Index Jornath: Hidey Rags

Grot Hidey Rags

While Orks seek the adrenaline rush of sprinting, driving or flying headlong into combat making as much noise as possible to intimidate the foe, Gretchin favor a less obtuse approach. While herds of the lesser greenskins can be marshaled into pitched battles by Runtherders, or might take to the field if enough of the spiteful creatures are present in a large enough grouping. It is often the case that Gretchin will prey on targets of opportunity, striking at medicae stations, backline depots or troops out of formation, anything that the grots feel they can destroy with as little danger to themselves as possible.

In pursuit of this aim, some of the more inventive grots cover themselves in dirty rags, used burlap sacks with holes cut in them, or sometimes just strips of squig leather. As the Gretchin maneuver in an environment, the lackadaisical cleaning standards of the Orkish hordes work to their advantage, as dirt and debris snag and stain the Gretchin's attire. It is oft the case that commanders facing down the Orks will underestimate the threat posed by grot warbands moving in cover along the peripheries of their brutish masters advance, only to discover too late that vital ammunition trains, or artillery batteries had been slaughtered by Gretchin skirmishers concealed with great cloaks of foliage and mud. 

Thanks for reading!  This post was a part of an ongoing narrative campaign, in the "living setting" of Jornath. For more information about Jornath as a setting, including units, missions, and posts from other Jornath bloggers be sure to click on the Jornath [40k] tab at the top of this page for an up to date list of all posts.

-Your Favorite Madman-

Jornath: The Battle of Solago Bluffs

This week we looked at the Germain 86k Laslock,  the Scrappaboss and the Scrappa Gubbin Krew, to cap off the week, I wanted to post a small scale scenario that would reflect an archetypal skirmish, indicative of the types of engagements typically fought in the Early and Mid War Periods of the War for Jornath that included the new Index Jornath Datasheets. The fight focuses on a confrontation between a Jornathii Planetary Defense Force Unit guided by Mordian Iron Guardsmen and an Ork "Scrappa Warband", essentially Gretchin on garrison duty, as the Imperials attempt to oust the aliens from their dug-in positions overlooking the hamlet of Solago.

Summary: The Battle of Solago Bluffs occurred in the waning days of the 3rd year of the War for Jornath, during the Imperial preparations for Operation Gray Jewel.  Solago is a small hamlet along the Northeastern coast of Manfredi-At-Prima, that clings precariously to the cliffs marking the terminus of the Usamiljen mountain ranges where they drop into the ocean. It had been evacuated during Supreme Armsmaster Vazinas' lightning redeployments following the Sundering of Galjasim in the first days of the war and had remained unoccupied for almost two years, before Orks on the peripheries of warbands in the process of securing the primary highways out of the mountains moved into the area. As the northern cohorts and skitarii fought fiercely to free up these highways to allow for the redeployment of vital manpower for the coming Imperial counter-attack, it became clear that the fast-approaching deadline could not be met, and the winding coastal road was chosen as the fallback option. the 4th Bastion Garrison Cohort of Usamiljen, along with attendant Mordian Iron Guard 445th advisory attaches were tasked by Guild Master Horace Hezital to clear the coastal reaches into the lowlands. The 3rd Company, 6th Platoon, under the direction of Adrian Nemiolo was given the task of liberating Solago's stretch of the coastal highway. The initial fighting was fierce and saw the ork's superior positions and terrain advantage push back the Jornathii. Gretchin Scrappa troops had riven the area with gun nests and had a position of entrenched anti-tank guns located on high ground overlooking the highway preventing the Imperials from making good use of armor to secure the town. In a risky maneuver, the success of which he would later attribute to the Mordian veteran sergeant Charles Vandryke, Adrian Nemiolo led his platoon in a pre-dawn flanking maneuver over the difficult wooded ground north of the town, meeting the Scrappaz without the support of their Ork masters and collapsing the greenskins' defensive lines by sunrise. The Battle of Solago Bluffs is an archetype of the small scale town clearance actions fought throughout the early years of the war and indicative of the sacrifices made by the northern cohorts to break the Siege of Fort Behras.




LISTS

Players made choose to add any upgrades within the datasheets following the guidelines of Open Play using Power Level.


Two Furst Two Gutta Kore 

Klan:  Goffs
Warlord :   Agor Vrak Gogmuncha (Mek)
             
         1x 10 man Boyz Squad
         1x Wartrakk
         2x 10 man Grotz Squads (both of these units have the <Scrappa> keyword)
         2x  Scrappa Gubbin Krews
         1x  Scrappaboss
         2x Big Gunz  (these units must be Kannons)



3rd Company, 6th Platoon,  4th Bastion Garrison Cohort of Usamiljen

Regiment: Mordian
Warlord: Adrian Nemiolo (Company Commander)

         4x 10 man Infantry Squads (all models are armed with G86k Las-Locks) 
         3x Heavy Weapons Teams
         1x 10 man Veteran Squad
         1x Platoon Commander
         1x Command Squad






Mission:

Players will roll off and alternate deployment as normal, however, the Astra Militarum player will receive a +2 to their roll to go first. Standard secondary objectives apply in this mission, those being Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord and First Blood as defined in the Main Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook. For each enemy unit slain, a player will score 1 VP,  the Ork "Big Gunz" will reward 2 VP to the Imperial player for being destroyed, while the Veteran Squad and Platoon Commander will yield 2 VP to the Ork player for being destroyed. The winner of the game will be the side with the most Victory Points at the end of turn 5.

Special Rules:

Dawn Assault: If a model is the target of a ranged attack by another model further than 18"  away on the first turn of the game, the target will receive a +1 to their Save.  In addition the Ork Mek, Boyz and Wartrakk must start the game in reserve.

Prepared Defenses:  So long as they do not move from the point they are deployed, the Scrappa Gubbin Krew, and Big Gunz will receive a +2 to their Save against ranged attacks made against them. If for any reason, these units move during the course of the game, this benefit no longer applies.

   

Thanks for reading!  This post was a part of an ongoing narrative campaign, in the "living setting" of Jornath. For more information about Jornath as a setting, including units, missions, and posts from other Jornath bloggers be sure to click on the Jornath [40k] tab at the top of this page for an up to date list of all posts.

-Your Favorite Madman-

Index Jornath: Scrappa Gubbin Krew

The Scrappa Gubbin Krews are the lucky grots in a Scrappa Warband that get to carry around the man (or in this case gretchin) portable support weapons, pilfered by the warband in their travels. Much of the time, these Krews man the defensive positions around Ork garrisons. But when a Scrappa force is on the march they provide a fierce base of fire for their grot comrade, suppressing the enemy with a hail of dakka.

Thanks for reading!  This post was a part of an ongoing narrative campaign, in the "living setting" of Jornath. For more information about Jornath as a setting, including units, missions, and posts from other Jornath bloggers be sure to click on the Jornath [40k] tab at the top of this page for an up to date list of all posts.

-Your Favorite Madman-

Index Jornath: Scrappaboss

The Scrappaboss is a "couragous" leader of Gretchin Scrappa warbands. Much like their Ork counterparts, Gretchin leaders attain their rank through dint of sheer violence. But, unlike their brutish masters, Gretchin leaders must maintain their position of power through consistent bribery, trickey double-dealing, and the liberal application of example making. Scrappabosses lead their warbands in gathering up loot from old battlefields, taking whatever pickings the Orks couldn't be bothered to haul along with them. Generally, the larger greenskin's overlook choice weapons or particularly shiny gubbinz that might be more difficult to spot in their rush to gather what they can from the field. Later when the Scrappaz come to pick things clean and erect makeshift holdings for the Ork armies, it is the Scrappaboss that takes these rarer trinkets for themselves. Especially successful Scrappabosses will have a coterie of snotling runts to carry around all of their weapons for them. This overstock of equipment can come in handy for the Grot commanders, as a pack of frightened gretchin, wavering under the guns of the foe might be goaded to stay in the fight a moment longer and try out the boss's favorite blasta before legging it. Each moment a Scrappaboss can keep his mobs firing and maneuvering around the field is precious, grotz are naturally very timid, but a cunning Boss can turn them into a tide of scampering bodies, pouring out a maelstrom of fire from all angles.

Thanks for reading!  This post was a part of an ongoing narrative campaign, in the "living setting" of Jornath. For more information about Jornath as a setting, including units, missions, and posts from other Jornath bloggers be sure to click on the Jornath [40k] tab at the top of this page for an up to date list of all posts.

-Your Favorite Madman-

Index Jornath: Germain 86k Laslock

Art by Matt Ostgard [1]




The Germain 86K Las-Lock is the weapon of choice for a great many of the Cohorts on Jornath. Like all las-lock's the weapons simplistic design emphasizes stopping power at the expense of rate of fire. The Germain 86k is favored amongst the fighting forces of Jornath for its low cost and its cheap long term maintenance relative to lascarbines and fully-fledged las-rifles. It has the benefit of being locally produced on Jornath by the Germain Sons Fabricatum Guild, which taken in combination with a las weapons advantage in ammunition conservation makes purchasing and maintaining the weapon over time significantly cheaper for Jornathii than even low-end auto weaponry.

The 86K uses an external moderate capacity battery pack which connects to the las-locks internal power cell via a steel threaded, type D power channeling wire sheathed in a rubber cover. It's downside is the length of time for the cell to create a kinetically viable charge, as well as the time consuming reload which can be as much as 30-45 seconds even for experienced users. Perhaps the most problematic issue with the 86K is wearing damage to the channeling wire and rubber cover at the connection point to the external battery pack which during use in the field can cause dangerous shorts in the weapons power cell, if dirt or debris finds its way into the channeling wire, or into the power cell the weapon could take significantly longer to charge between shots, it might short out or in rare cases the cell might suffer a catastrophic failure and catch fire.

Newer Germain Laslocks have since rectified this issue, such as the 93K, but the manufacturing workarounds needed to prevent the majority of these issues move these later las-locks into the price point of mid-range Lasrifles, and thus invalidating their use amongst many of the planets Cohorts. Realizing this, Germain has continued production of the 86K as their flagship military rifle, while rebranding all models following the 93K to their new "L" or Luxury collectors series, advertising them to the aristocracy, game hunters, and shipmasters the whole sector over to a great deal of success. The 428L, for example, is a particularly favored rifle for its immense spectrum of finishes, and accessories. For true Las-Lock enthusiasts, however, the 93K is a particular prize, as it predates the L series and never saw the mass production of previous models.

[1] Matt Ostgard Artstation - LINK

Thanks for reading!  This post was a part of an ongoing narrative campaign, in the "living setting" of Jornath. For more information about Jornath as a setting, including units, missions, and posts from other Jornath bloggers be sure to click on the Jornath [40k] tab at the top of this page for an up to date list of all posts.

-Your Favorite Madman-