The Crucible of Despair Campaign

Playing the Campaign

Playing this campaign is straightforward. The five battles should be played in the order presented. Think
of each battle as a snap-shot of a far larger ongoing war.

Battle 1 kicks off the action, but its implications won't be revealed until the end of the campaign, when
the victorious forces return on the eve of the final battle. In Battle 2, the main forces arrive in an all-out
planet strike against an entrenched enemy. The winner of Battle 2 will attempt to consolidate his
position in Battle 3, which the defender will launch a hurried counter-attack. The war will then escalate
in Battle 4 and ultimately lead to an assault upon the enemy headquarters in Battle 5.

You will need access to the following supplemental rules for this campaign: Battle Missions, Planet
Strike, and Cities of Death.

These rules are a modified version of the Road to Glory Campaign found in the Fifth Edition rulebook.

Both players do not need to use the same army list for each battle (in fact, it is encouraged that you
DON'T). You also do not need to reveal your army list to your opponent until right before the battle
begins.

The Battles
Each battle presents all the information you need to play, addressing the following points:

1. Battle Briefing
A summary of the game, along with any significance the battle has in the ongoing campaign.

2. Playing the Battle

Which ruleset and mission is to be played, and which deployment is to be used. In addition, as each
battle takes place in an ongoing war, the winner of the previous game may have an advantage, as
described in this section.

3. Terrain
The terrain over which each battle is fought is described here. This is intended as guidance only, and
should of course be tailored to your own collection. By assembling a fairly basic terrain set, you will have
sufficient scenery for the entire campaign. You can, of course, undertake special modeling projects for
specific locations if you wish.

The Winner
The campaign ends in climactic fashion with Battle 5. The winner of that game is the winner of the entire
campaign, having crushed his foe utterly.

Page 1
Battle 1: The Spoils of War
Battle Briefing
This battle forms a "prologue" to the campaign, taking place before the main offensive gets underway.
Both sides have dispatched a force to recover the supplies lost by an ill-fated re-supply mission.
Crucially, neither knows for sure what is in the supply container. It won't be until the container has been
delivered to high command, just before the last battle, that their contents will be revealed.

Playing the Battle

Battle 1 is a Kill Team battle. Details of the battle can be found in the Battle Missions book, page 90. The
Specialist Troopers rule will also be in effect, so three different models will benefit from a Universal
Special Rule. These models should be noted in the army list.

Objective
To ensure your opponent is either destroyed or flees the battlefield. Refer to the Game Length and
Victory Conditions section of the Kill Team rules for details.

Terrain
The battle will be played on a 4'x4' table with more than an average amount of terrain. City ruins would
be best for this battle.

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Battle 2: Planet Strike
Battle Briefing
This battle represents the full start of the campaign with both forces fully engaged. One army has dug in
and fortified their position while the other army has decided to push an all-out offensive against the
position. The victor will gain an advantage in the campaign.

Playing the Battle

Battle 2 is a 2,000 point five objective Planetfall Mission as described in the PlanetStrike rulebook. Due
to the nature of the battle, who the "attacker" and "defender" are needs to be determined prior to the
battle.

Objective
To ensure the attacker is repelled or the defender is crushed. The victory conditions are described on
page 14 of the PlanetStrike rulebook.

Terrain
The terrain should consist of bastions, strongholds, defense perimeters, etc., as described in the
PlanetStrike rulebook.

Gaining the Advantage

The player who wins Battle 2 has gained a strategic advantage, and is referred to for the rest of the
campaign as the attacker. The other side is referred to as the defender. Either the attacker for Battle 2
has won and pushes the attack into other enemy controlled areas or the attacker has lost and his forces,
which have landed on the planet, are now in a defensive posture.

The attacker may choose who goes first in the next battle.

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Battle 3: Breakthrough
Battle Briefing
Battle 3 represents the winner of Battle 2, having broken the enemy, is now looking to consolidate their
gains by taking defensive positions from which to make subsequent attacks. The other army will not be
sitting around idly. of course, and will be launching an all-out counter-attack to prevent the positions
falling to the enemy for good.

Playing the Battle

This battle is fought as a 2,000 point Seize Ground standard mission using the Pitched Battle deployment
with the following exceptions: the defender must deploy his entire army first and then the attacker may
decided who gets the first turn.

Objective
The objectives are key positions both sides have been ordered to secure. Instead of placing counters
each player must nominate terrain features such as buildings, barricades, hills, or anything else you have
available, as the objectives that are to be fought over.

If an objective is a piece of area terrain or a building, then half of the scoring unit must be in the terrain
piece to count as scoring. In order for a unit to contest the area terrain objective, at least half of the unit
must also be in the terrain piece.

If an objective is not a piece of area terrain (such as a barricade or supply box), then a scoring unit must
be within 3" of the model to claim it and any enemy model within 3" contests it.

Ensure you discuss each objective and how it can be claimed and contested prior to the beginning of the
battle.

Terrain
The battlefield should be set up to represent one side's front line. This means it could feature intact
buildings, roads, communications trenches, bunkers and ammo dumps as well as craters and barricades.
The more small pieces of terrain, the better.

Gaining the Advantage

The winner of the third battle may choose one extra strategem for Battle 4.

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Battle 4: Beginning of the End
Battle Briefing
The attacker has now gained a solid enough advantage that he can launch a major thrust towards his
enemy's center of power. The defender has marshaled his forces to hold back the invaders and block the
advance.

Playing the Battle

Battle 4 is a 2,000 point Domination mission from the Cities of Death rulebook, page 43. The player who
lost battle 3 can choose three stratagems and the player who won battle 3 can choose 4. Stratagems can
only be taken once per army. Only Cityfighting Stratagems, Dusk & Dawn, and Random Game Length
scenario rules are allowed. Deep Strike, Reserves, Infiltrate, etc., are not allowed unless the unit
specifically states that these rules are used regardless of mission or the stratagem that allows these
rules is taken.

Objective
Every building and ruin is an objective. The player who controls the most buildings or ruins wins the
battle. "Controlling" a building or ruin means the unit is at least 50% in the footprint of the building. See
page 9 of the Cities of Death rulebook for further explanation.

Only troop choices are considered scoring units. Any unit can contest an objective if at least 50% of the
unit is within the footprint of the building or ruin.

Terrain
The buildings and ruins will be set up per the "Placing Terrain" section on page 15 of the Cities of Death
rulebook.

Mission Special Rule - Minefields

In an attempt to slow down the attacker, the ground before the defender's position is strewn with
deadly mines. The attacker's advance will be reduced to a painfully slow crawl under the guns of the
enemy, unless he can negotiate the lethal minefields.

- The defender may play D3+3 minefields anywhere outside of the attacker's deployment zone.

- For each minefield, place a small marker. The mines extend 3" from the marker in all directions.

- Minefields count as difficult and dangerous terrain, and any units that suffer casualties from them
must test for pinning.

Gaining the Advantage

The winner of the fourth battle may choose the deployment type in the next game. He may also choose
whether or not the Night Fighting special rule is in effect during the first turn, representing him dictating
when the attack will begin.

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Battle 5: The Crucible
Battle Briefing
The last battle takes place at the heart of the defender's territory, the attacker having broken through
every defense put in place. Both sides are fielding their very finest warriors, throwing every last resource
into the final conflict. Both leaders have taken to the field in person, leading from the very front or
supervising the final defense first hand. The winner of this battle will be crowned savior, or conqueror.
He will hold the honor of having repulsed a mighty invasion and saved the entire planet, or of breaking
the enemy's hold on it once and for all.

Playing the Battle

Battle 5 is a 2,250 point Gladiator Annihilation battle. Each army must follow the standard Force
Organization Chart with one difference: a single Apocalypse Datasheet model or formation or a
Spearhead formation may be taken. This model/formation takes one of the Heavy choices allowed in the
standard FOC.

The winner of the fourth battle chooses deployment type and whether or not the Night Fighting rule is
in effect during the first turn.

The defender decides his deployment zone, but who deploys first and first turn is decided by rolling off.

Objective
To wipe out your opponent. Refer to the victory point rules on page 300 of the big rulebook or page 108
of the small rulebook to determine the winner.

Terrain
The defender sets up the terrain in Battle 5. The character of the terrain can be varied depending on the
army, but it should be dense and very, very war-torn. Whatever you choose to use, keep in mind that
the defender is manning his last bastion, headquarters or most sacred site.

The Final Twist

Even as the two armies close for the final confrontation, a ragged patrol, long assumed lost, staggers in
to the headquarters. It is the warriors sent to retrieve the supplies in the wastes at the beginning of the
offensive. Within the canisters was intelligence vital to defeating the enemy - so vital, that the patrol has
fought long and hard to bring it to high command. The intelligence reveals the secrets to beating the
enemy, describing in detail his weak points and deficiencies.

The player that won Battle 1 may nominate a number of units equal to the number of games he has won
in the campaign so far. These units gain the Preferred Enemy and Tank Hunters universal special rules,
as they know the weaknesses of their foe.

Mission Special Rule - Preliminary Bombardment

The attacker's final offensive is preceded by a thunderous artillery barrage, designed to soften up enemy
forces before the assault.

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- After both armies have deployed but before the first turn, the attacker rolls a D6 for every enemy unit
and terrain piece (excluding buildings and ruins as detailed below) on the tabletop. On a roll of 6, the
unit or terrain piece is hit.

- A squad takes D6 Str5 AP4 hits that cause pinning. Cover saves are allowed if the majority of the unit is
within area terrain or behind barricades. Vehicles struck do not take damage, but will suffer a Stunned
Drive result instead.

- Vehicles in a squadron are rolled individually.

- Units that start the game in reserve will not be hit by Preliminary Bombardment.

- How terrain is effected is not so straightforward. Small terrain pieces, such as sections of razorwire,
tank traps, or barricades are removed automatically if hit - replace with a crater. Area terrain is more a
judgment call - players could agree that small wood will be removed and replaced with a crater while
marshy ground would be unaffected.

- Buildings and ruins are not affected by the Preliminary Bombardment, nor are any units within.

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