AoS House Campaign Rules Design.

[Wytchphyre77]

Damn, I love it. I'm going to come up with stuff for all of those... Going to hang with the players all on Sunday, and we'll make stuff up.

Dude, much appreciated

 

[pendrake]

Armory — one unit is equipped with higher quality armor. +1 to armor Save.

Arsenal — one unit is equipped with higher quality weapons. +1 on attack rolls.

Healing Spring — helps counteract whatever Nurgle is up to (if that Nurgle idea goes anywhere).

I’ll try to remember or think of more.

 

[Canas]

I do like the restrictions, though they mostly seem like common sense, and as everyone playing is all sensible

Don't ever assume your users are sensible, Always assume all of em are idiots who are hellbend on breaking your system

I'll admit the "rules" for this are klunky and awkward. But I'm not sure how else to run a "cpu" faction neutral to all parties.

There's some rules for it floating around somewhere. There's some battleplans that have "monsters" roaming the battlefield. I think they were in a white dwarf edition, though I'd have to look which one.

I loved @pendrake 's idea of the resource wars. So I'd like to create a list of buffs to be gained from resources. But I'm not sure how powerful to make them.

General remarks for those:

- Always make it affect only 1 unit per resource.
- Resource buffs can't be stacked (so 2 blacksmiths can't both buff the same unit)
- Watch very very carefully how certain buffs affect certain units. +1 damage on a carnosaur's bite probably isn't too gamebreaking, you only have 5 attacks. But +1 damage on a stegadon's stomp means it suddenly can do a whopping 18! damage more if you roll well on a 3d6.Which might be a tad much. You're probably going to have to make exceptions for those situations. Better might be to stick to effects that Always have the same value, regardless of which army uses them, like @pendrake 's angry giant and farms and such.

 

[Wytchphyre77]

I appreciate the advice. And honestly I'm glad you're coming up with limits here, because my ideas tend to snowball. And without limits it tends to get rocks in the snow. Whenever I come up with rules stuff I eir on the side of 'cool'... Which sometimes makes them broken. I'm glad you're looking out.

 

[pendrake]

Scrying Pool — this one generated rerolls, I think. 2D3 ? for the game.

But maybe Magic Sanctum ^ could do that.

Alternate:

Scrying Pool — there is an offboard mage. She is a level one, using the pool to Zap foes with arcane bolt, just for practice.

 

[pendrake]

keep lower players in the game by including a raiding action in between turns & "rich" players are going to be easier (and more attractive) to raid

I fully endorse this idea. That would have been a good addition to the original.

Dude, much appreciated

No problem. I enjoyed that Old campaign a lot.

- Always make it affect only 1 unit per resource.
- Resource buffs can't be stacked (so 2 blacksmiths can't both buff the same unit)

These same restrictions were present in the original campaign. Well spotted. Good advice @Canas

 

[Wytchphyre77]

Some thoughts about Nurgle, now that resources have become a serious focal point.

Each resource requires some dudes to control it (theoretically) so, if you use a resource you control more than once before using another, the presence of your army's camp at that resource begins to peak Nurgle's interest.

The second game using a resource summon npc nurgle on a roll of 6. Third game using the same resource summon npc nurgle on a 5, and so on. To prevent a person from stacking multiple resources and artifacts to make a sunblood ghyreshryke with +1 to hit and wound for hits on 1's explodes on 3's bullshit. Like you can do that... But nurgle will probs eat you.

 

[Canas]

Some thoughts about Nurgle, now that resources have become a serious focal point.

Each resource requires some dudes to control it (theoretically) so, if you use a resource you control more than once before using another, the presence of your army's camp at that resource begins to peak Nurgle's interest.

The second game using a resource summon npc nurgle on a roll of 6. Third game using the same resource summon npc nurgle on a 5, and so on. To prevent a person from stacking multiple resources and artifacts to make a sunblood ghyreshryke with +1 to hit and wound for hits on 1's explodes on 3's bullshit. Like you can do that... But nurgle will probs eat you.

That's not going to work, that sunbloood ghyreshryke will just beat the nurgle unit into a pulp immeadiatly anyway. Also it doesn't prevent you from stacking resources, at most it'l encourage you to save them up for one big fight in which you need some super-powered nonsense.

Also it doesn't feel very nurgle-ish.

I'd just stick with a "you can only use max X resources per fight due to the logistical and organisational constraints of supply lines and and what not"

For resources that you definitly don't want to be stacked give them a shared limitation by a forcing a choice.
E.g. your blacksmiths can only craft better equipment using special ores. But can only use one ore at a time as mixing the ores will blow up his smithy due to magical nonsense.

Resources:
- Iron mine: +1 to hit
- Sigmarite mine +1 to save
- Starsilver mine: +1 to wound
- Aethergold mine: +1 to cast
- etc.

A blacksmith Always has acces to some of the basic ores, the fancier ores you'l need to conquer a mine for.

 

[Wytchphyre77]

Well that's true. I guess I'm thinking, that a sunblood with ghyreshrike, plus a Blacksmith is the issue I'm getting at.

So, if they put the Blacksmith on that dude every game, then it seems like there's now a set of dudes caravanning stuff back and forth, which means filth and microorganisms. So while I actually like the idea of setting up some super-combos when you need them. What I don't like, is the idea of using that Blacksmith on that sunblood forever to the point that the other players don't have fun because I have a delete button wrapped in skinks. (that f'ing teleports, thanks ghb19!)

I was trying to find a thematic way to incorporate my shelf full of nurgle, and punish the stacking of army+resource synergy.

If it's good, use it when you need it. If it's so amazing that you should take it every game, then a 3rd part begins to try to balance it out.

Now... I'm not married to it. But I'd like to incorporate nurgle. (they're all painted nicely.)

If anyone has other ideas, I'd be totally into it.

 

[pendrake]

Blacksmith--choose one unit. That unit gains +1 to hit, to wound, OR to save.

Guys, maybe just downgrade [?] blacksmith a bit:

Blacksmith — choose one non-hero rank/file unit. The unit (which must have metal equipment: armor or weapons) gains +1 to wound or to save.

 

[Canas]

add in a rule that resources just run out and take a while to resupply/recharge/whatever. That ore isn't going to mine itself. This way you can also tailor the cooldown to the specific resource. A more powerfull one will need more turns to recharge.

Blacksmith — choose one non-hero rank/file unit. The unit (which must have metal equipment: armor or weapons) gains +1 to wound or to save.

Nearly everything can be fluffed to be some kinda metal equipment don't use limitations like that they'l end up arbitrary and randomly nerf certain armies or units (e.g. noone in fleshcourt actually wields any sort of equipment so they're screwed)

 

[pendrake]

and randomly nerf certain armies or units (e.g. noone in fleshcourt actually wields any sort of equipment so they're screwed)

The way I rewrote it would leave out Razordons. But so what? That’s the “charm” of a resources system.

I thought fleshcourt was all undead waving old rusty swords around??? I haven’t been paying attention, what are they?

 

[Wytchphyre77]

add in a rule that resources just run out and take a while to resupply/recharge/whatever. That ore isn't going to mine itself. This way you can also tailor the cooldown to the specific resource. A more powerfull one will need more turns to recharge.


Nearly everything can be fluffed to be some kinda metal equipment don't use limitations like that they'l end up arbitrary and randomly nerf certain armies or units (e.g. noone in fleshcourt actually wields any sort of equipment so they're screwed)

The metal restriction is difficult when my whole army is a matrix rendering of a Slaan's available memory data....

I think simply restricting the resources so that they don't apply to heroes, (broad brush) prevents artifact stacking.


However this raises the question, where is Nurgle, and how do I incorporate him into the campaign? I can skip him. But kinda don't want to. But I also don't want to shoe horn the campaign so full of crap it's hard to follow. So... Any thoughts?

 

[pendrake]

But I'd like to incorporate nurgle. (they're all painted nicely.)

If anyone has other ideas, I'd be totally into it.

Why not just have them be an alternative to the Ogres? Allow armies short of points to choose one or the other (but never both) to bring their point total up.

I thought of an alternative mechanic to the Butchers Bill idea. Call it the Deadmeat Budget.

For the first battle nobody gets to hire any extras. At the end, the **Feast Points (or whatever you are gonna call it) are tabulated.

The “Deadmeat” resulting from battle One becomes the hiring budget for battle Two. (Plus whatever resource cards contribute) That saves any post battle awkwardness involving unfed Ogres.

Nurgle ? Well the longer the meat has been dead the better it is for their purposes??


**ETAdd: Buzzard Bounty? Vulture Points?

 

[Wytchphyre77]

OK, fair. And I suppose everyone has wizards so... Maybe there's a cult of nurgle working on everyone.... I dunno tho. If they're mercenaries, then I'm gonna get enough points to sling 6 plague drones and a daemon prince with a tree like every game. And I can't explain in my head why the Slaan summoned chaos.

I like the idea of them messing around and disrupting games....

That's why I was originally modeling it off of Nagash's nighthaunt incursions.

I'm honestly not sure where to go with Nurgle other than the shelf.

I mean, I like the idea of an army holding a choke point under seige with the camp getting grosser and grosser untill, nurglings come spilling out of the latrine trench and the defenders are buried between thier attackers and daemons of gross.

I guess I need nurgle's motivations. If he gets the great artifacts before Nagash then he prevents Nagash from becoming stronger... So Nurgle wants to destroy the great artifacts. Which means he's hostile to nighthaunt. So I need a rule for them interacting. Also, I need rules for what happens if they get the artifacts. And how the players can attempt to get them back. Or if they can. Is it OK if it's possible for all 3 players to loose?

Bassicly, is it just nighthaunt again... But under what conditions? Same? Maybe more likely to spawn in home realms, with nighthaunt more likely to spawn in the shared realm or something? Pure speculation. I'll ask my players tomorrow when I see them.

 

[pendrake]

The metal restriction is difficult when my whole army is a matrix rendering of a Slaan's available memory data....

There might have been a between turns mechanism for trading in resources come to think of it.

There was not any rules in the original for resources wearing out.

 

[pendrake]

Thought of another possibility for your Nurgle Force.

A match between two people in the league could be a cooperative game. Both 750 point forces put their differences aside** and fight a Nurgle force of 1500. (Point numbers for example)

You just need a neutral player to show up to run the Nurgle Force.

Scoring is a competition to see which league player kills off the most Nurgle. Highest score against Nurgle wins the new resource.


**It is the “Kelhad” Scenario: Exterminate! Exterminate! (Invoked whenever anything Nurgle shows up.)

 

[Wytchphyre77]

Thought of another possibility for your Nurgle Force.

A match between two people in the league could be a cooperative game. Both 750 point forces put their differences aside** and fight a Nurgle force of 1500. (Point numbers for example)

You just need a neutral player to show up to run the Nurgle Force.

Scoring is a competition to see which league player kills off the most Nurgle. Highest score against Nurgle wins the new resource.


**It is the “Kelhad” Scenario: Exterminate! Exterminate! (Invoked whenever anything Nurgle shows up.)

Fantastic! I even have a friend that kinda sorta plays but won't buy models. So... That's awesome.

 

[Canas]

The way I rewrote it would leave out Razordons. But so what? That’s the “charm” of a resources system.

It'd be fine if you make up equivalents for every source of weaponry. Then it'd even add some charm as different armies would care about different resources. However if you don't do that it'l inevitably be rather unbalanced especially as we're making this up as additional rules for an already existing game. It'd be fine if the armies were roughly equal in what could and couldn't make use of the blacksmith, but seeing as you have stuff like the SCE glad completly in steel versus completly naked and unarmed armies like fleshcourts it gets very unblanaced very quickly.

I thought fleshcourt was all undead waving old rusty swords around??? I haven’t been paying attention, what are they?

Most of em are unarmed they just have claws. Occasionally they'l be waving a big bone around as if it were a sword.



As for nurgle take the following

After each battle the battlefield is defiled with corpses, magic and all sorts of other carnage. Such a vertile land naturally attracts the grandfather's plagues. Roll a D6. On a 7+ nurgle manifests and needs to be chased away. Add 1 to the dice-roll for each battle that has been fought in this territory since the last time the territory was cleansed. While nurgle infects a territory you cannot benefit from the resources present in this territory. Chasing away the nurgle infections requires you to go and fight the grandfather's forces.

Additionally add the following in between fight action:

- Cleansing the battlefields: the player attempts to clean out the various battlefields in his territory to prevent deseases from spreading as well as to scavange whatever they might find among the corpses. Assign 1 unit in your army to fullfill this task. This unit needs to contain at least 10 models otherwise it is too small to get the task done.
Possible results roll a D6:

- 1: The battlefields where already riddled with desease, and even the occasional follower of nurgle. Your unit has fallen ill and must recover. It cannot participate in the next battle. Nurgle infects the territory.
- 2-3: The battlefields have been cleansed.
- 4-5: The battlefields have been cleansed and your soldiers scavanged a good amount of useable material. Gain 1 resource of your choice out of X choices (ore, leather, meat, pick some sensible ones )
- 6: The battlefields have been cleansed and your soldiers have found a magic artifact. It gains a permanent bonus of your choice out of X choices. (+1 to hit, +1 to wound, etc.).
​

 

[pendrake]

It'd be fine if you make up equivalents for every source of weaponry. Then it'd even add some charm as different armies would care about different resources. However if you don't do that...

Sounds like a plan. And thanks for the quick explanation of the FEC.

So things like:

CRYPT — gives one undead unit a +1 bonus to armor save.

OSSUARY — gives one undead, multi-model unit (no heroes) 1 additional attack per model