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Offline Wyldhunt

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Campaign Preferences?
« on: November 7, 2014, 10:14:09 AM »
So a guy in my local 40k group just released the rules for the campaign he'll be running. The document is about 20 pages long, allows for games in which 100 points of models face 2500 points of models, and has rules for nearby armies to sort of countercharge in to support other armies on the hex-grid map he's using.  And that's just in the first five-ish pages I read. 

Personally, I don't think I'll be playing in that campaign as the rules are simply too daunting and complex, but I did like a lot of the mechanics he had in there.  The banner system that categorizes your army based on size seems more fitting for a video game to me, but I like the idea of forces having different rules based on what type of role they're serving.  Maps always seem like a hassle in large campaigns, but I liked his idea of having map-wide special rules in effect based on what sort of terrain you're fighting in. 

I'm curious to hear what sort of thing you guys like to see in a campaign.  do you like to have heavily narrative campaigns with rules depicting specific scenarios? do you like campaigns with rules that modify normal games or simply serve as a scoring system?   do you like your rules complex and juicy or trimmed down and easy to keep track of?

Offline Wyddr

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Re: Campaign Preferences?
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2015, 03:38:12 PM »
(I trust this isn't threadomancy since nobody had the *ability* to post here for some time)

Anywho,

I have made two attempts at getting a campaign going in our little play group. Attempt one was a map-based campaign with hexes and supply routes and intricate rules. Everybody hated it, we played maybe three games, and then it crashed and burned when the worst players of the group complained that they could be eliminated and the best players in the group complained that, if nobody could be eliminated and there was no narrative component, they failed to see how this campaign differed from just regular pick-up games and scenarios.

Attempt 2 was instigated by me. It was supposed to be a narrative structure. Each faction had a narrative goal and could challenge other players to games in an attempt to achieve their goal. If you won, you earned points you could spend to dictate the flow of the story (introduce a new location to battle, acquire an advantage against the enemy, recover lost characters, get allies, etc.). That also crashed and burned when people complained about feeling bad that their force was losing and the storyline just made them feel worse. Other people just had trouble coming up with a narrative for their army because they don't play that way. <shrug>

I'm about to embark ins Attempt 3. After the Great Exodus (had three players in our group quit the hobby over the abrupt 6th to 7th edition switch--thanks, GW), it's now just down to me and two other guys (and theoretically a 4th, if he ever gets off his butt and plays).

So, we're all starting new armies, and all of those armies are going to be vying for control of the same planet. We will play brief, three-game long mini-campaigns to flesh out the story. No fancy rules, no extra incentives, nobody getting eliminated--just scenarios in a narrative context with narrative consequences. Simple as. Will it work? Hell if I know. I'll be happy if I can just get a consistent game in. 

Offline Grand Master Lomandalis

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Re: Campaign Preferences?
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2015, 04:41:55 PM »
The campaigns that are run by my LGS are usually done at the launch of a new edition.  They are based loosely on Settlers of Catan in that we use three sets to create the world map.  The initial runs of the campaign would require you have the different resources to build settlements, armies, cities, etc.  But we found that it became too much about the resource management and less about the concentration of games.

They have since changed it to all the resources are a single currency, and you just need a certain number of them to make purchases.  Depending on how well you do in battle dictates if you get a Campaign Victory Point.  Now, to keep everyone interested, as we have some top calibre players at our store, the victory points do not determine who wins.  They determine how many draws you get to receive prizes, which are store credit.  So even if you only received one CVP, you still have a chance to win something.

I would be interested in participating in a narrative driven campaign at the store, but getting people to participate can be difficult as more of them have their free time taken up by real life.
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Re: Campaign Preferences?
« Reply #3 on: January 31, 2015, 05:47:59 PM »
I've only played in a few campaigns but I liked what I saw.  A map is always a good thing, whether it's a painted board like Planetary Empires or an illustration made by the the GM.  Tiles or sectors that give bonuses that are enticing without being game breaking are appreciated!  Capturing a square with an Adeptus Mechanicus facility may give an extra heavy support slot to your lists, that's cool without being an auto-win!

Risk style map management helps, too, if everything is set up properly.  Being able to deploy naval or air assets means that aggressive expansion is beneficial but punishes you with a poorly defended backfield.
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Offline faitherun (Fay-ith-er-run)

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Re: Campaign Preferences?
« Reply #4 on: February 2, 2015, 01:17:06 AM »
I have done a few campaigns so far, some great, others tanked.

One of the things I have found is that having very different (and often hidden)  objectives can help a good deal.  So in a given battle it may be the main objective of one force to assassinate an enemy hq, while their opponent is worried about gathering Intel for the next part of their mission.  Then have consequences and rewards as they complete or fail it.  Their actions impact small bonuses for future games.  It takes a ton of work to set up, but it can be very rewarding.

One of the best campaigns I ran was just my brother and I.  He played as grey Knights, and I as deamons. The scenario was this: a cult on a planet have activated 6 warp stones that have shoved the planet into the warp where it is currently being fought over by Korn and teztnetch. The grey Knights have taken a task force in to destroy the warp stones. 

Rules were simple: must destroy over half the stones to win for him -  while I had to stop him.  The map was 30 sectors large. Every sector I had pre-created the deamons army for, between 500 and 2k points.  My brother created a master roster of 10k points.  His armies could only come from that list. When a model died, it died for good,  and he had to make his list before seeing what he was up against.  We used a modified campaign rewards system from the 4th ed rule book to allow his units to gain honors and such. 

As this was a demon world now, we also used the rules for randomizing the dangerous of the world from the WD article.

The campaign was a blast. With everything on my side already pre-structured it was just up to him to make decisions as to who to risk in pitched battles and trying to locate the warp stones.  It came down to his master list having a single transport left, which he had to try and husband, and no fast attack or heavy support either. He actually found all six  stones, but failed to destroy two of them so had to keep searching for the others. He ended up winning but barely. 

Hope that helps give  some inspiration

If you want help on other ideas, feel free to message me
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: Campaign Preferences?
« Reply #5 on: February 2, 2015, 10:06:05 AM »
That sounds like a fun one, Faitherun!

One thing I've found that makes campaigns better (or, at least, more enticing to me) is to have a solid narrative objective. Every faction fighting over a random map is a bit dull for me. More focused campaigns, where you have 2-3 factions tied into a storyline (like Daemons Vs Grey Knights or Orks Vs Eldar or whatever) make it easier to put together a reasonable story.

Medusa V type things, where *everybody* happens to be on the same planet fighting for (some random reason) just don't work for me. It doesn't make any narrative sense, and I play this game for the story as much as for anything else.

 


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