Volley
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Volley
A Volley Action can only be used if the Regiment has at least one Stand with the Barrage Special Rule – otherwise, it doesn’t have a ranged weapon with which to make a Volley.
Choosing a Target and Line of Sight
In order to check if a Volley Action can be declared, first measure whether any Stand of the target is within Line of Sight and Barrage Range of at least one Stand of the Volleying Regiment. If you are unable to do that, then the Target Regiment is considered to be outside Los and you may not perform a Volley Action against that Target.
Check for Obscuration
For each Stand in the front rank of the Volleying Regiment, trace a straight line between the center of the Stand’s front facing to the center of any facing of a Stand in the Target Regiment, as described in the section for Line of Sight. If no Regiments or Obscuring Terrain break this line, that Stand’s Volley is a Clear Shot. If one or more Regiments and/or Obscuring Terrain break that line, the Stand’s Volley is an Obscured Shot. Note that a Regiment can be targeted if it is in base contact with an enemy, although this will often mean the Volley of one or more Stands might be Obscured.
Check for Long Range
You’re nearly ready to unleash your Volley. First, however, you need to check if your Regiment is shooting at Long Range. The range given for missile weapons is not their optimal range, but their maximum range – beyond a certain point, hits are possible, but much harder to achieve. To represent this, if the distance between each Stand of your Regiment and the target is more than half the range of your Regiment’s Barrage special rule, the number of Shots (the number of dice) count as Obscured. Note that some Stands in a Regiment may be Obscured while others don’t depending on the distance. A Stand can only be Obscured once (e.g. Long Range and Obscuration will only lead to half shots and will not be halved again). Stands that find the Target outside their Barrage Range contribute no dice.
Determine the Number of Shots
Each Stand on the first rank fires a number of Shots equal to the X in the Barrage X Special Rule, multiplied by the number of Models on the Stand. In this way, a Stand’s Shots diminish as it suffers casualties. An undamaged Infantry Stand with Barrage 1 would fire 4 shots. To calculate the total number of Shots, first calculate the total dice contributed by all the Stands making an Obscured Shot and halve that number (by rounding fractions up). Then, calculate the total dice contributed by all the Stands making Clear Shots, and add those to the previous total. Finally, add 1 die for each Supporting Stand. For example, an Infantry Regiment with the Barrage 1 Special Rule might have: 2 Stands making Obscured Shots, 1 Stand making Clear Shots, and 1 Supporting Stand. They would add 4 dice for the 2 Stands making Obscured Shots, 4 dice for the Stand making Clear Shots, and 1 dice for the Supporting Stand, for a total of 9.
Rolling to Hit
Roll a number of dice equal to the Shots being fired. Any die that is less than or equal to your Regiment’s Volley Characteristic is a Hit. Any die that is greater than your Regiment’s Volley Characteristic is a Miss. Example: Your 3-Stand Regiment of Longbowmen (Volley 2 and Barrage 1) are Volleying at an enemy Regiment, for a total of 12 Shots. You roll 12 dice. Any result of 1 or 2 is a Hit. Any result of 3 or more is a Miss. Should the Volley Characteristic of the Acting Regiment’s Stand be 6 and above, that Stand gains the Rapid Volley Special Rule.[2]
The Defence Roll
Now, your opponent rolls a number of dice equal to the number of Hits. Any roll that is less than or equal to their Regiment’s Defence Characteristic or is less than or equal to the Regiment’s Evasion Characteristic is a successful Injury Roll – the Regiment’s armour or reflexes have saved them on this occasion.
Any roll that is greater than both their Regiment’s Defence Characteristic and its Evasion Characteristic is a failed Injury Roll and causes a Wound. Note that you only make one roll, which is compared to both the Defence Characteristic and Evasion Characteristic (see page 165 for examples of Injury Rolls).
Remove Casualties & Morale
Tally up the number of Wounds into a Wound Pool, and proceed to Removing Casualties (see page 172). Note that Wounds suffered from a Volley do not cause Morale Tests.
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