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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 13, 2014 1:41:48 GMT
Thanks - I noticed I made this one a bit too dense - I'll make the future pieces sparser. I still need feedback on my deployment ideas, though, and more ideas for a subsequent mission.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 14, 2014 14:00:55 GMT
Well, since I'm not getting any suggestions for further missions in the campaign or feedback on my deployment and whatnot, I'm just gonna scrap the project. It's just too much money to be spending on stuff that may or may not work and so far there hasn't been much interest so it just doesn't seem worth it.
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Post by Davor on Aug 14, 2014 22:07:53 GMT
The interest should be done for yourself. We like to read what other people do. Lots of times, we only have time to read, but not to participate. Just because not a lot of ideas are being thrown, doesn't mean people are not interested in reading.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 14, 2014 23:54:49 GMT
I'm really doing it for myself, it's more an issue of needing ideas and feedback as I go along, and if I can't come up with ideas for fleshing out the campaign and whatnot I really can't do much with it. It's just that if I don't have those ideas for further missions or a set deployment/special rules, I can't really continue.
Once I've got any special rules and deployment stuff set up for the first mission, I'll be able to start playtesting it. At the same time, though, I'd like to come up with general ideas for subsequent missions in this campaign. At least then I'll have a starting point to work from, rather than getting frustrating because I can't think of mission ideas.
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Post by damnos on Aug 16, 2014 13:01:56 GMT
Hey ilovethenids, I am also running a campaign at the moment, and have quite equally asked for help and ideas. I use 2 different forums for Nids, and my post here was the only one to get any type of response.
People still read what you are posting, but don't always want to contribute, why? Because they don't have that creative flair necessary to think up the ideas. Do you watch sci-fi? There is a hit as to what you need to use to get ideas. Yesterday I watched a movie where a battle on a planet below was used as a diversion to allow an attacking force to board and attack a ship without disturbance... GREAT IDEA FOR A CAMPAIGN!
You just need to look at what other people have done, maybe even find and read my thread, you might find an idea and I would love for you to find inspiration from what I have written. Look at the terrain you have, can you focus a part of the campaign around one piece?
Don't react so negatively just because it looks like no one is interested, that isn't always the case. only a couple of people have responded to the storyline of my campaign so far, and while I will keep the campaign going for MY OWN ENTERTAINMENT, as long as 1 person enjoys reading the story so far, then I will keep posting it.
You have 446 views on your post.... really think there is no interest? Give us some pictures, give us some story, add interesting content, like the planet reviews you did, and the images of the landscape (THAT WAS GREAT!!!), I even used those programs to add interest to my own campaign as will many people who read you post will!
Just remember, people stumble across threads when searching for something similar or even something completely different.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 18, 2014 20:56:31 GMT
Main reason I may stop is because I'm just completely blanking on ideas for the next missions. If I can't come up with any ideas for further missions I can't finish the campaign.
One of the main reasons I'm posting about my idea(s) is because I'm hoping for feedback and constructive criticism to make it the best it can be. While I'm doing the campaign itself because I enjoy writing campaigns, I'm making a progress thread so I can get feedback every step of the way. Otherwise I simply would have waited until I was finished with the whole thing and then would have posted it as a finished product.
For right now though, I'm putting it to rest simply because there's no progress to update people on - I haven't come up with any ideas not have I received any opinions on my first mission deployment and whatnot (I don't want to start working on a second mission until I feel like the first one is solid).
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Post by Davor on Aug 18, 2014 22:33:00 GMT
Not feeling so great, so not in a mood to go back and reread everything. Where are you know, and what do you plan or would like?
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 18, 2014 23:22:56 GMT
Here's what I wrote in for deployment: "The AM player selects one corner of the table. The comms array may be placed anywhere within a zone stretching 12" along either edge forming the corner. 12" ------ XX | XX | 12" The Xs represent where the building could go. All other outpost terrain must be placed within 12" of the comms array. All infantry platoons, the platoon command squad and the sentinel squadron are sentries, the Heavy Weapons team and Chimaera are Defenders. The Astra Militarum player may choose whether the HQ command squad and special weapons team are Sentries or Defenders. Sentries must be placed more than 12" away from the comms array and at least 6" from any outpost buildings/friendly units - they must be closer to the center of the board than any outpost buildings (so no planting them in the corner ). Defenders must be placed WITHIN 12" of the comms array and at least 6" from any friendly units. I'm thinking that the Astra Militarum player should have their sentry units move along nominated paths (the AM player chooses the paths) to represent them being on a routine patrol, although when they become Aware they can move normally. To make things interesting, if an AM unit with a vox CASTER is caught in close combat with a Tyranid unit, they may opt to raise the alarm. To do so, the model(s) with the vox caster(s) must stay alive for a full round of assault. While doing so, the models attempting to raise the alarm may not make an attack in that combat. If they are successful, the alarm is raised and all Astra Militarum units become Aware. For Tyranids, I'm not sure how they should deploy. Perhaps they should deploy via Infiltrate? I don't want it to be too heavily weighed in their favor, so I'm not sure that's the best idea since I don't know if 1st turn assaults would be fair. I'm also trying to decide how the comms array should work. If it only takes one turn to send out a distres signal, I think the battle is favoring the AM since they could easily just send a Defender in as soon as they were Aware. Perhaps making it so that it needs to be one full turn (if they move to the array that turn, it won't be their victory until the end of the next turn if they still have a unit there). Also they cannot move, shoot(including overwatch) or assault during the turn they're sending the distress call. Also, if a Tyranid unit other than the Prime does not move or Run, and they are more than 1-2" into area terrain, they count as out of LOS for purposes of taking Awareness shots." I want some feedback as to whether or not this seems good, any suggestions for how to improve it, that sort of thing. I also need ideas for what the next scenario should depict, although first I would like to make sure the first mission is ready to playtest so I don't spread too thin by trying to work on two missions at the same time.
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Post by Davor on Aug 20, 2014 1:45:01 GMT
Is this the first scenario or second? If second, what happened to the first? What was the results? Sorry can't remember.
I say the Nids should be able to infiltrate. Who cares if it's fair or not. You are forging a narrative, telling a story. When telling a story, it's never fair. Look at Star Wars. The Empire is like 1000 times more powerful than the Rebles, but the Rebels eventually win. So if the beginning is the AM losing, so be it. Other wise, if they win, how are you going to get reinforcements in?
What you have seems good.
If anything, I say the AM deploys first. Then the Nid player can place his units anywhere. Even within 6" of an AM. We can say this is when they are noticed, so none of this "lets play till they are caught", they are caught. To make it a bit of a surprise is, once the minis are placed, AM first to show this is how they are doing their routine, then the Nids, to show how they are about to ambush their prey. Then here is the Kicker. Roll to see who goes first. If Nids win to go first, that would mean they got the surprise in the Ambush, if the AM wins to go first, it would mean someone had a quick eye and was able to spot something before getting ambushed.
I still say a Squad of AM can't do anything for a turn to get to the Comm Tower so they can get it "On" and send a message out.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 20, 2014 15:21:44 GMT
Thanks for the feedback - now that I've got that, the mission will be ready for testing once I get and paint the last few models I need and finish up the jungle terrain. Plus I'll need to find someone willing to play.
This will indeed be the first mission in the campaign. I did come up with an idea for the second mission (sort of), and a little bit of crunch to go with it. This world only has one surveillance post, so the scale of the battle would be small (ie not a lot of tanks for the AM, and consequently not a ton of MCs for the 'Nids). All Tyranids held in reserve would be arriving via Mycetic Assault (basically deep striking with a 5+ cover save if they stay within 3" of their arrival point that turn) for no extra points, since the AM player will have several orbital defense cannons. Every Tyranid unit must take a Grounding Check as it enters play (including those that are deployed on the first turn), to represent the orbital defense cannons firing at the incoming spores. For units with multiple models (ie a unit of 20 gants) will take hits as if they had been inside an exploding tank instead - single models will take an S9 AP2 hit as normal.
I'm making this campaign weigh in favor of the 'nids since it's the first world Laelaps attacks, and if they got destroyed then there'd be nowhere to go from there. I'll be doing the same thing a few more times before making campaigns not weighed in their favor so that the fleet has grown to a considerable size. I'm planning on an interesting system somewhat like the Galactic Conquest mode in SW Battlefront 2, but I'll talk about that later.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 21, 2014 15:29:29 GMT
Now that I've gotten the necessary feedback, I have written down the rules for the first mission in the same general format as the scenarios in the Imperial Armour books. My ultimate goal is to have an entire "book" in the style of an Imperial Armour book, albeit without specific unit entries since I'm not adding any new creatures and whatnot. The specific fluff and narratives won't be added until after I've finished the crunch part, though.
Here's what I've got for the rules:
First Contact On a small island northwest of the main facility, a small contingent of Astra Militarum keep watch for any suspicious activity that might indicate an impending attack. Their daily routine consists of patrolling along predetermined tracks, surveying the dense forest landscape. Unbeknownst to them, the first spores of Laelaps have landed nearby, and the vanguard organisms are all too eager to taste their first prey…
The Wargame: This game recreates the first confrontation between the Imperium and Hive Fleet Laelaps on Exsteron. Play the game on a 6’ x 4’ board. There should be one Imperial Bastion with a Communications array and an Aegis Defence Line to represent the Imperial Outpost. The rest of the board should be have many pieces of jungle terrain to represent the thick forests of Exsteron.
The AM player selects one corner of the table. The Comms Array may be placed anywhere within a zone stretching 12" along either edge forming the corner. All other outpost terrain must be placed within 12" of the Comms Array.
All infantry platoons, the platoon command squad and the sentinel squadron are sentries; the Heavy Weapons team and Chimaera are Defenders. The Astra Militarum player may choose whether the HQ command squad and special weapons team are Sentries or Defenders. Sentries must be placed more than 12" away from the Comms Array and at least 6" from any outpost buildings/friendly units - they must be closer to the center of the board than any outpost buildings. Defenders must be placed WITHIN 12" of the Comms Array and at least 6" from any friendly units.
Once the Astra Militarum player has deployed his or her units, the Tyranid player may deploy. Tyranid units may go anywhere on the board – including within 6” of Astra Militarum units.
Roll a dice – the player who scores highest gets the first turn. Play for 6 turns. Objectives The Astra Militarum player must use the Communications Array to send out a warning to the main base. The Tyranid player must either destroy the Communications Array, or prevent the Astra Militarum player from sending out a warning.
Special Rules
Vanguard Organisms: Tyranid units suffer no Initiative penalty when striking into Difficult Terrain.
Communications Array: In order to send out a warning to the main base, the Astra Militarum player must have one unit on top of the Bastion for a full turn. Note that this does not include the turn the unit enters the bastion – if they enter the Bastion in their movement phase, they must remain there through the end of that turn as well as the next. While attempting to send the distress call, the unit may not move, shoot, assault, or fire overwatch. If assaulted, the unit strikes at Weapon Skill 1.
In order to destroy the Communications Array, a Tyranid unit must enter the Bastion. Upon doing so, they are engaged in Assault. The Bastion counts as AV 10, with 3 Hull Points.
FORCES OF THE IMPERIUM Company Command Squad A squad of 5, with a vox caster, 2 grenade launchers, 2 flamers, and a regimental banner.
Infantry Platoon: Platoon command squad with a medic, vox caster, 2 flamers, and 2 grenade launchers.
2 squads of 20 Guardsmen, with 2 vox casters, 2 grenade launchers, and 2 flamers.
A single special weapons squad equipped with 5 plasma guns.
One heavy weapons squad with 2 heavy bolters and one lascannon.
Chimaera Chimaera equipped with a heavy flamer.
Scout Sentinels 3 Scout sentinels.
TYRANID FORCES: Tyranid Prime With Bonesword, Lash Whip, and Deathspitter.
Deathleaper
Retinue of 3 Lictors
10 Genestealers With Broodlord.
5 Genestealers
What do you guys think? I'm also going to add a pic like the official ones - a picture of the outpost setup from above in black and whtie.
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Post by damnos on Aug 21, 2014 15:46:40 GMT
Communications Array: In order to send out a warning to the main base, the Astra Militarum player must have one unit on top of the Bastion for a full turn. Note that this does not include the turn the unit enters the bastion – if they enter the Bastion in their movement phase, they must remain there through the end of that turn as well as the next. While attempting to send the distress call, the unit may not move, shoot, assault, or fire overwatch. If assaulted, the unit strikes at Weapon Skill 1. In order to destroy the Communications Array, a Tyranid unit must enter the Bastion. Upon doing so, they are engaged in Assault. The Bastion counts as AV 10, with 3 Hull Points. Why would the AM leave the Communications Array unattended in the first place, communication to other bases and sectors seems like something far too important to be left unmanned. Any why do the Tyranids feel the need to beat the AM to the Comm. Array, they wouldn't have an understanding so soon of what the AM are planning to do their, they need some form of incentive to go there surely? Perhaps it is already manned, and they want that juicy biomass.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 21, 2014 15:55:16 GMT
The reason the Tyranids are trying to destroy the communications array is because they don't want the AM to send out a warning to the main base. I think one of the first things Tyranid vanguard organisms would do when arriving on a prey world is take out the fringe settlements, and cutting off their communications so that the larger settlements/areas do not know of the impending threat. I think they would have an understanding of what a Comms Array is - they are rather intelligent and even if the small garrison of AM didn't ever figure out they were there, they'd want to cut off communications, especially as a vanguard force since they couldn't possibly be victorious in a full on assault on the main base.
It's not that the Bastion is unattended, it's just that there isn't someone starting out right in the Bastion in the first turn. I also figure that being on the very edge of Imperium space, and not really seeing any combat (they're really just there to keep an eye on the Tau), they may have let their guard down a little. Also, this is a fringe outpost, so its communication is only to the main base on the planet - the main base that can communicate with the rest of the sector will be in subsequent missions.
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 22, 2014 17:34:23 GMT
Finished a second piece of jungle terrain. Sadly since Hobby Lobby only sold fake plants in small rather expensive lots, I couldn't buy many. I'll probably go to PetCo tomorrow since they'll have more jungle-like fake flora. Meanwhile, I still need ideas for the next missions for the campaign. Suggestions are appreciated
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Post by ilovethenids on Aug 25, 2014 19:12:17 GMT
I've kinda come up with an idea for the next mission - it involves an assault on the main base. The main Tyranid swarm has arrived, and mycetic spores are beginning to fall. I'm thinking it should be a larger scale battle, but due to the size of the AM force stationed there it shouldn't be too large. Also, since this is just a small outpost on the outermost fringes of Imperial space, the AM would not have a lot of heavy armor. Similarly, the Tyranids would not be taking a lot of MCs. I already talked about representing the Orbital Defense turrets, but I'm thinking it might be a better idea to just leave that part out - problem is that it would make the outcome of the game rely 90% on dice rolls. I can just basically say that the Tyranid force that has landed is what survived after orbital defense cannons began firing. One thing i'd also like to have for the 'nids in this mission is a focus on CC biomorphs. I think that with the extremely dense jungles of Exsteron, creatures with large bio-cannons would have a hard time pushing their way through the foliage. On the other hand, things like hormagaunts could easily cut through the underbrush. Thus, there would be very little ranged firepower on the 'nids side. I'm thinking that most of the troops would be hormagaunts (maybe one or two termagant units), there'd be a walking hive Tyrant with CC weapons (BS & LW, and I'm not sure what the other one would be), a few warrior units (BS, LW, rending claws, that sorta thing), etc. I need some advice for what points level the second mission should be, what I should have for the lists (I know nothing about AM so I don't know how to build a fluffy list), and ideas for specific objectives. Additionally, I need ideas for what kind of things to use for the actual surveillance outpost buildings. I've seen Imperial ruins and stuff from cities, but I've never really seen an imperium surveillance outpost. I really need some ideas! Thanks
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