Bit of a slow update this week, but here is the Campaign HQ update for the Armageddon at Drawbridge Gate Crusade Campaign for Week Four. Includes the battle results as forces form more finalized battle lines, as well as the mission for the week and Battle Scars and Battle Traits info.
Keep up all the great games, and especially the great painting! Here are the submission links for the week.
Week two comes after most of the battles falling on the planet of Ponte Levatoio being Chaos-driven. That led to the warp “drawbridge” forming there first, and setting up the Metamorphosis mission for the following week. The Week Two Campaign HQ update is here:
For those who cannot watch the video, the basics of the mission briefing are in images below. And there is a store copy of the Crusades: Armageddon book at Drawbridge behind the desk for people to check the Armageddon battle traits, battle scars, and the “Metamorphosis” mission for this coming week (June 25th through 29th). As always, you can submit results for Week Two missions at the forms link below. And players can also “go back” and play the Week One mission if you missed it and would like to do so–the form can accept Week One results too.
This Summer at Drawbridge Games we’re launching a store-wide Warhammer 40k Crusade Campaign, designed for all players in the community to participate in. The goal is for people to get in games to tell the stories of their own armies whilst being a part of the bigger narrative for the store, culminating in two mega-battles at the end of the campaign to decide things. We’ll be loosely using the 2025 Crusade supplement for Warhammer 40k, but players will not need that to play the games. You’ll find the campaign’s story, procedures, and plan below.
Story
Like Angron’s attack on the planet of Armageddon, the planets in the Drawbridge Gulf system are in a moment of extreme, planet-threatening crisis. In the past, strange causeways formed in the warp between planets in the Drawbridge Gulf (see here for an example: https://youtu.be/RBBMz3_EXn4?si=bT3VybVjBlXamYk5 ), and the machinations of Chaos are yet again playing havoc on the connections between planets in the system. Warp anomalies and rifts have begun forming on the twin planets of Ponte Levatoio and Drifbrú. Ponte Levatoio is a mining world rich with resources, recently partially developed by the tech priests of Mars to begin manufacturing. From scrap to rare resources many factions would love to either control the planet or quickly extract its resources and escape. It’s sister planet of Drifbrú by contrast has the other commodities of the galaxy. Not only is it a lush and prosperous agri-world teeming with life and with a huge population of human workers, but its also an ancient touchstone of the war in heaven, with buried artifacts of both Necron and Aeldari significance forming powerful warp ley-lines to converge on the system. In short, every faction has decided that the moment of the warp instabilities connecting the two of them is the perfect time to strike and get their gains or thwart others’s aims.
Mining World Ponte Levatoio with the serene Agri-World Drifbrú in the distance
Procedures
The Campaign will use the basic 40k Crusade system described in many supplements. Any 10th edition Crusade rules description will get you the basics you need to play–here is the basic version from Warhammer Community which includes the printable roster sheet as well as the cards to track each unit: https://assets.warhammer-community.com/warhammer40000_crusade_crusaderules_eng_24.09-x7lpyyilc9.pdf .
Players have a set maximum number of points you can bring to games based around spending requisition points, and units gain Battle Honors to represent their Upgrades (traits, weapon upgrades, and relics) through experience points (XP), and Battle Scars from defeats. Players should draw up a Crusade Roster and track their units, starting at 1,000 points as usual. The specific Crusade goals of each army from their army book will not be used, as each army will be working on the Armageddon Campaign goal. Note that “goal” is the general term I’m using for the back-of-codex rules for each faction’s own progress toward their own narrative that results in faction Campaign Badges (e.g. Death Guard brewing plagues, Orks accumulating scrap, Eldar doing their absurd weaving three strands of fate book-keeping). Of course players can track their own army progress toward these unique faction goals that yields them their faction-specific Campaign Badges–but that’s for fun only–tho it may affect what your forces do to try and gain XP. No benefits for units are accrued from these–only the unit upgrades from the Armageddon book (awarded by Campaign HQ) will be applied.
Campaign HQ will release a weekly guide for what mission should be played in that week by campaign players, with all the info you’ll need for running that mission. Players additionally get ONE Agenda each game that they can pursue, which can be chosen from the list below from the Armageddon Crusade, or can swap in one of their Codex-specific Agendas if they prefer. There will be bonus chances for unit XP based around players bringing and modeling various Warp Anomalies to represent parts of the missions (a number of missions have strange “neutral antagonist” warp creatures that assail both sides of the battle at random as part of the mission).
Battle Honors Upgrades and Scars will be randomly assigned as part of the Campaign HQ update each week–so you’ll need to tune in to those to see what happened to your forces in the aftermath of the battle. This will make the game more fun because players are not cherry-picking upgrades, and also will give a sense of renown for the units that are becoming either glorious victors or scarred-but-scrappy competitors. You can request the type of Battle Honor Upgrade assigned from the following types: Weapons Modification, Crusade Relic, Faction Battle Trait (found in your army codex), or Armageddon Battle Trait (found in the Crusade: Armageddon book).
After a game, players will submit some short information to the following form: https://tinyurl.com/49k6csun. They must submit their name, the name of their opponent, the campaign mission played, the results of the battle, a photo from the battle of their forces in action, and photos and bit of info on any units that gain new Battle Honor Upgrades or incurred Battle Scars. These will then be featured in the Campaign HQ updates. The rest of the info of Crusade progress, such as Requisition Points and how they’re spent, size of force, Crusade Points, and replacement of units are tracked by each individual on their own as normal for Crusade play.
Players can play more than one game per week, but are encouraged to play them with different armies and opponents to vary things up (see “plan” below for why multiple armies are fine). If you play multiple games in a week just know that the effects of any battle traits or battle scars will not be issued until after the week is finished. To play a game players find an opponent (in the store on Thursday nights or weekends is most likely, but also in the 40k chats on Messenger or the Store Discord–ask to be a part of them if you’re not), agree to a points value that works for both players (remember that Crusade can balance somewhat different points values, but keep things relatively even by generally playing where the lower roster size player is at), select units and play the assigned mission for the week. If two players want to play prior missions from earlier weeks to “Catch Up” then you also can do so during the time frame of the campaign. Those may or may not affect the outcomes of the planetary narrative (e.g. it may be too late to “save the village” if the village was wiped out by last week’s results), but I want people to be able to have fun, play the missions, and feel a part of things so it’s fine to go back and play prior missions.
Painting requirements for Crusade games are a bit more relaxed. We ask that people make a good faith effort in painting their models and follow a “more painted this week than last week” approach to their games. The one rule is that unpainted models cannot be part of the Campaign HQ upates. So they cannot receive Upgrades due to Battle Honors as we’ll want photos of the painted models for those updates. So hopefully getting a unit enough XP to reach these milestones would mean that players are incentivized to put at least battle-ready paint on those models. Likewise, unpainted units that receive a Battle Scar means the player MUST spend a Requisition Point on the Repair and Recuperate action to remove it after the battle (or paint up the models before submitting results). Players can delay submission of the Battle Results to allow painting time if they wish (but the results may not figure in to the planetary narrative in that case (similar to playing prior missions).
Remember: “battle ready” can be as quick as a bit of contrast and a couple of highlights
Team games are also permitted in the campaign, so if you want to play as a group you’re more than welcome to do so. The main thing about these is that only one faction (see below) per side gets advanced with the results of the game, so just be clear about which side is being fought for when submitting results from a team game.
Plan
As part of this campaign, each army represents one of four competing general Alliances seeking control of the pair of planets. Those Alliances are The Imperium, Chaos (including any Guard and AdMech forces that wish to declare themselves as Chaos), Order Xenos (T’au, Drukhari, Aeldari, and Votann), and Annihilation Xenos (Orks, Tyranids, Genestealer Cults, and Necrons). The overall campaign tracks the wins/losses of these forces to determine which end up controlling various aspects of the two planets through the course of the summer campaign. At the end of the Summer/conclusion of the campaign, there will be TWO Mega-Battles on two different days to determine the final outcome of the two planets. These will feature one massive board and be all-day Armageddon Style mega battles with objectives for each player and board elements effected by the games of the campaign. This is why players are encouraged to play a couple of different armies throughout the campaign if they like–as you can take part in any Mega-Battle that you fielded forces for in at least one game. The matchups and which planet they take place on will be determined by the results of the campaign games–so it might be Imperium vs Chaos on Ponte Levatoio while Xenos clash on Drifbrú, but it could also be a harried defense of Pointe Levatoio by the Order Xenos facing Chaos, whilst the Imperium seeks to repel the Annihilation Xenos from the shores of Drifbrú. Either way, both should be fun endcaps to the campaign when taken together, and give people multiple days to be able to participate in at least one of the campaign end events.
Right now the plan is a bit flexible by interest from the community, but we’re thinking 7 weeks of campaign games and then the culminating two mega-battles in early-to-mid August. That means roughly the following schedule:
Hopefully this gives our community a fun way to play some linked 40k games this summer, get some cool stories built, and really go all-out for some big 40k fun. We’ll hopefully do footage of the two Mega-Battles at the end of it to again compose a video about the event that people can look back on to remember the summer of Armageddon!
Update: Campaign HQ Mission Briefing Week One is Now Live
For those who prefer to read, here is the relevant data for how the first week’s mission will run:
Time for new 40k nonsense at Drawbridge Games. This time we’re inspired by a ridiculous meme debate that is making its rounds on social media. Who cares whether 100 humans can defeat a Gorilla? What we care about is how much can 100 Imperial Guardsmen handle? What can take 100 T’au Fire Warriors, Aeldari Guardians, Tyranid Gaunts, or Necron Warriors? Let’s find out on the tabletop!
The event will take place on Saturday, June 7th starting at noon at Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Players can bring their troops and any big models with which they want to test their luck against these hordes. Can they take a Lord of Skulls? How about a Warhound Titan? Would a Gorkanaut kill the 100 while a Morkanaut would fail to?
For bringing line troops, players can bring models with special weapons but they’ll all have only the basic gear of a line trooper. All models must be painted and based (at least earnest attempt). We will only run groups that can reach 100 models total, and they’ll have limited combined datasheets in the groups (see the chart below). There will be a door prize, and participants can get entry into the drawing by running either side (a horde or a big model), by painting up at least 20 new infantry models for the event, by bringing an entire 100 models of one type themselves (huge undertaking!), and by managing to win with any horde against highest points cost foe they can manage.
Faction
Hordes
Committed to Contribute
Astra Militarium
10 or 20 Cadian Shock Troopers with lasguns; 10 or 20 Catachan Jungle Fighters with lasgnsu; 10 or 20 Death Korps of Krieg Troopers with lasguns
AL: – 20 Catachans
Adeptus Sororitas
10 Battle Sisters with boltguns
Adeptus Mechanicus
10 Skitarii Rangers with galvanic rifle; 10 Skitarii Vanguard with radium carbine
Chaos Space Marines
10 or 20 Chaos Cultists with autopistols
J: 100 Cultists
Death Guard
10 or 20 Poxwalkers with improvised weapons
J: 40 Poxwalkers, AL: 10 Poxwalkers
Aeldari and Drukhari
10 Guardians with shuriken catapults; 10 Storm Guardians with shuriken pistols; 10 Kabalite Warriors with splinter rilfes
10 or 20 Boyz with any mix of sluggas+choppas or shootas+ccw’s; 10 or 20 Beast Snaggas with slugga+choppa; 10 or 20 Gretchin with grot blastas and 1-2 herders
AL: 10 Beast Snaggas; 30 Grots
T’au
10 Strike Team Fire Warriors with pulse Rifles; 10 Breacher Team Fire Warriors with pulse blasters
Kroot
10 Kroot
J: 100 Kroot
Tyranids
10 or 20 Hormagaunts; 10 or 20 Termagaunts all with fleshborers or all with devourers or all with spinefists
DL: 70 Termagaunts, 10 Hormagaunts. RC: 40 gaunts
Genestealer Cults
10 or 20 Neophyte Hybrids with hybrid firearms
Leagues of Votann
10 Hearthkin with bolters
Necrons
10 or 20 Necron Warriors all with gauss flayers or all with gauss reapers; 10 Immortals with gauss blasters or tesla carbines
AL: 20 Warriors, 10 Immortals
More info to follow! Right now we’re just working out how many groups of 100 infantry we can manage to have as options for the event.
What better time to break out a Warhammer Fantasy Battles campaign supplement from 2001 than right now in 2024 with the Old World rules? Well we’re doing it!
Campaign Details: Whether by tunnel or by ship, various forces have found their way to the misty aisle of Albion. They will be playing out a series of campaign games that affect one to the next in story fashion, using the full Dark Shadows rules (see below).
Participants
Faction
Andrew
Lizardmen
Dave F
Tomb Kings
Dave L
Chaos
Enrico
Dwarfs
Ryan
Trolls and Goblins
Steve
High Elves
Truthsayers, Dark Emissaries, & Fen Beasts
Stats, Abilities, and Wargear are the same as the original Dark Shadows Campaign. The Truthsayer and Dark Emissary spell list has been adjusted to put in line with Old World casting values (generally adding 2 to the difficulty, tho matching spell casting values with matching spells, such as Light of Battle matching Elementalism’s Earthen Rampart). The Campaign will determine when these characters are added to players’ forces.
Winds of Magic
The winds of magic are always swirling in Albion, and as they are channeled by spellcasters the magical might of different lores waxes and wanes depending on their triumphs and mishaps. The following chart shows the current standing (start of campaign 2/13/25) of the lores of magic, and the effect of that standing. As the campaign progresses, the lores will shift in position due to game results–but the same structure of rank holds for whatever lore occupies it at the time.
Lore
Rank
Effect
Waaagh! Magic (plus Gork and Mork)
One
+3 to the casting total of each spell, but any double rolled (except a double 6) is a Miscast
Illusion
Two
+2 to the casting total of each spell
Saphestry, Naggaroth, and Athel Loren
Three
+1 to the casting total of each spell
Elementalism (plus Lustria and Troll)
Four
+1 to the casting total of each spell
Dark Emissary
Five
Normal rules apply
Truthsayer
Six
Normal rules apply
Necromancy (plus Undeath and Nehekhara)
Seven
Normal rules apply
Battle Magic (plus the Lady, Hashut, and Great Maw)
Eight
-1 to the casting total of each spell
Dark Magic (plus Beasts)
Nine
-1 to the casting total of each spell
High Magic
Ten
-2 to the casting total of each spell
Daemonology (plus Daemons, Horned Rat, and Chaos)
Eleven
-3 to the casting total of each spell, but there is so little magical energy here you cannot Miscast or cast a Perfect Invocation
Albion Weather
Whether because it is an island or because of the specific wards of the Old Ones, the weather on Albion tends to be worse than elsewhere in the Old World. Not only that, but it’s changing constantly. These rules determine the effects of the weather on each battle.
At the start of each game round, roll a d6 to determine the Outlook: whether things are getting better or worse. On a 1-2 apply a -1 to the current weather on the weather table. On a 3-4 there is no change. On a 5-6 add a +1 to the weather table. The weather for each game day of the campaign may be pre-set or players may be instructed to randomly generate. Without any other guidance the weather begins at Number 5 – Light Drizzle.
Number
Weather
Effect
1
Hail Storm
Flying models must use their ground movement speed . Effects of Driving Rain and Gales and Showers also apply. -1 results on the Outlook roll have no effect.
2
Driving Rain and Gales
Units take the worst result of the two dice rolled when charging, falling back, fleeing, or pursuing. All missile fire is -1 to hit. War machines that do not use BS to hit need to roll a 3+ on a d6 to fire this round. Effects of Showers also apply.
3
Showers
Treat Forests and Roads as Swamps (dangerous terrain, impassible to war machines and chariots).
4
Light Drizzle and Fog
At the start of a Game Round with this weather roll an artillery dice and multiply by three. That is the distance in inches that models can see. Models cannot declare a target of a charge or attack if they cannot see the target. A misfire means a momentary lifting of the mists and line of sight is treated as normal.
5
Light Drizzle
Everyone expects drizzle in Albion, so no effect.
6
Cloudy Puddles
Pretty nice, but the pooling effects of recent rain treat Forests and Roads as Swamps (dangerous terrain, impassible to war machines and chariots).
7
Ominous Clouds
The clouds hang dark and low in the sky and gather for an imminent cloud burst. Hills and other tall features lose the Vantage Point special rule. Effects of Cloudy Puddles also apply.
8
Lightning Storm
Rain is imminent, and lightning strikes begin to scatter the battlefield. At the start of a round roll a d6 for every unit that is on Open Ground more than 3” away from a piece of terrain taller than them. Add a +1 to that roll if the unit is judged to have significant metal gear. On a 6, that unit is struck by lighting and suffers d6 Str 3 hits with no armor save permitted. Effects of Cloudy Puddles and Ominous Clouds also apply. Also, if an Outlook result of +1 is rolled after a turn of Lighting Storm, the storm truly breaks loose, and the Weather is immediately set to level 1: Hail Storm.
Further updates on campaign specifics, teams, and more will follow as we flesh things out.
It’s time. Another round of one of the best events at Drawbridge Games: Knight Night Fight Night! The game where people bring some of the big baddies of the game to slug it out for glory and to be added to the Knight Night Fight Night Trophy! This is the 4th incarnation, and this time we’re going extra BIG with it! It will be taking place on Thursday, January 30th, 2025 with setup at 6:30pm and first dice thrown at 7:00pm sharp. As always, we’ll have a door prize drawing, so just participating gives you a chance to win!
This time year it’s time for Tag Teams again, where everyone gets a paired team of two Knight-class models. Players can either field two models themselves, or two players can team up as a Tag Team. We also are going to let players “go big” this year if they wish. While it’s Knight Night, this is a good chance for people to field a bigger titan if they so wish to–the point is to keep us modeling, of course! So if you’ve got that Warhound, Ta’unar, or something else massive you’re tinkering with, know it can be included–the one caveat is that you don’t get a Tag Team partner if you field anything larger than Knight class.
Event Rules
Teams of two Knights (can be a single player who brings two, or pairs of players who each have one) will be placed in a central, circular Royal Rumble arena. The goal is to be the last model standing–knocking all of other competitors “out of the ring”–and that last standing model wins the event for their team.
To start the event, all teams will have the points of the two models in their team calculated. The highest two PL total teams will have their models start in the ring. After each round, the next two teams in PL are added to the ring (making their grand entrances, with entrance music if so desired).
Every round of combat all participant Knights in the ring are dealt a playing card, and play turns will run in that order: lowest numbers first, with suit order high-to-low in reverse-alpha to break numerical ties, so Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs, with Aces low. The active Knight will move, shoot, can charge and fight. Note that models attacked won’t swing back (there’s no ordinary combat phase). The goal is to incapacitate opposing Knight models by taking all of their wounds, which represents knocking them out of the ring (over the top rope). There are a few different special rules we’ll be using that will both help this happen, and give Knights a chance to keep fighting in the ring.
“Recover In the Corner” action: Declare at the start of your turn. Roll 1d6 and recover that many wounds. Can move (including advancing) but cannot fire any weapons, charge, or make any melee attacks until the start of its next turn.
“Re-roll Chip”: Every Knight gets one re-roll chip. Every Tag Team who put up a promo (posted on the Drawbridge Events Facebook page and/or Discord) gets a second re-roll chip per player participating in that promo. The player with the best promo (judged by Enrico) gets a third re-roll chip. Re-roll chips can be exchanged or traded as you wish during the game with other players. They can be spent to re-roll any one d6 roll (including the “Out of the Ring” table or the result of a “Recover in the Corner” action). They can also be spent to get rid of the card you’re dealt at any point for turn order, and be dealt a new random card from the deck. Note that no one will have CP’s to keep things simple, this is a sort of replacement for that.
“Out of the Ring” chart: Whenever a model is reduced to 0 wounds, they immediately must roll on the following chart (any model rules that might trigger on “when reduced to zero wounds” such as exploding are ignored). Conceptually a Battle Royale is about throwing your opponent out of the ring and their feet hitting the ground (indicating they’re out). While we don’t have an actual ring to be thrown out of, these are the results when the participants take those devastating finishing attacks.
Roll
Result
1 “I’ll get you back”
Both feet hit the ground and this model loses. However, they’re not quite ready to accept that. They immediately get a single turn of shooting to try and take an opponent with them (using lowest profile), and then are removed from the board.
2 “Ouch, he’ll feel that one”
Both feet hit the ground and this model loses. It is removed from the board.
3 “Thats a tough break, J.R.”
Both feet hit the ground and this model loses. It is removed from the board.
4 “Hanging on the ropes”
The Knight hangs on, just barely. It is restored to 1 remaining wound, and cannot be targeted any further this round until it acts or until the start of the next round if it has already acted this round.
5 “Push thru the pain”
This model grits its teeth and keeps on fighting. Immediately roll a d6 and restore that many wounds to the model. This model cannot be targeted/damaged any further during the current opponent’s activation.
6 “You just made me angry”
This model channels the punishment into newfound strength. Immediately restore the model to 12 wounds. This model cannot be targeted/damaged any further during the current opponent’s activation.
Painting Requirements: All models participating in Knight Night must be painted to a tabletop standard and based. Part of this hobby is, well, the hobby, so I want to encourage people to paint and get models finished for events. There will be additional chances at prizes for those who paint up a new Knight model for the event.
Tag Team: Players can choose to field two Knights from the following lists, or bring one Knight and team up with another player. You can choose and coordinate teams in advance, and we can also pair up likely allies on the day of the event–so don’t let having just a single Knight limit you. Come and have fun and game with new and old folks in the community alike. Activations are separate by Knight model, but victory goes to the team (even if one of the team member Knights has been eliminated). And we’ll have an extra Knight model with rules on hand in case we have uneven numbers to make certain all who show up can join in the fun.
Knight Options and Choices
Knight Options: Players can choose any non-character Knight from the Imperial Knights or Chaos Knights codex with gear allowable from the data sheet (no relics or warlord traits). No army rules, detachment rules, or upgrades that aren’t part of the basic datasheet entry for the Knight will be used. These are vanilla versions of the data sheets folks. I
When is a Knight not a Knight: We’re not able to allow in every Xenos and Chaos faction, but applications to field other types are allowable if they’re comparable in stature to a Knight (note they may not be comparable in points).
Stormsurge
Wraithknight
Gorkanaut
Morkanaut
Stompa
Lord of Skulls
Seraptek Heavy Construct
Trygon
Mawloc
Go Big: The following is a list of allowed “go big” options. These are “wrestlers” so big that they can be expected to take on a tag team just solo (think Andre the Giant, the Big Show, or Happy Humphrey).
Heya Drawbridge Games (Pittsburgh PA) players and hobbyists. I’ve conferred with Enrico and we’re going to do a version of the Games Workshop “Armies on Parade” hobby modeling, terrain, and painting competition. It’s called “Armies Across the Drawbridge”, and it’s a chance to show off a force of painted models on a custom-modeled display base. Judging will take place on September 29th, when the Games Workshop competition is also happening. And entrants must register their participation by signing up in the store by June 30th. Entry fee is $10 and participants must be Gatecrasher Members.
Participants will be invited to bring their board and set it up for the Sunday, September 29th judging session. Judges will do careful consideration (they will do the Best Army, Terrain/Display, and Judge’s Choice), and at the same time visitors to the store will be permitted to cast their votes for the Drawbridge’s Choice winner. And the Judge’s Choice/Best Overall winner will be awarded one Combat Patrol or Vanguard box of the winner’s choice (based on availability).
The Army award will be focused on painting of the models and the Terrain on the actual display board. Judge’s Choice / Best Overall will be for the overall combo of model painting and display creativity. And the Drawbridge’s Choice will be the one that wins the public’s vote.
The display must fit within a board with base dimensions of 2’x2’ (61cm x 61cm). The board and models must be painted to a minimum standard (three colors and based miniatures), but it can certainly be simple. Even just a 2’x2′ piece of chipboard with textured paint and a drybrush will make the army on it pop! And I’m sure people will do even more creative things.
The army must be between 1,000 and 2,000 points for Warhammer 40k, Horus Heresy, Age of Sigmar, or Old World. Models must be a majority Games Workshop models (70%) tho conversions and custom models to enhance your armies are certainly welcome.
Board and miniatures must both be constructed and painted by the participant themselves.
We’ll host some hobby nights where folks can sit and paint and discuss plans/materials/painting/theme. So start getting your force ready to march out!
It’s time for another big paint-and-play event at Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, PA. This time we’re doing an event that will get people painted some new things for forces: the various and sundry cast of named Characters in the 40k universe. It’s an event we call Who’s the Boss King of the Hill!
Why is it called King of the Hill? Because it will be a royal rumble style match where the winner is the last model standing or the one most central on the hill that will compose the middle of the board for the event.
Why is it called Who’s the Boss? Because participants will get a randomly assigned two characters from the pool brought by everyone, making for a whole bunch of wild team-ups amidst these HQ’s/Leaders/Bosses during the event. No one knows until the event starts what random bosses they’ll end up fielding from the pool we’ve generated.
Event Details: 6:30pm set-up, 7:00pm start on Thursday, March 14th. Participants can bring one or more painted “named character” models/units from the list below for Warhammer 40k (tho only one of each will be available for the random draw). To participate you must be comfortable with other people touching your models (carefully, of course), and bring a printed version of the model’s stat card. Players should bring their own dice and measuring tools.
Rules: Players will place their duos on the battlefield in points cost order on the first turn, and then playing cards will be dealt that determine order of turn. The two character units are separate, and do not have access to any army rules not on their cards (no army-wide rules for their faction nor detachment bonuses or enhancements). They are treated as friendly faction models to each other (have each others’ faction keywords) but cannot form one unit. A player’s turn is a normal sequence of 40k with all phases. In the combat phase, for ongoing combats with multiple opponents a draw of cards will determine order. There are no CP. Each player will get one re-roll token chip (can be used to re-roll their own die or force another player’s die to be re-rolled), and there may be ways to acquire extra based around what unit is generated for the participant in the random seeding process. A winner is decided either when there is only one unit left (or two units controlled by the same player) or when time is reached at which point victory is given to the model closest to the top of the hill at the center of the table.
Painting and Raffle: As always with Drawbridge events, we’ll be having a raffle for great 40k prizes that everyone gets a chance at winning. For every unit newly painted for this event (specifically for this event) a player will get an additional entry into the raffle. There will also be additional entries awarded for the overall winner, the player we vote got the “worst team”, and for gold, silver, and bronze best-painted awards. Painting of models needs to be at least three colors and based in some way.
“Named Characters”: The tradition of named characters in 40k goes back a long way: the difference between any old Ork Warboss and Ghazghkull Thrakka. They might be “epic heroes” now, but we generally know who they are. The following is as comprehensive a list as I could manage of current named characters with official models. And we do ask that players use the official models for these from 40k–no 3D printed or scratchbuilt versions. If they’re somewhat modified that’s okay, but should be recognizable as the official model from GW.
Faction
Named Characters
Space Marines
Chaplain Grimauldus & Retinue; High Marshal Helbrecht; Commander Dante; Mephiston; Lion El’Jonson; Azrael, Supreme Grand Master; Tor Garadon; Iron Father Feirros; Kayvaan Shrike; Adrax Agatone; Salamanders Captain Vulkan He’stan; Kor’sarro Khan; Roboute Guilliman; Marneus Calgar with Victrix Honor Guard; Chief Librarian Tigurius; Captain Uriel Ventris; Ragnar Blackmane; Bjorn the Fell-Handed; Ulrik the Slayer; Murderfang; Njal Stormcaller; Wolf Lord Krom; Logan Grimnar on Stormrider; Arjac Rockfist; Canis Wolfborn;
Grey Knights, Deathwatch, and Imperial Agents
Castellan Crowe; Grand Master Voldus; Lord Kaldor Draigo; Kyria Draxos, Coteaz, Greyfax, Karamazov, Eisenhorn
Adeptus Sororitas
Celestine, the Living Saint; Aestred Thurga, Reliquant at Arms; Morvenn Vahl, Abbess Sanctorum; Daemonifuge Ephrael Stern and Kyganil; Junith Eruita; The Triumph of Saint Katherine; Sister Superior Amalia Novena; Canoness Veridyan
Adeptus Custodes
Talons of the Emperor Valerian and Aleya; Captain-General Trajann Valoris
Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Knights
Belisarius Cawl; Canis Rex
Astra Militarum
Lord Castellan Ursula Creed; Gaunt’s Ghosts; Nork Deddog; Lord Solar Leontus; Seargent Harker; Sly Marbo; Colonel “Iron Hand” Straken
Chaos Daemons
Be’lakor, the Dark Master; The Masque; Skulltaker; Karanak, The Hound of Vengeance; Rotigus; Sloppity Bilepiper; Kairos Fateweaver; Skarbrand; Epidemius; Syll’Esske, The Vengeful Alliance; Horticulous Slimux; The Blue Scribes; The Changeling, Shalaxi Hellbane
Chaos Space Marines, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, and World Eaters
Abaddon the Despoiler; Vashtorr the Arkifane; Fabius Bile; Cypher; Mortarion; Typhus, Herald of the Plague God; Magnus the Red; Ahriman; Angron; Khârn the Betrayer
Aeldari and Drukhari
Maugan Ra; The Visarch; Jain Zar; Eldrad Ulthran; The Yncarne; Yvraine; Fuegan; Asurmen; Karandras; Illic Nightspear; Baharroth; Prince Yriel; Lelith Hesperax; Drazhar
Orks
Boss Snikrot; Boss Zagstruk; Ghazghkull Thraka and Makari; Kaptin Badrukk; Mad Dok Grotsnik; Mozrog Skragbad; Zodgrod Wortsnagga
Leagues of Votann
Kâhl; Ûthar the Destined
Necrons
Imotekh the Stormlord; Orikan the Diviner; Illuminor Szeras; Trazyn the Infinite; Anrakyr the Traveler; Vargard Obyron; Nemesor Zahndrekh
Also, some “named” characters actually appear all over (e.g. the Swarmlord, Avatar of Khaine) so those are out. If there are any I’ve missed, let me know and I’ll add to the list. Likewise if any of these have lost rules for 10th edition.
This one is mostly just a painting update. I added a few things to my Death Guard Army, which has been a fair amount of fun to balance the Necron madness. Given that we are long-term planning for an Invasion of Terra 2 scenario in the Fall, I’m definitely putting energy into all things Chaos right now. And that meant expanding the Death Guard a bit more currently. There’s a ton of Death Guard in our local group, so it’s perhaps not ideal to be adding there for purposes of the grand invasion in the fall, but felt good to be painting things!
Another 10 Poxwalkers for Nurgle’s shambling hordes. These guys always look good, and I put far too much time into them for chaff that dies so fast hah.
Death Guard Sorcerer in Terminator Armor. Was good for working out how I’ll be doing the Deathshroud that are on my to-do list. Pretty fun conversion.
Two Termite Drills. These are from a Mantic kit, which is pretty good look and similar to the Forge World versions, at a far more manageable price (and easier-to-work-with materials). Cutting the one in half for the TMNT-like “Shredder’s Arrival” pose was a bit of challenge, but it turned out really well I felt.
So that’s a fair bit more of Death Guard ready to go. Got a few games in with them alongside some of the Necron games I got in. Has been really good to get back into gaming. Definitely lights the fires of the hobby!
Marvel Corner
Painted up Rocket Raccoon. I’m pretty pleased with his suit (did the Avengers Endgame white panels with red) and his gun, maybe less so his fur. But glad he’s done, and got in two games with him on the table–where he certainly did work.
On a bit of a whim, I took a bit of a drive down for a Saturday in Latrobe, Pennsylvania to a Steamroller tournament at SCG Hobby. With my recent change to Skorne for the Company of Iron campaign at Drawbridge, I was itching to try all the newer stuff I’ve completed for my Trollbloods that I haven’t really had out on the table much. Of course, a nice competitive Steamroller is the perfect spot to run a brand new warcaster to me (Doomshaper2) with an odd sort of list. So why not do it? My other list was a Jarl Skuld speedy infantry list variant that I’m pretty familiar with. I just wasn’t going to tell my opponents that I intended to play Doomshaper2 in every match just to get practice.
The list is probably an abomination: Doomshaper2 with two Dire Troll Blitzers, an Earthborn Dire Troll, a Troll Bouncer, a Troll Impaler, a unit of Pyg Bushwhackers with Officer and Mortar UA, a unit of Trollkin Scouts that were the client of a Trollkin Sorcerer, Janissa Stonetide, and some Whelps. The list was Company of Iron stuff plus some pieces I’ve been wanting to try with Doomshaper2, and ended up to be rather Frankenstein-ish to be honest.
So here’s how it went:
The first match I completely forgot to take photos of my opponent Rob’s beautifully painted Retribution army. He fielded Adeptis Rahn, with a list chock-full of Battle Mages. So much pushing and pulling–one Dire Troll Blitzer was dragged about 8 inches forward, then pushed back about (without a single knockdown, luckily). It started to get grave pretty quick, as he got ahead on scenario points by clearing one of the zones. So I had to go for a pretty low-chance assassination. A Dire Troll Blitzer got pretty deep, got a fair number of shots on Rahn (that actually hit), and followed with some Primal Shock action from Doomshaper. While some landed and damaged, it would have taken pretty hot dice rather than my decidedly lukewarm rolls to get the job done. Great opponent and fun game, and taught me some initial lessons about running Doomshaper2 to be sure.
My second match was against Les’ Circle Orboros force–a beast-heavy list led by Kromac.
My list on their side of the battlefield. I was hoping that the Sorcerer could do some work by shutting off Pathfinder–hoping to catch his forces on one side of that center lake with the Sorcerer doing his thing on the far side. Alas, that was hardly what happened.
I lost the Earthborn to the Ghetorix, as Kromac’s ability to get beasts deep and everywhere is just amazing. Sensing the jaws closing again, it was time for another attempt at ill-advised assassination run. Kromac was close enough that my Dire Trolls Blitzers could get some shots on him, and then Doomshaper2 could potentially Primal Shock from the closer one. I did just that, but Dire Troll Blitzers are just terribly awful shots who need to boost too often. Because of that, the hits didn’t quite do enough damage… leaving him able to simply take some of the hits and not transfer, so that as I worked through the couple of transfers I was left without a way to finish the job. He quickly killed Doomshaper2 in return to end the game.
Third game was against Bill’s Mercenary-heavy Caine2 list. I felt like I had a decent shot against this list, as long as I could build my defensive fortress for Doomshaper2 each turn closer to Caine2, I could eventually launch a feat-driven assassination into him to finish him off.
My forces arrayed with a refused flank, ready for the wall of troll warbeast meat to advance right into the enemy guns.
This was probably my best-played game of the tourney. I did a few good things, and felt like I started to get better use out of my two Dire Troll Blizters (not just saving them to be assassination threats). They needed to get work done, and that meant getting situations against multiple targets where they could shoot and swing (and snack).
That said, it all went astray on the bottom of the third turn. I had a good wall against Caine2 (big bodies, stone wall from Janissa, Bouncer close by with Bump up). But there was a slight gap on the side… and Caine2 was too close (as I was intending). He got a move to the line, so the feat just shot me down. Doomshaper2 does not have the ability to stand up against him. I realized I should have had the trolls up, and Doomie2 much further back with the Bouncer and Impaler doing his screening. Too much Madrak2 and Jarl in my Trollbloods experience–they can get a fair amount closer to the foe and be okay. Doomshaper2? Not so much.
All in all a fun event. I was good playing three brand new players, and I got a crash course in what makes Doomshaper2 tick (and not tick). Primal Shock in particular is not nearly what I thought it would be in planning the army, mostly due to order of operations. Warbeasts cannot use the feat movement to advance into amazing spots for the spell, as they cannot go in the middle of the Warlock’s turn. Still, I’m liking some of what Doomshaper2 can do–and with more practice I hope to improve on him a fair amount.
My second match was against Les’ Circle Orboros force–a beast-heavy list led by Kromac.
My list on their side of the battlefield. I was hoping that the Sorcerer could do some work by shutting off Pathfinder–hoping to catch his forces on one side of that center lake with the Sorcerer doing his thing on the far side. Alas, that was hardly what happened. 
I lost the Earthborn to the Ghetorix, as Kromac’s ability to get beasts deep and everywhere is just amazing. Sensing the jaws closing again, it was time for another attempt at ill-advised assassination run. Kromac was close enough that my Dire Trolls Blitzers could get some shots on him, and then Doomshaper2 could potentially Primal Shock from the closer one. I did just that, but Dire Troll Blitzers are just terribly awful shots who need to boost too often. Because of that, the hits didn’t quite do enough damage… leaving him able to simply take some of the hits and not transfer, so that as I worked through the couple of transfers I was left without a way to finish the job. He quickly killed Doomshaper2 in return to end the game. 
Third game was against Bill’s Mercenary-heavy Caine2 list. I felt like I had a decent shot against this list, as long as I could build my defensive fortress for Doomshaper2 each turn closer to Caine2, I could eventually launch a feat-driven assassination into him to finish him off. 
My forces arrayed with a refused flank, ready for the wall of troll warbeast meat to advance right into the enemy guns. 
This was probably my best-played game of the tourney. I did a few good things, and felt like I started to get better use out of my two Dire Troll Blizters (not just saving them to be assassination threats). They needed to get work done, and that meant getting situations against multiple targets where they could shoot and swing (and snack). 
Red Ones Go Faster 