Codex · Space Marines

Campaign55

Scenarios2

Attackerthe opposing gang (the aggressor, tasked with decapitating the Iron Council - burst the Techmarine command and the walkers with concentrated high-AP fire before the Iron Hands' recovery snowballs the survivors beyond reach)

Defenderthe Iron Hands (dug in around the Iron Council - the Captain, the Techmarine and the revered walkers; the force must weather the alpha and survive to the late rounds, where its resilience makes it unkillable)

Deploythe Iron Hands deploy in a tight, mutually-supporting formation around their command and walkers, anchored on terrain; the attacker deploys around them with the initiative, set to strike the Iron Council fast

Objectivethe attacker wins by taking the Iron Hands' Leader AND Techmarine Out of Action before the end of round four; the Iron Hands win by keeping either the Leader or the Techmarine alive through round four, at which point the machine-cult has compounded past breaking

Victorythe attacker wins if both the Iron Hands Leader and Techmarine are Out of Action by the end of round four (the Council decapitated before recovery could save it); the Iron Hands win if either command body still stands at the end of round four - the iron endured the alpha and the long war now belongs to it

Rewardsan attacker win grants bonus Reputation for cracking the machine-cult fast and a Control-Track step; an Iron Hands defence that held the Council grants them bonus Reputation and a step for out-enduring the strike; a Techmarine that survived earns 1 bonus XP toward Iron Father

Control Trackan attacker win advances the attacker's Control-Track claim by one step (the Council broken, the ground taken); an Iron Hands defensive win advances the IRON HANDS' claim by one step (the alpha weathered, the district held by iron that would not break)

The Iron Hands have dug in around their command. There is one way to break them: decapitate the Iron Council before its recovery snowballs beyond reach.

ATTACKER

The opposing gang — the aggressor, sent to cut the head from the machine cult. Burst the Techmarine command and the walkers with concentrated high-AP fire, and do it before the Iron Hands' resilience compounds the survivors out of reach.

DEFENDER

The Iron Hands — dug in around the Iron Council: Captain, Techmarine, revered walkers. Weather the alpha. Survive to the late rounds, where the force's resilience makes it all but unkillable.

DEPLOYMENT

The Iron Hands deploy first — a tight, mutually-supporting formation around their command and walkers, anchored on terrain. The attacker deploys around them with the initiative, set to strike the Iron Council fast.

OBJECTIVE

The attacker means to take the Iron Hands' Leader and Techmarine Out of Action before recovery can save them. The Iron Hands mean to keep one of the two command bodies alive — past the point where the machine cult has compounded beyond breaking.

ENDING THE BATTLE

The battle ends at the close of round four, or the instant both the Iron Hands Leader and Techmarine are Out of Action.

VICTORY

The attacker wins if both the Iron Hands Leader and Techmarine are Out of Action by the end of round four — the Council decapitated before recovery could save it. The Iron Hands win if either command body still stands at the end of round four. The iron endured the alpha; the long war now belongs to it.

REWARDS

An attacker win grants bonus reputation for cracking the machine cult fast and a Control-Track step. An Iron Hands defence that held the Council grants them bonus reputation and a step for out-enduring the strike. A Techmarine that survived earns 1 bonus experience toward Iron Father.

CONTROL TRACK

An attacker win advances the attacker's Control-Track claim by one step — the Council broken, the ground taken. An Iron Hands defensive win advances the Iron Hands' claim by one step: the alpha weathered, the district held by iron that would not break.

Attackerthe Iron Hands (an attrition force that wants the long war - deploy the augmetic line and the revered walkers, hold the contested ground, and out-last a faster enemy as bionic recovery and walker-repair compound round on round)

Defenderthe opposing gang (a quicker force that must break the iron before the grind snowballs - crack the walkers and the Techmarine command early or watch the Iron Hands become impossible to shift)

Deployboth gangs deploy across a central objective the Iron Hands have come to hold; the Iron Hands set up their walkers and heavy line anchored on terrain, the enemy deploys to strike fast at the command and the machines

Objectivethe Iron Hands win by controlling the central ground at the end of round six with more standing fighters than they lost; the enemy wins by breaking the Iron Hands off the objective, or by destroying both a walker and the Techmarine before round four (bursting the machine-cult before recovery compounds)

Victorythe Iron Hands win if they hold the objective through round six AND still field at least half their starting fighters (the grind survived and won); the enemy wins if it takes the objective, or if it destroys a friendly walker and the Techmarine before the end of round three - a decapitation of the machine-cult before it snowballs

Rewardsan Iron Hands win grants bonus Reputation and a Control-Track step for ground held through attrition; a walker that survived the whole battle earns 1 bonus XP toward The Undying; an enemy win by early decapitation grants the enemy bonus Reputation for proving the iron can be cracked fast

Control Trackan Iron Hands win advances their Control-Track claim on the district by one step (the ground held, the enemy worn out); an enemy win holds the marker; an enemy decapitation win (walker + Techmarine down early) advances the ENEMY's claim by one step - the machine-cult broken before it could grind

This is the war the Iron Hands want. A long grind over contested ground — the most resilient bodies in the fight out-lasting a faster foe, as recovery and repair compound round on round.

ATTACKER

The Iron Hands — an attrition force, here to hold the ground. It deploys the augmetic line and the revered walkers, holds the contested centre, and out-lasts a quicker enemy as bionic recovery and walker-repair compound.

DEFENDER

The opposing gang — a quicker force that must break the iron before the grind snowballs. Crack the walkers and the Techmarine command early. Fail, and watch the Iron Hands become impossible to shift.

DEPLOYMENT

Both gangs deploy across a central objective the Iron Hands have come to hold. The Iron Hands set up their walkers and heavy line, anchored on terrain. The enemy deploys to strike fast at the command and the machines.

OBJECTIVE

The Iron Hands mean to hold the central ground at the end, and still field the weight they started with. The enemy means to break them off the objective — or to burst both a walker and the Techmarine early, unmaking the machine cult before recovery compounds.

ENDING THE BATTLE

The battle ends at the close of round six, or when one side no longer contests the central ground.

VICTORY

The Iron Hands win if they hold the objective through round six and still field at least half their starting fighters — the grind survived, the grind won. The enemy wins if it takes the objective, or if it destroys a friendly walker and the Techmarine before the end of round three: a decapitation of the machine cult before it snowballs.

REWARDS

An Iron Hands win grants bonus reputation and a Control-Track step for ground held through attrition. A walker that survived the whole battle earns 1 bonus experience toward The Undying. An enemy win by early decapitation grants the enemy bonus reputation for proving the iron can be cracked fast.

CONTROL TRACK

An Iron Hands win advances their Control-Track claim on the district by one step — the ground held, the enemy worn out. An ordinary enemy win holds the marker; an enemy decapitation win, with a walker and the Techmarine down early, advances the enemy's claim by one step: the machine cult broken before it could grind.

Favours8

Roll	Favour	Patron
2	The Forge World Pact. The forge-world's tech-priesthood answers the machine cult as kin. Before your next battle, one friendly walker is fully repaired to its starting Wounds at no cost, and you may buy bionics for the coming campaign phase at a reduced rate. The Machine God's servants keep the iron running.	the Adeptus Mechanicus (a forge-world's tech-priesthood, kin in the worship of the machine)
3	Kin Of Ferrus Manus. A brother Chapter of the lineage — the Red Talons, the Sons of Medusa, a successor of the Gorgon — answers the call. For your next battle you may field a single allied Astartes fighter of a common type at no credit cost, who departs when the battle ends. The blood of Ferrus Manus runs in more veins than one.	a brother Chapter of the Iron Hands lineage (the Red Talons, the Sons of Medusa, a successor of the Gorgon)
4	The Mechanicus Armoury. A magos of the Cult Mechanicus opens his armoury to the iron. For your next battle, one friendly fighter may take a single special or heavy weapon from the Iron Hands lists at no cost, returned when the battle ends. The armoury of the Machine God runs deep.	the Adeptus Mechanicus (a magos of the Cult Mechanicus)
5	The Disciplined Muster. A disciplined Imperial regiment holds the same ground and lends its guns to the iron. Once during your next battle you may call a single off-board fire-support strike — treat it as a heavy bolter attack against one enemy in the open. The line regiment fires when the Iron Hands ask.	a disciplined Imperial regiment (a Cadian or Death Korps line unit holding the same ground)
6	The Reclusiam Resolve. The austere Reclusiam steels the muster with the cold words of the creed. For your next battle, one friendly fighter re-rolls a failed Nerve or Willpower test, and the gang ignores the first bottle check it would otherwise take. The flesh is weak, but the resolve of the line is iron.	the Chapter cult (the Iron Hands' austere Reclusiam)
7	The Bionic Reliquary. The forge-shrines open their augmetic reliquaries to a wounded brother. One friendly fighter recovering from a Lasting Injury this campaign phase may re-roll the result and take the better outcome, or fit a bionic upgrade for free. The wound is made into iron, exactly as the creed promises.	the forge-shrines (the Chapter's own augmetic reliquaries)
8	The Master Of The Forge. A senior Iron Father lends his craft to your walkers. For your next battle one friendly walker re-rolls all failed Saves as though a Techmarine stood beside it, and recovers a lost Wound at the start of each round. The master keeps the revered dead walking.	a senior Iron Father (a master of the Iron Council)
9	The Iron Councils Blessing. The Iron Council itself marks your muster worthy of the Gorgon's legacy. For your next battle your Leader gains a second use of a once-per-battle ability, and after the battle the gang adds a bonus to a single reputation gain. The ruling Fathers watch, and are not displeased.	the Iron Council (the Chapter's ruling body of Iron Fathers)

Gang Tactics36

Roll	Tactic	Timing
11	The Flesh Is Weak. Play at the start of the battle. Until the end of the first round, every friendly fighter gains Feel No Pain 6+, or improves an existing resilience by one step — the creed spoken over the whole line as it deploys.	Start of battle
12	Iron Within. Play at the start of the round. Until the next round, every friendly fighter's bionic resilience improves to Feel No Pain 5+ — the whole line hardening at once, the iron within answering the pressure of the grind.	Start of round
13	Machine Cult. Play at the start of the round if a friendly Techmarine is on the field. Until the next round, all friendly walkers re-roll a failed Save regardless of their range to the Techmarine — the cult projected across the whole board.	Start of round
14	Revere The Fallen. Play when a friendly fighter is taken Out of Action. Friendly fighters within 6" of the fallen do not take Nerve tests for the rest of the round; the Iron Hands do not mourn, they close ranks and grind on.	When a friendly fighter is taken Out of Action
15	Augmetic Recovery. Play during the post-battle sequence. One friendly fighter that suffered a Lasting Injury this battle rolls twice on the recovery and takes the better result, the wound made into an augmetic upgrade rather than a scar.	During the post-battle sequence
16	The Iron Council. Play at the start of the battle if your Captain and a Techmarine are both on the field. Until the end of the first round, all friendly walkers re-roll failed Saves — the Iron Council musters, and the machine cult stands at its height.	Start of battle
21	Bionic Reflex. Play when a friendly fighter is targeted by a ranged attack. Until the end of the phase that fighter gains a 6+ Feel No Pain against the attack, or improves an existing bionic resilience to 5+ — the iron flinching faster than the flesh could.	When the bearer is targeted
22	Cold Logic. Play at the start of the round. Choose a friendly fighter; until the next round it ignores any penalty to its Cool and Willpower, the machine cult's emotionless logic leaving no room for fear. It reacts as iron, not as a man.	Start of round
23	Unfeeling. Play at any time a friendly fighter would suffer the effect of being Pinned or the penalty of a Flesh Wound. Ignore it until the end of the phase. The augmetic body logs the harm and files it — data, not pain. The fighter does not flinch. It fights on.	Any time
24	Servo Assisted. Play at the start of a friendly fighter's activation. If it carries a servo-arm or servo-harness, it may make a free Aim action this turn, the machine steadying the smith's hand.	Start of fighter's activation
25	The Gorgons Endurance. Play at the start of the battle. Choose one friendly fighter; the first time it would be taken Out of Action this battle it is Seriously Injured instead, the endurance of Ferrus Manus's sons made manifest in one body.	Start of battle
26	Reinforced Frame. Play at the start of the round. Choose a friendly fighter; until the next round it treats its Toughness as one higher against ranged attacks, the augmetic frame shrugging the fire the flesh could not.	Start of round
31	Walkers Aegis. Play at the start of the round. Until the next round, one friendly walker extends its machine-cult Save re-roll to any friendly fighter within 3" of it, the aegis of the revered dead spread over the line beside it.	Start of round
32	The Interred Hero. Play at the start of a friendly walker's activation. Until the end of its turn it gains +1 Attack and re-rolls a failed Hit in melee, the interred hero waking fully to the fight.	Start of a walker's activation
33	Deathless Machine. Play when a friendly walker loses its last Wound. Roll a D6; on a 4 or higher the walker survives on a single Wound instead of being destroyed, the machine cult refusing to let the revered dead fall.	When a friendly walker loses its last Wound
34	Repair Protocol. Play at the start of the round if a friendly Techmarine is on the field. It makes a free repair action on a walker within 3", restoring a lost Wound, without spending its activation — the smith's work folded into the grind.	Start of round
35	Ironstone Blessing. Play during the post-battle sequence if you control an Ironstone or the Iron Forge. One friendly walker that would carry a lasting damage result is fully repaired instead. The smiths take it back. The machine cult works it whole and stands it ready for the next war.	During the post-battle sequence
36	Sanctified Augmetics. Play at the start of the battle. Choose one friendly fighter; once this battle it may re-roll a failed bionic-resilience save, its augmetics blessed at the forge-shrine before the march.	Start of battle
41	Grinding Advance. Play at the start of the round. Friendly fighters that make a standard Move toward the nearest enemy this round cannot be targeted by Overwatch — the line comes on regardless, iron and unhurried.	Start of round
42	No Retreat No Feeling. Play at any time a friendly fighter would take a Bottle test. That fighter automatically passes and stays on the field — the Iron Hands do not feel the urge to run, only the logic of the fight still to finish.	Any time
43	Attrition Wins. Play at the end of the battle if your gang has more standing fighters than the enemy did at its end. You gain a bonus to a single reputation gain, and one Lasting Injury a fighter suffered this battle may be re-rolled — the grind rewarded, the survivors made harder.	End of battle
44	Out Endure. Play at the start of the round, from round four onward. Until the next round, friendly fighters re-roll a failed bionic-resilience save — the longer the war runs, the harder the iron is to kill.	Start of round
45	The Long War. Play at the start of a battle fought in the second half of a campaign. Until the end of round two, friendly fighters re-roll a failed bionic-resilience save — the survivors of a long war are the hardest of all to kill.	Start of battle
46	Weather The Storm. Play when a friendly fighter is hit by a template or blast weapon. It gains a 5+ Feel No Pain against that attack, the augmetic frame weathering the storm of fire that would break a lesser body.	When the gang is shot by a template or blast
51	Bolter Precision. Play at the start of a friendly fighter's activation. Until the end of its turn, its bolt weapons re-roll a failed Hit roll at half range or less — the cold, methodical marksmanship of a line that never wastes a round.	Start of a fighter's activation
52	Concentrated Fire. Play at the start of the round. Nominate one enemy fighter; friendly fighters re-roll a failed Wound roll of 1 when they shoot it this round, the whole line grinding a single target down together.	Start of round
53	Devastator Doctrine. Play at the start of the round while your gang holds the Devastator Doctrine. Until the next round, friendly heavy and special weapons gain +1 Accuracy at long range — the gun-line settling into the grind and reaching out to kill.	Start of round
54	Heavy Discipline. Play at the start of a friendly fighter's activation while it carries a heavy weapon. It ignores the penalty for having moved when it shoots this turn, the warsuit or braced frame holding the weapon dead steady.	Start of a fighter's activation
55	Mark Of The Machine. Play at the start of the battle. Choose one friendly fighter; for this battle it gains heavy bionics, ignoring the penalty of one Flesh Wound. The Techmarine has blessed its augmetics before the muster marched.	Start of battle
56	Terminator Vigil. Play at any time a friendly Terminator-marked fighter is targeted. Until the end of the phase it re-rolls a failed armour save, the master-crafted plate turning the blow the augmetics did not need to answer.	Any time
61	Feirros Command. Play at the start of the round if your Techmarine is on the field. Until the next round, friendly walkers within 9" of it, rather than 6", re-roll a failed Save — the Iron Father's command projected further over the revered dead.	Start of round
62	The Iron Fathers Word. Play at the start of the battle. Choose one friendly walker; for this battle it counts as always within command of a Techmarine, re-rolling a failed Save each round wherever it stands. The Iron Father's word carries the length of the field.	Start of battle
63	Master Of The Forge. Play during the post-battle sequence. You may make one additional walker repair or bionic upgrade this phase at no cost, the master smith working through the night to ready the iron.	During the post-battle sequence
64	Contempt For Frailty. Play when a friendly fighter makes a Nerve or Willpower test. It automatically passes — the Iron Hands feel no fear their augmetics cannot answer, holding where a lesser warrior would break.	When making a Nerve or Willpower test
65	Rise Again. Play during the Recovery phase. One friendly fighter making a Recovery test rolls twice and takes the better result, the augmetics dragging it back to its feet where flesh alone would have stayed down.	During the Recovery phase
66	The Tenth Legions Wrath. Play at the start of the battle. Until the end of the first round, friendly fighters re-roll failed Hit rolls of 1 against enemy Leaders and Champions — the cold wrath of the Tenth Legion turned on the ones who matter.	Start of battle

Alliances2

Whothe Cult of the Machine (the Adeptus Mechanicus and the disciplined Imperial forces that fight beside the iron - a forge-world's tech-priesthood, a Cadian or Death Korps line regiment, any cold, ordered Imperial force that reveres function over flesh and shares the Iron Hands' contempt for weakness)

Termscampaign-level alliance: while it holds, the Mechanicus keeps the Iron Hands' iron running - the ally may repair one friendly walker for free each post-battle phase and furnish augmetic parts (a discount on bionics purchases), and once per campaign phase lends a disciplined fire-support asset (a free off-board heavy attack in one battle). In return the Iron Hands lend their unbreakable line to hold the ally's ground; the alliance runs until the forge-pact is broken or the war moves on

The Cult of the Machine are the natural allies of the Iron Hands — the Adeptus Mechanicus and the disciplined Imperial forces that fight beside the iron: a forge-world's tech-priesthood, a Cadian or Death Korps line regiment, any cold and ordered force that reveres function over flesh and shares the Chapter's contempt for weakness. While the alliance stands, the Mechanicus keeps the Iron Hands' iron running: the ally may repair one friendly walker for free each post-battle phase and furnish augmetic parts as a discount on bionics, and once per campaign phase lends a disciplined fire-support asset — a free off-board heavy attack in one battle. In return the Iron Hands lend their unbreakable line to hold the ally's ground. The pact runs until the forge-alliance is broken or the war moves on.

Whothe melta-and-plasma answer (a force built on high-AP anti-armour fire - a melta-heavy raiding gang, a plasma-line shooting force, any enemy whose whole game is cracking hard targets before they can bring their weight to bear; the one matchup that beats the Iron Hands by bursting the walkers and the Iron Father before the machine-cult can compound)

Termscampaign-level feud: while it stands, the Iron Hands gain bonus Reputation for a decisive win in which they reached the late rounds intact and ground the anti-armour force out (proving resilience beats burst); but the enemy gains Reputation for every battle in which it destroyed a friendly walker OR took the Techmarine Out of Action before round four, whatever the result - proving the iron can be cracked. The feud runs until one side is driven off the contested world

The melta-and-plasma answer is the one enemy the Iron Hands truly fear — a force built on high-AP anti-armour fire, a melta-heavy raiding force or a plasma gun-line, the matchup that beats the Chapter by bursting the walkers and the Iron Father before the machine cult can compound. It is a standing feud. While it holds, the Iron Hands gain bonus reputation for a decisive win in which they reached the late rounds intact and ground the anti-armour force out — proof that resilience beats burst. But the enemy gains reputation for every battle in which it destroyed a friendly walker or took the Techmarine Out of Action before round four, whatever the result — proof that the iron can be cracked. The feud runs until one side is driven off the contested world.

Legendary Names3

XP cost (random): 6

XP cost (chosen): 12

Iron Father is the title of an Iron Hand raised to the Chapter's ruling Iron Council, in the tradition of Feirros — a Techmarine or Captain risen to command the whole machine cult. It costs 12 experience to choose, or 6 if left to the roll of the dice. While the Iron Father is on the field, friendly walkers within 9" re-roll a failed Save even with no Techmarine near, and once each battle he may make a free repair action on any walker on the board — the living embodiment of the cult, keeping the revered dead deathless. But he is the Chapter's most valued relic of command: if he is taken Out of Action the gang loses the walker aegis entirely for the rest of the battle and suffers a reputation penalty, and a foe that cracks him with high-AP fire unravels the whole force.

XP cost (random): 6

XP cost (chosen): 12

The Twice-Forged is an honour for any fighter taken Out of Action who returned augmetically stronger — the wound made into iron, exactly as the creed promises. It costs 12 experience to choose, or 6 if left to the roll of the dice. The fighter's inherent bionic resilience improves permanently to Feel No Pain 5+, and once each battle it re-rolls a failed bionic-resilience save. But it has given much to the machine: its Agility and Initiative are permanently reduced by one step, to a minimum, the augmetics heavy and unfeeling. It endures anything, but it moves like the iron it has become.

XP cost (random): 6

XP cost (chosen): 12

The Undying is the name earned by a Dreadnought or Redemptor that has fought a whole campaign without falling — the honoured dead that will not die twice. It costs 12 experience to choose, or 6 if left to the roll of the dice. The walker re-rolls all failed Saves while any friendly fighter is within 6", not only a Techmarine, and the first time each battle it would be destroyed it survives on a single Wound. But it is revered past reason: if it is ever finally destroyed the whole gang suffers a lasting reputation penalty and every friendly fighter takes a Nerve test at the sight of the fallen legend — the Chapter's grief for the machine outweighing any it would spend on a man.

Sub-Plots2

Reward: The debt to weakness is paid: the fighter earns The Twice-Forged honour for free and the gang gains a permanent Reputation bonus as a living proof of the creed walks its line. Should the nominated fighter be killed outright before the ascension completes, the sub-plot is lost and cannot be re-attempted with another. Claimable once per campaign.

This sub-plot begins with a single Marine or Champion nominated at the campaign's start, and closes when that fighter has survived being taken Out of Action and returned three separate times — each time converting a Lasting Injury into a bionic upgrade rather than a scar, the flesh replaced piece by piece with iron across the season.

When it completes, the debt to weakness is paid: the fighter earns The Twice-Forged honour for free and your gang gains a permanent reputation bonus, a living proof of the creed walking its line. Should the nominated fighter be killed outright before the ascension completes, the sub-plot is lost and cannot be re-attempted with another. It can be claimed only once per campaign.

Reward: The honoured dead becomes legend: the walker earns The Undying name for free, and the gang gains a permanent Reputation bonus as the sector learns of the Dreadnought that cannot be killed. Should the walker be destroyed before the fifth survival, the sub-plot is lost with it and the grief costs the gang Reputation. Claimable once per campaign.

This sub-plot asks you to field a single Dreadnought or Redemptor and keep it from ever being destroyed. It closes when that walker has fought in and survived five separate battles, mended each time by the machine cult, without once losing its last Wound.

When it completes, the honoured dead becomes legend: the walker earns The Undying name for free, and your gang gains a permanent reputation bonus as the sector learns of the Dreadnought that cannot be killed. Should the walker be destroyed before the fifth survival, the sub-plot is lost with it and the grief costs your gang reputation. It can be claimed only once per campaign.

Terrain2

The Drop Pod Redoubt is a spent Astartes drop pod planted on the field as a hardened firing position, its hull a wall of ceramite the Iron Hands anchor a lane on. It is placed as impassable terrain during set-up. A fighter in base contact with it gains full cover and a 4+ save against ranged attacks, and once per round its automated defence array makes a single ranged attack — treat it as a storm bolter — against the nearest enemy in line of sight. Once placed the redoubt cannot be moved: a fixed anchor for the grinding line.

The Iron Forge is a mobile walker repair-bay and forge-shrine dropped onto the battlefield — the machine cult's field workshop, where the revered dead are mended and the augmetic wounded rebuilt. It is placed as impassable terrain during set-up, in or adjacent to the Iron Hands deployment zone. A friendly walker that begins its activation within 3" of the Forge recovers a lost Wound, and once per battle a fighter within 3" may fit a field-augmetic, gaining a 6+ Feel No Pain for the rest of the battle or ignoring one Flesh Wound. As a held territory, controlling the Iron Forge grants one free Dreadnought repair each post-battle sequence.