Story Tournaments
This is a type of non-competitive tournament I created based on the "Macaharian Heresy Campaignament" which was run at KublaCon 2010. The participants are arranged in two teams. The first such tournament was the Campaign for Ordus Arethe. I wanted to run the tournaments as "Imperium vs. Xenos", but after running the first it was apparent that the Xenos get the short end of the codex stick, so I no longer suggest that. Hopefully more such story tournaments will come in the future.
The Campaign for Ordus Arethe
Synopsis
The first round, one player from each side
will be randomly selected to play Secure the LZ, one each will
play Supply Lines, and any remaining players will play Eye in
the Sky. The winner of Secure the LZ determines
attacker/defender for their whole team in Round 2.
In Round 2, all players play Assault. The defenders have a smaller
force, but better scenario advantages. Whichever side scores the most
kill points across all games, becomes the attacker in Round 3.
Finally all players select a small force to participate in a battle
over an imperator titan.
ROUND 1
Secure the LZ
War has broken out, and reinforcements are
en route, but they need a clear LZ to land. It seems the enemy is
thinking the same thing. You have been selected to command an all-out
strike and clear the area of the enemy.
Deployment
Players roll off to determine who deploys first. The first player
chooses a long board edge and deploys his forces within 12” of it. The
other player then deploys within 12” of the opposite edge.
Reserves
No units may be held in reserve unless deploying by special means
(Deep Strike, Outflank, etc.) Reserves are rolled for as normal, but
begin on turn 1 rather than 2 (ie 4+ to deploy turn 1, 3+ turn 2, etc).
Starting the Game
The player who deployed first takes the first turn, unless the other
player successfully seizes initiative.
Victory Conditions
At the end of turn 5, whoever has the most kill points in play is the
winner.
Special
Rules
Supply Lines: During each player's shooting phase, if their team
is in control of the manufactorum, they may re-roll the to-hit rolls
for any infantry or artillery shooting.
Eye in the Sky: During each player's
shooting phase, for each command bastion their team currently controls,
they may use a Orbital Lance Strike.
| Weapon | Strength | AP | Special |
| Orbital Lance Strike | 8 | 3 | Ordnance, Lance, Large Blast |
Attrition: For the team that lost Secure the LZ: roll a die for each model lost during the battle. On a 1 or 2, the model is dead and will not participate in the next round. Roll for squads all at once, and choose which models from the squad are lost.
Supply Lines
War has broken out, and reinforcements are
en route, but they need a clear LZ to land. It seems the enemy is
thinking the same thing. It falls to you to supply the necessary
ammunition to the front lines. Team A controls the Manufactorum and is
the defender.
Deployment
The Manufactorum will be set up centered on the table 12” from the
defender's table edge. The defender deploys within 12” of the
Manufactorum. Then the attacker deploys anywhere on the table at least
18” away from a defender's model.
Starting the Game
The attacker rolls a die and goes first on a 2 or better.
Victory
Conditions
Whoever controls the Manufactorum at the end of turn 5 wins.
Special
Rules
Sludge: The Manufactorum is highly toxic and any non-vehicle
moving through a water terrain feature must make an armor save or die.
Attrition: For the team that lost Secure the LZ: roll a
die for each model lost during the battle. On a 1 or 2, the model is
dead and will not participate in the next round. Roll for squads all at
once, and choose which models from the squad are lost.
Eye in the Sky
War has broken out, and reinforcements are en route, but they need a
clear LZ to land. It seems the enemy is thinking the same thing. Your
task is to gain command of the orbital defenses and turn them upon the
hostile forces in the LZ. Team B controls the Command Bastion and is the
defender.
Deployment
The Command Bastion should be set up in the center of the table.
Deployment is as in Dawn of War, except that instead of the normal 2
troops and 1 HQ deployed, the defender may deploy one infantry unit
within the bastion and the attacker may deploy one troop unit anywhere
on his half of the table and not within 18” of the bastion. The defender
chooses his board edge and sets up first.
Starting the Game
The attacker rolls a die and goes first on a 2-6. Reserves enter on
the first turn as in Dawn of War.
Victory Conditions
At the end of turn 5, whoever controls the Bastion wins.
Special Rules
Night Fighting: Night Fighting rules are in effect on turns 1
and 2.
Attrition: For the team that lost Secure the LZ: roll a
die for each model lost during the battle. On a 1 or 2, the model is
dead and will not participate in the next round. Roll for squads all at
once, and choose which models from the squad are lost.
ROUND 2
Assault
With the LZ secure, winning side attempts to push their advantage. Oh
the fools... The team that lost Secure the LZ is the defender.
Deployment
Spearhead.
Starting the Game
The team that won Secure the LZ rolls a die and will take the
first turn on a 2-6.
Objectives
There is one objective in each player's deployment zone.
Victory Conditions
The winner is the player with the most Kill Points at the end of turn
5. Kill points are calculated as normal except as noted below.
4 kill points - Controlling an objective
0 kill points - Dedicated Transports worth less than 100 points
3 kill points - HQs
Special Rules
Mantraps: Traps have been rigged throughout each army's
homefield. All of the attacker’s models treat the enemy deployment zone
as dangerous terrain.
Kamikaze Squad: At the beginning of the game, the defender
must secretly write down a non-vehicle unit in his army. If this unit
ever loses a round of close combat, remove the entire unit, and a unit
in combat with it (defender's choice), from the game. These units may
not be used in the third round.
Also at the beginning of the game, the attacker must secretly write
down a unit in his army. This unit is revealed at the same time as the
Kamikaze Squad, and cannot be removed from play by this rule.
ROUND 3
To Challenge a God
The war is all but won. If the
defending team from round two won the majority of round 2 battles, they
are now the attacker. Otherwise they are the defender. The attackers
have pushed their enemy back to their last stronghold. In a last,
desperate gambit, the defenders are attempting to awaken an ancient
Imperator Titan. The attackers have established a siege and refitted a
small force for a strike behind enemy lines.
Deployment
Each player chooses up to 600 points from their army list to use in
this battle. Squads may be broken up and composition rules ignore as
long as everything in the new list was present in the original list. 100
of these points must be spent on transport vehicles. If a player does
not bring transport vehicles, then all of his units must be deployed via
Deep Strike.
The Imperator Titan is placed at one end of the table. This short
edge is the defender's table edge. The defender will deploy within 36”
of this edge. The attacker will then deploy within 12” of the opposite
short edge.
Starting the Game
The attacker always takes the first turn.
Victory Conditions
The attacker must destroy the Titan. The defender must eliminate the
attackers. The game will last as long as time allows.
Special Rules
Night Fighting: Turns 1 and 2 are night fighting.
Force Recon Refit:Any transport vehicle
taken by the attacker becomes a fast vehicle and loses any non-defensive
weapons.
Imperator Titan: This is an inactive titan. The defenders work
tirelessly to get it operational. Once it has suffered a roll on the
damage table, defensive heavy bolters activate. D6 heavy bolters fire
each shooting phase (attacker and defender) each one aiming at a target
chosen by the defending team. Multiple heavy bolters may fire at one
squad. The turrets have a BS of 3.