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-

Jornath: The Fall of Wilset 542

.23 Months since the Fall of Usamilplatz.

With the Maniples of Prima Jama's Skitarii embarked upon increasingly heavy fighting across the breadth of the offensive area around Usamilplatz and with the alien's attempted breakthrough on the extreme right of the Imperial line only barely rebuffed with extreme casualties. MQC 87-C* in control of the PDF and Astra Militarum elements within the surrounding areas looked to stymie any potential flow of new Ork warbands into the region. With most of 1AG's regiments already embarking on a campaign of retaking major automotive roadways and mag-lev lines through the Eastern ranges of the Usamiljen Mountains, assets were already in a position to be moved quickly to act as blocking forces.  

The 334th Idrian "Ghosts" Irregulars, were just one of 3 Regiments moved to act in this capacity. Understrength after sustaining casualties clearing out villages in the vicinity of the Ork Exclusion Zone east of Kula Hive, the 334th was acting in a support role to the 1st Usamiljan Fusilier Cohorts' "Operation Vengeful Deliverance", this being their recapture of the city of Saltzkost, along a major highway running southbound into the lowland regions of northern Kula Province.

The Regiment was moved into a 60 Km mountain pass, blocking a tertiary highway which runs into the southeastern edge of Korsnokrat. While the Orks in the Saltzkhost operational area's eastern reaches were expected to deploy only noncommital probing assaults until the city was retaken (the aliens holding the city represented a rival warband to those positioned in the foothills east of the city.) the counter-offensive launched haltingly in the wake of the Emerald Screen incident would spur the orks into a frenzy and all three units occupying the Saltzkhost operations area were battered with waves of light infantry and vehicles for several weeks. 

About a month after the Emerald Scream, greenskin forces within the Usamilplatz region gained a great deal of tactical coordination, at odds with trends extrapolated by IntRec for those xenos formations. The ensuing attacks within Usamilplatz and Korsnokrat which resulted in the death of multiple Skitarii Magos and the routing of PDF and Mechanicus forces has already been recorded. But in Saltzkhost, Ork Motorized forces advanced into the understrength 334th,  no doubt under orders from their unknown warlord to link with their comrades expected to break through the Imperial defenders of Korsnokrat. 

The Regimental headquarters of the 334th was Bastion W542,  this position would come under no less than 21 successive waves of greenskin's before the end.  At the height of the attack, when 8 of the regiments 12 companies had already been destroyed, the regiment was reinforced by members of the Sons of Medusa's Warclan Megara reserve assets. They would join the remnants of the regiments command bastion garrison in their final charge, to buy time for the remaining companies to withdraw and link with units in southern Korsnokrat.

The Fall of bastion W542 would be the final resistance preventing the Ork reserves in Saltzkhost from sweeping north into the southern flank of the already depleted Imperial forces in Korsnokrat. While all members of the 334th conducted themselves with honor in the field, it changed little in the bearing that the Mechanicus line in Usamilplatz was in dire straits of being rolled up from the south by Ork motorized units.  Only steadfast resolve and a great deal of ammunition would save the Imperium's soldiers and allow them to continue to hold the line.

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-