Going on Campaign

Turn order and Initiative

2011-02-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

There’s three main ways of organising how players take turns in a campaign ranging from the very simple simultaneous method, to the ordered method or the more complicated initiative method. Much like campaigns themselves, the simpler it is, the easier it is for the players to use but the less it offers in campaign strategy. There’s two main things to consider when deciding how the campaign turn will be ordered, the first is the order that the players will take their turns and the second is the order that their individual armies will move and battle.

The simplest way for the players to move their forces is simultaneously. Every player writes down the orders for each of their armies on a piece of paper or order sheet and then they’re all shown at the same time. Players then follow the various orders, moving armies, going into battle or performing other actions. The benefit of this method is that no player gets an advantage by moving first before another players has had chance to do something. It’s also very easy to run as all it requires is for the players to write their orders. The downside is that it can lead to situations where one army is constantly chasing another with never been able to seize the initiative and catch them. You could always add a rule that where an army is moving into an area at the same time as another is moving out, you roll to see if the escaping army manages to break off and escape or is caught and brought to battle which solves the constantly chasing problem that can occur with the simultaneous method.

The next method is ordered, where the order players take their turns is decided at the start of the campaign. Players can then either write their orders as normal or just decide on the fly what their armies will do that turn. This method can be simpler on the paperwork side but can lead to situations where one player is always last to move and often gets pinned in battles before they have chance to do anything.

The third method is initiative based, where the order players take their turns in that particular campaign turn is decided by random at the start of the campaign turn. This can be done by a simple roll off or by one person picking players tokens out of a cup. Although it requires a little bit more effort to do, it does allow players to seize the initiative which is far more realistic. The randomness of it means that one player is never always disadvantaged by going last, well as long as the dice gods don’t turn their back on them.

The other thing that you need to consider is how the individual armies making up a players force take their turns. This isn’t an issue with the simultaneous turn method as all the armies move at the same time but with the ordered and initiative methods, a little more planning is needed. With these methods, you need to decide whether all the armies in a players force move at the same time or whether the players take turns to move their armies individually. Although moving all the armies at the same time seems the simplest, it can lead to a situation where one player is able to deploy multiple armies against one single enemy army to overwhelm it. Whereas moving them individually if you’re not using orders can lead to a tit for tat situation, it can also give quite an advantage to a player who has more armies than another player as they get ‘extra’ turns.

It’s down to you what method you use, but we’d recommend using the initiative method in combination with orders written in advance of the initiative being decided along with moving all the armies in a players force at the same time. This method keeps the admin to a relative minimum whilst giving players a more realistic campaign phase with their plans to seize a vital objective or escape before becoming overwhelmed dependant on whether they gain the initiative much like real life commanders.

Supplies
(Coming soon)

Can you help? Have I missed anything? include your thoughts in the comments and I'll get them added to the page.

40K Campaigns on the Web

2011-02-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

After getting some feedback from some guys who had recently seen the Narrative Campaigns PDF, I've decided to start a brand new section to the Going on Campaign project based on other 40k campaigns going on in the blogosphere and the interwebs in general. So, I'd like to introduce two new blogs to the blogroll on the right hand side.

Cadian 113th Shock Troops

First off we have a blog by Cundo, who was kind enough to submitted a pic for the Narrative Campaigns PDF. Currently there's a node campaign running based on a map published in White Dwarf a few years ago. If you look further back, you'll also find a few small map campaigns based GW's plastic hex map pieces. It's well worth a look, especially some of Cundo's combination artwork pictures.

http://cadian113thshocktroops-cundo.blogspot.com

Khaleraaq Wars

Next up, we have a dedicated campaign blog based on a digital hex map. It's earlier days in the campaign, but the map, the general graphics and the background is truly excellent and well worth checking out. I'd love to know how the map was created, may I can get the creator to do us a tutorial, if I can figure out how to contact them. In the meantime, check it out, it's very inspiring.

http://khaleraaq-wars.blogspot.com

If you know of any campaign dedicated blogs or posts, please drop me a line at colcorbane@googlemail.com

Campaign Phase

2011-02-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

Campaigns are played in a series of turns, much like 40k. The campaign turns can be as simple as each player taking a turn to move and battle with their armies across the map to far more complicated turn phases including stages for orders, scouting, battles, reorganisation and a lot more. How complicated you want your campaign to be is down to you but the more complicated it is, the more dedicated the players need to be to see it through to the end. You might like the idea of the players having to micromanage their armies but if they don’t, they’ll soon lose interest in the campaign and it’ll come to a premature end.

The two most important factors in the turn phase are moving and battling, without these you can’t actually play a true map campaign but there’s so much more you can add into the turn phase to make things interesting. These include ….

Turn order / Initiative
Supplies
Orders
Scouting
Moving / Actions
Battles
Retreat
Reinforce / Admin

There’s many more phases you could include in your campaign turn, but these are the main ones. Quite offer, 40k campaigns differ quite largely from fantasy campaigns when it comes down to world building. Fantasy campaigns often have rules in place for building your empire by gathering resources, building settlements and raising more forces. This is because it’s typical for a number of different races to ocupy the same map battling to extend their territories and build their empires.

This is normally handled by having a specific empire building phase which is played after a number of battle campaign turns representing the winter season where the players can collect taxes from their settlements, raise and reinforce their armies ready for the next season, build new settlements or improve the one’s they already have along with other activities such as espionage and magic. Whereas with 40k, normally a single race will ocupy a planet and be fighting off other invading races, so they tend to concentrate on the fighting side of campaigns although it’s entirely acceptable to have an empire building phase in your campaigns if you want one and we’ll be looking at that later on.

Before we can even look into the mechanics of moving and battling over the campaign map, we need to look at the order players take their turns.

Turn order & Initiative

Can you help? Have I missed anything? include your thoughts in the comments and I'll get them added to the page.

Narrative Campaigns PDF

2011-02-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's finally done! The first of hopefully many editions of the Going on Campaign PDF. This first edition concentrates on narrative campaigns, explaining the different sorts of narrative campaigns and ways of scoring them, along with a few narrative suggestions for your own campaign. There's also a simple sample tree campaign for you to give a try. You can download the pdf from box.net .....

Download here

Hope you find it interesting, and it gets you going on campaign. I want to thank everyone who's contributed to Going on Campaign, it wouldn't be what it is without your help. I especially want to thank the following blogs who've contributed their time and resources to make this pdf what it is.

Admiral Drax (Proofer) - admiraldrax.blogspot.com
Yeti (Valhallen pics) - sarcophagi.blogspot.com
Big Jim (Disclaimer) - galaxyinflames.blogspot.com
John (Front cover) - plasticlegions.blogspot.com
Cundo (Tank pic)

The next edition will include territorial and node based map campaigns, so keep your eyes peeled for that. In the meantime, I'm going to get stuck into writing up the section on the turn phase for map based campaigns.

A quick update

2011-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to do a post to give you a quick update on the progress of the Narrative Campaigns pdf.

It's almost finished (Yay!), I'd probably say that it's 75% done and so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get on the blog in the next week or so. Here's what's done and what needs finishing ......

Front cover - complete
Page template & layout - complete
Main text - complete
Example images - 80% complete
Example campaign - 20% complete

So, I've just got a bit of graphics work to do and the example tree campaign and it'll be all done.

I'm still after some decent hi-res pictures to pad it out, so if you think you've got some pics that might do, drop me a line at colcorbane@gmail.com.

Keep your eyes peeled guys, it's coming real soon and once it's done, I'll get back into writing up the map campaign rules.

Front Cover Sneak Peak

2010-12-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, work and home life have been pretty manic lately. On the plus side, I have managed to make some progress on putting together the Narrative Campaigns Source Guide pdf during my lunch breaks.

As part of that process, I've just finished working on the layout template and I managed to get the front cover completed today. So, here's a sneak peek of the front cover .....

I would have preferred a more Giger'ish / 40K'ish background, but beggers can't be choosers. Big thanks to John over at Plastic Legions for providing the map pic and taking the time to rephotograph it so it was easier for me to work with.

Hope you like the sneak peak guys, more coming soon!

More maps for the showcase

2010-12-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Two more maps for the showcase, this time a computer based node campaign and a Mighty Empires map with some scratch built hives ...

Thanks to SK (Citizen Nick Hobby Center) for submitting these. As always guys, if you've got a map you'd like share, drop me a line - colcorbane@googlemail.com

Another map for the showcase

2010-12-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

I just added another map to the showcase contributed by Gewaltatron, it's another excellent example on of computer generated vector image map. Vector image maps are easy to update making running and tracking the campaign quite simple.

If you've got a campaign map you'd like to share with the community, drop me a line at colcorbane@gmail.com.

I need a little help guys

2010-11-28T05:12:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about GoC quite a bit recently, especially where it's going and what I need to do on the project. As I've mentioned in the past, one of the things I want to do is make a pdf version that's easier to follow than this blog format and can be printed out so that players can use it away from their computers.

My original plan was to finish the blog version and then turn it into a pdf version but I've been thinking about that and the downside it that it'll be a long while until the pdf comes out and it'll be a hell of a job to convert what will be a massive blog into a pdf when I get to that stage.

I've decided that I'm going to do it in parts and publish individual pdfs of the various sections as and when I get them completed. Hopefully, this will give people something usable sooner and make putting the final pdf together much easier as all I'll have to do is compile the various pdfs and pull it all together.

So, over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be reworking the Narrative Campaigns section so that I can finish the section and make a Narrative Campaigns pdf. There's a few things that I could do with a little help with guys ....

Can you have a read through the Narrative Campaigns section and see if I've missed anything, I welcome any additions, advice or constructive criticism.
I need ideas for the Narrative Suggestions page, they can be generic or race based, just add them in the comments.
Finally, I need some help with graphics for the pdf. If any of you are graphical guru's or have experience in putting pdf's together and would like to help out, please drop me a line at colcorbane@googlemail.com.

Thanks in advance guys, hopefully with your help, The Going on Campaign guide to Narrative Campaigning pdf will be coming out real soon.

Col Corbane

Ending the campaign

2010-11-27T04:21:00.000-08:00

The final key element in designing a campaign is deciding how it will end. Without setting out what the victory conditions will be, campaigns run the risk of running on for a long time with players slowly losing interest and the campaign ending in a sort of stale mate. It’s easy to think that a last man standing approach is the best way forward, but that’s not always the case. There’s a few different methods of ending a campaign including by a time limit, achieving certain victory conditions or by holding a certain about of the map.

The easiest is by time limit. Simple specify how long the campaign will last in either actual time or campaign turns. When this limit is reached, the players with the greatest number of territories, forces left or victories is declared the winner. There’s a number of advantages to using this method, the first being that it’s pretty simple to keep track off but more importantly, it lets the players know how long they’re going to be playing the campaign. Without defining an end point, it’s easy for players to become bored with the campaign and drop out, especially when things aren’t going well for them. Whereas when they know that the campaign is only going to last a few more turns or another month, they’re more likely to stick with it and see the campaign out to the end even if they’re not doing that well.

The second method is by achievements, whether it’s achieving a certain number of victories, controlling a number of key locations or a certain amount of the map. This method encourages to players to go for the objectives of the game picking their fights tactically compared with the time limit method which just encourages players to play the campaign to the end. The downside of this method is that it could take a while to achieve those victory conditions especially when campaigns turn into a stalemate. This method also doesn’t encourage players who aren’t doing that well to stick with the campaign, meaning that a player who doesn’t do well at the start might drop out early as they don’t see a chance of winning the campaign. The other important thing to note is that the victory conditions must be achievable within reason. The harder the victory conditions are to achieve, the longer the campaign will run and the more you risk the players losing interest.

The third method which is the most obvious and the hardest to achieve is a total wipeout victory. I wouldn’t recommend setting this as a sole victory condition, but if a player manages to sweep all aside, then obviously, they should win.

The best form of victory conditions are one’s that include all these methods. Simply decide on what you want your main victory condition is based on an object such as controlling key areas or a certain percentage of the map and then specify a time limit to the campaign and how the winner will be decided when the time limit is reached. This way, the players will still play the campaign tactically going after their objectives but won’t lose interest if they’re not doing well because they know when the campaign will be ending.

As a final note, it’s fine for different players to have different victory conditions as long as they’re balanced unless you’re playing a campaign with a strong narrative where unbalanced victory conditions add to the story leading to a last man come underdog type campaign. Unbalanced campaigns are fine as long as the players know what they’re getting themselves into.

The Campaign Phase

Can you help? Have I missed anything? include your thoughts in the comments and I'll get them added to the page.

Moving forward ....

2010-11-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

I thought I’d take a moment of take you all through where I see GoC going in the future. What started as a ‘hobby burnout’ project has seriously grown into a titanic project. Initially, I thought I’d just give a brief overview of campaign and a simple set of rules people could play by. Overtime, this initial vision has warped out of proportion with the realities of typing it up. Ever section I type makes me aware that there’s so much more I could write about that section and I’m often dismayed that I haven’t included everything I wanted in the section. Essentially, it’s become a balancing game between getting the information out there for people to use and making it as comprehensive as I possibly could.

So, what does it mean for you guys, well, I’m certainly not abandoning the project, I’m just reconsidering how it’s developed. I’m going to aim to get all the basic sections done, so people have the information they need to play campaigns. Once this is done, I’ll be going back to add additional pages and edit the ones that already exist. So what does this mean for you, well currently the sections have been added in a logical order, so it’s easy to follow the information, but when I start going back adding sections, they’ll be coming through in an illogical order blogwise. Also, any editing of pages won’t appear in your readers, so you’re going to have to come and check the project log to find out what pages have been updated. I’m sorry about that guys, it’s simply the downside to using a blog format for this project. I’m also going to be making some changes to the appendix sections, mainly dropping the scenarios section. The simple fact is that there’s far better resources out on the web for scenarios and when you combine that with the Battle Missions book etc, the section has become redundant.

Thanks for sticking with me on this guys, hopefully together we can build one hell of a resource.

All the best

Col Corbane

Initial forces

2010-11-23T12:16:00.000-08:00

Once you have your map all sorted, you need to decide on what forces the players will be starting the campaign with. This doesn’t mean that these will be the only forces they have through the campaign, we’ll be looking at reinforcements later on but at this point you need to decide how you want to handle the initial forces the players deploy on the map. There are three main ways of handling the forces through the campaign, either by armies, by points or by roster.

In the by armies method, you simply decide how many armies each player has to place on the map and use to manoeuvre around the map and into battle. This method is relatively simple as once the army point level per army is set for the campaign, all the players and campaign master need to do is track where these armies are on the map. Whenever opposing armies meet, the players can simply pick their armies to the point level and play a game. This method is the simplest admin wise but doesn’t take into account the fortunes and misfortunes in battle of the various armies.

The next method is by points where you decide on a total amount of points available to a player and then the player assigns various points to various armies. For example, if a play has 4500pts at the start of the campaign, they could allocate them equally into three 1500pt armies or they could have two 1500pt armies and three 500pt ones giving them a proper armies and three scouting forces. This type require more in the way of tracking but allows for the points levels to change depending on the results of various battles and ongoing recruitment during the campaign. Overall, it gives the players greater control over the forces under their command, allowing them to amalgamate small forces or build up super forces. If you do decide to use this type, then it’s best to set a minimum and maximum point level for armies to stop players fielding lots of one unit armies or one huge super unstoppable army.

The third method is by roster, where the initial total points amount is divided up between the armies and then actual rosters are written up for each army detailing exactly what’s in each army. The benefits of this method is that it allows players to actually track the fortunes of the individual squads and vehicles playing in the campaign. This method is seriously labour intensive to track and it’s only recommended where there’s a small number of very dedicated players playing in the campaign.

Once you’ve decided on what method of tracking what points or forces each army is made of, you need to decide how many points each player is starting the campaign with. This is normally the same for every player, either x amount of points or x number of armies but you could allocated different amounts to different players if your campaign was following a strong narrative such as a desperate last stand or if a player has an advantage due to the map resources they control at the start of the campaign.

It’s also important to realise that these are just the starting forces, over the course of the campaign, their forces could diminish due to losses in battle or because of various events. They could also be replaced over the course of the campaign by the recruitment of new forces which we’ll look at later on. Once the map and initial forces have been decided, all that remains in setting up the campaign is to decide how it will end.

Ending the campaign

Can you help? Have I missed anything? include your thoughts in the comments and I'll get them added to the page.

Starting positions

2010-11-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

Where players start on the campaign map can drastically effect how the campaign plays. When players are positioned very close together, the campaign takes on a cut throat feel from the start with conflicts starting almost immediately. Conversely, when players are well spaced apart, then the campaign takes on a more laidback feel with payers taking time to manoeuvre into battle and out manoeuvre the other players.

When considering placing starting positions on the map, there’s a few factors you need to consider ...

Map size – the larger the map, the more space player will have to manoeuvre and seize ground before engaging the other players in battle.
Number of players – the more players there are, the less space there is to manoeuvre and the less campaign turns there are before players start battling.
Starting territories – player can start in one point and expand from there or start with a number of territories.
Map details – players that start close to a number of valuable territories will have an advantage to those who start in barren areas.

When creating a campaign, you should bear all these factors in mind when deciding where players start on the map. A small map with lots of players will result in a very bloody campaign, especially if players start with only one or a few territories. You’ll find that players quickly lose their territories and drop out from the game if they’re attacked by multiple players or have a bad run on their initial battles. On the flipside, campaigns with large maps and few players and an unbalanced amount of resources in certain areas can lead to some players gaining an unfair advantage especially as they have plenty of time to capitalise on these resources whilst other players take campaign turns to move across the map to engage them.

The best approach for a balanced campaign is to have the starting places distributed evenly across the map, all within reach of resources so that every player has a chance to expand their territories and seize resources before they engage the other players. This ensures that no one particular player gains an advantage in resources or is wiped out of the campaign prematurely.

Campaign masters can either pick where the players start on the map which works well for campaigns with a strong narrative, such as imperial players being grouped at one side of the map whilst a combined force of chaos and ork players being grouped at the other side of the board. This then sets the up the narrative of an invading force moving across the map to attach defended position which suites many invasion narratives.

Alternatively, starting points can be assigned to the map and then players can be choose where on the map they start. In this case, it’s best to randomise the order that players choose their starting positions which can be done by rolling off or drawing lots if there’s lots of players in the campaign. This style of starting point allocation does lead to a more randomised distribution of forces which might not fit a narrative that well, but it does give the players a chance to seize starting points that they think will give them a tactical advantage due to what map details and other players are near their starting positions.

Which ever way you choose is down to you and how you want the campaign to run, as long as it's fair on all the players involved and they know what sort of setup it's going to be, you shouldn't have any problems. Once you’ve got your map designed and assigned your starting positions, it’s time to look at what forces the players will start the campaign with.

Initial forces

Can you help? I'm after suggestions for any ways of setting up the initial forces, include them in the comments and I'll get them added to the page.

Gearing up

2010-11-13T02:10:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I last updated GoC with life getting in the way and GoC getting put well and truly on the backburner. I hoping now life is sorting itself out, I'll be able to start getting sections added.

A big plus is that with my new job, I've got net access at dinner time and I eat my lunch at my desk, so theoretically, I've got five hours a week of dead time that I can dedicate to GoC, and so that's the plan. The other advantage of my new job is that I've got access to a wealth of design and publishing tools, which means in the future, I can look at publishing a pdf version of GoC.

So, good times ahead, keep your eyes peeled for more sections coming soon.

Types of map details

2010-05-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Once you know how you're going to define the details on your map whether it's by a grid overlaid map or with their own borders on a freeform map, it's time to start detailing your map. The types of things that can be classed as map details are anything that would effect the armies playing in the campaign.

The effect can either be on a strategic level affecting armies movement and interaction on the campaign map or on a combat level, affecting armies on the tabletop. In this section, we're just going to be looking at how these details can affect the armies playing in the campaign at a strategic level, we'll be looking at the tabletop level in a later section.

These strategic details fall into two broad categories, either natural like woods, rivers, mountains etc or man made like cities, roads, defensive lines etc. When you're designing your map, it's best to start with the natural features of the map building up the landscape before adding the man (or alien) made details. There's a whole host of details you can include on your map to build up landscape, including things like .....

Mountains - These can reduce armies movements whether by half etc on freeform maps or requiring some sort of test before movement even including things like dangerous terrain tests where you risk losing X amount of points for failing tests. You could also ban armies that include tanks etc from moving through mountainous terrain.
Woodlands - Much like the mountains, woodlands would restrict the movement of armies, especially those containing vehicles although they're less likely to be dangerous to armies moving through them.
Flatlands - Include things like plains, rolling hills and even deserts, generally these don't affect an army moving through them in any way.
Marshlands - These act like woodlands, restricting the movement of armies especially those containing vehicles. You could also consider marshes as dangerous terrain.
Rivers / Lakes - These could act as a barrier to movement forcing armies to use specific fording points or bridges, thus making these points strategically important or simply work to slow down an armies movement.
Seas - These are mainly impassable to armies but you could include ports on your map and allow forces that control a port to allow to move armies across sea regions.
Miscellaneous - There's all sorts of other terrain features you can add to your map including things like arctic or volcanic regions and don't forget that there's alien terrain features as well and these can be as weird and wonderful as you like. (If you have any suggestions, add them in the comments)

Whereas natural map details tend to affect the movement of forces across the map, man made map details tend to have a more strategic often in the form of defensive or tactical bonuses. What sort of bonuses these details give are down to how complicated you want to make your campaign. Common man made details include ...

Roads - Obviously, these would allow armies to move more quickly around the map. You could either double the freeform movement rate or allow them to move through more grids per turn as long as they follow the path of a road.
Defensive lines / fortresses - These would offer an advantage defensively, which is a lot easier to represent on the table top but on a strategic level, this could be represented by reducing the points lost by an army battling in this area etc.
Cities - Another defensive structure but you could also include subsistence bonuses if you're using supply rules.
Ports / Airfields / Starports - These could be used to allow rapid redeployment of forces and resupply in the form of reinforcements.
Factories - These could allow units to repair vehicles, increase the amount of reserves a player gets in the form of reinforcements.
Comms centres - big dishes, towers etc. These could allow sneak peaks at enemy rosters or planned moves, improve scouting, reserve rolls, orbital attacks etc.
Nuclear or Post-Nuclear Zones - Man-made, though not necessarily impassable. However, moving through such zones would incur significant penalties to the armies from rad sickness or even outright loss.
Variable Frequency Zones - Man-caused or natural as a result of geological/atmospheric composition. Armies can move through as normal, but they just can't communicate very well. Possible result is random movement direction of large formations as their orders are continually scrambled whilst moving through.
Daemonic Influenced Zones - Could be just about anything. Assuming this world is very nearly under complete Warp-control, it is entirely possible armies could end up - 1. fighting each other due to daemon influence 2. suffering a number or combination of effects of other zones as reality warps around them 3. completely impossible for normal men to cross or enter 4. army suffers extremely slowed movement as the natural defence reaction would be to tighten defences and communication to stave off influence. Basically, anything out of reality as we're talking serious Warp-control here.
Miscellaneous - There's all sorts of man made details that you could include, from hospitals, to monuments to missile silos. Your only limited by your imagination and how detailed you want you ruleset to be. (If you have any suggestions, add them in the comments)

When laying out the map detail, it’s important to distribute the details evenly so that no one particular player gains an advantage over the rest. This doesn’t mean that every player should have a wood, city, defensive river etc. It’s fine to clump various details in certain areas, thus creating expanses of industrial areas, heavy woodland or mountainous areas, as long as each area has its own advantages to players starting in that area for a balanced campaign.

For campaigns that follow a particular narrative such as an invading force moving towards an industrial centre, then it’s fine to make the map layout more unbalanced as long as you balance the campaign in another way such as more forces to the player who has the lesser resources from their starting position.

Once you've fleshed out your map and sorted out your basic map rules, it's time to start looking at where people will start on the map.

Starting positions

Can you help? I'm after suggestions for any other map details and their potential affects on the armies passing through them, include them in the comments and I'll get them added to the page.

Detailing maps

2010-04-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Whereas with territorial or node campaigns, the map just serves as a backdrop to the sections or node network superimposed on to it, with a true map campaign, the actual details on the map effect the campaign both at a campaign and battle level depending on how detailed you want your campaign.

With this in mind, you need to decide what features on the map with effect your campaign. Before you can do that, there's a crucial decision that needs to be made and that is whether it should be a grid map or a freeform one.

Grid maps are simply maps with either a square or hex grid superimposed over them. The grid serves as a guide to movement and position. You simply track which grid an army is in and it's movement is based on how many spaces it can move per campaign turn from one adjacent space to another. Individual spaces can also be given various effects to represent wooded or urban areas and these affect any army in that space.

(From http://www.welshpiper.com - Used without permission)

Freeform maps are a bit more organic, they don't have grids to guide movement or define what areas are affected by what terrain. Instead, armies can move around the map much like models do in a game of 40K. How far they can move in a campaign turn depends on their movement rate and the effect of any terrain they might be passing through. It's quite common for various features on the map to have an area of effect, for example, any army that moves within half an inch of a wood is slowed down, so without the definition of a grid, you'll need to decide what areas are affected by what terrain. You'll also have to decide things like how close two armies have to get to each other before they battle, do they meet or just move within an inch of each other?

(From http://electronicsetc.50.forumer.com - Used without permission)

Freeform maps are far more realistic than grid maps but they do require a lot more work in setting up and tracking armies during the campaign. As always, which you decide to use is down to what you want out of the campaign and how much effort you want to put into setting up and running the campaign. Once you've decide which type you're going to use, you can then start adding the detail.

Types of map details

Types of maps

2010-02-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

It may seem obvious, but the map is the key element in a map campaign. With a territorial map campaign, the map can be quite simple, as long as the territories are defined with nice clear borders, the actual map they're displayed on doesn't really effect the campaign. It's the same with node campaigns, as long as the nodes and the paths between them are clearly defined, the actual map is just a backdrop.

Now, with a true map campaign, the map becomes very important because it's actually the details on the map that effect the campaign. They're the details that let you know which areas are urban, which are grassland, which are impassible seas or rivers. So, with a true map campaign, the devil really is in the detail, and the more detailed your map, the more detailed the campaign.

What you use for the map is down to you, it can be as simple as a sheet of A4 with some woods, rivers, mountains and cities drawn on it, or it could be a genuine map from the real world adapted for a futuristic campaign.

You could use an ordinance survey map to represent a region or a map of a medieval city to represent an urban area for a cityfight campaign. As long as the map suits your purpose and is clearly understandable, it's fine. So with this in mind, it's well worth taking your time to find the right map to fit your campaign as it really is the most important part of planning your map campaign.

City street plan map

Ordnance Survey map

Medieval city map

Detailing maps

Territorial campaign - Kentack VII

2010-01-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

Here's an excellent territorial campaign for three players written by Sovietspace and first published on his blog The Astronomican. It was originally designed for Eldar, IG and Black Templars using both 40k and Epic, but it's easily tweaked to use other races and game systems.

Kentack VII and her moons

Late in the year 996.M41, the previously peaceful world of Kentack VII was the site of a bitter struggle between three mighty forces. What began as a straightforward compliance action by the Black Templars Adeptus Astartes, was turned on its head by the sudden arrival of the Eldar of Cairas Mythar. The Xenos intervention signalled that the world of Kentack VII was of great strategic importance, and would ultimately be a place of death and suffering for all concerned...

The Kentack system was located in Segmentum Tempestus, around 9 months rimward warp travel of the Segmentum Capital at Bakka. Although consisting of 11 desolate planets, an early Imperial exploratory team singled out Kentack VII as suitable for human habitation, and the world had remained under imperial control for tens of thousands of years. Despite having no natural water deposits and a barren landscape, Kentack VII’s mineral wealth ensured the construction of a plethora of mining colonies and even a few scattered Hive Cities, whose hard pressed inhabitants refined the rocks harvested out on the plains.

By M41, generations of industrial activity had resulted in a thick smog that enveloped the planet, leaving it a dim and depressing place to exist, as well as hampering air travel to and from the surface. Continuing regardless, the mining operations became of such importance that a Space Dock was constructed on one of Kentack VII’s moons, along with orbital defences, and a permanent Imperial Guard presence was installed on the planet. Ultimately the planet paid its tithes to the God-Emperor and thus remained a largely uneventful little place. This was until Victor Quinn assumed the role of Planetary Governor.

As head of the wealthiest mining family, Victor Quinn assumed the role of Planetary Governor upon the death of the previous incumbent. For the first 20 years of his reign, life on the planet continued much as it had for thousands of years. However, at some point the ruling class of Kentack were gradually and quietly converted to a cult known as the Followers of the Farther. Initially portrayed as another branch of the Imperial Creed, the few Ecclesiarchical priests on the planet paid it little mind; until it was too late.

At the beginning of 995.M41 warp storms began to trouble much of Segmentum Tempestus, and the guiding light of the Astronomican waxed and waned. On Kentack, contact with the Imperium became intermittent and unreliable. As if foreseeing these events, Quinn and the Followers of the Farther initiated plans to break away from Imperial control and a successful covert campaign saw the agents of the Adptus Arbites and Adptus Administratum quietly removed and eliminated. However, to take total control Quinn still needed to ensure the loyalty of the population of Kentack and, perhaps more crucially, the Praetorian 5th, who were the Imperial Guard regiment stationed on the planet at that time.

Taking to the public address system on the eve of New Year 996.M41, Quinn announced to the population that a great shadow was about to fall over the galaxy. Fabricating a false tale of an Imperium in ruins, Quinn convinced the people that the Followers of the Farther where the true incarnation of the Imperial Church and that the Emperor had in fact sent the current series of Warp Storms to protect Kentack from strife. Fantastically, the velvet tipped words of the governor were convincing enough to even persuade the Officers and Commissars of the Praetorian 5th, who moved man Kentack’s defences. With the Planet under his complete control Quinn and the Followers began to work toward other, darker, ends.

However, unfortunately for Quinn, the cessation of exports from Kentack did not go unnoticed. Segmentum Command at Bakka learned of Quinn’s Heresy. Coincidentally a battle group of Black Templars were less than a months travel from Kentack, assembling to undertake a new crusade. Asked to re-establish the Pax Imperialis, the Templars took to their Strike Cruisers within days and entered the warp.

Upon arrival in the Kentack system, the Templars quickly launched an unforgiving assault on the planets main airfield, catching the Praetorian garrison completely off guard. Finding themselves under attack, the Praetorians resisted with maximum force, but the Marines quickly gained a foothold. In response Quinn quickly began to mobilise his forces, and war was afoot. However, even as the initial assault was happening, Alien forces were arriving, and would proceed to make the situation much, much more complicated.

Under the direction of Farseer Idranel, the Eldar of Cairas Mythar used the commotion of the Templar assault to gain a control of the small orbital station of Saint Octia’s dock. It was crucial to the Eldar that this planet be theirs as soon as possible, for they knew the true nature of the Followers of the Farther, and the horrors they were seeking to aid. They knew that the Great Devourer was coming.

Barely a year before, the Seer Council of Cairas Mythar had foreseen that imminent arrival of Hive Fleet Leviathan, which would tear into Segmentum Tempestus by the end of 997.M41. They had seen that the Followers in fact formed a small part of the vanguard of this invasion and that the ‘Farther’ to which they referred was no less that a Genestealer Patriarch, who had infiltrated Kentack generations ago. Indeed Quinn himself was descended from this hideous creature, and was a powerful Hybrid Magus in his own right. This was the reason that his words were able to overpower the minds of population of Kentack and the Commissars and Officers of the Praetorian 5th. In a story repeated on several of the most isolated worlds in Tempestus, the Followers were to ensure that Kentack would fall to the Tyranid fleets without a shot being fired, gifting them crucial recourses with which to jump-start their invasion.

But the reason that the Eldar chose to intervene on Kentack was deeper still. They knew the planet by another name entirely, that of Chen’lack. Ancient beyond reckoning, Chen’lack was a bastion world of the old Eldar Empire, designed to guard the fringes of Eldar space from its enemies. To this end the planet had been heavily reconstructed by the bonesingers of old, and at its heart lay an Engine of Vual, one of immense power. Forgotten after the Eldar fall, and revealed to the Seers of Cairas Mythar, Idranel knew that if they could secure it then his forces could set a trap for at least some of the approaching Hive Fleet. Whether it would be enough to blunt the invasion or not, he could not discern, but he knew they had to try…

Colour Sergeant Williams slammed home another magazine and returned the lasgun to his shoulder, which was already bruised from an hour of rifle firing. The small garrison of Airfield Primus had done its best to hold on against the black clad monsters, but it was clear that their time was almost up. Hope had been lost the moment Lieutenant Wilkins’ fire-support team had been brutally ripped apart by bolter fire and chainswords. Without those Autocannons there wasn’t much the rest of the Praetorians could do against the ceramite armoured Black Templars.

With that thought Williams faltered, for the second time during the battle. Black Templars? But they were Astartes of the Emperor, why were they massacring loyal Imperial soldiers? He quickly remembered the words of the great Quinn, his revelation that the Imperium was tearing itself apart with civil war, but it suddenly just didn’t feel right. Why was this happening?

As he looked around him however his doubts quickly faded. As he saw 2nd Platoon engage the enemy, saw Lewick’s Squad cut down by a single Astartes, saw Commissar Thorn fend off three Marines single-handed, he decided only loyal soldiers of the Emperor could die with such heroism. The enemy must be traitors. And, as he was decapitated by a Chainsowrd he never saw coming, Colour Sergeant Williams was convinced that what he was doing was right...

Campaign Rules

(It is important to note that these rules are designed for Eldar, IG and Black Templar armies using 40K and Epic, however, with a little tweaking it could be used for any army in the 40k universe).

Starting Locations

Eldar: St. Octia's Station
IG: Praetorian 5th HQ
Templars: Airfield Primus

Basic Rules

To begin, have all players roll off to see who goes first, second, third etc. This order will remain throughout the campaign.
Moving off from their starting point, players may move into an adjacent territory to one they already own (unless location rules state otherwise).
To capture a territory occupied by another player, simply declare you are moving into it and then consult the location special rules to determine what sort of game is played. Game size (i.e. points limits) is agreed between players before the game begins. The winner of the resulting game wins the territory.
Blue lines donate space routes, which can be travelled by any army. Should a space route be used to invade a territory, then a planetstrike game should be played. Note there is a space route from St. Veyda's Dock & the Praetorian 5th HQ. Also note that, despite the fact that it is linked to the planet on the map, St. Veyda's Obrital station may only be attacked directly by adjoining space routes or St. Veyda's Dock.
Campaign play continues either until a predetermined date or until two of the three armies have captured their vital locations (see location special rules). The person with the most territory points is then declared the winner.

Location Special Rules
*note that unnamed territories with the symbol that looks like a cracker are Towns, and unnamed territories without a symbol are Plains.

The Plains

Being largely a bleak and inhospitable planet, Kentack had much to offer in the way large open spaces, be it for leisurely walks in the near-poisonous atmosphere, holiday travel or general carnage and mayhem. Only really to be used as a method to get to somewhere more important, control of the plans nonetheless proved vital in the war of 996.

When attacking a plain, roll a D6. On the roll of a 1 play a game of 40k, on a 2-6 play a game of Epic.
1pt

The Towns

Outside the Hives, settlements are rare - the expense of importing vital resources like water and foodstuffs often out weighed any possible gain. That said, some of the larger mining stations had small supporting settlements, that often became the focus of fighting in the area.

When attacking a town, roll a D6. On the roll of a 1-2 play a game of 40k, on a 3-6 play a game of Epic.
1pt

Airfield Primus

Site of the initial Templar landing on Kentack, the Airfield became the base of their operations for the duration of the war. The extensive airfields and runways allowed the Marines to deploy to any point on the planet, giving them the element of surprise that the Astartes so loved. However, Kentack’s fraught atmosphere, worsened by the increasing Warp tension, meant that any airborne travel was hazardous, and ships often crashed en-route, for no explicable reason.

Control of the Airfield allows a player to occupy any plain or town on the map, playing a Planetstrike mission to gain control of the area. However, if claiming a territory in this way, the player must roll a D6. A roll of 3-6 means the attack goes ahead as usual. A roll of a 1-2 means that a terrible accident has occurred, and no attack is made. The player may do nothing further in the campaign turn.
2pts

Ecclesiarchical Palace

Keen not to cause unrest amongst the population, nor to give any visible sign of their treachery, Quinn and the Followers left Kentack’s Ecclesiarchical Palace largely untouched throughout their reign (although the preists themesleves were slaughtered, naturally). Upon learning this, the Black Templars made it their primary mission to sucure the Palace and the artificts within, to potect them from any possible harm. They vowed that the bones of Saint Octia would not fall into the hands of any enemy.

When attacking the Palace roll a D6. On a 1-2 play a Cityfight game, 3-4 play a 40k game, 5-6 an Epic game. This is the Templars’ PRIMARY OBJECTIVE.
3pts (8pts for the Black Templars)

Hive Primus

Once the jewel in Kentack’s crown, Hive Primus used to be a relatively civilized place to live. As with any typical Imperial Hive, the glory and splendour of the Spire realms were contrasted with the dull and depressing drudgery of the middle and lower Hives, where life was a simple cycle of working to survive. Home to some 4.5 billion citizens, the Followers of the Farther were keen to keep this valuable bio-resource intact, and as such constructed huge defensive walls and bastions; as much to keep the people contained within as to keep any enemy out. The result was a besieger’s nightmare of dense killzones and murderous streets.

Hive Primus can only be attacked once all three Hab P territories have been captured. The Grand Assault Mission is always played at this location.
7pts

Habitation Blocks P/a, P/b & P/c

Though often centrally planned, Hives normally sprawl out of their original confines as their populations grow, Hive Primus being no exception. Vast tracks of hab blocks and supporting infrastructure stretched for miles in every direction around the main Hive spire, and this was where most of Kentack’s citizens lived their pointless, unfulfilling lives. Although not designed with defence in mind, the very nature of condensed streets and alleyways made the Hab regions a nightmare to take and hold. This situation was not helped by the murderous hab gangs, who eked out a living, even as war raged around them.

Cityfight games are always played in the habs.
Hab Gangs: Any 1 rolled for difficult or dangerous terrain tests will result in the unit loosing D3 models to stealthy Hab gangs. Monstrous Creatures, Independent Characters or Vehicles are not affected.
2pts each

Hive Secondus

Although significantly smaller than Hive Primus, Hive Secondus proved to be incredibly important during the war for one primary reason. Fearing the retribution of the Emperor’s forces, Quinn and his entourage quietly relocated there, hoping to escape attention for as long as possible. Messages were covertly dispatched to the brain-washed Praetorian 5th, who made the rescue of their beloved leader their highest priority.

Citfight games are always played in Hive Secondus. This is the Praetorian 5th’s PRIMARY OBJECTIVE.
4pts (8pts for the Praetorian 5th)

Habitation Blocks S/a & S/b

Being constructed in the late M36., Hive Secondus was significantly younger than the Primary Hive. As a result its hab blocks were somewhat better planned and often contained wide boulevards and wooded squares. It was therefore a surprise to many that, as war neared, the populous descended into even more violent gang warfare than that seen in the Habs of Primus, as mans basic instincts were revealed.

When attacking a hab, roll a D6, on a 1-2 play a 40K game, on a 3-6 play a Cityfight game. Hab Gangs rules apply.
2pts each

Hive Secondus Habitation Block S/c (The Tunnels)

Another, little known reason, for Quinns flight to Secondus was his knowledge that he could return to his capital quickly if he needed. He was aware of an incredibly long tunnel system that stretched from a secret opening in Hab Block S/c, right into the heart of Hive Primus’ Spire. Constructed by a mad Lord Governor, Rector the Wise, some three thousand years ago, its existence had long since fallen out of common knowledge. It was a useful card that Quinn intended to keep up his sleeve.

When attacking Hab S/c, roll a D6, on a 1-2 play a 40K game, on a 3-6 play a Cityfight game. The player who controls Hab S/c may launch an attack on Hive Primus, by passing the need to occupy it’s surrounding habs. However, due to the size of the tunnel, no vehicles or walkers may be used in the assault.
2pts

Kentack Fabrication Blocks

In addition to its mining operations, Kentack had a small manufacturing sector, which supplied industrial equipment to its own Hives and nearby systems. Sanctioned and co-run by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Fab Blocks encompassed many miles of factories and workhouses, engaged in relentless construction. The faction that eventually gained control of this region was able to harness these resources to bolster their own forces.

Cityfight games are always played in the Fab Blocks. The player who controls the Fab Blocks is allowed a ‘free’ 50pts in any 40k game, or a ‘free’ 100pts in any Epic game
4pts

Kentack VII Spaceport

Previously a busy harbour, filled with bulk haulers loading up on Kentack’s mineral exports, the increasing Warp Storms meant that the Spaceport played little part in the wars overall course. Still, it was one of a only a few reliable routes onto the orbital stations, and the powerful assets contained therein.

When attacking the Spaceport (expect from a space route) roll a D6. On a 1-2 play Cityfight, 3-4 play 40k, 5-6 play Epic.
4pts

Mining Post Xc-03

For the population of Kentack, Mining Post Xc-03 was much like any one of the several hundred mining posts that could be found dotted over the planet. It had been in place for several generations and workers had successfully drilled many miles below the surface, following a particularly strong adamantium vein. Little could they know that they were but scant meters from unearthing the immense Engine of Vual, before war came and drilling ceased. For the Eldar, locating this devise was an objective of all consuming importance

When attacking the Mining Post, a 40k game is always played. This the Eldar’s PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
2pts (8pts for the Eldar)

Praetorian 5th HQ

Positioned far away from most areas of habitation (in order to create detachment between the Guard and the population) the HQ of the Praetorian 5th was a fortress befitting any garrison force. Though far from any existing front line, the Praetorians had ensured they were well equipped, and boasted a full infantry regiment as well as supporting armour, even a number of Superheavy detachments. As soon Kentack was assaulted the Praetorian 5th sallied forth from their palisades, ready to rid the world of the enemies of the Emperor. It was tragic that so many of them died whilst unwittingly furthering the cause of the Xenoform Quinn, and it is a sin that the 5th seek to absolve, even to this day.

When attacking the HQ (expect from a space route) roll a D6. On a 1-2 the Grand Assault Mission is played, on a 3-6 a Cityfight game is played.
2pts

Space Routes - Any attack launched using a blue ‘Space Route’ results in a Planetstrike Mission being played.

St. Octia’s Station

Cited on the smaller of Kentack’s two moons, St. Octia’s station was home to the planets defensive weapon battery, designed to form the last line of defence against any hostile Space Fleet. It proved to be no match for Eldar ship technology however, whose vessels slipped past its defences unseen, and proceeded to capture the station without much fuss. Its guns were not wasted however, as the Eldar Guardian teams put the Mon-Keigh weapons to good use.

Possession of St. Octia’s Station allows the controlling player to launch a preliminary bombardment at the start of any 40k game, or a free Orbital Bombardment (with the stats bellow) in any Epic game.
Orbital Bombardment - 3BP - Macro Weapon
2pts

St. Veyda’s Dock

Similarly to the Spaceport, St. Veyda’s Dock was of little use given that most of the combatants already had their forces on the surface of Kentack. However its advanced communication arrays did allow army commanders greater accuracy in coordinating their forces on the ground, an asset that gave the upper hand in many battles.

When attacking St Veyda’s Dock (expect from a space route) a 40k game is always played. While controlling St Veyda’s Dock, a player may add or subtract 1 from any of their reserve rolls.
1pt

St. Veyda’s Orbital Station

Taking up the majority of Kentack’s largest moon, St Veyda’s Obrital Station was almost a city in its own right. Constantly looking onto the surface of the planet, the Station was mostly used as a launch pad for strikes onto the surface, though these faced similar difficulties to those lunched from Airfield Primus.

When attacking St Veyda’s Station (expect from a space route) an Epic game is always played. Control of the Station allows a player to occupy any plain or town on the map, playing a Planetstrike mission to gain control of the area. However, if claiming a territory in this way, the player must roll a D6. A roll of 3-6 means the attack goes ahead as usual. A roll of a 1-2 means that a terrible accident has occurred, and no attack is made. The player may do nothing further in the campaign turn
3pts

End of Rules

Design notes - So there you have it guys! This is the first campaign that I have entirely written myself and I would love to hear any questions or comments you guys have, either to clarify or improve the rules.

Creator - Sovietspace

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Fighting Withdrawal

2010-01-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

Fighting Withdrawal

The heretical betrayal bringing back some of their darkest memories, several detachments were so enraged they refused to fall back, their righteous fury lending strength of might to their arms and accuracy to their fire and allowing them to beat back their attackers. Having fallen back to their waiting landing pads, they await planetary extraction.

Your forces have fought their way free of a scathing ambush. Extraction is imminent, your transports have reported an estimated maximum ETA of 7 tics. Enemy contact expected from all fronts imminently. Prepare yourselves.

Setup

Place a skyshield landing pad (or any equivalent terrain piece) central to the board. Defender sets up all terrain. All Defender (Loyalist) forces must be deployed within 12" of the landing pad. Defender may not use any reserves (all units are already present). Attacker deploys nothing. Attacker takes the first turn. Defender may sieze the initiative normally.

Forces - Standard force organization chart

Scenario Special Rules

The defender has successfully fallen back to their primary extraction point. Appropriate super heavy flyers are inbound to extract the detachment. The flyer is a thunderhawk if Space Marines. It can carry up to 30 marines in power armour (terminators count for 2). An entire unit must be extracted at one time.
The thunderhawk is inbound from orbit (Modified Reserves) and will arrive on turn 3 (4+), 4 (3+), 5 (2+), 6 (auto).
Units must be able to move within 2" of the thunderhawk to embark, which they may do according to the rules below.
If the landing pad is shielded, the thunderhawk will not be able to land, embark, and depart in the same turn. It may do any two of these actions in a single turn on a shielded pad.
If the landing pad is not shielded, the thunderhawk may land, embark any available units, and depart in the same movement phase.
If the thunderhawk does not land on the pad, it will be forced to land during 1 turn, load during the following, and take off in the next turn (meaning it could land on 3, load on 4, take off on 5)
Landing pad operates per Planetstrike Book.
Any attacker units may enter the board from any table edge on turn 1. No more than 3 units may enter from the same edge.
Army attacker units in reserve may outflank if desired.
Attacker units will fall back towards the closest board edge.
Defender units will back towards the landing pad. They automatically regroup once there.
If a thunderhawk is destroyed or departs the board, another from the squadron will arrive the following turn automatically.

Mission Objective

This mission can be played with two mission objectives. Kill points are used for those wishing to have a detailed account of how much they "won" by. In this method, defender units extracted are worth one kill point to the defender. Defender units left on the table at the end of the game are considered destroyed by the attacker. The other method less complex. If the defender gets more than 1/2 of his units extracted, he has achieved a win, less than 1/2 but more than 0 will achieve a draw, and 0 units off will achieve an attacker victory. This method is more advantageous to the defender by making it more difficult for the attacker to achieve a victory.

Reserves - Standard reserves for all units placed in reserve. For campaigns, defender reserves should be limited to those available at the end of the previous mission.

Game Length - Non-standard game length. The game will last 7 turns or until there are no defender units left alive on the field, which ever comes first.

Design Notes - This mission was designed to follow the Ambushed and Betrayed mission in a narrative campaign setting. This mission was designed to show the forces of the defender if they achieved a draw or win in the previous mission. This mission is extremely unbalanced, and should regularly result in a win or draw for the defender. This mission places the same constraints on the defender as the Breakout mission. Additional considerations should be made to whether the super heavy transport can shoot/be shot at. In play testing this was ruled out (we found that more fun at <1500 points). If it can shoot, this mission quickly becomes too unbalanced and the points cost/benefits afforded to the attacker should be re-examined.

Creator - sunflame

Back to Scenarios appendix

Did you like this scenario? anything you'd suggest or change? let us know what you think, add it in the comments.

Map - Faaris IV (Territorial map)

2009-12-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

Here's an territorial campaign map for 2 to 3 players from the excellent campaign blog Faaris IV (in Italian).

Created by Paolo Bertoncini (Grande Maestro)

Did you like this map? can suggestions? add them in the comments.

Ladder Campaign - Tainted Rebellion

2009-12-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

Tainted Rebellion

"A planet has rebelled against the Imperium. Chaos has started to take it’s hold on the population. And now that the Planetary Governor had formally told of his planet’s separation and movement towards the powers of Chaos. The skies are filled with strange Wrap happenings making communication is next to impossible except with the most powerful Vox Arrays"

This is a long narrative campaign for two players where a Space Marine Company has been readied to attack the central government and remove the Governor. Other Imperial forces are on their way to reinforce the Space Marines.

Victory conditions - Victory is decided in the final climatic battle. Make sure to focus your energy there.

Forces notes - Imperial Inquisitorial Forces (Codex:Daemonhunters, Codex:Witch Hunters), Space Marines (Codex:Space Marines, Codex:Black Templars, Codex:Dark Angels, Codex:Space Wolves, Codex:Blood Angels), Imperial Guard (Codex:Imperial Guard),Chaos Daemons (Codex:Chaos Daemons), Chaos Space Marines (Codex:Chaos Space Marines), Traitor Guard (Codex:Imperial Guard) Note: The Traitor Guard may use standard Imperial Guard models, as the planet has only be consumed by Chaos for a short while, but this shouldn’t stop anyone from converting a Traitor Guard army solely for this campaign.

A note on points : The games/missions in this campaign do not have point limits, so the players are able to choice how many points will be used each mission. The rules and expansions will give you a guide to how many points you should be using per game, but again, it’s all up to the players involved.

A note on missions : This campaign draws missions from many different rulesets. To properly play this campaign you should ensure access to a Warhammer 40000 5th Edition Rulebook and the Planetstrike, Cities of Death and Apocalypse expansions.

Added Rules : Draws/Ties: If both sides draw then not outcome will come into effect, unless otherwise explained. Minimal Support: Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines may not take Land Raiders of any type. Imperial Guard and Traitor Guard have a 0-1 restriction of Leman Russ Tanks of any type. These restrictions can be changed/removed by completing mission objectives. Combined Forces: When a mission forces rule show show two forces of the same side (ie. Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard), the points for the forces must split evenly between the two or three forces (ie. in a 2000 point game with Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard on one side, the Chaos Space Marines may use 1000 points and the Traitor Guard may use the other 1000 points). In the case of uneven points the players who control the forces may choose which force may have the one extra point.

Scenarios

1. Attack on the Governor

The Space Marines attack the central government complex, which is defended by Traitor Guard, in order to remove and execute the Planetary Governor. The Space Marines will attack from their Strike Cruiser via Drop Pods into the capital city’s government district and fight their way though to find the Governor’s Quarters.

Planetstrike Mission: Planetfall (Planetstrike: page 14)
Forces : Chaos Traitor Guard (defending) versus Space Marines (attacking).
Added Rules :
Quick Insertion: The Space Marines are attacking fast and precisely, thus will not have enough time to deploy heavier units such as vehicles. The Space Marine may not deploy any vehicle units (except for Drop Pods, Dreadnoughts (in Drop Pods) and Land Speeders).
Drop Pod Assault: All Space Marine units must arrive in a Drop Pod if possible, otherwise they must Deepstrike. Space Marine Bikes are the only unit that can use the Drop Zone.
Escape: The Planetary Governor plans to escape the wrath of the Space Marines. The Chaos player must chose the Escape Hatch Stratagem. When the Escape Hatch is revealed the Planetary Governor is thought to have used it to escape. The building is considered to be the Governor’s Quarters.

Outcome:
If the Space Marines win the mission, they are able to establish a beachhead. This means the attackers retain the first turn for next game. If the Space Marines have control of the Governor’s Quarters at the end of the game they find the Governor has left and also find he has been dealing with Chaos Space Marines. The Forward Elements rule becomes D3+2 non-vehicle units.

If Chaos wins the mission, the Space Marines are forced to fight without a strong grip on the complex and may not do very well if enemy reinforcements arrive. This means the Chaos Space Marines will get the first turn in the next game. If the Space Marines do not have control of the Governor’s Quarters they do not know he has left and consider him to be somewhere else, being none the wiser about the Chaos Space Marines in the area. The Forward Elements rule becomes D3-1 non-vehicle units.

2. Chaos reveals itself

The Chaos Space Marines reveal themselves and attack the Space Marines, who are in pursuit of the Governor. Caught by surprise, the Space Marines are forced to setup a vox-link with the Strike Cruiser to call in reinforcements. Despite this, the Strike Cruiser is forced to disengage thanks to an ambushing Chaos fleet. As it moves to land heavy support for the Space Marines already on the ground, the Space Marines will need to push through the Chaos Space Marines to reach their reinforcements before the Chaos Space Marines do.

Planetstrike Mission: Desperate Assault (Planetstrike: page 47)
Forces : Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard (defending) versus Space Marines (attacking).
Added Rules :
Quick Insertion: See Mission One. (Note: The Space Marines may deploy as many Dreadnoughts from the drop zone as were deployed in the last mission.)
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission One will determine who gets the first turn.
Disengage!: After Turn 4 the Space Marine player cannot make use of the Deep Strike rule in any way. If the Space Marine player has a Chapter Master, he may not use Orbital Bombardment after Turn 4 either.
Determining the Victor: For this mission the victor is the side with the most objectives at the end of the game is the winner.

Outcome :
If the Space Marines win, they are able to push through the Chaos forces, and establish contact with the Strike Cruiser, which is landing support before being forced to the outskirts of the system. This means the Space Marine automatically go first for deployment and get first turn next game and objectives are deployed normally.

If Chaos wins, the Space Marines are held back, unable to communicate with the Strike Cruiser. The Chaos Space Marines intercept messages bound for the Space Marines and move towards the the area where the Space Marine’s support has landed. This means Chaos will go first for deployment and get first turn and may place BOTH objectives in the next game.

3. Support

The Space Marines have found their reinforcements, but so have the Chaos Space Marines. A Land Raider damaged in it’s drop from the Strike Cruiser is being repaired, but finds itself between the Chaos Space Marine and Space Marine forces. A Vox Relay is situated close by and the side who has control of it will be able to establish communication to their fleet.

Standard Mission: Capture and Control (40k 5th Ed: page 91)
Deployment: Spearhead
Forces: Chaos Space Marines versus Space Marines.
Added Rules:
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission Two will determine who goes first and who places the objectives.
Disengaged: The Space Marines are subject to the Disengage rule of Mission Two for the entire game.
Reinforcements: If the Space Marine did not win the last Mission, they are forced to deploy their Heavy Support choices and vehicles ONLY. Note that these vehicle may have embarked unit within them. If the Space Marines did win the last Mission, they deploy as per normal.
Objectives: The objectives should represent a damaged Space Marine Land Raider, which is the Space Marine objective, and a Vox Relay, which is the Chaos Space Marines objective.

Outcome:
If the Space Marines control the Land Raider at the end of the game, the Land Raider restriction is changed from none to 0-1 for the Space Marines. If the Space Marines control the Vox Relay at the end of the game, they are told of the Imperial fleet and reinforcements that are en route. This allows the Space Marines to make their way towards the Imperial Landing Zone and are able to prepare a small delay. This gives them a free Trench Network and Minefield Stratagems for the next game.

If the Chaos Space Marines control the Land Raider at the end of the game, the Land Raider restriction is changed from none to 0-1 for the Chaos Space Marines. If the Chaos Space Marines control the Vox Relay at the end of the game, they receive a warning of the approaching Imperial fleet and reinforcements. The Chaos forces begins marching towards the landing zone. This gives the Chaos forces a free Sustained Assault Stratagem for the next game.

4. Falling Back

The Space Marines are falling back towards the Imperial Landing Zone. The Chaos forces are close on their heels. The Space Marines try to stall the Chaos forces by making a stand in a small town. They plan to delay the Chaos force before the Imperial forces begin landing. Above, orbiting around the planet, the Imperial fleet has arrived and is engaging the Chaos fleet.

Planetstrike Mission: Stranglehold (Planetstrike: page 49)
Forces: Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard (attacking) versus Space Marines (defending).
Added Rules:
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission 3 will determine which side get free Stratagems.
Falling Back: The Space Marines are prepared to give ground to the enemy in order to survive. They are not subject to the Backs to the Walls rule. The Chaos forces aren’t expecting the Space Marines to hold at the town and thus are not subject to the Demolition Crew.
Disengage!: After Turn 4 the Chaos Space Marine player cannot make use of the Deep Strike rule in any way.

Outcome:
If the Space Marines win, they have managed to delay the Chaos forces long enough to allow the Imperial Guard to deploy their heavy firepower. In the next game the Imperial Guard are able to deploy one Heavy Support choice at the beginning of the battle as well any others they deploy.

If the Chaos forces win, they have managed to break through the Space Marine’s stand at the town and begin advancing toward the Landing Zone again, before the Imperial Guard can deploy their Heavy Support. In the next game the Imperial Guard is restricted to two Heavy Support slots.

5. The Landing Zone

The Imperial Guard has, and still is, landing at the designated Landing Zone. The forces of Chaos are fast approaching and as their vanguard reaches Imperial lines, fighting erupts. The first area attacked by Chaos is the armory, because with out weapons the Imperial Guard would already be fighting a losing, yet inevitable, battle.

Standard Mission: Seize Ground (40k 5th Ed: page 91)
Deployment: Dawn of War (Do not use the Night Fighting rule)
Forces: Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard versus Imperial Guard and Space Marines.
Added Rules:
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission 4 will determine how Imperial Guard Heavy Support is effected.
Armory: Because the Imperial Guard always has a mass of weapons, the full five objectives must be used. All objectives should be represented as weapon caches or munitions and have the following special rule.
Munitions: Should a any template or blast template of any weapon cover any part of an objective, roll a D6. On a 5+ the objective explodes in a brilliant pyrotechnic display and the objective is removed from play. This objective is counted towards the Chaos side, because the Imperial Guard can no longer make use of the munitions. Objectives CANNOT be targeted directed by any unit’s shooting.

Outcome:
If the Imperial forces win, they manage to hold against the Chaos forces. The Imperial landing and advance is now going ahead as planned and the Imperial Guard may give the Scout special rule to any two units of the owning player’s choice for the next mission, as they advance all full ahead. But the Traitor Guard automatically get first turn as the suddenly turn about on the Imperial Guardsmen.

If the Chaos forces win, they manage to cripple the Imperial Guard resources and plunder some for themselves. In the next mission the Traitor Guard may use the Stealth and Tank Hunter special rule for all non-vehicle units in Turn 1-3 after which they have used all the ammo and have given away their positions. But the Imperial Guard get the first turn as the are able to control when they attack.

6. Advance

After the landing is complete, Imperial forces begin their inevitable advance on the city again. The Chaos Space Marines have already made their way back to the city, but the Traitor Guard are still slowly retreating. The Space Marines have returned to their Strike Cruiser for an attack on the city and as the Imperial Guard catch the retreating forces, battle erupts in the small town where the Space

Standard Mission: Capture and Control (40k 5th Ed: page 91)
Deployment: Spearhead
Forces: Traitor Guard and Imperial Guard
Added Rules:
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission 5 will determine who may give special rules to their units.
Objectives: The objectives in this mission should represent an damaged Leman Russ Battle Tank (or variant) painted in the Traitor Guard scheme and a group of Guardsmen/Traitor Guardsmen/Civilians who are POWs.

Outcome:
If the Imperial Guard control the Leman Russ at the end of the game, the Leman Russ restriction is removed for the Imperial Guard. If the Imperial Guard control the POWs at the end of the game, they free the POWs and allow them to rejoin the Imperial cause. This allows the Imperial Guard to take one free Armory Stratagem for the next two games. Note: the same stratagem must be used in both games.

If the Traitor Guard control the Leman Russ at the end of the game, the Leman Russ restriction is removed for the Traitor Guard. If the Traitor Guard control the POWs at the end of the game, they free the POWs and turn them to the powers of Chaos. This allows the Traitor Guard to take one free Armory Stratagem for the next two games. Note: the same stratagem must be used in both games.

7. Into the City

The Imperial forces reach the capital city. And as the Imperial Guard begin assaulting the city they find only Traitor Guard in their way. They make it through to the first blockade and begin a full attack. As this begins the Space Marine drop for low orbit to land behind the line and support the attack. But the Chaos Space Marines are lying in wait.

Cities of Death Mission: Domination (Cities of Death: page 43)
Forces: Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard versus Space Marines and Imperial Guard
Added Rules:
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission 6 will determine which side will gain free stratagems.
Enter the Space Marines: The assault on the city was planned in such a way that the Space Marines would attack the Traitor Guard from their Drop Pods, once the Imperial Guard have already engaged. All Space Marine units must be placed in reserve. The Space Marines must once again use Drop Pods or Deep Strike for all units that have the option, though vehicle are allowed. The Drop Pod Assault will instead come into effect on the player’s second turn and no Space Marine reserves may enter play until the player’s third turn.
Enter the Chaos Space Marines: The Chaos Space Marines have anticipated the Space Marine’s attack well and have concealed themselves from the front line, ready to pounce upon their greatest rivals. All Chaos Space Marine units must be placed in reserve. No Chaos Space Marine units may enter play until the player’s third turn.

Outcome:
If the Imperial forces win, they begin to quickly pushing through the city and into the civil areas of the city. Part of the Space Marine force reach ‘The Fort’ first but, find themselves cut off and in need of the Imperial Guard. Two units of Space Marines may be setup occupying ‘The Fort.’

If the Chaos forces win, they begin to quickly withdrawing through the city towards strong points and leave the Imperial forces out in the open. Most of the Chaos Space Marines reach ‘The Fort’ first but, find themselves cut off as the Traitor Guard continue to retreat, before they are ordered to turn around. Two units of Chaos Space Marines and/or Traitor Guard (this must be two units in total) may be setup occupying ‘The Fort.’

8. The Fort

As Imperial forces continue move throughout the city, they begin an attack on Fort Matthias. Fort Matthias, part of the main civilian sector, housed the majority of the PDF and when Chaos took it’s hold, it was strangely abandoned. Known as ‘The Fort’, it is now more important than ever as the desperate struggle for control of the world begins reaching it’s climax.

Cities of Death Mission: High Ground (Cities of Death: page 43)
Forces: Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard versus Space Marines and Imperial Guard.
Added Rules:
Last Outcome: The outcome of Mission 7 will determine who has early control of Fort Matthias.
‘The Fort’: The first building placed in the centre of the board should represent a fortified building (such as the Imperial Bastion). The building may not count as being intact, because considering it’s actual size, importance and the rules, units must be able to fight within and not destroy something so vital. This building is ‘The Fort.’ Due to it’s importance nether side may apply the Demolition stratagem to the building.
Change of Hands: Both sides must choose one Key Building Stratagem each and apply it to ‘The Fort’. Both sides are able to make use of both stratagems while they occupy the building. If both sides have models occupying the building then no side may make use of ether of the stratagems.

Outcome:
If the Imperial forces win they take full control of ‘The Fort’ and begin housing part of the Imperial Guardsmen within the area. Such is the mass of available billeting in the area that the Imperial Guard can hold reserves within the city. The Imperial Guard may add +1 their to reserve rolls for the rest of the campaign.

If the Chaos forces win, they begin ambushing Imperial supply lines throughout the city, using underground tunnels from ‘The Fort’ and force the Imperial Guard’s advance to become unreliable, allowing the Traitor Guard more freedom to maneuver around the city. The Traitor Guard may add +1 to their reserve rolls for the rest of the campaign.

If the game is a draw, ‘The Fort’ is destroyed as one side’s officer (Imperial or Chaos, you decide) becomes frustrated and decides to deny his opponent, and himself for that matter, a glorious prize. The resulting bombardment causes untold damage, including the destruction of Fort Matthias and the main vox tower, disrupting all communication on the surface. All forces must subtract -1 from their reserve rolls!

9. Warp Gate

Members of the Chaos cult have opened a small Warp Gate near the central government complex. The Imperium managed to dispatch a few Inquisitorial forces to the planet before the gate opened. With demons pouring into the the city, it is a race against time for the Imperial forces.

Apocalypse Mission
Forces: Chaos Space Marines, Traitor Guard and Chaos Daemons versus Space Marines, Imperial Guard and Imperial Inquisitorial Forces.
Added Rules:
Best Side: Count the number of victories each side (Chaos/Imperial) has achieved. The side with the most victories may force the opposing side to wait until at least one unit of their own new forces have arrived from reserve, before any of the opponent’s new forces may arrive. All new forces must be held in reserve. The new forces are; Chaos Daemons for the Chaos side and Imperial Inquisitorial Forces for the Imperial side.
Warp Gate: The Warp Gate is not only the cause for this battle, but is now a complete reason and the final reason why each side must gain full control of this world. The Chaos Daemons player must include at least half of his force in a Warp Rift (see slide 12 for details). The Imperial Inquisitorial Forces player must include a Grey Knights Redeemer Force as part of his force (Traitor Guard count as Chaos). The Warp Gate counts as both of the two objectives to be placed in no-mans land, but the other objectives placed in deployment zone should be placed as per normal.

Outcome:
The Warp Gate must be closed! Imperial forces must capture and destroy it. If they do win, the Imperial forces have have won the campaign! But its not over yet. The ‘Governor’ is still on the loose and is suspected to have been possessed by a Greater Daemon. The Grey Knights take some men and begin the hunt.

The Warp Gate must remain open! Chaos forces must recapture and secure it. If they do win, then the forces of Chaos have won the campaign! But its not over yet. The Grey Knights are still dangerous to the Daemons and the ‘Governor’, now a Greater Daemon, begins hunting their leader. If the game is a draw, the next mission will determine the winner. Nether side will be the Hunter.

Warp Rift Rules - The Chaos Daemon player will be required to put part of his force into a Warp Rift Apocalypse Formation in Mission 9. To do this, instead of the units shown on the datasheet, rather, apply the following;

1+ Greater Daemon, chosen from below:
Keeper of Secrets
Great Unclean One
Bloodthrister
Lord of Change

3+ units of Daemons, chosen from below:
Bloodletters of Khorne
Daemonettes of Slaanesh
Plaguebearers of Nurgle
Pink Horrors of Tzeentch

With this amendment comes a new rule, to be added when using the Warp Rift in the above way;
Patron Daemons: Most Lesser Daemons follow Greater Daemons through the Warp and any who do will only follow Greater Daemons of their of god. As such, a unit of Daemons may only enter through the Warp Rift if a Greater Daemon of the same god is part of the Warp Rift Formation. (i.e. A unit of Plaguebearers of Nurgle may only enter play if a Great Unclean One is also part of the formation.)

10. The ‘Governor’

The hunt has finally revealed the ‘Governor’s’ true form, a Greater Daemon. The Grey Knight Commander decides to battle his foe alongside many of those who have already bleed for this world, while the ‘Governor’ allows only the best performing units to join him.

Mission: Yarrick’s Stand (40k 5th Ed: page 267)
Forces: Chaos Space Marines and Traitor Guard versus Space Marines and Imperial Guard.
Added Rules:
Definite Foes: The Imperial Hero must be a Grey Knights Hero from Codex:Daemonhunters, but his squad must not exceed 5 members (i.e. 4 Terminators and him). The Chaos Hero must be a Greater Daemon from Codex:Chaos Daemons form this list; a Bloodthirster, a Keeper of Secrets, a Great Unclean One or a Lord of Change.
The Hunt: Whichever side won the campaign, is the Hunter. The Hunter must deploy second and start first, as they surprise their prey.

Outcome:
If the Imperial forces win this battle, the ‘Governor’ is sent back to the Warp and the Imperial forces rejoice. If the Imperial forces have already won the campaign, they find themselves on a world in need of reconstruction. If Chaos has already won the campaign, then it becomes a rather hollow victory as they abandon the world anyway.

If Chaos wins this battle, the ‘Governor’ kills the Grey Knight Hero is such a fashion that any Imperials (and some Traitor Guard) in the area commit suicide, rather than be killed by something so sinister. If the Chaos force have already won the campaign, they begin turning the planet into something of a fortress infested with all kinds of Warp energy and filled with Daemons. If the Imperial forces have already won the campaign, then the Chaos forces begin withdrawing, but feel they have not been completely cheated of their moral victory, not that Daemons have any morals anyway, but still.

Design notes - none

Creator - Timythenerd

Map - Ice world (Grid map)

2009-12-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a grid map based on an iceworld.

Created by FoxPhoenix135

Did you like this map? can suggestions? add them in the comments.

GW Legal say Yay!

2009-12-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been a while since the last update. With all the GW cease and desist notices in the air, I thought it'd be a good idea to run the project by them before I put to much work into it.

Well, it's been a little while, but they've got back to me and other than a few small suggestions to make sure I stay on the right side of the IP TnC's they've given it the nod. Now it's important to say that this isn't an official sanction of the project, it's still a very unofficial project. What it is, is confirmation that as long as the project continues as it's started and I don't source any of it directly from any GW publications, we'll be fine.

So, expect more sections on running a map campaign coming real soon.

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Breakout

2009-11-24T11:31:00.000-08:00

Breakout

Having barely escaped the jaws of a deadly trap, your forces must break free from the battle zone and get to a safe extraction point.

Your forces barely survived an ambush by enemy forces. You must get out of range of their jamming equipment to request planetary extraction and deliver vital information regarding your attackers. This is raid mission with an attacking force and a defending force. This is an unbalanced scenario designed for a story or narrative campaign setting. The defender should expect a win or draw.

Setup - Pitched Battle; Terrain should include lots of "rural" features (trees, hills, rivers, etc...).

Forces - Standard force organization chart.

Scenario Special Rules

Defender will deploy first and take the first turn (Attacker may attempt to steal the initiative). Defender forces will fall back away from their deployment zone, towards the opposite board edge.

Mission Objective

The Defender must escape off the table edge opposite their deployment zone. If any defender forces escape off battlefield the defender will achieve a win. If the number of units who successfully escaped is more than half then the defender will achieve a draw. If zero units escape, the attacker will achieve a win. Any Defender units still on the table at the end of the game count as destroyed by the Attacker.

Reserves

Attacker units held in reserve gain the Outflank USR if desired. Defender may not Deep Strike any reserves (Does not affect attacker). Defender may not infi ltrate, but may make any Scout moves available (or outflank them if reserved).

Game Length - Standard game length or until all Defender units are wiped out or escaped (which ever comes first).

Design Notes - This mission was designed to follow the Ambushed and Betrayed mission in a narrative campaign setting. It is designed to represent the fleeing forces of the ambushed player as they attempt to make for a clear landing zone for planetary extraction. The balance is brought into play in that the Defender may easily flee the table early in the game with faster units, but that may leave more valuable units left alone to face the Attacker's forces. This makes little impact in a single game, but in a campaign with attrition and realized losses from casualties it can be a serious consideration (do I keep those land speeders on the table to help my HQ and troops get off for the win, or boost off first or second turn for the easy draw).

Creator - Sunflame

Back to Scenarios appendix

Did you like this scenario? anything you'd suggest or change? let us know what you think, add it in the comments.

Resource markers

2009-11-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a collection of resource markers for your computer generated campaign maps. They're photoshop psd's, you'll find command bastion, hive city, starport, manufactorum, power station and a shield generator.

Download the resources zip

Contributed by Broadsword (Freebootaz)

Back to Player aids appendix

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Ambushed and Betrayed

2009-11-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

Ambushed and Betrayed

Several detachments of your forces have been sent to this sector in response to a request for aid from friendly forces under attack from unknown enemies.

Your forces have been lured into an ambush. Can you hold your ground until reinforcements arrive, or will your forces be trapped and destroyed. This is a raid mission with an attacking force and a defending force. This is an unbalanced scenario designed for a story or narrative campaign setting. The defender should expect at best a draw or loss.

Setup - Dawn of War deployment, Seize Ground, 2 objectives

Forces - Standard force organization chart.

Scenario Special Rules

Each force must deploy at least one HQ unit within 6" of their objective marker. Attacker sets up the terrain, Defender selects deployment zones and places objectives. Attacker will take the first turn. Defender may not Seize the Initiative.

Mission Objective - Standard objectives.

Reserves - All attacker forces gain Outflank if held in reserve.

Game Length - Game lasts the standard amount of turns.

Design Notes - This mission was originally designed for use by space marine forces during a customized Badab War campaign. It is designed to lead into Fighting Withdrawal or Breakout. During campaigns that make use of rewards systems based on battle outcomes, the Defend er should gain 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss, while the Attacker should gain 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. Adjust to reflect the relative balance of your campaigns.

Creator - Sunflame

Back to Scenarios appendix

Did you like this scenario? anything you'd suggest or change? let us know what you think, add it in the comments.

Hex maps

2009-11-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

Looking for a hex layout to drop on top of your digital campaign map, then look no further. You'll find four photoshop psd's in the zip file below. You'll find both large and small hexes in black and white inside the zip.

Download the hexes zip

Contributed by Broadsword (Freebootaz)

Back to Player aids appendix

Campaign map showcase

2009-11-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

This is a showcase of the various campaign maps submitted by the community.

Contributed by Jay Biga (Bols)

Contributed by Tokkan (Freebootaz)

Contributed by Quantem Fear (Freebootaz)

Contributed by Broadsword (Freebootaz)

and the online version ....

Contributed by Regnir (Freebootaz)

Contributed by John (Plastic legions)

Contributed by Alessio (BlackRed Studio)

Contributed by Paolo Bertoncini (Grande Maestro)

Contributed by Sovietspace (Astronomicon)
Check out the full campaign in the Campaigns section.

Contributed by Gewaltatron

Contributed by SK (Citizen Nick Hobby Center)

If you've got a campaign map you'd like to share with the community, drop me a line at colcorbane@gmail.com.

True map campaigns

2009-11-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

True map campaigns are the pinnacle of all the different sorts of campaign. They offer the players a whole new game in itself, allowing them to command their armies over the entire theater of war but conversly, they are the most demanding of all the different campaigns.

The basis of a true map campaign is that the players move armies across a map, battling other players as their armies meet. The campaigns are made more interesting by adding rules like orders, settlements, supplies, terrain to name just a few. True map campaigns can be as complicated as you like, just as long as all the players involved are committed to keep a complicated going with all that it entails.

Much like node campaigns, true map campaigns can be quite restricting in regard to who plays who in the campaign as it's completely based on their position on the map. It's quite possible to play the entire campaign and never battle against a player who's forces are on the far side of the map from you. Now it might seem boring to be playing the same few players who border your region but the map allows the games to take on a narrative and so grudges are remembered, alliances are formed and broken as you play through the campaign writing history with every dice roll.

The map that's used for the campaign can coming in various forms from a basic sketch that armies can move freely across, to grid maps where forces move from segment to segment, to the glorious plastic planetary empires maps. It doesn't matter what sort you use, just as long as the rules are clear on how you move your forces across it, whether it's measured in inches or from hex to hex.

Types of maps

Have you played a map campaign? add your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Node campaigns

2009-11-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

Node campaigns offer players a simple way to play a map campaign that gives a flow of the forces across the theatre of war. Whereas in a territorial campaign, the map is split into sections, node campaigns have a web of interconnected nodes superimposed over the map. Players then battle over the control of the various nodes going from node to node depending on their connections. Unlike territorial campaigns, the node setup gives a more realistic movement of the forces and the front line.

You can have armies actually moving from node to node, tracking their casualties and giving them reinforcements depending on your campaign rules. For simplicity, most node campaigns work on the basis that you have forces in each of the nodes you control and so don't have to track specific armies.

Node campaigns can be for any number of players and have any number of nodes, but it's important to remember with node campaigns, players can only battle other players with nodes adjacent to their own. With this in mind, it's best to run the campaign with players that you know get together regularly and give plenty of time between turns to make sure the players can get their battles played.

Much like territorial campaigns, node campaigns can have special scenarios and ongoing effects for specific nodes. It's also fine to have some of the interconnecting links harder to use than other ones, representing some routes such as mountain passes and swamps. Simply assign these routes a roll much like a save, so that you need a 4+ to use a mountainous path or a 6+ for crossing a swamp. It's also fine to give every route at least a 2+ requirement to all the links to represent some armies not been able move for a multitude of reasons.

Here's an example of a large node based campaign that covers an entire section, with the players battling over the systems that make up the section. You'll notice for ease, they've numbered all the nodes.

Contributed by Quantem Fear (Freebootaz)

Although node campaigns are good at representing the control of the map and the flow of forces, they don't really give you free reign to command your forces, for that you need a true map campaign.

True map campaigns

Have you played a node campaign? add your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Territorial campaigns

2009-11-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

Territorial campaigns are the simplest of all the different map campaigns with the map being used to simply gauge how well players are doing in the campaign. With territorial campaigns, the map is split into sections or 'territories' much like Britain is split into counties and the US is split into states. Players then battle over the various territories, each time they win a battle, they get to claim one of their opponents territories with the total amount showing how well they're doing in the campaign.

This is the basis for the GW world wide campaigns, the difference being that instead of winning territories, players effect the percentage hold their faction has on a region, planet, system, or sector.

Territorial campaigns work well with gaming clubs because they're don't restrict who plays who. You can either battle of territories that don't need to be adjacent to your own territory or simply work on the basis that the winner of a battle can claim one of the losers territories. This way, any player in the campaign can play any other player without needing to worry about their positions on the map.

It's fine to add special rules to cover specific territories or ongoing effects to spice the campaign up a little or just keep it simple as a way of tracking how well the players are doing over the course of the campaign.

When setting up a territorial campaign, it's best if each player has a few territories to start with. Ideally, this should be at least equal to the number of players plus one, so if there's 4 players, each player should start with 5 territories. This will make sure than even if everyone attacks one player in the first turn (which is very unfair), then they're not going to get wiped out of the campaign. Alternatively, you could say that players can never lose their capitals or starting territory, so that players who don't do so well in their battles aren't excluded from the campaign by losing all their territories.

Here's a map that could easily be used for either territorial or a true map campaign. Notice how they've included special locations that could have ongoing effects in the campaign.

Contributed by Tokkan (Freebootaz)

As you can see, territorial campaigns offer a simple way to a group of players to track their games over a period of time although they don't offer much in the way of strategical way. If you're looking to add a little strategy to your campaign, then consider a node based campaign.

Node campaigns

Have I missed anything? have you got something add? add it in the comment below.

Map campaigns

2009-11-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

Campaigns often conjure up an image of players gathered around a map moving their armies into battle. This actually sums it up quite well. Whereas in a narrative campaign, the story drives the scenarios, with map campaigns, it's the choices a player makes on the map and the subsequent battles they play that drives the story. They can also offer players a whole new strategical level of play from grand battle plans to micromanaging your supply lines and everything in between.

Map campaigns can come in a few different forms. The simplest is the territorial campaign, where the map is split into segments and then the players battle over various segments with the map being used to show how well the individual players are doing in the campaign. Another form is the node campaign, which is similar to the territorial with the exception that the map has interconnected nodes superimposed over it to battle over. Player can only attack nodes adjacent to the ones they already control and so the battle fronts flow over the map putting the battles in context.

Finally, there's what most players refer to as a true map campaign, where they actually control their forces movements and actions on a map. These can be the most complicated of all the different types of campaigns, but they're also the most rewarding. With a map campaigns, 40k opens up to a whole new level of play with you having to make strategic decisions that can have some serious effects on the tabletop.

Don't be daunted by the complexities of map campaigning, they're actually quite simple to run as long as all the rules are in place. If you want to try to dipping your toe first, then try a territorial or a node campaign, they're easy to run and a great way to introduce map campaigns to players who've never played in a campaign before.

Territorial campaigns

News from the front

2009-11-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

Story telling is a key element in running a campaign, especially with map campaigns with a quite a few players. What happens on the map and on the tabletop decides the path the story will follow but it's down to the players and the campaign master to pad out the details filling out the story. This is easily done through players diaries and campaign newsletters, both of which add a great fun aspect to the campaign.

Campaign newsletters are usual used in large map campaigns to add a bit of humour and keep all the players up to date with what's going on in the campaign. They're normally produced by the campaign master who has access to all the results, positions on the map etc. Most take the form of a simple one page newsletter with pieces about recent victories and loses, anything interesting that's come up like new alliances or fallen generals. Alternatively they can take the form of dispatches, with information on troop movements, battle results etc. Either way, they give campaign masters an excellent way to help keep all the players involved.

Campaign diaries are slightly different to the newsletters with them being written by the individual players specifically for their force rather than the campaign master writing something for the whole group. Like the newsletters, they can be news sheets or dispatches or even personal diaries of those generals playing in the campaign. It's completely down to the players how or if they want to do a campaign diary, although it's great fun reading everyone else's at the end of the campaign.

The idea of campaign newsletters, dispatches and dairies are quite common in the real military. Dispatches are a standard method of sending information along the command chain. Most Generals keep war diaries, often publishing them when they retire as part of an autobiography or a specific military textbook. Even the idea of newsletters are common in the forces with most units publishing an unofficial unit newsletter to give the lads a laugh.

It's important to realise that these things are supposed to keep players informed, help add to the narrative, but most importantly, to add a bit of fun to the campaign. On this, they don't have to be strictly true, history is often written by the winner. It's perfectly fine to say a narrow victory was a glorious one and rub the losers nose in it a bit, just as long as you don't take it too far - fun remember.

Have you ever used campaign newsletters or diaries, what sort of things have you put in yours?

Player aids

2009-11-09T13:20:00.000-08:00

In the section you'll find links to various player aids produced by the community.

Army Roster (offsite) - The latest interactive army roster by the Pit of the Oni
Hex maps - Hex images for superimposing over computer designed campaign maps.
Resource markers - Resource markers for use with computer designed campaign maps.

Have you created a campaign aid and want to add it to the ones here, then have a look at the submission guidelines.

Project Diary - Launch Day

2009-11-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Well, welcome to my latest mad creation - Going on Campaign.

If it's your first time here, which it probably is, then read the preface first and use the table of contents on the right hand side to get around. I welcome your input, your suggestions, ideas, scenarios, maps and pics, so please feel free to add your comments.

I'm also after links, so if you'd like to add me in your blogroll, I'll make sure you get listed by return. I'll add the blogroll as soon as I get my first requests. If you do add me, give me your blog address in the comments on this page. I'm just trying to get as much of the community involved as possible, so if you can help in anyway, please let me know.

I've put in place the basics and the narrative campaigns section. I'll be adding the map campaigns section next.

Hope you enjoy the project.

ColCorbane
Corbania Prime

Ongoing effects in narrative campaigns

2009-11-05T14:03:00.000-08:00

Campaigns offer players a chance to apply ongoing effects to the games and their forces. This is just a way for players to develop their forces and let previous victories have an effect on the games they play.

We've already covered how success in a previous battle can lead to benefits when we covered the basics of narrative campaigning. What form the benefits take can vary hugely, from general improvements in leadership, to special kit and veteran upgrades. These can be permanent or temporary force changes - it's down to how you want to run the campaign. These benefits can take the form of battle improvements such as choice of terrain, table edge, first turn, control over reinforcements etc. They can also take the form of force changes.

Some players like to use one master roster with just enough points to play all the battles and then as the soldiers fall in battle, they're removed from the roster and not available for future battles. Over long and multiple ladder and tree campaigns, this can be combined with reinforcement and veteran rules to allow your force to grow following the narrative and your success on the battlefield. Rules like these can be as complicated as you like, even down to ongoing injuries: just because you're wounded on the battlefield, doesn't mean you're dead - a sprained angle can take you out of a battle just as surely as a bullet.

Ongoing effects don't just have to be about the rules, either: some gamers like to model trophies or totems on their models, to remind their opponent of a previous defeat. These are perfectly fine and very much in the spirit of a campaign. One gamer I know likes to convert a big standard bearer and detail his victories and defeats through a campaign on the standard. He's built up quite an impressive collection of banner bearers over the years.

Narrative suggestions

Have you used an ongoing effect in a campaign? Please add your experiences and ideas in the comments below.

Scoring narrative campaigns

2009-11-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

Narrative campaigns don't just have to be about the narrative: you can use a few different methods for scoring the players’ results to work out an overall campaign winner. The most common methods are simple, weighted and climatic.

Simple

Simple scoring is – unsurprisingly – simple. Each game is worth 1 campaign point for the victor (a draw is 0), and the player at the end of the campaign with the most campaign points wins the campaign. A variation on this is using victory points as described in the 40k rulebook, with a running total across the entire campaign. This encourages players to look after their forces, much like real world generals. Sometimes, the amount of troops you lose winning a battle can cost you the war.

Weighted

In a weighted campaign, missions are worth different amounts of campaign points depending on how important the players feel that mission are. In our example, the actual sabotage scenario could easily count for more campaign points than the scout or evacuation scenarios as it's the main goal of the campaign. This can also be done with victory points, with the victory points been doubled or tripled for the sabotage scenario. It's perfectly fine to have different weightings for scenarios on the same level of a tree campaign if you're letting the winner choose which scenario to play next. This just adds that extra strategic level to the campaign with players have to decide whether to go for the easy points or try a harder scenario for the big win.

Escalation campaigns are a special form of weighted campaigns, where the forces start small and build up over the games played. Often these simulate the real world where conflicts start with border skirmishes and escalate to small force actions before going to total war. These can be scored with campaign points with each scenario being worth more campaign points than the previous one. Victory points also work very well in escalation campaigns: as the forces grow from scenario to scenario, so do the available victory points.

Climatic

In climatic campaigns, the only game that counts is the final one, the biggy! That doesn't mean the games that come before the climatic battle don't count. Often they can give the winners an advantage and the loser a disadvantage in the next game, the final game or both. There's no need for campaign or victory points with climatic campaigns as it's all decided on that last game. The previous example of the small sabotage raids against AA, radar facilities and airfields preparing for an AI bomber raid scenario would make an excellent climatic campaign. With each successful sabotage game, the defender could lose ground AA units or fighter squadrons in the final battle. With a tree campaign, you can use the tree to decide what type of game is played in the final battle, whether it’s a glorious assault or a pitiful defence. It's down to how you do in the tree to find out how you'll test your skills in the final battle.

These are just a few ways to score a narrative campaign; the other key element to an ongoing narrative is the idea of ongoing effects: how your forces develop through the campaign and how their victories and losses have affected them.

Ongoing effects

Do you use any of these scoring methods in your campaigns? Have you got a suggestion for another way of scoring a narrative campaign? Please dd your comments below.

Tree campaigns

2009-11-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

In ladder campaigns, the scenarios are driven by the narrative; with tree campaigns, it's the other way around. What scenario you play next depends of the results of the previous scenario, and so the battles form a natural narrative as the campaign runs its course.

In the example below, an infiltrating force of veterans are scouting a potential target for a later raid. If the scouting goes well, they can then attempt to sabotage the target. If it doesn't go well, then the enemy has prepared an ambush for the veterans:

The results of the scout scenario determine what's happening in the narrative and over a few lines, you can develop quite a varied outcome to a campaign. With the second example, we've expanded the levels to a 3 game campaign. It starts with the original two levels of the previous example, with a scout scenario leading to either a sabotage or an ambush scenario:

With the third game, there are four possibilities depending on the results of the previous scenario. Doing well in the sabotage scenario leads on to an assassination mission as a secondary objective; failure means trying to evacuate. From the ambush scenario, a rearguard action follows a successful breakout from the ambush whereas it comes down to a final stand if you fail in the ambush. This simple 3 level tree campaign gives you a great variety in games and has a narrative. The narrative goes from a glorious mission where things were sabotaged and generals killed to a complete nightmare when the forces are spotted scouting, ambushed, and then slaughtered in a final stand.

One final thing about our last example: if you notice, a win for the initial attackers means taking the left hand path down the tree whereas a loss means taking the right hand path. Where you reach from left to right at the bottom of the tree gives you an idea of how well (narratively speaking) the attackers did overall in the campaign. This is a simple way of scoring the campaign using the narrative. Alternatively, you can let the winner of the scenario decide which one to play next. This adds a small amount of strategy to the campaign with players picking scenarios that best suit their forces.

Tree campaigns are a little more demanding in their planning than ladder campaigns, with you needing to devise scenarios that you might not play but they offer so much more in the way of the campaign’s narrative. It’s also worth noting that whilst tree and ladder campaigns may be about the narrative, that doesn't mean they don't have to be competitive as well: there's a number of different ways to score a narrative campaign.

Scoring narrative campaigns

I hope I explained that clearly enough, if you've got anything to say or ask, use the comments below.

Narrative campaigns

2009-11-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

Want to follow your armies’ fortunes as the battle rages through raids and ambushes? Narrative campaigning is a way of linking the battles you play by using a storyline; it gives the games you play a context, a meaning. Narrative campaigns are normally played between two friends as a way of charting the ongoing adventures of their armies. Either the narrative is used to decide what scenario to play next in the campaign or the results of the scenario can be used to drive the narrative.

Narrative campaigns are best suited to two players who are friends and play regularly. They are simple to set up and run especially compared to map campaigns, and being run by friends, the time between games isn't an issue. Being the simplest of campaigns, they're also the most flexible and can offer lots to regular players that one-off games don't.

Narrative campaigns come in two basic types: ladder campaigns and tree campaigns. Ladder campaigns are a set of scenarios that are linked sequentially as a simple ongoing storyline, where one scenario follows the other based on a narrative that's been decided in advance. Tree campaigns are a slight variation on the ladder system, where the next scenario is decided by the outcome of the previous scenario, then the results of the scenarios drive the narrative. It doesn't matter which type you choose; with narrative campaigns, it's all about the story.

Ladder campaigns

Campaigns

2009-11-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

To get you started, here is a collection of prewritten campaigns for you to have a play with.

Preparing to strike - A simple ladder campaign where an invading force attempts to take out targets and ambush defending forces in preparation for the big invasion. How they fare in the first two scenarios heavily effects the reserve rolls in the final battle.

Tainted rebellion - A long and varied ladder campaign where the forces of the imperium have to seek out a tainted planetary governor as the planet turns to chaos.

Kentack VII - A three player territorial campaign where Eldar, Guard and Black Templars battle for control on a planet.

Have you created a campaign and want to add it to the ones here, then have a look at the submission guidelines.

Maps

2009-11-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

In this appendix, you'll find various maps for use in or as inspiration for your campaigns.

Ta'Lar mountains - Node based campaign map for 2 players set in a mountainous region.
Ice world - Grid campaign map for 2 players set on an ice world
Faaris IV - Territorial campaign map for 2-3 players covering a planet wide conflict.

Map - Ta'Lar mountains (Node map)

2009-11-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

This is a node based campaign map designed for two players. It's based on a terrain map that I pulled from google images. I then added the nodes, network and place names. Once the map was planned out, I applied a texture filter and then a filter that converts a image into a 1920's image.

Created by ColCorbane

Did you like this map? can suggestions? add them in the comments.

Campaign aids

2009-11-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

If you want to play a game of 40k, you're going to need a few things, like dice, a table, your models etc. The same goes for campaigns, there's all sorts of bits you need t o run a campaign. Some are essential like a map in a map campaign, some just help the campaign run smoothly and some just make the map look pretty. It doesn't matter what purpose these aids serve, they all go into improving the campaign for those playing it.

Even the simplest ladder or tree campaigns need the scenarios written or printed out, so that the players know what games they're going to be playing through the course of the campaign. With more complicated map campaigns, it's quite common to have specific scenarios for certain places on the map. Having these scenarios printed out along with maps and other player handouts makes its a lot easier to play the campaign, especially if you don't have an independent campaign master to create campaigns on the fly.

If you're running a campaign which follows the actual progress of an army from on battle to another charting their victories and their losses, then roster sheets become essential. Roster sheets are simply army lists that get updated with casualty loses and experience improvements. They make it easy to track how big a force is or what it contains. It can be as detailed as you need it to be, from a list of the armies in a players force and their point totals to a full army listing for each of the armies on separate rosters. The same goes for orders sheets which are just to track what armies are doing what in a campaign turn.

If you're running any sort of map campaign, you're going to need a map. Whilst that may be obvious, people often miss out the markers. These can be used to show who controls territories in a node game, show where on the map special events are occurring or special locations such as star ports, mines, cities etc. You'll also need army markers to track the movements of your forces is full blown map campaigns. These can be anything from card counters, pins, flags, models, epic models etc, I've even seen sweets used at an impromptu campaign turn meeting in the pub.

These are just a few of the things that help a campaign run smoothly, some are essential, some are just handy but all of them improve the campaign for the guy who running it and the players enjoying it.

Newsletters and diaries

Can you think of any other sort of campaign aids I've missed? Have you got any sample rosters or order sheets? Have you any pics of your campaign and army markers? Add your thoughts to the comments and feel free to send your sample rosters etc and pics to me by email.

Practical campaigning

2009-11-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

Campaigns can offer so much to players, but unlike pickup games, you can't just decide your going to play one and then start playing games. Even the simplest of ladder campaigns needs some planning and the more complicated the campaign, the move work has to go into planning it and running it. Then you've got all the organising of games and making sure players get everything they need to get done for that campaign turn. These are just a few of the practicalities of planning, running and playing in a campaign, but this is the trade off we accept as gamers in return for all the joys campaigns give us.

All campaigns need planning, whether it's coming up with a few scenarios for a ladder campaign or a whole world for a map campaign, it's going to take some time. Campaign are often planned in two different way, by collectively or by a campaign master. Campaigns planned collectively are put together by the players playing in the campaign. Each having a say in the different parts of the campaign with decisions been made by the group. This may sound a boring on paper, but in real life, getting together with your mates, having a few bears and then plotting war can be a great way to spend an evening.

"Blessed are the Campaign Masters,
for they build the worlds we wage war on."

Campaign masters are wonderful people, who slave away in to the late hours planning all sorts of campaigns, scenarios, rules, maps and everything else you need to play a campaign. Quite often, they'll stay impartial through the campaign running it .Campaigns designed by one person tend to be set, ready to play with very little input from the players. It doesn't have to be like that, you can have campaigns designed by a cm and tweaked by the players before playing or a campaign that's broadly put together by the players, then formalised by a cm. Whatever way you choose to plan your campaign, it's going to take a bit of work before the dice get rolling.

The amount of work that goes into running a campaign really depends on how complicated the campaign is, who many people are playing in it and how much work went into preparing it. If you've planned it well with good maps, orders, results sheets etc, then even the most complicated campaigns are manageable with a bit of effort.

The amount of players in a campaign doesn't just effect the amount of paperwork that goes into running it. Players bring a whole load of other practical issues that have to be handled in order for the campaign to run smoothly. Real life often gets in the way of our games and hobby, peoples lives can be complicated. Also, you can't always guarantee the everyone's going to be as dedicated to the campaign as everyone else.

You have to work these things, and how you're going handle them in to the planning of your campaign. If your friends are slow at getting games done, make a campaign turn a few weeks. If you know you're going to have problems with guys missing turn deadline, then try rolling off for it. You need to be honest about what the practical problems are going to be when you're planned a campaign, only then will you been able to work in rules to handle them and keep the campaign running smoothly.

Finally, it's important to mention commitment. Been involved in a campaign takes a lot more commitment to play than a just a game. Campaigns work on everyone co-operating to have fun, and when one person doesn't get the games in or delays orders, it spoils the fun for everyone involved. The same goes for campaign masters, if they're behind in the paperwork or lose track of army movements, it very quickly spoils the campaign for everyone involved.

So, before you start on a campaign, sit down and make clear exactly what's involved in playing it, things like how many games, how often, how you're going to handle orders etc. Once everyone knows what's required, they be able to decide if they can make that sort of a commitment to play in the campaign. Once you have committed yourself to a campaign, you really should do your best to see it through to the end.

If you do run into problems that mean you're going to have to pull out, let the other players know as soon as you do, don't drag it out let them down on games etc. The sooner you let them know, the quicker and easier it'll be to take you out of the game whether permanently or just temporarily whilst making sure the campaign keeps running smoothly for everyone involved.

These are just a few of the practicalities you'll have to face and deal with when planning and running a campaign, but they're easily handled with a bit of prior thought and planning.

Campaign aids

What practical problems have you come across when planning and playing in a campaign, how did you handle them? add your comments below.

Project Diary - October 09

2009-11-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

OK, so this is my monthly post I get to myself to rave about new additions and bitch about what not going right. I'm going to be posting once a month, on or after the 1st of each month.

So, I had an idea, in the bath actually. I thought there's nothing really for 40k campaigns on the web, only bits and bobs, so why don't I put something together on a blog. That something together, became a reference to all the stuff out there, then I thought there's no way I can find all that stuff and it'd be all messed up anyway. So, that something became this beast. Over time, I'm hoping to build up an extensive collection of campaign rules, maps, narratives, scenarios and anything else that's related. Hopefully, making this an excellent resource for 40k campaigners.

I launched a week ago, and I've done a ton of work. Not much in the way of campaign rules, but I've got more of the introductions and admin pages sorted. These needed to be done first anyway, without them, I can't add submitted campaigns and scenarios. It's a choir, but it's done now and I can get on with the good stuff. I've also added a sample ladder campaign and some sample scenarios, check out Preparing to strike and let me know what you think.

I'm also chuffed that I managed to add a header which I'm quite proud of and I've also installed the Disqus commenting system, so it's easier for you guys to add your thoughts and discuss the various pages. Another nice one is the fact that Admiral Drax has come on board to help clean up my writing with his ubber English skills. Here's hoping he enjoys editing my stuff as much as I enjoy writing it, there's going to be plenty.

Well, that's it for October, I'm off to write some of the fun stuff.

ColCorbane

Scenarios

2009-11-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for a scenario for your campaign, or inspiration for your own custom scenario. You'll find plenty in our sample scenarios. If you've written a custom scenario, feel free to add it the ones listed here, check the scenario submission guidelines page to find out how.

Paint it up - an unbalanced raid scenario where a small force has to infiltrate an enemy objective, mark it up for a future strike and then get out without been detected.

Preparing to strike - a balanced raid scenario where a column of troops has to fight it's way through an ambush.

Ambushed and Betrayed - an unbalanced raid scenario where a force gets ambushed from all sides.

Breakout - an unbalanced raid scenario that follows on from Ambushed and Betrayed.

Fighting withdrawal - an unbalanced raid scenario that follows on from Ambushed and Betrayed.

Ladder Campaign - Preparing to strike

2009-11-01T09:56:00.000-08:00

Preparing to strike

"The stealth teams are in position and Captain M'raak's force are intercepting the armoured column heading for the drop zone, things look good for the drop sir." ........

A simple ladder campaign where an invading force attempts to take out targets and ambush defending forces in preparation for the big invasion. How they fare in the first two scenarios heavily effects the reserve rolls in the final battle.

Victory conditions - Climatic (it's all on the final battle).

Force notes - none

Scenarios

Paint it up
Appendix A - Going on Campaign site (link) In this scenario, the invader prepares to mark up a target that needs to be taken out that threatens the invasions landings. An invader major victory gives them +2 to reserve rolls in the final scenario, A invader minor victory gives +1. A defender major victory gives them a -2 to the invaders reserve rolls in the final scenario, a defender minor victory gives -1.

Column Ambush
Appendix A - Going on Campaign site (link)
In this scenario, the invader tries to delay reinforcements heading towards the proposed landing zone just before the landings take place. A invader victory gives the defenders -1 to reserve rolls in the final scenario whereas a defenders victory give the defenders +1 to reserve rolls in the final scenario.

The Big Battle
Annihilation, Dawn of War deployment - W40K 5ED p91
This is the big one, the whole campaign rests on this final battle. On turn5 reserves do not come in automatically, you need to continue rolling for reserves on a 2+ until the battle ends. Remember to add the modifiers from both the first two scenarios, 1's are always a fail no matter what modifiers apply.

Design notes - With this campaign, how you do in the first scenarios really has an effect on the final battle, especially with reserves not automatically coming in on turn 5. If the invader fails the first two, they're going to have a hell of a time trying to win the final one.

Creator - ColCorbane

Did you like this campaign, would you add or change anything? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

Balanced Raid Scenario - Column Ambush

2009-11-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

Column Ambush

"They're coming at us from all sides sir ..." said Sgt G'raa. "Just keep pushing though Sgt, there's no going back".

This is a balanced raid scenario is based on a column of troops being ambushed and having to fight their way through it.

Setup

The scenario is played longways from short edge to short edge. All the terrain must be setup within 18" of either long table edge. The attacker sets up within 6" of his short table edge then the defender then sets up no closer than 18" to either long table edge or the attackers troops. The attacker gets the first turn, unless the defender can seize the imitative.

Forces - No changes to forces

Scenario Special Rules - No scenario special rules

Mission Objective

The winner is decided by kill points. The defender gets an additional kill point for each of his units that leave the table via the attackers short table edge. The attacker does not get any kill points for defenders units that leave the table via the attackers short table.

Reserves

The attackers reserves can come on from their short edge or either long table edge. The defenders reserves (if any) come on from their short table edge.

Game Length - Game lasts the standard amount of turns.

Design notes - In this game the defender has to balance killing units with get their own forces through the ambush whilst the attacker does their best to counter them. It's a simple enough scenario that can easily be modified for various different ambush scenarios.

Creator - ColCorbane

Back to Scenarios appendix

Did you like this scenario? anything you'd suggest or change? let us know what you think, add it in the comments.

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Paint it up

2009-10-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

Paint it up .....

In preparation for the impending planetary invasion, the infiltration teams dropped across the planet to mark up vital installations that had be destroyed before assault force could make it's landings. Alpha team had been one of the first, and within an hour, had moved stealthily towards the missile silo....

This a an unbalanced raid scenario based on the idea of a small squad infiltrating enemy objective, marking it up for a future bombing raid and then exfiltrating without alerting the enemy.

Setup

The game is played longways (short edge to short edge) across a 6' x 4' table. The defender must deploy a scenery piece to act as the objective within 12" of a short table edge. The attackers forces enter play via the other table edge at the start of turn 1. The defender must deploy his sentries no closer than 18" to the attackers table edge.

Forces

Attacker - 1 Infantry Squad, maximum 200pts, no bikes or vehicles. The unit has target markers and night vision, so is immune to night fighting rules.

Defender - 1 Troop choice, maximum 10 models (Sentries), 2 Troop choices & 1 HQ choice held in reserve. Other than the sentries, all the defenders force are held in reserve and deploy once the alarm has been raised.

Scenario Special Rules

Sentries - as described in W40K 4ED.
Night fighting - the entire game is played using night fighting rules, this only affects the defender as the attacker has night vision equipment.
Sssssh - to avoid detection, the attacker may not use jump packs, fleet or run until the alarm is raised.
Target markers - a range 12" weapon that targets the objective for a future strike carried by each member of the attackers unit. Firing it does not raise the alarm.

Mission Objective

Attacker major victory - marking up the objective and then all extracting off their own table edge.
Attacker minor victory - marking up the objective but not extracting the full unit off their own table edge.
Defender major victory - preventing some of the attackers unit from extracting and also preventing them from marking up the objective.
Defender minor victory - preventing some of the attackers unit from extracting.

Reserves

The defenders reserves enter play at a rate of 1 unit per turn determined randomly from a point on any table edge as determined by a scatter dice.

Game Length

The game continues until all of the attackers forces are dead or off the table.

Design notes - I'm looking at this one as a sort of chess game to start off with, that has the potential at any dice roll to suddenly become a very fast and furious game. I'm planning to setup quite a lot of terrain on the table to restrict LOS (we still play 4ed rules on area terrain and LOS) but you don't have to as ranges are restricted by the nightfighting rules. On the win conditions, there were two factors I thought were important. The first being marking up the objective and the second was casualties. Alarms could be raised at any point for any reason including tripping over and letting a round off by accident but actual dead enemy troops bodies outside a base is going to get command on their toes. You need to sit down and work out what troops best suit the roles of the infiltrators, sentries and general soldiers.

Creator - ColCorbane

Back to Scenarios appendix

Did you like this scenario? anything you'd suggest or change? let us know what you think, add it in the comments.

Scenario submission guidelines

2009-10-31T08:29:00.001-07:00

If you'd like to submit a scenario for addition in the sample scenarios appendix, please make sure it follows the following format. This is to make sure that all the scenarios submitted are complete and have all the important information and follow a standard format for ease of use.

Title
Just a simple title that sums up your scenario.

Fluff (optional)
A bit of creative writing that sets the mood for your campaign.

Introduction
A bit of text that describes what's going on in the scenario, it could be a raid against bunkers, hostage rescue or even a full blown tank battle. Include what type of mission it is, eg raid where there's an attacker and defender or a straight battle, also include if it's balanced or not.

Setup
Some text that describes how the forces and table should be setup, include things like table edges, who deploys or goes first, terrain etc. Feel free to include a map if you want to.

Forces (optional)
If your scenario has any force changes such as extra FOC slots, unequal points, unit restrictions, special reserves, add them in this section.

Scenario Special Rules (optional)
If your scenario uses any custom rules such as environmental effects, night fighting or any rules that just applies for this scenario, add them to this section.

Mission Objective
Add your scenarios victory conditions here, include any bonus victory points or kill points for custom scenarios.

Reserves
If your scenario has any special reserve rules such as delayed reserves etc, add them here. If not, just say standard reserves.

Game Length
Add any modifications to the length of the game here, if there's no modifications, just say standard game length.

Design notes (optional)
This is where what you were thinking when you created the scenario. What forces, if any, you had planned to use. Any alterations you think might be interesting. Basically, it's anything you want to say 'about' the scenario.

Creator
Your name as you want it credited on the scenario and the contributors page. This can be a nickname like ColCorbane or your real name.

It may seem a little daunting at first, but once you've got the basic idea of the scenario, you'll find it's pretty easy to write it down following the heads above. If you'd like to see some samples, check the scenarios appendix. Once you've written your scenario, email it to me at colcorbane@gmail.com along with any maps as jpeg images. If it's part of a custom campaign that you're submitting, include it in the same email as the campaign so that I can keep them all together while I get them online.

Ladder campaign guidelines

2009-10-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to submit a sample ladder campaign for addition to the samples already list here, then first read through these guidelines.

Title

Fluff (optional)
A bit of creative writing to set the scene of the campaign, it's only a ladder campaign, so nothing to long.

Introduction
A few lines of writing about what the campaign is about.

Victory conditions
A bit of text telling players how the campaign victor is worked out, eg cp's, vp's, weighted or climatic.

Force notes (optional)
Any force restrictions that apply across the whole campaign.

Scenarios
You need list the scenarios in the order of play. It needs to be a minimum of 2 scenarios to be a ladder campaign but I'd prefer 3 or 4 scenarios to a campaign for editing's stake.

For each scenario, you need a title, how it fits into the campaign, you need to let players know where they can get them, eg, the 40k rulebook p65. I'm only accepting references to scenarios from printed GW publications like the rulebook/White Dwarf or custom written ones. Please don't use references to scenarios listed online as I can't guarantee they'll always be there and that'll cause problems in the long run.

It's ok to make modifications to existing scenarios, such as changing the force levels, terrain, setups, objective, giving forces special rules etc. You can also add any campaign scoring such as scenario weighting etc. If it's a scenario you've written, then just add them after the title. If you're using ongoing effects to give an advantage or disadvantage to players in the next scenario, add them after special rules or scoring for the scenario.

So, for each scenario we need ...

Title
How it fits into the campaign.
Where it can be found / custom written
Any modifications to the scenario or scenario special rules
Any ongoing effects the scenario has on the campaign
Any campaign scoring notes

On submitting your own custom scenarios, just add them on the end of the campaign details. They'll be added separately in the scenarios section and linked to from your campaign. Check the scenario submission guidelines page for how to lay them out.

Designers notes (optional)
A bit of text describing what your thoughts are about the campaign and how it's supposed to be played. Anything from your inspiration or ideas for changing things.

Creator (optional)
Your name as you want it credited on the campaign and contributors page.This can be a nickname such as ColCorbane or your real name.

If you're not quite sure about any of the above, have a look at Preparing to strike, an example campaign that highlights all the points above. It may seem a bit complicated at first but when you get down to it, it's surprisingly simple.

Once you've got it together, email it to me at colcorbane@gmail.com along with any custom scenarios. Please put ladder campaign in the subject box.

Submission guidelines

2009-10-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

Going on campaign is a living rulebook and source guide, and by that I mean that I welcome your suggestions for narratives, rules, campaigns etc. I want the project to grow over time, rather than jump about randomly, so at the moment, I'm only accepting submissions for the sections already completed or being prepared. If you have any ideas for future sections or sub sections, feel free to add them in the comments.

If you'd like to comment on individual pages with rules etc, just add them in the comments on that page. If you'd like to submit large sections of material, then please email me colcorbane@gmail.com first with a rough idea of what you want to submit, just in case it's not suitable. I'd hate for you to spend hours putting something together for it not to be suitable. On that, as long as it's in line with what I'm doing here, then it should be fine but I do reserve the right to modify or not publish submitted material for obvious reasons.

At the moment, I'm only accepting custom written scenarios and ladder campaigns.

I want to standardise the sample campaigns and scenarios that get added to the project so that it's well formatted and easy to follow, it'll also make it easier to convert into a pdf as a future project.

If you'd like to add a custom written scenario to the scenario appendix, please check the scenario submission guidelines before you send them in.

If you'd like to submit your own ladder campaign then please follow the ladder campaign guidelines.

I'm also after pics of campaign maps, campaign markers / army markers etc for a future showcase section. So, if you've got anything suitable, drop me a line. I'd prefer them photographed on the map, or a blank piece of paper, but if not, don't worry, just send them to colcorbane@gmail.com anyway.

Thanks for helping Going on campaign grow.

Narrative suggestions

2009-10-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Narratives are an important element of campaigns and feature heavily in them: whether they are driving the scenarios of a ladder or tree campaign or being created by the ongoing events in a map campaign, you can't get away from them. If you are new to campaigning and need a little inspiration to design your own, have a look at these narrative suggestions and see if you plan a campaign around one of them.

Tainted trade war - a trade war has started between two rival hives, but few suspect that chaos is driving the conflict.

Behind the lines - a strike force has to infiltrate into enemy territory to take out a supply depot / radar station / missile silo and then make their way back to their own lines.

Assassinate - a small band of elite forces has to track down and kill and enemy commander

Convoy - a mech force has to make it's way through no man's land to recover a vital artifact.

The break out - a force has been cut off and surrounded by enemy forces and desperately need to break out before their supplies run out.

These are just a few ideas that you can base your narrative on and then pick or write the scenarios that suit the story. Give it a go, it can be great fun just working these campaigns out with your mates.

Do you have an idea for a narrative to add to these? Please add it in the comments.

Ladder campaigns

2009-10-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ladder campaigns are the simplest of all the different campaigns. They're a simple set of linked games where each scenario follows the ongoing narrative. It can be anything from two games to twenty but three or four games are the most common. In the main, they tend to be for two players, often friends who want to add a little narrative to their regular gaming.

It's quite possible you've already played a ladder campaign with a friend without even realising it. Any time you sat down with you mate after a game, thought about what would happen next and planned the next scenario around that idea, you've been playing a ladder campaign. The only difference is that a proper ladder campaign the scenarios are planned before the games are played, rather than after them.

In the example above, the narrative follows a strike force heading into enemy territory to take out a an enemy comms station or something similar. First, they have to move in and scout the target, then sabotage it without being detected and then evacuate their forces safely. All of a sudden, they'll no longer pick up game but part of a mission that pulls you in.

It's important to note that all the games don't have to be the same size in points or even the same game system. It's fine for the games to start with 500pts a side, escalating upto 1500pts across the three games, or for one of the games to be run with Necromunda rules or even Aeronautic Imperialis rules Can you imagine how much fun it would be to play a couple of small scale sabotage scenarios in preparation for a large AI bombing raid? Don't be scared to give these things a go, campaigns are supposed to be liberating remember ;-)

The example makes it perfectly clear what a ladder campaign is, but it's missing the key element that makes campaigns interesting, the idea of on going effect. It makes no reference to how succeeding or failing at a mission effects the campaign overall. Ladder campaigns are quite restrictive in this aspect, as the next scenario is set by the narrative and not dictated by the results of the previous game or the tactical decisions of the players.

Ladder campaigns are a great way for friends to add a bit of fun to their games and can really help with coming up with interesting scenarios to play rather than the standard three. If you're looking for a more dynamic narrative, then tree campaigns often just that.

Tree campaigns

I hope that this gives you an insight into Ladder campaigns and what they can offer regular gaming buddies. If you've got any ideas, additions or experiences you'd like to share on this, then add them in the comments below.

Types of campaigns

2009-10-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Campaign can be as simple or as complex as you like. Some can be played in a day, some can take years. It all depends on what you want out of your campaign and how much effort you want to put into planning and running it. Campaigns come in all different designs, but generally they fit into two broad types, narrative and map based campaigns.

Narrative campaigns are simply a collection of linked scenarios which are driven by a storyline. The simplest form of this is the Ladder campaign which is set of linked games where the outcome of a battle can effect the next battle, the campaign overall or both. The other version is a Tree campaign which are normally designed to run a few games where the results of the battle decided what scenario is played in the next battle.

Map based campaigns come in many different forms, all based on a map of some kind. The simplest type of map campaign is a territory campaign where sections on the map represent how well a player is doing in the campaign. Node campaigns are a very simplified map campaign where players battle over nodes that are interlinked, often superimposed over a normal map to give the campaign a narrative. Each new node taken represents the forces pushing the front line and the map shows the overall warzone without having to worry about army movements etc. Finally, the true map campaign, the most complicated of all campaigns, the map campaign gives the players control over their armies movement and battles giving them a whole new level of strategic gaming.

All these campaigns offer a new level to 40k but demand effort in return. For the simpler ones, these can easily be designed and run by friends, but for the more complicated map campaigns, it's better to have a dedicated games master who isn't playing in the campaign to co-ordinate things.

Campaign practicalities

Going on campaign

2009-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mention the world 'campaign' to any grey haired long toothed vet, and their eyes will close and their faces take on a serene half smiling look as the old grey matter pulls out various memories of battles, sieges and all round backstabbery.

So, why do these veteran gamers love campaigns so much. Well, it's because they give our games a context, a narrative, a setting and a meaning. Campaigns are a way of linking together games to tell a story. Quite often, the next battle is often influenced by the previous one, giving a value to the games you play. This way, games become more than just games, they have an effect on the whole campaign. If you you can hold that bridge this game, then next game you relief force will arrive and you can push back the enemy, if you can't, they'll be at your city gates in the next battle. Now doesn't that sound more fun than just playing off against your mates?

Campaigns can challenge you in completely different ways to normal games. You can be an ubber general on the tabletop, sweeping all aside, but if you can't make sure you forces are well supplied, supported and in the chain of command, you'll soon find them dying quickly. Remember, transports are only good if you've got fuel to make them go. Campaigns test you skills as a general on the battlefield and a general in the command bunker.

Campaigns can be competitive, with a strict ruleset, it's quite possible to run a competitive campaign but they're best run co-operatively for fun. Who wins the campaign is just a bit of bragging rights, it's how they got there that makes the campaign worth playing.

Campaigns also free you from the normal constraints of W40k where you turn up with a standard force of X points and play a standard scenario against another standard army. Campaigns can throw that convention out of the window. If your forces have taken a battering and you've only got 1000 points worth of troops left holding the bridge against your friends 2000 point force - tough! Welcome to the real world where generals never fight in equal battles and the consequence of losing a battle can be far more reaching than in a pick up game.

Campaigns can also widen the game systems you play, incorporating Epic for large battles, or Aeronautic Imperialis for air supremacy runs and even Necromunda or 40k in 40mins for small scale sabotage and scout games. Campaigns are only limited by the imagination and commitment of the players involved in them.

Before you start a campaign, you'll need some regular players who are committed to playing the campaign. Just one player not bothering to play the games they need to can ruin the campaign for the other players. The more complex the campaign, the more commitment you need to see it through to the end.

Campaign come in all different shapes and sizes, from the simple escalation or ladder campaigns to the world wide territorial campaigns run by GW. In the next section, we'll be looking at the different types of campaigns and what they offer gamers.

Types of campaigns

2009-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

1. - Preface
1.1 - Table of contents
1.2 - Project log
1.3 - Submission guidelines
1.3.1 - Scenario guidelines
1.3.2 - Ladder campaign guidelines
1.4 - List of contributors

2. - Going on Campaign
2.1 - Types of campaigns
2.2 - Campaign practicalities
2.3 - Campaign aids
2.4 - Newsletters and Diaries

3. - Narrative Campaigns
3.1 - Ladder campaigns
3.2 - Tree Campaigns
3.3 - Scoring narratives
3.4 - Ongoing effects
3.5 - Suggested narratives

4. - Map campaigns
4.1 - Territorial campaigns
4.2 - Node campaigns
4.3 - True map campaigns
4.4 - Types of maps
4.5 - Detailing maps
4.6 - Types of map details
4.7 - Starting positions
4.8 - Initial forces
4.9 - Ending the campaign

5. - Campaign phase
5.1 - Turn order and Initiative

Showcase - Maps

Appendix A - Scenarios
Appendix B - Maps
Appendix C - Campaigns
Appendix D - Player aids

Contributors

2009-10-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Below you'll find a list of various contributors who have helped Going on campaign grow.

ColCorbane - Founder and general dogsbody.
Admiral Drax - Chief wordy guy.

Campaigns - Timythener, Sovietspace (Astronomicon)

Maps - Jay Biga (Bols), Tokkan (Freebootaz), Quantem Fear (Freebootaz), Broadsword (Freebootaz), Regnir (Freebootaz), John (Plastic legions), Alessio (BlackRed Studio), Fox (FoxPhoenix135), Paolo Bertoncini (Grande Maestro), Sovietspace (Astronomicon), Gewaltatron, GK (Citizen Nick Hobby Center)

Scenarios - Sunflame

Player aids - Broadsword (Freebootaz)

Project log

2009-10-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

On this page, you'll links to all the latest updates. As this project is a living one, I recommend that you check this page periodically to make sure you haven't missed any updates to previous sections.

20 Feb - Added Turn order and Initiative to the campaign phase section.
7 Feb - Added the Campaign phase section.
4 Feb 2011 - Narrative Campaigns PDF published.

12 Dec - Added more maps to the Maps showcase.
1 Dec - Added another map to the Maps showcase.
27 Nov - Added Ending the campaign to the Maps campaign section.
23 Nov - Added Initial forces to the Maps campaign section.
17 Nov - Added Starting positions to the Maps campaign section.
7 May - Added Types of map details to the Maps campaign section.
28 Apr - Added Detailing maps to the Maps campaign section.
15 Feb - Added Types of maps to the Maps campaign section.
12 Jan - Added Kentack VII to the campaigns section and the Kentack VII map to the Maps showcase
1 Jan 2010 - Added Fighting withdrawal to the scenarios appendix

16 Dec - Added Faaris IV to the maps appendix
14 Dec - Added Tainted rebellion to the campaign appendix
12 Dec - Removed some content at the request of GW legal, but added another map to the Maps showcase and a new ice world campaign map.
24 Nov - Added Breakout to the scenarios appendix.
23 Nov - Added another map to Maps showcase and added Banner markers to Player aids
20 Nov - Added Resource markers to Player aids.
19 Nov - Added Hex maps to Player aids and the scenario Ambushed and Betrayed to the scenarios appendix.
18 Nov - Added more maps to the Maps showcase, also started working through all the submitted content.
15 Nov - Added Maps showcase and added map pics to various pages in the maps section.
14 Nov - Added True map campaigns.
13 Nov - Added a bit of text to Territorial campaigns and added Node campaigns.
11 Nov - Added Territorial campaigns
10 Nov - Added Map campaigns and updated the Narratives section with Drax's literary suggestions. It reads much better now.
9 Nov - Added Newsletters & diaries and the Player aids appendix.
7 Nov - Project launched, no going back now.
5 Nov - Finished up the Narratives section for now by adding Tree campaigns, Narrative scoring and Ongoing effects sections.
4 Nov - Worked on the Narratives section, reworked the Types of campaign and added the Campaign appendix.
3 Nov - Added Campaign aids, Maps appendix and the Ta'Lar mountains node based campaign map.
2 Nov - Added Campaign practicalities.
1 Nov - Added Scenarios index, Scenario submission guidelines, Column ambush scenario and the Preparing to strike ladder campaign.
31 Oct - Added Ladder campaign guidelines, Sample ladder campaigns and Paint it up scenario. Worked on sample ladder campaigns and sample scenarios and scenario submission guidelines. Also added the Disqus commenting system to the project. Hopefully, this will help encourage discussion of rules suggestions etc.
30 Oct - Added Submission guidelines, updated the Preface and most importantly, welcomed aboard Admiral Drax as the projects chief wordy guy, he's going to be the projects proof reader and online editor. He'll be making my ramblings and your suggestions clearer with his ubber English skills.
29 Oct - Added Suggested narratives, worked on interlinking the pages and added a header.
28 Oct - Added Ladder campaigns.
26 Oct - Added contributors and table of contents, Going on campaign and Types of campaigns pages.
25 Oct 2009 - The Going on Campaign living rule book is launched.

Welcome to the world of campaigning

2009-10-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

So, what's this all about then? Well, I've always loved campaigns, ever since I first picked up Mighty Empires 17 years ago. I loved it so much, I'm still playing it, and yes, I've still got the tiles, two sets to be precise. Anyway, I digress a little, back to the blog.

Inspired by the most excellent out of production Generals Compendium for WFB, I decided to build this blog as a long term project dedicated to campaigning in the 40k world. Over time, I hope to build this into a living rule book and source guide to 40k campaigns, covering everything from the essentials to the obscure. I'm hoping to bring you all sorts of campaigns for you to try and rules to make you games more interesting.

On that, this is a living project, so I actively encourage you to add your thoughts, your rule suggestions, your experiences and your campaigns, check out the submission guidelines for my information. Periodically, I'll update the various sections and make sure you get credited for your contribution.

This project isn't designed to give you a complete set of rules, rather a guide to the possible ways you can run a campaign and a collection of possible rules, campaigns, scenarios that you can pick from or modify for your own campaigns. So, feel free to use what you like and change what you don't, as long as it brings you some fun.

Here's hoping we can build something great together.

All the best
ColCorbane

Table of contents - Going on campaign

Going on Campaign

Turn order and Initiative

40K Campaigns on the Web

Campaign Phase

Narrative Campaigns PDF

A quick update

Front Cover Sneak Peak

More maps for the showcase

Another map for the showcase

I need a little help guys

Ending the campaign

Moving forward ....

Initial forces

Starting positions

Gearing up

Types of map details

Detailing maps

Types of maps

Territorial campaign - Kentack VII

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Fighting Withdrawal

Map - Faaris IV (Territorial map)

Ladder Campaign - Tainted Rebellion

Map - Ice world (Grid map)

GW Legal say Yay!

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Breakout

Resource markers

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Ambushed and Betrayed

Hex maps

Campaign map showcase

True map campaigns

Node campaigns

Territorial campaigns

Map campaigns

News from the front

Player aids

Project Diary - Launch Day

Ongoing effects in narrative campaigns

Scoring narrative campaigns

Tree campaigns

Narrative campaigns

Campaigns

Maps

Map - Ta'Lar mountains (Node map)

Campaign aids

Practical campaigning

Project Diary - October 09

Scenarios

Ladder Campaign - Preparing to strike

Balanced Raid Scenario - Column Ambush

Unbalanced Raid Scenario - Paint it up

Scenario submission guidelines

Ladder campaign guidelines

Submission guidelines

Narrative suggestions

Ladder campaigns

Types of campaigns

Going on campaign

Table of Contents

Contributors

Project log

Welcome to the world of campaigning