0-1 Orbital Strike

0-1 Orbital Strike

In the direst circumstances, Inquisitors are empowered to declare Exterminatus upon a world that has been lost to heresy or mutation, ending such abominations against the Emperor in a cataclysmic rain of fire from ships in orbit. On occasion those same ships may be called upon to make more limited strikes in the hopes of destroying the lair of a powerful heretic or other adversaries. This is often extremely dangerous for friendly forces in the area, as an orbital strike is never the most accurate of weapons and is a measure of how grim the situation has become to risk such actions. Peculiar to the Ordo Hereticus, Psyk-out weapons are produced using an extremely rare substance thought to be a by-product of the esoteric processes that sustain the Astronomican, scattering a fine, actinic residue as they explode above the battlefield that deadens psychic abilities.

Important note: An Orbital Strike may only be chosen if an Inquisitor or Inquisitor Lord of the Ordo Hereticus is also part of the force. The terms of the Decree Passive forbid the Ecclesiarchy from maintaining its own war fleets, and so the Sisters of Battle are reliant upon the Imperial Navy and Inquisitorial vessels for this type of support.

Options: Select the strike from the types available above.

SPECIAL RULES Plotting: The orbital strike must be keyed to a specific piece of terrain at the start of the battle. Make a note of the plotted target before forces are deployed but after deployment zones have been determined.

Timing: An orbital strike will always use the Reserves special rule even in missions where reserves are not allowed. Once the orbital strike is available, it lands in each Shooting phase of the Witch Hunters player's turns thereafter. The Witch Hunters player can opt not to roll for the onset of the orbital strike if he wishes, but once the roll has been passed, the orbital strike will continue each turn until the end of the game – you can delay a strike but once it's started it doesn't stop.

Placement: The Blast marker for the strike can be placed anywhere within the specified terrain piece. If the terrain piece is too small, make sure the central hole of the template is over the terrain piece in question.

(In)accuracy: Even for ships in low orbit, precision fire is extremely difficult. An orbital strike scatters just like an Ordnance weapon but if a Miss is rolled the distance scattered is double the number scored on the D6. If a hit is rolled, the template deviates by the distance shown on the dice in the direction indicated by the arrow on the 'Hit' symbol.

Ordnance Barrage: All orbital strikes except Psyk-out warheads count as Ordnance barrages for the purposes of inflicting Pinning tests.

Psyk-out warhead: Once the impact point of the psyk-out strike has been determined, roll 2D6 to discover how many inches from this point the drifting cloud of anti-psychic fallout spreads. Any model even partially within this blast radius will be affected. The strike has no effect against normal troops, but against psykers it has a Strength of 9, which is compared to the target's Leadership, rather than its Toughness. This attack counts as AP1, though Invulnerable saves may be taken against its effects. Rather than losing a wound, affected models lose a psychic power, chosen by the Witch Hunters player. The power must be one that was chosen as an upgrade for the psyker – 'innate' powers and abilities are unaffected.

Psyk-out weapons are non-discriminatory – should a psychic Witch Hunter be unfortunate enough to be affected by the blast, his opponent may remove one of his powers!