Spac

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Armoury The 41st Millennium is a dangerous place, rife with war and conflict, and if an Acolyte hopes to survive he must make sure that he is well armed and equipped. This chapter deals with some of the many types of weapons, armour and gear that exist within the Imperium. Equipment, especially weapons and armour, make up a vital part of an Acolyte’s resources and the difference between success and failure on a mission can often come down to having the right gear.

Availability Having the money does not always guarantee the desired goods or services are at hand. Squalid medieval worlds are a lot less likely to have expensive goods than the marketplaces of a hive city. Moreover, finding a high-quality weapon on a backwater planet is far more difficult than locating such a weapon in a teeming metropolis. To reflect availability, each piece of equipment or service has an associated Availability, ranging from Ubiquitous to Unique. GMs can use the following guidelines as a starting point for determining whether a place has such an item or not. Characters searching for a particular item or service must make a successful Inquiry Test modified by the Availability of the item; Availability: Difficulty by Population provides a baseline modifier for Inquiry Tests to find an item in communities of different sizes. Influence talents, such as Peer and Good Reputation, can grant a bonus to Inquiry Tests when going through relevant parties, such as Middle Classes and Workers on a hive world or Adeptus Mechanicus on a forge world. In general, larger communities tend to have greater access to rarer and more valuable items due to the nature of trade and mercantilism in the Imperium.

TIME Just because a large community actually has the item a character seeks does not necessarily mean that it is easy to locate. The larger the community, the more time it takes to track the item down. A community’s size determines the base time it takes to find the item; see Availability: Population and Time for a baseline. Each Degree of Success on the Inquiry Test reduces this time by a certain amount (minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months, depending on the base time). The GM should make the roll in secret for particularly dangerous or costly items, to emphasise the struggle and possible risks entailed by such searching.

Craftsmanship Not all goods are of the same quality. In the vastness of the Imperium, and beyond, the craftsmanship of items can vary widely from crudely made, mass-produced materials to handcrafted masterpieces.

Normally, Craftsmanship has little effect on game play for regular goods and services. As a general rule items of Poor Craftsmanship are more prone to failure and breaking while Good and Best Craftsmanship are more durable, though it is up to the GM how and when these effects might enter play. In the case of weaponry and armour, there are effects on the item’s performance or weight (as detailed later), but in cases of general goods and services, differences of quality are merely descriptive. The GM may reduce the Difficulty of certain tests, but it is entirely at his discretion. Unless specifically stated, the Craftsmanship of any object is considered Common.

Craftsmanship Cost Multiplier Availability Best ×10 Drop 2 steps

Good ×3 Drop 1 stepCommon ×1 —

Poor ×1/2 Increase 1 step

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Availability: Difficulty by Population Availability Population Below 1,000 Below 10,000 Below 100,000 100,000 or More Ubiquitous Easy (+30) Automatic Automatic Automatic Abundant Routine (+20) Easy (+30) Automatic Automatic Plentiful Ordinary (+10) Routine (+20) Easy (+30) Automatic Common Challenging (+0) Ordinary (+10) Routine (+20) Easy (+30) Average Difficult (-10) Challenging (+0) Ordinary (+10) Routine (+20)

Scarce Hard (-20) Difficult (-10) Challenging (+0) Ordinary (+10)

Rare Very Hard (-30) Hard (-20) Difficult (-10) Challenging (+0)

Very Rare Arduous (-40) Very Hard (-30) Hard (-20) Difficult (-10)

Extremely Rare Punishing (-50) Arduous (-40) Very Hard (-30) Hard (-20)

Near Unique Hellish (-60) Punishing (-50) Arduous (-40) Very Hard (-30)

Unique GM's Discretion Hellish (-60) Punishing (-50) Arduous (-40)

Availability: Population and Time Availability Population 10 million+ Below 10 million Below 1 million Below 100,000 Below 10,000

Ubiquitous One hour 30 minutes 10 minutes 5 minutes One minute

Abundant 1d5 hours One hour 30 minutes 15 minutes 10 minutes

Plentiful 1d10 hours 1d10 hours One hour 30 minutes 15 minutes

Common One day One day 1d10 hours One hour 30 minutes

Average 1d5 days 1d5 days One day 1d10 hours One hour

Scarce 1d5 weeks One week 1d5 days One day 1d10 hours

Rare 2d5 weeks 2d5 weeks One week 1d5 days One day

Very Rare 1d5 months 1d5 months 1d5 weeks 1d10 days 1d5 days

Extremely Rare 3d5 months 2d5 months 2d5 weeks 2d10 days 1d10 days

Near Unique One year 3d5 months 1d5 months 1d5 weeks 2d10 days

Unique 1d5 years One year 1d10 months 2d5 weeks GM's Discretion

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Weapons Weapons are divided into several groups covering a plethora of ranged weapons, dealing with everything from crossbows to plasma cannons, and melee weapons covering all manner of close combat weaponry. Unless they are of Poor quality, all weapons come with an appropriate holster, sling, or carrying strap as part of their cost so they can be stored on the character’s body. All weapons have a profile that is presented using the following statistics, providing players and GMs with all the relevant information needed to use them:

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 or bombs). • 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 for the purposes of determining any extra hits. • 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 certain weapons), 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. A 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). For ranged bonuses and penalties see Dark Heresy, Chapter VII: Playing the Game, pages 198-199). Weapons usually cannot be fired at targets more than four times their range distance.

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 (as shown in brackets): (E) Energy, (X) Explosive, (R) Rending, (I) Impact.

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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.

World: If this weapon is common on a particular type of world or a specific planet.

Availability: This identifies the weapon’s availability (see the Availability section for more information). USING WEAPONS WITHOUT A TALENT Many of the weapons described in this chapter require a Talent to use them effectively; lacking the necessary ability makes weapons particularly dangerous to employ. Still, there are bound to be circumstances when a character needs to use a weapon for which he does not have the Talent. Doing so 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 All the weapons detailed here are of Common craftsmanship. 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 craftsmanship 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 due to their shoddy design. 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. 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. Melee weapons of Good craftsmanship add a +5 bonus to tests made to attack. Best: A work of art as much as a weapon, these items are created by skilled artisans and are often very old. Ranged weapons of Best craftsmanship never suffer from jamming or overheating when using normal ammunition. 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.

WEAPON SPECIAL QUALITIES Some weapons possess special qualities to represent such things as special damage or unusual effects.

Accurate Some weapons are designed with precision in mind and respond superbly in skilled hands.

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They grant an additional bonus of +10 to the firer’s Ballistic Skill when used with an Aim action; this is in addition to the bonus granted from Aiming. When firing a single shot from a single Basic Weapon with the Accurate quality benefiting from the Aim action, the attack gains an extra 1d10 of Damage for every two Degrees of Success to a maximum of an extra 2d10.

Balanced Some weapons are designed so that the weight of the hilt balances the weight of the striking end, making the weapon easier to wield while making quick manoeuvres. Balanced weapons grant a +10 bonus to Weapon Skill Tests made to Parry.

Blast (X) Many missiles, grenades and some guns create an explosion when they hit their target. When working out a hit from a Blast weapon anyone within the weapon’s blast radius in metres, indicated by the number in parenthesis, is also hit. Roll Hit Location and Damage individually for each person affected by a blast. Blast weapons that inflict Damage from explosives, flames, and similar sources can be avoided with a successful Dodge Test, but only as long as the edge of the blast is no further away than their Agility Bonus in metres.

Defensive A Defensive weapon, such as a shield, is intended to be used to block an enemy’s strikes and is awkward when used offensively. Defensive weapons grant a +15 bonus to tests made when used to Parry, but take a –10 penalty when used to make attacks.

Fast The size and speed of this weapon makes it hard for an enemy to protect against, especially when used to make nimble, darting attacks. Opponents take a -20 penalty to their Weapon Skill Test when attempting to Parry an attack from a Fast weapon.

Flame Flame weapons project a cone of flame out to the range of the weapon. Unlike other weapons,

flamers have just one range, and when fired, cast fiery death out to this distance. The wielder makes a Ballistic Skill Test to determine only if the weapon jams. If it doesn't, the weapon fires successfully. All creatures in the flame’s path, a cone-shaped area extending in a 30 degree arc from the firer out to the weapon’s range, must succeed on a Dodge (or Agility) Test or be struck by the flames and take Damage normally. Like a Blast weapon, a character can only avoid the Damage if the edge of the affected area is no further away than their Agility Bonus in metres. To calculate reduction from Armour, assume anyone caught in the flame's path has been hit in the body. If they take Damage, they must succeed on another Agility Test or be set on fire. Cover does not protect characters from attacks made by Flame weapons.

Normally when a weapon is fired without the appropriate talent or a heavy weapon is fired without bracing, the wielder suffers a –20 or –30 Ballistic Skill penalty, respectively (see Dark Heresy, Using Weapons Without a Talent, page 126). As Flame weapons do not require a Ballistic Skill Test to hit, anyone in the area of effect of the flames gains a +30 bonus to their Dodge or Agility Test to avoid Damage (but not to avoid catching on fire!) instead.

Flexible Some weapons are made up from lots of loosely connected segments or supple woven hides, including chains and whips. Weapons with this quality lash about violently when used to attack and cannot be Parried.

Inaccurate Weapons with this quality are either badly designed, woefully assembled, or simply intended for use at very short distances, and regardless of the care taken when used, offer little better than a lucky chance to hit. No bonus is gained from the use of the Aim Action with such weapons.

Overheats Certain weapons are prone to overheating, either because of poor design, reckless overcharging, or

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the use of superheated ammunition. When a weapon overheats, the wielder suffers Energy Damage equal to the weapon's damage with a Penetration of 0 to the arm location holding the weapon (if the weapon was being held in both hands, the wielder is assumed to have taken damage to both arms, but does not suffer twice the Damage). The wielder may choose to avoid taking this Damage by dropping the overheating weapon; it lands somewhere within a 1 metre radius of the wielder. This is a Free Action. A weapon that has overheated must spend the Round afterwards cooling down and may not be fired again until the second round after overheating. A weapon with this Quality does not Jam, and any effect that would cause the weapon to Jam (i.e., sabotage, certain psychic powers) instead causes the weapon to overheat. Power Field Crackling arcane energies wreath a weapon that has this quality, drastically increasing is ability to rend flesh and armour as compared to a normal weapon of its type. When you successfully use this weapon to Parry an attack made with a weapon that lacks this quality, you have a 75% chance of destroying your attacker’s weapon. Certain weapons, such as those with the Warp Weapon quality, are immune to this effect. Primitive Weapons with this quality are perfectly deadly against unprotected flesh but have a hard time

cutting through modern armour. Any armour that does not also have the Primitive quality doubles its Armour Points against attacks made by weapons with this quality. For example, Guard Flak Armour (AP 4) hit with a Great Weapon (Primitive quality and Pen 2) would provide 6 points of armour: (4x2)-2.

Proven (X) A Proven weapon has been masterfully crafted, uses extremely powerful ammunition, or employs archeotech workings that increase its lethality. In all cases, weapons with this quality will reliably inflict terrible and traumatic injuries on their targets. A Proven weapon will list a rating number in parentheses; discard any die roll for Damage lower than this number and replace it with the Proven rating. For example, a weapon with a Proven (3) quality treats any Damage die roll of 1 or 2 as if it were a 3 instead.

Razor Sharp A weapon with this quality has a phenomenal ability to split or pierce even the heaviest of armour when its blow lands just right. When a Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill Test for an attack with this weapon results in three or more Degrees of Success, double the weapon's Penetration for that attack.

Recharge After it has been fired, a weapon with the Recharge quality must spend time building up a charge before it can be used again. This weapon

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can effectively only be fired every other Round. Reliable A Reliable weapon seldom fails, and are often based on tried and true technology, use simple and effective workings, or are simply assembled with a great amount of care and skill. If a Reliable weapon Jams, roll 1d10. Only on a roll of 10 does it actually jam, otherwise it is simply considered a miss. Scatter The standard ammunition of these weapons spreads out when fired, hitting a wide area of the target’s body. If fired at a foe within Point Blank range, this weapon scores an additional hit (use Table 6-7: Multiple Hits on page 190 of Dark Heresy) for every two degrees of success on the attacker’s Ballistic Skill Test. However, the widening spread of small projectiles hampers its effectiveness. If a character is hit by a weapon with this quality at Long or Extreme range, all his Armour Points are doubled against that attack. Shocking Shocking weapons can Stun their opponents with a powerful surge of energy. A target that takes at least 1 point of Damage from a Shocking weapon, after reduction from Armour Points and Toughness Bonus, must make a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or become Stunned for a number of Rounds equal to half the Damage they suffered. If the character hit is wearing non-Primitive armour, they receive a +10 bonus to this Test for every Armour Point on the location hit. Smoke Rather than inflicting Damage, these weapons throw up dense clouds of smoke to create concealment. When a hit is scored from a weapon with the Smoke quality, it creates a smokescreen 3d10 metres in diameter from the point of impact. The screen lasts for 2d10 Rounds before dissipating, though adverse weather may reduce this time. See Dark Heresy,

page 210 for more information on the effects of Smoke.

Snare Weapons with this quality are designed to entangle enemies. On a successful hit, the target must make an Agility Test or be immobilised. An immobilised target can attempt no other actions except try to escape the bonds. He can attempt to burst the bonds (a Challenging (+0) Strength Test) or wriggle free (a Challenging (+0) Agility Test) in his Turn. The target is considered to be Helpless until he escapes.

Storm These are purpose-built assault weapons intended to shred targets apart with a flurry of rapid-fire projectiles. Weapons with the Storm quality double the number of shots they fire on any mode, and likewise double the number of hits scored on an enemy. For example, a Storm weapon firing a Full Auto Burst scores two hits for every degree of success, up to a maximum of twice the weapon’s listed firing rate.

Tearing Tearing weapons are vicious devices, often using multitudes of fast moving jagged teeth or fragmented or explosive ammunition to rip into flesh and bone. These weapons roll one extra die for Damage, and the lowest result is discarded.

Toxic Some weapons rely on toxins and poisons to do their real damage. Anyone that takes Damage from a Toxic weapon, after reduction for Armour and Toughness Bonus, must make a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test with a -5 penalty for every point of Damage taken from the Toxic weapon’s attack. Success indicates there is no further effect from the weapon. Failure however deals an immediate 1d10 points of Impact Damage to the target with no reduction for Armour or Toughness Bonus.

Twin-Linked A twin-linked weapon is formed by combining two identical weapons together, which are fired

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by a single trigger pull (or button press). Twin-linked weapons are built this way in order to increase the chances of scoring a hit on the enemy through the crude expedience of blasting more shots at them. This type of weapon is a popular feature on Imperial armoured vehicles where its bulk and rapid ammunition consumption are non-issues. A Twin-Linked weapon fires twice as many shots, on all modes, as the original weapons that were linked together, and grants its firer a +20 bonus to hit to his Ballistic Skill. The weapon may score one additional hit beyond its normal total as long as the attack succeeds by two or more degrees. Finally, as each weapon has its own ammunition feed, its reload time is doubled.

Unbalanced Weapons with this quality tend to be overly large or with weight focused on one end, allowing them to make powerful attacks but preventing quick defensive movements. A weapon with this quality imposes a -10 penalty to Weapon Skill Tests when used to Parry. Unreliable Badly maintained or constructed, or simply of a sloppy design, these weapons are more likely to misfire than others. An Unreliable weapon suffers a Jam on a roll of 91 or higher on the firer’s Ballistic Skill Test. Unstable Weapons with this quality use ammunition that is both volatile and unstable and can react unpredictably when detonated. When an Unstable weapon scores a hit, roll 1d10. On a score of 1 it inflicts only half Damage, on a score of 2–9 it deals normal Damage, and on a score of 10 it inflicts twice the normal Damage. Unwieldy Huge and often top-heavy or slow to attack, Unwieldy weapons are too awkward to be used defensively. Unwieldy weapons cannot be used to Parry.

Vicious This weapon has a tendency to inflict savage, ruinous injuries due to its great power or simply from an innate lust for battle. Whenever a Vicious weapon has a chance to score Righteous Fury (that is, rolls maximum Damage on one of its dice) the extra Damage occurs automatically; there is no need for a second Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill Test to confirm the extra Damage.

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LAS WEAPONS Produced by the millions on countless forge-worlds, laser (“las” in parlance) weapons are by far the most numerous type of weapon in the Imperium as they are the basic tool of countless soldiers of the Imperial Guard. While complex to manufacture, their STC design is extremely well understood and their great ruggedness makes them the perfect weapon for the myriad soldiers of the Hammer of the Emperor. Las weapons can be found on almost any developed planet, even outside the Imperium, and can be found in the employ of xeno mercenary tribes who favour them for the same reason as their human betters. Aside from the very common lasguns and las pistols, much larger lascannons and multi-lasers are often mounted to Imperial vehicles, and gigantic lance batteries arming Imperial Navy battleships work off the same principles as their humble infantry counterparts.

Las weapons work by emitting short, sharp pulses of laser energy from high capacity fast-discharge generators, with a flash of light and a distinctive snap like the cracking of a whip when the trigger is pulled. While there are many variations of lasguns and pistols, produced in a multitude of different styles and patterns, almost all use a totally interchangeable power pack whose design is sanctioned by the Departmento Munitorum; Cadian lasguns facing the forces of Chaos near the Eye of Terror and las pistols carried by Adeptus Mechanicus Explorators in the far reaches of Ultima Segmentum are powered by a functionally identical power source. The liquid metal core of the pack stores a vast amount of thermal energy, and can be recharged from any sort of standard power source ranging from hive hab conduits, shipboard transmission lines, or even the generators of idling Imperial tanks. In a pinch, simply exposing the charge pack to intense heat or light over time will fill its reserves once more, and Guardsmen cut off from resupply have been known to toss their charge packs into campfires, finding them blackened but usually usable and charged in the morning.

To use las weapons without penalty, a character must have the Pistol Training (Las), Basic Weapon Training (Las), or Heavy Weapon Training (Las) talents.

RECHARGING POWER PACKS Aside from their ease of use, the abundance of ammunition in the form of standardized power packs is a central reason for the staggering number of las weapons in use by the forces of the Imperium. Las power packs can be charged in the field from almost any power source. Characters may make an Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test to charge a power pack as long as there is some kind of power source available. Examples might include municipal power jacks in a hive city, portable battery units for powering large equipment, or even currently-operating machines. The time the pack takes to charge is determined by the power output of the source and is ultimately up to the GM, though characters should expect at least an hour or so. Alternatively, a power pack can be charged simply by leaving it in direct sunlight, the charge pack absorbing solar radiation at a rate roughly sufficient for one shot every thirty minutes, assuming the sky is clear. In the absence of any other methods, a charge pack can be thrown into open flames where it can soak up thermal energy. This takes around twenty-four hours, and permanently reduces the pack’s Clip size by half the first time it is charged in this fashion. A flame-charged power pack causes a las weapon it is used in to lose the Reliable quality, if it has it, or gain the Unreliable quality if it doesn’t. Each time a pack is recharged in this way there is a 30% chance it will burn out and be permanently rendered useless for any purpose other than serving as a paperweight.

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Duelling Las Based around the philosophy of a “one shot

kill”, Duelling Laspistols (or just Duelling Las for short) are commonly worn as signs of wealth and status by hive nobles and Rogue Traders. While ostentatious and certainly designed with image in mind, a Duelling Las is still nonetheless a very deadly weapon that can generate an extremely powerful las blast, and are accurate enough to hit a single Throne at distances most comparable pistols would only be able to hit a man-sized target.

The Belasco Duelling Pistol is a product of the famed Belasco Deathworks on Malfi, engineered for a much longer effective range than most laspistols and featuring an intricate housing that looks impressive when tucked into a belt or sash. In spite of its potency, it is capable of using standard laspistol power packs, though it drains them entirely with a single shot. It can be used with an overcharge pack to the detriment of the weapon’s reliability: if loaded with one, it gains the Overheats quality.

The Khayer-Addin Forge in Gunmetal City produces another high quality pistol known simply as the Khayer-Addin Duelling Las. Its range is somewhat inferior compared to the Malfian design, but its use of a unique (and non-sanctioned) charge pack allows it to fire a more

concentrated blast of significantly higher power. Guns of this type hold a particular spot in folklore in Gunmetal City, where they’re popularly known as “Valentines” after a mythical Metallican gunslinger of ages past.

Each power cell for a Khayer-Addin Duelling Las has a base cost of 20 Thrones and is considered Scarce on Scintilla and Rare elsewhere. It cannot be combined with a hotshot or overcharge pack.

Hellpistol

A popular sidearm among Inquisitorial agents and Imperial Guard officers, Hellpistols are probably best known for their use by crack Storm Troopers. Thanks to their heavy-duty focusing equipment and discharge cells, Hellpistols have a far superior ability to burn though well-armoured targets, and can cut down all matters of foes that would mock an ordinary laspistol’s bolts. Hellpistols are somewhat bulkier than most sidearms due to their external power supplies, though few would argue the value of their destructive power against the cost of the extra mass. Further, most hellpistols are equipped with an integrated micro-cogitator and omni-scope, making for faster aiming and more accurate shots as well as aggregating and displaying useful tactical information.

Las Weapons Name Class Range RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Duelling Las (Belasco) Pistol 45m S/-/- 1d10+5 E 5 1 Full Accurate 1.5kg 250 - Very Rare

Duelling Las (K-A) Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 4 1 Full Accurate, Tearing 1.7kg 220 - Very Rare

Hellpistol Pistol 35m S/2/- 1d10+4 E 7 40 2 Full - 4kg† 2,500 - Rare

Laspistol (generic) Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10+2 E 0 30 Full Reliable 1.5kg 50 - Common

Civitas Pistol 25m S/2/- 1d10+1 E 0 25 Full Reliable 2kg 35 - Common

Fury Pistol 20m S/2/5 1d10+2 E 0 30 Full Reliable 1.5kg 100 - Scarce

Mark IV Pistol 70m S/2/- 1d10+3 E 0 15 Full Accurate, Reliable 1.75kg 150 - Rare

Palatine Pistol 20m S/3/- 1d10+2 E 0 20 Full Reliable 1.1kg 100 - Average

Steel Burner Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 2 10 Full - 2.5kg 100 Fenksworld Very Rare

Las Gauntlets Pistol 50m S/4/- 1d10+4 E 1 20 Full Reliable 3kg 350 - Very Rare

Series-S Venom Pistol 10m S/-/- 1d10+1 E 0 15 - - 0.5kg 120 - Scarce

†Not including power pack

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A Hellpistol makes use of a capacitor weighing 10kg that is normally slung at the small of the user’s back, with a cable power feed connecting it to the pistol’s grip. This configuration provides the stated Clip size in the above table. Larger power packs intended for prolonged combat operations can be used instead; these increase the Clip size to 150 and weigh 25kg. Hellpistols can also make use of standard laspistol charge packs though their power-hungry nature consumes them quickly (its Clip size becomes 10). If used with an overcharge pack, its Clip size becomes 3 and it gains the Overheats quality.

Hellpistols include a hard-wired Targeter, granting its user a +10 bonus to Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack with it. This device does not count towards the weapon’s one sight limit.

Laspistol

Laspisols are common and widespread devices used by Guardsmen and gangers alike thanks to their ease of use and simple, reliable design. Many laspistol patterns exist within the Imperium, and the most common types, such as the Galaxy-M used by Cadian sergeants or the Lucius-pattern favoured by Krieg gunners are so similar that, functionally, they may as well be the same weapon. There are also more exotic sorts of laspistols that include various unique features.

Civitas-Pattern: This is a simple utility weapon of extremely ancient design, and can commonly be found as a self-defence pistol carried by hab-workers or serving as a backup weapon to gangers wielding powerful if less reliable autoguns. It is bulkier and less efficient than common military patterns due to its cheap manufacture, but even if left in a drawer or stuck to the bottom of a desk for decades, a Civitas’ owner can rest assured that his weapon will always shoot.

“Fury” Assault Pistol: A quick-firing laspistol suitable for use by shock troops and capable of laying down a barrage of las-bolts. The Fury’s range is inferior to most laspistols due to its rapid discharging cells, but it is an ideal weapon to use against large numbers of foes. It is often

paired with a close combat weapon, such as a chainsword, and many of its users only shoot it until they’ve closed into hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

Mark IV Command Laspistol: Well made for accuracy and beam cohesion, this type of sidearm can rival full-size lasguns for striking range. The Mark IV is a favourite of Imperial Guard squad leaders, allowing them to engage foes at the same distance as their soldiers can, and its bright and narrow beam can also be used to “point out” targets of opportunity, even during a pitched battle situation.

Palatine Compact Laspistol: A superior laspistol manufactured by the Takara Fane of Gunmetal City. The Palatine has equal stopping power to many other laspistols in spite of being nearly half the size of a standard military pattern. It is easy to conceal and easier to carry all day, making it equally popular with hive nobles as well as mercenaries and assassins. Given Takara’s image as a provider to exclusive clients, Palatine pistols with heavily embellished and decorated housings are manufactured to order, with some costing upwards of three times the base model’s price.

The Palatine’s small size and smooth body grants a +10 bonus to Sleight of Hand Tests made to conceal it.

Steel Burner Heavy Laspistol: The Sollex sect of the Cult Mechanicus produces this “handheld lascannon” at its headquarters on Haddrak in the Drusus Marches. Aside from equipping Sollex’s own Tech-Guard and Magos Militants, the Sollex Pattern-VII (as it is officially known) is manufactured for distribution on Fenksworld as well. The Steel Burner is a favoured pistol among those with the Thrones to spare, but it is especially treasured in the Volg hive where weapons with the ability to defeat well-protected creatures are always in high demand and short supply. The Belasco Deathworks and the Takara Fane have all tried to reproduce this weapon in their own forges without success.

Sollex las weapons can use standard power packs but drain them more quickly than most due to their powerful beams. They can be used

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with hotshot or overcharge packs, but gain the Overheats quality as their generators aren’t designed to safely handle the extra power. Sollex las weapons have Scarce Availability on Fenksworld and are Very Rare elsewhere.

Las Gauntlets

These strange weapons use standard power packs but otherwise have very little in common with other las weapons used in the Imperium, and there has been some speculation that they may even be of xenos origin. Each fits over the forearm with controls built into a glove and the user sights down the line of his arm. Las Gauntlets produce a thin raking beam rather than the crisp blast of most lasguns which creates an impressive visual. They are primarily considered the plaything of nobles and are often used for hunting game at closer ranges, while those who employ them for real combat are far between. There are a select few examples of assassins who favour style over efficiency using Las Gauntlets to kill their marks.

Because of their strange architecture, Las Gauntlets gain the Unstable quality if used with an overcharge pack and cannot be used with hotshot packs at all.

Series-S Venom Compact Pistol

This Belasco-made pistol is a highly unusual pattern and one benefitting the treacherous reputation of Malfi. The Venom is a highly compact laspistol designed for covert use. It takes the shape of a flat disk that is grasped in the hand, with the short barrel-emitter projecting between the middle fingers. It is fired by applying pressure to a hidden trigger, and must be firmly grasped before it will shoot as a safety feature. Eminently concealable, the Venom is an excellent tool for murder and espionage, making it widely favoured both on Malfi and beyond, though it is neither as expensive nor rare as its other local rival, the infamous Mariette pistol.

The Venom is powered via an internal non-removable power cell rather than Munitorum-sanctioned power packs. It cannot be reloaded,

but can be recharged via a standard port similarly to a las power pack. Because of its strange appearance, its user does not appear to be armed if searched while carrying it unless the searcher is familiar with the Venom’s design.

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Merovech Assault Lasgun Class: Basic (Las)

An unusual lasgun intended for use by Imperial Navy boarding teams and equally popular among pirates and other scummers who deal in up-close work, this sturdy weapon includes two separate receptacles for charge packs. When one is depleted, the user can switch over to the other swiftly, effectively granting an immediate reload. This has obvious utility in a situation where having to stop and fumble for a fresh charge pack can have lethal consequences. It also features an integral bayonet for close quarters encounters. The Assault Lasgun’s range is inferior to that of most others since the second charge port takes up valuable stock space and the barrel had to be shortened to keep its overall length reasonable.

This weapon can also be fitted with any combination of standard, overcharge, and

hotshot packs, allowing a skilled trooper a lot of flexibility. Switching between charge packs is a Free Action; normally, this is used to switch from a depleted charge pack to the fresh one, but it could just as easily be employed to switch to a different type of charge pack while the first is mid-clip. In melee, the Assault Lasgun is considered a mono-edged spear.

Hellgun Class: Basic (Las)

Hellguns are the favoured weapons of the Imperial Guard’s crack Storm Troopers, and are also frequently used by their Inquisitorial counterparts as well. With heavy-duty focusing equipment and triple-density discharge cells, a Hellgun is capable of burning through a heavily armoured enemy with ease. In addition to a greatly improved ability to defeat armour and pierce cover, hellguns are typically fitted with a

Las Weapons Name Class Range RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Assault Lasgun Basic 50m S/-/5 1d10+3 E 0 60 (x2)

2 Full Reliable 4.5kg 250 - Average

Hellgun Basic 110m S/3/- 1d10+4 E 7 30 2 Full - 6kg† 2,700 - Rare

Hellgun (D’laku) Basic 100m S/3/5 1d10+3 E 4 40 2 Full - 9kg† 500 Lathes Scarce

Lascannon Heavy 300m S/-/- 5d10+10 E 10 5 2 Full - 55kg 5,000 - Very Rare

Lascarbine (generic) Basic 60m S/2/- 1d10+2 E 0 40 Full Reliable 3kg 75 - Common

Death Light Basic 80m S/3/- 1d10+5 E 2 18 Full - 7.2kg 250 Fenksworld Scarce

Locke Basic 60m S/2/- 1d10+4 E 0 40 Full Unreliable 2.5kg 100 - Scarce

Minerva-Aegis Basic 60m S/4/8 1d10+2 E 0 40 Full Reliable 4.1kg 150 - Scarce

Lascutter Heavy 5m S/-/- 2d10+3 E 6 10 2 Full - 8kg 370 - Rare

Lasgun (generic) Basic 100m S/3/- 1d10+3 E 0 60 Full Reliable 4kg 100 - Common

Drusus Prime Basic 100m S/2/- 1d10+3 E 0 50 Full Reliable 7kg 50 - Common

Mark III Basic 100m S/3/- 1d10+3 E 0 60 Full Reliable 4kg 75 - Average

Roth Basic 120m S/2/- 1d10+2 E 0 60 Full Reliable 4kg 175 - Rare

Stormfront Basic 100m S/3/- 1d10+3 E 0 60 Full Reliable 5kg 200 - Very Rare

Laslock Basic 70m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 0 1 Full Unreliable, Unstable 4kg 40 - Plentiful

Long Las Basic 150m S/-/- 1d10+3 E 1 40 Full Accurate, Reliable 4.5kg 100 - Scarce

Multi-Laser Heavy 250m -/-/10 3d10+3 E 4 60 3 Full - - 2,000 - Scarce

Shotlas Basic 60m S/3/- 1d10+4 E 1 30 2 Full - 4kg 90 - Scarce

Twin Lasgun Basic 100m S/2/- 1d10+4 E 0 18 Full Tearing, Unreliable 7kg 220 - Rare

†Not including power pack

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built-in micro-cogitator and omni-scope that improves the shooter's accuracy as well as aggregating useful tactical information. Though they closely resemble typical if over-built lasgun patterns, a Hellgun is undeniably a professional weapon for professional soldiers.

A Hellgun makes use of a capacitor weighing 10kg that is normally slung at the small of the user’s back, with a cable power feed connecting it to the gun’s charge port. This configuration provides the stated Clip size in the above table. Larger power packs intended for prolonged combat operations can be used instead; these increase the Clip size to 120 and weigh 25kg. Hellguns can also make use of standard lasgun charge packs though their power-hungry nature consumes them quickly (its Clip size becomes 8). If used with an overcharge pack, its Clip size becomes 3 and it gains the Overheats quality.

Hellguns include a hard-wired Targeter, granting its user a +10 bonus to Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack with it. This device does not count towards the weapon’s one sight limit.

D’laku Crusade Hellgun Class: Basic (Las)

This ancient pattern of Hellgun is closely associated with the Adeptus Mechanicus’ Skitarii Secutors, and was once used by those cohorts during the Angevin Crusade to conquer the Calixis Sector. Out of reverence for that history, this antique Hellgun pattern is still commonly used by the Secutors of the present, and is manufactured in the Mechanicus’ famed Lathe Worlds. The D’laku-pattern differs markedly from newer Hellguns, favouring rapid-fire over beam intensity and lacking the built-in Targeter that is a hallmark of the weapons manufactured by Voss and Kantrael. It is powered by an external capacitor (weight 10kg) typically attached to the Secutor’s back, though it can make use of both standard lasgun charge and overcharge packs (Clip size becomes 12 or 6, respectively) or newer backpack units (weight 25kg, Clip size becomes 150).

The D’laku Crusade Hellgun has an Availability of Scarce in the Lathe system and

Very Rare on other Forge Worlds, and is typically not encountered anywhere else.

Man-Portable Lascannon Class: Heavy (Las)

Most commonly encountered on Imperial armoured vehicles, lascannons are devastatingly powerful weapons capable of accurately punching through heavy armour at long range. By stripping down a vehicular lascannon of extraneous hardware, a man-portable version can be created for use by heavy weapons teams or in fixed defensive positions. Lascannons require separate power packs which cannot be recharged once depleted, so they are virtually always deployed as part of a two- or three-man team and rarely moved during an ongoing battle.

A man-portable lascannon can be dismantled into the lascannon (25kg), power pack (15kg), and tripod (10kg), allowing two or three characters to move it around without becoming drastically encumbered. Setting up or taking down a lascannon takes at least one minute.

Lascarbine Class: Basic (Las)

Lascarbines are shortened and lightened versions of the more typical lasgun, intended for use at close quarters by assault troops or as a more effective weapon than a pistol by vehicle and artillery crews. Like lasguns, lascarbines exist in a massive number of makes and patterns and are manufactured throughout the Imperium, with most being similar enough to be virtually interchangeable. Some more unique lascarbines are listed here. All lascarbines are compact enough that they impart a -10 rather than -20 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests if wielded with one hand, and can also be fired in melee as if they were pistols.

Death Light Lasgun: Made to the requirements of Fenksworld’s Magnagorsk guild, the Death Light is another Sollex sect product that produces fearsomely powerful las-bolts compared to similar weapons of its size. Officially known as the Sollex Pattern-IX, this dense, sturdy weapon includes a folding stock

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and is commonly used by low-ranking Tech-Guard soldiers. It can burn through the thick insulation suits worn by many in the Magnagorsk hive, and is sought after among those seeking a reliable and potent weapon who don’t mind the excessive weight of a gun designed for use by augmented Skitarii troops.

Sollex las weapons can use standard power packs but drain them more quickly than most due to their powerful beams. They can be used with hotshot or overcharge packs, but gain the Overheats quality as their generators aren’t designed to safely handle the extra power. Sollex las weapons have Scarce Availability on Fenksworld and are Very Rare elsewhere.

Locke-Pattern: This lascarbine looks similar to a Galaxy-pattern used by Cadian shock troops but with a significantly enlarged housing around the charge port and a heavier barrel. The Locke’s discharge capacitors are grossly oversized, and it fires a wide beam with significantly more punch than common lascarbine models. However, its machine spirit has not taken well to this modification, resulting in frequent jams and misfires. In spite of this, there are many shooters

in the Calixis Sector who believe the increased firepower merits the risk that their weapon will fail at an untimely moment.

Locke-pattern lascarbines can be used with overcharge or hotshot packs but can become dangerously unstable and gains the Overheats rule. If the weapon overheats, roll 1d10. On a “9” or “10”, the Locke’s housing violently explodes, ruining the weapon and inflicting Damage as a Frag Grenade (including the Blast size).

Minerva-Aegis: Popular with the more notable mercenary companies and private guild armsmen, the Minerva-Aegis is a very sophisticated lascarbine that features a high cycle-charge chamber that can let off a rapid pulse of las-bolts. This advanced feature is a product of research on the Aegis Data Fragment which the Mechanicus has seen fit to title to the Takara Fane of Gunmetal City; in small measure, it is a mass-produced archeotech weapon, and a sign of discerning judgment and ample funds among those who wield them. Its complex design requires the use of much higher quality raw materials than most lasguns which leads to the Minerva-Aegis’ expensive cost, and its status

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as the sign of a successful soldier of fortune.

Mezoa-Pattern Lascutter Class: Heavy (Las)

Lascutters emit a dagger-shaped blast of extremely high energy and are most commonly used to cut through bulkheads and thick, heavy structure walls. Most lascutters are too large to be used except on wheeled carriages or construction servitors: the Mezoa-pattern mentioned here is one of the few that is small and light enough to be man-portable. Lascutters are markedly inferior to plasma or melta versions of the same tool, but are also much easier and less dangerous to operate, and can be used by anyone familiar with las weaponry. Mezoa-pattern lascutters are commonly used by combat engineers to carve through barricades or bypass enemy ambushes in built-up areas.

A lascutter can be used to cut through walls and other large objects up to 5 cm thick at rate of 25 cm per round. This consumes one shot from the lascutter’s Clip. The Mezoa-pattern lascutter is powered by two standard lasgun charge packs, which are drained equally with each use and must both be replaced when reloading. It cannot be used with overcharge or hotshot packs.

Lasgun Class: Basic (Las)

Nothing is more synonymous with the Imperial Guard and other ground troops than the lasgun. Ubiquitous and widespread, lasguns are reliable, sturdy, and exist in a myriad of different patterns and makes, most of which are similar enough to be considered the same weapon. These common lasguns can be equipped with different sorts of charge packs, and all include the appropriate hardware to attach a one-handed melee weapon as a bayonet. Because of their extremely high production figures, lasguns are used by cultists, gangers, and other foes of the Imperium almost as often as its loyal defenders. Some more exotic patterns of lasguns are listed here.

Drusus Prime-Pattern: This simple lasgun was made in large numbers to equip the growing

forces of Saint Drusus’ followers during the Angevin Crusade, and can still be found in the armouries of various PDFs in the Calixis Sector, and some dusty (though still wholly functional) examples hang on the walls of descendants of warriors from that time. While official production of the Drusus Prime ended centuries ago, many of those extremely robust weapons can still be found in use, and clones are manufactured in smaller forges throughout the sector. According to collectors, “authentic” Crusade-era lasguns can be identified by the more detailed stamping of Saint Drusus’ likeness on the housing, which is crude or absent entirely on reproductions. In all cases, these bulky and blocky weapons are very robust, and can easily be used as a bludgeoning melee weapon (treat this function as a staff).

Mars-Pattern Mark III Lasgun: Made in large numbers on the forges of Malfi and Scintilla, this particular pattern of lasgun has been in use since M36 and was chosen as the standard model for most Imperial Guard regiments raised in the Calixis Sector. It is mentioned by name in the Imperial Infantryman’s Uplifting Primer as the “Guardsman’s Friend” and is combination of easy to use sights and ergonomic grips make it one of the more popular lasguns employed by the Imperial Guard.

Roth Lightning Lasgun: An unusual pattern of lasgun, the Roth is fairly unremarkable at first glance until one recognises that its power packs are loaded into a port under the stock, rather than the centre housing. By moving back the innards of the gun, the Roth can use a longer barrel while maintaining the standard lasgun profile. This pattern is favoured by sharpshooters who operate in situations where the more accurate but unwieldy long las can impair movement.

Stormfront Lasgun: This is a “local variant” of the very widespread Kantrael and is only encountered in any large numbers in the Calixis Sector. A polished wood stock and brass hardware create a more “classic” look than the blockish greens and camouflaged polysteel of

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other lasguns, and its suitability for use in close combat with a folding bayonet makes it popular with Guard regiments that favour assaults, such as the Brontian Longknives. If used as a melee weapon, treat the Stormfront as a mono-edge spear with the Balanced quality.

Laslock Class: Basic (Las)

Sometimes known as “blaze guns” or “las-muskets”, these are extremely primitive and rudimentary lasguns that are often scratch built by scav-workshops and insurgent armourers; they are not manufactured commercially or used by any official Imperial authorities. Laslocks are variously assembled from industrial components or ruined lasguns that have been shoddily reconstructed, and are powered by clunky battery units and temperamental power capacitors. Their reliability is far lower than common lasguns, both in terms of shots fired as well as the power of the beam itself, and a laslock is just as likely to produce a very large and powerful blast as it is a fizzle of sparks.

Laslocks cannot be used with any normal power packs. Their battery units can be

scavenged from all sorts of hardware, with a base cost of 2 Thrones and an Availability of Plentiful on Hive and Forge Worlds and Abundant on most others.

Long Las Class: Basic (Las)

The long las is a sniper’s lasgun, heavily optimized for accuracy and beam cohesion over long range. Because of their substantial barrels and adjustable stocks, a long las is difficult to manoeuvre in tight spots or in close combat, though this is a minor concern to most common military users. Most long las are fitted with a large tubular noise dampener at the muzzle which significantly reduces the volume of the gun firing. Long las are most often used by marksmen to support infantry attacks, the greater range and precision being highly useful for destroying heavy weapon teams and entrenched troops. However, the bright beam of light can give away a concealed shooter's position; as a result, military scouts and infiltrators who rely on stealth will typically employ needle rifles instead.

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All common long las patterns are considered to have a silencer installed, and usually include a telescopic sight which can be replaced with other sights with an Easy (+30) Trade (Armourer) Test or an Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use or Trade (Technomat) Test.

Multi-Laser Class: Heavy (Las)

Multi-lasers are variously described as fast-firing lascannons or giant hellguns, and are highly effective weapons against enemy infantry and lightly armoured vehicles. A multi-laser fires in long bursts of powerful concentrated las-bolts that pale into comparison to a full-size lascannon but can still punch through common infantry armour with ease. This makes them excellent suppression weapons, and as a result they are most frequently employed on Chimera armoured personnel carriers and Sentinel walkers where they can feed from the vehicle’s power systems and support attached soldiers.

Because of their power requirements and the inability of portable supports to adequately stabilize them, multi-lasers are never deployed as infantry-portable weapons.

Merovech Shotlas Class: Basic (Las)

The shotlas is the broadly unintentional result of efforts to create a fast-firing yet inexpensive lasgun by several minor forges within Calixis. Furnished with three lightweight shrouded barrels and drawing from two separate charge packs at once, the weapon tended to disassemble itself under the effects of fully automatic fire, and moreover lacked any kind of accuracy at distance due to excessive vibration. With the end result more resembling a "las shotgun" than a hellgun, only the Merovech Combine chose to deliver the weapon anyway and market it exactly as that. With the full automatic setting deleted, the shotlas is at least as reliable as common slug-throwers; moreover, there are no shortage of shooters who can appreciate having a weapon with the close range firepower of a shotgun that can still engage an enemy at greater distances.

A shotlas increases its Damage by 1 at Short Range and 3 at Point-Blank Range, and requires two charge packs to be fired. Both charge packs are depleted at the same rate and so both must be replaced when reloading. A shotlas may be used with overcharge packs provided they are installed in pairs too.

Twin Lasgun Class: Basic (Las)

Also known as a Lasburst Gun, twin-barrelled lasguns of this type were once popular as far back as the Age of Apostasy due to their heavy firepower. With both barrels firing a single intense beam, a Lasburst can inflict savage oblong wounds on those hit by it. However, they have always been finicky and temperamental weapons, and with the Imperial Guard’s emphasis on guns with high reliability since then this sort of weapon was doomed to obscurity. No major forges have produced twin lasguns for millennia, but many of the old models are still in use by mercenaries and hunters, and a few lesser munitions factories are known to produce replicas for those who don’t mind their tendency to chew up charge packs.

If a twin lasgun jams, there is a 50% chance that its charge pack is ruined.

POWER PACK BOMBS Guardsmen who are “in the know” have been able to improvise their lasguns into bombs by cutting out certain safety features and setting the charge packs to build up a runaway energy reaction. Such a manoeuvre would only be sanctioned during an emergency, such as to cover a withdrawal or prevent weapons from becoming captured by the enemy, but can also make for a nasty surprise by clever (or devious) mercenaries and other ex-Guard fighters. Any basic or pistol-class las weapon with a charge pack that is at least half of a full charge can be made to explode like a Frag Grenade with a Difficult (-10) Tech-Use Test. The gun explodes 1d5+1 Rounds later. If the gun happens to be loaded with a hotshot pack, increase the blast's Damage by 2.

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SOLID PROJECTILE WEAPONS Commonly known as “slug-throwers”, solid projectile weapons are extremely common throughout the Imperium and are popular among Imperial servants and citizens as well as renegades and recidivists alike. While a distant second to las weapons in the ranks of the Imperial Guard, members of the Inquisition and Adeptus Arbites often use solid projectile weapons, and gangers are especially pronounced about their love for slug-throwers: ease of manufacture, versatility in combat, bewildering array and varieties, and, of course, the satisfying sound they make when rattling off bullets at a foe. Slug-throwers can offer a weapon for all occasions, and many gunslingers live by the simple maxim, “Where there’s a will, there’s a gun.” Handheld solid projectile weapons tend to be broken down into two major categories: autoguns and stubbers.

Autoguns are synonymous with the Imperium’s forges and monitories, with the first patterns coming into being during the Great Crusade and propagating throughout the galaxy since. Today there are likely as many styles of autoguns as there are stars, and they come in all shapes and sizes, from simple autopistols that can be strapped to the side of a ganger’s boot to massive vehicular autocannons that can punch through any personal armour and violently explode its wearer, and even the great macrocannons of Imperial Navy battleships fall into this style of weapon. Most autoguns use square caseless rounds that are just as ubiquitous as the guns themselves, and it isn’t unheard of for bullets to be used as currency on some particularly brutal worlds and among underhive scummers.

Stubbers are far older, and go back as far as known history reaches. Compared to autoguns, stubbers use metal-cased ammunition, spraying hot spent cartridges into the air when fired. On the whole they are significantly simpler than autoguns, and finding indigenous stubber patterns on more highly-developed feudal

worlds isn’t unknown. Stubbers have by and large been replaced by autoguns in the millennia since the formation of the Imperium, but some styles have persevered in spite of their antiquity, and the occasional stubber design of a totally new vintage has rolled off more than a few major forges in the last millennia.

To use the various classes of solid projectile weapons you must have the Pistol Training (SP), Basic Weapon Training (SP) or Heavy Weapon Training (SP) talents.

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Autopistol Small but effective, autopistols are the

preferred backup weapon of many military types who need a compact but rapid-firing gun for situations where their main long-arm is unsuitable. They are also the sidearm of choice for many gangers and outlaws as they conceal

quite a bit of firepower in a relatively small package that can be stuffed into a pocket and carried all day, while more than a few of those scummers have met their end from another autopistol wielded by an Arbitrator opposite his suppression shield. Numerous autopistol patterns throughout the Imperium are similar enough to fall into this weapon’s entry, while the

Solid Projectile Weapons Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Autopistol (generic) Pistol 30m S/-/6 1d10+2 I 0 18 Full - 2.5kg 75 - Common

Disposable Pistol Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+2 I 0 8 2 Full Inaccurate, Unreliable 2kg 15 - Ubiquitous

Encarmine Pistol 20m S/3/8 1d10 I 0 24 Full - 2kg 90 - Average

Hecuter Pistol 30m S/3/6 1d10+3 I 0 15 Full Reliable 2kg 175 - Average

Naval Pistol Pistol 20m S/3/- 1d10+4 I 0 6 Full Tearing 3kg 120 - Scarce

Orthlack Mark IV Pistol 20m S/-/6 1d10+4 I 0 12 Full - 2.5kg 75 - Scarce

Pistol 20m S/3/6 1d10+2 I 0 15 Full - 1.7kg 100 - Scarce Puritan-14

As shotgun Pistol 15m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 1 Full Scatter

Salvation Pistol 10m S/3/- 1d10 I 0 7 - - 0.7kg 80 - Common

Talon Mark III Pistol 30m S/2/6 1d10+2 I 0 18 Full - 2.3kg 85 - Common

Flametongue Pistol 20m S/-/- 1d10+6 I 0 2 2 Full Primitive, Reliable, Tearing

2kg 140 - Rare

Hand Cannon (generic) Pistol 35m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 2 5 2 Full - 3kg 65 - Average

.54 Tranter Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+5 I 2 7 Full Unreliable 3.5kg 95 - Common

Carnodon Pistol 35m S/3/- 1d10+4 I 2 6 Full Accurate 2.5kg 200 - Scarce

Fate Bringer Pistol 40m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 2 5 2 Full Accurate, Reliable 1.6kg 200 - Rare

Stormchild Pistol 35m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 2 5 2 Full - 3kg 65 - Average

Hack Shotgun Pistol 10m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 1 2 Full Inaccurate, Scatter, Tearing

3kg 60 - Common

Mariette Pistol 20m S/2/- 2d5+3 I 0 2 2 Full Tearing 0.5k 400 - Rare

Mercy Killer Pistol 20m S/-/- 1d10+2 I 0 1 2 Full Inaccurate, Unreliable 1kg 10 - Plentiful

Panoptic Pistol 35m S/2/- 1d10+3 I 0 5 (x2) 2 Full Reliable 2kg 225 - Rare

Ripper Clip Pistol 20m -/-/6 1d10+2 I 0 12 Full Inaccurate, Unreliable 3kg 40 Volg Common

Ripper Pistol Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+1 I 7 8 Full Tearing, Toxic 4kg 2,000 - Extremely Rare

Shotgun Pistol Pistol 10m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 1 Full Reliable, Scatter 1kg 60 - Average

Stub Automatic (generic) Pistol 30m S/3/- 1d10+3 I 0 9 Full - 1.5kg 50 - Plentiful

Armsman-10 Pistol 35m S/3/- 1d10+3 I 0 13 Full - 1.5kg 75 - Plentiful

Dorcas-Pattern Pistol 30m S/3/- 1d10+3 I 0 9 Half - 1.5kg 125 - Rare

Phobos Stubber Pistol 30m S/3/- 1d10+3 I 0 9 Full - 1.3kg 50 - Plentiful

Stub Revolver (generic) Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 0 6 2 Full Reliable 1kg 40 - Plentiful

Scalptaker Pistol 35m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 0 6 2 Full Reliable 2kg 40 - Plentiful

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fanes and forges in the Calixis Sector produce some more exotic variants as listed below.

Disposable Pistol: Stripped down to the bare minimum of functioning parts, autopistols of this type can be commonly found in shipboard and flyer survival kits, and exist in a multitude of shapes and sizes in just about every corner of Imperial space. Because they are poorly made and prone to misfiring, with a clip that is intentionally hard to remove as a precaution against it coming loose, most accomplished pistol fighters consider these weapons easier to throw away than to reload. Even the most destitute of the Imperium’s citizens can typically afford to stuff one of these weapons into their belts, while there are assassins who have been known to use such pistols simply because they can be effortlessly discarded after completing a contract. Disposable pistols cannot be equipped with any special ammunition.

Sulymann Encarmine Service Pistol: This is a fairly advanced autopistol that crams a large number of bullets into its small frame. This combination of small size and high capacity makes it a common sidearm by “second liners” such as plainclothes enforcers, hauler rig crews, and construction foremen. It also enjoys widespread popularity as a self-defence weapon for hab-workers who don’t trust shaky, panicked hands to reloading a fresh clip (or taking steady aim for that matter).

Hecuter 9/5 Combat Autopistol: Often regarded on Scintilla as the “prince among pistols”, this exceptionally well-made autopistol is one of Hax-Orthlack’s most famous products, and for centuries Hecuters have flown off the forges of Gunmetal City into waiting holsters as fast as the workers can make them. It is a firm favourite among Metallican gunslingers and Malfian bloodsworn alike, showing that even the feuding parties of the Scintilla-Malfi dispute can put aside their differences if only to agree on the superiority of the Hecuter’s design.

Naval Pistol: Heavy-duty autopistols that have long been associated with the Imperial Navy, naval pistols are solid and rugged, easily being capable of being used as a club in melee

combat. They are considered part of a ship’s arsenal rather than an issued weapon, and the name of the vessel to which they were attached is stamped into the pistol’s housing. Naval pistols from famous warships are thus particularly sought after by collectors, though this has dubious legality and weapons of this type are not offered for sale by any forges that manufacture them. Naval pistols are designed to make use of specialty fragmenting ammunition which can rip through the bodies of mutinying ratings without causing major damage to a ship’s hardware and systems. In a pinch, they can also be used with other types of autopistol ammunition (but lose the Tearing quality in doing so).

Naval pistol ammunition has a base cost of 30 Thrones on the black market and are Rare items.

Orthlack Mark IV Thollos: This large-calibre autopistol has a strong following among junior officers of many Calixian Guard regiments as well as Planetary Defence Forces who favour its superior stopping power when compared to regulation sidearms. As an Orthlack weapon it is also considered to have the tacit approval of Lord Sector Hax, and it has become a tradition among old military families for sons and daughters to receive a commemoratively inscribed and personalized Thollos to mark their first commission.

Hax-Orthlack Puritan-14 Double Pistol: Squat and ugly, the Puritan-14 is a pure combat pistol meant to impress with killing power rather than looks. The area ahead of the pistol’s grip is occupied by a muzzle-loading shotgun chamber, giving the weapon a very boxy and, according to gangers, “business-like” look. This pistol is produced explicitly for Lord Hax’s Magistratum enforcers, and is the standard sidearm of the elite “Crimson Sashes” unit. Many have also turned up in the hands of Adeptus Arbites troopers who share the Magistratum’s approval of brutally efficient weapons, and there are more than a few on the black market as well. The Puritan-14 can fire its autopistol or shotgun barrel at the firer’s discretion but cannot shoot both in the same round. The shotgun's sharp recoil imposes a -10 penalty to the user’s Ballistic

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Skill unless the weapon is held in two hands or the firer has a Strength Bonus of 4 or more.

Sulymann “Salvation” Holdout Pistol: The Salvation is an extremely compact pistol no larger than a thick deck of cards and intended for use by merchants, adepts, and common citizens who are untrained in weapons. It is entirely self-contained and easy to use with no extraneous levers or knobs, but is also ill-suited for anything but emergency self-defence use since it must be partially dismantled to reload its internal ammunition supply.

The Salvation’s small size grants a +10 bonus to Sleight of Hand Tests made to conceal it, and the firer suffers no penalties for shooting it without the appropriate Talent.

Sulymann Talon III Autopistol: The Talon is a fully-automatic, medium-calibre pistol that offers a good combination of firepower and clip capacity in a package that is modestly easier to wield than more common autopistol types. It is easily maintained and uses a lot of commonly

available parts, and Talon shooters have been known to replace broken components with those borrowed from machines or hab equipment with no loss of function. This pistol enjoys widespread appeal among gangers and enforcers alike and many street battles in Gunmetal City and Hive Sibellus’ lower levels have been fought with both parties using the Talon III.

This pistol can be used with common military autogun clips, increasing its Clip size to 30 at the expense of making it harder to manoeuvre. The added bulk imposes a -10 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack with it unless the shooter uses two hands to hold it.

“Flametongue” Howdah Pistol

The Fykos Forge of Gunmetal City is a prestigious clan of master gunsmiths who specialise in elaborate and finely made hunting weapons, and the Flametongue pistol is no different. This simple and reliable weapon resembles a master-crafted hack shotgun that is

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chambered to fire huge, custom-made soft alloy rounds that break apart on impact to cause horrific wounds. Intended as a last line of defence should a hunter be ambushed by a dangerous thin-skinned predator, there is an expression among professional game hunters that anything that can’t be put down with both shots from a Flametongue is probably something that shouldn’t be hunted in the first place.

Flametongue rounds have a base cost of 10 Thrones each and are Rare. Hand Cannon

“Hand Cannon” is a common expression to refer to very large stub automatics or revolvers that are intended to fire heavy-calibre shots. Pistols of this type are not combat weapons by design – most are intended for use in hunting dangerous creatures, but their large and high velocity projectiles can be used to fell men just as easily as beasts. Most only hold a few thumb-sized bullets within them, and shooters who intend to take hand cannons to a gun battle are well advised to aim carefully. A hand cannon's fierce recoil imposes a -10 penalty on Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack unless the shooter holds the weapon with two hands or has a Strength Bonus of 4 or more. Revolver-type hand cannons can be unjammed as a Half Action rather than a Full Action.

.54 Tranter: This is a giant stub automatic with an operating system more commonly found on full size autoguns. Because they use a removable clip rather than an internal cylinder, the Tranter can be reloaded more quickly than most hand cannons, making it at least somewhat suitable for use in a battle. Pistols of this type are sometimes referred to as a “poor man’s bolter” due to their great takedown power. However, the weapon’s operating parts are notoriously finicky and it is prone to jamming, a trait rarely found among stubbers. That said, the pistol’s intimidating size and shape as well as the racket it makes when shooting means it’s still quite popular in spite of its lack of reliability, and underhive workshops and heretek tinkerers produce this pattern of hand cannon on every

major hive and forge world. The Belasco Deathworks also produce this pistol, and while having a higher quality of fit and finish, their version somehow still jams just as often as the underhive knock-offs.

Because of its monstrous size and recoil, even among hand cannons, the .54 Tranter is considered a Basic weapon unless the shooter has a Strength Bonus of 4 or higher.

Westingkrup “Carnodon” Precision Pistol: No mere blunt tool, the Carnodon is finely made and well-balanced, with some claiming it fits in the hand better than many lighter autopistols. This stub automatic is intentionally designed to resemble a bolt pistol, bulky yet elegant, and is an accurate and powerful weapon when placed in skilled hands. Carnodon pistols fetch a high price in arms markets, so wearing one is a sign of status among underhive gangs in Scintilla’s Hive Sibellus, while more than a few troopers of the Adeptus Arbites have spent their own wages to pick up a Carnodon of their own thanks to its many positive qualities (not the least of which being the intimidation factor of blowing a ganger’s head clean off). A few have also been picked up by Acolytes of the Calixian Conclave and enforcers of Calixis’ great houses.

Khayer-Addin “Fate Bringer” Revolver: A perfectly balanced and sleek pistol, this very large stub revolver looks smaller than it actually is thanks to its attractive, flowing shape. Well-made revolvers of this type are commonly used to “settle affairs of honour” among hive nobles as they have the requisite combination of showmanship and killing power necessary to win a duel in one shot. They also make fine hunting weapons and target pistols, and a few assassins have been known to make use of a Fate Bringer as a means to execute a target at range (or one who is fleeing…) when a larger sniper rifle would be impractical.

Stormchild Hand Cannon: The Stormchild is a venerable and proven design taking the form of a massive hinged-frame stub revolver. While totally lacking in subtlety with a wide barrel, thick frame, and massive report, the Stormchild offers a lot of firepower in a very affordable

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package. For less than the price of most autopistols, a shooter can put a big enough slug in the air that can knock a man out of light armour or damage grav-cars and other civilian vehicles. Stormchilds are manufactured by most forges in the Calixis Sector and are commonly used by naval boarding parties, Administratum inspectors, and as a self-defence weapon by more paranoid civilians. Its size and weight allow it to be used as a club in melee combat, and most feature a wide pommel for just this purpose.

Hack Shotgun

Known by a wide variety of nicknames on different worlds and systems, this is a conventional twin-barrelled shotgun cut down to the smallest possible size, fitted with a pistol grip and rigged to fire both barrels at once. Although very short-ranged and anything but a precision weapon, a hack shotgun can obliterate an unarmoured target with a salutary effect on nearby bystanders. Hack shotguns make a nasty surprise to pull out of a boot holster or a grav-car’s glove compartment, but they are by no means a suitable weapon for heavy combat, as many a ganger has found out while being gunned down by carapace-wearing enforcers.

A hack shotgun fires both barrels at once, consuming two shotgun shells with each firing. It can also fire one shell at a time at reduced damage (change Damage to 1d10+4 and lose the Tearing quality).

Mariette Cylinder Pistol

Named for the Malfian noble house said to have originated the design, the Mariette is an extremely concealable stubber crafted from polyflex and ceramics with no metallic or powered components. Its four chamber-barrels are self-contained and the whole pistol is designed to break down into a handful of small parts that can be concealed inside some innocuous object, such as a data-slate, or hidden around the wearer’s body. Disassembled, the Mariette is almost totally imperceptible as a weapon, making it a top choice for those who want a gun on themselves in situations where it

would ordinarily be forbidden; this makes it popular with nobles and VIPs and those who would try to kill them alike, a truly Malfian weapon if there ever was one.

When disassembled and hidden a Mariette is almost impossible to find (-30 penalty on Search Tests), and the parts don’t show up on scanners or auspex as weapons. Mariette barrel-cylinders are themselves Rare items with a base price of 100 Thrones each, cannot be configured with any special ammunition, and are not individually reloadable.

Volg Mercy Killer

So named because it’s “a mercy if it kills what you’re aiming at”, this weapon is typical of any number of crude, scratch-built pistols used by the desperate and the oppressed across the realms of mankind. Fashioned from whatever materials are on hand, these single-shot stub pistols are far from accurate and can be as dangerous to the shooter as what’s being shot at. In the Volg hive, the provision of Mercy Killers has gone far and above enterprising criminals home-brewing up guns: the “higher powers” on Fenksworld see to it that Mercy Killers are manufactured en masse to subsidize the non-stop violence there. Indeed, a Mercy Killer and a handful of bullets cost less in Volg than a trencher of parboiled murk fungus with an obligatory demi-litre of recyk water to wash it down with.

Mercy Killers cost 2 Thrones on Volg and similar hives. If a Mercy Killer suffers a Jam result, roll 1d10. If the result is a “9” the pistol explodes, inflicting its Damage on its firer and destroying the gun.

Panoptic 0-5 Automata Pistol

More art than weapon, Automata Pistols are more likely to be found in a private collection than a ganger’s holster giving their unique creation. These pistols are tied to the Myrmidon Warsmiths of the Adeptus Mechanicus, taking their name from the Panopticon Orbital fortress/manufactorum which serves as one of the Mechanicus headquarters in the Calixis

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Sector. Would-be Tech-Priest armourers under tutelage are given complex and randomly incomplete patterns for this weapon, and through skill and divination must produce a complete pistol to the satisfaction of their master. Once completed, this examination pistol is vaporised on a plasma-fired altar to the Machine God and the aspirant is granted the equivalent of a journeyman’s title. It is quite common for Tech-Priests who have studied at the Panopticon, even high-ranking Magi, to continue to make Panoptic pistols in this ritualistic way as a form of meditation or while contemplating a difficult task. Sometimes these reproduction pistols are retained as a personal armament, given as a gift to a favoured servant, or offered for sale to interested buyers.

These intricate automata-guns feature two separate ammunition cylinders and count as

being fitted with a Fire Selector upgrade. They can use any special ammunition used by autopistols or stub pistols, and count as a Best Craftsmanship weapon when wielded by the Tech-Priest that crafted it. Volg “Ripper Clip” Pistol

Known locally as the “zip gun” or “chopper”, this bulky pistol is purposely designed to be as cheap as possible to manufacture and maintain. The Ripper Clip is made from industrial spares and crude pressed metal parts, and might pass for a construction tool such as a nailer or riveter at first glance. The riveter appearance is further compounded by the sheet metal strip, holding a line of stubber bullets, which is forcibly wrenched through the pistol as it fires, clattering to the ground along with the hot bullet casings when the weapon is expended. Despite the gun’s many shortcomings, there’s no shortage of buyers in Volg, as it is a place where any extra firepower can keep your corpse from the meat-sumps for a while longer.

Ripper Clips have Common Availability in Volg and are Scarce elsewhere.

Belasco Ripper Pistol

This highly rare pistol is intended for those who often set foot on death worlds whether for adventure, sport, or some other line of work, and need a compact weapon that can fell mighty beasts and other terrible creatures that lurk within the jungle or under the sands. Though at first glance looking like a common if over-built autopistol, a Ripper Pistol is a precision weapon built to fire massive armour-piercing stub rounds that fragment after penetrating the target’s body. After shredding through flesh and bone, the fragments release a potent neurotoxin into the victim creature’s bloodstream to ensure that if the grievous wound didn’t do the job, its nervous system dissolving will. Ripper Pistols are often the final word in terminal close encounters, and there are more than a few famed explorers and hunters who are alive today thanks to the (large) investment made in one of these weapons. While a Ripper Pistol would certainly

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be just as effective against men as beasts, such use would be excessive in every sense of the word, and even using a bolt pistol would be a far more economical option.

Ripper Pistols use specialty ammunition that is considered Very Rare with a base cost of 100 Thrones each. A true expert’s weapon, Ripper Pistols cannot be used with any other type of ammunition.

Shotgun Pistol

A Shotgun Pistol is a compact weapon holding a single shotgun shell and using a tip-up barrel to facilitate reloading. Simple and reliable, shotgun pistols have a variety of applications in close-range destruction, but are perhaps best known in naval circles where they are often carried by petty officers and bosuns to discourage mutiny among press-ganged crews. Shotgun pistols are known as “Persuaders” among ratings and anyone else with a nautical background, and may be referred to by any number of more colourful titles (“Foehammer”, “Castigator”, “Justicar”, and so forth) by terrestrial users.

A shotgun pistol's fierce recoil imposes a -10 penalty on Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack unless the shooter holds the weapon with two hands or has a Strength Bonus of 4 or more.

Stub Automatic

Mechanically simple and robust, stub automatics are one of the more prevalent types of slug-throwing pistols around. They typically take the form of slide-action handguns with a clip inserted into the pistol’s grip and eject spent bullet casings to the shooter’s right side. Stubbers like this are older than the Imperium itself, and while there are still many forges that produce modern patterns of this tried-and-true weapon, it’s likely that there’s still plenty truly ancient pistols in use, possibly without the knowledge of their current owners. Some more unique stub automatics are listed here.

Hax-Orthlack Armsman-10 Service Pistol: This bulky and intimidating high-capacity stubber is a common sidearm for enforcers,

household troops and mercenaries throughout the Calixis Sector. The design is copied from the traditional Scorpio-pattern naval pistol popular throughout Segmentum Obscurus, and Hax-Orthlack has been mass producing this stubber for almost as long as its forges on Scintilla have been operating. The Armsman-10 has been contracted to Lord Hax’s Magistratum cadres as their standard sidearm since that organization’s inception, though it can be found on many other worlds in the employ of a variety of owners. Armsman pistols are machine-stamped with the insignia of the contracting organization at the time of manufacture, and the more rare examples lacking this sigil or cipher are considered unlucky by the more superstitious shooters. Perhaps due to its association with the heavies of various establishments, the Armsman is encountered much less frequently in the hands of underhive gangs and other scummers.

Dorcas-Pattern Trophy Automatic: Once manufactured on Cantus in the Markayn Marches, this pistol became widely associated with the Insurrection there in 440.M41. Many Dorcas pistols were taken from the battlefield as trophies by victorious Guard regiments, and after the Insurrection was concluded the pistol became something of an award in and of itself. Tradition has since resulted in replica Dorcas-Patterns being issued as commendations to soldiers and junior officers among many Guard units (including some that did not participate in the Cantus Insurrection at all), while relics from the war itself are highly valued by collectors. Functionally the Dorcas is a fairly unremarkable stubber except for its angled and funnel-like loading port which allows fresh clips to be rammed home quickly with ease.

Phobos Stubber: The Phobos is one of the most widespread single patterns of stub automatic and can be found in almost every corner of the Imperium. It is cheap to manufacture and a functional, if unimpressive, design that is unique among stubbers in that its specific pattern has demonstrably been in production since prehistory. Its long association with Terra has resulted in it being an

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exceptionally common sidearm among Administratum adepts who refer to it as the “Sigma-9” after the opening code-line of the relevant requisition form needed to obtain one. The Fane of Doru in Gunmetal City and the Belasco Deathworks on Malfi (where it is known as a “rake” in local parlance) notably produce this pattern and export it throughout the sector.

Stub Revolver

Stub revolvers are among the most basic and simplistic slug throwers still in use in the Imperium today. Weapons of this type were likely among the first firearms ever made by humans, and Administratum scholars studying late feudal worlds have noted the extreme similarities between indigenously-developed sixguns and the stub revolvers tucked into their own robe sashes. Stub revolvers have few moving parts, and while many patterns and styles are produced by large forges throughout the Imperium, others of equivalent quality can often be made simply by higher grade scav-workshops as anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of mechanics and access to a few machining presses can make one, much to the consternation of the Adeptus Mechanicus. This type of pistol is also quite easy to use, and given their inexpensive cost, stub revolvers are often the first choice of many common Imperial citizens who desire temporal protection to go along with that of faith’s eternal. In the unlikely event that a sub revolver should Jam, clearing it takes only a Half Action instead of a Full Action.

Westingkrup Model 20 “Scalptaker”: An enviable example of robust and utilitarian design, the Scalptaker is a fantastically reliable pistol, firing true after almost any amount of abuse or mistreatment. This fact is not lost on professional fighters, frightened hivers and frontier colonists alike, who often choose the Scalptaker as a backup sidearm over more powerful pistols for this very reason. However, in the depths of Infernis

in Gunmetal City where Westingkrup’s forges turn out many of these pistols every day, the average ganger seeks to carry almost anything else. This scorn is entirely unfounded; those who live fast and die young in the underhive view its ubiquity as a “hab-prole’s” gun and cannot see past that to any of its finer features. Scalptakers are the most common individual pattern of stub revolver in the Calixis Sector, and almost any accomplished shooter has handled one at least once, with some still swearing by its humble efficiency in the face of countless more expensive and “superior” makes.

The Scalptaker’s swing-out cylinder is somewhat uncommon among stub revolvers and gives shooters the ability to load single rounds at a time. The firer may load one round as a Half Action, useful for loading specialty ammunition. The weapon’s size and weight allow it to be used as a club in melee combat.

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Fykos Forge “Absolution” Sniper Rifle Class: Basic (SP)

The Fykos Forge is best known for its high quality and expensive hunting weapons, and there are many among the Calixian elite who consider a Fykos-made gun as a prerequisite for any kind of serious expedition. The

“Absolution” Sniper Rifle is an oddity among weapons manufactured there, being an explicitly military design with a functional and no-nonsense appearance. While lacking in frills and aesthetic features, the Absolution is built to the same standard of accuracy and quality as any of Fykos’ much more ornate and expensive hunting

Solid Projectile Weapons Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Absolution Basic 220m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 6 Full Accurate 4kg 250 - Rare

Assault Cannon Heavy 120m -/-/10 3d10+4 I 5 200 3 Full Storm, Tearing, Unreliable 50kg† 7,000 - Very Rare

Assault Stubber Basic 100m -/-/6 1d10+4 I 3 200 2 Full Storm 21kg† 1,300 - Rare

Autocannon Heavy 300m S/2/5 4d10+5 I 4 20 2 Full - 55kg 1,000 - Scarce

Autogun (generic) Basic 90m S/3/10 1d10+3 I 0 30 Full - 3.5kg 100 - Average

Alcher Mark IV Basic 60m S/-/10 1d10+3 I 0 40 Full - 3.5kg 85 - Average

Armageddon Basic 100m S/2/6 1d10+4 I 0 15 Full Reliable 8.5kg 100 - Average

Creed-9 Basic 50m S/3/10 1d10+3 I 0 35 Full - 3kg 115 - Average

Basic 80m S/3/10 1d10+3 I 0 20 (x3)

Full (each)

- 6.5kg 375 - Rare Spectre

As shotgun Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 4 2 Full Scatter

Auto-Stubber Basic 60m S/3/- 1d10+4 I 0 20 Full Inaccurate, Reliable 5kg 80 - Average

Combat Shotgun Basic 30m S/3/- 1d10+4 I 0 18 Full Scatter 6.5kg 150 - Scarce

Ironclaw Basic 30m S/2/- 1d10+4 I 0 12 Full Reliable, Scatter 6.5kg 80 - Scarce

Persecutor Basic 35m S/3/- 1d10+4 I 0 10 (x2)

2 Full (each) Reliable, Scatter 7kg 500 - Rare

Vanaheim Basic 40m S/3/6 1d10+4 I 0 15 Full Scatter 8kg 300 - Average

Heavy Stubber Heavy 120m -/-/10 1d10+5 I 3 200 2 Full - 35kg 750 - Scarce

Bulldog Heavy 100m -/-/8 1d10+5 I 3 40 Full Reliable 26kg 1,500 - Rare

Hunting Rifle Basic 150m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 0 5 Full Accurate 5kg 100 - Scarce

Nomad Basic 250m S/-/- 1d10+5 I 4 4 Full Accurate, Reliable 10kg 2,000 - Very Rare

Pax Factorem Heavy 170m S/2/- 1d10+5 I 3 5 Full Accurate, Unreliable 18kg 750 - Rare

Pump-action Shotgun Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 8 2 Full Scatter 5kg 75 - Average

Slayer Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 6 2 Full Inaccurate, Scatter 3.5kg 70 - Average

Shotcannon Heavy 40m S/3/- 2d10+4 I 0 24 2 Full Scatter, Unreliable 12kg 700 Void Scarce

Shotgun (generic) Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 2 2 Full Reliable, Scatter 5kg 60 - Common

Blackhammer Basic 20m S/-/- 2d10 I 0 1 2 Full Inaccurate, Scatter 4.7kg 250 - Rare

Meat Hammer Basic 30m S/-/- 2d5+6 I 0 1 3 Full Scatter, Tearing 5kg 80 - Scarce

Steadholder Basic 100m S/-/- 1d10+4 I 0 6 Full - 5kg 50 - Plentiful

VI Crank Cannon Heavy 70m -/-/5 1d10+5 I 0 100 3 Full Unreliable 38kg 500 - Average

Void Speargun Basic 10m S/-/- 1d10+2 R 2 1 Full - 1.5kg 45 Void Average

†Not including ammo pack

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instruments. Absolution rifles are far less ubiquitous than Guard-favoured long las weapons and simplistic and basic compared to needle rifles used by snipers and assassins alike, but they have the advantage of versatility as they are designed to use cheap, commonly-available autogun ammunition. This sniper rifle is used in limited numbers by Lord Hax’s Magistratum enforcers on Scintilla, and has found some followers among the Adeptus Arbites and other security forces.

This weapon has a built-in silencer and includes a telescopic sight, which can be removed and replaced with other types of sights with an Easy (+30) Trade (Armourer) Test or an Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use or Trade (Technomat) Test. It can be used with any type of autogun ammunition.

Assault Cannon Class: Heavy (SP)

Assault cannons are among the most powerful slug-throwing weapons in production, and are a relatively “new” armament as far as the Imperium’s arsenal goes. Six rotary barrels are spun by an external motor to force a vast volume of diamantine slugs into the air, and a powered ammunition feed forcibly stuffs new rounds into the gun at a blistering rate. Because of their extremely rapid consumption of ammo and staggering recoil, assault cannons are almost always deployed as a vehicular weapon, and even a mighty Space Marine would have some difficulty using one as a handheld armament.

Assault cannons use high-calibre bullets that are not interchangeable with any other weapons. The listed Rate of Fire and Clip size are purely statistical conveniences; in realistic terms, assault cannons can fire over a thousand shots in a single Round. An assault cannon requires an external ammunition hopper weighing 35kg to gain the stated Clip size.

Echon Mark III Assault Stubber Class: Basic (SP)

Heavy stubbers are used by a variety of forces, including some Imperial Guard regiments, as a support weapon for advancing assault troops. The weapon’s bulky and unwieldy size is detrimental to this role, however, and some enterprising arms makers have concocted a specialized stubber more useful for attacking on the move. It is essentially two heavy stubbers with shortened barrels in a stripped-down, shared housing which puts forth a large volume of shots at once. An assault stubber also has a number of features designed to make it easier to manoeuvre, such as a top-mounted pistol grip, and the weapon is designed to be fired from the hip. This assault stubber is not manufactured in the Calixis Sector but has been imported in large quantities, and is a favoured weapon for mercenary companies and some Planetary

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Defence Forces who require mobile firepower but can’t obtain or afford bolt weapons.

An assault stubber includes a backpack ammo pack weighing 25kg that provides the stated Clip size, and is considered a heavy stubber for the purposes of compatible specialty ammunition.

Autocannon Class: Heavy (SP)

Another ancient weapon, autocannons are basically large-bore stubbers that fire monolithic solid shells at a modest rate. The hammering of an autocannon is often sufficient to stop a charge by a large amount of troops, either by its fearsome report or simply blowing through swaths of the enemy ranks. Autocannons are typically installed on Imperial armoured vehicles but are also commonly used as heavy support weapons by two-man teams, though some especially burly soldiers have been known to man-haul an autocannon around by themselves. Autocannons are fed by a removable drum, which is usually tended to by the second man in a heavy weapons team.

Autocannons use high-calibre bullets that are not interchangeable with other types of weapons.

Autogun Class: Basic (SP)

Autoguns are a staple weapon across the Imperium, and after lasguns are likely the most common rifle-type gun handled by Imperial citizens. They are simpler than lasguns and can be cheaply manufactured on worlds which are less developed, but any sort of implied inferiority flies in the face of their ubiquity in hives and frontier worlds alike. Most autoguns are rapid-firing automatics that use standardized low-calibre caseless rounds, easily stocked on almost any world in the Imperium, and many hive cities stockpile huge caches of these weapons with which to arm the middle-hive citizens in the event of a planetary invasion. Autoguns can also be commonly found in the employ of gangers and recidivists, household enforcers, PDF soldiers, and even some xenos have been known to wield weaponry compatible with Imperial

ammunition. Most autoguns are similar enough to be considered the same type of weapon, while some more unique patterns are listed here.

Alcher Mark IV Combat Autogun: A fairly simple weapon among autoguns, this pattern can be widely found in the arsenals of many PDFs throughout the Calixis Sector. The basic controls (one shot or full automatic) are well-suited towards troops in those organizations whose training usually isn’t as good as their counterparts in the Imperial Guard, and the Alcher employs larger-size clips than most autoguns to keep up with the rapid shooting.

Armageddon-Pattern Autogun: This pattern of autogun has its origin on the war-torn world of the same name in Segmentum Solar, and many of the Imperium’s foes who have invaded that planet found themselves cut down by its large-calibre bullets. In the Calixis Sector clones of this pattern are manufactured by the Belasco Deathworks as well as lesser forges on Malfi, and after being heavily used during the Tranch Insurrection it is widely distributed in the Malfian Subsector. Uncomplicated, loud, and lethal, the Armageddon is an unapologetic brick of a gun that can make an effective melee weapon simply on the providence of its heavy construction and shrouded barrel (treat as a staff when used in this way), and many examples have stood up to abuse and kept shooting in ways that would make lasguns seem fragile.

Hax-Orthlack Creed-9 Autogun: There are few autoguns better suited for close-quarters warfare than the Creed-9. This Orthlack gun is based off of an out-sector pattern formerly used by Naval boarding parties, and makes many compromises to improve its handling. Made with lightweight materials and using a collapsing wire stock, the Creed-9 is only slightly larger than military autopistols and is a favoured weapon for numerous kill squads and private troops of noble houses and Chartist Captains. Many of Lord Hax’s Magistratum enforcers in Hive Sibellus carry these compact autoguns under their long green coats to ensure that they are always well-armed against scummers who aren’t deterred by their reputation for excessive

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force. Because of this association with elites and professional troopers, many Creed-9s sport numerous upgrades such as red dot sights, expanded mag-ports or fire selectors.

The Creed-9 is compact enough that it imparts a -10 rather than -20 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests if wielded with one hand, and can also be fired in melee as if was a pistol.

Cadence “Spectre” Assault Device: One of the few widely known weapons produced by Cadence, the Spectre deserves its superlative title. Technically, it is a heavily reinforced autogun with a tri-mag shot selection system, giving it a huge volume of fire and the ability to seamlessly switch between different ammunition types. There is also an integral shotgun mounted below the main barrel shroud, giving the user even more firepower and a hidden heavy punch to boot. A finely crafted and functional weapon in every respect, the Spectre is intended for use by mercenaries and other heavies expecting to get into serious firefights. The weapon’s only real detractors are those who question its high complexity and cost among autoguns, which isn’t far off from that of an unquestionably superior bolter’s.

The Spectre may fire as an autogun or shotgun but not both during the same Round, and is considered to have three individual Clips with a built-in fire selector upgrade already installed.

Auto-Stubber Class: Basic (SP)

Though largely superseded by autoguns for many millennia, self-loading stub rifles are a class of weapon that has stubbornly refused to succumb to irrelevance. Compared to most common styles of autoguns, an auto-stubber is an overbuilt gun that tends to jerk about in the shooter's hands as its heavy operating parts rattle off bullets and spew smoky metallic casings like a malfunctioning auto-quill. However, while

lacking in precision and good looks, an auto-stubber's simple construction and generous tolerances mean it can keep firing even after suffering horrendous abuse. No major forge or manufactorum produces auto-stubbers in the Calixis Sector, but the fact that they can be built with very basic machinery and equipment means a whole slew of minor factories and workshops can churn these weapons out on the cheap. Auto-stubbers are commonly the purview of hive gangers and low-grade enforcers, though more irregular PDF troopers might be seen with them as well.

Auto-stubbers can fire any kind of stub pistol ammunition.

Combat Shotgun Class: Basic (SP)

Combat shotguns are bulky, hard-hitting weapons designed to shoot the same type of

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shells as those commonly used by frontier settlers and hunters, the ability to blast apart an unarmoured target just as applicable in a hive as on the plains. A combat shotgun is separated from other shell-firing smoothbores by its self-loading operation, with some having more in common with autoguns than other shotguns. Combat shotguns hammer out an intimidating racket when fired, and while they may be something of an unofficial symbol of the Adeptus Arbites, their firepower is appreciated by other Imperial organizations and criminal enterprises alike. Most combat shotguns look

more like oversized autoguns with huge ammunition drums and function on a similar basis, while others are intentionally designed like pump-action versions except with a self-loading feature. Combat shotguns of this type have a Clip size of 8 and take 2 Full Actions to Reload, but can load a single shell as a Half Action, useful for quickly employing specialty ammunition. Some unusual patterns found in the Calixis Sector are listed here.

Cypra-Mundi “Ironclaw” Shotgun: Naval combat shotguns such as this one are designed to withstand the rigors of the void and have a reinforced and weighted stock, making it perfectly functional as a close combat weapon (use the weapon profile of a staff). Ironclaw shotguns are common shipboard weapons within Battlefleet Calixis, and numerous merchant vessels, Chartist ships and other voidfaring types have followed suit with large storage lockers that unlock automatically to arm the crew against boarders or to suppress mutinies. Of course, more than a few rating rebellions have succeeded in the capture of a ship specifically because a large volume of Ironclaws were accidentally released into their hands via the same method.

Persecutor-Pattern Riot Gun: This specific pattern is produced by a number of fanes and forges in the Calixis Sector as a dedicated enforcer's weapon, although some precinct-forts of the Adeptus Arbites are known to favour this style of shotgun as well. The Persecutor is a rugged, blocky shotgun that stores its shells in two parallel tubes above the barrel, allowing the shooter to have two full clips' worth of shells loaded at once, with a clockwork mechanism automatically switching over to the second tube when the first runs dry. The double-tube configuration can also be used to store specialty ammunition, such as shock or snare shells, with a simple lever selecting which tube to load shells from. Finally, the Persecutor features an integrated shock pad that projects out above the barrel; this feature is handy for controlling disturbances, freeing the shooter up from retrieving a secondary weapon by simply

A GALAXY OF BULLETS... Lasguns, with a few exceptions, can be powered by a charge pack made just about anywhere in the Imperium. Slug-throwers have no such benefit, often featuring a bewildering range and variety of bullets, cartridges, and rounds of ammunition that could fill entire tomes just from the guns made on a single forge world, nevermind an entire sector. The following is a general rule-of-thumb for Acolytes to consider when choosing a solid projectile weapon. Stub Weapons: Stub automatics, stub revolvers, hand cannons, hunting rifles, heavy stubbers, and some other weapons use stub ammunition. These metallic-cased bullets generally can only be used in a single type of gun; bullets meant for a stub automatic might be usable in other stub automatics, but could never be used with a hand cannon or heavy stubber. Autoguns and Autopistols: These types of weapons use caseless ammunition that can be used in many different types of weapons; caseless bullets that fit in an autopistol will fit in an autogun just as well. Unless otherwise stated in the weapon's description, autoguns and autopistols can freely share bullets between one another without any issue. Everything Else: Autocannons, Ripper Pistols, and other large or unusual solid projectile weapons will typically make use of their own type of bullet which cannot be used with any other guns. Sometimes, these types of weapons will have a specific cost and Availability listed for their ammunition as well.

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jamming the business end of his Persecutor into the face of a miscreant.

The Persecutor is considered to have two individual Clips with a fire selector upgrade already installed, and can be used in melee as a standard shock staff.

Vanaheim Skitarii Assault Shotgun: A terrifying weapon made even more so by the Skitarii Tech-Guards often wielding them, Vanaheim shotguns are brutally efficient weapons that form the standard armament of most Skitarii-Provosts charged with enforcing law on forge worlds controlled by the Mechanicus. Skitarii are as uncompromising as the Vanaheims they carry and use these shotguns to violently put down everything from hab-worker crime rings to full scale labour-helot uprisings (with equal force).

The Vanaheim includes a built-in red-dot laser sight which does not count against the weapon’s one sight limit as well as retractable saw-bladed bayonet, allowing the Vanaheim to be used as a mono-edge axe in melee.

Heavy Stubber Class: Heavy (SP)

Another ancient weapon that is still in use due to its mechanical simplicity and ease of manufacture, heavy stubbers are one of the few military stub weapons that can commonly be found in the arsenals of many armed forces. Most Imperial Guard regiments have replaced these weapons with bolters, but a few holdouts remain, and there are still quite common among smaller PDFs and as mainstay support weapons on lower-tech worlds. The more professional hive gangers also seem to be able to acquire these weapons with alarming frequency, and many gang wars have come to an abrupt end thanks to a grav-car with a heavy stubber pintle-mounted in the rear compartments.

A heavy stubber can be equipped with an ammunition drum instead of a belt hopper, reducing its Weight to 30kg, Clip size to 40 and Reload time to a Full Action.

Bulldog Heavy Stubber: Lightened and shortened, the Bulldog heavy stubber is a

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support weapon used primarily by Arbitrators in heavy combat and suppression operations. With a shorter barrel and cut-down housing, the Bulldog's handling and portability is greatly improved compared to common patterns, and a second grip mounted above the barrel allows it to be fired from the hip. Indeed, the Bulldog lacks normal sights of any kind, relying on a built-in motion predictor to riddle its targets with large-calibre bullets. While nominally intended as a support weapon, the reduced size and mass mean it can be used in an assault configuration, and Arbitrators issued the Bulldog are well known for employing its auto-tracking features for short-range room clearing and other actions usually reserved for shotguns. After the Adeptus Arbites, the most common user of the Bulldog are better-funded enforcer outfits, such as Lord Hax's Magistratum, but select numbers of mercenary groups and security guilds are known to employ the weapon too.

The Bulldog includes a built-in motion predictor. Its superior handling characteristics treat the shooter as though they had the Bulging Biceps talent as long as they have a Strength Bonus of at least 4.

Hunting Rifle Class: Basic (SP)

Hunting rifles are accurate and powerful stubbers that can commonly be found in the hands of frontier settlers and expert hunters alike. Simple and robust to a point, most hunting rifles are manually operated repeaters that can drop game (beast or otherwise) from a long distance in the hands of a skilled shooter, and while by and large a civilian’s weapon, many have been pressed into use in more combat-oriented roles where they are still quite functional. Most common hunting rifles include a telescopic sight.

“Nomad” Hunting Instrument Class: Basic (SP)

Possibly the most famous weapon produced in Gunmetal City, the Nomad is unquestionably the most accurate slug-thrower available in the

Calixis Sector, and according to some can put two bullets through one hole a kilometre away. Allegedly the design was the work of Angevin’s personal gunsmith, while some explanations go that the Nomad is far older and hails from a line produced on Holy Terra itself. Either way, Fykos Forge produces perhaps ten of these exquisitely-crafted weapons in a year, invariably to commission and even then only to those who actually intend to use the weapon (the artisans of Fykos Forge considering it a grave insult to treat one of their weapons as a "wall-hanger"). Each one is customized to some degree, either for length of stock, trigger shape or pressure, or the choice of materials for the housing. It includes a bracket for mounting a sight though none are included with it as any true hunter will doubtless already have the exact one they’d like to use.

The Nomad uses special stub ammunition which is considered Rare, with a base price of 20 Thrones each.

Raffir "Pax Factorem" Rifle Class: Heavy (SP)

The Pax Factorem is Scintillan example of massive, brutish rifles designed to chamber and fire large stub bullets normally used in heavy stubbers. Producing monstrous recoil and a fierce flash at the muzzle, weapons of this type can flatten enemies behind cover or protected by most common forms of personal armour, and the easy availability of stubber rounds on most worlds will not leave the shooter suffering for lack of rare and costly ammunition. The great mass and length of the weapon make it cumbersome to heft around, and as a result it is most frequently used from a stationary position, typically a vantage point where the wielder can set up and observe the area below. In Gunmetal City Raffir-made weapons are often favoured by gangers and fane heavies alike, and "portable cannons" like the Pax Factorem aren't uncommon in the employ of snipers and assassins that lurk among the gantries, heating ducts, gargoyles, statuary, and gleaming lumen-banners that form the hive's sky. Many revolts and "labour disputes" have been brought to an

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end by the death of a leader on one side, often via a shot from a Raffir rifle, and the calm that follows is commonly thought of as the origin of the weapon's name.

Pax Factorem rifles can fire any ammunition usable by a heavy stubber. The weapon can also be used with custom hand-loaded bullets (considered Rare with a base cost of 20 Thrones for a full clip), in which case it loses the Unreliable quality.

Pump-action Shotgun Class: Basic (SP)

Simple and practical, pump-action shotguns are manually-operated slug-throwers which replace a standard shotgun’s lower barrel with a tubular ammunition supply. Popular with settlers defending their homes and gangers in search of cheap firepower, all could agree that there are few things as satisfying (or terrifying) as the sound of a shotgun’s pump being racked. Much like stubbers, shotguns of this type are a truly ancient design that likely predates known history, and have been produced by major forges and scav-workshops alike for their low cost and high capacity. Most common pump-action shotguns can load a single shell as a Half Action, useful for deploying specialty ammunition.

Westingkrup “Slayer” Pump Shotgun: The Slayer is a classically functional design from the Westingkrup Fane in Gunmetal City, intended as a backup weapon for vehicle crews and PDF troopers, but can now be commonly found among a variety of users throughout Calixis. The Slayer can be instantly recognized by its blockish body and stockless design, ending in a simple pistol grip that allows for quick aiming, even in confined spaces. It is said that almost as many of these shotguns end up in the hands of deep-hive scum as are supplied to the Munitorum for reasons which remain unclear, although one cannot criticise their choice of weapon. One local variant, referred to as the “Bonefinger”, is crafted from heat-resistant ceramics and used for hunting dangerous Scoldbats in the upper reaches of Hive Tarsus. A weapon made of conventional materials might warp fail in such

extreme conditions, and this particular pattern has caught on with scavengers who get dangerously close to geothermal heat sinks and plasma reactors whilst looking for appealing junk to collect.

The Slayer is compact enough that it imparts a -10 rather than -20 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests if wielded with one hand, and can also be fired in melee as if was a pistol.

Naval Shotcannon Class: Heavy (SP)

A massive shotgun-like weapon, shotcannons are explicitly designed tools of mayhem meant to lay waste to boarders within the confines of a ship’s companionways and passages. A

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shotcannon’s shells are more than twice the size of those of most shotguns, and can reduce a man into a spray of flesh and clothing even through reinforced void suits. Due to extreme recoil, shotcannons are typically operated from fixed positions or on mag-tripods where they can be quickly deployed against the deck or any other available surface.

A shotcannon's Scatter quality may score additional hits on targets up to 10 metres away. Shotcannon shells are designed to function within a void environment, and the shotcannon loses the Unreliable quality when fired there. Shotcannon shells have a base cost of 15 Thrones each and an Availability of Scarce around large space stations and planetary dock yards, while the shells and shotcannon itself have an Availability of Rare elsewhere.

Shotgun Class: Basic (SP)

Shotguns are among the most basic ranged weapons mass-produced in the Imperium. Elaborate patterns manufactured by large forges may have polished wood stocks and inlaid designs, while humble metal and resin housings are typical for those made in scav-workshops and on low-tech worlds, but at their core all standard shotguns consist of a pair of chamber-barrels into which one shell each is loaded. Being so rudimentary and uncomplicated, even cheaply made shotguns will almost always fire when the trigger is pulled even after enduring incredible abuse or neglect, a fact not lost on all matters of Imperial citizens from settlers and hive-workers to gangers and Administratum inspectors. A shotgun can load one shell at a time as a Full Action. Both barrels can also be fired at once which gives the attack the Tearing quality. The vast majority of shotguns in the Imperium fall into this weapon type; a few more unique patterns available in the Calixis Sector are listed here.

Scatheros “Blackhammer” Defence Shotgun: Notorious for its sheer destructive power, the Blackhammer comprises of a carefully fitted barrel to an equally well-crafted

stock and firing mechanism, all constructed to safely fire an enormous shell nearly twice the size of those used in standard-size shotguns. Each Blackhammer shell is custom-made and filled with dozens of pellets the size of stub rounds, backed by a massive charge; the Blackhammer’s high quality construction is necessary to prevent the gun from coming apart when it fires. Blackhammer shotguns are intended for use as emergency “failure to stop” weapons by hunters and explorers on dangerous feral and death worlds, but examples have turned up in the hands of under-hive gangers who put their massive firepower to good use in obliterating rival scummers and other victims.

The Blackhammer’s Scatter quality may score additional hits on targets up to 5 metres away. Unless the firer has a Strength Bonus of 4 or higher, the weapon's crushingly powerful recoil imposes a -10 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests made to hit with it. Blackhammer shells have a base cost of 20 Thrones each and are Very Rare.

Volg Meat Hammer Scattergun: Volg’s violent gangers have created an even more brutal and savage variation on common shotguns to stamp their authority on any who dare cross them. The Meat Hammer, so named for its ability to turn the flesh of its victim into a splatter of unrecognisable bits, is a triple-barrel open-choke shotgun which fires all three shells at once. Though crude and ungainly, its firepower can all but annihilate a living body, and when fired at point-blank range (as Volg gangers are wont to do) can even punch through light personal armour on sheer force alone.

The Meat Hammer will violently disassemble itself due to unbalanced recoil forces if attempted to be fired with anything other than three of the same type of shells loaded.

Westingkrup Steadholder Rifle Class: Basic (SP)

Made in the millions by Westingkrup and copied by dozens of lesser forges throughout the Calixis Sector, the Steadholder is a heavy-calibre stub rifle loaded by a very distinctive lever mechanism. The Steadholder may not be the

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finest or most famed weapon to come from Gunmetal City’s forges, but it is the absolute line between death and starvation on the margin of many worlds and justly respected for that. Steadholders and their clones are by and large intended for use on frontier and agri-worlds as basic, no-nonsense weapons for hunting and protection from wild creatures, but many never leave the worlds they are manufactured on, frequently appearing in the hands of low-rent thugs and under-hive scum. A considerable number have wound up in the hands of Redemptionists, who issue these “saviour guns” to new (and often untrained) initiates where their low cost and ease of maintenance can be put to good use.

Steadholders can fire any type of stub pistol ammunition.

Volg VI “Crank Cannon” Stubber Class: Heavy (SP)

The Volg VI has one simple virtue – extreme ease of manufacture. The “Crank Cannon” uses cheaply made parts and standard heavy stubber ammunition; it is a purely hand-powered weapon, the firer literally cranking a handle to grind ammo belts through the breech and rotate the weapon’s quadruple barrels. Crank Cannons are installed in great numbers throughout Volg’s exterior industrial works to be manned by the worker-exiles in the event that some of the under-hive’s more treacherous forms of “wildlife” come up for a meal. The “Big Six”, as it is popularly known, has proven a great success

despite its obvious drawbacks, and this uniquely Volg weapon has somehow ended up being produced in large numbers by the lesser forges on Fenksworld and exported to cheaply supply low-grade PDF troops and the private arms market across the sector. A real brute to use, especially for long periods, it’s unsurprising that “Crank” gunners are often marked by noticeably overdeveloped right arms.

Void Speargun Class: Basic (SP)

A straightforward and easy-to-use weapon, void spearguns are designed to tear holes in void suits. Most models use a simple recoilless gas discharge system to propel a hardened spike at a reasonable speed, but some models are even simpler and take the form of a heavily modified crossbow. Being struck by a void spear can cause serious injury or death if the victim is particularly unlucky, but the main application is in ripping a hole in their void suit which will generally cause them to become extremely distracted in trying to repair the rip before they suffer from decompression. Obviously, this weapon is only meant to be employed during void operations, but it can still be used (at extremely close ranges) inside of ships as well.

Five void spears and a gas cartridge sufficient to fire them cost 1 Throne and are Scarce outside of environments where they are commonly used (such as dock yards and space stations). In atmosphere, a void speargun cannot be fired at anything at Long or Extreme range.

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BOLT WEAPONS There may be weapons that can burn through armour better, hit targets further away, or be more economical to mass produce and service, but no weapon could possibly claim to be as “Imperial” as the bolter. Bolt weapons combine a high level of technological precision and engineering with deliberate brutality; only man could possibly devise such an armament. Bolters fire rocket-propelled mass-reactive shells known appropriately enough as bolts, which streak to their target with a roar and explode into jagged fragments after piercing the body of their unfortunate victim.

The superiority of bolt weapons cannot be contested, but they are out of reach of many Imperial servants due to the cost and difficulty of supporting them. Bolters require skilled maintenance using very exact rituals and blessings for them to remain functional, and even individual bolts must undergo a brief prayer during manufacture to ensure ignition. A bolter may “only” be several times costlier than high-quality autoguns, but keeping a steady supply of bolts for it to fire as well as the necessary pre-battle hymnals and consecrations sets it squarely as the weapon of an elite. Wielding a bolter is an immediate sign of status and respect, and many boltguns in use today are centuries old, handed down from veteran to successor, and some have long legends attached to them of their great lineage. Whether a bolter is a relic or freshly manufactured, brandishing one is an instant sign of the wielder’s connections (or guile…). Bolt weapons are loud and thoroughly terrifying to see in action, and the distinctive noise made by their bolts sailing towards an unfortunate foe can be a potent weapon in and of itself.

Bolters are literally as old as the Imperium itself, and have been firmly connected to it from the beginning. Techno-barbarians that savagely fought for control of Terra during the Age of Strife wielded early bolter-like weapons, and their unification by the Emperor led to bolters becoming synonymous with the

mighty Space Marine legions that would go on to re-conquer the galaxy. The Adeptus Astartes are still commonly associated with bolt weapons due to their almost uniform use of them. These weapons are far larger and more powerful than the smaller counterparts designed for mere humans, but while these humbler weapons are but a shadow of the power of a Space Marine’s holy instrument, only a fool would underestimate their killing power.

To use bolt weapons without penalty, a character must have the Pistol Training (Bolt), Basic Weapon Training (Bolt), or Heavy Weapon Training (Bolt) talents.

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Angelus Bolt Carbine Class: Bolt (Basic)

A specialist version of what is already a specialist weapon, the Fykos Forge’s Angelus Bolt Carbine is jokingly termed as such as it would make a lightweight and handy weapon if the firer was a Space Marine. The Angelus is a truly “new” weapon devised only in the last few centuries once several fanes of Gunmetal City were granted rights to begin constructing Solar-pattern heavy bolters. This weapon uses those very large 1-calibre bolt shells, storing three packed end-to-end within the gun’s finely crafted stock. As it lacks an external clip and is longer and narrower than most bolters, a layman might mistake an Angelus for a heavy sniper rifle right up until hearing the signature roar (and subsequent blast) of its bolt. While lacking any kind of subtlety or stealth applications, the Angelus has an undeniable ability to blow apart well protected foes at long range, and the professional mercenaries and Inquisitorial Agents who most often make use of this bolter can reliably argue that any concerns about giving

away their firing position can be remedied by killing the entire enemy party from well outside their own engagement range.

Boltgun Class: Basic (Bolt)

Boltguns are the epitome of individual firepower in the Imperium and those lucky enough to be gifted or issued one of these superb weapons are truly blessed. The sound of bolts being fired has been enough to rout much larger cultist forces, while the more dedicated enemies are handily taken care of as the mass-reactive bolt shells shred their bodies into mush even through the best common armours. Boltguns are typified by a squat, boxy body with a pistol grip and stockless frame, making them somewhat shorter than common autoguns in spite of their much greater power, and feature multiple attachment points for extra sights, exterminator cartridges, and so on. Boltguns use standard .75-calibre bolts from a sickle clip. At the cost of reliability, most boltguns can be used with a boxy ammo drum instead, increasing the Clip

Bolt Weapons Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Angelus Basic 120m S/-/- 2d10+2 X 5 3 3 Full Accurate, Tearing 11kg 2,000 - Very Rare

Boltgun (generic) Basic 90m S/2/- 1d10+5 X 4 24 Full Tearing 7kg 500 - Rare

Godwyn-De’az Basic 90m S/2/- 1d10+5 X 4 30 Full Reliable, Tearing 6kg 1,000 - Very Rare

Locke Basic 90m S/2/4 1d10+5 X 4 24 Full Tearing 7kg 900 - Very Rare

Scourge Basic 90m S/2/- 1d10+5 X 4 24 Full Reliable, Tearing 10kg 650 - Very Rare

Solo Basic 100m S/-/- 1d10+5 X 4 24 Full Accurate, Reliable, Tearing

7kg 500 - Very Rare

Bolt Pistol (generic) Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+5 X 4 8 Full Tearing 3.5kg 250 - Rare

Garm Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+5 X 4 8 Full Tearing 4.5kg 350 - Rare

Godwyn-De’az Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+5 X 4 6 Full Reliable, Tearing 3kg 550 - Very Rare

Mauler Pistol 30m S/3/- 1d10+5 X 4 6 Full Reliable, Tearing 2.7kg 375 - Very Rare

Sacristan Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+6 X 4 6 Full Tearing 3.3kg 380 - Rare

Cane Bolter Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10+5 X 4 1 2 Full Tearing 3kg 600 - Very Rare

Heavy Bolter Heavy 120m -/-/10 2d10+2 X 5 60 Full Tearing 40kg 2,000 - Very Rare

Psycannon Heavy 120m S/-/5 2d10+5 X 5 40 3 Full Reliable, Sanctified, Tearing 20kg 12,000 Malleus

Extremely Rare

Spitfire Pistol 20m S/-/- 1d10+3 X 0 3 Full Tearing, Unreliable 3kg 75 Volg Scarce

Storm Bolter Basic 90m S/2/4 1d10+5 X 4 60 Full Storm, Tearing 9kg 4,000 - Extremely Rare

Godwyn-De’az Basic 90m S/2/4 1d10+5 X 4 60 Full Reliable, Storm, Tearing

12kg 9,000 - Extremely Rare

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size to 60 but either gaining the Unreliable quality or losing the Reliable quality if it has it. Only boltguns that use a standard mag-port (those with a standard Clip size of 24) can use these drums. Boltguns for use by humans come in a variety of patterns and marks made by artificers across the Imperium, most of which can fit into this weapon’s entry. Some patterns that include more unique features are listed here.

Godwyn-De’az-Pattern: This pattern was designed specifically for the Adepta Soroitas, blessed by the Canonesses of the Orders, and presented to a hopeful when they officially become a Battle Sister. The Sisterhood considers the venerated Godwyn-De’az bolt weapons heirlooms; each one is carefully maintained by highly specialized servitors and trusted servants, and those with the privilege to see these weapons up close have commented both on the quality of their make as well as the presence of several features which have been omitted from more recent patterns. This style of boltgun was once used in considerable numbers during the Age of Apostasy and holds great significance for the Adepta Soroitas giving their founding in the wake of those dark times. It is not only a powerful weapon against the enemies of mankind, but also a symbol of the Emperor’s judgement and of the Sister’s personal connection to her faith.

Locke-Pattern: Unusual among Imperial weapons, this pattern of boltgun has a mysterious lineage and it is unclear when or where they were first made. Locke boltguns are capable of putting down a withering barrage of fully automatic fire; this is a rare feature, giving the headache of maintaining a supply for even well-disciplined bolt expenditures. For those whose connections or wealth permits such extravagance, the Locke has unwavering merit as a partner in destruction.

Scourge Mark II: A favoured mark among well-equipped expeditionary troops, the Scourge boltgun is based on a Martian pattern now manufactured in Gunmetal City. It features a wicked saw-toothed blade permanently attached as a bayonet, allowing the shooter to rip open

any enemy hoping to gain an advantage in close combat. Armed Ecclesiarchs accompanying Sisters of Battle are known to carry this style of boltgun, and it is particularly common within the arsenal of the Abbey of Dawn on Iocanthos, a world where close quarters battles are often the order of the day. When used in close combat, a Scourge boltgun counts as a mono-edged axe.

Perinetus “Solo” Boltgun: Some sects of the Adeptus Mechanicus frown on this weapon as skirting tech-heresy as many of its internal workings have been left out and deliberately simplified as an attempt to make an inexpensive yet reliable boltgun for use by troops who normally would not hope to have access to such superb arms. The artificers of the Perinetus Forge in the Periphery succeeded admirably at this task, but with the opposite of the intended result once it was discovered that the longer barrel and reduced moving parts have resulted in a very accurate bolter. Demand for the “Solo” has constantly exceeded supply as there are many who would benefit greatly from taking down their foes with a single bolt shell, and virtually all of them consider the loss of semi-automatic burst fire a price worth paying.

Bolt Pistol Class: Pistol (Bolt)

Carrying a bolt pistol is a sign of the wearer’s status just as much as it is a powerful and effective sidearm. Being gifted one of these fine pistols immediately sets its owner ahead as a favoured servant, while those who can obtain one through their own devices display their wealth and excellent discretion all at once. A bolt pistol is effectively a highly shortened boltgun, lacking range but just as deadly compared to its full-size counterpart thanks to most of a bolt’s velocity coming from its internal rocket propulsion. Bolt pistols use the same .75-calibre bolts from a narrow single column clip, and those fortunate enough to have both a boltgun and bolt pistol to their names can freely share their precious bolts between them. Bolt pistols are manufactured in many of the Imperium’s greater forges for issuance to Imperial Guard

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officers and Adeptus Arbites elites, while heirloom examples made many centuries ago are often passed down in private hands or among the ranks of the Inquisition. Whether fresh from the forges or venerated and festooned with purity seals, few which carry a bolt pistol wish they had something else. The most widely produced marks of bolt pistol fit into this description; some with more unique features are listed here.

Garm-Pattern Service Pistol: This bolter is commonly carried by the grim Commissars attached to Imperial Guard units. The Garm is well suited to this role by these feared and respected leaders – its large size and inlaid insignia can be easily seen from a distance when a Commissar waves it in the air to inspire his troops, while the oversized muzzle placed squarely at face level is often enough to embolden cowering Guardsmen (though more vindictive Commissars might follow up with a summary execution anyway).

Specifically designed to inspire fear, a Garm-Pattern bolt pistol grants a +10 bonus to Intimidate Skill Tests when used to threaten anyone familiar with the Commissariat’s authority. This is in addition to the Carry a Big Gun rule (see The Inquisitor’s Handbook, page 232 for more information).

Godwyn-De’az-Pattern: A companion piece to the Godwyn-De’az boltgun, this pistol is a

favourite of the Adepta Soroitas for many of the same reasons as its larger counterpart. The single largest user among the Sisterhood are the elite Seraphim jump troops, who often go into battle with one of these bolters in each hand and aggressively cut down multiple enemies at once. It is also a common sidearm for a squad’s Sister Superior and other Sisters who wield a close combat weapon in their other hand.

Cinder Crag “Mauler” Pistol: The Mauler is a highly sought-after bolt pistol manufactured by the Cinder Crag Forge of Gunmetal City, who make these fine weapons to commission for those with deep pockets and the desire for an exclusive sidearm. Maulers are hand made by a small cadre of artificers using the finest materials and alloys, with the heavy work performed by specially designed servitors. The resultant weapon is both extremely sophisticated and blessed with a well-disposed machine spirit that will see its owner through where even other bolters may fail.

For twice the listed price, a Mauler may be made to commission using the commissioner’s exact biometric data. This counts as a Best Craftsmanship weapon when wielded by the hand designed for it, and an included gene-lock circuit in the grip ensures only that hand can fire the pistol.

Sacristan Bolt Pistol: This class of bolt pistol is produced under license for the Ordos Calixis

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by the Fane of Orthlack on Scintilla, this association immediately marking it as an “Inquisitor’s Sidearm”. The Sacristan’s killing power is augmented by a grav-accelerator inside its bulky housing that increases the velocity of its bolts, making it somewhat more potent than most bolt pistols. This is an attractive feature to Inquisitors and their minions who wish to keep away from overt displays of power by only packing a sidearm, and while few would doubt a bolt pistol’s efficiency at killing, fewer still would doubt a Sacristan’s.

The Sacristan's sharp recoil imposes a -10 penalty on Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack unless the shooter holds the weapon with two hands or has a Strength Bonus of 4 or more.

Cane Bolter Class: Pistol (Bolt)

Those with the resources and connections to own their own bolters are often the same types who choose to flaunt their assets, sporting brusque and overwhelming attires and festooned with bandoliers of pistols and clips. Some, however, attempt a more subtle though no less deadly style that favours concealed and hidden weapons. Local customs or specific situations might also dictate leaving one’s weapons behind, and while carefully tucking a pistol away within the folds of one’s robe or a hidden pouch on the wearer’s body might appeal to some, others prefer a weapon they can have right out in the open. Cane bolters are exactly as they seem: an ostentatious walking stick that just happens to conceal a single bolt and firing mechanism in the upper end, with a breakaway false bottom that is torn off when the bolt is launched. The handle must be unscrewed for a new bolt to be loaded, so they are by and large weapons of surprise and opportunity. A cane bolter can be equipped with any boltgun or pistol ammunition its owner might happen to have available.

Heavy Bolter Class: Heavy (Bolt)

Rarely deployed outside of military organizations, heavy bolters are oversized and

fully-automatic boltguns designed for heavy suppression and destruction of enemy infantry and light vehicles. Heavy bolters fire a larger 1-calibre bolt that gives them dramatically more power and improved range, and dug-in heavy weapon teams armed with this type of bolter can tie up a very large opposing force. Heavy bolters are common weapons on Imperial armoured vehicles, with Twin-Linked mounts featured on super-heavy tanks and fixed defence turrets. A heavy bolter is fed via an attached ammunition drum and can be ported by one man, with an assistant carrying a tripod and additional bolt shells. Particularly brawny troops or those in power armour have been known to schlep a heavy bolter as an individual assault weapon, typically using a backpack ammunition feed.

A heavy bolter using an ammunition drum uses the stated statistics. It can be used with a backpack ammo pack weighing 25kg instead, reducing its weight to 35kg, increasing its Clip size to 200, and doubling its Reload time.

Psycannon Class: Heavy (Bolt)

Psycannons are extremely powerful and mystic weapons used almost exclusively by the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition. A psycannon is similar to a greatly modified heavy bolter and fires special custom-crafted bolts charged with psychic energy and possessing ritually inscribed silver tips backed by a rare isotopic explosive. Each blessed round can unerringly penetrate the psychic defences and shields of a target, making them a coveted weapon for Inquisitors planning to hunt daemons and witches. While powerful weapons against psykers and warp entities, a psycannon’s true power is revealed when it is wielded by none other than a psyker itself. Each shot can be imbued with a measure of the psyker’s mental force, bringing ruin to his target with each shot. Psycannons are exceptionally rare weapons, making standard bolt weapons seem ubiquitous in comparison. Each is handcrafted by special artisan-armourers watched and sanctified by the Adeptus

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Ministorum, and the knowledge to create these weapons is wisely and carefully guarded.

Psycannon bolts ignore all protective benefits granted by psychic powers (including bonuses to Dodge) and the increased Toughness Bonus from the Daemonic Trait. Psycannons also have in-built Suspensors, so the wielder counts as possessing the Auto-Stabilised Trait. Finally, an individual with a Psy Rating may imbue the psycannon with additional Damage equal to his Psy Rating. This is considered a Minor Psychic power with a Threshold of 10 that can be used as a Free Action. Psycannons are always Good Craftsmanship weapons; this is reflected in their rules. Psycannons fire special handcrafted bolts that are Extremely Rare with a base price of 250 Thrones each.

Volg “Spitfire” Bolter Class: Pistol (Bolt)

The Spitfire is an imitation bolt pistol, in reality little more than a flare or line launcher modified to fire crude impact-detonated warheads. According to popular myth, the Spitfire was first patterned by an exiled Magnavar tech-adept to help combat swarming Maw-flukes. While a pale substitute for an actual bolt pistol, Spitfires became an immediate sensation among Volg’s scav-workshops and the more talented arms dealers as they can provide much needed firepower to a place filled with unseen horrors. In Volg, carrying a Spitfire with its primitive but functional exploding shells can mean the difference between living another day and being carried off into the darkness below.

Spitfires use modified distress flares fitted with a crude impact detonator; almost a mockery of the precision and arcane rituals used in the creation of bolts. Nonetheless, they are still quite deadly: Spitfire shells ignite flammable materials on impact, and any Critical Hits inflicted on a target forces an Agility Test, with failure indicating that the victim has been set on fire by the Spitfire’s ramshackle payload.

Spitfire shells are far from stable and any Jam result automatically incurs an Explosive Mishap (if the shell explodes, Damage is directed at the

firer, who must also Test Agility or be set on fire). Likewise, Spitfire ammunition that is hit by an explosion or flame weapon (such as the wearer being within a grenade’s Blast radius) has a 50% chance of exploding, dealing 1d10+3 points of Explosive Damage to the user.

Spitfire shells are Scarce with a base cost of 5 Thrones per reload.

Storm Bolter Class: Basic (Bolt)

Storm bolters are truly devastating weapons created by the very careful and time-consuming process of combining two boltguns together into one implement of the Emperor’s wrath. A storm bolter can literally saw a well-armoured target in half, while an unprotected man would be reduced to a fine mist with a few chunks of flesh-pulp decorating his cohorts. Storm bolters are exceptionally difficult weapons to craft in no small part due to the frustrating travails of wheedling two machine spirits into functioning in concert with one another, as that harmonious cooperation is the true source of a storm bolter’s exponentially greater power. Because of the great effort and skill required to create them, storm bolters are typically only made on the greatest of the Imperium’s forge worlds, such as Ryza in Ultima Segmentum and even Holy Mars itself. Storm bolters can be most commonly found as auxiliary weapons attached to Imperial armoured vehicles, with small numbers endowed as personal weapons to especially favoured Imperial officers and senior agents of the Inquisition. The Sisters of Battle are known to make use of storm bolters with some frequency with a specific pattern assigned to their arsenals.

Godwyn-De’az-Pattern: This pattern of storm bolter is based off of the standard Godwyn-De’az boltgun used by the bulk of the Sisters of Battle, and is issued as a reward for Battle Sisters who have proven themselves in combat prowess and spiritual dedication to be worthy of such withering firepower. It is exceptionally rare outside of their ranks.

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MELTA WEAPONS Also known as “melters” and “cookers”, melta weapons deliver supreme close-range firepower capable of burning through almost any armour and incinerating whatever’s on the other side. Most work by combining highly-pressurised gases into an unstable sub-molecular state, which is fired out in an intense blast of heat that can turn even adamantine plate into molten slag (and any unfortunates caught in its path into a vaguely pink vapour). Meltas make little noise when they’re fired; the loudest report is a distinctive hissing noise as water in the air is evaporated, possibly followed by the violent explosion of whatever was just hit. This makes them eminently useful weapons to commandoes and infiltrators who can neutralize parked enemy vehicles long before they can enter battle. Meltas are most commonly issued to specialist anti-vehicular troops as while their power is unmatched, their short range and sparse number of shots are major liabilities to inexperienced or undisciplined soldiers.

Melta weapons are fairly rare on the battlefield as only a few forge worlds are allowed to produce them in any quantity. The Adeptus Mechanicus formerly enjoyed a complete monopoly on such fearsome weapons and they have been loathe to allow their widespread dissemination. Giving a meltagun’s ability to slag

even the heaviest vehicles and battle servitors, this is perhaps unsurprising. Curiously, meltas are not the sole provenance of mankind, and different xenos races have been known to make use of remarkably similar guns in remarkably similar ways. While doubtlessly inferior to those of the Imperium’s forges, scholars have questioned if the aliens are simply copying these devastatingly effective weaponry for their own purposes or if it is the inverse that is true. Regardless of their provenance, those who wield meltas will universally agree that there are few better weapons for close combat.

To use melta weapons without penalty, a character must have the Pistol Training (Melta), Basic Weapon Training (Melta), or Heavy Weapon Training (Melta) talents.

Inferno Pistol Class: Pistol (Melta)

By and large, inferno pistols are valuable relics as the technology to reproduce them is poorly understood by all but the greatest forges. An inferno pistol compacts the massive firepower of a meltagun into a parcel that is deceptively small, often no larger than a common autopistol pattern. This has limited its range even further, with some noting that you could almost throw one as far as its bolt of destruction will reach. However, as a close-range annihilation device, inferno pistols have no equal. Because of their

Melta Weapons Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Inferno Pistol (generic) Pistol 10m S/-/- 2d10+4 E 12 3 Full - 2.5kg 7,500 - Very Rare

Mars Pistol 20m S/-/- 2d10+8 E 13 3 Full Vicious 2.5kg 12,000 - Extremely Rare

Seraphim Pistol 10m S/-/- 2d10+2 E 10 6 Full Reliable 2kg 9,000 - Extremely Rare

Meltacutter Basic 10m S/-/- 2d10+4 E 10 5 3 Full - 30kg 600 Hive & Forge Scarce

Meltagun (generic) Basic 20m S/-/- 2d10+4 E 12 5 2 Full - 8kg 4,000 - Rare

Mars Basic 20m S/-/- 2d10+8 E 13 5 2 Full Vicious 7.5kg 9,000 - Very Rare

Ultima Basic 40m S/-/- 2d10+2 E 8 8 2 Full - 10kg 2,500 - Rare

Multi-Melta (generic) Heavy 60m S/-/- 4d10+12 E 12 10 2 Full Blast (1) 55kg 8,500 - Very Rare

Mars Heavy 60m S/-/- 4d10+12 E 14 10 2 Full Blast (1), Vicious 40kg 15,000 - Extremely

Rare

Thermal Lance Heavy 10m S/-/- 2d10+4 E 12 2 2 Full Accurate 55kg 3,000 - Rare

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extreme rarity they are also statements of the wearer’s power and status just as much as their desire to reduce a foe in full power armour to a bubbling pool of goo. Those who bear one of these exclusive sidearms count themselves in the company of Inquisitors, Canonesses, Rogue Traders, and Space Marine Captains, to name a few. Aside from a handful of effectively interchangeable patterns, there are also few more unique marks which are listed here.

Mars-Pattern: Inferno pistols manufactured in the Adeptus Mechanicus’ great forges on Mars itself are unquestionably a cut above any of those made on lesser worlds. This is doubtless by design: the truly elite of the Machine Cult are extremely disinclined to let the unbridled power of melta weapons promulgate throughout the Imperium, much to the binary grumbling of Fabricators and Magi from Voss Prime to Estaban and everywhere in between. Mars Patterns are most commonly wielded by members of the Mechanicus themselves, although a few have leaked out of the red robed

clergy as awards to high ranking allies that have done much to benefit the Machine Cult.

Seraphim Inferno Pistol: What one does well two does better, and this maxim is frighteningly applied to inferno pistols often issued in matched pairs to veteran Seraphim jump troops of the Adepta Soroitas. A Seraphim who has proven herself time and time again to be worthy of deed and pure of faith may be granted two of these exquisite pistols with which to bring ruin to those foes she finds beneath her. This mark of inferno pistol is of unknown origin and sacrifices a small measure of firepower for greater clip size and more reliable functioning, a Seraphim’s combat style leaving little room for venting fouled gas canisters.

Matched pairs of Seraphim Inferno Pistols are designed to be used at the same time by the specially trained Sisters who wield them. If the firer possesses the Dual Shot talent and fires both weapons at once, this attack increases its Damage by 1d10 and doubles its Penetration.

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Meltacutter Class: Basic (Melta)

Meltacutters are specialized tools used to cut and weld slabs of metal in macro construction facilities and manufactorums. Extremely large and cumbersome, a meltacutter can still make a very effective killing device if used as a weapon. A meltacutter’s reach is quite short but can quickly breach most sealed bulkheads and reduce a fully armoured Arbitrator to hot gas and ash with ease. When a hive worker or labour-helot revolt spills over into the forges themselves, these are often the first tools to be looted in anticipation of the retaliation of the world’s masters. As a result, the trade and deployment of these necessary tools is carefully monitored, leading to frequent delays in obtaining spare parts or opening new production lines.

Meltacutters have an absolute maximum range of 10 metres and do not receive any bonuses to hit for firing at closer distances. Unless the wielder has a Strength Bonus of 4 or more they suffer a cumulative -10 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack with it for each point their Strength Bonus is below 4. Meltacutters use standard meltagun canisters for ammunition.

Meltagun Class: Basic (Melta)

Meltaguns are the most common and versatile melta weapon used in the Imperium, and are often used by Imperial Guard anti-armour teams, Dominion Squads of the Sisters of Battle, and a multitude of other groups who have need of short range obliteration at their disposal. On hive worlds where meltaguns are made there are even the occasional gangers and Redemptionists who happen to acquire one through some sort of provenance; these users waste no time in putting such extraordinary firepower to good work, often using ammunition from stolen meltacutters from the factories above. Aside from annihilating enemy armour and sending opponents into puffs of steam, meltaguns can be pressed into service to quickly breach barricades or create an entrance through bulkheads, and just about any team dealing in close quarters battles could benefit from having a man on a meltagun.

The meltagun description assumes the use of attached gas canisters. A meltagun may instead be equipped with a compact backpack canister weighing 10kg that doubles the weapon’s Clip size. As with inferno pistols, most meltagun patterns can follow the listed figures, while some more unique patterns are provided here.

Mars-Pattern: When the Mechanicus allowed for other forge worlds to begin production of meltaguns the high Magi of the Priesthood of Mars ensured that only “watered down” versions of these exceptionally potent weapons would be made away from their sacred manufactorums on Mars. Those reserved for the elites of the Machine Cult are significantly more efficient,

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boasting greater firepower and reduced bulk at the same time, and can most typically be found in the employment of Skitarii Tech-Guards and Magos Militants in good standing with the Martian Priesthood. A meltagun is already an impressive weapon, but to wield one of those from Mars’ own great forges is a display of wealth and influence all its own.

Ultima-Pattern: This meltagun is the most common type employed by Imperial Guard tank hunters, and has been optimized to provide a substantially longer range and reduced weight at the expense of modestly inferior lethality. It is also significantly simpler to manufacture than other patterns which has allowed for Guard regiments to equip significantly more specialist troops, and anything that might survive being struck by an Ultima-Pattern likely won’t survive a follow-up shot from another hunter. Ultima Pattern meltaguns are produced by Voss, Lucius, Mezoa, and others large forges, and have recently begun in the Calixis Sector from the Lathe Worlds as well. Multi-Melta Class: Heavy (Melta)

This terrifying heavy weapon is created in typical Imperial fashion by forging two large-aperture meltaguns together. Both barrels fire at once in an incredibly powerful blast that can obliterate all but the heaviest armour and leaves an area of several square metres scorched to dust and a few wisps of vapour. They are dedicated anti-vehicular weapons; using a multi-melta on enemy troops would be excessive in every sense of the term, and even a mighty Space Marine would likely be felled by a direct hit from one of these annihilation engines. Multi-meltas are typically only deployed as defensive weapons aboard Imperial armoured vehicles, although the Retributors of the Adepta Soroitas are known to carry them in small numbers, and they are also frequently chosen for installation on high-end battle servitors. A multi-melta generates an incredible amount of heat when fired, and the residual blowback can be dangerous to the firer. As a result, vehicle crews typically wear

insulative suits or heavy armour for protection against this effect.

Unless the firer is wearing thermally protective clothing or armour that provides at least 5 APs to the head, body and arms, he suffers 1d10 Energy Damage from the multi-melta’s muzzle blast. Multi-meltas are fed by a backpack gas canister weighing 10kg which is included in the weapon’s statistics.

Mars-Pattern: Like other types of melta weapons, the Tech-Priests of Mars reserved the best for themselves. Multi-meltas produced by the great Martian forges are actually quite similar to those that they have allowed to be produced on other worlds. Their biggest departure is a much more efficient gas compression and dispersion apparatus, making a Mars-Pattern significantly lighter and safer to shoot as well. Mars Pattern multi-meltas do not deal damage to the firer due to excess heat.

Thermal Lance Class: Heavy (Melta)

Thermal lances are something of a more refined and efficient meltacutter. Using a long and thin containment cylinder rather than bulky focusing beam emitters, a thermal lance is significantly lighter and easier to port around, allowing them to be used by workers directly rather than mounted to heavy servitors. Thermal lances require a few moments to steady and align the aperture, but once braced are exceptionally accurate and easy to control, allowing for very precise cuts to be made through the largest construction slabs and unfinished components. They are just as often used in demolitions as well with wreckers being able to cut through bulkheads and structural supports in a methodic and surgical process. Thermal lances are not intended to be used as weapons, but a trained user can employ them to slice through armoured opponents just as well.

Thermal lances use standard meltagun canisters for ammunition and can be equipped with the same backpack unit which weighs 10kg and doubles their Clip size.

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PLASMA WEAPONS Plasma weapons are fantastic pieces of tech-artifice whose art is almost lost in the Imperium. Though once common during the Dark Age of Technology, the STC for plasma weapons has yet to be recovered, and many of the Adeptus Mechanicus’ most skilled plasma artisans sided with the traitors during the Horus Heresy. At the present only a few forge worlds truly understand a plasma weapon’s functions and the necessary rituals and oaths to create one of acceptable quality, and their small numbers combined with excellent combat attributes makes them highly sought-after guns.

Plasma weapons function off of a deceptively simple principle of accelerating a hydrogen plasmoid bolt to great speed, with the resultant kinetic impact and tremendous energy release sufficient to explode men and machines alike from a more than adequate distance. A foe hit with a salvo from a plasma gun is consumed in a miniature solar explosion, reduced to a deep-fried husk or simply annihilated from existence with nary a speck in remains. Plasma weapons are fed from external flasks containing elemental hydrogen suspended in a photonic state, which provides the fuel necessary for the plasma reaction. Once energized in a photohydrogen

fuel core, this plasma bolt is flung at its unfortunate victim via rings of electromagnets which contain the raw energy as well as guide it to its final destination.

As weapons that contain a miniature fusion device and use arcane magnetic fields to propel a highly unstable projectile, a plasma weapon is by no means the most dependable (or safe) gun to bring to the battlefield. Aside from a low refire rate, most plasma weapons can become dangerously overheated if their byzantine workings fall out of a very narrow range of acceptable tolerances. A plasma gunner must therefore be of sound aim to make his low volume of shots strike true as well as familiar with the subtle proclivities of his weapon’s machine spirit. Being able to read the ebb and flow of a plasma weapon’s mechanical humours is a key asset when one might need to rapidly fling an overheating gun a safe distance away. A pattern of particular burns on the palms can instantly identify a man as a plasma gunner who’s experienced a mishap with his weapon, a class of people ranging from veteran Imperial Guardsmen to wealthy Rogue Traders.

To use plasma weapons without penalty, a character must have the Pistol Training (Plasma), Basic Weapon Training (Plasma), or Heavy Weapon Training (Plasma) talents.

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Phased Plasma Gun Class: Basic (Plasma)

This singular variant of plasma gun is an exclusive weapon of the Venatorii "Crimson Guard" of the Lathe Worlds, constructed with peculiar but undeniably effective secrets of tech-artifice known only to the forgemasters of those planets. A phased plasma gun is not a wholly independent weapon, requiring an integrated link to the bearer's potentia coil in order to function properly; this prevents it from falling into the "wrong hands" while simultaneously mollifying a number of existent problems that plague most types of plasma weapons. A phased plasma gun can dissipate dangerous energy overloads through the bearer's potentia coil and bio-power systems, and while uncomfortable to say the least, the weapon can be used without concern of it turning into a molten fireball. Furthermore, energy from the bearer's linked potentia coil is employed in an unusual but functional method to improve the plasma gun's refire rate, the using a directed pulse to split the outgoing hydrogen bolt in an approximation of

automatic fire. This configuration is broadly similar to an innovative method employed by the secretive tech-artisans of Clove, which has sparked discussion of intrigue among the more scholarly adherents of the Cult Mechanicus. A phased plasma gun's firepower is somewhat less consistent as a result of its bizarre and eclectic power systems, but it represents a wholly superior platform to common plasma weapons used throughout the Imperium, and for exactly that reason it will likely remain in absolute control of the Venatorii.

A character must have both the Basic Weapon Training (Plasma) and Exotic Weapon Training (Integrated Ranged Weapons) to use a phased plasma gun without penalty. A phased plasma gun gains the listed profile when connected to the wielder's potentia coil, which requires a Half Action and a successful Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test. While connected, a phased plasma gun does not Jam or overheat; an attack that would result in a Jam simply misses while inflicting 1 level of Fatigue on the on the wielder as their potentia coil absorbs the excessive energy. As long as the wielder's potentia coil is

Plasma Weapons Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Phased Plasma Gun Basic 100m S/2/4 2d10 E 6 - - Special 12kg 1,500 Lathes Very Rare

Plasma Blaster Basic 60m S/-/- 2d10+8 E 8 6 2 Full Blast (1), Overheats, Recharge, Vicious

20kg 7,500 - Very Rare

Heavy 120m S/-/- 2d10+10 E 8 80 5 Full Overheats 38kg† 8,500 - Very Rare Plasma Cannon

(Maximal) 4d10+10 E Blast (3), Overheats, Recharge, Vicious

Basic 90m S/2/- 1d10+7 E 7 40 5 Full Overheats 9kg 3,000 - Very Rare Plasma Gun (Ryza)

(Maximal) 100m S/-/- 2d10+7 E 9 Overheats, Recharge

Basic 60m S/3/5 1d10+5 E 6 40 5 Full Overheats 20kg 6,000 - Extremely Rare Clovis

(Maximal) 70m S/3/- 2d10+5 E 8 Overheats, Recharge

Mezoa Basic 90m S/2/- 1d10+7 E 6 40 5 Full Overheats 17kg 2,200 - Very Rare

Sunfury Basic 80m S/3/- 1d10+10 E 6 20 5 Full Overheats 12kg 3,000 - Very Rare

Pistol 30m S/2/- 1d10+6 E 6 10 3 Full Overheats 4kg 4,000 - Very Rare Plasma Pistol (Ryza)

(Maximal) 40m S/-/- 2d10+6 E 8 Overheats, Recharge

Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10+6 E 6 10 3 Full Overheats 4kg 5,000 - Very Rare Kronos

(Maximal) 2d10+10 E 8 Overheats, Recharge

Wrath Pistol 40m S/-/- 1d10+8 E 6 8 3 Full Accurate, Overheats 5kg 6,500 - Extremely Rare

†Not including ammo pack

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charged, a phased plasma gun has an unlimited Clip size and does not need to be reloaded. Should the weapon become disconnected, it rapidly becomes inert; the Clip size becomes 1d5 and the weapon gains the Overheats quality. See the Weapon Upgrades section for more information on Integrated Weapons. A phased plasma gun has an Availability of Very Rare in the Lathe system, Near Unique on other Forge Worlds, and is typically not encountered anywhere else.

Plasma Blaster Class: Basic (Plasma)

A plasma blaster is a crude but functional expedient designed to create a weapon with similar firepower to a plasma cannon that is significantly more portable. Twin barrels are powered by a single set of standard plasma flasks and fusion generator, creating a significantly more potent ball of starstuff that can wipe out multiple enemy troops at once as well as defeat light vehicles by slagging through their armour. A number of concessions had to be made to obtain this firepower in a (reasonably) lightweight package, and plasma blasters suffer from a significantly shorter range and lower number of shots available thanks to more rapid and less efficient consumption of hydrogen. Plasma blasters include a functional if dangerous rapid reloading system that violently ejects spent plasma flasks from the weapon’s housing, leaving the firer only needing to insert fresh ones. Care must be taken to ensure that no body parts are in the path of these jettisoned canisters as examples of the errant vessels penetrating flakboard walls have been noted.

Plasma Cannon Class: Heavy (Plasma)

Monstrous weapons in every definition, plasma cannons are essentially grossly oversized plasma guns that can cause utter havoc on the battlefield as blasts of solar intensity are flung about. Plasma cannons are most often found attached to Imperial armoured vehicles where their mass and necessity for external ammunition supplies are non-issues, and can

benefit from large liquid cooling systems to minimize the possibility of dangerous overheating. No Imperial Guard regiments make use of plasma cannons in the infantry role, but well-funded (and brave) elite mercenaries acting under the authority of rich noble houses and the personal troops of Rogue Traders have been known to port these frighteningly potent weapons around with them.

Plasma cannons can be fired on a Maximal setting for greatly increased firepower. Firing in Maximal mode consumes six shots from the weapon’s Clip and gains the Damage and Special Qualities listed. The plasma cannon rules listed assume the firer is equipped with a backpack ammo pack weighing 25kg which provides the stated Clip size. A plasma cannon can be used with standard plasma flasks in a pinch, with two flasks providing a Clip of 4 (and disallowing Maximal fire).

Plasma Gun (Ryza) Class: Basic (Plasma)

Plasma Guns are the most common form of plasma weapon in use within the Imperium, and many well-organised Imperial Guard regiments include a plasma gunner in each squad of veteran troops. While this is something of a dubious honour, giving plasma weaponry’s generally temperamental nature, only a minority of Guardsmen would honestly rather use their standard-issue lasgun after seeing the efficiency of their plasma gun in vaporising the enemy.

Ryza, a forge world in Ultima Segmentum, produces the largest share of plasma weapons in use in the Imperium. For reasons still unknown to most, the techno-magi of Ryza understand the art of plasma weaponry better than any other save for perhaps the Martian priesthood themselves, and plasma weapons manufactured on this world are of exceptional quality and ease of use. Ryza’s plasma weapons are found everywhere from the holsters of high-ranking Imperial officers to the main batteries of Warhound Scout Titans.

Plasma weapons made on Ryza generally include a Maximal setting which discharges a much larger blast over longer range. Firing on

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Maximal depletes readily available plasma within the fusion chamber, and the weapon cannot be fired again until it refills (gaining the Recharge quality as described). Firing on Maximal consumes 3 shots from the plasma weapon’s Clip, and cannot be used if it does not have at least 3 shots left.

Clovis Mark IV: This curious plasma gun is produced on the hive world of Clove in the Hazeroth Abyss and is capable of rapid-fire. Its plasma blasts are somewhat smaller and less intense than those of comparable patterns, but the fully automatic capability is of immediate interest to tech-scholars and other artificers. According to those who have studied it, the Clovis plasma gun makes use of rapid dilation and contraction of its magnetic containing fields to release swift spurts of plasma, effectively chopping up a single charge into multiple smaller projectiles. While crude in design, this capability represents a feature from the ancient past of plasma weaponry, and there are some within the Machine Cult that believe the tech-artisans of Clove might have acquired a partial STC or data fragment from the Dark Age of Technology and are guarding it jealously, with this Mark IV plasma gun as a product of that knowledge.

The Clovis plasma gun has a Maximal setting similar to those made on Ryza that can be employed on either single shots or semi-auto bursts. If fired on semi-auto the Clovis totally depletes its energized hydrogen and must wait two Rounds instead of one while the fusion core builds up a plasma charge. Firing on the Maximal setting consumes 3 shots (9 if fired on semi-auto) and cannot be used if it doesn’t have at least that many shots remaining in its Clip.

Mezoa-Pattern: Mezoa-pattern plasma guns, manufactured on that world in the Gothic Sector, are typical of any number of “lesser grade” plasma guns that hail from forge worlds without Ryza’s intimate knowledge of their art

and design. While certainly functional and deadly enough, these plasma guns typically lack a Maximal setting and are significantly more bulky and heavier to schlep around due to their inefficient induction coils and unnecessarily large fusion core. The sheer volume of plasma guns produced by Ryza makes them similar in number to those from lesser forges combined, but the inferior characteristics of these sub-standard patterns does tend to reduce their black market cost, and having any plasma gun is certainly better than having none at all.

Mark III Sunfury Assault Gun: A high-power weapon issued to some Imperial Guard units that often must face heavily armoured foes, the Sunfury is an example of a deliberately simplified plasma gun that is easier for

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Guardsmen and PDF troopers to handle. It lacks a Maximal setting and has a reduced range compared to similar plasma weapons, but its normal power shots are of a significantly greater intensity so as to eliminate the need to switch between modes and deal with the recharge time. The tech-artisans of forges with the ability to produce higher-quality plasma guns tend to derisively refer to these hard-hitting but simple weapons as “plasma clubs” due to their perceived use as the guns of under-trained and thuggish troops.

Plasma Pistol (Ryza) Class: Pistol (Plasma)

Plasma pistols are favoured sidearms of high-ranking Imperial servants, wealthy nobles and inscrutable Rogue Traders. With a highly condensed fusion core and miniature magnetic acceleration coils, plasma pistols have a reduced range compared to full-size plasma guns but their firepower at distance is unmatched among similarly sized weapons. Plasma pistols are powered by a single flask that is installed in a socket ahead of the trigger, and often have ornate and ergonomic grips that further increase their value and the showmanship of their wielders. As with plasma guns, the finest pistols are made on Ryza where the art of plasma weaponry is still understood, and these finely crafted weapons are likely the single most common pattern in Imperial service. Fairly standard and utilitarian versions are brought into battle by veteran Guard leaders, tank commanders and even the Princeps of mighty Titan walkers, while more decorated and flashy pistols can be spotted at the hips of Inquisitors, Cardinals, and other elite Adeptus.

Plasma weapons made on Ryza generally include a Maximal setting which discharges a much larger blast over longer range. Firing on Maximal depletes readily available plasma within the fusion chamber, and the weapon cannot be fired again until it refills (gaining the Recharge quality as described). Firing on Maximal consumes 3 shots from the plasma weapon’s

Clip, and cannot be used if it does not have at least 3 shots left.

Kronos-Pattern: The Kronos plasma pistol is a “local” product of the Lathe Worlds in the Calixis Sector that is unique for its extraordinarily powerful Maximal setting. With an absurdly oversized fusion unit and heavily reinforced muzzle emitter, the Kronos can rival an inferno pistol’s raw destructive ability while offering more “modest” firepower with normal shots. Aside from only being able to fire on single shots, it is otherwise similar to plasma pistols manufactured on Ryza. Just why this potent instrument of the Omnissiah’s divine fury is available for sale (at exorbitant price, of course) while the Tech-Priests covetously guard lesser weapons and equipment remains another inexplicable mystery of the Mechanicus.

When fired on the Maximal setting, the Kronos consumes 5 shots from its Clip; this feature can’t be used if it has less than 5 shots remaining. The Kronos gains the Recharge quality when fired on the Maximal setting, but must spend two Rounds rather than the standard one before it has finished recharging.

Khayer-Addin “Wrath” Plasma Pistol: This plasma pistol is heavily optimized for accurate shooting and long range, making it extremely unusual among other plasma weapons. Though fully capable of use as a combat weapon, the famed Khayer-Addin forge of Gunmetal City has designed this gun as a duellist’s piece. It lacks a Maximal setting and can’t be fired on semi-automatic, typical for plasma weapons that are manufactured outside the purview of the master tech-artisans of Ryza, but its accuracy is superb as far as pistols go. Finely crafted, and correspondingly rare, these pistols are most commonly used by the segment of Scintilla’s nobles who view duelling as not only a means to settle affairs of honour but also to make absolutely sure that the offending party won’t be insulting them (or anyone else) again. At least a few have also wound up in the hands of accomplished gunslingers that hold accuracy and takedown power above volume of shots.

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FLAME WEAPONS Flamers, as they are more popularly known, are indiscriminate terror weapons used to displace entrenched enemies and bring the light of the Emperor to all matters of His foes. All flamers work in roughly the same manner, projecting gouts of burning fuel at the target, and have been used by mankind in some form or other since the dawn of time. They are reasonably simple weapons, most consisting of a canister of fuel, an air compressor to shoot the fuel at the target, an ignition system, and a housing with controls to store it all. By and large flamers manufactured by scav-workshops in underhive slums are of similar utility to those churned out in mass from Imperial forges destined for Guard regiments, and it isn’t difficult to find a flamer on almost any world in the hands of all sorts of users. The Sisters of Battle and Redemptionist cults are particularly fond of flamers due to their “purifying” effect on the sinful and wicked, while the famed Catachan Jungle Fighters are known for their almost psychotic love of burning enemies out of heavy foliage and other sorts of cover. Numerous breeds of xenos make use of flame weapons as well, the threat of being lit on fire one thing that usually communicates quite

well over species gaps. Flame weapons of the Imperium typically use

a highly flammable substance known as Promethium to produce their terrible effects. Promethium is refined on many worlds from a variety of substances, including the atmosphere of gas giants, ancient organic mineral deposits, and even frozen liquids encountered on ice worlds. It is used for a variety of purposes other than immolating the enemies of the Emperor, such as fuel for many types of vehicular engines and as a base component for numerous everyday commodities. Promethium intended for use in flamers is designed to spontaneously combust on contact with oxygen, and is of a thick consistency so it sticks to whatever it lands on. Those not killed by the initial fireball will die horribly as the sticky, slow-burning gel immolates them down into blackened heaps. Other combinations of chemicals and volatile substances can be used if Promethium is not available, and most Imperial flamers include a pilot light to ignite these substitutes.

To use flame weapons without penalty, a character must have the Pistol Training (Flame), Basic Weapon Training (Flame), or Heavy Weapon Training (Flame) talents.

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Flamer Class: Basic (Flame)

Flame guns, known more popularly as flamers, are the most common type of flame weapon used by the military forces of the Imperium. Most assault squads in the Imperial Guard have at least one or two men armed with flamers, and they are also commonly wielded by specialised shock troops and others who can make the best use of fire’s intimidating effects. All common patterns of flamers are designed to make use of attached fuel canisters with enough Promethium for a few shots, which is normally sufficient for frying enclosed troops and enemies behind cover. This configuration provides the listed figures. Flamers can also be used with a backpack fuel canister and hose feed weighing 6kg and providing double the listed Clip size, or a larger rig weighing 25kg with enough fuel for 60 shots. Most flamers produced in the Imperium can fit into this category, while some more unique patterns are listed here.

Anoxis Burst Flamer: Also known (very informally) as “Hax’s Breath”, this flamer variant is designed primarily as a tool of intimidation and for crowd control rather than outright annihilation. Its fuel mixture ignites before leaving the weapon, resulting in a quick burst of heat that will singe eyebrows and burn loose

clothing but is unlikely to cause serious injury unless the target is within arm’s reach of the firer. Burst-pattern flamers are commonly used aboard ships as a means of quelling angry ratings as their minor output is unlikely to start a shipboard fire, but some have wound up being used by the Adeptus Arbites and planetary enforcers to “gently encourage” riots to disperse.

Voss “Nightfire” Flame Device: A pure terror weapon, the Nightfire is most commonly used by troops in full protective suits due to its doubly terrible effects. It uses a special fuel compound made of highly purified Promethium mixed with virulently poisonous chemicals; it not only scorches the flesh of its victims but those who survive the fire find themselves inundated in toxic smoke.

When fired, a Nightfire flamer produces a cloud of smoke that expands 2 metres beyond the normal 30 degree arc in all directions, including in the direction of the firer. Each Round any characters are caught within the smoke they must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or take 1d10 Impact Damage with no reduction from Armour or Toughness. The smoke remains dangerous for 1d10 Rounds and totally dissipates another 1d10 Rounds later though adverse weather conditions may clear it away faster. Characters wearing a re-breather or

Flame Weapons

Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Flamer (generic) Basic 20m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 3 3 2 Full Flame, Unreliable 6kg 200 - Scarce

Burst Basic 5m S/-/- 1d5 E 0 10 2 Full Flame, Primitive 3kg 50 - Scarce

Nightfire Basic 20m S/-/- 1d10+5 E 2 3 2 Full Flame, Toxic, Unreliable

7kg 400 - Very Rare

Salamander Basic 10m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 1 3 2 Full Flame, Unreliable 6kg 250 - Scarce

Gas Torch Basic 5m S/-/- 1d10+1 E 2 20 5 Full Flame, Unreliable 20kg 150 Hive Average

Hand Flamer (generic) Pistol 10m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 2 2 2 Full Flame, Unreliable 3.5kg 200 - Rare

Destroyer Pistol 15m S/-/- 1d10+5 E 2 5 2 Full Flame, Unreliable 2.1kg 750 - Very Rare

Seraphim Pistol 10m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 2 6 Full Flame 2kg 1,000 - Extremely Rare

Heavy Flamer Heavy 30m S/-/- 2d10+4 E 4 30 2 Full Flame, Unreliable 20kg† 1,000 - Rare

Stingray Basic 15m S/-/- 1d10+3 E 2 4 Full Flame 3kg 100 Void Scarce

Tox Spray Basic 10m S/-/- 2d5+5 E 0 3 3 Full Flame, Toxic 8kg 200 Hive Scarce

†Not including ammo pack

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within a sealed suit of armour are immune to this effect. Nightfire fuel costs twice as much as standard flamer fuel and is considered Rare.

Salamander Assault Flamer: The Salamander started out as a field-improvised weapon rigged up by Enginseers at the front during the Tranch War, and was picked up by several forges in the Calixis Sector after many Guardsmen found its performance to be exceptional for the fast-paced open warfare there. Salamander flamers use an inert propellant gas combined with a wide, thin nozzle that forcefully sprays Promethium over a significantly wider area. Troops equipped with Salamander Assault Flamers can burn down a numerically superior force with total ease, and against lightly armoured foes like cult mobs the effect is spectacular to say the least.

Salamander flamers project flame over a 45 degree arc rather than a normal 30 degree arc as described in the Flame quality.

Gas Torch Class: Basic (Flame)

Gas torches are industrial tools that project an incandescent vapour used to clear away fungal growths and other obstructions (vermin nests, desiccated corpses, and so forth) from a hive city’s labyrinthine duct-systems. While not intended for use as a weapon, the availability of gas torches to low-rent gangers and other underhive scum see them pressed into service as improvised flamers that can still be perfectly deadly as many unsuspecting rival gangs and upper hive enforcers have fatally discovered.

Gas torches use bulky packs of pressurised and highly reactive gas to produce their effect. If an individual wearing a gas torch is attacked from behind and suffers Damage, there is a 50% chance that the gas tanks rupture and explode, dealing 2d10 Explosive Damage with a Blast of 4. The wearer suffers double that Damage result and may not make an Agility Test to try and avoid the blast.

Gas Torches have an Availability of Average on Hive Worlds and are Rare on most other developed worlds within the Imperium.

Hand Flamer Class: Pistol (Flame)

Hand flamers are just as they sound: a flamer cut down in size to be used as a pistol-like weapon. Although they have a very short range thanks to a much smaller air compressor, at “personal” distances a hand flamer is an exceptionally effective weapon. Warriors who favour close combat often employ a hand flamer in their off hand to soften up a group of foes before righteously smiting them with their melee weapon. The Sisters of Battle and particularly zealous members of the Ecclesiarchy are perhaps the most enthusiastic users of hand flamers, for much the same reasons as they enjoy the full size counterparts as well. Just as with normal flamers, hand flamers are reasonably simple weapons, and the majority of all patterns manufactured in the Imperium can fit into this description. A few with some more unique features are listed here.

Cadence “Destroyer” Pistol: A weapon produced only to commission by the mysterious Cadence tech-artisan cult, the Destroyer is an extremely sophisticated hand flamer that uses force-compression technology similar to that of a plasma weapon to create a superheated thermal-incandescent blast that burns far hotter and with greater fuel efficiency than most other flame weapons. About the only thing that the Destroyer has in common with other Imperial hand flamers is the ability to use standard-size Promethium fuel canisters. This flamer has a strong association with the Inquisition of the Calixian Conclave, and if the stories are to be believed, the first commissioner of the Destroyer was none other than the legendary Inquisitor Ark-Ashten of the Ordo Xenos.

Seraphim Hand Flamer: Like much of the Adepta Soroitas’ reliquary-arsenal, hand flamers issued to elite Seraphim jump troops are exceptionally well-crafted weapons that are a cut above their more commonplace counterparts. Seraphim who have demonstrated particular zeal in punishing the enemies of the Emperor may swap their bolt pistols for a pair of these excellent hand flamers and use them to great effect in annihilating swaths of lesser foes. An

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efficient canister socket allows fresh Promethium tanks to be loaded with much greater speed than most flamers, an invaluable advantage to Sisters hurtling through the air on their jump packs. Seraphim hand flamers include an additional function that projects a very short burst of flame that consumes minimal fuel, and those Sisters that carry these superior pistols can use them effectively in close combat.

If armed with two Seraphim hand flamers, a character with the Dual Shot talent can make a combined attack with both weapons. Ammunition is consumed from each flamer as normal, but the attack deals 1d10+10 Energy Damage and targets hit by its flames suffer a -20 penalty to their Agility Tests to avoid its effects. This penalty stacks with that from the Cleanse and Purify talent. A Seraphim hand flamer can be used to make melee attacks against single opponents which deal its normal Damage as long as the weapon has at least one shot left in its Clip. This attack does not have the Flame quality and so will not set targets on fire; likewise, the weapon does not Jam if the wielder rolls a result that would ordinarily cause one. Individual melee attacks do not consume fuel, but a protracted battle may end up spending some over time.

Heavy Flamer Class: Heavy (Flame)

Enormously oversized flamers sometimes sporting two nozzles, heavy flamers are designed to bring fiery ruin to huge swaths of terrain at once. The great amount of flaming Promethium hurled out by these weapons more closely resembles an inferno at a processing plant than a battlefield weapon, and a heavy flamer is quite possibly the least subtle armament that can be hauled by troops onto a battlefield. Heavy flamers are most commonly employed on Imperial armoured vehicles where a large amount of fuel can be carried with (relative) safety, though small numbers are also carried into battle by Guardsmen for special situations. In this role one trooper carries the flamer itself while his assistant hauls its fuel and a backup weapon such as a lascarbine. Especially strong or power armoured soldiers are capable of wielding a heavy flamer and its fuel supply by themselves. Among those who believe in the purifying power of fire, a heavy flamer is its ultimate expression as far as individual weapons go.

Heavy flamers include a backpack fuel tank weighing 25kg that provides the listed Clip size.

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Anoxis Stingray Rifle Class: Basic (Flame)

The Stingray is not actually a flamer at all but produces similar results (horrible burns) by directional microwave projection instead of a fiery jet of Promethium. This causes immediate blistering heat on organic substances, such as unruly crewmembers or boarding parties, but will not damage most shipboard equipment and is extremely unlikely to start a fire. This makes the Stingray an exceptionally useful weapon for use aboard ships in the void. Planetary users who can acquire a Stingray often find them to be just as efficient as their voidsman counterparts, but the microwave beam can be significantly hampered by rainfall, high humidity, and other atmospheric weather conditions.

Targets caught in a Stingray’s 30 degree arc suffer a -10 penalty to their Agility Tests to avoid the weapon’s effects, but cannot be set on fire by it. If raining or extremely humid the Stingray gains the Primitive quality and its Range is reduced to 10m. Stingray rifles use standard lasgun charge packs to provide energy for their microwave beam, and can be used with overcharge packs with the usual effects. Stingrays can also be used with hotshot packs but with extreme danger: if the weapon suffers a Jam it catastrophically explodes, dealing Damage to the firer as though he were hit with the beam.

Stingrays are Scarce around large space stations and planetary dock yards and are Very Rare elsewhere.

Tox Spray Class: Basic (Flame)

Tox sprays are terrifying weapons founds in the hands of the worst type of gang scum in the most polluted hive sumps. The weapon uses an absolutely foul mixture of highly corrosive industrial residue and toxic waste contained under high pressure, which is unleashed on its extremely unfortunate victim(s) through a jury-rigged spray gun. The effects of the mixture on flesh are truly horrific and most armour offers little protection from the burning and sickening poisonous fluids. Notoriously, tox sprays are

used by the gangers of Volg on Fenksworld to execute traitors and informants in the most gruesome manner possible – and without doubt there are few worse ways to die.

Although not a true flame weapon, victims hit by a tox spray’s attack must still succeed on an Agility Test or else the terrible effluence clings to their bodies and causes further chemical burns as though they were on fire. Characters in sealed armour and those lacking organic bodies are effectively immune to being attacked by a tox spray. If the tox spray suffers a Jam, the weapon ruptures explosively, inflicting the weapon’s Damage as a two metre blast with double the rolled Damage inflicted on the user. Tox sprays are Scarce on Hive Worlds and Rare on other developed worlds.

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PRIMITIVE WEAPONS Even in the 41st Millennium there are many worlds within the Imperium that have a very low technological base, whether still developing or having regressed back to a more primitive state. Weaponry of this type is typical to that which was once used on Terra in ancient prehistory, and there are Administratum scholars who believe that the growth of such undeveloped worlds may closely resemble that of Holy Terra itself. Many explorers and investigative groups have found it to their advantage to maintain proficiency with these very low-tech weapons so that they can make use of local hardware while conducting business on such backwater and regressed planets.

Primitive weapons of this sort can sometimes be found on more built-up planets, including Hive worlds, as the product of cheap scav-workshops and other low-grade smiths, and while far from effective compared to autoguns and stubbers, any gun is better than none at all.

This class of weapon refers to any of a broad range of low-complexity ranged armaments, including black powder-fired guns as well as muscle-powered devices like crossbows and javelins among a wide variety of others. To use primitive weapons without penalty, a character must have the Thrown Weapon Training (Primitive), Pistol Training (Primitive), Basic Weapon Training (Primitive), or Heavy Weapon Training (Primitive) talents. Bolas Class: Thrown (Primitive)

Bolas are a simple but highly effective tool meant to tangle up an opponent. Most are constructed from several dense balls of stone or wood (sometimes as many as eight) held together with heavy cord; examples manufactured on more developed Imperial worlds might be made of resin or plasteel bound together with wire, but function in essentially the same way. Bolas are held in one hand and swung above the head where their mass allows them to pick up speed, then flung at the legs of a

foe to entangle them where their mass and inertia can knock even a strong man off his feet. Bolas are not explicitly offensive weapons, and someone hit by a set of them is likely to only suffer injuries from being knocked over. This makes them a favoured choice for bounty hunters and enforcers, including some more eccentric Arbitrators, as they can be used in the aid of apprehending a fleeing target.

Volonx Bone Bolas: The nomads and hunters of Volonx have created a nastier style of bolas that is intended to inflict much more harm on their victim. The weights are made from bone and cords embedded with sharp teeth from native sand sharks meant to cause lacerations as it entangles its target. The porous shark teeth are typically soaked in poison made from mashed skem plants, giving it several victims’ worth of virulent toxic kick. A target tripped up by Volonx bone bolas is likely to be sent into anaphylactic shock from exposure to the poison along with being planted on their faces by the bolas’ more typical effect.

Volonx Bone Bolas are Very Rare outside of that planet.

Bow Class: Basic (Primitive)

Bows are unlikely the first missile weapon designed by man in ancient prehistory, and tens of millennia later are still made by tribal bowyers on feral worlds and niche weapon artisans on more developed planets. While undeniably inferior to any kind of modern gun in terms of firepower, range, and ease of use, a bow is almost completely silent while firing. This is an attractive quality to assassins and more eccentric gangers who have enough faith in their aim to justify the slow attacks and lack of armour penetration. Bows made on feral and feudal worlds are almost universally made of special types of wood selected for their flexibility; those designed for Imperial hunters and hitmen may be made of any variety of synthetic materials.

Composite Bow: This is a more advanced style of bow is found on later feudal worlds and is made of multiple pieces of wood, sinew and

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horn fused together under pressure to give the bow a permanently drawn shape. Composite bows are both accurate and quicker to use than classic bows, but require substantial craftsmanship and access to better materials, as well as a higher degree of care in maintenance. Composite bows offer some significant advantages over primitive black powder guns, and like normal bows some are manufactured on more advanced worlds for their combination of attractive features.

Longbow: Longbows are explicit weapons of war, often taller than their users and far too

unwieldy for use in hunting game. A longbow’s arrows are designed to be propelled at range with great speed and sufficient power to penetrate personal armours worn by enemy troops, and a classic tactic to employ these weapons is where a multitude of archers release a massive flurry of arrows on a ballistic trajectory to rain death upon an opposing army. A longbow is almost invariably crafted from the dense heartwood of old-growth trees as these provide sufficient strength to contain the great tension necessary to propel an arrow at sufficient velocity. Many feudal worlds have entire sections

Primitive Weapons Name Class Range RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availabil i ty

Bolas Thrown 10m S/-/- 0 0 1 - Primitive, Snare 1.5kg 10 - Average

Bone Bolas Thrown 8m S/-/- 1d5 I 0 1 - Inaccurate, Primitive, Snare, Toxic

2kg 15 Volonx Rare

Bow Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 1 Half Primitive, Reliable 2kg 10 - Common

Composite Bow Basic 40m S/-/- 1d10+2 R 1 1 Half Accurate, Primitive 3kg 50 - Scarce

Longbow Basic 50m S/-/- 1d10+2 R 2 1 Half Primitive 3kg 20 Feudal Average

Crossbow Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 1 2 Full Primitive 3kg 10 - Common

Heavy Crossbow Basic 80m S/-/- 1d10+4 R 2 1 4 Full Primitive 6kg 75 Feudal Rare

Hunting Crossbow Basic 50m S/-/- 1d10+1 R 1 1 2 Full Accurate, Primitive 2.5kg 100 Imperial Scarce

Drive Nailer Basic 5m -/3/- 1d10+1 R 4 15 3 Full Primitive 7kg 50 Hive Common

Flick Bow Pistol 15m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 1 Full Primitive, Special 1kg 30 - Scarce

Flintlock Pistol Pistol 15m S/-/- 1d10+2 I 0 1 3 Full Inaccurate, Primitive, Unreliable

4kg 10 - Common

Deuce Pistol Pistol 15m S/2/- 1d10+2 I 0 2 5 Full Primitive, Unreliable 2kg 40 - Average

Hand Crossbow Pistol 15m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 1 Full Primitive 1kg 200 - Rare

Haywire Rifle Basic 10m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 2 6 Full Special 5kg 400 - Very Rare

Hunting Boomerang Thrown 10m S/-/- 1d10 I 0 1 - Primitive .5kg 50 - Common

Impaler Heavy 30m S/-/- 1d10+5 I 2 1 2 Full Primitive, Unreliable 22kg 100 Hive Scarce

Javelin Thrown 15m S/-/- 1d10+SB R 1 1 - Primitive 1kg 8 - Plentiful

Musket Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 2 1 5 Full Inaccurate, Primitive, Unreliable 7kg 30 - Common

Blunderbuss Basic 30m S/-/- 1d10+ 2 I 0 1 2 Full Inaccurate, Primitive, Unreliable

4kg 20 - Plentiful

Siskan Musket Basic 40m S/-/- 1d10+3 I 2 1 5 Full Primitive, Vicious 8kg 65 Sisk Scarce

Razor Disk Thrown 10m S/-/- 1d10+SB R 1 1 - Primitive .5kg 50 Fedrid Average

Scrap Cannon Heavy 15m S/-/- 1d10+3 R 0 1 3 Full Scatter, Unreliable 40kg 150 Hive Very Rare

Sling Basic 15m S/-/- 1d10-2 I 0 1 Full Primitive .5kg 10 - Plentiful

Thunderclap Exotic 9m S/-/- 1d5+3 X 0 1 - Blast (2), Inaccurate, Primitive, Unstable

1kg 45 Volonx Very Rare

Vibe Spear Thrown 10m S/-/- 1d10+2+SB R 1 1 - Primitive, Snare, Special 2kg 14 Endrite Scarce

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of law devoted to the protection of such trees from logging by commoners as their depletion would be a crippling blow to the manufacture of new longbows. Due to their great bulk and the difficulty in drawing, longbows are far rarer than other bow-style weapons as far as manufacture on more advanced Imperial worlds.

Crossbow Class: Basic (Primitive)

A semi-mechanical weapon, crossbows are wooden-stocked with a sturdy metal bow that is held back by a trigger-activated release. Short, heavy arrows known as bolts are flung out of the weapon at great speed, though pulling the bow itself back into firing position requires considerable effort and time. Crossbows are easier to use than regular bows since they can be left loaded and grabbed just before combat, whereas a bow will always need to be readied and drawn first.

Heavy Crossbow: Also known as arbalests, these monster crossbows must be braced with a foot in a special stirrup near the bow and winched into firing position with a windlass before a bolt can be inserted. This process is almost as lengthy as reloading a musket, but the force created by a heavy crossbow’s bolt is incredible among primitive weapons and have been known to penetrate a horseman and his horse at the same time. Soldiers armed with heavy crossbows must be well-disciplined to fire their shot at the right moment, as a charging enemy likely won’t give them enough time to reload. They are also stable and exceptionally accurate, and expert sharpshooters at a besieged castle have been known to take out men operating catapults of the attacking force.

Hunting Crossbow: Effectively a crossbow manufactured using present techniques and materials, crossbows of this type are used on many worlds by huntsmen, frontier settlers, and others who value its simple action and quiet operation. Unlike traditional crossbows found on feudal worlds, hunting crossbows usually include a variety of convenience features,

including detachable stocks, pistol grips, and the ability to mount sights much like a hunting rifle.

Hunting crossbows can use bolts made of laminate plexichrome or armaplas along with more traditional ones. These bolts cost twice as much as normal bolts and when used with a hunting crossbow cause it to lose the Primitive quality.

Drive Nailer Class: Basic (Primitive)

One of the first weapons to appear in the hands of heretics in a hive uprising, the drive nailer is simply a high-power nail or rivet-driving gun of the type common to the millions who toil in hive construction and reclamation crews across the Imperium. With its power setting turned up to maximum and safety features disabled, drive nailers can make a messy but effective weapon. They have a very short effective range as the nails or rivets lose velocity quickly, but nevertheless are often sufficient to give rioting hivers enough firepower to steal better weapons from unlucky enforcers and PDF troops who’ve found themselves nailed to a wall or bulkhead.

Flick Bow Class: Basic (Primitive)

A flick bow is a curious compact-size hand crossbow that is designed to fold up into a package that can be tucked away inside a boot, muffler, sleeve, or purse. It is therefore a common choice for coachmen, ladies of negotiable affection and criminal gangs on many medieval worlds, although the finest crafted examples are made by the artisans of Balecaster and wouldn’t look out of place in an Inquisition armoury. The span of a flick bow folds inwards and its grip tips back to form an oblong shape suitable for concealment.

A flick bow requires a Half Action to be unfolded and locked in place before it can be loaded and shot. The bow is not designed for long-term tension, so it cannot be left in the expanded position for long periods of time.

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When folded up, a flick bow grants a +10 bonus to Sleight of Hand Tests made to conceal it.

Flintlock Pistol Class: Pistol (Primitive)

These primitive black powder weapons can take many forms, from finely crafted pistols constructed for the nobles of low-tech worlds, elegant yet simple sidearms for use by cavalry soldiers, or simple pipe and powder affairs used by underhive scum. In general, a pistol of this type is essentially an extremely short musket with a built-in ramrod that won’t come lose during close combat. Many have reinforced pommels made of iron or brass explicitly for use as a club in melee combat as few enemies would give the firer enough time to reload. Flintlocks are the most common form of primitive pistol although similar weapons might be rigged to fire with a match or percussion cap depending on the level of advancement of the particular world.

Deuce Pistol: A double-barrelled variant that is particularly popular on many worlds where duelling is common, and it also serves as a useful hunting sidearm as well. These types of flintlock pistol are almost assuredly manufactured to a high level of precision and are often markedly more accurate than their contemporaries,

though their usefulness is still far below a modern autopistol’s. Most models of deuce pistols feature separate triggers, one for each barrel, thus allowing the wielder to fire twice before having to reload. Assuming the powder takes, both barrels can also be fired at once by pulling both triggers simultaneously.

If both triggers are fired at once, a deuce pistol adds 1 to its Damage and gains the Tearing quality. The listed Reload time assumes the firer is reloading both barrels; reloading just one barrel takes three Full Actions.

Hand Crossbow Class: Pistol (Primitive)

A hand crossbow is more or less a normal crossbow that’s been shrunken down to a size suitable for one-handed operation complete with a pistol grip. This size is suitable for firing and reloading by horsemen, coach guards, and others who can’t manage the bulk of a full-size crossbow. They can also be easily dismantled and re-assembled and are almost completely silent when firing. This makes them a favoured weapon of assassins on medieval planets, while higher-tech killers may opt to use such a weapon for exactly the same reasons, especially if using poison-coated bolts.

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Haywire Rifle Class: Basic (Primitive)

Haywire rifles are not the issue of feudal world gunsmiths at all, instead being the product of deliberate design to make a weapon that is as mechanically simple as possible for a very particular purpose. Haywire rifles are designed to shoot specialty stub ammunition that contains a directed energy discharge, effectively passing through augmetic armour and machine plating. Due to these debilitating effects on holy engines and other pieces of equipment, they are severely proscribed by the Adeptus Mechanicus, who view a haywire rifle’s lack of a machine spirit with particular hatred and disgust. Haywire rifles are produced by a handful of skilled (and clandestine) armourer-cabals in the Calixis Sector, and there are some that have suggested the only reason these groups haven’t been wiped out by Mechanicus Secutors is due to special protections being offered by high authority. Whether this implies the sector’s nobility, the Inquisition, or some other dark power varies from source to source.

A haywire rifle doubles its Pen value and gains the Tearing quality against targets with the Machine or Mechanicus Implants Trait as well as those judged by the GM to be similar in nature (such as the lock system for a blast door). Haywire rifle ammunition has a base price of 20 Thrones each and is considered Very Rare. A haywire rifle can be used with normal stub pistol ammunition instead, gaining those qualities as normal (such as a Pen value of 3 for man-stopper bullets).

Hunting Boomerang Class: Thrown (Primitive)

Boomerangs are deceptively simple weapons made of two pieces of finely crafted and shaped wood or horn that are joined together to make a V-shape. When thrown by a trained user, a boomerang will spin with great speed and fly for a short period, and can hit game animals with remarkable accuracy. A boomerang imparts enough force to break bones of smaller creatures and makes little noise while sailing through the

air, enabling a hunter armed with one to silently kill his quarry.

Boomerangs occasionally turn up on more advanced worlds as a novelty item, but some are used for exactly the same purpose as their primitive counterparts. If made of modern materials (metals and synthetics, plasteel, and so forth) a boomerang deals Rending instead of Impact Damage, and can benefit from the Mono-edge upgrade.

Impaler Class: Heavy (Primitive)

This is something of a giant harpoon cannon that employs high tension springs or industrial cabling to hurl a projectile at a target with great force. Crude and simplistic to a point, weapons of this type are often wielded by slab-muscled gang heavies and degenerate mutant scum in many underhives of Imperial cities. Impalers make use of a section of sturdy pipe or reinforcing bar that’s had one end ground to a sharp piercing tip as a projectile. Though a poor substitute for a more proper gun, up-hive enforcers and gunslingers have found it remarkably hard to laugh about its inferiority whilst pinned to a wall by a metre-long spear.

A Strength Bonus of at least 4 is required to operate the reloading mechanism of an impaler.

Javelin Class: Thrown (Primitive)

A lightweight flexible spear that is specifically designed for throwing, javelins lack the rigidity to be used as a melee weapon but can he hurled a surprising distance by a skilled user. Javelins are common sights on worlds that have devolved to total savagery as they are very simple to make, while sophisticated versions that are designed to splinter or bend on impact to cause more severe injury are employed on some more developed planets. Chariot-mounted warriors of Monrass are especially fond of this style of javelin, and carry them in clusters on their carriages.

The thrower’s Strength Bonus is added to Damage inflicted by a javelin as though it was a melee weapon.

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Musket Class: Basic (Primitive)

Muskets are the simplest type of gun manufactured in notable quantities and almost exclusively use black powder and a muzzle-loaded shot to bring down an enemy. Most are smoothbore weapons with separately loaded powder and shot that must be rammed into place with an included ramrod, with ignition provided by a flint and hammer. The lengthy reloading time along with generally poor accuracy makes these weapons markedly inferior to any type of more modern rifle, and outside of feudal worlds they are only used by the most desperate or ill-equipped renegades. Muskets fire a projectile that’s nearly as big as a bolter’s, and while not nearly as effective as one of those holy instruments many armoured knights have found themselves blasted straight out of their plate suits by a direct hit from a musket.

Blunderbuss: This is a very basic type of musket with a wide barrel that is designed to be easy to reload from horseback or inside a coach. Its funnel-like muzzle can also be used to load loose shot pellets instead of a single ball, making it something of a primitive shotgun. A feudal blunderbuss will often be decorated with a motif of fire-breathing creatures around its muzzle due to the loud report and giant flame produced when firing, while those scratch-built in underhive workshops are often little more than tubes with a firing mechanism using ball bearings or industrial scrap for ammo.

If loaded with loose shot a blunderbuss’ Range decreases to 10m and it gains the Scatter quality.

Siskan “Father Shot” Musket: Fanatical theologians dominate the feudal world of Sisk and recorded that in the tradition of their colonial founding is the admonishment that Siskan defence is “built upon the bones of our forefathers”. This expression is taken quite literally by many and is best exemplified by the muskets made on that world.

Formed in the main from a human thighbone and incorporating other osseous bodies in a variety of functions, these components are traditionally those of the wielder’s ancestors as

this supposedly provides a stronger bond between the weapon and its owner. This exquisite firearm is a highly desirable object in many noble circles due to its intrinsic (if gruesome) beauty and fine craftsmanship. Utilising an iron-capped tooth as its striking mechanism, the “Father Shot” is considered to be a reliable weapon with a reputation for lucky hits, and is undeniably a masterfully-crafted weapon whose accuracy comes close to that of far more sophisticated stubbers and autoguns. In certain seedy areas of Sisk, down on their luck artificers are willing to create trophy muskets of comparable quality from bones brought to them by well-paying customers. They seldom ask where the materials come from, as their patrons all too often have the steely glint of revenge in their eyes.

Fedrid Razor Disk Class: Thrown (Primitive)

The hunters of Fedrid employ an unusual thrown weapon on their expeditions, which is simply known as a razor disk. About the size of a standard dinner plate, the weapon features a sharpened edge all around its outer surface. Numerous holes, made at 45 degree angles, pierce the disk’s surface so that when thrown the air passing through the holes creates a low humming sound. This can be used to scare birds hiding in tall grass where they can be caught with nets or shot, while the noise itself is useful in tracking a disk that’s been thrown into the dense Fedrid undergrowth as it strikes game.

Scrap Cannon Class: Heavy (Primitive)

For underhive gangs who cannot steal or buy more effective heavy armament, the best they can bring to a turf war is an aptly-named scrap cannon. Made from a crudely reinforced length of pipe packed with black powder, the weapon is simply rammed with nails, bolts, and anything else nasty scraped from the underhive floor. Scrap cannons are hugely unwieldy and not actually very lethal, especially if its targets are wearing any kind of half-decent armour.

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However, they look scary and make an impressively enormous bang and pyrotechnic blast when fired, which is often enough to scatter poorly disciplined gangers and other sorts of underhive scum. As an added plus, ammunition is more or less free.

Individuals successfully hit with a scrap cannon must Test for Pinning. Scrap cannons are Very Rare items outside of underhive areas and are Average within their depths.

Sling Class: Basic (Primitive)

Slings are a surprisingly difficult weapon to master and are far easier to construct than they are to build. Most are made from a simple leather square firmly attached to two lengths of cord, which are usually provided with a leather or wooden handle on each end. With a projectile – often a rock – on the square, a skilled user can swing the sling with considerable speed, releasing the projectile with a snap of the wrist. On more advanced worlds slings may be used to hurl metallic balls or more aerodynamic projectiles, and those confident of their skill might even use them to throw hand grenades as well. Slings made on developed Imperial worlds are typically made of more sophisticated materials, such as elastic cords and flakweave pockets, but are used in the same way.

If a character uses a sling to propel a grenade, replace the grenade’s Range with that of the sling and leave other statistics unchanged. If the sling suffers a Jam, the projectile flies off 3d10 metres in a random direction (see Missing on page 196 of Dark Heresy).

Volonx Thunderclap Class: Thrown (Exotic)

The tribal warriors of Volonx are famed for their strange scavenged weapons. Perhaps the strangest (and most suicidal) employed by these innovative fighters is the thunderclap. A thrown weapon with a surprisingly good range, a thunderclap vaguely resembles a boomerang with a 45 degree bend about a third of the way along its length. At each end a fearsome piece of

sharpened bone juts out, whilst the innards are packed with a primitive and volatile explosive that detonates when striking a hardened surface. When thrown, the weapon flies in a wide circular arc, and can return to the thrower if it does not strike a target. Ideally, the thrower will then be brave and nimble enough to catch it again, without blowing themselves to pieces!

If a character throws a thunderclap and misses, it attempts to return to the thrower’s location. Catching a returning thunderclap requires the catcher to succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test; failure means the thunderclap flies an additional 1d5+1 metres from the thrower’s position before landing, while failure by three or more Degrees results in the thunderclap exploding directly on the thrower. In this case, the thrower cannot make an Agility Test to attempt to avoid the blast.

Vibe Spear Class: Thrown (Primitive)

This nasty weapon, haling from Endrite in the Drusus Marches, appears to be a simple spear of fresh-cut wood to the untrained eye. However, any scrutiny of the spearhead reveals tiny backwards-curving barbed thorns protruding from the fibrous point. Once embedded into a target, the barbs bite deep and the thorned head may break off in the wound, with any subsequent movement seeing the barbs dig deeper into the victim’s flesh. The Endrites use vibe spears to bleed and wear down prey animals, but they make effective weapons of war too. Removing the barbed point without causing further harm is a delicate business.

Any living creature without the Machine trait injured by a vibe spear must pass a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or also suffer 1 level of Fatigue. Successfully removing the spear requires a Challenging (+0) Medicae Test. A failed Test still removes the spear but inflicts a further 1d5 Damage which is not reduced by Toughness or Armour.

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LAUNCHERS, GRENADES, AND BOMBS In a galaxy raked by war and disorder there is a high demand for extremely destructive ordnance. Being able to blow away a large mass of enemies at once can be a major equalizer to servants of the Imperium, who all too often find themselves outnumbered by foes whose quantity (almost) makes up for their lack of faith. To that end, the forge worlds of the Imperium send out a steady stream of explosives, grenades, bombs, and weaponry designed to chuck them at the enemies of the Emperor.

This section includes several types of weapons. Launchers are designed to propel another weapon, typically a grenade or missile, at a foe that is beyond throwing range, and vary widely from simple tubes attached to the bottom of Imperial Guard lasguns to devastating hunter-killer missiles ordinarily deployed from armoured vehicles. In most cases, a launcher’s Damage and Qualities are dictated by the projectile it is firing. Grenades and missiles are portable destructive devices that can run a

gamut of purposes, from shredding one’s foes to laying down a smokescreen to cover a tactical manoeuvre. They differ in that while grenades can be armed and lobbed by hand, missiles must be fired by a compatible launcher weapon.

To use launcher weapons without penalty, a character must have the Pistol Training (Launcher), Basic Weapon Training (Launcher), or Heavy Weapon Training (Launcher) talents. Throwing grenades requires no special training or talents and is simply resolved through a Ballistic Skill Test, while setting explosives and bombs is resolved through the Demolition skill (see Dark Heresy, page 101).

Bola Launcher Class: Basic (Launcher)

This weapon looks vaguely like a miniature missile launcher but is much less deadly, though its firer’s intentions may not be. A bola launcher uses compressed gas to fling a standard set of bolas at high velocity and with considerably greater reach than even a skilled bola thrower could manage on muscle power alone. Being clocked by a set of bolas fired from a bola

Launchers Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability

Bola Launcher Basic 20m S/-/- 1d5+1 I 0 6 Full Primitive, Snare 12kg 250 - Rare

Disposable Launcher Heavy 175m S/-/- † † 1 - † 20kg 600 - Scarce

Grenade Launcher Basic 60m S/-/- † † 6 2 Full † 9kg 500 - Scarce

Aux Special 45m S/-/- † † 1 Full † +2kg 250 - Rare

Gorge Basic 60m S/-/- † † 1 2 Full Reliable, † 8kg 300 Hive Average

Mezoa Basic 80m S/-/- † † 1 Half † 10kg 400 - Scarce

Voss Basic 60m S/3/- † † 6 2 Full Inaccurate, † 13kg 1,000 - Very Rare

Hunter-Killer Missile Heavy 350m S/-/- 3d10+6 X 6 1 - - 65kg 2,000 - Very Rare

Mole Mortar Heavy 50 – 200m

S/-/- 2d10+2 X 2 1 Full Inaccurate, Shocking, Blast (4) 50kg 4,500 - Extremely

Rare

Mortar (generic) Heavy 50 – 300m

S/-/- † † 1 Full Inaccurate 40kg 1,500 - Rare

Locke Heavy 50 – 300m S/-/- † † 6 2 Full Inaccurate 48kg 3,000 - Very Rare

Missile Launcher Heavy 250m S/-/- † † 1 Full † 22kg 2,500 - Scarce

Retobi Heavy 200m S/-/- † † 5 2 Full Unreliable, † 35kg 3,000 - Rare

RPG Launcher Basic 120m S/-/- † † 1 Full † 15kg 1,200 - Scarce

†Damage, Penetration, and any special qualities are determined by the ammunition fired

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launcher can cause injury due to the speed of the bolas, so they are not recommended for use on delicate quarries. A bola launcher has the advantage of storing several sets of bolas in a removable clip, allowing for multiple takedowns before the weapon needs to be reloaded. This sort of weapon is most commonly employed by bounty hunters and trackers, though more unsavoury types have been known to employ them for sinister purposes involving kidnapping.

Disposable Launcher Class: Heavy (Launcher)

Cheap single-shot missile launchers like this are produced to equip PDF troopers and other forces that need simple but hard-hitting firepower. They are by and large a reinforced armaplas tube with a protective cover on each end and a folding pistol grip and sighting system, with a single frag or krak missile preloaded and ready for use. Disposable missile launchers are regarded by the Departmento Munitorum as ammunition rather than weapons and many armouries throughout the Imperium are stacked to the roof with crates of these weapons. This has led to numerous examples finding their way onto the black market, much to the chagrin of the Adeptus Arbites and planetary enforcers.

Disposable missile launchers are intended to be fired once and then thrown away, and may not be reloaded.

Grenade Launcher Class: Basic (Launcher)

Grenade launchers are a favourite weapon of many Imperial servants and scummers alike for their ease of use and ability to deliver all sorts of unpleasant things into the midst of a group of foes. Grenade launchers use compressed gas (provided by a built-in compressor) to propel grenades far further than even the strongest arm possibly could. This puts the firer safely out of harm’s way and allows the power of a grenade to be deposited in “tactical” situations. Most common grenades can be fired by a grenade launcher; those made to Munitorum standards

include a device that automatically pulls the arming pin of a hand grenade when fired, allowing grenades to be safely stored within a launcher’s clip. The pins are left in the launcher’s clip after the grenades have been fired, and particularly seasoned grenadiers have been known to maintain large necklaces or other charms made from the numerous pins of grenades they have fired. The most common types of grenade launchers employed by the Imperial Guard and Adeptus Arbites take the form of a large, stocky gun with a pistol grip and a revolver-style chamber into which multiple grenades can be loaded. Other grenade launchers with more unique features are listed here.

Aux Grenade Launcher: This simple one-shot launcher is designed to be attached under the barrel of another basic weapon, such as a lasgun, allowing the firer the option to shoot a grenade instead of their weapon’s usual attack. Aux launchers are reloaded by pivoting the barrel downward on a hinge and loading a new grenade into the breech. This is not the fastest process on the battlefield, and many users simply keep a grenade loaded at all times and seldom bother reloading once fired until a lull in combat presents itself.

An aux grenade launcher counts as a basic weapon when attached to one. It can also be used on its own as a pistol, and are typically employed in this fashion to launch signal or illumination rounds.

Gorge Grenade Launcher: The Gorge is a very basic single-shot launcher that resembles an oversized shotgun. It has a break-open action which allows grenades to be loaded – this is rather sluggish due to the Gorge’s robust design, but a grenadier can shoot with total confidence that his grenade will launch. Its simplicity does not diminish its effectiveness, and it is a popular support weapon used by enforcers, mercenaries, and PDF troopers. Gorges are especially common on hive worlds where they can be made in scav-workshops and lesser forges, and widespread availability on the black market makes it one of the easiest ways for recidivists and rebel groups to obtain extra firepower.

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The Gorge requires two hands to fire, but can be easily and safely swung with one and counts as a club in melee.

Mezoa-Pattern: Grenade launchers produced on Mezoa are designed for simplicity and effectiveness at range as well as ease in firing. A long barrel and stable grenade chamber improves accuracy compared to other launchers, and the weapon automatically opens after firing to permit a rapid reload. Though it can only hold a single grenade, skilled users can load a new one with enough speed to keep up a steady barrage of shots, even while on the move.

Voss Assault Launcher: This grenade launcher resembles more common patterns but with the addition of a clockwork cylinder mechanism that must be wound up during reloading. The cylinder remains under tension and can fire off its grenades with a frightening pace, making it an excellent choice for shock troops who need to suppress a large enemy force at once. The violent motion of the cylinder’s rotation tends to make the assault launcher want to jump out of the shooter’s hands; they are known for their volume of firepower, not pinpoint accuracy.

Hunter-Killer Missile Class: Heavy (Launcher)

This specialty missile is a marvel of Mechanicus engineering that is almost capable of firing itself. Because of its very large weight and back blast it is usually mounted to Imperial vehicles, with wide stubby patterns used on tanks and armoured personnel carriers while longer and thinner versions are attached to the wings of flyers. Hunter-killer missiles are fitted with an advanced guidance system and a large fuel supply, giving them exceptional range and accuracy. Once fired, a hunter-killer missile’s internal cogitator and

sensorum suite make adjustments to the missile’s path to lead it almost unerringly to its target. Armed with a krak warhead and leaving a corkscrewing spiral of smoke behind it, the sight of a hunter-killer missile bearing down on one’s position is a sign of almost certain doom.

The listed rules are for a hunter-killer missile attached to an infantry tripod so that it can be hauled around in the field; vehicular versions weigh 10kg less. A hunter-killer missile’s guidance systems grant a +20 bonus to Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack with it and reduce penalties for shooting at Long or Extreme range by half. Additionally, a hunter-killer missile may reroll a failed attack as long as it was by two degrees of failure or less. Hunter-killer missiles take a few moments to get up to speed and do not benefit from shooting at Short or Point-Blank range (not that it would be wise to employ one at such distances regardless!).

Mole Mortar Class: Heavy (Launcher)

Mole mortars are curious devices that look like something between a handheld missile launcher and a typical mortar weapon. As the

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name suggests, a mole mortar fires a special tunnelling torpedo that mimics the ballistic arc of a normal mortar except in a reversed fashion underground rather than in the air. They are set to explode just beneath the surface of their target which can often catch the enemy unprepared. The resulting underground blast can have devastating results on structures as well as enemy troops; those not killed or maimed by the blast itself are typically sent flying by the concussive force. A mole mortar can also be used to destroy enemies in subterranean tunnels, and are particularly effective in collapsing bunkers.

Tunnelling torpedoes are advanced munitions that use a powerful drill in the nose to bore through rock and earth. A small and unstable power field generator assists in sliding through dense surfaces; its operational life span provides just enough time for the tunnelling torpedo to reach its point of detonation.

A mole mortar launcher includes a small guidance cogitator that the firer manipulates to guide the torpedo to its target. Firing a mole mortar is a Full Action if the firer wishes to use the guidance cogitator in this way. It can be fired blind as a Half Action like other weapons, but the firer takes a -10 penalty to his Ballistic Skill

Test and if the weapon misses it deviates by 3d10+5 metres (see Dark Heresy, page 196).

Mortar Class: Heavy (Launcher)

A mortar is a classic artillery weapon that can fling a substantial explosive warhead on a high ballistic trajectory. Infantry mortars are typically hauled into place by a two-man crew and deployed in a defensive position where they can bombard an enemy. Mortars are especially useful at displacing troops in entrenched positions as their high angle of attack will often cause a mortar shell to land directly in an enemy trench or dugout. The majority of mortars used in the Imperium are fairly simple tube affairs with a sturdy base plate and adjustable braces to allow for adjustments to aim and angle. Mortar crews are usually used by two men, with one to load and fire the mortar (by dropping the shells down the barrel) and another to direct and aim the weapon by visually spotting the enemy or relaying targeting information by voxlink from a forward observer.

Locke-Pattern: This specific mark looks much like many types of functionally identical mortars produced throughout the Imperium, but it is designed to use a rotary ammo drum rather than muzzle-loaded shells. This provides it with a substantially greater rate of fire as the firer need only move the drum to its next shell and press an ignition stud rather than physically dropping another mortar into the tube. One downside to the Locke’s design is that the firer cannot singly load individual mortar shells down the muzzle like on most mortars; a new drum must be loaded to fire a different type of ammunition than those already installed.

Missile Launcher Class: Heavy (Launcher)

Missile launchers are precision destructive devices that fire extremely powerful warheads. By and large the purview of dedicated tank hunters and demolition teams, a missile launcher is a bulky but uncomplicated affair

INDIRECT FIRING Mortars and similar Launcher weapons are often fired in a suppression mode where the targeted enemy cannot be seen and only their rough location is known. In these cases, mortar shells and the like can be fired without any actual line of sight required. When firing in this manner, a hit means that the shell still scatters 1d10 metres from the target point, while a miss scatters 2d10 metres instead.

Often such weapons are fired in conjunction with a spotter who directs fire from the weapon. Any ally with an auspex or who can see the target can spend a Half or Full Action to spot for the mortar fire. In this case, the next shot by the mortar only scatters 1d5 metres on a hit, and gains a +10 or +20 bonus (respectively) to its Ballistic Skill Test.

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composed of a large tubular housing with a pistol grip and ignition system. A missile is

loaded from the rear of the launcher and locked into place, often by an assistant, leaving the job of sending the missile on its way to the firer. Imperial missiles are built for maximum accuracy and stability over range, and can make minor course corrections and adjustments as they scream towards their target. A missile launcher is only as accurate as its user, however, and tank hunters and kill teams alike always put their steadiest (and most disciplined) members in control of it when possible.

Retobi-Pattern: The Retobi is an ancient and comparably rare mark of missile launcher due to its temperamental machine spirits and rather cumbersome handling. Rather than individually loading missiles from behind, the Retobi uses a giant clip-loading system that can stack several missiles atop one another that drop into the launch tube after the previous one is fired. This allows one man to operate it with devastating efficiency – at least in theory, one soldier could destroy an entire armoured company on his own. Aside from its bulk, the Retobi is plagued with a stubbornness to use the newer styles of missiles in use by the Imperial Guard, and an uncooperative machine spirit has sent more than a few tank hunters to the Emperor when the launcher misfires and sets off the entire clip’s worth of missiles at once.

RPG Launcher Class: Basic (Launcher)

Short for “rocket propelled grenade”, an RPG Launcher is designed to fire modified grenades

at high speed and considerable range far beyond that of a typical grenade launcher. It is a fairly simple weapon composed primarily of a launch tube and firing system with a pistol grip; rockets are loaded at the front, and one man can usually handle all of the operations in the field. The

Grenades

Name Dam Pen Special Wt Cost Availability

Anti-Plant 3d10 E† 0 Blast (3) .5kg 40 Very Rare

Bilge Bomb 2d10 X 0 Blast (4), Toxic, Unreliable

.5kg 20 Common

Blind - - Blast (10), Smoke, Special

.5kg 25 Scarce

Bloodfire Special - Special .5kg 55 Rare

Choke Gas - - Blast (1d10+3), Special .5kg 40 Scarce

Filament 4d10+4 R 6 Blast (1), Tearing .5kg 300 Extremely Rare

Fire Bomb 1d10+3 E 4 Blast (3), Primitive .5kg 5 Plentiful

Frag 2d10 X 0 Blast (4) .5kg 10 Common

Mark III Solid 2d10 X 0 Blast (5) .8kg 10 Scarce

Hallucinogen - - Blast (10), Special .5kg 40 Rare

Haywire - - Blast (3), Special .5kg 200 Very Rare

Howler - - Blast (3), Special .5kg 25 Scarce

Krak 2d10+4 X 6 - .5kg 50 Rare

Nail Bomb 1d10+1 X 0 Blast (2), Unreliable 1kg 5 Common

Rad 1d10 E 0 Blast (12), Unreliable

1kg 650 Extremely Rare

Photon Flash - - Blast (15), Special .5kg 60 Scarce

Psychotroke - - Blast (3) 1kg 500 Very Rare

Psyk-Out - - Blast (Special) 1kg 5000 Extremely Rare

Plasma 1d10+6 E 6 Blast (1), Vicious 2kg 100 Very Rare

Smoke - - Blast (10), Smoke .5kg 5 Common

Starflare 1d10+5 E 6 Primitive 1kg 30 Scarce

Stunner - - Blast (10), Special .5kg 45 Rare

Thermal 1d10+3 E 6 Blast (2) .6kg 60 Rare

Terror - - Blast (10) 1kg 100 Scarce

Toxin Special - Blast (10), Special .5kg 90 Rare

Virus 3d10 I - Blast (8), Special .5kg 500 Extremely Rare

Web - - Blast (4), Snare 1kg 220 Scarce

†This Damage only affects plants and other flora

A thrown grenade’s Range is the thrower’s Strength Bonus x 3 metres

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rockets themselves are uncomplicated affairs made of a solid propellant charge with fins that deploy once the projectile is in flight. A grenade can be installed at the top, and a small secondary charge sets it off on impact with a hard surface (the side of a tank, a barricade, body armour, and so forth). An RPG launcher can be extremely useful and versatile to any combat situation depending on what type and how many grenades are available to the firer.

Most types of grenades can be used with an RPG launcher; see the individual grenade entry for compatibility. Blank rockets, ready to be loaded with a grenade, have a base price of 10 Thrones and are Scarce.

Anti-Plant Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

Anti-plant grenades contain a medley of chemicals and other toxic substances designed to reduce almost any kind of flora to a foul-smelling muck that deprives the enemy of cover while not seriously harming other materials. Aside from thwarting ambushes and revealing hidden foes, anti-plant grenades can also be used to create improvised landing zones or to quickly clear foliage for camp sites or building locations.

Bilge Bomb Used With: Thrown

These crude weapons are packed full of poisonous fungi, chemical waste, diseased flesh, and other grotesque substances. The canisters burst open on impact, showering the area with caustic sludge and noxious vapours. While their effect is not very powerful, unprotected targets can be brought down by the toxins, if not by the sheer nauseating smell of the attack. Bilge bombs are a favourite of foul creatures that lurk on the “black decks” of large spacecraft throughout the Imperium, but comparable bombs can be crafted in the foul underhive of many hive cities as well.

Blind Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

Blind grenades explode with a burst of dense dark grey smoke that obscures normal vision

while scattering thousands of particulate IR bafflers and EM spectrum chaff to befuddle advanced visual sensors. The effect is short-lived, but while it lasts it provides an excellent cover for advancing forces or to facilitate a quick withdrawal. A blind grenade’s vapour discharge dissipates after 1d10+1 Rounds though weather conditions may significantly reduce this time. Characters within the blast area while the smoke remains are considered to be Blind. Bloodfire Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

This terribly unpleasant grenade is packed full of a poisonous gas that attacks the nervous system, causing a horrible burning sensation and convulsive paralysis that are extremely painful and potentially lethal. Anyone within a Bloodfire grenade’s must succeed on a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or suffer 1d10+3 Impact Damage with the Toxic quality, with no reduction from Armour and Toughness. A rebreather or respirator provides a +30 bonus to this Test, and a character in a sealed suit is immune to its effects.

Choke Gas Used With: Thrown, GL

A particularly indiscriminate and potentially lethal weapon designed for crowd control and riot dispersal, choke gas contains a powerful irritant that attacks the eyes and respiratory system. A few lungfuls of the thick bluish gas can reduce the most ardent mobs to a sobbing, coughing morass. Choke gas grenades can be found in the arsenals of Adeptus Arbites precinct-forts on almost every planet, and while undoubtedly effective, it is not a weapon of first choice within cities (especially hives) as it has a tendency to spread through built-up areas and into air filtration systems where it can kill or seriously harm those of weak constitution.

Each Turn that a character is caught in the blast radius of choke gas they must make a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test. A gas mask provides a +20 bonus to this Test, while filtration plugs are totally useless as the choke

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gas attacks the eyes as well as respiratory system. Failure inflicts one level of Fatigue, and multiple Rounds are cumulative. The harmful effects of choke gas last while the character is within the blast area plus 1d10 Rounds. If a victim of choke gas fails the Test by four or more degrees, they also reduce their Toughness Characteristic by 1d10 for 1d5-1 hours. Successive failures are cumulative, and it is possible to die from choke gas by having one’s Toughness reduced to 0. Choke gas clouds linger for 1d5x3 minutes before dispersing, though weather conditions may significantly reduce this time.

Filament Grenade Used With: Thrown

This exotic and arcane grenade carries many tens of metres of compressed segments of monomolecular wire that expand into a cloud of deadly razor-sharp filaments on detonation. The resultant barely-visible blast slices through armour, flesh, and bone, and victims cut to thin slices by a filament bomb often do not realise they are dead even as their bodies fall to pieces. Filament bombs are coveted weapons for elite assassins and Inquisitorial agents, and some suggest they may be of Xenos manufacture. Regardless of where they come from, death at the hands of a filament grenade is one of the most absolute, if swift, ways to die. Fire Bomb Used With: Thrown

A primitive handheld incendiary device that can be fashioned from readily available materials on most Imperial worlds, fire bombs normally take the shape of a fragile canister of flammable liquid with a fuse made from cloth or other material that the liquid can soak into. Once the fuse is set aflame, the bomb is hurled at the enemy; the canister breaks open on impact to release a shower of burning liquid. Fire bombs are common during large riots where the malcontents can use them to forcibly scatter lines of enforcers, and many Arbitrators bring chemical extinguishers with them to such events

in anticipation of having these weapons hurled at them.

A target caught in a fire bomb’s blast must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or catch on fire. Characters wearing a sealed suit of armour who take no damage from the blast itself can’t be set on fire in this way.

Frag Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

Fragmentation, or “frag”, are the most ubiquitous variety of grenade – when a hiver or voidsman mentions a grenade in general, he’s likely referring to a frag. Frag grenades use an explosive charge to shatter a heavily notched metallic shell into dozens of deadly pieces of shrapnel that fly out in every direction. Most Imperial models are either round or cylindrical and are about the size of a clenched fist, and

EXPLOSIVE MISHAPS Whenever a Jam results from throwing or launching a grenade, missile, mortar, and similar weapons, something unfortunate has happened that may have disastrous consequences! Roll on the table below to determine the results. Roll Result 1-5 Dud. The explosive or round fails to

explode. If fired from a launcher, there is a 50% chance that the projectile fails to launch or lands harmlessly amid its intended targets; if the former, the jam must be cleared normally.

6-8 “It might be ok…” Nothing happens, yet. Roll again on this table next Round. This may have unfortunate implications if the firer is clearing a jam at the time.

9-0 BOOM! The round or explosive immediately goes off with any and all effects centred on the firer. If this was the result of firing a launcher the results may be even worse; “non-lethal” grenades, like howlers and smokes, must be cleared as though jammed, while an explosive like a frag or krak grenade destroys the launcher as well as setting off any other grenades that are loaded into it!

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while primarily a military weapon, many fighters outside the Imperial Guard or PDF cadres choose to carry a few frags “just in case”.

Gunmetal Solid Mark III FG: The forges of Gunmetal City are known to produce a slightly heavier version of standard frag grenades. While not as easy to carry in large numbers, the Solid Mark III offers an improved blast radius and is the choice of professional grenadiers throughout the Calixis Sector. Because of its oversized housing, this grenade can only be thrown.

Hallucinogen Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG Hallucinogen grenades are a special type of (usually) non-lethal weapon that induces a variety of short-lived psychological states and delusions. A hallucinogen grenade releases an almost invisible cloud of gas that profoundly warps the minds of those who breathe it in, and their comparative rarity as well as unpredictable outcome marks them as a tool of a very small set of specialist users.

All living creatures within a hallucinogen grenade’s blast must make a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test, with failure causing them to be overcome with delusions and hallucinations for 1d10 Rounds. Roll a d100 and refer to Hallucinogen Effects on page 137 of Dark Heresy to determine the nature of and results of these hallucinations for the duration of the grenade’s effect. Wearing a gas mask only provides a +20 bonus against this effect, and filtration plugs are totally useless.

Haywire Grenade Used With: Thrown

This curious device resembles an innocuous metal sphere with a ventilated band around its equator that emits a faint blue glow. When armed by depressing a stud at the top and bottom of the sphere, a haywire grenade charges and then shortly after releases a powerful burst of electromagnetic radiation that can have severely debilitating, though usually temporary, effects on many

types of machines and equipment while being essentially harmless to living creatures and inert objects. Haywire grenades are unpredictable weapons that are nonetheless extremely dangerous, with the consequences of using one in an industrial area or aboard a moving vehicle being potentially catastrophic; mere possession of a haywire grenade on a forge world is grounds for execution for most. While a serious threat to machinery of all sorts, haywire grenades are

HAYWIRE FIELD Electromagnetic radiation from a haywire grenade can have utterly devastating - or pathetically minimal - effects on all matters of machinery caught within the field's radius. When a haywire field springs into being, roll 1d10 on the table below to determine the strength of the effect. Each Round, the result decreases by 1 as the field diminishes; when it reaches 0, the field dissipates completely. If another haywire field is created in the same area it is ignored if the result is lower or replaces the current effect if it is higher. Roll Result 1-2 Insignificant: Other than a brief static tingle, there is

no appreciable effect. 3-4 Minor Disruption: All actions utilising technology,

including driving vehicles, firing non-Primitive Ranged weapons, Tech-Use Tests, and any physical actions attempted while wearing power armour or using cybernetics suffer a -10 penalty. The Base Movement score of anyone in power armour or with cybernetic limbs or organs is reduced by 1.

5-6 Major Disruption: As above but the penalty increases to -20 and Base Movement is reduced by 3. Non-Primitive Melee weapons, such as chain axes or power swords, function as Primitive weapons of an analogous type.

7-8 Dead Zone: All technology within the affected area completely creases to function. Power armour becomes unpowered, vehicles slow to a halt, and characters within non-incidental cybernetics suffer one level of Fatigue each Round they remain in the Dead Zone along with any other consequences the GM deems appropriate (for example, a bionic heart going into cardiac arrest).

9-10 Prolonged Dead Zone: As above. Roll 1d5 and add the result to the previous roll to determine how many extra Rounds the Dead Zone lasts.

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most often used by Skitarii Tech-Guards and Secutors of the Adeptus Mechanicus, typically while persecuting labour-helot uprisings or exterminating hereteks and traitors to their faith.

A haywire grenade causes a field effect of variable duration and strength; see the adjacent table for more information.

Howler Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

These grenades are designed to explode with a sustained burst of sonic energy lasting 1d5 Rounds, intended more to deafen and disorientate than wound. They generally cause no physical harm beyond loss of hearing and are most commonly used for incapacitating enemies with extremely painful noise. Howler grenades are often employed by professional bounty hunters, Inquisitorial agents, and other fighters who have some compunction against killing

their targets, but they can be used just as easily to disrupt a group of enemies before gunning them down. Characters within a howler grenade’s blast radius who lack heavy hearing protection are automatically deafened, and must pass a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or be Stunned while the grenade is active. Failure by three or more degrees results in the deafness being permanent.

Krak Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

Krak grenades incorporate a small but extremely powerful charge designed to defeat armour with a concentrated blast. This heavy directed firepower can be used in a variety of ways, most commonly to punch through bunker walls or attack armoured vehicles. Krak grenades do not produce a blast effect and their very narrow explosion makes them impractical for

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use against people, but skilled grenadiers with sharp aim have been known to make use of them in an anti-personnel role. A man directly hit by a krak grenade will likely leave nothing behind by a pair of smouldering boots.

Nail Bomb Used With: Thrown

Frag grenades are often heavily proscribed items on hive worlds due to their ability to cause wanton amounts of death in a hive city’s confines and dense crowds. Criminal scum and scavengers often produce their own crude variants to more easily obtain indiscriminate firepower, and the frequent use of nails as the primary shrapnel ingredient leads to these improvised grenades being generally referred to as nail bombs. Any sort of canister, often lengths of pipe or old food cans, is typically packed full of a crude explosive compound along with whatever shrapnel is available – nails, metal spoil, crushed glass, and other assorted nastiness – along with a home-made fuse that hopefully is reliable enough not to kill the user.

Along with scummers on hive worlds, primitive black powder grenades used on more developed feudal worlds produce a similar effect to a nail bomb, though with a correspondingly higher degree of finish and care in construction.

Photon Flash Used With: Thrown, GL

Photon flash grenades are extensively used by various enforcer types to disorient and surprise their targets, and are favourites for covering the entry into a hostile building. After landing, a photon flash grenade’s chemical-powder core ignites and produces a flash like a small star, causing temporary blindness to anyone nearby. The flash is bright enough to overload cheap or primitive vision protection systems, so even better-equipped gangers and scum can still be disabled by one. Anyone caught in a photon flash grenade’s blast must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or be blinded for 1d5 Rounds.

Plasma Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

These use a deliberate plasma containment failure, causing a blast of heat and light to burst forth like a miniature sun. Plasma grenades are similar to a compressed hydrogen flask used as ammunition by plasma weapons; the fuel is maintained in an excited state by a small onboard generator, with the resultant blast closely resembling a hit from a powerful plasma weapon. However, this apparatus becomes unstable over time, and plasma grenades have a short “shelf life” as some recidivists have discovered the hard way after looting Imperial armouries to supply their own men.

Psychotroke Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

A more refined and "tactical" variant of the better-known hallucinogen grenade, this weapon contains a purer mixture of psycho-reactive compounds and synthetic amplifiers to create a suitably more powerful effect. Moreover, instead of releasing a cloud of translucent vapour, the psychotroke jettisons a massive burst of microscopic particulates that can pierce virtually any form of protection from gas masks to full power armour. However, while it is capable of defeating significantly better protection, the grenade's coverage area is drastically smaller and shorter lived, the same properties that allow it to pass through respirator filters and life-sustainers being ill-suited to persistence once they have been released from their housing. Moreover, the active ingredients themselves are so unstable that they must be contained within a tiny stasis field before use; in addition to increasing the cost and complexity of the grenade, it also adds a measureable "shelf life" before the grenade expires and becomes a harmless shell.

Anyone caught within the blast area of a psychotroke grenade must pass a Hard (-20) Toughness Test or suffer the effects of a hallucinogen grenade. For each Degree of Failure on the Test, add a +5 bonus to the Hallucinogen Effect roll.

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Psyk-Out Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

Psyk-out grenades are a terrifying tool of retribution against witches and daemons, typically off-limits to anyone but the Inquisition and especially favoured servants of the Adeptus Ministorum. It is said that psyk-out grenades come directly from the Golden Throne itself, and while this may be more legend than fact, the weapons are produced only on Holy Terra, often travelling incredible distances through the warp before being used in anger. Because of their rarity and sacred origin, even newly-manufactured psyk-out grenades tend to be treated as venerated artefacts and invariably come in a gleaming alloy casing that resembles a holy relic. Once armed, a psyk-out grenade shatters on impact with a hard surface, spewing a cloud of glittering particles impregnated with negative psychic energies in the immediate vicinity. This has severely warp-dampening effects that can completely cut off daemons and witches from their source of power, making it often the first (or last...) recourse for those who would persecute these eternal enemies of mankind. However, a psyk-out grenade's effects can be wildly unpredictable - only a fool would trust one to bring a rogue psyker to his knees entirely by itself.

A psyk-out grenade's Blast extends out 1d10+3 metres. Any creature with a Psy Rating caught in the blast area, or who enters into the dust field before it becomes inert, must make a Very Hard (-30) Willpower Test. On failure, the affected target's Psy Rating is reduced by 1, plus an additional Rating for each Degree of Failure. Psy Rating lost in this fashion returns at a rate of 1 Rating every six hours. If a the affected target loses 2 or more Psy Rating from this effect, it also suffers Psychic Phenomena automatically any time it manifests a psychic power until its Psy Rating is fully restored. As an additional effect, the dust left behind by a psyk-out grenade remains active in suppressing warp energies - any attempts to manifest a psychic power or make Psyniscience Tests within its affected area automatically fail, and daemons and other warp

creatures must Test for Warp Instability each time they suffer Damage. The dust's effect fades after 5 Rounds; it clings tenaciously to surfaces within the area, making it essentially impossible to disperse any faster. Rad Grenade Used With: Thrown

Frighteningly insidious yet effective weapons, a rad grenade releases a sharp burst of powerful ionising radiation that can pierce heavy armour and cover with ease, while unprotected victims are further subject to painful burns on the skin. The grenade itself is an entirely unremarkable affair save for charitable warning symbols as to its terrible effects, and doesn't detonate so much as merely "open" when releasing its malignant payload. There is little visual effect, though auspex, IR goggles, and photovisors along with similar equipment are briefly blinded by the streaming waves of deadly particles. Alone, a single rad grenade is unlikely to kill unless its victims are of a more frail constitution, but the sickening secondary effects can linger for days as well as cause growth of potentially lethal tumours in the long term. Using any kind of subcritical isotropic pile as a weapon can be perilously hazardous, however, and even slight misalignments in the radioactive contents can result in an unfortunately premature release.

A rad grenade deals both direct Damage while also savaging the vitals of its victims. Characters caught within the rad grenade's blast must pass a Hard (-20) Toughness Test or suffer 2d10 Toughness Damage. Failure by three or more Degrees results in the Damage being permanent. This additional Damage ignores cover that is not made of a shielded material and can even affect targets on the other side of some walls. Characters who are heavily shielded against radiation, such as wearing a suit of engine plating or a Tech-Priest with the Machine trait, may be immune to the Toughness Damage. If an attack with a rad grenade results in a Jam, it is always considered to have rolled a result of "BOOM!" on the Explosives Mishaps chart.

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Smoke Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

A more basic form of blind grenades, these simply generate a voluminous cloud of coloured smoke that obscures vision and little more. Smoke grenades can be useful for signalling friendly forces from a great distance, while kill teams equipped with IR goggles and auspex can make use of a smoke grenade to confuse and hinder an opposing force that lacks such equipment. Smoke grenades are cheap and easy to manufacture, and can produce a variety of colours for signalling purposes.

Starflare Grenade Used With: GL, RPG

Starflare grenades contain a powerful long-burning pyrotechnic charge that is intended to provide illumination to dark areas. When fired into the air a starflare grenade ignites at the top of its path and deploys a small parachute. It takes about one minute for a starflare grenade to return to the ground, during which time it provides bright illumination in a 100 metre radius and shadowy illumination a further 100 metres beyond that.

If fired directly at a character, a starflare grenade uses the listed Damage and Penetration values, and the target must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or be set on fire.

Stunner Grenade Used With: Thrown

This grenade carries a gas that disorients its victims through neurological bio-agents that cause a stupefying effect but no actual physical harm. Covert operatives and well-equipped thieves make use of these devices in situations where no permanent harm is required or it is more desirable to leave opponents temporarily incapacitated. Stunner grenades are weapons of opportunity and are ineffective against opponents wearing any kind of protective gear, as more than a few would-be professionals have found out the hard way. Anyone within the blast area of a stunner grenade must succeed on an Ordinary (+10) Toughness Test or be Stunned

GAS WARFARE Many types of grenades listed in this segment disperse smoke, fumes, gases or vapours that are intended to have some harmful effect on those within their clouds. There are several gear options that can protect an Acolyte from choking, being poisoned, or otherwise incapacitated; these are the most common ones. In general, any of the items described here prevents the wearer from using their sense of smell, which can impose penalties or disallow certain Tests (such as Awareness or Chem-Use) entirely. Unless otherwise stated, these protective items provide the same benefits for all gas-type weapons; see the description of the individual grenade for more details. Filter Plugs: These simple plugs are inserted into the nostrils and help filter out pollutants and harmful gases (as well as foul smells!). They are cheap and available, and many hivers on more polluted worlds wear them on a daily basis. Wearing filtration plugs grants a +10 bonus to any Toughness Test made to resist the effects of gas. Gas Mask/Respirator: Typically covering the entire face, a gas mask uses a self-contained filter canister to provide much better protection than simple filter plugs and helps keep irritating vapours out of the eyes. Gas masks can be worn for long periods of time, though they are far from comfortable and cheap models can hinder the wearer's vision. A gas mask provides a +30 bonus to Toughness Tests made to resist the effects of gas, and the wearer may reroll failed tests. Outside of military situations, gas masks are usually referred to as respirators. Re-Breather: A re-breather is similar to a gas mask except it provides its own air supply which allows a wearer to survive in all but the most hostile environments. A character wearing a re-breather is immune to most gases and can even survive underwater. Re-breather canisters have enough air to keep the user alive for about an hour; once expended, a re-breather offers no protection until a fresh canister can be loaded in. Sealed Armour: Wearing a void suit, power armour, or environmental body glove can totally isolate the wearer from outside conditions, allowing them to survive in the harshest locations. Unless otherwise stated, wearing sealed armour provides total immunity from gases.

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for 1 Round plus a number of Rounds equal to the Degrees of Failure of the Test.

Terror Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

An eccentric weapon to say the least, terror grenades are loaded with a fast-acting psychotropic aerosol that begins affecting its victims on contact with the skin. Those who succumb to its effects begin experiencing intense feelings of dread and paranoia, which can be more debilitating than choke gas on those who have a less than steely reserve. However, a terror grenade's effects are anything but consistent, and what sends some men into gibbering wrecks does little more than annoy others. As a result, this type of weapon is only rarely employed by "legitimate" users, such as local enforcer cadres or troopers of the Adeptus Arbites. Meanwhile, raiders, pirates, insurrectionists, and other assorted scummers who value fear as a weapon in and of itself tend to be perfectly content with the unpredictable results if it means they can traumatize their opponents into submission.

All characters within a terror grenade's blast must succeed on a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or suffer intense distress as though they had failed a Fear Test; as normal, add +10 to the roll on the Shock Table for each Degree of Failure. Wearing filtration plugs, a gas mask or re-breather offers no benefit against a terror

grenade, though sealed armour still provides immunity to its effects. Traits or talents that grant a bonus on Tests against Fear or Poison apply as usual, and a terror grenade is obviously useless against a character with the Fearless talent or Machine trait.

Thermal Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL, RPG

Also known as inferno grenades, this powerful weapon uses an incendiary fuel mixture designed to violently melt its sturdy outer casing, with a subsequent explosion that causes liquefied metal shards to fill the blast area. While they are not as powerful as a melta-bomb, they are easier to handle and use, and offer a wider area of destruction that can easily ignite enclosed areas into blazing conflagrations. They can also burn down most barricades and lesser internal structures, and are often used by suppression teams during uprisings for just that purpose. In a bind, a thermal grenade can be employed in sabotaging equipment as the high-intensity heat can warp metal. Anyone caught within a thermal grenade’s blast must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or be set on fire.

Toxin Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

Deadly and fast-acting chemicals, viral agents, and other unpleasant substances fill these

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bloated-looking grenades. The toxic cocktail is specially formulated to permeate through a victim’s skin as well as their respiratory system, and can even seep through light protective gear. As a result they can be just as dangerous to the user as their target since only the best protection can offer immunity to its effects.

Any characters caught within a toxin grenade’s blast area must succeed on a Difficult (-10) Toughness Test or suffer 2d10+4 Impact Damage with the Toxic quality. This Damage is not reduced by Armour or Toughness. Gas masks provide a +10 bonus to this Test while re-breathers offer a +20 bonus; both allow a reroll on a failed test. Filtration plugs are totally useless as the toxins can still attack through the mouth and eyes. Only sealed armour can offer total protection – characters wearing such a suit are effectively immune to a toxin grenade’s effects. Virus Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

This grenade houses a tiny sample of the horrific life-eater virus culture that was once used (in much greater quantities) as a tool to execute an Exterminatus on a condemned world. Though far weaker and designed to burn out on its own after a short while, the effects of a virus grenade are still terrible as organic matter is reduced to a sickening sludge, its victims only capable of watching in horror as their bodies slough off in great sheets. Once loose, a virus breaks down biological systems in mere moments before leaping to a new victim, leaving little more than sticky puddles of putrefied waste in its wake.

Anyone caught within a virus grenade’s blast area who is not wearing sealed armour automatically takes the listed Damage with no reduction for Armour or Toughness. Each character who takes Damage from a virus grenade allows the virus to propagate further, and any previously-unaffected targets within 1d5 metres of them are then attacked by it as above. This process continues until there are no victims left for the virus to attack or 1d5+5 Rounds have passed from the virus grenade’s initial use, after which it mutates into a harmless strain.

Web Grenade Used With: Thrown, GL

A web grenade is really little more than a highly compressed webber canister which splits open while still in flight, showering the area around it with a cascade of sticky web filaments as though the area had been hit by a webber attack. Although they can easily be thrown, the principal use is typically via a launcher as a means to circumvent the very low clip capacity of most web weapons.

See the section on Exotic Weapons for more information on the use of web weapons.

Frag Missile/Shell Used With: Missile Launcher/Mortar

A large-size fragmentation device meant to obliterate exposed enemies. Frag missiles and shells are fairly similar to one another, each incorporating what looks like an inflated frag grenade attached to a rocket motor or propellant charge depending on which launcher will be firing it. The greatly increased explosive charge

as well as shrapnel quantity makes a blast from a frag round far more deadly, even for well-armoured targets. Although they use the same warhead, frag missiles and shells are not interchangeable.

Krak Missile Used With: Missile Launcher

Krak missiles offer superb armour penetration thanks to their very large focusing charge and a detonator rod in the

Missiles and Shells

Name Dam Pen Special Wt Cost Availability

Frag 2d10+2 X 4 Blast (6) 1kg 75 Average

Krak 3d10+10 X 10 - 1.5kg 150 Scarce

Minefield 2d10 X 1 Blast (1) 2kg 100 Rare

Scatter Special 0 Blast (10) 3kg 175 Very Rare

Starflare - - Special 1kg 60 Scarce

Tunnelling Torpedo

2d10+3 X 2 Blast (4), Shocking 3kg 200 Very Rare

Web - - Blast (6), Snare 2kg 200 Rare

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nose that ignites the warhead at the optimum moment to ensure maximum destruction of the target. Krak missiles are typically used against enemy tanks due to their ability to defeat even heavy armour, but they also make fine choices to demolish bunkers and create openings in buildings too.

Minefield Missile/Shell Used With: Missile Launcher/Mortar

This type of weapon is a handy method to quickly and safely deploy a large number of mines at once. Minefield rounds are designed to explode at a pre-determined point along their trajectory and shower the ground with tiny submunitions that arm on impact and patiently wait until an unfortunate victim walks across them. Minefield rounds are thus an easy way to deny access to a given area to opposing forces, and can be used defensively to set up an explosive cordon around a strategic location.

Minefield rounds saturate the ground with miniature mines in a 10 metre radius from their point of landing. Anything passing through this area that is larger than Puny sets off mines which attack with the listed values, once for every metre the trespasser attempts to move through the area. Each 1 metre area of the minefield has sufficient mines to attack 5 times before all mines are expended. Aside from using specialized mine removal equipment, mines can be quickly cleared away by attacks from weapons with the Flame quality.

Scatter Missile/Shell Used With: Missile Launcher/Mortar

Also known as cluster bombs, rounds of this type spread a large amount of grenade-sized bomblets over a huge area, and timely deployment of a scatter round can utterly obliterate an entire enemy company at once. The sound of dozens upon dozens of bomblets going off in sequence is more akin to the report of a Vulcan Mega-bolter than any explosive, and the only thing more satisfying than the sight of the round’s detonation is observing the total carnage left behind on one’s enemies.

A scatter shell deploys bomblets equivalent to a frag grenade into every 1 metre area within its blast area. These are considered multiple attacks for the purposes of attempting to avoid the individual blasts.

Starflare Shell Used With: Mortar

This is an extremely scaled-up version of a starflare grenade and works on roughly the same principles. After exploding at altitude, a starflare shell provides bright illumination in a 300 metre radius and shadowy illumination out to a total of 500 metres, and takes roughly five minutes to burn out as it nears the ground.

Tunnelling Torpedo Used With: Mole Mortar

A specialty munition to be certain, a tunnelling torpedo is designed to be used with a mole mortar. Once fired it uses a powerful boring drill backed up by a miniature power field to rapidly tunnel through earth, stone, and anything else that might be in its way before reversing course and exploding just beneath the feet of its unsuspecting victims. Web Missile Used With: Missile Launcher

Instead of an explosive payload, a web missile's distended body contains a brace of webber canisters that are scattered over a wide area while the missile is still airborne, ensuring a very generous dispersion of sticky web filaments. While less precise than a webber and ill-suited for close quarters or indoors use, a missile launcher armed with a web missile represents a very efficient means to immobilize a group of enemies at once from far outside the effective range of other web weapons. Further, the choice of a missile as the delivery means can create other opportunities for a creative shooter, such as sending one through an open window into a room full of miscreants and scraping the whole mess out at once to sort out at leisure.

See the section on Exotic Weapons for more information on the use of web weapons.

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EXOTIC WEAPONS Despite their different patterns and marks, even unusually-designed lasguns and bolters are similar enough for a warrior who’s familiar with one to pick up another and smite his foes in the Emperor’s name. Some weapons, however, are far and apart from others, each with totally unique functions and purposes. Lesser Imperial servants will likely never even see, much less hold, any examples of these exotic armaments, and their cost, rarity, or difficulty of use keeps them squarely in the court of resourceful and well-connected specialists.

Exotic weapons cover a wide range of guns and other devices that do not fit into other weapon categories. Most are particular and very specialized compared to others that are similarly classified as exotics; in general, exotic weapons require an individual Talent to use. For example, a character wishing to tangle up his opponents with a web pistol must have the Exotic Weapon Training (Web Pistol) talent. Some career paths include specific Exotic Weapon Training talents as part of their normal advances, but most characters will have to obtain one through an Elite Advance. Exotic weapons are still classified as Pistol, Basic, or Heavy weapons and must obey all relevant rules for their class (use in melee, bracing requirements, and so forth).

Exotic weapons typically make use of equally exotic ammunition. In general, assume exotic ammunition is Very Rare with a cost of 20 Thrones each unless otherwise stated in a weapon’s description.

Catalytic Mass Driver Class: Basic (Exotic)

This weapon might be mistaken for a lasgun with an oversized, drum-like charge pack at first glance, but the ventilated barrel and tiny aperture at the end - along with a low whistling noise accompanied by sharp supersonic cracks while firing - immediately sets this weapon apart from any other conventional gun. Catalytic mass drivers are exclusive weapons of the Venatorii "Crimson Guard" of the Lathe Worlds, and

despite a fairly unassuming appearance, they are anything but. A mass driver utilises a series of parallel electromagnetic rings, energised by the wielder's potentia coil via a hard-wired connector, to fling tiny sliver projectiles of dense conductive alloy at a phenomenal velocity. The method of action is deceptively simple, but the vast amount of power required, along with the necessity of using inert ammunition manufactured under the strange gravitic conditions existent on the Lathe Worlds, prevents this weapon from being employed by organisations outside the domain of the Mechanicus. The damage output of a catalytic mass driver is far from impressive, the tiny nail-like projectiles not having much width or wounding capacity, but the incredible velocity and super-dense construction allows them to bore through virtually any armour and keep going out the other side. Compared to a melta gun, a catalytic mass driver's raw firepower is drastically less, but it makes up for that deficiency with much easier handling, a massive amount of available shots between reloading, and longer effective range.

A character requires both the Basic Weapon Training (Solid Projectile) and Exotic Weapon Training (Integrated Ranged Weapons) talents to use a catalytic mass driver without penalty. A catalytic mass driver gains the listed profile when connected to the wielder's potentia coil, which requires a Half Action and a successful Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test. While connected, a catalytic mass driver does not Jam; an attack that would result in a Jam simply misses while inflicting 1 level of Fatigue on the on the wielder as their potentia coil strains and purges the obstruction. Should the weapon become disconnected, it rapidly becomes inert; it can fire 1d5 more shots with the Unreliable quality, after which it will not shoot again until reconnected. See the Weapon Upgrades section for more information on Integrated Weapons. A catalytic mass driver has an Availability of Very Rare in the Lathe system, Near Unique on other Forge Worlds, and is typically not encountered anywhere else. A drum of magnetic slivers costs

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100 Thrones and is considered Rare; this provides the listed Clip size, but cannot be reloaded individually and must be discarded when empty.

Dartcaster Class: Pistol (Exotic)

Dartcasters come in a variety of forms, most using pressurised gas or a crossbow-like mechanism to fire small metal slivers at great velocities. These have only modest wounding capability, and while many hivers would be suitably incapacitated by having a metallic dart embedded in their bodies, a furious cultist might

not even notice. As a result, most users intent on causing real harm saturate their darts in powerful poisons or other chemicals. The most common choice is needler toxin (this is reflected in the listed rules), but almost any sort of poison or other substance can be administered by a skilled user. A bounty hunter might use a tranquiliser compound to quietly subdue a mark, while an Ordo Malleus agent could employ blessed silver darts filled with sacred oils as a means of combating warp-spawned fiends. Particularly nefarious users have been known to drain a hallucinogen grenade for its mind-altering ingredients and apply them to a dart,

Exotic Weapons Name Class R a n g e RoF Dam Pen Clip Rld Special Wt Cost World Availability Catalytic Mass Driver

Basic 120m S/-/5 1d10 R 12 200 Full Special 7kg 600 Lathes Very Rare

Dartcaster Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 1 Full Toxic 2.5kg 600 - Rare

Artifico-Biologis Pistol 20m S/-/- 1d5+2 R 2 3 2 Full Accurate, Special 1kg 1,000 Forge Scarce

Digi-flamer Pistol 3m S/-/- 1d10+4 E 2 1 3 Full Flame .1kg 6,000 - Extremely Rare

Digi-laser Pistol 3m S/-/- 1d10+3 E 7 1 3 Full Reliable .1kg 9,000 - Extremely Rare

Digi-mine Thrown SBx3m S/-/- 3d10 X 5 1 - Blast (3) .1kg 2,000 - Extremely Rare

Digi-melta Pistol 3m S/-/- 2d10+4 E 12 1 3 Full - .1kg 20,000 - Extremely Rare

Digi-needler Pistol 3m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 1 3 Full Toxic .1kg 11,000 - Extremely Rare

Graviton Gun Basic 30m S/-/- Special - 3 2 Full Blast (5), Special 5kg 3,500 Forge Very Rare

Empyrian Brain Mine Thrown SBx3m S/-/- Special - 1 - Special 1kg 500 - Extremely Rare

Heavy Catalytic Mass Driver

Heavy 150m S/3/10 1d10+4 R 12 400 Full Special 16kg 2,800 Lathes Very Rare

Heavy Webber Heavy 70m S/-/- - - 3 Full Blast (5), Snare 14kg 1,200 - Rare

Aegis-Redback Heavy 80m S/-/- - - 4 3 Full Blast (6), Snare 17kg 2,000 - Rare

Needle Pistol Pistol 30m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 6 Full Accurate, Toxic 1.5kg 1,250 - Very Rare

Glavian Needler Pistol 30m S/3/- 1d10-1 R 0 7 Full Toxic 1kg 950 - Very Rare

Needle Rifle Basic 180m S/-/- 1d10 R 0 6 2 Full Accurate, Toxic 2kg 1,000 - Very Rare

Rad-Cleanser Heavy 30m S/-/- 2d10+2 E 7 20 - Blast (2), Recharge, Toxic 26kg 7,000 - Very Rare

Razorweb Launcher Heavy 10m S/-/- 2d10+4 R 5 1 Full Blast (1), Tearing 3kg 10,000 - Extremely Rare

Rocketfire Gun Basic 80m S/-/- 1d10+5 I 4 6 Full Tearing 4kg 1,000 - Very Rare

Shock Blaster Pistol 20m S/2/- 1d10+2 E 4 7 Full Shocking 3kg 650 Forge Scarce

Sonic Rifle Basic 30m S/2/- 1d10+3 X 2 8 Full Shocking, Tearing 3.5kg 800 Void Rare

Synapse Disruptor Pistol 40m S/-/- - - 10 2 Full Special 3kg 3,500 - Very Rare

Webber Basic 50m S/-/- - - 1 Full Blast (5), Snare 8kg 1,800 - Rare

Web Pistol Pistol 30m S/-/- - - 1 Full Snare 3.5kg 1,200 - Rare

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visiting its effects on an unfortunate victim without the collateral results (or obvious evidence) of chucking the grenade itself.

Artifico-Biologis 0.5I Hypo-Pistol: This fine crafted and intricate handgun is carved from clockwork and brass, an obvious Cult Mechanicus device that is typically used by Magos Biologis and their agents to subdue living specimens. By employing a cunningly-designed mechanical spring, a hypo-pistol fires a short-range injector dart fitted with a penetrating filament that delivers a chemical payload directly into the target’s bloodstream. Though nominally a tool of Mechanicus Magi, it is found with some frequency in the hands of bounty hunters,

scummers and some enforcer types who want to take their prey alive.

The usual payload for a hypo-pistol is strixis tincture, a powerful soporific. Any living target that takes Damage from a hypo-pistol must succeed on a Hard (-20) Toughness Test or fall comatose for 1d10 x 3 minutes. On a failure by three or more Degrees, the target remains comatose for a further 1d5 hours. The special filament injectors are designed to cause minimal harm to a victim. Roll for Damage as normal to overcome the target’s Armour and Toughness, but reduce any excess to just 1 point. Hypo-pistol ammunition is Scarce, with each dart having a base cost of 8 Thrones.

Digital Weapon Class: Pistol or Thrown (Exotic)

Digital weapons, or digi-weapons for short, are incredibly miniaturised guns so advanced and so sophisticated that they can be worn on a finger as a ring, yet still pack the same firepower as a full-size pistol. Digi-weapons appear to be perfectly ordinary jewellery until a powerful las bolt or gout of flame violently issues forth from tiny, almost imperceptible apertures, making them perfect choices for deep infiltration or situations where weapons are absolutely forbidden. They can also make a nasty surprise attack, and more than a few assassins have met a sudden and violent end as their mark unleashes a melta blast from their ring finger. Digi-weapons are presumably a form of archeotech that extremely few tech-artisans are capable of creating, and the great craftsmanship and high-quality materials required to produce just one weapon puts them squarely in the realm of the Imperium’s elite.

Digi-weapons require both the Exotic Weapon Training (Digital Weapon) talent as well as the relevant Pistol Training talent for the type of weapon being used (Flame, Las, Melta, or Needle Pistol). Digi-mines are an exception – they need only be armed, usually by a hidden trigger or switch, and then thrown where they explode like a grenade. Alternatively, a digi-mine can be used

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in conjunction with the Demolition Skill to explode at a later time or as a booby trap.

Reloading a digi-weapon is a slow process requiring a special recharging device (included in the cost of the digi-weapon) about the size of a personal cogitator. An entire clip for a suitable pistol type – a promethium tank, hellgun capacitor, melta canister, or needle pack – is installed into the device and totally exhausted to recharge the digi-weapon. Digi-mines are an obvious exception as they are consumed in the blast when triggered.

Empyrian Brain Mine Class: Thrown (Exotic)

This strange and esoteric device resembles a glossy grenade at first, but when activated it deploys a number of small metallic claws creating a look akin to a mechanical beetle. The mine contains a sort of "negative" psychic imprint within its housing that can overload a creature's mind with false sensations and perceptions. When thrown, or simply thrust against the body, the mine's legs clamp down and begin flooding the target's brain and nervous system, leaving them briefly incapacitated. A brain mine's bizarre ability is derived from a crystalline shard harvested from the ghost world of Threnos, amplified by a tiny high discharge power core. The exact method of action is unknown, but it is a remarkably effective tool, albeit one that is precariously short-lived. Because of the high cost of manufacture and comparative rarity of the brain mine itself, only well-funded and connected users can obtain them with any regularity; as a result, their primary users tend to be high-rent bounty hunters, though small numbers of Inquisitorial agents have been known to employ them as well.

An empyrian brain mine must directly attach itself to a target before it can be used; this can be accomplished by throwing it at them or making a successful melee attack. Once attached to the target, the mine activates, preventing the target from attempting any actions for 3 Rounds, after which its power core burns out and the mine

falls harmlessly to the floor. A brain mine's victim can attempt a Hard (-20) Willpower Test to resist the mine's effect; if successful, the character can take a Half Action that Round. An attached mine can be removed with a successful Challenging (+0) Strength Test. An expended brain mine becomes totally inert and is of little use for anything other than a conversation piece.

Graviton Gun Class: Basic (Exotic)

An extremely unusual and little understood relic, so-called “graviton guns” were likely never intended for use as weapons to begin with. When fired at a target area, the energy field generated by the gun creates a sudden and powerful gravitational flux. Whilst unlikely to do more than knock living creatures violently to the floor, the effect can be extremely damaging to the internal mechanisms and moving parts of vehicles, with a particularly pronounced effect on skimmers and other devices with their own grav-engines becoming quickly destabilized and overloaded by the flux field.

Everything caught within the gun’s blast area is violently pressed to the floor and must make a Very Hard (-30) Strength Test or be knocked down. Being thrown to a solid surface from a standing position and forced to the ground in this way is enough to inflict 1d5 Impact Damage – roll to determine the affected hit location. Note that what the character falls against may make this effect worse, and if the character falls any appreciable distance then they take Falling Damage as normal (see Falling on page 210 of Dark Heresy).

The gravity flux remains for 2d5 Rounds. Anyone attempting to move or perform physical actions within the field must succeed on an Opposed Strength Test versus the gravity flux, which is considered to have Strength 60 (Unnatural x2) each Round. Additionally, a graviton gun’s flux field may wreak all matters of havoc: brittle objects shatter, loose flooring collapses, containment vessels rupture, vehicles and machinery fail catastrophically, and any other chaos the GM deems appropriate.

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A graviton gun uses two lasgun charge packs to provide the energy to generate a flux field. Overcharge or hotshot packs can be used in a graviton gun but offer no special benefits. A single charge pack can be used, reducing the Reload time to a Full Action and Clip size to 1.

Heavy Catalytic Mass Driver Class: Heavy (Exotic)

This oversized version of the "standard" catalytic mass driver is fitted with a larger housing and multiple cable links to the wielder's potentia coil, allowing it to energise and fire significantly larger and longer alloy slivers. Its method of operation is the same as its smaller brethren, using additional power condensers and capacitance arrays to improve its rate of fire and efficiency over range at the cost of greater weight and reduced handling. Heavy catalytic mass drivers are often used by the elite Triarii of the "Crimson Guard" as support weapons to cut down enemy troops and light vehicles at once as well as laying down covering fire for advancing Mechanicus forces.

A character requires both the Basic Weapon Training (Solid Projectile) and Exotic Weapon Training (Integrated Ranged Weapons) talents to use a heavy catalytic mass driver without penalty. A catalytic mass driver gains the listed profile when connected to the wielder's potentia coil, which requires a Half Action and a successful Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test. While connected, a heavy catalytic mass driver does not Jam; an attack that would result in a Jam simply misses while inflicting 1 level of Fatigue on the on the wielder as their potentia coil strains and purges the obstruction. Should the weapon become disconnected, it rapidly becomes inert; it can fire 1d5 more shots with the Unreliable quality, after which it will not shoot again until reconnected. See the Weapon Upgrades section for more information on Integrated Weapons. A heavy catalytic mass driver has an Availability of Very Rare in the Lathe system, Near Unique on other Forge Worlds, and is typically not encountered anywhere else. A drum of magnetic slivers costs

150 Thrones and is considered Rare; this provides the listed Clip size, but cannot be reloaded individually and must be discarded when empty. Heavy Webber Class: Heavy (Exotic)

This particularly huge webber is cumbersome and difficult to handle but has correspondingly huge takedown power. Aside from being able to entangle a whole band of scummers at once, a heavy webber can project its sticky filament nets far enough away to put the shooter outside the range of some autoguns. Heavy webbers use a very large web chem canister that allows them to be fired several times before being expended, making it a more suitable choice for high-intensity situations where multiple targets need to be apprehended. A heavy webber’s webs break down on their own after 1d5+2 hours.

Aegis-Redback Pattern: Held by the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Lathe System, this advanced heavy webber pattern is produced under license by the Hax-Orthlack manufactorums on Scintilla. It is a standard issue item in most Adeptus Arbites arsenals in the Calixis Sector, and can also (perhaps unsurprisingly) be found in the employ of Lord Hax’s Magistratum enforcers. Unlike most heavy webber marks, the Aegis-Redback stores its web chem in a canister on the wearer’s back, making the weapon itself significantly easier to port around while still providing a larger volume of shots. This quality has led to some of its users, especially the Magistratum in Hive Sibellus, to be rather overzealous in its use. Of course, most innocent bystanders would probably prefer to be caught in its web than blown apart by a riot gun.

Needle Pistol Class: Pistol (Exotic)

Needle pistols are incredibly dangerous weapons when put in the right hands, and while some believe that a needler is a pale shadow to the power of a bolter, there is no denying a needler’s ability to kill with almost complete impunity. Needle pistols use a low-power laser

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to noiselessly propel small slivers of crystallized toxins that produce no flash when leaving the weapon; the projectile painlessly dissolves into the victim’s bloodstream, leaving no obvious evidence behind, and most men killed by a needle pistol likely never even knew they’d been shot. Needle pistols are favoured by assassins for their lethality and stealthy features, but many have turned up in the hands of agents, enforcers and well-equipped scummers alike.

Glavian Needler: This advanced and elegant needle pistol is designed for close-range work and can spit out toxin needles at a patently alarming rate. This makes it a truly fearsome tool against opponents who lack armour heavy enough to harmlessly shatter the incoming projectiles. While already a fine holster pistol, a Glavian needler can also be constructed as a wrist gun that is stored up the owner’s sleeve and fired with a special glove or nearly-invisible wired stud that is attached to the palm by adhesive. While far less common, these hidden versions have been used in a number of high-profile assassinations and other crimes, and have led to the expression “Glavian handshake” being a euphemism for murder. The Belasco Deathworks is the only major forge in Calixis that produces this style of needle pistol.

Wrist gun Glavians cost an extra 300 Thrones and can be converted between the concealed version and standard pistol grip in about an hour (this work requires no Skill Tests). When suitably hidden, a wrist gun Glavian needler grants a +20 bonus to the wearer’s Sleight of Hand Test to conceal it. When in this configuration reloading takes twice as long due to the awkward positioning.

Needle Rifle Class: Basic (Exotic)

Needle rifles are longer and more stable than their pistol counterparts but operate on much the same principles: silent, accurate, and utterly lethal. Many military snipers make use of needle rifles to fell targets of opportunity, such as enemy command staff or political leaders, and more than a few insurrections have been cut short when a charismatic leader suddenly drops

dead after being imperceptibly shot with a needle rifle from half a kilometre away. A needle sniper must have very careful aim and always look to exploit weaknesses in his target’s protection, as even simple flak armour used by countless warriors of the Imperial Guard has a reasonable chance of deflecting a needle. Of course, as most would not even realize that the deadly projectile has bounced off them, a well-hidden sniper could certainly try again.

Rad-Cleanser Class: Heavy (Exotic)

Rad-cleansers are potent weapons said to be relics of the long-past Dark Age of Technology,

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and they are certainly powerful and terrible enough in effect to justify that mythic claim regardless of its veracity. Victims caught in a rad-cleanser’s blast suffer an agonising death as their tissues are blown apart on a cellular level and they are boiled alive from within. Even metals may combust in the powerful blast created by a rad-cleanser. These horrific weapons require very specific materials in the creation of their fission cores and are difficult to manufacture while being heavily proscribed by the Cult Mechanicus as well. Despite this, the retinues of many Magos Militants wield at least one of these devastating weapons, suggesting that some sanctioned group or facility in the Calixis Sector possesses whatever baleful knowledge is necessary to create such a frightening weapon and does so with relative and disquieting frequency.

The Toxic quality in the rad-cleanser’s profile represents massive radioactive contamination and should be treated accordingly. A rad-cleanser’s bulky reactor-core unit is able to produce adequate purifying radiation for decades, but heavy use can deplete the available reserves faster than the rad-cleanser can replenish them. A rad-cleanser automatically adds 1 shot to its Clip (up to the normal maximum of 20) every 1d5 hours for the lifetime of the reactor-core, which may well be longer than the weapon’s current owner.

Razorweb Launcher Class: Heavy (Exotic)

This terrible weapon fits onto the user’s forearm, with a wide and thin barrel projecting beyond the fingertips. The triggering mechanism sits in the palm and is activated by making a specific squeezing motion which releases a gout of smoke. In reality, the aptly-named razorweb launcher fires nearly a kilometre’s worth of hyper-condensed monofilament wire in a deadly cloud of impossibly sharp threads. The razorweb’s target is cut to ribbons as the strands effortlessly pass through armour, flesh and bone with such speed that the victim often does not realize his own death even as he crumples to the

ground in a bloody heap. Razorweb launchers are thought to be of human manufacture but no fane or forge in the Calixis Sector has ever taken credit for the weapon’s production (possibly due to the similarities between its monofilament ammunition and certain xenos weapons). Despite this, razorweb launchers are bought and traded in high-end arms markets throughout the sector, and the bazaars at Port Wander at the edge of the Drusus Marches always seem to have at least one on hand.

A razorweb launcher is considered a heavy weapon as the firer must obtain a very specific and stable posture before releasing his filaments, lest any kind of disturbance cause the strands to erratically deviate and go awry, possibly back at the firer himself. The weapon makes use of ammunition canisters that contain incredible lengths of monofilament wire, hyper-condensed with an attached power field generator. This provides just enough threads for one shot, albeit one that can utterly annihilate a man at conventional pistol ranges. Each one has a base cost of 500 Thrones and is Extremely Rare.

Rocketfire Gun Class: Basic (Exotic)

Rocketfire guns are curious weapons that resemble primitive bolt guns. As its name implies, a rocketfire gun launches a small solid-fuel rocket that accelerates to top speed through the weapon’s long barrel. Unlike a bolt, the rockets are spin-stabilised by angled exhaust vents in the base of the projectile, and leave a dramatic swirling smoke trail in their path. A rocketfire gun’s lethality is primarily due to the crushing impact of the high-velocity shell slamming into the target’s body, which can create nasty wounds in spite of lacking an explosive charge like a bolter. This does tend to produce a reduction in power as a rocketfire gun’s projectile loses speed at distance, however. Rocketfire guns are produced on a number of Imperial worlds that have progressed past the feudal stage but have not yet been ushered into the tech-dominion of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and some scholars believe they represent a

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precursor to the Imperium’s own bolters. Outside of these worlds they fetch a high price due to strong competition from collectors and weapons aficionados.

A rocketfire gun’s projectile becomes less effective at range as it loses speed; subtract 1 point from both the Damage and Penetration values against targets at Long range and 2 points at Extreme range. Rocket ammunition for a rocketfire gun has a base price of 30 Thrones and is Very Rare.

Aegis Anbaric Shock Blaster Class: Pistol (Exotic)

This unusual weapon is a highly specialised rarity, even among the more militant Magi and the Skitarii, and doubtless a product of the mysterious Aegis Data Fragment. Taking the shape of a bulky, tubular pistol, a shock blaster discharges a blast of electromagnetic force capable of completely overloading a human’s nervous system or disrupting the control systems of servitors. A shock blaster can also have highly detrimental effects against electronic systems and cogitators, and can totally blank data slates that are caught in its path.

Shock blasters increase their Damage by 2 points against targets with the Machine trait. A shock blaster uses lasgun charge packs to provide the energy for its electromagnetic field. Overcharge and hotshot packs can be used instead of standard charge packs but offer no special benefits.

Demerite “Screamer” Sonic Rifle Class: Basic (Exotic)

Most sonic weapons require a huge weapons-support platform in order to generate enough power to be effective in a battlefield situation. In the tight spaces aboard ships, however, sonic weapons the size of autoguns can generate enough power in a directed burst to split eardrums and cause severe, disorienting pain. The “Screamer” as it is popularly known is intended for use to quell mutinies and other shipboard disturbances without the risk of collateral damage that shotguns and gas weapons

can entail, though the high cost of manufacture (typical of weapons of this type) usually means that they are only found in the arsenals of larger ships. The Demerite-pattern is known for its integral gene-lock which is coded to specific security troopers as an added precaution against the weapon falling into the “wrong hands”. A sonic rifle is not intended to kill, though it is certainly capable of doing so through vibration and pressure that can cause horrible internal injuries as its target’s organs rupture like rotten fruit. Aside from its expense and rarity, the only serious argument against the use of a sonic rifle is that it is useless in an airless environment.

Sonic rifles use standard lasgun charge packs to provide energy for their attacks. Overcharge and hotshot packs can be used instead, but offer no special benefits. Because sound waves require atmospheric pressure to function, they have no effect in a void or vacuum or against characters wearing sealed armour. Synapse Disruptor Class: Pistol (Exotic)

A favourite of flesh merchants, pit-masters, and a few debased nobles, synapse disruptors are incredibly exclusive devices that are closer to a tool than a weapon. Most styles resemble an overbuilt laspistol, but instead of releasing sharp bursts of thermal energy, a synapse disruptor projects an invisible beam of bio-attuned radiation that, over the course of about a half a minute of continued exposure, will cause a victim to completely lose his mind. A synapse disruptor produces a low thrumming noise while releasing its radiation beam, which can foil clandestine usage of the device in quiet environments. A victim targeted by a synapse disruptor will begin to feel a dull ache progressing up their extremities, then progress to suffer vivid hallucinations and other perceptions of weirdness, before finally entering into a semi-stupefied condition unable to focus or concentrate on anything at all. While functionally harmless in a strict sense, a synapse disruptor can have lethal consequences if a

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targeted victim's hallucinations compel them to jump out a window.

A synapse disruptor must be "fired" at a character for three Rounds, requiring a Full Action for each and possibly additional Ballistic Skill Tests if the target makes any substantial movements. A character who moves more than 5 metres in any given direction relative to the synapse disruptor causes the attack to fail. After three Rounds, the victim must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test, with failure inflicting a deranging effect as though the victim had been affected by a hallucinogen grenade. Maintaining the attack for three additional Rounds forces the victim to succeed on a second Challenging (+0) Willpower Test or else suffer a -20 penalty to any actions that require concentration or focus (such as Aiming or Tech-Use Tests) for 1d5 hours. A synapse disruptor uses 1 shot from its Clip each time an attack is made with it, so a stationary target might be able to be targeted for the full six Rounds on a single shot, while one that is moving about could use up as many as six shots if the shooter has to continue attacking them. Synapse disruptors use a special double-ended power cell to gain the listed Clip size, which has a base cost of 200 Thrones and is Very Rare.

Webber Class: Basic (Exotic)

Also known as webguns or glue guns, webbers are the most widespread type of web weapon and are often called into play by agents of justice to subdue those violating the Emperor’s Law. Webbers have a fairly long range and substantial coverage, allowing them to cover and entangle a small group of people at once. A webber’s web chem canister only has enough for a single shot, however, so they are commonly issued in tandem with another basic weapon or pistol to use when reloading is impractical (or lethal force is necessary). Several webbers can be employed at once to incapacitate an entire crowd, allowing enforcers to pick through the captives and sort out miscreants at their leisure, and they also make a handy option to quickly end a hostage

situation by webbing the hostages and their captors at once. A webber’s webs break down on their own after 1d5 hours.

Web Pistol Class: Pistol (Exotic)

Web pistols are smaller and handier webbers that can be wielded with one hand. They have a significantly shorter range and only produce sufficient webs to immobilise a single individual, so a web pistol wielder must choose his shots carefully. Particularly devious users might use a web pistol in conjunction with a melee weapon, entangling an opponent and leaving them helpless to defend against subsequent attacks from the wielder’s primary weapon. A web pistol’s webs are much finer and less numerous than heavier version, and break down on their own after 1d10 Rounds.

WEB WEAPONS Webbers, heavy webbers, and web pistols fire masses of adhesive filaments which expand in the air to form a web of sticky, near-unbreakable material. Targets are quickly entangled in a painful though nominally non-lethal embrace; if they attempt to struggle the filaments constrict even more, further entrapping them and eventually becoming quite dangerous to those trapped within. In addition to the normal effects of weapons with the Snare quality, each time an ensnared character fails a Strength or Agility Test to escape he imposes a cumulative -10 penalty on all future tests to escape those webs. Should this exceed -30, the character takes 1d5+1 Damage with no reduction for Armour each time he attempts another Test to escape (even if he succeeds). This constriction is very specific – if multiple characters are entangled in the same web, likely the result of being on the receiving end of a webber or heavy webber, only those who attempt to escape take these penalties (or Damage, for that matter).

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Melee Weapons

Despite the wide range of ways available to kill the enemy at all sorts of distances, there is still plenty of use for weapons designed for close and personal combat. For some it is a matter of honour to look their foe in the eye, others simply another way to ensure their survival in a dangerous galaxy. After all, a simple sword or hammer will inevitably be more reliable than even the finest and most impressive of firearms, which are dependent on ammunition, often noisy, and prone to failure. Like ranged weapons, melee weapons come in different classes and each requires its own relevant talent to use without penalty. Unless otherwise stated, users add their Strength Bonus to the Damage inflicted by a melee weapon.

PRIMITIVE WEAPONS Basic hand weapons are a common sight throughout the Imperium and beyond, and in many places it would be unthinkable to go forth without at least one such weapon visible on your person. Depending on the planet’s level of technology, and the wealth of the user, these can range from simple metal swords to precisely manufactured blades made of exotic materials, though both will chop through a man just as well. Primitive weapons are generally the most simple brand of melee weapon, carried by feral hunters and soldiers of the Imperial Guard alike, and typically have a hard time penetrating modern armours. To use primitive weapons without penalty, a character must have the Thrown Weapon Training (Primitive) or the Melee Weapon Training (Primitive) talents for ranged and melee attacks, respectively. Armoured Gauntlet

The heavy gauntlets of carapace or power armour can make a surprisingly effective weapon in a pinch, especially against lesser foes. Similar weapons can also be scratch-built by sewing powdered lead into the knuckles of heavy

leather gloves, and shipboard voidsmen and hive-workers alike have fabricated their own punchers by stripping down protective heat mitts made for handling overheated conduit pipes or plasma coils. Gangers are known to fabricate their own “punchers” as tools of intimidation as well as face-smashing; these home-made weapons are often studded with points or other metal hardware to make them look more frightening.

Axe

An axe sports a brutal blade at the end of a sturdy haft, giving it magnificent chopping power. This makes it functional as both a tool and a weapon, and the same axe that splits wood can be just as easily used to cut down an opponent. Axes generally lack the reach as well as the precision of a sword, and are harder to use defensively due to their poor balance, but a strike offers significantly greater ability to maim and kill as it rips through flesh and shatters bone with the same ease as it fells a tree.

An axe’s qualities and Damage can also be used to figure a basic weapon equipped with a long bayonet.

Bastard Sword

Bastard swords are so named because they are roughly halfway between a traditional one-handed arming or longsword and a much longer two-handed blade, and are sometimes known as “hand-a-half” swords because of it. Specialised blades like this are common on feudal worlds with a love of swordsmithing, and are the featured weapons of Warlord Vervai Skull’s elite Harrowguard on Iocanthos. Most warriors would need both hands to wield a bastard sword, and those of sufficient skill and strength to use just one are immediately set apart from their peers in the realm of swordsmanship. Because of their versatility and size, bastard swords are sometimes used by off-worlders, often upgraded with a mono-edge to cut through armour.

A bastard sword may be wielded in one hand if the user has a Strength Bonus of at least 4; otherwise, it requires both hands to use.

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Primitive Weapons Name Class Dam Pen Special Wt Cost World Availability

Armoured Gauntlet Melee 1d5 I 0 Primitive 0.5kg 35 - Common

Axe Melee 1d10+1 R 0 Primitive, Unbalanced 4kg 10 - Scarce

Bastard Sword† Melee 1d10+1 R 1 Primitive 5kg 40 Feudal Scarce

Boarding Pike† Melee 1d10+3 X 2 Special 4kg 30 Void Common

Brass Knuckles Melee 1d5-1 I 0 Primitive 0.5kg 5 - Plentiful

Buckler Melee 1d5-2 I 0 Balanced, Primitive 1kg 30 Feudal Common

Club Melee 1d10 I 0 Primitive 2kg 5 - Abundant

Falchion Melee 2d5+1 R 0 Primitive, Unbalanced 2.5kg 20 - Average

Flail Melee 1d10+2 I 0 Flexible, Primitive 4kg 20 Feudal Scarce

Great Weapon† Melee 2d10 R or I 2 Primitive, Unwieldy 7kg 70 Feudal Rare

Hammer Melee 1d10+1 I 0 Primitive, Unbalanced 4kg 10 - Common

Great Hammer† Melee 1d10+4 I 2 Unwieldy 8kg 70 Imperial Average

Percussion Mallet Melee 1d10+3 I†† 5 Unwieldy 5kg 3000 Forge Average

Warhammer Melee 1d10+2 I 1 Primitive 2kg 35 - Common

Improvised Weapon Melee 1d10-2 I 0 Primitive, Unbalanced Varies - - Abundant

Knife Melee/Thrown (3m) 1d5 R 0 Primitive 0.5kg 5 - Abundant

Bolo Knife Melee 2d5 R 2 - 2kg 50 Malfi Common

Combat Knife Melee 1d5+3 R 0 Primitive 3kg 40 - Average

Kraken Tooth Dagger Melee/Thrown (5m) 1d5+1 R 1 - 0.4kg 200 Void Rare

Parrying Dagger Melee 1d5 R 0 Defensive, Primitive 0.5kg 50 Landunder Scarce

Sigilite Blade Melee 1d5 R 3 Defensive 0.8kg 85 Landunder Rare

Trophy Knife Melee 1d5+1 R 1 Balanced, Primitive 0.5kg 700 - Very Rare

Man-Catcher† Melee 1d10 I 0 Primitive, Snare, Unwieldy 8kg 60 - Scarce

Moon Blade Melee/Thrown (5m) 1d10 R 0 Fast, Primitive, Unwieldy 3kg 25 Munsk Rare

Punch Dagger Melee 1d5+1 R 2 Primitive 0.5kg 10 - Average

Punisher Baton Melee 1d10 I 0 - 3kg 50 - Rare

Scythe† Melee 1d10+2 R 0 Primitive, Unwieldy 5kg 12 Feudal Average

Shield Melee 1d5 I 0 Defensive, Primitive 3kg 25 Feudal Average

Guard Shield Melee 1d5 I 0 Defensive, Primitive 1.5kg 100 - Scarce

Mirror Shield Melee 1d5-1 I 0 Defensive, Primitive 3.5kg 60 Sepheris Rare

Naval Shield Melee 1d5+2 I 0 Defensive, Primitive 7kg 75 Void Average

Suppression Shield Melee 1d10 I 0 Defensive, Recharge, Shocking 4kg 250 - Rare

Tower Shield Melee 1d5+2 I 0 Defensive, Primitive 10kg 60 Feudal Rare

Spear† Melee/Thrown (10m) 1d10 R 0 Primitive, Unwieldy 3kg 15 - Common

Spetum† Melee 1d10 R 2 Primitive, Unbalanced 6kg 45 Balecaster Rare

Steam Drill† Melee 2d10 I 3 Primitive, Unwieldy 18kg 100 - Very Rare

†Requires two hands to be used effectively

††Add twice the wielder’s Strength Bonus to Damage

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Boarding Pike One problem with utilising powerful close

combat weapons aboard ship is that they can easily punch through hull plating. Boarding pikes are a simple yet effective shipboard solution, using a strong shell charge mounted at the end of a reinforced metal staff. A trigger in the grip arms the charge, which explodes the next time it is firmly struck against something. The explosion blasts into flesh with gruesome effect, but with little or no collateral damage to the surrounding area. Once the charge is expended a boarding pike is typically thrown away, though the sturdy shaft itself can be used as a staff in melee if necessary.

Brass Knuckles

Also known as knuckle dusters, these solid metal weapons are worn with a base against the palm and a thick ridged band over the foremost fingers, turning a simple punch into a powerful hit that can break bones when employed with sufficient force. Brass knuckles are generally thought of as a weapon of thugs and scummers, though almost anyone who fights regularly might employ a set for their convenience and ease of use in making sudden attacks.

Use the figures for brass knuckles when pistol whipping an opponent with most pistols.

Buckler A buckler is a small shield about the size of a

dinner plate that offer some protection without sacrificing mobility. The buckler’s modest size makes it inadequate for protection against arrows and crossbow bolts, but its light weight allows it to be easily used as a striking weapon in its own right. These qualities put it rightly in the realm of swordfighters and duellists, and the armsmen of noble houses on feudal worlds often decorate their bucklers with the insignia of their patrons and families.

On Acreage, a buckler-style weapon with small metal spikes protruding from the shield’s edge is a favoured item for those with a penchant for sneaky attacks. Acreage bucklers have identical statistics to comparable shields but can be thrown with a range of 8 metres, and generally look more impressive too.

Club

Clubs are the simplest and most basic melee weapons, often little more than a sturdy length of wood possibly with a knot or of a thicker diameter at the business end. Aside from tucked into the loincloths of feral worlders, clubs can also be found in the employ of hive gangers (often as weapons to threaten or intimidate) and

Primitive Weapons Name Class Dam Pen Special Wt Cost World Availability

Stiletto Melee 1d5-1 R 2 Fast, Primitive, Unbalanced 0.2kg 25 - Average

Devil’s Kiss Melee 1d5 R 3 Fast, Primitive 0.3kg 70 Landunder Rare

Staff† Melee 1d10 I 0 Balanced, Primitive 3kg 10 - Plentiful

Sword Melee 1d10 R 0 Balanced, Primitive 2.5kg 15 - Common

Long-Sabre† Melee 1d10+2 R 2 Balanced, Primitive 3kg 100 Fervious Very Rare

Quicksilver Sword Melee 1d10+2 R 0 Balanced, Primitive 2kg 500 Balecaster Rare

Reliquary Blade Melee 1d10+2 R 3 Balanced, Sanctified 3kg 3000 - Very Rare

Render Melee 1d5+1 R 0 Primitive, Tearing 1.2kg 50 Landunder Rare

Sabre Melee 1d10 R 0 Balanced, Primitive 2kg 15 - Common

Short Sword Melee 1d10-1 R 0 Primitive 1.5kg 10 - Common

†Requires two hands to be used effectively

††Add twice the wielder’s Strength Bonus to Damage

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basic truncheons carried by local enforcers would fall into this category as well.

Sturdy, reinforced pistols can be used as a club in melee combat.

Falchion

A falchion is a curious weapon, somewhere between a knife and a sword in length with a wide, straight blade sharpened only on one side. Falchions are popular melee weapons on a number of feudal worlds as their construction puts axe-like chopping power into a more compact package, and many will feature elaborate grips often festooned with tassels or guards of rare metals. Simple, mass-produced versions are a common sight on agri-worlds as well, though typically used as a tool for clearing unwanted plant growth rather than hacking down opponents on the battlefield.

Flail

A take on a grain farming tool on some worlds, flails consist of one or more heavy spiked balls attached to the weapon’s pole, utilising lengths of chain or metal rods to build up considerable velocity before crashing home with a brutal impact. Flails are difficult to use in combat but can have devastating results when wielded properly, and the unpredictable motion of the striking end makes a flail's attack difficult to avoid.

Great Weapons

Enormously oversized swords, axes, hammers, and other weapons are often employed by the most brutish of a feudal army’s warriors and are sometimes carried by chieftains and other nobles as a sign of strength and power (even if they themselves couldn’t hope to wield such a weapon effectively). A great weapon invariably requires two hands to wield and can inflict serious damage even against enemies protected by rigid feudal armours, though they leave little to subtlety or skill in their use.

Depending on its construction, a great weapon may inflict Rending or Impact Damage.

Hammer This is a heavier version of the regular hand

tool used to drive nails or rivets and makes use of a large weighted end to inflict a harder and deadlier blow than similar hafted weapons. Hammers are simple and straightforward, often reflecting on the personality of their users who don’t care for swordplay or complex manoeuvres and would rather simply splatter their opponent’s brains over the floor.

Great Hammer: This broad-faced hammer is undeniably intended for use as a weapon and features a heavy, sturdy striking face and shaft comprised of modern materials. A great hammer is a step up from the weapons of feudal warriors or salvaged bludgeons of underhive gangers, with a metallic head of dense alloy that can bash a man out of light armour handily. Agents of the Calixian Conclave's Ordo Malleus are common enthusiasts for these cudgels - aside from bearing a passing resemblance to a mighty daemonhammer, the massive blows they can unleash can stagger the most intransigent foe, a testament to a simple expression that there is nothing a large piece of metal backed up by a large amount of faith can't subdue.

A great hammer adds a +10 bonus to Weapon Skill Tests made to Stun.

Percussion Mallet: More of a tool than a weapon, a percussion mallet is an almost ubiquitous sight on many forge worlds where it is frequently used by labour menials to hammer ingots and plating into the desired shape. A grav-accelerator built into the bulky head of the mallet greatly augments the force of the wielder's blows, and while strictly not intended for combat, their ability to bash through the armour plating of combat servitors means they are often pressed into the role during uprisings. More rarely, lesser forgemasters will sometimes wield a percussion mallet as a sign of office when their responsibilities encompass macro-assembly and other works where the tool is often used. Due to their utility to the Mechanicus, percussion mallets are never legally sold or traded off of a forge world, and those who have the courage to risk wrath of the Magi-in-attendance by

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smuggling and trading them elsewhere are few and far between.

Percussion mallets are Average on most forge worlds and Very Rare elsewhere.

Warhammer: Mounted on a longer pole grip than a regular hammer, warhammers generally have a thinner striking head and may include a sharply pointed reverse, making it an ideal choice to penetrate light armour and cause deep wounds thanks to concentrating the force of impact to a much smaller area. Many of the more zealous Imperial servants favour a warhammer as an enduring symbol of the Emperor’s righteous justice, and it figures prominently on the heraldry and insignia of numerous organizations.

Improvised

Table legs, long wrenches, lasgun stocks, severed limbs, artillery shell casings, and any other myriad instruments not normally intended for use as a weapon but serviceable enough fit into this category. Any handy weighted object can be used as an improvised weapon, though most would prefer to only employ it as long as it’s necessary to obtain a better one.

Smashing an opponent with the butt of most basic weapons usually counts as attacking with an improvised weapon.

Knife

A short blade with an adequate handle to hold at a variety of grips, knives are ubiquitous back-up weapons for warriors all across the Imperium, from lowly hive scum to the elite soldiers of a planetary governor. Though of only modest killing power, a knife is much more mobile than larger weapons, and makes a particularly good implement of intimidation as well. Knives are produced in almost innumerable makes and natures, with some serving very specific purposes (such as a psyker’s psykana mercy blade, intended as a weapon of suicide should the psyker be faced with imminent corruption or possession) while others might be nothing more than eating utensils.

Bolo Knife: This is a heavy single-edged cutting tool suitable for hacking through dense foliage that doubles as a brutally effective man-killer. Bolo knives have a particular reputation on Malfi, a world once covered in far more jungle than at the present, where it has a murderous reputation in local folklore in spite of still being used as an everyday tool. Malfian bolos are typically crafted from plexsteel and feature an inwardly curving blade exactly 40 centimetres long that features a distinctive widened tip. This makes it perfect for heavy slashing blows, and in skilled hands can lop a limb off or open a man’s torso up in a single stroke. Malfi’s jacker-gangs and dacoits invariably carry bolos on their bodies at all times, most with acid-etched glyphs marking noteworthy kills or other exploits.

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Bolo knives are Common on Malfi and Rare elsewhere.

Combat Knife: Combat knives can only liberally be called knives to begin with, often featuring a straight blade the size of a human forearm with a clipped point that is both intimidating in profile and can make for nasty piercing and slashing attacks, and are commonly used as bayonets by the Imperial Guard. They also make fine can openers.

Kraken Tooth Dagger: Gleaming pearlescent knives of this type are often carried by veteran voidsmen who typically claim their blades are fashioned from enormous teeth found lodged in the hulls of their ships or on debris encountered in the void. Whether or not these knives are actually a product of horrific gargantuan creatures that lurk on the edge of system space, ready to attack unfortunate vessels just as they emerge from the warp, is more or less inconsequential to the void born that carry them as good luck charms. Many are decorated with intricate scrimshaw carvings depicting horrendous tentacled beasts tearing ships apart, which in the strange proclivities of the void born is supposedly said to ensure safe passage for the vessel they crew. Knives of this type are sought after by collectors for their artistic merit and intrinsic craftsmanship, and there are plenty of Rogue Traders who have been known to sport a kraken tooth dagger on their belts.

Parrying Dagger: Typically formed with an intricate guard or twin, tine-like blade, parrying daggers are a more specialist variety of knife designed principally for defence. A parrying dagger's construction creates a number of wedges or gaps explicitly devised to catch an opponent's blade, and in the hands of a skilled swordsman can actually be more effective at deflecting blows than a shield while being much lighter and easier to carry. Parrying daggers are typically the provenance of duellists due to their specialised nature, and are often wielded in the off-hand by more swashbuckling types.

When used to Parry an edged weapon, such as a sword or axe, a parrying dagger grants an additional +5 bonus on the Weapon Skill Test.

Landrian “Sigilite” Blade: Named after a half-forgotten holy figure from a time long past, the Sigilite is a curious weapon wielded by the gelt-brokers of Landunder who broker the price with crystal miners for the load yielded from the deep-sea mineral chimneys. Traditionally a weapon of self-defence to protect the broker from robbery, the Sigilite is outlandishly formed from a set of intersecting crescents sharpened along their edges and tapering-off to wicked points. The blade’s curious shape, combined with the twirls and circling passes of the gelt broker’s knife-work, allows it to deflect incoming blows before delivering savage, raking counter-attacks.

If a Sigilite’s wielder has the Counter-attack talent, he does not take the usual -10 penalty to Weapon Skill Tests made to attack when using that talent to follow up a successful Parry.

Trophy Knife: Many fighters use the remains of their kill to fashion a memento of the action, and those who battle xenos are no exception. Among Guardsmen who commonly go to war against such foes there is a thriving secondary business in many regiments where the claws and teeth of terrible alien creatures are removed and honed into valuable weapons. Each is a unique creation representing some of the monstrous races that have threatened the sector, some even unknown by scholars. They serve to show off the battlefield prowess of a warrior to their fellow troopers, and are fine weapons in their own right. Of course, a trophy knife’s final dispensation is often as a collector’s mantelpiece, and even after intermediaries have skimmed their “cut” of the profits a Guardsman will often have enough left over to buy a commission (or pay his way out of his service early).

Man-Catcher

Man-catchers are simple yet effective tools designed to apprehend a target at distance or within a crowd. Most are formed of a long pole with a spring-loaded claw at the end that is designed to grapple around the target’s neck or an extremity and allow for a swift capture. Targets latched on by a man-catcher are then

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forcefully wrenched to the ground by their attacker. Man-catchers are used on many feudal worlds throughout the Imperium, but can also be found in the employment of low-rent enforcers who can’t afford or obtain webbers, and have some shipboard use as well as effective methods to corral mutineers.

Balecarne Moon Blade These strangely-shaped blades are primarily

used by the elite Crescent Brotherhood of the Balecarne tribe, who originate from the feral world of Munsk in the Josian Reach. Over time, the tribe has spawned sister-tribes on the neighbouring worlds in the system, making these blades somewhat more common.

Moon blades are crescent-shaped cutting weapons each about 30 centimetres in length. The wielder usually holds a blade in each hand, gripping it in the centre, with a piece of leather wrapped around the middle of the blade to protect the user’s palms. The points of the crescent point outwards, away from the wielder’s body. Moon blades are difficult to use and take many years to fully master, but even an intermediate user can wield them with deadly force. Experts, such as the aforementioned Crescent Brotherhood, can make use of their blades as short-range throwing weapons as well.

Punch Dagger Punch daggers, also known as push or T-

knives, have a fairly typical blade attached to a T-shaped handle that is carried in the palm similar to brass knuckles, allowing a simple punch to be improved with a nasty piercing wound. Punch daggers are particularly effective in confined quarters and tight spaces, and are often carried with the blade tucked into the boot by enforcers and scummers alike.

Magistratum “Punisher” Baton A byword for brutality on Scintilla, this heavy

baton is intended to smash limbs, crack skulls and wantonly crush any resistance with overwhelming force. The baton is a polymer sheathed, metre-long rod of strengthened plasteel with a hollow core part-filled with a

dense liquid metal alloy that augments the force of struck blows. These weapons are most closely associated with Lord Hax’s Magistratum in Hive Sibellus, but they are carried by enforcer cadres and other heavies across the sector as a cheap and effective alternative to shock weapons.

Scythe Scythes are principally an agri-tool intended

to reap grains for harvest, but they have a long history of “double duty” as weapons often used by peasant uprisings or farmer-militias. When used as a weapon, a scythe’s blade is typically moved in line with the shaft to be used as a long chopping weapon; the typical shape of a scythe used for agriculture is far from practical due to the awkward swings a wielder must make, although the wicked point can still cut clean through an inexperienced opponent. Scythes are often used as props in rituals or to convey specific images; often, this invokes themes of death, with the wielder reaping lives just as his weapon reaps crops.

Shield A shield is a useful protective device that can

be made from any of a large variety of materials. Their uses, shapes, and specific employments are just as varied. In general, a shield is intended to be used in a defensive role as a means to deflect an enemy’s melee attacks, though they may have a number of other features depending on the exact mark or pattern used.

Guard Shield: Some Imperial Guard regiments make use of shields made of thin but sturdy plasteel plates that can provide protection from incoming projectiles and fragments as well as to turn aside an opponent’s blades. Many include a small glassteel visor so the user can peek out from behind the shield without sacrificing protection.

A Guard shield can be used as cover against ranged attacks, providing 6 Armour Points to all hit locations as long as they are stationary or using the Tactical Advance action, though the user must expose at least one arm to attack.

Sepherin Mirror Shield: Made famous by the Royal Scourges of Sepheris Secundus, the mirror

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shield is an ornate rectangular device capable of covering about two-thirds of its wielder’s body. Constructed from layers of metal and stained crystal-silicate glass, bearing the colourful crests and armorials of the nobility, the refractive glass gives the shield a mirrored effect that supposedly deflects evil spirits (although it can also repel las bolts as well). As such, it is considered an exemplar of ennobled warfare and “affairs of honour” on a world where such advanced weapons are restricted to the elite retainers of the ruling barons.

If used as cover against ranged attacks, the shield is large enough to protect the arm that carries it and the wearer’s body, though it may shield the head instead (if the wearer is taking cover behind a barricade, for instance). This provides 8 Armour Points (Primitive) to those locations; thanks to its reflective construction, a mirror shield’s APs are not considered Primitive against las weapons.

Naval Shield: Shipboard armsmen, boarding crews, and other naval troops often utilise shields of this type for personal protection as they protect their ship. Each shield is a huge and solid plasteel plate in a roughly rectangular shape that is uncomfortable to carry for any prolonged period but offers superior protection. Unlike most Imperial shields they are totally flat and have a smooth surface so they can be used as emergency hull and bulkhead sealers. A Naval shield is large enough to totally conceal the user’s body, and boarding parties facing defensive strong-points often make use of these shields to create a solid wall of plasteel that completely covers themselves and their allies.

A Naval shield can be used as cover against ranged attacks, providing 8 Armour Points to all hit locations as long as long as they are stationary or using the Tactical Advance action, though the user must expose their head and at least one arm to attack.

Arbitrator Suppression Shield: This type of shield is produced for the Adeptus Arbites and the aquila emblazoned on its front is often the first sign of an Arbitrator raid as it is thrust through a recently-breached door. Suppression

shields are large ceramite slabs with a minor outward curve, sufficiently large to completely cover an Arbitrator’s form but still manoeuvrable enough to be used in close quarters. Each one has an arc-lumin built in on an upper corner, with a powerful shock plate taking the form of the aquila symbol at the shield’s centre. Arbitrators who can’t draw their shock maul in time can rely on a quick smash from their suppression shield to do the job. A suppression shield includes a small but much appreciated feature in the form of a lock-grip opposite the arc-lumin, which can securely anchor a basic weapon to where only one hand is required to use it. This gives Arbitrators the flexibility to use their issued weapon instead of a sidearm while conducting assaults from behind their shields.

A Suppression Shield’s lock-grip allows its user to wield a basic weapon with one hand. After making a successful melee attack, a Suppression Shield must spend a Round building up a charge (per the Recharge quality), during which time it can still be used to make attacks though it gains the Primitive quality and loses the Shocking quality. As long as the user is not Surprised (see Dark Heresy, page 187), a Suppression Shield provides 4 Armour Points to the user’s arm and body locations (which stacks with any worn armours). It can also be used as cover against ranged attacks, providing 4 APs to all hit locations as long as they are stationary or using the Tactical Advance action, though the user must expose at least one arm to attack.

To use the Suppression Shield’s shock plate, the user must have the Melee Weapon Training (Shock) talent.

Tower Shield: An immense barricade of wood or metal, tower shields are more of a mobile barrier than an active means of defence. Tower shields find their most frequent use on feudal worlds where warfare places a heavy emphasis on massed archer attacks; troops protected by a tower shield can endure almost any arrow shower, while those with lesser protections are riddled like archery targets. Simple plated iron examples are a common sight

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in the canyons and narrow passages of Coseflame, while the inland bronze and wood shields found on Monrass are considered works of art in their own right.

A tower shield can be used as cover against ranged attacks, providing 8 Armour Points (Primitive) to all hit locations as long as long as the user is stationary or using the Tactical Advance action, though they must expose at least their head and one arm to attack. A tower shield’s great bulk and mass imposes a -2 penalty to the user’s Agility Bonus due to its difficulty in handling, though most would rather be slower in moving than dead from an arrow storm.

Spear Spears are simple but effective weapons made

of a piercing tip, often made of stone or metal, securely fastened to a sturdy wooden shaft. Spears are advanced weapons on feral worlds since they give their users a small measure of reach against dangerous beasts, and are still in use on most feudal worlds by cheap troops and as anti-cavalry weapons.

A spear can be used as a melee weapon against opponents that are up to 2 metres away from the user thanks to their length.

Spetum This pole-arm is equipped with three single-

edged prongs on the business end and is most commonly found on Balecaster as a ceremonial weapon by the Inner Guard of the Star Sanctum. Although the opportunity to use these weapons in combat is somewhat rare, the warriors who form the Inner Guard are highly trained in its use, having spend countless hours honing their technique to achieve complete mastery. The Spetum is an exceptionally fine weapon that is far removed from the humble fishing trident it resembles, and those that make their way off Balecaster end up used in battle just as often as added to the collections of wealthy aficionados.

Steam Drill These bulky and temperamental devices are

crude mining rigs used on worlds such as Sepheris Secundus and Coseflame where more

sophisticated tools, like the breacher units favoured by the Mechanicus, would be impossible to maintain. Powered by a weighty and scolding hot backpack steam compressor that provides pressure to turn a huge boring drill, they are not intended for use as weapons due to their unwieldy size and mass. Of course, such a tool could inflict horrific damage on any unfortunates that manage to get in the way of the drill head.

Steam drills require a Strength Bonus of 4 or more to be effectively used as a weapon. Weaker characters suffer a -10 penalty to their Weapon Skill Tests made to attack with it for each point their Strength Bonus is below 4. The bulk of a steam drill and its power rig imposes a -10 penalty to the user’s Agility while carrying it.

Stiletto

A long dagger equipped with a thin and narrow blade, stilettos are designed to slip between armour and puncture heavy clothing where they can go on to pierce vital organs. A stiletto is not designed for prolonged combats as its light construction and lack of an edge makes it useless for anything but piercing thrusts, but a skilled fighter wielding a stiletto can often end a combat before it really begins. Stilettos are favoured weapons of assassins and many include narrow grooves in the blade suitable for dipping in poison, and they are often carried as secondary weapons by feudal armoured knights. In the latter, a stiletto is not a combat weapon, but is intended to be used to give a mercy killing to a mortally wounded enemy, as no noble warrior would allow another of his peers – even an opponent – to die slowly on a battlefield.

Landrian “Devil’s Kiss” Stiletto: The Devil’s Kiss is a long and narrow knife that is quenched in blood during forging and sharpened only along the last five centimetres, leading to a needle-like tip. In the cities of Landunder, the Devil’s Kiss is also the name of a blade clan notorious for quiet and subtle killing, their victims bleeding out from a single, almost invisible, puncture wound. It is said that unless you are learning the fatal tricks of the clan, you

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will never see this deadly blade except with your own blood wetting it. Off world, Landrian stilettos fetch a high price due to their rarity and excellent craftsmanship. Such is the quality of a Devil’s Kiss that a mono-edged example could rival a power blade in its ability to perforate even modern, well-made armour without the crackling and luminescent energy field of a power weapon, and they are a favourite of Death Cult Assassins for just this reason.

Staff

A staff is a very simple weapon formed in the main from a sturdy length of wood about a metre and a half long that is well balanced and easy to wield. Though suitable for use as a walking stick, a trained user can use a staff as an effective bludgeoning instrument, and the art of stick-fighting is popular on many primitive and

developed worlds alike. Generally a staff will take the form of a humble wooden rod that is a common sight among pilgrims trekking throughout the galaxy as they retrace the steps of saints, but far more elaborate and decorated versions might be carried as a symbol of office or rulership, and novice sanctioned psykers often use a staff topped with the symbol of the ever-watching eye to indicate their allegiance to the Emperor and the Scholastica Psykana.

Basic ranged weapons that are well balanced and constructed for use in clobbering an opponent count as a staff when used in melee.

Sword

Swords are the classic melee weapon of chivalric knights and men-at-arms alike, and are used by almost innumerable classes and types of fighters throughout the expanse of the Imperium. In general a sword will have a striking blade with a single or double edge and a grip suitable for use with one or both hands, but any number of other features – blade length, curvature, thickness, presence of lack of a cross-guard, intention for chopping or thrusting – vary widely with the design of the blade. A sword might be a simple iron blade built expressly for war, a finely wrought piece of art as beautiful as it is deadly, or even concealed within a cane or walking stick.

Fervious Long-Sabre: The Fervious long-sabre is an overly-long sword with a dramatic curve designed for a two-handed grip. It is very sharp among feudal weapons since the metallic ores of Fervious are extremely stubborn and difficult to work with, requiring numerous folding and reforging to work out the impurities. This creates a naturally razor-fine edge that holds quite well, even after hacking through armoured opponents. Long-sabres are wielded by the nobles and wealthy armsmen of Fervious, but can also be found among the many death cults that world generates. Fervious’ society is a bloodthirsty and violent one, founded on ritual murder as a means to gain status and wealth, and those in positions of power and authority

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invariably carry one of these swords to ward off assassins and other would-be usurpers.

Quicksilver Sword: Among the nobles on Balecaster, a quicksilver sword is viewed as a sign of divine lineage and right to rule, with each blade being passed down from previous generations - the further back the current bearer can prove that the blade has been in their line, the greater their status in the courts. As a combat weapon, a quicksilver sword is a remarkably dangerous instrument. Though looking much like a normal, if finely-crafted, sword, these weapons seem preternaturally fast, bending and twisting in the wielder's hand as they lash out. Administratum tithe-keepers visiting Balecaster have noted the peculiar tendencies of its quicksilver swords, which has aroused the suspicion of certain elements of the Inquisition that the blades may be of xenos origin.

Opponents attempting to Parry an attack from a quicksilver sword suffer a -10 penalty to their Weapon Skill Tests.

Reliquary Blade: This blade is a typical example of sacred weaponry formed partly from the corporal remains of saints and seers - in this case, a human femur forms the pommel and grip, giving way to a cruciform guard and a cold iron blade inscribed with litanies of protection and blessings against heretics and sinners. Weapons of such provenance are typically kept under close watch in the sacristy of great temples and shrines, only to be used in periods of great need, although especially faithful or honoured warriors may be gifted such a valuable tool of the Emperor's strength while they crusade in His name. Regardless of the weapon's exact shape or construction, a reliquary blade is an immediate and undeniable mark of the bearer's holy convictions and will.

A reliquary blade is always of Best Craftsmanship. If wielded by a character with the Pure Faith talent, this weapon gains the Vicious quality. Whenever a character spends a Fate Point within 10 metres of a strongly displayed reliquary blade, roll 1d10. On a result of "8" or higher, the character immediately recovers the Fate Point. Characters with more

than 10 Corruption Points cannot benefit from this effect, the relic offering no succour for those of a tainted soul. If the character burns a Fate Point it is still lost as usual.

Landrian Render: Renders are considered cursed and ill-omened blades on Landunder, and even off-worlders who don’t subscribe to the local mysticisms might be inclined to agree after looking at the arm-length butcher blade’s numerous serrations and teeth. A render is designed to take its victim apart slowly, piece by piece, and has many deliberate concessions made to create excruciating wounds that heal poorly. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the weapon shares its name with Landunder’s Render clan, nominally meat-mongers and tanners who have been repeatedly linked with murder cults and the worst criminal atrocities.

Sabre: A favoured weapon of cavalry troops and other mounted warriors, sabres are popular weapons on worlds such as Iocanthos and Volonx that are famed for their horsemen. Sabres possess a curved single-edged blade designed to make downward slashes and have excellent balance that allows a rider to keep a hand free to control his mount. The sabre’s elegant yet functional construction causes it to persist in many more sophisticated climes, and Imperial Guard officers and hive nobles often wield mono-edged sabres for their graceful and distinctive appearance (as well as lethality in battle), and there are several patterns of power swords with a blade that specifically resembles that of a sabre’s.

A sabre increases its Damage value by 1 when wielded by a user who is mounted or has another significant height advantage over his opponent.

Short Sword: Short swords have a slightly reduced lethality and reach compared to their full-size counterparts but are significantly easier to wield in cramped or confined spaces, making them popular with naval armsmen and boarding parties. They are also the largest size of blade that is still suitable as a backup weapon, and are carried by some Imperial Guard regiments with a penchant for hand-to-hand combat.

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CHAIN WEAPONS Chain weapons are popular amongst many warriors in the 41st Millennium as most races and planets have the basic technology to produce these brutal and highly effective weapons. Roughly taking the shape of several types of typical (Primitive) melee weapons, all weapons of this type do their damage with fast-moving chains of serrated teeth often made of ceramite and other hard metallic materials that replace the bladed edge that is normally found there. A powerful motor in the base sets the teeth spinning at a wickedly high speed, and even glancing blows can rip open a man like a piece of rotten fruit. The vicious teeth can even grind through armour, and while not intended for use against heavily-armoured opponents a severe blow from a chain weapon can still strike true while any lesser blade would be harmlessly turned aside. Chain weapons are loud and make an angry buzzing noise as their visibly dangerous teeth spin around, and the sight of a revving chain blade can be a powerfully intimidating tool in its own right. Chain weapons are most commonly associated with warriors of the Imperium; they are favourites of Imperial Guard officers and sergeants, naval boarding parties, specialist assault troops, Redemptionist fanatics, and much larger versions are often wielded by the mighty Space Marines. Some Xenos are known to employ their own chain weapons as well, obviously in deference to the superiority of man’s ability to make war with these fine weapons. To use chain weapons without penalty, a character must have the Melee Weapon Training (Chain) talent.

Chainsword

Chainswords are the most common make and style of chain weapon, and are much loved by those who wield one for their ease of handling and the gory spray of satisfaction they leave when rending an enemy apart. Most chainswords follow the style of the Mk. Xf “Hell’s Teeth” pattern which employs a flat, boxy housing that contains the spinning chain and its

motor. There is a curved opening at the front and along one side of the housing so the teeth can rip into foes struck while the wielder can safely grasp the enclosed side to aid in attacking or defence. This also prevents the user from being maimed by their own chainsword if it is knocked back against them. There are more exotic or unusual marks of chainswords as well, and some are listed here.

Drusian “Crusader” Chainsword: Replicas of the weapon carried by Saint Drusus during the Angevin Crusade are quite popular in the Calixis Sector, and the worlds that celebrate Drusus Day often have throngs of faithful gathered in the streets outside his shrines with these weapons thrust into the air in honour of his memory. A Crusader chainsword has finer teeth set into a long and sweeping housing with a basket hilt, making it extremely nimble as well as quite attractive in a spartan fashion, and those who can afford to commission a sword of their own often have them inlaid with intricate patterns or precious stones.

Locke-Pattern: Particularly fanatic wielders of chainswords often remove some or all of the protective housing that covers half the blade, allowing them to make more devastating cuts and thrusts at the expense of personal safety. The Locke-pattern is manufactured to meet this demand, freeing zealots up from the tedious armourer’s work in modifying their weapons so they can turn their blades on the Emperor’s foes. The exposed chain makes the Locke-pattern more dangerous for the user, but those who favour this style of weapon have little concern for injuries they may sustain from accidental hits, and often wear the scars from such wounds as badges of pride.

Any character that rolls an unmodified 96-00 on their Weapon Skill Test while wielding a Locke pattern chainsword risks losing control of the chain blade and must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or else hit themselves with the weapon instead. This attack deals normal Damage but has a Pen value of 0 and does not add the wielder’s Strength Bonus.

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Chain Axe A chain axe is designed to offer all of an axe’s

strength at cleaving through a foe like a cord of wood with the added rending power of a roaring chain blade. Chain axes are weapons of absolute brutality with little room for subtlety or careful combat manoeuvres, and are well-designed for those who favour a fast and hard offence against their foes. Compared to chainswords, chain axes are rare weapons that go far to show their wielder’s zeal for smiting his opponents.

Chain Knife

Chain knives work on the same principle as their larger kin, and often take the appearance of a short cleaver or wide dirk with a squat and murderous look to them. Powered by a compact cell in the hilt, the weapon’s buzzing teeth rip through flesh with ease and splatter onlookers with hot gore. Chain knives, also known variously as “buzz blades” or “chain rippers”, are almost entirely a hiver’s weapon and are widespread among gangers of the Sibellian underhive and the fighting cages of Malfi. On Landunder, the buzz blade is infamously the province of the labour gangs that control the docking airlocks of the eight cities, notorious as they are for quelling dissent with a single ragged cut to the belly. In this, Landrians have developed a special killing art whose aim is to leave the victim screaming in agony for as long as possible before death.

Crimson Crown This highly non-standard chain weapon is

intended to be thrown, and is not produced by any major forge in quantity; whether they are ancient relics or the product of small but skilled tech-adept cabals is anyone’s guess. A crimson crown takes the form of a metal circlet roughly the width of a human forearm and the thickness of a palm that is surrounded by sharpened metal teeth. A crimson crown is a heavy and awkward weapon to wield, but once activated a brace of micro-gravlifts nearly cancel out its mass, and a central grip enables the weapon to be thrown with frightening speed and accuracy. The rotating action signals the crimson crown’s internal motor to roar to life, making it safer for the wielder to throw as its flesh-tearing teeth only start spinning once the weapon is released. The speed of its flight as well as a chain weapon’s customary brutality sends its victim to the ground in a spray of blood and viscera; the chain stops several moments after impact, leaving its owner to pry it free of his victim.

A crimson crown can be used by characters without the Thrown Weapon Training (Chain) talent if they have both the Melee Weapon Training (Chain) and Thrown Weapon Training (Primitive) talents. It must be thrown at least 3 metres for the teeth to spin up; if flung at a closer opponent, it loses the Tearing quality.

Eviscerator

Eviscerators are almost comically-oversized chainswords that are often just as tall if not taller

Chain Weapons Name Class Dam Pen Special Wt Cost World Availability

Chainsword Melee 1d10+2 R 2 Balanced, Tearing 6kg 275 - Scarce

Drusian Melee 1d10 R 2 Balanced, Fast, Tearing 7kg 250 - Average

Locke Melee 1d10+5 R 2 Special, Tearing 6kg 400 - Scarce

Chain Axe Melee 1d10+4 R 2 Tearing 13kg 450 - Rare

Chain Knife Melee 1d5+3 R 2 Tearing 2.5kg 80 Hive Scarce

Crimson Crown Thrown (SBx4m) 1d10+2 R 2 Special, Tearing 0.5kg 2,000 - Very Rare

Eviscerator† Melee 1d10+10 R 5 Special, Tearing, Unwieldy 12kg 750 - Rare

†Requires two hands to be used effectively

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than their wielders and roar fiercely as their teeth spin on both sides of the totally exposed blade. They are sacred to witch-hunters and Redemptionists who view an Eviscerator as an instrument of the Emperor’s divine might and hatred for sinners and heretics, but may end up in the hands of well-equipped gang heavies and other warriors who want to see their foes split in twain and with a whole lot of mess to go with it. An Eviscerator is a true terror weapon that makes a terrific racket when in use, and the sheer volume and size of its teeth can rival a power weapon in terms of raw destructive capability. Even light vehicles are not immune to an Eviscerator’s army of spinning teeth, and

there are anecdotal stories of these weapons hacking through the legs of walkers. They are difficult and tiring to use for any period of time, but most who wield an Eviscerator will end a combat in very short order.

Any character that rolls an unmodified 96-00 on their Weapon Skill Test while wielding an Eviscerator risks losing control of the chain blade and must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or else hit themselves with the weapon instead of their target. This attack deals full Damage, including Penetration and the user’s Strength Bonus. Roll to determine hit location normally, but re-roll if the hit would indicate a blow to either arm.

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POWER WEAPONS Sheathed in a power field of crackling arcane energies, a power weapon greatly amplifies the force of the wielder’s swings and thrusts, disrupting the matter that makes up armour and its wearer all at once. Many of these weapons conceal their true nature with power packs subtly incorporated into the grip and energy projection veins down the blade, appearing as a totally normal if well-made weapon until activated amid crackles of lightning running down their length. Regardless of whether its generators are hidden within or obviously attached with conduit cables, power weapons are dramatic implements that can go from ordinary blades to cleaving and smashing engines of destruction in a matter of moments.

Because of the great cost of manufacturing the power field generators themselves, power weapons are almost exclusively the province of the wealthy and well-connected, such as high-ranking Imperial Guard officers, Rogue Traders, Inquisitors, and others who are afforded such luxuries. However, power weapons are the unquestioned champions among those meant for use in close combat, and most who can obtain such devices are the types who like to use them as well.

When deactivated, a power weapon counts as a Primitive weapon of the same type with the mono-edged upgrade and can be used without penalty by a character with the Melee Weapon Training (Primitive) talent. Otherwise, a character must have the Melee Weapon Training (Power) to use power weapons without penalty.

Power Weapons Name Class Dam Pen Special Wt Cost World Availability

Null Rod Melee 1d10+4 E 6 Power Field, Special 3kg 9,000 - Extremely Rare

Omnissian Rod Melee 1d10+10 E 7 Balanced, Flexible, Power Field, Special

9kg Tech-Priest Only Extremely Rare

Power Axe Melee 1d10+7 E 8 Power Field, Unbalanced 6kg 2,700 -

Loi-Pattern† Melee 1d10+8 E 10 Power Field, Unbalanced 7kg 3,200 -

Omnissian Axe Melee 2d10+4 E 8 Power Field, Unbalanced 8kg Tech-Priest Only Extremely Rare

Power Blade Melee 1d10+3 E 6 Power Field 1.5kg 1,750 - Very Rare

Serpentine Melee 1d10+2 E 6 Fast, Power Field 1.5kg 2,000 - Extremely Rare

Power Discus Thrown (SBx4m) 1d10+4 E 5 Power Field, Special 0.2kg 10,000 - Extremely Rare

Power Fist (gauntlet) Melee 2d10 E†† 9 Power Field, Unwieldy 12kg 3,200 - Very Rare

Power Fist (glove) Melee 2d10 E†† 7 Power Field, Unwieldy 7kg††† 3,000 - Very Rare

Power Longsword† Melee 1d10+7 7 Power Field 4.5kg 3,500 - Very Rare

Power Maul (high) Melee 1d10+5 E 5 Power Field 3.5kg 2,500 - Very Rare

Power Maul (low) Melee 1d10+1 I 2 Shocking

Power Stake Melee 1d10+7 E 5 Power Field, Sanctified, Unbalanced

1kg 20,000 - Extremely Rare

Power Sword Melee 1d10+6 E 6 Balanced, Power Field 3.5kg 2,500 - Very Rare

Power Sabre Melee 1d10+5 E 5 Balanced, Power Field 3kg 2,700 - Very Rare

Thunder Hammer† Melee 2d10+2 E†† 10 Power Field, Recharge, Shocking, Unwieldy 15kg 4,000 - Very Rare

Witch Lance Melee/Thrown (10m) 1d10+5 E 6 Power Field, Special 5kg 2,800 - Very Rare

†Requires two hands to be used effectively

††Add twice the wielder’s Strength Bonus to Damage

†††Not including external power source

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Null Rod Equal parts weapon and tool, a null rod takes

the form of an obsidian shaft about a metre long heavily inscribed with runic wards and prayers against the daemon and witch. The grip is formed from simple leather strips bearing inscriptions of protection, giving a null rod a very "low-tech" and mundane appearance, but this is deceiving in the extreme. The unique material is mined from an unknown world in the Koronus Expanse, its location kept secret by the Calixian Conclave explicitly for this enigmatic substance alone. When gripped strongly the rod reacts to the wielder's own life force, emitting a crackling energy field that pulses with warp-disrupting power, weakening a daemon's hold on reality while filling a witch's head with vertigo and false perceptions. The Inquisition's own tech-artisans have installed a compact power field generator within the body of the rod, further amplifying the effect as well as allowing the tool to function as a power weapon in hand-to-hand combat. Null rods are indispensible tools to witch and daemon hunters alike; agents of the Throne who are granted such exclusive gear are favoured indeed. The vast majority of null rods are wielded by militant Inquisitors and their minions, but more fanatical elements of the Ecclesiarchy and the Adepta Soroitas have obtained them from time to time as well.

A null rod emits a field that can totally nullify psychic powers and other warp phenomena out to a distance of 20 metres. When a psychic power is manifested, roll 1d10 - only on a result of "8" or higher is the power actually manifested. This roll should be made before checking for any Psychic Phenomena; if the null rod prevents the psychic power from manifesting then no Psychic Phenomena occur. Active or sustained powers entering the field are subject to its effects and must make this roll upon contact with the field and when making the subsequent Power Roll to sustain. If a power is manifested outside the null rod's field, but its effect encroaches into the area warded by the field, the power is still manifested but may have no effect within the field itself; roll to determine this as above. If a psychic power is

successfully manifested within a null rod's field area, reduce any Psychic Phenomena results by 10. In addition, a null rod forces daemonic creatures and other warp entities to make a Warp Instability Test with a -10 penalty each time they take Damage from it in melee. Finally, each time a psyker or other creature with a Psy Rating spends 10 continuous Rounds within a null rod's field, it must succeed on a Hard (-20) Willpower Test or gain 1d5 Insanity Points. Failure by two or more Degrees also affects the character as though he was affected by a hallucinogen grenade.

Omnissian Rod An exceptionally rare device, an Omnissian

rod is gifted only to ranking Magi, Fabricators, and other elites of the Cult Mechanicus who wield this weapon as a staff or standard. Taking the form of a two metre tall staff of consummate discs stacked end to end, an Omnissian Rod is topped with a broad escutcheon of the Imperial aquila inlaid with the skull-and-cog device of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a symbolic representation of the (sometimes tenuous) unity of the Imperium of Man and the Martian Priesthood. Though impressive to behold, when wielded by a Tech-Priest an Omnissian rod becomes an extremely potent weapon. The rod's body can separate into its individual segments, an internal spine of bundled monomolecular wire preventing it from flying apart while the escutcheon acts as the head of a flail. When wired in to the Tech-Priest's potentia coil, the rod can be sheathed in a high energy field analogous to a power weapon. This energy can be used to make ranged attacks as well by turning the rod on its side and using the haft as a focusing barrel, giving the Tech-Priest wielding it firepower equivalent to a fine plasma gun as well.

An Omnissian rod gains the listed profile when connected to the wielder's potentia coil, which requires a Half Action and a successful Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test. If the wielder uses the rod to Parry, it loses the Flexible quality for one Round. Alternatively, the wielder can choose to use the Omnissian rod as a ranged

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weapon, in which case it counts as a phased plasma gun (and requires both hands to wield). The weapon cannot be used as both a melee and ranged weapon in the same Round. If used without a connection to a potentia coil, the weapon loses the Power Field quality, can't be used as a ranged weapon, and reduces its Damage and Penetration by 7 each. In all cases, a Tech-Priest bearing an Omnissian rod gifted to him gains a +20 bonus to Interaction Tests made with other members of the Cult Mechanicus, while the Disposition of members of Imperial organisations that chafe with the Mechanicus improve by one step.

Power Axe

As with the simple axes wielded by commoners and feudal warriors, a power axe makes use of a heavy blade atop a stout haft that dramatically increases its chopping power. When combined with a power field, even a heavily-armoured foe can be split in half like a piece of kindling. Power axes are somewhat clumsier than more common power swords, but those that wield them believe the extra lethality more than makes up for a slower swing.

Loi-Pattern: This particular mark of power axe is a product of the Loi Metalworks Armoury on the world of Lo and differentiates itself from others of its type by a much longer haft and harsh, cleaver-like blade that is significantly longer as well. Sometimes informally referred to as a “power glaive”, the extended dimensions of the Loi-pattern allow it to be swung with a wider arc and correspondingly greater force. Several Inquisitors of the Calixian Conclave favour this pattern, whether for their personal use or that of their senior acolytes and agents; these prominently feature Inquisitorial iconography on the business end, making sure that those laid low for their heresies will know their doom at the final moments.

Omnissian Axe: No “mere” power weapon, this is a holy icon of the Cult Mechanicus that is granted to Magi and Enginseers alike who have shown their faith to the Machine God in battle. An Omnissian axe is forged of the finest

materials and to absolute tolerances using great secrets of tempering and field generation, and are among the finest power weapons manufactured anywhere in the Imperium. Many have saw-toothed blades or backs to invoke the ancient prehistory of engineering, and all are invariably decorated with sacred equations and symbols of the Mechanicus. Tech-Priests who wield these superb weapons often use them as exaggerated (and wholly unnecessary) walking sticks and badges of office, and the bearer is most often regarded as a figure blessed by the Machine God as a furious incarnation of its repositories of knowledge and power in war.

The wielder of an Omnissian axe receives a +10 bonus to Interaction Tests involving followers of the Cult Mechanicus, and the weapon’s machine spirit is so advanced that it acts as a multi-tool when wielded by an

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adherent. An Omnissian axe may never be bought or deliberately obtained – it is gifted only to Tech-Priests by their superiors, and to wield one without that blessing is a suicidal act.

Power Blade Power blades are modest dagger-sized

weapons that are infinitely more dangerous than their size suggests because of their power field. Though only slightly larger than any of a multitude of knives popular throughout the Imperium, a power blade can still punch through almost any armour as though it were made of wet parchment, and a particularly serious wielder might go so far as to use a kick to drive an impaled power blade deeper still into his opponent’s body.

Khayer-Addin “Serpentine” Blade: Blades concealed in walking canes, umbrellas, and other innocuous objects are far from uncommon among the Calixis Sector’s wealthy and connected, but the Khayer-Addin Forge’s Serpentine escalates this concept to an entirely higher level. The Serpentine’s incredibly thin blade is forged from the highest-quality adamantine alloys to ensure strength in spite of its slender shape, and it is capable of generating a power field from a sophisticated unit no longer than a common autogun clip that is concealed within the handle. Khayer-Addin produces this exclusive weapon by commission and no two are exactly alike, though most take the form of elaborate walking sticks or rods of office. The Serpentine may be drawn normally or erupt through its decoy housing with a field burst to create a suitably dramatic deployment, and most users typically keep one or two “spares” to conceal their weapon again after its use is no longer required.

Power Discus Few would consider throwing a costly and rare

power weapon at any enemy as anything other than madness, but the archeotech power discus is designed to do just that. A power discus is formed of a seamless silvery disc with a mirror-like gloss finish no more than 30 centimetres across, roughly five centimetres in thickness in

the centre but tapering to whisper thin edges that can inflict cuts on a careless wielder. A power discus has almost no weight to it in spite of its size and construction, and when thrown it flies almost noiselessly through the air until a power field crackles to existence around it. The power discus’ generator activates once it detects the airborne spinning motion, and deactivates several moments after its movement ceases (often embedded into an object behind the opponent it just cut through). Most who own a power discus are wealthy collectors or aficionados, but they make perfectly deadly combat weapons to those who can afford their cost and don’t mind hunting through underbrush or tangled hive-works to recover a thrown discus that’s gone awry.

A power discus can be used by characters without the Thrown Weapon Training (Power) talent if they have both the Melee Weapon Training (Power) and Thrown Weapon Training (Primitive) talents. A character wielding a power discus risks cutting himself when throwing the weapon if he lacks adequate protection for his hands. If the wielder rolls an unmodified 91-00 on his Ballistic Skill Test when attacking, he also takes 1d5 Rending Damage to whichever arm is wielding the weapon.

Power Fist Power fists are heavy armoured gloves or

gauntlets with a built in power field generator that can turn a simple punch into a blow capable of completely obliterating an opponent and putting holes through the side of thick bulkheads. The broad surface of a power fist’s field means a struck foe is disrupted over a wide area; armour is punctured and rent open like fabric, while an unprotected foe erupts in a shower of ruined flesh as though a grenade had exploded inside their bodies. Power fists are imprecise instruments that are poor choices for swordplay and quick manoeuvres, but their destructive power is unquestioned.

Power fists are usually produced in two distinct patterns: a sturdy “power glove” that can be worn on its own, and the large gauntlet that is designed to interface with a suit of power

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armour and maximize on the user’s greatly increased strength. Glove-type fists are favoured by Imperial Guard officers as they mesh well with carapace suits and are only modestly encumbering, while the larger gauntlets are most commonly used by power-armoured crusaders and Inquisitorial agents who have no need for subtlety or drudging work in the course of their duties. Despite their differences, both are extraordinarily deadly weapons.

Power fists provide Armour Points to the arm covered by them but impose a penalty to Skill Tests involving fine dexterity made with that hand on account of the bulky digits. Glove-type power fists provide 6 APs and gauntlet-type power fists provide 8 APs; these do not stack with worn armour, so count whichever provides more APs when calculating reduction. A glove-type power fist imposes a -5 penalty to Skill Tests involving fine manual dexterity, while the gauntlet-type’s penalty is -10. A glove-type power fist requires an external power flask weighing 5kg, typically carried on the belt or on an equipment pack.

Power Longsword Most power swords are designed to be easy to

wield with one hand, but two-handed patterns with a much longer blade are made for those with a particular zeal for close combat. While somewhat more difficult to handle, a power longsword can put much greater force on its blows to rend open heavily-armoured opponents or thrust deeply into the guts of even the largest beasts and aliens. Officers of the Brontian Longknives, already well known for their love of blades and melee battles, are known to be particular enthusiasts for these weapons, and they are also often found in the employ of militant operatives of the Ordo Xenos who desire a potent weapon to use against foul creatures of great size and power.

Arbitrator Power Maul

This weapon is designed to look similar to the shock maul used by rank-and-file Adeptus Arbites troopers but is far more capable thanks

to the use of a variable power field generator. Most power weapons are only designed to be switched on or off, but a power maul’s more sophisticated field can be adjusted with a selector stud set into the base of the shaft. At maximum power it is just as deadly as any other power weapon and can be used to smash through walls or annihilate opponents, but at a reduced setting produces just enough energy to duplicate a shock maul’s incapacitating jolts. This gives veteran troopers and judges the flexibility to exert as much restraint as they feel is necessary, and the power maul’s simple appearance reduces some of the class division that exists in most Imperial institutions. Veteran Arbitrators who become judges or proctors may be presented with one of these simple but highly effective weapons as an award for dutiful service, and most are quite eager to put it to use at once.

Power Stake The power stake is another item in the

Inquisitor’s arsenal that is designed to be as much a symbol as it is a weapon. It takes the form of a solid metre-long shaft of cold-forged iron, tapering to a wicked point on one end. The other end is fashioned into a handle, containing the power field generator and suitable for gripping in combat as well as use as a walking stick. Thousands of etched runes, prayers against the psyker and invocations against the warp, decorate the shaft of the weapon, giving it a wrinkled look from a distance. These weapons are the progeny of the noted witch hunter Inquisitor Rykehuss of the Calixian Conclave, and carry his hatred of psykers and witches. He has commissioned dozens of these bane stakes and issued them to favoured minions and other servants of the Emperor deemed to harbour the same fanatic zeal as he himself for the persecution of these unclean mutants and scum.

A successful attack with a power stake is crippling against witches. This weapon deals an additional 1d10 Damage for every point of the target’s Psy Rating. Power stakes are invariably a Best craftsmanship weapon and grant their user a +10 bonus to their Weapon Skill when

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wielding it (the +1 Damage bonus has already been added to the profile).

Power Sword Power swords are the most common type of

power weapon, at least as far as these rare and valuable arms can be considered. A power sword is an immediate sign of the wearer’s status as well as their preference for close range combat, as few weapons are as functional, deadly, and immediately ostentatious as a power sword. Depending on the mark, power swords might be simply elegant weapons that could pass for a conventional blade or obvious tech-marvels that ripple energy along their exposed power cabling. Regardless of whether it’s wielded by an Inquisitor, Imperial Guard officer, or Rogue Trader, a power sword sets its user apart from those below his station.

Power Sabre: This sweeping single-edged blade is often made as a power weapon for wielders that value a sabre’s swift cuts and basket hilt but would like something with quite a bit more bite. A power sabre is somewhat less effective at cutting down an armoured opponent than the thicker blades of “normal” power swords, but when wielded by a skilled swordsman the blade seems to become just a flash of light as it darts around before striking true. Power sabres are often wielded by Commissars for their dramatic appearance and wicked point, though anyone – regardless of their skill – could appreciate one’s appearance.

A power sabre’s excellent handling grants its wielder an additional +5 bonus to Weapon Skill Tests made to Parry; with the Balanced quality, the wielder’s total bonus to these Tests is +15.

Thunder Hammer Normally carried into battle by heroic Space

Marines, thunder hammers are also made in a shape that can be wielded by mere humans, though it is by no means easy to do so. Compared to other power weapons, a thunder hammer’s power field is employed to build up a devastating charge which is released on impact with a foe, rending them asunder with the force of a lightning strike (hence the name). Those

who are not utterly obliterated after being struck, reduced to a smouldering pile of cooked flesh and ruined armour, are often sent reeling from the meteoric force of the blow as energy courses through their bodies. To carry a thunder hammer is a sign not only of the wielder’s wealth or connections, but of true faith in the justice and might of the Emperor.

A thunder hammer takes time to build up maximum energy. After striking an opponent it loses the Shocking quality for one Round (per the Recharge quality), but can otherwise still be used to attack normally.

Witch Lance A potent weapon that is a mix of the techno-

arcane and the sacred, witch lances are designed to destroy rogue psykers and witches utterly and without mercy. These heavily modified power weapons take the form of an ornate spear, pike, or some other pole-arm with a cold iron and adamantine blade and haft. Contained at the weapon’s heart is a pressure-release reservoir of concentrated promethium mixed with sacred oils and anti-psy compounds. Should the lance successfully impale a victim’s body, this mixture is explosively vented, utterly consuming them in a blast of holy fire. Although ostensibly intended for use against psykers, a witch lance is a perfectly useful weapon against any enemy of the Emperor, as it is guilt, rather than warp power, that causes them to ignite.

Whenever Righteous Fury results while a character is attacking with a witch lance, the weapon deals an additional 2d10 Energy Damage that ignores Armour, and the victim is set on fire. This extra Damage is considered Holy, which has certain effects on Daemonic creatures and warp entities (as will be noted in their descriptions). These effects are in addition to the normal effects of Righteous Fury. The witch lance’s internal reservoir has enough fuel to castigate five of the Emperor’s foes before it must be refilled; the mixture has a base cost of 100 Thrones and is Very Rare.

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SHOCK WEAPONS Shock weapons are designed to be generally non-lethal, attacking the subject with incapacitating force through electrical shocks that are discharged on impact. Being hit with a shock weapon is painful and causes mild burns on the skin, but generally will not result in debilitating injury, maiming, or death, making them very useful for crowd control and “encouraging” workers to venerate the Emperor through their labours with more enthusiasm. To use shock weapons without penalty, a character must have the Melee Weapon Training (Shock) or Thrown Weapon Training (Shock) talents. Concussion Mace

Designed for use in zero-gravity mining, concussion maces take the form of a long metallic haft about two metres tall topped with a flanged striking end. A concussion mace makes use of a piece of surplus or salvaged grav-plating, energised by a kinetic generator that spins up as the mace is swung. On impact, the concussion mace discharges a massive burst of stored power, creating a brief pulse of crushing force suitable for shattering rocks and prying out dense deposits from hard ore and other strata. Concussion maces are not intended to be used as weapons, but the powerful augmented impacts can be quite effective at annihilating even well-armoured opponents. As a result, these tools are

carefully guarded by security proctors and armsmen to prevent them from falling into the hands of rioting mining-helots or workers. Outside of the mines, there are small numbers of fighters and other heavies who would use stolen concussion maces as full-time weapons. The impressive result of a particularly solid hit, as well as the ability to smash a fully armoured Arbitrator right through his carapace suit, makes for an appealing choice. However, the unpredictable nature of such improvised potency can have potentially disastrous effects, especially if the concussive wave ends up being reflected back at the wielder.

A concussion mace can be used by characters without the Melee Weapon Training (Shock) talent as a Primitive weapon, but it loses the Blast and Unstable qualities without the precise focus necessary to strike blows with the grav-plate. On a successful hit this weapon inflicts its Damage as a Blast weapon, but the blast area does not extend towards or to the sides of the wielder. However, an unmodified roll of 94-00 on a Weapon Skill Test made to attack results in the blast rolling back into the wielder, centring the effect on the originally targeted area or on the wielder himself, whichever is more appropriate for the situation. Regardless of where the blast is centred, the wielder of the concussion mace cannot attempt an Agility Test to avoid the blast. If the wielder does not

Shock Weapons Name Class Dam Pen Special Wt Cost World Availability

Concussion Mace† Melee 1d10+3 I 4 Blast (1), Special, Unstable, Unwieldy

15kg 600 Void Scarce

Electro-Flail Melee 1d10+2 I 0 Flexible, Shocking 4.5kg 375 - Rare

Neural Whip Melee (3m) 1d10+1 E 0 Flexible, Shocking, Special, Tearing 4kg 500 - Rare

Officer’s Cutlass Melee 1d10 R 0 Shocking, Special 3kg 200 Void Scarce

Shock Glove Melee 1d5 E 0 Shocking, Special 1.5kg 100 - Scarce

Shock Maul Melee 1d10 I 0 Shocking 2.5kg 150 - Average

Shock Staff† Melee 1d5+3 I 0 Shocking 2kg 100 - Scarce

Shock Staff (spike)† Melee 1d5+1 R 2 Shocking 2kg 125 - Rare

Shock Star Thrown (SBx3m) 1d5+2 R 0 Shocking .2kg 350 - Rare

†Requires two hands to be used effectively

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Electro-Flail Electro-flails are groups of tendril-like lashes,

attached to a short staff or handle and swung in sharp, quick snaps. These flails have a short reach, but as they strike in devastating masses of hits they can be extraordinarily effective at incapacitating a foe. Electro-flails are common sights at manufactorums that use forced labour as they make an intimidating, whip-like crack as they strike an obstinate worker, and there are many types of servitors with electro-flails

implanted in their limbs specifically to assist forge overseers in quelling any potential unrest.

Neural Whip

This nasty weapon resembles a conventional whip with a thicker length that delivers a powerful electrical shock from a heavy power pack in the grip. Neural whips can’t be rightly considered a “non-lethal” weapon; the whip’s terrible lacerations alone could kill, never mind the shock discharge that is sufficient to stop the

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heart and lungs of those with weaker constitutions. The electrostatic charge in the whip seems to help it fly further, and a labour foreman or press-gang captain of sufficient skill can send its painful touch over the heads of well-behaved mendicants to savage a miscreant in their midst.

A neural whip can be used against a target up to three metres away, but loses the Flexible and Tearing qualities against adjacent opponents as the whip cannot build up the high speed or twisting movements that cause its frightening effects when used on foes further away.

Officer’s Cutlass

The cutlass has a long tradition of naval service dating to prehistory, and many can still be found aboard voidfaring ships of the present. Swords carried by junior officers and lead ratings often will have a shock generator built in to the handle that greatly increases the force of cuts and blows with a sharp electrical discharge. An officer’s cutlass offers an additional versatility in that the shock can also be delivered through the armoured guard to make a significantly less deadly but just as incapacitating blow, a handy feature during a mutiny or revolt among superiors that would prefer to keep losses to a minimum.

A character wielding an officer’s cutlass can strike with the guard instead of the blade, which deals 1d5 Impact Damage with a Penetration value of 0 and the Shocking quality.

Shock Glove

Shock gloves are designed to deliver an electrical jolt as part of a punch, and are most commonly used by gangers and low-life enforcers as a cheap but effective way to inflict pain and terrorize victims, but they can be devastatingly in brawls and other situations where an opponent might not know exactly what’s on his attacker’s hands until far too late. Higher quality shock gloves do exist, however, often looking simply like ordinary gloves for keeping the hands warm or even light elegant

mitts worn by nobles and dilettantes at formal functions and other gatherings.

A shock glove can be used as a melee weapon with the listed profile, but can also deliver the effects of the Shocking quality as part of an Unarmed attack, benefitting from any talents or abilities the wearer may have. They can also be used to shock a victim any time the wearer is in direct contact with the victim’s skin, whether grappling an unarmoured opponent or dancing at a ball.

The bulk and appearance of a shock glove are factors of their quality. The attributes listed below are in addition to the regular modifiers for Craftsmanship as described previously:

Poor: Overly-large and covered in a mess of wires, these look intimidating but are hard to use in an actual fight due to their bulk. Any attempt to conceal their true nature suffers a -20 penalty.

Common: These have an appearance similar to sturdy armoured gauntlets with some extraneous cabling that occasionally cracks or pops with electricity.

Good: No more bulky than any sort of reinforced gloves, these can pass for regular armour or equipment for handling hot items. The wearer gains a +10 bonus for attempts to hide the weapon’s purpose.

Best: Finely crafted and well-fitting, these can be perfectly disguised as mesh or leather gloves, and could even pass for stylish clothing worn by naval officers or hive nobles. The wearer gains a +20 bonus to conceal the nature of these gloves, and they do not show up as weapons on an auspex and other scanners.

Shock Maul

Standard equipment for Adeptus Arbites troopers, shock mauls are carried by other enforcers and a wide variety of authority-types throughout the Imperium, and the sound of a shock maul being powered up is often sufficient to persuade a ruffian to cease misbehaving. Because of their use by Arbitrators, shock mauls are commonly associated with the Emperor’s Law and its swift retaliation for misdeeds. Hive riots are often met by a line of suppression

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shields and shock mauls; hivers returning to their toils the next day can be immediately be identified by obvious burns from being clobbered by a shock maul, which may single them out for ridicule or more official persecution depending on the world and the nature of the riot. Shock mauls are nominally non-lethal weapons, though an “enthusiastic” user can make them perfectly deadly by aiming for vulnerable areas and generally just administering an excessive beating. Shock-Staff

Shock-staffs are basic and somewhat oversized shock weapons that are primarily intended for use in herding press-ganged crews aboard ships, though they can be found in similar planetary applications as well. Formed in the main from a long haft of metal or plasteel, a shock-staff has a simple single-power shock emitter mounted at one end with the generator installed in the other. Most use a flat shock-plate, either a plain surface or one decorated with the ship’s insignia or naval badge, but some varieties instead feature a nasty-looking spike on the end that is designed to pierce the insulated suits worn by reactor and engine crews, and are typically the favoured type used by scummers and other dregs due to the more fearsome appearance. Shock Star

This tiny metal throwing disc contains a small power cell as well as conventional cutting edges. A target hit by a shock star suffers the usual lacerations from the star’s blades and points as well as a debilitating jolt as its power cell discharges on impact. A shock star can’t be

turned on or off; it simply activates when it strikes something at sufficient velocity, and a few users have been shocked by their own stars carried in a pocket or belt thanks to a sudden impact as a result of a fall.

A shock star can be used by characters without the Thrown Weapon Training (Shock) talent if they have both the Melee Weapon Training (Shock) and Thrown Weapon Training (Primitive) talents.

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EXOTIC WEAPONS Some melee weapons are designed in such a way that they are completely set apart from more common patterns of blades and hammers used throughout the Imperium. Whether they are tools that make handy weapons, archeotech implements from a lost age, Xenos armaments, or those weapons that simply must be used differently to obtain a useful feature or capability, exotic weapons are a class in and of themselves.

Like their ranged counterparts, exotic melee weapons cover a wide range of devices and arms that do not handily fit into other weapon categories. Most are unique or specialized enough that each one requires an individual Talent to use. For example, a character wanting to rend his foes asunder with a breacher drill must have the Exotic Weapon Training (Breacher) talent. Some career paths include specific Exotic Weapon Training talents as part

of their normal advances, but most characters will have to obtain one through an Elite Advance. Exotic weapons are still classed as Melee or Thrown weapons and must obey all relevant rules for use in combat.

Arc-Welder

Principally a tool of the Lathe Worlds' elite mech-wrights, an arc-welder uses a discharge of pure energy to create a small, precise cutting blade that can make extremely fine and delicate incisions and slices through even the hardest material as easily as a chirurgeon's scalpel cuts through flesh. The twin arc emitters are mounted as a bracer or gauntlet, possibly permanently integrated into a bionic hand or arm, and snap in place ahead of the wielder's fingers - simply by moving the arm, the arc blade effortlessly cuts through anything the wielder "points" at. The amount of energy to create a cutting blade of this intensity is staggering, and so arc-welders are invariably either used in a

Exotic Weapons Name Class Dam Pen Special Wt Cost World Availability

Arc-Welder Melee 1d10+5 E†† 10 Fast, Unwieldy 2kg 1,700 Lathes Very Rare

Breacher† Melee 1d10+5 R 4 Special, Tearing, Unwieldy 18kg 750 Forge Scarce

Bulkhead Cutters Melee 1d10+3 R 6 Tearing, Unwieldy 8kg 100 - Average

Chain-Sticks Melee 1d10+1 I 0 Fast, Primitive, Toxic 1kg 30 Fervious Scarce

Coil Whip Melee 1d10+5 E 4 Flexible, Shocking 3kg 600 Lathes Very Rare

Double Flail† Melee 1d10 I 0 Balanced, Flexible, Primitive 4kg 28 Penolpass Scarce

Energy Blade Melee 1d10+6 E†† 7 Balanced, Power Field 1kg 5,000 Forge Very Rare

Forearm Power Blade Melee 1d10+1 E 4 Balanced, Defensive, Power Field 1.5kg 2,200 - Very Rare

Fractal Sword Melee 1d10+1 R 8 Balanced 1kg 10,000 - Extremely Rare

Garrotte† Melee 1d10 R 0 Flexible, Primitive, Unwieldy 0.5kg 30 Hive Scarce

Groxwhip Melee (3m) 1d10+3 R 0 Flexible, Primitive, Special, Tearing

4kg 45 - Scarce

Lightning Chain† Melee 1d10+1 I 0 Flexible, Primitive, Shocking 4kg 100 Acreage Very Rare

Lightning Gauntlet Melee 1d10 I 0 Primitive, Shocking 2kg 80 Acreage Very Rare

Sieve Blade Melee 1d10-1 R 0 Primitive 0.5kg 200 - Rare

Soft Sword Melee 1d10 R 2 Balanced 1.5kg 400 - Rare

Vivisector Melee 1d5+5 R 4 Tearing, Unwieldy 1.5kg 650 Forge Rare

†Requires two hands to be used effectively

††Do not add the wielder’s Strength Bonus to Damage with this weapon

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stationary setting, or more often by a direct link to a Tech-Priest's potentia coil. The ability to easily cut through super-dense alloys means an arc-welder could very easily be pressed into service as a powerful, if purely offensive, weapon. With its ability to suddenly spring into an attack position, as well as small overall profile, defending against an attack by an arc-welder is a tricky prospect, and some more eccentric Venatorii wield these tools for entirely non-constructive purposes.

An arc-welder gains the listed profile when connected to the wielder's potentia coil, which requires a Half Action and a successful Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test. Should it become disconnected, it ceases to function as a weapon. See the Weapon Upgrades section for more information on Integrated Weapons. An arc-welder can cut through adamantine plating up to 40 centimetres thick in one minute; thinner and less dense materials can be carved through faster. An arc-welder has an Availability of Very Rare in the Lathe system, Extremely Rare on other Forge Worlds, and is typically not encountered anywhere else.

Breacher A breacher is a high-power drilling device

made from hyper-dense adamantine alloys and fitted with a matter-wave generator, designed to drill through the toughest materials and ore deposits, break up blocks, and puncture bulkheads. Breachers are sometimes designed as a heavy rig that is slung over the wielder’s shoulder and held with both hands, but they are more commonly implanted into the flesh of a servitor or bonded labourer. However, a breacher can also be employed as a slow but devastatingly potent weapon capable of ripping through armour and flesh with ease, and there are many examples of Mechanicus Secutors that have fused a breacher to one of their bionic arms for just such a purpose.

Because of its bulk and vibration when activated, a user must have a Strength Bonus of 5 or higher to use a rig-mounted breacher as a combat weapon. Weaker characters suffer a -10 penalty to Weapon Skill Tests made to attack with it for each point their Strength Bonus is below 5. If used as an implant, the user may add

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double their Strength Bonus to the breacher’s Damage, and the weapon rolls an additional 2d10 rather than 1d10 when successfully inflicting Righteous Fury.

Bulkhead Cutters As the name suggests, these are designed to

slowly rip open tough metal bulkheads and deck plating. Bulkhead cutters are worn more than wielded: a huge row of mechanical teeth grind along below the user’s forearm, extending about 30 centimetres beyond their hand, and a large and sturdy frame with an included gauntlet protects the limb from sparks and flying fragments. The cutter itself is supported by a load-bearing harness that the user dons over their torso which also stores the power supply, making this heavy tool easier to use for long cutting jobs. Bulkhead cutters are not designed for use as weapons, but a user who has learned the proper motions can make use of them as terrifyingly effective if imprecise armaments for melee combat, and more eccentric boarding crews might arm a man with one over his void suit to assist with cutting through obstacles (including defenders of the boarded ship!).

Fervious Chain-Sticks Some of the more disciplined but no less

vicious warriors of Fervious create these weapons by binding two batons together at the base with a length of tough sinew. Amateurs often hit themselves with the free-swinging baton, but a trained fighter can make pulverizing strikes with ease, and the erratic movement is hard for an opponent to predict. The batons themselves are formed from trees that produce vicious slivers; to add insult to injury, even cured wood is still poisonous if it enters the bloodstream, and a competent wielder will often soak his batons in serpent venom to magnify the effect. Of course, the stick-fighter must use great care to avoid poisoning himself during combat, and most wield a sturdy gauntlet or mitt on one or both hands just in case.

Similar weapons are produced locally on several more advanced worlds, including Scintilla. These use sturdy plasteel rods linked

together by a strong chain, and many incorporate a liquid reservoir core to amplify the force of struck blows. These are often wielded by flashy gangers and recidivists as they look almost as impressive as the savage battering they can inflict. “Modern” chain-sticks lose both the Toxic and Primitive qualities due to their superior though decidedly non-poisonous build.

Coil Whip A favoured weapon of the top-ranking

Venatorii "Crimson Guard", coil whips are flashy and loud, filling the air with cracks of man-made thunder as they lash about. While having an impressive appearance, mistaking a coil whip for a toy would be a fatal error. A coil whip is made up of a series of flat, immaculately forged links of conductive alloy that can be rolled up on a spool and stored in a special bracer or gauntlet. When deployed, the whip rolls out and is energised by the wielder's potentia coil, glowing brightly as the wielder's own bio-power courses through it. The raw power of a potentia coil energising the whip's length gives these weapons a potency that rivals a power field while still preserving a whip's erratic, unpredictable behaviour in combat. Along with the Venatorii of the Lathe Worlds, militant Electro-Priests are also known to favour these exceptional weapons, though those that are in attendance outside the Lathes have a much harder time obtaining them.

A coil whip gains the listed profile when connected to the wielder's potentia coil, which requires a Half Action and a successful Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test. Should it become disconnected, it ceases to function as a weapon. See the Weapon Upgrades section for more information on Integrated Weapons. Toughness Tests made to avoid being stunned suffer a -30 penalty after any bonus from Armour is taken into account. Coil whips have an Availability of Very Rare in the Lathe system, Near Unique on other Forge Worlds, and are typically not encountered anywhere else.

Penolpass Double Flail The lithe warriors of Penolpass, whose

fighting style more closely resembles a dance

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than combat manoeuvres, heavily favour double-ended flails for the versatility and hitting power that they offer. The weapon has an unusual structure, consisting of two spiked heads attached to chains affixed on either end of a stout wooden shaft. Given the complexity of this weapon, using it effectively requires a great deal of skill. The true masters of the double flail – those of the Penolpassian Blood Order – can make its use a deadly, though beautiful, art which is unmatched amongst feudal world disciplines throughout the Calixis Sector. In rare cases, the weapon’s shaft can split to produce two smaller flails, giving the wielder even more flexibility in combat.

Sollex-Aegis Energy Blade

The aptly-named energy blade is a product of information obtained from the Aegis Data Fragment, and with the use of focusing crystals refined by the Divine Light of Sollex, this archeotech weapon can be produced in limited quantities in the forges of Haddrack. The energy blade produces a beam of coherent high-energy plasma that materialises from the armoured hilt, appearing as a blazing column of blue-white fire that dances wildly in anticipation of burning through a foe. This weapon is potent beyond even most power swords, and the vast majority of them are wielded by Tech-Priests of Sollex. They are sometimes gifted to parties and patrons that have done great deeds or favours to the Cult and to wield one of these exquisite weapons is a sign of respect (and material) connections with the Adeptus Mechanicus of Calixis.

Whenever the energy blade’s wielder successfully Parries another weapon with two or more degrees of success, the energy blade automatically destroys the other weapon, even if it possesses a power field. However, the almost weightless blade means the force of the swing contributes nothing to the weapon’s destructive power. As a result, the wielder’s Strength Bonus does not increase its Damage. Furthermore, should an Attack or Parry with an energy blade fail by five or more degrees, the insubstantial plasma column ceases cooperating with the

wielder and strikes them instead, using its normal Damage and Penetration values (roll to determine hit location).

Owing to the harsh actinic light and blast furnace roar that the blade produces, the wielder cannot attempt to be stealthy while the energy blade is switched on. The blade is powered by a plasma pistol’s ammunition flask, which is worn on the belt and cable-fed to the hilt. A plasma flask can keep the blade lit for up to 10 Rounds before it must be replaced; “reloading” a Sollex-Aegis energy blade requires 3 Full Actions.

Forearm Power Blade

While the idea of a defensive power weapon might seem ridiculous to many, the forearm power blade is a testament to what creative (and well-funded) tech-adepts can do. As the name implies, a forearm power blade is stored on the wearer’s arm in a bracer or gauntlet; it has a wide and short shape, and is stored in a retracted position when not in use. At the wearer’s command, the blade springs forth along the line of their arm and can be used to make very swift parries and deflective manoeuvres. Its position makes it awkward to attack with, so it is most often used in tandem with another melee weapon. The power blade’s mounting keeps the wearer’s hand free, and when deactivated they can easily wield a basic weapon or perform any other tasks that might be necessary. Forearm power blades are typically strapped to the wearer’s arm, but some more elaborate designs might be integrated with clothing or armour, and high-ranking Inquisitorial agents and Ecclesiarchial crusaders often have these weapons permanently integrated into the bracers of their power armour.

Activating (Readying) a forearm power blade is a Free Action. If the wearer has the Quick Draw talent, it can be activated as part of a Reaction (such as to Parry a melee attack).

Fractal Sword

This pale blue and translucent blade is actually formed from a diamond-like living crystal that is harvested from an unknown planet in the

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Koronus Expanse. An anonymous and doubtless fabulously wealthy Rogue Trader farms them from this world, and after reaching Port Wander the swords make their way into the hands of collectors and rich fighters throughout the Calixis Sector. When the blade is struck by sufficient force small slivers of it break off amid a terrific screeching noise akin to nails on a chalkboard. The crystal constantly grows and replaces shards as they are struck off, resulting in an edge that is perpetually sharp as long as it is used with some frequency; letting it “go to seed” through disuse results in the blade becoming rough and awkward to wield, though sufficient chopping will hone it back to its original razor thickness in short order. Each tiny sliver that breaks free from a fractal sword is a crystalline seed, and close examination reveals a similar shape to the blade itself, albeit in extremely minute form. If planted back on the fractal blade’s home world, a new sword would grow from it. Naturally, the Rogue Trader who discovered this fantastic planet has gone to great lengths to keep its location a mystery.

Because of their natural sharpness and ease in swinging, a fractal sword is always considered a Good craftsmanship weapon, granting its wielder a +5 bonus to their Weapon Skill when using it. Better or worse Craftsmanship versions

simply do not exist. If a fractal sword is destroyed, such as by being successfully parried by a power weapon, the blade will grow back from the handle in 1d5-1 hours. If the rolled result is a 1, the break immediately re-sets as if it had never been broken at all.

Garrotte This simple weapon is little more than a length

of sturdy wire with handles on each end, designed to be used to strangle a victim from behind by forcibly closing their windpipe. In the hands of a master, this humble tool can be every bit as lethal as a boltgun, and can also be used to incapacitate, rather than kill, if its wielder so desires. Due to the close proximity necessary to use this weapon, the Moritat death cult considers it one of the last and most intimate martial forms taught to their members.

All attacks with a garrotte are counted as Called Shots to the Head, and as such suffer a -20 penalty to hit (this is normally offset by the garrotte’s intended use as a weapon of ambush). Subsequent attacks after a successful hit, regardless of Damage, receive a +30 bonus instead as the garrotte has already been applied to the victim’s neck. Should the weapon cause Damage to the target after reduction from Armour, the attacker may cause Wounds

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normally (though these are reduced by Toughness, as usual) or inflict half the value, rounded up, in levels of Fatigue (see Dark Heresy, page 200 for more information on Fatigue and its effects). A garrotte is considered to have the Snare quality on any Round in which it inflicts Damage or Fatigue on its victim, though the attacker gains none of the usual benefits from his victim being Helpless as he must already devote his full attention to maintaining the garrotte’s grip.

Groxwhip A groxwhip is formed out of strong metallic

cable interspersed with wicked-looking barbs and hooks, making it a decidedly frightening weapon to behold. Whether or not groxwhips are actually used in the herding of the beasts of the same name is a matter of debate, but most onlookers could think of no other application that such a disastrous-looking weapon could possibly be used for. A groxwhip is perhaps somewhat less effective than the more common neural whip at “persuading” a miscreant to behave, but they have the advantage of not requiring any sort of power cell to function, and can inflict terrible injuries on a man who isn’t wearing decent armour.

A groxwhip can be used against a target up to three metres away, but loses the Flexible and Tearing qualities against adjacent opponents as the whip cannot build up the high speed or twisting movements that cause its frightening effects when used on foes further away.

Acreage Lightning Chain At a glance, this length of spiked chain

roughly a metre-and-a-half long appears to be a completely mundane and unremarkable, if painful, looking weapon. However, the unique alloys found on Acreage allow it to somehow “store” kinetic energy, which is released in the form of blue-coloured sparks when the chain moves with any kind of sharp, excessive force. When properly used in combat, victims of a lightning chain attack not only receive dreadful lacerations and broken bones, but also suffer

burns from the writhing energy fields that “spark” when the chain is in motion.

Constructed as they are, a lightning chain’s entire length becomes charged and conductive. As a result, the wielder must wear thick gloves made from the tough hides of certain animals native to Acreage; these provide sufficient insulation so that a lighting chain’s wielder isn’t shocked by his own weapon during normal use, although accidentally striking one’s self with the hitting end of the chain is always possible.

Acreage Lightning Gauntlet These are made from the same metal alloys as

the Acreage lightning chain, giving them similar shocking properties. They are often worn by knights and other well-paid soldiers of Acreage’s armies, who incorporate them as fixtures of their sturdy plate armour. A lightning gauntlet cannot be swung as fast as its chain counterpart, so the kinetic effect is somewhat lessened, but it is still far more deadly than an ordinary punch, and being struck in the face by a lightning gauntlet is likely to cause serious harm, if not death, to the unfortunate victim. The gauntlets are constructed atop gloves and bracers made of the same insulating leather as a lightning chain’s wielder uses and offer similar protection against being accidentally shocked.

Sieve Blade Original examples of this weapon were made

from the hollow, spiky fronds of the spindlethorn plant, where it would be loaded with the venomous sap of the same for use against predators. While some “purists” insist on a weapon grown in the old ways, similar examples constructed from modern materials have become popular with a number of cults and Assassinorum operatives. The flat sides of the blade have hundreds of tiny pore-like holes, allowing the substance inside to spread into any wound it causes. A reproduction sieve blade otherwise resembles a common short sword with a slightly wider blade.

Any hit with a sieve blade that causes at least one Wound will also “inject” a dose of whatever substance its owner has placed in the hollow.

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However, due to the indiscriminate nature of this delivery system, a dose is expended out of the blade on any successful hit; if the sieve blade scrapes harmlessly off the target’s armour, the dose is wasted as it dribbles out on the victim’s protective gear and clothing.

A more sophisticated sieve blade, costing an additional 100 Thrones, includes a pressure valve in the grip to hold the dose within; it is released by a stub on the pommel, which is typically done when the wielder believes he has scored a firm strike. This version only expends the dosed substance at the wielder’s discretion, and the decision can be made after Damage has been rolled.

Soft Sword Also known as an assassin’s belt, soft swords

are forged from a polymorphic material that has been of great interest to Mechanicus Magi since it was discovered on planets near the Heathen Stars. Normally flexible like thick cloth, when an electrical current is run through the material it suddenly springs to the consistency of well-tempered steel, and can be employed just like a fine blade. Soft swords are of particular utility to those who desire a more unassuming appearance while still being armed, or who want a hidden weapon should their obvious ones be removed.

While inactive, a soft sword does not show up as a weapon on an auspex or similar scanner. When readied, it can act as either a sword or a staff (dealing Impact rather than Rending Damage) at the wielder’s choice.

Vivisector The Vivisector is a long ornate gauntlet that

locks over the user’s forearm with sufficient clearance to be worn over most types of armour. Servo-augmented articulation extends over the fingers, which are tipped with laser cutters, bio-solvents, shears and flensing instruments. While the ignorant may confuse a Vivisector with a medical device, this is no instrument of healing. A Vivisector’s true purpose is to dismantle and portion organic tissues in a forge world’s flesh works as well as servicing and maintaining servitors; to a Tech-Priest, it is simply another

tool to use on biological machinery. Of course, these same qualities allow it to be used as a horrific melee weapon, and while perhaps unsuited for full-scale battles, a single savage blow from a Vivisector has administered the justice of the Cult Mechanicus to many labour-helots who have dared rise up against their masters. Other scummers and recidivists that have tried to mug or murder a lone enginseer for whatever foul purpose have been similarly dispatched as the apparently weapon less Tech-Priest proves his Vivisector is far from just a simple tool.

A Vivisector grants the wielder a +10 bonus to Medicae Tests for the purposes of repairing servitors or conducting autopsies. Its frightening appearance is also a useful tool in and of itself, and grants the wielder a +10 bonus to Interrogation and Intimidation Tests as well. For an additional 500 Thrones, a Vivisector may be upgraded with stronger bio-solvents and other corrosives that give it the Toxic quality as well.

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Upgrades

While a weapon is only as efficient as its wielder – whose performance in combat is no better than his faith in the Emperor – various types of modifications and additional equipment can be used to augment this to some extent. Upgrades enhance the performance or capability of a weapon in some way, and can perform a variety of functions. Upgrading a weapon requires a successful Trade (Armourer) Test, whose difficulty depends on the upgrade itself. Trade (Technomat) can be used instead, but the difficulty increases by two steps.

The cost and availability of each upgrade refers to the component itself, not the cost of attaching it. Characters that can’t perform that work will usually have to pay separately for an armourer to do the labour. Some weapons may already have one or more upgrades already installed; in this case, simply add the cost of the upgrade to the weapon’s cost. An upgrade may modify a weapon’s weight as well. Upgrades usually do not modify a weapon’s availability, although especially rare ones may be an exception at the GM’s discretion.

Backpack Ammo Pack Upgrades: Most non-primitive ranged weapons

Most ranged weapons store their ammunition in clips, canisters or packs attached to the weapon itself, but for extended battles or situations where the user doesn’t want to reload, a large external supply can be carried in a backpack. A backpack ammo pack employs a powered feed for projectiles or a cable supply for other sources that plugs into the weapon’s loading port, keeping a steady supply of ammunition ready to be fired at the wearer’s foes. Because of its bulk, backpack ammo packs are often employed by fighters wearing power armour, but a brawny trooper can muscle one along if need be.

Weapons Upgrades

Name Weight Cost Test Availability

Backpack Ammo Pack +25kg 100 +10 Rare

Bipod +2kg 10 +30 Average

Calamity Vent +0.5kg 250 +0 Very Rare

Combi-Weapon Special Special -20 Special

Combi-Weapon (Military) Special Special +0 Special

Compact x 1/2 50 +0 Average

Dipole Mag-Lock +0.5kg 75 +30 Average

Duplus Ammo Clips - 10 - Scarce

Exterminator +1kg 35 +30 Common

Exterminator Cartridge +0.5kg 50 +30 Average

Extra Grip +0.5kg 25 +10 Average

Fire Selector +0.5kg 50 +20 Scarce

Force Weapon - 3,500 -20 Very Rare

Forearm Weapon Mount +1kg 300 +0 Scarce

Gene-Lock Circuit +0.5kg 100 +0 Rare

Grav-Accelerator +2kg 550 -20 Very Rare

Integrated Weapon +0.5kg 200 -30 Extremely Rare

Lathe Blade - 2,500 -20 Very Rare

Melee Attachment +0.3kg 5 +30 Plentiful

Mono Edge - 40 -10 Scarce

Mono-Sight +1kg 400 +10 Scarce

Motion Predictor +0.5kg 1,000 +10 Rare

Pyre-Lance Aperture +0.5kg 200 +0 Rare

Rangefinder Sight +1.5kg 1,200 +0 Rare

Red-Dot Laser Sight +0.5kg 50 +20 Scarce

Sanctified Weapon - 500 † Very Rare

Silencer +1kg 10 +30 Plentiful

Spoor Targeter +1.5kg 3,000 -10 Very Rare

Stabiliser Rig +8kg 700 +10 Scarce

Starflare Vent +0.5kg 300 -10 Very Rare

Stutter-Las - 50 -10 Average

Suspensors x 1/2 2,500 -10 Extremely Rare

Targeter +1.5kg 2,250 +0 Rare

Telescopic Sight +1kg 35 +20 Average

Tripod +5kg 20 +30 Common

Vox Operated +0.3kg 500 +10 Rare

Whisper-Bolt Discharger +2kg 80 +0 Scarce

†This upgrade requires the attentions of a suitable member of the Ecclesiarchy

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A backpack ammo pack is the size of a normal backpack, but has half of its volume given over to ammunition storage and a feed mechanism. Most las, solid projectile, bolt, melta, plasma, and flame weapons can be used with a backpack ammo pack. Grenades and rockets used by launchers are too large for any sort of meaningful feed line, and exotic weapons in general are varied to such an extent that trying to make a backpack ammo pack for one would be a tech-nightmare in and of itself. Some weapons, such as man-portable lascannons, already include an external ammunition or power source and cannot benefit from this upgrade. Unless otherwise stated, a backpack ammo pack can provide sufficient ammo for 300 shots for las weapons (high-powered hellguns and hellpistols consume this more quickly), 80 shots for plasma and melta weapons, 200 shots for bolt and solid projectile weapons, and 60 shots for flame weapons. Note that some weapons may not be compatible with a backpack ammo pack in spite of their type, often due to design considerations. Creating a backpack ammo pack for a stub revolver, for example, would likely be impossible. The GM has final discretion on what may or may not be upgraded with a backpack ammo pack.

Bipod Upgrades: Heavy weapons

A bipod consists of two telescoping metal legs attached to a weapon’s barrel or housing, allowing it to be stably deployed on any sort of flat surface, including windowsills and low walls. Bipods are sometimes used on sniper rifles to help steady the sniper’s aim, but their main application is in bearing some of the weight and recoil of heavy weapons. When fitted with a bipod, a heavy weapon can be Braced as a Half-Action, and the firer can use it to attack targets within a 90-degree arc of his position.

Calamity Vent Upgrades: Plasma weapons

These emergency cut-offs are carefully installed into the capacitance rings of plasma

weapons and are designed to activate if a dangerous overload is detected by a small cogitator unit. Instead of dumping heat into the weapon’s housing, often causing injury to the firer, the calamity vents cause it to be harmlessly expelled in a gout of searing blue flame away from the firer’s hands and body. When they function as designed, a calamity vent gives the plasma weapon’s wielder a surprise but nothing else, the overheat dissipated and weapon ready to be used again. However, these intrusions do not sit well with the machine spirits of most plasma weapons, and a mishap with one can be worse than if the weapon had been allowed to overheat in the first place.

If a plasma weapon with calamity vents overheats, roll 1d10. On a roll of "4" or higher, the vents function as designed and the plasma is jettisoned safely. This attack is simply treated as a miss, and the weapon does not need to spend a round cooling off. On a "2" or "3", however, the overheat is still vented away, but it goes directly into the wielder’s face instead! Resolve this as if the wielder was shot by the plasma weapon, including the normal Damage and Penetration values; the wayward blast hits the wielder in the body unless they had used the Aim action just before the overheat, in which case it hits them in the head. On a result of "1", the vents have caused a catastrophic feedback loop and the plasma weapon violently explodes; treat this as though the weapon had rolled maximum Damage with a Blast of 3. The wielder cannot attempt an Agility Test to avoid the blast.

Combi-Weapon Upgrades: Any two Basic weapons

A combi-weapon is formed from two weapons that have been combined together, giving a fighter a high degree of versatility. Combi-weapons are typically formed from two different types of weapons; the firer can choose to shoot either one at will, without having to switch between two separate guns (not to mention carrying both at once). A combi-weapon starts off with a “primary” weapon, typically an autogun or bolt gun, with a “secondary” weapon

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attached under it. Most are formed using a more powerful, but less versatile, firearm as the secondary weapon. Combi-weapons are uncommon armaments not only due to the valuable weapons that are used in their construction, but due to the difficulty of getting two distinct machine spirits to cooperate with one another. As a result, combi-weapons are often very finely crafted, and many become heirloom items whose choice in individual weapons speaks volumes about the original commissioner of the gun in the first place. Combi-weapons of this style are invariably produced by commission in the Imperium’s greater forges; the Fane of Fykos in Scintilla’s Gunmetal City is probably the best known producer of combi-weapons in the Calixis Sector.

When armed with a combi-weapon, the user may fire either weapon, but not both, in any given Round. A combi-weapon’s primary weapon uses the same statistics as it would on its own, while the secondary weapon’s Clip size is reduced by half (round up) as it must be made small enough to fit below the primary without significantly altering its profile. A combi-weapon’s cost is usually that of the primary weapon plus double that of the secondary weapon, and its rarity is one step rarer than whichever weapon is the rarest of the two. The GM has the final say on which weapons may and may not be combined.

Combi-Weapon (Military) Upgrades: Any two Pistol or Basic weapons

A simpler style of combi-weapon is employed by the Adepta Soroitas and other well-equipped military organizations. Military combi-weapons are Munitorum-sanctioned tools that are produced on many forge worlds, and are often carried by Imperial Guard assault troops, Sisters of Battle, Inquisitorial Storm Troopers, and even Space Marines are known to wield combi-weapons employing their own divinely-powerful (and divinely-large) guns.

This type of combi-weapon makes no attempt to reconcile the quibbling machine spirits of the individual weapons; the secondary weapon is intentionally designed so that it can only be fired once between reloads, keeping the amount of “cross machine” interference to a minimum.

A military combi-weapon’s secondary weapon can only be fired once before needing to be reloaded; its RoF becomes S/-/- and Clip size becomes 1. Its weight is also reduced by half. A military combi-weapon’s cost is just the combined cost of both of the weapons used to make it, and its rarity is equal to the rarer of the two weapons. A military combi-weapon may be formed from two Basic weapons, two Pistol weapons, or a Basic weapon with a Pistol weapon as the secondary.

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Compact Upgrades: Any Pistol or Basic Las, Solid Projectile, Flame, Bolt, or Plasma weapon

By reducing the size of the barrel and clip, a weapon can be made significantly smaller. This assists in concealment, handling, as well as the ease of carrying an otherwise heavy gun all day. Compact weapons are favoured by those that believe in subterfuge more than pure firepower. A compact weapon’s Weight, Clip size, and Range are all reduced by half, and its Damage is also decreased by 1 as well. If the weapon has the Accurate quality it loses it, as there is insufficient barrel remaining to adequately stabilize the projectile for pinpoint shots. Pistol class weapons grant a +10 bonus on Sleight of Hand Tests made to conceal the weapon, while Basic class weapons can be used in melee combat as if they were pistols.

Dipole Mag-Lock Upgrades: Any Pistol or melee weapon that can be wielded in one hand

Mag-locks are common pieces of equipment used to secure articulated sections of power armour together. They are also used in a wide variety of other applications, such as on large monotask cargo haulers. Enterprising armourers have found that the use of a dipole mag-lock can also replace a holster or baldric for users wearing carapace or power armour. When fitted to a weapon, the dipole mag-lock causes it to “stick” to a paired plate attached to the user’s armour. The mag-lock is usually released by a small stud on the weapon’s grip, though more advanced (and expensive) versions might use a proximity trigger, vox-link operation, or some other somatic cue to produce the same effect.

A dipole mag-lock grants the Quick Draw talent for the upgraded weapon. If the user already has Quick Draw, the weapon may instead be drawn as part of a Reaction, such as to produce a pistol while diving for cover, or to draw a melee weapon to Parry an incoming attack. A dipole mag-lock is only usable if the character is wearing carapace or power armour,

as lesser armours lack the suitable rigidity to support a weapon attached to them.

Duplus Ammo Clips Upgrades: Any Pistol or Basic Las, Solid Projectile, or Bolt weapon with a removable clip

These double-ended clips store twice as much ammunition (or two charge packs) as the standard models, and when one runs dry, the user simply flips it over and inserts the other end. This significantly shortens reload time, and experienced users can load a fresh clip with almost no “dead time” at all.

A duplus ammo clip reduces a weapon’s Reload time by half when used to switch between its stored ammunition. For example, a weapon that normally takes two Full Actions to reload becomes a single Full Action. If the user also has the Rapid Reload talent, it further decreases to a Half Action. Duplus ammo clips can’t be used in a weapon with a fire selector due to their size.

Exterminator Upgrades: Any Basic weapon or melee weapon without the Flexible quality that deals at least 1d10 Damage

This small device stores highly compressed Promethium with a gas cartridge to propel it, and is designed to be attached to another weapon. On command, it can unleash a burst of purifying fire just like a flamer, and is something of a “poor man’s combi-weapon” that can be encountered among many different groups. Redemptionists are especially fond of them, and have been known to affix Exterminators to their melee weapons in addition to whatever other ordnance they may wield (Eviscerators are a particular favourite). Once fired the Exterminator burns out and must be discarded. However, they are cheap to manufacture and produced in significant quantities; it is easier to consider an Exterminator to be a unit of ammo rather than a weapon upgrade.

The wielder of a weapon fitted with an Exterminator may choose to fire it instead of use the weapon’s normal attack for that Round. Its effect is identical to a standard flamer. Because

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of its weight, an Exterminator can be detrimental to a melee weapon’s handling; if attached to a melee weapon with the Balanced quality, it loses that quality as long as the Exterminator is attached (including after it has been expended).

Exterminator Cartridge Upgrades: Any weapon

An even smaller Exterminator, the Cartridge version could easily fit in a pocket and can be attached to just about any other weapon. Although its flame is somewhat less impressive, few would expect a cumbersome heavy stubber or missile launcher to suddenly spew forth a column of fire at them.

An Exterminator Cartridge uses the same rules as the normal Exterminator except it counts as a standard hand flamer. It can be fired in melee combat even if attached to a Basic or Heavy weapon.

Extra Grip Upgrades: Any Basic weapon

Most Basic weapons can be fired with one hand, but the extremely awkward balancing and position of the grip make this an emergency

measure at best. For those wielders who must keep a hand free, an extra grip is a valuable upgrade. As the name suggests, this installs a second grip along with a trigger near the weapon’s centre of gravity, allowing it to be held more naturally with one hand. Though functional, some precision is lost as it becomes difficult to aim carefully.

A Basic weapon with an extra grip can be fired with one hand without incurring the usual -20 penalty to Ballistic Skill Tests. However, its Range is halved and it gains the Inaccurate quality while being wielded like this. An extra grip does not remove the weapon’s standard grip and trigger, and it can still be held with two hands and used at its normal capabilities.

Fire Selector Upgrades: Any Pistol or Basic Solid Projectile or Bolt weapon with a removable clip

Some weapons have the ability to use different types of ammunition readily, but this usually requires switching clips to do so. A fire selector is a mechanical device that replaces the weapon’s feed port, and when paired with a special clip, allows the user to select between ammunition loaded inside. This creates a somewhat bulky

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look, but few would argue its efficiency in combat, and fire selectors are common additions among professional mercenaries, assault troops, and other types of operatives.

A weapon fitted with a fire selector can have any combination of specialty or unusual ammo loaded into its clip. At the start of the user’s Turn, he can use the fire selector to choose which type of ammo he wishes to use for that Round. Force Weapon Upgrades: Special, see text

A force weapon is capable of channelling the mental power and aggression of a psyker into a deadly, reality-rending force. It is said that force weapons were originally designed by the Emperor himself, and the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition carefully guards the method of their manufacture. Force weapons are created by re-forging the blade of a high quality weapon with an arcane psi-convector and channelling circuitry, which take the form of a precise serpentine pattern visible on the sides of the blade under close observation. Axes, swords, and staffs are the most common type of force weapon, but theoretically almost any solid weapon could be remade as a force weapon. Force weapons are perhaps best associated with the Ordo Malleus’ famed Grey Knights, but they are also carried by psychic Inquisitors and some sanctioned psykers in the military service to the Imperial Guard.

A Best craftsmanship Primitive melee weapon that has received the Mono Edge upgrade can be reforged into a force weapon. Chain weapons lack enough suitable surface to inscribe the sacred runes and psi-convector, while a power weapon would have to have its power field deactivated for the psyker’s own channelled force to run through it; such a weapon would be extravagantly expensive, at any rate. The force weapon retains all its normal properties (including the benefits of Best craftsmanship) and can be used by anyone, but only a psyker can bring out its true potential. The weapon’s Damage and Penetration values increase by 1

point for every point of the wielder’s Psy Rating; for example, a force staff wielder with Psy Rating 3 would add 3 points to his weapon’s Damage and Penetration.

In addition, whenever a psyker damages an opponent with his force weapon, he may channel yet more psychic energy into the instrument, turning his hatred of the opponent into a killing power in and of itself. Treat this effect as a psychic power with a Threshold of 6 that is a Free Action to manifest. If the psyker succeeds in manifesting the power, he and his victim make Opposed Willpower Tests. Every Degree of Success over the opponent by the psyker allows him to deal an additional 1d10 Energy Damage; this extra Damage is pure psychic force and ignores the victim’s Armour and Toughness.

When wielded by a psyker, a force weapon cannot be destroyed by another weapon with the Power Field quality.

Finally, for an additional 200 Thrones, a force weapon may include a psy-focus that is integrated into its form, giving the weapon’s wielder its benefits any time the weapon is held.

Forearm Weapon Mounting Upgrades: Any Pistol or Basic weapon (see text)

A heavy bracing replaces the upgraded weapon’s trigger and grip, allowing it to be fixed along the line of the user’s forearm. A special cable-attached glove is provided to control the weapon’s functions and triggering. This arrangement keeps the wielder’s hands free, allowing them to use other weapons or perform fine manipulation while keeping their attached weapon ready to be used at a moment’s notice. The weapon is usually turned on its axis with the clip positioned straight up or towards the wielder’s body to assist in reloading. It also creates a strong visual impression as bolts, flame or plasma blasts seem to erupt from the user’s outstretched arm.

A weapon fitted to a forearm weapon mounting’s range is reduced by 30% but otherwise functions normally and is always considered Readied. Pistol class weapons can be used by anyone in a forearm weapon mounting.

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If the user is wearing power armour or heavy power armour, the increased size of the arm and augmented strength can be used to mount a Basic weapon in this way instead.

Gene-Lock Circuit Upgrades: Any non-Primitive ranged weapon

This upgrade is designed for those who have a special dislike of the idea of being shot with their own gun. A gene-lock circuit is installed in the grip and interfaces with the weapon’s firing mechanism, and prevents the gun from being discharged unless it is deactivated. Most use a reader strip that matches the thumb or palm prints of the weapon’s owner; users who wear gloves or heavy armours can have a tensiometric pad instead, while more sophisticated versions

might use a micro-needle to take a sample of the wielder’s blood or a proximity detector linked to a subdermal implant. Regardless of its exact construction, a weapon upgraded with a gene-lock circuit will not fire unless wielded by the hand that was keyed to it.

Gene-locks are excellent precautions against theft and being disarmed in combat, but they are far from immune to the predations of a skilled tech-adept. A gene-lock can be reset to a different owner or simply shut off so the weapon will function for anyone with a Hard (-20) Tech-Use Test that takes about an hour. Normally there are no consequences for a failed Test, though specially-crafted gene-locks might include some sort of booby trap.

Grav-Accelerator Upgrades: Any Pistol or Basic Solid Projectile weapon

Slug-throwers of all walks and means invariably rely on controlled explosions of their chemical propellant charges to fling a projectile at speed down the barrel. The velocity, and by association power, can be increased through the crude expedience of simply using more propellant, but those with access to salvaged or recycled grav-plating have devised an altogether more efficient, though entirely illegal, means of putting more force into their shots. A grav-accelerator is permanently attached to the housing of a slug-thrower and linked into its firing system. When the weapon is fired, a directional gravitic force is blasted at the projectile to put greater power behind it without the risk of exploding the barrel or chamber. While succeeding admirably at improving the slug-thrower’s ballistic performance, the grav-accelerator does add considerably to the weapon’s bulk and recoil. Further, the accelerator requires a separate power source to function, complicating reloading and increasing the complexity of the gun. As an ancillary concern, the Cult Mechanicus considers most of these modifications to be proscribed

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in the extreme – as a result, most who would dare to upgrade their gun in such a fashion are those already on the wrong side of the law.

A grav-accelerator increases the weapon’s Damage by 1 and Range by 10 metres. If applied to a Pistol class weapon, the enhanced recoil inflicts a -10 penalty to the shooter’s Ballistic Skill Tests unless the shooter has a Strength Bonus of 4 or higher, or holds the weapon with both hands. If the weapon already has a similar requirement, the shooter’s Strength Bonus must be 5 or higher instead. Finally, the grav-accelerator itself requires an additional power source, typically a small battery unit or lasgun charge pack. The accelerator is configured to expend power equally as the gun’s Clip is exhausted and must be replaced when it runs out of bullets or shells, adding another Full Action to its Reload time.

Integrated Weapon Upgrades: See text

Integrated weapons blur the line between personal weapons and augmetics, deriving their superior lethality from the wielder's own body. This sort of weapon is a wonder of the Mechanicus Magi of the Lathe Worlds and are common fixtures for their elite Venatorii "Crimson Guard"; so far, they have been extraordinarily resistant to its propagation to other arms of the Priesthood, much less the broader Imperium. An integrated weapon is directly linked by a cable or conduit connection to the wielder's potentia coil - as a result, only ordained Tech-Priests or Venatorius can use them in their intended fashion. This nearly limitless supply of bio-power can be used for a variety of purposes depending on the type of weapon that is integrated to it, typically either improving firepower, stretching ammunition supply, or increasing reliability. In all cases, the weapon loses the benefits of this upgrade, and may cease to function entirely, if it loses a direct connection to a potentia coil.

To use an integrated weapon, a character must have the relevant Training talent for the base weapon as well as the Exotic Weapon Training

(Integrated Ranged Weapons) or (Integrated Melee Weapons) as appropriate. Integrated ranged weapons do not suffer from jamming or misfires; any result that would cause a Jam to occur is automatically cleared by the shooter's potentia coil, though doing so inflicts 1 level of Fatigue from the strain. An integrated weapon is semi-permanently connected to its wielder, and requires an Ordinary (+10) Tech-Use Test to connect or disconnect; this is normally a Half Action, though more augmetic weapons may take longer, require Medicae Tests, and so forth like many other types of augmetics. Without a connection to a potentia coil, an integrated weapon quickly loses its numerous improvements. All abilities derived from this upgrade are lost immediately. Ranged weapons with an improved or unlimited Clip size dwindles to 1d5, and after those shots have been fired it becomes inert until reconnected. Integrated melee weapons lose power after 1d5 Rounds, becoming Primitive weapons of the same type. Through Tech-Use or Trade (Armourer) Tests is may be possible to jury-rig an improvised power source, but this varies from weapon to weapon and can have disastrous consequences with a failed Test. Weapons that can be turned into an integrated weapon gain different effects and qualities depending on their type and usage. In general, only Pistol and Basic ranged weapons can become integrated weapons; a single potentia coil likely cannot provide enough energy to upgrade a Heavy weapon in this fashion.

Las: Drawing from the shooter's potentia coil gives these weapons an unlimited Clip size. The extra power available maxes out the las weapon's firepower, changing its Damage to 1d10+5, its Penetration to 2, and giving the weapon the Tearing quality. An integrated las weapon can functionally shoot all day, making these the most common and favoured integrated weapons of the "Crimson Guard".

Solid Projectile: The motion of the gun's operating parts, typically achieved through the force of bullets being fired, is augmented by the shooter's potentia coil, improving its operation

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and rate of fire. All solid projectile weapons gain the Reliable quality, and those with a Semi-Auto or Full-Auto setting gain the Storm quality as well. A liquid cooling sleeve with cycled refrigerating chemicals is used to prevent barrels from deforming due to the high volume of shots.

Melta and Plasma: Energy from the shooter's potentia coil is used to assist the power-heavy beam emitters and fusion cores of melta and plasma weapons (respectively), making them consume ammunition with greater efficiency and help control the violent, unstable reactions these weapons use to obliterate their targets. Melta and plasma weapons double their standard Clip size. If the weapon Overheats, it does not inflict any Damage on the shooter as the potentia coil sucks up the dangerous thermal energy, though this inflicts 1 level of Fatigue on the shooter as if it had suffered a Jam.

Launcher: Grenade launchers used as integrated weapons augment their gas compressors with stored kinetic energy, while rocket and missile launchers created a short-lived charged field around the warhead that significantly improves its aerodynamic profile and stability. These weapons improve their Range by 50%.

Chain: By imbuing the spinning teeth and motor with extra power from the wielder's potentia coil, a chain weapon's cutting power can rival that of a power field when its business end gets a solid hold of a victim. An integrated chain weapon gains the Razor Sharp quality.

Power: The wielder's potentia coil bleeds extra energy into the power field generator, producing a power field that is dangerously overcharged and crackles violently as if reaching out towards a potential victim. An integrated power weapon's Damage and Penetration increases by 2 and it gains the Unstable quality.

Shock: Through the crude but effective expedience of pumping more current into the business end, the debilitating effect of an integrated shock weapon is much harder to shake off. Toughness Tests made to avoid being stunned suffer a -30 penalty after any bonus from Armour is taken into account.

Lathe Blade Upgrades: Any edged melee weapon with the Primitive quality

The astronomical and gravitic alignment of the Lathe Worlds creates conditions where metal alloys of rare and singular properties can be manufactured. If used in the construction of a bladed melee weapon, an armament of exquisite quality can be made. A Lathe blade’s edge is paper thin, yet is flexible enough to withstand savage blows in combat. They are also virtually indestructible – even the devastating action of a power field can’t shatter one. A Lathe blade’s cutting power rivals that of a power weapon simply on account of its construction, and there are some users who favour these weapons for their quality and repute. There are others who prefer the lack of a power weapon’s crackling arcane energy field, and there is certainly something to be said for a Lathe blade’s ability to kill quietly.

A weapon forged as a Lathe blade replaces the Primitive quality with the Razor Sharp quality and increases its Damage and Penetration by 3. Lathe blades are invariably of Best craftsmanship and give their wielder a +10 bonus on Weapon Skill Tests made to attack (the extra Damage is already factored in). Finally, a Lathe blade cannot be destroyed by being parried by another weapon with a power field.

Melee Attachment Upgrades: Any Basic weapon

Basic weapons are usually too cumbersome to be used against an opponent in melee combat. By fitting a close combat weapon under the Basic weapon’s barrel, a handy and immediately available melee weapon can be created. A melee attachment creates a sturdy hardpoint for a one-handed edged melee weapon to be fixed to. Most lasguns already have this upgrade installed, and some military-type autoguns include it as well.

A knife or similar blade allows the Basic weapon to be used as a spear, while a longer weapon like a sword allows it to be used as an axe. Use the Damage and Penetration values of those weapons or that of the mounted weapon,

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whichever is favourable, and special qualities having to do with Damage – Power Field, Tearing, Toxic, and so forth – are maintained as well, while the spear and axe retain their other qualities as normal (such as the axe’s Unbalanced quality). Either one requires both hands to wield.

Mono Edge Upgrades: Any Primitive melee weapon with the Primitive quality

Normal knives and swords can cut through flesh and bone just fine, but typically have a much harder time puncturing armour made on any of the Imperium’s many forges. By reforging the blade with a monomolecular edge (Mono for short), these simple weapons stand a much better chance at digging through an opponent’s protective gear and mangling the soft flesh behind it. A mono-edged blade never loses its sharpness no matter how often it is used as each slice and chop causes the blade to hone itself rather than becoming duller. Mono-knives and swords are fairly common equipment for better equipped fighters throughout the Imperium.

Only an edged weapon can benefit from having a monomolecular edge, however this

upgrade can also be used to represent a similar modification or re-design of blunt weapons too; a hammer might have a pneumatic accelerator built into the head, while a staff could have a liquid metal core that enhances the force of struck blows. In all cases, the weapon loses the Primitive quality and increases its Penetration value by 2. Note that weapons which have received the Mono Edge upgrade cannot benefit from any other upgrades that require a weapon to have the Primitive quality.

Mono-Sight Upgrades: Any non-Primitive ranged weapon

Typically the purview of well-paid mercenaries and more “tactical” hit-teams, a mono-sight integrates a high-quality pict-thief in a scope mount that provides its visual data to a wired augmetic monocle. This allows the shooter to aim without actually shouldering his weapon simply by focusing on the monocle; the visual is displayed from the gun’s point of view. While this may have an interesting appeal on its own, the main application is in allowing the shooter to look around corners or above cover, exposing only the weapon and the arms holding it. With steady hands, firing the weapon while aiming through the mono-sight is possible, making this

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an exceptional tool for tactical advances and infiltration missions. Its use in battle situations or large-scale combats is significantly less impressive as these environs typically do not feature a large amount of heavy cover, leaving the mono-sight taking up valuable scope space.

A character can use a mono-sight to look around corners or over obstacles, and can use the weapon to attack targets he observes through the mono-sight. The shooter must use the Aim action to take advantage of the mono-sight in this way. A mono-sight counts towards a gun’s one sight limit.

Motion Predictor Upgrades: Any ranged weapon with a Full Automatic setting

Motion predictors are something of a “poor man’s targeter”, although that expression is somewhat inaccurate as they are still costly pieces of wargear. A motion predictor uses an onboard cogitator unit to calculate a target’s movements and literally “chases” them with a full auto barrage. Motion predictors are most often employed by mercenaries and the crack troops of noble house militias; elite Imperial Guard Storm Troopers are provided with more advanced targeters instead.

A weapon fitted with a motion predictor grants its wielder a +10 bonus to his Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack as part of a Full Auto Burst. This stacks with the Full Auto Burst’s usual +20 bonus for a total bonus of +30. The weapon uses ammunition at the normal rate, but its maximum number of hits are halved (round up) to reflect some wasted shots as the motion predictor tracks the target. A motion predictor does not count towards a gun's one sight limit, but cannot be used in conjunction with a proper targeter - the machine spirits are simply incompatible with one another.

Pyre-Lance Aperture Upgrades: Any Melta weapon other than Mars-pattern weapons

A favoured modification by the Orders Militant of the Adepta Soroitas as well as the best-equipped Redemptionist fanatics, a pyre-

lance aperture adds extra focusing emitters to the barrel and muzzle of most common meltaguns, giving a more focused blast that can extend the reach of these staggeringly powerful weapons out to a more meaningful distance. The baroque, brazier-like pyre-lance creates a very dramatic appearance as well, keeping up with the aesthetics and fearsome look that the Sisters of Battle prefer. However, the modified aperture is woefully inefficient with the weapon’s fuel supply, burning off a substantial amount of the chemical admixture for several seconds after every firing and further reinforcing the incendiary appearance. The well-equipped Orders Militant typically do not have any difficulty keeping up the flow of supplies, while Redemption Cultists rarely get into the sort of intense, pitched battles that would leave them with impressive-looking clubs. The same cannot be said for most Imperial Guard regiments and legions, however, so this modification can be considered a strictly "non-military" upgrade.

Melta weapons outfitted with a pyre-lance aperture increase their Range by 10 metres but halve the Clip size due to horribly wasteful (though visually stunning) use of fuel. The threatening yet elegant appearance of a melta weapon modified by this upgrade grants a +10 bonus to Intimidate Skill Tests in anytime the weapon has been fired in the previous Round. This is in addition to the Carry a Big Gun rule (see The Inquisitor’s Handbook, page 232 for more information).

Rangefinder Sight Upgrades: Any Basic or Heavy Las, Solid Projectile, Bolt, Plasma, or Launcher weapon

Rangefinders are most commonly encountered in the targeting apparatuses of Imperial tanks, but smaller and less powerful versions exist to equip man-portable weapons as well. Most ranged weapons are lethal well beyond the distance at which they can be fired with even the thinnest margin of a successful hit; a rangefinder sight combines the magnification of a telescopic sight with the ballistic calculance cogitator stacks of a targeter with the sole purpose of making those hits possible. By

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aggregating atmospheric pressure, wind speed, the trajectory characteristics of the weapon, and a host of other esoteric and arcane measures, a rangefinder scope can guide the shooter to making truly heroic shots. This application is of particular use to military snipers as well as hunters tracking the most dangerous and savage of death world game, but heavy weapons teams in fixed positions can also make use of this assistance to rain death on attacking enemy forces even longer.

A character using a rangefinder sight must spend a Full Action to Aim to obtain its benefits. Any Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack benefitting from the Aim ignores the normal penalties for Long and Extreme range; furthermore, its Extreme range increases to five times the weapon's listed Range, rather than the usual four. The shooter can passively use the rangefinder sight to determine the exact distance of any target he Aims at. A rangefinder sight counts towards a gun’s one sight limit.

Red-Dot Laser Sight Upgrades: Any non-Primitive ranged weapon

This simple but highly effective sight projects

a low-power red laser at whatever the weapon is pointed at. The firer is able to determine exactly where his shot will land simply based on where the dot created by the laser lies. Being “painted” by a laser sight can be a potent tool of intimidation as well, the targeted character having exact knowledge of where a bullet or bolt is about to land on them. However, the bright targeting beam can have detrimental effects on a character attempting to shoot from concealment. A red-dot laser sight automatically shuts off if the weapon it is attached to is fired on Semi-Auto or Full Auto as the vibration can destroy the focusing lens if it is powered up.

A weapon fitted with a red-dot laser sight grants the wielder a +10 bonus to his Ballistic Skill Test made to attack whenever it is fired on single shot. If used to threaten a character as part of an Intimidate Test, it grants a +10 bonus to that Test as well. If the shooter is hiding, attacking or Aiming while using the sight grants opponents a +30 bonus to their Awareness Tests to spot the shooter. A red-dot laser sight counts towards a gun’s one sight limit.

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Sanctified Weapon Upgrades: Any Primitive or Chain melee weapon of Good or Best craftsmanship

The prayers and blessings of those of true faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind, coupled with the ancient lore of Ecclesiastical alchemistry, is able to turn a mundane blade into a fell weapon that can cut down the foul denizens of the warp and other unnatural horrors. Once soaked in anointing oils, affixed with purity seals and blessed in the name of the Emperor, even a humble sword can become a powerful weapon against warp-spawned fiends.

The effect of this upgrade is to make the Damage caused by the upgraded weapon be counted as “Holy”, which has certain effects on some Daemonic and warp creatures (as will be noted in their description). It also takes on a distinctly sacred appearance, which can put the wielder in better graces when interacting with members of the Ecclesiarchy.

Silencer Upgrades: Pistol and Basic Solid Projectile weapons without the Scatter quality

A silencer is a large can-like device fitted to the muzzle of a compatible weapon. Its internal baffles absorb the sound and flash of gunfire, making it far harder to detect by its victims (and sparing the shooter from future deafness). It is a favourite of snipers, assassins, and other types of operatives who value stealthy approaches.

Awareness Tests to hear or spot shots made with a silenced weapon suffer a -20 penalty and can only be attempted within the weapon’s standard range. At the GM’s discretion, the targets of a Suppressing Fire action may receive a bonus on their Tests to resist Pinning as the racket of automatic gunfire greatly enhances the intimidating effect.

Spoor Targeter Upgrades: Any ranged weapon without the Blast, Flame, or any similar qualities

This rare and highly specialized gun-scope contains extremely sophisticated spoor-sniffers and miniature cogitators linked directly to the attached weapon’s firing mechanism. A spoor

targeter prevents a gun from being fired when pointed directly at someone it has been programmed to recognise as an ally, making it literally impossible for the user to shoot his comrades in the swirling confusion of combat. Because of their cost and very specific purpose, spoor targeters are typically only employed by the most elite of the Imperium’s combat troops: squads of Inquisitorial agents, Adeptus Arbites kill-teams, and so forth.

A spoor targeter may be loaded with the profiles of up to 10 allies. This process takes about 10 minutes and requires a successful Routine (+20) Tech-Use Test. Once the ally’s profile is loaded into the targeter, the attached weapon cannot shoot that ally. Even if pointed directly at them, the weapon simply refuses to fire. The user may unleash a fully automatic volley into a melee combat involving his allies with absolute confidence; if any shots would hit an ally the spoor targeter recognises, either count them as misses or resolve them against another enemy, whichever is more appropriate for the situation.

As a tool that is employed by the Inquisition, a spoor targeter is designed not to leave its user helpless should an “unfortunate situation” arise. To this effect, it can be switched off at any point. A spoor targeter counts towards a gun's one sight limit.

Stabiliser Rig Upgrades: Any Heavy weapon

A stabiliser rig makes use of a powered, articulated metal armature attached to a bulky chest harness to support some of the ungainly mass of Heavy weapons. While effective at spreading the weight of the ported weapon out over the wielder's body, the rig on the whole is an awkward and cumbersome affair, making it ill suited for troops that need to move fast or with any degree of stealth. However, a stabiliser rig is greatly less costly and exceptional than a suspensor set, making it available to many of he Imperium's more humble forces that would ordinarily be saddled with dragging around tripods and sandbags. Finally, while not an explicit design feature, a stabiliser rig does

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prevent the attached weapon from leaving the wielder's possession (for better or worse).

When using a Heavy weapon affixed to a stabiliser rig, the shooter counts as having the Bulging Biceps talent regardless of whether they meet the prerequisites, and cannot lose the weapon as a result of a Disarm attack. The bulk and poor balance of the rig and the weapon attached to it cause the shooter to suffer a -10 penalty to all movement-related Tests. Donning or removing a stabiliser rig is an Extended Action that takes 3 Rounds.

Starflare Vent Upgrades: Any Plasma weapon

This modification is both dangerous and a blatant act of tech-heresy, but the results are stunning enough that heretek tinkerers and outlaw tech-wrights with the right skill and luck seem to have no shortage of demand. By deliberately weakening and obfuscating a plasma weapon's magnetic containment field, the weapon ceases being able to generate coherent bolts of photonic hydrogen and instead vomits forth a great column of annihilation out to a short distance. On already temperamental weapons armed with fickle fusion cores and unstable ammunition, use of a starflare vent can very easily have disastrous consequences - and not just from the righteous retribution of incensed Tech-Priests and their Secutors cohorts. Of course, the power to utterly vaporise an entire mob of enemies with a single burst of solar intensity can make these concerns seem significantly less pressing.

A plasma weapon modified with a starflare vent reduces its Range to one quarter (25%) its normal value, its Rate of Fire becomes S/-/- if it wasn't already, and its Clip size is halved due to the massively increased rate of hydrogen consumption. However, the weapon's massive attack now affects an area as though it had the Flame quality. If a plasma weapon modified with a starflare vent overheats, roll 1d10. On a result of "8" or higher, the vents have caused a catastrophic feedback loop and the plasma weapon violently explodes; treat this as though the weapon had rolled maximum Damage with a

Blast of 5. The wielder cannot attempt an Agility Test to avoid the blast. This modification is essentially permanent; only the Tech-Priests of Ryza or another forge world blessed with the rare understanding of plasma weaponry could reverse the modifications, which most would be eager to do immediately after terminating the fool that would bring them such a blasphemously defiled weapon.

Stutter-Las Upgrades: Any Pistol or Basic Las weapon without a Full-Auto setting

While proscribed by the Mechanicus for very obvious reasons, stutter-las weapons are remarkably common gear in the hands of various scummers operating on the far side of the law. By modifying the fast-discharge capacitors used on most las weapons, the rate of fire can be significantly increased, albeit at the cost of modestly reduced beam intensity. As this upgrade is commonly favoured by those with a preference for quantity over quality, the wielder of a stutter-las will commonly opine that the loss of power is more than made up for by volume of fire. Moreover, the dull red las-bolts and short bursts of sparks that are often created can make a fine stand-in for the rattle of automatic gunfire on worlds and within regions where obtaining bullets for slug-throwers is more difficult than ubiquitous lasgun charge packs.

A stutter-las gains a Full-Auto setting that expends 5 shots as well as the Inaccurate quality and reduces its Damage to 1d10+2 E when using standard charge packs; if the weapon's Damage was already lower than this value then the upgrade has no further reduction.

Suspensors Upgrades: Any Heavy weapon

These plates and studs are similar to those employed on skimmers and grav-cars, effectively reducing the mass of a weapon they are attached to. Elite Imperial troops make use of suspensors to make their Heavy weapons more portable, allowing one trooper to haul around the weapon as well as its ammunition with surprising speed. A Heavy weapon fitted with suspensors can be

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fired without bracing first, giving its shooter great mobility and the ability to support his allies during tactical advances and manoeuvres. As a result, suspensors are an invaluable asset to assault teams and other forces that rely on moving quickly.

A Heavy weapon fitted with suspensors has its weight reduced by half, and the operator is considered to have the Auto-stabilised Trait as well (see Trait Descriptions on page 329 of Dark Heresy). Note that suspensors do not reduce the weight of external ammunition supplies, such as a man-portable lascannon’s power cells or a heavy flamer’s Promethium tanks. Subtract the weight of the ammunition supply first, then factor the suspensors’ reduction on the remaining weight.

Targeter Upgrades: Any non-Primitive ranged weapon

Targeters are incredibly valuable and sought-after devices that boost the efficiency of any weapon they are attached to. A miniature guidance cogitator along with a multi-spectrum omni-scope calculates and tabulates ballistic information and other values, such as windage, and aggregates them into easily-readable data that is displayed on a cable-attached visor or some similar item worn by the user. Armed with this knowledge, a trained shooter can make far more accurate shots in any condition. Targeters are standard-issue wargear for the Imperial Guard’s elite Storm Troopers as well as their Inquisitorial counterparts, and may be employed by well-funded mercenaries, bounty hunters, and other private troops as well.

A targeter grants a +10 bonus to all Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack with the weapon it is attached to. Additionally, the shooter is always aware of his exact distance to a target within the weapon’s range, prevalent wind speed and pressure, and how much ammunition remains within the weapon’s Clip. A targeter counts towards a gun's one sight limit.

Telescopic Sight Upgrades: Any Pistol with the Accurate quality or any Basic ranged weapon

Also known as a sniper scope, a telescopic sight magnifies distant targets, making them easier to shoot than with the naked eye alone. Basic sights will just include a rudimentary but functional set of crosshairs, while more advanced models might include adjustable reticules or range-estimating stadia marks as part of the sight itself. Telescopic sights are usually employed by marksmen and hunters to better pick out a far-away victim, but assassins who prefer to do their work from a healthy distance make use of them as well. There are anecdotal stories of snipers betraying their position when sunlight glints off the lenses of their scopes, and as a result some sharpshooters believe that a true sniper wouldn’t use a

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telescope, their own eyes being far superior to any mechanical device.

When the shooter takes an Aim action, a weapon with a telescopic sight ignores penalties to Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack a target at Long or Extreme range. A telescopic sight counts towards a gun’s one sight limit.

Tripod Upgrades: Any Heavy weapon

A tripod is a large and sturdy three-legged mount commonly used by Imperial Guard heavy weapon teams. A tripod attaches to a weapon’s centre of gravity and allows the wielder to turn it in any direction, a handy feature for use in defensive positions such as dugouts and pillboxes. Because of their bulk and that they do not offer any benefits until the weapon is set down, a tripod is usually carried separately by an assistant, with the gunner planting the weapon down via a mag-lock onto the tripod’s central shaft after reaching a suitable point.

Bracing with a tripod is a Full Action. Once Braced, the firer may attack any target within a 180-degree arc of his position.

Vox Operated Upgrades: Any non-Primitive ranged weapon (including Grenades)

For some users, simply clicking a switch or pressing a stud just isn’t good enough. A specially coded vox receiver can be integrated into a weapon’s firing mechanism and other innards so that the user can operate it simply by speaking the appropriate command words. This includes firing, switching fire modes, and ejecting a spent clip (though it must be replaced manually as normal). Weapons with a fire selector upgrade can have it operated vocally as well, and some who make use of this esoteric upgrade take particular appreciation of stating out loud exactly what type of projectile they are about to blast a foe with. For security reasons each receiver is usually keyed to a specific voice pattern to prevent unintended operation at a potentially disastrous moment.

A vox operated weapon can be adjusted and fired without direct physical manipulation but otherwise has no immediate statistical effect. The receiver can pick out the shooter’s voice from around 10 metres away, though this range may be extended or reduced based on ambient noise. Vox operated weapons may have some other situational utility; for example, if the wielder has been apprehended by his opponents who are presently rifling through his equipment.

Whisper-Bolt Discharger Upgrades: Any non-Primitive ranged weapon

Las weapons, produced in countless billions by forges and manufactorums across the Imperium, are well designed for the large-scale battles that the Imperial Guard is constantly mired in. However, the lightning-like crack and bright beam of energy are very poorly suited for stealth and infiltration, and conventional blast and flash mufflers and silencers can't be used with a las weapon for obvious reasons. "Whisper-Bolts" are a type of modified lasgun produced by a few lesser manufactorums largely for use by mercenary companies and other "private" concerns - modification of an STC design is frowned upon at best and violently persecuted by the Adeptus Mechanicus at worst, so most stay well clear of such efforts. The modified discharger shifts the las-bolt out of the visible spectrum; combined with a noise dampener wrapping around the length of the barrel, a "Whisper-Bolt" is almost as difficult to observe as a silenced slug-thrower. The modified discharger does reduce the lasgun's overall power, however, making this upgrade more suitable for use in ambushes or infiltrations than open combat.

A las weapon with a whisper-bolt discharger forces a -20 penalty on Awareness Tests to hear or spot the attack, and can only be attempted within the weapon's standard Range, though the las-bolts can still be seen by characters wearing IR goggles or holo-visors. Energy is lost in hiding the beam within the visible spectrum; reduce the weapon's Damage by 1.

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Ammunition

Without ammunition, even the most exquisite firearms are reduced to glorified cudgels. Different types of weapons make use of different ammo, and while some simplifications are made with regards to ease of playing the game, no amount of effort, no matter how valiant, will ever make a lasgun charge pack fit into an autogun’s feed port (much less allow it to shoot!). The table details the availability as well as how much the ammunition costs. Weapons that fire single projectiles (Solid Projectile, Bolt, and Primitive weapons) as well as refillable Flamer tanks are calculated based on the price of individual projectiles, while those that use containerized ammo (Las, Melta, and Plasma weapons) is for one tank, pack or canister that usually provides a full clip’s worth of shots. Check the weapon’s entry for further information. The weight of ammunition is not listed; unless the weapon includes a set weight, such as a flamer’s optional 10kg fuel tank, assume a full clip’s weight weighs 10% of the weight of the weapon itself.

This section is for standard ammo types, which allow a ranged weapon to function as its individual entry describes. Unusual and specialty ammunition is listed in the next section. Arrows/Quarrels Used With: Bows, crossbows, and similar weapons

Arrows and quarrels come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials ranging from crude wooden sticks with flint tips (common on feral worlds), finely crafted shafts with iron or steel heads and feather fletching (standard for feudal armies), or metallic shafts with razor-sharp points (for bows made on more advanced planets). Because of their characteristics, an arrow or quarrel may be re-usable once the firer has plucked it out of his victim (or a piece of scenery, in the event of a miss). Arrows are used for hand-drawn bows, while crossbows and similar weapons use quarrels.

Bolts Used With: Bolt weapons

The ammunition used by bolters are precisely engineered and fine-crafted projectiles designed to utterly shred one’s foes in the Emperor’s name. Each bolt contains a mass-reactive warhead and rocket propulsion cell in the base. After slamming into a victim at bone-shattering speed, the bolt violently explodes to rend their bodies apart. Bolt guns and pistols almost invariably use .75-calibre bolts that are totally interchangeable, while heavy bolters use more powerful 1-calibre bolts that are powerful enough to be anti-vehicular weapons. Bolts are difficult to manufacture, and their ammunition is consequently expensive; this factor is what keeps bolters out of the hands of most common Imperial servants.

Ammunition

Name Cost/Amount Availability

Arrows/Quarrels 1/30 Common

Bolts, 0.75-calibre 15/1 Rare

Bolts, 1-calibre 20/1 Rare

Bullets 1/30 Plentiful

Bullets, high calibre 1/20 Scarce

Charge Pack (pistol) 10/1 pack Common

Charge Pack (basic) 15/1 pack Common

Exotic Ammo 20/1 Very Rare

Flamer Fuel 3/1 Scarce

Hellgun Capacitor 50/1 pack Rare

Lascannon Power Pack 30/1 pack Rare

Melta Canister (pistol) 20/1 pack Very Rare

Melta Canister (basic) 15/1 pack Rare

Melta Canister (heavy) 40/1 pack Rare

Plasma Flask 18/1 pack Rare

Plasma Tank 50/1 pack Very Rare

Shot 1/20 Common

Shotgun Shells 1/15 Plentiful

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Bullets Used With: Most Solid Projectile weapons without the Scatter quality

“Bullets” is a general term for ammunition used by most slug-throwing weapons with the exception of shotguns. There are several types of bullets: caseless ammo burns up entirely when fired, and is used in most autoguns and autopistols, while stub rounds have a metallic case that is ejected after the gun is fired, and are used in stub revolvers and automatics, hand cannons, hunting rifles, and some other weapons. Whether a Solid Projectile weapon uses caseless ammo or stub rounds will be listed in its entry. Almost all weapons that use caseless ammo are interchangeable, which is a major advantage of that type of weapon. Stub rounds are more specific and can only be used for one type of weapon: for example, the long, heavy rounds used by a hunting rifle are far too large to fit, much less be fired, in a stub revolver. Autocannons and assault cannons use high calibre stub bullets that are completely exclusive to their respective weapons.

Charge Pack Used With: Pistol and Basic las weapons

These liquid-cored thermal batteries store energy for las weapons, and are famously robust and easy to use. Pistols use smaller charge packs, while Basic weapons employ larger models, but otherwise any charge pack will function in just about any las weapon. Because of their ease of availability, charge packs are also sometimes used as a power source for equipment and Exotic weapons too.

Exotic Ammo Used With: Exotic ranged weapons without a specific ammunition type

Exotic weapons usually make use of equally exotic ammunition; for some, obtaining a reliable supply of ammo can be just as difficult, if not more so, than acquiring the weapon itself. This type of ammo can be used to represent needler cartridges or web chem canisters, being the most common types of Exotic weapons used in the Imperium, but they may also be used for

unique stub ammunition, crystal shards, and other strange projectiles. Unless an Exotic weapon has its own type of ammunition specified in its entry, use the rules for Exotic ammo when acquiring new reloads.

Flamer Fuel Used With: Most weapons with the Flame quality

Liquid fuel is used by most flamers regardless of whether they are simple hand flamers or the giant incineration devices mounted to Imperial armoured vehicles. Promethium is the most common choice, but backwater worlds might make due with crude alcohols or oil, and most flame weapons include a pilot light to ignite these sub-standard fuels. Most types of flamer fuels can also be ignited and burn things down by themselves as well.

Hellgun Capacitor Used With: Hellguns and Hellpistols

Hellgun capacitors resemble multiple banks of charge packs linked together in a series, the energy charge becoming more powerful with each bank until reaching the level of strength associated with a hellgun’s penetrating shots. The capacitor itself fits into the backpack rig when in use, and can be recharged just like a standard charge pack.

Lascannon Power Pack Used With: Lascannons

These enormous thermal batteries serve the same purpose as standard charge packs but are much different in construction to accommodate the far more potent energy required by a lascannon. They cannot be recharged and must be discarded once depleted.

Melta Canister Used With: Melta weapons

Inferno pistols, meltaguns, and similar weapons use a special mixture of chemicals that are stored in pressurised canisters and fired at the enemy as a superheated gas. A melta weapon makes an instantly recognisable hissing noise for a few seconds as the canister’s pressure equalizes with that of the weapon; very often a harbinger of doom for the melta gunner’s enemies. Care

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must be taken with the storage of melta canisters as they can rupture with great force if stored improperly and roughly handled.

Plasma Flask Used With: Plasma weapons

These heavily reinforced flasks store volatile photonic hydrogen in a magnetic field, ready to be compressed, energized, and spit forth at an unfortunate victim by the plasma gun. Unlike most weapons, almost all plasma weapons make use of the same type of flask, which helps simplify the supply lines to some extent. Most plasma guns use two flasks, while pistols use one, and they are fully interchangeable. Plasma flasks are known to have a “shelf life”, slowly becoming unstable over time if they are left in storage for too long without adequate appeasing rituals.

Plasma Tank Used With: Plasma Cannons

A plasma tank is essentially a very large plasma flask with added safety devices and a cable hose feed, designed to be worn on the back. This provides a steady supply of solar firepower to plasma cannons, whose rapid consumption – especially in the Maximal mode – would drain normal plasma flasks in just a few shots.

Shot Used With: Most Primitive firearms

Solid lead or stone projectiles, usually just a simple ball, are used by early muzzle-loading guns like muskets and flintlock pistols. Some use a single ball, while others use multiple smaller projectiles, but all are propelled by a powder charge that is poured down the barrel or into the breech before the shot itself is tamped into place. The listed cost includes the projectiles as well as a suitable powder charge to propel them.

Shotgun Shells Used With: Shotguns (all types)

Shells for use in shotguns contain a number of small projectiles that expand into a deadly cloud after leaving the weapon’s muzzle. They are especially lethal at close range where a victim is likely to be struck by every single projectile; men lacking sturdy armour are simply ripped apart. Shotgun shells are usually large metal cartridges resembling oversized stub rounds, but mono-poly versions are also common, and may be colour-coded to identify what size and how many projectiles are contained by the shell.

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UNUSUAL AMMO Few things in the Imperium are created equal, and munitions are no exception. There are many types of specialty and unique ammunition that function differently from the standard fare that most militants use. Some types of unusual ammo are costly to produce or intentionally restricted by authorities, making them difficult to obtain, while others are only suited for certain situations and would be inappropriate for a general combat. Regardless of the exact purpose, unusual ammo is somehow different from more common types, and their usage is one of the first divisions between common fighters and professional warriors. Unless otherwise stated, unusual ammo weighs the same as standard types and can only be used with certain weapons as detailed in its description. Only one kind of unusual ammo can be used at once (i.e. their effects cannot be combined), and like standard ammo types, unusual ammo for different weapons is not usually interchangeable. A bleeder round for an autopistol will fit in an autogun, but an amputator shell for a shotgun won’t fit in either of those weapons. If a weapon uses specialty ammunition already, such as a Naval Shotcannon or Nomad sniper rifle, add the cost of the unusual ammo to the weapon’s own ammunition and increase its rarity by one step, using the rarer of the two as a starting point. If this would push the ammunition’s availability beyond Extremely Rare, the combination is simply not possible. Acid Shells/Bolts Used With: All shotguns and Bolt weapons

Acid shells replace their multiple pellets with a single slug containing a large amount of incredibly corrosive acid that can eat through almost any material. An unarmoured man will have his flesh melted from his bones in moments, while even heavy protective gear can be worn away with alarming speed. Acid bolts function in the same way as their shotgun counterparts, replacing their mass-reactive warheads with a vessel containing the same acid.

Ammunition

Name Cost/Amount Availability

Acid Bolts +8/1 Very Rare

Acid Shells 16/1 Rare

Airtorch Canister +10/1 pack Extremely Rare

Amputator Bullets 12/1 Extremely Rare

Amputator Shells 10/1 Extremely Rare

Blazer Shells 4/1 Common

Bleeder Rounds 10/1 Rare

Blessed Ammunition +50/clip Very Rare

Cryptus Bolts +15/1 Extremely Rare

Cryptus Shells 10/1 Very Rare

Dumdum Bullets 1/5 Scarce

Executioner Shells 150/1 Very Rare

Expander Bullets 1/2 Scarce

Explosive Arrows/Quarrels 1/5 Scarce

Explosive Bullets +3/1 Very Rare

Flechette Shells 3/2 Rare

Hotshot Pack 15/1 pack Scarce

Hyper-Density Penetrators 100/1 Rare

Inferno Bolts 20/1 Very Rare

Inferno Shells 12/1 Rare

Man-Stopper Bullets 5/6 Scarce

Microburst Flask 35/1 pack Very Rare

Nephium Fuel 14/1 Very Rare

Organgrinder Bolts 50/1 Extremely Rare

Organgrinder Bullets 15/1 Very Rare

Organgrinder Shells 20/1 Very Rare

Overcharge Pack 12/1 Common

Psyflame Fuel +100/clip Very Rare

Psycannon Bolt 250/1 Very Rare

Rejected Bolts 6/1 Scarce

Slug Shells 1/4 Common

Snare Shells 10/1 Rare

Solid Bolts 25/1 Very Rare

Stun Shells 15/1 Scarce

Tempest Bolts 200/1 Extremely Rare

Tracer Bolts +2/1 Scarce

Tracer Bullets 1/10 Average

Void Rounds 5/1 Scarce

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Effects: Change the weapon’s Damage to 2d10 Energy and Penetration to 0. If used in a shotgun the weapon loses the Scatter quality. Should the target takes any damage after reduction for Armour and Toughness they suffer the same effects as being set on fire for 1d5 Rounds, representing the awful chemical burns that the acid can cause. If the unmodified Damage roll is more than 10, the target’s worn armour has its AP reduced by 1 on the hit location; multiple hits can reduce the armour’s APs to 0. Damaged armour can be repaired with a Difficult (-10) Trade (Armourer) Test; see Expanded Skills, page 240 of The Inquisitor’s Handbook for more information. Airtorch Canister Used With: Any Pistol or Basic Melta weapon

Whilst regular melta weapons are known for the tight focus of incredibly superheated blasts they generate, a specially modified Airtorch chemical mixture can be used to cause an almost uncontrolled reaction that sets the air itself on fire. The blast roars forth in an overwhelming swath, and unfortunate firers have occasionally been burnt to a crisp by their own meltagun when using an Airtorch canister.

Effects: The weapon’s range is halved and it gains the Scatter quality due to the extreme spread of the blast. However, it also gains the Overheats quality as the intense heat is often simply too great for even a meltagun to handle.

Amputator Rounds Used With: Any Pistol or Basic Solid Projectile weapon, including shotguns

Amputator rounds are so named for their frightening tendency to blow the limbs off of unfortunate victims hit by them. Amputator rounds replace the bullet or shot pellets with explosive micro-shrapnel that can shear flesh and shatter bones.

Effects: The weapon gains the Vicious quality. If the attack results in Critical Damage, add an additional 3 points to the total Critical Damage suffered by the target.

Blazer Shells Used With: All shotguns

These shells are packed with pyrotechnic materials instead of shot pellets, producing a huge gout of flame when the shotgun is fired. The intensity of the fire is somewhat less than burning Promethium from a proper flamer, but it is far easier to carry a few blazer shells than a bulky flame weapon, and shotguns are more easily obtained by most users anyway.

Effects: Change the shotgun’s Damage type to Energy and replace the Scatter quality with the Flame and Primitive qualities. The range decreases to 15 metres or half the shotgun’s normal range, whichever is lower. Because of the duration of the flame, a shotgun using blazer shells can only be fired on single-shot mode.

Bleeder Bullets Used With: Any Pistol or Basic Solid Projectile weapon without the Scatter quality

Bleeder rounds are designed to break into sharp, irregular fragments, causing ragged wounds that do not heal well. For added effect, they are laced with strong anti-coagulants to increase the likelihood that the victim will simply “bleed out” from their injuries.

Effects: As long as the weapon deals at least 1 point of Damage after reduction for Armour and Toughness, the victim takes an additional 3 points of Damage as their wounds are aggravated. Creatures with the Daemonic or Machine Traits are immune to this extra Damage, along with any other targets immune to the effects of Blood Loss.

Blessed Ammunition Used With: Any Bolt, Flame, and Solid Projectile weapons

The truly faithful of the Imperial Creed, when properly equipped with the correct unguents, incense, and oils, can render the ammunition of “weapons most suitable” into devastating implements of the Emperor’s justice when employed against the foul warp-spawned creatures that threaten the Imperium. This work is usually performed on sacred bolters and

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purifying flamers, but even a humble autogun can benefit from it.

Effects: The weapon’s Damage is counted as “Holy”, which has certain effects on some Daemonic and warp creatures (as will be noted in their description).

Cryptus Shells/Bolts Used With: All shotguns and Bolt weapons

The Templum of the Sacred Lights on the world of Cryptus, renowned for its gleaming glass construction, was burned to the ground during a siege by heretical cultists in 702.M39. The flames consumed the temple's last defenders and every last one of the renegades; the act was considered a miracle by the Ecclesiarchy, while the Ordo Malleus showed a particular interest in that the flames even consumed the great daemons that the cultists had summoned. When the inferno subsided, a field of white glass shards covered the site for kilometres in every direction. With the Inquisition in at least nominal control over the site, the glass remnants of the temple came to be used as a potent weapon against daemons and other warp-spawn, the righteous retribution of that day still present in the shards centuries later. When packed into bolts or shotgun shells, the glass shards can be fired into abominable beings where they burn brightly just as the Templum of the Sacred Lights did. Because of the limited (if nevertheless great) quantity of glass shards, only the Inquisition is - at least in theory - able to manufacture these weapons. However, pilgrims and their overseers from the Adeptus Ministorum will often sneak shards off the world during the annual pilgrimage on the anniversary of the Templum's burning, and as a result the militant arms of the Ecclesiarchy can sometimes obtain a small number of this ammunition too.

Effects: Shotguns and Bolt weapons using Cryptus shells or bolts gain the Vicious quality when used against Daemons, warp creatures, and other creatures with a Psy Rating; if they take Damage from the attack, the affected targets must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test or be blinded for 1d5 Rounds. The Damage they inflict is considered "Holy", which has

certain affects on some Daemonic and warp creatures (as will be noted in their description).

Dumdum Bullets Used With: Stub pistols and hand cannons

These heavy, blunt bullets are designed to cause maximum damage against soft tissue and can tear great gaping holes in an unprotected target. However, these same qualities make them ineffective at penetrating even half-decent armour. Dumdum bullets are commonly used by gangers and other low-rent scummers as their usual victims don’t wear carapace breastplates.

Effects: The weapon’s Damage increases by 3 but it also gains the Primitive quality.

Executioner Shells Used With: Shotguns that use standard shells

An Executioner is an incredibly sophisticated piece of ammunition with more in common with

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a missile than a shotgun shell. Each contains a miniature propulsion and stabilisation system as well as a tiny guidance cogitator. After being sighted in and fired, the shell can literally lock on and track its victim. Once targeted by an Executioner, doom is almost assured. The mechanisms that are used to provide this deadly capability are little understood and can only be replicated by a handful of forges throughout the Imperium, and as a result they are highly rare items that are typically only issued to veteran troopers of the Adeptus Arbites. Agents of the Inquisition are also known to make use of them on occasion, and giving where they are made, likely employed (on a strictly non-official basis) by Skitarii Tech-Guards and Secutors of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Effects: The weapon loses the Scatter quality, but adds +4 to its Damage and Penetration. Executioners ignore any cover the target may be benefitting from, and when fired at Short or standard (but not Point Blank, Long or Extreme) range the firer may reroll a failed Ballistic Skill Test made to attack with it (including if the target successfully Dodged the first attack).

Expander Bullets Used With: Any Pistol or Basic Solid Projectile weapons without the Scatter quality

Savage to the point that they are outlawed on some worlds, these dense shells are designed to hold their shape until after piercing the target’s body, after which they shred open to cause their victim further suffering through internal wounds and ripped organs. As a side effect, the expanded slugs can be frustratingly difficult to remove after the fact as well.

Effects: Increase the weapon’s Damage and Penetration by 1. Medicae Tests made to administer First Aid to a target that has taken Damage from expander bullets suffer a -10 penalty; this condition persists until the target no longer has any Damage.

Explosive Arrows/Quarrels Used With: Bows, crossbows, and similar weapons

Careful use of modern explosives can turn even the humble bow into a wholly deadly

weapon whose operation – though not result – is completely silent. The arrow or quarrel might have a hollow body filled with an impact-sensitive blasting substance, or coated and soaked in an unstable alchemical compound. Regardless of its specific means of action, the projectile violently explodes with the power of a small bomb when it strikes its target.

Effects: The weapon’s Damage type becomes Explosive and it loses the Primitive quality, but the awkward balancing of the projectiles imposes a -10 penalty to the firer’s Ballistic Skill Tests when using the explosive arrow or quarrel.

Explosive Bullets Used With: All Solid Projectile weapons without the Scatter quality

These bullets replace their metallic projectiles with a thin alloy shell packed full of high explosive compounds that detonate on impact with the target with an effect that is broadly similar to a bolt weapon. Lesser weapons tend to have a very minor effect that leaves broad but shallow wounds instead of thin penetrating injuries, but as the slug-thrower's calibre increases the effect can become frighteningly noticeable. However, without the ballistic cap of a bolt, explosive bullets have little penetrative ability and so aren't nearly as useful in areas of dense cover or against well armoured targets.

Effects: The weapon's Damage type changes to Explosive and its Penetration becomes 0. For each point of Penetration reduced from the weapon's normal value, to a maximum of 4, the weapon gains the Proven quality with the same value; a hand cannon with Pen 2 would gain the Proven (2) quality, while an autocannon with Pen 4 would gain the Proven (4) quality. Flechette Shells Used With: Shotguns that use standard shells

Flechette shells replace a shotgun's load of dense metal shot with a bundle of thin, mono-edged darts. The fin-stabilised projectiles spread out less and are more stable in flight, giving the shotgun a modest increase in its effective range. They also offer superior penetration of cover and

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personal armour; military shotgunners operating in dense environments or against armoured opponents tend to be the largest users of flechette shells. The darts themselves are no more lethal than much cheaper shot loads, however, so their expense is broadly unnecessary for hunters and most enforcer types.

Effects: Flechette shells increase the shotgun's range by 10 metres and its Penetration value to 2. Shotguns that already have Pen 2 or higher don't gain any additional benefits.

Hotshot Pack Used With: Pistol and Basic Las weapons

Though similar in design and construction to standard charge packs for laspistols and lasguns, a hotshot pack is specially designed to expend all of its stored energy in one powerful blast. Snipers in the Imperial Guard often use these charge packs to give their long las rifles some more punch; the fact that they go dry after one shot is of little concern to troops who are supposed to kill with one shot anyway.

Effects: A weapon using a hotshot pack increases its Damage by 1, its Penetration to 4 (weapons that already have Pen 4 or higher don’t increase any further), and gains the Tearing quality. The weapon’s Clip size becomes 1 and therefore can only be fired on single shot mode. When using a hotshot pack, the weapon’s reliability decreases by one step; if the weapon has the Reliable quality it loses it, and if it doesn’t it gains the Unreliable quality. If the weapon is already Unreliable, it instead gains the Overheats quality.

Some las weapons may have different consequences for using a hotshot pack; if applicable, these are described in their entries.

Hyper-Density Penetrators Used With: Hand cannons, hunting rifles, and all shotguns

Famously nicknamed “Lathe Body-Blowers” for their incredible effect at ploughing through vulnerable flesh, these bullets are cast from a unique dense metal alloy only made possible by exploiting the strange gravitational forces within

the Lathe Worlds. A victim hit by a hyper-density penetrator can be totally blown in half as the great mass and velocity of the projectile tears through armour as easily as flesh and bone. Hyper-density penetrators produce extreme recoil and pressure, and can only be used in the sturdiest of weapons.

Effects: Hyper-density penetrators increase the weapon’s Damage and Penetration values by 2. The weapon gains the Tearing and Vicious qualities if it didn't already have them. If used in a shotgun it loses the Scatter quality.

Inferno Shells/Bolts Used With: All shotguns and Bolt weapons

This type of round is augmented by a phosphor-gel that ignites as the projectile(s) strike their target. Shotgun shells are the most common type due to their availability and the fact that the large volume of the shell is optimal for storing the flammable additive. Inferno bolts function on much the same principle, the mass-reactive warhead’s composition altered to include phosphor-gel that sets the target ablaze as well as blowing it apart.

Effects: Targets hit by an inferno shell or bolt must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Agility Test or be set on fire. Aside from other characters, an inferno shell or bolt can be used to ignite certain objects (flammable liquids, plants, sleeping grox, and so forth) at the discretion of the GM.

Man-Stopper Bullets Used With: Any Pistol or Basic Solid Projectile weapon without the Scatter quality

These projectiles are made of a solid hardened core that is designed to easily puncture armour and cover that an enemy might be hiding behind. The wounds they make are no more grievous than normal bullets, but they can still have quite an impressive effect once the target realises that the flakboard wall he is shielded by offers him absolutely no protection at all.

Effects: Increase the weapon’s Penetration value to 3. Weapons that already have Pen 3 or higher don’t gain any additional benefits.

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Microburst Flask Used With: Any Pistol or Basic Plasma weapon

The photonic hydrogen stored in these flasks has a much higher concentration of heavy ions, which has a number of effects on the burst of plasma produced when the weapon is fired. A Microburst flask produces bolts that are smaller and less intense, but with a significantly higher velocity and density. The lower temperature of the fusion core also makes the plasma weapon significantly safer for its user as well.

Effects: Plasma weapons using a Microburst flask decrease their Damage and increase their Penetration by 2 each. Range is increased by 10 metres, but the weapon cannot be fired on the Maximal setting (if it has one), and it additionally loses the Overheats quality.

Nephium Fuel Used With: Any Flame weapon that uses standard flamer fuel

Nephium is an unstable accelerant that is normally used in extremely high temperature forges in the creating of adamantine plates and other very dense metal alloys. However, while it is dangerous to do so, encapsulated Nephium motes can be mixed in with the Promethium fuel used by flamers to produce devastating tongues of fire that can rival a meltagun in intensity. The use of Nephium as an additive is common knowledge among the Adeptus Mechanicus but most others would have no idea of its potency; among those that do, only a certain few would risk using it in spite of its great potency.

Effects: Increase the flame weapon’s Damage by 2 and it gains the Unstable quality. Agility Tests made to avoid the flames from Nephium fuel suffer a -10 penalty. If the weapon suffers a jam while using Nephium fuel, roll 1d10. On a result of 9 or 10 the fuel tank or canister spontaneously combusts in a terrible conflagration; treat this as an explosion with a Blast equal to how many shots the flamer had left in its Clip (up to a maximum 10) that deals the flamer’s Damage and Penetration to anything within that area, including the penalty to Agility Tests to avoid it. The flame weapon’s wielder may not make an Agility Test to attempt to evade the blast and suffers double the Damage result of the blast.

Nephium fuel and regular fuel can’t be combined in the same weapon, though a fuel tank or canister can be partially filled with it.

Organgrinder Rounds Used With: Hand cannons, hunting rifles, shotguns that use standard shells, and all Bolt weapons that use 0.75-calibre bolts

Most types of unusual ammo, regardless of their exact function, are designed to make their weapon immediately more lethal towards its victims. The grisly organgrinder rounds are an exception to this rule, intended explicitly to cause a slow, lingering death from an excruciating wound. After striking the victim, an

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organgrinder round deploys spiralled ridges that lacerate flesh and bone into a pulp of viscera. These also dramatically slow the projectile’s speed, ensuring that the round will be left inside the victim’s body to cause further complications and misery. These rounds are difficult to forge and can only be used in the largest slug-throwing weapons due to their diameter; of course, a bolt is plenty big enough to accommodate their terrible payload.

Effects: Organgrinder rounds work similar to a weapon with the Toxic quality. If the target takes Damage after reduction for Armour and Toughness, they must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Toughness Test; the round imposes a -10 penalty on this Test for every point of Damage it successfully dealt. If the victim succeeds then the round has failed to operate; on a failure, the round works as designed, immediately causing another 2d5 points of Rending Damage that are not reduced by Armour or Toughness. Even if the victim survives, the round remains within their body until removed, which requires a Medicae Test as though the victim was having a broken limb amputated, with the same difficulty and consequences of failure (see Damage & Healing on Page 211 of Dark Heresy). If left untreated, an organgrinder round can cause further complications even years later. If the victim ever takes Critical Damage again, the organgrinder round shifts and worms about, increasing the Critical Damage result by 1. If the Critical Damage affects the same hit location that the round is still embedded in, the victim takes 2 more Critical Damage instead.

If organgrinder shells are used in a shotgun it loses the Scatter quality, while organgrinder bolts change the damage type of their weapon from Explosive to Impact.

Overcharge Pack Used With: Pistol or Basic Las weapons

Overcharge packs provide a more rapid beam discharge than standard charge packs, which increases the weapon’s power, though it also runs out of energy more quickly as well. Guardsmen who have proven their merit in

battle are often issued these packs as they can be trusted to make their shots count even in a hectic combat, and many accomplished snipers were first identified as common soldiers using overcharge packs to great effect.

Effects: Increase the weapon’s Damage and Penetration by 1 but halve the Clip size. Psycannon Bolts Used With: All Bolt weapons

Typically only the legendary Grey Knights can readily access psycannons, fell bolt weapons that can cut down even horrendous daemons and warp-spawned filth with ease. However, the Ordo Malleus is able to manufacture individual bolts with a small measure of a psycannon’s power for use by trusted servants and others who often battle the foul denizens of the unknown. A psycannon bolt’s mass-reactive warhead is augmented by psy-anathemic compounds and are blessed and sanctified to strike true against the daemon and the witch, and can rip through warp-stuff and psychic barriers with remarkable efficiency. Of course, a psycannon bolt’s superior construction can still rend even a non-psyker to shreds in the Emperor’s name. Psycannon bolts are a jealously guarded secret of the Ordo Malleus, and even the Tech-Priest Magi of the Mechanicus are forbidden from trying to examine or study them. Only an Inquisitor can issue psycannon bolts, and just to carry one of these pieces of ammunition without the Malleus’ blessing is likely sufficient grounds for execution, or worse…

Effects: Against all targets, any Critical Damage inflicted by a psycannon bolt is increased by 5. Warp entities, Daemons, and creatures with a Psy Rating can use their Armour and Toughness to reduce Damage from a psycannon bolt normally, but they suffer double Damage from any that remains as well as 1 additional point for each Psy Rating they have; for example, if a witch with Psy Rating 3 reduces a psycannon bolt’s Damage to 4 from Armour and Toughness, it then suffers 11 Damage from the bolt’s unique and holy construction. A psycannon bolt is invariably a "Holy" weapon,

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which has additional effects on Daemons and warp creatures, and it completely ignores warp and psychic barriers, shields, and armour (such as Daemonic Resilience, Catch Projectiles, Telekinetic Shield, and so on).

Psyflame Fuel Used With: Any Flame weapon that uses standard flamer fuel

The sacred promethium fuel used to burn heretics and sinners can be further enhanced with a number of arcane psy-reactive compounds and additives that seem to turn the gouts of purifying flame into a living embodiment of hatred towards the witch and the Daemon. This produces a lesser though still impressive effect similar to that of the Incinerators of the Ordo Malleus' Grey Knights, the flames seemingly trying to wrap around and immolate the wicked as if they had a mind of their own. Psyflame fuel is manufactured and consecrated only under the careful eye of the Inquisition and is meted out in small measure to its minions and agents, the Adepta Soroitas, and other loyal and fervent warriors.

Effects: The Damage produced by a flamer using psyfuel flame is considered "Holy" and completely ignores warp and psychic barriers, shields, and armour (such as Daemonic Resilience, Telekinetic Shield, and so on). Targets with a Psy Rating suffer a -5 penalty to the Agility Test to avoid the flames as well as being lit on fire for every point; for example, a witch with Psy Rating 3 would suffer a -15 penalty to its Agility Test.

Rejected Bolts Used With: Shotguns that use standard shells and all Bolt weapons

Bolts are precision-engineered munitions that must meet very specific tolerances and receive various liturgical blessings during their manufacture. Many do not pass muster and are rejected by the circumspect Tech-Priests or adepts tasked with verifying the sanctity of the projectile, ensuring that no righteous Imperial citizen will be failed by a defective bolt's inability to launch or detonate. These rejected bolts are supposed to be destroyed, but many wind up being smuggled out and illicitly traded by reclaimators and scav-workshops. Bolts that lack

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acceptance runes are completely illegal to even possess on most Forge worlds, and while they are much more likely to malfunction than a properly manufactured one, a rejected bolt will (usually) still blast an opponent apart with just as much potency. Because they have not yet received their final casings, this type of bolt can also be made to fit and be fired from common shotguns, though such lesser weapons have been known to fail with spectacular effect.

Effects: All weapons using rejected bolts gain the Unreliable quality. If the weapon was already Unreliable, it instead jams on any failed roll to hit. A shotgun using rejected bolts increases its Range by 50%, changes its Damage to 1d10+5 Explosive, its Penetration to 4, and gains the Tearing quality while losing the Scatter quality. However, if the shotgun jams, roll 1d10. On a result of "6" or above, the bolt detonates in the barrel, causing the shotgun to catastrophically explode. Resolve this as though the shooter was hit in the Body location by the shotgun's attack while inflicting Damage as a frag grenade to any other characters within 4 metres of the shooter.

Slug Shells Used With: Shotguns that use standard shells

Slug shells contain a single alloy projectile in place of a handful of small pellets. This concentrates a shotgun's considerable power onto a smaller area, which greatly increases its destructive ability at longer ranges. Slug shells are commonly used by hunters to take game at greater distances than normal shot shells, though gangers and irregular troops will sometimes carry this type of shell in lieu of bringing a second weapon with greater reach.

Effects: A shotgun using slug shells increases its Damage by 2 and Penetration by 1 but loses the Scatter quality.

Snare Shells Used With: All shotguns

These shells replace much of their shot pellets with small capsules of web chem which explode into a mass of ensnaring sticky filaments. Contact with the air causes them to solidify,

making it almost impossible for the target to escape. Using snare shells is not as effective as a proper webber or web pistol, but the fact that they can be used in any shotgun with no special training makes them an extremely handy accessory to use. Snare shells can still kill an unfortunate victim who takes a strong hit, so they are poor choices where a safe capture of the target is absolutely necessary.

Effects: A shotgun using snare shells reduces its Damage by 2 but gains the Snare quality. The sticky webs created by one break down on their own after 1d5+1 Rounds.

Solid Bolts Used With: All Bolt weapons

Bolters are best known for the horrific injuries that their mass-reactive warheads cause, but some forges are known to produce bolts designed expressly for piercing even the heaviest armour by replacing the warhead with a solid monolithic core of super-dense alloy. The bolter’s usually devastating effect is somewhat reduced, but against the greatest beasts (or armoured vehicles) the extra penetration can be the difference between life and death.

Effects: Increase the weapon’s Penetration value by 3 but remove the Tearing quality. The weapon’s Damage type changes from Explosive to Impact.

Stun Shells Used With: Shotguns that use standard shells

A favourite of the Adeptus Arbites and well-funded enforcer outfits, stun shells are essentially a single-use shock weapon crammed into a shotgun slug. In flight, a stun shell deploys three metal prongs that bury themselves in the flesh of a victim before discharging a powerful jolt that can incapacitate a target at distance. Stun shells are designed to be used for a non-lethal takedown, but the velocity of the projectile itself can still kill those of a frail constitution; as a result, great care must be taken in their employment when loss of life is unacceptable.

Effects: A shotgun using stun shells gains the Shocking quality and loses the Scatter quality.

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Targets hit by a stun shell make their Toughness Test to avoid being Stunned at a -10 penalty, and gain no bonus on this Test for the first 3 Armour Points on the hit location. After reduction for Armour and Toughness, the target takes only half of the remaining Damage (minimum 1).

Tempest Bolts Used With: All Bolt weapons

Tempest bolts are designed to be extremely destructive towards machinery and cybernetics, allowing them to be used in cutting down even monstrous servitors and other such targets. Tempest bolts contain a miniature plasma-shock generator that releases a pulse of electromagnetic and thermal energy on impact, which can be debilitating against almost any target but is especially destructive to machinery. Giving what an effective weapon this would be against members of the Cult Mechanicus, it is perhaps not surprising that only they hold the secrets to manufacturing tempest bolts. Only the great forges of Mars itself can manufacture these bolts, and that is entirely by design. The forces of the Magos Militants of a number of forge worlds, including the Lathes in the Calixis Sector, maintain a stockpile of these bolts specifically for use in hunting down hereteks and traitors, and they may be gifted to trusted allies who accompany the Destructor Covenants on such expeditions. Of course, even the forces of the Emperor’s most holy Inquisition are not above the scrutiny of the Magi, and those who have callously demanded supplies of these bolts seem to frequently suffer terrible accidents of a mechanical nature at a later point.

Effects: The weapon gains the Shock quality and changes its Damage type from Explosive to Energy. Increase the Damage and Penetration value by 3 when used against targets with the Machine trait or other mechanical objects (such as door lock mechanisms, cogitator cores, and anything else the GM deems appropriate).

Tracer Rounds Used With: All Solid Projectile and Bolt weapons

Most heavy weapon teams use tracer rounds in their support weapons whenever possible as

they make it far easier to guide and adjust a firing pattern. Tracer rounds include a dab of pyrophoric chemical on the back of the projectile; this flares brightly once the bullet or bolt leaves a hot barrel. Of course, this also gives away the firer’s position, and can make return fire more accurate as well, leading to the popular Guard expression “tracers work both ways.” Tracer rounds could be manufactured for theoretically any weapon that uses a physical projectile, but they only have any significant appreciable benefit to weapons firing in long automatic bursts.

Effects: The weapon’s firer gains a +5 bonus to Ballistic Skill Tests when firing the weapon on Full Auto. In certain ambient conditions, the bright tracers also allow other characters (including enemies) to immediately pinpoint the firer’s location. If used in areas of fog, mist, shadow, smoke, or darkness, anyone with line of sight to the firer’s position gains a +5 bonus on Ballistic Skill Tests made to fire back at them. Because tracer rounds have a small amount of burning chemical on the back of them, they may be able to ignite very flammable substances such as storage drums of Promethium or stockpiled ammunition in an open dump.

Void Rounds Used With: All Solid Projectile weapons

Conventional slug-throwers usually do not work as well in airless environments as the lack of atmospheric pressure causes propelling gases to lose force more quickly. The absence of air also tends to increase jams due to overheated barrels and chambers. Void rounds are designed to remedy these problems. They are manufactured as stub ammo, caseless bullets, and shotgun shells, all coated with a special heat-absorbing laminate that also seals the barrel and chamber, ensuring that each round will function just as it would on a planetary environment.

Effects: The weapon functions normally in an airless or void environment. If used in atmosphere the rounds reduce the weapon’s Damage by 1 due to their coating slowing down the projectile via air resistance.

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Armour

The 41st Millennium is not only filled with dangerous enemies but also dangerous weapons, either of which could easily maim or kill in a heartbeat. Nearly every race in the galaxy has developed defensive measures, ranging from simple animal skins to highly sophisticated powered battlesuits and protective energy fields. Mankind is no exception, and the abundance of armours within the Imperium is such that even everyday clothes might offer some protective value. Military personnel and Imperial agents are almost always equipped with some sort of personal armour, be it cheap layered padding that can turn away knives or artificer-crafted power suits that can withstand almost any attack. Regardless of what shape it takes, armour exists to protect the wearer’s body from harm – of course, any true servant of the Emperor would know that while armour may protect the flesh, only faith can protect the soul.

Worn armour provides Armour Points (APs) to various locations on the body, as described in their entries. Some kinds of armour might have special properties as well, which will also be noted where appropriate.

Armour Type: What sort of armour it is. Location(s) Covered: What locations the

armour covers. These are the same as the possible hit locations for an attack: arms, legs, body, and head. An armour that states “All” means it has suitable components to protect every location.

AP (Armour Points): How many Armour Points the armour provides for the locations covered. Note that any armour that provides 7 or more APs inflicts a -30 penalty on the wearer’s Concealment and Silent Move Tests.

Wt (Weight): Represents how much the armour weighs in kilograms.

Cost: This indicates the standard price of the armour in the Imperium.

Availability: Identifies the armour’s availability; see the Availability section for more information on the consequences of availability.

MIXING ARMOUR You can mix pieces of armour, but their protective qualities do not “stack” when worn in the same locations. In cases where an area which is covered by multiple pieces of armour is struck, use the most beneficial armour to calculate Damage reduction. For example, if a character wearing a mesh vest (4 AP) and a flak coat (3 AP) is hit in the body, the mesh vest’s AP is used while the flak coat’s is ignored. If the attack happens to be a blast, the flak coat’s is used instead, as flak armour counts as AP 5 against blasts and similar effects.

ARMOUR CRAFTSMANSHIP All of the armours listed in this section assume they are of Common craftsmanship. Armour that is made to a higher standard or that which is poorly made or designed has several gameplay effects aside from the obvious appearances.

Poor: Badly fitted, seriously damaged, or just designed by someone having no business doing so, Poor armour is generally difficult to wear. Characters wearing Poor craftsmanship armour take a -10 penalty on all Agility Tests as the armour seems to deliberate hinder them.

Good: Well constructed and often sized for the wearer, Good armour is much easier to wear and more comfortable too. The first time the wearer is successfully attacked in each Round this armour increases its AP by 1†.

Best: Finely wrought and perfectly fitted in every way, even heavy suits of Best armour move effortlessly with their wearer as though they were a second skin. Best craftsmanship armour weighs half as much as normal and has 1 more AP† at all times.

†Use the armour’s base AP to determine if the user suffers any penalties for encumbrance or wearing heavy armour

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PRIMITIVE ARMOUR Primitive Armour is the norm on many feudal and feral planets, though low-grade protective gear and sturdy clothing found on the lower levels of hive worlds fits into this category as well. Protection at this level often consists of reinforced animal hides (fur shawls or ganger jackets simply depends on the world’s tech level), metal plating worn over the chest, chainmail, or combinations of these and other crude methods. Primitive armour will rarely stop a las-bolt but can turn aside a blade and is usually better than no protection at all. Primitive armour only counts half of its AP value (round up) against attacks from weapons that do not also have the Primitive quality. A suit of feudal plate armour will easily ward off blows from swords and arrows, but a shot from a bolt pistol will likely plough right through it.

When calculating the effects of Penetration, a Primitive armour’s APs are halved against non-Primitive weapons before reduction for the weapon’s Penetration value.

Fervious Banded Mail This type of armour is made from layers of

tough, laminated strips of hide, bonded or sewn to cushioned leather. On Fervious, it is specifically intended to protect against the razor-sharp long-sabres that that world’s smiths are famous for. It is also highly effective at stopping arrows and crossbows while being reasonably easy to move in, making it popular with warriors who want to stay mobile or can’t afford heavy plate armours. Due to the callous nature of Fervious’ culture, where murder is an acceptable way of dispatching rivals, paranoid nobles often make use of these as well. Some are decorated with fineries and furs, intended to be worn as part of the noble’s dress attire for daily affairs.

Beast Furs

The pelts of various creatures can make suitable clothing, with the denser types having adequate strength to fend off blades and claws. The nature of the furs is highly dependent on their world of origin and who’s wearing them.

Feral savages might wear ragged strips of fur sewn together to provide rudimentary protection and warmth, while ermine or sand-fox furs can be finely bound into luxuriously soft coats or vests for hive nobles, trading magnates, and other well-to-do citizens.

Bone Armour

On many feral worlds the strongest material available is bone, and so it falls to this crude substance to provide some measure of protection. Bone armour is made from the skeletal remains of beasts, the design and shape wholly dependent on the world of origin and the type of animal bones used.

There are a few common themes, no matter where the armour was made. The skull is usually hollowed out and serves as a helmet, with the user looking out through the mouth, while

Primitive Armours

Name Location(s) Covered AP Wt Cost Availability

Bracers Arms 1 0.5kg 10 Plentiful

Ganger Leathers Arms, Body, Legs 1 5 kg 25 Average

Heavy Leathers Arms, Body, Legs 2 7 kg 100 Common

Beast Furs Body 2 10 kg 5 Average

Bone All 2 12 kg 20 Scarce

Quilted Vest Body 2 2 kg 10 Common

Scrag Furs Body 2 7 kg 5 Common

Banded Mail Arms, Body, Legs 3 12 kg 50 Rare

Chain Coat Arms, Body, Legs 3 18 kg 50 Average

Grox Hides Body 3 14 kg 60 Common

Scale Armour Arms, Body, Legs 3 15 kg 1,000 Very Rare

Silkmail Arms, Body, Legs 3 5 kg 150 Rare

Mirker’s Greaves Legs 4 8 kg 50 Average

Plate All 5 30 kg 120 Scarce

Heavy Plate All 6 28 kg 300 Scarce

Volcanis Shroud All 6 20 kg 350 Average

Xeno Hides Body 6 22 kg 5,000 Very Rare

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ribcages and thick bone plates form the breastplate. Sometimes the armour is also dressed in furs and hides, but more often than not, the bone is on full display to give the wearer a fearsome appearance. This quality also sees bone armours crafted on some feudal worlds and even more advanced planets as well, though usually only for ritualistic purposes.

Bracers

Bracers are worn on the wrists and forearms, and may be made from hide, leather, or metal. They serve a dual purpose in offering modest protection, turning the blade of a dagger or sword, as well as assisting archers to steady their wrist when drawing a bowstring.

Like many types of armour, bracers are often decorated, from finely carved and intricate designs, to being inlaid with precious stones and metals to show the owner’s wealth. Like many other sorts of primitive items, bracers have found their way into Imperial society, primarily as a fashion accessory. Clever wearers might also use a bracer to conceal a useful gadget or piece of equipment, like a refractor field generator or hidden communication device.

Chainmail Coat

This armour is formed by links of small metal rings that are bound together, making a protective suit that offers excellent protection against blades, though arrows and quarrels can sometimes force their way through by splitting the individual links. Chainmail is extremely flexible and moves with the wearer, but it is also quite weighty and tiring to wear as most of the armour’s mass hangs from the shoulders.

Ganger Leathers

Leather jackets and pants are common clothing worn by gangers and other scum on countless hives throughout the Imperium. Ganger leathers are often studded with metallic spikes, barbs, fastener pins, and any other combination of accessories that make the wearer look more intimidating towards potential victims and rivals. While not technically an

armour by any stretch of the imagination, there are many gangers who’ve had a knife turned aside by their sturdy jackets; these lucky leathers are often worn perpetually thereafter.

Grox Hides

Grox are exceptionally common beasts on many worlds that are farmed in massive numbers to feed meat-hungry citizens of the Imperium. Livestock or no, they are famed for their foul tempers and thick hides; the latter can be formed into protective clothing without even being cured or tanned, and rebellions on agri-worlds commonly yield peasants decked out in the hides of the creatures they were previously tasked with tending.

Heavy Leathers

Feral warriors and low-rent troops on feudal planets often make due with leather armour as it is simple and inexpensive to create on any world where there are suitable beasts to tan. On more advanced worlds, long leather coats and dusters are worn as fashion items or for protection from rain, and they are obligatory among bikers and other two-wheeled enthusiasts.

Heavy Plate Armour

More developed feudal worlds have often unlocked a sufficient understanding of metallurgy to craft massive suits of all-encompassing plate armour. These heavy plate armours often require weeks worth of labour by several smiths at once, and are often decorated with elaborate engravings and flourishes. A knight in heavy plate can often wade through whole squads of lesser troops, riddled with arrows like a spine-hog but with hardly any injury to show for it. Heavy plate is usually reserved for the most elite warriors and the militants of the nobility due to the cost and workmanship required to create it. Because of its exquisite appearance and value, there is also a thriving collector’s market for complete sets of heavy plate armour on many worlds throughout the Imperium.

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Mirker’s Greaves These rather unusual forms of leg wear and

boots are common in one form or another to the ill-fortuned (but often well-paid) men and women who are sent to hunt vermin and clear debris in the thousands upon thousands of kilometres of sewer and drainage systems that riddle most hive cities. The blind, rancid things encountered in these sumps are usually more than capable of biting (or even burning) through most fabrics, and mirker’s greaves are usually reinforced with polyflex and metal plates, and sometimes razored or studded for good measure. Although used in nearly every hive city to some extent, they are unsurprisingly widespread daily wear on Volg.

A kick from someone wearing mirker’s greaves has the same effect as if they were punching using knuckle dusters.

Plate Armour

Strong articulated suits of iron or steel plates are the preferred gear for feudal knights and well-paid men-at-arms. These typically consist of a number of large plates that can articulate or slide over one another, with chainmail links covering the joints and other areas. Armour of this type is a notably expensive piece of equipment due to the large amount of metal as well as a skilled smith necessary to make it; many feudal worlds that practice ransoming captured knights back to their respective camps do so out of the value of their plate armour just as much as the knight himself.

Quilted Vest

Sturdy fabric garments are worn underneath most types of metal armour used on feudal worlds; this provides essential cushioning to reduce the force of blows that strike the armour, as well as to prevent chafing and other non-combat-related ills. If worn on its own, it can provide a modicum of protection by itself, though it is a poor substitute for just about anything else. On more advanced worlds, heavier clothing worn for protection from the cold or just to show the wearer’s taste in fashion can also function as a very modest form of armour in a pinch.

Monrass Scale Armour

The Monrass Scar Dragons are in danger of vanishing from that world since their scales are valued for the construction of a particularly durable form of armour. Despite their fearsome nature, men who are eager to reap the rewards that the creatures’ skin can bring have hunted the Scar Dragon to near extinction. Once killed, the hunters skin the dragon and drag off the carcass to be sold as meat (which is very tough but still considered a delicacy for its delicious taste and supposed health benefits). The scales are the turned into suits of armour. It is a highly skilled job that can only be performed by a member of the Scale Jakkers Guild. The manufacture of such armour takes many

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months, as each scale needs to be properly aligned and then bonded to the tough hide that forms the basis of the suit.

For reasons yet unknown, suits of scale armour seem particularly resistant to fire and heat-based attacks, the wearer often able to emerge even from a stream of burning Promethium without serious injury. Some who have witnessed the effectiveness of the armour have spoken of establishing a captive dragon population off-world in order to farm the creatures as a source of fire-proof outfits.

Monrass scale armour retains its full protective value against Flame and Melta weapons, and grants the wearer a +10 bonus to Agility Tests made to avoid catching on fire and subsequent Tests to put the flames out.

Scrag Furs

Made from the hide of the ill-tempered and ill-smelling Scrag Bear, this armour is cheaper than other types of fur due to its distinctive stench that outlives the bear itself for many years. The odour, somewhere between rancid ham and vomit, ensures that the wearer of scrag furs is not a popular fellow.

A character wearing scrag furs takes a -10 penalty on all Fellowship Tests made in the company of anyone with a sense of smell.

Acreage Silkmail

Chainmail is a staple defence on many feudal worlds throughout the Imperium, but the armour-artisans of Acreage produce some of the absolute finest examples. Far finer and lighter than common mail and entirely more comfortable, silkmail, as it is known, is favoured by the nobility of Acreage and highly prized by off-worlder collectors for its workmanship.

Volcanis Shroud

The shroud is a common name for an integrated suit of heavy protective gear including a temperature-insulating under-suit and a heavy, hooded blast coat of polymer and ceramite-alloy weave. The entire shroud is treated with a flame-repelling laminate, providing superb protection

against blistering heat. This garb takes its name from the vast magma-fed forges of Volcanis deep beneath the surface of Mars itself, and suits like this are a staple of heavy industrial hives and forges throughout the Imperium. In Magnagorsk on Fenksworld the shrouds are almost everyday wear for both the foundry guilders as well as other workers who tend to almost every function of that flame-ensconced hive, though they are almost as common in the industrial vaults of Scintilla’s Gunmetal City and Ambulon as well.

A Volcanis shroud is not considered Primitive against Flame and Melta weapons and provides its full AP against fires, acids and corrosives of all types. However, the extreme bulk of the shroud imposes a -10 penalty on any Agility Tests the wearer makes while wrapped up in it. A Volcanis shroud includes a rebreather and photo-visor, and when both are worn with the hood pulled up and fastened it counts as sealed armour for the purposes of resisting gases.

Xeno Hides

Many frightening creatures exist on the periphery of the Imperium, and among the brave and daring there is a well-organized trade of pelts, skin, and hides from some of the more notable monstrosities. Some are so tough and heavy that they can serve as armour rather effectively, harmlessly turning blades aside and even absorbing weaker las-bolts. The only thing more interesting, and perhaps more frightening, than the ability of these dead husks to protect their wearer is what sorts of feral horrors must have worn them in life. Xeno hides are often worn by hardened barbarian warriors who occupy feral or death worlds shared with these creatures; such is the ferocity of these beastskin-wearing fighters that planets of that sort often serve as recruiting grounds for the Imperium’s legendary Space Marines.

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FLAK ARMOUR Flak armour is likely the most common type of personal body armour in the galaxy, thanks primarily due to the huge infrastructure that exists to turn it out for the Imperial Guard. Untold millions of Guardsmen going to war on a thousand worlds at any given time go forth with at least some modest protection from their flak armour, and that ubiquity ensures that there are often ample surpluses, not to mention stolen quantities, of flak armour available to reach the arms market. Flak armour is made of layered ablative and impact absorbing material – the more layers, the greater the protective qualities of the armour. It is particularly effective at saving the wearer from shrapnel and flying fragmentation from explosive weapons. Artillery bombardments, detonating grenades, and other explosions tend to cause the most casualties in battle, so the Munitorum has placed special emphasis on deflecting or absorbing these attacks while keeping production costs as low as possible. Better armour exists, of course, but there is nothing that could be made and supplied on the same scale as flak.

Because of these properties, as long as the wearer is not directly hit or on the target spot of detonation, flak armour counts as having AP 5 (6 for Good and Best craftsmanship versions) against Explosive Damage from weapons with the Blast quality.

Flakweave Cloak

This heavy cloak includes a separate hood and cape that is fastened around the shoulders, and vaguely resembles an Ecclesiarchial mantellum. It is made from many thin flakweave layers that move smoothly over top one another as the wearer’s body is in motion, which permits ease of movement in spite of the cloak’s weight. It offers a reasonable degree of protection while not appearing unlike normal if heavy clothing,

and the expansive folds of the cloak can also allow the wearer to stow a lot of hardware against their body without being too visually conspicuous to outside observation.

Flak Gauntlets

Flak gauntlets are formed in the main by sturdy plates worn around the arms over a reinforced fabric glove that reaches up to the elbow. There’s usually an additional plate to protect the back of the hand as well, and more advanced models might even include reinforcement on the tops of the fingers too.

Flak Greatcoat

Perhaps best associated with fearsome Commissars, flak greatcoats offer excellent protection while simultaneously looking stylish as well as protecting the wearer from the elements. It uses thick, overlapping flak plates fused together into a flexible fabric, and is often decorated with regimental insignia and awards for use in conjunction with a uniform or even as one by itself. Aside from Commissars, Imperial Guard officers and some civilian fighters are known to favour this type of armour due to its imposing yet classic appearance.

A flak greatcoat only protects the wearer’s arms unless it is fully buttoned or secured around the front of the body.

Flak Helmet

Flak helmets variously take the form of rounded ballistic shells or stiff, low-brimmed

Flak Armours

Name Location(s) Covered AP Wt Cost Availability

Flak Gauntlets Arms 2 1 kg 50 Average

Flak Helmet Head 2 2 kg 25 Average

Light Flak Jacket Arms, Body, Legs 2 4 kg 80 Scarce

Flakweave Cloak All 3 8 kg 80 Scarce

Flak Jacket Arms, Body, Legs 3 6 kg 100 Average

Flak Vest Body 3 5 kg 50 Average

Flak Greatcoat Arms, Body, Legs 4 9 kg 150 Average

Guard Flak Armour All 4 11 kg 300 Scarce

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hats, both invariably formed of rigid flak layers designed to protect the head. Suddenly incapacitating injuries strike the head more than any other area, so even the most backwater PDF troops and low-rent mercenaries will often at least have a flak helmet if nothing else.

Flak Jacket

Standard combat gear for many militants in the Imperium, a flak jacket covers the entire torso with a flexible fabric tunic that includes rigid plates within. Some models have long sleeves to protect the arms, while others end above the elbow and use separate gauntlets. All will invariably include sturdy boots or leggings, and the outfit has a distinctively military-looking appearance, often riddled with pockets and gear-clips to store equipment. Light flak jackets use thinner plates and offer proportionally inferior protection, but unlike the heavier versions they can easily pass for everyday clothing.

Flak Vest

This is essentially a reduced flak jacket that is only designed to protect the torso. This makes it lighter and easier to wear while still offering protection to a man’s largest target area.

Undercover enforcers and investigative agents often make use of armour like this to maintain some personal safety while trying to appear as average hivers or non-militant adeptus.

Guard Flak Armour

Guard Flak Armour is the heaviest type of flak armour commonly produced, and is designed purely for combat. It consists of carbon-fibre and thermoplas strips wrapped around a lightweight flexible metal frame, which is given its final shape by a ruggedized outer shell. It is therefore significantly more rigid than other types of flak armour, making it ill-suited for concealment but significantly more robust against bullets and shrapnel. Most patterns consist of a strong breastplate with articulated shrouds for the shoulders, a close-fitting helmet, gauntlets with bracers, and tall boots with knee pads, giving the Guardsman fairly good protection for his entire body. Gear-clips and tac-harnesses are often added to keep handy equipment (grenades, charge packs, and so forth) readily available.

Guard Flak Armour of at least Common craftsmanship includes an inbuilt micro-bead in the helmet as well as a removable gas mask.

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MESH ARMOUR This advanced and extremely lightweight armour may well be of alien origin, but it is purely Imperial in construction and execution now. Mesh armour is formed from bonded lattices of thermoplas cells that are seamlessly linked together in high-intensity presses, creating an armour that is extremely light and flexible yet just as good, if not better, than the more common though cheaper flak suits. Mesh armour protects the wearer by responding to impacts and heat by suddenly becoming extremely rigid; once the blow has been deflected, the material returns to its normally soft and flexible state. It is a favourite of agents, assassins, and others who expect

violence but who cannot afford strutting about in more obvious forms of protection. Mesh Combat Cloak

This armour offers a superb combination of protection and easy wearing characteristics, making it a favourite of just about any fighter who can afford its expense. Depending on style, a mesh combat cloak could easily pass for a long raincoat, outerwear for a chilly day, or if suitably

Mesh Armours

Name Location(s) Covered AP Wt Cost Availability

Mesh Cowl Head 3 0.5 kg 100 Rare

Mesh Gloves Arms 3 0.5 kg 120 Rare

Mesh Combat Cloak All 4 1.5 kg 350 Very Rare

Mesh Vest Body 4 1 kg 150 Rare

Shield Robes Arms, Body, Legs 4 2 kg 5,000 Very Rare

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decorated, a cape or robe fit for a noble’s masquerade ball. The folds of a combat cloak are long and loose enough to cover the wearer’s arms and legs, while a removable hood offers protection for the head as well. A mesh combat cloak is worn similar to the much more common (and less expensive) flakweave cloak, and possession of one is a sure example of a fighter’s financial standings (or that of his employers). Mesh Cowl

Mesh headgear can take the form of a close-fitting cowl or mask, a hood attached to a duster, or a wide-brimmed hat paired with a tall collar (this look is particularly favoured by witch-hunting Inquisitors and their henchmen). Thanks to mesh’s lightweight properties, no matter what style a cowl takes, it can be donned quickly, which is handy when the wearer is trying to blend in with groups that do not often wear hats.

Mesh Gloves

Although usually looking no different than common fabric gloves worn for fashion or protection from cool weather, the mesh construction can allow the wearer to literally grab an attacker’s knife by the blade and yank it out of his hand. Powdered steel is sometimes sewn into the knuckles and backs of the palm to create a more painful punch, which can be useful in situations where the wearer can’t use a more effective weapon.

Mesh Vest

This plain but no less effective vest can be easily worn under almost any kind of clothing, protecting the wearer’s vitals while allowing him to operate undercover with almost no difficulty in concealing his armour. Most are simply pulled over the head, the wondrous construction stretching effortlessly when being put on but becoming a sturdy shield against blades and bullets immediately thereafter.

Shield Robes When not clad in their well-known power

armour, the Adepta Soroitas will usually wear a set of these fine mesh robes, which serve perfectly for devotional study or martial training. They are also traditionally worn by the Orders Non-militant in their support roles as well as noviciates as they are being instructed in the ways of the Sisterhood. Aside from their signature power armour, these robes are often the only clothes that a Battle Sister will wear. They are not exclusive items to the Adepta Soroitas, however, and clerics and other Ecclesiarchial servants who often find themselves in battle will wear them as well. They are often stylized and detailed with images from the lives of saints, iconography meaningful to the wearer’s favoured cult, and other holy works.

Shield robes include the Ecclesiarchy Overlay upgrade.

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CARAPACE ARMOUR Carapace armour, so named because full suits of it make the wearer resemble some kind of plated creature, are the heaviest and most protective suits that are mass produced in the Imperium. Carapace is formed from heavy interlocking plates of armaplas or ceramite, moulded to the shape of the wearer’s body, that are relatively thin but still extremely strong; a carapace-armoured trooper can often withstand a direct hit from a lasgun blast with little if any injury to show for it. The suits make use of the same principles as the plate armour worn on feudal worlds: individual plates move and slide over top one another, with flakweave panels installed to protect the joints. Carapace armour is more costly to create than other types, and it can also be tiring to wear for long periods of time. As a result, it is usually only worn by the Imperial Guard’s elite Storm Troopers and their Inquisitorial counterparts, Navy response teams, and hit squads of the Adeptus Arbites – these fighters can usually afford to don their armour just before combat begins, and often do not march long distances on their own. Arbitrator Combat Carapace

Worn by even novice troopers in the field all the way up to the stern judges and marshals, the Adeptus Arbites are probably best known by their fierce-looking carapace suits. Arbitrator carapace is a full body suit of articulated ceramite plates, with broad shoulders and reinforced boots and gauntlets meant for “hands-on” work. A visored helmet covers the head and most of the face, and can be fitted with a rebreather for use during gas attacks or patrols in underhive sumps. While the armour itself is more or less standardized, Arbites agents often customize it based on their rank and roles. Troopers controlling cyber-mastiffs usually don a storm coat over their armour to hearken back

to the protective coats worn by dog handlers in prehistory, while judges and marshals often affix a golden eagle insignia or ornament to their helmets, literally bringing the symbol of the Emperor’s Justice to recidivists and scummers while keeping their hands free to use weapons and other combat gear.

Arbitrator combat armour includes an integral micro-bead and Good craftsmanship photo-visor in the helmet. The micro-bead can power an attached vox-amplifier, which can turn the wearer’s shouts into deafening roars, and small stab-lights can be attached to the armour’s shoulders. These systems can be powered by a small battery unit or a lasgun charge pack, which has enough energy for up to a week’s worth of continuous use (about 170 hours).

Carapace Chest Plate

A sturdy carapace breastplate shrouds its wearer’s torso with several armaplas plates, keeping organs and other vitals safely ensconced from blades and bullets alike. Carapace chest plates are usually too large and rigid to conceal; instead, they are typically worn in conjunction with a lighter and more comfortable mesh or flakweave armour on the wearer’s limbs, giving them solid protection for the most essential body parts without sacrificing ease of movement.

Carapace Greaves

Strong boots totally enclose the wearer’s shins and calves, with separate plates for the top of the

Carapace Armours

Name Location(s) Covered AP Wt Cost Availability

Carapace Helm Head 4 2 kg 250 Rare

Carapace Greaves Legs 5 3 kg 375 Rare

Carapace Vambraces Arms 5 2 kg 300 Rare

Arbitrator Carapace All 5 15.5 kg 1,350 Very Rare

Enforcer Carapace Arms, Body, Legs 5 15 kg 575 Rare

Magistratum Carapace All 5 16 kg 1,100 Rare

Carapace Chest Plate Body 6 7 kg 600 Rare

Storm Trooper Carapace All 6 17 kg 3,750 Very Rare

Venatorii Armour All 6 6 kg 12,500 Tech-Priest Only

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foot and thighs. Flakweave protects the joints and an articulated segment covers the front and sides of the knee, which gives a stable surface for kneeling too.

Carapace Helm

Carapace headgear inevitably takes the form of a sturdy helmet due to its construction, and by and large has a distinctly military appearance. Regardless of their exact shape, most carapace helms include mounting positions for photo-visors and rebreathers.

Carapace Vambraces

These vambraces totally protect the wearer’s arms, with tubular armaplas or ceramite sections for the forearm and upper arms and fully articulated sections for the elbow and hand. Some versions totally protect the back of the wearer’s hands and may have segmented sections for the digits as well, often bonded to a mesh or flakweave glove to maintain flexibility. Because of their sturdy construction, a punch

from a carapace-armoured fist is often just as deadly, if not more so, than a knuckle duster.

Enforcer Light Carapace

So named because it is a frequent choice for PDF heavies and the private troops of noble houses and planetary leaders, enforcer light carapace is a lightweight suit of armour that is fairly easy to wear and maintain. It is more costly than lesser armours, but is still modestly priced for how much protection it offers. Enforcer carapace’s individual plates are designed to be easily replaced if they become damaged, which helps keep operating expenses reasonable. Of course, it can also be considered something of a bad omen to receive a suit of armour with a single obviously new plate.

Magistratum Combat Carapace

This articulated carapace suit is produced by the forge of Hax-Orthlack for the Lord Sector’s Magistratum enforcers on Scintilla, but is also sold to similar organizations on other hive

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worlds throughout the Calixis Sector. Though its armour protection is modest, designed to turn away knives and low-calibre guns typically used by ganger scum, the Magistratum armour is very well designed and almost completely encloses the wearer’s body. The helmet is deliberately designed to resemble a skull, with a vent-like respirator and individual flash-reactive eyepieces, while rugged but elegant styling make the wearer vaguely resemble a Terran cohort of the Adeptus Custodes, right down to the leather balteum worn at the waist. The skeletal visages of carapace-armoured Magistratum enforcers are often the last things seen by a recidivist in Hive Sibellus, assuming the Arbitrators don’t get to him first.

The suit of armour includes a respirator, micro-bead, and photo-visor in its helmet. The respirator normally functions as a gas mask, but can also be used as a closed-cycle rebreather, and with all parts of the Magistratum carapace worn, the wearer is concealed to be in sealed armour as long as the rebreather is active. Additionally, the fierce visage of the helmet itself grants the wearer a +10 bonus on Intimidate Tests.

Storm Trooper Carapace

The elite of the elite, Storm Troopers in the service of the Imperial Guard and Inquisition alike often must face the fiercest resistance from aliens, heretics, mutants, and other forms of Emperor-forsaken scum while performing their duties. As a result, they are invariably equipped with the finest armour that can be reasonably mass-produced. Storm Trooper carapace is heavily reinforced over all areas, and while tiring to wear for any extended period of time, it offers the best protection possible without resorting to power-assistance. The armour is also equipped with an array of useful gear that helps the wearer act decisively and efficiently in battle, whether purging dens of cultists, gunning down warp-spawned fiends, or infiltrating enemy positions.

Storm Trooper carapace includes an integral auspex unit with wrist display and a backpack attachment for a vox-caster or grav-chute. The helmet is equipped with a removable rebreather,

photo-visor, micro-bead, and there are clip attachments on the side for lamp packs, vid-recorders, and other useful gear. The armour’s integrated systems can be powered by a small battery or a lasgun charge pack, which has enough energy for up to a week’s worth of continuous use (about 170 hours). Venatorii Armour

This unbelievably fine set of carapace armour is the exclusive provenance of the Venatorii "Crimson Guard" of the Lathe Worlds. Though wholly unnecessary for the often heavily-augmented Venatorius, the armour is forged using the same materials and techniques used in other Lathe-wrought gear and equipment, making it extremely light and easy to move in. Furthermore, the astronomical and gravitic alignment of the Lathe Worlds creates conditions for the production of alloys and composites with impossibly good sectional density in spite of their low overall weight, making this armour far more protective than it initially appears. Combined with the brute strength and resiliency of the Venatorii themselves, instances of elites of the "Crimson Guard" surviving point-blank shots from meltaguns is not unheard-of. The leering faceplate of the armour's helmet, resembling a mechanical skull not entirely unlike that present on the cog symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus, adds a further level of intimidation - as if the Venatorius' red robes and integrated weapons were not sufficiently imposing enough.

Venatorii armour is inherently of Best Craftsmanship, and includes a Good Craftsmanship photo-visor and upgrades the wearer's respirator unit to a closed-cycle system, treating them as though they were wearing sealed armour as long as it is worn. Finally, Venatorii armour's unique material construction is exceptionally resistant to being perforated - reduce the Penetration value of all weapons attacking the wearer by half (minimum 1, round up). A character must have the Mechanicus Implants trait in order to wear Venatorii Armour.

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POWER ARMOUR Mankind has always placed a strong emphasis on wearing armour in battle, and while most races in the galaxy employ some kind of personal protection, only humanity has truly gone to such lengths in turning its warriors into mobile battle fortresses. Power armour is the fullest realisation of the Imperium’s drives at personal protection, formed in the main from enormous overlapping ceramite plates that are far too heavy for their wearer to easily move in without the aid of power assistance systems built into the suit’s frame. Like the boltgun, power armour is a rare but instantly recognisable symbol of the Imperium. Its use dates back to the Age of Strife and the Emperor’s Great Crusade, and is perhaps best associated with the Imperium’s mighty Space Marines, though smaller and less sophisticated suits are forged for lesser humans as well. Power armour has evolved and shifted over the millennia, but in virtually all cases they are venerated objects maintained with religious duty and dedication. Some suits, especially those worn by the Adeptus Astartes, may be thousands of years old, scarred and scratched after centuries of war but still no less effective at protecting their wearer than the newest marks and patterns. Power armour uses a sophisticated network of electrically-motivated fibre bundles that move with the wearer’s motions, carrying the weight of the bulky ceramite plates while greatly enhancing the wearer’s physical strength as well. Most power armour is totally enclosed once its various segments have been fitted, and with the aid of built-in rebreathers and an oxygen supply can keep the wearer alive even in the oblivion of the void for long periods of time. Power armour requires a great deal of skill and raw materials to craft, and only certain armour-artificers of the Adeptus Mechanicus possess a full understanding of its manufacture. As a result, it is a prohibitively expensive item that only the best-funded and equipped forces, such as the Sisters of Battle and high-ranking Inquisitorial cells and cabals, can regularly

obtain. There are also numerous rituals and liturgies that must be performed during maintenance and the donning of the armour as well – heavier suits typically require extra help just to put on, much less to awaken the machine spirits necessary to keep the armour functioning.

All power armour requires a constant power source to operate and increases the wearer’s Strength Characteristic; see the individual entry of each for details. A user must wear all of a suit of power armour’s components in order to gain its benefits, though the helmet can be removed for wearers who wish to see things with their own eyes or who don’t mind bullets whizzing by their skulls. As long as the suit is powered, its Weight does not count against the wearer’s carrying capacity, and unless otherwise stated, wearing a full suit of power armour counts as being in sealed armour, making the wearer immune to gases and airborne toxins, among other effects.

Artificer Armour

Magnificently crafted of the finest materials and invariably custom-fit to the wearer, artificer armour is exquisitely designed and almost always commissioned by a wealthy patron. Because of the great care taken in its forging, sparing no expense and often dredging through data-vaults sectors away for inspiration, artificer armour provides excellent protection while

Power Armours

Name Location(s) Covered AP Wt Cost Availability

Lidhl Power Armour All 6 35 kg 6,300 Very Rare

Light Power Armour All 7 40 kg 8,000 Very Rare

Artificer Armour All 7 22 kg 32,000 Near Unique

Soroitas Power Armour All 7† 35 kg 20,000 Very Rare

Dragon Scale All 8 20 kg 7,500 Tech-Priest Only

Ignatus Power Armour All 8 15 kg 22,000 Extremely Rare

Power Armour All 8 65 kg 15,000 Very Rare

Heavy Power Armour All 9† 150 kg 24,000 Extremely Rare

Malleus Power Armour All 9 100 kg 35,000 Near Unique

Malleus Terminator Armour

All 12 220 kg Issued Only

Unique

†This armour’s AP is 1 higher on the Body location

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being remarkably lightweight and easy to move in. The motor-fibre network has been treated with special unguents and solutions that make it nearly silent in operation as well, making it quite possible to be stealthy while wearing the suit – a feature that Inquisitors, the most common wearers of these master-crafted armours, often find most useful in the course of their duties.

Artificer armour is considered to be of Best Craftsmanship and therefore does not inflict any penalties on the wearer’s Concealment and Silent Move Tests. When powered it provides a +10 bonus to the wearer’s Strength Characteristic, and includes a built-in auspex with wrist display, though a wearer with a Mind Impulse Unit can also have that information piped directly into their mind if desired. A micro-bead is integrated at the throat, as most wearers of these magnificent armours choose not to wear the helmet. Depending on the commissioner’s preferences, a suit of artificer

armour may have hexagramatic wards, a targeter, or a forearm power blade installed at the time of construction; the commissioner’s choice is included in the cost. Artificer armour’s power supply is internal and spread throughout the suit’s frame to improve the wearer’s balance. Because of its superior construction, this armour uses very little power; its power supply is adequate for an entire week of combat operation. Less intensive activities, such as walking around during an investigation or navigating a space hulk’s airless passages, use far less energy, and the armour could operate for up to a month on a single charge. Should this armour ever lose power it ceases offering a bonus to Strength and instead imposes a -10 penalty to the wearer’s Agility Characteristic, but can otherwise still be worn; its seals are automatically opened to prevent suffocation should the wearer be helmeted at the time.

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Dragon Scale This armour is designed to be worn by the

warrior-priests of the Magos Militant and the field enginseers assigned to frontline duty with the Imperial Guard, and is almost more of an augmetic than a suit of armour. Each set of dragon scale is individually hand-forged from adamantine and ceramite plating woven with prayers of permanence and micro-etched with sacred machine code and fractal incantations of defence. A Tech-Priest fitted with a set of dragon scale is protected by the equivalent of a full suit of power armour, but with only minimal encumbrance due to the direct interface with his cyber-mantle, and because it draws power from his potentia coil, it will never require recharging. Among Mechanicus Secutors and the ranking Magos Ordinatos, who are likely the most devoted members of the Priesthood as far as heavy augmetics go, a set of dragon scale is often permanently attached to the Tech-Priest’s cyber-mantle, forming a new and much more effective skin and flesh while also doing a fine job of hiding what little offensive biologics remain on the priest’s body.

Dragon scale upgrades the Tech-Priest’s respirator unit with a closed-cycle supply, and they are treated as wearing sealed armour as long as it is worn. A Good Craftsmanship photo-visor is integrated into the helmet, with separate models for Tech-Priests who still have organic eyes and those who have wisely replaced them with bionic equivalents. While worn, dragon scale provides a +10 bonus to the Tech-Priest’s Strength Characteristic. Good or Best Craftsmanship dragon scale increases this bonus to +20, but also increases the wearer’s size by one step; an average Magos would become Hulking, while a heavily augmented one with the Machinator Array talent would become Enormous. Unless the Tech-Priest’s potentia coil is somehow damaged, this armour never becomes unpowered.

Heavy Power Armour

“Standard” suits of power armour turn the wearer into a fierce juggernaut that can wade

through storms of lesser weapons – and lesser enemies – with ease. However, for those who absolutely require the most physical protection possible, some forges create even more monstrous armours. Heavy power armour makes use of additional plasteel plates and a laminate coating to bulk up the wearer’s body even more, with a bulging rack of power cells festooned with thermal radiator fins attached to the back of the chestplate to activate hugely oversized motive bundles. Elaborate bracing protects the most vulnerable areas, and with such massive shoulders and a gorget, the wearer’s helmeted head looks almost comically small in comparison. Almost no considerations have been made for utility outside of combat: the mitten-like gauntlets are useless for any sort of tasks that require dexterity, the power cell’s radiators make the suit stand out like a beacon to those with IR goggles, and the expansive plates moving atop one another make a racket akin to a pair of grav-cars colliding whenever the wearer moves. However, excluding Space Marines or the most heavily augmented Mechanicus Magi, there is little more capable of withstanding punishing blows in combat than a heavy power armoured warrior.

Heavy power armour is cumbersome to the extreme, imposing a -20 penalty to any Agility Tests the wearer may make. Acrobatics, Contortionist, and Dodge Tests are simply impossible, as are any Skill Tests involving manual dexterity (repairing a cogitator, picking a lock, playing cards, and any other uses the GM deems appropriate). Heavy power armour grants a +30 bonus to the wearer’s Strength Characteristic and increases his size by one step, so a standard human would become Hulking. The helmet includes an inbuilt micro-bead and vox-caster, Good Craftsmanship photo-visor, and an auspex display. The combat systems contained within the reinforced arms allow the wearer to wield ranged weapons as though they were wearing recoil gloves, and the servo-bracing grants the wearer the Auto-Stabilised trait. The armour’s power cells have enough energy for 12 hours of continuous use, and can

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be recharged from most standard power sources; it takes roughly twice as long to charge, so a fully depleted power cell would need to be recharged for a full day. Should the suit become unpowered, the armour’s vents open automatically to ensure the wearer doesn’t suffocate, but movement is nearly impossible. Most wearers simply topple over, immobile and all but helpless; if the wearer’s Carrying Weight is above that of the armour (see Carrying and Lifting on Page 215 of Dark Heresy), they can still stumble around awkwardly by succeeding on a Hard (-20) Strength Test; success allows the wearer to make a Half Move each Round for a number of Rounds equal to the wearer’s Toughness Bonus, after which they must succeed on another Hard Strength Test to keep moving. Even still, all physical actions suffer a -30 penalty until the wearer is extracted from his unpowered suit or receives power once more.

Ignatus-pattern Power Armour

Ignatus power armour is produced by skilled Mechanicus artisans for the express purpose of equipping agents of the Inquisition, and many militant Inquisitors and their ranking minions have plunged headlong into battle with the enemies of the Emperor whilst girded by this fine style of power armour. Ignatus-pattern suits are a cut above the marks that are manufactured for dilettante nobles, mercantile cartels, and the personal troops of a wealthy Rogue Trader; while similar in function, with large ceramite plates articulated by motive-fibre bundles, this pattern also has many finer features that are useful to a warrior in the service of the Inquisition. They are almost exclusively decorated with religious iconography and symbols of the Holy Ordos, with many likewise flourished with the personal insignia of an Inquisitor’s cadre.

Ignatus-pattern power armour has the equivalent of a Good craftsmanship photo-visor, micro-bead, and an auspex display built into its helmet. These devices can be controlled by speaking to the armour’s machine spirit, though the wearer can also commune with his armour

with a cerebral plug or Mind Impulse Unit. The wearer’s size increases by one step, so an average human would become Hulking, and as long as the armour has power, it grants a +20 bonus to his Strength Characteristic. The backpack power supply is an extremely high quality unit, capable of providing enough high-discharge energy for five days of continuous combat operations; work that requires less energy, such as walking around or conducting investigations, might let a suit of Ignatus power armour function for several weeks between recharges. Should the armour become unpowered, however, its joints lock up and systems shut down, leaving the wearer extremely vulnerable. Movement is all but impossible, though the wearer can still (slowly) work his way out of an unpowered suit. This takes about an hour and inflicts one level of Fatigue on the wearer.

Lidhl Power Armour

This style of light power armour is on the low end of protective value. While little better than a good carapace suit in terms of warding off bullets and blades, it is far easier to move in thanks to its power assistance, while the fairly simple design and construction requires much less specialized knowledge and liturgical rituals to coax the machine spirits into action. Higher-ranking Imperial Guard officers of various regiments throughout the Calixis Sector are known to favour this type of armour for these reasons, often decorating them with awards and achievements; some are explicitly crafted to be suitable for wear as a uniform in the field.

Lidhl power armour grants the wearer a +10 bonus to their Strength Characteristic as long as it has power. The backpack power supply has enough energy for 1d3 days of operation, after which it must be recharged. This can be done from most power sources and takes exactly twelve hours. If the armour becomes unpowered it ceases offering its bonus to Strength and instead imposes a -20 penalty to the wearer’s Agility Characteristic. Without power the rebreathers and life sustainers cease functioning

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as well; this can suffocate the wearer, though pulling the helmet off can prevent this fate.

Light Power Armour

Light power armour is a generic term for suits of power armour that are smaller and less protective than larger and heavier styles. While less impressive to behold and possessing inferior protection, light power armour is also easier to move in and requires less in the way of arcane tech-rituals and specialized equipment to use. Though still rare and expensive, it is likely one of the more common types of power armour in use, with many wealthy operators – nobles on planetary expeditions, the trusted underlings of militant Rogue Traders, and even the best established recidivists and gang lords – in

various parts of the Calixis Sector. Light power armour grants the wearer a +10

bonus to their Strength Characteristic as long as it has power. Power is provided by a cell unit on the back; a standard non-military supply has enough power for 1d5 hours of use, while a more costly and efficient unit can keep the armour operating for 12 hours (at an extra cost of 1,000 Thrones). If the armour loses power it no longer increases the wearer’s Strength and instead imposes a -30 penalty to the wearer’s Agility Characteristic as the wearer must stagger around and force the fibre motive bundles to move with his own muscle. Without power the rebreathers and life sustainers cease functioning as well; this can suffocate the wearer, though pulling the helmet off will prevent this fate.

Malleus Power Armour

Rare even among the Holy Ordos, this style of power armour is constructed by secret cabals of armour-artisans explicitly for the use of Ordo Malleus Inquisitors and their most militant minions; as a result, the baroque and extravagant suits are often known informally as "daemonhunter armour" (or "gelt armour" among members of the other Ordos). Malleus power armour is ritually inscribed and engraved with wards of protection and incantations against the warp and the Daemon, the runic scripture glowing brightly as it repulses the touch of warp-spawned abominations. Each suit is powered by a small fusion device stored on the wearer’s back, similar to those used by the Adeptus Astartes, and can keep the armour running forever with proper care and maintenance. The heavy ceramite plates and motive-fibre bundles leave little for subtlety or stealth, and are heavily accented with decorative fixtures and artwork as well, often including the seal of the armour's patron Inquisitor. The armour itself can be seen as something of a representation of the modus operandi of the Ordo Malleus on the whole, bright and uncompromising in direct, frontal confrontation with the eldritch horrors that lurk in the beyond.

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Better or worse Craftsmanship versions of this armour do not exist. Malleus power armour grants the wearer a +20 bonus to their Strength Characteristic as long as it has power, and the wearer increases by one size while wearing it (an average human would become Hulking). Auto-bracing rigs in the armour's gauntlets and vambraces treat the wearer as being Braced (as per the Bulging Biceps talent) at all times. The helmet includes a Good Craftsmanship photo-visor and an in-built micro-bead. The backpack fusion unit provides power for the armour indefinitely, though it can be damaged. If the wearer sustains Critical Damage to the Body location and the attack originated from behind them, consult the Fusion Unit Critical Damage chart in addition to the normal injuries suffered by the wearer. Any problems that are sustained continue until the unit can be repaired, which requires a successful Challenging (+0) Tech-Use Test. Should the armour become unpowered, its joints lock up and systems shut down, leaving the wearer extremely vulnerable. Movement is all but impossible, though the wearer can still (slowly) work his way out of an unpowered suit. This takes about an hour and inflicts one level of Fatigue on the wearer.

Malleus power armour is hexagramatically warded, granting a +20 bonus on Tests made to resist any direct psychic attack or manipulation used against the wearer. Furthermore, the armour provides double its normal Armour Points against attacks of psychic force or warp energy that directly deal Damage (such as the Psychic Blade or Fire Bolt psychic powers), and keeps its normal value against attacks with the Warp Weapon effect. Finally, the long rites and rituals of imbued protection can help protect the wearer against the worst the warp has to offer. Malleus power armour blocks up to 6 Corruption Points gained from direct exposure to warp material and psychic powers; this prevention occurs once for each exposure, and has no effect on other sources of Corruption. Daemons and other warp creatures that successfully strike the wearer in melee combat

suffer 1d5 Damage that is not reduced by their Armour and Toughness.

Malleus Terminator Armour Malleus terminator armour is a pale imitation

of the famous Tactical Dreadnought Armour of the Adeptus Astartes, but nevertheless it represents an absolute pinnacle of individual protection among men. Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus that don this armour become massive defenders of the Imperium, heavily armed and ensconced behind truly massive plates of blessed ceramite ready to wade into the most horrific spawn of the immaterium. Each of these incredibly exquisite suits of armour is crafted for the individual Inquisitor that commissioned it, often taking years or decades of focused labour by secretive armour-artisan cabals with the end result being a truly spectacular panoply that is just as much a work of art as protective gear. In theory, a suit could be adopted for another user, but this is rare in the extreme; other than the great expense and time required, Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus that don these suits typically leave nothing behind when some warp fiend

FUSION UNIT CRITICAL DAMAGE Damage Result 1-3 Unaffected: The power unit shrugs off

the attack and continues functioning normally, though the wearer may be worse for wear…

4-5 Damaged: The power flow has been diminished or interrupted due to damaged components, causing system failures and difficulty moving. All benefits granted by the armour (except its inherent AP) are lost, and all physical actions suffer a -10 penalty.

6+ Unpowered: The suit completely shuts down as its fusion unit sputters out. Unless otherwise stated, the wearer’s Base Movement decreases by 2, and must succeed on a Difficult (-10) Strength Test to move more than a Half Move every Round. All physical actions suffer a -20 penalty.

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finally manages to utterly destroy them. So substantial is this armour that the wearer could be mistaken for an actual Astartes at first glance, though those with even some familiarity with the Angels of Death would quickly recognise the overly-long limbs and comparatively tiny size of the helmet in relation to the armour's massive shoulders. As would be fitting for such a glorious representation of the might of the Inquisition, Malleus terminator armour is invariably etched, engraved, and warded on every available surface, often depicting scenes of great triumphs, the purgation of Daemons and cultists, and spectacular heraldic symbols and devices.

Malleus terminator armour is not the choice of those who favour precision. The armour's bulk imposes a -20 penalty to any Agility Tests the wearer may make, along with any other Tests that require manual dexterity. Acrobatics, Contortionist, and Dodge Tests are simply impossible, and the wearer cannot run (though they can charge). The armour grants the wearer a +30 bonus to their Strength Characteristic, and superior actuator and stabilisation systems treat the wearer as though they had the Auto-Stabilised trait; additionally, the wearer can even wield Heavy ranged weapons with one hand. The heaviest portions of this armour are so solid that even severe attacks can harmlessly glance off it. Whenever the wearer of Malleus terminator armour is attacked, roll a d100 - if the result is "35" or less, the attack is deflected harmlessly or totally absorbed by the armour's massive bulk.

Malleus terminator armour is identical to Malleus power armour in terms of protective wards and guards against the warp and daemonic attacks, and is powered by the same fusion unit that can operate theoretically forever. However, if the fusion unit is damaged and would have suffered an unpowered result, it instead explodes with solar intensity. This is an intentional design feature; no self-respecting Inquisitor militant enough to don this exquisite armour would allow it to become a tomb or subject themselves to the depredations of daemonic horrors. This explosion inflicts 4d10+10 Energy Damage with a Blast of 8. The wearer can manually detonate his armour with the same effect if desired. More than a few Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus have met their demise in this way, gone on to join the Emperor safe in the knowledge that their final act of defiance likely annihilated whatever nightmarish fiend had finally cornered them.

Power Armour As close to “standard” as these exceptional

types of armour can be called, power armour wraps its wearer in a sturdy suit of ceramite plates and electrically-motivated fibre bundles, allowing him to strut about with remarkable ease despite the great bulk of armour that weighs

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more than the average hive ganger. Because of the bulky size and noisy operation, power armour is usually only worn by the most militant fighters with a large amount of Thrones to burn, and some of these suits, commissioned centuries earlier, can still be found in use by the original wearer’s descendants or other warriors in the employ of that organization. Many sets of power armour are elaborately decorated with specific motifs or ornate embellishments, such as family heraldry or planetary and sector insignia. However, it is said that the plain and featureless suits are by far the most intimidating, as they represent mysterious and shadowy groups with great financial strength and no doubt shadowy and nefarious objectives.

Power armour grants the wearer a +20 bonus to their Strength Characteristic as long as it has power, and the wearer increases by one size while wearing it (an average human would become Hulking). For an additional 500 Thrones, the armour’s arms may be reinforced with an auto-brace rig, making the wearer always considered to be Braced (as per the Bulging Biceps talent). A rack of power cells stored on the back provide energy for the armour’s motive fibre network. A standard non-military unit lasts for 1d5 hours; a more efficient (and expensive) power unit costing 1,000 Thrones can provide power for up to 12 hours before it must be recharged. Should the armour lose power it no longer increases the wearer’s Strength and becomes a stiff prison that just barely moves, and then only under great effort. The wearer must succeed on a Very Hard (-30) Strength Test just to move; their Agility Characteristic suffers a -30 penalty, and all other physical actions suffer a -10 penalty as well. Without the rebreathers and life sustainers, the wearer is at risk of suffocation inside their armour. This can be averted by pulling the helmet off (a successful Challenging (+0) Strength Test), though if the wearer hadn’t donned the helmet in the first place this is not a concern.

Soroitas Power Armour The custom power armours worn by the

militants of the Sisters of Battle are expertly crafted relics that have changed little from the Age of Apostasy, and demonstrate a level of quality and techno-craft that is only surpassed by the armour worn by the Space Marines themselves. These suits were originally commissioned by Goge Vandire himself; with the most talented armour-artificers at his disposal, the mad High Lord saw to it that his Brides of the Emperor would have the finest protection possible for unaugmented humans. Each suit is powered by a small fusion device stored on the wearer’s back, similar to those used by the Adeptus Astartes, and can keep the armour running forever with proper care and maintenance. The Orders of the Adepta Soroitas keep close watch and sustention over their armours, and many are used by numerous Sisters after their previous wearer is killed or retires to a non-militant order. As a result, they are exceptionally difficult to obtain outside that organization, although there are at least a few examples of these great protective suits going unaccounted for.

Soroitas power armour grants the wearer a +10 bonus to their Strength Characteristic as long as it has power. The helmet includes an inbuilt micro-bead and a targeter that grants its Ballistic Skill bonus to any non-Exotic ranged weapon held by the wearer. The backpack fusion unit provides power for the armour indefinitely, though it can be damaged. If the wearer sustains Critical Damage to the Body location and the attack originated from behind them, consult the Fusion Unit Critical Damage chart in addition to the normal injuries suffered by the wearer. Any problems that are sustained continue until the unit can be repaired, which requires a successful Challenging (+0) Tech-Use Test. If the suit loses power, the vents in the helmet open automatically to prevent the wearer from suffocating inside her own armour.

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OTHER ARMOURS Most forms of armour worn in the Imperium can be divided up into categories based on their common features. All mesh armour protects the wearer by using thermoplas cells that harden on impact, while carapace armour’s rigid armaplas plates do the same. There are, however, forms of armour that simply cannot be classified as any one given type. These are either uniquely constructed, worn differently, or have some kind of inherent feature or ability that sets them apart from other armour types. Whether designed for special purposes or made from rare materials, armours dumped into this category are likely about as similar to one another as an Aquila Lander is to a pair of boots. Armoured Body Glove

This form-fitting armour is crafted from armaplas micro-fibre that is bonded together in a similar style to the more common mesh armour. An armoured body glove is costly and difficult to craft, as even the most skilled armour-artisans must often start over several times when microscopic imperfections turn up in the bonding process, but the protection it offers is incredible considering its mass and flexibility. It is also much more comfortable to wear than any light carapace suit, making it an ideal choice for operatives who must remain undercover for days at a time. Assassins and Inquisitorial agents are likely the most common users, as they must frequently undertake such missions and usually have suitable funding for the more costly equipment, but well-equipped bounty hunters and house enforcers are known to sport it as well.

For twice the listed price, an armoured body glove may be manufactured with a removable hood that, when pulled up, provides the same AP to the head location. This version is treated with a special laminate coating that absorbs

scanner waves that common IR sensors and auspexes generate, making it significantly harder to spot the wearer with such equipment.

Attempts to detect the wearer with an auspex, IR goggles, or similar gear take a -20 penalty.

Blur Field Cloak

A blur field is a curious side effect of Mechanicus attempts to mimic Eldar holofields. While not nearly as effective as that xenotech, a blur field integrated into a cloak can significantly disrupt the wearer’s shape, and is much more economical (and less heretical!) to produce. A blur field does not hide so much as distort the wearer’s silhouette, rendering it difficult to focus on or identify details. It also causes interference in some types of electronics, and hinders the ability of systems that use pattern recognition by fouling their scanners.

A blur field cloak can be used as armour, or worn over heavier suits; its APs do not stack, though it still provides its other benefits. A blur field imposes a -10 penalty on all sight-based Tests made against the user while it is active, Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill Tests made to attack, as well as any attempts to locate the wearer on an auspex or IR goggles. The blur field’s generator can use most common power cells or a lasgun charge pack to operate; either one lasts for about five minutes. The blur field takes 1d5 Rounds to power up once activated but

Other Armours

Name Location(s) Covered AP Wt Cost Availability Environmental Envelope

All 1 5 kg 625 Rare

Blur Field Cloak All 2 6 kg 800 Rare

Synskin All 2 2 kg 2,500 Very Rare

Preysense Mask Suit All 3 7 kg 650 Rare

Slither Boots Legs 3 6 kg 500 Rare

Wind Armour All 3 18 kg 2,200 Rare

Hardened Body Glove Arms, Legs, Body 3 5 kg 300 Scarce

Boarding Armour Head, Body/Arms, Legs 5/3 20 kg 1,225 Rare

Hospitaller Armour Head/Arms, Legs, Body 4/5 20 kg 10,000 Very Rare

Armoured Body Glove Arms, Legs, Body 5 7 kg 1,300 Rare

Engine-Plate All 7 30 kg 700 Rare

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can be disabled as a Half Action. Because of the network of wiring and cables that produce the blur field effect, an attack that punctures the cloak can cause additional harm to the wearer; any attack that successfully inflicts Damage on wearer (it is not totally reduced by Armour and Toughness) also gains the Shocking quality if the cloak is active, and the wearer does not gain the usual armour bonuses to their Toughness Test.

Boarding Armour When conducting offensive actions, repelling

enemy boarders, or conducting investigations in perilous “black holds,” Imperial Navy armsmen and the militants of armed merchant ships often don these armoured kits which provide protection from blades and bolts along with the hard vacuum of the void. Boarding armour consists of a sealed void suit that has been reinforced with a full flakweave skin, while a strong ceramite breastplate and helmet protect the most important areas. Most styles of

boarding armour, which can be quite varied, include a backpack-mounted impellor unit that gives the wearer some mobility in a low or zero gravity environment.

Boarding armour grants 3 APs of flak armour to the wearer’s Arms and Legs, and 5 APs of carapace armour to the Body and Head. The wearer is considered to be wearing sealed armour and can operate safely in the void as long as the suit’s rebreather canister lasts (usually about an hour). Canisters can be replaced without removing the armour, and most wearers will carry a spare as a precaution. Boarding armour includes an inbuilt micro-bead and photo-visor in the helmet, and there are external pouches and gear-clips to attach useful items (seal patching kits, lasgun charge packs, a grapnel/clasp, and so forth). The boarding armour’s impellor can propel the wearer in zero or

reduced gravity conditions with a Movement of 6, but its bulk imposes a -10 penalty on all Agility Tests once the wearer returns to anything like normal gravity.

Engine-Plate This heavy plated suit is used primarily by the

enginarium crews of great starships, its ability to withstand extreme heat and radiation being invaluable in areas that are thoroughly saturated with both. Rigid ceramite-bonded plasteel plates, alloyed with dense metals that soak up deadly radioactive particles, form an outer shell that articulates to a flakweave body suit, the whole affair being securely attached to a vulcanised rubber glove to keep out superheated fluids and seal the rig against scalding vapours and toxic gases. A closed-cycle respiratory system and vanes of thermo-reactive cooling coils integrated into the back of the suit isolate the wearer from the outside environment entirely. These fine protective qualities could make engine-plate

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suits very useful as armour, but the extreme bulk and rigid construction hinders the wearer's mobility to a considerable degree as well as making an obnoxious racket as the outer plates grind and rattle against each other. Further, the cycling of the powerful respirator could be compared to a bull grox with a lung infection, making a wheezing noise audible at well beyond conversation distance. Nonetheless, while ill-suited for battlefields, more eccentric (or deranged) boarding parties might use engine-plate for short-range combat aboard a vessel; these types are well known for their comparative lack of concern for starting shipboard fires as their huge, blackened suits are quite immune to the normally horrifying effects.

Engine-plate uses a large respirator system to provide the wearer with an isolated air supply that lasts for up to eight hours (usually just enough to cover a shift in the enginarium). While active the wearer counts as being in sealed armour and can be safely exposed to fire and even exceptionally extreme heat; they are immune to most Flame weapons, and the engine-plate is considered to have 10 APs against Energy weapons that rely on heat, such as lasguns and meltaguns. The respirator system does not use standard re-breather canisters and must be refilled with an external compressor between uses; the suit's helmet must be removed when its air supply runs out or else the wearer will begin to suffocate. In all cases, the additional immunities to heat and flames are lost whenever the engine-plate is not sealed. Because of their ungainly size and mass, engine-plate reduces the wearer's Agility Characteristic by 10 and imposes a further -10 penalty on Acrobatics, Contortionist, and Dodge Tests as well as any other Tests requiring fine manual dexterity. Suits of engine-plate include an internal micro-bead and Common craftsmanship magboots and photo-visor.

Environmental Envelope Professional travellers and explorers in the

Imperium are an uncommon and foolish (some would say) sort; the costs of travel, combined with dangerous voidfaring and the questionable

customs of Imperial citizens from other worlds, means most will never leave the (relative) safety of their homeworld. However, those that do go out into the unknown often despair over the many environments they must prepare for as they travel between systems. Bulky void suits are frequently impractical, especially when a given world’s atmosphere is simply unpleasant rather than dangerous or deadly, and there are few void suits that actually provide any armour protection to their wearer. Travellers on the frontiers of the galaxy have an especially difficult time of it, for if they discover a planet with unexpected environmental conditions, the proper equipment may be long months away. Several of the worthies of the various Malfian noble houses decided that the situation of exploration in the Calixis Sector was intolerable and set about designing a series of form-fitting full body suits that can withstand multiple extreme conditions while still maintaining their wearer in relative comfort. The suits were a great success at once, and various models are produced in small quantities on Malfi, Vaxanide, and Scintilla. “Environmental envelope” is a generic name for a wide variety of suits; these are often named after the house line that produces them, such as the “Mariette Explorer Glove” or “Hax Hostile” field suit.

An environmental envelope covers the wearer’s entire body and sustains them at a constant temperature, despite all but the most extreme external conditions, making them ideal as outerwear for desert worlds and a useful inner layer for particularly cold environments. Pockets within the suits recycle sweat and other bodily fluids, cooling or warming them as necessary, in order to regulate temperature and provide emergency water rations. The suits are waterproof, which makes them useful in marshy terrain, and capable of keeping the wearer dry while conducting underwater expeditions.

Wearing an environmental envelope makes the wearer immune to most conditions one might encounter on a planet, such as extreme heat or cold, toxic or acid rain, and other unpleasantness. Note that this protection is

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limited, and while the envelope could keep the wearer alive and comfortable in a scorching desert, it would be burnt to a crisp (along with its owner) in short order by a plasma reactor or a baked world perilously close to its star. A rebreather that uses standard canisters can keep the wearer alive underwater or in poisonous atmospheres, and an environmental envelope also includes an inbuilt micro-bead and photo-visor. The envelope grants the wearer a +10 bonus on Survival Tests, and as long as the rebreather is active they are considered to be in sealed armour. The envelope can be worn in conjunction with other armour to gain its effects; its AP stacks with lighter armour, but can never increase the wearer’s Armour to more than 5. This means that it could be worn with a suit of Guard Flak Armour and still count, but would be ignored if worn with Light Carapace or any type of power armour.

Hardened Body Glove Intended as a covert form of personal

armour, the hardened body glove comprises a form-fitting suit made up of a flexible mesh fibre material that tenses when struck to disperse the impact. The suit is also reinforced with micro-scale inserts hardened ceramic lamellar plating over vital areas. Because of how well it follows the form of the wearer’s body, it can be easily worn under loose-fitting or other specially tailored clothing, making it a very handy choice for troops engaged in undercover operations, bodyguards at formal functions, and anyone else who desires good physical protection without an overt show of doing so. Because it moves and even feels like clothing, physical contact doesn’t produce a tactile response indicative of armour, and certain types of body gloves are even disguised to look like clothing in their own right.

For twice the listed cost, a hardened body glove can be purchased with a sealable hood that covers the head,

changing the Locations Covered to “All”. This version has inherent stealth features that make the wearer harder to detect with auspexes, IR vision, and other equipment, imposing a -20 penalty on Tests made to notice the wearer with any such gear.

Hospitaller Armour Often serving in combat zones, a Sister

Hospitaller requires more protection than her allies in the other Non-militant Orders. The distinctive armour is a welcome sight to injured guardsmen and Acolytes alike, an angel of mercy

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sent by the God-Emperor himself. In addition to its protective qualities, the hooded habit is often coated in incense and unguents and the rest of the armour is sealed and treated against toxins, an invaluable feature for someone who inevitably must work in foul conditions. Various tools and equipment suitable for medicae work are integrated into the armour so the Sister can immediately start treating casualties without the need to haul separate gear with her. Many of these implements are also quite suitable for use in interrogations, however, and it is not unheard-of for an Inquisitor to request the assistance of a Sister Hospitaller to aid (under close supervision) in cracking a particularly defiant subject.

Hospitaller armour’s rebreather and purity treatments grant the wearer a +20 bonus to resist toxins or diseases that do not penetrate the armour (such as a poison dart), regardless of whether the gas ordinarily reduces the effectiveness of such items. These features also grant a +10 bonus on any Fear Test with an olfactory component (such as rotting bodies). Hospitaller armour includes a diagnosticator, an injector rig to quickly apply serums and drugs to the wounded, and a chain blade to cut a victim out of damaged armour or a crumpled vehicle. The chain blade can be used as a weapon in conjunction with the injector rig; treat this as a chain knife with the Toxic and Unwieldy qualities.

Preysense Masking Suit While visual masking will often confound

sentries and simple scanners, often one’s own body heat will give you away to an auspex or thermal sensor. Preysense masking suits use a simple but effective method to thwart detection by using a liquid cooling agent that circulates through capillaries throughout the exterior of the garment. A small integrated cogitator causes the cooling system to activate when necessary to maintain the suit’s exterior temperature to that of the local environment. The wearer simply melts into the background on thermal scanning, rendering him far harder to spot with IR goggles and other gear that looks for heat. Because the

likely users of such a device will often find themselves in harm’s way, the suit is built into a flakweave outfit to provide some protection should their camouflage prove inadequate. Of course, it can also be wrapped around or worn under heavier suits of armour for those who expect trouble but still want to confound thermal detectors.

A preysense masking suit provides a +20 bonus to the wearer’s Concealment Tests when opposed by any kind of infrared sensor or detection, including creatures whose sight is based on heat. This effect can be sustained for up to an hour before it must be turned off to allow the cooling agents to recharge, which takes another hour. It provides the listed amount of flak armour to the locations indicated; the suit can be worn with most other armour but its APs do not stack. The preysense mask suit’s shielding is not powerful enough to block out the heat created by bulky suits of power armour; if the wearer is already in armour that provides 7 or more APs (taking the usual -30 penalty to Concealment and Silent Move Tests), the suit has no effect.

Slither Boots Slither boots are designed for exploration on

worlds with polluted or hostile environments where the soil itself is destructive and toxic. The salt-fens of Acreage, acid storm wastes of Grangold, or deadly slime jungles of Vaxanide can cut any expedition to a halt in short order as the ground itself eats away a traveller’s footwear and exposes them to the toxicity of their surroundings. “Locals” simply avoid such places whenever possible, whilst the unprepared adventurers often return horribly injured, or not at all. Those equipped with slither boots, however, can brave almost any terrain. Slither boots are highly advanced footwear that incorporate a variety of materials, including ceramite-woven leather and a circuitry-embedded inner frame, to ward off the environment. Instead of breaking down into mush, slither boots slowly bleed off chemicals that shield the wearer’s feet and legs from acidic or alkaline soil and muck. Finally, as their name

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suggests, slither boots do not slip. Regardless of how tractionless a surface may seem, the soles of the boots exude small gelatinous tendrils that help compensate for the wearer’s movements.

Slither boots provide a +10 bonus to Agility Tests made to maintain footing in treacherous or slick conditions, and their Armour Points are doubled against corrosives and other disintegrating substances that the wearer might find himself stepping in.

Synskin A favourite of assassins and others who prefer

stealth to brawn to accomplish their tasks, synskin is a highly advanced bio-reactive body glove with an inert, non-reflective surface that moulds itself perfectly to the wearer’s form, offering absolutely no encumbrance other than a slightly clammy sensation. It has many curious properties that are not fully understood by many priests of the Mechanicus, much less the operatives who wear them, but for deep infiltrations and espionage there are few better options, and that knowledge alone is usually enough for even the most seasoned agent. The suit is less donned and more poured or stretched, appearing as a block or sheet of a matte black rubbery substance when dormant. The stuff’s properties become apparent when the wearer thrusts a limb through the synskin and it binds perfectly to their form, with the wearer applying it to the rest of their body by simply pulling and stretching it until no slack remains. Care must be taken to ensure that the wearer is also familiar with how to safely create openings in the substance, as it is entirely possible to suffocate by foolishly thrusting one’s head into the material. Synskin is similar, though less advanced (and far less costly), than the highly specialized stealth suits used by the Officio Assassinorum, and there are some that believe that shadowy and enigmatic organization is responsible for their creation.

Synskin grants the wearer a +20 bonus to Concealment and Silent Move Tests, and renders him invisible to infrared scanning and Dark Sight. Synskin can be worn under other armour though its stealth properties are reduced and its

armour points do not stack. If worn in conjunction with other armour, it no longer grants a bonus to Concealment or Silent Move, Tests, but the wearer is still rendered invisible to IR goggles and dark sight unless their armour provides 7 or more APs, in which case it is simply too large and cumbersome to be adequately hidden by synskin’s stealth features.

Wind Armour Wind armour, a seemingly fanciful concept, is

built and designed to deal with a very real problem. There are many worlds in the Calixis Sector that boast powerful storms – the infamous Splinter Winds of Baraspine travel at over 700 kilometres an hour, and are more than capable of stripping an armoured man to dust inside of one minute. Against such force, even a void shield would be hard-pressed to cope. Understanding that simply trying to stand against the wind was ultimately foolhardy, the designers at the Fane of Doru on Scintilla came up with a clever idea of creating a series of auto-reactive ceramsteel plates that would redirect wind force. The aerodynamic shape allows the wearer to advance in lighter storms, and at least hunker down to survive the more intense ones. Wind armour is formed from a light articulated carapace suit that has an enclosed body glove under it, with a closed-cycle air supply and other features all designed to keep the wearer alive in the most severe wind and storm conditions. While popular with explorers, it is not designed for combat and its protection against weapons is inferior to other types of carapace armour.

Wind armour includes an inbuilt vox-caster and photo-visor in the helmet along with an advanced air filtration life sustainer whose tank lasts three times as long as a standard rebreather. The tank can be replaced without removing the suit as a Full Action. As long as the life sustainer is active the wearer is immune to the effects of dire storms and wings, and counts as being in sealed armour, though only within an atmospheric or aquatic environment; it cannot protect the wearer from hard vacuum. Replacement sustainer tanks have a base price of 60 Thrones, weigh 1 kg, and are Rare.

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ARMOUR UPGRADES Depending on their construction and the preferences of the owner, suits of armour will often include various pieces of useful equipment built in to their frames. Flash-reactive films and visors protect the wearer’s eyes from glare and photon grenades, rebreathers and air filtration systems keep out poison gases and toxic vapours, auspexes detect hidden opponents, and a micro-bead or vox-caster lets the wearer stay in touch with allies outside of earshot. However, the bulk of these features are simply analogous to individual pieces of gear or equipment that can be donned on their own by anyone who can afford to purchase one.

Armour upgrades refer to a very specific set of modifications that add some kind of extra function or capability that must be integrated into a suit of armour to obtain their benefits. Some upgrades can only be added to certain types of armour; this will be listed in the description where appropriate. Adding these upgrades to a suit of armour requires the Trade (Armourer) Skill, and may have other requirements depending on the nature of the upgrade itself.

Armour Reinforcement Upgrades: Carapace and power armour

Customisation of gear and equipment is all but mandatory among high-rent mercenaries and other fighters who earn their keep by reputation and style. Weapons and clothing tend to be the first choice, but heavier styles of body armour can receive a number of modifications and integral upgrades that create a more dramatic look as well as offer improvements to the armour's protective qualities. These reinforcements are permanently integrated into the armour itself while it is made, requiring a significant amount of skill at forging and casting as well as a true intuitive grasp of the armour-monger's craft.

Armour reinforcements cannot be added to armour that already exists; they must be

included with the armour at the time of its creation. Multiple reinforcements can be used in the same armour, but the work gets progressively more difficult and costly as extra inlays, coatings, and composites must be crammed into the same space. Each additional reinforcement increases the difficulty of the first reinforcement's Trade (Armourer) Test by one step while decreasing the Availability of the reinforcement by one step as well. The combined cost of the reinforcements is multiplied by 3 if two reinforcements are added or multiplied by 10 if three reinforcements are added.

Deflective Construction: This armour incorporates odd or incongruous angles, ridges, and projections in its outer surfaces while integrating denser alloys in certain areas that expertly catch and deflect bladed weapons, channelling even the roaring teeth of a chain axe into the most protective areas. The armour is further impregnated with blast-reactive compounds and a dense flakweave inner layer that can absorb explosive forces with greatly improved efficiency over solid ceramite or armaplas. Armour with this reinforcement

Weapons Upgrades

Name Weight Cost Test Availability

Armour Reinforcement

Deflective Construction +1 kg 1,000 -30 Scarce

Impact Gel Cells +0.5 kg 700 -20 Rare

Reflec Alloy - 800 -20 Rare

Cameleoline Coating +1 kg 600 -20 Very Rare

Concealed Compartment +0.5kg 300 -10 Rare

Iron Collar +3 kg 20 +10 Common

Lathe-Wrought ×1/2 ×20 † Near-Unique

Lumen-Heraldry - 70 -10 Scarce

Ecclesiarchy Overlay +2 kg 1,000 +10 Rare

Hexagramatic Wards +1 kg 2,500 -30 Very Rare

Modern Materials - ×5 -30 Very Rare

Power-Assist +15kg 2,000 -20 Very Rare

Sanctified Armour +0.5 kg 1,500 † Very Rare

Servo-Manipulators +1 kg 1,200 -20 Rare

†This upgrade cannot be performed by common armourers; see text

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improves its Armour Points by 2 against weapons that inflict Rending Damage as well as Explosive Damage with the Blast quality.

Impact Gel Cells: Wafer-thin gel cells are sandwiched between several layers of the base armour materials, offering greatly improved absorption of physical blows and bullet strikes alike. When struck with a sharp impact, the gel cells abruptly stiffen and increase their sectional density, distributing the impact force through the individual cells and reducing the strength of the blow before it transmits fully through the armour. Fine seams and creases in what would ordinarily be solid plates indicate the presence of this reinforcement, and many wearers will often add gleaming trim to these areas to make an otherwise unassuming armour show its refined pedigree. This reinforcement is often thought of as a tool for close combat to provide extra protection against bludgeons, but it is just as effective at shielded the wearer from solid slugs and even potentially lethal falls. Armour with this reinforcement improves its Armour Points by 2 against weapons that inflict Impact Damage (except for that caused by the Toxic quality), and moreover can reduce Falling Damage as well.

Reflec Alloy: The metals and materials used in the construction of this armour have been alloyed with reflec, a glossy, silvery compound that imparts a mirror-like sheen which never seems to dull. Other than keeping the armour looking immaculate through dirt and grime, reflec alloy has a curious though wonderfully useful dispersing effect against las-bolts that begins disrupting the beam before it actually contacts the armour material itself. The effect is negligible against a powerful weapon like a lascannon, but more common lasguns and carbines can glance off it entirely, leaving not even the tiniest of scorches or burns behind once the bolt has dissipated. Armour with this upgrade improves its Armour Points by 2 against Las weapons (and never seems to rust or corrode either). Because of its reflective qualities, this upgrade may inflict a penalty to Concealment Tests if a bright source of light illuminates it.

Concealed Compartment Upgrades: Carapace and power armour

The large armour plates of heavy carapace suits as well as most types of power armour provide a great level of protection against many types of common weapons due to their bulk and density. However, many armours of this style are often overbuilt and excessively thick in areas that blows are unlikely to fall. More eccentric armourers - and their equally eccentric patrons - have been known to hollow out small areas of an armour's least-struck locations in order to create a small sleeve or pocket that can be used to hide small items, including weapons. While sealed, the concealed compartment is impervious to the outside environment, and moreover, the contents of the compartment can't be seen on an auspex or scanner - it merely returns that the wearer is in armour, not that there's something hidden within it. The inside of the compartment and the armour below it is lined with very dense alloy to make up for the loss of sectional thickness that the compartment created, which

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prevents the compartment itself from becoming a weak point in the armour.

A concealed compartment can hide an object no longer than an average knife or a compact pistol, or a number of smaller items that take up about the same amount of space. As long as it's sealed, the concealed compartment cannot be discovered by Awareness Tests; hands-on inspection could reveal the compartment with a Very Hard (-30) Search Test.

Cameleoline Coating Upgrades: Any non-Primitive armour

This substance is laminated onto the exterior surfaces of a suit of armour, mimicking the effects of the better-known cameleoline cloak without the need for a separate garment that might get caught on obstructions or provide a handhold for an enemy in close combat.

Armour treated with a cameleoline coating acts as though the wearer were wearing a cameleoline cloak, giving them a +20 bonus to Concealment Tests and counting the wearer as being at Extreme range as long as they take no movement actions. If applied to power armour, which ordinarily imposes a -30 penalty to the wearer’s Concealment and Silent Move Tests, it instead cancels out the penalty to Concealment entirely, but does not count the wearer as being further away.

Ecclesiarchy Overlay Upgrades: Any armour

Comprised of a battery of extensive Ministorum-approved iconography, engraved prayers, mottos, and purity seals, an Overlay can be applied to both armour as well as sturdy clothing, and immediately marks the wearer as a particularly vocal follower of the God-Emperor. Such accoutrements can inspire other members of the faithful, put the wearer in good graces with the Ecclesiarchy, and is utterly revolting to wicked heretics and other creatures who shudder away from the radiant light of the Emperor.

The wearer of an Ecclesiarchy Overlay receives a +10 bonus to Command and Fellowship Tests when trying to inspire, lead, or rally the faithful, and a +10 bonus on Charm Tests when

fraternizing with members of the Ecclesiarchy. Additionally, the aura of purity that is radiated by this regalia punishes foul warp-denizens and other cretins. Any supernatural creatures within 20 metres of the wearer take a -10 penalty on all Willpower Tests.

Hexagramatic Wards Upgrades: Carapace and power armour that covers the Body location

Powerful wards, null-psy lattice circuits and prayers of protection are woven and etched into armour carrying this upgrade, often visually represented by ornate carvings and graven icons embellishing its surface. Armour upgraded in this way not only serves to protect the wearer’s body, but their soul as well.

Armour with this upgrade provides its wearer with a +20 bonus on Tests made to resist any direct psychic attack or manipulation used against them. This effect persists regardless of what type of armour receives this upgrade. Furthermore, the armour provides double its normal Armour Points against attacks of psychic force or warp energy that directly deal Damage (such as the Psychic Blade or Fire Bolt psychic powers), and keeps its normal value against attacks with the Warp Weapon effect. This quality is dependent on the type of armour worn: a carapace breastplate only provides those additional bonuses against attacks that hit the Body location, while a full suit of power armour applies it to the wearer’s whole form.

Iron Collar Upgrades: Carapace and power armour that covers the Body location

There are many ways to literally lose one's head in combat, nevermind the existence of murderous cults and savage warriors that place a premium on skull-taking rites and rituals. Armours made on the feudal world of Fervious tend to have large, overly tall collars specifically to offer maximum protection to the neck for just this reason, but the style is also sometimes used on wholly more modern protective suits for exactly the same reasons. Iron collars are typically not made of iron at all, using modern

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armaplas or ceramite as appropriate; the name is simply used to imply the strength and solidity that the upgrade provides. The collar's height also partly obscures the wearer's face, which can create an intimidating look as well. It does tend to make the armour more cumbersome to wear, however, as the shoulders and torso can't twist or turn quite as far as they would otherwise be able to if unencumbered.

An iron collar protects the wearer's head but reduces his mobility. Any time the wearer is hit in the Head location by a melee attack, roll 1d10 - on a result of "7" or higher the attack is deflected downward by the collar and hits the wearer's Body location instead. If the wearer takes Critical Damage to the Head location, the Damage is reduced by 3 (to a minimum of 0). However, the restrictive nature of the collar imposes a -10 penalty to Acrobatics, Contortionist, and Dodge Tests.

Lathe-Wrought Upgrades: Carapace and power armour

The astronomical and gravitic alignment of the Lathe Worlds creates unique conditions where production of metal alloys of rare and singular properties is possible. Lathe blades, renowned for their incredible sharpness, and hyperdensity penetrator bullets, infamous for literally blowing men apart, are likely the best known examples of Lathe metalworking in the broader Calixis Sector, but for those with the most exclusive of connections (and virtually bottomless purses), entire suits of armour can be made by the craft of Lathe tech-artificers. Lathe-wrought armour is marvellously light and easy to move in, yet its tensile strength and sectional density are staggeringly better than even the finest of bonded ceramite and armaplas; with a bit of luck, the wearer might survive a bombardment that would totally obliterate a lesser armour made with conventional materials. However, the sheer amount of metalworking and forging necessary to create a suit of armour using Lathe techniques and alloys is staggering, easily consuming many times as much raw materials as even a master-crafted armour would. Moreover, only the ranking Magos

Technicus and Metallurgicus of the Lathes have the prerequisite skill and inspiration to forge these armours; even the great armour-mongers and tech-artisans of many of Calixis' great manufactorums, if given access to the Lathes' materials and facilities, would be unable to bend the metals to their will for the desired effect. Outside of the ranks of the Venatorii "Crimson Guard", Lathe-wrought armour is almost nonexistent, with perhaps a few suits manufactured to commission by wealthy benefactors to the Cult Mechanicus of the Lathes every few years. Explorators on the fringes of the Sector seem especially incensed by the exclusivity of this wonder of arcane armourcraft, and it is not unheard-of for the owner of a suit of Lathe-wrought armour to turn up dead at the hands of a covetous Magos for no reason other than the rarity of the armour itself.

Lathe-wrought armour is always considered to be Best Craftsmanship, reducing its Weight by half while increasing its APs by 1. Because of its magnificently resistant qualities, a weapon's Penetration value is reduced by half (round up) before it begins reducing the armour's APs as normal. For example, a Lathe-wrought carapace chest plate would provide 7 APs to the wearer's Body location. If the wearer were to be shot with a plasma gun, its Penetration of 7 would be reduced to 4, meaning the armour still reduces the inflicted Damage by 3.

Lumen-Heraldry Upgrades: Any non-Primitive armour

Lumen-heraldry is a "high-tech" variation traditional armour customisation, replacing careful engraving and inscription of the material with a laminate coating or etched layer of lumo-gel that can display heraldic symbols and coats of arms, depictions of battle or animated murals, terrifying images, or just flashing or glowing abstract colours. Regardless of the individual choice of visual, armour with lumen-heraldry creates a dramatic and stunning appearance that can be activated or deactivated with a simple push of a button or switch. Moreover, unlike traditional engraving, flexible armours like mesh and flakweave suits can be impregnated with

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lumo-gel, and it is quite possible to add multiple sets of lumen-heraldry, the wearer using whichever one is the most appropriate for a given situation.

As long as the lumen-heraldry is of an appropriate theme, this upgrade grants the wearer a +10 bonus on Command and/or Intimidate Tests, but the bright glowing appearance imposes a -30 penalty to Concealment Tests for the same reason. Lumen-heraldry takes 1d5 Rounds to activate as the lumo-gel is charged, and one minute to deactivate while it bleeds off energy. This upgrade requires a power source to operate, usually an energy cell or lasgun charge pack that's kept in a pocket and connected to a cable; this allows the lumen-heraldry to be used for about five days before the power source must be recharged. In the case of power armour, the lumen-heraldry can simply draw from its power supply with negligible effect.

Modern Materials Upgrades: Any Primitive armour

Primitive armour can be perfectly effective at deflecting blades, fists, and thrown bricks or arrows from a bow, but even the heaviest examples of feudal plate suits tend to crumple like empty rotgut cans when struck by a large-calibre bullet or bolt. Compared to armaplas, flakweave and ceramite, tanned leather and tempered iron simply lacks the ability to withstand modern weaponry. By substituting modern armour materials for the much simpler, basic components used by feudal smiths and feral tanners, replicas of many types of Primitive armour can be created that can be just as protective as a flak jacket or carapace breastplate. The end result of such an effort is perfectly functional as a protective item, but very often will require a higher level of skill in its assembly as well as a use of rarer tools and components; this translates almost invariably into greater expense than simply buying a comparable piece of modern armour. Easily dismissed as a functionally pointless endeavour, replica armours made in this way are broadly only useful for those who desire the specific

appearance the armour gives, such as gleaming feudal plate for a questing knight, or stylish leather coats and jackets that will still ward off bullets like a flak vest.

Most types of Primitive armour can benefit from this upgrade, but it can only be applied when the armour is first made. Primitive armour made with modern materials uses its full AP value against non-Primitive weapons.

Power-Assist Upgrades: Carapace and other armour that provides 5 or more APs and covers all locations

A complex array of supports and servos supports the weight of the armour it is bonded to, improving the physical strength of the wearer as well as reducing the "base" load they have to carry. While nominally similar to power armour in function, a power-assist is much simpler and less capable, primarily intended for utilitarian

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purposes rather than for use in combat. Most commonly used in conjunction with engine-plate suits, power-assisted enginarium crews can plod around with large stacks of isotropic fuel rods or remove the heads of operating plasma reactors by themselves. Of course, there are those who would use a power-assisted armour for battle anyway, typically those who desire the improved handling and physical enhancement that power armour bestows but without the means to obtain such exclusive wargear.

Armour with a power-assist provides a +10 bonus to the wearer's Strength Characteristic, and the armour's Weight does not count towards calculating the wearer's normal carrying limits. Power is provided by a cell unit on the back; a standard non-military supply has enough power for 1d5 hours of use, while a more costly and efficient unit can keep the armour operating for 12 hours (at an extra cost of 1,000 Thrones). If the power-assist runs out of energy it no longer increases the wearer’s Strength and instead imposes a -30 penalty to the wearer’s Agility Characteristic as the wearer must stagger around and force the servo-struts and rotators to move with his own muscle. The humming and whirring of the power-assist's moving parts inflicts a -30 penalty to Concealment and Silent Move Tests just as though the wearer was in armour that provided 7 or more APs.

Sanctified Armour Upgrades: Any non-Primitive armour that provides 3 or more APs

Created with great care by Ministorum priests and often performed on the robes of militant clerics and power armour of the Sisters of Battle, sanctifying armour turns it into a bastion of holy might against the corrupting powers of the warp and the unclean. Sanctified armour nearly always features engraved prayers or knit symbols on numerous areas, while large holy symbols are set or hang over the chest and along each limb. Finally, the entire suit is blessed and anointed with sacred oils, taking on a glossy sheen that never becomes dirtied, no matter how many blades strike it or heretic blood is spilled over it. Sanctified armour is often paired with an

Ecclesiarchy Overlay to create a truly glorious tribute to the Emperor’s might in battle.

Sanctified armour grants the wearer the following benefits. First, it provides a +10 bonus on Tests made to resist any direct psychic attack or manipulation used against the user. Additionally, it provides full Armour Points against attacks made of psychic force or warp energy that deals damage directly, as well as attacks made with the Warp Weapon effect. Finally, punches and kicks made by the wearer, whether using unarmed attacks for lighter armour or the armoured gauntlets of carapace or power armour, are considered to be “Holy” in nature and will have additional effects on some Daemonic creatures and warp entities (as will be noted in their descriptions).

Servo-Manipulators Upgrades: Any non-Primitive armour

Heavier suits of armour are often shackled with a "sliding scale" of hindrance; as the armour's protective qualities improve, the wearer's ability to do anything besides kill decreases. Thick armoured gloves or mitten-like gauntlets impede manual dexterity, while massive ceramite or armaplas plates reduce the wearer's range of motion when activities other than aiming a gun or swinging a blade are involved. Warriors who don an armour, earn their keep, then peel it off will rarely give thought towards these considerations, but those who must spend long periods of time inside protective suits, or who wear such gear for protection from harsh environments or the void rather than bullets and bolts, must often make hard choices between their personal safety and ability to get the job done. Servo-manipulators are a specialised tool, integrated into a suit of armour, that can significantly offset this shortcoming when tasks requiring careful manipulation are involved. Typically mounted along the wrists or back of the hand, a set of servo-manipulators will contain an array of small probes, pinchers, magno-clamps, bit and impact drivers, and other fine appendages. The manipulators are controlled by the wearer either through tracking eye movements (a low-power

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laser in the helmet relays instructions to the tools) or via a sense-link if the wearer has a Mind Impulse Unit or similar augmetic installed. In all cases, the wearer need not use their actual fingers to fumble around with most precision tools; the manipulators do the work for him.

Whenever the wearer can use the servo-manipulators, this upgrade ignores penalties to Agility or Tests requiring fine manual dexterity imposed by heavy or bulky armour. This does not allow the wearer to run faster or Dodge better, but can be extremely useful when attempting a Tech-Use or Security Test to manipulate small equipment or a Demolition Test to disarm a bomb. Using the servo-manipulators takes twice as long as usual, the eye-reading inputs requiring more time to move the tools than if the wearer was wielding them directly. However, if the wearer has a Mind Impulse Unit, he can connect to the servo-manipulators directly, in which case they can be used at the normal speed and rate.

Shock Field Generator Upgrades: Carapace and power armour

Shock weapons are commonly used by the Adeptus Arbites, among many other sorts of enforcers and authority types. Usually this is in the form of a melee weapon, such as the ubiquitous shock maul, but there are some groups who make use of a more unusual but no

less effective way to deliver a nasty jolt to scummers and recidivists. By incorporating a shock field generator directly into a suit of armour, anyone who successfully lands a blow against the wearer is rewarded with a shock as the current travels through their weapon and into their bodies. The wearer is grounded by virtue of the generator field’s design equally charging their armour, so he is at no risk of shocking himself. Allies, however, are another story, and most shock field generators will have a hidden emergency cut-off to facilitate a wounded wearer being dragged away by a comrade. The elite White Hands of the Adeptus Arbites on Scintilla are the largest known users of shock field generators, incorporating them into their carapace armour as an extra line of defence against the underhivers that they all too often must go to war against.

Any successful melee attack made against the wearer of a suit of armour with a shock field generator can shock the attacker. If the weapon is conductive – anything not made of wood, glass, ceramite, or a similar material – the attacker must make a Toughness Test as though they were struck with a weapon with the Shocking quality. This effect targets the wearer in the arm (or leg, if making a kick) used to make the attack, and includes unarmed attacks unless the wearer has some kind of non-conductive gauntlets or gloves.