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Close Combat Weapons

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Power Weapons

These weapons are surrounded by a disruption field that allows the user to slice through the thickest armour and lop off limbs with a single blow. They are highly prized, and are often a badge of office for senior Imperial servants.

If a character with a power weapon is involved in a parry (either attacking or defending), there is a 25% chance that the opponent’s weapon is destroyed by the disruption field. If the other weapon is a combat accessory, assume that the basic weapon it is attached to is destroyed as well, since the body of the weapon is more likely to be hit in a parry than the blade. Only other power weapons, shock weapons, Daemon weapons and force weapons are immune to this.

The chainfist was initially developed for use on tactical dreadnought armour, and it is rare to find a variant designed for use elsewhere. The chainfist is intended to be used by Space Marine boarding parties for cutting through sealed bulkheads, but a combined chainsword and power weapon also makes it an incredibly potent close combat weapon.

Specialist Weapon: Chainfists require the Specialist Weapon – Chain and Specialist Weapon – Power abilities.

Demolition: Chainfists used against stationary targets (e.g. walls or parked/immobilised vehicles) inflict an extra 3D6 damage.

Terminators: Only characters wearing tactical dreadnought armour can use chainfists, unless the weapon in question has been built specifically for a user in another form of armour.

Another weapon designed for Terminator usage, lightning claws are generally used in pairs. Unlike chainfists, lightning claws are often modified to fit onto power armour, particularly for Space Marine officers. Although similar in design to power fists, lightning claws give up the grabbing capability of fists and replace it with a number of powered blades, each the length of a short sword. These allow greater parrying ability than almost any other power weapon.

Specialist Weapon: Lightning claws require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

Paired: Characters attacking using both of a pair of lightning claws do not count as combining actions, and so do not half their chances of hitting. Note that off-hand modifiers apply as normal – although since most lightning claw users are Ambidextrous Space Marines, this is not normally a problem.

Terminators and Power Armour: Only characters wearing tactical dreadnought or power armour can use lightning claws, unless the weapon in question has been built specifically for a user in another form of armour.

The power axe was designed for hacking through walls and armoured doors, before the more effective power fist came along. It is still common amongst assault troops because of the damage it can cause to targets, both plasteel and organic.

Specialist Weapon: Power axes require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

Incredibly rare, the power falchion is merely an oversized power sword. Because of its weight, it is normally used two-handed, although Space Marines or other warriors in strength-enhancing armour have been known to use it single-handed.

Specialist Weapon: Power falchions require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

Also known as the power glove or power claw, the power fist is an oversized gauntlet surrounded by a disruptor field. In all but the smallest models, the gauntlet’s fingers are actually controlled via a copycat system, with the user’s real fingers tucked safely away inside the armoured shell of the gauntlet’s hand. A power fist can be used to punch, but is most effective when the user grabs a target and either crushes or rips chunks away.

Specialist Weapon: Power fists require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

Grab And Twist: Characters armed with a power fist may attempt to grab an opponent instead of punching it. There is a –20 penalty to hit, but if the blow hits, the power fist’s damage goes up to 4D10+5.

An odd weapon, used only by those who are both eccentric enough to appreciate the halberd and rich enough to afford a power weapon. It differs from the standard halberd in that the hook portion of the blade is usually missing – something as subtle as unhorsing a rider is unnecessary in a weapon capable of tearing said rider in two with one hit.

Specialist Weapon: Power halberds require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

An impressive, but not the most effective, power weapon, power hammers are popular with the Ministorum’s Drill Abbots and Witch Hunters, and with the Ordo Malleus, who view it as their trademark weapon.

Specialist Weapon: Power hammers require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

A popular weapon with criminals, thanks to its combined killing power and ease of concealment, the power knife is rarely seen on battlefields – the military prefer more effective and prominent weapons like power swords or axes.

Specialist Weapon: Power knives require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

The power sword may vary in shape and length (from short sword to broadsword in length), but all have essentially the same effect. Power swords may be less wieldy than a typical sword, but the damage caused is massive in comparison. Where a sword might bite as deep as the bone of an arm and then stop, a power sword will blast straight through with hardly a pause.

Specialist Weapon: Power swords require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

Thunder hammers are immensely lethal power hammers, so named for the deafening sound they make upon impact. They were originally designed for Space Marine Terminators, and are rarely used by anyone outside the Adeptus Astartes.

Specialist Weapon: Thunder hammers require the Specialist Weapon – Power ability.

Shock Weapon: As well as being power weapons, thunder hammers also count as shock weapons (see below for details), but do not require the Specialist Weapon – Shock ability – they are designed for killing, and the stun capability is just a side-effect.

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