Crusade: Planetary Integration

[ThePenitentOne]

The Tyranid Crusade rules went up today, and they look as good as I hoped they would be.

 

We now have rules for generating planets and/ or systems in 3 Codexes that I am aware of: GSC, Tau and now Nids.

 

So if you are a campaign designer, and you are building a subsector for your map-based campaign, can you integrate the rules in all 3 dexes to create planets and systems that have all the information you need to interact with them regardless of which army you are bringing?

 

A planet would need Biomass and Crushed Resistance numbers, Military and Diplomacy numbers and a collection of four Institutions, as well as a type descriptor which would set some of this parameters for you. I imagine Chaos will add a number to gauge corruption.

 

Currently, I just have the GSC dex. I will definitely pick up Tyranids, as I really like Nids and have a few units, plus those from my GSC which can cross-over (Patriarch = Broodlord and Purestrains are shared). I don't have a huge interest in Tau, but I do like Kroot and I probably will pick the book up just for its Crusade/ system building content.

 

Had GW opted to release "The Big Book of Crusade" these types of integrations may have been done for us. As it stands, if we want it done, we do it ourselves. Are there any other Crusade GMs out there who are working on something similar?

[Focslain]

I was going to make my star system that my tau took over be based on the system we are currently running our campaign in. The issue arose when it was too easy to take over the planet using the Tau rules. I managed to assimilate a five planet system with two game wins (well three but the math would have it in two). I'm currently half way thru my fourth star system right now. 

 

So fluff wise the Water caste is using the war in the campaign system to scare other star systems into joining in the Greater Good via propaganda. 

 

On the flip side our GSC player has been having a tough time taking over institutions for his crusade, think he has only taken two in our campaign. 

 

For context I've done 21 battles and he has done 15. 

 

It can be neat to use the systems to generate a star system, but the systems themselves tend to lead to either quick or long take over of worlds. The tyranid version seems in speed line with the Tau, but on a planetary instead of system scale.

[ThePenitentOne]

Well I did it- I finally bit the bullet and bought the Tau dex. Next Tuesday at the latest I'll have my copy of the Tyranid Dex. And then I will be able to rebuild the Desdaemona System using the planetary features of all three dexes. The Desdaemona System is the home of the Chronicles of Saint Katherine's Aegis- it is an isolated system on the galactic western fringe- so distant in fact, that it has been cut off from the Imperium since the end of the Age of Apostasy.

 

The awakening of the Blackstone Fortress has drawn new explorers to this corner of the galaxy for the first time in 4,000 years, and the Desdaemona System stands on the threshold of rediscovery by the Imperium at large... And perhaps by forces more sinister!

 

Originally, I had only built 3 habitable planets in the system, and I only put detailed design into one of them. The Tau Dex is going to generate 4-8 planets, so that's a step up. The three dexes combined will allow me to add details to each of the planets.

 

As for the one planet I've designed, Orison's Wake, I'm keeping the features I've already determined- it is going to be an Agriworld with a very low population. I will have to give it Military and Diplomacy Ratings as well as planetary character from the Tau dex. I'll have to determine the four primary institutions using the GSC dex- it has guidelines for Agriworld institutions and I may just lift these as is... But I have also assigned each of the Thresher Houses a particular institution. Thresher Houses are randomly placed- there are four in each of the eight settlements on Orison's Wake, with one controlling each corner of the settlement. As for the Central City, it will contain embassies for each Thresher House, but no permanent holdings- instead, it is under the direct control of the planetary Governor, whose power is maintained by the standing forces of Imperial Guard and Adepta Sororitas.

 

I think I want Orison's Wake to be the only Agriworld in system, so I will determine planets randomly, rerolling any subsequent Agriworld results after the first. If I don't generate an Agriworld, I will replace one of the generated planets with an Agriworld; this will be a duplicate type if I generate any duplicates, or a random planet if I don't. Hopefully the dice will cooperate and generate one (and only one) Agriworld in the system. If that happens, I will know the Emperor's Hand is guiding the destiny of the Desdaemona system, even if it has been severed from his empire for four millennia.