The Jimulthuan Quadrant - Campaign Rules

 Map campaign ahoy - I've got three players invested. Here is the lie of the land at the start of the campaign and how we're going to play it. 

I'm cribbing this wholescale from what I understand of the GW 500 Worlds rules. Perhaps I'll get it terribly wrong and break everything, perhaps not - anyone's welcome to point out glaring errors or problems that I haven't picked up on yet! 

We'll play until everyone's bored of it or the end of the year, whatever comes first. Each campaign turn lets each of the three players perform one action (usually some kind of attack move), which is resolved either by an actual battle or by some kind of dice roll. How many turns we get in depends on how quickly the fights get resolved, but I'd quite like to see one turn per month, roughly. 

As a reminder, here's the map of the Jimulthuan Quadrant and the eleven star systems it contains:

The asteroid field with the warning signs is the Sweetwater Debris Field; the hive city in the top middle (which I couldn't convince the AI to actually put a name on) is Gauntletgun, home of the Fistol City Hive. Red lines denote stable warp lanes that connect the systems.

Here's what we've already done:

The players have each secretly picked a planet on the map and built a stronghold on it. That sets their Dominance Level on that world to 4. 

Then they've picked two worlds to set at level 3, three at level 2 and four at level 1. 

Each player also has a Fleet, which they've currently deployed in secret. That represents the bulk of their forces. They can generally only attack a system where their fleet is present.

At the end of each campaign turn, if you have the highest Dominance Level in a system, you score one point for it. If it's a draw, nobody gets anything. The Campaign will be won by whoever's got the most points at the end of the year - 31st December 2026. 

Each system can have up to three Infrastructures built on it (a Stronghold is one, for example). These bring various bonuses to the player who owns them. They can also be destroyed. Once they're destroyed, they can't be built over - they're gone for good. And should a system have both its Infrastructure points destroyed, the system is also destroyed and is out of play. 

Campaign Actions

Each Campaign Turn, each player can declare single action from the list of below. The actions will play out in order from the lowest scoring player to the highest, with any draws being resolved by a roll-off. E.g. in turn one, when everyone has zero points to start with, we work out the order by dice. 

Games are most likely to be 40K, I think, but I'm totally up for taking on whatever narrative twists or suggestions players want to make and translating that into games!

Here are the actions:

1. Planetary Assault. Your armies strike from orbit and attempt to reduce an enemy's dominance on the world below. You may move your fleet up to one system from its current location, then pick an enemy team on that planet. Fight a 40K Planetary Assault battle to work out the winner. If you win, increase your own dominance by one and decrease the loser's by one. If they beat you, they can move your fleet one system away. 
2. Fleet Action. Your fleets manoeuvre in deep space. You can either move your fleet to an adjacent system or attack a fleet in the same orbit as your own. Fight some kind of battle (we can work out exactly what) - winner can move the loser's fleet to any other system as it makes an emergency warp escape. That fleet cannot move next campaign turn, although it can do other stuff as normal. 
3. Capture Infrastructure. Your armies attempt to gain control of an enemy's Infrastructure. Select one and play a game of something to determine who wins. It swaps hands to your control if you succeed. If you lose, your enemy can change the Infrastructure to another type if they want. 
4. Assert Battlefield Dominance. Your armies attempt to wrest control of the planet from your foes. Play a game of something to see how that works out. The winner can adjust Dominance Levels on the planet by a total of two steps (e.g. put your own up one, the other player's down one, reduce the player who wasn't even taking part by two - whatever mix takes your fancy). You may declare this action from a Stronghold you control instead of your Fleet. 
5. Planetary Bombardment. Your fleet hurls ordnance at the planet below. Roll a dice - on a five or six, you can either destroy one piece of Infrastructure on that planet or reduce another player's Dominance Level by one. 
6. Build Infrastructure. You can built a piece of Infrastructure in an empty location in the system your fleet is in. Pick one from the list below - regardless of Dominance Levels, it is under your control until destroyed or captured. 

Any games played should have some sort of very mild advantage given to the player whose team currently has the highest Dominance Level in that system. For 40K games, I'd suggest that it's the most Dominant player gets extra CP at the start of the game equal to the difference in scores between players. 

Each system also has a single Twist effect for 40K games (we can work out equivalents in other systems as we go). These are listed in the Planetary Gazetteer further down. 

Infrastructures

Pick one from the following list. 

• Stronghold - the headquarters (insert race specific equivalent here) of your Team. Sets initial Dominance Level in this system to 4. Contains a reliquary that allows you to use a single 40K Enhancement for free in any army lists in a match played in this system. You can't own more than a single Stronghold at any given time, and if you end up with two, pick one to keep. The other is counted as a Defence Network under your control instead. 
• Defence Network - when playing a game in this system, count your Dominance Level as one point higher than usual. Fleets may not declare Planetary Bombardment actions against a system with a Defence Network held by an enemy. 
• Supply Depot - You score one extra point for this system if you control the Infrastructure and have Dominance in the system. 
• Something Else - if you have some clever and lore appropriate suggestion, I'm sure we can work something out. Minefields that force enemy Fleets to move back? Teleporters to project Dominance into other systems? I'm game if you are. 

Planetary Gazetteer

Any 40K games have a Twist to represent local conditions. This might need translating into other game systems, but I'm sure we can work something out as needed. The aim is to give a small flavour to the games that's relatively easy to remember, nothing too wild. 

Bagot Prime

An originally peaceful breadbasket system containing several large Agriworlds. Bagot Prime's rolling fields and rocky mountains have seen constant battles since the landfall of Waaa-Bludteef. Despite being contained by Ultramarine actions, the Orks have never been removed from the system. In recent years, the Death Guard has also established a hidden laboratory from which they attempt to spread the lethal Eyebite Plague. The resulting strife has left the entire system riddled with local networks of spies, resistance fighters and smugglers that are nearly impossible to shift. 

40K Twist: Rebel Cells. All Objectives are sticky - once you've got them, they're yours until the enemy outscores you on them. 

Vulnus Infernii

The Wound of Hell, the roiling warpstorm that is now all that remains of Averment after its destruction by the forces of chaos. Shrieking daemons of Nurgle and Tzeentch still war with one another over what few pockets of stable matter remain here. It's particularly hard to track fleets into or around this area, and the warpstorm makes deep strikes and other troop movements unpredictable at best. 

40K Twist: The Breach. If you attempt to Deep Strike a unit into the fight, roll a dice. On a 1-3, it cannot be deployed this round. 

Campaign Twist: Warpstorm. If you attempt to move your fleet into or out of this area and you aren't Chaos aligned, roll a dice. On a 1, the Chaos player can move you to another system of their choice. 

Haga

Once a jewel in the Imperial crown, these gorgeous jungle worlds are the home of the Hagan Lampreys, a Tempestus Regiment of exquisite finery and martial excellence. Of late, it's been assaulted by the remnants of Hive Fleet Afanc after it was pushed back from the Drawbridge system. Now the Imperium is fighting desperately to reclaim the training grounds of their military elite from the Xenos threat, no easy feat in the dense jungle terrain. 

40K Twist: Dense Jungle. All units gain the benefit of cover at all times on these battlefields. 

Transcaridian Docks

Not so much a system as a series of gigantic shipyards built in orbit around fuel-rich gas giants. The massive industrial decks are designed to built, repair and refit starships and can shift enormous amounts of raw material very fast via specially designed supersonic elevator systems. They're also the central hub for all sorts of black marketeering, smuggling, piracy and cold trade operations. 

40K Twist: Supersonic Elevator Decks. All units arriving from Reserve (not Deep Strike) arrive at the start of the movement phase and can move as normal once they've arrived. 

Campaign Twist: Fuelling Stations. A Fleet stationed here can make an extra free move of one system at the very start of a Campaign turn, before any other actions are declared or resolved. 

Drawbridge

An enormous Imperial supply hub, the Drawbridge Munitorium worlds supply and ship ammunition to hundreds of other warfronts. The system was recently ravaged by Tyranids and is recovering after a thorough purging by Mantis Warriors, Hagan Lampreys and the Inquisition, although it is suspected that a Genestealer Cult and Alpha Legion assets are also still present somewhere. Nevertheless, the vast reserves of war materiel present on these worlds makes them a formidable asset to any commander. 

40K Twist: Surplus Ammo. Any army may, once per game, declare that a single unit is using Surplus Ammo for a single round of shooting. Their ranged weapons gain Sustained Fire 3 for that round only. 

Campaign Bonus: Munitorium. There is a pre-existing piece of Infrastructure here, a Supply Depot. It does not belong to anyone at the start of the Campaign. 

Zamaroon

The Death World of Zamaroon has been forever tainted by the actions of an Inquisitorial cell that attempted to lure Hive Fleet Afanc to the system by introducing Tyranids to its worlds. The xenos still run rampant through the jungle here, making it extremely hard to maintain control of the planets. One can never be sure when a resurgent brood may sever supply lines or damage critical holdings on the world. 

40K Twist: Uncertain Lines of Communication. No Strategems may be played in the first or second turns of any battles fought here. 

Campaign Twist: Tyrannoforming. Roll a dice for any Infrastructure build here at the end of each campaign turn. On a 6, it is immediately destroyed. 

Mombassa

An otherwise unremarkable set of Imperial worlds, the Mombassa system was the location of Necron Tomb World that had actually been destroyed several millenia previous. Scattered through the system's asteroid belt, the remnants of the Tomb World eventually awoke and began a campaign of terror that only ended with the involvement of the Crypt Angels chapter. It was also the source of that Chapter's terrible brush with heresy. 

No Particular Twists

The Sweetwater Debris Field

All that is left of a once-pristine shrine world, this shifting cloud of rubble is cursed by Chaos and haunted by scraps of the forces who once fought over it. There is little to be gained by controlling this area, but it makes for a perfect hiding place for unscrupulous generals to stage attacks from. 

40K Twist: Secret Lairs. Each player may nominate two units to gain the Infiltrate keyword at the start of the battle. 

Campaign Twist: Ruined Remnants. There is only space for a single Infrastructure to be built here. If it gets destroyed, the system remains in play regardless. 

Alebus

Staunch Imperial worlds thus far untouched by intrigue or the hand of history. Alebus is a mixed system of unremarkable planets, but the inhabitants are unusually docile and peace-loving. Invaders are won round by gifts, and even the most savage attacker finds little sport fighting against such pathetic quislings. Some say this behaviour is the result of Aeldari manipulation in the population's genetics, a rumour supported by the presence of a ruined webway gate in the system.

40K Twist: Willing Lackeys. The locals are so desperate to please, they'll join any cause who'll have  them. Each player may take a single free Battleline unit for their army, not worth more than 100 points. 

Gauntletgun

An independent Hive World. This planet, the only planet in the system, is a sprawling wasteland of ash and embers. Only a single hive remains, Fistol City, fifteen kilometres high at its peak and nearly two hundred at its base. The world has remained fiercely independent and remains so by dint of the massive gun emplacements round the base of the hive. Dominance here represents the political favour of the ruling houses rather than actual military presence. 

40K Twist: You Can't Fight Here, Lads. Actions can't be resolved by games of 40K here. Pick a different game instead. 

Campaign Twist: Get Off Our Lawn. Any fleets here at the end of a campaign turn must roll a dice. On a 6, they've upset the local government in some way and have to move to a linked system immediately. 

Rylstone

Home of the ominous Crypt Angels, both the loyalists and the traitors. This war-wracked set of planets is not just the planet-sized necropolis of the Chapter's ancient heroes and their recruiting worlds, it's also the new homeworld of the T'Pau Sept. A grim set of planets, made desolate by the nature of their inhabitants and the relentless wars they wage on one another. Only the truly grim would deliberately spend time here without a very good reason. 

40K Twist: Bleak. Any unit failing a battleshock test also takes a mortal wound. 

Campaign Start - Positions

Now, we've already had a go at the secret deployment. Here's how the map looks at the start of the Campaign:

Hopefully you can read the numbers! C, I and X stand for Chaos, Imperial and Xenos, and the number after is the Dominance Level.

That puts the Xenos Fleet, under Admiral Jhnlk, in Rylstone, although his Stronghold is in Haga. Both Chaos and Imperial players (Stylus and Pootle, respectively) have tried to claim Bagot Prime as their own, but their fleets are elsewhere. The Imperium is ready to defend Drawbridge once more, and Chaos Cruisers lurk in the Sweetwater Debris Field. 

If I've got it all right, the Dominance Levels mean that:

• The Imperium currently holds four systems - Zamaroon, Drawbridge, Alebus and Rylstone 
• Chaos rules two - the Vulnus Inferniis and the Sweetwater Debris Field
• Filthy Xenos hold sway in two, the Transcaridian Docks and Haga

All other systems are currently tied. 

That means the Imperium starts at a small advantage, which seems vaguely lore appropriate. It won't take much for that to shift, though. Let's have at it!