Sumo Boy: Hmmm
it's kind of off-the cuff most of the time, but using a consistent framework borrowed from several GW games.
I keep a lot of the 40k base mechanics and conventions just as they are. Most of what changes is the turn sequence, and that's where I start borrowing from other games. Here are the main changes:
1. Turn sequence is borrowed from Warhammer Quest, with some modifications. Players move around the map and roll for events . If an encounter event is rolled, the kind of enemy is then rolled for on a table weighed in this order: peons (weak enemies), goons (enemies equivalent to the players), or mini-bosses (enemies bigger/better than the players).
2. If any of the players have some sort of scanner (like an auspex) or they find one in a Loot event, Space Hulk style blips are placed on the table instead of rolling for encounters. Blip movement is resolved using a scatter die + 1d6 in outdoors scenarios, and are converted whenever LOS is established to a player model at the end of movement. For indoor Space Hulk style layouts where a blip reaches a T or X junction, a 1d6 table is used as follows: On a 1, the blip turns around and moves back the way it came, on 2-3 it turns left, on 3-4 it turns right, and on a 6 it moves forward.
That table changes depending on what kind of tile the blip is on and which space it started in.
3. In the absence of scanners, if encounters are rolled outside, a scatter die is rolled. The encountered enemies are placed 12 + 2d6 inches away in the direction of the scatter die, adjusting as necessary for terrain.
4. Reactions are borrowed, with modifications, from Advanced Space Crusade. When a blip converts or when enemies are placed during an Encounter event, Initiative + 1d6 is rolled for the freshly placed enemies, using their leader's Initiative, and any player models within direct LOS also roll Initiative + d6 once using the leader's Initiative. Whoever rolls higher gets to act first, and the other side can react.
5. Allowable reactions are: dive for cover (move 1d6 inches to the nearest cover item to gain a cover save, if you don;t make it into cover, then any subsequent enemy attacks are resolved at -1 to BS because the target is moving), or make a snap shot attack at -1 to BS. If the enemy survives, they then resolve their actions normally.
6. Leadership tests are only made for NPCs and enemies. In some situations, notably cowardly enemies like Grots must make a successful Ld test or flee at the start of an encounter, while most normal enemies make Ld tests after they take casualties during an encounter.
7. Vehicles aren't really used often, but if they are, they use most of the normal 40k vehicle rules as-is.
The players start the game with one or more specific objectives, and win the game if they succeed at their primary objectives. Objectives depend on the scenario, and I use objective markers mounted on slottabases for those.
Players usually act in some order agreed upon at the start of the game, and every time they want to act, they can choose to move, use a special ability, or interact with the environment in some fashion (opening doors, checking lockers/crates for loot, etc). In a combat encounter, players can choose one action: move, move and attack (for weapons that allow it) attack, or charge into close combat (if applicable).
Some things automatically trigger encounters-for example, the infestation markers I mentioned would spawn 1d3 critters like Rippers on a 4+ if any player model comes within 6 inches of them, which makes navigating through a bunch of infestation markers something of a nail-biter.
When a character is wounded, they receive a wound token and are placed on their side as a reminder. In their next action, they have to make a Toughness save to recover. If they recover successfully, they can act normally, but must subtract the number of accumulated wound tokens from all subsequent die rolls to represent injury degrading their performance. Characters are out of action if they collect a number of tokens equal to their Toughness (collapsing from shock). Loot items like medkits and whatnot can remove a wound token.
If a model has more than one wound in its default 40k profile, then the model can ignore the same number of wound tokens before it starts incurring die roll penalties. (For instance, a 2 wound character only starts counting penalties after receiving its third wound token)
If a character is hit by an insta-kill weapon (Str equal to or greater than 2x their Toughness), though, they're DEAD and don't get to make that recovery roll.
If I run into a strange situation that the home rules above don't account for, that's when I wing it and make a temporary ruling on the spot.
These are the basic changes off the top of my head, and if I remember any others, I'll post them.
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Chris Palmer: I hope to post the dreadnought review tonight-I just finished the torso and I'm having a blast building it.
Cpt Jake: I got the dread for Macragge too, and I figured on borrowing the Warriors from my Advanced Space Crusade figure collection to play out those scenarios too. The Macragge set is the best 40k intro so far, and it's loads of fun just with what's in the box, which got 2 thumbs up from me.
-Mel