Codex Astartes — Campaign Field Manual

Welcome, Commander. This manual explains the core systems of the campaign engine and how to play effectively. The campaign is persistent, turn-based, and designed for ongoing multiplayer operations.

Getting Started

• Create an account and log in.
• Create your Captain and claim a Chapter.
• You will receive a starting ship, initial resources, and a roster of Space Marines.
• From there, you will manage your roster, equip your forces, submit orders, and take part in the sector campaign.

Core Campaign Loop

1. A turn is opened.
2. Players review their roster, ship status, and sector situation.
3. Players submit orders for the current turn.
4. Admin processes the turn.
5. Missions resolve, rewards are granted, injuries are applied, and reports are created.
6. A new turn opens.

This loop is the heart of the game. Your long-term success depends on making strong decisions every turn.

Roster & Marines

Your roster contains the permanent Space Marines under your command. Each marine is an individual with:

• Name
• Class (Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper, Heavy, Techmarine)
• Level and XP
• Stats
• Status
• Equipment loadout

Marine Status

• Ready — Available for deployment.
• Deployed — Assigned to an order or mission.
• Wounded / Recovering — Temporarily unavailable.
• KIA — Permanently lost.

Marines are persistent across turns. Protect veterans, but do not become so cautious that you lose the initiative.

Leveling & Stats

Marines gain XP through missions. When they reach the required threshold, they level up and gain unspent stat points. XP required = current level × 100.

XP is a shared pool divided equally among all marines on the mission — smaller squads earn more XP per marine, larger squads earn less. A difficulty 1 success has a pool of 250 XP: 10 marines earn ~25 each, 4 marines earn ~62 each. Harder missions scale the pool up. The Barracks ship module adds a flat bonus per marine on top.

Core Stats

• Melee — Close combat effectiveness. Key stat for Assault missions.
• Ranged — Firepower and ranged combat ability. Key stat for Recon missions.
• Armor — Provides per-marine wound saves during missions (not squad strength). Higher armor reduces casualty risk.
• Mobility — Maneuverability and battlefield flexibility. Used in both Assault and Recon missions.
• Willpower — Mental resilience and discipline. Used in both Assault and Recon missions.
• Command — Universal amplifier. Every 3 points of Command adds +1 to squad strength regardless of mission type.
• Support — Tactical utility and battlefield support value.

Mission Type — Stat Requirements

• Assault — Melee, Mobility, Willpower
• Recon — Ranged, Mobility, Willpower
• Siege — Melee, Armor, Willpower
• Extraction — Support, Mobility, Willpower
• Sabotage — Ranged, Support, Mobility
• Ritual — Willpower, Command, Support (rare)

Command contributes to all mission types. Armor reduces the chance of marines being wounded regardless of mission type.

Stat points are spent from the roster screen. Equipment bonuses are applied on top of the marine's base stats.

Equipment

Equipment is purchased through the Armoury and assigned to individual marines. Equipment persists until changed or removed.

Equipment Slots

• Primary — Two-handed ranged weapon.
• Secondary — Pistol.
• Melee — Close-quarters weapon.
• Armor — Defensive protection.
• Accessory — Utility or elite wargear.

Not all slots are available to every class. Assault marines cannot equip a Primary weapon. Heavy marines have no Melee slot. Bulwark marines carry a Combat Shield passively — their Secondary slot remaps to Primary, so pistols are their main ranged option.

How Equipment Works

• Browse the Armoury, filter by class, and select an item to see its stats.
• Set a quantity (1–99) and purchase using Requisition.
• Equip the item to a marine from the roster screen.
• The marine gains the item's stat bonuses, contributing to mission performance.

Rarity

• Uncommon — Available for purchase from the Armoury.
• Rare / Relic — Earned through missions only.

Good equipment can significantly improve a marine's battlefield value. Elite wargear should be assigned carefully.

Imperial Assets

Intel can be spent when submitting an order to hire a temporary Imperial Asset for that mission. Assets provide a flat bonus to squad strength and are consumed on use.

• Imperial Guard Squad — 20 Intel, +15 squad strength. Reliable support for any engagement.
• Skitarii Rangers — 30 Intel, +20 squad strength. Ideal for Recon and Sabotage.
• Sisters of Silence — 40 Intel, +24 squad strength. Exceptional in Ritual and Extraction.
• Grey Knight — 60 Intel, +30 squad strength. Formidable in any theatre of war.
• Inquisitor — 80 Intel, +38 squad strength. Overwhelming battlefield authority.

Assets are selected per order on the campaign page. Each order you submit can hire a different asset. In co-op missions, all hired assets stack. Intel is deducted on submission.

Recruitment

New marines can be recruited from the roster screen if you have available capacity and enough requisition.

• Seven classes available: Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper, Heavy, Techmarine.
• Each class has its own requisition cost.
• New marines begin at level 1.
• They enter the roster immediately if recruitment succeeds.

Elite Recruitment

If you have at least 3 Gene-seed, an Elite option appears on the recruit form. Elite recruits cost the normal requisition amount plus 3 Gene-seed, and enter the roster at level 2 with 1 unspent stat point.

Chapter Passives

Each Chapter has a permanent passive bonus that applies automatically during mission resolution. Bonuses stack in co-op missions — every participating chapter contributes its squad strength bonus. Reward and XP bonuses apply individually per player.

Chapter	Passive
Ultramarines	+3 squad strength on all missions
Blood Angels	+5 squad strength (assault); +1 wound
Dark Angels	+5 squad strength (ritual); gene-seed reward ×2
Space Wolves	+25% XP on solo missions
Black Templars	+5 squad strength (assault); −3 on recon/sabotage
Imperial Fists	−1 wound on siege missions
Salamanders	−1 wound; +50% materiel reward
White Scars	+5 squad strength (recon/sabotage); +50% intel reward
Raven Guard	+5 squad strength (recon/sabotage); −1 wound
Iron Hands	−1 wound on all missions
Crimson Fists	+8 squad strength when deploying 5 or fewer marines
Flesh Tearers	+8 squad strength (assault); +2 wounds
Red Scorpions	+30% requisition reward
Carcharodons	+4 squad strength (siege); +25% gene-seed reward

Wound modifiers are applied to the combined squad. Negative wound modifiers can cancel out positives (e.g. Blood Angels + Salamanders co-op).

Campaign Map & Threat

The campaign is fought across a sector map of connected planets. Each planet may have missions and a threat level.

Threat

• Threat represents enemy pressure and danger on a planet (scale 0–5).
• Successful missions usually reduce threat.
• Failure may allow threat to increase.
• Global threat (scale 0–5) is driven by mission outcomes: if any missions expire uncompleted that turn, global threat rises by 1. If players completed at least one mission and nothing expired, global threat drops by 1. Global threat affects the difficulty of newly spawned missions.

Mission Timers

• Each mission has a limited number of weeks before it expires.
• If no player completes a mission before it expires, it is removed and the opportunity is lost.
• Hover over a mission planet on the map to see its threat level and how many weeks remain.

Managing threat is one of the main strategic layers of the game. Ignoring dangerous worlds may allow the sector situation to deteriorate.

Orders

Orders are submitted during the open turn. They define where your forces move and which missions they attempt.

Submitting an Order

1. Select your destination planet (your ship moves here).
2. Select a mission within operational range.
3. Select the marines you want to deploy.
4. Optionally hire an Imperial Asset.
5. Submit the order.

Multiple Orders Per Turn

You can submit more than one order in a single turn, as long as all orders share the same destination planet. This lets you split your marines across multiple missions simultaneously — for example, sending your assault specialists to one front while your techmarines handle an extraction elsewhere.

• Your ship moves to the chosen destination once, regardless of how many orders you submit.
• Each order targets a different mission with a different group of marines.
• You cannot order the same mission twice.
• Cancel All Orders removes all submitted orders for the turn at once.
• Already-ordered missions are shown as disabled in the mission dropdown.

Important Notes

• You cannot deploy marines who are not ready.
• Missions require a minimum of 4 marines.
• Submitting no valid order means you lose tempo for that turn.
• Multiple players can target the same mission — squads combine for a single resolution. Each player receives full rewards, but XP is reduced for co-op missions.

Map Tooltips

Hover over any highlighted planet on the campaign map to see full mission details: type, difficulty, enemy, threat level, time remaining, and recommended specialties.

Ship & Strategic Position

Your ship is your Chapter's strategic base of operations in the sector. It determines your current location and shapes where you can operate.

• Your current planet determines your movement options and operational range.
• Movement choices affect future mission access.

Mission Types

Six mission types are available across the sector. Hover any mission planet on the map for full details and recommendations.

• Assault — Close-quarters battle. Best for Assault, Vanguard, Tactical.
• Recon — Long-range engagement. Best for Sniper, Tactical, Vanguard.
• Siege — Grinding breakthrough. Best for Bulwark, Heavy, Assault.
• Extraction — Rescue operations. Best for Techmarine, Tactical, Vanguard.
• Sabotage — Covert infiltration. Best for Sniper, Vanguard, Techmarine.
• Ritual — Psychic warfare. Best for Bulwark, Techmarine, Tactical. Rare.

Ship Modules

Your ship has five upgradeable modules. Each can be levelled up to 5 using Requisition and Materiel. All modules have active effects during play:

• Bridge — +2 Squad Strength per level during mission resolution.
• Armoury — +10% Requisition and Materiel rewards per level.
• Apothecarion — +10% recovery chance per level. Also enables permanent injury healing (see Gene-seed below). Upgrading costs Gene-seed in addition to Requisition and Materiel.
• Barracks — +1 XP per marine per level after missions.
• Enginarium — +1 movement range per level, allowing you to reach more distant planets.

Upgrade costs scale with module level. Prioritise modules that match your playstyle.

Gene-seed

Gene-seed is a rare resource earned from mid-to-high difficulty missions. It has three uses:

• Apothecarion upgrades — Each Apothecarion level costs 1 Gene-seed per level on top of the standard Requisition and Materiel cost.
• Elite recruitment — Spend 3 Gene-seed during recruitment to receive a level 2 marine with 1 bonus stat point.
• Healing permanent injuries — Marines that suffer permanent injuries can be healed via the Apothecarion. A Heal button appears on each injured marine in the roster. Cost scales down with Apothecarion level: level 1 = 4 Gene-seed, level 2 = 3, level 3 = 2, level 4+ = 1.

Enemy Types

Each mission is fought against one of the sector's active xenos and heretic forces. More dangerous enemies increase the number of marines wounded and the risk of permanent injuries.

Enemy	Threat Level	Effect
Chaos Cultists	Low	No modifier. Appear on low-difficulty missions.
Ork Warband	Moderate	+1 wound. Brutal close-range fighters.
Dark Eldar Raiders	Moderate–High	+1 wound, higher permanent injury risk. Fast and sadistic.
Tyranid Swarm	High	+2 wounds. Overwhelming numbers on mid-to-high difficulty missions.
Chaos Space Marines	Very High	+2 wounds, significantly higher permanent injury risk. Appear on hard missions.

Enemy type is shown in the mission tooltip on the campaign map and in the order form. Armor saves still apply against enemy wounds.

Mission Results

After a turn is processed, deployed marines may:

• Gain XP
• Become wounded
• Earn resources
• Reduce or fail to reduce planetary threat
• Generate private battle reports and public chronicle events

Always review your results before planning the next turn.

Chronicle & Reports

The Chronicle records campaign developments across three sections.

• Leaderboard — Ranked standings for all players. Score = sum of all living marine stats + mission points (critical failure −10, failure 0, success ×10, critical success ×15, multiplied by mission difficulty).
• Battle Reports — Your private mission outcomes: result, XP gained, wounds, rewards.
• Sector Intelligence — Shared feed of events: other chapters' mission outcomes, new missions appearing in the sector, and global threat changes.

Sector Intelligence is updated every turn and reflects the wider narrative of the campaign.

Quick Start

Beginner Advice

• Do not deploy every veteran at once unless the mission is worth the risk.
• Keep enough ready marines in reserve to recover from injuries.
• Upgrade the marines who are most likely to be deployed repeatedly.
• Monitor threat regularly instead of reacting too late.
• Use equipment to reinforce marine roles rather than spreading bonuses randomly.

Common Questions

Can marines die permanently?

Yes. Campaign losses can be permanent.

Can I reuse the same marine every turn?

Yes, if the marine is alive, ready, and not recovering.

What happens if I do not submit an order?

You will usually lose the opportunity to act meaningfully during that turn. In a live campaign, inactivity can have strategic consequences.

Does equipment matter?

Yes. Equipment modifies marine stats and contributes to mission strength.

Do I need to recruit constantly?

Not always, but losses, injuries, and expanding strategic demands make a healthy roster important.

Campaign Etiquette

• Submit orders on time.
• Report obvious bugs rather than exploiting them.
• Expect balance to evolve during early campaign phases.
• Admin rulings resolve edge cases when needed.

Current Scope

This help page covers the current playable campaign loop. Future updates may add marine traits and specialisations, relic gear, enemy escalation events, and narrative layers.

The Emperor Protects

Hold the line. Preserve your veterans. Strike where the enemy is weak. Every turn shapes the fate of the sector.