The Eldborg Spheres
Warhammer 40,000
Narrative Campaign Rules
Use the official Crusade Rules,
unless otherwise stated (see below).
Captain - Quartermaster
At the start of the Crusade, every Team must elect a Captain and a Quartermaster. This can be the same person for both roles, but we discourage this unless they are chronically online with too much time.
The Captain is responsible for group and strategic tasks, such as:
Encouraging and arranging 2v2, 3v3, and Battle Royale games
Choosing Team bonuses
Representing their Team in the Discord chat
Giving tactical advice to their Team
Commanding Team in Apocalypse games
While the Quartermaster is focused more in the finer details of Crusade and scorekeeping, with specific tasks like:
Confirming that all games entered by their teammates are accurate and complete
Helping their Teammates with Administratum
Tracking Team Resources and bonuses
Crusade Hex Map
The Crusade will have a map made of conquerable, and fortifiable, Hexes. Every battle will take place on one of theses Hexes, with strategic locations having additional challenges and rewards.
[VISIAL REPRESENTATION COMING SOON]
Overcharged Battles
It’s far too easy to fall into the pattern of playing against the same opponent again and again (not that we discourage fun rivalries), so we have added incentives to fighting the whole of the Galaxy:
Every-other Saturday, there will be a unique mission available to play at Sword & Board with special rewards, exclusive to those missions.
Each month will have additional rewards for participating in a 2v2, 3v3, or Battle Royale.
Codex-less Army Rules
Factions that have not yet received official Crusade Rules may use the Eldborg Authority rules—a set of house-rules available until they receive their official rules. These rules include additional Battle Honours, Agendas, Requisitions, and at least two Faction-specific Crusade Relics.
If your official Crusade Rules are released during a Crusade, you must stop using the Eldborg Authority rules, however you may keep any Battle Honours that you gained while using them.
Supported Rules
In addition to all 10th Edition Crusade rules for any Factions, the following Crusade Campaign rules can be used:
Tyrannic War
Crusade Relics
Battle Traits
Monsters And Those Who Hunt Them*
Crusade Blessings & Agendas
NOT: Missions
Pariah Nexus
Crusade Relics
Battle Traits
Crusade Blessings & Agendas
Missions*
NOT: Alliance Upgrades, Blackstone Discovery
NOT: Pariah Nexus Mission Deck Crusade Rules
*minor rules changes or errata
Upgrade Anything
When choosing to give a Weapon Modification to a unit that contains more than one model, you can pick a weapon on any model. You can ignore the rules that says, “if the unit includes a CHARACTER model or Unit Champion, you must select that model” and instead give the Weapon Modification to the unit where it makes sense.
Use Administratum
There are a lot of excellent tools out there for Warhammer rosters and tracking, but for our Crusades we use Administratum, an online tracker made by Goonhammer.
While you are welcome to use additional software for tracking various information, Administratum must be the primary location where this is kept and tracked. This also means that it is vitally important that game results are entered in accurately and correctly, from the mission’s name to the result of an out-of-action test, everything should be included.
That said, we’re all human (except for the xenos, daemons, transhumans, geists, and automatons), so we understand that mistakes will happen, and that corrections will need to be made.
Multi-Stage Crusade
The Eldborg Spheres is comprised of a roughly 4-month long Crusade, with differing goals, strategies, and rewards during various periods.
Reconnaissance (Optional)
August 9th - 31st
This stage of the Crusade has the lowest stakes in terms of mechanical advantages, but is a great period for learning about the unique Crusade mechanics, catching a couple refresher games, building up a roster, or deciding to run a different army. During this stage there are no teams, however players may take this time to connect ant decide which teams to join.
As noted above this stage is completely optional and will only provide minor advantaged for participation, but will affect the narrative of the crusade.
Incursion
September 1st - 30th
Teams have been formed, Captains and Quartermasters chosen, and now the Crusade begins in full. Capture new territories before your enemies, and skirmish over others that have been previously claimed. Teams will have to compete for resources and unique bonuses.
Fortification
October 1st - 31st
Conquerors must now build on the foundations of their plunder. Improving the newly acquired lands whiles still defending them from attackers, and capturing vital resources from your enemies.
Extermination
November 1st - 22nd
Your citadels, temples, and manufactorums have been completed, but your enemies still still stand as if and insult to your very existence; now is there is nothing but the path of annihilation. New heroes will rise as other fall to old rivals, but in the end there will only be a select few Masters of the Eldborg Spheres.
Character Continuity
At the beginning of the Crusade, players may use the following requisition once, on the first unit they add to their Crusade Roster:
Perpetual Being 2-5RP
The first time you add a unit to your Crusade force, you may select one CHARACTER unit from a previous in-cannon* Crusade Roster and add it to this Crusade force, paying 1RP per Crusade Point that unit has (you may remove any number of Battle Honours from that unit, so long as it joins your Crusade force with 2-5 Crusade Points). You must have enough points available in your Supply Limit to add the chosen unit. This Requisition can only be used once per Crusade.
*Only Crusades that have either been run or endorsed by Sword & Board:
Gladio Tablua (May-Dec, 2024)
Interlude Crusade [See Below] (Apr-Jul, 2025)
Eldborg Spheres (Aug-Nov, 2025)
Roll Everything
If it has an option to roll, you must roll. Even if the rules say that you can/may choose, if there is an option to roll, you must take it, and all rolls should be witnessed by an opponent or admin.
This includes, but is not limited to:
Battle Traits
Battle Scars
Weapon Modifications
Map/Mission
One “Pre-Veto” Choice
Whenever you roll for Battle Traits, Weapon Modifications, or to choose the Map/Mission (not for Battle Scars), you may pick one option to “pre-veto” and should you roll that option, you may re-roll until you get a different option.
No Named Characters
Because the nature of Crusade is about telling your story, no named characters are allowed in your Crusade force. This means that most units with the EPIC HERO keyword cannot be used. If you are unsure if an EPIC HERO is considered a named character or not, ask your Quartermaster or an Admin.
Additionally, you are only allowed a maximum of 1 EPIC HERO, per Crusade.
Eldborg Spheres Crusade Codex
Warhammer 40,000 is a massive, sprawling game with constant balance tweaks and errata, and Crusade only adds to the complication, so we have compiled a Google Doc with:
Eldborg Spheres Crusade Rules
Errata to Tyrannic War and Pariah Nexus Crusade Rules
Links to Crusade Rules
Eldborg Authority Codex-less Faction Rules
Narrative Introduction:
The Tremulous Transmission
Near the dawning of the 42nd Millenium, a transmission was received, emanating from the far edge of the Ultima Segmentum, near the Ghoul Stars. This transmission was both heavily encrypted and distorted, but what could be deciphered by the greatest minds of this time was of such importance that teams from across both realspace and warpspace have been activated and sent to learn more about this mysterious transmission.
You have been sent by those in power, with little more than a sector of space and a vague set of instructions:
- Find the physical origin of the transmission.
- Identify those responsible for sending it.
- Eliminate any resistance.
This section of space is not particularly well inhabited, but there is an Imperial Cemetery World, Kortinavris IIX, likely with little to no defenses and thousands of miles of catacombs, memorials, and necropolises. It is there amongst the dead that you will begin your search, and hopefully find the answers your superiors seek.
Interlude Crusade
April 12th - July 26th
For those who simply prefer to play Crusade, versus Matched or Open play, we have a just-for-fun Interlude Crusade starting April 12th.
Stories of War
Much like the Reconnaissance stage, the games you play will contribute towards the narrative of the Eldborg Spheres Crusade.
This time is also great for establishing your “Perpetual Being” if any, learning a new army, or simply continuing where the Gladio Tablua left off.
All the rules for this Crusade are the same as for the Eldborg Spheres Crusade, unless otherwise stated.
This includes the Eldborg Authority, Character Continuity, Roll Everything, Upgrade Anything rules, etc.
Overcharged Battles will be announced when happening, but not regularly scheduled.
Named characters ARE ALLOWED for the Interlude, but not the Eldborg Spheres.