I was having a disagreement with my fellow players concerning the range and we couldn't reach a conclusion regarding the range. Point-Blank Range states that characters making ranged attack against a target that is two metres away or closer, get the bonus. I'll try to illustrate the point. If the character (1) makes a ranged attack against the target (2) gets the point blank bonus or not?

1 _ _ 2

Or does it have to be like this:

1 _ 2

Where _ are 1-meter squares?

I was having a disagreement with my fellow players concerning the range and we couldn't reach a conclusion regarding the range. Point-Blank Range states that characters making ranged attack against a target that is two metres away or closer, get the bonus. I'll try to illustrate the point. If the character (1) makes a ranged attack against the target (2) gets the point blank bonus or not?

1 _ _ 2

Or does it have to be like this:

1 _ 2

Where _ are 1-meter squares?

Are you using a grid to play on? I'm not sure what exactly you're asking. Draw a circle with the shooter as the center that has a radius of 2m. Anything in that circle or its border is at point blank range.

There is no concrete answer for this as it all depends on how the GM wants to make his battle maps. I am more leaning towards your second example (1 _ 2) though.

I consider that each character takes up a 1x1 meter square to account for bobbing and weaving and such. That means that a bullet needs to travel two or fewer 1x1 squares, or one empty square and the square the target is occupying, to qualify as [Point-Blank]. I would rule that your first example is only [short Range] since the projectile has to cover three 1x1 squares, but that's my opinion.

I always assumed that each character is expected to take up a 1x1m square, with the distance between those characters being.. well.. the distance between those characters.

So in the first example, there's a two-metre distance between the characters.

In the second example, there's a one-metre distance between the characters.

This is further supported by the fact that the rulebook - or at least Black Crusade did, when I checked it yesterday - makes a distinction between some weapons and others, saying that some weapons can have an even shorter Point-Blank Range. Given that we've only got two metres to move that scale on, it would be needless to clarify this if the effective distance between the two characters, in assuming that the second example would be correct, would only be one square.

P OINT -B LANK R ANGE

When a character makes a ranged attack against a target that is two metres away or closer, that target is at Point-Blank Range. Ballistic Skill Tests made to attack a target at Point Blank Range are Easy (+30) . This bonus does not apply when the attacker and the target are engaged in melee combat with each other. For weapons with a short range of less than 3 metres, Point-Blank Range is 1 metre less than the weapon’s short range.

- Black Crusade Core 246 on Point-Blank Range

This is what you were referring to, [Fgdsfd]? <Dark Heresy Second Edition> has a very similar entry. Using the underscore and number method of representing such a short weapon range, I would still say the firing Character 1 needs to be hitting Character 2 at practically melee distance (1 2). Actually engaging in melee nulls the BS gain, but neither character has to move to do so. Both cases are (1 2), but the circumstances are different. Personally, I include the target's square as part of the weapon's range, but it's the GM's call.