Hey all! Back here with part 2 of my piece on Campaigns. This part I'll actually get more into the mechanics of the game and give some examples of rules which you can try and use, or at least you can use them as a basis to start your own campaign and develop your own rules.
Picking up where I left off, we've got maps, a good group of players, a time line, and a points basis for our armies. So, let's get to one method of running the campaign.
A campaign, and especially map campaigns, are usually divided into "phases" to allow players the time to plot, scheme, and strategize before they commit any forces into action. For my group and I, this period is known as the Planning Phase. I know hardly original, but it's simple and gets the point across. As mentioned in last post, this phase lasts from 0800 Monday morning and ends 2000 on Friday when all of our moves are finalized and submitted to the GM. Basically in this phase in this phase, plans are drawn up between the commanders concerning their forces. This involves all operational plans for movement, attacks, and reinforcements. Resources are also determined in this phase. Resource allocation is a fairly in depth and complicated process on its own, which I won't delve into too much here, but it's based upon territories/locations possessed at the beginning of the Planning Phase. Typically, most people play it something along the lines of : Cities generate 500pts of Troops a turn, Munitions Factories generate 500pts of Heavy Support a turn, etc. etc. As I said I won't go into too much detail here, as this aspect can and will vary depending upon the background of the campaign, the type of country/world you're fighting in/for, as well as the factions involved.
Since I'm discussing the planning phase, I'll get into some of the actions one can take in this phase, the most common of which is Movement. To make it more..."realistic" (and I hate using that term, but it fits the best), different army types/styles move on the campaign map at different rates. These rates determine how far/fast they can traverse the field of battle in a given Planning Phase. This is easily broken down as follows:
Infantry - Armies that are entirely comprised of infantry/foot slogging troops, or 50% or more of the army is comprised of foot slogging troops, they move 1 campaign map territory per phase.
Mechanized - Armies comprised entirely of vehicles (Rhinos, Chimeras, Cavalry etc) or 50% or more of the force is comprised of vehicles (including transports) can move up to two map territories per phase.
Airborne/Skimmer: Armies comprised entirely of skimmers or fliers or 50% or more of the army is comprised of skimmers/fliers (including transports) may move up to three map territories per phase. This also includes armies that DS 50% or more of their force. On account of this Jet Pack dominant armies (like the new BA or the Raven Guard) are considered Airborne / Skimmer armies if 50% or more of their army is jump pack equipped.
As a side note, due to their one time use nature, Drop Pods are considered Infantry Armies.
Of course, your forces can opt to not move during the Planning Phase and instead choose to do one of the following:
Dig In!: Troop use their time wisely to dig in and construct defensive fighting positions. The army digging in can add two separate d6*2 inches worth of tank traps/barb wire/trench lines to the battlefield. These additions become a permanent fixture to the battle field, even if the force decides to abandon it later on. In addition they may add d3 bunkers to the battlefield.
Reinforce: So long as the unit in question has clear lines of communication back to another friendly territory, they may replenish any lost forces with those forces they have in reserve, so long as they swap like units for like units in the FOC first, before filling in other areas of the FOC.
EX: Army A recently lost a Basilisk, a Veteran Squad, and two infantry squads in a battle. They have a Leman Russ and several infantry platoons in reserve. They can choose to replace the basilisk with the Russ and the two missing squads with the two they have in reserve. Since they have no Elites in reserve they cannot replace the Veterans.
EX: Army B loses a basilisk and two veteran squads. In reserve they have 3 veteran squads and 3 infantry platoons. They replenish the lost veterans, but cannot replace the basilisk. They choose though to reinforce the Army with another infantry platoon.
Clear an LZ: Skimmer/Airborne forces need landing zones to bring in supplies and reinforcements when they move, for they will occasionally operate far behind enemy lines, and the only way to supply such forces are with landing zones. When an Army chooses to clear an LZ, it secures the ground (i.e. downs trees, clears away rocks/rubble, etc). From then on the LZ can bring in up to 500pts of reinforcements, even if no Line of Communication exists. So long as they hold the LZ, the effects of being Cut Off are ignored.
Expand an LZ: Sometimes the small, temporary LZs of Airborne armies fail to suffice the supply needs of the Army. In that case, the Army can expand the LZ and clear away more land to allow more reinforcements to be brought in. This option can only be done once an LZ has been established. Once complete, it allows up to 1000pts of reinforcements to be brought in even if no Line of Communication exists. So long as they hold the LZ, the effects of being Cut Off are ignored.
As I'll get into shortly, these last two options are extremely vital, particularly if you or someone on your team is prone to launch deep assaults into enemy territory where the chances of being surrounded are great. The next action one can take during the Planning Phase is to launch an attack. Attacking occurs when a friendly unit and an enemy unit occupy the same map territory. This can occur when both parties move into the same territory, as in a meeting engagement, or when one army moves into a territory already occupied by the enemy. Due to the chance nature of two armies moving into the same map territory, the battle is played as normal, following the rules of the 40k rule book. On the other hand, when one army moves into a territory already occupied by an enemy, some bonuses apply:
Defender: When one army occupies a territory that is subsequently invaded by an enemy army, the occupying army is the defender. He can choose one of the following bonuses: an extra 500pts for his army; a preliminary bombardment.
Preliminary Bombardment: Roll a d6 for each attacking unit that starts on the board. On a 6+, the unit is hit by a S9 AP2 Ordnance blast template. The defenders have pre-ranged fires set up and have Target Reference Points allocated across the battlefield, allowing them to bring forth heavy artillery from the rear areas to soften the enemy advance.
Attacker: The attacker in the situation outlined above may take one of the following bonuses:
Airstrike: One enemy unit on the board is hit by Bombay payload of 3X Heavy Bombs. Heavy Bombs are S6 AP4 Heavy 1 Blast.
Recon Move: A single Troops choice may make a Scout move as outlined in the Warhammer 5th Edition Rulebook.
In such a scenario the Defender will always set up first and have first turn.
The next key piece of the Planning Phase, is the idea of Lines of Communication. They've been hinted at here and there above, so I'll get into some detail about them. Lines of Communication (LOC) exist when there are congruous and adjacent friendly territories. LOC are important in that armies can only be reinforced with Reinforcements so long as there are clear LOC’s. The longer a unit is away from LOCs, the greater the chance it will be overrun and destroyed. Destroyed units are utterly abolished and will never return to the campaign map. In fact, when a unit can no longer trace an uninterrupted line to a congruous and adjacent friendly territory (i.e. they are completely surrounded by enemy held territories), they are considered “Cut Off”. When that occurs the following penalties occur, depending on how long they are “Cut Off”:
“Cut Off” For 1 Turn: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized” on a roll of 5+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized” on a 6+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that had no damage effects remain fully operational; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo on a roll of 6+ (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 2 Turns: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized” on a roll of 4+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized” on a 5+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that had no damage effects become “Immobilized” on a 6+, as fuel supplies begin to run low, otherwise they become fully operational; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo on a roll of 5+ (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 3 Turns: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized” on a roll of 3+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized” on a 4+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that had no damage effects become “Immobilized” on a 5+, as fuel supplies begin to run low, otherwise they become fully operational; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo on a roll of 4+ (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 4 Turns: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized” on a roll of 2+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized” on a 3+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that had no damage effects become “Immobilized” on a 4+, as fuel supplies begin to run low, otherwise they become fully operational; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo on a roll of 3+ (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 5 Turns: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized”; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized” on a 2+, otherwise they become fully operational; Vehicles that had no damage effects become “Immobilized” on a 3+, as fuel supplies begin to run low, otherwise they become fully operational; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo on a roll of 2+ (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 6 Turns: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized”; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized”; Vehicles that had no damage effects become “Immobilized” on a 2+, as fuel supplies begin to run low, otherwise they become fully operational; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 7 Turns: Vehicles are that are/were “Wrecked/Explodes!” remain destroyed; Vehicles that are/were “Immobilized” remain “Immobilized”; Vehicles that are/were “Stunned” become “Immobilized”; Vehicles that had no damage effects become “Immobilized” , as fuel supplies run out; All Heavy Weapons run out of ammo (HW are considered S5 and above); all weapons with a set amount of ammo (for example Manticores and Death Strikes) have however many rounds remaining unfired.
“Cut Off” For 8 Turns: The “Cut Off” force is utterly destroyed/captured. They no longer exist as a battlegroup on the campaign map and their losses cannot be recouped.
One common factor I forgot to include in each, is that any losses will not be recouped. So if you lose that Assault Terminator Squad on Day 1, they're not going to be a part of your force on Day 2. But hey, maybe their Land Raider survived!
As and aside, all rolls for vehicle/ammunition status are made by the owning player after deployment.
As you can tell by that extremely in depth chart, launching a rapid moving spearhead deep into enemy held territory is a gamble, especially if you or your team mates have no friendly forces nearby with which to support your move.
The last piece of the Planning Phase puzzle is one of the more in depth mechanics my friends and I use to incorporate "realism" (damnit! that's twice in 1 post!). This mechanic is random weather. Weather plays a key role in military operations. To represent this, weather storms may periodically occur, impacting friendly and enemy military operations.
At the beginning of the Planning Phase, the GM will roll a d6. On a 5+, there is weather which negatively impacts movement and military operations that turn. If weather will affect operations, the GM will roll a further d6 and consult the chart below:
1). Light Rain: Movement unrestricted for infantry and vehicles; Airborne forces may only move three territories on a d6 of 3+. The owning player will roll for his forces. Otherwise, they move as infantry forces
2). Heavy Rain: Movement unrestricted for infantry forces. Mech forces may only move two territories on a d6 of 4+. Airborne forces may only move three territories on a 5+. Owning player will roll for his forces. Otherwise, they move as infantry forces. Night Fight rules in effect for first turn of any battles fought.
3). Severe Thunderstorm: Movement unrestricted for infantry. Mech forces may only move two territories on a 5+. Otherwise they move as infantry. Airborne forces MUST move as infantry. Owning player rolls for his forces.
4). Heavy Fog: Movement unrestricted for infantry. Mech forces may only move two territories on a 5+. Otherwise they move as infantry. Airborne forces MUST move as infantry. Owning player rolls his forces. Night Fight rules in effect for the first 2 turns of any battles fought this phase.
5). Tropical/Winter/Sand Storm: Infantry may only move one territory on a 4+. Otherwise they remain in place. Mech forces may only move two territories on a 6+. Otherwise they move like infantry. Airborne Force may move like infantry on a 4+. Otherwise they remain in place. Owning player rolls for his forces. No Deep Strike permitted. Night Fight rules for first 4 turns of any battles fought this phase.
6). Apocalyptic Weather: Infantry may move one territory on a 6+ only. Otherwise they remain in place. Mech forces may move like infantry on a 5+. Otherwise they remain in place. Airborne forces may not move at all. Night Fight rules for the entire battle for any battles fought this phase. No Deep Strike permitted.
This again makes it more challenging, as it throws a wrench into you and your teams plans. You may have been on the verge of grabbing one of those strategic objectives (maybe a city or a Necropolis, etc)., but due to the weather you can't grab it as your army won't be able to reach it. That's another day the enemy has a chance to claim it before you, or if they already hold it, to dig in and reinforce it.
This pretty much sums up a lot of the detail in the Planning Phase. The next two game phases are fairly short to describe, and won't take a lot of reading. They are the Action Phase, where you actually fight the battles that occur on the Campaign Map, and the Results Phase, which is where the outcomes of the battles are posted/made known and the lines of battle are redrawn. After this we start a new Planning Phase.
Whew that was a LOT to write. I forgot how much detail was involved with making and running campaigns. Part 3, which is coming shortly, will detail with two of the more fun and interesting side pieces of campaigns: Recon Forces and Unit Experience. Stay tuned!
