Mission Cycle Three
Blackstone Bounty
Blinding raids on the cargo holds of the black ship Succession have removed the last remaining psykers. Those who did not perish from pschic backlash, madness, or execution have been traded to the relative safety of Duke Armentanus, the rogue trader who rules Occularia Waypoint in all but name. His agents have interrogated the survivors and identified a key fact about the invading space hulk; its gargantuan psychic influence is repelled by one of the worlds in the Reprevarium Shallows.
Nervax XR-8, a mostly unremarkable moon in the nebula of the shallows, is valued only as a mining depot. Its surface is blanketed by cold storms and swelling tides. Its population numbers only a few thousand. Now, its secret is out. The material noctilith, better known as blackstone was discovered on Nervax some months ago. The mining operation's stakeholders have tried to keep a tight lid on the discovery, hoping to sell off their findings in secret. But now there is no time for such trivialities.
Duke Armentanus has issued a bounty to any and all:RECOVER BLACKSTONE ORE
TO BE PAID IN WEIGHT ON DELIVERY
NO QUESTIONS ASKED
The storms of Nervax laugh as operatives prepare to descend in search of their prize. Elsewhere in the shallows, more savvy minds have caught wind of another promising lead. Nukulbusta Landin' is a shanty town where one can trade for rare and illicitly acquired goods. Well paid witnesses say that strange artifacts have been passing through town in recent weeks. Why mine for gold when you can steal from the prospector for free?
Mission Overview
Any team that can recover blackstone and deliver it to the Duke will paid handsomely. The material has been recovered on the hostile mining world of Nervax, for those with the constitution to brave its storms. Alternatively, the shanty town is home to black market traders who are hiding blackstone previously recovered from Nervax.
| NAME | REF CODE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Storm the Rig | Salvation 3.2 ** | Brave the storms of Nervax and gain control of the blackstone mining site. |
| Search and Retrieve | Octarius 1.2 | Scour Nukulbusta Landin' for hidden blackstone. |
Storm the Rig
The rig site sits on top of a potential trove of blackstone, and the team that controls it will no doubt reap the rewards. The oncoming storm quickly makes it apparent why this mining operation was abandoned. Ferocious winds and waves threaten to sweep away anyone who leaves themselves exposed.
MISSION RULES
At the end of Step 2 (Set Up Objective Markers and Killzone), players alternate placing Rigging Equipment terrain pieces until four pieces have been placed. Each piece must be placed on the center of a gantry that does not already have rigging equipment. Rigging Equipment pieces are equivalent to Bheta-Decima objective markers. They have the same base size as an objective marker and have the Light and Traversable terrain features.
Replace the Security Tac Op Central Control with Ferratonic Furnace Control:
You can reveal this Tac Op in the Target Reveal step of any Turning Point after the first.
- At the end of any Turning Point, if the total APL of friendly operatives on the roof of the ferratonic furnace is greater than that of enemy operatives, you score 1VP.
- If you achieve the first condition at the end of any subsequent Turning Points, you score 1VP.
SWIMMING
Operatives' bases can touch hazardous areas and they can move into them. While an operative is touching a hazardous area and wholly within a hazardous area, it is swimming. While an operative is swimming, it's in Cover and cannot make shooting attacks.
DIVING
When an operative drops from a Vantage Point to swimming, it can dive. The vertical distance an operative travels when it dives is ignored. Once an operative has dived during an action, it cannot move out of a hazardous area during that action (i.e. it must swim for the remainder of that action).
STORM SURGE
At the end of each Turning Point, after scoring VPs, roll a die. On an even number, the storm direction moves toward Player A's killzone edge. On an odd number, the storm direction moves toward Player B's killzone edge. Then roll 2d3. Each operative that is on a gantry or ferratonic furnace and not within ▲ of rigging equipment is pushed a number of inches equal to the result in the direction of the storm. In this step, operatives can be moved through battlements as though they do not exist. If this causes an operative to fall from the ferratonic furnace onto a gantry, it suffers 1 mortal wound.
Operatives can perform the following mission actions:
| SECURE | 1AP |
|---|---|
| An operative can perform this action while it controls an objective marker. Until the enemy kill team secures that objective marker, that objective marker is secured by your kill team. | |
| HOLD TIGHT | 1AP |
|---|---|
| An operative cannot perform this action in an activation in which it performs a Shoot or Fight action. This operative ignores the effect of Storm Surge for the Turning Point. | |
MISSION OBJECTIVE
At the end of each Turning Point, for each objective marker secured by your kill team, you score 1VP.
MISSION BONUS
If you scored 2 VPs from the Ferratonic Furnace Control Tac Op during this battle, you gain 1 additional Requisition point.
SPEC OPS BONUS
Any Port: If you are victorious and are currently undertaking the Secure District Spec Op, then reduce by 1 the number of games required to complete that Spec Op’s Operation 1.
Search and Retrieve
Black market fencers have hidden a blackstone artifact somewhere in this wretched hive. Sometimes being an elite kill team operative means digging through trash.
MISSION RULES
Operatives can perform the following mission actions:
| SEARCH FOR BLACKSTONE | 1AP |
|---|---|
| An operative can perform this action while within ▲ of a Scrap Heap it controls that has not been searched by a friendly operative during this Turning Point (for the purposes of determining whether it controls a Scrap Heap, treat it is as though it were one large objective marker, but measure ▲ to any part of it, instead of ⚪ to the centre of it). Until the start of the next Turning Point, that Scrap Pile has been Searched by your operatives. Each Scrap Heap can be Searched a maximum of four times during the battle (we recommend placing a dice on each objective marker to remind you how many times it can be Searched). Each time this action is performed, if the Blackstone has not yet been discovered, roll one D6: on a 6+, the Blackstone has been discovered and you must place an objective marker to represent the Blackstone within ▲ of the operative that discovered it. | |
Secure Blackstone: The Pick Up action can be performed upon the Blackstone objective marker. While an operative is carrying the Blackstone objective marker, it cannot perform Dash actions.
MISSION EQUIPMENT
Operatives can be equipped with the following equipment:
ARCHEO-AUSPEX [1EP]
Each time an operative with this equipment performs the Search for Blackstone action, add 1 to the dice roll to see if the Blackstone is discovered.
MISSION OBJECTIVE
- Each time a friendly operative performs the Search for Blackstone action, you score 1VP (to a maximum of 3VPs per player per Turning Point).
- If a friendly operative discovers the Blackstone, you score an additional 1VP.
- If a friendly operative controls the Blackstone objective marker at the end of the battle, you score an additional 2VPs (score 3VPs instead if a friendly operative is carrying the Blackstone objective marker).
MISSION BONUS
If you scored 3 or more VPs from Recon Tac Ops during this battle, you gain 1 additional Requisition point.
SPEC OPS BONUS
Blackstone Recovered: If you are undertaking the Recover Archeotech or Extraction Spec Op, then at the end of the battle, if a friendly operative is carrying the Blackstone and is in your drop zone, reduce by 1 the number of games required to complete that Spec Op’s Operation 1.
