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Battlefleet Gothic is a tabletop miniatures game based in Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. Battlefleet Gothic is a starship combat game, and focuses around the incursion of the 'Gothic Sector' by fleets under the command of Abaddon the Despoiler, and the subsequent campaign by the Imperium to restore order.
Introduction
Battlefleet Gothic is an extension to the Warhammer 40,000 universe, providing the ability for players to stage space battles between fleets of space-faring ships. Players select spaceships from a variety of fleets, representative of the various Warhammer 40,000 races. The main fleets are for the Imperial Navy, Chaos, Orks and Eldar pirates, although the game has been expanded to include fleets of Space Marines, Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tau, Tyranids and Necrons. These ships are represented by 2-10cm long models.
The rules and miniatures were originally available in Games Workshop stores, although reclassification as a "Specialist Game" means the rulebook is now available in PDF format from the official home page.
Gameplay
Players take turns moving their ships and shooting, as well as undertaking more advanced maneouvres such as ramming, boarding, or disengaging. Each player may perform actions with all of his ships before the turn ends. The turns are divided into 4 phases, The Movement Phase, Shooting Phase, Ordnance Phase, and End Phase.
During the Movement Phase, the player can move his ships across the tabletop. Different ships can move at different speeds, and turn at different rates. Smaller escorts (frigates and destroyers) are typically the fastest ships in a fleet. Ships can also go onto "Special Orders" during the Movement Phase. These Special Orders allow ships to move/turn faster, reload their ordnance, increase the efficiency of their firing, or reduce damage from incoming attacks, at the cost of not being able to perform other functions later in the turn (or in other turns); for example, if a ship uses a Special Order to increase power to the engines to turn, the ship may not fire in that turn.
During the Shooting Phase players fire their ships weapons. Weapons are divided into two broad categories. Weapon Batteries represent massed broadsides that target an area of space, rather than being precision weapons. Lances represent high powered lasers and plasma guns, and they tend to be more accurate than Weapons Batteries. Ships are protected from incoming fire by Shields. Shooting generates Blast Markers, which remain in play on the battlefield. Blast Markers disrupt shooting, and slow down ships moving through them. They also temporarily bring down the Shields of any ship in contact with them. Shooting can reduce a ship to a hulk, or cause it to explode spectacularly. It can also cause critical damage, which covers a wide range of debilitating effects. Weapons can be taken offline, engines damaged etc.
During the Ordnance phase ships use weapons that move and fight independently of the ship. This typically includes Torpedoes, Fighters, Bombers, and Assault Boats. Ordnance must be reloaded between each use by using a Special Order. Ordnance ignores shields, but can be stopped by point-defense turrets mounted on most ships. Ordnance can also be fired on by a ship's main weapons. Although fragile, it is very difficult to hit.
The End Phase is when damage control occurs. Each ship which is suffering from critical damage can attempt to repair itself. A variable number of blast markers are also removed during each End Phase.
Inspiration
Much of the inspiration for the game was drawn from World War I naval clashes, with emphasis on battleships, heavy guns, and torpedoes, as opposed to modern naval warfare dominated by guided missiles and aircraft. However, there are also hints of influence from the Age of Sail (the importance of broadside fire, and the background descriptions of the Imperial Navy) and modern eras (carrier ships and fightercraft).
References
External link
"Battlefleet Gothic"