Space Wolves - Ongoing Campaign Blog

[Aldarionn]

Intro

So a friend of mine will be running a long-term 40k campaign. The idea is to take a large-company sized force as a "pool of resources", and build smaller strike teams from within that force. As the campaign progresses the pool of resources will diminish as casualties are taken, however if I'm victorious in a particular mission I can recover fallen comrades to possibly be saved and restored to fighting condition. If a mission is failed, however, there may be no time for such recoveries. Additionally, I will be allowed to promote battle brothers to higher ranks or induct them into Berek's Wolf Guard as they gain experience, and there is the potential for unique wargear rewards or stat bonuses for particularly spectacular performance in combat.

I have chosen to play Berek Thunderfists Great Company (Prior to Ragnar's ascension to Wolf Lord) for this campaign, and I know a few other friends will be participating, however this blog will follow my progress with a battle report for each mission and an overview of the campaign as a whole.

At this point I do not have many specifics of the campaign goals, but I have received a broad overview of the initial stages as well as a minimal briefing for my first mission so that I can design a list. The first battle will take place tomorrow, Thursday July 8th and the battle report should follow along with my findings and expectations for future missions. I will be playing one battle each week on Thursday and give a new battle report either that evening or on Friday. As the campaign progresses I hope to include pictures of the action, but at this stage my force is not ready for photography.

In the posts to follow you will find a list of my selection of resources which will be updated to show casualties, promotions, possible new recruits and/or allies formed during the course of the campaign. You can always refer to the second post in this thread for the latest condition of Bereks great company, and links to the battle reports for particular missions.

Thank you for reading and I very much look forward to seeing where this goes. For better or worse the sagas will be told of this campaign for generations, and Bereks Great Company shall face it like Wolves!

[Aldarionn]

Campaign overview

Reality screamed as the warp tore a hole in the fabric of space, vomiting forth the remains of an ancient and terrible Chaos Strike Cruiser. The craft appeared badly damaged and its trajectory put it on a direct collision course with the industrial world of Prol IX. In moments the massive cruiser descented on the planet, bleeding pockets of burning oxygen from numerous hull breaches. Battered as it was and twisted by the warp, the Cruiser was still of Adeptus Astartes design and as it made re-entry its hull burned iridescent green as if being consumed by daemonic fire.

The contrail could be seen for leagues, and even thought the curvature of the planet hid it from direct view the glow could be seen from almost every manufactorum on the planet. The craft plummeted directly toward the capitol city of Fraal and though citizens should have been running in terror from their impending demise, one and all they stood in awe as the prow of the ship tore through the planets crust, ripping earth and ferrocrete asunder as it ground to a slow halt.

Every living thing in a 10 mile radius was incinerated and the ferrocrete walls of the cities buildings were scorched blacker than the night sky. In second klaxons sounded across the planet and Planetary Defense Forces mobilized to investigate the dying craft. Three shuttles under the command of Captain Jestan tore across the early morning sky, but as they neared the crash sight it seemed as if reality dimmed in proximity to the ship. The scar created by the impact was more than three miles long and the ship itself shuddered and smoked, threatening to collapse in on itself at any moment.

Retro thrusters brought the PDF shuttles to an abrupt midair halt, and as they hovered their augures scanned the derelict craft for signs of life. It could be that the ship had been adrift in the warp for centuries, abandoned and left for dead, or it could be inhabited by Emperer knows what, but the PDF took Uno chances and kept a safe distance.

The Auguries were nearing completion and cogitators spat streams of parchment with the results, but as Captain Jestan began to read the report a bright light lanced through the sky and punched clean through two of the hovering shuttlecraft. In second the third craft was back in motion, its thrusters pushed near to their limit to escape whatever had destroyed the other two craft. Jestans heart pounded as he was pressed firmly into his acceleration couch on the command deck. Looking back over his shoulder he saw the receding form of the strike cruiser diminish behind him, but not before multiple massive shapes clad in twisted black armor began swarming from the ship. More iridescent lances of energy tore through the sky dangerously close to the command craft but the pilot must have been guided by the holy Emperor himself because none found their mark, and the terrible cruiser and its contents vanished from view behind them.

Traitor Space Marines. The worst possible result. By the Emperor, they needed assistance and they needed it now!

The Great Company of Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist
(2 Force Organization Charts)

This list represents the most current state of the Great Company. As the units gain experience they will gain rank, and this list will be adjusted accordingly.

HQ
Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist
Wolfguard Battle Leader Mikal Sternmark
Rune Priest Mikjáll
Rune Priest Gandálfr
Wolf Priest Sigurd
Wolf Priest Bragi
Wolf Priest Gilsbrikt

Elites
Wolf Guard Pack Ragnar, Styrbjörn, Garik,
Eykr, Baldi, Agnarr, Hrólf, Geirr, Sven (9)
Wolf Guard Pack Bergsveinn, Øring,
Randolf, Steinn, Vígmárr, Hagni, Albrikt, Magni (9)
Wolf Scout Pack Hári (10)
Dreadnought Grymnir
Iron Priest Egill

Troops
Grey Hunter Pack Bjarni (10)
Grey Hunter Pack Falki (10)
Grey Hunter Pack Nils (10)
Grey Hunter Pack Sveinn (11)
Blood Claw Pack Geilir (15)
Blood Claw Pack Sigarr (15)
Blood Claw Pack Trolvir (15)

Fast Attack
Thunderwolf Cavalry Pack Njord (5)
14 Fenrisian Wolves
Skyclaw Pack Hamarr (8)
Swiftclaw Pack Halldórr (10)
Land Speeder Pack Wolftalon (2): Meinolf, Tandir*Temporarily out of service* & Hawksveinn

Heavy Support
Long Fang Pack Hákon (6)
Long Fang Pack Yngvarr (6)
Long Fang Pack Trebjold (6)
Predator “Merciless”
Predator “Stormbringer”
Land Raider Crusader “Spear of Russ”
Land Raider Crusader “Ironhide”

Loyalist Imperial Guard Allies
Mithras Tybalt (Inquisitorial Trainee)
Penal Legion Troopers (8)
Storm Troopers (10)
Special Melee unit (rules in development)
Platoon Alpha
Imperial Guard Platoon Command Squadron (5)
Imperial Guard Platoon Squadron (10)
Imperial Guard Platoon Squadron (10)
Imperial Guard Platoon Squadron (10)
Special Weapon Team (6)
Heavy Weapon Squad (2 teams)
Heavy Weapon Squad (2 teams)
Platoon Beta
Imperial Guard Platoon Command Squadron (5)
Imperial Guard Platoon Squadron (10)
Imperial Guard Platoon Squadron (10)
Imperial Guard Platoon Squadron (10)
Special Weapon Team (6)
Heavy Weapon Squad (2 teams)
Heavy Weapon Squad (2 teams)

Battle Reports
Battle Report 1: Planetfall on Prol IX
Battle Report 2: Ambush en route to the Bastion
Battle Report 3: Assault on the Command Bastion
Battle Report 4: Lightning Assault - New-Found Allies
Battle Report 5: Assault on the Manufactorum
Battle Report 6: Assault on the Power Plant
Battle Report 7: Spaceport Assault - Establishing a secondary stronghold (Coming Soon!)
Battle Report 8: New information - A gathering to the south (Coming Soon!)
Battle Report 9: Rescue!
Battle Report 10: Lost Brethren.

[Aldarionn]

First Mission: Planetfall!

The call for help on Prol IX did not go unheard. Three full Legions of Imperial Guardsmen were sent to deal with the impending Chaos threat. For two standard weeks they fought through the city to root out the traitor Space Marines, but to no avail. On the third week, noone know what went wrong, but one by one the Guardsmen Platoons turned traitor, until all three legions served the Ruinous Powers. All further contact with the planet shut down, and it appears as if the PDF has been compromised as well. By decree of the inquisition the planet and its entire system were quarantined, and the Black Templars Space Marines were called in to deal with the problem. At the request of the Inquisition, the Space Wolves were also contacted. A courier was sent to the Great Wolf himself within the halls of the Fang bearing grave news. The Chaos Strike Cruiser that crash landed on Prol IX was none other than the Strike Cruiser Wolf of Fenris, one of the Space Wolves own cruisers, stolen from them by the infamous Huron Blackheart and his Corsairs. If the Wolf of Fenris had been located, then by Russ and the Allfather the wolves would have it back! Berek Thunderfists Great Company was nearest the planet, on patrol aboard their Strike Cruiser the Fist of Russ, and Grimnar himself sent the transmission. The Wolves were to make planetfall immediately and secure the strike cruiser at all cost.

From the log of Wolf Lord Berek Thunderfist

This is grave news indeed. By Russ! How could the Wolf of Fenris resurface after so many centuries!? And how could three full legions of Imperial Guard turn traitor on the spot, triggering a planet wide rebellion? Regardless, its is the task of my Company to reclaim this world and I'll not let the Templars take the glory from the sons of Fenris. I have assigned Wolf Priest Sigurd to lead a strike force onto the planets surface and establish a foothold. The traitor Guardsmen have heavily reinforced the capitol city and the outlying manufactorums making a planetary assault directly into the capitol an impossibility. Instead Sigurd and his Strike Team will land with a small, but heavily armed force via Thunderhawk near a fringe Spaceport, and under the cover of an areal bombardment from the Fist of Russ they will assault the port and take it as our Stronghold.

Sigurd is young with a chip on his shoulder, but the Great Wolf trusts him with the rank of Wolf Priest, and so I trust him to lead this force. My only concern is that the Great Wolf has vastly underestimated the capabilities of our enemies. Any attempts to augure the capital from orbit have failed and it suggests some form of sorcery, warding the location against our attempts to gather information. I will be sending the Rune Priest Mikjáll and three of my Wolf Guard to assist with the operation, and it is my sincere hope that Mikjáll can determine the nature of this ward so that we may gather the information we need to bypass the cities air defenses and launch an offensive. I know not where the Templars are landing and I do not care. I will not interfere with my fellow Astartes but I expect the same respect and cooperation from them. Wolves are not easily goaded, and I will not dance on puppet strings for anyone.

Berek Out.


Strike Team Sigurd

HQ
Wolf Priest Sigurd - 100

Rune Priest Mikjáll - 110
-Chooser of the Slain, Living Lightning, Murderous Hurricane

Elites
Wolf Guard Grimmundr, Hrólf and Steinn detailed below

Troops
Blood Claws Pack Magni (14) - 258
-Wolf Guard Grímmundr w/ Power Fist & Combi-Melta, Meltagun

Grey Hunter Pack Sven (8) - 228
-Wolf Guard Hrólf w/ Power Fist & Combi-Melta, Melta Gun, Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Rhino

Grey Hunter Pack Ranulf (9) - 243
-Wolf Guard Steinn w/ Power Fist & Combi-Melta, Melta Gun, Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Rhino

Heavy Support
Long Fang Pack Hákon (6) - 215
-5 Missile Launchers, Razorback w/ TL Lascannons

Land Raider Crusader "Krakens Teeth" - 260
-Multi-Melta

Predator Destructor "Merciless" - 85
-Heavy Bolter Sponsions

Total 1,499

[Lukasz_VT]

Sounds very interesting! I look forward to reading the updates

[Aldarionn]

New battle report added for todays game. Check it out!

[Aldarionn]

From the log of Berek Thunderfist:

Strike Team Sigurd succeeded brilliantly at clearing the way for our planetfall, silencing the areal artillery and killing every traitor in the space port save those we recovered for interrogation. Even now they are being fed to the wolves after having been augured by the council of Rune Priests.

Little information was recovered. It would appear that whatever turned the legions traitor is not known even to them, but their unwavering loyalty to their new masters is unsettling. One and all they are prepared to sell their lives defending the Wolf of Fenris and hinder our progress.

Despite the setbacks the mobilization has begun. The planetary scan prior to our invasion of the space port revealed three primary targets before our ultimate goal of the city proper. To the northeast lies a power plant that controls much of the energy feed into Fraal. Neutralizing this plant will be an excellent way to stall the traitor defenses and make breaching the city far easier. South of that plant lies a massive manufactorum, one of many on Prol IX, however this one is logistically the closest to the city of Fraal and is directly responsible for production of the majority of the weapons arming the traitors, the ammunition feeding those weapons and the war machines they use to bombard us on approach. Liberating this manufactorum is of the utmost importance, and the gains are twofold. First we cut off the supply line into Fraal and starve their defenses for ammunition and repairs to vital equipment. Second, we bolster our own resources and nearly double the amount of available ammunition, provide the Iron Priests with the equipment they need to make proper repairs, and allow for the construction of new transports in the event that ours are lost or damaged. Should the battle for the city escalate into a protracted siege, control of that manufactorum will be key to our success.

Additionally, several hundred leagues directly to our east is a large command post the traitor legions are using as a relay point to send orders between platoons. Capture of this command post cuts their field units off from their commanders and gives us a prime locations with which to establish a forward base. It is this command post that will be our primary objective. Once captured we will use it as a staging area to launch offensives toward the other objectives, and finally on the city of Fraal itself.

The traitors are not without a serious terrain advantage, however. A great defensive wall stretches for hundreds of leagues from north of the power plant all the way south to the command post. It was originally erected hundreds of years ago when Prol IX was invaded by a massive Ork WAAAGH!, however the wall was never torn down and the rebel legions have made excellent use of it. It cuts us off entirely from our objectives save the command post and is heavily infested with traitor guardsmen and Emperor knows what else. Should the command post ever be re-taken after an offensive on the city or the manufactorum our forward units could find themselves cut off from reinforcements. Air defense along the wall is triple what it was at the space port and the prospect of bypassing the wall via Thunderhawks is suicide. The wall itself may prove to be a worthy objective, if not for resources but for maneuverability.

A northern bypass of the wall could see my forward forces cut off much like a southern bypass, however the harsh vegetation and native plant and animal life will make for a more difficult and dangerous trek, so I will be focusing my forces south to the command post and worry about the wall at a later time. It is imperative that we establish a forward base and we must move quickly before our enemies can react and trap us into a protracted ground defense. The Wolf of Fenris WILL be ours once more. If I have to personally murder every traitor chaos marine, daemon and cultist on this accursed planet myself it will be so.

For Russ and the Allfather

Berek out

[Aldarionn]

HQ
Berek Thunderfist - 188
Power Fist, Belt of Russ, Storm Bolter, Saga of the Bear

Rune Priest Mikjáll - 100
Murderous Hurricane, Jaws of the World Wolf

Rune Priest Gormr - 105
Meltabombs, Murderous Hurricane, Living Lightning

Wolf Priest Sigurd - 100

Elites
Wolf Guard Grímmundr, Hrólf and Bergsveinn - 129
Power Fists & Combi Meltas

Dreadnought Grymnir - 150
Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer, Drop Pod

Troops
Grey Hunter Pack Sven (8) - 185
Meltagun, Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Drop Pod

Grey Hunter Pack magni (8) - 185
Meltagun, Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Drop Pod

Grey Hunter Pack Falki (8) - 185
Meltagun, Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Drop Pod

Blood Claw Pack Yngvarr (9) - 170
Drop Pod

Total 1497

Posting this list for reference so I can pull it up at the game store on my phone. Completed two battles so far today and have a third tomorrow. The Command Post belongs to the Wolves and we have encountered an unexpected ally amongst the traitorous rabble. An elite loyalist Guardsmen commander of some sort named Tybalt made contact with us claiming to be holding a small defensive perimeter and requested assistance. I do not quite trust him but he seems to have information I do not, among other things and I will stop at nothing to recover the Wolf of Fenris.

Sometimes one finds allies in the strangest of locations. I will be providing assistance in the form of a lightning drop-pod assault into the midst of the traitors attacking this Tybalt character and make a royal mess of things. Just the way I like my fights!

Battle reports to follow tomorrow or Friday.

[Asi the Red]

Ultra-Sub'd!

I love campaign reports, and these are excellent. Waiting eagerly for the next batreps to go up.

[Aldarionn]

I'm typing the full battle reports for the three I just posted today, so stay tuned! More battle reports will be going up next week as well!

[Asi the Red]

Sweet! Can you give any details about the nuts and bolts of how the campaign is working? Some friends and I want to try running one but we're making slow (read as "no") progress on campaign rules...

[Aldarionn]

Just finished the battle report for the Ambush! battle #2, so have a read through that. The others should be finished sometime this weekend. I'm currently in the process of moving though so I write when I can.

Sweet! Can you give any details about the nuts and bolts of how the campaign is working? Some friends and I want to try running one but we're making slow (read as "no") progress on campaign rules...

The "campaign" is really a series of battles that have an outcome on my pool of resources with an overarching storyline that ties them all together.

Basically, my friend developed a scenario. A derelict Chaos Strike Cruiser crash landed on a manufactory planet under Imperial control and Chaos Marines were found to be on board. Those marines attacked the Planetary Defense Force and the Imperial Guard was sent in to deal with it. In a cataclysmic event, every single Imperial soldier on the planet turned traitor to a man and the inquisition realized this was far worse than it looked.

Upon further inspection it was determined that the ship was the Wolf of Fenris, one of the Space Wolves Strike Cruisers abducted in a space battle with Huron Blackheart and his Corsairs. (That story is actually in Codex: Chaos Space Marines) The Space Wolves are informed of this and send Berek Thunderfists's Great Company in to assist the Black Templars (Who happened to be in the sector) in liberating the planet as well as recovery of their Strike Cruiser.

My friend constructed a map using the Planetstrike tiles with certain areas holding certain objectives. I was given 6,000 points and two Force Organization Charts to work with as a pool of resources. Wargear was not included in the 6,000 points, only base infantry costs, and dedicated transports were also not included in the points cost as each squad would have a variety of options.

The actual rules of the campaign are as follows:

When a battle is fought, casualties are tracked. At the end of the game, if I have won the mission I can recover any casualties on a roll of a 2+. Its assumed that they were just wounded severely enough to not continue fighting, but not enough to put their life in jeopardy. If a pack is completely wiped out, the roll goes to a 4+, which represents their packmates not being able to drag them to safety and them perhaps taking collateral fire from nearby engagements. For vehicles its the same thing. On a wrecked result I recover the vehicle on a 2+, on an exploded result I recover it on a 4+. If I lose, the roll goes to a 4+/6+ for partially wiped out or fully wiped out packs respectively. Independant characters are recovered on a 2+ for a win or a 4+ for a loss. They are just tougher!

The fighting strength of a pack will decrease as the campaign goes on and its numbers are whittled down, however packs will gain experience the more battles they fight. When a pack has seen two battles it is eligible for promotion to the next rank. IE, after two battles with a unit of Blood Claws they can be promoted to Grey Hunters. If the pack is near full strength and another Grey Hunter pack is below full strength, sometimes I will consolodate packs and even out the numbers a bit to keep everything at a fighting strength of 9 or 10.

If a pack is wiped out so that there is only one member left, that member becomes a Lone Wolf.

Once I take the Manufactorum on the campaign map I will be eligible to make new Dreadnoughts. If a Wolf Guard or an HQ dies, and fails to be recovered with the initial roll, I can roll a second time and on a roll of a 6 he is deemed worthy to fight on as a Dreadnought.

If I take Wolf Scouts in a list and inform the campaign coordinator I can get advanced information about the battlefield and my opponents forces. prior to construction of my list. The only requirement is that the list I construct include the Wolf Scouts.

If there is an opening in the Wolf Guard and a certain member of the company has proved themselves in battle (Through a particularly awesome kill or an impressive act of heroism on the battlefield) they can be inducted into the Wolf Guard.

For the purposes of ranks, Blood Claws, Skyclaw Assault Packs and Swiftclaw Biker Packs are all considered Blood Claws and can be promoted to Grey Hunters or Wolf Scouts. Grey Hunters can be promoted to Long Fangs or Wolf Guard, and Wolf Guard can be promoted to Battle Leaders if necessary, or Dreadnoughts in specific cases as mentioned above.

Wolf Guard can be made into Thunderwolf Cavalry, in which case new spots within the Wolf Guard become available for new aspirants.

There are certain cases where a mission will have rewards other than just the ability to promote packs. In the Assault on the Command Bastion mission I was given the option to give any character a universal special rule of my choice, so I gave the Wolf Priest leading the Skyclaws Feel No Pain. In addition to the in game effect, this also allows me to recover him, win or loss, on a roll of a 2+. In the Newfound Allies mission I gained the use of three squads of loyalist Imperial Guardsmen, a Penal Legion and an Inquisitorial trainee thats essentially a walking arsenal, almost the equal of a Wolf Lord. I also gained a Master Crafted Relic Blade for use by a character of my choice. It has gone to my Wolf Guard Battle Leader.

In all honesty the rules are pretty fluid and up to the campaign coordinator mostly. He determines what the objectives are in the missions, what the enemy forces will be and their wargear, and how many points I have to spend on a list to fight the mission as well as game length, mission special rules and any other special rules that might take effect based on the type of mission being fought.

Think of it as a D&D campaign and the Campaign Coordinator is like the DM. His job is ultimately to provide a challenge, but lose the game so the player(s) have a good time. Right now I am the only player doing regular missions, but a friend of mine plays Dark Angels, and they do happen to be in the sector where this is taking place, so it's possible we could have a run-in. I also have an Eldar force and another friend that knows the rules but lacks an army, so I may find myself encountering some Xenos on this world.

I hope that helps!

[Aldarionn]

The battle report for mission #3 The Assault on the Command Bastion is half done. Got the first half up now. Check it out

[Asi the Red]

Enjoying the batreps that you've gotten up!

Another question: are you playing solely against the campaign organizer, or against other players as well?

[Aldarionn]

For now its just me. We do have two other friends with the desire to play the campaign however they lack the time on a regular basis (where the campaign organizer and I can play every week pretty much without fail), so while they might make appearances I have no idea when or where they will be.

It is very possible to expand this idea into a bigger group of people, but there are a lot more variables and it would require the CO to create multiple possible outcomes for events, which translates to more work, but certainly more fun as well!

[deacon52]

that is cool, narratives like this are awesome, it adds something to a game.
plus getting those little treasures, and upgrades for your sqauds is an awsome idea.
i now understand why you had so many sqauds of blood claws when you posted your resources.
i have to find something like this, its just hard when your a farmer. not to many country people play. although im planning to go work on a farm in western australia, not to far from perth. so hopefully they have a few more people there.

[Aldarionn]

The narrative for the second half of the Assault on the Command Bastion is finished. I'll be adding the turn-by-turn report in a while. I'm running out of time to write.

[Asi the Red]

Eagerly awaiting the rest of your Lightning Assault batrep!

[Aldarionn]

Lightning Assault battle report finished! Check it out.

[Asi the Red]

I like how you threw a Torin reference in there. He's one of the Wolfblades in the second Space Wolf omnibus isn't he?

[Aldarionn]

Yes, and when my friend described Tybalt to me and his skill with a blade I immediately thought of Torin, who fought so gracefully that there were very few who could best him in combat, even among the Wolf Lords. Since Torin had a run-in with Berek's great company before (And Sigurd, funny you should remember Torin but not Sigurd ) I thought I would bring him in.