Additional Rules
Battlefleet Gothic - General
Special Order - Break Formation
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Notes
The nine Infidel Raiders slipped quietly through the void, they almost seemed not to be moving
due to the exceptional distance of the backdrop of stars, but they were in fact trying to coax the
last drop of speed from the engines. They pursued two Imperial Cruisers, both severly damaged and
limping away, unable to fight at all. On the bridge of the command vessel, Lord Bile could almost
taste the destruction of his wounded prey.
His viewscreen and radar both showed the Imperial ships as the distance between them and their
Chaos hunters slowly diminished. Then, the Cruisers seemed to veer apart, as they tried to seperate
in order to maximise the chance of one of the ships reaching their base. Lord Bile's response was
rapid as he opened communication to the other ships in the squadron.
"This is Lord Bile. Our prey are attempting to avoid us. We will show them that their efforts are
futile. Ships Alpha Gamma through Alpha Omega, follow the co-ordinates that I am sending you to
intercept the lead Cruiser. The rest of the squadron are with me."
A few seconds of silence greeted him, until the sound of pages rapidly being turned came over the
communications network, accompanied by the unmistakable noise of officers rushing to flight manuals.
Eventually, a meek voice responded.
"Sir. Umm, we would like to. But, umm, we were never told how to fly away from an established
squadron sir."
Back on the command Raider, Lord Bile was going an interesting shade of purple and calculating
firing trajectories to the nearest Infidel Escort.
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No, I dont think so either! It seems a little strange that ships are unable to break and re-form from
their squadrons. There are instances when it is a good idea to form your ships into squadrons, and times
when you simply need to be able to split you forces a little more. And it should be able to decide this
during the course of the battle, not only before the forces have been placed and battle has been joined.
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Description
One order may be given to a squadron which would allow new ships to join the squadron in the same turn
that other ships left it. All squadron changes are deemed to take place after the Special Orders phase, but
before the Movement phase.
Break Formation
When a number of ships are formed into a squadron, it may be advantageous to split a group off. To do this,
the entire squadron must be given the 'Break Formation' special order, as normal special orders. Ships with
this order may move and fire as normal, but may not be given other special orders (aside from 'Brace For
Impact', as normal). The formation can then be split into any number of groups or individual ships (in
the movement phase) and from then on are not treated as a squadron for movement, targeting, shooting and all
other purposes and the highest Leadership value of the squadron may be used for orders given after
the current Special Orders phase. Ships moving out of squadron range without using this order are out of
formation and follow the normal rules on page 37 of the rule book.
Form Up
Conversely, for a number of groups or individual ships to form up into a single squadron,
the ships must be within 15cm of a ship which is a part of the new squadron (you may form a 'string' of
ships with each joining in a chain in the same orders phase) and all ships
must be on the Form Up Special Order - however, no test is required to be placed on this order and it is
automatically successful. The
ships become a single squadron in the end phase of the players turn, and so are treated as individual ships
for the ordnance phase, etc. This will allow mixed squadrons of many types of ship.
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Using These Rules
This order is used in the same way as the official Special Orders. To show that this order has been given,
place the Order Dice with any side showing next to the ship or squadron, and place a regular dice with the number
one showing on top.
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Date: 28/05/2001
Feedback on these rules: cybershadow@epic40k.co.uk
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