The Harvest Fleets: Necron Vessels
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THE HARVEST FLEETS: NECRON VESSELS “WHAT LIES WITHIN, FEAR WE TO ASK...” NECRON VESSELS NECRONS IN BATTLEFLEET GOTHIC For centuries the Explorators of the Imperium have THE HARVESTER FLEETS Since then there have been a further 27 recorded known of the ancient civilisation of the Necrontyr – Until very recently almost all contact with the encounters between Imperial Navy ship and a race that became extinct tens of millions of years Necron’s had been limited to battles fought on Necron raiding fleets. There are also anecdotal ago. Little remains now of what must once have planets against small forces of Necron troops. accounts of space battles between the Necrons and been a technically advanced empire that spanned From time to time reports were made of strange Eldar, Ork and even Chaos space fleets. All the galaxy. Any surface structures that may once space craft encountered on the edge of newly evidence points to the Necrons being old beyond have existed have long since disappeared from discovered systems, which appeared derelict at first the memory of anything living and their Necrontyr worlds. Their existence has been eroded but when approached became active. More often technology, although idiosyncratic, is superior to by time. They and their works have crumbled to than not all that remained of the Imperial craft that of any other race, including the Eldar. In every dust with the passage of eons. which encountered these strange ships was the encounter so far the Necrons have only been Only deep under the sand have the Necrontyr’s scattered wreckage of its remains, and the only defeated by superior numbers of enemy ships, and inexplicably strange tomb-temples partially clues to the nature of the enemy were garbled wherever the numbers have been even the survived. No intact complex has ever been distress messages speaking of alien ships using Necrons have prevailed. Fortunately for the discovered. Those that have been explored and of weapons of quite terrifying destructiveness. Imperium all of the Necron fleets encountered so which records exist, are all ruinous and empty. Whenever such incidents were investigated far have been small in size, and what should What their purpose or content might have been, or nothing could be found of the perpetuators, and happen if the Necrons should ever attack in force if they were plundered and emptied by others in no useful evidence could be collected pointing to remains to be seen. antiquity, is all impossible to say. Best analysis their nature or origin. Even more worryingly, the encounters that have indicates that the Necrontyr vanished from the All this changed in the year 666.M40, when the first taken place with the Necrons have occurred all galaxy more than sixty million years ago, when the recorded incident of a Necron ‘harvest’ took place over the galaxy, without any discernible pattern as planet Earth was little more than prehistoric jungle, in the Yuctan system close to the Eastern Fringes. to when or where the Necrons will strike next. and Mankind’s evolution lay millions of years in the Although sparsely inhabited, the system included What is more, the frequency of such encounters future. an Imperial Naval depot. At the time of the attack seems to be increasing, though how or why this Like a thousand other dead civilisations and the depot was being used by small Imperial should be happening is unknown. All that is forgotten races the Necrontyr are of interest to few squadron consisting of the Dauntless class light known for sure is that the objective of these raids outside the dusty offices of the Explorator cruiser Farsight and half a dozen escort craft. appears to be the seizure of Imperial citizens – but Archaeos. Squadron Farsight was undertaking a long range for to what hideous use the captured men, women patrol, and was visiting Yuctan to refuel and re-arm, and children are put remains terrifyingly unknown. Until now. when it received distress messages from an They simply disappear and are never seen again. Now, suddenly and unexpectedly, a chance Imperial colony on the outlying planet of Merida. encounter has brought the Necrontyr to the The squadron moved to intercept and took part in s we dug its shape become apparent. It was a attention of the powerful and great. Raiders the first recorded encounter between Imperial ship, no doubt it was a ship, yet buried by marked with Necrontyr runes and indecipherable battlecraft and a Necron fleet. Only one of the “A hundreds of feet of rock. It must have lain there for inscriptions of Necrontyr design have been Imperial craft survived to tell the tale (the Cobra millions of years, but even after all this time it captured on a brief visual scan. It is a momentary class destroyer ON37452). The Necrons suffered appeared neither destroyed nor abandoned. It appeared visual record of the attack, yet it is a link in a chain no losses. By the time a full Imperial fleet could be of events that extends across the galaxy. It is a link despatched to the Yuctan system the Necrons had intact, and functional too, and many runes, seams and to other raids, to other sites of destruction where disappeared. And of the human colonists in the panels hinted that there might be space within for raiders leave no trace and where records are wiped system there was not a single trace… something else to survive. But what lies within, fear across an entire planet. we to ask.” ARMADA 72 NECRON VESSELS NECRON SPECIAL RULES NECRON WEAPONS Lightning Arc Gauss Particle Whip Necron vessels employ many unique weapon Stored solar energy is released as a forest of This is the preferred ranged weapon of the systems, unknown to other fleets. These follow the living energy tendrils which envelop targets Necron Raiders. A particle beam is projected rules outlined below. probing for weaknesses. Lightning arcs function along a magnetic field across a short (at source) as weapon batteries with two differences. Sepulchre arc, the arc is sufficient to crack the particle Firstly, they don’t suffer the normal column shift Only utilised by the largest Necron vessel in a fleet, beam like a whip. When a target is hit the beam to the right when attacking vessels who have a ship carrying a Sepulchre automatically gains a is energised focusing power similar to the holofields or shadowfields (the bolts do not Leadership of 10. The Sepulchre is used to attack lightning arc batteries, but on a much smaller need to see) and all targets are treated as one enemy ship that is within 20cm range. When target area. The particle whip is treated like a closing. lance except any rolls to hit of 6 bypass shields the Sepulchre is used make a Leadership test for the _ enemy vessel being attacked, as a wave of palpable Lightning arcs with multiple fire arcs can divide and affect the target ship directly these are psychic force is generated from the Necron ship. their total Firepower. A lightning arc can be split unsaveable by holofields. The crew are paralysed by visions of horror, and if between its fire arcs in any way the player Portal discipline is lost then the crazed crew are likely to desires. So for a tombship, it’ s Strength 20 Portals are more precise than conventional do damage to their own ship as they rampage lightning arc can fire 5 Firepower to the front, teleporters and are able to flood enemy ships uncontrollably. 12 to the left and 3 to the right. Next turn it with a relentless host of Necron Warriors and could fire 20 Firepower to the right, and none A ship attacked by the Sepulchre should take a swarms of Scarabs. Each portal confers an elsewhere. Leadership test. If they pass, the captain cracks additional hit and run attack to the Necron some heads and restores order. If it is failed, then Star Pulse Generator vessel. These have a range of 10cm and, as the ship’s Leadership is permanently reduced by 1, The star pulse generates a pulse of energy with normal, can only be made against ships whose representing the loss of morale and trust. Also the a radius effect of 20cm, which does not effect shields are down. The usual restriction that ship may not use any special orders until after the other Necron ships. Each pulse generator gets teleport attacks can only be made against ships end of their next turn. This includes Brace for one roll to hit against each ship or piece of with less remaining Hull Points is waived, with Impact. Any ordnance within 20cm of the ordnance in range. Holofields offer no defence. the exception that Necron Raider class vessels Sepulchre (except for non-boarding torpedoes) are A star pulse cannot be generated while the do not carry enough Warriors to board anything destroyed on a 4+. A Necron ship may only unleash vessel is using any special order or crippled as it with more than 6 Hull Points remaining. its Sepulchre when the ship is not on any special requires precise control. orders or crippled. NECRON VESSELS NECRON CRITICAL HITS TABLE INERTIALESS DRIVE 2D6 Extra Necron drives are capable of interstellar travel Roll Damage Result without the need to enter the Warp. The drive is fired whenever All Ahead Full orders are issued; 2 +0 Power Flow Disrupted. May not fire lightning arc or particle whip in port arc. instead of obeying the normal rules for this 3 +0 Power Flow Disrupted. May not fire lightning arc or particle whip in starboard arc.