TEXT: Rules Review
  Rules Review
  By Gav Thorpe, Derek Gillespie, Stephen Pearson & Andy Hall
  Every year the Inquisitor Rules Committee (names above) hold an annual Rules Review to see what
  changes or tweaks (if any) need to be done to maintain the game system. Below is this year’s
  findings. The rules additions and changes are official so Gamesmasters should take note. Where
  relevant, alterations and/or additions are highlighted in bold italics. Commentary on the changes
  is in italics. 
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Subdue: is a special action that can be used by the character
  when in close combat (not at arm’s length, even if armed
  with a reach 4 or greater weapon). The character attacks as
  normal. If he hits his foe, the blow automatically lands on
  the head location (no need to roll). Regardless of the
  weapon used, the attack does no damage. As he has been
  hit in the head, the enemy character will have to pass a
  Toughness test or be stunned. If a character with this skill
  manages to subdue an enemy who is already stunned, the
  target is knocked unconscious. However, the subdued
  character counts as having the True Grit skill, and so may
  attempt to recover consciousness (it’s a good idea to have
  someone keep an eye on subdued enemies to avoid nasty
  surprises!).
  This ability now does no damage to the victim and is just
  a restraining technique as was its original intention. 
  Acrobatic: The character is highly agile and is able to leap a
  startlingly far distance, performing somersaults and other
  astounding feats. An acrobatic character adds another D6
  yards when jumping, and may jump over other characters.
  The character can leap directly upward D3+3 yards and
  reduces the percentage chance of an action combined with
  a jump by a quarter rather than by half. A character with this
  talent may also jump over his opponent as a close combat
  action (like an extravagant circle move) – place him on the
  opposite side of his opponent, 2 yards away. Your
  opponent may make an Initiative test; if he passes he
  may make a 90º turn towards you. 
  This gives an opponent of an Acrobatic character a little
  more chance and makes Acrobatic slightly less of a no-
  brainer. 
  Feint: The character has perfected the art of deceiving his
  opponent in close combat, with a mixture of body language
  and fake strikes. Once per turn the character may make a
  feint instead of another close combat action. The character
  rolls to hit as normal, and if the feint hits it is successful. No
  damage is done but a successful feint means that the enemy
  counts as having attempted two additional parries that turn.
  A feint may not be parried or dodged. If the feint is missed
  then the opponent may make an immediate Counter
  Attack.
  Feint is another ability that has been seen with alarming
  regularity. Allowing the opponent to counter-attack will
  make players think if they truly need to use it. 
  Blademaster: The character has superb knife-fighting skills,
  able to do things with a blade that makes it deadlier than a
  sword. A blademaster can dart in and out of combat with
  astounding speed, cutting deep gouges into the enemy. If a
  character with this talent is attacking or parrying with knives
  (not Power Knives, just normal mundane blades) he
  counts as having a Reach 4 weapon and all hits count as
  critical hits.
  This ability was never intended to be used for anything but
  normal knives, this just clarifies that point. 
  Lightning Reflexes A: A character with lightning reflexes
  thinks on his feet with outstanding speed, able to assess a
  combat situation and come up with the best course of action
  in moments. A character with lightning reflexes may
  carry out their actions at any time during the turn,
  even going before characters with higher Speed
  values. Additionally, if more than one character has
  an equal Speed value then the one with lightning
  reflexes may go first, (if both have lightning reflexes
  then use Initiative as normal).
  Lightning Reflexes B: A character with lightning reflexes
  thinks on his feet with outstanding speed, able to assess a
  combat situation and come up with the best course of action
  in moments. If a Character with lightning reflexes
  needs to Change his Actions as described on page 26
  of the Rulebook then he does not have to make an
  Initiative test to re-declare his actions. He does this
  automatically because he is such a quick thinker! 
  Lightning reflexes is an ability that had us flummoxed for
  a quite a while. The current ability has proven to be too
  powerful and has not been used as it was intended.
  Unscrupulous players were simply pausing for breath as
  their first free action giving them a large tactical
  advantage. At the rules review we went through several
  possible solutions until we came up with the two presented
  above. We are still unsure which is the best solution and so
  both have been presented. Next year, based on feedback
  from players, we will make a decision as to which one to
  go for. 
  Hit Location
  The hit location chart has changed, use the new one below:
  If an opponent is hit in
  close combat then the
  +20% modification no
  longer applies. Instead
  the attacking player can
  decide to add 10% to the
  roll, but he must declare
  this before the roll is
  made. Note that the
  modifiers 
  for 
  being
  higher or lower than your
  opponent still apply. 
  HIT LOCATION TABLE
  D100
  Location
  01-30
  Leg
  31-35
  Groin
  36-65
  Arm
  66-80
  Abdomen
  81-95
  Chest
  96-00
  Head
  (If an arm or leg has been hit then it
  is the closest to the opponent, if this
  is unclear then the GM must decide.)
  2
  
  The hit location chart has been in a state of flux ever since
  Inquisitor has been published. We hope to have solved the
  problems with the new chart. The player’s choice of a +10%
  mod also adds another element of strategy to the combat.
  FULL AUTO AND FLAME
  Firing on full auto means squeezing the trigger and letting
  rip in a pretty random fashion. This works in a very different
  way to normal firing, to represent its particular advantages
  and disadvantages. To fire on full auto, nominate a target
  group. All characters in a target group must be within 5
  yards of at least one other character in the target group, and
  they must all be within the character’s arc of fire. If you
  wish, you may elect to fire at ‘spaces’, in which case the
  empty space counts as another character in the target group.
  Obviously the if the ‘space’ is hit as an end result of firing,
  the shots are wasted. This can be seen in the diagram below:
  Once the target group is established, you must determine
  your basic to hit roll. This is the character’s BS, modified by
  Range (but no other modifiers) to the furthest target in the
  group. This to hit roll is then divided by the number of shots
  being fired in the burst of fire. The final to hit roll is
  calculated by multiplying this number by the number of
  targets in the group.
  For example: A character needs 63 or less (after range
  modifications) and is firing 10 shots at 5 characters. The
  calculation is there fore (63/10)x 5 = 31 – only round off the
  final to hit number, not in the intervening stages.
  The character then makes a to hit roll for each shot fired.
  These are not shots at specific targets, but rather an
  indication of the general accuracy of the burst. Once the
  number of hits has been determined, each is randomly
  allocated against a potential target. Note that it is entirely
  possible for one target to be hit several times while others
  remain unscathed – being hit doesn’t prevent a character
  from being hit again in the same burst of fire.
  All targets in the target group, whether hit or not, must take
  a pinning test at their basic Nv (in other words, no +20% for
  not being hit as is usually the case).
  Randomise hit location and calculate damage as normal for
  each shot. Note that full auto can never make placed shots. 
  Flame Weapons: Some weapons, instead of firing a
  projectile or bolt of energy, spray a fountain of liquid over
  an area. The most common examples of these are flamers,
  which gout burning incendiary fuel, though some rarer ones
  may fire clouds of acid, gas or other substances. Due to their
  nature, it is highly inadvisable to fire flame weapons whilst
  moving quickly, and so they may only be fired as part of a
  combined action if the character is walking or stationary.
  Flame weapons are fired at a target group in the same way
  as full auto weapons, and the same method is used to
  determine potential targets. The to hit procedure works
  slightly differently,– static targets are generally easier to hit
  and take more damage than fast-moving ones.
  Use the following method to calculate the chances of hitting
  each target. The basic chance of hitting is the firer’s BS. This
  is divided by the number of targets in the group – the wider
  the fire is spread, the less chance of hitting any one
  particular target. You then roll to hit each target in turn. The
  number of times a target can potentially be hit is shown on
  the chart below:
  Roll to hit the target the number of times indicated; work
  out location and damage, burning effects and so on as
  normal.
  All targets in the target group, whether hit or not, must take
  a pinning test at their basic Nv (in other words, no +20% for
  not being hit as is usually the case).
  The Full-Auto and Flamer rules are another area of the game
  system that we have never been quite happy with. The
  problem being that unscrupulous players would just full-
  auto on single characters taking down even the most heavily
  armed and protected Chaos Magus. This is all well and good
  but the aim behind full-auto was that of firing at groups of
  charters in an indiscriminate way, not just saving it all for the
  bad guy or rival Inquisitor! After much discussion, Gav came
  up with the new rules you’ve just read – hopefully this will
  solve the problem. If not, we’ll try again next year! 
  THE ADDITIONAL RULES SECTION
  Lucky Shot: When rolling for damage, if you roll the
  maximum damage possible, i.e. 12 for a lasgun, 24 for a
  Boltgun, then you may roll another base damage dice and
  add it to the damage total i.e. D6 for a Lasgun, D10 for a
  Boltgun. This represents a lucky shot hitting a particularly
  crucial place, such as a gap in the armour etc. 
  Up-Close: To move up-close a character must first hit is
  opponent in an attempt to distract them enough to slip past
  his guard. Moving up-close is not hindered by a dodge or
  parry – only the to hit roll must be successful. Place the
  models base-to-base. When fighting up-close penalties due
  to weapon reach differences are reversed i.e. a sword would
  be harder to use than a knife at this close distance so the
  modification is reversed to a –20% to the sword wielding
  player. As the combatants are so close, parrying is
  impossible and the character can only dodge without the
  normal +20% modifier – a straight roll. 
  5 yards
  5 yards
  5 yards
  A
  C
  B
  If a full auto (10) weapon were fired at
  this group, characters A and B would
  be fired at three times each, while the
  space and character C would be shot
  at twice each.
  SPACE
  Target is moving at:
  Number of to hit rolls made
  No movement
  D6+1
  Crawl
  D6
  Walk
  D3+1
  Run
  D3
  Sprint (or faster)
  1
  3
  
  Encumbrance: These rules allow GMs to take into account
  the difficulties of moving swiftly whilst laden down with
  heavy armour, weapons and equipment. If you find that
  your characters are taking everything bar the kitchen sink
  into battle, you may want to introduce the rules to your
  campaign to encourage more lightly-equipped characters. A
  character can carry a certain amount of equipment before
  their performance is impaired. The amount a character can
  carry (their Encumbrance value) is equal to their
  Strength+50, after all modifications for bionics, power
  armour, combat stimms, etc. Add up the weight of all
  weapons and equipment carried (treat all equipment
  without a specified weight as 5). In addition, each point of
  armour (except powered armour) weighs 5 points. This is
  the total weight of their equipment. Compare this to their
  Encumbrance value. For every 25 points, or part, that their
  equipment is more than their Encumbrance value they are
  at -1 Speed (minimum 1). No model may carry more than
  twice their Encumbrance value.
  Like the lightning reflexes section above, these new rules
  are still in an undecided state and so have been placed in
  the rules review in a trial status, if player feedback is good
  we would consider placing them in the ‘additional rules’
  section (found on page 180 of the rulebook) next year.
  Thanks to Pontifex Maximus at The Conclave for the Lucky
  Shot rules and Peter Bell & Inquisitor Henderson for the Up-
  close rules.
  FAQ
  How does using Psychic Powers in Close Combat work?
  As described on page 56 of the rulebook, only you cannot
  concentrate and you can only use powers on yourself or
  opponents in combat. 
  Why are Frag missiles potentially better than Super-Frags?
  They’re not – change the Damage on Frags to D10 and the
  Damage on Super-Frag to 2D6.
  Why are Krak missiles potentially better than Super-Krak?
  They’re not – for Krak change the Blast to 6 and Damage
  3D6. For Super-Krak change the Blast to 8 and Damage to
  2D10.
  Can you teleport opponents into solid objects?
  Although not strictly against the rules this is exactly the
  kind of thing a GM should cover. The GM should ask himself
  ‘would this make the game/story cooler?” If so then go for
  it. I can imagine uber-bad guys doing this all the time.
  However, if it starts to get a little tedious the GM should
  stick some mods and penalties on it to stop the game
  becoming a teleportation-fest!
  What is the Leadership characteristic used for?
  Leadership is indeed an underused characteristic and
  something we are aware of. However it does have its uses
  that are often missed by players. The Actions section on
  page 180 of the rulebook does a good job of explaining
  where Leadership tests would be applicable. Also remember
  that Ld is a measure of a characters loyalty and allegiance.
  GM’s should be encouraged to force Ld tests when a
  character is being persuaded to do something by a silver-
  tongued daemon, or is trying to withhold information
  from a cunning torturer. Do not forget that not all
  characters would get on with each other, maybe a
  character doesn’t agree with his leaders orders so a Ld test
  is needed to see whether he will follow them.
  APPENDIX: THE 2002 RULES REVIEW
  Rules that are still relevant from last year’s review:
  Minimum Actions: Each turn in Inquisitor represents
  about ten seconds of real time. Even though ten seconds
  does not sound very long it is still quite a long time in the
  fast paced encounters that happen in Inquisitor. Even the
  slowest fighters should be able to do something in the space
  of ten seconds. However it has come to our attention that
  even the most experienced Inquisitor will be caught
  dithering at the most inopportune time. So to abate this
  situation add the following sentence to the bottom of the
  Action Rolls section on page 24: Even if the player fails all of
  his actions rolls (i.e. all D6 rolls are 3 or below) he is
  allowed a minimum of one action per turn. 
  Nullifications: We’ve found that it’s an altogether too
  common occurrence that a psyker will fail a Willpower test
  by a large margin and instead of bending the nature of
  reality to his whim, finds his brain dribbling out of his ears.
  This is all well and good up to a point, but in a larger game
  a psyker who attempts a simple Blinding Flash can find
  himself nullified by two other psykers, resulting in a horrific
  psychic overload and a drooling idiot in place of a noble
  Inquisitor. As a result, it’s impractical to use psychic powers
  unless you’re sure there are no other psykers on the
  battlefield; the risks are too great. So replace the second
  sentence of the Nullification section on page 56 with: A
  enemy Psyker may attempt to Nullify the power if he is
  directly affected by that psychic power. 
  Thus a character may attempt to nullify a Blood Boil that is
  targeting him, but his allies may not. Similarly, he may
  attempt to nullify a Blinding Flash if he can see the origin of
  the flash, but not if he cannot see it (he is not the target and
  it does not affect him directly).
  Armour & Weapons:
  A few Armour values were
  inconsistently printed in the Rulebook. They are Flak
  Armour 3, and the Conversion Field 2D6. The Needle pistol
  and Web pistol are described as Basic in the Type column on
  page 72 of the rulebook. They are in fact Type: Pistol.
  4
  
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