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.