Refits¶
This page is a work in progress!
Many of the vessels throughout this volume have their own selection of ship class refits available to them. Most of these are of course unique and restricted to a single class of vessel but there are a number of more common refits commonly found across a wide variety of different classes of vessel, even across different races. Full rules for these refits are contained in this section and may be used by most races, subject to the restrictions for individual refits described below.
Special Torpedoes¶
There are various types of torpedo available for capital ships, which are listed below. As these are rare and fairly unusual (not to mention powerful) types of ordnance, they can’t just be given to ships at will. Instead you have to make an appeal to fleet command and take your chances as to what types of special torpedo they will allocate to you. This is determined by making a roll on the Special Torpedoes table. If you’re playing in a campaign and you are granted a weapons refit after a game, then you can choose to roll on the Special Torpedoes table instead of the Weapons Refit table, at the normal cost of 10% of the ship’s points value. If you’re playing in a one-off game, rolls on the Special Torpedoes table can be purchased for the number of points shown below.
| STRENGTH | COST TO ROLL ON TORPEDO TABLE |
|---|---|
| Up to 6 | 20 points |
| 7 or more | 30 points |
Notes: No ship may be equipped with more than one special torpedo type. Escort squadrons and defences may not be equipped with special torpedoes at all. Ork ships may only use special torpedoes if they have been upgraded to have Looted Torpedoes, but count as having a Torpedo Strength of up to 6. Eldar and Dark Eldar ships pay double points (or 20% of the ship’s points value in a campaign) to use special torpedoes, as their torpedoes are pretty special to start with! The Tau, who already use their own favoured combination of guided missiles may not use the special torpedo rules at all. Likewise, Tyranids (whose torpedoes are in fact living organisms sent to consume enemy ships) cannot have special torpedoes.
| D6 ROLL | TYPE ACQUIRED |
|---|---|
| 1 | Short Burn Torpedoes* |
| 2 | Guided Torpedoes* |
| 3 | Seeking Torpedoes |
| 4 | Barrage Bombs* |
| 5 | Melta Torpedoes |
| 6 | Vortex Torpedoes |
Torpedoes marked with an asterisk (*) are supplied in enough quantities to last the entire game. Ships will only be equipped with enough of the other special torpedoes to fire a single salvo of them in a game. In a campaign, vessels with one-use torpedoes will be automatically resupplied after each game.
Short Burn Torpedoes¶
Short burn torpedoes have more powerful engines but a limited amount of fuel. They are considerably faster than ordinary torpedoes but will ‘burn out’ and lose engine power very quickly in comparison to ordinary torpedoes, which are designed to cruise at speed for longer periods.
Special Rules¶
Short burn torpedoes have an increased speed of 40 cm. However, to represent the chance of them burning out, roll a D6 for each salvo of short burn torpedoes after they have moved and made any attacks – on a roll of 6 the torpedoes run out of fuel and are replaced with a blast marker.
Barrage Bombs¶
Barrage bombs are configured specifically for penetrating the atmosphere of a world and bombarding planetary targets. In comparison to ordinary anti-ship torpedoes, barrage bombs have a relatively diffuse blast radius, being designed to achieve maximum saturation of the target area.
Special rules¶
Barrage bombs can be launched while a ship is in low orbit, where they will move just like ordinary torpedoes in deep space (they are unaffected by the gravitic pull of the planet). Barrage bombs may also be launched in space, like ordinary torpedoes. Each salvo of barrage bombs which strikes a planet during a planetary assault scenario earns 1 assault point if it is strength 6 or less, 2 assault points if it is strength 7 or greater. Barrage bombs which attack ships do not ignore shields like other ordnance; instead they knock down shields and place blast markers for hits just like a direct fire attack (which can be pretty useful in its own right).
Seeking Torpedoes¶
The art of building self-guided torpedoes is almost lost to the Imperium, but they are still manufactured in tiny numbers at the great Adeptus Mechanicus temples on Mars. Logic engines and matriculators aboard the torpedoes themselves enable them to identify the attack vector most likely to result in the salvo reaching a target. The disadvantage of seeking torpedoes (other than their rarity) is that the surveyors they use to detect enemy ships are easily blinded by blasts and debris, leading to premature detonation.
Special rules¶
A seeking torpedo salvo will make a turn of up to 45° at the start of the ordnance phase, so that it is pointing towards the nearest enemy ship. If several enemy ships are an equal distance away, the seeking torpedoes will turn to attack the largest enemy ship. Seeking torpedoes which move through blast markers will detonate on a D6 roll of 5 or 6, instead of a 6 as is the case with ordinary torpedoes. Unlike ordinary torpedoes, the superior logic engines on board seeking torpedoes mean they will not attack friendly ships that they move into contact with.
These are one-use torpedoes. Ships will only be equipped with enough torpedoes to fire a single salvo of them in a game.
Guided Torpedoes¶
Guided torpedoes are directed via telemetry from the ship which launched them, allowing them to be guided onto a target, even directed against a specific enemy ship amidst the confusion of battle. Although tight beam communication links are used for control from the parent ship, guided torpedoes are still vulnerable to enemy interference and jamming.
Special rules¶
Guided torpedoes can make a turn of up to 45° at the beginning of the ordnance phase, if the ship which launched them passes a Leadership test. If the Leadership test is failed, one enemy ship can attempt to give the torpedo salvo false instructions by passing a Leadership test. If the enemy ship is successful, the enemy player is allowed to turn the torpedoes instead!
Melta Torpedoes¶
Melta torpedoes are fitted with multiple melta bomb warheads, which detonate into mighty conflagrations of nuclear fire when they impact. The fires will burn through even the outer hull of a warship, threatening to consume the entire vessel in a hellish inferno.
Special rules¶
Hits from melta torpedoes inflict no damage points, instead each hit causes an automatic Fire critical. If a ship which is carrying unused melta torpedoes suffers a critical hit to its prow (or wherever the torpedoes are launched from) it suffers an extra D3 Fire criticals as the torpedoes detonate!
These are one-use torpedoes. Ships will only be equipped with enough torpedoes to fire a single salvo of them in a game.
Vortex Torpedoes¶
Vortex torpedoes carry warheads which implode to create a highly unstable and dangerous rift in warp space. The damage inflicted by even a single vortex torpedo is horrendous – whole sections of the ship and its crew are ripped asunder and sucked into the warp.
Special rules¶
Hits inflicted by vortex torpedoes will automatically cause critical damage. If a ship which is carrying unused vortex torpedoes suffers a critical hit to its prow (or wherever the torpedoes are launched from) it suffers an extra D3 points of damage and an automatic critical hit as the torpedoes detonate!
These are one-use torpedoes. Ships will only be equipped with enough torpedoes to fire a single salvo of them in a game.
Torpedo Bombers¶
Torpedo bombers are ordinary bombers reconfigured to carry a payload of (relatively) small anti-ship torpedoes. This gives them the ability to stand off from their target at greater range and launch an attack.
Acquisition¶
Any ship with launch bays can be upgraded to carry torpedo bombers at an additional cost of +10 pts per Strength point of the launch bays on the vessel. For example, a Chaos Styx class heavy cruiser would pay 60 points to carry torpedo bombers, while an Imperial Dictator class cruiser would pay 40 points.
Due to the superiority of Eldar, Dark Eldar and Tau ordnance, Eldar or Tau vessels must pay +15 points per launch bay. An Eldar Eclipse class cruiser carrying torpedo bombers would cost an additional 60 points.
Ork vessels which have a variable launch bay strength have the cost for upgrading to torpedo bombers listed in their description.
Fleets that do not normally have access to bombers also do not have access to torpedo bombers.
Ships that pay an extra cost to be equipped with torpedo bombers do not replace their bombers. When taken, they become an additional type of attack craft available to the carrier.
Attack craft that function as both fighters and bombers (such as Ork fighta-bommas) lose their fighter ability when converted to torpedo bombers and function ONLY as torpedo bombers (they are far too slow and lumbering while carrying torpedoes).
Launching¶
Torpedo bomber squadrons are launched just like other attack craft squadrons, they are simply differently armed. They have a speed of 20 cm and count as bombers for interception purposes.
Attacks¶
A torpedo bomber squadron can be replaced with a Strength-2 torpedo salvo at the beginning of any ordnance phase. The torpedoes function according to the standard torpedo rules once launched but have a more limited fuel supply, so they are removed at the end of the same ordnance phase they are launched in. A wave of torpedo bombers can combine their salvoes together in the same way as a squadron of ships.
Torpedo bombers may not launch their torpedoes (convert to a torpedo salvo marker) in the same Ordnance Phase they were launched from their parent carrier. This includes if they make contact with their target in the same turn they were launched. In such cases, use normal bombers instead if desiring to attack an enemy ship in close range.
Orbital Mines¶
During the Port Maw blockade, Chaos Raiders used Devastation and Styx class vessels to make rapid attacks to seed the primary biosphere with orbital mines fired from specially converted launch bays. Carrying mines in combat proved exceptionally dangerous and the Chaos Devastation class cruiser Unforgivable was eventually crippled by Sword squadrons of the Port Maw patrol when its own orbital mines detonated within its launch bays. This allowed Captain Grenfeld’s Hammer of Justice to catch the vessel and complete its destruction at long range with nova cannon fire.
Acquisition¶
Any ship with launch bays can be refitted to carry orbital mines instead of attack craft at a points cost of +5 points per launch bay strength. Orbital mines completely replace all the attack craft in a ships launch bays. Only cruisers may be refitted to carry orbital mines; battleships are considered too rare and valuable to use in this way.
Launching¶
One orbital mine can be launched per launch bay strength, just like attack craft squadrons. This means they are launched from the ship's stem at the end of the Movement Phase and move according to the normal behaviour of Orbital Mines on pg. [???]. Note that orbital mines cannot be formed into waves.
Orbital mines are not subject to ordnance limits, just like torpedoes. There may be as many mines in play as the ship is capable of launching. However, launch bays of ships carrying mines do not count toward the total number of launch bays in the fleet for purposes of ordnance limits.
Attacks¶
Orbital mines are ordnance which attack and behave according to the rules on page [???]. Note that turret defences can be used against either attack craft or torpedoes and mines in a single ordnance phase, not both. If a ship carrying orbital mines suffers a critical hit which affects the launch bays, it will take an extra D3 damage as some of the mines detonate!
Designer’s note: This is really intended as a surprise tactic rather than a staple part of a fleet. As such, players should limit themselves to using at most one or two mine-armed ships in their games.