General Rules
Characteristics
In Warhammer 40,000 there are many different types of troops, from normal humans to gene enhanced Space Marines, and from haughty but human-like Eldar to the eldritch horror of the Tyranids. To represent this, nearly every model in the game has a set of numerical characteristics.
Movement (M)
The number of inches a model can move on the tabletop under normal circumstances.
Weapon Skill (WS)
A model's WS indicates how capable they are at Hand-to-Hand Combat—the higher the number, the more skilled the model is.
Ballistic Skill (BS)
A model's BS measures how skilled they are at Shooting—models with a higher score are better marksman.
Strength (S)
Strength reflects a model's ability to do damage in Hand-to-Hand Combat. S indicates how easily a model can convert hits into damage and can contribute to Armour Penetration.
Toughness (T)
Toughness represents a model's capacity to resist injury. The higher the models T rating, the harder it will be to damage.
Wounds (W)
W shows how many points of damage a model can sustain before it is removed from the table as a casualty. Most models have only 1 wound; however, larger creatures or particularly powerful characters may have more.
Initiative (I)
Initiative indicates how alert and agile a model is. This characteristic is used in situations which test a model's vigilance or reaction speed.
Attacks (A)
The base number of Attack Dice a model may roll during Hand-to-Hand Combat. Most models have only 1 attack; however, especially skilled combatants may have more.
Leadership (L)
The Ld characteristic represents how courageous, steadfast and self-controlled a model is in the heat of battle. It is used when making Break and Psychology tests.
Zero-Level Characteristics
Some models are given a score of 0 for cetain characteristics. This means they have no ability whatsoever in that area—or that that characteristic simply does not apply to them. A common example is 0 BS for creatures such as Genestealers, which are unable to use ranged weapons
Characteristic Profiles
Every troop type has a profile detailing its given characteristic, for example:
| Troop Type | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Human | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Heroic Characters
Heroic characters are your army's leaders and heroes. Unless stated to the contrary, characters move and fight as individuals and may pick their targets freely—they ignore the standard rules for Choosing A Target, unless they are firing a Heavy Weapon.
Leading Squads
Characters may freely join squads, to do so move them within 2”—Standard Squad Coherency—of a squad and declare that it is leading them. The squad can then use the characters Leadership during Break tests.
Characters who have joined a squad may leave at any time, except when the squad is affected by Psychology, has declared a Charge, or has engaged in Hand-to-Hand Combat.
While leading a squad, characters are counted as part of the squad and must flee if the squad is Broken. The effects of Psychology, however, are tested for separately.
Champions level characters (excluding Psyker Champions) are always members of a squad and cannot leave it.
Targeting Characters
If a character is more than 2″ away from all other units, it may be fired at only when it is the closest target. If a character is within 2″—Standard Squad Coherency—of models at least as large as it and it is not the leader, then it cannot be selected as a target for shooting, even by other characters. If the unit within Standard Squad Coherency of the character is hit, randomize the hit(s) between the members of the squad and the character.
A good way to randomise hit allocation is to work out the chance of the character being hit and roll for it with a die. For example, if the unit has five models in it, the chance of the character being hit is 1 in 6. Roll a D6—on a 1-5 the unit is hit, but on a 6 the character is.
Commanders
The Heroic Character with the highest Leadership is designated as the army's Commander. If more than one Heroic Character has the same Leadership, the player nominates one to be the Commander.
Any unit within 12" of the Commander may use the Commander's Leadership value instead of its own when making any Leadership Tests.
If the Commander is slain, any units within 12" must take an immediate Break Test, even if they have already taken one in that turn.
Psykers
Psykers are chosen as part of your army using the appropriate Codex army list. The number to include depends on the size of your force, the cost of the Psykers, and your personal preference. Some players favour a single powerful psyker, while others spread their points across several less potent individuals.
Mastery Level
To represent their varying levels of power, Psykers are rated according to their Mastery Level, ranging from 1 to 4—the higher the level, the more potent the Psyker. At the start of the game, each Psyker is dealt one Psychic Power per Mastery Level.
Psychic Disciplines
There are 10 Psychic Disciplines, each represented by a deck of Psychic Power Cards. Some Psykers can only draw from a single discipline, while others have access to several. Each Psyker has a primary discipline—from which they must always draw at least one power—and may have one or more tertiary disciplines from which they can draw additional powers.
| Psyker | Primary Discipline | Tertiary Disciplines |
|---|---|---|
| Space Marine Librarians | Librarian | Inquisition, Adeptus |
| Inquisitors & Grey Knights | Inquisition | Librarian, Adeptus |
| Adeptus Astra Telepathica Prime Psykers | Adeptus | - |
| Squat Ancestor Lords | Squat | Adeptus |
| Ork Weirdboyz | Ork Weirdboyz | - |
| Eldar Warlocks & Farseers | Eldar Seers† | - |
| Chaos Magus | Slaanesh, Tzeentch, or Nurgle‡ | Adeptus |
| Daemons | Slaanesh, Tzeentch, or Nurgle‡ | - |
| Hive Tyrant & Genestealer Patriarch | Tyranid | - |
| Genestealer Magus | Tyranid | Adeptus |
† Some Eldar powers are marked Farseers only and may not be used by a Warlock. If a Warlock is dealt such a power, it must be redrawn. If no replacement cards remain in the deck, the slot is lost.
‡ A Chaos Magus or Daemon draws powers from the Chaos god they worship—no model may ever have powers from two different gods.
Dealing Psychic Powers
Psychic Power Cards are dealt in two stages—first all Primary Discipline powers, then all Tertiary Discipline powers. Within each stage, cards are dealt one Psyker at a time, starting with the Psyker with the highest Mastery Level and proceeding to the next highest, and so on. If two or more Psykers share the same Mastery Level, roll a D6 to determine who is dealt to first. Each Psyker resolves any Discards before moving on to the next.
A Psyker must always take at least one power from their Primary Discipline before drawing any Tertiary Discipline powers. If a player wishes to draw from a Tertiary Discipline, they must wait until all Primary Discipline draws have concluded.
Discarding & Redrawing
Once a Psyker has been dealt their cards, the player may choose to discard some or all in favour of randomly dealt replacements.
Only one round of redrawing is permitted per Psyker, per discipline. Any discarded cards are returned to the deck, shuffled in, and the replacement is drawn at random from the same discipline. The new cards must be kept.
By mutual agreement, players may choose to redraw before returning discards to the deck. This speeds things up and avoids immediately drawing the card you just discarded. However, be aware that this can be exploited—holding discards out reduces the pool of available cards, making it possible to guarantee a specific draw.
Keeping Powers Secret
Once Psychic Power Cards have been dealt, players should keep them hidden until they wish to use them. Place the cards face down, keeping each Psyker's powers separate from one another. This is important because Psykers may not use each other's powers, even if they share the same disciplines.
Cavalry
In Warhammer 40,000, cavalry refers to any unit riding a mount with only one wound—larger mounts are generally treated as vehicles or assigned individual rules. A cavalry model is always treated as a single model. If the rider is slain, the mount is removed from play as a well.
Cavalry models use the rider's Leadership, Toughness, Wounds, and Initiative characteristics, and the mount's Move characteristic. Cavalry gain +1 on their armour saving throw, and in Hand-to-Hand Combat combat the rider adds their mount's Attack characteristic to their own.
Squad Coherency
Models belonging to the same unit must normally remain within 2” of one another—measured from base-edge to base-edge—at all times.
Breaking Coherency
Over the course of a game a number of scenarios may cause a unit to break Squad Coherency.
During Hand-to-Hand Combat models are not bound by Squad Coherency, but they must return to it once combat has finished.
When a unit suffers casualties Squad Coherency may become broken. In this case, the unit must attempt to re-establish coherency in its next movement phase. If it is not possible to do so, the smaller part of the split unit counts as being Broken.
Dispersed Formation
Some units may use a Dispersed Formation—this extends their coherency range to 4”.
Infiltration
If a model or unit has the Infiltration ability, it can be placed on the table after both armies have been deployed, instead of during the standard deployment sequence. Infiltrating units may be placed anywhere on the battlefield that is not in Line of Sight of any enemy model. If they are placed behind or within concealing terrain, they may start the game in Hiding. If both sides intend to deploy infiltrating units, they must each roll a D6—with the lowest score deploying first.
Hiding
Hidden Models
A Hidden model cannot be seen and cannot be targeted during the Shooting Phase. If any model in a Hidden unit Moves or Shoots, the whole unit is no longer Hidden. Models can go into Overwatch while remaining Hidden, but they cease to be Hidden once they open fire.
Normally a Hidden model is revealed as soon as it moves; however, if a model begins its turn Hidden and moves only through concealing terrain, it will remain Hidden.
Hidden troops may go into Overwatch, but they may not do both in the same turn. After hiding, models may go into Overwatch from their next turn.
Going into Hiding
Models may go into hiding at the end of their Movement Phase, if they either didn't move or moved their normal move distance—they cannot hide if they Charged or Ran. Cavalry, vehicles and models wearing Tactical Dreadnought Armor cannot hide.
Spotting Hidden Models
Models can spot Hidden troops within a radius equal to their Initiative (in inches). When Hidden models are spotted, they become Detected (see below)—and can be fired at normally by the troops that detected them.
Detecting Hidden Models
When even a single model in a Hidden unit is Detected, the entire squad ceases to be Hidden and becomes Detected. Some models also have equipment or traits that allow them to make Hidden enemies Detected from afar.
If a model is Detected, it may not be targeted directly during the Shooting Phase, except when using a Blast or Template weapon. Detected models that are caught in a Blast or Template weapon's area of effect are hit on a D6 roll of 4+—this also applies to Hidden models, even though they can never be the original target of a shooting attack.
Buildings
Buildings provide both protection and tactical advantages—often improving fields of fire and making troops much harder to kill.
Moving in Buildings
Models may enter a Building in their move phase by moving through an unlocked door, open doorway or window. Doorways offer no movement penalty but entering through a window counts as crossing a wall of equivalent height. If a Door is locked, it must be Destroyed before models can move through.
Once inside, models can only move at their normal rate, and may not Run. Charges may only be declared against enemy models visible at the start of the turn. It takes models an entire Movement Phase to move from one level of a building to the next, regardless of the method used.
Attacking Buildings
Buildings are given an Armour Value and as such use Armour Penetration rules when being attacked.
| Type of Building† | Armour Value |
|---|---|
| Tent or inflatable structure | 5 |
| Mud or straw hut, wooden or tin shack | 10 |
| Plexiglas or plastic | 15 |
| Timber, stone, concrete or plascrete | 20 |
| Steel, plasteel or rockrete | 25 |
| Armaplas, ceramite, or adamantium | 30 |
† Imperium buildings are generally made of timber, stone, concrete or plascrete. Administratum and other official buildings are made of steel, plasteel or rockrete. Only bunkers and other purpose-built fortifications are constructed from armaplas, ceramite or adamantium.
If a Building suffers a penetrating hit then consult below:
Building Damage Chart (D6)
Weapons which use a blast marker do not affect other models when fired at a Building, and Buildings are not affected by weapons which use a blast marker when fired models.
A Building may be attacked in Hand-to-Hand Combat as if it were a vehicle.
Doors
Generally speaking, Doors can be opened and moved through without restriction. However, if a secure Building—such as a Bunker—is being defended by one side at the start of the game, the Doors are locked. The occupying side may access the building freely, but the opposing force must destroy a Door to gain entry.
| Type of Door† | Armour Value |
|---|---|
| Plexiglas or plastic | 5 |
| Timber, stone, concrete or plascrete | 10 |
| Steel, plasteel or rockrete | 15 |
| Armaplas, ceramite, or adamantium | 20 |
† Exterior doors are made of the same material as the building; interior doors are made of material one grade lower than the main building. If a door is the target of an attack and its armor is penetrated, it is simply destroyed, leaving an opening.
Bunkers
Bunkers use the following rules in addition to any applicable rules for Buildings.
A force may choose to include Bunkers as part of their Support total. Each Bunker costs 50 points, and they must all be deployed before either army is set up.
Up to eight models may be placed inside a Bunker, with up to an additional five models—or a single support weapon and its crew—on the roof. Any number of models may enter or exit the Bunker through the door, move from the interior to the roof, or move from the roof back inside each turn. A single support weapon (excluding Mole Mortars) purchased as normal from the forces' army list may be set up on the Bunker's roof at the start of the battle; it must remain there for the duration of the battle.
Bunkers have two Vision Slits per wall, except for the wall with the door, which has only one Vision Slit. Each slit provides a 90-degree arc of fire for one model inside.
Models that shoot at a Bunker may either attack the bunker itself or any models that are on the roof—models inside the bunker cannot be attacked directly. If shooting at models on the roof, they receive the -2 hit modifier for being in Hard Cover. Shooting attacks targeting the Bunker itself get +1 To Hit at Long Range, and hit automatically at Short Range.
When a Bunker is hit by a ranged attack, resolve the attack, using the damage tables below. The Bunker is only affected by attacks that score a direct hit.
Weapons which use a blast marker may either target models on the roof or the Bunker. Hitting one target will never damage the other—even if the shot Scatters. Blast hits on a Bunker will damage only one location, chosen at random by rolling on the damage table.
Like any other Building, a Bunker may be attacked in Hand-to-Hand Combat as if it were a vehicle.
Bunker Hit Table (D6)
| Roll | Location | Armour Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vision Slit | - |
| 2 | Door† | 20 |
| 3+ | Bunker | 25 |
† If the door is visible to the attacker. If not, count as a Bunker hit instead.
If a Vision Slit is hit, the attack hits a randomly selected model within the Bunker and is resolved against that model. Otherwise, consult the charts below:
Bunker Damage Chart (D6)
Bunker Door Damage Chart (D6)
Victory Points
Players are awarded Victory Points for fulfilling certain criteria during a game. Each Mission Card lists the points awarded for completing its objectives. Additionally, Victory Points are awarded for damage done to the opponent's units, as follows:
Squads
| For Each Squad | 50%+ Casulties | Broken or Wiped Out |
|---|---|---|
| up to 100 points | 0 | 1 |
| 101-200 points | 1 | 1 |
| 201-300 points | 1 | 2 |
| 301-400 points | 2 | 2 |
| more than 400 points | 2 | 3 |
Space Marine Combat Squads count as individual units for the purpose of Victory Points.
Vehicles
| For Each Vehicle | Damaged | Disabled or Destroyed |
|---|---|---|
| up to 100 points | 0 | 1 |
| 101-200 points | 1 | 1 |
| 201-300 points | 1 | 2 |
| 301-400 points | 2 | 2 |
| more than 400 points | 2 | 3 |
Characters
| For Each Character | Wounded | Killed |
|---|---|---|
| up to 50 points | 0 | 0 |
| 51-100 points | 0 | 1 |
| 101-200 points | 0 | 2 |
| 201-300 points | 0 | 3 |
| more than 300 points | 0 | 4 |
Vehicle Squadrons
| For Each Squadron | 50%+ Disabled or Destroyed | All Disabled or Destroyed |
|---|---|---|
| up to 100 points | 0 | 1 |
| 101-200 points | 1 | 1 |
| 201-300 points | 1 | 2 |
| 301-400 points | 2 | 2 |
| 401-500 points | 2 | 3 |
| more than 500 points | 3 | 4 |
Vehicles that are outside Squadron Coherency count as Disabled for the purpose of Victory Points.
Support Weapon Batteries
| For Each Battery | 50%+ Destroyed | All Destroyed |
|---|---|---|
| up to 100 points | 0 | 1 |
| 101-200 points | 1 | 1 |
| 201-300 points | 1 | 2 |
| more than 300 points | 2 | 2 |
For the purpose of Victory Points, Support Weapons count as Destroyed if the weapon is destroyed or it has no
crew left alive.
Support Weapons that are outside Battery Coherency also count as
Destroyed.
When using these tables to work out Victory Points, the points value is the total cost of the unit—including any Wargear.
Mission Cards
Mission Cards describe one or more objectives to be accomplished during a game—and the Victory Points awarded for doing so.
The full list is available here
Strategy Cards
For every full 1,000 points an army consists of, 1 Strategy Card may be drawn at random. Each card can be redrawn once, but the redraw must be kept.
The Tyranids faction never draws Strategy Cards. Instead, they have special rules that are implemented directly before Strategy Cards are drawn.
The full list is available here.