Necron Awakening Dynasties in Battlefleet Gothic Campaigns

[Bozeman]

Once again, I've made rules for a fleet that doesn't play well in campaigns.  Standard caveats, very version 1.0, appreciate feedback, etc.

Necron Awakening Dynasties in Battlefleet Gothic Campaigns

Over the past several thousand years, a threat has been growing in the galaxy.  Mysterious ships have raided Imperial worlds.  Entire cities of hundreds of thousands of souls have gone missing.  And through all of this, one name has been repeated in equal parts hate and fear:

Necrons.

Long ago, the Necrontyr dynasties traded their lives for the immortality of metal.  They fought epic wars with the Eldar and the Enslavers.  They rose up and tore their masters, the C’tan, to shreds.

And then they slept.

Most dynasties took to Tomb Worlds and slumbered deep beneath the surface.  However, some slept more fitfully, as other races made their Tomb Worlds into homes and battlefields.  Recently, a few of them have begun to awaken.  Their awakening empire reaches out to the stars to find their slumbering kin and wipe all life from the galaxy.

However, the process of finding and awakening a Tomb World is a difficult one.  The galaxy is infested with Orks, Humans, and other inferior life forms.  The Eldar, once the Necron’s greatest enemy, now strikes from the shadows as a pale imitation of the race that opposed them millennia ago.  Spread thin, they comb the galaxy for those who are waiting to rise.

Because of these motivations, Necrons in Battlefleet Gothic behave differently than other fleets.  The rules for awakening dynasties below are optional, and up to the discretion of the Campaign Manager.

Necron Win Condition

Necron fleets have lost touch with their Tomb Worlds.  Raiding fleets search for these slumbering dynasties and awaken them to conquer the galaxy.  To do this, they must first find these Tomb Worlds, wipe the life off of the surface, and awaken the inhabitants.

As an alternate win condition, the Necron Harvest Fleet can become an Awakened Dynasty Conquest Fleet (see below) and can then win at least one Planetary Assault or Exterminatus! mission against the starting systems for each player who is playing a Battle Fleet (except other Necron players and Tyranid players).  In this case, the Necron player automatically wins the campaign if there is no limit to the length of the campaign.  If there is a limit, they only win at the end of the campaign if their Tomb World has not been Quieted (see Awakening and Quieting a Tomb World below).

Necron Fleet Composition

Necrons begin a campaign using the Necron Harvest Fleet from Armada with 1500 points, just like a normal Raiding Fleet.  However, none of the ships in the fleet may take a Sepulchre (see Renown and Promotions below).

Roving Fleets and Repair Points

The Necron Harvest Fleet List is a Raiding Fleet, and as such would normally choose a Pirate Base and keep it secret.  However, the Necron Harvest Fleet is a roving band of ships raiding at will, searching for their lost Tomb Worlds.  They don’t have the time, resources, or wherewithal to establish a permanent base to raid from (after all, if they don’t find a Tomb World, they’ll just move on to another sector). 
Instead, Necron Fleets rely on their advanced technology.  Necron Fleets automatically gain a number of Repair Points each turn equal to twice their number of Re-rolls according to the Renown Chart (see below) or 3 Repair Points, whichever is higher.  This is in addition to any Repair Points earned by temporarily owning a system by winning a Raid.

If the Necron Fleet becomes an Awakened Dynasty Conquest Fleet by awakening their Tomb World (see below) they receive the above number of Repair Points or the number they earn by owning systems, whichever is higher.

Discovering a Tomb World

Before the campaign begins, each Necron Player must have a tomb world chosen for them without their knowledge.  The Campaign Manager chooses for any Necron players other than themselves.  If the Campaign Manager is playing a Necron fleet in the campaign, they should choose a trustworthy player to choose a system and keep it secret.

Ideally, these Tomb Worlds should be chosen before any Battle Fleet player chooses their home system.  However, if a Necron player enters a campaign late, their Tomb World can be decided randomly (or not, if the Campaign Manager thinks that would be more fun!)

Each time a Necron player wins a raid in a system, after adjusting their Renown, they roll a D6 and add the number of re-rolls their fleet has according to the Renown Chart (see below).  They must make this roll in the presence of the person who knows which system is their Tomb World.  If the result is 4+, the Necrons have successfully searched this system.  If this is their Tomb World, it is marked on the Campaign Map as the Tomb World of that particular player.  During any turn, the Necron player may elect to play a Planetary Assault mission targeting this system, before any other player gets to go.  If they win this Planetary Assault mission, the Necron Harvest Fleet becomes a Necron Awakened Dynasty Conquest Fleet.  They control the system with their Tomb World (as they just conquered it!)

When a Necron player owns their Tomb World, it counts as a Hive World for them, but as the normal type of world for other players.

Necron Awakened Dynasty Conquest Fleets

Necron Awakened Dynasty Conquest Fleets are identical in all ways to Necron Harvest Fleets, except that they are Battle Fleets instead of Raiding Fleets.  When the Necron Fleet awakens its Tomb World, at the end of the Campaign Turn, the fleet immediately gains ships that would bring their fleet total to 2000 points (if they are less than 2000 points).  The ships MUST be owned AND painted by the Necron player.  Choose a ship or escort squadron, add it to your fleet (as if you had passed a 2+ appeal) and continue until the fleet is 2000 points or more.

The Necron Harvest Fleet is a bit limited in scope.  As an optional rule, subject to the Campaign Manager’s approval, the Necron player may include Necron ships with rules that are unofficial.  In this case, the Necron player must own that unofficial variant of ship, AND it must be painted.

Quieting a Tomb World

Necron Tomb Worlds have vast underground complexes with redundant repair systems.  However a severe amount of damage can put the Tomb World back into its torpid state.  If another player attacks the Tomb World, do not roll for orders as normal.  Instead, roll on the following table.  Eldar (or Dark Eldar) players may instead choose the result on this table rather than rolling.  Raider fleets play these missions even though they normally do not. (a lot is on the line!)

D6 Roll   Mission
1-4           Planetary Assault
5+           Exterminatus!

If the attacker wins, the Necron Tomb World is Quieted.  The Necron player’s fleet reverts to being a Necron Harvest Fleet.  Ships in the fleet are still available, but ships that are not part of the Necron Harvest Fleet list cannot be used (they are too rare to risk without a Tomb World’s resources to back them up).  All other systems held by the Necron player become un-owned systems that count as being owned by the Necron player for one more turn (as if they had won them in a raid).  After that, the Necrons on those worlds phase out, and the systems have no owners.

Necron Players and Convoy missions

Necrons do not ferry materiel from place to place crudely like lesser races.  If a Necron player is supposed to play a Convoy mission, they may elect to play Blockade Run instead.  If a Necron player decides to play Convoy, transports are the normal Imperial transports (seized by the Necrons to transport slaves) and fighter craft are Necron craft designed for space that count as generic Fighters, Bombers, or Assault Boats, or in the case of torpedo clusters, regular torpedoes. (Necrons do not normally use ordnance, and while their technology is superior, they don’t apply it often enough to make having good fighters or torpedoes worthwhile)

Necron Players and Planetary Assault missions

Necron ships can teleport troops to specific areas on the surface of a planet that they are attacking.  If a Necron player is the Attacker in a Planetary Assault mission, any ship with a Portal weapon can, in the End Phase, make the Portal attacks against the planet instead.  The ship must be within 30cm of the surface.  Roll a D6 for each Portal Attack.  For each result of 2+ the Necron player gains one Assault Point. (on a 1, the troops were delayed or misplaced and so the attack is wasted).  Capital Ships that use their Portals in this way must be able to use Portals (and so must not be both crippled AND on Brace for Impact).  In addition, any Necron Capital Ships that forfeit their shooting may gain one assault point by bombarding the surface as normal, and may use the Portals that turn (in exception to the rule that they do nothing else that turn).
Note that the normal Teleport Attack capital ships are entitled to cannot be used this way, as they are mainly meant to attack ships.

Necron Awakened Dynasty Conquest Fleets in Exterminatus! missions

If a Necron Player plays an Exterminatus! mission, any ship in their fleet that is a Battleship is an Exterminator for free, and does not sacrifice its prow weaponry.

Necron Players and the Planetary Defences List

Necrons are masters of subverting the computer systems of primitive races, such as Humans.  They may use the Planetary Defences list as normal, if the Necron player wishes (assume they took control of the ship or defence with their advanced technology).  Alternatively, if a Necron player does not wish to stoop to using the primitive technology of vermin, they may spend points for defences on escort vessels.  Any escorts purchased this way must form their own squadron separate from other squadrons.

Necron Players vs. Other Necron Players

Necron Players may attack other Necron Players as normal.  Different Dynasties compete for the glory of their individual Phaeron, so their agendas may not always align.  However, worlds conquered or exterminated by another Necron player count towards every Necron player’s end goal. (let the other guy do the work)

Appeals, Refits, and Crew Skills

As stated in the 2010 update, any Necron ship that earns a Crew Skill or Refit of any kind instead contributes one Repair Point to their fleet.  Necrons make Appeals as normal.  Necrons may also make a Dedicated Appeal (5+) to re-roll the search result of a failed search of a system for a hidden Tomb World.  If successful, the re-roll is made immediately.  Remember to make this roll in front of the person who knows the identity of the Tomb World!

Renown and Promotions

Necrons use the following chart to determine re-rolls.  In addition, the column to the right allows the Necron ships in the fleet to gain Sepulchres.  These Sepulchres are not limited 0-1, but rather to how many are shown on the renown chart.  Sepulchres must be equipped aboard Cairn class Tombships first. If you have none (or all of them have one), then aboard any other Battleship class vessel, then Scythes, then any Cruiser with more than 4 hits, then Shrouds, then any other capital ships.  If your fleet is composed entirely of escorts, Sepulchres cannot be used.