who can fight
Models whose bases are touching are engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
All of the models included in close quarter combats in which one or more of the models in that combat belong to the active player are able to fight. A warrior can fight against enemies to his side, front, or rear. In reality the fighters are constantly moving, dodging, and weaving as they struggle to kill their adversaries.
Models fighting in hand-to-hand combat do not shoot in the shooting phase. They are far too busy fighting for their lives. Any very close range shots they are able to make using pistols are treated like close combat weapon attacks.
If a warrior is touching more than one enemy, he can choose which to attack. If he has more than 1 Attack, he can divide them in any way the player wishes, so long as he makes this clear before rolling to hit.
who strikes first
Normally, models fight in order of descending Initiative with the highest striking first. If their Initiatives are equal, the model with the highest weapon skill (WS) goes first. If their WS is equal roll a dice to see who strikes first.
Sometimes equipment or skills may grant the warrior with an effect such as ‘strike-first’ and ‘strike-last’ which changes their attack priority from the norm. If multiple models in a combat are at the same attack priority then they resolve their tie using the normal striking order rules as described above.
- Strike First (Spear Fist Round)
- Strike First
- Normal Striking
- Strike Last
- Strike Last (Recovery)
hitting the enemy
For each Attack (A) that a model has roll a D6.
The dice roll needed to score a hit on your enemy depends upon the Weapon Skills of the attacker and the foe. Compare the Weapon Skill of the attacker with that of his opponent and consult the To Hit chart below to find the minimum D6 score needed to hit.
Hit Roll
To make a hit roll you compare your warriors Weapon Skill (WS) to the targeted warriors.
| Attacker WS vs Defender WS | Hit Roll |
|---|---|
| Attacker WS greater than the defenders’ WS | 3+ |
| Attacker WS greater than or equal to half the defenders’ WS | 4+ |
| Attacker WS less than half the defenders’ WS | 5+ |
| The defender has a chance to [[#parry | parry]] and cancel a hit if their weapon is able. |
For each successful hit roll you should then make a Wound Roll.
dual-wielding
A warrior armed with two one-handed weapons may make 1 extra Attack with the additional weapon. Note that this is added to the total of the warrior’s attacks after other modifiers, such as frenzy, have been applied.
If he is armed with two different weapons (sword and dagger, for example), he will make a single attack with whichever weapon he chooses, and all others with the remaining weapon. Roll to hit and wound for each weapon separately.
When dual wielding the attacker suffers a -1 to all of their close combat hit rolls.
parry
When an opponent scores a hit, warriors equipped with equipment that grants the parry ability may attempt to parry once per close-combat phase. The parry must be attempted for the first successful hit against the warrior in the close-combat phase.
To see if the parry is successful roll a D6. On a result of 6 the attack is parried and is therefore cancelled.
A model may not parry attacks made with twice (or more) his own basic Strength – they are simply too powerful to be stopped.
warriors knocked down
If an enemy is fighting a warrior who is knocked down, he may attack him to put him out of his misery. All attacks against a warrior who is knocked down hit automatically. If any of the attacks wound the knocked down model and he fails his armour save, he is automatically taken out of action as explained previously. A knocked down model may not parry.
warriors stunned
A stunned warrior is at the mercy of his enemies. A stunned model is automatically taken out of action if an enemy can attack him in hand-to-hand combat.
attacking stunned and knocked down warriors
Note that a model with multiple attacks may not stun/knock down and then automatically take a warrior out of action during the same hand-to-hand combat phase. The only way you can achieve this is to have more than one of your models attacking the same enemy. So, if the enemy is stunned/knocked down by the first warrior, he can be hit and put out of action by the next warrior to attack.
If your model is engaged in close combat with an enemy who is still standing, he cannot attack any other models that are stunned or knocked down, since in reality they will not pose an immediate threat to him and their companions will try to protect them.
breaking from combat
A warrior who panics whilst fighting in hand-to-hand combat will become broken. When a fighter breaks from combat he simply turns and runs off. His opponents automatically hit the warrior as he breaks, each inflicting 1 hit which is worked out immediately.
warriors knocked down or stunned
If a warrior is knocked down or stunned within 1” of the edge of a roof or building, there is a chance that it will slip and fall off. Take an Initiative test. If the test is failed, the model falls over the edge to the ground and takes damage as detailed below.