Epic War!
Introduction
Epic War! is a campaign system designed to enrich the Epic experience for even the most die-hard fan. It was initially designed with 2nd Edition Epic and Net Epic in mind but, with some modifications, should be adaptable to other versions of Epic, including the exciting new fan project called Imperius Dominatus.
Image: Warhammer 40K 1st Edition (c) Games Workshop 1987.
This first image of the 40K universe (above) had me dreaming of huge conflicts which became possible with the 6mm Epic range released with Adeptus Titanicus in 1988 and Space Marine in 1989 (later known as 1st Edition Epic). Not satisfied with fighting large scale battles, I was soon dreaming of a campaign system to fight sprawling wars. Some 31 years after setting eyes on this image I am proud to realise the dream and release my Epic War rules to the whole community!
Rather than armies going head to head in single one-off battles, this campaign system enables players to command gargantuan forces that will fight a war across a huge front on a hotly contested planet. How these armies move and engage enemy armies on the world map is down to each commander. The intent of these rules is to offer a new and deeper experience to battle-hardened Epic players.
There are two sections of rules, basic and advanced. To play the campaign, the basic rules must be used, but for players looking to add more depth and perhaps a little more realism, the advanced rules may be of some interest. Players may feel free to cherry-pick which rules they wish from the advanced rules; the aim is for people to play and enjoy campaigns the way they want, not to impose any rules upon them which they feel makes the experience a grind.
Make no mistake though, embarking in Epic War is a serious commitment which requires playing a large number of battles and is not designed with casual play in mind. If players embrace the experience I believe they will find that commitment pays off with increasing levels of excitement and enjoyment as the campaign progresses!
An example campaign - the Midnight Campaign - complete with full battle reports will feature on this blog in the coming weeks!
Good luck, and most of all, enjoy the carnage!
Gordon Bissell
Basic Rules
Designing the war
Every battle needs a battlefield, and to play Epic War you need to design a map for the nation/continent that you are going to fight upon. An example of this will be found in the Midnight Campaign, but players are encouraged to design their own theatre of war.
Doing so is relatively straight-forward, the battle will be played on a grid. You can go old school and draw this on paper or, thanks to the wonder of the internet, use online images, maps and tools to do so. Each square on the grid represents an area of land that is 10 miles squared.
How you design the map is up to you, the simplest way is to fill in squares with colour to represent differing types of terrain, but it is equally fine to draw up Tolkein-style maps. If using the latter, it should be clear as to which boxes on the grid are covered by the terrain drawn on, so it may be an idea for the designer to set this out with the players before doing anything else.
The remainder of this section works on the assumption that the method of colour-coded squares will be used. Note that you can make the number of squares on the grid as many or as few as you like, depending on your own preference for how large you wish your theatre of war to be.
The colour coding of the battlefront will determine the type of terrain that you will employ in battles. The codes break down as follows;
White – Plains. Players should use a variety of terrain for set up.
Green – Forests. While other terrain can be used, Woods should feature predominately for set up.
Yellow – Hills. While other terrain can be used, Hills should feature predominately for set up.
Brown – Mountainous. If you have any mountainous terrain in your collection, these battles are the perfect opportunity to field it – if not, set up as for Yellow (Hills).
Blue – Rivers. As for White (Plains) but a river must run through the battlefield somewhere.
Grey – Town areas. Standard set up with an emphasis on having a number of buildings on the battlefield.
Purple – City. Load up your battlefield with every building you have!
Additional – Roads. Feel free to draw roads on your world maps. You may want to place roads on your battlefields for any square which has a road or for any Grey (Town) or Purple (City) squares. Roads play a more significant role on the campaign map if you are using the Advanced Movement rules (roads allow you to move across difficult terrain without penalty).
Campaign Victory Points
In the same way as 2nd Edition battles (and also in Net Epic and Imperius Dominatus), the campaign is won by accumulating Victory Points, only for the campaign they are known as Campaign Victory Points (CVPs). Over the course of the campaign, both sides will rack up CVPs. These are won by keeping a running tally of Victory Points won for breaking enemy units (just as occurs in those rules) and for capturing Campaign Objectives Markers on the world map (not to be confused with the objectives claimed in battles). Further CVPs are also awarded for participating in individual battles.
The player to reach the total first will win the campaign. In the event that both players reach the threshold of points required to win in the same campaign turn, then the campaign is a draw. While a draw is possible it is extremely unlikely. There is more on Campaign Objectives later, but for now here is a summary of what CVPs are awarded for. The level of certain CVPs depends upon the size of war you are fighting (see following section below) as the bigger the war, the larger the CVP yield may be.
The player to reach the total first will win the campaign. In the event that both players reach the threshold of points required to win in the same campaign turn, then the campaign is a draw. While a draw is possible it is extremely unlikely. There is more on Campaign Objectives later, but for now here is a summary of what CVPs are awarded for. The level of certain CVPs depends upon the size of war you are fighting (see following section below) as the bigger the war, the larger the CVP yield may be.
Campaign VPs (CVPs):
Victory points awarded for breaking units in battle should be noted down as CVPs.
Capturing a Campaign Objective Marker: 5 CVPs for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Capturing a Home Base (Campaign Objective Marker): 10 CVPs for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Drawing a battle: 1 CVP for both players for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Winning a battle: 2 CVPs to the victor for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Overwhelming victory (when the VPs at the end of a battle equal or exceed a ratio of 3:2 or 66%.): 3 CVPs to the victor for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Example: both players are fielding a total force of 40,000 points each which means bonus CVPS would be awarded as follows:
Victory points awarded for breaking units in battle should be noted down as CVPs as normal (never changes).
Capturing a Campaign Objective Marker: 20 CVPs (5 CVPs x 4)
Capturing a Home Base Objective Marker: 40 CVPs (10 CVPs x 4)
Drawing a battle: 4 CVPs (1 CVP x 4)
Winning a battle: 8 CVPs (2 CVPs x 4)
Overwhelming victory: 12 CVPs (3 CVPs x 4)
Capturing a Campaign Objective Marker: 5 CVPs for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Capturing a Home Base (Campaign Objective Marker): 10 CVPs for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Drawing a battle: 1 CVP for both players for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Winning a battle: 2 CVPs to the victor for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Overwhelming victory (when the VPs at the end of a battle equal or exceed a ratio of 3:2 or 66%.): 3 CVPs to the victor for every 10,000 points fielded in the war.
Example: both players are fielding a total force of 40,000 points each which means bonus CVPS would be awarded as follows:
Victory points awarded for breaking units in battle should be noted down as CVPs as normal (never changes).
Capturing a Campaign Objective Marker: 20 CVPs (5 CVPs x 4)
Capturing a Home Base Objective Marker: 40 CVPs (10 CVPs x 4)
Drawing a battle: 4 CVPs (1 CVP x 4)
Winning a battle: 8 CVPs (2 CVPs x 4)
Overwhelming victory: 12 CVPs (3 CVPs x 4)
Setting Campaign Force Values & Designing Forces
Depending on the size of war you wish to wage, you will need to design several, perhaps even dozens of armies to battle across your campaign map. Before you start, both players must agree how many points worth of armies they will field against each other. When setting this value, players must consider what they can actually field in any given battle.
For example, if both players are only able to field forces of 3,000 points, a smaller campaign value is recommended. Note that both players will be restricted to designing forces that are equal to the points value of the player with the smallest army, i.e. One player can field armies of up to 10,000 points for the Marines, but his opponent can only field 4,000 points worth of Ork forces. In this case, both players are restricted to designing armies of a maximum of 4,000 points each.
This value set, the players would then consider how many battles they wish to fight during the course of the campaign. For each battle you wish to fight, you would design one army. Each army typically fights once during during the campaign. I find that 10 battles/armies makes for a great campaign but it is your decision!
This set, you then multiply your maximum army size by the number of armies you wish to field, i.e. in the above examples where the maximum army size was 4,000 points and you were to field 10 armies, you would have a campaign force of 40,000 points.
For example, if both players are only able to field forces of 3,000 points, a smaller campaign value is recommended. Note that both players will be restricted to designing forces that are equal to the points value of the player with the smallest army, i.e. One player can field armies of up to 10,000 points for the Marines, but his opponent can only field 4,000 points worth of Ork forces. In this case, both players are restricted to designing armies of a maximum of 4,000 points each.
This value set, the players would then consider how many battles they wish to fight during the course of the campaign. For each battle you wish to fight, you would design one army. Each army typically fights once during during the campaign. I find that 10 battles/armies makes for a great campaign but it is your decision!
This set, you then multiply your maximum army size by the number of armies you wish to field, i.e. in the above examples where the maximum army size was 4,000 points and you were to field 10 armies, you would have a campaign force of 40,000 points.
The number of Campaign Victory Points (CVPs) required to secure victory in a campaign is as follows:-
20,000 points: 200 CVPs
30,000 points: 300 CVPs
40,000 points: 400 CVPs
50,000 points: 500 CVPs
60,000 points: 600 CVPs
70,000 points: 700 CVPs
80,000 points: 800 CVPs
90,000 points: 900 CVPs
100,000 points: 1,000 CVPs
Larger forces: Divide total force value by 100.
30,000 points: 300 CVPs
40,000 points: 400 CVPs
50,000 points: 500 CVPs
60,000 points: 600 CVPs
70,000 points: 700 CVPs
80,000 points: 800 CVPs
90,000 points: 900 CVPs
100,000 points: 1,000 CVPs
Larger forces: Divide total force value by 100.
In addition to setting the force value, players may wish to discuss with one another whether they want to set a rule that all armies be a set size, e.g. 4,000 points. The advantage of this is that it means when the armies come face to face in battle, the games of Epic will be balanced (as normal). The disadvantage is that this is unrealistic (military commanders rarely break their forces into equally sized armies), tactically inhibiting, and is likely to result in players designing a batch of armies which are identical and therefore not very interesting. The other point worth making is that after a few battles, the armies will be substantially weakened and therefore armies of varying values will start encountering one another anyway.
The total force value set – and possibly a points cost for each army - each player must then set about designing their forces. Note that if both players agree, they may field a mixture of forces, so long as this is in keeping with the standard Epic rules for the version of the game you play. Note that by fielding an army of mixed forces, ie Marines and Eldar the player has a disadvantage in that it will be more difficult to use the reserve rules (see End Phase later). In the interests of balance, if one player wishes to have allies, it is probably an idea for the opponent to do the same, and to set a similar balance in terms of points between the two allied forces.
The total force value set – and possibly a points cost for each army - each player must then set about designing their forces. Note that if both players agree, they may field a mixture of forces, so long as this is in keeping with the standard Epic rules for the version of the game you play. Note that by fielding an army of mixed forces, ie Marines and Eldar the player has a disadvantage in that it will be more difficult to use the reserve rules (see End Phase later). In the interests of balance, if one player wishes to have allies, it is probably an idea for the opponent to do the same, and to set a similar balance in terms of points between the two allied forces.
Each player then creates armies – just as they normally would for a standard battle of Epic – which can range from a minimum of 1,000 points to the maximum number (previously set above). They should record these on a Campaign Roster.
Players should be aware that each army they design will be represented by a single counter which will be shown on and travel across the Campaign Map during the course of the adventure. This counter should have 2 pieces of information; an army name or code which will correspond to that shown on their own army lists, and the Move Rate (see next paragraph). This means that both players will be able to see how many armies they are up against, and how fast they are.
Players may wish to be wary of fielding a lot of very small armies as they may find themselves on the wrong end of several overwhelming victories, increasing their opponent’s chances of winning the campaign. On the other hand, the smaller the army, the faster it can move and react. Armies of up to and including 3,000 points will add one to their move rate, while large armies of 6,000 points and above will deduct one from their move rate. Anything in between (3,001 – 5,999) will move normally.
In basic rules, all armies start off with a move rate of 2. This means that armies move as follows:
Up to and including 3,000 points: Move Rate 3
3,0001 – 5,999 points: Move Rate 2
6,000 points and above: Move Rate 1
3,0001 – 5,999 points: Move Rate 2
6,000 points and above: Move Rate 1
Designing force lists will take some time, but once this is done, you are nearly ready to start the campaign!
An example Campaign Roster will be shown for the Midnight Campaign.
Place Campaign Objectives
The last preparation that must be made before the start of your campaign is that Campaign Objective Markers (COMs) are placed. As with a standard game of 2nd Edition Epic/Net Epic/Imperius Dominatus, these may change hands over the course of the campaign (after a battle for example). COMs may not be placed within two squares of one another and must be placed on terrain of some note, ie River, Hills, Mountains, Cities, etc. Both players may discuss this in order that COMs be placed in as fair a fashion to both sides as possible.
Players should each place 4 Campaign Objectives in their opponent's half of the campaign map. You may opt to make one of these a "Home Base" objective which is worth double CVPs and is where forces will begin the campaign.
Players should each place 4 Campaign Objectives in their opponent's half of the campaign map. You may opt to make one of these a "Home Base" objective which is worth double CVPs and is where forces will begin the campaign.
Again, an example of this is shown on the Midnight Campaign World Map.
Place Campaign Armies
Players must agree which side of the map their armies will start (note that if the campaign map is rectangular, players will set up along the longer ends of the map). If they both want to start on the same side, they should both roll a die, and the person who rolls the highest gets to choose.
Place all armies along the front in the first row of boxes or on the Home Base (if used, see advanced rules). Note that if the former is used, no two counters may occupy the same grid position, a rule that applies throughout the campaign.
That done, the war can now begin!
The Turn Sequence
Just as the game of Epic has a set turn sequence, so too does Epic War. Indeed, not only is the turn sequence similar to that in the game, but so too is the way the armies move through the use of orders. The reason for the similarities between the systems is to make Epic War feel familiar to fans of Epic.
The Turn Sequence is as follows:-
i) The Action Phase
ii) The Battle Phase
iii) The End Phase
i) The Action Phase
ii) The Battle Phase
iii) The End Phase
Because several battles can be initiated in the one turn, players should not be surprised if at times one turn of Epic War can take weeks to complete!
The Action Phase
Both players roll for initiative. Whoever wins may decide to activate an army first or allow their opponent to activate first. Players take it in turns to activate an army, assign it an order and move it (if applicable). The players do not disclose to their opponent which action they have taken although it may seem obvious. If an army engages another (see below), both players reveal their counters to each other. Play alternates between both players until all armies have been activated. Armies which have First Fire or Fortify orders do not reveal these until attacked or until the end of this phase. Once all armies have finished activating and moving, both players reveal all order counters to ensure no cheating occurred during the phase.
There are four orders in Epic War that can be used to control armies – and you can use the normal counters to represent this (or design your own if you are keen!). These are as follows:-
First Fire
Advance
Charge
Fortify (Fall back counter)
Advance
Charge
Fortify (Fall back counter)
First Fire: Armies on First Fire orders will have a defensive advantage against their opponents (see the Battle Phase later) but cannot move at all during this Campaign Turn.
Advance: Armies on Advance can move up to their Move Rate in squares. Armies moving on advance are proceeding with caution and are trying to minimise the dangers of walking into well-prepared armies which are dug-in on fortified locations.
In general terms, if an advancing army engages an enemy army which is on First Fire orders, the advantages the defending force receives will be minimised. In addition, if an Advancing force meets a Charging force, the force on Advance will receive some bonuses also. See the Battle Phase for more details on these differing situations.
Charge: Armies on Charge can storm forward double their Move Rate in squares. This means armies on charge can cover much ground while they are on charge but their haste has a major disadvantage; if they engage an enemy army on Advance orders, the Advancing army gains some bonuses. An army charging into another on First Fire orders will find itself at a very heavy disadvantage!
Fortify: Armies on Fortify are building defences on the territory they occupy and therefore cannot move. For each turn they are on Fortify, they build 450 pts of defences at the player’s choosing. They can do this for successive turns (limited to both players discretion or how many defences they can actually field). As they are engaged with their building programme, armies on Fortify are very exposed to enemy armies (much like Charging armies against those on First Fire).
Each army can move as many boxes on the grid equal to its movement rate (or double if on charge orders), but cannot move diagonally. Each army may move through friendly armies but may not finish its move sharing a grid space with another counter (this is to prevent players employing steamroller tactics which aren’t very interesting from a strategic point of view and can be impossible to fight against).
If an army moves into a square occupied by an enemy army, then battle has been initiated and its movement comes to an end. This conflict will be resolved in the battle phase when a game of Epic will be played.
All armies must complete the Action Phase before proceeding to the Battle Phase. Note that if a battle has been instigated, no further armies may move into this contested square. Again, this is to prevent steamroller tactics. If no battles have been initiated during this phase, then play should proceed to the End Phase.
The Battle Phase
All battles which have been initiated during the turn are fought during this campaign phase. Battles should be fought in the order that they were instigated but if players agree to play them in a different sequence this shouldn’t matter. Each battle requires a game of Epic to be fought.
There may be turns where a whole host of battles are being fought at once. This isn’t a problem but it does mean that it will take some time for the campaign turn to be completed!
Unlike standard games of Epic where forces are equally balanced, there is a very good chance that the two forces going head to head may be completely different sizes. This is warfare, not warfair. When looking at historical battles, it is a rare thing indeed to find two perfectly matched forces engaged in battle. Consequently, players should expect to find themselves in a few very one-sided encounters.
As well as the possibility of mismatched armies engaging one another, their campaign orders will affect the battle. Note though that the direction from which one army is attacked has no relevance, it will always be a head-to head battle with both armies setting up along the long edges of the board against one another. Before setting up the battle, both players should check which orders their armies were on and see which situation applies to them.
- Advancing army attacks First Fire army: First Fire army automatically gain initiative on Turn 1. Furthermore, the force on First Fire can deploy a further 15cm forward of their standard deployment zone.
- Advancing army attacks Advance army: Standard battle, no bonuses for either side.
- Advancing army attacks Charge army: Standard deployment, advancing army gains initiative for turn 1.
- Advancing army attacks Fortify army: Standard deployment except Fortify army must set up their army (and place fortifications) before the Advancing army sets up. Advancing army also gains initiative for turn 1.
- Charging Army attacks First Fire army: First Fire army automatically gains initiative on Turns 1 and 2. Furthermore, the force on First Fire can deploy a further 25cm forward of their standard deployment zone and only have to deploy once the charging army has set up their army first.
- Charging Army attacks Advance army: Charge army has to deploy his forces first, Advance army gains initiative for turn 1.
- Charing Army attacks Charge army: Standard battle, no bonuses for either side.
- Charging Army attacks Fortify army: Charging army can deploy 15cm further forward than usual. Fortify army can place their defences where they wish, but army must set up within the standard deployment zone. Charging army gains Initiative on turn 1.
In the situation that players are contesting territory that they have previously fought over before, a new landscape should be generated. The area of land that each square on the campaign map represents is 10 miles squared so each space can accommodate multiple battlefields. This saves players the messy business of having to keep sketches or photo images of battlefields in case they fight again in the same location. Of course, if they wish to recreate and fight on the exact same battlefield they had previously, they are free to do so.
Battles are fought in the normal way with 8 objective markers placed across the battlefield/board. If two mismatched forces are matched up against one another, the average points cost will be used to calculate the victory points level. i.e. An army of 5,000 attacks another of 2,000 points. 5,000 + 2,000 = 7,000 / 2 = 3,500 points. Therefore, the battle would be won by gaining 45 Victory Points (battles up to 4,000 VPs).
Once the Victory Points total has been achieved, the battle ends immediately as usual.
Both players should take a note of the total VPs they won for breaking units/companies etc in the battle. These must be noted down for the campaign – they are now CVPs. Army roster sheets must be updated as both sides will likely have lost a lot of units during the course of battle. Note that units which were routed during the course of the battle are also treated as survivors for the purposes of the campaign roster.
On the campaign map, the losing player’s army has been routed and he must remove the counter. However, anything in his force that escaped the battle should now be noted down under the In Transit section on his campaign roster. Any Titans that survived the battle will also be placed into this section, and any damage sustained in the battle automatically repaired (unless the War Chest rules from the Advanced Rules are being used).
Once this is done, the players must play the next battle until all battles for that turn have been completed. Once all battles have been completed, players can then proceed to the End Phase.
Note on attrition: After a battle, it is perfectly possible that a force that won a battle may have companies that have been broken or even annihilated. This raises the possibility that basic Epic rules are being breached as Support and Special Cards are no longer attached to a Company. However, the army can continue on. This represents the fact that in war forces will battle on no matter what losses have been sustained to commanders and the like.
The End Phase
There are two elements to the End Phase:
- Update Campaign Victory Points
- Manage Campaign Roster
Update Campaign Victory Points: Players should see if they have taken any Campaign Objective Markers (COM). To capture a COM, during the turn, an army must have been the last to move through, finish movement on, or been victorious in battle upon a square with a COM. Once it has been captured, it is held by that player until an enemy army moves in/through that square, at which point they will have seized control of it. Each COM is worth 5 CVPs per 10,000 points (see "Campaign Victory Points" section above). These points will be lost if the opponent seizes the objective in future turns.
Both players should then update their campaign roster, and adding together points awarded for capturing COMs, winning battles and breaking enemy units, check to see if they have enough CVPs to win the war. If they have, the campaign ends immediately with the defeated player’s forces disbanding and going into full-scale retreat. The victor claims the spoils, and more importantly the bragging rights! Congratulations!
Manage Campaign Roster: Assuming that the war has not been won, players who had Fortify orders should note down which defences they bought and the grid position of their fortifications (highlighting the borders around a grid position on the Campaign Map shows that the area is fortified). Note that if the player who fortified this square is attacked in it in future turns, he will get to use the defences; however, in the situation that an enemy army captures this square and then the player who built the fortifications tries to retake the square in battle, the enemy army will get to use the defences against their builders!
Finally, the players should review their forces. As the campaign goes on, both sides will see the attrition gain pace and their armies will become substantially weakened. They can use their reserves to bolster these forces.
Neither player begins the campaign with reserve forces. Instead, the reserves will be built up over time. These reserve forces come from existing armies or can be bought if the War Chest rules are being used. As mentioned above, an army which is defeated in battle is routed and all surviving models placed into the In Transit section. In addition, in the End Phase, players may wish to break down their armies and send units to their In Transit section. Note that units may only be removed from armies which have fought at least one battle. Indeed, a player who has won a battle but feels his force is too depleted may actually wish to disband the entire army and move it to In Transit. If this is the case, the player should note down all of his surviving vehicles, infantry and Titans in the In Transit section pool and remove the counter representing that army from the campaign map (as a defeated army does). Note that if an army which won a battle to take control of a Campaign Objective then voluntarily goes into transit, the Campaign Objective remains under that player's control until an enemy army claims it.
Once there are forces In Transit, they must stay there until the end phase of the following turn. Thereafter they can be moved into the Reserve pool. This is to represent the fact that the units will take some time to be reassigned after having been involved in battle.
Reserve forces can be used in three different ways;
- To create a new army
- To bring units which have taken losses up to their original strength
- To add new units to an army where units have been completely wiped out
- Trade in one unit for another
Taking these one by one:
Players may find that they have enough units in their reserves to make up fresh companies, support or special formations. For example, if they had 10 Land Raiders they could create a Land Raider Company, or 18 Assault Stands, with a Company HQ and 10 Rhinos could create an Assault Company, and so on. New units may not be partially built, the fresh formation must be at full strength as shown on the army lists. Once a player feels they have accumulated enough companies, and/or support and special cards that they want to create a new army, they can do so, removing all of these units from their reserves. They would then update their Campaign Roster to include this new army and create a new counter to represent this on the Campaign Map. New armies start on the Campaign Map on the player’s base line or base (just as they were set up in the first turn).
Depleted units may receive Reinforcements but to reemphasise, these must not be from anything marked as In Transit. For example, if one army has a Land Raider Company with only four remaining Land Raiders, this company can be brought back to full strength if the player has six Land Raiders available in his Reserves. If he wishes to do this, he must remove the Land Raiders from his Reserves and update his army roster to reflect the fact that his unit is back at full strength. Note that if this unit had been broken previously and is then broken again, the enemy player will still receive the victory points rewarded in both battles, just as if it were a brand new unit. As with new units, reinforcements can only be used if the unit is being restored to its full original strength, i.e. in the example above, the player could not bolster the damage to his Land Raider Company if he only had five Land Raiders available.
If a unit is completely wiped out, a player may replace that with a completely different unit so long as it does not break the usual army rules and also does not break the rules for the maximum size for an individual army.
For example, after one battle, a 5,000 point army lost an entire squad of Vindicators costing 150 points. While other units took some casualties, they still count as being part of the army, meaning that the force has been reduced to 4,850 points. The player notices that the Vindicator Squadron can be replaced by the three Whirlwinds he has in his reserves (which also cost 150 points). He also has three Predators but cannot add these to this army as at a cost of 200 points, his army would be worth 5,050 points, breaching the ceiling that both he and his opponent agreed before the campaign.
Units which have taken losses may be broken down (i.e. removed from that particular army) and moved to the Reserves via In Transit. Note that while the player can replace this unit from his Reserves, he may not use anything which has been broken down this turn to bolster units in other armies, i.e. nothing which is currently listed as In Transit. If there are Support and/or Special Cards attached to a Company which a player wishes to break down, he cannot do so unless he can replace that Company Card with another.
Using the same example above, a Land Raider Company is close to breaking point, so the player opts to break down the unit. This means that instead of his army being worth 4,850 points (remember he lost the Vindicators), it is now worth 4,250 points. Fortunately, he has enough Rhinos and troops in his reserves to create a Tactical Company. This takes his army back up to its full strength, 5,000 points. He had a Land Speeder Squadron and a Titan attached to the Land Raider Company, so had he not been able to create a full new company from his reserves, this would not have been allowed. The Land Raiders that he broke down are needed for another army, but they cannot be redeployed until the end of the next campaign turn as they are currently “In Transit”.
Players may find that certain units are particularly durable and end up with too many in their Reserves, or perhaps they need different units to bolster a certain army. They may trade in any unit at full strength and gain the points which then can be spent on other formations from the usual army list. Using a similar example, a player may decide to trade in a Land Raider Company and a Vindicator Squadron which would free up 750 points. The player then opts to buy the Assault Company in its place. This is immediately placed in the Reserves and can be reassigned to a new army or to bolster one which has been depleted as per the standard Reserve forces rules.
Players may find that certain units are particularly durable and end up with too many in their Reserves, or perhaps they need different units to bolster a certain army. They may trade in any unit at full strength and gain the points which then can be spent on other formations from the usual army list. Using a similar example, a player may decide to trade in a Land Raider Company and a Vindicator Squadron which would free up 750 points. The player then opts to buy the Assault Company in its place. This is immediately placed in the Reserves and can be reassigned to a new army or to bolster one which has been depleted as per the standard Reserve forces rules.
Advanced Rules
The advanced rules section is designed to add more depth to the Epic War campaign system. More depth means more complexity, so all rules here are optional, cherry pick them to your heart’s desire! Remember that the overwhelming intent behind these rules is for players to have a fun experience!
Move Rates
A mobilised army is likely to move quicker than one on foot. When designing your forces, any army consists entirely of units which have move rates of at least 20cm or faster, they may add 1 to their move rate. Note that this extra bonus may be lost after battle if some infantry units are left without their transports. If the slowest unit in the army falls below the 20cm movement rate, then the bonus will be lost. This rule is not advised for campaigns where one force is highly mobilised against one which is not, i.e. Eldar v Chaos. The result is likely to be that one force will run rings around the other and the campaign would be imbalanced.
Example: A small Eldar force of 3,000 points would have a movement rate of 3. Because there are no units which have a move rate of less than 20cm (and the infantry is carried in Falcon Grav Tanks), the movement rate is increased to 4. But after a battle, several Falcons are destroyed, the result of which is that some of the infantry will now have to proceed on foot. With a move rate of less than 20cm, the movement rate of the army is reduced again to 3.
Fog of War
To make for a more unpredictable campaign experience, both players may agree before the campaign begins that they are using this rule. It means that they should not show the points costs of their armies on their counters. The effect of this is that both players will be able to see their opponent’s forces on the board but will have no idea what size or strength each army is, although Move Rates may offer them some insight...
If Fog of War is employed, players will be looking to gain information as to the size of nearby enemy forces.
Scouting Enemy Armies
If a player has an army on advance orders, he can scout out any enemy armies but must reveal his advance order before doing so. Before he moves, the player may scout enemy forces which lie within his move rate, i.e. his army could reach and engage in battle that turn.
To scout, both players roll 2D6, with the scouting army gaining +2 to the roll if they actually include scout troops. Any enemy army being scouted gaining +2 to the roll if they are on First Fire orders – they are better prepared to conceal their numbers against enemy scouts. If they opt to take this bonus, they must also reveal their First Fire order. Consult the following table to work out the result of the scouting (much of this will not make sense unless you have read the rules for the Battle Phase);
To scout, both players roll 2D6, with the scouting army gaining +2 to the roll if they actually include scout troops. Any enemy army being scouted gaining +2 to the roll if they are on First Fire orders – they are better prepared to conceal their numbers against enemy scouts. If they opt to take this bonus, they must also reveal their First Fire order. Consult the following table to work out the result of the scouting (much of this will not make sense unless you have read the rules for the Battle Phase);
- Scouting player wins roll by 3 times or more – other player must tell him the size of his army. In addition, if the scouting player engages that army this turn then the defending force will lose any bonuses they would have had if they are on First Fire orders.
- Scouting player wins roll by double – other player must tell him the size of his army. In addition, if the scouting player engages that army this turn, and the defending force is on First Fire orders, they will not automatically gain initiative at the start of the battle, roll for initiative as normal.
- Scouting player wins roll – other player must tell him the size of his army but can modify this number positively or negatively by up to 1,000 points.
- Scouted army wins roll – he must tell the opponent what size his army is but can modify this number positively or negatively by up to 2,000 points.
- Scouted army wins roll by double – he must tell the opponent what size his army is but can modify this number positively or negatively by up to 3,000 points. In addition, if his army is on first fire orders and is engaged by the scouting force this turn, then he gains a further additional 10cm (on top of the 15cm bonus) to the deployment zone and the attacking force must set out his army before the defending army has to deploy.
- Scouted army wins roll by treble - he must tell the opponent what size his army is but can modify this number positively or negatively by up to 4,000 points. In addition, if his army is on first fire orders and is then engaged by the scouting force this turn, then he gains a further additional 10cm (on top of the 15cm bonus) to the deployment zone and the attacking force must set out his army before the defending army has to deploy. Furthermore, the defending army can have all units start the battle as dug-in (all at -1 to hit) if desired. Note that this dug-in bonus is lost for any units that move once the battle starts.
Advanced Movement Rules
Perhaps unsurprisingly, difficult terrain can slow armies down. To provide a little more realism, players may wish to adopt this system.
Move rates should be regarded as a movement allowance which is depleted as armies move into squares. The cost to move into squares is as follows:-
Standard Terrain: 1 movement point.
Hills: First square costs 2 movement points, successive squares (same turn) 1 point each.
Woods: 2 movement points.
Rivers: 2 movement points.
Mountains: 3 movement points.
Roads: First square is free to move into, successive squares 1 point each, even if the terrain runs through hills, woods, rivers, or mountains. Note that if an army has already moved through a town this turn, the army does not get the first square for free, instead it would cost 1 point.
Towns and Cities: First square is free to move into, if further towns or cities are passed through in the same turn, they cost 1 movement point each. Note that if a road has been used already this turn, the army does not get the first square for free, instead it would cost 1 point.
Note: Provided they are on Advance or Charge orders, an army can move at least one square, no matter what their Movement Rate is and the difficulty of the terrain. If an army has moved at least one square but do not have enough points to proceed further, then any remaining points are lost.
Example: Using the example above and the optional Movement Rate adjustments, the small, fully mobilised 3,000 point Eldar force has a move rate of 4. With the unit on charge (double movement rate), the move rate increases to 8. The player moves as follows:
Standard Square: 1 point (Move rate reduces to 7)
Hills: 2 points (Move rate reduces to 5)
River: 2 points (Move rate reduces to 3)
Road, standard terrain: Free (Move rate remains at 3)
Road, mountains: 1 (Move rate reduces to 2)
City: 1 point (Move rate reduces to 1)
Hills: 1 point (Move rate reduces to 0, and movement ends)
Standard Square: 1 point (Move rate reduces to 7)
Hills: 2 points (Move rate reduces to 5)
River: 2 points (Move rate reduces to 3)
Road, standard terrain: Free (Move rate remains at 3)
Road, mountains: 1 (Move rate reduces to 2)
City: 1 point (Move rate reduces to 1)
Hills: 1 point (Move rate reduces to 0, and movement ends)
In this example, the army moves through Hills twice. This costs 2 points initially but then a single point thereafter. The army would normally be able to claim a free square for moving through a town or city, but cannot do so as the free square has been claimed for the road. The same applies to the roads. Note that with the roads running through the mountains, the penalty for moving through this terrain is ignored.
Example: A large Eldar force of 7,000 points has a movement rate of 1 and does not gain the movement bonus because of Las-Cannon and Vibro-Cannon batteries (less than 20cm move). The army moves on advance into woods. Despite the fact that it costs 2 movement points to move into woods, every army can move at least one square, so they are able to move there and no further.
Example: The same Eldar force moves on charge, affording it 2 movement points. The army moves into hills, costing 2 points. It is important to note therefore that slow moving armies gain less from Charge orders.
Home Base
Both players have a Home Base where their entire force starts the campaign. This should be placed on their base line or one row in from their base line at most. This is the only time armies may be stacked. Armies must file out as quickly as possible to comply with the rules about armies not stacking.
Home Base is worth double COM points and a lot more: armies which have completed one turn of being In Transit and are now counted as Reserves are delivered to Home Base. Reserve armies may spawn into an adjacent square to Home Base. Note that if Home Base is lost to the enemy, not only does the enemy claim the bonus points, but the player who has lost his Home Base may no longer deploy new armies or spend any War Chest funds until it is recaptured.
Army Commanders
Each army requires a Commander to keep control and co-ordinate their forces. A Commander is part of the army’s forces and fights in the battle with his men. They can be represented by one unit within that force that has the HQ ability or indeed as being part of the command crew on board any Titan or Praetorian. You must have a note for each army exactly which model is your Commander but you are not obliged to inform the enemy player which unit it is until it is killed. You may only field as many armies as you have commanders, but fortunately troops can become battle-hardened and move up through the ranks to command their own forces. For every two battles that an individual unit survives, it can move up one level of the Command Chain. The following table sets that out, showing the lowest rank first. Note that moving up ranks does not change or improve individual stats for units, only allows them to control forces.
Standard Unit
HQ Unit
Commander Level 1: Can control armies of up to 2,000 points.
Commander Level 2: Can control armies of up to 4,000 points.
Commander Level 3: Can control armies of up to 6,000 points.
Commander Level 4: Can control armies of up to 8,000 points.
Commander Level 5: Can control armies of up to 10,000 points and above.
HQ Unit
Commander Level 1: Can control armies of up to 2,000 points.
Commander Level 2: Can control armies of up to 4,000 points.
Commander Level 3: Can control armies of up to 6,000 points.
Commander Level 4: Can control armies of up to 8,000 points.
Commander Level 5: Can control armies of up to 10,000 points and above.
Off-Table Support
Miles behind frontlines, missile batteries and huge cannon are ready to provide support to their forces on the battlefield. If off-table support is being used during the campaign, players will have to use the War Chest rules, or alternatively, both players should add an extra 10% of points to their campaign total. If using the latter system, these bonus points must be spent purchasing off-table support only and cannot be reserved, used or spent on anything else.
There are two types of off-table support, barrage and missile, both of which are called in by the same methods but have different effects. Off-table support is summoned in the same method as indirect barrages (see page 35 of NetEpic Gold rules), and like indirect barrages you always roll for scatter, regardless of whether it is a Barrage or Missile Support you are calling in.
Barrages: There are four types of barrage; light, medium, heavy, and the feared Shock and Awe barrage.
- Light Barrage (100 pts): 5+ roll to hit, 0 save modifier.
- Medium Barrage (200 pts): 5+ to hit, -1 save modifier.
- Heavy Barrage (300 pts): 4+ to hit, -2 save modifier.
- Shock and Awe Barrage (300 pts): Place burst template after rolling for scatter. Add D6 additional burst templates. Each template must touch another, but can be placed in any kind of pattern. 3+ to hit, -2 save modifier.
Light, medium, and heavy barrages may be called in once per turn during a battle. After the battle they are used and must be removed from the Artillery Roster. The Shock and Awe Barrage is a one-shot weapon which means as soon as it is used it must be removed from the roster immediately.
Missile Support: There are five types of missile support; Blind, Haywire, Mine Dispenser, Stasis and Vortex. Note that the markers referred to are all the same size as standard barrage templates, with the exception of the Mine Dispensers, which are 3cm in diameter. All missiles are one-shot weapons and should be immediately removed from the Artillery Roster once used.
- Blind (50 pts): Blind missiles are advanced smoke bombs that block line of sight. When the impact point has been determined, place one 6cm blind marker template. Another two are then placed, each of which must be touching one another. The markers have no effect other than blocking LOS and can be moved through normally. At the End Phase of each turn that Blind markers are in play, roll a D6 for each marker. A roll of 1 indicates that the smoke has dispersed and the marker should be removed immediately.
- Haywire (150 pts): Haywire missiles are weapons that explode emitting an electromagnetic pulse. They always scatter a second time – and if used against Eldar Titans, a third time. Once the point of impact has been determined, place a barrage marker. Any vehicles partially or completely under the template are destroyed. Titans or Praetorians with active Void/Power Shields will lose D6 shields. No further damage will be sustained if this roll would indicate further hits to the Titan/Praetorian; the shields while now depleted have fully absorbed the damage. If the shot hits a Titan or Praetorian with no shields, the head or bridge takes a hit without any save being allowed, in other words, an instant roll for damage. Haywire missiles have no effect on infantry.
- Mine Dispenser Missiles (100 pts): These missiles scatter mines across the battlefield. Once the impact point has been determined, the player who called in the missile places four 3cm diameter counters face down on the table, two of which will be mine counters, the other two are dummy counters. One of these must be placed on the impact point, the other three may be placed anywhere within 6cm of one another, provided they are not placed in buildings. The mines are activated at the end of the movement phase in the next turn. From thereon in, if any model moves within 3cm of a counter, it is flipped over. Dummy mines, as the name implies, have no effect and are removed from play. The real mines spring out of the ground and hit models on a roll of 4+ with a -2 save modifier. The main advantage of these weapons is to deter enemy units from venturing into a particular area of the battlefield.
Optional rule: Players may opt to load the mine dispenser with one stasis or vortex mine with three dummy markers. The rules for firing these missiles remain the same, except that when a mine is activated, the mine counter is replaced with the relevant stasis or vortex marker (see below). Note that while the points cost remains at 100 points for loading a stasis mine, it is increased to 150 pts for a vortex payload. - Stasis (100pts): These missiles can be a major irritant to enemy forces as they create a field inside which time literally freezes. Any model which is at least 50% inside the 6cm stasis field template is captured within the field and cannot move or fire until it either dissipates or moves away. Note that units caught inside a stasis field cannot be fired upon and that the field blocks line of sight. During the end phase of the following turn, roll a dice for each stasis field on the board. A roll of 1 – 2 indicates that the field has dissipated, 3-4 that it remains where it is, while 5-6 will see it move 2D6 in a random direction. If two stasis fields collide both dissipate.
- Vortex (300pts): These deadly missiles always deviate a second time, and a third if directed at Eldar Titans. Other than that, these 6cm units have the nasty same effects as a vortex missile as outlined on page 16 of the Net Epic Gold Adeptus Mechanicus rulebook.
The War Chest
Every force has access to reserve funds (or points) to aid them in their conquest. These monies are equivalent to 20% of the overall campaign spend and may be used to buy anything the players require over the duration of the campaign; new companies, squads, Titans, Titan repairs, defences, off-table support. Access to this emergency fund has to be earned by results.
At the start of the campaign players have zero funds. To gain access, they must hold Campaign Objective Markers and win battles as follows:-
For each COM held per turn: 50 points is added to the War Chest*
For each city held per turn: 50 points is added to the War Chest*
For each overwhelming victory won during a turn: 200 points is added to the War Chest
For each victory won during a turn: 100 points is added to the War Chest
For each draw in battle during a turn: 50 points is added to the War Chest
For each defeat in battle suffered during a turn: 0 points are added to the War Chest
For each overwhelming defeat suffered during a turn: 100 points are deducted from the War Chest
*Note that if a COM is on a city square, the funds being freed up are cumulative, ie 100 points per turn would be added to the War Chest. Such areas are likely to be the focus of frequent bitter fighting.
Spending War Chest funds:
- New Companies / Squads / Titans: A player may elect to buy new squads, companies or Titans just as they did at the beginning of the campaign. Such units can be added to a depleted force, provided none of the rules about maximum army sizes are not being broken. If a player has enough points to do so, they can even use War Chest funds to build fresh armies, in which case add a new army counter to a square around the Home Base.
- Off-Table Support: Any off-table support purchased will be available for use from the start of the next turn onwards.
- Defences: Any defences bought may be placed on squares where an army is currently positioned or on any COM or city that is held by that player. Note that defences cannot be moved once placed.
- Titan repairs: Titans take a battering during battles but if the War Chest rules are being used, that damage is not repaired automatically as previously stated in the campaign rules. Instead, this must be paid for. Specialist repair teams fly in to correct the damage immediately, but some items come at a cost: replacing destroyed field/shield systems costs 100 points, while replacing destroyed weapons costs the standard cost as shown on the weapons charts OR half the cost shown if the Titan is replacing like for like weapons. All other damage is considered rectified as usual.
And that is it – you now have everything you need to enjoy an Epic War! Happy gaming!
