[JDMG] Complex Weapons and Alert Status - Rules Question

[chaoschild]

Complex weapons require you to take a Special action immediately before you take a Shoot action to fire them. Is there any way you can fire them when on alert status?

The reason I ask is that we now have 2 models armed with laser rifles that can go on permanent alert status (the combat droid and the heavy satellat). Seems wrong that models designed for combat can't use their alert status to attack.

 

[Winged_Human]

the complex weapon does require to spend a special action to load the weapon, but this action does not need to be performed immediately before the shot takes place. Therefore you can take two turns to perform what you're attempting to do.

Turn 1) Move - Load
Turn 2) Go into Alert status

 

[cfirpi]

I'm sorry Winged. Pg 7 in the JDMG rulebook states "A model performing a Ready action will neither move nor shoot – it stands stationary until the Special action is complete."
Now if you go by RAW (rules as written) Alert staus requires the model to do nothing for both actions. So technically it would not be able to "do" the special action and fire the weapon.

If you go by the spirit of the game then yes they would be able to get off their 1 (one) reaction shot. Even though the alert status is due to a special ability.

Off course there is also the usual guideline, a model's special abilities overrule basic rules.

Also in the case of the sattelat and its owner... disgustingly strong.

 

[Winged_Human]

Maybe I didn't label my example correctly, let me attempt to clarify:

Turn 1 (Action 1) - Move
Turn 1 (Action 2) - Load (Complex special action)

Turn 2 (Action 1 + Action 2) - Alert Status


At this point you've fulfilled the complex special rule by performing a Load special action the previous turn, and have fulfilled the "Alert status" requirements of utilizing both actions on turn 2.

this would allow you to shoot the weapon when the alert status was activated, requiring another load special action the following subsequent round (round 3)

I'm sorry for being so vague in my first reply, I hope this clears things up a bit.

 

[chaoschild]

Complex: Some weapons are difficult to use or require reloading after every shot. Before a Shoot action is performed to fire this weapon , a Special action must be taken immediately before hand.

Key word in there is immediately. That means you definitely can't take the special action on a previous turn.

Now possibly a combat droid could get away with it, if they took a special action as their second action of the turn then went automatically onto alert status then that might count. But I'd still say that was stretching immediately way too far.

I'd like this to work, but I can't see any way using the rules as written.

 

[RejjeN]

Key word in there is immediately. That means you definitely can't take the special action on a previous turn.

Now possibly a combat droid could get away with it, if they took a special action as their second action of the turn then went automatically onto alert status then that might count. But I'd still say that was stretching immediately way too far.

I'd like this to work, but I can't see any way using the rules as written.

We're writing a Houserules document for our campaign to account for stuff like this. It seems weird you shouldn't be able to use stuff like Aim with a Laser Rifle to us, as that seems the intended use of one.