The Second Golloch War~The Fourth Metallikus Civil War

Battle Details

Type: Battle
Date: 751.009.M31
Sub-Sector:Golloch Cluster
System: Metallikus
Planet: Metallikus
Victor: Undecided
Draw:
Influence: 5

Forces:

Loyalists Involved In The Conflict

Army:I-ARMY-3370

Army:L-I-2648

Traitors Involved In The Conflict

Army:A-MECH-0582

Battle Summary

October - Combat Phase The swamp barons and their Mechanicum sponsors never bent the knee further than neccessary to the nascent Imperium before it considered them compliant and moved on during the Great Crusade. No hidden heretics or secrets from Old Night made them do this but pure greed and mistrust of their neighbors intent. Ever insular and bound to turn on one another sooner rather than later Horus rebellion would spark a series of civil wars between factions using the terms of loyalist or traitor as an excuse to turn on their former enemies once again.

The news of fleets bearing down on Metallikus would spark an increased fervor in the fighting that had ground to a natural stalemate after three earlier wars in just a few years had nearly depleted the manpower of the planet for all involved factions, leading to formerly neutral parties gaining ascendancy and sparking another planet spanning conflict. Seeing a chance to prove their worth to whatever side they had sworn themselves to before their saviors arrived or fortify positions against a hated enemy that would surely soon attack them all parties involved threw themselves into frantic action at the news of a fleet arriving.

Void stations above the planet was under control of different sides but was unable to fire upon one another due to ancient Mechanicus protocols and treaties overriding anything the swamp barons could threaten their technocratic allies with. Landing troops was therefor an easy matter while bombarding the opposing forced landing zones was out of the question. The war for Metallikus would be decided by boots on the ground, or more accurately by boots sinking deep into its foetid mire.

How Do I Take Part?

To take part in this campaign all you need to do is play one or more games of Warhammer 30k; Horus Heresy, and lodge a skirmish report on this site. You'll want to create an account too so you can track your victories and defeats in the campaign, as well as publish background for your army and Warlord!

Once this phase of the campaign starts you can lodge Skirmish Reports for your games here: http://aus30k.com/30kwiki/index.php?title=Skirmish_Report

Suggested Games

General swamp terrain rules:

All open ground is considered difficult terrain for vehicles and infantry with a 4+ save or better. Going to ground grants a further +1 to the save of a model though as they sink into the mud. This is not used for zone mortalis missions or other scenarios when the battlefield is considered to be indoors.

Mission:

The rules below are meant to be compatible with any of the basic missions in the age of darkness rules but if you want something a little more special we recommend this themed mission: Scavenge hunt. Using the Centurion army building rules found here: https://ia601902.us.archive.org/12/items/CENTURION1.1/CENTURION%201.1.pdf This mission tells the tale of two warring factions arriving at the location of a valuable depot at the same time. They are not the only forces active in the area though, several groups of NPCs and/or other points of interest will be active in the area and get involved in the action.

Set up:

This mission is meant to be played on a dense board of terrain with both industrial and jungle features, with the middle being occupied by an objective building. Preferably the biggest one you have, making for a suitable center piece worth 3 Vps at the end. After determining points of interest and NPCs the players roll off, with the winner choosing any table edge as their deployment zones. Forces are then deployed 24” apart with the loser of the die roll starting but having first turn unless their opponent seized the initiative.

Victory points:

The game lasts six turns and uses Slay the warlord and Attrition as secondary objectives.

Special rules:

Assailing buildings. If your objective building is intact use the rules for doors in zone mortalis to allow for a breach to be made. Attackers can then assault units inside the building in a bid for control and both sides can have models up to the maximum for the building inside it.

Points of interest and NPCs:

Before the battle roll 1d3 on the following table and place the corresponding number of points of interest and NPCs on the board. Each player takes turns placing them on the board and they are then scattered 3d6” (stopping at board edges or 6” from another point of interest or NPC). After the final placement is decided roll on the NPC table to see what they are while points of interest are rolled for during the game.

1: Three NPCs and one point of interest
2: Two NPCs and two points of interest
3: One NPC and three points of interest

For NPCs the players roll off when they are placed determining what side they have taken and are part of that players forces from then on (but do not give up kill points if relevant). If playing Black Shields etc. just determine between the players which side is considered traitors and loyalists by the NPCs for this game. Rolling the same numbers means the NPCs are just caught up in the conflict and move using a scatter dice, shooting and charging the nearest target they can hurt after both players have taken their turn.

For points of interest they cannot be interacted with until the first turn of the game when you can check any marker within 3” of one of your units at the end of the turn. If an NPC is rolled, determine loyalty just as before the game and then the controlling player places the models as close as possible to the point of interest, more than 1” from enemy models.