Into the Space Hulk
Something a little different for the blog today, a Space Station Zero battle report!
I’ve put together a 40k Inquisitorial team for delving into the station, lead by an OC Malleus Inquisitor Auralia Leroux. I’m running the game in roll20 until I get find the time, space, and mood to get the models built.
I ran them through the first Challenge in the books “campaign” with a twist, I forgot to scale down the number of enemies. Our Inquisitorial kill team faces off against 12 bloodthirsty robots instead of the intended 6. I realized this only after finishing the challenge, and felt it was going to be be pretty representative of any battle reports I post.
Challenge 1: Docking Bay Access Port
The first Challenge has you roll randomly to determine the threats present and I rolled Collapsing Floors and Ancient Sentries. Moving requires a check to see if the model falls through the floor, and there’s a swarm of killer robots in the darkness. Some welcoming committee.
Turn 1
Sporadic bolter fire into the dark mass advancing on the team
Arend Han, Inquisitorial Stormtrooper drops a sentry with their bolter, using their Combat Specialist ability to re-roll 2 dice to ensure a kill.
In SSZ you must roll to retain the Initiative, first rolling a 6+, then a 10+ then a 12+ on a d12 on successive turns. Eventually you’ll lose the initiative and the enemy will go.
Initiative is retained this time!
Velten Rall, a Scion commander opens up with his hellgun and damages, but doesn’t kill another sentry
Initiative retained again!
Joist Tobel, Stormtrooper number 3, re-positions across the creaking floor and blasts another sentry apart with his bolter
Initiative retained again!! (This is very lucky, getting 3 turns back-to-back is rare!)
Inquisitor Auralia Leroux moves up to shore up the left flank, thunder hammer in hand.
Initiative lost!
Sentry number 9 clambers over crates toward the right flank of the party
Isadora Urswic, a Sister Hospitaller, seizes the initiative and re-positions behind the front line to provide medical aid when needed
Themis, a Mechanicus Enginseer, moves up behind Auralia
Another sentry from the northern host creeps forward
Helena Von Mast, Imperial Pilot, steps cautiously to a place with clear lines of fire aiming her bolter
In the darkness 8 sentries close in
Turn 2
Auralia takes a single step forward and goes crashing through the floor!
Initiative is lost!
Sentries surge forward out of the dark, Velten blasts and kills one, Arend cuts another down.
A sea of robots clank toward the party, they open fire with bolters building a wall of bodies in front of the firing line.
The wave from the north comes bounding over the barrels and crates
Joist mists another with his bolter, Helena clips one but it keeps shuffling, talons flexing
Isadora fells the sentry out front with her bolter
Themis lunges to help Auralia and gets dragged into the widening hole for his trouble, a muffled exclamation of surprise escapes as he slips from view
Two casualties and the shuddering horde isn’t even on them yet
Turn 3
Velten blows a servitor apart with their hellgun
Arend gets clawed in melee, first blood
He blows the creature to bits with his bolter as reprisal
The horde is here now, Joist narrowly avoids the scything claws before blowing his assailant away
Helena clips another sentry that just won’t die
Isadora patches Arend while trying not to shift her weight, casting them both into the darkness below
3 sentries pound forward across the deck plates toward the firing line
Turn 4
Arend breathes deep, squeezes the trigger, another sentry falls sparking to the deck
Helena is rattled, her next burst goes wide
Sentry 4 closes in and narrowly misses Joist
Sentry 1 tries to capitalize but can’t land a talon on Joist either
Slapping a fresh magazine into his bolter Joist can’t miss, they’re practically on top of him
Sentry 1 collapses, riddled with holes
Isadora steadies him from behind
Turn 5
Joist blows the last servitor apart
Post-Game
Auralia and Themis aren’t dead, just trapped beneath the floor, they are pulled free after the last of the robots is dispatched.
I rolled to determine which Challenge comes next, Challenge 4.