Free-for-all Campaign
This is a simpler and more casual campaign format, with a focus on players just showing up on game day to have straightforward gang battles with no Territory and extremely limited Hired Guns, simplified Pre-Battle and Post-Battle Sequences, and streamlined Experience. Gang's start with more credits and some XP but gain less credits and XP per battle on average than in most other campaign formats. This allows early front-loaded action in the campaign and the fun of watching fighters get more capable over time, but with a bit less bookkeeping to keep track of as the campaign progresses. It's basically "Skirmish++".
Free-for-all campaigns may have one or more players who take on the labor of organizing things, but thanks to their simplicity they generally don't require an Arbitrator and rely instead on player consensus.
Starting a Campaign
When a Free-for-all campaign is started the players collectively agree on a Reputation Goal set to a specific value, such as 25 Reputation for a short campaign or 50 Reputation for a longer campaign. After the Reputation Goal has been agreed upon, players make their gangs and start having battles with one another. The campaign will wrap up after the first gang reaches or exceeds the agreed upon Reputation Goal, as described in the Ending a Campaign section.
Allowed Gang Types
Any types of gangs the players don't explicitly reject are allowed to participate in this campaign format, and it is assumed that all of the following types of gangs are allowed by default:
Gang Creation
New gangs start with 2000 credits.
Spyrer Hunting Party
If a Spyrer Hunting Party has successfully completed their Hunters Pact before the Free-for-all is over their player may start a new Spyrer Hunting Party with more credits available and keep playing that gang in the campaign. See the
Hunters Pact Acheived
section of the Spyrers Gang List for details.
Hired Guns
A gang may hire Exclusive Hangers-on available to their gang type. For instance, an Orlock gang may hire an
Harpooner,
and a Cawdor gang may hire a
Zealot because they are each exclusively available to gangs of that kind.
All other kinds of Hired Guns are not allowed in this campaign format.
Starting XP
New gangs have 25 XP to distribute across Advanceable fighters on their starting roster as their controlling player sees fit. All of this starting XP could be given to one fighter or five different fighters could be given 5 XP each, or it could be spread around the gang's eligible fighters in any arrangement totalling to 25 XP.
Fighters who have enough XP to get one or more Advancements may gain those Advancements prior to their first battle if desired, but randomly rolled Advancements should be resolved in the presence of at least one other player in the campaign to ensure fair play is being adhered to.
Starting Skills
The Free-for-all campaign format uses a custom
Skills List,
which should be consulted when fighters who start with Skills are added to a new gang's roster and also when fighters gain new Skills.
Territory
Territory is not used in this campaign format.
Reputation
New gangs start with 0 Reputation. Over the course of a Free-for-all campaign a gang's Reputation can be reduced to 0 but cannot fall below 0.
Tactics Cards Decks
Each gang participating in a Free-for-all forms a Tactics Cards deck comprised of all Tactics Cards available to each gangs' type. For instance an Escher gang takes one copy of every card on the
Escher Tactics Cards
list to make their Tactics Card deck, while a Chaos Cultist gang dedicated to Khorne takes one copy of every card on the
Khorne Tactics Cards
list to make theirs.
Campaign Battles
The Free-for-all specific
Pre-Battle,
Battle, and
Post-Battle
Sequences must be followed for all campaign battles.
Strength of Schedule
To the extent possible each player should attempt to play each other player at least once and gangs should avoid fighting the same opposing gang(s) repeatedly unless they are very evenly matched to avoid one gang getting stronger by serially beating up on a weaker gang.
Multiplayer Scenarios
This campaign format uses a small set of scenario types but each of them support three and four player battles, and it is encouraged for players to take advantage of this whenever possible for big battles with three or four gangs violently clashing. In fact, in a Free-for-all campaign that only has three or four players, it's a valid option to require all players to participate in every battle.
Experience
The earning and spending of Experience points are described in depth in the Free-for-all
Experience
document.
Ending a Campaign
After the first gang in the campaign reaches or exceeds the agreed upon Reputation Goal, each gang may fight up to one more battle after which the gang with the highest Reputation and the gang with the second highest Reputation fight a final battle to determine the winner of the campaign. After that, the campaign is over.
Serial Continuity
After a Free-for-all campaign is concluded, players may want to start a new one. If so, the gangs and fighters of a concluded Free-for-all campaign can be carried forward into that subsequent Free-for-all campaign by players who wish to form Offshoot gangs instead of making new gangs.
Offshoot gangs can be formed from the final gangs of the campaign with 2500 starting credits, but they do not gain the 25 XP new gangs receive to distribute amongst their fighters. However, the experienced fighters of the original gang can be hired by the Offshoot gang bringing with them any Advancements and gear they have. The Offshoot gang pays the current rating in credits from their starting funds for any of the original gang's fighters that they retain. Offshoot gangs start with Reputation 0, regardless of what their original gang's Reputation was; they've got to prove themselves all over again in the new campaign.
Spyrer Hunting Party
If a Spyrer Hunting Party has not yet completed their Hunters Pact before a Free-for-all campaign is over and Offshot gangs are being allowed in a subsequent campaign, the Spyrer Hunting Party may carry over their roster as is including their progress so far towards completing their Hunters Pact and continue playing in the next campaign. See the
Campaign End
section of the Spyrers Gang List for details.