AQ Book Main Rules Complete

8/3/2019 AQ Book Main Rules Complete

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A Battle for Ammoriss Supplement


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A Game of NavalCombat

Set in the grim darkness of the

Warhammer 40K Universe

Rules and BackgroundEric Farrington

Special Thanks to :The Ammobunker. Community

Old Guard,and Doghouse


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Chapter Page Introduction 4

Ships 6

Squadrons 11

Game Turn 15

Special Orders 17

Movement Phase 20

Special Ship Types 28

Battle Phase 31 Ordinance 46

End Phase 54


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Welcome to Aquanautica Imperialis !

In the pages ahead you will find everything you need to wage raging sea battles in theWarhammer 40,0000 universe. As the admiral of an ocean going fleet, it is up to you

to lead the brave sailors under you command to victory. The duty of command is yours to bear as you direct your escorts, cruisers and mighty battleships into action!

Are you up for the challenge?

Here you will find the rules andresources you need to play games of

Aquanautica Imperialis . Looking at

the size of this book may seemdaunting. However, take heart. Thebasic rules are only a handful of pages.The rest allows you to add depth andexpand your playing experience. Readthe basic rules and get a few gamesunder your belt before you move on tothe more challenging elements of thegame. Dont be afraid to look up rules

as you go.

The beginners set of the game will tryand provide you with just abouteverything you need to get startedplaying. It has the rules, ship countersto use while you build your own fleets,terrain templates to use while youconstruct your own terrain, and acampaign pack to help you learn thebasic rules.

The Warhammer 40,000 Universe isfull of interesting aliens and uniquewarring factions. Just about all of them are included in Aquanautica

Imperialis . This gives you the chance

to play your favorite!

Like games of Warhammer 40,000,

each faction has their own unique setof strengths and weaknesses. Asadmiral of your chosen faction, it is upto you to discover and understand thestrengths of your force, and exploit theweakness of your foes. Of course,there is no telling what tricks youropponent will have up his sleeve.

Getting StartedHere is a list of things you will need toplay: 6 sided Dice. The more themerrier. A Scatter Dice A Small Blast Template fromWarhammer 40,000 A Ruler or Tape Measure Ships (Templates or Models) A table to play on. (6x4 is ideal) A blue table cloth Terrain (Templates or Models)

At this point, the rules will assume youare familiar with the basics of wargaming; such as what a D6 meansor what a scatter dice is


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The worlds of the Imperium of Man number in the thousands. Thedifferent environments and types of planets are incomprehensible to the

average human mind. In this vast array of worlds, many arecompletely alien to that which human life sprang.

The Lex Imperialis is a set of laws dictated by the God-Emperorhimself. These laws require all those who claim to rule in his name toprotect that which belongs to Him-On-Terra. The Lex Imperialismakes no difference between worlds inhabited by primitive barbarians,

and those covered in factories. It makes no difference between worldsthat are rock, those that are gas, or those that are water. The

Imperial Governors who are given the right to rule, are also givencharged to protect his realms from the heretic, the xeno, and the wyrd.

In a galaxy wracked by war, the duty laid out in the Lex-Imperialisis not just an idle command. It is a divine imperative. The future of

the human race lies in the balance.

Amongst this vast array of worlds, are those that are made upprimarily of liquids. The most common is water, but some are

composed of liquid methane, molten metal, or worse. In such an

environment, the only true way to provide protection is with a navy.

Only a navy can allow the Imperial Governor to show the Aquillawherever the inhabitants of his world go. Only a navy can project theEmperors will to all corners of his liquefied planet. Only a navy can

interdict and stop invaders that try to thwart the will of the God-Emperor of Mankind on such worlds.

May his divine Majesty rule thewaves across the galaxy.

- Attributed to theTactica Imperialis


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The Imperium of Man uses Standard Template Construction (STC) to build themajority of its technology base. STCs are ancient relics from the Dark Age of

Technology that housed the blueprints to every machine imaginable. Sadly, nocomplete STC system still exists. However, many of the basic blueprints remain. It is

from these STC designs that the fighting ships of humanity are made.

Imperial admirals categorize navalvessels into five main categories: Escorts Cruisers Battleships Submersibles Skimmers

Battleships are the largest class of naval vessel. They have the heaviestarmor, the largest guns, the bestpower plants, and the biggest crews.

They are celebrated throughout thegalaxy as the pinnacle of thedestructive naval arts. It is upon theirheavy armor plates, and massive gunsthat great battles are won and lost.

Cruisers, are the less glamorousyounger siblings of the Battleship.They are smaller, faster, and able toloiter off station longer. The Cruiseris the workhorse of any fleet. Theydo the jobs that need a capital ship,but are not suitable for a battleship.This includes patrolling, commerceraiding, blockading, and showing theAquilla around the planet. TheCruiser is a vital component of anynaval strategy.

Escorts are smaller craft that often actas the eyes and ears of the fleet.They are much smaller than cruisers,carrying lighter armaments and thinarmor. Only in packs are they athreat to larger capital ships.However, they make up for theseshort comings by being relativelycheap, fast, and versatile.

Escorts have many vital naval roles.Frequently the escorts will rangeahead of the main battle line to locate

and pin the enemy fleet. They arealso great at launching harassingattacks and dispersing enemyformations. Finally, they can protectthe larger ships from opposing escortsand ordinance attacks.

Submersibles are a strange breed of naval vessel. Instead of operating onthe surface, they operate deep in theoceans depths. Their greatest asset isstealth. They can appear where anenemy least expects them, and delivera fatal blow from an unexpectedquarter. To more traditional officers,the Submersible is sometimes viewedas a threat to the traditional naval


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Skimmers are another unique typeof vessel. They are primarily usedby Xeno forces. Like the namesuggests, skimmers fly over thesurface of the ocean using foul xenotechnologies. This allows them to

travel from land to ocean with littleor no difficulty. In addition, suchvessels are highly maneuverable.Thankfully the majority of skimmers do not exceed escort sizeor they could be a truly terrifyingthreat.

Ship Profiles

Every naval vessel has the followingProfile:

Ship Name: Class: Crew: Leadership:Type/Hits: Speed: Turns: Armor:

Armament Range/Speed Firepower Arc

Ship NameHere is where you list the name of theship. Cruisers and Battleships tend tobe named individually. Meanwhile,escorts are normally named bysquadron.

For example, the Ever Victoriou s is afamous battleship of the NorthAmmoriss Navy. Conversely, in therebel fleets of South Ammoriss the

Red Raiders are an infamous escortsquadron.

ClassThis is the model of naval vessel. It

is common practice on many worldsto name the class of vessel after thename of the first ship laid down of its type. All ships that follow builton the same specifications are thenfrom the same class.

For example, the first majorbattleship of the North Ammorissfleet was the AN Ascendant.Currently, the North Ammoriss NavalPDF has 46 Ascendant classbattleships in operation on the surfaceof Ammoriss. Each of these vesselsbears its own name, such as theAscendant class AN Ever Victorious .


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CrewThis number represents the crewmenthat are available to defend the shipin case of a boarding action. Somevessels will have a larger number of overall crewmen, but few that can bespared to help in a boarding action asthey are vital to keep the shiprunning. The size of a ship does notnecessarily mean it will have a highcrew rating.

LeadershipThis represents the command ability

of the captain and officers to have thecrew perform in a manner befitting of an Imperial sailor. When the gunsroar and the hull echoes to the beat of incoming shells, the crew will betempted to cower. It is up to thebrave officers of the ship to rally themen and make sure they performtheir duties, whether it is aninspirational hymn or a crack of thebolt pistol that inspires, all thatmatters is that the men do their duty.

There are various points in the battlewhen a LD check will be need. Rolla 2d6, if it is the Leadership or belowthe test is passed.

Type/HitsA ships type will tell you if it is aBattleship, Cruiser, Escort,Submersible, or Skimmer.

Each ship has a certain number of hitsit can take before being crippled orpotentially sinking. Once this pointhas been met, the ship may sink intothe depths. The more hits a ship hasthe larger the crew, sturdier the design,and the more back-up systems the shiphas.

Speed

This is how far a ship can move in oneturn. There are certain situationswhere a ship can move faster or slowerthan this. The speed listed here isconsidered its cruising speed. Moreinformation about cruising speeds andchanging speeds will be in the pagesahead.

This statistic is measured in inches.

TurnsThis will tell you how sharp a ship canturn. Certain types of ships can onlyturn a set number of degrees or acertain number of times during anyone movement phase. This will alsobe discussed in more detail in themoving section of the rules.

The South Ammoriss Navy has asaying, The bigger they are, the easier it is to get to their weak side. Oftentimes, larger vessels will not be able toturn as quickly or as sharply as smallermore nimble craft.


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ArmorThis stats references how thick thearmor plate is on the ship. Armor isused to protect the vital structuralcomponents of a vessel from theexplosive blast of enemy fire.Without armor, a ship would quicklybe shredded by the destructiveweaponry of the 40 th millennia.

The number here will be the numberthat the player must roll on a dice orhigher to avoid taking damage from ahit by an opponent. It is typicallyexpressed as 4+, 5+, 6+, etc. The

lower the number, the tougher thearmor.

ArmamentShips in the far future are armed witha variety of potent weapons. Theserange from mighty macro-cannons,plasma arrays, missile batteries,massive lasers, or other more exotic

weaponry. Typically, Ammoriss PDFships come equipped with powerfulmacro-cannons which fire a rocketassisted shell that can be as large as asmall car. These shells plunge deepinto an enemy vessel beforedetonating with immense concussiveand explosive force.

Each armament listed in the profilebelow is considered to be a battery of weapons. It is not assumed to be asingle weapon. Often, the termweapon battery is used as a genericcatch all for the variety of Imperialand Xeno direct fire weaponry.

Range/Speed

All weapon systems will lose potencyas they speed through the atmospheretowards their target. As a result, thereis a point where even if a weaponstrikes the target, its power has been

dissipated to a point where a hit willbe irrelevant.

For example, the mighty macro-cannons of the Ammoriss Naval PDFwill run out of rocket assist propellantafter several thousand yards. At thispoint, the shell has only a fewmoments of momentum before the

force of impact will cease to beeffective at penetrating modernarmor. It is common for sailors tohear the dull thud of a spent shellagainst the hull of their ship. Theseare referred to as The EmperorsGrace as he has saved them from adeadly direct hit.

This stat is measured in inches. Itrepresents how far a weapon batterycan fire effectively in the game.After this point, all shotsautomatically miss the target forgame purposes.

If the weapon ordinance, such as atorpedo or aircraft the specifics of


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this measurement is dealt with in theappropriate section. Typically, it willreference how fast or far theordinance moves from the launchingvessel.

FirepowerPlanetary Defense Forces typically donot have access to the most advancedweaponry of the Imperial arsenal.That does not mean that the firepowerthese primitive weapons can hurl issub-standard. They are powerfulenough to boil away meters of ocean,send plumes of spray hundreds of feetskyward, and turn enemy ships intosplinters of metal alloys.

Firepower is measured by a singlenumber. The higher the number thebetter. The number represents thenumber of dice the ship can roll to tryand score a hit on an opposing vessel.Various modifiers will effect this roll

such as enemy speed, special orders,range, visibility, etc. These will bediscussed in more detail later in therules.

ArcEvery naval vessel is divided intofour arcs. An arc is a field of fire fora weapon system. These facings are:

This section of a ships profile will lettell you which weapon system canfire from what arc of the ship. It ispossible for a weapon system to becapable of firing in more than one arcthanks to technology like turrets.However, it may only fire in one arcper shooting phase. The onlyexception to this is Point Defenseweapons, but they will be discussedin further detail later in these rules.

All measurements (moving, shooting,etc.) are made from the point whereall four arcs cross. This is called themid-point.


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A lone escort can not stand alone against a battleship. Enough escorts workingtogether, can even the odds. On Ammoriss, it is common battle doctrine for fleets

from all factions to group their naval assets into squadrons. A squadron is simply agroup of two or more ships acting in concert, instead of as individual ships.

Operating in squadrons can provide anumber of advantages to the admiralof a naval fleet. It can provideenhanced command and control,better survivability, and increasedfirepower. Ships that work togethercan be a coordinated threat.

Squadrons are formed before thegame begins. The fleet lists foundlater in this rule set will talk moreabout what ships can squadrontogether. Only ships of the sameType can squadron together. Forexample, a pair of Cruisers can forma single squadron. However, you cannot create a mixed squadron of

Cruisers and Escorts. On Ammoriss,it is standing Naval practice to groupescorts into groups of at least twoships up to six.

Once a squadron is formed, allmembers of that squadron must staywithin three inches of other membersof the squadron. Each ship may moveaccording to its wishes, but must beginand end the movement phase withinthree inches of its squadron mates.

StragglersIf any member of the squadron isfound to be outside of three inches, theentire squadron loses squadronbenefits until the ship out of formationreforms with his fellows. The ship outof formation is referred to as aStraggler. The straggler must try toreform with his squadron in its

subsequent movement phase.

The confusion caused a stragglercauses the squadron commander tospend his time trying to reform thebroken squadron instead of issuing anySpecial Orders that turn. The squadroncan not issue or attempt to go on anySpecial Orders until the squadron isreformed. Special Orders will bediscussed later in these rules.

There will be times in which a memberof the squadron will be unable to staywith his fellows. The ship is eithergrounded, drifting, entangled inanother ship, etc. The squadroncommander may choose to


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Cut Stragglers. This is a SpecialOrder that will be discussed in theSpecial Orders section of this book.

Squadron Leadership

One of the potential benefits of forming a squadron, is that thehighest ranking officer takescommand of the squadron. Hisexperience and leadership help steadythe other less experienced officers.

This means the Squadron uses thehighest leadership available for thepurposes of giving Special Ordersand other Leadership Tests. If officer/ship with the highestleadership is destroyed, a straggler, orotherwise unable to act as squadroncommander, the ship/officer with thenext highest leadership takescommand.

All vessels within the same squadron

will go on the same Special Order.Individual ships are following thecommands of the squadroncommander instead of using theirown initiative. This rule INCLUDESthe Brace For Impact Special Order.More information on issuing andfollowing Special Orders is in theCommands section of the rules.

Squadrons Under FireWhen a ship or squadron is being firedon by an enemy, it is referred to as

being under fire. Captains andsquadron commanders strive to keep

their ships from being under fire.However, it will happen during thecourse of a battle.

Being part of a squadron can helpprovide some safety from enemy fire.The attacker can choose which shotshe wants to take at the squadron.However, he will only be able toallocate hits on ships that have thesame difficulty to hit that the attackerchose to make. The rules for shootingwill be found in the Battle Phasesection of this book.

For example, a squadron of threeescorts is moving around an island.The enemy chooses to shoot at the

squadron. Since the first escort is in

the open, it is the easiest shot to hit.The last escort is still mostly blocked

by the island, making it the most difficult shot.

The attacker chooses to try to make the easier shot, and succeeds. He hits three times. However, any extra hits can not be allocated on the third

escort, as the chances to hit that shipswere more difficult to begin with.

If the enemy had chosen to try to hit the third escort, and succeeded, any hits beyond the first could be allocated to any of the escorts, as hitting the third escort was the most difficult.


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Once hits have been determined, theyare allocated on the nearest ship first,until all damage points have beenremoved. Once the nearest ship hasbeen reduced to zero damage points

move onto the next nearest ship untilit is reduced to zero damage points.Continue this process until all hitshave been allocated.

If the attacker has had more hits theneligible targets due to the difficulty of his initial shots; then he canreallocated additional hits on shipswith no damage points remaining.

For example, of the three escorts moving around the island the attacker chose the easier shot. Two of the three escorts were eligible to be hit. The attacker rolled three hits.

His first hit he places on the firstescort. It is reduced to zero damage points. The second hit he places on the second escort which is also reduced to zero damage points.

The attacker still has one hit to allocate. Due to his choice to take the easier shot, the attacker can not

allocate the hit on the third escort. Instead, the attacker chooses to place the third hit on the first escort, and reducing it to negative one damage point.

By allocating hits on ships with zerodamage points remaining, theattacker may inflict Overkill. This isdescribed in the Shooting Section of the rules.

Squadron FireOne of the advantages of being in asquadron is the ability to coordinatefiring solutions to increase accuracy.This means a squadron firing can putmore shells on target than each vesselfiring independently.

All ships in the squadron must fire atthe same target. Ships in squadronmay chose to use the best firingsolution at an opposing ship/squadron

that is available. This means that thesquadron always fires as if it ismaking the easiest shot for any of theindividual ships in the squadron.They fire as a unit. However, anyships in the squadron out of range of the target still automatically miss.

In addition, the squadron may stack

its firepower. Therefore, the admiralcontrolling the squadron can roll allof his firepower dice together insteadof each ship acting as an individual.

Ordinance can also be stacked intoone template if the squadron is information, i.e. within 3 inches of eachother. All ordinance attacks from the


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squadron must be directed at thesame target ship/squadron. Theordinance is always fired from theship furthest from the target. Pleasenote, that stacking ordinance is

optional. It is possible that acontrolling play may wish to stack atorpedo barrage one turn, and notstack a depth charge attack the next.

For example, in our previous scenario. The three escorts are appearing around the edge of anisland. Escort one and two have

relatively clear shots at their

opponent. Escort threes shot would be much more difficult due to theisland.

Since Escort three is part of the same squadron as Escort one and two,it fires on the enemy Cruiser with the

same to-hit modifiers.

Plus, instead of rolling three separate dice for each ship to-hit, the Escort player can simply roll three dice of firepower simultaneously. This isintended to speed up game playwhenever possible.


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In a battle at sea, things are always happening. Ships are maneuvering to bring theirguns to bear. Officers are shouting orders over the vox. Macro-cannons roar. Metal

is twisted and burnt beyond recognition. Sailors steel themselves for duty whileothers gibber in fear and flee for their lives. Everything is madness.

Of course, that is no way to play agame. In an attempt to capture all of this madness this game is brokendown into a system. This game usesa turn based activation system.

A turn based activation system is asystem that is broken down into

different elements of game play. Aturn is simply the time it takes forboth players to complete all thedifferent phases of the game. Duringeach phase, the two players trade off activating and using their forces asappropriate for the phase. When allthe phases are complete, the turn iscomplete. A game ends after a pre-

determined number of turns.

What does this mean to you, theplayer? In essence, the games isdesigned to keep both players asengaged in the playing of the game aspossible at all times. There are nolong waits while one player does a lot

of cool things with his fleet, whileyou wait to do cool things with yours.Instead, you will be constantlyinteracting with your opponent in anattempt to out think, out maneuver,and out fight them.

A turn is composed of the followingphases:

Initiative Phase Movement Phase Battle Phase End Phase

Initiative PhaseThis phase is used to determine whowill have the opportunity to begin theactivation process for this turn. Thisis the shortest phase as it is a singledice roll.

Movement PhaseIn this phase, players move theirships and squadrons across the oceanboard. All maneuvering, rams,collisions, and boarding are takencare of during this phase of the gameturn.


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Battle PhaseUnsurprisingly, this phase pertains tofighting. In this phase both playersresolve their shooting and ordinancelaunches. This phase ends when all

eligible naval units have had anopportunity to fire.

End PhaseThe End Phase is a catch-all phase thatcleans up the board and prepares it forthe next game turn. Ordinance ismoved, damage is repaired, wake

markers are removed, and othergeneral maintenance items arecompleted.

The Initiative Phase is the shortestphase of the game turn. It consists of a single dice roll. However, it willdictate the flow of later phases.

The winner of the Initiative Phasewill choose whether they wish tobegin activating their ships andsquadrons first or second. The choicemade during this phase will carryeffect the order of activation in allsubsequent phases during this gameturn.

Both players determine the leadershiprating of their admiral. If neither sidehas paid for a Flagship (or similarfleet upgrade) use the highestLeadership in the fleet.

The two opposing players roll a

single D6 and add their admiralsleadership. The player that has thehighest number chooses whether the

want to activate first or second. In thecase of a tie, roll again until a winneris determined.

The player who is activating first, canthen begin the Movement Phase.


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What is the measure of a skilled captain? One who can maintain his composure inthe midst of mind numbing terror, and with a level head do what needs doing. Special

Orders are a way of representing this calm, level headed ability of your shipscaptains to do what needs doing during the battle.

Special Orders are given by a shipscaptain (or the fleets admiral) tofocus the ships crew on performing aspecific task that needs to be done,done right, and done immediately. Asa result of the crews attention tocarrying out the Special Orders given,other normal operations of the ship

may suffer. A Special Order willimprove a ships chances to do aspecific function depending on theexact order given.

Special Orders can be declaredwhenever a ship or squadron isactivated. Note, ships are activatedduring the movement and battle

phase. However, a ship can only everhave one Special Order for theduration of a game turn. Ships thatare part of a squadron must all go onthe same Special Order.

Once a Special Order is declared, theship immediately takes a Leadershiptest to determine if the officers andcrew have successfully executed onthe captain's orders.

Roll 2d6. if the result is theLeadership rating of the ship orunder, the test is passed and theSpecial Order is carried out.

If the test is failed, then the ship or

Squadron does NOT receive thebenefits from the Special Orders. Inaddition, no other Special Orders canbe attempted at future activations.

Note, some Special Orders arereactive. These Special Orders, whengiven will immediately replace theexisting Special Orders after asuccessful Leadership Test. Once thereactive Special Orders are accepted,the ship must maintain those ordersuntil the end of the game turn.


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The list below is all of the SpecialOrders available. This list willinclude the name of the SpecialOrder, the phase it can be used in, andany other special restrictions. Forexample, only certain types of shipscan use some Special Orders.. Inaddition, it will list eh advantage andthe drawback of each order.

All Ahead Full Movement Phase

Advantage- This Special Orderallows the ship to move UP TOdouble its cruising speed for this

game turn. Drawback- While moving so rapidlyit is impossible to launch ordinance,and fire weaponry. All firepower ishalved on the ship (Rounding Down).In addition, the ship can not executeany turns while on this Special Order.

Reverse Engines

Movement Phase Advantage- The ship can do one of two things. It can either stop movingforward for the remainder of the turn,or it can move BELOW its normalcruising speed. This Special Order isrequired to become disentangled. Drawback- Again, the unexpectedmovements of the ship makingshooting difficult. The shipsfirepower is halved (RoundingDown). In addition, ordinance cannot be launched.

Come to New Heading Movement Phase

Advantage- The ship can make up totwo turns during the movement

phase. However, the normal rules forturning still apply to the extra turns. Drawback- The rapid directionchange can make it difficult to targetthe enemy. The ships firepower is

halved (Rounding Down). In addition,ordinance can not be launched.

Cut Stragglers Movement Phase

Advantage- This Special Orderallows a squadron to leave behind adamaged or inoperable ship withoutlosing squadron formation. Drawback- The straggler loses allsquadron benefits immediately.

Evasive Maneuvers Movement Phase

Advantage- The ship can make verysmall adjustments in its course toavoid an unintentional collision withanother ship. At the point of contact,the ship on Evasive Maneuvers Special

Orders rolls a d6. On a 4+, thecollision is avoided. Drawback- The crew is transfixed bythe drama of avoiding the collision.The ships firepower is halved(Rounding Down). In addition,ordinance can not be launched.

Run Silent, Run Deep

Movement PhaseSubmersibles Only Advantage- if the Leadership test ispassed, this Special Order allows asubmersible to attempt to crash diveand avoid their enemies. When thisSpecial Order is successfully used, theship is simply removed from play andplaced back into reserves. It will


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The normal rules for Submersiblesentering play from reserves goingforward. Drawbacks- If the Leadership toexecute the Special Order fails, the

submersible must move its fullcruising speed straight ahead. It cannot fire any weapons or ordinance. Inaddition, since this Special Order isexecuted in the movement phase, thesub will not be able to shoot this turn.

Load Ordinance Battle Phase

Advantage- This Special Orderallows a ship to launch freshordinance attacks in the Battle Phase. Drawbacks- If the test is failed, thenno new ordinance can be used in thebattle phase.

Lock-On Battle Phase

Advantage- The to-hit rolls for

shooting attacks can be re-rolled. Drawback- This has no effect onordinance attacks. If a ship has lock-

on, it may not have made any turns inthe movement phase.

Brace For Impact Any Phase- Special

Advantages- A ship can go onBrace For Impa ct at any point, evenduring an opponents activation. ThisSpecial Order will also stay in effectuntil the end of the game turn. ThisOrder allows the ship to take a 4+brace save against any hit thatpenetrates the ships armor, even hitsthat normally are not allowed a save. Drawbacks- Once the Brace ForImpact Special Order is declared itreplaces any existing Special Order,and no other Special Orders can beperformed by the ship. This means, if a ship is forced to Brace For Impactbefore it activates, it will not be ableto try to go on any other SpecialOrders. A ship can only attempt to goon Brace For Impact once a turn. If

the Leadership Test is failed, it cannot try to go on this Special Orderagain from other hits.


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Naval combat is not static. It is dynamic and ever changing. This is when your fleetmoves to action against your foes. Now is when you move your ships into position to

unleash your battle plan. It is a critical phase. The admiral who masters the art ofmovement is all ready on the path to victory.

Water flows, it is constantly inmotion. Naval warfare is nodifferent. Ships race forward towardsthe enemies battle line. Escorts fleebefore they are crushed.Merchantmen scatter at the meresight of an enemy vox antennae.

Aquanautica Imperialis is about

movement.

In this phase, you move your fleetacross the oceans. The player who isgoing first chooses a ship or squadronto activate. Once a ship is activated,another ship or squadron may not beactivated until the initial choice hascompleted its movement phase. A

ship or squadron can only beactivated once per phase.

When the first ship or squadron hascompleted its movement phase, theopponent may then activate one of hisunits. Players will continue to trade-off activations until all units on theboard have been activated andmoved. If one player still hassquadrons to activate and the otherdoes not, simply play through until allsquadrons have been activated andmoved.

Cruising SpeedA ship moves up to its cruising speedwhen activated. Cruising speed is the

number of inches indicated in theships profile. A ship may onlyincrease its cruising speed by using aSpecial Order such as All Ahead Full .

However, every ship has aMINIMUM movement equal to half of the ships cruising speed (rounding

down). A ship must move AT LEASTthis minimum distance everymovement phase. It is impossible for aship to be activated and do nothing.The only way to avoid moving a shipsminimum speed is by using theReverse Engines Special Order.

A ship or squadron may move any

distance between minimum speed andcruising speed that a player wishes.No Special Orders are required.

For example, a Cruiser has a speed inits profile of 8. The Cruiser has a

cruising speed of eight inches. The minimum speed is 4 inches.Therefore, a Cruiser can move

between four and eight inches every turn. However, the Cruiser must move at least four inches every time that the ship is activated in the movement phase.

The Cruiser may go further or shorter by using Special Orders, if the playerwishes.


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TurningThe bigger a warship is, the harder itis to get it to change course. It is asimple matter of physics. Objects inmotion tend to follow the same

trajectory until an outside force actsupon them. The greater the change intrajectory, the greater the forcerequired to make the change.

In the game, ships move the in thedirection they are facing. If a playerneeds a ship to change course, thevessel will need to execute a turn.

The angle a ship can turn is listed onits profile. This is in degrees, so if you see a 45, then the ship can makea single turn up to forty-five degreesfrom the initial direction. If it is 90,then the ship can make a turn up toninety degrees. A ninety degree turnwould leave the final direction of theship perpendicular to the originalpath.

Ships can only make a single turn permovement phase. The Come to NewHeading Special Order is the onlyexception to this rule.

When a ship is turning, it does notsimply pivot in place. The vessel allready has momentum, so such amaneuver would be impossible. Torepresent this, any ship that isexecuting a turn must have first madea forward movement of two inches.If for some reason (damage, wake,etc.) the ship can not move forwardtwo inches, no turn can be initiated.

At this point, pivot the ship to thenew heading. After the pivot iscompleted, the ship must be able tomove an additional two inchesforward. If it can not, the turn cannot be executed.

After the second two inch move iscompleted, the turn is consideredcomplete. The vessel may nowcontinue its movement phasenormally. However, the four inchesused to conduct the turn are stillsubtracted from the total movementrate.


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For example, a cruiser with a movement of 8 inches and capable of making a 45 degree turn is heading north. It is activated by the player for his movement phase, and the player decides that the cruiserwill turn.

The cruiser would first have to move two inches forward. Then pivot forty-five degrees the direction it was turning. Then it would move forward another two inches.

At this point, the cruiser would still have 4 inches of movement remaining. It would not be able toexecute a further turn.

A ship can initiate a turn at any pointin its movement provided it has atleast four inches of movementremaining to execute a turn. Inaddition, the ship can use anyremaining move normally aftercompleting a turn.

CollisionsAs you can see from the turningrules, ocean going warships are notthat maneuverable. When they areoperating tight formations accidentscan happen. Many naval careershave been ruined by a poorly timedturn that resulted in a collision.

The results of all collisions areworked out when they occur in themovement phase. A collision isdifferent than a ram, as a collision isan unintentional act. It occurs

whenever two naval vessels come incontact with each other it isconsidered a collision.

In the event of a collision, bothships involved may be damaged.Each ship will take 1d3 points of damage. These can be savednormally with armor and Brace For


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Impact saves.

The Evasive Maneuvers specialorder can be used to avoid potential

collisions. Please see the rules forSpecial Orders for more information.

Any ships involved in a collision willbecome Entangled and be subject toDrift. It is important to note, that anyships that are part of a collision willbe subject to Drift before they aregiven a chance to break free frombeing entangled. More informationon Entangling and Drift can be foundahead.

EntanglingNaval ships will become entangled if they collide or ram each other. Thegreat metal plates buckle and twistaround each other, and lock the two

craft in a dangerous embrace. Whenships become entangled, neither of them can move. Instead they becomesubject to Drift.

The crews of entangled ships canchose to attempt a boarding actionimmediately when the Entanglingoccurs. Typically, this occurs afterthe results of any Collision orRamming are calculated. Any vesselreduced to zero damage points cannot initiate a boarding attempt. Formore information on Boarding, pleasesee the appropriate section below.

Once entangled, ships can notattempt to become disentangleduntil activated in the followingmovement phase. It is possible for aship that is rammed or involved in acollision to miss its movementphase, as a vessel that is entangledcan not move.

Entangled ships can be targeted byranged weapons as normal. Anentangled ship may also fire

normally.

To become disentangled, one of theentangled ships must be activatedand then go on the Reverse EnginesSpecial Orders. Once the order hasbeen successfully given, adisentangle attempt can be made.Roll a d6. if the result is 4+ the


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ships have successfully disentangled.The activated ship is placed up totwo inches straight back from theother craft. The activated shipsmovement phase ends.

DriftLand is static. If you stop moving,you stop. The ocean is very different.It is always moving. If a vessel stopsmoving, it is simply carried along bythe force of currents, winds, andtides. The Drift rules help to simulatethis effect.

If a ship is unable to move or isimmobilized for any reason, it willbecome subject to Drift. Thistypically occurs if a ship becomesEntangled or is a reduced to zerodamage points.

Drift occurs in the End Phase. In theEnd Phase, any immobilize/entangled

ships are rolled for. Use the ScatterDice and a d3. The arrow rolled onthe scatter dice is the direction of thescatter, and the number is the distancein inches. Move the immobilizedship the direction of the arrow thenumber of inches rolled.

For example, an Ork cruiser mistimed his turn and collided with a Chaos cruiser off the coast of South Ammoriss. The Ork shipimmediately stops moving. The two

ships become entangled. Since theChaos cruiser had not been activated

yet, it loses its chance to move in this movement phase.

The two ships can not attempt disentangle until their following movement phase. The rest of the two fleets continue playing as

normal. Once the End Phase occurs, the two entangled ships drift.

The Scatter Dice and a D6 are

rolled. The D6 comes up three, and the arrow points Southwest. The two ships drift 2 in the direction the arrow indicates. Since the End Phase occurs before the next Movement Phase, any entangled ships will drift before they can attempt to disentangle from each other.


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During the next Movement Phase, the Chaos cruiser activates first.The player decides to attempt to

disentangle from the Ork cruiser.

First he makes the command check to go on the Reverse Engines Special Order. He succeeds.

Next, he rolls a D6. The Chaos player needs a 4+ to disentangle successfully. He rolls a 6, so the attempt is successful.

The Chaos player decides to movehis cruiser the full 2 away from thecollision. The Chaos cruisers

Movement Phase comes to an end.The Ork Cruiser can now activate

and move normally.

RammingUnlike a collision, a ram is anintentional attempt to crash into anenemy craft. Most sane captains willnever attempt a ram, as the potentialto irreparably damage their own shipis too great. However, sometimesdesperate times call for desperate

measures.

A ram occurs in the Movement Phase.Rams must be declared when the shipis activated, but before the activatedship as actually moved. In addition,the activated ship must pass acommand check and go on the AllAhead Full Special Order in order tocarry out a successful ram. When asuccessful ram occurs, calculate allresults from the ram before movingon in the Movement Phase.

A successful ram inflicts 1d3 pointsof damage on each ship involved inthe ram. Normal armor and Bracefor Impact saves are allowed. If theramming ship is equipped with a ram,it will inflict 1d6 damage pointsinstead of the normal 1d3.

A successful ram results in both shipsbecoming Entangled. Once two shipsare Entangled, Boarding operationsmay be initiated before moving on inthe Movement Phase.

BoardingWhen two ships are locked together,there is no better time to attempt toboard. In a boarding action, the crewfrom both ships try to fight their wayover to the opponents ship and causehavoc. The fighting is up close anddeadly.


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A boarding action can only occurafter a collision or ram. The decisionto initiate a boarding action occursafter the results of the ram orcollision are calculated.

Vessels that have been reduce to zerodamage points can not initiate orparticipate in a boarding action. Thecrew is too busy abandoning ship toboth defending it, and no one wantsto scramble onto a sinking craft.

Either of the entangled ships can

choose to initiate a boarding action.Both ships MUST participate even if one ship chooses to board and not theother. There is no additional benefitsfor being the player that has chosen toinitiating a boarding action.

The following procedure will allowplayers to determine the results of aboarding action. Each ship rolls a d6,and adds their Crew ratings. The shipthat has the highest result is thewinner.

The winner has managed to inflict acritical hit on the opposing ship. Thewinner rolls on the Critical Damagetable to determine what damage wasinflicted on the loser.

In addition, the losing ship has itsCrew rating reduced by one. A shipscrew rating can never go below zero.If a losing ship would have had theirCrew rating reduced below zero, thenthe loser takes one damage pointinstead of the Crew reduction.

This rule applies to all potential crewreductions, not just those fromboarding actions.

GroundingSea warfare is fraught with peril. If the enemies guns are not perilousenough, Mother Nature is also againstyou. Many a warship has met anuntimely demise on jagged rocks or ashallow shoal.

Any movement of turn that brings aship in to contact with land will cause

1d6 damage points. These can not besaved. In addition, the ship isimmediately immobilized.

In the following Movement Phase,when activated the ship may attemptto return to sea. The ship mustsuccessfully go on Reverse EnginesSpecial Orders. Then the controllingplayer must roll a d6. On a 5+. Theship can be moved directly back fromthe land up to half of its CruisingSpeed. This ends the ships move.


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In addition, when sea going vesselsmove close to land they are in dangerof running aground on rockyoutcroppings, reefs, and othershallow water hazards. Thesedangers lurk unseen below thesurface, but are suitably shallowenough to damage an unwary boatshull.

In normal peace time operations,these pose little threat as they arewell mapped. However, in the franticaction of battle, navigation can

become less precise.

To represent this danger, when a shipmoves within one inch of a land massmake a Command Check. If

successful, the proper navigation wasdone and the ship is safe. If failed,the ship has struck and underwaterobstacle.

The vessel takes 1d6 damage points.However, Brace for Impact savesmaybe used to avoid damage. Inaddition, the ship is immobilized as itbecomes hung up on the rocks.

In the following Movement Phase,when activated the ship may attemptto return to sea. The ship must

successfully go on Reverse EnginesSpecial Orders. Then the controllingplayer must roll a d6. On a 5+. Theship can be moved directly back fromthe land up to half of its CruisingSpeed. This ends the ships move.


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In the distance future of the forty-first millennium more than just ships prowl theoceans. The Imperium of Man and her many enemies have developed a number of

unique and deadly technologies. This section will discuss how to represent theexotic and advanced killing machines of naval warfare.

The majority of vessels encounteredin a game of Aquanautica Imperialisare surface ships. However, in thegrim darkness of the far-future,other more sinister ship types arelurking. These rules will deal withsubmerged vessels and skimmers.

A submerged vessel is a craftcapable of navigating beneath thesurface. They are commonlyreferred to as submarines orsubmersibles. They are capable of navigating on the surface, buttypically spend the majority of theirtime cruising deep inside theoceans depths.

Skimmers on the other hand

navigate above the oceans surface.The hull of a skimmer never needtouch a the top of a wave. The aretypically operated by advanced anti-gravity engines or other technologicalwonders. Skimmers do not have thecapability for true flight. Instead,they operate several feet above the

oceans surface.

This allows skimmers to performfeats of maneuver that normal oceangoing vessels can not match. Theycan spin and turn on a dime. Inaddition, they travel over land just aseasily as they do the sea. This makesskimmers a very unique vehicle

within the world of Aquanautica Imperialis.


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Submerged CraftIf a ship can submerge, it swill havethe submerge special rule listed in theship profile. The purpose of asubmerging ship is to be able tothrough the ocean without beingdetected. In games, this means thatsubmerged vessels are not placed onthe board. Instead, they are set asidein a special status called Reserves .

During the Movement Phase, theplayer controlling the submergedcraft may choose to bring the ship out

of Reserves and into play . To do this,the controlling player activates thesubmerged craft. They then make aCommand Check for the ship. If successful, the submerged craft canenter play. If failed, it stays in

Reserves until the followingMovement Phase.

To enter play, the controlling playerplaces the submerged craft anywhereon the board. This is not the finalentry point.

To determine that roll a d3 and theScatter dice. The Scatter dice is thedirection you will move thesubmerged craft, and the d3 is thenumber of inches. If a HIT isrolled on the Scatter Dice, thesubmerged craft enters where thecontrolling player placed it.Otherwise, move the craft where thedice indicated from the proposedentry point. Once deployed, thevessel may make no further moves.

Attack DepthOnce a submerged craft enters play, itis not assumed to be on the surface.It has simply come to attack depth.At this depth, it is easier to detectwith scanners, and vulnerable to anti-submarine ordinance. However, it isstill beneath the surface of the sea.

At Attack Depth, a submerged crafthas limited protection. They can notbe targeted by direct fire weapons.They can not be collided with,rammed or boarded. When at Attack

Depth, they are only vulnerable totorpedoes, depth charges, bombers,and other template weapons.Conversely, they can not attack withany direct fire weapons, initiate aram, or participate in a boardingaction.

SurfacingA submerged craft may choose tocome to the surface in any MovementPhase after the one it enters play. Itcan not return to Attack Depth untilthe following Movement Phase.

Once on the surface, the submergedcraft can use direct fire weapons,ram, and board as normal. However,it also is vulnerable to these types of attacks like any other surface vessel.

Forced to SurfaceIf a submerged craft is at Attack Depth, a Critical Hit is caused, thesubmerged craft will automaticallysurface. It is then treated like anyother surface going craft.


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SkimmersSkimmers are governed by a unique

set of rules compared to othersurface going naval vessels. Assuch, they are not recommended foruse by those who are new to thegame.

Skimmers add an extra level of maneuverability to any fleet. On thedownside, they are typically fragileand expensive compared to typicalsurface craft.

Skimmers cannot go on any specialorders as they are generally toosmall and fragile of craft comparedto other naval squadrons. Theyoperate more like aircraft thantraditional ocean going warships.

Units that are skimmers are activatedand used just like any othership/squadron. They can move at anyspeed up to full. In addition, they canturn freely and make as many turns asthey wish. Skimmers cannot begrounded or be part of a collision,instead they simply move over theterrain or ships they come in contactwith.

In battle skimmers are fired at likeOrdinance and require a 6+ to hitfrom direct fire weapons and

torpedoes. Las-Batteries, Mines, andAircraft; strike on a 4+ as normal. If a Skimmer is reduced to zero damagepoints then they are removed fromplay and replaced with a wake markeras the skimmercrashes.

Skimmers cannot be boarded orrammed. They can initiate aboarding action, but cannot beboarded in return. If a Skimmer losesa boarding action, they suffer no illeffects as the crews of non-skimmerscannot attack back effectively.


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In the grim darkness of the 41 st millennium, the fight for survival is all consuming.On land, space, and air; warriors struggle for mastery. The oceans of the war torn

universe offer no reprieve or respite. Even on the high seas, there is only war.

The Battle Phase is where all thecunning maneuvers of the MovementPhase come to a head. It is filledwith the roar of macro-cannons, thehiss of las-batteries, and thedevastating blasts of detonatingordinance. During this phase,opposing fleets will fire their guns,

launch ordinance, and cause damageto their enemies.

Once all squadrons in the opposingfleets have completed theirMovement Phase, the player whowon the Initiative may begin theBattle Phase. Once this phase begins,no other movement can be executed

this turn. Be sure all movement hasbeen completed before beginning thisphase of the game.

The player who won initiative may

activate any unit he wishes to beginthe Battle Phase. Once activated thesquadron will complete all parts of theBattle Phase. Once a squadron hasbeen activated the player may not goback and reactivate that unit. Once theunit has completed its Battle Phase,your opponent can then activate a unit

of his force and move through theBattle Phase with the activated unit.This sequence of alternating activationcontinues until all units havecompleted the Battle Phase. At thispoint you move onto the End Phase.

Players will continue to alternate untilall squadrons have moved. If one

player has squadrons remaining to beactivated and the other does not,simply continue playing throughsquadron by squadron until allsquadrons have been activated.


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A ship or squadron that is activated inthe Battle Phase may choose to fireits weapons in any order. Alternately,a player may activate a unit andchoose for them to do nothing.

All weapons of the same type and inthe same arc are considered to befired together. A unit can fireordinance, then direct fire weapons,launch aircraft, and then fire directfire weapons from a different arc.The order of firing and launchingordinance makes no difference.However, any weapon system canonly be launched or fired once a turn.The only exception to this is PointDefense systems.

For example, a Reliable cruiser is armed with turreted bow macro- cannons, turreted stern macro- cannons, bow torpedo tubes, and point defenses in all arcs. Once the

cruiser is activated in the Battle Phase, the player may choose to fire:

Bow macro-cannons to port Stern macro-cannons to

starboard Bow torpedoes forward

Or the controlling player could

choose to fire in any other combination of weapons, as long as the same weapon system did not fire more than once.

If the turreted bow and stern macro- cannons were firing in the same arc their firepower could be rolled together.

Direct FireDirect fire is the most common type of shooting found between warships.Essentially, each ship aims its hugeguns at a target it can see, and opens

fire. The gunners will try and correctmisses based on where the previousshells splash into the water. Direct fireweapons move too fast or are too smallto counter with anti-ordinance pointdefense weapons.

The Macro-cannon is a common typeof direct fire weapon used by Imperialand rebel forces. However, it not theonly type used by humans. Inaddition, various xeno races have theirown versions such as the TyranidVenom Cannon and the Ork Big DakkaKannon.

RangeVarious weapon systems will havedifferent ranges in which they can

effectively target an enemy. Theweapons maybe able to reach farther,but after the range listed they are nolonger capable of delivery the amountof force needed to damage modernships.


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To determine the range of a shot,simply draw a straight line betweenthe mid-point of the firing ship, andthe mid-point of the target ship. Thelength of this line is the range.

If the line is longer than the range of the weapon, the shots automaticallymiss. The guns are still considered tohave fired, but they simply fail toeither hit or damage the target bydefault.

Fire ArcsAs discussed earlier, all ships aredivided into four arcs. Typically thedescription of the weapon system willlet you know which arc the weaponcan fire in.

Some weapons can fire into more thanone arc. However, any weapon canonly be fired in one arc during theBattle Phase. The only exception tothis is Point Defense weapons, whowill be discussed in further detail later.

For example, the forward macro- cannons of a Reliable cruiser are mounted in a turret. That means the forward guns can fire to the port, bow, or starboard. In any one Battle Phase, the forward macro-cannons must choose which of those three arcsit will fire into; either the port, bow,

or starboard; but not all three.

If no targets are within a weapons firearc, then the weapon can not be fired.

It is also possible that an enemy can bein more than one fire arc at a time.This means weapons that can fire ineither arc, may fire at the ship. Theusual rules for firing in one arc perBattle Phase applies.


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Target PriorityA squadron should fire at the closestenemy squadron. A squadron canchoose to fire at any target they want,however, if they wish to fire at anenemy unit other than the closest,then they must pass a LD test. If failed, no firing may occur.

In addition, many ships have morethan one weapon system. Thatmeans, it is possible for the closesttarget to be different for weaponsystems in different arcs.

Line of Sight (LOS)Line of Sight (LOS) is required toeffectively fire direct fire weapons.To determine line of sight, a straightline must be able to be drawn fromthe firing ship to the target shipwithout crossing intervening terrainor models. This is called True LOS.Typically, when you measure forrange, you will also be able todetermine line of sight.

However, in the far flung future of the41 st millennium most ships havesophisticated communications,detection, and targeting technologies. Aenemy ship can be targeted without

True LOS if at least one other ship inthe same fleet can draw True LOS to thetarget unit. This is Third Party LOS.

The effect of this rule makes itrelatively hard to hide in the openocean. However, if you are firing on atarget without True LOS, the attack isconsidered Fully Obscured .

ObscuredMost captains do not want to exposetheir ships to the direct fire of theenemy. When possible, they try to hidebehind terrain or other smaller craft.This is called obscuring. If a ship hasan intervening piece of terrain, model,etc it is considered obscured. The shiphas a -1 modifier to be hit from

shooting.

If the firing ship can not draw LOS tothe mid-point of the Target, the targetship is considered Obscured.

Some examples of an obscured targetare the following:

A smaller ship in between the firingship and the target. The target ship is moving around anisland. Target is entangled, and another ship isbetween the firing ship and target.

Ordinance templates and wake markersdo not count for purposes of obscuring.

.


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For Example, two ANS Assured escorts are engaging an Ork cruiser.The Ork cruiser is moving around a

small island. The Ork kaptin has cunningly placed the island between

himself and the escorts. Escort A and Escort B are in separate squadrons.

When Escort A fires on the OrkCruiser the Ork Cruiser is treated as

If Escort A fires on the Ork cruiser itis considered an Obscured shot. The

mid-point of Escort A can not draw a LOS to the mid-point of the OrkCruiser.

If Escort B were to fire, it would not be an obscured shot as the mid-point of Escort B has a clear LOS to the mid-point of the Ork cruiser.

For example, Escort A is out of sight of Rebel A since the intervening rock formation is larger than Escort A. Rebel B can not target Escort A.

a smaller target for calculating the to hit roll. Escort B will fire without this modifier.

If Escort A and B were in a Squadron,

Escort A could fire on the Ork cruiserwith the same modifiers as Escort B due to the Squadron firing rules found in the Squadrons section of the rulebook.

Out of SightWhile on the open seas, it is verydifficult for a ship to be Out of Sight.There are simply few places where alarge ship can hide. However, thereare situations where it can happen.

If LOS is being drawn to a target, andintervening terrain/models are largerthan the target unit, then the targetunits are considered out of sight.

Units that are Out of Sight can not be

fired upon as the gunners can not getaccurate co-ordinates to fire at.


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For example, Rebel A can not see Escort A as the intervening terrain islarger than Escort A and hence

blocking all LOS. Therefore, Escort A can not be targeted normally.

Fully ObscuredAs discussed in the Line of Sightsection of the rules, it is possible tofire upon a ship without True LOS.As long as a single ship in the same

fleet can draw True LOS, then anyship can be considered to have LOSto a ship for firing purposes.

However, it is much harder forgunners to hit a target that is beingcommunicated to them via a thirdparty then by firing using their owntargeting systems. As a result, allshots at a target using a third partyLOS are considered to be FullyObscured.

In order to hit a fully obscured target,a Natural 6 must be rolled on the tohit roll.

Note: Aircraft markers CAN be usedto determine Third Party LOS.

However, in this scenario Rebel B has a True LOS to Escort A. That means Rebel A can draw Third party LOS for targeting purposes on Escort A.

Rebel A can now fire on Escort A, but must treat Escort A as if it were fully obscured. All Firepower rolls require a natural 6 to hit.

Point Blank The closer you are to a target, theeasier it is to hit them. At a certaindistance, it becomes nearlyimpossible to miss. This is calledPoint Blank range.

If a target is less than three inchesaway from the firing vessel, it isconsidered Point Blank. Essentially,this is so close that ships of the samefleet could squadron. Seamen can seeeach other on deck, read each otherssignal flags, and easily make out bowidentification markers. That is veryclose.

All firing at Point Blank range hits ona 2+. No other modifiers apply. At


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this range no amount of fancymaneuvering, moving abeam, size of target, etc. has any bearing.

Las Batteries

Instead of macro-cannons, some shipsmount huge energy weapons. Theseweapon systems are conventionallycalled Las-batteries.

A Las-battery has a number of advantages over traditional navalguns. They are easier to aim, do notrequire ammunition, and do not kick out any smoke. However, they aremuch less robust, harder to maintain,and require huge sources of energy tobe effective. As such, they have notreplaced the more traditional Macro-cannons in Imperial fleets.

A Las-battery fires a stream of weaponized energy at the target,making them significantly easier to

hit with. As a result, all shots with aLas-Battery hit on a 4+ regardless of enemy speed, size, approach, etc.However, Las-batteries are affectedby Obscuring and Point Blank normally. You roll one dice per pointof Firepower.

In addition, Las-batteries are so

powerful, that no Armor saves areallowed. Only Brace For Impactsaves can negate the damage of aLas-Battery.

Weapon BatteriesAs mentioned, the most commonweapon system on Imperial craft isthe Macro-cannon. Some vessels use

other direct fire weapons such asrockets, missiles, or rapid firingcannon. Either way, a weapon batteryis cruder than the more glamorous Las-battery but usually make up for it with

reliability, low-cost, and easymaintenance.

When you are firing with a weaponbattery all weapons in the battery addup their firepower. This is the numberof dice that you will roll to hit. Thebase roll to hit a target is 4+ on a d6.

Unlike Las-batteries, weapon batteriesare subject to a number of modifiers tocan influence the likelihood of hittingthe target.

The modifiers are combined to the dieroll to determine the end result of theroll. Each successful 4+ causes 1 pointof damage that can be saved usingArmor or Brace For Impact saves.

Moving AbeamA ship is considered moving abeam if it is moving across the firing arc of the shooting ship. It can be verydifficult to train direct fire weaponson ships that are moving the oppositedirection or across the weapons field


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of fire. To hit targets in this situationtakes a higher level of training, skill,and luck.

In this example, the trio of Atrocities are moving abeam of the Reliablecruisers bow. This means that shots

from the bow weapons would receive the -1 modifier. However, return shots from the Atrocities port weapons would NOT suffer from

moving abeam modifiers.

Return shots from the Atrocitieswould have no moving abeam

modifiers from bow shots, but would for any the starboard arc shots.

For Example, in this scenario the

trio of Tyranid Atrocities are movingabeam of the the Reliable cruisers starboard side. Shots from the Bow arc would NOT suffer the Moving Abeam Modifier, but shots from theStarboard arc WOULD have the

modifier.


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Defense LasersOnly the largest ships in the fleet arecapable of mounting a defense Lasersystem. The weapon is intended foruse against spaceships in low orbit,

not other sea going vessels.However, in a pinch they can be usedin a naval battle. The very nature of the weapon system makes themdifficult to use with any precision.

Nominate a target ship as normal.Instead of rolling to hit, place thesmall blast template over the centerpoint of the ship. Roll a 1d6 and thescatter dice. If the scatter dice comesup as a hit the shot does not deviate.Otherwise, move the template thenumber of inches rolled in thedirection of the arrow. Any shiptouched by the blast take 1d6 hits thatcan not be saved by armor. OnlyBrace For Impact saves are allowed.

For Example, a defense laser attackis being used on this Tau Auxilliary

Fleet Bullhead. The first step is to place the blast marker down on the top of the target ship. The center of the template should cover the mid- point of the target vessel.

Once the template is set, roll the scatter dice and a d6.

In this case, the distance deviated is three inches, and the direction is directly in front of the Bullhead.Will it still be enough to hit the

target ship?

It was close, but it looks like this time the defense laser hit the enemyvessel. The template only needs to

be touching the target for it to be considered a hit. The Tau ship will now take 1d6 hits, with no Armor saves allowed.

The Tau player will want to seriously consider going on Brace For Impact.That is the only way to save a

defense laser hit.


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DamageOnce a ship has been hit by a salvofrom their opponent, they may takedamage from the blast. Every hitinflicted removes one point of damage from the ship. Ships have an

opportunity to avoid these damagepoints in one of two ways.

First, they can attempt to save usingtheir armor. Remember some hits(Like Las-Batteries) negate armor.For every hit, roll a d6. If you scoreyour armor rating or more, thedamage has been absorbed by the

ships armor.

In addition, a ship can go on theBrace for Impact special order. Inthis case, the ship gets a 4+ saveagainst every damaging hit. AnyArmor or Brace saves that are failedresult in a point of damage to theship.

For Example, a Reliable cruiser has a total of eight damage points (DP) and has an armor rating of 4+.

If the Reliable has been hit by four successful hits, it could potentially take four points of damage, whichwould reduce it to four DP.

However, it decides to go on the Brace for Impact Special Order, and succeeds the command test.

First the Reliable rolls its Armor rolls. It rolls One dice per hit, and

scores a 6,5, 3, and 2. Two dice were the needed 4+ so only two hits remain. The Reliable then rolls for Brace, and gets a 5 and 1. One hit is negated, but one remains.

The Reliable takes one DP and is reduced to 7 DP overall.


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CrippledShips that lose half of their damagepoints are crippled. A crippled shipreduces its speed by 2 inches. Inaddition, their Firepower is reduced

by half (rounding down). They areunable to fire a Defense Laser if theyare so equipped.

Escorts cannot be crippled.Therefore any escort with 2 DP (ormore) that loses DP, will still functionas normal.

Critical HitsNaval weapons in the 41 st

Millennium are brutal and inhumandevices. They can unleash horrificamounts of damage on metal andflesh.

Any hit that causes a damage pointmay also lead to additional criticaldamage to the struck vessel. Todetermine if a damaging hit causedcritical damage, roll and additional

d6. If the result is a 6, the ship hassustained a critical hit and additionalhorrific damage has been done.

Any escort that receives a critical hitwill automatically be reduced to 0DPno matter how many DP the escorthad remaining. Determine sinking asnormal.

For all other vessels, roll another 2d6and consult the critical damage tablebelow. If a critical hit is rolled thatcan not be applied, use the nexthighest result instead.

2-4 - One weapon system is destroyed! Determine the weapon system randomly.

5- Massive casualties! The hit has caused massive crew casualties. The ships crewrating is reduced by 1.

6-Rudder Jammed! The ship is unable to change course or make turns.

7-8- Fire! Roll to put out the fire every End Phase. If it is not put out, the fire causesone extra point of damage to the ship.

9- Screw Fouled! The ships propulsion system has been damaged. The ships cruisingspeed is reduced by 2 inches.

10- Bridge Destroyed! The captain and officers have been killed. Reduce the LD of theship by 3. This can not be repaired.

11- Hull Breach! The ships hull has been breached and revealed its weakersuperstructure to enemy fire. Reduce the ships armor by 1.

12- Bulkhead Collapse! The internal supports have begun to collapse and water issurging into the hull. The ship takes an additional 1d3 points of damage.


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SinkingSinking is a part of naval combat. Itis something every Captain tries toavoid, and every sailor dreads.

When a vessel has zero damagepoints left, it may sink. The ship canno longer function and is reduced to afloating hulk. It can no longer moveor fight normally and is insteadgoverned by the rules found here.

In the End Phase for any ship reducedto zero DP, roll a d6.

On a 1, the ship explodes. Place asmall blast template over the ship,with the center hole of the templateover the mid-point of the ship. Anyother ship touched by the templatetake 1d3 damage points. They cantake Armor and Brace For Impactsaves as normal. The ship is replacedwith Wake Markers equal to the size

of the ship.

On a 2-5, the hulk stays afloat.Instead, it is subject to the rules fordrifting and will immediatelydetermine where it drifts to.

On a 6, the ship is removed from playas it sinks beneath the waves.

Replace the ship with an equalamount Wake Markers as the size of the sunken ship.

OverkillA ship floating in the water is in adelicate balance of opposing forces.The laws of buoyancy allow it to stayabove the surface, but if that delicateequilibrium is broken, a ship can sink shockingly quick.

It is possible for a ship to take somuch damage that it will immediately

sink. Essentially any time a shiptakes half of their starting damagepoint past zero, it will sink. Thesinking takes place immediately uponreceiving the overkill hit, and noadditional drifting or sinking rolls aremade. The ship is replaced withWake Markers as appropriate.

For Example, an AN Faithful has 1 DP starting. If it receives 2 DP of damage in a single turn, it will immediately sink.

A rebel Just cruiser has six DP starting. It would not be overkilled unless it received 9 DP of damage

total.


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Wake MarkersAs shells, missiles, and torpedoesexplode amongst an oncoming fleet,the water is churned up into a boilingmass. These choppy seas can make it

difficult to maneuver, and slows theprogress of vessel moving through it.This situation can cause problems forsquadrons as they attempt to executetheir battle plans.

The churning water is referred to aswake. It is represented on the boardwith the use of Wake Markers.Vessels touching a Wake Marker canbe effected adversely.

Place a wake marker on the tablewhere one of the following occurs:

In some situations, the Wake Markerswill be placed along side of a ship.Some examples are when Firepowerof 10 strikes, from a Defense Laser,etc. Place the markers on the side of

the ship where the attacks came from.Once placed, Wake Markers do notmove. In the case of multiple attacks,do not stack the markers, but spreadthem around as much as possible.

Wake Markers have effects to thesquadrons and ships near them. If aship comes in contact with a wakemarker the following effects mayoccur:

If a ship comes in contact withmultiple Wake Markers the effectsare not cumulative.

The number of Wake Markers placedvary depending on the situation.

Sinking/Exploding Ship- One WakeMarker per Damage Point of the ship.

Defense Laser/Depth Charges-

Enough Wake Markers to fill the blasttemplate.

Ordinance Destroyed- One WakeMarker per Ordinance markerdestroyed

Firepower 10- One Wake Markerper Point of Firepower 10 and over.


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For example, A squadron of three Reliable cruisers fires on an Ork Big Dakka Boat. The combined firepower from the squadron is 12.Therefore, it will create up to three

wake markers.

Firepower 10 = 1 Wake Marker Firepower 11 = +1 Wake Marker Firepower 12 = +1 Wake Marker For a total of 3 wake markers

The attacks strike the bow of the Big Dakka Boat. The attack is resolved as normal. However, the three Wake Markers are placed touching the bow of the Ork ship as closely as possible.

In this case, two are touching theextreme front of the craft, while thelast one is placed slightly to the port

bow. The Wake Markers must be touching each other when placed.

For example, the Ork Big Dakka Boat is now activated for the Battle Phase. The Big Dakka Boat is still in contact with the Wake Markers.Therefore, it suffers the effects of

coming in contact with Wake Markers.

If the Ork ship chooses to fire, itwill do so with a -1 to hit. In

addition, it will not be able tolaunch Ordinance during this

Battle Phase. The three Wake Markers DO NOT cause multiple to hit penalties.


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For example, three squadrons of rebel bombers come in contact with an Ammoriss Navy Protector classescort. Since they are Ordinance,

the Bombers immediately swoop in

to attack.

The Protectors array of Point Defense weapons fire before the bombers can attack. Two of the three are blown from the sky. TheWake Markers are placed next to the

ship. The Wake Markers should be touching each other where possible.

Continue the Bomber attack as normal .

For example, a Tau Sailfin Escort has two Damage Points. In a battlewith Ork pirates, it takes four

points of damage from a squadron of Gun Tubz. The Sailfin is thevictim of overkill.

Per the rules for Overkill, the shipis immediately sunk. The Sailfin is

removed from the board and replaced by two Wake Markers since a Sailfin has two starting Damage Points. The Wake Markers must be touching


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The 41st Millenia is home to a vast array of devilish killing machines. High explosives,bio-toxins, energy beams, super heated plasma are but only a handful of ways man

can kill or be killed. Naval warfare has its own unique twists to the diabolic weaponsof war.

Ordinance is a catch all phrase forTorpedoes, Aircraft, and DepthCharges. These operate differentlythan direct fire weapons such as LasBatteries and Cannons. As a result,they have unique special rules.

All Ordinance attacks are

represented by markers that comeinto play on the table. Some liketorpedoes and aircraft will moveabout when deployed in the BattlePhase, and during the End Phase.Others will only impact the BattlePhase.

There is one thing all Ordinance

markers have in common. WhenOrdinance comes into contact with aship or another Ordinance marker itwill immediately attack. Otherwise,each types of Ordinance operatesdifferently depending on the type of Ordinance involved.

Launch OrdinanceAny ship that is equipped withtorpedo tubes, depth charges, or is acarrier can launch Ordinance. Thereare certain circumstances such asSpecial Orders or Wake Markersthat will prohibit you fromlaunching Ordinance. If these

restrictions are present, theordinance can not be launched andis not considered to have fired.

Ordinance is launched in the BattlePhase. It can be launched atanytime by an activated squadron.

The Ordinance moves its full speedaway from the launching ship in thefire arc of the weapon that launchedOrdinance. Carrier based aircraftcan move off in any fire arc. Keep inmind, the Ordinance is not allowedany additional movement until theEnd phase.

Once Ordinance has been launched,it can not be launched again unless asuccessful Special Order ReloadOrdinance has been executed.


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Moving OrdinanceDuring the End Phase the player whowon Initiative moves all their activeordinance of a particular type. Forexample, they can choose to move all

their aircraft or all of their torpedoes.The player selects a piece of activeordinance and moves it.

Ordinance can not Ram or engagein a Collisions.

If one type of Ordinance movesover Ordinance of the same type,both markers are removed on a roll of 6 on a d6.

If Torpedoes go aground, then theyare destroyed and removed from play.

If the Ordinance comes in contactwith any ships, then immediatelywork out the results.

Once the first player has moved allactive ordinance of their chosen type,then the second player activates onetype of ordinance and moves it. Itdoes not have to be the same type asthe first player. Each player takesturns until all Ordinance types havebeen moved and the resultsdetermined.

Keep in mind, once a ship comes incontact with ordinance, immediatelywork out the results. Therefore, it ispossible for a ship to move throughactive ordinance during its own

movement phase. The ordinanceattack will interrupt the normal flowof the Phase, and the results must beworked out. You should NOT waituntil the End Phase to complete theordinance attack.

Shooting at OrdinanceThe only types of weapons that can

effectively hit ordinance are PointDefense weapons. If a ship isequipped with Point Defense (PD)weapons it will be listed in the shipsprofile. Point Defense weapons getto fire at any Ordinance that comesinto contact with the ship, before theOrdinance attacks. Point Defenseweapons are allowed one shot perpoint of Firepower in their profile.

You can also fire at an Ordinancemarker with Direct Fire weaponbatteries. They will only hit anOrdinance marker on a d6 roll of 6.If successful, the ordinance marker isremoved and replaced with a wakemarker.


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TorpedoesTorpedoes are self-propelledwarheads that travel underwaterto the target. Torpedoes are apopular weapon due to the size of warheads such a device can carry.Torpedoes are the only weapon

that can be fired whilesubmerged.

Torpedoes can only be fired byships equipped with torpedotubes. Torpedoes have aFirepower rating and a speed thatwill be listed in the ships profile.

When torpedoes are launchedthey move in a straight line fromthe target ship there maximumspeed. Keep in mind, thattorpedoes can be fired at variousangles within the fire arc thetubes are in, just like a direct fireweapon. Torpedoes will alsomove their full speed distance in

the End Phase. Torpedoes can neverturn once they have launched.

In addition, torpedoes can be usedagainst submerged targets even whenthe firer is a surface vessel.

Once a Torpedo marker is detonated,it is removed from play.


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Depth ChargesDepth Charges are a special weaponused to attack submerged targets.Unlike other Ordinance weaponsDepth Charges use the blast marker

template.

If a ship has depth charges it will berecorded on the ships profile. Theyhave a Speed and Firepower,however, unlike most ordinance oncelaunched they will not make anyfurther moves. The speed is how farthe depth charges will launch fromthe ship.

Place the center hole of the blastmarker at this point. Any submergedtargets under the blast marker will behit with the firepower of the DepthCharge.

Point Defense has no effect on DepthCharges, and they can not be used

against surface vessels. However,place wake markers over the area theblast marker covers as Depth Chargeskick up a lot of wake.

For example, the AN Protector classescort is equipped with DepthCharges for anti-submarine warfare.The Speed is 4 and the Firepower is1. The Protector is being stalked by

a Silent class rebel sub.

The Protector moves into position in the Movement Phase. During the Battle Phase, they launch their Depth Charge attack.

First, the Protector measures fourinches from their stern arc. They

angle their launch within the arc to try to hit the Silent. The center of the small blast template is placed at 4 inches from the Protector.

In this case, the Silent is beneath the Blast Template so it is hit by a Firepower 1 hit. It can avoid damage per the normal rules. No matter the outcome of the attack, the Blast Marker will be replaced byenough Wake Markers to fill the

same area as the Blast template.


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MinesMines are a particularly nastyweapon system designed to be apassive deterrent to the movementof enemy ships. They have a speed

and firepower just like otherordinance. However, these ratingsmean different things for Mines.The mines can deploy up to theirspeed rating from the arc of thelaunching ship. Once deployed,they do not make any further movesusing this rating. The firepower ishow many mine templates will bedeployed from the launcher. Thesetemplates must be in contact withthe other markers from thelaunching ship.

Mines do not attack, they are apassive weapon. If an enemy craftmoves through a mine templateduring their move, they willimmediately be attacked by the

mines. Surface craft, skimmers andsubmerged craft are all affected, butaircraft are not. Torpedoes thatmove through mines remove bothtemplates on a 4+.

Each template of mines a shipmoves through counts as 1 attack.Mines hit on a 4+ with no modifiers.

Normal armor and Brace ForImpact saves can be made. After asuccessful mine attack, roll a d6.On a 4+ the mines stay in play.Otherwise, the template is removed.

Complete all mine and PD attacksbefore the ship completes the fullmove.

For example, a rebel Brave Minelayer has mines with a Speed of three and Firepower of four.The controlling player elects to

deploy mines. Measure 3 inches

from the rear arc, and place four mine templates touching each other to the rear of the ship. No mine template can be deployed further away from the ship then the first Mine template deployed.

Later, a Tau Marlin submarine tries to move through the Minefield. It would come in contact with three mine templates.

It does not matter that the Marlinis submerged at the time.

If the ship had PD weapons, theywould fire before the mines could

attack. If destroyed, replace the mines with a Wake Marker.

The Mines roll three attack dice,

since the Marlin touched three mine templates. They are 5, 4, and 1. The Marlin would need to make two saves as normal. The player controlling the Mines rolls his three dice again. This time he gets a 5,2, and 2. Two of the Mine templates are removed from play and replaced with Wake Markers.


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Mines will drift in the End Phase.They must stay in base to base, andthe same pattern they were deployed.However, they drift per the normalrules for a drifting hulk.

AircraftMany PDF navies use aircraft tosupplement their naval arms. Thisgives the fleets an over-the-horizoncapability that regular ships do notpossess. There are two main types of aircraft; Interceptors and Bombers.

Aircraft can only be carried by a shipthat has a launch bay which will belisted in the ships profile. A launchbay is rated by the number of squadrons it possesses. So a launchbay with a rating of 4 can launch 4squadrons of aircraft at a time. Eachsquadron is represented by oneaircraft marker, and has its own speedand fire power stats.

When launching the aircraft theplayer may decide what type of aircraft he wants to launch. So a shipwith a launch bay (4) can choose tolaunch 3 interceptors and one

bomber, 4 bombers, or any othercombination the player wishes.They can launch from the ship inany fire arc. Each type should berepresented by a different marker.

No launch bay can have moreaircraft squadrons in play then thelaunch bays rating. If a squadron isremoved from play the ship maylaunch a replacement. Keep inmind, in order to launch additionalsquadrons a special order ReloadOrdinance test must be passed.

For example, a ship with a launch bay rating of four launches four squadrons of bombers. In the next phase two squadrons are destroyed by point defense weapons. If a successful Reload Ordinance roll is made, then the ship may launch 2 new squadrons to replace the lost bombers markers.

Unlike torpedoes, aircraft can turnfreely and move at any speed fromhalf their move to full speed. Theyhave a much greater range of capabilities. They can move freelyover other ships and obstructions.


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Interceptors- Interceptors are used to removeenemy aircraft from play.

If they engage another Interceptorunit, both squadrons are removedfrom play.

If they attack bombers the bombers

are removed. Roll a d6 for theinterceptors. If the roll is a 4+ theinterceptors stay in play.

Bombers- Bombers can make attacks againstships.

Bombers hit their targets on a 4+regardless of modifiers.

After a Bomber attack, roll a d6.On a 4+ the bomber has enough

bombs to stay in play.

If the Bomb roll is failed, thebomber template is removed fromplay as the various bombers returnto their carrier to reload.


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For example, an Ammoriss NavyStalwart is engaging a Tau Whitetip.

Both ships are carrier vessels that are equipped with launch bays. TheStalwart has an edge with six launch

bays, while the Whitetip has fourlaunch bays. The AN wins initiative.

In the Battle Phase the Stalwart decides to launch 2 Interceptors and 4 Bombers. The Whitetip launches 4 Interceptors. The planes race away form their carriers at full speed in the Battle Phase. However, neither group comes in contact with the other.

During the End Phase, the aircraftmove again. The Stalwarts aircraft

move first and the two AN Interceptor Squadrons attack two of the Tau Interceptors. BothSquadrons are simply removed from

play as they cancel each other out.

The remaining AN Bombers sweep closer to the Whitetip carrier, but the 2 remaining Tau interceptor squadrons move in and attack two of the bomber templates. Two of the AN Bomber templates are removed.

The Tau Interceptors roll a d6 each.

They get a 4 and a 3. One squadron stays formed up and continues the pursuit while the other is broken and removed from play.

The turn ends. The AN winsinitiative for the Turn Two.

The following Battle Phase, the

the Stalwart has two out of six squadrons remaining on the board.They make a Special Order: Reload Ordinance roll, which is successful,

a

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AQ Book Main Rules Complete