[Mad Cat]

Tactical Assets are a toned down version of strategic assets that are used in apocalypse games. They are intended to be given out as rewards for winning games in a campaign and giving that player some advantages that are not too unbalancing.

• Some of them apply only to the next scenario to be played by that player.
• Some can be used once only, but these can be saved up for use in any subsequent game.
• Some give upgrades to units. The bonuses will continue until that unit is destroyed in a game or until the unit is changed in any way. Casualties are replaced between scenarios but changing a unit's equipment, upgrades or squad size etc will negate the advantage.

After each campaign game a player who gets a draw may draw one card form a normal playing card deck. A player that wins a scenario draws 2 cards and can choose which to keep. Discarded or used up cards should not be returned to the deck and the same deck should be used for all games in the campaign. Here are a description of the advantages gained from each card.

Card	Tactical Asset	Rules
2	Reconnaissance	A fast attack choice may infiltrate or scout move this game and be deployed even if not normally allowed (e.g. dawn of war)
3	Veterans	One squad may roll on the veterans table and remains so until destroyed in the campaign.
4	Planning	May reroll in the next scenario for first turn or to seize initiative.
5	Perfect Timing	You may make turn 1 (or turn 1&2 in dawn of war) into night fighting. Or use this to negate night fight on turn 1 of dawn of war.
6	Fortune	Allowed a single reroll the next game. Can be played on a die roll made by the player but cannot reroll a reroll.
7	Interdiction	After deployment you may require your opponent to move one unit on table (and any dedicated transport it is in) back into reserve. If none are deployed you may require them to reroll the reserve roll for one unit.
8	Training	One unit (max 250 pts) may have a USR until it is destroyed, roll a D6, 1=Night, 2=FC, 3=Fleet, 4=Scout, 5=Tankhunter, 6=FNP
9	Reinforcements	You may add 5% extra points for your next game.
10	Inspired Commander	If you only select one HQ you may add an extra Elite, Fast or Heavy Support choice in future scenarios. The effects last until the inspired commander is killed.
J	Suped up engines	One tank or transport may be upgraded to a fast vehicle for free. The player must at all times think positive and not hit anyone with those negative waves.
Q	Replacements	The first troop choice unit to be destroyed comes in again from reserve along the baseline on a 5+ each turn (no modifiers or rerolls).
K	Blessing	One elites or troop unit (max 250 pts) is: blessed by the emperor, chosen of chaos, eats majik mooshrumz, declared a hero of the 3rd sphere expansion, evolves a sixth sense, wears wraithbone earmuffs, Reverses the polarity on something, plucks the nasal hair out of several captives. The unit gains a 5+ invulnerable save. lasts until theunit is destroyed.
Ace		May select one of the above (players choice).
Joker	Misfortune	A random Infantry, Jump Infantry, Cavalry or Bike/jet bike unit gets into a fight, wanders into a minefield, insults a commissar or challenges the ogryns to a drinking competition. After deployment the unit takes D6 wounds with no saves allowed.

Whay do you think? Any comments, suggestions, questions, alternatives (for the ace in particular as I was running out of ideas).

 

[A.T.]

Whay do you think? Any comments, suggestions, questions, alternatives (for the ace in particular as I was running out of ideas).

As with other similar systems the primary issue is making strong players stronger.

I actually quite liked the system in GW's planetary empires whereby the winning players essentially chose their bonuses by taking ground (with diminishing returns) while the losing players would get a flat points boost, a larger army to offset their opponent's more flexible upgraded force.

Of course even that system was abused - my own tactic of holding only a few territories for bonuses and taking the rest in bonus points was countered by opponents kicking off high point games where their territory-based bonuses could be applied to hugely expensive deathstars and my 50pts per tile bonus made little impact.

Difficult thing to balance.

 

[PatternMaker]

Well done! I'll have to find a way to use these skills in my games.

I do have a criticism for the number eight Strategic Asset (Training). Feel No Pain is a nice bonus, but it is hard for me to justify it's use. I always considered FNP special rule to represent an unnatural resilience (I'm thinking Plague Marines) or some sort of long standing cultural practice of abuse. (Dark Eldar) it might be possible for an army to develop a high tolerance to pain, but one campaign seems insufficient using training alone. I would consider switching it to maybe Preferred Enemy or Skilled Rider.

Are you implementing the Tactical Assets in any sort of Campaign?

 

[Mad Cat]

Skilled rider is ok (or move through cover for infantry types).
Preferred enemy does seem more sensible and as they tend to be better upgrades the further up you roll on the D6 I prefer it to skilled rider.



I ran a Mini campaign recently at the York Garrison Club. We had 6 players per side and everyone played 3 rounds of 40k games followed by a final apocalypse game where everyone took part.

Round 1 was 6 40k games at 1500 points.
Round 2 was 3 doubles 40k games with 2x1500 points per side.
Round 3 was 6 40k games at 2000 points.
Round 4 was 1 apocalypse game at 6x2000 points of codex legal forces + 2000 points of big stuff per side.

Scenarios in the first 3 rounds were either regular 40k, battle missions, spearhead, city fight or planet strike. We even had a commando raid kill team game in place of one first round game. In round 3 each victorious player earned a strategic asset to use in the final apocalypse game. These were the only strategic assets allowed in round 4.

I didn't use the tactical assets shown in the first post but designed the rules afterwards to meet the need to reward initial victories without unbalancing things too much. I wanted to avoid snowballing where a player wins the first game making it much easier to win the next and so on. These bonuses are either a one shot use item or grant a continuing bonus to a particular unit but if they are destroyed in a game the bonus is lost. The 250 point limit on some assets is to prevent them giving a 700 point 10 paladin deathstar unit too much power.

 

[pridgener]

If you are a kind of player to whom dignity matters a lot, then it is in your favor to go for tactical equipments and assets. With these kinds of tools, you need not have to labor much. You can easily gain dexterity and proficiency with less inconveniences and hassles. In today's competition arena, they are playing very crucial role.