Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm trying to teach my friends Battlefleet Gothic

The two armies I have Imperial and Chaos

Any ideas of which ships I should run and at what point limit?

I want it as balanced as possible with both lists having 1 battleship, a couple of cruisers and some escorts.


(BTW they are painted the same colors as the Horus Heresy)

I wouldn't worry about points to begin with. I would instead have each side have a cruiser of roughly equal point costs and some escorts. There isn't much difference between a Battleship and a Cruiser besides more hull points and a smaller turning arc so its not a required distinction. Then you might add a second cruiser and make sure its one that has Fighter and Bombers to introduce them to strike craft.

Then, once everyone has a good grasp of the rules, you can let them build their own fleets and start playing proper point value games.

The problem is that everything is mine and while some ships are equal value, they not necessarily equal in strength. For example, chaos excels in cruisers, while Imperials excel in mixing cruisers and escorts.

I'm thinking one battlleship each
3 cruisers
and a single attachment of several escorts


That way they have fun while still learning.

I'd start with the old Cruiser clash scenario, so they get a basic feel for how turns and maneuvering work. Then slowly add in things like escorts and Nova Cannons and AC.

The thing with having a fleet that size is that it might be too much information, unless they are already familiar with table top wargames.

start with the basics, torpedos, weapon batteries, lances, turning, escorts vs capital ships. then move on to things like Nova Cannons, boarding, teleport attacks...

Grey Templar wrote:The thing with having a fleet that size is that it might be too much information, unless they are already familiar with table top wargames.

start with the basics, torpedos, weapon batteries, lances, turning, escorts vs capital ships. then move on to things like Nova Cannons, boarding, teleport attacks...

This would be my concern as well...BFG is different enough that it can be confusing to new players, especially ones with no prior naval gaming experience. Certain things that just don't matter in 40k (like model facing) are a huge deal in games like BFG.

EDIT: BTW, I notice that you are playing out of the Springfield GW...I'm in there every so often. Let me know if you want me to help you run demos. I've got Eldar and Tau fleets on top of my IN and Chaos stuff .

I recommend you just play with a few, say four, cruisers each. Get familiar with the rules. If you're worried about cruiser strength, give him the better ones so he has a better first game. Just run it like that.

Then, go with a Retribution, Mars, two lunars, and a squadron each of cobras and swords for one fleet.

The chaos fleet can take a Desolator battleship, an archeron heavy cruiser, a devastation cruiser, and a murder. Then take a squadron of idolators and a squadron of infidels.

This will give both carrier capacity, but the imperial can have the upper hand on torpedoes, while the chaos has the upper hand on range and firepower. Look at the points difference, and if the imperials have more, gimp their admiral or give chaos a couple of lords in addition to their warmaster.

Spellbound wrote:I recommend you just play with a few, say four, cruisers each. Get familiar with the rules. If you're worried about cruiser strength, give him the better ones so he has a better first game. Just run it like that.

Then, go with a Retribution, Mars, two lunars, and a squadron each of cobras and swords for one fleet.

The chaos fleet can take a Desolator battleship, an archeron heavy cruiser, a devastation cruiser, and a murder. Then take a squadron of idolators and a squadron of infidels.

This will give both carrier capacity, but the imperial can have the upper hand on torpedoes, while the chaos has the upper hand on range and firepower. Look at the points difference, and if the imperials have more, gimp their admiral or give chaos a couple of lords in addition to their warmaster.

hmmmm clever