Deep within the heart of these ancient vessels are unexplored areas twisted and altered by their journeys through the warp. The rules presented in this section provide a new way to play, representing two rival warbands coming across one another in these strange and dangerous sections.

A number of half-sized mission maps are presented, each requiring only one of the two game boards that are found within the Warhammer 40,000 Boarding Actions Terrain Set and half of the wall and hatchway pieces. This allows any two of these maps to be combined together to create a wide variety of different environments to fight across. When players muster their Boarding Patrols, they will select which mission map they want to use for their side of the battlefield and then make a note of this on their army roster.

In organised play or tournament events, this information can be included on each player’s army roster, making it quick and easy for players to move between games without having to take apart their assembled scenery between rounds, or, if time allows, players can be allowed to change which deployment map they wish to use after each battle.

1. Muster Boarding Patrol

The players must first select their Boarding Patrol, as described in Arks of Omen: Abaddon.

In addition, each player must select one of the half-sized mission maps presented below to use for their half of the battlefield and make a note of this on their army roster. During the battle, each player will make use of the Entry Zones on the battlefield half that they selected.

Players must then provide a copy of their army roster for their opponent to read through. If, when players compare their points total, one player’s is at least 30 points less than their opponents, then the player with the smaller points total is the Underdog, and they may receive an Underdog bonus as detailed in the mission they are playing.

2. Read Mission Briefing

There is only one mission briefing for Dark Depths games, which is found below and details the objectives that award victory points to the players. This does not mean that Dark Depths games lack variety or replayability, however, instead this comes from the huge range of mission maps that can be created from combining different battlefield halves together. We encourage players to experiment and try out different selections for their Boarding Patrols, to see what works best for them. Players should read and familiarise themselves with this mission briefing before proceeding.

3. Create the Battlefield and Place Objective Markers

Players now create the battlefield and set up terrain features. Each player sets up their half of the battlefield according to the mission map that they selected. Each of these maps will show the position of all the terrain features and the objective markers that go on them.

Each of these mission maps will also indicate how they align with each other as shown here.

4. Form Boarding Squads

Each unit in your Boarding Patrol that has a Unit Strength of 10 must now be split into multiple units, each containing 5 models. When splitting a unit, make a note of which models form each of the two new units. From this point onwards, these split units count as independent units for all rules purposes.

5. Generate Starting Command Points

Each player starts with 1 Command point.

6. Deploy Armies

Players roll off and, starting with the winner, alternate setting up their units one at a time. Each player uses the Entry Zones from the mission map they selected. For each of those Entry Zones, that player sets up one unit within that Entry Zone.

If a unit has a pre-battle rule that allows it to be set up anywhere on the battlefield, that unit is instead set up wholly within 6" of its Entry Zone. That Entry Zone is then considered to have had a unit set up within it, and cannot have another unit set up within it before the start of the battle. If one player finishes deploying all their units, their opponent then deploys the remainder of their units, until either both players have set up one unit per Entry Zone, or all units have been deployed.

If both players have units with abilities that allow them to be set up after both armies have deployed, players must roll off after all other units have been set up and alternate setting up these units, starting with the winner.

7. Determine Reserves

Any units in a player’s army that do not start the battle on the battlefield, will start the battle in Strategic Reserves. This does not cost any Command points to do so.

In the Reinforcements step of a player’s Movement phase (starting from the first battle round onwards), that player can select one of their Strategic Reserves units for each of their Entry Zones that has no models within it and set those units up in those Entry Zones.

If one or more of a players Strategic Reserves units has a rule that would allow them to be set up in a location other than the battlefield (e.g. Teleport Strike) then in each of that players turns (starting from the second battle round onwards), one of those units can be set up on the battlefield as described by their rule that turn, instead of being set up within an Entry Zone. Any Strategic Reserves units that have not arrived on the battlefield by the end of the fourth battle round count as having been destroyed (this does not apply to units that are placed into Strategic Reserves, after the first battle round has started).

8. Determine First Turn

Players roll off and the winner takes the first turn.

9. Resolve Pre-battle Abilities

Each player can resolve a single pre-battle ability that units in their army may have, irrespective of how many units in their army may have them, starting with the player who will take the first turn.

10. Begin the Battle

The first battle round begins. Players continue to resolve battle rounds until the battle ends.

11. Ending the Battle

The battle ends after five battle rounds have been completed. If one player has no models remaining in their army at the start of their turn, the other player may continue to play out their turns until the battle ends.

12. Determine Victor

At the end of the battle, the player with the most victory points is the winner. If players are tied, the battle is a draw.

Each player can score a maximum of 90 victory points from mission objectives (any excess victory points awarded are discounted). If every model in a player’s army was painted to a Battle Ready standard, that player is awarded a bonus 10 victory points. This gives players a maximum total score out of 100 victory points.

MISSION BRIEFING
The depths of the largest, most ancient ships are sometimes entered only by servitors and vermin for decades at a time. Those souls who eventually do venture into them have little idea of what to expect, or find what they believed to be true about their vessels deepest regions to now be false - why, they do not know.

MISSION RULES
Underdog Bonus: If one player is the Underdog, that player starts the battle with 1 additional Command point.

OBJECTIVES


MISSION GENERATOR
Halve 1: Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon Zeta Theta Iota Halve 2: Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon Zeta Theta Iota