Playtesters Needed: Mission 13 for Space Hulk

"We had thought that we had cleansed the Sin of Damnation with the Emperor's light, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Even I didn't see that one coming."
- Lexicanium Calistarius after the "Lucky Lady Massacare"

The Space Marines of the Blood Angel's 1st Company were counting themselves lucky to be alive as they were picked up from the vacuum of space by the Light Cruiser "Lucky Lady was compromised. The Cargo Bay control sensorium was detecting multiple breaches in the cargo bay doors as Genestealers were able to somehow gain use of boarding torpedoes stolen from one of the many derelict vessels that comprised the Sin of Damnation.

To Calistarius, it was chilling to see just how intelligent the collective Brood could be. He gathered up surviving members of the 1st Company that had been rescued from space, and proceeded to the Cargo area to attempt to purge the xenos intrusion. Through his prescience, he was delivered a terrifying vision: Genestealers had already infested the engineering sector and killed all crew and servitors in the region, and as a result the light cruiser was losing power. Furthermore, a detachment of Genestealers led by the surviving BroodLord itself were attempting to reach the cargo sector's control room, to open all the airlocks for reasons unknown. This vision was dismaying news. Calistarius decided that if the cruiser's air locks were opened, the crew of the Lucky Lady would sustain too many casualties to operate. He and his collected Marines made utmost haste for the cargo sector...





Hey guys, just been playing around with some tools for making new scenarios for Space Hulk. This is the first one I have attempted to create. I plan on play-testing this with my wife in the near future, let me know if you like it. I also am taking suggestions on writing the fluff, since that is not my best skill.

For this scenario, I wanted to take a little bit of the mission objective's focus off of the Space Marines. This way, it would be more fun no matter which side you play in this scenario. Let me know what you think about it.

Just click the picture above for a full-size view, and enjoy!

Until next time,
--FP135

Playing "Spulk" - First Impressions

Playing Space hulk is definitely a learning curve, for those of us who have never played any of the original versions of the game. My wife and I have decided that it fit our time restraints well, on the plus side, with most of the games being played in an hour or less. It also had simpler rules than 40k. That is a big draw for my wife, who likes more traditional board games with simpler rule-sets.

Getting the rules right really is crucial for the games to be more balanced. We must have played the first mission 6 or 7 times because we kept getting rules mixed up. For instance, it can lend a considerable advantage to the Genestealer player if you play it so that the blips do not have to remain out of Space Marine LOS to move, giving them a movement with a voluntary reveal. That is a good idea for a special rule when creating your own scenarios if you want the Tyranid player to have the advantage.

The maps can take a lot of space, but no more than a regular 40k game. Unfortunately for me, I only have a 4x4 table (hence my infatuation with cityfight rules). This means that some of the maps can really push the limits of my playing surface. Make sure you have a pretty decent-sized table to use.

Don't rules lawyer. The game was designed for fun, not tournament settings (hmm... much like 40k now that I think about it). Don't play this game with somebody that is overly competitive, because that can detract from the experience of the game. This is the perfect Saturday Game Night system for you and a buddy. If a situation arises that is not covered in the rules, use the 40k solution: roll off for it.

So far, my wife and I are enjoying our Space Hulk games almost nightly. They are short enough to play nearly every night, and customizable enough that I foresee a lot of replay ability. Currently, if you google it, there is a program created by a fan that uses the board sections from the game to let you drag and drop them to create a picture of a map, allowing you to publish your own scenarios. I would download it quick though, before the ol' gee-dub drops the "cease and desist" order on him.

Get it HERE

Well, that's it on Space Hulk for now. Next post, I have the test model for the new Tyranid 40k army I have in the works. It is a little different than the concept picture was, but I think it's in a good way.

So until next time,
--FP135

Space Hulk is here!

Due to a stroke of luck, I was able to net myself a box early. Good thing too, since the local shop only had one more box and I am sure that would have disappeared by next week, when I was planning to purchase it. Barely able to curb my enthusiasm, I dove in.



This box was heavy! I handed it to my wife, and we debated whether it was heavier than our daughter was when she was born. I thought it might be about the same as she weighed now, but not as heavy as she was when she was born (9 lbs 6 oz). We put it on the scale, and it came out to weigh 8 pounds and 8 ounces! Wow! I'm not sure what 3.6 kg converts to on the scale, but it is entirely possible some settling may have occurred. I popped it open and took a snap of the sprues before I went crazy assembling.



Here's the results of the first bout of assembling... just look at all those terminators! Those alone are worth the value of the box set. I especially love the Librarian.



And finally, the Genestealers that will double as the basis of my Tyranid army. From pictures I saw on the net, I was worried that I would have trouble distinguishing the Broodlord from the regular 'stealers, but in person there is no trouble. He is considerably larger than the rest, and has a pretty menacing pose.

Well, the Mrs. and I plan to try out our first game tonight, I'll post results for all to see afterward.