Category: Warhammer 40k

Knight Night Fight Night 5: Tag Teams Minis

A new year, and once again we’re cooking up 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 5th incarnation, and we’re having some fun with the format. We’ve gone big, now time to go mini–in the great tradition of Mascarida Sagrada and Sky Low Low. Instead of big Knights we’ll be doing the smaller classes of stuff just like “Minis” wrestling promotions. It will be taking place on Thursday, January 15th, 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! Given they’re small we’re doing this one in Tag Team mode again. Players can either field two models themselves, or two players can team up as a Tag Team.

Event Rules

Teams of two models (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–this one will have some notable terrain features to keep it interesting. 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. See the list at the bottom of this post, but can be summarized as “roughly dreadnaught-sized and walks on two legs.”

To start the event, all teams will have the points of the two models in their team calculated. The highest two points total teams will have their models start in the ring. After each round, the next two teams in points are added to the ring (making their grand entrances, with entrance music if so desired).

Every round of combat all participant models 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 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 models 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 model 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). That can be one’s own roll or an opponent’s. 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 (regular, not reduced wounds penalty) to try and take an opponent with them, 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 model 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 75% of its normal wounds characteristic (rounding up). 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 new models for the event.

Tag Team: Players can choose to field two models from the following lists, or bring one model 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 model limit you. Come and have fun and game with new and old folks in the community alike. Activations are separate by model, but victory goes to the team (even if one of the team member models has been eliminated). And we’ll have an extra model with rules on hand in case we have uneven numbers to make certain all who show up can join in the fun.

Model Options and Choices

Minis Options: Players can choose any models from the following lists of roughly dreadnaught-sized, walks on two legs, models. Chosen from their 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 model will be used. These are vanilla versions of the data sheets folks. If I missed anything definitely message me and we can expand the list.

Space Marines	Redemptor, Invictor, Ballistus, Brutalis, Venerable Dreadnaught, Murderfang, Bjorn the Fell-Handed, Death Company Dreadnaught
Imperial Guard	Sentinels*
Adeptus Mechanicus	Ironstrider Ballistarius, Sydonian Dragoon, Kastelan Robots**
Imperial Knights	Armigers
Adeptus Sororitas	Mortifiers, Penitent Engines
Adeptus Custodes	Contemptors, Telemon
Grey Knights	Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight, Nemesis Dreadknight, Venerable Dreadnaught
Chaos Space Marines	Hellbrute
Death Guard	Hellbrute
Thousand Sons	Hellbrute
World Eaters	Hellbrute
Chaos Knights	Wardogs
Orks	Deff Dredd, Killa Kans***
T’au Empire	Riptide, Ghostkeel, Broadsides*
Aeldari	War Walker*, Wraithlord
Drukhari	Cronos, Talos
Tyranids	Carnifex, Screamer-Killer, Old One Eye
Necrons	Canoptek Doomstalker**, Canoptek Reanimator**

*Given these are the very lightest of walker vehicles, an additional third model in the tag team is permitted if all are marked with a single asterisk

**Kastelan Robots must be a tag team of two. They cannot be individually taken, and cannot join another tag team. However, they get the inclusion of their “manager” the Cybernetica Datasmith, who accompanies one of the two robots (and can swap to the other one as long as he doesn’t ever end a move action outside of 2” of a friendly Kastellan). The manager is just killed if killed (no roll on the “out of the ring” chart), but this team is not out of the battle until the manager is killed as well.

*** Orks don’t count so well, so players can take one unit of three Killa Kans as their tag team entry. Single Kans cannot be chosen.

****Yes these violate the two legs option, but we’re including them

Sorry Emperor’s Children, Genestealer Cults, and Leagues of Votann. You have to sit this one out as far as I can tell.

Loota Island: Orktober 2025

It’s time for the month of Ork-tober 2025 at Drawbridge Games. And we’ve got some fun planned with a month-long event that culminates in an all-day (and maybe much of the night) Mega-Battle on November 1st–which happens to be the Extra Life charity fundraiser day this year. We’re calling the whole thing “Loota Island” and there are going to be a lot of ways for players to participate, from painting to skirmish battles to the big event.

This Orktober we’ll be telling the tale of Loota Island, an Ork invasion of an Imperial Planet that gets supported by some Xenos races cooperating owing to the mass threat of the Orks.

(Don’t worry Chaos folks, a Daemon-cember event will happen again this year and be your change to field some forces; and Tanksgiving will be a time for any and all forces to be a part of one of our big events).

There will be two phases: the building (painting) and loota raids phase, and then the final invasion mega-battle. Participants can field any type of Orks army they like if they want to play on the Orks side, and can choose any of the following to fight on the Imperials+Helpful Xenos side: Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, Adeptus Mechanicus, Adeptus Custodes, Imperial Knights, Imperial Agents, Astra Militarium, Genestealer Cults, Leagues of Votann, T’au Empire, Aledari, and Drukhari.

Participation in various events gives players chances at entry for the prize draw done on the final day at Drawbridge, done in our usual door prize style.

The Loota Raids – Month of Orktober

During the month of Orktober, participants can earn draws in the final drawing in three ways: Painting Progress, playing Loota Raid skirmish missions, and converting (and painting) Looted Vehicles.

For those playing Orks, every squad of Ork infantry (between 3-12 models depending on the box set) that you newly paint during the month of Orktober earns you a draw. Post a pic of the squad assembled/primed either in the store 40k Painting Chat or the Painting section of the Discord, then a pic of the final painted squad.

For those not playing Orks, you get a draw for every vehicle you newly paint during the month of Orktober. Same rules apply: share a before and an after pic to get your draws counted (I’ll track them here on this site).

Players can also do a Loota Raid skirmish mission. This is designed to be a small number of points, and entirely infantry units except for one vehicle on the non-Ork side. Players should discuss points value and match each others’ points as well as they’re able. We recommend no more than 300 points per side of Infantry (the vehicle can be any points value). Players need not field any characters to lead the force, and any characters used cannot be more than 3 wounds.

The scenario runs 5 rounds. The deployment map is below, and uses a smaller board size (36″x36″). If the Ork player fields any Kommandos they can be placed in the advanced zone indicated upon deployment.

For the purposes of this mission each model in the unit acts as it’s own unit with separate activations. Think like Kill Team. If the unit has one-use upgrades like Bomb Squigs, those go with a specific model and can only be used by that model. This also includes deployment, so models from the same unit can be spread out all over the battle area as desired. The limitation of not deploying within 9″ of an enemy model is reduced in this mission–models cannot be deployed within 6″ of an enemy model. The defending player deploys a model first and then sides alternate placing models until all are deployed. Models may be placed in reserve as normal with any rules they have. Players then roll off for first turn.

The vehicle begins in the control of the non-Ork defender, but is not “active” at the start of the game. Starting round 2 onward the player can try to “activate” the vehicle by rolling a d6 at the end of the command phase. On turns 2 and 3 the vehicle starts on a 6. Turn 4 it starts on a 5. Turn 5 it starts on a 3. Once a vehicle is activated it can fight as normal in the battle. However, the Ork player can also seize the vehicle. If there is no enemy model within 1″ of the vehicle, an Ork model within 1″ of the vehicle can take an action during the shooting phase instead of shooting to try and commandeer it. They roll a d6. On a 4+ they take control and activate the vehicle (it cannot charge during that turn’s charge phase). The Ork model can commandeer an activated vehicle as well. If the Ork model inflicts 1 or more unsaved wounds on an activated vehicle in melee, then they can roll a d6. On a 6 they get inside and manage to take control. A vehicle under Ork control uses it’s normal stats but replaces all ballistic still values with a 5+, and it loses any special qualities of a vehicle that would come from the nature of the crew of the vehicle (players should agree in advance what those are), and adjust any special rules that mention buffing one’s own army to count for the Orks. If the vehicle is destroyed by either side leave it on the table–it becomes a wreck and counts as impassible terrain for the rest of the game.

The game is a victory for the Orks if they control the vehicle at the end of the game. It’s a narrow victory for the Orks if the vehicle is destroyed (by either side) but no enemy models remain within 12″ of the vehicle at the end of the game. It’s a draw if the vehicle is destroyed (by either side) and enemy models are within 12″ of the vehicle. It’s a victory for the non-Orks if they control the vehicle at the end of the game. Also, note that this mission is likely to be very random and silly, so don’t take it too seriously–and if something is funky and not working right, agree with your opponent how to handle it and focus on having fun.

Playing the mission gains each player one draw in the final drawing. Update the organizers (Andrew) when a game has been played so we can keep track.

If the Ork player gets a victory or a narrow victory they then have the option to “loot” that vehicle for the Extra Life game. The player should acquire their own kit of that vehicle, convert it to a suitably Ork-y version (I encourage thinking about what Ork model it might proxy as, and having those weapon options present too). If they field it at the Extra Life game then it can use the Looted Vehicle rule for the event, and operate with the same rules as the vehicle would normally have except with a 5+ ballistic skill, and would again lose any rules that are dependent upon the nature of the crew (confirm with the organizers). Fielding a vehicle looted in this way nets an Ork player 5 draws in the prize drawing (as winning, then converting, then painting is a big undertaking!).

The Extra Life Invashun Extravaganza

More details on the big event will follow when we get closer to it, but here are the basics. Extra Life is a 24-hour gaming marathon where players can donate money to the Extra Life charity (through the sponsor Drawbridge) for minor advantages in games like re-rolls. It’s a great charity event and Drawbridge has raised thousands of dollars for various charities in the city as a part of it in prior years.

We won’t do a full 24 hours, but we intend to do a pretty long time for the event. The games will be drop-in, drop-out, with an island defended by Imperial forces with contingents of “good” Xenos assisting them being invaded by a flotilla of Ork attackers from both sides. There will be rules for returning destroyed models to play, and players can join for as long or as little as they would like through the day and evening (and maybe early morning). Players can earn draws in the final prize drawing for participating in the event as an Ork player, for participating as an Imperial or Xenos player, and for event-specific missions: every player will get a randomly assigned mission card detailing what they need to do during the mega battle to get their extra draws.

It should be silly fun as always, and we’ll have the full list of how players join, what the possible missions are, and how donations to the Extra Life cause can be used for in-game bonuses. We’ll do the drawing at the end of the event, and participants do not need to be present to win (so even if you cannot make the big event, you can still paint to get draws or play the Loota Raid mission).

So mark November 1st on your calendars to attend during the day and/or evening, and in the meantime get those models built and ready to paint for the month of Orktober!

Ork players please do inform the organizers (Andrew) that you’re planning to play Orks for the event so we can have a good list of who is able to bring what for the event (as we’ll match the size of what forces the Imperials+Xenos side can bring based around our Ork presence). Ork collaborators will get a bonus draw in the drawing, and two draws if they do at least 300 points of Ork infantry new for Orktober (to play the Loota Raid mission!).

Armageddon at Drawbridge Gate – Week Three

Another week in, and another great set of games (at least 26 games played by people–and a few that may not have been reported in time) at Drawbridge for our Armageddon at Drawbridge Gate Crusade campaign. Here’s the current official map of territories held–right now Imperials, Chaos, and Xenos: Order (Aeldari) have won enough games to establish themselves on the map. Currently the holdings are on the planet Ponte Levatoio, but don’t worry–the other forces are likely to secure the other system planet Drifblú soon enough.

Here is the Campaign HQ update from this week with the Tyranids’ point of view about the conflict, as well as the update on units, great shots of games in action, and the mission for next week (Empyric Distortion). It is the first time that Unbound Units will be joining the action, so I’m excited to see how that goes.

And below is the still with the info for the mission for the week. The Warp “Drawbridge” between the planets is being affected by Tyranid synapse Shadow-in-the-Warp projection, causing massive screens of Warp Energy to divide battlefields and frustrate combatants–all while new creatures clamor onto the battlefield.

Finally, there is a new set of submission links for games starting this week. This will help me keep things much more clearly organized, so thanks for your patience with the multiple forms.

The first is the link to submit Battle Results: https://forms.gle/S9AxYy5V5rcpY43b8

This second is the link to submit units that gain Battle Scars or Battle Traits: https://forms.gle/efSRLL5zF632sjACA

Enjoy the next set of games, and keep the energy rolling! I’m excited about the momentum we’ve got.

Eternal Battle at Drawbridge Gulf (for Extra Life)

So every year Drawbridge Games helps support the Extra Life charity: a window of 24 hours of gaming and fund-raising fun. This year I’m running an event as part of Extra Life, which will be the Eternal Battle at Drawbridge Gulf. It’s a bring-and-play event, and we’re hoping to get as many total points having hit the table as possible during the course of the very long day, to clash in one big 40k game.

Date and Time: November 2nd through 3rd is when the Extra Life game day happens in 2024. At Drawbridge we’ll be running the Eternal Battle 40k game from 8am on the 2nd to 3am on the 3rd. Not the full 24 hours but we’re old. Players can show up at any timing that is convenient to them: I’d love to have folks there for the whole stretch with me, but if you can only show for an hour, that’s of course welcome too.

Game Flow: The game will be one continuous game of Warhammer 40k, where each side’s turn is one hour exactly. We’ll stick to the clock on this pretty strongly, and there are times for a break for both lunch and dinner.

This will use the logic that the Mordian Glory Youtube channel uses for their mega battles: where there may be more points on the table than get used in any given turn, but it represents the units closest to the fighting getting involved. We’ll also have a lot of roadways that can allow models to cover more distance on a turn to place them close to the action for the following turn’s engagement. Each side will have a set of objectives they’re trying to accomplish during the day, and those objectives can change as the game progresses depending on what terrain features the sides decide to explore (to ensure that one side is not immediately just “oh we lost”).

Armies and “Eternal”: There will be two broad sides for this battle, and as players step in and out they can join the appropriate side. That might mean that at times there may be disparities in numbers between the sides, and that’s just fine. As part of the trick to this is that units are all eternal. Once they are destroyed, in their player’s next movement phase the models can be deployed again on the battlefield–and count toward our points totals for the full event. That means that players can join in and have fun whether they are bringing a huge force or just a Combat Patrol worth of models. When players arrive they’ll be placed on a side given the faction they brought and/or the balance of play. Ideally we’ll have the forces line up as follows (note the groups that can be for either side).

We encourage players to bring as many points as they wish to in order to make this a pretty damn epic game, but try to stay within one faction (with some flexibility for units from a closely-allied faction, like a couple of Imperial Knights joining with a larger Blood Angels force). We do ask that people play things as close to WYSIWYG as is possible just to keep confusion at a minimum across so many players and a long day of play. Legends models are allowed as long as they are the GW sculpts of those models.

Extra Life Effects: One of the fun things about Extra Life is that players can make donations to gain extra game benefits. As it’s about the fund-raising ultimately we wanted these to be useful in game.

Other Miscellaneous Notes: All models utilized must be painted to at least three colors, and based is strongly encouraged. Command Points are not used just to keep the battle flowing smooth as we can, so donations are the only way to use Strategems. Please have a roster sheet handy (even if on scratch paper), so when units join the battle or re-join the battle I can update the total participating points total. Also make sure you’ve got a durable source of rules (or a charger if you’re using an electronic source). If you’ve got one-use model rules those things reset if the unit is destroyed and brought back. If you have one-use army-wide rules (like Waaagh) then you can use that rule twice during the game (once in rounds one through four, and once in rounds five through eight).

Orktober 2025 – Drawbridge Games

So it’s already July, which means it’s the perfect time to look forward to Orktober at Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, PA. Previous Octobers we’ve done different Ork-themed events at the game store: wacky races, mega-battles, and even a “how many Grots can your vehicle or monster kill” game.

Thursday, October 24th we’ll do a mega-battle game we’re calling Survive the Green Tide: players will bring a smaller-sized force and see how long they can survive and what they can take down against a massive (and recycling) horde of Orks that rush forward and fire indiscriminately… which is no different than usual.

Survive the Green Tide

Players can choose to be on the Ork side and join us GM’s (if they bring Orks) or the player side (anything else). For player-side players, they will each bring a small force of 750 points*, chosen as normal. The Orks will deploy on one side of a massive table, the players on the other side. The goal of the game is to see how long the players survive against the relentless Ork push, as well as what all they manage to take down in the process.

A prize pool will exist for this one, and draws will be added for number of rounds survived, as well as for eliminating the biggest and most units. That means entries for things like most points killed, biggest models killed, most Ork boyz killed, etc. The full list will be provided at the event–players will get kill count tracking sheets for that purpose. Balanced forces may be able to score lots of points, but also specialized boyz killers or tank killers could ensure they win specific things. And survivable units may also be the key. Enter and find out.

As a bonus, players on the non-Ork side can loot their own vehicle for the Orks to includd in their throng. It will use all the rules for the vehicle as normal, except it’s Ballistic Skill will be a 5+ for all weapons (regardless of modifiers like Heavy or other special rules). Players will also get a bonus draw in this big game if they manage to kill the model they made (run by their Ork opponents of course).

Ork players should contact Andrew and Rico to register their interest, and get a sense of how we’ll be handling the battle on the Orks side.

All models must be painted (meaningful attempt) and based to be utilized.

* Note that depending on total amount of Orks available and anticipated number of players, that number may grow or shrink. Our best estimate is that all will be able to field 750 and it’ll work out. But keep in mind we might adjust when we get closer to the timing!

Legends of Drawbridge – Campaign One

Forge the story of your own 40k character, and have them enshrined in Drawbridge Games lore. The Legends of Drawbridge campaign is beginning.

This campaign is a set of simple rules to motivate games amongst all 40k players at Drawbridge, and allow us to record our conquests, reward our army HQ’s and players alike, and generate a “Hall of Heroes” to commemorate the campaign. All Drawbridge members are welcome to join in the fun and story-building together.

The campaign focuses on character models, in particular the “generic” character models that each army has, where players can put their own specific spin on them. Could be just naming them and developing a story through games played, tho also conversions and fun modeling projects are welcome. The sections below will detail the campaign rules and the “hall of heroes” rules.

Campaign

The campaign focuses on battles for control of a nebula that divides some Imperial worlds, nicknamed “the Drawbridge Gulf” after the defensive technology on Terra in ages past. Imperial settlements founded the sector: a clustered set of planets composed of two Hive worlds, a Shrine world, a Forge World, and then an Agri-planet across the gulf. But all the other factions have converged fighting forces in the area to try and wrest control of the Drawbridge Gulf. May be out of spite (Chaos), conquest (Tyranids), Lootin’ (Orks), freedom (a Genestealer Cult on one of the Hive Worlds), safety (Aeldari and Drukhari joint raids from a Craftworld), peace (T’au), knowledge (Votann), or just the simple quiet of all life being destroyed (Necrons).

This map will be used to represent the flow of battles between the varied factions. Players can play battles against any other factions, tho we generally encourage only fluff-appropriate clashes (tho even then, rival branches of hive fleets clash and sometimes disagreements happen between Space Marine chapters). As the campaign goes, wins by faction will increase the size of their influence, and loss by faction will decrease the size of their influence. That will determine who is dominating the system–and set up the sides for the culminating mega battle we’ll do to cap the campaign this summer.

Players can connect with each other through the Drawbridge social media connections and chats, the discord server, or just plain saying “hey” at the store (Wednesday and Thursday nights and weekend days tend to be most popular for 40k).

Battles should be generated using the Leviathan mission deck, and can be any points level the players agree upon.

After players have finished a game, each can submit a report using this link (https://forms.gle/vBKm4p3Gm7cNfnx18) with the info about the results to help track the progress overall, and to the track the successes and failures of their Rising Legend character from the force (see below).

Hall of Heroes

The main “campaign” element of this is the advancement of the heroes who lead your forces. These must be characters of your own invention, having a specific name you’ve given them (tell their story!). If you want to use a “named character” from 40k that you’ve heavily converted to be your own, that’s allowable as long as the model is converted somewhat for that purpose. If the characters come with a unit (e.g. Astra Militarum Command Squad or a Votann Grimnyr) then the player can choose to name and add the story of the entire unit. These characters will be referred to as “Rising Legends”.

Each time you play a battle where your Rising Legend is fielded, keep track of the following: whether their force wins or loses, whether they were removed from play as a casualty or ended the battle still on the table, and what all units they engaged in combat with (shot at, was shot by, melee’d with, or otherwise faced off in dramatic way). You can then report this in the reporting link shared above.

Once a Rising Legend has participated in three battles, we’ll arrange to take a good photo of the model and they will be included in the “Hall of Heroes” for the campaign. Hall of Heroes characters need to be painted and based for this reason, but it can be whatever level of painting (no judgement, we just want to commemorate them!). For every two subsequent battles where the character takes the field, they will then unlock a Special Leader Ability to affect games representing their mastery of the battlefield. These are designed to be fun and fluffy abilities, that have a bit of an effect on the battlefield but more represent ways to challenge modification and storytelling about the character.

We’ll have a dedicated page on this blog detailing the Hall of Heroes, all the Legends of Drawbridge, including: a short backstory and in-campaign history, attribution to you as a player, and notes about what their special abilities are for our campaign games so it’s all visible to players. My hope is that this system gives us good incentives for playing the games and telling the tales of our battles together, and building a shared narrative for the Drawbridge community about some of the most notable Legends to walk these tables.

And when we’re done, if people really put time and effort into this one, I’ll be making a big high-quality poster with photos of all the Hall of Heroes Legends and your names to hang on the walls of Drawbridge to commemorate them and their battles.

Special Leader Abilities

This list will be growing as we go, so if there is something you think would be cool to add you can let me know and I’ll see about including it. These things should be characterful and flavorful, but not game-breaking. The idea is a fun way to enhance the “way” that your character leads their forces. Do they form the tip of the spear or lead from the back? Have they suffered a number of defeats and doggedly fight on with scars, or do they move across battlefields with un-touched destructive grace?

Master Tactician	This character knows how to command a battlefield, and keep the battle flowing in an advantageous direction.	Once per game, upon drawing a secondary mission card, if this character is not yet removed as a casualty then that secondary mission card can be discarded and a new one drawn immediately to replace it.
Signature Transport	This character always arrives at the battle in their signature vehicle, which their warriors recognize and respect.	When this model is embarked in a dedicated transport vehicle, that vehicle counts as them for purposes of conveying rules to other models (e.g. if they buff nearby models, that buff works from the vehicle) or rules that work if they are on the battlefield.
Advanced Senses	Whether via a scanning device or heightened senses (biomorph, daemonic), this character can spot the weak points of opposing forces	Once per game, when nominated to shoot or fight in melee, this model can declare it’s using its advanced senses. For that phase’s attacks the model can ignore any modifiers to dice rolls that they wish.
Advanced Armoring	A variety of sources (better equipment, defensive plating, new chitinous growths), but they all function the same: this character is more difficult to kill.	Once per game this model may re-roll one failed Armor or Invulnerable saving throw
Assistant, Lackey, Adjutant, or Crony	This character gains a companion to assist it on the battlefield. Assistants help with logistics and medical treatments. Lackeys bear useful equipment and extra ammo. Adjutants support their command. Cronies do their dirty work.	This model gains an additional companion model. The model is treated like other “marker” models (e.g. bomb squigs). They confer a once-per-game effect and are removed from the game when they are used. They must be on the battlefield to use the ability, and they are removed from play if the Leader they are attached to is killed. They have the following effect based around their type: Assistant: Restore one lost wound to the character (cannot be used on a model reduced to zero wounds) Lackey: Re-roll either one to-hit or one to-wound roll with a ranged weapon Adjutant: Immediately remove the Battle-Shocked condition from a unit within 24” of the leader Crony: At the start of the combat phase, immediately inflict one mortal wound on an opposing unit within 1” of the leader model Note: This must be represented by a model custom-built to be this add-on for this character.
Operational Protection	Whether interference fields or air support, this character is able to prevent enemies from surprising them and the core of their force	Enemy models arriving from reserve, deep strike, or any other placement method, cannot be placed within 12” of this character (rather than the usual 9”, and this also means models that normally could deploy closer also cannot).
Favored Terrain	This character has a knack for picking good spots for a fight	After terrain has been set up, deployment zones decided, and objective markers placed, but before armies are deployed, if this character is on the battlefield the player controlling it can change the location of one piece of terrain. Roll 2d6 and move the piece in any direction up to that many inches.
Fleet Command	This character has close connections to the air assets available to it.	Aircraft models in this character’s army can deploy on the board during deployment (rather than being forced to be in reserves).
Grudge Against ____	This character bears a grudge against an opposing faction commander it has faced multiple times.	This character gains the “Precision” key word for all attacks that target a specific opposing Rising Leader’s unit. In addition, it can re-reroll one to-hit roll against that Rising Leader once per game. And it can also re-roll one to-wound roll against that Rising Leader once per game. Note: This can only be selected if you’ve faced the same opponent’s Rising Leader twice, and it gets affixed to that specific Rising Leader for the rest of the campaign.
Make Way for the Real Boss	This character has been just a lieutenant, or their force has only been a feint that allows the real threat to emerge. The real commander is about to hit the battlefields of the Drawbridge Gulf sector.	This one is a bit more meta to the campaign than the others. It allows a Rising Legend to be retired and replaced with a different model. When selecting, this model is removed from the Hall of Heroes. A new Rising Leader is conveyed to the campaign organizers, and they are treated as if they have participated in three games and thus get added to the Hall of Heroes. This is so that people who change their minds amidst a campaign or want to bring a different sort of model later on when they develop a larger force (or just decide on a cool conversion) can do so. It’s a way of trading a Rising Legend with more battles played for a new model to be one’s inclusion in the Hall of Heroes.

NOTE: If any of these end up being broken or abusable, we reserve the right to adjust them accordingly (and the Rising Legend can choose a different ability or the revised version in that case).

Legends of the Siege – Campaign Play and First Phase Games

Hi Drawbridge gamers! So my last post teased that at Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, PA we’re doing a big map campaign to re-fight the Siege of Terra, and that I was recruiting “Leads” to organize the various factions. This post has the first battles that we’ll arrange, as well as the guidelines for what makes this a campaign not just for the store (the progress over the map), but for each participant. Get ready to forge your own Legend of the Siege of Terra: whether one of the Emperor’s staunchest allies, or one of Chaos’ most deadly warriors.

First Phase Battles

Given the Factions that we have represented and the Chaos plan to take at least one Space Port to begin landings of forces in earnest, the following types battle sites are up for conflict in the first window of play. Players can arrange games using any of the types of forces present as listed in each conflict during this point of the campaign (and you’ll see it’s a pretty wide array in most cases). When players submit results that will affect the overall progress in each zone based mostly around what they are fielding in the game–this represents the fact that battles were flowing all over Himalaysia and the varied sites of the palace in the Chaos (pun intended) of Horus’ first landings. The results will affect the first advances on the map. There are some special mission parameters you’ll note as part of these first games, based around some of the initial battles of the Siege of Terra: wave attacks under bombardment cover against air defenses, drop groups of assault troops trying to take Space Ports, and conflict over the Third Wall trench emplacements at the very edge of the Imperial Aegis. Players should choose one of the three types of encounters, and build their scenario based around the very loose requirements as listed below. If anyone is interested in including a game of Aeronautica Imperialis let me know and I’ll do up missions for those (and play them with ya).

Rushing Air Defenses: Can be 40k, 30k, or Legions Imperialis. Chaos are engaging in massed assault and wave attacks to try and strike under cover of their bombardments (orbital and artillery) to take out even just one air defense emplacement to help them gain a better foothold.

For games of 40k, use the Leviathan deck with the following set-up:

The primary mission is Purge the Foe, but only the “In Every Battle Round” portion–there are no primary vp scored for objective control in this battle. The Mission Rules of Scrambler Fields applies to both forces in this battle, and the Minefields Mission rule applies to the Chaos side. The Chaos Attacker uses the Fixed Secondaries rule and must take Behind Enemy Lines and Storm Hostile Objective. The Imperial Defender uses the Fixed Secondaries rule and uses Assassination and the Defend Stronghold (yes, Defend Stronghold is not normally a fixed objective.. and in this case it scores 3vp at the end of each opponent’s turn after the first battle round–ignore the “or at the end of the battle” line). For deployment use the following layout. The two buildings in the Defender’s deployment zone each should have one objective marker placed at the center of them (for purposes of the Attacker scoring Storm Hostile Objective and the Defender scoring Defend Stronghold).

For games of 30k or Imperialis, do your best to replicate these sort of conditions for the battle using the rules for those systems.

Drop Group Assault: Kill Team. Peturabo’s careful calculations revealed a weakness in the Aegis shields covering the grounds of the Palace, and found ways to overload sections–and deploy aircraft into that space in the moment when it was lifted. This mission represents a group of Chaos attackers who were dropped off by their force landers to cause havoc, and in particular interfere with Imperial command-and-control signals.

This battle should be done with regular industrial Kill Team terrain (representing the access area alongside a relatively open site where the Chaos transport could have landed to drop off the force). It should use Mission 3.3 Master the Terminals from the Core book.

Third Wall Trench Fight: Can be 40k, 30k, Legions Imperialis, or Kill Team. Chaos are engaging the outermost defenses of the Imperial Palace fortifications and are fighting amidst a battlefield tangled with trench lines–trying to grab just as much terrain as they can from each other. The board for this mission should include as much trench-like terrain as can be managed, including lots of line-of-sight blocking elements to simulate attackers making their way through damaged areas.

For games of 40k, use the Leviathan deck with the following set-up:

The Primary Mission is Priority Targets. Both Chaos Attacker and Imperial Defender have the Fixed Secondaries rule, and both use the Engage on All Fronts and Behind Enemy Lines objectives. The Deployment card is Dawn of War.

There is no Mission Rule, but there is the special condition that units with any version of a “sticky objectives” rule (retaining control of an objective after the unit has moved away) do not have that rule for purposes of this battle. You’ve got to cling to the terrain you’re capturing in the trenches.

Again, 30k or Imperialis games should be made similar to the above as best you can with those system rules.

Kill Team battles should be done with the Into the Dark rules (tunnels amidst the trench works). Play mission 2.3 Maze Breakout, with Chaos as the Attacker (they’re trying to break thru the lines).

When you’ve completed one of these battles

Please take a minute to fill out the Drawbridge Siege of Terra results form (I’ll circulate the link on all our channels we communicate with, or just text me and I’ll send it). That will list which mission was played, which factions were involved, which side won, and then any Legends of the Siege information… which if you’re interested in what that is read onward!

“Legend of the Siege” System

The Siege of Terra focuses on the characters at the core of the story, from greats like the Primarchs, Fafnir Rann, and Ezekyle Abaddon, to the most humble or low warriors who yet make a difference, such as Katsuhiro the Guardsman or Azmedi the Beastman. In addition to the battles affecting the map, you can select up to three models that you are seeking to create as Legends of the Siege. They can be named characters (including Primarchs on either side) from the lore or characters of your own invention: in which case they need to have a specific name you’ve given them for your own story purposes. Each player can have at least one of their “characters” be a squad as well to tell that sort of story. Each time you play a battle where that rising Legend is represented (only one per game can be “present”), keep track of the following: whether their force wins or loses, whether they were removed from play as a casualty or ended the battle still on the table, and what all units they engaged in combat with (shot at, was shot by, melee’d with, or otherwise faced off in dramatic way). I’ll be circulating the link to all players to use for submitting battles (as listed above), and at the bottom you will see the spot to record these details. Once a rising Legend has participated in three battles, we’ll arrange to take a good photo of the model and they join the Legends of the Siege proper. For every two subsequent battles where they have a notable moment (group gets to decide if so) they will then unlock a special ability to affect games representing their mastery of the battlefield. There will also be special missions to have the dramatic personae of our stories face off. We’ll have a dedicated page on this blog detailing every Legend of the Siege, a little backstory and in-campaign history, attribution to you as a player, and notes about what their special abilities are for our campaign games. I’d strongly encourage doing up one for each Faction you’re playing in the campaign, and seriously–they can be anything from Primarch to Skitarii Team #294C21.

My hope is that this system gives us good incentives for playing the games and telling the tales of our battles together, and building a shared narrative for the Drawbridge community about some of the most notable Legends to walk these tables. If we like this system, after the Siege of Terra concludes in September/October, I’ll cook up a similar galaxy wide thing where we use a Rising Legends system for all factions writ large (to allow our Xenos fun too!).

And when we’re done, if people really put time and effort into this one, we’ll get a big printed poster made to display at Drawbridge with all the details of the Legends of the Siege to commemorate them there too!

Siege of Terra – Drawbridge 2024

This is the vision for a big set of narratively-driven games between Drawbridge Games players designed to culminate in a couple set-piece mega battles near the end of the year. The campaign will make use of the Horus Heresy board game from Games Workshop (an absolute classic), with the twist that results of battles will determine the outcome of the conflicts on the board. Players can include games of Warhammer 40k, Horus Heresy, Legions Imperialis, Kill Team, and even Aeronautica to affect the outcome of each round of conflicts. Players can also take multiple sides and fill multiple forces (e.g. I may usually fight with my Astra Militarium, but I can also contribute my Nurgle Daemons to a different battle). There will be a “Lead” for each major grouping present in the war, which will be discussed below–their role will be to confer with players to get games played, encouraging painting of forces for their faction, and choosing the movements on the map each round. The goal is to fight a number of games and track them here as the Drawbridge community together builds a heap of forces that all re-fight this most classic story in 40k together. Then we’ll hold (likely in August or September) a huge mega-battle to finish things up with the final massed assault on the walls–followed by a special event where the Emperor and his chosen few do a teleport attack onto Horus’ battle barge to end things once-and-for-all.

Siege of Terra – Initial Landing Location

That’s the initial map of where the Imperial Forces set up (rounded corners and blue borders) and where the Chaos initial invasion forces landed (pointed corners and red borders) plus spots where Imperial Guard Regiments turned traitor and an initial surge of Cultists as well (Chaos’ initial stratagem card played). Here’s the legend:

And lest you think that the Chaos forces have only a few attacking units, don’t forget that they’re trying to create a landing zone to bring down their overwhelming numbers in Orbit. As well as weaken the Emperor’s aegis that prevents a full-scale demonic incursion from the warp.

And yes the close-eyed amongst you: Leagues of Votann will have a role in this too due to the Chaos Squats amidst the Khorne and Nurgle forces.

Faction Leads and Initial Battles

You’ll notice that despite being able to do so, we didn’t start any of the Chaos in spots with Imperial Forces–which would force an immediate battle there. Instead, we’ll round up interested players and put together the database of info of who is playing what, then allow those player numbers decide where the first attacks are launched. Do we have a lot of Death Guard players or Traitor Guard folk? This story will start with the factions present but be ours to tell with what we the players focus on making, painting, and fielding. Players will be assigned specific missions to play with each round and game style, so that everyone can be a part of the telling of this grand tale.

Imperial Faction	Lead	Players
Imperial Guard	Andrew	Dave F., Sean, Tony, MegaBlazeiken
Imperial Fists	Tony	Brian (Imp Fists Templar Brethren)
Blood Angels	Gwen
White Scars
Adeptus Mechanicus	Sean
Loyalist Titan Legions and Knights	Sean	Andrew
Custodes	Colton	Alex, Tony
Arbites
Fortifications and Terrain	Andrew

That’s the Loyalists, now here’s the Chaos Leads:

Chaos Faction	Lead	Players
Sons of Horus
World Eaters	Alex	Enrico
Emperor’s Children		Dave F., Philip (?)
Death Guard	Ron
Thousand Sons	Mike T.
Iron Warriors		Alex
Night Lords
Word Bearers	Ray
Alpha Legion	Alex
Dark Mechanicum	Amos
Traitor Guard and Beastmen		Dave F., Andrew
Chaos Squats (Votann)		Ron
Khorne Daemons
Slaanesh Daemons		Philip (?)
Nurgle Daemons		Andrew
Tzeentch Daemons
Chaos Titan Legions and Knights	Dave F.	Ray
Siege Terrain and Oddities

So first things first. Reach out to me. Let me know what you’d like to field, what you’re willing to field, and what you’d like to work on. This is the perfect opportunity to build a small force for a new faction, or go hog wild on a faction you’ve always wanted to do. As the battles unfold we’ll have special rules, immortalize commanders who distinguish themselves, and just plan have fun sets of games together re-telling the Siege of Terra with our own forces! Even a single unit is welcome to paint up and pair up and be part of the chaos (pun intended). From small forces to massive clashes, we’ll tell some great tales.

Second War for Armageddon – Drawbridge

So we’ve started a big endeavor at Drawbridge Games, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA: re-creating a number of battles amidst the Second War for Armageddon using a combination of Warhammer 40k games plus the map system from the classic Games Workshop board game Battle for Armageddon. For a general intro to what we’re doing, check out this video:

https://youtu.be/20MJFXRmaKU

Campaign

We’ll be using the classic board game to structure what 40k battles we match up as the Second War for Armageddon rages. The units are going to be suggestions for what is present in the various armies when they fight, and are drawn from the set in the game. So we know there will be more assorted things, but if a force has x2 Stormboyz and Gretchin listed, then at the very least those units should hit the table for the 40k game.

As with the board game and the fluff, the Orks get a surprise attack on the first turn of the game. So they’ll get greater numbers in round one battles than their opponents. But, to balance that, the Imperials will hold a fortified position, and the mission objectives will be to break through the Imperial lines.

Orks Turn 1:

The Orks chose to launch their surprise attacks at the following forces along the border: 1) the 2nd Superheavy Tank Division and an Imperial Guard 9th Division, 2) the 4th Tank Division and an Imperial Guard 8th Division, and the creme of the crop, 3) the Imperial Guard 1st Division supported by a 3rd Tank Division. That means there will be three games for turn one, and we’ll shoot to have them completed by early January–as that will give people time to build and paint models for the events as well as just navigate the holiday season best we can. After that, the Imperials will get a chance to decide if they want to counter-attack, reposition, and/or build and recruit new units with their turn one.

Orks	Imperials	Details
3,000 points C+E: Nobz, Snaggas, Orks Infantry, Stompas, Bikes x2	2,000 points X: Superheavy Tanks, Imperial Guard, Fortifications	Breakthru Mission
2,000 points H+L: Battlewagons x2, Stormboyz x3, Gretchin	1,500 points T: Tanks, Imperial Guard, Fortifications	Breakthru Mission
2,000 points N+P: Orks Infantry x3, Nobz, Battlewagons, Stormboyz	1,500 points Q: Tanks, Imperial Guard, Fortifications	Breakthru Mission

Other Fun:

Orks and Imperial players can agree to use each of the following strategems once during the process of the campaign. It takes a majority of the participants on the side to use them, and there will be in-game (40k) effects for each. Some also may require building special models or affect the nature of the battles about to be fought. Those which reference the board game will be adjusted to have an effect on the 40k games.

I’m looking forward to these games, and we’ll be doing video montages of the battles for the recap, that I’ll post on each of the updates here (along with some good photos and updates to the campaign map and order of battle for both sides).

Zodgrod Wortsnagga’s Halloween Monster Mash-n-Gnash

It’s almost ORK-tober yet again, and the various grots and greenskins that inhabit Drawbridge Games in Pittsburgh, PA, USA couldn’t let the month pass by without some sort of holiday event and Ork event! So grab yer squigs and buckle-up for Zodgrod Wortsnagga’s Halloween Monster Mash-n-Gnash!

Timings: Thursday, October 26th at Drawbridge Games. Set-up at 6:30pm, start at 7pm.

What: Zodgrod Wortsnagga is a notorious itinerant Ork Runtherd, who experiments with new methods to try and improve the various goblinoid Gretchin that he breeds for battle. This time he’s trying to cull his herd to get only the fastest and most nimble grots to accompany a band of Blood Axes on a “sneakin’ missun” (as the Warboss who hired him called it). What better way to test that than using a set of captured critters and stolen enemy mechs loaned by the local Mek? Zodgrod decided “why not make some extra teef” and decided to invite the local Ork tribe to bet on the various critters and crunchers for who can mash or gnash the most grots in a set amount of time.

No seriously, what?: The event will be set up surrounding a big Ork fort, where Zodgrod and a crew of Ork gamblers will be watching the mayhem. Gretchin models will be set up all around the board in various spots, and as time goes on additional ones will be added. There will be a series of boxes and crates that hold and restrain the different monsters and clanking dreads. As the event goes on, those boxes will be “opened” one by one to release new creatures onto the board who can then go on a rampage shooting, smashing, and eating the Gretchin. The releases will be randomized amongst all participants. At the start of the event each player will get to put a “wager” on which released critter will destroy the most grots, and players will also get a bonus if their model is the one that kills the most. There will also be a bonus for newly painting the monster you bring, painting 10 grots and a Runtherd to contribute to the mayhem (and squigs), and best painted monster overall. As always with Drawbridge events there will be a random pull for the prizes for the event, so everyone has a chance to win.

Da Roolz: Monsters are drawn from the list below, which covers mostly “ordinary” things that the Orks might have restrained in some way: locked in a crate or stopped from functioning thanks to some nullifier device a particularly inspired Mekboy whipped up. Gretchin will be in small packs, randomly determined in number during placement. As Gretchin get eaten new packs of them will be generated by rolling a d10, and they will enter from a randomized spot (either herded in from the side of the board by Zodgrod’s Runtherd assistants, or pushed out of the bowels of the Ork fort itself). Some of the packs will be accompanied by Squigs, which count as bonus kills for the monsters, but also can cause damage when they’re killed (even ranged attacks–representing the Squig being injured and rushing to maul the thing that did it). Each time a Squig is killed, the Ork controllers (GM’s) will roll a d6. On a 3+ the Squig will inflict d3 mortal wounds on the model that did it. Monsters can also decide to get an advantage by directing their attacks at another monster to slow it down. If they do so, they get a single move action and then can inflict d3 mortal wounds on a nearby other monster (but cannot attack any Gretchin that turn). If a monster reaches 0 wounds it’s time munchin’-and-crunchin’ is done. There will also be a time limit when the game ends.

Da Big Gribblies: The following list is what we’ve decided the Orks could conceivably bind in their relatively crude ways to unleash. If there’s something we’re missing let us know and we can conceivably add it. Also, if anyone is thinking of perhaps doing something more creative (like a WarCry Mindstealer Sphiranx or something) let me know and we’ll let you use it and swap in rules for the closest thing on this list (in that case, clearly a Drukhari Chronos).

Space Marines	Redemptor, Invictor, Leviathan, Deredeo, other Dreadnoughts
Admech	Sydonian Dragoon, Ironstrider Ballistarius
Sisters	Penitent Engine, Mortifier
Imperial Guard	Sentinel
Grey Knights	Venerable Dreadnought
Chaos Space Marines	Venomcrawler, Hellbrute, Daemon Prince (on foot only), Leviathan, Deredeo
Death Guard	Hellbrute, Feotid Bloat Drone, Leviathan, Deredeo, Daemon Prince (on foot only)
World Eaters	Hellbrute, Leviathan, Deredeo, Daemon Prince (on foot only)
Thousand Sons	Hellbrute, Mutalith Vortex Beast, Leviathan, Deredeo, Daemon Prince (on foot only)
Aeldari	Wraithlord, War Walker
Drukhari	Talos, Chronos
Necrons	Canoptek Spyder, Canoptek Doomstalker
Tyranids	Carnifex, Haruspex, Trygon, Toxicrene, Mawlock, Maleceptor, Psychophage, Lictor
Orks	Deff Dread, Killa Kan (x1)
Tau	Ghostkeel

Be Ready for Surprises and Creativity: It wouldn’t be a Halloween event without some tricks and treats, so expect some other Ork wackiness might be revealed as the event goes forward. The point is a good silly time playing with our big monsters and friends.

Prizes: As mentioned above, players will get entries in the drawing for each of the following conditions they meet. 1) Attending. 2) Newly painted “Monster” model they enter. 3) Providing a painted unit of 10 Gretchin and a Runtherd. 4) Newly painting said unit of Gretchin and Runtherd. 5) Providing a set of Squigs to be used in the event. 6) Best painted “Monster”. 7) Correctly betting on the monster that wins 1st/2nd/3rd most kills. 8) Running the Monster that nets the most kills. As for Prizes, as always we’ll have a few good 40k prizes for folks depending on attendance for the event.

RSVP: For this event, because of the “restraint boxes” that we’ll be using, players will need to RSVP in advance by letting Andrew (one of the organizers) know what model they’ll be bringing.

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