So as you all know next weeks marks the last week of the campaign. It's been a long haul but we're glad you stuck it out with us. Following week 10 you'll have 3 weeks to arrange and play The Hammer Blow, the final scenario in Storms and Shadows. The Hammer Blow is an apocalypse level event, with point values varying based on the number of tiles owned for a given planet.
If you have custom Apocalypse level units you wish to use for The Hammer Blow and haven't already submitted them to the custom builds thread, I highly recommend you do that now so we have some time to note them as acceptable or recommend changes to make them so. If you do not receive prior approval the unit will not be allowed for use in this event.
The Hammer Blow will use similar rules to the Megabattle for what units each army can bring to the table. For sake of clarity, apocalypse level units must reference the codex the player has chosen for the campaign. This means that Necron players can use the Necron Tesseract Vault but not the Imperial Guard Baneblade. Space Marine chapters can use Imperial units such as Titans, as well as Chaos Space Marines being able to use their Chaos counterparts.
The Apocalypse game itself will use the new Apocalypse rules released during the course of this campaign by Games Workshop. There will be no disaster tables used, however Strategic Assets, Chief Warlord, Finest Hour and the codex specific special rules will be in effect. Breaks (which is where objective points are counted) happen after turns 2 and 4.
There will also be a slight modification to the method by which points for the final scenario are counted. All player still start with 3000 points and one asset. However due to a possible scenario that could include the first and third highest scoring players receiving point bonuses (but not the second highest player) the point system will be amended to the following. On all planets the player with the largest number of tiles will receive an extra 1000 points or an additional asset, a decision they must announce before the start of the scenario. Posting a simple message into the thread for the relevant planet is fine. On all planets in which players were allowed to start (so not Polaris, Nitoris, Primaris A or Enif Station) if there are currently 4 or more player on that planet then the player with the second highest number of tiles also receives the bonus of 1000 points or an additional asset.
Players who have less than 5 tiles on a planet that has more than 5 tiles will be penalized 1000 points. It is possible for a player to be the highest or second highest ranked player on a planet and still have less than 5 tiles. In this case the bonus and penalty simply cancel out and the player receives 3000 points and one strategic asset.
At this point in the campaign the players are now allowed to form legal alliances. For The Hammer Blow there will be special sheets at Battleground Games and Hobbies Abington that will allow players on a planet to organize into teams. This sheet will detail the players involved in the alliance, how the percentage of the planet will be split between the players if they win and must contain all relevant players signatures. Only two players will be allowed per alliance, unless all players on a planet wish to “settle” and split the percentage worth of the planet without having to resolve a game. Once the players have sat down to play The Hammer Blow, alliances cannot be changed and any decisions made on the alliance sheet will be final.
Finally, a word on scheduling. I'm aware that some of you have difficult schedules. We are not allotting three weeks (plus one weeks notice) for you to ask all players to meet you on a Thursday morning between 10 and 2. You officially have over a month to arrange a day to meet all relevant players on the planet for a game you should expect to be between 4 and 6 hours (possibly more depending on the points and players involved!). So act early and arrange time to meet at a reasonable date and time. If your game is repeatedly unable to be resolved because you are unable to be present for the game and did not make proper preparations, you will be discounted from The Hammer Blow. You have over a month, make time.
That being said, as the designer for Storms and Shadows I want to thank you all for your participation, your patience and your support through this process. The campaign was a massive undertaking for Battleground Games and Hobbies and for myself and we've both learned a lot from the experience. Not the least of which is that it's heartening to see so many of our 40k players come out of the woodwork and make a show of force for an organized event. I have been asked repeatedly to set up a post mortem after the campaign is complete. I will be doing so and will announce the date and time as soon as I know what it is. At this post mortem you'll be able to recommend changes, help determine problems and steer the course of the Epsilon Majoris system as this will not be the last time we do this campaign. Again, I want to thank all of you, good luck and happy hunting!
