121 Main Rules v0.1.

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A ruleset for playing tabletop games - July 2020
Based on Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40k

THE FOLLOWING ARE NEVER TO BE USED FOR PROFIT AND IN NO WAY

INTEND TO INFRINGE ON GW IP. THEY ARE JUST A COMBINATION OF RULES
USED TO PLAY TABLETOP GAMES.

121 is a tabletop/tabletop simulator designed for unambiguous structure to make

complication easy to incorporate. It is similar to 40k’s 4E, with distinct differences:

• Simultaneous action.

• D8-based.

• Squad-focused, with hex-fixed environments.

A turn consists of three main phases:

The movement phase, the shooting phase, and the assault phase.
In each phase, players send orders to their units. Once all orders are issued, all actions
happen simultaneously before moving on to the next phase.
IMPORTANT: do you handle orders for all phases at once? Or issue simultaneous move
orders, THEN simul. shoot orders, etc?

RANDOM IDEAS:

Medic: unit fights at full strength until completely removed?

See sketchup for firing directionality

Flanking: infantry are fast, so can turn freely to fight enemies coming at them.

But if you’re being hit from multiple directions there is a penalty, outside of cover.

Vehicle Damage! Add score you beat required value by to damage, i.e. S8 + D6 (5)
= 13 on AV 11 → then roll a 3 (immobilized) treated as 5 (explosion)

Then S10 vs AV 10: 2 is min damage! because roll 1 (shaken) +1 (11 ¿ 10) =
stunned! And roll 3 or higher = destroyed!

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 Getting Started

What you’ll need to play:

• At least two players or some functioning AI.

Having more players, even multiple players per army, would likely be far more
enjoyable than you and your local tabletop douche.

You could play you vs you....but have you ever tried that in chess?

• 8-sided die, preferably more than one.

Occasionally events in game will call for a D4 or D2. In this case, Roll a D8 and
”section” the values off:
Roll on D8 Value on D4 Roll on D8 Value on D2
1-2 1 1-4 1
3-4 2 5-8 2
5-6 3
7-8 4
Or use a number generator or dice app, etc.

• Models and a table, preferably with terrain?

Or a shit ton of proxies.

• A good fucking attitude.

Seriously, no one likes playing with that gloating, pouting, asshole.

And since you’re playing a real game, in person, likely in a public place, fucking
shower before meeting.

In fact, if you’ve not showered in the past 48 hours, your opponent may add 6 to
their initiative roll at the start. Seriously.

Once you have those things or you and your opponent(s) are both comfortable with what-
ever of those things you’re lacking (hopefully not the last point), you can start! A game is,
in v1.0, going to play out like this:
Players agree on points values and additional rules, and if desired, check point totals.
Both players lay out armies, either on the table or in reserve. Usually you’d want to put

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them out on opposite sides of the table, but that’s up to you.
You should ideally take turns placing selections so that you have equal opportunity to set
yourself up for victory (i.e. you don’t have one player laying out some troops, then the
other places artillery with direct line of sight to obliterate those troops on turn 1).

The turn:
The process repeats until either a set number of turns have passed, objectives are complete,
one side annihilates the other, or you decide you’re bored of this shit.

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 Units and Stats

Models are arranged into squads, each mounted on a hex base, called a unit.
Stats look like this:

Name Cost S F M C C+ R R+ P
Guardsmen 30 4 10 6 +0 +0 +1 -1 +0
Shas’la 45 4 12 6 +0 +1 +1 -2 +0

Cost:
Each model or unit has a points cost value, indicative of how valuable or rare it is. This
represents the strength of a unit for balance purposes, such that games of 500 points or 1500
points can be played and both sides have a roughly equal chance of winning. For example,
a space marine has a better stat line than a guardsman, but also costs more than twice as
many points to field.

Unit Strength (S):

The number of attack dice to use, representative of how powerful any given unit is. S4
means you roll 4 D8 when making attacks.

Unit Fortitude (F):

How resilient a unit is. The unit is removed when F is reduced to 0, and prior to that point,
S will decrease as F decreases (i.e. a unit that has lost half its numbers will fight at reduced
strength.)

Unit Morale (M):

How brave, competent, or easily inspired the unit is. High morale means greater fighting
effectiveness, and morale is reduced by things like being flanked, being at reduced strength,
losing objectives, etc. Impacts on M will influence fighting strength, just like losing F does.

Combat Offense (C):

Modifier when rolling to attack in melee.

Combat Defense (C+):

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Saving throw modifier when being attacked in melee.

Ranged Offense (R):

Modifier when rolling to attack at range.

Ranged Defense (R+):

Saving throw modifier when being attacked at range.

Attack Power (P):

Modifier to attack rolls in melee, i.e. how strong a model in the unit is when fighting hand-
to-hand. Will probably remove from unit stat line and move into equipment for unit, i.e.
space marines are armed with combat knives (+1 P) while guardsmen and tau are armed
with stock bashing (+0 P) or something.

Ideas coming through: Roll S x D8 when attacking. Your C or R modifies these rolls, i.e.
rolling a 6 with C of +1 means you rolled a 7. Defender’s C+ and R+ modify these as well,
with the inverse effect. Currently I have the defender rolling as many D8 as attacker rolls,
and then comparing...but I’m not sure I like that. Then also for now, ties go to attacker,
i.e. you must just equal your defending opponent’s rolls to wound. Any dice which equal
or beat defender’s dice move on to inflict damage:
Attacker rolls D8 + Power against defender’s D8. Difference remaining is the damage
inflicted, which gets subtracted from defender’s F. But this means you could blast a squad
of 10 guardsmen with a single lascannon and kill almost all of them...doesn’t make sense.
Shit.

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 Movement Phase

Units move, one at a time, according to the following rules:

Type Move Distance Advance Difficult Terrain Charge∗∗ Fall Back

Infantry 6” D6” 2D6”∗ 2D6” 2D6”
Jump Infantry 12” D6” 12”∗∗ 2D6” 3D6”
Bikes 12” 2D6” 12”∗∗ 2D6” 3D6”
Jetbikes 12” 2D6” 12” 2D6” 3D6”
Monstrous Creatures 6” D3”(?) 4D6”∗ 2D6” 2D6”
Artillery 6” D3” 2D6”∗,∗∗ 0” 2D6”
Beasts/Cavalry D6(+6?)” D6” 3D6”∗ 12” 3D6”
Vehicles/Tanks 12” 2D6” 2D6”t 0” N/A
Walkers 6” 6” 2D6”∗ 2D6” N/A
Fast Vehicles 18” 6” 2D6”t 0” N/A

* Pick the highest result.

** Slowed by difficult terrain/must take difficult terrain test as applicable.
t Additional rules apply.

In addition to move distance, units in a squad must remain no more than 2” apart at
any time. This is called COHERENCY. If a squad breaks coherency (due to melee, for ex-
ample), they must attempt to get back into coherency at the start of their next movement
phase. If unable to do so, they cannot shoot or assault until they are back into coherency.

Infantry never suffer any penalty for turning to shoot targets which are not presently in
front of them, and do not count as having moved if they do so.

Terrain:
Any good table will have its fair share of terrain. This comes in the form of hills, cover,
blocking terrain, impassable spots, etc. You should agree with your opponent before playing
what types of terrain are on your table, i.e. is this swamp so deep that it’s impassible? Or
would it slow a unit down? If so, by how much? etc.

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 Difficult terrain (swamps, ruins, traps) is more difficult to move through at full speed.
Squads roll 2D6 and pick the highest result for moving through. They may only move that
far, even if only one inch of their movement will be in difficult terrain. Dangerous terrain
tests are only made for certain units in certain scenarios. Roll a D6 for each unit in a squad
needing to take a dangerous terrain test. On a 1, the unit has failed and ...

Advancing:
A squad which does not wish to shoot in the shooting phase OR charge in the assault phase
can advance at the end of its movement phase, but cannot shoot in its shooting phase.

Psychic/Magic/Abilities

Instead of a phase these can be used throughout depending on the ability or spell... so
a teleportation could happen in the movement phase but a Smite equivalent happens in
the shooting phase. If applicable, psykers/wizards/whatever can case spells, use abilities,
summon creatures, etc.
UE:
2D6, lower or equal compared to Ld with modifiers for success:
Exceptional psykers can subtract 1, 2, from roll. So a Ld 7 psyker rolls an 8 but has a -2
modifier, so the applied score is 6, and the spell is manifested.
Certain spells require more or less concentration to summon, so will have their own +/-
modifiers.
ex) Smite is easier to conjure so has a -1 modifier, so a roll of 6 counts as a 5.
Perils: Roll of 2 or 12 (regardless of modifiers) causes perils of the warp: D3 attacks
wounding on 3+ with no saves allowed. Additionally, some spells with have Perils rules
specified. i.e. some will never cause Perils, or some will cause Perils on any doublet roll
(double 1, 2, 6, etc.) Or some will cause on 2, 3, 11, or 12. These are specified in the spell
description.
Deny: 18”? rolls 2D6, if modified score is LOWER than caster’s modified score, spell is
denied. So harder to summon spells are easier to deny and more adept psykers can cancel
out weaker psykers more easily.
Perils does not affect a psyker attempting a denial.

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 Shooting Phase

Units can fire weapons up to max range.

1. You may check distances first before declaring shots.
2. You must declare shots, then check distances. If the target is out of range, the shot
misses and is wasted. This could introduce rangefinders or something to that effect.
Cannot advance and shoot unless using assault weapons/pistols or have special rules.
Target Priority: A squad must target the closest threat to it as it is in the self interest
of the units to kill that which will kill them first. You may attempt to target other units
by passing a leadership test. Large creatures and Tanks never require target priority tests
to target.

Use ballistic skill (BS) to determine hits:

BS 1 2 3 4 5
Roll needed to hit 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+
BS ≥ 6 6 7 8 9 10
To Hit 2+/6+ 2+/5+ 2+/4+ 2+/3+ 2+/2+
BS ≤ 0 -4 -3 -2 -1 0
To Hit 6+/6+ 6+/5+ 6+/4+ 6+/3+ 6+/2+

BS6 allows misses to be re-rolled at BS1, BS7 allows a re-roll at BS2, etc. and is cumulative
with Twin-Linking. Resolve BS related re-rolls first, then if those still miss, re-roll the
whole process. Essentially treat it as having 2 shots at BS#, but only a max of one of them
can hit.
BS0 requires hits (6+) to be re-rolled at BS5, BS-1 requires hits to be re-rolled at BS4, etc.
So if you get to BS-4 you need two 6s in a row to score a hit.
Less than 1 BS only occurs due to modifiers. The only way to get to BS-4 is to have BS1 to
start, shooting at something in -3 cover (BS-2), that has also used a modifier (like smoke)
AND the shooting unit has been affected by some other BS- modifier/a psychic power mod-
ifies it to BS-4. This is expected to be so rare that it literally never occurs.
BS10 is the highest possible (and is also never expected). If you roll 2 ones in a row, sorry,

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but you deserve to miss. Likewise, if you roll 2 6s in a row, you deserve to hit. Thus, BS -4
is the lowest possible.
Count up hits, then roll to wound:

Strength and Toughness (and Wounding)

Compare the strength (S) of the attack with the toughness (T) of the model being at-
tacked.

Comparison Required to wound

S > T + 1+∗ 2+
S>T 3+
S=T 4+
S<T 5+
S + 1+ < T 6+
*A roll of 1 always fails to wound. A roll of 6 always succeeds.
Alternate (direct table for reference):
T
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+
2 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+
3 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+
4 2+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+
S 5 2+ 2+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 6+ 6+
6 2+ 2+ 2+ 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 6+ 6+
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+

Instant death: If S≥2T, 2 wounds are inflicted(does not jump models, i.e. a lascannon
into guardsman can still only kill one per shot.), if S≥3T, 3 wounds, and so on. So a las-
cannon shot can kill a T3 lieutenant with 3W outright, but would only be able to strip 2W
off a T4 captain.

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After wounds are made, saves (Sv) can be attempted! ONE save can be made per at-
tack. Either armor OR invulnerable (++).
If armor is penetrated by an AP weapon, then the user must default on either their inv++
(if they have one). Armor saves can be modified by AP weapons. Ex) a hit from an AP
-2 on a normal save of 3+ means that the defending unit is treated as having 5+ armor.
This is one step more forgiving to light armored units who previously basically never got
any save, and slightly harsher towards heavily armored units who will almost never get
their standard save. Examples of armor types and their respective saving rolls required are
shown below.

Armor Save Required Save when hit by AP -2 weapon

Flak, Mesh 5+ none
Ceramite 4+ 6+
Heavy Power Armor 2+ 4+

Alternatively, it could be the same as 4E, but when AP = armor, a 6+ is required

instead of granting no save. I think that seems more fun. Then gaunts and guardsmen get
to make 6+ all the time instead of never getting to use their armor. This also means that
AP6 weapons are the same as AP- weapons, since a 6+ hit by an AP6 would still be a
6+...i guess the difference should be AP- effects on vehicles.
Cover:
Battlefields often have various forms of cover which can protect infantry moving through
them. Thus, units in cover are harder to hit. This is represented by a modifier applied to
shooter’s ballistic skill. The table below represents this.

Type of cover Modifier to attacker’s BS

Light Cover -1
Heavy Cover -2
Fortifications -3

Thus, a BS3 guardsman shooting a stubber at something in light cover, rolling a 3,4, and
5 (scoring 2 hits normally) fires at BS2 (needing a 5+, meaning only 1 hit). This method
is used instead of subtracting from To Hit rolls because of balance. See below.
Light Cover: low walls, thick brush, trees, tank traps, crates, barrels, smoke

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Heavy Cover: sandbags/fortifications, vehicles/wrecks, trenches, ruins, craters
Note that fortifications significantly affect gameplay and thus are extremely rare. In addi-
tion, you should generally agree with your opponent about which terrain features count as
what type of cover before beginning play.
Protection for particularly poor shooters: BS2 shooting at something in heavy cover
means it would be firing at BS0 (see above section) under these rules. If the modifier ap-
proach (-2 from resultant dice rolls) were used instead, then even a roll of 6 (modified to a
4, and thus lower than 5) would always miss, so something like Orks literally couldn’t hurt
something in heavy cover, ever.

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 Weapons

Profiles:

Name Range S AP Type

Lasgun 24” 3 - Rapid 1
Slugga 12” 4 6 Pistol 1
Multi-Melta 24” 8 1 Heavy 1, Melta
Shuriken Catapault 12” 4 5 Assault 2
M16 24” 3 5 Assault 1
AKM 18” 4 5 Rapid 1
M4 18” 3 6 Assault 2
M21 36” 5 4 Heavy 1
Dingo 30” 5 6 Rapid 2
Multi-Melta 24” 8 5 Heavy 1, Melta, Pen.

Range: Max distance you can hit shit with the weapon.
S: Strength. Compare with toughness to tell if wounds occur.
AP: Armor penetration. If this value is equal to or lower than the armor save of the at-
tacked model, the model gets no armor save.
AP - always grants a save, and against vehicles, counts penetrating hits as glancing hits
and glancing hits as nothing.
AP 1 counts glancing hits on vehicles as penetrating hits.
OR AP is a modifier, not negater, i.e. AP of 5 becomes 1, meaning a Save of 4+ becomes
a save of 5+. Only models with Sv 6+ would not get a save. In essence, the new “line” is
not ”you get no save”, it’s ”you need a 6”. Then AP 1 becomes 5, and those weapons will
have an additional effect against vehicles..? The lascannon profile above has been modified
to reflect this.
Type: Rules for movement and number of shots, plus additional effects. See below:

Assault: designed for mobility and/or getting into an assault.

Can move and shoot, and always charge.
Can advance and shoot as if moving and firing a heavy weapon.

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Pistol: one-handed (allows for combat weapon in other hand to give +1 attack) and mo-
bile.
Can move and shoot at RoF up to 12”. Can charge.
If stationary, can fire an additional shot up to 12” but cannot charge.
Can advance and shoot once with no penalty to BS, but cannot charge.

Heavy: Big guns, not very mobile. Can stand still and fire at BS normally.
Cannot advance and shoot.
Can move and shoot at BS1 to hit. Modifiers can(not?) change this (markerlights)?
If moved, can shoot and assault, but assault is reduced to 1D6 instead of 2D6.
(meaning a model with a heavy weapon could fail an assault from 2” away.)
If stayed still to shoot at normal BS, cannot assault.
Exception: Slow and Purposeful..

Rapid: meant for close engagements and versatility.

Cannot shoot and advance.
If stationary, can fire at RoF up to max range with an additional shot up to half range.
Cannot shoot and assault. If mobile, can fire at RoF to only half range. Can shoot and
assault. So for 24” Rapid 2, you can remain stationary and shoot twice up to 24”, or 3
times if at 12” away, OR you can move in and get 2 shots at up to 12” away.

Special weapon rules: In addition to the descriptions above, some weapons have addi-
tional effects.
Blast: use blast template, specified by Blast (normal size), Large, or Very Large. OR cluster
(5 small blasts in plus shape). Blast is 3” across, LB is 5”, not sure about VLB. Considered
changing to fixed max like in flamer, but I like ordnance/scatter too much.
Ordnance/Barrage: Use scatter, and 2D6 - firer’s BS determines distance scattered. i.e.
BS4 means that a 2D6 roll of 8 equates to only 4” off target.
If no line of sight drawn, just roll 2D6, do not subtract BS. Or roll 3D6 and pick the highest
2...
Template: Use associated named template (flamer, lightning?)
OR instead of a flamer template, ....

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Flamer: Automatically hits and causes MAX 5 wounds (can hit up to 5 models, but if used
on a 4 model unit, can only hit 4 models, i.e. hits don’t roll over.) Then different flamer
type weapons (inferno cannon, heavy flamer) can cause more?
Overheat: on a roll to hit of 6, weapon cannot fire next turn.
Volatile: on a roll to hit of 1, user suffers a wound but is allowed a save. weapon is destroyed
if user dies from this. Multiple Gets Hot shots mean that each shot increases the probability
by 1 (2 shots means 1 or 2 to hit causes, 3 means 1 2 or 3 does!)
Twin-Linked: can re-roll misses.
Melta UE: roll 2D6 when penetrating and pick the highest? (when in half range)
Unnamed Effect: re-roll vehicle damage dice or roll 2 and pick result.
Advanced targeting on tanks: choose specific damage result, roll for that. More on these
last two later.
Stun: If any hits are scored, regardless of inflicting wounds, the unit is stunned and, in its
next movement phase, moves as if in difficult terrain.
Sniper: Add one (two?) to BS OR re-roll 1s OR counts as twin-linked... always wound on
4+. Against vehicles, 2D6 total.
Rending: any To Wound rolls of 6 always wound at AP2, and against vehicles any pen.
attempt of 6 allow a D3 to be added to strength. ex) So against armor 12, with a S5 rending
weapon, user rolls a 6 and then a 2 on the D3, so total S is 5+6+2 = 13!
Lance: Treats armor values of 13+ as 12.
Co-axial: Fire the co-axial weapon first. If any shots score hits, you may fire the main
weapon at BS+1.
Shotgun: If within half max range, S+1 and AP-1.
Dual: If a hit is scored, it counts as two hits. (one chance to get two hits)

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 Assault Phase

Assault Phase summary:

Declare charges.
Determine charge distances.
Resolve Overwatch as it applies.
Move charging units.
Resolve combat with modifiers.
Determine result and take morale tests as necessary.
Attempt Routs, Consolidations, and Pile-Ins as required.

Units charge up to 2D6” or whatever was specified above depending on type. So you
probably want to be within 7” or so at the end of the move phase. If you roll an 8, for
example, only the closest models will make the 7” charge.
If a unit was stationary during its move phase, the charge distance is reduced to rolling 2D6
and picking the highest.
Bonuses to charging will create ”delayed declarations of charge” if charges happen simulta-
neously because it’s better for my charged Tau to charge back and gain some bonus than to
sit there and take it...this is why the 2D6 vs D6 rule is in effect. If i have a gunline i would
not be charging with, then if i decide once charged to charge in return, it’s unlikely I’ll get
any bonus for doing so. I could notice an assault squad approaching me and preemptively
prepare a charge, but then my shooting probably won’t be as effective!

Charge Bonuses and Initiative:

If you charge, you get bonuses for that round of combat. See the table below.
NOTE: This is nice and all, but kind of complicated and will be harder to remember. Also,
what effect do defensive grenades have now?
I don’t care for -1 to hit, but i really like -1 A in 3-5E...
So it’d be something like:

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 Distance Charged Effect Distance Charged Effect
1-6” +2I 1-3” +1I
7-11” +2I, +1S 4-6” +2I
12” +2I, +2S 7-11” +2I, +1S
12” +2I, +2S

Overwatch:
Instead of charging, if you have a squad that is being charged, it can fire overwatch as the
assailants charge in. Overwatch is an additional shooting phase where all shots are resolved
at BS1. In addition, only assault, rapid fire, and pistol weapons may fire overwatch.
If the Overwatch squad is in cover (regardless of which type), they may fire at BS2.

Once charge distances have been determined, move charging units up to that amount
to get them into base-to-base contact with an enemy unit. Units in base-to-base contact
are considered ENGAGED. Each charging unit should attempt to reach an enemy which is
not already ENGAGED. If a unit in a squad cannot reach any enemy, it must be within 2”
of a friendly ENGAGED model. If this also is impossible, it must maintain 2” coherency
with its squad. If none of the units in a squad are in base-to-base contact (i.e. you rolled
a 4 on an 8” charge), the charge fails. These units cannot declare Overwatch retroactively,
and may not advance during their next movement phase, but are otherwise unaffected.

Units attempting to charge through cover or difficult terrain are slowed. Units that were
charging on 2D6 now roll 2 and pick the highest. Units charging on highest out of 2 D6
now only use 1D6.

Once charges and Overwatch have been resolved, melee ensues. Models that are EN-
GAGED OR within 2(1?)” of a friendly ENGAGED unit may fight, and direct their attacks
at the squad they are ENGAGED with. If two squads are possible targets, you may split
your attacks, but excess wounds never roll over onto other squads. Models outside 2(1?)”
of ENGAGED friendly units do nothing this round of combat.

To determine attack order, use Initiative stat + modifiers (primarily from charges).
Higher initiative units resolve all their attacks first, and then lower values follow. (I5 goes
before I4, who goes before I3, and so on). Models which have close combat weapons have an

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additional attack. Grenades may affect Initiative scores. And/or they may affect wounding
rolls or something, i.e. frag grenades allow failed To-Wound rolls to be re-rolled, or add +1
S to all attacks? Or +1 attacks on charge...
OR ONE unit can throw a grenade instead of shooting. And it has its own profile like:

Name Type Range S AP Notes

Frag Grenade Assault D6 Charge 4 6

ex) 5 marines with rifles who charged 7” fight at +2 to their base initiative stat and +1
to their base strength stat. 5 marines with pistols and swords who charged 7” fight at +2I,
+1S AND each get an additional +1 attack. These same marines armed with two swords
(and therefore have no ranged attack) get the same but +2A instead of +1.

Units then roll to hit, wound, and make saves as applicable. Using the following table,
compare the WS of the attacker with the WS of the defender to see if any hits are scored.
You should ideally compare WS stats per engagement, in case a squad has multiple WS
stats for the units involved.

Atk WS vs Def WS A>2D A>D A≤D 2A<D 3A≤D

Roll required to hit 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+

So a Tau FW with WS2 needs a 4 against a Marine (WS4) but a 5 against a Captain
(WS5), and they need a 3+ or 2+ to hit the tau.

In the case of a 1v1 combat, for same initiative attacks, any roll to hit you and your op-
ponent make which are the same cancel each other out, regardless of WS, or if the resultant
roll would have been a hit for one model but a miss for the other. This is representative of
the random chance of the combatants clashing weapons, but becomes either unrepresenta-
tive or incredibly ornery for larger melees.

Once hits have been determined, roll to wound comparing the attacker’s strength (S) +
modifiers (for certain types of weapons) with the defender’s toughness (T), as in the shoot-
ing phase. Unless special weapon rules apply, the wounded defenders are allowed armor
saves as normal. As with shooting, if the defender suffers at least as many wounds as it has
models, the attacker may nominate one unit to make a save, but from there the defender

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rolls all the saves together. Instances of unique WS and SvT rolls should be resolved sepa-
rately and may not be “allocated” to unengaged units.

Once effective wounds have been determined, the defending player selects and removes
only models which were ENGAGED in the round of combat. If a squad of 20 units, only
12 of which are engaged, takes 15 wounds, it will only lose the 12 engaged units. Generally
it’s best to remove models such that coherency is not broken.

Winning/Losing combat:
If you inflict more wounds than your opponent (or some scaled modifier of this), then you
win. Loser must take a leadership test and if failed, they fall back.

Routing:
If a unit falls back due to losing combat, before they move, the winner can attempt to
Rout the fleeing unit if they are not locked with another unit. W Rolls D6 + Initiative +
net wounds caused. L rolls 2D6, compare for roll-off. If W>L, then the winner inflicts D3
wounds for each point they won the roll-off by. They must then move 2D6” to pursue L (if
this roll is greater than L’s fallback distance, just move them into base contact as if they
charged in). If W=L, they are trapped, and fighting continues, but there is no additional
effect. If W<L, loser successfully falls back. W can then consolidate.
ex) 8 SM vs 10 Tau FW. SM inflict 3 wounds, Tau inflict 1. SM win by 2 wounds. Tau
take Ld test and fail. They fall back, SM attempt to Rout. They Roll D6+4+2 = 5+4+2
= 11. Tau roll 2D6 = 7. Tau lose Rout check by 4, so they take 4D3 wounds.
NO, it doesn’t make sense for the SM to be able to totally annihilate the Tau in
one turn of combat if they only killed 2/10 to start with...and it can’t be by num-
ber or else it’s going to start to skew in favor of Orks/Tyranids. NEEDS WORK!
Either make it 1W per point difference, or make the D3 wounds the worst outcome.

Consolidation and Pile-Ins:

If a rout is not attempted, or is failed, the winner can move units D6” (?) to consolidate
(get back into 2” coherency). If it happens that they can make this move AND engage
another squad, that is fine, but the defending squad is permitted an overwatch, even if
they already fired overwatch on this turn. No further combat will occur this turn but both

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squads are LOCKED until the next combat phase...unless the newly locked squad wants
to leave combat on their next move phase in which case a rout can be attempted. See below.

Pile-in Moves: At the end of the assault phase, units in locked squads that were more
than 2” away from friendly ENGAGED units are allowed to pile in to get into the fight.
If the squad is not breaking away, they are required to move up to 6” in order to become
ENGAGED. If this is still not enough to get them ENGAGED themselves, they must at-
tempt a pile-in on the next turn as well. Note that squads still locked in combat at the end
of the assault phase may not move in the movement phase or shoot in the shooting phase.
Psykers cannot case psychic powers unless they are related to melee.

Leaving Combat:
If one party wishes to break off from combat, the opposing player can attempt a Rout. In
this case, the unit attempting to keep the fighting going gets to roll an additional D3 and
add it. However, if the player attempts a Rout and loses, in addition to the other unit being
allowed to flee, the attempting unit cannot advance or charge on their next turn.
ex) same as above, but Tau pass Ld test. Decide to pull out of combat at their next turn,
so they roll 2D6, Marine player rolls 2D6+1D3, roll 7 and 9, respectively. The Tau can pull
out, but take 2D3 wounds. You cannot shoot on a turn you leave combat, but the “Leave”
distance is 2D6, same as a fall back.

Shooting Into Combat:

In the swirl of melee, friendly units may wish to help their engaged comrades. Unlike in
4E, this is allowed, but ALL misses made by the supporting unit hit their allies instead.
Opportunity for new abilities (FTGG (tau) offers ability to shoot into melee and only hit
allies on rolls of 1, for example)

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 Morale

Test for morale if:

You lose an assault (after combat is resolved). See above.
You take 25% or more casualties from a single round of shooting (before assault phase, but
after both players have shot this turn).
The 25% resets for each turn. If you start with 6 and lose 2 (33% loss), you must test.
Then if you lose 1 more (25% loss), you must test again.
A pinning attempt against you was successful (immediately after wounds are resolved).
You need to take a target priority test (after declaring targets, but before rolling to hit).

How to test:
To test morale, roll 2D6 and compare with leadership (L). If roll is equal or lower, the test
is passed.
Or...depends on type of test...? So a casualty test would be (1D6 + # of lost squadmates)
vs L, But a target priority would be 2D6 vs L.

Modifiers:
Squad is at or below 50% of its starting strength: -1
Squad is at or below 25% of its starting strength: -2
(starting being from the beginning of the game)
You lost an assault and are now outnumbered:
-1 if outnumbered 2:1, -2 if outnumbered 3:1, etc.
Squad was fired on by 2 or more squads this turn: -1
At least 1 friendly squad is within 12”: +1

Regrouping:
Falling back units can attempt to regroup at the beginning of their movement phase. They
cannot attempt if there are enemies within 12” or they are not in 2” coherency. They incur
penalties as stated above. They get a +1 modifier if no enemies are within their line of
sight.

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 Vehicles

Profiles:

Name Front Armor Side Armor Rear Armor W(Wounds) BS

Leman Russ 14 12 10 1 3
Land Raider 14 14 13 2 4
Roll S+D6 to determine penetration. If equal, causes glancing hit. If greater, causes pene-
trating hit. If less, no result.
Other ideas: Use wounds, have 2-5 or so depending on vehicle. Some weapons (melta,
lascannon, etc.) do 2W or more.
New damage table for additional effects, which occur when you continuously fail to destroy
the vehicle/so a vehicle isn’t just annihilated in one shot.
Or to be rolled on when S+D6 = AV-1 (roll of 9 when a 10 is needed). OR put this in place
of glancing hit and combine glancing to penetrating.
Something like tank hunters roll on secondary table in addition to main damage they’re
doing. Or they can re-roll failed penetrations or damage results.
Overkill damage: If you roll a 14 to breach AV 11 armor, the +3 difference weighs in on
your damage table.
OR ...

Name BS FT ST RT W Sv
Leman Russ 3 10 8 7 6 3+
Land Raider 4 10 10 8 8 2+

Damage tables:

Secondary trial Result

1 no effect
2 slowed (move 1D6 for 1 turn)
3 stun support (1 support system fails for a turn)
4 stun weapon (1 weapon fails for a turn)
5 jam (passengers may not disembark OR crew shaken)
6 severe damage (lose addtl. wound)

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 Glancing Hit Result
1-2 crew shaken
3 crew stunned
4 engines damaged
5 weapon destroyed
6 minor damage

Penetrating Hit Result

Damage Table Result
1 crew stunned
1 Lucky Save
2 engines damaged & crew stunned
2 Damage Control
3 weapon destroyed & crew stunned
3-4 Vehicle Destroyed
4 immobilized & crew stunned
5 Explosion
5 minor damage
6 Annihilation
6 major damage

OR combine tables in some regard (there could be more than 6 options, so +1 and +2 cause
extraordinary results, etc. OR make an 11 option table and roll 2D6 on it, using 3D6 and
lowest 2 for glancing hit, or just 1D6 if AP -, for example. Or modifiers like -1 for glancing,
+1 for open topped, etc.

2D6 Damage Table Result

2 Damage Control
3 Vehicle Destroyed
4 Explosion
5 Explosion
6 Annihilation
7 Annihilation
8 Annihilation
9 Annihilation
10 Annihilation
11 Annihilation
12 Annihilation

Crew shaken: No main weapons can fire next turn

Crew stunned: Vehicle may not move or shoot next turn, not even defensive weapons.
Engines damaged: -D6” to total move speed. If reduced to 0, immobilized.

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Weapon destroyed: One weapon is destroyed and may no longer be used. chosen by attacker.
minor damage: -1 wound, roll again on glancing hit table. If reduced to 0 wounds, roll on
damage table.
Immobilized: Vehicle immediately reduced to 0” move. Cannot turn in place.
Major damage: -1 wound, roll again on penetrating hit table. If reduced to 0 wounds, roll
on damage table.
Lucky Save: Lost wound is repaired, roll again on glancing hit table.
Damage Control: Each player rolls a D6. If attacker rolls equal or greater, roll again on
this table. If not, treat as Lucky Save.
Destroyed: Vehicle becomes a wreck (part of terrain now). See emergency disembark 4E.
No other effect.
Explosion: Models within D6” suffer a wound with saves allowed. See ED 4E (as above).
Vehicles are unaffected.
Annihilation: Models within 6” are killed instantly. All passengers are killed instantly.
Vehicles within 6” suffer a glancing hit.

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 Codex Specific

Searchlights: Aside from night fighting stuff, also allows vehicle to “designate” target(s)
such that infantry don’t have to make target priority tests to target them? Or something
with twin-linking? (re-roll one failed to hit per turn, not per weapon?)

Stealth(suits): 2D6x3 spotting. If outside then cannot target and lose turn. If within,
then:

Range Effect
≤ 2D6 -0 BS
≤ 2D6x2 -1 BS
≤ 2D6x3 -2 BS

OR SOMETHING. So a SM trying to shoot a stealthsuit rolls 2D6 = 8. So if the stealth

team is up to 8” away, SM fires at BS4. If between 9 and 16”, SM fires at BS3. If between
17 and 24”, fires at BS2. If outside 24”, cannot shoot.

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