Playing 40K 2nd Edition

[Suber]

I had been playing RT for a while, but in recent times I've been on 2nd Ed too. My bad, it seems I totally forgot about posting over here.
I needed some preliminary small skirmish just to remember the rules and to get back into the game, but once I started, everything came back more or less easily to mind.

We begun using the Armageddon booklet, but we quickly moved onto new things. A friend usually offers to act as a Game Master, as he was acting when playing RT; not that 2nd Ed needs that, but it gives depth and lots (tons!) of fun, as the things that happen in our games were never predicted by any of the players. We used my Raptors army, conducting a black op in Armageddon. So what you are about to read officially never happened .

The Raptors have conducted a secretive operation behind Ork lines. Their target is retrieving sensible information that is kept in the memory data base of an isolated computer in a remote building. A small task force will escort a Techmarine, who will have to hack the computer and get the information.



But there are some nosy Orks in the area! They have just detected the Marines. But their intel reports (?) say nothing about Space Marines in camo pattern. So they easily mistake them for some Blood Axe Clan Orks (Oh, those outlandish boyz, always dressing up in strange colourz... Dis is our neighborhood now! What ya say, boyz? Shuld we beat'em to a pulp?).



We used Mission Cards. Marines should have to 'Take and Hold' the destroyed Predator Tank to their left. Orks begun a 'Witch Hunt' to kill the enemy Psyker.
We also used Strategy Cards. Orks got the 'Delayed' card, so a Space Marine Tactical Squad was retrieved from the board and should come into it on their first turn.





Space Marines used their Strategy Card: Booby trap!




Hey, boyz, I have a headache, it's not time to play hide-and-seek! Where are you?

During the Psychic phase, the Astropath opened a Portal through Warp:





As I was saying, when you have a genius GM, strange things begin to happen. Suddenly, the contendants discerned an electric flash within the defendants perimeter. Teleportation! But... who?



In this case, some Chaos Space Marines from the Night Lords Legion appeared, following their own secret agenda. Why were they in this place? Why precisely in the middle of a battle? Oh, questions that not even the wisest can answer...



So they begun their own battle:





We had strange moments, like the one when the Ork Dreadnought killed a Marine Squad but the Sarge; he destroyed the Dread, but it exploded, killing him and the Psyker in the fire!



I didn’t remember close combat was that never-ending phase. Both Marines and Orks are tough guys.



Maybe ones are a little bit tougher than others:



The Captain was moving the whole battle from here to there, he definitely was the man of the battle



 

Really, really fun. This is a full scale battle for me, though I’m aware it should be considered nothing more tan a skirmish with current rules. But I’m not fancy of playing further editions, so I’m OK with this. In fact, I think I enjoy even smaller games, but well, this was nice for a change.

Here you have the complete report:
http://oldschoolworkshop.blogspot.com.es/2013/07/playing-2nd-ed-black-op-in-armageddon.html

[Torben]

Looks like a fun game! 

[infelix]

Looks like a great game! I still have very happy memories of 2nd Ed, I started playing right when they switch to it from RT and loved it. I still think it's the edition when I had the most fun, unbalanced like heck but so, so fun.

[Bloodysword]

Great battle report.  My son's and I recently started playing second addition as well. The game is fun. I love the Raptor Marines and your blog.  I visit it often.  Keep up the great work! Thanks for the inspiration.

[Kitsune]

Good report (and blog). Second edition looks like its going to be rearing its head around here soon, so blog reports and games are all good reading at the moment.

[Suber]

Thank you all! Your comments are most appreciated . It had been ages since I hadn't played this, and I don't see me playing WH40K other than RT or 2nd. It's nice playing just for fun and for the pleasure of it, without all that tournament crazyness of now.

[Andrew May]

Ah to be 12 again! You're just missing those cardboard ruins...

[Elbows]

While I'm no longer a GW gamer or fan...2nd edition was likely the best 40K ever got.  It was ridiculous unbalanced and cheesy, but had soooo much more character and flavor than any of the subsequent versions.

[Jonas]

Great report, I love how you added a GM to 2nd edition. There is absolutely no reason to limit yourself

[Suber]

The man offered himself as GM, that's the way he really enjoys this, plotting evil plans . He is a regular rolemaster and has even published RPGs of his own, so I consider him just a genius.
I find that a liberating experience, you just set your limits down; you are conditioned by your prejudices of 'how this game is supposed to be played' and suddenly a guy comes and says 'Nay, this is gonna happen just the opposite way' . Then you open your mind and the game is much more enjoyable and different.
So, when you take this into the 40K experience, I find that RT (or 2nd Ed when gaming with more minis) are just the most suitable editions to make this. Unbalanced? Yes, of course. But I'm not aiming for it, I'm just going for cheesy storytelling in 40K. Really much better than the current edition game.

[v_lazy_dragon]

Great to see 2nd edition being played again , and a nice batrep. I keep meaning to revisit 2nd Ed (I was even toying with modifying the set for Moderns before I found Force on Force) - and I think you have inspired me to do so!

[Daeothar]

What a nice nostalgic report. That's how I remember the game as well; cheesy and fun. Balanced schmalanced; in the grim darkness of 2nd edition, there is no tournament play!

Especially the Orks, with their goofy look add to the feel of the game I remember.

Granted; I only ever got a few RT and only one 2nd ed. game in at the time (no players where I lived back then) and once I did find opponents, the game had moved on to 3rd. But those few games of Rogue Trader and 2nd edition probably formed how I perceived the game.

Good stuff!

[Ebonstar]

So awesome to see people playing the last good rules edition of 40k. I still have my squat army.

[grant]

Best edition of the rules, ever.