Battleaxe 40k

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only battle…    

    Hello and welcome back to Obsidian Tower 40k! I thought I'd post something a little different today. I homebrewed some rules to play with my buddies. It's a sort of mash up between Bolt-Action and Warhammer 40k 4th, 7th, and 8th Edition. It's not a concrete ruleset, you have to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. Once you and your friend agree to what edition of core rules you think you want to use (I like to refer to 5th edition 40k), you can start playing! To give credit where credit is due, this idea was inspired by MadCap Gamer on Youtube and this forum post on Dakka Dakka.

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The Rules
Version 1.05

This game uses a single unit activation system with random turn order. Whenever multiple players or abilities are due to activate or take an action at the same time, roll off 1D6 to determine who acts first.

Turn Sequence

• Start of turn
• Psychic phase
• Unit phase
• Combat phase
• End of turn

Start of Turn

    All start of turn or start of movement phase actions or abilities are used. Players roll for their reserves and each unit that will arrive generates a token to be placed in the activation bag but does not arrive until the unit phase. These units can be chosen and activated by their player and they then arrive from reserves as normal counting as their movement.

Roll 1D8, reserves may choose to arrive on the battlefield if the roll exceeds:

• Turn 1: 7+
• Turn 2: 6+
• Turn 3: 5+
• Turn 4: 4+
• Turn 5: 3+
• Turn 6: 2+

All units still in reserves after turn 6 count as destroyed. Units embarked on a transport add 2 to their roll.

The Psychic Phase

    Each psychic power attempted to manifest requires a leadership check from the psyker. The more warp charge the psychic power requires, the harder it is to cast. Psykers can only select powers equal to or below their Mastery Level.

• Warp charge 1: 2D6
• Warp charge 2: 1D6+1D8
• Warp charge 3: 2D8

    Compare the result of the test to the psykers leadership. If the test exceeds the leadership of the psyker, the test is failed. On a roll of double 1 or a roll greater than or equal to 12, the psyker suffers from Perils of the Warp.

Perils of the Warp:

1. Dragged into the Warp: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit with no saves. If he is removed as a casualty, his unit takes D6 S6 AP-4 hits. The hits come from the psyker for allocation
2. Mental Purge: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. The power that was attempted is lost for the rest of the game. 
3. Power Drain: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. The psyker cannot cast a power on his next activation.
4. Psychic Backlash: Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves.
5. Empyric Feedback: Psyker takes a leadership test. if failed Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. If passed no effect.
6. Warp Surge: Psyker takes a leadership test. if failed Psyker suffers 1 wound/glancing hit no saves. If passed psyker gains a 3++, Fleshbane, Armor-bane, and Smash until the next friendly psychic phase.

Deny the Witch: Units targeted by psychic powers can attempt to nullify that power if the unit is within 6” of a friendly psyker. Friendly units outside of 6” of a friendly psyker are at the mercy of the enemy psychic assault. To attempt to Deny the Witch, roll 1D6+Ld. Whoever achieves the higher total wins the mental contest.

The Unit Phase

    Each player counts the number of units they have in play. Then they take the same number of tokens (or dice) and place them in a bag.  Then (to decide who goes) a single token is pulled out of the bag by either player, and the player whose token it is can activate a single unit of theirs on the table or due to arrive from reserve. Do the following actions in order, then after that unit is finished, pull another token from the bag until there are no more tokens. 

•     • Independent Characters and the units they are joined to count as a single unit.
•     • A unit cannot be activated more than once a turn.

Actions each unit can take in the unit phase:

• Move: Take a normal movement phase or deploy from reserve. Units Deploy from the controlling board edge. (unless they can do otherwise)
• Shoot: Declare target unit/s that you will be shooting at and what guns will be shooting at who.
• Assault: Declare and make an assault move. Fight in combat. Roll 2D6 to determine charge range. 

    Activated units in base contact with enemy units are in combat and therefore have only two options, Move or Fight. If a unit wishes to Move away from combat, it must first pass an initiative test against the opposing unit. If this test is failed the unit stays in combat. Units that try and fail to Move away from combat are Locked in combat, and must continue to fight and take a moral check at the end of combat. Vehicles of any kind cannot be locked in combat and may move away and take their turn as normal.

The Combat Phase

    Each assault is now resolved separately as a part of a unit’s activation. Since a unit can assault another unit that hasn’t had a chance to activate yet, the following rules apply:

• If an assault is declared against a unit that hasn’t been activated yet, that unit may choose to do one of the following reactions: Run or Overwatch.
• If they choose to Run they may immediately move 3"+D6” in a direction of their choice.
• If a unit has chosen to Run, and is engaged by a successful charge, that unit can be subject to sweeping advance if casualties are inflicted in assault.
• If they choose to Overwatch they must shoot all weapons at the assaulting unit. However, if they pass a leadership test they may shoot at any unit within range. When they shoot, they may do so at their normal ballistic skill. Template weapons inflict D6 wall of death hits but cannot inflict more hits than there are models in the assaulting unit.

Shooting into close combat: As a shooting action, a player may shoot into an assault. To do this, nominate the target unit as normal. Roll to hit as normal, misses count as hitting allied forces. If there is more than one opposing unit, the closer one is hit.

End of turn

    All end of turn checks and abilities are resolved when you finish using an activated unit. When all units on the board have been activated and subsequently resolved, the game turn is over, and order of operations for the next turn begins.

Weapon Changes

• Boltgun: R24" S:4 AP:-1 Rapid Fire
• Chainsword: Melee, S:User AP0 Shred
• Multi-melta: R24" S:8 AP:-4 Savlo 1/2, Melta

(Special) Rules

They had to change for one reason or another...

• And they shall know no fear: Units with this special rule caught in sweeping advance take D6 casualties instead of being wiped out.
• Difficult Terrain: Always move 2"+D3" through terrain per move phase
• Fire Overwatch at full ballistic skill: If a rule states this, instead add 1 to BS for that unit
• Gets Hot: Infantry that roll a 1 die, vehicles that roll a 1 suffer weapon destroyed.
• Heavy Weapons: Infantry based Heavy weapons can split fire if the unit passes a leadership check.
• Hit and Run: Units with hit and run always pass the initiative test to fall back from combat.
• High ballistic skill: Units with BS of 6+ re-roll 1’s and gain precision hits that are allocated by the attacking player. For each point above BS6, add 1 to the precision hit roll.
• Infiltrate: Units with this special rule automatically pass the test for reserves and gives the unit the ability to Outflank.
• Move through cover: May move the normal movement distance for that unit type through terrain
• Scouts: A unit with this special rule may move after it has been deployed from reserves.
• Voice of Command: Instead of the commander "issuing orders" during their activation, an activated unit can "request an order" if the commander is on the battlefield.

• Stomp Attack: In addition to regular attacks, roll a D6, 1 has No Effect, 2-5 has the second effect, and a 6 has the best effect.

Infantry:

• No Effect: Enemy units got out of the way and are unharmed.

• Kerr-runch: Half the models in the enemy unit take a S6 AP -2 hit

• STOMP STOMP STOMP: All models in the enemy unit take a S10 AP-4 hit.

Vehicles:

• No Effect: Enemy units got out of the way and are unharmed.

• Kerr-SMASH: One Vehicle takes a penetrating hit.

• GOAL!: One Vehicle scatters 2D6” and explodes!

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Now I know I didn't think of everything, so I encourage you to use your best judgement if you decide to play these rules with your buddies. I know I'll revisit and revise as I play test. But that's all for now. 

Thanks for reading!