Welcome to Release #4 for the Certus Campaign!
We are getting close to the start of the campaign (5th of September). To this end, we are going to open the sign up for the campaign on Thursday (22nd) and it will close on Saturday the 31st in advance of the campaign kicking off. I will post up the teams on Sunday the 1st and we will set up Discord groups so you can chat about your plans for system-wide domination.
The games will be match-made every week – you simply let me know if you are looking for a game and whether you would like a land battle, a boarding actions battle or happy with either. There will be a cap on the number of players every week (to make sure I have even numbers!) and YOU will be required to make sure that all your units are in your order of battle BEFORE your game. Remember – you will only need 1000 points in the first month for your games and you can edit your roster as often as you would like. You will also be able to spend 1RP immediately to buy an enhancement for one of your characters (see Core book page 285 – first main paragraph under “Renowned Heroes”). You start the crusade with 5RP and will get more by fighting battles.
Signing Up for the Crusade
We will be creating a sign up channel in Discord, which will be very basic (just your names & faction), as those taking part will be sorted into alliances based on their armies.
Currently we have the committee signs ups:
Name: Chris
Faction: Chaos Space Marines
Name: Curtis
Faction: Dark Angels
Name: Neil
Faction: Orks
Name: Stephen
Faction: Genestealer Cult
This week’s main release focusses on Agendas, Crusade Blessings and the Vehicle Enhancement table (replacing the Striding Behemoths). All of this will be recorded on the website for easy access in future.
Agendas
Before any battle you can select 2 Agendas to be active for your army. This is a way for your units to gain extra experience. You will also be able to use faction-specific agendas if you have them from your codex – the current FULL list will be on our website.
Core Agendas
Battlefield Survivors
At the start of the battle, you can select up to three units from your Crusade army that are on the battlefield. For each of those units, at the end of the battle:
If that unit has not been destroyed, it gains 2XP.
If that unit is not Below Half-strength, it gains 1 additional Experience point.
Swarm the Planet
At the end of the battle, for each table quarter, if there are more units from your Crusade army wholly within that table quarter than there are units from your opponent’s Crusade army wholly within it, you can select one of those units from your Crusade army.
Each of those selected units gains 2XP.
Monstrous Targets
Each time a model from your Crusade army destroys an enemy MONSTER or VEHICLE unit (excluding DEDICATED TRANSPORTS), that model’s unit gains 2XP.
If the destroyed unit was TITANIC, that model’s unit gains 4XP instead.
Eradicate the Swarm
Each time a unit from your Crusade army is selected to shoot or fight, if while resolving those attacks six or more enemy models are destroyed, that unit gains 1XP.
Head Hunters
Each time a model from your Crusade army destroys an enemy CHARACTER unit, that model’s unit gains 2XP. If the destroyed unit contained your opponent’s WARLORD, that model’s unit gains 4XP instead.
Critical Objectives
At the start of the battle, your opponent must select two different objective markers. At the end of the battle, select one of those objective markers.
If you control that objective marker, you can select up to three units from your Crusade army that are within range of that objective marker. Each of those units gains 2XP.
Cleanse Infestation
At the start of the battle, all objective markers on the battlefield are infested and will remain so until cleansed.
At the start of your Shooting phase, you can select one unit from your Crusade army that is not Battle-shocked and is eligible to shoot. That unit is tasked to cleanse an objective marker and until the end of your turn is not eligible to shoot or declare a charge.
At the end of that turn, if that unit is in range of an infested objective marker that you control, that objective marker is cleansed and that unit gains 2XP
Forward Observers
At the start of your Shooting phase, you can select one unit from your army that is not Battle-shocked, that Remained Stationary this turn, and is eligible to shoot. That unit is tasked to perform reconnaissance and until the end of your turn is not eligible to shoot or declare a charge.
At the end of your opponent’s next turn, or at the end of the battle (whichever comes first) if that unit is wholly within your opponent’s deployment zone, that unit gains 2XP and you gain 1CP.
Recover Mission Archives
At the start of your Shooting phase, you can select one INFANTRY or MOUNTED unit from your army that is not Battle-shocked and is eligible to shoot.
That unit is tasked to recover mission archives and until the end of your turn is not eligible to shoot or declare a charge.
At the end of your turn, if that unit is within range of an objective marker that you control that is not in your deployment zone, roll one D6: on a 4-5, that unit gains IXP; on a 6, that unit gains 2XP and you gain 1CP
Malefic Hunter
Each time a model from your Crusade army destroys an enemy PSYKER or SYNAPSE unit, that model’s unit gains 1XP. If the destroyed unit is a CHARACTER unit, that models unit gains I additional Experience Point.
Drive Home the Blade
At the end of the battle, you can select up to three units from your Crusade army (excluding AIRCRAFT) that are wholly within 6″ of your opponent’s battlefield edge. If your opponent does not have a battlefield edge in the mission being played, you can select up to three units from your Crusade army (excluding AIRCRAFT) that are wholly within your opponent’s deployment zone instead.
Each of those units gains 3XP.
Certus Agendas
Secure the Area
Keep a Secure the Area tally for each unit from your army. Add 1 to a unit’s Secure the Area tally each time it successfully completes the following action:
Secure the Area (Action): One INFANTRY unit from your army (excluding CHARACTERS) can start to perform this action at the end of your Movement phase if it is within 6″ of the centre of the battlefield. The action is completed at the end of your turn.
Each unit gains a number of experience points equal to their Secure the Area tally – you gain the final tally as CERTUS POINTS after the battle is complete.
King Slayer
If a unit from your army destroyed the enemy WARLORD during the battle, that unit gains 4 experience points. A unit does not achieve this agenda if the enemy WARLORD is subsequently resurrected by any means. If the enemy WARLORD is resurrected but is subsequently destroyed again by another unit from your army, then it is the last unit to have destroyed it that achieves this Agenda. If, by the end of the battle, the WARLORD is slain then you gain 2 CERTUS POINTS
Hold Steady
At the end of the battle, if at least half of your Crusade army’s units are not destroyed (counted as the number of units you deploy – so a unit with one or more characters counts as 1), you can select up to three units from your Crusade army that are not destroyed. The selected units each gain 2XP and you gain 3 CERTUS POINTS.
Re-establish Communication
At the start of the battle, your opponent must select one objective marker on the battlefield to be the Comms Array. At the end of the battle, if you control that objective marker and one or more CHARACTER units from your Crusade army are within range of it (excluding Battle-shocked units), select one of those units. That unit gains 4XP and you gain 4 CERTUS POINTS
Crusade Blessings
An Underdog in a Certus Campaign battle can select one or more Crusade Blessings from those presented here. The number they can select depends on the difference in Crusade points between the armies, as shown in the table below. The same Crusade Blessing cannot be selected more than once. These blessings must be selected BEFORE the battle commences. When playing your games you should know how many crusade points you have (it will be obvious on Goonhammer) and you can then compare with your opponent. The crusade blessings WILL STACK with our own handicap system to gives weaker players more of a boost.
| CRUSADE BLESSINGS | |
| DIFFERENCE IN CRUSADE POINTS | NUMBER OF BLESSINGS |
| 0-4 | 0 |
| 5-9 | 1 |
| 10-19 | 2 |
| 20+ | 4 |
PREPARED POSITIONS
Be it entrenched Imperial defence networks or extrusions of chitinous barricades, the warring forces throughout the Certus system have access to many fixed fortifications.
Until the start of the second battle round, each time a ranged attack is made against one of your units, if that unit is wholly within your deployment zone, it receives the Benefit of Cover against that attack.
HIGH STRATEGY
A larger army’s monolithic manoeuvres, chattering streams of vox traffic or the disturbance made to the warp by its deployment gifts a more compact force enough advance warning to lay their plans against them.
You start the battle with an additional 1CP
SECRET ORDERS
Last-minute information of a highly sensitive nature has been received, offering greater opportunities for the commander with the strength of will to seize them.
You can select one additional Agenda this battle.
WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU…
Warriors who face elite foes and survive will emerge from battle with a wealth of hard-won experience.
At the end of the battle, every unit from your army that is not destroyed gains 1XP.
CRITICAL STRIKE
Luring the enemy into an ambush long planned, or spurred by a sudden surge of predatory vigour, rampaging assaults are lent greater impetus.
Once per battle, at the start of your Charge phase, you can use this Crusade Blessing. If you do, until the end of the phase, add 1 to Charge rolls made for units from your Crusade army.
OUTMANOEUVRE
Many who survived the first bloody battles in the Certus system swiftly learned to stay mobile, stealing a march on enemies in the race for vital ground, drawing the foe into range of vanguard elements or closing in their prey with insatiable hunger.
At the start of the first battle round, select up to three units from your Crusade army. Each of those units has the Scouts 6″ ability for this battle.
DEDICATION TO THE CAUSE
Those who defend the Certus system and its many worlds know they are fighting for a pivotal warp route that must be held at all costs. Such knowledge breeds fanatical devotion and selfless courage. The creatures that prey upon them, meanwhile, know no will but that which drives them on to ever greater slaughter with no thought for their own survival.
Once per turn, you can re-roll one Battle-shock test taken for a unit from your Crusade army.
BESPOKE MONSTERS AND WALKER UNITS UPGRADES
| Monsters & Walker Units | D6 |
| Monstrous Presence (Aura): While an enemy unit is within Engagement Range of this unit: Subtract 1 from the Leadership characteristic of models in that enemy unit. Each time that unit takes a Battle-shock test, the Insane Bravery Stratagem cannot be used. | 1 |
| Giant Slayers: Each time a model in this unit makes an attack against a MONSTER or VEHICLE unit, re-roll a Hit roll of 1. | 2 |
| Nimble Defence: Each time a MONSTER or VEHICLE unit makes an attack against this unit, models in this unit have the Feel No Pain 5+ ability against that attack. | 3 |
| Unstoppable Advance: Each time this unit makes a Normal, Advance or Fall Back move, until that move is finished, models in this unit can move horizontally through models and terrain features (they cannot finish a move on top of another model or its base). If doing so when making a Fall Back move, models in this unit do not need to take a Desperate Escape test | 4 |
| Painful Lessons: Each time a MONSTER or VEHICLE model makes an attack against this unit, worsen the Armour Penetration characteristic of that attack by 1. | 5 |
| Massive Stomp: Each time this unit is selected to fight in the Fight phase, before making any attacks, it can stomp. If it does so, select one enemy unit (excluding MONSTER and VEHICLE units) within Engagement Range of it and roll one D6: on a 2-5, that enemy unit suffers D3 mortal wounds; on a 6, that enemy unit suffers 3 mortal wounds.. | 6 |
I do not doubt that with the amount of detail in this article that I will have some questions – if you direct them to the discord I will endeavour to answer them as effectively as possible!
The next release for the Crusade will cover the Crusade relics that will be available and the first month’s missions.
Happy campaigning!
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