Narrative Campaign Basics

Hey y’all!(I recently went to Texas and that is how they talk)  Raw Dogger here to give you the inside skinny on the 411 on all the things you NEED to know about our upcoming 40k narrative campaign.

The campaign will revolve around the world of Antium V, a precious mineral mining planet that has unfortunately been targeted as the birthplace of the supremely powerful demon, T’elnoth.  The Antium system is conveniently placed in close proximity to a warp gate that feeds directly to Terra, and simply declaring the planet and system Exterminatus could leave the route impassable for all (inconceivable!).

The campaign itself will comprise of several battles on the surface of Antium V, beginning with a giant apocalypse battle wherein the Imperial forces try to force a landing on a strategic space port.  The Chaos Marines and their Demon allies will try desperately to try and blunt this attack.  The outcome of this battle will dictate where the next takes place.  That is the real beauty of a narrative campaign.  The next battle and participants are never truly known.  In the brutal aftermath of the initial strike, generals on both sides will debate what their next move will be.  So how are battles fought?  Here is where some brainstorming took place.  What do you do when you have lots of players who want to participate, but can’t commit to being at every battle, every time?  The answer is, don’t make players commit!  Simple as that!  Each battle (not counting the initial and ending Apocalypse battles) will have a set point allowance (most likely 10k).  We will then ask which players from each faction will take part in the upcoming battle and divide the points between those players.  Only 5 players for the Imperials showing up to partake in the Jungle Fighting outside of the Hive City?  They each get to bring 2k points.  And so on.

To make the campaign as natural and narrative as possible, each player that is asked to join the campaign will write up a small narrative on their general and army.  Named characters will be allowed but they will have to be ‘renamed’ with a new persona (keeping their stats and rules from the codex).  I for one can’t wait to see Bharn the Betrayer and Lord Kaldor Draigon.  As the campaign progresses we will document their triumphs and defeats in detail, allowing the readers at home to cheer on their favorite hero or despot.  We are also going to mix in every GW 40k expansion to really show how they can make campaigns sparkle!  SHINY!

The whole campaign will be documented heavily on Frontline’s website, and the specifics about each upcoming battle will be detailed at least one week prior to our playing of it.  So are you excited yet?  I’ll just assume that isn’t a banana in your pocket.  If it is, I’ll take half.

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Reece Robbins President
Co-founder of Frontline Gaming, and creator of the ITC, Reece Robbins has been a pillar of the tabletop community for over two decades. From developing Blood Throne to launching industry-leading hobby products and major events like the LVO, his career is defined by innovation and a lifelong passion for gaming since the 80s. Today, he remains a very active community organizer and business leader dedicated to the growth of the hobby.

14 thoughts on “Narrative Campaign Basics”

  1. Cool!

    Narrative campaigns are my favourite as I like to know the who, what, where, when and why of a battle. Not just “this army and that army are playing that mission” because the players have a few hours to waste.

  2. First off, when Texans say ya’ll we say it so naturally you would think its proper English.

    Secondly, Yankees should refrain from speaking Texan… It’s like white guys dancing!

    Anyway, you know we are in down here in San Antonio and are looking forward to another way to play 40K.

  3. Hey guys. As for rules, we will be following the BRB rules for most of the missions, they will just be 10k points instead of 1750. The point amounts per player depend on how many players from each faction show up on the day of the battle. The first battle, which will take place on November 11th, will be an Apoc battle. All apoc lists, including super heavies, will be allowed in this game, The only thing I will not allow is strategums, which make the game stupid and lopsided. The battle will be for a space port on the planet that is currently being held by the forces of Chaos. If the Imperials can gain control of the spaceport, things should go a little easier on them in the upcoming battles.

  4. So the 11th fully painted, with a backstory then right? Reece if you could get me raw doggers email so I can send him the story of Goren Brimstone I’ll be
    Down as planned. my buddy was going to bring nids but I’ll be bringing down 2 for each side Instead

  5. Jake was all stoked to show off his new DE force but he’ll be bumming some Chaos off of me instead. If we have time I’d still love a swing at one of your BAO lists though.

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