Making an Attack

When you make a melee attack, you are attacking an enemy within Immediate Range. Most melee attacks use handheld weapons such as hammers, Chainswords, and Power Fists, though some creatures may attack with claws, fangs, tentacles, or another body part.

To make a melee attack, take the following steps:

• Choose a target within Immediate Range.
• Both parties make an Opposed Melee Test, applying any Specialisation for the weapon they are wielding. If the defender is not wielding a melee weapon or shield, they make this Test with Disadvantage. Alternatively, the defender can use Reflexes (Dodge) to try to avoid the attack. Opposing a Melee attack in either way does not require a Reaction.
• If you win the Opposed Test, you deal Damage equal to your Weapon Damage plus the difference in SL. The defender does not deal Damage if they win, unless they score a Critical.
• Use the units result to determine the hit location, and reduce the Damage by an amount equal to the Armour in that location.
• The target suffers the remaining Damage as Wounds.

Most enemies have the same Armour value across all hit locations, but knowing where you hit is important for some Talents and Critical Wounds.

Engaged

When you attack or are attacked by a creature within Immediate Range, you are Engaged with the target. If you try to move away from a creature you are Engaged with, they can make an immediate melee attack as a Reaction if they have a weapon ready. Likewise, if a creature tries to move away from you, you can make a melee attack as a Reaction. You may use a Disengage Action to move away from an enemy you are Engaged with safely.

When you make a ranged attack, you are using a ballistic weapon of some sort. This can be firing a Bolt Pistol, throwing a frag grenade, incinerating your foes with a Flamer, or otherwise launching a projectile at a target. Xenos monstrosities and Daemons might also hurl chunks of jagged rock, belch noxious gas, or shoot spines. To make a ranged attack, take the following steps:

• Choose a target within your weapon’s Range that you can see.
• Make a Ranged Skill Test, applying any applicable Specialisation for the weapon you are wielding.
• In certain cricumstances, usually if the target has taken a Dodge Action during their turn, or if they use a Reaction, they may oppose this Test using the Reflexes (Dodge) skill.
• If you succeed, you deal Damage equal to your weapon Damage plus the SL of the Test. If you fail, you miss the target.
• Use the units result to determine the Hit Location, and reduce the Damage by an amount equal to the Armour in that location.
• The target suffers the remaining Damage as Wounds.
• Note how much ammunition you expended.

Dodging a Ranged Attack works just like any other Opposed Test. Your opponent makes a Ranged Test as normal, but you oppose it with Reflexes (Dodge). If the opponent wins, the attack deals Damage equal to the weapon Damage plus the difference in SL. If you win, you leap out of harm’s way and take no Damage.

For a normal Human, it is not possible to dodge a ranged attack from an enemy you are not aware of. This includes enemies who have yet to
reveal themselves, or those who have taken the Hide action to obscure their location.

Range

Ballistic weapons have a Range that indicates how far away a target can be before you start to suffer a penalty. The ranges are listed below. Attacking a target beyond your weapon’s range imposes Disadvantage.

• Short Range: Any target within the Zone you currently occupy.
• Medium Range: Any target in your Zone or an adjacent Zone.
• Long Range: Any target up to two Zones away.

Ranged Weapons at Immediate Range

Most ranged weapons are not designed to be fired in close-quarters combat. If you make a ranged attack against a target within Immediate Range, you have Disadvantage on your attack. A ranged weapon counts as an improvised weapon when used for a melee attack, such as hitting an enemy with the butt of your gun.

As combatants desperately fight for their lives, accidents, mistakes, and moments of extraordinary skill can happen in quick succession. To represent the unpredictable extremes of a life-or-death battle, Imperium Maledictum uses Criticals and Fumbles. Criticals are deadly strikes and keen shots, while Fumbles represent egregious errors.

• When you roll doubles on an attack with positive SL, you score a Critical. This happens even if the roll was opposed and your opponent scored more SL than you.
• When you roll doubles on an attack with negative SL, you Fumble. This happens even if the roll was opposed and your opponent scored less SL than you. In this case, you may both take Damage!

As detailed in Success Levels, a result of +0 counts as positive SL. You can lose an Opposed Test with positive SL and still score a Critical with a double.

Similarly, a result of – 0 counts as negative SL. You can still win an Opposed Test with negative SL if your opponent has a worse result, but if you roll a double it is a Fumble.

Criticals

When you roll doubles on a Melee or Ranged Test with positive SL, you score a Critical. This means you have dealt a significant and potentially deadly blow. SL is calculated as normal, as is who wins any Opposed Test, but regardless of the result your opponent suffers a Critical Hit.

If you are defending using the Melee Skill and roll a Critical, you deal a Critical Hit to your opponent as you retaliate against their attack.

Fumbles

When you roll doubles on a Melee or Ranged Test with negative SL, you Fumble. This means something unfortunate and potentially dangerous has happened. If you Fumble, roll on the appropriate Fumble Table. It is possible to Fumble and still win an Opposed Test, just as it is possible to score a Critical and lose an Opposed Test. This may bring some levity to the grim darkness of your game, as you and your opponent flounder as you try to injure one another — and you possibly injure yourself !

Attacks While Hidden

Attacking an unaware enemy can often result in a quick and brutal end for your opponent. While some might consider it dishonourable, others see it as a cunning and efficient way to deal with threats.

When you attack an unaware enemy, you make the Test with Advantage. Additionally, any attack made whilst the enemy is unawares causes an automatic Critical Hit to the target.

Outnumbering

The 41st Millennium is a cruel and unfair place, and one of the surest routes to victory is to overwhelm your foes with greater numbers. When several creatures are Engaged in the same melee, and one side outnumbers the other at least 2:1, they have Advantage on Melee Tests.

Two Weapon-Fighting

Many warriors in the Imperium choose to fight with a weapon in each hand, often wielding a ranged weapon in one hand and a melee weapon in the other. The following applies when fighting with two weapons:

• You can use any one-handed melee weapon or pistol when fighting with two weapons.
• You can use either weapon to make an attack.

You can attack with both weapons simultaneously. Both attacks are made at Disadvantage. If they are both melee attacks, the defender rolls to oppose both attacks separately.

You suffer Disadvantage when you use your non-dominant hand for a Test, unless you have the Ambidexterous Talent.

The Dual Wielder or Gunslinger Talents can remove this penalty. If you wish to attack with a melee weapon and ranged weapon at the same time and suffer no penalty, you must have both Talents.