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I want to try something different, I want to try a battle based on a specific scenario of a convoy ambush. What I have in mind is that an Imperial Guard or Space Marine force is moving in a long convoy down a narrow road and that another force such as cultists or rogue imperial guard are waiting somewhere along the road in ambush. The imperial guard or space marine force would have more vehicles and armor, and heavier weapons. But the vehicles would have to move single file down the road and many of the troops would be inside the vehicles, maybe a few walking along the sides of the route. The cultists or rogue guard force would have few if any vehicles and less heavy weapons, but their positions would be unknown to the guard or space marines and they would get the element of surprise and be able to fire first. The ambushing force would try to score as many hits in their first round and knock out as many vehicles as they could, while the convoy would have to weather the first round of fire and then try to fight back with the surviving armor and dismounting infantry. Setup would be tailored to the scenario, with terrain set to create a narrow road through the game area, limiting the movement of the convoy's armor and providing lots of cover for the ambushing force. The convoy would have to travel down the road with many units riding in vehicles. The ambushing units would be hidden and not known to the convoy until the ambush is sprung and they open fire. The convoy would start lined up at one end of the road and move towards the other end and the ambushing force would be able to deploy anywhere along the road.

Has anyone tried a battle like this? Did you have difficulty balancing the game so that both sides felt like they were in a struggle to survive?

Well, there are simple ways to do this.

1) The "convoy" starts off in a 12" strip down the center of the board (say, up to half way). I'd try to use an 8' board or even more - depending on the scale of the game. Given the nature of the scenario all or most of this army should be in vehicles or on bikes/cavalry etc. Maybe allow them flyers as air cover for their retreat/escape?

2) The attackers deploy entirely via reserve from the long edges of the table (one on each side of the convoy). I don't know how reserve works in 7th, but allow them to start rolling first turn.

3) The attacker scores points by getting units off the far edge of the table...so each vehicle and any unit with say, more than 50% of its models counts as...some kind of victory point.

4) The attackers obviously win if they kill more than the models who escape.

Sadly with the power creep in 40K and the awful IGOUGO method of turn resolution this could be an absolute slaughter. It does put the convoy player in a pickle though. He scores points for each unit he gets off the table - but once a unit leaves the table he loses that firepower. Likewise if a vehicle is immobilized and the troops have to disembark and run for the board...they may need a vehicle to come back and pick them up.

The reserve rolls for the attacking player would at least minimize the likelihood of a single turn annihilation.

These kind of games work well in other rule sets - but I don't know if 40K is really suited to them. The larger the board the better...to give the fleeing convoy some vague chance of getting away.

Maybe playtest it a bunch until you figure out the right mix/table/army size.

What rule sets do you think a set up like this would work well with?

Convoy (1978)
Great movie directed by Sam Peckinpah with Kris Kristofferson and Ernest Borgnine. And now back to topic...

Well, in 4th there were a lot of interesting missions to choose from including "Ambush" (your Convoy). It went like this:

Ambush

Attacker: Ambusher
Defender: Convoy



Objectives:

Ambusher: He/she tries to destroy as much of the opposing force as possible.
Double the amount of victory points from destroyed or damaged (immobilized, weapon destroyed) opposing forces.

Convoy: He/she tries to avoid the trap.
Add the point value of all units with objecive secured that leave the opposing short board edge which is at least 36´´ away (retreat route) to your victory points. In 4th only units from the Troops category had objective secured.



Mission Special rules:
Hidden Deployment, Split Force, Variable Game Length, Reserves and Victory Points.

Hidden Deployment:
Instead of deploying a unit on the table, you put a numbered token there representing said unit. Bear in mind that your hidden unit has to be placed in terrain (forest, ruins, etc.) and can´t be put in the open. Deployment in impassible terrain is not allowed. Once a unit fires or moves out of terrain and into LOS of the enemy it is no longer hidden. These units may not go again into hiding. There may be wargear that detects hidden units in the game (e.g. Auspex).

Hidden Vehicles:
Vehicles must be placed in terrain or behind terrain (no LOS to opponent).
You might get in trouble here with 7th TLOS. It is not feasible that the Convoy units are able to look straight through forests or runis to detect the enemy. Use LOS instead with area terrain rules.

The terrain in question must be sufficient to conceal the model:

Leman Russ in forest or ruin: Okay
Leman Russ behind shrub: Nope

There was a vehicle upgrade in 4th called Camouflage net that would be beneficial in this mission. You have to see how this works in 7th.


Split Force:
The owner of the force divides his army into two parts (A & B) each consisting of at least 30% of the total army.
Roll a dice:
1-3: You start the game with A (active force). All units in B enter the game via Reserves special rule (passive force).
4-6: B become the starting force and A is in reserve.


Victory Points:
Not to be confused with kill points.
A destroyed vehicle (250 pts.) is worth 250 victory points.
A damaged vehicle (250 pts.) is worth 125 victory points.


Reserves:
The ambusher can choose one of the long board edges for his passive units to enter the battlefield.


Game length:
Six turns (variable).



Deployment:
1. Defender chooses a short board edge as his/her retreat route.
2. Attacker splits his/her force according to the mission special rule Split Force.
3. Active force is deployed in attacker´s deployment zone and benefits from the special rule Hidden Deployment.
Passive force is held in reserve.
4. Defender deploys his/her entire force. First unit must be at least 36´´ away from the retreat board edge. All following units have to be placed behind the first in order to create a marching column or convoy.
5. Attacker begins the game.



Deployment Zones:

Convoy:
The deployment zone is 6´´ wide and lies in the middle of the board. The zone is adjacent to one of the short board edges and is 36´´ away from the other short board edge (retreat route). This rather confined space is just enough to deploy your marching column or convoy.

Ambusher:
All active units must be placed at least 18´´ away from the Convoy deployment zone. Your active units must be hidden (see special rule mentioned above) in terrain or behind terrain and represented by a numbered token.



Note:
The fun factor of this scenario relies heavily on the lists. The convoy in question could consist of a couple of Rhinos and little else. These would then just drive full throttle along the retreat route in order to leave the battlefield without firing off any shots and earning a lot of victory points in the process (see above: objectives). You and your opponent have to adjust the lists beforehand to ensure a worthwhile gaming experience.

You could add on unit type restrictions such as x% points must be Troops and each have a dedicated transport