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.

Basically, I am interested in doing a sidegame that focuses on tanks and treadheading in 40k. I always found it a little screwy that 40k's Specialist Games went "Necromunda/Killteam," "Gorkamorka," then "Epic." Seems like a bit of a jump there, if you ask me.

As a skirmish game, you would have "Credits" of some sort, which you would use to buy your tank and its crew. Optionally, your force could grow to have up to two extra vehicles, and a motor-pool reserve. (Note, depending on complexity, these numbers might change a little, but emphasis would be on a smaller number of more detailed vehicles). Missions would be "Battletanx-ish" (or like a 40k take on Girls Und Panzer) with assorted "base defense/CTF" duels, and in between missions, you would level up your crew, and trick out your tanks.

The only real challenge would be that the Tyranids/Daemons might be a little left out of the tank party, while the Harlequins/Dark Eldar would have to act as your "spoiler" factions, similar to how Muties were a cavalry army in Gorkamorka.

I also need to compile lore for this. I know that the Leman Russ has a crew of four-six (Commander, Driver, Gunner, Loader/optional sponson gunners), while the Chimera has three due to use of multilaser/autoloading ("Who fires the hull gun?" is a headscratcher). Bustle racks are a whodunit, as well as what changes are proscribed yet "allowed" (e.x. lashing promethium barrels to the side of your tank). But given the premise of this game, especially where different armies have their own tradeoffs (ex: Eldar tanks are great, but have tiny crews, etc), would a Tank Skirmish game have any traction?

I think it could be a very good in the middle game. You could have all kinds of tanks. Formations. Rules. Special crews. Etc.

I think this idea sounds great!
If you eventually need play-testers for draft rule sets please let me know.
Me and my peeps would be happy to give them a try and provide feedback.

Monolith FTW!!

Could be neat! Am I correct in understanding that you picture this as a 1 tank vs 1 tank kind of game? I've seen people pitch rules for having a small number of vehicles squaring off, but a 1v1 game is a very different animal.

Some thoughts:

* How would you make upgrading crew interesting? I'm all for customizing individuals in your force (it's what makes Necromunda/Shadow War/Kill team so much fun), but if, for instance, the gunner upgrades all boil down to "shoot a little better," and the pilot upgrades all boil down to "move/turn a little faster," then that seems like it would benefit more from a flat, abstract upgrade than specific crew quirks.

Less Necromunda gangers picking skills. More, "Crew Gunners 2, Crew Drivers 1, Crew Mechanics 1."

* What role, if any, would passengers play? A chimera just isn't in the same league as a russ, but a chimera full of meltagunners that can pop out (probably in the form of a single model serving as a token) to deliver a short-ranged, powerful attack is an interesting risk vs reward choice.

* If this is a multi-vehicle game, maybe look at the Gangs of Commorragh rules? They have their own take on piloting maneuvers, advantages for getting behind the enemy, etc.

1) I am initially looking to crib a lot of the core mechanics from 2nd edition, with a dash of Gorkamorka/Necromunda. So this does mean that it's the classic statlines+movement. This does mean that charging is part of the move phase, instead of its own phase. A vehicle has crew (who were prone to dying horribly in 2nd) assigned either to driving or to individual weapons. Vehicles have combat/cruising/flat-out speed ranges, and it takes a turn to accelerate/decelerate from one to the next, and the collision rules are funky. There are a few things I plan to change however.
1.a) A different damage system altogether. 2nd  ed vehicles were made of explodium. I'm thinking a top-down damage grid representing an overhead profile of the vehicle, Warmahordes-ish with some twists: Certain vehicle components have HP and take up multiple squares on the grid, and flanking changes which part of the grid is "the top" for purposes of allocating damage. Shoot a vehicle from its left arc, and its right-sponson is on the opposite end of the damage grid.
1.b) The crew roles were "driver," and "gunner." A crewmember could forfeit its turn in order to take over an empty position. This did mean that if the vehicle's driver was killed, the vehicle was "uncontrolled" for a turn (bad news if it was Cruising near a ravine...). What I am instead thinking, is to have the "crew slots" in relationship to each other, so it's easier to switch from loader to gunner, vs sponson-gunner to top-hatch. Either with an initiative check, or by the tank's commander ("Johnson, you're on loader duty!") two "adjacent" crewmembers can switch roles without forfeiting their action for the turn.
1.c) I may steal from Gaslands, Car Wars, or other systems depending on how the "flow" of the tank duelling plays out. Whether it should be the tanks playing "hide in ruins/sniping", or zipping around, is a definite area to test.
2) Don't forget that the Chimera is Amphibious!11! Aside from this game being an excuse to include Chimera variants, be they mainstream (Hellhound and variants), Forgeworld (Salamanders), or more esoteric (the Chimerro/Chimerax/Chimedon), it would have the relative mix of speed and profile to make it an all-arounder. As for the passenger compartment, this would be usable for "fun stuff", storing a Cyclops Demolition Vehicle, Tarantula Turret, or more unorthodox infantry units that act essentially as NPC "mobs" (Arcoflagellants, Repentiae, Chrono-Gladiators, etc).
3) I imagine the initial tests would be "1 v 1" tank games, (or 2v2/3v3 team games where each player has a tank.). Alternately for campaign games, limiting the number of crew rather than the number of tanks may be a better workaround. Marines are more dangerous dismounted compared to dismounted most other things, and their tanks tend towards less crew anyway due to POTMS automation and more personal initiative.

PS: Feel free to recommend skill ideas to keep things interesting. While I may crib ideas from World of Tanks ("Drive/Gunner/Commander/Repair" skills), more generically comedic ones ("Percussive Maintenance" in order to ignore one step of component damage with a Strength Check, "Tank Cavalier" to gain a bonus to using swords from the turret hatch, etc). I do need to also compile a list of "crew roles" by vehicle, as well as general technical information ("Do Chimeras use Bogies or Box-and-spring suspension?" "Does it matter?"). For example, Dark Eldar Ravagers have three gunners and a driver, but apparently lack a radio operator. Do their suits use in-built comms or indicative AR-visors ("The Archon grants first pick of slaves to the crew that guts that Ork abomination"). Or are Tau tank crews that undergo the Talissera innately better at teamwork ("O'res is on gunner duty." "Already there.")?

Wouldn't the easiest thing to do be basing it on the Spearhead rules from 5th, or 6th?

Then if it requires a bit more finessing, go from there?

What about vehicles without crew, like the Monolith, I assume it's just 'upgraded'