Campaign rules

[AmishLuvah]

I have this huge itch to hash out some campaign rules for this game. It's just screaming for it. Maybe something along the lines of controlling certain types of territories to give your whole crew associated bonuses. Hmmm. Too many ideas floating around in my brain for this. Have any of you thought about it?

[Shinobi]

As I started reading the rulebook, I was considering the applicability of campaigns similar to the old 'Mighty Empires' system (GW) where controlled territories provided benefits to your force. Of course, the benefits they provide can't be too overpowering, but done correctly I think that this is definitely a workable idea.

[Kealios]

I dont like playing games that dont have some type of campaign system in them, or at least for long (its my major gripe against Infinity - heck, you'd be hard pressed to even find an official SCENARIO for Infinty, let alone a campaign!).

That being said, yes please :) I can only do unrelated scenarios for so long (but thats just me).

[Angus Khan]

Ever since the Beta, I've been turning over ideas for a campaign... I'll try and collect all my thoughts and post them up later.

Basically, since Malifaux is character driven, my idea for a campaign revolves around moving your master (not minions) around the map as well as influence over territories, not direct control.

[EricJ]

We would love to see player created campaigns! That said, expect to see some official Wyrd ones as well, both in the Wyrd chronicles with online support and online campaigns. It is certainly on our to-do list :D

[redstripe]

We would love to see player created campaigns! That said, expect to see some official Wyrd ones as well, both in the Wyrd chronicles with online support and online campaigns. It is certainly on our to-do list :D

It's a very long list!

[AmishLuvah]

I loved Mighty Empires! I also have some leanings toward a Mordheim/Necromunda "territories" influence too. Like I said, too many ideas muddying up the waters for anything solid right now.

[Magno]

Well, with the list of places to fight on Page 92, that'd make it a lot easier to set up a campaign. Make the bonuses reflect some of the events that take place there. That or the player with the bonus get to choose where and how the event takes place if it does.

[thetang22]

I've been tossing around ideas about a campaign since beta as well. However, I think my idea of a campaign is a bit different than the standard. I like the idea of crossing an rpg with the skirmish, so that instead of just doing regional influence and the such to get bonuses....I want my characters to play through a rich storyline as it happens.

Also, my idea is based on the idea of possibly playing various different characters throughout the course of the campaign storyline. That way you can experience the events from different masters' perspective.

For instance, maybe one mission involves Seamus sacking a town to steal some goodies while recruiting some more belles. While he's at the town the Guild are alerted and try to stop him. In this mission you would have some objectives to complete with Seamus while avoiding the Guild and escaping back off the board following completion of the objectives.

The very next mission could take place directly afterwards. However, now you control the Guild. You have received some information that the item he stole was significant or valuable for whatever reason. The Death marshals are recruited to track him through the wilderness and apprehend him.

I imagine over the course of the missions and inbetween there would be some fun storyline bits to help enhance it and make it feel like more than just a skirmish game.

I figure there would be some missions where you may have a reduced crew, or possibly even JUST your master (with the difficulty level of the mission scaled appropriately, or course.

Anyway, I had played around with various different progressions of storyline and thinking how things could all possibly line up, but since the release of the book with all the new storyline stuff I figure I need to take a lot of the ideas back to square 1.

I also suppose a big difference in my idea is that it isn't necessarily player vs. player for campaign influence....its player vs. GM to progress through the story.

[Fool]

I guess I would like a blood bowl style "campaign" or maybe mordheim type where each model can get better and gain more skills. I think that cards with skills and gear would work. I am just going to throw some ideas out there. There could be 3-4 control markers on the board with gear underneath them from +1 damage to melee/ranged weapons to scopes for +1 attack. Each time a model survies a game they get points toward a new skill card. the options for these cards are endless there. Maybe each model may only gain 2-3 extra skills.

The balance for fighting unskilled crews would be that every 3 cards cost 1 soulstone. Again these are just ideas off the top of my head, but that is what I think of when people talk about a campaign. gear and skills would have to stay with the model that picked it up, (why would they give it up) that allows for some randomness.

[Wendigo]

I really like the ideas brainstormed here. Honestly they do remind me of Operation frostbite for AT-43, but I think that campaign system rocks. Haveing 2 or 3 Masters running around a map of connected territories would also have the benefit of having to play different masters/crews in the campaign. (At least I think it's a benefit for a character driven game)

For the experience you could also say that every campaign turn or two every master gets a "level up". This would eliminate the risk of unbalancing the game of crews with different experiences. Similar for minions: If you choose minion upgrades, you upgrade them by type (Death Marshals, Woes, etc.) and they all get the same benefit. Think of it as focused training or better equipment issued for them.

Also for a campaign to avoid getting contrary to the fluff one could use a newly founded guild settlement on the frontier of earthers bounds in search for more soulstone veins/mines while the neverborn naturally try to destroy the interlopers, the arcanists and resurrectionists try to hide there, away from the main base of the witchunters and death marshalls. Naturally this settlement wouldn't be canon (yet), but you would not interact with the already existent fluff, too. (Apart from the characters perhaps, which each game does anyways)

Also I would like the idea of some faction specific benefit, like the guild having the easiest access to soulstones, that each turn they can splitt 3 of them between their masters for example. The arcanists have learned to hide very well and thus can move through enemy occuped terrain without needing to attack, etc.

Just brainstorming too, but man the setting has a feeling that lends itself to story driven campaigns. (Much like the suggested sub-objectives for specific heroes in Wargods)

[Angus Khan]

I'm nervous about adding experience of any sort to Malifaux...the units are very finely balanced, and any tampering may result in unforeseen "ubermodels"...

Maybe instead of experience have "artifacts" which give a bonus a crew can use once per game. Might not be so unbalancing.

Just my 2 cents.

[streetsamurai]

I'm nervous about adding experience of any sort to Malifaux...the units are very finely balanced, and any tampering may result in unforeseen "ubermodels"...

Maybe instead of experience have "artifacts" which give a bonus a crew can use once per game. Might not be so unbalancing.

Just my 2 cents.


agree

Adding new ability and improving stats is great in games where the models are fairly generic (ex: necromunda).

In this game, the unit are already too developed to add more ability to them.

I think the best way to handle experience, would be that unit gains level, and each level the units have, gives him some sort of positive flip on a flip, once per game .

[nilus]

Just want to say Ditto to what was said above. I don't think Malifaux lends itself to an experience system for its models.

I think Artifacts and or bonus for holding certain key locations that give once per game bonus to the crew might be better.

[Sushicaddy]

I think leveling would be a terrible idea, instead give a more minor, but important benefit, like choosing your strategy while in an area you control, or one extra SS that cannot be used to buy crew, only used in game.

[paperbag4]

I like the idea of a map-based campaign set outside the city. A few bonus/terrain ideas:

New recruit (1 time bonus)- extra 4 SS that can be used ONLY in hiring crews for one game and ONLY for one model.

SS vein (terrain)- 1 extra SS added to master's cache while you control this piece.

Barracks/hotel (terrain) - Minions cost 25% less while you control this piece.

Spies (1 time bonus)- You may choose your strategy in the next game.

Tunnels (terrain)- One model per game gains December Acolyte's set-up ability (too lazy to find my book for the name).


Terrain that affects the campaign but not the games:

Road- Your Master may move two hexes (or what have you) on the campaign turn.

Telegraph- You may play 1 mission as a Brawl. (probably too overpowering)

[Dogcerberus]

Just want to say Ditto to what was said above. I don't think Malifaux lends itself to an experience system for its models.

I think Artifacts and or bonus for holding certain key locations that give once per game bonus to the crew might be better.

Much as I love Necromunda, the crews already have skills and probably wouldn't benefit from Experience. As quoted: an artefact or two and a location benefit would enhance the game rather than unbalance it.

Current "Mighty Empires" style map based should be easy enough. Action centred on the masters only, allows different crews to be hired when needed, stop the campaign geting stale? :684:

[Angus Khan]

Action centred on the masters only, allows different crews to be hired when needed, stop the campaign geting stale? :684:

That was always my intent, only the masters are "important" enough to be moved around on the map.

[Zee]

One good rule would be that you cannot use a Unique model that was involved in another battle in the same turn.

Aka, Candy can only fight once each turn, even if both the Pandora crew and the Zoraida crew controlled by the same player have to battle.

[Angus Khan]

One good rule would be that you cannot use a Unique model that was involved in another battle in the same turn.

Aka, Candy can only fight once each turn, even if both the Pandora crew and the Zoraida crew controlled by the same player have to battle.

Definitely, and once a unique model dies, they're dead for good. (It might be a good idea to allow a "recovery flip" after the game to see if any killed models survive, though.)

[paperbag4]

That could make for a short campaign if people keep getting assassinate.

[Dv8guy]

Do you guys have any kind of maps kicking around the office from your design days that could e used?

[Angus Khan]

A map would be great! Nathan, any chance of you guys getting us one?

[goblyn13]

there is a map in the back of the book.

[Dv8guy]

Yeah but the way it is done up has made it hard to make an effective campaign map so far.

[Angus Khan]

there is a map in the back of the book.

The printed map is OK, but hardly suitable (without some major work) as a campaign map. Its a good start, though.

[Dogcerberus]

I lurrve maps; drool! :bounce:

Unique models and Masters should be allowed recovery flips after games, (another bonus could be better flips for survival?) As the range grows and there are more characters and minions to choose from, the dead can stay that way (except for resurrectionists of course) but for now, models need the chance to come back, else it'll be a short campaign of pain.

Maybe simelar to Necromunda, (1 = dead, 2-4 wounded, 5-6 ok,) or BJ = very dead! 1-8 = dead, 9/10 = wounded, 11+ ok, RJ = extra life or another bonus?

[CaptMorgan]

I like the Dogs of War idea used in Confrontation before Age of Ragnarok came out. It did allow for some uber characters, but you had to work hard to get it and/or took a long time to get your whole warband to be nasty. Could be toned down by allowing you to create a generic master for a given faction - then keep the minions the same (for now).

For location, you could be out in the Quarantine Zone - it's pretty big in Malifaux, doesn't go against the fluff and all the factions have a reason to be there.

I like the recovery idea after the game and the ideas on Unique characters. Maybe you could make the Black Joker be dead, 1-5 is ok, but auto test for death after your next game whether you use the model or not, 6-10 half wounds in the next game, 11+ fully healed, Red Joker fully healed, auto heals after next game or xp bonus or an extra/free :mali+fate to use once durning the next game...

[capcap]

I also like the campaign to have bonuses for when you control certain things. Also its fun to have the campaign progress to larger SS battles as it goes on. Weather effects and political effects like increase or decrease in Wp with fluff is always a nice addition as well. Scenario add on is great too. Imagine if you roll the treasure scenario and you get a +2 to your CB when you have the treasure because its a magical pendant of accuracy etc. Another thing to consider is that if you give bonuses for one side other players should get different bonuses to balance out the play.