Warhammer 40,000 Combat Patrol

Combat patrol is the short-form of Warhammer 40,000 in which players command a small patrol of perhaps
two squads and a light vehicle. The games are designed to take around forty minutes to play (or less) and are
meant to be fast and fun. This set of rules is designed to help players get a regular game when time is the most
limiting factor. This is not a ‘light’ set of rules but rather a fresh way to use the armies you already have.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT BEWARE ODDITIES

When playing Combat Patrol, it’s important to
ARMY LIMITATIONS remember that these games approach Warhammer
Each player will need a patrol that conforms to the 40,000 in a way that was not intended. This means
rules bellow: odd things may crop up that you’ll need to sort out ‘on
the fly’. The best way to resolve these issues is to
• Armies are no more than 400 points. consider the following:

• You must have at least one Troops choice.
• You may include a single HQ choice, but no more
than one.
• You may spend remaining points on anything else
in the codex.
• No model can have more than 2 Wounds.
• No special or Unique characters.
• No model can have a save better than a 3+ or 4+
Invulnerable.
• Vehicles cannot have a total Armour Value greater
than 33. Calculate this by adding the Front, Side
and Rear armour values (only count the side once).
• No Ordnance weapons.
These rules do not necessarily cover every army—some
exceptions will need to be made while still remaining
true to the spirit of the game. For example, in Codex:
Imperial Guard an Armoured Fist squad is a Troops
choice, but you must take an infantry platoon before
you can take it. It is perfectly reasonable that a mobile
unit like this would carry out patrols, so in Combat
Patrol, the Armoured Fist squad can be taken on its
own.
• Is there any Warhammer 40,000 rule you can use
as a precedent?
• What is the most likely and reasonable outcome of
the situation?
• Agree on two likely outcomes and have a roll-off.
The winner may choose which outcome will be
taken.
When it comes to army lists, you may, on occasion,
find that units with compulsory characters that break
one of the above rules. If such a unit is the only
Troops selection available, then simply leave out the
offending character and don’t pay the points for him.
For example: A 3 Wound Shaper is compulsory in a
Kroot Carnivore Kindred and Carnivores are the only
Troops choice available to stand-alone Kroot
Mercenary armies. In this case, don’t count the
Shaper as a compulsory and take the unit without him.
 OPTIONAL RULES
To maintain the ‘spirit’ of Warhammer 40,000 and
Combat Patrol consider using these optional rules to
make your game play more exciting and fun.

• All models must be WYSIWYG—’What you see is

what you get’.
• All models must be painted Citadel miniatures.
• No mission special rules.
• Victory Points (see the Warhammer 40,000 rule
book).
• House rules—Any house rules that you and your
COMMANDERS
As you might not pick an HQ choice, the patrol should buddies or gaming club may have created.
still have a commander, who gives the orders and
against which Leadership tests are made. This, of TEAM PLAY
course, would be the most senior ranking figure. In If time allows, two players can team up with their two
the case of two figures being of an equal rank then the armies allied together and play against two other
player may choose which is the patrol’s leader, and opponents. This could also be done for three or even
only that figure may confer its Leadership bonus to four players per team. Keep in mind that each players
friendly squads. army still needs to conform to the Rules of
Engagement: Army Limitations.
When a patrol has taken 50% casualties it must start
to take Leadership tests based on the commander's
Leadership at the start of its turn or break from
combat and subsequently lose the battle. If neither
force breaks then at the end of the game the patrol WARHAMMER 40,000 RULEBOOK
inflicting the most damage wins.

SCENARIO
Combat Patrol is played using the Annihilation mission
found in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. Even
though the mission is static you will still want to roll for
deployment to keep things interesting.

TERRAIN
Warhammer 40,000 battles are most commonly
fought on 6’x4’ tables, but since Combat Patrol is
meant to be a straightforward fire fight amongst small
forces, using such a large table or complicated terrain
will prolong game play.

• Combat Patrol is best played on a 4’x4’ area.

This documents and its contents are not official and are in no manner endorsed by Games Workshop
(GW). Warhammer 40,000 is the intellectual property of Games Workshop. Information provided in
this document has been collected and in most cases copied directly from the following sources:
Warhammer 40,000 rulebook—4th edition page 182 by Games Workshop, 40K in 40 Minutes by Tim
Eagling and 40K in 40 Minutes Revisited by Che Webster.