Damage

Core Rule

Damage resolves the effects of a successful attack or damaging rule by determining how much harm is inflicted, how that harm is applied, and when resulting model removal occurs.

Damage Resolution

Resolve damage in this order:

1. Confirm the successful attack or damaging effect.
2. Determine the number of successful Target Locks or equivalent successful attack results.
3. Determine the attack's Force or other relevant damage value.
4. Apply any relevant modifiers or protections.
5. Determine whether the damage is normal damage, Critical Damage, Grievous Damage, or another rule-defined damage type.
6. Apply any Target Limit or other limit on which models may be affected.
7. Assign the resulting damage to eligible models using core/damage_allocation.md.
8. Remove destroyed models at the timing required by the relevant damage type.
9. Resolve any post-damage effects required by the relevant rule.

Normal Damage

For normal ranged damage:

• roll a number of damage dice equal to the attack's Force for each successful Target Lock unless another rule explicitly states otherwise
• each result equal to or above the target's Resolve deals 1 damage
• a result of 1 always fails
• if a rule requires 7+ to damage, roll a 6 and then a second 6 to succeed

Critical Damage

Critical Damage is a special damage outcome that replaces normal damage resolution where stated.

Use core/critical_damage.md for Critical Damage rules.

Grievous Damage

Grievous Damage is a universal damage rule.

When resolving an attack, if the attacking weapon's Force is greater than the target's modified Resolve, each successful Target Lock from that attack causes Critical Damage.

Resolve Critical Damage caused by Grievous Damage using core/critical_damage.md.

Grievous Damage does not change Target Limit, damage allocation, or which models are eligible to be affected unless another rule explicitly states otherwise.

If an attack or target uses a defensive value other than Resolve, such as Shield, Grievous Damage applies only if a rule explicitly says which value to compare.

Target Limit

For a ranged attack, the number of successful Target Locks generated by that attack is its Target Limit.

During that attack's normal damage resolution, damage may be applied to no more models in the target unit than the attack's Target Limit, unless another rule explicitly states otherwise.

Excess damage cannot spill beyond the models affected within that Target Limit.

For a ranged attack, model removals caused by damage from that attack, including removals caused by the Sustained Damage pool crossing HP thresholds, cannot exceed that attack's Target Limit unless another rule explicitly states otherwise.

Use core/damage_allocation.md to determine which eligible models receive damage within the Target Limit.

Casualty Timing

• Models destroyed by Critical Damage are removed immediately.
• Models destroyed by non-critical shooting damage are assigned when damage is determined, but are not removed until the full shooting engagement is resolved, including any valid responding commands, unless another rule explicitly states otherwise.
• Melee and other non-shooting damage timing follows the owning melee or damage rule and does not use shooting's delayed non-critical removal by default.

Sustained Damage

• Sustained Damage is tracked as a unit-level pool, not as model-specific wounds.
• Damage that does not remove a model becomes Sustained Damage.
• Sustained Damage accumulates on the unit until it equals or exceeds a model's HP.
• When that threshold is met, remove one model using core/damage_allocation.md and reduce the Sustained Damage pool accordingly.
• Repeat this process until the Sustained Damage pool is lower than the HP of one model, subject to any Target Limit or rule-specific limit that applies to the damage being resolved.
• Sustained Damage remains with the unit until removed by destruction, restoration, or another rule.

Damage Splitting and Combining

• When a unit splits, divide Sustained Damage as evenly as possible between the resulting units.
• If there is an odd point of Sustained Damage, assign the extra point to the resulting unit with more models, or choose freely if tied.
• When units combine, combine their Sustained Damage into one pool.
• Combining Sustained Damage does not immediately remove models. Any later damage is added to the combined pool and resolved normally.

Status Interaction

Damage may cause status effects where a rule states so.

Use core/stunned.md for Stunned.

Notes

• This file defines how damage is resolved, not which commands cause it.
• Command files should reference this file rather than restating the damage engine.
• The number of successful Target Locks from a ranged attack matters for how many models may be affected by that attack's normal damage.
• Status effects caused by damage should be defined in their own rules.