Deadzone Outbreak: How to take part in the summer campaign!
12th Jun 2018
Rob Burman
Following the huge success of last year’s Edge of the Abyss campaign for Kings of War, this year we wanted to give the Warpath Universe the same love and attention. We thought about doing something based solely around Warpath or Firefight. However, one piece of feedback we received from the Kings of War campaign is that some new players were put off by the sheer amount of miniatures they would need to paint in preparation for the campaign. With this in mind, we felt that Deadzone would be a great option for the summer campaign in 2018. Firstly, it’s an AWESOME game and secondly, it's a really AWESOME game, and thirdly you only need to paint around 10 miniatures for a decent sized Strike Team. Oh, did we mention it's awesome?
So, with that decision made, it was time to start thinking about the mechanics of the campaign. Edge of the Abyss saw locations across the face of Mantica being defended by the forces of good or destroyed by evil armies. Doing a similar thing across the whole of the Warpath Universe was rather overwhelming. Instead we wanted to focus on the fate of one planet: Starfall. We actually introduced this seemingly insignificant planet in the recent Firefight Campaign Supplement. However, this backwater planet could have a significant part to play in the future of Warpath but that will depend upon YOU!
HOW THE CAMPAIGN WILL WORK
Firstly, the most important thing to note is that the campaign will start on August 20th and last until September 24th. That’s five full weeks of Deadzone gaming goodness! All 10 Deadzone factions (including the newly introduced Mazon Labs and Nameless) will have a stake in the future of the planet, so there’s a reason for everyone to get stuck in. For example, if the Nameless win the overall campaign, it’ll give them a planet within GCPS space from which to launch more attacks, while the Forge Fathers have the opportunity to harness some of the Nameless’ mysterious tech. All of the motivations for each faction will be unveiled as we approach the launch date.
At the heart of the campaign will be a specially built campaign website. Here you can learn more about Starfall and the locations you’ll be fighting in during the course of the campaign. When the site opens there will only be one theatre of combat but each week we’ll introduce a new key location that not only moves the story of the campaign forward, but also has a new scenario/gameplay mechanic. This ensures that if you play throughout the course of the five weeks, you’ll see a definite progression in the types of missions you’ll be playing.
It’s worth noting that some of these scenarios will come from the brand new Deadzone: Outbreak book, which will be going on pre-order later this week. The four original scenarios have been re-balanced and four new ones have been introduced too. On top of this, we’ll also be introducing new gameplay dynamics, such as weather effects and night time battles. The latter will be introduced specially for the campaign and will be updated on the website to show when they’re in effect.
What’s more, although the core campaign will follow the story of the Nameless’ arrival on Star Saga and their impact on the wider Warpath universe, there will be also be optional bonus missions. One of these will be based around Star Saga and will give you the chance to play as The Fear infiltrating a secret Mazon laboratory on Starfall. We’ll produce a new downloadable mercenary card for The Fear so you can use him as a ‘hero’. The second will be a Firefight mission in which the combatants must survive not only the onslaught from their enemies but the powerful earthquakes that regularly tear across Starfall.
HOW TO TAKE PART!
We want to make it as easy as possible to take part. Following feedback from participants that played in the Edge of the Abyss campaign last year, we’ve streamlined the process to make it as smooth as possible. Once the campaign site goes live you’ll need to sign up for an account. After that you can start uploading your battle results. There’s no requirement for uploading battle reports or images, but you will have the option to add them if you want.
There’s also no points restriction on strike teams. This means, if you’re only starting out on your Deadzone journey, you could have 100 points painted up for week one and then each week you could add some extra miniatures to drive up your total. Of course, if you’re a Deadzone veteran, you can smash straight in with a 200 point Strike Team ready to kick ass and take names.
All the wins and losses will be tracked for each location and there will be an overall scoreboard charting the stats for each faction. Depending upon who is winning in each area, there could be temporary bonuses or special equipment to help in the battles ahead. These will be reported via the website, so it’s important to keep checking back to see if your chosen faction will get a helping hand!
PRIZES TO BE WON!
As if playing a bunch of thrilling Deadzone games wasn’t already exciting enough, while the campaign is running there will be plenty of opportunities to win some awesome prizes. Each week we’ll be selecting different participants to receive a prize. It could be an award for the most games played during a week, the best battle report submitted or even the most losses during a week (if we’re feeling generous). Prizes will include faction starters, mercenaries, even copies of Star Saga, so make sure you keep playing to be in with a chance of winning!
THE LOCATIONS
Finally, just in case you want to get organised and start building your Deadzone terrain in time for the campaign, here are the descriptions for some of the locations where battles will take place.
LOCATION: Command Post Delta
LOCATION DESCRIPTION: When Damrod’s Corporation troops arrived on Starfall they quickly set up a series of Command Posts. The largest of these is Delta. On many planets it would be considered a village, perhaps even a small town. With the largest landing pads on Starfall it has quickly become the centre of fierce fighting, as different factions use the pads to land their Strike Teams. The Battlezones Landing Zone set will certainly come in handy for your own Command Post Delta.
LOCATION: Devil’s Run
LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Devil’s Run is a small spaceport primarily inhabited by smugglers and Rebs sympathisers. It’s usually hidden from the prying eyes of the GCPS (or they’re happy to ignore its more seedy side for their own gain). However, with the recent incursion by the Nameless, Devil’s Run is now overwhelmed by Strike Teams from the various interested parties on Starfall. Most of it lies in ruins, although there are pockets of intact districts – typically those used by Rebs to hide their resistance forces. We can heartily recommend the Ruined City set if you’re planning to make your own Devil’s Run.
LOCATION: Mining Facility J28
LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Since arriving on the planet, Damrod Mining Corporation wasted no time in creating mining facilities to harvest the precious minerals uncovered by the earth tremors. These industrial facilities are full of conveyor belts and machinery used to excavate the resources under the planet’s surface. They make dangerous combat zones though, as the machinery makes perfect hiding places for enemy forces. Want to make your own Mining Facility? Then it’s worth picking up the Industrial Zone set.
LOCATION: Fort Skar
LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Fort Skar started out as a small Marauder outpost but has increasingly grown in size. It’s heavily fortified with anti-air defences and barricades on the exterior. However, the work is shoddy at best as many elements are taken from the Marauder raids on passing craft or nearby planets. The perfect starting point for your own Fort Skar is the Military Compound terrain.