Campaign Rules Rough Draft

You know what this game needs?  Campaign Rules.  You know how we're gonna get them?  ...Yea me either.  So let's just make our own.

Let me start by saying that this is a ROUGH DRAFT so don't freak out on me just yet.  Also, let me be clear that this is pretty much an exact port of Battlefleet Gothic campaign rules.  Battlefleet Gothic by Games Workshop was one of the greatest space miniatures games ever, if you ask me, and I hate that it has went the way of the dodo.  The rule books are still on GW's website for free and I highly recommend downloading them.  What I've tried to do here is to transfer the campaign rules from that great game to another great game, Firestorm Armada.  Now, since FSA doesn't have all of the same mechanics as Battlefleet Gothic, there are some differences, but I hope that the same feel will remain.  I'm still tweaking the refits table and the repair table numbers but, for now, they will stay as is until I get some more games in to see what's needed. 

If you've never played BFG, this campaign system is pretty straightforward and easy to manage.  It offers a lot of variety of missions.  Your ships earn upgrades if they survive long enough.  Your Admiral gains promotions and extra re-rolls.  Your fleet can grow as you are rewarded for your victories.  The fun of this system is that a lot of times, you have to decide if you're going to sacrifice a ship for the cause or retreat to save the lives of your crew.  It adds a fun new dimension to the game.

What I hope to add:  Lifeboats.  I never played v1 of Firestorm Armada so I don't know the old lifeboat rules.  However, I want to reincorporate those into the campaign rules somehow.  I am also considering a race-specific refit table to keep them more thematic but I feel I made the one I have pretty generic so that it could apply equally well to all the races (at least the races my friends play.)  So read and enjoy.  Let me know if you have a suggestion or spot an issue.  I will try to clean the tables, grammar, and other issues up as I go but I wanted to share this with you all since we've been having such a heated discussion about it over on the Spartan Games community forums.

So here it is.  Enjoy... or not.  Play the game how you want and I will do the same.

GETTING STARTED

 THE CAMPAIGN MAP

Before the campaign begins, you will need to make a map of the sub-sector you're fighting in.  This map should have a number of star systems on it and be connected by routes.  Each system should be given a name and a type.  The types of systems are described in the Repairs section of the rules.

STARTING SYSTEMS

At the start of the campaign, many of the systems in the sub-sector will be neutral. As the campaign progresses, this will change and players will gain control of systems that will grant them resources and help repair their ships.

Each player will start with one of the systems in the sub-sector under their control. Roll Initiative to decide the order in which players will pick their system.

STARTING FLEETS & THE FLEET REGISTER

Each player begins the campaign with 1,000 points. It is recommended that you have models to represent all ships on your registry in case you have to commit them all to battle.

Each player has his own fleet registry. He uses it to keep track of each ship and all of its pertinent information such as experience level, class, date commissioned, and upgrades.

Ships added to the fleet roster after the start of the campaign will suffer a -1 modifier to their repair rolls during their first engagement. This can be avoided if they are within command distance of their Star Admiral.

THE ADMIRAL

Each player's fleet has an admiral who represents the player himself. Over the course of the campaign, your admiral will collect renown points and gain in rank, and at the end of the campaign, the admiral with the highest renown is the winner.

Once you've filled in your fleet register, you need to fill in the details of your admiral. He'll need a name, and starts off with 1 point of renown and one re-roll. In addition, you must pick one ship in your fleet as his flagship. If this ship is involved in a battle then 'you' are there, and you may use the admiral's re-rolls in the battle. If the flagship is not there then you may not use the admiral's re-roll or abilities.

If the flagship is destroyed, then it is assumed that your admiral manages to escape somehow. He may not have any further effect in that game, but you may choose a new flagship for him once the game is over. (POSSIBLY ADD ESCAPE POD PICKUP TO CONTINUE USING ABILITIES)

FIGHTING BATTLES

In order for things to happen in the campaign players must fight battles (dur da dur!). At its simplest level, all players have to do is challenge any other player that is in the campaign to a game. If they agree, the game uses the additional campaign rules provided below as well as the rules used for a normal game. You can play as many or as few games as you like, all you need to do is find an opponent.

Note that opposing players do not have to agree to play just because you happened to have challenged them to a battle – but they will be penalized by losing one point of renown every two weeks and one system (randomly selected) rebels and will be turned over to a randomly selected player.

THE CAMPAIGN TURN

Campaign games include a number of extra steps which take place at the beginning and end of the game and are described below. Unless stated otherwise, all of the normal Firestorm Armada rules and Retrofit MARs apply in a campaign game.

Each time that two players have a game, they both get what is known as a campaign turn. The turn uses the following sequence of play:

1. Build-Up

·         Determine Initiative

·         Receive Orders, selecting target system if necessary

·         Select Forces from Fleet Registry

2. Fight Battle
3. Aftermath

·         Claim System

·         Adjust Renown

·         Promotions & Demotions

·         Ship Experience

·         Repairs & Withdrawals

·         Requisitions

BUILD-UP

The build-up stage takes place at the start of the battle, before either player deploys or picks his fleet. In this stage, you decide where the battle will be, what type of scenario to play, and what size of fleets to use. The stage has a number of steps that need to be carried out in the following order:

1. Determine Initiative
2. Receive Orders
3. Pick Fleet

1. Determine Initiative

Roll to see who is attacker and who is defender, (the player who rolls the highest is the attacker). If one player has more systems than the other, his forces are stretched more thinly, so the player with fewer systems gains a +1 bonus to the dice roll.

2. Receive Orders

Although admirals have a large measure of autonomy, higher command still sends down the orders telling them what they must achieve next. In effect, the players get to decide what happens in the battles, but receive orders that direct the strategy they must follow, and the type of battles they will fight. To reflect this, one of the players must refer to the “Orders Received!” document by Phil G. Grey and available at http://theblackocean.com/resources/Firestorm/OrdersReceivedv151.pdf.

Decide Location: The attacker must select the system in which the scenario will take place. The system must be connected to one already controlled by the player via a warp route. If no systems are already held, any may be chosen. If an uninhabited system is chosen, the defender must reduce his points value by 100 points. Other types of system can affect the number of planetary defenses, as described elsewhere in the rules.

Decide Size of Battle: Once a mission has been generated, players agree on the points value of the game and select their forces. The players can agree on the exact number of points for the game within the limits listed on the Incoming Order table. If one player holds more systems than the other, their forces will be spread thinly, giving the player with the least number of systems an advantage. Each extra system a player holds over his opponent reduces his fleet size by 10 points.

3. Pick Fleets

Both players must now pick their fleets using ships from their fleet register. The total value of the ships you pick may not exceed the points total you and your opponent have decided for the scenario you are to play.

Fight the Battle: With the build-up completed, all you need do now is roll for a sub-plot and then get fighting (huzzah!). Sub-plots are, until I get a better term, what we are calling the FSA rulebook orders that you normally roll before a game to determine victory.

AFTERMATH

Once you have fought a campaign game and know who has won, you come to probably the most important stage: the aftermath. This is where you find out what effect the game you have just played has on the campaign map, as well as the effect it has had on the ships and crew that took part. This stage has a number of steps, which need to be carried out in the following order:

1. Spoils of War
2. Adjust Renown
3. Promotions & Demotions
4. Ship Experience
5. Repairs & Withdrawals
6. Requisitions

1. The Spoils of War

Whenever an attacker wins a battle, he may claim control of the system if it is connected by a supply route to one he already controls. The system can only be taken over by the player that won the battle if it previously belonged to the player that he defeated, or if it was previously neutral.

Whenever an attacker wins a raid, he may count the opponent's system where the raid took place as his own for the rest of the campaign turn (which is important, since the systems you control affect your ability to repair ships, etc).

2. Adjust Renown

Renown is a measure of the fame or infamy enjoyed by you, the admiral. Players start the campaign with 1 point of renown and can gain or lose renown as shown on the Renown table. Renown is very, very important because, at the end of the campaign, the player that has earned the most renown is the winner! Note that you can gain or lose renown even if your admiral was not present during the scenario (ie, his flagship did not take part).

RENOWN TABLE

Winning a Heroic Victory	+3
Winning a Victory	+2
Winning a Minor Victory	+1
Victory points earned	+(Vps/100 round up)
Each capital ship captured	+1
Fought admiral with higher renown	+1
Fought fleet with higher points value and lost	+1
Fought fleet with higher points value and won	+2
Suffering a Minor Defeat	-0
Suffering a Heroic Defeat	-1
Suffering a Defeat	-2
Each Large Capital ship lost	-1

3. Promotions & Demotions

The player gains promotions according to their renown as shown on the table below. It is possible to lose rank if you lose renown points. Your rank determines how many re-rolls you receive in the scenarios that you fight.

PROMOTION TABLE

Renown	Title	Notes
1-5	Rear Admiral	1 re-roll
6-10	Vice Admiral	2 re-rolls
11-20	Admiral	2 re-rolls
21-30	Fleet Admiral	3 re-rolls
31-50	Solar Admiral	3 re-rolls
51+	Star Admiral	4 re-rolls

4. Ship Experience

As the campaign progresses, ships (or rather, ship crews) will gain experience. This is represented by increasing their Experience Rating and by giving them Refits. On the other hand, a ship that is badly damaged is likely to have lost a sizable portion of its experienced crewmen, which will reduce its effectiveness, while a ship that is destroyed will have to be replaced by a new or salvaged vessel with a very inexperienced crew.

Gaining Experience: Ships which fought in a battle and were not destroyed roll 1D6. If the roll is higher than their Experience Rating, they gain a refit. They may choose one of the three refit tables to roll on and apply the result to their ship, re-rolling any refits already owned.

Destroyed Ships: Ships which are destroyed or captured must be replaced with a new ship. Change their name on your fleet register. The new ship has an Experience rating of 0 and no Refits.

Frigate & Escort Squadrons: Frigate and Escort squadrons gain and lose Experience slightly differently. In their case, treat the entire squadron as if it were one ship in regards to their Experience Rating and which Refits they earn. If the entire squadron is wiped out, only then are you required to treat the squadron as destroyed.

5. Repairs & Withdrawals

In a campaign, ships that have suffered damage must be repaired and it is the number of systems a player controls that determines just how much damage can be fixed. Sometimes the systems under your control won't be able to repair all the damage your fleet has suffered, in which case you can either withdraw the ships and send them to be repaired outside the sub-sector, or you can let them limp on as they are until you have time to repair them.

Repairs: Each system a player controls may repair a number of damage points. This varies depending on the type of system and your renown. The number of damage points different systems can repair is shown below. Renown is important because it helps with recruiting extra crew, claiming resources and time in dock etc. Note that all criticals are repaired automatically. Also remember that if the attacker won a raid, he may count the enemy system where the raid took place as his own for this turn. You can use Repair points to bring frigate and escort squadrons back up to strength, in which case each escort ship is worth 1 damage point.

Renown	Agri	Penal (min of 1)	Mining	Industrial	Civilized	Uninhabited
1-2	1	1	2	3	1	1
6-10	1	D6-4	2	3	2	1
11-20	1	D6-3	2	4	3	1
21-30	2	D6-2	2	5	4	1
31-50	2	D6-1	3	6	5	1
51+	3	D6	4	12	6	1

Withdrawing Ships: A player may choose to withdraw ships to get them fully repaired at a major base. Mark the fact they have been withdrawn on the fleet register. Ships which are withdrawn are unavailable for the player's next game, after which they return to the fleet with their full number of hits. Frigate and Escort squadrons which are withdrawn may return at full strength.

6. Requisitions

After repairs have been completed, both players can appeal to higher authorities for aid. The amount of help you can expect to receive depends on how well you've been doing, as measured by your renown. To reflect this, the number of Requisitions that may be made depend on the players' renown as shown on the table below.

RENOWN	NO. OF REQUISITIONS
1-10	1 Request
11-30	2 Requests
31-50	3 Requests
51+	4 Requests

Requisitions may be made for the things listed below. If you are allowed to make more than one Requisition, you can ask for the same thing up to two times (and may have each appeal granted), or you can Requisition different things – it's up to you! However, you must declare what you will appeal for this turn before determining whether the appeals have been granted. Having declared what you are going to Requisition, roll a D6 for each request to see if it is granted.

REQUISITIONS

Reinforcements	3+
Capital Reinforcements	4+
Military Installations	5+

Reinforcements: If the request is granted, a squadron of up to five escorts or frigates may be added to the player's fleet registry. Note that you must have the models to represent the ships – if you don't, then they can't be added to the fleet register.

Capital Reinforcements: If the request is granted, a single capital ship may be added to the player's fleet registry. Note that you must have the models to represent the ships – if you don't, then they can't be added to the fleet register.

Military Installations: If the request is granted, the player may construct 150 points of military installations in the system of his choice.

REFITS TABLE

ENGINE REFIT

D6	ENGINE REFIT
1	Secondary Thrusters: Repair Engine Failure on a roll of 1-4
2	Reinforced Reactor: Repair Containment Leak on a roll of 1-4
3	Reactor Upgrade: Ship gains +1” Mv
4	Agile
5	Maneuverable
6	Shunt Matrix

SHIP REFIT

D6	SHIP REFIT
1	Elite Crew
2	Special Forces
3	Protected Systems
4	Hull Plating: +1 HP
5	Reinforced Port/Starboard
6	Reinforced Fore

WEAPONS REFIT

D6	WEAPONS REFIT
1	Phalanx Targeting System: Point Defense Offline repaired on a roll of 1-4
2	Lots of Guns
3	Bigger Batteries
4	Point Defense Barrage
5	Energy Transfer
6	Torpedo Spook