I'm considering running a map-based campaign for our Sydney-base E:A gaming group.

We currently have three players, but a couple more dudes are interested, so it could be a five-way campaign. I am currently developing a set of campaign turn moves for the macro game.

My question is this: has anyone here run a successful map-based campaign for Epic? I'm looking for hints and tips on how you would handle logistics/supply for armies that are already based and supplied on-world (like a PDF or similar defender) versus an invading space-based army.

Looking forward to your input.  

I have one thing to give from a lot of experience in running successful campaigns.
Use Victory Points, not "on the battlefield" variations. It's hopeless to balance that in a good way and uneven battles just don't work.

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It would be nice to get lightspeed,
so far we can only reach slight speed.- Erik M
092b85658e746a91d343e53509d357744e56f641

E&C, Zombocom and I have tried to run these in the past. I'm not sure that map based campaigns are workable. We had problems of what to do when 1 person is attacked multiple times in the same movement phase or if 1 person didn't attack at all. We didn't really find an answer for that. It led to alot of waiting around while other people played games. We have also had issues in the past with allocating resourse/rebuilding points. On paper the systems we used seemed OK but in practice they again didn't work and we tried to make modifications on the run to limit the abuses. I will have to let E&C explain what we did as he has the write up. I think he started a thread in the BFG area explaining the system we used.

Use the rules from the Lustria supplement for WFB, that gives a good map based campaign and solves the above problems. An online version (maybe even with epic modifcations) was posted here not long ago.

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http://hordesofthings.blogspot.co.nz/

I helped run a map-based campaign using the a hex-map (Like mighty empires) in bournemouth. We used "on the battlefield variations" that modified the victory conditions aswell, so an underpowered army may only have to hold it's blitzkrieg, or destory a single enemy commander (This would be unknown to the opponent).
Each player had 12000 points split into 4 3000pt armies.
To take into account spaceships we limited it to a number of spaceports equal to the number of armies involved. If you lost yours (one hex on the map) then you couldn't use spaceships. Also at a forfit of a standard move a single army could be picked up OR dropped off by your fleet.
To counter the multiple attacks problem, we allowed people to drop back out of a hex without risking their army, leaving only the attackers to fight over the contested ground. If there were four armies we either built allegiances or used a knock-out style system, the losers retreating to their original hex assuming they survived the ordeal.
For supply lines we had roads, though anyone with a spaceport could supply anywhere free of charge. The spaceports were deep in your own territory, so if you lost yours it was usually towards the end of your downfall anyway.
This was a longterm campaign.

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"Stars in my pocket like grains of sand."

www.spartangames.co.uk

The main issue we came up against was what to do when one person in the campaign doesn't turn up. Everyone else can't attack them, or move around without them getting to move too.

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http://www.troublemakergames.co.uk/
Epic: Hive Development Thread

We played using an automatic forfeit unless said player had informed us that he wasn't available at least a week in advance.
This isn't a perfect answer as it still means that certain things became unavailable, to counter this no one was allowed a two week forgiveness, second week missing resulted in auto forfeit wherever you were attacked.

_________________
"Stars in my pocket like grains of sand."

www.spartangames.co.uk

Indeed that is a good variant on it Jonluke, and the one that can work.
It's still the trouble to gather and set up and then anyhow not get a decent battle.

PBeM can be done fairly easy even, Hena.
Esp if you web base it on some simple CGI-script.
But it still a fair bit to do manual.

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It would be nice to get lightspeed,
so far we can only reach slight speed.- Erik M
092b85658e746a91d343e53509d357744e56f641

The other issue is of course that everyone could turn up, only for two people to play each other several times while everyone else sits around doing nothing.

In my experience such campaigns are better for games with short playing times like necromunda.

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http://www.troublemakergames.co.uk/
Epic: Hive Development Thread

It can be circumvented by allowing multiple armies. Eventhou only one is actually played (the rest are 50/50 fights). And then either gather all for the fighting, or leaving it to each pair to play out under, say, a week. Unplayed battles are solved with 50/50 (chance to win).

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It would be nice to get lightspeed,
so far we can only reach slight speed.- Erik M
092b85658e746a91d343e53509d357744e56f641

If you get it to work smoothly, remember to post the details up here. Campaign techniques are highly sort after.
Cheers.
Hope my comments were helpful, have fun in blowing eachother up.

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"Stars in my pocket like grains of sand."

www.spartangames.co.uk

Lustrian rules really look like they circumvent a lot of problems common to such campaigns. Does anyone feel like sharing the Epic adaptation?

Hena - your idea about a web based application is golden That could be used with Lustrian system with great results.

In my experience, it is very hard to combine a full-blown campaign and fighting complete battles as this places too much reliance on the total dedication of all the participants. My solution to this is to use a full set of rules for either the campaign or the battles, and a 'light' set of rules for the other element.

So, if you want to play a proper map based campaign, create your own set of rules that can fight and complete a battle in 15 mins (and yes it can be done). Alternatively, use a very simple set of rules to determine which people will fight together with their respective army sizes, and get them to tell you the results (remembering to allow people to substitute for each other when necessary etc). You can think of this as more of a 'battle generator' than a campaign as such.

Final alternative is to take a relevant boxed game and play it in a campaign fashion, possibly modifying or adding rules to taste. So one person acts as umpire and the others present him with orders for the forces under their command, while using either the games rules, or some other means to determine the outcome of the battles. For EPIC, I believe you may be able to download the "Battle for Armageddon" boxed game produced by GW years ago, or at least the map and rules . . .

In any event, I really enjoy these form of games because they set the context of the battle which makes a huge difference and takes it out of the one-off chess like games that most people play.

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"Play up and play the game"

Vitai lampada
Sir Hemry Newbolt