Additional Rules
Battlefleet Gothic - General
House Rules
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The Blackstone Fortress
Boarding Friendly Vessels
Boarding to Capture
Logistic Support
Return of the Planet Killer
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Notes
We all have our favourite extra rules and alterations to speed the game up, add detail or simply to correct a flaw
or part of the system that we dont like much. While these could all be given their own section, most of them are
quite brief and so it seems sensible to collate them into a single page. So, here it is, a collection of minor rules
additions or changes that you may consider adding to your games.
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The Blackstone Fortress
When word was received that an Explorator carrack lost in the warp came across an uncharted system containing
a Blackstone Fortress, the aged Adepts of the Adeptus Explorator received the seal of the Lords of Terra to
once again open the Forbidden Vault. Deep within the heart of the Administratum behind thick gates of
adamantium sealed with enchantments of stasis, this is the location of the deepest secrets of the Imperium,
where stored are documents and artifacts dating back from the dawn of mankind as it stretched out and took
its first tentative steps across the stars. Here every fact and circumstance concerning every event, occurrence
and meeting mankind has had throughout its history is stored, and here was where the sum total of the Imperium’s
knowledge could be found concerning the Blackstone Fortress. As far as was known, an unknown force destroyed
every one of the Blackstone Fortresses accounted for by the Imperium in the closing months of 151.M41 during
the Gothic War. That one should have been recently sighted had staggering and terrible implications too horrific
to contemplate. Was this one of the three that disappeared with Abbadon the Despoiler so many centuries ago? If
it wasn’t and this was another one, could there be more throughout the galaxy simply awaiting discovery?
If this was so, what were the chances that the vile forces of Chaos would come across one, and did they still
have custody of the ancient artifacts known only as the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night? Just the existence
of this information posed extreme danger to the Imperium, and as the Adepts began a careful study into how this
ancient and terrible weapon system functioned based on evidence gathered during the Gothic War, the Inquisition
immediately scoured every trace of data concerning the discovery by the Explorator vessels crew and classified
the very knowledge of its existence Perdita.
The Warp cannons have the power to tap into the warp itself, and ignore shields when inflicting the power of up
to eight lance shots at a target. This ability to tap into the warp is fearsome, and it is capable of stripping
the atmosphere off a planet when used as an Exterminatus weapon. The Blackstone Fortress can split its total
firepower among several targets all around, and Blackstone Fortresses can combine their strength into a single
shot or a split series of shots that can be fired from a single Fortress, but it can only fire at the closest
enemy vessel until it is destroyed before moving to another target, with no special orders or leadership roll
allowed. They require a full turn to combine charges for each extra Fortress before firing, and no leadership
roll is required to do so, but the player must announce in the beginning of the turn that the Fortresses are
charging. This charge effectively sums the total firepower and adds strength 2 and 15cm range for each Fortress
used. In other words, two Fortresses need a full turn to charge before firing a total strength of 16+4 range
105cm, three Fortresses need two full turns before firing strength 24+6 range 120cm, etc., and Fortresses being
used in this manner cannot be more than 15cm apart. When charging, the space between them fills with beams of
pure warp immaterium, and none of the Fortresses can use their weapons. However, they may move normally, and
their shields are fully operational. Ordnance and escorts within this beam are immediately destroyed, but
capital ships therein can completely disrupt the charging process, taking Strength 8 lance shots per Activated
Fortress ignoring shields to do so. This will cause one automatic hit point ignoring shields to each Blackstone
Fortress linked in this manner and disable all weapons, shields and movement for all the Fortresses for one turn,
after which the charging process can begin again if desired.
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Top of Page
Date: 06/01/2003
Author: Nate Montes
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Boarding Friendly Vessels
Dead bodies of their crewmates strewn all around them, the fire team led by Engineer 1st Class Volta struggled
against the raging inferno licking at their faces. Suddenly to their right the air itself bent and twisted as a
boarding party teleported aboard “Emperor’s mercy!” he yelled, “secure the hoses! To arms and repel boarders!”
“Stand down, engineers,” he heard as the party resolved themselves into the form of crewmen in firesuits and
shoring gear. “We’re from the Agrippa! Take up your hoses; we have a fire to put out!”
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As the wars that plagued the Imperium continued unabated, the crews and command staffs of capital ships serving
in campaigns together for years at a time began to develop bonds personal as well as professional, and such ships
would rush to each others aid when one or the other faced critical damage or were bracketed by enemy ships.
They would without a moment’s hesitation teleport aboard as many hands as they could afford in the heat of
battle to assist their fallen comrades, and the ratings and crew captains that made up these repair parties
would bend to the task at hand with the same grim determination they would if the ship they were struggling
to save were their own.
Any number of capital ships within 10cm of another that has taken critical damage can teleport a repair
party aboard the stricken vessel without taking a leadership test, but the player must announce that this
is taking place and which vessels are involved. It is assumed that the stricken vessel will lower shields
to allow assistance if it has any shields remaining. Capital ships that are crippled or under special
orders may not assist other ships in this manner. Any capital ship that renders assistance in this way
suffers –1 leadership until the critical damage is repaired and cannot take special orders during the
following turn. The critically damaged vessel gets one additional D6 to repair critical damage for every
capital ship that sent a repair party.
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Top of Page
Date: 06/01/2003
Author: Nate Montes
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Boarding to Capture
Many Chaos fleets were built around successful pirates that allied themselves with the demon gods of Chaos in
their quest for immortal fame, glory and power. Unwilling to partake in the more mundane tasks of escorting
convoys and maintaining logistic supply chains, these warlords simply reverted to their pirate origins and
raided supply convoys to appropriate their needs. When they managed to take a particular vessel without too much
trouble, it was easier to simply limp the damaged transport back to their lair instead of looting the vessel and
abandoning it in space. Likewise, if pirate rogues or the fell traitors of Chaos took a particularly valuable
cargo, Imperial Captains were pressured into trying to recover the stolen booty instead of simply denying it to
the enemy by insuring its destruction. As time when on, these tactics evolved into dedicated missions whereby
specially trained boarding parties made up of experienced engineers paired with Space Marine Terminators were
tasked with actually taking crippled vessels as prizes for further study. Though such missions were few and
far-between, there were some notable if short-lived successes. In the most famous example of the Gothic War,
an Imperial task force managed to capture the shattered Eldar Cruiser Fhiamna Rethol, though it was later
destroyed by an Eldar escort flotilla before it could be carefully studied. The Eldar in particular were masters
in capturing enemy vessels intact and using them to their own ends instead of immediately seeing to their destruction.
A contested boarding action with the intent of taking a vessel necessitates the use of considerably more personnel
than even that required to initiate a normal boarding action, and usually it will require the participation of
more than one ship to successfully take even the smallest of vessels quickly enough to prevent the crew manning
the vessel from sabotaging or destroying it once the certainty that all is lost sets in. It is a difficult
undertaking fraught with danger for the crews of all the ships involved, and success is never assured regardless
of how airtight a plan may be. Only a boarding action that results in a ship’s crew being overwhelmed has a
chance of keeping the ship. After resolving a full-scale boarding action that results in a crew being overwhelmed,
the attacking player rolls a D6. On a roll of 4 to 6, the attacker has taken control of the ship instead of causing
a hit point or critical damage, and the prize crew can take on additional engineers and other personnel required
to perform repairs, conduct security sweeps, navigate and defend the ship until the prize can safely disengage
and be returned to friendly space for further study. This ship has a leadership of 6 for the rest of the battle
and suffers a –1 modifier for any special orders, command checks and leadership tests. If a single ship or
escort squadron is responsible for leading the boarding action, it suffers –2 leadership for the rest of the
battle because so much of its crew is aboard the prize vessel. If more than one ship participated in the
successful boarding and capture, then each vessel suffers –1 leadership. At the end of the game, the captured
vessel counts twice its cost when calculating for victory points unless it is crippled, in which case it counts
for 150% of its cost.
In a campaign, the ships responsible for the boarding and capture get an automatic leadership increase of 2
instead of 1 from their original leadership value before the action at the end of the battle because of experience
that was gained by all hands from such a difficult and arduous undertaking (max. of 10), or they can take
on one free crew skill (roll against the crew skills table as normal).
The side that successfully keeps a prize vessel can use it on their fleet list during the engagement after
the subsequent battle, since some time will be required to effectively examine, configure and crew the ship’s
systems for regular use. When used in subsequent battles, its point cost must be calculated in the fleet total -
it cannot be used for free. Obviously, if it is destroyed in this or a subsequent battle, a like vessel cannot
replace it. If used as such, it has a nominal leadership of 6, its original weapons and characteristics
are used, and it cannot take on any ship or weapon refits during the remainder of the campaign, though it can
take on increased leadership and crew skills. A captured escort vessel can be incorporated into an existing
escort squadron as long as the squadron total does not exceed six ships.
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Top of Page
Date: 06/01/2003
Author: Nate Montes
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Logistic Support
Imperial fleets spending years on deployment through contested systems require a steady source of resupply
for spare parts, foodstuffs, fuel and other needs. This logistical support is provided by military transports
maintained by the Imperial Navy to make supply runs behind contested lines between the forward-deployed
flotilla and worlds firmly held by the Imperium. Because so many of these inglorious but vital ships
were destroyed by enemies that understood their strategic significance, merchant transports were many times
conscripted to serve as part of the fleet force, with a military liaison officer assigned that had the
authority to commandeer the vessel if necessary to carry out the mission. (Note: Being an aviation electronics
engineer in the Navy and having gone on more than one 6-month deployment, I know how important is for
military vessels to have logistical support.)
For every full 1000 points, a fleet must include at least one full-capacity freighter or merchant transport.
If an armed freighter (described in Warp Storm) is used, it only counts as a half-transport, so two will be
required. If for some reason the last full transport is destroyed or disengages, the Admiral loses one
leadership point to signify his inability to ensure that his ships will have the supplies required to maintain
the battle, and all ships attempting to repair critical damage must roll one less D6 because they may not have
on hand the required materials to make repairs. Transports must be assigned a points value using the Smotherman
rules described in Gothic Magazine #2, and a ship’s full transport value is 10 points (half-transport value is 5 points).
Using this formula, an Imperial transport described on page 114 and 126 of the rules is worth 20 points. Multiple
transports and heavy carracks as described in Warp Storm page 28 can be used, but their full points value must be
calculated when determining the fleet list to be used in a given game. Because a fleet’s logistic transports are
an important strategic asset, the total transport value (not the value of the ship, just its transport value, or
5 points for an armed freighter, 10 points for one full transport, 20+ for a heavy carrack, etc.) remaining of a
fleet’s own cargo ships can be added to its total victory points before deciding renown. For the sake of simplicity,
the Heavy Freighter described in page 28 in Warp Storm is worth 80 points if one uses the Smotherman rules and
assumes that a full transport value is worth 10 points and a heavy freighter is worth two standard transports.
Eldar fleets can use a destroyer to represent a transport using the statistics by Pavel Stafa listed in Warp
Storm page 19. For an Eldar heavy transport use a Hellebore frigate with transport statistics, or the old Space
Fleet Eldar Shadowhunter model works even better if one is available.
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Top of Page
Date: 06/01/2003
Author: Nate Montes
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Return of the Planet Killer
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Our worst fears are confirmed- Slayer Of Worlds, the scourge of the Imperium, plies the stellar void once more.
Multiple Chaos Marks swirl about the already powerful vessel, indicating that either Abbadon himself has returned,
or we now face an even greater foe…
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-Captain Natanico Paris aboard the Emperor’s Mercy
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Careful analysis of the sensory augur recordings taken from the reconnaissance force led by Captain Natanico Paris
into the conquered Antioch system in the Prath Veil sub-sector indicated the reason why the foul Chaos host was so
intent upon taking the world. Orbiting above the planet docked alongside the Adeptus Mechanicus repair facility was
none other than the fearsome slayer of worlds, the monolithic battleship simply and aptly dubbed the Planet Killer.
Responsible for the destruction of six worlds and uncounted hundreds of billions of lives, its mysterious primary
power cores were already powering up in an obvious final test of the weapons systems before reaching full operation
as the reconnaissance force closed with the system and approached within range to perform detailed scans before
slipping away. It was undoubted that the traitor priests aboard the station were readying this vessel to wreak
havoc on the Imperium once more, and as the flotilla approached at high speed, the Planet Killer slipped its mooring
and moved away from the station, firing a massive pulsing beam of white plasma that blotted out the sun. When the
sensor auguries aboard the Emperor’s Mercy finally cleared, it was evident that the firing was no test; the Dauntless
light cruiser Agamemnon 1100 off the starboard had taken the hit full-on and was obliterated without a trace.
The Armageddon Gun is a fearsome weapon capable of rending an entire world asunder. This awesome firepower should be
feared and respected by an adversary. The Armageddon Gun planet killer shot in the first 45cm causes D3 automatic
hits to any ship (friend or foe) with base contact with any part of the Nova Cannon Template or 2D6 hits if contact
is made with the template center for a cost of +90 points. Beyond 45cm the weapon effects targets normally as
described in Warp Storm p. 66. However, the Planet Killer requires an extra turn and two successful reload ordnance
rolls to recharge after firing this shot. All the rest of the weaponry in this monolithic vessel’s vast arsenal
behaves normally.
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Top of Page
Date: 30/09/2002
Author: Nate Montes
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