Void Fight: A Boarding Actions Campaign

Welcome every to Void Fight, a Boarding Actions Campaign.

Boarding Actions are a lot like a dungeon crawl. Contained dark spaces. No room to manoeuvre or hide. Fights are close and deadly.

In Void Fight will be somewhat a continuation of the Retribution campaign, picking up where that story (and Captain Kolm) ended. But now we get to see this renewed conflict through the eyes of the super soldier Space Marines!

I plan on doing some fun stuff with this campaign, including maps of the ship maybe. Exciting stuff. As always, the battles are fought solo 1 vs 1, kind of like if you play chess against yourself.

But let’s get stuck into the fight!

If you're reading this and like “Hey Croaker, where is the solo RPG stuff?” Keep reading! Lots of story and drama in this series.

Strike Leader Azurel ticks on his vox, “Task Force Kolm? Captain Kolm? Report! By the Emperor’s throne report in!”

But the vox just repeats static.

The ship rumbles, staggering the Astartes who have gathered around the Strike Leader.

The voidship raising from the ground and the lack of communication means Task Force Kolm has failed. Strike Leader Azurel closes his eyes and says a short prayer to the Emperor, to commend Captain Kolm’s soul to his care.

“Men, gather your weapons. It is our duty to take control of this ship from this mad preacher. Look to your war gear. Look to your faith. We move in one minute.”

We are back to Grim Dark Future with this campaign, but using aspects of the Boarding Actions additional rules. No models over toughness 6, which eliminates most monster/vehicle types. There is no climbing over walls. Opening and closing doors adds a -1 to hit or fight for that unit. Each army is also starting out at 1,000 points.

I expect each battlefield to grow slightly as I print and assemble more boarding actions terrain. Exciting stuff!

Led by Strike Leader Azurel, this force is small in number but mighty in firepower and dedication. Strike Leader Azurel is geared for the close quarters battles of the voidship, with a heavy bolt pistol and a Chainfist. He is joined by his bodyguard of five Assault Brothers with Heavy Bolt Pistols and chainswords.

Strike Force Azurel is joined by a squad of six Vetran Brothers with Heavy rifles. Their long service leads them to know when to strike hard and when to strike quickly.

Finally 1st Captain Kjaen and his squad bring the heavy fire power in their Terminator Armour. Their storm bolters will turn anything in front of them into a pink mist.

The Battle Brothers in One Page Rules are elite infantry, as you’d expect. Generally they hit and defend on a roll of 3 of a d6, meaning they are predictable and hard to kill. But their units are expensive and have small squads. I’m hoping their quality outshines their lack of numbers in the dark.

Reinforcing immedietly after defeating Captain Kolm, the insane bishop is joined by 10 fanatical guards with short range shot guns. The psyker is leading a unit of six ecclesiarchy henchmen armed with short range flamers. Additionally a group of slobbering deranged fanatics have joined the fight. They want nothing more than to seek hand to hand combat. Finally, the assassin in black has disappeared into the shadows…

The Human Inquisition list is an typical group of infantry with a few suprises. Their army rule is they can elect to go again in a battle round. They have psyker support and the assassin can choose to come into the battle at a time of their choosing….

Largely the same battlefield as the one where Captain Kolm lost his life. The goal of this battle is purely a kill mission. Task Force Azurel aims to kill the mad bishop. Anything less will be a failure.

Strike Force Azurel will have to push hard to kill the Bishop, who is sitting behind a bulkhead in a defensive position. Will their faith in the emperor guide them to victory?

As soon as the Strike Force step foot on this ship, Strike Master Azurel could smell the taint of chaos. It rises from every wall, every hatchway, every console. It permeates and infects all. And it must be purged.

1st Captain Kjaen voxes in that the Terminators are assembled and ready for combat.

Strike Master Azurel leads the majority of the force in the centre of the battlefield and readies himself with a silent prayer to the God Emperor.

The Mad Bishop readies himself in defence of the central command consoles. He surrounds himself with servants and slaves.

Both sides move into positions, with the Bishop’s forces moving into defensive and Strike Force Azurel advancing aggressively.

“Target movement ahead. Enemy Psyker spotted. Engaging!” 1st Captain Kjaen squad’s storm bolters echos through the void ship. Shouts and screams erupt as heretics are blasted apart. However, the witch is unaffected by the hail of bolts. Surely protected by the powers of dark gods.

The assault squad advances, their aim to kill the bishop and end this now. However, the Bishop is shrewd, perhaps receiving information from the dark gods themselves. He orders a counter charge, opening the hatch and commanding his minions to blast into the the assault squad. Their shotguns cause havoc in the confines of the ship. The Assault Squad is reduced to just two soldiers.

Gutteral, slobbering, fanatic, they burst through the bulkheads and lay into Strike Master Azurel and his bodyguard. Surprised by their unrestrained fury, several Astartes fall to their chain blades. Stike Master Azurel strikes back but only kills one heretic.

The battle rages. Blades and bolters. Blood and tears. Strike Force Azurel has taken losses but with dedication and faith in the Emperor, they will press the attack.

But, in the fury of battle, they’ve lost track of the Assassin. A dark shadow has been stalking the Space Marines the whole time, waiting for the time to strike. And it is that time. Appearing from nothing, maybe a vent or access panel, the assassin appears behind the Terminators and strikes to kill!

Ignoring the ineffective blades of the assassin, 1st Captain Kjean leads his Terminators by pumping storm bolt after storm bolt into the bishop but the fanatics throw themselves in front of the bishop.

The slobbering lunatics launch themselves at the Terminator Squad Kjean, spending their blood and bodies to slow the hulking terminators.

Casting these maniacs aside, 1st Captain Kjean steps forward and readies himself for hand to hand combat against the insane Bishop. But the crackle of the warp fills the air. The lights flicker. Violet energy courses from the enemy psyker, who had snuck around to support her Bishop.

The energy lashes out, picking up and throwing 1st Captain Kjean back against a bulkhead.

With that, Strike Master Azurel calls a retreat. The Bishop has clearly called upon the dark powers. Discretion is the better part of valour, the Strike Master knows. He also knows a dead astartes can do nothing.

“Retreat is not defeat,” Strike Master Azurel says to his Space Marines. They are huddled in a dark, distant part of the massive voidship. The ship has cleared the planet’s atmosphere and is heading into the cold void.

Another failure for the good side! It was hard fought and it literally came down to that last spell cast. A failure of that spell would have let 1st Captain Kjean charge the bishop and he is a beast in close combat.

In the close confines of boarding actions, attacking is quite difficult, so it might be worth thinking about changing how the scenarios work.

I may make a few changes to future campaigns such as not allowing combined units. This will mean no one unit will have so much punching power, and also gives the battle a couple more units to activate.

With the desire to expand my boarding action board, I’ve set off on creating sections of spaceship flooring. The first is done and ready to be used with two more on the go. These are MDF shelving, so when not in use they will just look cooler than ugly MDF shelves.

Thanks for reading along. Until next time in the Void!

Croaker