Core Mechanics - The Wrath & Glory Guide

The Core Test: Roll a Pool, Count Icons

Almost everything in Wrath & Glory, from picking a lock to firing a boltgun, runs on one test. You build a pool of six-sided dice, roll them all at once, and count the Icons they show. If you have at least as many Icons as the Difficulty Number (DN), you succeed. Learn this one test and you know most of the game.

Real World Analogy

Think of a job interview with a panel of judges. Each die is one judge:

1–3: The judge shrugs. Nothing.
4–5: The judge nods. That's one Icon.
6: The judge stands up and applauds. That's an Exalted Icon, worth two.

The DN is how many nods you need to get the job. In the 41st Millennium, the "job" is usually staying alive.

The Basic Steps

1. Build the pool: Attribute + Skill (+ any bonus dice)
2. One die in the pool is the Wrath die (use a different colour)
3. The GM sets the DN (3 is a typical test)
4. Roll everything and count Icons:
      1-3 = nothing   4-5 = 1 Icon   6 = Exalted Icon (2 Icons)
5. Icons equal to or greater than the DN = success
6. Spare Exalted Icons can be shifted for extra effects
7. Check the Wrath die: 1 = Complication, 6 = Wrath Critical

Difficulty Numbers: How Many Icons You Need

The DN is not a target number on each die. It is the total number of Icons the whole pool has to produce. DN 3 is the rulebook's typical example; the GM lowers it for easy jobs and raises it for hard ones. In combat the DN to hit is set by the target's Defence instead.

Each die gives you 2/3 of an Icon on average (a 1-in-3 chance of one Icon plus a 1-in-6 chance of two), so a quick rule of thumb is "pool size × 2/3 = expected Icons". The real odds, worked out exactly for every combination of dice, look like this:

Pool	DN 1	DN 2	DN 3	DN 4	DN 5
3 dice	87.5%	62.5%	33.3%	13.0%	3.2%
4 dice	93.8%	77.1%	52.1%	28.0%	11.5%
5 dice	96.9%	86.5%	67.4%	44.2%	23.8%
6 dice	98.4%	92.2%	78.6%	59.0%	37.8%
7 dice	99.2%	95.6%	86.5%	71.1%	51.7%
8 dice	99.6%	97.5%	91.6%	80.3%	63.9%
10 dice	99.9%	99.3%	97.0%	91.5%	81.8%

These figures are before any rerolls from Wrath points, and they count the Wrath die like any other die (which it is, for Icons).

What Raises or Lowers the Odds

Modifiers come in two flavours: bonus dice (more chances) and DN increases (more Icons needed). It's like the difference between getting more lottery tickets and the lottery demanding more matching numbers.

Bonus dice: spending Glory (+1 die per point), combat options such as Charge (+1 die) or All-Out Attack (+2 dice), talents, good gear, and favourable circumstances the GM rewards.
Higher DN: being Wounded (+1 DN to all tests), attacking extra targets with a Multi-Attack (+2 DN per extra target), a target behind cover (cover raises its Defence), and anything the GM rules makes the job harder.

Shifting: Spending Spare Exalted Icons

When you succeed with Icons to spare, you can shift Exalted Icons: take a 6 you didn't need out of the count and spend it on something extra. The test still has to succeed without the dice you shift. Each shifted Exalted Icon can buy:

More information on an investigation or Awareness test
A better or faster result on a task (the GM decides what that looks like)
+1 ED on a successful attack (Extra Damage dice; see Combat)
+1 Glory for the party, at most once per test

Example: A Tech-Priest at the Cogitator

Pool: Intellect 4 + Tech 3 = 7 dice, DN 3

Roll: 6, 6, 5, 2, 1, 3, and the Wrath die shows 4

Count: 2 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 6 Icons. That beats DN 3.

Shifting: Without both 6s the pool still has 2 Icons (the 5 and the Wrath die's 4), which is less than 3, so only one 6 can be shifted. Without one 6 she still has 4 Icons, enough to succeed.

Result: The door opens, and the shifted Exalted Icon buys extra information: she also finds the access log showing who came through last.

The Wrath Die: When Fate Intervenes

The Wrath die is one of the dice in every pool, not an extra one, so roll it in a different colour. It counts Icons like any other die, but its 1s and 6s do more. Think of it as the universe's way of saying "things just got interesting".

Wrath Critical (a 6 on the Wrath die)

It counts as an Exalted Icon (2 Icons), like any 6.
The party gains 1 Glory.
On a successful attack it is a Critical Hit: roll on the Critical Hit table.

Complication (a 1 on the Wrath die)

Something goes wrong, a "yes, but" or "no, and" twist the GM describes.
It happens whether or not the test succeeds. You can open the door and still trip the alarm.
It can't be rerolled away with Wrath points.

The odds are flat: every test has exactly a 1-in-6 (16.7%) chance of a Complication and a 1-in-6 chance of a Wrath Critical, however big the pool is.

Wrath Die in Action

Wrath Critical: Combat

Situation: Sister Beatrice fires her boltgun at a cultist (Defence 2)

Roll: 4, 2, 3, 1, 5, and the Wrath die shows 6: 1 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 1 + 2 = 4 Icons, a hit

Result: The party gains 1 Glory and the hit is a Critical Hit. The bolt round detonates inside the cultist, and the GM rolls on the Critical Hit table for the gory details.

Complication: Tech

Situation: Hacking a security door, DN 3

Roll: 3 Icons (enough to succeed), but the Wrath die shows 1

Result: The door opens, but the hack trips a silent alarm. Enforcers are now converging on the party's location.

Wrath, Glory and Ruin: The Three Currencies

Three pools of points sit beside the dice and let players (and the GM) bend the odds.

Wrath (each player's own)

Every player starts each session with 2 Wrath. The GM awards more for good roleplaying, heroic acts and completing objectives.
Spend 1 to reroll all your failed dice on a test (once per test; a Complication stays).
Spend 1 to make a minor narrative declaration ("there's a maintenance hatch here"), subject to the GM's veto.
Spend 1 to recover Shock.

Glory (the party's shared pool)

Starts each session at 0. It fills from Wrath Criticals and shifted Exalted Icons.
Maximum is 6 or the number of players + 2, whichever is higher.
Spend it for +1 die per point, +1 damage per point, +1 to a Critical Hit's severity, or to Seize the Initiative.

Ruin (the GM's pool)

The GM starts with Ruin equal to the number of players.
It lets the enemy Seize the Initiative and fuels the abilities of tougher foes.

The Seven Attributes: Your Character's Foundation

Attributes are like the core stats in a video game: your character's raw potential. Think of them as a car's engine specifications. You can tune and upgrade them, but they set your baseline. Wrath & Glory has seven, and an ordinary human has 2 in each. The human maximum is 8; Space Marines and Orks can push past human norms.

flowchart TD A[Seven Attributes] --> B[Body] A --> C[Mind] A --> D[Presence] B --> E[Strength] B --> F[Toughness] B --> G[Agility] B --> H[Initiative] C --> I[Intellect] C --> J[Willpower] D --> K[Fellowship]

Strength: The Power Within

Strength is raw physical power: prying open a blast door before the Tyranids arrive, carrying a wounded comrade, and adding weight to every melee blow. In combat, melee damage adds your Strength. Athletics is the skill that runs on it.

A Rough Sense of Scale

Strength 1: Frail scholar or sickly hab-worker
Strength 2: Average human
Strength 3-4: Trained soldier, heavy labourer, gang bruiser
Strength 5-6: Exceptional, heavily augmented
Strength 7-8: The very edge of what a human body can do
Beyond 8: Space Marines, Ork Nobs and other non-human brutes

Toughness: Endurance and Resilience

Toughness is your character's internal armour. It feeds straight into Resilience (how hard you are to hurt) and Max Wounds (how much you can take), and it covers poison, disease, hunger and long marches.

Agility: Grace Under Fire

Agility is speed, coordination and a steady hand. It drives Ballistic Skill (shooting), Stealth and piloting.

Initiative: The Speed of Thought

Initiative is reaction time. It sets your Defence (Initiative − 1), the DN enemies need to hit you, and it drives Weapon Skill, so it is the duellist's attribute. It does not decide turn order; Wrath & Glory has no initiative roll (see Combat).

Intellect: The Weapon of Logic

In a universe where knowledge can damn your soul, Intellect is a double-edged sword. It's about processing information, solving problems and understanding complex systems, and it underpins Awareness, Tech and the scholarly skills.

Intellect in Different Contexts

Tech (Intellect + Tech)

Low Intellect: "I hit the machine with a wrench until it works."

High Intellect: "I analyse the machine's error patterns and apply the correct rite of activation."

Investigation (Intellect + Investigation)

Low Intellect: "I search everywhere for clues."

High Intellect: "From the blood spatter and the angle of the wound, the attacker was tall and left-handed."

Willpower: The Fortress of the Mind

Willpower is mental armour against the horrors of the galaxy. When daemons whisper and Chaos tries to corrupt your soul, Willpower keeps you human. It sets Conviction (your defence against corruption and the warp), Resolve (your defence against fear and intimidation) and your Max Shock, and it powers Psychic Mastery.

What Willpower Feeds (Tier 1 character)

Fellowship: The Human Element

Fellowship is charm, presence and the knack of getting others to do what you want. It sets your Influence (Fellowship − 1), which you roll to requisition gear and call in favours, and it drives the social skills.

The Skill System: Specialised Training

Skills are training and experience. Think of the difference between knowing how to drive (the Agility to steer) and being a racing driver (the Pilot skill to handle extreme manoeuvres). A test is Attribute + Skill, and each skill has one linked attribute. Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill are skills here, not attributes: you fight with Initiative + Weapon Skill and shoot with Agility + Ballistic Skill.

flowchart TD A[Attribute] --> C[Dice pool] B[Skill] --> C W[Bonus dice] --> C C --> D[Roll, including the Wrath die] D --> E{Icons at least DN?} E -->|Yes| F[Success: shift spare 6s] E -->|No| G[Failure: Wrath point reroll?] D --> H[Wrath die 1: Complication] D --> I[Wrath die 6: Wrath Critical]

All 18 Skills

Your character sheet prints each skill's linked attribute beside it. The six marked here are the ones you'll use most in a fight or on the hunt; check the sheet for the rest.

Body and Battle

Athletics (Strength): Climbing, jumping, swimming, forcing things
Ballistic Skill (Agility): Every ranged attack, from laspistol to heavy bolter
Weapon Skill (Initiative): Every melee attack, from combat knife to power sword
Stealth (Agility): Moving unseen, hiding, silent takedowns
Pilot: Driving and flying anything from a bike to a lander
Survival: Finding food and shelter, tracking, enduring the wilds

Mind and Knowledge

Awareness (Intellect): Spotting danger, noticing details
Investigation: Searching scenes, following evidence
Medicae: First aid, surgery, diagnosis
Scholar: Research, history, theology, forbidden lore
Tech: Operating, repairing and placating machines
Psychic Mastery (Willpower): Manifesting psychic powers (psykers only; see Psychic Powers)

Social

Cunning: Street smarts, schemes, knowing the angles
Deception: Lying, disguises, misdirection
Insight: Reading people, spotting lies
Intimidation: Threats, coercion, projecting menace
Leadership: Commanding troops, rallying the frightened
Persuasion: Convincing, negotiating, inspiring

Example: Hacking a Security Terminal

Test: Intellect + Tech, DN 3

Character: Intellect 4 (very sharp), Tech 3 (trained technician)

Pool: 7 dice, one of them the Wrath die

Odds: 86.5% to get 3 or more Icons

Narrative: "I interface with the machine spirit and recite the proper cant while rewiring the access protocols."

Traits: The Numbers Your Attributes Make

Traits are worked out from your attributes and Tier, and you rarely roll them directly. Instead, they set the DNs other people have to beat, or how much punishment you can take.

Trait	Formula	What it does
Defence	Initiative − 1	The DN to hit you
Resilience	Toughness + 1 + armour rating	Damage must beat this to wound you
Max Wounds	(Tier × 2) + Toughness	Serious injuries before you're Dying
Max Shock	Willpower + Tier	Fatigue and stress before you're Exhausted
Resolve	Willpower − 1	Resisting fear, intimidation and pinning
Conviction	Willpower	Resisting corruption and the warp
Influence	Fellowship − 1	Requisition and calling in favours
Passive Awareness	Half Awareness, rounded up	Noticing things without trying
Wealth	Starts equal to Tier	Your purchasing power
Speed	By species (Human 6 m, Aeldari 8 m)	How far you move each turn

Max Wounds uses the July 2020 errata formula, (Tier × 2) + Toughness. Older printings had Toughness + Tier, so double-check if you're using an early book.

Modifiers in Practice: The Perfect Storm

Situation: Tech-Priest Theta-Seven-Seven tries to override a blast door during a firefight. She has already taken a Wound.

Base Pool: Intellect 4 + Tech 3 = 7 dice

Modifiers:

A data-spike made for this kind of lock: the GM allows +1 bonus die
The party spends 1 Glory: +1 die
Base DN 3; Wounded: +1 DN, so DN 4

Final Test: 9 dice, DN 4, an 86.9% chance of success (without the Glory, 8 dice: 80.3%)

Narrative: "Las-fire scorches the air around me. I ignore the pain in my side and work through the security protocols, one binaric prayer at a time."

Tests Against Other Characters

When you act against someone, the DN usually comes from one of their traits rather than the GM's judgement. That keeps the roll on your side of the table and the numbers predictable.

Attacks: Weapon Skill or Ballistic Skill against the target's Defence.
Interaction attacks: Intimidation, Deception and similar skills used in a fight go against the target's Resolve. Success leaves the target Vulnerable or Hindered.
Noticing: someone who isn't actively searching relies on Passive Awareness, which is exactly what it's for.

Two Scenarios

Persuading a Governor

Situation: Convincing a planetary governor to lend troops

Player: Fellowship 4 + Persuasion 3 = 7 dice

DN: The GM sets DN 4: he's reluctant but not hostile

Result: 5 Icons. The governor agrees, but asks a favour in return.

Staring Down a Ganger

Situation: Mid-fight, an Arbitrator bellows at a ganger to drop his weapon

Player: Willpower 3 + Intimidation 2 = 5 dice

DN: The ganger's Resolve, 2

Result: 86.5% odds; she rolls 3 Icons. The ganger flinches and is Hindered.

Long Jobs: Breaking a Task into Several Tests

Some tasks can't be settled in a single roll. This is GM technique, not a separate rule: pick a total number of Icons the task needs, decide how long each test represents, and let Complications cost time or attract trouble along the way.

Example: Researching an Ancient Heresy

Goal: Uncover the truth about a suspected Chaos cult

Target: 15 Icons in total, one Intellect + Scholar test per day

Research Progress Log

Day 1: 2 Icons (total 2): "Found basic references in the archives"
Day 2: 4 Icons (total 6): "Discovered links to missing persons"
Day 3: 1 Icon + Complication (total 7): "Someone is watching the archives"
Day 4: 3 Icons (total 10): "Breakthrough: ritual descriptions"
Day 5: 5 Icons (total 15): "The cult is real, and it's active"

Building Effective Characters

The Specialist vs Generalist Debate

Should your character excel at one thing or be decent at many? The odds table above answers part of it: every extra die matters most in the middle of the curve. Going from 5 to 7 dice at DN 3 lifts you from 67.4% to 86.5%.

The Specialist: Expert in One Domain

High Attribute + High Skill: 8+ dice in the primary area
Strengths: Reliable even at DN 4–5, with spare Exalted Icons to shift
Weaknesses: Vulnerable outside their comfort zone

The Generalist: Jack of All Trades

Moderate Attributes: 3–4 in most areas, several trained skills
Strengths: Never completely useless
Weaknesses: Struggles when the DN climbs

Attribute Priorities by Role

Combat Specialist

Primary: Agility (for Ballistic Skill) or Initiative (for Weapon Skill and Defence)
Secondary: Toughness (Resilience and Wounds)
Tertiary: Strength for melee damage, or Willpower to hold out against Shock

Social Character

Primary: Fellowship (social skills and Influence)
Secondary: Willpower (Resolve, Conviction, Leadership)
Tertiary: Intellect (Investigation and noticing the lie)

Technical Expert

Primary: Intellect (Tech, Medicae, Scholar)
Secondary: Agility (Pilot and staying out of the line of fire)
Tertiary: Toughness (because the firefight will find you anyway)

Try It at the Table

1: Build the Pools

Character: Marcus (Strength 3, Toughness 3, Agility 4, Initiative 3, Willpower 2, Intellect 3, Fellowship 2)

Skills: Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Ballistic Skill 3, Tech 2, Weapon Skill 1

Climbing a wall in good conditions (DN 2)
Spotting an ambush in dense fog (DN 3, +1 for the fog)
Shooting a cultist with Defence 2, spending 1 Glory
Repairing a jammed door, DN 3, with the right tools (+1 bonus die)
The same climb as #1, but Marcus is Wounded

Answers

Strength 3 + Athletics 2 = 5 dice vs DN 2: 86.5%
Intellect 3 + Awareness 2 = 5 dice vs DN 4: 44.2%
Agility 4 + Ballistic Skill 3 + 1 Glory = 8 dice vs DN 2: 97.5%
Intellect 3 + Tech 2 + 1 = 6 dice vs DN 3: 78.6%
5 dice vs DN 3 (Wounded adds +1 DN): 67.4%

2: Read the Wrath Die

For each scenario, describe both a Wrath Critical (6) and a Complication (1). Remember that the Complication still happens if the test succeeds:

Performing emergency surgery on a wounded comrade
Negotiating with a suspicious merchant
Sneaking through a heretic camp
Driving a vehicle through dangerous terrain
Researching forbidden lore in ancient texts

3: Design a Long Job

Set an Icon target, a time per test and the likely Complications for each:

Repairing a damaged shuttle before the air runs out
Convincing a hive district to evacuate before the Tyranids arrive
Tracking a Chaos cult through an underhive
Fortifying a position before an Ork assault

4: Shift or Keep?

A Space Marine Scout with Agility 5 and Ballistic Skill 4 aims at a cultist behind cover (Defence 2, +1 for cover = DN 3). The party spends 1 Glory for a 10th die. She rolls 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, and the Wrath die shows 4. How many Icons does she have, and how many Exalted Icons can she shift for extra damage?

Answer

Three 6s = 6 Icons, plus 5, 4 and the Wrath die's 4 = 3 more: 9 Icons. Without the 6s she still has 3 Icons, which meets DN 3, so she can shift all three Exalted Icons for +3 ED.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Treating the DN as a Target Number

The DN is how many Icons the whole pool needs, not the number each die must roll. A die always needs a 4 or better to count.

The "Extra Wrath Die" Mistake

The Wrath die is one of the dice in your pool, not an additional die. A 7-dice pool is six ordinary dice plus the Wrath die. It doesn't explode; a 6 on it is an Exalted Icon plus Glory (and a Critical Hit on an attack).

Forgetting the Complication on a Success

A 1 on the Wrath die causes trouble even when you succeed. That's the game's signature "yes, but".

Hoarding Glory

Glory has a cap; anything above it is lost. Spend it when the scene matters.

The "Analysis Paralysis" Problem

Don't overthink every roll. When in doubt, use DN 3 and keep the game moving.

Key Takeaways

The Core Test in Five Lines

Pool: Attribute + Skill + bonus dice, with one die as the Wrath die
Icons: 4–5 = 1, 6 = 2 (Exalted); total at least the DN = success
Shifting: spare Exalted Icons buy extra effects, +1 ED, or +1 Glory
Wrath die: 1 = Complication (even on a success), 6 = Wrath Critical
Currencies: Wrath (yours), Glory (the party's), Ruin (the GM's)

The beauty of the system is that it scales: the same test works whether you're picking a lock or calling down an orbital strike. Get comfortable with it here, then take it into Combat.