So, you’ve read the rules and are now thirsting for the opportunity to win glory. It is time to prepare for battle…

This section will guide you through the seven steps of preparing for battle; these apply whether you’re using an existing mission or creating your own, and cover everything from picking your armies to determining the winner at the end of the game.

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The first thing you need to do when preparing for a battle is to decide if you wish to use a Warhammer 40,000 mission from a Games Workshop publication. If so, you need to choose which one, and if not, you and your opponent can create your own mission by deciding for yourselves what to do for each step of the Preparing for Battle sequence.

Warhammer 40,000 is a very flexible game, designed to allow you to recreate any of the battles that take place in the 41st Millennium. Because of this, when you prepare to fight a Warhammer 40,000 battle using a mission of your own devising, you and your opponent will need to discuss how you will set up the battlefield, pick the models you will use in the game, and decide how to determine the winner. If you take this approach, simply work through the following six steps – the description of each includes guidance for those creating their own missions.Games Workshop publishes a large and growing range of Warhammer 40,000 missions. Each one provides all the information you need to prepare for a Warhammer 40,000 battle, and they have been carefully designed to provide exciting and challenging games. We have included two sets of missions to choose from in this book (see below), but these are far from the only options available, however, and other publications present Altars of War (mission sets designed to represent the fighting styles of particular factions) and Echoes of War (narrative missions that reconstruct battles from the history of the Warhammer 40,000 universe).

If you play an existing mission, the mission will include instructions for each of the Preparing for Battle steps. Many of the published missions also refer back to some of the suggested rules included for each step here.

If a particular mission instructs players to Prepare for Battle using a different sequence, or otherwise modifies the rules in this section, always follow the sequence and rules presented in that mission.Some mission sets have a Mission table to roll on. If the winner of the Choose a Mission roll-off wants to use such a mission set, then the players can either agree which mission to play from those in the set, or can select the mission randomly by rolling on the Mission table provided with the set.This book includes two sets of missions: Eternal War and Maelstrom of War. These missions are specifically designed for games where the armies are of roughly the same size and the situation gives neither side a particular advantage. As a result, it is not necessary to know which of these missions you will be playing before selecting an army, only the agreed points value of the two battling armies. Once you know that, and you have selected your force, simply turn up and play.

If you and your opponent want to play a mission from either of the two sets presented in this section, roll-off against each other. The winner can decide which mission table to use.

Then, if you are playing Eternal War, you and your opponent can either pick which mission to play from those on the Eternal War mission table to the right, or select the mission randomly by rolling on the table. If you are playing Maelstrom of War, you and your opponent can either pick which mission to play from the mission table below, or select the mission randomly by rolling on the table.
The Altar of War missions (included in numerous codex supplements) are designed to provide players with games that will really challenge their tactical ability. We’ve gone to some pains to make sure that each mission is as balanced as possible, and that they provide both sides with a new set of tactical challenges to overcome.

This means that, in order to win, you will need to be prepared to think on your feet and quickly adapt to the new circumstances the missions will throw at you. You may be called upon to spearhead an attack or fight to hold a defensive position deep behind enemy lines. Tried and trusted tactics will need to be re-thought in the face of these new challenges, and you will need to be ready to think outside the box in order to win.

It is very straightforward to use an Altar of War mission – it only requires a handful of minor modifications to the rules for fighting a battle in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. These changes are explained in detail next, but they boil down to: roll-off if you want to use an Altar of War mission; if you win, you can roll on an Altar of War mission table instead of the Eternal War mission table. And that’s it!

The Mission
If either you or your opponent wish to use an Altar of War mission, then you must make a roll-off at the start of The Mission step of Prepearing for Battle. The winner of the roll-off can choose to either roll on the Eternal War mission table, or instead roll on the Altar of War mission table for their army. Other supplements also have new types of mission tables, and the winner of the dice roll-off could choose to roll on one of those, if they prefer and are allowed to do so.

These rolls will determine which mission is used for the battle. Note that each set of Altar of War missions is linked to an army chosen from a specific codex; in order to use Altar of War missions, an army chosen from the appropriate codex must be the primary detachment. For example in the case of Altar of War: Crimson Slaughter, the missions are linked to armies chosen from Codex: Chaos Space Marines using the additional rules found elsewhere in appropriate book.

For example, Jeremy and Mark have arranged to play a game of Warhammer 40,000. Jeremy has brought along his Crimson Slaughter army and this book, while Mark is using his Dark Eldar and has Eternal War missions from the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. They roll-off and Jeremy wins. He decides to roll on the Crimson Slaughter Mission table in this book. If Mark had won, he would have rolled on the Eternal War Mission table instead.

The Battlefield
The deployment map, deployment zones and deployment instructions for each Altar of War mission are included in the mission itself; unless otherwise stated, do not use the deployment maps in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.

The Enemy
The player that won the roll-off and rolled on the Altar of War Mission table is known as ‘the Appropriate Codex player’ in the rules and missions that follow, and their opponent is known as ‘the enemy player’. Note that the player that loses the roll-off counts as ‘the enemy’ for the purposes of an Altar of War mission, even if he have same army.

Reserves
Altar of War missions follow all of the rules for Reserves; however, some specify different limits on how many units may (or must) be placed in reserve rather than deployed at the start of the game.

Carry On As Normal
These three changes aside, all of the rules for Preparing for Battle are used as normal.

Selected Missions
As an alternative to rolling on a mission table, the players can agree to choose the mission they wish to fight. Picking missions is a great way to try out a particular mission you haven’t fought before or to hone your skills at missions you have previously fought.Echoes of War missions represent key historical battles inspired by the violent struggles within the history of the Appropriate Codex. The Armies section of each of these missions provides guidance on the forces present so that you can replay the pivotal events using the armies, characters and war machines described in supplement. Many of the Echoes of War missions include a map that depicts the battlefield on which the conflicts were fought. For those with a mind to historical accuracy, you’ll notice certain restrictions and rules that we use to replicate the conditions of the battle in question. Whilst the Echoes of War missions have been inspired by specific events, with a little imagination they can easily be repurposed to recreate battles of your own invention. If you choose to go this route, you can modify these missions so that they can be fought using any combination of forces and terrain in your collection.

The Mission
However you use these missions, it only requires a handful of changes to the Preparing for Battle rules in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, which are detailed below.

The Armies
Each mission recommends which armies and units should be used if you want to fight the battle according to the story. If players are using different armies, then it is up to them to choose sides.

Unique Characters
Models noted as being Unique in their Army List Entry represent legendary characters of the 41st Millennium. If you want to play a mission according to the story, then these characters should only be used if they are listed in The Armies section of that mission they were either at the battle, or they were not!

The Battlefield and Deployment
The deployment map, zones and instructions for an Echoes of War mission are included with the mission itself; don't use those in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.

Victory Conditions and Mission Special Rules
Some mission special rules and victory conditions only apply to specific units. If that unit isn't present at your version of the battle, then the associated special rule or victory condition is simply ignored.

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There are many ways you can pick an army, and these are discussed in detail in the Choosing Your Army section. Both players will need to agree whether they will use a points limit, and any other restrictions they will place upon their army selection. In some cases, the mission may also specify certain restrictions or requirements.

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The battlefield over which your game is played must be set up before the game begins. This step is split into two parts: creating the battlefield itself, and placing scenery upon it.The battlefield is usually a flat surface on which scenery models are placed and over which the armies fight. The battlefield can be of any size from 2' by 2' upwards. We recommend that it not be more than 6’ wide at any point, as tables that are wider than this can limit the ability of players to reach models in the centre of the battlefield. Battlefields are most often rectangular in shape, but can be square, round, L-shaped, or whatever other configuration is agreed upon. A Realm of Battle board makes an excellent battlefield, but a typical dining table will suffice.

The battlefield is considered to be ‘open ground’ for all rules purposes. A unit cannot voluntarily move or be placed beyond the table edge unless it, or the mission you are playing, has rules that specifically say it can choose to leave the battlefield.Every battlefield looks better if it includes at least some terrain, be it woods, hills or buildings. Games Workshop manufactures a range of Citadel scenery models for just this purpose. These models are specifically designed to provide an evocative and tactically challenging landscape over which the models in your army can fight. Many pieces of Citadel scenery have a terrain datasheet that describes how they are used in the game.

Exactly how you set up Citadel scenery models is purely a matter of personal taste, and they can be placed upon the battlefield in any way the players find agreeable. In general, we have found that the more scenery you can place on the battlefield, the better the game will be. That aside, placing the scenery so as to create an interesting and inspiring looking landscape should be your primary goal.Some pieces of scenery are called fortifications. These can be included in a player’s army or used as pieces of ‘neutral’ scenery controlled by neither side. If a fortification is taken as part of an army, then it is set up with the rest of the units in the army using the same deployment rules as the other models. If you decide to use a fortification as a piece of neutral scenery, then it is set up during this step. Each fortification has a fortification datasheet that describes how it is used in the game.Once the armies are chosen, the areas where they can be set up, or rather deployed, must be decided. If you are using a mission, it will have a deployment map that will show you each player’s deployment zone. If you are not using a published mission, we recommend you simply divide the table in half down its length, and deploy the armies in the opposite halves of the table. Alternatively, you could divide the table in half across its width, or diagonally, or use Random Deployment Zones (below).

In addition, it is usual to say that units from the two sides must set up a certain distance away from each other. This is not strictly necessary, but it stops the armies from starting too close together, and allows for a certain amount of manoeuvring at the start of the battle before units can charge each other. The easiest way of achieving this is to say that no unit may set up within a certain distance of the centre line between the two sides’ deployment zones. We’ve found that 12" away from the centre line works best; this ensures that the armies will start at least 24" apart, which makes first turn charges hard to achieve while still giving you enough space on a typical table to deploy your army.As well as deciding on each player’s deployment zone, you must select a table edge for each player. When models Fall Back, they will head for their table edge, and it is also where Reserve units will arrive from. The deployment map included with a Warhammer 40,000 mission will usually show each player’s table edge. If it does not, or you are using a mission you have made yourselves, you will need to decide where each player’s table edge is before the battle. In general, the players’ table edges will be opposite one another.Games Workshop manufactures a range of Realm of Battle boards that can be used to create a battlefield. Each Realm of Battle board section is 2' by 2', and they can be joined together to create the surface on which your battle is fought. Some Realm of Battle board sections include hills and raised areas to make the landscape more attractive and convincing in appearance. These raised areas and the slopes leading up to them are considered to be open ground as far as the game rules are concerned.Many Warhammer 40,000 missions use the following method for randomly determining the armies’ deployment zones and the players’ table edges. To use this method, roll a D6 and consult the table to the right to see which deployment map you will use.If you are using Dawn of War deployment zones, the board is divided into two equal halves across its length.

For Dawn of War, a player’s board edge is the long board edge touching his own deployment zone.

If you are using Hammer and Anvil deployment zones, the board is divided into two equal halves across its width.

For Hammer and Anvil, a player’s board edge is the short board edge touching his own deployment zone.

If you are using Vanguard Strike deployment zones, the board is divided into two equal halves across its diagonal. Agree with your opponent which diagonal to play across, or determine it randomly.

For Vanguard Strike, a player’s board edge is the long board edge touching his own deployment zone.

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The only thing that remains to be done is the deployment of the two armies. If you are using a Warhammer 40,000 mission, it will tell you how to deploy the armies taking part in the battle. You will need to agree on the method you will use in your own games.

We’ve included rules for the most common method used to deploy here. This is often referred to as the ‘Standard Deployment Method’ and is the method used in the majority of Warhammer 40,000 missions. You should feel free to devise other methods for your own game if you prefer. For example, some players like to place a screen across the centre of the table so that their armies can deploy in secret; others draw a map showing where they plan to deploy their units, and so on.

Whichever method you use, models must either deploy within their deployment zone, or be held back in Reserve. Models can be deployed ‘inside’ buildings, fortifications, or Transport vehicles in their deployment zone, subject to their Transport Capacity. Units may not be deployed in impassable terrain. Note that models must be deployed fully within their deployment zone: you can’t have part of a model inside the deployment zone and part of the model outside it!The following sequence is used in most Warhammer 40,000 missions:
1. The players roll-off. The winner of the roll-off decides who will deploy first and who will deploy second.
2. The side deploying first must set up all the units in their army.
3. Then the other side sets up all the units in their army.
4. The player that deployed first can choose to take the first or second turn. If they decide to take the first turn, their opponent can attempt to Seize the Initiative.Some pieces of scenery can be purchased as upgrades for a fortification. For example, a Comms Relay can be purchased as an upgrade for an Imperial Bastion. When this is the case, the upgrade can either be placed on top of the building’s battlements (if it is a building with battlements), or set up as a separate model within 6" of the model taking the option.It’s not uncommon to find that you can’t fit all of the models in your army into your deployment zone. When this happens, any units that can’t fit into your deployment zone must be held back as Reserves, and will enter play later during the battle, hopefully when there is room for them to fit onto the battlefield.

This being said, a far better solution is to increase the size of the battlefield and/or the size of the deployment zones being used. With experience, you will learn roughly how much space your army needs to deploy in, and will be able to tailor deployment zones appropriately. You might also want to reduce the amount of scenery in a deployment zone, or shuffle it around slightly in order to give models the space they need to deploy.

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You and your opponent now need to decide who will have the first turn. If you are using a Warhammer 40,000 mission, then this information will be included with it, but if you are not using a mission, you and your opponent must decide the starting player for yourselves.

In general, we’ve found it best if the player who set up first also has the first turn. This avoids situations where the player that deploys second is able to deploy units in a perfect shooting position, secure in the knowledge that their opponent can do nothing about it! Sometimes, though, it will be more appropriate to roll-off to see who gets the first turn, or say that the player that set up second gets the first turn (if they are ambushing the first player, for example).

Most Warhammer 40,000 missions use the following rule for Seizing the Initiative to determine who has the first turn. You can use this rule for games of your own devising too.If the player who is due to go second wishes to Seize the Initiative, he can roll a D6 before beginning the first game turn. On a roll of 6, he successfully seizes the initiative and goes first instead.

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For most games, the length of the game will be a certain number of game turns. If you are using a Warhammer 40,000 mission, it will include this information, but if you are creating a mission of your own, we have found that five to six game turns is usually about the right length – remember that the larger the game is, the more time you’ll need.

Alternatively you can play to a time limit, in which case an hour or two is long enough for a small game with a few dozen models, and two or three hours is long enough for a larger game with a hundred or so models. Very large battles can take considerably longer, but by the time you are ready to fight such battles, you should have enough experience to judge how long they will probably last.

Most Warhammer 40,000 missions use the following rule for Variable Game Length to determine how long a battle lasts. You can use this rule for games of your own devising too.At the end of game turn 5, one of the players must roll a D6. On a roll of 3+ the game continues, otherwise the game is over. If another turn is played, another D6 must be rolled at the end of game turn 6, and this time, the game only continues on a roll of 4+. The battle automatically ends at the close of game turn 7.

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Next you will need to decide how the winner of the battle will be determined. Although fighting until one player concedes or their army is destroyed is a perfectly viable method of determining who has won a battle, more commonly ‘Victory Points’ (see below) are used to decide the winner. Alternatively, you might wish to say that one side or the other must achieve a specific objective; if they have achieved this when the game ends, they win the battle, and if not the other side wins. Victory conditions like this are most appropriate when you are refighting a battle based on the background for Warhammer 40,000, where each side will have certain very specific goals.Most of the Warhammer 40,000 missions that we publish use Victory Points. Such games are referred to as ‘Victory Point games’. Victory Points are acquired by securing Primary and Secondary Objectives, and the winner is the army with the most Victory Points at the end of the game. If the winner has twice the Victory Points of his opponent, it can be considered a crushing victory! If both armies have the same number of Victory Points, the game is a tactical draw.Generally a Victory Point game will not finish before the agreed turn limit. However, it is possible to achieve a ‘sudden death victory’ in a Victory Point game in the following circumstances:

• If one player concedes the battle, the game ends and a crushing victory goes to the opponent.
• If at the end of any game turn, one player has no models on the battlefield his opponent automatically wins. Units occupying a building or embarked on a vehicle still count as being on the battlefield, but units that are in Reserve (including Ongoing Reserve) do not.

Primary Objectives define your army’s main goal on the battlefield. This goal usually involves achieving the objectives in question – by controlling one or more vital sites or simply destroying parts of your enemy’s force. Unless otherwise stated, both sides share a mission’s Primary Objectives. If you are playing a published Warhammer 40,000 mission, it will tell you how to determine your game’s Primary Objectives.Secondary Objectives are less important than Primary Objectives, but can still mean the difference between victory and defeat. Most Victory Point games have three Secondary Objectives shared by both players: Slay the Warlord, First Blood and Linebreaker.If the enemy army has a Warlord, and at the end of the game the Warlord has been removed as a casualty, you score 1 Victory Point.The first unit, of any kind, to be completely destroyed during the game is worth 1 Victory Point to the opposing player at the end of the game.

If two or more units from opposing forces are destroyed simultaneously (for example, at the same Initiative step in an Assault phase) then both players get 1 Victory Point (in addition to any Victory Points from the mission).If, at the end of the game, you have at least one model from one or more scoring units completely within 12" of the enemy’s table edge, you score 1 Victory Point.Do not include any Citadel scenery models when awarding Victory Points or determining if a player has any units ‘on the battlefield’.Certain psychic powers or special rules will allow you to ‘conjure’ a model or unit and make it appear on the battlefield. Conjured units count as part of the army of the player that has conjured them as far as Victory Conditions and the rules for Victory Points are concerned. If a model is conjured several times (i.e. it is re-used after being removed as a casualty), then it counts as a different unit for victory point purposes each time it is used.Some Warhammer 40,000 missions require the use of Objective Markers. An Objective Marker is usually a point on the battlefield of particular importance to one or both of the armies. These points are designated by using specially modeled markers, coins or counters around 1 to 2 inches in diameter.Missions that use Objective Markers will contain details on how many need to be placed and any special instructions for how to place them on the battlefield. Unless instructed otherwise in the mission, take it in turns to set up Objective Markers according to the following rules:

• Roll-off to see who places the first marker.
• No Objective Marker can be placed within 6" of any battlefield edge or within 12" of another Objective Marker.
• No Objective Marker can be placed on impassable terrain.
• No Objective Marker may be placed inside a building, though it can be placed upon it. (Should a building with an objective upon it be removed, place the Objective Marker on the ground below the point it occupied).

These restrictions aside, you can place Objective Markers anywhere on the battlefield. If there are a lot of Objective Markers, or a lot of terrain, you may sometimes find that the last few are impossible to place using the above rules. When this occurs, simply nudge the other Objective Markers by the smallest distance necessary to allow the last ones to be placed.You control an Objective Marker if there is at least one model from one of your scoring units (see below), and no models from enemy scoring units, within 3" of it. As different Objective Markers vary in shape and size, it is important to agree at the beginning of the game exactly from where this distance will be measured. Any unit that is in a building is considered to be within 3" of any Objective Markers that are on or within 3" of the building.

A unit can only control one Objective Marker at a time. If a unit moves into a position where it could control two Objective Markers, you must make it clear to your opponent which objective the unit is controlling.Any unit can be a scoring unit, unless:

• It is a Swooping Flying Monstrous Creature, a Zooming Flyer or is a unit currently embarked on a Zooming Flyer.
• It has a special rule specifying that it never counts as a scoring unit.
• It is currently Falling Back (if the unit Regroups it immediately reverts to being a scoring unit again).
• It is a building or fortification that is unclaimed (claimed buildings count as a scoring unit from the claiming player’s army).

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Special rules can be added to a game to cover unique situations, tactics or abilities that you feel need to be represented in your battle. For example, if you were fighting a battle set on a frozen ice-world, you might include special rules for snow-drifts or the occasional blizzard sweeping the table. It is for you and your opponent to decide if any special rules apply in your games. One of the strengths of Warhammer 40,000 is that it is both easy and fun to devise your own special rules. They are especially useful when fighting a battle based on a story from the Warhammer 40,000 background, or which has a strong theme for another reason. Just take care not to get carried away – a couple of mission special rules can add much to a game, but having too many special rules will only bog the game down.

Some of the Warhammer 40,000 missions available use unique special rules which confer extra abilities, restrictions or effects onto your games. The Warhammer 40,000 missions included in this book mostly make use of the more common mission special rules presented here; many other missions will use these alongside their own special rules.

When a mission uses the Mysterious Objectives special rule, any unit that moves within 3" of an objective, or is within 3" of an objective at the start of the first turn, must identify the nature of it. To do so, the identifying unit’s controlling player must roll a D6 and consult the following table.

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If a mission has the Night Fighting special rule, either player can declare that they wish to fight the battle at night. If either player does so, roll a D6 before deployment: on a roll of 4+, the Night Fighting special rule is in effect during game turn 1.

While the Night Fighting mission special rule is in effect, all units have the Stealth special rule.

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Reserves are forces that can be called upon to reinforce a battle at short notice, or to conceal your true strength from the foe.When deploying their armies, players can choose not to deploy some of their units, keeping them as Reserves to arrive later. In addition, if it impossible to deploy a unit for any reason, it must be placed in Reserve. The only exception to this are units that cannot move after they have been deployed. Such units are removed as casualties if it is impossible to deploy them during the Deployment step of Preparing for Battle.During deployment, when deciding which units are kept as Reserves, you must specify if any of the Independent Characters in Reserve are joining a unit, in which case they must arrive together. Similarly, you must specify if any units in Reserve are embarked upon any Transport vehicles in Reserve, in which case they will arrive together. In either case, when making a Reserve Roll (see below) for a combined unit, roll a single dice for the unit and/or its Independent Character/Transport vehicle.At the start of your second turn, you must roll a D6 for each unit in your army that is being held in Reserve – these are known as Reserve Rolls. If the roll is a 3 or more, that unit arrives this turn. If the roll is less than 3 it remains in Reserve and is rolled for again next turn.

At the start of your third turn, roll for any units remaining in Reserve. If the roll is a 3 or more, that unit arrives this turn. If the roll is less than 3, it remains in Reserve and automatically arrives at the start of your fourth turn.

Some special rules can modify the roll required for a unit to arrive from Reserve. Regardless of the modifier(s), a natural roll of a 1 always means that the unit in question remains in Reserve.

When Reserves arrive, pick one of your arriving units and deploy it, moving it onto the table as described below. Then pick another arriving unit and deploy it, and so on until all arriving units are on the table. The player can then proceed to move his other units as normal. Note that you must first roll for all Reserves, and then move any arriving Reserves, before any other units can move.When a Reserves unit arrives, it must move onto the table from the controlling player’s table edge. Measure the model’s move from the edge of the table, as if they had been positioned just off the board in the previous turn. A unit cannot charge, or use any abilities or special rules that must be used at the start of the turn, in the turn it arrives from Reserve.

If for some reason a model’s maximum move is insufficient to fit the entire model onto the board, or it becomes Immobilised whilst moving onto the board, place the model as far onto the table as you can. If this leaves the model in a position where it may fall off the table, then mark the position the model is meant to be occupying in some manner, and then position it more safely – we don’t want any models to get damaged in the battles that we fight!If a unit enters Reserve part way through the game, such as a Flyer leaving the battlefield, this is referred to as entering Ongoing Reserves. Units in Ongoing Reserve always re-enter play at the start of their controlling player’s following turn, but otherwise follow the normal rules for Reserves.

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War is unpredictable and fluid. Strategic objectives and tactical priorities can change at a moment’s notice, and targets of military insignificance can transform into ones of vital importance without warning. A good battlefield commander must be dynamic and flexible, prepared to take advantage of an opportunistic objective and ever-able to adapt his entire battle-plan to react to a change of orders from above.If a mission has the Tactical Objectives special rule, you will need 6 Objective Markers that are individually numbered 1 through 6. Unless instructed otherwise, the players should place all 6 Objective Markers on the battlefield, using the rules for Placing Objective Markers. These Objective markers are controlled using the rules for Controlling Objective Markers. Each Objective Marker may also be a Mysterious Objective if this mission special rule is also in use.At the beginning of each of your turns, you will need to generate a number of Tactical Objectives. If you are playing a mission, it will state how many you should generate, otherwise you will need to agree how many to generate at the start of each turn.

To generate a Tactical Objective, roll a D66, consult the table below and write the result down. Note that unless the mission itself states otherwise, these rolls are not secret; both players should be able to see what Tactical Objectives each other has.

Note that whilst there are several Tactical Objectives with the same name, they are all uniquely numbered. When generating Tactical Objectives, keep a note of the numbers you rolled during the game – if you roll the same numbered Tactical Objective during the same game, roll again until a differently numbered one is generated. Only roll again if you have already generated that Tactical Objective yourself during the game – if your opponent has generated a particular Tactical Objective that you have not yet generated, you can still generate that Tactical Objective. Tactical Objectives that have been generated are said to be Active until they are either achieved or discarded (see below).You score Victory Points for achieving Tactical Objectives at the end of your turn. Any Victory Points awarded from Tactical Objectives are added to any Victory Points awarded from any other source (from Secondary Objectives, for example). At the end of your turn, you must check to see if you have achieved any of your Active Tactical Objectives – the descriptions will tell you how they are achieved and how many Victory Points are scored for completing them. If you can achieve a Tactical Objective at the end of your turn you must immediately score Victory Points for it – you cannot choose not to achieve a Tactical Objective at the end of your turn. Note that a player can achieve any number of his Active Tactical Objectives in the same turn (including multiples of the same named Tactical Objective).

For example, if Robin’s opponent’s Warlord is a Psyker, and Robin has both the Kingslayer and Witch Hunter Tactical Objectives, he will achieve both objectives in the same turn that he kills his opponent’s Psyker Warlord, scoring in this instance D3+1 Victory Points. If the mission also uses the Slay the Warlord secondary objective, Robin will also score 1 additional Victory Point at the end of the game for having killed his opponent’s Warlord (making his death worth a grand total of D3+2 Victory Points – a very worthwhile target indeed!).Once a Tactical Objective has been achieved, it is discarded. After all Tactical Objectives that have been achieved are discarded, the player whose turn it is can select one of his remaining Active Tactical Objectives (if any) and choose to discard it – this scores no Victory Points. Discarded Tactical Objectives cease being Active and you cannot generate or achieve these objectives for the remainder of the game.

This section describes the Tactical Objectives that you can use in your games of Warhammer 40,000. Each Tactical Objective details a specific task that your forces must accomplish, the conditions that must be met in order to achieve it, and how many Victory Points you will score for doing so. The number next to the Tactical Objective’s title corresponds to the D66 result rolled to generate it. For more details on generating and using Tactical Objectives, see the Tactical Objectives mission special rule above.

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On a haunted planet, the barrier between the physical realm and the immaterial madness of the Warp is wafer-thin. The leakage between the two planes leads to frequent supernatural events, ranging from strange ectoplasmic banks of mist to wholesale vanishings.

When fighting a battle on a Haunted Planet, the following rules apply for the duration of the game:

The friction between the physical world and the Warp causes thick banks of ectoplasmic mist to roll across the planet, blocking sight and baffling scans, be they technological or telepathic.

The mists make it hard to acquire distant targets. Psychic powers and weapons used by an attacking unit cannot target units more than 24" away – the unit is completely hidden by the ectoplasmic mists. Roll a dice when a unit targets a unit more than 12" away; on a roll of 1-4 the target is hidden by the mists and the attack is not made. Targets between 6" and 12" away cannot be attacked on a roll of 1 or 2. Units less than 6" away can be targeted normally.

In addition, roll a dice before a unit fires Overwatch; on a roll of 1-3 the target is hidden by the mists and the Overwatch attack cannot be made. A unit that is not able to attack cannot pick a new target – the attack has been wasted.

Buildings on a haunted planet are infested with the residual spiritenergy of the creatures that lived and died there. These spirit forms are extremely unsettling to be near, and cause electronic equipment to stutter and glitch.

Units within 3" of a building, ruin or fortification on a Haunted Planet must subtract 1 from their Leadership and Ballistic Skill characteristics.

Stories of haunted planets abound with tales of people mysteriously vanishing. Usually such disappearances only affect individuals, but sometimes entire families or whole communities will simply go missing, leaving no evidence as to how or where they have gone.

When playing a mission with the Mysterious Objectives special rule on a Haunted Planet, replace any rolls of a 1 (Sabotaged!) on the Mysterious Objectives table with the following:

Vanishing. Roll a dice when the objective is discovered. On a roll of 3-6, one model from the unit that identified the objective vanishes. On a roll of 2, D6 models from the unit vanish, and on a roll of 1 the entire unit vanishes. Randomly select the models from the unit that vanish; they are removed from play and count as having been destroyed.

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Many planets have an elaborate system of defensive fortifications to protect against invasion. These defence networks are often fully automated, and can continue to function for centuries after being abandoned. Unfortunately, the protocols that identify friend from foe will have long been lost…

The following rules apply to all fortifications, even fortifications that are included in a player’s army, and replace the rules for dilapidated buildings in the case of ‘neutral’ fortifications:

Determining the identification protocols for the automated defence network can take time. Until they are discovered, the network’s automated weapons will fire at any troops that draw too close.

The first time during the battle that a unit from your army is selected as a target by an automated weapon system (as described in ‘Automated Fire’, below), roll a dice. If the roll is a 6, you have identified the protocols and the weapon system will not shoot you.

Assuming you didn’t roll a 6, then at the start of each of your subsequent turns you can roll the dice again. However, the second time you roll, use two dice; the third time you roll, use three dice, and so on. You are able to identify the protocols if any of the dice has a result of 6. Once you have identified the protocols you know them for the rest of the battle and do not need to roll again.

Unless the identification protocols can be rediscovered, a defence network’s automated systems will attack anybody that draws near.

Emplaced weapons can only be manually fired by units that know the protocols. In addition, emplaced weapons will use automated fire in each player’s Shooting phase. They will always shoot at the closest unit that does not know the protocols. If one side knows the protocols and the other does not, then the weapons only attack in the shooting phase of the side that knows the protocols. If both sides know the protocols, then the normal rules for emplaced weapons apply for the rest of the battle.

The defence network is linked to a set of long-dormant orbital defence batteries that lie beneath the surface of the planet. Once the security protocols have been breached, the defence network can be hacked and the batteries activated to target enemy reserves.

If one side knows the network’s protocols and the other does not, then the side that does not know the protocols must subtract 1 from their dice rolls made to see if their units held in Reserve arrive. If neither or both sides know the network’s protocols, this rule has no effect.

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Either as a result of freezing temperatures or deadly storms, ice worlds will readily kill those ill-prepared for such extreme weather conditions. Even those accustomed to living amid such dangers must still treat the environment with a wary respect lest complacency leads to their demise.

When fighting a battle on an Ice World, the following rules apply for the duration of the game:

As the raging battle tortures the frozen ground with pounding artillery and seismic explosions, glacial fissures begin to open up beneath the snow, swallowing unwary combatants.

Whenever a non-vehicle model at ground level (or a model moving to or from ground level) fails a Dangerous Terrain test, it does not suffer a Wound. Instead, that model must pass an Initiative test; if the test is failed, the model falls to its doom and is removed from play.

A seemingly harmless blizzard can escalate into a deadly icestorm within moments, flensing the skin of those exposed to its wrath. Mercifully, however, these deadly storms can dissipate just as swiftly, leaving only shredded bodies in their wake.

At the start of each game turn, both players roll a dice. If the result is a double, a fearsome tempest has swept in to scour the battlefield with razor-sharp shards of ice. For the duration of that game turn, models cannot Run, Turbo-boost or Swoop (and must therefore change flight mode).

In addition, roll a dice for each non-vehicle unit on the battlefield. On the roll of a 1, that unit immediately suffers D6 Strength 4 AP5 hits with the Shred special rule. Any Wounds are Randomly Allocated.

On an ice world, heavy snowstorms are a part of everyday life. To warring armies fighting for dominance, however, such challenging conditions hamper essential visibility, causing distant enemies to fade into the whiteness of the blinding snow.

Units that are more than 12" away from the attacking unit have the Stealth special rule. Units that are more than 24" away from the attacking unit have the Shrouded special rule instead. Units cannot target enemy units that are more than 36" away from them.

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During the Imperium’s bloody reign as the galaxy’s dominant power for the last ten millennia, countless martyrs have arisen to turn back the darkness that ever threatens to engulf the empire of Mankind. Many of these holy men and women are buried with all due ceremony upon Ministorum worlds, the entire surface of these holy planets given over to monolithic cathedra and the hallowed crypts of the sainted.

When fighting a battle on a Ministorum Shrine World, the following rules apply for the duration of the game:

To Mankind’s many enemies, a Ministorum shrine world represents the epitome of Humanity’s blind devotion to a carrion god. To be surrounded by such ostentatious splendour in the name of a misguided belief is enough to enrage even the most enlightened of xenos, and they will fight all the harder to punish the Imperium’s warriors for their folly.

All units with a Faction other than those belonging to the Armies of the Imperium have the Hatred (Armies of the Imperium) special rule.

To every loyal warrior and citizen of the Imperium, a shrine world is sacred ground. For an enemy to walk upon its hallowed surface is an affront to the Emperor himself, and the Imperium’s soldiery will yield no ground until any heathen presence is cleansed.

All units with a Faction belonging to the Armies of the Imperium have the Stubborn special rule.

The Ecclesiarchy claims that the spirits of martyred saints watch over their resting places, ready to strike down the enemies of Mankind. Whether this is indeed the case, or if it is by the Emperor’s divine grace that their remains are protected, none can truly say, but there are countless reports of those who threaten the sanctity of these worlds being struck down by an unseen hand.

When playing a mission with the Mysterious Objectives special rule on a Ministorum Shrine World, replace any rolls of a 2 (Nothing of Note) on the Mysterious Objectives table with the following:

Saintly Presence. At the end of the turn in which the objective was discovered, and at the end of every turn thereafter, any units within 3" of the Objective Marker with a Faction other than those belonging to the Armies of the Imperium suffer D6 Strength 5 AP4 hits with the Soul Blaze special rule.

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As Warp storms rage across the galaxy, armies waging war beneath them – especially those attuned to the Immaterium – find themselves alternately empowered by raw energy and wracked by fluctuating empyric events.

If you are playing a mission that uses the Empyric Storms mission special rule, or you have chosen to use these Battlezone rules in your game, then the raging Warp tides will have an effect on your army and their surroundings. Each player must generate a single Empyric Storms event at the start of each of their turns.

Some Empyric Storms events are ‘Instantaneous’ – these are resolved as soon as they are generated. Other events are ‘Persistent’. If you generate a Persistent event, the effects listed for that event apply to both players until the start of your next turn, at which point they will cease to have any effect and you will then generate a new event. If a Persistent event that is already in effect is generated, then a new event should be generated instead.

To generate an Empyric Storms event, roll a D66 and consult the table below. This simply means you roll two dice, one after the other, counting the first dice as ‘tens’ and the second dice as ‘units’. For example, if you roll a 3 on the first dice and a 5 on the second, you would get a D66 result of 35.

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