The galaxy is home to countless weapons, their variety and effects as impossible to enumerate as the races that inhabit the galaxy. Thus, oblivion can come from explosive shells, laser blasts, jets of super-heated flame or psionic beams. This section covers some of the most common (or notorious) weapons of Warhammer 40,000 and serves as both reference and example for some of the tools of death you will encounter.
| These robust weapons are automated, self-loading firearms that fire bursts of highvelocity, caseless shot. Auto-weapons come in a variety of forms, from the common autopistol to heavy support weapons like the punisher gatling cannon. |
| The turret-mounted battle cannon is the most common battle tank armament in the 41st Millennium. The heavy, explosive rounds of a battle cannon are capable of devastating infantry regiments and annihilating enemy tanks with equal ease. |
| The boltgun, or bolter, fires small missiles known as ‘bolts’. Each self-propelled bolt explodes with devastating effect once it has penetrated its target. There are many variations of boltguns, from the short-barreled bolt pistol to the Vulcan mega-bolter often mounted on Titans and other super-heavy vehicles. |
| Combi-weapons are boltguns that have been specially modified by skilled artisans. Each has been expertly converted to house another weapon with only a limited charge, allowing the bearer a single destructive shot. |
A model armed with a combi-weapon can choose to fire either the main boltgun, or the secondary weapon. You cannot fire both in the same turn. Each combi-weapon has only one secondary weapon. The main and secondary weapons of a combi-weapon fire at the same time as all other similarly named weapons in that unit. For example, the ‘boltgun’ part of a combi-weapon fires at the same time as all other boltguns in the unit.
| Flamers are short-ranged weapons that spew out highly volatile clouds of liquid chemicals that ignite on contact with air. They are primarily used to scour the enemy from defended positions, as walls are of no defence against blasts of superheated vapour. |
| The secrets of grav-weapon construction are known only to a select few. In battle, gravweaponry affects the local gravity field, using its victim’s own mass against them, an ordeal that will stun those it does not kill outright. Heavily armoured targets find themselves crushed as if by the mighty fist of a god, while vehicles are left as crumpled, smoke belching wrecks. |
| Las weapons fire packets of explosive laser energy – the larger the gun, the more powerful the shot. Regardless of size, las weapons are incredibly reliable, making them favoured tools of war throughout the Imperium. |
| Melta weapons are lethal anti-armour guns, most effective at very short range. When fired, the super-heating of the air produces a distinctive and sinister hiss. Solid rock is reduced to molten slag, and living creatures are vaporised in an instant! |
| Missile launchers can fire a variety of different missiles, making them incredibly versatile weapons. |
All missile launchers come with frag and krak missiles as standard, and some have the option to upgrade to include flakk missiles. Each time a missile launcher fires, the controlling player must choose which type of missile is being used.
| Plasma weapons fire pulses of searing energy that are extremely effective against heavy infantry and light vehicles. However, they generate enormous temperatures when fired and are thus prone to overheating – sometimes proving deadly to the firer. |
| This catch-all category covers various low-tech solutions to ranged warfare on high-tech battlefields. Encompassing such weapons as shotguns, stub guns and heavy stubbers (sometimes called sluggers), the common bond between all of these weapons is that they are, without exception, cumbersome, noisy and fairly primitive firearms. Often employed by gangers, law enforcement officers and even civilians across the Imperium, these weapons make a formidable din when fired, and are easy to maintain. |
| Sniper rifles have powerful telescopic sights, enabling the firer to target weak points and distant foes with unerring accuracy. Some commanders see the sniper rifle as a dishonourable weapon, but they are in the minority. Most understand that pragmatism, and dead enemies, win more battles than honour ever will. |
 | The ground-shaking macro-cannon fires devastating shells that can reshape the very landscape and obliterate the toughest of foes. |
Sonic Boom:
After firing a quake shell, draw a straight line between the Aquila macrocannon and the central hole of the apocalyptic mega-blast template. Roll a dice for each Flyer, Flying Monstrous Creature, or Flying Gargantuan Creature model crossed by this line. On a roll of 1, a Flyer will Crash and Burn!, while a Flying Monstrous Creature or Flying Gargantuan Creature will take D3 Wounds with no saving throws allowed.
| Raining destruction upon the enemies of the Imperium, the missile silo within a Fortress of Redemption has the reach and lethality to ensure any attacking infantry are reduced to ashes long before they reach the edifice’s hallowed walls. |
| An unsubtle anti-infantry weapon that epitomises the Departmento Munitorum’s approach to warfare, the punisher slaughters its targets through the application of its overwhelming rate of fire. |
| A mainstay of the Imperium’s fortifications, quad-guns specialise in reliably bringing down airborne targets with precise, high-velocity caseless shot. |
| Guided by complex targeting computers, vortex missiles rip a hole in space-time that swallows up anyone and anything unfortunate enough to be within their proximity. |
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