Kiith SomtaawThe Somtaaw follow all rules found in the Battlefleet Gothic rulebook and all rules listed in the previous section, except where specified below: Crippled Status Homeworld

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Kiith Somtaaw

The return to Hiigara was not joyous for the Somtaaw. Although a few of their number were

awake during the journey from Kharak, employed in the care and maintenance of resource

collectors, the vast majority of Somtaaw survivors were Sleepers during the journey. When they

were awakened on Hiigara, many were horrified to hear that the families and loved ones they left

on Kharak were gone, and that there was no hope of return. Of a kiith that had once been so

strong, very few survivors remained; only 15,000 Somtaaw awakened on Hiigara, less than a

twentieth of their number, and the vast majority of these were men.

Somtaaw's fortunes were further complicated by a political conflict with Kiith Naabal, which

made a bid seven years after landfall to absorb the Somtaaw survivors as a vassal clan. Somtaaw

flatly refused this proposition, and the debate between Somtaaw and Naabal supporters in the

New Daiamid has already been cited by many as a history-making event. During the

Somtaaw/Naabal debate, dispossessed members of many Kharak's devastated kiithid joined the

Somtaaw as family members, swelling their ranks from 15,000 to nearly 25,000 in a few short

months.

The matter was eventually decided in favor of Somtaaw by a very narrow margin in the Diamid

and only after the Somtaaw managed to convince the disenfranchised kiith to threaten a general

strike over the issue. While many of the established Kiith accused Somtaaw of further

undermining the ancient social systems for their own benefit, the result was Somtaaw was

granted access to the Mothership Station for a period of six months. Mothership access for other

lesser Kiith soon followed. In their time, the Somtaaw built two enormous mining ships, the

Kuun-Lan and the Fal-Corum, which were both launched, fully manned, within 45 days. In the

final days of their control over the Mothership's PDA, Kiith Somtaaw triumphantly built one

final ship, the Clee San, a top-of-the-line deep space research frigate. Students of history will

note that the names of all three vessels derive from the names of temples along the old

Shimmering Path: Kuun-Lan, "Purifying Flame", Fal-Corum, "Silent Wayfarer", and Clee San,

"Truth Seeker.”

Since then the Somtaaw have explored many neighboring systems to Hiigara. Although their

numbers are small, they've set up several mining stations to collect rare elements, and they sell

the fruits of their labors to all clients allowed by the current Hiigaran trade regulations. Like all

our kiithid, their ships are bound to respond to any call to arms, when Hiigaran space is violated.

But beyond the Somtaaw's duty to Hiigara, they live free and bend knee to none but their own

kiith'sa…maintaining a centuries-long tradition.

Due to their independence from traditional Hiigaran lifestyles, the Somtaaw regularly sell their

services as mercenaries, often times taking payment in mineral rights to asteroid fields and new

technologies instead of currency.

Their interactions with the Imperium of Man on a political scale have been practically non-

existent – being a small empire on the fringe of the Segmentum that keeps to itself, the need for

the Imperium to ‘reclaim’ their space is low on the list of priorities, and so many remain unaware

of their existence. However, unscrupulous (or desperate) Fleet Admirals, Rogue Traders and

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Inquisitors have made frequent use of their mercenary services whenever they needed additional

ships for defense of an isolated world, an expedition into unknown space or for whatever

clandestine operation an Inquisitor might launch that would need…plausible deniability.

The Imperium is not the extant of Somtaaw’s wandering – the Tau Empire has made overtures of

alliance in the past, but due to the fragmented nature of Hiigaran politics, no official accord has

been reached. However, due to the their mercenary appetites, it is not uncommon to see Tau

fleets bolstered by a pair of Deacon-class Destroyers and a swarm of strike craft launched from

one of their massive, blocky Shaman-class carriers.

There have also been reports of the Adeptus Mechanicus being sighted alongside Somtaaw ships,

but whether this was in the spirit of cooperation, or an orchestrated takeover of alien

technologies is anyone’s guess.

The ships of Kiith Somtaaw are tough, no-nonsense vessels – heavily armored from the front,

and more versatile than those of other Kiith, often mounting numerous types of different weapon

systems. While still smaller than vessels of a comparable designation, they possess a surprising

durability for their size and pack a mean punch.

Fleet Rules

The Somtaaw follow all rules found in the Battlefleet Gothic rulebook and all rules listed in the

previous section, except where specified below:

Crippled Status Homeworld ships rely heavily on automation and redundant systems, causing them to continue

fighting at a higher level than one would expect, even as they sustain crippling damage.

Homeworld ships, when reduced to 50% of their starting Hit Points, suffer the following effects:

-Speed reduced by 5cm

-Mass Driver battery strength reduced by 25%

-Ion Beams are not effected by crippling

Otherwise, their ships are unaffected by Crippled Status.

Wide-Band Sensors Ships of the Homeworld Systems mount numerous banks of extremely advanced sensor systems,

a holdover from their days of wandering the galaxy, looking for a home. These sensors are

extremely adept at picking out the smallest fluctuation in space, and greatly assist the ship in

both maneuvering and combat. This has proven extremely useful when dealing with the

profusion of astrological phenomena, and the more slippery opponents like the Eldar. These have

the following benefits:

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-All Homeworld ships apply a -1 modifier to any roll on either the Eldar Holofield or

Dark Eldar Shadowfield chart, when rolling to see if their weapons have struck the target.

This includes Mass Drivers, Ion Beams and Guided Missile Systems.

-Homeworld Ships without shields do not suffer damage when moving through Blast Markers,

and can make a leadership check to avoid damage from Gas Clouds. Escorts and Frigates may

reroll that check.

Mass Drivers The denizens of the Homeworld Systems use Mass Drivers as their primary kinetic weapon.

Utilizing super conductive layered cylinders of heavy elements, they generate a powerful

electromagnetic field to accelerate projectiles to an incredibly rapid speed. While the projectile

itself is small compared to the types of weapons used by their enemies, the speed with which

they impact their target is more than sufficient to cause severe damage. This speed, and the

generally superior targeting systems available to the denizens of Homeworld space, makes

hitting any target in range a relatively simple function.

In Battlefleet Gothic, Mass Drivers require a number of special rules:

-Mass Drivers never use the gunnery chart – the dice listed on the weapons profile are the

dice rolled against the target, regardless of range. Determine the to-hit number based

upon the target’s armor value as normal, but do not modify the number of dice used

based upon range, column shifts, firing through blast markers, etc.

-Mass Drivers are treated as Lances when used against Eldar Holofields and Dark Eldar

Shadowfields, modified by the ‘Wide-Band Sensors” rule above.

-Critical Hits: Mass Drivers require two 6’s to be rolled per one roll on the critical hit

chart. For example, a Skaal-Tel rolls 6 dice and scores 4 hits. Checking for critical

damage, the player rolls those 4 dice, and two of them are 6’s. Therefore, only one roll is

made on the critical hit chart, instead of the usual two. This is to represent the small-

caliber nature of the rounds being fired.

-In short, treat Mass Drivers as a Lance that hits on armor value, and requires two

6’s to score a crit.

Ion Beam Weaponry Through the use of an accelerated particle beam, Ion weapons can bore through even the

toughest capital ship armor. Requiring large amounts of power and space aboard a vessel to

function, these weapons are limited to only a limited selection of ships. An Ion beam can be

maintained for far longer, and over a greater distance, than the average Lance weapon utilized by

other races, at the cost of striking power.

-In Battlefleet Gothic, Ion Beams function as lances in all respects, except for the rules

for Crippling as listed above.

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Ion Accelerator Helix The Ion Accelerator Helix, found exclusively on the Dervish-Class Multibeam Frigate, is the

penultimate anti-ordnance weapon, allowing the Dervish to strike out at anything in range, at any

angle. Rapid-firing and with extremely accurate targeting, it is capable of annihilating vast

swathes of strike craft and torpedoes with ease. However, the strength of the beams is roughly

half that of typical Ion beams, which means that its power against vessels of capital class is

significantly reduced.

-The Ion Accelerator Helix fires exactly like a Necron Star Pulse Generator (with the same

restrictions). Due to smart targeting software, Ion Accelerator Helix’s never affect friendly

vessels or friendly ordnance markers.

Hive Frigate Drone Bay The Hive Frigate Drone Bay is a unique device, being a cavernous construction center and

housing bay for six AI-controlled drones. Each drone mounts a Mass Driver the likes of which

grace the turrets of Heavy Corvettes, giving them a serious punch in an incredibly maneuverable

package. When deployed en-masse, they can very easily disable an enemy vessel of similar size,

and even threaten Capital Ships when multiple swarms converge on one unlucky captain.

The Hive Frigate Drone Bay functions as a Launch Bay in some respects, but requires a number

of special rules:

-The Hive Frigate Drone Bay is activated and resolved in the Shooting Phase, not the Ordnance

Phase.

-The Drone Bay counts as Strength 1, for the purposes of determining the number of markers

launched. Each marker represents the collected Drone swarm.

-The Drones launched from the bay are Speed 30cm.

-After you launch the Drone Squadron, move it 30cm directly towards an enemy ship.

-If the Drone Squadron passes over an enemy ordnance marker, they will remove each other as

normal.

-If/when the marker comes into contact with the base of an enemy ship, treat it exactly as if a

standard bomber squadron had done so – conduct defensive turret fire, and then a bombing run

as usual if the marker survives.

-You may only conduct one Drone Bay attack per shooting phase, per Drone Bay. The Hive

Frigate Drone Bay may NOT be used in the Ordnance Phase.

-If the Drone Marker does not reach an enemy ship (whether due to distance or interception by

moving over an enemy ordnance marker), it is removed from play and the attack fails.

-The Hive Frigate Drone Bay reloads automatically, and does not require a special order to do so.

-A Squadron of Hive Frigates MAY combine their Drone markers into a wave, if they so desire.

Note that all interception rules still apply.

Ordnance Due to their strife with the other Kiith, Somtaaw doesn’t have access to the same types of strike

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craft. Thanks to the aid of the Bentusi, Somtaaw was able to develop the Acolyte Fighter and

Mimic Bomber “in-house,” completely independent of other Kiith. Also, thanks to their self-

sufficiency in the form of manufacturing systems, producing these fighters and bombers in the

field is a simple matter.

The Acolyte is a quick and maneuverable fighter, armed with a linked pair of Mass Drivers and a

pair of a missiles in the wingtips. This loadout lets them perform quite admirably in the anti-

fighter role, and since their introduction they’ve distinguished themselves nicely. In Battlefleet

Gothic terms, they function as simple Fighters.

The Mimic Bomber is a bit more grim than it would first appear – “bomber” is a polite way of

saying “suicide craft.” Armed with a holographic projector and their vessels packed with

quantum explosive charges, the forlorn pilots of the Mimic Bomber fearlessly crash their vessels

into enemy ships, letting the impact of their bomber lead the way and delivering their payload

directly into the enemy vessel.

-Homeworld Systems ships with launch bays never needs to issue the Reload Ordnance special

order – it is considered to pass automatically.

-All Kiith Somtaaw Launch Bays come standard with Acolyte Fighters, Speed 30cm and

Mimic Bombers, Speed 25cm which operate as typical Fighters and Bombers in all respects. In

addition, Launch Bays may be upgraded with the following for +25pts per Launch Bay for

ACV’s (replaces Acolyte Fighters), and/or +25pts per Launch Bay for MCV’s (replaces Mimic

Bombers):

-ACV, Speed 30cm: Known as the Acolyte Composite Vehicle, this craft is quite literally

just two Acolytes attached together to form a Corvette. However, this merging had a number of

positive benefits – aside from twice the firepower and durability, the sharing of power cores

meant that the ACV was capable of generating a focused Electromagnetic Pulse, powerful

enough to disable vast swathes of an enemy ship.

When ACV’s remove another Ordnance marker by contacting it, roll a dice. On a roll of 4, 5 or 6

do not remove the ACV’s, they remain in play. Note: an ACV can only remove one enemy

marker per Ordnance phase. Against Ordnance with this same ability, it is possible that neither

marker will end up being removed. If this happens, either marker is free to move away next turn,

or may stay in place and attempt to remove the enemy marker again. ACV’s are also capable of

performing Bombing Runs, as if they were a bomber squadron. All bombing runs performed by

ACV’s subtract 1 from the dice rolled to determine the amount of hits rolled against the target

vessel. You cannot remove an ordnance marker and perform a bombing run in the same ordnance

phase.

-MCV, Speed 25cm: Following the success of the ACV, an attempt was made to connect two

Mimic Bombers – an attempt which was quite successful. Not only was the explosive power of

the Mimic doubled, the combined strength of the two holographic projectors means that the

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MCV can successfully impersonate enemy vessels, letting it come significantly closer to the

enemy before they are noticed.

In game terms, MCV’s may not be targeted with enemy Weapons Battery or Lance fire unless

the squadron being targeted is within 15cm of an enemy warship. When an MCV squadron

makes an attack against a warship, each squadron that survives defensive turret fire inflicts 3D3

attacks minus the turret count of the enemy vessel.

Sentinel Screens The Somtaaw were not the first to see the value of shielding their craft in sheaths of energy, but

lacking access to the Defense Field technologies of the Taiidan, they were forced to come to a

different solution. By way of perfectly aligned remote drones that could project energy fields

between them, the Somtaaw could create a usable shield system for their larger craft at minimal

cost. The downside to this was that the drones themselves, while nearly impossible to target due

to their small size, were still quite fragile, and concentrated fire could burn out their emitters or

destroy them entirely. Still, the benefit of having a means to block incoming fire made the

somewhat ‘ablative’ nature of their protection worthwhile.

In Battlefleet Gothic, all Somtaaw ships possess Sentinel Screens. This counts as a Shield system

that possesses a set value, much like the shield systems of other Battlefleet Gothic vessels. It

functions like a shield in all respects, except where noted below:

-If a ship with a Sentinel Screen sustains more than three times its current shield strength in hits

in a single attack, treat the vessel as having suffered the effects of the “Shield Collapse” critical

hit. This critical effect takes place after having reduced the damage of the attack via shield points

as normal. This effect like the original critical effect cannot be repaired by any means, as it

represents the Sentinel Screen being blown clean apart and scattered from its parent vessel.

Battle Hardened

The fight against the extra-galactic entity known as The Beast forged Kiith Somtaaw into a

Hiigaran legend - having stared down and defeated a millennia-old bio-mechanical creature

intent on consuming everything in its path, there is very little that can frighten them. To represent

this, Kiith Somtaaw vessels add +1 to the result if you decide to randomly roll leadership values

for your ships, giving a potential value between 7 and 10.

Fleet Defense Mass Driver Batteries

Fleet Defense Batteries are a combination of Mass Driver and Fleet Defense Turret. The Fleet

Defense Battery may be fired in the shooting phase as a standard Mass Driver battery OR used in

the Ordnance phase to support a friendly ship within 15cm in their Defensive Fire against enemy

Torpedoes or Attack Craft. If the weapon fires in the shooting phase, it MAY NOT be used in the

Ordnance phase for Defensive Fire purposes. If used in the Ordnance phase, it contributes +3 to

the turret count of the target friendly vessel. Otherwise Fleet Defense Batteries follow the same

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rules for standard Mass Driver weapons.

-Note that Somtaaw Ships do not suffer from the Minimal Crew special rule-

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Kiith Somtaaw Vessels

Escort Class

“Dervish” Class Multibeam Frigate – 60pts

Type/Hits Speed Turns Shields Armor Turrets

Heavy

Escort/2

30cm 90 Degrees 1 5+ 2

Armament Range/Speed Firepower/STR Fire Arc

Ion Accelerator Helix 15cm 1 All Around

Heavy Escort: This vessel can sustain critical hits, and their effects. When destroyed, do not roll

on the Catastrophic Damage chart – just replace the ship with a blast marker.

Ion Accelerator Helix: See rules above.

The Dervish class frigate is built around an accelerator helix, and uses a multi-path beam splitter

to direct the charged ion stream to any or all of its focusing turrets. The turrets themselves are

solid state devices that use magnetic fields to focus and direct the ion beam in a large firing arc.

Using the cold vacuum of space to keep functioning at super cooled temperatures, the focusing

turret is highly efficient and capable of a high rate of fire. While these Ion Beams lack the range

of beams fired from craft like Deacons, this lack is more than made up for by the increased

coverage and rapid rate of fire.

Typically used to provide cover from strike craft for larger ships, the Dervish can be pressed into

an Anti-Capital role. The results have been lackluster, as its Ion Beams lack the range and power

to safely tackle larger vessels, and as such they tend to be used for such purposes only as a last

resort.

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“Hive” Class Advanced Drone Ship- 45pts


Heavy

Escort/2



Fore Twin Mass

Drivers

30cm 2 F

Drone Bay 30cm Special All Around

Heavy Escort: This ship can sustain critical hits, and their effects. When destroyed, do not roll


Drone Bay: See rules above.

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“Minion” Class Heavy Tug – 55pts


Heavy

Escort/2

25cm 90 Degrees 1 6+ Front/5+ 1


Fore Mass Driver 15cm 1 F

Heavy Escort: This ship can sustain critical hits, and their effects. When destroyed, do not roll


Admantium Prow: The armored prow of the Minion is meter upon meter of solid, reinforced

metals, giving the vessel an extreme punch when ramming, especially when combined with the

massive set of afterburners the vessel possesses.

When the Minion successfully rams an enemy ship, treat its hull value as 4, meaning it would

roll 4d6 when determining the damage from the ram attack. Additionally, any ship rammed by

the Minion with hull points equal to or less than 8 is immediately moved 10cm in the direction of

the ram. This movement can only happen once per turn per enemy ship, regardless of the number

of ram attacks conducted by friendly Minion’s against the same vessel. After the ram, assuming

the Minion has survived, it is free to fire its weapon in the shooting phase, and to move off next

turn (assuming it survives!).

Originally a construction tug designed to move bits of scaffold, the Minion had be refit for

combat duty as a sort of “problem mover.” With a ram that’s nearly solid metal and a hull

packed with thrusters and afterburners, the Minion can leap ahead and shove an opposing ship

out of position, either pushing a brawling enemy vessel way out of range, or chasing down a

carrier and shoving him into the waiting guns of your fleet.

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“Deacon” Class Destroyer – 160pts


Light

Cruiser/6

20cm 45 Degrees 2 6+ Front/5+ 1


Starboard Mass Driver

Turrets

45cm 4 F/R

Port Mass Driver

Turrets

45cm 4 F/L

Dorsal Guided Missile

Battery

35cm 4 All Around

Prow Ion Beam

Weapons

45cm 2 F

When the great Crusade against the Beast was in its darkest days, Kiith Somtaaw found itself

desperate for heavier firepower and the capital ships to carry it. While research into Bentusi

design philosophy would eventually bear fruit in the awe-inspiring Dreadnought, it would not

have come in time had the Deacon Destroyer not been pushed into service. The Deacon was

originally intended to be heavy transport, but when the demands of war hit the Somtaaw fleet

hard, the design was quickly modified while still on the drawing board. The Deacon’s loading

booms were scrapped and replaced with heavy ion beams in a fixed forward mount, while the

four side mounted point defense turrets were replaced with heavy Mass Drivers to give all-

around firepower. The most innovative addition was the dorsal-mounted missile turret, which

gives the destroyer a full 360 degrees of long range hitting power – capable of tearing apart

enemy ships before they can get into range to return fire.

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“Shaman” Class Carrier – 250pts


Grand

Cruiser/10



Fleet Defense Mass

Driver Battery

30cm 5 L/F/R

Port Launch Bays Acolytes: 30cm

Mimics: 25cm

4 All Around

Starboard Launch Bays Acolytes: 30cm

Mimics: 25cm

4 All Around

The Shaman Carrier is slow to maneuver and may not use the All Ahead Full or Come to New

Heading special orders.

Special Rules: The Shaman may purchase launch bay upgrades as described in the Somtaaw

fleet rules.

The Shaman-class Carrier has been in development for some time before it was finally brought

to battle. This carrier was based on Kiith Somtaaw’s first foray into heavy ship construction, the

Chieftain-class Ore processor, and follows the same no-frills approach to capital ship design. The

engineers upgraded the Chieftain’s main power plant to support a military-class drive system and

a PDA construction bay. The Shaman is not an elegant carrier, but it is durable, efficient and

crewed by the best that Kiith Somtaaw has to offer. The two outboard bays are capable of

launching and retrieving multiple wings of strike craft simultaneously, while the inboard bays

have heavily reinforced doors, capable of taking multiple lance strikes and still protecting the

fragile construction and maintenance equipment within.

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“Archangel” Class Dreadnought – 315pts


Battleship/12 20cm 45 Degrees 4 6+ Front/5+ 2


Starboard Mass Driver

Turrets

45cm 6 F/R

Port Mass Driver

Turrets

45cm 6 F/L

Dorsal Ion Beam Turret 60cm 2 All Around

Ventral Ion Beam

Turret

60cm 2 All Around

Prow Guided Missile

Battery

35cm 8 F

The Archangel Dreadnought is slow to maneuver and cannot use the All Ahead Full or Come to New

Heading special orders.

Field Allowance: You may purchase one Archangel per 1250pts, e.g. 0-1250pts, you may take 0-1

Archangel Dreadnoughts, 1251-2500pts, you may take 0-2, etc.

The Archangel combines the best attributes of the Avatar Heavy Cruiser and the Taiidani Missile

Destroyer, and shields it all in a hull of curved, bonded armor plate that deflects more damage

than it absorbs. With 4 heavy turrets backed by a massive prow missile bank, the Archangel

initially had a powerful offensive punch, but was still vulnerable to flanking maneuvers that

brought enemy fire in from the rear. This problem was solved rather dramatically with the

addition of two heavy Ion Beam turrets, which covered the top fore and bottom aft firing

hemispheres. Once released, the Archangel has proved devastating to Beast and Imperial forces

alike, despite the fact that it takes a crack crew to keep her power systems under control.

Documents

Kiith SomtaawThe Somtaaw follow all rules found in the Battlefleet Gothic rulebook and all rules listed in the previous section, except where specified below: Crippled Status Homeworld