The Vadinax Campaign: Arks of Omen

Welcome back to our ongoing previews for the Vadinax Campaign, our upcoming global Crusade campaign for Warhammer 40k! Yesterday we introduced a few of the campaign's key non-player characters and gave some of their backstories. Today we're talking about a different aspect of the campaign: how we're working in the content from the upcoming Arks of Omen books.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The upcoming Arks of Omen series revolves around the mysterious titular Arks of Omen, massive space hulks that have been outfitted and upgraded to become massive warships and sent to retrieve key items for the inscrutable plot of the Warmaster and Vashtorr. One of these arks has come into the possession of Shanker Gord and his warband of the Scourged. Armed with this massive ship he's been set loose on the Vadinax Sector, though no one yet knows which planet he's targeting or why.

In the Vadinax Campaign we'll be incorporating the Arks of Omen narrative into the campaign's story. Throughout the campaign there will be opportunities to engage with this, either by attempting to raid Shanker's Ark or attacking other space hulks drifting through the sector. Rumors abound of an ancient ship called the Mendel, a barge containing stores of pre-Heresy gene seed which disappeared ten millennia ago, has been spotted fused into one of these massive hulks. The contents of the barge, if still preserved, would prove invaluable for marine chapters like the Blood Angels or the traitor legions.

Death Guard take on the Sons of Ash in a Boarding Action game

Boarding Actions

During the Vadinax campaign players will have the opportunity to play Boarding Actions missions using the rules from our Crusade Dataslate. In addition to the standard boarding actions missions we'll be publishing some additional rules for playing games on 44x30" tables and playing on 36"x36" and 48"x48" Zone Mortalis boards, for the folks who really want to get in on the action but don't necessarily have a full Boarding action board sitting around.

Either way, there will be ample opportunities for players to take their armies deep into the space hulks, derelict space stations, and underground tunnels scattered throughout the Sector. These excursions are guaranteed to be deadly but may also yield important rewards and opportunities to advance campaign narratives for a player or faction.

Arks of Omen Army Construction

In addition to Boarding Actions games, we'll also be using the new Arks of Omen detachment and army construction rules for games, including the reduced number of CP from the Crusade Missions (with 1 CP and 9 CP as starting totals for Combat Patrol and Onslaught missions, respectively). These rules ensure players will have more flexibility to build the armies they want while ensuring a more balanced approach. Also, starting on fewer CP will make getting bonus CP as a result of differentials in Crusade Points more meaningful.

Kill Team: Into The Dark / Boarding Actions Terrain by Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

Campaign Missions

We'll be playing a variety of missions in the campaign, from the aforementioned boarding actions to tempest of war, Crusade missions, and GT pack missions. Generally speaking, most of the time players will be free to pick the kinds of mission they want to play with their opponent. However each week we'll be releasing a list of key locations and missions that players can undertake to generate additional bonuses for their faction if they win, if they want to undertake some of the missions and objectives that align with those of our dramatis personae.

Next Time: Building Your Narrative

That's it for our look at Boarding Actions but come back tomorrow when we'll talk about some of the ways players can build narratives of their own in the Vadinax campaign and influence the larger story. Until then, if you have any questions or feedback, drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.