Stages & Narrative Phases
Narrative campaigns in Warhammer 40,000 are rarely fought all at once. In Echelon, Stages allow Campaign Hosts to break a campaign into narrative chapters or phases, each with its own point limits, special rules, and victory conditions.
Role & Scope
- Target User: Campaign Hosts & Organisers
- Required Subscription: Free Tier (Up to 3 Stages per campaign) | Commander Tier (Unlimited Stages & automated scheduling)
- Prerequisites: An active campaign created in Echelon.
Anatomy of a Campaign Stage
Each Stage consists of:
- Mustering Point Limit: The maximum match size allowed during this phase (e.g. 1,000 pts -> 1,500 pts -> 2,000 pts).
- Target Battles / Timeline: Expected duration before the campaign moves to the next chapter.
- Stage Rules & Bonuses: Passive modifiers granted to participants during the stage (e.g., +1 RP for controlling key objectives, Severe Weather Hazards).
- Stage Victor Conditions: How overall stage dominance is calculated (e.g., Total Victory Points, Territory Control, Campaign Points).
Creating & Configuring Stages
- Open your campaign dashboard.
- Click Campaign Settings > Stages.
- Click + Add New Stage.
- Fill out the Stage Configuration:
- Stage Name: e.g., Phase I: The Beachhead.
- Narrative Description: Provide story background or lore intro.
- Mustering Point Limit: e.g.,
1000. - Stage Bonus: Select or write custom bonus rules for participating players.
- Click Create Stage.
Automated Stage Scheduling (Commander Tier Feature)
For Hosts running structured gaming club leagues or online campaigns, Commander Tier accounts unlock automated stage scheduling:
- Open Campaign Settings > Stages.
- Toggle Enable Automated Stage Scheduling.
- Set start dates, end dates, or target battle count thresholds for each stage (e.g., Auto-advance when 20 total matches are logged or Every 2 weeks on Sunday midnight).
- Save settings. Echelon will automatically transition the campaign, notify players via email/app alerts, and adjust mustering point limits without requiring manual Host intervention.
Advancing Between Stages Manually
When a Stage concludes manually:
- Navigate to Campaign Settings > Stages.
- Click Conclude Active Stage.
- Select the winning player, team, or alliance.
- Echelon will calculate final stage points and log the result in the Campaign History Chronicle.
- Click Activate Next Stage to immediately apply the new point limits and stage rules across all player dashboards.
Automatic Point Limit Updates
When a Host activates a new Stage with a higher point limit, players will automatically see the updated match limit when mustering for battles in the Live Battle Companion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can players log matches for a previous stage after it has concluded?
No. Once a Stage is concluded by the Host, new matches logged will automatically count toward the currently active Stage. Hosts can manually re-assign matches in Battle Logs if needed.