Seahammer
Seahammer
Seahammer
Introduction.
In the world of Warhammer, war is constant races man, elf, and other kinds of creatures vie for power in a never ending struggle for power, land, and wealth. This struggle does not just happen on land, but on the high seas too. This rules package is designed to help players simulate these epic sea battles in a fast paced and thematic setting. No matter which race you choose, Be it the mighty Empire, the noble Bretonnia, or the sneaky Skaven or even the savage Orcs and Goblins You will find that battle on the high seas is a violent and brash affair! Ships will smash against the waves, cannons will bring swift death, vast sea monsters will rise from the deep, and magic will be brought to bare on your enemies. Each race has its own special rules and signatu re spells. Some races can ally with mighty sea creatures, while some will specialize in weapons, or boarding actions. Every race in the Warhammer world is represented so you can really set a narrative for your campaigns or can even be played as a stand-alone game. The game of Seahammer is designed to be played fairly quickly thanks to its simple rule set and each ship type and sea monsters have a set base size. The models on top of the bases are entirely up to you giving you free reign to scratch-build/convert any kind of theme for your ship you like. Since line of sight is done from the base of the model, ships can be as large or as small as you care to make them. Though not mandatory, the only rule for modelling that I would suggest is to make your ships WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). What I mean by this is that if you have a ship that has four masts on it, you model the extra masts, if a Ship has armor plating, you try to model armor plating on it. There is two reasons why I suggest this 1) There is no finer feeling than playing against an opponent when both forces have been lovingly modeled and painted... And 2) This will give you a visual reference to help you keep track of which ship is which in the heat of battle
Rules of the High Seas: Here are some game concepts important to the Seahammer rules: Six-sided dice are abbreviated D6. A roll of D3 is simply a D6 rolled with its results halved (rounding up) Two sources of the same ability on a ship (such as from the ship and a crew, or from one crew and another crew) do not stack; that is, you may use that ability on that ship only once each turn. Though Race abilities DO stack with crew and ship abilities. Loading/unloading and transferring are the same thing. These terms are interchangeable a nd are functionally identical. Touches refers to the act of base coming in contact with another ships base or Island. Is touching refers to the state of the ship in relation to another ship. Actions: On your turn, you are able to give one of four actions (Move, Explore, Shoot, or Repair) to each of your ships. You may give actions only to ships in your fleet. The following game functions may be performed as a free action after a move action: Dock, Ram, Board, Tow. Ending the Game: The game is over if any one of the following conditions are met: A player has more than 5 gold total on their home island at the beginning of their turn. At the start of any turn if any player no longer has the possibility of giving future move actions to any of their ships Winning the Game: After the game ends, the player with the most gold on his home island is the winner. In the event of a tie in gold count, the player who removed the most masts in combat is the winner. In the event of a tie in mast removal, the player with the most masts remaining is the winner. If the game is still tied, the players can choose any method they agree on to break the tie in this case.
Encyclopedia
Aft: This is the sides of each ships bases. When shooting cannons from the aft, ALL cannons may fire. The Afts have a 90 degree view as per the rule for Line of sight arc rules in Warhammer. Boarding: After a ship rams another ship, either player may initiate one (and only one) boarding party as a free action; this is the only time a boarding action can be ordered. The player whose turn it is decides first. Each player rolls 1d6 and adds the result to the number of masts remaining on his or her ship involved in the ram. The player with the highest total may eliminate one crew on, or steal one treasure from, the other ship. Bow: The bow of a ship is a zone at the front of the ships base. The bow is everything in front of and including the most forward points where the ships base touches the play surface. This forward arc follows the normal rules for line of sight arc in Warhammer. Only one Cannon may be fired from the front due to the other masts blocking line of sight. Broadsides Attack: When a ship is given a shoot action, you may choose to make the attack a Broadsides Attack. The requirements for such an attack are as follows: all of the attacking ships cannons must have clear line of sight to the single target, all of those cannons must be within Short-range of the single target, and all cannons must hit or no damage is done. Reduce each of her cannons to Short-range and shoot at only one target. Roll only 1d6; the result must be higher than 4+. If it is, all cannons hit, and the ship also gets one extra hit. No other abilities may apply to this action (except for the basic captain ability). Armor saves may be taken as usual but use Armor Piercing (-1 to armor save rolls) Cargo Spaces: Each ship has a set amount of Cargo spaces. This represents how much the ship can hold and how much crew or additional armor a ship can take. Each Cargo Space can hold one item be it armor, crew, or gold. If a ship has full Cargo Spaces, it cannot attempt to explore any Wild Islands, and may not recover any treasures. Derelict: A ship becomes derelict when her last mast is removed, and cannot move. A derelict may be given only explore or repair actions. A derelict can still carry treasure and crew. If a derelict ship is hit again by a cannon or other attack, she sinks. Docking: You cannot dock at an opponents home island. As a free action, a ship docked at an island may drop off and board crew, or transfer crew to and from another ship docked at the same island. A ship can move away and re-dock with a combination move. Exploring: If a ship begins one of your turns docked at a wild island, give her an explore action to attempt to find gold. Roll a D6 on a result of 4+ You have successfully found 1 gold. This gold is placed in your Ships Cargo space. You may also explore any allied ship or derelict that your ship touches, which allows you to transfer crew and treasure between ships. Once again this is successfully done on a D6 result of 4+. You can unload treasure or crew at any non-home island, and it is fair game for other players to load it. (See also, Wild Island)
Free Action: Unless a game effect specifically requires a Move, Explore, Shoot, or Repair action, that effect is a free action. Free actions happen automatically and immediately. A free action does not count as a ships action for the turn on which it occurs. Full Sail: During movement, a ship may choose to move at full sail. To move at Full Sail, the Ship may move an additional 4 inches this turn. If it does this, no other actions can be performed this turn. This includes Ramming, boarding, exploring, and shooting. Even if a crew member or race specific rule would normally allow this. Long Range: A shooting attack that is made over half the maximum distance of a shooting attack is considered to be at Long Range and suffers a -1 to hit modifier. This is added to any other modifiers. (For example: A Long
Cannon is shooting at an enemy ship that is 18 away would be considered a Long Range shot as its over half the maximum 20 range of the cannon)
Masts: Masts are the amount of hits your ship can take before it sinks. Each Mast also has a Cannon attached to it. If When you lose a mast, you also lose the cannon attached to it, so be sure to keep track of how many masts you have remaining. Moving: A ship cannot move through an island or another ship. A ship can move forward up to the value on their Movement Characteristic in inches. Though she may change direction, you can only change heading for each 3 moved up to a maximum of 90 degrees. If a ship touches another ship or an island during her movement, the move action immediately ends, even if she could move farther during that move action. Unloading Treasure: When you dock at your home island, you must unload all treasure worth gold points; this is a free action. Move and Shoot: If a ship has moved this turn and still has the ability to shoot, it suffers a -1 Modifier to rolls to hit. This is added to any other modifiers. Pinned: A ship is pinned when her bow is in contact with any part of an enemy ship. The pinned ship cant move until the other ship moves away or is derelict. The only way a pinned ship becomes unpinned is if the other ship moves away or becomes derelict. Ram: After a ship resolves a move action, if any part of her bow physically touches any part of an enemy ship, you can ram that ship as a free action. Roll 1d6; if the result is higher than the number of masts remaining on the enemy ship, the enemy ships player must choose and eliminate (remove from the game) one mast from th at ship. Unless the enemy ship becomes derelict from being rammed, the ramming ship automatically becomes pinned. Ships cannot ram each other while they are pinned. Ramming has no effect on derelict vessels. (See also: Pinned, Boarding) Repairing: The repair action allows a ship docked at her home island to repair (bring back into play) one mast.
Schooner: As a free action, a ship with this keyword may rotate on her stern in any direction after she completes a move action. She may not use this ability if she has touched any ship or island or docked during her move. Scuttling: Sometimes you may want to sink your own ship rather than have her fall to your opponent. At any time during your turn, you may give one of your derelict ships a free action and declare that you plan to scuttle that ship. Roll 1d6. On a result of 5 or 6, that derelict ship sinks at the beginning of your next turn. If an opponent begins to tow that ship before the beginning of your next turn, the scuttle attempt fails. All crew and treasure on a scuttled ship are removed from the game when she sinks. Short Cannons: Short Cannons have a maximum range of 12 inches. Short Range: If a target that you are shooting at is within of the maximum range of your cannon it is considered a Short range attack and receives a +1 modifier to hit. (for example: A short cannon is targeting an enemy ship
that is under 3 away would be considered to be at short range as its maximum range is 12)
Shooting: You may fire any and all of your cannons each turn. Each firing cannon must have a line of sight to a valid target, defined as an invisible line of fire the center point of the model to any p art of the target. If this line crosses any island, or other ships bases (other than the target the line is being drawn to), the shot cannot be made. A target is within range if any point of the measurement bar crosses the target and unblocked by other ships, or islands. You cannot shoot at ships docked at their home islands, and you cannot shoot at a member of your own fleet. To resolve the shot, roll 1d6 for each firing cannon. Roll a D6, on a roll of 4+ the cannon hits; otherwise it misses. A die roll result of 1 automatically misses. When a ship is hit, that ships player chooses and eliminates (removes from play) 1 mast from his or her ship. When a ship loses its last mast, it becomes derelict. (See also: Derelict) Sinking a ship with treasure on her: Add together all the gold on the sunken ship and divide it equally between the ships controller and the player who sank the ship. If the total gold cannot be divided equally, the player who sank the ship gets the greater amount. If change must be made, the sunken ships owner gets the first chance, followed by the player who sunk it. Change is made using gold at the home island. Place treasure you gain in this way on your home island as a free action. Treasure is removed from the game when it sinks. If you are sinking a ship with crew on her the crew on a sunken ship are removed from the game. Stern: This is the rear of the vessel. A Ship may not fire any cannons from its Stern. Any Ram or Boarding actions against the Stern of a ship get a +1 Modifier to the total rolled. This is a cumulative effect with other bonuses. Submerge: At the beginning of your turn, you can choose if your ship submerged or not. While submerged, a ship can move through/under ships (but not islands), but cant end its movement in contact with them. While submerged, a ship cant shoot or be shot at, or ram.
Tow: After a ship is given a move action, if any part of her is touching the bow of any derelict, she can tow that derelict as a free action. As a free action, move the derelict so that her bow touches the stern of the towing ship. Fit the derelict as straight as possible behind the towing ship; if there isnt enough room to do so, you are allowed to bend the towed vessel until it fits. The towed ship and any crew and treasure on that ship become part of the towing players fleet. The base move of the towing ship only moves at half speed, the towed ship moves with the towing ship as a free action. When the towing ship docks, dock the towed ship at the same island as a free action. A towing vessel can voluntarily release a towed vessel at any time. You cannot steal a towed derelict from an enemy ship by moving your ship so that it is touching the towed derelict. You can only tow one ship at a time. Wild Island: This term describes an island that is not any players home island. Wild islands start the game with D3 gold on them. Any ship can dock at wild islands.
Ship Types
Ship Type Man o War Base Size 50mmx100mm Movement 6 inches Masts 3+ Cargo Space 4 Cost 20 gold
A Man o War can upgrade any number of Short cannons to Long cannons for +3gold per Cannon. A Man o War can be given any number of crew members. A Man o War may purchase up to 3 Armored Hulls for 2 gold per an Armored Hull. In addition, Man o War ships may have additional masts for +5 gold (to a maximum of 5 masts) Ship Type Galley Base Size 50mm x 75mm Movement 6 inches Masts 3 Cargo Space 3 Cost 15 gold
A Galley can upgrade any number of its Short Cannons to Long cannons at +3 gold per cannon. A Galley can be given any number of crew members. A Galley may purchase up to 3 Armored Hulls for +2 gold per Armored Hull. Ship Type Cargo Ship Base Size 50mm x 75mm Movement 5 inches Masts 2 Cargo Space 5 Cost 15 gold
A Cargo Ship can upgrade any number of its Short Cannons to Long cannons at +3 gold per cannon. A Cargo Ship can be given only 2 crew members. A Cargo may purchase up to 3 Armored Hulls for +2 gold per Armored Hull. Ship Type Escort Ship Base Size 25mm x 50mm Movement 8 inches Masts 2 Cargo Space 2 Cost 10 gold
A Escort Ship can upgrade any number of its Short Cannons to Long cannons at +3 gold per cannon. A Escort Ship can be given any kind of crew member. A Escort Ship may purchase up to 2 Armored Hulls for +2 gold per Armored Hull. Ship Type Scouting Ship Base Size 25mm square Movement 9 inches Masts 1 Cargo Space 1 Cost 5 gold
A Scouting Ship can upgrade its Short Cannon to Long cannons at +3 gold. A Scouting Ship can be given a crew member. A Scouting Ship may purchase an Armored Hull for +2 gold.
Certain races may have Sea Monsters (See races for clarification), these are terrifying creatures that prowl the behold.
.Sea
Monsters.
depths of the sea. Be they Giant Crabs or Squid, Leviathans, Krakens, or Sea Dragons, they are always terrifying to
Movement 6 inches
Masts 5
Cargo Space 0
Cost 25 cold
Upgrades: Sea Monsters may take armored hulls for a cost of 4 gold per Armored Hull (To a maximum of 4+
Armor), these represent natural scales, or shells that cover the body of the beast.
Sea Monster: Sea monsters count as ships in regards to movement, but they behave differently. They can be given only Move, Ram, Board, and Shoot actions. They cant pin or be pinned, and they are considered docked if their movement ends in contact with an island. At the beginning of your turn, you can choose if your sea monster is submerged or not. While submerged, a sea monster can move through/under ships (but not i slands), but cant end its movement in contact with them. While submerged, a sea monster cant shoot or be shot at, or ram. Sea monsters have tentacles or segments that act as masts with respect to their move and shoot capabilities. The tentacles/segments are also considered as masts with respect to any abilities that target masts. Sea monster movement can be measured from any edge of the base turning automatically to face that direction. When boarding, they cant eliminate crewonly steal treasure. When shooting with a sea monster, all Tentacles will fire regardless of the direction faced. These shooting attacks have a range of 4 inches and are worked out exactly the same way as cannons. A sea monster cannot be assigned crew. Sea Monsters cannot make Repair actions.
Races of Seahammer
Obviously, with this being a Warhammer game, it wouldnt be right to have these epic sea battles without the races of the Warhammer world to populate the crews. For this reason, each race has its own special rule when used as a fleet. These are in addition to the above rules and all effects are applied together. Certain races are sneakier than others. Some loath the sea, and only travel by sea when they absolutely must. Others virtually live on the sea and have allied themselves with monstrous creatures. Bretonnia: Bretonnians are famed for their prowess at sea and their ruthlessness when charging. To represent this, Bretonnian ships get a +1 modifier to all Ramming actions. Chaos Dwarves: see Dwarves. Chaos: (Daemons of Chaos, Warriors of Chaos, and Beastmen) Chaos live for carnage and destruction. To represent this, when a Chaos ship makes a successful Boarding action, it may choose to destroy an additional mast instead of taking a treasure token, or killing a crew member. Dwarves: Dwarves take to the seas on massive metal and brass constructs that are driven by steam. To represent this, all Dwarven ships start with a 6+ armored hull that does not take up any cargo space. The Ship can choose to add additional armored hulls as usual (to a maximum of +3) All Dwarf ships cost an additional 1 gold Dark Elves: Dark elves are pirates by nature and spend a majority of their time at sea. To represent this, All Dark Elf Ships add +1 to their movement value (this can be combined with the Helmsman, and Oarsman abilities). Dark Elves may use Sea Monsters. May not ever use 5 Masts on any single ship.
The Empire: The Empire pride themselves on the leadership of the captains and admirals. To represent this, a ship that contains an Admiral or Captain cannot be pinned. High Elves: High Elves are adept seamen and pride themselves on their expertise of reading the winds. To
represent this, all High Elf Ships have the Schooner ability. But all ships cost +1 gold. High Elves may Use Sea
Monsters
Lizardmen: Lizardmen sometimes ride the seas of the world upon giant reptiles and monstrous Turtles. To represent this, Each Ship in the Lizard fleet may have an additional ship upgrade called living ship This upgrade costs 5 gold and gives the ship the Submerge ability. Lizardmen may use Sea Monsters.
Ogres: An Ogres greed knows no bounds. Theyll find something to eat usually another crew member! When an Ogre ship makes a Boarding action it ALWAYS takes a treasure if there is no treasure, the Ogre player may Island, it is worth 1 gold capture one crew member (Ogre players choice). If this crew member is successfully taken to the Ogre Home
Orc and Goblins: Orcs and Goblins suffer from animosity. Before each ship declares its actions, it must roll a D6 on a roll of 1 the ship may do nothing that turn, on a roll of 2-5 the ship may act normally, on a roll of 6 the ship moves towards the nearest enemy ship D6 inches, if it makes contact it counts as ramming the enemy ship and adds +1 to its ramming total. Skaven: Skaven are expert scavengers, because of this, all ships in their fleet always count as having an explorer aboard their ship. This explorer does NOT count as one of the crew and takes no cargo space. Tomb Kings: See Vampire Counts Vampire Counts: Vampire counts use their will to animate the dead around them. To represent this, A ship that is more than 12 away from the Admirals Flagship may not perform a Full Sail action. In addition to this ALL Vampire Count ships count as having an Oarsman crew and cannot be pinned. But all ship cost +1 gold. Wood Elves: Wood Elves only go to sea when they absolutely must! Leaving the safety of the forest makes them nervous. The Home Island is considered their Forest and has a single Short Cannon that may fire at enemy ships as normal. This Cannon may not fire if any Ships are docked at home Island.
Magic
In the world of Warhammer, Magic has a huge presence, The same is true in Seahammer. Wizards will band the winds of magic to call forth storms that wrack enemy ships, call dense fogs to protect ships or confuse enemies, or summon terrifying beasts from the deep to drag enemies beneath the waves. Wizard: Cost = 10 gold. Wizards are a special kind of crew they take up one cargo space as usual. But unlike regular crew, they cannot effect a ships movement and their abilities may not be used by an Fleet Admiral. As an Action, instead of moving, exploring, shooting, or repairing. A Wizard can attempt to cast a spell. Spells: There are three common spells, and then one signature spell for each race (These will be explained later) To cast a spell, the player rolls 2D6 and compares it to the casting cost of the spell. If the result is equal or greater than the casting cost, the spell is successfully cast and the effects are applied. Each Wizard can only cast a spell once per a turn. Dwarves and Magic: A Runelord does not cast magic, but he can choose to dispel a magic spell and gains +1 to all attempts to dispel. Dispelling: If a wizard casts a spell, if the enemy has a wizard that wizard can attempt to match the result of the spell on 2D6. If the enemy Wizard matches or rolls higher than the casting roll, the spell is nullified, and no spell effect is done. A Wizard can only do this if he did not cast a spell in his turn. Each Wizard can only attempt to dispel once per a turn. Miscasts: If when casting a spell you roll a 2D6 result of double 1s, you automatically lose 1 mast from the ship the Wizard is casting from. If The Wizard is casting from an Island, The Wizard instead dies from the feedback and is considered lost for all purposes. Spell List: Savage Winds: Casting cost = 6+. Savage winds can be cast on any ship within 12 inches of the wizards ship. Target ship immediately moves forward D6 + 3 inches. It cannot turn during this movement. If the ship makes Contact (touches) another ship FRIEND OR FOE, it counts as ramming that ship. Immediately work out a ramming action. You may choose a free boarding action if cast on a friendly target. Ominous Fog: Casting cost = 8+. Ominous Fog is cast on an enemy ship within 20. The Target ship counts as pinned for D3 turns unless it can roll higher than its total remaining mast on a D6. Whil e Ominous Fog remains in play, the effected ship may not make any shooting actions as it cannot see through the dense fog. It cannot be targeted while surrounded in the fog, and the fog blocks line of sight in the same way that a ship or an Island. Unleash the Kraken!: Casting cost =10+. Unleash the Kraken has a range of 12 inches and is cast on an enemy ships. If successfully cast, a Sea Monster appears directly beneath the enemy ship and attacks it with D6 automatic hits. These hits are worked out exactly the same way as a Sea Monster. Once it has made its attacks, it sinks back beneath the waves until summoned again. Armor saves may be taken as normal against these attacks.
battle. Immediately roll a D6 If the result is higher than amount of masts the ship begins the game with, the ship turns is possessed by a daemon and follows all the rules of a Sea Monster except it still has any existing crew, and Cargo Spaces. It loses any cannons and cannon upgrades. Its masts are the same value as before. Once cast the ship remains possessed even if the spell is cast again on another ship. This can only be cast on Galleys, Cargo Ships or Man o Wars. Dwarves: Rune of Storms Though a Runelord doesnt cast magic he can strike runes. The Rune of Storm is successfully struck on a 2D6 roll of 9+ and Causes up to two enemy ships (Dwarf players choice) within 20 inches of the Rune Lord to only be able to move at half speed, and are at -1 with all shooting actions until the beginning of the dwarf players next turn. On a result of a 1 when striking the rune, treat as a miscast result. Dark Elves: Doombolt Casting Cost = 10+ This spell has a range of 20 The wizard immediately hurls D6 bolts of dark magic towards an enemy ship. These are worked out the same way as firing a regular cannon including rolls to hit. If the magic missiles amount is a result of 6, and all of them hit their target. The target ship may not take any armor saves against these foul magics and is immediately sank. The Empire: Sigmars Righteous Guidance Casting Cost = 8+ Sigmars Righteous Guidance is cast as the first action of a turn. For the remainder of the turn, The Empire player receives D6 Re-rolls. Any re-rolls not used are lost. High Elves: Speed of Asuryan Casting Cost = 9+ One friendly ship of your choice can be placed anywhere on the battle. This ship does not count as moving and if it has not performed any actions this turn it may act as normal. Lizardmen: Curse of Sotec Casting Cost = 8+ This spell has a range of 24 inches Each enemy crew member within range of the spell, must roll a D6, on a roll of 4+ they are removed as they are bitten by snakes and killed. The ship itself is unaffected, only the crew. Ogres: The Great Maw Casting Cost = 11+. This spell has a range of 24 inches and targets one enemy ship. The enemy ship must roll a D6 result higher than its total masts or be swallowed whole by the sea with no armor saves allowed.
Orc and Goblins: Foot of Gork (or Mork) Casting Cost 7+. This spell has a range of 20 inches The Shaman pleads to Gork (or Mork) who answers his prayers by slamming its immense foot down upon an enemy ship. The ship takes D3 automatic hits. If the foot result is a 1 when rolling for hit s, it is resolved against the Shamans own ship instead. Skaven: Plague of Rats Casting Cost 7+. This spell has a range of 24 inches. The Grey Seer calls forth a swarm of rats from inside the ships hold, each ship in the enemy fleet that is within range of this spell must roll a D6, on a result of a 1 the ship that failed may make no actions the next turn as it deals with the infestation. Tomb Kings: Invocation of Loek Casting Cost 10+. The spell has a range of 24 inches. The Hierophant performs an invocation. If successfully cast, D3 Friendly ships, including the vessel the Hierophant is on may make an additional action this turn. Vampire Counts: Raised from the Deep Casting Cost 11+. The Necromancer summons a shipwreck from the deep to add to the fleet. This Ship is based on a 50mm x 50mm and has D3 masts. Each Mast has a short Cannon. Once in play, it acts as part of the Vampire Counts fleet and remains in play until the necromancer is slain. This ship is placed anywhere within 12 inches of the Necromancer who cast the spell. The If the necromancer is captured or killed, the ship automatically sinks, any treasure or crew that were on board this summoned ship are lost to the depths. Wood Elves: Regrowth Casting Cost 9+. The Treesinger calls to the wood guiding the vessel to regrow lost limbs. The target ship can regain (bring back into play) D3 Masts up to its starting value.
No challenge is intended, Warhammer is a registered trademark of Games Workshop and all references to Games Workshop products is meant to promote the sales of games Workshop products with no personal gain or myself. These rules are donated and are meant in the spirit of fun and no profit has been made from this rules package.