Escalation Campaigns

Escalation campaigns represent the gradual ramping up of warfare, beginning with small skirmishes and growing to all-out war as the opposing sides commit greater and greater resources in order to achieve victory. As the conflict grows key battles will dictate the pace of war, lending advantages to the victorious in the final grand clash.

Escalation campaigns are perfect for players wishing to build new armies, as they involve smaller forces growing over a period of weeks or months.

Campaign Cycles

An Escalation campaign consists of a series of Cycles, with each Cycle representing an escalation in the scale of war as each Faction receives reinforcements and commits more forces to the warzone.

At the start of the campaign, each Cycle is assigned a points limit which is the maximum number of points each player in the campaign can assemble an Army to during that Cycle. Each Cycle's points limit should be greater than the Cycle before it.

A Cycle length is determined by the number of regular games played by each player, determined by the Campaign Master and the beginning of the Cycle. At the end of each Cycle a Flashpoint is played, in which players take part in special narrative Missions that determine the progress of the unfolding conflict and provide benefits to the victor of a Cycle during the final battle.

Faction Commander

Each Faction has a Faction Commander who oversees the war effort of their Faction. Each Faction Commander is appointed at the start of the campaign, though if players wish, the Faction Commander can change at the start of each Campaign Cycle.

Designer's Note:

Points Limit and Number of Cycles

During an Escalation campaign any number of games can be played per Cycle, and any number of Cycles played overall, but it is best to set down an endpoint to the campaign to help steer it forwards. A good number for the average Escalation campaign is one or two games per Cycle - followed by a Flashpoint game - with three Cycles in total.

With one game per fortnight, the campaign would last three to four months, decreasing the likelihood of the campaign faltering.

The points limit for each Cycle is similarly malleable. If using an Escalation campaign so players can start new armies to grow and play at the same time, a split of three Cycles broken down as 1,000 points for the first Cycle, 2,000 points for the second Cycle and 3,000 points for the third Cycle is a good starting point. Other point limits can be used to increase the size of the battles in later Cycles, or to allow a smaller starting point. As Flashpoint scenarios are designed with the option for multiple players per side, smaller points sizes can still create epic battles.

Escalation Campaign Sequence

The following sequence is used during each Campaign Cycle of an Escalation campaign:

Determine Battles
Muster Armies
Resolve Battles
Assign Rewards
Fight Remaining Cycle Battles
Flashpoint Battle
Cycle End Phase

1. Determine Battles

The Faction Commanders determine which players in their Faction will be fighting against which players from the opposing Faction. Starting with the Faction Commander of the Faction with the most Campaign Points - or the winner of a roll-off in case of a tie - the Faction Commander chooses a player from their Faction and a player from the opposing Faction.

The chosen players will play a game against one another.

Once the first pair is chosen, the next Faction Commander chooses a player from their Faction and one from the opposing Faction to battle. This goes back and forth until all players have a game to play. The pairs of players then determine which Mission they will play.

2. Muster Armies

Each player musters an Army, using the rules found in the Legions Imperialis Rulebook to a points limit equal to the points limit of the Cycle. When declaring an Allegiance for their Army, each player must declare the Allegiance that matches their Faction (e.g., a player from the Loyalist Faction must declare their Army Allegiance to be Loyalist).

After mustering their Army, if players have any Requisition Points, they can spend any of these to add a single additional Detachment to their Army for this battle. This does not change the agreed points limit for that battle, only allowing a player to go over it, but does not affect the maximum amount of points that can be spent on Strategic Asset Formations, or the number of Formations or certain Detachments that are required to be included in an Army. That player then deducts a number of Requisition Points from their total equal to the points cost of the selected Detachment.

The additional Detachment must be included as part of a Formation, and is treated as part of that Formation for the duration of this battle, but can only be used to fill Optional Detachment slots in that Formation.

For example, Andy has 250 Requisition Points available after Mustering their Army. Their Army includes a Legion Demi-Company Formation with an unfilled Optional Battle Tank Detachment slot. Andy chooses to add a Legion Predator Squadron Detachment to that Formation consisting of six models, for a total points cost of 210 points. As such they deduct 210 Requisition Points from the total.

3. Resolve Battles

Players fight their battles using the Mission selected in Step 1 and the Army they have mustered in Step 2. The result of the battle must be recorded and reported to the other players and the Campaign Master.

4. Assign Rewards

During this step:

Each victorious player gains 3 Campaign Points for their Faction. In addition, the player gains D6x15 Requisition Points.
For each battle that was tied, both players gain 1 Campaign Point for their Faction. In addition, each player gains D6x15 Requisition Points.
Each player who was defeated gains D6x10 Requisition Points.

5. Fight Remaining Cycle Battles

If there are more non-Flashpoint battles to be fought during the Cycle, repeat steps 1-4. If there are no more non-Flashpoint battles to be fought, then a Flashpoint battle is fought.

6. Flashpoint Battle

A Flashpoint battle represents a pivotal moment in the unfolding conflict such as the assault on a vital command post or a push through a mountainous region to flank the enemy position.

During this stage, the Faction with the most Campaign Points chooses a Flashpoint Mission. This can be one of the custom Missions shown later in this book or one devised by the Campaign Master. The victorious Faction in a Flashpoint Mission gains 8 Campaign Points but no player within the Faction gains Requisition Points.

7. Cycle End Phase

The winning Faction of the Flashpoint gains the respective Flashpoint Boon, which confers an advantage during the Grand Clash. The next Campaign Cycle then starts.

Ending an Escalation Campaign

At the end of the final campaign phase, an Escalation Campaign can conclude in one of two ways. The first is that the Faction with the most Campaign Points wins the Campaign. The second is for players to fight a Grand Clash to determine the victor of the campaign. With a smaller group of players, this can be a single game involving every player, using the Grand Clash rules on page 74. The Faction that wins the Grand Clash wins the campaign; in the event of a tie, the Faction with the most Campaign Points is the winner of the campaign.

For larger groups, multiple Grand Clashes can be played, with the Faction that wins the most winning the campaign. If the Factions win an equal number of games, the Faction with the most Campaign Points is the winner of the campaign.