Thursday, August 13, 2015

More Campaign Rules: Characters, Actions, Missions, and Army Selection

Special Named Characters and Unique Wargear: 
Army commanders and other special named characters can only be included in one combat zone per campaign turn so the player needs to choose where to deploy them before each round of battles. Relics and unique wargear can only be used by a single character and so you cannot have a copy in both combat zones on the same turn. For example, if Filgakk Skullsplitta uses Da Lukky Stikk, then no other named or generic characters can use that piece of wargear. And if the Ork player chooses to use Filgakk in the ruined city combat zone, he cannot participate in the battle in the hills during the same campaign turn.

The named character that is the overall army commander is allowed to select any character trait from any table they are allowed to roll on and they will have that trait permanently in all battles throughout the campaign. They then roll as normal for a variable trait that is determined for each game. All other characters get a random character trait per game as normal, but they have the ability to select a permanent trait as their "veteran status" upgrade (if a Warlord is selected as the MVP of the game instead of a unit or vehicle). The selected trait to make permanent must be related to the heroic role that character played in the game.


Campaign Turn Actions:
I think it makes sense for the type of action your army is executing to have an impact on the composition of the force used. I'd like to represent this by adjusting the Force Organization Chart based on the action selected, similar to the old 3rd/4th edition rule books that most of these missions come from. This allows us to use special and flavorful army lists that we would not normally get to play, such a very tank-heavy Imperial Force

I also want to give a special bonus (sort of like the old Strategy Cards in 2nd Edition) to an army that takes a very flavorful army for their action. Right now, our army choices are very limited by what we own, but soon I hope we can tailor our lists for the type of mission we are selecting.

 
 
Having the Initiatve:
 
Besides just determining which mission is played, having the initiative from winning the prior game gives two other benefits:
  • You may re-roll the dice for determining which player selects their deployment zone.
  • You may re-roll the dice for determining whether or not there is Night Fighting.
 
These benefits represent the victorious force having greater ability to dictate the terms (location and timing) of the next battle by deciding whether to pursue the defeated forces or to consolidate to a better position.
 



Full Assault:
A Full Assault represents a major offensive in the selected combat zone with a push to drive back the enemy and claim ground or to utterly destroy all resistance. Success is achieved through superior numbers and firepower and so this action requires a larger number of infantry and heavy support. However, these frontal assaults are fought over a wide front and are often short on elite units because they are often needed for smaller, more specialized missions. Because of the significance of this type of attack, the army commanders are often found leading these mission personally. Therefor, you are allowed to select an additional HQ slot if that slot is used for the overall campaign army commander and that character is your warlord for the game. The Victory At Any Cost bonus represents the ability of the Commander to continue to press the assault and throw wave after wave of troops at the defender even under conditions that would normally force them to break off the attack, such as exhaustion, casualties or incoming enemy reinforcements.
  • Minimum of three Troops slots required
  • +1 Heavy Support slot
  • +1 Lord of War slot
  • +1 HQ slot if used for Campaign Commander
  • -1 Elite slot
  • No Fortifications
  • Victory At Any Cost: Requires all six Troops slots filled and your Campaign Commander is the Warlord: 
    • Once per game, you can re-roll to see if there is another turn in missions with the Random Game Length rule if the game would have ended on the original roll (you can only re-roll the die if the original result was that the game ends). 
    • If the mission has a fixed number of turns, you can attempt to force another final turn on a roll of 5+ (no re-roll).



Precision Strike / Raid:
This action represents a smaller, more mobile, and typically more elite force with a focused mission, such as the destruction of an enemy strongpoint that could hold up the main assault, an unexpected flank attack, or the capture of a special objective.  These are typically fast-moving bands of experienced soldiers that hit hard and then fall back before the brunt of the enemy forces can be brought to bear for a counter attack. The Strike Without Warning bonus represents a highly mobile army's ability to speed in closer to the enemy or to engage them and back-off, leaving a bigger distance between the forces
  • +1 Elites slot
  • +1 Fast Attack slot
  • -1 Heavy Support slot
  • No Lords of War or Fortifications
  • Strike Without Warning: If all units are capable of high (12"+) speed (mounted, transport, jump pack, flying, etc.)
    • You can re-roll the die to select deployment/turn order OR you can re-roll the attempt to Seize the Initiative OR if the mission doesn't normally allow for seizing, you can attempt to seize (without a re-roll).
    • You can choose to either extend your deployment zone by 3" or shorten the enemy deployment zone by 3". For example, if the mission calls for a deployment zone up to 12" from your board edge, you can select to eitehr deploy up to 15" from your board edge or for your opponent to only deploy up to 9" from the board edge.


Scout / Recon:
A scouting action represents sending out a force of lightly-equipped units that utilize stealth and surprise to achieve their objective. They are often found operating deep behind enemy lines, but can also use their stealth to set ambushes for enemies approaching through no-man's land. Because they are expected to operate independently for long periods of time and often take on very dangerous missions, they are usually put under the command of a single character as most armies cannot afford to spare additional officers. The Trap is Set bonus represents a force consisting of a high proportion of stealthy and/or fast-moving units that specialize in surprise attacks, encirclements and ambushes.

  • Can take any unit with Infiltrate, Scout, Stealth or Outflank as Troops (in addition to regular troops)
  • -1 HQ slot
  • -2 Heavy Support slots
  • No Lords of War or Fortifications
  • The Trap is Set: If at least five units have Infiltrate, Scout, Stealth, Outflank or Flying:
    • You can re-roll any Reserves rolls and re-roll any rolls for determining the board edge for Outflanking units
    • Two units of your choice that do not have the Scout rule can make a Scout move as if they had Scout.


Defend:
This action represents a force taking defensive measures, typically by fortifying a position and waiting for the enemy to come to them. Many of the missions associated with this action involve the defender utilizing fortifications and extra defenses. Additional fortifications may be purchases as part of the army selection (once we buy or model some anyway!). This type of force typically tries to achieve its objectives through weight of firepower and has access to additional heavy weapons because they do not need to be transported far from the base of operations. The Dug In bonus represents an army sacrificing mobility to take advantage of better defensive positioning and additional fortification of their territory.

  • This is the only FOC that is allowed to take fortifications
  • +2 Heavy Support slots
  • -2 Fast Attack slots
  • Dug In: If no units have dedicated transports, jump packs, bikes or other mobility upgrades:
    • After Deployment Zones are selected and Objectives are placed, but before either player deploys, you may place an additional bunker, ruin or other suitable terrain piece anywhere in your own deployment zone or in no-man's land.


When a battle could be the last battle of the campaign, use the following bonus rule. It could potentially apply to both armies if the campaign is tied and the final battle is winner-take-all.
  • Backs to the Wall (or Nowhere to Run):
    • If losing this battle would cause you to lose the campaign, you may include your Campaign Commander as an additional (third) HQ slot even if he was used in a different combat zone in the same campaigh turn. If you do so, you can re-roll a single failed morale, pinning or fear test once per player turn.


I would like some feedback on the bonuses. I don't want to make them really powerful or something that you have to remember throughout the game. Just something small to reward taking a flavorful list and to make the game a little different. Something that would not be game-breaking, but might encourage the player to use tactics suitable for the mission type that they might not normally employ. And in order to keep them easier to remember to use and hopefully from unbalancing the combat of the game itself, I tried to keep them limited to game set-up or game-ending circumstances.




13 comments:

  1. This is a great collection of experimental rules, many of which are good enough to implement. The like the feeling of a narrative forming from a succession of battles following a system of rules versus just making it up as we go and flying by the seat of our pants. I like the bonuses allowed for winning a battle; not insignificant but not overpowering. The triple-front campaign is quite ambitious. Just a single story line would be plenty!

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    1. The idea behind having multiple combat zones is to allow the commander to attack on one front while defending in another, for example. It forces both players to choose actions they may not otherwise select because the rule will be that the forces in each combat zone each need to select a different action from the others. Also, it means the overall campaign commander can't fight in every battle (along with his special unique relics), so you have to choose carefully where he will be most needed. It also gives the opponent a break from always facing the same powerful relics, like Da Lukky Stikk, and forces us to try some of the others. It also gives both players a chance to claim some victories so it is so obvious that one player is definitively winning and the other losing.

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    2. Right. Forcing players to create unique incarnations of their CO will foster creativity and diversity. However, players without lots of money will not want to have to buy lots of copies of the same leader type models. Like I wouldn't want to have multiple hive tyrants, one for each front. Though I guess a Prime, a tyrant, and Deathleaper could all lead different armies.

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    3. I plan to use the sane model for now, until I eventually model a new Warboss either with mega armor or on a bike or model a big mek. But yeah, hopefully you don't want to use the same warlord for every type of mission. I would think a tyranid stealth mission would be lead by a Deathleaper or something like that.

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  2. The rule about shortening an enemy's deployment zone could be devastating to that player's game. Imagine a battle w corner or short table edge deployment zones and a swarm army. They'd be packed so tightly, barrage weapons would shred them and they'd stumbling over each other during the movement phase. Only the first rank would get their full move.

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    1. We'll have to think about it a bit more. At first, I only had the option to extend your own deployment zone, but I wanted to make sure the special bonuses helped defensive/shooty armies too so I wouldn't be accused of writing rules to benefit my own army!

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    2. Another option could be to force your opponent to keep one unit in reserve instead of being able to deploy it normally. I'm trying to capture the concept of striking quickly against an enemy that wasn't expecting an attack from that quarter. Let me know if you have any better ideas. It will be a while until we have the army diversity to take advantage of any of these anyway!

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    3. A defensive/shooty army really has no reason to perform a "Raid" mission. It's mutually exclusive to that army type, I think. Tanks, artillery, and slow-moving heavy weapon toting foot troops couldn't really strike from nowhere unexpectedly. As a matter of fact, the requirements for that special rule are that everything be high-movement. Other than tanks, I can't think of many shooty units that also haul ass. The mission is clearly for jump packs, calvalry, bikes, and fast beasts, none of which are terribly shooty nor would want their enemies to be *further* away at the game's start.

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    4. A shooting army doesn't need to be defensive. I was thinking mechanized infantry like Imperial Guard in Chimeras, Tactical Marines in Razorbacks/Rhinos, Space Marine bikes, or Eldar Jetbikes. They are all mobile shooting forces capable of launching a quick and unexpected strike against an enemy flank, but wanting to primarily shoot the enemy rather than engage in melee.

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  3. For "The trap is set", it should be a percentage of your army (60%?) to keep it from being impossible for small games or dispreportionately easy in huge ones.

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    1. I like it. I'll change it to something like that, but should it be a percent by points or slots? Counting slots is simpler.

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    2. Percentage of slots is good enough. Maybe the requirements for a "Raid" mission special rule should be a percentage of slots as well instead of 100%. That's a pretty stiff requirement. The only thing in a Tyranid army w a 12" move is the winged tyrant. Orks and marines would need a bike mounted CO. Or would starting in a transport count as "fast-moving"?

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    3. A transport is fast-moving because it can go 12". Don't Nids have flying gaunts and other speedy stuff? Maybe I should add that you can be Deep Striking, too. That would allow some more Nids and still meet the feel of a force that can strike without warning.

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