Warhammer 40,000 Combat Patrol

Combat patrol is the short-form of Warhammer 40,000 in which players command a small patrol of perhaps two squads and a light vehicle. The games are designed to take around forty minutes to play (or less) and are meant to be fast and fun. This set of rules is designed to help players get a regular game when time is the most limiting factor. This is not a light set of rules but rather a fresh way to use the armies you already have.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
ARMY LIMITATIONS
Each player will need a patrol that conforms to the rules bellow:

BEWARE ODDITIES
When playing Combat Patrol, its important to remember that these games approach Warhammer 40,000 in a way that was not intended. This means odd things may crop up that youll need to sort out on the fly. The best way to resolve these issues is to consider the following:

Armies are no more than 400 points. You must have at least one Troops choice. You may include a single HQ choice, but no more than one.

Is there any Warhammer 40,000 rule you can use as a precedent? What is the most likely and reasonable outcome of the situation? Agree on two likely outcomes and have a roll-off. The winner may choose which outcome will be taken.

You may spend remaining points on anything else in the codex.

No model can have more than 2 Wounds. No special or Unique characters. No model can have a save better than a 3+ or 4+ Invulnerable. Vehicles cannot have a total Armour Value greater than 33. Calculate this by adding the Front, Side and Rear armour values (only count the side once).

When it comes to army lists, you may, on occasion, find that units with compulsory characters that break one of the above rules. If such a unit is the only Troops selection available, then simply leave out the offending character and dont pay the points for him. For example: A 3 Wound Shaper is compulsory in a Kroot Carnivore Kindred and Carnivores are the only Troops choice available to stand-alone Kroot Mercenary armies. In this case, dont count the Shaper as a compulsory and take the unit without him.

No Ordnance weapons.

These rules do not necessarily cover every armysome exceptions will need to be made while still remaining true to the spirit of the game. For example, in Codex: Imperial Guard an Armoured Fist squad is a Troops choice, but you must take an infantry platoon before you can take it. It is perfectly reasonable that a mobile unit like this would carry out patrols, so in Combat Patrol, the Armoured Fist squad can be taken on its own.

OPTIONAL RULES
To maintain the spirit of Warhammer 40,000 and Combat Patrol consider using these optional rules to make your game play more exciting and fun.

All models must be WYSIWYGWhat you see is what you get. All models must be painted Citadel miniatures. No mission special rules. Victory Points (see the Warhammer 40,000 rule book). House rulesAny house rules that you and your buddies or gaming club may have created.

COMMANDERS
As you might not pick an HQ choice, the patrol should still have a commander, who gives the orders and against which Leadership tests are made. This, of course, would be the most senior ranking figure. In the case of two figures being of an equal rank then the player may choose which is the patrols leader, and only that figure may confer its Leadership bonus to friendly squads. When a patrol has taken 50% casualties it must start to take Leadership tests based on the commander's Leadership at the start of its turn or break from combat and subsequently lose the battle. If neither force breaks then at the end of the game the patrol inflicting the most damage wins.

TEAM PLAY
If time allows, two players can team up with their two armies allied together and play against two other opponents. This could also be done for three or even four players per team. Keep in mind that each players army still needs to conform to the Rules of Engagement: Army Limitations.

WARHAMMER 40,000 RULEBOOK

SCENARIO
Combat Patrol is played using the Annihilation mission found in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. Even though the mission is static you will still want to roll for deployment to keep things interesting.

TERRAIN
Warhammer 40,000 battles are most commonly fought on 6x4 tables, but since Combat Patrol is meant to be a straightforward fire fight amongst small forces, using such a large table or complicated terrain will prolong game play.

Combat Patrol is best played on a 4x4 area.

This documents and its contents are not official and are in no manner endorsed by Games Workshop (GW). Warhammer 40,000 is the intellectual property of Games Workshop. Information provided in this document has been collected and in most cases copied directly from the following sources: Warhammer 40,000 rulebook4th edition page 182 by Games Workshop, 40K in 40 Minutes by Tim Eagling and 40K in 40 Minutes Revisited by Che Webster.