Torpedoes
The Imperial Navy makes extensive use of massive selfpropelled ship-to-ship missiles known collectively as torpedoes, as do many of its enemies. While expensive to maintain, these weapons possess considerable destructive potential, and many captains use an enemy’s tendency to avoid torpedoes to dominate a battle, forcing enemies to move in particular directions.
The most common form of torpedo is over 60 metres long and contains powerful warhead and a short-lived plasma reactor similar to, but less stable than, those used both a in starships and Titans. Each torpedo is built to accelerate quickly from its launching tube into the void, hurtling in a straight line towards the enemy. While many torpedoes are fired to deter enemy movement and thus may never strike, each individual weapon can do significant damage to a voidship, and thus are feared by many captains.
Guided by a crude and murderous machine spirit and the calculations of a ship’s Master of Ordnance, a torpedo uses basic augury techniques scanning for the heat from plasma drives, target silhouette, electronic output, and even an enemy ship’s mass to locate enemy vessels. Once the machine spirit acquires its target, powerful manoeuvring thrusters to adjust course to intercept. Upon impact, the forward momentum drives the torpedo’s body deep into the vessel’s structure before the warhead and plasma reactor both detonate, inflicting damage far greater than that of a single lance strike or macrocannon shell.
Launching Torpedoes
Torpedoes differ from macrobatteries and lances in a number of ways, particularly in the manner they are fired. For the sake of clarity, the entire process of launching and attacking with torpedoes is described here and does not refer to the rules for shooting on pages 219-221 of the Rogue Trader core rulebook.
In all cases, torpedo tubes, torpedo launchers and other equivalent Components must always be mounted in either a Prow or Keel weapon location. The forces exerted upon a vessel when firing a salvo of torpedoes are such that only certain mounts can properly contain them. For this reason, on any vessel of Grand Cruiser size and smaller, torpedoes may only fire into the Fore arc, regardless of where the weapon Component is located.
Before the weapons can be fired, the launchers must be loaded. Normally, it takes a full Strategic Turn in combat to reload any empty tubes on a vessel, at which point the torpedoes may be fired in subsequent turns. However, to reload faster, an Explorer may perform an Extended Action in which the Explorer makes a Difficult (–10) Command or Tech Use Test. If passed, all empty launch tubes on the vehicle are loaded successfully, and may be fired during the same Strategic Turn, rather than a subsequent turn.
As with macrobatteries and lances, a single torpedo launcher weapon Component actually comprises several launch tubes. This is, as with other weapon Components, denoted as the Component’s Strength. All the other properties of an attack using torpedoes are determined by the torpedoes themselves, which have a number of characteristics that define them:
- Speed: The distance in VUs the torpedoes can travel in a
single Strategic Turn.
- Damage: The damage each Torpedo causes on a hit.
- Critical Hit: The value needed on the damage dice in order to score a critical hit on the target.
- Range: The number of VUs the torpedoes may travelin total, before the reactor becomes dormant and the Torpedo ineffectual.
When firing torpedoes, the launcher’s entire Strength value of torpedoes is launched as a single group, referred to as a Salvo. No attack roll is needed at the time of firing, but a single Explorer or NPC must be assigned to launch the Torpedoes, as his skill at readying them for launch will determine their success when they reach their target. This character may still fire other weapons during that Shooting Action as normal—the only difference is that “firing” the torpedoes does not require a test until the torpedoes reach their target.
Torpedoes are different than macrobatteries, lances, and Nova Cannons, because the weapons are largely self-contained. Due to this, Explorers cannot perform extended actions to boost the accuracy of torpedoes. No matter how quickly or competently the crew loads a torpedo, it does not affect the weapon’s machine spirit’s ability to hit a target. In the same way, bonuses from shipboard Components does not boost the Ballistic Skill Test to hit with torpedoes.
Upon firing and at the start of each of the parent ship’s subsequent Strategic Turns before any other actions are performed, a Salvo travels directly forward a number of VUs equal to its Speed. The torpedoes continue to travel in this manner until they have travelled a total number of VUs equal to their Range, at which point their reactors’ limited fuel is depleted and the torpedoes shut down, cold and inactive.
If, at any point during movement, a Salvo passes within 1 VU of another vessel (friend or foe; a torpedo’s machine spirit is unable and unwilling to make such a distinction), then the character who launched the Torpedoes makes a Challenging (+0) Ballistic Skill+Torpedo Rating Test. On a successful test, one torpedo strikes the target ship, plus an additional torpedo for every Degree of Success. No more torpedoes may hit than the number present in the salvo. Torpedoes are not stopped or hindered by void shields.
Note, if using a grid map, torpedoes hit any target in the same grid square as they are travelling, or the grid squares on either side (effectively giving them a 3 VU coverage).
Once the total number of torpedo hits has been determined, roll the torpedoes’ listed damage value once for each torpedo that hit, comparing each damage result to the target’s armour. For every point that exceeds the target’s armour, deal one point of damage to the target’s hull integrity.
All torpedoes also have a unique rule: Terminal Penetration (X). When a torpedo rolls damage, re-roll any dice results equal to or lower than the value given in parentheses. The results of the re-roll stand, they are not re-rolled again. Unlike macrobatteries, the damage from multiple torpedoes in a salvo is not combined then compared to starship armour.
Any torpedoes which are not shot down by turret fire and which do not hit the target vessel continue moving as normal until they either strike a vessel or reach their maximum range.
Short and Wide Salvos
It is possible to launch torpedoes in smaller salvos than the number of available tubes—whether because the ship does not have enough torpedoes to load all its tubes, or because a canny captain wants to hold some in reserve, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
Launching a “short salvo” does not require any test; the Explorer directing the launch simply announces how many he is launching. However, if in subsequent turns the Explorer wishes to launch more torpedoes than remain in the tubes, he will need to reload first.
Likewise, some canny Explorers may want to launch a wider “spread” of torpedoes, saturating a wider area to make the salvo harder to evade. This decreases the chances of multiple strikes, but likewise decreases the chances of enemy ships getting out of the way. If an Explorer wants to fire a “wide salvo,” he announces it on firing. These behave in the same way as normal salvos, except that the torpedoes attack any targets passing within two VUs, instead of one. However, the Ballistic Skill Test to hit becomes Hard (–20) instead of Challenging (+0), and the maximum number of hits the torpedoes can score is equal to half the salvo’s current size. A ship must be able to launch at least two torpedoes to fire a wide salvo.
Torpedoes and Critical Hits
Torpedoes resolve Critical Hits differently than almost every other attack available to a vessel in Rogue Trader. This is for one very obvious reason—accuracy. While macrobatteries, lances and attack craft can all guide their attacks to various degrees, the final approach of a torpedo is largely automated and fairly clumsy by comparison. Consequently, the chance of a torpedo scoring a Critical Hit is determined by damage and random chance rather than operator skill.
When a torpedo rolls damage, if at least one of the dice values equals or exceeds the value listed in the Crit Rating of the torpedo’s profile, the torpedo causes a Critical Hit. If the torpedo has not done damage to Hull Integrity, it does 1 point of damage. Then roll 1d5 on Table 8-12: Critical Hits in the Rogue Trader core rulebook on page 222 to generate the Critical Hit result.
Torpedo Types
Torpedo tubes may have a number of stored torpedoes no greater than the capacity listed in their Component entry. The standard propulsion package of torpedoes are usually indistinguishable from one another, so torpedoes are differentiated by their payload. Most Imperial torpedoes have only a basic guidance system, but an advanced version may be chosen for a torpedo equipped with nearly any type of warhead.
Table 1–1: Torpedoes denotes the relevant information for the various types of torpedoes. Table 1–2: Torpedo Availability has the Availability Ratings for torpedoes and guidance systems. If a character wishes to Acquire a torpedo with a guidance system, follow the Combining Acquisitions rules on page 271 of the Rogue Trader core rulebook.
Warheads
Although variant warheads are not common, different types of torpedoes can fulfil very different tactical roles. Even when different options are available, a ship’s master must carefully choose those armaments that are most consistent with the ship’s fighting style.
Plasma Warheads
These explosives are the standard armament for Imperial torpedoes. These systems are designed to blast through a spaceship’s armoured hull, using their high speed to punch deep into the target vessel. The plasma reactor that powers a torpedo’s drive forces it deep into the bowels of the ship and then overloads, contributing to the fury of the warhead’s detonation. This reduces complexity, making their manufacture comparatively simple. Thus, these torpedoes are the staple of Imperial Navy warships. Terminal Penetration (3): When rolling damage for this weapon, re-roll any dice results of 3 or lower. The results of the second roll stand.
Boarding Torpedoes
More manned spacecraft than torpedo, these fulfil a comparable role to assault boats. However, boarding torpedoes are less manoeuvrable and less armoured than assault boats. To offset these flaws, they are also much smaller targets. The crews of a boarding torpedo are able to make minor adjustments to the torpedo’s flight path. Consequently, these are always considered Guided torpedoes, though no additional Acquisition cost is required for this feature. Note that boarding torpedoes do not have a Detection rating. No additional guidance systems may be added to boarding torpedoes.
When a boarding torpedo successfully hits a target craft, roll the weapon’s damage as normal. If the damage exceeds the target’s armour, the torpedo does not inflict damage to Hull Integrity. Instead, it immediately inflicts a Hit-and-Run attack. Terminal Penetration (2): When rolling damage for this weapon, re-roll any dice results of 2 or lower. The results of the second roll stand.
Melta Warheads
These weapons are even more feared by starship captains than standard torpedoes. Mercifully rare and extremely brutal, melta warheads detonate a precisely-organised series of melta charges upon impact with a target, burning through hull plating and consuming sections of the vessel’s interior in a roiling conflagration.
A hit from a Melta Torpedo that deals damage automatically causes a Fire! Critical Result, in addition to any other Crits is may cause. Carrying these extremely volatile weapons is nearly as dangerous for a vessel as it is for its targets. If Torpedo Tubes armed with these warheads are destroyed, one additional Components of the GM’s choice is set on fire. Terminal Penetration (4): When rolling damage for this weapon, re-roll any dice results of 4 or lower. The results of the second roll stand.
Virus Warheads
In cases when a vessel must be captured intact, but the target’s crew are considered expendable, virus warheads are considered an ideal solution. Pirates more interested in inert cargo, salvage, and the possibility of expanding their fleet lust after these rare and unstable armaments.
When a torpedo armed with a Virus Warhead successfully hits a target vessel, roll damage. Provided the result exceeds the target’s Armour, the vessel immediately suffers 3d10 damage to Crew Population and 2d10 damage to Morale. The ship does not, however, suffer damage to Hull Integrity. A character must immediately make a Difficult (–10) Command Test to isolate survivors from the infected crew. If this test succeeds, the spread of the virus is halted. However, if the test is failed, the vessel will suffer the same damage again each strategic turn until the test is passed. Note that this test must be taken for each successful warhead strike in a salvo.
The danger imposed by Virus Warheads is not entirely onesided. If a Torpedo Tube armed with these weapons is Damaged, the vessel counts as being affected by a virus warhead. Terminal Penetration (1): When rolling damage for this weapon, re-roll any dice results of 1. The results of the second roll stand.
Vortex Torpedoes
Only a few remaining Forge worlds still maintain the technological craftsmanship to manufacture these rare weapons. The Vortex Warhead is not a crude explosive charge, but an arcane device that tears open a rent in the very fabric of reality, consigning vast chunks of its target into the warp. The swirling energy within this tear in the fabric of reality immediately draws all matter in its blast radius through it, leaving gaping wounds in the target vessel.
When attacked by these torpedoes, word of these horrifying weapons spreads like wildfire through the target crew. In addition to the Hull Integrity damage and the Critical Hit from each Vortex warhead, each successful vortex warhead strike also causes 1d5 damage to Morale. Vortex warheads ignore Armour when calculating damage.
Maintaining and safeguarding these weapons requires rituals that have been lost to most enginseers. If torpedo tubes armed with these warheads are Damaged, the torpedo tubes are immediately destroyed. Further, the vessel is immediately subjected to three additional Critical Hits at locations of the GM’s choice. In addition, when an upkeep test to resupply Vortex torpedoes is failed by two or more degrees of failure, the new Vortex torpedoes are defective. These torpedoes will detonate damaging (but not destroying) the torpedo tubes at a time of the GM’s choice. Terminal Penetration (5): When rolling damage for this weapon, re-roll any dice results of 5 or lower. The results of the second roll stand.
Table 1-1: Warhead Types
| Torpedoes | Speed | Damage | Crit Rating | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plasma | 10 | 2d10+14 | 10 | 60 |
| Boarding | 10 | 2d10+11 | - | 60 |
| Melta | 10 | 2d10+15 | 9+ | 60 |
| Virus | 10 | 2d10+10 | - | 60 |
| Vortex | 10 | 2d10+5 | 6+ | 60 |
Guidance Systems and Modifications
All torpedoes are equipped with a guidance system, a machine spirit that detects targets and steers them into a terminal embrace. Most torpedoes use similar guidance systems, but some rare weapons possess advance systems. These specialised systems often enable a torpedo to cleanly avoid the lion’s share of a target vessel’s defences, making every torpedo a much more effective weapon. In addition, some torpedoes might have guidance systems designed specifically to work at higher speeds due to boosted engines. Guidance systems are purchased for torpedoes. They may be purchased separately at their Availability, or purchased with a torpedo using combined Acquisition rules.
Standard Guidance Systems
Most torpedoes possess these machine spirits, which use augury systems to scan their flight path for ship sized mass readings, radiation output, heat, and other identifiers. All torpedoes come with a standard guidance system normally, this does not modify their Availability. Standard Guidance Systems grant the torpedo a Torpedo Rating of +20.
Guided Torpedoes
Tight beam communications from the vessels that launched them continuously control the flight paths of guided torpedoes. This enables a talented pilot to redirect these weapons up until the very last moment before impact. The additional navigational thrusters and communications equipment are rare, but the patterns are still in production at a number of Forge worlds.
At the beginning of the torpedo’s movement, one Explorer or NPC on the launching ship may make a Challenging (+0) Tech Use+Detection Test. Success means he may change the direction the torpedoes are moving by up to 45 degrees. For every degree of success, he may slow the torpedoes movement speed that Round by 1 VU.
If an enemy vessel has previously used a Focused Augury Test to identify the torpedo tubes on the launching vessel, they will have identified the hallmarks of the guided torpedo system. In this case, a character on the target vessel may make an Arduous (–40) Tech Use Test. If this test succeeds, the target vessel seizes control of the guided torpedoes and may redirect them towards any target within their remaining flight range. Guided Torpedoes grant the torpedo a Torpedo Rating of +20.
Seeking Torpedoes
Only a very few of the major Forge worlds maintain the capacity to manufacture seeking guidance systems. Torpedoes equipped with these systems employ adaptive cogitators and logic engines that continuously analyse their target’s defensive actions. The combination of their rarity and combat effectiveness has granted these torpedoes a near legendary status. Seeking Torpedoes grant the torpedo a Torpedo Rating of +30.
Short-Burn Torpedoes
These torpedoes are equipped with an engine that burns much hotter, but for a significantly shorter length of time. This change in the engine dynamics leads to an increased acceleration that grants these torpedoes a higher velocity, at the expense of a shorter flight time. This, however, has a tendency to overload the augurs of a standard guidance system’s machine spirit, meaning a quicker and more aggressive machine spirit must be used instead.
These torpedoes move at a speed of 15 VU per turn, rather than the 10 VU of all other types. However, their massive fuel consumption reduces their maximum range to 30 VU. In addition, Short Burn Torpedoes grant the torpedo a Torpedo Rating of +15.
