The Shooting Phase¶
In the Shooting Phase, your ships get to unleash their weaponry against the enemy. The attacks that ships make are divided into two sorts: direct firing and ordnance attacks. Direct fire attacks include weapons such as lasers, fusion beams and plasma launchers which when fired hit almost immediately, even across tens of thousands of kilometres. Ordnance attacks include torpedoes and fighters, which are launched during the Shooting Phase but are not resolved until they hit their target in a subsequent Ordnance Phase.
Direct Fire¶
Direct firing uses a ship’s weapons batteries, lances and nova cannon. A player can make direct fire attacks with each of his ships during his turn.
In order to make direct fire attacks, the firing ship must have at least some weapons within range and fire arc of the enemy. Once one ship has done all its firing, the player selects another and fires that one and so on until the player has fired all of the ships he wants to.
This can be summarised as:
- Choose a ship to fire.
- Check the ship has targets within range.
- Check the ship has weapons within fire arc of the target.
- Resolve firing.
- Choose another ship to fire.
Range¶
Measure the range from the firing ship to the target vessel. Then look up the range of the firing ship’s weapons on its characteristics: any weapons which are out of range may not fire. Because ships vary immensely in size and shape, we use the stems of the models’ bases as a pair of convenient centre points for checking range.
In the example above the Unclean is firing on the Agrippa. The Unclean is 34 cm away so its weapons batteries (range 45 cm) are within range.
Fire Arcs¶
Weapons have a limited field of fire depending on where they are mounted on the vessel. The different fire arcs are: front, left, right and rear.
A weapons system must have a target ship within its fire arc in order to fire.
The Unclean has the Agrippa in its right fire arc, so it may fire at it with any of its weapons which can be brought to bear in that arc.
Some weapon systems can shoot into more than one fire arc. For example, many cruisers have weaponry in a dorsal mount (i.e. along the top of the vessel) and dorsal mounts can fire left, front or right. Some weapons can even fire all round. Some special weapon systems are area-effect weapons that do not aim nor are directed at a particular target. These weapons or effects always affect all around the firing vessel.
When shooting and the line of fire is on the line in-between arcs, the shooting player chooses which arcs to use, whether it is the attacking or defending ship.
Target Priority¶
Enemies at close range pose a much greater threat than those thousands of kilometres away, so a ship will normally target the nearest enemy ship or squadron. However, a ship can always fire at whatever targets you like if it takes and passes a Leadership test on 2D6 first.
Multiple Targets¶
Normally a ship will be in a position where only some of its weapon systems can be brought to bear against the closest enemy. Unengaged weapons may still be fired at other targets, providing that the closest enemy is shot at as a matter of priority.
In the example above the Unclean may fire its left arc weaponry against the Iron Duke and its right arc weaponry against the Agrippa.
Direct Firing: Lances¶
Lances are incredibly high-powered energy weapons that are capable of burning straight through an armoured hull or cutting an escort ship in two. On Imperial and Chaos ships, lances are usually mounted in huge turrets with quad or triple energy projectors that focus into a concentrated beam of destruction.
Lance Rules¶
If a lance weapon system is within range and fire arc of the target simply roll 1D6 per point of lance Strength. Any dice which score a 4, 5 or 6 hit the target regardless of the target’s Armour value and cause 1 damage point. Ships with multiple lances in a given fire arc may split their weapon strength between targets but must still make a leadership check to fire on any target besides the closest.
For example, the Agrippa has lances that have a Strength of 2. If the vessel were to fire them, it would roll 2D6 and score one hit for each dice which rolled a 4 or more.
A target’s orientation depends upon which fire arc the firing vessel is in, as shown in the diagram. Match this with the target’s type to find out which column of the Gunnery table to use.
The Unclean opens fire with its starboard (right) weapons batteries. The weapons have a firepower of 10 and the Agrippa is a closing capital ship which on the Gunnery table means that the Unclean rolls 7D6. The Agrippa’s front armour rating is 6 so the Unclean needs to roll 6s to hit.
Direct Firing: Weapons Batteries¶
Weapons batteries form the main armament for most warships, ensuring that much of their hull is pock-marked by gun ports and weapon housings. Each battery consists of rank upon rank of weapons: plasma projectors, laser cannons, missile launchers, rail guns, fusion beamers and graviton pulsars. Weapons batteries fire by salvoes, using a coordinated pattern of shots to catch the target in the middle of a maelstrom of destruction.
Weapons Battery Rules¶
If a ship’s weapons battery is within range and fire arc of the target, look up the battery’s firepower on the ship’s data sheet. Then look up the target’s type and orientation on the Gunnery table that follows.
If a ship or squadron is firing multiple weapons that rely on the gunnery, they may be fired simultaneously. Calculate the dice on the gunnery table separately
for each type of gunnery weapon. This means you do not suffer gunnery shifts due to Blast Markers caused by other members of the same squadron in the same Shooting Phase. The order in which these weapons hit is up to the shooting player, so Bombardment Cannons can hit after weapons batteries have taken down shields for instance, or vice versa if desired.
Find your total firepower on the column on the left of the table. Next look across the top of the table to find the target type you are shooting at.
The target’s orientation is worked out by tracing the line of fire to its base and using the bearing compass to see which aspect is facing the firer.
Which way the target is travelling is important for gunnery purposes as it is much harder to hit a target moving across your sights (i.e. abeam) than one closing or moving away from you.
By cross referencing the total firepower of the attack with the target type and orientation you will find out how many dice to roll to hit. Each dice roll which equals or beats the target’s Armour value scores a hit and inflicts 1 point of damage.
Any battery weapon that always counts targets as closing on the gunnery table still uses the far left column when targeting defences, applying any modifiers as applicable.
If a combination of ships in a squadron has a firepower value greater than 20, look up 20 and the remaining firepower values separately and add them together. For example, a squadron of two Carnages can have up to firepower 32 in one broadside, or firepower (20+12).
Gunnery Modifiers¶
Sometimes conditions will affect how difficult a target is to hit. Ships at very long range will be hard to hit and at close range they will be easy to hit. Debris, radiation, etc., can obscure a target and are represented by Blast Markers. These are described in more detail later, but for now it’s worth knowing that they can make a target harder to hit. Even weapon batteries that always count as closing can be affected by these modifiers.
Modifiers are applied in the form of column shifts. A good modifier (such as being at close range) means that you move across the Gunnery table one column to the left when you work out how many Hit dice to roll. A bad modifier (such as being at long range) means you move across one column to the right. No target aspect or modifier can adjust shooting beyond the far left or right columns on the gunnery table. The gunnery modifiers are summarised as follows:
Modifiers:¶
Target within 15 cm – shift one column left
Target more than 30 cm away – shift one column right
Target behind intervening Blast Markers – shift one column right
For example, as shown earlier, the Unclean firing at the Agrippa rolls 7D6. If the Agrippa were within 15 cm you would shift one column left on the Gunnery table and the Unclean would roll 9D6 instead. If the Agrippa was over 30 cm away the column shift to the right would mean the Unclean rolled 5D6 instead.
Gunnery Table¶
| CLOSING | CAPITAL SHIPS | ESCORTS | ||||
| MOVING AWAY | CAPITAL SHIPS | ESCORTS | ||||
| ABEAM | CAPITAL SHIPS | ESCORTS | ||||
| SPECIAL* | DEFENCES | ORDNANCE | ||||
| Firepower | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
| 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |
| 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | |
| 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| 12 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| 13 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | |
| 14 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | |
| 15 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 16 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 | |
| 17 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | |
| 18 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 4 | |
| 19 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | |
| 20 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 4 | |
Notes: To save space, both cruisers and battleships are referred to as capital ships on the Gunnery table. If a squadron has a firepower value greater than 20, look up 20 and the remaining value separately and add them together. For example, a squadron of two Carnage cruisers can have up to firepower 32 in one broadside, or firepower (20+12).
*Defences (for example ground based defences and satellites) and ordnance targets are not affected by orientation. A ship must move at least 5 cm to not be targeted as defences.
Splitting Fire¶
A ship can elect to split the firepower of its weapon batteries or lances between several enemy vessels, but only after halving the effect of the weaponry as a result of special orders, crippling damage and so on.
You cannot split weapons battery or lance fire of any type at a single target!
Ships with multiple weapons in a given fire arc may split their weapon strength between two or more targets but must still make a leadership check to fire on any target besides the closest.
Special Order: Lock On¶
A ship can increase the accuracy of its firing by using the Lock On special order. The ship may re-roll any dice to hit for lances and weapons batteries, during the Shooting Phase. Any dice which missed are simply picked up and rolled again. A ship using Lock On orders may not turn during its Movement Phase because it must maintain a steady course and direct additional power to its weapon systems. Lock On orders are really useful when an enemy vessel is within range and no course changes will be needed to bring weapons to bear. See pg. 46 for all effects.
Nova Cannon¶
A nova cannon is a huge weapon, normally mounted in the prow of a ship so that the recoil it generates can be compensated for by the vessel’s engines. It fires a projectile at incredible velocity, using graviometric impellers to accelerate it to close to light speed. The projectile implodes at a preset distance after firing, unleashing a force more potent than a dozen plasma bombs.
Nova Cannon Rules¶
The correct dimensions of the Nova Cannon template are a 5 cm outer diameter with the hole’s diameter at 1.2 cm. The Nova Cannon template’s dimensions can be found on Games Workshop’s small green blast template where the perimeter is marked with a 2; this does not include the width of the line. Use the larger hole in the centre of the template if there are two sizes.
When firing, the template is placed anywhere desired so that its edge is between 30-150 cm from the firing vessel in its specified firing arc.
It does not have to be centred on a single enemy vessel and can be placed so that it touches more than one ship.
When the template is placed, check the range. If placed within 45 cm, roll a scatter die and 1D6. Roll 2D6 if the range is between 45 cm to 60 cm, and 3D6 if the range is beyond 60 cm. Move the template a number of cm rolled by the dice in the direction of the scatter die roll. If the scatter die rolls a “hit”, the template remains where placed.
After the attacking player designates which target is being fired on, the defending player must decide whether or not to brace ships or squadrons BEFORE the weapon is fired. This includes targets the weapon may hit due to miss distance or scatter.
Any target that is in base contact of the template after it is moved takes one hit. Any target in base contact of the centre hole of the template takes D6 hits, regardless of its Armour value. Any ordnance touching the template is automatically removed. Replace the template with a single Blast Marker if it does not contact a target after being moved.
In the diagram above the Steadfast, a Dominator class cruiser, fires its nova cannon at the Abominator, at a range of 48 cm. The hole in the nova cannon template partially covers the Abominator’s base, inflicting D6 hits on it. The nearby Doombringer is also caught in the blast and suffers one automatic hit.
Important Note:¶
The Nova Cannon is a line of sight weapon and cannot fire through obstacles or celestial phenomena that act as normal line of sight obstructions, such as planets, moons, asteroid fields, etc. If desired however, these can nonetheless be fired upon. If a direct hit is scored on the scatter dice, place D6 Blast Markers in contact with the planet or asteroid field edge.
Nova Cannon are unaffected in any way by Lock On or Reload Ordnance special orders.
Nova Cannon vs. Holofield¶
Holofields and similar systems save against the shell hit, not the subsequent damage rolls. For example, if an Eldar vessel is hit by a Nova Cannon round and fails to save, it must immediately take as many hits as the damage roll allocates unless it successfully braced beforehand.
Holofield saves are taken against a direct hit from a Nova Cannon where the hole is over the base as well as against the single automatic hit for coming in base contact with the blast template. If this save is successful the effect of the Nova Cannon is negated, and a Blast Marker is placed normally for the save. Being braced saves against any damage taken normally.
Area Effects And Special Weapons¶
Some weapon systems such as the Necron Nightmare Field and Star Pulse Generator are area-effect weapons that do not aim nor are directed at a particular target. Such weapons or effects are not blocked by line of sight obstructions such as hulks, minefields or celestial phenomena, nor can they be saved against by holofields. See pg. 70 for more on catastrophic damage and exploding ships.
Chaos Marks that affect nearby ships based on area as well as catastrophic events such as Warp Drive implosions, Solar Flares, etc. are also not affected by celestial phenomena and other such line-of-sight obstructions. See pg. 110 concerning asteroid fields.
Exterminatus vessels used in scenarios that require them normally replace their standard prow weapon with an Exterminatus one. Vessels that do not normally have prow weapons (such as Vengeance grand cruisers) cannot be used as Exterminatus vessels.
Armageddon Gun and Holofields: Holofield saves are taken against a direct hit from the Armageddon Gun where the hole is over the base as well as against the single automatic hit for coming in base contact with the blast template. If this save is successful the effect of the Armageddon Gun is negated, and a Blast Marker is placed normally for the save. Being braced saves against any damage taken normally.
Special Order: All Ahead Full / Burn Retros / Come To New Heading¶
A ship using All Ahead Full, Burn Retros or Come To New Heading special orders sacrifices firing opportunities in order to squeeze more performance out of its engines. In the Shooting Phase, ships on these orders halve their weapons batteries’ Firepower and lance Strength, rounding up. Nova cannon may not be fired at all. Ordnance is unaffected. See pg. 46 for all effects
Damage¶
The weapons carried by some ships are powerful enough to reduce whole cities to plains of radioactive glass. Ships are armoured and shielded in order to resist their savage caress, hulls are heavily reinforced so that they can survive the horrific pounding of gigawatts of energy. But within every ship is a crew all too vulnerable to the fires of battle and the deadly cold of the void. Ships are often crippled by crew casualties long before hulls crack or drives explode.
Taking Hits¶
When a ship is damaged, note the number of hits it has taken on your fleet roster.
Once a ship has lost half its damage points it is crippled. When a ship has lost all its hits, it is out of action and a roll needs to be made on the Catastrophic Damage table to see if it explodes in a spectacular fashion or simply drifts helplessly.
Crippled Ships¶
A ship which loses half its damage points is crippled. Being crippled halves shields, turrets, ordnance, all weapons and affects boarding. This effect is cumulative if the ship is braced, meaning if a ship is both braced and crippled, its weapons and ordnance are halved (rounding up) again!
Crippled ships also reduce their move by 5 cm and will not be able to fire their nova cannon.
For example, a standard Lunar class cruiser has 8 hits and is therefore crippled when it has suffered 4 points of damage.
Special Order: Brace For Impact!¶
Brace For Impact! special orders can be undertaken ANY time a ship faces taking damage before the actual to-hit result is rolled, including when ramming or being rammed or against damage from asteroid fields. It may also be used to protect against critical damage from any kind of Hit-and-Run attack. A decision to brace for impact must be made before any attempt to shoot (rolling dice) by the opponent is made, including modifier rolls for variable weapons such as Ork Gunz. When being attacked by ordnance, the decision must be made before rolling turrets.
Brace For Impact! DOES NOT protect against critical damage caused by hits that were not saved against normally, nor any damage caused during a boarding action (including critical damage).
A ship is placed on Brace For Impact! orders until the end of its next turn, replacing any other special order it may be on currently. However, the special order previously in effect remains so, in that ships that reloaded ordnance are still reloaded, a ship or squadron moving All Ahead Full must continue to do so, etc. Ships and squadrons still cannot take special orders in the next turn.
A ship using Brace For Impact! orders gains a saving throw of 4+ on a D6 against actual damage taken by the ship itself, NOT hits absorbed by shields, reactive armour, holofields, etc.
A ship which uses this special order may not use special orders at all in its next turn and its Firepower, ordnance (this effect is cumulative if a capital ship is crippled) and armament Strength is halved, while Nova Cannons may not be fired at all. Turrets and shields are unaffected. Brace For Impact! only comes into effect against attacks whose Hit rolls are made after the special order has been declared. In other words, you cannot wait to see how accurate a salvo or Nova Cannon shot is before declaring Brace For Impact!
A ship that fails an attempt to Brace For Impact! cannot attempt to brace again until the ship, squadron, ordnance wave or other event causing damage to it completes its attacks, finishes causing damage, resolves its effects, etc. It can however again attempt to brace before the next ship, squadron or ordnance wave attacks it, it faces another potentially damaging event, etc.
Critical Hits¶
The weapons used in space are so destructive that when a ship is hit there is a chance that a vital location will be critically damaged. Critical hits can temporarily knock out a ship’s weapons and engines, start fires or even breach its hull.
Roll a D6 for each hit scored on a ship (but not against its shields). On a roll of 1-5 the hit causes no extra effects. On a roll of 6 the hit causes critical damage. Roll 2D6 on the table below to see what effect it has. Note that you do not roll for further critical hits for any damage caused by a critical hit.
Critical Hits on Escorts¶
Escort ships which suffer a critical hit for any reason, such as during a boarding action, are automatically destroyed.
Note: Whenever ships are damaged, there’s a good chance that it will be serious. Therefore a check for critical damage is made for every point of damage scored on a ship, no matter what its source is.
Critical hits that can be repaired are cumulative; meaning ships that take a multiple number of the same critical damage must repair all incidences of that critical damage before the system is fully operational.
A ship’s speed is only affected once by multiple Thrusters Damaged criticals. However, the number of times it takes effect are still cumulative, and all Thrusters Damaged criticals must be repaired for the ship to regain its normal speed.
Damage from multiple fire criticals is cumulative.
Example: if a ship had 3 fire criticals and failed to repair any of them in the End Phase, it would suffer 3 points of damage and all three fires would keep burning.
If a critical hit is rolled which cannot be applied, or multiple criticals are rolled for a location that cannot be repaired (such as Shields Collapse), apply the next highest critical hit instead. For example a ship with no dorsal weapons gets a Dorsal Armament Damaged critical hit. In this case the ship would suffer damage to its starboard armament.
Critical Hits Table¶
| 2D6 Roll | Extra Damage | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | +0 | Dorsal Armament Damaged: The ship’s dorsal armament is badly damaged by the hit – power lines are severed, traverse mechanisms crippled and many gunners are killed. The ship’s dorsal armament may not fire until it has been repaired. |
| 3 | +0 | Starboard Armament Damaged: The starboard armament is taken off line by the hit. The ship’s starboard armament (right) may not fire until it has been repaired. |
| 4 | +0 | Port Armament Damaged: Heavy damage silences the port side weaponry. The ship’s port armament (left) may not fire until it has been repaired. |
| 5 | +0 | Prow Armament Damaged: The ship’s prow is ripped open. Its prow armament may not fire until it has been repaired. |
| 6 | +1 | Engine Room Damaged: The engine room is rocked by explosions, forcing all hands to tend to the reactors. The ship may not make any turns until the damage is repaired. |
| 7 | +0 | Fire! Oxygen lines are broken, leading to fires in many compartments. Roll to repair (extinguish) the fire in the End Phase, if it is not put out it causes one point of extra damage and keeps burning. |
| 8 | +1 | Thrusters Damaged: The ship’s thruster assembly is disabled. Reduce the ship’s speedby 10 cm until the damage is repaired. |
| 9 | +0 | Bridge Smashed: The armoured fortress around the ship’s captain and his officers is smashed. The ship’s Leadership is reduced by 3. This damage may not be repaired. If this is the Fleet Commander's flagship, any remaining Fleet Commander re-rolls are lost for the remainder of the battle. |
| 10 | +0 | Shields Collapse: The shield generators overload and burn out, leaving the ship virtually defenceless. The ship’s shield Strength is reduced to zero. This damage may not be repaired. |
| 11 | +D3 | Hull Breach: A huge gash is torn in the ship’s hull, causing carnage among the crew. |
| 12 | +D6 | Bulkhead Collapse: Internal pillars buckle and twist, whole compartments crumple with a scream of tortured metal. Just pray that some of the ship holds together! |
Blast Markers¶
When ships are fired on, some of the results are shown by Blast Markers. Blast Markers represent all kinds of events – huge explosions, expanding shockwaves, intense radiation clouds, tumbling debris, unexploded warheads, plasma bursts, etc.
Placing Blast Markers¶
Blast Markers are shown on the tabletop by placing counters where the event occurs. They remain in play until they are removed in a subsequent End Phase. Most Blast Markers are placed to show the hits taken on a vessel’s shields as described later, but exploding ships and especially apocalyptic weapons can also cause Blast Markers to be placed. Blast Markers are placed in the following circumstances:
- For each hit absorbed by a ship’s shields.
- For ships which are reduced to 0 damage as specified on the Catastrophic Damage table.
- For each missed nova cannon attack.
Blast Markers that are caused by shield impacts, the first Blast Marker is placed directly in the line of fire from the shooting vessel, with subsequent Blast Markers fanning out around it. Blast Markers cannot be stacked unless there is physically no more room to place Blast Markers around a target’s base.
When a ship has multiple bases in contact when taking fire, the Blast Marker is placed between the base of the ship taking fire and the ship closest in the line of fire to the ship taking fire. In other words, a single round of shooting from a ship or squadron cannot place Blast Markers in base contact with more than one other vessel besides the vessel it is shooting at (for two in total) except in the following cases:
-
A ship with multiple shields (like a battleship) takes three or four Blast Markers that when fanned out normally contact more than one vessel in actual base contact (as opposed to “close to but not actually touching”). In other words, if a ship in base contact with the ship under fire comes in contact with Blast Markers being normally fanned around the base of the ship taking fire, then it comes in contact with a Blast Marker as well. When merely in base contact with the ship fired upon, the Blast Marker must physically touch the bases of the ships it is affecting in this manner.
-
Any and all ships with bases that are actually stacked or are in any way overlap on the base of a ship in contact with Blast Markers, which is different from mere base contact and is explained separately.
A ship in base contact with a Blast Marker means the whole base is affected. It counts as being in contact all around it and in every arc for purposes of leadership, movement, shooting, ordnance attacks, being boarded, or every other respect where Blast Markers have an effect. This includes if it ended its movement in contact with a Blast Marker for any reason. A vessel is considered to be moving through Blast Markers even if it is moving away from Blast Markers it is in contact with at the beginning of the Movement Phase, such as Blast Markers in its rear arc or in base contact due to a previous round of shooting.
When ships have stacked or overlapping bases, there is no limitation to the number of ship’s shields a Blast Marker can take down if one of them is in contact with Blast Markers. A ship overlapping a ship in contact with a Blast Marker also counts as being in contact with it. However, in situations where multiple ships are overlapping each other, this does not cascade to other vessels.
For example, Ship #2 overlaps on Ship #1, which has a Blast Marker in contact with it. Ship #3 overlaps on Ship #2 but not on Ship #1. Ship #2 counts as having a Blast Marker on it, but as long as the Blast Marker does not physically touch Ship #3, it does not count as being in contact with a Blast Marker.
Blast Markers placed in base contact with a ship that took fire do not affect ships near to but not actually in base contact with that ship. Place Blast Markers so they do not touch the bases of ships nearby but not actually in base contact. This is not a “counts as” rule; one cannot declare a ship is actually not in base contact if it is making physical contact.
If a ship moves into base contact with another ship that already has a Blast Marker but the blast maker does not touch its own base, it does not count as having a Blast Marker in contact as well. In other words, a ship in contact with a Blast Marker does not in and of itself count as being a Blast Marker for purposes of being in base contact with other ships.
Note that Blast Markers do not move once they have been placed on the tabletop. They show an area of tumultuous, strifetorn space and temporarily become part of the battlefield once they are in play.
In the example below, two Imperial cruisers are firing on a Chaos cruiser. Each Imperial ship scores one hit, so a Blast Marker is placed in contact with the edge of the Chaos cruiser’s base facing each of the Imperial ships.
Blast Marker Effects¶
Movement: A vessel is considered to be moving through Blast Markers even if it is moving away from Blast Markers it is in contact with at the beginning of the Movement Phase.
If a ship moves through any Blast Markers, it reduces its speed that phase by 5 cm regardless of the number of markers actually moved through. This affects each separate Movement Phase for Eldar vessels.
If a ship cannot elect to slow down (such as when on All Ahead Full special orders) and comes into contact with a Blast Marker within the last 5 cm of its movement, it must instead stop no farther than the point it comes in contact with the Blast Marker (and not before).
A ship with a Shield strength of 0 (i.e. Eldar or ships suffering the Shields Collapse critical) which moves through any Blast Markers also suffers a point of damage on a D6 roll of 6. This test only needs to be made once, regardless of how many Blast Markers they encounter in their movement.
Ships with shields overloaded by taking fire but are otherwise functional do not risk taking damage on a D6 roll of 6.
An Ordnance marker such as a torpedo salvo or bomber squadron is removed on a D6 roll of 6 if it moves over a Blast Marker.
Shooting: Blast Markers interfere with gunnery, as mentioned earlier, disrupting firing and causing plenty of ‘ghost’ images on the firing ship’s sensors. Hence if a ship’s line of fire passes through any Blast Markers (including those in contact with a ship’s base) or it or its targets are in base contact with Blast Markers, it suffers a column shift to the right on the Gunnery table. Lances and nova cannon are unaffected. Note that Blast Markers come into effect immediately and so can affect subsequent shooting in the same turn in which they are placed.
Shields: If a ship’s base is in contact with any Blast Markers when it is fired upon, its shield Strength is reduced by 1 per Blast Marker.
Shields¶
Ships are protected by powerful energy shields, so that they can survive travelling through space. The shields form a wavering band of energy around the vessel, a teardrop of invisible force that can absorb or deflect the worst excesses of stellar radiation and meteor showers or a series of weapons hits. The amount of damage shields are able to absorb is limited and they will be overwhelmed by a sustained attack, forcing a temporary shutdown while the shield generators vent off the excess energy.
Each shield will block one point of damage from hitting the ship in a single Shooting Phase. A Blast Marker is placed touching the ship’s base for each hit blocked by the shields, to show how much energy has been absorbed.
Once the number of Blast Markers in contact with a ship’s base is equal to its number of shields, no further damage may be absorbed by the shields that turn. Any further hits will inflict damage on the ship itself. Once they have been overloaded the shields may not be raised again until the ship escapes the storm of energy blasts and shock waves represented by the Blast Markers. The shields remain down until the ship moves away from the Blast Markers in a subsequent Movement Phase.
Shields are only effective against lances, weapons batteries and nova cannon. Attacks made by ramming, bombers and torpedoes get inside a ship’s shields, so they provide no protection.
In the example above the Iron Duke (which has two shields) is fired on by the Unclean and receives three hits. Two hits are absorbed by the Iron Duke’s shields so two Blast Markers are placed in contact with its base to show that it has already stopped two hits with its shields this turn. The third hit scores one point of damage on the ship itself. Any further hits against the Iron Duke this turn will score damage on the ship itself because its shields are down.
Catastrophic Damage¶
A ship with no hits left is effectively out of action. There may be some crew left alive, trapped in compartments which have not been breached yet, there may even be power available in some sections of the ship, but the ship can no longer fight.
When an escort is destroyed, replace it with a Blast Marker placed as centrally as possible to where the escort was, to represent the expanding cloud of debris left by their passing. As a Blast Marker is smaller than a small flying base, the only way it is possible to take down a ship’s shield with this Blast Marker is if their bases actually overlapped.
With a mighty capital ship, there is a chance that the vessel will be destroyed by catastrophic damage as its plasma drive overloads or its warpdrive triggers. Roll 2D6 on the Catastrophic Damage table to see what happens.
Blazing or drifting hulks will block lines of fire that pass over their base, due to the clouds of venting gasses and debris they produce.
Ships that are reduced to zero hits and become hulks no longer have shields, holofields or any other similar mechanism. The turret value of a hulk is reduced to zero. Bombers do not subtract the hulk’s turret strength from their attack runs.
Hulks cannot be fired upon or boarded by friendly vessels or ordnance in an attempt to deny victory points to the enemy or induce catastrophic damage. Torpedoes that hit a friendly hulk still inflict hits normally, but torpedoes cannot be deliberately aimed at friendly hulks.
While enemy ships can choose to fire on a hulk, they do not have to pass a leadership check to ignore one if it is the closest target. A player can fire on an enemy hulk if it is not the closest target, but it must make a leadership check normally.
When shooting at hulked ships, use the destroyed ship’s Armour value to roll for hits. Roll once on the catastrophic damage table each time hits are inflicted by shooting or ordnance from a given ship, squadron or ordnance wave (regardless of the number of hits inflicted), not once for each additional hit inflicted.
Exploding ships count as an area effect and cannot be saved against by holofields, though shields still work normally.
When placing an exploding ship’s Blast Markers, place a single Blast Marker exactly where the ship was, and then place as many Blast Markers from the explosion as possible fanning around and in contact with it until the total number Blast Markers are placed without overlapping any Blast Markers.
Catastrophic Damage Table¶
| 2D6 Roll | Extra Blast Markers | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2-6 | 1 | Drifting Hulk: The ship is reduced to a shattered hulk drifting in space. The wreck moves 4D6 cm forward in each of its subsequent Movement Phases. Place a Blast Marker in contact with the wreck’s base after each move. |
| 7-8 | 1 | Blazing Hulk: The ship is reduced to a burning wreck with uncontrolled fires blazing on every deck. In time the fires will either burn out or trigger a cataclysmic explosion. The wreck moves 4D6 cm forward in each of its subsequent Movement Phases. Place a Blast Marker in contact with the wreck’s base and roll on the Catastrophic Damage table again after its move. |
| 9-11 | Special | Plasma Drive Overload: The ship’s plasma coils overload and explode in a blazing inferno of white hot plasma. Remove the ship from play, leaving behind a number of Blast Markers equal to half its starting number of hits. Every ship within 3D6 cm of the imploding wreck is struck by lance shots with a Strength equal to half the ship’s starting Damage capacity. Roll to hit as normal. |
| 12 | Special | Warp Drive Implosion: The ship’s warp drive implodes, ripping a hole in real space that tears at nearby vessels with horrific force. Remove the ship from play, leaving behind a number of Blast Markers equal to its starting number of hits. Every ship within 3D6 cm of the imploding wreck is struck by lance shots with a Strength equal to the wreck’s starting Damage capacity. Roll to hit as normal. |