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The issue I see is that no one here on dakka it's going to write your campaign for you. And because of that you are going to either have to learn the rules the fluff to come up with a realistic 40k campaign our you are going to invent your own game in the process of twisting the 40k universe to your whim. And if the later is your route of choice then you don't need and help here on dakka as you are making it up as you go. I know this sounds harsh but you can't piece together a galactic campaign by relying on strangers to piece it together given only a direction to go as if we were your own personal secretaries.

I see your point, I'm sorry if I came off as lazy. Right now, because I have not found any local noncompetitive 40K players the project is on indefinite hiatus, although I might come up with the missions just so I have something to do.

I think the next battle will be 1500 points, and that would mean a 375 points advantage for the 'nids if they win the first mission. I think that those extra 375 points should come from the vanguard list, to represent the lictors/genestealers/whatever avoiding detection until the main swarm arrives.

As for the Astra Militarum list, I'm not really sure since I don't know a lot about their fluff, but I think that having very little armor fits this scenario. I might give them two more tanks tops, but I'm not 100% sure. Their list would use all the models from the previous mission, since I don't want to be spending a ton of money on a new set of models. I'd probably add a bunch more special weapons and heavy weapons teams, and perhaps two more scout sentinel units. Similarly, the 'nid list wouldn't contain many monstrous creatures - the list would be designed to rush forward aggressively, with mostly close-combat beasties. Like I said, since Exsteron is a covered in thick jungles, the Tyranids wouldn't have anything with wings, or anything super bulky.

I'm trying to decide what the objective(s) should be for this one. I'm leaning towards something along the lines of annihilation (game lasts until one opponent is tabled), but I'm not 100% sure. Another possibility is having some objective representing the Tyranids overrunning the base (ie having X amount of units in the AM's deployment zone or something) I'd appreciate people's thoughts on that (constructive criticism is the best way to improve).

If I go the route of overrunning, I'd do a third mission a bit similar to the first where the last of the Astra Militarum units are trying to send out a call to warn of the new Hive Fleet, kind of like the message that was discovered on Tyran. This would be a critical mission to play through because the outcome would decide what type of style I'll be using for the actual narrative portion of the book (I'm going to do it in the same style as an Imperial Armour book). If they do end up getting out a distress call, I'd write the narrative as a transcript of the audio log sent off by the unit. If the Tyranids won, I'd simply do it in third person.

If the Astra Militarum won the second mission, I'd do a third mission on the same scale, with the same AM list, but with some changes to the Tyranid list such that they have a considerable advantage. Hive Fleet Laelaps got its name because it is even more quick to adapt than normal Hive Fleets, so representing this would be critical. I'd still make the victory conditions such that the AM player could win, but narrative-wise the Tyranids would always be victorious.

I'd love any feedback on what I've got so far.

Not sure if this is helpful or not but if youre feeling a bit lost or frustrated and are unsure of dropping more money into armies, you could look at picking up IA4 anphelion project and running its campaign for ideas, testing and inspiration.
I know the points escalate a bit as it goes on but it might give you some ideas and let you see how a themed campaign plays out?

You could get the first Sanctus reach book and do a planet strike invasion mission. That's almost perfect for nids invading a planet.

The second Sanctus reach book has additional mission ontop of the plenty strike stuff in the first.

Thanks everyone. I actually have IA4 and have been using it as an inspiration for the format of my campaign. I've also been using the Rising Leviathan dataslates.

I enjoy making my work as unique as possible, which is why I avoid just using scenarios straight out of the books. I do use them as inspiration though.

I think I'm going to do the second mission as I described, being an overrun-esque mission. It'll be somewhat like that scene from Aliens where they have those turrets set up and the xenomorphs keep on coming, and eventually figure out a way in. However, I'm trying to think of what I should add to the alternate mission that plays if the AM wins the overrun-mission. It'd be a similar scenario, but I'd need something to represent Laelaps' exceptional ability (even compared to other Hive Fleets) to adapt biologically to overcome their prey. I'd rather not have it be just numbers, because that isn't really biological adaptation. If they're being cut down by heavy weapons fire, perhaps making some of the creatures faster or tougher for that mission would work.

My jungle terrain should be shipping on Monday, so once that arrives and I have the rest of my vanguard nids painted I'll be ready to play test if I can find a willing player locally.

Well, I came up with some ideas for two more missions that take place after the first one, as well as a bit of narrative to start out the plot. Since I haven't played through the campaign itself yet, I can't write too much of the story right now. Still, I'd love feedback on what I've got and suggestions for further development.

Here are the two missions I came up with:

The Swarm Descends

The first spores of Hive Fleet Laelaps have begun to bombard the surface of Exsteron. The Astra Militarum hold their ground, desperately trying to keep the chitinous horrors from overtaking their position...

The Wargame:
This game recreates the beginning of Laelaps’ invasion of Exsteron. Play the game on a 6’ x 4’ board. There should be several buildings rather close together to represent the main facility. The rest of the board should have ample pieces of jungle terrain to represent the thick jungles of Exsteron.

The Astra Militarum player selects one corner of the table. They must place all units and buildings no more than 24” along either table edge forming the corner. The Tyranid player may deploy anywhere on the board more than 18” away from any enemy unit or building.

Roll a dice – the player who scores highest gets the first turn. Play for 6 turns.

Objectives
The Astra Militarum player must keep Tyranid units out of his or her deployment zone. If the game ends with at least 3 Tyranid units in the Astra Militarum player’s deployment zone, the Tyranid player wins. If there are 2 or less in the Astra Militarum player’s deployment zone, the Astra Militarum player wins. Independent Characters do not count as separate from any unit they have joined for this purpose, and units that are falling back do not count for this purpose.

Special Rules
Surprise Attack: If the First Contact scenario resulted in a Tyranid victory, the Tyranid player takes 250 points worth of models from the previous army list and places them in Reserves. These units may deploy via the Infiltrate special rule.

FORCES OF THE IMPERIUM
Company Command Squad
A squad of 5, with a vox caster, 2 grenade launchers, 2 flamers, and a regimental banner.

Infantry Platoon:
Platoon command squad with a medic, vox caster, 2 flamers, and 2 grenade launchers.
2 squads of 20 Guardsmen, with 2 vox casters, 2 grenade launchers, and 2 flamers.
A single special weapons squad equipped with 5 plasma guns.
One heavy weapons squad with 2 heavy bolters and one lascannon.
One squad of 10 guardsmen.
One heavy weapons squad with 3 heavy bolters.

Chimera
Chimaera equipped with heavy flamer. 3 Scout Sentinels

Hellhound

TYRANID FORCES
Tyranid Prime
With Deathspitter.

3 Tyranid Warriors
1 with Bonesword and Lashwhip, 2 with rending claws

3 Tyranid Warriors
1 with Bonesword and Lashwhip, 2 with twin Boneswords

20 Hormagaunts

20 Hormagaunts

20 Termagants

3 Pyrovores

5 Raveners
With rending claws.

Here's the second mission:

The Second Wave

The Astra Militarum have just barely managed to hold off the Tyranid onslaught, though many died in the process. As the swarm begins to fall back, the soldiers feel a glimmer of hope. However, while the garrisoned troops celebrate their hard won victory, Laelaps is adapting countermeasures…

The Wargame:
This game recreates the beginning of Laelaps’ invasion of Exsteron. Play the game on a 6’ x 4’ board. There should be several buildings rather close together to represent the main facility. The rest of the board should have ample pieces of jungle terrain to represent the thick jungles of Exsteron.

The Astra Militarum player selects one corner of the table. They must place all units and buildings no more than 24” along either table edge forming the corner. The Tyranid player may deploy anywhere on the board more than 18” away from any enemy unit or building.

Roll a dice – the player who scores highest gets the first turn. Play for 6 turns.

Objectives
The Astra Militarum player must keep Tyranid units out of his or her deployment zone. If the game ends with at least 3 Tyranid units in the Astra Militarum player’s deployment zone, the Tyranid player wins. If there are 2 or less in the Astra Militarum player’s deployment zone, the Astra Militarum player wins. Independent Characters do not count as separate from any unit they have joined for this purpose, and units that are falling back do not count for this purpose.

Special Rules
Adapted Swarm: All Tyranid units gain the Stealth Universal Special Rule.

FORCES OF THE IMPERIUM
Company Command Squad
A squad of 5, with a vox caster, 2 grenade launchers, 2 flamers, and a regimental banner.

Infantry Platoon:
Platoon command squad with a medic, vox caster, 2 flamers, and 2 grenade launchers.
2 squads of 20 Guardsmen, with 2 vox casters, 2 grenade launchers, and 2 flamers.
A single special weapons squad equipped with 5 plasma guns.
One heavy weapons squad with 2 heavy bolters and one lascannon.
One squad of 10 guardsmen.
One heavy weapons squad with 3 heavy bolters.

Chimera
Chimaera equipped with heavy flamer. 3 Scout Sentinels

Hellhound

TYRANID FORCES
Tyranid Prime
With Deathspitter.

3 Tyranid Warriors
1 with Bonesword and Lashwhip, 2 with rending claws

3 Tyranid Warriors
1 with Bonesword and Lashwhip, 2 with twin Boneswords

20 Hormagaunts

20 Hormagaunts

20 Termagants

3 Pyrovores

5 Raveners
With rending claws.


For the second mission, I wanted to represent the fact that my Hive Fleet adapts exceptionally quickly to counter its prey's defenses - just changing the units used would be more of a tactical adaptation than a biological one. I wasn't sure how to do that rules-wise, because I'm not sure what the best way for the Tyranids to adapt to heavy weapons fire (lots of heavy bolters and flamers) would be. I didn't want to increase toughness because things like hormagaunts are meant to be highly expendable and I think that kind of change would be non-niddy.

I'll be posting the narrative portion in the Fan Fiction subforum so if you want to see it you can look there.

Lastly, I need ideas for what terrain to do for the actual surveillance outpost area. I'm not sure what kinds of buildings would be in that kind of facility - I couldn't find any pictures of Imperium surveillance outposts online. Suggestions are appreciated.

I hope you like it! Feedback is welcome and encouraged!