Knight Households in Campaigns

Players can field an entire Knight House upon the battlefield, representing the full power of a Household assembled for war. Such an act was a rare occurrence during the Great Crusade but all too common during the Horus Heresy, with entire Knight Households eradicated from the annals of history over the course of a single, bloody campaign. For most purposes, a Knight Household follows all the rules for campaigns presented previously, with any changes to how they operate in a campaign presented here.

Choose a Knight Household

A player who wishes to can choose to field a Knight Household instead of a Titan Legion at the beginning of a campaign. To do so, the player must choose a Knight Household to represent. Each comes with its own set of Knightly Qualities reflecting the differences in traditions and tactics employed by different Knight Households. Once a Knight Household has been chosen, all of the player's Lances must be drawn from this Knight Household - though they may still have Freeblades and may choose the Titan Legion of any supporting Titans they field from the Titan Legions chosen by their allies (i.e., other Loyalist or Traitor players). Rules for Knight Households can be found in Adeptus Titanicus: Doom of Molech and this book.

Choose an Allegiance

At the start of any campaign, every player needs to decide whether they are a Loyalist or a Traitor. There is no restriction on which Knight Household can be either - there being many examples of largely Traitor Households containing elements still loyal to the Emperor and vice versa. At the start of the campaign, there should be roughly equal numbers of Loyalists and Traitors, regardless of whether such players are controlling a Titan Legion or Knight Household. However, during the course of the campaign, players may change sides by betraying their allies, as described on page 199.

Creating a Campaign Roster

In a campaign, players record all of their Knight Banners and Titans on a campaign roster. This allows them to record losses, Crew Experience and other details for their units as they progress through the campaign. When a Knight Banner or Titan is destroyed, remove it from the roster, although in the case of Seneschals and Titan Crews they may survive and can be assigned to a new Knight Banner or Titan respectively, or kept in reserve until a new Knight armour or war machine is ready for them.

At the beginning of the campaign, players will have a certain amount of points with which to build their campaign roster, based upon the agreed Armoury points level. Players using a Knight Household gain an additional 500 Armoury points to represent the greater numbers a House brings to bear in anticipation of the losses they will suffer in a campaign against a Titan Legion. A Knight Household can only have one reinforcement Titan on their roster at the start of a campaign for every three Knight Banners. To build a campaign roster, players should select units, including weapon options for Knight Banners and the number of Knight Scions within each Banner, as if they were creating a Household force for a game. When preparing for a campaign battle, each player then assembles a Household force from the Knight Banners and other units on their campaign roster using the guidelines for Household forces in Matched Play on page 174. Note, when assembling a Household force, a player need not include all of their available units - thus fresh troops may be sent into the fray while damaged units can be taken off the line until they can be replenished.

When creating a campaign roster for a Knight Household, the player may nominate up to two Banners to be led by a Seneschal - this cannot be a Freeblade Banner. During a campaign, a Household can have no more than two Seneschals at any time.

Create a Household Force

Once the players have chosen a mission and determined their objectives, a Knight Household player then creates a Household Force from their Campaign roster up to their chosen points level. This Household Force can include any or all of the units available to the player, provided that it adheres to the Matched Play guidelines, and they may choose from game to game which units under their command they will field. The players will then play the mission.

Each Household Force must be led by a Seneschal, if one is available on the campaign roster. If, for whatever reason, one is not available then the Knight player must nominate a High Scion amongst the Household force to be the commander for the battle. They count as the Seneschal for the purpose of determining objectives and Victory points, but they do not gain any of the Seneschal's special rules nor do they have a Knightly Quality. If they survive the battle, the commanding High Scion automatically becomes a Seneschal - make a note on your campaign roster of this and generate a Knightly Quality.

In Matched Play, a Knight Household force must contain at least one Lance consisting of three Banners. a Lance can be formed from Banners that are drawn from the same Household, following normal restrictions. If, for whatever reason, a player cannot form a legal Lance (e.g., they do not have three Banners from the same Household or can not build a Lance with at least two of the same Banner types), then the player can form a Lance with any Banners on their Campaign roster. If they do this, Knights within that Lance cannot be issued Lance orders nor can they be issued a Coordinated Strike order. In addition, only Knight Banners drawn from the same Household as the Seneschal/High King can benefit from their Knightly Quality.

Knight Commanders

On the battlefield a Knight Household force is commanded by a Seneschal or, in rarer cases, their High King (collectively known as a Knight Commander), while each Lance is led by a High Scion. During the course of a campaign, a Household's campaign roster can contain no more than two Seneschals. When assembling a Knight Household force for a game, only a single Knight Commander can be chosen to lead the force; any excess Banners containing Knight Commanders gain no benefits from special rules or Knight Qualities, and count as High Scions if leading a Lance. When building a Knight Household campaign roster at the start of a campaign, roll for the Experience level of each Knight Commander.

After a game, if a Knight Household has fewer than two Seneschals, a High Scion that survived the battle can ascend to the rank of Seneschal. Note this down on your campaign roster. This new Seneschal has a Knight Experience level of Tested. Only a single High Scion can ascend to the rank of Seneschal after each game.

If a Household Force has no Seneschals and no High Scion survived the battle, the Knight player must choose a Knight Banner that survived from amongst their force to contain a new Seneschal. Note this down on your campaign roster. This Seneschal has a Knight Experience level of Green. If the player has no surviving Banners from their Knight Household then no Seneschal is appointed, and the player must fight the next battle with a High Scion leading, as detailed above.

Salvaging the Battlefield

At the end of an engagement between forces, the battlefield is often littered with gutted war machines and tangled wreckage, where once stood proud god-engines and ranks of Knights. If a player commanding a Knight Household force has active units on the battlefield at the end of the game, they may scavenge the battlefield for armour, weapons and valuable components to repair and replenish their Knight Banners. Each friendly Knight model that was destroyed during the game is worth 20% of its starting value in Armoury points, including any weapons. Note, only the cost of Knight weapons in Armoury points are salvaged, not the weapons themselves - these must be purchased as normal for a new Banner.

A Knight Household may also salvage friendly Titans, gathering valuable parts and returning them to their parent Legio in return for vital supplies. Each friendly Titan that was destroyed during the game is worth 15% of its starting value in Armoury points, not including any weapons. Weapons on a destroyed Titan may be salvaged as long as they were disabled when the Titan fell - these weapons are worth 50% of their starting value.

If a Knight Household player has active units on the battlefield at the end of the game, and their opponent does not, then enemy Knight Banners and Titans may be salvaged as if they were friendly. However, due to technological differences between different Households and Legios, each enemy Knight Banner or Titan salvaged is only worth 10% of its starting value in Armoury points, not including Titan weapons. Titan weapons may not be salvaged from enemy Titans.

Reinforcements

Players can buy whole new models and units with Armoury points and add them to their campaign rosters. Replacement models and units can be purchased using Armoury points at the cost indicated on their Command Terminal. Models may be added to a Knight Banner to replace losses, provided that there is at least one model remaining in the unit. Knight Banners reinforced in this way retain their Veteran status.

Much of a Knight Household's strength comes from the leadership and wisdom shown by its leaders; a Household with an inexperienced, naïve High King was all but doomed in the brutal conflict of the Horus Heresy. When creating their campaign roster, each Knight Household player should randomly determine the Knight Experience level for each Banner containing a Seneschal or High King (see page 202) using the Starting Knight Experience table below:

D6	Knight Experience Level
1-4	Tested
5-6	Hardened

Each level of Crew Experience provides a beneficial rule or effect to that Banner. These effects are cumulative (i.e., a Banner with the Hardened Experience Level gains the benefits of both the Hardened and Tested levels).

Knight Banners not led by a Knight Commander do not gain Experience points. Instead, as long as one model in a Knight Banner survives the battle, that supporting unit is now considered to be Veteran - make a note of this on the campaign roster. Veteran Knight Banners can re-roll a single dice once per game.

Knight Experience Level

Experience Level	Experience Points Total	Knight Level Benefit
Green	0	No Benefit
Tested	5	2 re-rolls
Seasoned	10	Experienced Commander
Hardened	15	3 re-rolls
Elite	25	Veteran Commander

A Knight Banner containing a Knight Commander may increase in experience over the course of a campaign, as follows. The Experience points for each eligible Knight Banner is tied to the Knight Commander and, if they are destroyed and did not survive, their Banner loses their Experience level. Conversely, if the Banner is destroyed but the Knight Commander survived, the Experience level is retained for any new Banner the Knight Commander joins.

Gaining Experience Points

After a game, each surviving Knight Commander, whether or not their armour survived, will earn Experience points. Add up all the experience earned and make a note next to the Knight Banner on the campaign roster. This total will determine the crew's Experience Level, and the Knight Level benefits they have as detailed on the Knight Experience Level table. Any Knight Level benefits that affect the Knight Commander's Lance only take effect while the Knight Commander is on the battlefield. Experience points are gained as described in the table below:

Result	Experience Points
Knight Commander survived the battle	1
Knight Commander's Banner destroyed a Titan of Scale 9 or higher	5
Knight Commander's Banner destroyed a Titan of Scale 7 or higher	4
Knight Commander's Banner destroyed a Titan of Scale 6 or less	3
Knight Commander's Banner destroyed a Knight Banner of Scale 5 or higher	3
Knight Commander's Banner destroyed a Knight Banner of Scale 4 or less	2

Knight Banners that do not contain a Knight Commander do not gain Experience points in this manner. Instead, as long as one model in the Knight Banner survives the battle, that supporting unit is now considered to be Veteran - make a note of this on the campaign roster. Veteran Knights can re-roll a single dice per game.

Knight Commander Survival

Even if a Knight Commander's armour is destroyed, the Scion within it may survive thanks to fail-safes and escape mechanisms built into the Knight armour. When a Knight Commander is destroyed by a Direct hit or Devastating hit, roll a D6. On a 3+, the Knight Commander has escaped. If a Knight Commander is destroyed by a Critical hit, roll a D6. On a 5+, the Knight Commander has escaped. Otherwise, the Knight Commander is killed.

Knight Commanders that survive may be assigned to another existing or newly purchased Knight Banner, so long as that Banner is drawn from the same Household as them and the Banner does not already have a Knight Commander. Alternatively, a Knight Commander may be kept on the campaign roster in reserve, until a new Knight armour is available to them. Note that Knight Commanders need not be assigned to the same type of Knight Banner they previously commanded.

Knight Level Benefits

As a Knight Commander grows in experience so too does their skill upon the battlefield. This is represented by a Knight's Experience Level and the benefits that come with those levels. A Knight Commander gains the benefit for their current Experience Level and all previous Experience Levels. The Knight Experience Benefits are covered in detail below:

Re-rolls - These represent the instincts and skill of experienced Knights. a re-roll can be applied to any dice roll, provided that the result is directly related to the actions of the Banner. Each re-roll can only be used once per battle. If a dice roll involved multiple dice (for example, a To Hit roll made for a weapon with a Dice value of 5), the re-roll can be used to re-roll one dice from the roll or all the dice; it cannot be used to re-roll certain chosen dice.

Experienced Commander - The Knight Commander is well versed in the ebb and flow of battle, able to direct different groups of Scions. If a Banner within the Knight Commander's Lance fails a Command check when being issued an Order, other Banners within the Lance cannot be issued Orders. However, any Banner outside the Lance can still be issued Orders as normal. If a Banner outside the Lance fails a Command check, no more Orders can be issued that phase.

Veteran Commander - The Knight Commander has survived the worst the galaxy can offer and remains unfazed no matter what their foe throws at them. Banners in the Knight Commander's Lance cannot be Shaken. In addition, each Knight gains an additional attack when making an attack as part of a Charge Order, alongside any other benefits.

Knight Households in Campaigns