Osprey Black Ops FAQ and Errata - Please add your questions!

[mellis1644]

I give Osprey a little more leeway in that they look for specific rules subjects and have at least generally decent authors and topics. They don't pay for after publication support but at least generally have done their job. However, the post publication support from various different authors has made me much more likely to buy other games some some authors again.

[nozza_uk]

I guess I've been spoilt with the post publication support we've received with Frostgrave.
It's just a shame that when Osprey release a set of rules lately, that a QRS is not produced at the same time - which is what I was after for Broken Legions.

[GuyB]

Hi all,

I was alerted to this thread by a friend (Thanks Mark!).

I was initially been put off due to a dispute with Osprey (always read the fine print), but this was immature of me. Whatever my feelings, I have let the fans of my own game down, which was wrong. Recent events have also conspired against me (illness in the family) and being very busy with WS&S.

Thanks for the continued support. I have been the long overdue collating errata and will knuckle down and get it finished. It is true I am working on a version 2, publisher TBA.

Cheers,

Guy

[axabrax]

So just so I’m clear: thread was started two years ago by the author and there’s still no FAQ or errata? It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just type up what you have and post it dude. It can be a living document.

[GuyB]

Ok, will do.

Guy

[NurgleHH]

Ok, will do.

Guy

And when will you do it, talked to several Wargames and all say you are very unreliable. So, is it true or will we see something new in the next month???

[GuyB]

You'll forgive me if the day job and taking care of my mother (who is suffering from Mutiple Myleoma) takes precedent.

Guy

[DS615]

I love the rules, very well done.  If you have something, go ahead and post it.
If not, that's fine. We can figure things out and dont need handholding for every little thing. It's what adults do.

Adults also place priority on family.  Take care of your mom, none of this matters.

[nandrin]

I agree. I love the rules, and we are able to fill the gaps, if we feel it´s necessary.

Best wishes to your mom!

[GuyB]

Apologies for the outburst. It has been a hard time of late. We are regularly going up to the hospital twice a week, which generally means sitting around for the day while we get the results from the latest blood tests.

I promise you that I will work on something for you very soon. I have put some time aside this week to get the errata finished. Thanks for your support.

Guy

[mellis1644]

Adults also place priority on family.  Take care of your mom, none of this matters.

+1 on this. Games are fun and all (some may even make be professional off them) but at the end of the day they don't amount to a hill of beans - as the old saying goes. So deal with the personal (and then professional obligations) first - this extra stuff is nice but not important in the grand scheme of things.

All the best to you and the family.

[Elk101]

I've had dealings with Guy before and I've always found him pleasant and good to deal with. Let's not be too harsh 

[the_bengine]

Only just getting into this game. So many questions before I start but looking forward to it nonetheless, it looks great.

I think a walkthrough of stealth and suppression plus a general FAQ would be amazing. There's a post by someone on the Board Game Geek Black Ops page about when Suppression markers affect models which I'd like to know the answer to (what happens when they receive them during their own turn due to either Reserve fire or movement into a Suppressed Area?) plus I find p30 about guard movement a bit mind boggling.

Anyway, it looks like Guy has far more important things to be doing right now though so I'll check back some time in the future.

[Gibby]

Apologies for the outburst.

I don't think you need to apologise.

[the_bengine]

So I sat down last night for a little solo playthrough and had so many questions, the game kinda ground to a halt. So I set to re-reading everything while trying to solve my own questions, but here are the ones I couldn't find the answers to, most of which involve the guard rules on stealth missions (and a big reason why I started getting into this game). If it turns out I've got the whole system wrong, most of the questions become void.

I suspect many answers do lie within the rulebook  or are a simple matter of misinterpretation by me, it's certainly happened before.

• Regarding the variation in squad stats, is the saving roll for a Special Forces soldier (3+) already adjusted to take into account 'Tough' and 'Body Armour'? I presume so because the default is 5+. I presume therefore that all stats that are affected by equipment are pre-adjusted and any other stats that vary do so purely for theme.
• Perhaps this is obvious but being new to miniature games I have no idea: There's no mention of whether or not friendly models can move through one another. I presume they can
• To confirm, Guards not yet under player control (because the alarm has not been triggered) carry out the Guard Reaction roll when their card comes up (e.g a heavy guard would roll on the chart if a King card of his colour is drawn). Does the Ace still activate when a Joker is revealed, thus prompting an attempt at an 8 on the chart for the Ace character?
• Page 30 Guards:
  

  ...we only roll for guards who are in potential line of sight to the enemy OR are within 12"

  (my emphasis)
  So the guard reaction is rolled for if he's close enough to the enemy even if he can't see them. But then it goes on to say
  

  If a guard is beyond 12" or cannot possibly see the attackers from where he is, he does nothing

  
  So he DOES need to be able to see them to activate but does nothing if out of range. But then...
  

  Alternatively, any guard out of range can be moved 3" directly forward by the defender

  
  So he does potentially do something when out of range 
  
  
• Not really a specific question but let me see if I have a guard's activation correct. I feel like there are far too many holes in my knowledge here, partially because of the way it's written conflicting with my brain, but also the rules seem to be spread throughout several sections of the book:
  
  When a guard is activated and, either at the start of his activation or due to movement, one or more enemies exist in his Visual Arc, he can force one of them to make an Observation check.
  If the Observation check is succeeded by the enemy, the guard just stops and his activation ends.
  If the check is failed, ''the target may be engaged or the guard may shout 'Intruder Alert'."
  
  Does this mean he can fire on them as a one-off attack before returning to Guard mode?
  
  On future activations, does the guard continue to roll on the Reaction table (or move 3" forward if out of range) and force Observation checks on the enemy right up until the alarm is sounded by the Ace?
  
  That would then mean that, if a 8+ is rolled for a reaction and the guard is fully controlled, that control would be potentially lost again on his next activation.
  That then leads to some bizarre occurrences where the enemy is identified and engaged, then forgotten about. In my game, a guard was engaged in CQC, shouted 'Intruder Alert' at the start of his activation (having been the victim of a surprise attack in accordance with the little paragraph at the top of p25) then wandered off oblivious. Which leads to my next question.
  
• At the top of page 25 it says
  

  A guard who survives a surprise attack (hit but not wounded) is aware of his enemy and can shout 'Intruder Alert' when activated, whether he can see the enemy or not

  Presumably this means you need to keep track of whether or not he was successfully hit, fine, but what happens if he was engaged in CQC and the attacker failed their roll. I presume that counts as being hit but not wounded.
  
• Do guards who start their activation in CQC automatically leave CQC if that's what their Reaction test tells them to do?
• Regarding suppression, how does it work when gained on a players own activation by walking into a Reserved player's Visual Arc (who then succeeds at firing suppressing shots at them) or by entering an area of suppression? Is the movement interrupted? If not then when are the suppression counters gained by the model? This could lead to situations where attackers breach buildings and attack, ignoring any suppression until their next turn.
  
• Can suppressing fire be aimed at an area of ground in such a way to create a 6'' circular Suppressed Area (3" in any direction from target o n the ground) where enemy models are already stood? The rules state it will affect enemies who step into it, but not what happens if they're already in it when it's created.
  

Apologies for anything that's clearly stated in the rules that I've missed. I've spent a good amount of time flicking back and forth and appreciate I'm at a disadvantage due to not having any experience with this type of game before, plus having no idea what UGLs, PDWs and ATGMs are unless they're rotating around a video game selection screen.