This is the second scenario in the Vile Secrets of Vulcoth campaign for Warhammer 40,000.
Inquisitors Greyfax and Ostromandeus of Ordo Hereticus have reached Vulcoth's central production facitily. Its output has fallen noticeably in recent years, and the Inquisitors suspect heresy is the cause. Somewhere within this compound are the answers, so the Inquisitorial Agents must question the workers and management staff to determine who is to blame.
Depending on the success of the previous scenario, the facility could have been either unaware of the Inquisition's approach, or on high alert. The Inquisitors were attacked by law enforcement and an assassin on the way to the facility, but they managed to suppress their opposition before an alarm was raised. The production facility is not on high alert, and had no time to prepare for the Inquisition's arrival.
Battlefield setup
The factory building in the southwest corner of the table is the office of Superintendent Ryoss. The building in the northeast corner is the office of Chief Ellisar. These are the 2 Objectives for this scenario, but the Inquisitorial Agents may only claim one.
Half of the Opposing Army are production line workers, the other half are security.
Hostility status
Had the Inquisition failed the previous scenario and the compound was on high alert, then all miniatures within the compound would be actively hostile. They'd be walking into a battlefield. That's not the case, though.
The compound is unaware of the Inquisition until they walk through the front gate. Only the security staff are actively hostile. The Inquisitorial Agents may spend a Free Action to Speak with any non-hostile miniature.
Whether the compound is hostile or non-hostile, the Inquisition may never speak to security staff. Only if the Inquisition attacks first do non-hostile worker miniatures convert to a hostile state.
Special rules
There's a d6 Conversation Table to roll on when the Inquisition speaks to a non-hostile miniature. After a worker speaks, it gets a token next to it and can't be spoken with. Before placing a token on the last worker, all other tokens are cleared. The Inquisition must gather 2 clues about either Superintendent Ryoss or 2 clues about Chief Ellisar before claiming an Objective.
After each time you take the Speak Action, one security worker becomes hostile and attacks the nearest Hero Army miniature. If you kill a security worker within 6" of another security worker, then that security worker becomes hostile.
Once the Inquisition has decided whether to arrest Superintendent Ryoss or Chief Ellisar, they move to an Objective marker and the game ends.
Inquisitorial Agents
The Inquisitorial Agents aren't going in full force. This is an investigation, not a skirmish, or at least that's the intent.
- Inquisitor Greyfax
- Inquisitor Ostromandeus
- Rein and Raus (halfling snipers, acting as a single miniature)
- Navigator
- Brother Arakatis of the Iron Hands
Production facility
There are 2 groups of facility staff: Security and workers. I realised I don't have any civilian miniatures. I mean, why would I? Wargames aren't about standing around without weapons. So for the workers, I'm using Astra Militarum miniatures and pretending that their guns are drills and wrenches and things.
- 6 workers
- 10 security officers (Adeptus Arbites)
Round 1
The Inquisition wins initiative, so they all Advance into the facility. Inquisitors Greyfax and Ostromandeus approach a worker each, with the Navigator hanging out not far away. Rein and Raus head for the stairs to the rooftop of the northeast building (Chief Ellisar's office).
Brother Arakatis casually meanders toward some security officers. Is he expecting trouble? Maybe.
The Inquisitors both roll 3 on the encounter table, so they both receive the same clue: "I overheard Superintendent Ryoss talking to someone over comms yesterday about Chief Ellisar. He was saying something about heresy, and that's when I cleared out of the area. Fast."
They need 2 more clues before they can claim an objective.
The Speak action causes a security worker becomes hostile, and it's the facility's turn now.
One Adeptus Arbites officer approaches Inquisitor Ostromandeus, and another approaches the Navigator. Inquisitor Ostromandeus balks at being questioned, and gets 1 Wound for making trouble. The Navigator uses the etiquette of his noble standing to placate the officer approaching him.
Round 2
The facility wins initiative. The 2 Adeptus Arbites Vigilants aren't yet satisfied that their guests have learned their place within the facility. The workers have seen this kind of thing before, so they start putting distance between themselves and the visitors.
I rolled a scatter dice for each worker and moved them 6" in the direction rolled. 2 workers stand their ground, and 4 scatter in all different directions.
The 2 hostile Adeptus Arbites attack again, with the exact same results as before. Inquisitor Ostromandeus takes another Wound, and the Navigator takes nothing. Whatever that Navigator is doing, it's working.
On the Inquistorial Agents' turn, the Navigator and Ostromandeus fall back and approach new workers. Greyfax moves to a worker, as well. They roll 4, 5, and 6, so they learn:
Worker 4 says, "Chief Ellisar has received visitors at least once a month for the past year. Strange folk, robed so you can't make out who they are. I never felt right about it, but it's not my place to question our leader."
Worker 5 says, "Chief Ellisar has hired a Rogue Trader's retinue to follow Superintendent Ryoss. He says Ryoss is up to no good."
Worker 6 says, "I just work here. I don't want any trouble."
Chief Ellisar's name seems to be coming up a lot. Not only has he been meeting with mysterious strangers, he's also apparently having Superintendent Ryoss followed.
Greyfax and Ostromandeus share a look, and they can see they've both determined that it would be wise to check in on Chief Ellisar. His office is top level of the northeast building. Coincidentally (or maybe instinctively), the ratlings have just set up camp basically on Ellisar's front door mat, ostensibly to provide sniper support although it looks like they're each having a sandwich at the moment. Greyfax signals her retinue to head toward the ratlings.
Round 3
The Inquisition rolls high for initiative this time. They have the information they need, and they happen to be very close to the objective they need, so diplomacy doesn't seem very important at the moment.
Rein and Raus take aim and fire at the security staff, and miss entirely. Truly useless.
Brother Arakatis fires his bolter at a Vigilant with a shield, and the shield deflects damage just as designed.
Greyfax kills a Vigilant, Ostromandeus kills a Vigilant, and the Navigator kill a Vigilant. Pretty good, but now basically all the remaining Vigilants count as hostile.
On the facility's turn, the Adeptus Arbites unleash a series of attacks against the Inquisitorial Agents. They're pretty evenly matched, in terms of Strength output and Toughness, and they do manage to do some damage. Ostromandeus takes another Wound, Greyfax takes 2 Wounds, and the Navigator is, for the third round in a row, untouched. It could have been worse, and maybe if they'd gone into melee it would have been, but then again the Inquisitors are actually really dangerous in close combat (4 and 5 attacks each, and the Navigator has a Strength 6 psychic weapon).
Round 4
The Inquisition rolls high again, and they all predictably Advance to the objective. They hurry into the safety of Chief Ellisar's office, and the battle ends.
Post-game administration
This was a fun narrative scenario. It's really just a fork in the road, with the minor threat of damage pushing the hero army forward. The Inquisition chose to investigate Chief Ellisar, so that determines the next scenario, and it influences what foe they'll face in the final scenario.
Obviously, behind the scenes, both Ellisar and Ryoss are guilty, and the hero army's choice only determines what they're facing and not whether they face conflict. It's a wargame, after all. Obviously there's going to be a fight!
Inquisitorial Agents
The army gains 1 XP for the battle. I'm awarding the Navigator Marked for Greatness bonus of 3 XP, because he took minimal wounds and did as much damage.
- Everyone; 2 XP
- Greyfax: 4 XP
- Navigator: 4 XP
Vulcoth
This army is set to change with each scenario, so I'm not tracking XP for it.
Next battle soon
The next scenario reveals what mischief Chief Ellisar has gotten up to.