Ship Battles - Closest Target

Hey,

I played a game of Mordheim AHOY! (ummm... Mordheim combined with Warhammer AHOY! ) against a Dark Elf warband last night. We're both very new at combining Warhammer AHOY! with Mordheim and are still learning the rules of Warhammer AHOY! and working out what needs to be adjusted from both rule sets to make the combination work. Anyway, my opponent put his single Cold One Beasthound at the very edge of his ship with his shooting warriors half an inch back because it forced me to shoot at the animal instead of his shooting warriors based on the Mordheim rules for shooting. This is absolutely stupid though since the Cold One Beasthound was far from the 'most immediate threat' to my men since it was on a different SHIP.

So for those who play ship battles with Mordheim... do you enforce the closest target rule when shooting at targets on another ship?

Are there any other tweaks that you make to the rules to allow naval battles to run more smoothly?

Thanks,

Ben

It sounds like you have made your ships too low in the water - consider making a houserule that models in a ship count as elevated even if your ship models are too low to count for that.

In the base Mordheim rules models that are elevated can freely pick their targets and are not restricted to closest model only. I don't know if there is anything in Warhammer Ahoy! that would counteract that.

In my circle we made a houserule that this rule would not apply if someone is on the same level as you in the same building.

Ahh... good thinking. Yeah, we have the same rule too for standard Mordheim. I didn't think of that for the ships though.

I would say that you should perhaps enlightend your friend about the inconveniance of having dog poo in his bed, and then shoot at his other models.

Hey RL,
We do apply the closest target rule. However since most of the ships we use have forecastles and aftcastles (and I have a little used crow's nest), we snipe from the elevated positions. Hochland long rifles are also useful for bypassing missile shields.

Playtable tried that hound meat shield trick a few times but his hounds had a tendency to stupidly jump overboard (if they were still standing...)

Ship construction--this could become an arms race kind of thing. Playtable built his ships for the General's Compendium rules, but he made them ride high. He made 4 small ones so we tend to use those. My ship rides about an inch lower than his, but I've got a tall mast with crow's nest (which playtalble complains bitterly about.)

Our group has a kind of unspoken rule: the closest model rule only able if there is an unbroken space between you. If the target is separated by a large barrier (a river, a chasm, another boat), and the target is NOT a threat to the shooter, than he can pick his target. The second someone from the opposing warband makes it on to the bridge, however, all bets are off- he is now on YOUR side, and counts as closest.

As for the boats, we'd play that you can pick your targets- but if they're 2" away, a distance you can leap from, you're now in "boarding mode", and closest rules apply.

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments. It is all very useful. I'm looking forward to our next naval battle. I'm getting used to the rules (and trying to get others in the group used to the rules too) so that I can propose that we play a Sartosa campaign after our Border Town Burning campaign is complete (which won't be until the end of this year most likely anyway.

Thanks!