Well this game was last wednesday but one of my friends wanted to right up the report so here goes
Troops at the beginning:
Lizard Force:Commander
3 Squads
2 Bugs
Human Force:Commander
2 Squads
1 Power-armoured Squad (in APC)
Tank
2 Heavy Gunner Teams
DEPLOYMENT:
The Commander pulled off his cap and neatened his hair thoughtfully, then activated his earpiece. “APC Squadron 4BD, cover our west flank. Tank Squadron LN, you’ll be watching the east with me and my infantry. Our heavy gunners will be taking the middle. Try not to shoot them, alright?”
There was a grunted reply and he turned off the mic before letting himself sigh. This was not a war he wanted to be in, and especially not with that sullen numpty in charge of thirty tons of missile-launching machinery.
--
Unbeknownst to him, on the other side of the city the lizards were preparing for war. Two of their colossal clockwork bugs covered the flanks while the Leader deployed his foot soldiers, who scaled the buildings with sinuous ease; clinging to sheer walls and pavement alike.
--
TURN ONE:
Each side crept closer (at least so much as any giant earth-shaking machine can creep), maintaining formation and keeping watch for any movement. It didn’t take long for them to find each other and begin firing warning shots –none of which connected, but the wasted ammo did form a rather nice pattern in the scorched brickwork around them – before ducking for cover.
Long seconds passed as they tried to psyche each other out. The Commander broke first and ordered the APC Squadron to move forward. They’d barely made it down the road when one of the Lizard’s bugs leapt onto the building in front of them and opened fire, tearing deep gouges into the tanks armour. The crew were lucky to escape injury, and turned their attention to repairing the damaged controls while the heavy gunners raced forward to defend them, but the solid hit rebounded off the creature.
The nearby Lizard foot soldiers took advantage of the chaos to attack the APC again, and this time her crew didn’t stand by. They leapt out and began firing on the lizards, killing several and seriously unnerving two others, but the Lizards still held firm.
To the east a pack of Lizards scaled a building and watched in horror as the humans attacked the bug again, this time stripping away patches of armour to expose the cogs beneath. Another pack edged forward on the ground and threw a few unsuccessful pot-shots at the heavy gunners, who failed to notice.
The Commander put a hand to his ear. “Put down the bottles and sodding fire, LN!”
Wobbling slightly, the tank turned and scored a hit, but the bug still stood and its twin scaled the building beside the tank and fired, neatly cracking the armour and panicking the drunken crew.
The remainder of the human forces emptied their weapons into the thing, but when the smoke cleared it still stood triumphantly on the rooftop.
TURN TWO:
Wobbling piteously, the damaged bug made it’s stumbling way down the building and onto the main street. It opened its mouth and spat flame at the heavy gunners from point blank range but, as it did so, one mutilated leg collapsed beneath it and the shot went wild, completely missing the humans and toasting a nearby shrub. Without bothering to roll to its feet, the bug fired its main gun at the APC which exploded, killing three of the recently-disembarked crew.
The Commander groaned as the sound of his heavy gunners cacking themselves came over the comms. “Fire, you idiots! Do you know even know what those guns you carry are for?”
They fired. The bug flailed its legs in the air, then fell apart sadly. Its fellow crawled back down the building and hid behind it.
The nearby Lizard pack was less easily intimidated and charged forward, decimating one of the gunner teams. To the west, the remains of the APC Squadron took down two Lizards but the humans were clearly losing and, seeing this, the Lizards in the main street pressed their advantage and yet more soldiers fell.
In the tank, the pissed gunner squinted, trying to decide which blurry group of Lizards was the real one. He closed one eye, fired, and guessed wrong. The Lizards that fired back had better aim and far clearer bloodstreams, and their heavy weapons scored holes in the tank’s armour.
The remaining human troops fired at everything that looked even vaguely reptilian, but only took down two foot soldiers.
TURN THREE:
A group of humans huddled behind the tank for cover, picking off Lizards in short bursts of firing, but their caution paid off and a pack of Lizards was wiped out. Unfortunately, there was another one nearby which turned a flamethrower on them. The few survivors fled.
This turned out to be a sound survival tactic, as the remaining bug ventured back onto the building and blew up the tank, which ignited the nearby petrol storage area, which made a lot of soldiers need an impromptu change of clothing.
Screaming in rage at the logic-defying incompetence of his men, the Commander threw himself out of cover and began firing manically at the Lizards. “Who wants some!?” A bullet took out a foot soldier. “He wanted some! Who else!?” Another foot soldier collapsed and the rest ran. He cackled and waved his gun in the air, dancing on the spot.
At this point the battle was cut short, as the planet was unexpectedly destroyed to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.
(or was that the local yellow bus
)
(It wasn’t looking good for the humans, though.)
A final picture of the devastation !
Troops at the end:
1 Bug
Commander
1 squad at half-strength
1 squad at ¾ strength
Remaining human forces:
Commander
1 squad at full strength
1 remaining member from the power-armoured squad
1 Heavy Gunner Team
Cheers Martin