Warhammer 40,000 Rules
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INTRODUCTION
This section of the book explains the rules to fight Warhammer 40,000 battles in alltheir dark glory. If you are reading this, you are probably either a veteran of ahundred games or have already mastered the basic rules and are up for a newchallenge.
We recommend playing at least some games withthe basic rules to learn the core mechanics. Evenexperienced gamers might want to switch back tothem when playing really apocalyptic games withthousands of points. For this reason it is no shameto come back to this book when you have somegames with the introductory rules under yourbelt.The rules presented here are the next step toimmerse yourself totally in the war-torn universeof the 41st Millennium. It doesn’t matter if youare a valiant tank commander, who vanquishesdroves of foes beneath the tracks of mighty tanksquadrons, a rising hero of many star systems,who rallies fellow warriors of renown to its cause,a far sighted field commander, who alters thebattlefield conditions to his favour before a singleshot is fired, or a sharpshooter, who holds theenemy with supreme firepower at bay. This ruleset will give you the instruments to do all of thisand more.You will discover that there are fewerexplanations than in the introductory rules. If youare not sure how a rule works, you can go back tothe basic rulebook at any time. The introductoryrules stay valid to the point but all the rules thatwere marked as advanced rules are now directlyincorporated into the rule text. The rules arecompiled in a way that makes it easy to find aspecific rule during a fervid game. Therefore thestructure in which the rules are presented is a bitdifferent from that of the basic rules.If you are a die-hard and want to learn the gamewith the complete rules, this is manageable,though a bit more demanding than with the basicrules. Our advice is to have a quick look throughthe rules once. You don’t have to read everyword, just get an idea of what’s going on andwhere different rules can be found. After that,the best idea is to get stuck in and play a fewgames!By starting this way you’ll find that you pick upthe core rules in a few sessions and will be able toplay most games with just the information on thereference sheet at the back of the book. As youintroduce other elements into your games, such asheroic characters, heavily armoured tanks andrampaging monstrous creatures, read through theappropriate rules and refer to them while playing.
A note to veterans
On first sight you might think that everything haschanged, but if you take your time to play somegames (which is always a splendid idea) you willnotice that your units act basically the same as inprevious editions of Warhammer 40,000. Onceyou have mastered the rules, a game isconsiderably faster than before. This enables youto play even larger battles in the same amount oftime. The new rules allow us to expand the waysthe game is played - first and foremost the optionto give each unit its own turn instead of the usualunified player turn. Games with more than twoplayers are now fully incorporated into the rules.Upcoming Warhammer 40,000 supplements willpick these loose ends up and present scenariospreviously unthinkable.
Warhammer 40,000 Rules
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BASICS
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
Warhammer 40,000 is an involving game, withmany different races, weapons, and possibilities.In a game of this size and level of complexitythere are bound to be occasions where aparticular situation lies outside these rules, oftenwhen unusual models interact. At other times youmay know the rule is covered but you just can’tseem to find the right page. Then again you mayknow the rule, but the reality of exactly whereyour models are exactly on the table may make ita really close call - measuring charge moves anddeciding if a key model is in cover are classicexamples.All of these instances can lead to arguments, so itis important to remember that the rules are just aframework to create an enjoyable game. Winningat any cost is less important than making sureboth players - not just the victor - have a goodtime. This begins with the choice of the rules youuse. Take care of new players and agree to playthe basic rules until they are fit for the real deal.When choosing which narrative rules to use inyour games, choose the ones that are most funfor you and your opponent and not the ones thatsuit your battle plan best. Of course, you couldeven decide to change the rules to suit you better(this is known as a 'house rule').If a dispute does crop up then work out theanswer in a gentlemanly manner. Many playerssimply like to roll-off and let the dice decide whois right, allowing them to get straight back toblasting each other to pieces. After the game youcan happily continue your discussion of the finerpoints of the rules, or agree how you will bothinterpret them should the same situation happenagain. Occasionally you have to place your modelsas near as possible to some point or place as manymodels as possible within an area. It is best toconsult your fellow player while moving yourmodels to avoid arguments afterwards.The most important rule then is that the rulesaren't all that important! So long as both playersagree, you can treat them as sacrosanct or mereguidelines - the choice is entirely yours.
DICE
Dice (D6)
In a Warhammer 40,000 battle you often need toroll dice to see how the actions of your modelsturn out - how effective their shooting is, whatdamage they’ve done to a vehicle, how far theyretreat from enemy fire, and so on. Almost all ofthe dice rolls in Warhammer 40,000 use standardsix-sided dice (usually referred to as ‘D6’).
Rolling a D3
In rare circumstances you may be told to roll a D3.Roll a D6 and halve the score, rounding up. Thus 1or 2 = 1, 3 or 4 = 2 and 5 or 6 = 3.
Modifying dice rolls
Sometimes, you may have to modify the result ofthe roll. This is noted as D6+1 or D6-2 or 2D6+3,and so on. Roll the dice and add or subtract thenumber to or from the score to get the finalresult.Sometimes, you may have to modify the result ofthe dice roll. This is noted as D6 plus or minus anumber, such as D6+1 or D6-2. Roll the dice andadd or subtract the number to or from the scoreto get the final result. For example, D6+2 meansroll a dice and add 2 to the score, giving a total ofbetween 3 and 8.You may also be told to roll a number of dice inone go, which is written as 2D6, 3D6, and so on.Roll the indicated number of dice and add thescores together, so a 2D6 roll is two dice rolledand added together for a score of between 2-12.Another method is to multiply the score of a diceby a certain amount, such as D6x5 for a totalbetween 5 and 30. Finally, a combination ofmethods may be used, such as 3D6-3 giving a totalof 0-15.Sometimes, you may have to divide a dice roll (ora characteristic or any other number). Unlessstated otherwise any fractions are always roundedup.
Scatter dice
Some weapons can cause damage even as theirshots don’t hit the target. To determine wherethe shot lands instead, you are told to roll ascatter dice. The scatter dice is marked on foursides with an arrow, and on two sides with across-hair, called ‘HIT’ symbol. Simply roll thescatter dice near the target point to see in whichdirection the shot has deviated. If you roll a HIT,you will find a small arrow on the symbol todetermine the direction.
Re-roll
In some situations, the rules allow you a ‘re-roll’of the dice. The second score counts and no singledice can be re-rolled more than once. If you re-rolla single 2D6 or 3D6 roll, you must re-roll all of thedice and not just some of them, unless the rule
Warhammer 40,000 Rules
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Bodygranting the re-roll explicitly specifies otherwise.In rare circumstances you may be told to re-rollboth a passed and a failed test. In this case thetwo rules cancel each other out and the dice isnot re-rolled.
Roll off
If the rules require players to roll-off, this simplymeans that each player rolls a dice and the playerthat scores the highest result wins the roll-off. Ifthe players that rolled the highest have the sameresult, they roll another dice and add the result totheir previous roll until one player is the winner.
MODELS AND UNITS
MODELS
The Citadel miniatures used to play games ofWarhammer 40,000 are simply referred to as‘models’ in the rules that follow. Each model is anindividual playing piece with its own capabilities.To represent all the different types of models,each one has its own characteristics profile asdescribed in the next section.
Bases
Citadel miniatures are normally supplied with aplastic base. If so, they must be glued onto theirbases before they can be used in the game.Some players like to mount their models onimpressive scenic bases. As mounting your modelson different-sized bases might affect the way theyinteract with the rules, make sure before thegame that your opponent does not mind this. Ifyou own a classic version of a model, you mayalways choose to mount it on the base the newestversion of the model is supplied with.
Body/Hull
A couple of rules refer to the body of a model orthe hull of a vehicle. It is important to knowexactly which parts of a model are considered tobe part of the body or hull.BodyBodyBodyBody• The body includes the torso, head, arms andlegs, but excludes tails, wings, etc.• Weapons and minor details like spikes,ammunition, banners are not part of the body.• Every part of the model that horizontally jutsout of the area defined by the model’s base isnot part of the body. This rule is intended tolimit the effect of large conversions on thegame. Thus, you can make your model asimpressive as you like without worrying aboutthe impact on the game.HullHullHullHullThe ‘body’ of a vehicle is called hull.
• The hull includes the fuselage, turrets, rudders,engines, aerofoils, etc. and a walker’s torso,legs, arms and head.• Dozer blades, rollers and other ramming devicesin front of the vehicle are considered to be partof the hull. Merely cosmetic spikes, etc. are not.• Weapons are not part of the hull, but theirmountings and sponsons are. This rule isintended to ensure that players don’t getpenalised for having impressive gun barrels.• Exhausts, sails, crew, antennas, barrels, extraammo, etc are not part of the hull.
UNITS
Warriors tend to band together to fight in squads,teams sections or similar named groups -individuals do not normally go wandering off ontheir own for obvious reasons! In Warhammer40,000, we represent this by grouping modelstogether into units.Units fight in loose groups with gaps betweeneach model. This gives the troopers the freedomto move over difficult terrain quickly, and enablesthem to take advantage of such things as minorfolds in the ground, scrub, and other smallfeatures, to shelter from enemy fire. Similarly,vehicle squadrons are made up of a number ofvehicles. The different elements of the unit haveto stay together to remain an effective fightingforce. This is detailed more fully in the Movementsection on page 50.A unit will usually consist of several models thatfight as a group, but it can also be a single, verylarge or powerful model, such as a battle tank ora lone hero. In the rules that follow, all of thesethings are referred to as ‘units’.
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