40K Space Hulk Rules Beta 1.0

Posted by Ranillon on 26. February 2009 22:12

Here is my first run at the rules for the Warhammer 40K Space Hulk game.  Please give it a read and post your thoughts and criticisms. 

1)      The standard 40K rules will be used

2)      There are 2-6 players

3)      Every player controls 1 squad that has been given the task of investigating a space hulk and retrieving anything they find that is of value

4)      Each player squad will be approximately 300 points.  Players will be able to choose playing 5 Terminators or a full squad of 10 regular Space Marines.  One member of the squad will be a hero model.  Squad composition will be slightly altered from the standard Marine codex in order to allow greater variation of models.  For example, terminator squads can include a mix of regular and assault troops.  Note that for the most part squads will be pre-configured to speed up beginning the game.

5)      Facing them will be an assortment of possible enemies, most notably Tyranids, Orks, and Eldar (yes, this is a nod to the recently released Dawn of War 2 game.  It also represents most of the non-imperial forces I have painted).

6)      Throughout the hulk are placed encounter tokens.  Whenever a player squad approaches within 12” of the token it becomes activated.  At that point the activating player gets to choose randomly from either normal encounters or advanced encounters.  The former are equal to ~150 points while the latter are ~250-350 points.  Successfully defeating a normal encounter gains you one victory point.  Successfully defeating an advanced encounter gains you from 2-5 victory points.  “Defeating” an enemy squad requires destroying it or causing it to break and run (at which time the squad is removed).  In the case that somehow two or more player squads engage in the same combat the victory points go to the player who originally activated the token.  Likewise, the enemy troopers will advance and shoot toward that player’s men whenever possible.

7)      Players cannot fight one another, but then again they are under no obligation to aid another player.

8)      At the start of every turn a player gets to roll one dice for each dead trooper.  One a roll of 5-6 that marine returns to the battle (the Emperor’s marines are tough hombres).  However, should the player’s entire squad be lost he is out of the game (such is the fate of those who fail the eternal Emperor!).

9)      The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is the winner.

10)   All material to play will be provided

More Conclave Concerns

Posted by Ranillon on 24. February 2009 09:41

Just a quick note to say how much I appreciate those that participated in the discussion on this question.  It was nice to see that I wasn't the only person with a problem with the Chaos Conclave.  I also appreciate the various suggestions I received for how to handle this matter.

After thinking over things I've come to the conclusion that it would be the most straightforward to simply ban it outright.  Solutions that limit it or provide counter-balancing abilities would normally work well, but in this case we are talking about what I hope to be a HUGE Apocalypse game.  I worry that adding new rules will only slow things down, especially given that the group will not be familiar with each other.  Apoc games are barely contained chaos (pun intended) as it is.  No need to add even more warp energy to the mix.

So, I apologize to those Chaos players that may have been itching to use the Conclave, but I think it will be best for everyone if you don't.  It will avoid arguments and letdowns that could poison what will otherwise be a lot of fun.  Don't worry, there are still plenty of cool Chaos formations to choose from.  As for you Imperials, now you can plan to use those Deep Strikes and Flank Marches with some possibility of success.

As always, concerns and counter arguments are welcome.

Daemon in Progress Too

Posted by Ranillon on 22. February 2009 20:49

Here is my latest conversion -- a daemon prince with wings.  The conversion is a straightforward one given that the model is practically built to have wings attached.  The sword is also a switch-out and the base is scratch built.  It shows how a fairly basic conversion can really add to the impressiveness of a model, IMHO.

40K Follies -- Tin Man

Posted by Ranillon on 20. February 2009 12:32

Conclave Concerns

Posted by Ranillon on 18. February 2009 21:50

I really like Apocalypse.  I like the concept, I like playing with super-heavies and titans, and I just like the idea of seeing a large table covered with models.  However, given its scale there are going to be potential problems.  Heck, you can have an argument over a regular 40K game.  Something many times that size is bound have troubles.  Since 40kOrigins is running an Apocalypse game at Origins -- hopefully, the World's Largest Apocalypse Game -- avoiding problems is a prime concern of mine.

Well, here is one obvious and painful problem -- the Chaos Conclave.

At first glance the sheet looks powerful, but still reasonable (at least for Apocalypse).  However, a closer examination (especially if you are devious) reveals a nuclear bomb of rules cheese.  Every special character taken as part of the conclave counts as a Distruptor Beacon.  For those that don't know a Beacon causes any enemy reserves that enter within 48" to have a 50% chance of ending up wherever the Beacon owner wants them to enter the board.  That means, for instance, that instead of jumping into the shorts of the enemy general your expensive group of maxed-out assault terminators has a 50/50 chance of ending up across the board in some remote corner far away from anything of value. 

That's pretty darn powerful, yet still (barely) reasonable if there is only one Beacon.  But, here's the kicker -- the Chaos Conclave comes with as many as eight.  Worse, although the fluff (weakly) implies that the conclave is meant to operate as a single group the actual rules state no such restriction.  Therefore, for the devious minded you could split up all eight, start them spread out across the board, and effectively negate your enemy's ability to Deep Strike, Flank March, or some other entrance from reserves over the entire board!

That's huge.  Gigantic.  Monstrous.  And, not just because of your normal come-in-from-reserves troops, but also because many Apocalypse data sheets bestow special abilities that do the same thing.  Thus, when interpreted liberally the Chaos Conclave also negates many possible enemy formations.

Here is a rule I use when figuring out whether a particular squad or formation is "cheesy" -- would you be insane not to take it?  By that standard the Chaos Conclave is clearly broken.  Badly so, in fact.  Therefore, my instinct is to ban the formation from the Origins Apocalypse game.

However, maybe I am missing something that makes this more reasonable than it seems.  Anyone got a good counter argument to this?