TEXT: “WHAT LIES WITHIN, FEAR WE TO ASK...”
  NECRON VESSELS
  THE HARVEST FLEETS:
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  ARMADA
  72
  NECRONS IN BATTLEFLEET GOTHIC
  THE HARVESTER FLEETS
  Until very recently almost all contact with the
  Necron’s had been limited to battles fought on
  planets against small forces of Necron troops.
  From time to time reports were made of strange
  space craft encountered on the edge of newly
  discovered systems, which appeared derelict at first
  but when approached became active. More often
  than not all that remained of the Imperial craft
  which encountered these strange ships was the
  scattered wreckage of its remains, and the only
  clues to the nature of the enemy were garbled
  distress messages speaking of alien ships using
  weapons of quite terrifying destructiveness.
  Whenever such incidents were investigated
  nothing could be found of the perpetuators, and
  no useful evidence could be collected pointing to
  their nature or origin. 
  All this changed in the year 666.M40, when the first
  recorded incident of a Necron ‘harvest’ took place
  in the Yuctan system close to the Eastern Fringes.
  Although sparsely inhabited, the system included
  an Imperial Naval depot. At the time of the attack
  the depot was being used by small Imperial
  squadron consisting of the Dauntless class light
  cruiser Farsight
  and half a dozen escort craft.
  Squadron Farsight was  undertaking a long range
  patrol, and was visiting Yuctan to refuel and re-arm,
  when it received distress messages from an
  Imperial colony on the outlying planet of Merida.
  The squadron moved to intercept and took part in
  the first recorded encounter between Imperial
  battlecraft and a Necron fleet. Only one of the
  Imperial craft survived to tell the tale (the Cobra
  class destroyer ON37452). The Necrons suffered
  no losses. By the time a full Imperial fleet could be
  despatched to the Yuctan system the Necrons had
  disappeared. And of the human colonists in the
  system there was not a single trace… 
  Since then there have been a further 27 recorded
  encounters between Imperial Navy ship and
  Necron raiding fleets. There are also anecdotal
  accounts of space battles between the Necrons and
  Eldar, Ork and even Chaos space fleets. All
  evidence points to the Necrons being old beyond
  the memory of anything living and their
  technology, although idiosyncratic, is superior to
  that of any other race, including the Eldar. In every
  encounter so far the Necrons have only been
  defeated by superior numbers of enemy ships, and
  wherever the numbers have been even the
  Necrons have prevailed. Fortunately for the
  Imperium all of the Necron fleets encountered so
  far have been small in size, and what should
  happen if the Necrons should ever attack in force
  remains to be seen. 
  Even more worryingly, the encounters that have
  taken place with the Necrons have occurred all
  over the galaxy, without any discernible pattern as
  to when or where the Necrons will strike next.
  What is more, the frequency of such encounters
  seems to be increasing, though how or why this
  should be happening is unknown. All that is
  known for sure is that the objective of these raids
  appears to be the seizure of Imperial citizens – but
  for to what hideous use the captured men, women
  and children are put remains terrifyingly unknown.
  They simply disappear and are never seen again.
  For centuries the Explorators of the Imperium have
  known of the ancient civilisation of the Necrontyr –
  a race that became extinct tens of millions of years
  ago. Little remains now of what must once have
  been a technically advanced empire that spanned
  the galaxy. Any surface structures that may once
  have existed have long since disappeared from
  Necrontyr worlds. Their existence has been eroded
  by time. They and their works have crumbled to
  dust with the passage of eons. 
  Only deep under the sand have the Necrontyr’s
  inexplicably 
  strange 
  tomb-temples 
  partially
  survived. No intact complex has ever been
  discovered. Those that have been explored and of
  which records exist, are all ruinous and empty.
  What their purpose or content might have been, or
  if they were plundered and emptied by others in
  antiquity, is all impossible to say. Best analysis
  indicates that the Necrontyr vanished from the
  galaxy more than sixty million years ago, when the
  planet Earth was little more than prehistoric jungle,
  and Mankind’s evolution lay millions of years in the
  future. 
  Like a thousand other dead civilisations and
  forgotten races the Necrontyr are of interest to few
  outside the dusty offices of the Explorator
  Archaeos. 
  Until now.
  Now, suddenly and unexpectedly, a chance
  encounter has brought the Necrontyr to the
  attention of the powerful and great. Raiders
  marked with Necrontyr runes and indecipherable
  inscriptions of Necrontyr design have been
  captured on a brief visual scan. It is a momentary
  visual record of the attack, yet it is a link in a chain
  of events that extends across the galaxy. It is a link
  to other raids, to other sites of destruction where
  raiders leave no trace and where records are wiped
  across an entire planet. 
  “A
  s we dug its shape become apparent. It was a
  ship, no doubt it was a ship, yet buried by
  hundreds of feet of rock. It must have lain there for
  millions of years, but even after all this time it
  appeared neither destroyed nor abandoned. It appeared
  intact, and functional too, and many runes, seams and
  panels hinted that there might be space within for
  something else to survive. But what lies within, fear
  we to ask.”
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  NECRON SPECIAL RULES
  Lightning Arc
  Stored solar energy is released as a forest of
  living energy tendrils which envelop targets
  probing for weaknesses. Lightning arcs function
  as weapon batteries with two differences.
  Firstly, they don’t suffer the normal column shift
  to the right when attacking vessels who have
  holofields or shadowfields (the bolts do not
  need to see) and all targets are treated as
  closing.
  Lightning arcs with multiple fire arcs can divide
  their total Firepower. A lightning arc can be split
  between its fire arcs in any way the player
  desires. So for a tombship, it’ s Strength 20
  lightning arc can fire 5 Firepower to the front,
  12 to the left and 3 to the right. Next turn it
  could fire 20 Firepower to the right, and none
  elsewhere. 
  Star Pulse Generator 
  The star pulse generates a pulse of energy with
  a radius effect of 20cm, which does not effect
  other Necron ships. Each pulse generator gets
  one roll to hit against each ship or piece of
  ordnance in range. Holofields offer no defence.
  A star pulse cannot be generated while the
  vessel is using any special order or crippled as it
  requires precise control.
  Gauss Particle Whip
  This is the preferred ranged weapon of the
  Necron Raiders. A particle beam is projected
  along a magnetic field across a short (at source)
  arc, the arc is sufficient to crack the particle
  beam like a whip. When a target is hit the beam
  is energised focusing power similar to the
  lightning arc batteries, but on a much smaller
  target area. The particle whip is treated like a
  lance except any rolls to hit of 6 bypass shields
  and affect the target ship directly _ these are
  unsaveable by holofields.
  Portal
  Portals are more precise than conventional
  teleporters and are able to flood enemy ships
  with a relentless host of Necron Warriors and
  swarms of Scarabs. Each portal confers an
  additional hit and run attack to the Necron
  vessel. These have a range of 10cm and, as
  normal, can only be made against ships whose
  shields are down. The usual restriction that
  teleport attacks can only be made against ships
  with less remaining Hull Points is waived, with
  the exception that Necron Raider class vessels
  do not carry enough Warriors to board anything
  with more than 6 Hull Points remaining.
  NECRON WEAPONS
  Necron vessels employ many unique weapon
  systems, unknown to other fleets. These follow the
  rules outlined below.
  Sepulchre
  Only utilised by the largest Necron vessel in a fleet,
  a ship carrying a Sepulchre automatically gains a
  Leadership of 10. The Sepulchre is used to attack
  one enemy ship that is within 20cm range. When
  the Sepulchre is used make a Leadership test for the
  enemy vessel being attacked, as a wave of palpable
  psychic force is generated from the Necron ship.
  The crew are paralysed by visions of horror, and if
  discipline is lost then the crazed crew are likely to
  do damage to their own ship as they rampage
  uncontrollably. 
  A ship attacked by the Sepulchre should take a
  Leadership test. If they pass, the captain cracks
  some heads and restores order. If it is failed, then
  the ship’s Leadership is permanently reduced by 1,
  representing the loss of morale and trust. Also the
  ship may not use any special orders until after the
  end of their next turn. This includes Brace for
  Impact. Any ordnance within 20cm of the
  Sepulchre (except for non-boarding torpedoes) are
  destroyed on a 4+. A Necron ship may only unleash
  its Sepulchre when the ship is not on any special
  orders or crippled. 
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  ARMADA
  74
  REACTIVE HULLS
  Necron ships are made of a unique sentient
  metal. To represent these factors all Necron
  ships with a reactive hull are immune to
  Damage, Leadership and Movement modifiers
  from solar flares, radiation, gas clouds and blast
  markers. All Necron ships are Armour 6,
  representing the difficulty of targeting them,
  and in addition receive a special save against
  each hit to represent the hull’s adaptive
  qualities. The save is 6+ for Raiders, 5+ for
  harvesters and Scythes and 4+ for tombships. If
  the Necron vessel uses Brace for Impact then
  the save is modified to 2+ but its stealth
  properties are instantly compromised. A Necron
  ship on Brace for Impact orders is reduced to
  Armour 4. Last, but by no means least, all
  Necron Critical repairs are made on 4 or more
  as the sentient metal attempts to self repair. 
  NECRON CRITICAL HITS
  The unique nature of Necron vessels, combined
  with their incredibly advanced methods of
  manufacture, mean that they react to damage
  rather differently than other vessels. For this
  reason, Necrons use a special critical hits table,
  as presented above.
  INERTIALESS DRIVE
  Necron drives are capable of interstellar travel
  without the need to enter the Warp. The drive is
  fired whenever All Ahead Full orders are issued;
  instead of obeying the normal rules for this
  order the ship gains D6 x 10cm additional
  movement and can make a turn for every 20cm
  it travels.
  DISENGAGING
  Necrons will always prefer to disengage than
  fight to the end. They do this by ‘fading out’, the
  vessel in question dematerialises and drops out
  of normal space. At the end of its Movement
  phase any Necron ship may perform a fade out
  disengage automatically.
  At the end of a game, including normal Victory
  points, count up the Necron losses using the
  following modifiers: 
  •
  Any capital ship that disengages with no 
  damage 
  whatsoever 
  counts 
  as 
  10% 
  destroyed.
  •
  Any capital ship that disengages with any 
  damage 
  at 
  all 
  or 
  any 
  raider 
  that 
  disengages counts as 25% destroyed.
  •
  Any capital ship that is crippled counts as 
  50% destroyed.
  •
  Any capital ship that is destroyed but not 
  left as a drifting hulk counts as 200% 
  destroyed.
  •
  Any capital ship that is destroyed and left 
  as a drifting hulk counts as 300% 
  destroyed.
  NECRON REPAIR POINTS
  Due to advanced nature of Necron technology all
  Necron ships must expend double the normal
  amount of repair points to repair hits and buy
  new ships when playing in a campaign. 
  NECRON CRITICAL HITS TABLE
  2D6 
  Extra 
  Roll Damage Result
  2
  +0
  Power Flow Disrupted. May not fire lightning arc or particle whip in port arc. 
  3 
  +0
  Power Flow Disrupted. May not fire lightning arc or particle whip in starboard arc. 
  4
  +0
  Power Flow Disrupted. May not fire lightning arc in any arc. 
  5
  +0
  Power Flow Disrupted. May not fire lightning arc or particle whip in any arc.
  6
  +0
  Drive Damaged. May not change facing until repaired. Permanently reduce the ship’s
  Leadership by -1.
  7
  +0
  Drive Damaged. Reduce movement by -5cm until repaired. Permanently reduce the 
  ship’s Leadership by -1.
  8
  +0
  Inertialess Drive Damaged. May not use All Ahead Full special orders until 
  repaired. Permanently reduce the ship’s Leadership by -1.
  9
  +0
  Sepulchre Damaged (if present, otherwise roll again). The ship loses the ability to
  use its Sepulchre until repaired. Permanently reduce the ship’s Leadership by -2.
  10
  +0
  Command Core Damaged. Permanently reduce the ship’s Leadership by -3.
  11
  +D3
  Power Surge. Permanently reduce the ship’s Leadership by -2.
  12
  +D6
  Ruptured Power Core. Permanently reduce the ship’s Leadership by -2.
  “C
  losing on unidentified spatial anomaly
  EXK99-0002. Distance 10,000… 9,000…
  8,000… Wait… that’s odd… augers are starting to
  detect energy fluctuations… -subject gasps- by
  the Emperor… that’s impossible, these readings
  are off the scale! ABORT, get us out of here
  n…” 
  - Final message, research craft God’s Eye 
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  ARMADA
  75
  T
  ombships are the largest Necron ships
  yet encountered by the Imperium.
  Tombships are large and terrifyingly well-
  armed craft, perfectly capable of defeating
  any Imperial battleship currently in
  service. Fortunately for the Necrons’
  enemies, Tombships are by no means
  always present in a Necron raiding fleet,
  and so far have only been met on seven
  occasions. In each case the tombship was
  part of a large force, and so far no
  tombship has been met that was not
  escorted by at least three of the Scythe
  class harvest ships described later. All of
  the Tombships so far encountered have
  been of the same general pattern, at least
  as far as can be ascertained from the
  reports of the engaging Imperial ships.
  Whether there are different or larger
  classes of tombship so far remains a
  mystery, though one account of an
  engagement between an Ork fleet and the
  Necrons mentions a ship so big that it
  dwarfed an Ork space hulk. Wheter this is
  true or simply typical Orkish exaggeration
  remains to be seen. 
  NECRON CAIRN CLASS TOMBSHIP  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500  pts
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR
  TURRETS
  Battleship/12
  20cm
  45°
  (4+ save)
  6+
  4
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Lightning arc
  30cm
  20
  Left/front/right
  Star pulse generator
  20cm
  (1 per enemy)
  All around
  Gauss particle whip
  45cm
  6
  Left/front/right
  Portal
  10cm
  3
  All around
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  ARMADA
  76
  NECRON SCYTHE CLASS HARVEST SHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275  pts
  H
  arvest ships appear far more common than the tombships, and have
  been part of every Necron fleet so far encountered. So far all of the
  harvest ships encountered appear to belong to the same class, the only
  difference being the inclusion of a sepulchre-like chamber on some of the
  ships (though this does not change their outward appearance, nor does it
  appear to function in the same manner as those observed on tombships).
  Wheter this is universally true is unknown, though it may well be the case
  considering the uniform appearance and design of the Necron warriors
  that have been encountered so far. Although the harvest ships appear
  lightly built compared to the solid designs used by the Imperium, these
  looks are highly deceptive, and they have proved to be incredibly resilient
  and difficult to destroy. So far there are only three cases of Imperial ships
  being able to disable a harvest ship, and in all three cases it required the
  firepower of several capital ships to achieve the feat. The harvest ship’s
  resilient design combined with the sophisticated and devastatingly effective
  Necron weaponry they use makes them a match for all but the largest
  Imperial craft. 
  KNOWN ENCOUNTERS
  666.M41 Yuctan: Squadron Farsight destroyed, harvest ships implicated
  962.M41 Bora Culpa Incident: Sighted around Bora Culpa, population
  found to be vanished after recon by Space Wolves Space Marines.
  T
  he Farsight banked steeply away from the enemy, all her port weapons batteries
  blazing. Squadron Omni turned in her wake, also pouring fire as the remaining
  battleline crossed the enemy prow. 
  Such well versed tactics proved ineffective. Stauffen could see no evidence of
  damage to the enemy mothership.
  Two more enemy vessels appeared, each a flat crescent shaped disk, glowing with
  a strange light against the blackness of space. They where closing so fast he hardly
  had time to react.
  Again the Destroyers fire seemed ineffective, the energy just seemed to dissipate
  upon impact. 
  As the destroyers continued to turn an arc of lightning from the speeding craft
  disabled the rearmost vessel in the line. All communications with the stricken
  escorts bridge where down. 
  ‘Too late to save her’ thought Stauffen, if any where to escape from this disaster
  then they would have to run. He ordered the destroyers back to Yuctan station,
  and brought the Farsight round to interpose it between the destroyers and the
  mothership, which was accelerating after them. 
  The Destroyers completed their turn and fled away from the ambush, they scattered
  to best avoid pursuit. Meanwhile the Farsight sat awaiting the mothership’s attack,
  all gun decks at the ready. 
  The mothership closed with unreal speed. A whip of lightning crackled from the
  prow, spiralling around the Farsight’s hull and holding it tight in its grasp.
  Stauffen’s bridge crew wrestle for control in vain, as systems began to fail. Control
  panels exploded sending bodies flying across the bridge. All targeting systems had
  failed. The Farsight was a sitting duck. Stauffen commended his crews souls to
  Emperor as he ordered the plasma reactors to be overloaded.
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Cruiser/8
  30cm
  45°
  (5+ save)
  6+
  3
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Lightning arc
  30cm
  8
  Left/right
  Gauss particle whip
  45cm
  4
  Left/front/right
  Star pulse generator
  20cm
  (1 per enemy)
  All around
  Portal
  10cm
  2
  Left/front/right
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  ARMADA
  77
  NECRON SHROUD CLASS LIGHT CRUISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 pts
  NECRON JACKAL CLASS RAIDER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 pts
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Cruiser/4
  30cm
  45°
  (5+ save)
  6+
  1
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Lightning arc
  30cm
  10
  Front/left/right
  T
  he Shroud class was first recorded in 992.M41 during an engagement
  with Battlefleet Pacificus. In the six years immediately after, vessels of
  this configuration were observed on three occasions and each time
  disengaged before Imperial vessels could bring them under fire. It was
  believed that either the class or the crew was being tested in some way. Any
  preparation ended in 998.M41 when five Shrouds launched a suicidal
  assault on the Adeptus Mechanicus’ Mars installation. 
  Since the Mars gambit, Shrouds have been identified on six occasions
  acting as the long-range eyes and ears of the Necron fleet. They excel at
  their job because no Imperial ship with any chance of catching a Shroud
  could possibly defeat one if they actually caught it. They pose a grave threat
  to Imperial Navy installations. If they can penetrate the defences of Mars
  with such ease then there is no base which can be considered safe. 
  KNOWN ENCOUNTERS
  992.M41 Various: Multiple contacts with Pacificus Patrol Fleets
  996.M41 Bora Culpa Incident: Non-combative observation only
  998.M41 Mars: Targets destroyed but hulks unrecovered
  Special Rules: The Shroud is an especially stealthy vessel. Its hull is a further refinement of the normal Necron design, which is even harder to detect.
  As long as it is not crippled a Shroud will never activate orbital mines or grant the enemy bonuses to their Command checks if it is on special orders.
  The Shroud’s superior sensors are capable of relaying information gleaned to the rest of the fleet. If a Necron fleet has any uncrippled Shrouds on the
  battlefield the whole fleet will get an extra +1 to their Command checks when any enemy vessel is on special orders. 
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Escort/1
  40cm
  90°
  (6+ save)
  6+
  1
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Lightning arc
  30cm
  4
  Front
  Portal
  10cm
  1
  All around
  N
  ecron fleets have so far always included numbers of smaller ships
  roughly equivalent to Imperial escort vessels. Although there have
  been two instances of such craft operating on their own, this seems to be
  the exception rather than the rule, and it appears that they are usually very
  closely controlled by the tombships or harvest ships in the fleet. The Jackal
  is the slightly larger of the two types of escort so far encountered, and has
  been present in every Necron fleet so far engaged by Imperial forces.
  KNOWN ENCOUNTERS
  796.M41 Adinbur Prime: Ambush on Patrol Group Tiryns, Battlefleet
  Artemis reinforced successfully.
  998.M41 Mars: Vessels provided diversionary targets at edge of Sol
  system – substantial attack ensued.
  
  NECRON VESSELS
  ARMADA
  78
  NECRON HARVEST FLEET LIST
  CAPITAL SHIPS
  Tombships
  Your fleet may include up to one tombship for
  every Scythe class harvest ship it contains.
  Cairn class tombship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 pts
  0-1 Sepulchre
  A single tombship may be upgraded to carry a
  Sepulchre. Note that there is no requirement for
  a Necron fleet to include a Sepulchre and it is
  actually quite normal for them to consist of
  Scythes supported by Jackals.
  Sepulchre  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 pts
  Cruisers
  Your fleet may include up to six Scythe class
  harvest ships and up to three Shroud class
  light cruisers.
  0-6 Scythe class harvest ship  . . . . . . . . 275 pts
  0-3 Shroud class light cruiser  . . . . . . . 155 pts
  ESCORTS
  Raiders
  Your fleet may include up to twelve Jackal
  class raiders, and up to twelve Dirge class
  raiders.
  0-12 Jackal class raiders . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 pts
  0-12 Dirge class raiders  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 pts  
  MIND OF THE MACHINE
  Necron fleets, just like their armies, are
  composed of a horrifying array of unthinking
  machines intent only on fulfilling their C’tan
  master’s ancient plans of conquest. Because of
  this, Necron fleets have no Fleet Commander in
  the conventional sense, which affects their fleet
  in the following ways:
  Leadership
  Leadership is determined normally for Necron
  fleets, except a ship carrying a Sepulchre (see
  below) automatically receives a Leadership of
  10.
  Re-rolls
  A Necron fleet may purchase re-rolls, but they
  are purchased by the fleet as a whole, rather
  than being considered Fleet Commander re-
  rolls. The fleet gets one re-roll and can purchase
  extra re-rolls at the cost shown. 
  One extra re-roll  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 pts
  Two extra re-rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 pts
  NECRON DIRGE CLASS RAIDER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 pts
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Escort/1
  50cm
  90°
  (6+ save)
  6+
  1
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Lightning arc
  30cm
  3
  Front
  T
  he Dirge class raider is the smaller of the two escort sized Necron ships,
  and appears to be somewhat rarer. Whether this is universally the case
  or simply a matter of chance is unknown. 
  Dirge class raiders, although never formally identified at the time, are now
  believed to account for many of the vessels occasionally sighted by Imperial
  Explorators even before the Yuctan incident and the first known Necron
  harvest. In 692.M41 an impenetrable layer of unidentified metal was found
  several hundred metres beneath the surface of Angelis, later to be revealed
  as some form of alien spacecraft when the vessel rose entirely out of the
  sand and departed without trace. In the light of later events, it would seem
  probable that the ‘Angelis Boat’ was in fact a Dirge class raider.
  “T
  he boy had been lucky, or so we had
  thought. He had escaped the aliens’ holding
  pens where many of the colonists had proven less
  fortunate and been taken aboard the alien vessels
  to a fate unknown. He could tell us little, he was
  silent and broken from what he had seen and fell
  quickly into unconsciousness. The Apothecaries
  nursed him as they could, but only when he died
  and autopsis was begun did the nature of his
  malady become apparent. Fully thirty of the boy’s
  needed glands had been cut from his still living
  body with a precision we could not have thought
  possible for such alien monstrosities.”
  
  “NO LIVING THING COULD SURVIVE OUT THERE, IN THE BLACKNESS, COULD IT?”
  TYRANID VESSELS
  THE HIVE FLEETS:
  
  ARMADA
  80
  TYRANID VESSELS
  The race known to Man as the Tyranids have
  been the bane of all organic life for eons,
  devourers of worlds and the agents of the fall of
  more races and civilisations than even Mankind
  can ever aspire to.  As the menace of the Tyranid
  Hive fleets Kraken, Behemoth and Leviathan
  stretch across the southern and eastern arms of
  the galaxy, great swathes of space and even
  entire sectors have disappeared from the
  Emperor’s Light beneath the vast shadow of the
  Hive Mind.
  THE HIVE MIND
  Imperial scientists believe that hive ships and
  their attendant drone ships have a deep
  connection to the Hive Mind – the over-arching
  gestalt consciousness of the Tyrannic race. This
  pervasive psychic contact permeates the area
  around the hive fleet to such an extent that
  Warp space is distorted for light years around
  the fleet’s position.  Travel through the Warp
  becomes increasingly uncertain near the
  Tyrannic fleets and astrotelepathy exceptionally
  unreliable 
  or 
  completely 
  useless. 
  Many
  Astropaths have lost their minds in battle with
  the Tyranids, and entire squadrons have been
  crippled by dangerous Warp eddies. Thus, as the
  hive fleets advance, confusion and terror
  precede them beneath the suffocating shadow
  they cast over the doomed worlds in their path.
  The most recent Tyranid assaults have taken
  place in the last two centuries, as the  warship-
  sized bio-constructhave emerged to wreak death
  and destruction upon the galaxy, more and
  more has been discerned of the true nature of
  these creatures. With this growing knowledge,
  Mankind has retrenched itself in redoubts
  throughout the galaxy to research new methods
  of achieving victory. It was first believed that the
  endless variety of forms encountered by forces
  arrayed before this menace essentially fell into
  two main categories. However, more recently,
  diligent research by the Biologis division of the
  Adeptus Mechanicus and agents of the
  Inquisition 
  have 
  discerned 
  that 
  these
  malevolent 
  space-faring 
  creatures 
  are
  manifested in three main classes:
  Hive ships
  These void-swimming behemoths act as primary
  nodes for the Hive Mind and direct the activity
  of the entire swarm. Hive ships function as
  living mother ships, bio-factory vessels breeding
  and hatching endless swarms of Tyranids to
  pursue prey across void and planet alike.
  Though most swarms will typically contain
  more than one hive ship, in some circles it is
  believed that there is still a single ship that
  maintains central control of the entire collective
  and acts to coordinate the assault, though this
  cannot 
  be 
  confirmed. 
  There 
  are 
  also
  unsubstantiated reports that there are a very
  small number of hive ships in every swarm that
  are much more massive than the rest. Dwarfing
  even great battleships, these immeasurably vast
  creatures arrive very late in the process of
  planetary assimilation and are believed to be
  those responsible for the method by which even
  the atmosphere and oceans are consumed from
  orbit, as the final stage of the world’s
  consumption by the hive fleet. Though such a
  gargantuan organism would explain how once
  lush and fertile worlds are left barren, airless
  and sterile, there are as of yet no recorded
  sightings of such a monstrous creature. 
  Kraken, Cruisers and Droneships
  These bio-ships range in size from comparable
  to the escorts of other races to massive ships
  nearly the equal in size of the hive ships they
  accompany. Ever evolving, some of these
  creatures of the void are called Kraken, named
  after the hive fleet in which they first appeared,
  identified as specialized biological entities
  which accompany hive ships in a swarm and
  defeat each new foe they encounter. Hive ships
  are known to respond to new threats by birthing
  more of these Kraken to overwhelm the
  defences of any sentient race or hapless world
  they encounter. 
  THE TYRANIDS IN BATTLEFLEET GOTHIC
  
  ARMADA
  81
  TYRANID VESSELS
  Though the Imperium has come to learn much
  about these creatures of the galactic ether, the
  distinction between the so-called classes of ship
  remain unclear. It has only recently, for
  instance, been ascertained (through careful
  observation of the subdual and consumption of
  Bonnis II in the Coronet Sector) that many of
  the escorts and cruisers found in typical Tyranid
  swarms are immature hive ships in various
  stages of development. It is believed that the
  Hive Mind nodes in these space-dwelling
  organisms remain dormant until they are
  mature enough to project their will across vast
  reaches of space, though when this takes place
  in a creature’s life cycle has yet to be
  determined. 
  Many of these beasts are developed with very
  specialised abilities that were probably evolved
  over the Tyranids’ long experience against
  various races throughout the galaxy. Found in a
  wide variety of forms, these creatures exhibit
  bizarre forms that can be quite unlike one
  another. Unlike the far larger hive ships that
  have shown a basic pattern of growth despite
  their great variety, these beasts have shown a
  diversity of forms and functions so numerous as
  to defy conventional classification.  
  First described in detail by forces opposing Hive
  Fleet Kraken, these creatures demonstrate
  characteristics that are obviously evolved to
  counter specific threats, and they usually appear
  in the forefront of a swarm as it approaches in-
  system to break up enemy formations. It is
  believed that because some of these ships are
  evolved to fill such a specialised role, their size
  varies greatly dependant upon need. Many
  within the Imperium fear that if such mutability
  can exist within the lower orders of the Tyranid
  race, that hive ships and their gargantuan kin
  could also evolve rapidly and effectively pose an
  even more direct threat to the forces that
  oppose them. 
  Vanguard Droneships
  These fast scouts are the only type of Tyranid
  bio-ship that have ever been observed operating
  independently of a hive fleet. These creatures
  quickly develop their psychic connection to the
  Hive Mind, allowing them to be sent far ahead
  of the hive ship and other synapse vessels, but
  this comes at a price. They mature quickly and
  remain slight, flimsy creatures in comparison to
  their much slower growing (and longer lived)
  brethren. Vanguard drone ships possess great
  speed and agility, but are only lightly armed.
  They appear primarily to act as scouts and travel
  light years ahead of a swarm to locate and seed
  suitable prospective planets for assimilation.
  They may well also act to illuminate enemy
  vessels for attack by later contingents of the
  invading swarm.
  Agents of Mankind have struggled against death
  itself to gather information about the Hive Mind
  ever since humans first encountered them in the
  Tyran system. And, at a huge cost to themselves,
  they 
  have 
  ascertained 
  more 
  detailed
  information about the operating activities and
  tactics of Tyranid swarms. It is such sacrifice that
  will allow the Imperium to bolster its defences
  against the burgeoning Tyranid threat. 
  
  ARMADA
  82
  TYRANID VESSELS
  TYRANID SPECIAL RULES
  SYNAPTIC CONTROL
  Only hive ships have a leadership value, which is purchased at a fixed value
  from the Hive Fleet list. During the Movement phase, each hive ship can
  make a Command check to change or ignore Instinctive Behaviour for
  themselves or another ship/squadron within 45cm. If the test is successful
  the Tyranid player has control of the ship/squadron and may place it on
  special orders if desired, without requiring a second command check. 
  Attempts to use synaptic control count as a Command check so a hive ship
  can keep testing until a Command check is failed. However, if one hive
  ship fails a command check this does not prevent another hive ship
  attempting to use synaptic control. In effect each hive ship can make at
  least one attempt to override Instinctive Behaviour.
  Tyranid ordnance (fighters, assault boats, torpedoes) is not subject to
  synaptic control or Instinctive Behaviour – just move them like normal
  ordnance.
  Movement & Special Orders
  All Tyranid vessels follow Instinctive Orders unless the Hive Mind (ie, you,
  the player!) tells a ship or squadron to do something different via the
  psychic conduit of the hive ships.
  For ships or squadrons using Instinctive Behaviour, read down the table
  opposite and give the ship/squadron the first appropriate action or special
  order you come to. No Command check is needed for special orders, but
  there may be specific activities that must be undertaken in the vessel’s
  movement.
  For example: A Tyranid cruiser wishes to move towards the enemy fleet
  in support of its hive ship but fails the Ld test. We check the Instinctive
  Orders table – there are no celestial phenomena or enemy ships close or
  in range but there is a planet on the table. The cruiser has to move
  towards the planet even though this actually takes it further away from
  the enemy fleet it wished to close with.
  Brace for Impact
  During either players’ turn, Tyranid ships/squadrons can go onto Brace for
  Impact orders by testing against the leadership of the nearest hive ship
  within 45cm. If no hive ships are within range then bio-ships use a default
  leadership 7 for the test instead.
  As normal this order is only removed at the end of the Tyranids’ next turn.
  Ships on Brace For Impact orders which are acting instinctively obey the
  movement restrictions listed above but do not change their special orders.
  
  NAVIGATION
  All Tyranid ships are naturally adapted void-
  swimming organisms and make all Leadership
  checks to navigate celestial phenomena on a
  default leadership of 10.
  SHOOTING
  Tyranid ships always target the nearest enemy
  ship unless a special Vanguard drone ship
  ‘highlights’ another enemy within range. No
  leadership test is allowed for Tyranid ships to
  select a target other than the nearest. Ordnance
  markers are always ignored and may not be fired
  on at all.
  Vanguard drone ships highlight all enemies
  (including ordnance) within 15cm, and these
  can be targeted freely by any other vessels in the
  Tyranid fleet which are within range, without
  requiring a separate command check to ignore
  closer vessels.
  BOARDING
  Tyranids are a horror in Boarding actions. A
  fearless, animalistic rush of clawed, fanged
  monsters has been the death knell of many a
  ship. 
  Tyranids always count double their boarding
  value, plus they roll 2D6 and use the highest
  result in boarding actions. Tyranids ignore blast
  marker effects when boarding enemy vessels.
  Hit-&-Run Attacks
  The nightmarish innards of a bio-ship are an
  environment hostile enough to rival the worst
  death-worlds. Even finding a target amongst the
  organs, nerve centres and arteries is difficult,
  and in the face of a horde of enraged Tyranid
  bio-constructs it often becomes fatal. 
  Because of this hit-&-run attacks against Tyranid
  ships roll two D6 and take the lowest result.
  Tyranid ships can make hit-&-run teleporting
  attacks just like other ships in the End phase.
  The Tyranid player adds +1 to the result when
  making hit-&-run raids.
  ALL IS LOST
  No crew would ever surrender their vessel to
  the Tyranids, or let themselves be consumed by
  the horrors one by one, trapped in their metal
  tombs. Many times desperate vessels have
  destroyed themselves rather than succumb to
  that fate. To represent this, Capital ships can
  attempt to self destruct when boarded by
  Tyranids by passing a Leadership test in the End
  phase. If the test is failed the crew must face
  their terrible fate at the hands of the Tyranids. If
  the test is passed roll a D6; on a 1-3 the ship
  suffers the catastrophic damage result of plasma
  drive overload. On a 4-6 the ship suffers the
  warp drive implosion result instead.
  Designer’s note: I’ve deliberately opted to
  trade off Tyranid ships becoming less offensive
  when crippled but remaining difficult to finish
  off. This is to encourage a greater reliance on
  escorts to protect the larger vessels and to
  encourage hive ships and cruisers to attempt
  disengagement, boarding actions or ramming
  when crippled. 
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  83
  
  Bio-plasma
  Bio-plasma is treated like a lance shot – roll one
  dice per point of Strength, and it hits on a 4+
  regardless of armour. Because it is a relatively
  slow moving attack, like that of a bomber
  squadron, 
  bio-plasma 
  ignores 
  shields.
  Unfortunately, this factor also limits the range of
  bio-plasma to 15cm. Bio-plasma is affected by
  special orders and crippling just like ordinary
  lance batteries.
  Feeder Tentacles
  Many Tyranid ships have huge tentacles which
  they use to ‘feed’ on planetary atmospheres, and
  which can also be used to punch through the
  hull of a ship allowing the Tyranid organisms
  inside to assault the enemy. When the ship
  moves into contact with an enemy ship, it
  attacks with its feeder tentacles. Roll a D6. On a
  score of 1, 2 or 3 it makes this many hit-and-run
  attacks on the target as scattered broods of
  Tyranid creatures rampage through the vessel.
  On a score of 4, 5 or 6, enough bio-engineered
  nasties are delivered to score one point of
  damage on the ship and a hit-&-run raid (the
  damage can cause critical damage as normal
  too). 
  The Tyranid ship can continue moving after
  making 
  the 
  feeder 
  tentacle 
  attack 
  and
  shoot/launch ordnance later in the turn, but
  may only attack one ship per turn. Feeder
  tentacles are unaffected by special orders of any
  kind. If a bio-ship becomes crippled, its feeder
  tentacles may no longer attack.
  For example: A Tyranid ship equipped with
  feeder tentacles is in contact with an Imperial
  ship. It rolls a D6 and scores a 4, inflicting a
  point of damage and a hit-and-run raid on the
  target ship. In addition the Tyranid vessel may
  continue moving and still fire its weapons in
  the Shooting phase.
  Massive Claws
  Tyranid vessels are terrifying in combat at close
  quarters. Not only are they packed full of bio-
  engineered killing machines, often the ships
  themselves have specially evolved claws
  designed to rip through the armour of its target,
  or crushing mandibles that latch onto the ship’s
  prey and then slowly but inevitably tear through
  decks and gantries. When the Tyranid ship
  moves into base contact with an enemy, roll two
  D6, each roll of a 4+ inflicts one hit on the
  target, ignoring shields but not holofields. 
  If the claws hit only once or not at all, the
  Tyranid ship can continue moving after making
  the attack and shoot/launch ordnance later in
  the turn, but may only attack one ship per turn.
  If both attacks hit then the vessel has grabbed
  the target in its fearsome grip and will not let go
  until either it or its prey is destroyed. Neither
  vessel can move if they are of the same class or
  smaller (ie, capital ship to capital ship), a larger
  class vessel may still move but only at half rate.
  Both ships may shoot at half effectiveness (nova
  cannon and similar special weapons cannot
  fire). In every End phase roll to attack again
  (two dice needing 4+ to hit). If any two attacks
  hit when a vessel is already grappled then it
  takes a third additional hit. Either ship may
  conduct boarding actions as normal. Massive
  claw attacks can cause critical hits as normal.
  Massive claws are unaffected by special orders of
  any kind. If a bio-ship becomes crippled its
  massive claws may no longer attack.
  Pyro-acidic Batteries
  These Tyranid weapons work by launching
  compact organic shells containing virulent
  toxins and pyro-acids. These can cause
  considerable damage on impact, but it is the
  release of their ravening payloads into the
  confines of a ship that can prove the most
  deadly. Pyro-acidic battery fire is worked out in
  the same way as an ordinary ship’s weapon
  battery. Any ship which is hit by pyro-acid
  weapons has a chance that they will continue to
  be eaten away by the deadly bio-agents. Ships
  which suffer a critical hit from a pyro-acid
  weapon automatically receive an additional fire
  critical result as well (it’s not actually a fire, but
  the long-term effect is comparable). Pyro-acid
  batteries are affected by special orders and
  crippling just like ordinary weapon batteries.
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  84
  TYRANID WEAPONS
  Tyranid Ship Types
  Tyranid ships are much more flexible than the
  ships of other races, as new designs are
  constantly being evolved and encountered by
  the Imperium. To represent this, rather than
  picking a fleet from a selection of pre-set ship
  classes, a Tyranid player can design certain
  elements of their ships themselves. The ships
  are broken down into several categories,
  based upon their size and role. This gives the
  ship its basic statistics. It may also be given
  some ‘fixed’ weapons (including the number
  of spores it can launch). The rest of the entry
  details the various weapon options available,
  which can be purchased at the appropriate
  points cost as shown in the fleet list. 
  Each ship is limited as to how many weapon
  choices it may have on a given location, but
  where more than weapon is permitted you
  may select multiples of the same weapon (eg,
  a Tyranid hive ship which can have up to three
  port/starboard weapons could pick three sets
  of launch bays if you wish).
  “T
  eeth, claws, tentacles, spines – give me
  guns, oh Emperor give me guns! I
  know how to fight an enemy who attacks me
  with guns!” 
  - Captain Endolus 
  at the Battle of Macragge
  
  SPORES
  Tyranid ships do not have turrets or shields in the
  normal sense, and instead rely on emitting a
  constantly replenished physical barrier of spore
  clouds. Every spore is a Pandora’s box of viral
  compounds, acids and even nucleonic mutagens
  capable of eating through hull armour with
  alarming speed. The combined effect of the
  millions of spores produces an ablative armour
  effect as they absorb weapons fire and ordnance
  directed at the bio-ship they surround.
  Tyranid vessels at the beginning of their turn have
  a number of spore clouds equal to their number
  of spore cysts, which are specified in the bio-
  ship’s characteristics. Spores are automatically
  regenerated at the beginning of a player’s turn in
  the same manner as shields. Spore clouds are not
  cumulative and never exceed the spore cyst
  strength of a given vessel, they are also unaffected
  by the ship’s special orders. If a Tyranid ship is
  crippled, its spore cyst strength is not affected as
  the vessel’s self-defence organisms go into over-
  time to try to protect their host creature.
  Spores as Shields
  A spore cloud will absorb any hit generated by
  weapons fire except from those that specifically
  ignore shields, such as Warp cannon or Particle
  Whip rolls of 6. Special weapons designed to
  affect shields will affect spore clouds in an
  identical manner. Spore clouds are affected by
  Blast markers just like shields on an ordinary
  ship, place a marker in base contact for each
  cloud that absorbs a hit. Spores will also protect
  a bio-ship against shooting and potential damage
  from celestial phenomena in the same manner as
  shields. If an enemy ship gets in base contact with
  a Tyranid vessel it will suffer spore impacts, a
  blast marker is placed in contact with the two
  ships’ bases before any other effects are
  calculated (effectively knocking down one spore
  shield on the Tyranid ship.) Unshielded vessels
  (including those only protected by holofields)
  suffer an automatic hit instead (ie, don’t roll a
  dice), the spore automatically causes one hit
  (with the normal chance of critical damage).
  Spores as Turrets
  If attacked by ordnance a bio-ship treats its
  spore cysts as the number of turrets it can bring
  to bear. Each Blast marker in contact with the
  ship will reduce one spore cloud to hitting on a
  6+ instead of 4+. Unlike normal turret fire,
  both torpedoes and attack craft can be targeted
  by the spores in the same turn.
  Bio-ships can mass their spore cysts in close
  formation against ordnance as described for
  other ships, but they do not gain any shielding
  benefits by doing so. Tyranid spore clouds will
  NOT intercept Tyranid ordnance.
  ORDNANCE
  Some Tyranid ships may have launch bays or
  torpedo batteries. Tyranids may only launch
  boarding torpedoes, fighters and assault boats,
  or rather their biological equivalents in the form
  of giant hull-boring worms, ether-swimming
  brood carriers, protazoid enzymes, ravening
  limpet mines and the like. It is also possible for
  the 
  Tyranid 
  fleet 
  to 
  contain 
  ordnance
  independently of launch bay equipped vessels.
  For reference, the ordnance speeds are as
  follows:
  Fighters
  20cm
  Assaults Boats 
  15cm
  Boarding Torpedoes 
  15cm
  Ordnance Limits
  Tyranid bio-ships are virtual living factories,
  spawning 
  their 
  ordnance 
  as 
  needed.
  Furthermore 
  their 
  broods 
  are 
  virtually
  autonomous and do not require maintenance or
  refuelling and rearming in the same way as
  conventional craft. As such bio-ships have no
  restrictions on the number of ordnance they can
  launch during a game and do not run out of
  ordnance. However, if a bio-ship becomes
  crippled its generative capacities will be turned
  completely to self preservation and it may no
  longer launch ordnance (note that spore clouds
  will still be produced as noted above). 
  CRIPPLED
  To summarise, Tyranid ships suffer the following
  penalties when crippled:
  Speed: -5cm.
  Spore cysts: Unchanged.
  Bio-plasma: Half strength.
  Pyro-acid batteries: Half strength.
  Feeder Tentacles: May not be used.
  Massive claws: May not be used.
  Torpedoes & Attack Craft: None may be
  launched.
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  85
  “B
  attle is grim enough as it is. Seeing the blackness illuminated by a million charges, salvoes and blasts,
  never quite sure whether they will strike you or simply streak off into the void beyond. You never really
  feel like you are aware of it all, like an unseen volley could career into your hull at any second and send the
  ship rocking from stern to bow. But the Tyranids, they are something else. To see a soft, probing tongue
  pressed against the portholes, seeming so harmless, so ineffectual, lulling you into a feeling of safety before
  beaks, teeth and claws shatter the illusion and your ship’s hull alike. Hearing the explosions and commotion
  as another raft of assault boats slam into you is one thing, but then hearing the assault boats scream and howl
  as they dismantle your ship from within, feasting on whatever fool defenders they find in their way is something
  entirely indescribable. I have experienced it once, and I haven’t enough limbs spare to survive it a second time.” 
  “I
  do not care what you can see on the starboard
  side, just get out there and repair that plasma
  leak. You are this ship’s engineer and it is
  incumbent on you to keep here working. I am her
  captain and it is incumbent on me to lead her to
  victory in the Emperor’s name, and judging by the
  way things are going it is incumbent on us both
  to die in the process.”
  - Captain Anakis at the Battle of Macragge
  
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  86
  2D6 
  Extra 
  Roll Damage Result
  2
  +0
  Spore cysts injured. The ship’s spore cysts are badly 
  damaged by the hit. The ship’s spore cysts may not be 
  used until they have been repaired.
  3
  +0
  Starboard armament wounded. The starboard 
  armament is severely injured by the hit. The ship’s 
  starboard armament may not be used again until it 
  has been repaired
  4
  +0
  Port 
  armament 
  wounded.
  Heavy 
  damage 
  wounds the port side weaponry. The ship’s port 
  armament may not be used until it has been repaired.
  5
  +0
  Prow armament wounded. The bio-ship’s prow is 
  ripped open. Its prow armament may not used until 
  it has been repaired.
  6
  +1
  Thorax armament wounded. A large tear in the 
  vessel’s thorax prevents its weapons discharging. The 
  ship may not use its thorax weapons until the damage 
  is repaired.
  7 
  +0
  Heavy wound! Internal organs are ruptured and 
  massive bleeding weakens the vessel. Roll to repair 
  the heavy wound in the End phase, if the wound is 
  not repaired it causes 1 point of extra damage and 
  keeps bleeding.
  8
  +1
  Discharge vents wounded. One of the huge 
  biological valves that manoeuvre the ship through the 
  ether are crippled. The bio-ship may not turn until 
  the damage is repaired.
  9
  +0
  Synapse severed. The nerve bundles which connect 
  the ship to the Hive Mind are badly damaged. The 
  bio-ship cannot have its instinctual orders overridden 
  by the Hive Mind until the damage is repaired.
  10
  +0
  Spore cysts ruptured. The ship’s spore cysts suffer 
  larvae failure and seal up. The bio-ship may no longer 
  use its spore cysts. This damage cannot be repaired.
  11
  +D3
  Severe wound. A huge gash is torn in the ship’s hull, 
  vital fluids freezing instantly as they spill into the void.
  12
  +D6
  Massive haemorrhage. The armoured hide of the 
  ship suffers immense damage, spraying alien ichor far 
  into the void. Make a bio-plasma attack with Strength 
  1 against any other target within 2D6cm. Holofields 
  do not protect against this damage.
  TYRANID CRITICAL HITS TABLE
  2D6 Extra Blast 
  Roll Markers
  Result
  2-7
  +1
  Drifting carcass. The limp remains of the bio-ship 
  drift through the void, pushed forward by sporadic 
  death spasms. The wreck moves 4D6cm forward in 
  each of its subsequent movement phases. Place a blast 
  marker in contact with the corpse’s base after each 
  move.
  8-9
  +1
  Death throes. The ship is wracked by violent muscle 
  contractions, and ichor seeps from dozens of 
  horrendous wounds. The wreck moves 4D6cm 
  forward in each of its subsequent Movement phases. 
  Place a Blast marker in contact with the corpse’s base 
  and roll on the Catastrophic Damage table again after 
  its move.
  10-11
  Half
  Biological 
  eruption. 
  The ship spectacularly 
  Damage
  explodes, hurling gobbets of viral slime and acid over 
  a wide area. Remove the ship from play, leaving 
  behind a number of blast markers equal to half its 
  starting number of hits. Make a pyro-acid attack 
  against every target within 3D6cm, with a firepower 
  equal to the ship’s starting damage.
  12
  Starting
  Bio-plasma detonation. With a blinding flash the 
  Damage
  ship’s main arteries explode with bio-plasma 
  engulfing the creature and spraying dangerously in all 
  directions. Remove the ship from play, leaving behind 
  a number of blast markers equal to its starting 
  number of hits. Make a bio-plasma attack against 
  every target within 3D6cm, with a Strength equal to 
  half the exploding vessel’s starting damage. Shields 
  and holofields are not effective against the detonation.
  TYRANID CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TABLE
  TYRANID CRITICAL HITS & CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE
  Tyranids do not use the normal critical hit and catastrophic damage tables.
  Instead they use the tables presented here. If a critical hit is rolled which
  cannot be applied, for example a ship with no prow weapons gets a Prow
  Armament wounded critical, apply the next highest critical instead. In this
  case the ship would suffer thorax armament damage.
  
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  87
  T
  yranid hive ships are monstrous, void
  swimming leviathans that are found at
  the very heart of the hive fleets.
  Tremendous physical variety has been
  observed in these behemoths, although
  thick, stone-like armour plates and dense
  clusters of weapon growths are common
  features. 
  Despite 
  their 
  seemingly
  impossible size, hive ships are living
  creatures incorporating millions of bio-
  engineered organisms. Each is a biological
  factory capable of creating millions of
  Tyranid organisms, of replicating genomes
  and splicing together new creatures
  perfectly adapted for each new world
  encountered. Tens of thousands of Tyranid
  warriors are carried aboard hive ships, the
  cocooned officers of nightmare hordes yet
  to be born.
  ONE PROW WEAPON
  ONE THORAX WEAPON
  Up to THREE PORT/STARBOARD WEAPONS
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR
  SPORES
  Battleship/10
  15cm
  45˚
  -
  5+
  4
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  45cm
  8
  Front
  Feeder tentacles & massive claws
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Bio-plasma spines
  15cm
  4
  Front/left/right
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  45cm
  8
  Front
  Bio-plasma discharge
  15cm
  4
  Front/left/right
  Launch Bay
  Assault Boats 15cm
  2
  -
  Fighters 20cm 
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  30cm
  4
  Front
  Bio-plasma discharge
  15cm
  2
  Front/left/right
  Launch bay
  Assault boats: 15cm
  1
  Left/right*
  Fighters: 20cm 
  *Note: This is just a reminder that one
  launch bay is placed one each side, the
  attack craft launched do not have to be
  launched within a specific fire arc.
  *Note: Hiveships are large and cumbersome, and hence may not use Come to New Heading special orders.
  Leviathan hive ship
  TYRANID HIVE SHIP  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pts: varies
  “A
  fatal error, ‘twas, listening to that
  damned old fool. We were carrying
  virus bombs for the planet below, but
  Hergol told us since we were in a jam,
  we might launch a few at the things in
  space, only it didn’t do a thing to ‘em.
  Well, so we thought until the damned
  things rammed us a week later and got
  hold of the ship. They spat this acid, this
  burning spittle everywhere, and within and
  hour, those that didn’t die from the burns
  were sick as hell with the same virus we’d
  hurled at the beast to begin with.”
  
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  88
  ONE PROW WEAPON
  ONE THORAX WEAPON
  TYRANID CRUISER  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pts: varies
  T
  yranid cruiser class vessels represent a mixture of immature hive ships
  and overgrown escort drones. They are aggressive in their attacks,
  storming out from the hive fleet in response to any threat to the massive
  hive ships, often using claws and tentacles to make direct attacks on ships
  in an effort to physically smash them to pieces. Cruiser sized Tyranid bio-
  ships are seldom found far from the hive ship, however, and it has been
  theorised that they receive their nourishment from them in some manner.
  Tyranid cruisers are arguably the greatest threat within the Tyranid fleet,
  since they are themselves massive and well-armed, whilst not being relied
  upon as a synapse creature. This allows cruisers to attack far more
  aggressively than hive-ships, since their loss will not greatly endanger
  associated elements of the fleet. As with most Tyranids vessels, however,
  their threat is only really effective at close range.
  Note: Prow and thorax torpedoes cannot be combined into a single
  salvo, they must be launched separately.
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR
  SPORES
  Cruiser/6
  20cm
  45˚
  -
  5+
  2
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  30cm
  8
  Front/left/right
  Feeder tentacles
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Massive claws
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Torpedoes
  15cm
  4
  Front
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Feeder tentacles
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Massive claws
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Torpedoes
  15cm
  4
  Front
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  30cm
  4
  Left/right
  Bio-plasma discharge
  15cm
  2
  Left/right
  UP TO TWO PORT/STARBOARD WEAPONS
  Razorfiend Tyranid cruiser
  W
  yatt was first. The thing got hold of his legs the very same second
  it thundered through the portside airlock. It didn’t have a proper
  hold on him, and it wrestled him around for a few moments, tossing
  and turning him, dragging him and thrashing him against the engines as
  it pulled him in. A second beast crashed through the plasma vent with
  such force that it fatally crushed it’s mate below, though neither seemed
  to care at all. This one found its feet a little quicker and rushed at Borl,
  though having seen Wyatt go that way he hadn’t the stomach for the
  struggle and simply tossed himself into the steampit below. Vandst, De
  Kopf and Jensen fell to this second monstrosity, and before long the
  frantic exodus of panicked engineers was halted by sailors forsaking their
  colleagues, bolting hatches, locking doors and condemning their
  unfortunate mates to the horror within, willing to wait no longer before
  putting hard steel between themselves and the boarders.
  Even this was not enough, and row after row of bulkheads buckled and
  caved as the Tyranids rampaged through the bowels of the engine room.
  The beasts slaughtered all that stood in their way, though before long
  there were more sailors dying at their own hands than at that of the
  unwelcome intruders. Finally, a brave rating by the name of Lysander
  could bear to watch these dozens of sorry suicides no longer and in an
  instant cut-off the plasma overflows around the ship’s port engine. A
  moment later and the confined plasma itself forced these overflows back
  open, but it was already too late, and the explosive force continued to
  build. A moment later, brave Lysander and three thousand other souls
  were no more as a catastrophic plasma drive overload tore apart the Ashes
  of Melchiott.
  
  TYRANID KRAKEN  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pts: varies
  TYRANID VANGUARD DRONE SHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pts: varies
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Escort/1
  25cm
  90˚
  -
  6+
  Special
  G
  igantic organisms perfectly adapted to become predators of the void,
  Kraken represent a serious threat to shipping as they range around far
  from the hive fleet seeking prey. Kraken manifest all manner of bizarre and
  deadly bio-weaponry from the beaked prow of the so-called ‘Ramsmiter
  Kraken’ to the huge acidic projectile launcher of the Deathburner.
  Although they represent no direct threat to planets, being entirely space
  borne, the Kraken have been known to render entire systems indefensible
  due to their voracious appetite for transports, space stations, sealed
  environments and other outposts.
  RECORDED SPECIES
  Ramsmiter Kraken 
  Deathburner
  Smeltfeaster
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Escort/1
  25cm
  90˚
  -
  5+
  (Spores 1)
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  30cm
  6
  Front
  Massive claws
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Feeder tentacles
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Torpedoes
  15cm
  2
  Front
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  30cm
  2
  Front
  Feeder tentacles
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  V
  anguard drone ships range far ahead of the main fleets at times, seeking
  suitable worlds for the hive ships to feast upon. They carry specific
  Tyranid infiltration organisms, such as Genestealers, Lictors, Hormagaunts
  and Leapers which they seed onto likely worlds with spores from low orbit.
  Vanguard drone ships in close proximity to the hive fleets are those which
  have either recently returned with such scouting information, or are about
  to depart with their cargo of woe for more worlds. The threat posed by
  these organisms to countless planets is such that they are often priority
  targets in raids against the hive fleets.
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  89
  Special Rules: Kraken have no spore cysts but are amazingly durable and capable of regenerating damage. As such Kraken count as always being
  on Brace for Impact special orders when they take damage, receiving a 4+ save against each hit sustained, including those sustained when rolling
  a 6 for moving through blast markers. This ability in no way affects the Kraken and they may use other special orders as normal.
  UP TO ONE WEAPON
  UP TO ONE WEAPON
  Special Rules: Enemy within 15cm of a Vanguard drone ship can
  always be targeted by other Tyranid vessels.
  “T
  ake care how you slay them, and where they fall. We gunned a
  dozen of them down once, over Rilenor, only to find the things
  had survived and spawned a thousand more monstrosities in the hidden
  places of poor Rilenor.”
  
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  90
  TYRANID ESCORT DRONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pts: varies
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR TURRETS
  Escort/1
  15cm
  45˚
  -
  5+
  (Spores 1)
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Pyro-acid battery
  30cm
  4
  Front
  Feeder tentacles
  Contact
  Special
  Front
  Bio-plasma discharge
  15cm
  2
  Front
  Slow and heavy in comparison to the other Tyranid escort class vessels,
  escort drones are heavily armed for their size and usually come mob-
  handed. They are often the hive ship’s last line of defence and cluster in
  dense shoals about the behemoth’s flanks.
  UP TO ONE WEAPON
  Special Rules: Escort drones subject to Instinctive Behaviour case
  7 (‘must move towards a planet’) may instead move towards the
  nearest hive ship.
  TYRANID VANGUARD FLEET LIST
  Tyranid Vanguard fleets represent elements
  of the hive fleet snaking out ahead of the
  main fleet. Vanguard fleets lack hive ships,
  but do allow their vessels to have some
  degree of autonomy. Vanguard fleets offer
  an alternative to the full Hive fleet list, and
  make an ideal raiding force, or a force for
  smaller games in campaigns.
  VANGUARD DRONE SHIPS
  Your fleet may include any number of
  Vanguard drone ships
  Vanguard drone ship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 pts
  Weapons. A Vanguard drone ship must be
  armed with one weapon chosen from the
  following list:
  Pyro-acid battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Feeder tentacles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  KRAKEN
  Your fleet may include any number of Kraken.
  Kraken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 pts
  Weapons. A Kraken must be armed with one
  weapon chosen from the following list:
  Pyro-acid battery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +15 pts
  Feeder tentacles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Massive claws  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +10 pts
  Torpedoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +15 pts
  SQUADRONS
  Tyranids do not follow the normal squadron
  rules when forming up the fleet. Vanguard
  drone ships and Kraken may be deployed in
  squadrons of 6 to 12 models. You may combine
  the two types in a single squadron if you wish.
  LEADERSHIP
  Vanguard fleets contain no hive ships and
  instead are acting on a heightened form of
  instinct, moving ahead of the main fleet in order
  to scout out new worlds ripe for conquest.
  Escort squadrons in a Tyranid Vanguard fleet
  each have a Leadership value equal to the
  number of vessels remaining in the squadron
  (up to a maximum of 10).
  INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR
  Escort squadrons in a Tyranid Vanguard fleet
  may take a Leadership test at the start of each
  turn in order to override their Instinctive
  Behaviour, just as if they were in range of a hive
  ship. Each squadron uses their own Leadership
  for the test (you can’t use that of a nearby ship
  or squadron) and if failed, uses Instinctive
  behaviour as normal. 
  
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  91
  FLEET COMMANDER
  The Tyranid player may opt to include the direct
  influence of the Hive Mind in lieu of having a fleet
  commander. These take the form of Hive Mind
  Influence re-rolls and Hive Mind Imperatives.
  Hive Mind Influence re-rolls work in the same
  way as normal fleet commander re-rolls. Hive
  Mind Imperatives cause a Command check or
  Leadership test to be passed automatically. The
  decision to use a Hive Mind Imperative must be
  taken before the dice are rolled.
  Hive Mind Influence re-roll  . . . . . . . . 30 pts each
  A maximum of one Hive Mind Influence re-roll
  can be purchased per hive ship in the fleet.
  Hive Mind Imperative  . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 pts each
  A maximum of one Hive Mind Imperative can be
  purchased per two hive ships in the fleet, though a
  single hive mind imperative may be purchased as
  long as the fleet contains at least one hive ship.
  HIVE SHIPS
  Each hive ship allows the Tyranid player to
  purchase 6-12 escort ships and 0-2 capital ships. 
  Hive ship (Ld 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 pts
  Increase to Ld 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +40 pts
  Weapons. A hive ship must be armed with
  weapons chosen from the following list:
  One Prow Weapon:
  Pyro-acid battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+30 pts
  Feeder tentacle & massive claws  . . . . . . +15 pts
  Bio-plasma spines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts
  Torpedoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+25 pts
  One Thorax Weapon:
  Pyro-acid battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+30 pts
  Bio-plasma discharge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts
  Launch bay:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts
  Up to Three Port/Starboard Weapons:
  Pyro-acid battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+15 pts
  Bio-plasma discharge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts
  Launch bay:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts
  CAPITAL SHIPS
  You may include up to 2 capital ships for each
  hive ship in the fleet.
  Tyranid cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 pts
  Weapons. A Tyranid cruiser must be armed
  with weapons chosen from the following list:
  One Prow Weapon:
  Feeder tentacle  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +10 pts
  Massive claws  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Torpedoes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+10 pts
  One Thorax Weapon:
  Feeder tentacle  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +10 pts
  Massive claws  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Torpedoes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+10 pts
  Up to Two Port/Starboard Weapons:
  Pyro-acid battery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+15 pts
  Bio-plasma discharge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .+20 pts
  ESCORTS
  You may include between 6 and 12 escort class
  ships for each hive ship. If no hive ships are
  chosen, only Kraken and Vanguard drone ships
  may be included in the fleet.
  Vanguard drone ship  . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 pts
  Weapons. A Vanguard drone ship must be
  armed with one weapon chosen from the
  following list:
  Pyro-acid battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Feeder tentacles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Escort Drone  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 pts
  Weapons. A Tyranid escort drone must be
  armed with one weapon chosen from the
  following list:
  Pyro-acid battery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +10 pts
  Feeder tentacles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Bio-plasma discharge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Kraken  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 pts
  Weapons. A Kraken must be armed with one
  weapon chosen from the following list:
  Pyro-acid battery  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +15 pts
  Feeder tentacles  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +5 pts
  Massive claws  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +10 pts
  Torpedoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +15 pts
  SQUADRONS
  Tyranids do not follow the normal squadron
  rules when forming up the fleet. Tyranid Escorts
  come as squadrons of 1 to 12 vessels, while all
  other types are individuals and may not deploy
  in squadrons.
  ORDNANCE
  Up to 10% of the fleet’s points allowance may
  be spent on Ordnance markers as long as at
  least one hive ship is chosen.
  Str 4 Boarding Torpedo markers . . . 12 pts each
  Assault boat markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 pts each
  Fighter markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 pts each
  Ordnance may be formed up into waves which
  are treated as squadrons for the purposes of
  deployment. In a campaign, ordnance does not
  form a permanent part of the fleet and is ‘used
  up’ in a battle.
  WEAPONS
  Most Tyranid vessels are permitted to choose
  their weapons from a number of choices by
  paying the additional points cost indicated. This
  should all be fairly self-explanatory, but one
  thing to remember is that when buying
  ‘port/starboard weapons’ the points cost
  indicated provides you with one port weapon
  and one starboard weapon (of the same type)
  for the points cost indicated. So, if you chose
  port/starboard launch bays for a hive ship, you
  should remember to note down that the vessel
  has port launch bays and starboard launch bays.
  Each port/starboard weapon uses the profile
  given (ie, don’t ‘split’ their firepower).
  TYRANID HIVE FLEET LIST
  
  As the hive fleet sails relentlessly on through
  space, it is continually evolving to meet the
  enemies that it faces. Individual organisms
  adapt and refine themselves with each new
  encounter, while the hive ships perpetually alter
  the morphology of the new organisms birthed
  by the fleet. As such, the hive fleet is a
  continually changing mass, both individually
  and collectively. This natural adaptation is
  represented in the Tyranid fleet list in the way
  that other races have special refits.
  These refits can be incorporated by capital ships
  or individual escorts except where specifically
  noted otherwise for the cost indicated. During a
  campaign, no one ship can gain more than one
  different kind of special refit before each battle. 
  With the exception of reinforced carapace and
  extra spore cysts, no single bio-enhancement
  may be granted more than once. No hive ship
  may ever have more than three different special
  refits, no cruiser more than two and no escort
  more than one. These improvements represent
  the only means of evolving against increasingly
  capable foes, for Tyranids operate under
  Instinctive Behaviour or under direction of the
  Hive Mind, and thus they cannot take on crew
  skills.
  Because the equivalent of Tyranid torpedoes are
  always boarding torpedoes, Tyranids cannot use
  the torpedo refits available to other races. 
  If a degree of randomness is desired the
  following refits can be rolled against 2D6 using
  the restrictions listed previously.
  2 
  Solar Vanes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +15 pts
  The ship has bio-engineered solar wings that
  spread to absorb the smallest amount of
  ambient radiated energy from surrounding
  space. The ship gains +5cm speed.
  3 
  Adrenaline Sacs  . . . . . . . . . . +10 pts
  The primary propulsion valves and constrictor
  muscles at the rear of the bio-ship have grown in
  size and strength. The ship gains +1D6 when on
  All Ahead Full special orders. 
  4
  Psychic Scream  . . . . . . . . . . . +20 pts 
  The bio-ship’s connection to the Hive Mind is so
  pervasive that an indelible psychic reverberation
  surrounds the ship, marring its visage to one
  even more ghastly and fearsome than normal
  and instilling visceral terror in any that
  approach. Any enemy vessels within 15cm suffer
  -2Ld. Intended solely for hive ships. 
  5
  More Discharge Vents  . . . . . . +15 pts
  The number of discharge vents along the beast’s
  length has increased dramatically. The creature
  reduces the distance it needs to move before
  turning by 5cm. Not intended for escorts.
  6 
  Extra Spore Cysts  . . . . . +10 pts each
  The ship gains one spore cyst. No more than
  two spore cysts can be gained in this manner. 
  7 
  Reinforced Carapace  . . . +10 pts each
  The creature has grown to an inordinate size
  with 
  correspondingly 
  reinforced 
  internal
  endostructures and additional ablative carapace,
  increasing its total mass and capacity to sustain
  damage. The ship gains +1 Hit. No more than
  four additional Hits may be gained in this
  manner. If rolling randomly, a cruiser which
  attains 10 Hits in this way matures into a hive
  ship! Not intended for escorts.
  8
  Mucous Membrane  . . . . . . . . +20 pts
  The bio ship is covered with a slimy coat of
  mucous making it difficult for relatively slower
  moving ordnance to attack or damage it
  effectively. Bombers and assault boats suffer a -1
  modifier (in addition to any other modifiers)
  when rolling their Attack roll, and all torpedoes
  must roll +1 to hit (maximum of 6+). Ranged
  weapon hits remain unaffected.
  9
  Accelerated Healing  . . . . . . . +10 pts
  The bio-ship has enhanced its ability to heal
  critical wounds, enabling capital ships to roll
  two extra dice in the End phase when
  attempting to repair critical damage. Not
  intended for escorts.
  10
  Drone Link  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +20 pts
  The creature maintains an unbroken link with
  the Vanguard drone ships and hive ships of the
  swarm. When within 15cm of a Vanguard drone
  ship, all pyro-acid batteries benefit from a left
  shift on the Gunnery table (before all other
  modifiers). 
  11
  Tenacity  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +20 pts
  The creature has evolved the capability of
  effectively bringing its weapons to bear on its
  enemies even when following the prerogative of
  the Hive Mind. When on All Ahead Full, Burn
  Retros or Come to New Heading special orders,
  its pyro-acid batteries and bio-plasma weapons
  are unaffected. 
  12
  Mega-Spore Mines  . . . . . . . .
  Ships equipped with assault boat launch bays
  can exchange all their launch bays for spore
  mine launchers. Each launch bay can launch one
  mega-spore mine In the Ordnance phase Mega-
  spore mines follow all movement and ordnance
  rules mines do on p.142 of the rulebook, but
  when rolling against armour to inflict hits, it
  inflicts that number of fire criticals instead. Not
  intended for escorts. 
  TYRANID VESSELS
  ARMADA
  92
  EVOLUTION OF THE HIVE MIND
  +10 pts per 
  launch bay
  “W
  e fought them the first day, and our guns
  tore through them with ease. We fought
  them the second day and saw our missiles bounce
  off a thickened skin they seemed now to bear, so
  we turned out lances on ‘em. We fought them the
  third day, and no cursed thing worked!”
  
  TYRANID VESSELS
  SCENARIO NOTES
  Some commentary and notes on using the
  scenarios in the BFG rulebook with a hivefleet.
  CRUISER CLASH
  No modifications needed – ignore the fleet list
  restrictions on cruisers above. For the purposes
  of this scenario, Ld on ‘Brace for Impact’ orders
  is 7, and Ld when navigating celestial
  phenomenon is 10.
  THE BAIT
  No modifications needed – this will be typically
  a single hive ship plus its immediate escorts
  either being lured off or ambushing an enemy
  away from the main hive fleet. Also makes a
  good scenario with Vanguard drone ships and
  Kraken.
  THE RAIDERS
  No modifications needed, Tyranids work equally
  well as attackers or defenders.
  SURPRISE ATTACK
  A good scenario for either an attack on a Hive
  fleet stripping a planet or an unexpected
  Tyranid incursion. No modification needed.
  BLOCKADE RUN
  Either an escape attempt from a doomed planet
  trying to get past the encroaching hive fleet or
  Tyranid forces trying to return to the main fleet
  after scouting a new world to consume. As such
  no modifications are needed.
  CONVOY
  Tyranids don’t have convoys, being a void-
  dwelling race. They make good attackers
  though.
  PLANETARY ASSAULT
  The classic Tyranid scenario – an attempt to
  invade and subdue a populated world. Tyranid
  hive fleets don’t add extra transport ships but
  instead score 1 Assault Point for spore cyst on
  ships which get within 30cm of the planet’s
  surface. Each Strength point of torpedoes and
  each assault boats marker
  which reaches the surface also
  scores one Assault Point. On
  defence the Tyranids can
  spend additional points for
  planetary 
  defences 
  on
  Ordnance.
  ESCALATING ENGAGEMENT
  Tyranid hive fleets tend to remain concentrated
  yet their slow speed hive ships make them
  vulnerable in this scenario. To balance this the
  Tyranid player adds +1 to the roll for divisions
  to arrive on the tabletop. 
  EXTERMINATUS
  Tyranids will never be the attacking forces in an
  exterminatus scenario – substitute Planetary
  Assault instead if randomly generated. Worlds
  infested by Tyranids are all too often the
  recipients of Exterminatus, however, so
  hive fleets make good defenders. On
  defence the Tyranids can spend
  additional points for planetary
  defences on Ordnance.
  FLEET ENGAGEMENT
  Tyranid hive fleets operate
  with no modification in a
  fleet engagement.
  
  Three corrosive acid bolts struck Heroic Endeavour on the lower section of her engine compartment. In panic, her Adeptus Mechanicus enginseers shut
  the engines down, venting her combustion chambers as they realised the acid was eating away at the plasma cells that powered the engines. Their quick
  thinking undoubtedly saved the ship and, to their immense relief, emergency procedures were able to halt the damage before the acids could breach the
  volatile fuel stores. Four hundred and thirty-seven men lost their lives in the attack, but her sister ship, Von Becken, was not so fortunate.
  The full force of the Tyranid weapons struck Von Becken broadside on, just behind her swept prow. The sheer force of impact smashed the bolts
  through the first layered sections of armoured panels, before the bio-acids ate through the remainder and the full force of the Tyranid weapons engulfed
  the mid-level decks of the ship.
  Hundreds died in the first moments of impact, smashed to pulp or sucked into space as explosive decompression blew out adjacent sections of the hull.
  The acids filled compartments with burning fluids that dissolved flesh and metal in a heartbeat, the fumes as lethal as any nerve agent devised by the
  Adeptus Mechanicus. Blast doors rumbled closed, sealing off the area of the impact, but the corrosive fluid liquefied the doors and spilled onwards,
  dissolving decks and pouring down onto the screaming men below.
  The Von Becken’s hull, already weakened by the acids and under stress from the violent manoeuvring screeched in protest, finally buckling as the venerable
  ship split in two. 
  Torpedoes launched from the Cobras of Hydra squadron streaked through space on blazing tail plumes, arcing for the nearest of the giant manta-like
  creatures. A cloud of spores drifted before the ship, and as the torpedoes closed the gap, a swarm of them surged forwards to intercept the missiles.
  Explosions rippled through the cloud of spores as the torpedoes smashed through them, some detonating prematurely, some broken apart by the acidic
  explosions of the spores.
  Not all the torpedoes could be stopped and a handful slammed into the body of the mantis creature, the primary warheads vaporising a chunk of its
  hide, before the tail sections exploded, thrusting the powerful centre section of the weapons deep inside the creature to detonate.
  The monster’s belly heaved as the torpedoes exploded one after the other and it listed drunkenly as its lifeblood poured from its gaping wounds. But
  as grievously wounded as it was, the creature was by no means finished, and it could still fight back. A swelling of intercostal motion pulsed along the
  top of the creature and a flurry of jagged spines rippled from its flanks, thousands hurtling towards its attackers like enormous javelins. At such range,
  the odds of hitting a relatively fast moving target such as a destroyer were huge, but if you factored in the sheer number and density of the spine
  cloud the odds changed dramatically.
  Two Cobras exploded as hundred metre spines hammered through their armour, smashing through the armaplas and ceramite hulls with horrifying ease.
  The lead vessel’s bridge was destroyed upon first impact, penetrated from prow to stern by a dozen spines, while the second was reduced to a blazing
  hulk as three giant spines penetrated her engine core and started dozens of uncontrollable conflagrations.
  The last vessel, shielded from instant annihilation by her sister ships, was nevertheless struck several glancing blows and suffered horrendous damage as
  several torpedoes being readied for launch exploded in her launch bays. Her crews fought to bring the damage under control, but her captain was forced
  to disengage from the battle. His ship’s primary weapon systems were damaged beyond immediate repair and there was nothing more he or his ship
  could do to alter the outcome of the battle.
  – From the novel ‘Warriors of Ultramar’ by Graham McNeill, courtesy of the Black Library
  TYRANID VESSELS
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Warhammer/40k/Battlefleet Gothic/Supplementals/BFG_Necron_and_Tyranid_Fleets.pdf