Na'Porkleon re-invades Zoggot

Four months had past since the forces of Chaos kicked the orks of the minor world of Zoggot and the Norsefire empire was given control of the new world. The Arch Cleric and his Word Bearer allies then moved in force to Zadoc, while a defensive garison was left in charge in the Enceladus subsector. However the warlord Na'Porkleon took advantage of the absence of the Word Bearer fleet to send a new invasion force back to Zoggot. The invasion "fleet" consisted of little more than a couple of kroozers, but by early 09.013M42 the force had reached the Zoggot system and was heading towards the minor world, ork Roks being constructed at an alarming speed and drifting in with the main force.

Na'Porkleon landed on 1209.013M42 and met little resistance. He was allowed to establish a bridgehead while the traitor guard units defending Zoggot hastily erected fortifications and appealed for help. Frustrated, the Arch Cleric diverted a significant force to bolster his defences in the Enceldaus subsector, while keeping the majority of his forces on Zadoc.

The small force of traitor marines arrived by strike cruiser some weeks later, easily avoiding the ork vessels and landing on the planet's night side on 2609.013M42. The force was in battle less than three days later, where it faced the vanguard of Na'Porkleon's horde.

The ork forces comprised mainly of boys, and lots of them, bedecked in their characteristic blood axe "kamo" and sporting an unfeasible amount of firepower. Despite the Arch Cleric and the Word Bearers managing to surprise their enemy, their initial bombardment was absorbed and with a deafening roar the orks rushed towards their enemy. A bloodbath followed as the ork firepower pinned the chaos forces down, while the greenskin infantry closed the distance, finally smashing into the chaos lines and ripping them apart. The orks took heavy losses as well, their warboss and his mega armoured nobz succumbing finally to the attentions of two Soul Grinders, but they had smashed the chaos heavy units. In the air the ork aircraft were bested by daemonic helldrakes, but concentrated loota fire shot down anything which came to close.

By the end of the second day the chaos force was retreating, and Na'Porkleon's forces had overrun nearly a third of the planet's inhabited bases. The war on Zoggot had been reopened and chaos dreams of an invasion of Gargash had been shattered for the time being.

The Aleph Sector Campaign

Welcome to all new members of the Wargames Society! Here is a very short explanation of how the campaign works.

The Aleph sector campaign is a narrative campaign which has been going on since 2001. Its likely the longest running and most written about campaign not run by Games Workshop!

The full history of the sector can be found on the right under "Campaign Files", along with a full description of how the campaign works. However there are nearly a million words to read, so the three posts below show an overview of what's going on in the campaign right now!

The campaign is a "turn up and play" campaign. When you win a game you earn "points" which go towards the campaign. The basic points are as follows:

Games 1500-2000pts:
Loss - 0pts
draw (same VPs) - 0pts
win (neither side gets 3VPs) - 1pt
win (someone wins and gets 3 or more VPs) - 2pts
win (scoring 3+ VPs and double your opponent) - 3pts
win (wiping your opponent off the board) - 4pts

In addition bigger games score more points and the campaign is not limited to 40K. Epic, Gothic, Kill Team and AI all feature. Generally armies are sorted into "factions" (broadly races but not always) and unless stated you're results will be lumped in with your "faction" - e.g. if you are an eldar player and you play a space marine player and win, your result will be applied to the Ares campaign (see below) unless otherwise specified.

You can play whenever you want and whoever you want and have as little or as much involvement in the narrative as you want. Generally there are five kinds of player, briefly explained below.

1 - The winning player submits his win and I (the GM) will apply the most sensible result to the campaign (easy!)
2 - The winning player will be given options by the GM and will pick one.
3 - The winning player will already have an idea of what his faction wants to do in the campaign, perhaps with some background. The GM comes up with ways the player can achieve the results.
4 - The player knows the rules fairly well and will plan campaigns by consulting the map. He will inform the GM of what the battle is about and the result will be applied afterwards. Usually these players have a faction with a fair amount of "fluff" and even contribute things to the blog.
5 - This player is someone who understands and shapes the campaign. They are similar to 4 but are usually the leaders of a certain faction and guide events and help the GM with story arcs.

Most players start between 1-3 and then some move on to 4-5. It depends how much you want to be involved in the background. And don't worry about "losing" for your side. It's a multiplayer narrative campaign not a league! You can't "win" the campaign nor can one side be "wiped out". The campaign is about building a history of events and creating story arcs, not about finding out who is "best" at 40K!

Come and see me on Saturday 5th October if you want to know more!

Sector: Current Warzones Map

Aleph Sector factions & Motivations

Imperium
Over the last decade the Imperium have lost the Aleph subsector and much of the Zadoc subsector. However Veers' crusade in the Deeps was partially successful, and saw the breaking of chaos dominion over many worlds. Now however the Imperium faces a myriad of threats to its interest, with several alien empires impinging on its territory, and hive fleet Nemesis devouring a path through the sector. It is up to the new Sector Governor to re-establish control of the situation and reassert the power of the Emperor across the region.

Chaos
The power of chaos has waned significantly from its zenith five years ago, but is now showing signs of a resurgence. Various factions have come and gone, but now the forces of chaos are becoming united once more, and aim to rid the Enceladus subsector of the ork infestation, while taking Zadoc and a host of other worlds from the Imperium. There are threats however. Nemesis is eating into the chaos empire in the Rim Worlds, and the necrons are implacably advancing in the Perseus Deeps, while the tau are in direct competition with chaos for control of the Zadoc subsector.

Necrons
For millenia the necrons slumbered. Now they have awoken amongst the ruins of their ancient empire. So far the reconquest of the Harakhty dynasty's worlds has gone well. From nothing, fully ten systems have fallen under the yoke of necron rule. However the work has only just begun, for in ages past the dynasty ruled over a hundred worlds. One by one the necron rulers plan to reconquer their lost empire, enslaving millions of alien vermin to do their bidding.

Alliance
The alliance formed in 011M42 to counter the growing power of the necrons, but it is also aligned against the forces of chaos. The alliance includes the eldar, led or guided by the harlequins of the Rillietan, the Tau empire, who's conquests over the last decade have given them the "aleph expansion sphere", and the Federacy, a secessionist movement which broke away from the imperial yoke some years ago. The tau are by far the largest force in the alliance, with the Federacy providing limited military support. The eldar commit when it is in their own interests, and tensions often arise between the eldar and the tau when the latter are not consulted over the actions of the former. Will the alliance hold? Only time will tell.

Orks
The orks of the Aleph sector have never been led by a single warlord. Nazghat, Snazteef, Krumpgutz, Thrugnik, Uzfang, Da Verminator and Na'Porkleon have all come to prominence at different times, although Nazghat secured a small empire in the Mabb Nebula for a time so may be considered to be the most successful thus far. However it is Uzfang who currently holds sway over the orks, who remain embattled on Fort Sparcos and locked in a long war on Hylas. So far the orks are contained, but for how long?

Tyranids
Hive fleet Nemesis is by far the most dangerous hive fleet to have come out of the eastern rim. Hive fleets morph, megalodon and triton were all defeated, at great cost, but Nemesis is different. Having devoured several key worlds in the Zadoc subsector the hive mind is travelling further and further in to the sector. It has communicated with its prey, and seems to possess a strategic vision which goes far beyond the expected mindless violence of the alien race. More surprising still it seems to have originated from within the galaxy, something which puzzles the inquisition greatly.

Aleph Sector Current Warzones

Zadoc Subsector
The Zadoc subsector was once the second most important subsector to the Imperium. Since 006M42 however the Imperium has lost the major world of Tarsis Major to the Tau and the agri worlds of Alphe and Betor have been destroyed by the tyranid menace. Embattled on every front only Libria remains wholly Imperial, as chaos, orks, tyranids and the tau fight for control and resources of the subsector.

Hylas
On Hylas General Van Dorn faces the might of Warlord Uzfang, "Da Big Boss" of the orks in the sector. Orks have taken much of the southern continent, but for now the war has fallen into a stalemate since the Praetorian began erecting formidable defences in the path of the ork advance.

Tyranteous
Initially the agri-world of Tyranteous was invaded by the forces of chaos and the tau, who both saw the world as the key to starving the more important world of Zadoc into submission. However the tau with their greater resources managed to eliminate the chaos threat, and the tau are building up for a new offensive to break the imperial hold on the remainder of the planet.

Grimlock
Grimlock is the last bastien of chaos power in the Zadoc subsector and serves as the capital of their empire in the Rim worlds. Much of this empire has been ravaged by Hive Fleet Nemesis, and now the hive mind has control of two thirds of the major chaos world. Should the remainder fall, the rest of the systems in the region would be doomed.

Fort Sparcos
Fort Sparcos was once imperial, before being taken over by the orks of the Mabb Nebula. Now infested with the tyranid Xenos, the battle for control of the world has fallen into a long and bloody stalemate as orks from around the sector travel to Sparcos to prove themselves and test out new weapons against the aliens.

Vastrid Subsector
The Vastrid sector remains largely imperial, and is now home to sector command and the Imperial Governor General Titus Luthor, nominally in charge of the entire sector. Despite harbouring orks and other aliens, the subsector is well defended and serves as a bastien against the predations of alien empires.

Enceladus subsector
The Enceladus sector was lost to the imperium millenia ago, and is now controlled by heretical chaos warlords and petty ork empires. It is an area the Tau will seek to expand into, as it borders their young empire, while the reclamation of the region by the imperium has long been an aspiration.

Nazog
Nazog is an ork controlled world in the Enceladus hub region. Following the successful campaign on the minor world of Zoggot, the forces of chaos are marshaling for their next assault against the orks. The chaos warlords hope to crush the orks in the Hub, joining Charybdis with the Norsefire empire, creating a new major power in the sector.

Perseus Deeps
The Perseus Deeps is an area of old dim stars. It is home to all manner of aliens, heretics and dangerous secrets. The Imperium has successfully pacified much of the upper Deeps, crushing chaos in the process. However now the Necron Harakhty dynasty has awoken, and is reconquering its former worlds at an alarming pace.

Ares
Ares is a world held by the Imperium of great value to the eldar. The war here has ground on for over 400 days with little ground being taken by either side. The eldar control one end of the important inhabited strip, and many vicious battles have flattened the capital, Ares city. General Vasilevsky hopes to continue the war of attrition to the point where the war is abandoned by the eldar.

Corticant
Corticant remains the base of operations for General Veers' crusade in the Deeps. However the Necrons have finally come to Corticant, and now control 30% of the planet. The lynch pin of the recent conquests in the Deeps, Veers must find a way to defeat the Harakhty dynasty or see Imperial domination in the Upper Deeps collapse.

Mordecai
Mordecai is one of two major systems still controlled by chaos in the Perseus Deeps. The rump of a once great empire, Mordecai has now come under attack from the expanding Harakhty dynasty, although the eldar have also intervened, hoping perhaps to embroil their two worst enemies in a long battle of attrition.

Parataea
Parataea is the front line between tau holdings in the Deeps and the resurgent necron empire. Joined by the eldar and federacy forces the "Alliance" is for now holding the necrons at bay, but for how much longer?