Warhammer campaign rules for critiquing
Hello everyone! I've been working on these rules for a few days, and I've gotten about as far as I can without some other eyes to catch mistakes, and supply ideas. These rules are relatively in depth, around 5750 words worth right now, so it's a wall and a half. I still haven't figured out an optimal map size, it's a hexagonal map. I also haven't figured out victory conditions, aside from wiping everyone out (which would take for *********** ever) I was also considering making alliance rules, to make it more likely for people to do it, but I kind of like it being free form between them. Other than that, I'm looking for sections I forgot to write, rules that don't make sense, possible balance issues, improvements for playability, spelling and grammar mistakes, RAW mistakes that go against the intent, and anything else people can find. I very, very much appreciate any help I get with this. Anyways, here's the rules.
Campaign rules
---Introduction. ---
This campaign requires commitment. While there are failsafes in place for a player disappearing, and indeed for them reappearing later, it highly contributes to the overall fun of the group if everyone shows up, and plays their games. If you don't think you can commit, don't.
On balance, while these rules are written in a way that hopefully will lead to a fair game, it will also lead to some player(s) having advantages over others, based on their previous fighting and to some degree, their luck. Don't be discouraged if you are not one of the players who is currently winning, a single large victory can quickly change your fortunes, and you can always work together with the others who are surely just as downtrodden by the current leader.
On winning and losing, it's going to happen, only one person can win this campaign. While this isn't designed to be a competitive tournament in any way, there is certainly a degree of competition, as there is in any game you can win or lose. Nobody likes a sore loser, and even less like a braggart. This experience is only as fun as you make it.
The time frame of a game varies by the players. As these rules are currently untested, I'm looking at 1 week per turn. While it is possible for you to be engaged in multiple battles in one week, the map is fairly large, and waiting is no fun at all. The first few turns are likely to be quite uneventful, and as such at the GM's discretion once all players have submitted their moves and actions for the first turn, if no battles are taking place an email may be sent to all players instructing them to skip to the next turn. This is purely optional.
---Army Composition. ---
There are multiple ways you can deploy your army, for different uses. Each comes with advantages and limitations.
They are as follows:
Mainline Army
Follows all rules for an army as per the 8th edition BRB. Must be a minimum of 750 points.
Scouts
May only include units with the scout, skirmisher, fly, ambushers or fast cavalry special rules. No character required, though if they are without a leader too long, they may desert (Ld test after 3 turns, -1 cumulative) A hero will keep them in line, and does not require any of the previous rules to join.
Characters
May travel on their own, or with a single bodyguard unit. Does not follow normal army composition rules.
Note that in the case of a battle where multiple friendly armies are in the same square, they must form up into a Mainline Army for the battle, and any who do not fit into the army comp will not join in the battle.
---Points values. ---
The amount of points you have available for your army varies by how much territory you control. At the beginning, you will have 1000 points to spend. You must have one mainline army, and may have scouts or individual characters. After that initial 1000 points, you will need to buy and pay for your troops in gold. You will always have 1000 gold per turn from your capital, and every turn you must pay your troops their value in points. You may store gold rather than spending it on troops in order to temporarily have an army larger than you can sustain for a major battle, or to purchase upgrades to some of your territories.
Different kinds of territory generates different amounts of gold, depending on the natural resources, or any towns or artefacts available there. Many areas that at first glance are merely hills, will have an iron mine you might miss at first glance, which would grant a significant boost to your armies.
In general, each territory you control generates 50 gold you may spend as detailed later. Additional production boosts can either be purchased for stored gold, or are already there and placed before the game by GM.
---The Map and Movement. ---
Each player is a lord in an already established kingdom, which is assumed to be off the map. Your starting point is assumed to be right next to said kingdom, which cannot be assailed by your opposition. You are attempting to expand your borders, and the campaign map area is all undefended and ripe for the taking, until someone else takes it. Your starting square will always have a city on it, and will be your capital.
At the beginning of the game, your map will be blank, aside from your starting square. Your forces can then expand or explore. The map is hexagon based, and you can move Northeast, East, Southeast, Southwest, West or Northwest. You cannot move corner to corner.
To expand, a mainline army may move one square into any territory and gain control of it. This turn is spent telling any of the local population who their new master is and mapping the area. You will be informed of any treasures found, production bonus's, monster lairs etc, as well as being given a battle map of the area. In addition, you may receive rumours of items of value in nearby squares, and the general direction of them. This information is not always correct, however. You may expand into area controlled by an opponent, and they into yours, however the controlling lord will be alerted by the citizentry, and if they have a mainline army in the area, you will be engaged in a battle. You cannot expand into an area that is not directly connected to another area you control. If you have an area of your realm cut off, you do not receive any bonus's from that area, and if you do not re-establish a connection within d3 turns the territory that is not connected to your capital will turn neutral. Any areas that are considered loyal will remain yours for one additional turn.
To explore, any army type can move through squares equal to half its lowest base movement value, rounded up. The player will receive battle maps for each area explored, and has a chance to find treasure etc. You will not gain complete control of the area, however as it is already explored and the citizens are at least aware of your force, a mainline army can expand into up to 2 explored areas in subsequent turns.
You may also reinforce, moving any army type a number of squares equal to its base movement speed, through territory you already control. This is useful for if an opponent starts taking your land.
If you control an area for a significant period of time, they will become loyal to you. If you fight a battle in an area which is loyal to you, you may add units of peasants for free, with one peasant model for every 50 points in your army, with a minimum of 15 in a unit. They disperse after battle and cannot gain veterans honours. Feel free to proxy them with any infantry model, as long as your opponent is aware that they are peasants. You may also elect not to have the peasants fight.
Peasant
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 5
---Player Inactivity. ---
If a player does not submit orders to the GM in time for the turn, all of his armies will stand still, not having orders to move. If a player runs a deficit that he cannot cover with stored money, units will desert starting from the cheapest, and moving in order. All other units will be paid. If a player does not submit orders for a second turn in a row, all of his units will begin to retreat at full speed back towards the capital. They will remain there until such a time as the player returns, or the game ends. If there are prisoners held by the player, they are considered held in jail every turn, until they escape or the player returns.
If an inactive player has a battle and does not respond, they will automatically retreat. If two or more players cannot organise their schedules in such a way as to have the battle, the GM can either elect to delay the game for them, have their battle take place in the next turn, or roll off who retreats.
---A Turn. ---
Each turn has phases that happen in the following order.
Collect taxes. All income is generated in this phase. Work out how much you get from all your territories.
Pay troops. Pay all your troops equal to their points values. If you do not have enough gold to pay all your troops, select which units you do not pay. They will desert.
Captured Enemies. Decide what you want to do with any captured enemies you have.
Upgrade tiles.
Movement. Move your armies. The GM will work out everyone's move at one, any armies that intesect during their movement will be engaged.
Battle. Fight all battles, and report the results to the GM. These must be completed before the next turn begins.
Casualties and veterans honours. Work out who survived, and if any of them ranked up. Keep track of these in your army lists. Veterans points should be tracked as the game goes on.
Promote units. Promote any units that are eligible.
---Army Creation. ---
Your first 1000 point army will have whatever troops you like in its list, however elite soldiers are not always so easy to find. When creating a new army, the lord or hero who will be leading it may either rally new soldiers, recruit mercenary elites, or a mix of both. If you do either, you cannot move this turn.
If you rally soldiers, they must be a starting unit listed in the unit promotions section. They can gain veterancy points and eventually advance to higher levels. They can also be equipped however you like. You only need to pay their basic point value in gold to rally, and each turn afterwards. You may rally up to 500 points of troops per turn per mainline army.
Recruiting mercenaries is a general term for paying elite soldiers to join your cause. They will still be from your army book, they simply won't be raised from the peasantry of your lands. In order to recruit, you must pay double the units point value in gold for the down payment, but afterwards they only require their standard points value every turn. They may be equipped however you like. You can recruit up to 250 points of mercenaries per turn per mainline army. If you want to have a single unit worth more than 250 points, you must spend 2 turns recruiting mercenaries, and may only recruit the one unit.
Breeding monsters and building war machines is another matter altogether. Each city you control can produce either one monster or war machine at a time. This takes a number of turns equal to their points cost, divided by 100 and rounded up. The warmachine or monster must be picked up by a mainline army, or character if they are a character mount, before the city can begin work on another monster or war machine.
---Lords and Heroes. ---
Aside from any characters in your first army, Lords and Heroes may only be either trained from the ranks, or recruited.
Recruiting a character follows the same rules as for mercenaries, as above, though if you recruit a character you cannot recruit mercenaries that turn, but there is no points limit. They may be equipped however you like except for magical items and monstrous mounts, which must be bred as above. Lord level characters may have 2 magical items, while heroes may only have one. Additional magical items cannot be purchased, but can be found during exploration and expansion. Magic items may be passed from character to character, as long as none ever exceeds their points limit. Armies that have non magic item upgrades for characters (Gifts of Chaos, Vampire powers, etc) Can have one of those in place of a magic item, but cannot gain any more.
Elite units can have characters raised from their ranks, once they have enough veterans honours, which will be detailed later.
Casters are not raised from the ranks, and must be rallied or recruited. You can rally a level 1 caster, and with veterans honours he can rise through the levels, or you can recruit a higher level caster. If your hero level casters cannot become lord level casters for whatever reason. (Lizardmen Skink/Slann, or Skaven Grey Seers) then you must recruit the higher level.
---Battle. ---
In general, battle in this campaign will be fought very much like a standard WFB 8th edition battle. Terrain will be preset and known to which ever side(s) have explored the area. If the side that controls the area is taking part in the battle, they always get to choose the table side, and they get to choose who deploys first as well. If they have had their army stand in the area for at least one turn, they have fortified and they get to choose side, have first turn and their opponent deploys their entire army first. If two armies run into each other in neutral territory, or in a third player's territory, they roll off as per the battleline scenario from the BRB.
If more than two players meet in the same territory, and none of them have previously formed an alliance, they have an opportunity to do so before the battle, and if there are still three or more opposing sides, the player who controls the territory gets to choose a board edge. If there are 3 sides, the two remaining players roll off to choose one of the corners opposite the board edge. If there is no controlling player in a 3 way, there is a roll off. If there is a four way battle with a controlling player, that player chooses a board edge, and the three remaining roll off for the other three board edges. If there is no controlling player, all the players roll off. In all cases there must be at least two feet between the edges of deployment zones.
Before a battle, and before finding out how large his opponent's army is, a player may choose to retreat, forfeiting the area and moving to an area that is either neutral, or which they control. If they have been cut off and have nowhere to retreat to, they do not have the option to retreat. If you choose to retreat in this fashion, all of your opponent's ranged units will each get to target a unit and shoot at it, all models are considered 24 inches away for range purposes. During a battle, you may also choose to retreat, but not until at least your third turn. Any of your troops engaged in combat will immediately break and run towards the nearest table edge. Units can be ordered to stand as a rearguard, but this requires passing a Ld test with a -2 modifier. Unbreakable units automatically pass, and units which are stubborn or immune to psychology do not take the modifier. Units that break from combat in this way can be run down as per normal. All units are counted as fleeing and escape upon reaching a board edge. If they flee to a board edge other than their starting deployment zone, they must pass a leadership test in order to return to their army, otherwise they desert.
---Casualties. ---
If a unit flees of the board, they must pass a leadership test to return. If they fail, they desert and are effectively dead. If they pass, they return to the army they were from originally. If that army has been wiped out, they desert automatically.
An army which has been victorious rolls a d6 for every casualty, one unit at a time. On a 3+, the model was wounded but recovers, on a 1-2, the model is dead. Command is always recovered first.
An army which has been defeated rolls a d6 for every casualty, one unit at a time. On a 4+, the model was wounded but recovers, on a 1-3, the model is dead. Command is always recovered first.
If a unit drops below its minimum unit size, it must have its ranked refilled either by rallying new troops (if applicable) or moving models from another unit of the same type. If the majority of a unit is replaced, and they have veterans honours that the new members of the unit did not have, they roll a d6 for each honour they had, and keep it on a 4+. If the new blood has more veterans honours, the unit cannot gain those honours.
If a mainline army drops below 750 points, or no longer fits within the allowable percentages as detailed in the 8th ed BRB, they must regain those standards before they can act. An army which is rallying troops or recruiting mercenaries cannot move in the turn it does so.
If an army is completely wiped out, they are all executed in the field by their opponents or enslaved. Regardless, they are counted as casualties.
A character from a victorious army who has been killed rolls a d6. On a 1, they are dead, on a 2, they have an injury, and on a 3+ they recover fully.
A character from a defeated army who has been killed rolls a d6. On a 1, they are dead on a 2-3 they have been captured by the enemy, on a 4 they have an injury and on a 5+ they recover fully
If there is no surviving hero for an army to rally on, and no units have enough veterans points to have a hero rise from the ranks, the army will immediately and automatically do reinforce moves every turn towards the capital. If they are engaged they automatically retreat, and they will continue to move towards the capital with all speed until they are met by a character to lead them.
---Captured characters---
If a character is captured in battle, they are taken prisoner by the army that won the battle. If that army is later defeated, the character will be taken by the army that defeated them, either as their own captive, or if the character is their own, or from a nation they are friendly with, releasing him. Characters can be ransomed to any nation, either their own or to another who wants a bargaining chip. They can also be swapped with other characters that have been captured.
The army that has taken the character can choose to confiscate any of his equipment. If they do, any magic items will require study before they can be used. They must be taken to a town or city and left there. Each turn, roll a d6 for each item that is being studied, and on a natural six it has been figured out and can now be used by your army. Any items stolen in this way can no longer be fielded by their original army, unless they are from the common magic items list in the BRB.
If the character is brought to a town, they can choose to attempt to convert him, hold him in jail, or execute him. You may only attempt to convert a character once. Roll a d6. On a 1, he escapes, on a six, he converts and becomes the closest equivalent points cost character from your book, even if he's a different race. To execute, roll a d6. On a 1, the character escapes. On a 2+, he is killed successfully. If a character is merely held in jail, each turn roll a d6. On a 1, he escapes. If a character escapes, he is placed one square out of the city as a solo character unit and must find his way back to his army. A character that is being held by an army follows the same rules as a character in jail.
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Originally Posted by Belakor
Avian
