Topic: 40k - Rules for ship boarding action scenarios

[Algavinn of the Many Paths]

This rule set is a fusion of combat patrol, space hulk (I fight these battles on old space hulk print off templates) and kill team 40k rules in the scenario of a boarding action in Battlefleet Gothic.  As in a kill-team there will be an attacking team and a defending team, but possibly using more than one unit to make the assault, on top of the defending site being aware of the enemy incursion, at least on a room by room basis anyway.  This should be a fun way to link up 40k and BFG in campaign form, or at least some fun 40k scenarios.  The overall frame I’ve made doesn’t cover all situations one might encounter, at least not yet, so I’d love to get some input on what I may have left out or what things might be added.  I’ve left a lot of room for individual armies to make up special rules for their boarding units, as well as encouraging people to make up their own special characters in the way of ship captains/fleet commanders, and their bodyguards.  The main points being addressed is exactly how the defender deploys, and how to make it enjoyable for the defender.  Also what points levels for each side might be most balanced and feasible for this type of battle.  I’d love input on either.

I do hope to fill these out and make them formal when I get the chance, so I do recognize they are not fully finished.  As I get a better feel for how I want these to play out, I will start syncing them more with the rule sets of combat patrol and kill-team.






Picking The Scenario:

A boarding team may seek to reach a few key areas of an enemy ship, which may include:
1-the engines
2-ammo storage
3-the bridge
4-the reactor
5-sensor control room/hub
6-weapon systems/shield generators or holo-field projectors


Because of difficulty of boarding ships reaching an enemy vessel while avoiding anti-ordnance turrets, main weapons (whether or not they are actually targeting boarding ships they must still be avoided!), potential defensive fighters, astro-phenomena, not to mention the simple fact that it is not always easy to make contact with a ship that is moving and maneuvering in a live battle.  Because of these variables, the boarding ship may not be able to land directly on the bulkheads near a vital area of the target ship.  There is also the additional challenges involved caused by the enemy ship possibly being of alien or chaos design/alteration.  Few but the most experienced Imperial commanders or those of the Inquisition may know the layout of xenos or Chaos vessels.  Eldar holo-fields and other devices exponentially complicate zeroing in on a good breach point, not to mention blast fields from shield impacts, ship damage, or other distortions.  To reflect this, when boarding parties breach their target vessels (that is if they manage to make contact at all!) they will not know exactly which vital area they have landed near, or even how to reach it.

Because of this, players may choose to fight a battle where the boarding party does not automatically land near a specific known room, such as the bridge, but instead land on an unknown area and must roll a D6 while traversing the innards of the enemy vessel hoping to find a worthy target for sabotage.

In game terms, the boarding party will enter the field of battle at the various entry point(s) and proceed to journey through the ship searching through the ship to conduct their assault of sabotage while fighting off crewmen and any defensive squads.  Upon reaching 'large rooms' the assaulting team rolls a D6 to see if they have found a vital area, or if it is nothing of consequence for the boarding party.  On a 6 the room is indeed a vital area, and the attacking player rolls again to see which area they have breached.  If the roll is a 3-5 a non-vital area (type 4) has been found as described below.  On a roll of 1-2 an unimportant room is found and the team moves on in search of areas to attack.  Certain variables do affect the dice roll, however.  If the following conditions apply, alter the dice roll:

Add one to the roll if:
-the ship being assaulted is of the same 'race' aka: imperials attacking imperials.
-the boarding party contains Space Marines or Eldar Aspect Warriors.
-the ship being boarded is an escort.

Subtract one from the roll if:
-the ship being boarded is battleship.  These ships are so large and contain such a higher degree of turrets and other counter measures that assaulting vital areas is far more difficult.
-the ship being boarded is an Ork vessel of any kind.  Subtract two if it is a space hulk.  Apply either result as appropriate, even if the assaulting player is also Ork.
-the assault is part of an actual BFG battle and blast templates were in contact with the ship being boarded.



The players may choose instead to pick a specific vital area that the boarding party is near and trying to reach, so that they may plan and pick certain units (for the defender), traps/defenses, and rules to apply.  It is normal practice for a ship to keep defensive forces near vital areas, especially areas that may cripple or destroy the ship, such as ammo storage, the bridge, the reactor, and sometimes sensor/holo-field/shield hardware and control rooms.  The defending player may set up an elite defensive unit in any vital area, but some vital areas will have more defenses and others will have less, as is appropriate to their importance and the size of the ship. The players may also choose a middle grounds option, rolling a D6 to see which ships system the boarding party is near (the 1-6 results being those above).

Each of these areas are treated as following:

Type one: These rooms are the most vital, potentially destroying or completely taking the target ship out of action and will always have the maximum amount of defenses set up, such as reinforced bulkheads, shields covering entry ways, armed crewmen, and naturally both larger amounts of defensive units, and a higher level of alertness to respond to threats.  Because of the high degree of defensive response these areas will host, attacking units may decide they are incapable of destroying them, and may seek easier targets if the player rolls a successful leadership test.  A successful attack will automatically turn the ship into a crippled vessel.  On a 4+ the ship becomes a drifting hulk, and on a roll of a 6 a critical attack has been made and the target ship explodes. 

These areas include:
-ammo storage areas
-the reactor
-the bridge

Type two: These rooms are still extremely important, and vulnerable to attack.  The disabling of these rooms would not likely destroy the ship, but would still leave it substantially less capable in battle and possible unable to defend itself.  Attackers will praise their leaders (be it a good landing or an especially skillful team leader) for finding such important targets.  Attackers must attempt to sabotage these areas if found.  They will naturally be allocated substantial defenses and defensive units, but of a lower grade and quantity than type one rooms.  A successful attack on these areas will either halve the movement capacity or firing capacity as appropriate.  Against the engines, on a 4+ all movement and turning is disabled (the ship drifts 10cm a turn, unless retros are burned to stop movement permanently) on a 6 the damage to the engines causes an explosion, crippling the ship.  Against sensor rooms on a 6 all weapons systems are unable to function further due to the damage to targeting equipment.

These areas include:
-the engines. 
-sensors and sensor control rooms

Type three: These rooms are also important, but are again less likely to be as well defended as more vital areas of the ship.  Less crewmen will be well armed, there will be fewer defensive units on station, and minimal defenses.  Attacking units may skip these rooms and search for better targets on a successful leadership test. A successful attack removes 1 strength from a weapon system of the defenders choice.  On a 4+ one weapon system halves its strength, or on a 6 one weapon system is completely destroyed, which system is chosen by the attacker.  Against a shield of holo-field generator, on a 4+ one shield is removed permanently or the holo-field save is reduced by one, on a 6 all shields or holo-fields are permanently disabled.
These areas include:
-weapons systems
-shield generators or holo-field projectors

Type four: These rooms will be various areas of importance, such as power conduit hubs, ammo elevators, launch bays, and so on, but no vital areas that if destroyed would cause crippling damage.  Attacking teams may choose to carry on to find more worthy targets. No defenses of consequence are present, but some armed crewmembers may be on station, defensive units may be patrolling through the area, and there is a higher alert response than type five areas.  A successful attack on one of these areas results in:
D1-2: the decrease of movement speed by 5cm
D3-4: the removal of one torpedo strength/one attack craft squadron capacity/turret if applicable, chosen by defender.
D5-6: one weapon system loses one point of strength, chosen by the defender

Type five: These rooms constitute the rest of the ship.  These could be as unimportant as crew quarters, machine shops, or storage rooms.  An attacking party will not bother to sabotage any of these areas, and will continue journeying through the belly of their foe in search of more important targets.  Defenses will include no counter measures such as shields, and will have no defensive teams or armed crew members waiting around.  Alert responses will be generally low.


Game Points Levels: The size of the attacking and defending forces and their equipment depends on the size of the vessel being attacked, and the size of the ship/fleet putting forth a boarding force.  The boarding force may be from a single ship, or several ships that made one wave of assault craft, so it doesn't actually have to be a cruiser that sends an attack force onto a cruiser, for example, while the defenders can only marshal the defenders who are already on board.  However, for our purposes, games are played at an even points level unless the players decide that their commanders decided to execute a daring gamble and sent an inferior boarding force against a larger ship, or an overpowering force against a smaller ship.

Escort level battle: Each side gets 200pts for units, and 50pts for gear.
Cruiser level battle: Each side gets 400pts for units, and 75pts for gear.
Battleship level battle: Each side gets 500pts for units, and 100pts for gear.

[Algavinn of the Many Paths]

But was my attack successful?  Am I victorious?
For an attacking team to successfully destroy their target an array of heavy munitions and weapons such as melta bombs, haywire grenades, power fists, or melta/fusion weapons must be used.  These attacks take a few moments or even minutes to set up charges to go off and be unable to be disarmed, bridge controls set to make weapon systems or the reactor go critical, or to directly fire on key areas with heavy weapons so that damage is caused in a way that will allow the boarding team to escape without dying in the after effects of their attack (nuclear explosions or reactor melt-downs make it very hard to find your car keys and get back home alive!).  This means the attacking team needs at least two full turns with their demolitions specialists (those holding special bombs, special expertise, or anyone with a power fist!) un-harassed.  To accomplish this, the rest of the attacking team may fight off any defending forces, or be so lucky as to defeat them all and have none respond until the job is done. 

If the attackers manage this, the damage is caused and nothing the defenders do will stop it.  If the attackers are being overrun they will attempt to set off their explosives immediately or otherwise destroy the vital systems of their target regardless of the suicidal after effects (If they are indeed attacking a vital area.  Elite boarding units will not commit suicide to attack minor systems).  This will allow the attacking team to make attacks on their target as if it were an armour 13 vehicle (14 if upgraded with reinforced bulkheads) with whatever grenades or weapons they have.  Some special weapons, such as Haywire grenades, will alter how these encounters function.  If the armour is breached, the attack is considered a success but causes the death of the boarding party:
-automatically if attacking the reactor or ammo stores.
-on a 3+ if attacking the engines, weapon systems, or shield units.
-on a 5+ if attacking any other type of target (mostly to reflect having to hurry recklessly while handling volatile explosives and heavy weapons while being fired upon, or even have explosives shot by the defenders, or even a true suicide attack by the boarding party!).


The attacking force (if alive at this point) then attempts to get back to their boarding craft and make it out alive.  If they make it out with at least 25% (by models) the attack is considered a major victory.  If the attack is successful but the boarding party dies in the attempt it is a victory.  If the defenders kill the boarding party before an attack is made, it is a major victory for the defenders.

If playing this battle as part of an actual BFG battle, or campaign, refer to the damage rules listed for each room/area type to find the results of any successful attacks.  Space Marines are especially adept at boarding actions, and get +1 to all damage results rules.


Defensive equipment: Defending parties seldom have any special weapons designed specifically for defeating boarders (other than the tools that many crew members use as weapons), but ships often have protective features to prevent damage to vital ships systems and hinder attackers ability to get into sensitive areas.

Defensive shields protect the entryways of some vital ship areas, especially locations like reactors, engines, and ammo storage areas where chances of sabotage attempts are high, and shields are necessary anyway for protecting the crew from potential damage or accidents.  For boarding purposes, these shields act as armour 14 barriers, which dissipate upon a glancing attack. 

Reinforced bulkheads or other armoured structures are common for purposes of containment and protection of vital engine housings, reactor foundations, ammo hoppers, and other sensitive equipment. The bridge is often also surrounded in such protective measures, including reinforced hatches and doors.  These features also make it more difficult for boarding parties to quickly damage ship systems, or access sensitive areas.  In battle terms, defensive areas with these protective features have an armour value in case of the boarding party attempting a rushed attack [this offers no protection against rushed attacks on the bridge] (as described above where munitions and weapons are used for immediate effect, instead of carefully set to explode, overload, etc.), or if an alert is raised these areas now have secured blast doors of the same armour value.  Type one targets have armour 14, type two have armour 13, type three have armour 12.  Blast doors and hatches are destroyed on a successful penetration, but each glancing blow reduces their armour by one (ex. An armour 14 hatch is glanced but not penetrated, it is now armour 13 for each subsequent hit unless it is glanced or breached.).

Electronic shielding is a counter measure used against EMP weapons to protect vulnerable areas such as the bridge from an inevitably crippling attack.  Any time an EMP grenade is used on a system with electronic shielding, the defender gains a 3+ save against the action.  If the save is made successfully, the EMP blast has no effect.

Veteran response units are more prevalent on larger vessels where they are collected to give greater protection to admirals and serve to maintain the backbone of the fleet.  They are still found on some smaller ships, however, and are all constituted by combat veterans that have been specially trained for ship to ship actions.  These units allow the defensive player to add +1 to all rolls made when an alert is raised, and adds +1 leadership to responding units, to a maximum of 10.  (Space Marine response units automatically have this upgrade)



Attackers Equipment: Boarding parties are made up specifically to deal crippling or lethal damage to armed and armoured enemy ships.  Because of this, boarding parties are often equipped with powerful charges and lasers that seek to make the thickest battleship bulkhead look like millimeters of flak jacket.  In addition to the various special weapons each race is capable of wielding, certain specialized tools are often seen in boarding actions.

Plasma/Laser cutters are common weapons used by boarding parties, designed to allow them to cut through massive bulkheads in moments, and damage naturally resilient key ship components, such as the massive metal parts of many engine compartments.  Against bulkheads and armoured hatches, these act as strength eight melta weapons, and also double as a power weapon in close combat.

Due to the large amount of electrical systems on all ships EMP charges are common munitions used for sabotage missions.  These are highly useful in most compartments, damaging the systems on stored torpedoes in ammo storage facilities, as well as easily crippling systems in navigation control rooms or weapons banks.  A single EMP charge used on the bridge of a ship has a real possibility of crippling the entire ship!  EMP grenades function the same as haywire grenades, with either glancing or penetrating results causing a successful EMP attack, however they still take two turns as normal demolition attacks do to set up for sabotage to ensure that the resulting lowering of containment fields and other resulting effects doesn’t kill the boarding force outright.  They can be used directly, however, if they boarding party initiates a rushed attack.

Veteran boarding squads are a common occurrence, as typically only the best soldiers are chosen to be specially trained for these dangerous missions.  Veteran boarding units are able to ignore line of site blocking caused by friendly or enemy units, being used to having to fire in close quarters, knowing how to snap off shots immediately when the opportunity presents itself.  Leadership tests are also taken at +1, to a maximum of 10. (Space Marine boarding parties automatically come with this upgrade.)



to be addressed:
-rules for specific rooms and area types for defense. 
-character types and rules: bridge staff, bodyguards etc.
-how exactly charges and demolition attacks are made
-special rules for flamers
-racial special rules