Imagine that this is the main H.Q of the race they are against, on a rescue mission… and are now surrounded by what seems odd over 100 tau, a good 25 each side….
What would the stereotypical reaction of a space marine team if said tau had the intention of capturing them?
Space marines surrounded during a "stealthy" attack on a base where they were actually anticipated?
Isador Martellus said:
What would the stereotypical reaction of a space marine team if said tau had the intention of capturing them?
I do not know the stereotypical reaction of a space marine but you could simply ask your players what they think is appropriate. If they cannot imagine to be prisoners of the Tau, simply make the Tau attack.
If the players agree on being captured than you can work together how the escape could be a challenging venture.
Cheers,
-- TechVoid
Well apart from the obvious "shoot first and kill as many as possible before they can shoot back.." well either throwing a blind grenade and hitting the ground as the tau fires blind… or negotiation, since the tau value their troops… especially if they can come across as a pragmatic group the are working towards stopping the tyranieds (since the tau risk losing a lot more if, having invested a sizeable part of their millitary in this frontier and their main empire might be completely open) so anything that goes against the tyranieds can be a good bargining chip… especially if they can convince the Tau their final goal is a ceasefire between the Imperium and the Tau (as unrealistic as it sounds..)
But getting captured is often less prefereble to death.. so rather go out in a blaze of glory, than ending up on a disection table after interrogation…
The stereotypical reaction? These are Space Marines you are talking about - surrendering to Xenos filth is out of the question, and if combat cannot be avoided then the players should try to take as many enemies down with them as possible.
Of course, such "last stand" situations can become rather un-fun for most kinds of players, as epic as their deaths may be. Ultimately, it should not have even come to a situation like that in the first place; from your description this sounds like a case where, in a video game, one should simply load up a previous save.
I see two alternatives to having them die there and then: Either you use the Horde rules with such low magnitudes that the players can feel like a squad of Rambos, blasting away enemies by the dozen (some people think that Space Marines should really be
that
good), or alternatively have them be rescued by an external force. Said external force could be other Imperial troops (who would be as surprised by the Kill-team's presence as the Marines are by them), or even other Xenos who are enemies to both the players as well as the Tau. In the case of the latter, the players could use the distraction to their advantage and make good their escape, or even try to play both sides by intervening in the ongoing fight, artificially dragging it out (such as by covertly sabotaging any advantages either party has) and making sure that both forces experience heavy losses.
What is the terrain? Do they have cover? Are the fire warriors in hordes? How far away are the firewarriors? What resources do the marines have on hand?
My initial thought is to use smoke or blind grenades and local cover to break through one spot, tactically withdraw and make a new plan of attack. However if the enemy is close or if they use any available cover/smoke/blind grenades, they can advance and charge into melee. As firewarriors are notoriously bad at melee, and may be hesitant to shoot into thier own people (I forget if they come standard with target selection). Charging all four sides might be the way to go.
The Space Marines should typically endeavor to complete their mission. If the mission can no longer be completed (the target of the rescue is dead) or the mission preconditions prove false (the target is not on the base, it was just an elaborate trap) then aborting the mission is the proper cause of action.
-K
kjakan
said:
The Space Marines should typically endeavor to complete their mission. If the mission can no longer be completed (the target of the rescue is dead) or the mission preconditions prove false (the target is not on the base, it was just an elaborate trap) then aborting the mission is the proper cause of action.
-K
Indeed, but that sort of directive is usually laid down in one of the mission's secondary objectives.
The Space Marines wouldn't just stand around and let themselves become surrounded. I could see whoever was in charge yelling "Make them pay for every step!" as bolter fire erupted from their fortified position. Space Marines aren't stupid - on the contrary. Now, they will be watching for a moment to retreat. If they do notice that the Eldar wish to speak with them and not necessarily fight, I think that would be possible but getting a Space Marine to surrender is probably not an option and if the Eldar wanted to capture them for some reason… they know that trapping them would just cost a lot of life.
One more thing. Space Marines will retreat. A Space Marine might even feign surrender for a chance to get closer to a higher priority target. They will do whatever it takes to destroy the Xenos.