All missile fire occurs simultaneously in phase eight of the game turn. Thus if two units fire on one another, they will do so at the same time and will remove any casualties simultaneously. In phase eight, the missile fire may be conducted in any order, but players are advised to remove the Fire order counter from each unit as it completes its firing, so they can keep track of which units have fired and which units have not yet done so. When every unit has fired all casualties are removed and any necessary Morale Tests are taken.

All ranges, firing factors and modifiers are listed on the Profile Sheets. Each race has different firing abilities and this is reflected by the varying range classifications, firing modifiers, and different Ranks for Firing capabilities listed on the Profile Sheets. The Ranks for Firing table tells you how many ranks of a race's unit are eligible to fire in phase eight. For instance, human units can use troops in their first two ranks, while wood elves can use troops in the first three ranks. Any figures in ranks beyond the number listed under Ranks for Firing are unable to fire that turn.

Mounted figures can move an entire move at normal or retire speed and fire. This is because they can reload and aim while moving. Mounted units cannot charge and fire in the same game turn. Foot soldiers can only move a portion of their normal or retire movement and fire in a single turn (they can never charge and fire). To discover how far each races' units can move and fire, check the Movement and Firing table on the relevant Profile Sheet. Any loss of movement is always deducted from a unit's allowance before it starts to move or make allowance for terrain modifiers.

Example: Morgab's goblin archers, who are clad in chainmail, have been ordered to advance and fire. Normally they would move 20 cm, but as they must fire their shortbows as well as move, they must refer to the Move and Fire modifiers on their Profile Sheet. Goblins with short bows lose 1/2 their normal movement if they move and fire. So on this turn Morgab's archers have their movement cut from 20 cm to 10 cm.

In addition, as they are currently in some scrub, their remaining allowance is reduced by half again to 5 cm which is the total distance they are able to advance that turn.

Artillery pieces cannot unlimber and fire in the same turn. Similarly they cannot fire and then limber up on the same turn. Please see Besieged for more information about these devices.

Players should note there are considerable variations between the types of missile weapons each race can use and their abilities with those weapons. For example, only dwarfs can use firearms. Elves excel at archery and are far more effective with bows than other races. Orcs are not very good with crossbows, because they find them too fiddly and complex and are unable to keep them in the best working order.

If a race does not have a particular weapon listed on the Basic Firing Percentage Chart on its Profile Sheet, it is not allowed to use that weapon.

A unit can fire on up to three different targets at the same time, but each figure may only fire once per turn. Thus to fire at separate targets, the firing player must announce which figures are firing at which targets. The target must be visible to the figures firing and within its arc of fire. Missile fire can never be made over intervening units. Missile troops cannot fire on troops who are locked in combat.

For a unit to fire, it must be able to see its target. All terrain features are the height and size they appear on the table. Visibility into and through woods, swamps and jungle or into buildings is defined under the terrain rules. If in doubt as to whether one unit can see another, either look from the height of the unit in question, remembering to close your eye furthest from the table, or use a tape measure to work out the line of sight. If players cannot agree on a line of sight use the rule for solving Arguments on page 68.

In the picture above only ten of the orc bowmen can fire because of the intervening woods. Units never block a line of sight. However they cannot be fired over. If a unit armed with missile weapons wishes to fire on a target hidden behind other units, it can only do so if the target is a monster or giant, or if there is a gap between the front units through which missile fire can be directed. In such a case only those figures that can see through the gap may fire.

The target unit must also be in the arc of fire of the firing unit. All races have the same arc of fire, the only variable is whether the troops firing are mounted or on foot. Infantry armed with missile weapons have an arc of 45 degrees, while cavalry have an arc of 360 degrees. The two arcs of fire are demonstrated above right.

If the target unit is not within or partly within the arc of fire of the unit firing, it cannot be fired on even if it is within sight.

For a unit to fire on another unit its target must be within range. The ranges of the various missile weapons (which vary according to weapon type and race) are listed on the Basic Firing Percentage Chart. If the desired target is not within the maximum range listed for the weapon being used, it cannot be fired on.

Only those figures which have the target in sight, arc of fire and range can fire. No figure may fire more than once in a turn. Many races have the ability to fire more than one rank of a unit at a time. To find out how many ranks of a unit can fire check the Ranks for Firing chart on the relevant profile sheet.

1. Confirm the target is visible to the unit firing. If only some figures have a line of sight on the target, those which have no line of sight cannot fire.
2. Check to see if the target is within the firing unit's arc of fire. If some figures are within and others are not, only those figures who have the target within their arc may fire. If no figures have the target in arc of fire that unit must choose a new target or simply not fire that turn.
3. Measure the distance between the nearest front edge of the unit firing and the nearest base edge of the target. Check the Basic Firing Percentage Chart to see if the target is in range (i.e. within the range of the highest figure listed under long range, for the firing unit's weapon) and if it is, assess whether it is at short, medium or long range.
4. Cross reference the weapon that is being fired with the armour type the target is wearing on the Basic Firing Percentage Chart. This will give you your Basic Firing Percentage (BFP).
5. Check the Firing Modifier section on the Profile Sheet and add or subtract any modifiers to the BFP which apply. The result will be the Modified Firing Percentage (MFP).
6. Multiply the MFP by the number of figures firing to find the Final Firing Percentage (FFP). Players should remember to check the Ranks for Firing Chart on the profile sheet to see how many ranks of the unit are allowed to fire.
7. If the unit is firing at short range the FFP is unaffected. If the unit is firing at medium range the FFP must be halved. If the unit is firing at long range the FFP must be divided by three.
8. For each 100% scored one enemy figure is killed and removed from play or one enemy character is hit and wounded. If there is any percentage left over roll one D100. If you score under or equal to the amount left over, another enemy figure is killed and removed from play or character wounded. If you score over the remainder you miss.

Example: Ten wood elf guards in two ranks of five, armed with elf bows are firing at medium range at a unit of orcs, clad in chainmail and formed up in two ranks, who moved over 10 cm this turn. The elves cross reference their weapon with the orcs armour on their Basic Firing Percentage table and find they have a BFP of 18%. They then check the list of Firing Modifiers and find three which apply: 'Target moved over 10 cm this turn -1', 'Unit firing are huntmasters +3' and, as the orcs are formed up in two ranks, 'Per rank of target +2×2 = +4'. This means the elves have a MFP of 24% (18 - 1 + 3 + 4 = 24). As ten elves are firing they multiply 24 by 10 to get a FFP of 240%.

As the elves are firing at medium range their FFP is halved to 120%, so they automatically kill one orc and have a 20% chance of killing a second one (120% - 100% = 20%). To find out if the 20% chance is successful they roll one D100 and score 23%, which is over 20% and therefore means they miss.

If the elves had been firing at short range, their FFP would have remained at 240% so they would have killed two orcs automatically and had a 40% chance of killing a third one.

If the elves had been firing at long range, their FFP would have been divided by 3, reducing it to 80%. In this case no orcs would have been killed automatically and the elves would have had a 80% chance of killing one orc.

Characters and monsters count as separate targets from each other and units. As such, if the firer fires on a unit under the direct control of a character, he must state whether he is firing at the unit or the character. If he fires at the unit, no hits will strike the character until every last figure in the target unit is killed. If the firer fires at the character no hits can be scored on the unit at all. When firing at a character associated with a unit, the firer will not receive any rank modifiers to his firing percentage, because the character is counted as a single figure, regardless of the unit it is associated with.

However, players should note they can choose to divide a unit's fire between up to three different targets. Thus half a unit could fire on the character and the balance could fire on the unit. If a target character is riding a flying beast, the beast and character count as separate targets.

Monsters and characters are treated differently to ordinary soldiers. The normal firing procedure is followed, but for each 100% scored, or balance successfully rolled for, one wound is inflicted on the target, which may or may not kill it.

Each hit is treated as a wound. Hits on a monster are referred to the Hit Chart on its Profile Sheet. A D100 is rolled for the location of the wound and then a D4 for the wound's severity. The effect of the hit is then resolved. Players should note that hits on a monster are cumulative. A monster is killed if that result is thrown on its hit table or if the creature receives a critical wound, followed or preceded by any other serious or critical wound. The injuries, nicked, stunned and blinded do not count for these purposes.

Hits on characters are referred to the Humanoid Character Hit Table on the Ready Reference Sheet. A D100 is rolled for the location of the wound and then a D4 for wound severity. The effect of the hit is then resolved. Players should note that hits on a character are cumulative. A character is killed if that result is thrown on the hit table or if: the character receives a critical wound followed or preceded by any other wound or a serious wound followed or preceded by any two other wounds. The injuries, nicked, stunned and blinded do not count for these purposes. A character or monster which is knocked unconscious and then hit again is automatically killed.

Monsters that are killed collapse where they stand and become an obstacle that acts like a wall if the creature's base size is 40x40mm or smaller, or becomes impassable terrain if it is larger than 40x40mm. Four legged beasts collapse where they stand, two legged monsters fall in a random direction inflicting damage on anything they hit according to the crash rules, flying creatures killed in flight, follow the crash rules.

When firing at or from a flying creature at Combat Height, measure the distance from the front base edge of the firing unit to the nearest base edge of its target. This will give you the range in centimetres and you can then proceed as normal.

When firing at or from a flying creature at Flight Height, measure the range as outlined above and then add 50 cm to find the actual range.

When a flying creature at Combat Height fires at another flying creature at Flight Height or vice versa; or at another flying creature at the same height, simply measure the distance between the figures.

There are lots of factors which influence how well and accurately a unit fires and these are to some degree reflected by the Firing Modifiers on the Profile Sheets. Below is an explanation of each modifier.

The smaller the target or the more widely dispersed it is, the harder it is to hit. As a result this is a minus modifier.

If a target moves significantly, it will force the firing unit to adjust its aim and therefore reduce the effectiveness of the firing. As a result, this is a minus modifier.

The more cover the target has the harder it is to hit. These three modifiers reflect that fact and are consequently minus modifiers. They are not cumulative so you need only apply the relevant one. Thus a unit behind a wall receives the benefit for hard cover only and not light and medium as well.

This modifier reflects the target's use of shields, if it possesses any, to deflect or intercept incoming missiles. As a result this is a minus modifier.

This modifier applies to cavalry with armoured mounts only and reflects the fact that the armour will reduce the effectiveness of missile fire. As a result it is a minus modifier.

The more ranks a target has the easier it is to target and hit as any fire which overshoots the front rank will hit soldiers in the ranks behind. For the purposes of this modifier all ranks, including partial ranks are counted. What constitutes a rank on a target depends on the angle of fire and the disposition of the target.

The larger the target is the easier it is to hit. As a result this is a positive modifier.

Monsters are large targets and therefore easy to hit, so this is a positive modifier. UNIT FIRING ARE A CLASS Experienced, well trained troops are better at aiming and are not easily disturbed by the pressure of battle. This positive factor reflects these facts. UNIT FIRING ARE C CLASS Poorly trained or green troops will not react to battle stress well and as a result the accuracy of their firing will suffer, so this is a minus modifier.

Firing from a horse, wolf, pig or monster is difficult because the creatures movement affects the firers aim, as a result this is a minus modifier.

Firing from a moving vehicle such as a boat or wagon, also affects accuracy adversely, so this is a minus modifier as well.

Flame attacks are carried out in phase eight of the game turn and occur simultaneously with all other firing. Flame attacks are not subject to any move and fire restrictions. Casualties from flame attacks are not resolved by the method used for other missile attacks.

When on the ground, creatures that possess flame attacks may only fire at targets on the ground or at Combat Height. When flying at Combat Height, demi-dragons and other creatures that breathe fire, may only engage in flame attacks on targets on the ground, or at Combat Height. They cannot make flame attacks on creatures at Flight Height. When at Flight Height fire breathing creatures can only make flame attacks on other creatures at the same height or at Combat Height.

When a monster breathes fire in phase eight, the appropriate template (i.e. the Flame Template), is placed with its narrowest end touching the front edge of the creature's base and may be swung to any angle to maximise effect.

Any infantry or cavalry figure whose base is either partially or totally covered by the template is liable to become a casualty. Roll one D100 for each figure involved and if the result is below or equal to 60% that figure has been killed.

In the case of a monster or character whose base falls partially or totally under the template, roll one D100 to see if the flame hits the target. If it does the target will suffer one wound and must refer this to the relevant Character or Monster Hit Table. The only exception to this rule occurs when a character, unit or monster is magically protected from flame attack. The protection will never be 100% but whatever the protection factor is, it is taken off the flame attacks usual percentage chance of hitting before the D100 is rolled. All fire breathing monsters are protected from flame attack as if they were wearing Armour of Fire Repulsion.