Every Codex comes with cool campaign rules for narrative games, in which your army goes on Crusade to fulfil sworn oaths, stomp the galaxy flat, awaken their tomb world, and more. The same is true for the elite operatives of Codex: Imperial Agents, but as clandestine forces who often join other armies as auxiliaries, they have a different approach to getting it done.
Because Imperial Agents aren’t just restricted to their own faction, and can join other Imperial armies with their Assigned Agents rule, they aren’t restricted solely to the Crusade rules that work with the main army’s faction keyword – such as Oathsworn Campaigns for Space Marines. Inquisitors are always working on their own secret agendas even when embedded within other forces, and this is represented by the Shadow Operations rules.
There are quite a few words and numbers coming up, so bear with us. In short, as long as your army contains at least one character with the Agents of the Imperium keyword, you can start to uncover the Threats that lurk at the heart of your sub-sector.
You begin your Shadow Operation with three hidden Threats of differing difficulties, which can be chosen or rolled for randomly. Higher threat levels require more work to solve but offer longer time limits and greater rewards. Each time you play a Crusade battle, your battlefield intelligence work adds an Investigation point to one of these unknown Threats, and then you roll against its Covert Level – if the roll plus the number of Investigation points on it meet or exceed the Covert Level, the plot is uncovered.
Once a Threat has been exposed and you’ve determined what kind it is, your counter operations can begin in earnest. Agendas you complete will award Influence or Intrigue points as planetary forces mobilise and favours are called in, building towards a critical moment when the Threat is finally eradicated.
The Agendas you complete to further your Intrigue or Influence tallies are a varied bag with goals that reward aggression, resilience, and plenty of forethought. All but one require Agents of the Imperium units* to press forwards into enemy lines, so even though they’re technically just tagging along for the ride, a little help from the rest of your army to defend these valuable veterans wouldn’t go amiss.
So what is it all working towards? Each thwarted Threat adds points to the Great Inquisitorial Wheel of Purgation – also known as the Sub-sector Control tracker – and when all three of your Threats have been scrubbed out you get a reward (or penalty) based on how well you did.
The special Vermilion-level Assets you unlock from successful Shadow Operations are real treats, and leverage your vast network of allies to improve your Characters. Some, such as the Void Trader, let you replace upgraded weapons for other Relics or valuable Requisition Points, while others give you an in-battle advantage like having your Inquisitor Trained By a Legend.
That’s the gist of a Shadow Operation, but that’s only half of the Crusade rules found in Codex: Imperial Agents. There’s an all-new roster of Battle Traits, Requisitions, and Crusade Relics to acquire, and even plot hook generators for each kind of Character in the book so you can make sure your operations have a coherent story backing them up.**
There’ll be more to see from Codex: Imperial Agents, including a look at their new detachments, so keep your auspex open on all bands – priority communications from Warhammer Community are on their way.
* The last is a special Deathwatch-only Agenda that rewards wiping the battlefield clean of foes – just as the Ordo Xenos would want.
** After all, Crusade campaigns are narrative in nature, and a good story makes all the difference.