[NetEpic ML] Heresy Playtest Notes

From: Tzeentch <tzeentch666_at_...>
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 23:02:01 -0700

Finally got to play Heresy tonight. It was an interesting battle because
this was the first game of Heresy I have played and the first epic-style
game he has played.

We played 2000 points each, Marines on both sides.

Comments and Notes:

1) Close combat is insanely deadly, especially if both sides get a Morale
shift (it gets REALLY ugly).
2) Where are the pop-up rules and how far can a pop-up unit "popup"? We
assumed 30cm. Can a popup unit spot for artillery?
3) We assumed movement was divided into segments like NetEpic (ie all Strat
moves then Assault then Advance). But this is not really explicitely stated.
4) Flyer rules need to be moved since they are REALLY in the way. The flyer
assault table is the same as the ground combat one so it's sorta redundant.
5) When do teleported units appear? Canthey move after teleportation and
assault into combat?? This happened to meon turn two where he had his
command landspeeder spot the Termis right into the middle of a Tactical
squad. Where they proceeded to ANNIHILATE the squad and both Rhinos for the
loss of two Termi stands. We assumed yes..and it was fun :) Makes Termis
worth getting again.
6) Must open-sheaf templates touch? We assumed yes.
7) Do you scatter each open-sheaf template? We assumed yes.
8) The artillery rules are not explicit. Do you roll based on the SPOTTERS
movement or the artillery? What if they both moved?
9) Based on above why do spotters on Advance auto scatter 2d10?? That seems
bogus so we said 1d10 and it seemed more logical.
10) CAn you snapfire on teleported units?
11) Ok, artillery suppression. I had a big hand in this so some of the blame
is mine. But I had a unit of Dreadnoughts suppressed by a wimpy ass 2BP
scattered Whirlwind template. The double BP for suppression sounds good but
applied to things like dreads its cheesy as hell. We played it according to
the rules (they recovered at the end of the turn) but if we play it again we
will house rule it to that vehicles and walkers must suffer a casualty in
addition to haveing BP>number of units. Either that or BPs are not doubled
against units consisting of mainly armored units (MAKs probably being an
exception).
12) Do supporting units need a line of sight to lend support? We said yes
they do. Worked fine.
13) Do supporting units still lend support even if engaged or if they have
snap-fired? We assumed no to the first and yes to the second.
14) WHAT IS THE LANDSPEEDER COMMANDERS LEADERSHIP!!! (heeh We assumed it was
a 5). Seemed logical.
15) Do command units in vehicles get their Stealth ability? If not that is
really dumb since they are more vulnerable in a tank then on foot. For that
matter what special abilities do attached vehicles get? Do they get the
commanders when he is in it?
16)Do morale bonus shifts cancel each other out? When two high morale forces
clash the number of dice you roll can reach very high levels very quickly.
We said yes they do cancel each other out (to keep the dice levels down).
Alternately what about subtracting the lower morale forces morale from the
higher and the higher then gets the stated bonus. If the levels are the same
noone gets a bonus, even if 10+ or whatever. Seems a bit simpler and more
logical.
17) When do firearcs come into play? Are they as restrictive as the Adeptus
Titanicus ones? We assumed yes but it's very vague.
18) For Stealth do you roll a single d10+Leadership for each unit that
attempts to fire on the commander? Or roll a single d10+Leadership that each
unit in the firing detchment must beat? We assumed you roll for each attempt
separately.
19) We assume to get out of a transport you must be on some sort of move
orders. Not explicitely stated.
20) At the end we had a monster melee consisting of:
Him
4 Assault Marine stands
2 Terminator Stands
2 Rhinos
Me
1 Command Landspeeder
4 Tactical Stands
2 Rhinos
3 Dreadnoughts

I was "defender". There were no rules to cover this sort of dogpile so we
said use the highest morale unit+leadership bonuses. The bonuses canceled
each other out (see above). We then added everyone into one dogpile roll. I
was defender so nominated the Dreads as the soak units. In the end I lost
two dreads and he lost three Assault Stands.

This brought also into question pinning. Is there pinning in the game? If
not how do you handle moving out of close combat? And what about shooting
into close combat? Can you blow away the winners in advance? Especially if
they are the only survivors? It seems simpler (and more brutal) to play
close combat round after round until once side is wiped out or fails a
morale check and leaves (or decides to end the combat and must retreat at
assault move directly away from the winning unit - if they decide to retreat
and are within X(say 15cm) of an enemy unit at the end of the move they are
destroyed. Make brutal combats even more brutal and move the game along.
Plus the massive dogpiles are fun as hell. Especially with ranged combat
being so damn deadly you almost always lose a detachment on a good volley.
We were losing 2-3 Land Raiders every volley. Especially since we strictly
enfored the side/back armor rules and detailed fire arcs.

Loved the feel and the system is VERY deadly. Which I liked a lot. We played
with no Titans or Flyers this time. We'll add that stuff in as time goes on.
My friend is looking forward to playing Eldar so hopefully that list will be
done soon or we can kitbash one.

The rules are VERY disorganized and disengenius to wade through but that can
be easily fixed. We'll be playing NetEpic tomorrow and see how that goes.
We'll try and get more games of Heresy in before I leave here though. And
once I'm back home I'll get all my old Epic playing buddies to use Heresy.
I'll also be working on the Ogre conersions to Heresy :) And especially the
Battlesuit conversion to it...which reminds me I still have that NetEpic
conversion if a new Incoming is ever going to be released :) And Hoth and
Popcans of Doom..etc etc.

And to the guy who sent me the Battlesuit rules and Ogre book I have not
forgotten! I'll be scanning the map and making counters soon. And putting
all the Ogre Book material online (that which has not already appeared).

Until next game!
Kenneth Peters
Received on Sun Oct 31 1999 - 06:02:01 UTC