A Halloween Treat, from the Firefight Rules Committee

Infection takes root – A Halloween Special Narrative Mission

Recovered Audio Logs: Dr. Halvorsen

Log 1 – Two Years in Exile. Two years. Two agonising years stranded on this council-forsaken rock. And why? What crime did I truly commit? Koyner did worse and still got promoted! No, all that matters is that I was right — and soon the galaxy will see it. The secret was never in human DNA alone… it was in the plant. Humans and many plants share sixty percent of their genes! If I can merge their resilience with the Avaran Flytrap, I’ll finally prove my theory.

Log 2 – The Breakthrough. It worked! The cytoskeletal splice has taken — stable, responsive, and hungry for light. With a touch of Zz’or synapsin to stimulate nerve function, we’re truly getting somewhere. The others laughed, but now they’ll beg for my notes. They’ll see!

Log 3 – The Awakening. Ha! They called me mad! I am not mad — not mad, do you hear me? It lives! The specimen responds to touch, to light, even to my voice. If it can host the Plague virus, it will be the discovery of the century. Imagine — regenerative biomass, a perfect carrier organism!

Log 4 – Mobility Incident. That… was unexpected. How could anyone predict locomotion? The plant uprooted itself and moved halfway across the lab! Still, the work continues. I never liked those lab technicians anyway — and the containment glass was thick… enough.

Log 5 – Aberration. By all the stars, it’s magnificent! A writhing, pulsing fusion of fury and flora — a living weapon! I should destroy it, but… I can’t. It’s beautiful. It sees me now. It knows me.

Log 6 – Final Transmission. This may have been… a slight miscalculation. Containment troopers are gone, the Purge teams are being digested — slowly. The vines are everywhere, whispering my name through the vents. The air tastes like chlorophyll and fear. Yes. Yes, it’s time to vacate the lab. Time to—

[Transmission ends.]

Hello again, Commanders! The Firefight RC are back — and this time we’re bringing you something a little different (and a little creepy) for the spooky season.

Tucked away inside the rather lovely Welcome Pack for new Vault subscribers, you might have spotted a certain… plant-based horror. Naturally, it got us thinking — who in the Warpath universe would possibly be reckless (or morally flexible) enough to create such a monstrosity? Mazon Labs, of course.

So, to celebrate Halloween in true Firefight fashion, we’ve whipped up a brand-new narrative mission featuring this rampaging botanical nightmare. Expect spores, screaming scientists, and plenty of questionable ethics.

MULTIPLAYER GAMES

In a game with more than two players, some adjustments are needed to the normal Deployment and Initiative rules.

Deployment Order

To determine Deployment Order, all players make a Recon roll. The player who rolled the highest total score on the Recon roll is first in Deployment Order and selects one of the four table edges, the player who scored the second highest total score is second in Deployment Order and chooses one of the three remaining table edges, and so on. Reroll any ties as normal, to determine Deployment Order amongst the tied players. Then, in Deployment Order, each player deploys their entire Strike Force and may not Withhold any models. Instead, each player may choose to hold up to 25% (rounding down) of their units in Reserve.

Initiative Order

In the first Round of the game, the player who is first in Deployment Order has the Initiative and takes the first Turn in the first Round. Initiative Order is then determined clockwise around the table (by Deployment Zone) from this player.

In subsequent Rounds the player who finished activating their models first in the previous Round will have the Initiative and must activate first in the new Round (they may not choose to pass Initiative to another player). Initiative Order is then determined clockwise around the table (by Deployment Zone) from this player.

Extra Activations

The Command Point cost for using an Extra Activation in a multiplayer game is increased to 2 Command Points. 

CHLOROPHYLL AND FEAR!

A research laboratory experimenting on bridging the Plague vector gap from fauna to flora has suffered a critical containment breach. Now, an Avaran Tree-beast, mutated to gargantuan size as a Stage 2 Plague-form, is rampaging through the sector infecting all that it touches. Strike Forces have been deployed to contain the outbreak and collect samples to determine ways to end the threat (or to weaponise the nefarious experiment for their own purposes)!

TERRAIN

It is recommended that this Mission is played on a 4’x4’ table. Consequently, if playing with two players, Strike Forces should be no more than 1250pts; if playing with three or four players, Strike Forces should be between 500-750pts. There are no other Terrain requirements.

DEPLOYMENT

Equal Deployment Zones for each player along each of the four table edges (or any pair of opposite table edges, if playing with two players), 18" from the centre of the battlefield and 9” from the side table edges. If playing with three or four players, follow the rules for Deployment Order in Multiplayer games.

After the player with the Initiative has chosen their Deployment Zone, but before either player deploys any models, place a Plague Avaran in the exact centre of the table (see Special Rules below).

GAME LENGTH

The game will last 5 Rounds.

SPECIAL RULES

The Plague Avaran should be represented by an appropriate model with the following profile:

The Plague vector has interacted with the natural regrowth potential of the Avaran Tree-beast to produce a rampaging, regenerating behemoth that is virtually unkillable! The Plague Avaran cannot be removed from play by any means. Instead, if a unit inflicts at least 2HP damage on the Plague Avaran with a Ranged Attack or in Assault, it severs a sample from the monster for further study. The unit must place an HVA within 3” of the Plague Avaran at the end of the Activation. If the damage was inflicted in Assault, and the unit subsequently wins the Assault against the Plague Avaran, the unit may attach the HVA as a Free Action (assuming that they are allowed to normally do so).

If a unit Assaults the Plague Avaran, it will attack back as normal. The opponent (or the next player in Initiative Order in a Multiplayer game) will act as the controlling player for rolling dice or any decisions (consolidation moves, placing Stage 3Z Zombies, etc.).

At the beginning of each Round after the first, after the Command Pool is generated, but before any Activations are taken, the Plague Avaran will Advance 2D4” in a random direction, remaining 1” away from all other units. To generate the random direction, roll a D8 and use the top point of the triangle facing upwards to indicate the direction.  After Advancing, the Plague Avaran will Shoot with its Sap Spew at all player units in range. The player with Initiative will act as the controlling player for rolling dice or any decisions (consolidation moves, placing Stage 3Z Zombies, etc.).

After all player units have Activated, but before progressing to the End Phase, resolve each of the following steps:

1. Starting with the player with Initiative, each player selects one non-player Stage 3Z Zombie unit to activate (in a Multiplayer game, use Initiative Order). This unit will Sprint towards the closest player unit (and Charge if they move into base contact). Resolve any Assault as normal, with the player who selected the unit acting as the controlling player for rolling dice or any decisions (consolidation moves, etc.). Continue until all non-player Stage 3Z Zombie units have been activated.
2. The Plague Avaran will move directly 2D4” directly towards the unit that inflicted the most damage on it in this Round (moving around terrain as needed). If it makes contact with a player unit, resolve this as a Charge against the unit. The player with Initiative will act as the controlling player for rolling dice or any decisions (consolidation moves, placing Stage 3Z Zombies, etc.).

We've now added this to the Firefight Companion too, you can always find it to play long after the Halloween season ends!