A very flexible narrative scenario specifically tailored for beginners and for a wide range of points and forces.
The Algoryn colony on Mithras is fallen. The Ghar invasion has not gone well for the Algoryn forces. Even with Freeborn and Boromite mercenaries the Ghar onslaught has been unstoppable. The quantum distortions from the Ghar have made it impossible for the Algoryn to redeploy their forces and regain the strategic initiative. As Ghar forces close in, the last pocket of Algoryn resistance tries to hold off the advancing Ghar while their orbital forces try to punch a hole in the Ghar blockade and rescue critical personnel.
Running the Game
This is a large game, and can be played as a multiplayer participation game at a club or event. Feel free to replace any of the factions on the defending side, as trade delegations often travel with bodyguards in Antarean space.
There are two teams of players, the attacking Imperial Ghar (consisting of one or more Ghar players) and the defending PanHuman forces (consisting of Concord/Isorian/Algoryn/Boromite and Freeborn). The teams have an equal number of points but there are some special rules for order dice and force choices.
The teams agree a point limit, and the Ghar and PanHuman teams select forces up to that limit (for instance the Ghar team consists of Ian, Michele and Dave, who have 50, 100 and 75 point armies respectively, and the PanHuman team consists of Bill, Ben, Margaret and Maximillian, who have 50, 85, 50 and 40 points respectively).
The PanHuman team have different colour order dice for each of their armies. The Ghar use all the same colour (or treat their order dice as being the same colour) and are subject to the Jealous Command rule (see Special Scenario Rules).
Set Up
For games below 200 points, use a 6 by 4 table. For games above 200 points use an 8 by 4 table.
For the defenders side place a number of buildings and defensive positions on their side of the table. At this point, it is best if no terrain is set up within 5″ of the defender’s table edge (otherwise things can become too easy – see Designer’s Notes for more difficult variations).
For the attackers side place a number of ruins and other pieces of cover. Otherwise set up terrain in the standard way as described in the Playing the Game guide in Rules Central.
Deployment
Each force is deployed on the table within one move (1M) distance of their base, long table edge.
The PanHuman players deploy all their forces 6″-12″ from their own long table edge (that is, greater than one normal move distance from their edge).
On turn 1 the Ghar forces move onto the board using advance or run orders from the attackers side of the table.
Objective
The objective is for the PanHumans to escape off the board after delaying the attackers; the Ghar Empire have to stop them from doing so and destroy as many as possible.
Game Duration
The game lasts until all PanHuman forces have been destroyed or moved off the board.
Victory
Each side has different victory conditions. Each player works out their victory points individually.
The PanHuman players each receive 1 victory point for having non-sharded units on the board at the end of turn 3, 2 victory points at the end of turn 4 and 3 victory points at the end of turn 5. Drone units score half. They then receive 1 victory point for each non-sharded unit from their force that they move off the defenders table edge on turn 6 or after.
For example Maximillian has a 40 point Concord force consisting of 2 squads of Strike Troopers and 1 unit of Light Combat Drones. His forces survive until turn 6, and he is able to move 1 squad of strike troopers off the table on turn 6. He scores 7.5 victory points for surviving to turn 6, and 1 victory point for moving a unit of strike troopers off the board, for a total of 8.5 victory points.
The Ghar players also score victory points individually, receiving 1 victory point for each order dice of enemy forces they destroy.
Handicap: Players with larger forces than their team mates have an unfair advantage. While it adds a layer of complexity you can add a handicap to even victory point scores.
This is applied to points for units moving off the table for human players, and unit kills for Ghar players. Divide the number of victory points earned for these actions by the number of points in the players force and then multiply that by 100. In the above example Maximillian had a 40 point force and scored 1 victory point for moving a unit off the table. 1/40 x 100 means he receives 2 ½ victory points.
The Ghar player with the most victory points has one the most glory, and will receive the largest and shiniest medal.
The PanHuman player with the most victory points has preserved the most critical personnel and largest proportion of his forces, and receives a commendation for valour under difficult circumstances.
Special Scenario Rules
Jealous Command
The Ghar have won this war, and all that is left to do is jockey for position and promotion when the guns fall silent. As a result the individual Ghar Commanders are looking for glory. When a Ghar order dice is drawn the Ghar players dice off using D10s as to who gets the dice. The player who wins can choose to use the dice or give it to another Ghar player who has to allocate it. It is possible to force another player to take the Distort dice by winning the dice off.
Without Number
If a Ghar Troop unit is destroyed, the player simply returns it to reserves and can bring it on during the next turn.
Designer’s Notes
This battle can be scaled up or down. If you have a couple of Ghar players with forces from the original starter set, and Concord and Algoryn forces features in the introductory set, you have enough to play this scenario (and it will play much quicker). If you find smaller scale games too hard for the PanHuman forces, you can reduce the turns before moving off the table and start scoring victory points on turn 2 and move off on turn 5.
This is written to be a participation game and to allow people to bring different sized forces. I have added the handicap rules to compensate for this, but this is not a competitive scenario and is not intended or particularly suitable for tournament play. It’s a great way of introducing new players in a club environment and it is suggested this be borne in mind when selecting forces.
If it is too easy for the defenders to escape, the scenario can be varied with the defenders forced to set up further away from their own table edge, for example, by deploying 11″-12″ (more than 2 standard moves) from their own table edge. Alternative scoring can be to just score for PanHumans to escape and ignore drones, but this does penalise beast- or drone- heavy forces.
Antares Nexus 
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