Scenario Three: Pelucidar¶
The initial elements of Ghazghkull’s fleet entered the Armageddon system on the Day of the Feast of the Emperor’s Ascension, a time when the Imperial Navy was building up to full alert status. Admiral Parol knew that time was of the essence as the forces of the Imperium marshalled their strength on Armageddon itself and that it would be the task of his fleet to buy this valuable time in the face of an immense Ork fleet.
The Defence of Pelucidar was actually a huge engagement and so this scenario concentrates on only a small portion of the battle. The Imperial player, representing Admiral Parol, must cause as much damage as possible to the Ork fleet whilst trying to minimise his own losses. Initially, the Ork fleet will be poorly organised, but their strength will soon increase and threaten to overwhelm the Imperial force.
Forces¶
The Imperial player may have a fleet of up to 1500 points, but may only choose Cruisers, Battlecruisers and Battleships from his fleet list. Up to four Minefields may also be purchased. Historically, only Armageddon-class Battleships were featured in this battle, but there is no reason that an Imperial player cannot use other classes just to ‘see what would have happened’.
The Ork player starts with no ships at all and will receive his fleet randomly throughout the battle.
Battlezone¶
This battle is fought in the Outer Reaches of the Armageddon system. After rolling for Celestial Phenomena randomly, the Imperial player may then place the planet of Pelucidar anywhere on the table he wishes. He must then deploy his entire fleet in the area indicated on the map below.
The Ork player moves his ships on from any point along his table edge.
Set-up¶
The defender deploys his whole fleet first. The defending fleet must be set up with all the ships facing the same table edge and at least 30 cm from any table edge. Each defending ship or squadron must be set up at least 20 cm apart. The attacker moves his fleet on to the table from any edge in his first turn.
First Turn¶
The Orks have the first turn in the Defence of Pelucidar.
Special Rules¶
At the start of each of his turns, the Ork player rolls on the chart below to see what forces turn up for battle. You will notice that the first few turns go by very quickly, but things will soon start hotting up as the Orks gradually receive more and more ships. A Squadron of Escorts will have D6 Escorts of whatever type the Ork player wishes. A Fighta-Bomma or Attack Craft Wing will have four counters.
| D6+TURN ROLL | RESULT |
|---|---|
| 2-4 | 1 Fighta-Bomma/Attack Craft Wing |
| 5-6 | 1 Escort Squadron |
| 7-9 | 2 Escort Squadrons |
| 10 | 3 Escort Squadrons |
| 11 | 1 Kroozer or Terror Ship |
| 12 | 2 Kroozers or Terror Ships |
| 13-14 | 1 Rok |
| 15+ | 1 Space Hulk |
If the Ork player rolls a unit he cannot field due to a lack of models, use the next lowest item on the table instead. For example, if a Kroozer is rolled for, but the Ork player has already used all of his Kroozer models, then he would receive three Escort Squadrons instead.
Game Length¶
The battle lasts until the Imperial fleet is destroyed or has disengaged
Victory Conditions¶
The Imperial player scores Victory points for destroying and crippling Ork ships as normal, but not for ‘Holding the Field’. In addition, the Victory Points for any Imperial ship that is destroyed or disengages is deducted from his total. The Ork player receives no Victory Points in this battle. The Imperial player must earn at least 2000 Victory Points at the end of the battle to claim a victory. Anything less is counted as being a victory for the Orks.
Take particular note that the Imperial player will lose Victory Points at the end of the battle because his ships have to disengage, so he must take this into account or be very red faced when he pulls into the space dock around Armageddon!