Grim Dark Terrian

I have several hand crafted dungeon tiles that are very useful to represent "urban" areas.  To truly give the feel of ruined cities I found some free STL files and had a friend print them.  A very simple paint job of priming and dry brush gives me the look I wanted.     

The boards represent ruined blocks.  A good LOS blocking terrain that is not too detailed but gives the right impression for Grim Dark.   

15mm Grim Dark 2024

 2024 is the year of Grim Dark.  

I have really enjoyed playing One Page Rules' Grim Dark future games.  It is straight forward, fast, and enjoyable game system.  I also have been surprised at how balanced the games are. I decided the mega project for 2024 would be to expand to a full collection of Grim Dark armies.  This project will synergize heavily with my bug hunt project. All this in my chosen scale of 15mm.  

The plan is to build 4 armies.  We will have the Grim brothers.  A throw back to the first Grim Dark armies I painted 20 years ago.  There will be the Alien Hives, the bugs from my prior project.  The Orc Marauders will show up.  Lastly, a Planetary Militia.  

I am happy the announce the Grim Brothers have been completed over the last 3 months.  

Dark Brothers Armor

 

Grim Dark Battle Report: The Hunt

 

This is a One Page Rules Grim Dark battle report.  The battle was an approximate 2400-point battle between the Dark Brothers and the Alien Hives.  The Ambush set up was used.  This was a narrative battle set around one objective, the death of the Hive lord.

 

Two squads of Dark Brothers rumble along the ash valley in their APCs.  They are far away from the main battle line, very vulnerable.  Suddenly the servo skulls deployed around them start to detect masses of Alien grunts.  The Brothers deploy from the APCs and prepare to receive the onslaught. 

 High above the valley, in a Deathstar gunship, Interrogator Lorenzo watches the sensor scopes.  This was no random patrol, but a hunt.  The squads in the valley were bait, a tempting lure for the newest Hive lord the Aliens had produced.  It had devastated an entire armored column in the prior cycle.  The vehicles were one of the few advantages the humans had against the Alien swarms. His mission and that of his veteran Darkwing squad was to kill the beast at all costs.  He ordered the pilot to dive into valley to support Bravo squad.  The laser cannons and missiles flew into the Hive Warriors and dropped one.  The heavy rifle array strafed the assault grunts reducing their number.  Suddenly the aircraft was rocked with a loud thud, the hive warriors had scored an unexpected hit from their acid launcher.  The pilot indicated the craft was still capable and the Interrogator turned back to his scope.  On the scope was the prize he sought.  The hive lord had emerged on the other side of the battlefield.  He ordered the pilot to climb and the gunship pealed away. 

 

Bravo Squad and their APC focused on the soul-snatchers that had infiltrated close to their position.  The snacther lord had already killed two Brothers with its psychic attacks.  They gunned down the squad and their brood leader.  The assault grunts right behind the snatchers crashed into the firing line.  The ensuing rounds of melee and shooting saw both the Brothers and the assault grunts fall. 

 

To the North, Alpha squad faced a similar horde of bugs and poured heavy fire power into the assault grunts.  The ensuing melee went badly for the Brothers, many fell.  Only the ensuing heroics of their HMG gunner held the line.  Despite Brothers falling with grim determination all around him, Brother Chris gunned down the last of the assault grunts and survived a combat against the remaining Hive Warrior.  His valor will be added to the records.

 

The gunship reentered the valley aimed at the hive lord.  Its laser cannons, missiles, and rifle array blazed away at the great beast.  The Hive lord was wounded and brought its own massive cannon to bear against the aircraft.  With lightning reflexes, the pilot jolted the aircraft to dodge the shot that would have certainly brought it down.  He feathered the landing jets and deployed the Darkwing squad.  “Bring it down!” Lorenzo shouted over the net and the veterans brought a withering firepower against the Hive lord.  The alien leader roared with pain as its regeneration struggled against the burning of the fusion beams.  Near death it roared in hatred, unable to escape the black clad warriors. “Finish it!” Lorenzo called and the veterans blazed away until the great beast dropped. 

The remaining aliens fled as the death scream of their leader echoed through the hive mind.  Brother Chris climbed into his APC, the last tactical marine of this operation.  Had the successful hunt been worth the price. 

Hive Lord with cannon

 

Battle Report: OPR GF - Battle Brothers vs Alien Hives

 Hello All,

This weekend I hosted a club game of “One Page Rules Grimdark Future.”  The situation was 2,000 points of Battle Brothers vs Alien Hives.  I wanted to use my newly painted Battle Brothers and try out the mission cards in the game.  Unfortunately, I did not take any photos during the game.  Thus, I staged a “historical” reenactment of the game in the basement. 

The game went very well with great slaughter on both sides.  This is to be expected in OPR.  One highlight for me was the first ramming of an armored vehicle into combat.  The APC plowed into the soul snatchers tossing them into the air like bowling pins.  It was a blast!  The mission cards played well.  It added some variety and tactical challenges to the game play.  the game actually ended in a TIE on points.  It was very enjoyable. 

Please enjoy the pics.  All text describe the picture below it.  

The overall setup: 3 squads of Battle Brothers support by APCS and a combat walker vs a horde of Aliens

The Center: The Battle Brothers of Alpha Squad would hold this position with their leader throughout the game.  At one point coming to Charlie Squad's rescue late in the game.

The Left:  Squad Bravo raced out early to seize an objective point.  While their firepower kept the shooter bugs away.  The were decimated by spore artillery and finished off by the soul-snatchers.  Their APC would claim some vengeance running crushing many of alien scum under it's tracks.

The Alien spore artillery hidden among the crystal forest proved very annoying.

The Right: Charlie Squad faced a true horde of aliens.  They had support of a battle walker which proved to be formidable indeed.  Throughout multiple rounds of firing and close combat both the brothers and the alien numbers were cut down.  Charlie squad was facing certain annihilation when Alpha Squad moved to gun down the last of the aliens.  Only two brothers remained from their starting number.  The walker held the objective with a pile of alien corpses at it's feet.