Atonement: The First Battle
A Five Parsecs From Home Actual Play
It's no doubt the World War One aesthetic is big right now across the tabletop wargaming world. We have Trench Crusade as the big new entry, and Games Workshop just released a huge box for the Death Korps of Kreig (their WW1-inspired set of units).
It’s no coincidence that I’ve also been drawn into wargaming at this exact time. World War One was a horrific event where millions died and empires disintegrated. The failure of that war to build a lasting peace led directly to the global catastrophe of World War Two.
It’s a deeply fascinating period. A clash of past and future, machines rearing like monsters from the fog, poison gas snuffling out humans like insects, flying machines out of legends, cavalry charging with shining breast plates. And trenches, so many trenches.
But we aren’t here for a history lesson. We are here to talk about tabletop games.
I’ve been painting this amazing Kreig box as I slowly work my way to a thousand-point army for 40k. But leaving these models on the shelf until I’m done feels like a damn shame.
Plus I like playing solo games, so let’s solo some damn games.
The Campaign
I’m going to pull from a few different systems to play this campaign, but mostly, I’m using Five Parsecs from Home for the main resolution and progression.
As I work through that game, I may add other elements from the extended Five Parsec’s expansions and other systems.
So what is this campaign? It will be based on the 244th Seige Regiment as they battle a relentless and uncoutable foe.
Generally, the lore will be heavily inspired by the Death Korps of Krieg, although I want my characters to have a bit more personality than how Kreigsmen are portrayed in 40k lore.
The enemies will be inspired by any number of insect/reptillion hordes like the bugs from Starship Troopers, Tyranids, Zerg, etc.
Duty is as heavy as a mountain
The 244th Seige Regiment has been waging war across this rock for the better part of a decade. The war was endless, the enemy was endless, and the death was endless.
Captain Jarnis of the 5th Sapper Detachment has seen his fair share of war. By now, in his third year on the planet, he worked his way up from a young 2nd Leftenant to commanding this detachment. A natural grit, keen eye and luck led to his constant promotion and command of this specialized squad of combat engineers.
The Captain’s right hand is Merechal Jean-Luc, a grizzled veteran of a dozen campaigns. He wields his beloved flamer, named “L’amour Fouguenx’ with relish.
The other members of the detachment are the twins Hanz and Stien, inseparable and slightly insane. They charge across the battlefield, preferring to get close with their shotguns.
And Elodie and her drone. She loves her drone more than any person should.
Together, the 5th Sappers do the insane missions the 244th Siege needs to get done. Blow a mountain pass, knock out a bridge, wire a reactor behind enemy lines, that sort of stuff.
Over the Top
To create a mission, I’ll be rolling on Starforged tables. For the first mission, I get Perilous Wreckage. That should work well.
Captain Jarnis was grabbing a few minutes of sleep in his dugout. Well, it wasn’t his dugout, just a safe and dry enough place to sleep. The messenger woke him, shoving a message tube into his winking face.
“Orders from Regiment, sir”. As soon as Jarnis took the message, the solider was off. With a yawn, Jarnis cracked the tube and read the message. He sighed, nudged his second hand Marechal Jean-Luc.
“Merechal, muster the detachment. New orders. I’m seeing the old man right now, and then we deploy.”
The Old vet asks, “Rough one, sir?”
Captain Jarnis smiles, “When isn’t it?”
Colonel Lutz of the 244th Seige Regiment Engineer Command received Captain Jarnis in the Command tent.
“Captain, seems as though our naval friends lost a bird last night, crashed right in the middle of our little battle. Now we aren’t worried about that bugs making anything out, being mindless bastards in all. However, our navy friends have told us there is something on that ship broadcasting interference and not allowing other drop ships into the area. Plant a big ass bomb on that bird and blow it to hell. Once you do that, the navy will have some birds come pick you up.”
You’ll have artillery support if needed. Dismissed!”
Once per mission, the Captain will be able to call in one of three types of artillery support. Frag to target a specific enemy unit. Smoke to conceal friendly units. Harrasment to pin enemy units.
Mission
Destroy the Wreckage by activating explosives on it and retreating one turn.
Enemies - 6x roving bands. Random movement but will become aggressive if within 6” of a squad member. On turn 4, all turn hostile, and 1 band enters the battle per turn from a random side.
Enemy Units - Dumb Bugs, 3 models per unit. Speed 4, Combat 1, Toughness 4, Splat Gun 12”", 1 shot, 1 damage. Operate as a unit but become weaker as units are removed.
Deployment
Turn 1:
The team had barely hit the ground when a roving group of bugs stumbled directly into Merechal’s deployment. A stiff firefight ensues, but the Merechal is a tough old bastard, and it takes more than a few bugs to kill him. The Twins, Hanz and Stien, rush to Merechal’s position and between the three of them the Bug group is wiped out.
Turn 2:
The Captain orders a general advance, and the detachment slowly sulks forward. Noticing a group of bugs blocking the path forward, the Captain opens fire at the extent of his range. Years of military academy training pay off as the Captain kills a bug, leaving two more in the group now hostile.
Turn 3:
The advance to the wrecked ship continues with a few shots fired between the sides. The Twins push deep into the centre of the board, daring any bugs to come forth and challenge them.
Turn 4:
The firefight between the Captain and a group of Bugs intensifies, with the Captain nearly getting hit! (Uses a point of luck to avoid becoming a casualty). The Twins continue their sprint up the middle of the battlefield. Along with Amor, they nearly wipe out two groups of bugs.
The Twins Hanz and Stein have a special rule. If they are within 6” of each other they gain +1 Combat skill.
Turn 5:
The Captain signals a general advance, and all soldiers push forward hard. Merechal jumps onto a building and unloads his flamer into a close group of Bug, scorching one to black carbon.
Turn 6:
Just what the Captain feared, the Bugs catch onto the operation and start swarming. A new band of Bugs enter the battlefield to the west and threaten to kill Elodie, who has been staying safe in the rear, piloting her drone. The Captain thinks quickly and calls an artillery strike on the newly arrived group, keeping them at bay.
Amor, the drone, surges forward and makes it to the crashed ship (the block). Amor immediately starts arming the explosives.
Turn 7:
All hell breaks loose as the Bugs continue to swarm the Engineer Detachment. Merechal goes down under a hail of projectiles, as does Hanz. The Captain, seeing how desperate the situation is, orders Elodie to detonate the explosives on Amor. This destroys the crashed ship but also damages Amor.
The gunships orbiting immediately descend, laying a protective shield of fire around the detachment. Transports come in and scoop up the detachment, their mission now completed.
Mission Complete
I’ll end it there as this post has gone on a bit longer than expected with the introduction. This is my first actual play in a long while, and it’s great to be back in the saddle again. Especially with my newly painted toys minis, and terrain. Really adds to the whole feeling that it looks like this.
These actual plays will be a bit erratic as it does take a bit of time to set up, play out a battle, and then turn it into a battle report. I’ll have to think about how to improve things also.
Did you like this? Hate it? Think I should stick to my solo RPG hot takes?
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Beautiful work on the minis and terrain!
Awesome! Really enjoyed it. Loving your crew already. The pics are great too. Keep ‘em coming!