Crusade Vows. Before the first blow, the crusade swears a single Vow for the campaign. It is chosen, fixed and double-edged — re-swearable between battles, never changed mid-fight. Under Suffer Not the Unclean to Live, friendly fighters strike at +1 to Hit in melee on the charge, but the gang may never voluntarily fall back from combat. Under Uphold the Honour of the Emperor, every fighter auto-passes the first Nerve test each round, gang-wide, but shoots at -1 to Hit beyond 12", for the crusade closes and does not skulk. Under Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds, a Templar charging a fighter of higher Wounds value gains +1 Attack and +1 to Wound, but must always charge the largest enemy in reach when able. The Vow overlays the gang's Combat Doctrines and leans the whole force toward Assault. No token, no currency — only an oath the crusade keeps until it is re-sworn.
Signatures3
Combat Doctrines. The disciplined heart of the Astartes way of war, and the mechanic that sets a Chapter apart from any warhost that merely brings guns to a fight. At the start of each round the controlling player declares the strike force's stance, which may shift one step along the ladder from Devastator to Tactical to Assault. Under the Devastator stance the gang fires with lethal precision, adding to its ranged Hit rolls or re-rolling misses. Under the Tactical stance the brethren move with purpose, gaining ground and seizing objectives. Under the Assault stance they close for the kill, striking harder on the charge and running down a fleeing foe. A Chapter cannot hold every advantage at once; it flows through the phases of battle as its commanders read the field, and each brotherhood leans toward the end of the ladder that suits its character.
Finest Hour. Once in a battle, a commander seizes the moment the whole war seems to turn upon and drives his brethren to their greatest effort. Once per battle a Captain or Lieutenant may call upon it. Until the start of the next round the commander himself gains an additional Attack, and every friendly fighter within 6" re-rolls failed Wound rolls, the strike force striking as one at the instant it matters most. It is a single, decisive surge rather than a lasting boon — spent in the crisis of the fight, it does not come again. A wise commander holds it for the stroke that breaks the enemy rather than the one that merely bloodies him.