tjub:
Was asked by Bloodbeard what rules we used for Naval Warhammer. We use the rules stated in Generals Compendium, with the following tweaks. Most rules are compiled by “Shadowwolf”. 
Additional rules for naval warhammer
A note on:
Crew
Crew Terminoligy
Crew: All models on board the ship
Units: All models of the same type on board (i.e. Night Goblins, Savage orcs, etc)
Models: Every single model on board
Each turn, divide your crew into two parts, working crew and not working crew. It’s important to know which models are sailing the ship and which are free to cast spells, shoot missile weapons or tan their hide at sundeck. Almost all models may work on a ship, but there are of course a few exceptions. Monsters and cavalry are too big and cumbersome (and often too dumb) to work tally and block, as are squigs, giant rats, swarms, Tomb scorpions, great eagles, warhounds, salamanders and the like. These models may not make up working crew, but may still be on board for when it comes to fighting. Do not mix up gun crew with ship crew. They are doing entirely different things and are differently educated.
If you have different decks, the working crew should be mainly on the upper deck. There can of course be exceptions to this, for example a Dark Elf slave galley with a hundred slaves below and a few Druchii navigating the ship. A ship with less than half it’s crew on the upper decks should be considered Adrift if the players do not agree otherwise.
Missile weapons such as bows, crossbows, etc are assumed to be targeted at any exposed crew as such weapons cannot harm the structure of a sturdily built ship. Some parts of the ship, like oars or sails may still prove vulnerable to small arms fire. Crew on board a ship are always counted as in cover (i.e. -1 to hit). Crew may fire from a moving ship without penalty. Artillery crew that have missile weapons (pirate crews are often armed with an amazing variety of weapons!) may either fire the artillery piece or their missile weapons.
When shooting at the crew of a ship, pick a unit type (eg. Night Goblins, Skavenslaves, Handgunners, etc.) to target and fire as you normally would. Templates hit everything underneath them as normal.
Special and Rare slots
Normally, a 2000 point army would only be able to field 3 of each special slot and 2 of a rare. But as ship crews are not really normal armies, this is replaced by the following:
A Large ship may carry 3 of the same special choice and 2 of the same rare.
A Medium ship may carry 2 of the same special choice and 1 rare.
A Small ship may carry a single Special choice.
A Dinghy may carry a single Special choice.
In addition, choices that have special rules such as “2 for 1 special slot” of course fit this label as well. If they are war machines, they may also be taken twice per war machine slot.
Generic War machines
The war machines listed in the general’s compendium are cannon, bolt thrower and stone thrower. A bolt thrower may be taken 2 for 1 choice.
Dwarves, Chaos Dwarves, Empire and Skaven treat cannons as special choices and bolt throwers and stone throwers as rare.
Every other army treats Stone throwers and bolt throwers as special and cannons as rare.
The ships
Quite understandable, ships and all their parts are immune to poison and killing blow. In addition, non-flaming missile attacks of strength 4 or below cannot damage any ship part of toughness 8 or more. It is simply too tough. Ship parts of toughness 7 are likewise immune to non-flaming missile attacks of strength 3 or below.
The cost for a ship is:
Dinghy 50pts
Small 125pts
Medium 250pts
Large 400pts
When it comes to carrying troops and rowing boats, not all creatures are the same size or strength. All infantry count as 1 model for the purposes of the maximum number of crew a ship can carry and how many rowers are working the oars. Likewise, cavalry and beast count as 2, monstrous infantry and monstrous beasts as 3, monstrous cavalry as 4 and monsters as 6. Remember that some of these creatures may not crew a ship and therefore cannot row. War machines come in their own cathegory and their crew does not count towards the maximum crew capability. Chariots… Well. Don’t go there.
The Hull
The hull is the main bulk of the ship and what keeps it floating. When measuring things like admiral leadership, ramming length and wether a ship can be seen or not, always measure from and to the hull of the ship. An enemy shooter might still be able to see a corner of the sail or the bowspit, but that does not entitle him to target the crew or the ship itself. He might still shoot for the rigging if he can see it, of course.
Template hits against the hull
Depending on the direction of a shot, the hull might be hit in different ways.
Weapons like stone throwers, mortars and earthshakers that hit from above only need to hit the ship itself to be able to damage the hull. The shot will hit the any crew, masts or rigging on the upper deck, any crew on lower decks and finally the hull itself.
Weapons firing in a straight arc and flame template weapons need to hit the red marking, the edge of the ship, to damage the hull. The reason for this is that a hole in the deck might be an inconvenience for the crew, but hardly fatal to the ship.
Ramming
Should ship of the same or larger size ram and sink or completely destroy an enemy vessel, it may continue it’s move as it the enemy ship was not there (which it isn’t any more!)
Sailing
Instead of the normal 8", 8+D6" and 8+2D6" moves, sailing ships move 9", 9"+D6 and 9+2D6" respectively
In addition to all other sailing rules, a sailing ship must always move a minimum distance of half it’s allowed total movement, unless it moved at most half it’s move last turn, in which case it may move slower or stop.
In addition, if a sailing ship (not a magical one, but any ship able to sail is affected by this rule) should be rendered adrift due to lack of working crew or rudder malfunction (but not if it it’s mast or sail are destroyed, then they will be Adrift as normal), it will not be Adrift at first but Out of Control!
Out of control!
Sailing ships are notoriously quick, but are also very hard to control if you are not doing it right. When a sailing ship goes out of control it not drift at first but keep sailing. It’s speed will be exactly half the roll for movement suitable for the current wind. Also roll a D6, consult the chart below and apply any turns at half the ship’s move. Should collisions occur, roll for collision. In subsequent turns where the ship would still be out of control it will be Adrift as normal.
1 - turn 90 degrees to port
2 -Turn 45 degrees to port
3,4 - Continue on current heading
5 - Turn 45 degrees to starboard
6 - Turn 90 degrees to starboard
Rowing
Rowing ships are indeed the most manouverable, albeit they sacrifice speed for this.
Instead of travelling 5" as a base speed, rowed ships always travel 7" and add any bonuses or penalties as normal.
Each oar can be crewed by two models.
Steaming
Instead of travelling 2" per steam point generated, Steam ships move 3" per steam point spent.
If a Empire Master Engineer, Skaven Warplock Engineer or Dwarf Runesmith or Runelord is part of the working crew, the dice rolled on the ‘Full throttle’ chart may be re-rolled.
Moving by Magic
Magic ships move just like sailing ships, but always move 9+D6", regardless of wind direction. They will be Adrift as normal should any vital parts be destroyed.
The magician crewing the ship is free to cast spells, but should he suffer a miscast, the ship will move Out of Control! in the next movement phase while he racovers from the disastrous event.
Flyers
Models able to fly generally do not need a ship to traverse the seas. But flying constantly is tiring work and becouse of that, flying units must always start the game on a ship or on land. Flying movement is always carried out before any ship movement.
Flyers can move freely over water. They are assumed to remain flying over the surface, circling the wavetops like seabirds. They cannot be charged or rammed by a ship but they may still charge themselves, in which case they are simply placed on the deck of their target if they can reach it and there is room for them. Flyers may of course charge other flyers.
Ships and swimmer may ignore fliers when moving. Simply move through them or move them the minimum required distance to place the ship.
Units of fliers behave as they would on land, but may break formation should they land on a deck filled with enemies. Simply place the models where suitable.
All other rules apply. They may be shot at, marchblocked, borrow leadership from the admiral and so on.
Psychology
All panic, fear, terror, animosity, bicker, primal fury tests are made once per boat and unit type on board. Any effects affect all the models of that type. So a ship with goblins and Savage orcs may fail an animosity check and see all goblins busy fighting each other while the savage orcs behave as normal.
Templates
Templates hit everything undernteah them. Note that you can still only hit a single specialty target. Needless to say, the hull is always hit if the central hole is over the hull. So a stone thrower landing a perfect hit on a cannon would hit both the cannon and the hull with the higher strength. Should the central hole of a template fired from a weapon such as a stone thrower or mortar, that relies on the missile exploding upon impact, miss the hull and land in the water, the shot has no effect at all. Weapons such as flame cannons and Empire rocket batteries that do not rely on a single missile still hit as normal should any central hole be over water.
Cannons
As mentioned, cannonballs do bounce on water. Cannonballs may also bounce on land, oars or multiwound monsters as normal.
In 8th edition warhammer, a cannon does not normally guess range but on sea it can be a lot harder to hit a target, ship rolling and sea spraying. Thus, warhammer players must guess how far they are going to aim their cannon shots before rolling artillery dice.
In addition, ship parts only stop a cannonball should a ‘1’ be rolled to wound. Even if the ship is not completely destroyed, the cannonball is considered to burst through planks and masts without losing momentum.
Naval guns
Ship cannons are not as mobile as the land verion, mainly due to being strapped down or fitted to a chassis in order not to go overboard in hard weather. Cannon on ships may not be pivoted, unless they are also moved by their crew. Additionally, they only have a 45 degree line of sight arc. Position yourself well before firing.
Point Blank
When firing a cannon on very short range it is extremely hard to miss your target. When firing upon a ship (or any part of it) within 12", do not guess but simply place the cannon ball where you want to aim. You must still roll the artillery dice to see wether a misfire occured and add the distance shown if not. The cannonball then bounces as normal.
Shooting in hairy situations
Players may have noticed that although ships might be grappled and units in combat, there might still be men (or other creatures) with missile weapons that are not fighting and fully capable of dealing damage at range. However, just as in normal cases, units with missile weapons may not target units in combat with friends (unless they are Skaven, of course) or risk hitting them. This is pretty easy with small arms fire such as handguns or crossbows and they may freely target parts of the ship or enemy units not in combat.
Template weapons on the other hand can be a lot harder to miss your friends with. Dropping a Mortar shell or rock in the midst of the fighting crews is a sure way to get yourself keelhauled by whatever crew wins the fight. Weapons firing in a straight arc like cannons, bolt throwers and small arms fire may be fired at masts, rigging, oars, the hull or other parts even if ships are grappled but will only hit a specified target and that target only, even if it normally would hit other models or parts as well. This represents the cannon crew firing high into the rigging or at the waterline of the ship, or targeting a single enemy model they need to put down.
Specialty target charts
Players might notice that it is possible to hit other areas of the ship when rolling on specialty target area charts. In the case that a single target is hit twice by the same missile, count only the result that cause the most damage and ignore the other.
Monsters and handlers
This covers all monsters and handlers as well as squig herds, giant rats, rat ogres and other similar units.
Monsters are notoriously hard to control and in the chaos of a boarding action, they can be even worse. Treat each model as a separate unit. As long as a handler is within 3" of a monster (or squig, or rat) the monster acts normally, benefits from the handler’s leadership and whatever other rule might be associated with the workings between the two apply. If the monster should start it’s movement phase outside the handler’s reach, test on the monster reaction chart if eligible for such test for any other reason. The result will apply until it starts it’s movement phase within 3" of a handler again, in which case it will revert to normal.
If not normally testing on the monster reaction chart, the creature will automatically charge (if possible, otherwise move towards) the closest model it can see (note that it will not charge other monsters of the same type, thinking of them as friends or family), preferring enemy models to friends should distances be equal. The monsters are not considered bright enough to attack parts of the ship unless there are no other valid victims.
Also note that squig herds do not benefit from the Wild Squigs rule. Should they break, the squigs are considered to be shoved overboard, tangled in a rope and easily dispatched or trampled to death in the ruccus. Remove them.
Stupidity
The rules for stupidity still applies at sea and is tested for every unit within the crew suffering from stupidity. Stupid creatures may not work the ship but will instead wander D6�?� in the direction they are facing. Should this move carry them overboard, the model will be subject to the rules for swimming. (Look! Shiny fishies! Me catch!) Should all of the crew of a vessel be affected by stupidity, the vessel will be adrift.
Swimming
Instead of the swimming distance D3+1", models swim D6-1". On a ‘1’ they still drown. All models deduct ‘1’ from their score for every point of armour better than 5+ the model has.
Swimming infantry models may be ignored by moving ships. They simply sail past or over them. Move the swimmer minimum distance to let the boat past. Swimming monsters are a bit harder though, and generally more dangerous. They cannot be moved over and ships will stop if they come into contact with them, counting as charging the monster. Note that the monster is no ship and cannot be rammed.
While swimming, models are assumed to drop any weapons and shields they carry. If they get the chance they will fight with fists, teeth and horns. Note that they still keep body armour, as it is not very easily discarded.
Swimming models may attack any enemy models (even ships!) they are in contact with. Ship hulls, oars, paddle wheels and rudders may be targeted by a swimming model in base contact with it and are hit automatically. Crew on board an attacked ship are considered to have armed themselves with poles, throwable items and boarding pikes and may strike at any model directly below them without any weapon bonuses or penalties, unless the model in the water is large enough to be reached from the deck. Models in the water must climb aboard to attack crew if not large enough to reach them.
Aquatics
Aquatic creatures are notoriously hard to drown. They move their normal movement rate when swimming. Only aquatic models may crew Submersible Living ships.
Ranks
To determine strength in number, horror mage levels and the like, add up the number of models on the ship and divide by 6. This is the number of ranks the crew is considered to have. It does not grant steadfast or combat resolution.
Boarding actions
Ignore tha pages of the General’s Compendium about boarding action. Instead follow the procedure below.
The rules Headlong, Alongside and Grappling work as described in the General’s Compendium
Making contact with an enemy vessel
Ships do not need to declare charges, but if a ship attempts a ramming it must declare that it is doing so. Remember that flyers move before ships, so move any flying chargers before moving any ships.
When lining up the ships, follow the rules described in the General’s Compendium. If the ships make contact Alongside the charging ship is moved in order for the hull to hull contact to be maximized.
Boarding the enemy vessel
When the vessels have made contact and lined up against each other it is time for the crew to start mauling each other!
If the charging crew or ship cause terror, the target crew units need to pass a terror test to take any charge reaction.
If a ship makes contact with another ship, units aboard the soon to be boarded ship may Stand and shoot as normal or Prepare for Action! as soon as the ships have Grappled, if they have not already used this ability.
Prepare for action!
Models on a boarded ship may as a charge reaction move up to 2". This can be used to pull away war machines, move characters or run for the other side of the deck. This reaction can be chosen by war machines.
After any charge reactions, the attacking crew may move their movement value to line up at the gunwhales.
Deck fighting!
Now comes the fun part, or the ouchie-time, depending on who you are. All models in base contact with an enemy model may strike at it’s unit. Models armed with spears, pistols, shruikens, pikes or similar weapons may strike if they are in contact with a model in contact with an enemy model. Or if they are themselves in contact with an enemy model, of course. If not in contact with an enemy model, models may also strike at the enemy ship parts it is in contact with.
Models lined up at the gunwhale are assumed to be in contact with models directly across the gap. They are assumed to leap across, swing in ropes from the rigging or fight with one foot on each ship!
All units strike in initiative order as normal.
For each model slain by a unit, a model from that unit may immediately be moved onto the enemy ship, replacing the slain model and shoving any enemy models aside to make room for placement of the boarding model. After this is resolved, continue with the next unit as normal. If two units are striking simultaneously, the difference in models slain is the number of models that may be moved onto the enemy ship.
QUOTE
Example: Three river trolls and some Night Goblin spearmen move to the railing to fight the enemy crew of Empire greatswords. The Goblins strike first and slay a single greatsword, but elect not to move any model onboard the enemy ship (as that is pretty close to suicide!). The trolls strike next and kill two of the greatswords, moving two of the trolls onto the enemy ships. As the trolls’ bases are larger than the Greatswords’ bases, the greatsword models are moved to make room for the trolls. Now all greatswords strike and chose to strike at the trolls. They manage to kill a troll and the Night goblin player chose to remove the model still on his own ship. The greatswords may now move a single man to the enemy ship, but elect not to do so. They have enough trouble already!
Difference in Deck heights
If a ship has 2" higher deck than the enemy vessel, it’s crew has +1 to hit against units wholly on the other ship.
Units not in combat
Units with no models in combat may act as normal, firing missile weapons at the enemy vessels or charging into the fray to help their comrades.
Losers take a break test
Add upp the number of wounds as normal. Add +1 to the larger crew and +2 if the crew is twice the size of the enemy or more.
The losing ship’s crew take a break test as normal, on the unmodified highest leadership aboard. If they fail, they will be shaken and suffer penalties to their break test as normal in subsequent rounds of combat. If a Shaken crew fail a break test, they will Abandon ship! instead of fleeing.
Abandon ship!
If a ship crew has models on an enemy ship, these immideately retreat to their own ship and the fight continues.
If a ship has no models on an enemy ship, they will flee their own ship and fling themselves in the water. Any model that can make a normal move into the water does so. The rest are slain, trapped below deck or hides. Remove them as casualties.
QUOTE
Example: Continuing the combat above, the Greatswords take a break test on their unmodified leadership value of 8. Unfortunately, they fail and are now Shaken.
Taking prizes
If a ship is taken by enemies, they may move units to their captured ship in order to crew it themselves, effectively taking control of the enemy vessel! The vessel is worth twice it’s Victory Points if it remains in enemy hands!
Cutting loose and Shoving off
Unless one of the ships successfully Cuts Loose, the ships will remain Grappled
At the end of the close combat phase, ships may attempt to Cut loose from the enemy ship if it has either:
two unengaged models in contact with the gunwhales. Remember that enemy models on the other ship count as in contact with the model on the other ship directly across.
won a round of combat
QUOTE
Example: The greatswords have had enough of the beating they recive and want to Cut Loose from the goblin ship. But they lost the combat and the two River Trolls tie up so many models in combat that only a single one is unengaged while in contact with the enemy ship. They cannot Cut Loose this turn, but in their movement phase, they move more models towards the gap between the boats to attempt to Cut Loose after the next Close Combat Phase
Cutting loose is done by throwing boarding pikes away and severing ropes, hooks and gaffs. Roll a D6 for each ship you are attempting to cut loose from.
A ship cuts loose from a larger or similar ship on a roll of 4+
A ship cuts loose from a smaller ship on a roll of 2+
A ship cuts loose automatically if all enemy models on the other ship are slain.
Any friendly models aboard the enemy ship may make a normal move (no marching) to get back on board their off the enemy ship before they are abandoned.
QUOTE
Example: To the Empire player’s surprise, the goblins elect to Cut Loose from the fight. They roll a D6 and score 5! They sucessfully Cut Loose. The two trolls still on the enemy ship make a normal move across the gap between the boats to the safety of their own.
Shoving off
A ship that has successfully cut loose from all enemy ships may move 4" in any direction, with no turns allowed.
Consolidation
If both ships remain grappled and their crews in combat, the players may attempt to bring more models into close combat with the enemy. Models in units (starting with the winning side) that are engaged in close combat may move up to 2" in any direction as long as they fulfill the following requirements:
Models may not move through other models, obstacles or ship parts. They may move from ship to ship if they wish and if there is room.
No model in contact with an enemy model may be moved out of contact, unless it moves into contact with other enemy models.
Models may not be moved so that they are in contact with less enemy models than they started in contact with.
Extra rules
Hull strength
This replaces the chart from the General’s compendium
Ship Size Toughness Structure Points
Dinghy…6…5
Small…7…11
Medium…8…16
Large…9…20
Running aground:
This replaces the paragraph from General’s Compendium
To determine the strength of the hit roll a D6 and add:
Ship struck solid obstacle (wreck, rocks, quayside) +2
Ship ran aground (sandbanks, mudflats) +1
Ship moving at more than 6�?� +1
Ship moving at more than 12�?� +2
Ship is a dinghy -1
Ship is small ±0
Ship is medium +2
Ship is large +4
Launching craft
Some Medium and most Large ships have one or more smaller boats. To launch a boat requires at least 2 crew. The ship must be moving at a speed of no more than 12". The boat is launched at the start of the movement phase and begins with speed 0".
Shallow Water
Medium and Large ships may not sail within 4" of any shore (except dock or quayside) without running aground on a D6 roll of 4+. Roll as soon as the vessel approaches within this distance and at the start of each the player�?Ts subsequent movement phases whilst the vessel is within 4". Players and GM�?Ts should agree before a game starts what areas of water are considered as shallow.
Docking/Casting Off
Ships must dock at a speed of 6" or less, otherwise it is a collision with the quayside. Ships casting off start at speed 0". Docking or Casting Off requires the ship to have the minimum number of crew available for the task. Docking with less crew than required also counts as a collision with the quayside. Casting off with less than the minimum number of crew results in the ship being cast adrift, moving D6" in the direction of the wind.
Overcrowded ship
The ship is to the brim filled with warriors, creatures or refugees, all trying not to fall off it while at the same time making best possible speed.
Any ship may be declared overcrowded. A Overcrowded ship may carry twice as many models as a normal ship of that size. But as a downside, the crew do not benefit from the -1 to hit modifier crew normally enjoy, nor can they use the re-roll ability of a First Mate (they are simply too many and too disorganised!). In addition, as long as the ship is overcrowded it must pass a leadership test to move as normal, or the ship will move as described for Out of control!
A overcrowded ship that has it’s crew reduced to it’s normal capacity is no longer considered overcrowded but will act as normal.
Should the players decide to, they can opt to add +1 to any shark rolls for each ship that starts the game overcrowded. We simply assume a few of the sailors have already been pushed off and attracted the fearsome predators!
Upgrades
Extra Mast 30pts each
Small vessels 1 extra mast
Medium/Large 2 extra masts
The ship has additional masts. If a sailing ship, add 1�?� to all movement, which is lost should one of the masts be destroyed. The ship can still sail on one mast but if that mast is also destroyed, the ship will be Adrift if not equipped with other means of propulsion.
If any other ship purchases a mast, it may choose each round which method of propulsion it will use.
Each additional mast also adds 4 wounds to the sails and rigging.
Steam Engine 75/100pts
Medium/Large vessels only
Steam ships require only half the number of minimum crew (round up) and move using the Steam powered ship rules. Empire, Dwarf and Skaven vessels may field small ships and dinghies powered by steam at a cost of 50 pts and 25 pts respectively.
Heavy Timbers 20/40/60pts
Small, Medium, Large
The ships main beams are made from the largest stoutest trees to be found in the forests of the Empire. Small vessels gain 1 structure point, Medium vessels gain 2 structure points and Large vessels gain 3 structure points. -1�?� Movement in all directions
Magical Figurehead 50pts
0-1 per fleet
The ship has a magical figurehead blessed by priests and enchanted with protective spells.
The ship gets a 5+ ward save against enemy missile fire. (This only affects the ship not her crew)
Ram 40/60pts
Small ships and Dinghies cannot have rams.
Rams don not count to waterline length
Castle 15pts
An aft or stern castle is more or less a small building or platform on the ship which allows space for additional shooters or warriors.
A castle extends the maximum carrying capabilites of a ship with 10. A small ship may have one, a medium two and a large one three.
First Mate 25 pts
The first mate replaces any and all standard bearers. A unit champion may be upgraded to a first mate. A ship’s crew with a first mate may re-roll any failed psychology or break test.
Crow’s Nest 25 pts
A Crows nest can be little more than a basket at the top of a mast where a crewmember can sit and keep a lookout. He can see farther than the rest of the crew and warn of incoming ordnance. A ship crew with at least one model in the Crow’s Nest has a 5+ Ward save against template weapons.
The Crow’s nest is destroyed if the mast it is mounted on is destroyed. Ships without masts may have a lookout postTRUNCATED…