PRAESIDIUS SECTOR

A WARHAMMER 40,000 CAMPAIGN

PRAESIDIUS SECTOR

The Praesidius Sector is located within the Ultima Segmentum, and so is under constant threat from all manner of aliens.  It is close to the Eastern Fringe, and all manner of scum, heroes, merchants, military, and such pass through the system on their way to the Eastern Fringe.  The Sector is relatively new, and so not many of the planets have yet been inhabited by the Imperium.  The number of unexplored planets is enormous, but more and more planets are being discovered and inhabited each day.

THE RULES

Starting the Campaign

Each player starts the campaign at 3000 points, with a single planet.  These 3000 points can be divided up in separate armies any way you wish, but each army cannot be over 1500 points, and must follow the Standard Force Organization Chart.

From their home planet, the players can begin to issue orders on the first turn of the campaign.

Setting up an Army

The following guidelines must be used when creating an army:

• The army must use the Standard Force Organization Chart (SFOC)
• You may only have up to 1500 points in any army, and cannot combine armies to total more than 1500 points
• You may not use any special characters
• You may use any official army.  This means any army included in an official codex, or in a Chapter Approved article.
• If your army is in one of your own systems at the time new recruits become available, you may place the new recruits in the army, as long as the army still matches the requirements of the SFOC and is still under 1500 points

The Turn Order

Each turn of the campaign lasts two weeks, and represents one month.

1. Issue Orders - The player issues orders.
2. Receive Reinforcements - New recruits and reinforcements are purchased/deployed.
3. Purchase Spies, Scouts and Fortifications
4. Movement - The player moves any armies, spies, or scouts he has issued orders to move.
5. Fight Battles - Any player who has attacked another system (whether neutral or under the control of an opposing player) plays a game of 40K to try to gain control of the system.
6. Collect Income

1.  Issuing Orders

The following orders can be issued each turn:

• Move army, spy, or scouts (see Movement below)
• Attack system (see Attacking a System, below)
• Purchase new units (may only be done every 3 turns; see Reinforcements below)
• Build a Fortification (see Fortifications)
• Garrison a Fortification (see Fortifications)
• Spy on another system (see Spies)

All orders must be turned in by Friday evening, and will be answered by the following Wednesday.  This should allow time to get your battles together and fight them.  All battles must be fought before the next round of orders are turned in.

2.  Reinforcements

Every three turns, the players can collect income from the systems under their control.   With the points gained from control of these systems, they may purchase new units.   These represent new recruits and reinforcements.

Purchased units are not placed immediately.  They will come into play two turns later.  There is only one way to get new units into play sooner, and that is to send them into play untrained.  This means that the unit will come into play in only one turn, but will have -2 WS, -2 BS, -1 I, and -2 Ld.  You must still pay full points for the unit.

New units come into play in one of your own systems, and must either form a new army or join an existing army, but may not take an existing army over 1500 points or outside the boundaries of the SFOC.

3. Purchase Spies, Scouts, Assassins and Fortifications

Spies

Any army can purchase spies.  They cost a flat rate of 25 points a piece.   Each spy has Ld8 and I4.  These characteristics will be used to determine the amount of information the spy can find.  The more spies you send to a location, the more information you will get from your spies.  However, there is a chance spies will be caught.

To find out if your spies find out anything or if they are caught, consult the campaign hosts.  You will also be informed if you have caught an enemy spy, who you can then interrogate, execute, or possibly even "reprogram"!

You cannot send spies to a system you do not know anything about, and they cannot be used against neutrals.  Spies can only be used to spy on the systems of a player you have already made contact with.

Spies take one turn to arrive, once purchased, and can only be purchased every three turns, as per the normal new recruit rules.

Scouts

Scouts are purchased as a unit from the player's army list, and are attached to an army.  They function as a normal unit of that type, and points must be spent to buy them and equip them as normal.  The following list tells which units to purchase for scouts for the different armies.  Note that as Black Templars do not normally have scouts, they use a squad of 5 to 10 Neophytes at 11 points each.

• Space Marines*: Scouts
• *Black Templars: 5-10 Neophytes (11 points each)
• Imperial Guard: Ratlings or Death World Veterans
• Eldar: Rangers
• Orks: Kommandos
• Tyranids: Lictors
• Sisters of Battle: Celestians
• Dark Eldar: Mandrakes

A unit of scouts is given orders to move just like an army.   The scouts move ahead of the army, and only move one system per turn.  When the scouts move into a system, they can gather basic information: what type of planet is in the system, and whether it is garrisoned.  If the planet has a garrison, there is a 1 in 6 chance of the scouts being detected and attacked.  You can also attack the garrison with your scout unit if you wish.  However, if the unit of scouts numbers less than 10 models, they will be automatically destroyed if attacked or trying to attack (this means that Lictors may never attack a garrison).  If the scouts survive, or are undetected, they will relay back to the main army any information they have found.  Scouts, by their very nature, do not get extremely specific information, so don't expect it.   Scouts also cannot take control of a system for you, even if they defeat its garrison.  They can, however, remain in the system until the army arrives.

Scouts take two turns to arrive, once purchased, and can only be purchased every three turns, as per the normal new recruit rules.

Assassins

A renegade faction of the Officio Assassinorum has set up base in a hidden location within the Praesidius Sector.  Their agents are everywhere, making deals with whomever they can.  Thanks to these ruthless mercenary assassins, any army in the Praesidius Sector can hire an Assassin at the points cost listed in Codex: Assassins.  Hired assassins take one turn to arrive in-system.

However, you should always watch your back when there's mercenary assassins around...

Fortifications and Defenses

Each army can buy fortifications.  These represent stock fortresses, composed of a combination of bunkers, trenches, and walls that are set up to defend a planet.  All fortifications are set up along one of the long table edges in a battle, and the controlling play fights from that side of the table.

Small Fort:  A small fort costs 75 points to purchase, and takes one turn to build.  It includes one bunker and any combination of lengths of light trenches or dirt walls that add up to 24" (ie, 3 lengths of trench that are 6" long, and a length of dirt wall that is 6" long).  These trenches and walls include three weapons pits, from which heavy weapons can be fired.  The fort also includes one tank pit.  The bunker uses normal rules.  The trenches and walls give troops using them as cover a 5+ cover save, and the tank pit gives any tank inside it the benefit of being Hull Down.  The fort will also hold 500 points worth of garrisoning army.

Medium Fort:  A medium fort costs 150 points to purchase, and takes two turns to build.  It includes two bunkers and any combination of lengths of trenches or hardened walls that add up to 36" (ie, 4 lengths of trench that are 6" long, and 2 lengths of hardened wall that are 6" long).  These trenches and walls include three weapons pits, from which heavy weapons and support weapons can be fired.  The fort also includes one tank pit.  The bunkers use normal rules.   The trenches and walls give troops using them as cover a 5+ cover save, and the tank pit gives any tank inside it the benefit of being Hull Down.  The fort will also hold 750 points worth of garrisoning army.

Large Fort:  A large fort costs 200 points to purchase, and takes three turns to build.  It includes three bunkers and any combination of lengths of trenches or hardened walls that add up to 48" (ie, 5 lengths of trench that are 6" long, and 3 lengths of hardened walls that are 6" long).  These trenches and walls include six weapons pits, from which heavy weapons and support weapons can be fired.  The fort also includes two tank pits.  The bunkers use normal rules.   The trenches and walls give troops using them as cover a 5+ cover save, and the tank pit gives any tank inside it the benefit of being Hull Down.  The fort will also hold 1000 points worth of garrisoning army.

Other defenses can be purchased.  These will be covered in "Hold the Line!: Defensive Positions in Warhammer 40,000".

4. Movement

You may move any number of armies in a turn, but each army may only move one system.  They can move into any system that is linked to the system they are in by a warp lane.  You may move any number of armies into the same system, but no more than one army can remain in any system for longer than one turn.

You can also move spies during this phase.  Spies are able to travel up to two systems per turn, but must end their move if they are to spy within a system.  Spies must use warp lanes to travel.

Scouts can also be moved.  They may move into an adjacent system through a warp lane.

5. Fighting Battles

In a campaign, many battles will be fought.  Battles to gain control of neutral systems, or to drive an opposing player from a system.

Battles will be fought using the missions from the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook and the various army books where appropriate.  The mission that is being fought will depend on several variables.  Any assault on a system in which the owning player has purchased fortifications will be played out as a Bunker Assault mission.   Note that since you must destroy the fortifications in order to win, the attacking player will have to build new fortifications if he wins.

The attacking player may choose whether to attack at night.   If he decides to do this, then the Night Fighting rules will be used in any mission played.  The Cleanse mission will be replaced with Night Fight as well.

Other missions that can be fought will depend on the orders of the attacking player.  In any of the following missions where there is an attacker and a defender, the attacking player will always be the attacker.

• Attacking player is trying to take control of the planet:   Cleanse*
• Attacking player is trying to recover a lost spy or stolen data:  Rescue Mission (note: attacking player will not gain control of system)
• Attacking player is assaulting a specific location on the planet (comm tower, spaceport, etc.):  Take and Hold
• Attacking player assaults another player's main system:   Strongpoint Attack

*Space Marine players are allowed to choose to fight the Planetary Assault mission from the Space Marine codex instead, as long as their army fits the limitations for using drop pods to deploy.

Alternatively, the defending player can issue orders that may force another mission:

• Defending player tries to salvage as much of his army as possible by escaping from the system:  Breakout (defending player is the Attacker) or Rearguard (defending player is the Defender; defending player can choose which units to place on the table, and can deploy as little as 1/3 of his army's total points value)

If the attacking player manages to win any of the above battles (except Rescue, Breakout, and Rearguard), then they gain control of the system.  If they win a Rescue mission, the objective is rescued and the attacking army spends its entire next campaign turn moving back into a friendly system.  No matter whether the defending player wins or loses a Breakout or Rearguard mission, control of the system is given over to the attacking player.  In any other mission where the defending player had survivors, the survivors spend their entire next campaign turn moving back into a friendly system.

There have been some changes made to the rules for Cleanse and Night Fight missions, as well as for Reserves, that will be used in this campaign.   See the SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS section for these changes.

Attacking a Neutral System

All neutral systems have a garrison, but neutral garrisons can vary widely in size, from 250 to 750 points.  All attacks against neutral systems will be played out as a Cleanse mission (or Night Fight, if the attacker chooses to attack at night). 

Attacking a Non-Garrisoned System

If a system is left empty (ie, has no garrison army) then any army moving into the system can take the system freely, without fighting a battle.

Casualties From a Battle

As stated in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, not all casualties are actually deaths.  Some troops that "died" during game play will still be alive.  For each unit, figure out how many casualties came from the unit, then use the following method to determine how many of these casualties actually survived.  Roll once for each unit, adding in all modifiers that apply for that unit.   Roll for units that were completely destroyed as well.

Roll an averaging die* and add in the following modifiers:

**not cumulative - either the fast unit penalty or normal penalty is applied

Then consult the following chart:

*An averaging die is a six-sided die labeled with 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5.  If you do not have such a die, use a D6, but count 1 as 2, 2 as 3, 3 as 3, 4 as 4, 5 as 4, and 6 as 5.

6.  Collect Income

The amount of income you collect from a world depends on its type, and how many natural resources it can give you.  To collect income, simply check what types of planets you have, and consult the following chart for the amount of income you gain from them.

With the income you collect in each turn, you can purchase reinforcements, spies, scouts, etc., but you must wait until the next turn to do so.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Rules, Q&A, and More

Only official rules will be used in this campaign.  This means that only rules printed in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, the codices, or in Chapter Approved in White Dwarf will be used.  The Warhammer 40,000 Q&A will also be used, and should be consulted by players to resolve disputes.

Any army included in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, an official codex, or a Chapter Approved article in White Dwarf or Citadel Journal may be used.

If you need access to any Chapter Approved material, you can find it at:

http://www.jacksonville.net/~ragnarl/chapter-approved/

If you cannot access it on the net, ask the campaign hosts for a copy.

The Warhammer 40,000 Q&A will be posted at Borderlands for easy accessibility, and can also be found online at:

http://www.geocities.com/ragnarlothbrok/40k3-qa-v10.html

New rules, as they are published in White Dwarf (ie Terminator saves and Dark Eldar revisited) will also be allowed, as long as the proper changes are made.  If any units change in their points cost as well as abilities through revisions in White Dwarf, then new recruits and reinforcements purchased with campaign income may use the new abilities, but units already in play or already purchased will not use the abilities.

Diplomacy

It is perfectly natural that two players should want to work together.  In some cases during the campaign, diplomacy will come into play.   The way this works in this particular campaign is that two players can agree to a "treaty", with which they agree not to attack each other's systems, and to aid each other in times of need.  Players who have signed a treaty may not attack each other's systems (or they will break the treaty and become unpopular with any other allies they might have).  Their forces may also move unhindered through each other's systems.

Some players would like to use an alliance to assault another player.  Two players may have their armies "ally" to create one army using separate Force Organization Charts for the two forces.  However, this allied army must still follow the rule that no army may be over 1500 points.  If an allied army assaults a world and manages to defeat the garrisoned forces, then the players will have to choose for themselves which player will get the planet.  If they cannot agree, then both players must spend their armies' entire next turn moving back to their respective friendly systems.  Control of the system that was attacked remains in the hands of the player who had been controlling it (however, it will have no garrison left and thus be open to attack).

Cleanse and Night Fight Mission Changes

In a recent issue of White Dwarf, some changes to the Cleanse and Night Fight missions were put forth as ideas, and these changes will be used in the campaign.  The victor of a Cleanse or Night Fight mission is not decided on the basis of who controls the most table quarters.  Instead, the mission uses the Victory Points special rules, and any table quarter that is held by a player (ie not contested) gives that player 200 VP.  The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the game is the winner.  These changes were done to make the mission more fair, and to make sure that the ridiculous situation of an army with barely any troops left winning over an almost complete army does not happen.

Reserves Rules Changes

In any mission that uses Reserves, use the following Reserves rules instead of the rules presented in the rulebook.  Each turn, starting with the second turn, a player may bring on half the units he still has in reserve (rounding up), but these units must be picked randomly (ie if there are 6 units left in reserve, you will be able to bring on 3, and you must roll to see which units come on the table).   These changes will mean that no one is stuck in the unfortunate situation of having one unit or no units show up on the second turn while the opposing player ends up bringing on his whole army, but there will still be a bit of random chance involved.

Random Events

Every once in a while, something unplanned will happen.   A natural disaster will occur, or an assassination.  Things happen in the most peculiar ways, and a player may sometimes be blamed for something that wasn't his fault...

In the Praesidius Sector, random events will occur.   Fate is a fickle mistress, and she doesn't pick sides.  Anything may happen at an unexpected moment.  As a ruler, though, you must take these things in stride and carry on your conquest, and try to work around such cruel mysteries of the universe as Fate.

Some of the random events that may happen in the Praesidius Sector include:

• Planetary plagues
• Bad crops/harvests from an agri-world or garden world
• Religious riots (such as the old "Emperor's Dead!" or "Gorka!Morka!" arguments)
• An efficient treasurer finds a way to save money!
• Crops are damaged on an agri-world or garden world
• New natural resources are discovered on a planet
• Fixing of books in the Treasury...
• Spy betrayal
• A very successful intelligence network finds more than was bargained for!
• Treachery in high places
• Outbreaks of banditry
• Fires break out on a world
• Earthquakes
• Sex scandals among the nobility and the aristocracy
• An important person is assassinated

As you can see, anyone can find Fate to be a cruel enemy... or a very helpful ally.

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