Iorwerth said:
MarkNorfolk
Using the LOS both ways ruling if you can see the front memeber of an enemy squad you can see members of that squad further back. so if a squad of warriors forms a convinient queue you can pick the middle one as the 'target'.
I have just been looking at Signs&Portents No.36 Wargames. In the article, Shielding Units in Starship Troopers, it says in the opening paragraph "Even if models are in the same unit, they block LoS to models in the same unit behind them."
Doesn't this mean that warrior bugs of size2+ block lines of sight to size 1 troopers, even to other models of their own unit behind. If this is the case, then MI unit fire against warriors in line in a corridor can only target the first one?
This is something that I almost commented on last night. Let's take it step by step quoting from the rules and see how this can be sorted out. First, the intro rules on LOS say LOS "
is drawn from the centre point of each firing model to the target model. If there is anything in the way, like terrain pieces or other models, the line of sight may be obscured or blocked altogether. Whether intervening terrain or models oscure or block a target is determined by Size."
OK so far. This backs up the S&P comment that Iorwerth read. Because this is focusing on corridor fighting in particular, let's think in terms of fighting a "linear battle" example:
Code:
_____________________________________
D C B A <- - -> 1 2 3 4
_____________________________________
Arachnid Warriors are on the left (alphas) and the MI troopers are on the right (numerics) and are facing each other.
The first rulebook bullet-pointed LOS rule states: "
Any intervening terrain or models will block line of sight to the target model if their Size is equal to
or greater
than the target model."
This seems at first to contradict the LOS graphic example on page 33 that says that Trooper 2 can shoot past the M8 Marauder Sergeant, until you notice that it says that he can because the Sergeant is
in his squad. So this should mean that units in your own squad cannot block LOS to a target, regardless of Size (the M8 is Size 3). The page 33 example would tend to tell me that the first LOS bullet-point rule needed to say "
excluding models in your own squad". If read that way, then the rule would really mean that terrain, models in other friendly squads and enemy models could block LOS to a desired target. I'm ok with that adjustment, so now let's see how it can be applied to the corridor fight example above. Since frontal MI models should not block LOS, all of the MI troopers should be able to target Warrior A, but that model would block LOS to any other Warriors (using the stated book rules above). The next part might be better understood if one was to imagine that all of the Warriors were using ranged weapons like the MI (I thought I'd just confuse you all more and toss that in). If we now apply a very often repeated "IMPORTANT" rule (the fifth and last bullet-pointed LOS rule):
"IMPORTANT: Line of sight always
works both ways. If your unit draws line of sight to an enemy unit, that enemy unit may draw line of sight to your unit."
After reading this, now reference the same corridor example above. This should allow for the MI to now target any of the Warriors behind Warrior A because if Warrior B could "shoot" Trooper 1 (seeing transparently through Warrior A in its squad ), then Trooper 1 can also see Warrior B as well as Warriors C and D because
line of sight always works both ways, right? I think this is what dyssnowman was referring to when he mentioned the "private's foot". :wink: as well as MarkNorfolk's comment. In other words, "You can shoot anything that can shoot you". One way to resolve all of this would be to say that there is
one exception to the standard of
2-way LOS. You would have to determine that "squad transparency" is really for your own squad only, and that other friendly squads as well as enemy squads are "opaque". This would then become the classicly-described "exception to the rule" of line of sight
always working both ways.
If I have made any mistakes here, please "educate" me.
Otherwise, dyssnowman should now be doing a happy dance and his "private's shoe" is the only thing that can be shot at. :wink:
:lol:
. "Reading"? Wasn't that one of the railroads on the U.S. Monopoly board? :wink: Oh that's right, that one is pronounced "Red-ding". :lol:
