Copenhagen Masters

Campaign Rules

 

From every corner of the Old World, they marched across Tilea or sailed across the open seas to the Isle of Sartosa. Most knew not why they had been drawn to this mystical place, but the fickle fingers of the Chaos gods reached deep into their souls and created a longing for the secrets contained within. Empire generals, spurred by curiosity or duty, marshalled armies to explore the inner lands and repel the incursion of foreign forces from Tilea. Silent black arks loaded with Dark Elf warriors docked in the treacherous waters, filled with visions of power and grandeur. The very Chaos gods themselves ripped holes open in the fabric of existence and poured their most favored children from the Warp into the Sartosan countryside. All were but pawns in an ancient game, a test of wills that had raged since the time of the Old Ones — the Hand of the Gods moved them all toward total conquest.

1 - Preparation
Each player is expected to have a firm grasp on the Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules. Of course, 7th Edition rules will be in effect. The Warhammer Forum is a good place to get coaching on rules, interpretations, etc. However, there is no “final word,” so to speak, on rules issues. Ultimately, it is up to the players in each individual game to settle rules disputes amicably. When in doubt, d6 and move on.

Each player will create all army lists based on the newest edition army books and/or White Dwarf articles. The Campaign map will be maintained by the campaign organizer.

The campaign will continue for 15 Game Turns. The player occupying the most territories at the end of 20 Game Turns wins the campaign. If more than one player occupies the same number of territories, the winner will be determined via a tiebreaker game (or tiebreaker mini-tournament, if necessary).

1.1 - The Map
The map represents the area in which the “Hand of the Gods” campaign takes place. On the map, you will find the following:

• Territories – Territories are the bordered areas on the map that can be occupied by players. Thick black lines represent borders between territories. Territories which are colored are occupied. Territories which are uncolored are neutral and available for conquest.
• Special Territories – Special locations provide some sort of bonus to the controlling player. Special location bonuses are usable only in battles fought within that territory.

1.2 - Standing Armies
Each player begins with the following:

A 1250 point army list. This list is the “standing army” of any territory controlled by the player. It is assumed when a new territory is gained, these are the troops immediately recruited to form a standing garrison for the territory. This means that the 1250 point army list will be used in EVERY GAME WITHOUT SUBSTITUTIONS. Keep this in mind when generating your standing army. For example, including full command in a unit’s entry means you are planning for that unit to have full command in every campaign game you play. Standing armies must include at least one unit of Core troops. The standing army list of each army will be made public (consider it your scouts’ recon efforts).

One character, to serve as your army’s overall General. While it is possible that the actual general of any particular battle may vary (more on this later), one strong leader unites your efforts. This general will be represented by a special banner on the campaign map. Placement and movement of the General will be important in campaign play, as s/he brings bonuses to each battle. Will your General lead from the front, mastermind things from your Headquarters, or die a shameful death at the hands of a ruthless enemy?

A Headquarters territory. As per The General’s Compendium, each player will select a Headquarters along the far edges of the campaign map, determined in random order. Players are encouraged (okay, kind of forced by peer pressure, really) to select a territory which makes sense for the army they are controlling (for example, Dwarves should start in the mountains, Lizardmen should start in the swamps, etc.). Headquarters may NOT be special locations, nor may they be moved during the campaign. The Headquarters section is special, in that if it is captured, the controlling player basically has to start over from scratch. It’s bad news. Protect your Headquarters.

1.3 - Campaign Coordinator

For the Copenhagen Masters campaign, all emails to the campaign organizer should be sent to torben@settra.dk.

Campaign Orders must be received by the posted deadline time. Any orders not received by the deadline are forfeited (and I mean, one minute past the deadline). Orders will be verified by the campaign organizer, and results distributed to everyone.

2 - Armies

Armies for each battle are determined as follows:

Step One: Begin with the Standing Army list of 1250 points.
Step Two: Determine if the General is present in the territory. If so, add his points to the Standing Army list. If not, proceed to Step Three.
Step Three: Add units, characters, magic items, etc. to the Standing Army list to reach 2250 points.

Note that battles fought within Headquarters territories are increased to 2500 point limit games.

Also note that following the steps means it is entirely possible to fight battles without your “named general” present. It is assumed, in these cases, a Lieutenant of some sort takes charge of the army for that battle.

Special Characters are absolutely forbidden. If you wish to take a Red Host, Nurglitch army, or Archaon's Horde, for example, you must - note I did not say, "may" - replace the special character with an appropriate Skink Chief, Plague Priest, Aspiring Champion, etc.

2.1 – Generals

The named General is the focal point of the “Hand of the Gods” campaign.

The named General may not be changed during the campaign. The named General must be a Lord-level character. The named General may change mundane weapons and mounts from battle to battle; however, the named General may begin the campaign with no magic items of any kind.

As his/her conquests or defeats tally, so will his/her reputation and skill. The General’s location, coupled with the General’s reputation, provides the following benefits:

Note that rank effects are cumulative (so a Respected general also counts as Rumored and
Known, and receives those benefits as well).

As the named General increased in rank, so to does his/her access to the spoils of war.
For each rank, the General has access to the following:

Note that once a magic item is selected, it may not be changed for the duration of the campaign! Your named General does not have access to an unlimited number of magic items, only those found during the course of the campaign. Choose wisely. Non-named Lieutenants and secondary hero-level characters may select magic items as normal as per normal Warhammer rules.

Select your magic items wisely. ?

Beware! The death of a named General can be demoralizing to an army! The following effects take place if the named General ever is killed in battle (i.e. permanently removed from play during the course of a battle, for whatever reason). The effects are immediate (yes that means they begin during THAT game at the moment the General is killed) and continue for one game turn after the General’s death:

Death effects are not cumulative. Obviously, it pays to use your General wisely. A dead named General can be replaced by a new named General after one game turn following his/her death. The new named General begins as a Nobody, regardless of the number of territories currently held by the player. Ranks are determined based on the number of territories gained from the time the new General is put into play.

2.2 - Headquarters

The Headquarters territory is the most important territory on the map. All games played within Headquarters territories jump to 2500 points. Note that this bonus is to both players.

The Headquarters territory automatically counts as Fortified. A Headquarters territory which is already Fortified and chooses to Fortify again via a Hold command may add 200 points of extra troops to any battle fought within the territory. This bonus may only be gained once; multiple Hold commands will not provide multiple 200 point boosts.

Should the Headquarters territory ever be lost, it will demoralize the army. The army immediately loses half of its remaining territories, which are returned to Neutral (player’s choice of which territories are lost). Additionally, the Headquarters must be moved to an adjacent controlled territory. If no adjacent controlled territory exists, the Headquarters is lost permanently. The army loses all remaining territories, which are returned to Neutral. The player must select a new Headquarters from any non-controlled territory left on the board. Special Locations may not be selected as Headquarters. Interior sections of the map may only be selected as Headquarters if no valid Coastal territory is still Neutral when the selection is made.

Losing your Headquarters is a Very Bad Thing™.

2.3 - The Coup de Grace

It may come to the rare occasion that a named General is defending his/her Headquarters, and is killed during the course of the battle, subsequently also losing the Headquarters. Should this ever happen, the enemy has severed the head of the snake, and the body will wither and die.

The losing player returns two-thirds of his remaining territories to Neutral rather than half, as dictated by section 2.2.

Additionally, the winning player may immediately name a second Named General (Lieutenant General). This second Named General may never advance past Rumored status while the original Named General is alive. However, the second Named General may immediately take over as Named General should the original Named General fall in battle. Note that this means a Coup de Grace may never be performed on an army which has a Lt. General.

Obviously, this is a rare occurrence and is rewarded (and punished) as such.

3 – Actions

Each player may make a single action per game turn. Actions are orders to the army as a whole. A player may issue the following orders: Move, Hold, or General.

3.1 – Move

The army can move to one new territory in a given turn. While the terrain rules in the General’s Companion are nice, they’re also kind of a pain in the ass. For simplicity’s sake, no restrictions or benefits based on race will be given. Territory terrain only influences the selection of terrain for a particular battle.

If the army moves into a neutral territory, they place a flag. The army immediately raises the Standard Army, and garrisons it within the territory. Any Special Location bonuses immediately apply.

If the army moves into a territory already occupied by an enemy army, a battle ensues. The army that loses the battle will be required to retreat to another territory. The following restrictions apply to a retreating force:
• An army that moved into the territory and then lost the battle against the occupying force must retreat to the territory it occupied on the previous turn.
• An occupying army that loses a battle to an army that has moved into the territory loses its flag and is considered scattered. If the losing army contained the named General, and the named General survives the battle, the named General must flee to an adjacent controlled territory. If no adjacent territory is controlled by the player, move the named General to the nearest controlled territory (assume the named General skulked around under the cover of darkness and resurfaced in a safe harbor).

3.2 - Hold

An army given a Hold order does not move. The player may fortify ONE territory he controls. A fortified territory is marked as such on the campaign map. In all battles fought in a fortified territory, the controlling player may select up to four walls or fences, and place them on the battlefield after all other terrain has been placed, but before deployment of troops. Fortifications are lost if the controlling player loses the battle, and must be refortified by the new occupier.
Please do try to be sensible in your placement of these walls/hedges. Use them as defensive obstacles of a sort, not purely movement hindrance in the middle of the field…

3.3 - General

An order of General means the player has chosen to move his named General. The named General may travel two territories per turn instead of only one. However, neither of these moves may take the named General into Neutral territories, nor may they be used to invade an occupied territory.

3.4 - Game Turns

Game turns, realistically, will last a random amount of time. In the early goings, when armies have not yet contacted each other, a Game turn may be as short as a few hours. Once games need to be scheduled and played, a Game turn may last two weeks.

In no case will a Game turn ever last longer than two weeks. If two weeks (and you know what a calendar week is, so don’t complain if you miss the deadline) goes by and no action has been taken by a player, the turn is forfeit by that player. If a scheduled game fails to take place within two weeks, then the turn is forfeit by both players.

If you really can’t play your game, get someone to substitute for you. Please do try to plan for this, as you will be letting people down, every time you miss a game.

Under special circumstances, the game turn may be extended with an additional week.

Further info will follow with regards to the summer holidays.

4 - Battles

4.1 - Deployment Zones

All battles will be played on the standard battlefield, using the deployment zones as marked. Assume all battles are the classic “Pitched Battle” scenario.

4.2 - Placing Terrain

Try to keep the theme of the map territory in mind when placing terrain, but ensure that you create a battlefield that both players can have a game on.

4.3 - Random Weather

The player who held the territory first rolls once on the following table. Remember that if you have a named General at your Headquarters of Rumored or higher rank, you may reroll on this table. A Feared named General at your Headquarters allows you to select on this table instead of rolling.

2d6 Roll Effect

2 Lightning Storm! The rain is coming down in sheets, and lightning fills the sky! No unit in either army may Fly more than 10” a turn during the battle.
3 Soggy. The ground is a little muddy. All cavalry units suffer a - 1Mv.
4-10 Clear enough. No effects at all.
11 Bright and Sunny. The sun’s rays make it harder to see. Ranged weapons have their maximum range reduced by 6”.
12 Scorching. The sun is HOT HOT HOT. All models in Heavy or Full Plate Armor suffer -1 Strength due to the heat.

4.4 - Deploying units

The player who held the territory first determines which player places the first unit. If both players simultaneously enter a Neutral territory, then a d6 is rolled by each player, with the highest roll choosing who begins. Each player then alternates unit placement until all units are placed on the battlefield.

4.5 - Victory Points

Victory Points are determined using the normal Warhammer rules. Don’t cheat. ?

5 – Scouting

Sometimes, keeping your General at your Headquarters is a good idea, because s/he can mastermind things from home. A Known or better named General may roll on the following table once before each battle.

6 - Special Locations

2 (Caprio): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)
8 (Ossomunte): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)
14 (Pirate King): The Pirate King assists you! One weapon, up to 25 points in value, may be selected from the controlling player’s army book and given to any unit champion, free of points charge.
15 (Roba): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)
22 (Senelite): Conclave of healers and clerics. At the beginning of the battle, roll a d6 for each unit on the table. On a roll of 6, every model in the unit counts as having a 6+ ward save. If the unit already has a ward save, increase it by 1. Undead and Daemonic units cannot receive this bonus, and on a roll of 1, take d6 S4 hits with no saves of any kind, including ward saves.
35 (Sartosa): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)
56 (Caragio): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)

60 (Volcanic Lake): Treacherous ground. At the beginning of the battle, roll a d6 for each unit on the table. On a 1, unit takes d6 S5 hits, with normal saves applying. Wounds will not cause panic checks.
64 (Dwarf Hold): If held by a non-Dwarf player, one character in the controlling player’s army may receive a suit of Gromril Armor (4+ base save) for free. Wizards may cast spells while wearing Gromril. If held by a Dwarf player, one character in the army counts as having the Master Rune of Gromril for free. This rune may ignore normal runic rules, and as such, may be included even if another MR of Gromril is present in the army.
65 (Cave of the Damned): Swirling with Chaos energy. All Chaos, Skaven, and Undead models receive a 6+ ward save in this territory.
83 (Ragil): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)
90 (Vermunte): Consecrated ground. All undead units suffer -1LD within this territory.
96 (Vercuso): The player controlling this city may add an additional 100 points to their army total (so the battle will be 2350 vs. 2250)
99 (Dragon Tooth Castle): Powerfully magical place. The controlling player may add one die to EITHER its generic power dice pool or dispel dice pool.

7 – Restrictions

Be sensible!

All in all this is a game between friends wanting to enjoy themselves. There is no reason to go over board in any way. I would prefer that there weren’t any “hard” restrictions, but would like to set down some guidelines. Ask if you are in doubt.

Build an ordinary Danish tournament army (9 pd, no dual rare or triple special), and make it slightly worse by replacing some of the good units. In the case of Tomb Kings, that could be removing a tomb scorpion, or liche, and bring along some ushabties or prince/icon bearer.
It doesn’t have to be a lot, but try to take the top of the ordinary lists, and then bring something fun.