The Storms of Judgement Campaign-The Coming Storm.

I've always been a fan of campaigns, it's probably the Role Player in me, I just love the idea of my Castigators, Saim-Hann wild riders or Witch Hunters Sisters of Battle carving out an empire and developing their very own identity.


A few years ago, I had embraced the more competitive aspect of 40k. 5th edition, in my opinion, was the best competitive version of 40k that GW have ever released. The games were quick, less convoluted and it was possible to own every Codex published without breaking the bank. All well and good, but my gaming buddies and I soon realised that all we ever did was practice for the next tournament.
Determined to do something about this, me and my mate Rob came up with the idea of linking our battles into an open ended campaign. When 6th edition hit, we were both glad that we had invested time in our campaign because, while 6th & 7th edition 40k were great fun to play, we both found it too long winded and tiresome playing more than a couple of games in a day.
So what started at the end 5th edition as a way to vary our games soon became our primary reason for playing in 6th and now in 7th. We still play in tournaments, but lately it's been 4 or 5 a year compared to 12 or so we did in 5th edition.
So I'd like, if I may, to introduce you to my Storms of Judgement Campaign.....

Inquisitor Lord Dragosani read the Prognosticator’s reports again, it made for grim reading.

Over a 1000 years ago the Caradryad Warp Fault had ruptured, spewing forth roiling warp energies that engulfed the entire Caradryad system and creating the Storms of Judgement warp anomaly. If not for the timely intervention of the Ordos Malleus and their Chamber Militant most of the Segmentum would have been destabilised to such an extent that it would have rivalled the Ocularis Terribus. During that time many planetary systems were lost or cut off from the Imperium and have since faded into legend.

Recently the Storms have shifted, opening a passage in the Shadow Zone that has revealed the Pandora Cluster for the first time in over a 1000 years. Communiqués from nearby Ophelia VII report an increase in Psychic disturbances throughout the sector and Ghorstangrad has issued a planet wide lock-down as it attempts quell several major uprisings.

Convinced that these events were no coincidence, Dragosani had ordered the Explorator vessel, Emperor’s Light into the Pandora Cluster. After a brief transmission, all further attempts at communication had failed and Dragosani had submitted a report declaring the ‘Emperor’s Light’ lost with all hands.

Dragosani sat back in his chair and sighed. All his experience and every sense told him he was right…..A storm was coming…


Dragosani opened up the file that contained the last communication from the ‘Emperor’s Light’.

Helfrost (The Gateway of Pandora)
The Death World of Hellfrost held little of value to the Imperium in the past and Orbital scans have detected scant inhabitation. However that was in the past and there is no denying Hellfrost’s strategic importance to the Pandora Cluster. Situated at the mouth of the only stable pathway into the system, Hellfrost is the ideal staging post for an invasion of the Pandora Cluster.

Lathe
Once a bustling forge world controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the loss of the manufactorums of Lathe were keenly felt by the Caradryad Sector. Even the most cursory of auguries detect thriving industrial output continuing on the surface, yet hails remain unanswered. Just who is it operating the forges, and what are they making?

Misery
This barren, airless moon holds little apparent value, yet endless miles of mine tunnels riddle its rock and signs of early construction suggest there might be more to it than first thought.



The Rules of Engagement

After painting up a Map of the Pandora Cluster, I wrote some brief (ish) rules to keep things moving along smoothly. The rules are purposefully basic and allow a player to do pretty much whatever they want and to allow anybody interested to participate.

• The Campaign is open to anyone who wants to join in. It is purely for fun and to indulge in the promotion of your army’s background and characters ego!
• Players do NOT have to fight other players who are playing in the campaign. It is only their results that are important – win or lose. This allows players to take part in the campaign even if they do not physically play others who are also taking part.
• Players can submit as many battle results as they wish. Battle results can be emailed to me, PM’d to me (Castigator) on The Warhammer Forum or simply posted as a reply in the last ‘Storms of Judgement’ post if you don’t want to post anything but the result.
• A battle result needs the following information: The two factions fighting, the planet they are fighting on and which faction won. This is the minimum information required, feel free to add a more detailed report or story format if you wish ;-)

Individual players do not control territories. Instead there are three factions:

• The Crusade of Deliverance (Blue Flag) – Launched amidst a great fanfare and ceremony, with a parade that lasted 14 days, the Crusade of Deliverance set out to reclaim the Pandora Cluster for the Imperium.
• The Prophets of War (Yellow Flag) – These represent mercenaries, pirates, local inhabitants and xenos scum who do not take kindly to outsiders invading their territories.
• The Slaves to Darkness (Red Flag) – The Chaos powers have plans for the Pandora system, can either of the other two factions find out in time and stop them?….Only time will tell.

• Players may use any army they wish, at any point size and play any mission. They may even swap factions if they wish…..The Castigators are notoriously fickle and have already fought for the Prophets of War and the Slaves to Darkness….

•Players may only attempt to conquer territories on a planet that they already have a flag on, unless they control at least one territory on the planet Hellfrost.

•If a player wins a battle the outcome isn’t guaranteed (the battle may have been a feint to allow reinforcements to bolster the territory’s defences or the victor simply had too few forces remaining to hold the territory). A conquest roll is made to see if they are successful in claiming the territory. If the player was unsuccessful then a conquest roll is made to see if they lose a territory. If an unsuccessful attack was launched using a spaceport territory (see later), the attacker cannot lose that territory unless the winner is on the same planet.

Conquering Territories

•A territory is conquered on a 4+ using 2D6.

•If a Faction controls a Spaceport it can launch an attack on any planet, even if they have no flags on that planet. Furthermore if a player wants to try to take control of spaceport they require a roll of 8+ on 2d6 to conquer it.

•If a player wants to target a specific territory on a planet they simply declare it when they submit their battle report.

•All rolls for conquest will be made by the organisers, taking into account any modifiers.

Specialist Territories

Spaceport – A Spaceport can launch an attack on any planet, even if they have no flags on that planet. Furthermore if a player wants to try to take control of a spaceport they require a roll of 8+ on 2d6 to conquer it. Optional rule: A player fighting on a world whose Faction controls a Spaceport may take a free Skyshield Landing Pad in their game, this counts towards your fortification limit.

Command Bastion – These allow an army to be better prepared for battle, to dig in and prepare for anything the enemy can throw against them. A territory with a Command Bastion requires a 7+ on the Conquer roll. Optional Rule: A player fighting on a world whose Faction controls a Command Bastion may take a free Bastion in their game, this counts towards your fortification limit.

Hive City – These vast cities are the seat of a world’s power, as such they count as three territories when determining which faction controls a planet. In addition, a Hive City counts as a Spaceport and requires an 8+ on the conquer roll with an additional 5+ save!

And there you have it, all ready to conquer!
My next post will show the turmoil and devastation that comes to Helfrost as the three factions battle it out to claim a staging post on the gateway to the system.

Until next time, may Our Lady grant you her number ;-)