On the following pages you will find the core rules for the Epic game system, covering all of the basic mechanics of the Epic game. The core rules describe how units (that’s to say any kind of infantry or armoured vehicles) move and fire on each other and participate in assaults.
Scattered through the rules you will occasionally find Special Rule boxes. Most special rules are described in rules sections 2.0-4.0, but some rules you really need to know about earlier on and because of this we’ve included them with the core rules. You will also find Design Concept boxes that explain certain fundamental principles of the rules. We’ve put these off to one side rather than include them in the rules proper in order to save repetition, and also to allow us to explain in rather more detail the concepts and philosophy behind the rules. The author feels quite strongly that disputes or misinterpretation of the rules can be minimised if you understand why a rule is written the way it is.
We highly recommend that you play several games using the core rules before fighting battles using the full range of Epic scale vehicle and infantry miniatures that use the special rules. In order to help with this we’ve included a number of ‘training scenarios’ at the end of the core rules that will allow you to try the rules out quickly and easily.
What You Will Need To Play
In order to play you will need to get hold of Epic scale miniatures. These miniatures are available from Games Workshop stores and Direct Sales as well as independent specialist hobby shops.
You will also need a small amount of gaming terrain. You can use the hills and trees made for Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 and available from the same places as Epic miniatures if you don’t have any Epic scale terrain, or just lay a cloth over some books to create rolling, hilly terrain. Forge World sells a wide array of detailed resin terrain pieces to expand the boundaries of your battle settings.
In addition to models, a suitable battlefield, and players you’ll need a few more essential items to begin play:
Templates: Certain weapons in Epic, such as the huge Imperial Earthshaker Cannon, have an area effect rather than targeting a specific unit. These attacks are represented by placing a circular template over the target and attempting to affect any units under it. Two types of template are used in Epic, a Barrage template that has a diameter of 7.4cm, and a larger Orbital Bombardment template that has a diameter of 12cm. The type and intensity of the attack will dictate which template is used and how many templates may be required.
Copies of both templates can be found at the end of the core rules, or you can use the plastic Blast and Ordnance templates produced by Games Workshop. You can also make your own versions of the templates from card or acetate.
Measuring Instrument: You will need some kind of measuring instrument marked in centimetres (cms) in order to play Epic. You will find a retractable measuring tape most useful for measuring movement and shooting distances. If you only have a measuring instrument marked in inches then you can use it by halving any distances measured in centimetres and using the result as a distance in inches instead. For example, if the rules said 5cm you would count this as 2.5" instead. Please note that if you decide to measure any distances in inches then both players must do so!
Paper and Pens or Pencils: You may need to record details of casualties and damage to those gigantic war engines occasionally during a game, so it’s useful to have some paper and a writing implement handy.
Dice: In Epic you’ll need buckets full of ordinary six-sided dice to resolve shooting and fighting in an assault. These are referred to as a D6. If you need to roll more than one dice, then this is written as 2D6 (for roll two dice) or 4D6 (for roll four dice) and so on. If you have to add something to the total of the roll, this is added afterwards. For example, D6+6 means roll one dice and add 6 to the score to get a total between 7 and 12. If asked to roll a D3 simply roll a D6 and count a roll of 1-2 as a 1, a roll of 3-4 as a 2, and a roll of 5-6 as a 3. In some cases a unit or formation will need to roll a 1 or higher on a D6. In this case the roll automatically succeeds and no dice roll is strictly necessary (though you can roll anyway if you wish!).
Blast Markers: An army in battle tends to get worse at fighting as it is subjected to enemy fire and loses close combats. In Epic, Blast markers represent this. You can either make your own Blast markers, or use the Battle Markers produced by Games Workshop, or keep track of things with paper and pencil or some other method if you prefer. As long as you know how many Blast markers a formation has accumulated during the game then whatever method you use is fine with us!
UNITS
Epic lets you fight battles with everything from lowly infantry to the terrifying war engines that dominate the battle zones of the 41st Millennium. From the smallest to the greatest, every warrior and weapon has its part to play. Different types of unit complement one another in combat – war engines fighting in cities need infantry to enter buildings and drive out enemy troops, infantry in the open need support from their own tanks and war engines lest they be swept away by enemy war engines.
No matter what their size, the Citadel miniatures used to play Epic are referred to as units in the rules that follow. Each unit is an individual playing piece with its own capabilities. A unit may consist of a single model tank, a gigantic war engine, or several infantry models mounted together on a single base, but in the rules all of these things are simply referred to as units.
IMPORTANT:
The core rules on the following pages only cover infantry and armoured vehicles. The rules for specialist units in section 2.0 introduce several new unit types and characteristics, rules for Titans and other war engines are introduced in Section 3.0, and rules for aircraft in Section 4.0.
Unit Types
All units in the core rules are subdivided into two broad categories: Infantry and Armoured Vehicles.
Infantry (INF):
This designation includes all personnel not mounted inside a vehicle. Infantry are represented by between three and seven Epic infantry models mounted on a single base (see 1.1.2 for details). Field artillery such as Ork Big Gunz also fall into this category, as do infantry that ride on bikes or horses.
Armoured Vehicles (AV):
As their name implies, these vehicles are covered with thick armour plate. The category includes tanks such as Leman Russ and Land Raiders, as well as armoured troop carriers like the Rhino. Armoured vehicles are represented by a single model.
Stands
As previously noted, a unit can be a single vehicle model, or a stand made up of several very small models grouped together and glued to a small base. Stands usually represent things like infantry, where moving the individual models round on their own would be very fiddly with Epic scale models. All the models glued to a stand count as a single unit as far as the rules are concerned. The size of a stand and the number of models glued to it are left pretty much up to the player to decide within the following limitations:
A stand may be no more than 40mm and no less than 5mm across in any direction.
A stand must be at least 20mm across in one direction (ie, a 5mm by 5mm stand is not allowed, but a 5mm by 20mm stand would be okay).
Unit Datasheets
Each unit in Epic has a datasheet that tells you how fast, shooty and tough the unit is. Each datasheet provides the following information:
Type: What target type the unit belongs to.
Speed: The speed of the unit. This is the distance in centimetres the unit can move each turn while still firing its weapons fairly effectively. It is possible for units to move faster than this if you wish, but their shooting will be far less effective.
Armour: This number shows how well protected and/or difficult to damage the unit is. If a hit is scored on the unit then you must roll this number or higher on a D6 to ‘save’ the unit from the damage.
Close Combat: This number shows how effective the unit is at close combat. It is used when the unit charges an enemy unit, or is charged itself.
Firefight: This shows how effective the unit is when involved in a short-ranged firefight.
Weapons: This section of the data sheet lists what weapons the unit carries. If a unit carries more than one of a type of weapon then this will be noted as a ‘multiplier’ by the weapon’s name. For example, a Space Marine Tactical squad is noted as having a ‘Missile Launcher’, while a Space Marine Devastator squad is noted as having ‘2 x Missile Launcher’.
Range: The range of the weapon in centimetres.
Firepower: The numbers here represent how effective the weapon is when it shoots. Firepower comes in two ‘flavours’: Anti-personnel (abbreviated to AP) and Anti- tank (abbreviated to AT). AP fire is used against infantry targets and AT fire against armoured vehicles. A weapon that has both an AP and an AT value may choose to use either one when it attacks, but may not use both in the same turn The value listed for a weapon is the score required on a single D6 to score a hit. Most weapons only roll one D6 to hit when they shoot. However, if a weapon’s firepower value is preceded by a multiplier then a number of dice equal to the multiplier should be rolled instead. For example, a weapon with a firepower of ‘AP5+’ would roll one D6 to hit, while a unit with a firepower of ‘3 x AP5+’ would roll three D6. Sometimes the entry will specify a dice roll rather than a fixed number. For example, a weapon that had ‘D3 x AP5+’ would attack D3 times each time it was used.
Special Rules: Some weapons have additional abilities (see 2.0) and may have limited fire arcs (see 1.9).
Notes: If any special rules apply to the unit then they will be noted here. An explanation of what effect these rules have can be found in sections 2.0 - 4.0
FORMATIONS
On the battlefield, vehicles and troops don’t just mill around individually, instead they are organised so that they fight as a unified whole. In Epic, a body of troops and war machines that fights together on the battlefield is referred to as a formation.
Formations
All units must be organised into formations at the start of the game. The scenarios included in these rules will tell you what formations each side may use. If you are devising your own scenario then you must decide what formations the units taking part will fight in before the battle begins.
Every unit in a formation must be no further than 5cm from at least one other unit in the same formation. In addition, all units must form a ‘chain’ without any gaps of more than 5cm. Sometimes the units in a formation will become separated due to enemy fire or assault. When this happens, the formation must close back up again into a legal formation when it next takes an action (see 1.6.1).
Initiative Values
Each formation has an initiative value that represents how well trained and motivated it is. The lower a formation’s initiative value is, the better (eg, an initiative of 1 is better than an initiative of 2). Formations with good initiative values are more likely to carry out orders, and will rally more quickly than formations with worse initiative values. You will find that a formation’s initiative value is one of its most important characteristics. Some example initiative values are shown
BLAST MARKERS
During a game of Epic the formations under your command will receive Blast markers when they come under fire, take casualties, fight in assaults, or fail initiative tests. Blast markers can be removed when a formation rallies or regroups (see 1.13 and 1.14.1). The effects of blast markers will make more sense when you have read the rest of the rules, but in summary:
A formation receives one Blast marker every time it is shot at by an enemy formation, even if no casualties are caused, unless the rules specifically state otherwise.
In addition, a formation receives one Blast marker every time a unit is destroyed, unless the rules specifically state otherwise.
Each Blast marker suppresses one unit in the formation and stops it from shooting. Blast markers also affect a formation’s ability to carry out actions, win assaults, and rally. A formation is broken when the number of Blast markers equals the number of units in the formation, unless the rules specifically state otherwise. A broken formation has to withdraw, and is not allowed to take actions in the action phase (which basically means it can’t move or shoot). It must try to rally in the end phase.
SEQUENCE OF PLAY
An Epic battle is fought over a number of turns. How many turns a battle will last is determined by the players themselves or the scenario being fought.
Epic uses the following sequence of play. As you can see, each turn in Epic Armageddon is split into three phases. However, the bulk of the action occurs, appropriately enough, in the action phase. During this phase, the players take it in turn to pick one of the formations in their armies and carry out an action with it. Each formation in an army can carry out one action. After both players have taken one action with each of their formations, they move onto the end phase. This is basically a ‘tidy-up’ phase, where things that are not carried out during the action phase are sorted out. Note that both players do things in each phase, so both carry out actions in the action phase, rally broken formations in the end phase, and so on.
Sequence Of Play
I – Strategy Phase: Each player rolls a D6 and adds their army’s strategy rating to the score. Whoever scores higher may choose to go first or second in the action phase.
2 – Action Phase: The players alternate carrying out actions with their units.
3– End Phase: Both players rally formations with Blast markers or that are broken, and then check the scenario victory conditions to see if either side has won.
SPECIAL RULE 1.4.2
Abilities Used At Start Of Turn/Action Some units have special abilities that are specified as taking effect at the beginning of the turn. These effects are resolved before the Strategy roll. Similarly, abilities that are used at the start of an action can be taken before the Initiative roll is made or the action chosen. If both players have effects for the beginning of the turn, take turns resolving them, alternating between players for each subsequent effect until all effects are resolved. The player with the higher strategy rating decides which player will go first.
1 THE STRATEGY PHASE
Each army has a strategy rating. This will either be listed in the notes for a scenario, or can be found in the army list if you are playing a tournament game. An army’s strategy rating represents a mixture of its aggression and the ability of its commanders. An army with a high strategy rating is more likely to act before an enemy with a lower strategy rating.
In the strategy phase at the start of each turn both players make a strategy roll by rolling a D6 and adding their strategy rating to the score. The player whose army scores higher can choose to go first or second in the action phase. In the case of a tie, the side that failed to win the initiative last turn gets it on this turn.
2 THE ACTION PHASE
In the action phase, the players take it in turns to carry out actions with their unbroken formations. Each unbroken formation can take one action per turn. The player that won the strategy roll can choose whether to go first or second.
The player going first then carries out an action with one formation, and then their opponent does likewise, and so on until all formations have taken an action. If one player runs out of formations to activate, then the opposing player may keep on activating formations one after the other until all of his formations have taken an action.
There are three steps to carrying out an action:
I – Nominate a formation.
2 – Declare which action it will carry out.
3 – The formation must then pass an action test to see if it carries out the action successfully.
Each of these steps is explained in more detail below. Note that you must declare both the formation and the action it will carry out before taking the Action test. If you fail to do these things, then the formation chosen automatically fails the Action test without the dice being rolled (we can imagine this is due to a communications failure). If you failed to even nominate the formation then your opponent may nominate the formation for you.
Actions
To carry out an action, first nominate an unbroken formation and then choose an action for it to carry out. The actions that can be chosen are listed as follows. Note that you must activate a formation if you can, you can’t choose to ‘pass’ unless you have no choice in the matter. Also note that a formation may only be activated once per Action phase.
Advance: The formation may make one move and then shoot.
Engage: The formation may make one ‘charge’ move and then fight an assault.
Double: The formation may make two moves and then shoot with a -1 modifier.
March: The formation may make three moves.
Marshal: The formation may either shoot with a -1 modifier and then regroup, or make one move and then regroup. Regrouping allows the formation to remove some of the Blast markers affecting the formation (see 1.13).
Overwatch: The formation may not move, but instead enters overwatch. Being on overwatch allows the formation to interrupt an enemy formation’s action to shoot at it. You may not choose this action if the formation has any units that are out of formation.
Sustained Fire: The formation may not move (not even to turn in place), but can shoot with a +1 modifier. You may not choose this action if the formation has any units that are out of formation. In addition to these basic actions, there are two more special types of action a formation may make:
Hold: This action is the only one allowed to a formation that fails an Action test (see the rules for action tests next). The formation may make one move or shoot or regroup. You must choose to move if any units are out of formation.
Special Actions: Some formations are allowed to carry out special actions. Some of these are described in the Special Rules section of this rulebook, or they may be included in the rules for a scenario.
The Action Test
Before a formation can carry out an action it must pass an action test. Broken formations may not take an action. Instead they must pass a rally test in the end phase in order to rally. See the rules for broken formations (1.13) later on.
To pass an action test, you must roll equal to or over the formation’s initiative value on a D6. If the formation passes the action test, it may carry out the stated action. If the formation fails the test, it can still carry out a hold action (even if the player nominated something else), but the formation receives a Blast marker. There is a -1 modifier to the action test if the formation has one or more Blast markers, and a further -1 modifier if the formation is trying to retain the initiative (see 1.6.3).
Retaining The Initiative
Once you have successfully carried out an action with a formation, you may if you wish try to retain the initiative and take two actions in a row. If you decide to retain the initiative then you must nominate a new formation and declare the action it will carry out, but the formation will suffer a -1 modifier to its action test. Note: If the first formation fails its action, you may not attempt to retain the initiative – ie, you may only attempt to retain the initiative after a successful action.
You must hand over the initiative after you have completed the action for a formation that retained the initiative (ie, you can’t retain the initiative twice in a row). The only exception to this is if one player has no formations left to activate. In this case, the other player may keep on activating formations without suffering the -1 modifier for retaining the initiative until all of the opposing formations have taken an action.
Example of Play:
Actions After setting up their forces, the Ork player (Matt) and the Imperial Guard player (Bill) both roll a dice and add their strategy rating. The Imperial Guard player rolls a 6, to which he adds his strategy rating of 2 for a total of 8. The Ork player rolls a 3 on the dice, plus his strategy rating of 3, giving him a total of 6. The Imperial Guard player hence wins the strategy phase and may choose whether to go first or second. He chooses to go first.
The action phase now begins and the Imperial Guard player nominates the formation with which he will attempt his first action.
He picks a Steel Legion Mechanised Infantry Company out on the left flank and declares that they are going to attempt a double action. The chosen formation are members of the Imperial Guard, and therefore have an initiative rating of 2+. The player rolls the dice and scores a 4 – the action is successful and the formation makes its chosen action (in this case, moving twice up the flank. They then have the option to shoot but can’t see any enemy so the formation’s action is at an end). The Imperial Guard player then decides he is going to try to retain the initiative.
He nominates a Steel Legion Super Heavy Tank Company on the other side of the battlefield and declares that they are also going to attempt a double action. The player rolls a dice and scores a 2 – the action fails, since the formation has an Initiative of 2, and suffers -1 to its dice roll for retaining the initiative. The formation receives a Blast marker and must take a hold action instead of taking the double action.
MOVEMENT
Most actions allow all the units in a formation to make one or more moves. Units move a distance in centimetres up to the Speed value shown on their datasheet – there is no compulsion on players to use the total move available to them. Depending on the action they are taking, a unit may move one, two or three times (see 1.7.1). They may turn freely as they move. A unit is never forced to move, but sometimes failing to do so can result in its destruction (see 1.13.3). Once a player has moved a unit and removed his hand from the model, the move may not be changed.
Multiple Moves
If an action allows units to make multiple moves, take each move one after the other, following the rules that follow for each move (ie, don’t simply add the movement distances together). For example, a Space Marine Tactical detachment (Speed 15cms) taking a March action would make three moves of 15cm each, rather than one move of 45cms.
Other Units
Enemy units may never move over or through each other. With the exception of infantry, a friendly unit may never move directly over another friendly unit. You can move over infantry units with other units, as the stationary infantry are assumed to get out of the way. Note that ‘moving over’ refers to the model itself, not the unit’s base.
Zones Of Control
All units in Epic have a zone of control that extends 5cm in every direction from the model. Models mounted on a stand may measure the zone of control from any model on the stand.
Units may not enter an enemy zone of control while they move, unless they are undertaking an engage action and use their charge move to get into base contact with the nearest enemy unit whose zone of control they have entered. Once a unit has been contacted by an engaging enemy unit, it loses its own zone of control for the rest of that engage action (including the ensuing assault). This will allow other units to move round it. Units are never allowed to cross directly over an enemy unit, even if it has lost its zone of control.
If a unit finds itself in an enemy zone of control for any reason, then it must either charge the enemy or leave the zone of control when it next takes an action (note that this will require an action that allows it to charge or move).
Formations
Any units that are out of formation for any reason after a formation has taken the movement part of its action are destroyed. The controlling player may choose which units are ‘out of formation’ and destroyed. Note that each unit lost will place one Blast marker on the main part of the formation. This applies after each individual move, so if a formation made a march action, you can’t wait until the end of all three moves in order to bring units back into formation – any out of formation units are destroyed at the end of the first move (and again at the end of the second and third moves if any other units have also ended up out of formation following the move).
SPECIAL RULE
Transport Vehicles
Many formations include transport vehicles that can be used to carry other units that belong to the same formation. The number and type of units that can be carried will be listed on the transport vehicle’s datasheet. Transport vehicles may only carry units from their own formation. Transport vehicles can pick up and carry units as part of the transport vehicle’s move. The vehicle simply moves into base contact with the unit to be picked up, and then carries on with its move as normal. Note that the transported unit is not allowed to move themselves during the move when they are picked up.
Transported units may disembark at the end of any move after the move in which is it was picked up. This happens after any overwatch shots (see 1.10) but before the moving formation shoots or assaults. Disembarking units may be placed within 5cms of the transport vehicle. If the formation has engage orders then they may be placed in base contact with an enemy unit. Otherwise they may not be placed within an enemy unit’s zone of control. Note that units do not have to disembark, and may remain in their transport if they prefer. Units may not be picked up and disembark as part of the same move, though a formation making multiple moves as part of a march or double action could pick up units in one move and drop them off as part of a subsequent move. Units may embark or disembark as part of a counter-charge move (see 1.12.4), unless the transport vehicle carrying them is already in base contact with two enemy units – in which case they must stay on board (they are trapped inside!).
Units being transported may not shoot unless the transport vehicle’s datasheet specifically says otherwise. Transported units are counted towards the number of units in the formation for all rules purposes (ie, when working out the number of units involved in an assault or if the formation is broken by Blast markers, etc). If the transport unit is destroyed, then any transported units may make their normal armour save OR make a 6+ cover save. See 2.2.7 if a transport is destroyed by a macro-weapon."
Please note that a transport vehicle that is being transported cannot transport other units itself (ie, the ‘Russian Doll’ tactic is not allowed!).
TERRAIN
The galaxy is a vast place with millions of different worlds The terrain covering these worlds can vary from empty plains to sky-scraping hive cities, and from verdant jungles to arid ashwaste deserts. Only one factor is common to them all, and that is that they all have areas where it is difficult to wage war!
In Epic, terrain affects units in one of three ways:
- The terrain has no effect on the unit when it moves through it.
- The terrain is impassable to the unit so it cannot move through the terrain under any circumstances.
- The terrain is dangerous to the unit, so the unit can enter the terrain but it might take damage (see 1.8.1).
The Terrain Effects table on the next page details some common types of terrain and the effects they have on different types of unit. How to represent terrain on the battlefield is discussed later on in this rulebook.
Dangerous Terrain Test
Roll a D6 when you enter dangerous terrain, or when you start to move if already in dangerous terrain. On a roll of 1, the unit is destroyed with no save allowed, but the formation it is part of does not receive a Blast marker.
Units may choose to move through dangerous terrain cautiously. A unit that is moving cautiously counts as having a speed of 5cm, but is allowed to re-roll any Dangerous Terrain tests that it fails.
Cover To Hit Modifiers
Units that are in terrain that is tall enough to at least partially obscure them from an attacker’s view receive a -1 to hit modifier when being shot at (see 1.9.5). The to hit modifier also applies if intervening terrain obscures the target partially from view.
Infantry Cover Saves
Certain terrain is noted as giving infantry a cover save. While in such terrain, the infantry receive the cover save listed on the Terrain table in addition to the -1 to hit modifier for being in cover. The cover save can be used instead of their normal armour save whenever they have to take an armour save. Note that they can use one or the other of these saves against a hit, not both.
DESIGN CONCEPT Terrain Conventions
It is possible to have all kinds of arguments about whether terrain partially or fully blocks the line of fire to a target. Because of this, you should discuss the terrain on your gaming table with your opponent before a game starts and make sure you both agree on how it will work with regard to this and any of the other terrain rules. However, the -1 to hit modifier should be generously applied, and if in any doubt it should be counted rather than ignored.
example
An Imperial Guard infantry company is attacking an Ork warband. Some of the Ork Boyz are in cover in the buildings at the back, while some of the Ork Boyz are in the open. The Imperial player must choose if he wishes to attack only the Boyz in the open, or the whole of the Ork formation. If he chooses to attack the whole formation then he will suffer a -1 to hit modifier. In addtion, the Orks in the building will benefit from the 4+ infantry cover save aginst any hits applied against them.
example
The Shadowsword has moved into a ‘hull down’ position behind a low ridge. From this position it counts as being in cover against attacks from the Ork formation with the Battlefortress and Buggies attacking it from the front, and so they will suffer the -1 to hit modifier. However, the Ork Gunwagons have manoeuvred to a position where the ridge does not block their line of fire, and so they do not suffer the penalty.
SPECIAL RULE Terrain Effects
Fortifications: Units in fortifications receive the -1 to hit modifier for being in cover and may ignore the -1 save modifier for being caught in a crossfire, though they still receive the extra blast marker (see 1.11 Crossfire). In addition, infantry in fortifications receive a 3+ cover save. Fortifications are normally impassable terrain for vehicles unless they are specifically designed to hold them (eg, tank emplacements).
Hills: Units on hills will benefit from better lines of sight to enemy units, as they will be high enough to see over some terrain features (see 1.9.2 Line of Fire). This aside, units on hills count as being in open ground (or whatever other type of terrain they occupy that is also on the hill, such as roads, woods or buildings).
Open Ground: Infantry count as being in cover (-1 to hit modifier) and receive a 5+ cover save if they are on Overwatch in Open Ground. This represents the fact that stationary infantry are very hard to see. Note that the save will be lost after the infantry shoot and the Overwatch marker is removed.
Roads: Units that spend a whole move on a road may add 5cms to their move. In addition, if all of the units in a formation are on a road at the start of their action, you may declare they will make a road march. The formation takes a march action, and automatically passes the Action test. However, all of the units in the formation must remain on the road for the entire three moves.
Armoured Vehicles: Infantry count as being in cover and receive the -1 to hit modifier (but no cover save) if they are touching an armoured vehicle or war engine, to represent their ability to take cover from enemy fire by crouching behind the vehicle.
SHOOTING
Many actions allow a formation to shoot. This takes place in the Action phase when the formation takes its action.
Picking A Target
When a player picks one formation to fire, an enemy formation is also chosen as its target. Formations may NOT split fire – any units unable to shoot at the nominated target formation lose the chance to shoot altogether.
Who May Shoot
In order to shoot, a unit must be in range and have a line of fire to at least one unit in the target formation, and must not be suppressed.
Line Of Fire:
The line of fire is a straight line drawn from the shooting unit to one unit in the target formation. The line of fire is blocked by terrain features such as buildings, hills, woods, etc. Weapons higher up can often see over any terrain that is lower down. Buildings, rubble, woods, fortifications and the like don’t block the line of fire to or from units that are in the terrain itself unless the line of fire passes through more than 10cms of the terrain feature (ie, you can shoot 10cms ‘into’ a terrain feature, but the line of fire is still blocked to units on the other side). The only units that can block the line of fire are war engines (see 3.0). Other units do not block the line of fire for friend or foe.
Range:
In order to shoot, a unit must be in range of a unit to which it has a line of fire in the target formation. Suppressed Units: One unit that has a line of fire and is within range may not shoot for each Blast marker on the formation. Units are suppressed ‘from the back to the front’ of a formation, with the front and the back being determined by the location of the target formation. The units that are the furthest away from any units in the target formation are suppressed first, on the basis that troops lurking at the rear are more likely to keep their heads down than the more gung ho chaps at the front! If several units are equally far away from the target formation, then the controlling player may choose which to suppress.
SPECIAL RULE Weapon Fire Arcs
Most weapons can be fired in any direction (ie, the unit does not have to be pointing at the target). However, in some cases, a weapon will be noted as having a limited weapon arc.
Weapons that are noted on the data sheet as firing to the forward have a 180º arc of fire to the unit’s front, while weapons noted as firing to the rear have a 180º arc of fire to the unit’s rear. Weapons with a left fire arc may fire in the 180º arc to the unit’s left side, while weapons with a right fire arc can fire 180º to the unit’s right. Finally, weapons that are noted as fixed forward firing can only fire on targets that lie within 45º of either side of the direction that the unit is facing.
Shooting Procedure
This is a summary of the shooting procedure. We’ll work through it step–by–step in the rules that follow.
I – Place one Blast marker on the target formation.
II – Roll to hit.
III – Allocate hits, make saving throws and remove casualties.
IV – Place additional Blast markers for casualties and check to see if the enemy formation is broken.
Place Blast Marker
The target formation automatically receives a Blast marker as long as at least one attacking unit can shoot at the formation. An additional Blast marker is received for each unit that is destroyed. A formation receives a Blast marker for coming under fire even if none of the attackers can cause any damage (eg, armoured vehicles coming under heavy bolter fire).
Roll To Hit
The player must decide at this stage whether weapons will fire with their AP or AT values if they have both. Then roll a D6 for each shot being directed at the target formation. You must roll equal to or higher than the appropriate ‘to hit’ value to score a hit (eg, if the weapon has an AT 4+ , you must roll a 4 or more to hit). The dice roll is modified for the following reasons. However a roll of 1 before modification is always counted as a miss.
