Assault resolution

[Ceddyn]

Do unsaved wounds that do not kill anything because of wound allocation count for the combat resolution.

 

Let's take a combat squad of 2 bolter marines (squad A) vs a bolter marine and a sergeant (squad B)as an example. Squad A gets 1 unsaved wound. Squad B gets 3 wounds, 1 is allocated on the sergeant, the other 2 on the bolter. The sergeant saves, the bolter marine fails both. Is this assault a draw with 1 wound for both or did A win with 2 wounds?

[Grey Mage]

Any and all wounds actually taken by an enemy model are used... casualties matter not at all.

[Hackbar]

While we're on the subject of assault resolution, I could swear when I read the main rule book it said just 'wounds' and not 'unsaved wounds' like it says under instant death and elsewhere. Every game I've observed has played it counting only unsaved wounds, and this seems to work well enough. Am I reading too much into the wording here?

[Legatus]

Excess wounds do not count. Only the wounds that have been lost are taken into account. See page 39 in the rulebook.

 

So in the above example it would have been a draw.

[Ryjak]

At first, I thought this was a silly question, but I read the rules, which state:

 

To decide who has won the combat, total up the number of unsaved wounds inflicted by each side on their opponents. The side that caused the most is the winner.

 

Most people instead count the number of wounds suffered instead of inflicted. I'm not sure if my interpretation is correct, but there are many ways wounds inflicted would not equal wounds suffered. For example, a multi-wound model is wounded once, but from a weapon which inflicts 'Instant Death', he effectively suffers 3 wounds. Or conversely, a single-wound model could be wounded multiple times by a powerweapon; 4 inflicted wounds could result in just 1 wound suffered.

 

The rules do not make this distinction though, so I think, RAW, you should be counting wounds inflicted, and thus Squad A would win by a margin of 2 wounds inflicted. (I also suggest you change the make-up of the squads to make the example clearer, and more believable)

[Legatus]

If you would have read just a few sentenses further, the last paragraph of that section explains all that quite explicitely.

[Hackbar]

Actually, I went back and read my 5th ed rulebook and we're all wrong! Edit: Except for Legatus!

 

In the first paragraph it clearly states 'unsaved wounds', though from then on the book uses the shorter 'wounds' to refer to this. My mistake.

 

As for models with multiple wounds, the last paragraph clearly states that "wounds that have been negated by saving throws... do not count, nor do wounds in excess of a model's Wounds characteristic, only the wounds actually suffered by enemy models (including all of the Wounds lost by models that have suffered instant death)"

 

Emphasis mine.

So the given example is indeed a tie, as the sergeant who suffered 2 wounds had only 1 to lose and thus counts only once.

[Ryjak]

Ok, that's half of the issue concluded... what about 'extra' wounds from Instant Death?

[Ceddyn]

I can't believe I missed that paragraph, they explain it clearly indeed. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction though.

[ShinyRhino]

*removed cause I was just plain WRONG*

[Legatus]

To quote the relevant passage again

 

(...) only the wounds actually suffered by enemy models (including all of the Wounds lost by models that have suffered instant death).

 

If a Captain with full 3 wounds suffers an instant death wound, that counts for 3 towards combat resolution. If the Captain had already lost a wound during previous turns, having only 2 when suffering the instant death wound, that will count for 2 towards combat resolution.

[Frosty the Pyro]

To quote the relevant passage again

 

(...) only the wounds actually suffered by enemy models (including all of the Wounds lost by models that have suffered instant death).

 

If a Captain with full 3 wounds suffers an instant death wound, that counts for 3 towards combat resolution. If the Captain had already lost a wound during previous turns, having only 2 when suffering the instant death wound, that will count for 2 towards combat resolution.

 

This man, he speaks the truth