Rules preview, Keyword AUTOMATIC

Ka-chunk. Bolt pulled back, double-auto toggled, a curse is uttered and the runes glow hot. With the simplest gesture, the pull of a trigger, hexed lead replaces flesh at over 400 rounds per minute. Mounted on battlements, aircraft, cavalry, and even man-portable, automatic firearms are at the new height of engineering in No Man’s Land. Fallen Anointed now utilize their accursed strength to replace entire crews of legionnaire gunners, delivering an endless stream of high calibre rounds across the battlefields. Unable to match supernatural physicality, New Antioch answers with Shock Trooper fireteams deployed deep into enemy lines, clearing out Fallen trenches with rapid-fire Automatic Rifles in mere moments. With a kill count rivalling the blast of artillery, today we look at the mechanisms of everything AUTOMATIC.

In the playtest rules, automatic weapons were represented with various rulings on a per-weapon basis, resulting in an unclear and inconsistent flow of play. In the Trench Crusade 1.0 Rules, multi-shot weapons have been consolidated into the brand new AUTOMATIC keyword, clearly defining multiple ranged attacks step by step. Additionally, all AUTOMATIC weapons may now target multiple enemies so long as they are within 6” of each other, allowing you to sweep crowded trenches and ruins.

The New and Improved Automatisation

AUTOMATIC (X) (Effect): You can make a number of Ranged Attacks with this weapon equal to X, one after another. The attacks can target different enemy models, as long as they are all within 6″ of each other. Resolve each attack one at a time using steps 2 to 6 of the Ranged Attack Sequence. Any BLOOD MARKERS that are spent only modify the Injury Roll for the attack they are spent on, and do not modify Injury Rolls for subsequent attacks.

Certain AUTOMATIC weapons still bear unique attack modifiers. Some weapons, such as the compact Automatic Pistol or the much larger Heavy Flamethrower are rapid death-dealers, while others serve a more focused approach. Submachine Guns forgo the AUTOMATIC keyword entirely, instead allowing two distinct Shoot ACTIONS, making for the perfect trench raider’s firearm. Automatic Rifles, however, maintains its AUTOMATIC keyword, but must attack the same target, making for a powerful mid-range killer.

A common feature of automatic weapons is the inclusion of the ASSAULT keyword. For the sake of ease and consistency, the ASSAULT keyword has been restructured into a simpler form. Players may now enjoy the full force of their automatic weapons in addition to a charge ACTION, truly expanding the forward force of your units. Aggressive and daring models such as Naval Raider Legionnaires or Stigmatic Nuns may, for example, Dash out of cover, fire two bursts of an Automatic Pistol at a pair of enemies, charge into combat, and make a melee attack at both!

ASSAULT (Effect): Ranged Attacks made with Weapons that have this Keyword do not prevent a model from Charging or making a Melee Attack during the same Activation.

Patrols skulk through bombed-out ruins, stationing themselves in the ghosts of the world before. Humble farming villages flattened to craterous, salted wastelands, harvested only by wild men and unspeakable Beasts that wander. Troops hide in trenches that haven’t moved since their grandparents dug them generations ago. A good firearm is important, but any good leader knows the terrain can be the best weapon of all.