You can use Super heavy transports as straight replacements for standard transports. You can use them in Convoy scenarios, in which case a single Super heavy transport counts as two standard transports. For every Super heavy transport taken, the defender may choose up to 100 points of ships to protect it. For the purpose of victory conditions each Super heavy transport that exits the board edge is worth two standard transports. In planetary assault scenarios a Super heavy transport counts as two standard transports, so the attacker may take one for every 500 points of his fleet. He may mix standard transports and Super heavy transports freely. A Super heavy transport delivers 4 assault points per turn that it remains within 30cm of the edge of the planet. Whilst deploying troops it may not do anything else.
Every Imperial fleet is supported by hundreds of secondary vessels, mostly chartered or commandeered merchant vessels used to transport supplies between embattled systems. The most common of these ships are the Imperial transports, but across the Imperium there are a vast array of different space faring vessels, any of which can be pressed into service at need.
Super heavy transports are used to support large fleet actions, such as planetary assaults. Each is capable of carrying tens of thousands of men and thousands of vehicles. They are also used by Adeptus Mechanicus Titan Legions for moving their huge war machines or enough munitions to supply an entire army. Such a concentration of vulnerable forces needs protecting, and most fleet commanders assign dedicated escort vessels to a squadron of Super heavy transports, and position them at the centre of the fleet’s formation for maximum protection. The loss of one of these vessels during a planetary assault can have huge long–term effects on the ground campaign. As well as their military role Super heavy transports are also used as bulk ore or grain carriers, and damaged vessels have been converted into supply bases, hospital vessels and forward repair facilities for fleets operating in isolated or primitive systems.
Every Imperial Guard army requires vast amounts of supplies, not least amongst them fuel. Every tank, armoured carrier, aircraft and vehicle needs it to operate. Fuel supplies will often need to be shipped to an army, and a secure, constant supply is always a high priority for any ground commander. This supply is often carried on one huge tanker. A Super heavy fuel transport can carry enough fuel to support an entire campaign. As such defending them is vital. Notes: Super heavy transports do not have the powerful drives that are fitted to warships. When using All Ahead Full orders only add +3D6cm to their speed. They also reduce their randomly rolled Leadership by 1, so they have a leadership between 5 and 8. Super heavy transports have ‘special’ for their points value as they are only used as objectives in missions. Fuel transports carry highly flammable cargoes. When hit they are likely to explode spectacularly. When rolling on the Critical Hits table add +2 to the dice roll. The maximum result is still a 12. When rolling on the Catastrophic Damage table also add +2 to the dice roll. The maximum result is still a 12. |
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