FInally got round to adding this to the blog...
The video version is available on YouTube here
This was a custom 2nd Ed scenario we came up with following along the Emperor's Children story in our campaign. The Eldar had 1000pts and the Reinforcements strategy card, while the Chaos forces had 1500pts, two random strategy cards (which ended up being Saved and something that didn't get used). Objectives for the Chaos force were to get models in contact with the portal or to kill all the Eldar...
Farseer El-Alaran had spent the night wrestling with a slowly mounting sense of apprehension. While the last few cycles maintaining a guard around the webway portal had been uneventful, peaceful even, the atmosphere had changed for the worst.
Life in the jungle went on, much as it had for the past day, or week, or even century. Animals and birds cried out in the distance, and the steady hum of insects droned almost rhythmically around the Eldar, lulling the senses into an almost soporific state. If El-Alaran had felt a shift in the atmosphere, the jungle itself had not, or at least, had not yet, he mused.
Reaching into his pouch, he withdrew a single wraithbone sigil. Raising it into the air, and focusing his senses upon it, he calmed his mind. The rune gently floated upwards from his palm, rotating slowly in the air. No indication of disturbance still. Unusual.
His past experience, many millennia of such, had forewarned him that this sense of unease often proceeded armed conflict. But in that case, the rune would also indicate the presence of others, their violent intentions disturbing its lazy orbit.
Unless…
Unless there was another psychic mind out there, monitoring them, and cloaking the presence of foes from his prognostic rune.
Better to be prepared, he mused, than to be taken by surprise. Better to prepare and have spent the effort without need, than risk disaster. Holding this webway portal until necessary repairs to its crystalline matrix had been completed was vital. Without repairs, the seers of Craftworld Ulthwe had foreseen that a dark tide of foes would gain entry to places they should not. As much as he would have preferred to spend his time in contemplation, sat amongst the crystal forms of his ancestors, this kind of excursion was necessary from time to time.
El-Alaran turned, and instantly the nearby Aspect Warriors gathered to him, as if they could sense his intent.
“Deploy for battle. I sense the presence of other minds, though they are shrouded to me. I fear they have designs upon this gate”.
Without a word, the Aspect warriors dispersed into a nearby stand of trees, crouching down to avoid notice, while simultaneously maintaining a watch on the surrounding clearing. The rest of his force moved into place in the same instant, warriors who moments before had appeared to have been lost in a daze, swaying gently in the fierce jungle heat suddenly snapped into action, taking places amongst rock formations and reading their weapons.
It would have to do, he thought. He had not been able to bring a larger force with him – that would have been too much of a signal to others that there was a prize here worth taking. A handful of guardians from his craftworld, split into two small groups. A support platform, with a formidable heavy plasma gun. An ancient war walker, its pilot slowly rotating the barrels of its scatter laser, and the reassuring presence of the Dreadnought Bel-tanoth.
It was fortunate indeed that when he first mounted the expedition, Aspect Warriors of the Dire Avengers and Striking Scorpions had assembled with his force, without having been requested, as if their keen warrior senses had told them they would be needed. Or perhaps just for a chance to demonstrate their skills in combat once again.
With a thought, he reached again into the pouch, and took out another rune, studying it intently. This one would be of use if they were harshly pressed. A failsafe, if broken, would send out a signal, indicating their need. Reinforcements would come, he knew, if the rune were used. But better if they were not needed. Using the webway gate further would attract more attention than there was already on it, and lead to an inevitable escalation. Better that they could drive off whatever presence was here without it…
Nearby, though not so near as to be detected, Slevixius smiled to himself, before exchanging a knowing look with the sorcerer Xobak Slitongue.
“Well? Do they know we are here?”
Xobak cocked his head, as if listening. His tentacles writhed, as if tasting the air.
“No… at least, they are not certain. But there is a seer with them. More powerful than I, though it pains me to admit it. The closer we are, the easier the glamour will fall. We have minutes, perhaps, not hours, before they are certain…”
Slevixius shrugged. “No matter. The host are in position. There is no sense in waiting longer, and I doubt they would do so… I for one do not have the paticence…”
Several hours previously, Slexius had split his host. He had been tasked by Kruult, that conniving old warlord, to take this webway portal. To tell the truth, he didn’t really care about the objective. It would either fall in his hands, or it wouldn’t. There would be pain, and slaughter in the way, and that was what mattered. If he failed, well, there would be other opportunities, or he would be dead. If he succeeded, Kruult and Xobak had spoken about accessing the webway, pillaging the ancient places of the Eldar, and of easy passage between worlds. So long as there was slaughter along the way, it mattered not to Slevixius.
The host were ready for the kill, scenting the souls of the Eldar in the air. Close to Slevixius, skulked Squad Allure and Drak the Icon bearer. Opposite him, on the other side of the gate, he had sent his personal transport, the Palace of Indulgence, along with the speed addicted bikers of Squad Temptation, and the deranged killer Shavaash the Blessed. It would do for the task at hand, and he knew that as soon as the slaughter began, the neverborn would appear, as always, to feast upon the pain and sorrow of his foes.
He tapped his com-bead once, and uttered a single word. “Move”
In an instant, the bikers of Squad Temptation accelerated to combat speed and skimmed around the foot of a bamboo covered hill towards a group of guardians skulking within a patch of jungle. The lead bikers triggered their twin bolters, but the guardians had clearly been alerted by the sound of engines, managing to evade every shot.
The Exalted Champion Shavaash chose a more direct route towards the foe, sprinting up the side of the hill through the undergrowth.
Nearby, the Palace of Indulgence, Slevixius’ personal land raider started it’s engines and ground forwards slowly, its crew on the look out for targets. While they had been on orders to look out for larger targets, such as Eldar walkers or vehicles, only a handful of eldar infantry were visible, couched within patches of jungle. The Land Raider’s crew triggered their twin heavy bolter, smashing apart a pair of guardians in a volley of shells and scattering their remains across nearby palm fronds. A further guardian was cored by a flaring burst from a twin lascannon, but the remaining two guardians held their nerve, despite the rather bloody demise of the companions.
On the other side of the gate, Slevixius and Xobak advanced closer to the foe, though somewhat more cautiously. It would be folly to charge out into the guns of the Eldar, at least before their numbers had been thinned somewhat.
With a crack of energy, Squad Allure's heavy plasma gun spoke, sending an incandescent ball of plasma arcing across the field to smash apart the Eldar heavy support platform. The remaining members of Squad Allure blazed away at the same target, but in the aftermath of their volley, a single Eldar crewman still stood, looking somewhat dazed by the experience.
Having dropped the glamour shielding the host from the Eldar, Xobak Slitounge attempted to summon his powers to cast a Pavane of Slaanesh, but the more powerful mind of Farseer El-Alaran swiftly dissipated the energy, and followed it up by invoking a blessing to bestow Fortune upon the nearby Aspect Warriors. Clearly the Eldar had not been as fooled as to their presence as Xobak had previously thought.
In response to the Chaos attack, the War Walker pilot Antarok guided his machine forwards, skirting the edge of the nearby patch of jungle to line up a shot with the Chaos Landraider. Nearby, the Striking Scorpion Aspect Warriors repositioned deeper into the wood to wait for a suitable opportunity to ambush their adversaries. There was no sense in standing in the open to be mown down by heavy bolter fire.
The remaining 2 guardians on the same flank moved to get a better line of sight on the bikers of Squad Temptation but were clearly too busy dodging incoming bolter fire, and their shots missed. With a signal from Farseer El-Alaran, the Deadnought Bel-tanoth advanced towards the bikers in support. As he strode forwards, he triggered his weapons, and an incandescent plasma bolt burst across the lead biker. To the astonishment of both the Eldar and the chaos marine on the bike, the blast seemed to do no real damage. Raising his shurikan catapult, Bel-tanoth sent a mind impulse to trigger the weapon, but clearly the long hours of sentry duty had dulled his connection to his material form, as the weapon jammed.
Next to Farseer El-Alaran, the Dire Avengers advanced through the jungle to draw a line of sight on the veteran chaos marines, and opened fire on them with their Shurikan catapults. Despite a number of hits, only superficial harm was done to the chaos veteran’s armour.
As the War Walker rounded the jungle, its pilot Antarok lined up his lascannon with the skull faced abomination in front of him. A searing beam of light bored straight through the eye of the skull mounted on the vehicle's front, and seconds later there was a massive explosion as the tank’s fuel reserves erupted, instantly killing the crew, and sending the vehicle out of control.
The psychic duel between El-Alaran and Xobak continued, with El-Alarnan initially attempting to Doom the sorcerer. With a mental pulse, Xobak reflected this away, and countered with a Pavane of Slaanesh, which was in turn nullified by El-Alaran. Sensing it was futile to keep attacking the chaos sorcerer, El-Alaran turned his attention to the Icon Bearer Drak, and unleashed a Mind War, which have melted the chaos champions mind, were it not for some quirk of fate which saved the corrupted being at the last moment… possibly an intervention from a dark patron, or possibly the result of malignant magicks from his eldritch banner (or possibly the effects of the Saved! strategy card...).
Scenting delectable souls within their reach, they charged into the nearby Dire Avengers with a screech, unnerving the Aspect Warriors. Across the battlefield, Shavassh triggered their stim injectors, and a potent cocktail of combat drugs flooded the Exalted Champion’s bloodstream, quickening their movements. Shavaash barreled down the hill, smashing through thickets of bamboo, and collided with an unexpecting guardian.
In front of the War Walker, the burning Land Raider moved out of control, colliding with a patch of jungle trees before it was wracked with a further series of internal explosions.
Drak the Cyclopean, the Army Icon Bearer, ran forwards to join Xobak and Slevixius, while the Veteran Chaos Marines of Squad Allure advanced out of their cover, intent on gaining the webway gate.
The bikers of Squad Temptation altered their target, realising the danger presented by the Eldar Dreadnought, however, their hasty meltagun shot missed, and a krak grenade thrown by the lead biker merely bounced off the dreadnought's smooth carapace.
In a blistering series of blows, Shavaash the Blessed ripped the guardian apart with his claw, and swiftly followed up into the remaining guardian.
Slowed by the soporific musk of the fiends, two of the Dire Avengers fell to their blows, cut by their claws or impaled on their poisoned tails. The third Avenger bested his foe, and cooly lined up a laspitol shot to its glittering eye, but the blast was deflected at the last moment by the daemon's aura.
The mental duel between the psykers continued as Xobak lashed out with a Beam of Slaanesh directly at El-Alaran, but his mind proved two strong and he resisted the power. Drawing energy to himself, the Farseer countered by unleashing a Destructor, enveloping the fiends, Dire Avengers and the Veterans of Squad Allure. As the wave of energy streamed forwards, all of the Eldar, Daemons and Marines dodged aside, save for Vijit Spikeskull, the unit champion, who keeled over as lightning crackled across his armour. Xobak once again summoned the Pavane of Slaanesh, directing its energy towards the nearby guardians, but they resisted, their minds strong enough to resist the urge to cavort and dance.
Sensing that stopping, or even just slowing Shavaash could be critical to victory, the Striking Scorpions advanced towards the champion, two of their number making it into combat.
The remaining Guardian squad and the Warwalker advanced towards the Chaos Veterans, determined to cut them down before they could reach the webway portal. While the Warwalker could not yet draw a clear line of sight, the guardians leveled their shurikan catapults and let fly. Razor sharp wraithbone discs sliced through power armour as if it were butter, slaying the entirety of Squad Allure in a single volley.
Nearby, Bel-tanoth the Dreadnought advanced again towards the bikers. While a further blast from his heavy plasma gun proved as ineffective as the first, the same could not be said for the jet of incendiary chemicals unleashed from his underslung flamer, which fried the pilot of the lead bike.
In combat, despite their best efforts, Shavaash the Blessed easily outmatched his opponents, slicing apart not just the remaining guardian, but also both Striking Scorpions that had been foolish enough to believe they could best him in a dual.
Two more Dire Avengers fell in combat to the fiends, leaving only a single warrior left alive. In a stunning display of combat acrobatics, he bested the fiend, dodging below its claws, and delivering a series of blows to break the creatures hold on the material realm.
El-Alaran once again summoned the incredible power of Mind War, directing his thoughts towards Xobak directly. With a screech the sorcerer slumped to one knee, blood trickling from his ears, before managing to stand once more, swaying on his feet. El-Alaran used this moment of respite to drain the psychic energy from across the battlefield to himself, temporarily stopping further daemonic incursions, and dispelling the Fortune and Destructor.
The out of control and flaming bike from Squad Temptation smashed into Bel-tanoth's frame, but the ancient warrior showed no sign of damage, and swept the wreckage aside. Momentarily distracted, the spirit warrior did not notice until too late that Shavaash had closed with him.
The two remaining fiends charged the loan dire avenger and Farseer El-Alaran, exhilarated by the possibility of such a delectable soul falling into their claws. Xobak and Slevixius continued their advance towards the webway portal, leveling shots at the guardians, but with no effect.
Assuming that Shavaash could take care of the Dreadnought, the bikers once again switched targets, blasting apart a guardian in a hail of bolter shells.
Once again the remaining dire avenger showed his ability, dispatching a fiend with ease with a laspistol blast. El-Alaran slew the last fiend with a casual swing of his witchblade, the daemons aura no match for the shimmering sword.
Bel-Tanoth attempted to grasp Shavaash in a mighty gauntlet, but the champion, still fueled by his combat drugs, was much too fast, and in a flurry of blows sheared the dreadnought's leg from its frame, sending Bel-tanoth crashing to the ground.
Realising that the situation was becoming desperate, El-Alaran reached into his pouch and snapped a wraithbone rune in two. A psychic pulse leapt through the webway gate, signalling the need for reinforcements to hold back the chaos tide. With a thought, he once again summoned a blessing to cast Fortune upon himself and the nearby warriors.
The remaining Striking Scorpions charged into Shavaash, dodging over Bel-tanoth’s fallen frame to confront the exalted champion.
The gemstones on the webway gate pulsed, and a figure appeared as if striding out of a haze - as a further dreadnought appeared to reinforce the Eldar lines. Alanatar had been waiting on the other side of the portal just in case of such a situation, and quickly made his presence known to the chaos forces, as a rippling burst of energy from his plasma cannon setting a biker’s fuel tank ablaze and sending it out of control.
The four remaining guardians once again advanced upon the trio of chaos characters, and unleashed a volley of shurikan disks, once of which sunk deep into Slevixius’ armour, drawing a groan of pain and pleasure from him.
In the combat between Shavassh and the Scorpions, the champion quickly dispatched two of the Aspect Warriors with blows from his mutated claw. The remaining Scorpion rained blows down on Shavaash with his chainsword, but could not find a chink in the champion’s armour.
Xobak once again attempted to cast a Pavane of Slaanesh upon the guardians, but the warriors of Ulthwe were made of sterner stuff than he had anticipated, and the enchantment failed to affect their minds.
Summoning further energy to himself, El-Alaran unleashed a cracking destructor directly at Slevixius, causing the champion to scream out in agony as the lighting wreathed his armour. Amidst the roiling waves of psychic power, 6 daemonettes emerged from the warp, ready to dance and slay.
The out of control bike veered off to smash into a cactus, while the two remaining bikers decided to enact a hit-and-run attack on the Dreadnought Alanatar. The dreadnought was clearly much more aware of his surroundings than Bel-tanoth had been, and swept both chaos marines from the saddle as they jetted past him, crushing them together in his fists.
The freshly summoned demonettes charged the guardians and the War Walker with a screech. Drak and Slevixius joined in the melee, Drak barreling into El-Alaran, while Slevxius charged a guardian, crushing the warrior in his fist. The daemonettes made short work of the guardians, slicing them apart in a series of blows with their cruel crab-like claws. Three of their number mobbed the War Walker, and tore its pilot from his seat, ripping him apart and filing the pieces across the blood soaked earth as the war walker crashed to the ground.
With a flick of his wrist, El-Alaran swept his witchblade through Drak the Cyclopean’s leg, smashing the Icon Bearer to the ground and leaving him to bleed out.
Xobak the sorcerer once again tried to cast the Pavane of Slaanesh at El-Alaran, but the ancient seer resisted the temptations of Slaanesh.
The dreadnought Alanatar level his plasma cannon, overcharging the weapon and enveloping Shaavash in a burst of blinding energy. As the light cleared, Shavaash emerged unharmed.
In the melee around the webway gate, El-Alaran smoothly dispatched a daemonette, and with the backswing sunk his blade deep into Slevixius, who had only moments before followed up into him after killing a guardian. The Chaos warlord sank to his knees with a groan.
Sensing that the battle had turned against them, and lacking the numbers to take the gate, Xobak Slitongue signalled to the remaining chaos forces that they should retreat, for now at least…
In the aftermath of the battle, the few survivors of El-Alaran’s command gathered by the webway gate, dragging the body of Slevixius with them. While it was potentially unwise to allow the chaos warlord to live, El-Alaran needed information, and steeled his mind before unleashing a mental bore into Slevixius’s thoughts…
Several hundred kiloms away, Kruult Lewdmaimer surveyed the host gathered beneath him. Trumpets and sirens blared as the great host advanced, streams of Land Raiders and Rhinos carrying warriors of the Emperors Children Legion alongside the corrupted knights of House Divine. A pack of Questor and Subjugator scout titans pranced in the shadow of the Warlord Titan Fleshscourger, its heavy footfall shaking the ground…
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