Positioning of fire zone

[locarno24]

Ok....fire zone goes wherever you want (not necesarily centred over any specific model).

Highest die roll is assigned to the closest model in the fire zone.

Is there anything to stop someone just putting the fire zone so that a units leader is at the leading edge of the fire zone, so cops the first 'kill' roll if there is one, eliminating that unit from the game for the next turn pretty much automatically?

It seems a little unsporting, unless I'm missing something.

 

[Xorrandor]

Ok....fire zone goes wherever you want (not necesarily centred over any specific model).

Highest die roll is assigned to the closest model in the fire zone.

Is there anything to stop someone just putting the fire zone so that a units leader is at the leading edge of the fire zone, so cops the first 'kill' roll if there is one, eliminating that unit from the game for the next turn pretty much automatically?

It seems a little unsporting, unless I'm missing something.

Legal. But keep in mind:
* You're probably only eliminating one model a turn, which is going to tie down the shooting unit for a while. It might be faster to aim for center of mass and inflict more casualties.
* The squad still gets to shoot back if they aren't supressed. So they can do the same thing .
* The leader is probably at least obscured (by his own men), so your target number gets higher.

 

[headache62]

Also remember that it is the closest model to the firing unit, not to the center of the fire zone. Keep your leader towards the rear of the formation and it should help.

 

[retaf33c]

* The leader is probably at least obscured (by his own men), so your target number gets higher.

I don't have my rulebook handy, but I don't believe this to be true. The leader (or another model for that matter) is not obscured by his own men in the same unit nor do they block line of sight.

Otherwise models in the back of a unit would be shooting at obscured targets whenever they through their own men.

Now if there is another unit between the shooter and the target, then you would probably be obscured.

This most overlook aspect of this is that to snipe at the leader this way normally means the center of the firezone is a spot on the ground and the shooting unit must have a clear line of sight to that spot.

 

[The Old Soldier]

Models in the same unit may shoot thru their own models. BUT LOS drawn to enemy models that have other enemy models in front of them, can have LOS blocked or obscured. That IS from the rule book.

That said, it is very difficult to block LOS to size one model that are behind other size one models, but easy to obscure. The problem is the rule book really never touches on the subject other than just saying so. Rule of thumb for me in those rare cases where you need to find this out is to take a string and run it between the centre of the model to the centre of the enemy models, If the line crosses another model in between then LOS is Blocked. If it crosses the base of the model in between then LOS is obscured. Simple and effective.

 

[Xorrandor]

Rule of thumb for me in those rare cases where you need to find this out is to take a string and run it between the centre of the model to the centre of the enemy models, If the line crosses another model in between then LOS is Blocked. If it crosses the base of the model in between then LOS is obscured. Simple and effective.

My rule of thumb is a little different, in that I basically don't have a LOS Blocked case. The guys are supposed to be moving, and all about the same size, so I don't think blocking LOS with infantry is very realistic. Larger vehicles can block LOS, though, and infantry will obscure LOS if appropriate. Basically blocked means no portion of the model is visible; obscured means some significant portion of the model is not visible.

But yeah, the basic rule remains the same: models in your unit don't modify LOS, but models in other units (friendly or enemy) can.

 

[Xorrandor]

This most overlook aspect of this is that to snipe at the leader this way normally means the center of the firezone is a spot on the ground and the shooting unit must have a clear line of sight to that spot.

I did forget to mention this, but it often isn't very hard. Try it in your next game: most of the time you can set up the shot. Terrain setup does make a difference, but if you're laying out any sort of street system, the streets make nice straight fire lanes for stuff like this. I just think it's more effective to take out 2 or 3 riflemen in most cases, especially if you aren't going to suppress the target.