82 WHITE DWARF WARHAMMER 40,000 CAMPAIGN

I t all began on Badlanding, an Imperialsystem at the fringes of Ork dominatedspace and only a few weeks away from

the Rynn star system. On 3650989.M41,Badlanding was invaded by Ork hordesunder the command of Warlord Snagrodthe Arch-Arsonist of Charadon.

Violently independent and hostile, theempire of Charadon had endured as ablight on the galaxy for over sixteencenturies under a series of differentwarlords – each more vicious and sadisticthan the last. The current incumbent, the

self-proclaimed Arch-Arsonist, was aparticularly vicious and sadistic leader of arace generally noted for its vicious andsadistic tendencies. Snagrod’s vicious (andsadistic) wars had conquered all the Orktribes opposing him in a twelve-year reignof bloodshed and mayhem. This madeCharadon the most powerful coalition inthe anarchic confines of Ork space.

Badlanding fell to the Orks in a matterof weeks, and Snagrod’s boasts that Rynn’sWorld was next invited violent retributionfrom the Crimson Fists. They took the war

RYNN’S WORLDDISASTER ON

Pedro Kantor (ChapterMaster Kantor, he bitterlyreminded himself) gazedback at the actinic plasmafires that climbed so highinto the night sky theycreated a false dawn. TheCrimson Fists’ thousand-year-old fortress-monastery was at theheart of those fires. Athousand years of serviceto the Emperor on Rynn’sWorld, a thousand yearsof discipline, faith andsacrifice was beingconsumed by thosehungry white flames.Kantor felt an icy andunaccustomed knot offear in his stomach. Hewas Master of theChapter, the responsibilityfor this disaster was hisand his alone. He hadfailed in his duty.

Can the might of Waaagh! Snagrod conquer even a SpaceMarine Chapter planet? War correspondent and greenskinsympathiser Phil Kelly revisits the Battle for the Farm, the firstever scenario written for Warhammer 40,000, and the eventsleading up to the Crimson Fists’ darkest hour...

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to Badlanding, but the Orks fought backhard. Soon an Ork armada approachedRynn’s World itself, and war was joined ona new scale.

An Astartes Chapter planet bristles withpotent weapons of war and boasts themilitary might of the Space Marines in itsdefence. By rights the Ork armada shouldhave been taken apart and destroyedwithin a matter of days. But it was not tobe. Due to a catastrophic weaponsmalfunction in the fortress-monastery’scavernous arsenal, much of the CrimsonFists’ headquarters was destroyed in theopening stages of the Ork invasion. As theOrks made planetfall in ever-increasingnumbers, the remainder of the CrimsonFists were left to fight a guerrilla war,which almost spelt the end of the Chapter,and brought shame to its battle brothers.

Can Chapter Master Pedro Kantor makeit back to New Rynn City in one piece, andbegin the herculean task of restoring hisChapter to its former glory? Why not grabsome dice and find out!

The Rynn’s World campaignThe events of the Rynn’s World disaster areetched forever in the annals of the CrimsonFists and passed down from Runtherd toWildboy in Ork tribes all across theCharadon Empire. Still, that doesn’t meanyou can’t have a go at reliving those diredays yourselves, and even at changinghistory if you can!

If you are an Ork player, this is a greatexcuse to get stuck in and really notch oneup for the greenskins – who knows, youmay be lucky enough to incapacitate oreven kill a Chapter Master, and how goodwould his head look stuck on yourWarboss’ bosspole?

If you play Crimson Fists, perhaps youwould like to see if you could fare betterthan your historical counterparts, andmaybe even redeem the honour of theChapter by brutally massacring thoseinvaders who had dared to sully Rynn’s

Rogue TraderThe original Warhammer40,000 rulebook, knownto pipe-smoking veteransacross the world asRogue Trader, wasinitially published in1987. It is a mighty ifrather eccentric tome,filled with everythingfrom Space Marines tocarnivorous sand clams.

™

Planetstrike at Badlanding

The KrugerportCounterattack

Into theMaelstrom

The Battle ofJadeberry Hill

The Battle at the Farm

The Road toNew Rynn City

Blades in the Night

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World with their presence?If you are a Space Marine player of a

different stripe, this is a great opportunityto see if your preferred Chapter could havedone a better job of repelling the Orkinvasion. You never know – next time itcould be your Chapter planet on the hurtyend of an Ork Waaagh!

In any case, we hope that this slice ofvintage wargaming history will inspire youto find an opponent and maybe try out thelatest incarnation of the first ever scenariowritten for Warhammer 40,000.

Playing the campaignThe Rynn’s World Disaster is a two-playercampaign which is played by enacting aseries of linked games. These includeeverything from squad-based gamesinvolving a handful of models a side, allthe way up to mighty games of Apocalypse(one of which includes rules for thecataclysmic moment when the CrimsonFists’ Fortress Monastery is blown tosmithereens). It’ll take a while to play, butthen all the best campaigns do!

Phase One: Badlanding Phase Two: Rynn’s World

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CAMPAIGN

84 WHITE DWARF WARHAMMER 40,000 CAMPAIGN

The single habitable world of theBadlanding system was protected by threerecruitment companies of the ImperialGuard and a small garrison of CrimsonFists, plus a planetary defence network ofground-based missile silos and defencelasers which had not been blessed by aTech-Priest in over three centuries. Perhapsunsurprisingly the Orks made successfullandings across the planet, although theylost a number of ships to both theantiquated defences and some ill-considered landings in the treacherous dust seas of the equatorial region.

The Imperial troops fought alongsidethe indigenous Badlanders and betweenthem they put up a stout resistance centredaround Krugerport, the only sizablesettlement on the planet and seat ofgovernment. However desperately theforces of Badlanding fought, the Orksseemed bolder and more numerous. TheImperial garrison was swiftly outmatchedby the growing numbers of Orks whichgathered against them, and Krugerport fellwithin days, even as a counter strike ofCrimson Fists was readied at their fortress-monastery on Rynn’s World.

Three Thunderhawks cut through theyellow haze of Badlanding’s atmosphere toplace the Space Marines within thirty milesof Krugerport. Captain Drakken planned tomarch his troops to the town, destroy itscommunications tower and water filtrationplant, gauge the strength of the Orkgarrison and then withdraw for extractionbefore overwhelming reinforcementsarrived from the nearest harvesting rigs.

Within an hour, the 4th Company hadadvanced within the outer limits ofKrugerport. However, the Orks becamealerted to their presence and fighting brokeout across the town. Initial resistance wasweak and scattered as individual Orks orsmall groups tenaciously held ruinedbuildings or recklessly counterattackeddown the winding streets. Brushing asidethe opposition, the Space Marines pushedforward towards their twin objectives of thecommunications tower and filtration plant.

PHASE ONE: BADLANDING1 PLANETSTRIKE AT BADLANDING

Annihilation mission, Pitched Battle deployment.Attackers: Orks (1000pts).

Defenders: Imperial Guard and/or Space Marines (1000pts).

Special Rules• The Imperial playermay launch a PreliminaryBombardment at the startof his second turn.

• The winning playergains an extra 50 pointsfor his army in theKrugerport Counterattackmission for every ’killpoint’ that the wins by.

Attackers: Space Marinescomposed from Scoutsand Scout Bikers only. NoHQ (750pts).

Defenders: Orks chosen from theTroops section only. NoHQ (750pts).

Special Rules•Any surviving models onthe winning side may beused in Scenario 3 forfree.

Attacker: Space Marines(2000pts).

Defender: Orks (2000pts).

Objective:There is only oneobjective (thecommunications tower)which is placed in theOrk deployment area.

Special Rules• Forces can be affectedby previous missions. • If the Ork player holdsthe communicationstower at the end of of thegame, he recieves anadditional strategic assetin Scenario 4.

Should the Space Marinescontrol it, the Ork playerrecieves one less strategicasset than normal.

2 BLADES IN THE NIGHTCapture and Control mission, Table Quarters deplyment.

Although wresting Badlanding from theOrks’ control would be impossible in theshort term, Chapter Master Kantor planneda series of raids on Warlord Snagrod’s latestacquisition to secure information on thestrength of the Orks and prevent themtightening their grip on Badlanding andexploiting its resources.

The initial phases of the raid passedwell. At nightfall, Scout squads infiltratedthe town ahead of the main body ofCrimson Fists and eliminated several guardposts to prevent the alarm being raised asthe rest of the Company moved forward.

3 THE KRUGERPORT COUNTERATTACK Seized Ground mission (modified), Dawn of War deployment

A Space Marine Scout’sspecialiseat infiltration,perfect for clandestinemissions like this.

A Veteran Sergeantdirects the counterattackat Krugerport.

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4 INTO THE MAELSTROM Apocalypse game, no points limit

PHASE TWO: RYNN’S WORLD

The planetary defences of Rynn’s Worldwere not weak and ill-kept like those atBadlanding. Defence platforms and systemships were clustered thickly around theplanet; great batteries of defence lasers andmissiles lay beneath its surface. Withinseconds of arrival, the first Ork ship wastorn apart by incandescent blasts of laser-fire. More followed with each passingmoment as more weapons came onlineand the defensive fire intensified. The nightside of Rynn’s World grew bright as daybeneath the terrible inferno which criss-crossed the heavens.

The Ork fleet plunged on into themaelstrom with reckless bravery. Theyblasted satellites and platforms, rammed orboarded system ships and monitors. Thefirst assault landers breached theatmosphere and plummeted down uponlaser silos and missile sites, their deadlycargoes of green-skinned warriors spillingout to slaughter the defence crews. Thetally of casualties and combat reportsbecame a stream and then a flood as thefighting spread.

Then, at the height of the battle, asingle missile from a salvo launched byBattery Laculum on the western flank ofthe fortress-monastery went awry. At theedge of the stratosphere it fell back, its fiery

trail describing a long, elegant arc backtowards the heavily armoured bulk of theChapter fortress. A single rogue missileshould have been able to inflict little harmon those adamantium walls, let alonethreaten its vulnerable arsenal protected bystasis fields, ceramite doors and hundredsof metres of solid rock. Yet harm it did – byinfernal chance it burrowed deep into thenigh-impenetrable stone, and its plasmawarhead detonated with full force andbreached the arsenal walls.

The ancient, mountain-top strongholdshook as secondary explosions rippedthrough its subterranean catacombs. Flashfires roared through corridors and engulfedstairwells. Jets of flame geysered from everyfire-point and embrasure, and in momentsthe fortress-monastery had become anerupting volcano of terrible violence. Therock itself melted and ran like wax in theresultant inferno.

Into the Maelstrom is an optional gameof Apocalypse that you can play torepresent the full-scale invasion of Rynn’sWorld by the psychotic invaders underSnagrod’s command. If you don’t haveenough models to form a 3000-point forcefor each side, or a copy of Apocalypse,never fear – play a smaller game or just goonto the Battle for the Farm scenario.

The Orks in Krugerport had proved tobe alert and exceedingly aggressive.Chapter Master Kantor, a veteran of

many wars against the Orks, could seewhat was coming by the strength andaggression of the Ork forces encountered.An Ork Waaagh! was gathering strengthand the attack on Badlanding had onlybeen the first ripple of lightning at thebeginning of a storm. Badlanding wouldhave to be reconquered when the Orkshad expended their strength on expansionand conquest, not whilst the Orks weregathering their forces there.

The fortress-monastery of the CrimsonFists was placed on full alert and allcompanies recalled, even though an attackon the Crimson Fists’ heavily-defendedhome world seemed insane.

On 3903989.M41, orbiting augursatellites registered an alien warfleet exitingthe warp. Opticon scans confirmed theapproaching fleet as a mass of ramshackleOrk ships which were even now launchinga cloud of assault boats and landers at theplanet. Snagrod was apparently psychoticenough to try a full-scale invasion ofRynn’s World.

Special Rules:• The Imperial playershave the following addedto their normal forces:

Bonus Strategic Assets:Precision StrikeOrbital BombardmentScheduled Bombardment

Apocalypse DatasheetDefence Laser

The rules for a DefenceLaser can be found atwww.games-workshop.com

• The Darkest Hour:At the beginning of eachturn, roll on the followingtable to see if the heart ofthe Imperial defences hasbeen annihilated:

Turn 1 2 3 4D6 n/a 5+ 3+ auto

When the rogue warheadtakes out the CrimsonFists arsenal, every modelon the table takes a S10hit at AP1 (vehicles are hiton their side armour).

• Objectives can beclaimed by units of anysize, even single models –it’s every man for himself!

WHITE DWARF WARHAMMER 40,000 CAMPAIGN86

5 THE BATTLE AT THE FARM Special Mission

Chapter Master Kantor had escaped thedestruction of the fortress. He was engagedin surveying the outer defences at the timethe attack came, and was hastening backas the missile struck. So Kantor and ahandful of Crimson Fists survived theconflagration and, grimly setting aside theirfury, fell back towards the distant planetarycapital of New Rynn City. With theirfortress – heart of the planetary defences –reduced to rubble, the skies above themsoon filled with the distant glitter of themultitude of Ork ships in orbit. Hundredsof assault boats and landers streaked acrossthe night sky like fiery meteors.

Over the next five days the Orksrampaged across Rynn’s World virtuallyunchecked. Kantor and his men foughtskirmishes with Ork hunter-killer-eaterpatrols, often barely escaping before moreOrks arrived in overwhelming numbers.They travelled by night to avoid theattention of the Ork fighta-bommerz whichdominated the skies by day. During thedaylight hours they were forced to seekcover where they could – lying up amidstthe ruins of a farm one day, hiding out inan abandoned quarry the next. Food andammunition grew scarce, and sooner orlater an Ork patrol was bound to stumbleupon their position...

Kantor’s Last Chance• Pedro Kantor, Chapter Master of the

Crimson Fists.• Ten Tactical Space Marines with a

missile launcher and a flamer, splitinto two five-man combat squads.

• Five Space Marine VanguardVeterans (with close combatweapons and bolt pistols andwithout jump packs) or fiveSternguard Veterans.

Bullneck’s Ork Raiders• Warboss Thrugg Bullneck with

power klaw, twin-linked shoota, anda bosspole.

• 12 Ork Boyz with slugga andchoppa, including Hruk da Nob(armed with twin-linked shoota andchoppa).

• 12 Ork Boyz armed with shootas.• Five Burna Boyz including a Mek

with a kustom mega blasta.• One Deff Dread armed with rokkit

launcha and big shoota.

FORCES

Space Marine Deployment

Space Marines’ BriefThe Space Marines mustattempt to kill ThruggBullneck and obliterate hisminions, all the while keepingKantor alive. That said, theChapter Master will need toget stuck in if you’ve a hopeof taking Bullneck down.

When setting up, make sure to place a Stash counter inthe rear section of the ruined farmstead as shown onthe map. Thrugg must try to get to the Stash by the endof the game if he can – if he ends any phase on themarker, then the Stash counts as retrieved.

30"

48"

Stash

Farm Ruins

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Set-upThe Space Marines set up in the ruins of the farmfollowing the rules for hidden set-up (see page 269 of the40K rulebook). They may not hold any units in reserve.

Once the Space Marines have placed their hiddenset-up markers, the Orks deploy. The Space Marineplayer then deploys his forces according to theplacement of the markers.

Thrugg is trying to make it look like his Orks are on aroutine patrol and therefore his forces are covering asmuch ground as possible. For this reason, Thrugg andHruk may not start the game within 24" of each other.

The Honour of the Crimson Fists: All units in the samearmy as Pedro Kantor have the Preferred Enemy: Orksand Stubborn special rules.

Lines of retreatThe Ork player will retreat back to the short board edgein their deployment zone. The Space Marine player willretreat to the opposite board edge.

Who goes first?The Ork side has the initiative and hence goes first.

Game lengthThe game lasts for 8 turns before Ork reinforcementsarrive, forcing the Crimson Fists to withdraw towardsNew Rynn City and denying Thrugg his chance to nickthe loot on the quiet.

Reaping the rewards• If the Orks manage to take down Pedro Kantor, heescapes with his life but is badly wounded, and mustsubtract 1 from all his characteristics for the remainder ofthe campaign. • If Thrugg Bullneck gets to the Stash counter and theWarlord survives, he spends his ill-gotten gains in thePainboy’s klinik. He adds +1 to all his characteristicswhen he appears in the Battle for Jadeberry Hill.• If the Space Marines manage to kill Thrugg Bullneckthey are bolstered by their success. All surviving CrimsonFists are counted as Fearless for the rest of the campaign.• If the Space Marines kill all the Orks then thegreenskin forces in the area are not alerted to theCrimson Fists’ presence. They need not play the Road toNew Rynn City scenario. All Space Marines surviving theBattle of the Farm are added to the forces used in thefinal battle.

Ork Player’s BriefThe Orks must attempt to kill PedroKantor. In addition, the last timeThrugg was here he discovered astash of loot and archeotech in thefarm. The Ork player must get Thruggin position to pick up his Stash. Ofcourse, the easiest way to do this is tokill everything in Thrugg’s path!

Ork Deployment

6"

24"

18"

12"

0"

Generator

88 WHITE DWARF WARHAMMER 40,000 CAMPAIGN

BUILDING THE FARM

Farm ruinsChad created the farm ruins using theWarhammer 40,000 City Ruins frames. Just oneof the ruined building kits should provide youwith enough components to create the ruinedoutline you need to represent the farmstead.Once the ruins were based, they were painted indull greys and metallic greens. Make sure acouple of your farm ruin parts have an extralevel to provide your Space Marines with someelevated positions.

The generatorFor the generator, Chad found a bit of old scenerythat Dave had made years ago, and simply spruced itup a bit! For this kind of scenery piece, try to gethold of some bitz from broken household appliances– these items should have components that, with abit of modification and a swish paint job, willcombine to make a perfect generator for your game.

Stash counterMark Jones made the Stash counter by raiding hisbitz box and sticking components that any self-respecting Ork Boss would find desirableonto a resin base althoughyou could use a 40mmround base. On thecounter we usedyou’ll find loads ofplastic weapons, anammo crate fromthe BattlefieldAccessory frame,a shell casing andeven some rockcrystal procuredfrom a craft shop.

Studio modellers Mark Jones, Chad Mierzwa and DaveAndrews were responsible for the new Battle for the Farmterrain. Here’s how they did it.

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Kantor led his men to a major underzoomthat led under the river near Jadeberry Hill.The Crimson Fists reached the tunnelentrance only minutes before the Orksadvanced. They rejoiced when theydiscovered that the tunnel mouth wasbeing held by a large force of Crimson Fistswho had been dispatched to New RynnCity before the Orks attacked. Their leaderwas Veteran Sergeant Huron Grimm, whowas astounded to find his old ChapterMaster emerging from the pre-dawn mistwith the battered and bloodied remnants ofhis command.

The rejoicing was short-lived. Momentslater all had to man the barricades. A vastforce of Ork troops, led by Snagrodhimself, melted out of the dawn light andbattered at the Crimson Fists in successivewave attacks.

6 THE ROAD TO NEW RYNN CITYCombat Patrol scenario (adapted)

7 THE BATTLE OF JADEBERRY HILLApocalypse game, no points limit

On the tenth night after the destruction ofthe fortress-monastery, Kantor and hiscommand reached the outskirts of NewRynn City – only to find shattered ruins inplace of the once-proud metropolis. Thecentral portion of the city was built on anisland in the midst of the great riverPakomac, and this appeared battered butstill standing. The rest had been destroyedin the fighting. Many Ork forts had beenbuilt out of the rubble and it was obviousthat several warbands were vying for theglory of capturing the last city on theplanet. Each Warboss was busy trying tocross the river – some were buildingbridges under withering fire from thedefenders, others were constructing boatsor pontoons or submersible siege towers,still others were bombarding the city withartillery. Kantor still had a chance.

Forces:• The Space Marines fieldthe same forces as used inthe Battle for the Farm.• The Orks have 300points of Troops from theOrk army list.

Terrain:• Place as much cityterrain as possible on theboard. You could evenuse the Cities of Deathrules.

Special Rules:• The victor may add thesurvivors of this battle tothe army in the nextScenario.• If the Space Marineswere all taken down atthe Farm, play a Breakoutmission with the SpaceMarines as the Attackers.

Special Rules:• Thrugg Bullneck maytake part in this battle ifhe survived the Battle atthe Farm – he is used inaddition to the normalOrk point total.• While Kantor is alive,all Crimson Fists recievethe Counter Attackuniversal special rule.

Bonus Strategic Assets:Space MarinesHold at All Costs,Obstacles, Recon.

OrksFlank March, Tunnels,Camouflage.

The victor of this gamewins the campaign.

Congratulations!

After three days of constant fighting, the CrimsonFists were driven back down the underzoomtunnel and forced to use demolition charges toprevent the Orks following. New Rynn City was leftcompletely isolated and besieged.

The eighteen-month siege of New Rynn City,and the campaign to liberate Rynn’s World whenImperial reinforcements finally arrived, would

make epic tales in their own right and greatmaterial for a future campaign. As Kantor hadpredicted, it took years of fighting to reconquerthe worlds in Loki Sector, which were seized byWaaagh! Snagrod.

Badlanding remains in Ork hands to this day,but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t revisit itswar-torn dust seas with revenge in mind…

THE AFTERMATH

Chapter Master Cantor isequipped with a power fistand the treasured heirloom ofthe Crimson Fists Chapter,Dorn’s Arrow.

This Ork Warboss has aPower Klaw, achievedwith a basic hand swap.Check out this month’sCitadel Toolbox forsome conversion tips.