Weapon Rules

Weapon Profiles

All weapons have a profile that is presented using the following statistics:
Name: What the weapon is called.

Class: Describes what class the weapon is, either a melee, thrown, pistol, basic or heavy weapon.

• Melee weapons can be used in close combat. When using a melee weapon you add your SB to the damage you inflict.
• Thrown weapons cover anything propelled by muscle power alone and covers knives, axes, spears and such like. Unless they are also classed as melee, thrown weapons cannot be used in close combat (or if they do, they count as improvised weapons). When using a thrown weapon you add your SB to the damage you inflict (with the exception of explosives such as grenades).
• Pistol weapons are fired one-handed and can be used in close combat. However, when a pistol is used in close combat, the firer gains no bonuses or penalties to hit for range or targeting equipment. Pistols with the Scatter quality fired in melee are considered to be firing at Point-Blank range. However, they do not gain the +30 BS bonus for being at Point-Blank range.
• Basic weapons normally require two hands but can be used one-handed with a –20 penalty to hit.
• Heavy weapons always require two hands and must be braced in some way, usually either on a bipod or tripod but equally it could be a windowsill or sandbag (or the firer’s shoulder in the case of RPG launchers), to be fired without penalties. Firing a heavy weapon without bracing incurs a –30 penalty to hit and prohibits Semi-Auto and Full Auto fire.

Range: All weapons are given an effective range on the weapons tables. Short range is below half of this number, long range is above double, extreme range is above three times and maximum is above four times. Below 3 metres is point blank range. The lasgun for example, has a given range of 100. Short range is 3-50 (from point blank to half the given range), medium is 50-200 (from short to double the given range), long is 200-300 (from two to three times the given range) and extreme is 300-400 (from three to four times the given range).
RoF (Rate of Fire): Tells you if the weapon can be fired either on Semi-Auto or Full Auto and how many rounds/ charges it expends when doing so. A weapon’s RoF has three entries to indicate the modes a weapon can be fired in. The first entry indicates whether the weapon can be fired singly (with an S). The second entry indicates whether or not a weapon can be fired semi-automatically, and the number listed describes the shots fired. Finally, the third entry describes if the weapon can be fired on full automatic. Any mode in which the weapon cannot be fired is indicated with a “—”.
Some weapons can be fired in more than one mode. If this is the case each of its different rates of fire will be listed in its profile. Characters must choose which mode they are firing their weapon in before making their attack.
Dam (Damage): The Damage the weapon does and the type of damage it inflicts for the purpose of Criticals (as shown in brackets): (E) Energy, (X) Explosive, (R) Rending, (I) Impact.
Pen (Penetration): Reflects how good the weapon is at going through armour. When a shot or blow from this weapon hits a target, reduce the target’s Armour Points by the weapon’s Penetration, with results of less than 0 counting as 0 (i.e. the armour provides no protection at all). Then work out Damage as normal. So for example, if a weapon with a Penetration of 3 hits a target with 5 Armour Points, the target will only count as having 2 Armour Points against any damage the hit causes. Note that Penetration has no effect on fields, but it does affect cover.
Clip: How many rounds/charges the weapon holds when fully loaded.
Rld (Reload): How many Actions the weapon takes to reload. This is generally Half (for a Half Action) or Full (for a Full Action). Some weapons can take a number of Actions over several Rounds. The number of Rounds is given as a number, for example 2Full means that reloading takes 2 Full Rounds.
Special: This tells you if the weapon has any special qualities, such as creating a blast when fired or needing to recharge between shots.
Wt (Weight): Represents how much the weapon weighs, normally in kg (kilograms).
Cost: Indicates the standard value of the weapon within the Imperium. Cost is always represented in Thrones.
Availability: This identifies the weapon’s availability.

Using Weapons Without a Talent

Using a weapon without the appropriate training imposes a –20 penalty on the relevant Test. If the weapon has the Flame special quality, the target is granted a +30 to his Agility Test to avoid being hit. In addition, when a ranged weapon is used untrained, it counts as having the Unreliable quality, increasing its chance of jamming.

Weapon Craftsmanship

Weapon profiles are for the Common Quality version. For weapons of better or worse manufacture use the following modifiers:
Poor: These cheaply constructed ranged weapons are more prone to malfunction. A ranged weapon of Poor craftmanship has the Unreliable quality. If the weapon already has this quality then it will jam on any failed rolled to hit. Melee weapons of Poor craftsmanship incur a –10 penalty to tests made to attack.
Good: More carefully constructed and finished, these weapons are consequently more reliable. Ranged weapons of Good craftsmanship have the Reliable quality. If it already has this quality there is no further effect beyond the obvious fine workmanship of the weapon. Melee weapons of Good craftsmanship add a +5 bonus to tests made to attack. If a weapon normally has the Unreliable quality, a good craftsmanship version of that weapon does not become Reliable; the two qualities cancel each other out and the weapon ends up having neither.
Best: A work of art as much as a weapon, these items are created by skilled artisans and are often centuries old. Ranged weapons of Best craftsmanship never suffer from jamming or overheating. If a roll would result in either of these occurrences, simply count it as a miss instead. Melee weapons of Best craftsmanship add a +10 bonus to tests made to attack and add 1 to the Damage they inflict.
Certain weapons have unique additional rules depending on their quality. These will be laid out in the weapon's description.

Lists of Weapons

Melee Weapons Core 
Ranged Weapons Core 
Melee Weapons IH 
Ranged Weapons IH

Bracing

Bracing a weapon takes a Half Action and once braced the firer cannot move without losing the benefits of being braced. They can however traverse their weapon depending on the kind of bracing they have (i.e. a sill or pile of rubble would allow a 45 degree traverse as would simply lying on the ground, a bipod would allow a 90 degrees traverse and a tripod 180 degrees, while a pintle mounting could be turned in any direction).