I'm playing through the missions in the Pariah Nexus Crusade book, in order of appearance. The eighth mission is called Amidst the miasma.
In this mission, there are 5 standard objectives (1 in the centre, 4 at equidistant orthogonal points around it). There are penalties to all Hit rolls due to an industrial smog that lingers in the region. At the end of the game, you get bonus points for each unit in your army that has ended up in the enemy's deployment zone, out of the smog.
This mission also offers an extra Marked for Greatness award to the winner of this mission.
Story
The Blood of the Omnissiah, led by Technoarcheologist Scipio Ω5-Quintus, has gathered as much Blackstone as the regiment can reasonably carry. The logistics of gathering and transporting the Noctilith this far has been complex, especially with the constant threat of enemy armies. The Adeptus Mechanicus has located a nearby city, battle-worn and neglected, but with an Astra Militarum transfer station designated specifically for landing, loading, and airlifting cargo back up to the Imperial fleets above.
The city is thick with smog and warzone fallout, but the priests believe this is actually an advantage. The miasma offers perfect cover for their extraction. Their comms go unanswered, auspex scans affirm that the transfer station is in working order, and that there are definite life forms there. Perhaps the smog is interfering with the audio communication networks?
The Blood of the Omnissiah positions itself in the ruins of an Administratum building across the square, with the transfer station barely visible through the smog. They enlist the help of a an Imperial Vindicare Assassin to scout ahead. She does, and returns with the bad news that although a Astra Militarum force does control the transfer station, it has allied with a Genestealer Cult.
Can the Adeptus Mechanicus make it across the city square to take control of the transfer station? Or will they fall in the miasma, unseen and unremembered?
Armies
I'm determined to play a satisfying game with my Skitarii infantry. This is a silly mission for it because there are penalties on Hit rolls due to the miasma, and Skitarii hit on 4+ as it is. However, I've decided this is going to be a procedural mission, and I'll just have to endure the misses. After all, the Brood Brothers and Genestealer Cultists have the same disadvantage. Basically, I see this as a no melee mission, and I'm going to try to avoid charges as much as possible.
My Adeptus Mechanicus force includes Skitarii, a small unit of servitors, and a Vindicare Assassin from the Imperial Agent faction.
- Skitarii Vanguard [Battle-hardened]
- Technoarcheologist [Blooded]
- Tech-Priest Engineseer [Blooded]
- Skitarii Rangers [Battle-ready]
- Vindicare Assassin [Battle-ready]
- Servitors [Battle-ready]
I'm using a modified Skitarii Hunter Cohort detachment (and replacing "Skitarii Marshall" with "Tech-priest" because I have no Skitarii Marshall models). This grants my Skitarii the Infiltrator and Scouts 6 keywords. That'll definitely help the Adeptus Mechanicus start strong, and it may be a killer combo with the Rangers' Objective Scouted ability (they can move away from an objective but still control it) and the Vanguards' Battle Traits of +1 to Move and +1 Advance.
The Tyranid Cult is sort of a new build entirely, half Astra Militarum and half my Blooded Neophyte Hybrids, plus a Kellermorph to balance out that Vindicare Assassin. I'm using the Brood Brother Auxilia detachment rules, which allows Astra Militarum units to be included in a Genestealer Cults army.
- 1 Kellermorph [Battle-ready]
- 10 Neophyte Hybrids [Blooded]
- 10 Cadian Shock Troops [Battle-ready]
Strategic footing
Pariah Nexus has a fun subsystem for deciding which player is Attacker and which is Defender on page 105.
The Adeptus Mechanicus chooses Aggressive and the Tyranid Cult chooses Defensive, which thematically fits perfectly into my narrative. The Defender gets the Advantage, and the Advantage is kinda huge. By default, this mission imposes a -1 to Hit and a -2 Advance on any unit within No Man's Land. The mission's Advantage grants an exemption from those penalties to 1 unit. The Neophyte Hybrids have a +1 to Hit when targeting their closest target, so they're the unit that'll be exempt.
Round 1
The Adeptus Mechanicus rolls high for initiative. They institute the Conqueror Imperative, granting the Assault keyword and -1 Armour Penetration to their weapons. The Skitarii Ranger unit also has the Protector Imperative, which grants their weapons Heavy, and also worsens incoming fire by -1 AP. I literally just noticed that the AP manipulation of these Imperatives are actually only valid while the target unit is in the deployment zone, but that seems stupid to me and so there's no chance of me playing it that way. Genestealer Cults get all kinds of bonuses and none of them are limited to their deployment zone!
Both sides have deployed mostly inside of buildings, which are free of miasma. But the objectives are in No Man's Land, and the goal is to basically swap buildings (there are bonus points for any unit ending the game in the opponent's deployment zone.) There's no penatly when targeting units outside No Man's Land, so this is the ideal time for the Vindicare to take a shot at a guardsman through some of the ruins. The elite Imperial Vindicare Assassin raises her Exitus rifle, which ignores cover, and takes aim at an Astra Militarum soldier within the ruined transfer station.
She waits for just the right moment. And rolls a 1. That feels like an ill omen, but Command Re-roll gets a 5 instead, followed by a successful Wound, resulting in a very overkilled Cadian Officer.
There's a penalty to Advance through the miasma, but the Skitarii Rangers also have Scout, so they easily move into No Man's Land and claim the nearest (southwest) objective. They fire into the ruins seemingly blindly, but thanks to skillful auspex readings they get 6 shots through the broken walls and deal 2 Wounds. I think it's the best rolling the Skitarii Rangers have ever done for me, and it couldn't have come at a better time because Scipio Ω5-Quintus is out of range and unable to take a shot.
The Skitarii Vanguard move out of the building and claim the northwest objective, thanks to a Battle Trait that boosts their Move and Advance speed. Unfortunately, they have no valid target, so their Shooting phase is wasted.
The Servitors position themselves near the entrance of the building. I don't know if they'll be any good at it, but in my mind they're going to ambush any Cultist or Guardsman who tries to come in.
On the Tyranid Cult's turn, the Kellermorph Deeps Strikes in to the Adeptus Mechanicus holdout. Assuming he can survive the game there, he'll win 10 VP for ending the game there. It's a bold move, because he's up against a Vindicare Assassin and 5 Servitors, but then again he's a Kellermorph.
By way of comparison, the Kellermorph has 6 Attacks at 2+ to Hit with Strength 5, and the Vindicare Assassin has 1 Attack at 2+ to Hit with Strength 7. The Kellermorph's weapon has deals Devastating Wounds and Sustained Hits D3, while the Vindicare Assassin has Devastating Wounds.
Doesn't seem to matter though, because he only manages to score 1 Wound thanks to the Assassin's 4+ Invulnerable Save.
The Neophyte Hybrids Deep Strike to the northeast objective, and the Astra Militarum unit Advances and claims the southeast objective. The Neophyte Hybrids fire through the miasma, negating its effect thanks to a +1 Hit Battle Trait, and fell 4 Skitarii Vanguards. The corrupted Cadians are too busy entrenching themselves around the objective to shoot this Round.
Both sides hold 2 objectives, so no point in scoring.
Round 2
The Tyranid Cults roll high for initiative.
The Cadians have the same sticky-objective ability as the Skitarii Rangers, but it seems silly for them to move only to have their objective stolen by the Skitarii Rangers. Both armies decide to stand there ground and thin the ranks of the enemy (which they can barely see through the miasma.) I'm also treating the Cadians basically as Neophyte Hybrids, so the 3 empty slots in the unit are filled with reinforcements.
The Cadians open fire with their Lasguns and a Melta, but some stunning 6+ Invulnerable Saves by the Rangers (3 in total) combined with the cover of miasma and a street barricade means 0 Wounds are dealt. I've never seen the Skitarii Rangers so resilient, and I couldn't be prouder of them. The miasma really suits them!
The Neophyte Hybrids fire into the haze at the Skitarii Vanguard and score 1 kill.
Then the Kellermorph, already in the sights of the Servitors and the Assassin, fires a burst of bullets at the Vindicare Assassin. It's a Critical Hit, which triggers Sustained Hits D3, which results in 3 more Hits. He rolls 1 Wound and 1 Critical Wound, which triggers Devastating Wounds, which ignores even an Invulnerable Save. The Vindicare Assassin has just 1 Wound remaining. She's got a mighty powerful weapon, so if she can Hit the Kellermorph then she'll live, but 1 more Round of incoming Kellermorph rounds and she's done for.
On the Adeptus Mechanicus turn, the Skitarii Rangers return fire at the Cadians and kill 4 soldiers, and then the Skitarii Vanguards kill 3 Neophyte Hybrids. More are on their way.
The Servitors fire at the Kellermorph and score 4 Hits but all fail to Wound.
The Assassin loads a Shieldbreaker round into her exitus rifle, knowing that this is literally the difference between life or death. A single shot, and she rolls a 2 to Hit. She's not in the miasma, there's no penalty, so she hits. Her weapon is Strength 7 against the Kellermorph's Toughness 3 so as long as she rolls anything but a 1 she'll do damage. She rolls another 2, causing D3+3 Wounds, which is more than enough to reduce the Kellermorph to 0. And that's one Genestealer who doesn't have a reinforcement on the way.
Again, there's no change in score because both sides control 2 objectives.
Round 3
Initiative is a tie, so it flips over to Adeptus Mechanicus. I think by this time, Scipio Ω5-Quintus realises fighting through the smog is pointless, and anyway they've successfully lured the troops out of the transfer station. It's time to swap places, but it's going to take some careful cogitating.
The best unit to storm the transfer station is the Tech-priest Engineseer's Skitarii Vanguard. First of all, they're the lowest in number currently, so it makes some sense to get them into cover. Additionally, they have a Battle Trait that grants +1 Move and +1 Advance. However, if they abandon their objective then the Tyranid Cultists are sure to take it.
Fortunately, Scipio Ω5-Quintus and the Skitarii Rangers can move away from their objective without forsaking control of it, and simultaneously claim the Engineseer's objective. However, the Cadian unit has the exact same ability, so either way it seems an objective is going to get stolen. That is, unless all the Cadians are dead before the Tyranid Cult turn.
The Skitarii Vanguard Advance toward the transfer station, scurrying right past the Neophyte Hybrids on the left and the Cadians on the right. They push aside the barricade barring entrance into the transfer station, and then stand firm on the opposite side of the southeast objective currently held by the Cadians. Except, technically it's not held by the Cadians, because the Rad Saturation of Skitarii Vanguards causes -1 OC to any model within 3". Come to think of it, maybe there's no rush to get inside the transfer station after all.
The Skitarii Rangers Advance up to the northwest objective that the Skitarii Vanguards just abandoned and claim it for the Omnissiah.
Taking no chances, the Scipio Ω5-Quintus orders the Servitors to enter the miasma and reinforce control on the southwest objective. It might not last, but at least for now the Adeptus Mechanicus has claim on 3 objectives.
Time to take out these corrupted Cadians. There are "only" 7 on the board, and they don't get reinforcements until their Command phase. It's now or never.
The Skitarii Vanguard kill 2 Cadians. No surprise, the Tech-priest Engineseer kills 0 Cadians.
The Skitarii Rangers kill 2 Cadians (Scipio Ω5-Quintus is responsible for 1 of those, thanks to that amazing archeotech pistol with Devastating Wounds.)
The Vindicare Assassin kills 0 Cadians. The Servitors can't even resolve their auspex targets, because with a 6+ to Hit and a -1 penalty to Hit there's literally no way for any of them to do any damage.
The long and short of it is that there are 2 Cadians left on the battlefield. It's probably a mistake, but the Skitarii Vanguard stay on the doorstep of the transfer station. They might get shot down by angry Genestealer Cadians, but as long as 1 of them survives their Rad Aura will make the Cadians functionally useless for objective control.
On the Tyranid Cults turn, the Neophyte Hybrids gain 4 reinforcements (actually 6, but there are only 4 available) and the Cadians gain 3. The Cadians hurry (but they don't Advance) across the square toward the Adeptus Mechanicus deployment zone. They can't make it inside because there are some Skitarii Rangers blocking their path, but they get closer. They throw a grenade over to the Servitors in hopes of at least freeing up an objective, but the Servitors turn out to be tougher than I'd realised. They save on 4+, so the grenade only removes 2 of the 5.
The Neophyte Hybrids have a Battle Trait that grants +1 to Hit when firing at the nearest target, so they open fire at the Skitarii Vanguard. The Skitarii manage to roll a a few successful 6+ Invulnerable Saves, so only 1 gets removed.
This has definitely shifted the tide of this battle. Can it last 2 more Rounds, though?
- Adeptus Mechanicus: 20 VP (3 objectives, plus a bonus for controlling more than the enemy)
- Tyranid Cult: 5 VP (1 objective)
Round 4
OK, this battle needs a new focus, for real this time. The new objective is to get inside, out of the miasma. That's where the real Victory Points are, and so the Cadians resolve to Advance around the back of the Adeptus Mechanicus deployment zone. Unfortunately, the Tyranid Cult rolls 2 on initiative to the Blood of the Omnissiah's 5. Fortunately for the Tyranid Cults, the Skitarii are useless at actually killing things, so this may be more an inconvenience than a threat. The greatest threat is the ticking clock, to be honest.
The Skitarii Vanguards subvert expectations and move into the transfer station. No more killing for them, they've got Blackstone fragments to load into shipping containers. The Skitarii Rangers make an Advance toward the transfer station, but they're using both the Protector and Conqueror Imperatives so they can Advance and Attack this Round.
The Vindicare Assassin makes her way downstairs and parks herself at the front entrance, within view of the Neophyte Hybrids.
Between the Vindicare Assassin and the Skitarii Rangers, 6 Neophyte Hybrids are removed.
On the Tyranid Cult turn, the Cadians move back toward their previous objective to reclaim it, and the Neophyte Hybrids roll high on a d3 to replace all 6 soldiers with reinforcements.
The Neophyte Hybrids and Cadians open fire basically at each other in the confusion caused by the smog, but luckily the Skitarii Rangers are in the middle. They kill 3 Skitarii.
Because the Skitarii Rangers have the Scouted Objective ability, the Adeptus Mechanicus still controls 2 objectives even though they're only physically at 1 objective marker. The Tyranid Cult also holds 2 objectives, so there's no change in score this Round.
- Adeptus Mechanicus: 20 VP (3 objectives, plus a bonus for controlling more than the enemy)
- Tyranid Cult: 5 VP (1 objective)
Round 5
This is the final Round, and it's not looking great for the Tyranid Cult. The good news is that they roll high on initiative, the bad news is that strategy is hard. Potentially the right strategy at this dire time is to use an unholy mix of explosives and close-quarters combat.
The Cadians throw a grenade into the ruins in desperate hope of obliterating the rest of the Skitarii Vanguard. The gamble almost pays off. They kill 3 Skitarii, but the Tech-priest Engineseer remains.
The Neophyte Hybrids take a lesson from their Brood Brothers and throw a grenade at the Skitarii Rangers. That removes 4 from the battlefield.
The Cadians make a Charge toward the Skitarii Rangers, who spend a Command Point to Fire Overwatch. Shockingly, they manage to kill 2 of the charging Cadians, which does a lot to even the odds for melee. The Cadians only get 1 Wound in, which Scipio Ω5-Quintus heroically takes, in order to spare a Skitarii.
The Neophyte Hybrids fire into melee, and I insist that rolling a 1 means a Cadian is hit by accident. The Cadians take 2 Hits but succeed in their Saves, so 0 Wounds. The Skitarii lose 1 Wound, which Scipio Ω5-Quintus again heroically takes so that his unit's Obective Control is greater than the Cadian unit's.
That's pretty much the end. The Skitarii Rangers are on the doorstep of the transfer station, so after scoring is complete they rush in and barricade the doors. The Servitors slowly make their way toward the transfer station, and run into the Genestealer Cultists and Cadians, and do their best to pummel them. In the end, the Tyranid Cultists are forced to other hideouts, and the Adeptus Mechanicus score what I have to admit is a surprise victory.
- Adeptus Mechanicus: 45 VP (2 objectives, plus a bonus for controlling more than the enemy, plus a bonus for 1 unit ending in the transfer station)
- Tyranid Cult: 10 VP (1 objective)
Post-game administration
I didn't expect this at all, but this was a really fun mission. On paper, it seemed typical at best, with the primary goal being to control objectives and a footnote about ending up on the opposite end of the battlefield. To make matters worse, there were penalties on the primary mechanic of the game. And besides that, the "obvious" strategy is to run as fast as you can to the other side of the battlefield and stay there.
In practise though, this mission tested the limits of each army. Sure, you can choose to just run blindly into the enemy's deployment zone, but what if your enemy decides to capture the objectives? What if your enemy chooses to hold objectives while also shooting down your soldiers? Suddenly the obvious strategy isn't so tidy, and it becomes a game of pushing your luck and balancing risk and reward, while trying to guess what opportunity your opponent might suddenly try to take advantage of.
There's a lot more depth to this mission than it first seems, and I think this is one of the best Pariah Nexus mission designs I've played so far. In fact, it may even arguably be the best, because it demonstrates so perfectly how a simple setup is made complex only in the hands of the players. That's the thing we game masters can often forget. You don't always have to design in complexity and hard decisions, because players bring that to the table themselves.
Adeptus Mechanicus
The Adeptus Mechanicus gains 3 Requisition Points (1 for the battle, 2 bonus for winning this specific mission.) Each unit gains 1 XP for taking part in the crusade.
I'm giving the Skitarii Rangers one Marked for Greatness award for being untouched until Round 4. I'm giving the bonus Marked for Greatness award to the Tech-priest Engineseer for not dying at all, for the first time.
In total, here's where the army is:
- Army: 6 Requisition Point, 10 Blackstone fragments
- Armiger Warglaive [Battle-hardened]: 17 XP
- Skitarii Vanguard [Battle-hardened]: 18 XP
- Skitarii Rangers [Blooded]: 6 XP
- Kastelan Robots [Blooded]: 14 XP
- Cybernetica Datasmith [Blooded]: 12 XP
- Technoarcheologist [Blooded]: 11 XP
- Tech-Priest Engineseer [Blooded]: 11 XP
- Sydonian Dragoon [Battle-ready]: 1 XP
- Vindicare Assassin [Battle-ready]: 1 XP
- Servitors [Battle-ready]: 1 XP
The Skitarii Rangers are now Blooded and earn a Battle Trait. They roll 4 and gain +1 Strength to their Weapons, which is a desperately needed upgrade.
Because they won, they also get to roll for archeotech. They need a 5+ to find archeotech but they roll 2, so I cheated and rolled again and they roll 4. They just aren't meant to uncover archeotech. Not that I'm counting, but that's 0 archeotech across 8 missions.
Tyranids
The Tyranids get 1 Requisition Point and 1 XP for partaking in a battle. I'm not using the Requisition Point system as designed, and instead I'm spending them to add new profiles to my Crusade Force (such as the Kellermorph.)
A list of the Crusade Forces that have seen action so far, whether they were in this battle or not:
- Army: 8 Requisition Point, 3 Blackstone fragments
- Neophyte Hybrids [Blooded]: 15 XP
- Aberrants [Blooded]: 6 XP
- Death's Shadow [Blooded]: 12 XP
- Lictor [Blooded]: 12 XP
- Von Ryan Leapers Omega: 4 XP
- Von Ryan Leapers Chi: 4 XP
- Von Ryan Leapers Psi: 4 XP
- Neurogaunts [Blooded]: 4 XP
- Reductus Saboteur [Battle-ready]: 3 XP
- Sanctus [Battle-ready]: 1 XP
- Kellermorph [Battle-ready]: 1 XP
- Cadian Shock Brood Brothers [Battle-ready]: 1 XP
Downgrades
The Kellermorph passes his Out of Action test, so gains no Battle Scars. That's fair, and I think the Kellermorph played really nicely. I thought he was basically an assassin with a xenos hat on, but I learned the hard way that what he gains in Attacks he pays for in Toughness and Save.
Next mission
The next mission is False Intel.