Want to see what all the Grandmaster hype is all about? Check out all the rules for the new game in our deeper look into the Adeptus Titanicus itself.
Coming from imgur, these pics have given us a better look into the game itself play wise. Maybe this will help you decide if you want to pull the trigger on getting the game. This is the first in-depth look we’ve seen at some of the rules themselves in print.
Titanicus Quick References
GW thought it was a good idea to put a quick reference page similar to 7th edition hit/wound charts. We don’t blame them for it. It’s nice only needing to go to one spot 90% of the time.
This page will have orders, Repair Actions, Hit Roll Modifiers, Armor Roll Modifiers, Smash Attacks, etc.
Terminal Weapon Cards
Some of the cards that come inside the game were spotted first. Notice something weird about these? They’ve actually got Warhound Titan weapon cards even though there’s still no model for the Warhound. This is solid evidence that we can look for the Warhound in a later expansion. (The Reaver is also present as well, however, we have seen pics for that already)
Weapon Traits
Weapon Traits are basically special rules for the weapons you’re firing. For example, Ordinance Lets you reroll any rolls of 1 for your number of shots. Melee lets you target where you want the hit to go without having any kind of “to hit modifier”.
The Machine Spirit & Damage Effects
While we’re not sure how the Machine Spirit works, our guess is that this could be something like the Titan’s Warlord Trait. Of course, no Titan would come completely without the power of the Machine Spirit.
Once your Titan manages to actually punch through the armor of another Titan, players will need to roll on the damage table.
You could cause minor damage to the body and legs. Or you could punch straight through to the computer systems and force the Titan to shut down completely. It’s all about shot placement.
When a Titan takes enough damage, it looks like you may have to roll a D10 for this chart. Everything on this chart is horrible so try to stay away from it.
Titanicus Legion Rules
Titans will get their own Legion-specific rules. You can take more than one Legion in your force. Maniples have to be from the same Legion but can be reinforced by other Legions. There’s a catch to all this. For every set of Legions you take, your opponent gets 2 CP.
As for Knights, they won’t be able to have Legion rules, but they will get their own House rules. (they’ll come later).
Legio Gryphonicus and Tempestus will be in the core book, but we can look for Household rules and even more Legions in future expansions so sit tight!
Titanicus Movement
In the movement phase, your Titan is allowed to move at its regular speed which will be on the model’s command terminal. It can only move at its full speed as long as it stays within its front-facing arc. The key trick here is that you’re not allowed to change the facing of the model (even though it’ll be tempting).
You can move the Titan diagonally if you want to, but the facing has to stay the same.
Some Titans are agiler than others. A Titan is allowed to turn a number of times equal to the maneuver characteristic on its command terminal. a “turn” counts as a single 45-degree pivot. The cool thing about turning is that you can do it before, during, or after movement and use as many pivots as you are allowed to. Just check the Titan’s command terminal because they’re all different.
Sometimes Titans bump into things. Titans can’t move through friendly units are barriers. If they ever touch bases in the movement phase, they collide. The way colliding works is that both Titans take D6 hits with the strength of the hit equal to the scale of the model. You’re already getting shot at by enemy Titans. Try not to bump into your friends and make matters worse.
Titanicus Combat
Going by the picture, it looks like you’ll have to declare all of your attacks on one target. The first step is to pick your target and once you go down the list, it says “Repeat steps two-five for each weapon”. Make sure you think about how you can maximize your damage on the tabletop. It might not always be worth it to devote an entire Titan’s attacks onto an enemy that’s on its last leg.
When it comes to firing, there’s a lot you have to check for. Once you pick your target, you have to measure the distance. If it’s outside the range of your weapons, the attack automatically fails. (With the way it’s worded, it looks like you can’t pre-measure your ranges.)
After that, you need to make sure the target is within your weapon’s firing arc.
If you are in range and they’re in your firing arc, you need to check for any LOS blocking terrain. If the enemy was smart and tried to stay obscured, you’ll take some penalties.
- 25% obscured: -1 to hit roll
- 50% obscured: -2 to hit roll
It looks like there are no wounding rolls in the game like you would see in 40k. Once you hit your target, the enemy has to roll their saves (if they have void shields up.
Void Shields are going to be extremely powerful while they’re up. It looks like Void Shields make it extremely difficult to lose a Titan turn one. The shield gets weaker and weaker for each save roll you fail, but once the shield collapses, all the other shots you would normally have to roll for are discarded.
Maybe missiles are good for peppering a titan first, then loosening the wrath of the volcano cannons second?
Testing the Armor
Armor rolls are a bit odd. It looks like the player that fired the weapon gets to roll for the armor. To see where your shots landed, you first need to roll the location die. After you found out where your shots hit, roll a D6 for each hit that made it through the enemy’s shields and add the strength of the weapon to it.
You can add bonuses to the roll if you managed to hit the Titan in its side or rear.
Damage Effects
After your Titans fail their saves and armor, look at the page here to see what bad thing happens to them. If your titan takes critical damage four times in the same spot, they suffer catastrophic damage and that is NEVER a good thing.
Nothing on the catastrophic table is good. For example, a 2-4 will make the Titan stumble in a random direction and fall. Titans are massive and even a falling Warhound can easily crush a Questor-class Knight. Anything that the Knight falls on takes D6 hits with strength equal to its scale.
Damage Control
Titans have servitors running around inside the hull. They work to keep the Titan running in the best shape possible. Once you check to see if your reactor overloads, you roll a D6 and pick which repair action you want your Titan to take. Vent your plasma to keep things cool, bring your Void Shields back online, maybe you need one of your weapon systems back.
Because Titans run on that pesky plasma, bad things happen when it gets too hot. Your Titan could take damage from the inside of its core from the plasma overloading itself.
The End Phase
This is the last phase in the turn where players go back and forth finishing game-effects. We won’t know what those effects will look like until we see the full release of the game.
Adeptus Titanicus Core Book Rules REVEALED
At the end of the day, this is the best look we’ve had into the game since it was first previewed and there are definitely exciting times ahead! What weapons will you be taking on your Titans? What Legion are you hoping they add next? Will you be taking more than one Legion despite giving your opponent CPs? Let us know in the comments of our Facebook Hobby Group.
Latest updates on Adeptus Titanicus
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
