Here is another in what I hope will be a continuing series of pimping work for others around the net. One of Blood of Kittens readers Chaosgerbil has been whining about me prompting his site. In this edition Chaosgerbil is hoping folks would critique his ideas on how to make 40k Missions better, so please make the Gerbil feel good inside and comment!
Let’s face it, the 5th edition missions could be better.
This a 40k mission system prototype, ready for playtesting. Battle Points are used to determine a winner.
Do not be scared by the use of Battle Points, it works differently than you may expect. In tournaments, the winner is granted a bonus of anywhere from 0 to 50 points, depending on the Tournament Organizer’s preference.
If you want to track major or minor victories, thresholds can be set wherever you want, such as winning by 10 or more battle points. Likewise, battle point rewards can be altered for each objective. This is explained more in the notes section below.
The idea is to mix and match objectives within one game. Players can decide randomly or choose bits and pieces that they like. Battle points (BP) make these objectives interchangeable.
Feedback is encouraged, and I am also looking for more optional objectives to add. These will be cannibalized from various sources and repurposed to fit within the system. Balance is key.
For a standard mission: use both primary objectives (worth 10 points each) and 10 points worth of secondary objectives, for a total of 30 points. Outside of tournaments feel free to add, subtract, or modify objectives… as long as all players agree.
Deployments are interchangeable with the objectives, and will be covered in the next edition of the system.
Primary Objectives:
Control: (Max of 10 points)
+2 BP per controlled objective marker. By default this is 5 objectives: 1 at the center, and 2 placed by each player. Use the normal objective placement rules on BRB pg. 91.
Destroy: (Max of 10 points)
+1 BP per kill point, from a list of selected units chosen by the owning player, worth 1 BP each.
(If a player brings less than 10 kill points of units than the opponent will need to wipe out the opponent to score all 10 points for this category.)
(Optional Bonus objective)
Annihilation:
+10 points for destroying or routing off table all of your opponent’s models)
Secondary Objectives:
These can be assigned ahead of time, rolled for randomly, chosen on the spot or even added midgame depending on the event.
To pick randomly, roll 2D6 and use the two objectives rolled. On a double, use “Escort” or “Invasion” instead.
[1] Zone Control: (Max of 5 points)
+1 BP for controlling a table quarter.
+1 BP for controlling more table quarters than your opponent.
To control a quarter you have to have at least one infantry squad in it, and
[2] It’s Bad For Morale: (Max of 5 points)
+5 BPs for killing all your opponent’s Troops.
[3] Assassination: (Max of 5 points)
+2 BPs for every H.Q. unit killed
+1 BP for every H.Q. unit routed off table.
If you killed all enemy H.Q.s you earn the full 5 BPs.
[4] Intimidation: (Max of 5 points)
+2 BP for every enemy unit destroyed or routed off table by one of your Elite squads.
[5] Raid: (Max of 5 points)
+2 BP for each Fast Attack unit within 12? of opponent’s long board edge at game end.
(When playing short edge to short edge deployments, then this is changed to within 18? of opponent’s short edge.)
[6] Arms Race: (Max of 5 points)
+2 BP for each surviving heavy support choice on your side. This is reduced to 1 BP for any unit/squadron at 50% strength or less.
[Double 1s, 2s, 3s]
Invasion: (Max of 10 points)
+1 BP for every unit of yours that moves off of your opponent’s primary board edge. Treat the space beyond your opponent’s table edge as “Clear” terrain rather than “Impassable” for normal movement. Deep striking mishaps will still occur if you scatter off table.
[Double 4s, 5s, 6s]
Escort: (Max of 10 points)
+5 BPs for killing your opponent’s V.I.P.:
+5 BPs for moving your V.I.P. off of opponent’s primary board edge (normally the long edge)
Each player gets to use an additional V.I.P. model for this mission, using the profile below.
WS BS S T I A W LD Sv:
4 4 4 4 4 2 2 8 4+/4++
Wargear: “Counts As:” Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Carapace Armor, Conversion Field, Frag Grenades
Special Rules:
Independant Character, Fearless, Stealth, Move Through Cover
For casual play, players can decide to use other types of units to escort. You can use diplomats, spies, squads of civilian workers, refugees, assassins, hackers, royalty, or strange alien equivalents.
Just in case Real Genius or anyone else needs a break, here’s some of my models…………..
Good buddies: My Trygon / Mawloc and his Carnifex sidekickSpecial Missions:
Salvage: (Max of 20 points per objective for a 6 turn game)
(Replaces primary objectives) Salvage objectives are scored every turn past the first. They are worth an amount of VPs equal to the turn number, as more and more valuable archeotech becomes unearthed.
Ok this last one is just for fun:
Recover the wounded (Max of 10 points)
+1 BP for every surviving unit you chose to be a kill point.
-All squads gain the special rule: Combat Tactics. Models that already had Combat Tactics may also choose to pass all leadership rolls they make, other than for psyker powers.
-All units may move off of their primary table edge (usually the long edge).
All squads that move off the table are restored to full strength and enter reserves.
-As an example, if your unit fell back off the board edge on your opponent’s turn, if the unit’s reserve roll is successful they could re-enter at the start of your turn.
Notes:
I have been tinkering with 40k missions for a long time. I wanted a flexible system that could easily be added to, that kept games fresh yet remained balanced. Having multiple simultaneous objectives that all mattered was another goal. Now not every idea in this system is 100% original. I have been inspired by many people, as well as past editions of 40k. For instance, Stelek’s 5×5 system was the first I know of to use kill points selected by a player.
This system is designed to be modular. As a default, games should be played to 30 battle points for a standard 1,500-2,000 point game. If you want to adjust the points or add objectives it is easy to do. Just decide on a total amount of battle points each game should yield and then pick missions accordingly. The BPs may be adjusted to account for including more optional objectives or special scenarios. As an example, you could use 3 objective markers worth 5 points each, no kill points, and 15 points worth of optional missions.
Tournament Play:
To rig this system to favor of decisive wins over losses, you may decide to award a game winner extra points per win. As an example, you can add things like: Winning by more than 10 battle points: +10 Battle points. If you want categories of victory, use point margins divisible by five for simplicity’s sake.
Objectives:
Ideally these should be detailed 40mm or 60mm markers, but players may agree on a different standard. By default objectives will: block line of sight, provide cover to non-vehicle units, and count as difficult terrain. Any objective marker more than about 2? high should be discussed prior to playing as it may be problematic or abusive. If using flags, you can optionally agree to treat banners as visible for LOS purposes.
You can always find the Chaosgerbil in his lair at…