Vehicle Characteristics & Movement

Vehicle Characteristics

Vehicles have characteristics that define how powerful they are, in a similar way to troops. However, as vehicles do not fight in the same way as creatures of flesh and blood, their characteristics are different. Vehicle characteristics are as follows:

Ballistic Skill. Vehicles have a BS value, just like troops, which represents the accuracy of the crew as they blast away at their enemy with the vehicle's weapons.

Armour Value. The Armour value of a vehicle tells you how hard it is to damage. Weapon hits against vehicles must defeat their Armour value in order to inflict damage. Vehicles generally have different Armour values on their front, sides and rear.

Type. Vehicles come in all sorts of different types: some are faster than others while some are able to fly or walk instead of driving along on wheels or tracks. Any special traits a vehicle has are described by its type. The different types are: Fast, Tank, Open-Topped, Skimmer and Walker. These traits can be combined to define, for example, a Fast Skimmer or an Open-Topped Walker.

Designers' Note: This last clarification has been introduced to thwart those players who have tried to convince their unfortunate opponents that because a Talos utilises gravitic technology they need a 6 to hit it in close combat. They don't – the Talos floats rather than walks but in all important game respects it should be treated as a walker.

Vehicle Movement

Most vehicles can move up to 12" in the Movement phase. This is relatively slow, but it represents a cross-country speed rather than moving flat out. However, most vehicles will want to move even more slowly in order to use their weapons (see Vehicle Firing). Most vehicles can only move in the Movement phase, but some can move in both the Movement phase and the Assault phase, just as troops can.

Vehicles can turn any number of times as they move, just like any other model. Vehicles turn by pivoting on the spot, rather than 'wheeling' round. Turns do not cost any of the vehicle's move but once the vehicle's move is finished they can only make turns as described in the Shooting phase to bring weapons to bear, and then may only do so if they have not moved in the Movement phase.

A vehicle may combine forward and reverse movement in the same turn, providing it does not exceed its maximum move.

Designers' Note: Some players have been interpreting the Free Turns rule to allow their transports to make further turns after disembarking troops. The wording has been tightened up to make sure this cannot happen.

Fast Vehicles

Some vehicles are notably fast either because of their light construction or powerful engines – or both! Fast vehicles can move up to 24" in the Movement phase.

Difficult Terrain

Vehicles that move through difficult terrain are not slowed down like infantry – they will either crash through successfully or become stuck, bogged down or something similar. To represent this, a vehicle that moves into difficult terrain or starts its move in difficult terrain must take a Difficult Terrain test. Do this by rolling a D6. On a roll of 1, the vehicle is immobilised for the rest of the game, on a 2-6 it can carry on moving. The test is taken when the vehicle first encounters difficult ground during its move and will halt the vehicle there if it fails the test. If moving through terrain deemed especially hazardous, then vehicles are immobilised on a roll of 1-3, rather than merely a 1.

Designers' Note: This rule has been changed slightly to clarify where in its move a vehicle is halted – ideally it would be at a random point in the move but this generates far too much complexity. As the idea is to deter vehicles from entering difficult terrain and sticking to the open spaces, having them crash on encountering obstacles is the easiest abstraction. Also, the option to define terrain as being particularly hazardous to vehicles has been included in order to curb excessively dangerous driving.

Roads

Vehicles, other than skimmers or walkers, who follow a road for the entire Movement phase may add 6" to their maximum speed. They may only do this if their move required no Difficult Terrain tests, if they do not shoot, if they do not embark or disembark passengers and they do not perform Tank Shock.

Skimmers

These are vehicles that hover above ground level using anti-gravity drives, huge turbofans, supernatural energies, etc. Note that these are not full-blown flying machines. They generally hover at a few metres above ground level but are capable of making a powered boost to gain height and cross obstacles.

Skimmers can ignore terrain as they move but if they begin or end their move in difficult or impassable terrain, they have to test to see if they are immobilised (as noted above). Immobilised skimmers crash and are destroyed if they are moving more than 6" in their move. The player should specify their speed before testing for difficult terrain. An immobilised skimmer travelling slowly makes a controlled landing and may not move again in the game.

Walkers

Including vehicles that have legs instead of tracks or wheels, the most common walkers are the huge war machines called Dreadnoughts. Walkers move like infantry so they can move up to 6" in the Movement phase and then charge up to 6" in the Assault phase if the enemy are within 6". Difficult terrain affects walkers just as it does infantry. Walkers moving into, out of or through difficult terrain have to roll 2D6 and use the highest result as the maximum distance they may move that turn.

Terrain Effects

There are many different types of terrain. The following table shows some of the more common types and explains whether they count as difficult ground to vehicles or not.

Designers' Notes: These categories have been included to give some idea of how different terrain types affect vehicles. It would be a bad thing to curb creativity by defining exact terrain types, so it is particularly important for players to agree effects before commencing a game. The terrain generators in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook include many ideas for terrain and provide a good starting point.