Tau'Va fellow denizens of the ATT Orbital. The purpose of this bulletin is to inform the community of a planned narrative wargame to be conducted here in the training levels of the Orbital. This simulation is roughly based around the incident on the former Imperial world of Harvok IV.

As a training initiative, this campaign is expected be paired with tactics discussions, battle reports, and other community driven content to act as supplement.

While the events during the incident led to the capitulation of the human population over to the Tau'Va, many Shas'O argue that the conflict could have gone very differently. As the incident on Harvok IV has become a favorite topic in the battle domes, it was chosen as backdrop for the upcoming training initiative. It serves our simulation with a diverse array of allied and enemy forces.

This war game will soon be open for sign up, and all Commanders are invited to participate. While some will take control of our simulated cadres, other commanders will be challenged with taking on the rolls of the opposing forces, and are urged to seek victory with their utmost skills. The tactical overlays and databases are being compiled as you read this, prepare yourself and sign up commander, challenge your peers for the Greater Good.

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The Harvok IV Incident is a player run narrative campaign currently planned to take place right here in the ATT forums. This campaign will play in a much similar way as the old Dawn of War: Dark Crusade campaign with a world map and territories to seize and control. Battles within this campaign will be organized via the program VASSAL, which is readily available with a Google search.

Currently the plan is for me to arbitrate the campaign while the rest of you play it out. Any volunteers to assist in the logistics are welcomed of course.

Post below if you are interested in participating in this online campaign, more details, images, and materials to follow.

This intrigues me greatly, and I am eager to hear more. I have a question, however. Will this campaign focus only on planetside forces, or will assets in the atmosphere, orbit and system be included as well? As a Battlefleet Gothic Admiral, I am very interested in the space side of things as well as what's happening on the surface.

I'd be very happy to committ to this as a tau player.

A few questions though

1.) What size would the battles be pointswise?

2.) Is there a start and an end date - and if so when?

3.) It'd be great for us less regulars if you could provide a link to your old campaign

I'm also quite interseted, however I'm not sure that I really understand what you mean by an 'online campaign'.
Do you mean the details for an actual 40K(/other 40K based) campaign that will be composed of battles to be played out by the participants with results posted back? Or are you reffering to some online game I am unaware of, a theoretical campaign that is discussed by participants, or some other meaning that I have completely failed to consider.

Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.

Kakapo42: I have rules for a grand campaign that includes star ships, orbital conflict, planetary assaults, and the whole nine yards. HOWEVER, this campaign being the first one I am 'hosting' will focus only on the ground forces. It is simpler and will serve as a 'tutorial' type game so we can get people used to the method I use to run turns and such. Depending on the success of this campaign, I plan to eventually host a 'grand' campaign with all those elements involved. For now however, we are keeping it simple to break into the campaign mindset first.

Taudau:
1.) Battles in the campaign range from 100pts to 2000pts, and include kill team type missions based on the actions of your opponent. There is also the possibility of uneven forces.
2.) Depending on interest the start date is as soon as we have enough folks to fill in the forces. The end is not set in stone, and will be decided by the narrative if not decided by a victor first.
3.) There is no old campaign, the 'Incident' referred to is a 'fluff' incident which this campaign is a 'simulation' of. This is the first campaign I am hosting. =)

Aun Tier: By online campaign I simply mean, the games will be played by players between each other. From there they post the results back to me/arbiters, and the central 'hub' thread will be updated with the results, stories, and battle reports so everyone can see the effect on the story and world. Basically it's like chess by e-mail, except you play the battles with VASSAL or real mini's if possible against your opponent, and I/the arbiters, put it all together for the greater good of the community/campaign group.



Full rules are ready, just need to host files for download. Will do that tonight after work.

First off, thanks a lot for the quick answers.

I'm curious if your campaign rules take into consideration logistics and attrition, it'd sure be interesting to see people actually be a bit more protective of their units than usual. Which leads me to my next question, do both / all participants of the game have to be registered here? If not are you considering using a mechanic in the same way GW did in the last big 40k world wide campaign, where "fully" registered games counted (I think) double.

I am very interested, Need to download said program and get familiar, but other than that I should be able to dedicate some time to it. Just one question, will ATT be hosting the 40k module or are we left to own own devices to find it?

I'm trying to download the mentioned program, but my computer web-protection is saying it could harm my computer. Can anyone vouch for VASSAL?

Taudau: There is a degree of logistics and casualties involved, but they are simplified to keep the game smooth. Secondly I am only hosting this campaign here on ATT, so all players should be registered members. However if you know other people who will be interested, have them come sign up for ATT to join in! The community always welcomes new 40k players after all.

Taki117: VASSAL is easily located here just download the newest version and you are halfway there. The 40k Module however must be found using the Google machine. As a Warhammer 40k community, ATT does not support groups or programs who violate GW's intellectual liscenses. As such I will not post links or host the module. If you have too much trouble finding materials you need for the campaign however... be sure to send me a PM and I will see what I can do.

Aun Tier: I can vouche for VASSAL and have used it a lot. Battle Fleet Gothic was my primary use for it, but I have fiddled with it in DnD and other modules including the 40k module. So far it has done nothing to my PC that I can see. Just be sure to get it from their site here.

Just Downloaded Vassal and found the required Module. Not sure how to create an Army list or add all the extras some of my models have (Best of luck killing either my fish or railhead) So for the moment I just added Model Information to them in the form of easy to understand notes. Can't wait for this thing to get off the ground!!!!

Taki117: Good to hear. Your 'Army Lists' can't be built with the program or module, you just place your models and edit them to include the correct equipment. Take a XV-8 for instance, right click on it, and 'cycle weapon'. You can cycle through plasma rifles, missile pods etc. The actual points break down and such need to be created on a text file or something to share with your opponent if they ask for it just like a real game of 40k.



To everyone else, the campaign rules and supporting materials are complete and hosted. Feedback appreciated.

ATT Campaign Rules
ATT Campaign Veteran Roster
ATT Campaign Operatives Roster

Take a moment to browse the rules and point out any inconsistancies, loop holes, or flaws you might see. Best if we squash the bugs before they bite I think.

If we can get a few more people on board I would like to start the first campaign turn this Sunday, May 20th.

We need at a minimum:

Tau Cadre
Imperial Garrison
Renegade Force

I will be 'playing' the Inquisition, which will basically just be the arbiter of the campaign with some games so I can have funzies too. Pretty much every army and race is present in the background fluff, which will be posted shortly in the campaign's hub thread. Guard players can choose to align with the Tau, Renegades, or Imperium. Space Marine players can choose to represent a loyal chapter or a Renegade chapter, without necissarily playing a Chaos force. This is due mainly to the large amount of 'human' armies provided by GW.

Tyranids and Ork forces would be awesome, but no one seem to love them much.

Any questions, just fire away!

*update*

For those of you who already downloaded the rules, I have re-uploaded the rules file. Apparently I forgot to add a renown gain and loss section to the end of the document, and that is a very important part of the game. Re-download/read for the new additions.

*v1.01 Changes*

~Added Renown 'Matrix'
~Lowered the 'Excessive Spending' renown loss from 10d6 to 5d6 as I thought it was too harsh upon re-reading it.

Thanks for the advice, btw can call dibs on the Tau cadre? I've been lurking around the tactics section and would like to take my as of the moment, untested Tau army for a spin. (Truth be told it's not even fully built yet )

I'm definitely in.

If I have to choose playing tau or imperial for the purposes of this campaign, I would much prefer playing tau, as my space marines are a small, poorly painted force.

I'm sorry to say that if it begins this Sunday, then I will not be able to participate. It sounds like a really fun thing though Nevar. I hope it turns out a success.

Taki117: This is the problem with hosting a campaign like this on a Tau centric site I suppose. Everyone will want to play Tau. Personally the idea of playing any of the races excite me, and if I were just a player I would probably experiment with other armies I don't already have models for. While you can choose to call 'dibs' on a Cadre, consider that as your first games of 40k you might want to consider a more beginner friendly army as you learn the rules and ropes. Marines are the standard baseline and are decent all around, and Chaos Marines are also pretty easy with a bit more strategy to make up for their weakness. Even monsterous Tyranids are pretty easy to run and learn with, just some thoughts to consider.

im2randomghgh: Which models you have in real life are not relevant to this campaign. The program the campaign uses allows you access to unlimited models of every race. You just need rules and such to read from. I will suggest anyone with an interest in another army consider playing that instead of Tau, as pretty much everyone will be wanting to field a cadre and we do need some OpFor. That doesn't mean you can't also try for a cadre, but if it turns out -everyone- wants to play as Tau, we will be in a pickle.

Aun Tier: Any particular reason Sunday is a deal breaker?

I just already have made numerous plans to last most of the day, and from what I'm understanding of the functioning of the game, it will take up a lot of time. If I'm able to jump in at a later stage, then I'd be happy to set aside the day with a special "No Plans To Be Made" tag on it. Or if it doesn't go for as long as I understand, then I'd also be happy to join in. My plans at current are a solid block from 10AM - 4PM Australian Standard Eastern Time, so if it doesn't fall inside that box, then I'd be glad to play. If I am able to play, then I wouldn't mind trying out a Tyrranid army.

Aun Tier: Your overall plans will not effect your participation in the campaign. As I understand the general nature of 'real lives' I have planned for people playing to need to 'commit' very little time and still participate.


To All: The idea is to run a single campaign turn each week. I will post the 'campaign turn' here to explain.

~Deployment
~Combat Movement
~Combat
~Non-Combat Movement
~Spoils of War


These are the 'phases' of a single 'turn'. This Sunday will be the Deployment and Combat Movement phases. We will assign 'HQ' regions, armies, teams, and starting resource points. Players will then 'purchase' army chips and deploy them to the campaign map. Finally all players will declare their assault or combat movements. This will setup the opponents for the 'Combat' phase in which games of 40k in VASSAL are played to determine the victors and outcomes.

The Combat Phase lasts all week, which gives opponents all week to schedule a time they are able to both connect and play their battle of 40k. This means you can play it Monday through Saturday at your leasure.

On the next Sunday, all battle reports should have been sent to the arbiters (me for now) who will update the campaign map and advance the story line. The beginning of the next Sunday 'turn' will start with the Non-combat movements, and spoils of war, and then will cycle back to Deployment and Combat Movements again. In this way, the actual meat and potatoes of the game play is setup to allow people of various commitment levels, and accounts for time zone oddities and the like. With each pair of opponents able to work out their own game time, it makes it a lot easier for everyone to participate.

Back to Aun Tier: Just get together over PM with me on Saturday or whenever I get the campaign map and such setup, and we can deal with your 'turn' ahead of time so your Sunday plans will not interfere with you at all.

Well, It was just a thought. Something to get me used to playing an army that I'm going to be using for a long time, but in any case I wouldn't mind playing Orks either. I think the main reason I want to put the Tau in action is that, at least I feel, unlike most people I have zero experience with any of the armies so while yes Space Marines, or Tyranids my be easier to play, and I think it would be valuable tactical experience to learn how these armies work I think it would be more tactically beneficial for others to play said armies (Because they know the rules, and the intricacies of these armies) so that I can field the Tau and find out my own weaknesses and the weaknesses of my Cadre so that when I go up against other players in my area (With a fully built and/or painted army) I will have already faced them and learned what tactics work and what don't so that I am less likely to make tactical mistakes that could cost me the battle. I think it would be better served playing them here as a "simulation" of sorts to avoid what could be considered costly mistakes later.

Oh, awesome! That'll work great. I was really dissapointed when I thought I wouldn't be able to play.

I'm starting to re-think Tyranids though. After thinking for a moment I realised that I probably need to at least know the rules to the army I play. If this somehow isn't required, then Tyranids sound pretty fun, but otherwise I think that I'll borrow my friends Necron codex and use them.