Issue 3

September 2009
Editor:
Garrett Brennan - Unrealg

Layout and Design Team:

Nathan Herron - CrayolaSmoker

Cover Artist:
Nicholas Kay - Klausmasterflex

Artists:
Nicholas Kay - Klausmasterflex
Damon Drescher - Nomad77
Adam Richards - Mr Pokey
Kurt Metz

Writers:
Jim Tiemann - aeroplane
Mike Jacobs - txMaddog
Lt.Gregor
Dave Wasserman - Megad00mer
Geoff Engelstein - engelstein
Matthew “Maldus” Cicero - Maldus
Christopher Jeschke - OldOneEye
Dan H. - Trichloro
Glen Ocsko - glenoxo
Mike Thornhill - Aarkon
Andy Rodriguez - Krug_666
Aaron Ree - ajree210

Proofing Team:
Chad Campbell - triplare
Scourge
Simon Foley - Relentless
Robert Edman - Griffsnog
Ian Schlientz - Ulthanash
Matthew “Maldus” Cicero - Maldus
Dennis McCollum - Z|Insane
HotPanda

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1
The Freeboota the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Table of Contents
Hobby U.
A Quick Guide to “Dipping” Your Minis 3
Rippy Daggaz make ‘em R.I.P. 6
Creation of an Alternate Chimera 7
Tips & Tactics
Using Tyranids in 5th Edition - Part 2 13
Wound Allocation for Fun and Profit 17
Starting a 40k Club 19
Tweaking the Game:
Fargonne In’drinc 22
Mission: Playground of Chaos 23
Top Shelf:
Book Review: Survival Instinct 25
Battle Report:
Message from da Kaptin, Freeboota vs. Freeboota 26
Fan Fiction:
Greetings 40kradio fanatics and thank you for reading the 3rd issue Come to the Sabbath 31
of the Freebootaz Webzine! I really want to thank all of the freebootaz who Last Stand Part 3 33
helped with this issue. You guys are awesome!
This issue is packed with amazing articles from painting techniques
to creating your very own 40k club. We’ve also included a book review
of “Survival Instinct” by Andy Chambers, as well as another battle report.
And as always, we have some excellent fan fiction from the freebootaz.
Continue reading issue #3, and look for issue #4 in the future!

Boss Edita UnrealG

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2
Hobby U.
speed painting:
A Quick Guide to “Dipping” Your Minis
By Aeroplane
Believe it or not, the Tyrant below was painted
using a very simple paint job that looks like a
million bucks with just a little bit of effort.
It was painted using a quick-painting technique
called “Dipping.” “Dip” or “Dipping” is a technique
that is easy to complete, saves a bunch of time,
and looks really great on a variety of figures. This
guide will paint a Carnifex to look like the Tyrant
above.
Step 1:
Spray the lighter color on the model. I do this
when it’s still on the sprue, but that is totally up
to you. Don’t worry too much about an even,
smooth spray job right now. Just don’t get it
runny or gloppy.
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
If you are going to add any detail or accent color,
do it to the head and weapons. They are the
part that counts. The
gun cables are a differ-
ent color on this model
because it is armed with
a devourer - I made the
cables and muzzle pink.
It turned out looking like
pepto-bismol, but worst things can happen! (my
chief complaint is the lack of contrast, not the
color) The gun cables on my other shooty ‘fexes
are green. Again, this was just done for variety
Clip the pieces off the sprue and then REMOVE
and to make the Dakka look different.
THE MOLD LINES - it’s very important that you
get the mold lines off the model because ‘dip’
Look at the pictures
really makes them stand out.
at this point; you see
a paintjob that a 10yr
Assemble and touch up the light color. On a
old can accomplish!
bigger model,like this carnifex, do the legs/tail
and body first, then mate them. Leave the head
and arms off for now. At this stage you should
have the body assembled
and mated to the tail/legs.
Paint the carapace whatev-
er color you like (in my ex-
The bulk of the model
ample, red) and then touch
has 2 colors on it, and
up the first color (tan). You
the detail work on the guns and head are very
can see a few spots that
need to be addressed...
simple. So far, not including the time it takes for
paint and glue to dry, I have about 45min-1 hour
spent on this model. Note, a little bit of attention
It’s a lot easier to assemble and paint / touch-up
has been paid to the mouth and teeth -- noth-
without the arms attached. Once you are done
ing complicated. And I spent an extra 20 min
with that, attach the arms. They were painted
making the devourer rifle...
before assembly as well, along with the head.
3
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

A Quick Guide.. (cont.) long time to dry and is really tacky/sticky as it

Step 2: dries. Just leave it alone overnight.
Ok, now for the last 10
minutes of painting... And that next morning it will look like this...
the ‘dip’.

I use this stuff slightly

thinned out with
odorless mineral spir-
its (available wherever
you get the ‘dip’) at a ratio of 10 :1, dip to spirits.
Get it to the consistency of heavy cream - milk
P.S. If you don’t like the Gloss, hit the mini with a
is too thin! I added 2 caps-full of thinner to the
coat or two of Testors Dullcote. Don’t use any-
small can of ‘dip’. It will float, so shake well.
thing else, the Testors is a superior product.
Next, get an old brush and brush it on! In places
where a bit more texture is welcome, glop it on.
Legs, ribs, shoulders, etc... On the bits that you
spent the time detailing, make a very light coat
- it will act like a clear coat if you apply it thin
enough. This Gaunt looks great, and has only the tan, red,
and dip on it!
One more thing - on these Carnifex models, the
bottom of the chest, where the row of spikes
are, there is a seam where the chest pieces mate.
That area is a low spot and will collect a bunch
of dip and needs to be smoothed out about 15
minutes later. Take your brush with a bit of thin-
ner on it and dab it off. You should be able to
load your brush with the glop from that spot and
then use it to get the couple of other spots that
you missed! (trust me. 15 min later you will see
some places that you were just sure you got!)

After applying the ‘dip’ DON’T TOUCH IT FOR
8-12 HOURS!!!!! This is not our acrylic hobby
paint, but polyurethane wood finish. It takes a
Same with these rippers. Tan and red on the
body, black in the mouth, white on the teeth,
dip. Thats it! One of these days I will finish the
bases and they will look complete.
4
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

A Quick Guide.. (cont.)

These photos show that the ‘dip’ does

not have to be really glossy.
All of these models have a final coat of
(fairly thin) ‘dip’ on them. These mod-
els also have more advanced paint-
ing techniques used on them than
the above miniatures... Just wanted
to show the versitility of ‘dip’ as a final
coat/varnish. It has a specific quality in
how it gathers in the cracks and creases
that a water-based product just can’t
do.
Plus, no matter how much you handle
your miniatures, you are not going to
wear it off.

5
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Job’s a Good’un:
Rippy Daggaz make ‘em R.I.P.
By TxMadddog
In this article, I will show you how, with just a few Clean up all the parts, remove all flash, and as- of clean up between the
simple tools and a bit of planning, you can add a semble the legs, body and head as normal. When teeth. I also brushed on
little extra “ZING!” to your army. We will be Konvert- completed, glue the boy to the base. Don’t glue some plastic cement be-
ing some plain old Ork Choppaz to a pair of cool- the Choppa arms or the holstered Slugga on yet. tween the teeth to smooth
looking Rippy Daggaz! We still have some work to do… out any small burrs.

For this, we need a pair Next, we’ll do the right

of nippers, an Exacto/ Choppa arm. I wanted
hobby knife, and some to have a different look
glue (in this case, plas- for this one, so I used my
tic cement). hobby knife and, starting
at the tip, I cut very small
The parts used are an wedges out of the blade.
Ork Slugga boy with As with the other Choppa, I brushed on some plas-
two Choppa arms, and tic cement to smooth out the small burrs of plastic.
a holstered Slugga Start with the left Choppa arm. Using your nippers,
from the Nobz box. begin at the tip of the Choppa, and start cutting Here is the completed Boy with Rippy Dagga arms.
small wedges out of the blade. (It is important to
start at the tip when doing this, as starting from
the bottom can make the blade look funny if you
don’t get your spacing of the teeth just right.) You
may notice that when you cut into the plastic,
one side of the cut is relatively smooth whereas
the other is wedge-shaped. To prevent this from
impacting the look of
the Choppa, make the
first cut, then turn your
nippers over and make
the second cut. This will
prevent the appearance
of the wedge-shape.
When you’ve completed
this Choppa, it should
look something like this.
You’ll want to take your Next time on Job’s a Good ‘Un...
Hobby knife and do a bit Konverting a Baneblade to a Skull Hamma! - Part 1
6
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Scratch Built Fever

Breeding the Bulldog: step-by-step creation of an alternate Chimera
By Lt.Gregor
Gosh, I’ve been trying to think of a way to write this tutorial. After a lot of thought, I decided to just write a description of the way I build them and then add in some fluff background for my
army. The plain dirty truth is I wanted an army with a feel of its own and scratch builds fit the bill nicely. Well, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, a little bit of fluff:

***The Vargast MR 2 mobile chassis, nicknamed the “Bull

Dog,” is a troop transport produced on the forge world
of Vargast before its fall. Similar in size and role to
the Imperial Chimera, the MK2 frame lacks the exterior
armor plates of the Chimera, instead favoring an ex-
posed wheel and track system. This lack of armor plat-
ing drastically reduces the bulldog’s weight and mate-
rial cost, making the MR 2 easier to produce en masse
than the STC Chimera. The lighter weight affords an
additional advantage in that the MR 2 can be readily
deployed via air drop, making it the preferred vehi-
cle for drop infantry Guard units. More information is
still being processed.***

So, let’s get started...

Project Materials
Supplies Lascannon
Plastic card (0.04” & 0.02”) Tools
Plastic rod & tube (varying) Steel Ruler (cork backed)
½ rod Clippers
90° plastic card Circle cutter
(extruded pattern) Hobby knife (sharp)
U-channel Super glue (NOT plastic)
IG tank track Sand paper
IG tank wheels Clamps
2x Large
4x Medium Optional Tools
12x Small Micro saw
Leman Russ turret Micro miter box Step 1: Take a piece of the thicker card and begin marking Step 2: Cut them out and clean the edges with sand paper, I
Misc IG tank gubbins Pin vise out the side dimensions, all dimensions are in inches sorry used a sanding sponge cheap and easy to use:
IG heavy weapons “The Chopper 2” International guys. Also note almost all angle cuts in the tuto-
Heavy Bolter Hobby square rial are going to be 45s.

7
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Breeding the Bulldog... (cont.)

Step 3: Clamp the sides together and trim. I use clippers, scis- Step 4: Cut more of the plastic card into 2” wide strips. Step 5: Next I cut the base plate and front plate for the tank,
sors, knives and sand paper to make them match. notice that I’ve marked the front plate for a ¾” cut out.

Step 6: Take the 90 degree and cut a bunch of little pieces. Step 7: Use the 90 degree pieces and use them to secure the Step 8: Attach the front plate. Note that I did cut out the
side panel to the base plate. notch. Also note I used paper to help the angle plate to hold.

Step 9: Cut out a segment for the front “sub-plate” and glue Step 10: Cut a piece of plastic card to make the other side of Step 11: Cut a back plate for the “cab”.
into position, to help this glue the other side plate on. the front box, this will take a lot of time to get right it’s a lot of
try and fail then glue into position.
8
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Breeding the Bulldog... (cont.)

Step 12: Cut out the back part of the front panel. I use the Step 13: Cut out a front plate and glue into position. Step 14: Cut out a back plate for the troop transport section,
clippers and a knife. notice I marked the top 3/8” tall and cut out 2 panels then
glue into place.

Step 15: Cut panels of Plastic card and fill in the open spaces. Step 16: Measure the ring of the Leman Russ turret, and cut a circle in a top plate for the cab,
glue into place.

Step 17: Front wheel support, cut a wide piece of plastic tube Step 18: Glue the support into place. Step 19: Crew compartment doors, cut two long strips for
then cut in half then glue onto a piece of plastic card.
the top door, and cut the angled plate for the back door and
glue them into place.

9
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Breeding the Bulldog... (cont.)

Step 22: Layout IG tank wheels on the hull - 2 medium

Step 20: Rear compartment detailing, to save time there is Step 21: The back compartment fire ports are made with wheels in the front and 4 small wheels behind. Notice that the
no detailed description of the detailing, just use tube, rod, & thin card 0.02 into squares, and rod glued onto the back large wheels are not placed on the model yet, and space is left
strips of plastic card to create doors and pistons. compartment to create the “hatch” feel. for them near the back. Glue the track into position.

Step 23: At this time glue 5 small segments of rack to the large wheel. Glue the long track seg- Step 24: To make the main gun, a multi-laser, cut the battle cannon down & cut plastic tube/
ments on and the large wheel, the reason for waiting to glue the back wheel on is so he track rod into 4 long strips. Cut a las-cannon nose off, and glue to the plastic rod.
can be tensioned correctly to reduced sloping in the track.

Step 25: Turret prep, remove the front tab on the turret lower Step 26: Tank front prep, to give the tank front the ‘arder look Step 27: Detailing… this is hard to explain exactly what to
plate and shave down to allow the gun to traverse lower, then use U-channel cut to size and glue the strips onto the front. do, the main part of detailing is rivets, but this could be add-
glue it together. ing extra tank bits, weapons, or prepping the model for paint.
10
Hobby U. the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Breeding the Bulldog... (cont.)

Step 28: The finished Vargast MR 2 “Bull Dog”

11
12
Tips & Tactics
Tyranid Tactica:
Evolution: Using Tyranids in 5th Edition - Part 2: Troops, FA, & Heavy
By Megad00mer
So last issue we went over the HQ and Elite choices for
the Tyranids and my opinions on how to get the most
out of them in 5th edition. In Part 2 we’ll be looking at
our Troops, Fast Attack and Heavy Support choices.
troop: Gaunts
With Gaunts the important thing to remember
is that they aren’t in the swarm to kill things.
They’re mainly there for two reasons, to take
objectives and to provide screening for the units
that do kill things. Gaunts are fast and cheap
so they do both jobs very well. If your Gaunts
happen to kill something consider it a bonus.
When it comes to weapon options both the
Spinefist and the Fleshborer are equally good in
my opinion. On a Gaunt, the Spinefist is a 12” Str
3 AP 5 Assault 1 weapon that’s Twin-Linked and
the Fleshborer is a 12” Str 4 AP 5 Assault 1 weap-
on with Living Ammunition so you can re roll
wounds. Termagants (Fleshborers) are 1pt more
than Spinegaunts (Spinefists) so if you want your
Gaunts to have a little punch pay the extra point
and go with Termagants. If you want an extra
body or two then go with Spinegaunts. In the
end it doesn’t make too big a difference.
Some players take Devourers on their Gaunts, I
personally think it’s a complete waste of points.
On a Gaunt a Devourer is an 18” Str 2 AP- Assault
2 weapon. To make it even the slightest bit use-
ful you also have to take Toxin Sacs to bump the
shots to Str 3. That’s 9 points a Gaunt. Yeah it’s an
extra shot at a longer range but that’s 9 points
for a Toughness 3, 6+ save critter that’s still only
firing a Str 3 gun that’s missing half the time.
Remember, they aren’t there to kill things. That’s
what the rest of the swarm does.
The tactics are simple. Take them in broods of
16-20ish. Any less and they die much too quickly
and at more than 20 and they become unwieldy.
Stick them in front and try to screen as much as
possible. Anything behind them (barring Mon-
strous Creatures of course) gets a nice 4+ cover
save. If any Gaunts survive the march across the
table use them to grab objectives on the other
side. Keep another brood of Gaunts behind to
hold an objective in your deployment zone and
be sure to keep some Synapse in range so they
don’t go running at the first sign of trouble.
Another popular tactic is to give them Without
Number as it allows the brood to come back
onto the table after they’re destroyed. Now this
makes the Gaunts kind of expensive and it can
be a bad thing in Kill Point missions but it can
work well in objective games. WoN Gaunts work
best in broods of 8 as this offsets the extra cost
and when the time comes to sacrifice them they
die nice and quick. Use them to screen as normal
and send them to their death. As they come on
the table in your following turn grab any objec-
tives in your deployment zone. Again, try to hold
some Synapse behind so they don’t go running
in subsequent turns. If you roll a Kill Point mis-
sion hold your WoN Gaunts in reserve and bring
them on later in the game when it’s a bit safer.
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
troop: Hormagaunts
They’re Fast. They have Fleet. They have a good
number of attacks on the charge but they are
horribly overpriced. Take a basic 10pt Horma-
gaunt and a 6pt Ork Boy. Look at what you’re
getting for your points then softly cry into a
pillow. Hormagaunts are one of those units that
took a major hit due to the new 5th ed. assault
rules. They’re just way too expensive for what
they can actually accomplish in a typical game.
They lack hitting power and have almost no stay-
ing power since you can’t take them in the num-
bers needed due to their cost. To make them a
threat you are almost forced to buy Toxin Sacs
so they become Str 4. Now they’re even more
expensive and just as squishy. Hormagaunts are
in a kind of “tactical limbo”. Any role they can fill
in the army can be done better or for less points
by the other Troop choices. They can grab objec-
tives, screen and they’re fast but so are Gaunts
and they’re half the cost and just as survivable.
Hormagaunts can fight in close combat but
so can Genestealers and they are a hell of a lot
more effective. Hormagaunts are also Beasts and
that means they’re stuck on the first floor if they
enter Ruins.
For all their problems Hormagaunts can be a fun
unit to use. They’re fast as hell and allow you to
roll a ton of dice when they charge. I use them
from time to time in beer and pretzel games but
I recommend leaving them on the Hive Ship for
competitive games.
13
Tips & Tactics the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Evolution: Using Tyranids... (cont.)

ally all you need. If you have the points to blow quick because of the Swarm special rule and the
troop: Genestealers then Scything Talons could be useful for an extra prevalence of Blast weapons in 5th. They also
Now we’re into the good stuff. 5th ed. has once attack but it’s not needed. I’d use those points can’t benefit from immunity to Instant death
again made Genestealers the heart and soul of for an extra Stealer or two. Screen them on the due to Synapse. 3 wounds per Ripper base might
any well rounded Tyranid list and I never leave way in and keep an eye out for important enemy sound great, but at only Toughness 3, they’re go-
home without at least two broods of 6-8. targets. Once a suitable target is found take ing to be getting insta-killed left and right. Any
advantage of their Fleet ability to close with and blast template of Strength 6 or higher will be
With Rending Claws, a Weapon Skill and Initia- destroy the enemy. causing double wounds and instant death. They
tive of 6, few units can stand toe to toe with a can be fast if you give them Leaping or Wings
brood of Genestealers and survive. There are If you want to be a sneaky bastard then give your but that just makes them more of a point sink.
two basic ways to use Stealers Scuttlers. This The real kicker here is that they can’t capture ob-
them. Either run them gives them the Scout jectives due to the Mindless rule. Using a Troop
up with the horde or ability but more impor- slot for a brood that’s super fragile and can’t hold
have them outflank tantly it allows them to objectives isn’t the best tactical decision. Invest
commando style. The outflank. As discussed
biomorphs taken de- with the Broodlord,
pend on which tactic outflanking can cause “Raveners... another
you choose, but one a player to freak out close combat brood
biomorph is an abso- by throwing a surpirse
lute must. Always, al- monkey wrench that’s taken a hit in 5th.”
ways give them Feeder into their plans. Give
Tendrils. At only +1pt outflanking Stealers those points elsewhere
a model, Feeder Ten- Extended Carapace as fast attack: Raveners
drils are the bargain of well since they won’t This is another Close Combat brood that’s taken
the century. Preferred have a Gaunt screen a hit in 5th ed. It’s not that they’re a terrible unit
Enemy is huge since and they’ll need the but rather they are too expensive compared to
re rolling misses in added resilience. A 4+ their actual use. Like Hormangaunts, they’re
close combat means Genestealers: The heart and soul of Tyranid lists save may not sound consider a Beast and that means they can move
extra hits landed and by Nomad77 like much but it means 12” when assualting. They can be equipped
more chances to rend. that they’ll still have with Rending Claws which goes nicely with the
Remember, Feeder Tendrils also give any friendly a save against common weapons like Bolters, sear amount of attacks that they have. Overall
broods within 2” Preferred Enemy as well. It’s a Flamers, Shuriken Catapults, Pulse Rifles etc. this makes them one dangerous unit. However,
one point per model upgrade. Why would you and have added survivability against things like they’re only Toughness 4 with a 5+ save, so they
not take this?! Lasguns and Shootas. have little staying power against any enemy
retaliation even with 2 wounds each. At around
If you’re going to run your Stealers up the table troop: Ripper Swarms 40pts a model (closer to 50 if given a ranged
the ol’ fashioned way, then Feeder Tendrils is re- Personally, I don’t use them. They die incredibly weapon which I don’t recommend) they’re just

14
Tips & Tactics the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Evolution: Using Tyranids... (cont.)

a horrendous point sink in most cases. They can
Deep Strike but I really don’t see a use. They can’t
assault on the turn they arrive and any ranged
attacks they have aren’t dangerous enough to
warrant the Deep Strike in the first place. All you
really accomplish here is sending an overpriced
unit to its death.
If you must use Raveners, ironically enough I
find they can work well with Hormagaunts. Since
both broods are Beasts, they can keep pace with
one another. The Hormagaunts can screen the
Raveners on the way in and the Raveners can
add some much needed “punch” to the Hor-
magaunt’s assault. If they wipe the enemy on
the turn they charge this also presents multiple
broods for your opponent to worry about in
their shooting phase rather than just one which
could easily be dealt with. This can be a useful
unit combination but is horrendously expensive.
I don’t recommend this tactic for competitive
play but it can be fun every now and then in
friendly games, if you’re looking for a bit of a “As-
saulty Nid Nostalgia”.
fast attack: Gargoyles
If it weren’t for the terrible top-heavy models, I
think you’d see almost every Tyranid army take
Gargoyles as they are one of the most cost effec-
tive units in the codex. Gargoyles have the Jump
Intantry status and the Fleet special rule which
make for a ridiculously fast unit. They carry Flesh-
borers, which are a good ranged weapon, and
Bio-Plasma, which makes them pretty decent
in close combat as well. Bio-Plasma grants one
additional attack at double the model’s Initia-
tive. This attacks hits on a 4+ using the model’s The “classic” Zoanthrope layout is to give them
Strength +1. That means in addition to their Synapse Creature and Warp Blast. Having extra
normal attacks each Gargoyle is getting an extra Synapse creatures in your swarm is never a bad
Str 4 attack at Initiative 8. That’s not bad. thing and Warp Blast is a versatile shooting at-
If you can stomach the horrible models (you tack that can kill MEQs with a 24” Str 5 AP3 blast
WILL be breaking flying stands left and right) or or maybe pop a tank here and there with the
have the patience to convert your own out of focused blast, though it can be a bit unreliable as
Gaunts, Gargoyles are a great unit with tons of it first requires a Psychic Test and then it’s only a
tactical flexibility. Use their speed for contesting single 18” Str 10, AP2 shot at BS3.
objectives late in the game or tie up dangerous
enemy units like Devastators. Another very effective tactic is known as the
“Psychic Choir”. What this entails is taking 3
fast attack: Spore Mine Clusters Zoanthropes and giving them Psychic Scream.
Moving on… Psychic Scream is a persistent Psychic ability (no
test required) that reduces the Leadership of any
heavy support: Zoan- enemy unit within 18”
by 1. It’s also cumula-
thropes
tive so having 3 Zoan-
These floating fe-
thropes with this pow-
tal brain bugs are a
er traveling together
solid Heavy Support
would reduce enemy
choice that can fulfill
Leadership by -3. You
a few different roles
can even give this
depending on the
power to Hive Tyrants
Hive Mind Powers you
as well for a possible -5
give them. They’re a
(3 Zoans + 2 Tyrants)
0-1 choice and up to
almost guaranteeing
3 can be taken in a
that your opponent’s
Heavy Support slot.
unit will be falling back
Each Zoanthrope acts
if forced to test morale.
independently during
Use this choir of doom
the game which is cool Zoanthropes: Floating fetal brain bugs... by Nomad77 in concert with Barbed
but it also means that
Stranglers and even
single Heavy choice is yielding up to 3 Kill Points
more fun ensues. As long as the choir is within
to your opponent. They come with Warp Field as
18”, enemy pinning tests caused by the Stran-
standard and that 2+/6+ inv makes them pretty
glers are taken at -3. Using this combination (as
hardy. In addition to Warp Field you can take up
long as the enemy isn’t fearless) can force enemy
to two additional Psychic Powers.
units to Go to Ground, effectively taking them
15
Tips & Tactics
Evolution: Using Tyranids... (cont.)
out of the game for the next turn.
heavy: Biovores
Biovores are a unit that I advise strongly against
taking. Biovores were a lot better in 4th ed.
Having a 48” Barrage weapon meant they could
safely hide behind terrain and lob clusters of
Spore Mines at the enemy the entire game. If the
cluster didn’t explode on impact they formed
a unit of Spore Mines that gave your opponent
something else to worry about as they could
drift into him next turn as well as forcing Target
Priority tests and blocking movement. Now with
the prevalence of Deep Striking and Outflanking
units, Biovores are easily taken out even if hid-
den behind terrain or in cover. They have virtu-
ally no survivability against even the weakest of
enemy fire and almost no ability to defend them-
selves in melee. You need to keep a “babysitter”
unit back to protect them but they aren’t worth
holding that unit back in the first place.
On top of that, in Annihilation games, Biovores
literally fire Kill Points at your opponent. A Kill
Point is gained for each enemy unit or indepen-
dent model killed. If a Spore Mine cluster does
not explode on the turn it’s launched, it forms a
new unit. Spore Mines are Toughness 3 with no
armor save and even if there are three Mines in
the cluster, the death of one causes them all to
explode and die. So a single shot fired at them
will give your opponent another KP. Compared
to what Zoanthropes and Carnifexes can accom-
plish in game, I just can’t see why anyone would
voluntarily use up a Heavy Support slot with
Biovores.
heavy: Carnifex (Heavy Support Version)
Heavy Fexes are the “Land Raiders” of the Tyranid
army. Big, scary and tough, these are the con-
summate Heavy Support choice.
For Shooty Fexes nothing beats the Gunfex.
Gunfexes are armed with a Venom Cannon,
Barbed Strangler and take Enhanced Senses for
a BS bump to 3. These are hands down the most
cost effective build of any Carnifex in my opin-
ion. Venom Cannons on Fexes are 36” Str 10, AP
4 Assault 2 guns. Yes, Venom Cannons can only
Glance most vehicles but at Str 10, you’ll have a
very easy time doing it. Barbed Stranglers will be
36” Str 8, AP5 Assault 1 Large Blasts that cause
pinning (great to use in concert with the Psychic
Choir). Gunfexes are incredibly tough, versatile
living gun platforms, able to disrupt enemy
armor or blow holes in enemy infantry. They also
cause Instant Death against things like Oblits,
Broadsides, Nob Bikers etc. as long as they fail
their save.
For Close Combat Heavy Fexes there are tons
of options. The Godfex seems to be a popular
choice because people love to make giant, invin-
cible monsters from hell. A Godfex is basically a
CC Carnifex with as many scary biomorphs you
can slap onto it. It’s meant to scare the bejeezus
out of your opponent and distract him from the
rest of your army. Typically Toughness 7 with 5
Wounds, a Godfex can be tough to take down.
Good in theory but personally, I rarely take
Heavy Support Melee Fexes. They’re slow and
in most games they won’t see combat before
they’re taken down. They’re survivable and can
take a lot of punishment but they’re also very ex-
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Volume 1, Issue 3
pensive sometimes approaching a Land Raider
points wise. An Elite Ninjafex is still Toughness 6
with 4 wounds and a 3+ save, so it can still soak
up a lot of fire. It’s statistically just as effective
on the charge and it’s only 113pts. A much more
reasonable amount to spend on something
that’s primary job will be to distract enemy fire
and die, probably before it ever sees assault. Why
spend so many points on scary CC biomorphs
if those biomorphs will never get used in most
games?
If you really want to take a Heavy Melee Fex, I
suggest keeping them around 200pts or less.
Extended Carapace is good option as a 2+ save
makes them a lot harder to kill. Reinforced Chitin
and Bonded Exoskeleton are good too. Tough-
ness 7 makes any attack of Str 3 (or less) com-
pletely useless against it and having an extra
Wound isn’t a bad idea. Other than that no other
biomorph is really worth its points and tends to
be rarely used and/or complete overkill.
Well, that about wraps it up. Keep in mind that
this article was just my opinion on how best to
use the bugs in a competitive sense based upon
my 12 years of experience being a dedicated
Tyranid player. Whether this article piqued your
interest in starting a Tyranid Swarm, or you think
I’m a giant schmuck who has no business us-
ing Tyranids ever again, I’d be happy to discuss
things in the Tyranid section of the Freebootaz
forums or Private message me with questions,
comments or scathing insults.
As always, happy devouring.
16
Tips & Tactics
Bury My Dice at Wounded Knee:
Wound Allocation for Fun and Profit
By engelstein
The wound allocation rules underwent a major
revision in 5th edition. Understanding the proce-
dure and the impact on force construction is an
important part of optimizing your play.
The To Hit and To Wound procedures are very
similar to 4th edition. However you now allocate
wound dice against particular models before roll-
ing for saves. Each model in a unit is assigned a
single wound. Then when each has one wound,
you can start putting a second wound on a model.
Similarly you can’t place a third wound on a model
until all models have two.
Wounds are treated equally – If you’ve got two
wounds from a bolter and two wounds from a
lascannon hitting a model of only two models you
are perfectly free to place both bolter wounds on a
single model, leaving the other unfortunate to take
the lascannon hits.
This is true even if a wound would cause Instant
Death – You can place two Instant Death wounds
on a single model, which is often good to do.
Once the wounds are allocated your models are di-
vided into groups. Each group consists of models
that have the same stats, and are equipped identi-
cally. Even a small equipment difference will place
a model into a separate group.
Each group then rolls for saves against the total
wounds applied to models in that group.
Unsaved wounds can only affect models in their
group.
So that brings us to tip #1:
Tip #1: Use the Soak-Off to your advantage
The term ‘soak-off’ comes from hex-and-counter
wargaming, where a weak unit would take on
some strong defenders, so the main attack could
punch through. We are flipping things here, but to
similar effect.
Let’s say you have a unit that has three single-
wound models that are all identical, and you take
six wounds, with a 4+ save. You would only have
one group, so you would roll all six dice and lose
one model for each missed save. Here are the
chances of losing units:
# models lost Probability
0 1.6%
1 9.4%
2 23.4%
3 65.6%
So there is a 65.6% chance of losing the entire unit.
Now, let’s look at the same unit: three single-
wound models, six wounds, 4+ saves, but now they
all have different equipment. So here each unit is
rolling it’s saves separately:
# models lost Probability
0 1.6%
1 14.4%
2 42.2%
3 42.2%
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Volume 1, Issue 3
Quite a difference! Why is this? Well, now the rolls
are ‘allocated’. So, for example, if you end up with
four unsaved wounds, there is a possibility that
only two units are killed if all of those wounds
are on just two units. The third unit skates off
unharmed, whereas if you just rolled all the dice
together for identical units, four wounds would kill
all three.
So giving 3 units different equipment reduces your
chance of the unit being completely eliminated by
almost 1/3. That’s a big difference in keeping some
firepower (or a scoring unit) on the table.
Multi-Wound Units
You have even more flexibility and gain more
benefit from the wound allocation rules if you have
multi-wound models. This is because the rules say
that within a single group you must remove full
models if possible, but you DO NOT have to do so
between groups.
In other words, if you have a unit of 3 Crisis Suits
(2 wounds each) that all have the same equip-
ment, and you suffer 3 wounds, you have to roll for
3 saves. If you fail two you will have to remove a
model.
However, if all three are equipped differently you
cannot lose a model. Each model counts as a sin-
gle group, so each group only receives one wound.
Worst case, if you miss all of your saves, you would
end up with a single wound on each model. This
can be a HUGE advantage, as you opponent will
either need to dedicate another unit to
17
Tips & Tactics
Wound Allocation... (cont.)
Tip #2: If you have one wounded model, and
attack them to try to destroy some models, or you get a large number of wounds, place the extra
will have another full turn of use of all of them. wounds (or wounds from tougher weapons)
on the wounded model.
Let’s look at some more numbers. Let’s say a You can dramatically decrease the total number of
3-model unit, with 2-wounds per model and a 4+ models you expect to lose by doing this. With only
save is hit by six wounds. So we allocate two per six turns, anything you can do to keep a unit alive
model. even one more turn can be critical.
If there is one big group (all identical) we have: Tip #3: If you have one wounded model and
get just a few hits, put them on the unwound-
# models lost Probability ed models.
0 10.9% That way you guarantee that you won’t lose any
1 54.7% models at all.
2 32.8%
3 1.6% Tip #4: If there are wounds from tougher
weapons you gain flexibility depending on
If there are three groups (all models different) the the situation.
results are quite different: Depending on the situation, you can choose to
place them on your better models, so that you
# models lost Probability have a better save or avoid instant death, or on
worse models so that your unit loses less punch.
0 42.2%
1 42.2%
Let’s take a quick look at the other side. If you’re
2 14.1%
facing a unit of 2-wound Ork Nob Bikers, what is
3 1.6%
your best approach to kill it?
You quadruple your chances of not losing ANY
models, and the average number of models you
Tip #5: Volume of fire is important. The more
lose drops from 1.25 to 0.75. shots, the better
Effectively by equipping your models differently I won’t bother going through the math, but as the
you gain Feel No Pain for free. That’s a pretty good number of wounds on a unit increases, the expect-
deal. ed number of losses for units with a bunch of the
same models or different models begins to con-
Another advantage of multi-wound models is that verge. If you land 12 wounds on a 3-unit model,
you have flexibility if some models have a wound the fact that they each roll for saves individually
already and others don’t: against four wounds is less important than it is
if you land 6 wounds. Volume of fire lessens the
importance of uniquely-equipped models.
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Volume 1, Issue 3
Tip #6: Instant Death is your friend
If you can Instant Death a model you go a long way
to reducing the unique-model advantage. Also, try
not to mix Instant-Death with other hits. It can be
annoying when your opponent is able to put two
instant death hits on a single model because you
threw in a bunch of bolter hits.
Tip #7: Use good AP or cover-save-reducing
weapons when possible
If your target isn’t getting any saves, at least they’re
getting wounded. Even if you end up with 3 mod-
els with a single wound on them it will make it that
much easier to clean them up in the next shooting
or assault phase.
Conclusion
All of the advantages outlined above are gained
when you equip your units differently. So the les-
son is clear: Differentiate your models as much as
possible. This may have to be balanced with tacti-
cal, load-out, and point considerations, but maxi-
mizing the number of different models you have
on the board will pay big dividends in survivability
over the course of the game.
Some may say that this is ‘cheesy’ or ‘unsporting’.
But for me, the rules are the rules, and the way you
play should reflect them. This isn’t a loophole or
combination that someone missed. This technique
is hard-baked into the rules as GW wrote them, so
this tactic is clearly within the intent of the design-
ers.
Any questions or comments? Contact me on the
Freebootaz forum or by email at engelstein@alum.
mit.edu
18
Tips & Tactics
We Happy Few...
Starting a 40K Club
By Maldus
Warhammer 40K is a vast hobby that attracts
people of all ages and walks of life. Occasion-
ally, groups of these devotees begin to clump
together until one day someone utters out loud
the group’s unspoken thought, “Hey! We should
form a 40K Club!”
For some, formalized organizations of game
playing doesn’t sit well. Many enjoy their 40K
with their close knit group of friends. Others
prefer the joy of a relaxing uncomplicated hobby
where their artistic endeavors are distraction
free. Me? I like a room full of people when I play! Someone has to take the responsibility to not
I like Clubs. I enjoy meeting up with a medium-
large group of people bonded together by their
common enjoyment of something. So the ques- to be willing to defer to this leadership…or you
tion becomes, how does one go about forming a will spin your wheels. A lot. Large Clubs often
40K Club?
Building Blocks
Let’s start with the basic things you need to think who breaks ties and who sets the pace and the
about when pulling together a 40K Club.
1. Find out if you have enough people.
2. Put someone in charge.
3. Determine exactly what sort of Club you
wish to have.
4. Set up a Club Codex.
5. Set up a meeting schedule.
6. Establish a place to call home.
7. Determine if and how you will fund Club
activities.
8. Set up a way to communicate.
So what does all that mean? Let’s dig in a bit…
Do You Have Enough People?
Far be it for me to tell folks how many people
truly constitute a “Club”. However, my experience
is that a Group of Friends is less than 8 people
while a Club is 8 or more regular attendees at
meetings. And yes, you probably realize that for
there to be 8 regular attendees means you need
10-12 members on the roster. So before you
worry about the rest of the things you need to
do to get your Club off the ground…see if you
have enough interested, committed people!
Put Someone in Charge
only organize the Club but to also deal with any
issues that arise within the Club. This is not as
easy as you may think and the entire Club needs
have several people who help make decisions.
Small Clubs generally start with one or two mo-
tivated leaders. Most Clubs have a single person
atmosphere for a Club.
The best way to choose a leader is to elect one.
Gather the Club members on the first meeting
and vote. It is, in my opinion, important to elect
the leader of a Club…the members deserve the
right to choose that person. If that newly elected
leader needs some support, I think it is a good
idea for him to be able to choose the people
that will help him run the Club. That way, people
who are motivated, interested and, most impor-
tantly, get along well with the leader…can add
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Volume 1, Issue 3
their effort to making the Club succeed. And yes,
the reality is that a Club’s first leader is often the
person who sets the thing up.
Determine the Nature of the Club
A Club’s nature is the way you want its members
to interact. It isn’t about which aspect of the
hobby you enjoy…it’s about how you get on
with your fellow members. Clubs tend to fall into
a few broad categories:
1. Hard Core: This is the Club filled with
intense people trying their hardest to
be the very best at what they do…be it
painting, gaming or fluff creation. These
folks are competitors and honing their
skills to the highest degree possible.
Such Clubs are highly charged and fast-
paced as much as they are fun.
2. Social: This is a Club where folks feel
the social aspects of the Club are just as
important as the 40K hobby. This group
enjoys relaxed meetings where people
are not so intense. This kind of group
also sets up events in non-gaming
environments such as Bitz Swap BBQs.
Members tend to become good friends
outside the Club. Club meetings often
end with a few beers at the local bar.
3. Diverse: This sort of Club enjoys 40K…
and a lot of other games. The member-
ship has a lot of interests and the Club
leaders rotate their game sessions to
allow each game system to get its time
in the lime light. Members enjoy the
Club because it provides a large group
of players who are all interested in a
variety of game systems.
19
Tips & Tactics
Starting a... (cont.)
Perhaps I am oversimplifying things since many
Clubs will have an element or two from each
type inherent in them. Nevertheless, you can
see the importance of being up front and open
about the nature of your Club. It will be hard
for a Diverse Gamer to get along with the 40K
Hard Cores, especially when he asks if the group
might have a go at Necromunda next meeting. It
would be equally tough for the Hard Core gamer
to be inspired by the laid back approach of the
Socialites when they decide to skip the last
round of gaming in favor of an early round at the
pub.
Figure out how you want your Club members
to interact and then form your Club around
that vision…it will save a lot of heartache later.
If you want to take the extra step, set up some
basic goals for the Club to follow or aspire to…
goals that can be easily incorporated into a Club
Codex to help get the message across.
Create a Club Codex
Clubs don’t need a lot of rules, especially if you
have a strong and respected leader. Still, there
are a few which help to smooth things over
when difficulties arise.
Clearly state the purpose and goals of the Club.
(Thus establishing its nature.)
1. Define how you elect and, if necessary,
remove the Club’s leader.
2. Define membership in the Club…spe-
cifically, what requirements are there
for membership.
3. Briefly define how you will deal with
disagreements among members.
4. Define how the Club finances will work.
5. Add in anything else you deem impor-
tant…code of conduct, etc.
The SoCal Freebootaz have a simple Club Codex
(attached at the end). We also have a basic Code
of Conduct. They help define who we are, what
we hope to do as a Club and basically, how we
will do it. It may seem overly officious to some…
and perhaps you are right. But I think a simple
page or two does wonders for setting expecta-
tions among the membership.
Set Up a Meeting Schedule
Clubs need to meet on a schedule. There is noth-
ing worse than Club meetings that are deter-
mined a few days before they happen. Set up a
schedule that the Club, as a whole, is willing to
commit to. If nothing else, start small and build
up. The SoCal Freebootaz meet once a month,
usually on the last Saturday of every month.
Everyone knows that and it helps when folks are
trying to schedule personal commitments. It re-
ally helps to keep attendance high.
Establish a Place to Call Home
A Club needs a home. Sure, this can actually
be someone’s home if that works for you (and
someone has a largish place to set up tables!)
More likely, this home is going to be a game
store or GW store. Choose your home wisely.
People like to travel a max of about 60 minutes
to their hobbies. Beyond that requires excep-
tional behavior, steadfast dedication and impres-
sive commitment. Don’t count on it. Choose a
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
location that has the following elements for the
maximum appeal:
1. Enough space to play comfortably.
2. A temperature controlled environment.
3. Availability of 40K supplies and models.
4. Close proximity to local eating estab-
lishments.
5. A bathroom.
6. Good lighting.
7. A friendly, 40K-supportive owner. (Re-
ally, really important.)
These elements make for a very good Club
environment. One which members look forward
to journeying to for their fun. Now granted, not
everyone is lucky enough to have such a good
location for their Club. So you make the best of
things. The Club leader should make a Herculean
effort to set the Club up in the best possible
location.
Funding Club Activities
This is one of those issues that can tear a Club
apart. As soon as money is involved, people can
become uncomfortable. This is not such a big
deal if you have chosen your leader wisely or in a
group that is familiar with each other.
The first thing to do is to determine what you
need money for. Do you wish to buy prizes for
tournaments? Do you wish to buy terrain for
the Club? Once you figure this out, you’ll have a
much better idea as to what sort of money you
require. Raising money can be challenging. Here
are a few ideas:
1. Everyone contributes a fixed amount
20
Tips & Tactics the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Starting a... (cont.)

Creating a Club for 40K or any other common a 40K Club in your area…think about starting
each year as Club Dues. interest is a lot of fun. I encourage everyone to one…even if you only have 4 people. After all,
2. Folks pay a fee to participate in each be a member of some sort of Club to share ideas, well-organized Clubs tend to attract people…
Club event. have fun and make friends. If you don’t have before you know it, you’ll be needing more
3. The Club creates and sells painted mod- tables!
els or terrain.
4. The Club obtains sponsorship.
THE SOCAL FR
5. The Club designs Club merchandise EEBOOTAZ CL
such as t-shirts or beer mugs.
Vision
The SoCal Free UB CODEX
bootaz Club is and his retinue
ing the Warha dedicated to fu must all be mem
mmer 40K hobb rther- members thro bers and remai
Every Club is different and so it is important to y. ughout their te n
election, the w rm. In an oppo
figure out how best to support your Club’s finan- Goals inning candid sed
majority of vo ate must receiv
1. Have fun. tes to become ea
cial needs up front. Also, be especially careful of top two candid IC. A runoff vo
2. Play honora ates may be ne te of the
two things. First, not everyone can contribute 3. Help its mem
bly. candidate elec
tion. If the IC sh
cessary in a m
ulti-
the same amount to a Club so don’t set the bar bers develop th able to serve, a ould no longer
and gameplay eir hobby special electio be
skills. next Club mee n will be held
so high that you exclude people. Second, make 4. Expand the ting to elect a
new IC to serv
at the
Warhammer 40 current term. e out the
sure the person who handles the Club funds 5. Expand the K community.
40K Radio com
munity.
(usually the leader) is very reliable and open Membership
Club HQ
about the accounting (another good reason to The SoCal Free SoCal Freeboot
az Club membe
bootaz Club sh registered as a rs must be curr
elect your leader). pendent Chara all be led by an
Inde- 40K Radio Free ently
cter, elected by participate in a boota and mus
ship. The IC may the active mem Club event or t
appoint up to ber- every six mon meeting at leas
Set Up a Means to Communicate serve as his re four individual ths. New mem t once
tinue and to he s to ed by a curren bers must be no
the Club. Toge lp fulfill his du t member, in pe minat-
Establish a website for your Club. There really ther, the IC an ties to or meeting, in rson at a Club
Club HQ. d his retinue are order to join. event
is no better way to get information out to your the
members and to allow them to discuss issues. The Club HQ is Individuals seek
responsible fo ing to particip
r organizing all do so without bein ate in Club even
You will need at a minimum, a forum and a way events and mee
tings, maintaini Club g required to jo ts can
and forums, m ng Club contac in di vi du als, whether th in the Club. Su
to communicate across the group via email/ anaging mem t ey be new play ch
necessary Club bership, handlin lists of members or former ers, friends
twitter/texting/etc. Keep people informed. finances and re g any to become mem members, are
agreements be solving disput bers at the earli encouraged
Encourage discussions and idea sharing. Have tween membe es/dis- How es t op
to directly supp rs . The HQ is oblig ev er , only members portunity.
ort the Vision an ated view th may vote in Clu
a calendar with all Club events posted to it and d Goals of the
Club. tests.
e Club forums or
participate in C
b elections,
reminders sent out before events. I’m not sure I Elections lu b con-
need to talk about this much since the details for The IC shall be
elected to serv Club Finances
normally begi e a one year te
each Club will vary. Suffice to say that if you do nning on June rm, Th ere are curren
shall be held at 1 ea ch year. Electio tly no plans fo
NOT have a common communication platform a Club meetin ns even t requiring finan r Club dues. Any
and all active m g in May of each ci
embers are en year means to supp ng w ill ne ed to include a
for your Club, it will be very difficult to keep the person or by si couraged to vo
te in ort the event fin
gned written de an cially.
Club in coherency. And we all know how bad for IC must be cl aration. Candid
nominated by ates Amend
seconded by an on e member and m ents
that can be in 40K. other member. This Codex may
Candidates for be amended at
IC membership by any meeting of
a 2/3 vote of th the
e eligible mem 21
bers.
2
Tweaking the Game the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

New Unit:
Fargonne In’drinc
By OldOneEye
ing list (‘Drunkard’s Walk’, ‘Fortune, Guide’, ‘Mind herency must be maintained. Effects last only
Fargonne In'Drinc 45 POINTS War’) for the point cost listed in the Craftworld during the figures next movement phase. In
Eldar Armory. addition, for each point they fail their Ld roll by,
WS BS S T W I A LD SV
they must take a penalty of -1 to their BS and WS
Fargonne 5 5 3 4 3 5 1 10 4+ Warlocks: Warlocks are independent characters. (minimum of 1) but get a +1 to Ld. If this bonus
Warlock Buds 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 4+ But may not move on their own. They must ei- would give them a 12+ Ld score, they act as if
ther remain with the Farseer, or they may be as- they have And They Shall Know No Fear for the
Unit Type: Special Rules: signed to join a Wraithguard or Guardian Squad- rest of the current turn.
• HQ • Independent Char- ron as indicated in the appropriate entries in
acter the army list. With the exception of the Farseer’s
Unit Composition:
• Psychic Powers Buds, you may not have more than 1 Warlock in Warlock Powers
• 1 Fargonne In’drinc Drunkards Confidence: 20 Points
• Warlocks a unit. Each Warlock also must choose 1 Warlock
• Up to 5 Warlock Buds This Warlock power allows the recipient to alter
power from the following list (Conceal, Destruc-
tor, Embolden, Drunkard’s Confidence) at the its basic stat line for 1 phase (except for Sv).
Wargear:
points cost listed in the Craftworld Eldar Armory. Target unit can raise a single stat 1 point, but 2
• Rune Armor
• Any wargear allowed points must be subtracted from another stat.
by the Craftworld Dedicated Transport See chart for stat adjustments. Effects last for
Eldar Armory The Farseer and Warlocks may be mounted in a current phase only. Increased W capacity does
Options: Wave Serpent for 110 points. not affect total wounds received in that phase
• May take up to 5 Warlock Buds at +13 points and will affect figure at end of phase. If more
each. Psychic Powers than one stat is given, the player must choose
Drunkards Walk: 40 points one to subtract points from. If the stat becomes
The Farseer sends out a psychic blast of drunk- 0, the figure is dead and removed from play im-
Wargear enness to attack his opponents. In game terms, mediately.
Rune Armor: Gives the Farseer an invulnerable
designate a target and use the small blast tem-
save of 4+
plate. All models touched by the template must +1 to -2 from
Special Rules make a Ld test. All Space Marines (except for WS I, A, Ld or BS
Independent Character: Unless accompanied Space Wolves) have a -2 Ld penalty for saving. BS WS, S or T
by 1 or more Warlock Buds, the Farseer is an Those that fail, react in this way on their next
S W
Independent Character and follows the Inde- movement phase. For each inch of movement
T W
pendent Character special rules as given in the that is taken by the figure, roll a scatter die and
move the figure 1” in the direction of the arrow. W S or T
Warhammer 40k rulebook.
On a “HIT” result, the figure does nothing and I Ld
Psychic Powers: The Farseer must choose be- loses that inch of movement. Units affected by A S, WS or BS
tween 1 and 4 psychic powers from the follow- Drunkard’s Walk MUST be moved first and co- Ld I or A
22
2
Tweaking the Game
New Mission:
Playground of Chaos
By Trichloro
Overview:
Playground of Chaos is designed to capture the
feel of fighting on a world heavily tainted by the
forces of Chaos. Much as the machinations of
Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh are con-
tinuously shifting and incomprehensible to the
mind of man, so is this battlefield.
Deployment:
Each player rolls a D6 for deployment zones, and
takes the corresponding deployment zone from
the list below. When deploying you must be
at least 12 inches away from the enemy, this is
important if the deployment zones over lap.
Roll Deploy
1-2 12 inches from long board edge
2-3 table corner
5 15 inches from short board edge
6 Dawn of War - half of the board edge
- Deploy 1 HQ and 2 Troops, every-
thig else (except reserves) comes in
round 1 from board edge
Special Rules:
Reserves, Deep Strike, Outflank (scouts and infil-
trators), Night Fight (see below), Tainted Objec-
tives (see below)
Night Fight:
Every round starting with round 2, roll
a D6, on 5+ that round uses Night Fight
rules.
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
Tainted Objectives: picks their deployment zone and their oppo-
At the beginning of every round roll a D6 for nent’s deployment zone based off of the roll
every token and on a roll of 5+ that token above, as needed. So, after determining what
is moved by the Chaos gods. Roll a scatter sort of zone you get, the winner of this roll de-
die plus 3D6 and move the token accord- termines where you actually deploy, for example
ing the scatter die, even if a hit is rolled just the first player has the long board edge and the
follow the small arrow. If the token goes other player has the table corner, the first player
off the board or hits impassible terrain picks his side and then picks which corner their
then it is destroyed. If it lands on top of opponent sets up in.
another model, then place it 1 inch away
from that model. Victory conditions:
Holding the most objectives at the end of the
On a roll of 6 the objective and its control- game.
ling unit are moved. If it is contested then
the unit closest to the objective is moved Game length:
(note this can only be units holding the Starting in Round 4 roll a D6 and consult the
objective, so only scoring units). If a unit chart below:
is moved with the objective scatter as nor-
mal but follow the Deepstrike rules for the Rnd Roll Effect
entire unit with the token. If the unit is 4 2+ game continues
destroyed, then token is destroyed with it.
5 3+ game continues
If Delayed is rolled, the unit only must go
1 Chaos gods obliterate everything
back in reserves and they Deepstrike back
and the game ends in a tie
automatically the next round. Then the
6 4+ game continues
token is placed 1” away from what caused
7 3+ game continues
the mishap.
1 Chaos gods obliterate everything
and the game ends in a tie
Setup:
Place 5 tokens in a star formation (pentagram) 8 3+ game ends
with each being 12 inches apart. The center of 1, 2 Chaos gods obliterate everything
the star should be centered on the table. and the game ends in a tie
First Turn:
Roll off for first turn/deployment. The winner
23
24
Top Shelf
Book review:
Survival Instinct
By glenoxo
Not only am I going old-school here, but I’m in
danger of not even seeing this in print. You see,
I’m submitting a review of a Black Library book first
published back in 2005 entitled Survival Instinct –
yes, it’s a Necromunda novel by the venerable Andy
Chambers.
Please Spencer, at least it’s not about wood elves and
skaven!
As it is set in the 40k timeline and universe I will
begin and hope that I don’t lose too many readers at
this point.
Following a mini-quest by ‘Mad’ Donna Ulanti, Surviv-
al Instinct tracks her efforts to track down the person
or people who are trying to kill her and get in first.
Along the way various elements of her back story are
dropped in, in an attempt to explain why a girl who
seemingly had it all would give it up to become a
legend in the Underhive.
Starting in the thick of it, the book wastes no time
in setting out some of the parameters it is working
towards, namely that the lead character is the focus
and nothing or no-one will get in the way of the
exploration of her past and her motives. Whether it is
hired guns, armies of scavvies or mutant crocodiles,
there is nothing that really fazes this legendary gang
fighter-scum-legend in the Underhive.
As far as things go, it’s a straightforward concept
quite tidily done. The plot seems deliberately fo-
cused, with little to no distractions from pushing the
story on to the next encounter, often to the detri-
ment of context.
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 2
Whilst generally done well, there is a bit of a feeling the right cord in my mind. Donna reacts in the way I
of confusion around the lead character. Throughout would expect her to react when she really shouldn’t,
the book she is described as fairly level-headed and the female mind to me is as alien as an ork in a tutu.
a natural fighter who uses her head as much if not
more than her physical skills to win the day. How- Overall this feels like an extended short story, aiming
ever, this is flipped entirely on an inconsistent basis, to establish a character you can then go on to play in
with descriptions of some fights (notably one in a bar the game and nothing more. To that end it does the
with no shooting allowed) almost going beyond the job well, it just left me feeling as if I had just read a
realms of comfort. If this was a regular occurrence comic book. Sorry, graphic novel.
throughout the book it would be easier to track and
to accept, but her motives and mentality shift just a 6/10, but good for a no-brain read should you ever
little too much for my tastes. need one.
I know it could be argued that this is a fair descrip-
tion of a mad woman hell-bent on her prize, but in
a story of such focus on an individual person that
person needs to be fully believable and understand-
able, if not always predictable.
There are some interesting side characters met along
the way which, had the book been produced now
rather than so many years ago, would have been
fleshed out further and better integrated into the
storylines. There was some opportunity here to
view the dark, dirty world of the Underhive through
so many eyes that I felt a little bit cheated. *Imagine
Batman but with no scenes without him in them –
nothing really from his enemies, colleagues or even
random passers-by. It wouldn’t quite give you that
rounded view of the situation, of him and of who
others really perceive him to be.
This book also suffers from a classic blockage to
believability – the lead is female while the author is
male. It takes an exceptionally talented writer to suc-
cessfully transcend the gender divide, and whilst Mr.
Chambers is a good writer he just doesn’t quite strike
25
The Freeboota
Battle Report:
2000pt Freeboota vs. Freeboota Battle Report
By Aarkon
Farseer Aarkon looked over the desert wasteland.
His Seer Council long since decimated. The Spirit
Stones of his loyal Warlock Council have long
since sat in the Wraithbone constructs known
as Wraithguard. Farseer Aarkon could see the
remains of a long since abandoned Imperial City.
The Eldar of Craftworld Ulthwe was unable to
detect the ancient webway gate with the heavy
infestation of mon-keigh. However now that
their city has long since been reclaimed by the
desert, the Eldar can once again reclaim what
was once theirs. However shortly after Farseer
Aarkon and his people landed close to the site
where the webway gate was detected they came
into contact with a detachment of Black Templar
Space Marines who have landed at the site as
well, investigating the devastation to the city.
The Black Templars have detected the Eldar, and
having such in-born hatred for any for the ‘witch’
have decided to cleanse this planet in the name
of the Emperor and remove the foul ‘witches’
from what was once one of the Emperor’s holy
cities. This is the story of that conflict…
This is a 2000 point battle report between two
Freebootaz. Myself, known as Aarkon to the
Freebootaz and a good friend of mine, known to
the Freebootaz as Deadshot. Deadshot will be
playing his Black Templar list and I will be playing
my recently painted Eldar Ulthwe list. We rolled
the dice and the game was decided. We would
be playing Annihilation. We would be deploying
as per the Pitched Battle rules. Here in Canada
we also use the Hall of Heroes Secondary Objec-
tives to break ties. So we rolled for our Second-
ary and got ‘No Quarter Gained’. Which means
we’ll get a secondary point for any troop in one
of the four table quarters.
Marshal Deadshot’s Black Templars
Farseer Aarkon’s Ulthwe
• Avatar
• Farseer: Runes of Warding, Spirit Stones, Sing-
ing Spear, Doom, Fortune
• Dire Avengers (10): Exarch, Two Shuriken
Catapults, Defend, Bladestorm
• Wave Serpent: Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit
Stones
• Guardians (11): Shuriken Cannon, Warlock,
Embolden
• Rangers (5): Pathfinders
• Wraithguard (10): Warlock, Singing Spear,
Spiritseer, Enhance
• Fire Dragons (10): Exarch, Flamer, Crack Shot
• Wave Serpent: Twin Shuriken Cannon, Spirit
Stones
• Dark Reapers (5): Exarch, Tempest Launcher,
Fast Shot
• Wraithlord: Bright Lance
• Wraithlord: Bright Lance
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
• Emperors Champion: Accept any challenge no
matter the odds
• Chaplain: Master of Sanctity, Bolt Pistol, Frag
Grenades, Melta Bombs, Holy Orb Of Antioch,
Bionics, Terminator Honors, 3 Cenobyte Servi-
tors
• Crusader Squad: Initiates (10), Neophytes (10),
Power Fist, Melta Gun
• Crusader Squad: Initiates (10), Neophytes (9),
Power Fist, Flamer
• Crusader Squad: Initiates (10), Neophytes (10),
Power Fist, Melta Gun
• Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squad (6):
Lighting Claws (5), Thunder Hammer, Furious
Charge
• Venerable Dreadnought: Tank Hunter, Missile
Launcher and Lascannon
• Predator Annihilator: Lascannon Side Spon-
sons, Smoke Launchers, Extra Armor
• Land Raider Crusader: Smoke Launchers
26
The Freeboota
2000 pt Freeboota vs... (cont.)
The terrain was set up and we were ready to
play. We roll off to see who goes first and the El-
dar win the day. With the Black Templars failing
to steal the imitative we move on to turn one...
Eldar turn 1.Farseer Aarkon deploys along with
the Spiritseer and the ten Wraithguard. The
Avatar is directly in front of him. The Farseer
attempts to cast Fortune on the Avatar knowing
that the Black Templars will try to kill the Avatar
early. Rolling a twelve is a fail, not only that but
a perils of the warp attempt is made. However
being a Farseer with a Ghosthelm he is able to
avoid the perils on a roll of 3+. Rolling a five the
Farseer is ok. The Dark Reapers and Pathfinders
who are set up in a crumbling building take aim
on the Emperor’s Champion and his large squad.
The Dark Reapers kill six Neophytes and the
Scouts only manage one wound and a Marine
who makes his armor save.
Both Wave Ser-
pents fly ahead
of the slow Eldar
advance. They
both fire their
twin linked
Shuriken Can-
nons at the
Chaplain’s squad
killing one
Marine and two
Neophytes. Both
of the Bright
Lances from
the Wraithlords
take aim at the
Predator, however both shots bounce harmlessly
off the walls in front of the tank. The Guardian
Squad take aim and fire their Shuriken Cannon
into the Chaplain’s Squad killing another Neo-
phyte. After the smoke clears the Black Templar
squads that took casualties rolled for their Righ-
teous Zeal. The Chaplain’s Squad runs forward
seven inches and the Emperor’s Champion’s
squad runs forward two inches.
Black Templar turn 1. Most of the Black Templar
squads along with the Land Raider rush forward.
The Dreadnought and one Crusader squad held
back to hold one of the table quarters. The
Dreadnought took aim at one of the Wraithlords
and wounds him once with his Lascannon. The
Land Raider fires its smoke launchers knowing
that the Wraithguard and Wraithlord in front of
it have no trouble dispatching tanks, even those
with armor 14. The Chaplain’s squad rushes for-
ward the Chaplain saying a mighty prayer before
hurling his Holy Orb of Antioch wounding the
Avatar.
The Emperor’s Champion runs forward, rolling a
one.
The Predator took aim and fired all three Lascan-
nons at the Wave Serpent full of Fire Dragons
knowing that they spell its doom if they make it
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
across the field. However the shots are unable
to get through the energy field that protects the
front of the Wave Serpent.
Eldar turn 2. The Farseer casts Fortune on the
Avatar and also casts Doom on the Chaplain’s
squad. The Dire Avengers quickly exit their Wave
Serpent. One Wraithlord and the Wraithguard
move towards the Land Raider. The Fire Dragon’s
Wave Serpent travels flat out to position itself
behind the Predator. The Wraithguard and
Wraithlord pour everything they have into the
plume of smoke where they saw the Land Raider
last. However due to the nature of the Black Tem-
plar Smoke Launchers, they are only able to stun
it three times and blow the Multi-Melta off the
top of it. The Avatar and the other Wraithlord
advance towards the Chaplain’s squad shooting
the Melta, Bright Lance and Flamer killing three
Neophytes.
The Pathfinders and Dark Reapers took aim at
the Emperor’s Champion’s squad. Killing nine
in a torrent of fire. The Dire Avengers standing
in front of the same squad take aim, the Exarch
commanding them to Bladestorm. A storm of
shurikens later there are seven wounds, two
more Marines die to the hail of shurikens. Leav-
ing the Emperor’s Champion and two marines
27
The Freeboota
2000 pt Freeboota vs... (cont.)
with him. The Dire Avenger’s Wave Serpent
shoots into the Chaplain’s squad causing a
wound however the Marine’s armor saves him.
The Guardians shoot their Shuriken Cannon at
the Chaplain’s Squad however not wishing to hit
the Avatar and Wraithlord they miss their tar-
get. The Assault phase starts; the Exarch of the
Dire Avengers seeing the Emperor’s Champion
Squad down to three members calls out for the
Dire Avengers to charge in. The Avatar and the
Wraithlord charge into the Chaplain’s Squad.
The Avatar and Wraithlord kill two members of
the Chaplain’s Squad and take no wounds back.
The Dire Avenges kill one Marine and the Dire
Avengers lose three of their own, the Exarch is
able to keep them in the combat.
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
The Land Raider spins up its twin Assault Can-
nons and fires into the Wraithguard with no
effect. The Predator rotates to face the Fire
Dragon’s Wave Serpent, three Las-Blasts flash
from the Lascannons immobilizing Wave Ser-
pent, causing it to crash into the Desert due to
its high speed. Two Fire Dragons die in the ex-
plosion as they try to crawl out of the wreckage.
The Terminator Squad furiously charge into the
Wraithguard and the Wraithlord.
Black Templar Turn 2. The Assault Termina-
tors thunder down the assault plank of the Land
Raider and get ready to assault the Wraithbone
constructs.
The Dreadnought and Crusader Squad kept
holding their table quarter but the Dreadnought
took aim at the Guardian Squad, killing one.
The Farseer impales a Terminator with his Sing-
ing Spear, the Wraithguard and Wraithlord kill
another two Terminators. The Terminators kill
four Wraithguard. The Terminator with the Thun-
der Hammer swings his mighty hammer and
wounds the Wraithlord. Another Wraithguard
dies due to ‘No Retreat’. The Avatar and Wraith-
lord kill six more of the marines from the Chap-
lain’s Squad. The Chaplain is able to rally his
troops to cause two wounds on the Avatar how-
ever two more Marines die due to ‘No Retreat’.
The Emperor’s Champion kills two more Dire
Avengers. They fail to kill any marines, the Dire
Avengers Exarch calling for a retreat, however his
squad is caught and cut down by the Black
28
The Freeboota
2000 pt Freeboota vs... (cont.)
Sword of the Emperor’s Champion.
Eldar turn 3. The Wave Serpent, the Pathfinders
and the Dark Reapers all unload at the Emperor’s
Champion and the one Marine in his squad. The
excessive fire power makes short work of them
both. The Fire Dragons move up and shoot the
Predator at close range. The Predator explodes
in a ball of fire and wreckage taking three Fire
Dragons with it.
In the Assault Phase, the Avatar kills two more
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
Marines and the Wriathlord misses
with his attacks. The power fist Ma-
rine wounds the Wraithlord, and no
one manages to wound the Avatar.
The Wraithguard manage to slowly
pull down the Thunder Hammer Ter-
minator and with him died the hopes
of the Assault Terminators ever killing
the Wraithlord. The Terminators in
return wound the Farseer and kill two
more Wraithguard. Another Wraith-
guard dies to ‘No Retreat’.
Black Templar turn 3. The Dread-
nought shoots the Guardians killing
another with a powerful Las-Blast. In
the Assault Phase, the Avatar and the
Wraithlord manage to kill everyone
in the squad leaving the Chaplain by
himself surrounded by a sea of dead
Black Templars. The Farseer and two
Wraithguard die in combat against the Termi-
nators, they make all their saves
against the Wraithlord.
29
The Freeboota
2000 pt Freeboota vs... (cont.)
Eldar turn 4. The Guardians run four inches
trying to get away from the Dreadnought that
keeps killing them.
The Fire Dragons hop the wall the Predator was
behind and run up the boarding ramp into the
Wave Serpent that was once the Dire Avenger’s.
The Avatar and Wraithlord make short work
of the Chaplain and sweep towards the Land
Raider.
The Assault
Terminators kill
the Spiritseer,
the Wraithlord
misses on all of
its attacks as the
combat swirls.
Black Templar turn 4. The Dreadnought, still in
range manages to kill another Guardian before
they can run too far. The Land Raider backs away
from the Avatar and Wraithlord and opens up
with its assault cannon on the Avatar, the shells
bouncing harmlessly of its flaming body.
In the Assault Phase, the Wraithlord fails to hit
the Terminators, however luckily for him the Ter-
minators aren’t strong enough to hurt him.
Eldar turn 5. The Guardians again make a mad
dash away from the Dreadnought. The Avatar
and Wraithguard shoot the Land Raider, they
manage to only stun it. They charge into assault.
The Avatar isn’t able to hurt the Land Raider, and
the Wraithlord totally misses it. The Wraithlord
fighting the Terminators misses both of his at-
tacks again against the Terminators.
Black Templar turn 5. The Dread-
nought shoots the Wave Serpent with
Missile Launcher and Lascannon.
Missing with the Missile
Launcher and failing to hurt
the Wave Serpent with the
Lascannon due to its Energy
Shield. The Land Raider
again backs up but fails to
hurt the Avatar again with
its Assault Cannon or Bolt-
ers.
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
In the Assault Phase the Wraithlord again fails to
kill any of the Terminators in combat.
Deadshot rolls the die to see if the game ends,
rolling a one ending the game on turn five.
Conclusion. The Farseer Aarkon and his Eldar
manage to pull out a minor win with five kill
points to four kill points for the Martial Deadshot
and his Black Templars. I fear a re-match won’t
be too far off. This was a close game, with most
of the game being bogged down with the two
major Close Combats. With both of us having
to keep some troop back to hold table quarters
in the event of a tie. So much toughness 6 and
toughness 8 proved to be just to much for the
Black Templars to deal with fast enough letting
me tie up key units of his. Especially the Assault
Terminators. This is a Key unit, that without their
Thunder Hammer, they were locked in combat
with a Wraithlord they couldn’t hurt. I felt bad
for the Chaplain as he had to stand back and
watch the Avatar and Wraithlord just slowly pick
away at his huge squad as they were having too
much trouble dealing with the high toughness
units. Deadshot is a great player and we have
many a grudge match now, this will just be an-
other to add to the pile.
30
3
Fan Fiction
CHAOS Short Story:
Come to the Sabbath
By Krug_666 Art by Klausmasterflex
The Death Walker crew emerged from the smoke-choked battlefield. Their black and
crimson armor shone in the waning dusk. Waiting at the entrance to the ancient Storm-
bird was Kefron, a wise and most evil sorcerer lord. The followers of Khorne cared not for
magic, but Kefron had promised them power of unimaginable heights. He knew of dark
and forbidden places few remembered. He promised them the Blood God’sfavor.
“Is it done Gath? Do you have what I asked of you?” Kefron groaned. “Aye, wizard I do.
But take me for no fool; I shall let you have it soon. Take us now to this altar you claim.”
Gath said prominently. Kefron paused, looking over the remaining World Eater party.
There had been at least sixty when they landed. Now only twenty remain, Gath included.
“Worry not Gath. I know the way.” They boarded the Stormbird, heading north over the
vermillion sea.
Kefron once belonged to the Night Lords legion, but over time he grew mad with his pur-
suit of knowledge. He ventured from world to world, lending his black arts to the Traitor
Marine Lords. Nothing seemed to quell his appetite for all things arcane and magnificent.
In previous times he used the Night Lords to fulfill his wishes; now though, he used any
that answer his call. Many did, so long as they too reaped powerful rewards. Such is the
fate of Gath the Death Walker.
“There it is!” Kefron groaned, pointing out the hulking stone edifice. It was ominously an-
tiquated, covered in thick, web-like moss. The Stormbird descended to the rocky hill top,
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
as the planets emerald sun vanished beneath the horizon. The Berserker party trudged
down the ramp, holding their position at the vanguard of the titanic temple. The crude
steps leading up to the passageway were littered with weapons, armor and bones of an-
other era. Kefron stood behind Gath and whispered, “So, my friend, now your fate stands
before you. Shall you answer the call of your god?” Gath turned to the sorcerer, raising
a leather bloodstained pouch, “This shall be yours once we return to our ship.” Kefron
frowned, and nodded. Wielding Snaga in his right hand, Gath continued, “Lead the way
wizard.”
Kefron lumbered up the steps careful not trample any objects, “This way my friends.
Come; come to the Sabbath of Khorne.” With a wave of his hand the rotted moss parted,
revealing a rusted egress emblazoned with the symbol of Khorne. Gath and his Berserk-
ers stopped short, unsure of themselves. The brazen door opened slowly and Kefron
ventured into the gloom. Gath followed suit, wondering what lay in the heart of this
shrine to the Blood God.
The long hallway seemed to stretch out into another realm altogether. Reaching what
appeared to be the main chamber, Gath heard…no, felt voices in his head. “Come; come;
feed me; bring me skulls.” the voice beckoned. Gath shook his head and gripped Snaga
tighter. He looked over his shoulder; Jagee and Fausto had obviously heard it too, for they
stood with their backs to each other, waiting for an attack. Vaakon, Bael and Xerzes had
also stopped in their tracks. Gath slowed his pace; still heading towards the dimly
31
3
Fan Fiction the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Come to the... (cont.) Kefron began to panic, falling on his ass and begging for mercy, like a dog. Gath raised
Snaga and drove it into Kefron’s breastplate, splattering bone and blood across the floor.
lit altar that Kefron now kneeled before. Gormaar, Torg and Harek flanked Gath. The rest Kefron screaming in agony, Snaga bit down again, nearly cutting him in two, the ancient
of the Berserkers waited in the darkness. “Kefron,” Gath whispered, “what now?” Kefron chain-axe screaming and spitting sparks. Choking on his own blood, Kefron reached
rose to his feet, and lit a large candle. It illuminated the chamber, revealing blood stained out for Gath only to be swatted back to the gored stone floor. Gath delivered the killing
walls and mounds of skulls, human and alien alike. Kefron pulled a silk cover to the floor, stroke; the sorcerers head rolling back down to the altar, his life force spilling everywhere.
revealing a grim brass statue of a horned and mighty daemon. Axe in hand, he sat, hun-
dreds of skulls at the base of his feet. Gath walked back to the altar, still glowing, his men standing about in confusion. He
placed Kefron’s decapitated head at the feet of the idol. “Yes.” the voice boomed in his
“Your Lord Khorne;” Kefron began, “Here his head. Gath stood in front of the altar, his body
presence is felt like no other. Stand before him violently shaking. His men began running for
Gath Deathwalker, receive his blessings and do the exit not sure what was going on. Kefron’s
his biddings.” Gath knelt beneath the blaz- carcass hovered above the floor, electric cur-
ing idol. Silently he spoke to Khorne, asking rents running over the body. Gath was sud-
for power; strength to defeat any who stood denly thrust to the ground; the chamber began
before him in battle; strength to suffer griev- to hum and vibrate. Looking up, Gath saw
ous wounds and fight on. The temple quaked. the very fabric of reality tear, the warp spilling
A harsh hot wind rushed in, blowing out the through into the shrine. A whirlwind of colors
candles. Thunderous laughter shook the altar, surrounded Gath. He dragged himself to his
“Bring me his skull and it shall be done.” the knees, struggling to see what was happening.
voice boomed in his head. The Berserker party Kefron’s body was being dragged into the warp
backed way from their commander, who now by the hounds of Khorne, their daemon master
glowed red in the pitch black of the shrine. howling and laughing. Gath finally rose to his
Striding towards Kefron, Gath switched on his feet, gazing into the Immaterium. The giant
double-headed chain-axe, savoring the thought daemon saluted Gath, his hounds still fighting
of killing the sorcerer. Kefron, sensing he was for Kefron’s body. Gath was thrown across the
endangered, leapt backwards, unsheathing shrine as the portal closed.
his great sword. He cleaved a Berserker’s head
clean from his shoulders and cursed the Blood Stepping out into the rising dawn, Gath walked
God. “Bring me the wizard!” Gath shouted to past his crew. Only eight now remained. Their
his troops, his voice deep and twisted. Several eyes followed him as he boarded the Stormbird.
Berserkers rushed him, chain-swords and axes
wailing. Kefron unleashed a pulsating wave of “What is the plan Captain?” Vaakon asked,
warp energy. The Marines fell; their heads ex- unsure if Gath was even coherent. He reached
ploding in a shower of crimson. Gath leapt over into one of his satchels and produced an ornate
his fallen comrades, wildly swinging his axe. amulet of shimmering violet. The Berserkers
Kefron blocked his attacks, desperately trying all stared at it, dumbfounded. “The wizard said
to escape. The World Eaters stood watching the this rune was a key. To what I know not. I do
mighty battle, Kefron and Gath both glowing in the darkness. know his next destination was the Purgatory system. He was to liaison with a Night Lords
force en route. I say we join them; take skulls for Khorne and see what this key opens.”
“Fool! You attack me after I have led you here! Your power you owe to me!” Kefron bel-
lowed, deflecting the onslaught of blows. “This matters not to Khorne; only that your In the depth of space, amongst the stars, Gath sat listening to the voice, “Skulls; skulls for
skull sits at his feet and your soul reaped in his name!” Gath proclaimed. Kefron kicked my throne…blood for the Blood God….skulls for my Sabbath…”
out, knocking Gath to the floor. Kefron ran for the hallway, stopping short he began an
incantation, trying to bring the wrath of his magic upon Gath, “Your parlor tricks won’t ‘Come to the Sabbath…’ Gath remembered the wizard saying. The Sabbath of war is all
work on me wizard…Khorne commands this hall. Tonight you sleep in Hell.” Gath the Death Walker shall live for.
32
3
Fan Fiction the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

IG Short Story:
Last Stand Pt. 3
By Ajree210 Art by Mr Pokey, and Nomad77
Be sure to read part one & two in our previous issues! “Looks like this is it old pal.” Bren said, his voice carrying and said a silent prayer, hoping for some miracle from the
over the roar of the oncoming horde as if it wasn’t even Emperor.
The howl that erupted from the orks was as if death itself there. “We’re gonna need all our luck to make it through
was screaming over the war torn planet. The ground this.” Kreen’s trance was broken suddenly as the sound of the
shook as the shockwave of awesome vocal power surged Heavy Bolter stopped. Kreen looked around the trench for
towards the Imperial line. The screeching howl permeated Kreen nodded, his helmet bobbing lightly,” Yeah, we can another ammo crate, but to his dismay, he found noth-
into every living soul and viciously ripped all hope from do it. Let’s get this Bolter up and hold this line. For the Em- ing. Hessav’s body still lay on the back wall of the trench,
them like a wolf tearing flesh from bone. Men stood frozen peror!” As Kreen yelled his final words, Bren did the same the blood now dry on his uniform. Kreen noticed two frag
in fear, tanks stopped firing, and voxcasters went silent and moved to the trigger handle of the Bolter, holding the grenades on the dead man’s belt as he hurriedly searched
as the blaring noise shook the very roots of the Imperial’s grip with his good arm, bracing himself to fire the power- for more rounds, and stooped over to unlatch them. He
spirits. Nothing would stop the orks now. ful weapon. Kreen grabbed placed them in an empty
an ammo box and loaded ammo bag on his belt
The cry sent shivers of cold fear through Kreen’s body. He the large, explosive rounds and leaned away from the
tried to focus on the oncoming horde of green muscle and into the side chamber. Bren stinking body, repulsed by
dust as it slowly filled his vision, but the noise made his loaded a round, glanced the stench. Bren called out,
ears ring and his hands unsteady. Suddenly, the ork’s cries down at Kreen and said,” trying to alert someone to
were covered by the sound of thunder, thousands upon Let’s do this.” bring them some ammo,
thousands of boots stomping across the dry earth, sprint- but none came. Kreen
ing towards the humans. Crude engines and other twisted Kreen nodded, and the pulled up his lasgun and
contraptions plowed forward. The rusty engines spat dark, shells began passing up stuck on his sharp bayonet,
billowing smoke from multiple exhausts and their drivers from the case, through his looking at his reflection on
unheedingly flattened those who got in their way, speed- hands, into the Bolter and the silver blade. He prayed
ing ahead to bring death and carnage upon their foes. out the other side as hot, he wouldn’t need to use
Large, pounding tremors shook the ground as a lumber- spent cases. The sound of it. Bren drew his laspistol
ing Stompa Titan grew behind the green curtain, rising the bolter tore at Kreen’s and loaded a fresh cell. He
above the foot soldiers. It madly fired all of its guns at the ears, but the pain didn’t turned to face Kreen.
Imperial Line, recoiling sharply as its giant cannon lobbed faze him. His view was fixed
a smoking ball of metal and explosives through the air. on the distance, staring at “This is it, Kreen old pal.
The poorly aimed shot landed far over the Imperial lines, the bloodthirsty horde about to descend on their com- Either we hold this line or we get trampled by these green
but the shockwave from the blast knocked the wind from pany. Time slowed as he was drawn into a trance, gazing bastards and in my opinion, I like the first option better.”
Kreen and dropped him to his knees. Death was coming, out into the sea of death. He saw their bolter shells ripping Bren said, chuckling.
and Kreen knew it. into green muscle and bone, separating limbs and flesh
from their bodies. He saw Nobz with sizzling Klaws and Kreen laughed, surprised how even in the face of death,
Kreen looked over at his old friend Bren. Bren turned, as huge axes crush their own boyz as they charged forward, his comrade Bren can still sustain his usual humor. “I agree,
if sensing Kreen’s gaze upon him. Their eyes met and a doing anything to get to the enemy. A trukk erupted into so let’s kill us some greenskins!” Kreen replied.
feeling of both fear and bravery surged through them, em- orange flame and flying metal as a direct hit from a lascon-
powering each other through an invisible force. Both men non slammed into the hull, throwing orks into the air and Kreen pulled up his lasgun and looked down the olive-
knew what was coming. They knew that they were going flattening those around the trukk to the ground. Those cased gun. Green bodies filled his few as he switched from
to die. A smile crept onto their faces as they realized they unlucky orks that didn’t get up in time got trampled by the semi-auto to fully automatic. He grinned as he spoke to
were thinking the same thing; with the Emperor at their tide that surged behind them. As far as Kreen could see, himself,’ Die, greenskin filth!’
side, they can make it. green ground and gray sky filled his vision. He looked up

33
3
Fan Fiction
Last Stand... (cont.)
His rifle lightly kicked back into his shoulder as the red
lasrounds seared through the air, cutting into green flesh.
He saw one round blow the top half of an ork’s face clean
off and watched it disappear under the thundering tide. It
seemed as though for every ork he killed, three replaced
the dead one. His gun ran dry and he ducked behind the
dirt wall and replaced the old cell with a new one from
a bag on his side. The hissing of slugs passing overhead
and the thunk of dirt on metal made Kreen hesitate from
standing back up. He glanced at Hessav as he felt the frags
in the other pouch, thanking the man for the supplies.
Before he could stand back up and fire, a figure swiftly
dropped into the trench next to him, followed by another
guardsman carrying a voxcaster on his back. Kreen looked
up at the black-coated man and was shocked to see the
Commissar of his Platoon standing next to him, bolt pistol
and power sword ready to kill.
“Sir!” Kreen hollered, scraggily saluting the Commissar.
The Commissar nonchalantly glanced down at Kreen and
huffed.
“You, stand up. Right now you should be worried about
the orks rather than saluting your superiors! You can salute
me all you want once we push these beasts back!” Com-
missar Olgrav yelled to Kreen, firing his bolt pistol into the
tide.
Kreen stood and began shooting, dropping a few more
greenskins as his cell once again neared empty. The sound
of an Autocannon sounded behind him somewhere in the
network of trenches but was silenced soon after as a lucky
mortar from an ork wagon struck the weapon team. A
lucky shot, Kreen thought.
As Kreen ducked to reload, he noticed that Bren wasn’t
standing next to him. He turned and gasped. Bren was
sitting against the wall of the trench, a large gash on the
left side of his head above his temple. Blood flowed rapidly
from the wound, cascading down his grizzly face and onto
his breastplate. Kreen knelt beside him and was relieved to
see him move.
“Just…Just got lucky…my helmet got nice n’ smashed but
it saved me…Emperor protects…” He said shakily. Kreen
looked at the helmet on the ground and saw a large dent
from a slug that, luckily, deflected off the helmet instead
of punching straight through. Before Kreen could help his
friend, the Commissar hollered, “Incoming!” delight, throwing his fist in the air, but was shocked as
Kreen stood and looked at what the Commissar saw.
Kreen’s face went white. A huge, hulking figure was smash-
ing its way through the charging mob, a large boss pole
with skulls and other grotesque trophies swinging wildly
on the beast’s back. The giant Nob broke away from the
green pack, charging towards their trench, its massive
chain axe spinning wildly, whining as it hungrily awaited
for it’s chance to chew into flesh.
“For the Emperor!” The Commissar screamed as he jumped
out of the trench, unloading the pistol into the monster.
The rounds didn’t seem to harm the Nob but only make
it angrier. Its maw opened wide, huge brown and yellow
teeth lining its jutting jaw. Large globules of slimy spittle
flew as it howled in both pain and anger. Its beady red
eyes locked onto the Commissar. It was ready to kill.Kreen
was unable to reload in time to assist in bringing down the
monster. He could only watch in anticipation as the Com-
missar and Nob closed together. Olgrav tossed his bolt
pistol aside and two-handed his power sword. The Nob
did the same, revving the chainaxe as it prepared to strike.
As the Nob hefted the massive axe over its head to strike
downward, Kreen saw the Commissar feign right then hop
left as the axe swung down. Confused, the Nob turned
his head round and tried to pull the axe from the ground.
Even as strong as it was, the Nob had buried the axe head
deep into the dirt and the engine clogged and died. The
the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3
Nob left the weapon and turned to face the Commis-
sar but was a split moment too slow. The sword swung
down and separated the Nob’s right arm from the shoul-
der down. The beast screamed in pain. Kreen hollered in
the Nob began fighting more furiously as before with its
remaining hand, wildly punching and kicking at the dodg-
ing Commissar. It suddenly moved to the right with blur-
ring speed as the Commissar dove forward for the killing
blow, his sword slicing through air. The Commissar didn’t
have time to scream as the massive, studded fist of the
Nob slammed into the man’s face, shattering his jaw and
snapping his neck, killing him instantly. The Nob picked up
the dead man, and to Kreen’s horror, spat on his body and
nonchalantly threw the corpse into the oncoming tide.
With a sudden burning hate, Kreen threw his lasgun down
and pulled out the two frags. He screamed pure hate as he
pulled both pins and threw the frags as hard as he could.
The grenades bounced near the gloating, one-armed Nob
and both grenades landed by its boots. It looked down in
confusion at the small devices and was shredded to small,
bloody ribbons as the twin blasts erupted. Shrapnel and
dirt flew into the air and as the dust cleared, Kreen saw the
gory remains of the Nob spread across the dusty ground.
Kreen slumped down into the trench, suddenly dizzy and
tired. He turned against the wall and slowly moved to-
wards his bloody friend. Still alive, Bren turned and smiled
weakly, the left half of his face red with fresh blood. Kreen
looked to his left and saw the man with the voxcaster lying
dead on the ground. A slug had torn through his exposed
uniform and ripped open his gut. The man had died trying
to stuff his intestines back inside his body, pale hands still
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Fan Fiction the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

Last Stand... (cont.)

coldly clutching at his stomach. Kreen looked away and
nearly vomited, forcing the image out of his mind. Kreen
spoke to himself, as the sound of thunder grew louder in
the distance.
“Please, Emperor, guide and protect us. We need your
grace now more than ever!” Kreen said, his head slumping
forward into dirty hands. Hot tears welled up in his eyes as
the thought of being killed here, in this cold, dirty trench,
filled his thoughts. A single tear cut a wet river down his
face. The small drop held onto his chin for a moment
and then fell to the ground. Suddenly, a small tap on his
shoulder pad brought Kreen up from his hands, wiping the
tears away so Bren wouldn’t see. He turned to his friend
and notice he was craning his neck upwards, looking up
into the sky.
“We did it! We’re alive!” Kreen cheered happily. field as more pods cut gaping holes in the sky, creating
rays of holy light around the descending warriors. Kreen
“Yeah yeah, but you’re crushing my arm!” Bren replied, looked into the glorious radiance and said a quiet thank
wincing. you.
Kreen hopped back, realizing he was crushing Bren’s “For the Emperor,” Kreen said quietly, watching as more
wounded arm between them. He laughed and slapped crimson pods and streaking missiles fell, crushing the orks.
his hand on Bren’s good shoulder. They both smiled and
looked out into the distance, watching as the drop pods
slammed into the earth, sending dirt and orks flying
though the air. The pair watched as crimson soldiers killed
orks by the dozen. The sun shone down across the battle-

“Look,” Bren said calmly.

Kreen looked up and the sight that was above filled his
soul with renewed vigor. The gray sky was popping, as if
bubbles in the clouds were bursting and creating holes in
the sky. Out of those holes fell what looked like crimson
tears, white flames shooting from the droplets. Kreen had
only heard stories and tales of what he was witnessing,
tales of giant heroes dropping from the sky and saving
worlds. His prayers had been answered.

The sky cried red drop pods, carrying the Imperial’s saviors.
Kreen stood suddenly, the dizziness and fear subsiding,
replaced by joy and happiness. The huge Stompa turned
its guns to the sky but suddenly erupted into flames and
debris as a massive strike missile plummeted from the sky
and slammed into the behemoth. Kreen watched as orks,
once filled with battle-lust and rage, suddenly look up and
hoot in fear, watching the pods as they headed straight
for them. A cheer was slowly rising from the Imperial lines,
and Kreen joined in. He yelled for victory, for the Emperor,
for the people who died making their last stand on this
bloodstained planet. He heard a familiar voice as Bren
slowly stood next to him, joining in the chorus of cheers.
Kreen turned, a huge smile spread across his face as he
hugged his friend.

35
The Freeboota the freeboota
Volume 1, Issue 3

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