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ASSEMBLING A BATTLEGROUP

In conventional battles, the presence of a lone Titan – even a Scout class such as a Warhound – can be sufficient to guarantee victory. However, when Titans go to war en masse, they are formed into ad hoc groups, operating together under the command of their most senior Princeps, for the duration of a campaign.

When playing Adeptus Titanicus, all of the units (i.e., individual Titans and Knight Banners) under a player’s command are referred to as their ‘battlegroup’. This is a loosely defined term which encompasses maniples of Titans, individual Titans acting as reinforcements, and any attached support units, such as Banners of Knights from allied Houses.

In Open Play, assembling a battlegroup is as simple as deciding which miniatures from your collection you wish to use, taking a Command Terminal for each one and getting the battle started. In Matched Play and Narrative Play, the rules for assembling a battlegroup are subject to a few restrictions. Each unit has a points cost, which is made up of the unit’s base cost plus the cost of any weapons and upgrades it takes. The total points cost of all of a battlegroup’s units is referred to as the battlegroup’s ‘Battle Rating’. Battlegroups are built to a Battle Rating that is agreed upon by all players.

Players should record the details of their battlegroups on a battlegroup roster, which could be a piece of paper, an online document or something similar. A battlegroup roster should include the following details:

  • Battlegroup Type i.e., if the battlegroup is a Legio battlegroup or a Household battlegroup (as follows).
  • Details of every unit within the battlegroup, including their points cost, weapons, upgrades, and any maniple or Lance they are part of.
  • The Legio of any Titan within the battlegroup. If relevant, the Household of all Knight Banners should also be recorded.
  • The battlegroup allegiance.
  • The total Battle Rating of the battlegroup.
  • The battlegroup Leader – this must be a nominated Princeps Seniores in a Titan Legion battlegroup or the Seneschal in a Knight Household battlegroup.

Auxiliary Units When building a Legio battlegroup or Household battlegroup, certain Titans are classified as Auxiliary Titans and certain Knight Banners are classified as Auxiliary Knight Banners. These represent the rarer patterns of Titans and Knights during the Horus Heresy. To represent this, both Legio and Household battlegroups have restrictions on the number of each you can take within your battlegroup during Matched Play.

Below is a list of current Auxiliary Titans and Auxiliary Knight Banners – further such units may be explored in future supplements and will be noted as either Auxiliary Titan or Auxiliary Knight Banners on their Command Terminal where appropriate:

AuxiliaryTitans - Warbringer Nemesis Titan - Warmaster Heavy Battle Titan Auxiliary Knight Banners - Acastus Knight Banners

Battlegroup Type A battlegroup can be one of two types: a Legio battlegroup or a Household battlegroup.

Legio Battlegroup A Legio battlegroup represents a battlegroup where the majority of its strength is drawn from the Collegia Titanica. A Legio battlegroup has the following rules:

  • A Legio battlegroup must contain at least one maniple, made up of three to five Titans.
  • A Legio battlegroup can have multiple maniples; each maniple will have its own Princeps Seniores.
  • A Legio battlegroup can take Titans and Household Support Banners as Reinforcements.
  • Reinforcements are any Titans or Knight Banners within a Legio battlegroup that are not part of a maniple. A Legio battlegroup can take any number of Reinforcements, so long as they adhere to the following restrictions: - A Legio battlegroup can include a maximum of two Knight

Banners as Reinforcements for each Titan maniple in the battlegroup. One of these Knight Banners per Titan Maniple can be an Auxiliary Knight Banner. - A Legio battlegroup can include any number of Titans as

Reinforcements. A maximum of one Titan per maniple in a battlegroup may be an Auxiliary Titan. It should be noted that Auxiliary Titans, Knight Banners and Auxiliary Knight Banners selected as part of a maniple are not classed as Reinforcements and, therefore, are not included when calculating the maximum number of Knight Banners and Auxiliary units allowed per maniple.

Household Battlegroup If you are using a Knight Household Force as per the rules presented in the Adeptus Titanicus: Doom of Molech supplement, that Household Force is a Household battlegroup. Household battlegroups have the following exceptions:

  • A Household battlegroup must include at least one Lance, which must contain either a Seneschal or a High King.
  • All Knights within a Lance in a Household battlegroup must be drawn from the same Household.
  • No Knight Banner in a Lance, except for the Seneschal’s Banner, can be an Auxiliary Knight Banner.
  • A Household battlegroup can include Titans and Knight Banners as Reinforcements. Titans included as Reinforcements do not follow Titan Legion rules. Reinforcements are any Knight Banners within a Household battlegroup that are not part of a Lance and any Titan in the battlegroup. Reinforcement Titans can be drawn from any Titan Legion. Household battlegroups face the following restrictions when using Reinforcements: - A Household battlegroup can include a maximum of

one Titan as Reinforcements for each Lance in the battlegroup. A maximum of one of these Titans can be an Auxiliary Titan. - A Household battlegroup can include a single Auxiliary

Banner of each type as Reinforcements for every Lance in the battlegroup.

Titan Legions and Knight Households When assembling a battlegroup, a player can declare that any of the Titans in their force are part of a particular Titan Legion. Maniples must all be made up of members of the same Titan Legion but Reinforcements may be members of other Titan Legions. Each Titan Legion has a set of rules that apply to Titans which are part of that Legion. Regardless of a battlegroup’s allegiance, a player can choose to draw their forces from any Titan Legion or Knight Household; though some are widely known for being dedicated to a particular cause, it is entirely possible that detachments had broken off or another Legio favoured similar tactics. This book contains 16 sets of Titan Legion rules, many of which are revised versions of previously published rules – the rules presented here take precedence over those previously published.

For each set of Titan Legion rules that are part of a battlegroup, the opposing player gains 2 bonus Stratagem points. For example, if a battlegroup is made up of a Legio Tempestus maniple with two Legio Gryphonicus Warhounds as Reinforcements, the opposing player would gain 4 bonus Stratagem points.

Battlegroup Allegiance In Adeptus Titanicus, the line between Loyalist and Traitor is a murky one, for it was nigh-impossible to claim that an entire Titan Legion was truly dedicated to a single cause. However, as the war progressed, the tactics utilised by both forces diverged, a fact most notable in the physical changes wrought upon the Traitors by the powers they consorted with. Even amongst those dedicated to the same cause, the methods of war become divergent, the circumstances of this new conflict forcing the adaptation of individual tactics.

A battlegroup’s allegiance determines which Stratagems, Wargear and Special Units it has access to. The list of allegiances presented below are not exhaustive and instead represent those sworn to the Emperor of Mankind. Other allegiances will be explored in future supplements. All allegiances can purchase Stratagems available to any player (i.e., those that do not specify a player type such as Thermal Mines). Each allegiance has access to a specific allegiance ability, as described in the relevant section.

The Titan Legions and Knight Households presented in this book are those that were predominantly loyal to the Emperor. As such, only three allegiances are presented below: Loyalist Titan Legion (available to a Legio battlegroup) and Questoris Imperialis or Questoris Mechanicum allegiance (both available to a Knight Household battlegroup). If players wish to use Legio or Household rules presented in this book with other allegiances presented elsewhere, they are welcome to do so, so long as they clearly inform their opponents before a game begins. Otherwise, it is presumed a Titan Legion or Knight Household drawn from this book uses one of the three allegiances presented here.

Loyalist Titan Legion Loyalist Titan Legion Battlegroup The following rules apply to a Loyalist battlegroup:

  • All Titans within a Loyalist battlegroup are referred to as Loyalist Titans and the player a Loyalist player.
  • A Loyalist battlegroup can include Psi-Titans and Loyalist Titans of Legend.
  • A Loyalist battlegroup can purchase Stratagems available to any allegiance or any Loyalist player.
  • A Loyalist battlegroup cannot include any Corrupted Titans or Renegade Knight Banners.
  • A Loyalist battlegroup cannot include any Traitor Titans of Legend or Blackshield Titans of Legend.
  • A Loyalist battlegroup cannot purchase Stratagems available only to any Traitor or Blackshields player. Loyalist Titan Allegiance Ability: Adaptive Tactics Once per game, at the end of the Damage Control phase, a single Loyalist Titan that has successfully been issued an Order (other than an Emergency Repairs order) that round can immediately be issued a different Order (other than an Emergency Repairs order), without the need to make a Command check. This Order replaces any Order previously given. Titans within a Squadron that have been issued Orders via Squadron orders that round can all benefit from this rule, so long as all Titans are issued the new Order.

Questoris Imperialis Questoris Imperialis Household Battlegroup The following rules apply to a Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup:

  • All Knight Banners within a Lance as part of a Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup are referred to as Questoris Imperialis Banners and the player a Questoris Imperialis player.
  • A Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup can purchase Stratagems available to any Knight Household and to Questoris Imperialis Households.
  • A Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup can include Loyalist Titans of Legend as Reinforcements.
  • A Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup cannot include any Corrupted Titans or Renegade Knight Banners.
  • A Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup cannot include any Traitor Titans of Legend or Blackshield Titans of Legend as Reinforcements.
  • A Questoris Imperialis Household battlegroup cannot purchase Stratagems specific to Questoris Mechanicus, Questoris Traitoris, or Questoris Oblitus Households. Questoris Imperialis Allegiance Ability: Valorous Charge Once per game, during the Movement phase, a single Questoris Imperialis Lance of the player’s choice can add 2" to their Speed characteristic for the remainder of that phase.

Allegiance Specific Knightly Qualities A Questoris Imperialis Seneschal Knightly Quality can either be generated from the table on page 38 of Adeptus Titanicus: Doom of Molech, from their Household Knightly Quality table or by rolling a D3 on the table that follows:

D3 Knightly Quality 1 Master of War: The Seneschal is a talented strategist, having won many battles during the Great Crusade through daring plans and brilliant tactics. If the Seneschal’s Lance benefits from the Valorous Charge ability, Banners within the Lance add 4" to their Speed characteristic instead of 2". 2 Hunter of Traitors: A renowned hunter, the Seneschal has turned their talents in the wilds of their home world to the task of stalking traitors to the Imperium, wherever they might be found. Attacks targeting the Seneschal’s Banner suffer an additional -1 penalty to their Hit rolls while the Banner is in cover, i.e., a Banner with at least 25% cover would be -2 to hit, while a Banner with at least 50% cover would be -3 to hit. 3 Courting Death: The deaths of loved ones and honoured friends have left the Seneschal bitter and broken, hoping to salve the pain of loss with the blood of their enemies – or, should that fail, their own life. Once per game, the Seneschal’s Banner can choose to activate a second time during the Combat phase. If they do, the Banner immediately suffers a Critical Hit, ignoring ion shields.

Questoris Mechanicus Questoris Mechanicus Household Battlegroup The following rules apply to a Questoris Mechanicus Household battlegroup:

  • All Knight Banners within a Lance as part of a Questoris Mechanicus Household battlegroup are referred to as Questoris Mechanicus Banners and the player a Questoris Mechanicus player.
  • A Questoris Mechanicus Household battlegroup can purchase Stratagems available to any Knight Household and to Questoris Mechanicus Households.
  • A Questoris Mechanicus Household battlegroup can include either Loyalist Titans of Legend or Traitor Titans of Legend as Reinforcements, but not both.
  • A Questoris Mechanicus Household battlegroup cannot include any Psi-Titans, Corrupted Titans or Renegade Knight Banners.
  • A Questoris Mechanicus Households battlegroup cannot include Blackshield Titans of Legend as Reinforcements.
  • A Questoris Mechanicus Household battlegroup cannot purchase Stratagems specific to Questoris Imperialis, Questoris Traitoris, or Questoris Oblitus Households. Questoris Mechanicus Allegiance Ability:Targeting Solutions Once per game, all Banners within a single Questoris Mechanicus Lance can be issued a Coordinated Strike, Split Fire or First Fire order without the need to make a Command check. Each Banner can be given a separate Order.

Allegiance Specific Knightly Qualities A Questoris Mechanicus Seneschal Knightly Quality can either be generated from the table on page 38 of Adeptus Titanicus: Doom of Molech, from their Household Knightly Quality table or by rolling a D3 on the table that follows:

D3 Knightly Quality 1 Survivor of Betrayal: Betrayal has forever scarred the Seneschal, forcing them to kill members of their own Household when they made the choice to turn against them in support of their chosen liege Once per round, when the Seneschal’s Banner suffers damage, one damaging Armour roll can be reduced by one level, i.e., a Critical Hit becomes a Devastating Hit, a Devastating Hit becomes a Direct Hit, while a Direct Hit becomes a Superficial Hit. 2 Favoured by Mars: The Seneschal is a rare Scion of Mars, having trained in the use of Knight armours under the forge lords of the Red Planet, skills they now bring to the liberation of the Imperium or in support of the Warmaster. The weapons carried by the Seneschal’s Banner are of higher quality than normal. Increase the Strength value of any weapon in the Seneschal’s Banner with a starting Strength value of 4 or higher by 1, to a maximum of Strength 8. 3 Faithful Servant:The Seneschal and their ancestors have forever remained faithful to their Forge World and will never stray, no matter the path they are led down. Once per game, the Seneschal’s Knight Household can reuse a Stratagem that cost 2 or fewer Stratagem points and has been used earlier in the battle. The Seneschal must be on the battlefield to use this ability. If the Stratagem is one that can be used more than once (i.e., Artillery Bombardment), it may instead be used twice in one phase by the Questoris Mechanicus player.