My adventures with Core Space continue this week with Mission 6 of the Perseus Arm Campaign from the main Core Space rulebook.
In the previous thrilling episode, the crews of the good ships Saucy Sue and Black Maria had joined forces to rescue Callen Butler, the CEO of the Tau Cross Corporation, from the clutches of the Proletarian Viscounts cult. This mission was largely carried out without any major snags, though Jace, the captain of the Black Maria, was forced to undergo a week of intense and expensive re-hab to get over his overdose of med-stims during the mission.
In retrospect, it might have been a better idea to ransom the ungrateful Butler back to Tau Cross, as the reward was pitiful and only just covered Jace’s re-hab bill. However, the loot was plentiful, as were the experience points. Roykirk in particular, having killed the most dangerous of the Purge; a ‘Live One’ through the medium of the Saucy Sue‘s airlock defence-cannon, accrued an additional XP, which now allows him to field an extra purple Skill peg. With five successful missions now under the belt, both crews are now pretty well-armed and equipped, with decent firearms and melee weapons, as well as a few other useful bits of kit and armour or personal shields. Before heading out they stuff any remaining empty pockets with med-stims in case of emergencies, but which can also be dropped in favour of valuable items of loot.
With Jace having finally returned from re-hab, both crews decide to celebrate their success by getting wrecked at one of their favourite dive-bars in a particularly wretched hive of scum and villainy; the spaceport of Bahcall’s Belt.
However, before they’ve even downed their first pint of synth-ale, the whole station lurches alarmingly as a Purge vessel slams into the docking bay! The station lighting immediately fails, but before anyone can panic and to everyone’s relief, the dim emergency lighting immediately kicks in. However, other systems have failed all over the station and much to Renton’s disappointment, this includes the bar’s beverage-dispensers.
Lars’ wrist-comm immediately starts beeping frantically. “Shit, the Maria’s computer is telling me that the docking-clamp control unit has blown its backup cells!”
Roykirk also frowns as he reads the urgent message from the Saucy Sue‘s computer. “Same here, Boss. We won’t be able to undock until we find some replacement cells, install them in the station’s docking control unit and then re-boot the system!”
Arianna, the captain of the Saucy Sue and former fleet officer, immediately takes control, “Okay, we know what we need to do. Gak, Roykirk, defend the Docking Control. The rest of us need to search this station FAST!” She looks at Jace, “Are we on the same page, here?”
“Sure thing. You heard her, boys; what she said!”
Above: Six of the eight crew-members start in the pub. However, Tirgarde from the Saucy Sue is on business in the north-east corner of the station, while Beck had gone back to the Black Maria and is now half-way between the docking bay and the pub.
Equipment crates are marked in green. These will need to be searched for ship parts and when found, they will need to be taken back to the Docking Control Room, where they will need to be installed and the system re-booted. Only then will they be able to escape. In addition, the central room of the station functions as an armoury and therefore holds a large stash of ammo, which might come in handy.
In the meantime, the Purge will of course be boarding the station. The six potential entry-points are marked with red arrows; most are of course in the docking bay, but there is also the possibility of Purge appearing at an access-point on the southern edge, near the pub, and in the north-western corner, near the Docking Control.
Above: Arianna, Roykirk, Gak, Jace, Renton and Lars quickly down their drinks before sprinting out of the pub. Priorities…
Above: Tirgarde finds himself alone, but in a sector where there is no immediate Purge threat. There are a few equipment crates in that part of the station, but he will need to search them quickly.
Above: Beck meanwhile, is close to the Docking Bay and to the greatest threat. There are however, a couple of equipment crates in the Docking Bay that need searching. He judges that he can dash in, search a crate and dash out again before any Purge Harvester has time to react.
Above: However, it’s not always the Purge you have to worry about… The panicked barman suddenly grabs a weapon from under the bar and opens fire! Gak takes a volley in the back, but his personal shield thankfully prevents any damage. Before Gak can return fire, the barman screams in fear, dives out of a window and is gone.
Above: Just as Beck reaches the first crate, a skeletal Purge Harvester appears and lurches towards him! Harvesters aren’t the fastest movers, so Beck judges that he can still take a quick look inside the crate and grab what’s there before dashing out again, one step ahead of the Harvester. The automated airlock defence-cannons immediately spring to life, but are fairly inaccurate on Automatic Targeting Mode and fail to hit the Harvester.
Above: Renton meanwhile, has barely stepped out of the pub when he’s set upon by another Harvester! The Harvester immediately attacks him, but Renton’s fancy shielded jacket shrugs off the attack.
Above: While Renton grapples with the Harvester, Roykirk spots a frightened civilian girl at the far end of the room. However, in Roykirk’s experience, first contact with civilians invariably involves gunfire…
Above: Over in the Docking Bay, both Beck and the Harvester are most surprised when a civilian hurtles through the door, wielding a hydro-spanner double-handed, screaming “DIE MUTHAFLUFFA!!!” He charges straight at the Harvester and hits it straight between the eyes with a resounding clang! The surprised Harvester goes briefly cross-eyed, but then re-focusses on the civilian with murderous intent.
Above: “AAAAAARGHHH!!!” The ‘Surprise Attacker’ runs screaming back the way he came…
Above: Speaking of surprises; Roykirk is pleasantly surprised and relieved when the civilian girl, instead of opening fire, offers to help the crew! Roykirk immediately tells her what they need and she runs off to search crates for ship parts.
Above: Having put down the Harvester, Renton follows the girl to search for ship parts. Roykirk meanwhile searches the room and finds a credit-stick, but with more valuable items already filling his pockets he leaves it for someone else to pick up later.
Above: Arianna has reached the equipment crate at the north end of the Docking Bay. Expecting disappointment, she opens the lid and to her astonishment, immediately finds ship parts! Over the comm she hears another whoop of elation as Tirgarde finds some more ship parts! They now both need to get them back to the Docking Control and make their repairs before the Purge become too much to handle.
Above: However… The Purge suddenly get unexpected reinforcements and a boost to their enthusiasm [see the ‘Surge’ section of the card above]! However, a synchronised pair of electronic voices are suddenly heard from the airlocks of the Saucy Sue and Black Maria.
“Unexpected items in docking area!”
There is a sudden blaze of interlocking rotary cannon-fire and the Docking Bay is soon strewn with shattered and smoking biomechanical body-parts.
“Thank you for choosing Acme Automatic Airlock Defences for your home defence needs. Have a pleasant Standard Planetary Rotational Cycle.”
Above: However, Beck realises that he isn’t going to be able to out-run this Harvester, so dives behind cover, spins around and blows his pursuer apart.
Above: Back at the pub, Arianna sprints past with the priceless ship-parts. The others run to take cover, ready to defend the Docking Control Room while the repairs are being carried out.
Above: Back at the Docking Bay, yet more Purge have appeared in the form of yet another Harvester and a pair of Devastators.
Above: One of the Devastators spots Beck making his escape and opens up with a blistering volley of plasma-bolts!
Above: [In game terms, the Devastator’s first shot of two is a perfect score of four hits!] Beck’s shield-belt takes two of the hits before fritzing out and the cover afforded by a trading console takes another hit, but the fourth hit wounds Beck. With his shields gone, Beck won’t survive another volley like that! However, his luck holds and the Devastator’s second burst only hits the console.
As luck would have it, the other Devastator doesn’t have a line of sight on Beck. Beck also found a repair kit in the recently-searched equipment crate. He now just needs to find someone with the necessary tech skills to make the repair to his shield-belt.
Above: At the Docking Control Room, Tirgarde and Arianna both arrive with the required spare parts. The parts are quickly installed and Arianna flips the switch to re-boot the docking control system. “Here goes nothing…”
In the room outside there’s suddenly a roar of gunfire as a curious Harvester is obliterated by Gak, Renton, Roykirk and Jace.
Above: Beck dives through a doorway, pursued by one of the Devastators and yet another Harvester. He calls on the comm, “Lars! Where are you? Can you help? I need a shield-repair, but I’ve got the Purge on my tail!”
“No worries, I’m in the armoury. Come to me. I’ll deal with Big Red.”
Lars quickly taps a few icons on his wrist-comm and points a small directional antenna roughly in the direction of the Devastator. The crimson beast suddenly staggers to a halt and stands as if frozen.
“That’s stopped it for now, but it’ll soon recover. Come to us and we’ll arrange a proper reception for it!”
Above: Beck breathes a sigh of relief and leans against the bulkhead as he stabs a med-stim into his thigh.
In the distance, Beck can hear more cheerful invitations to have a nice day, along with occasional requests to fill in the product registration, as the airlock defence guns obliterate yet more Purge raiders.
Above: As the boys set up their ambush for the roaming Devastator, Treva the civilian technician suddenly unloads a panicked volley of rivets at Renton from his rivet gun.
“Oi, f***nugget! What the actual f*** are you doing?! What the f*** is wrong with you?! You could have f***in’ had my f***in’ eye out!”
Above: Roykirk as always, tries to placate the panicked Treva, who is now bawling his eyes out. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I thought you were a ‘Live One’! Please help me get off this station! Please!”
Renton remains deeply f***in’ unimpressed and treats everyone to another soldierly linguistic lesson, but Roykirk calms the situation and tells Treva to calm down and come with them. Jace then spots some loot lying on the floor,
“Hey, isn’t that a jet-pack?! I’ve always wanted a jet-pack! Ah bollocks, I’m already carrying too much stuff… Roykirk, haven’t you always wanted a jet-pack?”
“No mate, and I’m not carrying it for you.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? What sort of psycho wouldn’t want their own jet-pack?! Hey mate! You, tech-bloke! If you want to come with us, you’ll have to carry my jet-pack. Good man…”
Above: Back at the pub, the barman reappears and starts cleaning up. “Thank the Maker those oiks have gone… Oh those unutterable bastards have only gone and nicked the glasses! That really gets on my suckling-podules, that does!”
Above: In the distance, the unmistakable “Unexpected item in the docking area!” is heard once again, as the airlock defences take down the Devastator and some more of its friends. However, the Harvester that had been trailing Beck now appears from around the corner. Lars meanwhile, fixes Beck’s shield-belt in short order.
Above: Gak and Beck watch the thing approach. “Shouldn’t we shoot it?”
“Nah mate, that’ll just attract more. I’ve got a big sword. I’ll just twat it when it gets here.”
Above: Arianna and Tirgarde suddenly burst out of the Docking Control Room, “Right, it’s fixed! Everybody back to the Docking Bay and lets get the f*** out of here!”
Above: Jace, Roykirk and Treva are already on their way to the Docking Bay, but are faced with yet more Harvesters. The Black Maria‘s airlock defences take one down, but another keeps coming. “Have a nice day and please do call again…”
However, yet another Harvester suddenly drops out of the corridor ceiling, right in the middle of the group!
Above: Meanwhile, Gak draws his sword and prepares to twat the approaching Harvester…
Above: Suddenly, there’s a loud crack and a blinding flash of light as the civilian girl shoots the Harvester in the side of the head… “I was bored waiting.”
Above: In the other corridor, Jace, Beck, Roykirk and Treva vie with each other for the honour of receiving the Steven Seagal Memorial Prize for the Most Pathetic Public Display of Hand-to-Hand Combat… Having completely failed to land any hits on the Harvester in their midst, the Harvester then tears a lump out of Roykirk.
Above: At last, Jace manages to land a killing blow on the thing and then spins around to blast the second Harvester. Beck and Roykirk are suitably impressed, but Treva’s courage snaps and he runs off screaming “I can’t take any more of this!”, taking Jace’s prized jet-pack with him.
Above: Before Jace can run after Treva and his jet-pack, yet another Devastator appears in the Docking Bay and spotting Jace perfectly outlined in the doorway, lets him have it with both barrels!
Above: Jace’s armour absorbs some of the damage, but the energy-bolt adds yet another scar to his growing collection.
As the airlock-defences obliterate yet another wave of Purge, the crew finally step into the Docking Bay and stare open-mouthed at the scene of devastation. The whole area is strewn with smoking bio-mechanical body-parts, some still twitching, sparking and oozing unmentionable fluids…
Above: Meanwhile, back at the pub, the barman leaves it a little too late to call Last Orders.
Above: With the coast finally clear, Jace and his lads sprint across the Docking Bay to the safety of the Black Maria‘s airlock.
Above: The crew of the Saucy Sue are a little way behind and find yet more Purge waiting for them. However, as the automatic defences lay down covering fire, Arianna and her lads also make a sprint for the airlock.
Above: Arianna and the boys make it safely to the ship. However, the civilian girl has disappeared, presumably fancying her chances on the station with the Purge rather than leaving on a rickety old rust-bucket.
Above: The crew of the Black Maria (top row) didn’t manage to find much in the way of cash or tradeable goods, but they have managed to find some excellent weaponry that’s a considerable improvement on what they had before. Some of these weapons are however, rather large and bulky, which means less room in the inventory and harder choices on the next mission.
The crew of the Saucy Sue (bottom row) have also managed to find some new weapons, including an interesting combination gun/fist-thing. They’ve also managed to find quite a lot of cash, so will have no problems in keeping the Saucy Sue flying.
So with luck and a considerable amount of help from the fully-upgraded automatic airlock defences (which was money VERY well spent), both crews manage to escape the station with only minor scratches and before any serious opposition shows up. However, as the manoeuvring thrusters fire to push the ships away from the station, the fuel-warning lights on both ships start to blink…
Out of the frying pan…
Anyway, that’s me for now and I’m off to Bella Italia for a week. Lots more Core-Spacing soon, as well as plenty of Tricorning when I get back…
Above: Generalmajor August Wilhelm von Braun’s command sits atop the the ancient hill-fort of the Dürren-Berg. While a relatively small command, it is of high quality, with a battery of heavy guns, three grenadier battalions, two battalions of the ‘Alt-Bevern’ Infantry Regiment (rated elite) and the single-battalion ‘Hauss’ Fusiliers. This last regiment comprises press-ganged ex-Saxon troops and isn’t to be relied upon. While there’s no cover from enemy fire, the steep upper slopes of the Dürren-Berg provide an advantage against any enemy charge. One of Braun’s grenadier battalions starts the scenario holding the hamlet of Clanzschwitz, which has been prepared for defence and lies mid-way between the Dürren-Berg and Guasco’s Imperial Grenadier Corps on the Otten-Berg.
Above: Between the two positions are Oberst Friedrich Wilhelm Gottfried Arend von Kleist’s two regular cavalry regiments; the ‘Kleist’ Hussars and the ‘Schorlemmer’ Dragoons. Both regiments are very large and are split into two tactical battalions. As discussed above, the ‘Kleist’ Hussars are under Kleist’s direct control, while Major Marschall von Bieberstein commands the ‘Schorlemmer’ Dragoons as an independent formation.
Above: Covering the right flank are Kleist’s Freikorps cavalry; four squadrons of dragoons and two squadrons of hussars. I shamelessly averaged out their strength to enable both units to appear on table. I gave Roger the option of re-deploying Kleist’s cavalry before the start of the game and he wisely decided to bring the regular hussar regiment over to reinforce the Freikorps on the flank.
Above: On the Imperial side, the elderly Prince Frederick-Charles of Stolberg-Gedern commands the strong left wing of the Reichsarmee and has established his headquarters on the Otten-Berg, within another old fortification; this being an old Swedish redoubt from King Gustavus-Adolphus’ campaigns of the 17th Century. Straddling the Otten-Berg is Feldmarschallieutenant Peter Alexander Graf von Guasco’s Imperial Grenadier Corps, consisting of the massed grenadier companies of the Reichsarmee (formed into three battalions, only one of which can be considered ‘elite’), three Austrian infantry battalions (from the ‘Sachsen-Gotha’ and ‘Pallavicini’ Regiments), an Austrian grenadier battalion, the Imperial ‘Hohenzollern’ Cuirassier Regiment, a few Austrian elite cavalry companies and a battery from the Imperial Artillery Reserve.
Above: On Guasco’s left is the flanking-force, which has been ordered to fall upon the Prussian right and rear. This consists of two Imperial corps, starting with this formation; Feldmarschallieutenant Carl Freiherr von Würzburg’s Reserve Corps. This consists of one battalion apiece from the Austrian ‘Macquire’ and ‘Luzarra’ Infantry Regiments, a battalion of Austrian grenadiers and three very bad Reichsarmee battalions; two from the ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment and one from the ‘Kurtrier’ Regiment. There should also be the two battalions of the Hungarian ‘Nikolaus Esterházy’ Infantry Regiment, but they seem to have got lost.
Above: On Würzburg’s left is Feldmarschallieutenant Wenzel Mathias Knoget Freiherr von Kleefeld’s Auxiliary Corps, which consists of the excellent Imperial Auxiliary ‘Blau-Würzburg’ Regiment and two battalions of Grenzer, which have deployed forward in skirmish-order. Kleefeld also seems to have acquired the aforementioned Hungarian ‘Nikolaus Esterházy’ Infantry Regiment, who attached themselves to his column during the approach-march.
Above: On the extreme left flank is the massed cavalry of the flanking corps, consisting of the Austrian ‘Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld’ Chevaulégers, the Hungarian ‘Baranyay’ Hussars and the Pfalz Life-Dragoon Regiment ‘Kurfürstin’. These regiments are commanded by the young commanding officer of the Chevaulégers, Obrist Prince Frederick August von Nassau-Usingen.
Above: A closer look at the Imperial cavalry. The Pfalz ‘Kurfürstin’ Dragoons look spectacular in their dark red coats with black facings, but they’re a bloody awful regiment, having already surrendered en masse and been re-formed once during this war. The ‘Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld’ Chevaulégers are dressed in blue with red facings and are a typically-solid Austrian regiment. Although now titled ‘chevaulégers’, they were a dragoon regiment until very recently and the change of title makes little difference.
Above: The scenario starts with a flurry of indecision among the Imperial flanking corps, requiring each column to dice to decide if they execute their orders or not. Al’s dice-rolling is pretty good on this occasion; Kleefeld and Guasco go straight into the attack, though Würzburg and Nassau-Usingen suffer a delay in the execution of their orders.
Above: As Nassau-Usingen’s cavalry finally start moving, Kleefeld sends a detachment of Austrian battalion-guns to provide close support to the cavalry.
Above: Kleist decides to mass all his cavalry on the right flank, first bringing in his regular hussar regiment and then calling in Marschall’s dragoons to support. This great mass of cavalry massively outmatches Nassau-Usingen’s Imperial horse.
Above: As Guasco’s Grenadier Corps advances, Braun wisely withdraws his isolated grenadier battalion from Clanzschwitz and places it as a tactical reserve at the rear of the Dürren-Berg position. Despite firing at extreme range, the Prussian 12-pounder batteries in the entrenchments are starting to make the presence felt among the battalions on Guasco’s right-flank and as a consequence, Guasco’s battalions start to become somewhat disordered, squeezing out other battalions as they edge to their left in an attempt to avoid the long-range fire. Clanzschwitz itself also proves to be something of an obstacle to orderly manoeuvres.
Above: Nevertheless, Würzburg has now got his corps moving and his battalion guns, along with the battery from the Imperial Artillery Reserve, are starting to do serious damage to the 2nd Battalion of the Prussian ‘Alt-Bevern’ Regiment and the 12-pounder battery at the south-western corner of the Dürren-Berg position.
Above: Our photographer stupidly forgot to take some photos of the opening cavalry battle, but it initially went very well for Nassau-Usingen’s Imperial horse! All three units in the Prussian first line were thrown back with considerable losses, though all managed to rally. Desperate to take advantage of the situation, Nassau-Usingen then urged his men to charge on into the second line, though this didn’t go anywhere near as well. The Austrian ‘Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld’ Chevaulégers, the best cavalry regiment present, was completely broken by the 2nd Battalion of the ‘Kleist’ Hussars, while the Pfalz ‘Kurfürstin’ Leib-Dragoons were thrown back by the ‘Kleist’ Frei-Hussars.
Above: The ‘Baranyay’ Hussars perform best of all, managing to hold the 2nd Battalion of the ‘Schorlemmer’ Dragoons to a draw before falling back to rally. Kleefeld’s gunners meanwhile, perform sterling service in hammering the Prussian dragoons. Concerned for his flank, Kleefeld deploys the ‘Blau-Würzburg’ Regiment and his grenadier battalion along the ridge to defend against the inevitable Prussian cavalry attack.
Above: With the Austro-Imperial artillery and musketry starting to have some effect on Braun’s defenders, Würzburg and Kleefeld go in with the bayonet! The Hungarian ‘Nikolaus Esterházy’ Regiment goes in against the 1st Battalion of the ‘Alt-Bevern’ Regiment, while the Austrian ‘Macquire’ Regiment advances into the teeth of the Prussian 12-pounder battery to charge the 2nd Battalion of ‘Alt-Bevern’. The Hungarians are halted by fire as they reach the ancient embankment, though the ‘Macquire’ Regiment storms over the bank! However, despite being strongly supported, the Austrian infantry are thrown back by the dogged Prussian defenders.
Above: While Marschall wheels his dragoons left to attack Kleeberg’s Imperial infantry, Kleist charges again to finish off the Imperial horse. Again, the ‘Baranyay’ Hussars make a brave show of it, but are swept away by the elite ‘Kleist’ Hussars. The Pfalz dragoons meanwhile, are simply destroyed by the Kleist Freikorps.
Above: With the 2nd Battalion of the ‘Alt-Bevern’ Regiment hanging on by a thread, Würzburg’s Corps has another go at the Dürren-Berg, now supported by the leading elements of Guasco’s Grenadier Corps.
Above: However, the ‘Luzarra’ Regiment once again fails to charge home on the right and the ‘Nikolaus Esterházy’ Regiment likewise fail on the left. The ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment in the centre however (ordinarily regarded as one of the worst regiments in the Reichsarmee), seems to be made of sterner stuff!
Above: With insufficient room to deploy, the 1st Battalion of the ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment gets squeezed out, but the 2nd Battalion presses home the attack!
Above: The 2nd Battalion of the ‘Pfalz-Zweibrücken’ Regiment flee back down the slope, but unlike the Austrian regulars of the ‘Macquire’ Regiment, managed to rally at the foot of the hill. Würzburg orders his Austrian grenadier battalion forward to take their place in the line.
Above: However, having beaten off the Imperial assault, the Prussian infantry now receive a whiff of grapeshot in the face from a section of battalion guns that has been manhandled forward in support of the Imperial infantry! The 2nd Battalion of the ‘Alt-Bevern’ Regiment can take no more and stagger back from the line, broken and leaving a yawning gap in the centre of Braun’s line.
Above: However, Braun has maintained a single grenadier battalion as his tactical reserve for just such a moment and the grenadiers are able to rapidly plug the gap before the Imperials exploit the situation.
My surviving reader will remember that last year I expanded my Napoleonic Württemberg contingent in anticipation of a few games for which they would be required. I covered the new infantry regiments in 
Following the disastrous Russian Campaign of 1812, the Württemberg cavalry arm went through a reorganisation and all cavalry regiments were now designated simply as ‘Kavallerie’. Leib-Chevauléger-Regiment #2 was disbanded and the Chevauléger-Regiment ‘Prinz Adam’ became the new Leib-Kavallerie-Regiment #1. There was then a re-shuffle in the order of seniority and a new Kavallerie-Regiment #4 ‘Jäger-Regiment Prinz Adam’ was eventually raised in November 1813 to fill the gap in the order of battle, which now looked like this:
Above: The route from the airlocks to the objective is a convoluted one and will take the crews past the main point of Purge infiltration (I’ve indicated the Purge entry-points with red arrows for clarity). While there are some Purge entry-points near the airlocks and the objectives, there is a 50% chance of the Purge appearing on the southern edge of the map. The Purge Hostility Level starts at Level 6, slightly higher than previous missions, so higher-powered Purge such as Devastators will start to appear almost immediately, along with increased numbers of Harvester foot-soldiers.
Above: Here’s how the crews look at the start of the game. The crew of the Black Maria are on the top row, with the Saucy Sue‘s crew below. In the last mission, all crew-members made it back to their ships (for the first time, in Captain Jace’s case) and therefore added a Career-Point to their character-boards. This has enabled Jace and Renton to ‘level up’; Jace is now able to perform a third action in each turn (like Arianna) and Renton has added a second purple skill-peg to his dashboard. Gak has also managed to repair all his broken equipment.
Above: Both crews head straight for the choke-point of a doorway leading to the zig-zag central corridor. Neither crew really wants to take the only alternative route via the eastern edge of the map, as it takes them straight past the main Purge entry-point on the southern side of the complex. However, Roykirk from the Saucy Sue goes that way (out of shot on the right) in order to establish an overwatch position.
Above: The Saucy Sue‘s new boy Tirgarde lollygags behind in the airlock loading bay, searching for loot. He finds a med-stim, but already has one and doesn’t have room for another, so drops it on the floor for collection later. He’s so busy that he fails to notice the Purge Devastator appear at the hatchway behind him!
Above: The Devastator immediately opens up on the hapless crewman and to everyone’s astonishment, completely misses! Tirgarde draws his pistol and whips round, dropping the Devastator with his first shot! The astonished crews immediately decide that Tirgarde will henceforth be known as ‘Lucky’.
Above: Elsewhere in the complex, a Harvester is on the hunt.
Above: The Harvester is spotted through a window by the Viscount fanatics, who put the thing down in a hail of fire.
Above: With the Viscount cultists now starting to get a bit trigger-happy and nervous about the Harvesters, it’s only a matter of time before they decide to kill their prisoner. Jace sprints into the corridor and rounding the corner, spots one of the cultists. He’s in cover, but Jace manages to gun him down. The remaining cultist ceases to be a threat soon afterwards, as she’s vaporised by a pair of Devastators.
Above: Having dealt with the cultist, the Devastators can’t see another target to engage, so go stomping around the corner to find another, where they run straight into Jace and Renton!
Above: Jace immediately takes down the first Devastator with his integral armour spiky-bits and then attacks the second, but can’t seem to land any blows. Renton then steps in and similarly can’t seem to take the monster down. At last Gak charges in with his prized possession, the Paragon Sword and cuts the Devastator in two!
Above: As Arianna appears at the cell door, Butler gets up from his bed. “Well it’s about time. I trust that chef has prepared my eggs as I like them this time? Yesterday they were overdone.”
Above: “There will be more of those here soon! We have to go now!” Arianna tries to drag him out of his cell, but the belligerent Butler is having none of it and decides to fight it out, adopting a traditional and bloody ridiculous pugilist’s stance.
Above: While Lars and Tirgarde sprint past to loot some likely-looking crates in the south-west corner of the complex, Jace runs over to take cover behind another crate near the main Purge entry-point. He may as well conduct some light larceny while he’s there and is rewarded with a nice pair of pistols.
Above: Renton, Gak and Beck take cover behind the corner of the corridor, also covering the main Purge entry-point. However, Renton spots another crate in the cell next door to Butler’s so runs off to check it out.
Above: In the next room, Roykirk establishes his overwatch position in the window, ready to cover Arianna’s and Tirgarde’s withdrawal.
Above: To the west, Lars and Tirgarde race to the loot.
Above: Whimpering and glancing fearfully around him, Butler scuttles toward safety.
Above: Arianna meanwhile, heads for the Viscounts’ command centre to retrieve the valuable data [the green token at the terminal in the top-right of the picture]. There are also two large crates in the room, but her inventory is already full with high-value items (a good pistol, a good sword and a grenade, in addition to the data) and with serious opposition starting to appear elsewhere, the crew are screaming at her on the comm to get back! With a pang of regret, she is therefore forced to rapidly exit the control-room without pausing to examine the looting possibilities.
Above: Meanwhile, a Purge Assassin appears and immediately locks on to Jace, who is still hiding behind his crate.
Above: The Assassin charges at Jace, guns blazing! The cover offered by the crate and his armour manage to save Jace from a few hits, but some energy-bolts find their mark and Jace winces in pain.
Above: A Devastator and a Harvester also appear. Immediately spotting Roykirk in the window, the Devastator fires a volley of energy-bolts to no effect.
Above: A civilian suddenly appears in the midst of the battle! Frozen in shock, he dithers in the doorway, unable to choose a direction in which to flee. In panic the civilian draws a small pistol and closing his eyes, fires blindly in the direction of the nearest enemy. To everyone’s shock, the Devastator slowly keels over, a neat hole drilled in the side of its gleaming white head.
Above: With the Assassin now at very close range, Jace blows the thing away and reaches into the crate for a med-stim. Stabbing it into his thigh, he sighs with relief as the pain recedes. Beck meanwhile, fires at the approaching Harvester without effect.
Above: Lars meanwhile, opens a crate to find a very nice stash of melee weapons, which is just what is crew needs! However, he needs to makes space in his pockets, so drops a med-stim and hopes he doesn’t need it later. Tirgarde meanwhile, is disappointed to find a crate filled with absolute rubbish. However, there isn’t time to mope about it, as he’s now the furthest from the airlock and urgently needs to get back there!
Above: Renton has taken the opportunity to search the other holding-cell and finds a few useful items, including a large med-kit and an ammo magazine.
Above: A massive wave of Purge now surges into the southern loading-bay! Jace, Beck and Roykirk have the area covered with fire, but they’re going to struggle to deal with this lot!
Above: However, there is already a distraction in play and the civilian’s horrified screams are quickly silenced as he is overwhelmed by the Purge…
Above: Jace finds himself once again targeted by an Assassin, but rather more pressingly, is jumped on by a Harvester! Jace again suffers some superficial wounds, but remains on his feet. In the meantime, Roykirk is wounded by fire from one of the Devastators, but manages to blow the scarlet monster apart with his return-shot. New-boy Beck on the other hand, sends lots of ammo down-range but can’t seem to hit a barn door.
Above: At the north end of the complex, near the Black Maria‘s airlock, another civilian appears. However, they don’t appear to be too flustered by the sounds of gunfire and the Purge rampaging through the complex.
Above: Suddenly the truth emerges, as the holo-cloak disengages and a ‘Live One’ is revealed! However, it soon disappears again…
Above: “Some help here, please?!” Jace’s problems only worsen as he completely fails to kill the Harvester, which is now joined by another Assassin! Jace is wounded once again, but somehow survives the onslaught and manages to destroy the Assassin with his axe. Beck meanwhile, finally manages to hit the Harvester. Jace stabs another med-stim into his thigh and makes a run for where Roykirk is emplaced.
Above: However, Jace is wounded almost immediately by yet another Harvester attack! Jace picks up yet another med-stim that Roykirk has dropped and stabs it into his now-perforated thigh. He’s now starting to feel a bit woozy… “So I’ve had a few too many wossnames… med-skins… medestim… med-stims… That was it. So what? I can handle it… Can’t I? Alright Roykirk, mate? I bloody loves you, mate…”
Above: As Butler runs past screaming in terror, more Harvesters attack! Beck, Jace and Roykirk have to hold the line long enough for Arianna, Lars, Renton and Tirgarde to return from their foraging expedition. Gak meanwhile, has already withdrawn to cover the line of retreat back to the airlocks.
Above: Suddenly the ‘Live One’ reappears next to the Saucy Sue! Roykirk, in the middle of a firefight, receives an urgent message on the comm from the Saucy Sue’s automated defences. “Thank you <insert name here> for choosing Acme Automatic Airlock Defences. We hope this product gives you years of satisfying maiming. You have <2> new messages: Message 1. You have not yet registered your product warranty. Would you like to register now? Y/N?”
Above: Back at the Saucy Sue, the Live One is most surprised as a pair of tri-barrelled rotary heavy plasma guns pop out of previously-unnoticed hatches on either side of the airlock. There is a brief blizzard of fire and the Live One is reduced to a light coating on all the surfaces of the docking-bay. “The crew can’t come to the hatch right now. Thank you for calling and please have a nice day.”
Above: Although he achieved it remotely via the ship’s automated defences, Roykirk feels no shame in claiming his reward for killing a Live One: a bonus Career-Point.
Above: The Black Maria‘s automated defences meanwhile, have also claimed a scalp, in the form of yet another Assassin!
Above: At last, Butler, Arianna, Renton and Lars have all passed the rearguard and are heading for the airlocks, but where is Tirgarde?
Above: Gak meanwhile, is hacking his way through some more Harvesters as he clears a path back to the docking-bay.
Above: Jace is attacked by yet another Harvester, who seems to have been programmed by Bruce Lee. Jace only survives by the skin of his teeth and is revived by Roykirk, who very kindly stabs him with his own med-stim. “Whoops! Thanks Mrs Miggins! And here comes an artichoke!” 
Above: The latest attacker is dropped by Beck, whose shooting skills are getting better, though he is burning through an enormous quantity of the Black Maria crew’s reserve ammo. To everyone’s surprise, a large group of civilians suddenly appears at the southern entry point. “Hello?! Has anyone seen our tour-guide?!” It seems that a group of ‘danger-tourists’, who had come here for the thrills and to see the Purge up close, have become detached from their tour… Just the distraction the crews need to get away…
Above: At long-last, Tirgarde re-appears and sprints past Beck, heading for the docking-bay. It’s finally time to go! Beck runs over to Jace, “I’m just a lost little sheep who has lost my way, baa, baa, baa…”
Above: As Beck and Roykirk lead the rambling Jace back to the ship, another Assassin appears! Assassins are programmed to lock on to leaders, but Jace has thankfully been led away by Beck.
Above: The Assassin instead locks onto Tirgarde, who his running away as fast as his fashion-victim white shoes will carry him!
Above: Back at the southern entry-point, the Purge have arrived and drag the tourists away screaming to their grisly fate.
Above: With the tourists overwhelmed, a horde of Purge run off in pursuit of the crews. However, they now have a good head-start on the alien horrors.
Above: The Assassin hurtles round the corner, but Tirgarde has diappeared.
Above: However, the Assassin is now clearly visible to Arianna, Gak, Roykirk, Renton and the Saucy Sue‘s automated defences and swiftly disintegrates in a hail of fire!
Above: Lars and Renton have almost reached the airlock, but pause to cover Beck and Jace as they catch up. There are a couple of Purge entry-points nearby and they don’t want to lose crew-members now to last-minute surprises.
Above: However, the Purge now all seem to be pouring through the southern entry-point. Five Harvesters and an Assassin are swarming up the central corridor.
Above: Two Devastators meanwhile, have finally finished off the last tourist and are advancing through the eastern wing of the complex.
Above: At last, the crew of the Black Maria is concentrated and they bundle the giggling Jace into the ship.
Above: Meanwhile, at the Saucy Sue, the crew have arrived at the airlock-hatch along with Butler.
Above: The scores on the doors at the end of the mission. All crew-members have managed to make it back to their respective ships in full health, though in Jace’s case that was only achieved through the ingestion of truly heroic quantities of drugs. The crew of the Saucy Sue have managed to escort Butler back to their ship and Arianna even managed to retrieve the data-drive as a secondary objective. Roykirk also managed to find a stash of credits, so the crew of the Saucy Sue are massively quids-in on this occasion. Gak also managed to find a shield-belt and has therefore passed his old shield-pod on to Tirgarde.
Our old club-deserter Jase was back in town from New Zealand recently and naturally, we agreed that we’d try to have a game in between his holiday and family commitments. The only available day was 4th July, so it was somewhat inevitable that we’d end up commemorating Ungrateful Colonial Treasonous Tax-Dodgers’ Day with an American War of Independence game, particularly as Jase left me with his own AWI collection when he had to flee to New Zealand (he doesn’t like to talk about it and it was never proved, anyway…).
So this is an interesting little battle and modest in size, so easy to do in a single day. However, in trying to translate this engagement on to the tabletop, there are some ‘issues’ with Brendan’s scenario map. Something was clearly lost in translation between Brendan and whoever did the graphical version for the scenario book. I just couldn’t understand the map, so in frustration I went for a good Bonk. Nothing beats a good Bonk and David C. Bonk’s Atlas of the American Revolution was just what I needed to enable me to draw my own map. I must confess however, that the vertical scale of the map is compressed by approximately 20%; the table is 8′ x 6′, but should be more like 10′ x 6′ to fit all these features on the table; it’s a long, rather narrow battlefield. Note that the north (right-hand) edge of the map is delineated by the shoreline of the Hudson River and the southern (left-hand) edge of the map follows the line of the densely-wooded scarp, where the heights drop down to the plain.
Above: Our table, for once orientated with the map. You’ll notice that because I don’t have any suitable fences, I’ve used hedgerows to mark the fields. Kirk very kindly provided the buildings and the white picket fence around the orchard. However, the sharp-eyed will also notice that a couple of the map-features are not quite where they should be and one field at the top of the map is missing entirely (this would be added mid-game)! 🙂
Above: Nixon’s Continentals advance into the Hollow Way, where Crary’s Volunteers are getting the worst of the battle with the 2nd & 3rd Light Infantry Battalions, who have deployed into skirmish-order. Of Nixon’s Continentals, the two regiments (9th & 11th) from Rhode Island are rated as ‘Line’ along with Crary’s Volunteers, while the three Massachusetts regiments (4th, 12th & 23rd) are rated as ‘2nd Line’. The Rhode Islanders are deployed on the flanks.
Above: Nixon’s line is becoming rather ragged as he advances to contact. The Marylander 12th Continentals here are lagging well behind the Rhode Islander 11th Continentals on the left and have already suffered some considerable disorder even before reaching the bad terrain and enemy.
Above: George Washington observes the opening stages of the battle from Rocky Point.
Above: Knowlton’s Rangers trot out on the far left flank, aiming for the bridge at Hoaglandt’s Farm, in an effort to disrupt any British reinforcements coming down the Bloomingdale Road. On their right Leitsch’s Virginia Riflemen engage the right flank of the 2nd Light Infantry.
Above: Knowlton doesn’t have long to wait, as Lt Col Thomas Stirling’s 42nd Royal Highlanders soon appear at the bridge.
Above: One of the Highlander Light Company officers points out the approaching danger posed by Knowlton’s Rangers. Lt Col Stirling on this occasion has eschewed Highland dress for something a little more practical.
Above: Major General Leslie looks on as the 2nd Light Infantry deploy into skirmish order. The battalion’s right wing has suddenly come under fire from Leitsch’s Virginian Rifles and turns about to engage the ambushers. [Again, British Light Infantry would normally be classed as ‘Elite’ in most scenarios, but here Brendan has classed them as ‘Line’ due to a mixture of their historical over-confidence and the near-complete lack of direction and leadership shown by Leslie on the day (who is rated ‘Poor’)]
Above: The return-fire from the British skirmishers is devastating; Leitsch is killed along with around a quarter of his men and the unit flees back into the woods of the Morningside Heights!
Above: Nixon urges his brigade on into the fields and damn the consequences! “But shouldn’t we pause to re-order our ranks, sir?” “Ranks?! You let me worry about ranks! On to New York! Hurrah!”
Above: The 9th Continentals on the right flank of Nixon’s brigade don’t fancy getting their britches wet in Martye Davit’s Flye, so re-deploy to the left flank.
Above: Ignoring the crack of rifle-bullets from Knowlton’s Rangers, the 42nd press on over the stream.
Above: Nixon’s brigade has for the most part, successfully negotiated the first field and the swamp of Martye Davit’s Flye, but is in considerable disorder. The swarms of British skirmishers are now starting to pick off the rebels as they desperately attempt to dress their ranks.
Above: The 23rd Continentals steadily push the skirmishers of the 3rd Light Infantry back off the wooded Claremont Hill, but are suffering a steady trickle of casualties.
Above: As the 1st Battalion of the 42nd Highlanders deploys in the buckwheat field, Stirling shouts across to Leslie, “The 42nd are here, Sir! Rally on us!”
Above: The 2nd Battalion of the 42nd marches to form up on the right of the 1st Battalion, followed by the section of manhandled 3-pounders. Knowlton’s Rangers, disheartened by the disappearance of the Virginian Rifles on the right, have pulled back into the woods, so the Highlanders and Royal Artillery carry out their deployment unmolested.
Above: More ‘British’ reinforcements arrive at the Jones House. As General Howe watches from the heights on the left of the picture, Colonel Emil von Donop marches past with the Hesse-Cassel ‘Von Linsing’ Grenadier Battalion and the Feldjäger-Corps.
Above: Another view of Emil von Donop and his Hessian grenadiers. In the actual battle, Donop had armed himself with a Jäger rifle and, having spotted a Virginian rifleman taking aim at him, he quickly drew the rifle and snap-shot, shooting the rifleman dead!
Above: With Leitsch dead and the Virginian Riflemen having fled the field, Knowlton thankfully manages to halt the retreat of his Rangers.
Above: It will take some time to restore the Rangers’ confidence, but Knowlton remains determined to re-engage the enemy.
Above: Having cleared the Light Infantry from the first field and Claremont Hill, Nixon, instead of pausing to re-dress his ranks, instead pushes on with maximum aggression! “On! On to New York! Hurrah!”
Above: At the buckwheat field in Nixon’s centre, the 12th Continentals soon become embroiled in a bitter short-range firefight with the 1st Battalion of the 42nd and the rebels quickly get the worst of it.
Above: On Nixon’s left, Crary’s Volunteers are forced to fall back to reorganise, leaving the 11th Continentals to face a storm of skirmisher fire. Worse is to come as the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd and the 3-pounder detachment deploy behind the skirmish-screen.
Above: However, as the rebel attack begins to stall, reinforcements arrive!
Above: Brigadier General Paul Sargent’s brigade is on the right flank and consists of Ward’s Continental Regiment from Connecticut [here represented by the riflemen in hunting-shirts] and the Marylanders of the 16th Continentals [I actually have this regiment, dressed in green coats with black facings, in my collection]. Both regiments are classed as ‘2nd Line’.
Above: On the left, Washington’s aide-de-camp, Colonel Joseph Reed, has formed an ad hoc brigade from various unattached units; Weedon’s Regiment of Virginian Continentals [rated as ‘Line’ and here represented by the red-coated unit], the Connecticut 5th State Levy Regiment [rated ‘2nd Line’ and represented by the grey-coated unit], a Battalion of Detachments [the large unit in hunting-shirts, rated ‘Militia’] and a section of Continental Artillery, armed with 6-pounders.
Above: While Sargent’s brigade supports the right flank at Claremont Hill, Reed’s brigade marches to the left flank.
Above: General Washington rides over to Morningside Heights and gives fresh heart to Knowlton’s Rangers.
Above: Screened by the 2nd Light Infantry, the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd and the 3-pounder section deploy on the British right flank.
Above: Nixon’s right wing is close to collapse, though Reed arrives in the nick of time with Weedon’s Regiment and the 6-pounders.
Above: Their fighting-spirit restored, Knowlton’s Rangers advance to the edge of the woodland and rejoin the fight.
Above: As if the British didn’t already have enough skirmishers, the Hessian Feldjäger arrive at the head of Von Donop’s column. Howe directs Donop to take post on the left flank, between the buckwheat field and the Hudson River.
Above: More British reinforcements arrive in the form of Major General Earl Cornwallis and his own regiment, the 33rd Foot. Many regard this regiment as the finest infantry regiment in North America, if not the British Army [and is therefore rated ‘Elite’].
Above: Nixon’s brigade has marched straight into a firestorm and staggers to a halt in the face of the British firepower. The Marylanders of the 12th Continentals are first to break, being pounded by the disciplined, close-range volleys of the 1st Battalion of the 42nd Highlanders. However, they manage to rally behind the 9th Continentals. Then, as the British skirmishers fall back, the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd pour fire into the 11th Continentals. The Rhode Islanders’ misery is compounded by whiffs of canister fire from the newly-arrived section of 3-pounders. Nixon rides over to steady them, but the fire reaches a fresh crescendo as the 3-pounders find the range. [i.e. The British rolled the dreaded double-six…]
Above: Nixon’s martial ardour is suddenly cooled by the horror around him! The 11th Continentals are completely crushed by fire and the pitiful, bloodied survivors stagger back to the relative safety of the following battalions. Horrified, Nixon spurs his horse and flees from the field, shouting at men to run for their lives! Nixon would eventually be found hiding in a tavern and after a brief court-martial would be shot in front of the army.
Above: As the Feldjäger struggle to find a gap in the skirmish-line in which to insert themselves, the magnificent ‘Von Linsing’ Grenadiers (consisting mainly of companies drawn from the Hessian Foot Guards) deploy into line behind them as if on the parade-ground.
Above: Although they have the high-ground, the 4th Continentals don’t much fancy their chances…
Above: As the first line breaks and falls back, a new line forms along the line of the fields, consisting of two good Continental regiments, the 9th and Weedon’s, along with the Continental 6-pounders.
Above: As Reed’s brigade, led by the large Battalion of detachments, marches to the left flank, Washington rides over to steady Nixon’s shaken brigade.
Above: Although massively outnumbered, Knowlton’s Rangers, holding the wooded crest of the Morningside Heights, hold their own against the 2nd Light Infantry and successfully keep them out of the main battle being fought at the buckwheat field.
Above: Weedon’s Regiment immediately attracts a heavy amount of fire from the British lines (perhaps they’re angered by the looted red coats?), but Reed rides over to steady them and the Continental 6-pounders repay the compliment, successfully suppressing the Royal Artillery for a time.
Above: Crary’s Volunteers once again are forced to fall back behind friendly lines to rally.
Above: Washington rides the lines to the cheers of his Continentals. However, despite the arrival of General Greene to take direct command of Nixon’s men, their morale is extremely fragile.
Above: Meanwhile, even more rebel reinforcements arrive in the form of Major General Rezen Beall’s amusingly-named ‘Flying Camp’. This large formation of Maryland Militia battalions moves into a reserve position on the wooded ridge of Rocky Point.
Above: Greene arrives to take direct command of Nixon’s command. He quickly realises that he needs some means to counter the strong British skirmish-line, so sets to work in rallying Crary’s Volunteers.
Above: Seeing the rebel lines wavering, Howe sends new orders to Emil von Donop; he is to attack at once, to seize Claremont Hill and from there roll up the rebel right flank.
Above: The centre of the battlefield settles down into a desultory long-range firefight. Stirling waits to see what develops, but if the Hessians are successful, he will take the 42nd forward in a supporting attack.
Above: In Washington’s centre, the Continentals exchange fairly ineffective long-range musketry with the 42nd Highlanders and wait nervously to see what happens next.
Above: Having rallied Crary’s Volunteers, Reed rides over to steady Weedon’s Regiment, which has been under constant 3-pounder canister fire since they moved into the line. However, both sides have to confess that they’re a little bit disappointed and relieved in equal measure, with how little effect the tiny artillery contingents are having on the course of the battle.
Above: The 4th Continentals on Claremont Hill, wait nervously as the Hessian grenadiers cross the valley. As the rippling wall of bayonets closes with the Continentals fire a ragged volley but fire high, causing no damage whatsoever to the seemingly-unstoppable wall of Hessians!
Above: At last, the Hessians charge their bayonets and advance up the slope to close with the 4th Continentals!
Above: In the distance, a truly magnificent sight can be seen snaking along the Bloomingdale Road; Major General Sir John Vaughan’s Grenadier Brigade.
Above: Vaughan’s brigade consists of four battalions of grenadiers, the fur-capped elite of Howe’s infantry. [The 1st to 3rd Grenadier Battalions are classed as ‘Elite’, but the 4th (Highland) Grenadier Battalion is suffering from various issues, so is classed as ‘Line’]
Above: Cornwallis’ 33rd Foot continue their march to outflank Knowlton.
Above: The 2nd Light Infantry are still locked in a desultory firefight with Knowlton. Knowlton isn’t doing much damage, but he is successfully keeping one of Howe’s largest battalions busy.
Above: At last, Reed’s Battalion of Detachments deploys into line on the left flank. However, they are extremely disordered, so will need to dress their ranks and round up the stragglers before they can even contemplate advancing. Reed rides over to assist in the task.
Above: The Connecticut 5th State Levy follow Reed, planning to also form up on the left of the army and threaten the British right flank.
Above: Rezen’s ‘Flying Camp’ arrives on the Rocky Point Heights.
Above: The 4th Continentals never really stood a chance against the ‘Von Linsing’ Grenadiers and are slaughtered. The remnants flee for their lives through the line of Ward’s Regiment. Brigadier General Sargent attempts to steady them, but the Hessians are continuing to advance, seemingly without breaking step!
Above: The defeat of the 4th Continentals has severe consequences for Washington’s army! First, the 16th Continentals of Sargent’s brigade break and run without even seeing the enemy! Sargent manages to hold Ward’s Regiment in its position, but Greene completely loses control of the shattered remnants of Nixon’s brigade; the 9th, 12th and 23rd Continentals, as well as Crary’s Volunteers, all fall back to the Hollow Way, while the broken 4th Continentals flee the field completely!
Above: Even Washington’s personal example couldn’t keep the shattered Continentals in the line and he suddenly finds himself very vulnerable, alone on Claremont Hill!
Above: As Von Donop’s grenadiers crest the hill, General Sargent suddenly finds that he has urgent business to attend to in the rear… He claims that he has to try to rally the 16th Continentals, but Colonel Ward isn’t convinced. Unlike their comrades of the 4th Continentals, Ward’s Regiment waits calmly and then delivers an effective volley, which drops many Hessians.
Above: However, the Hessians are unmoved and as they level their bayonets for the second time, Ward’s Regiment breaks and runs for safety!
Above: The British Grenadiers continue their march past Hoaglandt’s Farm. The column seems to stretch for miles!
Above: As they approach the battle, they grenadiers can see some desultory skirmishing on the Morningside Heights, but the main action is happening beyond the hills in front of them.
Above: Earl Cornwallis and the 33rd Foot finally reach the Vandewaters House and continue their march around the Morningside Heights.
Above: On their left, the seemingly never-ending firefight between Knowlton’s Rangers and the 2nd Light Infantry continues.
Above: Rezen’s ‘Flying Camp’ have finally reached the Rocky Point Redoubt and form a line along the wooded ridge.
Above: Greene manages to rally the remaining units of Nixon’s broken Continental brigade, but he now receives new orders to retreat to prepared fortifications. Washington has conceded defeat.
Above: With their front now largely clear of the enemy, the 1st Battalion of the 42nd Highlanders advance from the buckwheat field, screened by the Hessian Jäger.
Above: Stirling watches as his ‘Devils in Skirts’ advance.
Above: Not to be outdone, the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd dress their ranks and prepare to join the advance once the gunners cease fire.
Above: As the Continental Artillery frantically limber their 6-pounders, Weedon’s Regiment waits nervously for the gunners to complete their work. Reed’s attempted flank-attack has been called off and his brigade will now form the rearguard for the entire army.
Above: The layout of this section of the Canis Major is far more open-plan than the claustrophobic corridors encountered at the Hive Station last time. This will allow a fast infiltration and exfiltration, but will give wide lines of sight and few places to hide from the Purge. The two crews both start in the north-west corner of the map, while the objective is in the south-east corner (I’ve decided to arbitrarily designate compass-directions, as it makes it easier to explain where things are). The Purge have the usual six potential entry-points, though these are grouped in pairs in the south, east and north.
Above: The character dashboards for the crews of the Black Maria (top row) and Saucy Sue (bottom row). Most of the characters have now added quite a few career points and extra skills (the red marker-dots) and even Jace, with his endless run of bad luck, has now managed to add a career-point, thanks to his killing of a Purge Live One during the last mission. All characters now have pretty decent firearms and melee weapons (or an innate melee skill) and Arianna even has a grenade. Lars however, with neither a melee weapon or innate melee skill, picks up a cheap combat knife before disembarking from the Black Maria (all characters also add a med-stim to their inventory before disembarking).
Above: Mr Giger has cunningly hidden the antique revolver in the cistern of his old shop’s staff toilet.
Above: The two ships dock with the Canis Major and the crews prepare to board; the Black Maria on the left and the Saucy Sue on the right. The plan here is straightforward; race to the objective as fast as possible and then get the hell out before the Purge get too active (same as always)!
Above: Some civilians are still aboard the derelict, but there are also some Purge Harvesters hunting for victims.
Above: This Harvester has locked onto a civilian girl in Giger’s old shop.
Above: Jace and Renton quickly sprint across the wide open central space, leaving Lars to search the immediate vicinity of the airlock and defend their exfil route. However, an armed civilian (a reptilian Pon) suddenly appears and in panic, fires at Jace! Thankfully, Jace’s armour stops the low-powered round. As Jace and Renton turn round with weapons levelled, the Pon grins sheepishly and raises his hands. “Sorry…”
Above: The crew of the Saucy Sue meanwhile, have raced down the western side-corridor and dive through a small hatch into the main central area. Roykirk however, takes his time, searching the rooms as he goes [each magnifying glass marker shows that a room has been searched].
Above: “CONTACT!” Two Purge Devastators suddenly appear at the northern entry-point, right next to the now extremely-alarmed Pon! With Jace and Renton out in the open, this represents a massive threat!
Above: Both crews had hoped to get to the objective without too much gunplay, but there doesn’t now seem to be much option!
Above: However, Lars is an extremely capable hacker and quickly uses his innate Level 2 Hacking skill [the green lightning-bolt icon with two dots shown on his character board] to silently take down both Devastators. However, he won’t be able to do that again…
Above: Although she needs to get to the objective as fast as possible, there are several Purge Harvesters near the objective and Arianna is in danger of out-running her supporting crewmen. She therefore pauses to wait for her support to catch up and takes the opportunity to have a peek in a large crate. Sadly, the loot is disappointingly poor.
Above: A couple of Harvesters close in. However, the crews still want to avoid gunfire if at all possible. Arianna draws her sword. “OK lads, you might want to stand back a bit.”
Above: At the end of the hall, they hear screams as a Harvester finds an unfortunate civilian.
Above: Arianna springs forward, decapitating the first Harvester with her sword!
Above: Charging onward, she cuts down the second Harvester with ease. “Thanks for clearing the way, Arianna!” With Arianna otherwise occupied, the grinning Jace, immediately sprints for the doorway to Giger’s Emporium.
Above: More trouble soon arrives in the form of a Devastator at the southern entrance.
Above: A swarm of Harvesters also appear at the northern entrance. They quickly overwhelm the Pon and carry him off to a grisly fate (the Pon drops a rather valuable pistol on the floor).
Above: Gak and Roykirk take cover as the Devastator lays down a blistering wall of fire.
Above: The local civvies clearly don’t like the look of Jace as another one takes one look at him and immediately opens fire! This time a round bypasses Jace’s armour, inflicting a wound!
Above: Having inflicted first blood, the girl immediately flees and hides in the toilet alongside Giger’s hidden pistol.
Above: Roykirk takes down the nearest Harvester with a well-thrown knife. However, the Devastator’s fire is proving rather effective and despite his armour and the cover afforded by the machinery, he is starting to accumulate wounds. Gak decides to return fire, but fails to drop the Devastator.
Above: Jace runs into the toilet and quickly locates the hidden pistol. He tries to persuade the terrified girl to come with him, but she just cowers in the corner. “Well I tried. It’s your funeral.” Jace turns and runs back out of the door, shouting into the comm, “Objective secured! We are leaving!”
Above: With Jace clearly going to to get to the objective first, Arianna runs back to cover her crewmates as they quickly search the lace for loot before extracting back to the Saucy Sue. However, Roykirk is still pinned down by the Devastator and the northern group of Harvesters has just appeared at the door.
Above: Without any immediately obvious threat in Giger’s Emporium, Renton takes the opportunity to loot the place and finds some high-value items, along with a rather nice pistol. “Sweet.”
Above: The seemingly-unkillable Devastator continues to provide covering fire for the Harvesters. To make matters worse for the crew of the Saucy Sue, a second Devastator now appears at the northern entrance, creating a cross-fire!
Above: Gak has taken the opportunity to search a crate and finds some superb loot; the Paragon Sword (a rare item and just the tool for such a close-combat specialist) and a frag grenade. In order to make space in his pockets, he drops his med-stim. Roykirk similarly drops a med-stim in order to make room for his recovered knife and some loot… This might not prove to be their best decision of the day…
Above: Jace and Renton rapidly exit Giger’s Emporium! They now need to link up with Lars and get the hell out of here!
Above: A seemingly endless stream of Harvesters is now bearing down on the crew of the Saucy Sue from all sides! Gak decides that discretion is the better form of valour and quickly dons his shield-pod.
Above: Throwing caution to the wind, the crew of the Saucy Sue now lay down a withering hail of fire, but all to no effect! “What the f@*& is wrong with our guns?!” 
Above: Roykirk and Arianna are both attacked and wounded by Harvesters, but are still standing. Gak manages to shoot down another Harvester as it charges toward Roykirk, but his pistol then jams! As Roykirk attempts to strike back, his knife breaks on his assailant’s armour! Arianna kills her attacker and then charges in to save Roykirk!
Above: Jace and Renton are making good their escape via the eastern side of the map, where there is no Purge presence. With the sounds of battle and screams behind them, Renton stops and turns to Jace. “You’ve still got a med-stim on you, yeah…?” They look at each other for a moment… “Ah, bollocks to it…” Against their better judgement, they run back into the fight!
Above: As they turn the corner, they see Arianna on the floor and Roykirk fighting off two Harvesters. Roykirk manages to drop one and Gak charges in to rip the second one apart! Renton runs around the corner and spots a third Harvester, who he quickly drops with a well-aimed shot! However, the Devastator and the Assassin now takes aim at Roykirk, who goes down in a hail of fire! Things are starting to look very bad indeed for the crew of the Saucy Sue.
Above: Gak can’t hope to carry both of his crewmates back to the airlock, so his only hope is to retrieve the dropped med-stims and try to recover them sufficiently for them to get back to the ship under their own steam. However, the Assassin and another gaggle of Harvesters are charging towards him… Then he remembers the grenade he found earlier…
Above: The grenade detonates with a satisfying BOOM and cuts down the two Harvesters. However, the Assassin is still standing and is now rather annoyed.
Above: The Assassin hasn’t yet spotted Jace. If it had, the Assassin would have immediately identified Jace as a captain and targeted him for immediate termination. Instead, the Assassin charges around the corner and launches a furious assault on Gak!
Above: Gak is grievously wounded by the Assassin’s attack, being only saved by his shield-pod, but summoning all his reserves of strength, the Gak strikes back with a flurry of blows from his newly-acquired Paragon Sword! The Assassin is simply cut to pieces, but Gak’s valuable sword is broken in the process. Gak quickly collects the med-stims as yet more Harvesters appear at the doorway. A volley of fire from Jace, Renton and Arianna soon deals with the new threats.
Above: At the northern end of the map, Lars and some civilians have been distracting the Purge.
Above: However, on the eastern side of the map, another Assassin appears, while at the southern entrance, yet another Devastator appears and a civilian reveals himself to be that most dangerous of enemies; a ‘Live One’! Thankfully, Gak has now revived Roykirk and the two crews are now running as fast as they can toward the airlocks!
Above: An unfortunate civilian serves as distraction for the ‘Live One’. As tragic as this is, the civilians buy time for the crews to put distance between themselves and the Purge.
Above: Now completely out of sight of the Purge, the badly-wounded crew of the Saucy Sue make good their escape via the western corridor as Jace and Renton provide the rearguard. Lars has already made it back to the Black Maria, whose newly-installed defences vaporise a curious Harvester.
Above: With all the civilians hunted down, the Purge wonder where the raiders went…
Above: The crew of the Saucy Sue are safely back on board by the skin of their teeth, all thanks to the generosity of the crew of the Black Maria! They most definitely owe Jace, Renton and Lars a drink at Chatsubo’s.
Above: Suitably smug, having made it back aboard for the first time during this campaign, Jace disengages the docking-clamps and congratulates his crew on a job well done! Not only have they all got away safely (except for Lars, who has suffered some wounds), they’ve retrieved the antique pistol and a pile of valuable loot.
Above: The Scores on the Doors at the end of Mission 4: The crew of the Saucy Sue (bottom row) were hanging on by a thread at the end of that mission, having all suffered wounds and burned through every med-stim that could be found! Roykirk also finished with a broken energy knife, while Gak had broken or jammed everything he owned (the upside-down pistol token shows that it’s jammed, while the flipped sword and shield pod show that they’re broken and in need of repair)! The only loot recovered is an ammo magazine found by Roykirk.
Above: The character dashboards for the crews of the Black Maria (top row) and the Saucy Sue (bottom row). The Saucy Sue has already seen a fair bit of action, so Arianna and Roykirk have already added a fair few career-points and skills. Renton of the Black Maria has also added a few skills, but Jace has thus far had a run of bad luck, each time falling in combat and forcing him to use the dreaded emergency teleport (the last time being teleported to the wrong ship, resulting in embarrassment and a ransom). This means that he has yet to collect any career-points or extra skills.
Above: The route from the airlocks to Chatsubo’s Bar is a very long and convoluted one! With the Purge threat rapidly increasing, both crews plan to get to the objective as fast as possible, with MINIMUM looting along the way! There’s a lot of distance to cover and not much time to do it in. When the Purge eventually arrive, there are six possible entry-points – two are at the top of the map, at the end of the large corridor and next to the entrance to Chatsubo’s Bar; that is going to be problematic. One more is at the bottom of the map and another is at the bottom-right corner of the map. Two more entry-points are on the left of the map, between the Saucy Sue and the Black Maria.
Above: One of the locals is still at work in his shop, wondering where all his customers have gone. He clearly hasn’t got the message.
Above: Similarly, Station Sanitary Orderly 3rd Class Treva Rimmer is completely oblivious to the Purge attack and is responding to a report of a suspected Quell-turd blocking the U-bend. “I’m too good for this. I could have been an officer…”
Above: Gak and Lars meanwhile, are at Chatsubo’s. The rest of the clientele have cleared out but they sit tight in Chatsubo’s, have a pint and wait for all this to blow over.
Above: The Saucy Sue‘s airlock cycles and the hatch opens with the traditional hiss*. Arianna bursts out and takes off at a sprint, leaving Roykirk puffing in her wake. Nevertheless, Arianna spots some low-value loot lying in the corner and makes a mental note to perhaps pick it up on her way back if she’s found nothing better by then.
Above: Jace and Renton similarly make their exit from the Black Maria.
Above: Treva suddenly gets panicked by all the people running past and asks Roykirk what’s happening. Having had the situation explained to him, Treva readily forgets all dreams of commissioning to the station leadership and agrees to hand over whatever credits he has to pay for his passage off the doomed station.
Above: Treva makes straight for the Saucy Sue‘s airlock, which is a very short distance away. As an added bonus, he brings with him a case of ship parts, which will greatly reduce the costs of ship-repairs after the mission.
Above: But no sooner has Treva cleared off, than a Purge Harvester (the creepy beige skeletal robot-footsoldiers of the Purge), attracted by the sounds of Arianna frantically rummaging for loot, suddenly appears from an access hatch! Harvesters aren’t all that quick and don’t have ranged weaponry, but they are armoured, are pretty good in a close fight and often make up for their shortcomings with sheer numbers.
Above: Gunfire will attract more Purge, so Roykirk expertly throws his knife at the Harvester for the silent-kill! There’s a satisfying ‘thunk’, followed by a pause as the Harvester stands there, looking baffled and going cross-eyed as the knife sticks, shuddering in the centre of it’s armoured face-mask, having otherwise done no damage whatsoever… “Ah, well. Some you win…” Roykirk shrugs, pulls out his pistol and blows off the Harvester’s head.
Above: Arianna meanwhile, dives around the corner and bumps straight into Jace from the Black Maria. Arianna laughs, “You again…? I’m glad to see you survived our last meeting. Sorry we had to leave you behind in a pool of your own fluids. Did all of your bits get teleported to the same place this time?” Jace tries to ignore her and maintain his dignity as he hears Renton laughing behind him…
Above: Meanwhile, near Chatsubo’s Bar, more Purge Harvesters appear. Panicked civilians flee for their lives! With civilians in front of them, the Purge ignore the bar for now. Well, it’s not a Harvester bar, after all…
Above: More Purge arrive at the same entrance; another Harvester and a new class of menace; a Devastator. Scanning to their left, they notice movement through the windows.
Above: In Chatsubo’s, Lars has unwisely chosen this moment to move out of cover and is spotted by the Devastator! The Devastator is designed for ranged combat and lets Lars have it with both barrels! Lars is seriously wounded, but not down and makes it to cover.
Above: Hearing the unmistakable sound of a Devastator’s energy-beams, Arianna and Jace race to save their friends. Renton follows behind, having briefly stopped to persuade Gan’eek to get to the airlock.
Above: Spotting Gak through the window of the bar, Arianna runs over and manages to attract his attention [in scenario terms, Gak now becomes active as one of the crew]. She throws him her spare pistol and Gak quickly rummages through a nearby crate, successfully recovering some more useful kit, including an ammo magazine and a med-stim. However, Arianna can’t stop to chat, as two Harvesters have just appeared at the doorway, pursuing the orange-haired civilian!
Above: In the meantime, the shopkeeper Gan’eek, who had been persuaded by Renton to make his way to the Black Maria, suddenly realises that he hasn’t personally seen any Purge… The MSM have been trying to make everyone worried about this thing called the ‘Purge’, but he’s never seen one and it’s probably all a hoax. All those supposed exterminated worlds, such as the Quell homeworld, are probably just paid crisis-actors… Muttering about ‘shills’ and ‘sheeple’, he wanders back to his shop.
Above: With Arianna and Jace engaging Harvesters and panicked civilians to their front, another Harvester appears behind them!
Above: Renton takes the shot, but misses. His weapon then jams with the second shot! He’s going to have to find himself a better gun…
Above: Yet another civilian appears; this one belonging to the reptilian Pon race. However, Renton doesn’t have time to make friends!
Above: With the Harvester almost upon Renton, who has still not cleared his jammed weapon, the Pon calmly calls across to ask if he might be of assistance… “Yes! F@&£ing shoot that thing!” The alien pulls out a small pistol, calmly takes aim and blows the Harvester apart. “Greetings Human. My name is Ooma. May I ask a small favour? I would very much appreciate passage off this station, which appears to be about to be Purged and which would be most disagreeable.” “Er, yeah mate. No prob. The airlock’s that way. Go in and get a brew on.”
Above: Meanwhile, at the main corridor leading to Chatsubo’s, Roykirk has managed to shoot down one of the Harvesters through a side-window. However, two are still coming and have their beady little red eyes fixed on the fleeing civilian. Arianna shouts to the orange-haired civilian and tells him to get to the airlock. He nods in acknowledgement, but doesn’t say anything as he runs on down the corridor.
Above: Jace is unable to fire with Arianna and the civilian in the way, but Arianna just charges in, cutting down one Harvester with her sword. In an effort to save ammo, she throws the sword at the second Harvester who folds up with the sword embedded in its torso.
Above: Having retrieved Arianna’s pistol and some more gear from a handy crate, Gak heads for the bar’s main entrance, only to encounter a bunch of Purge coming in! One Devastator is already up close and personal, so Gak lets fly with his fists. Perhaps Gak has broken a nail or something, but his attack has absolutely no effect! The Devastator, trying to use his beam-projectors as clubs, similarly has little effect on Gak, but this pathetic display of unarmed combat is cut short by the second Devastator, who lets Gak have it at point-blank range! Gak falls to the floor in a smoking heap (and not for the first time in Chatsubo’s).
Above: Gan’eek’s conspiracy theories have a cold, hard clash with reality as a Harvester rounds the corner and immediately attacks him! Astonishingly, the Harvester completely fluffs his attack and Gan’eek runs off screaming.
Above: With Arianna and Roykirk having dealt with the Harvesters in the corridor, Jace sprints to Chatsubo’s!
Above: Rounding the corner into the bar, Jace immediately spots Lars cowering in a corner and shouts at him to take down one of the Devastators as he brings an axe down onto the back of the first Devastator’s head.
Above: Roykirk meanwhile, responding to Gan’eek’s screams, again tries his hand at knife-throwing, this time with better luck as he takes down the Harvester.
Above: At Chatsubo’s Bar, Lars uses his tech skills to jam the remaining Devastator’s systems, preventing it from making any more attacks for the time being. He then runs over to a nearby crate and is overjoyed to find a good gun, a magazine and a med-stim, which he immediately uses to patch up his wounds.
Above: Renton meanwhile, had been firing through the window into the bar, trying unsuccessfully to take down the Devastators attacking Gak. As Jace and Lars now have the situation in hand, he pauses to rummage through a crate, finding a very nice pistol and an enormous pile of cash. His pockets are already pretty full, so he takes the greater part of it and drops the rest for someone to hopefully pick up later. However, a Devastator appears from nowhere and immediately opens fire! The shields on his fancy coat take some of the hits before shutting down and the underlying armour absorbs some more damage, but Renton is seriously wounded. Nevertheless, he calmly takes aim with his nice new pistol and blows the Devastator away before injecting a med-stim to take the edge off. “‘Wanker…”
Above: Before he’s had a chance to retrieve his thrown knife, Roykirk encounters yet another Harvester! His ammo is running low, but having thrown his knife away, he’s got no option but to open fire. Thankfully his rifle is designed for close-range ‘spray & pray’ and is therefore rather effective at such close-quarters, so the Harvester is blown to pieces. With the Harvester down, Roykirk quickly advances to retrieve his knife and a previously-dropped magazine.
Above: In the main corridor outside Chatsubo’s, a deadly new threat appears, chasing a civilian. This is a whole new order of Nasty; a Purge Assassin!
Above: Assassins are programmed to identify and home in on enemy leaders first and having spotted Arianna, the Assassin quickly switches its attention from the fleeing girl to the Captain of the Saucy Sue! Quickly covering the distance to Arianna, the Assassin goes straight in for the kill with its energy-blade. Arianna is severely wounded, but refuses to die this way and strikes back with her sword, watching with satisfaction as the red lights go out in the thing’s three eye-lenses.
Above: Renton meanwhile, down to only one round, heads back to Gan’eek’s shop, where he’d stashed a magazine. However, two Devastators appear and immediately open fire! Renton seems to have the luck of the Gods. His coat’s shield-generator might have gone down during his previous encounter, but it still has armour which manages to stop some of the damage and this saves his life. He now has four choices; dive for cover, open fire with his last round, heal one of his wounds or having dived for cover, grab the magazine and reload… But he can only pick two… He decides to heal one of his wounds and and with his last round, opens fire and drops one of the Devastators. The surviving Devastator lines up the shot on the defiant Renton… “Come on then, ya c@&£!”
Above: Meanwhile, in a corridor on the exfil route back to the Saucy Sue, the orange-haired civilian suddenly stops, contorts into various bizarre poses, then flickers out, revealing a ‘Live One’! These are the most dangerous of the Purge; they initially infiltrate using holo-emitters to disguise themselves as locals before then commanding the Purge assault. There is a piercing scream in the corridor as the civilian girl runs past the window and is instantly vapourised by a blast from the Live One!
Above: Having defeated the Assassin, Arianna manages to heal some of her wounds with a med-stim, but is then attacked by yet another Harvester. Jace, Lars and the heavily-wounded Gak are now finally exfiltrating from the bar and Gak manages to drop the Harvester with a well-aimed burst, but not before Arianna suffers further wounds. It’s still a very long way back to the airlocks and they still have a Live One to get past…
Above: Back at Gan’eek’s shop, the Devastator opens fire for a second time on Renton, but astonishingly misses! Then, even more bizarrely, a panicked orange-haired civilian (presumably the one that had been cloned by the Live One’s holo-emitter) suddenly appears and attacks the Devastator from behind, taking it down! “Well f@&% me sideways…” Renton breathes a sigh of relief, runs to pick up the magazine and reloads his weapon, wondering what in Wolfgang’s name* is going to happen next.
Above: The Live One is going to be a very tough opponent to take on, but Jace has a laser-sight attached to his pistol which should even the odds, while Roykirk has a very effective close-quarter machine gun. Should all this fail. Arianna has a grenade ready to lob through the window…
Above: Jace opens fire with his pistol and to everyone’s astonishment, the Live One is obliterated in an explosion of organic and mechanical body-parts! “The exfil route is clear! Get to the airlocks!”
Above: However, the exfil route is not clear… Attracted by Gan’eek’s terrified shrieking (having your conspiracy theories run into the cold hard wall of reality is a terrible thing), the Purge are now swarming near the airlocks. Gan’eek runs, but is not fast enough to out-run a Purge Assassin…
Above: At last, the two crews are almost reunified, as Roykirk covers the wide space of Gan’eek’s shop and Renton rummages through a crate for med-stims.
Above: Arianna, Jace, Gak and Lars run as fast as they can for the airlocks, but the sounds of approaching Purge are now all around them! An orange-haired civilian runs past in the opposite direction… “Hey, didn’t we send that bloke to the ship earlier?”
Above: Having purged the poor Gan’eek, the Assassin homes in on new targets and quickly locks on to Roykirk, who had spotted a previously-ignored crate. The Assassin manages to wound Roykirk, but fails to land the fatal blow. Roykirk attempts to fight back with his knife, but has no effect on the armoured Assassin. Staring into the three red eyes of the Assassin, Roykirk now accepts his fate… However, Lars suddenly appears at the window and with his newly-acquired rifle, puts a long burst into the Assassin at close range, blowing the thing to atoms. “Thanks mate… Er, who are you…?”
Above: The crews successfully pass through the late Gan’eek’s shop without any more Purge appearing (there is however, a group of Purge chasing them from the main corridor and another group near the airlocks). However, Gak is suddenly subjected to an unprovoked attack from behind by the shrieking orange-haired civvy, which thankfully has no effect. “What the f@&£ are you doing, you idiot?!” Gak just looks at him with contempt and continues on his way.
Above: The two crews are now concentrated, except for Jace, who is lagging behind at Gan’eek’s shop, with the orange-haired civilian troublemaker. But not for long, as the civvy is instantly vapourised by a pursuing Devastator! “We are leaving! Get to the chopper!” “Get to the what, Boss?!” “The airlock! I meant the airlock… What’s a chopper…?”
Above: Suddenly, yet another Assassin appears in Gan’eek’s shop and sprints after Jace, plunging its energy-blade into the captain’s back! Jace is seriously wounded but still standing. However, he doesn’t have any med-stims left and is unlikely to survive another attack. By some miracle, the Assassin suddenly stops its attack, runs back to the hatchway and disappears!
Above: Other Purge across the station, suddenly withdraw, as if they’ve received conflicting orders.
Above: This breathing-space doesn’t last long however, as more Purge soon appear and the assault resumes. One Harvester again attacks poor Roykirk, but is cut down by fire from Gak.
Above: With everyone running pell-mell for their exfil, Jace lags behind and becomes isolated. A Harvester suddenly appears in front of him, followed by another! At this point, he could simply outrun them and get to the airlock, but no, he’s a meathead idiot, so decides to fight it out… Because this went SO well on the two previous occasions…
Above: Jace drops the first Harvester with a shot from his pistol, but is now out of ammo. He whips out his trusty axe and wielding it double-handed, brings it down on the Harvester’s skull… There’s a sickening crunch as the axe breaks in his hands…
Above: The Harvester strikes back, grievously wounding Jace! But worse is to come, as a Devastator now appears in the doorway, followed by yet another Assassin!
Above: “Some help in here?!” “Sorry Boss, but I’ve got my own f@$£ing problems! Ooo, ya c@#£! Have some of that!”
Above: Lars has almost made it to the airlock, but behind him Jace is about to be overrun by the Purge! Although he’s desperate to dive into that hatch, he instead dives into cover and uses his tech skills once again to jam the Devastator’s systems. The red monster judders to a halt in the doorway, unable to fire and blocking the route for the following Assassin. Jace at last has a chance of escape!
Above: “Bugger…” Lars had forgotten about the window that he himself had used to blast an Assassin just a few minutes previously… Unable to get past the Devastator in the doorway, the Assassin spots Jace through the window, levels its weapon and fires. Jace drops to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Renton shrugs, “Sorry Boss, but we tried… See you on the flip-side… Again…”
Above: Mission successful, Arianna and Roykirk successfully manage to extract Gak and get him safely back to the Saucy Sue, along with the refugee Treva who pays what he can, including a most welcome case of ship-parts. They also manage to get away with a decent amount of loot, which enables them to upgrade the Saucy Sue with some airlock auto-defences. They’ve got sufficient weaponry, so they put the rest of their credits aside for the time being to hire another crew-member for future missions.
Above: Renton successfully manages to extract Lars back to the Black Maria by the skin of their teeth, but they had to leave their captain behind for the third time in a row! Ooma was also most grateful for being rescued and rewarded them handsomely. They’d also made it out with a decent haul of loot, enabling all the necessary repairs to be made to the Black Maria and some new airlock auto-defences to be fitted. Jace should be pleased when he sees the new upgrades to the old girl… If he ever does… The emergency teleport didn’t bring him back to the Maria, so they hope he made it out ok…
So ‘Core Space’ piqued my interest and I was immediately impressed with the overall production-quality of the game; the excellent cardboard scenery, the figures and the simple and aesthetically-pleasing ‘character dashboards’ for keeping track of character and game information. I was also impressed with the simple and elegant game-system, particularly the escalating level of threat and opposition the players face as they progress through a mission.
On the right is the character dashboard of one of the two Captains from the starter-set, Arianna Sabrine. She’s already a well-developed character even before we start adding to her skills. Looking at the character-board at the top; the black circles within the white dots show her baseline stats and skills, while the empty white dots show her potential level, which could become available as her career continues. So if we look at the top line, her baseline Health is 5 (five black circles), but could eventually increase to 7. For the time being her Health of 5 means that she starts the mission with five green pegs. Her baseline number of Actions that can be taken in a game-turn was 2, but as her career progressed, I was able to increase this to the maximum of 3 (the red pen splodge indicates the newly-added Action). Her baseline number of Skill-points is 4, but she could potentially increase this to 6; four purple pegs are added to her dashboard at the start of the mission. She has earned three Career-points above her baseline thus far (indicated by the three red pen-dots) and has reached the end of that row on the dashboard, which enabled me to add one to her baseline Actions.