There are two different kinds of bolt thrower profiles, representing regular bolt throwers and repeater bolt throwers. Repeater bolt throwers can always choose to fire like regular bolt throwers if they wish.
Bolt Thrower
| Range | Strength | Special Rules |
|---|---|---|
| 48" | 6 | - |
Repeater Bolt Thrower
| Range | Strength | Special Rules |
|---|---|---|
| 48" | 4 | - |
Firing a Bolt Thrower
To fire a bolt thrower, select a target according to the normal rules for shooting. Roll to hit using the crew's Ballistic Skill, just as you would for a normal missile weapon.
Resolving Hits
If the target is a unit of five or more ranked-up models, the bolt will always strike a regular trooper (as opposed to a character in the unit) in the unit's first rank if the bolt thrower is in the unit's front arc, or the last rank if the bolt thrower is in the unit's rear arc. If the bolt thrower is in the target unit's flank, the target's files count as ranks for the purposes of resolving the shot.
If the shot hits, resolve damage against the target using the bolt thrower's full Strength of 6. The bolt then hits one of the warriors in the rank behind with -1 Strength (normally Strength 5). A model in the next rank is hit at -2 Strength (normally Strength 4) and so on, until the unit runs out of ranks.
If the rank hit by the bolt is made entirely of characters, or if the total number of rank and file models in the unit is less than five, it will be necessary to randomise which model in the rank is hit.
Note that repeating bolts do not pierce ranks.
