Campaign Rules - The Conquest of Entara

I originally wrote the basic campaign rules and tried to keep things as simple as possible.  As the campaign progressed, I updated a few to reflect some of the things that happened in game ranging from characters surviving attacks with post-game rolls to simply killing off characters that had taken one too many Las Cannon shots to the head.  Below are the final rules I came up with.

Campaign Special Rules

This campaign is first and foremost a way to learn the basic rules for Warhammer 40,000 and to “forge the narrative”. The basic rules will be followed with a few fun exceptions introduced.

 

Special Rules for Imperium of Man

Any Squat model (using the rules for Codex: Astra Militarum) have +1 Toughness. This represents their increased resistance to gravity and how they’ve adapted to centuries of working in mines. To represent how some of the colonists have become cultists of Nurgle, each Squat unit must roll a D6 at the beginning of the game. A roll of 1 results in the unit suffering from Fear: Nurgle (i.e. any unit with the Mark of Nurgle or devotion to Nurgle will cause Fear on the unit).

Starting Mission 6, all models with Chapter Tactics (Iron Hands) have gained Hatred: Nurgle for the rest of the campaign.

 

Special Rules for Eldar

The Eldar Warlord in every scenario must roll a D6. On a roll of 4+, the Warlord gains the “Knowledge of Elleem” rule to show how much they have studied the historical maps for the region of conflict. This rule allows the Warlord to redeploy up to D3+1 units after they have been deployed. Conversely, the Warlord can choose to instead give the Scout USR to 2 separate units.

Farseer Teldrim is considerably more adept in all matters pertaining to Elleem. As a result, he gains the “Knowledge of Elleem” rule on a roll of 2+. However now that he possesses the Index, he automatically passes his roll when in the battle.

Autarch Ithrain has proven to be quite sturdy despite getting shot down in various battles. As a result starting after Mission 7, he never has to roll on the Curse of Defeat table.

 

Special Rules for Chaos Space Marines

Any unit with the Mark of Nurgle or devotion to Nurgle rolls a D6 at deployment. On a roll of 3+, the unit gains the Preferred Enemy: Imperium special rule to represent the knowledge gained from the cultists of Nurgle.

The forces of Chaos have gained access to summoning the Daemon Siri. She/He always possesses a new body and as a result may not be upgraded and never rolls on the Curse of Defeat table.

As a result of Henrick’s treachery after Mission 8, no Daemons of Nurgle or units with the Mark of Nurgle may be taken by Henrick’s forces. His Chaos war band has been split into multiple factions.

 

Character Progression/Penalties

Special characters are vital to the campaign. These characters stand to gain benefits from victory in battle. That said defeat also comes with its penalties.

 

Campaign Victory Points

Campaign Victory Points (CVP) can be gained by an army in various ways. Any army gains victory points by fulfilling one of the following:

1. 1 Campaign Victory Point is gained by winning a game.

2. 1 Campaign Victory Point is gained for completing the “special” mission for the scenario.

3. 1 Campaign Victory Point is gained for defeating the enemy warlord and having yours survive.

 

Boons of Destiny

Every 2 Campaign Victory Points gained allows the general to grant a benefit to any character in the army. These bonuses can be applied to a model with the Independent Character or Character rules. In order to gain a benefit, roll a D6 then consult the table (the effects are permanent as long as the character lives):

1. Battle Lust: +1 WS and +1 Leadership

2. Athletic Conditioning: +1 Strength or +1 Toughness

3. Perfect Timing: +1 BS and +1 Initiative

4. Lightning Reflexes: +1 WS, +1 Initiative, and +1 Attack

5. Overwhelming Power: +1 Wound or +1 Mastery Level (if not a Psyker, character becomes ML 1)

6. Wisdom of Battle: Gain 1 USR selected from the following list:

a. Adamantium Will

b. Eternal Warrior

c. Stealth

d. Infiltrate

e. It Will Not Die

f. Furious Charge

g. Daemon

Note - The player can save up to 4 Campaign Victory Points before they must be used.

 

Curse of Defeat

This campaign isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Using special characters and giving them the ability to gain powers also means they can lose them in a battle. This applies to any character that has rolled on the Boons of Destiny chart or is the Warlord for your force. If the character loses all their wounds in combat, they must roll a D6 at the end of the battle. On a roll of 1-3, they are considered to have Major Wounds. If they roll a 4-5 they have Minor Wounds. On a roll of 6, they have shrugged of their maladies. The actual penalties are as follows:

Minor Wounds – Character suffers -1 WS/BS/Initiative.

Major Wounds – Character suffers -1 Strength, -1 Toughness, and -1 Wound (all to a minimum of 1).

If the character is an Eternal Warrior, he or she may add +1 to their dice roll to show that they have been hardened by years of war or physical training. Every time a character already has Minor Wounds and suffers an additional Minor Wounds effect, they are downgraded to having Major Wounds. If they have Major Wounds and suffer an additional Minor Wounds effect, the effects are cumulative and they are on the brink of death (but are still alive). Any further wounds suffered at this point will result in permanent death. If a character already has Major Wounds and suffers another Major Wounds roll, the character is removed from play (potentially altering the storyline). On the flip side, if a character has Major Wounds and survives a battle, they are upgraded to only having Minor Wounds. Any character that has Minor Wounds that survives a battle loses the negative effects of Minor Wounds. The player can choose to not have the character participate in a battle at all. If this happens, the character loses any Major Wounds and Minor Wounds effects they are suffering...they make a full recovery!