By the 41st millennium, warfare has spawned innumerable weapons of destruction, ranging in capability from the simple but efficient laspistol to the barely controllable energies of the plasma cannon. In this section we will be describing how characteristics and special rules reflect the differences between different weapons.

Every weapon has a profile which consists of several elements:

Some weapons have several names, depending upon who is using them. The one given will be the most common.

Ranges are all given in inches. If the weapon's range is given as Template' then the weapon fires using the teardrop-shaped Flamer template. The exact method is explained later. If the weapon has a 'G' next to its range then the weapon can be fired over obstacles by means of the gunners guessing the range. These are called Barrage Weapons. Such a weapon may have two ranges (for example, G12"-48") - in this case the first number is the minimum range for the weapon, the second is the maximum.

As explained in the Shooting rules, when rolling to wound for shooting hits, you use the weapon's Strength rather than the firer's.

This shows how good the weapon is at punching through armour. The lower the number, the better the armour it can pierce without allowing an Armour Saving throw. See the Shooting rules for more on Armour Saves and AP.

Different weapons have unique characteristics when they fire. For example, some guns rattle off a burst of shots which means they can nil multiple targets, others may fire a single blast ot energy or a shell which explodes on impact and can kill several things at once. Some weapons are so massive that they can only be mounted on vehicles and are so powerful they can destroy not only the target but anything near to it as well. These qualities are all represented by a weapon's type. All weapons will be classified as either Rapid Fire, Pistol, Assault or Heavy.

Some weapons may be able to fire in different ways, representing different power settings or different types of ammo. Where this is the case there will be a separate line in the weapon's profile for each.

Some weapons such as storm bolters and multi-lasers fire multiple shots. Where this is the case the number of shots a weapon fires is noted after its type. For example, a multi-laser tires three shots in each Shooting phase so its type is noted as Heavy 3.

In addition to the weapon type, a weapon may have some additional characteristics that define the way they work. These include things like Gets Hot or Blast. A weapon may have one or more of these characteristics.