I figured i should post this here too, if only to save people from Maxwell's stuff (no offense, but...).

I started on this some time ago, i was unhappy with the way certain weapons worked. I actually did some research on how medieval-ish weapons supposedly worked, i even went and borrowed books from the library. :shock:

This stuff was part of a greater revision of 6th that i never got round to finish (i also did ranged weapons, attack types, etc). Basically, i made up some terms for more common rules and inserted some supposed logic. It should be obvious i got pretty far but this doesn't cover all weapons and such out there.

The most apparent change i made is the removal of strikes last/first. I replaced this with the Reach rule. Not only does this allow me to do a far more logical striking order where spears and halberds don't suck (as much), it also determines the amount of ranks spear/pikes fight in.

Feel free to tear it apart.
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Close Combat Weapons

http://img44.exs.cx/img44/7073/ccsummary2ep.jpg

General rules

Armour Piercing

Enemy armour saves suffer a -1 penalty.

Cavalry

These weapons can only be used if the bearer is mounted on a steed, monster, flying creature, chariot, or if the bearer is a Centaur.

Combined Arms

Certain single-handed weapons can be combined with other single-handed weapons. Hand weapons, choppas, ogre clubs and pistols are the most common examples of this.

If used with another weapon that has the Combined Arms rule, these grant the bearer +1 Attack. This rule only applies to models on foot and Centaurs.

Heavy

The wielder’s Initiative value is halved (rounded down). If the bearer is on foot and has Unit Strength 3 or more, the Heavy rule does not apply and his Initiative is not halved.

Impaling

A model or weapon can be noted to have an Impaling attack, which is followed by a number, usually 1 or 2. On the charge, the model or bearer of the weapon will receive a Strength bonus equal to that number.

Example: A Unicorn has in his profile the rule Impaling (2). In the turn that the Unicorn charges, he will get a Strength bonus of +2.

Parry

A single-handed weapon with the Parry rule will grant their bearer a +1 bonus to their armour save when used with a shield in close combat. Note that you can Parry with a magical shield or magical hand weapon.

Example: A model fighting with a hand weapon and shield in close combat will get a +1 armour save bonus. Together with his shield this gives him a 5+ armour save. If he had worn light armour (6+ armour save), he would now have a 4+ armour save.

Reach

Every weapon has a Reach value, and certain magic weapons, abilities and special rules might modify a model's Reach value.

In the first round of combat, models with the highest Reach value strike first, then the second highest, etc. If there is a tie, the charging unit strikes first.

In second and subsequent rounds of combat, models strike in order of Initiative (highest goes first) regardless of Reach. Models with Reach 5 count as having +10 Initiative for the purpose of striking order.

Also, every weapon or model with a Reach value of 1 or higher will ignore the enemy's armour save bonus for being mounted on a steed.

Steady

Some weapons, almost exclusively pole arms, require their user to steady them for full effect. Basically this means the user will position the bottom of the weapon’s shaft on the ground, often against his foot. The weapon will not give away easily now and the enemy might impale himself onto it if he is charging at a high velocity, trying to put his bulk to his advantage.

These rules only apply if the bearer has not moved this turn (if he is charged for instance) and if he is fighting against an opponent that is not attacking to the flank or rear of his unit.

His weapon will have a reach bonus of +1, and the bearer will receive a +1 Strength bonus against flyers and any models with Unit Strength 2 or higher that charge him. Also, the unit will fight in more ranks than the first, the number of ranks being equal to the current reach value. Note that this does include the reach bonus given and that models fighting in ranks behind the front rank can only ever make 1 attack at best.

Example 1: A unit of Knights charges a unit using Pikes. Since the Pikemen haven’t moved this turn they get +1 reach and fight in 3 (normal reach value) + 1 (steady bonus) is 4 ranks. Also, they get the +1 Strength bonus for being charged by Cavalry. On top of that they will ignore the Knights’ armour save bonus for being mounted on a steed because their weapon has a reach value higher than 0.

Example 2: A unit of Pikemen charges a unit of Knights. The special Steady rule of their pikes does not apply, so they fight in 1 rank as usual and get no Strength bonus. However, their pikes will allow them to ignore the Knights’ armour save bonus for being mounted on a steed, because their weapon has a reach value higher than 0.

Weapons

Body weapon

Most, if not all, creatures fight with their claws, hooves, teeth, tail, horn, tusks and other such weapons that are part of their body. Usually these don't follow special rules, but there are a few exceptions:

- Tail Attack: Some creatures, like Dragons, Wyverns and other great wyrms, have an exceptionally long and powerful tail. This is usually used to maintain their balance, but it's also very effective as a weapon. A model with a Tail Attack will receive an additional Attack in close combat. This attack can even be made if the model is killed before it gets the chance to use it's normal Attacks, but those other Attacks will be lost - it will take all of it's dying strength to make the Tail attack!

- Trample: Certain creatures, like Centigors, are known for their ability to use their weight and hooves to inflict hurt on the enemy. A model with the Trample rule gets an additional attack in close combat, which does not benefit from any special weapon bonuses or rules.

Example: Centigors carry cavalry spears and have the Trample rule. The cavalry spear gives them a +1 Strength bonus on their charge. This Strength bonus only applies to their normal attacks, not the special Trample attack, which is resolved at their basic Strength of 4.

Choppa

The rules for Combined Arms apply to choppas. Also, when used by models on foot, choppas are Impaling (1).

Flail

Can be used either single-handed or two-handed. In both cases, the weapon is Heavy and ignores the armour save bonus granted by the Parry rule.

Single-handed: Heavy; Ignores Parry; Strength Bonus +1 in first round of combat, no Strength Bonus in subsequent rounds

Two-handed: Two-handed; Heavy; Ignores Parry; Strength Bonus +2 in first round of combat, Strength Bonus +1 in subsequent rounds.

Note that morningstars have been removed from the list of weapons. If any model has the option to use a morning star, they follow the rules for flails instead. The reason for this is that morning stars did not always have a chain linking the head and shaft. Some were basically maces with spiked heads. Models that had the morningstar option nearly always had the chain variant, so it was more appropriate to simply categorize them as flails.

Halberd

A halberd can be used by both mounted models and models on foot. It is always Two-handed.

Models on foot with WS4 or less, and mounted models can only use the Blade of the halberd.

Models on foot with WS5 or more must choose at the start of the combat which part of the weapon they will use, either the Blade, Hook or Point.

Blade: +1 Strength bonus

Hook: Mounted models wounded by the Hook only get armour save bonuses for shields, barding and magical armour that can be combined with mundane armour and shields.

Point: Steady. The only exception to the normal rules for Steady is that your Reach is not increased by 1. This is due to the fact that a halberd has a ponderous blade and hook in addition to the point, which requires the user to hold the halberd closer to the tip.

Hand Weapon

The Parry and Combined Arms rules apply to hand weapons.

All magic weapons are assumed to be hand weapons, unless stated otherwise. Magic Weapons that are hand weapons use the Parry rule as normal, but they do not use the Combined Arms rule.

Lance

Can only be used in the turn in which the wielder charges. If charged, or after the first combat round, the bearer will have to use some other weapon (most likely his hand weapon).

Ogre Club

The Parry and Combined Arms rules apply to ogre clubs. In addition, when you do not use the Combined Arms rule, the Armour Piercing rule applies to ogre clubs.

Whip

Wielder can attack from the second, third and fourth rank. If used against a model in base contact it follows the rules for Combined Arms.

Source