Frequently Asked Questions: You can find our FAQ for the system describe below here.
Designer’s Note: This system has been adapted from and inspired by the following publications to enable play in Warhammer - The Horus Heresy (Second Edition): Crusade (Warhammer 40,000, Ninth Edition Narrative Play); Conquest (The Horus Heresy Book 4: Conquest, pg. 166-237 ); Great Crusade Campaign System (Aus30K Event Organizers); and numerous other sources official sources no longer in print.
Assembling a Battle Company in the Age of Darkness
The first step any Player (herein referred to as a Commander) must accomplish to participate in a narrative Campaign during the Horus Heresy is creating a Battle Company. The Battle Company represents those militants whom have banded together under a common cause to fight their way across the Galaxy, either in the name of the Emperor or the Warmaster. Given the nature of this system, it is highly suggested that Commanders invest time into building a narrative around the origins of their Battle Company as it can serve as a guiding light through their journey into the Age of Darkness.
Each Battle Company has a Supply Limit, which typically starts at 1000 Points, although some Campaigns may specifically state that they start higher. The Supply Limit represents the maximum size of Units that compose of a Battle Company, in Points, at any given time. A Battle Company can never exceed their Supply Limit, but their Commander may increase it through mechanics explained later.
Using the Regimental Registry sheet, first name the Battle Company and record its Allegiance (Loyalist, Traitor, Opportunistic, or Unknown / Xenos). Next record the current Supply Limit for the Campaign and any additional starting values. Finally, record which Legion / Cohort / etc which the Battle Company will be primarily comprised of.
Roster Cards
The next stage to constructing your Battle Company is to start populating the Regimental Registry with the Units which make up its total fighting force. For each Unit added to the Battle Company, record its Name and Points Cost on the Regimental Registry sheet and then fill out a Roster Card.
Roster Cards keep track of the individual Units Experience, Upgrades and Battle Scars, among other events and boons which occur during the Campaign. To start with, record the Unit’s Name, Type, Composition, and Total Points Cost. Next it is recommended that you fill out the Unit’s Profile at the bottom of their Roster Card, though this is optional. The remaining fields on the Roster Card exist to help record statistics which occur during gameplay (See Campaign Battles).
Any Unit with the Unique trait should not be given a Roster Card as they cannot make Advancements within the Campaign. However, such Units still contribute towards the Battle Company’s Points Total and its Supply Limit and should be noted on the Regimental Registry. In addition, they cannot be Taken Out of Action and as such they cannot gain Battle Scars.
New units can be added to the Regimental Registry at any time, provided that doing so does not exceed the Battle Company’s Supply Limit. Once a unit has been added, however, its details cannot be changed freely. This means that the unit cannot change the number of models it consists of, the war gear they are equipped with, or any of the abilities etc. that have been chosen for that unit. Some units have options which must be chosen or generated prior to the game, once these are done the first time they cannot be changed.
Units can also be removed from a forces Regimental Registry at any time, but one removed a unit cannot be added back into the Regimental Registry again later (so any upgrades, Battle Honors, etc. they have acquired are lost), they are effectively disbanded. Removing a unit from the Regimental Registry does not affect its Supply Limit, so removing one unit can potentially leave room to add a new unit to the force’s Regimental Registry.
An important thing to remember is that the units making up the Regimental Registry do not have to conform to any Force Organization Chart or Allies matrix. Instead, they form the available pool of units from which an army can be created, at which time a legal list must be used. So, for example, the Regimental Registry could include units from other factions, but when they are included in an army, they would be fielded as Allies, needing all of the required minimum units to do so. So early on, it is common for an Regimental Registry to look identical to an army list, but as the campaign progresses and the Supply Limit is increased, more varied options can be incorporated to give the Battle Company some flexibility.
A unique aspect of the Bitter Crusade Campaign System is how it handles Warlord Traits. Warlord Traits are not automatically granted to an eligible Unit unless the Unit in question is a Named Character (and as such, has it listed on their profile). Instead, leaders must gain a Warlord Trait through the use of Requisitions, either when they are initially added to the Regimental Registry or when they are promoted. As a counter balance, any Character may eventually reach the point where they begin to grow in their abilities (see Battle Honours and the Beseech the Wisdom of the Ancients Requisition Request) to represent their advancement in the narrative.
Requisitions
Throughout a Battle Company’s many engagements, they will occasionally have periods in time where they can upgrade their Units via Requisitions. When a new Battle Company is forged, they start with 5 Requisition Points (RP), which can be spent prior to their first Engagement or saved to be used at a later date.
As Engagements are fought, the Battle Company will accrue additional Requisition Points as the spoils of war; gaining 1 RP after each Engagement, regardless of if the Battle Company is victorious. There may be additional opportunities to gain more RP through the Fruits of Victory, Agendas, or other Mission-specific Special Rules.
At all times, a Battle Company’s current level of RP should be recorded on its Regimental Registry. Additionally, there is a cap of 15 RP that can be stored at any given time on a Battle Company’s Regimental Registry. Upon receiving RP, a Commander may gift the points to an Commander with the same Allegiance as a show of comradery.
A Commander may only spend their banked RP at the beginning of a Chapter. Chapters are designated sections of the narrative campaign that players are forging with their Event Organizer(s) and can be used to mark out significant moments of time, shifts in the focus of the campaign, etc. This restriction helps root the Campaign within the fractured nature of the Galaxy during the span of the Horus Heresy. There is no limit to the amount of RP that a Commander may spend at the start of each Chapter.
For a full list of Requisitions, see Appendix: Requisition Requests.
Campaign Battles
Preparing an Engagement Force
Before the start of a game, like any match in the Age of Darkness, an Army List needs to be created according to the relevant Force Organization Charts with a maximum Point Total as dictated by the Mission Briefing. Herein, we will refer to such an Army (including any additional Detachments as allowed) as an Engagement Force. Units added to any slot of a given Force Organization Chart are considered Readied for Battle.
Unlike in other modes of play, the Bitter Conquest Campaign system mandates that all Engagement Forces are formed primarily from the Units listed in the a given Battle Company’s Regimental Registry. All other requirements apply as normal for the Engagement Force’s construction.
An Engagement Force may include additional Units outside of the Battle Company’s Regimental Registry, referred to as Conscriptions. These Units cannot gain experience, contribute towards Agendas, or advance in any way. Once an Engagement has ended, they are no longer considered part of the Battle Company, but may be formally recruited to the Battle Company’s Regimental Registry at a later point through the use of RP.
A Commander may elect to take Units with the Unique Trait as part of a Battle Company’s Conscripts quota. However, if they do so, the Units in question may not be taken again until the next Chapter, unless formally added to the Battle Company’s Regimental Registry at the end of the Engagement. This represents the often diverging paths that the more renown personas of the Heresy take as they journey to their final destinations.
Leveling the Field
When two or more Engagement Forces battle one another, it is likely that at least one will be more experienced. To determine this, after Commanders have mustered their Engagement Forces, they should compare the combined Crusade Points for all the Units currently Readied for Battle. If a difference exists, then the Commander whose Engagement Force has the lower number of Crusade Points gains a number of in-game Rerolls to use in that battle equal to half the difference (rounding up).
These rerolls may only be used on your own Engagement Force or gifted to an Allied Commander fielded with you at the beginning of a their Player Turn. Rerolls gained in this manner may only be used in the following way (one reroll per physical die result unless stated otherwise):
- To Hit & To Wound Rolls
- Damage Mitigation Rolls (Only for 5+ or Worse)
- Charges (Reroll Both Dice)
- Scatter (Reroll Both Distance Dice Only)
- Leadership & Initiative Tests (Reroll Both Dice)
If a specific physical die is rerolled through any other Special Rule, you may NOT use a reroll gained by this Special Rule to roll the same physical die again.
Author’s Note: You may never use rerolls gained from the above section for the purposes of determining Victory Points, Variable Objectives, Reserves, Night Fighting, Seize the Initiative, or any other special rules dictated by the mission. You may ONLY use these rerolls for the options listed above with no exceptions.
Undertaking Agendas
An Engagement’s Mission Briefing will likely include opportunities for Units to achieve a specific tertiary objective during the course of the game. These highly-narrative offerings called Agendas and will be described in detail within the Mission Briefing itself. Should a Commander elect to pursue an Agenda(s), then they must secretly record their selection before Units are Deployed (either physically or digitally). This represents the often spur-of-the-moment opportunities that such tertiary objectives offer as well as the occlusion by the fog of war.
Some Agendas require a certain tally to be kept for the Units during the Engagement. These tallies will be used after the Engagement to determine if those Agendas were achieved or not, and how many XP the Units in question will earn. The Unit’s Roster Card can keep track of these tallies during the course of a given game.
Fruits of Victory
For every Engagement fought in a Campaign, there are additional motivations to complete the Mission’s objectives in the form of Fruits of Victory. These bonuses range from giving Units additional Experience, free upgrades, bonus resources, or other specific boons based on the Mission Briefing’s narrative. If an Engagement does not have a predetermined Fruits of Victory listed, one may be rolled up randomly from the the following:
| roll Result | Boon’s Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Victor gains RP equal to half of their Victory Points, to a minimum of 2 RP, instead of 1 RP as usual. |
| 2 | The Victor can select two Units from their Engagement Force to be Marked for Greatness instead of one. |
| 3 | The Victor may elect to use their obtained 1 RP for the Engagement to enact the Birth of a Warlord Requisition immediately. |
| 4 | The Victor can select three Units from their Engagement Force to be Marked for Greatness instead of one. |
| 5 | The Victor may elect to use their obtained 1 RP for the Engagement to enact the Increase Supply Limit Requisition immediately. |
| 6 | The Victor may elect to use their obtained 1 RP for the Engagement to enact the Repair and Recuperate Requisition immediately. |
Post-Battle Sequence
After each game concludes, the Commanders must update their Roster Cards for all the Units they fielded in the Engagement Force. This is when units may gain Battle Honors if they performed well, or lasting negative effects if they were Taken Out of Action. Note that Unique Units and Agents/Fugitives do not gain Experience and are considered to always pass their Taken Out of Action tests.
Taken Out of Action Tests
For every Unit that was fully destroyed during the battle, roll one D6. On a 3+, the test is passed and nothing happens. However, on a roll result of a 1 or 2, the test is failed and the Unit suffers a Devastating Blow, resulting in the Unit being unable to gain any XP from the game.
For every model with the Character Sub-Type who was slain during the battle, roll one D6. This roll will be modified according to the circumstances of the Character’s demise as follows (cumulative when more than one applies):
| Row Modifier | Circumstances of Demise |
|---|---|
| -1 | If the Character Fell Back off the Table Edge. |
| -1 | If the Character was caught in a Sweeping Advance. |
| -1 | If the Character was killed during a Tank Shock. |
| +1 | If the Character was slain in a Challenge |
| +1 | If the Character was killed by an attack that caused Instant Death. |
| +1 | For every two Battle Scars the Character had at time of their demise. |
| +1 | If the Character was killed by a Weapon with a Strength > 12. |
Now compare the final result with the following Causality Survival Table:
| Modified Roll Result | Resulting Narrative |
|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | Survived: The Character escapes lasting injury and recovers without any negative penalties. |
| 3 - 4 | Shaken: The Character is pained by their injuries and loss at the hand of the enemy. In the next game in which the character is fielded, they suffer a -1 penalty to their Leadership characteristic. |
| 5 - 6 | Battle Scared: The wounds that the Character have left a lasting effect on them. Proceed to the Battle Scar section and roll on the table which matches the Character’s Unit Type. The Unit then suffers -1 Crusade Points. Note, that a Character may not have the same Battle Scar twice, so reroll all duplicate Battle Scars. |
| 7 | Battle Scared + Captured: The Character has been injured beyond the capacity to resist capture and is carried off deep behind enemy lines to be interrogated, tortured, or perhaps executed and their remains used as trophies. The Character’s Commander may elect to engage in a Liberation Mission to decide the Character’s fate. This must be completed before the end of the current Chapter and the Character cannot be used until after the Mission has been completed. Otherwise, this roll is considered to have resulted in a Fatality (see below). |
| 8 + | Fatality: The Character has suffered such terrible injuries that they are either slain completely or so badly wounded they are barely alive when they return to the Fleet. If this is the first time the Character has experienced this result, the Commander may elect to have the Character interred into a Cortus-grade Dreadnought Chassis (see Appendix: Upgrades and Artifacts). |
Update Experience Points and Gain Ranks
As Units fight their way through the Engagements, they are awarded Experience Points (XP) in the following manner:
- Battle Experience: Each Unit which participated in the Battle gains 1 XP.
- Marked for Greatness: Select one Unit which performed remarkably well during your Engagement; that Unit gains 2 XP.
- Dealers of Death: A Unit gains 1 XP for every 300 Points of Enemy Models Destroyed over the course of the Campaign. Note, any Model which can join/leave other Units or is split after deployment due to their Special Rules (such as with Dreadnought Talon) count as separate Units for this progression pathway.
- Secret Opportunity: An Unit that has achieved their assigned Agenda gains XP as detailed in its description.
If a unit has accrued enough XP, it will gain a promotion and go up a Rank. Each time a unit gains a rank, it will gain one Battle Honor (ensure you note this on the Unit’s Roster Card). The path towards promotion is as follows:
| Experience Points (XP) | Rank | Numer of Battle Honors |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 10 | Battle-Ready | 0 |
| 11 -20 | Blooded | 1 |
| 21 - 50 | Grizzled | 2 |
| 51 - 80 | Heroic | 3 |
| 81+ | Legendary | 4 |
Author’s Note: To calculate the amount of points a single model is worth, simply divide the number of points for the base unit plus any addition optional models by the total number of models. If a Model has taken any Additional Equipment or Special Rules as detailed in their Profile, add the Point Value of each upgrade to the individual Points Value (PV) for that Model.
Model’s PV = {[(Base Unit PV) + (Additional Models’s PV)] / (Number of Models in the Unit)} + (PV of Additional Equipment on Model)
Casting Down Idols
Whenever a Commander defeats an Opponent whose Engagement Force comprises a number of Crusade Points at least double their own, the Victorious Commander receives one (1) additional Requisition Point for the Victory, and may choose one (1) additional Unit to be Marked for Greatness over and above the usual limit for the mission which has been completed.
In addition, whenever any Unit completely destroys an Enemy Unit in the course of a Battle, if the Unit that was destroyed is of a higher rank than the Unit which caused the final casualty, then the Unit is awarded an additional 1 XP. If the Enemy Unit leaves the Battle Field due to Falling Back, then the Unit which caused the Enemy Unit to Fall Back initially is awarded this.
Battle Honours
Battle Honours are boons awarded to individual Units as they gain Ranks within the Bitter Conquest campaign system. They may also be awarded these by achieving certain objectives within some Engagements as detailed in the Mission’s Briefing. Regardless of how they are awarded, the Battle Honour must be chosen and noted on the Unit’s Roster Card before the next game. For each Battle Honour a Unit is awarded, its Crusade Points goes up by 1.
There are three types of Battle Honours that can be grated to any given Unit: Battle Traits; Psychic Fortitudes; and Weapon Enhancements. No Unit may have the same Battle Honour twice, so re-roll all duplicate results determined below.
Battle Traits are skills or mechanical upgrades that Units have acquired during their years of warfare, providing that vital edge of the battlefield. Each time a Unit gains a Battle Trait, roll one D6 and consult the corresponding table appropriate to the unit to determine the effects of this Battle Honour.
Psychic Fortitudes are otherworldly powers that sorcerers and warp-practitioners gain as they hone and master their psychic skills. Only those with the Psyker, Corrupted, or Daemon Subtype may take this Battle Honour. Units with the Character Sub-Type without the aforementioned Sub-Types may instead attempt to awaken their latent abilities. Each time a Unit gains a Psychic Fortitude, roll one D6 and consult the corresponding table appropriate to the Unit to determine the effects of this Battle Honour.
Weapon Enhancements are upgrades made to a warrior’s armaments that improve their lethality in combat. Each time a Unit gains a Weapon Enhancement, you must select one model within that Unit and then select one non-artifact weapon equipped by the model to be Enhanced. Each time a Unit gains a Weapon Enhancement, roll one D6 and consult the corresponding table appropriate to the selected Weapon to determine the effects of this Battle Honour.