Campaign Rules¶
At some stage all wargamers contemplate running a campaign. This is understandable – after all, battles don’t take place in isolation, they are part of an ongoing war. A campaign allows you to fight your own ‘ongoing war’ by linking battles together, so that the results of one battle will have an effect on the future ones you fight. It adds a lot to a campaign if you keep a journal of the progress of the war, and from this you can write your own part of the history of the Gothic campaign. Over the course of the war you will be able to develop cunning strategies to conquer a whole subsector of the Gothic system and you will be able to watch your fleet develop as ships’ crews gain in skill and ability – or are destroyed and have to be replaced with inexperienced crews. In the battles you fight there will be famous victories and shameful defeats, legendary (or infamous!) commanders will emerge and ships in your fleet will gain fame for the awesome feats they have pulled off against all the odds!
As I hope you can tell, campaigns can be a lot of fun and they are not all that difficult to run either. To help you, we’ve developed a mapbased campaign system based on our own experiences of running campaigns over the years, but you really should feel free to modify and change what’s here to suit your own tastes.
For example, playing a campaign offers great opportunities to try out new rules or new classes of ship that you’ve invented, or you could start thinking of adding rules for fighting land battles and boarding actions using the Warhammer 40,000 and Kill Team rules. The possibilities really are endless.
Getting Started¶
In order to run a campaign you’ll need at least one player with a Chaos fleet and one player with an Imperial fleet. Any amount of extra players can join in, including players with Ork or Eldar fleets.
Once you’ve got your players together you need to pick one of the sub-sectors we’ve provided maps for as the location for your campaign (the maps can be found at the end of this section). For your first campaign we recommend starting off with one of the smaller sub-sectors, unless there are lots of players (i.e. more than eight) taking part in the campaign. You’ll need to photocopy the sub-sector map you’ve decided to use (or draw it by hand) to keep track of which player controls each system. We glued our map to a sheet of card and blu-tacked it to the wall in our gaming area, then used coloured pins to show which player controlled each system, but you could just as easily write down who controls what.
Next you need to get all the players together for a ‘campaign briefing’. The most important thing you’ll need to go over at this point is the rules for the campaign, to make sure that everybody knows what’s going on. You should then decide how long the campaign is to last. For your first campaign we recommend playing for one month of real time and on the whole it’s best to keep campaigns short – after all, you can always start another one!
Once this has been decided, players can pick their starting systems and design their fleets using the rules described below, then you can start fighting battles. However, it is usually a good idea to set a regular time and place for campaign meetings, and also to elect a ‘campaign arbitrator’ who is in charge of making sure that the campaign runs smoothly. You might also want to consider putting together a campaign newsletter, in which case you’ll need to decide who will be its editor.
Starting Systems¶
At the start of the campaign, many of the systems in the sub-sector will be neutral. As the campaign progresses, this will change and players will gain control of systems that will pay them tithes and help repair their ships.
Designers’ Note: Actually all systems start nominally under the control of the Imperium, but as planetary governors tend to go their own way until reminded of their obligations, they are for all intents and purposes neutral.
Imperial and Chaos players start with one of the systems in the sub-sector under their control. Roll a D6 to decide the order that both players pick their system, and record who controls which system with coloured pins on the campaign map, or by keeping a written record. Eldar and Ork players start with a hidden pirate base instead, and should write down secretly which system it is hidden in (they can pick a system controlled by an Imperial or Chaos player).
Starting Fleets & the Fleet Register¶
Imperial and Chaos fleets begin the campaign with 2,000 points and Ork and Eldar fleets start with 1,500 points. Important: you must have models to represent all of the ships in your fleet, in case they all end up in a big battle! If your fleet doesn’t add up to 2,000 points, then just use what you’ve got available (don’t worry – you will get to add new ships to your fleet during the course of the campaign as you buy and paint new models for your collection).
Each player has his own fleet registry. He uses it to keep notes and dates of when a capital ship or escort squadron was commissioned (i.e. bought) along with class of ship etc., when it takes its fleet trials (i.e. it’s assembled, painted and its Leadership rating is rolled for), its campaign history and its loss if and when they occur. If a vessel is used in battle before its fleet trials are complete (i.e. it’s not fully assembled and painted) it will suffer a critical hit on a D6 roll of 1 every time it uses special orders. Ships which are added to the fleet register after the start of the campaign suffer a -1 modifier to their Leadership due to their hasty training and less experienced officers.
When players fight battles they must pick their forces from their own fleet register.
The Commander¶
Each player’s fleet has a commander (or an appropriately named leader for their race) who represents the player himself. Over the course of the campaign, your commander will collect renown points and gain in rank, and at the end of the campaign the commander with the highest renown is the winner.
Once you’ve filled in your fleet register, you need to fill in the details of your commander. He’ll need a name, and starts off with 1 point of renown and one re-roll. In addition, you must pick one ship in your fleet as his flagship. If this ship is involved in a battle then ‘you’ are there, and you may use the commander’s re-roll or any other special abilities he may have in the battle. If the flagship is not there then you may not use the commander’s re-roll or abilities.
If the flagship is destroyed, then it is assumed that your commander manages to escape somehow. He may not have any further effect in that game, but you may choose a new flagship for him once the game is over.
Fighting Battles¶
In order for things to happen in the campaign players must fight battles (doh!). At its simplest level all players have to do is challenge any other player that is in the campaign to a game and if they agree then the game uses the additional campaign rules below as well as the rules used for a normal game.
The only problem with this is that it can lead to some odd situations where Imperial fleets attack other Imperial fleets to gain control of systems, and because of this, it’s best if the Imperial players are not allowed to attack each other and if the Chaos and Eldar players restrain themselves, if possible, from attacking players of their own race. If you have a lot of Imperial fleets in the campaign (or, indeed, only Imperial fleets), then it is best to split them into loyalists and rebels, the latter being assumed to have gone over to the dark gods of Chaos!
Anyway, however you decide to do it, you need to challenge other players in the campaign to a game. The game is arranged in exactly the same manner as a one-off game; simply agree on a time and a place and go for it. You can play as many or as few campaign games as you like, all you need to do is find an opponent.
Note that opposing players do not have to agree to play just because you happened to have challenged them to a battle – but you may want to penalise players that refuse to play games with anybody for long periods of time and spoil the campaign for the other players.
For example, if a player doesn’t play any games for (say) a fortnight then they lose a point of renown, and if they don’t play any games for a month then one of their systems (randomly selected) rebels and is turned over to another player.
The Campaign Turn¶
Campaign games include a number of extra steps which take place at the beginning and end of the game, these are described below. Unless stated otherwise all of the normal Battlefleet Gothic rules apply in a campaign game.
Each time that two players have a game they both get what is known as a campaign turn. The turn uses the following sequence of play:
1) Build-Up
Determine Initiative
Roll for incoming Orders,
select target system if necessary
Select Forces from Fleet Registry
2) Fight Battle
3) Aftermath
Claim System
Adjust Renown
Promotions & Demotions
Ship Experience
Repairs & Withdrawals
Make Appeals
Build-up¶
The build-up stage takes place at the start of the battle, before either player deploys or picks his fleet. In this stage you decide where the battle will be, what type of scenario to play, and what size of fleets to use. The stage has a number of steps that need to be carried out in the following order:
- Determine Initiative
- Receive Orders
- Pick Fleet
1. Determine Initiative¶
Roll to see who is attacker and who is defender (the player who rolls highest is the attacker). If one player has more systems than the other his forces are stretched more thinly, so the player with fewer systems gains a +1 bonus to the dice roll. You may want to incorporate the attack ratings from the scenarios introduction, where you roll a number of dice, picking the highest one, to determine the initiative.
2. Receive Orders¶
Although fleet commanders have a large measure of autonomy, higher command still sends down the orders telling them what they must achieve next. In effect, the players get to decide what happens in the battles, but receive orders that direct the strategy they must follow, and the type of battles they will fight. To reflect this, one of the players must roll a D6 to determine what type and size of scenario is to be played.
Incoming Orders¶
| D6 Roll | Orders |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Raid (500-750 points) |
| 3-6 | Battle (750-1500 points) |
If one player has 21 Renown points or more he may choose whether to fight a battle or a raid (if both are this status then roll to see who decides).
Decide Scenario: Roll on the tables below to determine which scenario is to be played, or if both player agree you can pick one from those listed for the type of scenario.
Raids¶
| D6 Roll | Scenario |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cruiser Clash |
| 2 | The Bait |
| 3 | The Raiders |
| 4 | Blockade Run |
| 5-6 | Convoy |
Battles¶
| D6 Roll | Scenario |
|---|---|
| 1 | Exterminatus! |
| 2 | Surprise Attack |
| 3 | Planetary Assault |
| 4 | Escalating Engagement |
| 5-6 | Fleet Engagement |
Decide Location: The attacker must select the system in which the scenario will take place. The system must be connected to one already controlled by the player via a warp route. If no systems are already held, any may be chosen. If an uninhabited system is chosen, the defender must reduce his points value by 100 pts. Other types of system can affect the number of planetary defences, as described elsewhere in the rules.
Decide Size of Battle: Once a mission has been generated, players agree the points value of the game and select their forces. The players can agree on the exact number of points for the game within the limits listed on the Incoming Order table. If one player holds more systems than the other their forces will be spread thinly, giving the player with the least number of systems an advantage. Each extra system a player holds over his opponent reduces his fleet size by 10 points.
Ork & Eldar Scenarios: Ork and Eldar fleets only ever make raids, they never take part in battles. If you roll up a battle on the Incoming Orders table, then it is treated as a major raid instead. Roll for the scenario for the major raid on the Raids table, but the size of the battle is increased to 750-1,500 points.
3. Pick Fleets¶
Both players must now pick their fleets using ships from their fleet register. The total value of the ships you pick may not exceed the points total you and your opponent have decided for the scenario you are to play. Note that you can’t change the details of ships on the register or adjust their points value at this stage – the ships you pick must come from your register and not be changed in any way.
Fight the Battle: With the build-up completed all you need do now is roll for a sub-plot and then get fighting (hurrah!).
Attacking Pirate Bases¶
Orks and Eldar never get to capture systems, but instead have a secret pirate base. If an Ork or Eldar player’s opponent with a rank of Admiral or higher (or its equivalent for other races) gains the initiative for a scenario, then he can attempt to attack the base instead of playing a normal scenario.
The attacker must, however, first find the base: roll a D6 and multiply the score by 10. If you roll under the Ork or Eldar side’s renown, then you’ve tracked down the base and system that it is hidden in must be revealed. If the player fails to find the base (i.e. fails to roll under the defender’s renown) then play a normal scenario. Once you know the location of the base you don’t have to find it again (you can reveal its location to other players too if you want).
Once the base is found, the player may attack it if he controls the system, or it is in a neutral system. If neither of these conditions apply, then play a normal scenario instead. Assuming you find the base and it is in a location where you can attack it, then play either the Planetary Assault or the Exterminatus scenario. If the attacker wins then the base is destroyed and can no longer be used by the Ork or Eldar player.
Aftermath¶
Once you have fought a campaign game and know who has won, you come to probably the most important stage: the aftermath. This is where you find out what effect the game you have just played has on the campaign map, as well as the effect it has had on the ships and crew that took part. This stage has a number of steps, which need to be carried out in the following order:
- Spoils of War
- Adjust Renown
- Promotions & Demotions
- Ship Experience
- Repairs & Withdrawals
- Appeals
1. The Spoils of War¶
Whenever an attacker wins a battle, he may claim control of the system if it is connected by a warp route to one he already controls. The system can only be taken over by the player that won the battle if it previously belonged to the player that he defeated, or if it was previously neutral.
Whenever an attacker wins a raid, he may count the opponent’s system where the raid took place as his own for the rest of this campaign turn (which is important, since the systems you control affect your ability to repair ships, etc.).
2. Adjust Renown¶
Renown is a measure of the fame or infamy enjoyed by you, the fleet commander. Players start the campaign with 1 point of renown and can gain or lose renown as shown on the Renown table. Renown is very, very important because, at the end of the campaign, the player that has earned the most renown is the winner! Note that you can gain or lose renown even if your commander was not present during the scenario (i.e. his flagship did not take part).
Renown¶
| Renown can be gained for the following: | |
|---|---|
| Winning a battle or major raid | +2 |
| Winning a raid | +1 |
| Victory points earned | +(VPs/100 round up) |
| Sub-plots | variable |
| Each capital ship hulk captured | +1 |
| Fought commander with higher renown | +1 |
| Fought fleet with higher points value and lost | +1 |
| Fought fleet with higher points value and won | +2 |
| Renown is lost for the following: | |
| Losing a battle | -1 |
| Losing a raid | -1 |
| Each capital ship lost | -1 |
| Sub-plots | variable |
Note: A commander can never be reduced below 1 renown point (you may be renowned as a bad commander, but you will be renowned nonetheless).
3. Promotions and Demotions¶
The player gains promotions according to their renown as shown on the tables below. It is possible to lose rank if you lose renown points. Your rank determines how many re-rolls or Marks of Chaos you receive in the scenarios that you fight. Tau fleet commanders use the Imperial table for their promotions.
Imperial Promotions (all Imperials Except Mechanicus Fleets)¶
| Renown | Title | Ld | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Commander | 8 | 1 re-roll |
| 6-10 | Battle Group Commander | 8 | 2 re-rolls |
| 11-20 | Sub-sector Commander | 9 | 2 re-rolls |
| 21-31 | Admiral | 9 | 3 re-rolls |
| 31-50 | Fleet Admiral | 10 | 3 re-rolls |
| 51+ | Solar Admiral | 10 | 4 re-rolls |
Mechanicus Promotions¶
| Renown | Title | Ld | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Explorator Techpriest | 7 | 1 re-roll |
| 6-10 | Magos Errant | 8 | 1 re-roll, 1 refit |
| 11-20 | Magos Explorator | 8 | 2 re-rolls, 1 refit |
| 21-31 | Aspiring Archmagos | 9 | 2 re-rolls, 1 refit |
| 31-50 | Archmagos Explorator | 9 | 3 re-rolls, 1 refit |
| 51+ | Archmagos Veneratus 1 | 10 | 3 re-rolls, 2 refits |
Chaos Promotions¶
| Renown | Title | Ld | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Chaos Champion | 8 | 1 re-roll |
| 6-10 | Exalted Chaos Champion | 8 | 1 re-roll, 1 Mark of Chaos |
| 11-20 | Tyrant | 9 | 1 re-roll, 1 Mark of Chaos |
| 21-31 | Chaos Lord | 9 | 1 re-roll, 2 Mark of Chaos |
| 31-50 | Overlord | 10 | 1 re-roll, 2 Mark of Chaos |
| 51+ | Warmaster | 10 | 1 re-roll, 3 Mark of Chaos |
Ork Promotions¶
| Renown | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Nob | 1 re-roll |
| 6-10 | Big Nob | 2 re-rolls |
| 11-20 | Boss | 2 re-rolls |
| 21-31 | Big Boss | 3 re-rolls |
| 31-50 | War Boss | 3 re-rolls |
| 51+ | Warlord | 4 re-rolls |
Eldar Promotions (all Types of Eldar)¶
| Renown | Title | Ld Bonus | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Captain | +0 | 1 re-roll |
| 6-10 | Lord | +1 | 1 re-rolls |
| 11-20 | Shadow Lord | +1 | 2 re-rolls |
| 21-31 | Prince | +2 | 2 re-rolls |
| 31-50 | Shadow Prince | +2 | 3 re-rolls |
| 51+ | King | +2 | 4 re-rolls |
4. Ship Experience¶
As the campaign progresses ships (or rather, ship crews) will gain experience. This is represented by increasing their Leadership characteristic, and by giving them special ‘crew skills’. On the other hand a ship that is badly damaged is likely to have lost a sizable proportion of its experienced crewmen, which will reduce its effectiveness, while a ship that is destroyed will have to be replaced by a new or salvaged vessel with a very inexperienced crew.
Gaining Experience: Ships which fought in a battle and were not crippled or destroyed roll 2D6. If the roll is higher than their Leadership rating, then either their Leadership may be improved by +1 point (up to a maximum of 10) or the ship may roll on the Crew Skills table. You may choose which option to take, unless the ship has a Leadership of 6 or 7, in which case you must choose to increase the ship’s Leadership by +1 point instead of taking a skill.
Crippled Ships: Ships which were crippled in a battle lose -1 Leadership (to a minimum of 6). Note that crew skills aren’t lost for being crippled, even if the ship’s Leadership is reduced to 6 or 7.
Destroyed Ships: Ships which are destroyed (i.e. reduced to 0 damage points) must be replaced with a new ship. Change their name on your fleet register. The new ship has a Leadership of 6, no crew skills, and any refits that have been taken are lost (the rules for refits follow later on).
Escort Squadrons: Escort squadrons gain and lose Leadership and skills in the same way as ships. Escort squadrons which suffer 50% or greater casualties are considered crippled for the purpose of experience, while those that are wiped out are considered destroyed.
5. Repairs & Withdrawals¶
In a campaign, ships that have suffered damage must be repaired, and it is the number of systems a player controls that determines just how much damage can be fixed. Sometimes the systems under your control won’t be able to repair all the damage your fleet has suffered, in which case you can either withdraw the ships and send them to be repaired outside the subsector, or you can let them limp on as they are until you have time to repair them.
Repairs: Each system a player controls may repair a number of damage points. This varies depending on the type of system and your renown. The number of damage points different systems can repair is shown below. Renown is important because it helps with recruiting/press ganging extra crew, claiming resources and time in dock etc.. Note that all criticals are repaired automatically, including ones which may not be repaired during a battle (i.e. Bridge Smashed and Shields Collapse). Also remember that if the attacker won a raid he may count the enemy system where the raid took place as his own for this turn. You can use Repair points to bring escort squadrons back up to strength, in which case each escort ship is worth 1 damage point.
Repair Points¶
| Renown | Agri | Penal (min. of 1) | Mining | Forge, hive, pirate world | Civilised | Uninhabited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 6-10 | 1 | D6-4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 11-20 | 1 | D6-3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 21-30 | 2 | D6-2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 31-50 | 2 | D6-1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 51+ | 3 | D6 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
Repairing Vessels¶
An Imperial commander has just won a battle. He now controls a hive world, two Agri-worlds and a penal colony and has 28 renown points. During the battle one of his cruisers took five points of damage, another took three points of damage and another lost four hits. He also lost two frigates from a squadron of four. With the systems he currently has under his control, the Imperial commander may repair nine points of damage plus D6-2 for his penal colony. He rolls a 4, which gives him a total of 11 repair points. He uses 5 to totally repair the first cruiser and another 3 to repair the second cruiser. He replaces the two lost frigates, meaning he can only repair 1 point of damage on the third cruiser. This cruiser will start its next battle with three hits less than normal.
Withdrawing ships: A player may choose to withdraw ships to get them fully repaired at a major base. Mark the fact they have been withdrawn on the fleet register. Ships which are withdrawn are unavailable for the player’s next game, after which they return to the fleet with their full number of hits. Escort squadrons which are withdrawn may return at full strength.
6. Appeals¶
After repairs have been completed, both players can appeal to higher authorities/ the gods of Chaos for aid. The amount of help you can expect to receive depends on how well you’ve been doing, as measured by your renown. To reflect this, the number of appeals that may be made depend on the players’ renown as shown on the table below.
| RENOWN | NO. OF APPEALS |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | 1 Appeal |
| 11-30 | 2 Appeals |
| 31-50 | 3 Appeals |
| 51+ | 4 Appeals |
Appeals may be made for the things listed below. If you are allowed to make more than one appeal you can ask for the same thing up to two times (and may have each appeal granted), or you can appeal for different things – it’s up to you! However, you must declare what you will appeal for this turn before determining whether the appeals have been granted. Having declared what you are going to appeal for, roll a D6 for each appeal to see if the appeal is granted.
Type of appeals allowed¶
There are 3 different types of appeal. Not every fleet is allowed every type. Allowances, restrictions and specific upgrades are printed with the fleet lists. The General Upgrades on the following pages are used by most fleets, so they are printed here and are not repeated in the fleet lists.
| APPEAL GRANTED | |
|---|---|
| Reinforcements | 2+ |
| Refits | 4+ |
| Other | 5+ |
Reinforcements¶
If the appeal is granted, one new capital ship or a squadron of up to five escorts may be added to the player’s fleet registry. Note that you must have the models to represent the ships – if you don’t, then they can’t be added to the fleet register.
Refits¶
If you read through the background sections of Battlefleet Gothic, you’ll see that ships often have things added, or have equipment updated or improved. This is called refitting, and in a campaign, you’ll get a chance to refit the ships in your fleet in order to (hopefully) improve their performance in different areas. A player who is granted a refit must choose one of his capital ships to undergo the refit, then roll a D6 to see what type of equipment system is upgraded. On a roll of 1 or 2 you receive a ship refit, on a roll of 3 or 4 an engine refit, and on a roll of 5 or 6 a weapon refit Then roll on the appropriate Refit table given later to see exactly what you get. If you roll a result that the ship already has, roll again until you get a result the ship does not already benefit from. The points value of the ship is increased by 10% for each refit it has and you’ll need to update your ship register appropriately.
Other Appeals¶
Other appeals allow you to request the aid of other allied forces. For example, Imperial players can call on the aid of a Space Marine Chapter, Chaos players may draw on the power of the warp to cast arcane spells, etc.. The types of other appeal you can make are listed under “Types of Appeal Allowed” earlier, and if granted allows you to roll on the appropriate Appeal table. Again, if you roll a result on the table that you already have, then roll again until you get a new result.
Conclusion¶
As noted in the introduction, you should set a deadline for the campaign. When the deadline comes up the player that has built up the greatest renown is the winner. However, once you’ve got some experience running campaigns like this, you should feel free to change the criteria for victory. For example, you could say that the first player to gain control of five systems is the winner (though this will be tough on Ork and Eldar players), or you could keep on playing until the entire sub-sector is entirely controlled by Chaos, in which case all of the Chaos and Ork players win, or is entirely controlled by the Imperium, in which case all of the Imperial and Eldar players win.
Other alternatives include doing a convoy run, where a fleet has to travel from system to system across the map, fighting opponents along the way as it does so, or you could have a game based on an Ork Waaagh! where Ork players are allowed to control systems. The most important thing to remember is that the rules above are only a starting point, and the possibilities for making up your own campaigns are really only limited by your imagination. Have fun!
General Upgrades¶
These refits and crew skills can be earned by every ship, unless otherwise noted.
Engine Refit¶
The ship’s engines are fitted with additional systems or improvements have been made to the power generators and energy relays in some fashion. Roll on the following table.
| D6 roll | Engine Refit |
|---|---|
| 1 | Secondary Reactors: The ship’s additional power generators allow it to put on a tremendous burst of speed for short lengths of time. The ship rolls an extra 2D6 when on All Ahead Full special orders. |
| 2 | Evasive Jets: The hull of the vessel is studded with powerful short-burn engines which allow it to drastically turn to avoid incoming fire. At the start of the enemy Shooting Phase, the ship may take a Leadership test. If it is passed, the ship may make a single 45° turn immediately. However, the ship may not go on to special orders during the next turn. |
| 3 | Manoeuvring Thrusters: Additional thrusters along the length of the ship allow it to turn much more quickly. The ship reduces the distance it needs to move before turning by 5 cm. |
| 4 | Arrester Engines: The ship has a number of secondary engines mounted near its prow, which enable the vessel to reduce speed rapidly. When attempting to Burn Retros or Come to New Heading special orders, the ship may add +1 to its Leadership. |
| 5 | Auxiliary Power Relays: The rear of the ship is criss-crossed with additional cables and pipelines, feeding more power to the engines. The ship gains +5 cm to its speed. |
| 6 | Navigational Shields: The ship is enveloped in low-frequency shields designed to shunt aside debris and other impediments as the ship moves. The ship does not suffer reductions to its speed for moving through Blast Markers (this includes gas and dust clouds and similar effects). |
Ship Refit¶
The structure of the ship is improved in some way, new equipment is installed, or better trained or specialised crew members are brought in. Roll on the following table.
| D6 roll | Ship Refit |
|---|---|
| 1 | Improved Sensor Array: The ship’s assayers and long range surveyors are particularly attuned to pick up energy emissions and signals from enemy ships. When taking Leadership tests to go on to special orders, the ship gains +2 for enemy ships on special orders, rather than the normal +1. |
| 2 | Additional Shield Generator: The ship has additional shield generators to deflect incoming shots. The ship gains +1 Shields. |
| 3 | Superior Damage Control: The ship benefits from an improved auto-repair system, or more highly adept engineers and technicians. The ship may roll one extra dice in the End Phase when attempting to repair damage. |
| 4 | Reinforced Hull: The ship’s hull is fitted with additional armour and internal bracing, increasing its damage by 25% (rounded up) but reducing its speed by 5 cm. |
| 5 | Improved Logic Engines: The ship’s countless metriculators and mechanical cogitators enable the crew to perform with full effectiveness even in the midst of the fiercest battle. The ship does not suffer -1 Leadership for being in contact with Blast Markers. |
| 6 | Overload Shield Capacitors: Specialised power relays and generators allow the ship’s engineers to temporarily divert extra power to the shields. For each hit against the shields, roll a D6. On a roll of a 6, the hit is ignored and no Blast Marker is placed. |
Weapons Refit¶
The ship has been upgraded with additional or more sophisticated weapons systems, greatly enhancing its battle effectiveness. Roll on the following table:
| D6 roll | Weapons Refit |
|---|---|
| 1 | Extra Turrets: The vessel is studded with numerous close defence weapons to shoot down enemy torpedoes and attack craft. This ship adds +1 to its Turrets value. |
| 2 | Turbo-weapons: The ship’s weapons have been given additional punch and accuracy at long range. The ship does not suffer a right column shift when firing over 30 cm. |
| 3 | Targeting Matrix: The ship’s weapon systems are linked together through a massive targeting network so that they can maximise their fire. All firing by weapons batteries benefits from a left column shift on the Gunnery table (before any other column shifts for range or Blast Markers). |
| 4 | Auto-loaders: The ship’s crew are aided in their task of readying torpedoes and attack craft by huge semi-automated machinery. The ship adds +1 to its Leadership when attempting Reload Ordnance special orders (re-roll this if the ship has no ordnance). |
| 5 | Superior Fire Control: A powerful fire control system has been installed in the ship’s bridge, enabling the command crew to direct the ship’s firing with greater effect. The ship adds +1 to its Leadership when attempting Lock On special orders. |
| 6 | Motion-Tracking Targeters: A complex analytical array linked to the ship’s navigational systems enables the gun crews to fire with greater accuracy when the ship is performing special manoeuvres. If the ship is on All Ahead Full, Burn Retros or Come to New Heading special orders, its firepower and lance Strength is reduced by 25% (rounded up) rather than halved. |
Crew Skills¶
| D6 roll | Skill |
|---|---|
| 1 | Expert Gunnery: The ship’s gun crew are amongst the finest in the whole sector, able to lay down a devastating barrage. When the ship attempts Lock On special orders you may roll 3D6 and discard the highest roll before comparing the score to the ship’s Leadership. |
| 2 | Skilled Engineers: The crew responsible for running the engines are highly adept, able to respond quickly to orders for more or less power. When the ship attempts All Ahead Full or Burn Retros special orders you may roll 3D6 and discard the highest roll before comparing the score to the ship’s Leadership. |
| 3 | Adept Trimsman: The officers and crew responsible for the ship’s manoeuvring boast that they could get the ship to turn on the head of a pin! Whenever the ship attempts Come to New Heading special orders you may roll 3D6 and discard the highest roll before comparing the score to the ship’s Leadership. |
| 4 | Excellent Pilots: The ship is famed for the skill of its pilots. The well-timed attack runs of its bombers can cause horrendous damage while its fighter pilots fly rings around enemy attack craft. Any bombers launched by this ship may re-roll the dice when determining how many To Hit rolls they have. If fighters from this ship intercept attack craft or torpedoes, roll a D6. On a score of 4+ the fighters are not removed as normal but remain in play. Re-roll this skill if the ship does not carry attack craft. Eldar and Space Marine players should re-roll this skill. |
| 5 | Disciplined Crew: The ship’s crew bend to their tasks with enthusiasm and loyalty. Once per battle the ship may re-roll a failed Leadership test or Command check. |
| 6 | Elite Command Crew: The ship’s command crew work well as a team, able to respond quickly to the orders of the fleet commander. Once per battle the ship may automatically pass a Leadership test or Command check – there is no need to roll any dice. |
The Sub-Sector Maps¶
Number of Systems¶
A sub-sector contains many stars, but of these only a few will have any planets orbiting. The vast majority will be gas giants or planets locked in sub-zero ice ages. This means that any given sub-sector will have relatively few star systems actually worth fighting over. Of these, the majority will be mining worlds, agri-worlds and other worlds with a sizeable population and contemporary technology level (categorised as civilised worlds). A few systems may have a forge world, hive world or other such planet. Occasionally uninhabited systems also have strategic importance as jump points or gathering places for assembling war fleets. The sub-sector maps only show those systems of military or strategic importance to the forces fighting in the Gothic War.
Warpspace Channels¶
In theory it is possible to travel anywhere through warp space. However, the warp’s shifting tides make it easier to travel from some systems to others, and short warp jumps are always more accurate than longer ones. This is particularly true when moving a large fleet, which may become spread out across several light years of space. For this reason, the systems on a sub-sector map are connected by a number of warp channels to the other systems.
System Type¶
Each system will be one of the following types: uninhabited, agri-world, mining world, hive world, penal colony, forge world or civilised world. The system may actually contain more than one world, but the political power and the bulk of the resources will be concentrated on the type of world shown. The system type will influence how much ship damage it can repair and level of its orbital defences.
Special Notes¶
Blackstone Fortresses: We have marked on the maps where each of the Blackstone Fortresses is located. If you wish to (and you don’t have to if you don’t want to) you can include a Blackstone Fortress in the planetary defences of that system.
Port Maw: Port Maw is the largest naval base in the Gothic Sector and the headquarters of the Battlefleet Gothic. Any planets in the Port Maw system (not to be confused with the Port Maw sub-sector) have double the normal amount of planetary defences.
Gothic Sector¶
Key to Sub-Sector Maps¶
| A | Agri-world |
|---|---|
| C | Civilised world |
| F | Forge world |
| H | Hive world |
| M | Mining world |
| P | Penal world |
| U | Uninhabited system |