[Campaign] The Neledar Incident

[Marshal Marchenko]

In a few weeks I will be starting an escalating, narrative campaign with some friends (My Vostroyans + Sisters + Harlequins) and I was hoping for some advice. Detailed below is the rough draft I have come up with so far.

 

Setting: Neledar - Ministorum Minor Shrine World

 

It is believed that following one of his many conquests during the great crusade, The Emperor came upon Neledar and struck by the calming beauty of its forests, rested a while in solitude there. Many have come on pilgrimage to Neledar and a moderately sized shrine has developed, guarded by a detachment of the Sisters of Battle.

 

The adeptus mechanicus also has a presence on the world, originally drawn there to study the calming vapors given off by the forests. The small research station has made many advances in re-breather technology based off this research. The Vostroyan regiment tasked with guarding the facility were issued with said re-breathers and seem loyal and obedient beyond that which could normally be expected. This station has historically had very little impact upon the planet and has managed to coexist with the sisters quite peacefully. However, the recent discovery of large blackstone deposits beneath the surface of Neledar has brought the plague of heavy industry to the planet, polluting its forests and causing earthquakes as mining operations escalate. This desecration of such a sacred site has the Ministorum outraged and relations have broken down.

 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to both factions, the Harlequins have foreseen the effects of removing so much Blackstone from the planet. Fearing that Chaos could overwhelm what was once a Maiden World, they have mobilised to cleanse the Imperium from the planet and return it to its natural state.

 

Structure

 

Phase 1 - Kill Team - 6 Games - 3 Weeks

Phase 2 - 40k - 2 Games - 3 Weeks

Phase 3 - Kill Team - 6 Games - 3 Weeks

Phase 4 - 40k - 2 Games - 3 Weeks

Phase 5 - Final Showdown

 

Each Kill Team game win will generate a cp to be used in a future 40k game

Each 40k game will escalate from 25 to 50 to 75 to 100 power with major/minor victories and draws granting campaign points

Highest campaign points at the end faces the other 2 in a final showdown (There will be a secret twist to make it fair)

 

Kill team will use advancement rules and the 40k games will use the battle honours rules from vigilus

 

 

I've never run a campaign before (or been in one), any advice for a newbie?

 

P.S. I posted this in the guard forum as I aim to show off my efforts on expanding my Vostroyans in this thread. I hope that is acceptable.

[WarriorFish]

My recommendation is to keep campaigns simpler, and avoid granting bonuses to winners for your first campaign. The idea is to have fun of course, and it's already a large task to organise and get games together with people so quick and easy works best. Once you've resolved the campaign and people are onboard you can start to develop. Otherwise you run the risk of things getting out of balance, and while it's hard enough completing campaigns it's much harder when people are disengaged.

 

I wouldn't worry about the finer details of the reasons, there's plenty enough reasons to fight in a galaxy of war While the Emperor probably wouldn't care much for how a planet looks, his presence on it for whatever reason could be enough for a shrine. Or if you're feeling less like you need star power it's easier still to create a saint's birthplace or something. With the Eldar, the presence of anything on a maiden world is enough for them to get their knickers in a twist, but the Harlequins are peculiar enough to turn up for all sorts of (often undisclosed) reasons

[ProminusIV]

Lovely idea, personally i love to write a piece of lore after each 'campaign-round'. I put emphasis on the actions of their characters. Heroic interventions, ballsy moves, great combats and so on. This makes the players use their characters more fluffy and not so tactical. Which generates more fun gaming. 

I also like to give winning players a free unit for the next battle worth 100 points (in 1000p games). But only if they play another player that won. That way they feel a bit more powerful, but since the other player also gets a 100p unit it's still balanced. 

[Captain_Krash]

This is exciting! Love reading about peoples campaigns. Keep us posted

 

Krash

[Kinstryfe]

I ran a similar small-game 40k league last year, and found the trick was to keep the benefits from winning good enough that they'd be useful but not insane. Some things I gave were things like one unit getting a scout move, one infantry unit gaining deep strike for free, +1LD, and other things that would be useful but not game breaking. Units or characters who performed particularly well often got a permenant buff as long as they were used each game. One unit of rough riders that ran down a 25 strong unit of bloodletters became immune to moral when fighting daemons, and a unit of gaunts that ate thru most of my army one game gained regeneration of D3 models per turn. Strong, but not completely overwhelming.

 

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes.

[Marshal Marchenko]

Last weekend saw the opening of the Campaign. Killteams from each faction met each other in the Deathworld forest killzone. First, The Harlequins were put to sword by the Vostroyans as they attempted to kidnap a Psyker caught alone in the woods. However, punishing volleys of special weapons fire and the surprising survival of Tempestor Kyser and Guardsman Chernov in combat forced the Harlequins to abandon their prize. Seeking to make up for their failure, they went to forage the undergrowth for supplies unknown but ran into a Killteam of Sisters also searching the same area. Despite the heroics of Big Bertha smashing Harlequins aside in close combat with her Heavy Bolter and the forest coming alive to eat several of the Aeldari, they ultimately forced the Sisters to withdraw. Once the lost Psyker was returned to base safely, the Vostroyans set off in search of the pernicious Aeldari that ambushed them earlier. In the confusing labyrinth of the forest however they stumbled into another mysterious force. In a panic, both sides opened fire as they sought to withdraw and regroup. It was only as the undergrowth was blasted aside with flame and plasma that the Vostroyans realised their mistake, they had opened fire on the Sisters of Battle. Big Bertha fell to Tempestor Kyser's Power Sword, ending her emergent legacy and the Sister's chances of victory. The sister's withdrew, swearing oaths of vengeance against their supposed allies.

 

War had come to Neledar.

[Marshal Marchenko]

Campaign Round 2 - Pumpstation XVII

This week the killteams took to the field again, seeking to secure control of Pumpstation XVIII. Toxic secretions flowed out of the outpost, corrupting the wider forest beyond. With the outbreak of war, the Sisters could bare this affront no longer and sought to shut the station down. Realising that the outpost was no longer defensively viable in a war on two fronts, the Vostroyan command ordered that as many materials as possible be extracted before the plant was shut down. As the opening shots rang out, Harlequins leapt from concealed positions in the forest, their motivations unclear. A three-way battle was joined.

{

(Apologies for the blurry image, I only noticed after everyone had gone home)}

Mission: Burning Battlefield

4 Objectives, equal chance to hurt you or give you a point each round you hold them, worth 3 points to the team that held it at the end

The Harlequins demonstrated their trademark speed by rushing forward in the first round to tie up the forward elements of both imperial forces, cutting down one member from each. In return, both imperial forces were content to consolidate their positions onto objectives although only the Vostroyans were able to successfully siphon off some resources but their shooting left something to be desired. The next turn however saw a Harlequin Zealot single-handedly charge into the guard lines butchering (over the next few turns) fully half of the guard killteam. On the other side of the battlefield however, the Harlequins had a taste of their own medicine in the form of Celestian Catherine and her trusty flamer roasting (with the help of some long range guardsmen potshots) many of the filthy Aeldari. As the battle clawed on to the maximum number of turns, all three killteams were left broken and virtually wiped out yet only the guard had managed to get any points so far. The final turn saw first the sisters take the lead as Sister Agatha, leader of the sisters, got back to her feet after being shaken to control one objective. Then the last remaining Harlequin, the zealot who had seemingly killed half the models on the board jumped onto another whilst a lone guardsman cowered in the roots of a tree at another. The morale phase would determine the winner. Only the Zealot held his nerve as the others failed their tests leaving the Harlequins on 3 points for a controlling an objective at the end of the game, the guard on 2 for their efforts earlier and the sisters on 0. Harlequins Win!

This leaves the campaign points on Harlequins and Guard 3, Sisters 0. With one more week of killteam still to play, the scores as they are mean that both the harlequins and guard will have 3 extra command points to assign and use in their first few games of regular 40k.

[WarriorFish]

At least you're making my photos look good :P I've seen Harlequins but not played against them, and they seem very strong but you can handle them if you can get some good hits in - easier said than done though!

[Marshal Marchenko]

The issue guard have with harlequins is that they charge 3d6 so on a killteam board with tight deployment zones that aren't too far apart, turn 1 charges that tie everything up aren't that uncommon. I think I need to move my guys around more in the first turn rather than ready them. Still the games have all been close so far so no complaints.