Written by Justin Taylor:
Quick Guide to 40K
Move Sequence
Move, Shoot, then do Assaults
Quick Guide to the Stats Line (information on models)
WS = Weapons skill, fighting ability
BS = Ballistic Skill, shooting ability
S (or St) = Strength, models own strength
T (or To) = Toughness, how hard to kill
Wo = number of wounds a model can take
I = Initiative, ability to strike
first in combat
At = Attacks, number of attacks the model
Ld = Leadership, will they stand or run away
has in combat
Sv = Save, the number you need to roll to stop a wound
Weapons have a range, a strength (just like people but their strength is
only used for shooting), a firing ability (like, Rapid, Assault, Heavy) and
the number of shots they fire a turn.
Vehicles may have armour values. These are given as front, sides and rear, so 11/11/10 means a front armour of 11, a side armour of 11 and a rear armour of 10.
Moving
Most troops move 6 inches. Most vehicles can move up to 12 inches.
Most troops moving in difficult terrain, roll 2 dice and use the best die
for their move.
Shooting
Score to hit is: 7 minus the shooters BS (Ballistic Skill)
A 1 always misses, regardless of how good the shooter is.
Example: Marine with BS of 4, needs 3 or more to hit, Ork with BS of 2,
needs 5 or more.
Wounding
If a hit is made, then you must roll to wound the target.
If the weapons strength is the same as the targets toughness, then you need 4 or more to wound. Note: a 1 always fails regardless of how strong the weapon.
Example: Weapon strength 4 hitting target toughness 4, needs 4 or more. If the target had a toughness of 3, then only 3 would be needed. A lascannon with strength 9 only needs a 2 or more to wound a target of toughness 4.
Saving
If a wound is made then you need to roll to save your troops. The save will depend on their armour. Some weapons can go through the armour and stop you from saving wounds (if for example the AP of the weapon is better than the targets save).
Some saves (for example a cover save) can be taken even if the weapon has a good AP.
Leadership tests
Use 2 dice to do Leadership tests and add the results together (lower is
better here).
