Gemini Rules for Warhammer 40,000. Vehicle Rules

Gemini Rules for Warhammer 40,000.
Vehicle Rules

        This page has a quick account of some of the vehicle specific rules for Gemini Rules. This page also includes the “Street Race” rules of vehicle movement and the vehicle damage charts.

        For Full Rules see:-

Vehicle Movement.
        The 3rd Edition vehicle rules have tried to make the battlefield more infantry friendly and one way that they have tried to do this is by reducing the top speed of most of the military vehicles. This is also supposed to reflect how armour would cautiously move forward wary of tank hunter teams rather than speeding into an ambush. One feature that does not seem that plausible is that all vehicles can make unlimited turns in each move, which seems at little unlikely. For those who feel the same way here are some alternate vehicle movement rules.

        3rd Ed gives the maximum speeds for all standard (tracked) vehicles as 12”, Fast vehicles (usually Skimmers) can move at up to 24”. All Dreadnoughts and other walking vehicles move a 6”.
        These are probably better though of as “Battlespeed” or cross country speed rather than the maximum speed a vehicle can obtain.
        12” sounds about right for a Predator or Land Raider. Something like the Rhino can probably manage 14” while a Baneblade chugs along at 8”. Personally I think a Sentinel can probably manage a lot faster than 6”, even over rough ground.

Turning rules for battlefield conditions are as follows:-

        Each 45° turn or part of reduces the total distance the vehicle can move in a turn by 2”. A Predator that turns 180° can only travel 4”.
        A vehicle reversing uses up 2” of its movement allowance for every 1” it reverses. The Predator can reverse no more than 6”.

        It is assumed that at battlefield speeds tanks and skimmers can slew on the spot and ground bikes and walkers can turn in a small enough space that there is no need to worry about turn radius templates.

        Wheeled or Tracked vehicles moving on Roads or any other flat firm terrain may increase their maximum Battle speed by 6”. Under Gemini rules such a fast moving vehicle may still Tank Shock and models may attempt to board or leave the vehicle (although this is highly risky - if boarding or leaving is attempted on a vehicle moving faster than 6” the models receive an automatic hit with no saving throw equal in strength to the vehicle speed minus 6, rounded up)

Vehicles and Difficult and Dangerous Terrain.
        Terrain that is Difficult or Very Difficult for Infantry will not automatically be so for vehicles. Some terrain is more easilly traversable by vehicles while sometimes the reverse is true and infantry can move more easily. Certain types of terrain may halve or quarter the maximum speed of vehicles but the situations where this is the case will depend on the type of vehicle. Specific examples are detailed in the following sections.
        Certain types of terrain may also require a vehicle to make a Dangerous Terrain test. There will also be situations where a vehicle will be slowed by the terrain as well as requiring a Dangerous Terrain test. A tank that is moving over a barricade will be slowed but will also stand a chance of becoming stuck.
        The Standard Dangerous Terrain test for vehicles is 1 in 6. A vehicle that attempts to enter dangerous terrain, is moving through it or out of it must roll a D6. If a “1” is rolled the vehicle becomes immobilized for the rest of the game (or until repaired or recovered).
        If the vehicle is moving faster than 6” then two D6 are rolled. If a 1 is rolled on either dice the vehicle is immobilized. If both dice roll 1s the vehicle is automatically destroyed. Occupants react in the same way as a “Vehicle Destroyed” result on the Vehicle Damage Table.

        The GM may modify the above as suits the situation. A failed Dangerous Terrain result if crossing thin ice would probably indicate that the vehicle fell through the ice and was lost rather than immobilized. Moving through a minefield without special equipment would be a 4+ chance of setting off a mine.

Boarding and Leaving Vehicles
        Models cannot voluntarily board and disembark from a vehicle in the same turn. A unit that boards a vehicle must wait till their next turn to disembark. They may embark then be forced to disembark due to damage to the transport or a special rule. Certain situations may mean they may be forced to do this as a compulsory move, for example if the vehicle takes a penetrating hit (see below). Models may board or disembark a vehicle before it is moved in a turn or after it has been moved. Under Gemini rules they can also board or disembark part way through a vehicle's move, although this counts as boarding or exiting a moving vehicle and is covered by the rules below. If troops board or disembark from a vehicle before it has moved that turn and it did not move in its previous turn the vehicle is regarded as being stationary. If troops board or disembark at the end of a vehicles move and the player declares the vehicle Stopped then this is regarded as boarding or disembarking from a stationary vehicle. A vehicle declared Stopped does not move in its next turn. Troops that board or disembark a vehicle that was not stationary when they boarded or disembarked or board or disembark in the middle of vehicle's move run the risk of injury.
        If boarding or leaving is attempted on a vehicle moving faster than 6” the models receive an automatic hit with no saving throw equal in strength to the vehicle speed minus 6 (round up). At battlefield speeds the risk is small but players may come up with scenarios such as outlaws trying to board a moving train.

        To board a stationary vehicle the model must be within 2” of a door or access point or can move this close using their move allowance.

        Vehicles designed as Personnel Carriers such as Imperial Rhinos and Chimera have at least two extra large doors to accommodate Terminators and Ogryn so a ten-man squad of Marines or Guardsman can board in one turn if all members can move to within 2”. On open topped military vehicles the troops also board by climbing in over the sides so there is no restriction how many can enter or leave at a time, only the capacity of the vehicle. To climb into a vehicle in this way the model must be within 2” of the side. For vehicles such as city cars the GM may choose to use the door rules given in the building rules, so a single door will only allow four human-sized creatures to board or leave in a turn.
        To board a moving vehicle models must be or be capable of moving to within 2” of the vehicle's wake. The vehicle must also have interior space free to carry them.
        Troops leaving a stationary vehicle are placed within 2” of an exit. Those leaving a moving vehicle can leave it at any point it has passed through and are placed up to 2” from where the vehicle was when they left it. The 2” move on or off a vehicle is not subject to terrain or encumbrance modifiers but may not be made if the unit is immobilized for some reason. A unit that disembarks can move as normal.
        Models eligible to board a vehicle can instead cling on to the outside. This may be done if the vehicle is not designed to carry Troops and it is up to the GM if this is possible and how many can be carried. Troops that cling on to the outside of a vehicle are not protected by the vehicle's armour if fired upon during this MOVEMENT phase.
        Passengers must immediately disembark if a vehicle suffers a penetrating hit and must immediately take a Pinning Test unless Fearless.
        Surviving Passengers disembarking from a vehicle that exploded are automatically pinned, even if Fearless.

Tank Shock.
        This is a 3rd Ed rule also used in Gemini. A combat vehicle driving though the formation of an infantry (or cavalry) unit forces that unit to take a Rout test. This test is at -1 if a unit is below 50% of its starting strength.
         Obviously this is a Rout test that a player has to take during his opponent's MOVEMENT phase. If the test is failed the unit Routs immediately and is moved. Passing the test means the troops jump out of the way of the vehicle and dust themselves off. In their next SHOOTING phase they can fire on the tank, or charge it in their ASSAULT phase. If the vehicle is moving faster than 5” the troops will have to make Agility rolls to avoid being run over.
        There is also a 3rd Ed “Death or Glory” roll. Troops in front of the vehicle can choose to stand and fire at it. They get one shot each and hit the frontal armour automatically. 3rd Ed rules allow Melta-bombs and Krak grenades to be used for this attack. However, if they fail to cause damage that stops the vehicle they are automatically run over and killed.

Limbering/Unlimbering Towed Weapons and Trailers.
        It is assumed that most of the vehicles on a battlefield other than Bikes and Trikes can tow weapons or trailers. It is assumed weapon crew ride the vehicle or hang onto the weapon. Some Trikes may also be able to tow some loads.
        Loads are limbered to a vehicle at the end of the MOVEMENT phase. The vehicle and load must be static and within 1”. At Battlefield Speeds there is no penalty for towing reasonable loads. To unlimber a load the vehicle must be static for that MOVEMENT phase. The same rules are used for animal towed loads.
        Orks have a special unlimbering technique that only Orks are insane enough to use. While the vehicle is still moving the coupling is whacked and the weapon bounces D6” in a random direction and at a random facing. If the weapon collides with anything it follows the Collision rules below and is assumed to have an Armour Value of 11 and a speed equal to that of the towing vehicle. The Ork crew leap from the vehicle and may take damage if the vehicle is moving faster than 10”. Damage is an automatic hit in Strength to Vehicle speed minus 10 with no saving throw.


Special Characteristics of Vehicle types.

Military Tracked Vehicles.
        Battle speed can be taken as 12” or between 8-14” depending on vehicle weight and size. The Salamander scout vehicle has a battlefield speed of 24” so is a fast vehicle.
        A typical maximum speed for a tracked vehicle would be between 16-24” or 2D6+8”. Land Raider has a top speed under optimum conditions of 20”.

Skimmers.
        Most skimmers have a speed of 16-24” (use 2D6+12” to generate a random figure). The Imperial Land Speeder has a maximum of 24”. Since Skimmers aren't really effected by ground conditions the road speed and battlefield speed are essentially the same.

Flying Skimmers
        Many Skimmers such as the Land Speeder are ground vehicles that float only one or two metres about the ground. Other vehicles such as Eldar Jet Bikes and Grav-Tanks are actually flyers operating at low level. These are essentially treated the same as Skimmers but a few alternate rules are allowed if the player desires. Vehicles that come under these rules are termed “Flying Skimmers”.
Gemini Flier Rules

Walkers.
        Walker speed varies between 12-20” or 2D6+8”. These figures mainly apply to light vehicles like the Sentinel. Heavily armoured beasts like the Dreadnought vary between 4-8” with 6” being typical. Since they are not as effected by ground conditions as many other vehicle types battle speed and maximum speed are very similar.

Bikes
        To speed game-play troops mounted on Bikes are in some respects treated like cavalry or infantry rather than vehicles. A bike does not have an Armour Value like other vehicles but instead has a Toughness and Save.

        An Imperial military bike such as a Vincent Black Shadow has a Toughness of 5, and 3+ save. It is armed with a pair of forward-firing linked boltguns. An Officer's bike or one used by the Adeptus Arbites may have Autodrive.

        An Eldar Jet Bike (Skimmer) has a Toughness of 4 and 3+ save. It has a pair of forward-firing linked shuriken catapults and Autodrive.

        Protection from a military bike's armoured bodywork has the effect of increasing the rider's Toughness by 1. If the Black Shadow is ridden by a Marine or a Jet bike by an Eldar warrior this means both bike and rider have the same Toughness and Save.

        In large battles and for bikes not ridden by characters a bike and rider can be treated as a single target. Conveniently many Bike/ Rider combinations have the same Toughness and Save. If Toughness and Save are not the same then average the values, rounding up for Toughness and down for Save. It can be assumed that a hit to the bike causes it to crash and the rider is either killed, knocked out or otherwise out of action. Whether the bike or rider is killed may be relevant in situations such as a campaign, especially if the rider is a character. Throw a D6 to see if a successful hit was to the bike or rider. On a 4+ the rider was hit.
         In other situations it may be desirable to treat the rider and bike as separate targets. The shooter may want to kill the rider to take the bike, or disable the bike to capture the rider.
         At short range the bike and rider can be separately targeted. At long range a hit is randomized between the rider and bike, with the rider being hit on 4+. Area weapons may hit both. In such an instance work out separate damage and saves for each.
        When bike and rider are treated as separate targets a rider who's bike is damaged can be treated as having jumped from a moving vehicle. If the bike was moving faster than 6” the model receives an automatic hit with no saving throw equal in strength to the Speed minus 6, rounded up.        The above rules are for easy battlefield play. Battlefields, even in urban areas, are hard going for bikes so they can only use a small fraction of their potential speed.
        If ground conditions are better Bikes can also be played with Street Race rules.

To play high speed inner city chases etc use the following profile for the Vincent Black Shadow.

Max Speed Acc/Dec
TRR
Toughness
W/DP
Save
32”16”
½
5
1
3+

        Twin linked bolt guns, forward firing, auto-drive, communicator. Armoured bodywork (+1 to rider's Toughness). The Maximum Speed given assumes road travel. Don't add a further 6”.

        For a typical civilian model bike

Max Speed Acc/Dec
TRR
Toughness
W/DP
Save
32” or 2D6 + 20”16” or 2D4 + 4”
½
4-5 or D3+2
1
none

        An Ork or Mercenary's bike would probably be intermediate between the two, for example having a save of 5+ or 6. Armament would be a pair of rifle-sized weapons or a small heavy weapon such as a Heavy bolter or Grenade launcher.

        At high speeds carrying a passenger may increase TRR to 1.

Road-Wheeler.
        A road-wheeler is something like a civilian car or truck designed to move on good roads. Working vehicles of this type are rare on a battlefield. Most have been wrecked or had their tires eaten by Gretchen.

        Movement of Road-Wheelers would usually be made with “Street Race” rules. See later on this page for these.

Typical/Random City Car

Max Speed Acc/Dec
TRR
AV Front
AV Sides and Rear
24-32” or 2D6 + 20”6-12” or 2D4 + 4”
1
9
8

        The Maximum Speed given assumes road travel. Don't add a further 6”
        Unarmoured and flimsy vehicle. Treated as an Open-topped vehicle for purposes of damage determination. Unless the City Car really is Open-topped passengers take a hit of S4 or greater in the event of a Vehicle Destroyed or Flipped result.
        Shooting hits that result in Glancing or Penetrating hits against such vehicles are made at +1 on the appropriate damage charts.
        Burst Area and Ordinance weapons that result in Glancing or Penetrating hits against such vehicles make two damage rolls on the charts, not one.



Shooting Rules for Vehicles.

Firing from Vehicles, Horses etc
        Weapons mounted on Vehicles, Bikes, War Robots, Dreadnoughts etc fire as if they were stationary even if the machine they are mounted on is moving. They may be considered to be stabilized so fire as if stationary even if the vehicle is moving at speed. Most vehicle-mounted weapons are considered to have powered-traverse so Heavy weapons can still fire if they traverse more than 90°.

        Firing personal weapons from a moving horse or vehicle is -1 to hit and only can be done against targets at Short Range (Half Maximum Range). Shots can be made as normal if the vehicle is stationary. Built in vehicle weapons are not restricted by this rule - it only applies to personal weapons.

        Any number of models can fire from an open-topped vehicle if they have a target in range in LOS and target arc. As a rule of thumb up to half the models in an open topped vehicle can fire from any one side.
        If the vehicle is moving (and lacks Auto-drive) the driver can only use a pistol and the GM may decide to impose a further -1 to hit penalty.
        A unit that boards a vehicle in a MOVEMENT phase may be allowed by the GM to fire during the SHOOTING phase of the same turn. This represents that they have a few seconds standing still in which to aim and fire a few snap shots. This is only allowed for Assault weapons, Pistols and Rapid-fire weapons and these only get one shot in this turn. If troops are still on the vehicle during the next turn they can fire all types of weapon as if they were stationary (them, not the vehicle).

        Enclosed military vehicles often have firing ports. Basic rule is that normally the number of models that can fire from a vehicle would not exceed half the vehicle's potential capacity. Obviously if only two models are in the back of a truck both will be able to fire, not just one. A military vehicle designed to transport 10 men will probably have 2-3 firing ports each side and two in the rear. A vehicle may have additional firing ports for the crew and the passengers may also fire from open roof hatches. The number of firing points may be specified in the vehicle description/profile.

Firing at Vehicles.
        I quite like the 3rd Ed rules for shooting at vehicles. Roll to hit using the usual Gemini shooting rules, modifying for speed and size. In Gemini rules all targets are treated the same, there are no bonuses for skimmers other than any they have for speed or size.

        Damage is Weapon Strength + D6, although at under half-range Melta-guns and Multi-meltas add an additional D6, so are S + 2D6. If the score equals or exceeds the vehicle's armour value a roll is made on the Glancing hit or Penetrating hit chart.
        Hits from weapons with an AP of 1 will add +1 to the roll on the Damage Chart. Weapons with an AP of 0 or “ -” can only inflict Glancing hits.

        Vehicles that are at least 50% out of line of sight due to being hull-down or otherwise concealed by terrain features have a 3+ chance of any Penetrating hits scored being Glancing hits.
        The GM may rule that vehicles cannot claim hull-down protection when attacked by High trajectory and Indirect fire.

        To attack a vehicle with an Area or Ordinance weapon place the marker on the vehicle (Direct fire) or on the guessed range (High trajectory and Indirect fire). Work out scatter as appropriate. If any part of the vehicle is still within the marker or touching the edge the vehicle is hit. If the centre hole of the marker is on any part of the vehicle the Attack is at S + D6 (or 2D6 for Meltas under half-range) or S + Higher D6/D6 for Ordinance weapons. For direct fire the Armour value of the side closest to the shooter is used. High trajectory and Indirect fire uses the Armour value of the side closest to the marker centre.

        An Ordinance or Blast weapon only applies its full force if it scores a direct hit. If the vehicle is still in the marker but not covered by the centre hole Armour Value is compared to S/2 + D6 (Area weapons) or S/2 + Higher D6/D6 (Ordinance) rounded down. Damage is determined using the armour value of the side closest to the centre of the marker or ruled most exposed. If exposure seems about even use the lower value.
        Even if an Area or Ordinance weapon fired against a vehicle doesn't penetrate the armour it will still effect infantry near the vehicle at full force. Any such figures within the blast template roll S vs T and any saving rolls.

        When firing at horsemen at short range a shooter can chose to target either the rider or horse - at long range randomize the shots (roll D6, 4+ hits the rider). Area effect weapons may hit both. These rules also apply to shooting at bikes and passengers/crew in open topped vehicles. Targets in many open topped vehicles or firing from hatches on enclosed vehicles count as being in Hard cover.

Shooting at Firing Ports.
        Firing through the firing ports of vehicles at the occupants is treated in the same way as for buildings with firing ports with the exception that shots may also be subject to speed modifiers.

         Firing ports are usually only a couple of inches across so are very small targets and subject to the following rules if fired upon.
        A Grenade, Template or Area weapon can be thrown/shot through an open vehicle hatch or normal sized window using the same procedure as for building windows.

Open-Topped Vehicles.
        Troops in open-topped vehicles or troops using top hatches can be targeted if within short range. At longer ranges hits are randomized between the passengers and vehicle, with vehicle hits being made on a 4+ roll of a D6. Depending on vehicle design the GM may rule that passengers within short range count as being in Hard cover (-2 to hit) or may disallow hits on at passengers at long range, working all hits as being against the vehicle.
        Shooting hits that result in Glancing or Penetrating hits against open topped vehicles are made at +1 on the appropriate damage charts.
        Burst Area, Template and Ordinance weapons that result in Glancing or Penetrating hits against open topped vehicles make two damage rolls on the charts, not one.
        Unarmoured enclosed vehicles such as the City Car are treated the same as open-topped vehicles if they take Glancing or Penetrating hits or are attacked with burst area weapons.

Vehicles and Cover.
        If 50% or more of the vehicle side being fired at cannot be seen the vehicle is considered to be in cover. A Vehicle in soft cover is -1 to hit, while one behind Hard cover is -2, however, since most vehicles are Size 3 they are also +1 so a in practice a vehicle in soft cover is treated as a Size 2 target and one in Hard Cover is at -1 to hit. Cover has another effect for vehicles. If the vehicle rolls a 4+ any Penetrating Hits scored become Glancing Hits.

Vehicles Firing.
        3rd Ed rules only allowed a vehicle to fire all its weapons if stationary. Generally only one weapon could be fired if the vehicle was moving slowly.
        4th Ed has revised these rules and introduced the concept of “Defensive weapons”, which are vehicle mounted weapons with a Strength of 6 or less. Rumor is that 5th Edition rules will define Defensive Weapons as Strength 4 or less

Gemini Rules for Vehicles Firing are:-        In Gemini Rules driven walkers such as the Sentinel are considered fast vehicles rather than Dreadnoughts. Dreadnoughts, War Robots, Eldar War Walkers and similar vehicles all now belong to a class called Mechanoids in Gemini rules.

VEHICLE DAMAGE RESULTS

        These charts are slightly different to the GW Official ones. Speed of the vehicle if Destroyed is no longer taken into consideration.

D6 Result
Glancing Hit
Penetrating Hit
Ordinance Penetrating Hit*
 
1-2
 
 
No Effect
3
 
 
Crew Shaken
4
1
1
Crew Stunned
5
2
2*
Damage:- Armament Destroyed
6
3
3*
Damage:- Immobilized
7+
4
 
Vehicle Destroyed!
 
5
4
Vehicle Destroyed and Flipped
 
6
5
Vehicle Explodes!
 
 
6
Vehicle Annihilated!

        *Crews of Vehicles that take an Immobilizing or Armament destroying hit from an Ordinance weapon also take a Crew Stunned result.


Crew Shaken. Vehicle may move but not shoot following turn. Shaken results only last one turn, even if multiple Crew shaken rolls were scored in a turn. Passengers cannot shoot. Embarked troops can disembark.

Crew Stunned. Vehicle may not move or shoot next turn. Passengers cannot shoot. Embarked troops can not disembark. Stuns only last one turn, even if multiple stuns were scored. A skimmer with a stunned crew drifts D6” in a random direction next movement phase (but stays facing original direction). A Stunned Dreadnought cannot fight in Close Combat for the following turn.

Armament Destroyed. Weapon Destroyed results affect only weapons of S4 or higher. Once all weapons have been destroyed, further Weapon Destroyed results count as Immobilized.

Immobilized. Vehicle can no longer move but can still shoot. Skimmers moving 6” or less that suffer an Immobilized result crash land but are not destroyed. Skimmers traveling faster crash and are destroyed. Further Immobilized results count as Weapon Destroyed if the vehicle is already Immobilized. Immobilized vehicles with no weapons remaining count as Destroyed.

Vehicle Destroyed. Crew are all killed. Passengers placed around vehicle within 2” and must take a Pinning Test even if Fearless or Dogged.

Vehicle Flipped As for vehicle destroyed but Vehicle is also thrown D6” by Scatter dice. Rolling a HIT flips the vehicle over. Passengers take an S4 hit but may roll saves. Passengers placed around vehicle within 2” and must take a Pinning Test even if Fearless or Dogged. Passengers in Open-topped vehicles take a S3 hit since they are more readily thrown clear.

Vehicle Explodes. As for Vehicle Destroyed but passengers take an S5 hit. Saves many be taken. Flaming debris thrown over D6” radius and any model within this range takes a S4 hit (Saves allowed). Nearby Vehicles unaffected by the debris. Surviving passengers disembark but are automatically pinned, even if Fearless.

Vehicle Annihilated. As for Vehicle Destroyed but Vehicle is blown to pieces. All crew and passengers killed. Fragments thrown 6”. Any model within this range takes an S4 hit (Saves allowed). Nearby Vehicles unaffected. Only a smoking crater which counts as difficult ground is left behind.

Very Big and Very Tough Vehicles
        Normal-sized vehicles roll against the appropriate damage chart whenever a Glancing or Penetrating hit is scored. Some vehicles are especially tough or large and this is represented by the vehicle having one or more Hull Points. Hull Points must be used up before the vehicle has to roll against the damage charts.
         Each Glancing Hit cancels one Hull Point, each Penetrating Hit cancels two Hull Points and each Ordinance Penetrating Hit cancels three Hull Points. Passengers on vehicles with remaining Hull points do not need of disembark and take a Pinning test if the vehicle is takes a Penetrating Hit.

         For really big vehicles such as Titans, Trains and Juggernauts it may be prudent to consider it to be built up of several sections, each roughly equivalent in size to a normal-size vehicle. How the damage to one section effects the rest of the vehicle is up to the GM to decide.


Close Combat Against Vehicles.
        A vehicle can be charged and close attacked by foot troops using the mêlée rules with a few variations.

        To attack a vehicle it must either be in charge range or the path the vehicle moved along on its last move must be in charge range. The vehicle is assumed to have been intercepted in its course by the charging unit. Bonus attacks for charging and multiple weapons apply, unless Planting Charges (see below). A charged vehicle may fire its weapons at a charging unit without needing to pass a Ld test. Passengers using hatches, windows or firing ports may fire at a charging unit if they pass a Ld test. This follows all the Stand and Fire rules even though the vehicle is moving rather than standing, so all shots are at at -1 to-hit. Slow and Heavy weapons on the vehicle or used by passengers are considered to be stationary. Passengers shooting may be at an additional -1 to-hit if the vehicle is moving.

        Since a vehicle has no WS it is hit on the roll of a 4+ and it cannot hit back. A vehicle moving at 6” or faster is only hit on a 6. Hits are automatic against a stationary vehicle. The 3rd Ed rules have Skimmers only ever hit on a 6 but it can be argued that a slow or stationary skimmer can be hit just as easily as a tank. In Gemini Rules it's the speed not the vehicle type that determines how easily a vehicle can be hit. The exception to this are Flying Skimmers, which unless Immobilized are only hit on a 6 and are too high to be attacked with contact weapons. Troops can only attack the side of the armour they are in contact with.

        Attacks against vehicles are made weapon Strength + D6 vs vehicle armour value. Rolls that exceed or equal the armour value roll against the Glancing and Direct hit charts.

        Firing ports can be used to fire at chargers but once the troops are in Close Combat with the vehicle they are considered too close to be fired upon from firing ports. Likewise they can't shove grenades or fire weapons into the ports -it can be assumed the troops inside lock the ports shut when the vehicle is assaulted.

        If a vehicle has an open top or exposed crew these can be fought and fight back using normal mêlée rules. In an enclosed vehicle the crew may choose to remain buttoned up or fight from hatches. If the vehicle is moving the GM may rule that the driver fights at a reduced WS. If the vehicle is tall the GM may rule that crew and passengers can't be attacked except with pistols and projectile attacks or long weapons (spears). Similar restrictions may apply to the crew's armament when they are fighting back.

        Planting Charges is a special attack against vehicles, dreadnoughts and large robots. A unit must have either Melta-bombs or Krak grenades. Other types of grenade may be used but will usually have little effect against armour. Each model can make only one attempt per round. Models with more than one attack cannot also make other mêlée attacks if planting charges. Charge bonus and extra attacks for multiple weapons cannot be used if planting charges. Planting a charge takes some time and the model will need time to get clear! A to-hit roll is made as normal :- either a 4+ or a 6 for a moving vehicle or no roll if the vehicle is static. A planted charge does not have an effect area but instead does special damage, which may be greater than its performance when thrown. A Melta-bomb does S8+ 2D6 and a Krak S6+D6. Attempting to throw grenades through open hatches, firing ports or open tops are SHOOTING phase actions and cannot be attempted while in Close Combat.

        Vehicles don't lose or Rout -they just move away or continue to be attacked. A vehicle that moves away is not “Breaking off”. A vehicle that is attacked may have sufficient move left for the end point of its travel to be some distance from the unit that attacked it. If the attackers fail to cause sufficient damage the vehicle will continue moving to this point, or its move on its next MOVEMENT phase will carry it further than the Assaulting unit can charge.

Machines with WS.
        Some machines or vehicles have a WS value. This includes Dreadnoughts and War Robots.
        Dreadnoughts and Robots are fought against using the machine's WS but damage is worked out as for vehicles. Machines with a WS always use their frontal armour value when determining Close Combat damage. Any “Immobilization”, “Shaken” or “Stunned” result reduces the Dreadnought or Robot's attacks by 1 for each result to a minimum of 1.

        Because of their reach and dexterity Dreadnoughts are considered to have a “Claw” attack and can fight against models in front of and beside them. Dedicated Assault Dreadnoughts (those with two or more Close Combat weapons) are considered to have a Stomp attack and can attack 360°. Driven walkers and Robots can only attack to the front, like normal infantry.

        For purposes of attempting to plant charges Dreadnoughts or Robots are considered to be fast moving targets. Infantry cannot plant charges unless they roll a 6 and each can make only one attempt per model per round. If the machine is stunned or immobilized charges can be planted on a 4+. This rule also applies to most walker vehicles or any other target that has a WS value.
        When fighting a Dreadnought or Robot each damage roll counts as a wound for purposes of working out the winner of the round. Dreadnoughts and Robots don't take Morale rolls or Rout if they loose a round of combat. If a Dreadnought or Robot loses a combat round and is outnumbered at least 2:1 it takes an additional Glancing hit.

“It's Going to Blow!”: Rule.
         Troops in Close Combat with a vehicle that achieve a “Vehicle Explodes” result are automatically moved D6” away from the vehicle before explosion damage and effects are worked out.


Vehicle Collisions and Ramming.

        When I first wrote these rules the Official WH40K 3rd edition rules had no rules for ramming. WH40K-RT rules didn't work since vehicles now had armour values rather than toughness.

        WH40K 5th edition introduced some ramming rules, and these are somewhat easier to remember than those I originally came up with, so I have adapted these to Gemini. An advantage of the WH40K 5th edition Ramming rules is it can also be used to work out the strength of impacts of moving objects that lack an Armour Value. If you ever need to know the effect of a bike, Tau Drone or Kamikaze Ptera-squirrel impacting a Land-Raider, use these rules. It may be an idea to apply a -1 impact strength modifier to Size One creatures.The rules I wrote are included below.

        In WH40K 5th edition a ram is a made instead of shooting and is treated as a Tank Shock with the vehicle required to move at maximum speed. It is possible for a vehicle to Tank Shock a unit of infantry and then ram a vehicle beyond. In Gemini rules a vehicle may ram at any speed and may fire if it has sufficient actions.

        Strength of a Ram is determined by:-
        Strength of impact is worked out separately for both rammer and rammed vehicle. The rammed vehicle uses the ramming vehicle's frontal armour value unless the rammer backed into the target. The ramming vehicle uses the armour value of the side of the target it impacts.
        Skimmers and Flying Skimmers can avoid being rammed by a non-skimmer AFV (“Tank”) on a +3. Flying Skimmers may be flying to high to be rammed by some vehicles.
        Mechanoids such as Dreadnoughts can choose to either brace for impact and be rammed normally of make a “Death or Glory” attack. It cannot make a Death or Glory attack if rammed in its rear arc. If the Death of Glory attack is failed the ram is worked out against the Dreadnought's rear Armour Value.

        If a wall is damaged in a collision it is assumed D6 wounds or points of damage on the wall are inflicted. This information is need to establish whether a door is broken down, the wall demolished or how big a hole is created.

        For an added level you can use the vehicles' relative speeds, although this does require keeping a note of how far the target vehicle moved in its previous turn.

        The relative speed of an impact will depend on which quadrant of the target vehicle the rammer hits. A ram that hits a vehicle perpendicularly to its direction of movement is obviously a side impact. A ram at 0 degrees to the line of travel is obviously a head on collision and one at 180 degrees obviously a rear impact. Side Impacts are considered to be impacts that hit the quadrants that are between 45-135° and 225-315°, or from NE to SE and NW to SW in compass terms if the vehicle is taken as travelling “North”. Impacts outside this arc are either frontal or rear impacts.

        If the vehicle is rammed in the rear quadrant while moving forward the combined relative speed is that of the faster vehicle with that of the slower subtracted. A slower vehicle can ram a faster in the rear if it intercepts at an angle so this is allowed.

        If one vehicle rams another in the side quadrant the combined relative speed is the speed of the ramming vehicle. This is also the relative speed used for rams against vehicles or objects that are not moving.

        A collision or ram against the front of a vehicle uses the combined speeds of the two vehicles.

        Rakes and Sideswipes are ramming attacks made against the side armour of the target from the front or rear quadrants. A Rake comes from the forward quadrant so relative speed is the sum of the two vehicles' speeds. A Sideswipe comes from the rear so relative speed is the difference in speeds. Rakes and Sideswipes are always worked out using the target's side armour value and can only ever inflict Glancing hits. After making a Rake or Sideswipe the rammer assumes a course parallel to the target's direction of travel, and if it has any move allowance left will continue to move in this direction.

Old Ramming Rules

Against models or structures with a Toughness.

        To find the strength of an impact multiply the speed by the frontal armour value and divide the result by 10. If the vehicle reversed into something use the rear armour value.
        Strength cannot exceed 10 if you get a value over 10 make a note of the difference. The excess is the “reflected damage”, the strength of the damage done to the vehicle from hitting the wall or model.
        Example:-
        A Landspeeder traveling at 15” and with frontal armour of 10 hits a wall of toughness 6. 15 x10 ÷ 10 is 15, which exceeds 10 by 5. To see if the wall is damaged the player rolls S10 vs T6. To see if the Landspeeder took any damage he adds 5 to a D6 roll and compares it to an armour value of 10. If he rolled a 5 the vehicle would take a glancing hit, if a 6 a penetrating hit.

        If the wall is damaged the collision is assumed to inflict D6 wounds or points of damage on the wall. This information is need to establish whether a door is broken down, the wall demolished or how big a hole is created.

Against objects with an Armour value.
        If two vehicles with armour values ram or collide the process is similar. Relative speed needs to be calculated.

        If the vehicle is rammed in the rear quadrant while moving forward the combined relative speed is that of the faster vehicle with that of the slower subtracted. A slower vehicle can ram a faster in the rear if it intercepts at an angle so this is allowed.

        If one vehicle rams another in the side the combined relative speed is the speed of the ramming vehicle. This is also the relative speed used for any rams against vehicles that are not moving.

        A collision or ram against the front of a vehicle uses the combined speeds of the two vehicles.

        Each vehicle works out the strength at which it hits the other using the combined relative speed and its own armour value for the side making contact.
        Example:-
        A Chaos Land Raider (Frontal AV=14) moving at 3¼” collides head on with a Landspeeder moving at 5” (frontal AV=10). Combined speed is 8 ¼”.
        The LandRaider works out as 14 x 8 ¼ ÷10 which gives a Strength of 11.5, which would round to 12 but is really 10 since reflected damage is ignored when both parties have an Armour Value.
        The LandSpeeder works out as 10 x 8 ¼” ÷ 10 which rounds to 8.
        Therefore the LandRaider takes a 8+D6 from the Landspeeder and inflicts a 10 + D6.

        Structures such as bunkers that have an armour value are treated as static vehicles.

Dozer Blades and Rams.
        Some vehicles have dozer blades, ploughs or rams. This are usually mounted on the front but are sometimes rear mounted on artillery or engineering vehicles.
        Against an object with a Toughness value the ram absorbs and nullifies D6 of reflected damage.
        Against a vehicle or building with an armour value the attachment does an extra D6 of damage, so damage is S+2D6.
        Dozer blades also allow a player to re-roll a “stuck vehicle” result if the vehicle was traveling at 6” or less.

Running over Pedestrians and Foot Troops.
        If a vehicle is traveling at 5” or less it is assumed that troops automatically move out of the way. To avoid being run over by a faster vehicle a Move save or Agility Roll is made as detailed elsewhere.
         Models that fail to move out the way take a hit equal in Strength for Ramming as described above. Roll to damage and armour save as normal.
        A vehicle may attempt to run over more than one individual or group of models. The second individual or group it attempts this against makes its move save at +1, the third group at +2 and so on. To be considered a distinct group or separate individual from others there must be at least 1" of space between. A vehicle that ploughs into a rank of troops may attempt to hit several and these have their basic Move save to escape. The second rank of troops would only get the Move save +1 if they were an inch or more beyond. If the vehicle attempted to run over a column with the troops spaced an inch or more apart each individual after the first would add +1 to his move save.


Street Race Rules.

        If your scenario includes lots of high speed chases and the like you may want to use “Street Race Rules.” To use Street Race Rules two new characteristics need to be known for a vehicle:- the Acc/Dec value and the TRR.

        Acc/Dec is simply the number by which a vehicle can increase or decrease its move allowance/speed each turn.

        Turn Ratio Radius (TRR) is simply a means to easily calculate the radius of the turning circle of a vehicle at any given speed. If a vehicle has a move allowance of 8” then it has a 8” radius turn circle. Under game rules it can't move more than 8” along the circumference of that circle each turn.
        Bit of quick geometry tells us that if the length of an arc is equal to its radius the vehicle cannot travel an angle more than one Radian (about 57.3°). Use 57° for play purposes.

        All you really need to work out turn circles is a tape measure but if you are going to use them a lot make some templates. This can be anything marked with a 57 degree angle (or multiples of). A template for a TRR=1 turn would resemble a 57 degree slice of cake.
        To use a template:-
        A vehicle with a TRR of ½ uses half the speed as a turn radius and can therefore travel 114° per turn. If you make a 114° template mark it off in 57 and 28.5 degree increments so you can also use it with TRR 1 and 2 vehicles.
        Few vehicles have a TRR greater than 1. A Tunneler would have 2 and a Juggernaut 7. It is a very rare occasions when you need to know turning circle of a Juggernaut so don't bother making a template, just use a tape measure.

Example:- The roadster is traveling at a speed of 12” and 2” from a junction tries to make a 90° turn. Radius of turn will be 12” since TRR is 1. The vehicle moves along the arc its remaining 8” of move. This only turns the vehicle about 23° and it crashes into a shop front.

        Civilian vehicles are considered to be unarmoured and extra flimsy. To reflect this any rolls on damage tables are made at +1. If damaged by ordinance weapons two rolls are made on a damage chart rather than one.
        Many vehicles used with Street Race rules are unarmed. An “Armament destroyed” roll can be re-rolled, taken as a passenger killed or as a Loss of Control result.

        A “Crew Stunned” result on a damage chart and certain other situations will result in a vehicle obeying street race rules losing control.

Loss of Control
        Roll two pairs of D6, each pair of a different colour. One pair represents acceleration, the other deceleration. Subtract the lower score from the higher. If the deceleration roll was higher subtract the difference in scores from the vehicle's speed. If acceleration was higher add the difference to the vehicle's current speed to get its new speed.
Roll another D6.
        Radius of any turns is equal to the new speed, irrespective of the usual TRR the vehicle uses.

        An out of control Skimmer or Flying Skimmer rolls an additional D6. On a 1 the Skimmer crashes into the ground. On a 2-5 it stays level. On a 6 the nose raises the vehicle stalls and it flips over crashing 2D6” in a direction determined by Scatter dice.

Reversing
        A vehicle using Street Race rules can reverse at up to half its top speed. To reverse a vehicle must arrest all of its forward momentum. If a vehicle has a sufficient Acc/Dec and is traveling slow enough it halt its forward movement and begin reversing in the same turn.
Example. A city car is moving at 6” when it spots a mine field. Since it has a Acc/Dec of 8” it can use 6” of this allowance halting and still have enough remaining to reverse 2”.

        It is up to the GM as to whether bikes can reverse. Military or Judge's Bikes or other bikes with Auto-drive can probably reverse under power. Civilian Bikes can be walked back using the rider's standard move allowance.

Slow Manoeuver
        The vehicle can make fine manoeuvers such as three point turns using the following method rather than using the TRR template. For its turn the vehicle makes three 1” moves, each forward or reverse as the player wishes, each ending in a turn of up to 45°.

Bootlegger Turns
        Bootlegger Turn is used as a generic term in Street Race Rules for any fast, tight 180 degree turn. Skimmers, Wheelers, Bikes and Walkers all use different methods to achieve such turns but the result is the same and they are therefore treated the same.J-Turns.
         A J-turn is a useful maneuver to avoid roadblocks and ambushes. It is a 180 degree turn that the vehicle reverses into. In game turns it is treated exactly the same as a Bootlegger turn but is executed by a vehicle that is stationary or reversing at the start of the maneuver. The vehicle is subject to all the usual restrictions for moving backwards.

        If you are looking for more detailed driving rules then the Gorkamorka Rulebook is worth looking at, especially the section on swerving in the Ramming section.
        Another ruleset worth looking at are the 5th Edition Car Wars rules, which can be picked up at a very reasonable price. The Manoeuvering Template can easily be scaled up for larger vehicles.

Waterworlds?
        The movement rules for Street Race might also be used for boat movement to give a scenario with a maritime flavour. This gives plenty of scope for boarding actions etc.
        The GM should feel free to invent rules that he considers to be necessary. Boats move as ground vehicles but Dec rate is half Acc rate. Reversing is done at half Acc rate and can only reach a quarter of maximum forward speed.
        Some rules for models swimming are given on the main Movement page. Amphibious creatures such as Slann, Loxatl and Tyrannids move at their normal land allowance in water but cannot move at double rate if charging.


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Attack, Avoid, Survive: Essential Principles of Self Defence

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