There is no time for peace. No forgiveness. No respite. There is only war.
The galaxy writhes in the mailed fist of all-consuming conflict. The Imperium of Mankind teeters on the brink of annihilation, beset upon all sides by heretic warlords, daemon-summoning witches and rapacious alien empires. In every star system and upon every planet, fierce battle rages as loyalists, heretics and aliens tear reality itself apart in their war for dominance. Every day the flames rise higher.
This is a more terrible era than ever before, and there is no peace amongst the stars...
The Book
A 368-page hardback, this is the essential book for any fan of Warhammer 40,000 – everything you need to know to collect, build, paint and play with Citadel miniatures.
It starts with an overview of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby, covering the four areas of Collect, Built, Paint and Play, including descriptions of open, matched, and narrative play.
The Rules
The first section of the core rules covers the basic rules of the game, and takes you through the rules that apply to the seven phases of the game: the Command phase, Movement phase, Psychic phase, Shooting phase, Charge phase, Combat phase and Morale phase.
Additional rules also cover:
- Playing missions and the process of building an army in readiness, using either Power Rating or points values
- Battle-forged and Unbound armies, as well Command points that Battle-forged Armies can utilise
- Battlefield Roles and 11 types of Detachment that can be included in your armies
- Seven Core Stratagems that are universal and available to every army in Warhammer 40,000
- Strategic Reserves – the option to hold back units during deployment and even send them to outflank the enemy line
- Actions – such as planting explosives, hacking into a databank, or performing a ritual – and how they can be performed (and in some cases, prevented)
- Rules for terrain features, such as Hills, Obstacles, Area Terrain and Buildings, including traits the terrain might have and its impact on the battlefield
- Hints and tips for setting up a suitable battlefield, in terms of density and type of terrain, type of terrain, and ensuring that neither side of the battlefield is preferential to the other
Open Play
Let your imagination run wild, as open play caters for reenacting every kind of narrative storyline or tactical challenge you can think of, without restrictions. This section centres around the Open Hostility Mission Pack – a 12-step guide to setting up and playing an open play game through to a conclusion and determining a victor. Includes the following:
- Guidance on mustering armies, determining missions, creating the battlefield and a host of other key points to playing a game
- Three bespoke open play missions
Matched Play
Designed to put both players on an equal footing, matched play offers both players an even chance of victory, leaving it to your own mastery of army selection and tactics to earn you the advantage in battle. This section features an Eternal War Mission Pack – a 16-step guide to setting up and playing a matched play game through to a conclusion and determining a victor. Includes the following:
- Guidance on selecting battle size, mustering armies, determining missions, creating the battlefield, selecting Secondary Objectives and a host of other key points to playing a game
- 18 bespoke matched play missions, each specifically designed around the size of the game being played: three for Combat Patrol, six for Incursion, six for Strike Force, three for Onslaught
- Secondary Objectives, featuring a list of 17 different Secondary Objectives that players can choose from, split over five separate categories
Narrative Play
Crusade is a new way to play games of Warhammer 40,000. It allows you to take a collection of miniatures and, taking them on a Crusade, level up your units over any number of games, against any number of opponents, forging your own narrative for your miniatures collection as they engage with their enemies on the battlefields of the 41st Millenium. Over your Crusade games, will you be able to grow your army, gain experience and skills, and modify your weaponry. Though you may start off with a small band of inexperienced warriors, you can create an elite fighting force that is renowned and feared across the galaxy!
Includes the following:
- How to gather a Crusade force, and how it gains experience and levels up over its series of games
- A balancing mechanic to allow for any two Crusade forces, from the greenest band of soldiers to the most legendary squad of battle brothers to be able to play an evenly matched game of Warhammer 40,000
- Blank, photocopiable Crusade Cards and Order of Battle sheet for keeping track of your forces.
- Four tables of Battle Honours – Battle Traits, Weapon Enhancements, Psychic Fortitudes and Crusade Relics – each offering different in-game bonuses and effects that the unit has earned through numerous hard-fought battles
- A Battle Scars table for those units who fail to emerge from their battles unscathed…
- Guidance on setting up and playing a Crusade narrative play game through to a conclusion, determining a victor, and updating your Crusade Cards and Order of Battle
- A list of 17 different Agendas that players can choose from, split over five separate categories.
- 18 bespoke Crusade missions, each specifically designed around the size of the game being played: three for Combat Patrol, six for Incursion, six for Strike Force, three for Onslaught.
Rules Appendix
A handy reference section that includes the following:
- Designer's Commentary from rules designer Robin Cruddace
- An alphabetised list of 174 existing weapons that gain the benefit of the Blast special rule
- An alphabetised list of 22 existing miniatures/datasheets that gain the Aircraft keyword
- A summary synopsis of 14 rarer rules/interactions that don't often arise in games, but are important to keep a note of
- A Rules Terms Glossary, which provides precise and exacting definitions of 142 separate rules terms to aid in resolving more complex rules interactions
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