Sunday 24 December 2017

Doctor Who: Exterminate! Report: The Daleks Verses The Fisher King - Part Two

THE FISHER KING TAKES ON AN ENTIRE FACTION OF DALEKS
"The story so far... Having witnessed the Daleks and Shadow Proclamation creep ever closer to a destructive confrontation, the Fisher King has launched a surprise attack against Skaro's mutants in an attempt to expand his own territory. Momentarily perplexed by the arrival of the alien warlord's (Judoon) Ghosts, an enraged Dalek Sec has watched the ruler of Tivoli successfully steal a number of rare crystals imbued with Vortex Energy. However, having finally exterminated one of the giant alien's incorporeal spectres, the Daleks have finally started to make their superior numbers and firepower count..."
THE TABLETOP - A DALEK OCCUPIED PLANET

Frustrated at the seeming invincibility of the Fisher King despite his fellow drones' superior weaponry, the Dalek in the northeast corner of the battlefield (once again) attempted to hover over a piece of heavy-duty piping and reach Vortex Node (2). This time the Skaro mutant was successful and collected an additional two Victory Points for his Emperor.

Seeking some semblance of revenge upon the Dalek which had disintegrated one of his ghosts, the ruler of Tivoli aimed his "Very big Gun" and blasted away at the Kaled Mark III Travel Machine. The Fisher King was a considerable distance away, but because he used some "Additional Sensory Input", he was able to "ignore any... rule that make the shot inaccurate" and initially "Shocked" his target.

However, with a growl of satisfaction, the lumbering extra-terrestrial played a "Lucky Hit!" and changed "the result" to a kill. Such smugness quickly evaporated though, as the Dalek made an "Escape Plan" which allowed it to "ignore the Extermination result on one of your characters on a Damage roll." - stalemate... Mindful of his master's orders, the Ghost in the north phased through Vat Alpha and almost reached the Dalek which had so recently collected Vortex Node (2).
THE DALEKS FEND OFF AN ATTACK BY THE FISHER KING'S GHOSTS
Sensing that the fight could well badly turn against him, should one of his drones become an incorporeal ghost, Dalek Sec ordered the "Upgrade: No Mercy!" and activated "all [his] fully operative Daleks... for an additional Shooting sub-phase at the beginning of the Upkeep phase." As the leader of the Cult of Skaro's faction also had the trait "Override", this meant that even those units "affected by Under Fore markers" could "still resolve Shooting actions"; albeit they'd only be "scoring hits on [an Exterminate] instead of [a Shock] due to the effects of being under fire."

Dalek energy blasts scorched into the Fisher King's ungainly figure, and finally the huge alien was "Shocked". The drone beside Dalek Sec cackled evilly and fired at the momentarily prone extra-terrestrial, but incredibly failed to do any more damage than had already been done.

To the northeast, the (Judoon) Ghost attempted to chop apart his Dalek opponent, and would have done so too, if the former commander of the Seventh Incursion Squad hadn't decided to rescue his drone by using a Fate Token. As a result, the puzzled incorporeal spectre simply retreated back an inch...
THE FISHER KING FIRES UPON DALEK SEC AS THE LAST OF HIS GHOSTS FALLS
Dalek Sec hovered over the piping near him and collected Vortex Node (4) and an additional one Victory Point for his faction, whilst another Kaled Mark III Travel Machine joined the drone facing off against the Ghost by Vat Alpha. The rest of the Emperor's forces remained still, waiting to use the full force of their energy blasts upon their hated enemy.

The Fisher King urged his lone incorporeal minion forwards once again, and then strode east towards Dalek Sec using some heavy piping to partially protect his right flank. Three Daleks blasted away at him, and the ruler of Tivoli was forced to use one of his (two) Fate Tokens to resist their exterminating effects. Another Skaro drone "Shocked" the extra-terrestrial tyrant, but he managed to remain standing by playing "To Arms!" and "immediately" recovering "all Shocked characters" in his faction (i.e. himself).

Unfortunately for the towering alien, Dalek Sec then fired at him, using the Dalek Leader's +3 to Shoot statistic to full advantage. The sizzling beam would have badly wounded the Fisher King if he hadn't spent the last of his Fate Tokens to avoid its blast. Unfortunately, its use though also meant that the fearsome dictator was unable to save his (Judoon) Ghost from being atomised by a Dalek's "Full Blast" just moments later.
THE DALEKS RELENTLESSLY BLAST AWAY AT THE FISHER KING
The Fisher King was on his own, and could only helplessly watch as a drone slid south to join Dalek Sec's side in the very heart of the battlefield. With an angry roar the ruler of Tivoli blazed away at the all-black armoured Dalek Leader, sensationally managing to "Shock" him, despite the Kaled Mark III Travel Machine's four Armour rolls. The leader of the Cult of Skaro admittedly quickly 'righted' himself, but had been moderately impaired as a result of an Under Fire Token.

With all their attention now firmly fixed upon the somewhat slow, lumbering alien tyrant, the Daleks simply fanned out their formation a little in order to try and encircle their foe. As a result, the drone in the north which had dispatched the Fisher King's final Ghost travelled west alongside Vat Alpha, whilst the Skaro mutant by Vat Omega trundled so far north that only some piping separated him from his opponent's formidable form. the rest of the Daleks remained stationary, hoping to once again use their "Full Blast" upon their hated enemy.

Realising that retreat was undoubtedly the better part of valour in the circumstances, the ruler of Tivoli headed north towards the blue container and away from Dalek Sec's central killing zone. However, the Dalek behind him, by the blue-stained heavy duty piping, was still within range, even though the shot was "considered inaccurate with a -1 penalty." The blast initially just "Shocked" the Fisher King, but then went on to "Wound" him when the former commander of the Seventh Incursion Squad ordered the "Upgrade: Maximum Extermination" and turned "any one Shocked result on a Damage roll into an Extermination instead."
THE FISHER KING TAKES THE FIGHT TO THE DALEKS
It was clear that although injured, their foe was still clearly capable of being a serious threat, so the Dalek by Vat Alpha also fired upon the Fisher King, and managed to achieve a (second) "Exterminate" result. The ruler of Tivol was still alive, able to survive "Wounds [4]" before he would fatally fall, but he couldn't take such consistent punishment for long. He needed to create a distraction, and that meant "capturing the life energies of enemies" and converting them "into incorporeal ghost-like minions."

The alien tyrant raised his "Very Big Gun" at the drone in front of him and fired. The Kaled Mark III Travel Machine glowed hotly, but was only "Shocked". It would quickly recover and meanwhile the rest of the Daleks would soon have the ailing Fisher King encircled... Plus, Dalek Sec's faction still owned two Fate Tokens with which they could "save" any drone he "Exterminated". Clearly it was time to return to "the most conquered planet in the galaxy" and lick his wounds.

14 comments:

  1. Interesting conclusion Simon, with the numbers against the Fisher King it looked like it would be a very one sided battle, but the fate cards seem to play more of a part, stopping deaths.
    Hope you and your family have a great Xmas

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    1. Thanks Dave. The Fate Tokens are an interesting device which I suppose essentially can negate any and all deaths in the first few rounds, and this was quite telling on a character like the Fisher King who relies upon deaths in order to build up his forces. Having said that, perhaps using the Fate Tokens to spare his Ghosts was the way to go, rather than saving them for him - as he can take quite a bit of punishment on his own... Merry Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you again next year :-)

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  2. A fitting conclusion to the encounter. Despite being able to make ghosts he was always goin* to struggle to penetrate the Dalek defences.

    Merry Christmas Simon

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    1. Cheers Andy. I certainly think weight of numbers was crucial in this battle, especially when the two Ghosts were exterminated. Merry Christmas :-)

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  3. I was delighted to see the Daleks perform so well, but it has to be said that the Fisher King is a very powerful opponent. he did well to come out of that skirmish still alive. A wonderful batrep, Simon, that has nicely whetted my appetite for the "Doctor Who" Christmas special.

    Good wishes to you and your family in this festive period.

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    1. Many thanks Bryan. The Daleks were as devastating as ever imho, but there was plenty of shout about by the Fisher King in the early turns - indeed, he was dominating events to begin with.

      Having already seen the "Doctor Who" Christmas Special I think you're in for a particular treat - no spoilers though ;-) Merry Christmas.

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  4. The Daleks aquitted themselves admirably didn't they.
    Excellent conclusion to a very satisfying aar.

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  5. Brilliant Simon! Always enjoy your Doctor Who reports :)

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    1. Thanks Ivor. I've a few more waiting in the wings, so expect them to fly pretty thick'n'fast over the next few weeks.

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  6. Nice bat rep, oh and your K9 is brilliant! Merry Christmas!
    Best Iain

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  7. Excellent report mate, and a fellow Tablescape fan too. :)

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    1. Thanks very much indeed, Leon. Been collecting "Tablescape" terrain for a few years now - can't beat their straight out of the bag and go :-)

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