SOC ARMY LIST |
This section of the book is given over to the SOC army list, a listing of the different troops and vehicles a SOC Commander (ie YOU) can use in games of Warhammer 40,000. The army list allows you to fight battles using the scenarios included in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, but it also provides you with the basic information you'll require to field an Ork army in scenarios you've devised yourself, or as part of a campaign series of games, or what ever else may take your fancy.
The army list is split into five sections. All of the squads, vehicles and characters in an army list are placed in one of the five sections depending upon their role on the battlefield. In addition every model included in the army list is given a points value, which varies depending upon how effective that model is on the battlefield.
Before you can choose an army for a game you will need to agree with your opponent upon a scenario and upon the total number of points each of you will spend on your army. Having done this you can proceed to pick an army as described below.
The army lists are used in conjunction with the Force Organisation chart from a scenario. Each Force Organisation chart is split into five categories that correspond to the sections in the army list, and each catagory has one or more boxes. Each box indicates that you may make one choice from that section of the army list, while a dark toned box means that you must make a choice from that section.
To make a choice, look in the relevant section in the army list and decide what unit you wish to have in your army, how many models there will be in the unit, and which upgrades that you want (if any). Remember that you can not field models that are equipped with weapons and wargear that is not shown on the model. Once this is done subtract the points value of the unit from your total points, and then go back and make another choice. Continue doing this until you have spent all your points. Then you can get on with the serious business of unleashing your deadly SOC army!
SPECIAL RULESCommand Structure The SOC are trained to operate in small units as well as in large formations, because of this training the SOC squads can operate independently of each other. SOC squads do not need to remain close to each other. This means that an SOC army can operate on all corners of the battlefield if needed! Fire Teams Most SOC squads contain ten men, including a sergeant and a corporal. These squads may be broken into two fire teams, one of which will be led by the sergeant, the other by the corporal, these fire teams may operate as independent units. Victory Points are given out as normal, with casualties from either fire team in a squad counting toward the squad's total casualties at the end of a battle (ie if two fire teams had two casualties each, the squad would have four casualties and still be above 50%; if one team had two casualties and the other had four casualties, the squad would have six casualties and count for VP purposes as being below 50%). However, fire teams count as individual squads when claiming table quarters or objectives (however, this means that if a fire team drops below three members it may no longer hold an objective or table quarter). Mobile Support The SOC are armed differently from regular Guard units, and rely on lighter support weaponry than a typical Guard unit. They may not include tanks or heavy mobile artillary (self-propelled guns). Instead, they use Fast Assault Vehicles (FAVs), Chimera transports, and Chimera variants. Commlinks The SOC are trained forward observers, and have more comlinks than typical Guard formations. They are also trained to keep in constant radio contact with their command squads, allowing instant communications of any problems on the battlefield up through the chain of command. Therefore, any SOC squad may be given a commlink (or two, in the case of squads that may be split into fire teams). The points cost for the commlink is listed in each squad's army list entry. Dispersed Formation All SOC squads are trained to use a dispersed formation to minimize the damage caused by enemy ordnance, frag grenades, flame-base weapons, etc. This also allows them to better locate a target, or gain cover. To represent this, SOC squads have a squad coherency of 4", rather than the usual 2". |