Fleet lists for Man o' War
IntroductionWhile Man o' War has long been out of print, it remains one of Games Workshop's most successful efforts. For those lucky enough to own a copy of this game (or able to find one on ebay at a reasonable price), the Crisis in Marienburg team have devised some special rules for playing out naval engagements during the campaign with the Man o' War rules.
For those with the rules but without miniatures (which are often expensive on ebay), there are two alternatives. Firstly, several companies make historical ships in 1/1200 scale that will work well for Man o' War. In general, Renaissance, Anglo-Dutch War and American Civil War (for the Dwarfs!) ranges cover most of the ship types presented here (orcs and elves are out of luck). Have a look at theminiaturespage.com for a list of companies.
Another alternative is to use counters to represent the ships. A 25 by 50mm 'cavalry base' is roughly the size of most Man o' War vessels.
Ship types
With the exception of the Armed Merchantman, all these ships appear in the Man O' War rulebook (or in the Sea of Blood expansion). Their rules are unchanged, except where noted otherwise.
Greatship
The Greatship is a huge, three-masted gun platform, its castellated fighting decks packed with marines. While the Greatship is not the fastest vessel of its size, it is a formidable warship and a highly-visible symbol of Imperial power.
The Greatship is used only by the Sigmarite Empire and the Empire of Middenland.
Galleon
While of comparable size to the Greatship, the Galleon is a more streamlined and versatile craft, favoured by the city of Marienburg, as well as by the Estalians and Bretonnians.
Corsair
The Corsair, also called a Frigate, is a medium sized, two-masted ship. Fast and well-armed, these ships are common to the navies of all four factions, and can even be found in the hands of pirates.
Buccaneer
The Buccaneer is a small, swift sailing ship armed (unusually) with a large catapult. Squadrons of these craft are used by L'Anguille and Marienburg as patrol and transport ships, but they also see occasional use in war fleets.
Wolfship
The Wolfship, also called a Galleas, is a larger version of the Wargalley. Heavily armoured and packed with cannon, Wolfships are devastating in battle. However, they are expensive to maintain and not especially sea-worthy.
Wolfships are used by the various Imperial factions, and also by the Estalians and Tileans.
Wargalley
Wargalleys are fast and dangerous craft, but limited to calm or coastal waters. The wide River Reik is particularly suited to them. Galleys are common to all factions, and are also a favourite with pirates.
Armed Merchantman
The Armed Merchantman is a small sailing vessel with a significant complement of cannon to deter pirates. As such, it can serve as a useful warship, and is common to most human nations.
The Armed Merchantman uses the Buccaneer rules and ship template, with the following exceptions:
- Sailing movement is 6" (6")
- The catapult is replaced with a single broadside cannon battery (still considered to be located in the Forecastle)
- The Forecastle armour save is only 5 or 6
The plastic ships from the Mighty Empires game are a good choice to represent Armed Merchantmen.
Elf Eagleship
Used both for commerce and for war, the Eagleship is the most important and numerous vessel employed by the Elves. Confusingly for other races, it is equally popular with the ‘Dark’ Elves of Nagaroth as with the ‘High’ Elves of Ulthuan.
Elf Hawkship
Hawkships are small, highly-agile raiders common to the High and Dark Elves. Hawkships often rush towards their target, raking them with explosive bolts before suddenly turning sharply and disengaging - a practise that makes them frustrating opponents.
Dwarf Dreadnaught
Dreadnaughts are seemingly unstoppable steel-plated gun platforms. Few in number, each is a match for entire fleets of lesser craft.
Dwarf Ironclad
The Dwarf fleet is based around the Ironclad, a paddle-driven steamer with turreted guns and extraordinarily thick armour. Ironclads carry trade goods and control the sea lanes - it is no exaggeration to say that the continued existence of Barak Varr depends on these tough and reliable warships.
Dwarf Monitor
The Monitor is the Dwarf equivalent of a Wargalley, and like a galley it performs best in calmer waters. It is particularly suited to coastal defence and bombardment.
Dwarf Nautilus
The Nautilus is a true wonder: a ship that can dive beneath the waves to attack unseen. Even though its ability to dive is rather more limited than non-Dwarfs tend to believe, it remains a unique and fearsome weapon.
Norse Kingship
Much larger than the Longship, and packed with a diverse and deadly crew, the Kingship is a terrifying opponent in a boarding action.
Norse Longship
Although unarmed, the shallow-drafted Longship is ideal for the coastal raids that the Norse are so famous for. It performs rather less well in ship-to-ship combat, especially against heavily armed enemies.
Orc Hulk
Hulks are huge, ramshackle constructions, laden with brutal if crude weaponry. Each one is different, and, in its own eccentric way, surprisingly seaworthy.
Orc Bigchukka
These small craft are armed with a large catapult, but tend to be of limited use in naval engagements. Orc fleets tend to make heavy use of captured human vessels to compensate for the poor design of their own craft.
Building a Fleet
There are four primary fleet lists to choose from, corresponding to the four campaign factions. There is also a list for Pirates and Privateers, which can be used by itself or as a source of allies for the faction fleets. These five fleet lists replace the standard Man o' War lists for the purposes of the campaign.
There are also a number of further alterations to the standard game rules, as follow:
Independents and Squadrons
Many ships that, under the normal game rules, form Squadrons may instead be used as Independent ships. This is stated in the fleet lists. Independent ships are purchased individually, rather than in groups of three, and cost (obviously enough) one third of the cost of a full squadron.
Unreliability
Pirates are sometimes used alongside true warships, but it is unwise to depend on them to arrive when needed. Any fleet that includes Pirates and Privateers as allies must roll a dice at the start of the battle, before deploying any ships.
- On a roll of one, the Pirates are very late. Roll two dice and add the scores together to determine the turn they arrive on.
- On a roll of two or three, roll one dice to determine the turn the Pirates arrive.
- On a roll of four to six, the Pirates are on time and may deploy with the rest of the fleet.
Wizards
Any fleet may include a wizard, but that wizard may not cost more than ten percent of the points allowed for a game. So, in a 500 point game, a Wizard Champion may be used, while a Wizard Lord can only be included if the game is to use at least 1500 points.
Any fleet that includes Dwarf ships may make use of their special dispel rule, provided that the fleet does not also include a wizard. A fleet containing only Dwarf ships may not select a wizard at all.
Sea Monsters
The rules for Sea Monsters, as given in Sea of Blood, may be used. Any fleet may include up to 100 points of Sea Monsters per 1000 points allowed for the game.
Shore Forts
Shore Forts may be used only in special scenarios (and in most cases, due to the nature of the conflict, are likely to belong to the Marienburg Alliance).
Things to avoid
We recommend that the following rules are not used:
- Airpower and Anti-flier weapons, and also the Hellhammer and Ironfist, from Sea of Blood.
- The Plague Fleet expansion in its entirety. The rules are less balanced than the core game, and in any case inappropriate for the campaign.
Fleet Lists
The Marienburg Alliance
Galleon (Man o' War)
Corsair (Squadron)
Buccaneer (Squadron)
Wolfship (Squadron)
Wargalley (Squadron)
Armed Merchantman (Squadron)
Elf Eagleship (High Elves) (Man o' War)
Elf Hawkship (High Elves) (Squadron)
- Up to one third of the total points may be spent on allied ships from the Pirates and Privateers list. These ships are subject to the Unreliability rule.
The League of Free Traders
Corsair (Squadron or Independent)
Wolfship (Independent)
Wargalley (Squadron)
Armed Merchantman (Squadron)
Dwarf Dreadnaught (Man o' War)
Dwarf Ironclad (Man o' War)
Dwarf Monitor (Squadron)
Dwarf Nautilus (Independent)
- No more than one Dwarf Dreadnaught may be selected per 1000 points.
- Up to one third of the total points may be spent on allied ships from the Pirates and Privateers list. These ships are subject to the Unreliability rule.
The Sigmarite Empire
Greatship (Man o' War)
Galleon (Man o' War)
Corsair (Squadron)
Buccaneer (Squadron)
Wolfship (Squadron)
Wargalley (Squadron)
Armed Merchantman (Squadron)
- Up to one third of the total points may be spent on allied ships from the Pirates and Privateers list. These ships are subject to the Unreliability rule.
The Empire of Middenland
Greatship (Man o' War)
Corsair (Squadron)
Wolfship (Squadron)
Wargalley (Squadron)
Armed Merchantman (Squadron)
Norse Kingship (Man o' War)
Norse Longship (Squadron)
- Up to one third of the total points may be spent on allied ships from the Pirates and Privateers list. These ships are subject to the Unreliability rule.
Pirates and Privateers
Corsair (Independent)
Buccaneer (Independent)
Wolfship (Independent)
Wargalley (Independent)
Armed Merchantman (Independent)
Elf Eagleship (Dark Elves) (Man o' War)
Elf Hawkship (Dark Elves) (Squadron)
Orc Hulk (Man o' War)
Orc Bigchukka (Squadron)
- No fleet may include both Elf (whether High or Dark) and Orc ships.