CAMPAIGN SYSTEM ‘ALPHA LEVEL’ (Gamma and Omega to be completed later in a separate post)
[shadow=red,left,300]Paper Work (Run Screaming!!)[/shadow]
Practically none is needed for this system. All you will ever need is:
1) A planet map (Essential) + a Solar system map for BFG
2) A detachment Roster For your Main Battle Force
3) A Back up roster (although its not a requirement: a codex will do)
4) A bit of paper to mark down the point values of all the detachments you control
5) A calculator (or a Brain if you can get hold of one ;-))
6) A Pen or Pencil
[shadow=red,left,300]The campaign map[/shadow]
Although it has been suggested that we use the Hex maps of the UWP, it can also be used in other region based maps if the players prefer that method.
If it is based on a map from the UWP info, it is important that it must remain true to the source, whether it uses regions, Hexs or big squares.
Also when a battle is set up they must have some correspondence to the way the map is drawn. For example if there is a big river running through that area then their must be one on the table top.
Map Example:
img.photobucket.com/albums/v620/RascalLeader/Campaign%20System/campaign3.gif BattleFleet GothicThe Solar system map is spilt up into the usual different regions; Flare Region, Mercurial Zone, Inner Biosphere, Primary Biosphere, outer reaches and deep space. When using a UWP system diagram it has to correspond to what has been created. The planets are put into their corresponding regions.
In most respects it works exactly the same as the planet map, but smaller. They are just more territory to hold.
Map Example
img.photobucket.com/albums/v620/RascalLeader/Campaign%20System/SolarSystemBFGCampaign.bmp [shadow=red,left,300]The Campaign Roster [/shadow]
You start off by Writing up ONE SINGLE 'FIXED' detachment army list. This is your personal fighting force, so that you can use experience point rules and so forth for Campaigns.
However realistically that would be but a small part of the planets defence force, which could have many millions of troops. To represent this you get a 'pool' of other forces to also use. Instead of writing down an army list for every single detachment there you would instead get them in POINT VALUE (i.e. the point cost for an uncreated army). These are not real armies, but ‘false’, they don’t really exist. They are counters to be pushed around the maps. Which I’ll explain in a minute.
For example the total armies worth on the whole planet could be within 100000pts for the Imperial guards, comprising of 100 Detachments worth (each 1000pts each).
HOWEVER (before you start rolling your eyes) these are not fixed; its just a way of gauging the total sizes of the forces combating each other over this planet. It also does not even have to be that big a size, you could limit it to a much lower number in the simplistic version of the game. You could only get five or six extra detachments at most (5000-6000). As long as the attackers and defenders of the planet stay within some sort of size agreement (so that the defenders would always have superior numbers) it does not matter.
These ‘false’ detachments (I can’t think of a title for them, so forgive the inverted commas) move about on the campaign map like a normal one. When it encounters another false detachment of the other teams then you could use the Automatic battle result system TM ( ) to find the winner instead of playing it all out for a battle. Its only when the ‘real’ detachments are involved that any battles are fought out. Its only at this point one of the ‘false’ detachment can be used in battle.
You can create a temporary detachment using the point VALUE of the detachment (1000pts in most cases- unless you have two detachments in the area). Now this could be done even before the campaign started, by having a back up army list in addition to your ‘real’ one, but the point is that it does not have to be set in stone and you can adapt it whenever.
However this army does not receive any experience, it does not need to be rebuilt after the battle, since the people involved are assumed to sinks back into the general pool of forces. However any damage it takes within the battle reduces the size of that ‘false’ detachment i.e. it is worth less when you next come to use it.
The battle damage is worked out the same as Victory points in the 4E (50%+ of a unit gone, its worth half of its starting value, for example). The size of the force is recalculated, dropping from its initial 1000pts it started with.
Now because its basically points you could decided to merge it with another unit, so you could take two damaged ‘false’ detachments and put them back together, or siphon the points off to rebuild your one ‘real’ detachment after battle damage. This is why the pool analogy work so well. Its like you start off with a large amount of water and you can move it between different buckets, but your always losing bits of it all the while. When one becomes half full then you can spread it out to refill all the other ones which have lost some.
The idea is NOT to have massive battles (But its an option), but to be able to have small battle across a large campaign map. It allows you attack from multiple fronts, to hold territory and all the like. Having these ‘false’ detachments running about the place allows you to do this. They can be the ones doing all the boring stuff, the one who protects an area, who can flank the enemy while you do all the real important stuff. Its helps create the impression of a much large conflict going on.
You don’t have to fight hundreds of battles ether; using the Auto battle thingy, most can be rolled for very quickly. Its ONLY when ONE ‘real’ detachment is involved that the battles can be played. However even this is open to debate, its just a nice way of laying down things for the moment.
@ A Glance – Campaign Rosters
• You get 1 Real Detachment that is fixed before the start of the campaign, which can gain experience.
• You get a number of other detachments, each worth 1000pts each.
• You get to used the other detachments as if they are real, but they are just considered to be moving blocks of points.
• If they come into contact with the opponents real forces, you can create a temporary force using the amount of points that detachment is worth.
• The amount of damage taken in that battle will resize the detachment worth (Its point value)
• A detachment can have its points transferred over to another one, to rebuild or resize. This includes your Real Detachment.
BattleFleet Gothic/ EpicFor BattleFleet Gothic one detachment; “Task Force” roster is written up to an agreed point value. This is usally 1000pts but can easily be bigger or smaller; its a lot more flexible. They can also be split into individual squadrons or small units so that they can be spread over to protect several regions of the solar system map.
However The players will get NO other Task Forces in addition to this one, because fleet ships are incredibly rare and important, and are not to be wasted.
@ A Glance – Battlefleet Gothic Rosters
• You get one Detachment for the inter campaign. Once its gone; its gone.
For Epic Player, creating several detachments worth of an army is no hard thing. It works exacally the same way as everyone else, but at 350pts per detachments (any Epic players check this for me Please). When mixing Epic and 40K for simplicity this 250pts detachment is worth 1000pts in 40K. However they can reconfigure the size of the detachments by merging them together as they wish.
@ A glance – Epic Rosters
• 1000pts of 40K works out around 250pts in Epic
[shadow=red,left,300]Movement [/shadow]
Each detachment can only move between on area (region/Hex) per turn. They can move about freely and can pass through enemy territory, even enemy formations. Since an area on the map can represent many hundreds of kilometres, it is assumed that they can move around any obstructions.
@ A Glance - Movement
• Each Detachment can move between 1 Area per turn
BattleFleet GothicA task force/ Squadron can move between one region of the solar system per campaign turn.
[shadow=red,left,300]Supplies[/shadow]
Supplies are important to an army; they encompass its food, ammunition and fuel needs. On a planet these supplies are distributed by road, train, boats and airplanes from supplies bases. These bases are giant storehouse containing everything an army could need. They need to stay within this distance, since they will not be able to be equipped enough to cope with the enemy otherwise.
However you can only receive supplies from your own bases, since your enemies are unlikely to be sending them to you. The only way to ‘own’ a supply depot is to hold it inside your territory. See ‘Territory control’ for details.
However their ‘delivery’ range can only reach a certain distance. It is only within these areas that troops can be supported. How far this range extends depends on what type of supply depot you control. All ‘Distances’ represent how many terrtorys/Hexs away that they can effect.
Supply Ranges -
Starport/Airfield: distance of 8
Large Supply Depot: Distance of 6
Medium Supply Depot: Distance of 4
Small Supply Depot: Distance of 2
@ A Glance - Supplies
• You must Own the Supply base to get supplies for your forces
• Supply Bases have a certain range; Your forces must stay within it.
