Rust Punks Global Campaign

Do you remember Storm of Chaos, Dark Shadows, or even A Dark Conspiracy?

 

Well I do. Storm of Chaos came out in 2004, at the peak of my juvenile interest in Warhammer Fantasy and captured my imagination. I would have been 13 or 14 that year, and it happened right before I moved across the country and away from my friends and my local GW store. For those who are unfamiliar, Storm of Chaos was a global campaign - an event hosted by Games Workshop where players could go into any GW shop, play a game, and have those results recorded. All of the results from all over the world would be tallied up and help to decide the fate of the Old World. 

The idea that I could participate in something that actually had an effect on the world I cared so much about was amazing - and groundbreaking for a pre-teen Andrew.

I have always wanted to participate in another one of these events, now that I am an adult who can carve out a bit of time and energy for something like this - I wanted to do it right and get invested in my games, and just make the most of it. But another event never came. GW did something sort of like a global campaign for AOS, where if you bought their big starter box for a recent edition, you could play a game and send them the result of the game - but you had to buy the starter box, and the games were only between the two factions that came in the box. I didn't even hear about this event until after it finished, so obviously it didn't generate much buzz.

So, what happens when you want something to happen, but nobody else is doing it? That's right, "DO IT YOURSELF". I'm unbelievably lucky to have found a local scene that shares the same kind of warhammer and tabletop interests that I do. The Rust Punks are a Calgary based group that have graciously allowed this Edmontonian into the fold. I wanted to do something fun for that community, so I came up with my own global campaign. For me, this is something of a trial campaign - it is very light on mechanics, and at this point (the very beginning) it is very light on story. My hope is that as people engage with it, those ideas will start to come together. 

I have called it Empire at War and am using an old warhammer fantasy map of the Empire as the basis for the campaign. Players can choose from Order, Chaos, Destruction, or Death for their factions - which hopefully gives everyone enough options for how to fit their army into the game.

So, here's the gist:

• Campaign turns last for 1 month
• Players can submit the results of any fantasy game they play (not just warhammer)
• They pick a faction to represent, and which part of the map they are fighting over
• They can also submit battle reports, pictures, and art
• At the end of each week, I update the battle reports and pictures
• At the end of each month, I update the map and the campaign results.
• Each new month will bring a new narrative event to the world that players can engage with - or not
• The campaign will end in August or September 2025, and will feature a final grand battle at Dungeon Fest 2025 in Calgary, Alberta

 

While I did create this campaign for the Rust Punks, it is still open to ANYONE. I have been sharing widely with international friends, and I have already received a few results and battle reports from abroad. If interest persists, then I think the next iteration may be a truly global affair.

 

One interesting thing that I have noticed - most of the participants are playing Mordheim as their system of choice, so I believe that The East Marches (Talabecland and Ostermark) might be the most hotly contested territory, as Mordheim sits on the southern border of Ostermark. So, if you are battling in Mordheim, prepare for a fight.

 

If this interests you at all - please come join us!