THE GATHERING STORM
Register, deploy and fight for the opening zones. Play 1–2 games.
The refineries are not an objective. They are the beginning of the road to the greatest fight in the galaxy.
A FOUR-MONTH NARRATIVE WAR
THE WAR FOR THE
VARDOS REACH
Armageddon burns. Now the fire spreads.
+++ HELIOS SIGNAL DETECTED +++
CAMPAIGN BACKGROUND // THE VARDOS REACHARMAGEDDON BURNS.
ARMAGEDDON BURNS.
THE FIRE SPREADS.
The Third War for Armageddon is not fought upon one world alone. A war of that scale consumes entire systems simply to keep its armies supplied.
THE IMPERIUM'S HIDDEN ROAD
Beyond Armageddon lies the Vardos Reach: an industrial corridor of manufactoria, refinery worlds, pilgrim routes and void stations. Vardos Prime produces materiel. Golgotha Secundus refines the fuel. The Vardos Belt guards the approaches. Together they form a fragile chain carrying men, shells and war engines toward the greater conflict.
For centuries, Vardos was useful but unremarkable. Then the Helios Array began to wake.
THE HELIOS ARRAY
Buried within a shattered moon, the Array appears capable of stabilising treacherous warp corridors. One such route leads toward Armageddon. In Imperial hands, it could become a permanent supply road. In the hands of another power, it could redirect fleets, strand worlds—or open an invasion route.
The Orks already have a name for what is coming: the Big Green Road.
“Armageddon is the destination. Vardos is the road. Whoever holds the road decides who reaches the war.”
01 // READ THIS FIRST
YOUR ORDERS
Everything required to join the war. The battlefield lore comes after the brief.
- 01Read the separate DKQR Highlander Army Construction Rules.
- 02Register your army name, faction and detachment.
- 03Create and name a non-Epic-Hero Campaign Warlord.
- 04Write why your force has entered the Reach.
- 05Choose a faction agenda and narrative objective.
- 06Choose or receive an opening strategic zone.
- 07Arrange 1–2 games in Month 1 and report the result.
PLAYER EQUIPMENT // REQUIRED
DOMINATUS MISSION MATERIALS
Every player must bring either a physical Dominatus mission deck or an accessible copy of the Dominatus PDF. If using the PDF, it must be downloaded or reliably available on a charged device throughout the game.
Players should be able to reference their mission rules without relying on their opponent's copy.02 // CAMPAIGN TIMELINEFOUR MONTHS.
FOUR MONTHS.
ONE WAR.
THE VARDOS OFFENSIVE
A one-day, three-round RTT breaks the lines and causes a major map shift.
WAR ACROSS THE REACH
Respond to the RTT aftermath, exploit territory effects and fight for the routes to Helios.
THE HELIOS CRISIS
Divergent agendas converge in a linked narrative finale.
RTT CHAMPIONCompetitive performance
CHAMPION OF THE REACHHighest Campaign Renown
VICTOR OF THE VARDOS WARFaction achieves its endgame
GOLGOTHA SECUNDUS // MONTH 01
“They do not call it Helios. To them it is the Big Green Road.”
THE FIRST FUEL STOP
STRATEGIC THEATRE // OPENING DISPOSITION
THE CAMPAIGN MAP
The Reach begins nominally under Imperial control. Kastorel is already contested. Helios remains locked until the war opens a route to the Array.
IMPERIUMCONTESTEDLOCKEDSUPPLY ROUTE
OPEN FULL-SIZE CAMPAIGN MAP ↗Illustrated strategic briefing plate. The live, editable campaign projection remains below for use as control changes during the war.
VARDOSSYSTEM PRIMARY
01VARDOS PRIMEPRODUCTION02SAINT HALBRECHT'S WORLDINFLUENCE03GOLGOTHA SECUNDUSFUEL04THE VARDOS BELTFLEET CONTROL05KASTORELINTELLIGENCE06THE HELIOS ARRAYENDGAME // LOCKEDTO ARMAGEDDON →
+++ ASTROPATHIC INTERFERENCE RISING +++
03 // STRATEGIC MAPSIX ZONES.
SIX ZONES.
SIX WAYS TO CHANGE THE WAR.
01
PRODUCTION
Vardos Prime
IMPERIUMSTRATEGIC EFFECT
Convert one monthly draw here into a successful defence for territory pressure.
Effects change campaign choices—not dice rolls or army strength.02
INFLUENCE
Saint Halbrecht’s World
IMPERIUMSTRATEGIC EFFECT
Win one monthly territory-control tie, declared before other tiebreakers.
03
FUEL
Golgotha Secundus
IMPERIUMSTRATEGIC EFFECT
Launch one monthly attack into a non-adjacent, non-Helios zone.
04
FLEET CONTROL
The Vardos Belt
IMPERIUMSTRATEGIC EFFECT
Treat any two non-Helios zones as adjacent for one declared attack.
05
INTELLIGENCE
Kastorel
CONTESTEDSTRATEGIC EFFECT
After the opponent is known, change one faction player’s targeted zone.
06
ENDGAME
The Helios Array
LOCKEDSTRATEGIC EFFECT
Access is decided by the Offensive. Its final fate resolves the war.
KASTOREL // TRANSMISSION LOST
“The first warning was a perfect line of light across the night.”
+++ MECHANICUS SURVEY // ACCESS DENIED +++
04 // FACTION AGENDASEVERY ARMY WANTS
EVERY ARMY WANTS
A DIFFERENT ENDING.
Imperium
Secure the supply corridor. Activate Helios. Preserve Vardos Prime.
Orks
Open the Big Green Road. Take Golgotha and force a route to Helios.
Aeldari
Prevent the foreseen catastrophe. Disable or destroy the Array.
Chaos
Corrupt Helios until the corridor becomes a wound in reality.
Necrons
Reclaim the ancient mechanism and purge Kastorel.
Leagues of Votann
Recover the Array’s technology and settle every claim.
Tyranids
Consume the source of the signal and strip the Reach.
Drukhari
Raid every side, take captives and escape before the crisis resolves.
MONTH 02 // ONE-DAY RTTTHE VARDOS
THE VARDOS
OFFENSIVE
A genuine competitive event whose three rounds also tear up the campaign map.
01 BREAK THE LINES02 THE COUNTERATTACK03 THE ROAD TO HELIOS
05 // LIVE CAMPAIGN RECORD
MAKE EVERY GAME CANON.
+++ VARDOS WAR DISPATCH 002 +++
GOLGOTHA HAS FALLEN.
Ork forces overwhelmed the refinery complexes after three days of fighting. Imperial forces retain Vardos Prime. Strange reports continue from Kastorel.
HELIOS REMAINS SILENT.ARMY CONSTRUCTIONTHERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.
DOCUMENT.
All campaign and RTT armies must comply with the separate DKQR Highlander Army Construction Rules. Detailed construction rules are intentionally kept out of this site.
OPEN DKQR HIGHLANDER RULES PACK ↗