I’ve been confused about how wounds are allocated between a leader and bodyguards in Warhammer 40k. Leaders sometimes have Feel No Pain (FNP) when they’re leading a unit, and I always thought that this applied primarily to precision attacks targeting them or when the enemy kills a bodyguard first. Recently, someone argued that I can simply choose which model takes the wounds, including the leader, even without a precision weapon. Is that accurate? Also, if a leader has a hazardous weapon and I fail a test, can I allocate those mortal wounds to the leader? And if I do, must I allocate future attacks to them, or can I still allocate to other models afterward? Thanks for any insights!
5 Answers
You’re on the right track! According to Page 39 of the Free Core Rules, when an attack successfully wounds a unit, you can’t allocate that wound to a Character model in that unit—unless you’re using precision or hazardous weapons. So your opponent can’t just choose to put wounds on the leader if they haven’t declared it initially. Definitely back yourself up with that rule next time!
Regarding your second question about hazardous weapons, yes, when you fail a test, you do allocate damage starting with models that have already been wounded. This could lead to two models being damaged, including the leader last, unless someone is targeted with a precision attack. Just remember that leaders typically take hits last in most cases unless specified otherwise.
It’s important to note that whether you can allocate wounds to a leader depends on the context of their unit. If a character like Calgar is leading a unit, you can’t target him until the bodyguards are gone. However, if he ends up as the last one standing after his unit is wiped out, then you can start allocating hits to him. So yes, it does depend on the situation and what models are left to allocate to.
Thanks for clarifying! I have another scenario: can I remove a leader due to loss of coherency instead of bodyguards? If I’m in melee and I have to make choices about who to remove, can I opt to kill the leader first to maintain my objective?
I’d recommend using the 40k app while gaming. It has the core rules available for free and they’re really easy to search through. After all, a lot of folks rely on outside resources for rules, but when questions pop up, the app can usually solve them right away without guesswork during a game.
We do use it, but honestly, finding specific answers in GW’s sea of documents can be a pain. Thanks for the tip though; I’ll keep that in mind!
Found it! Thanks for confirming.