Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

On the page for Mortal Wounds in the core rulebook (page 181) it says that “Unlike normal attacks, excess damage from attacks that inflict mortal wounds is not lost. Instead keep allocating damage to another model in the target unit until either all the damage has been allocated or the target unit is destroyed”. My question is regarding an attack which inflict mortal wounds on top of its normal damage.
Say I fire a T’au Hammerhead Railgun at a 10 man unit of Space Marine Tactical squad, hit the shot and roll a 6 to wound. Then say I roll a 6 on the Railguns damage roll and a 3 for the D3 mortal wounds. The attack is now inflicting a total of 6 damage and 3 mortal wounds. Does the “Mortal Wound” clause in the main rulebook overwrite the “Inflict Damage” clause in the main rulebook (also page 181), meaning that the damage from this attack (which is now an attack that inflicts mortal wounds) isn’t lost, so that a total of 9 Space Marines will die? Or does the “attack that inflicts mortal wounds” only affect the mortal wounds of the attack, so a total of 4 Space Marines will die?

My other question is regarding mortal wounds and T’au Tactical Drones with the Saviour Protocol rule.
Say an enemy psyker casts Smite against a unit of Broadsides with three Shield Drones within 3 inches of them, and the psyker manages to roll 3 mortal wounds on his smite. Is this now one attack that inflicts 3 mortal wounds, meaning I need to make one 2+ Saviour Protocol roll which will then cause the Shield Drone to take 1 mortal wound (as per Saviour Protocol’s wording), which it can then save on a 5+ (as per the Shield Generator rule)? Or do I need to make three separate Saviour Protocol rolls, one for each individual mortal wound, which can in the end kill up to three Shield Drones?

you would need to perform savior protocols per smite damage.

For mortal wounds it's always 1:1
For anything else its X:1

Mortal Wounds are applied after normal damage is resolved.

The railgun would process its normal damage then the Mortal Wounds. Each is applied one at a time, three separate 1 damage Mortal Wound attacks, as per the rules.

For the Psyker example, three separate Saviour Protocols rolls.

Can you show where it says when to apply which type of wound? It's all done at the same time so it would be up to the attacking player to declare whether mortal wounds are inflicted before or after normal damage.

Not according to the Rulebook FAQ - this is not a new addition in the latest round it’s been there a while:

Q: If a weapon such as a rail rifle has an ability that can inflict a mortal wound on the target in addition to the normal damage, but the ‘normal damage’ is subsequently saved, does the target still suffer the mortal wound?
A: Yes. Note that if the ‘normal damage’ was not saved, the wound would be allocated on the target unit first (and any resulting damage inflicted) before the mortal wound was inflicted.

MW are applied after weapon damage.

EDIT ninjad by that FAQ post

Thanks for your responses. Regarding Saviour Protocols, isn't Smite one attack that inflicts D3 mortal wounds so only one Saviour Protocol is needed? Could you clarify why this isn't the case?

 Nighttail wrote:
Thanks for your responses. Regarding Saviour Protocols, isn't Smite one attack that inflicts D3 mortal wounds so only one Saviour Protocol is needed? Could you clarify why this isn't the case?

Mortal wounds are always separate and do 1 damage each.

So smite is not one attack that does d3 damage, it is d3 attacks that do 1 damage.

Core rules pg. 7, 3. allocate wounds : If an attack successfully wounds the target, the player commanding the target unit allocates the wound to any model in the unit (the chosen model does not have to be within range or visible to the attacking unit). MW are allocated as you would do with any other wound (also on pg. 7 of the core rules).

Alright, thanks all