Weapon Rules

Every weapon has a profile: a row of figures for its range, its accuracy and the effect of a hit. The same row appears on the weapon's entry under Weapons, on any Wargear Card that carries it and on a Datafax. It reads the same in each place.

A ranged weapon shows six cells. Range gives its short and long ranges in inches, and To hit the To Hit Modifier at each. Str is the Strength of a hit and Dam the Damage it does. Save Mod is the Save Modifier applied to the target's Armour Save, and AP the Armour Penetration rolled against a vehicle. A close combat weapon has no range and shows the last four only.

Most cells hold a number or a dice roll such as D6+4; the rest hold one of the marks below.

Notation

Every weapon belongs to one of six types, and the type says where and how it is used. The type is shown on each weapon's entry under Weapons.

Close combat weapons are for Hand-to-Hand Combat alone and are never fired. Their Armour Penetration already includes the Strength bonus dice a model rolls in close combat against a vehicle or building.

Pistols are fired in the Shooting Phase by a model not already fighting, and used in the Hand-to-Hand Combat Phase by a model that is.

Basic weapons are fired two-handed in the Shooting Phase. One fitted with a bayonet or an axe-blade serves in close combat as well.

Heavy weapons are the larger guns a few models in a squad carry to support the rest: covering fire, anti-tank work and long-range shooting. Most may Move or Fire in a turn but not both, a limit that does not apply to a vehicle or Dreadnought mounting one.

Support weapons are too large for a trooper to carry and come on a carriage of their own; see Support Weapon Carriages.

Grenades are thrown by hand, or fired from a launcher where one is carried.

Each weapon profile has a Short and Long range To Hit value. This represents how well a given weapon performs at different ranges. A value of 0 conveys no benefit or penalty, a positive number improves To Hit, and a negative number impedes To Hit.

These values belong to Shooting alone. Pistols are carried into Hand-to-Hand Combat more often than any other weapon, and their To Hit values count for nothing there.

When a weapon scores a hit, a check is made to see if it will wound the target. The weapon's Strength characteristic is compared with the target's Toughness characteristic using the chart below. The chart gives the score a D6 must reach to turn that hit into damage. If this roll succeeds, then the target receives damage according to the weapon's Damage characteristic.

Some hits are simply not powerful enough to damage certain targets; in those cases, the hit automatically fails to wound.

There are numerous types of armour in the 41st millennium, ranging from the humble Flak jacket up to the almost impenetrable bulwark of Tactical Dreadnought Armour. If a model wearing armour is hit by a close combat or ranged weapon, an armour saving throw is made. If the model passes the save, no damage is taken. To pass an armour save, the dice roll must be greater than or equal to the Armour Save value.

Some wargear improves a model's save instead of replacing it. However much is added, and from however many sources, no saving throw is ever better than 1+^†.

Save Modifiers

Some weapons are powerful enough to negate part, or even all, of an armour's protection; this is represented by a Save Modifier on the weapon's profile. For example, if a model is wearing Mesh armour with a base save value of 5+, and it is hit by a Boltgun that has a save modifier of -1, the modified roll becomes 6+. If the modified save is greater than the highest possible dice score, then the armour is automatically penetrated.

^† White Dwarf 194, p47. The rulebook sets no ceiling on a save that has been improved.

Certain ranged weapons fire projectiles capable of attacking models within a certain radius; these are known as Blast Weapons. To shoot a Blast Weapon, select a target as normal and roll To Hit. A nominated target out of range means an automatic miss, and the shot has no effect. If the shot hits, then position the correct Blast Marker centred over the target model—this model is hit. Additionally, any other models whose entire bases are covered by the marker are hit. Any models whose bases are partially covered by the marker are hit on a D6 roll of 4+. No To Hit Modifier applies to that roll—neither cover, nor target speed, nor anything else.

Scattering

When a Blast Weapon misses, a Scatter roll is made. Roll a Scatter Dice and an Artillery Dice together, then consult the following chart:

Maximum Scatter

A shot can never scatter more than half the distance between the shooter and the nominated target. If the Scatter Roll exceeds this limit, reduce the scatter distance accordingly. A scattered shot may come to rest outside the firer's Firing Arc.

Throwing Grenades

A model carrying grenades may throw one in place of shooting. Roll To Hit on the thrower's Ballistic Skill, then wound and save as for any other shot. A grenade may be thrown 2" plus twice the thrower's Strength, to a maximum of 12".

If a grenade throw misses, then roll to Scatter, halving the result rolled on the Artillery Dice. The rules for Maximum Scatter do not apply when throwing grenades.

Targeting the Ground

Blast Weapons may also target the ground, instead of a model; this is particularly useful when using non-lethal ammunition such as Blind Grenades. When doing so, the standard To Hit roll—and any modifiers—are ignored. Instead, position the correct Blast Marker centred over a target location. The point must be visible to the firer and within the weapon's maximum range. On a D6 roll of 6 the shot successfully hits, but on a roll of 1-5 a roll to Scatter is then made, with one exception: a Hit & Misfire result is treated as an ↑ & Misfire instead.

Where the firer's own modified score would have been 7 or worse, the shot uses the 7+ To Hit procedure in place of the flat 6.

Some Blast Weapons create a semi-permanent Blast Cloud—indicated by Blast remains. When a Blast Marker is placed for such a weapon, it remains in place and at the start of each player's turn a roll is made on the following chart:

Plasma weapons marked as Blast remains produce a Plasma Ball and use the following chart instead:

Some weapons fire a short-range jet—energy, burning chemicals, etc. These weapons do not roll To Hit; instead they use one of the three Flamer Templates, as indicated on their Weapon Profile. Template Weapons do not roll To Hit in the conventional manner; instead, the template is laid down with its point against the firing model's base and its rounded end over the chosen target. Any models entirely covered by the template are hit; any models partially covered by the template are hit on a D6 roll of 4+. Damage and Armour Saves are then resolved as normal.

Certain weapons use volatile, burning-chemical ammunition. If a model survives a hit from such a weapon, it must roll a D6; on a result of 4+, they Catch on fire. At the start of its own turn a model that is on fire must make a Fire Test:

While On Fire

During the Movement Phase, any friendly model that is eligible to do so may move within 1" of a burning model and attempt to beat out the flames. On a D6 roll of 6 the flames are put out. For each additional friendly model that helps +1 modifier is applied. Models that help a burning model may not shoot during the Shooting Phase.

Vehicles (Dreadnoughts included), models in Terminator Armour, Frenzied troops and Tyranids may simply disregard the flames and fight on unhindered.

Some ranged weapons can fire a lengthy burst of projectiles; this is referred to as Sustained Fire. If a Sustained Fire weapon successfully hits its target, the firing player chooses at least one Sustained Fire Dice^† and up to the maximum indicated by Sustained fire X on the weapon's profile. The combined total of this dice roll determines the actual number of hits scored by the weapon. The first hit is always allocated to the original target; any additional hits may be assigned to other visible models within 4" of the location of the first hit, and never outside the unit that was fired on^‡. Damage is then resolved for each hit as normal.

Weapon Malfunctions

Each Sustained Fire Dice has a Jam result on one face. This result indicates the weapon has malfunctioned in some way—and the roll has failed to hit. A Jam on one dice does not stop other dice from scoring hits; however, multiple Jam results can occur simultaneously. A weapon may not be fired while it has one or more malfunctions caused by Jams—although if a model has other weapons, it may still use those. Instead of shooting at all, a model may spend its Shooting Phase clearing a single Jam—once the weapon has no more Jams, it can be used again.

A Jam cannot be cleared at all by a model on Overwatch, by one that is Broken, or by one engaged in Hand-to-Hand Combat. A model that is running or hidden may still clear one.

^† The rulebook says the player “can roll one or more”. Some players take the “can” to make the roll optional; without the roll, the weapon scores no hits. No White Dwarf ruling settles the point; the text above follows “one or more”.

^‡ The rulebook lets the extra hits fall on any visible model within that 4". White Dwarf 191, p32 holds them to the unit that was fired on, and records the rule as published in Codex Tyranids.

A linked weapon is a matched pair mounted to fire as one, sighted on the same spot and triggered together—the twin lascannon of a Land Raider, or the twin autocannon of an Ork warbike.

Firing a Linked Pair

A single roll To Hit settles the pair: on a hit both weapons strike, and on a miss neither does.

Resolving a Linked Hit

Both shots land together, and each is then worked out on its own. Against an ordinary model that means rolling twice to wound, and taking two armour saves where both wound. Against a vehicle it means rolling Armour Penetration and Damage once for each weapon—though the two land so close together that one roll fixes the location for both.

Linked Sustained Fire

Where the pair has Sustained Fire, roll to hit as though a single weapon were firing. A hit then rolls the Sustained Fire dice of both weapons at once, and a jam on either silences the pair, though whatever they scored before jamming still counts.

Force weapons may only be wielded by psykers, and take many shapes; rods, axes and swords are the ones most often seen.

In Hand-to-Hand Combat the weapon adds the psyker's Mastery Level to their Strength for the roll to wound. That same number worsens the Save Modifier of the hit. Where the weapon's profile carries a Strength of its own, the higher of the two applies^†.

^† The base rulebook gives only the mastery-level bonus; the higher-of-the-two clause comes from the force weapon entries in the Wargear book.

A Space Marine Chief Librarian at Mastery Level 4 and Strength 5, holding a Force Sword, therefore strikes at Strength 9 with a Save Modifier of -6.

A daemon struck in Hand-to-Hand Combat by a force weapon is wounded outright, with no roll to wound made at all. The daemonic saving throw, which nothing else modifies, counts for nothing against a force weapon.

A support weapon is mounted on a carriage. Some have one of their own—the Thudd Gun, the Distort Cannon and the Rapier Laser Destroyer—and can be wheeled into position, pushed or towed. Others, such as the Tarantula and the Eldar anti-grav platforms, are carriages built to take one or more heavy weapons, with a mount that traverses and elevates and a base that moves. Each weapon's entry gives the rules for its carriage.

Tow

Any vehicle other than a bike or trike may tow a weapon on a mobile carriage, whether or not the model shows a towing hook. The weapon's crew ride in the vehicle or hold on to the weapon.

Limber

A weapon is coupled to a vehicle once the Movement Phase ends, both halted and no more than 1" apart, by one of the weapon's crew or one of the vehicle's. Once coupled it is limbered and moves with the vehicle.

Unlimber

Uncoupling reverses it. The vehicle stays halted through the Movement Phase while a crew member frees the weapon and sets it down no more than 1" away. The weapon counts as having moved that turn, so one that may Move or Fire does not fire.