TTHHEE VVEESSSSEELLSS OOFF CCHHAAOOSS

TTRRAAIITTOORR FFLLEEEETTSS::

MMEENN AANNDD IIRROONN,, NNEEIITTHHEERR OOFF TTHHEEMM QQUUIITTEE AASS TTHHEEYY OONNCCEE WWEERREE......

CHAOSVESSELS

ARMADA 36

THE PLANET KILLER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 ptsThe origins of the massive stellar vesselknown simply as the Planet Killer are amystery to Naval authorities. It bears noresemblance to any Imperial ship designand is assumed to have been constructedwithin the Eye of Terror by Abaddonsforces, just prior to the Gothic War in factseveral of the Adeptus Mechanicus doubtwhether its construction would have beenphysically possible outside of warp space.

Only one Planet Killer is known to havebeen built and that was used as thepersonal flagship of Abaddon theDespoiler during much of the Gothic War.Built around a central energy cannon ofimmeasurable magnitude, the Planet Killeris also studded with numerous long rangelances, weapons batteries and torpedolaunchers. Well armoured and protectedby a plethora of shield generators, thePlanet Killers only weakness seemed to beits ponderous speed.

It was this lack of pace which was to leadto its eventual downfall, as it wasdestroyed by salvo after salvo oftorpedoes, fired at extreme range by theLunar class cruisers of battle groupOmega, shortly after the destruction ofKharlos II.

TYPE/HITS SPEED TURNS SHIELDS ARMOUR TURRETSBattleship/14 20cm 45 4 5+ 5

ARMAMENT RANGE/SPEED FIREPOWER/STR FIRE ARCProw weapons battery 60cm 12 Left/front/right

Port weapons battery 60cm 6 Left

Starboard weapons battery 60cm 6 Right

Dorsal lances 60cm 6 Left/front/right

Prow torpedoes 30cm 9 Left/front/right

Armageddon gun 90cm See rules Front

And furthermore it is our conclusion thatsuch a machine therefore does not exist andany personnel claiming to have seen it aredeluded. It has been proven to a high degree ofprobability that the destruction of KharlosII is wholly the result of coincidentalseismic activity.

Conclusions from the preliminaryreport on the destruction of Kharlos II by

the Imperial Commissioner for MoralTruthNotes: The Planet Killer is notoriously slow to manoeuvre and so cannot use the Come to New Heading

special orders.

CHAOSVESSELS

PLANETKILLER SPECIALRULESOrdnance orders for these at the same time asfor the Armageddon gun. In this case, onlymake one Command check but apply the rollequally to both weapons systems (eg, if you rolla double 6, then the Planet Killer suffers anautomatic critical and will also be out oftorpedoes for the remainder of the game).

THE PLANET KILLERIN EXTERMINATUSThe Planet Killer, as its unsubtle name suggests,is designed to attack worlds. This makes itparticularly appropriate for the Exterminatusscenario. If the Chaos fleet is attacking, it caninclude the Planet Killer instead of usingmodified exterminators or a BlackstoneFortress. The Planet Killer does not lose any ofits weapons for being an exterminator, but if theArmageddon gun cannot be used for any reasonthen it can no longer act as an exterminator andthe Chaos player loses the battle automatically.Though the Planet Killer must enter low orbit tofire a planet-killing shot like other vessels itdoes not have to approach within 45cm of thetable edge to activate the Armageddon gun, nordoes it need to roll a 4+ to destroy the planet.

THE ARMAGEDDON GUN The Armageddon gun may not be fired if theship has been crippled or is on Burn Retros, AllAhead Full or Brace For Impact special orders.The Armageddon gun can only be fired directlyahead of the ship. To fire the Armageddon gun,place the nova cannon template so that it istouching the Planet Killers stem then move itdirectly ahead 90cm. If the hole in the centre ofthe template passes over a ships base (friend orfoe!), that ship suffers D6 automatic hits. If anyother part of the nova cannon marker movesover a ships base then the ship suffers oneautomatic hit. Hits take down shields exactly asnormal. Ordnance touched by the template isdestroyed. Once the Armageddon gun has fired,it must build up another charge of energy andyou must use Reload Ordnance orders before itcan fire again. If you roll a double 6 for a ReloadOrdnance check, then the Armageddon gun hasdisastrously malfunctioned, inflicting a criticalhit on the Planet Killer and rendering theArmageddon gun useless for the rest of thebattle. On a roll of any other double, theArmageddon gun can be fired once more beforeit must be shut down to prevent overloading.Note that as the Planet Killer also has torpedoes,it is possible that you will need to use Reload

90cm

Monstrous

Iron Duke

Imperious

FIRING THE ARMAGEDDON GUN

Planet Killer

Example: The nova cannon template moves 90cm directly ahead ofthe Planet Killer. The hole passes over the Imperious, while the outeredge passes over the Iron Duke. Unfortunately for the Chaos player,the template also passes over the Monstrous. The Imperious suffersD6 hits, and the Iron Duke and Monstrous suffer 1 hit each.

ARMADA37

INCLUDING THE PLANET KILLERIN OTHER BATTLESThe Planet Killer isnt particularly suited togeneral fleet engagements and is much moreappropriate for special scenarios or certaintypes of games. In fact, the Planet Killer isvery likely to be the whole reason for abattle. For example, you could play Scenariothree: The Raiders, with the Chaos fleetdefending the Planet Killer. Instead of thenormal victory conditions, the attackingplayer must cripple or destroy the PlanetKiller.

Another variation on the destroy the PlanetKiller scenario is to use Surprise Attack.Rather than orbiting a world, the defendingChaos fleet is stationed around the PlanetKiller (perhaps it is undergoing repairs orsomething similar). The defender does nothave to pay any points for the Planet Killer,but it starts the battle on standby like theother defending vessels. As such it cannotmove or shoot until active, though turretsand shields work as normal. The attackersmust cripple the Planet Killer to win.

Similarly, you could fight a Convoyscenario, with the Planet Killer counting aseight transports. The Planet Killersunwieldy size will make it difficult tomanoeuvre in the dense celestialphenomena, offsetting its far greateroffensive capabilities. If the Planet Killermoves off the opposite table edgeundamaged then the Chaos player wins. If itis crippled before it escapes it is a marginalattacker win and if it is destroyed theattacker gains a major win.

When vessels of a certain class are alreadyknown traitors, Imperial Admirals mustthink long and hard about employing theservices of remaining vessels. Individualcaptains and their ships may turn traitorregardless of class, but when substantialnumbers of vessels of the same design fall tothe Ruinous Powers, some fallibility must besuspected. By accident, or perhaps by designof some already corrupted Techmagos, theship may lack proper protection from theinfluences of the Warp, or its architecturemay contain certain geometries, proportions orcombinations of material which act asconduits for the dark energies of Chaos,making all such vessels vulnerable to theworst of taints, no matter how loyal, braveand honourable their captain and crew may be.

CHAOS RETALIATOR CLASS GRAND CRUISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 pts

The Retaliator class was part of theGalan V garrison fleet that mutiniedagainst Imperial rule in M35. After a twoday pitched battle around the planetsthree moons which saw four of the traitorvessels destroyed, taking three Imperialcruisers with them the rebel squadrondisengaged, fled out of the system andmade the jump into the Warp, led by thesquadron command vessel, Foebane.Since the Treachery of Galan the squadron(which has now taken its command shipsname) has been identified as part of theraiding fleets of three renegadeWarmasters, and has been involved in fleetactions in Segmentum Obscurus,Segmentum Solar and Ultima Segmentum.The Foebane and her sister ships were lastpositively identified during the Raid onMagdellan Prime, now over 100 years ago,which destroyed fifty percent of theplanets orbital defences.

TYPE/HITS SPEED TURNS SHIELDS ARMOUR TURRETSGrand Cruiser/10 20cm 45 3 5+ 3

ARMAMENT RANGE/SPEED FIREPOWER/STR FIRE ARCPort weapons battery 30cm 6 Left

Starboard weapons battery 30cm 6 Right

Port lance battery 45cm 2 Left

Starboard lance battery 45cm 2 Right

Port launch bays Swiftdeaths: 30cm 2 squadrons -Doomfires: 20cmDreadclaws: 30cm

Starboard launch bays Swiftdeaths: 30cm 2 squadrons -Doomfires: 20cmDreadclaws: 30cm

ARMADA 38

CHAOSVESSELS

Special Rules: The Foebane has improved thrusters and may move 5D6 cm when on All Ahead Fullorders. This costs no extra points.

FAMOUS SHIPSFoebane

TYPE/HITS SPEED TURNS SHIELDS ARMOUR TURRETSGrand Cruiser/10 20cm 45 3 5+ 3

ARMAMENT RANGE/SPEED FIREPOWER/STR FIRE ARCPort lance battery 30cm 4 Left

Port lance battery 45cm 2 Left

Starboard lance battery 30cm 4 Right

Starboard lance battery 45cm 2 Right

Not all crew aboard a treacherous vessel are necessarily willing participants. A corrupted captain may have turned little more than a handfulof officers and quartermasters, whom he will conspire with to effectively enslave the ships remaining crew, turning them into unwillingserfs to Chaos. Under such conditions, most inevitably succumb and turn to Chaos themselves, or else are broken and perish in their servitude.Sometimes, however, the brave fight goes on. The traitor vessel, Desmeria, for example, was destroyed when intercepting forces from BattlefleetArtemis managed to teleport a supply of melta-bombs to surviving loyalist sailors, holding out deep in the bowels of the Desmeria. In aseries of guerilla raids the valiant loyalists used the melta bombs to blast their way through to the ships anterior plasma coil before finallysacrificing themselves in the Emperors name, overloading the plasma drive itself and committing their treacherous comrades to the obliviontheir actions so deserved.

ARMADA39

CHAOSVESSELS

CHAOS EXECUTOR CLASS GRAND CRUISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 pts

Today the Executor is no longer inImperial service. Few were everconstructed, mostly in the ship yards ofHydraphur and its surrounding forgeworlds.

The Executor was a lance boat, and assuch was much liked by fleet commandersas a counter foil for other more heavilygunned cruisers.

Over the years the Executors numbersdwindled as each was lost in battle. One ofthe last remaining squadrons, under thecommand ship Blood Royale, wasstationed as part of the massive fleetsdefending the Cadian Gate. During a fleetaction against Chaos vessels raiding fromthe Eye of Terror, the Executor class BloodRoyale and her sister ships where part ofthe pursuit force. Having held the line andforced the raiders to disengage the BloodRoyale and a dozen other vessels gavechase. None where ever seen again, theirfate remained a mystery. Most believedthey had been drawn into a trap anddestroyed. Five centuries later three of themissing vessels, including the BloodRoyale, were identified as part of therenegade fleet of Warmaster ArcaVilespawn. They are thought to be theonly Executors left.

FAMOUS SHIPSBlood Royale

USING DAEMON SHIPS INBATTLEFLEET GOTHICThe basic profile of a ship, which is upgraded toa Daemon ship remains unchanged. It does notmatter what broadside weapons you replacewith Daemon ship components the shipsprofile is not changed.

The points cost to upgrade a capital ship to aDaemon ship is as follows:

Battleship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +50 points

Grand cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +30 points

Heavy cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +25 points

Cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +20 points

A Daemon ship may not be commanded by aWarmaster or a Chaos Lord even if it is thelargest ship in the fleet. This is an exception tothe normal rule. A Daemon ship may not have aChaos Space Marine crew. Any number ofcapital ships can be upgraded to Daemon shipssubject to these limitations.

Daemon ships cannot carry Exterminatusweapons and do not score any points forlanding troops in a planetary assault (theDaemons are bound within the hull of theirvessel, whilst able to board enemy shipsnormally in the context of a BFG game theywould become unstable if holding a planetaryobjective for any length of time).

Any Daemon ship may have a single Mark ofChaos with the same effects and cost in pointsas described in the Battlefleet Gothic rulebook.

Daemon ship Leadership is rolled as normal (ie,1=6, 2,3=7, 4,5=8, 6=9).

Who can say how the Daemon ships came to be?Some say they are created when ships crewssacrifice themselves to the Dark Gods, seekingimmortality in return for daemonic servitude.Alternatively, it is argued that they are ships ofthe damned, condemned by acts so heinous asto defy description, their crews and captains inthrall to the Dark Gods forever. Those whoknow something of the Warp claim thatDaemonvessels are ships lost in the Warp. Forcenturies or even millennia, they disappear fromthe real universe only to re-emerge with a crewof Daemonkind.

Tales of Daemon ships go back to the earliestdays of the Imperium. Often the ships are meremanifestations, appearing to spread terror butdisappearing as quickly with no tangibleevidence that they were really there. The greatorbital space dock above Sorraspair 3 was said tobe plagued by such an apparition prior to itsdestruction by the Thousand Sons in M.37. Thelegend says the apparition took the form of agreat battleship built in an ancient style, whichcircled the station, its hull wreathed in bale fire,transmitting a continual plea for admittance.

There are rumours exchanged by Navigators ofspectral ships that ply the Warp. The Navigatorsperceive these ships both as twisted parodies ofnormal ships and as convocations of Daemons.There are tales of these Daemon ships pursuingtheir prey back to the material universe. This hasled to the theory that Daemon ships can onlyleave the Warp by following in the wake ofanother vessel and that at other times they aretrapped in an endlessly shifting ocean ofmadness. Typically, there has never been enoughreliable evidence to confirm any hypothesis.

Although most of the tales of Daemon ships

describe them as lone hunters capturedrenegade navigators have, under closeinterrogation, suggested that pacts can be madewith any of the Daemons of the Warp. Normally,the time that a Daemon can spend in real spaceis severely limited. Without the power of theWarp to sustain it, then it will be diminished,gradually losing its stability before translatingback to where it came from. This process can beprevented by ritual worship or by binding theDaemon in an object or living thing. To knowexactly how this is done is forbidden knowledgebut it stands to reason that possessing a greatship would give a daemonic host greatlyenhanced stability. In time of war, one couldexpect the sorcerers of Abaddon to add to thestrength of his fleets with such apparitions ifthey are able to.

The incidence of sightings of Daemon ships hasbeen tenuously linked to the incidence of flaresof the warp storms comprising the Eye of Terror.If this connection is verifiable it gives great causefor concern for no less than seven warp stormsare currently in flare, the most for centuries. Ifever it were possible for such monstrosities tobe bound to the service of renegades andheretics then that time is now.

DAEMONSHIPSPossessed Vessels of Chaos

Building Daemon shipsDaemon ships are best modelled by replacingvarious sections of the original vessel such asbridges, prows, broadside batteries withsuitably twisted Daemonic components.These changes dont affect the ships profile they are simply to denote which vessels areDaemon ships. The colour section of this bookcontains examples of Daemon ship models,and some useful notes on how to model them.

ARMADA

CHAOS VESSELS

40

WARP TRANSLATIONA Daemonship may be kept off table at the startof a game. The rest of the fleet is deployed asstated in the rules for the mission being played.The Daemonship(s) are actually lurking in theWarp waiting to either be summoned by one ofthe on-table Chaos ships or drawn to the ripesouls aboard an enemy ship. In the End phaseof any Chaos turn, after the first, they may enterplay from the Warp as follows:

Select a friendly or enemy Capital ship, only aCapital ship contains enough supplicants orvictims to draw a Daemonship from the Warp.Position the Daemonship within 20cm of thechosen vessel facing in any direction desired bythe Chaos player controlling it. Next, roll 4D6and a Scatter dice and reposition theDaemonship accordingly, keeping the ship onthe same heading. If a Hit is rolled on theScatter dice, then the Daemonship arrives ontarget.

The arriving Daemonship is unaffected bycelestial phenomena and does not trigger attackby ordnance markers it may happen to land on.If it would appear in contact with an enemyvessel, reposition it by up to 1 cm so that it is outof contact.

SPECTRAL DAEMONSHIPSThe Daemonship has now pierced the fabric ofreal space and has started to manifest itself. It isnot entirely present in real space, however,although it is real enough for enemy vessels totrack its location and react to its presence. It isin effect a spectre. Any enemy vessel attemptinga special order when within 15cm of it is at -1Leadership (if the ship also has a Mark ofSlaanesh the penalties are cumulative). Apartfrom this, it has no effect, can do nothing toaffect enemy ships and cannot be harmed inreturn. It cannot launch ordnance, triggermines, be affected by celestial phenomena,nothing, at all OK!

At the end of any subsequent Chaos End phaseit may complete the translation to real space. Itdoes not have to and may remain a spectral,haunting presence as long as the Chaos playerwishes. When the decision is made to translateto real space roll a D6 - on a roll of 2 or more itbecomes solid. This final translation cannot bemade if the Daemonship is in contact with anenemy vessel. No actions can be undertaken inthe End phase during which final translationoccurs (no sneaky teleport boarding attacks orsuchlike). From this point on the Daemonship issolid and fights like a normal ship.

HAUNTINGA Daemonship may disengage at the end of anyChaos Movement phase without having to makeany dice roll. It simply drops back into the Warpleaving no trace.

A disengaged Daemonship may re-enter play onany Chaos turn following the one in which itdisengages. This is done following thetranslation rules detailed above.

If it was damaged when it disengaged it may berepaired when it returns, roll a d6,

1,2 or 3 No change.

4 or 5 +1 hull point.

6 +2 hull points.

Add +1 to the roll if it is a battleship.

Add +1 for each full turn the Daemonship spentin the Warp.

A returning Daemonship cannot come back withmore hits than it could normally have. At theend of the game a Daemonship whichdisengaged (even just once) will count as havingdisengaged for Victory points purposes, unlessof course it is destroyed or crippled when thenormal rules apply.

DAEMONSHIP SPECIAL RULES

ARMADA41

CHAOS VESSELS

Likewise, it may take just a handful of unseen traitors to condemn an entire vessel, perhaps without even the knowledgeof the captain or any high ranking officers at all. A lowly engineer left alone in some remote engine compartment maynot be subject to routine inspection for months on end, ample time in which to slowly make minute, undetectable adjustmentsto the operating frequencies of the vessels warp drive. Over time these adjustments will amount to the point where thedistorted warp frequency becomes a screaming beacon of Chaos, calling out to the traitors Daemonic masters with each newjourney the vessel makes through the warp. Warp entities will be drawn to the vessel and slowly infest it, running throughoutits core and allowing the Dark Powers to slowly apply their corrupting influence over every inch of the vessel and over everymember of its crew. In this way, that same single lowly engineer is able to offer up the souls of every one of his thousandsof comrades and condemn them all to damnation long before they will ever suspect his treachery.

Abaddon is known to be the driving forcebehind the Black Crusade which ravaged theGothic sector between 142.M41 and 160.M41.What means he used to bring together the fleetsof so many different Chaos Lords andWarmasters is unknown, but even his unholy giftof leadership must have been stretched to thefull coordinating the attacks of such an anarchiccoalition. Abaddons own warfleet was the mostpowerful in the sector and one of the last to bedefeated. This was in no small part due to theawesome power of the Planet Killer at hiscommand, to say nothing of the BlackstoneFortresses he succeeded in corrupting to theservice of the Dark Gods.

Abaddon was once a Space Marine, a captain ofthe Lunar Wolves 1st Company during the GreatCrusade, over 10,000 years ago, conqueringdistant stars in the name of the Emperor. TheLunar Wolves battled across uncounted worldsto free them from alien tyranny or the taint ofChaos, and Abaddon was ever at the fore. But atthe time of the Great Heresy, Abaddon chose tobetray the Emperor and join with the forces ofhis Primarch, the Warmaster Horus, in his attackon Earth. Upon Horus defeat, Abaddon ralliedthe remnants of the hordes which had fought onEarth and fled to the Eye of Terror, where thepowers of Chaos welcomed him as theirchampion.

For ten millennia Abaddon has continued toharry the Imperium at every opportunity, rainingfire and destruction on the empire of Mankindthat he helped to build. The Gothic War is oneof the most recent of his terrible works, but hishistory of bloodshed extends as far back as theImperium itself. During the Gothic War,Abaddon took personal command of the PlanetKiller in many engagements, although heescaped its destruction at Kharlos II.

ABADDON THE DESPOILERScourge of the Gothic Sector

ARMADA 42

CHAOSVESSELS

SPECIAL RULESThe following special rules apply to Abaddon:

Boarding ActionsAbaddon is accompanied by his company ofBlack Legion Traitor Marines aboard the ship heis commanding. This, combined with his ownabilities, means the ship doubles its value inboarding actions and gains an extra +1Boarding modifier.

Hit-&-Run AttacksAbaddon will have his own ship sealed tightagainst hit-&-run raiders (he knows every trickin the book). Therefore, hit-&-run raids deduct -1 from their dice roll against Abaddons ship. IfAbaddons vessel makes any hit-&-run teleportattacks, add +1 to the dice roll for the attack asit will be undertaken by elite Black LegionTerminators. Boarding torpedoes and assaultboats from Abaddons ship will be manned bymore mundane minions and do not receive thismodifier.

You have failed me for the last timeAbaddon the Despoiler does not tolerate failure,as many of his followers have discovered to theircost. If Abaddons re-roll is used for a Commandcheck or Leadership test on another ship orsquadron and the test is failed a second time, hewill become angry very, very angry! In theChaos Shooting phase Abaddon will direct atleast half the available firepower and lancestrength of the ship he is commanding against the weaklings who have failed him (assumingthe worthless scum are within range and firearc). Resolve the attack as normal, just as ifAbaddons vessel were an enemy.

The victims of his wrath (assuming they survive)will be suitably chastised and gain a +1Leadership increase for the remainder of thegame. The Leadership bonus will only takeeffect once (after that the crews are working ashard as they can!). If the object of Abaddonswrath is not in range and/or fire arc he will leavethem to their fate Abaddons re-rolls may nolonger be used on it. This means that no furtherCommander re-rolls may be used on the ship orsquadron unless it is carrying its own ChaosLord with a Mark of Tzeentch.

Should this dreadful failure occur on Abaddonsown ship, it will lose one Damage Point as theBlack Legion massacre those who failed him. NoLeadership increase is gained.

ABADDON THE DESPOILER,WARMASTER OF CHAOS

And lo the beast issued forth to assail the righteous and castdown their works. Though the beast stood clothed in humanform, no flesh could conceal the corruption of his damned soul,and the foul denizens of the outer dark flocked to his banner.The righteous cried out for retribution, but the beast would notbe laid low. The name of the beast became a curse upon the lipsof the righteous, and that curse was Abaddon.

Orations of Saint Josephus, apocalypt of Savaven.

ABADDON AS FLEET COMMANDER Abaddon can be chosen to act as fleet commander in any game in which the Chaos fleet is worth1,000 points or more. You may not place a Chaos Lord on the same ship as Abaddon (you dontget to be a Chaos Lord by spending lots of time near a bloody-tempered maniac!). He has thefollowing characteristics:

Leadership: 10Abaddon is an exceptional commander in all respects. His crew and fleet live in mortal terror ofarousing his anger and perform at peak efficiency when he is aboard. He is also aided by theprophecies of the Sorcerer Zaraphiston.

Re-rolls: 1 per turn.Abaddons awesome reputation and dogged determination ensure there are seldom any failuresin the chain of command. When there are, the consequences are likely to be dire.Abaddons fleet is allowed to re-roll a single Command check or Leadership test each turn.

Speak not to me of Abaddon, blackest ofhearts, basest of fiends. Who elseamongst the hosts of the traitors embracedDamnation with such a fierce glee?

Attributed to Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines

ARMADA 44

CHAOS FLEETS

THE TRAITOR LEGIONSCHAOS SPACE MARINE FLEETS IN BATTLEFLEETGOTHIC

strike cruisers. The fleet was reorganised intobattlefleets dispersed between the major worldsof each Segmentum. The Imperial Guard wasreorganised to more clearly define who couldauthorise the formation and deployment ofadditional regiments. The measures weresuccessful insofar that although there have beenrebellions since the Heresy they have alwayslacked the capacity to tear the Imperium apart asHorus almost did.

The defeated Traitor Marines were never a part ofthese reforms however. When the Ultramarineswere spawning numerous successor Chaptersthe Black Legion, the World Eaters and all theothers were establishing territories in the Eye ofTerror using all the forces they had managed tosalvage from the defeat on Terra. To this dayChaos fleets are subordinate to the Lords of theChaos Space Marine Legions.

CHAOS SPACE MARINES INBATTLEFLEET GOTHICFrom the perspective of Battlefleet Gothic thismeans that the Chaos Space Marine Legions havenever needed to build specialist battle barges andstrike cruisers. To them any capital ship with thecapacity to launch Dreadclaws or boardingtorpedoes is potentially a battle barge and anyfast cruiser might be used to move small forcesaround. Chaos Space Marines are relatively rarehowever and a great many Chaos fleets will bemade up of renegade captains and their shipswith not a Traitor Marine in sight. The degree offealty rogue captains extend to their ChaosMarine masters is variable and some pirate fleetsthat ostensibly serve Chaos have probably neverseen a Chaos Space Marine so it is perfectlyacceptable to use a Chaos fleet without includingmembers of the Traitor Legions, which you cando using a fleet selected from the ChaosIncursion fleet list in the Battlefleet Gothicrulebook.

USING THIS FLEET LISTThe existing list in the Battlefleet Gothicrulebook covers Abaddons fleets in the GothicSector War. This war was primarily fought inspace and Abaddon had no need to gather theLords of the Traitor Legions around him. This listrepresents a Black Crusade fleet where the objectis to transport Chaos Space Marines to conquerand destroy Imperial worlds.

Long ago, when the Emperor of Mankind led hisSpace Marine Legions across the stars in what wasto become known as the Great Crusade,Primarchs captained his armies. Each Primarchcommanded not only a Legion of Space Marinesbut also vast fleets of warships and innumerablearmies of Guardsmen. The military might at thedisposal of each of them was immense. Thencame the Horus Heresy and fully half thePrimarchs rebelled against the Emperor. Thehistory of the Heresy is well-known, it was a darkand terrible time in which civil war almostdestroyed the Imperium. In its aftermath it wasclear to the High Lords that too much power hadbeen at the disposal of the traitor Primarchs. TheCodex Astartes of Roboute Guilliman was themain reform. The huge Space Marine Legionswere broken down into Chapters of a thousandwarriors and equipped with specialist barges and

Through his warp eye Captain Vassenna saw the frigate rock as his heavy plasma batteries hammered into it,shattering its shields and cutting through its armour. From his crypt Vassenna was mind-linked to all his shipssystems, even though his withered body lay in its sarcophagus he still found joy in slaughter. His amplified laughterechoed around his ship chilling the souls of the long lines of slaves labouring beneath the lashes of VassennasBlack Legion overseers. The Darkside was a Carnage class cruiser, unbelievably ancient but still a sleek huntingshark with superior speed, range and weight of fire than any Imperial ship of the same displacement.

Keep firing, yes ALL weapons, I want those destroyers dead before they can release their torpedoes.

On the gun decks Vassennas crew, renegades, corsairs and freebooters all, redoubled their efforts, urged on by theirCaptains words and the watchful attention of the Chaos Space Marines.

Vassenna watched the bright explosions, the incoming Cobras were easy targets once locked into their attack runs.The Darksides Captain felt the waves of energy from their destruction and exulted in it. His warp eye opened,matter faded, and his gaze pierced the real universe studying the tides of the Empyrean, judging his moment.

Warp engines, NOW.

The Darksides hull shrieked as its warp engines tore a bloody wound from reality and slid into the vibrant, pulsing,unreality of the Warp that lay beneath and drifted onward carried on a tide of mortal dreams.

CHAOS FLEETS

ARMADA45

CHAOS SPACE MARINE SPECIAL RULES

MARKS OF CHAOSA ship with a Chaos Space Marine crew mayhave a Mark of Chaos, even if a Warmaster orLord does not captain it. However there aresome restrictions on exactly which Mark it canhave based on the Chaos Space Marine Legionthat controls it. Even if a Warmaster or Lordcaptains a ship, if it has a Chaos Space Marinecrew the choice of Mark of Chaos is limited aswell. The options are shown in the table below.

Legion FleetsIf the Warmasters ship has a Chaos SpaceMarine crew then all other ships in the fleet thathave Chaos Space Marine crew must be of thesame legion, unless a Chaos Lord captainsthem.

RivalryMembers of the Emperors Children and theWorld Eaters cannot be combined in the samefleet. Similarly members of the Death Guardand Thousand Sons may not be combined inthe same fleet.

Capital ship SquadronsIf capital ships are grouped as squadrons theneach squadron may only contain a singleWarmaster or Lord and that ship must lead thesquadron. Similarly a squadron may not includeships with different Marks of Chaos.

Example: - A fleet Warmasters ship has a ChaosSpace Marine crew of the Death Guard. Hisship has the Mark of Nurgle. His fleet containssix other cruisers, three ships have Chaos SpaceMarine crew and one of these also has a ChaosLord. The two Chaos Space Marine shipswithout Lords must be crewed by the DeathGuard and must therefore have the Mark ofNurgle. The ship containing the Lord can beDeath Guard as well but doesnt have to be asit could represent an allied force from anotherlegion. Because the fleet contains members ofthe Death Guard the Lords ship may not becrewed by the Thousand Sons but may berepresent any other legion. Lets assume it isthe Emperors Children and therefore has theMark of Slaanesh.

When organising these ships into squadronsthe Warmaster and Lords ships may not be inthe same squadron and each must commandany squadron they do join. The Chaos Lordssquadron may not contain any ships with aMark other than that of Slaanesh and theWarmasters squadron may not include anyships with a Mark other than that of Nurgle.

CHAOS SPACE MARINE CREWSAny capital ship can be designated as having aChaos Space Marine crew at the points costindicated in the army list. The ship will besubject to the Chaos Space Marine special rules.If the ship contains the Warmaster or a Lord thenyou can assume that he is also a Chaos SpaceMarine.

LeadershipA vessel with a Chaos Space Marine crew willhave +1 Leadership (in addition to any otherbonuses due to there being a Chaos Warmasteror Chaos Lord on board). Furthermore themaximum Leadership of the vessel is increasedto 10.

Boarding & Hit-&-runThe superior fighting skills of the Chaos SpaceMarines are most apparent in boarding actions.A ship with a Chaos Space Marine crew adds twoto its roll when performing boarding actions andenemy conducting hit & run attacks againstthem subtract one from their hit & run result.Hit and run attacks launched by boardingtorpedoes, Dreadclaws, Thunderhawks orteleportation originating from such a ship add 1to their result.

Planetary AssaultShips with Chaos Space Marine crews in aPlanetary Assault mission score two AssaultPoints for every turn they spend landing troops.

Terminator Teleport AssaultFor an extra 10 points battleships and grandcruisers with Chaos Space Marine Warmasters,Lords or crews may roll two dice whenconducting hit and run teleport attacks andselect which one they wish to count. They willadd one as normal. This represents themunleashing their Chosen Terminators in ateleport assault.

Owning Legion MarksWorld Eaters Must have Mark of

Khorne only

Emperors Must have Mark of Children Slaanesh only

Death Guard Must have Mark of Nurgle only

Thousand Sons Must have Mark of Tzeentch only

Black Legion May have any one Mark

Others May not have any Mark

What is a Space Marine without a ship to carryhim? He is an insignificant insect crawling in themud of a single world. But what is a Space Marinewith a fleet to carry him? He is death from above,a harbinger of the gods who walks the stars seekingbattle.

Gorsameth, Lord-Captain, Night Lords Legion, M.35

FLEET COMMANDER0-1 Chaos WarmasterYou can only include a Chaos Warmaster inyour fleet if it includes any capital ships. Hemust be assigned to the most expensive shipand improves its rolled Leadership by +2, to amaximum of 9.

Chaos Warmaster (Ld +2) . . . . . . . . . . 100 ptsChaos Warmasters get one re-roll. In additionthey may be given a single Mark of Chaos asshown below.

The Warmaster may be given an extra re-roll at acost of +25 points.

AbaddonYou may include Abaddon the Despoiler as theWarmaster in any Chaos Fleet worth more than1,000 points.

Abaddon (Ld 10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 pts

Abaddon receives one re-roll per turn, inaddition see his special rules on page 42.

Chaos LordsAny capital ship, apart from that of theWarmaster, may be captained by a Chaos Lord.If so then add +1 to the Leadership rolled forthe ship at the start of the game subject to amaximum of 9.

Chaos Lord (Ld +1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 pts

A Lord may be given a re-roll (which he can usefor his own ship or squadron only) at +25points. A ship commanded by a Lord may begiven a single Mark of Chaos from the list above.

Mark of Slaanesh . . . . . . . . . . . . +25 ptsThe ship is full of the sensation-cravingfollowers of Slaanesh and their siren criesextend into the minds of the crews of nearbyenemy ships. Enemy ships within 15cm suffer 2to their Leadership value.

Mark of Khorne . . . . . . . . . . . . . +20 ptsCrewed by the homicidal followers of Khorne,the ship is extremely dangerous in boardingactions. It doubles its value in boarding actions.

Mark of Tzeentch . . . . . . . . . . . . +25 ptsThe Captain can call upon the power ofprecognition as well as formidable magics tocontrol his vessel. This ship has an extra re-roll.

Mark of Nurgle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +35 ptsThe vessel is rank with putrescence and themany plagues of the Lord of Decay. It gains 1Damage Point and may not be boarded.

CAPITAL SHIPS0-1 Planet KillerA fleet of 1,000 points or more may include thePlanet Killer. If you include the Planet Killer,Abaddon does not have to be present, but if heis he must be aboard the Planet Killer. ThePlanet Killer also counts as a battleship whenworking out how many heavy cruisers andcruisers the fleet requires.

Planet Killer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 pts

BattleshipsYou may include up to one battleship in yourfleet for every three cruisers or heavy cruisers.

Despoiler class battleship . . . . . . . . . . . 400 ptsDesolator class battleship . . . . . . . . . . . 300 pts

Grand CruisersYou may include up to one grand cruiser in yourfleet for every three cruisers or heavy cruisers.

Repulsive class grand cruiser . . . . . . . . . 230 ptsVengeance class grand cruiser . . . . . . . . 230 ptsRetaliator class grand cruiser . . . . . . . . . 275 ptsExecutor class grand cruiser . . . . . . . . . . 210 pts

Heavy CruisersYou may include up to one heavy cruiser in yourfleet for every two cruisers.

Chaos Styx class heavy cruiser . . . . . . . . 290 ptsChaos Hades class heavy cruiser . . . . . . 200 ptsChaos Acheron class heavy cruiser . . . . . 190 pts

0-12 CruisersChaos Devastation class cruiser . . . . . . . 190 ptsChaos Murder class cruiser . . . . . . . . . . 170 ptsChaos Carnage class cruiser . . . . . . . . . . 180 ptsChaos Slaughter class cruiser . . . . . . . . . 165 pts

CHAOS SPACE MARINE CREWSAny capital ship can be designated as having aChaos Space Marine crew at +35 points. The shipwill be subject to the Chaos Space Marine specialrules. If the ship contains the Warmaster or a Lordthen you can assume that he is also a Chaos SpaceMarine.

A ship with a Chaos Space Marine crew may havea Mark of Chaos, even if a Warmaster or Lorddoes not captain it. However there are somerestrictions on exactly which Mark it can havebased on the Chaos Space Marine Legion thatcontrols it. Even if a Warmaster or Lord captains aship, if it has a Chaos Space Marine crew thechoice of Mark of Chaos is limited as well. Theoptions are shown in the table on page 41.

For an extra 10 points, battleships and grandcruisers with Chaos Space Marine Warmasters,Lords or crews may include Chosen Terminators,as explained in the special rules.

CHAOS FLEETS

ARMADA 46

ABADDONS 13th BLACK CRUSADE FLEET LIST

The Hand, the Eye, the Fortress, the Prize...

Intercepted transmission from the vessel Planet Killer

DAEMON SHIPSAny number of capital ships in your fleet maybe upgraded to a Daemon ship at theadditional points cost shown, based upon thetype of vessel chosen.

Battleship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+50 ptsGrand cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+30 ptsHeavy cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+25 ptsCruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts

A Daemon ship may not be commanded by aWarmaster or a Chaos Lord even if it is thelargest ship in the fleet. This is an exception tothe normal rule. A Daemon ship may not have aChaos Space Marine crew. Any number of capitalships can be upgraded to Daemon ships subjectto these limitations.

Any Daemon ship may have a single Mark ofChaos with the same effects and cost in points asdescribed in the list above.

ESCORTSYou can include any number of escorts in yourfleet.

Chaos Idolator class raider . . . . . . . . . . .45 ptsChaos Infidel class raider . . . . . . . . . . . .40 ptsChaos Iconoclast class destroyer . . . . . . .30 pts

These vessels may not contain a ChapsWarmaster, a Chaos Lord or have a Chaos SpaceMarine crew, neither can they be given Marks.You should feel free to paint and model them tobe consistent with the rest of your fleet, it willnot have any game effect however.

ORDNANCEShips with launch bays can have a mixture ofSwiftdeath fighters, Doomfire bombers andDreadclaw assault craft. Ships with torpedotubes are armed with normal and boardingtorpedoes.

A ship with a Chaos Space Marine crew may beequipped with Thunderhawk Gunships but if soit may only carry Thunderhawks and may notlaunch Swiftdeaths, Doomfires andDreadclaws. Furthermore the launch capacityof the ships bays is halved (round down). Thisis because the launch bays have to besubstantially rebuilt to deal with the largerThunderhawks.

CHAOS FLEETS

ARMADA47

"Come about, Disciple, come to a new heading on my starboard side."The comm-link remained deathly silent as Admiral Corran awaited a reply to his order."Disciple, come about. Disciple?"Just as silent as before. "Disciple, come in, Disciple."Again, Corran waited in silence for a few seconds. He drew in a breath, lips pursed to again issue his order, before exhalingin relief as the comm-link suddenly burst into life at last. What Corran was about to hear, was not nearly such a relief."Target identified, Admiral, preparing to fire." Corran stood back in surprise, turning his gaze onto the helmsmen and ensigns around him. Each looked back at him withan equal expression of bafflement."We see no target, Disciple, identify.""Target identified, Admiral, preparing to fire," was the only reply that came."We see no target, Disciple, come about to my starboard side, now," Corrans voice finally buckled and rose into a shout ashis anger, frustration and confusion grew. The silence took over again and the comm-link fell menacingly silent. At long last,the comm-link crackled back to life and that same feeling of relief which had accompanied its earlier transmission floodedover, Corran."Coming about," came the brief communication from the Disciple. Corran sighed with relief before being cut short by a mostunexpected post-script."Target locked at new heading, preparing to fire."All of Corrans cool was gone, he leapt forwards, bent over the comm-link and bawled."What?! Disciple, what are you doing?""Firing --" came the singular reply. The look of astonishment on Corrans face was instantaneous, though it took longer forhis thoughts to register, leaving Corran barely a second to ponder the mysterious communication before he felt the floor fallaway from him as a dozen searing plasma projectiles tore through the hull of his vessel.One final transmission crackled over the comm-link before all fell silent."Target crippled," boomed the voice of the Disciples treacherous captain...