| <<Back to Articles |
|
NOVA CANNON EMPLOYMENT MANUAL BATTLEGROUP FORTITAS TACTICAL DOCUMENT (TD) #27-4-24 REV A CONFIDENTIAL - FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION The Nova Cannon (NC) is a long range weapon employed by the Imperial Navy (IN). It has proven to be one of the more controversial weapons in the Imperial Navy's arsenal, as it can be devastatingly effective even at extreme ranges. This document is intended to be a guide to IN officers in the correct employment of this weapon system, as proper use of the NC has led to victory on numerous occasions. The reader should note that a commander may be confronted with a scenario or situation that will invalidate some or all of the principles put forth below. In such cases, a commander must rely on his own experience, ingenuity, and initiative to successfully employ his fleet, rather than constrain himself to wrote doctrine. Finally, it should be noted that this document has been produced based on the doctrine developed by Admiral Ruckdog and his Battlegroup during their tour of duty in the Fortis sector. Thus, those commanders wishing to adopt this manual as part of their respective battlegroup's training resources may see the need to amend or revise certain sections to reflect the particular conditions of their sector. 2. TACTICAL ROLE The NC is the IN's longest ranged direct fire weapon. Technically, the standard Plasma Torpedo has a longer range, but their limited speed makes them vulnerable to interception over the course of their run, as well as somewhat tactically unresponsive since it may take several turns for them to reach their target. Not only does the NC out-range all other IN weapons, it also out-ranges all Xenos and Chaos weapons systems known to the Imperium. This gives NC-armed Imperial ships a distinct tactical advantage at the start of most engagements, allowing them to engage the enemy well before that enemy is able to target friendly forces. Given the NC's reach, it becomes obvious that the weapon's primary role is to soften enemy forces at extreme ranges as they close for battle. As will be discussed further in Section 5, the primary focus of the NC will be to suppress the enemy's cruiser sized vessels, especially those capable of launching attack craft (AC). 3. FIELDING NC are most commonly carried by Battlecruisers and Cruisers. The Mars BC and Dominator CA both mount NC as standard equipment, while the Lunar and Tyrant CA's can both be equipped with the weapon (at a substantial cost penalty). Apocalypse class battleships also mount NC's, but these ships are so rare among Imperial fleets as to be beyond the scope of this TD. Of the cruisers that are armed with NC, the preferred platforms are the Mars and Dominator. The Mars, while expensive, also has long range lances, medium ranged weapons batteries, and AC capability. The Dominator, on the other hand, has the most powerful broadside of any IN cruiser, and is the cheapest NC-armed ship in the fleet. Thus, the NC is mostly taken on board cruiser-sized hulls, potentially at the expense of a Str. 6 torpedo salvo. While it is possible to take a fleet of cruisers that is exclusively armed with NC's, this would be inadvisable for a number of reasons. First, the fact that the NC has a minimum range means that during the final closing stages a fleet with no torpedo equipped cruisers will have no way to directly attack the enemy with out turning to expose their more weakly defended broadsides. Second, a NC is disabled when the ship carrying it is crippled, where as a torpedo armed ship, though limited to a Str. 3 salvo, will still have an effective prow weapon. Finally, carrying NC's en masse, while legal by the rules, is generally considered to be a poor display of sportsmanship by many players. For these reasons, it is recommended that a maximum of one (1) NC be carried per 750 points in a fleet. At a maximum, it is recommended that no more than one NC should be carried per 500 points. This ensures that a tactically useful number of torpedoes will be available to the commander, as well as limiting the charges of "cheese" being leveled at said commander. Additionally, since NC armed ships tend to be more expensive, limiting the number of NC carried in this manner frees points that can be put towards other cruisers, escorts, or re-rolls. 4. SHIP MANEUVER The proper maneuvering of NC armed ships is a key part of successfully employing this weapons system. One aspect of the NC that must be at the forefront of a commander's mind when maneuvering NC-armed ships is the weapon's minimum range. A majority of fleet engagements begin with the opposing forces approximately 120cm (the width of a 4' table) apart, or at most 180cm (the width of a 6" table) under the most favorable of circumstances. Most hostile fleets are capable of closing speeds of 20-25cm without using AAF special orders (the Eldar being a notable exception), and assuming friendly forces move at their minimum speed of 10cm, this gives a commander 3-4 turns at most to employ the NC before the enemy closes to within the weapon's minimum range. This means that to get the most out of his NC, a commander should place NC armed ships as far to the rear of his formation as he can, and advance them at the slowest possible speed to maintain range to the enemy fleet. Since the NC can target any enemy within the forward fire arc, another tactic to consider is maneuvering NC armed ships so that they are approaching the enemy at roughly a 45-degree angle, as this means they will be closing at a slower rate for the same 10cm of movement (7cm vs. 10cm). Finally, a NC armed ship should only be braced during the first few turns of the game for extraordinary circumstances, such as a massive incoming bomber attack. A commander must decided in this situation whether risking a ship is better than sacrificing a precious NC shot. 5. TARGET PRIORITY One final consideration to employing the NC successfully is choosing the right targets for it. As a scatter weapon, it may seem at first glance that large (6cm diameter) based ships such as Grand Cruisers and Battleships are ideal targets, since a scattered shot will have more of a chance to do D6 hits to a large based ship than one with a standard (3cm diameter) base. However, the problem here is that most ships with large bases also have much better shielding than small based ships. Grand Cruisers have 3 shields, and Battleships usually have 4 or more. Thus, even though a scattered shot has a better chance of keeping the 1cm diameter hole of the template on a large base, unless the D6 role for damage is a 4+ it will have minimal impact. Additionally, a 3D6 scatter at ranges over 60cm is most often sufficient to scatter a shot off the base of a target, regardless of whether or not that base is small or large. Thus, small-based cruisers with 1-2 shields are the preferred target for NC. The fact that a shot is more likely to scatter off the base is balanced by the fact that D6 rolls only require a 3+ to damage the target. Additionally, the occasional lucky D6 roll of a 6 will be enough to cripple a cruiser-sized vessel (2 shield hits, 4 structure hits). Among the enemy's cruisers, special attention should be made towards his AC carriers. For one, the IN is often lacking carrier capacity, especially in smaller battles. Thus, the NC can be used to even the odds by either crippling/destroying some of the enemy's launch bays, or else forcing them to brace to avoid the possibility of damage (remember, the decision to brace the target of a NC attack must be made before the scatter is rolled). However, the prudent commander will not rely on the psychological impact of the NC to force his opponent to brace, as it has been observed that most enemies of the Imperium prefer to run the risk than have one of their ship's or squadrons be hobbled by BFI orders for the next turn. Targets that are in base to base contact (such as escort squadrons massing turrets or launching combined torpedo salvos) are also prime targets for NC, since the template can be placed such that the center hole is over two bases. In the event of a direct hit, D6 damage would be awarded to two vessels, and in the event of a scatter the shot is more likely to stay on one base or the other. Just as a prudent commander should not count on his opponent bracing, he should also not count on a scattered shot (even a 3D6 scatter) impacting a near by vessel. Such occurrences have proven exceedingly rare; indeed, in over 90% of the instances that a NC shot has scattered it has not affected the target vessel at all. It is better to consider all scattered shots (roughly 2/3) as misses, since mathematically even a minimum 3D6 scatter will be sufficient to move the center hole of the template off the base of a small target, and 4cm enough for a large base. Large waves of attack craft (on the order of 8 or more) may, in certain circumstances, prove to be prime NC targets. Any ordinance under a NC template after it scatters is automatically destroyed, and large attach craft waves tend to take up correspondingly large areas of the board. Thus, even a scattering shot has a reasonable chance of destroying the wave. However, this tactic should only be attempted when friendly forces are in danger of being overwhelmed by enemy ordnance and all other avenues of interception have been exhausted. Thus, targeting ordnance with a NC should be a rare event, borne out of desperation. Finally, a special note should be made about the Tau Explorer-class battleship. This craft is an especially ripe NC target, given that it has only one shield but is mounted on a large base. Since it is a 8 launch bay carrier, a prudent Imperial commander should target these vessels at every opportunity in order to force the Tau commander into bracing the ship and thus removing a key component of his fleet's strength. The Explorer constitutes the one major exception to the guidance above that cautions against targeting large based ships with NC. END TD #27-4-24. FOR THE GLORY OF THE EMPEROR! By Andy Rucker
|