Blast weapons fire shells, missiles or bolts of energy which explode on impact, potentially injuring several victims with the shock waves and shrapnel. They pose less of a threat to a well dispersed unit, but can wreak havoc among closely packed ranks of warriors.

This section covers blast weapons fired by non-ordnance weapons only (ordnance weapons fire even larger shells or missiles - these are handled using the rules for ordnance weapons).

When you fire a blast weapon roll to hit as normal; if the shot misses it has no effect. If a hit is scored take the Blast marker and place it over the target unit so that one model is under the hole to see how many models are affected.

Models whose bases are partially covered by the marker are hit on a D6 roll of 4 or more, models whose bases are completely covered are hit automatically. The defending player may remove any casualties inflicted from the unit as a whole, not just from models beneath the Blast marker.

Designer's Note: While this is a bit odd at first glance, it prevents blast weapons being employed unrealistically as snipers to destroy leaders and heavy weapons.

If a unit is firing multiple blast weapons, just place one marker after another, resolving the casualties from each blast before placing the next Remember, casualties can, come from anywhere in the unit, not just under the marker.

There are two sizes of Blast marker: the normal one and the large one. Nearly all Blast weapons use the normal Blast marker, while ordnance weapons use the large Blast marker. Some non-ordnance weapons may use the large Blast marker and where this is the case it will be noted in their description. This doesn't convey any of the other advantages of ordnance weapons, however.

Some ordnance weapons have optional ammunition that doesn't use the large Blast marker. These benefit from all the advantages of ordnance weapons even if the large Blast marker is not used.

'Gets Hot' represents the penchant of certain unstable weapons for overloading and badly singeing their user. If you roll a 1 to hit, the weapon has overheated and injured the model firing it. The model must make an Armour Save or it suffers a wound {an exception to the normal Casualty Removal rules) - the model with the overheating weapon must take the wound. Weapons on vehicles are not affected by overheating, It is possible for a model to hit with shots that also result in an overheat - the hits are still resolved as normal, even if the firer also falls victim to his own weapon.

If a Gets Hot weapon is firing multiple shots, the chance of it getting hot is even riskier. The chance of suffering wounds is equal to the number of shots being fired, so firing two shots means that the weapon Gets Hot on rolls of 1 or 2, while firing three shots makes it a ludicrously dangerous 1, 2 or 3.

Weapons are sometimes linked to fire together m order to increase the chances of scoring a hit through the crude expedient of blasting more shots at the target. To represent the fusillade of fire laid down by a linked weapon you may re-roll the dice to hit if it misses: if the second roll is also a miss, you may not re-roil (he dice again. Twin-linked weapons don't get more shots than normal ones, but you get a better chance of hitting with them. The big advantage of twin-linked weapons is that they only count as a single weapon being fired.

Example 1: A Space Marine Land Raider is firing its twin-linked heavy bolters at an enemy. It gets three shots (as heavy bolters are Heavy 3) and may re-roll any To Hit dice which don't score a 3 or higher - a hit for a Space Marine's BS of 4 - because the weapons are twin-linked.

Example 2: A Space Marine Dreadnought with a missile launcher and a twin-linked lascannon can fire both weapons and slid move, as it is allowed to shoot with two weapons and the twin-linked lascannon only counts as one weapon.

Melta weapons are devastating short-ranged 'heat rays'. Melta weapons roll an extra D6 when rolling to penetrate vehicles' Armour Value at half range or under. See the Vehicles rules later for more details on armour penetration.

These are particularly indiscriminate short-ranged devices, such as flame throwers, which affect a broad, cone-shaped area represented by a template. They are indicated by having the word 'Template' for their range characteristic instead of a number. Instead of rolling to hit, simply place the template so that its narrow end is touching the base of the model firing it and the rest of the template covers as many models as possible in the target unit without covering any friends. Against vehicles, the template must be placed to cover as much of the vehicle as possible without also touching a friendly model.

Any models fully or partially under the template are hit automatically. Against vehicles use The direction of the firer to determine which armour facing is attacked, Because template weapons bathe the area in burning fuel, baneful energies or something equally dangerous, Cover Saves are ignored when resolving hits. As with blast weapons, casualties inflicted by template weapons do not have to be taken from amongst the models actually covered by the template, but must come from within range of The firer.

If a unit is firing multiple template weapons, resolve them one at a time.

Twin-linked template weapons can re-roll to wound against each model hit. Against vehicles, you may re-roll the Armour Penetration dice instead.

Certain blast weapons launch their shells high up into the air so that they plunge down upon their target, passing over any intervening obstacles en route. Weapons like these fire by the crew guessing the range to the target point and hoping the round lands close enough to inflict harm. Their greatest advantage lies in their ability to fire al targets which are out of sight. Some pieces of ordnance are used for laying down a barrage in the same way.

Barrage weapons never have to test to see if they must fire at the closest enemy. Designate the target unit and place the Blast marker over it, with the following restrictions:

• You may not place the marker so that any of your own models or vehicles (apart from wrecks) are underneath it.
• You must place (he Blast marker so that one enemy model is under the central hole; you cannot place the Blast marker hole over empty space.

You then see if it has landed on target. If the hole at the centre ot the marker is inside the weapon's minimum range, or beyond its maximum, the shot is an automatic miss and has no effect. If its range is good, proceed to see where it hits, remembering that no line of sight is required. Roll a Scatter dice and a D6 it a line of sight exists to the target, or two D6 if not and take the highest. If you roll a HIT on the Scatter dice the shot lands on target If an arrow is rolled, the marker is shifted in the direction indicated by the arrow a number of inches equal to the D6 roll.

Note that it is possible for a scattering shot to land beyond the weapon's range, out of sight, off the edge of the table or even on your own troops! Such are the vagaries of barrage weapons. With barrage weapons. the centre of the marker is used to determine which direction hits occur from in relation to Cover Saves. Barrage weapons are always pinning weapons as well- See the Pinning Weapons rules for details.

If a unit has more than one barrage weapon they'll all be fired together in a salvo, with one Blast marker landing for each weapon that is within range. Place the Blast marker and roll for any potential scatter with the first shot as before, this is the 'ranging shot' for the salvo - all other shots will land nearby. Once the first marker is placed, roll a Scatter dice for each other Blast marker in the salvo.

If an arrow is rolled, place the marker in the direction indicated so that its edge is touching the edge of the marker placed for the ranging shot. If a hit is rolled, the firing player may place the marker so that its edge is touching the edge of any of the Blast markers in the salvo which have already landed.

Some ordnance weapons fire barrages. These use the firing procedures for barrage weapons to determine where they land but hit with all the benefits of ordnance. Just like normal barrages, ordnance barrages are pinning weapons. See the Pinning weapon rules for details. Note that ordnance barrages may not be fired from moving vehicles.

Coming under attack from some weapons can be sudden and shocking, making troopers throw themselves flat and hug cover rather than risk being hit. This is usually due to momentary confusion about where they're being attacked from, Sniper fire, barrages, etc, are the most common. When the firing of a single enemy unit inflicts casualties with pinning weapons, the target must take a Leadership test to avoid being pinned down. If the unit fails the test it may not move, shoot or assault, or make any other actions in its following turn. A unit may be called upon to take multiple Pinning tests in a single turn. A pinned unit does not have to take a Morale test if it sustains 25% casualties from enemy fire, as the fact it is pinned overrides the Morale test. If assaulted by the enemy, the pinning effect is immediately cancelled and the unit will fight normally.

These weapons are precise and deadly and can be used to pick out a target's weak or vulnerable points. A sniper weapon hits on a 2 or more regardless of the firer's BS. Sniper hits wound on a roll of 4+ regardless of the victim's Toughness, and roll 2D6 for armour penetration against vehicles, but with no additional bonus for Strength. Against vehicles, this represents their chances of successfully hitting exposed crew, vision ports, fuel or ammo storage, etc.

Rending weapons fire a hail of shots so focussed they can literally chew through flesh, bone and armour alike. Any roll to hit of 6 with a rending weapon automatically causes a wound with no Armour Saving throw possible. Against a vehicle, any Penetration roll of 6 allows a further D6 to be rolled and the result added to the total score. Note that only one extra dice is ever rolled, even if this additional roll is also a 6; no further dice are added.

These weapons fire a coherent, focused blast which can bore through even reinforced vehicle armour regardless of its thickness. Due to their unique nature, they count vehicle Armour Values higher than 12 as 12.