Codex · Space Marines

Campaign55

Scenarios2

Attackerthe opposing gang (caught by the Damned and trying to break contact - to disengage from a force it cannot out-last and escape the board before the unkillable revenants grind it down)

Defenderthe Legion of the Damned (the force that cannot be out-attritioned, appearing to deny the enemy his escape - the dead do not tire, do not break, and do not let go, and their whole task is to keep the enemy on the field until he is purged)

Deploythe escaping gang deploys in the centre of the board; the Legion of the Damned sets up in reserve and arrives as apparitions each round, materialising more than six inches from an enemy, appearing between the fugitives and the board edges they are trying to reach

Objectivethe escaping gang wins by getting a set share of its fighters off its chosen board edge; the Legion wins by taking enough of them Out of Action first, denying the escape

Victorythe escaping gang wins if it moves at least half its starting fighters off the far board edge by the end of round six; the Legion of the Damned wins if it takes half or more of the enemy's fighters Out of Action before they can escape

Rewardsan escape win grants the fleeing gang bonus Reputation for surviving the dead and a Control-Track hold; a Legion win grants bonus Reputation and a Control-Track step for a purge completed; any Damned that takes a fleeing enemy Out of Action within three inches of a board edge gains 1 bonus XP for cutting off the escape

Control Tracka Legion win advances its Control-Track claim by one step (nothing escaped the district); an escape win holds the marker for the fleeing gang and the Legion withdraws to apparate elsewhere, gaining nothing but taking no penalty - the dead are never truly driven off, only elsewhere

An enemy gang, caught by the dead, fights only to get away — to disengage from a force it cannot out-last and reach the board's edge before the revenants grind it down.

ATTACKER & DEFENDER The escaping gang is the attacker. The Legion of the Damned, appearing to deny the escape, is the defender.

THE BATTLEFIELD Set up as normal, with terrain across the board. The escaping gang nominates its escape edge before deployment.

DEPLOYMENT The escaping gang deploys in the centre of the board. The Legion of the Damned sets up in reserve and arrives as apparitions each round, materialising more than 6" from an enemy, appearing between the fugitives and the edges they are trying to reach.

NO ESCAPE The dead do not tire, do not break and do not let go. The Legion's whole task is to keep the enemy on the field until he is purged.

ENDING THE BATTLE The battle ends at the close of round six.

VICTORY The escaping gang wins if it moves at least half its starting fighters off its chosen board edge by the end of round six. The Legion of the Damned wins if it takes half or more of the enemy's fighters Out of Action before they can escape.

REWARDS An escape win grants the fleeing gang bonus Reputation for surviving the dead and holds its Control-Track marker. A Legion win grants bonus Reputation and a Control-Track step for a purge completed. Any Damned that takes a fleeing enemy Out of Action within 3" of a board edge gains 1 bonus XP for cutting off the escape.

CONTROL TRACK A Legion win advances its Control-Track claim by one step; nothing escaped the district. An escape win holds the marker for the fleeing gang, and the Legion withdraws to apparate elsewhere, gaining nothing but taking no penalty — the dead are never truly driven off, only elsewhere.

Attackerthe Legion of the Damned (a spectral strike force that materialises onto the field to purge it - deep-striking in as an apparition, ignoring cover on arrival, and burning the enemy down; they score by elimination, not by holding ground, because the dead came to kill and not to garrison)

Defenderthe opposing gang (holding the ground the Damned appear amid, trying to survive a force that cannot be out-attritioned and to break contact before the few unkillable bodies grind it down)

Deploythe defender deploys first across the whole board as it likes; the Legion of the Damned sets up ENTIRELY in reserve as the apparition, and its fighters arrive from round one, deep-striking in more than six inches from any enemy (or closer via tactics), ignoring cover in the round each arrives

Objectivethe Legion wins by purging - taking a set share of the defender's fighters Out of Action; the defender wins by surviving with its force largely intact and denying the Damned their tally

Victorythe Legion of the Damned wins if, by the end of round six, it has taken at least half the defender's starting fighters Out of Action; the defender wins if it ends round six with more than half its force still standing

Rewardsa Legion win grants bonus Reputation and a Control-Track step for a purge carried out; a Damned fighter that took an enemy Out of Action in the round it materialised gains 1 bonus XP; a defender win that weathered the apparition and kept its force grants the defender bonus Reputation for surviving the dead

Control Tracka Legion win advances its Control-Track claim on the district by one step (the dead purged it and moved on); a defender win holds the marker and denies the advance, and the Legion - which never holds ground - simply withdraws to apparate elsewhere, taking no attrition penalty but gaining nothing

A spectral strike force materialises onto a held field to purge it. The Legion of the Damned comes not to take ground but to end those who stand upon it.

ATTACKER & DEFENDER The Legion of the Damned is the attacker. The opposing gang, holding the ground the Damned appear amid, is the defender.

THE BATTLEFIELD Set up as normal for a contested district, with terrain spread across the whole board.

DEPLOYMENT The defender deploys first, anywhere across the board as it wishes. The Legion of the Damned sets up entirely in reserve as the apparition; none of its fighters begin on the board.

THE APPARITION From the first round, the Legion's fighters arrive from reserve, deep-striking in more than 6" from any enemy — or closer, where a tactic allows. In the round each fighter arrives, its shooting ignores cover. The dead came to kill, not to garrison; they score by elimination, not by holding ground.

ENDING THE BATTLE The battle ends at the close of round six, or when one gang is broken and flees the field.

VICTORY The Legion of the Damned wins if, by the end of round six, it has taken at least half the defender's starting fighters Out of Action. The defender wins if it ends round six with more than half its force still standing.

REWARDS A Legion win grants bonus Reputation and a Control-Track step for a purge carried out. A Damned that took an enemy Out of Action in the round it materialised gains 1 bonus XP. A defender that weathered the apparition and kept its force earns bonus Reputation for surviving the dead.

CONTROL TRACK A Legion win advances its Control-Track claim on the district by one step; the dead purged it and moved on. A defender win holds the marker and denies the advance — and the Legion, which never holds ground, simply withdraws to apparate elsewhere, taking no attrition penalty but gaining nothing.

Favours8

Roll	Favour	Patron
2	The Warps Favour. The Warp's Favour. The empyrean that sustains the Legion stirs on its behalf, though it never gives without taking. In your next battle, one fighter of your choice improves its ethereal field-save by 1; but the warp claims its due, and until the end of that battle the same fighter suffers -1 to its Cool checks against Compulsion, the empyrean's grip tightening even as it shields.	the Warp (the empyrean that sustains the dead)
3	The Unbidden Reinforcement. The Unbidden Reinforcement. Revenants you never mustered appear to fight beside you. In your next battle you may field one additional Damned Legionnaire, arriving from reserve as an apparition and fighting as one of the Legion in every way. When the battle ends it is gone, claimed back by the warp — you keep it on no roster and it earns no experience.	the Unbidden Dead (revenants that appear, fight, and are gone)
4	Terror Of The Sector. Terror of the Sector. Word of the walking dead runs ahead of you from world to world. In your next battle, choose one enemy fighter type before deployment; every enemy of that type suffers -1 to Cool and Willpower for the whole battle, unmanned before a blow is struck by the reputation of the force they must face.	the Legion's own dread reputation across the sector
5	The Lost Reliquary. The Lost Reliquary. A relic of the Legion's own lost past is recovered from the field. One fighter of your choice carries it into your next battle: once during that battle, it may re-roll any single dice — a hit, a wound, a save, a Damnation roll — the dead's own history lending its hand. Afterward the relic crumbles to dust, as the works of the dead always do.	the lost reliquary of the Chapter (relics recovered from the dead's own past)
6	The Faithfuls Tribute. The Faithful's Tribute. Mortals who dare not face you leave offerings along your path — coin, ammunition, oaths of terrified devotion. You gain a tribute of credits for your gang's stash, as your campaign's favour reward dictates, left by those who would sooner buy the dead off than meet them on the field.	the terrified faithful (mortals who leave tribute to the dead they dare not face)
8	Ancient Volkite Cache. Ancient Volkite Cache. A hoard of archaic beam-weapons from a lost age is unearthed on the battlefield. In your next battle, one fighter may exchange a basic or pistol weapon for a cursed volkite of the same class at no cost — the old fire pressed back into service by the very dead who first carried it.	an ancient volkite cache (archaic weapons of a lost age)
10	The Materialisation Beacon. The Materialisation Beacon. A resonance in the warp guides the Legion's crossing. In your next battle, your fighters arriving from reserve may be set up more than 3" from an enemy rather than the usual 6", and you may choose which of them arrives each round rather than leaving it to a roll — the dead stepping through exactly where the beacon calls them.	the materialisation beacon (a resonance in the warp that guides the arrival)
12	The Legend Of Attica Centurius. The Legend of Attica Centurius. The greatest of the Legion's favours: its one named lord turns his will to your cause. In your next battle, your Leader's Animus Malorum returns a fallen Damned within 12" on a roll of 3 or higher, and once that battle a fallen Damned returns with no roll at all — the legend himself keeping the dead upon their feet.	the legend of Sergeant Attica Centurius (the Legion's one named figure)

Gang Tactics36

Roll	Tactic	Timing
11	Sudden Manifestation. SUDDEN MANIFESTATION	Before the battle, during deployment
12	Unholy Dread. UNHOLY DREAD	Start of an enemy fighter's activation
13	The Warp Provides. THE WARP PROVIDES	When a friendly fighter would fail its ethereal field save
14	Vengeful Return. VENGEFUL RETURN	When a friendly fighter is taken Out of Action
15	Cursed Volley. CURSED VOLLEY	Before a friendly fighter shoots
16	They Do Not Hold. THEY DO NOT HOLD	Start of the round
21	Apparitions Arrival. APPARITION'S ARRIVAL	When a friendly fighter arrives from reserve
22	Ethereal Ward. ETHEREAL WARD	Start of the round
23	Empyrean Surge. EMPYREAN SURGE	Start of a friendly fighter's activation
24	Unwavering Advance. UNWAVERING ADVANCE	Start of the round
25	Deflagrate. DEFLAGRATE	When a friendly fighter shoots a volkite weapon
26	Ghost Step. GHOST-STEP	Before a friendly fighter moves
31	Terror Incarnate. TERROR INCARNATE	Start of the round
32	The Fire That Burns The Soul. THE FIRE THAT BURNS THE SOUL	When a friendly fighter shoots a flame or melta weapon
33	Grave Cold Resolve. GRAVE-COLD RESOLVE	When the enemy would force a Nerve or Cool test on a friendly fighter
34	Spectral Recall. SPECTRAL RECALL	Start of a friendly fighter's activation
35	Wrath Of The Fallen. WRATH OF THE FALLEN	When a friendly fighter is taken Out of Action
36	Materialisation Shock. MATERIALISATION SHOCK	When a friendly fighter arrives from reserve
41	Damnations Grip. DAMNATION'S GRIP	When a friendly fighter ends a charge in base contact with an enemy
42	The Unbidden. THE UNBIDDEN	When a friendly fighter arrives from reserve
43	Soulfire. SOULFIRE	Before a friendly fighter shoots
44	Relentless. RELENTLESS	Start of a friendly fighter's activation
45	Deaths Head. DEATH'S-HEAD	Start of the round
46	Cursed Aim. CURSED AIM	When a friendly fighter shoots
51	The Deathless. THE DEATHLESS	When a friendly fighter is taken Out of Action
52	Phantom Charge. PHANTOM CHARGE	When a friendly fighter arrives from reserve
53	Volkite Fusillade. VOLKITE FUSILLADE	Start of a friendly fighter's activation
54	The Legion Endures. THE LEGION ENDURES	When a friendly fighter suffers a wound that would take it Out of Action
55	Warp Touched Fury. WARP-TOUCHED FURY	When a friendly fighter fails its Compulsion check
56	Grim Apparition. GRIM APPARITION	When an enemy fighter targets a friendly fighter
61	No Rest For The Wicked. NO REST FOR THE WICKED	Start of the round
62	Hatred Undying. HATRED UNDYING	Start of the battle, after deployment
63	The Lost Legion. THE LOST LEGION	Start of the round
64	Spectral Bulwark. SPECTRAL BULWARK	When a friendly fighter is in base contact with an objective
65	The Reaping. THE REAPING	When a friendly fighter takes an enemy Out of Action
66	Atticas Command. ATTICA'S COMMAND	Start of a friendly Leader's activation

Alliances2

Whothe faithful who revere the dead (an Ecclesiarchy war-host, an Adepta Sororitas order, or a levy of believers who venerate the Legion as living relics and holy revenants rather than fearing them - the rare mortals who see the walking dead as saints of the Emperor made manifest)

Termscampaign-level alliance, and a thin one by the Legion's nature: while it holds, the faithful treat the Damned as objects of veneration and will lend aid, but the Legion neither asks for it nor stays to return it. The faithful may once per campaign phase send an offering - a sum of credits, or a one-battle Willpower blessing against sorcery - to a Legion battle; in exchange the Damned, when they happen to fight near the faithful's ground, purge its enemies as they pass. The pact runs until the faithful's reverence turns to terror, or the Legion simply moves on, as the dead always do

The faithful who revere the dead are the rare mortals who see the walking dead not as horrors but as living relics — an Ecclesiarchy war-host, an order of the Adepta Sororitas, or a levy of believers who venerate the Legion as holy revenants made manifest. The alliance is a thin one, as all the Legion's bonds are. While it holds, the faithful treat the Damned as objects of veneration and will lend aid, though the Legion neither asks for it nor lingers to return it. Once per campaign phase the faithful may send an offering to a Legion battle — a sum of credits, or a one-battle Willpower blessing against sorcery; in exchange, when the Damned happen to fight near the faithful's ground, they purge its enemies as they pass. The pact runs until reverence curdles into terror, or the Legion simply moves on, as the dead always do.

Whothe relentless hunter (the Legion's natural predator - a high-alpha, high-burst force that removes the few costly bodies before the ethereal save and the Deathless returns can matter: massed melta and plasma, an elite kill-team, a shooty gang built to delete a target in a single activation)

Termscampaign-level feud: while it holds, whenever the Legion of the Damned and the hunter are drawn against each other the hunter deploys knowing the Legion's arrival and may re-roll to remove Damned before they can return, while the Legion gains bonus Reputation for any battle in which it purges the hunter despite its opening strike. The feud persists until one force is driven from the sector - and the dead are hard to drive anywhere

The relentless hunter is the Legion's natural predator — a high-alpha, high-burst force built to remove the few costly bodies before the ethereal save and the Deathless returns can matter: massed melta and plasma, a shooting gang made to delete a target in a single activation, an elite strike element that hits once and hits hard. The relationship is a feud, not a friendship. While it holds, whenever the Legion of the Damned and the hunter are drawn against one another the hunter deploys knowing the dead are coming and may re-roll to remove Damned before they can return, while the Legion earns bonus Reputation for any battle in which it purges the hunter despite the alpha-strike. The feud persists until one force is driven from the sector — and the dead are hard to drive anywhere.

Legendary Names3

XP cost (random): 8

XP cost (chosen): 16

Sergeant Attica Centurius is the Legion's one named figure — the lord who bears the Animus Malorum and the will that keeps the dead deathless. A Leader taken as Attica Centurius carries that relic further and surer than any other: its aura reaches out to twelve inches, a fallen Damned within it returns on a roll of three or higher rather than the usual harder throw, and once each battle he may simply command a fallen Damned back to its feet with no roll at all. Near him, the dead all but refuse to stay down.

But the whole Legion is bound to its named lord. Should Attica Centurius himself be taken Out of Action, no friendly Damned may use any return or Deathless effect for the rest of that battle — with the will that anchors them gone, the dead, for once, stay where they fall. The enemy who learns this hunts the Sergeant above all else.

XP cost (random): 6

XP cost (chosen): 12

The Terror Made Manifest is a Damned whose materialisation once broke a gang's nerve outright — an apparition that ended a battle by dread alone. Its terror is a weapon in its own right: enemy fighters within nine inches suffer a penalty of one to Cool and Willpower, any enemy it charges must pass a Cool test or be unable to strike back that round, and when it arrives from reserve every enemy within twelve inches must at once take a Nerve test. It ends fights with no blow struck.

Yet it is more apparition than soldier now, its presence so wrong that even its own kind keep their distance. It cannot benefit from any friendly aura, from a gang tactic played upon it, or from the Animus Malorum's return, and it may never begin a round within three inches of more than one other friendly fighter. The terror it radiates isolates it — a thing too dreadful to stand beside.

XP cost (random): 6

XP cost (chosen): 12

The Thrice-Risen is a Damned that has returned from Out of Action three times in a single battle — the apparition that would not stay down, and made a habit of it. It carries its own return: once per battle, when it is taken Out of Action, it rises with no roll at all, set up in base contact with the nearest friendly Damned on a single Wound, needing no relic to bring it back. It has made a practice of not dying, and the practice holds.

But the warp has too firm a grip to let it truly rest. It can never be voluntarily withdrawn from a battle, must always be deployed while it is able, and suffers a permanent penalty of one to its Cool checks against Compulsion — the more it refuses death, the harder the empyrean drives it forward, a revenant increasingly ridden by the very thing that keeps it walking.

Sub-Plots2

Reward: The Deathless is proven: the gang gains a permanent Reputation bonus, and for the rest of the campaign a Damned that would be permanently removed by the Damnation table is instead only retired for a single battle before returning. The Legion becomes what it claims to be - a force that does not diminish. This sub-plot can be claimed only once per campaign.

The Deathless. The Legion of the Damned answers Out of Action not with Lasting Injuries but with its own Damnation table: a fallen Damned rolls on it after each battle, far more likely to return to your roster than any mortal, and only rarely laid finally to rest. This sub-plot resolves when your gang has fought a set span of the campaign — five battles is the usual measure — with its roster neither grown by recruitment, which it cannot do, nor fallen below its starting number, the dead returning faster than they are lost.

Claim it, and the Deathless is proven: your gang gains a permanent Reputation bonus, and for the rest of the campaign a Damned that the Damnation table would remove for good is instead only retired for a single battle before returning. The Legion becomes what it claims to be — a force that does not diminish. This sub-plot can be claimed only once per campaign.

Reward: The long damnation is answered: the gang gains a permanent Reputation bonus, may re-roll one Damnation table result per battle thereafter (the warp's purpose keeping its servants in the fight), and one fighter earns a free Legendary Name for its part in the great work. This sub-plot can be claimed only once per campaign.

The Long Damnation. At the campaign's start your Legion fixes upon a single purpose — a foe to purge, a taint to burn out, a debt of damnation to answer — and pursues it without deviation. The sub-plot resolves when your gang has won a battle against that declared purpose on three separate worlds or districts, the dead carrying the same cold intent from place to place without ever turning aside or explaining why.

When it is answered, the long damnation pays out: your gang gains a permanent Reputation bonus, may re-roll one Damnation table result per battle thereafter as the warp's purpose keeps its servants in the fight, and one fighter earns a free Legendary Name for its part in the great work. This sub-plot can be claimed only once per campaign.

Terrain2

The Materialisation Rift is a thin place in reality — a cold seam in the air where the dead most easily walk out of the warp and onto the field. Place it on the board before deployment. Friendly Damned may arrive from reserve within 3" of the Rift, rather than the usual 6" from an enemy, and any Damned within 3" of it at the end of a round improves its ethereal field-save by 1 until the start of the next round. Any non-Damned fighter that ends its activation within 3" of the Rift must pass a Cool test or suffer a penalty of 1 to its Cool until it moves away — the seam gnaws at living nerves.

The Shrine of the Fallen is a memorial to the dead of the lost Chapter — a death's-head reliquary of bone and blackened ceramite that the Legion gathers around, radiating the grave-cold dread of the walking dead. Place it on the board before deployment; it is impassable terrain and grants full cover to fighters in base contact with it. Enemy fighters within 6" of the Shrine suffer a penalty of 1 to Cool and Willpower. Once per battle, when a friendly Damned within 3" of the Shrine is taken Out of Action, it may be set back up in base contact with the Shrine on a single Wound — the fallen returning to the memorial of the fallen.