Planetary Defences¶
This page is a work in progress!
As well as relying upon the intervention of interstellar warships, a planetary system may also be protected by local defences. The first of these are the high orbit defences, that are capable of attacking enemy ships as they approach the planet. These defence platforms are armed with ship weaponry, such as gun batteries and torpedo launchers, providing a solid ring of protection around the world. Larger installations can also be found, such as space stations and orbital docks which bristle with weaponry and attack craft launch bays. Most supreme of all are the six Blackstone Fortresses of the Gothic sector, with an immense battery of weapons capable of obliterating capital ships and cutting through whole squadrons of lighter vessels.
As well as stationary defences, many systems also use system defence vessels. Unlike larger warships, these ships have no warp engines and are therefore confined to the system. They are slow compared to the sleek frigates and destroyers of the Imperial Navy, but their guns are still potent enough to damage the largest enemy vessels.
Orbital defences or ships that count as defences may be placed in squadrons, with 1 HP fixed or mobile defences grouped in up to six units and larger defences grouped in up to four.
In addition to high orbit defences, a planet may also have a number of ground-based laser silos, missile batteries and airfields which can attack ships that enter low orbit, intent on bombarding the planet's surface or deploying troops for a planetary assault.
Stationary planetary defences may be placed in base contact if desired, but they can never be stacked or have their bases overlap other stationary planetary defences.
High Orbit Defences¶
High orbit defences may be placed around a planet or its moons. They must be deployed within the planet or moon's gravity well (ie, 10 cm for a small planet, 15cm for a medium one, etc.).
Low Orbit Defences¶
Low orbit defences may only be deployed on the low orbit table. They are all ground-based, so must be placed along the table edge which has been designated as representing the ground. Laser and missile silos have a front fire arc which faces away from the planet's surface and into space. Low orbit defences can never attack ships which are not on the low orbit table. It is particularly important to realise that ordnance launched from the ground cannot move up to high orbit - the fuel expended to achieve escape velocity means that the ordnance is rendered useless by the time it gets there.
Including Planetary Defences in Your Games¶
There are a number of ways to use planetary defences in Battlefleet Gothic:
Scenario driven¶
Some scenarios specify that the defender can spend a certain amount on planetary defences. In this case, the player with planetary defences chooses from the planetary defences list up to the points value indicated in the scenario.
Some larger planetary defences, such as space stations and Blackstone Fortresses, will probably only be used in very large battles or in specific scenarios you have designed for them. For example, you might like to re-fight one of Abaddon's attacks on the Blackstone Fortresses.
When desired, the defender in a scenario may spend up to one-third of his allocated point value on planetary defences, in addition to any planetary defences provided by the specific scenario. This allows for the use of larger planetary defences such as major fleet bases and the like, for which the profile and point cost of an Imperial Blackstone Fortress on p.145 [???] of the rulebook may be used. However, these additional defences come directly from the points allowed against his or her fleet list. This means trading off the mobility of ships for heavier planetary defences.
During standard games around a planet¶
As well as in special scenarios, you can also use the following method to play battles using planetary defences. If you generate a planet as a celestial phenomenon, you can also give it planetary defences if you wish. A small planet will have D6-2 orbital defences, a medium sized planet will have D6-1 planetary defences and a large planet D6 planetary defences. If the scenario has an attacker and a defender, then the defender is assumed to have control of the planet (although you could switch this to fight defensive battles in an enemy-held system). If there is no attacker and defender, both players roll a dice to see who controls the planet. Each planetary defence can be worth up to D6x5 points - roll each one separately. You may combine the points of several planetary defences to buy a single, more expensive defence system. For example, if you have a defence worth 40 points, one worth 15 points and another worth 35 points, you can combine them to buy an orbital dock (90 points).
Alternatively, you can decide beforehand that you'll be fighting near to a planet, in which case the defending player may buy planetary defences out of their normal points value - a small planet can have no more than 4 planetary defences, a medium planet can have a maximum of 5 planetary defences and a large planet a maximum of 6. It is also a good idea to put an upper limit on the amount of points that can be spent (for example, in a standard battle perhaps no more than 10% of the fleet's points may be spent on planetary defences).
Bear in mind that medium sized planets are more likely to be inhabitable than small or large planets and that the vast majority of planets in the Gothic Sector are uninhabited. You could include planetary defences in your normal games for added variety, but it's not something you should feel compelled to do every time you stick a planet on the tabletop!
In a campaign¶
If you are playing a campaign and you know which system type (eg, hive, agri-world, etc.) you are fighting in, you can use the following table to decide the level of planetary defences. Remember, not all the battles in a system will take place around the primary world - there may be a different type of inhabited world, or the two fleets might be fighting around an uninhabited planet.
You can also use the table to generate a random planet type during a non-campaign game - roll 2D6 and see what type of planet you' re fighting around. In this case, the number of planetary defences are determined by the planet's type rather than its size. However, they automatically pass any other leadership tests they may be required to make.
| 2D6 | PLANET TYPE | NUMBER OF DEFENCES |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Forge world | D6+1 |
| 3 | Hive world | D6 |
| 4–5 | Civilised world | D6-1 |
| 6–7 | Uninhabited | D3-1 |
| 8–9 | Agri-world | D6-2 |
| 10–11 Mining world | D6-2 | |
| 12 | Penal colony | D6 |
Planetary Defences Leadership¶
Stationary defences and vessels used as planetary defences such as Defence Monitors or system ships do not roll for leadership or have a leadership value just as other normal planetary defences do not, with the exception that they reload ordnance (where applicable) on a nominal leadership of 7 unless specifically stated otherwise in their fleet lists or special rules.
This means that they cannot take on any special orders except Reload Ordnance, though they may also attempt to Brace For Impact against this same leadership.
They also make all other leadership checks they may have to make against Ld 7, such as for navigating celestial phenomena and for ignoring closest targets.
Ships that are targeted as defences but otherwise are not normally restricted to planetary defences, such as Ork Roks, Kroot Warspheres, etc., are treated as ships and can make Special Orders normally.
High Orbit Defences¶
Orbital defence laser platform (pg. 489) ....... 30 pts
Orbital torpedo launcher (pg. 490) ............... 30 pts
Orbital weapons platform (pg. 491) .............. 30 pts
Orbital mine (pg. 492) ....................................... 5 pts
0-2 Minefields (pg. 493).................................. 40 pts
0-6 Fire ships (pg. 496) .................................... 10 pts
System ship (pg. 495) ....................................... 20 pts
Defence monitor (pg. 494) .............................. 60 pts
Orbital dock (pg. 488) ..................................... 90 pts
Space station (pg. 487) ................................... 150 pts
Blackstone fortress (pg. 486) ........................400 pts
Low Orbit Defences¶
0-8 Defence laser silos (pg. 497)..................... 15 pts
0-8 Missile silos (pg. 497) ................................. 5 pts
0-4 Air bases (pg. 497)..................................... 20 pts