Scenario Nine: Exterminatus¶
The attacking fleet is escorting Exterminators, ships capable of laying waste to entire planetary populations or even obliterating all life on a world in a matter of hours. The Exterminator fleet must be stopped and every ship in the vicinity is rushing to defend the threatened planet.
Forces¶
Agree a points total for the game. The attacker chooses a fleet up to this points value and in addition may take specialised Exterminator ships. The attackers may include a ship modified to become an Exterminator for every 1,000 points (or part) in his fleet (i.e. up to 1,000 points = one Exterminator, 1,001-2,000 points = two Exterminators, etc.). Nominate any capital ship to be an Exterminator: the ship’s prow armament is replaced by an Armageddon weapon, which can only be used against planetary targets (in effect the prow weapon is lost). An attacking Chaos fleet may choose to include an active Blackstone Fortress (with the rules given in the Chaos Ships fleet list) instead of using modified capital ships. In this case the fortress does not sacrifice any of its weaponry to enable it to carry an Armageddon weapon.
The defender chooses a fleet to defend the planet and will receive additional reinforcements throughout the game. The defender may spend an extra D6×10 points on planetary defences for every 500 points (or part) in his fleet (i.e. 10-60 points for up to 500 points of ships, 20-120 points for 501-1,000 points of ships, etc.).
Battlezone¶
The battle is fought in the primary or inner biosphere. Place a planet no more than 150 cm from one of the short table edges (roll a D6 to determine size: 1 = small, 2-5 = medium, 6 = large), generating rings, moons etc. as normal. Declare one table edge as sunward, as detailed in the Celestial Phenomena rules and place extra phenomena following whichever method you choose.
Set-up¶
The defender has most of his fleet stationed near to the planet as the enemy approaches, but several ships or squadrons are out on patrol and arrive later in the engagement. The defender must pick one capital ship or escort squadron to be on patrol for each 500 points in his fleet. These are kept to one side, not deployed at the start of the game. The remainder of the defending fleet may be deployed anywhere on the tabletop, but not within 30 cm of a table edge.
The attacker sets up his entire fleet within 15 cm of the table edge which is furthest from the planet.
You will also need a separate low orbit table, as described in the Celestial Phenomena section.
First Turn¶
Each player rolls a dice and the player with the higher score may choose whether to go first or second.
Special Rules¶
The Exterminator/s must enter low orbit and move to within 45 cm of the planet table edge. At the start of each turn that an Exterminator is within 45 cm of the planet table edge, roll a dice. On a roll of a 4 or more it activates its Armageddon weapon and triggers a catastrophic event that will obliterate all life on the planet! The defenders may always target an Exterminator – if it is not the closest target then no Leadership test is required.
The defending fleet rolls for the arrival of its patrols at the start of each of the defender’s turns. Roll a D6 for each defending capital ship and escort squadron which is not in play and compare it to the table below.
| SHIP’S SPEED | SCORE NEEDED TO ARRIVE |
|---|---|
| up to 20 cm | 5+ |
| 25 | 4+ |
| 30 cm or more | 3+ |
If the roll equals or beats the number shown, the ship arrives as a reinforcement on a randomly determined table edge.
Note: If this scenario is being played as part of a campaign and the planet is destroyed roll on the table that follows.
| D6 ROLL | RESULT |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | The system becomes uninhabited, mark it as such on the sub-sector map. |
| 4-6 | The system’s primary world is destroyed but one or more other planets still bear life. Roll again to see what the system becomes: 1-3 agri-world, 4-6 mining planet. |
Game Length¶
The game ends when one fleet disengages, all the attacker’s Exterminators are destroyed, or an Exterminator destroys the planet.
Victory Conditions¶
If one fleet disengages then it loses. If all the attacking Exterminators are destroyed, the defender wins. If the planet is destroyed then the attacker wins!