SONG OF THE DARK

MILLENNIUM

A fan made product for skirmish matches in the Warhammer

40.000 universe, based on Ganesha Games's Song of Blades
and Heroes ruleset.

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It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the

Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of
Earth.
He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of
a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a
rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of
Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man
for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he
may never truly die.Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor
continues his eternal vigilance.
Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the
Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the
Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will.
Vast armies give battle in His name on uncounted worlds.
Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the
Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades
in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary
defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests
of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few.
But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the
ever-present threat to humanity from aliens, heretics, mutants -and far, far worse.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It
is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable.
These are the tales of those times.
Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has
been forgotten, never to be relearned.
Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the
grim dark future there is only war.
There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage
and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

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1. Disclaimers
This is a fan made product. Ganesha Games is not involved in this project, and neither support
or promote it. All copyrighted images and material used in this document are property of their
rightful owners, used without direct permission. No challenge to their status intended. All Rights
Reserved to their respective owners.

2. A word about Song of The Dark Millennium

The main idea behind this project is to have a quick and relatively simple set of rules to play fast
matches on a skirmish scale in the Warhammer 40.000 setting. Games Workshop, in my opinion,
never gave us players a satisfactory instrument for this kind of
gameplay, so I decided to follow other ways.
This set of rules is designed to be used with Song of Blade
and Heroes (SBH) and with it's expansion books Song of Gold
and Darkness (SGD), Song of Wind and Water (SWW) and
Song of Deeds and Glory (SDG) etc. All these manual are
distribuited and sold by Ganesha Games
(http://www.ganeshagames.net/).
In the beginning I was tempted to create complex rules to
emulate almost all the armors and weapons of Warhammer
40.000. The first project included precise and complete army
lists for figures, with already calculated equipment options.
Fortunately, I recognized the mistake quickly: this is a SBH
styled product, after all.
So, I quickly retraced my steps, deciding to simply create
some new rules and special abilities to help recreate the
Warhammer 40.000 flavor, maintaining the more I can from
SBH approach.
This document is a creation of Sebastiano Soprana (lonetear77@gmail.com), made with the
help of the SBH Yahoo group (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/songofblades/) and a bunch
of friends for playtesting.
Please never take what you find here like the Holy Bible. This work is intended as an help for
you all to play some WH40K skirmish games, and you must adapt everything I wrote to your game
style. The gold rule is, always, to have fun. And purge some alien or demon. Oh, uhm, ok, forget
the last sentence!
So, have a good reading and, please, feel free to contact me with any opinion, feedback,
suggestion or other stuff.
The Emperor protects,
Brother Inquisitor Sebastian
Version: 1.0 (Work still in progress) 13/03/2013

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3. Note(s)
This variation of Song of Blades and Heroes uses an amount of new special abilities to
represent armors and powerful melee or ranged weapons. Most of the figures you' ll create will
have some of these abilities. For this reason, I strongly suggest to use a slightly higher point
amount for warband building: anything from around an additional 15%-25% points should work
well.

4. New Rules
Here follows a complete list of the new rules used in this Song of Blade and Heroes variant.
Area of Effect
Within this set of rules, some special rules
allow a figure to make attacks or other actions
which influence an area of effect. This area is a
circular zone with a diameter equivalent to a
short measure.
You can employ the instrument used for short
measurements to estimate this area, but this is
a very inaccurate way to operate.
The best way to apply this rule is to print this
image/template on cardboard:

effect.
If you're using the Short meter, do your best
to center it on the main target and move it to
figure out which other models/objects are
influenced.
Choose any target when making ranged
attacks
A model can ignore the normal restriction that
force it to make ranged attacks against the
nearest model if it pass a Quality test with one
die. If the Quality roll fails, the model must
follow the normal shooting rules.
This represents the discipline necessary to
ignore the nearest threat in order to shoot to a
more advantageous target.
Example: In the line of sight of a Veteran
Imperial Guard (Q3+, C2) there are an Eldar
Aspect Warrior and a Warlock. The Eldar
Aspect Warrior is pretty near, ready to engage
the Imperial Guard in close combat. But the
Warlock is easier to kill and potentially more
lethal because of it's Magic User ability. The
player decide to try to shot at the Warlock: if the
model pass a Quality test (with a roll of 3 or
more), the Veteran can attack the magician. If it
fails, it will be forced to attack the Aspect
Warrior.

Note that the print size for this image is A4:

the template must be printed with a 750mm
diameter, to be of the right size for the game.
Whenever an ability or situation tells you to
use area of effect, just center the area of effect
template on the said target (often a figure) and
follow the other instructions. Usually, all models
and/or objects completely or partially covered
by the area of effect are influenced by the

Critical Hits (Optional)

Whenever you roll a 6 on an attack roll of
any kind (close combat or ranged, including
spells used as ranged attack), roll the die again:
if the roll is another 6, the model scored a
critical hit: add 2 times its Combat value to the
attack roll total.
This represents a very lucky attack, capable
to change the tide of battle.
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Example: An Imperial Guard armed with his
laser rifle (Q4+, C2), charge a powerful Chaos
Marine (Q3+, C4, Armor 1) in a desperate close
combat assault. The Imperial Guard player roll
a 6 for it's attack, while the Chaos Marine
obtain a 3. The Imperial Guard win the
combat by 1, but, thanks to the Chaos Marine
Armor 1 special ability (pag ??), the combat
should result in a draw. The Imperial Guard
player shake his die and roll it again,
whispering a prayer to the Emperor. The roll
turn into another 6. The final result is a
6+(2x2)=10 for the Imperial Guard versus the
3+4=7 of the Chaos Marine. The Guard win by
3 points, reduced to 2 because of Armor 1, but
the Chaos Marine still suffer a fall result!

5. New Special Abilities

Here follow a complete list of the new special abilities used in this set of rules. This abilities try to
reflect Warhammer 40.000 setting, giving to players the option to create heavily armored unit and
devastating weapons.
After each name ability there is a number between brackets: this is the ability cost. Underlined
abilities are Personalities specific.
Armor (1 or 2) (4/8)
This rule represents protection offered by a
complete suit of technologically or magically
engineered armor or a particularly strong
natural armor such as a dinosaurs hide or a
carapace. Basic type of armors, like kevlar
jackets or other kind of bulletproof vest, are
already considered in the Combat value of a
figure. This special ability indicate a particulary
powerful and resistant kind of protections.
Anytime a model with Armor 1 is beaten in
combat, reduce the combat loss value by 1.
This can transform a loss in a draw if the figure
was beaten by just one point, or a potential
killed result in a retread or fall one.
Armor 2 works the same way, but it reduces
the combat loss value by 2, to a minimum of 0
(a draw).

Designer's Note
A model without the Armor 1 or 2 rule, is
comparable to a Warhammer 40.000 figure
with an Armor Saving Throw of 6+ or 5+.
Armor I correspond to Armor Saving Throws
4+ or 3+, while Armor II should be limited to
Armor Saving Throw 2+ or to simulate vehicle
plating.
Blast (10)
A model with this rule is capable of making
ranged attacks that devastate not just a single
enemy, but all the creatures in a zone around
the main target.
An attack made by a figure with this special
rule influence all enemies or friendly models
which are completely or partially under the area
of effect centered on the main target.
Once the models influenced by the area of
effect are settled, make a single attack roll and
use it to resolve the outcome of the shot against
each victim.
Only models with the Shooter rule can take
this ability.
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Bulky (-1)
A bulky model is carrying heavy and
cumbersome equipment or, perhaps, it's just too
heavy itself to move freely. A bulky model
cannot benefit from the Stealth rule and has -2
on Quality for purposes of Climbing and
Swimming rolls. Swimming rules will be
described in the wilderness supplement Song
of Wind and Water.

attacks, including spells used like ranged

attacks.
Only models with the Shooter rule can take
this ability.

Force Field (Normal or Strong) (6/12)

Force Field represents any kind of energetic
protection able to deflect direct hits on the
model, saving it from damage. Force Field can
derive from technological devices, magical or
psionic qualities or simple "luck". Whenever a
model with Force Field (Normal) suffer a
combat loss, before deciding if it retreat, fall or
die, roll a die. If the result is a 5 or a 6, the
model completely ignore the negative result, as
the Force Field nullify the attack.
Force Field (Strong) work the same way, but
the combat loss is ignored with a result of 4, 5
or 6.
Great Strength (4)
The model posses great strength or a big
and heavy weapon. It is capable of very
powerful attacks. A model with this rule adds +1
to any attack roll it makes in close combat.
Healer (12)
A model with this rule posses instruments,
abilities or powers capable to heal friendly
model. This ability gives the healing side of the
Cleric rule, but not the Lethal feature against
Undead. Only Personalities can have this
ability.
Lethal Melee Weapon (8)
The model is equipped with some kind of
special melee weapon. This can be anything
from a power weapon to big and powerful claw
or jaw to a magical chaotic blade.
This ability gives the model the ability to
inflict grievous wound. The model gains the
Assassin special rule, but only when fighting
close combat.
Lethal Ranged Weapon (8)
This ability works in the same way of Lethal
Melee Weapon, but apply only to ranged

Piercing Shot (1 or 2) (2/4)

A model with the Piercing Shot rule has the
ability to easily damage armored target while
shooting.
Ranged attacks (including spells used like
ranged attacks) made by a model with Piercing
Shot 1 completely ignore the Armor 1 rule.
Armor 2 works like Armor 1 against Ranged
attacks of a model with Piercing Shot 1.
Piercing Shot 2 works in the same way as
Piercing Shot 1, but completely negates the
benefits of both Armor 1 and Armor 2.
Only models with the Shooter rule can take
this ability.
Designer's Note
Piercing Shot and Rending try to emulate
the AP proprety of Warhammer 40000
weapons. Piercing Shot and Rending 1 can be
used for AP 4 and 3, while Piercing Shot and
Rending 2 are equivalent to AP 2 or 1.

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Rending (1 or 2) (2/4)
This ability works in the same way of Piercing
Shot (1 or 2), but apply only to melee attacks.
Suppression (5)
This rule represents the ability of some
ranged weapons to make targeted enemies
keep their head down, by saturating an area
with bullets.
When a figure with this ability make a ranged
attack, it's target (if it survive) and all models
within an area of effect centered on the main
target, will receive a -1 penalty to Activation
rolls until the end of their next turn.
Use some kind of marker to remember this
suppressed status.
Only models with the Shooter rule can take
this ability.

Sure-footed (6)
This kind of model is well versed in moving
through every difficult terrain. This can be due
to some technological device or engineering, or
just a matter of training and skill.
Whatever is the cause, a figure with this skill
can move normally into difficult terrains like
forests, ruins, swamps and similar. Note that
this ability don't protects from any other
negative effect of a dangerous terrain: it just
affect movement speed.
Designer's Note
The names Armor 1 and 2, Piercing Shot 1
and 2 and Rending 1 and 2 can be a bit
redundant and confusing. Still I think this is a
good naming system, which allow all players
to easily remember the effects of these rules.

6. Figures
Following, you'll find an extensive amount of pre made figures you can choose from. The list is
far from complete, but the idea is to offer many examples from which you can take inspiration to
create your own models.
The best way to import a Warhammer 40.000 model to this set of rules, is to figure out a good
way to represents it's equipment and characteristics. A Space Marine equipped with Jump Pack,
for example, should probably have the Fearless, Armor 1, Long Move and Flying abilities. One
riding with a Bike should have something like Fearless, Armor 1, Big, Mounted and Long Move
ones. What about Magic-User for an Eldar Warlock or a Chaos Sorcerer? Rending 1 for and Ork
wielding a Choppa? Just use your imagination!

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SPACE MARINES
Space Marine with Bolter

Space Marine Dreadnought

Points 52

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Shooter

(Medium)

Points 138

Quality 3+

Special rules

Armor 2, Artificial, Big, Bulky,

Great Strength, Lethal Melee
Weapon, Piercing Shot 1,
Rending 2, Shooter (Long),
Rare, Tough

Space Marine with Plasma Cannon

Points 86

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Blast, Fearless, Good

Aim, Shooter (Long), Piercing
Shot 2, Short Move

Combat 4

Assault Space Marine with Chainsword

Points 92

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Flying,

Long Move, Rending 1,
Shooter (Short)

Space Marine Biker

Points 84

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Long Move,

Mounted, Shooter (Medium)

Space Marine Terminator

Points 100

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 2, Bulky, Fearless,

Force Field 1, Lethal Melee
Weapon, Rending 2, Shooter
(Long)

Space Marine Sergeant

Points 92

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Leader,

Lethal Melee Weapon,
Rending 1, Shooter (Medium)

Space Marine Apothecary

Points 76

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Healer,

Shooter (Medium)

Space Marine Librarian

Points 112

Quality 3+

Combat 4

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Magic-user,

Lethal Melee Weapon,
Rending 2, Shooter (Short)

Space Marine Chaplain

Points 112

Quality 3+

Combat 4

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Force Field

2, Lethal Melee Weapon,
Rending 2, Shooter (Short),
Steadfast

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Space Marine Commander

Space Marine Chapter Lord

Points 156

Quality 3+

Combat 4

Special rules

Armor 1, Fearless, Force Field

2, Leader, Lethal Melee
Weapon, Lethal Ranged
Weapon, Piercing Shot 2,
Rending 2, Shooter (Short),
Steadfast

Points 250

Quality 2+

Combat 5

Special rules

Armor 2, Fearless, Force Field

2, Leader, Lethal Melee
Weapon, Lethal Ranged
Weapon, Piercing Shot 2,
Rending 2, Shooter (Medium),
Steadfast, Tough, Unique

TYRANIDS
Note: For Tyranids models, the Beastmaster ability don' t count toward personality points limit.
Hormagaunt

Hive Guard

Points 30

Quality 4+

Special rules

Combat 2

Points 72

Quality 3+

Combat 4

Animal, Charge, Long Move

Special rules

Armor 2, Big, Fearless,

Rending 1, Shooter (Medium)

Points 17

Quality 4+

Zoanthrope

Special rules

Animal, Shooter (Medium)

Termagaunt
Combat 2

Points 78

Quality 4+

Special rules

Beastmaster, Force Field 2,

Good Aim, Lethal Ranged
Weapon, Piercing Shot 2,
Shooter (long), Short Move,
Unerring Aim

Genoraptor
Points 46

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Rending 1, Steadfast, Stealth

Pyrovore

Devourer Swarm
Points 20

Quality 4+

Special rules

Swarm

Combat 2

Combat 2

Points 47

Quality 4+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Burst, Short Move

Biovore

Gargoyle
Points 47

Quality 4+

Combat 2

Special rules

Animal, Flying, Long Move,

Shooter (Medium)

Points 54

Quality 4+

Combat 3

Special rules

Armor 1, Blast, Shooter (long),

Short Move, Unerring Aim

Genoraptor Leader

Ravener
Points 48

Quality 3+

Combat 3

Special rules

Animal, Long Move, Rending 1

Points 82

Quality 3+

Combat 4

Special rules

Big, Leader, Rending 1,

Steadfast, Stealth

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Warrior

Dominator

Points 82

Quality 3+

Combat 4

Special rules

Armor 1, Beastmaster,
Rending 1, Fearless, Shooter
(Medium)

Carnifex
Points 114

Quality 4+

Special rules

Armor 2, Fearless, Great

Strength, Huge, Lethal Melee
Weapon, Piercing Shot 1,
Rending 2, Shooter (Long),
Tough

Points 170

Quality 3+

Combat 5

Special rules

Armor 2, Beastmaster,
Fearless, Huge, Lethal Melee
Weapon, Piercing Shot 1,
Rending 2, Shooter (Long),
Tough

Combat 4

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