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Player Quickstart Guide ​

As a player, Echelon is your Crusade Force Sheet and your battle tracker. It keeps the records so you can get on with the game.

Joining campaigns is free and unlimited on every tier. You need an account, and an invite from whoever is hosting: a link they send you, or an invite to your account or email address.


Workflow Overview ​


Step 1: Join a Campaign ​

There is no join code. You get into a campaign through an invite from its Campaign Host, and how you accept it depends on which kind they sent.

If the host sent you a link:

  1. Open the link.
  2. Sign in, or register if you do not have an account yet.
  3. You are added to the campaign and taken straight to it.

If the link opened somewhere you are not signed in, such as the browser inside a chat app, you can paste it instead:

  1. Sign in and open Join a Crusade in the sidebar.
  2. Paste the link into Invite link or token.
  3. Press Accept Invite.

If the host invited you by name or email address, press Accept on the invite in your notifications, or under Pending Invites on your Dashboard. An invite sent to an email address with no account behind it waits for you until you register with that address.

Every invite lasts 7 days, links included. If yours has expired, ask the host for a fresh one.

There is no roster to choose when you join. Each campaign gives you a new Order of Battle, starting at the campaign's Supply Limit and Requisition Points.

Playing Solo?

An Order of Battle always belongs to a campaign, so there is no standalone roster. To track a force on your own, click Create Crusade and run a campaign with just you in it. It is fully playable, and you report the result of each battle yourself. It counts towards the campaigns you can host, which on Free is 1 active campaign.

Once you've joined, the campaign overview page shows a short setup checklist: build your roster, ready up, and (on Supporter) personalise it with a banner image. It updates automatically as you complete each step, so there's nothing to mark off by hand. If you'd rather skip the banner step, Not Interested dismisses it without blocking the rest of the checklist. To hide the whole checklist, use the crossed-out eye beside Setup progress. That hides it on every campaign, until you switch it back on in Settings, under Appearance.


Step 2: Build Your Order of Battle ​

Your Order of Battle represents all the forces available to your Crusade army.

  1. Open your campaign and go to Roster. The Units tab holds your Order of Battle.
  2. Click Add Unit, then choose one of:
    • Import an army list (recommended): upload a .json export from NewRecruit, or a .ros or .rosz export from BattleScribe, NewRecruit or another list builder, and Echelon fills in the Crusade Cards with equipment, rules and point values. See the Importing Armies Guide for step-by-step instructions.
    • Enter unit manually: type the unit's datasheet name, and optionally a Crusade name and its points cost.
  3. Appoint a Warlord: open the ⋮ menu on your Character's row and click Set as Warlord.

Supply Limit Constraints

Your Supply Limit starts at whatever your Campaign Host set, 1,000 points unless they changed it. Go over it and you cannot mark yourself ready for the campaign until you are back under. To raise the limit, spend Requisition Points on Increase Supply Limit.


Step 3: Spend Your Initial 5 Requisition Points (RP) ​

Every new Crusade force starts with 5 Requisition Points (RP), unless your Campaign Host set a different amount. You can spend RP at any time outside of battles to upgrade your army.

Common starting Requisition purchases:

  • Increase Supply Limit (1 RP): raises your army's Supply Limit by 200 points.
  • Renowned Heroes (1–3 RP): gives a Character one Enhancement for good, in place of a Battle Honour if you buy it on a rank up. A Crusade Relic is a free Battle Honour instead; see Requisitions & Upgrades.
  • Fresh Recruits (1–4 RP): adds models to a unit, up to its datasheet maximum.

Enhancements are not a Requisition and cost no RP. In an 11th Edition campaign your detachments bring their own, listed on the Force tab, and you hand them out at muster; see Detachment Rules. See Requisitions & Upgrades for all six core Requisitions.

To spend RP:

  1. Open your campaign's Roster and go to the Requisitions tab.
  2. Pick one from the Requisition Library, and choose the unit it applies to.
  3. Click Purchase. Your RP balance updates.

Some requisitions can only be bought while mustering for a battle rather than from your roster. Each one says which it is.


Step 4: Muster Forces & Play a Battle ​

When it's time to hit the tabletop:

Your Campaign Host schedules the battle and sets its points target. You muster into it.

  1. Open the battle from your campaign's Stages page.
  2. On the Units tab, check off the units taking part, keeping within the battle's points target.
  3. Pick up to three Agendas on the Agendas tab.
  4. Click Ready Up. Once everyone has, anyone in the battle clicks Start Battle, and the page becomes the round tracker, score pad and kill counter.

Step 5: Post-Battle Resolution ​

After the match concludes:

  1. Every player clicks End Battle. Once you all have, Echelon works out the result from the Victory Points in the round tracker.
  2. Fill in your Post-Battle Sequence. Kills and units out of action carry over from the round tracker, so what is left is:
    • Tick your Agenda Completions.
    • Record an Out of Action test for each destroyed unit. On a 2+ it comes back unharmed. On a 1 you choose a Battle Scar or a Devastating Blow, which costs the unit one of its Battle Honours instead.
    • If you want to, pick the unit that is Marked for Greatness.
  3. Click Submit Post-Battle.
  4. A unit that ranked up shows Honour unclaimed on its card. Open it with Edit Details and add a Battle Trait or Weapon Modification on the Honours & Scars tab.

Frequently Asked Questions ​

Can I change my army list between battles? ​

Yes. In Crusade, your Order of Battle holds your total force pool. Before each game, you muster a smaller sub-list that fits the agreed match point limit.

What happens if a unit gets a Battle Scar? ​

Battle Scars reflect cumulative battle damage. You choose which scar the unit takes, and it stays until you buy Repair and Recuperate for it in a later post-battle report: 1 RP, plus 1 for each Battle Honour the unit has, up to 5.


Next Steps ​

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