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Campaign in a Flash
By Nick Davis In White Dwarf 288, we set out a series of guidelines for playing games of Warhammer 40,000 in less than an hour. This concept allows you to create convenient lunchtime gaming leagues and the opportunity to get more than one game in on any given gaming night. However, where "40K in a Flash" really shines is in a campaign. Experienced wargamers know that campaign gaming brings a whole new intensity to your battles. Suddenly, winning and losing take on added importance, that objective you're fighting over acquires a name, and your army gains a life and character all its own. Experienced wargamers also know that campaigns can be extremely complicated and lengthy. I am not saying there is anything wrong with uber-detailed campaigns – I have enjoyed many an involved campaign. However, "40K in a Flash" makes for a nice alternative when you want the thrill of a campaign in a hurry. Campaign Lite With this in mind, I looked at various campaign systems for use in our growing 40K in a Flash Lunch League. I wanted something fast, easy to understand, and where a game could be played within an hour. I looked over many systems, like an open-ended, map-based campaign; to the secretive, GM-controlled series of events. These systems were interesting but didn’t allow for the speed and freedom I was looking for. After all, I wanted to play games, too, and not find myself micromanaging the campaign I then remembered an old Warhammer Fantasy Battle Campaign system that was published way back in the 4th Edition of the rules by Warhammer guru (and tea drinker) Rick Priestley. It was a fairly open and abstract campaign concept where players had a set of territories that gave bonuses to their army. The players fought each other for new territories while risking the loss of one of their own a territories to participate in the battle. Now, I know that sounds complicated, but I took part in the campaign system during its initial playtest period in the Thorkinsson Island campaign, published in White Dwarf many, many moons ago. I remembered this campaign system to be quick, easy to set up, and pretty much management-free. The only problem was the territory chart was for Warhammer and not for the far flung future of Warhammer 40,000. So, after a few sci-fi edits, the territory chart was good to go.
The Birth of Gideon IV All campaigns need a narrative background, even if its as simple as, "Chaos Space Marines invade an Imperial planet, now begin." I came up with a little narrative for the campaign (see below) based on an old scenario loop published in the 1st Edition Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader rules. We modified the "40K in a Flash" rules slightly to incorporate campaign play with a group of five gamers. We played out the Gideon IV campaign over a 3-week period. With each battle, our armies grew or shrunk, new tactics were learned, and battles for a valuable resource like a road or transit tunnel became particularly bloody affairs. Using the "40K in a Flash" guideline,s we were able to play three to four games during the week, which really kept the game moving. Fairly soon, our little 500-point forces started to grow as territories with army points were won, and by the very last game the two remaining forces were both around 750 points a piece. Our Gideon IV Campaign League was won in the end by the Evan Lougheed's Necrons, with Tim Huckleberry’s Imperial Guard coming in second. In case anyone was wondering, I scored third with my Tau, while the wooden spoon was won by the Eldar of Ross Watson. I’ve included the 40K in a Flash Campaign guidelines we used in for our campaign in this article. Have a go yourself and see how your games turn out. If our experience was any gauge, you'll enjoy it!
Getting Started The rules provided here describe a 40K campaign system suitable for a group of four or more players and lasting anywhere from a few weeks to several months or years. The rules only scratch the surface of what can be done, and they can be easily adapted to suit more or fewer players, smaller or larger armies, or a shorter or longer time scale.
Take and Hold The campaign takes place on a newly discovered planet in a deserted and generally unexplored system on the Eastern Fringe. Each player must fight to gain control of the planet and control it in the name of their [insert motivating force here]. To begin the campaign, each player generates three random territories from the chart shown on the next page. These represent a mix of settlements, arable terrain, and resources which his army controls, subverts, or has assimilated. Once the campaign is under way, new players can join at any time simply by generating three random territories from the chart. Each player makes a note of his territories on a sheet of paper or in a notebook that will serve as his campaign diary. Armies Players choose an army of 500 points for each battle and armies are chosen every time the army fights. However, each player must stick to the same race – Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Tau, Eldar, and the like. As this campaign is mainly played in games of an hour or less, 500 points is a reasonable total for players who already have established armies and want to have quick games. Armies are chosen from the appropriate Codex with the additional restrictions described below. The players may agree to further restrictions among themselves for each battle. For example, players might decide that for this particular battle there will be no vehicles, no heavy support, or whatever the players prefer. Army Restrictions The types and quantity of troops that armies can field is restricted by the territory a player controls. As the army’s commander expands his territories, he also expands his army, acquires riches, and wins archaeotech. At the onset, each player is restricted in his force selection as follows: • Armies cannot exceed 500 points. • You must have at least one Troops choice. • You may have one HQ choice, but no more than one (unless you control a territory that allows more than one choice). • You can spend no more than 50 points on wargear. • No model can have more than 3 Wounds. • No Special Characters. • No 2+ or better saves. • No vehicles with a total points value greater than 200 (unless you control a territory that gives you access to larger vehicles). • You may spend your remaining points from anywhere in the Codex using the Standard Force Organization . • All models must be WYSIWYG. • All models must be painted Citadel miniatures. More: Scenarios & Territory Chart
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