Re: [Epic] [Epic40k] Blast Markers and Firepower

From: David Dresser <lemming_at_...>
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 09:26:40 -0700

Alan Brain wrote:
>
> David Dresser wrote:
> > Just for the sake of clarification, how would this apply to a unit with
> > both SHWs and regular fp (ie: titans) ?
>
> An SHW is, as has been frequently pointed out, a thing with (1) FP
> (usually).
>
> Thus, a Titan with:
> 16 FP range 45
> 2 SHWs range 45
> and 5 BMs
>
> would be able to shoot 16 FP and 2 SHW LESS 5 either-FP-or-SHW,
> typically 11 FP and 2 SHW rather than 13 FP and 0 SHW _AT THE SAME
> TARGET_.
>
> If it wished to shoot 1 SHW at each of two seperate targets, it could
> shoot 5-5=0 FP + 1 SHW at one, and 5-5=0 + 1 SHW at the other, and if it
> wanted, 6-5=1 FP at yet another.
>
> What this means is that you can't "soak off" the BMs with those 15cm
> range FPs unless your SHW is also firing at the same detachment that the
> 15cm FPs are firing at.

Okay, someone else has beaten me to the punch here, but for what it's
worth I'll restate in my own words. One of the basic rules for SHWs is
"SHWs can be fired at any target within range." This means that the
target of a SHW is rarely the same thing as the target for an amount of
firepower. FP always hit the nearest units in a detachment and a mass
of FP can only have a detachment as a target, but SHW shots will
cherrypick one or more individual models, each individual model being a
separate target. This distinction between the various meanings of
'target' has not been well addressed by the examples.

I think I have the gist of things though, tell me if my conclusions are
correct.

Detachments which comprise units with different maximum ranges will be
suppressed back to the next highest maximum range by an amount of BMs
equal to the firepower of the longer ranged units. This is already sort
of an incidental effect of the rules, but the change closes loopholes
which allow firing at maximum range.
[example: 4fp at 90cm and 16fp at 45cm will become 20fp at 45cm when the
detachment collects 4 BMs. I suppose the 4fp could still be fired up to
90cm for the purposes of placing BMs on opposing detachments, but with
no possibility of causing hits]

This means that a few long range weapons in a detachment will easily be
suppressed back to a lower effective range. I think this is actually a
rather nice effect, which could have been better developed by the rules
team. I don't think that unit points costs and detachment lists were
constructed with this in mind, though. My pessimistic nature suspects
that some units will be hosed.

On the flip side of this nifty range-shortening effect is that I can't
really think of a good reason why pouring regular FP into a detachment
will make my SHWs better able to fire. A SHW doesn't work alone, but
may fire with enough FP to overcome detachment BMs. I guess it's
different, not bad for the game, just different.

There is also the effect of making a unit with BMs very inefficient in
shooting multiple detachments. It's also different, but at least I can
rationalize this as things becoming very chaotic while people are
shooting at you, and orders become more difficult to convey.

Summing up, this little rules change turn an incidental rules effect
into a cool game addition, and better simulates the confusion of
combat. It will make for some dramatic changes in actual play (and unit
selection) though, always a liability when trying to get new players to
adopt the rule.

-Lemm
Received on Thu Jun 12 1997 - 16:26:40 UTC