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Since Rogue Stars from Andrea Sfiligoi and Osprey Publishing is starting to get some attention I thought it might not be a bad idea to have a thread to allow those of us with an interest in it to show off our squads with other gamers. Rogue Stars is really firing up my creative side and I assume it's doing similar things to other gamers. I would love to see what sort of minis and fluff all you far more talented people than me can come up with.
It would be rude of me to demand things from all of you and not to share my own stuff so here's the background and roster for my first squad which I am currently in the process of putting together. I've built a couple of members, have most of the parts of one ready to go and have a Frostgrave cultist sprue and the cultist sci-fi conversion pack on their way to me from Northstar to build the rest. I'll add photos to this thread when they're built/painted. Currently my fluff is fairly generic slightly dark sci fi, if the game picks up with my gaming group I hope we'll be able to build up our own universe and I'll be able to add more detail to my squad background. I'll put everything in spoilers just to reduce the size of the post.
My first project for Rogue Stars is a cultist squad called The Claw of Eternal Night.
Background
Spoiler:
Galactic Police Report IBBS895E
The Claw of Eternal Night: A minor sect of The Illuminated Brethren of The Blackened Sky
This report is intended to provide Galactic Police Enforcers with the required information to combat this troublesome sect of The Illuminated Brethren of The Blackened Sky.
The Illuminated Brethren of The Blackened Sky (Summary, see report IBBS1A for full text)
Originating in the dim red lights of the underbelly of the vast industrial facilities of Cissonius V this cult sees all natural light as an abomination. Their ultimate goal is to plunge the galaxy into eternal darkness. Interrogation of captured cult members has revealed that to do this the demagogue known only as “The Grand Master of the Everlasting Night” has tasked his underlings with gathering certain technological and religious artefacts from all over the galaxy which the cultists believe will combine to produce a device that extinguishes all natural light.
The true numbers of the cult are as yet still unknown but their activity has been confirmed on some 632 worlds and is rumoured on another 396. Their activity varies massively from minor thefts from religious or technological facilities to inspiring vast uprisings of the under classes. One of the few universal signs of their presence is a rapid increase in psionic activity implying that many cult members are psions. In other psionic cults (see Report PCA32B – Psionic Cult Activity: Typical Organisation) the most powerful psions will be at the head of the cult with less powerful or non psionic members relegated to lower status with the exception of certain exceptional fighters or those in possession of useful skills who might rise to a position of power through necessity. It is not unreasonable to assume that this cult operates in a similar manner.
The wide range of their activity suggests that the cult is quite numerous and has reliable access to faster than light spacecraft. These were no doubt originally stolen from the manufacturing plants on Cissonius V and it can be assumed that they have acquired more from elsewhere. Only one of these vessels has been secured by Galactic Police, aside from a shrine in the crew quarters and abnormally effective solar blinds it is an entirely average trading ship of the sort that operates all over the galaxy. This makes intercepting the cult members before they get to a planet exceedingly difficult.
The Claw of Eternal Night
The Claw of Eternal Night first came to the attention of Galactic Police when a regional government tax office on the forest world Abnoba III was raided and all the data storage drives stolen. This raid was the first of many in the Abnoba system performed by this sect, other notable thefts include a small statue from a shrine of a fertility goddess on Abnoba VII and the staff of office of the governor of Abnoba II. They are also believed to have been behind the assassination of Admiral Smertious of the Abnoba Defence Fleet. After the assassination their activity in the Abnoba system ceased, since then they have been active in at least 5 planetary systems. As per Abnoba their activity is a mix of petty thefts and the assassination of important figures.
The sect is known to be made up of humans, mutants of human origin and hybrid creatures. No robotic members have been encountered so far however the true size of the sect is as yet unknown. From fragmentary security footage Galactic Police Intelligence Officers have been able to piece together some information about prominent members of this sect.
The Master of The Eternal Night:
The leader of the sect, this wizened figure is a very powerful psion. He seems to actively avoid physical activity preferring instead to rely almost entirely on his psionic abilities. Notably he has been observed on multiple occasions levitating rather than simply walking and using his powers to disarm and even kill those who stand in his way. It can be safely assumed that he has more powers than those known about so far. He does carry a small dagger which could be used as a weapon but so far has he has not been seen to use it.
The Preserver of the Body:
Under the overly grand title this easily spooked member of the Claw of Eternal Night is the sect's medic. He has not been seen to carry any sort of medikit instead preferring simple triage methods and presumably performing more complex medical procedures after any combat has finished. His main weapon is a submachine gun, though he also carries a knife for close quarters combat. Always on edge he reacts to the movement of the sect's opposition more readily than his comrades. Finally he does have some minor psionic abilities, he seems to be able to detect what is in a room or storage unit before it is opened. This skill no doubt helps the sect in it's theft of artefacts and in finding it's assassination targets.
The Beast:
No member of the sect has ever been heard to call this creature by any sort of name or title. It seems to be a hybrid of a human and the semi mythical Terran hyena. It has been named simply as “The Beast” by Galactic Police Intelligence Officers. From what little has been seen of this mysterious creature it is a brute, actively seeking out close quarters combat at which it shows a significant level of skill. It uses a vicious chain blade to rip and tear into those unfortunate enough to be in it's path. It has also been observed using it's apparently excellent sense of smell to seek out hidden opponents.
The Twins:
A mutant sharpshooter, this twisted abomination seems to have two separate personalities in one body, each in control of one of the heads. The Twins seem to wear no armour however they have shrugged off wounds that would kill a normal human. Working together they have excellent awareness of their surroundings and one is able to act as a spotter as the other aims the primitive rifle that seems to be a standard firearm for mutants in this cult. Unusually for a mutant they may have some psionic prowess, they have been seen to have an uncanny ability to shoot at the weakest spots on their targets.
Pilot:
Another mutant, whether he is called Pilot as a title or as a name is unknown. Like The Twins he carries a rifle though he is not as skilled with it as his fellow mutant, he is also able to shrug off wounds that would be fatal to humans. His most notable mutation is a withered extra arm, it is too weak to be of much use in combat however he has been observed using it to manipulate machines and computers with some skill. He often acts as a hacker or engineer for the sect. It is not unreasonable to assume that he might also have some skill as a driver or indeed pilot though the sect has never been observed actually using any sort of vehicle.
Standing Orders For Galactic Police Enforcers
Upon contact with any members of this sect call for immediate support and exterminate with extreme prejudice. Any survivors should be sent to Galactic Police Central Command for intense interrogation and eventual execution.
For minis The Master of The Eternal Night (got a cool conversion planned for this one) and The Preserver of The Body will be Frostgrave Cultists with some sci-fi bits, The Beast will be a spare Frostgrave Gnoll (I have a couple of spares from my Dragon Rampant Gnoll army project) again with sci-fi bits and finally The Twins and Pilot have already been made using a mix of GW Ghouls and Kroot bits (a Christmas present combined with some bits box raiding and green stuff).
Mini Photos
Spoiler:
The Twins
Pilot
I'll post photos of the rest when they're done.
I will be focussing on The Claw of Eternal Night to start with but I do have some ideas for other squads including a squad of Galactic Police Enforcers to oppose them.
So that's what I've got so far, feel free to rip me to shreds for making mistakes with the squad roster. Can't wait to see what you lot have come up with.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/01/08 14:47:08
Heading out to give the game a test run this evening, and threw together a squad last night, with no real clue as to how effective it may or may not be, yet.
Squad: Karist Enforcers
Theme: Star Cops (I mean... from their own perspective)
Tactical Discipline: On The Move
Brother-Accuser Davvyn (36 pts)
Equipment:
Stealth Suit
Alpha Class Needler
Traits:
Veteran
Stealth (1) +1 from suit
Difficult Target (0) +1 from suit
Free Disengage
Brother-Punisher Maddox (31 pts)
Equipment:
Light Power Armor
Heavy Blaster Rifle
Traits: Veteran
Phydox wrote: Getting ready to give Rogue Stars a go this weekend. I'm glad to see it here getting attention.
Been reading Eisenhower so, you know I have to run an Inquisitor retinue using bounty hunter traits!
I'll keep you posted and try to upload some pics.
I know it's probably auto-correct, but please tell me that someone has painted Inquisitor Eisenhower as a portrait.
That would be super cool.
Back on topic, I showed my new gaming friend RS after he ran us through my first game of Blades & Heroes.
He then offered to loan me his copy of Frostgrave to check out and I loaned him RS.
Looks like we've got RS and Frostgrave warbands to make now.
Phydox wrote: Getting ready to give Rogue Stars a go this weekend. I'm glad to see it here getting attention.
Been reading Eisenhower so, you know I have to run an Inquisitor retinue using bounty hunter traits!
I'll keep you posted and try to upload some pics.
I know it's probably auto-correct, but please tell me that someone has painted Inquisitor Eisenhower as a portrait.
That would be super cool.
Back on topic, I showed my new gaming friend RS after he ran us through my first game of Blades & Heroes.
He then offered to loan me his copy of Frostgrave to check out and I loaned him RS.
Looks like we've got RS and Frostgrave warbands to make now.
I may try painting Eisenhorn (auto correct above-hahaha) but right now I'm using one of those oop pewter Inquisitor from like 4th or 5th edition.
My 40k group plays in a garage, so winters we do the smaller skirmish games indoors, like Frostgrave. It's really fun. Maybe because it's like Christmas opening the chests you got during missions. Some Wizard types just seem to be worse then others and some spells seem overly good, like bone dart. Fun game though.
My gang is almost ready to go, though my plans were somewhat de-railed when I realised I needed a minimum of 4 guys. So my three bad asses with skills became four without. Let's hope those first few games are easy on me! Of course, I need a fourth model..
New Eden Defence Militia: Echo Squad
Discipline: Cool Under Fire
Rebecca 'Nemesis' Kerrigan: 53
Power Armour, Veteran, Non-Reactive, Molecular Slugthrower, Jump Pack, Danger Sense & Claws
Dane 'Vanguard' Deamorez 49
Power Armour, Veteran, Non-Reactive, Molecular Slugthrower, Jump Pack
Mei 'HateStar' Liáng 49
Power Armour, Veteran, Non-Reactive, Molecular Slugthrower, Jump Pack
Stefan 'Slipstream' Bjorsson 49
Power Armour, Veteran, Non-Reactive, Molecular Slugthrower, Jump Pack
Total: 200
Like most militias, the New Eden defence force are equipped with last-gen tech including the venerable Atlas power armour. Retrofitted by the militia with jump packs to help counteract the bulk of the armour, it still impedes the wearer as much as it protects. Armed with only light weaponry, Echo squad are tasked with conducting a variety of paramilitary and peacekeeping operations on New Eden, usually against more numerous or better armed opponents.
This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2017/02/16 23:32:30
I had an Rogue Inquisitor Warband (using Bounty Hunter group) and faced off against a Cultist group.
Mission: Bodyguard
Location: Spaceport
Condition: Love is in the Air
Well, the Squad hit the ground rolling. The game started out 6 against 4 and we gunned down two cultists trying to assassinate the diplomat right away. I made the mistake of trying to take out the turtled Cult Leaders rather then make them come to me (I was defender). They were psychers. My squad advanced on remaining two but a psycher stepped out and psychic crushed Ork into a green paste. His death cause two of my men to critical fail moral and flee. I was down to 3 against 2. The Cultists took out Inquisitor Duckov next with another brutal psychic attack. Traitor Joe fled (Another critical fail!) and the genestealer + grot medic remaining behind to guard the diplomat got butchered.
What a comeback by the Cultists. I rolled 3 critical fails for moral.
Overall. I really like the game mechanics. Its different. Rather then you go; I go; Its you keep trying to go till you fail and I try to steal turn from you or try and have one of my guys react in the middle of your turn. The stats were easy to keep track of. I used a bunch of different colored chips. Each color representing stress, pinning, wounds, whatever. Fun Fun
What did I learn? You absolutely need at least one guy with Leadership trait. Because If your guys start fleeing only he/she can rally them. What was funny was the Cultist player used a giant worm model and when we randomized "Love is in the air" The worm and Sister of Silence were in Love and couldn't try to kill each other.
Great game Next mission is in a wrecked spaceship with a Lab full of prosthetics and an EMP field making our equipment fail. wheee! Cant wait for Saturday!
You are not wrong! After all my own list brings four sets of Power Armour to the table, but no skills. Not sure you can take Combat Computer for the generic Spartan though. If it is the one I am thinking of, I think you can only take it if you are a cyborg.
Or maybe Cyborg waa a starting theme and therefor they are all technically cyborgs. I'll have to check my book lol
Siygess wrote: You are not wrong! After all my own list brings four sets of Power Armour to the table, but no skills. Not sure you can take Combat Computer for the generic Spartan though. If it is the one I am thinking of, I think you can only take it if you are a cyborg.
Or maybe Cyborg waa a starting theme and therefor they are all technically cyborgs. I'll have to check my book lol
Yeah they are Cyborgs. Edited the post to reflect that.
New squad. The Sorcerers of Chaos. Note these guys aren't Chaos Space Marine Sorcerers.
I got to say that the Psionic powers look pretty sweet. It sucks I have to give everyone the psionic trait, including the Khorne cultist, but the Designer has gone on record as everything is just a guildline and if something doesn't work because of a minor rule ignore it. That being said I remember all the 40k games were Khorne worshiping Sorcerers get their just desserts... so I think I'm fine with it.
Couldn't take toughness for the Nurgle guy is a bit rough, but I like that the heal psionic power exists. I think it helps to balance it out. I never played Chaos in 40k so I might be simplifying what each sorcerer type can do.
I need a fourth member of my Space Pirate's team. Preferably a Reaper Miniatures from Reaper Miniatures Chronoscope line. I've got 3 so far and one of them is a robotics technician I think. I found that these three models really match up well for a Firefly like crew.
Captain Case Anderson (49pts) - Captain of the crew, trained pilot in the "Imperial Navy". Dishonorably discharged for various offenses, in particular he stole from his commanding officer's supplies and gave them to refugees.
Spoiler:
Weapons:
Power Gaunlet (Built-In)
Plasma Pistol
Armor Light Combat Dress
Equipment None
Traits Leadership
Veteran
Steadfast
Sheila Voidwalker (46pts) - Trained assassin for hire. While still in touch with the Assassin's Guild she has been blacklisted from future guild jobs after her cover was blown. She is in self imposed exile on the outer rim until she can uncover the traitor within the Guild.
Spoiler:
Weapons:
None
Armor Kevlar Jacket
Equipment Quantum Harness
Traits Agile
Free Disengage
Martial Arts
Quantum Harness Operator
Kat Mirin, Technician (45pts) - Expert mechanic from an outer rim space station. Lost her position as head engineer when the station went fully automatic. She joined the crew as soon as Captain Anderson advertised a need for a mechanic. Any sabotage of the station that occurred when she left is purely coincidental.
Spoiler:
Weapon Laser Rifle
Armor Kevlar Jacket
Equipment None
Traits Tech
Robot Technician
Tough
I have 60 points left over and am thinking that a robot might be a good fit.
Hey; I designed a rather interesting [and somewhat min/maxed] team of Xeno-Specialists, with some Backstory.
For Theme purposes, the team is "Merchants" however there is a lot less, selling of product, and more the sale of scientific discovery and information.
My Leader is a one, Dr Julius Thorne, a Xeno-biologist, who studied in a great number of fields. He has: Leadership 2, Xenologist, and medic 3. wearing a Space Suit + Kevlar Vest and Ref Field for a total of 10 points [because half price Civie gear]. He carried a Laser Pistol. Dr Thorne is a renown researcher of aliens, and is happy to study closely anything from Xeno artifacts to live specimens, and thus has landed a large contract job working for a somewhat questionable government sector. This Government sector has sent along a Military Guard.
Queue, Military Gear member.
Adam Kandor is a Mineral 'man', bearing a Machine gun, Wearing a Deflection harness [errata rename] + Light combat dress for only 13 total, his mineral armor stacks for 6 torso & head, and 5 limbs and a 30% miss chance for ranged attacks on him. He also packs a powered Gauntlet for Melee problems.
The Pilot and famous for her technical skills [tech 3] is Ellie Amari, Who bears a Zap Pistol and the same armor loadout as the Doctor.
Finally the last three members are a package deal, that the good Doctor hired for his field work.
The two brothers are well known for their Tag and Bag [yes that order] tactics. One is a Stealth sniper, [with, you guessed it, the EXACT same armor loadout as the Doctor] and a Hunting needler. He also has Marksman 1.
The other brother bears a Tangler, Vibro Spear and that same armor loadout. He brings Weapon Master 1 and Stealth 1 to the table. [Because who doesnt enjoy 4 Torso, 2 Other, and immune to Tanglers + Sealed for 10 points]. His job is primarily to capture high value targets [usually strange Xenos] or sometimes wanted criminals.
Finally the two bring with them the trusting hunting "Dog" [Or should we say, Lizard?]. Lil' Beasty is a Reptiloid with Stealth 1, Fast 1, 2 Sets of Extra Legs, and Claws, for those nasty little hands and teethies. I also added Danger sense, since having him ever be unaware of people seemed irrational. Beasty also has a Ref Field and a Kevlar Vest [to protect the cute doggo].
After one game, I cant be sure the original points anymore, however the team is now 213, with a monowire tangler upgrade [from the tangler], The sniper got Stealth 2, and Kandor has Marksman 1.
I've had some success across the few games I've played, and the team's lore/fluff is enjoyable for me, as I think they make a lot of sense for many of the missions. Really enjoying Merchants. Half price Gear [night visors for all] and Armor is pretty POWERFUL. I saved 48 points on armor... Thats disgusting...
This isn't mine, but looks really nice (from the website ChaosBunker.De)
Love some of the Rogue Trader-esque ideas for this game, have to say that it is the first thing that came to mind with the game.
DontEatRawHagis wrote: That being said I remember all the 40k games were Khorne worshiping Sorcerers get their just desserts... so I think I'm fine with it.
.
If memory serves, actually Khorne worshipping Genestealers as well!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/06/23 14:27:12
Wow, great looking team you have built there. Enjoyed reading the AAR as well, gave a good impression of how the game works.
Have to say the main appeal here seems to be the imagination you can use, both when creating your team (just finding different minis to use looks like a lot of fun) but also in creating a scenario - building up some terrain and things like that.
Thanks Pacific. I like Rogue Stars, although I think it is a little more fiddly than necessary. Putting together some rules for Fallout teams right now.