Firing Q&A
by Jervis Johnson & Andy Chambers
Includes Super Heavy Weapons, Barrage, Close Combat, Pulsar, Super Lifta Droppa, and Mega Cannon

 

Super Heavy Weapons

Q: During the shooting phase, what is the effect of blast markers upon detatchments containing superheavy weapons? Most particularly, detatchments that contain only superheavy weapons?

a)Each superheavy weapon should be treated as having a firepower of one; each blast marker thus causes the loss of one death-ray or anti tank shots in the above detachments.
b)Superheavy weapons are only considered to have a firepower of 1 during firefights. There is no mechanism by which blast markers affect their shooting, thus titans or land raiders may accumulate blast markers while still firing at full effect.

A: a) is correct. Each blast marker stops one super heavy weapon from firing.



Barrage

Q: Can you overlap barrage templates if your currently firing detatchement can place more than 1 (eg. loading up several templates on a particularly juicy target), or are you required to spread out the templates over the target detatchment?

a) You are free to overlap multiple barrage templates, as you see fit, in order to get the most enemy units under your templates.
b) You may not overlap templates until all other units of the target detatchement have been covered.
c) You may not overlap templates under any circumstances.
d) You may only overlap templates under the following conditions: (Please specify.)

A: The answer is 'a', but as the question implies people are still confused by the way barrages work, I'll explain how to use them in a bit more detail. When a detachment fires a barrage, take the barrage template, and place it over some [of] the target detachment. You can place it anywhere you like as long as all of the template is in range of all of the units that are joining in with the barrage (you can leave some units out if you want, but they can't fire a seperate barrage). The number of enemy units from the target detachment that are under the template determine the firepower value of all of the units from the attacking detachment that are firing barrage weapons. Add up their firepower, add in the firepower of any other units from the detachment that are shooting with their 'ordinary firepower', and then carry on with the attack as normal. Hits are allocated normally, and don't have to be used against the units that were under the template. Note that you only use the barrage template once, and that all it does is work out the firepower of the attacking unit, and that it does NOT dictate who is hit by a barrage. I say again:
The template is ONLY used to work out the barraging units firepower!


Q: Barrage is listed under the heading of Super-Heavy Weapon. By the sequence of play listed in the rules, Barrage also has added its FirePower to your total pool of FirePower before you begin calculating how your blast- markers diminish your fire. Should a blast marker prevent the entire amount of FirePower from a barrage unit, or should it merely subtract a point of FirePower from your total pool of FP (including that from the barrage)?

A: Each barrage marker stops one barrage weapon (i.e. it prevents the entire amount of firepower).


Q: Barrage weapons, whilst being super heavy weapons, have a firepower calculated by adding up the targets under a template, and place blast markers based on this firepower on the second column of the blast marker table (under Firepower). Are the Heavy Barrage weapons:

a) Treated in the same way on that table (except for the alternate turn shooting and the doubling of hits to calculate firepower).
b) Treated as super heay weapons on the blast markers table.

A: a)



Close Combat

 

Q: When one War Engine (hereafter referred to as "WE") defeats another WE in close-combat, there is a chance that both will inflict hit(s) upon the other using the Close Combat Results Table. Should a damaged WE have a holo-field, then the rules indicate it is allowed to make a holo-save for each hit thus suffered.

If the winning WE is equipped with a Close Combat Weapon, however, the Rules Book states (p. 32) that the loser automatically suffers Catastrophic Damage. No direct reference is made here to "hits", and it appears that the loser suffers Catastrophic Damage whether or not the winner would actually score any hits using the Close Combat Results table. What is the effect of a Holo-Field upon this "automatic" Catastrophic Damage?

a) None. The loser automatically suffers Catastrophic Damage, regardless of whether any close combat hits are scored.
b) The holo-field grants a 2+ chance to save from the Catastrophic Damage.
c) The WE suffers Catastrophic Damage only if all the hits it suffers from are not saved. (Would WE's without a holofield suffer Catastrophic Damage if they suffer from no hits?)

A: a)



Pulsar

Q: An Eldar pulsar fires 1d6 AT shots. For the purposes of placing blast markers, does this count as 1 or 1d6 Super Heavy Weapons?

A: It counts as 1 Super Heavy Weapon


Q: An Eldar Pulsar fires as D6 Anti-Tank shots. How many blast markers shut down a Pulsar?

a) A single blast marker will prevent a Pulsar from firing.
b) Roll D6 for the number of shots the Pulsar gets. This is the number of blast markers required to completely shut down the Pulsar.

A: a)


Q: What is the FirePower rating of a Pulsar in Close Combat? One, as it is a single Super-Heavy Weapon, or D6?

A: one



Super Lifta Droppa

Q: If an Ork fires his Super Lifta Droppa at an Eldar Titan with an active holofield, and rolls high enough to beat the Titan's speed, does the Titan get a chance to use his holofield save?

A: Yes (re-read the the Eldar Holofield rules int he army book where it actually says this!)



Mega Cannon

Q: Question - how many blast markers are placed when a mega cannon is fired? Rules state (p34) "each mega cannon attack places one Blast marker on the target detachment in addition to any other blast markers that would normally be placed."

[Editor's Note: Emphasis mine; because this is the word that bugs us]

Example - a Warlord is armed with four mega cannon. It is shooting at a detachment of twelve ork Boyz. It can fit three stands under a barrage template, can do this four separate times, and can hit a different group of three with each template. The Warlord fires all four mega cannon at the orks. The first two cannon kill one ork each, and the second two kill two orks each. Does the Warlord place:

a) 2 BMs - 1 because there are 4 SHWs firing, plus 1 addtional marker because a mega cannon(s) was fired
b) 5 BMs - 1 because there are 4 SHWs firing, plus 1 addtional marker for each mega cannon that fired
c) 7 BMs - 1 because there are 4 SHWs firing, plus 1 addtional marker for each hit on the orks (with a total of 6 hits)
d) 13 BMs - 1 because there are 4 SHWs firing, plus 1 addtional marker for each attack die rolled (and each megacannon rolled to hit 3 targets for a total of 12 rolls)
e) something else?

A: The correct answer is b)

 


Copyright 2000 by Doug Wolfe Last Updated Monday, July 2, 2001
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