Ark of Dust Part One PDF available for download

Space Hulk - Ark of Dust Part 1

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Space Hulk Mission - Suicide Run

Hello my good friends. As you may have noticed, the Grey Knight and Khorne Daemon rules have gone live. I present to you the mission that the first round of playtesting was performed in. It's a favourite of ours here at Space Hulk Missions. You may recognise the map layout. This is, essentially, Suicide Mission +. For those of you wanting to try out the new Grey Knights and Daemons rules, this is the first mission for doing so. It is not part of the Blood in the Stars campaign (those missions are a lot more original and, sadly for you, a lot harder.) Give it a try. There are several ways to play this mission, the first of which is detailed below. For an even harder game, try playing Blood Angels vs. Daemons, using the Librarian, Sergeant with power sword and storm bolter, Terminator with heavy flamer and power fist and 2 Terminators with storm bolters and power fists, making the rooms destroyable either through the use of the cleansing heavy flamer or the Librarian making use of the Psychic Conduit rule (normal terminators can not be used as conduits.) For a much easier game, use this squad against genestealers without the Warp Rift rules in play.


Grey Knights vs. Daemons
FORCES & DEPLOYMENT
Grey Knights: The Grey Knight player has one squad. It consists of a Justicar armed with a storm bolter and nemesis daemon hammer, one Grey Knight armed with a storm bolter and nemesis force falchions, one Grey Knight armed with a storm bolter and nemesis force halberd, one grey knight armed with a storm bolter and nemesis force sword and one grey knight armed with a psilencer and a nemesis force sword. The Grey Knight player deploys the squad on the starting squares shown on the map.

Khorne Daemons: The Khorne Daemon player begins the mission with two blips, and receives two reinforcement blips per turn. Blips may enter play at any entry area.

SPECIAL RULES
Psychic Conduits: In this mission, the Grey Knight mission is to disperse the building warp energy in the two rooms marked X. Any Grey Knight model must end his movement inside one of the two rooms and use any and all of his remaining AP and 2 psi-points to do so. Once a Grey Knight model has done this, he may not use CP to make any more actions for this turn. He is too exhausted by the ordeal to follow any orders.

VICTORY 
Grey Knights: The Grey Knight player wins by dispersing the building warp energy in the two rooms marked X. When this goal is achieved, the game ends and the Grey Knights win immediately.

Khorne Daemons: The Khorne Daemon player wins if any one of the following events occur; a) The last remaining Grey Knight is killed. b) The psi-point tracker is covered in such a way that 2 psi-points can not be gathered to disperse the warp energy in the rooms. c) The Warp Rift tracker reaches 10.

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Quick Mission - Swift Destruction

Hey guys. Here is the second of the quick missions. This is an adapted version of my popular and difficult Surgical Destruction mission. You'll notice that you have an extra 2 Marines and that there are no beta strain Genestealers this time around. I've also reduced the number of doors in locations where they slow the 'Stealers down early on and changed the shape of the entry points for no other reason than I wanted to streamline the board somewhat. I hope you enjoy the adapted version and it presents you with a fun 40 minutes-1 hour.

DEPLOYMENT & FORCES

Space Marines:

The Space Marine player has one squad. It consists of one Sergeant armed with a power sword and storm bolter, three Space Marines armed with a storm bolter and power fist and one Space Marine armed with an assault cannon and power fist. The Space Marine player deploys on the squad on the starting squares shown on the map.

Genestealers:

The Genestealer player begins the mission with two blips, and receives two reinforcement blips per turn. Blips may enter play at any entry area.

SPECIAL RULES

Bombs: In order to achieve their mission goals, the Space Marines must place and arm bombs in the rooms marked A, B and C. In order to place and arm a bomb, a Space Marine must be standing in the room and expend a full four action and/or command points.

VICTORY

Space Marines:

In order to win the mission, the Space Marine player must place bombs in all 3 rooms and have at least two Space Marines leave the board via the marked exit point. If all 3 bombs are placed and armed but no Marines escape the board, the mission can be considered a draw.

Genestealers:

The Genestealer player garners an outright win if he can kill all of the Space Marines before they have placed and armed all three bombs. If the Genestealer player can prevent the Space Marine player from getting two Space Marines off the board after he has armed all three bombs, he may still attain a drawn result.

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Quick Mission - Locked In

Hey there guys. This isn't anything like either of the missions I was intending to post tonight but it's the best I can offer at short notice. The laptop I use for all my mission editing has gone to crap and so I've mocked up this little number to tide you over until I can get it fixed and get to the tilesystem maps for my other two missions.

The last survivor of a survey team has locked himself in to a room on the hulk. He is out of ammo and carrying vital data about the Genestealers on board the hulk. It has been deemed vitally important that he be, rescued no matter the cost.

FORCES & DEPLOYMENT
Space Marines: The Space Marine player has two squads. Squad One consists of a sergeant armed with a storm bolter and power sword, one Space Marine armed with a heavy flamer and a power fist, and two Space Marines armed with storm bolter and power fist. This squad is deployed on the four marked squares at the Space Marine exit area. Squad two consists of one Space Marine armed with a storm bolter and power fist. He is deployed in room A.

Genestealers: The Genestealer player begins the game with no blips, and receives two reinforcement blips per turn. Blips may enter play at any entry area.

SPECIAL RULES
Locked In: The Space Marine inside room A is locked in. He has done this himself by jamming the lock  and reinforcing the door. His storm bolter is out of ammo so he will not come out until another Space Marine spends 1AP opening the door and throwing him some ammo for his storm bolter, then he may leave the room and move and fire as normal. The Genestealers can not open the door by any means.

VICTORY
Space Marines: The Space Marine player wins if he succeeds in getting the Space Marine trapped in room A off the board via the Space Marine entry area. When this happens the game ends and the Space Marines win immediately.


Genestealers: The Genestealer player wins if he kills all the Space Marines in Squad One before they convince the Marine in room A to open the door and come out, or by killing the Marine in room A after he has been convinced to open the door.

I will get the other missions to you as soon as possible. Consider this one a cheeky bonus for your benefit as an apology for the wait.

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Two new Space Hulk missions tonight

Okay, so two missions going up tonight.

First up is Mission V from the Ark of Dust campaign, titled "Hopeless" and details the first part of the rescue mission launched by a lightning claw armed Wolf Guard to rescue any survivors of the ill-fated Space Wolf squad trapped in Mission IV and detonate the explosives placed by them, by hand if necessary.

The other mission is the first of the Quick Missions, designed to play in around the same time as Suicide Mission while presenting marine and genestealer players with new tactical problems. All these missions are one offs (so not part of a campaign) and use only the contents of the Space Hulk 3ed box. They all use less than 20 tiles (so small maps) and, like Suicide Mission, are fairly unforgiving (though not as challenging as some of my campaign missions.)

Look for both to go up around Midnight EST/5am GMT.

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Ark of Dust Update and other Space Hulk related news

Hey guys,

Coming at the start of April are missions V and VI of the Ark of Dust campaign. These missions will be as hard as they have ever been and will rock you like a hurricane. In particular, Mission VI is a doozy which includes a tiny squad, a terrifying map, plenty of Genestealer psychological game-playing and a Broodlord. I will be posting both on the same day and they are intended for back to back play.

Also, coming a week after that will be the first of my Space Hulk quick missions. Intended to be played in the vein of Suicide Mission and able to be used right outta the box, they're short, tough, well balanced but unforgiving missions which you can play inside a half hour.

I have the parts now to put together a Deathwing Terminator squad and so expect to see some pictures of these, my Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Ultramarines and Grey Knights soon, as well as my Fallen Terminator Lord. The first playtestable missions from the Deathwing Campaign will be coming soon after.

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Ark of Dust Background - Part 2

Sergeant Catania took stock. The breakthrough had not gone well and they were so deep in to the hulk that comms had gone dead. It had been an hour since they split off from Lupus and his wolves. An hour since that sprint through those terrible corridors, heaving with those clawed monsters. An hour since he watched Tristan and Novara get torn apart, his own storm bolter jammed. An hour since panic filled his heart as three of them bound towards him and the thought of the shame of his failure in death made him collapse before them, his sword falling from his fingers.

"And they shall know no fear."

His rescue came in the form of a grey armoured fiend. Brother Jagg had blown them apart with his own storm bolter and ordered the Blood Angel to pick up his sword and get to his feet before his brothers saw him. Jagg had become isolated from the other Wolves and, upon hearing the intense firefight, had hurried to lend his assistance. Catania felt shame again now. He had besmirched the honour of his chapter in front of one of the other brotherhoods.

Siracusa and Avellino had rounded the corner shortly after that, having dispatched the last of their pursuers. An hour since he had held that failure in his breast and still it stung. It was just the three of them now. Siracusa had fallen as a clawed hand had plunged through a vent in to his helmet, making pulp of his head. Jagg had loosed off six shots in to the shaft and they had moved on. They had a mission to complete and their was no time to waste with such trivial things as goodbye.

They had been planting explosives in key areas of this part of the hulk. With only three rooms to go, things had been suspiciously silent. As they clomped down the passage to the final section, they heard the Genestealers keening screeches ahead of them. There was no turning back. "Death or glory", thought Catania "and maybe some redemption too."

The Ark of Dust - Mission II - Surgical Destruction

Mission II - Surgical Destruction

Deployment and Forces

Space Marines:

The Space Marine player has one squad consisting of three terminators. One Blood Angel sergeant armed with a power sword and storm bolter, one Blood Angel armed with a storm bolter and power fist and one Space Wolf armed with a storm bolter and power fist. The Space Marine player deploys on the squad on the starting squares shown on the map.

Genestealers:

The Genestealer player begins the mission with two blips, and receives two reinforcement blips per turn. Blips may enter play at any entry area.

Special Rules

Beta Strain Genestealers: This mission marks the first time the Space Marine forces on board the Ark of Dust encounter one of the evolved Genestealer strains. Beta Strain Genestealers have a thicker carapace than the normal "Alpha" Strain Genestealers. As such, even under sustained fire, a Beta Strain Genestealer can only ever be killed by shooting on a roll of a 6. Close combat is unaffected. The Genestealer player has 4 of these special Genestealers to use in the game that can be placed like normal Genestealers whenever a blip is revealed.

Bombs: In order to achieve their mission goals, the Space Marines must place and arm bombs in the rooms marked A, B and C. In order to place and arm a bomb, a Space Marine must be standing in the room and expend a full four action and/or command points.
Demoralised: The Blood Angels Sergeant in this mission is having one tough day. This coupled with having a Space Wolf in his severely reduced squad means he is not at his commanding best. As such, he loses his ability to redraw his command point counter.

Victory

Space Marines:

In order to win the mission, the Space Marine player must place bombs in all 3 rooms and have at least one marine leave the board via the marked exit point. If all 3 bombs are placed and armed but no Marines escape the board, the mission can be considered a draw.

Genestealers:

The Genestealer player garners an outright win if he can kill all three Space Marines before they have placed and armed all three bombs. If the Genestealer player can prevent the Marine player from getting a Marine off the board after he has armed all three bombs, he may still attain a drawn result.

The Ark of Dust

In the year 609.M41, a small Imperial flotilla that had dropped out of the warp near to the world of Valhalla stumbled across a vast space hulk drifting dangerously close to a populous agri-world. Among the flotilla were two Space Wolves strike cruisers carrying upwards of 150 of the chapters finest, en route to Valhalla itself to link up with a gathering crusade force. Upon discovering the hulk, Wolf Lord Gulo ordered a small contingent of the Wolves under his command to board the vessel and investigate what, if any, threat resided on board the hulk. The marines initially met little resistance but within 15 minutes of boarding, they were swiftly and suddenly assaulted by a large number of genestealers and massacred to a man.

Gulo realised that this was no straightforward boarding action and was pondering whether destroying the hulk was an option. However, upon assessing the data returned to him by the boarding party before their unceremonious massacre, two things became clear. First, the size of the hulk meant that destroying the hulk with cyclonic torpedoes or even a continuous barrage of firepower would only split the hulk in to several large chunks, which, if caught in the planets gravity, would be drawn towards the planet and cause catastrophic levels of destruction which the population would surely not survive. Secondly, one section of the hulk seemed to be a large Space Wolves vessel. Gulo's curiousity was piqued. Leaving the majority of his force under the command of his Rune Priest, he sent them onwards to Valhalla, keeping only his Terminator armoured contingent and sending out a request to nearby Baal for assistance.

Lexicanum Calistarius answered the call at Commander Dante's request. His experience on board the Sin of Damnation only a few years previously made him the perfect man for the job. Unfortunately, that mission had had a profound effect on the librarian and he still smarted at the loss of so many brave marines. The memories of Lorenzo and his squads sacrifices to get the librarian to safety and ensure the success of the mission had not faded. He arrived with 40 terminators at his beck and call and immediately met with Gulo to decide on a course of action.

The plan was simple in theory. The hulk had two weak points which, if sufficiently damaged from within would split the hulk in to 3 pieces. The other two chunks (the largest of which seemed from the scans to be the most heavily populated) would be small enough to be towed out of the system and destroyed. The third chunk could then be explored by the Space Wolves to see if anything of worth to their chapter could be salvaged. This would then also be towed and destroyed.

All in all,  55 terminator armoured veterans of the two chapters were present, and they would be sent in to secure a forward base from which the force could operate. At this point two small teams would be sent deep in to the hulk to plant the explosives while their battle brothers would follow in their footsteps to secure their escape route. These teams were to be lead by Blood Angels Sergeant Catania, a man with over 500 years experience under his belt, and Space Wolves Sergeant Lupus, a legend in his own right.

The boarding action went off without a hitch and the terminators encountered little to no opposition. A beachhead was established and the two squads set off together on their mission...

Space Hulk!

If you've found me, you'll have seen my first mission post. You probably haven't played it yet. Give it a shot, but I warn you, it is not for the weak willed.

This is by design. I, personally, find 9 of the 12 missions in the 3rd edition far too easy as the marine player. You stand there, you kill stuff, you move. I've decided to write a campaign that will redress this balance. The missions are much harder as the marine player and present new tactical challenges for the 'stealers in terms of how you manipulate the environment. Missions 1 through 3 have been heavily playtested and are all do-able.

What's coming up? Rules for different Genestealer strains, character profiles, rules for Wolf Lords, a couple more missions and ideas for toughening up the missions in the mission book from the box. Comment and tell me what you think of the mission I've posted and look for an update in a couple of weeks.

The Ark of Dust - Mission 1 - Breakthrough

Mission I – Breakthrough

Deployment and Forces
Space Marines:
The space marine player has two squads, One Space Wolf squad and one Blood angels squad. The Space Wolf squad consists of a sergeant armed with a Power Axe and Storm Shield, a marine with an Assault Cannon, two armed with Storm Bolters and Power Fists and one armed with a Chainfist and Storm Bolter. The Blood Angels squad consists of a sergeant armed with a Power Sword and Storm Bolter, a marine armed with a Storm Bolter, Power Fist and Cyclone Missile Launcher (loaded with Web Missiles), 2 armed with Storm Bolters and Power Fists and one armed with a Storm Bolter and Chain Fist.

Genestealers:
The Genestealer player begins the mission with four blips and receives two reinforcement blips per turn. Blips may enter play at any entry area.

Special Rules
All doors in this area of the hulk are prone to malfunction. Upon attempting to open any door, either player must roll a D6. On a 4+ the door will open as normal. On a roll of 3 or less, the door jams and must be destroyed in order for the player to continue. The marine player may do this in the normal manner while a genestealer player must expend one action point to destroy a door once it has malfunctioned.

Victory
Space Marines:
The Space Marine player wins by getting 3 or more terminators off the board via EACH exit point, for a total of 6 Space Marines. It is not necessary for the Marines to be from the same squad. The Space Marine may achieve a drawn result by only getting 3 marines off the board via one exit point.

Genestealers:
The Genestealer player wins if the marine player cannot achieve his objective, either through killing eight marines or it becoming impossible for the marine player to get three marines off via one exit point.

Unique Weaponry
Power Axe
Like the power sword, the power axe is a rare and extremely effective weapon awarded to Space Marines that have proven themselves in battle. When fighting in a close assault to his front, a Space Marine armed with a power axe always wins drawn combats.

Cyclone Missile Launcher (loaded with web missiles)
The cyclone missile launcher is a devastating, shoulder mounted missile launcher not suited to combat in the dense and unstable environs of the inside of a Space Hulk, where the highly explosive ammunition may cause explosive decompression. However, when loaded with web missiles, it becomes a highly effective defensive weapon, used to block off corridors and prevent the enemy from advancing. The cyclone missile launcher may be fired twice in a game, blocking off any tile space within line of sight and twelve squares of the user for the remainder of the game.This weapon costs two AP to fire and cannot be fired as part of a combined action.