Advanced Rules: New Ordnance!

During the Gothic war ordnance was often deployed by all sides on a massive scale. Waves comprising hundreds of attack craft were launched for the first time in the sector since Vandire’s Reign of Blood four millenia before. At Skargul and Electris the rings of gas giants became cluttered with the debris of massed ordnance battles. The Orar passage was rendered unnavigable at certain points due to the numbers of drifting orbital mines and unexploded torpedoes strewn along its path. In the latter stages of the war a number of old practices were revived from the history scrolls in an attempt to gain an advantage in battle.

Torpedo bombers

Torpedo bombers were ordinary bombers reconfigured to carry a payload of (relatively) small anti-ship torpedoes. This gave them the ability to stand off from their target at greater range and launch an attack.

Any ship with launch bays can be upgraded to carry torpedo bombers at an additional cost of +10 pts per strength point of the launch bays on the vessel. For example a Chaos Styx class heavy cruiser would pay 60 points to carry torpedo bombers, while an Imperial Dictator class cruiser would pay 40 points. Due to the superiority of Eldar ordnance Eldar vessels must pay 15 points per launch bay, so an Eldar Eclipse class cruiser carrying torpedo bombers would cost an additional 60 points.

Torpedo bomber squadrons are launched just like other attack craft squadrons, they are simply differently armed. Torpedo bombers have a speed of 20cm and count as bombers for interception purposes.

A torpedo bomber squadron can be replaced with a Strength 2 torpdeo 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.

Note that Orky torpedo bombers cannot intercept in the same way as their fighter bombers can (they are far too slow and lumbering while carrying torpedoes).

[[[[Insert some cut-out torpedo bomber markers ]]]]]]]]]]

Orbital Mines

During the Port maw blockade Chaos Raiders used the tactic of Devestation and Syx class vessels to make rapid attacks to seed the primary biosphere with orbital mines fired from specially converted launch bays. Carrying mines in combat proved exceptionally dangerous and aggressive action by Sword squadrons of the Port Maw patrol eventually crippled the Chaos Devastation class cruiser Unforgivable. This allowed Captain Grenfeld’s Hammer of Justice to catch the vessel and complete it’s destruction at long range with nova cannon fire. Later in the Gothic War Lord Admiral Ravensburg employed the same tactics in the battle of Gethsemane, using the Dictator class cruisers Rhadamanthine and Victorixia.

Any ship with launch bays can be refitted to carry orbital mines instead of attack craft at a points cost of +5 points per launch bay. Only cruisers may be refitted to carry orbital mines, battleships are considered too rare and valuable to use in this way.

One orbital mine can be launched per bay, just like attack craft squadrons. Note that orbital mines cannot be formed up into waves.

Orbital mines are ordnance which attack using the standard rules on p142 of the Battlefleet Gothic rulebook. Note that turret defences can be used against either attack craft or torpedoes and mines in a single ordnance phase, not both.

If a ship carrying orbital mines suffers a critical hit which effects the launch bays it will take an extra D3 damage as some of the mines detonate! A vessel which has run out of ordnance is not subject to suffering extra damage.

Advanced Rule: Massed Turret Fire

As ordnance became more and more prevalent in the Gothic War ships began to adapt to the new environment where attack craft and torpedoes were often as great a threat as enemy guns. Some vessels like the Battlecruiser Cypra Probati were upgraded with additional turret systems but lack of refit time and dockyard space made the mass conversion of ships impractical. Instead, hard pressed captains developed a tactic of manoeuvering close to each other and massing their turret fire together to present a wall of fire to incoming ordnance. While this tactic was effective at stopping ordnance, it presented a marvellously close-packed target for enemy gunners to range in on. This ensured it was mainly used only when ordnance was a considerably greater threat than direct fire weapons.

A ship with friendly vessels in base contact can gain supporting fire from their turrets if it is attacked by Ordnance. Add +1 to the turret value of the ship under attack for each friendly ship in base contact which is not:

• Using Special Orders other than Reload Ordnance or Lock On.

• Crippled.

For example the ships below have been manoeuvered to mass their turret fire together. All three ships are uncrippled and none are using special orders. The Lunar class cruiser would count as having a turret value of 4 (its own 2 turrets +1 for each of the Swords). Each of the swords would count as having a turret value of 3 (their own turret value of 2 +1 for the Lunar class cruiser). Note that if the Lunar class was crippled it could not mass it’s turret fire to help the Swords, but the Swords could still mass their fire to assist it and add +2 to its turrets value.

If any of the ships in base to base contact suffers damage which places blast markers against its base the opposing player is permitted to arrange the blast markers so that they touch one or more of the other ships. For example the Lunar class cruiser comes under fire and suffers two hits. The opposing player places the resulting two blast markers thus:

The two Sword class frigates now have their shields knocked down by residual energy from the cruiser’s shields. Better hope there’s no more incoming fire...

Advanced rule: Fighters supporting bomber waves

Just as ships learned new tricks to offset the power of ordnance attack craft squadrons evolved new tactics to press home their attacks against ships. Early in the Gothic War the practice of accompanying bomber waves with supporting fighter squadrons fell into disfavour as commanders found it more effective to keep their fighters seperate to hunt down opposing ordnance and perform long range intercepts. However, with experience fighter squadrons perfected a technique for using their lighter weapons to strafe and suppress turret emplacements on target ships, leaving the bombers free to deliver their payloads without having to dodge incoming flak.

Fighters markers can be launched as part of a wave of bomber markers as per the standard rules. When the combined wave attacks a ship any turret casualties are scored on the fighters first, then bombers if there are no fighters left in the wave. In addition to this the total number of attacks the suriving bombers make is increased by +1 for each fighter squadron in the wave, regardless of whether or not it was destroyed by turret fire.

For example: A wave comprising two fighter squadrons and two bomber squadrons attacks a Murder class cruiser. The Chaos player rolls two dice for his turrets and gets two hits, knocking out both of the fighter squadrons. The bombers then roll a D6 each for their number of attacks, getting a 3 and a 5. This is reduced to 1 and 3 respectively because the Murder class has two turrets. However the Imperial player then adds +1 to the total for each of his two supporting fighters (remember they add +1 whether they are shot down or not), making a total of 6 attacks (1+3+1+1)