By Simon Marshal
Images Copyright of Games Workshop , used without permission

Darkened Skies split with incoming ordnance demolishing whole buildings, and the streets rumble with the sound of enemy troops and armor making its way through the rubble clogged city.
City fighting is an ugly affair. Casualties are always high as troops are forced into close quarter fire fights that have only one outcome.
Death…

With the Fall of Medusa Campaign in full swing what better time to dust off those armies and get them dirty as they make their way through rubble strewn streets and dilapidated buildings in a friendly game of city fighting.
And with a new supplement designed just for that purpose this is indeed an exciting time to be a 40k player.

Inside the Cities of Death book you’ll find a vast array of ideas to modify your regular style of game playing and plenty of converting and terrain building inspiration.

Here’s a brief look at Games Workshop’s latest 40k supplement

New Rules

Playing a game of 40k in a rubble strew city requires a slightly more defined look at how buildings and obstacles should be treated in game terms. This section gives a clearer definition of how certain units treat the difficult terrain. From maintaining unit coherency when they’re spread out over more than one level, to line of sight and movement within the ruins.

Special mention is to be given to Template and Blast Marker weapons. In the old city fight book there was a percentage that was hit within range. In the new book it’s back to the templates and now you have to state which level you’re firing at.

How much terrain do I need?

The Cities of Death supplement is sympathetic towards those without much city fight terrain. So don’t think your going to need a whole garage full of terrain to get the most out of this book.

Everyone who plays the current edition of 40K will already be familiar with the mission levels of Alpha Gamma and Omega that affect what special rules will be used in the missions.
In Cities of Death they also affect the size of the table and how much terrain will be used.
Alpha being the lowest level will only need a couple of buildings on a 4x4 foot table and Omega at the other end of the scale uses as many buildings as you’d like on a 6x4 foot table, the more the better.
The mission level will also effect how many Stratagems you will be able to pick.

City fight Stratagems

The stratagems would have to be one of the most exciting additions that the Cities of Death book provides. What could be more fun than watching your opponents face as their favorite squad gets caught inside a building as it collapses due to a stratagem you’ve planed right from the start.
Most stratagems will require some form of marker be it a scrap piece of paper or a fully detailed objective marker scrap-built by your own hands.
With no point values the stratagems will no doubt make games very interesting and fun to play.

Key Building Stratagems
From Command Centers and Sacred Ground to supplies like extra Ammunition and Fuel, Building stratagems represent certain key areas that give troops additional special rules and benefits.

Dirty Tricks Stratagems
These Stratagems represent your troops using their environment to gain some form of advantage, from planting deadly Booby Traps to Fortifying a building to create a strong point. There’s even a stratagem for calling in a bombardment on enemy locations that can damage the buildings your opponents troops are hold up in.

Armory Stratagems
Troops and vehicles can be equipped to deal with their environment by giving them items from the armory stratagems. From rappelling lines for your skimmer transports to making a select unit into expert Combat Engineers able to deal with razor wire and booby traps.

Obstacles Stratagems
From Barricades for extra cover to Tank Traps that slow down enemy vehicles these stratagems allow you to place more terrain that can give you an advantage and hinder the enemy.

Deployment Stratagems
These stratagems allow you to infiltrate and deep strike troops that don’t usually have that option. There’s also the ability for troops to arrive from reserves via sewers and tunnels at set locations.

City fight Missions
Along with all the great new stratagems and quirky rule tweaks come some excellent new missions where the buildings themselves are the objectives, usually in a take and hold or plant the flag style of play.
As well as the standard missions there are also 6 special missions where the objectives range from running the gauntlet to reach safety, to trying to destroy as many buildings as possible to wipe out an enemy safe house.

Background Stories and Conversion Ideas
As you reach the last few pages of the Cities of Death book you’ll come to the sections full of ideas on how you can convert your existing armies and create scenic terrain pieces to represent the different stratagems available. Also included are a few stories on epic city battles full of the fluff that most gamers crave. Not to mention some awesome artwork full of gothic architecture.

Conclusion
Every 40K gamer would usually like to or already has a table full of city fight terrain. And why wouldn’t you? A great deal of 40K battles revolves around the taking of cities as vital resources and staging areas for further conflict, making city fighting inevitable for most armies. I can think of nothing more aesthetically pleasing than playing a game of 40K over rubble strew cities full of amazing architecture.

There you have it.
From demolishing whole buildings to fortifying strong points to better defend against the enemy hordes, the wonderful little rule tweaks and quirky new stratagems to play against your opponent will no doubt add more excitement and enjoyment to your games of 40K.

Simon.

All pictures in this article are © Games Workshop 2006. All rights reserved. Used without permission.