Planetary Gazeteer

 In Which is Found a Description of the Major Systems of the War and their Dispositions

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 Waagh 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: Into 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. 

Gauntlegun

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.