Jovian Leviathans: Fan Fleet List for War Rocket: Monstrous Space Creatures Hunt In Space!

Crash Slabjaw yanked at the controls.

"Phan!  Dango! You two man the auxiliary proton cannons! We've got company!"

Crash was a veteran of the Belt Wars and knew this space well.  But they'd whooped those Imperials but good.  So what had struck their rocket?  No asteroid could have got near then with his skills in the pilot chair!

"Nothing on the radar box, Captain!" cried Betty

Crash stole a glance at Betty's shapely gams, beautifully revealed by her space-fleet issue mini skirt.
He wouldn't mind getting her back on the radar box...

The rocket rocked violently.
'No time for that now', he thought regretfully.

Suddenly the forward viewport was filled with ... could that be right? It looked like a giant eye!

His mouth hung limp as he watched in shock as the eye drifted up, his view replaced with a massive monstrous mouth.

Pulling hard on the controls the rocket glanced against a row of giant jagged teeth. But too late: it was the inside of the teeth!  That was the last thing he saw before his view became blacker than space.

........................

Last month I showed you the kit-bashed 'Jovian Leviathan' fleet I made, for either a Tyrannid Battlefleet Gothic fleet, or as giant space-swimming creatures native to Jovian Seas for War Rocket. 

I promised then to put up the first version of the War Rocket fleet concept I have for them, but I didn't take the time to do it until now.  I'd hoped to test the rules out, but I haven't had a chance, so it's all first-draft concept at this point.  So feel free to give the fleet a try!  If you haven't played War Rocket, from Hydra Miniatures, I highly recommend the game: fast paced, easy rules but very tactical. I have tried to make this article as similar as possible to the War Rocket format to make it easier to incorporate with the game.

War Rocket divides a fleet into different classes of Rockets: Class I, II, III, IV, and a rare V such as the Zenithian Mother Ship.  The two most significant aspects of a fleet is decided by the type of movement it uses (Some fleets are fast but not agile, some agile but not that fast, fast & agile but not tough and tough but not very fast or agile) and the power & angles of weapons.

I decided that the Jovians, being living creatures, would be quite agile, but compared to rockets with thrusters, a bit slow. They'd also not have as many weapons, but they'd all have close physical weapons that they use to lash out at enemies nearby.  Hopefully this combo would make a fun and challenging fleet to play: You want to get close, but don't have the speed to make that easy.  You do however have very good maneuverability, so you can exploit errors your opponent might make and it will reward you for clever tactics.

MOVEMENT

Swimming Movement

This movement type is used by the races of Jovian Leviathans which are native to the gas seas of Jovian worlds.  These creatures contain large reserves of gas which they expel from various vents to propel themselves through space. While their top speed can not match rockets of the terrestrial worlds, they are exceedingly agile.

* Each speed point can be used for 1 inch of movement in the forward direction.
* Use 1 speed point for a rotation up to 60 degrees (one hex face).  -or-
* Use 2 speed points for a rotation up to 120 degrees (two hex faces).
* Each rotation (either a 1 or 2 speed point rotation) must be followed by 2"of movement before a new rotation.
* Leviathans may start their turn with a free rotation up to 60 degrees even if they ended their last turn with a rotation.

Leviathans are affected by Space Objects in the same way as Rockets.

Fleet Sheet: 

"S" = Speed. "D" is the defense value of the creature/ship.

The main difference in weapons type is the inclusion of physical weapons: claws, tentacles, tails, etc, that they use to lash out at nearby foes. These are described in text below the chart for each class. 

Class I: Manta. 10pts.  Fast creatures which hunt in packs. Lashing weapons are only a threat to the front.

Class II: Shark. 15pts. Similar to Mantas but more resistant to damage. 

Class III: Orca. 20pts. A fearsome beast.  Seen as solo hunters or in packs. 

Class IV: Kraken 30pts.  A true monster. Unlike smaller Jovians, this creature has projectile weapons which fire to the rear, so be careful when you approach it! 

Class V: Great Leviathan 40pts. The largest beast of the Jovian seas and deep space.  Relatively slow, but dangerous to be sure. 

Upgrade: 5 pts: "Great Maw": Any hit of a stun or better against a Class I enemy inflicted by the lashing weapon in the front 60 degree facing results in the swallowing of the rocket: remove the model from play. 

Note: I made the Class III weaker than other fleets' Class III to reduce the point cost and give room to expand the fleet to accommodate a Class V creature. 

* It should go without saying, but Jovians may not be boarded. 

FLEET RECOGNITION: JOVIANS

Manta (Class I)

Shark (Class II)

Orca (Class III)

Kraken (Class IV)

Great Leviathan (Class V)

Until I get them painted, this will have to do.

I still need to complete a list of ship upgrades, and try them out on the table. And paint. 

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!