The Vadinax Campaign is Goonhammer’s Global Crusade Campaign for Warhammer 40,000. Each week we’ll explore the major events taking place in the sector and talk about how players are shaping the ongoing story.

If you missed the most recent update before this, you can find it here.

We’re nearing the final days of the campaign on a number of fronts. As the Ark Ten Thousand Lies speeds to Hope’s Clarion Call, Imperial forces have risen to meet it, seemingly undeterred by Chaos defenders, whose fleets seem to be all but scattered – leaving the ark defenseless. Strike Force Kastiana has led the charge on this front, smashing into the Ark and destroying parts of it to both slow it and cripple its defenses, leaving it vulnerable to the Imperial fleet.

The Battle Beneath Steadfast Repentence

However the battle is not just occurring on a single front: Beneath the surface the traitor forces have finally smashed their last Imperial defender and discovered their goal: The Hazzat Engine. Steadfast Repentence is no mere moon but an ancient Necrontyr vessel powered by a massive engine which can move planets. By activating the engine, the Chaos forces hope to smash it into Hope’s Clarion Call and scatter the defenders before the Ark can arrive.

The Final Battles on Agrippa IV and Parasbine Secundus

The basilica on Parasbine

All is quiet in the city

Fighting erupts in the streets

The defense of Varghast

Chaos Breaks down the walls

The defense is not going well

World Eaters on the attack

The Governor’s Palace is well-defended

Traitor forces break through

Breaking down the governor’s walls

Titanic support arrives

Ready to strike

The Daemonic Incursion

The Daemon Incursion

Dark Angels answer the call

The titan battles rage on

Titans clash in the final battle

Over the weekend we had a massive finale event for two of our local campaigns in the Houston area, with more than 32 players in attendance to determine the final fates of Agrippa IV and Parasbine Secundus. Five tables were set up for these battles:

• A table representing the final battle over the governor’s mansion on Agrippa IV
• A table representing the final battle over the central basilica on Parasbine
• A table representing Shadebinder’s assault on the Fortress-Monastery of the Sons of Ash on Varghast
• A table representing the Daemonic Incursion unleashed by Malioch Soulbinder
• A table for titan battles occurring near the first three battles.

Players from both campaigns teamed up to take on these final battles in a day-long event that saw Chapter Master Uriah Heracles fall in battle as Shadebinder’s corporeal shell was smashed, the Daemons’ incursion only partly stymied, the governor survive, and a successful day of ascension on Parasbine. We’ll cover the final results in the updates below.

+++STATUS REPORT: PARASBINE SECUNDUS+++

+++KEPHISTRONE SPACEPORT+++

+++0381023M03+++

Yohrick Cavorla gripped the rung and hauled himself upwards.

The past few weeks had been a trial of faith. Weeks in these dark, stinking confines, with little to eat and little to do but to contemplate this moment. He had endured the trial, as had his flock.  Their labors would soon bear fruit.

He reached the top of the ladder and paused, motioning to his compatriots following behind to wait on his signal.

He took the moment to remember his fallen and missing comrades. He listed their names in his mind, remembering their faces as he awaited the signal. Their losses would not be in vain. This was for them.

His vox-link crackled softly on his wrist. “Many hands make light work.”

Yohrick gripped the rung firmly while carefully lifting the manhole cover with his other two hands. It slid silently aside, and at long last, Yohrick Cavorla ascended the ladder into the basement catacombs of the Basilica of the Bloodied Shroud.

+++ END RECORD +++

A lone sister repentia survives the Departmento Laborum’s overwatch to crash into their lines. Photo: Conor T.

Aberrants emerge from the toxic drainage canal to ambush the paragons of the Order of Her Resplendent Ashes. Photo: T C.

The Order of the Gilded Thorn attempts to protect the city’s arial defenses from the interference of the Thousand Sons. Photo: Greg “Klobasnek” Narro

The triumphant Foreman of the Departmento Laborum enters the narthex of the Basilica of the Bloody Shroud, its defenders forced to flee. Photo: Greg “Klobasnek” Narro

The Sororitas patrol the the entrance to the Basilica of the Bloody Shroud in Kephistrone. Photo: Greg “Klobasnek” Narro

The air defenses down, the Thousand Sons Fire Raptor “Vindication of Vengeance” begins a strafing run. Photo: James R.

The hunchbacks in the cathedral bell tower reveal their treachery. The Order of Her Resplendent Ashes douse them with hellfire. Photo: T C.

+++STATUS REPORT: AGRIPPA IV+++

+++052023M42+++

The dawn of the final day has come. The palace is under siege, all hope seems lost. The Governor is en route to the Palace to try and make it to safety while reinforcements arrive from all around the Vadinax Sector. 

To the north and south, forces of Chaos have gathered to tear down the walls of the Governor’s Estate, making pacts with the Genestealer Cults to lay low their common enemy. The combined forces of Grey Knights, Tome Keepers, The Crimson Defenders, Mechanicum, and the Black Templars massed within the walls of the Palace to make their last stand. 

In the early morning hours all hell broke loose around the palace with explosions being heard from miles away, some reports from evacuation ships said that the explosions could be seen from orbit. The north walls of the Palace were no match for the Daemon Hordes of Khorne and the south walls were laid low by the foul psychic might of the Thousand Sons. The Defenders of Agrippa IV however did not lay down for the enemies of the Imperium. 

To the west, the Governor took flight. Between the Space Port and the Palace stood groups from four Titan legions, including the dreaded Legio Vulpa and their Daemon tainted war machines. 

Though it was a terrifying flight, he made it. The forces of Chaos could not bring his ship down, though it was heavily damaged. 

It crashed into the South side of the Palace, barely making it onto the landing pad. The defense force waited with baited breath, hoping he survived. 

He lives!

Taking him to the relative safety of the defense lines, the efforts are redoubled, truly the Emperor is with them this day. 

The final assault was from the West, with the arch traitor Rictus making his appearance. After five months of campaigning, the Agrippan Rippers had gotten their hands on a weapon that they intended to use to end this war of vengeance once and for all. 

In the final assault, the Genestealer forces of the Citrine Syndicate appeared from underneath the palace while the chaos hordes tore down the walls. This would be the hour that decided the fate of Agrippa IV’s future. 

As the day went on, the smoke left the Palace in a perpetual state of twilight, with the deafening screams of the dead and dying ringing out all around. The Governor was rushed to “safety” by his bodyguard at the announcement of a firing location made by Rictus, but this was a trap. The Genestealer Sniper Deadeye took the shot, mortally wounding the Governor, but not killing him. This prompted the defenders to rush him to a bunker used by the Arbites, securing him. 

The Genestealer Cults were wiped out to a man, and Rictus was laid low by the combined Paladins and Terminators of the Grey Knights, not before he killed half of them single handedly. The Blooded Fist, Rictus’ command entourage, escaped the planet and where they are going is unknown. The day was won by the Imperials, and victory cries rang out across the planet. They would rebuild, stronger and more defiant than ever to the enemies of the God Emperor. 

Next Week: The Final Battles on Hope’s Clarion Call

That wraps up our look this week at the results of the Vadinax campaign but check back next week when we find out where Shanker Gord is headed next, see the progress on The Joust, and get an update on our local campaigns. And in the meantime if you have any questions or feedback, drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.