Re: [Epic] 40K/IG infantry Detachments

From: Fred Lado <lado_at_...>
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 1997 15:43:19 -0400 (EDT)

>> My primary oppenent (hi jeff!) plays Eldar and Bugs. If he wants to get
>> into a shooting fight with me, great! But since bugs can't shoot and CC
>> Faeries in a transport can move 55cm, ignoring terrain, in the assult phase
>> alone..... My main concern is to stop him someplace where I can shoot him,
>> thus the screen.
>
>The eldar transports are skimmers. Can they skim over the top of
>screening units in the same way they overfly terrain? I'd say yes.
>
>And presumably, jump packs allow them to do the same? It'd be daft that
>a unit of warp spiders can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but
>can't jump over a stand of tac marines.

Technically you can, but realistically no. During the movement phase,
the screening troops would be able to snap fire the transports as they
move by, which would force them to stop. Skimmers gain no bonuses vs
snap fire, so that wouldn't help them (the snap fire rule was created
to prevent just such an occurance). So you could only ignore the
screeners with your opponents consent (not likely to happen).

During the assault phase, you are not allowed to move past an enemy unit
(the screeners) unless that unit is already engaged in CC (see page 21 in
the rules, and page 107 in the Battles book for a definition of moving past
an enemy unit). Again, there no special exception for skimmers.

I couldn't find anything under the jump-pack and skimmer rules that gives
them an exception to any of the above (though I could have missed something).
You could create special house rules for skimmers, but I think you should
increase the cost of the unit to reflect it's increased capabilities (I
have no idea by how much would be fair, because I don't know how usefull
such an ability would actually be).

Flyers can also be snap fired, but I am not totally sure it halts their
movement. The rules don't say they keep going, but the example on the
very last page of the rules seems to imply (to me, anyway) that they keep
moving normally. This would make more sense than forcing a thunderhawk
to stop moving because an assault stand snap fired it, but it may be a
play-balance rule rather than a realism rule. Forcing the flyer to stop
would also have the odd effect (IMO) of making infantry screens a more
effective air defence than an equivalent points worth of Flak units.

David
Received on Mon Apr 28 1997 - 19:43:19 UTC