Campaign Last Run:
Jan 31st-Feb 21st 2005
Success rating:
Players enjoyed the campaign, though It needs to be reviewed and loopholes
fixed.
I give it a 7/10
Designer's notes:
This campaign was intended to be a 4 battle progression fought over 4 weeks
(1 battle a week).
This campaign was fun because it was free and mostly free-form. Prize support
was offered as a curtousy of the store owner. Using a buy-in or flat fee for
the campaign might sour the results, unless it was balanced more. Favors troops
armies. Was designed as an open-invite gig, though anyone not in by mission
three has almost no chance.
For the Hold AAC mission, I made the obj worth 1000 vic poits flat.
These rules need to be gone over once or twice. A few items to bring up are:
Resupply points - players ran into army size issues and this caused a bit
of discomfort
Retreat rules and retreating units in CC
Necrons - always a headache
Mission sellection - trouble with the Hold at all Costs and Seek and Destroy
missions
Campaign winner hopefuls known one week before the end, any way to emilinate
that?
A Copy of the Original Rules Used:
Campaign structure:
|
Week
|
Points-per-battle
|
Battle difficulty
|
Battle
|
|
1
|
1000
|
Gamma
|
Take & Hold
|
|
2
|
1350
|
Gamma
|
Secure & Control
|
|
3
|
1750
|
Gamma
|
Hold at All Costs
|
|
4
|
1750
|
Omega
|
Seek & Destroy
|
4th ed. Rules will be used. Each player will create a 2000 pt army roster that will be used during the 4 games played. All Unit choices must be taken from this roster.
Battles:
Standard rules are used missions. All experience gained/lost in battle will
be double the typical amount specified in the back of 4 ed. Rules book due
to the brevity of this campaign. Winner will receive 400 re-supply pts per
battle, loser will receive 300 re-supply pts.
Re-Supply pts:
These points can be used in the following ways:
Units reduced in strength but above 50% strength cost 25% of their original
roster pts to bring back to full.
Units reduced below 50% strength cost 50% of their original roster pts to
bring back to full.
Units that have been destroyed cost 75% of their original roster pts.
Vehicles that have suffered any number of "Armament destroyed" results count
as above 50% strength but below 100% strength for re-supply pts.
Vehicles that have suffered any number of "Immobilized" results count as being
below 50% strength for re-supply pts.
Vehicles that have suffered a "Vehicle destroyed/explodes/ annihilated" result
count as being destroyed for re-supply pts.
Unit/vehicle armaments may not be changed from original roster while the unit survives. New units may be bought to replace destroyed units at full pt. cost! They may have any armament combination, as long as it does not exceed your 2000 pt roster limit. Units reduced below 50% can be removed voluntarily to make room for a new unit purchase. Units above 50% strength can only be reinforced.
Victory Points:
Victory points are given in the mission description. 'Paint points' will be
awarded. Each player will receive full paint points (+100 victory points)
the first week. Each week you have a fully painted army or have shown progress
in painting your currently fielded army, that player will receive full paint
points (+100 victory points). No partial points will be awarded.
--The Relic:
Gained in the first mission, this relic must be fielded with your army in
all subsequent games.
The relic may only be given to an elite or troop choice at no extra cost.
It confers a +1 Leadership bonus to that unit after all other modifiers have
been applied.
The relic must stay in base contact with the model holding the relic. It may
be transferred to another troop or elite choice mid-game, but neither unit
may assault that round and at least one model from both units must be in base
contact with the other unit. (must be transferred anytime during the movement
phase)
If a unit is broken in close combat and falls back, it immediately drops the
relic where it had been fighting and continues with it's fall back move. If
a unit holding the relic is destroyed, the relic remains on the table where
the unit was.
The relic may be picked up by a troop or elite choice if dropped on the field.
The unit may elect to pick up the relic as soon as it makes base contact with
it (It may only be picked up in the movement phase). That unit may not assault
that round.
The army holding the relic at the end of the mission gets +100 victory pts.
--The Artifact:
Gained in the third mission, this artifact must be fielded with your army
in all subsequent games.
The Artifact may be given to an elite, troop or vehicle choice at no extra
cost. It confers a 5+ cover save to any unit/vehicle holding it. (This unit
does not however count as being in cover when being assaulted. The cover save
is only applied to ranged attacks.)
The artifact is moved, dropped, and picked up the same way the relic is.
If the vehicle carrying the artifact explodes or is annihilated, the artifact
is lost and removed from the table.
The army holding the artifact at the end of the mission gets +100 victory
pts.
**If a unit holds both a relic and an artifact, that unit gains a 4+ cover save and +1 Leadership bonus. This unit still does not count as being in cover while being assaulted.
[OPTIONAL, depending on how much your players bitch]
-- Additions:
Necron players: Since Necrons receive no experience during campaigns because
they have the learning capacity of a toaster oven, they will have an added
bonus to re-supplying. For every unit lost after a battle that did not come
back during the battle, they may make another "We'll be back" roll. If the
unit still does not come back, then it will cost re-supply points to bring
back as noted above.
RETREATS:
A player can retreat from the field of battle starting after the first turn
of combat is complete. So, at the end of that player's movement phase, any
models still in that player's deployment zone may be removed from the table
once a retreat order is given. Any units/models not in the deployment zone
(including infiltrators that did not deploy there in the first place) are
left behind; do not remove these. Units in reserve are not counted as lost
if they did not come in before the retreat. ALL units/models in the deployment
zone must be removed in a retreat. If you don't want them to retreat, make
sure they're not there.
UNITS LEFT BEHIND: As the units left on the table undoubtedly notice the rest
of their force running for their lives and abandoning them, they will panic
and have to take a moral test. Fearless units may ignore this test as they
are, well, fearless. Moral for this test is modified by how many units where
removed from the table in the retreat. For each unit removed, subtract one
from leadership for this test (Ex. if three units where removed, the units
left would have to take a moral test at -3 Ld). Only one retreat order may
be given per game.
SCORING A RETREAT: A player that retreats will receive no victory pts for
objects during that combat. They will however still receive victory pts for
any opponent's units that they destroyed before the retreat. If all of a player's
units are removed from the table, their opponent then has however many turns
are left in that game to claim as many/much objective victory points as possible.
They do not get them all by default. The game still ends on turn 6. Any objectives
not claimed by that point are lost.
RELICS / ARTIFACTS IN A RETREAT: If one of the retreating units currently
holds a relic and/or artifact, these items are dropped as if the unit was
broken in close combat and fell back. These items may then be claimed by your
opponent by moving any scoring unit into base contact with the dropped item.
EXPERIENCE AND BATTLE HONORS:
Remember to roll for experience lost when re-supplying a unit. Also, battle
honors found in various codices maybe be taken provided they are run by the
GM first. It doesn't make any sense to take "robot hunters" (found in the
Necron codex) if you've never fought a robot before! Battle honors found in
the rules book may always be taken. In the case that you would like to add
additional battle honors to your table, roll a die that would appropriatly
randomize the table (eg: d6, d8, d10 etc...)