Attack Craft
Often ill-favoured by the command staff of Battlefleet Calixis due to a preference for “true” warships, carrier vessels like the Dictator-class cruiser are nonetheless a valuable strategic asset for the Imperial Navy, simply due to their versatility. The average launch bay on a cruiser—few smaller vessels can spare the internal volume needed to support attack craft operations—carries an assortment of craft, from an abundance of cargo lighters and personnel shuttles, to larger troop dropships, atmospheric craft (sometimes in storage containers, sometimes with limited void-capability for orbital deployment) to anti-ship heavy bombers, assault boats and fighters. This sheer abundance of different craft allows carriers to undertake a wide variety of missions either directly or in support of other vessels.
While they are only grudgingly tolerated by many Imperial Navy Battlefleets, numerous Rogue Traders find carriers to be ideal for their purposes, able to as easily serve mercantile interests as military ones. The only factor limiting their spread amongst such eclectic individuals is cost; maintaining dozens of light craft and the skilled crew needed to maintain and operate them is beyond the resources of all but the wealthiest individuals.
Launch Bay Preparation
Operating a carrier is a complex matter, and many vessels employ a dedicated crew to oversee the minutia of these operations. No launch bay remains at a constant level of complete readiness. Craft are ritually placed into hangarvaults, their machine spirits slumbering until they are called upon once more, while the deck crews work to ensure that the launch mechanisms and fuel systems function properly, check the ammunition stores, and perform a thousand other minor tasks needed to ensure that the launch bay works smoothly. Preparing a launch bay for operations is a complex process requiring many men to unload and awaken the craft needed, and to ensure that they are fuelled and armed as required.
Outside of battle, this can be done slowly and carefully, taking the time necessary to ensure that no mistakes are made. This is fortunate, as many shuttles and lighters are stubborn and recalcitrant in spirit compared to the fierce and eager spirits of attack craft, and thus take some time to coerce into service. A starship may have one squadron per point of Launch Bay Strength prepared and ready for launch at any one time. In the midst of battle, things are a little more hectic, and preflight preparations are afforded much less time. In combat, this takes an Extended Action in which the character performing the Extended Action makes an Ordinary (+10) Command Test in order to make new squadron ready for operations. The maximum number of squadrons that may be made ready simultaneously is equal to the Strength value of the Launch Bay Component being used. Multiple Launch Bay Components may be made ready with a single Extended Action.
Most attack craft operations begin the operation by launching attack craft squadrons currently ready in the launch bays. Once a bay has launched squadrons, additional squadrons can be readied for operations—so long as the number of squadrons readied does not exceed the Strength of the Launch Bay. These squadrons can even be launched on subsequent turns. Needless to say, a ship cannot launch more squadrons than it possesses.
The craft contained within a launch bay can be grouped into five categories for this purpose:
- Support Craft (small craft designed to support diplomatic and mercantile operations).
- Aeronautica (small craft designed to support planetary military operations, including atmospheric fighters, bombers, and troop transports).
- Fighters (void-capable craft designed to combat enemy attack craft and ordnance).
- Bombers (large void-capable craft designed to attack enemy starships).
- Assault Boats (void-capable armoured shuttles designed to deliver boarding parties onto enemy vessels).
The specifics of using Support Craft and Aeronautica are not given here, but during any endeavour in which such craft are useful, the players earn an additional +25 Achievement Points towards a Military or Trade objective for every point of launch bay Strength their ship possesses.
Room in Launch Bays
It is entirely possible that a Rogue Trader won’t have a myriad types of small craft available in his launch bay. Such vehicles are extremely expensive, and a Rogue Trader may not see the value in maintaining squadrons of assault boats when all he wants are starfighter interceptors to protect his vessel.
Each point of Strength in a launch bay equates to enough room for one squadron of starfighters, one squadron of bombers, and one squadron of assault boats, support craft, or Aeronautica. These berths can be refurbished to handle different types of small craft, so a launch bay with one point of Strength could be modified to hold two squadrons of fighters and one squadron of support craft, or any number of other combinations. However, for every point of Strength in a launch bay, the bay can hold three squadrons total. The sizes of squadrons listed on Table 1-3 give an idea of how many fighters, bombers, and assault boats may be stored within a launch bay. For support craft and Aeronautica, use the following guidelines:
- In general, Aeronautica can be grouped by type in the same way spaceborn attack craft are—fighters, bombers, and
transports. However, Aeronautica are generally smaller than their spaceborn cousins. A squadron of Aeronautica can be up to twice the size of a corresponding spaceborn attack craft—so a wing of 40 Thunderbolt fighters would take up the same space as a squadron of 20 Fury Interceptors.
- In general, support craft take up the same space as assault boats.
Ships without Launch Bays
Not every starship has dedicated launch bays to host whole squadrons of attack craft and shuttles. However, most starships have some sort of landing bay with room for shuttles and small craft. Generally, Imperial ships are too large to easily land on a planet’s surface, and small craft become vital for loading crew and cargo, and resupplying the vessel. The size of these small bays can vary wildly based on a ship’s size and class. However, if GMs or players wish to determine how many shuttles a ship may have room for, a useful guideline is that a ship has room for one lighter, shuttle, or heavy lifter for every 5 points of Space its hull has. In general, these vehicles shouldn’t be larger than 50 metres. However, if a ship has a cargo hold component (such as the Cargo Hold and Lighter Bay), they should be able to hold an additional four vehicles.
Squadrons Below Full Strength
Depending on the fortunes of war, ships may lose attack craft, and be forced to fight with squadrons that are at less than full strength. Determining how many craft a squadron is missing depends on how losses to attack craft squadrons are being tracked (see page 16). In any case, squadrons that are half strength or lower only provide the +5 bonus (whether attacking with fighters, bombers, or assault craft) for every two additional squadrons, rather than every one.
Eliminated Squadrons
Throughout these rules, there is a possibility a squadron may be “eliminated.” This means the squadron has lost some of its craft, and others may have been damaged. For game purposes, an “eliminated” squadron cannot operate in the remainder of the Space Combat they were involved in. (At the GM’s discretion and in cases of particularly long combat, this can be changed to a period of two hours, while repairs are made and new craft are activated). Once the combat is over, eliminated squadrons can be restored to active duty.
Fighter Operations
Often seen as glory-obsessed and reckless, fighter pilots are nonetheless skilled at their profession, putting their relatively light craft into the maelstrom of combat to take down massively destructive torpedoes and lumbering bombers capable of damaging immense starships. In the broadest of terms, fighters are used in three roles during space combat. These are described below:
Interception: As an Extended Action, any number of fighter squadrons currently ready within a ship’s launch bays may launch and commence an intercept operation. The fighter squadrons may be grouped up into one or more wings consisting of two or more squadrons, or may operate as independent squadrons, in any combination, as desired. Upon launch and again at the beginning of their parent vessel’s subsequent Strategic Turns, the fighter wings may move freely a number of VUs up to the speed of the slowest squadron in the unit. They may continue to remain away from their carrier in this manner for no more than four Strategic Turns, as fuel and life support supplies begin to run low and the fighters are forced to return to their carrier. Squadrons on intercept operations may attack any enemy torpedoes or attack craft within 1VU of their position (whether they enter this range during their movement or enemies enter range during their own turns). Fighter attacks are described later in this section.
Combat Void Patrol: Commonly referred to as CVP, squadrons of fighters patrol the space around a vessel to protect it from enemy attack. As an Extended Action, any number of fighter squadrons currently ready within a ship’s launch bays may commence a CVP operation. A CVP operation may be assigned to the fighters’ own carrier or any friendly vessel within a distance equal to the speed of the slowest squadron in the patrol of the carrier, which must remain within that distance while the patrol continues. A patrol can remain in effect indefinitely, as squadrons return to their carrier to resupply periodically as a normal part of the operation. While the CVP remains in effect, any enemy attack craft or torpedoes that move within 5VUs of the patrolled ship are immediately attacked by half of the squadrons performing the patrol (rounding up). The remaining squadrons are either rearming at the time, or are elsewhere on the patrol route. Unlike intercept operations, attacking does not force squadrons to return to their carrier to rearm; such activities are a normal part of CVP operations, and thus the patrol continues even after it has attempted to repel an attack. Spent fighters return to the carrier, rearm, and re-launch on a continuous basis.
Escort: Instead of operating alone, fighters can be assigned to support bombers or assault boats, protecting them from enemy fighters and harassing defensive turrets to allow their larger brethren to deliver their payloads. Fighter escorts are launched as part of normal bombing or assault boat operations, and move at the same speed as the attack craft they escort. Should the bombers/assault boats be attacked by enemy fighters, then the escorting fighters may attack the enemy fighters. The enemy fighters must engage the escort fighters (see “Attacking with Fighters” below). Against defensive turrets, each squadron of escorting fighters impose a –10 penalty on the turrets’ Ballistic Skill Test, and will be shot down before any of the escorted bombers/assault boats.
Attacking With Fighters
In all cases, where fighters are required to attack enemy small craft, both sides make a Challenging (+0) Command+Craft Rating Test (this will either be from a character aboard the carrier, or from a character leading the fighters personally), with the enemy small craft. Both sides gain a +5 bonus for every squadron of friendly fighters after the first. Both sides also gain a +5 bonus for an additional squadron of bombers or assault craft after the first, plus an additional +5 for each additional two squadrons of bombers or assault craft (as neither bombers nor assault craft are as good at dogfighting as fighters, but are armed and dangerous in numbers). This counts as an Opposed Skill Test, but is not resolved in the same way.
For every degree of success scored on the Test, one opposing squadron or torpedo is “eliminated;” destroyed, damaged or forced to expend their remaining fuel and ammo reserves, and must return to the carrier for rearming and refuelling by the most reasonable direct route. Any remaining squadrons remain in play and can act in later turns, either breaking off and heading for their original target, or staying and engaging. However, if one side scores at least four degrees of success more than their opponent did, none of that side’s squadrons are eliminated no matter what their opponent rolled. The tactical acumen and impressive piloting skills of the squadron leader’s pilots means they scythed through their opposition effortlessly.
Defensive Turrets
While Void Shields are a more than adequate defence against macrocannon shells and lance beams, they are useless against slower-moving attacks such as torpedo salvoes and bombers. Consequently, most vessels possess a number of small, lightweight defensive weapons, collectively known as turrets, incapable of harming a full starship but more than able to destroy enemy torpedoes and attack craft.
A ship’s turrets work identically whether defending against torpedoes or attack craft. Before the attacker rolls to score hits the defending vessel may attempt a Ballistic Skill Test using the crew’s Skill Rating, with a +5 bonus for every point of Turret Rating the vessel has (the ship must have a Turret rating of at least 1 to attempt this). If successful, then the turrets hit once, plus one additional hit for every two degrees of success, with each hit shooting down a single torpedo or attack craft squadron, reducing the number of torpedoes in the salvo or attack craft squadron in the wave before the attack roll is made. Torpedoes shot down are destroyed harmlessly. Attack craft shot down may have merely been disabled or driven off instead of destroyed but, one way or another, can no longer attack.
Bomber Operations
Massive and lumbering compared to other attack craft, bombers carry vast arrays of energy weapons, missiles, and bombs designed to damage the thick armoured hulls of starships. With a skilled crew, a bomber can be devastating, using deft manoeuvring to deliver their payload to the weakest parts of a vessel with a degree of precision that cannot be matched by longer-ranged weaponry.
As an Extended Action, all bomber squadrons currently ready within a ship’s launch bays may begin a bombing operation. The bomber squadrons may be grouped up into one or more wings consisting of two or more squadrons, or may operate as independent squadrons, in any combination, as desired. Upon launch and again at the beginning of their parent vessel’s subsequent Strategic Turns, the bomber wings may move freely a number of VUs up to the speed of the slowest squadron in the unit. They may continue to operate away from their carrier for no more than six Strategic Turns (four if the wings include fighters), as fuel and life support supplies begin to run low and the bombers are forced to return to their carrier. Upon moving within 1VU of an enemy vessel, the bombers may commence an attack run, closing quickly upon their target to deliver their payload before retreating back to the carrier.
Make a Challenging (+0) Command+Craft Rating Test (this will either be from a character aboard the carrier, or from a character leading the bombers personally), gaining a +5 bonus for every squadron of friendly bombers after the first. A successful test causes a single hit upon the enemy vessel, with an additional hit for every degree of success. This is up
Torpedo Bombers
Certain rare vessels have been known to carry a variant of normal bombers known collectively as torpedo bombers. Each torpedo bomber forgoes its normal payload in favour of a single comparatively small torpedo, which it can launch at any point. While seldom as destructive as a true bombing run, the technique can allow for torpedo attacks to come from an unexpected angle.
Instead of performing bombing runs, Torpedo Bombers may, at the start of any turn instead of their normal movement, launch their torpedoes. The torpedoes immediately move directly forwards in whatever direction the bombers were facing, following all the normal rules for torpedoes. Each torpedo bomber can launch one torpedo. A squadron of torpedo bombers is comprised of three torpedo bombers.
Torpedo bombers can launch any type of torpedo, however any torpedo launched from a torpedo bomber has its range halved, as the bombers cannot haul torpedoes with a full load of fuel. In addition, due to their rarity, Acquisition Tests to acquire bombers with torpedo fittings suffer a –5 penalty in addition to any other modifiers. There is also the matter of storing the torpedoes if the starship does not have the stowage that comes with a Torpedo Tube Component. A typical Munitorium can store nine torpedoes on a ship of light cruiser size or larger, or six on a smaller vessel. One could also store a comparable number in a cargo hold, but the lack of safe storage means the torpedoes have a 25% chance of detonating should that Component become damaged or destroyed.
Assault Boat Operations
Blunt and unsubtle-looking craft, assault boats are a form of heavily-armoured shuttle designed to carry large boarding parties onto enemy ships. Assault boat prows are typically fitted with an array of high-energy cutting devices, explosive charges, mechanical drills, claws and other tools for breaching the hull of an enemy vessel, behind which are bulky blast doors leading into a transport compartment filled with eager armsmen.
As an Extended Action, any number of assault boat squadrons currently ready within a ship’s launch bays may begin an assault operation. The assault boat squadrons may be grouped up into one or more wings consisting of two or more squadrons, or may operate as independent squadrons, in any combination, as desired. Upon launch and again at the beginning of their parent vessel’s subsequent Strategic Turns, the assault boat wings may move freely a number of VUs up to the speed of the slowest squadron in the unit. They may continue to remain away from their carrier in this manner for no more than four turns, as fuel and life support supplies begin to run low and the assault boats are forced to return to their carrier. Upon moving within 1VU of an enemy vessel, the assault boats may commence an attack run, closing quickly upon their target to deliver their payload before retreating back to the carrier.
Make a Challenging (+0) Command+Craft Rating Test (this will either be from a character aboard the carrier, or from a character leading the assault boats personally), gaining a +5 bonus for every squadron of friendly bombers after the first. A successful test means that a single assault boat squadron has reached the ship and breached the hull, with an additional assault boat landing for every degree of success, up to a maximum equal to the number of assault boat squadrons attacking that survived any defensive fire. The character leading the boarding parties (if an Explorer is piloting an assault boat, he may not also lead the boarding parties) then begins a Hit and Run Action against the target, ignoring the Pilot (Space Craft) Test and gaining a +10 for every assault boat squadron that successfully landed. After delivering their payload, the assault boats withdraw to their carrier with any survivors by the shortest expedient route.
Craft Ratings
The types of fighter craft are many and varied. Each spacefaring race approaches fighter craft design differently, and often a single race has several different types of attack craft for different duties. The Imperium, for example, uses the Fury for space superiority, the Starhawk for anti-ship attacks, and the Shark for hit and run raids. All of these small craft have different capabilities, performance tolerance, and effectiveness. In space combat, this is represented by Craft Rating.
Craft Rating is a way to represent the performance of a type of attack craft. It is an abstract value representing an attack craft’s manoeuvrability, firepower, and durability. This value is represented by a bonus added to certain Tests made when fighters, bombers, and assault boats make attacks.
Table 1: Common Attack Craft Ratings covers some of the most common attack craft and their ratings. This table also includes general squadron sizes—how many attack craft are in a squadron. These numbers should be treated as guidelines, to be modified if the GM feels it necessary. If the GM wants to use an attack craft that does not have a Craft Rating, he can use its Manoeuvrability instead.
Table 1: Attack Craft
| Type | Craft Rating | Speed | Squadron Size | Special Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fury Interceptor | +10 | 10 | 20 | Durable |
| Starhawk Bomber | +0 | 6 | 10 | Durable |
| Shark Attack Boat | +5 | 10 | 8 | - |
- Durable: When checking for squadron losses, Durable craft squadrons reduce their losses by one ti a minimum of zero. Durable craft also enjoy a +5 bonus to Upkeep Tests.
