General Hospitaller
Well, Rose City Raid 2022 finished today, but Pete (YueFei23)’s day wasn’t over! He needed another Durgama Takeover game at Cameliard. To beat the setting sun, we played at 150 points on one of the tables. No special terrain rules–I was fried from running the tournament and Pete was tired from playing in it.
I do really like what the solid walls add to the Strompost Alpha table though. You can find the Durgama version here:
And the Yu Jing perspective:
Overview
- Mission: Looting and Sabotaging
- Forces: Jurisdictional Command of Tunguska versus Yu Jing (150)
- Deploy First: Yu Jing
- First Turn: Yu Jing
At 150 points, it’s a bit of a mess trying to accomplish Looting and Sabotaging. Fiddler, the Clockmaker, and the Lunokhod are the only things with D-Charges, so really it’s down to Fiddler. I was looking at link team options, and it turns out that Perseus, Raoul, and Fiddler is a legal link… so I thought what if I took Perseus, Sforza as Raoul, and Fiddler. Then also actually take Raoul’s AD profile. That way it looks like there’s no option for airborne deployment, and I’m then free to try and get Fiddler to the AC2 with Perseus’s smoke or drop in Raoul and whack it with his DA CCW.
Sneaky Nonsense
SECURITATE (Lieutenant) Combi Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 13)
PERSEUS FTO-2 (Super-Jump) Breaker Combi Rifle(+1 Dam), Nanopulser, Smoke Grenades / Heavy Pistol(+1B), DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
SFORZA FTO Viral Rifle, Adhesive Launcher(+1B), Nanopulser / Heavy Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-6). (0 | 26)
Fiddler FTO (Super-Jump) Contender(+1B), Drop Bears, D-Charges / Breaker Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 28)
SPECTOR (Parachutist, Combat Jump) Boarding Shotgun, Drop Bears / Pistol, E/M CC Weapon, DA CC Weapon. (0 | 33)
TRANSDUCTOR ZOND Flash Pulse / PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 7)
WARCOR (360º Visor) Flash Pulse ( ) / Stun Pistol, PARA CC Weapon(-3). (0 | 3)
6
2 | 0 SWC | 150 Points | Open in Infinity Army
Yu Jing is terrifying at 150 points with all the Kuang Shi. That let Pete fit a Beasthunter and a Hac Tao in the list. The Daoying gives the Hac Tao even more orders! Crazypants.
Reliquary
CELESTIAL GUARD Monitor Combi Rifle, Smoke Grenade Launcher / CC Weapon, Pistol. (0.5 | 13)
KUANG SHI Chain Rifle / Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 5)
HAC TAO (NCO) Heavy Machine Gun, Nanopulser / Pistol, DA CC Weapon. (1.5 | 65)
LIBERTO (Minelayer) Light Shotgun, Shock Mines / Pistol, CC Weapon. (1 | 8)
BEASTHUNTERS (Surprise Attack [-3], Camouflage, Forward Deployment [+8″]) Heavy Flamethrower, Panzerfaust, AP Mines / EXP CC Weapon(+1B), Pistol. (0 | 17)
DĀOYĪNG (Lieutenant [+1 Order]) Boarding Shotgun / Breaker Pistol, CC Weapon. (0 | 22)
SHAOLIN Chain Rifle, Smoke Grenades / Pistol, Shock CC Weapon. (0 | 5)
5 | 3 SWC | 150 Points | Open in Infinity Army
Deployment
I won the rolloff and picked the side I was standing at. It was arguably better in some ways as more things could see my AC2. I did have to leave stuff out to really be able to see the AC2, which is dangerous. In any case, Pete protected his AC2 with a Libertos, a bunch of Kuang Shi, and the Daoying.
The Shaolin, Beasthunter, and Hac Tao all went on his right, ready to push forward on an efficient diagonal path instead of going around on the left the long way. I set up Transductors and the Warcor to try and delay the inevitable. My Securitate Lieutenant hid on the left, and the Fiddler link went on the right. I figured I’d just swing Sforza around on the right and then super jump Perseus and Fiddler over the terrain in the center if it came to that.
Turn 1
Fiddler threw her feet up onto the coffee table in the break room, scattering the cards she and Raoul had just been playing with into disarray. “Ugh. That was a terrible hand. Let’s take a break for a bit,” she sighed, her tail twitching in frustration.
“Alright,” Raoul chuckled. They sat in silence for awhile, nibbling on some snacks until Fiddler’s boredom grew unbearable.
“Hey, let’s check in on General Hospitaller,” she offered
“Huh?”
“Haha, sorry. There was an old soap opera called General Hospital back in the pre-wormhole days. I’m talking about the actual, real-time soap opera that I found! It seems like Yu Jing intelligence has bugged a Hospitaller knight, who is just hopeless, and his girlfriend, I guess? She also kinda seems like his mom? It’s gross but very soap opera-y. I’ve been getting a feed from a repeater in Cameliard. The connection to here is a bit spotty, but I have an Armored Data Core, you know, those AC2 things, downloading all the audio recordings and I grab them when I can.”
Raoul just stared blankly at her. “Oh, don’t be like that! Here, let me give you a taste.” Fiddler went quiet for a second as she manipulated her Comlog to fire over a collection of audio recordings via local Arachne link.
“Oh hell, that’ll take forever. Let’s see if we can get a live feed.” Fiddler poked at her comlog some more, and a man’s voice emerged.
Lisette, I feel a weight off my mind. I’m so glad I was able to get to Deepwater Cathedral and find a priest for confession. I know you said I should stop thinking and just enjoy the holiday, and I tried to, but it was all just buzzing around in my head and I know that I just had to get it out in front of God. That priest really just helped me figure it all out.
A woman responded. The voice was sultry, almost molten chocolate in nature.
Yeah, about that. In the spirit of the full disclosure thing that we have going, I have to tell you that I was ordered by the Hexahedron to visit the Cathedral as soon as you left, and kill that priest. They’re about 33% positive he was a Yu Jing agent, as they intercepted a full audio recording of your conversation with him going through a poorly secured repeater outside the Cathedral.
Raoul perked up and leaned in as the man continued, the voice breaking with emotion.
What? He seemed so genuine. They’re only 33% positive, so there’s a 66% chance he was a regular priest? And how did they even know I was in the cathedral so they could get close enough to hack a repeater?
Fiddler chuckled, watching her friend’s reaction. The woman’s velvet voice continued, its impossibly sensuous vibrations somehow unaffected by the audio compression and unfaithful rendering by Fiddler’s comlog speaker.
Well, one of the conditions the Hexahedron set for this trip was that they could keep an eye on you. So they had me put a bugged shell in your Heavy MULTI Pistol. Anywhere you’ve had that thing with you, they’ve been listening to everything you’ve been saying. I figured it wouldn’t be a problem except you keep just yap-yap-yapping on about Cameliard this, Glottenburg that and so on. If you’re going to live long in this job, you’re going to have to learn to shut up. Also, you’ve barely let that bloody gun out of your sight for the whole six weeks. Maybe now you know why I kept dragging you into the shower?
Fiddler gasped in alarm. “Wait what? The Hexahedron–” The man interrupted her, yelling at first, then sinking into a defeatist sonic slump.
We’ve been bugged the whole time! How am I ever supposed to trust you after that! You didn’t even have the pistol, so what did you do to that poor priest?
Fiddler was now gesticulating wildly and fumbling with her comlog, trying to download as many audio recordings as she could as the woman responded, her voice dark with secrets.
Well, I had to improvise pretty quickly with what I could find in the Cathedral and make it look like an accident. It’s tragic how you can drown in just a couple of inches of holy water, you know. Anyway, give me that damn MULTI Pistol and I can disable the bug. Wait, what the fuck is this?
Fiddler slammed her fist into the coffee table. “NO! No no no no no!” Even Raoul, veteran of a thousand deaths, jolted involuntarily in response to her outburst.
“We lost the feed!” she cried, before setting her face in determination. “Okay. Well, we can just go to Cameliard and get the recordings.”
Raoul frowned. “Isn’t that where Yu Jing is holding off the Combined?”
“We’ll sneak in and sneak out. No one will know.” Fiddler shrugged. “I guess let’s get the squad together. I bet we can get Perseus to come.”
Top of 1 – Yu Jing
Pete reveals his Hac Tao and starts gunning down my stuff left out to ARO. He takes care of the first Transductor with ease.
The Warcor goes down next. He’s at long enough range and in cover that dodging seems the best option.
The Hac Tao forces my remaining Transductor prone, and then starts bullying Perseus. I cannot allow Perseus to die, so I throw smoke and end the interaction safely.
This lets the Beasthunter get one swing in on my AC2, doing a damage before getting flash pulsed.
Bottom of 1 – Tunguska
My Securitate Lieutenant uses her order and takes out the Beasthunter.
I spend most of the rest of my turn getting Fiddler’s link into position to deal with the Hac Tao. I land two Drop Bears around the corner.
Then I trigger the mines and reveal “Raoul” as Sforza and unload a burst 3 Adhesive Launcher on the Hac Tao, who fails its dodge. Between the mines and the Adhesive Launcher, I do a wound and immobilize the Hac Tao.
Turn 2
Top of 2 – Yu Jing
Pete gets smoke onto the Hac Tao and manages to get it out of the Immobilized state in one NCO order.
He starts blasting away at Sforza, who gamely resists, going dogged first and then eventually dying.
The Hac Tao removes my last Transductor, which is sad for me, and then sets up for a swing on the AC2.
The Hac Tao tries to get rid of Perseus with its Nanopulsar but fails to wound.
Pete takes a break to try and get something out of the Panoply, but fails with his Kuang Shi.
He’s gotta refocus on the AC2 though, and the Hac Tao goes in for the kill! Unfortunately, not only does Perseus dodge into close combat but the Hac Tao whiffs on a 20! Before anything else happens, we resolve Fiddler’s Contender ARO and discover I hit and drop the Hac Tao unconscious.
Bottom of 2 – Tunguska
I’ve got basically no orders at this point, so I do the best I can. I need to clear the area around Pete’s AC2 so Raoul can land, which means getting rid of the Kuang Shi. Perseus hops up onto a building and drops one of the Kuang Shi.
I keep trying, but I can’t seem to get damage to stick!
Finally Fiddler has a go, super jumping and then returning to the ground level, splitting burst between the remaining Kuang Shi and the Controller. I only manage to take down the Kuang Shi, unfortunately.
Turn 3
Top of 3 – Yu Jing
Pete wants to kill Fiddler, so he sends in a Shaolin.
The Shaolin gets smoke onto Fiddler, but I dodge out of the smoke cloud!
Sensing that he won’t be able to get to the AC2, Pete tries to put some points on the board by rolling on the Panoply again, this time pulling a HMG out! The Kuang Shi promptly goes into suppression watching the approach to the AC2.
Pete then spends his Lieutenant orders to shift the Daoying forward and away from the AC2! Excellent! The Libertos even drops a mine.
Bottom of 3 – Tunguska
I’m currently Securing the HVT, but as I take on the Shaolin with my Lieutenant, I just give him a dodge towards my HVT! Uh oh. Thankfully he’s still out of range.
At this point, I spring my trap! I place Raoul behind the AC2, using it to block LoF from the mine and the Daoying! I forgot to take a picture of this so I’m stealing Pete’s from his battle report. I used the Zondcat’s flight wings, which I’m pretty pleased with. Anyway, I roll a 15, and fail to stick the landing. I’m not going to be able to get any damage on the AC2! NOOOOOO. My brilliant plan! Raoul, you FAILED.
I decide to try and even up the Panoply situation with Perseus. I have to take out the Shaolin and Kuang Shi on the way and tank a Chain Rifle and a mine, but that all goes alright, shockingly. ARM 2 saves the day!
I grab another DA CCW (boooo) out of the Panoply, and tank a shotgun blast from the Libertos.
With one damage on my AC2 and none on Pete’s, and me securing the HVT, it’s a
4-3 Yu Jing Victory!
Post Game Analysis
Not much to say here. I think we both executed to the best of our ability. Maybe I could have left the Transductors prone to save my order pool against the Hac Tao, but I also needed to slow stuff down. I guess given that I knew I had Raoul in the picture and that I’d lull Pete into a false sense of security with Sforza as Raoul, I figured I could just land him and swing with whatever order pool I had left.
I thought this would be a pretty quick and relatively bland game, but I had forgotten how much fun and interesting 150 point games on a 4×4 table can be. They really capture the essence of late game, low resource problem solving. In any case, just a reminder to please submit links to your battle reports via the Google Form in the Durgama Defense Coalition post! I’ve now opened the form for responses.
Thanks for a wonderful campaign, and see you all next year!
