Greg’s guide to crusade mode

Crusade mode is 40k’s narrative mode, where units grow, develop, rise, and fall as part of a
larger story. In terms of core mechanics the actual 40k game is unchanged. Crusade adds out-
of-game elements which translate to in game changes, but the fundamental gameplay is still
40k. Narratives can be played in standard matched games, or special scenarios from
supplements.
Currencies:
Crusade uses various in game currencies to track progress. These are usually specific to each
unit and so should be recorded somewhere. These include:
Supply points (army wide)
Requisition points (RP) (army wide)
XP (per unit)
Crusade points (per unit)

Honour points (army wide, SPACE MARINES ONLY)

Tyrannic War Tally (per unit, TYRANNIC WAR SCENARIO ONLY)
Blackstone (army wide, PARIAH NEXUS ONLY)
In addition, other data should be recorded, such as: units destroyed, battles survived, battles
fought, battle honours, battle scars. These are recorded unit by unit. The main currencies are
explained below:

Requisition points (RP from now on) can be used outside of battle for various effects, such
as increasing supply points, increasing the XP level cap, changing wargear, adding
enhancements, removing debuffs, and increasing unit sizes. You gain 1RP per game played,
even if you do not win that game. Some victory bonuses grant additional RP.
XP is gained by units to show progress. The main ways for a unit to gain XP are:
Taking part in a battle (1XP each)
Destroying enemy units (1XP per 3, counted across battles)
Marked For Greatness – at the end of a battle, a single unit per army can be given this
award (3XP)
Mission bonuses and Agendas (various)
Epic Heroes, Swarms, and Fortifications do not gain XP. They cannot gain Battle
Honour buffs, Battle Scar debuffs, and do not take Out Of Action tests. They remain
unchanged from their basic statline for the entire campaign.
When enough XP is gained, a unit levels up. When it does, it can choose to have a battle
honour (explained later). The ranks have names, but here I’ll use numbers:
Lvl 1 - 0XP
Lvl 2 - 6XP
Lvl 3 - 16X
Lvl 4 - 31XP
Lvl 5 - 51XP
Alternatively: XP to new lvl = 5(current lvl + 1) +1
Non-character units cap at Lvl 3, and any XP gained after reaching 30 is lost. However, a
Requisition can be used to increase the level cap.

Crusade points are used to balance games between players. Each battle honour gained
represents 1 crusade point, each battle scar -1 point. If the gulf between players is big enough,
the player with the fewer points can gain bonuses ahead of the game to even the field, such as
extra CP or scout moves. At 5, 10, and 20 crusade points between players, the lower plyer
gets 1, 2, and 4 bonuses respectively. Each bonus may only be selected once per battle. The
list of Blessings (as they are called) are found in the Tyrannic War and Pariah Nexus
supplements.

Honour points (HP): For space marines, crusades take the form of campaigns of 3 games.
Each campaign has a theme, which grants a unique Requisition and 3 bonus missions to
choose from. Winning games grants 2-5 HP, and missions 1-4 HP. At the end of each
campaign, any HP not used for space marine specific bonuses is not carried over and is reset
to 0, with each 5HP becoming 1XP for a unit of the player’s choice. HP can be used to give
characters unique bonuses and swap units to more veteran equivalents, representing their
growth and experience while retaining their existing levels. It is not stated what happens to
battle honours that are incompatible with new units (such as weapon modifications, however
it is not

Tyrannic War Tallies (TWT): In the tyrannic war scenarios, units can gain veterancy by
going down the path of the tyrannic war veteran. This costs 1RP for a unit to embark on, and
only Lvl 2 units or higher can choose to do so. This process counts as a battle honour, as does
each bonus gained through this process, and sets the unit on a specific upgrade path alongside
their normal XP and level. Once begun, each unit destroyed grants 1 TWT, each monster or
walker destroyed grants 3 TWT and each Titanic unit 6 TWT, to a maximum of 10. Upon
reaching 10, the unit can choose to progress on its upgrade path. The tally is then reset and
the process repeats. Each upgrade counts as a Battle Honour for the purposes of Crusade
Points and slots.

Blackstone: in pariah nexus scenarios, blackstone can be harvested from mission sites or
given as a reward. Certain relics and bonuses can only be purchased with accumulated
blackstone. Notably, these do not require level ups in order to be given out as battle honours.

Starting and ending:

Crusade narratives can continue eternally, and units can be endlessly recycled. There is only a
single scenario where a unit is permanently killed, explained later.
A narrative starts with a supply limit of 1000 points. This is the pool of points that can be
drawn from to make an Order Of Battle, which lists every unit in the crusade force. The
crusade force must stay under the supply point limit. Units can then be drawn from the Order
Of Battle to make a normal list, and after the battle they are returned to the OoB at full health,
even if they were destroyed in the battle. For example, if you have a 2000pt OoB and play a
1000pt game, only units from the OoB can be used to make your list. Units can be taken in
and out of the OoB freely, but removing units removes all their XP and bonuses, deleting
their progress. You can increase your supply point limit with a Requisition. Units from any
combination of armies can form a crusade force, though games are limited to normal faction
and list building rules. Legends units are permitted, as are house rules and homebrews should
the game group agree to allow them.
You start with 0 XP, Crusade Points, Honour Points, Blackstone, and Tyrannic War
Tallies.
You start with 5RP, and can purchase Requisitions immediately. When you first add a
character to your OoB, they can use with Renowned Heroes Requisition without it
taking up a Battle Honour slot. This allows your first character to start with any
enhancement from any detachment of their faction, which they can use in every game,
and still have 6 Battle Honour slots available. Any use of the Renowned Heroes
Requisition (and therefore any gained enhancements) after this point can only be used
during a level up, and counts as a battle honour. The enhancement selected is
permanent and cannot be stacked or changed (this can be house ruled).
Your Order Of Battle can include any number of the same unit (Epic Heroes and the like are
limited as usual) however list building rules apply for battles, ie rule of 3, up to 6 battleline or
transports, minimum 1 character. This also means your crusade force can have units from
opposing factions, however only allied factions can fight together in battles, so outside of
thematic character development this is typically not seen or used.
Death and Permadeath:
When a unit is destroyed, you must take an Out Of Action test for the unit. On a 2+ the
test is passed, on a 1 a debuff is applied. These are either permanently losing a battle honour
(if you have one), or suffering a Battle Scar debuff. You can roll a dice or choose a Battle
Scar from the relevant core rules table. Either way, you end up with -1 Crusade points from
either a lost buff or added debuff. Certain Requisitions or actions can remove or ignore Battle
Scars, and some game rewards can hand out battle honours. If a unit has 3 Battle Scars, and
no Battle Honours, it is permanently destroyed and removed from the Order Of Battle.
If you wish, you can then just replace the destroyed unit with a fresh identical unit. This is the
only instance of Permadeath in Crusade Mode.

Battle Honours and buffs:

When a unit levels up, it can select a Battle Honour, though it is not mandatory. Leaders and
attached units both gain XP for taking part in battles, but bonus XP and Battle Honours can
be awarded to either party, but not both. A Battle Honour can be one of 3 buffs: 1 Battle
Trait, 1 Weapon Modification set from the relevant table, or 1 Crusade Relic. Units that
cap at lvl 3 may only have 3 Battle Honours, but Characters and units with the level cap
removed may have up to 6. If a unit has the maximum number of Battle Honours and wishes
to select another, an existing Battle Honour must be removed and replaced with the new. For
example, if a unit takes 2 Battle Honours, then embarks on the Tyrannic War Veteran upgrade
path, the starting bonus becomes their third Battle Honour. If they progress along the path,
their new chosen bonus must replace an existing buff. However, you can replace your
previous buff from the Tyrannic War Veterans upgrade tree, effectively only having the latest
buff at any time. Note that if you cap at lvl 5, you should have 4 Battle Honours from level
ups. This is not a typo, extra bonuses can be accrued through other means, such as the
tyrannic war tree, or victory rewards.
Battle Traits affect whole units, and can be found in codexes or supplements. You can roll to
choose or choose yourself if it is thematic to do so. These are broken down by unit type
(infantry, vehicle, character, etc). Multiple units can have the same Battle Trait, and a unit can
have multiple Battle Traits, but a unit cannot have multiple of the same Battle Trait. If you
roll randomly and get a duplicate, reroll the effect
Weapon Modifications are found in the relevant core rules table. Each weapon can only be
modified once, and if a multi-model unit gains this Battle Honour, the upgrade must be taken
on the character or sergeant equivalent. If there is no equivalent, any model can be selected.
Only one weapon is modified per Battle Honour, and Crusade Relics and weapons under the
effects of Enhancements cannot be modified. Each modification grants 2 bonuses from the
table of 6 – duplicates of the same effect are not allowed and if rolled for, one dice must be
rerolled.
The modifications are as followed: improving attacks, skill, strength, AP, or damage by 1, or
granting precision to critical wounds.
Crusade Relics are unique items gathered during the narrative, wielded only by Characters.
Only one of each item can be possessed in each order of battle. A character may have as
many as they have available Battle Honours. If you wish to transfer the Relic to a different
character, the initial character must remove it, and the new character must use a Battle
Honour to gain it back (this can be house ruled, it is not explicitly stated). Some relics are
locked to Lvl 4+ and Lvl 5 characters. For a lvl 4+ character, a relic is worth 2 crusade points,
and a Lvl 5 relic worth 3 crusade points. These can be found in codexes and the tyrannic war
supplement.
Agendas:
When selecting a mission, you must select two Agendas, which function as secondary
missions. These grant XP and bonuses, and can be found in the tyrannic war and Pariah
Nexus supplements. Space marine players must select an additional Agenda from their
relevant codex campaign list, or roll for a random Agenda from the same list, which
represents a secondary means to gain Honour Points.
Tyrannic War Campaigns:
A campaign following the tyrannic war is made of several stages, organised by a Campaign
Master. Each party is formed into one of 3 alliances: defenders, invaders, or raiders. Players
are advised to stay with their alliance and faction for the duration of the campaign. Ideally,
the total number of games is the same as the number of players or more, but a campaign stage
can be any length. Points scored based on successes in each stage of the campaign denote the
final victor. Missions in this supplement give special bonus Agendas and rewards.
Campaign points are scored based on game size and results. A completed game is worth 1, a
draw is worth +1, a win +2, plus 1 point for each 1000pts above the minimum of 1000. If
there is a tie at the end of the campaign stage, then the victor is the alliance with the most
won battles. If this still results in a tie, there is no victor. Campaign points are rest at the start
of a new stage. At the end of each stage, strategic points are awarded to the victorious
alliance in the campaign, with +1 point added to the reward for each successive stage. The
final reward is simply bragging rights.
Pariah Nexus Campaigns:
The Pariah Nexus supplement follows a similar pattern to that in the tyrannic war, but side
missions, bonuses, and rewards are completely new. You can swap between and stack
bonuses however, as the self contained parts unique to each do not overlap. In the Pariah
Nexus, this is the securing of Blackstone. Because of fog of war before beginning a game you
must select a strategic posture (defensive, cautious, or aggressive). These can impart extra
bonuses or activate certain abilities or relics.
The structure of a campaign is similar to tyrannic war, and can be edited in at a future date.
Narrative games can use matched play rules, however crusade specific games have their own
setup and mission rules. In this case normal victory points are done away with, with the
primary mission explaining how victory points may be achieved, as well as setup rules for the
game. Some of these are progressive (scored in game) or end game (scored after an end
condition is met). Agendas take on the role of secondary missions, and can be chosen freely.
Two Agendas are chosen per game. There are 12 standard tyrannic war missions, and 3
onslaught specific missions. Missions can be chosen or selected at random with dice.

Actually beginning a crusade, step by step

1. Choose your faction
2. Choose initial units (1k)
3. Consider Requisition points: to begin with you have 5 RP, and it is advised you:
a) Give your first character the Renowned Heroes Requisition, giving them a
permanent enhancement that persists across games and detachments, and
which does not count towards their Battle Honour limit. Only one character
may do this
b) Consider using the Increase Supply Limit Requisition, which allows your
roster to gain 200pts. You can repeat this infinitely, and even if game sizes stay
the same, it’ll give you a larger pool of units to pick from
4. Build your roster: fill out your Crusade Force (supply limit), and Crusade Army
(game points limit). Some units benefit from being in your force, even if they are not
in your army. If you wish to increase the size of an existing unit, use the Fresh
Recruits Requisition
5. Make a crusade card for each unit. Record a unit’s xp, level, units destroyed, battles
survived, Battle Honours, Battle Scars, and Crusade Points. Units with names are
more identifiable. Remember that epic heroes, fortifications, and swarms cannot gain
xp, and so cannot gain Battle Honours or Battle Scars. If a unit leaves your force, it
loses all xp and bonuses, and if it returns, it must do so fresh. You can add or take
away units at any time
6. Calculate Crusade points. Each Battle Honour is worth 1 Crusade Point, each Battle
Scar -1 Crusade Point. If the difference in Crusade Points is large enough, the player
with fewer may select a number of Blessings to rebalance the game (5-9 Crusade
Points 1 Blessing, 10-19 2, and 20+ 4). These include extra Scout abilities, extra CP,
and extra Agendas)
7. Begin a game. Select a narrative game mission or a matched play setup. Replace
secondary missions with 2 Agendas (as well as any codex specific requirements)
8. At the end of the game, award victory bonuses, gain 1RP regardless of outcome, and
hand out xp. Standard xp is rewarded as follows:
a) Participation (1xp)
b) Kills (1xp for 3 cumulative units)
c) Marked for greatness (3xp awarded to a single unit after the battle)
d) Successfully completed Agendas
9. Level up any units as required. Level up at 6xp, 16xp, 31xp, and 51xp. When
levelling up, select either a battle trait, weapon modification, or relic for that unit. It
does not need to be awarded immediately, the slot is merely opened. With the
 Renowned Heroes Requisition, other characters may also gain enhancements (costing
+1RP for each enhancement the army already possesses, to a maximum of 3RP). Non-
character units may not go above 30xp without using the Legendary Veterans
Requisition for 3RP. Some mission rewards hand out Battle Honours, which can be
awarded to anyone, so long as the limit on Honours is not reached (6 for characters
and veterans, 3 for everything else). If a unit has the maximum number of Honours,
any new Honours must replace an existing Honour
10. Carry out Out Of Action Tests. If a unit was destroyed in the battle (excluding units
that do not earn xp), roll 1D6. On a 2+, the unit recovers. On a 1, the unit must either
take a Devastating Blow (permanently lose a battle honour), or a Battle Scar, the
nature of which can be found from the core rules table. If a unit has no Battle
Honours, it must take a Battle Scar. Should a unit take 3 Battle Scars and have no
battle honours, it must be removed from the Crusade Force. This is the only instance
of Permadeath in Crusade. You may then replace the destroyed unit with a fresh
equivalent if you wish. Battle Scars can be removed with the Repair And Recuperate
Requisition, which costs 1RP, +1 for each Battle Honour the unit possesses, to a
maximum of 5
11. Satisfy any faction and campaign specific rules, such as Space Marine Honour Points,
Tyranid Biomass Counters, or Tau Military and Diplomatic Points. Narrative related
rules such as Tyrannic War Tallies, Campaign Points, and Blackstone acquisition all
occur here