (Forces of Order event card). Hundreds of pallid, ghost-like Eldar joined their brethren on the field of battle, throwing back the Daemon tide with wave after wave of silent, grim warriors. Since that great victory Belial IV has been reclaimed by the Eldar. What this, and the reappearance of the Lost, bodes for the Eldar race remains to be seen.
Belial IV Initial 35% Outcome 79.4% State Dependable
Relevant event cards in order of mention:
The Harvester of Souls 8/4/2003 IMPERIAL
The Phoenix Lord Maugan Ra addresses the forces at the Belial IV sub-sector, where many Eldar warhosts have gathered to take back their Crone Worlds. His inspiring presence, bolstered in no small part by an Avatar of the Bloody-Handed God, drives the Eldar into a fury of battlelust that is then unleashed across the Crone Worlds. With such legendary figures in their midst they will fight until their enemies are annihilated or the last of their number is dead. Belial IV permanently benefits from the presence of an Eldar Phoenix Lord, and the Eldar presence will be bolstered on that world and its neighbours.
Secrets of the Black Library 8/3/2003 IMPERIAL
The desperation of the situation facing Ulthwe is such that the Guardians of the Black Library reveal to them the runes that will open many sealed paths of the Webway. The danger of these paths is great but the opportunity for achieving surprise is such that the risk may be worth it. In the warzone of Belial, the opportunity exits for startling victories and disastrous defeats. Play this card to up the stakes for the Eldar fighting in the Belial IV sub-sector.
Ghosts in the Warp 8/19/2003 2:32:53 AM IMPERIAL
The Ulthwé Eldar fighting for the Crone worlds in the Eye of Terror are witness to a miracle. A shattered, withered husk of a Craftworld drifts into orbit above them, delivering hundreds of pallid Eldar warriors wearing the colours of the long-dead Craftworld of Altansar onto the field of battle. Their attack on the daemons of Chaos is as unrelenting as it is unexpected. Play this card for the Lost of Altansar arrive en masse on Belial IV, increasing the value of Eldar victories on that world for the rest of the week.
My analysis:
All the webway warzones were straight brute force number warzones as there was no ability to use the threshold effect. Therefore, the Eldar easily overwhelmed the less numerous Dark Eldar and Thousand Sons players. This imbalance in numbers was made worse due to many Dark Eldar players refusing to aid Chaos and instead choosing to aid the Eldar with their posted games. Therefore, the webway warzones were really straightforward upward marches in Control. Belial IV was the chosen primary warzone for the Eldar players, with Eidolon 2nd, and the Sentinel worlds 3rd. There was insufficient time in the campaign for all warzones to be pumped up to high Control levels, so the Eldar players settled for Belial IV, with partial successes on the other warzones.
Eidolon (Webway warzone)
The mysterious sector of Eidolon, deep in the heart of the Eye of Terror, is one of the most remote and peculiar of the daemon worlds fought upon during the Thirteenth Crusade. Divided into several continents where a different Chaos power reigns over each, the battlezones of Eidolon present a panoply of strange and excruciating ways to die. Its shifting landscapes defy all reason, and, althought it was once a beautiful maiden world of the Eldar, it has changed so irrevocably that no real trace of its former glory exists. Nonetheless, the victories won by the forces of Order, notably the Eldar of Biel-tan, have established several enclaves of sanity in the roiling seas of possibility that characterise Eidolon. The Eldar hope that one day these islands can grow and become stable, and that eventually the secrets of Eidolon can be reclaimed.
Eidolon Initial 5% Outcome 25.1% State Unreliable
My analysis:
Much the same as for the Belial IV warzone. Eldar players overwhelmed the Disorder players so Eidolon saw a upward movement in Control, though Eldar players focused on the main webway warzone of Belial IV. Not much strategy involved as there was nothing Disorder players could do against the numerical difference.
Sentinel worlds (Webway warzone)
The barren sentinel worlds in the south-west quadrant of the Eye of Terror have always been thought to be a collection of mostly featureless rocks held together by specific gravitational anomalies. The Adeptus Mechanicus have done much to discourage development in this region due to their facility stationed on Hydra Cordatus, a relatively unremarkable planet holding a potent secret. Remaining undisturbed for centuries, there have recently been unconfirmed reports of a great Iron Warriors invasion into the system, preceding even the Hive Teriax disaster in the opening phases of the Thirteenth Crusade (Storm of Iron novel).
During the opening stages of the Crusade, the sentinel worlds had little in the way of full-scale engagements, although a node in the webway stationed above the void worlds saw a lot of conflict between the Eldar and their enemies. The most notable development emerged from this unregarded backwater system just as the wars reached their peak, with hordes of silvered Necron warriors emerging from hidden tombs on the four planets surrounding Hydra Cordatus in a rough pyramid pattern. The Imperial forces stationed nearby feared the worst, but were amazed when the Necrontyr fell upon the soldiers of Chaos, turning the tide in favour of the forces of Order (Forces of Order event card affecting planetary warzones in Thracian Primaris system). Since that time, increased Necron activity in the sector has prevented any Imperial forces from capitalising upon these victories, and remote orbital pict-captures have even revealed several structures almost identical to the Cadian Pylons sprouting across the landscapes of these four sentinel worlds.
Sentinel Worlds Initial 20% Outcome 24.1% State Unreliable
Relevant event cards in order of mention:
Ancient Evil Awakens 7/23/2003 IMPERIAL
One of the Sentinel Words, previously thought to be dead, rustles with the dead scrape of grave vestments as the gleaming silver warriors of the Necrontyr emerge from underground tombs and take to the stars. Imperial forces in battle nearby fear the worst, but the Necron warriors fall upon the Chaos foe instead. All across the Thracian Primaris system, Necron forces fall upon Chaos troops and ships, decisively swinging the course of dozens of battle. Play this card to exert their ancient power
My analysis:
Like the other webway warzones, the Eldar dominated through numbers as there was no opportunity for any threshold effect for the less numerous Disorder players to use. Eldar players chose to focus on Belial IV, Eidolon, and the Sentinel worlds in that order so there was little rise in Control in the limited time of the campaign. One thing that did cause confusion was the event card showing the Necrons attacking Chaos, which some players took to mean Necron players were lumped in with the Forces of Order, despite in the initial campaign line up being assumed to be in the Forces of Disorder camp. I don't think the issue was ever officially clarified.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The Tau Empire warzone
"The Tau made several major expansions to their empire over the course of the Thirteenth Crusade. With Imperial attention elsewhere, and the local Tyranid and Ork menace temporarily contained, Tau settlement colonies and pioneer teams reached far and wide into the outlying systems of the Damocles Gulf, the Perdus Rift, and much further afield. Although the encroachment on Imperial space has been relatively minor, the Tau have established no fewer than five 3rd phase colony systems in a halo around their existing sept worlds. These massive areas of expansion are already being referred to as the Third Sphere Colonies by the diplomats of the Water Caste, and are rumoured to unprecedented numbers of human auxillaries. That the Imperium's attention is focused elsewhere is no doubt of comfort to those humans who have pledged their support to the burgeoning Tau empire. "
The Tau Empire Initial 100% Outcome 132.6% State N/A
My analysis:
The result report is the seed off of which the latest tidbits in the Space Marine Codex and Tau Empire Codex are based. The background actually parallels to some extent what occurred during the campaign itself. Viewed as a sideshow to the campaign, it was largely ignored by Order and Disorder players. Tyranid and Ork players despite the initial plans of Andy Chambers, had no desire to be nameless unmentioned speed bumps to Tau expansion, so they instead also flocked to the main warzones to make their mark in the campaign. Thus the Tau players were left to focus on their personal warzone, effectively unopposed. The few players of other sides posting wins against the Tau were not enough to do more than slow the rate at which the Tau expanded. On only 1 day in the entire campaign, did the Tau suffer a decrease, and even that was tiny and more than offset by the gains on subsequent days.
NEWSLETTER
FINAL
THE BEGINNING OF THE END TIMES
Darkness has fallen across a hundred worlds, and for the defenders of the Cadian Gate, the pure light of day now seems but a distant memory. Though the forces of the Despoiler have been denied the ultimate prize of the fall of Cadia, Abaddon’s hordes have gained a foothold upon the worlds of Man, and none can see them being repelled for many years to come. Abaddon and his council of three have outmanoeuvred and out fought the forces of the Imperium at almost every turn. Corpses litter the battlefields in their millions, yet millions more still stand beleaguered, against a foe that knows no mercy and whose only goal is the utter destruction of all who stand before them.
The Thirteenth Black Crusade has broken the Imperium’s hold upon the Cadian Gate- perhaps forever. The raging tempest of the Eye of Terror has surged forth, engulfing those worlds lost to Chaos. The Imperium no longer bars the gate to the Eye, only a small channel remains through which Imperial Navy vessels may pass to bring aid to the desperate forces upon Cadia.
At the close of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, Cadia still stands. But she stands alone, a failing beacon flickering against the encroaching night. Total war is come to Segmentum Obscurus, and all hopes of repelling the invaders are dashed. The Imperium must now consolidate its grip upon those worlds it still holds, and prepare to fight a war that will not end within the lifetime of any of its combatants. While Cadia still stands, humanity has reason to hope, but Abaddon the Despoiler has finally achieved what he has failed to do on twelve previous occasions, over ten thousand years- he has breached the Cadian Gate, and none can now hold back the inexorable tide of Chaos unleashed upon the Imperium of Man.
Cadia
The bleak moors of Cadia are reduced to a barren, crater-pocked wasteland, blasted by orbital torpedoes, super-heavy artillery and the footfall of titans. The Vilklas and Andur defence lines have collapsed under the relentless pressure of a million frenzied cultists, traitors and mutants, and the Cadian High Command has been forced to relocate to Kasr Gallan on the far side of the Caducades Sea. Though the Imperial Navy is in control of the inter-system space lanes, Chaos rules the skies above Cadia since the orbital defences fell in the opening days of the Black Crusade. The defenders of Cadia are now deployed around Kasr Gallan and throughout the Wastes, resolute that not a backward step shall be taken. The order is given- ‘stand at Cadia, or damn the Imperium of Mankind to the depredations of Chaos for all eternity’.
Scarus
The unstoppable force of the Green Krusade has laid waste to the Scarus system, and now the Orks rule Lethe Eleven and Mordax. The Forge Worlds of Mordax are now infested with lootaz of the Death Skull clan, a truly terrifying prospect to the devotees of the Machine God, who know full well the depths of blasphemy against the Omnissiah to which these barbaric xenos will sink. Only Thracian Primaris holds firm against the Green Crusade, bolstered first by the intervention of a Black Templars Crusade, and later by the stalwart defence mounted by the Salamanders Chapter. The situation is grim in Scarus, and none can see an end to the infestation given the dire situation across the region.
Belis Corona
The Imperium have largely held at Belis Corona, suffering the worst excesses of a Tyranid splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan, and the horrific plagues bestowed upon the Hive Cities by the Death Guard. Subiaco Diablo saw the Convent of the Order of the Ermine Mantle hold out against overwhelming odds, before being relieved by a host of Adepta Sororitas from across the region, their assault spearheaded by the celebrated Canoness Astra.
Agripinaa
The industrial heartland of the Cadian Gate lies in ruin. Though the Imperial Navy controls space, many worlds of the sector are lost to anarchy and destruction. Agripinaa itself may stand, but without the Agri-worlds of Yayor, Ulthor and Dentor, its populace may yet starve to death, and without the vital materiels provided by the Hive worlds of Albitern, Amistel and Tabor, its mighty forges may yet fall silent. With Typhus, Herald of Nurgle consolidating his grip upon the Ulthor system, as if claiming it as the capital of a nascent, plague-ridden empire of his own, it is apparent that the taint of Chaos is well and truly upon the Agripinaa sector.
The Webway
The Eldar have sealed the Webway against all invaders, expelling the Traitor Space Marines of the Thousand Sons Legion, and pushing their own wayward kin, the Dark Eldar, back to their shadow-realm of Commorragh. For now, the hidden places of the Eldar, and the most terrible secrets they hide are safe from the predations of the ‘lesser races’. Those warzones only accessible through the Webway are now held by the Eldar, including the ancient Crone World of Belial IV, former jewel in the once-mighty galaxy-spanning empire of the race.
The space lanes
The Imperial Navy has fought with courage and vigour throughout the war, ruthlessly taking the battle to the enemy wherever it encountered them. Admiral Quarren has been hailed a true hero of the Imperium, for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival, and utter defeat for the Imperium. Though Cadia is besieged, the Imperial Navy commands space, and is able to offer support to beleaguered forces on the ground. The only question is whether the rapid redeployment of almost the entirety of Battle Fleet Gothic, along with a substantial proportion of Battle Fleet Solar will leave the Navy dangerously overstretched elsewhere and unable to maintain the level of operations required to hold the line at the Cadian Gate.
Caliban
The Dark Angels have not only held on to the ruins of their homeworld of Caliban against continuous attack, but have countered the activities of a number of the ‘Fallen’- rogue brethren who the Chapter and its successors relentlessly hunt to the exclusion of all other considerations. Rumours abound that the Dark Angels captured `The Voice of the Emperor` himself, only for this mysterious heretic to escape his prison en route to the Tower of Angels. Other rumours suggests that Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed now harbours a deep resentment towards the chapter, whose presence, he feels, might have proved critical in the defence of Cadia in the most desperate phases of the war, were the chapter not focusing their efforts upon Caliban.
The Tau Empire
If any one group can said to have gained from the wholesale destruction of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, it is the Tau. The collectivist xenos have expanded their territory, and look set to establish at least one, perhaps two, new Sept worlds in space formally claimed by the Imperium. With the forces of the Emperor firmly committed to defending Segmentum Obscurus, the Tau may just be able to consolidate their hold upon their newly won worlds.
These are the initial results of the Eye of Terror campaign. Inquisition Servitors, lexmechanics and auto-savants are currently engaged in the lengthy process of compiling a true and detailed account of Abaddon’s Thirteenth Black Crusade. These results will be published shortly in White Dwarf, along with the account of the climactic battle that took place at Cadia, the battle for the very future of the Cadian Gate.
Aftermath:
From the subsequent WD article with official final results:
Victory for Chaos! Not a complete victory, the forces of Order have held the line in many places and Cadia itself still defies the Arch Warmaster Abaddon. But nonetheless over eight weeks the forces ot Disorder have consistently out-fought and out-manoeuvred their opponents across the warzones of the Eye of Terror.
WD 287, Death by a Thousand Cuts by Andy Chambers
In Apocalypse, Abaddon is shown with a once more operational Planet Killer:
Thesus Reach is an industral planet unaware of its own impending destruction. It sits in the path of Abaddon the Despoiler's Thirteenth Black Crusade, the greatest and most successful Chaos incursion the galaxy has ever known. ..Abaddon's flagship, the Planet Killer, is primed to teleport its master onto the planet...
p.80, Apocalypse rulebook
Though Abaddon managed to teleport back to his flagship, his plan to take the head of Creed failed due to the intervention of the Grey Knights. Following his humiliating defeat at the hands of Captain Stern, the wrath of the Despoiler is now greater than ever before, and his entire Black Crusade will go no further until he has had his revenge. What began as a vendetta is now set to consume the entire THesus sector in bloody war...
p. 88, Apocalypse rulebook
The Thesus Sector was in none of the Eye of Terror campaign warzones. Thus since it is still the 13th Black Crusade, we know therefore that Abaddon is actually now beyond the Cadian Gate, though bogged down now in the Thesus Sector due to personal issues.
For those that might claim the battle report is just that, the earlier battle report, the Battle of Cold Steel Ridge, is now part of the canon and appears in the SM Codex. Thus there is precedent for these battle reports in the Apocalypse rulebook to be incorporated into the universe.
Also a definitive list of the event cards played during the campaign by both sides:
1hadhq wrote:Well done summary.
It shows the efforts people put into shifting the outcome by playing the mechanics.
Well it looks like Andy Chambers in the WD article did hope and expect people to do some strategic posting, so it didn't become just a straight headbutting of raw numbers of wins which smaller factions could never win. That was how the Armageddon 3 campaign became an indecisive stalemate or with slight Imperial edge (since Imperials of all flavors outnumber the rest).
1hadhq wrote:Well done summary.
It shows the efforts people put into shifting the outcome by playing the mechanics.
It also shows the effects that a certain group of Portent posters had with sitting inside of the opposition's 'war council' and having inside information themselves about how the campaign mechanics worked.
1hadhq wrote:Well done summary.
It shows the efforts people put into shifting the outcome by playing the mechanics.
It also shows the effects that a certain group of Portent posters had with sitting inside of the opposition's 'war council' and having inside information themselves about how the campaign mechanics worked.
1hadhq wrote:Well done summary.
It shows the efforts people put into shifting the outcome by playing the mechanics.
It also shows the effects that a certain group of Portent posters had with sitting inside of the opposition's 'war council' and having inside information themselves about how the campaign mechanics worked.
What's war without spies ey
Yeah...considering you had to register for access to those 'war councils' and they already had information on exactly how the campaign mechanics worked--it's stupid.
1hadhq wrote:Well done summary.
It shows the efforts people put into shifting the outcome by playing the mechanics.
It also shows the effects that a certain group of Portent posters had with sitting inside of the opposition's 'war council' and having inside information themselves about how the campaign mechanics worked.
If you are going to make claims of conspiracy back it up with proof not just unfounded insinuations. GW in the WD article clearly stated the Imperials were less organized and thus outmaneuvered on the strategic scale despite having more players.
No inside information was necessary at all. The 3 players that comprised the Triad worked out the system through spreadsheeting the changes in Imperial Control over the initial few weeks. The key observation was noting that other planets in the Cadia system fell 5% every time one of the other planets crossed a threshold point. It took that long to test the theory and create a working model. Note working model does not need to predict everything to the last digit, but good enough for functional goals. There would have been no need for such delay of a critical few weeks if there were "insiders" as the conspiracy theorists would claim.
Once the knowledge became widely known by about the midpoint of the campaign, BOTH sides had opportunity to take advantage of it and coordinate their win placement. The Forces of Order were less effective and thus lost. I even commented in my analysis how for a time the Forces of Order had achieved the upper hand in the Cadia system through the simple massing of numbers, but then they tried to be too fancy and ended up splitting their forces. Once the campaign mechanics were known to all, even a player not directly listening to one of the player groups could usually tell for themselves which was the most effective place for a win to be placed as it was fairly obvious most of the time which was the easiest place to trigger a threshold effect.
Instead of just resorting to blaming the other side and crying "cheater" or inventing conspiracies as sore losers or fanboys are wont to do, actually go look at the time course and the mechanics of WHY the Imperium lost that campaign. Divisiveness was the key part. Everyone wanting to do their own thing and refusing to listen to any coordination except in the loosest sense. During those few weeks when the Imperial players did, they actually made a comeback. Then they stopped doing so for political infighting and that's when they started to lose ground again. The threshold effect or rather the lack of it in the Webway warzones and the unity of the Eldar players was why they out of the Forces of Order, were the ones that actually appeared to accomplish some of their main objectives.
The Tau situation during the campaign also mirrored the background situation. The Imperium had its chance to crush the Tau here, but the players decided they wanted to be in on the action at the Cadian Gate, and therefore the Tau were left to steamroller over their opposition in their warzone. The exact same "sacrifice the periphery to save the core" concept practiced by the Imperium itself.
All the changes during that campaign were charted daily. Any independent readers will note a late Imperial resurgence in the Cadia system especially that then faltered.
This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2011/08/22 14:52:06
Or as most anyone who posts on a forum knows, the internet population of forums is not the entirety of GW's playerbase. Not every single Space Marine player, Imperial Guard player, etc are online. GW was not telling everyone to post on forums like Portent or get organized beyond "Use our event forums!" where the signal to noise ratio was stupidly low.
GW also had absolutely no framework in place to prevent false reporting. I'm aware of no less than three local Chaos players who reported over over 400 games that they did not actually play.
You can plug your fingers in your ears all you want, but I know for a fact that cheating occurred and that the "knowledge" of that was given to the Forces of Disorder by a member of the GW web team who was playing Death Guard.
Andy Chambers mentioned the cheating as well in the seminars for Games Day the following year.
Automatically Appended Next Post: By the way, your link is broken.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/08/22 14:48:10
Kanluwen wrote:Or as most anyone who posts on a forum knows, the internet population of forums is not the entirety of GW's playerbase. Not every single Space Marine player, Imperial Guard player, etc are online. GW was not telling everyone to post on forums like Portent or get organized beyond "Use our event forums!" where the signal to noise ratio was stupidly low.
And it doesn't matter. Those unfocused players were so much background noise to the system. All those players on both sides dumping their wins onto Cadia were throwing it into a black hole. Ironically it was also those same unfocused Imperial players that sent the sector levels soaring and probably what prevented the minor Chaos victory from being a decisive Chaos victory. The system was designed to enable ebb and flow due to coordination, not simple undifferentiated blunt force numbers which was the failing of the Armageddon 3 system. Any system that relied purely on numbers would favor the Imperium so heavily that other more minor factions would have no chance of prevailing at all.
Also the Triad was on the main Eye of Terror forum. That was actually where more of the action was happening than on Portent. All the public orders given by the Triad for Chaos and by the equivalent Imperial organizations were all on the Eye of Terror event forums. Again, once the rules were known to both sides, even that was not strictly necessary as any player who knew the rules could easily figure out for themselves where the place to put wins was.
GW also had absolutely no framework in place to prevent false reporting. I'm aware of no less than three local Chaos players who reported over over 400 games that they did not actually play.
You can plug your fingers in your ears all you want, but I know for a fact that cheating occurred and that the "knowledge" of that was given to the Forces of Disorder by a member of the GW web team who was playing Death Guard.
Andy Chambers mentioned the cheating as well in the seminars for Games Day the following year.
Yet you are completely unable to bring proof other than just chanting it is a "fact". Sounds like the complaining of an Imperial fanboy that cannot accept the Imperium could actually lose. The Tyranid players accept they lost the battle for Belis Corona, and the Chaos players accept they lost to the Eldar in the Webway. Imperial players should accept they lost in Scarus, Agripinaa, and Cadia.
There was false reporting on both sides. That was why the posting limit was reduced from 5 games per day to 3 games per day, and verified games counted for more. That was also why there were thousands of games that were deleted after the initial few days as false games were weeded from the system. That is why your claim that nothing was done about cheating is false. On a scale of that size, if cheating were present on both sides to anywhere near the same extent (and there is no hard evidence there was any significant difference), if anything it would have favored the Forces of Order as they numbered more players. Ultimately there will be some fraction of false reporting in any online campaign. No doubt there was some during Armageddon 3, yet we don't see such a dramatic difference in outcome. It was near stalemated on Armageddon 3.
The Imperial side was so inept and disorganized GW DID come out outright and told them to fight back on the planets or risk losing:
Warnings
Ursarkar Creed has been hailed by many as the most able Imperial Guard commander since the legendary Lord Solar Macharius, yet many observers have noted that his sub-commanders have not proved themselves quite so capable. So sudden and mobile has the Despoiler's invasion proved that many commanders at a system and planetary level have simply been unable to coordinate their actions, and are reacting to the enemy's attacks rather than dictating their own terms of battle. Creed has issued stern orders to his subordinates- take the initiative at a planetary level, or fall. The choice is that simple.
Like I said: any evidence I could produce(if I could be bothered to go digging through Portent's archives) would be claimed as falsified. It's no skin off my back.
I could care less about the Imperium losing. The Imperium always freaking loses, it's what they do. They're the biggest punching bag in 40k and anyone who follows the background knows that. They're continually depicted as inept and helpless whenever a bad guy needs his evil plan to succeed.
And by the way, you posted this in the wrong place. Your personal analysis isn't Background material.
This isn't Warseer. This goes in Fan Fiction or make an Article.
Kanluwen wrote:Like I said: any evidence I could produce(if I could be bothered to go digging through Portent's archives) would be claimed as falsified. It's no skin off my back.
In other words, you can't be bothered or are unable to produce proof. Very convenient. So much for "fact". Without proof, your claims are not fact, no matter how many times you try to shout it. I have given links (corrected) and any reader can go look at the progression and commentary of others from that time for themselves, day by day, as well as the final GWWD article.
I could care less about the Imperium losing. The Imperium always freaking loses, it's what they do. They're the biggest punching bag in 40k and anyone who follows the background knows that. They're continually depicted as inept and helpless whenever a bad guy needs his evil plan to succeed.
Then why did the Imperium win Medusa V and actually come out ahead in Armageddon 3? Or going further back, why did the Imperium win Ichar IV? In every worldwide campaign that GW has organized EXCEPT the Eye of Terror, the Imperium has come out ahead. The Imperium only ever lost ONCE, yet that is the only campaign where there is such a level of denial, conspiracy theory, and gnashing of teeth from players. Hardly a peep over the ones where the Imperium didn't lose.
And by the way, you posted this in the wrong place. Your personal analysis isn't Background material.
This isn't Warseer. This goes in Fan Fiction or make an Article.
This forum is for discussion and research into the 40K background. Since it seems there is much misinformation and misremembering about what actually occurred, it is relevant to set the facts straight.
If people are entitled to have their own personal opinions about the background, which obviously they do and post all over this forum, then it is legitimate to have an opinion regarding the official WD results which is what the analysis is.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2011/08/22 15:11:34
Kanluwen wrote:Like I said: any evidence I could produce(if I could be bothered to go digging through Portent's archives) would be claimed as falsified. It's no skin off my back.
In other words, you can't be bothered or are unable to produce proof. Very convenient. So much for "fact". Without proof, your claims are not fact, no matter how many times you try to shout it. I have given links (corrected) and any reader can go look at the progression and commentary of others from that time for themselves, day by day, as well as the final GWWD article.
You could also join the Triad's Yahoo group and ASK them about it.
Of course, that's not a reasonable idea for Kan, because they'll obviously stay committed to a lie that doesn't matter to begin with.
And even if it's true, it's not like Order's hands are clean, either, as a number of their spies were outed on the Disorder boards. Of course, their spies were useless as there was no central leadership on the Order boards.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2011/08/22 15:15:56
You know you're really doing something when you can make strangers hate you over the Internet. - Mauleed
Just remember folks. Panic. Panic all the time. It's the only way to survive, other than just being mindful, of course-but geez, that's so friggin' boring. - Aegis Grimm
Hallowed is the All Pie The Before Times: A Place That Celebrates The World That Was
"Hey guys, did you cheat 8 years ago in the Eye of Terror campaign?"
"No."
"Okay then!"
By and large, I'm skeptical of the results of any of GW's campaigns where they say it will "influence the background".
There is no doubt in my mind that they would go out of their way to prevent an unfavorable result like Cadia being destroyed or Ultramar being devoured. They're not stupid enough to let that happen, it will be done in such a way that it fits what they want to happen.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And you're absolutely right that Order's hands are not clean either. There were a number of 'spies', who continually reported material from the Disorder boards. I reported them when I could.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I would also say that if an individual was going to cheat at a game of toy soldiers and become eFamous for it, that lying about it would not beyond an individual who would do such a thing.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2011/08/22 15:20:30
Kanluwen wrote:"Hey guys, did you cheat 8 years ago in the Eye of Terror campaign?"
"No."
"Okay then!"
By and large, I'm skeptical of the results of any of GW's campaigns where they say it will "influence the background".
There is no doubt in my mind that they would go out of their way to prevent an unfavorable result like Cadia being destroyed or Ultramar being devoured. They're not stupid enough to let that happen, it will be done in such a way that it fits what they want to happen.
They hardly needed to "fix" that result. The way Cadia was set up in the beginning, with High Resistance and starting at 95% Imperial, made it all but assured that it would not fall if the Forces of Order even showed up to fight. It was virtually immovable to direct posting, and reliant on the threshold effect to take down (which as Andy Chambers wrote in WD was the intent, to force "softening up" of hard targets). It took a phenomenal amount of disorganization and infighting on Order side and even then it only barely slipped below 40%. Never underestimate the collective stupidity and irrationality of the human herd. That is far more likely than any conspiracy theory. People like conspiracy theories because it allows them to ascribe active malevolence on the part of a few individuals, rather than take any responsibility as a collective for what happened.
Looking at the event cards it is even possible to see Andy Chambers was borrowing the template from the Gothic War, of initial Chaos surprise attack, then Imperial reinforcements. Only instead of a set narrative story, the outcome was in the hands of players, and this time instead of following the story outline, it went the other way.
The issue of "spies" is overhyped and overrated really. Both sides knew the rules by a certain point in the campaign. They were pretty self evident rules. A player that knew them didn't need necessarily to listen to "orders" from anyone to know where to post if they wanted to contribute to the fight in Scarus sector, or in the Cadia system. All they had to do was look at the Imperial Control of the warzones and spot the one closest to a threshold point. Guess what? That was the place that would be hit.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2011/08/22 15:28:47
I
The lance beam tore through the mid-deck of the Bastion of Light,
vaporising its plasma reactor in a heartbeat. The rear quarter of the
ship heaved as the colossal energies released tore her apart in an explosion
that lit up the darkness of space above Cadia with oxygen-rich flames.
Admiral Quarren watched its demise through the viewing bay of his
battle-scarred flagship, Gathalamor, and felt what little chance of victory
they had had in this battle slip away. Over a dozen Imperial vessels were
little more than blazing hulks drifting in space and they had barely
scratched the surface of the corrupted Blackstone Fortress. The Eldar ships
had taken a savage beating, their alien magicks unable to protect them from
the horrendous amount of firepower directed against them. Two listed
drunkenly, their curved foresails sagging and broken across their
ripped hulls and a third blazed from prow to stern. But the fourth…
whoever its captain was, Quarren had to admit he was a master of
manoeuvre, slipping through the deadly barrages from the Chaos fleet
like liquid. Men and ships of the Imperial Navy were dying to give the
Eldar ship the opportunity to close with the Blackstone Fortress, and
Quarren just hoped their sacrifice would not be in vain.
II
Eldrad Ulthran, Farseer of Ulthwй, felt utterly blind, senses attuned to
the whispers of futures not yet born rendered mute by the encroaching
darkness. He could sense nothing of the future and his sudden impotence
left him feeling cold and alone. Was this how the Mon-Keigh felt all the
time? How could they stand to live in such blindness, stumbling towards
the future with no possible idea of what awaited them? For a brief
second he was moved to pity this sightless, upstart race, before
remembering the injustices they had inflicted on his race; the unthinking
xenocidal massacres, the theft of Eldar Maiden worlds and the
arrogance to believe that the galaxy was theirs to do with as they wished.
The Isha’ra rocked with nearby explosions from ordnance launched by
the Chaos fleet, but Craftmaster Kaelisar was the best ship’s captain of
Ulthwй and he deftly piloted his vessel through the storm of fire
unscathed. The corrupted Talisman of Vaul loomed before them, its twisted
spires warped beyond the subtle grace crafted long ago by Eldar hands.
Hundreds of explosions burst around it as the combined Eldar and Imperial
ships fought desperately to reach the Talisman.
Behind Eldrad, a cabal of Warlocks surrounded a swirling blue
nimbus of light, weaving their psychic powers into one powerful
lance of energy that sought to unlock the ancient seals holding the
wraithgate aboard the Talisman closed.
Powerful wards held it shut, but now the Warlocks sought to undo those
wards and allow their Farseer to travel through the webway and board
the Talisman. Even as he watched, a dazzlingly bright light flared beneath
the Talisman, a blazing column that speared towards the surface of the
planet below.
”Hurry,” said Eldrad. ”We are running out of time.”
III
Lieutenant Escarno slumped against the rockcrete parapet of the Kasr’s
bastion, feeling blood pouring from the gaping wounds in his side. He
felt dizzy from blood loss and fatigue. On any normal engagement,
he and his men would have been rotated away from the front line, but
this was no normal engagement. There were simply no more men to feed
the war machine and any man capable of holding a gun stood before the
enemy. The soldiers of the Imperial Guard had fought beyond the limits
of endurance and only their determination to do their duty to the
God-Emperor kept them fighting.
Thudding booms marched through the ruins of the outer Kasr,
its bastions reduced to rubble by constant bombardment from daemonic
artillery. All that remained was the inner keep, its high adamantine walls
proof against anything the enemy could throw at it. The fighting
around him raged with undiminished ferocity as he collapsed to his knees,
though the sounds seemed tinny and far away. He saw comrades and foe
alike, struggling atop blood-slick ramparts, bullets and lasbolts
ricocheting around him as the rockcrete of the firing step rushed
up to meet him and slammed into his face. He rolled onto his back,
realising he was lying on the ground as he felt warm blood pool beneath
him – though he could feel no pain.
Through the shattered parapet, he could see tens of thousands – more
even? – of the warriors of the enemy massing before the walls. They
stretched as far as the eye could see and even as his vision blurred, he
knew there was no way they could stand before such a monstrous horde.
But then he saw a miracle, a shining light piercing the heavens that lit up
the clouds with a pure brilliance that could only be the fury of the
Emperor come to punish these traitors that dared to defile His
world. He smiled and watched as a rippling cascade of blazing light
dropped from the skies and touched the surface of Cadia, setting its
surface alight. White-hot fires leapt from the ground, a thousand metre
high pillar of light that incinerated everything in its path. Distant screams
echoed from far off and Escarno wept tears of joy as the kilometres-wide
curtain of fire scorched the Chaos filth from the surface of his world.
They had held for long enough and he smiled as he died, content to
know that he had done his duty.
IV
”We’re finished…” said one of
Creed’s advisors, watching the
incandescent curtain of fire searing
its way towards the inner keep.
Though tens of thousands of the
enemy were dying, the lethal energy
was slowly, but inexorably, moving
towards them. It would kill those
opposing them, but it would destroy
them also, and with them, the last
Cadian bastion of the east.
Ursarkar Creed rounded on his
advisor and snarled, ”I won’t hear
that kind of talk, damn it. Anyone
else voices an opinion like that and
I’ll shoot him myself.”
”Sir,” said Jarran Kell, softly.
”He may be right. If the xenos do
not succeed soon, there will be
nothing left of Kasr Partox. The
lexmechanics calculate the energy
beam will reach the walls of the
keep within the hour.”
Creed said nothing, his face set
in an expression of grim resolve as
he stared across the blasted wasteland
towards the deadly beam that reached
from space to destroy his world.
”Come on,” he whispered, raising
his head skyward. ”Do not fail us…”
V
An explosion of psychic energy
lashed around the bridge of the
Isha’ra, crackling arcs of lightning
leaping from the cabal of Warlocks
and felling them with powerful
psychic backlash. Eldrad clutched his
head, gritting his teeth in pain as
the screaming darkness of the longsealed
webway portal rushed free in
a wash of shrieking souls. A
howling gale of warp-spawned
energies rippled from the rent in
space, smashing delicate wraithbone
columns and tearing gracefully
curved panels free from the walls.
Eldrad picked himself up as the
screeching subsided and saw a dark
edged ripple of energy gently
spinning in a circle of dazed
Warlocks. Some, he saw, were
already dead, their spirit stones
cracked and dark and he felt a great
sadness at the thought of their souls
devoured by the Great Enemy.
He glanced over his shoulder,
seeing the Talisman’s deadly beam
still blazing in space, a column of
unimaginable power that would scour
the surface of the Mon-Keigh planet
bare of life. He limped across the
buckled deck of the Isha’ra,
shouting, ”Warlocks! With me!”
before plunging into the newly
reopened wraithgate.
VI The walls were abandoned, the
stonework first vitrifying, then
melting as the fiery beam swept
slowly onwards. Where it had passed,
the ground was nothing more than
molten slag, smoking and dead,
barren forever more. The outer walls
of the keep were gone, its proud
towers and barbicans sliding from
the walls like wax from a candle,
and Ursarkar Creed knew he had
failed. They could not hold Kasr
Partox and the only option left to
them was retreat. The Commissars
talked of dying to a man, but Creed
knew that while there was still a
chance to resist, they would not be
needlessly sacrificing themselves. The
order to pull out had been given
and the soldiers of the Guard and
the Space Marines were pulling back
to the docks and loading bays at the
shores of the Caducades Sea, ready
to make for Kasr Gallan to stand
once more.
Crushing disappointment settled
over him like a shroud and he
cursed the name of the Despoiler.
He cursed the Eldar seer for giving
them hope and, most of all, he
cursed himself for his own failure
to defeat the Emperor’s enemies.
VII
Eldrad felt his soul smothered with
darkness as he set foot on the
perverted Talisman of Vaul. He
retched, feeling the corrupted heart
of the Talisman thirst for his essence.
Like a dark mirror of the spirit
stone he wore around his neck, it
hungered to drink his very soul and
torment it forever within its
crystalline depths. A handful of
Warlocks had managed to join him,
two fighting to hold the wraithgate
open that they might escape. Wasted
effort, knew Eldrad, but he could not
bring himself to tell them that.
He limped towards the centre of
the chamber, a Warlock collapsing
before him as his soul was drained
from his body by the corrupted,
thirsting heart of the Talisman. He
passed the corpse, little more than a
shrivelled sack of bones, making his
way to where a great basalt wall
displayed the furious battle raging
outside. The Imperial ships were
taking a heavy beating and it would
not be long before they were
annihilated. He squatted in the centre
of the chamber, slowing his breathing
as he entered a trance-like state that
would allow him to commune with
the Talisman’s heart – the corrupted
spirit stone at its centre. If he could
somehow reach the part of it that
remembered the glory it had once
possessed, then there was a chance. A
chance, nothing more than that, but
it was all he had.
VIII
Admiral Quarren clutched the brass
rail of his command lectern as
another impact slammed into the side
of the Gathalamor, red warning runes
flashing and the sacristy bell chiming
in alarm. Flames and smoke spewed
from cracked vents and he could tell
his vessel was dying. Through the
viewing bay, he could see predatory
Chaos battleships closing with his
vessel and knew that this was the
end. A shark-nosed enemy cruiser
turned its prow towards the
Gathalamor and Quarren knew that a
salvo of torpedoes was seconds away
from being launched.
But then a series of rippling
explosions blossomed along the flanks
of the Chaos ship and portions of its
hull were ripped from its structure as
flaring bolts of lightning enveloped it.
Confused, Quarren shouted, ”Wide
aperture on viewing bay!”
Seconds later, he saw a sight
that he had never expected to see in
all his years with the Imperial Navy.
Huge, silvered ships, shaped like
crescent moons swooped across the
Chaos battle line, crackling bolts of
energy hammering the Chaos vessels
with devastating close-range firepower
as they raced towards the Blackstone.
Quarren’s heart skipped a beat as he
saw enemy ship after enemy ship
reduced to wreckage by the
unexpected arrivals. Quarren
recognised the alien ships from the
briefings he had attended at Cypria
Mundi. Necrontyr. He knew them
for the deadliest enemies, yet here
they were attacking the Chaos ships!
IX
Centuries of malice and hatred filled
Eldrad’s mind. Centuries of pain,
torment and anguish. The heart of
the Talisman burned with rage at
what had been done to it, and as he
opened his mind to its pain, he
knew that he had made a grave
mistake in attempting to reach out to
what had once made this ancient
Talisman Eldar. The anguished
remnants of the Talisman’s
consciousness had long since died,
replaced with a vile, hateful core of
ever-thirsting darkness, and as it
reached out to claim him, he realised
in horror that it was no random
power of the Dark Gods that had
corrupted the Talisman. It was the
power of She Who Thirsts, The
Great Enemy… Slaanesh.
Eldrad tried to free his spirit
from the Talisman, but it was already
too late. The darkness reached out to
swallow him and his soul was
dragged screaming into the depthless
heart of the Blackstone Fortress for
all eternity.
X
Ursarkar Creed stood on the shores
of the Caducades Sea. He had
watched with heavy heart as the
dazzling beam of light from the
heavens destroyed the last remnants
of Kasr Partox. Its proud walls had
collapsed in a blazing pyre, smoke
billowing into the sky from the
destruction of the fortress as
intolerable heat advanced towards the
shoreline. Though the beam had since
vanished, the day here was lost, any
fool could see that. All that was left
to them was vengeance. The Eldar
had been obliterated and the alien
ships that had unexpectedly come to
their aid were gone; wiped out in an
instant by the Blackstone’s terrifying
defences. Admiral Quarren had
informed him that victorious Imperial
ships from other sectors were even
now converging on Cadia, forcing the
Blackstone to disengage – though the
damage it had inflicted before
departing was incalculable.
”Sir,” called Jarran Kell, from
the open hatch of a Valkyrie flyer.
”We have to go.”
”We lost…” said Creed, his voice
hollow and flat.
”This time,” replied Kell, ”but
there will be other times, sir. Kasr
Gallan still stands and while we live,
we have hope. The Emperor
protects.”
”Aye,” agreed Creed. ‘The
Emperor protects…”
Creed took one last look at the
ruins of his fortress and turned to
join his soldiers.
Serious thread-o-mancy here, but since this topic comes up a lot, could a mod maybe sticky this to the 40K Background forum for ease of reference in the inevitable debates that will arise in the future regarding the 13th Black Crusade?
It is best to be a pessimist. You are usually right and, when you're wrong, you're pleasantly surprised.
The new chaos codex and rule book rewrite the fluff of this anyways, the 13th black crusade hasn't even happened. Not anymore. In the new one even the chaos primarchs will be involved.
"There is no escape from chaos, it marks us all." "Only i can hear your prayers here my friend, and i'm afraid i will not answer them." "It must be magnificent to see a planet writhe and scream to feel it compulse beneath your own feet, witness it dying with living eyes such marvelous spectacle, the skulls are my gift, in time perhaps i will share this gift with every living soul in the galaxy."
I didn't think it directly contradicted the result. Its just written from a point of view prior to the Crusade?
I mean the 3rd phase expansion hasn't been retconned out has it. So unless that happens or they flat out change the results I don't see anything as having changed.
"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponents fate."
Sun Tzu
http://s1.zetaboards.com/New_Badab/index/
JOIN THE ETERNAL WAR. SAY YOU FOLLOWED MY LINK IN YOUR INTRODUCTION TO HELP TZEENTCHS CAUSE.
I already suspected GW turning back the clock on the 13th Black Crusade after reading about it in the 6E Rulebook. If the new Chaos 'dex has something along the lines as well, I suppose that's confirmation?
"Abaddon's Thirteenth Black Crusade looks to be the most devastating yet, aiming to smash aside the defences of the Cadian Gate and bring great ruin swathes of the Cadian sector. Some Imperial augurs and advisors have suggested that Abaddon's previous twelve campaigns were mere precursors to this main thrust. Mighty Cadia itself is preparing to be battered as never before. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end, the apocalyptic and ultimate battle, the Black Crusade that will finally punch through the Cadian system and see Abaddon fulfil his oath to return once more to the Imperial Palace on Terra to finish the fight started by Warmaster Horus so long ago." - 6E Rulebook p. 230, The Black Crusades
(followed by the old force disposition chart, labeled "at the outset of the Thirteenth Black Crusade")
The last event on the timeline on page 177 mentions Abaddon "invading Cadia and many surrounding worlds", yet says nothing about any results of this battle, which had originally led me to the suspicion mentioned above. To GW, the 13th Black Crusade is a setting, not a story. Just like on Armageddon, the battle cannot yet be finished, lest players might feel the efforts of their chosen army are futile, as the end result is already determined. In this light, I could understand GW's hypothetical new position.
Even after the campaign the crusade wasn't resolved. Cadia hadn't fallen, it was still being fought over although it was a desperate fight.
At the end of the campaign the imperial garrison had fled back to kasr partox (I think it was that).
There's nothing in that spiel that directly contradicts the campaign results. The crusade wasn't complete but still on ongoing fight.
"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponents fate."
Sun Tzu
http://s1.zetaboards.com/New_Badab/index/
JOIN THE ETERNAL WAR. SAY YOU FOLLOWED MY LINK IN YOUR INTRODUCTION TO HELP TZEENTCHS CAUSE.
Eetion wrote: Even after the campaign the crusade wasn't resolved. Cadia hadn't fallen, it was still being fought over although it was a desperate fight.
At the end of the campaign the imperial garrison had fled back to kasr partox (I think it was that).
There's nothing in that spiel that directly contradicts the campaign results. The crusade wasn't complete but still on ongoing fight.
Kasr Gallan. Kasr Partox was the Kasr destroyed by the Talisman of Vaul/Blackstone Fortress in Graham McNeil's story and the final results. It is sad that even the author of the story can't even remember that the Imperium did not win, and that Creed even moans about losing in what Graham wrote. Sometimes I swear that I could do a better job in keeping track of GW's fluff than GW's people.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/02/21 10:15:35
Cadia is preparing, although a pain, can be looked at 2 ways.
1) Forces on Cadia are reinforcing Kasr Gallan after the break in the fighting and the evacuation to a new front across the Caucades? Sea
2) It was written at a point prior to the campaign.
Until they either retcon the 3rd sphere expansion of the Tau, which was bonus due to their gains during the campaign.
Or
Publish something directly saying the war hasn't started or the results have changed.
"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponents fate."
Sun Tzu
http://s1.zetaboards.com/New_Badab/index/
JOIN THE ETERNAL WAR. SAY YOU FOLLOWED MY LINK IN YOUR INTRODUCTION TO HELP TZEENTCHS CAUSE.
Campaign 10th anniversary update: Event cards referenced in final results added. Link with list of all event cards played during campaign added. Nemesis Tessera, Belial IV, Eidolon and Sentinel World warzones added with relevant event cards.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2013/08/12 14:40:14
Grey Knights: 2000 points 
"Only i can hear your prayers here my friend, and i'm afraid i will not answer them." 
