Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So the guys that I play with and myself recently read that article talking about just how many different ways a group of friends can get into an argument over a Relic game. To minimize the rage we decided that if you do in fact roll the Relic mission type, you instead roll on a different table of homebrew-ish missions. I'd love some C&C please. Here's my idea:

Mission Type: Deff Race

Background: In the ‘Deff Race’ mission, captive commanders have been pitted against one another in an ork arena dedicated to the Speed Freak Warboss Wazdakka Gutsmek. In an effort to break the survive, Wazdakka has invited all the commanders’ forces to participate as combatant spectators if they wish not to race. The racers shoot out of their gates into desolate ruins and rocky terrain to collect the “pilez o gubbins” and bring them back to the starting point, while the “spectators” do their best to hinder or kill the opposing racers. According to ork racing… rules… those who are spectating are not to fight one another as it is ammo wasted that could be used to motivate the racers to move faster.

The Armies: Choose Armies as described on page 118.

The Battlefield: The map is split into thirds lengthwise with two racing lanes on either side of the spectator section. At the end of each racing lane are two separate pilez o’ gubbins.

Special Rules: No flyers. No Deep Striking. No Infiltrating, Scouting, or Outflanking. Any type of non-superheavy unit may race or be a spectator. Multiple racing units can be used simultaneously in a lane. The pilez o gubbins may only move 8” per turn regardless of any special movement enhancements in a codex i.e. a Red Paint Job on an ork vehicle. Any unit type can pick up the gubbinz. Only one pile o gubbinz may be carried per unit, otherwise it behaves exactly like a Relic. Units inside the spectator deployment zone may not leave their deployment zone nor may they fight opposing forces within the spectator zone. If any template scatters into the spectator zone, only the portion outside of the spectator zone has any effect. Racing units may fire into the spectator zone just as spectators may fire into the racing lanes. If a Racing unit is destroyed, it counts being put back in reserves and must roll to come back on at the start line. If a Spectator unit is destroyed, remove it from play as normal.

Place Primary Objectives: Each player places two objectives on in his opponent’s racing lane.

Deployment: Before deploying their forces, players should roll for their warlord traits (see page 111) and then roll off to see who deploys first and goes first. When deploying Racing units, they must start off touching the table edge or as close as they can get to it. Spectating units may be deployed anywhere in the spectator zone.

Game Length: This mission uses Variable Game Length as described on page 122.

Victory Conditions: At the end of the mission the player with the most recovered gubbins wins.

Primary Objectives:
The racers must win at all costs and the spectators must do their best to hinder the opposing racers. Each pile o gubbins is worth 1 point at the end of the game. The first player to get both gubbins back to their starting line wins.
Secondary Objectives:
First Blood, Slay the Warlord.
Mission Special Rules:
Night Fighting

Ugh. Sorry, but nothing about this sounds fun or fitting with 40k.

 curran12 wrote:
Ugh. Sorry, but nothing about this sounds fun or fitting with 40k.

This. The whole point of the generic missions is that they're generic. Any pair of armies can play them without any special modifications, you just show up, roll on the table, and start playing the game. Changing 1/6 missions to a weird scenario game completely breaks this rule.

delta9heir wrote:
Special Rules: No flyers.

So, roll on the mission table and on a 6 you can't play if you have flyers in your list?

 Peregrine wrote:

So, roll on the mission table and on a 6 you can't play if you have flyers in your list?

this isn't meant to be taken as a serious game, more of a just for fun thing we were kicking around rather than get pissed at each other and the game for vague rules and then interpretations of those rules

delta9heir wrote:
this isn't meant to be taken as a serious game, more of a just for fun thing we were kicking around rather than get pissed at each other and the game for vague rules and then interpretations of those rules

Here's a better idea: if you roll the relic mission, re-roll until you get a different one.

Seems like I could just go play Gorkamorka, which I didn't much care for.

I actually don't mind the Relic mission anyway.

MarsNZ wrote:
I actually don't mind the Relic mission anyway.

Then you haven't played it competitively. The problem with the relic isn't with the concept, it's that the rules are utterly broken. To play it successfully you constantly have to add house rules to fix problems GW didn't bother to think about, which inevitably leads to arguing and frustration.

Such as? We seem to always roll the relic in my groups weekly games and there's been no problems other than the groans of "the relic again!"

 wowsmash wrote:
Such as? We seem to always roll the relic in my groups weekly games and there's been no problems other than the groans of "the relic again!"

http://www.3plusplus.net/2013/02/whats-wrong-with-the-relic/

And note that this is just the ambiguous/broken rules problems, it doesn't even get into any potential balance or fun problems with the mission.

I find the best thing to do if you don't like the relic, is to combine it with a second mission, the best one I've found for this is Emp's will, so you have the relic in the middle, and two home field objectives.

 Peregrine wrote:

MarsNZ wrote:
I actually don't mind the Relic mission anyway.

Then you haven't played it competitively.

Guilty as charged, frankly I find the concept of competitive 40K pretty funny.

If that mission is fun to you and your game friends then by all means do it. But why even roll for it? The restrictions seem like they are not meant for every army. It really should be an alternate format rather than a mission.

That being said the relic mission has never been a problem for me and my group. The mission that has been a problem is the scouring because it is so based on luck. There will be times were one person will get a 4 and two 3's on his side while the other person has all the bad objectives. Even just getting lucky and having the 4 is sometimes enough to win the game.

I guess we don't have a problem with it becuase we don't try and pull shinanagens the way that article does. Although the ramshackle thing would be very fluffy and funny to see.

If one of you has an iPad, GW has been putting out a number of Battle Missions for each codex that's been released recently. Each has at least 3 new missions you could add in.

There's also the Battle Missions book that came out in 5th edition you can substitute if you roll up Relic.

Or, as suggested above, just reroll if you get Relic.

I don't like the special mission you've come up with, but wouldn't mind doing it as a one-off some time. However, if I show up to play and we randomly roll that mission, I'd be upset.

Special Rules: No flyers. No Deep Striking. No Infiltrating, Scouting, or Outflanking

You've just eliminated 1/3rd or more of many of the units that I regularly use. If I brought one army list and models with me, I'd have to turn around and go home instead of play.

I think this sounds interesting for a custom mission, but not as a replacement for a standard mission.

I honestly have never seen issues with any of this. If you can't gun down/assault the squad that has the relic to death with your whole army, maybe you are just doing it wrong.
My 'crons have never lost a match of the Relic, and I actually like it quite a bit.

delta9heir wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:

So, roll on the mission table and on a 6 you can't play if you have flyers in your list?

this isn't meant to be taken as a serious game, more of a just for fun thing we were kicking around rather than get pissed at each other and the game for vague rules and then interpretations of those rules

It's a fun scenario game it should be one featured at the back of the book. The main section of games that you roll for is for "normal" games.

Besides, I think a good, simple fix to the relic mission would simply be that there's one objective in the centre of the board which is worth 3 or 4 VPs. You can't move it, you just have to hold it.