Warzones of the Betrayal (The Battle for Mars)

The Betrayal era sees the Legions the beginnings of the Secession proper.  With several major warzones being fought over between the Secessionists and Imperialists at the dawn of Guilliman's Imperium Secundus.


Mars is without a doubt the most important forgeworld in the galaxy.  Supplying the vast majority of the Crusade fleets' materiel.  When the Emperor lifted the bans on forbidden technology, the hiccup in supplies was barely noticed.  As what would later be called the Martian Rebellions rolled on disruptions became more common.  Many Legions sent small teams to investigate and secure materiel for their respective Legions.  Before long full blown war broke out on Mars, with the Imperialists backing the Dark Mechanicum and Secessionists backing the Sundered Mechanicum.  The Iron Warriors and Scions of Guilliman knew the loss of Mars would cut the Secession off from vital supplies and an major strategic position.  The Thousand Sons and Alpha Legion sought to preserve the vast knowledge of the Mechanicum and hold the powerful forgeworld. The Thousand Sons were also desperate to prove the worth of the Librarius and over turn the Edict of Nikaea.  The Battle for Mars would prove to be one of the longest running and most vital warzones in the entire Secession.
 
Battle for Mars Rules
The Legions that are fighting on Mars are:
Imperialists
Thousand Sons
Alpha Legion
Secessionists
Iron Warriors
Scions of Guilliman

Being one of the longer lasting fights during the Secession, the Battle for Mars will occur over several eras.

There are 3 main theaters involved in the battle for mars.  Players should use these theaters to help them theme mission selection, game size and terrain types.  The three theaters are:
The Great Forges
 Dotted all over the landscape of Mars are the vast Forges and Manufactorum.  Within these Labyrinthine complexes the tech priests labour to supply the Imperium with their war material.  Cities of death battles would be perfect to represent battles fought withing the vast forges of Mars.  otherwise dense urban terrain would be most suitable.
The Plains of Mars
The vast surface of mars is dotted with ruins and wreckage of wars long past. Smaller supply stations, launching platforms, vast roadways and the few smaller forges that are on the surface of Mars litter this rocky wasteland.  This theater would be ideally suited to larger games especially ones involving lots of vehicles.  Roads, craters, rocky out crops and smaller clusters of buildings to represent supply depos or small installations are ideas for terrain.
The Orbital Platforms 
Space dockyards and supply stations this theater gives some great opportunities for odd battles.  From using the rules for Void battles (which I'll add in an upcoming post) to using corridor sets (like Space Hulk or the many available from various online sellers) to city fights or planet strikes.



Generic Betrayal Warzone Rules
Although the various Legions are assigned to various Warzones this doesn't mean that elements for their forces aren't active elsewhere in the galaxy.  As such (and so no one gets left out; and we can have some big games)  players may bring their Legions to any Warzone.  There will however be a benefit given for fighting in the correct warzone (more details in a future post).