An alternate option to rogue traders, smugglers, and assassins, a military campaign will likely have quite a different focus. For starters, casualties are likely to be a lot higher—on the battlefields of brutal warfare, the entire environment is hostile. In this type of campaign, players should expect to control several different characters, who switch in and out of missions as necessary.
For the characters, rank and hierarchy will play a much larger role. Depending on the focus, the characters may begin as mere rookies, working their way up through the ranks, earning medals and commendations for their actions—and their willingness to sacrifice themselves or their soldiers for whatever mission objective has been placed before them.
Or, they may play as officers, who themselves guide the nature of the shifting fronts of a battle on a planet. Perhaps they have arrived to lay siege to a particular world, or are fighting off their enemies. In these cases, the campaign is likely to have an overarching objective—the highest of which is always “win the war”, but the reality of war is that they are rarely “won”. Just fought to an imperfect standstill.
A pair of Idrenan-class cruisers launch long-range artillery strikes against orbital defence platforms.
The Strategic Layer
Each Legion might include specific roles or ranks, some of which could be:
The commander (who could in fact be one of a number of specific ranks), who directs the strategic objectives of the Legion, including the placement and movement of units, assigniment of missions, the gathering of field intelligence such as reconaissance, and ensuring the reinforcement of critical areas of the battlefield.
The liaison officer, who manages troop morale, assigns Legion personnel to missions, awards ranks and medals, and which soldiers lead missions. They are also the means by which the military forces interact with their civilian counterparts.
The quartermaster, who is responsible for stocks and supplies, including weapons, ships, and other vehicles. The critical logistics of an entire army or fleet are in their hands.
The intelligence officer, who keeps a stable of spies, and manipulates objectives through any means necessary before the Legion even arrives at an objective. They soften enemy positions, or make powerful enemies vulnerable, exposing their weaknesses. They play the long game, and make strategic moves against other high-ranking enemies.
The sorcerer-lord is both feared and respected in equal measure, and whose role is to understand, control, and direct the unseen, dangerous, and mystic powers in the universe to the advantage of the Legion. They are also often powerful individual combatants who can be deployed by the commander to assist particularly critical missions. They are also likely to be central figures in an esoteric campaign.
More information on the esoteric campaign is available here.
To begin with, these roles would be ascribed to players separate to their actual characters in the game. That is, they represent the players’ agency via abstract “officers” whose orders they must follow but otherwise do not control directly. The officer class may be considered of a “strategic level” compared to the actions of the regular soldier-characters on the “tactical level”.
It is interesting to consider how playing an “officer” character effectively may not necessarily mean making decisions in the best interests of the same player’s own soldier-character(s).
Enemy Forces
While most of the critical decision-making will be handled by the players themselves, the opposing forces also have their various strengths. Many of the foes the soldiers will face will be just like they are; grunts and specialists fighting in the field toward some specific objective. These objectives will be evident, and discoverable by the players—even underhanded or tactical moves will be clear enough; it will simply be up to the players to counteract them.
At the enemy’s disposal will be a range of resources, including:
regular troops, which fulfil the same role as rookie and veteran roles in the Legion. These are the standard array of enemy troops, and well-trained soldiers can often take on several at once. They count as threat 1 opponents.
elite troops are the hardened veterans and special forces of the enemy army. That is, highly trained, very dangerous, and not as simple to overwhelm as regular forces. Such troops are best handled by a group, or with careful skill. They count as threat 2 opponents.
champion troops are any individual unit which could overwhelm an entire regular unit single-handedly. A battle-mech, armoured assault vehicle, beast of the warp, or an infamous, well-equipped and highly elite enemy unit. Only a well-equipped group with a good plan would consider taking on such foes. They count as threat 3 opponents.
nemesis troops are truly formidable enemies who may command or accompany multiple squads, and will often have their own specific agendas, capable of shifting their objectives when necessary. They are truly dangerous, whether they manifest as powerful individual soldiers, cunning masterminds, or a tactical genius. Such enemies, even if they are overcome, are likely to take many of their enemies with them. They count as threat 4 opponents.
legendary troops are those at the apex of an army and are truly terrifying to confront. They almost always lead the army they accompany, and if a combatant are almost invincible, like an unleashed kaiju; if cunning, will have plotted countless manoeuvres like a chess master. The mighty sorcerer-lords are counted among these forces; when such beings appear in person they will frequently annihilate the enemy before them, unless countered by a similar opposing force. They count as threat 5 opponents.