nexus psi campaign book

8/10/2019 Nexus Psi Campaign Book

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A DEADZONE CAMPAIGNTHE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL ON A DOOMED WORLD

A DEADZONE CAMPAIGNTHE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL ON A DOOMED WORLD

thew McDonald (order #5652513)


2/68

A spacefaring traveller, The Survivor is the only known living being to have been infected by the Plague and survivea Containment Protocol. Since then he has had only one desire: to retrieve a piece of a Plague Artefact and try tosynthesise a cure for himself. For The Survivor it is simply a race against time before the Alien Virus overcomes hisbiological defences and he succumbs to the infection - a race he cannot afford to lose.



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GAME DESIGN

Jake Thornton

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Dave Boddy, Greg Smith, Guy Haley,James M Hewitt

SPECIAL THANKS

Matt Gilbert

INTERNAL ART

Heath Foley, Jonas Springborg, KrisCarter, Luigi Terzi, Roberto Cirillo

SCULPTING

Ben Skinner,Bob Naismith,Dave Kidd,Derek Miller, Francesco Pizzo, GregorAdrian, Grgory Clavilier, MKUltra Studio,Rmy Tremblay, Steve Eserin, SteveSaunders, Sylvain Quirion, Tim Prow

ADDITIONAL SCENERY

Antenocitis Workshop, Armorcast,Quantum Gothic, Rust Forge

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Chris Webb

PHOTOGRAPHY

Ben Sandum

PAINTING

Chris Webb, Dave Neild, Golem PaintingStudio, Matt Gilbert, Nick Williams, PaulScott, Winterdyne Commission Modelling

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RETURN TO NEXUS PSINexus Psi is a two-player campaign set on the colony of the same name. It is a desperate and unforgiving series ofbattles between the Plague and their enemies with the whole planet as the prize.

These rules describe nine new scenarios for you to play through, together with the process of linking them togetherinto a campaign. This builds on the campaign rules listed in the main rulebook and should be read in conjunctionwith them.

During the campaign some of your models will be injured or killed, most will gain experience as they hone theirbattle skills, and all of them will have stories to tell. Their collective experiences form the heroic tale of your StrikeForce as it struggles to fulfil its missions and take control of the planet from an unforgiving and relentless foe.

NEW RULES

Abilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8CSW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Indirect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Long Reload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Non-combatant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Clarifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

THE CAMPAIGN

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Nexus Psi Rules Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . 14The Next Battle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

A. Intelligence Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

S1. Shattered Hopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17S2. Bunker Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19S3. Landing Zone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20S4. Long Way Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22S5. Health Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

X. Screaming Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Y. Ambush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Z.The Gauntlet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

THE FACTIONS

Enforcers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Corporations of Nexus Psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Enforcer Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Plague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Rebs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Marauders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

CHAMPIONS OF NEXUS PSI

Hostile Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Recon Unit N32-19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Doctor Simmonds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Project Oberon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Nastanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Chovar Psychic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57The Helfather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59The Survivor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Boomer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Blaine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Freya Oerlikon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Nexus Psi Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

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Where the more bestial Stage 1 and Stage 2 infected are the most outwardly imposing, it is arguably the Stage3 that is to be most feared. Retaining their intelligence, if not their humanity, it is these creatures that form thetactical arm of the plague. As well as operating weapons and heavy equipment, they also act as forward scouts,searching for supplies, information and survivors that can be recruited.



6/68 NEXUS PSIthew McDonald (order #5652513)


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The FrontierThe Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere is a vastconglomerate of systems, held together by numerousagreements, licenses and treaties. The Core Worlds arethe political and geographical centre of this huge web,but at its outer limits there is the Frontier, a region ofspace whose borders are forever expanding outwardsas new worlds are colonised and settled.

Unlike the technologically advanced worlds of theCore, where anything is possible providing you can payfor it, life on the Frontier isnt easy. This is especiallytrue on newly-discovered worlds. Once a planet hasbeen scanned by scout ships and marked as suitablefor incorporation, a small band of advance colonistsand engineers will make their way there as part of anExploration Fleet. Their job is to undertake the firststages of colonisation; terraforming, setting up basicoutposts, and starting the mammoth task of cataloguingthe planets indigenous life.

As with many things in the GCPS, obtaining the rightsto settle a new world is a minefield of contractuallegislation. Every corporation wants to expand itsterritory, and the race to obtain the licence to anunspoiled world is always intense. Although only onecorporation will be granted the licence, the fight isnot over even once the decision is made; followingexpansion drives by corporations such as SanMar andMcAelis, in which they licensed hundreds of planets at atime but left them undeveloped for decades, all licencesnow contain a mandatory break clause. Under thisclause, a licence is not fully granted unless the colony

conforms to certain benchmarks by a given timestamp.Should a corporation fail to meet these standards, thelicence is reopened for bidding. This means that oncea licence is obtained, every second is vital. As a result,Exploration Fleets consist entirely of small vesselsequipped with McKinley Drives that let them traversehuge expanses of space in a relatively short time.

These fleets make their way out from the closestavailable port as soon as the word is given by theirparent Corporation, racing to reach the new planet andbegin laying the foundations of a colony. Unfortunately,the McKinley Drive has several limitations the most

obvious one being the fact that it is only safe to usewith ships no larger than a small hauler. To save onfuel costs, most Fleets transport everything in ShensigInterplanetarys Habtainers modular shippingcontainers which can be easily repurposed into almostany kind of building once they have been unpacked. Thiscuts out dead weight, allowing the advance party to takeeverything they need without incurring massive costs orwaiting for slower bulk carriers to make their way to theFrontier. Of course, this also means that most Frontiercolonies look the same: a cluster of low-lying buildingsbearing the familiar design of a Shensig Habtainer.

A World of PotentialNexus Psi was picked up by a SanMar scout ship on aroutine sweep of the Frontier, and was immediatelycategorised as Category D suitable for immediatehuman occupation. It was a warm, wet world teemingwith life, especially in the thick concentrations ofequatorial jungle that rings the planet. Initial scansshowed some the scattered remains of an ancient

civilisation, but no signs of active sentient life. Mostnotably, it was one of the few Category D planets atthe furthest reaches of the Frontier. In time, if it wascorrectly developed, it could become the hub for a brandnew phase of expansion.

Within seconds of the planets existence beingadvertised, a licence request was submitted by theReiker Corporation. Reiker specialises in developingnew worlds and leasing surface space to otherdevelopers, and has teams of operatives scouring theinfosphere for news of potential sites. Its Acquisitionsdepartment was one of sixty-two applicants for thelicence to Nexus Psi, including their long-time rivalsat the Magani Corporation, but won out following aseries of complex negotiations and a tense auction. Noteven taking a moment to celebrate the victory, Reikersoperations manager gave the word to launch theirwaiting Exploration Fleet. Everything was set to open upthe latest in a string of Reiker conquests.

Then, something unusual happened.

The Council of Seven the executive body that rulesthe GCPS in all but name has the right to overturnany agreement made under Corporate law, and theyexercised it to place an indefinite stay on the NexusPsi licence. Reikers board of directors was furious;they had spent good money equipping and launchingtheir fleet, and now they stood to lose it all. Of course,they knew better than to directly oppose an edict fromthe Council. Instead, their legal agents began work onone of the most complex cases of their careers, andafter several weeks of preparation a carefully-wordedappeal was made. After a period of consideration, it waspartially granted. Reiker was given leave to continuewith the colonisation, with the expectation that a fulllicence would eventually be granted, but it would be

held by the Council for the time being. This was seenas a minor (but important) victory, as well as a suitablecompromise, and the Exploration Fleet continued on itsway. It wasnt long before outposts were being set upacross the planets surface.

Death of a DreamAcross the Frontier, particularly the area of spaceknown as the Death Arc, a series of alien Artefactshave been found. They can take many different forms:

some are large, some are small; some display intricatecarvings, while others feature complex mechanisms orappear to be made from an unclassifiable substance.They would be indistinguishable from any otherxenoarchaeological relics if not for the fact that they

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share a unique energy signature. The Council offerslarge rewards to anyone who turns in a genuinespecimen, but these have never been claimed due to thesentient virus that lays dormant within them.

Nexus Psi had been colonised for almost two standardyears when a team of geohistorians picked up theArtefact signature above a series of tunnels in theequatorial jungles near Outpost W4. The team called

for backup to verify their findings, and an exploration /retrieval team was dispatched to excavate the sourceof the emissions. They came in force, taking everyexcavator and hauler available around W4. After fivedays of digging they unearthed their target. It wasa stone slab, less than a metre across, covered inpictograms of unknown origin.

The exp/ret team was returning their find to W4 whenit activated, and unleashed its deadly virus. The firstvictims were the technicians driving the hauler onwhich it was being transported, with their colleaguesin other vehicles falling in turn. The virus affected

over half of the team, most of them dying in agony asit tore through their bodies. They were the lucky ones.The remainder, apparently chosen as suitable hosts to

spread the infection, were mutated beyond recognition.These unfortunates were wracked with spasms as thevirus rewrote their genetic code, remaking them in itsawful image. When the transformation was complete,nothing remained of the scientists and technicians thathad been; in their place stood hulking monsters, titanicslabs of muscle and bone that wasted no time in tearingapart the remains of the convoy.

A handful of survivors escaped, making it back to theoutpost and sending a distress signal to CorporationCentral. The only response they received was dead air.Containment Protocol had already been enacted.

Desperate MeasuresWhen something as serious as a Plague outbreak takesplace, quarantine is the only option. This is an actionof last resort that can only be ordered by the Councilof Seven itself, for its repercussions are immenseand it can cost Corporations countless millions ofcredits. When a Containment Protocol is called, theplanet in question (or sometimes even the wholesurrounding system) is entirely cut off from outsidecontact. Planetary and interplanetary communicationsare jammed, and any ships in orbit or on the surfaceare grounded. The location is scrubbed from NavCorprecords, rendering it almost impossible for any vessel tofind it without resorting to illegal means, and publishedrecords will be altered to remove any reference to it.For all intents and purposes, it ceases to exist. It istestament to the invasive power of the Council that all ofthis is possible with a few commands given trillions of

kilometres away.

At the same time, a blockade fleet will move intoplace. While this is mostly made up of Enforcer patrolships, Corporation military vessels can be pressedinto service if necessary, although they wont be givenany more information than is absolutely necessaryto prevent anything entering or leaving the planetsatmosphere.

While the administrative process of ContainmentProtocol is relatively simple, the reality on-world ishorrific, especially on a developing world like Nexus Psi.

Isolated outposts reliant on radio contact suddenly findthemselves cut off from the rest of the world. Supplylines with nearby production systems are suddenly cut,leading to rapid shortages of essential resources. Mostimportantly, the planets inhabitants are stranded on thesurface with whatever caused the quarantine.

Nexus Psi was overrun by the Plague in a matter of days.From the equatorial jungle it spread like wildfire, witheach creature mutated by the Artefact infecting dozensof colonists, who in turn acted as vectors to spread theinfection to thousands of others. Pockets of resistanceremained for some time, including Outpost W4, whichorganised a solid defence and only fell after nearly twoweeks of driving back constant attacks by the infected.None of them lasted more than a month.

In time, the planet fell silent.

NEXUS PSI

The Artefact ConspiracyAccording to dissidents and activists acrossthe GCPS, Corporation Central housesan entire datafarm of encrypted stacks

containing records of every cover-up theCouncil has engineered. A secessionistagitator known only as Guru surfaced onseveral subnet forums not long before theNexus Psi incident, claiming to have accessedthe datafarm and cracked the encryption. He(or she?) claimed that in 81% of ContainmentProtocols, the planet or system in questionwas the site of an Artefact discovery. Moreintriguingly, the Council had already imposeda stay on licensing when the discovery wasmade almost as though it knew what wouldbe found, long before any humans had landed.

This was derided as nonsense by most users,especially considering the lack of evidence,and Guru never surfaced again. Some sawthis as proof that he was just a lonely kidtrying to get peoples attention, while othersassumed a darker significance behind hiswithdrawal. Nexus Psis disappearance fromofficial records, following Reikers well-publicised battle against a Council-imposedstay, was later championed as proof that hewas more than an imaginative crackpot.



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NEW RULESthew McDonald (order #5652513)


10/68 NEXUS PSI

Faction Booster packs are a great way to upgrade yourStrike Force in a way that suits your style of play. Theycontain a mixture of new miniatures and existing ones

from the Faction Starter sets, letting you customiseyour collection and give your opponents some newchallenges.

The stat cards for all of these new miniatures can befound in the existing Faction Deck, but some of themuse new abilities that werent printed in the Deadzonerulebook. This section includes those abilities, most ofwhich let you add some heavy firepower such as theGoblin Guntrack and TK-Zero Weapons team to yourgames.

CSW

The card represents a Crew Served Weapon (CSW)

team. The CSWability includes Beast. A model withCSWbehaves as ifBeast was written on its stat card.

Some weapons are just too big to be effectively usedby a single trooper. Often these are carried by vehiclesinstead, but vehicles dont get deployed on everymission. Inevitably someone will find a way to bring thiskind of firepower to an infantry battle.

CSWs come in a wide variety of types and the rules hereapply to all of them. Regardless of their actual weapontype, CSWs all share common features such as bulkyammunition or power packs and heavy or cumbersome

launchers, mounts, sights and so on. Extra crew canhelp carry the equipment, set up, load the weapon, andspot for the fall of shot all very useful.

A CSWwill start a battle with two crew: a gunner anda loader. Both crew members (and the weapon if it isa separate model) are included on a single stat cardand both crew are assumed to have identical stats.Treat each crew model separately for purposes ofscatter by blast, aggression level, injuries and death (asappropriate). If the weapon is a separate model it cannotbe targeted separately and will always scatter with the

gunner. The points cost listed is for the whole CSW.Note that CSW teams retain a size of 2 even if one of thecrew is killed or the models are separated. This reflects

The two most popular Guntrack loadouts, theHEW Cannon and Heavy Mortar, are basedoff the same technology, both relying onautofissive fuel rods to generatelow-yield neutron projectiles.The only real differenceis in the delivery method the HEWs long barrelgives it greater range andpenetrative power, while

the Mortar utilises a lowermuzzle velocity to lob shotsover intervening terrain.



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the burden of additional and awkward equipment theyalways carry.

A separate weapon model can be moved by the gunneras part of any action that takes him into a new cube. Itdoes not take actions on its own and cannot be captured.If the crew are killed then the model is removed.

Both crew models in a CSWare activated at the sametime as if they were a single model. However, if youchoose, they can move and select the action they takeindependently. It is unusual to do this because it makestheir weapon less effective, though it may be needed inextreme circumstances.

Only the CSWgunner can fire the weapon and to do somust either be modelled carrying it or be in base-to-base contact with it if it is a separate model. All rangesand LOS for the CSWs main weapon are measured fromthe gunner model.

If the loader is Pinned, Suppressed, dead or not in base-to-base contact with either the gunner or the weapon (if itis a separate model) then the CSWgets the Long Reloadand Slowabilities. If the gunner has a Reload counterthen it must remove that counter before it can fire, even ifthe loader has moved back into base contact.

If the gunner is killed when the loader is in base-to-base contact with it then the loader will pick up theweapon instead and become the new gunner. If theweapon is modelled on the gunner figure then the mostpractical way to deal with this is to swap the positions ofthe two models and then remove the loader.

INDIRECT

A weapon with this ability can be fired at the enemy ina new way. If the model has either the Vehicleor CSWrule then it is so large that it can onlyfire Indirectly andmay not use either Shootor Blaze Away. Models withoutVehicleor CSWuse Indirectas a new attack option asan alternative toShootor Blaze Awayas appropriate.As normal, decide which form of attack you will makewith the weapon before you roll any dice. The followingrule changes and restrictions only apply if the weapon isused to make an Indirect attack.

Indirect fire takes a little while to set up as coordinatesfor the battlefield are entered, ranges determinedand targets zeroed in. This only needs to be done oncefor each battle as the combat area is so small andsubsequent shots can be easily corrected from theinitial data. No weapon may be used to make an Indirectattack in that Strike Teams first Turn.

AnIndirect weapon can be used to attack targets thatthe model cannot see. However, the Indirectweaponitself, its gunner (if it is a CSW), and the target modelmust all be visible when viewed from directly above

their cube.

An Indirect attack cannot target anything that is underhalf the weapons listed Range. For example, a Range6 weapon cannot target anything at a distance of 1-3cubes when used to make an Indirect attack.

It was still raining. The outpost was already half-flooded but the heavens were in no hurry to letup. The sky was lit by another flash of lightning,and something heavy crashed over in the howlingwind. It was as if the world itself knew how sick itwas, and it was trying to flush the infection.

The water tower swayed, support struts creakingin protest, and Rixon pushed down another wave

of nausea. Thinking back to her training, sheoccupied her mind by checking the TK-Zero ather side. Sights seemed clear. Firing mechanismwas clean. Despite the driving gale, no water hadmade it into the chamber. The makeshift shelter,little more than a tarp snaptacked to a pair ofrailings, was doing better than shed hoped.

She glanced over at Ygo. The big trooper was satwith his back to the tower, looking out across theoutpost. If she didnt know him so well shed havethought he was calmly surveying for their target,but shed worked with him long enough to notice

the pallor in his skin and the sweat beading on hisbrow. She almost cracked a joke about how shednever have thought a Sphyr could get sea-sick,but she stopped herself. He was clearly enjoyingtheir vantage point even less than she was.

The wind calmed momentarily, and Rixon started.Over the sound of the rain shed heard an engine;she was sure of it. The target was somewherenearby. She sprang up into a crouch, hefting thelauncher into a ready position. It was lighter thanit looked, something that always surprised therookies, and she was confident in her ability totrack moving targets with the same ease as anyrifleman. Thats why she was here, after all.

Ygo moved up next to her. Like most of his kindhis eyesight was remarkable, making him anexceptional spotter, but this weather wouldprobably have slazzed with even Enforcer visuals.She wasnt surprised when he took his scopefrom its pouch and scanned it across the scenebelow.

A few moments later, the Sphyr lowered thedevice and pointed. Rixon followed the line ofhis gesture and saw the Guntrack. The heavyartillery pieces were little different to the Orxthat employed them: brutal and efficient, utterlyunkillable in a straight fight, and only vulnerableif you got the drop on them. This one was movingat a fair speed, its crew wrapped up against theharsh weather.

Rixon gave a slight smile, raising the TK-Zeroand sighting on the Guntracks exposed powercore. Shed taken two down already since shearrived on-world, and she had every intention

of doubling that number. At least. She heldthe weapon steady as Ygo slid a round into thechamber, giving a practiced nod when he touchedher on the shoulder, and took a moment to steadyherself as she tracked left to follow her target



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ClarificationsA couple of points have come up since the game has been released.

1) When setting up your Strike Team at the start of a game, you cannotplace a model in a cube that it could not normally move into.

2) Medi-Packs and the Medicability may not be used on models with

either the Constructor Vehicleabilities.

NEXUS PSI

An Indirectattack is inherently inaccurate and cannot Aim.

Treat an Indirect attack as a Throw Grenadeaction.

LONG RELOAD

The weapon takes a longer time than usual betweenshots. After the weapon has been fired, mark it with aReload counter. A weapon that is marked with a Reloadcounter cannot Shoot or Blaze Awayor use an Indirectattack until it is removed. The model using this weaponmay remove the Reload counter by spending a longaction to do so.

NON-COMBATANT

This model cannot or will not fight. They may not useany weapon and must choose to use Survive if engagedin a Fight.

VEHICLE

The model is aVehicle. If the model comes withseparate crew figures then you can choose to eitherattach them to the main chassis, or leave them looseso the main vehicle can be used as a wreck (or sceneryin battles where it is not used in the Strike Team). Theyhave no specific game function beyond looking good andshowing that the Vehicle is still in the battle.

The Vehicleability includes Construct and Beast. AVehiclemodel behaves as ifConstructand Beast was

written on its stat card.

Vehiclesare listed with a number in brackets, eg Vehicle(4). This is a reflection of how much punishment they cantake before they are destroyed. Vehiclestake damage asnormal with the exception that they are not automaticallykilled when they suffer 2 or more points of damage.Instead, they suffer the amount of damage caused byeach attack after armour and so on has been factored inas normal (see page 34 of the main rulebook). Vehiclesaccumulate damage until they reach the total listedin brackets, at which point they are destroyed. So, the Vehicle (4)mentioned above would be destroyed if it took

a total of 4 or more damage, either in a single attack oras the cumulative result of several hits.

For example, a successful AP2 attack hits an Armour 3Vehicle (4)with a potential damage of 3. The APreducesthe effective Armour to 1 which is subtracted from thepotential damage as normal. The remaining damage is2 which would normally kill a model. However, becausethe target is a Vehicle it suffers 2 damage instead. Asa Vehicle (4) is only destroyed when it suffers a totalof 4 damage, this means that it can continue to moveand fight until it suffers two more. You can use Injured

counters to help keep track cumulative vehicle damageas you would for other models.

Vehicles are large and cumbersome so cannot moveabout the battlefield with the same ease as smallermodels. A Vehiclecan only change level by moving upor down a ramp. They may not climb up or down walls.This means that a Vehicle cannot usually use the Climbaction, though the final limitation will be based on howyou have built your terrain.

A Vehicleis not affected by the movement portion ofattacks such as Knockback, Blastsor Fragsof any

type or size. It cannot be moved into another cube byan attack. However, it still suffers damage from thesetypes of attack as normal.

When aVehicle is destroyed it is left in place on thebattlefield. It is now treated as part of the battlefieldsterrain and makes that cube count as cover. For thesake of appearance you might like to remove any crewmodels and add a small piece of cotton wool to look likea smoking wreck.



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THE CAMPAIGNthew McDonald (order #5652513)


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The Nexus Psi campaign is designed as a two-player campaign. This means that theexperience of playing it will be different from a campaign with many different commanders,even though it shares most of the same campaign rules. The main difference is not a rule assuch, but a likely outcome: intensity. This can make for long sessions where you are able toimmerse yourselves in the world and your force, fighting through several battles in a singlesitting. Just one more scenario is a common cause of late nights.

With only one enemy to fight against, you learn their tricks and ways to trick them in return.Your Strike Force will evolve to fight against them specifically, and in any future games you will

be able to draw on a deep pool of experience in dealing with that particular foe. Its a great wayto learn how to fight a specific enemy.

Unlike most Deadzone games that arentfocussed on holding ground, the NexusPsi campaign is about eradicating, orspreading, the Plague within a fixedterritory. For this reason, many of thebattles are about taking control ofparticular Strategic Locations importantconcentrations of population or resources.Only when one player controls all of thesewill the Plague have been cleansed, or the

planet lost.

Overall, a two-player campaign such asNexus Psi is a very different experiencefrom the ever-changing free-for-all thatis a normal campaign as described in themain rules.



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Getting StartedThe first thing to do is decide who is going to play in thecampaign and which side they will take.

One player must take the Plague. After all, its not muchof an outbreak if they dont turn up. The other playercan take any faction they like, except the Plague. Bothplayers choose their Strike Forces as defined in the

campaign rules in the main rulebook.

THE SCENARIOS

The campaign is made up of 9 scenarios:

A. Intelligence Run

S1. Shattered HopesS2. Bunker HillS3. Landing ZoneS4. Long Way Down

S5. Health Assurance

X. Screaming FansY. Ambush!Z. The Gauntlet

Each scenario includes:

A map of the battlefield with specific set uprequirements.

The size of Strike Team each side can deployplus any restrictions there might be on them.

Deployment areas for the Strike Teams. Any special rules. Victory conditions. Aftermath.

STRATEGIC LOCATIONS

The Nexus Psi campaign is a struggle to claim orreclaim the planet. This is represented by defining keypositions as Strategic Locations. The success of eachStrike Force is determined by the number of StrategicLocations they control.

Scenarios S1S5 are each battles for control of one of

these Strategic Locations. Other scenarios do not affectthe outcome of the campaign as a whole, though theymay be a great help to your Strike Team, or a problemfor your opponents. The Plague start the campaignin control of all five Strategic Locations. If they lose ascenario (numbered S1S5) then they lose control ofthat Location.

Page 63 of this book includes a campaign map of the fiveStrategic Locations. You can mark which side controlsthem with spare models, counters or coloured dice.

WINNING THE CAMPAIGNStart the campaign with scenario A and keep track ofhow many battles you have fought. At the end of thesixth battle, and after every subsequent battle, checkto see if either side has won. Victory in the campaignthen goes to the first side to control all five StrategicLocations at once. This forces the Plagues opponent toact aggressively to take some ground as the Plague willwin by default if they dont make headway.

Note that this campaign can take quite a few battlesto resolve, though the exact number depends on the

players choices and how evenly matched they are inskill. If you want to play a shorter campaign then all youneed to do is remove one or two of scenarios S1S5 andplay for control of less than five Strategic Locations.



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Nexus Psi Rule ModificationsAll scenarios in the Nexus Psi campaign use thefollowing new rules - unless stated otherwise thenormal campaign and set-up rules are followed as perthe main rule book. If these do not modify the normalcampaign rules then there is no change.

STARTING THE CAMPAIGNThe campaign starts with the Plague as the defender inscenario A.

ATTACKER AND DEFENDER

In every scenario one player will be the attacker and theother the defender. The player that chose the scenarioto be fought is always the attacker

BATTLEFIELDThe defender lays out the scenery for each battlewithin the restrictions given in the scenario. To giveyourself an interesting and varied layout, you shouldstart each scenario by setting up your scenery over thewhole battlefield. Aim for a combination of somethingthat looks both believable and interesting to play on.However, before you get started, check to see if thereare any scenario specific scenery elements and putthese to one side for later. Unless a scenario specificallycalls for a larger open area, do not leave any 3 cube x

3 cube areas of the lowest level completely empty ofbuildings. This is a minimum requirement, and you willusually find that more densely packed terrain makes fora better-balanced and more entertaining game.

Once the defender has finished setting up the scenery,the attacker chooses which way round the board goes.This indicates which edge will be at the bottom of thescenario map and therefore where the deploymentzones, objectives, etc will be relative to the scenery. Youmay find it convenient to rotate the board accordingly.

On top of this general layout you will need to place

objectives, items and any scenario specific sceneryelements that you put aside earlier. Add these at theend, once you know which way up the board goes.

Finally, the defender should make the minimum numberof changes necessary to integrate the scenario specificscenery into the rest of the board and to give you aninteresting and good-looking battlefield to fight over.

Intel items generally do nothing in these scenariosas VPs are not used. However, they should be left inthe counter mix unless the scenario says otherwise.They still help to tell an interesting story, provide anopportunity for booby traps, and give more variation tothe possible value of items.

When you refight a scenario you do not need to worryabout making the layout identical to a previous versionof that battlefield. In reality, each Strategic Locationcovers a far larger area than can be shown on a singleDeadzone battlefield. Each time you play the scenarioyou are likely to be focussing on a slightly differentsection of the location as strategic deployments ofdefenders shift, routes of advance are compromised or

the latest intel identifies new weaknesses. Just followthe rules listed in each scenario and youll get theflavour of each area, which is the important thing.

The example on top shows ideal terrain placement. Thesecond example includes a 3 cube x 3 cube empty area(marked in red) which may lead to horrific bloodbaths.



17/68NEXUS PSI 17

SCENARIO SPECIAL RULES

There are several scenario special rules that may applyto the scenario. These include:

Man The Barricades!This rule applies to somescenarios and modifies the process of setting upthe battlefield and choosing the defending Strike

Team.Other than cover cubes that are inside buildings(see page 37 of the main rulebook) there areno cover cubes unless they are bought by thedefender. Each cube worth of cover costs 3 pointsfrom the Strike Teams points allocation. Thedefender can spend up to half their Strike Teamspoints on buying cover. The defender places themodels to mark cover cubes along with the restof the scenery when setting up the battlefield,before the attacker chooses the orientation (ie,his route of advance).

A Cunning Plan. This rule applies to somescenarios and modifies the process of setting upthe battlefield. Instead of placing objectives atrandom as normal, the attacker places them onthe positions marked on the map only after he haslooked at each counter. The attacker can chosewhich objective counter goes in each position.In this way he will know which is which and thedefender will not.

After the battlefield has been completely set up,but before either side has deployed, the attackersecretly writes down which objective will be hisgoal for the battle (X, Y or Z).

Other scenario special rules are noted on the applicablescenarios page.

DEPLOYMENT AND FIRST TURN

This process has been changed slightly for thiscampaign. Use the normal deployment rules for thesequence of model placement, with the defendercounting as starting player (even though they will nottake the first Turn). The attacker always takes the firstTurn. This slight change shows the more aggressivenature of these scenarios.

MISSIONS

Normal mission cards are not used. Instead, eachscenario lists its own victory conditions and Reputation

rewards for winner and loser. These Reputationrewards replace the first three situations listed on page52 of the main rulebook. If you included a Mercenary inyour Strike Team then this reward is modified by -3 asusual.

In addition to any specific victory conditions, all scenarioscan be ended by one side choosing to abort. Aborting amission works differently in this campaign. You may onlychoose to abort a mission at the end of a Round, and noearlier than the end of the third Round of the scenario. Ifyou choose to abort a campaign mission then you simplygive up and withdraw, leaving the enemy in control of thebattlefield. The scenario ends and the Strike Team thataborted the mission automatically loses the scenario. At

the end of a Round, the attacker must decide whether ornot they will abort the mission before the defender.

Gamers are often inclined to fight to the last man, andthis is particularly true in one-off battles. In campaigns,where models gain experience and have a life beyond theimmediate battle, it can sometimes be best to cut yourlosses and retreat before you lose a lot of good men.Balancing when to retire gracefully and when to makeone last push is something that you will only learn withpractice.

AFTER THE BATTLEApart from the Reputation rewards explained above, usethe normal campaign rules on page 52-55 of the mainrulebook unless the scenario you have just played saysotherwise.

The Next BattleThe winner of a battle has the strategic initiative andmust choose the next scenario to be fought from those

currently available to them in the campaign. The sameplayer that chooses the scenario to be played is also theattacker for that battle. Most scenarios can be foughtmore than once. However, there are some restrictions:

Scenario A:always available.

Scenarios S1S5: may only be chosen if you donotcurrently control the corresponding StrategicLocation.

Scenario X:may only be chosen once during thecampaign, and may not be chosen by the Plagueplayer.

Scenario Y:may only be chosen once during thecampaign, and may not be chosen by the Plagueplayer.

Scenario Z:may only be chosen once during thecampaign, and may only be chosen by the Plagueplayer.

In addition, scenarios Y and Z are special cases. They arechosen by the losing player from the previous scenario,not the winner. Each player has one of these specialscenarios to call on to try and turn the tide of battle. Eachgives an advantage to the side that calls it. The losersimply declares that they will play one of these insteadof the winners choice and that becomes the next battleto be fought. As these scenarios are only playable onceeach, when you choose to use them is very important.



18/68 NEXUS PSI

SET UP

There are no special scenery requirements for thisscenario.

Use the normal game rules for determining deploymentzones. Objectives are not needed in Intelligence Run.

Items use a different set up to normal, though you stilluse the set of 16 counters with the crate on the back.

Remove the ? counter and put it back in the box. Takethe intel counter and place it face down to one side.Shuffle the remaining 14 item counters and draw 7 atrandom. Place these with the intel counter and mix themall together so that you have 8 random counters includingthe intel. Starting with the defender, take turns placingthese face down in the grey central zone, one at a time,on any level. Place no more than one item per cube.

AVAILABLE FORCES

Both attacker and defender have 50 point Strike Teams.Other than the restricted points, these are chosen usingthe normal rules.


Intel Gathering.The intel counter is not removed when itis found and is not worth a VP. Instead it must be carriedoff the battlefield by one of your models from a cube inyour own deployment zone. In all other respects the intelbehaves as a normal item counter and can be dropped,passed to another model, etc.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

When a model carries the intel off the battlefield then thegame ends immediately. The Strike Team that carried theintel off is the winner. If one side aborts the mission thenthe other side is the winner. If the game ends in any othercircumstances then both sides count as losing the battleand this scenario is played again as the next battle withroles of attacker and defender reversed.

AFTERMATH

For a short time the winner has much better intelthan their enemy. The loser must show the winner thecomposition of his Strike Team for the next battle beforethe winner chooses theirs. This only applies for theimmediately following battle, but the winner (usually)gets to choose this too so the combination can be used togreat effect.

The winner gains 8 Reputation, the loser gains 4.

INTELLIGENCE RUNForewarned is forearmed. The motto of the GCPS Intelligence Agency is an ancientproverb, but it is as relevant in modern warzones as it was on Old Earth. Knowing yourenemys movements before they know yours can be the difference between victory anddefeat. The force commanders on Nexus Psi take every opportunity to gather intelligenceon their enemies, knowing that any scrap of information can make a vital difference totheir ongoing mission.

SCENARIO

A



19/68NEXUS PSI 19

SET UP

Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red and the neutral zone ingrey.

The three objective cubes in the central grey areashould be inside buildings.

AVAILABLE FORCES

A normal 70 point Strike Team for the attacker and 50points for the defender.


Man the Barricades!, A Cunning Plan(see page 15).

VICTORY CONDITIONS

If, at the end of any Round, the attacker controls theobjective they secretly wrote down before the gamebegan then they are the winner.

If one Strike Team is wiped out or aborts the missionthen they lose.

AFTERMATH

The winner controls the S1 Strategic Location. Aslong as he retains control he may add 10 points to themaximum he is allowed to spend on his Strike Team inany scenario. This bonus is cumulative if he controlsmore than one Strategic Location.


SHATTERED HOPESAlthough Nexus Psi was a relatively new colony, it had been established long enough forseveral decent-sized settlements such as Outpost 504K to spring up. The Soak nowstands silent, but amid the dead ad-splays there are still analogue billboards proudlydisplaying corporate slogans and smiling mascots, and hand-painted signs marking outindependent start-ups that were doomed even before the infection hit. Such outposts arealways popular targets for strike forces looking to resupply. The makeshift barricades thatstill stand from the initial outbreak, now bullet-ridden and draped with festering corpses,

are often pressed into use when rival factions converge on the same location.

SCENARIO

S1



20/680 NEXUS PSI

The rotating dials of the horolog seemed to show theimpossible. It felt like an age had passed, but she hadbeen on-world for just under nine spins. Freya snappeddown the cover of her vambrace and swore effusively.

The first night had been the hardest, with a ruptureddrive core and waves of the heintj closing in toinvestigate the crash site. Shed had to choose betweenditching her cargo and saving her skin, and the decision

to flee hadnt come easy. She had a reputation tomaintain, after all. The core detonation had taken careof the creatures, which was something, but now shewas stuck on a quarantined world without a means ofescape.

At least she wasnt alone any more. Shed run into arebel crew two spins back as they were backing outof a fight with a group of bugam, and shed offered herservices as a guide without a second thought. It wassomething she was more than prepared for; shedreviewed the planets geography as a matter of course,committing it to memory as best she could, and had

salvaged her charts from the Firesteel before it hadgone up. Now, having led her new allies to a hilltopbunker that was somehow still standing, she was tryingto figure out her next step while they busied themselveswith looting anything that wasnt nailed down.

The sweeper in her vambrace gave a low ping, vibratingagainst the inside of her wrist. She lifted the cover andadjusted the play. A trace gathered info focus on the tinyscreen. Then another. And another.

One of the crew was it Zarnoz, or Zerez? gave acry of alarm. Freya turned on the spot, seeing that theZee had a sweeper unit of his own. Fillon, the crewscommander, peered down from the squat roof, her rifle

cradled casually in one arm. The scavenger looked upat her.

Eleven clear hits incoming. No, twelve! His voice wasshrill with panic.

South perimeter! The call came from Belwin.Infected!

Freya wasted no time, drawing her sidearm anddragging a crate into position to act as cover. The Zeesfollowed suit. Fillons voice rang out from up above.

Get into cover! I want weapons live and firing as soon

as you see them. Were sitting on all the ammo we need,so no need to be shy. This bunkers ours. I dont intendon giving it up any time soon!

The first creature crested the hill, and Freya wonderedwhy shed ever left the military.



21/68NEXUS PSI 21

SET UP

Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red and the neutral zone ingrey.

The grey area is a single, 2-level bunker with a roof(occupying a total of 12 cubes).

Objective counters are not used in this scenario.

AVAILABLE FORCES



Man The Barricades!

Bombardment.After deployment but before the firstTurn, supporting forces drop a lightning barrage of 3

rounds on the defences in an effort to soften them up.The attacker chooses three different cubes to be thetarget of long range, Indirect, Massive Frag attacks.These attacks are resolved at a value of 5+.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

If, at the end of any Round, the attacker has capturedtwo or more cubes of the bunker then they are thewinner.


AFTERMATH


In addition, the Strike Force that controls Bunker Hillmay buy items of equipment between battles for 1 pointless per item (to a minimum cost of 1 point each).


BUNKER HILLOne of the many dangers facing Frontier settlers is the ever-present threat of attack.Millions of kilometres from the nearest Enforcer patrol, colonies can suddenly findthemselves targeted by rebels and alien raiders. This is an unavoidable peril of life on theFrontier, and colonists do what they can to prepare against them. Survival shelters andarmoured redoubts were built to give civilians shelter during these attacks, stockpiledwith supplies and military-grade hardware. In most cases the Plague struck too quicklythem to be used, and now they are sought after by the many strike forces that battle

across Nexus Psi.

SCENARIO

S2



22/682 NEXUS PSI

SET UP Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red and the neutral zone ingrey.

The grey area (plus the central cube marked in blue) isa single, 2-level landing pad. The top level of the landingpad must be clear of cover and other obstacles (so it isclear to use for landing). In addition, there must be atleast one attached tower, stairs or ramp in an adjacentcube to allow for easy access.

The attacker may only place model from his Insertedforce (see below) in the deployment zone on the landingpad itself, and only on the top level. The remainder ofhis models must deploy in the larger of the two bluezones.

The defender must split his Strike Force into X, Y andZ groups before he places any of them. He can dividethem in any way as long as each part contains at leastone model. The deployment zone that each of thesegroups may deploy in is determined by placing a randomobjective counter in each of the three red deployment

zones. Only the group with the matching letter may setup in each deployment zone. After deployment, removethe objective markers. They are not used for theirnormal function in this scenario.

LANDING ZONELike most newly-colonised worlds, Nexus Psi has only one major star port, at ReikerCity. Instead, most outposts have tertiary-scale landing pads that can handle minordrops and outbound pickups. These are usually bulk-produced by Almar Incorporatedto be compatible with their fleets of cargo boats, then offered free of charge to Frontiercolonies as part of a standard logistics deal. Post-outbreak, the remaining landing padsare vital strategic locations. While registered ships have had their launch codes stripped,smaller suborbital craft can still use the pads to make secure landings and redeploy

troops across the surface of Nexus Psi.

SCENARIO

S3



23/68NEXUS PSI 23

AVAILABLE FORCES

A normal 70 point Strike Team for each side. Inaddition, the attacker may choose 20 points of modelsto Insert. These models can be freely chosen from hisStrike Force and ignore the normal limitations of type.Additional points allowed to the attacker for controlof other Strategic Locations may not be added to theInserted group.


Man The Barricades!Note that cover may not be placedon the top level of the landing pad.

Insert.Before the first Turn, a small group of attackerswas inserted onto the landing pad itself. They may havejumped, fast-roped, glided or descended by low-gravchutes from a hovering vehicle. However they got intoposition, their arrival signals the start of the attack.

The inserted group cannot include any models with asize of 3 or 4, nor may it include any Vehicles. Other thanthat, the only restriction is the points limitation listedabove.

At the end of the battle, any surviving model of theInserted group gets an additional point of experience.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

Starting at the end of Round 3, check for victory at theend of each Round. If one side has the only models onthe top level of the landing pad then they are the winner.Only consider the 3x3 area shown on the map, not anyattached towers, stairs, ramps, etc. Also, ignore thelower levels of the landing pad. If one side controls thetop then they can bring in reinforcements and easily

push out any remaining opposition.


AFTERMATH


In addition, the Strike Force that controls the AlmarLanding Zone may position one additional model in eachbattle as if that model had Scout. This model does notgain the ability, permanently, merely being placed asif they had it as long as their Strike Force controls thisStrategic Locations easy access to transports and airsupport.




24/684 NEXUS PSI

SET UP

There are no special scenery requirements for thisscenario in terms of buildings. However, the battlefieldrepresents something very different from usual.

This battle is fought among the gantries and walkwaysof the underside of a large mining rig. Between the gridof the walkway, and through the railings, you can see

the long drop to the planets surface below.

Lay out the battlefield with a raised series of walkways(of any width) connecting as much as possible in alattice. Leave gaps between them. This could includestairs, ramps and other means of getting up and downlevels as well as buildings. The underside of therig is a large and complex place. However, this wholebattlefield is suspended high in the air, so assume thatthe battle mat itself represents a fatal drop rather thanthe ground.

Use the normal game rules for determining deployment

zones and placing objectives. All items and objectivesmust be on walkways, not on the gaps between them.

AVAILABLE FORCES

A normal 70 point Strike Team for both sides.


Man The Barricades!

Underbelly. Because the underside of a rig is anawkward and difficult place to get to, no Vehiclesareallowed in either Strike Team. Also, as it has a solid roof(the floor of the rig above), Indirectfire is not allowed.

Falling off the rigs walkways is invariably fatal andnobody will risk trying to find the corpse. Anyone fallingoff is permanently removed from the Strike Forcesroster. You cannot get the medics to treat a body youdont have.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

If, at the end of any Round, one side controls two of thethree objectives then they are the winner. If one StrikeTeam is wiped out or aborts the mission then they lose.If the game times out then the defender wins.

AFTERMATH

The winner controls the S4 Strategic Location. Aslong as he retains control he may add 5 points to themaximum he is allowed to spend on his Strike Team inany scenario. This bonus is cumulative if he controls

more than one Strategic Location.

If any model(s) from either side fall off the walkwaysto their deaths, all models that survive this battle fromeither side gain one additional point of experience.


LONG WAY DOWNWhen Nexus Psi scored highly on initial scans to reveal its natural resources, severalmining corporations stepped forward to offer their services to whoever won the licensingbid. Thanks to several days of pre-negotiation, Reiker was able to offer the contract toMi-Gan the moment they were granted a license. A fleet of drop-rigs was dispatchedimmediately. These monolithic creations, designed to be compatible with Shensigshabtainer range, tower above the forest canopies and mountain ranges, drilling down viaarmour-plated shafts that bypass the surface entirely. These vast, abandoned machines

offer access to valuable resources for any that can capture them.

SCENARIO

S4

Setting up this battlefield can be quite sceneryintensive. One way to reduce the number ofpieces you need is not to raise the walkways

off the mat. You must still assume that the matitself represents a long drop onto the surface,but it will save a number of scenery pieces andallow you to make more connections.



25/68NEXUS PSI 25

SET UP

Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red and the neutral zonesin grey.

The grey areas can be represented by separatebuildings or by areas within buildings (operatingtheatres, data offices, etc) as you choose. A least part ofthe grey areas should be multi-level.

Set up items as normal. In addition, place 4 of the rounditem counters at random as well. Regardless of whatthe counter art is on these last items, assume they areall medi-packs.

AVAILABLE FORCES



Man The Barricades!

VICTORY CONDITIONS

If, at the end of any Round, the attacker has captured allthree objectives then they are the winner.


AFTERMATH

The winner controls the S5 Strategic Location.

In addition, the Strike Force that controls the DeepwaterMedicentre may roll 2 dice instead of 1 for each modelthat is resurrected. Choose the result you prefer.


HEALTH ASSURANCEMazon Labs has medical outposts set up across of Nexus Psi, but their primary locationis the Deepwater Medicentre. It was a fully-stocked alpha care centre, catering to seriousillnesses and injuries from anywhere on-world. It still stands, battered by the Plaguebut not destroyed outright, most of its plentiful medical resources still salvageable by ateam with the right know-how. From a military standpoint it is one of the most importantstrategic objectives on Nexus Psi; field treatments and first aid are nothing compared towhat Deepwater can offer.

SCENARIO

S5



26/686 NEXUS PSI

OVERWATCH: MOVE

ABILITIES: BRAWLER, RESOURCEFUL

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT:

DREADBALL GUARD

OVERWATCH: MOVE

ABILITIES: FAST, RESOURCEFUL

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT: DREADBALL GLOVE:RANGE 3, ONE-USE, KNOCKBACK

DREADBALL JACK

OVERWATCH: MOVE

ABILITIES: FAST, RESOURCEFUL

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT: DREADBALL GLOVE:RANGE 3, ONE-USE, KNOCKBACK

DREADBALL STRIKER



27/68NEXUS PSI 27

SET UP

Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red and the neutral zonesin grey.

The green area of the map is the edge of a DreadBallpitch and so is flat and open. No items or models can beplaced or deployed in this area at the start of the game.The rest of the board represents the seating, changingrooms, concession stalls and myriad other behind thescenes rooms that serve the teams and the sportsloving public.

Before the battle starts, the attacker must state outloud which objective the MVP is hiding at (see Rescue,below). Note that the placement of the objectivecounters is still random.

AVAILABLE FORCES

A normal 70 point Strike Team.

SCENARIO SPECIAL RULESInside.The battlefield is all inside a DreadBall arenacomplex.Indirect attacks may not be used in thisscenario.

Rescue. When an attacking model reaches the cubecontaining an objective he may look at it as normal. If itis the objective at which the attacker declared the MVPwas hiding then the model is placed on the table andmarked as activated for this Round. Their aggressionstarts at Alert. Use any non-GIANT DreadBall MVP youhave available. Their Deadzone stats depend on theirrole:

The MVP is happy to see his rescuers, though that

doesnt make them any more pleased about being inthe middle of a battle. The MVP is treated as part of theattacking Strike Team for the remainder of the battle.

If a defending model locates the MVP first then theyare placed on the board as described above and mustimmediately Fight the enemy model that moved into thatcube.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

When the MVP has exited the board or has been

killed then the game ends. If the MVP is dead then thedefenders win. If the MVP exits the board via a cube inthe attackers deployment zone then the attackers win.

AFTERMATH

If the attacker wins then every member of the StrikeTeam gets an autographed DreadBall and a lifetimepass to the MVPs home arena. As well as that, theyeach get one additional point of experience.


SCREAMING FANSThe Red Forest Arena is the most remote DreadBall stadium in the entire GCPS. Itwas ordered as a personal project by Tavis Carver, a legendary DreadBall fan withhis own private arena-side box at the Co-Prosperity Park Arena, who did not want tomiss his favourite sport while overseeing the first stages of Reiker Citys construction.Containment Protocol be damned; the DGB is unwilling to let its superstar players die faraway from their adoring fans, and will pay handsomely for their rescue and extraction.

SCENARIO

X



28/688 NEXUS PSI

SET UP

Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red.

Objectives are not used in Ambush!

AVAILABLE FORCES

The defender has a normal 70 point Strike Team.

The attacker may use 100 points and ignores the normallimitations on model type. If the total Strike Force is

under 100 points then it is immediately expanded to thislevel with fresh recruits as per campaign step 9.

At least one attacking model must be placed in each ofthe deployment zones.


Its A Trap! The defenders realise its a trap a momenttoo late. They must try to slip away as quickly aspossible and can leave the board along any edgemarked in red. Different models can escape across

different edges. Their scattered forces will rally later.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

When there are no more defending models left alive onthe board then the game ends.

Unless the attacker aborts the mission or is wiped outthen they win this scenario.

AFTERMATH

Each of the surviving defending models get oneadditional experience.


AMBUSH!It was always going to be tough to wrest control of Nexus Psi from the Plague, but itsNexus Psi is lost to the Plague. Packs of infected roam the streets of every outpost andstalk the plains and forests. If you ever thought you stood a chance of wresting the worldfrom their clutches, you now know that hope to be futile. However, there is still a chance.If you can take back a handful of key strategic locations, your mission here could still beaccomplished. You could still even the odds. You will need to strike quickly if you wish tocatch your enemy with their guard down

SCENARIO

Y



29/68NEXUS PSI 29

Nothing exhibits the pragmatism of the Marauders more than the Mawbeast Bomber. Noting the tendency of enemyto gun down the creatures as they closed in for the kill, they saw the potential for a new weapon. Strapped withcompact loads of high explosives, these enthusiastic - if short lived - creatures have been the downfall of many anotherwise secure outpost.



30/680 NEXUS PSI

SET UP

Use the deployment zones shown on the map. Attackeris shown in blue, defender in red.

The attacker cannot place a second model in a givencube until all cubes within his deployment zones have amodel in. This forces his Strike Team to spread out.

AVAILABLE FORCES

The defender has a normal 70 point Strike Team.

The attacker may use 100 points and ignores the normallimitations on model type. If the total Strike Force isunder 100 points then it is immediately expanded to thislevel with fresh recruits as per campaign step 9.


Its A Trap! The defenders realise its a trap a momenttoo late. They must try to slip away as quickly aspossible and can leave the board along the edge markedin red.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

When there are no more defending models left alive onthe board then the game ends.

Unless the attacker aborts the mission or is wiped out

then they win this scenario.

AFTERMATH

Each of the surviving defending models get oneadditional experience.


THE GAUNTLETThe moment the Artefact was awoken, this world was lost. Nothing could stand in theway of the Plague and hope to survive. There are still pockets of resistance, but these arenothing more than the last, dying spasms of a creature too dull-witted to know that itsend has come. However, your ambitions stretch beyond Nexus Psi, and there is one groupof enemies that could almost stand to thwart your plans. This cannot be allowed. You willattack when they are at their least prepared and overwhelm them with your numbers andmight. Their resistance ends here.

SCENARIO

Z



31/68NEXUS PSI 31

THE FACTIONSthew McDonald (order #5652513)


32/682 NEXUS PSI

Within the GCPS there are hundreds, if not thousands,of military forces. As well as the private armies,

security fleets and merc companies, there are thestanding Corporate Armies. Each of these forcesexists for the sole purpose of protecting their parentcorporations interests, so it is no surprise that this canlead to clashes between rival forces when licensingagreements overlap, or when they both lay claim toa particular asset. They can also be called on to dealwith threats from outside the GCPS, under direct edictfrom the Council of Seven. When territory debatesget out of hand, or when corporate forces come upagainst something they cant handle (such as whenguerrilla fighters on Azure IX massacred the Gorsch

corporations mining crews, or when the ArklyteCluster erupted in open rebellion), the Council has at itsdisposal its own elite military force.

For a long time, the Council simply used veteransoldiers recruited from the larger Corporate Armies.Unfortunately, most human troopers seemed to lack thestomach for some of the more clandestine operationsthat were required of them. They were graduallyreplaced with highly-trained squads of Orx following theKlandax Treaty, who combined brutal effectiveness withutter discretion. Though successful for a time, this wasbrought to a bloody end by the events of the Mandrake

Rebellion. A new solution was required, and one wasfound in the Enforcers.

The exact details of the origins of this elite militaryforce are shrouded in mystery, known only to a select

few outside the council. This knowledge is kept secretby these individuals on pain of extreme sanction. Inany case, regardless of where they come from, theEnforcers are without a doubt the living embodiment ofthe Councils will.

In the field, Enforcers are disciplined and deadly. Theirtraining allows them to detach themselves from thehorrors of war, stripping away their humanity andleaving only a cold, relentless drive to complete theirmission no matter the cost. Further to this, they eschewnames in the field, instead referring to each otherby serial numbers and squad codes. To the outsideobserver, each Enforcer looks identical, with very fewarmour variations or personal touches to mark themapart from their squad-mates. This is intentional; if theenemy cannot identify individuals, it is harder for him toascertain their numbers.

CuttingEdge TechnologyEnforcers are equipped with the best equipmentthat money can buy. Indeed, most of their kit is sospecialised that nothing like it is available on thecommon market, even through illicit sources. Their

armour is proof against most small arms fire and ispower-assisted, granting Enforcers enhanced strengthand speed. The ubiquitous helmet is designed to inspire



33/68NEXUS PSI 33

fear in the enemy, and a stylised graphic of it is usedas a warning icon in Council-protected facilities acrossthe GCPS. Proof against most hostile environments,including hard vacuum, the armour incorporatesextensive rebreathing, recycling and medicaltechnology, allowing its wearer to fight in virtually allsituations. It also features high-end comms technology,geolocation beacons and countless other devices thatgrant the wearer autonomy in the field.

Despite this wealth of onboard systems, the armour islight and manoeuvrable, a fact further enhanced by thelightweight jump pack that is mounted into every suit.This lets Enforcers overcome obstacles, perform highaltitude combat drops in hotly contested landing zone,and redeploy from one area of a battlefield to anotherwithout relying on cumbersome transport vehicles.Each suit of armour also possesses a self-destructmechanism, intended to keep the suits secrets fromfalling into enemy hands. Unless this is overridden by asuperior officer, this function will activate within a fewminutes of the wearers death, reducing both the armourand the Enforcer inside to a fine ash.

Tools of DestructionThe standard weapon carried by Enforcer teams is theGenling 45 HLR-X, which is a modified version of theHeavy Laser Rifle used by some corporate militaryunits. The 32 HLP-X acts as their standard sidearm, or inthe case of Assault units, their primary ranged weapon.These troopers are also equipped with the MagnurbaWristblade, a nanomolecular edged weapon thatextends from a housing on the Enforcers right forearm.

Wristblades are closer in aspect to a sword than a knife,and are sharp enough to penetrate anything from carbonlattice to the thick hides of silicon-based life forms.

When the blades retract they are automatically cleanedand honed, making them remarkably durable and long-lasting compared to conventional melee weaponry.

Aside from variants of the Genling laser rifle, such asthe 58 LSW-X Burst Laser and the 50 APR-X sniperrifle, most Enforcer support weaponry is supplied byRecoil Industries. Strike Forces regularly enter combatwith their missile launchers and various other special

weaponry, such as the Thermal Rifle, the Incineratorand the Fusion Gun. While each Enforcer is given basictraining in the use of each of these weapons, they aregenerally only taken to the field by specialists except inparticularly unusual situations.

The Genling Corporation was famously grantedan exclusive munitions license to supplyEnforcer units in 3102, and produced multiplevariants of the same HLR technology, includingsidearm and support weapon versions, until

their merger six years later. Accutek nowreserves the Genling brand for Enforcerweaponry, and has validated over a dozenalterations to the original design to improveaccuracy, stopping power and ease of use.

Children of ScienceOnly a very limited amount is known about the journeytaken by an Enforcer recruit. One thing that is for certainis that the results are remarkable considering that the

average timeframe seems to be less than a standardyear. Consequently, it is almost certainly the case thatEnforcers are physically altered through unnatural



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means. Whether this is via internal nanite machinery,gross cybernetic change or biogenetic modificationremains unknown. What is obvious to anyone whohas watched them in action is that they are certainlymore than human. They have been seen to fight onwith terrible wounds, and their medics will work onthe most even the most grievously wounded casualtiesin a manner that suggests an expectation of recovery,while their enormous strength cannot be entirely

explained by the assistance granted by their armouralone. Some of the more fanciful infosphere posts onthe topic have suggested they might also possess acidicblood, the capacity to go weeks without sleep and theability to survive a hard vacuum without their armour,but these are almost certainly little more than grossexaggerations. Regardless of the truth, the Council ofSeven is all too happy to allow this wild theorising; afterall, it shrouds the Enforcers true nature and makestheir reputation even more terrifying.

In The DeadzoneThe Enforcers were sent to Nexus Psi to protect theinterests of the Council of Seven, but their actions havemuch wider-ranging implications than the whims ofthe Spheres ruling caste. The Plague is a deadly threatto the future of the GCPS, and while it is technicallyconfined to the surface, Containment Protocol is neveras secure or final as intended. Quarantined worlds Deadzones, as they are generally known are populartargets for rebels and raiders alike, not to mentionsome of the more underhanded corporations who dontwish to lose whatever assets were held on-planet.NavCorp is only one of many systems that can be used

to navigate space, and no matter how tightly organiseda blockade is, there are always gaps for shrewd shipcaptains to sneak through. If even a single landingcraft were to be commandeered, and a lone First-StageInfected left the planet, there is no telling how far thecontagion could spread.

Although the Enforcers primary mission is thereforeto hunt and kill any Plague they can find, they mayhave dozens of secondary objectives. They might belooking to recover sensitive information or equipmentbefore it can fall into enemy hands, or rescuingparticular members of a corporations staff so thatthey can continue whatever secret task the Councilhas given them. They do not concern themselves withanything outside their mission, meaning that the rescue

of doomed citizens is not even a tertiary concern.Survivors who see Enforcers approaching may be filledwith hope and relief at first, but they will soon come torealise that their nightmare is far from over

I am a product of the greatest militaryprogramme in the history of the man. I ambriefed on all forms of combat, and everyenemy known to the Sphere. My training left noroom for emotions like fear or hatred.

That is why, as I sprint across the wreckagethat used to be a motor pool or a mech depot ormaybe a transit site, the only thing on my mindis a situational re-evaluation.

My heart rate is elevated beyond acceptablelevels. This is understandable, given theloss of my assault blade and right forearm.My uplink is faulting and I cannot contact mysquad. Beyond that, I am at full capability.

The enemy were strong, and they were fast. Idid not see the unit that fired the opening shot,

but damage spread and aftereffect suggestsa heavy drone. The rest of my squad tookfiring positions in response while I advanced.I sighted three combat drones and made forthem at speed.

The melee that followed was surprisinglyshort. My swing went wide as my targetsidestepped, grasped my overextended rightarm and severed it at the elbow joint. The easewith which it neutralised my primary weaponwas troubling. Furthermore, my visual streamshowed that three of my squad had fallen.

I ducked past its second strike and kicked outat its knee joint. It gave slightly, just enoughto give me an opening. Without looking back, Ibroke into a sprint.

It is a rare enemy that takes us by surprise.Standard procedure in this instance is toscatter and regroup. I will circle around to therally point and trade my sidearm for a rifle. Wewill reconsider and re-engage.

It is not our purpose to take revenge. We will

simply annihilate them.



35/68NEXUS PSI 35

The Corporations of Nexus PsiAlthough the Reiker Corporation was never granted a full licence to Nexus Psi, it was given leave to begin leasingareas of the surface to secondary concerns. As soon as it opened the application process, bids flooded in from dozensof corporations, large and small. As construction began, each started to carve out its territory, bringing all kinds ofservices to the local settlers. At the time Containment Protocol was enacted almost two dozen Corporations had apresence on-world, but five stood out as most active.

The Reiker CorporationAt the forefront of expansion

Reiker grew out of a merger between several smaller corporations with a shared interest:planetary development. 42% of planetary licences in the fourth and fifth Spheres are heldat the top level by Reiker, and they receive an estimated 7.1 teracredits annually as revenuegenerated by their sub-licensees. They were in the process of setting up a management hubon Nexus Psi when the planet was lost.

Carver, Inc.Standing Strong

Carver is a construction company that specialises in building in harsh climates and wildareas. It has become increasingly known for its work on frontier planets, where it providespermanent buildings to replace the temporary constructs built by early settlers. Its onlyproject on Nexus Psi when the Plague broke out was Reiker City, a habitation complex builtaround the planets primary star port.

AccutekYour safety is our business

The largest manufacturer of arms and ordnance in the GCPS, Accutek has spent several yearsbuying out its rivals and taking on their military and civilian contracts. Their research centreon Nexus Psi was rumoured to be conducting testing on new super-weapons for deploymentby the Councils elite Enforcer units; if this were true, the Containment Protocol would havemeant untold losses for the company.

Mazon LabsFor a better galaxy

One of the leading names in medical care and research, Mazon Labs (a subsidiary of theMazon Corporation) is universally recognised for its comprehensive health assurancepackages. It regularly sets up Frontier Outposts in new colonies, ensuring that its payingsubscribers on the fringe of the GCPS are covered in the case of any mishaps.

Almar IncorporatedWeve got your back

If Almars corporate literature is to be believed, it can trace its roots back to Old Earth itself.

Regardless of its history, it is the only name that most Corporations trust in the field oflogistics and distribution. Almar bought into Reikers promise of Nexus Psi becoming a newhub of expansion, and hundreds of abandoned warehouses now litter the planets surface.



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Enforcer ShipsMuch like their weapons and armour, the ships of the

Enforcer Corps represent a level of efficiency andlethality an order of magnitude larger than those usedby corporate fleets. Equipped with advanced scanningarrays, passive and active ship to ship countermeasuresand a full array of tactical ordnance, each class utilisedby the Enforcers is more than capable of taking onbigger and heavier ships and winning.

These craft are manufactured under terms of absoluteexclusivity by the yards of the Xian Seng Corporation.Having risen to fame for its superior luxury cruisers,which are still seen as a status symbol by the richestof the super-elite, Xian Seng suddenly ceased tradingto private consumers around the same time that theEnforcer programme went live. The corporation hadalways been dogged by whispers of experimentaltechnology derived from unincorporated aliens, butwhile it is certainly true that they manufactured shipslight years ahead of their competitors, nothing concretewas ever proved. Regardless, Xian Seng was clearlydeemed fit to serve the purposes of the Council, whichis now their only client.

Xian Seng manufacture two main classes of starshipfor the Enforcers, and most of what is known about

them is based on limited observation and hearsay.

The XSM-85 Wyvern is a heavier ship, designed formass deployment of Enforcers into areas of heavyfighting, and it is rare to see more than one of thesebeasts in any given deployment zone.

Equipped with extensive flight hangars and troop decks,

a single Wyvern can deploy enough Enforcers, supportweapons and vehicles to assault an entire continent.It also mounts fearsome ordnance capability, with aninternal stockpile of warheads extensive and variedenough to deal with any situation. The mere arrival ofa Wyvern in-system is often enough to provoke enemyforces to surrender.

While the Wyvern is only seen in the direstcircumstances, the XSM-76 Drakon is a much morecommonly-used ship. It is the main deployment craftused by the Enforcers, one of the smallest militarycraft fitted with a McKinley Drive. They are typicallyused as rapid reaction ships, and most blockadesaround quarantined planets are initially made up ofthese ships. Minimally crewed, Drakons still representa real threat to any foolish enough to try and breachthe cordon. Although there are some variants, mostare fitted with an internal shuttle bay housing anXSM-762 Stallion dropship that can carry a full patrolforce of thirty Enforcers plus supporting equipment.The Stallion is essential in the deployment of Recontroopers to a planets surface prior to the verification ofa Containment Protocol, and its silhouette has becomeassociated with coming danger.



37/68NEXUS PSI 37thew McDonald (order #5652513)


38/688 NEXUS PSI

To the galactic north-east of the GCPS lies the DeathArc, a region of space that is considered by some to be

one of the greatest mysteries of the galaxy. It was firstexplored by long-range scout ships from the CancoCorporation, who discovered a world whose verdantforests hid the ruins of a widespread urban culture.The scouts duly noted this, conducted a brief surveyand moved on. At the time, little was thought of thedeceased population. Intelligent life is common in thegalaxy, but many species fail to make the transition to ahi-tech society without destroying themselves throughwar or environmental collapse. The planet-sized gravesof those failed peoples dot the stars.

What the Canco scouts had found, however, was not a

lone tomb, but the first headstone in a cemetery.

As they went onwards, the scouts found world afterworld where desiccated bones littered the crumblingstreets and towering buildings stood like lonelymonoliths, cracked with age and webbed with plant life.There were no signs of remainging intelligent life onany of the worlds. Unnerved and out of range of theirnearest hub, the scouts turned back. The Death Arc waslabelled as Unexploited and left alone.

Time moved on. The Co-Prosperity Sphere continuedits glorious expansion, and eventually the Frontier

expanded to meet the edge of the Death Arc. Recordsof Cancos expedition were dug out of the archives andre-examined. These worlds harboured a wealth ofexploitable assets, so it was no surprise when licensingwas opened and bids flooded in.

As Exploration Fleets made their way across the DeathArc, more detailed studies of the fallen civilisations

began to filter back to Corporation Central. Thereports were all similar: damage to the fabric of thecivilisations infrastructure was not commensuratewith large-scale warfare, save in two exceptionswhere atomic weapons had been deployed, but therewere widespread indications of large-scale civilunrest, followed by societal collapse. Each planetspopulation showed a sharp drop in number, whichprecipitated a rapid decline in technological aptitude.The last few survivors appeared to have been living atsub-metalworking levels before dying out altogether.Some of the civilisations in question had no contactwith other worlds, while others appeared to be parts of

thriving multi-system states with ties to other similarcivilisations. All had met the same fate.

As coincidence, cosmic phenomena and interstellarwar were ruled out, the similarity of the worlds endsseemed to point to one thing only: disease. Some kindof terrifying, interplanetary pandemic. Epidemiologicaltechniques revealed that the supposed contagion hadapparently spread from somewhere deeper withinthe Death Arc. Even more disturbingly, teams ofarcheobiologists uncovered evidence that the contagionmight not be as dead as they first thought; it appeared

that it had died out several times, only to come backhundreds, if not thousands of years later.

STAGE 2As

STAGE 1A



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After a tense debate on Corporation Central, a verdictwas reached. The resurgence of a contagion asbrutal as the one that had devastated the Death Arc,one that could apparently travel between planets,was considered to be too high a risk to allow furtherexploration. For the first time in its history, the GalacticCo-Prosperity Sphere made the decision not to expand.The Death Arc would be its first permanent border, heldfirmly by a blockade of Enforcer ships.

That decision might have gone down in history as onethat saved the GCPS, had the contagion been confined tothe Death Arc.

Adriana FallsYears passed, and the threat of the dead worlds wasforgotten. When sudden outbreaks of rioting andlooting were reported on Adriana, one of the morewell-developed planets in the Frontier, no one in theCore took notice; after all, it was something for thelocal security patrols to deal with. Then video streams

started arriving, showing terrified colonists beinghunted down and killed by brutish thugs clad in tornrags and the skins of their fellow men. These butcherswere accompanied by strange, giant mutant creaturesthat bounded through the burning streets, huntingfor prey like pack animals. From the comfort of theirbooths in the watch stations of Corporation Central,intelligence operatives watched as the beasts fell uponhelpless citizens half a galaxy away.

Enforcer patrols were rerouted to investigate theplanet from orbit, expecting to find some kind of alienattack force, but there was nothing in orbit other thanAdrianas moons. Scans of the surface seemed to pointto the violence having spilled out from a central locationin the northern hemisphere, and it was postulated thatthe creatures had emerged from below ground. Oneman stood up against this and put forth a new theory:contagion.

Before his promotion to watch operative, TomasLedecker had been loosely involved in the collationof data from the Death Arc. Had he not been at hisstation at the right time, things may have turned outvery differently; luckily, he was present to point out thesimilarities between the happenings on Adriana and theprojected events that had led up to

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