TEXT: Vessels of Mars: 
  Ships of the Adeptus Mechanicus
  Knowledge is power
  By Nate Montes, Robert Henderson and Ray Bell
  The Cult Mechanicus believes knowledge to be the manifestation
  of divinity, and holds that anything embodying or containing
  knowledge is holy because of it. The vast foundries of the
  Adeptus Mechanicus are solely responsible for providing to the
  Imperium of Man all technical devices and machinery from
  mundane farm equipment to vast interstellar warships. It is
  ordered in a strong hierarchy, but details on what form this takes
  are not made widely available to those who have not been so
  indoctrinated. Generally, more highly positioned techpriests are
  expected to have more seniority and knowledge than lower
  ones, and are consequently more important as greater
  repositories of knowledge. After many decades of service,
  techpriests may be elevated  to the rank of Magos, from where
  they may begin service in one of the many sub-sect Divisios
  within the Cult. Held in highest regard are the Magos Explorator.
  Obsessed with the quest for knowledge, they search high and
  low across the known galaxy for lost Standard Template
  Constructs and ancient knowledge. A breed apart from regular
  techpriests, any Explorator or member of his team will willingly
  walk into forgotten catacombs, even at risk of death, for snippets
  of long-forgotten knowledge.
  Toward this end the Adeptus Mechanicus have at their disposal a
  large fleet of starships. Because the Quest for Knowledge can
  involve long, ardurous forays into unexplored space, it is
  important that they be heavily armed and armored. This is not
  only for their own protection from thise who covet their
  technology but to engage in combat when necessary to secure
  vital data or artefacts that may prove cruical to the Quest. Though
  the total number of ships the Adeptus Mechanicus has at its
  disposal dispersed among its many forge worlds is far
  outnumbered by that of the Imperial Navy, it goes without saying
  that those responsible for all starship construction reserve for
  themselves among the most powerrful and best-equipped
  warships encountered anywhere in the Imperium. 
  SPECIAL RULES
  While Mechanicus vessels have companies of Skitarii Troopers
  embarked aboard in place of Naval armsmen, the vast majority of
  their crews will be made up of tech-priests with little combat
  experience and servitors hardwired to their posts. Though they
  may conduct hit and run raids normally, boarding actions as well
  as Hit and Run attacks against Mechanicus vessels may re-roll the
  dice if desired, but the second roll stands. Mechanicus vessels
  (including battleships) do not normally utilize assault boats or
  boarding torpedoes.
  Every attempt will be made to recover a Mechanicus vessel that
  is lost. However, they will not allow their holy technology and
  precious knowledge fall into enemy hands. Unlike other fleets,
  Mechanicus vessels can take a leadership check to fire upon their
  own vessels that have been hulked to deny them to the enemy.
  Gifts of the Omnissiah. Adeptus Mechanicus vessels represent
  the very apex of Mankind's technical prowess, and they have
  access to resources and technology unavailable to the vast
  majority of the Imperium. All Mechanicus vessels add +1 to a
  given vessel's original turret value. Mechanicus vessels must also
  roll a D6 once against the Mechanicus Gifts table. These
  improvements are already included in the point cost assigned in
  the Adeptus Mechanicus Fleet List. Re-roll any refit that is not
  applicable to the vessel.
  D6
  Mechanicus Gift
  1
  Emergency Energy Reserves: When crippled, the ship 
  only reduces turrets, shielding and weapons by 25% 
  rather than 50%. The vessel still counts as crippled in 
  every other respect.
  2
  Advanced Engines: The ship gains +5cm speed, as well
  as +1D6 when on All Ahead Full special orders. 
  3
  Repulsor Shielding: Ignore all negative effects of having
  a blast marker or gas clouds in contact with the ship's 
  base as it applies to leadership, movement and 
  repairing critical damage. This effect goes away if the 
  ship suffers “Shields Collapsed” critical damage.
  4
  Fleet Defense Turrets: Up to two turrets on the ship are
  exchanged for fleet defense turrets capable of 
  protecting itself or any one other vessel within 15cm 
  each ordnance phase, adding +2 to the turret strength
  of the ship it is defending (this does not alter bomber 
  attack rolls when used to defend another vessel). These
  otherwise work exactly as normal turrets do in all other
  respects. 
  5
  Gyro-stabilized Targeting Matrix: Ship weapons are 
  reduced to 75% instead of 50% when on All Ahead Full,
  Come To New Heading or Burn Retros special orders. 
  Nova Cannon still cannot fire.
  6
  Augmented Weapon Relays: Weapon batteries shift left 
  on the gunnery table before all other modifiers are 
  applied. Lance hits count double on rolls of a 6.
  USING ADEPTUS MECHANICUS MODELS
  Adeptus Mechanicus models can be used as normal Imperial Navy vessels and be fully integrated into an Imperial
  navy fleet with no restrictions. If used in this manner, they do not have access to any of the Adeptus Mechanicus refits
  or special rules. However, they also use all normal point values and do not have any of the restrictions concerning
  boarding actions, critical damage and assault boats Mechanicus vessels do. 
  
  As the ability to efficiently produce long-range lance weaponry by
  Mars was perfected in late M37, the need to reserve these
  complex and expensive weapons for only a relatively small
  number of their own hulls no longer existed. To avoid raising the
  concern of the Imperial Navy, Mars does not utilize any
  battlecruisers in their own fleets, though they still produce a
  small number of them for the Imperial Navy as required. Instead,
  every Mechanicus cruiser (not light cruiser) is also equipped with
  a single 60cm range dorsal lance turret firing left/front/right.
  These improvements are already included in the point cost
  assigned in the Adeptus Mechanicus Fleet List. Adeptus
  Mechanicus Endeavor and Endurance light cruisers may replace
  their prow torpedoes with a single 30cm range dorsal lance
  turret firing left/front/right for no cost.
  All Adeptus Mechanicus cruisers (not light cruisers) with armor
  6+ prows can replace their prow torpedoes with a Nova Cannon
  for +20 points, even if this option is not normally provided for a
  given cruiser class (such as the Gothic). A Mechanicus
  Retribution battleship can make this trade for +10 points.
  Adeptus Mechanicus cruisers that would normally be equipped
  with 30cm Weapon Batteries can incorporate plasma-boosted
  batteries that increase their range to 45cm for +10 points. All
  Adeptus Mechanicus capital ships  that utilize torpedoes can be
  equipped with refitted torpedoes as described on p. 156 of
  ARMADA for +20 points (+30 points for the Retribution, +10
  points for the Endeavor and Endurance). Mechanicus vessels can
  take any combination, all or none of these improvements as
  desired.
  Quest For Knowledge. The Cult Mechanicus follow Sixteen
  Universal Laws, which define their existence. Possibly the most
  revealing is the Eight Universal Law: The Omnissiah knows all,
  comprehends all, the Omnissiah is the Supreme Being, the entity
  able to comprehend all knowledge in the universe. To fully
  understand the Machine God is the ultimate, overarching goal of
  the Adeptus Mechanicus, and so they strive to attain
  enlightenment through their studies and biological/mechanical
  symbiosis. They are constantly driven by a communal and
  personal attempt to achieve this, known as the Quest for
  Knowledge. They view this endeavour as paramount and more
  important than any other concern, and is considered by them to
  be among the most vital missions of its space fleet. The Cult
  believes that all knowledge already exists, and it is primarily a
  matter of time before it can be gathered together to complete the
  Quest. Much of this lost knowledge is widely believed to reside
  in the form of the now-lost Standard Template Constructs, and
  no effort will be spared to pursue any lead that may reveal the
  existence of an even partially-functioning STC system.
  Quick to incorporate recently-rediscovered technology before it
  is approved for widespread use, Adeptus Mechanicus vessels
  place great reliance on archaeotech that have much higher
  power requirements and correspondingly smaller overload
  tolerances and redundancy than those equipping comparable
  Imperial Navy vessels. Their ships are crewed with a very high
  proportion of repair servitors and tech adepts intimately familiar
  with the workings of their vessel. Mechanicus vessels always add
  +1D6 to their rolls when attempting to repair critical damage.
  However, because these ships are commonly relied upon to test
  untried and sometimes Xenos technology for extended periods
  of time, Mechanicus vessels will on occasion suffer adverse,
  unanticipated consequences that in some cases may endanger
  the entire ship and its crew. In addition to any subplots that may
  be taken normally as desired, a fleet including Adeptus
  Mechanicus ships must roll a single D6 against the following
  subplot table: 
  D6
  Quest For Knowledge Table
  1
  Extended Duty: The Quest for Knowledge can be long 
  and arduous, sometimes seeing the fleet deep in 
  unexplored space far away from logistical support for 
  exceedingly long periods. Roll a D6 for each 
  Mechanicus capital ship. On a 1 it takes D3 damage, on
  a 2 it suffers -1 Ld to take Lock-on or Reload special 
  orders. Rolls of 3+ have no effect. You must destroy or
  cripple more enemy ships than you lose. (+1/0 
  renown)
  2
  Xenos Logic: Due to unforeseen phenomena, the 
  complex workings within the capital ships of the 
  Adeptus Mechanicus have become unreliable at best 
  and catastrophic at worst. Roll a D6 for each 
  Mechanicus capital ship in the fleet. On a 1, 2 or 3, roll
  against the critical damage table. (+2/-1 renown)
  3
  Mimic Drive: The Adeptus Mechanicus encounter 
  partial STC plans for a drive capable of imitating the 
  signature of a capital ship. Add a cruiser to the fleet, 
  keeping its identity a secret. This vessel actually has all
  the characteristics of a transport ship and is worth zero
  victory points. If it is fired upon by the enemy, then the
  mimic drive is proven to be effective. (+1/-1) 
  4
  Sacred Vessel: The ship is an example of or contains 
  much valued archaeotech and must be protected at any
  cost. Choose one Mechanicus capital ship in your fleet.
  This vessel cannot be crippled or destroyed. (+1/-1)
  5
  The Prize: Reliable sources have confirmed that an 
  enemy ship contains an extremely valuable example of
  archaeotech, or possibly remnants of a working STC 
  system! Even if the ship is only crippled, it will grant an
  easier venture to capture it. Nominate one enemy 
  capital ship. You must cripple or destroy it. If the ship 
  explodes, no renown is gained or lost. (+1/-2) 
  6
  Experimental Ship: Recovered ancient technology or 
  alien artefacts are sometimes retrofitted to a ship to 
  change its performance in one way or another. 
  Sometimes the results are significant, but very rarely can
  such devices be accommodated without significant cost
  or sacrifice to the vessel. Pick one cruiser in the fleet. 
  This vessel has been recently fitted with an 
  experimental system that has not yet been tested 
  operationally. These modifications are in addition to 
  any refits taken normally by a Mechanicus vessel. Roll a
  D6 on the following two tables to see how the ship has
  been altered (Re-roll any result that cannot be applied).
  This ship must not be crippled or destroyed so that it 
  can be examined to review its performance. (+1/-1) 
  D6
  Improvement
  1
  All weapons (except ordnance) increase maximum 
  range by +15cm.
  2
  The ship gains +1 Shield.
  3
  All turrets re-roll misses when defending against 
  ordnance.
  4
  The ship can turn an additional +45 degrees.
  5
  All friendly vessels within 15cm gain an additional +1 
  leadership when the enemy is on special orders 
  (max 10).
  6
  Dorsal or prow lances ignore shields on a roll of 6. 
  D6
  Side Effect
  1
  Weapons battery firepower and lance strength reduced
  by 50% (rounding up).
  2
  The ship loses 2 hit points. 
  3
  The ship loses 2 turrets (this is after adding the +1 
  turret all Mechanicus vessels are equipped with). 
  4
  The ship must move an additional 5cm before it can 
  turn. 
  5
  The ship loses 5cm speed. 
  6
  Dorsal or prow lances can only hit targets on a roll of 6.
  
  Leadership. While the Adeptus Mechanicus have dedicated
  starship crews, they are led by senior Tech Magi of their order
  rather than the nobility of the Imperial Navy. They follow a
  hierarchy as completely different from the Navy as is the Adeptus
  Astartes. Consequently, they use a leadership table different from
  other fleets. To determine base leadership for a given vessel, roll
  a D6 against the following table:
  1= Ld 7.  2-3= Ld 8.  4-6= Ld 9.
  Any vessel that rolls a 6 when determining base leadership may
  select any one desired refit from the Mechanicus Gifts table
  instead of rolling for it randomly. This option cannot be used if
  the vessel embarks an Archmagos Veneratus.
  Attack Rating. The Adeptus Mechanicus have a starting attack
  rating of 2.
  FLEET COMMANDER
  0-1 Mechanicus Archmagos
  You may include 1 Mechanicus Archmagos in your fleet, which
  must be assigned to a ship and replaces its Leadership with the
  value shown. If the fleet is worth 1,000 points or more, a
  Mechanicus Archmagos must be included to lead it. 
  Archmagos Explorator (Ld 8)  . . . . 50 pts
  Archmagos Veneratus (Ld 9) . . . . . 100 pts
  A Mechanicus Archmagos can elect up to any one desired item
  from the Adeptus Mechanicus refit table for their own ship as
  part of their point cost, in addition to (and before) the refit the
  ship rolls for normally. If the second refit rolled is identical to the
  one selected, the commander can select the second refit as well!
  The benefit a Mechanicus Archmagos brings with it cannot be
  combined with a refit selected because the ship rolled a 6 when
  determining base leadership, meaning a ship will never have
  more than two refits from the Mechanicus Gifts table. If you wish
  to give a Mechanicus Archmagos any fleet commander re-rolls,
  you'll have to pay for them. 
  One re-roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 pts 
  Two re-rolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 pts
  Over many millennia, a large number of starships of various
  sizes, fitting no specific classification, have been seen bearing
  the insignia of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Many of these ships
  are incredibly ancient vessels, possibly recovered space hulks,
  re-commissioned so as to examine their characteristics under
  normal operation. 
  A notable few of these are the unimaginably vast, almost
  mythical Ark Mechanicus vessels, said to endlessly ply the
  stellar maine in the Quest for Knowledge. Led by a Venerated
  Archmagos Explorator, they will follow up any lead that may
  result in discovering a working Standard Template Construct,
  the revered holy grail of the Cult Mechanicus. These vessels
  are rarely encountered by others as they perform their
  missions in the service of those who give life to these
  behemoths of the stars. One such vessel is the Omnissiah’s
  Victory, said to predate even the Great Crusade. While this
  cannot be proven, it is known to have taken part in the
  Noloptis Crusade as far back as M33. Some have suggested
  that aspects of its design were lent to both the Retribution
  battleship as well as the Victory battleship most commonly
  encountered in Segmentum Tempestus. While the Adeptus
  Mechanicus have not been forthcoming regarding the veracity
  of this information, records exist of the Omnissiah’s Victory
  spending a considerable amount of time in the vicinity of
  Bakka and its surrounding forge worlds.
  TYPE/HITS
  SPEED
  TURNS
  SHIELDS
  ARMOUR
  TURRETS
  Battleship/12
  20cm
  45°
  4
  5+ (Prow 6+)
  5
  ARMAMENT
  RANGE/SPEED
  FIREPOWER/STR
  FIRE ARC
  Port weapons battery
  60cm
  10
  Left
  Starboard weapons battery
  60cm
  10
  Right
  Port lance battery
  60cm
  2
  Left
  Starboard lance battery
  60cm
  2
  Right
  Dorsal lance battery
  60cm
  2
  Left/Right/Front
  Prow nova cannon
  30–150cm
  1
  Front
  Notes: Cannot use “Come To New Heading” special orders. The
  profile for the Omnissiah’s Victory already reflects the rules for
  Adeptus Mechanicus vessels. It is equipped with Repulsor Shields and
  Augmented Weapon Relays as part of its point cost, and can take no
  other refits from the Mechanicus Gifts table. 
  You may include the Omnissiah’s Victory in place of one battleship
  in the Adeptus Mechanicus fleet if it totals 1000 points or greater. If
  used, it must be the flagship and embark a Venerated Archmagos for
  the cost listed in the fleet list. 
  The Omnissiah’s Victory cannot take any other refits except those
  described in the notes for this vessel, though it can earn others
  normally in a campaign. Only one Omnissiah’s Victory may ever be
  used in a fleet that includes Adeptus Mechanicus vessels. 
  ARK MECHANICUS OMNISSIAH’S VICTORY …………… 415 points
  
  ADEPTUS MECHANICUS FLEET LIST
  The Adeptus Mechanicus will only use warships from the
  following classes, applying all the rules described beforehand.
  The cost listed below replaces the original cost for these vessels
  found in the rulebook or ARMADA.
  Battleships
  You may include 1 battleship for every three cruisers in the fleet.
  Mechanicus Ark (max 1) . . . . . . . . 415 pts
  Emperor Battleship . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 pts
  Retribution Battleship . . . . . . . . . . 380 pts
  Oberon Battleship  . . . . . . . . . . . . .370 pts
  Cruisers
  You may have up to fifteen cruisers in the fleet.
  Dictator Cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 pts
  Tyrant Cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 pts 
  Lunar Cruiser  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 pts 
  Gothic Cruiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 pts
  Defiant Light Cruiser  . . . . . . . . . . .140 pts 
  Endeavor Light Cruiser . . . . . . . . . .135 pts
  Endurance Light Cruiser  . . . . . . . . 135 pts  
  Escorts
  You may have any number of Adeptus Mechanicus escorts in the
  fleet, taken from both the Imperial Navy and Space Marines fleet
  lists for the point costs listed below but otherwise unmodified
  from their normal profiles. These vessels count as Adeptus
  Mechanicus vessels and use all rules that Mechanicus vessels do,
  but do not have access to the Mechanicus Gifts table, they cannot
  repair critical damage, nor do they get any boarding action
  bonuses Space Marine escorts may have. They must be painted to
  match the Mechanicus fleet to be designated Mechanicus vessels;
  you cannot take Imperial Navy or Space Marine vessels painted
  for another fleet and call them Mechanicus vessels!
  Nova Frigate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 pts 
  Firestorm Frigate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 pts 
  Gladius Frigate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 pts
  Sword Frigate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 pts
  Falchion Frigate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 pts
  Hunter Destroyer  . . . . . . . .  . . . . . 35 pts 
  Cobra Destroyer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 pts
  RESERVES AND ALLIES
  Adeptus Mechanicus vessels can be used as reserves in any
  Imperial Navy or Space Marine fleet list. Contrariwise, Imperial
  Navy vessels from any  fleet list can be used as reserves in a
  Mechanicus fleet, following all normal rules for these vessels. 
  No more than one reserve vessel can be taken for every three
  capital ships in the fleet. For every three cruisers, one reserve
  cruiser-class, battlecruiser or grand cruiser may be taken. For
  every three battleships, one battleship-class vessel may be taken.
  Vessels taken as reserves count respectively toward the total
  number of cruisers and battleships allowed in a Mechanicus fleet.
  Space Marines can also be used as reserves in a Mechanicus fleet
  that does not include regular Imperial Navy capital ships or alien
  vessels of any type. They can be taken in the ratio of one strike
  cruiser for every three Mechanicus capital ships, and one battle
  barge for every three strike cruisers. 
  Ships that can be allied with Imperial Navy vessels, such as the
  Deimurg and Rogue Traders can also ally themselves with
  Mechanicus vessels normally, even if reserves are also used. 
  Mechanicus vessels cannot be placed in squadrons with Rogue
  Trader, regular Imperial Navy or Adeptus Astartes vessels.
  Mechanicus re-rolls cannot be used on these vessels, and other
  fleet commander re-rolls cannot be used on Mechanicus vessels.
  An Adeptus Mechanicus fleet commander can only be embarked
  on a Mechanicus ship.
  Mechanicus starships are rare and precious vessels, and they will
  not be expended lightly regardless of the circumstances.
  Mechanicus vessels that are crippled when used as reserves in
  other fleets will attempt to disengage whenever possible,
  otherwise they will move toward the closest table edge. Those in
  capital ship squadrons will disengage when half or more of the
  vessels in the squadron are crippled.
  There are no restrictions on how many reserve Imperial Navy,
  Space Marine or Rogue Trader escorts are included in an Adeptus
  Mechanicus fleet, as long as Xenos vessels and reserve Space
  Marine escorts are not included in the same fleet. Escorts taken
  in this manner must be available in the same fleet list reserve
  capital ships are being drawn from.
  CAMPAIGNS
  The Mechanicus refit that ships earn at the start of a campaign are
  the ones they keep until they are destroyed. In the course of a
  campaign, Mechanicus vessels can only earn additional refits
  from the standard Imperial Navy refit table or the Space Marines
  reinforcement table. They cannot continue to gain refits from the
  Mechanicus Gifts table. Adeptus Mechanicus vessels are far too
  rare and precious to be carelessly expended in the fires of war.
  However, those vessels so engaged will always receive priority
  when requiring repair or rework at shipyards throughout the
  Imperium. When calculating repair points at the end of a battle,
  the Adeptus Mechanicus fleet will always have +1 Repair point
  for every 10 renown or portion thereof the fleet commander has
  earned. When rolling appeals, Adeptus Mechanicus vessels get a
  +1 roll modifier to earn refits but a -1 roll modifier to earn
  reinforcements or Space Marines. Space Marines can be earned
  in this manner in a fleet that contains regular Imperial Navy
  vessels, but not one that contains alien vessels of any type.
  Even the most junior tech-adepts are typically far more familiar
  with the workings of their vessel and the capabilities of its
  weapon and defensive systems than comparable Imperial Navy
  officers and ratings, though this does not necessarily correlate to
  how well their vessels are utilized in combat. Because even
  senior Mechanicus techpriests tend to approach challenges in
  terms of engineers rather than tacticians, it is sometimes difficult
  for them to appreciate the finer aspects of tactical discipline in
  the heat of battle. However, the resources they are able to call
  upon when repairing and refitting their vessels are the envy of
  even the most senior Imperial Navy commanders. 
  Additional refits earned by renown in the course of a campaign
  as listed on the following table are at no cost to the vessel they
  are applied to, and they are separate from refits earned by
  appeal, which must be paid for normally.  Unlike normal refits,
  these free refits may be taken from the Mechanicus Gifts table if
  desired. However, they can only be applied to the fleet
  commander's flagship, they must be rolled randomly, and no refit
  can be used more than once. Should that vessel be lost, those
  refits are lost as well and do not follow the fleet commander to
  his new flagship. However, Mechanicus fleet commanders still
  have access to the refits they earned, and can roll randomly
  against the Mechanicus Gifts table the number of refits they are
  entitled to apply to their new flagship.
  Mechanicus Promotion Table
  Renown Title
  Leadership
  Re-rolls
  1-5
  Explorator Techpriest 
  7
  1
  6-10
  Magos Errant 
  8
  1+1 refit
  11-20
  Magos Explorator 
  8
  2+1 refit
  21-30
  Aspiring Archmagos 
  9
  2+1 refit
  31-50
  Archmagos Explorator 
  9
  3+1 refit
  51+
  Archmagos Veneratus 
  10
  3+2 refits
  ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  Ray, Nate and Bob are the current keepers of the Battlefleet
  Gothic rules, being the members of the BFG Rules
  Committee. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Warhammer/40k/Battlefleet Gothic/Supplementals/BFG_Ships_of_Mars.pdf