The Ordnance Phase¶
Ordnance includes missiles the size of skyscrapers to swarms of small attack craft such as fighters and bombers.
All ordnance attacks are represented by markers that are moved across the tabletop during each Ordnance Phase. If an Ordnance marker comes into contact with a ship or another Ordnance marker it will make an attack.
Launching Ordnance¶
Ships armed with torpedoes and/or launch bays can use ordnance.
Ordnance is declared, placed on the table and launched at the end of the Shooting Phase (the marker is put on the ship's base to show it has fired its ordnance) but the ordnance moves and attacks during the ordnance phase.
Launching ordnance of any amount expends ordnance for that turn and must be reloaded to launch again. For example, a carrier with four launch bays that due to ordnance limits cannot launch more than two attack craft cannot “save” the other two markers and must Reload Ordnance again before it can launch more attack craft. This same concept applies to torpedoes, though there are no launch limits for torpedoes. Launching only torpedoes does not affect launching attack craft later, and vice versa.
If a ship equipped with both torpedoes and attack craft launches only one or the other, it may still launch the other before having to reload again.
For example, if an Imperial Dictator launches its attack craft but not its torpedoes in a turn and in the subsequent turn fails to Reload Ordnance, it may still launch its torpedoes in that turn.
Any ship that has either never launched ordnance or has successfully reloaded ordnance is considered to have its ordnance reloaded for as many turns as it does not launch, regardless of what subsequent special orders it takes. Keep in mind that being crippled and/or braced still affect torpedo launchers and attack craft bays normally.
Fleet Ordnance Limits¶
No more attack craft markers can be put in play than the number of available launch bays, even if it has successfully reloaded. Any model or fleet described as not able to run out of ordnance (such as Ork Space Hulks, the Tyranid fleet, etc.) may launch up to twice this number and provide double their number of launch bays to the total amount of markers the fleet may have in play. This total limit applies to the fleet as a whole and not to individual ships in the fleet. Any individual carrier may launch attack craft if they have successfully reloaded (even a partial amount) as long as the total amount of attack craft in play does not exceed the number of available launch bays. This total must take into account reductions caused by ships being crippled or lost in battle.
If more attack craft remain in play than there are available launch bays, the owning player may not launch any ordnance that turn. However, ordnance in play may be “recalled” by immediately removing it from play in order to launch new markers from the ship’s stem, if it has successfully reloaded ordnance. Attack craft recalled in this manner must be removed immediately and not expended on other targets, including enemy ordnance. This prevents a carrier from attacking a target to expend its attack craft in play and then launching a new attack craft wave in a single turn. This rule does not apply to torpedoes, which do not run out and do not have launch limits.
Special Order: Reload Ordnance¶
Ordnance needs to be loaded and armed in order to be launched. Ships are considered to start the game with torpedoes in tubes and attack craft fuelled and ready to go.
However, once the ship has launched its ordnance it must use the Reload Ordnance special order before it can launch ordnance again. If the ordnance is successfully reloaded and it may launch ordnance in the Shooting Phase, or keep the ordnance ready for launch in a later turn. Use the fleet roster to keep track of which vessels have ordnance loaded.
Moving Ordnance¶
In the Ordnance Phase players move and attack with any ordnance they have launched including ordnance launched on previous turns. Sometimes both players will have to move ordnance so it’s important to know who moves first. In this case the player whose turn it is moves all their ordnance first.
All ordnance has a speed value that dictates how far it moves during each Ordnance Phase. Ordnance attacks are represented by markers which are moved on the tabletop. Ordnance markers in a wave or salvo must be spread in contact with each other and cannot be stacked.
Ordnance and Blast Markers¶
Ordnance weapons are not shielded like larger ships, so they may be destroyed if they pass through Blast Markers. If an Ordnance marker passes through Blast Markers during its movement, roll a D6. The Ordnance marker is removed from play on a roll of 6. Ordnance attacking ships with Blast Markers in base contact must also pass this test, as the ship’s base is under the effect of the Blast Marker touching its base (as described earlier). Only one roll is made regardless of the number of Blast Markers passed through. Ordnance waves or salvoes only need to make this test once per movement, regardless of the number of Blast Markers moved through.
Shooting at Ordnance¶
Ordnance may be fired at in the Shooting Phase with direct fire weapons. A ship firing at ordnance does not have to make a leadership check to ignore closer targets, nor does it have to make a leadership check to ignore enemy ordnance if it is the closest target. It must still make a leadership check to split its fire between ordnance targets, just as it would have to split fire normally. It also must make a leadership check to fire on an enemy ordnance marker, wave or salvo if it is not the closest enemy ordnance marker in range.
Weapon batteries firing at ordnance use the Ordnance column on the Gunnery table. This is because ordnance targets are relatively small and fast moving. Target aspects are not taken into account, but column shifts for range and Blast Markers do apply. Lances and weapons batteries both need 6s to hit ordnance because they are such difficult targets. If an Ordnance marker is hit it is removed from play. Any Ordnance markers caught in a nova cannon detonation are also removed from play.
Ordnance Attacks¶
If an Ordnance marker comes into contact with a ship's base or another Ordnance marker the effect is resolved immediately, including in the Movement Phase when a ship moves into enemy ordnance.
All Ordnance attacks ignore the target's shields.
Ordnance markers must always attack the first ordnance or vessels they come in contact with (when applicable). They are not required to attack the closest target.
For example, a fighter squadron marker may not ignore a small torpedo salvo it is actually in contact with to attack a larger one nearby, or an attack craft wave may not ignore an escort it is in contact with to attack a nearby cruiser. This also allows small torpedo salvoes from escorts to be used to clear the way of enemy fighters in the Ordnance Phase so that larger salvoes can get through, etc.
If two ships with the same base size are so aligned that they for all intents and purposes are occupying the same 2D position on the table when they are attacked by ordnance, the attacking player can pick which ship he or she is attacking. Put simply, if there is no way to visually identify which of two stacked or overlapping ships is actually closer to attacking ordnance, the attacker decides which target is being attacked.
Types of Ordnance¶
Torpedoes¶
The term ‘torpedo’ has always been used to describe any long-range missile carried by a spaceship. A typical anti-ship torpedo is over 200 feet long and powered by a plasma reactor, which also acts as a sizeable portion of its warhead, turning it into a devastating plasma bomb. The area of a ship given over to the torpedo tubes is a massive space crisscrossed by lifts, hoists and gantry cranes for moving the huge missiles from the armoured magazine silos where they are stored to the launch tubes.
Once a torpedo is launched, the plasma drive propels the torpedo forward at high speed, whilst beginning an energy build-up which will culminate in its detonation. Torpedoes have a limited ability to detect a target and will alter course to intercept if they pass within a few thousand kilometres of a vessel.
Torpedo Rules¶
Torpedoes may be launched by a ship with torpedo tubes. These are normally fitted to the prow of a ship. In Battlefleet Gothic, torpedo salvoes have a Strength value and a Speed value, which are shown on the ship’s characteristics. The higher the Strength, the more torpedoes there are in a salvo. The higher the speed, the faster the torpedoes travel.
A torpedo salvo (regardless of strength) is represented with a the original Strength 3 marker with one or more D6 indicating the actual salvo strength. For specific dimensions, this marker should be no more than 2.5 cm wide.
Place the torpedo marker at the end of its movement in the turn of launch so that it is completely within the correct fire arc. Now retrace the markers movement, reducing its strength and conducting ordnance interactions as appropriate to prevent targeting vessels out of fire arc due to proximity, etc.
Standard torpedoes move in a straight line once they have been launched, travelling a distance equal to their speed each Ordnance Phase until they have detonated or leave the playing area. Unlike ships, torpedoes may not vary their speed and must make their full move in each Ordnance Phase.
If the Torpedo marker contacts a ship’s base (friend or foe) it attacks. Roll a D6 for every point of Strength in the torpedo salvo. Each dice which equals or beats the ship’s Armour value scores one point of damage. Torpedoes will pass through shields before they impact, so ignore any shields when applying damage. The torpedo salvo continues moving after the attack but its Strength is reduced by 1 for every hit it inflicted. Torpedoes that can re-roll misses must do so, even if the target is already destroyed.
In the diagram above, a Strength 6 torpedo salvo moves in the Ordnance Phase and hits a ship. 6D6 are rolled to attack and three dice score hits on the target. The salvo is reduced to Strength 3 and continues moving up to its full move of 30 cm. If any other ships were in its path they would also be attacked.
Premature detonation¶
An entire salvo of torpedoes can be triggered prematurely by the following circumstances:
- On a D6 roll of 6 if it moves through any Blast Markers.
- If the salvo is fired on by direct fire weapons and any hits are scored.
- If it comes into contact with another Torpedo or Fighter marker.
If a Torpedo marker is prematurely detonated it is removed from play. No torpedo marker can attack a target more than once per full turn, even if they are already in contact with it at the start of the Movement or Ordnance Phase. For example, a torpedo marker is launched toward a battleship with a large base, ending its movement just inside base contact with the battleship. The attack is resolved immediately, with turrets rolled and hits allocated. While any surviving markers remain in play, they do not once again attack the same ship at the beginning of that ship’s Movement Phase, and that ship is allowed to assume the torpedoes have flown off behind it and move off the torpedo marker. The marker will however immediately attack any other ship that comes in contact with it, even if the other ship is moved before the ship that was attacked originally.
When launching torpedoes, the torpedo marker will technically be in all arcs and may be in multiple arcs until its final position this movement, especially when targeting ships in close proximity. However, it may not interact with anything out of the torpedoes’ actual firing arc, no matter how close the target vessel is to the shooting vessel.
When moving a torpedo salvo the centre must always be in the same point along the line of fire.
When launched, torpedoes do not normally ignore any targets in front of them, including friendly units! However, a ship that is actually in base contact with another friendly vessel may “shoot through” the friendly ship’s base, even if they are not in a squadron. Ships not in a squadron cannot use this effect to combine torpedo salvoes in any way and must always launch torpedoes separately.
Torpedoes that have an automatic re-roll to hit MUST use their re-roll to hit a target, even if that target was already destroyed by other hits generated in the same salvo.
Splitting Torpedo Salvoes¶
Single ships capable of launching six or less torpedoes cannot split torpedo salvoes at all. Single ships capable of launching salvoes larger than six may split their salvoes in two, representing them with two separate markers. If this option is taken, the salvoes must go in different directions (no double attacks on the same target or in the same direction), and no single salvo can contain less than three torpedoes. Squadrons of capital ships or escorts are not obligated to fire their torpedoes in a single salvo. Torpedoes do not normally ignore hulks in their line of movement. Boarding torpedoes may do so if desired, and guided torpedoes may be steered away from them but will still attack if they make contact.
Turning Torpedoes¶
When turning torpedoes (that are allowed to do so), turn from the centre of the marker at the beginning of the Ordnance Phase. Under no circumstances can torpedoes turn in the same Ordnance Phase they were launched. This means they can only be launched in the same arc normal torpedoes would be. If a salvo turns, it must be turned so that no edge moves more than the salvo’s maximum speed in any way. This also means the side facing the inside edge of the turn may end up moving less than the maximum allowed distance.
Boarding Torpedoes¶
Boarding torpedoes are designed to punch through the outer hull of an enemy vessel and plunge a squad of heavily armed troops inside to sabotage the target ship’s systems.
Boarding torpedoes are launched like ordinary torpedoes and ships that can carry them are noted in the fleet lists. It is not possible to launch ordinary torpedoes and boarding torpedoes from a ship in the same turn. Unlike ordinary torpedoes, boarding torpedoes can make a single 45° turn at the start of every Ordnance Phase, measured from the centre of the marker.
They cannot turn 45° in the same turn they are launched. They may elect to ignore hulks.
If boarding torpedoes move into contact with a ship’s base, they attack just like ordinary torpedoes (roll for turrets and to hit). Each one that hits makes a Hit-and-Run attack in the Ordnance Phase rather than inflicting a point of damage. Hit-and-Run attacks are discussed in the End Phase section.
When boarding torpedoes come in contact with any other torpedoes except other friendly boarding torpedoes, they will be removed as normal.
Boarding torpedoes do not attack friendly ships (including hulks) they come in contact with, nor are they removed by friendly fighters in contact.
Attack Craft¶
Attack craft are launched from a ship’s launch bays and may include any mix of fighters, bombers or assault boats. In combat, they are launched to assist their mother ship or make long range strikes against the enemy.
Attack craft vary in size from sleek one-man fighters to lumbering heavy bombers. Attack craft make difficult targets for warships: their small size and high speed enables them to evade the worst fire. However, all attack craft have an extremely limited endurance and can only operate away from their mothership for a short time before they must return to rearm and refuel.
Attack craft are represented by 20 mm square markers.
Attack Craft Rules¶
Attack craft are launched from a ship’s launch bays and may include fighters, bombers or assault boats. Launch bays are rated by the number of squadrons they can launch at once, for example a Dictator class cruiser with four bays can launch four squadrons. Each squadron is represented by a single marker.
At the time of launch, the player may select which attack craft to use from amongst those available to his ship. The launch could include fighters and bombers, or be made exclusively of one type. Each type is represented by a different marker.
Unlike torpedoes, attack craft can turn freely and move in any direction, up to the distance indicated by their speed on the ship’s profile.
Any attack craft that come into contact with enemy Ordnance markers or ships, or Fighters coming in contact with any torpedo marker, must attack as explained in their relevant sections that follow. They are assumed to be able to avoid or ignore closer targets or obstructions unless the course of their movement unavoidably brings them in contact, such as Blast Markers, other ordnance or celestial phenomena.
Attack craft can ignore any targets they are not actually in contact with, but they cannot “fly through” enemy ship bases to attack a desired target behind them. However, attack craft can choose to target vessels with small bases “hiding” inside the footprint of a large ship base as long as the attack craft actually have the range to reach the smaller base (this is the only manner in which attack craft may ignore the first ship’s base they come in contact with). Torpedoes still behave normally and cannot select targets in this manner (this includes boarding torpedoes or any other “special” torpedo type). Ships with bases stacked in this manner may mass turrets against ordnance as described in the relevant section.
When attacking ships, an assault boat or bomber wave that destroys a ship expends the entire wave to do so and is removed, even if individual markers have not yet rolled their attacks.
Turrets¶
Ordnance Defences¶
Most fighting ships mount numerous weapon systems and turrets for shooting down torpedoes and attack craft during their final attack run. A ship’s main armament is simply too huge and slow to track ordnance at such close ranges. However turrets will fire immediately when Ordnance touches the ship’s base.
Vs Torpedo salvoes: Roll a D6 for each turret: each dice that scores a 4, 5 or 6 reduces the salvo’s strength by 1.
Vs Attack craft squadrons: Roll a D6 for each turret: each dice that scores a 4, 5 or 6 destroys one squadron.
A ship’s turrets can fire against every torpedo salvo that attacks it in an Ordnance Phase. Alternatively the turrets may fire at every attack craft wave that attacks it in an Ordnance Phase. Note that turrets can be used to defend against torpedoes or attack craft but not both in the same phase. This makes it possible to overwhelm a target with combined attacks.
Massing turrets¶
Ships in base contact may mass turrets together, each increasing the turret strength of a ship under attack by 1. Regardless of how many ships are in base contact with each other, no single ship can mass turrets with more than three others, providing a maximum of +3 dice when rolling turrets. The ships that mass turrets with a ship under attack take on the same ordnance restrictions as the ship under attack, such as using turrets to defend against either attack craft or torpedoes (not both) in a given Ordnance Phase. Only the ship actually being attacked can apply its own turret value as a negative modifier to bomber attack dice rolls. Ships that are braced can mass turrets and have turrets from other ships massed to defend it. Ships that are crippled cannot mass turrets but can have turrets from other ships massed to defend it.
A ship with 0 turret strength (such as Eldar or hulked vessels) cannot offer a bonus to massed turrets, but may itself benefit from massed turrets from a ship with turret strength 1 or more. This applies both to ships desiring to defend a friendly hulk or a fleet defending an allied Eldar vessel.
No more than one ship can be moved at a time for any reason; ships will only be able to benefit from massed turrets after or before the Movement Phase is complete but not during. This does not affect how and in what order ships escorted by CAP are moved. An extremely unusual circumstance may occur where a ship extremely near to but not actually touching an enemy ordnance marker has a friendly ship move in base contact with it while it simultaneously contacts the ordnance marker. In this and ONLY this case can it then mass turrets while moving!
Fighters¶
Fighters are small, fast and extremely agile. They are only armed with weapons suitable for destroying ordnance, including other attack craft. In combat, the fighter’s job is to intercept enemy ordnance and protect the vulnerable bombers and assault craft on their way to and from their target.
Fighter Rules¶
Fighter attacks have the following effects when they come into contact:
Vs Ordnance Markers: The defenders are scattered or destroyed in the fighting. The victorious fighters return to their mother ship for rearming and refuelling. Remove both the defending and attacking markers from play. Fighters must always interact with ordnance they come in contact with for any reason. This includes attack craft that behave as fighters but fulfil other roles, such as Space Marine Thunderhawks or Ork fighta-bommas. Fighters ignore friendly ordnance, but will destroy any torpedoes, unless otherwise noted (e.g. friendly boarding torpedoes).
Vs Ships. The fighter squadron’s puny weapons make no impression on the ship at all, but they steer clear of the ship’s turret defences. Leave the Squadron marker in play. Fighters in base contact with friendly ships may move with them to screen against enemy ordnance. If they do so, they go on Combat Air Patrol.
Combat air Patrol (CAP)¶
Fighters in base contact with friendly ships may elect to screen them against enemy ordnance. If they choose to do so, they go on Combat Air Patrol (CAP).
One or more fighter markers on CAP move with its ship in the Movement Phase (thus remaining in base contact), but it may NOT then move in the Ordnance Phase. In other words, no double moves. Fighters on CAP then stay on CAP for that turn unless removed. If when doing so they move farther than the attack craft can move normally in a single Ordnance Phase (such as 20 cm Thunderhawks escorting a Cobra that moves 30 cm), they then cannot move in the opposing player’s Ordnance Phase as well, though they are still capable of defending the ship they are in base contact with normally.
An ordnance marker or wave is considered to move with the ship it is escorting and will protect the ship against enemy ordnance it encounters even in the midst of the ship’s movement.
Multiple fighters on CAP in base contact with a single ship function as independent markers in all respects and are not a wave. When encountering Blast Markers, roll once per squadron marker. This includes if the ship is subsequently destroyed, at which time the fighter markers roll separately against the effects of the explosion. Any markers that survive subsequently act as separate ordnance markers and may move again in the subsequent Ordnance Phase.
Only fighters and ordnance markers that behave as fighters can be used as CAP. Bombers and attack craft cannot be used as CAP to protect against ramming or Hit-and-Run attacks by other ships the escorted ship encounters in its own Movement Phase. For example, a bomber can’t be placed on CAP to escort a cruiser so that it immediately makes attacks upon an enemy ship the cruiser moves in base contact with. This includes resilient bombers such as Mantas.
Multi-role ordnance markers that can still act as fighters on CAP are capable of attacking ships (such as Fighta-Bommas and Thunderhawks) can only attack ships during the Ordnance Phase unless an attacking ship moves into contact with them during the enemy’s Movement Phase. They may not otherwise attack a ship until they leave CAP first. See the following two examples:
An Ork Terror Ship with two fighta-bommas in base contact serving as CAP rams and/ or boards an Imperial cruiser. The fightabommas it dragged along in the course of its movement do not automatically attack the Imperial cruiser as well but must wait until the Ordnance Phase, and even then may only do so if the attacking ship ends its movement in base contact with the target vessel because attack craft that escort a ship in the Movement Phase cannot also move in the Ordnance Phase. If engaged in a boarding action and the Terror Ship ends its movement in base contact with the Imperial cruiser, the fighta-bommas may attack it in the Ordnance Phase before the boarding action takes place in the End Phase.
An Imperial cruiser rams and/or boards an Ork Terror Ship that has two fighta-bommas in base contact serving as CAP. In this case the Imperial cruiser must follow all rules for moving in contact with enemy ordnance. After resolving the ram attack (if successful), the fighta-bommas immediately attack the Imperial cruiser and are removed. If engaged in a boarding action and the Imperial cruiser ends its movement in base contact with the Terror Ship, the fighta-bommas still resolve their attack immediately, before the boarding action takes place in the End Phase.
Note: The same example would apply for other multi-role attack craft that behave as fighters on CAP, such as Thunderhawks. Note that because the markers are not in a wave, if a ship is destroyed by markers in CAP, no further markers are lost to attacking the destroyed ship.
Fighters and attack craft that behave as fighters can, at any time in their normal movement, be placed on a friendly ship as CAP. However, only these types of attack craft can behave as CAP. Fightertype attack craft must be split from attack craft in a mixed wave of ordnance that don’t have the fighter rule before they can subsequently serve as CAP.
There are only two situations where fighters can leave CAP excluding their destruction.
-
At the beginning of the owning player’s Movement Phase.
-
During the owning player’s part of their opponent’s Ordnance Phase. Note: If the attack craft on CAP is resilient, it still moves with the ship even if it has made a save.
Fighters on CAP and Other Friendly Attack Craft: It is possible to defend friendly attack craft by putting them within the perimeter of a ship’s base that has fighters on CAP. Note: If enemy fighters intercept attack craft that are ‘hiding’ on a ship’s base in this manner, they will not be repelled by turrets.
Fighters on CAP don’t attack torpedoes or mines being launched from a friendly ship it is protecting or from friendly ships in base contact including when launching a massed torpedo salvo. However, they will defend against torpedoes and enemy mines in any other instance.
Resilient attack craft such as Manta bombers and Thunderhawks that end their movement in base contact with a ship escorted by CAP (meaning they are already in base contact with a ship when stopped by the fighter), use their 4+ save to survive the attack and subsequently survive against turrets may no longer move or attack other ordnance markers. However, they may complete their attack run against the target vessel normally as long as they do not have to move any more to do so. For example, two Mantas attack an Ork Terror Ship with a fighta-bomma in base contact serving as CAP.
Turret Suppression¶
Each fighter in a wave of bombers actually attacking a ship will add +1 attack to the total attack run of the wave, regardless of whether they are shot down by turrets or not. The maximum number of bonus attacks that can be added in this way cannot exceed the number of surviving bombers in the wave. There must be at least one surviving bomber in the wave after turret fire to gain these bonus attacks, and fighters are removed before any other type of ordnance. Fighters that never made it because they were intercepted by defending fighters (even those on CAP) don’t add to this suppression bonus. See the following examples:
An Emperor battleship (foolishly) launches a single wave of three bombers and five fighters against a Devastation cruiser with three turrets and no CAP. The Devastation’s turrets roll 4, 5, 6 to knock down three fighters. The three bombers now each roll 1D6-3 (minimum zero) attacks regardless of whether or not any of the fighters survived against turrets. Now only three of the five fighters that escorted the bombers provide an additional +1 attack because there are only three bombers in the wave, for a single total addition of +3 attacks.
An Emperor battleship launches a single wave of four bombers and four fighters against a Devastation cruiser with three turrets and no CAP. The Devastation’s turrets roll 4, 5, 6 to knock down three fighters. The four bombers now each roll 1D6-3 (minimum zero) attacks regardless of whether or not any of the fighters survived against turrets. Now all four of the fighters that escorted the bombers provide an additional +1 attack because there are four bombers in the wave, for a single total addition of +4 attacks.
Bombers¶
Bombers are slower, heavier craft with destructive anti-ship weapons. Though vulnerable to enemy fighters, bombers can be a serious threat to ships.
Bomber Rules¶
Bomber attacks have the following effects when they move into contact:
Vs Enemy Fighters: The fighters quickly eliminate the lumbering bombers before returning to their mother ship for rearming and refuelling. Remove the defending and attacking markers from play.
Vs Other Ordnance Markers: The bombers succeed in getting out of the way but nothing more. Leave both markers in play. These include bombers with a 4+ save.
Vs Enemy Ships: The bombers make an attack run on the ship. Make D6 rolls to hit against the ship’s lowest Armour value for each attacking bomber squadron. The number of attacks the squadron makes reduces by one for each turret on the ship. Remove the Squadron markers once the attack has been made.
Turrets always reduce bomber attack runs, even if they have been used to defend against torpedoes and thus cannot be used against attack craft.
Ships massing turrets with the one under attack do not affect this number.
For example, a wave of two bomber squadrons attack a Murder class cruiser that has two turrets. The cruiser gets two dice rolls to shoot at the incoming bombers with, and any that survive will make D6-2 attacks and then be removed from play.
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.
Launching¶
Torpedo bomber squadrons are launched just like other attack craft squadrons, they are simply differently armed. Torpedo bombers 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.
Assault Boats¶
Assault boats are designed to clamp on to a target vessel and breach its outer hull, allowing squads of elite warriors to storm on board. Once aboard, the boarders plant demolition charges, massacre the crew, poison the air and generally cause as much damage as possible before retreating.
Assault Boat Rules¶
Assault boat attacks have the following effects when they move into contact:
Vs Enemy Fighters: The fighters overwhelm the assault boats and then return to their mother ship for rearming and refuelling. Remove both the defending and attacking markers from play.
Vs Other Ordnance Markers: The assault boats simply manoeuvre around the enemy ordnance. Leave both markers in play.
Vs Enemy Ships: The assault boats make an attack run on the ship. Immediately conduct a Hit-and-Run raid against the ship for each assault boat squadron. Hit-and-Run raids are detailed in the End Phase section. After the attack the assault boats return to their ship to be reloaded with troops and refuelled. Remove the Squadron marker from play when the attack is made in the End Phase.
Launching Waves Of Attack Craft¶
When a ship launches its attack craft squadrons it can despatch them as individual squadrons or combine them into waves of squadrons. Regardless of the choice, attack craft interactions are always resolved marker to marker.
To show a wave place the Attack Craft markers so they’re touching (they cannot be stacked) and keep them together as they move. If a wave contains attack craft moving at different speeds, they move at the speed of the slowest.
Attack craft waves must be assembled into the smallest circumference possible, such as a block of four, two rows of three, etc. For example, a single wave of eight ordnance markers cannot be stretched out into a single-file line eight markers long.
If enemy fighters/turrets attack a wave they must remove any fighter squadrons before moving onto the bigger ships. You can use this rule to put your wave together so that it contains fighters who will defend the vulnerable bombers or assault boats, sacrificing themselves to save the bigger vessels.
Waves of attack craft can split up during their move if you wish. However, once squadrons have split up they may not recombine into waves. A wave may only be formed when the craft are launched from their mother ship.
The greatest benefit of attacking in a wave is that a defending ship’s turrets only fire once at the whole wave, so there is a better chance of the ships in the wave surviving the defences than individual squadrons have. On the downside, if a wave of attack craft is hit by direct-fire weapons (such as gunnery, lances or Nova Cannons) the whole wave is destroyed. Likewise, if the wave rolls a 6 while moving through Blast Markers, the entire wave is removed. An entire wave is removed after attacking a ship, even if the target is destroyed before all ordnance markers complete their attacks.
Resilient Attack Craft¶
Some attack craft such as Thunderhawks or Eldar fighters are “resilient”, meaning they have a 4+ save against other ordnance.
They can only attempt this save once per Ordnance Phase, regardless of attacking or being attacked.
If they roll a 4+ to remain in play, they have to stop movement where the ordnance interaction took place and cannot move further for that Ordnance Phase, and they lose their 4+ save for the rest of that phase as well (or Movement Phase if save is made while in CAP). In all cases, resilient attack craft that fail to make their save are immediately removed.
Ordnance that use this save and end their movement in contact with an enemy vessel may attack it normally. Resilient attack craft that behave as fighters must always do so when in contact with other ordnance, even if they may serve another function as well, such as Thunderhawks.
Attack craft that do not function as fighters but have a save against fighter attacks, such as Tau Manta bombers, ignore any other type of ordnance except fighters in the same manner other bombers or assault boats do.
Multiple attacks¶
Any second interaction in the same Ordnance Phase such as attacking multiple markers in the same phase will cause the marker to be automatically removed, as normal fighters would be were they not resilient. The attacking player always decides the order of the ordnance interaction.
For example, if two Thunderhawks move in contact with two Chaos Swiftdeath fighters, the Space Marine player decides in which order the ordnance interacts. He can decide Thunderhawk #1 removes one fighter, makes its 4+ save and remains in play, then decide Thunderhawk #1 removes the second Swiftdeath, in which case Thunderhawk #1 is automatically removed but Thunderhawk #2 remains in play without using its save and can thus move full distance. Conversely, the Space Marine player may decide to engage the Swiftdeaths one apiece, in which case both Thunderhawks remain in play if they both make their saves, but both expend their saves for that Ordnance Phase in the process. In this case, both Thunderhawks end their movement where they came in contact with the Swiftdeaths and may not continue to move full distance.
Opposing resilient ordnance¶
If two markers that both have a 4+ save attack each other and both remain in play by successfully rolling their saves, they stop movement and remain in contact until the next turn’s Ordnance Phase. However, if any marker that saves is attacked again in the same phase, it (along with the marker that attacked it) is automatically removed.
Resilient saves in attack craft waves¶
If a wave containing resilient attack craft attacks or is attacked and a save is made, ordnance markers that make saves may no longer move. However it may be split from the wave to allow the rest of the wave to continue its movement. Attack craft in the wave that were not attacked (and thus didn’t use their 4+ save) complete their movement normally.
For example, instead of ignoring it, a wave of four Thunderhawks in the course of their movement attacks a single Ork Fightabomma not in base contact with a ship (rules for attacking ships with fighters on CAP remain unchanged). One Thunderhawk attacks the fighta-bomma, removing it. If it rolls its 4+ save it may remain in play, but it must stop where it made contact with the fighta-bomma and not move until the next Ordnance Phase. The remainder of the Thunderhawk wave may continue to move its full distance. In essence, the Thunderhawk marker that engaged the fighta-bomma peeled off the wave to engage it while the rest of the wave continued on to its target.