Cataclysm in the Abyss

Phase 1 • Mission 22 • Death in the Dark

Boarding Actions — Symmetric Mission

Death in the Dark

Amidst the savage mayhem of a shipboard battle, power fluctuations and sudden, violent malfunctions are common. Whether due to enemy fire hammering from outside, acts of sabotage by boarders and desperate defenders, or even supernatural or sorcerous energies being unleashed, entire decks are plunged suddenly into darkness. Pipes rupture, spewing scalding steam or blinding plasma, or else choking smoke fills entire corridors quicker than purifier shrines can draw it away.

In such conditions, the fighting becomes more desperate than ever.

Symmetric Missions Modifications

As the splinters and sections of larger forces, the Bording Patrols breaching Malik's Damnation are not required to split as detailed in the Form Boarding Squads section of the Symmetric Missions Sequence. The split is optional and must be declared during the Form Boarding Squads step.

Mission Rules

Lights Out: At the end of each player’s Movement phase, that player rolls one D6 for each Lighting Area: on a 1-3, until the end of the turn, the lights in that area turn off.

When selecting a target for a ranged attack, if the attacking unit or the target are wholly within a Lighting Area that has the lights off:

• If the target is more than 9" away, that attack cannot be made.
• If the target is within 9", subtract 1 from the Hit roll.

When selecting the targets of a charge, if the charging unit or the potential target are wholly within a Lighting Area that has the lights off:

• If the potential target is more than 9" away, that unit cannot be a target of that charge.
• If the potential target is within 9", subtract 1 from the Charge roll (to a maximum of -1, regardless of how many target units are in Lighting Areas with the lights off).

Underdog Bonus: If one player is the Underdog, that player starts the battle with 1 additional CP.

Search Resource Cache: In each player’s Command phase, a model that controls a resource cache marker can perform an action to search the cache. When this action is declared, roll a D3 and consult the following table.

• 1: Nothing
• 2: Comms
• 3: Unknown archaeotech

If nothing is found, the resource cache may be searched again. If either comms or unknown archaeotech is found, the resource cache cannot be searched for the remainder of the game.

Mission Objectives

Lock It Down! — Progressive Objective

When a deck is plunged into darkness or suffers atmospheric or supernatural taint, leaving the situation unchecked can lead to panic or spiralling mayhem. The best solution is to seize decisive control of the entire zone before enacting whatever rituals or protocols are required to restore functionality and calm.

In the second, third and fourth battle rounds, at the end of each player’s Command phase, the player whose turn it is scores 5VP for each of the following conditions they satisfy:

• They control one or more objective markers.
• They control two or more objective markers.
• They control more objective markers than their opponent controls.

In the fifth battle round:

• The player who has the first turn scores VP as described above.
• The player who has the second turn scores VP as described above but does so at the end of their turn instead of at the end of their Command phase.

Seek Sanctuary — End Game Objective

Should it prove impossible to fully secure such a compromised area of the ship, it is wise to withdraw to a defensible zone and dig in. Either reinforcements will arrive to allow another forward push, or whatever dangerous fluctuations are occurring will - hopefully - die down.

At the end of the battle, each player scores 15VP for each of the following conditions they satisfy:

• They control both objective markers within Lighting Area 1.
• They control both objective markers within Lighting Area 2.

The wall configurations as set up may vary slightly from the map below. The deployment areas, resource caches, and objectives will be exactly as laid out.