A Prison for Gods: Basic Mechanics

So.  Lets get the "boring" bit out of the way.

How will this campaign work?

As with Crusade of Fire, the campaign rules borrow much from Planetary Empires.  Eight smaller world maps (and 1 Hulk!), each representing the main planets in the sector of conflict are represented by Planetary Empire tiles digitised for your convenience.  Players fight to seize territory and tally up points which can further the goals of their faction, or for themselves.

Simply put, it uses those wonderful hex tiles from either Planetary Empires or Mighty Empires that Games Workshop, for the moment, sell.  With changes in Warhammer Fantasy Battle, I expect at least Might Empires will be on its way out.  Regardless, a similar campaign map can be made with spare bases and industrious hands to create representations of land sectors on each planet.

Each player in the campaign would start with 5 flags or markers or blue tack and their initials written on a piece of paper before a very kind person digitised it.  ANYWAY!  thanks Chris...

From these marked territories, players can expand their hold two ways.  Each turn they can seize unclaimed territory, expanding without conflict (exceptions of awesome narrative apply), or they can win them after winning a battle.

Now the campaign is designed to be as simple to be involved in as possible.  No extra rules were thrown in and very few of these are "Must Use."  Essentially, one plays a game as usual.  Any size, type or format.  Though players are encouraged to think about where they are on the map when setting up terrain, and to think about their narrative relationship with the enemy.  Anything from Kill Team to Apoc is allowed.

One semi-exception to this is Space Ports and attacking from one planet to another.  To make a hostile attack from one planet you are required to own (or are adjacent to a Faction ally who owns-) a Spaceport.  To take a Spaceport or Hivecity tile from an attack originating on the same planet, one needs to have played in a City Fight game.  Unless!  Both sides agree that they cannot be bothered learning new rules let alone acquiring them.  Again, emphasis on ease of play.  I'm reducing the reasons for burn out. Likewise, usually attacks from off world require Planet Strike, but if both players agree to forgo that, its all good.  Game on!

What about those Phases?

Now the game as in Crusade of Fire is split into 3 Phases, each Phase revealing more of the planets involved in the campaign.  While in CoF this was explained by a Warp Storm that was receding, in PfG it represents the conflict expanding into the Sub Sector while the forces do their little treasure hunt for whatever it is that the Necron patron is after.

In each Phase, there is two Turns or as I prefer to think of them: Halfs.  At the end of Each turn territory is counted and Conquest Points tallied up.  I'll get to that in a bit.

So basically, 3 Phases, with 2 Turns in each.

Phase 1: Opening Moves

• Turn 1
• Turn 2

Phase 2: Escalation

• Turn 1
• Turn 2

Phase 3: End Game

• Turn 1
• Turn 2

Still with me?  Good.  Now in the last Bloggpost I revealed my need to make this slow burn.  So, I decided to run this campaign over 6 months.  Which makes Each Phase every 2 months while Turns are a month long.  This not only ensures minimal demand on my hard pressed players it allows me to throw in new gimmicks and special scenarios, Phase ending Apoc games and allows them to paint up more stuff to win with.

As a side note, each Phase brings not only more worlds and side missions and narrative, but will also allow each Player to place another 5 flags on the new worlds just like the first phase.  Phase 3 however, well that's the end isn't it.  Something special there...

Now, back to Conquest Points!

At the end of each Turn or Phase (every month), territories are added up and each player receives this as Conquest Points.  This can be applied to Faction or Personal Points.  The Faction with the most Faction Conquest Points at the end of the campaign win.  Though Personal Conquest Points mean that not only will the player win within their Faction, they will accomplish their personal agenda.  Think running away last minute with all the Archeotech, leaving allies to die.

This will really play into a betrayal and inner conflict mechanic that I am hoping to throw in later on.

Personal Points are easier to get as a consequence and will be usable to spend to gain certain things later in the campaign as well as allow for more special crisis missions based around that forces' personal mission.

Remember, the aim is to give a new background story to each Player's force.  Personally I don't care who wins.  It's who comes away with an awesome story that matters.

Extra Trimmings!

Now without going into too many details for now you also have the following:

• Grand Warlord Traits
• Strategic Objectives
• Crisis Missions
• Dramatis Persona
• Open Narrative Play
• Apoc Phase Games
• Pre-generated background with Nemesiseses!!

So first, we have Grand Warlord Traits.  These do NOT replace normal traits, but add character to the way the army functions on the map itself.  If the Player achieves the Trait's conditions be it slaughtering over half the enemy army, killing its biggest gribbly in a challenge or engaging with a Sworn Enemy, they gain extra Personal Conquest Points.  Its a nice dynamic and we did ensure players with a background or personality that demanded one of the usually random results would get it.  I mean, Khorne Daemonkin with Selfless Sacrifice?  Errrrrrrno.

As per Crusade of Fire, PfG uses Strategic Objectives: Space Ports, Power Generators, Shield Generators etc.  Though the rules have been updated to reflect the new edition and generally to offset the campaign as a whole.  Shield Generators for example no longer protect against any Dooms Day Weapon, but rather protect the adjacent area from attacks made by Space Ports across the system.  Much like in the books!!

Crisis Missions are the "gold" flag missions from CoF.  However I wanted them to appear at particular points and be relevant to what was going on in an area, as only those adjacent could join in (or via spaceport).  Originally they would be solely about the Necron Narrative, but seeing as the players have largely wholly embraced the narrative element, its gotta be about them.  One example, is the Dark Eldar and Craftworld Eldar that started on the ex-maiden world of Rust, and they are not there to share poetry!  Crisis Missions don't just offer unusual and unique games, but also rewards if done right.

Dramatis Persona.  These represent relevant characters in the campaigns background, such as the radical Inquisitor Yvassilli Craven or the Monodominant Inquisitor Dormenghast, opposed and dying to kill the other.  Likewise it can represent "unlocked" squads of local miners or Adeptus Arbites.  These are available to those able to represent them in the game (or bribe the owner of said figures).  They need to be paid for but allow for some unusual combinations.

Open narrative play is something that came in recently.  More than a pair of the players came to me as GM/SM whatever, and asked to do something unusual for their next game.  Awesome I say, it goes for the campaigns first tennant:  Fun before Fair.  As long as both parties agree, play how you wanna play.  More on that in the coming weeks.

Apoc Phase Games.  Well... at the end of each Phase, 2 months.  We gotta do something big.  Right?   Regardless of where one is on the map, all can join in this big ass game, representing a development in the main plot of the game.  Unbalanced, hilarious fun which can give rewards for doing more than just winning.  Developing the narrative and changing the game.  Can't say too much on that just yet though...

Now the pre-generated background stuff was a simple request for a paragraph or two detailing the following:

• Who are they and what are they good at? Who is in charge? Who is his/her right hand?
• What is there current goal? Why are they even here? (You can be vague if you like)
• Were they approached by the Bringers of Silence? How did that play out?
• Do they have any grudges, old unfinished business with other forces?

It is worth noting that nothing is "true" in these fictional asides, and my gods some of the beautiful propaganda I got between Imperial players: "YOU'RE THE HERETIC!"  "NUH UH!! YOU ARE!"  -Was amazing.

Next?

Well next, as promised, is more about the Forces in the campaign, I'm not going to give too much away just yet as not all Background pieces are in.

OH OK.  Here, check out these guys, who have begun generating some stuff for the game.  See if you can guess which faction they belong to!

• Rory - Rottimus' Blogg (Black Scorpions)
• William - Wimaro's Blog (Ibraesil Craftworld Eldar)