40K Campaign Rules

Experience All units will accumulate experience as per the WH40K4.0 rule book. Non-independent character units will gain levels exactly as outlined in the core rules, with every 1000 experience resulting in an additional ability slot unlocked. Independent characters will gain levels as indicated below, with each level not only affecting their own promotions but also the army slots available to each player.

Unit Availability Chart L0: 0-999 exp
Troops, HQ (1 character only), Dedicated Transports (after Mission 2)

L1: 1000-1999 exp
1 Elite, 1 Fast, 1 Heavy Support. IG may mix/match vehicle selection from different slots

L2: 2000-2999 exp
2 Elite, 2 Fast, 2 Heavy Support. HQ 2nd slot unlocked

L3: 3000+ exp
3 Elite, 3 Fast, 3 Heavy Support

* Note: Troop choices must equal or exceed total elite, fast, and heavy support choices.

Secret Objectives In each mission, it will be clear what participating generals must accomplish to gain victory. However, each general will also have a secret objective known only to them. Objectives may be specific to a mission, or transfer from one mission to another. Fulfilling secret objectives will win you special bonus items, abilities, or upgrades. An important note is that goodies secured in this way do not count against your army list point limit! Thus, they are incredibly valuable in providing an edge against your competition.

Campaign Points The length of the campaign will vary based on the progression of the story itself. At the conclusion of the final mission (you will know it as we approach it) the winner of the campaign will be the player with the most campaign points. Campaign points are different than experience points. Typically, one campaign point will be awarded to the winner of each given mission. However, as additional experience points and secret objectives will unlock new weapon and unit options, it is essential that each player aggressively work to gain them all. One other note – there will be no “ties” for campaign winner. There can be only one…

Character Death If a character is reduced to 0 wounds, there will be severe consequences. Should this occur, players must roll on the Character injury chart to determine the outcome. Only the GM will have access to this chart. If the character is permanently killed, a new character must be chosen. Any unit slots previously unlocked will remain unlocked and the new character will pick up at the same experience level minus any upgrades (i.e campaign progress is transferrable but special items are not). This is not a joke – your character can die.

Scaling for Balance In order to ensure missions remain competitive, the GM reserves the right to substitute players and scale army experience in order to provide a continued challenge for all participants. This may mean that a stand-in (even the GM himself) may proxy for participating players, or that infrequent players’ experience levels may be subsidized. However, one rule is firm: Only an actively participating player can ever gain campaign points, in other words even if a stand-in fulfills objectives and gains experience, they can never gain campaign points for you.

Intel Rolls Intel is a behind-the-scenes dynamic that will help determine how much information you have about the upcoming mission. The GM will roll secretly for you before the mission and the amount of intelligence you receive will be based on the outcome of this roll. Factors affecting intel rolls are: Army type (1 dice per number below), character level (0-3), and bonuses or penalties based on special items/accomplishments/enemy activity. The sum total is the number of die you get to roll. Optionally, before the roll occurs, you may elect any number of die to use to subtract from your opponents total (counter-intel).

Base Intel Die

Dark Angels – 2
Orks – 1
Chaos – 2
IG – 2

Intel Roll Chart - Score..... False Information!
0-6........... Basic Mission Information
7-12.......... As 2 above, but told which specific army(s) faced
13-18........ As 3 above, but includes specific mission objectives and recon
19-24........ As 4 above, but includes enemy forces overview
25+ ...........As 5 above, but includes enemy army list and secret objective information

Mission Assignments Before game time, you will be given a brief write-up stating the mission and secret objectives. The amount of detail you get is based on the intel roll as indicated above.

Creating Army Lists For the first two missions in which each army competes, your core army list will be created for you. After that, you will be required to create your only army list for each mission as outlined in the 40K 4.0 standard mission rules, within the limitations of your character’s current level. It is an important note that you will not have full access to the standard force organization chart until your character reaches level 3. For those less familiar with this process, the GM is happy to help.
Alliances In some cases, there will be options for some players to ally with others during the course of the campaign. As unlikely as some alliances may be, it may represent the only opportunity to take on a more powerful opponent. Here are the options available:

Dark Angels – Will not ally with anyone
Orks – Will ally with anyone except Dark Angels (for the right price…)
Chaos – Will ally with anyone except Dark Angels or loyal IG
IG – Will ally only with Orks. Will ally with Chaos if no longer loyal.