Warhammer 40,000 (Fourth Edition)
Warhammer 40,000 (Fourth Edition) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Rules Introduction
- Models
- Units
- Characteristics
- The Turn
- The Movement Phase
- The Shooting Phase
- Weapons
- Assault
- Morale
- Characters
- Unit Type Rules
- Vehicles
- Vehicle Characteristics
- Vehicle Types
- Vehicle Movement
- Carrying Troops
- Vehicle Shooting
- Shooting At Vehicles
- Vehicle Armour Values
- Damage Rolls
- Open-Topped Vehicles
- Wrecks
- Vehicles and Cover — Obscured Targets
- Skimmers Moving Fast
- Smoke Launchers
- Vehicles and Assaults
- Infantry Assaulting Vehicles
- Dreadnoughts in an Assault
- Vehicle Morale
- Units of Vehicles — Squadrons
- Universal Special Rules
- Organising a Battle
- Standard Missions
- Mission Special Rules
Rules Introduction
This section of the Warhammer 40,000 book details the rules of the game, the nuts and bolts of how things move and fight on the battlefield. It is not necessary to master all the rules to begin playing — in fact trying to learn everything at once may be confusing. If you've never played a game like Warhammer 40,000 before, we recommend starting with the basic Infantry rules and then progressing to the rules for different unit types.
Few games of Warhammer 40,000, especially if you are just starting out, will involve all of the rules given over the following sections. Our advice is to have a quick look through the rules once. You don't have to read every word, just get an idea of what's going on and where different rules can be found. After that, the best idea is to get stuck in and play a few games! As you come across situations you're not sure how to deal with, look up the relevant section and read the rules as you are playing. In particular, the sections on Characteristics, The Turn, The Movement Phase, The Shooting Phase, The Assault Phase and Morale contain all the basic rules you need to play. It's also worth looking back over the rules from time to time to make sure things really do work the way you think they do.
By starting this way you'll find that you pick up the core rules in a few sessions and will be able to play most games with just the information on the reference sheet at the back of the book. As you introduce other elements into your games, such as heroic characters, lumbering tanks and heavily-armed Dreadnoughts, read through the appropriate rules and refer to them while playing.
What You Need
As well as the Warhammer 40,000 book, there are a few other items you will need. For a start, you'll need two or more players with a selection of miniatures to represent their forces and a battlefield for them to fight over. Any firm, level surface will do, such as a tabletop or an area of floor — most kitchen tables will do fine. It's a good idea to protect the table from scratches and chips with a blanket or cloth. Most players use a 6' x 4' gaming board made from chipboard on top of the table to extend their playing area.
To complete your battlefield you should try to obtain some terrain, such as hills, walls, ruined buildings, wreckage, jungle or woods. Terrain, whether you made it yourself or bought it, adds realism to your battles and gives armies something to fight over or use as much needed cover from enemy fire. You can find out more about armies and battlefields in the Organising a Battle section of this book.
The Codex books give the specialised rules and army lists for the different opposing forces of the 41st millennium and are designed to work in conjunction with the Warhammer 40,000 rules.
As well as players, armies, a battlefield and terrain there are a few other things you'll need when playing. For troop movement, etc, you will need at least one measuring device marked in inches (such as a ruler or retractable tape measure). All distances in Warhammer 40,000 are in imperial measurements. You will need some ordinary six-sided dice, and a Scatter dice will also be useful. Finally, a pen and some paper can be handy for noting down damage to vehicles, casualties on units and other details that may crop up during a game.
Dice Rolls
There are lots of occasions in Warhammer 40,000 when you have to roll dice to see how the actions of your infantry turn out — how effective their shooting is, what damage they've done to a vehicle, how far they fall back from enemy fire, and so on. All of the dice rolls in Warhammer 40,000 use a standard six-sided dice (usually shortened to 'D6'). Sometimes, you may have to modify the result of the dice roll. This is noted as D6 plus or minus a number, such as D6+1 or D6-2. Roll the dice and add or subtract the number to or from the score to get the final result. For example, D6+2 means roll a dice and add 2 to the score, giving a total of between 3 and 8.
You may also be told to roll a number of dice in one go, which is written as 2D6, 3D6, and so on. Roll the indicated number of dice and add the scores together, so a 2D6 roll is two dice rolled and added together for a score of between 2-12, 3D6 adds together the scores of three dice for a total of 3-18 and so on. Another method sometimes used is to multiply the score of a dice by a certain amount. Therefore, D6x5 means roll a D6 and multiply it by 5, giving a total between 5 and 30.
Sometimes a combination of these methods may be used, such as 2D6+5 giving a score of between 7 and 17, or 3D6-3 which will total 0-15.
In rare circumstances you may be told to roll a D3. Since there's no such thing as a three-sided dice, use the following method for determining a score between 1 and 3. Roll a D6 and halve the score, rounding up. Thus 1 or 2 = 1, 3 or 4 = 2 and 5 or 6 = 3.
Scatter Dice
A few weapons are fairly random in their accuracy and require you to roll a Games Workshop Scatter dice to determine where they land. The Scatter dice is marked on four sides with an arrow, and on two sides with a special 'HIT' symbol. Simply roll the Scatter dice near the target point — if an arrow is rolled this shows which direction the shot has deviated in. If a HIT symbol is rolled this generally means the shot is bang on target. Some weapons may scatter automatically, with no chance of a direct hit, in which case you will find a small arrow on the HIT side to determine the direction.
Although a Scatter dice is the best way to determine random direction, you can achieve a similar result by using a D6. Put this book flat on the table with the arrow marked 1 on the diagram facing in the direction you want the weapon to fire. Roll a D6 and on a score of 5 or 6 the hit lands on target. If you roll 1, 2, 3 or 4 then the shot scatters, as shown. This method isn't as random as a Scatter dice but suffices in most circumstances.
Re-rolls
In some situations the rules allow you a 're-roll' of the dice. This is exactly as it sounds — pick up the dice you wish to re-roll and roll them again. The second score counts, even if it means a worse result than the first, and no single dice can be re-rolled more than once regardless of the source of the re-roll.
The Most Important Rule
The most important rule about playing games of Warhammer 40,000 is to have fun! Now while having fun may often be gained by mercilessly crushing your opponent's forces, never ever forget that you are both there to have fun. Whenever you play a game, you and your opponent are basically agreeing to duel according to a set of fairly abstract rules, with a theoretical ground scale, using representative forces and a thousand other subtle agreements that go together to make it work.
The battle itself is a shared experience and great entertainment for both sides if they are both willing to make it so. No one particularly enjoys playing a game with someone who is overwrought, irascible and generally mean, or who only plays to win at all costs. That kind of player soon has difficulty finding opponents because they simply aren't much fun to game against. So the most important rule is to play nice and treat your opponent with the respect you would wish to get back from them so that you both have an enjoyable and exciting game. If you can do that and mercilessly crush their forces at the same time, then you really are a winner.
The foolish man puts his trust in luck, the wise man puts his trust in the Emperor.
Models
The Citadel miniatures used to play Warhammer 40,000 are simply referred to as models in the rules that follow. Each model is an individual playing piece with its own capabilities. It is convenient to define different types of models for ease of description throughout the rules.
There are two very general types of models. These are:
Non-Vehicle Models. This category includes an enormous variety of troops ranging from Gretchin, the small, weak slaves of the Orks, to Wraithlords, mighty Eldar constructs containing the souls of the dead. Non-vehicle models are the most common in the game and all use a standard profile described in the Characteristics section.
Vehicle Models. Needless to say, this includes all vehicles. In practice it includes all vehicles that enclose the crew. Small vehicles, such as bikes, are not included, instead they are dealt with as an extension of their rider. All vehicles will have a profile described in the Vehicles section.
When you see the term 'model' used in the rules, it will apply to both non-vehicle and vehicle models. If the term 'non-vehicle model' or 'vehicle model' is used it will apply to models using characteristics or vehicle characteristics respectively. To ensure that you can recognise the difference it is probably a good idea to take a quick look at these sections now.
Models will sometimes fight individually. This is commonly the case with powerful tanks or experienced army commanders. Normally, though, a number of models are combined in a group termed a unit. The different types of unit are detailed in the Units section.
Base and Height Guidelines
There are countless different models in Warhammer 40,000 — everything from towering daemons and immense war engines to tiny, crawling vermin. To ensure no one gets confused by the huge variety of models in the game, a couple of conventions apply to all models on the tabletop battlefield.
Bases. Firstly, a model is considered to occupy the area of its base, so when measuring distances use the closest edge of the base as your reference point. For models without a base (usually vehicles) use the model's hull/main body instead. Games Workshop miniatures are usually supplied with a base and this should be viewed as the minimum size base they can be mounted on — you can mount them on something bigger if you wish, but not something smaller.
Model Height. The rules will often have to take account of the height of models and terrain features. This is necessary to determine whether troops can see over obstructions. This does not mean literally their actual height, as the simple expedient of crouching, kneeling or crawling will render such direct comparisons irrelevant. Instead there are three broad height bands into which all models fall. These categories are also used to define the height of some terrain features. The following three categories are the only ones that are important in the Shooting phase when determining line of sight and target priority:
- Size 1: Small Targets.
- Size 2: Standard Targets. Basically every model not included in either of the other categories.
- Size 3: Large Targets. Includes Monstrous Creatures and Vehicles.
Initially, virtually every model you use will fall into the middle category. Be aware though that when you want to see over some terrain features or an ongoing close combat, these heights will become relevant. All you need to remember is that if an observer or the observed is of a greater height category than anything in the way, then it has a clear line of sight.
Units
Warhammer 40,000 allows you to fight battles with armies of creatures and supporting units of tanks and guns. It is up to you as general of your forces to find the best way to use your vehicles and infantry to achieve victory. Of course, soldiers tend to band together to fight in squads, teams, sections, etc — individual warriors do not normally go wandering off on their own for obvious reasons! In Warhammer 40,000, we represent the way that real infantry fight by grouping them together into units.
Units of warriors fight in loose groups with gaps between each model. This gives the troopers the freedom to move over difficult terrain quickly, and enables them to take advantage of such things as minor folds in the ground, scrub, and other small features, to shelter from enemy fire. Similarly, artillery batteries consist of the guns and the crew that fire them, vehicle squadrons are made up of a number of vehicles and so on. The different elements of the unit have to stay together to remain an effective fighting force. This is detailed more fully in the Movement section.
A unit will usually consist of several infantry models or small vehicles that fight as a group, but it can also be a single, very large and/or powerful model, such as a battle tank, a monstrous alien creature or a lone hero. In the rules that follow, all of these things are referred to as units. In order to make it easier to learn the core rules the sections covering Movement, Shooting, Assault and Morale are written with respect to Infantry units, because these are by far the most common unit type in the game. The other unit types are explained in later sections, covering specific rules for Jetbikes, Monstrous Creatures and so forth. The main unit types for non-vehicle models are as follows.
Infantry
Infantry units include all types of foot soldiers, whether human or alien. A typical unit of infantry is between five and ten models strong but are often much larger. In rare cases, a unit may comprise of only a single model. Infantry are fairly slow moving but can cross almost any terrain (given enough time) and make the best use of cover to avoid enemy fire. Infantry are the most common and dependable units in Warhammer 40,000 and the bulk of the core rules are concerned with them.
Jump Infantry
Jump infantry are equipped with jump packs, jet packs, sometimes wings, teleport devices or other means of moving quickly over short distances. They commonly take advantage of these by dropping onto the battlefield in the midst of the enemy — heroically or foolishly depending on your perspective. Jump infantry can move like normal creatures on foot or kick in their jump device to make a high speed move, combining some of the best elements of both mounted and ordinary infantry. Jump infantry usually come in units of five to ten models and tend to be a rare and valuable commodity in most armies.
Bikes and Jetbikes
These units are riders mounted on a variety of conventional bikes or jetbikes. They are capable of moving really quickly, and will often have weapon systems mounted on their bikes. Their only major weakness is the risk of crashing when moving through difficult terrain. Both types of bike manoeuvre much faster than infantry and jetbikes are able to glide over obstructions, such as scrub, without being slowed. Bike and jetbike units normally number from three to five models.
Beasts & Cavalry
Consisting of particularly vicious hunting animals or a rider with a living mount, beasts and cavalry are able to swiftly carry the battle to the enemy. Beasts and cavalry have a profile like other infantry but are able to make use of a special faster move when they charge an enemy unit.
These units tend to be powerful in open terrain where they have room to manoeuvre, and move like infantry in denser areas, such as woods or buildings. Beast and cavalry units are typically quite small, with one to six models in a single unit. Note that riders may not dismount during the game and that cavalry models have a combined characteristic profile that factors in both the beast and rider.
Monstrous Creatures
Some creatures are just too big to fit into the ordinary infantry unit category; towering giants that are capable of crushing a tank — like the Tyranid Carnifex, a creature bioengineered and evolved especially for killing — or a living engine of destruction, like the Eldar Wraithlord. While Monstrous Creatures use many of the Infantry rules, their size and destructive capability make them closer to vehicles in other respects. A Monstrous Creature unit will usually consist of only a single model.
Artillery
These units represent large weapons and their crews, the gun models themselves being large enough to be removed separately in addition to crew casualties. Artillery units count as infantry in all respects, but when they are fired at, hits can be scored on the guns or the crew. The guns themselves have vehicle-like characteristics. Note that these units should not be confused with the heavy weapon teams found in some infantry units (such as Imperial Guard or Eldar, for example).
Vehicles
Vehicle units include all kinds of war machines. Space Marine Land Raider tanks, Rhino personnel carriers, Dreadnoughts and Ork Wartraks all fall into this category. Some vehicles can move more rapidly than infantry but need to stick to open ground to avoid getting bogged down. Vehicle units are represented by single models, in the case of tanks and other large vehicles, or as a group of one to three smaller vehicles. Vehicle crew members — the drivers, commanders and gunners — are assumed to be an integral part of their machine, and if their vehicle is destroyed they are considered to be lost along with it.
Characteristics
In Warhammer 40,000, there are many different types of warriors, ranging from the mighty Space Marines to the brutal Orks, the agile Eldar to the massive and dreaded Tyranid Warriors. To represent the abilities of these creatures in the game, there are nine categories that describe the various aspects of their physical and mental make-up. These are called Characteristics.
All characteristics are measured on a scale of 0 to 10. The higher the value of a characteristic, the better it is, except for Saves. The characteristics are: Weapon Skill (WS), Ballistic Skill (BS), Strength (S), Toughness (T), Wounds (W), Initiative (I), Attacks (A), Leadership (Ld) and Save (Sv).
Weapon Skill (WS). Defines how skilled a creature is with his weapons in close combat, or simply how determined and vicious a creature is. The higher the score, the more likely the warrior will land blows on a close combat opponent. A normal human has WS3. A battle-hardened Space Marine will have WS4 or even WS5.
Ballistic Skill (BS). Shows how accurate a creature is with ranged attacks, such as guns, rockets or energy weapons. It also includes a measure of the warrior's technical competence with his weapons and ammo supply. The higher this score is, the easier a creature finds it to hit when it shoots at something. Some monsters have natural weapons that can be used at range (they may be able to spit venom, for example) and their BS is used to determine whether they hit or not.
Strength (S). Shows how physically strong a creature is. An exceptionally puny creature may have a Strength of 1, a deadly Tyranid Lictor has S6 and most humans have S3. Strength tells us how hard a creature can hit in close combat or how easily it can hurt an enemy.
Toughness (T). This measures a creature's ability to resist physical damage and pain, and includes such factors as the toughness of its flesh, hide or skin. The tougher a creature, the better it can survive enemy blows or shots. A human is T3, a genetically-enhanced Space Marine is T4. Things with a Toughness of 6 or more are usually monstrous creatures with special rules to reflect their great size.
Wounds (W). Shows how much damage a creature can take before it either dies or is so badly hurt it can't fight any more. Most humans/human-sized creatures have only a single Wound. Heroes and large monsters are often able to withstand several wounds that would slay a lesser creature, and so have a Wounds value of 2, 3, 4 or even more.
Initiative (I). Indicates how alert a creature is and how quickly it reacts. Creatures with a low Initiative score are slow and cumbersome, creatures with a high Initiative score are much quicker and more agile. In close combat, faster creatures gain a big advantage over slower ones in that they strike first.
Attacks (A). Indicates the number of Attacks a creature makes during close combat. Most creatures only attack once, although some warriors of exceptional skill or monsters can strike several times. The number of Attacks a creature makes may be increased if it has the added impetus of charging into its foe or is fighting using two weapons.
Leadership (Ld). A creature with a high Leadership value is courageous, steadfast, and self-controlled. A creature with a low value is the opposite. Creatures with high Leadership can lead others, inspiring them on to greater feats of valour.
Save (Sv). A creature's Saving throw gives it a chance of avoiding harm when it is struck or shot. Most creatures have a Saving throw based on what kind of armour they are wearing, so their Saving throw may be improved if they are equipped with better armour. Other creatures may receive a natural Saving throw from having a thick hide or chitinous shell.
Zero Level Characteristics
Some creatures have been given a '0' for certain characteristics, which means that they have no ability whatsoever in that field. This usually applies to creatures unable to use missile weapons, and so they have a BS of 0, but it might equally apply to other characteristics too (eg, a defenceless model will have no Attacks whatsoever).
Leadership Tests
Sometimes, a unit may be called upon to make a Leadership test, most commonly to direct its fire or hold its ground. To take a Leadership test, roll 2D6 and compare the combined score to the unit's Leadership value. If the dice score equal to or under the Leadership value, the test is passed. If the dice score over the characteristic, the test is failed. Modifiers may apply to the Leadership characteristic in particularly trying circumstances, eg, -1 if the unit is below half its starting strength. Characteristic tests are used for other things, as detailed in the army's Codex book.
Characteristic Profiles
Each creature in Warhammer 40,000 has a profile that lists the value of its characteristics. In the Codex books, you will find profiles for many races and creatures.
Below are the profiles for a Tyranid Termagant and an Imperial Space Marine.
| WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termagant | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6+ |
| Space Marine | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ |
As you can see, both are similar in some respects. They have the same Initiative value which means they are equally quick in close combat. Both creatures have 1 Wound and 1 Attack which is the norm for man-sized creatures. When it comes to BS and WS, S and T, however, the Space Marine is superior to the Termagant.
The Space Marine's Ballistic Skill of 4 and Weapon Skill of 4 mean the Space Marine will hit more often in shooting and close combat. The greater Strength value gives the Space Marine a better chance of injuring or killing the Termagant in hand-to-hand combat. Space Marines are extremely robust, with their high Toughness meaning they are better than ordinary humans in surviving damage inflicted on them. The Space Marine has a Leadership of 8, which is slightly higher than the average Leadership for most warriors. Termagants are animalistic, bioengineered predators which can be easily confused without the telepathic control of the larger hive organisms, and so have a low Leadership of 5. The Space Marine's thicker armour gives him another marked advantage over the Termagant, as any shot or blow that hits the Space Marine is deflected on a D6 roll of 3 or more. The Termagant needs a roll of 6 to be saved by its chitinous armour plates.
Obviously, Termagants are no match for Space Marines when fighting one to one but, as Termagants are usually found in large broods this can make them challenging opponents, even for Space Marines.
"A good commander does not need to take risks — he merely waits for his foe to do so." — Tactica Imperium
Points Values
Generally, you'll find characteristic profiles come with one other piece of information — the points value per model. This represents the relative battlefield value of the creature in question. Points values are an abstract calculation which take into account a huge number of different factors including characteristics, different races' overall strengths and weaknesses, basic weapons, unit size, rarity and so forth.
For comparison, Space Marines are worth 15 points, and Termagants 7. This means Space Marines can be outnumbered by Termagants by at least two to one and still have an even chance of winning.
Vehicle Characteristics
Set in the far future, the Warhammer 40,000 universe is home to all sorts of tanks, war machines and other combat vehicles, both human built and alien. To reflect the many differences between creatures of flesh and blood and constructs of steel and iron, vehicles have many different rules and their own set of characteristics. Vehicle characteristics are described in more detail in the Vehicles section.
The Turn
A Warhammer 40,000 battle is unlike other games, such as chess or draughts, where you only move a single piece at a time. A tremendous amount of action takes place in a battle: squads are constantly manoeuvring and shooting, tanks rumble into action and artillery fire roars overhead in a torrential downpour of destruction.
A Warhammer 40,000 game represents the whole ebb and flow of battle but, in order to determine its outcome, players alternate taking turns moving and fighting with their units. So, in a battle, player A will move and fight with his forces first, then player B will move and fight, and then player A will move and fight again and so on until the end of the game.
During his turn, the player can move and fight with all of his units if he wishes. For convenience, the actions of moving, shooting and fighting are dealt with one after the other. This means you move any infantry and vehicles you want to first, and then you shoot with anyone who can and so on. This process helps everyone to keep track of what is going on and makes it easier to know when one player's actions are over and their opponent can start taking his turn.
Turn Summary
The Movement Phase. The player can move any of his units that are capable of doing so. See the Movement rules for more details of how to move your forces.
The Shooting Phase. The player can shoot with any of his units that are within range of the enemy. See the Shooting rules for more details about how to resolve shooting.
The Assault Phase. The player can move any of his units to assault the enemy if they are close enough. Assaults are bloody, desperate affairs where units are fighting in close combat and firing at very close range.
This means that both forces can fight in an Assault phase, but only the player whose turn it is can move into an assault. The Assault rules will tell you more about assaults.
The Game Turn
In a complete game turn, each player gets a turn and performs their actions in the appropriate phases — the Movement, Shooting and Assault phases to be precise. Exactly what happens in each phase is described in the Turn sequence. Hence one game turn will comprise two player turns, or sometimes more depending on the number of players and the mission being played.
Who Gets the First Turn?
Which player gets the first turn of the game can be determined in a number of different ways. Normally, both players roll a D6 and the player with the highest score can decide to take the first or second turn (first being a popular choice unless you have a really cunning plan). Sometimes, the kind of game you are fighting will decide it for you. For example, some missions, like ambushes or sneak attacks, may specify that the attacking side will get the first turn.
Fighting all sorts of different battles is covered in more detail in the Organising a Battle section of the rules.
Ending the Battle
A battle can end in a number of ways. One of the most common is playing a pre-set number of game turns. Most games are set to a limit of six game turns, ensuring an equal number for each player. However, in some kinds of battle, players might be able to win a 'sudden death' victory that ends the game immediately — for example, if they destroy the power generator they win straight away. Alternatively, the number of game turns being fought might be random, possibly determined by a dice throw. You could also decide to end a battle at a pre-set time if you only have a limited amount of time to play in. Some different kinds of battles and ways of ending them are shown in more detail in the Organising a Battle section.
Exceptions
There are times when a player performs actions when it is not their turn, such as fighting in a close assault, for example. It may also be convenient to interrupt a player's turn because of some event occurring, like a booby trap being triggered. The thing to remember is that after the interruption, the turn sequence always continues as normal.
The Movement Phase
The Movement phase is your chance to move your units around the battlefield. For example, you can send them into the attack, move them into cover, retreat from a superior foe or sweep around an enemy's vulnerable side or rear. Although the Movement phase is the easiest to perform, it's probably the most tactically important. For the time being we'll just explain how warriors on foot move, as they are by far the most common units in the game. Vehicles, jump/mounted infantry and certain other units move in different ways to represent their greater mobility, and these will be discussed in detail later.
In his turn, a player may move all or some of his units up to their maximum movement distance. Once a unit has completed all of its movement, the player selects another unit and moves that one, and so on, until the player has moved all of the units he wishes to move.
Movement Phase Summary
- Choose a unit to move.
- Move any or all of the models in the unit up to their maximum move distance.
- Repeat the above until movement is complete.
Note that a player doesn't have to move all (or indeed any) of his units. A unit that doesn't move is often more effective at shooting, as we will explain later in the rules. Once you have started moving a unit you may not go back and change the move already made by a previous unit.
Movement Distance
Infantry on foot move up to six inches (6") in the Movement phase. This represents most creatures moving at a run but stopping several times to observe the surrounding landscape for enemies, snap off a few quick shots with their weapons, etc. Even warriors who are moving in a part of the battlefield where no enemies may be apparent move 6". This is because your units lack your own god-like knowledge that there is no enemy around.
A model may not move into/through the space occupied by a friendly model or through a gap between friendly models smaller than its own base size. A model cannot be placed so that it touches an enemy model during the Movement phase — this is only possible in the Assault phase. To keep this distinction clear, a model may not move within 1" of an enemy model (ignore wrecked vehicles) during the Movement phase.
Different Movement Distances in a Unit
All models in a unit move at the speed of the slowest model.
Maintaining Unit Coherency
As mentioned before, units are normally groups of models operating together on the tabletop. They fight in a loose formation with gaps between each model. This gives the individual troopers freedom to move quickly over difficult terrain, and enables them to disperse somewhat to take advantage of cover.
When you are moving a unit, the individual models in it can move up to their maximum movement distance — remember that units have to stick together, otherwise individual models become scattered as the unit loses its cohesion as a fighting force. So, once a unit has finished moving, the models in it must form an imaginary chain where the distance between one model and the next is no more than 2". We call this unit coherency.
During the course of a game, it's possible a unit will get broken up and lose unit coherency, usually because it takes casualties. When this happens the following rule applies:
If a unit is broken up for any reason, the models in it must be moved to restore unit coherency in the next Movement phase. If they cannot do so, the unit may not shoot or launch an assault until it is in a coherent formation again. If the unit cannot move for some reason in its next turn (because they are pinned down by a barrage or sniper fire, for example), then they must move to restore unit coherency as soon as they have the opportunity.
Terrain
The galaxy is a vast place with millions of different worlds: ice worlds, desert worlds, hive worlds, feral worlds and many other exotic types of battlefield — if you can imagine it, then it probably exists somewhere. The terrain covering these worlds can vary from broad, empty plains to sky-scraping towers of plexiglass and plasteel, from verdant jungles to icy peaks or baking hot deserts. One factor is common to all of them — they have areas seemingly designed to make it difficult to wage war.
Of course, areas that provide cover from which warriors can fight or which present an obstacle to the enemy are vital in war, and these are destined to become the bloodiest battlefields. How to represent terrain on the battlefield is discussed later. For now, we're going to discuss terrain only in relation to how infantry moves through it.
Terrain Types
Terrain provides useful cover from enemy fire, but can also impede the movement of your units. Troops can be disorientated or physically slowed by the need to push through or climb over entanglements and obstructions. There are three general classes of terrain: clear, difficult and impassable.
- Clear terrain can be moved across without any penalty, and generally covers most of the battlefield.
- Difficult terrain slows down models wishing to move through it. Difficult terrain can sometimes be dangerous to models passing through it.
- Impassable terrain prevents all movement through it.
Turning & Facing
As you move models in a unit they can turn by any amount, without any penalty, to the distance they are able to cover. Infantry models can be turned to face their targets in the Shooting phase, so don't worry about which way they are pointing at the end of their Movement phase (although dramatically facing off against their foes is traditional).
Random & Compulsory Movement
Sometimes, a unit will be specified as being subject to random movement and/or be forced to move in a certain way. Most commonly this will be D6" or 2D6" of additional movement and/or moving directly towards the closest enemy. Unless covered otherwise in the special rules for the unit, such movement is subject to all the normal penalties for moving through difficult and dangerous terrain. A unit using random movement slowed by difficult terrain halves the distance rolled (rounding up), unless specified otherwise.
Guidelines on Categorising Terrain
It is a relatively simple matter to classify terrain within these three categories, and it is important that you and your opponent agree what class of terrain each feature falls into before starting your game.
- Clear terrain represents terrain that can be traversed easily. This includes open areas, such as fields, moorland, grass, deserts, ash wastes and gentle hills. This could be embellished with the odd tree, shrub or cactus (or alien equivalents) for visual appeal.
- Difficult terrain includes areas of jungle, woods, forest, ruins, brush and scrub, rocky outcrops, boggy ground, marshes, low walls, hedges, steep hills and shallow water, such as streams. It also includes terrain features that combine several of these types, such as a ruin surrounded by woods. If the terrain feature includes hazards, such as carnivorous plants, toxic vents, erupting geysers and the like, then it may be additionally categorised as dangerous.
- Impassable terrain includes deep water, lava flows, fully enclosed building models and towering cliffs.
It is quite possible that a very large building could be classed differently in different locations, most of it counting as ruins and therefore difficult, whilst an intact tower at its corner counts as impassable terrain.
You will notice that buildings appear in more than one category. A building model with roof and walls attached can be difficult to position models on. In these circumstances it is best to categorise them as impassable. If the roof lifts off, or models can be safely balanced on top, then they should be categorised as difficult.
Area Terrain
For most terrain features, what you see is what you get. Thus a hill or an enclosed building is as high as the model used to depict it. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to take liberties and make assumptions about terrain. This is where Area Terrain comes in. Area Terrain, like models, comes in size classes, ranging from Size 1, representing low-lying terrain, to Size 3, representing very high terrain such as woodland that can obscure tanks.
The types of terrain where this approach works best are marshes, woods, ruins and all types of rough going area. Realistically a wood might be a tangled, overgrown mass of foliage. If it is represented like this then it will be very difficult to position models on it with any degree of precision (or safety). What is important is where the boundary of the terrain feature is. You can show the boundary by using a flat baseboard, an outline of lichen or by painting a slightly different colour on your gaming board. Within this boundary loosely place trees or sections of ruins as appropriate for the type of terrain it represents. The exact placement and size of the terrain items used are not important and you can freely move them to allow models to be accurately positioned. Each area feature should be given a height, and it is this that will decide who can see over it. This is explained in more detail under Line of Sight and Area Terrain.
In all cases, you should discuss any unusual terrain features with your opponent before the game and agree exactly what everything counts as and where boundaries of terrain features lie. When the game is underway, it will be harder to discuss it quite so dispassionately...
Impassable Terrain
Models may not be placed in impassable terrain unless the models concerned have a special rule in their profile granting them an exception, or are able to fly above the terrain like a skimmer, or both players agree to it.
Moving in Difficult Terrain
If an infantry unit moves into, through or out of difficult terrain, it will generally be slowed down. Units that are slowed must take a Difficult Terrain test, rolling two D6 and selecting the highest. This is the distance in inches they may move. Some units may be able to roll more than two dice and select the best, or even re-roll their dice. Where this is the case, it is explained in their profile or in their relevant section later in this book.
If a unit that starts its move outside difficult terrain does not roll high enough to enter the terrain, it is still only moved the distance rolled. This represents them approaching the terrain in a cautious fashion.
If you take the Difficult Terrain test, you are never compelled to move the models, considering you may not have rolled enough movement to make it worth moving at all. However, if you roll the dice, the unit is still considered as having moved for the purposes of firing, as detailed in the Shooting rules.
Moving Up & Down
When a unit is moved, it can travel up and/or down the same distance as it moves along, subject to the Difficult Terrain rules. For example, if a unit moves 6" into a building, then it could be placed 6" above ground level inside that building as well.
Dangerous Terrain Tests
As mentioned previously, some terrain features will be dangerous to move through. This is represented by the unit taking a Dangerous Terrain check. Roll a D6 for every model in the unit. Each roll of a 1 indicates a model suffers a wound with no Save possible (Saves are explained in the shooting rules — all you need know for now is that in this case you don't get any of them!).
The Shooting Phase
In the Shooting phase, you have the opportunity to fire at the enemy with your forces. As the two sides engage each other at a distance, the guns thunder ceaselessly and there is an almost constant exchange of fire between foes. In a Warhammer 40,000 battle, we split the firing up so that each player's force fires during their own turn. This keeps shooting simple to work out and keeps the game moving at a good pace.
During the Shooting phase, each of your units may fire. You can choose any of your units to shoot with, but you must complete all the firing by one unit before you move onto the next. Every model in a unit can shoot — infantry can fire with just one weapon each, but some units (like vehicles) may be able to fire more than one weapon per model, as detailed later. The whole unit has to fire all of its weaponry at a single opposing unit of your choice — you may not split fire between two or more target units. Note that individual models within a unit can choose not to shoot.
The shooting process can be summarised in six steps, as shown below. Once you've completed this sequence with one of your units, select another and begin at Step 1 again. Once you have completed Steps 1 to 6 for each unit in your army, you've finished shooting and can go on to the Assault phase. The rules for the Shooting phase also include details on weapons later in the section.
Shooting Phase Summary
- Choose a unit to shoot with.
- Resolve the shooting process (see below) for the chosen unit.
- Repeat the above until shooting is complete.
The Shooting Process
- Choose a target. Select an enemy unit for one of your units to fire at. Your unit may have to pass a Leadership test if they want to shoot at any but the closest enemy.
- Check line of sight and range. See if the target is within sight and range of the weaponry of your firing unit.
- Roll to hit. Roll a D6 for each shot fired by the firing unit. The model's BS determines what score they must equal or beat to hit their target.
- Roll to wound. For each shot that hits, roll again to see if it wounds the target. The score needed is determined by comparing the Strength of the firing weapons with the Toughness of the target.
- Make Saving Throws. Each wounding hit may be deflected by making a Saving throw. Saving throws derive from the armour worn, or any special Invulnerable Saving throws, or by being in cover. Models that fail a save become casualties.
- Remove casualties. The owner of the target unit removes any casualties inflicted.
As mentioned previously, a firing unit can choose a single enemy unit as its target. There are several considerations when choosing a target; namely, can your unit see it, and will their weapons have enough range to reach it?
1. Choose a Target
Target Priority
Your units will have a natural tendency to shoot at the nearest enemy, as in the tumult of battle these will be the easiest to spot and often the most threatening. However, a well-trained and led unit will overcome this and follow your orders to the letter. To represent this, you must pass a Leadership test if you want a unit to target any enemy unit other than the closest. If the test is failed, resolve the unit's firing at the nearest enemy unit instead.
Exceptions: Units are always able to ignore targets which cannot be fired on (units with all models engaged in close combat, for example) and units that are falling back (see the Morale section for more on this).
The Leadership test must be taken even if the unit does not normally have to take Leadership tests, or is assumed to automatically pass them.
If there is any real contention over which unit is closest, take a Leadership test anyway and then find out what's closest. You may not measure the range to a target before choosing.
Firing at Large Targets
Many units carry tank-busting weapons, like missile launchers or lascannon, and are able to spot marauding vehicles, walkers or large creatures with ease. To represent this, when it comes to choosing a target you can declare that your unit wishes to target enemy vehicles, artillery and monstrous creatures (these are the only unit types you can target this way, collectively referred to as 'Large Targets'). If you choose to target Large Targets then other units can be ignored in terms of determining the closest target. A Leadership test is still required to target anything other than the closest Large Target. Note that Large Targets can also physically block line of sight and prevent a shot.
2. Check Line of Sight & Range
You can only select an enemy unit as a target if your unit can see it, or at least part of it. Obviously, a unit can't draw a bead on their target if there is a hill, a building, or some other large and solid object in the way that stops them. In some cases, it will be difficult to tell if line of sight is blocked or not, so players might have to stoop over the table for a model's eye view. This is the best way to determine whether or not a line of sight exists. The only time you don't use this method is when you want to draw a line of sight into or past Area Terrain, or an ongoing assault combat — this is dealt with later.
Models from the same side do not normally block line of sight (your unit conducts their firing at a convenient moment when their compatriots aren't in the way) and enemy models can be ignored for line of sight purposes (bearing in mind the Choosing a Target rules). However, the following models do block a unit's line of sight if they are in the way:
- All vehicles, vehicle wrecks, monstrous creatures and artillery, friend or foe, block line of sight. A line of sight can still be drawn over or past such models, but not through them. Use a model's eye view to determine if you can see past them. Skimmer vehicles only block line of sight if immobilised or wrecked.
- Models engaged or locked in close combat block line of sight through them up to the height of the participating models. This is where the model's height matters. If the model doing the spotting, or the model being spotted, is taller than the tallest model in the close combat then the line of sight is not blocked.
Any individual models in the unit that don't have a line of sight to the target unit can't fire, and any models in the target unit that can't be seen by the attackers can't be hit or chosen as casualties (with the exception of barrage weapons — as explained later). If a model represents a weapon, such as an Eldar grav-platform, and there are separate crew figures, there must be a line of sight from both the gun model and at least one of its crew to the target. Sometimes, all that may be visible of a model is a toe or antenna or some other minor part. In these cases, the line of sight is considered blocked. Line of sight must be traced to the body of the target model. This rule is intended to ensure that players don't get penalised for having impressive banners, blades, gun barrels, spectacularly posed models, etc.
Line of Sight & Area Terrain
Area Terrain does not block line of fire completely. Instead there will be a 'grey area' where the enemy fades out of sight the further in they are. Equally, a particularly large target may be visible across an area of low-lying terrain. This means that in regards to terrain defined as 'Area Terrain', the usual rules for spotting targets using the model's eye view is not used. In these cases we say it is possible to see up to 6" into Area Terrain. Models further than 6" in cannot be seen at all, nor can they see out, unless they are taller than the terrain. If both firer and target are within the same area of terrain, they can only see each other if they are within 6", unless one or both of them are taller than the terrain.
Note that although it is possible to see into Area Terrain, you cannot see through it even if it is less than 6" deep, hence if a unit is behind Area Terrain as tall as itself and the spotter, they cannot be seen. Models that are classed as taller than the Area Terrain can see and be seen over it.
A model's line of sight will be considerably improved by being on an elevated position, such as a cliff or building, so it can count the height of the terrain piece it stands on for line of sight in regards to other Area Terrain.
Check Range
All weapons have a maximum effective range that tells you the furthest distance they can shoot. If your target is beyond this maximum range then your shot misses automatically. This is why you have to choose your target before measuring the range. Here are some examples of weapon ranges:
| Weapon | Maximum Range |
|---|---|
| Laspistol | 12" |
| Boltgun | 24" |
| Autocannon | 48" |
When you're checking range, simply measure from the firer to the nearest model in the target unit. Any models in the target unit which are actually out of range can't be hit by the shooting.
Moving & Shooting
Whether a unit has moved or not can make a big difference to its firing. If the warriors hold a position, take up firing stances and aim at their targets properly, they can hit targets further away than if they are firing on the move. In fact some weapons are so heavy that they can only be used if their firer halts to brace themselves. This is explained in more detail in the Weapons section later, but for the time being it's enough to know that moving can make a difference to a unit's shooting. The most important thing to understand is that the whole unit counts as moving if ANY of its models moved in the Movement phase.
3. Roll to Hit
To determine if the firing unit has hit its target, roll a D6 for each shot. Normally troopers will only get to fire one shot each. However, some creatures or weapons are capable of firing more than once, as we'll explain in more detail later. The dice score needed to hit will depend on how accurate the firers are (as shown by their Ballistic Skill characteristic or BS). The chart below shows the minimum D6 roll needed to score a hit.
| Firer's BS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score to hit | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
For example, if the shooters are a unit of five Space Marines with a BS of 4, you would roll five dice and each roll of a 3 or more would score a hit.
To hit rolls are easy to remember if you just subtract the BS of the shooter from 7. This will give you the number you need to hit, eg, a model with a BS 2 needs 5 or more (7 − 2 = 5) on a D6 to hit. As you can see, the minimum dice roll needed to hit is always at least 2. There is normally no such thing as an automatic hit and a roll of a 1 always misses.
Rolling Dice to Hit
When a unit fires roll all of its To Hit dice together. Sometimes there will be different weapons firing, or firers with different BS in the same unit and you might find it convenient to use different coloured dice for them so that they can be picked out. For example, you could use green dice for all shots with plasma weapons and red dice for all shots with melta weapons. Alternatively, you can simply make separate dice rolls for different weapons or shooters, but as long as it's clear which dice rolls represent which shots you can use any convention for this that you like.
4. Roll to Wound
Hitting your target is not always enough to put it out of action. Some targets can take quite a bit of damage before they are destroyed, while some hits will not always cause damage. A hit might result in nothing more than a superficial graze or flesh wound. To decide if a hit causes damage, compare the weapon's Strength characteristic with the target's Toughness characteristic. Each weapon has its own Strength value, given in the description of the weapon. Here are some examples of different weapons and their Strength characteristics.
| Weapon | Strength |
|---|---|
| Boltgun | 4 |
| Meltagun | 8 |
| Lascannon | 9 |
Consult the chart below. Cross-reference the weapon's Strength (S) with the target's Toughness (T). The number indicated is the minimum score on a D6 needed to convert the hit into damage. As with shooting, roll the dice together and, once again, you can use different coloured dice to pick out weapons with different Strengths.
Multiple Toughness
Some units will contain models which have different Toughness characteristics. To keep things simple, use the Toughness characteristic that is in the majority in the target unit. If no majority exists, use the lowest in the unit. If this roll is successful, the target has been wounded and you proceed to the Determine Casualties section.
Damage Chart
Strength of weapon (rows) against Toughness of target (columns). 'N' means the hit has no effect — a target with the Toughness indicated cannot be harmed by a hit of such puny strength.
| S \ T | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| 2 | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ | N | N | N | N | N |
| 3 | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ | N | N | N | N |
| 4 | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ | N | N | N |
| 5 | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ | N | N |
| 6 | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ | N |
| 7 | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ | 6+ |
| 8 | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ |
| 9 | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ |
| 10 | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 2+ | 3+ | 4+ |
Example: A Space Marine armed with a boltgun shoots at an Ork and hits him. A boltgun has a Strength of 4 and the Ork has a Toughness of 4. Referring to the chart, a score of 4 or more is needed to convert the hit into damage. If the dice roll is 4 or more, the Ork takes a wound — as he has only 1 Wound in the first place, he will be 'killed' and removed from play (subject to Saving throws — see later).
5. Make Saving Throws
Before he removes any models as casualties, the owning player can test to see whether his troops survive being hit because their armour stops or deflects the shot. Most troops wear some sort of protective clothing or armour, even if it's only a helmet! If a model is wearing armour it is allowed a further dice roll to see if the armour stops them being wounded. This is called an Armour Saving throw.
To see if armour successfully stops damage, roll a D6 and compare the result to the model's Save (Sv). If the player gets equal to or greater than the Sv characteristic, the wound is stopped. The following table shows how the minimum D6 score required varies between three sample types of armour:
| Armour Type | Minimum D6 score required to save |
|---|---|
| Ork body armour | 6 |
| Eldar mesh armour | 5 |
| Space Marine power armour | 3 |
For example, a Space Marine wearing power armour is hit and wounded. The Space Marine is entitled to a Saving throw of 3, so a D6 is rolled resulting in a score of 5. The damage is therefore saved, and the model is unharmed — the shot bounces harmlessly off his armour.
Armour Piercing Weapons
Some powerful weapons are quite capable of punching through even the thickest types of armour. This is shown by a weapon having an Armour Piercing value, usually referred to as AP. Nearly all weapons have an Armour Piercing value. Some sample AP ratings for different weapons are shown below.
| Weapon | Armour Piercing |
|---|---|
| Boltgun | 5 |
| Heavy bolter | 4 |
| Lascannon | 2 |
The lower the rating the better, because it indicates the Armour Save the weapon can ignore. A weapon shown as 'AP —' has no Armour Piercing value and always allows the target an Armour Save.
- If the weapon's Armour Piercing value is equal to or lower than the model's Armour Save then it is sufficiently powerful to punch straight through the armour and the target gets no save at all. The armour is ineffective against the shot.
- If the weapon's Armour Piercing value is higher than the armour, then the target can attempt to save as normal.
For example, a heavy bolter has an Armour Piercing rating of 4 so Saves of 4+, 5+ or 6+ are ignored. A bolter with an Armour Piercing rating of 5 can pierce armour which has a Save of 5+ or 6+. A lascannon with its Armour Piercing value of 2 ignores armour which has a Save of 2+, 3+, 4+, 5+ or 6+.
When a unit takes a number of wounds from an enemy unit shooting at it, you begin by removing all models that do not get a Saving throw and then roll all other Saving throws together. The owning player then removes one model for each failed save. If the unit has models which have different armour types, see the Universal Special Rules section for the Mixed Armour rules.
For example, a mob of Orks (with an Armour Save of 6+) takes seven wounding hits from lasguns (AP −) and one wounding hit from a plasma gun (AP 2). The Ork player removes one model immediately because the plasma gun easily penetrates the Ork's armour, and then rolls seven Armour Saves for the lasgun wounding hits, removing one Ork for each failed save.
Cover Saving Throws
When the air is full of bullets and shrapnel, some good solid cover to lurk behind is always welcome. A position in cover shields troops against flying debris, shots, blasts and shrapnel, enabling them to get their heads down or crawl amongst rocks and (hopefully) avoid harm. Because of this, models in or behind cover get a Cover Saving throw or a Saving throw from their own armour, whichever is better. The great thing about Cover Saving throws is that they are not affected by the Armour Piercing value of the attacking weapon, so troops in cover will normally get a Saving throw regardless of what's firing at them.
What Counts as Cover? Cover is basically anything you can hide in or behind.
When Do Models Count as in Cover? When a model is within Area Terrain or the firer's line of sight crosses over cover so that the target model(s) are partially obscured, the model receives the Cover Save shown below. Models can claim cover from Area Terrain up to one size smaller (eg, a monstrous creature (Size 3) gets cover from Standard-sized terrain (Size 2) but not from Small terrain (Size 1)). When checking for Cover Saves, ignore cover occupied by or in contact with the firers, unless the target unit also occupies that cover.
Maximum Cover Save. Some models gain additional benefits from cover and may increase their Save by +1 or +2. However, Cover Saves may never be improved above 2+. A roll of 1 always fails.
Units Partially in Cover. Sometimes, a unit will only be partially in cover (ie, some of the models are in or behind cover and some of them are in the open). If there are more models that can be hit in cover than there are outside it, then the unit may make Cover Saves for the entire unit. If this is not the case, then none of the unit may make Cover Saves.
Cover Summary Table
| Cover Type | Cover Save |
|---|---|
| Bushes, High Grass/Crops, Fences/Railings | 6+ |
| Crates/Barrels, Pipes/Logs, Partially behind hill crests, Woods/Jungles | 6+ |
| Wrecks/Vehicles, Wreckage/Craters, Rubble/Rocks | 4+ |
| Ruins/Walls/Buildings, Trenches/Gun pits, Emplacements | 4+ |
| Bunkers, Fortified buildings | 3+ |
Example: A model with a heavy bolter (AP4) strafes a unit of Orks in cover behind some ruined walls. The Orks don't get their Armour Save of 6 because of the AP value of the heavy bolter, so they use their Cover Save of 4+. If they were Space Marines (Armour Save 3+), they would use their 3+ Armour Save instead.
Invulnerable Saves
Some creatures or entities are protected by more than mere physical armour. They may be shielded by force fields, enwrapped by mystic energies or have an alien metabolism that can shrug off hits which would put holes in a battle tank. Models like these are called Invulnerable, and always get their Saving throw even if the Armour Piercing value of the weapons hitting them would normally defeat their armour. Even if a hit normally ignores all Armour Saves, an invulnerable model gets to try to make a Saving throw as normal.
More Than One Save
Sometimes, a creature will have a normal Armour Save and a separate Invulnerable Armour Save — a good example is a Space Marine Chaplain who is protected by both power armour and a Rosarius generated force field. As if this wasn't enough they might be in cover as well. In these cases, the owning player can choose which save to attempt before rolling the dice, but the model still only gets to make one Saving throw.
Eg, if the Chaplain described above was standing in a fortified building and was wounded by an AP3 weapon his power armour would be of no use, as the shot's AP is equal to or lower than his Armour Save. The force field grants a 4+ Invulnerable Save. However, the fortified building grants a 3+ Cover Save. Neither of these saves is affected by the AP of the weapon so the Chaplain uses the Cover Save to give him the best chance of surviving.
Sometimes a unit will contain models with a mix of different Armour Saves and Invulnerable Saves. This complex situation is explained in the Universal Special Rules section.
6. Remove Casualties
Once the number of hits and wounds has been determined, the player that owns the target unit must remove any casualties. This means that the owning player gets to choose who is removed by the enemy's firing. Assuming that the models in the unit have one Wound each, one model is removed for each wound inflicted. Casualties are not necessarily dead, they may be merely knocked unconscious or incapacitated in some way. In any case, they are no longer fit to participate in the battle.
When a unit suffers wounding hits, each will affect a different model — you cannot claim that all the hits strike a single model.
The owning player can choose to remove any models from the unit, providing they are within the line of fire and range of the attacker's weaponry. He can even remove models at the rear of the unit if he wishes — it can be imagined that these troops were slain as they advanced and that the rest of the unit continued moving forward.
Under normal circumstances, powerful weapons will be picked up by other members of the unit and it will be difficult to identify leaders (to a Tyranid, all humans look the same), so it is perfectly fair for a player to avoid taking casualties on (for example) heavy weapons or squad leaders if he doesn't wish to. Sometimes, however, a unit will be subjected to a torrent of fire so severe that a particularly significant model may die or a heavy weapon may be destroyed. When a unit suffers as many wounding hits from the firing of a single enemy unit as it has models, the shooting player can nominate one model in the target unit that could be a casualty. This model must make a save against one of the wounding hits. The owning player can choose which wounding hit he saves against and, if the model has more than one type of save, may select which he uses. Other saves are then taken as normal.
For example, a squad of five Space Marines, including one armed with a flamer, suffers wounding hits from five bolter shots, a meltagun and a krak missile. Seven wounding hits on a five-model unit means the firer is allowed to select an individual model to make a save. He chooses the flamer model. The owning player decides to have the flamer-armed Marine save against one of the bolter shots before making his other saves. After that he will remove two models which don't get Armour Saves (against the meltagun and krak missile) and will roll four Armour Saves against the remaining bolter wounding hits (this means that the flamer-armed Marine may die anyway).
Morale Checks — Casualties From Enemy Fire
Enemy fire can make even the hardiest troops waiver if their companions start to fall in great numbers. Outright flight is unlikely and unwise in the face of intense opposition, but even the most seasoned veterans may fall back to regroup, tend their injured, reload their weapons and reconsider their tactics if they suffer too many casualties.
In Warhammer 40,000, such events are represented by units taking Morale checks when they suffer casualties in the Shooting phase. Any unit of troops losing 25% or more casualties to shooting during a single Shooting phase must make a Leadership test to hold their ground. Morale checks, falling back and regrouping are covered in more detail in the Morale section of the rules.
Creatures With More Than One Wound
Especially tough and heroic individuals like Space Marine commanders or horrendous alien monstrosities, such as Tyranid Lictors, can sustain more damage than ordinary troopers and keep on fighting. To show this, they have more than one Wound on their characteristics profile.
When a creature like this suffers a wounding hit that it does not save against, it loses one wound. Once a creature has lost all of its wounds it is removed as a casualty, so a creature with 3 Wounds would only be killed after it had been wounded three times. Keep track of how many wounds a creature has left on a piece of scrap paper, or by placing a dice or marker next to the model.
When a unit contains several multiple-Wound models, and those models take wounds, you must remove whole multiple-Wound models from the unit as casualties where possible — wounds may not be 'spread around' to avoid removing models. Track any excess wounds with a marker as noted above.
Instant Death!
Even though a creature might have multiple Wounds, there are plenty of weapons in the 41st millennium that are powerful enough to kill instantly. If a creature is wounded by something which has a Strength value of double their Toughness value or greater and fail their save, they are killed outright and removed as a casualty. It can be imagined they are vapourised, burned to a pile of ash, blasted limb from limb or otherwise mortally slain in a suitably graphic fashion.
For example, a Space Marine Captain is Toughness 4 and has 2 Wounds. Ordinarily, he could survive being wounded once before he was removed as a casualty. However, if he were to have the misfortune to be wounded by a krak missile (Strength 8 — normally used for knocking out battle tanks), he would become a casualty immediately because the missile's Strength is double his Toughness — he just isn't that tough!
Note that some models can gain improvements to their Toughness by using wargear items, Chaos Marks and sundry other means. When it comes to Instant Death tests such bonuses do not count! (ie, riding a bike won't save you from being obliterated by a lascannon blast). This is identified by two values being shown on the Toughness characteristic of a model's stat line, one of which is in brackets. The lower value is used for Instant Death calculations.
Armour Saves & Multiple Wounds
Creatures with multiple Wounds take their Armour Saves just like ordinary troops with only one Wound. If they make their save they suffer no damage and if they fail they suffer one wound. Against weaponry with enough Strength to cause instant death, a save can still be attempted (assuming the weapon doesn't have a good enough Armour Piercing value to just punch through their armour).
Weapons
In the 41st millennium, warfare has spawned innumerable weapons of destruction, ranging in capability from the simple but efficient laspistol to the barely controllable energies of the plasma cannon. In this section we will be describing how characteristics and special rules reflect the differences between different weapons.
Every weapon has a profile which consists of several elements: Weapon Name, Maximum Range, Weapon Strength, Armour Piercing Value and Weapon Type.
Weapon Name. Some weapons have several names, depending upon who is using them. The one given will be the most common.
Maximum Range. Ranges are all given in inches. If the weapon's range is given as 'Template' then the weapon fires using the teardrop-shaped Flamer template. The exact method is explained later. If the weapon has a 'G' next to its range then the weapon can be fired over obstacles by means of the gunners guessing the range. These are called Barrage Weapons. Such a weapon may have two ranges (for example, G12"-48") — in this case the first number is the minimum range for the weapon, the second is the maximum.
Weapon Strength. As explained in the Shooting rules, when rolling to wound for shooting hits, you use the weapon's Strength rather than the firer's.
Armour Piercing Value (AP). This shows how good the weapon is at punching through armour. The lower the number, the better the armour it can pierce without allowing an Armour Saving throw. See the Shooting rules for more on Armour Saves and AP.
Weapon Types
Different weapons have unique characteristics when they fire. For example, some guns rattle off a burst of shots which means they can hit multiple targets, others may fire a single blast of energy or a shell which explodes on impact and can kill several things at once. Some weapons are so massive that they can only be mounted on vehicles and are so powerful they can destroy not only the target but anything near to it as well. These qualities are all represented by a weapon's type. All weapons will be classified as either Rapid Fire, Pistol, Assault or Heavy.
Some weapons may be able to fire in different ways, representing different power settings or different types of ammo. Where this is the case there will be a separate line in the weapon's profile for each.
Some weapons such as storm bolters and multi-lasers fire multiple shots. Where this is the case the number of shots a weapon fires is noted after its type. For example, a multi-laser fires three shots in each Shooting phase so its type is noted as Heavy 3.
In addition to the weapon type, a weapon may have some additional characteristics that define the way they work. These include things like Gets Hot or Blast. A weapon may have one or more of these characteristics.
Rapid Fire Weapons
Weapons which are self-loading and carry a reasonably large load of ammunition are called rapid fire weapons. These are very common and usually come in the form of sub-machine guns or similar. They can lay down a withering hail of bullets, particularly at close range. Their high rate of fire means they can be fired effectively 'from the hip' when a squad is advancing, spraying shots into the enemy whenever they present themselves.
An infantry model armed with a rapid fire weapon can shoot twice at targets up to 12" away.
If an infantry model has not moved, it may instead fire once at targets over 12" away, up to its maximum range. Models carrying rapid fire weapons that wish to charge into close combat in the Assault phase may not fire in the Shooting phase — being constantly on the move limits them to short, close range bursts of fire as they charge in, the effects of which are included in the assault.
Example: Boltgun — Range 24", Strength 4, AP 5, Type Rapid Fire.
Pistol Weapons
Pistol weapons are similar to rapid fire weapons but are light enough to be carried and fired one-handed. As pistols often have a less powerful charge their range is limited. On the plus side, they are handy enough to allow a trooper to fight in close combat with a combination of a pistol and sword, axe or other close combat weapon.
If a model armed with pistols moves, it can shoot once at targets up to 12" away. If a model armed with pistol weapons remains stationary, it can shoot twice at targets up to 12". Models carrying pistol weapons can fire them once in the Shooting phase and still charge into close combat in the Assault phase, but cannot charge if they remained stationary to fire twice.
Example: Bolt Pistol — Range 12", Strength 4, AP 5, Type Pistol.
Assault Weapons
Assault weapons are fired by warriors as they charge forward into the attack. They either fire so rapidly or are so indiscriminate that you don't have to do much more than point and shoot. For example, a flamer is a weapon which fires a fan-shaped gout of burning fuel, so it's just as accurate whether you are moving and firing or not. These weapons shoot the number of times indicated — whether you move or not and regardless of range.
Models carrying assault weapons can fire them in the Shooting phase and still charge into close combat in the Assault phase. This means they are very good for moving and assaulting things... hence the name!
Example: Big Shoota — Range 36", Strength 5, AP 5, Type Assault 3.
Heavy Weapons
These are heavy, man-portable weapons, such as missile launchers or lighter weapons, that require reloading between each shot, careful set-up or bracing against their considerable recoil. If an Infantry unit moves then it cannot shoot heavy weapons — they either move or shoot, but not both (remember that even if the model armed with the heavy weapon doesn't move, it still can't fire if other members of its unit move). When shooting, heavy weapons always fire the number of times indicated regardless of range, in the same way as assault weapons. They are very good for laying down long range supporting fire or taking out tanks and such like. Infantry units that fire heavy weapons in the Shooting phase may not charge into close combat in the Assault phase, although some rare units may be an exception to this.
Note: Vehicles, monstrous creatures, riders on bikes (including jetbikes) and certain other models are capable of moving and firing freely with heavy weapons thanks to their strength, powerful exoskeleton, internal power sources, etc.
Example: Ion Cannon — Range 60", Strength 7, AP 3, Type Heavy 3.
Ordnance Weapons
Ordnance weapons are so huge and powerful that they cannot be physically carried but must be mounted onto a vehicle or be built into the structure of a bunker or fortress. Units using ordnance weapons may not charge into close combat in the Assault phase.
Designate the target and place the large Blast marker over it with the following restrictions:
- You may not place the marker so that any of your own models or vehicles (apart from wrecks) are underneath it.
- You must place the Blast marker so that one enemy model is under the central hole; you cannot place the Blast marker over empty space.
Next, check if it landed on target. If the hole at the centre of the marker is beyond the weapon's maximum range or no line of sight exists to the target the shot is an automatic miss and has no effect. Otherwise, proceed to see where it hits.
If the target is in range and can be seen, the massive impact of an ordnance weapon means it's going to be very hard to miss completely. Nonetheless, the shot may not land exactly where it was intended to. Roll the Scatter dice and a D6 to see where the shot lands. If the Scatter dice rolls a HIT symbol the shot lands on target. If an arrow is rolled, the marker is shifted in the direction shown by the arrow the number of inches indicated on the D6. If the Ordnance weapon was fired by a moving vehicle then two D6 are rolled and the highest taken to determine the distance the Blast marker scatters. Scatter rolls can take the Blast marker beyond range or out of sight, representing the chance of ricochets, the round blasting through cover and other random chance.
Example: Battle Cannon — Range 72", Strength 8, AP 3, Type Ordnance 1, Large Blast.
Blast Weapons
Blast weapons fire shells, missiles or bolts of energy which explode on impact, potentially injuring several victims with the shock waves and shrapnel. They pose less of a threat to a well dispersed unit, but can wreak havoc among closely packed ranks of warriors.
This section covers blast weapons fired by non-ordnance weapons only (ordnance weapons fire even larger shells or missiles — these are handled using the rules for ordnance weapons).
When you fire a blast weapon roll to hit as normal; if the shot misses it has no effect. If a hit is scored take the Blast marker and place it over the target unit so that one model is under the hole to see how many models are affected.
Models whose bases are partially covered by the marker are hit on a D6 roll of 4 or more, models whose bases are completely covered are hit automatically. The defending player may remove any casualties inflicted from the unit as a whole, not just from models beneath the Blast marker.
Designer's Note: While this is a bit odd at first glance, it prevents blast weapons being employed unrealistically as snipers to destroy leaders and heavy weapons.
Special Weapon Characteristics
Multiple Blasts. If a unit is firing multiple blast weapons, just place one marker after another, resolving the casualties from each blast before placing the next. Remember, casualties can come from anywhere in the unit, not just under the marker.
Large Blasts. There are two sizes of Blast marker: the normal one and the large one. Nearly all Blast weapons use the normal Blast marker, while ordnance weapons use the large Blast marker. Some non-ordnance weapons may use the large Blast marker and where this is the case it will be noted in their description. This doesn't convey any of the other advantages of ordnance weapons, however.
Some ordnance weapons have optional ammunition that doesn't use the large Blast marker. These benefit from all the advantages of ordnance weapons even if the large Blast marker is not used.
Gets Hot. 'Gets Hot' represents the penchant of certain unstable weapons for overloading and badly singeing their user. If you roll a 1 to hit, the weapon has overheated and injured the model firing it. The model must make an Armour Save or it suffers a wound (an exception to the normal Casualty Removal rules) — the model with the overheating weapon must take the wound. Weapons on vehicles are not affected by overheating. It is possible for a model to hit with shots that also result in an overheat — the hits are still resolved as normal, even if the firer also falls victim to his own weapon.
Example: Plasma gun — Range 24", Strength 7, AP 2, Type Rapid Fire, Gets Hot!
Multiple Gets Hot Shots. If a Gets Hot weapon is firing multiple shots, the chance of it getting hot is even riskier. The chance of suffering wounds is equal to the number of shots being fired, so firing two shots means that the weapon Gets Hot on rolls of 1 or 2, while firing three shots makes it a ludicrously dangerous 1, 2 or 3.
Twin-Linked Weapons. Weapons are sometimes linked to fire together in order to increase the chances of scoring a hit through the crude expedient of blasting more shots at the target. To represent the fusillade of fire laid down by a linked weapon you may re-roll the dice to hit if it misses; if the second roll is also a miss, you may not re-roll the dice again. Twin-linked weapons don't get more shots than normal ones, but you get a better chance of hitting with them. The big advantage of twin-linked weapons is that they only count as a single weapon being fired.
Example 1: A Space Marine Land Raider is firing its twin-linked heavy bolters at an enemy. It gets three shots (as heavy bolters are Heavy 3) and may re-roll any To Hit dice which don't score a 3 or higher — a hit for a Space Marine's BS of 4 — because the weapons are twin-linked.
Example 2: A Space Marine Dreadnought with a missile launcher and a twin-linked lascannon can fire both weapons and still move, as it is allowed to shoot with two weapons and the twin-linked lascannon only counts as one weapon.
Melta Weapons. Melta weapons are devastating short-ranged 'heat rays'. Melta weapons roll an extra D6 when rolling to penetrate vehicles' Armour Value at half range or under. See the Vehicles rules later for more details on armour penetration.
Example: Fusion Blaster — Range 12", Strength 8, AP 1, Type Assault 1, Melta.
Template Weapons. These are particularly indiscriminate short-ranged devices, such as flame throwers, which affect a broad, cone-shaped area represented by a template. They are indicated by having the word 'Template' for their range characteristic instead of a number. Instead of rolling to hit, simply place the template so that its narrow end is touching the base of the model firing it and the rest of the template covers as many models as possible in the target unit without covering any friends. Against vehicles, the template must be placed to cover as much of the vehicle as possible without also touching a friendly model.
Any models fully or partially under the template are hit automatically. Against vehicles use the direction of the firer to determine which armour facing is attacked. Because template weapons bathe the area in burning fuel, baneful energies or something equally dangerous, Cover Saves are ignored when resolving hits. As with blast weapons, casualties inflicted by template weapons do not have to be taken from amongst the models actually covered by the template, but must come from within range of the firer.
Example: Flamer — Range Template, Strength 4, AP 5, Type Assault 1.
Multiple Template Weapons. If a unit is firing multiple template weapons, resolve them one at a time.
Twin-Linked Template Weapons. Twin-linked template weapons can re-roll to wound against each model hit. Against vehicles, you may re-roll the Armour Penetration dice instead.
Barrage Weapons
Certain blast weapons launch their shells high up into the air so that they plunge down upon their target, passing over any intervening obstacles en route. Weapons like these fire by the crew guessing the range to the target point and hoping the round lands close enough to inflict harm. Their greatest advantage lies in their ability to fire at targets which are out of sight. Some pieces of ordnance are used for laying down a barrage in the same way.
Firing Barrages. Barrage weapons never have to test to see if they must fire at the closest enemy. Designate the target unit and place the Blast marker over it, with the following restrictions:
- You may not place the marker so that any of your own models or vehicles (apart from wrecks) are underneath it.
- You must place the Blast marker so that one enemy model is under the central hole; you cannot place the Blast marker hole over empty space.
You then see if it has landed on target. If the hole at the centre of the marker is inside the weapon's minimum range, or beyond its maximum, the shot is an automatic miss and has no effect. If its range is good, proceed to see where it hits, remembering that no line of sight is required. Roll a Scatter dice and a D6 if a line of sight exists to the target, or two D6 if not and take the highest. If you roll a HIT on the Scatter dice the shot lands on target. If an arrow is rolled, the marker is shifted in the direction indicated by the arrow a number of inches equal to the D6 roll.
Note that it is possible for a scattering shot to land beyond the weapon's range, out of sight, off the edge of the table or even on your own troops! Such are the vagaries of barrage weapons. With barrage weapons, the centre of the marker is used to determine which direction hits occur from in relation to Cover Saves. Barrage weapons are always pinning weapons as well. See the Pinning Weapons rules for details.
Example: Mortar — Range G48", Strength 4, AP 6, Type Heavy 1, Blast.
Multiple Barrage
If a unit has more than one barrage weapon they'll all be fired together in a salvo, with one Blast marker landing for each weapon that is within range. Place the Blast marker and roll for any potential scatter with the first shot as before, this is the 'ranging shot' for the salvo — all other shots will land nearby. Once the first marker is placed, roll a Scatter dice for each other Blast marker in the salvo.
If an arrow is rolled, place the marker in the direction indicated so that its edge is touching the edge of the marker placed for the ranging shot. If a hit is rolled, the firing player may place the marker so that its edge is touching the edge of any of the Blast markers in the salvo which have already landed.
Ordnance Barrages
Some ordnance weapons fire barrages. These use the firing procedures for barrage weapons to determine where they land but hit with all the benefits of ordnance. Just like normal barrages, ordnance barrages are pinning weapons. See the Pinning Weapon rules for details. Note that ordnance barrages may not be fired from moving vehicles.
Pinning Weapons
Coming under attack from some weapons can be sudden and shocking, making troopers throw themselves flat and hug cover rather than risk being hit. This is usually due to momentary confusion about where they're being attacked from. Sniper fire, barrages, etc, are the most common. When the firing of a single enemy unit inflicts casualties with pinning weapons, the target must take a Leadership test to avoid being pinned down. If the unit fails the test it may not move, shoot or assault, or make any other actions in its following turn. A unit may be called upon to take multiple Pinning tests in a single turn. A pinned unit does not have to take a Morale test if it sustains 25% casualties from enemy fire, as the fact it is pinned overrides the Morale test. If assaulted by the enemy, the pinning effect is immediately cancelled and the unit will fight normally.
"Incoming!" — Ordnance Barrage Pinning
Ordnance barrages are even more terrifying than normal barrages — the ground shakes and heaves under the thunderous impacts, troops caught in the open are completely annihilated and those in cover are virtually buried alive by a furious rain of incandescent death. Units suffering casualties from an ordnance barrage must pass a Leadership test with the following modifier to avoid being pinned down: −1 Leadership for coming under fire from an ordnance barrage.
Linked Weapons
Sniper Weapons. These weapons are precise and deadly and can be used to pick out a target's weak or vulnerable points. A sniper weapon hits on a 2 or more regardless of the firer's BS. Sniper hits wound on a roll of 4+ regardless of the victim's Toughness, and roll 2D6 for armour penetration against vehicles, but with no additional bonus for Strength. Against vehicles, this represents their chances of successfully hitting exposed crew, vision ports, fuel or ammo storage, etc.
Example: Sniper rifle — Range 36", Strength N/A, AP 6, Type Heavy 1, Sniper.
Rending Weapons. Rending weapons fire a hail of shots so focussed they can literally chew through flesh, bone and armour alike. Any roll to hit of 6 with a rending weapon automatically causes a wound with no Armour Saving throw possible. Against a vehicle, any Penetration roll of 6 allows a further D6 to be rolled and the result added to the total score. Note that only one extra dice is ever rolled, even if this additional roll is also a 6; no further dice are added.
Lance Weapons. These weapons fire a coherent, focused blast which can bore through even reinforced vehicle armour regardless of its thickness. Due to their unique nature, they count vehicle Armour Values higher than 12 as 12.
Example: Bright lance — Range 36", Strength 8, AP 2, Type Heavy 1, Lance.
Assault
While firepower alone may be enough to drive an enemy back from open ground or lightly held positions, shifting a determined foe from a fortified bunker or ruined settlement will need sterner measures. In an assault, troops storm forward, screaming their battle cries, eager to strike at their foes with knives, claws or gun butts in a desperate close combat.
Assault Phase Summary
Resolve Charges
- Pick a unit.
- Declare charge with it.
- Move the charging unit.
- Repeat the above until all charging units have moved.
Resolve Combats
- Pick a combat.
- Fight Close Combat. Troops fight in close combat. Models roll to hit, wound and take Saving throws as required in Initiative order.
- Determine Assault Results. Total up wounds inflicted. The side which inflicted the most wounds overall in the combat is the winner.
- Loser Checks Morale. The loser has to pass a Morale check or fall back. If the loser passes the test go to step 7.
- Breaking-off and Consolidation. Units falling back from close combat must test to see if they successfully break off, if they fail they are destroyed. The winners may then engage a new foe or reorder their ranks.
- Pile In. If units are still locked in close combat then any models not in base-to-base contact are moved 6" towards the enemy to continue the fight next turn.
- Repeat until all combats have been resolved.
1. Move Into Assault
In his own Assault phase, a player can declare a charge with any of his units that he believes are within assault range of an enemy unit and not already in close combat. Some especially bloodthirsty units are compelled to declare a charge if they can, as denoted in their special rules. Assault range is 6" unless specified otherwise. A unit assaults at the speed of the slowest model.
A unit may charge any enemy unit that can be reached by at least one of its models making an Assault move (avoiding obstructions such as impassable terrain, or other enemy units they do not wish to contact).
Shooting and Assaulting
A unit that fired in the Shooting phase of the current turn may only declare a charge against the unit it shot at. An infantry unit that fired twice with pistols or which shot with rapid fire weapons or remained stationary to fire heavy weapons may not charge at all in the Assault phase.
Note: Some rare units always count as stationary when firing rapid fire weapons and some units can move and fire heavy weapons. Such units can charge after firing.
A unit may charge multiple enemy units, but only if the charging unit can reach them all without losing unit coherency. Select one unit as the primary target and move to engage that one first as detailed opposite. If the unit fired in the Shooting phase it must start its charge by engaging the unit it shot at.
Units that are falling back or Pinned may not declare charges.
Charging units must now move into close combat with the unit (or units) they have declared charges against. Charging units must attempt to engage as many opposing models as possible with as many of their models that can reach the fight — no holding back!
Start the charge by moving a single model from the charging unit. The model selected must be the one which can reach the enemy by using the least amount of its available movement. Move the model into contact with the nearest enemy model in the unit being charged, using the shortest possible route. This is the starting point of the close combat. Next, move each model in the charging unit in turn up to their Assault move distance, toward the unit or units they have declared a charge on. Remember that if the enemy is not within the Assault move distance of at least one model, the charge does not happen.
After the first model in the unit has been moved, you can move the others in any sequence you desire. There are some constraints on their movement though:
- The most important one is that each model must end its charge move in coherency with another model in its own unit that has already moved.
- If possible, the model must contact an enemy model which is not already in base-to-base contact with a friendly model.
- If there are no such models in reach, then you must contact an enemy model already in base-to-base contact with one or more friendly models.
- If you cannot reach any enemy models, you must try to move within 2" of one of your own models that is already engaged.
- If this is impossible, then the charging model must just simply maintain unit coherency.
If you follow this sequence you will end up with all the models in the charging unit in 2" unit coherency distance of one another, having engaged as many enemy models as possible with as many chargers as possible.
In all cases, models may not move through friendly or enemy models and may not pass through gaps narrower than their base diameter. You may not move models within 1" of enemy models from any unit they are not charging.
Once a model is in base-to-base contact, or within 2" of a model from its own unit in base-to-base contact, with an enemy model it is said to be ENGAGED (as in engaged in combat). The unit that the models belong to is then said to be LOCKED (as in locked in close combat).
Move all the models in each charging unit before moving on to the next unit. The charging player decides the sequence in which his units will move. All the models in a charging unit make their Assault move subject to the same rules as in the Movement phase, but may be moved within 1" of enemy models they are charging.
Terrain Effects
Models assaulting into, out of or through difficult terrain will be slowed down in the same way as models moving through it in the Movement phase. Make any Dangerous Terrain tests as appropriate.
Didn't Make It?
If the unit's move is insufficient to reach at least one target unit then the charge does not proceed. The models are not moved and it is assumed they simply did not have time to engage, or thought better of it due to their poor progress. Enemy units that are not contacted are not considered to be 'locked' and are not involved in the combat in any way.
2. Fight Close Combat
How good creatures are in close combat depends almost entirely on their physical characteristics, in other words how fast, strong, tough and ferocious they are. Armour remains useful for warding off blows and shots, but ranged weaponry becomes a secondary consideration — the best gun in the galaxy won't help if your opponent is bashing your brains out with a rock!
In close combat, both players' models fight. How many blows are struck and who strikes first is detailed below. The rules are written assuming that there is only a single close combat occurring in the turn, though of course there may be several separate assaults being fought simultaneously in different parts of the battlefield. If this is the case, the player whose turn it is can choose what order to resolve the combats in, completing each combat before moving on to the next combat.
Who Can Fight?
Close combat is a swirling mêlée of troops leaping, spinning, hacking and slashing at one another. As well as fighting hand-to-hand, warriors will be firing at point blank range at any target that presents itself. The following models in a locked unit are said to be engaged in combat and can fight at full effect:
- Models in base-to-base contact with an enemy model.
- Models within 2" of a friendly model of the same unit, which itself is in base-to-base contact with an enemy model.
All engaged models fight with their full number of attacks and count the benefits of any special close combat attack forms they have. These are the members of the unit that can attack the enemy and be attacked by them. When determining which Weapon Skill and Toughness values count for the majority, and which models can be taken as casualties, only the engaged models are counted. The rest of the unit is Locked and is subject to the outcome of a close combat. They may pile in later to help their comrades, but only the engaged models can actually contribute to the fight.
Who Strikes First
It's all in the reflexes when it comes to close combat — slow, lumbering opponents can be quickly dispatched by a faster and more agile foe. Unfortunately, many cumbersome opponents, such as Orks, are tough enough to be able to withstand a vicious pummelling and still come back for more.
In close combat, a model's Initiative characteristic determines who fights first. Work your way down the Initiative scores in the combat, starting with the highest and going down to the lowest. Models make their attacks when their Initiative is reached, assuming they haven't already been killed by a model with a higher Initiative. A model will only fight if it is still engaged when its Initiative rank is called. If both sides have models with the same Initiative, attacks are made simultaneously.
For example, a squad of Space Marines (Initiative 4) including a Veteran Sergeant with power fist (Initiative 1) is charged by a brood of Genestealers (Initiative 6) and a Carnifex (Initiative 2). The Genestealers strike first at Initiative 6, followed by the Space Marines at 4, then the Carnifex at 2 and the sergeant striking last at Initiative 1.
Cover
Troops who are defending in cover have a massive advantage in an assault. They can fire from their hiding place at the approaching enemy and then smite them as they struggle to get to grips with their foe.
Models that are charged while they are in or behind cover normally fight in close combat with an Initiative value of 10. This represents the advantage of cover — their improved Initiative accounts for not only close fighting but also shots against the enemy as they charge in. However, the cover does not affect hits or anything else in an assault. After the first round of close combat, fighting is assumed to have swept into the cover, so no further advantage is gained by models in it.
Note that cover advantage applies only to models in cover that are being charged. Some units count as being in cover all the time because of psychic abilities or weird force fields, but these are of no benefit if the unit itself charges.
Sometimes, a model will only count as being in cover if assaulted from a specific direction from which the cover has an effect, eg, a Space Marine behind some oil drums is in cover if assaulted over the oil drums, but not if assaulted from the rear. If, before any assaulting models are moved, a direct line from the assaulting model to the enemy model passes through the cover then it is assumed to be enough of an obstruction to count. This expedient is used to ensure attackers can't 'run around' cover to negate its effects.
Grenades
Grenades in Warhammer 40,000 are generally used as part of an assault. A well-placed barrage of grenades can help immeasurably in the vital last few seconds it takes to overrun an enemy and come to grips. What follows are some of the most common types of grenades used in assault. Any actual damage done by the grenade is assumed to be taken into account in the unit's attacks in close combat, but the unit using them gains the added benefit shown.
Frag Grenades. Fragmentation grenades can be thrown at opponents in cover to force them to keep their heads down during a charge. The lethal storm of shrapnel from exploding frag grenades will drive opponents further under cover for a few precious moments, allowing the attackers to close in unmolested. Models armed with frag grenades that are charging enemy in or behind cover fight with Initiative 10, so they strike blows simultaneously with the defenders.
Plasma Grenades. Rather than the crude fragmentation grenades used by other races, the Eldar employ plasma grenades to stun their enemies and drive them out of cover when they charge into close combat. The effects of cover on close combat are negated by plasma grenades, so all fighting is done in the standard Initiative sequence, the Initiative 10 bonus for cover being lost.
Photon Grenades. The Tau employ a defensive grenade which blinds and disorientates their attackers with multi-spectral light and a sonic burst. Models charging against units equipped with photon grenades gain no bonus attacks for charging, but can still employ any special close combat attacks they gain when charging.
Attacks
Attacks in close combat work like shots in shooting — each attack that hits has a chance to wound. The wounded model gets a chance to save, and if it fails is (generally) removed as a casualty. Each engaged model strikes with the number of Attacks (A) on his characteristics profile. In addition, the following bonus attacks apply:
- +1 Charge Bonus: Engaged models who launched the close assault that turn (ie, charged) get +1 Attack on their normal profile for that turn only.
- +1 Two Weapons: Engaged models with two single-handed weapons (typically a close combat weapon and/or pistol in each hand) have an extra +1 Attack for every turn of close combat, including the first. Models with more than two weapons gain no additional benefit — you only get one extra Attack regardless of whether you have two or more single-handed weapons.
Example 1: A unit of five Space Marines with bolters would roll five D6 for their attacks in close combat. If they were charging they would roll ten D6 (1 Attack +1 each for charging). Note that the Space Marines could not charge if they had used their bolters in the Shooting phase, as they are rapid fire weapons.
Example 2: A unit of six Hormagaunts with scything talons (two close combat weapons) would roll twelve D6 for their attacks (1 attack +1 for two weapons). If they were charging they would roll eighteen D6 (1 Attack +1 each for charging +1 for two weapons = 3 each).
Rolling to Hit
To determine whether hits are scored roll a D6 for each Attack a model gets to make. The dice roll needed to score a hit on your enemy depends on the relative Weapon Skills of the attackers and their foes. Compare the WS of the attackers with the WS of their opponents and consult the To Hit chart to find the minimum score needed on a D6 to hit. Attacks should be rolled together where the same To Hit roll is needed, as this saves time and speeds up the game. In the example above, the Space Marine player would therefore roll all of his ten attacks together.
To Hit Chart
Attacker's Weapon Skill (rows) against opponent's Weapon Skill (columns).
| WS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4+ | 4+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ |
| 2 | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ |
| 3 | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ | 5+ |
| 4 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 5+ | 5+ |
| 5 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| 6 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| 7 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| 8 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| 9 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ | 4+ |
| 10 | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 3+ | 4+ |
Units With Different WS
Many units in Warhammer 40,000 contain models with different Weapon Skill values. Attacks against a unit are resolved using the Weapon Skill of the majority of the engaged models. If there is no majority Weapon Skill, use the lowest Weapon Skill of the models engaged. For example, a mob of 20 Grots (WS2) led by an Ork Slaver (WS4) are all engaged in a combat. While the Grots are in the majority, attacks against the unit are resolved using their WS of 2 — however skilled the Slaver is, he can't prevent the Grots getting hit in the first place.
When the models attack, they calculate their own To Hit values based on their individual Weapon Skill. So, when the Grots and Slaver mentioned above attack their enemies, the Grots' To Hit value will be based on a comparison of their WS2 against the enemy's WS, and the Slaver on a comparison of his WS4 and the enemy's WS.
Who Is Hit?
We assume that the warrior is contributing his shots and blows to the swirling combat going on. This means we don't have to worry about whether an individual model strikes its respective opponent in base contact. When a unit inflicts hits, it may only affect enemy models that are engaged. These are the only enemy models able to strike back, so it is reasonable that these are the only ones who can be hurt.
Rolling to Wound
Not all of the attacks that find a mark will harm the enemy. They may be deflected by equipment, parried at the last moment or merely inflict a graze or flesh wound. As with shooting, once you have scored a hit with an attack you must roll again to see if you score a wound and incapacitate your foe. Consult the Damage chart, cross-referencing the attacker's Strength characteristic (S) with the defender's Toughness (T). The chart indicates the minimum value on a D6 roll required to inflict a wound.
What Strength to Use. In almost all cases, when rolling to wound in close combat, use the Strength on the attacker's profile regardless of what weapon they are using. Some (but not all) close combat weapons may give the attacker a Strength bonus — this is explained in Special Close Combat Attacks. In a unit containing models with different Strength values, roll their attacks separately (they'll quite often have different Initiative characteristics too). So, for example, in a unit containing Grots and an Ork Slaver, the Grots' attacks are made with their puny Strength of 2, but the Slaver's attacks use his more macho Strength of 3.
Different Toughnesses. If the unit being attacked contains models with different Toughness characteristics, use the Toughness of the majority of the engaged models. If there is no majority, then use the lowest Toughness among them. To continue the example above, the engaged Grots (T2) and Ork Slaver (T4) will suffer To Wound rolls using the Grots' meagre Toughness as long as they are in the majority. Once again, remember that this is figured at each Initiative step — if the unit was whittled down to just the Slaver remaining, the attacks at the next Initiative will be resolved at the Toughness of the Slaver.
Armour Saves
Models struck and wounded in close combat can attempt Armour Saves to avoid becoming casualties. Models usually get to save regardless of the attacker's Strength, but some especially monstrous creatures and powerful close combat weapons will punch straight through armour. If a unit takes enough wounding hits in one Initiative step to cause one or more wounds on every engaged model, the attacking player nominates one engaged model to make the first save. After this, all other Saving throws are made normally.
Cover does not provide protection in close combat as it does against shooting. This means that models do not get Cover Saves against any attacks made in the Close Combat phase.
Remember that models are allowed to make Invulnerable Saving throws even if Armour Saving throws would not normally be allowed. If the rules for a weapon or attack states that no Armour Save is allowed then only an Invulnerable Save may be made. Some especially exotic attacks may even ignore Invulnerable Saves (but not necessarily Armour Saves), and where this is the case it is noted in the appropriate Codex book.
As noted in the Shooting section, with a unit of multi-Wound creatures, whole multi-Wound models must be removed as casualties wherever possible.
Suffering Wounds & Removing Casualties
All the rules for removing shooting casualties apply in close combat, in addition to the following:
When a unit inflicts wounds, they may only affect engaged enemy models. The player suffering the casualties selects which models die from those engaged. Casualties must be removed in such a way that the unit maintains coherency wherever possible. This represents the way that a unit can be whittled down to a tight knot of combatants.
It is possible that casualties may exceed the number of engaged models, in which case the surplus wounds are discarded. The check on which models are engaged is made at the start of each Initiative step, so some models may lose their opportunity to attack if all engaged enemies are slain at an earlier Initiative step — the unit has already slain everyone it can reach.
If a model becomes a casualty before it has an opportunity to attack, then it may not strike back. When striking blows simultaneously, you may find it more convenient to resolve one side's attacks and simply lie wounded models on their side to remind you that they have yet to attack back.
3. Determine Assault Results
Assaults are usually decisive, one side or the other quickly gaining the upper hand and forcing back their foe. Numbers and leadership can keep a side in the fight, but the casualties each side inflicts are usually the most telling factor. To decide who has won the combat, total up the number of wounds inflicted by each side. The side that causes the most is the winner, the other side is the loser and may be forced back if they fail a Morale check. Note that wounds which have been negated by Armour Saves do not count, nor do wounds in excess of a model's Wounds characteristic, only wounds actually inflicted.
If both sides score the same number of wounds, the combat is drawn and continues next turn.
If one side destroys the enemy it wins automatically — even if it sustained more casualties. They may consolidate.
Units that lose a close combat must take a Morale check to hold their ground. If they fail, they must abandon the fight and fall back. If they pass, the unit holds its ground and fights on — basically the combat is drawn and no further account is made of the unit's defeat (apart from some good-natured taunting by the winner!). Morale checks and the Fall Back rules are fully covered in the Morale section of the rules.
4. Loser Checks Morale
Units that lose a close combat must take a Morale check to hold their ground, as described above and in the Morale section.
5. Winners Advancing and Consolidating
Sweeping Advances & Consolidation
When a unit falls back from combat, the victors make a Sweeping Advance, attempting to cut down the falling back enemies, and can then make a Consolidate move. Some troops, such as Space Marine Terminators, are not allowed to sweeping advance — in such cases the unit just consolidates.
If the falling back unit no longer has any models in base contact with the victor, or if the victor has models still engaged in combat with other units which are not falling back, the victors do not get a chance to sweeping advance, but may still consolidate.
Sweeping Advances
The falling back unit and the winning unit compare their Initiative characteristic + the roll of a D6.
Note: For Initiative values, always count the Initiative characteristic from the creature's profile without any modifiers. In a unit with mixed Initiative characteristics, count the majority value, or the lowest if there is no majority.
- If the falling back unit's total is higher, they break off from the combat successfully. Make a Fall Back move for the losing unit. The winners can now consolidate as detailed below.
- If the winner's total is equal or greater they catch the fleeing enemy with a sweeping advance. The falling back unit is scattered. We assume that the already demoralised foe is comprehensively defeated, ripped apart and sent packing, its members left either dead, wounded, and captured, or at best fleeing and hiding. The destroyed unit(s) is removed immediately. No Invulnerable Save or other special rule (such as the Necrons' We'll Be Back special rule) can save the unit at this stage; for them the battle is over and they can take no further useful part in the fighting. The victorious unit may now make a Consolidate move. Note that this does constitute a 'Massacre!' result.
Designer's Note: Initiative is used in this case, rather than Movement, to represent the reaction times of the units involved — a faster Movement rate will be useful once a unit has extricated itself from a combat, but won't help if the enemy pounces at their backs as soon as the unit attempts to turn around and break off.
Consolidation
The victors of a close combat may move up to 3" in any direction to consolidate their position and recover an effective formation, or even engage new opponents. Consolidation may not be used to embark on a transport vehicle.
If a unit is consolidating due to a 'Massacre!' result, it moves D6" instead of 3" — the sudden victory may leave its members flat-footed and dumbfounded or raring to storm onward according to the vagaries of fate.
Units making a Consolidate move are not slowed by difficult terrain and do not trigger Dangerous Terrain tests.
The move may be used to contact enemy units and lock them in combat, but the consolidating unit must maintain unit coherency and does not count as charging when combat is worked out next turn. Locked models may not, of course, be targeted or fire themselves in the Shooting phase.
Note: Sometimes a losing unit will only fall back 3" or less from a combat and it is perfectly possible for a consolidating unit to move straight back into contact with such slow-footed foes. Treat this as the falling back unit being subject to a new assault (though no charge bonuses apply) — see 'Assaulted While Falling Back' in the Morale section.
If several close combats are being fought in close proximity, a unit which consolidates into a new close combat does not count as engaged until the next Assault phase and is effectively ignored. All the combats are assumed to be simultaneous.
Pile-in Moves
At the end of each Assault phase, models in units that were locked, but which are not themselves engaged in combat, MUST move up to 6" in an attempt to contact enemy that were in the same combat. This is done in the same way as moving chargers but is not slowed by difficult terrain and does not trigger Dangerous Terrain tests.
When making Pile In moves, the player whose turn it currently is moves first. A Pile In move may not be used to contact enemy units that are not currently involved in the assault. Once a unit is locked in combat it may only make Pile In moves and may not move in the Movement phase.
If, for some reason (mass carnage usually), the Pile In moves of the combatants are insufficient to allow them to get any models engaged, the assault comes to an end. Both sides may make Consolidation moves instead.
Shooting in Close Combat
Models belonging to units locked in combat may not fire weapons in the Shooting phase. Their attentions are completely engaged by the swirling mêlée. Likewise, while especially twisted and soulless commanders may wish their warriors to fire indiscriminately into the middle of close combats in the hopes of hitting the enemy, this is not permitted. The events in a close combat move too quickly and the warriors themselves will be understandably hesitant about firing on their comrades (they may end up in the same straits soon enough after all).
Locked models may not normally become casualties due to shooting. While Blast markers and templates may not be placed such that they cover any models locked in combat, they may end up there after scattering and will then affect friend and foe. Units that are locked in close combat do not have to take Morale and Pinning tests caused by shooting; they are considered to be much too focused on fighting to be worried about being shot at!
Multiple Combats
When a unit is fighting more than one enemy unit, all such units are said to be involved in a multiple combat. Each unit's attacks must be divided between the enemy it is engaged with as follows:
- Models in base contact with the enemy must allocate their attacks against a unit that they are in base contact with.
- Models engaged but not in base contact must allocate their attacks against an enemy unit that another model from their unit they are within 2" of is in base contact with.
When determining assault results in a multiple combat, total up the number of wounds inflicted by each side to determine who is the winner. All the units on the losing side have to check their morale. Remember that winning units can only sweeping advance and consolidate if all of the units they are locked with fall back or are destroyed. Each winning unit that can sweeping advance makes a single roll and compares its total to each of the enemy unit's totals; any it equals or beats are destroyed. At the end of the Assault phase, all units that were involved in a multiple combat must make Pile-in moves towards enemies that were originally in the combat.
Special Close Combat Attacks
Even though high-powered lasers and plasma weapons scour the battlefields of the 41st millennium, close combat remains commonplace — sieges, city fighting, boarding actions and tunnel warfare are noted more for the ferocity of the fighting than any strategic nuances. Seasoned warriors will often bear a deadly array of clubs, knives and frag grenades for close-quarter fighting. Assault troops will be even more ably equipped, taking pistols, swords and deadly power weapons into battle with them.
Some common close combat weapons are listed below. Models with special close combat attacks can choose not to use them and attack normally instead. A model might be equipped with more than one type of special close combat attack, eg, a power fist and a power axe. Only one special attack type can be used, so the player can opt to strike at his normal Initiative with the power axe, and use his power fist as an additional weapon, or can count his power axe as his additional weapon, and strike with his power fist at an Initiative of 1.
Close Combat Weapons (Chainswords / Axes / Pistols, etc). There is a bewildering array of close combat weapons, all of which confer no bonus to the Strength of combatants. However, swords and pistols (or similar hand weapons) gain the wielder an additional close combat attack. A plasma pistol can be used as a close combat weapon, though it confers no Strength bonus or particular armour penetration advantages.
Heavy Close Combat Weapons. Heavy close combat weapons, such as the Ork choppa and the mighty chainaxes of Berzerkers of Khorne, are used to batter through an opponent's defences. No armour can completely protect its wearer against a direct blow from such a weapon. The maximum Armour Save that can be used against these weapons is 4+, even if it would normally be better.
Power Weapons. A power weapon (typically a sword or axe, but sometimes a glaive, halberd or mace) is sheathed in the lethal haze of a disruptive energy field, eating through armour, flesh and bone with ease. Power weapons ignore Armour Saves, and some may even give a Strength bonus, or wound on a fixed dice score regardless of the enemy's Toughness characteristic (as detailed in the appropriate army Codex).
Lightning Claws. Lightning claws are commonly used as matched pairs, as only a second lightning claw can provide an additional close combat weapon attack bonus for a model equipped with one. They consist of a number of blades, each a mini-power weapon, extending from a housing on the back of the hand. Lightning claws ignore Armour Saves and re-roll any To Wound dice that fail to cause a wound.
Force Weapons. Force weapons are potent psychic weapons only used by trained Psykers. They are treated as a power weapon, but can unleash a psychic attack that kills an opponent outright. Roll to hit and wound as normal, allowing any Invulnerable Saving throws the victim might have. As long as one wound has been inflicted, make a Psychic test for the Psyker against any one opponent wounded by the weapon. The normal rules for using psychic powers apply, and you may not use another psychic power in the same turn. Passing the test slays the opponent outright, no matter how many Wounds it has (count the actual number inflicted for determining who won the assault). Force weapons have no special effect against targets that don't have Wounds, such as vehicles.
Power Fist / Claw. A power fist or claw is a powered, armoured gauntlet surrounded by a disruptive energy field. It doubles the user's Strength (up to a maximum of 10), ignoring Armour Saves. Only the user's basic Strength is doubled — any additional bonus for special abilities are added afterwards. A power fist is slow and cumbersome to use, so strikes with a power fist are always delivered at Initiative 1 (ignore any bonuses for special rules, cover, grenades or wargear, etc).
Thunder Hammer. Thunder hammers release a tremendous blast of energy when they strike. A thunder hammer counts as a power fist, with the addition that any model wounded but not killed by it is knocked reeling, and will attack with an Initiative of 1 in the next Assault phase. Vehicles struck by a thunder hammer suffer a 'Crew Shaken' result in addition to any other results.
Witchblade. These psychically attuned weapons are often carried by Eldar psykers. They inflict wounds on a roll of 2+, regardless of the target's Toughness, though Armour Saves are taken as normal. Against vehicles, the wielder of a witchblade triples his Strength (up to S10).
Rending Weapons. A well-placed blow from a rending weapon can rip apart any armour. Any roll to hit of 6 with a rending weapon will ignore Armour Saves and automatically causes a wound. Against a vehicle, an Armour Penetration roll of 6 allows a further D6 to be rolled, with the result added to the total score. Note that if the additional roll is also a 6, no further dice are added.
Poisoned Weapons. Poisoned weapons range from blades daubed in venom to hypodermic claws. They do not rely on a comparison of Strength and Toughness to wound — they will normally wound on a 4+. Some venoms are so lethal that the merest drop can kill — these wound on a 2+. Weapons with this type of lethal venom are described in the appropriate Codex.
Morale
It is a fortunate commander who can rely on his troops always performing fearlessly. In the chaos and confusion of battle, troops can easily become demoralised, disorientated or simply terrified by the violence unleashed against them. To represent this element of the unknown, your units of troops have to check to see if their morale holds under certain circumstances. As you will have already gathered, certain events will require that your troops take a Morale check, and a unit in particularly dire straits may be forced to take several Morale checks in a single turn.
Note that Leadership tests are used for other functions in Warhammer 40,000, such as choosing a target. Morale checks are a very specific kind of Leadership test.
Taking Morale Tests
Units use their Leadership characteristic for taking Morale checks. This represents the grit, determination, élan or (sometimes) plain stupidity of warriors in action. Morale checks are taken by rolling 2D6 and comparing the total score to the unit's Leadership value. If the score is equal to or under the unit's Leadership value, the test is passed. However, if the score rolled is higher, then the test is failed and the unit will immediately fall back, as described below.
Morale Check Modifiers
Certain circumstances can make Morale checks harder for a unit to pass. For example, a unit that has already suffered heavy casualties will be more inclined to give way than a unit that is at full strength. This is represented by applying Leadership modifiers to Morale checks, which can reduce the unit's Leadership value by -1, -2 or sometimes even more.
Insane Heroism. Occasionally, warriors will refuse to retreat even when faced with impossible odds or particularly harrowing experiences. Sometimes you can push someone just too far! A score of 2 on the 2D6 always indicates a unit has passed its Morale check regardless of modifiers.
When Morale Checks Are Taken
Units normally have to take a Morale check in the following situations:
- If a unit takes 25% or more casualties from Shooting in the turn — test at the end of the Shooting phase.
- If a unit is defeated in close combat in the Assault phase — test once combat results are established.
- If an enemy unit performs a Tank Shock attack on their unit — test once the vehicle has moved.
Some units have special rules pertaining to Morale checks which are detailed in the appropriate Codex. For example, some particularly fanatical units may be immune to the effects of morale. Some units automatically pass Morale checks, while others automatically pass all Leadership tests. This is a subtle, but important difference, eg, units that automatically pass Morale checks will still have to test for Pinning and Last Man Standing.
A) Shooting Casualties
A unit losing 25% or more of its current unit strength in models from shooting during a single Shooting phase must pass a Morale check at the end of the Shooting phase, with the appropriate modifiers, or else it will fall back.
A unit that is already falling back, is pinned or is locked in close combat does not have to take this test.
The Leadership test is modified by the following factor:
-1 if the unit is below 50% of its starting strength (ie, the unit has fewer than half the number of models remaining than it had when the battle started).
Example: A unit of five troops suffers two casualties, so it takes a Morale check, which it promptly passes. Next turn, the unit, now three strong, suffers another casualty, so it takes another Morale check, this time at -1 Leadership for being below 50% of starting strength.
B) Losing an Assault
Units that lose a close combat (ie, they suffer more wounds than they inflict) must pass a Morale check at the end of the Assault phase, with the appropriate modifiers, to hold their ground. If they fail, they must fall back. The Leadership test is modified by the following factors:
- -1 If the unit is below 50% of its starting strength.
- -1 If the losing side is outnumbered by its opponents.*
- -2 If the losing side is outnumbered 2:1 or more.*
- -3 If the losing side is outnumbered 3:1 or more.*
- -4 If the losing side is outnumbered 4:1 or more.*
Only apply the highest of these modifiers.
Example: An Imperial Guard squad has lost an assault. They would normally require a 7 or less to pass the Leadership test, but since they are below half strength (-1) and are outnumbered by a value of 2:1 (-2), they now require a 4 or less in order to hold their ground.
The following rules are used to determine if a unit is outnumbered:
- Vehicles with a Weapon Skill count as 10 models if they have a front armour of 12 or more, or 5 models if their front armour is 11 or less.
- Monstrous Creatures count as 10 models.
- Other models with more than one Wound count as a number of models matching the Wounds value shown on their profile.
Count all the models in the opposing unit(s) once casualties have been removed, not just the engaged ones.
Falling Back
A fall back is a fighting withdrawal, not an out-and-out rout. Sometimes a fighting retreat in the face of overwhelming odds is the only option left. A withdrawal can give troops the chance to retire to a stronger position, to regroup and mount a fresh attack, or hold back the approaching enemy.
Units make a Fall Back move upon failing a Morale test, and in each subsequent Movement phase until the unit regroups or leaves the table.
Most units fall back 2D6". A unit falls back directly towards the closest point of the player's table edge or of the base line where the unit deployed/entered the table if it came on at a different place. Certain missions may also specify different rules regarding fall back direction. If possible the unit must remain coherent, with gaps of no more than 2" between models as they fall back.
A unit that falls back must move within a corridor lying between its most extended models — but each model can move anywhere within this corridor, as you wish. If a unit is spread out such that its models are more than 2" apart, the models must be moved back into coherency as the unit moves. If the unit moves into, out of or through difficult terrain, the distance rolled on the dice is halved for a Fall Back move.
No Retreat!
It's not uncommon for units to be immune to Morale checks for losing a close combat, or to automatically pass them for some reason. They may be Fearless, subject to a vow, a walker, or be affected by some other special rule. When such units lose a close combat, and are outnumbered by 2:1 or more, they are in danger of being dragged down or overrun despite their determination to hang on.
The unit in question will not have to fall back but suffers one additional wound if outnumbered by 2:1, two wounds if outnumbered by 3:1 or three wounds if outnumbered by 4:1 or more. Saving throws can be taken against these wounds as normal. Walkers (which do not have Wounds) instead suffer one glancing hit if they are outnumbered by 2:1 or more. Remember this rule only applies if the unit lost the close combat in the first place!
C) Tank Shock
Units that are driven at by an enemy tank may wisely decide it's time to abandon their position and fall back. If a tank reaches a unit's position then the unit must take a Morale check, with the appropriate modifier, to see whether or not it falls back. For a fuller explanation of how tank shock works, see the Vehicle rules later on.
The Leadership test is modified by the following factor:
-1 If the unit is below 50% of its starting strength.
Firing While Falling Back
Troops who are falling back may continue to shoot, but are obviously moving.
Assaulted While Falling Back
A unit that is assaulted whilst falling back must check to regroup immediately (see Regrouping below), before any charging models are moved. No modifiers apply to the check in this case and even units which would not normally be allowed to regroup are allowed to make the check.
If successful, the unit regroups and will fight the close combat normally. If it fails to regroup then the unit is scattered and destroyed. Note that this rule applies if a unit consolidates into enemies falling back too.
Trapped!
Sometimes a unit will find its Fall Back corridor blocked by impassable terrain and/or models (ignoring enemy models that have fought in close combat against the unit this turn, but including friends). A unit falling back may move around any obstruction in such a way as to get back to their base line by the shortest route.
If a unit cannot perform a full Fall Back move in any direction, without doubling back, it is destroyed.
Falling Back and Pinning
As noted in the Pinning rules, Morale checks are not taken by units which are pinned. However, it is possible that a Pinning test may be required of a unit already falling back. Take the test and apply its full effects if failed. To make matters worse, a unit may not regroup while pinned either, unless they are charged (see Assaulted While Falling Back). When the pinned unit has missed a turn it will revert to falling back again, no doubt fervently hoping to get out of the mess they're in.
Regrouping
Just because a unit falls back doesn't mean it is out of the fight. Courageous officers will try to inspire their troops to rally. Warriors might regain their composure or their will to fight, perhaps out of a sense of honour, duty or sheer bloody-mindedness. A unit falling back can attempt to regroup by taking a Leadership test (with the appropriate modifiers) at the start of its Movement phase so long as:
- It has left at least 50% of its original strength.
- There are no enemies within 6".
- The unit is in coherency.
The Leadership test for regrouping is modified by the following factor:
+1 If no enemy units are in line of sight.
If the unit successfully passes its Leadership test, it regroups. It cannot move any further during that Movement phase, except that models are allowed to consolidate. Once a unit has regrouped it fights as normal. For example, it can shoot (though it does count as if it had moved on the turn it regroups) or launch an assault if it gets the chance. A unit forced to regroup before its turn was due — eg, by being assaulted by an enemy — can act normally in its next turn.
If the unit fails its Leadership test, (or cannot regroup because of the restrictions given above), then it must continue to fall back, and is moved a further 2D6".
Last Man Standing
Sometimes a unit will be almost entirely wiped out, with only a single member left. Such lone individuals must take a Leadership test at the start of each of their turns. If they pass they are filled with heroic fervour and continue to fight on single-handedly. If they fail, they suffer an outbreak of common sense and begin to fall back. Units that start the battle as a single model never have to take Last Man Standing tests as they're obviously used to fighting on their own.
Leaving the Battle
Once a unit reaches the table edge it is considered to have left the immediate battle and may not return. Note that there is no need for individual models in the unit to move 'off' the table — once a model reaches the edge, that unit has gone! The unit takes no further part in the battle and is removed, doubtless spreading tales of the unstoppable nature of the foes they were facing to their compatriots behind the front lines.
Designer's Note: This is a purposefully harsh ruling to discourage players hugging table edges too closely with their forces instead of getting into the thick of the action.
Characters
Nearly every race or power throws up exceptional individuals who stand out above the normal herd. Veteran warriors, brilliant officers, inspired prophets and ferocious war-leaders can take to the battlefield and make a difference. They inspire others to greater feats of heroism (or fiendish bravery as the case may be) and are often quicker, stronger and more powerful in combat. Some may wield fearsome psychic energies or channel unearthly powers to destroy their enemies. In Warhammer 40,000 these kinds of powerful individuals are called Characters and there are certain special rules that apply to them.
Characters In Battle
There are two kinds of characters:
- Upgrade characters are fielded as part of units from the start of the game, representing a squad leader or unit champion. They are effectively another trooper in the unit with enhanced characteristics and usually a superior Leadership value, as well as a wide selection of weapon/wargear choices. The Character rules given here do not apply to them.
- Independent characters are represented by individual models, which fight as units in their own right. One of the most useful abilities of independent characters is to join other units in battle, so that they can move in to bolster the battle line where the fighting is fiercest.
In addition, various Codexes may also include independent models that only ever fight as units of one model. These are not independent characters, and the following rules do not apply to them.
Character Movement
Characters follow the Movement rules for models of their type, be it infantry, jump infantry or beasts/cavalry. In addition, characters can move through difficult terrain more quickly and safely than ordinary troops. All characters have the Move Through Cover and Skilled Rider special rules. This advantage does not extend to vehicles they may be travelling in.
Characters in Units
Characters are allowed to move freely around the battlefield and can temporarily join other units. While a character is part of a unit, he must obey the usual Coherency rules until he leaves the unit, as detailed below. The combined unit moves and assaults at the speed of the slowest model while they stay together. In order to join a unit, an independent character simply has to move within the 2" coherency distance of the unit during his Movement phase and be declared as joining it. Note that a lone character cannot join another character to create a character unit.
Independent Characters Joining and Leaving Units
- An independent character can leave a unit during the Movement phase by moving out of coherency distance with it.
- An independent character may only join or leave a unit during the Movement phase — once assaults are launched it is too late to join in or duck out!
- A character may not join or leave a unit while it is falling back — he/she/it must wait until the unit has regrouped.
- If the unit has been pinned, the character may not leave it until it is no longer pinned.
When an independent character joins a unit, it might have different special rules from those of the unit. Unless specified in the rule itself (like in the Stubborn special rule), the unit's special rules are not conferred upon the character, and the character's special rules are not conferred upon the unit.
In some cases though, the character or the unit may lose their special rules as a result of the character joining the unit. For example, if a character that does not have the Infiltrate special rule joins a unit of Infiltrators, the unit loses the Infiltrate rule. Such exceptions are addressed case by case in the Universal Special Rules section.
Characters as Leaders
One advantage of a character being part of a unit is that any Leadership tests the unit takes are then made using the character's Leadership value, if it is superior to the unit's. Remember, if a character is part of a unit that falls back he may not leave the unit until it regroups. Characters never need to take Last Man Standing tests, as they are used to fighting heroically on their own.
Retinues. Some characters are able to lead a special retinue, bodyguard or other HQ unit in battle. Where this is the case it is specified in their Codex book entry. If a character is fielded with such a unit, he may not leave them and join another unit while they remain alive. Should the unit be destroyed, the character may once again move between units.
Shooting At and By Characters
Characters function in the same manner as normal troopers during the Shooting phase, though they will often have abilities superior to the press of men around them.
Shooting at Characters. In the heat of battle it is often hard to distinguish individuals, and even harder to pick them out as specific targets. Characters who've joined a unit are considered part of that unit and so may not normally be picked out as targets. Characters that are not part of a unit can only be chosen as targets if they are the closest target to the firer. Characters that are Monstrous Creatures can always be picked out as separate targets unless they've joined a unit of monstrous creatures or a unit with special rules that offer them protection, such as the Tyranid Tyrant Guard.
Characters Shooting. All characters shoot just like ordinary troopers, although in many cases they will have better Ballistic Skills or exotic weaponry that sets them apart. Where this is the case, either roll for them separately or use different coloured dice to differentiate their shooting. Characters must still fire at the same target as any unit they are with.
Characters in Assaults
If a unit including a character charges into close combat, the character must charge in too — they cannot hold back like cowards! A character on his own can charge into close combat if within range of the enemy in the Assault phase.
Allocating Attacks
Characters are treated as a separate unit when resolving close combats, following the normal rules for multiple combats. This means that they must be in base-to-base contact with an enemy model in order to fight, and may not make attacks for being within 2" of another friendly model. If the unit they have joined is locked in combat with the enemy, the character is locked with them. However, wounds suffered by a unit never carry over onto a character that joined them.
This also means that only the enemy models that are engaged with the character may allocate their attacks against it and can be hurt by its attacks.
Special Characters
In the Codex books, you'll find characters you can field as part of your army. As with squads of troops you can choose for your army, the character's profile tells you how tough he is and what weapons and armour he can have. It is left to you to name your heroes, and follow their illustrious careers across bloody battlefields.
Nonetheless, the 41st millennium is filled with famous characters renowned as legendary heroes or infamous villains. These individuals are called special characters and can be found in the Codex army books and in other sources, such as White Dwarf magazine. Special characters are highly skilled and dangerous individuals who have incredible traits or skills that make them particularly valuable to an army.
For example, Commissar Yarrick is without doubt the most respected Imperial Guard Commissar of the 41st millennium, his inspiring presence securing the world of Armageddon against two massive Ork invasions within the space of fifty years. An army led by him can expect great benefits in terms of morale and leadership. On the other hand, Khârn the Betrayer, an Exalted Champion of the Dark Gods, is a mad butcher and slaughterer of men with no thought for anything other than personal combat (at which, it must be granted, he excels).
Special characters represent unique individuals, past and present, that many players like to use in their games. In order to prevent such powerful characters dominating small engagements there are usually restrictions on their use to certain sizes of army, particular opponents and so forth. In some cases, with particularly legendary and celebrated (or infamous and reviled) characters, they may only be used in battles where both players have agreed to their use beforehand.
Some individuals are known as Psykers, characters capable of tapping the power of the Warp and manipulating its energies in terrifying ways. Some can send bolts of lightning arcing from their fingertips while others can hurl aside tanks with the powers of their mind, or rip their foes asunder with but a glance. However, in order to wield such power they risk eternal damnation, for the Warp is a nightmare realm inhabited by all manner of fell entities and daemons that can ravage the mind and body of the incautious Psyker.
Some army lists include characters who are Psykers, and who are allowed to use psychic powers. Psychic powers vary from race to race, so the effect of each power and when it may be used is included in their special rules. The rules below tell you how the Psyker can use his powers, and what can happen to him if things go wrong.
Psychic Powers
It requires intense concentration and inner calm for a Psyker to use his power, which is not always easy to attain in the midst of a firefight! In order to use one of his powers the Psyker must make a Psychic test by rolling equal to or under his Leadership on 2D6. If he fails, then his concentration has been broken and he cannot use the power that turn. A pass means the power may be used as described in the special rules for the Psyker in his Codex.
Unless specified otherwise, psychic abilities are subject to the usual Shooting rules, so the Psyker must be able to see the target, all attacks must be directed against a single target unit, etc. This is because Psykers find it hard to pinpoint the mind of an opponent with any clarity in the heat of combat; generally they all blur and merge in a confusing swirl. While most psychic powers are used instead of shooting, there are a number of other psychic abilities that may take effect in other phases. Most commonly these are minor psychic powers, subsidiary abilities of Psykers less potent than their major powers.
Perils of the Warp
In order to use their psychic powers a Psyker must draw deeply upon the power of the Warp — a very risky and dangerous thing to do, for the Warp is inhabited by hostile entities that can attack an unwary Psyker during the few moments that he draws upon its power. To represent the dangers of the Warp, if a Psyker rolls a 2 or a 12 when taking the Leadership test to use a psychic power, he is attacked. The Psyker suffers one automatic hit at Strength 6 with no saves (of any sort) allowed — a Warp creature has tried to fry the Psyker's brain! Note that on a Leadership test roll of a 2 the psychic power still works, even though the Psyker has been attacked or killed.
Unit Type Rules
As you will have seen in the descriptions of unit types earlier, the armies of the 41st millennium are remarkably diverse and include many specialist unit types. In this section, you will find the rules for each of these unit types. Unless stated in this section, these unit types will follow the rules for infantry.
Bikes
Troops mounted on bikes excel at hit-and-run attacks. They are able to use their high speed to strike deep into enemy territory, complete their mission and escape before an enemy is able to react. A skilled commander will recognise the benefit of having bikes at his disposal, and is able to use them for advanced reconnaissance, as well as to outflank a slower enemy. Indeed, in open ground, bikes are easily capable of outrunning all but the fastest vehicles. Riding through heavy terrain can be somewhat dangerous however, but many riders take great pride in their superior driving skills and daring. These warriors are often regarded as dangerously hot-headed risk-takers, but their effectiveness cannot be denied.
Bikes are treated like non-vehicle units rather than vehicles. However, in some respects they are treated slightly differently from other infantry troops. The exact changes are detailed below, divided between the different phases of the turn sequence.
Movement Phase. Bikes can move up to 12" in the Movement phase instead of the normal 6" move. Bikes are not slowed down by difficult terrain. However, each model entering or moving through difficult terrain must take a Dangerous Terrain test. All bikes can use the Turbo Boosters special rule.
Shooting. Each bike in a unit may fire with one weapon for each rider on the bike. Thus a Space Marine attack bike with a driver and passenger in sidecar can fire with two weapons. If rapid fire weapons are mounted on a bike, then they are allowed to fire once up to maximum range even if the bike moved. In addition, rapid fire weapons and heavy weapons may be fired if the unit moves and the bike is still allowed to charge into close combat in the same turn.
Assault. Bike assault moves are not slowed down by difficult terrain. However, each model entering or moving through difficult terrain must take a Dangerous Terrain test.
Morale. As bikes are so fast moving, they will fall back 3D6" after failing a Morale check, rather than 2D6".
Additional Protection. Bikes are large, solid constructions, and are often fitted with protective armour and shields to deflect and absorb incoming fire. Bike riders benefit from the protection offered by their bike, and increase their Toughness characteristic by 1. Note that this increase does not affect the model's Toughness when adjudicating Instant Death.
Jetbikes
Jetbikes are powered by highly advanced anti-gravitational technology that allows them to hover a few metres above the ground and make powered boosts over obstacles. They are ideal for making raids on unsuspecting enemies, able to strike without warning from behind dense terrain, before using their superior speed and handling to escape. The Eldar are the undisputed masters of anti-grav technology, and their jetbikes are a swift moving force that is justifiably feared by any who have faced them.
Jetbikes are treated like non-vehicle units rather than vehicles. However, in some respects they are treated slightly differently from other infantry troops. The exact changes are detailed below, divided between the different phases of the turn sequence:
Movement Phase. Jetbikes can move up to 12" in the Movement phase instead of the normal 6" move. Jetbikes may move over enemy and friendly units. They are able to move completely over difficult terrain, so that they do not have to take Dangerous Terrain tests. They may even end their move on top of difficult terrain, but if they do this they cannot claim any cover save, and will be as tall as the terrain for line of sight purposes.
Jetbikes may try to pass through Area Terrain, eg, woods and forests, rather than fly above them, in order to claim a Cover Save. If they do this, they are not slowed down by difficult terrain but each model entering or moving through the area must take a Dangerous Terrain test. If they end their move within difficult terrain, they will be able to claim a Cover Save.
All bikes can use the Turbo Boosters special rule.
Eldar Jetbikes: Eldar jetbike units are always allowed to move 6" in the Assault phase, even if they don't assault. When Eldar jetbikes move in the Assault phase and do not assault, then they treat difficult terrain just as jetbikes do in the Movement phase (and so can opt to move through it, or end their move on top of it).
Shooting Phase. Each jetbike in a unit may fire with one weapon for each rider on the bike. If rapid fire weapons are mounted on a jetbike, then they are allowed to fire once up to maximum range even if the bike moved. In addition, rapid fire weapons and heavy weapons may be fired if the unit moves and the jetbike is still allowed to charge into close combat in the same turn.
Assault. Jetbikes' assault moves are not slowed down by difficult terrain. However, each model entering or moving through difficult terrain when assaulting must take a Dangerous Terrain test. Note that jetbikes cannot opt to move over difficult terrain in the Assault phase as they can in the Movement phase, as the jetbikes are assumed to be close to the ground in order to initiate combat.
Morale. As jetbikes are so fast moving, they will fall back 3D6" if they fail a Morale check, rather than 2D6".
Additional Protection. Jetbikes are solid and fast moving constructions, and are often fitted with protective armour and shields to deflect and absorb incoming fire. Jetbike riders benefit from the protection offered by their bike, and increase their Toughness characteristic by 1. Note that this increase does not affect the model's Toughness when adjudicating Instant Death.
Monstrous Creatures
Some creatures are terrifying beings that tower over their opponents, are capable of hurling tanks out of their path, and slaying a score of men with a single sweep of an arm. Greater Daemons, Eldar Avatars and the feared Tyranid Carnifex count amongst their number.
This unit type behaves differently on the battlefield to a normal infantry unit. The exact changes are detailed below, divided between the different phases of the turn sequence:
Movement Phase. When moving through difficult terrain, monstrous creatures may re-roll the dice to see how far they move, as they smash aside anything in their path.
Shooting Phase. Monstrous creatures enjoy the advantage of being able to automatically pass the Leadership test required to target enemy units other than the closest. They are large enough and scary enough to be able to casually ignore any foolish enemy bearing down on them! Monstrous Creatures can fire up to two weapons a turn.
Assault Phase. A Monstrous Creature is so huge and powerful that its attacks make a mockery of armour — foes wounded by Monstrous Creatures are hideously mangled and crushed. All wounds inflicted in close combat by a monstrous creature ignore Armour Saves.
Some Monstrous Creatures have weapons that augment their Strength (such as the Eldar Wraithlord's power fist) or work unusually (like the Dark Eldar Talos). Monstrous Creatures without such a special rule roll an additional D6 for armour penetration (2D6 + Strength) when attacking a vehicle, due to their weight and size.
Jump Infantry
Some special troops use devices that allow them to move at great speed across the battlefield, making them especially good at assaulting enemy troops and outflanking enemy positions. The Space Marines use jump packs, which utilise high powered controlled bursts from turbines to make bounding leaps across the field of battle, jumping over terrain with ease. Other races tend to have their own particular versions, such as Orks (whose Stormboyz use rudimentary screaming jets to close with the enemy) and Eldar, whose Swooping Hawks soar elegantly on light wings supported by gravitic motors. Sometimes the technology will be more exotic, such as that used by Eldar Warp Spiders, who utilise short-ranged teleport devices for a similar effect.
This unit type behaves differently on the battlefield than a normal infantry unit. The exact changes are detailed below, divided between the different phases of the turn sequence.
Movement Phase. Jump infantry can move up to 12" in the Movement phase instead of the normal 6" move. This is optional and they can choose to move as normal infantry if they wish. When using jump packs, movement is not reduced for difficult terrain, and jump pack equipped models can move over other models or obstacles freely. However, if they end their move in difficult terrain, they must take a Dangerous Terrain test.
Shooting Phase. Jump infantry shoot like normal infantry units.
Assault Phase. Jump infantry assault 6" like normal infantry. This move is slowed by difficult terrain in the same way as other infantry, because the unit tends to cover the last few yards of a charge on foot.
Morale. Jump infantry fall back 3D6", as they will always use their packs. They may, of course, move over any obstructions when falling back, but if they end their move in difficult terrain they will still have to take a Dangerous Terrain test.
Jet Packs. Some Jump Infantry are equipped with a special type of jump pack, referred to as a jet pack. The most frequent users of this technology are the Tau. Jet packs are designed to provide stable firing platforms rather than a means of getting into close combat. Jet packs differ from jump packs in the following ways:
In the Movement phase, they only move 6" when using their packs, but are allowed to move 6" in the Assault phase even if they don't assault. This allows them to put more distance between themselves and the enemy.
In the Shooting phase, models with jet packs are allowed to fire rapid fire weapons once at up to maximum range, even if the unit has moved. They are also allowed to declare a charge after firing rapid fire weapons.
Artillery
Some weapons are so large and powerful that a single man could not hope to carry or operate them by himself. These weapons are more usually seen mounted on vehicles or as part of bunker emplacements, but they are sometimes utilised by infantry artillery teams, particularly on battlefields where the terrain might not be suitable for vehicles. Sometimes, these mighty artillery weapons are mounted on tracks or wheels and operate under their own engines, or in the case of some races, on highly advanced anti-grav platforms, as they are simply too heavy to lug across a battlefield.
This unit type behaves differently to a normal infantry unit on the battlefield. The exact changes are detailed below, divided between the different phases of the turn sequence:
Artillery is quite complex as it combines some of the features of vehicles with that of infantry. The unit consists of a number of crewmen models and the gun models themselves. The gun models are treated as vehicles with an Armour Rating of 10. Any penetrating or glancing hit will destroy a gun — there is no need to roll on the Vehicle Damage tables. If all the crewmen models are killed, the guns are immediately removed as well.
Movement Phase. Artillery units move in the same way as infantry. They are slowed by difficult terrain like infantry, but gun models must also take Dangerous Terrain tests when they pass through it. There must be at least one crewman per gun to allow the unit to move — if there are fewer than this, then the unit may not move.
Shooting Phase. In order to shoot with the guns in an artillery unit, there must be at least one different crewman within 2" of each gun firing. Artillery crewmen may never fire any other weapons as long as the unit still contains any gun models. Unless firing barrage weapons, there must be a line of sight to the target from both a gun model and a crewman within 2" of it. Ranges are measured from the gun model.
When template or blast weapons are fired at an artillery battery, the guns and crew can be hit as normal if they are under the marker/template. When other weapons are fired at the unit, randomise any hits between the crew and the guns themselves (so long as both types are still in the unit) — roll a D6 and consult the chart below:
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Hits the crew |
| 5-6 | Hits a gun |
Assault Phase. Artillery units may not declare charges if they still have any gun models with them. In an assault, enemy models attack as normal against the crew's Weapon Skill — randomise any hits using the table above while both crew and gun models remain engaged. If only gun models are engaged, the enemy will hit automatically and resolve their hits against the gun models. Only engaged crew models fight in an assault.
Morale. Artillery units follow the normal rules for Morale for infantry units, with the following exceptions:
If an artillery unit does not have one crewman per remaining gun model and is forced to fall back, the gun models without crewmen are destroyed and the rest of the unit falls back as normal.
If an artillery unit is forced to fall back from close combat and the enemy is free to make a sweeping advance, then the artillery unit automatically loses the Initiative roll and is caught and massacred by the victor.
Beasts & Cavalry
As well as squads of warriors fighting on foot, and the armoured bulk of vehicles, many armies of the 41st millennium make use of fearsome predators and beasts, such as Warp Beasts and gigantic wolves, to augment their forces. Other warriors ride to battle on horses, grunting Cyboars, daemonic steeds and countless other strange creatures. When closing on their enemies, they are able to move at far greater speeds than warriors on foot, and as such are able to launch deadly charges and counter charges. Their speed also allows them to quickly react to the movements of their enemies, allowing them to rapidly redeploy to where they are most needed.
This unit type behaves differently on the battlefield to a normal infantry unit. The exact changes are detailed below, divided between the different phases of the turn sequence.
Movement Phase. Beasts and cavalry are capable of making a faster move if they concentrate on moving, and do not take time to fire their weapons. They may use the Fleet special rule, as described in the Universal Special Rules section. In all other respects they move as infantry.
Shooting Phase. Although beasts generally do not shoot, cavalry frequently can. They follow the same rules as infantry when they do so.
Assault Phase. Beasts and cavalry are capable of making an especially fast charge to assault their enemies. When charging they move 12". They are slowed by difficult terrain — roll for the distance they can move just as you would for infantry, but double the result. Otherwise they assault exactly as infantry would.
Morale. Beasts and cavalry fall back 3D6" due to their speed.
Vehicles
This section of the rules describes how vehicles larger than bikes move and fight. Vehicle rules have to work differently from those for infantry in order to show their unique strengths and weaknesses. Vehicles can move swiftly and bring a tremendous arsenal of weapons to bear while infantry fire patters harmlessly off their armoured shell. That said, a determined infantry squad with the right weapons can use dense terrain to outmanoeuvre ponderous vehicles and can easily knock them out unless the vehicles have their own infantry to guard them.
Vehicle Characteristics
Vehicles have characteristics that define how powerful they are in a similar way that troops do. However, as vehicles do not fight in the same way as creatures of flesh and blood their characteristics are different. Vehicle characteristics are as follows:
| Type | Front Armour | Side Armour | Rear Armour | BS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leman Russ Tank | 14 | 12 | 10 | 3 |
Type. Vehicles come in all sorts of different types, some are faster than others while some are able to fly or walk instead of driving along on wheels or tracks. Any special traits a vehicle has are described by its type. The different types are Fast, Tank, Open-topped, Skimmer and Walker. These traits can be combined to define, for example, a Fast Skimmer or an Open-topped Walker.
Armour Value. The Armour Value of a vehicle tells you how hard it is to damage. Vehicles have separate Armour Values to represent their protection on their front, sides and rear. Armour Values typically range from 10 to 14, depending on which side of the vehicle is being attacked, usually with the lightest armour on the rear to represent vulnerable fuel cells, engine compartments, etc.
Ballistic Skill. Vehicles have a BS value just like troops and it represents the accuracy of the crew as they blast away at their enemy with the vehicle's weapons.
Transport Capacity. Some vehicles are capable of carrying infantry models inside them. The transport capacity tells how many approximately human-sized infantry can be carried.
Fire Points. If a vehicle is not open-topped, the Fire Points characteristic tells you how many passengers can fire their weapons through slits or hatches while inside the vehicle.
Additional Characteristics. Some vehicles, most commonly Walkers, will also have a Weapon Skill, Strength and Attacks value representing its ability in close combat and an Initiative value denoting its reaction speed, in the same way as they would for normal troops. The profile for a Walker looks like this:
| Type | Front | Side | Rear | WS | BS | S | I | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dreadnought (Walker) | 12 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 6(10) | 4 | 2 |
Access Points. A vehicle's access points specify where passengers can embark and disembark from — typically via hatches or ramps shown on the model itself.
Vehicle Types
Open-Topped Vehicles. Some vehicles are not fully enclosed, but expose their crews to a hostile universe. There are many reasons for this — to give reconnaissance units a good field of vision, make embarking and disembarking passengers easier, or it may simply be impractical to enclose the crew. While crews and embarked passengers on open-topped vehicles have more freedom of movement and better arcs of vision, the lack of an enclosed crew space inevitably means that they and their vehicle are more vulnerable to incoming fire.
Fast Vehicles. Most of the fastest vehicles on the battlefield are skimmers, such as Space Marine Land Speeders. These are able to avoid terrain which would slow down conventional vehicles. However, a few wheeled or tracked vehicles are also capable of high speeds and are classed as Fast Vehicles, mostly due to either their light weight or extremely powerful engines.
Walkers. On any battlefield, there are places where conventional vehicles cannot go — built-up areas, dense forests, narrow tunnels, and so on. For this reason, many armies use vehicles that are propelled by two, or sometimes more, mechanical legs. These vehicles are usually capable of carrying as many weapon systems as a tank on a significantly smaller and lighter chassis. They combine the armour and weaponry of a tank with the manoeuvrability of an infantryman.
Skimmers. While most vehicles travel across the ground on wheels, tracks or legs, some advanced machines are fitted with jets or anti-gravity drives that enable them to swoop and hover a few metres above the battlefield. This is not true flight, but rather a limited version of it. Often skimmers will also be categorised as Fast but this is not always the case.
Tanks. Tanks are a common sight on the battlefields of the 41st millennium. Most races field some kind of heavily armed and armoured vehicle, whether it be the huge and lumbering Leman Russ battle tanks of the Imperial Guard, or the sleek and sophisticated grav-tanks of the Eldar. Tanks are often fitted for multi-role capability which will commonly include troop transportation, tank-hunting capability and infantry support.
Vehicle Movement
Many armoured vehicles are fitted with powerful engines, allowing them to cover open ground more quickly than infantry, ensuring that their mighty guns can get to where they are needed on the battlefield. Other highly advanced vehicles are fitted with anti-gravity drives that allow them to skim swiftly over rough terrain to launch unexpected attacks, while some vehicles stride forwards on mechanical limbs, ploughing through densely packed terrain with ease in order to bring their weapons to bear.
Most vehicles can move up to 12" in the Movement phase. This is relatively slow, but it represents a cross-country speed rather than moving flat out. However, some vehicles will want to move even slower in order to use their weapons (see later). Normally vehicles can only move in the Movement phase, but walkers can move in both the Movement phase and the Assault phase just as infantry can.
Vehicles can turn any number of times as they move, just like any other model. Vehicles turn by pivoting on the spot about their centre-point, rather than 'wheeling' round. Turning does not reduce the vehicle's move, but once the Movement phase is over they can only make turns as described in the Shooting phase, to bring weapons to bear if they have not actually moved in the Movement phase. This means that a vehicle may combine forward and reverse movement in the same turn providing it does not exceed its maximum move.
Fast Vehicles. Some vehicles are notably fast either because of their light construction or powerful engines — or both. Fast vehicles can move up to 24" in the Movement phase.
Terrain Effects
Vehicles that move out of, into or through difficult terrain risk becoming stuck, bogged down or something similar. Skimmers and walkers are handled differently and are explained later. Other vehicles must make a Dangerous Terrain test. Note that when categorising terrain it is perfectly permissible to categorise terrain as being difficult, dangerous or impassable to vehicle units but not to non-vehicle units.
Dangerous Terrain Tests for Vehicles. These tests are taken whenever a vehicle attempts to enter difficult terrain or to move through or out of it. If the test is failed the vehicle halts immediately. If it was attempting to enter difficult terrain it stops just outside. If a vehicle has moved up to 6" the test is taken on a single D6, otherwise it is taken on two D6. If any dice rolls a 1 the test is failed and the vehicle is immobilised for the rest of the game (or until repaired where appropriate), while a 2-6 means it can carry on moving. If both dice roll a 1 the vehicle is tipped over or irretrievably bogged down and counts as destroyed (note: see the Damage tables for effects on passengers if any are carried). It follows then that a vehicle cannot be destroyed by a Dangerous Terrain test unless it attempts to move across difficult ground at high speed.
Skimmers. Skimmers are capable of making a powered boost to gain height and cross obstacles. As such, skimmers ignore terrain altogether when they move and can even end their move hovering over difficult or impassable terrain (but not over other models). Conversely, mobile skimmers never count obscured target benefits from terrain they are hovering over, instead relying on speed for their protection.
Walkers. All walkers move in exactly the same way as infantry, so they can move up to 6" in the Movement phase and then charge up to 6" in the Assault phase if the enemy are within range. Difficult terrain affects walkers just as it does infantry — moving into, out of or through difficult terrain requires a roll of two D6, using the highest result as the maximum distance they may move that turn. If walkers fail a Dangerous Terrain test, they are immobilised.
Roads. Vehicles — with the exception of walkers and skimmers — that follow a road for their entire Movement phase (including entering along it if coming from reserve) may add 6" to their maximum speed. They do not gain this benefit if any of the following apply: Difficult Terrain tests, shooting, embark or disembark passengers, performing Tank Shock, or the use of any vehicle upgrades (such as smoke launchers or searchlights). In essence the vehicle must concentrate on moving down the road and nothing else.
Carrying Troops
Some vehicles can carry infantry across the battlefield, and the advantages of being able to move a squad rapidly from one area to another under the protection of armour plate is obvious. The danger comes if the transport itself is destroyed before its passengers disembark, as they could become smoking corpses, burned alive inside the exploding vehicle.
Passenger Capacity. Each transport vehicle has a maximum passenger capacity which cannot be exceeded. Sometimes, there will be constraints on which types of models can embark on a particular vehicle. Terminators, for example, cannot embark on a Rhino or Razorback, although they may be transported by a Land Raider. Only infantry may embark in transports unless the transporting vehicle's rules specify otherwise.
Who Can Use a Transport Vehicle? Sometimes a unit entry in a Codex book will include a transport option, allowing a vehicle to be selected along with the unit. These transport vehicles are directly assigned to that particular unit and are known as dedicated transports. Other transport vehicles are chosen separately and occupy a Force Organisation chart slot (for example, Eldar Falcons), and can be used to provide ad hoc transportation to any unit that can embark on it.
Dedicated transports may only be used to transport the squad they are selected with plus any independent characters that have joined the squad (provided there is room in the transport, of course). An independent character may disembark and leave the unit still embarked, but if the unit disembarks then any independent characters must as well.
No more than one unit (plus any independent characters that have joined it) can be embarked on a transport. The entire unit must be embarked on a transport if any part of it is — a unit may never be spread across multiple transport vehicles.
Access Points. Each vehicle capable of carrying passengers will have a number of 'access points'. These are the doors, ramps and hatches that passengers use to get in and out of the vehicle. Open-topped vehicles do not have specific access points. Models can embark or disembark within 2" of any point of the vehicle.
Embarking
Infantry may not voluntarily embark and disembark in the same player turn. However, they may embark and then be forced to disembark due to damage caused to their transport, or be subject to a special rule in their codex that permits them to do so. Models can only voluntarily embark or disembark in the Movement phase.
A unit can embark onto a vehicle by moving each model to within 2" of its access points in the Movement phase. The whole unit must be able to embark or none of them can. If some models are out of range, their compatriots will have to wait until they can all embark together.
- If the vehicle moved before its passengers got aboard then it may not move any further or make any turns.
- If the vehicle has not moved before its passengers got aboard then it can move normally, as soon as the unit is on board.
Disembarking
A unit that begins its Movement phase aboard a vehicle can get out either before or after the vehicle has moved. When the unit disembarks, each model must be deployed within 2" of one of the vehicle's access points, and within unit coherency.
- If the vehicle has already moved, the passengers move only far enough to deploy, and cannot disembark at all if the vehicle moved more than 12". Once the models have disembarked, the vehicle may not move any further or make any turns.
- If the vehicle has not yet moved then the passengers may move as normal after disembarking, the vehicle can then move off separately at up to full speed.
Passengers aboard a vehicle cannot disembark within 1" of an enemy model. If compelled to disembark (eg, because of the vehicle being destroyed), any models that cannot disembark because there is no room for them to disembark into are killed and removed from play as casualties. After disembarking, models may shoot (counting as moving) but may not assault unless the vehicle has 'open-topped' noted in its profile, is a Land Raider (or one of its variants) or did not move before the passengers disembarked.
Troops Firing From Vehicles
Many vehicles, particularly tanks, are able to bear massive weapons that are easily capable of smashing apart bunkers, annihilating enemy troops and making smoking wrecks of other vehicles. In terms of destructive power, vehicles are amongst the most powerful tools in a commander's arsenal. Nevertheless, some vehicles will need to sacrifice their speed in order to fully utilise their immense firepower, thus requiring some tactical forethought for effective use.
Vehicle Shooting
When a vehicle fires, it normally uses its own BS characteristic (representing the BS of the crew) and shoots like other units — all its weapons must fire at a single target unit. Vehicles can fire weapons on the move but they are limited in the number of larger weapons that they can fire.
Vehicle Weaponry. Vehicles can mount a frightening array of weapons. These can be divided into four categories:
- Ordnance weapons
- Ordnance Barrage weapons
- Main weapons (Strength 7 or greater)
- Defensive weapons (Strength 6 or less)
Details of these weapons are as laid down in the Weapons section of the rules.
Any weapon of Strength 6 or below that is mounted on a vehicle is called a defensive weapon, whilst those of Strength 7 or greater are known as main weapons. If a weapon has a variable Strength rating, the Strength used that turn determines which category it belongs to. For example, a missile launcher would count as a main weapon if firing krak (S8) but as a defensive weapon if firing frag (S4).
How many main and defensive weapons a vehicle can fire in a turn depends on how fast it moves. The normal restrictions for infantry moving, shooting and assaulting don't apply to weapons fitted to vehicles (including add-ons like Hunter-Killer missiles and pintle-mounted guns). This means that vehicle-mounted rapid fire and heavy weapons always count as stationary even if the vehicle moves and don't prevent a walker that fires them from charging in the following Assault phase.
Moving and Shooting
The table below shows what weapons can be fired by each type of vehicle at each speed. Fast vehicles may not mount ordnance weapons and so may never fire them.
Vehicle Moving & Firing Summary
| Vehicle Type | Stationary | Moved up to 6" | Moved up to 12" | Moved more than 12" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle (neither Fast nor a Walker) | All main and defensive weapons | All main and defensive weapons OR 1 ordnance weapon OR 1 ordnance barrage weapon | 1 main weapon and all defensive weapons | No weapons |
| Fast Vehicle | All main and defensive weapons | All main and defensive weapons | 1 main weapon and all defensive weapons | No weapons |
| Walker | All main and defensive weapons OR 1 ordnance weapon OR 1 ordnance barrage weapon | 2 main or defensive weapons | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Vehicle Line of Sight
Vehicles enjoy the advantage of being able to automatically pass the Leadership test required to target enemy units other than the closest. This might be due to their additional height, better sights, sensors, tighter fire control or other targeting improvements.
Turning to Face. Many vehicles have turrets that can swivel around to engage targets that the vehicle is not necessarily facing towards. Turrets can be turned to face without it counting as movement.
Any vehicle that is not immobilised, and did not move in the Movement phase, can pivot on the spot in the Shooting phase before they shoot without counting it as movement, so they can fire as if they were stationary.
Firing Main & Defensive Weaponry. The rules for firing a vehicle's main and defensive weapons are the same as for firing the same types of weapons by infantry — you roll to hit, roll to wound and then make Saving throws as appropriate.
Just like infantry, vehicles need to be able to draw a line of sight to their targets in order to shoot at them. Vehicles trace their line of sight for shooting directly from the weapon mountings. Weapons mounted on vehicles often have a limited arc of fire and may not fire on units that are outside this arc. Trace the actual line of fire from the weapon mounting to see if it will be blocked by terrain or other vehicles. Weapons mounted on walkers can fire in a 180° forward arc. Fixed weapons have a 90° fire arc from their mounting point.
Fire Points. Each vehicle that can carry troops and is not classed as open-topped may have a number of fire points defined. A fire point is a hatch or gun slit from which one or more passengers inside the vehicle can fire.
Infantry Firing From Vehicles. Infantry aboard vehicles can fire from firing slits, hatches or over the sides of the fighting compartment if the vehicle is open-topped. All of the models aboard an open-topped vehicle can fire. Troops in a closed top vehicle, however, can only fire from designated fire points.
Infantry firing from a vehicle count as moving if the vehicle moves, and may not fire at all if the vehicle moves faster than 12". This means they may not fire heavy weapons from a moving vehicle unless normally allowed to fire heavy weapons while moving.
If passengers fire from a closed vehicle and any of them do not have a Saving throw of 2+ or 3+ (using the best of Armour Save and Invulnerable Save), then in the following player turn, enemy firing at or assaulting the vehicle count it as open-topped to represent the chance of hitting exposed passengers and the hits passing into the vehicle. This rule does not apply to the firing weapons built onto a vehicle, such as the Chimera's lasguns, or a pintle-mounted storm bolter, for example.
Shooting At Vehicles
Choosing a Vehicle as a Target
Any of your units can choose the closest vehicle as a target. Just as when shooting at infantry, they may take a Leadership test to fire at one further away. When a unit fires at a vehicle it must direct all of its shooting at it. Often this means that some of their weapons can't damage it, so we assume that the other members of the squad are giving covering fire, bringing forward ammunition for heavy weapons or simply keeping their heads down. If one of your unit's shooting forces the passengers aboard an enemy vehicle to disembark during your Shooting phase, they may be shot at by units that have not yet fired in that Shooting phase.
Roll to hit against vehicles in the same way as you would against other units. If any hits are scored you then roll for each to see if they penetrate the vehicle's Armour Value, as explained later. Vehicles with a Weapon Skill characteristic that are engaged cannot be shot at.
Vehicle Armour Values
Not all vehicles are equally armoured. Some massive tanks are protected by countless layers of reinforced adamantium and ceramite plates, while other lighter vehicles rely more on their speed to avoid incoming fire. As such, each different type of vehicle will have different Armour Values, representing not just the thickness and slope of its armour, but also how difficult a target it is because of its size and speed, how tough and numerous its crew are, and so on. Armour Values for individual vehicles also vary depending on whether the shot comes from the front, sides, or rear.
- If the hole in the middle of the Blast marker is not over the vehicle but the Blast marker is, then the Strength of the shot is halved (rounding fractions down).
- When a vehicle is hit by a non-barrage weapon with a Blast marker or Large Blast marker (including Ordnance), the shot is always assumed to strike the vehicle from the direction of the firer regardless of exactly where the marker is placed or scattered to.
- In the case of a barrage weapon of any kind, if the hole in the middle of the Blast marker ends over the vehicle, the shot is assumed to hit the side of the vehicle that faces the firer, otherwise the attack is assumed to hit the vehicle from the direction of the hole in the Blast marker. Thus a barrage shot landing behind a vehicle may hit the rear armour but will be at half strength.
Armour Penetration
Hitting a vehicle is no guarantee that you will actually damage it. Once a hit has been scored on a vehicle, roll a D6 and add the weapon's Strength characteristic to it, comparing this total against the vehicle's Armour Value.
- If the total is less than the vehicle's Armour Value, the shot has no effect.
- If the total is equal to the vehicle's Armour Value, the shot causes a glancing hit.
- If the total is greater than the vehicle's Armour Value, the shot scores a penetrating hit.
Example: A lascannon shot hits the front of a Space Marine Predator with an Armour Value of 13. Rolling a D6, the player scores a 4, and adds this to the lascannon's Strength of 9, for a total of 13. Because this equals the Armour Value of the Predator, the shot inflicts a glancing hit.
Ordnance Weapons. Ordnance weapons fire such enormous projectiles that they can smash through armour or hit with such force that the target vehicle's crew are turned to mush. When you roll to penetrate a vehicle's armour with an ordnance weapon, you get to roll two D6 instead of one, and pick the highest result. Note that as Ordnance can be so destructively powerful, if these weapons manage to penetrate the armour of a vehicle you use the Ordnance Penetrating Hit table rather than the normal Penetrating Hit table.
'AP 1' Weapons & Armour Penetration. Some weapons are so effective at cutting through armour that they will penetrate a vehicle's heavily armoured sides with ease. AP 1 weapons, such as multi-meltas, score penetrating hits even when they equal the target's Armour Value, instead of scoring glancing hits as normal. This can still be reduced back to a glancing hit due to the target being obscured (see Obscured Targets and Glancing Hits) or by a weapon's own special rules (for example, the Eldar Wraithcannon).
'AP -' Weapons & Armour Penetration. While some weapons are especially good at cutting through heavily armoured targets, other weapons have great difficulty. A weapon shown as 'AP -' lacks the penetrating power to destroy a vehicle easily, and can only ever score glancing hits.
Damage Rolls
A hit on a vehicle can have a variety of results. A vehicle's armour could be completely pierced, yet merely result in giving the crew a nasty shock. Alternatively, a lucky shot could detonate ammunition held within the vehicle, resulting in an explosion of titanic proportions. If a vehicle's armour is breached, you need to determine what damage is caused. Roll a D6 for each shot that glanced or penetrated the vehicle's armour and look up the result on the appropriate Damage table below. Note that there are separate tables for glancing, penetrating and ordnance hits.
Glancing Hit (S+D6 roll equals Armour Value)
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Crew shaken |
| 3 | Crew stunned |
| 4 | Armament destroyed |
| 5 | Immobilised |
| 6 | Vehicle destroyed! |
Penetrating Hit (S+D6 roll beats Armour Value)
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Crew stunned |
| 2 | Armament destroyed & Crew stunned |
| 3 | Immobilised & Crew stunned |
| 4 | Vehicle destroyed! |
| 5 | Vehicle destroyed! |
| 6 | Vehicle explodes! |
Ordnance Hit (ordnance weapon beats Armour)
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Crew stunned |
| 2 | Armament destroyed & Crew stunned |
| 3 | Immobilised & Crew stunned |
| 4 | Vehicle destroyed! |
| 5 | Vehicle explodes! |
| 6 | Vehicle annihilated! |
Damage Notes
Crew Shaken. The vehicle is rocked by the attack, but no serious damage is sustained. The vehicle may not shoot next turn. Passengers may not shoot from within the vehicle next turn, but are otherwise unaffected.
Crew Stunned. The vehicle is seriously knocked about by the attack, scrambling targeting information and temporarily losing control. The vehicle may not move or shoot next turn. Passengers may not shoot from within the vehicle next turn, but are otherwise unaffected.
Note: Additional Stunned and Shaken results are not cumulative, so if a vehicle is shaken three times it is still only unable to fire in its next turn, not its next three turns.
Armament Destroyed. One of the vehicle's weapons is ripped off by the force of the attack. A weapon of S4 or greater (chosen by the attacker) is destroyed. If a vehicle has no eligible weapons left, treat this result as an Immobilised result instead. This can include vehicle upgrades that function as weapons, such as pintle-mounted storm bolters or Hunter-Killer missiles.
Immobilised. The vehicle has taken a hit that has crippled a wheel, track, grav plate, jet or leg. It may not move for the rest of the game. An immobilised vehicle may not turn in place but its turret (if it has one) may continue to rotate to select targets, and other weapons retain their normal arc of fire. Further Immobilised results count as armament destroyed instead.
Skimmers that are immobilised immediately crash, and are destroyed if they moved more than 6" in their last turn, or are over impassable or difficult terrain. Otherwise they make a forced landing where they are and remain immobilised for the rest of the game, no longer counting as a skimmer.
Note: A vehicle which suffers an Immobilised or Armament Destroyed result when it has no S4 or greater weapons left, and is already immobilised, counts the result as a Vehicle Destroyed! result instead.
Vehicle Destroyed! The attack critically damages the vehicle. The vehicle is destroyed and becomes a wreck.
Vehicle Explodes! The vehicle's fuel and ammo detonate, ripping the vehicle apart in a spectacular explosion. Flaming debris is scattered D6" in every direction, measured from the vehicle's edges. Models in range suffer 1 wound on a roll of 4+ (Saving throws are allowed), but other vehicles struck by this flaming debris are unaffected. The exploded vehicle is removed and should be replaced with an area of difficult ground representing scattered wreckage or a crater.
Vehicle Annihilated! The vehicle is completely destroyed in an immense detonation, and red-hot fragments of armour, engine and weaponry are sent scything out in all directions. The resultant explosion will kill all passengers carried, with no Saving throws of any sort allowed. In addition, a 6" area is measured from the edges of the vehicle. Any models within range suffer 1 wound on a roll of 4+ (Saving throws are allowed), but other vehicles are unaffected. The annihilated vehicle is removed and should be replaced with an area of difficult ground representing scattered wreckage or a crater.
Note: Vehicle drivers, gunners and other crew are considered killed if their vehicle is destroyed, explodes or is annihilated.
Damage to Passengers
Passengers carried aboard a vehicle that is destroyed or suffers a Penetrating hit (no matter what the result) will try to get out of the steel coffin as quickly as possible. The passengers must make an immediate disembarkation move. In addition, they may also suffer casualties and/or be pinned as a result, as shown on the table below.
Entangled. Being involved in a vehicle crash due to weapons fire is extremely unpleasant. It will take the survivors some time to pull themselves clear of the wreckage and prepare to fight again. To represent this, an entangled unit is treated exactly the same as being pinned. This applies to all passengers whether or not they could normally be pinned.
Once disembarked, passengers may be shot at by subsequent firing units and may be assaulted as normal.
Emergency Disembarkation Table
| Vehicle's last move was up to 6" | Vehicle's last move was more than 6" | |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle suffers a penetrating hit but does not explode and is not wrecked | Passengers do not suffer wounds. The disembarked passengers must take a normal Pinning test. | Roll one D6 for each passenger. Each score of 4+ inflicts an automatic wound. Saves may be taken as normal. The disembarked passengers must take a normal Pinning test. |
| Vehicle explodes or is wrecked | Roll one D6 for each passenger. Each score of 4+ inflicts an automatic wound. Saves may be taken as normal. The disembarked passengers are entangled. | Roll one D6 for each passenger. Each score of 4+ inflicts an automatic wound. Any rolls of less than 4 must be re-rolled. Saves may be taken as normal. The disembarked passengers are entangled. |
Open-Topped Vehicles
Some vehicles are more vulnerable to damage than others because of their lightweight construction and the fact that their crew is exposed to enemy fire. A typical example of an open-topped vehicle is an Ork Wartrak or War Buggy. Whenever a Damage roll (glancing or penetrating) is made against an open-topped vehicle, add 1 to the Damage result. All open-topped vehicles have the Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates special rule.
Wrecks
Unless stated otherwise, a wrecked vehicle should be marked with some cotton wool smoke and flames and left on the table. It continues to block line of sight as if it were intact but counts as difficult terrain for infantry movement. It counts as difficult terrain for vehicles with a higher frontal armour but is impassable terrain for other vehicles. It provides a 4+ Cover Save for models on top of it or looking around it.
Vehicles and Cover — Obscured Targets
A vehicle moving especially fast or behind cover, whether naturally or artificially generated, will be harder to destroy. Remember that successful firing at a vehicle effectively means carefully picking a target spot, and an obscured target denies this opportunity.
Vehicles do not benefit from cover in the same way as infantry — their sheer size means that they will be relatively easy to hit. They can position themselves in such a way as to make it harder for the enemy to hit them in a vulnerable location. This is sometimes known as being 'hull down', and counts as an Obscured Target.
When firing on a vehicle, check that the firing models have a clear view of the whole surface (front, side or rear) of the vehicle that they are firing at.
If at least 50% of the side they are firing at is obscured by intervening terrain, or by other vehicles, artillery models, wrecks or Monstrous Creatures, then the target is classed as being obscured. Similarly, when the firer's view of a vehicle passes through an Area Terrain feature that is taller than Size 1, its view is also obscured.
If the target is obscured and a penetrating hit is scored, the vehicle's owner rolls a D6 — on a roll of 4+, the penetrating hit is downgraded to a glancing hit.
Skimmers Moving Fast
Moving skimmers are very difficult to hit squarely because they are more agile than other vehicles, and most shots are more likely to 'wing' them instead. Any hits that beat the Armour Value of a mobile skimmer moving more than 6" in its last Movement phase count as glancing hits instead of penetrating hits. In order to qualify as moving more than 6", the skimmer must end its move more than 6" from where it started the turn. Players may not claim their skimmers are 'circling' or moving 4" one way and 3" back. Skimmers are dependent on their speed and agility for avoiding enemy fire, and adequate velocity cannot be attained while circling.
Smoke Launchers
Some vehicles have small launchers mounted onto them that carry smoke charges (or a more sophisticated equivalent in the case of some alien vehicles). These are used to temporarily hide the vehicle behind concealing clouds of smoke especially if it is moving out into the open.
Once per game, after completing its move, a vehicle with smoke launchers can trigger them (it doesn't matter how far it moved). Place some cotton wool around the vehicle to show it is concealed. The vehicle may not fire any of its weapons in the same turn as it used its smoke launchers, but any penetrating hits scored by the enemy in their next Shooting phase count as glancing hits instead.
After the enemy's turn, the smoke disperses with no further effect. Note that a vehicle may still use smoke launchers even if its crew are shaken or stunned.
Vehicles and Assaults
Vehicles can be both very dangerous and very vulnerable at close quarters. On one hand, massively armoured vehicles can scatter infantry before them, as no one in their right mind would wish to be caught beneath the tracks of an eighty tonne tank bearing down on them! On the other hand, a stationary vehicle can often be very easily destroyed, as individuals clamber over it, attaching all manner of grenades and shooting into vision slits.
Skimmers can always choose to move over enemy troops and this neither impedes their movement nor harms the troops below. Enemy troops can attack skimmers in the Assault phase, as close combat takes into account close range shooting and grenade lobbing as well as actual hand-to-hand combat. Skimmer tanks can still choose to overrun an enemy unit and inflict Tank Shock in the normal manner.
Tank Shock
Tanks can overrun enemy units during their Movement phase. Having some monstrous metal behemoth coming straight at you is unnerving for anybody. During their Movement phase, a player can declare that a tank is going to attempt to Tank Shock an enemy unit. If the tank has sufficient movement to get into contact with the unit, the enemy must move aside and infantry may be forced to fall back.
To make a Tank Shock attack you must specify a direction before moving, and may not, after one initial turn, change direction during the move. Next, measure to see if any enemy units will be reached by the tank. If an enemy unit is not reached, just move the vehicle and no Tank Shock takes place. If a unit is overrun by a tank, and individual models would end up underneath the vehicle, they must be moved out of the way by the shortest distance (maintaining unit coherency), but otherwise the unit is unharmed. Vehicles with an equal or higher frontal Armour Value, or that are immobilised, do not have to move, and their presence will effectively stop a Tank Shock at a 1" separation distance. A vehicle that makes way can change its facing when it is moved back into position.
Remember that vehicles cannot move over friendly models, and may not be able to move over wrecks (see the rules for wrecked vehicles).
If an infantry unit has to move models in response to a Tank Shock, it must take a Morale check. Vehicles only have to 'give way' and no check is taken. If an infantry unit fails its Morale check it will fall back, see the Morale rules for details.
Death or Glory! If an infantry unit passes its Morale check against Tank Shock, one of its models that is in the vehicle's path can stand and attempt to destroy it rather than move out of the way (this is potentially a rather suicidal thing to do!). Note that a walker can also attempt to halt a Tank Shock using Death or Glory, often with better odds of success. The model nominated for this heroic duty gets one attack at the tank as it heads towards him.
Only one attack is made, so even if the weapon used is Assault 3 or the model is normally allowed more than one Attack — only one attack is resolved in this instance. The attack can be either a shot from a weapon carried by the model, or a single close combat attack using any weapon carried, including grenades (such as krak grenades, melta bombs and haywire grenades). Whatever form it takes, the attack hits automatically, so resolve the hit against the tank's front armour immediately.
If the model successfully manages to stun, destroy, explode, annihilate or immobilise the tank, then it grinds to a halt directly in front of the heroic individual. However, if he fails to stop the tank, then the brave (but perhaps rather foolish) glory merchant is crushed by the tank grinding over him — the model is killed regardless of Wounds or armour (invulnerable or not), or any other cunning way of staying alive they can think of. Walkers are crushed utterly (and removed from play) by the tank smashing into them if their Death or Glory attempt fails to stop it. The vehicle may then continue with its Tank Shock — the unit that attempted Death or Glory must give way.
Infantry Assaulting Vehicles
Infantry can pose a grave risk to vehicles if they get close enough. With the right weapons, troopers can wreck a vehicle by shooting through vision slits, planting explosive charges on fuel tanks, tearing open hatches to attack crew members or committing some other equally imaginative act of mayhem.
Whilst vehicles can be assaulted by infantry, they cannot be Locked in close combat by them, so when the vehicle's player turn comes around it can simply drive off (unless damage prevents it). Alternatively, it could just remain stationary and blaze away with its weapons at the enemy around it, although this might be rather dangerous when using ordnance or blast weapons!
Launching an Assault. A unit can assault a vehicle by charging it in the Assault phase. The charge move is conducted just the same as when assaulting other enemy units. Individual models can only assault the side of the vehicle facing them at the start of their charge.
Armour Penetration in Close Combat. Armour Penetration is worked out as normal (D6 + the Strength of the attacker). Note that this means few troops can actually harm vehicles, as even the lightest combat vehicle has an Armour Value of 10.
Models attack vehicles with the same number of attacks as they would if attacking any other unit — so, a model gets +1 attack for charging, models within 2" of a model in base contact also get to fight, etc. The roll to hit score needed is as follows:
| Target | D6 roll needed |
|---|---|
| Attacking a vehicle that is immobilised or was Stationary in its previous turn | Automatic hit |
| Attacking a vehicle that moved 6" or less in its previous turn | 3+ |
| Attacking a vehicle that moved more than 6" in its previous turn | 6 |
A skimmer that is not immobilised always counts as moving more than 6" in its previous turn.
When assessing how far a vehicle has moved, only take into account the actual distance covered, moving forwards and backwards doesn't help!
Results. At the conclusion of a round of close combat against a vehicle with no WS characteristic, there are no sweeping advances or Consolidation moves. The vehicle and the infantry are free to simply move away on future turns.
Models that have assaulted a vehicle with no WS are not classed as Locked, and can therefore be shot at (or through) during the Shooting phase, just bear in mind Blast markers and templates may well hit both sides.
Grenades. A well placed grenade can often achieve a kill on a vehicle. Specialist tank hunting troops are frequently equipped with melta bombs — fusion based charges which can reduce a battle tank to a burnt-out wreck in milliseconds, or krak grenades, a special type of grenade designed to implode, shattering armour and (hopefully) stopping vehicles in their tracks. Exotic alien equivalents include Eldar haywire grenades.
Grenades have to be clamped or placed so as to inflict enough damage, so each model using them can only make one attack, regardless of the number of Attacks on their profile or any other bonus normally gained in an assault. Grenades can also be used in a Death or Glory attack against a Tank Shock. Against vehicles, grenades have the following Armour Penetration:
| Grenade | Armour Penetration |
|---|---|
| Frag/Photon | 4+D6 |
| Krak | 6+D6 |
| Melta | 8+2D6 |
| Plasma | 5+D6 |
| Tankbusta | 6+(D6×2) |
Dreadnoughts in an Assault
Walkers fight in an assault in the same way as infantry. However, any hits scored against them must roll for armour penetration and damage as for a vehicle. This means that while a walker is quite capable of tearing apart its enemies in close combat, only the specially armed (or monstrously powerful) will have any hope of destroying a walker up close. Models fighting a walker always fight against its front armour, as the walker is not a static target and rampages through the mêlée, turning to face its enemies.
Immobilised, shaken and stunned walkers fight in close combat with one less attack than normal (down to a minimum of 1), but otherwise attack normally, no matter how many Immobilised, Stunned and Shaken results they have suffered.
Each roll made on the Vehicle Damage charts against a walker counts as a single wound for the purposes of working out who won the combat.
There is one very important difference about walkers in an assault; walkers never have to take Morale checks, and so will never fall back. If a walker loses a combat, treat the result as a drawn combat instead. The only way to win a close combat involving a walker is to destroy it. However, heavily outnumbered walkers may take additional damage as their enemies scramble all over them — see the No Retreat! rule for details.
Using Grenades Against Walkers in Close Combat. Grenades and melta bombs can be used against a walker. A model will only manage to score a hit with a grenade against a walker on a roll of 6. However, if a walker is already stunned or immobilised at the start of the Assault phase, then they attempt to hit based on the normal comparison of WS. Remember that models using grenades against vehicles can only ever make one attack.
Pile In Moves. At the end of the Assault phase, a walker must make a reinforcement move just like other models, unless it is immobilised.
Sweeping Advances & Consolidation. Walkers may only make a sweeping advance or Consolidation move if they are not stunned or immobilised.
Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons. Dreadnoughts are often armed with enormous close combat weapons — hammers, wrecking balls, claws, etc. If a Dreadnought is armed with a close combat weapon, it doubles its Strength in close combat (up to a maximum of 10) and ignores Armour Saving throws. A Dreadnought armed with two close combat weapons gains an extra attack, just like ordinary troopers armed with two weapons. If one of its weapons is destroyed, the bonus attack is lost. Further Armament Destroyed results do not affect the walker's Attacks characteristic, but will prevent it gaining the benefits of Dreadnought close combat weapons if that armament is destroyed (so, the Dreadnought will fight at its base Strength, and wounded enemies will be allowed to take their Armour Saves).
Vehicle Morale
Vehicles don't normally need to take Morale checks for any reason, whether they are clanking great behemoths or arrow-quick attack craft. It is assumed that in all cases the vehicle's crew has unshakeable faith in both their vehicle, and you as their supreme commander. Any occasional lapses that do occur are represented by shaken and stunned crew damage results.
Units of Vehicles — Squadrons
Most vehicles fight as individual units and are represented as a single model. However, some vehicles, like Ork Wartraks and Eldar Vypers, often operate in units of more than one vehicle rather like infantry, usually referred to as squadrons, with up to three vehicles in each squadron.
Movement Phase. When a squadron of vehicles moves, all mobile vehicles must move at the same speed as each other, eg, they all move up to 6" or they all move up to 12", etc.
All the vehicles have to maintain coherency, just like ordinary troops, but vehicle squadrons need only to remain within 4" of each other to remain in coherency, rather than within 2".
If any of the vehicles in the unit are immobilised or stunned for any reason, the rest of the unit must remain within 4" of them, or choose to abandon them. Any vehicles that are abandoned are left behind and counted as destroyed. It is assumed their crews flee rather than acting as sitting ducks!
A unit of tanks may perform a Tank Shock. If so, move the vehicles one at a time and resolve each in turn. All must move in the same direction and at the same speed. Enemy units that have already passed a Tank Shock Morale test caused by the unit earlier in the turn will pass subsequent tests automatically (and may attempt Death or Glory). It is possible that the squadron may be unable to maintain unit coherency, as some members are stopped by Death or Glory and others aren't. At the end of the move, the owning player must abandon models until the squadron is in unit coherency.
Shooting Phase. When shooting, a unit of vehicles fires all of its available weaponry at a single opposing unit. When a unit of vehicles is fired at, any hits are distributed evenly amongst the vehicles, starting with the nearest vehicle model. No vehicle takes more than one hit until all of the vehicles in the unit have each taken one hit. Once all of the hits have been distributed, roll to penetrate the vehicles' armour and make any Damage rolls as appropriate.
Example: An Ork Trukk fires its big shoota at a squadron of two Vypers, and scores two hits. This is divided between the Vypers, one hit on each, rather than both hits on a single Vyper.
The number of weapons that can be fired by the squadron depends on the movement by the unit as a whole. For determining how many weapons can fire, treat all the vehicles in the squadron as if they had moved at the speed of the vehicle that moved the furthest that turn.
Assault Phase. When engaged in close combat, enemy units must allocate their attacks between the members of a vehicle squadron, as if each vehicle was a separate unit. Use the movement of individual vehicles to determine how hard they are to hit — this reflects the vulnerability of immobilised and stunned vehicles, even when in a unit.
Universal Special Rules
As the number of Warhammer 40,000 armies has increased through the years, it has become apparent that there are a large number of special rules that are not specific to just a single army, and that these universal special rules really belong here in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. The following unit special rules are the definitive versions, and replace special rules of the same name printed in full in Codexes.
The Special Rules marked with an asterisk (*) are automatically lost by an independent character joining a unit that does not have the same special rule. These rules are also lost by a unit that is joined by an independent character that does not have the same special rule.
And They Shall Know No Fear. Space Marines automatically pass Morale tests to regroup, and can take such tests even if the squad has been reduced to less than 50% by casualties, though all other criteria apply. If Space Marines are caught by a sweeping advance, they are not destroyed and will instead continue to fight normally. If this happens, then the unit is subject to the No Retreat! rule in this round of close combat and may therefore lose additional casualties if outnumbered. Usually troops that regroup may not move normally and always count as moving whether they do or not, but these restrictions do not apply to models with this special rule.
Counter-Attack*. Troops with this skill believe that attack is always the best form of defence. If charged, they will spring forward themselves and counter-attack the enemy.
To represent this, unengaged models from a unit that has been charged by the enemy must move up to 6" to get into base-to-base contact with the enemy. Treat the counter-attack as you would an Assault move, so take terrain into account as normal. Models that counter-attack do not receive the +1 attack bonus for charging but will be able to fight with their full complement of attacks. You may not counter-attack if the unit was charged as part of a Consolidation move.
Fearless. Fearless troops never have to fall back and are assumed to automatically pass any Morale test they are required to take. They can never be pinned. This special rule is gained by any independent character joining a Fearless unit. Also, as long as a Fearless character stays inside a non-Fearless unit, he loses this special rule.
Feel No Pain. Some warriors are so blood-frenzied that they can ignore injuries that would incapacitate even a battle-hardened Space Marine. If a model with this ability loses a wound, roll a dice. On a 1, 2 or 3, take the wound as normal, removing the model if it loses its final wound. On a 4, 5 or 6, the injury is ignored and the model continues fighting. This ability cannot be used against weapons that inflict Instant Death (those with a Strength double or more the model's Toughness) or against close combat weapons that allow no Armour Save (such as power fists, power swords, Dreadnought close combat weapons, rending attacks that roll a 6 to hit, etc).
Fleet*. There are many variants of this rule: Fleet of Foot, Fleet of Claw, even Fleet of Hoof. Title aside, all models with these abilities are treated similarly. In a turn in which models with this rule do not shoot or use a psychic power that replaces shooting, they can move an additional D6" in the Shooting phase, ignoring penalties for difficult terrain.
Furious Charge. Models with this skill are known for the wild ferocity of their charges. In a player turn in which they charged into close combat they add +1 to both their Initiative and Strength characteristics. This ability does not affect sweeping advances.
Hit & Run*. Models with this ability may choose to leave close combat. Declare this at the end of the Close Combat phase. The unit using the Hit & Run ability must be involved in a combat, and will immediately move 3D6" in a straight line in any direction, ignoring the units they are locked with. This move may not be used to move into contact with any enemy models. The break-off move is automatically successful and is not subject to sweeping advance. The enemy can consolidate normally, however.
Infiltrate*. In the right circumstances, stealthy troops have the ability to work their way into a forward position on the battlefield. To represent this, units with the Infiltrate ability may set up in accordance with the Infiltrate special rule in any mission that uses this special rule (see Organising a Battle). If the mission does not allow troops to use the Infiltrate rule then the troops in question must set up normally with the rest of the army. The Infiltrate ability does not allow units that would normally be in reserve to deploy on the table. If a unit with this ability is equipped with a transport vehicle, it loses the Infiltrate ability.
Move Through Cover. Some units of infantry are especially adept at moving through difficult terrain. Accordingly, roll an extra D6 when rolling to move through difficult terrain. In most circumstances this will mean that they roll three D6 and pick the dice with the highest score.
Night Vision/Acute Senses. Warriors in certain parts of the galaxy have developed nocturnal tendencies by fighting in perpetual night, or perhaps carry equipment that gives them such abilities. When the Night Fighting mission special rules are in use, such models may choose to re-roll the test to determine how far they can see, but must abide by the new result. Such troops make excellent sentries and, when used in this role, they have a spotting distance equal to double their Initiative rating.
Characters with this rule confer it onto any unit they join, as long as they are part of the unit. Units with this rule confer it onto any characters joining them, as long as they are part of the unit.
Preferred Enemy. Some warriors are able to predict the moves of the enemies they are used to fighting. In close combat, they have developed special techniques that enable them to counter such enemies more effectively. Such troops will always hit their designated preferred enemy on 3+ in close combat, regardless of the comparative Weapon Skills. This ability will not help when attempting to hit independent characters, monstrous creatures or vehicles without a Weapon Skill characteristic.
Scouts*. Scouts are used to reconnoitre ahead and are always in the vanguard of the army. To represent this, any Scouts in the army may be deployed at the start of a battle, even in scenarios where they could not normally be deployed. For example, if you are using a mission variant with the Escalation special rule, then your Scouts would set up at the start of the battle instead of being placed in reserve. In addition to this rule, after both sides have deployed (including Infiltrators), any Scouts may make a 'free move'. The move happens before rolling to see who goes first. All of the normal Movement rules apply.
Skilled Rider. The model may re-roll the dice for Dangerous Terrain tests.
Slow and Purposeful. Models with this ability always move as if they were moving through difficult terrain (typically rolling two dice and choosing the best as their movement rate). In addition to this, they are always treated as stationary when shooting, and never receive a bonus attack when charging into close combat.
Small Targets. Being extremely hard to hit in cover, the unit's Cover Save is improved by +1 if they are in cover.
Stealth. The ability to make maximum use of available cover has saved many a warrior from discovery and death. The unit's Cover Save is improved by +1 if they are in cover.
Stubborn. Stubborn resistance against impossible odds is a feature of some races. Stubborn models function as Fearless, except that they still have to test for pinning as normal.
This special rule is gained by any independent character joining a Stubborn unit. Characters that are Stubborn confer the ability onto any unit that they lead, as long as the character is part of the unit.
Swarms. Swarms represent creatures that are too puny to be an individual threat on the battlefield, but when operating as a sea of dozens of creatures they can destroy much larger enemies. All Swarms have the Small Targets and Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates special rules.
Tank Hunters. Tank Hunters are especially skilled at finding and exploiting weaknesses in the armour of enemy vehicles. They add +1 to their Armour Penetration rolls whenever they hit a vehicle (with any weapon), and automatically pass Morale checks caused by Tank Shock.
True Grit. Bolters have a 'pistol grip', allowing them to be fired with a single hand. This takes considerable practice and skill and is not normally encouraged. Units noted as having the True Grit skill in their army list, however, have trained how to use their bolters in this manner. In game terms, this means that they may count their bolter as a bolt pistol in close combat, and will therefore be allowed to roll an extra Attack dice as if they have been equipped with an additional pistol or close combat weapon. However, a model using their bolter in this manner does not receive the +1 attack bonus for charging, as a bolter is too unwieldy to be fired with one hand while simultaneously hurling yourself at the enemy. This ability is not usable with combi-weapons of any sort. It is usable with storm bolters, but only by Space Marines of the Grey Knights Chapter for whom this is a long-standing specialisation.
Turbo-Boosters*. Units mounted on bikes and jetbikes may utilise turbo-boosters to move at extreme speed. When using their turbo-boosters they may move up to 24" in the Movement phase. Controlling their bike at such speeds takes all their concentration and skill, however, so they may not move through difficult terrain, shoot, launch assaults or move in the Assault phase in the same turn. In the following enemy Shooting phase, treat the bike's Armour Save as being an Invulnerable Save, to represent the difficulty of hitting such fast-moving targets. A unit using turbo-boosters must end its move at least 18" away from its starting position to claim this Invulnerable Save, as it relies on flat-out speed.
Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates. Some units are especially vulnerable to blast weapons and template weapons. If the unit is a vehicle, then each hit counts as two hits. If the unit is a non-vehicle, each unsaved wound counts as two wounds rather than one.
Mixed Armour
It's sometimes possible for some units to have models with different Armour Saves, and in these cases the normal casualty removal and Armour Save rules are modified slightly. The attacking player rolls hits and wounds for whichever unit he is attacking with as normal. However, when the player makes his Armour Saves, he must follow this procedure:
- Count up the number of models that have each type of armour. Only count models that could potentially be casualties.
- Determine which armour type is in the majority — if it is a tie then the worst type is assumed to be in the majority (it can be assumed that they are picked on by the enemy).
- Apply the wounding hits to the majority armour type first.
Example: In a Black Templar unit with six Initiates (each with a 3+ Save) and five Neophytes (each with a 4+ Save), the first six wounds must be allocated to the power-armoured Initiates before the Neophytes' lighter armour is used.
- If there are still more wounding hits to allocate, you can apply them to any remaining models. It is up to the owning player to decide who will save against which weapon. The only constraint is that the majority armour type must make saves before anyone else does.
Example: A unit of Chosen of Tzeentch includes one model in Chaos armour (2+ Armour Save), eight in power armour (3+ Armour Save) and three Thrall Wizards (no Armour Save). It takes nine wounds; eight are saved against by the majority armour type (3+) leaving one wound. The Chaos player could use the Armour Save of the model in Chaos armour, which will probably succeed but carries the risk of losing a valuable model if it fails, or simply remove a Thrall Wizard.
- Incoming hits form 'sets', with a single set being all the wounds caused by the shooting of a single enemy unit, or by enemy models attacking the unit in close combat at a single initiative step. For each 'set' of wounds, every model must be allocated one wound before any of them can be allocated a second wound, all models must receive a second wound before any can take a third, and so on. Unsaved wounding hits must be applied against models with the same armour type that was used for the save. If a unit receives more wounds than it has models, then the wounds 'wrap around' and affect the majority type again.
Example: If the Black Templar unit described received twenty wounds, six would be allocated to the Initiates, five to the Neophytes, six more to the Initiates and the remaining three to the Neophytes. The unit would therefore have to make twelve 3+ Saves with the Initiates and eight 4+ Saves with the Neophytes.
If special close combat attacks come into play against a unit with different Armour Saves, it is up to the owning player to decide which models make saves against the special attacks, subject to the rules detailed above. If any model has an Invulnerable Save they are, of course, at liberty to use it against a special attack.
Example: The Black Templars squad noted above suffers four power weapon hits and four normal hits in a single Initiative step. The six Initiates with a 3+ Save are in the majority so they must make saves first. The owning player decides to take the four normal weapon hits and two power weapon hits on them. The two remaining power weapon attacks are allocated to Neophytes.
Organising a Battle
Now that you've learnt the rules for moving, shooting and fighting with your army, we'll look at how to organise a game of Warhammer 40,000, including how to choose your forces, how to set up the battlefield and how to select a mission to play.
- Choose Forces
- Prepare the Battlefield
- Choose a Mission
- Deploy Forces
- Start the game!
A game of Warhammer 40,000 can use as many models as you can collect. The army lists included in the Warhammer 40,000 Codex books specify the precise characteristics and abilities of each troop type, detail how many you can use and provide a points value for each. The better a combatant is, the more points it will cost. Normally a soldier will have a basic cost, which is then increased if you upgrade his equipment or abilities.
The most popular approach to playing a game of Warhammer 40,000 involves both you and your opponent selecting forces to a previously agreed points limit. A limit of 1,500 points per side produces a well-balanced game that can be concluded in a couple of hours. As you build up your armies and enter the ranks of the veteran gamer, you will no doubt crave opportunities to get your entire figure collection onto the battlefield and play with bigger points values. Don't be in a mad rush to play huge points limit games — it is far better to start small and gain familiarity with the rules rather than trying to master everything at once. You will inevitably make mistakes in your first few games, so it is better to play a number of small, quick games to learn the ropes before moving up to a full-size game.
Choose Forces
As detailed in each army Codex, all the forces you can use are categorised broadly by type. These types are: HQ, Elite, Troops, Fast Attack and Heavy Support, and these categories tell you something about the role the troops in question play in the army.
HQ. A Headquarters unit might be a single heroic commander or powerful monster, possibly accompanied by personal guards or with a transport vehicle. These units are amongst the most powerful in the game, as leaders will generally have access to more special equipment than everyone else. They are not invincible but can provide a powerful spearhead for an attacking army, and a strong core for a defensive one. Every army will contain at least one Headquarters unit to command it.
Elites. An Elite unit will normally be a powerful but rare option. Elite choices are often the best soldiers an army has to offer, but there are never enough of them. In some cases they will be specialists, while at other times they will be more experienced versions of the regular rank and file soldiers.
Troops. Troops represent the most commonly available soldiers in an army. This does not mean they are poor fighters though; the category includes such troops as Space Marines and Eldar Dire Avengers, both formidable adversaries. These are the warriors that make up the bulk of an army and, as such, every army will have at least two such units.
Fast Attack. Fast Attack units are generally faster than their comrades and are expected to fight in a more dashing and decisive way. Often they will be responsible for reconnaissance and scouting, while at other times they will be specialist assault troops relying on speed to strike at the heart of the enemy.
Heavy Support. Heavy Support units are literally the big guns of the army. In this section you will find the heaviest items of equipment and the most powerful creatures. However, these units are also often the most expensive in points, so an over-reliance on them could see you being heavily outnumbered.
Force Organisation Charts
The minimum and maximum numbers of each of these types of unit are detailed on a Force Organisation chart. One box on the chart allows you to make one selection from that part of your army list. Dark boxes are compulsory selections. As you can see from the Force Organisation chart, which is used for all Standard Missions, you will always have to take at least one Headquarters selection and two Troops selections. These compulsory choices ensure that whatever else you select, your force will have a core within it that is representative of that army. This is rarely a disadvantage and many players often use the maximum number of Troops selections.
Sometimes a single choice on the Force Organisation chart will allow you to select more than one unit. This will always be explained in the appropriate Codex so be sure to read it carefully.
Standard Missions Force Organisation Chart
| Category | Compulsory | Optional |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | 1 | 1 more |
| Troops | 2 | 4 more |
| Elites | — | 3 |
| Fast Attack | — | 3 |
| Heavy Support | — | 3 |
Very Large Games
As your collection of miniatures grows, the urge to use them all at once will become hard to resist. Above a total of 2,500 points, the Force Organisation chart deliberately becomes a real limiting factor. The chart allows you to build the minimum sized force that can reasonably be expected to complete a mission. On a larger scale, an army will consist of many such detachments, each performing separate missions. If you want to play an especially large game then, as well as agreeing a points limit, you should also agree a maximum number of detachments. Each detachment will be a separate army, using its own Force Organisation chart.
Prepare the Battlefield
Setting up a well-modelled, interesting battlefield will enhance the enjoyment that you get from playing a game of Warhammer 40,000. Many players will happily collect several armies before even considering the possibility of investing some time and effort in producing good terrain. This is a shame, as a new set-up for your games can breathe fresh life into the most heavily used armies and missions. Adapting your tactics from fighting in rolling woodland to fighting in ruined hab-blocks is both challenging and fun.
It is best if terrain placement is done by mutual consent. A common convention is for the player hosting the game (or arriving first at the club) to set the terrain up, and for the other player to have choice of table edge. In the mission descriptions this player should be assumed to win the dice-off for table edge or quarter. In tournament play, terrain will often be pre-set by the organisers, in which case a dice-off for starting quarter or edge is still needed. In other circumstances the players should mutually set up the terrain, ensuring that the set-up is acceptable to them both.
How Much Terrain?
As a general rule, about a quarter of the total playing surface should have terrain on it, and there should be a good mixture of types. An equal division between terrain which blocks line of sight and provides cover (such as woods or ruins), terrain which provides cover but does not block line of sight (such as scrubland and low rubble) and terrain which blocks line of sight but provides little cover (such as gentle hills or ash waste dunes) makes for good tactical play, although this is entirely subject to the players' preferences. You may want to build terrain with this in mind.
Knowing that you need a certain amount of terrain to populate your gaming table means that you can build terrain 'sets', representing a particular planet or warzone. This could be as simple as a number of hills with rubble-strewn slopes, reminiscent of the quarries so beloved of low budget science fiction film-makers, or as complex as the domes of an Eldar craftworld. As long as you avoid building terrain guaranteed to give you a tactical advantage, you should get plenty of use out of each 'set' of terrain. The effect is analogous to building a movie set. Terrain pieces should convey some character and add possibilities to any game played using them.
Terrain Sets. To illustrate this point, let's consider a couple of terrain 'sets'. The assumption here is that if terrain pieces are roughly 12" by 12", then six are needed to fulfil the 25% terrain recommendation on a standard 6'x4' table (these dimensions are approximate and under no circumstances should terrain features, such as woods, be uniformly square. Irregular features look much better anyway).
For a fairly general wilderness set-up using large terrain features, what you need are a couple of features that, whilst not slowing movement, do block line of sight, such as hills. These will enable models to deploy and manoeuvre a bit without being shot at as well as providing good defensive positions. Next, you will need one or two features that provide some serious cover, such as woods. Woods also break up lines of fire and encourage manoeuvring, which is in the interests of a fun game.
Finally, the set can be rounded off with a simple rural farm, consisting of multiple buildings and an area of scrubland. The farm establishes the setting — in this case an Imperial agri-world — and provides a pleasing centrepiece for the 'set'. The scrubland provides a bit more cover whilst not further limiting lines of sight. Instead of scrubland, a field of crops will go well with the farm. A few minor pieces, such as an old piece of farm machinery or a water tank, can then be scattered around to add colour without getting in the way of the game. You may agree to ignore small scene-setting features of this sort for gaming purposes; the idea is to set the mood, not establish firebases.
One of the most important elements in building a terrain 'set' is to keep the terrain consistent with the board or surface you are playing on. It is the single largest area you'll be looking at when playing, so it's important that what you build will work with it.
A second example is a ruined Imperial city. Here the six terrain features include a number of small pieces of wreckage and debris. The total area covered by these amounts to about two terrain features worth. They provide some relatively minor bits of cover and are great for dressing the set. There is also a single, much larger area of ruins that is raised, rather like a hill with rocky, rubble-strewn slopes. Finally, there are three ruined buildings, each providing good cover and blocking line of sight. With this 'set' it is likely the buildings will become vital strong points in any game, demonstrating that the way you design the 'set' has a big effect on the type of game you will get.
A player who builds distinctive terrain that makes for a fun game will find himself in much demand for games, and deserves as much kudos for his trouble as a player with a particularly well-painted army.
Choosing a Mission & Scenario
Standard missions are the most common way Warhammer 40,000 battles are played. They are relatively simple, and do not require an army that is designed specifically towards a single style of play. There are a total of five standard missions to choose from. All of these missions use the standard Force Organisation chart. You can either agree with your opponent which mission to play, or roll D6 and consult the table below:
| D6 Roll | Mission |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cleanse |
| 2 | Secure and Control |
| 3 | Seek and Destroy |
| 4 | Recon |
| 5 | Take and Hold |
| 6 | Mission chosen by the player that wins the Strategy roll |
Each mission can be played at three levels: Alpha, Gamma and Omega. Each successive level adds more special rules, which change the way the mission can be played (this is detailed in each specific mission). Each version is just as tactically challenging as any other, and you can either agree which level of a mission to play or roll a D6. On the roll of 1 or 2 play an Alpha level battle, on a 3 or 4 play a Gamma level battle, or play an Omega level battle on a 5 or 6. See the mission specific rules to see what effect this will have on the game.
Scoring Units
This concept is central to all the missions presented here — at Alpha level, standard missions are won or lost entirely by getting more units onto the objective than the enemy. However, not all units count for this purpose (for example, a unit that is falling back cannot claim to be holding the objective) but those that do count for such objectives are called Scoring Units. At other levels, achieving these objectives will score you Victory Points. See the Victory Points table to see what counts as scoring units.
Strategy Ratings
Some armies have elaborate command and control systems that allow them to react quickly to changing battlefield conditions. Others rely on applying pressure everywhere at once and lack the means to set the agenda on a given part of the battlefield. In Warhammer 40,000 these differences are reflected in the army's Strategy Rating. When a Strategy roll is called for, players roll a number of D6 equal to their Strategy Rating and then pick the highest result. The player with the highest result gets to choose the mission.
Strategy Ratings vary by army and are given in each army's Codex (for example, Space Marines have a Strategy Rating of 3).
When deploying units or rolling for their arrival, the contents of one box on the Force Organisation chart is considered to be a single entity. In practice, a single choice on the chart may be several units. It might be a squad and their transport vehicle, an Imperial Guard infantry platoon consisting of a HQ squad and five infantry squads, or a brood of three Tyranid Zoanthropes. When deploying a single chart choice, the units that make up that choice may deploy separately from one another if you wish. When a single chart choice arrives from reserve, the units may similarly arrive separately from one another. Thus a squad does not have to arrive in its transport vehicle if you do not wish it to.
When deploying a unit or independent character on the table, you may specify that it is being placed inside a transport vehicle, subject to them being valid as passengers (see Vehicle rules).
When deploying an independent character on the table, you may specify that it starts the game already inside a unit and place it in coherency with it.
Deploy Forces
When deploying, players alternate placing units, and then alternate placing units with the Infiltrate special rule.
When all units are deployed, any that are entitled to a move before the game starts will make a move.
A note on secrecy: Your opponent cannot normally inspect your army roster, including asking you what is in each transport vehicle. Players are, however, free to share this information if they so wish.
Start the Game
Once everything has been set up, you need to roll a dice to see who gets the first turn, and start the game!
Standard Missions
Cleanse Mission
Both forces are attempting to sweep the area clean of opposing troops. Roving forces should be on the lookout to seek and destroy any enemies they encounter.
Objective: Table Quarters. Both forces are seeking to clear the enemy from the area. This is achieved by controlling table quarters. The table is divided into four areas formed by drawing horizontal and vertical lines through the centre point. A 6'x4' table would have four 3'x2' quarters.
To control a table quarter there must be NO scoring enemy units and at least one scoring unit of your own in the quarter. A unit can only occupy one table quarter — if it is spread over more than one quarter, roll randomly to see which it is in.
In Alpha missions, the player that controls the most table quarters at the end of the game wins.
Victory Point rules are used in the Gamma and Omega missions. See the Special Rules section for details.
Scenario Special Rules.
- Alpha: None.
- Gamma: Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points.
- Omega: Escalation, Concealment, Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points, Random Game Length.
Set-Up. Divide the board into four quarters. Both players roll a dice, highest score picks which quarter to deploy in. The other player's deployment zone is the opposite quarter.
Starting with the player that scored lowest, the players take it in turns, deploying a unit at a time until both armies are fully deployed. Units are deployed in the following order: Heavy Support, Troops, Elites, HQ, Fast Attack. No unit can be deployed within 18" of the enemy or within 6" of the centre of the table at the start of the game.
Roll a D6. Highest score may choose whether to go first or second.
Reserves. When available, reserves move on from the player's deployment zone board edge.
Game Length. The game lasts for 6 turns. The Omega game may last longer.
Secure and Control Mission
The battlefield is strewn with discarded equipment, wounded comrades, supplies and the other detritus of war that, for various reasons, you wish to recover. You must fight off the enemy while scouring the field to secure as much plunder as you can.
Objective: Loot. The items to be secured are represented by a total of D3+2 Loot counters. Each player alternates placing a Loot counter until they are all on the table. Toss a coin to see who places a counter first. A counter may not be placed in impassable terrain, nor may one be placed within 12" of a table edge or another counter.
At the end of the game you control a Loot counter if there is at least one of your scoring units, and no enemy scoring units, within 6" of it.
In Alpha missions, the player with the most Loot counters wins.
Victory Point rules are used in the Gamma and Omega missions. See the Special Rules section for details.
Scenario Special Rules.
- Alpha: None.
- Gamma: Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points.
- Omega: Escalation, Concealment, Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points, Random Game Length.
Set-Up. Place Loot counters on the battlefield, as described in Mission Objective. Both players roll a dice, the winner chooses which of the long table edges to deploy in. His opponent gets the opposite deployment zone, so both forces start along opposite long board edges.
Starting with the player that scored highest, the players take it in turns deploying a unit at a time in their deployment zone, until all their available models are on the tabletop. No unit may be deployed more than 12" from their own long table edge. Players must deploy their units in the following order — Heavy Support first, then Troops, followed by Elites, HQ and finally Fast Attack.
Roll a D6. Highest score may choose whether to go first or second.
Reserves. When available, reserves move on from the player's deployment zone board edge.
Game Length. The game lasts for 6 turns. The Omega game may last longer.
Seek and Destroy Mission
There is only one objective in war — find your enemy, crush him utterly and take away his means to mount further resistance. The enemy must be sought out and eliminated; no prisoners, no mercy.
Objective: Annihilation. In Alpha missions, the player with the most scoring units left at the end of the game is the winner.
Victory Point rules are used in the Gamma and Omega missions. See the Special Rules section for details.
Scenario Special Rules.
- Alpha: None.
- Gamma: Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points.
- Omega: Escalation, Concealment, Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points, Random Game Length.
Set-Up. Both players roll a dice, the winner chooses which of the long table edges to deploy in. His opponent gets the opposite deployment zone, so both forces start along opposite long board edges.
Starting with the player that scored lowest, the players take it in turns deploying a unit at a time in their deployment zone, until all their available models are on the tabletop. No unit may be deployed within 24" of the enemy or more than 15" from their own long table edge. Players must deploy their units in the following order — Heavy Support first, then Troops, followed by Elites, HQ and finally Fast Attack.
Roll a D6. Highest score may choose whether to go first or second.
Reserves. When available, reserves move on from the player's deployment zone board edge.
Game Length. The game lasts for 6 turns. The Omega game may last longer.
Recon Mission
Both sides are attempting to punch through enemy lines to establish forward positions and probe the enemy's strength in preparation for a major attack.
Objective: Enemy Lines. Both players must attempt to get units into the enemy deployment zone and overrun their lines.
In Alpha missions, the player with the most scoring units entirely in the enemy deployment zone at the end of the game wins. The deployment zones extend 15" from the long board edges.
Victory Point rules are used in the Gamma and Omega missions. See the Special Rules section for details.
Scenario Special Rules.
- Alpha: None.
- Gamma: Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points.
- Omega: Escalation, Concealment, Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Random Game Length, Victory Points.
Set-Up. Both players roll a dice, the winner chooses which of the long table edges to deploy in. His opponent gets the opposite deployment zone, so both forces start along opposite long board edges.
Starting with the player that scored lowest, the players take it in turns deploying a unit at a time in their deployment zone, until all their available models are on the tabletop. No unit may be deployed within 24" of the enemy or more than 15" from their own long table edge. Players must deploy their units in the following order — Heavy Support first, then Troops, followed by Elites, HQ and finally Fast Attack.
Roll a D6. Highest score may choose whether to go first or second.
Reserves. When available, reserves move on from the player's deployment zone board edge.
Game Length. The game lasts for 6 turns. The Omega game may last longer.
Take and Hold Mission
You have to secure the battlefield prior to the arrival of much greater numbers of friendly troops for a decisive battle. The enemy are known to be moving with similar intent. You are the spearhead — smash the enemy aside, take the high ground and await reinforcements.
Objective: Field of Battle. The centre of the battlefield must be secured. In Alpha missions, the player with the most scoring units within 12" of the table centre point at the end of the game wins.
Victory Point rules are used in the Gamma and Omega missions. See the Special Rules section for details.
Scenario Special Rules.
- Alpha: None.
- Gamma: Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Victory Points.
- Omega: Escalation, Concealment, Infiltrate, Deep Strike, Dusk & Dawn, Random Game Length, Victory Points.
Set-Up. Both players roll a dice, the winner chooses which of the long table edges to deploy in. His opponent gets the opposite deployment zone, so both forces start along opposite long board edges.
Starting with the player that scored highest, the players take it in turns deploying a unit at a time in their deployment zone, until all their available models are on the tabletop. No unit may be deployed more than 12" from their own long table edge. Players must deploy their units in the following order — Heavy Support first, then Troops, followed by Elites, HQ and finally Fast Attack.
Roll a D6. Highest score may choose whether to go first or second.
Reserves. When available, reserves move on from the player's deployment zone board edge.
Game Length. The game lasts for 6 turns. The Omega game may last longer.
Mission Special Rules
Concealment
If the Concealment rule is used in the mission, all non-vehicle units that are deployed at the beginning of the game are assumed to have made efforts to conceal themselves before the battle, even if in open terrain. If a concealed unit is fired at, the firers must determine if they can actually see their target using the Night Fight rules. If they cannot see their target, the unit may not fire (except for barrage weapons, which may fire at unseen targets but add an extra D6 to the distance scattered). Concealment is lost as soon as the concealed unit moves, shoots or uses a psychic power. If the Night Fight rules apply for that turn, these concealment rules are ignored (as troops will instead just rely on the darkness to conceal themselves). Concealment always ends after the first turn.
Deep Strike
Some units are allowed to enter play via tunnelling, teleportation, flying, or some other extraordinary means. Where this is the case it will be noted in their special rules. Some units always have the option; others only have the option in missions where the Deep Strike special rule is in force. If you wish to use this option then the units in question begin the game in reserve — it does not matter whether the Reserves special rule is in force for the mission. Roll for arrival of these units as specified in the Reserves rules and then deploy them as follows:
Place one model from the unit anywhere on the table, in the position you would like the unit to arrive, and roll the Scatter dice. If you roll a HIT the model stays where it is, but if an arrow is shown this determines the direction the model is scattered in. If a scatter occurs, roll 2D6" to see how far the model scatters.
All Deep Striking models are arranged around the first model. Models must be placed in base contact with the original model in a circle around it. When the first circle is complete, a further circle should be placed with each model touching the circle inside it. Each circle should include as many models as will fit, and they may be facing in any direction. If the first model scatters off the table, the entire unit is destroyed. It is a good idea not to try to Deep Strike too close to a table edge! You may not place models within 1" of any enemy. If you are unable to complete a circle of models without any of them coming within 1" of the enemy, entering impassable terrain or going off-table, the surplus models are destroyed.
Troops arriving via Deep Strike may not move or assault on the turn they arrive. They may shoot as normal, but count as having moved.
Dusk & Dawn
Sometimes a battle may start before first light, or so late that dusk falls before an advantage is gained. After deployment, but before determining who has first turn, roll a D6. On a 1, the battle starts before dawn and the Night Fighting rules are used on Turn 1. On a roll of 6, the battle starts at dusk and the Night Fighting rules are used on Turn 6 and any subsequent turns.
Escalation
The Escalation special rule is always used in combination with the Reserves special rule. Escalation represents the situation where the battle begins reasonably quietly, with only infantry in the line, and suddenly explodes into action as reserves are deployed. In a mission using the Escalation rule, only basic infantry units that do not have dedicated transports (so no Monstrous Creatures, Bikes, Jump Infantry, Artillery, Beasts, etc) may be deployed at the start of the game, unless the mission rules state otherwise.
All units not deployed are in reserve and will arrive in accordance with the normal Reserves rules. Some units have special rules, such as 'Scouts', that allows them to deploy on-table. Such special rules apply as normal.
Infiltrate
Any infiltrators deployed on the table at the start of the game are deployed after all other units. If both sides have infiltrators, toss a coin to determine who goes first and alternate deploying these units. Infiltrators may be set up anywhere on the table that is more than 12" from an enemy unit, if no deployed enemy unit can draw a line of sight to them. Alternatively, they may be set up anywhere on the table that is more than 18" from an enemy unit, even if they can be seen.
Night Fighting
It is much harder to accurately identify enemy units at night; warriors must be sure of their targets before opening fire, and tend to be more cautious than normal. After selecting a target, but before a unit fires, a check needs to be made to see if the firers can see their target through the darkness. Roll 2D6 and multiply the result by 3, rolling once per unit only. This is the maximum range that any non-barrage weapon can be fired at. If the shooters have selected a target beyond this range they lose the right to fire, as they search the darkness for a target that never appears.
Normal barrage and ordnance barrage weapons may fire at unseen targets, but if they do, they add an extra D6 to the distance scattered.
Random Game Length
At the end of the mission's stated number of turns, roll a D6. On a 4, 5 or 6 a further turn is played. Repeat this process at the end of every turn until either a 1, 2 or 3 is rolled, or three extra turns are played. If it is dark on Turn 6, it remains dark for these extra game turns.
Reserves
Reserves are forces in the same sector as the troops on the battlefield who can be called in to reinforce them at relatively short notice. Units in reserve are not deployed at the start of the battle, but will become available in later turns of the game. Each selection from the Force Organisation chart is diced for separately at the start of the player's turn.
Reserves Table
| Turn 1 | Turn 2 | Turn 3 | Turn 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reserve unit arrives on | N/A | 4+ | 3+ | 2+ |
When a reserve unit arrives, it must move on as specified in the Reserves section of the mission description. If the reserves are able to use Deep Strike in the mission being played, then they may alternatively use this method. See the Deep Strike special rule for details. If a unit has a transport attached, roll for both together, though the passengers do not have to arrive mounted in the transport.
Note: You must roll for reserves as soon as possible and must bring them onto the table as soon as they are available. You may not delay making the dice rolls or keep the reserves hanging around off-table until you decide you need them!
Victory Points
At Gamma and Omega level, many missions are decided by Victory Points. In these missions, conditions for winning are modified from the method stated on the Mission sheet. Victory Points are gained first by damaging and destroying enemy units. A unit is worth as many Victory Points as its points cost. Thus a 250 point Land Raider would be worth 250 Victory Points to you if you managed to destroy it during the game. Sometimes merely damaging a unit will be adequate to score some Victory Points. See the Victory Points table to see what you score for inflicting casualties on the enemy.
In addition, achieving the mission objective will score Victory Points. It is possible to gain as many points from achieving the mission victory conditions as you can from destroying the enemy.
Victory Points Table
| Unit Type | Condition at End of the Game | Scoring Unit? | VPs to Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-vehicle unit* | At least 50% strength | Yes | None |
| Less than 50% strength | No | 1/2 points value | |
| Destroyed, off-table or Falling Back | No | Full points value | |
| Vehicle | Mobile | Yes | None |
| Immobile | No | 1/2 points value | |
| Wrecked, Exploded or Annihilated | No | Full points value | |
| Dedicated Transport vehicle | At least 50% mobile | — | None |
| Less than 50% mobile | — | 1/2 points value | |
| All Wrecked, Exploded or Annihilated | — | Full points value | |
| Independent character** | Unwounded | Yes | None |
| Wounded | No | 1/2 points value | |
| Dead, Off-table or Falling Back | No | Full points value | |
| Artillery unit | At least 50% strength | Yes | None |
| Less than 50% strength or all guns destroyed | No | 1/2 points value | |
| Destroyed, off-table or Falling Back | No | Full points value |
Note: If any non-vehicle units include multi-Wound models, count wounds not models to see if a unit is above/below 50% strength.
*An independent character always uses this line regardless of his unit type.
Units With Distinct Elements
Some units consist of parts that deploy and operate separately, such as a squad of Space Marines and their Rhino transport vehicle, a Brood of Lictors or an Imperial Guard Infantry Platoon. Treat each element separately for Victory Points purposes. The same approach is taken when an independent character has a Command squad or retinue mounted in a transport. Each element is a separate entity when calculating Victory Points. Thus a Space Marine Chaplain with Command squad in a Rhino would be an independent character, a unit of Space Marines and a vehicle unit.
Mission Specific Objectives
Objective: Table Quarters. If the mission objective is Table Quarters and the Victory Points special rule is being used, rather than deciding the mission purely on the basis of the number of Scoring Units in each quarter of the table, you score Victory Points both for enemy models damaged, wounded or destroyed as detailed above, and also by the number of table quarters you control.
- The table quarter your army deployed in is worth no Victory Points.
- The table quarters that are adjacent to your army's deployment zone are each worth 25% of the game's points limit.
- The table quarter that the enemy deployed in is worth 50% of the game's points limit.
Thus, in a 1,500 point game, your army scores 0 for its own quarter, 375 for each adjacent quarter and 750 for the enemy's quarter. The opposite of course is true for the enemy army.
Objective: Enemy Lines. If the mission objective is breaking through the enemy lines and the Victory Points special rule is being used, you score Victory Points equal to the points cost of those Scoring units entirely in the enemy deployment zone, in addition to Victory Points for destroying enemy units.
Objective: Loot. If the mission objective involves securing Loot counters and the Victory Points special rule is being used, you score Victory Points for destroying enemy units and, in addition, each Loot counter is worth a number of points equal to the game points limit divided by the number of counters used. Thus, in a 1,500 point game with four Loot counters, each counter is worth 375 points.
Objective: The Field of Battle. If the mission objective involves securing the centre of the battlefield and the Victory Points special rule is being used, you score Victory Points for destroying enemy units and, in addition, score Victory Points equal to the points value of each of your scoring units entirely within 12" of the centre point at the end of the game.
Objective: Annihilation. If the mission objective involves annihilating the enemy and the Victory Points special rule is being used, you score Victory Points for destroying enemy units and, in addition, score Victory Points equal to the points value of each scoring unit you have left at the end of the game. This means that you must destroy as many of the enemy as possible, while avoiding heavy losses yourself.
Margin of Victory
Comparing the total Victory Points you scored against your opponent's determines the margin of victory (or defeat). Obviously, this is only applicable in Gamma or Omega missions where Victory Points are used.
A difference of less than 10% of the points limit is a Draw. Anything greater is a win for the player with the highest Victory Point total. A difference of more than 10% and up to 50% is a Solid Victory. A difference of more than 50% and up to 80% is a Crushing Victory. A difference of more than 80% is a Victorious Slaughter!
In tournaments, the margin of victory may be used to determine how many Tournament Points each player scores. In a campaign, the scale of victory may result in different outcomes. For these purposes it is useful to define further categories based on the margin of victory.
How to Use This: Find the difference in Victory Points between the two players, then compare it against the game's points limit as a percentage to find the margin of victory (Draw, Solid Victory, Crushing Victory or Victorious Slaughter). For example, in a 1,500 point game a difference of 472 points is just over 30% of the limit, which is a Solid Victory.