Andelorian Field Engineers

The Andelorian Field Engineers are a highly specialized support unit within Imperial forces hailing from the eponymous planets of Andelor within the Corusco Cluster. Above all else, they are trained in the construction of various buildings and structures to either rapidly fortify friendly forces' positions or allow them to cross obstacles such as rivers or chasms. Though lightly armed and not extensively trained for direct combat operations, they are well capable of undertaking demolition or demining missions under fire.

## History

Unlike many other worlds of the Cluster, Andelor does not have a long-standing military tradition as its people were brought to extinction twice and were only re-colonized about a century or two before the Imperial subjugation of the Cluster. Because of this, Andelor's military forces are, comparatively speaking, quite young and have a lot to prove. They also have very little practical experience. In fact, the type of experience that Andelor has in spades is largely non-military in nature: Construction and pre-fab industries. Ever an industrious and resourceful people, they have decided to turn that into a strength.

With Andelor being a cornerstone of the Cluster's prefab industry and the widespread fortification efforts undertaken across the Cluster, Andelor was commissioned to build tens of thousands of heavy bunkers, ammunition depots and gun emplacements across dozens upon dozens of worlds, and even more in light fortifications. The individuals responsible for these tasks became true masters of their craft, able to identify favorable locations and suss out problematic terrains or soils with but a few glances, only to get the work itself done in record time. They also became experts at assessing and overseeing the extraction of local stones to create high quality Ferrocrete blends on the spot with local resources only.

It is true that the Imperial Compliance campaigns were by far and large a fast-paced, aggressive form of warfare with little use for defensive works, but even there, sieges were occasionally laid to great fortresses, and newly conquered worlds needed to be made defensible for any would-be counter-attacks from rebels or Xeno invaders as the Legionnaires themselves moved on ever forward. At those tasks, the Andelorian Field Engineers had few if any peers among mortals, exceeded only by the superhuman Astartes of the Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists. They traveled far and wide, accompanying the IInd, IVth and VIIth legions especially, and sprouting large complexes of ferrocrete, guns, tunnels and mines in their wakes.

When the Inter-Legionary Wars tore the Imperium asunder, the need for defensive expertise was suddenly made far more intense practically overnight. After this short-lived but devastating conflict ended, the Imperium entered a distinctively defensive phase, seeking to consolidate and defend its assets as its sudden weakened state made its enemies look at its borders with renewed interest. For the next ten thousand years, and with the newly-formed Imperial Guard taking the forefront of most battlefields, the expertise of the Andelorian Field Engineers was forever needed in far more places than they could ever be at any one time...

## Doctrine

As a supporting force, the Andelorian Field Engineers do not have much in the way of a direct combat doctrine. Their primary tasks are to construct fortifications - whether through prefab or making it from scratch with local resources if prefab is lacking - construct bridges, salvage and repair tanks and personnel carriers, and tend to the setting or removal of minefields. In most of these case figures, they are not intended to see direct combat, but they are nonetheless often close enough to the frontline to risk coming under fine, and so they are still trained for acceptable levels of marksmanship with their primary weapons.

This is not to say that the Field Engineers are never in the thick of battle. Because their skill in constructing buildings also naturally translate to bringing down buildings, they are often called for to perform demolition works. More often than not, said demolition needs to be undertaken whilst targeting buildings or fortifications that are still actively occupied by hostile forces. Because every problem that resists concentrated gun fire looks the same to certain Imperial commanders, this also sometimes extends to the Engineers being called in to destroy hostile super-heavy vehicles. In both cases, they make use of discretion as the better part of valor to creep closer, endeavor to rapidly gun down any nearby screening infantry, then make use of their powerful explosives on the target, mobile or not. For this specific case figure, Andelorian Field Engineers are sometimes trained to make use of Cameleoline technology and augmented with flamers.

Alternatively, the Andelorian Field Engineers are often called on to set up minefields ahead of an enemy force's advance, often uncomfortably close so. Here again, discretion and the liberal use of cameleoline technology often proves instrumental. Some larger contingent of Andelorian Field Engineers are equipped with special artillery shells which may be fired from standard Basilisk guns and that allow the mining of set areas from afar without endangering the specialists themselves.

## Wargear

* **Brimstone-pattern Flak Armor** - The standard Coruscoan Militia Brimstone-pattern Flak Armor is also used by the Andelorian Field Engineers, primarily because it is very light and therefore easy to work in for their many other tasks while still providing adequate protection for frontline soldiers. It is made up of a cuirass of foamed plasteel reminiscent of 18th century Terran cavalry and supplemented by a flat helmet of the same material and a thick greatcoat of flakweave protecting the entire body from shrapnel blasts and adverse weather.
* **Brimstone-pattern Autogun** - The simple and reliable Brimstone-pattern Autogun suits the Andelorian Field Engineers' needs well. It is compact, able to work in all sorts of adverse conditions and capable of unleashing a full-auto burst at short range which even Imperial assault shotguns have little to envy to. As the Engineers are not expected to see constant frontline combat, the inability to simply recharge charge packs is not seen as a major problem, nor is their slightly shorter range.
* **6x magazines** - Standard magazines for the Brimstone-pattern Autogun carry 30 rounds and are quite light at roughly 500 grams.
* **MkXIX 'Lucifer' pattern Melta Bombs** - Melta Bombs in general induce a localized fusion reaction to destroy heavily armored obstacles such as blast doors, ship bulkheads or simply the hull of heavy vehicles. The Mk.XIX 'Lucifer' was widely in use by the Legionnes Astartes and thus was adopted by the Andelorians as well, who quickly set up local production.
* **Mk.III Seismic Bombs** - Seismic bombs are a complex type of smart explosives created by the Novaeans of the Mechanicum Rationalis. Roughly shaped like an artillery shell, they are jammed into the soil tip first by Engineers then proceed to independently dig themselves deeper underneath a target, producing a delayed explosion that targets the fortification or building's foundations directly and causes the soil beneath it to essentially liquefy, more often than not causing at least parts of the target to collapse onto itself.
* **Cameleoline Cloaks** (*optional*) - Cameleoline cloaks are coated with an ancient refracting compound that automatically blends with its surrounding, as if the skin of the eponymous chameleon. They are not roo infrequently used by Engineers who need to crawl close to active enemy positions to blow them up.
* **1 week of nutrition bars** - The standard Andelorian nutrition bar is heavy in blended grain fibers and nuts from the world's vast fertile plains. Highly nutritious and healthy, it typical has a 'sweet and savory' taste and often features various sorts of dried fruits, often small berries.

## Vehicles

* **Golem Engineering Vehicle** - The Golem is a multipurpose engineering vehicle based on the Coruscoan Morningstar tank chassis, with its eight prominent road wheels. All models feature a turbocharged engine and a sizable dozer blade at the front to shove off debris and wrecks as well as stabilizer anchors. In place of the Morningstar's turret, the Golem is fitted with a modular hardpoint that can be equipped with several different mission modules for various engineering tasks, including towing equipment for vehicle recovery, mine-clearing apparatus, or even cranes to assist in construction work.

## Rules

***Field Engineers Squad***

 - The squad may take up to 4 mines for 10p each

 2x Seismic Bombs

 Infiltrate

 **Cryo Mines** | -
 **Melta Mine** | -

*Mines*

Mines are weapons almost as old as time, but remain nonetheless deadly to both infantry and vehicles depending on how they were designed. Cleverly placed mines can greatly advantage a defender.

*Before any player has begun deployment, note the location of your mines on a sheet of paper. Be as precise as possible to avoid conflicts, ideally noting down precise distances in inches from specific terrain or landmark. When the opposing player moves an infantry unit to a Cryo Mine’s location or a Vehicle to a Melta Mine’s location, resolve an automatic Hit using the profiles above during the movement phase.*