RE: [NetEpic ML] Re: [v5.0] Core Rules Part II

From: Peter Ramos <primarch_at_...>
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 13:53:42 -0400

Hi!

-----Original Message-----
From: antichrist666it [mailto:seimejote_at_...]
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2002 5:01 AM
To: netepic_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: [NetEpic ML] Re: [v5.0] Core Rules Part II

Comments below each section :)

Targets
Except for barrages a model may only fire at a target in its Line of
Sight (LOS) and in the case of vehicles and Titans may only fire
weapons that can be brought to bear on a target model.

--> Proposed change: only barrages from Artillery units may be fired
indirectly (without LoS). This removes the necessity to state "Cannot
be fired indirectly" on each and every barrage weapon not actually
possessed by an artillery unit (SM Dreads, Flyers...). So substitute
the word 'barrages' with 'artillery barrages'.

----> Agreed.


Firing Arc
Firing arcs are the areas that can be hit by a model's weapons.
Models have the following firing arcs by class:
Troop Stands - Troop stands are extremely mobile and as such have 360
degree firing arcs.

--> Add Cavalry stands

----> Agreed.


Vehicles/Flyers - All vehicles possess limited mobility and have only
have 180 degree firing arcs to their front half. Exceptions to this
are noted in individual model descriptions.

--> Add Walkers and Knights

----> Agreed.

Special Rule: Targeting a Command (HQ) Unit
Command units cannot be targeted unless they are the closest unit of
the same class within range. Classes of units are described under
pinning rules in the close combat section. An exception to the above
rule is command models in buildings. Buildings are obvious targets
and may be targeted normally, regardless of the presence of a command
model (Hiding command stands in buildings by themselves is an
invitation to an attack.). Another exception is a barrage template
aimed at a closer "normal" stand but which covers a command stand as
well.

Example: A command infantry stand in a group of other troop stands
cannot be targeted unless it was the closest within range. A command
infantry stand standing among Titans or super heavy vehicles stands
out like sore thumb, so it can be targeted.

>I would like to stress this rule more, since command units get
abused a >lot. The rule means that an HQ is only "safe" if you can
screen it with >troops of the same pinning class. An infantry stand
in the middle of >vehicles stands out and may be fired just as well
as a vehicle HQ in the >middle of infantry.

--> Completely agree here.


Special Rule: Side and Rear Shots
Armored vehicles have their heaviest armor at the front with lighter
armor on the sides and rear. An armor save penalty is used for shots
that hit the side and rear armor of a model as follows: -1 for a shot
to the side and -2 for a rear shot. Shots to the side or rear are
determined using a 90-degree arc from the `corners' of the model.
For shots that cannot easily be determined what arc they fall in, a
D6 roll should be used to decide.
Thrusters, being subject to fire from all direction, are constructed
in a way as to give them equal protection from all angles. Thruster
armor is therefore considered to be the same all around.

>We need to add this applies to all vehicles including super heavies,
but not to titans or praetorians (any unit with templates)

--> Walkers too.

----> Agreed.


>I'm not sure about knights, what say you?

--> Knights too (they are bipedal vehicles, after all).

----> Okay.


Healers
Units like Space Marine Tech-Marines and Medics, or Eldar Bonesingers
offer saving throws to destroyed or damaged vehicles or troops
belonging to their armies. We call these units Healers. For the
details on their functions see the corresponding sections pertaining
to the relevant armies. The following general rules apply to all
Healers:

1. Extra saves given by Healers, being unrelated to the healed unit's
save values and being taken after them, are unmodified.
Example: A Tech-Marine saves a Land Raider by rolling a 5+ on a D6,
whether it is destroyed by a bolter (no TSM) or a Volcano Cannon (-4
TSM).
2. All Healers must disembark from their vehicles to be able to
render their healing functions.
3. Healers are not gods. They cannot save an infinite amount of
troops or vehicles from death or destruction. To represent this saves
are limited to 5 per turn. Use a die or counter to keep track, if
needed. Their armor saves (if any) are not affected by this rule.
Healers like Space Marine Medics or Ork Painboys, which administer to
infantry stands, can heal wounded stands (i.e. revive "killed"
stands) even if they have been killed in close combat.

>No changes.

--> No need of this rule here, IMHO. Better place it in the Tech-
Marines, SM Medics (Apothecaries!!!), Bonesingers or whatever
description... It's a special ability, not a core rule, after all.

---->Good point. I want to make the core rules as slim and simple as
possible. If others agree I'll switch it to those.


Super Heavy Vehicles
Super Heavy vehicles are huge heavily armored huge machines of
destruction that are very difficult to destroy. The following damage
table to use with Super Heavies reflects this added resiliency. When
a hit on a Super Heavy vehicle is scored and the save fails, roll a
D6:

D6 Effect
1 No effect.
2-3 The vehicle will now have a -1 to hit penalty when firing its
weapons. This damage is
cumulative and lasts for the duration of the game, unless repaired. *
A second occurrence of this damage on an already damaged Super Heavy
will destroy the vehicle.
4-6 The Super Heavy is destroyed.

* Damage can be repaired by healers of the appropriate type (Tech-
Marine, Bonesinger etc). The healer can only repair a single level of
damage per turn. A super heavy repaired from destruction (4-6) will
always have a -1 to hit penalty (regardless of the situation before
destruction), and this has to be repaired separately in the following
turns.

Example: A Chaos Titan scores 3 hits on a Stormhammer with a Plasma
Cannon, which has a Target's Save Modifier of -4. To save the first
hit the player rolls a 5, and saves. For the other two he rolls 2 and
4, thus these are unsaved. Now the opposing player will roll on the
damage table. He rolls a 2 and a 3. The first one gives the -1 to-hit
penalty to the tank, which means the Stormhammer's cannons will now
need 5+ (instead of 4+), and its bolters need 7+(instead of 6+) to
hit. The second roll, the tank already being damaged, disables it
completely. A nearby Adeptus Mechanicus (see IG new units) attempts
to repair the damage and save it from destruction, and with a roll of
6, succeeds. The survived Stormhammer has survived and now has a -1
to-hit penalty, and can hit on 5+ with its cannons and on 7+ with its
bolters.

This will continue as a "basic" rule. Under advance rules we will
include a line telling players to use the more detailed charts under
each army list.
 
--> I agree.


Special Rule: Barrages
Firing with Artillery Units
Artillery is capable of laying devastating area fire. This is
represented in the game by the use of the barrage template. This is a
circular piece of cardboard with a diameter of 6cm. Instead of a To
Hit value, artillery possesses Barrage Points. All fire from models
of an artillery detachment is concentrated into one barrage template,
unless indicated in the unit's description. The probability to
inflict a hit is determined by adding all the barrage points from
each firing model in the detachment, according to the following table:

Total Barrage Points To Hit Roll
1 - 2 6+
3 - 4 5+
5 - 6 4+
7 - 8 3+
9 or more 2+

Artillery may place a barrage template anywhere within range and line
of sight. This is called direct barrage. After the barrage template
is placed calculate the total barrage points to obtain the to hit
roll needed for every model at least partially covered by the barrage
template. Use your judgment here; just touching the side or corner of
a model is not enough the template must cover at least some of the
figures or a large portion of the actual model (at least 3 or 5
models on a troop stands or half of the vehicle).

Optionally, artillery may fire at targets they do not directly see.
This is called an indirect barrage. Two criteria must be met in order
to fire indirectly. First the artillery detachment must be on First
Fire orders and second some other unit from your army must be able to
see the targeted model(s). Indirect barrages are very imprecise and
are likely to deviate from the intended target. To represent this,
when firing an indirect barrage, roll the scatter dice and 2D6. If
the scatter dice result is an arrow deviate the template in the
direction of the arrow a number of cm equal to the 2D6 roll. If the
scatter die result is the "Hit", the barrage has landed on target and
does not deviate. Artillery units that voluntarily hold fire from
First Fire to Advance may not fire indirect barrages.

Note that, when placing a barrage template, the template need not be
centered on a target model. It may be placed in any way to maximize
the amount of troops targeted.

If a barrage is fired at a model with a to hit template then this is
treated as any other normal shot.

Artillery, due to their fire arc, may not fire at models engaging
them in close combat. If only some models in an artillery detachment
are engaged in close combat, those that are unengaged may fire
barrages as normal, reducing the total points of the barrage for
models that are not firing. Artillery may not Snap Fire.

>Pretty standard stuff anything else to add?

--> Yes: ONLY ARTILLERY UNITS MAY (in fact, they MUST) COMBINE
BARRAGES. NON-ARTILLERY UNITS MAY NOT, AND CANNOT FIRE INDIRECT
BARRAGES, TOO. Simple and necessary, IMHO.

----> That's a good clarification since I cant think of any exception to
this generalization.


Pinning
A friendly model may pin an opposing model if the friendly model
belongs to the same or larger size class. Pinning is usually used to
force a model into close combat. Size classes, in order from largest
to smallest are:

1. Titans/Praetorians
2. Super Heavy Vehicles/Knights
3. All other vehicles
4. Troop Stands/cavalry/bikes
5. Skimmers

Classes distinguish models on their size. Usually a large model will
have no trouble bringing a smaller classed model to close combat. A
smaller classed model will have trouble bringing a larger classed
model to close combat as the larger model can move out of combat if
it moves second. Usually the only way to force close combat with
larger class models is to engage the larger model after it has
completed its move. The concept of pinning refers to the ability of a
model to physically restrict the breaking off from combat by another
model. In effect, models of larger size categories pin models of
smaller size categories.

Example: A Titan can pin a Land raider Tank but the tank cannot pin
the Titan since it belongs to a larger size category.

Note: No friendly model may be closer than 1 cm away from enemy
models unless the friendly model is engaged in close combat. This
rule avoids unnecessary proximity for firing purposes. In other words
if you're closer than 1 cm to an enemy you should be in close combat!

No changes.

--> Add Walkers to number 3. Remove bikes from 4 (they are Cavalry,
aren't they?)

----> That sounds interesting; I guess dreadnoughts are more like
vehicles for pinning, but what about robots? I wonder for simplicity we
should not just keep them in class 4. Also bikes and cavalry are the
same and in number 4, unless you are arguing that they should be in
their own category.

Here's a thought:

1. Titans/Praetorians
2. Super Heavy Vehicles/Knights
3. All other vehicles
4. Dreadnoughts/robots/cavalry/bikes
5. Troop Stands
6. Skimmers

What do people think about his?


Special Rule: Cold Blooded
Orks, Tyranids and Chaos may fire barrages into close combat since
they do not mind slaying their own troops.

>No changes.

--> As my usual opinion, move to the respective army booklets :P.

----> Agreed.


Titans in Close Combat
Titans are very powerful and lesser models have difficulty engaging
them in close combat. Special rules for close combat with Titans are
found under the sections dealing with Titans.

> I propose to remove all rules on titans and praetorians to each
army list >containing them. Even though it will be repeated, in my
experience the army >list books are the most used during games and it
gets cumbersome to look up >the core rules for titan/praetorian
rules. In fact the only thing core >rules get look for is precisely
titan rules, so it's better to have it in >the appropriate book.

--> I agree.


Psychic powers come in two forms:
 
1. Physical - Physical psychic powers represent tangible force that
is created to strike and cause palpable physical damage. These powers
function as normal firing weapons and possess to hit values, save
modifiers and require line of sight. Physical psychic powers must hit
active shields to knock them down as they represent a physical force
like normal shots. Psychic saves (explained below) do not protect
against this type of psychic power since it is basically physical in
nature.
2. Non-physical - Non-physical psychic powers are arcane powers that
do not create a physical force to deal damage. These powers bypass
armor and shields (shields offer no protection against these mystic
forces themselves but they do grant a psychic save as long as they
are active) and directly attack the model. These powers can only be
avoided if the attacked model has a Psychic save. Powers will be
classified as physical or non-physical in their respective unit
descriptions.

>When we do the army lists each power will be defined accordingly.

--> Just one proposal... can we change only the name of the two
categories? 'Physical Psychic Powers' and 'Non-Physical Psychic
Powers' are just too similar and confusing... how about 'Physical
Psychic Powers' and 'Ethereal Psychic Powers'? Or whatever... just
change that names, for the sake of God... :P

----> <grin> agreed. Unless someone has a better name.


Playing Psychic Cards
Chaos Reward Cards or Tyranid Psychic Barrage cards are played in the
same phase that the unit who "casts" the power goes. In case of
Tyranid cards it may be done at any point in the combat phase and
counts as the player's action for that activation (just as if a
detachment of models is activated).

>This should be removed to the appropriate book.

--> Amen =)

Peter
Received on Sun Apr 21 2002 - 17:53:42 UTC