The Rules

Allowed books:
Note: Only the newest versions
Codex: Imperial Guard
Armored Company supplement
Codex: Catachans
Codex: Space marines
Codex: Black Templars
Codex: Dark Angels
Codex: Blood Angels
Codex: Space Wolves
Codex: Eldar
Codex: Dark Eldar
Codex: Chaos Space marines
Codex: Daemonhunters
Codex: Witch Hunters
Codex: Orks
Speed Freaks/Clans/Cults supplements
Codex: Necrons
Codex: Tyranids
Cities of Death
Apocalypse (datasheets from GW site only)
Imperial Armor books NOT allowed.

Forces:
Each playable faction represents a Force. If there are more that one players desiring to play as that force, then they play as team, part of the same force. They cannot declare war on each other. They use the same passive reserve, but each of them can transfer 1k points as normal into his active reserve. They cannot control each other's armies; however, they benefit from all the sector bonuses their force controls.

Playable Forces:
Note: One HQ character(special characters included) in the player's regiment/chapter/legion/clan, etc. must be selected as the leader of the regiment/chapter/ etc. His configuration and total points cost must be listed in the player's datasheet. This confers no mechanical bonus and is only for purposes of the storyline. Whether you will use him in battle or not is your decision.

NOTE: You can change the commander's weapons. Not wargear. If there is a retinue which is compulsory, their equipment can be changed too. If the retinue is not necessary then you can remove them if you like so. All these changes MUST be updated in the datasheet

Only one special character of each type (e.g. only one Ursarkar Kreed in the whole force) allowed.
Only one special character per player allowed. He is nominated(but not bought with points) before the start of the campaign.

Imperial Guard:
All regimental doctrine choices are permanent.
All army organization choices such as Armored Company or Last Chancers are permanent.

Space Marines:
Chapter choice and chapter traits are permanent.

Chaos Space marines:
Legion choices(if any) are permanent(although in the new codex they confer no mechanical bonuses)
When chaos player attacks he can choose the Meat Grinder scenario(he is the attacker)

Eldar:
Craftworld choice is permanent.

Dark Eldar:
No special notes.

Orks:
When an orkish player defeats an opposing army in battle, 50% of the defeated points go to the objective counter.
When orks attack they can choose the Meat Grinder scenario(orks attacking)

Necrons:
When a necron player defeats an opposing army, 50% of the defeated points go to the objective counter.

Daemonhunters:
May include Imperial Guard or Space marines units only if allied to the desired force.

Witch Hunters:
Same as daemonhunters.

Tyranids:
When a tyranid player defeats an opposing army in battle, the Tyranid force receives 50% of the defeated force as an addition to passive reserve and the same amount of points to their objective count.
When Tyranids attack they can choose the Meat Grinder scenario(Tyranids attacking)

Tau Empire:
No special notes.

Global Map gameplay:

The global map game is turn-based.
First Phase: Movement.
Players act when they have time in real life. If there is some conflict(generally, when it is important who goes first) the army with higher strategic rating acts first.
Second Phase: Battles
This is when we play the battles via VASSAL and the 40k mod. First, each battle is scheduled in the corresponding thread. The two opponents must agree when to fight. The battle must happen within the three days after the end of the first fight.After the massacre, it is absolutely necessary to post the battle report from VASSAL.
IF a player misses his SR turn to act in the First Phase, he automatically moves to the bottom of the rooster.
WHEN the time for first phase is up and there is/are players which did not announce their actions, that player is considered to be waiting. All actions can be taken against them.
WHEN a player does not appear to fight his battle via VASSAL, he automatically looses with victorious slaughter result and the army is lost.

Actions:
Each army can perform up to two action per turn:
Move - moves on nearby territory(if it is friendly or neutral only). You cannot move over water. You move diagonally for 1 move action as usual.
You cannot move an army that is being attackedWhen you are not sure whether you can move over a tile including both water and land, send me a PM with the co ordinates of the sector you want to move from and the sector you want to arrive to.
Attack - invades a nearby territory.
OR
Fortify - Leave a squad or more OR the defender places one fortification per "Fortify" action in his deployment zone. OR Destroy/rebuild bonuses, if you wish so.
OR
Another move action.

NOTE: Combat patrol armies receive an additional move action.

Points:
Each force starts with 15k points in passive reserve(in orbit or tomb complex or the webway; whatever are the race's properties).
Each player can call up to 1k points per game turn which arrive in chosen territory with the landing zone quality.
These 1k points per turn can:
Be assembled into an army and act in the same turn. Note that you create the army list on the landing zone - you cannot modify it after that.
Stay in active reserve. They can be assembled when the player wishes so(with the exception if there are enemy forces in the nearby territory/es)

Armies can be assembled only in landing zones(the exception is the case when they arrive as reinforcement points).

Calling Reinforcements - Points in Active Reserve:
When two unequally large armies meet on the battlefield the smaller one can call reinforcements in case it is the defender, it is connected to the HQ via occupied or owned sectors(there is a line of owned sectors connecting the HQ/landing zone and the army) and there are points in active reserve available(not spent on army building). These reinforcements can be up to 3x the army size and CANNOT make the defender larger than the attacker. These reinforcements should be assembled in a suitable army list, but the original army(the one that's calling for aid) stays unchanged.

Battles:
Armies under or equal to 400 points fight with the Combat patrol rules.
Armies over or equal to 3k points fight with the Apocalypse rules.
Armies taking place in cities use the Cities of Death rules.
The defender of the sector always chooses his deployment zone.
Mission is determined with the 'Random mission' button in VASSAL.
All rules for the scenario apply.
When there are special scenario rules for the sector follow them; the above rules are overridden.

Battles taking place in a force's starting location use the Strongpoint attack rules.

When the battle is over
- The defeated army retreats 1 sector away, towards their HQ(I will draw the move)
- the Victorious army receives 25% of the "dead points"(the casualties' value in points) to buy back their destroyed units. You cannot buy back a unit that you have not had before the battle .(Example: You are left with 1 guardian squad. You have 2 guardian squads dead. With the 25% points you can buy some of the dead guardians. Not an Avatar)

Sectors and bonuses:
Sectors usually confer a bonus to the owner. You always benefit from the bonus if you occupy the sector. You occupy a sector if there is at least ONE troop choice unit over half strength occupying the sector and if there are no enemies in that sector. If you have visited a neutral sector, but left without occupying it with armed forces, you own the sector(if anyone enters it that means war, it counts towards your owned sectors) but do not benefit from the bonuses.

You receive the bonus when you post the actions for your turn before any movement. The exceptions are transport bonuses like railstations, tunnels, warp rifts, webways

Bonus destruction and rebuilding:
Some bonuses can be destroyed and rebuild(some cannot be rebuild though). Destroyed bonus has no effect on the game. Both destroying or rebuilding are part of the Fortify action.

Bonus types:
Landing zone: Your active reserve points for the turn can be summoned in this location instead of your HQ. Only Necrons and Eldar cannot use landing zones.
NOTE: the faction's starting location IS a landing zone.

Ancient Relic The player which controls the relic may reroll one psychic test per battle.
Battles use the "Hold at all cost" scenario.

(Hive) City:
Imperial Guard: You receive 1 infantry squad of 10 guardsmen(lasguns) or 2 10 man squads of conscripts(lasguns) per turn for 3 turns. They can be upgraded.
Space Marines: one Rhino transport per turn for 3 turns.
Eldar: no bonus.
Dark Eldar: Slave raiding parties have found their Haven. Or Hell. Capture for x turns in order to enslave population. Receive xx points per turn.
Tyranid: The extra biomass proves active boost to the Tyranid army. The Tyranid player receives 1 twenty man unit of gaunts each turn for 3 turns. After that, the City counts as destroyed.
Chaos: Corruption sweeps quickly through the hearts and minds of people and the Chaos Gods know that. Chaos players can recruit Lost and the Damned armies for 3 turns. Each turn the city receives 800 points of active reserve, which are subtracted from the Chaos Force's passive pool. These points can be spent ONLY on Loas and the Damned armies.
Orks: One looted Razorback vehicle a turn(which does not count as heavy support) for 3 turns.
Daemonhunters: Gives the ability to use Imperial Guard infantry squads as allies.
Witch Hunters: Gives the ability to use Imperial Guard infantry squads as allies.
Tau: No special bonus.
Necrons: The harvesting of so many souls at a time pleases the C'tan. Necron players may include a C'tan paying half the price for 3 turns.

Prometheum fuel harvesting stations: Extensive mining facilities, fully mechanized with almost no need for living personnel. The controlling force receives additional 150 points to the 1k flow. These points, however, can only be used to buy vehicles.
Destroyable/Rebuildable

Orbital RelayExtensive systems using laser guidance and other reliable technologies to guide bombing runs with surgical accuracy. Controlling force can use the Preliminary Bombardment rule for one battle per station for the turn.

Webway gates : The mysterious Eldar webway is perfect a ambush route and lightning fast way for traveling. Webway Gates serve as landing zones for the Eldar. Additionally Eldar forces that occupy sector with webway can choose to travel to another webway presented on the map for just TWO move actions(they cannot attack afterwards, except if they are combat patrols).
NOTE! Dark Eldar players DO benefit from this bonus.
Can be sealed/unsealed by Eldar/Dark Eldar players. Sealed gates count as destroyed

Starport: Build on high ground, the starport is an excellent landing location for massive drop ships even without the computer navigation systems. The other side is the superior sensor systems of the complex. which provide enormous boost to logistics. And at last, the massive power generators generate huge amount of energy, waiting to be used. Starports provide additional 1k points transfer speed from passive to active reserve for the force which controls it(Tyranids receive only 800 point s increase). The drawback is that these points must land on the starport, except for Necrons(which use the massive energy streams to boost the awakening procedures in the tombs)

Tomb entrance: Only Necrons benefit from this bonus. It acts as a landing site(but only for them).

Tau Research center One of the Tau laboratories, these cloaked structures house a host of scientists, trying to unlock the secrets of warp travel. No bonus.
Destroyable once Tau force visits it.

Teleportation center : Massive teleporting devices used mainly to transport quickly resources from on point of the planet to the other. Armies consisting entirely of deep strike capable units and equal to or below 1k points can move anywhere on the map(they start in reserves if a battle occurs WHEN they drop on a tile with an enemy army. Else, they start as the player chooses) for 1 move action.
Battles use the "Bunker assault" scenario. Note that in the IG capitol they are still "Strongpoint attack"

Railroad Station
Effect:Armies which entered the railway by entering the station can move to any other station presented on the map with +3 move actions; they can be attacked, they can get off the train before the station, they can travel even if the station of arrival is at the enemy's hands.
Only Imperial, tau and Ork forces can use this bonus.
Destroyable/rebuildable

Tunnel network entrance
Effect: Armies which entered the tunnel complex by first entering the tunnel entrance can move to any other tunnel entrance presented on the map with +2 move actions; they cannot be attacked; the can pass under lakes/water, they can emerge at any point of their route(which is the shortest route to the next entrance). Only Tyranid and Necron players can use this bonus.
Destroyable/rebuildable

Warp Rifts: Same as webway gates, with the difference that only Chaos forces or Chaos Allies may use them.
Seal/Unseal

Diplomacy:
Feel free to create and break alliances via PM, but here are the things you need to obey:
These are the possible relationships between players:
Hostile - players are at war. Entering the territory of a hostile player means battle.
Neutral - Players are supposed not to take actions against each other. Entering neutral player's territory means declaring war.
Allies - Players are supposed to act together. They can pass through each other's territory without declaring war.

There are also 'Pacts'. These are generally agreements between two or more players which are defined by the commanders themselves.

Special notes about diplomacy:
Imerial Guard:
Space Marines, Inquisition, Eldar - neutral
Orks, Necrons,Tyranids, Chaos Space Marines, Tau, Dark Eldar - hostile
Space marines
Inquisition, Imperial Guard - neutral
Orks, Necrons,Tyranids, Chaos Space Marines, Tau, Eldar, Dark Eldar - hostile
Daemonhunters and Witch Hunters(they are different forces, but start as Allies and form the Inquisition)
Space Marines, Imperial Guard - neutral
Orks, Necrons,Tyranids, Chaos Space Marines, Tau, Eldar, Dark Eldar - hostile
Chaos Space marines
Dark Eldar - neutral
Space marines, Imperial Guard, Inquisition, Tyranids, Necrons, Tau Epire, Orks, Eldar - hostile
Dark Eldar
Chaos Space marines - neutral
Space marines, Imperial Guard, Inquisition, Tyranids, Necrons, Tau Epire, Orks, Eldar - hostile
Eldar
Tau, Imperial Guard - neutral
Space marines, Inquisition, Chaos, Dark Eldar, Tyranid, Necrons, Orks - hostile.
Tyranids
They are hostile towards everyone.
Necrons
They are hostile towards everyone.
Orks
They are hostile towards everyone.
Tau Empire
Eldar - neutral
Space marines, Chaos Space marines, Imperial Guard, Dark Eldar, Necrons, Tyranids, Orks, Inquisition - hostile.

Special Diplomacy notes: If Imperial Guard Regiment or a Space Marines' chapter is ever revealed to be allies to or declares pact with any Chaos forces, they are declared traitors, excommunicated from the light of the Emperor and cannot go back. The tainted players are considered as being hostile to every loyal imperial player (even in the same force). Furthermore, Inquisitorial forces receive half the points of every defeated traitorous army(Chaos not included!). They are transferred into passive reserve.
If Imperial Guard Regiment or Space Marine Chapter allies to aliens ad/or traitors of any kind, the Ordo Hereticus(And Ordo Malleus, if we speak about chaos tainted traitors) benefit from battles with the traitors as described above.


Expanded fortifications

As well as garrisoning troops or creating defensive postion, an army may use Fortify actions to lay mines, razorwire, tank traps, automated turrets or other, more exotic items.

All of the following are considered Fortify actions.

Mines

For each action spent laying mines in an area, you may designate one piece of terrain as Dangerous terrain during battle, or deploy a marker denoting a 6" sphere of Dangerous Terrain (so the area within 3" of the marker is Dangerous). You may not lay mines in your enemies deployment zone.

Instead of placing additional minefields however, the player can instead choose to strengthen existing minefields. A minefield can be strengthend up to twice. A minefield that has been strengthened once inflicts a wound on models moving through it on a 1 or a 2, a minefield that has been strengthened twice inflicts a wound on a roll of a 1, 2 or 3.

Friendly troops will have extensive maps of the location of their own mines, and will have gone through dozens of controlled exercises to practice moving through their own minefields safely- though more care must be taken with them than normal ground. Troops friendly to or allied to the faction may treat minefields as difficult terrain rather than dangerous.

Minefields which have been strengthened twice still count as dangerous terrain to friendly troops if they choose to do this, but will only inflict wounds on rolls of a 1 (roll for both difficult terrain and dangerous terrain seperately). The mines are simply too thick to move safely through, even if you do know where they all are!

Like fortifications, one minefield is "spent" (or in the case of a strengthend minfield, weakened) per battle.

Razorwire

For each action spent laying razorwire, three razorwire fence 6" long and 1" wide may be deployed at the start of the battle. Razorwire is considered open ground for vehicles, but difficult terrain for infantry and dangerous terrin for infatry with an armour save of 5+ or worse. Razorwire does not confer a cover save, and does not block line of sight.

Razorwire may not be deployed in the enemies deployment zone, and is destroyed if a vehicle that is not a skimmer moves through it.

Automated turrets

For each action spent laying automatic turrets one turret may be deployed at the start of the battle in their deployment zone. An automated turret is considered an immobile vehicle with an armour value of 11 on all facings, BS2 and a single twin-linked weapon which differs depending on race.

Imperial Guard: Heavy bolter.
Space Marines: Heavy bolter.
Inquisitio: Heavy bolter.
Chaos: Heavy bolter.
Eldar: Scatter laser.
Dark Eldar: Splinter cannon.
Orks: Big Shoota.
Tau: Burst Cannons.
Necrons: Gauss Blaster.

Tyranids may not lay automated turrets.


Run the Blockade

If attacked, a defending army may instead of fighting normally elect to Run the Blockade. Depending on the situation, this may be an encircled army attempting to break through enemy lines, an army on the move attempting to run a blockade of defending troops to perform an objective, or a far larger 'defending' army attempting to blow through a stalling enemy army with maximum speed.

If the defender chooses to Run the Blockade, play the Ambush (page 206 of the main rulebook) mission with the attacked army as the defender, or the Breakout (page 213 of the main rulebook) mission with the attacked army as the attacker, and with the following differences.

1: The attacking army may Deep Strike or Infiltrate those units that are normally capable of doing so, though the defender may not.

2: If Ambush is used, then no victory points are scored for destroyed units by either side. Instead, at the end of the game the defending army gains victory points equal to the value of any unit that escaped from the battle as normal. The attacker gets the victory points value of any enemy unit that is still on the table by the end of the battle, alive or dead, though if the defending army scores a win those units do not break off from the main army and are not assumed to be killed unless the unit was in fact destroyed during the battle.

3: A result of a draw is counted as a Solid Victory to the attacking army.

4: In Ambush, the attacker does not automatically have the first turn. Roll off as normal.

If the defending army scores at least a Solid Victory result, then unless it has already done so the army may move normally in its turn despite being attacked.


Determining the outcome of the campaign.
If a force looses all it's landing zones it automatically looses the campaign.
The outcome of this campaign will be determined by victory points. They are earned in the following way:
Each fulfilled objective earns the force 10 victory points.
Each battle with result 'victory' earns 2 victory points.
Each battle with 'draw' result earns 1 victory point.
Each battle with 'defeated' result earns 0 victory points.
At the end of the game, each sector with bonus of some kind occupied earns 0,5 victory points.
At the end of the battle each enemy faction starting location occupied earns 3 victory points.

If at the end of the campaign there are two players with equal victory points, the one with more points in active + passive reserve + current armies wins. If there is still a tie, one battle is played with all the points the force has. The victor wins the campaign.

Some minor updates. The most important one is this

Quote :

Players act when they have time in real life. If there is some conflict(generally, when it is important who goes first) the army with higher strategic rating acts first.

It's not realistic, but makes it easier to find time for posting for people who are quite busy.

Minor update I longed to do.

Quote :

there is a line of owned sectors connecting the HQ/landing zone and the army

So, you can call reinforcements when outnumbered even if not connected to the HQ square. You need to be connected to the landing zone square.

Okay, there was a serious glitch this turn.

Many times over most players there was a situation where two armies passed right through each other without fighting.

The most comical example was the Tyranid player who went from 10:3 - 13:4 to attack the necron, and the necron going from 13:4 - 10:3 to attack the tyranid.

This insanity needs to end.

Perhaps we should have an order that players go in? In that case, if someone has moved into your square to attack you, you can't move out of the square (as you're now engaged in a battle).

maybe it should be in order from stragety ratings

If army A is attacked by army B neither of them can move until the next turn, with the exception of the new rule "Run the blockade". I thought it was clear, but it seems that it was clear only for me . I will and clarification.

so, is it whoever posts first the one whose army moves first?

Run the blockade added.

Clarification about combining armies: You cannot combine two armies if this will violate the FOC.

Added rules for turrents and so on. SInce there was no place in post one, as I found out, they are in post 2.