Vehicles of the Empire

info

The Wagons and Boats were included in Town Cryer #24, and expanded on in the Empire in Flames Supplement.

There are three principal modes of transport in the Empire: travel by boat, by riding animals such as horses and mules, and travel by wagon or coach. Riding animals have already been covered in ‘Blazing Saddles' which is featured in the Mordheim annual. Here we will cover the rules for travel via boat and wagon.

Wagons

This covers carts, stagecoaches and all two and four wheeled forms of transport commonly found in the Empire.

Movement

A wagon’s movement is determined by how laden it is with passengers and cargo. Therefore throughout a game, a wagon’s move may alter due to unloading or loading up of more passengers and cargo. Consult the table below to determine movement. Wagons cannot charge, climb, hide, run or flee.

Wagon Movement

No. of passengers or cargo quota	Standard Movement	Applying the lash!
1 (driver — compulsory)	10	+D6
2-3	8	+D6
4-6	6	+D6

TURNS

Wagons, regardless of size, may make a single turn of up to 45 degrees at the end of its movement. It may then apply the lash if desired. Make turns by pivoting the vehicle from its midpoint.

APPLYING THE LASH!

There are many reasons why a wagon driver would want to urge his beasts to go faster if he is being pursued by bandits or mutants, for example! By applying the lash to his draft beasts, the driver of a wagon can attempt to gain some extra movement. After the wagon has moved normally, the player may roll a D6. On the score of 2+ this indicates how many extra inches the wagon may move ahead in a straight line. Onithe roll of a 1 something drastic has happened. Roll on the table below:

Applying The Lash

D6	Result
1-2	Steeds Tiring - The draft animals are growing tired — if the driver applies the lash! next turn you must halve the MOVEMENT score rounding fractions up.
3-4	Driver Shaken — Due to the wagon’s speed the driver is thrown all over the place and may not apply the lash next turn as he recovers his composure.
5-6	Out of Control — Make a roll on the Out of Control table.

Out of Control

D6	Result
1-3	Swerve — The driver temporarily loses control and the wagon veers wildly off course. Roll a D6: 1-3 — Swerves 45 degrees to the left. 4-6 — Swerves 45 degrees to the right. The wagon then moves another 6" in the predetermined direction.
4-5	Runaway — The steeds bolt and the driver loses control of them. Each turn randomly determine the direction that the wagon goes in. Roll a D6: 1-2 — Swerves 45 degrees to the left. 3-4 — Swerves 45 degrees to the right. 5-6 — moves straight ahead. The wagon will always move at full speed and roll for applying the lash discounting the effects of a 1 all the time it is a runaway. Each turn the driver may attempt to take control of the steeds. The driver must pass a Leadership test to regain control of the beasts. The crew may not fire missile weapons all the time the wagon is a runaway as they are trying to hold on for dear life.
6	Loss of control — The wagon goes wildly out of control. Roll a D6: 1 — The wagon swerves to the right (see above). 2 — The wagon swerves to the left (see above). 3-4 — The wagon comes to an immediate halt. 5 — The wagon’s yoke pole snaps and the draft animals gallop off. The vehicle moves 6" straight ahead and then comes to a halt. The vehicle may no longer move. 6 — The wagon either jack-knifes or hits a rock or a depression in the road and goes into a roll! The wagon moves D6" in a random direction determined by the Artillery Scatter dice. Any warriors/beasts it collides with take the usual collision damage. All the crew and draft animals take D3 Strength 4 hits. The wagon is now wrecked.

TERRAIN

Difficult Ground: If a wagon enters difficult ground, roll a D6. On a score of 1, immediately make a roll on the Out of Control table; otherwise, the wagon is fine. Very Difficult Ground: If a wagon enters very difficult ground, immediately make a roll on the Out of Control table with a modifier. Walls/Obstacles: If a wagon collides with a wall or other solid obstacle, it comes to an immediate halt. The wagon suffers D3 hits at a Strength of 7 (see below). Impassable Ground: If a wagon moves onto impassable ground, it is immediately destroyed, and each crew member/draft animal must make an Injury roll. Remove the wagon and place any surviving crew within 3" of the crash site.

COLLISIONS

If a wagon collides with another wagon, both suffer D3 Strength 7 hits (roll location and damage as normal below). If attackers or defenders block the way of a wagon and it cannot move around them, the wagon will move through the models, even if they are from the defending warband. All models touched by a wagon that is forced to move through them must roll lower or equal to their Initiative or suffer a S4 hit with all consequences. Warriors that are out of action cannot get out of the way of a wagon and are therefore automatically hit. Whenever a wagon collides with anything, roll a D6; on a score of 1, make an Out of Control test.

TRANSPORT

For simplicity, all wagons and coaches may transport up to six human-sized warriors or smaller (no Ogre wagoneers!) or the equivalent in cargo (this will be covered in the Scenarios section). One crew member must be allocated as the driver, and one may ‘ride shotgun’ with him. The driver may do nothing else but drive while the wagon is moving, as he is busy controlling the reins. If the driver is Knocked Down, Stunned, or taken Out of Action, a crew member riding shotgun may take over the reins and become the new driver.

MOUNTING/DISMOUNTING

A friendly warrior may board a stationary wagon by simply moving into contact with it (wagons are only considered stationary if they didn’t move in their last turn). Place the model either on the wagon or move it with the wagon in base contact to simulate it being transported. Similarly, a warrior may dismount from a stationary wagon by moving away from contact. Warriors may attempt to mount or dismount from a moving wagon by passing an Initiative test. If they fail, they take falling damage of D3 automatic hits at a Strength equal to half the vehicle’s speed. Warriors may attempt to board a moving wagon from either another moving wagon or from a moving mount with a modifier of -1 to their Initiative test — this counts as a charge.

LOSING CONTROL OF THE DRAFT ANIMALS

Apart from if a wagon becomes a runaway, control may also be lost by attackers attempting to wrestle away control of the draft animals from the driver. Apart from eliminating the driver and taking control of the reins, the easiest way to control the draft animals is for a warrior to leap onto the back of one and ride it. A warrior can successfully leap onto a draft animal by passing an Initiative test (the warrior may add +1 if they have the Ride skill). If the test is failed, the warrior takes falling damage as usual. The warrior must pass a Leadership test to control the beast and, therefore, control the direction and speed of the wagon. The driver can only wrestle back control of the wagon by eliminating the warrior (any injury will suffice). If a warrior has successfully mounted a draft animal, he may attempt to cut it free from the team on a 4+, although he will lose control of the wagon itself in doing so.

SHOOTING

Shooting from a wagon: Crew may fire from aboard a wagon and have a 360-degree arc of fire. Shooters suffer a penalty of -1 to hit for firing from a moving surface. Shooting at a wagon: Warriors may shoot at a vehicle and gain a +1 to hit because it is a large target. If a hit is scored against a wagon, a roll must be made on the Location table below to decide what part of the vehicle has been hit.

Wagon Location

D6	Result
1-2	Draft creature — Roll to wound and injure as normal — see loss of draft creature below for effects.
3	Crew — Randomly select a crew member and roll to wound and injure as normal — see loss of driver if applicable. Any crew member that is wounded must make an immediate Initiative test; if this is failed, he has fallen from the wagon and must test for falling damage.
4-5	Chassis — Roll to damage the vehicle using the stat line below.
6	Wheel — Roll to damage the wheel using the stat line below.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Wagon	-	-	-	-	8	4	-	-	-
Wheel	-	-	-	-	6	1	-	-	-
Horse	8	-	-	3	3	1	3	-	-
Horse	6	-	-	3	3	1	2	-	-

LOSS OF A DRAFT CREATURE

Any time a steed is hit, regardless of whether or not it is injured, make a roll on the Out of Control table. If a steed is Stunned or Knocked Down, it will be dragged along by its associates until it recovers — next turn, reduce speed by 1/2 (with a draft of two animals) or 1/4 (with a draft of four animals), and the driver may not Apply the Lash! If the steed is taken Out of Action, then permanently reduce the speed by the previous amount until the driver can cut the animal free on a roll of 5+. If the last steed is Stunned, Knocked Down, or taken Out of Action, then the wagon comes to a halt and cannot move unless the steed recovers — make an Out of Control roll with +2 to the result.

WHEEL DAMAGE

If a wheel is damaged, this is potentially disastrous. Randomly determine which wheel has been damaged and roll on the table below, adding +1 to the result if the wheel has been damaged before: Wheel Damage

D6	Result
1-4	Wheel damaged — The wagon’s speed is permanently reduced by -2".
5-6	Wheel flies off! — The wagon immediately swerves (see the swerve result on the Out of Control table above) and then comes to a halt. The wagon is now immobile. Roll a D6; on a score of 5-6, the wagon goes into a roll (see the Out of Control table for effects).

CHASSIS DAMAGE

When the wagon loses its final point of damage/wound, it is destroyed, comes to an immediate halt, and each crew member/draft animal must make an Injury roll.

COMBAT

Warriors may strike a stationary wagon in close combat by charging and striking against the part they are in contact with (draft creatures/crew/wheel/chassis).

Chassis/wheels: Attacks hit automatically — just resolve damage.

Crew: Crew on board a stationary wagon are counted as defending an obstacle, and a 6 is required to hit them regardless of Weapon Skill. If a crew member is taken Out of Action, an attacker may enter/board the wagon in his next turn.

Draft Animals: The draft animals may be attacked in the usual manner, although an attacker may choose to cut the draft animals free instead, which requires a 2+ on a D6 to be successful. Draft animals that are cut free count as unled beasts (see Blazing Saddles).

Warriors may attempt to attack a moving wagon by charging it in the normal way. Note: Charging a moving wagon does not bring it to a halt — the combat round is played out, and then the wagon is free to move in its next Movement phase. If it is a runaway, then it is compelled to move. Warriors are advised to attack from the side or rear because if they attack from the front, they are liable to be run down in the wagon’s next turn!

Because attacking a moving wagon is a haphazard affair, the attacker must determine the location struck first by rolling on the Location table above. Both the chassis and wheels are hit automatically — just resolve damage. The draft animals are attacked in the normal manner, although an attacker may not attempt to cut the reins on moving draft animals. The crew is difficult to strike, and therefore a 6 is required to hit them, regardless of Weapon Skill.

If the attackers manage to successfully board the wagon either while it is stationary or by leaping aboard as it is moving, they may engage the crew in combat in the usual manner without any penalties or modifiers. Note: Attackers or defenders that are injured while fighting aboard a wagon must pass an Initiative test or fall off.

Boats

This covers small rowing boats through to large river barges. Note that these are very basic rules to cover small skirmishes on the rivers of the Empire; a more inclusive set of rules to cover ocean-going ships is currently in development.

MOVEMENT

Boats move 6" when moving with the current of a river (the direction of the river flow must be established before the start of the game). Boats may move 4" when traveling against the current. Boats must move at least half of their movement allowance unless they have been anchored or tethered to the shore.

TURNS

Boats, regardless of size, may make a single turn of up to 45 degrees at the end of their movement.

TERRAIN

A boat can encounter natural terrain such as rocks or man-made obstacles such as logjams specifically placed to obstruct its movement. Both the aforementioned terrain types are impassable to boats, and they will suffer D3 Strength 7 hits should they move into them and also come to an immediate halt.

COLLISIONS

See above as for wagons.

TRANSPORT

All the above rules for wagons apply. In addition, because boats are considerably bigger than wagons, they can therefore transport a lot more. A rowing boat can transport up to six human-sized warriors or smaller, or the equivalent in cargo. A river boat can transport up to eight human-sized warriors or smaller, or the equivalent in cargo. A barge can transport up to twelve human-sized warriors or smaller, or the equivalent in cargo.

MOUNTING/DISMOUNTING

See above for wagons, except warriors that fail an Initiative test for attempting to board a moving boat do not suffer damage but fall into the water — see the rules for swimming.

SHOOTING

See above as for wagons.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Rowboat	-	-	-	-	5	3	-	-	-
Riverboat	-	-	-	-	8	4	-	-	-
Barge	-	-	-	-	8	8	-	-	-

Boat Location

D6	Result
1	Propulsion — Roll to damage the boat using the stat line above — if damaged roll again on the Propulsion table.
2	Rudder — Roll to damage the rudder using the stat line above — if damaged the boat may only turn from now on after coming to a complete halt by using a combination of oars/boathooks.
3-4	Crew — Randomly select a crew member and roll to wound and injure as normal — see loss of driver above if applicable. Any crew member that is wounded must make an immediate Initiative test — if this is failed he has fallen from the boat.
5-6	Hull - Roll to damage the boat using the stat line above.

PROPULSION DAMAGE

Either the oars or the mast and rigging have been damaged. Roll a D6 and consult the table below:

Propulsion Damage

D6	Result
1-2	Sail damaged/oars splintered: The boat's speed is permanently reduced by -1".
4-5	Rigging damaged/oars splintered: The boat's speed is permanently reduced by -2".
6	Mast falls! — With the loss of the mast (or all of the oars in the case of an oared vessel) the boat may only drift 2" in the direction of the current. All crew must immediately test on their Initiative to avoid the falling mast (this does not apply to oared vessels obviously). If a crewman fails this test he receives an immediate Strength 6 hit.

HULL DAMAGE

When the boat loses its final point of damage/wound it is destroyed and sinks immediately. Each crew member falls into the water and must make the appropriate tests for swimming.

COMBAT

See wagons above. Note: Swimming warriors may not attack boats!