Victory Decision FAQ - 08/09 Ambush Rule Update!!!

[alep]

hi, the bonus (or malus) to hit for broken los and cover are cumulative or not?
So if i try to shoot a soldier behind a wall i have +1 for broken los and +1 for cover?
if not, from what i read you apply the +1 for broken los only when the target is behind another unit, in all other situation the cover modifier, soft or hard.
by the way tomorrow we will try another game, we hope to do some shot and a proper AAR

[Agis]

hi, the bonus (or malus) to hit for broken los and cover are cumulative or not?
So if i try to shoot a soldier behind a wall i have +1 for broken los and +1 for cover?
if not, from what i read you apply the +1 for broken los only when the target is behind another unit, in all other situation the cover modifier, soft or hard.

A: It is NOT cumulative. See the example pic on page 17. See also page 18 1st paragraph when a unit is in cover.

[alep]

so in fig.17 if the us sergeant will shoot i should apply cover bonus only if the target unit leader and the majority of soldiers are in cover, if not there is no modifier because some soldiers are in the open with clear LoS.
I've not clear when i will apply the broken LoS modifier, can you make an example?

[Agis]

Hmm, page 17 is about LoS, Broken LoS and Clear LoS; NOT about cover!
The unit Leader is in the open, so no cover (P. 18 1st paragraph). (A situation like on Page 17 will rarely occur, if there is enough space to place 3 minis behind the wall, the leader would also be there!).
However - the unit can claim Broken LoS. Be generous with Broken LoS! And keep the Note on Page 18 in mind...
And, Quote from Page 18: "As with movement modifying terrain, the opponents should take time to declare the cover effects of each scenery piece on the gaming table before the game begins. Again - the game should not start before it is clear to both players which scenery piece generates a terrain and /or cover effect."

[tiberius_mannius]

Played my second game last night and still really enjoying it. The lethality is high and I like the morale effects of putting down a bunch of suppression on a unit. After the game I have a few clarifications I hoping you would help with:

1. For the Blast effect is the distance the radius? The picture on pg 24 implies it is - if so a Blast/4" heavy artillery actually covers an 8" area - is this correct?

2. With the Indirect trait can I target a point of ground instead of a model?

3. Since artillery does not have the Indirect feature this means the model with the command ability must see the target correct?

4. I had a section of 5 Grenadiers caught in a British Heavy Artillery strike. I had my opponent roll 5 pairs of dice picking the highest from each pair to apply as damage - does this sound right? Since the Grendiers were in the open each die that came up 4+ caused 2 hits correct (2xD6+2)?

5. My damaged section has 3 Grenadiers remaining and 2 suppression markers. They are fired upon by a British HMG which places 2 more suppression. Since the section does not see if it breaks till the action is complete am I correct in saying that I stop placing suppression markers at 3 with no further effect or does that 4th cause a critical hit even though the section has not "broke" yet?

Sorry about my american nit picking just my opponents will ask.

Finally I am looking at running this at a local game convention in a couple months and need was curious if you have much experience playing this multi-player? Does it work well? Does the initiative system bog it down much?

Thanks Agis!

[alep]

Agis: "However - the unit can claim Broken LoS. "
i don't understand this:
the shooting is toward the  unit, so if i have at  least a target soldier in the open i can shoot without modifier (the position of leader and half +1 of trooper is only for claiming cover).

yesterday night we tried the "capture!" scenario, and we found the attacker mission very difficult and we have some question for the reserve rule.
the unit in reserve can came all from 2° turn or must follow the table  at page 54 point 15.4? we played without it  and all  the unit in reserve entered at the end of turn 2, with the -1 on activation granting the  safe move , having the enemy units already completed their activation (sometimes losing activation roll can be a good thing!). at the end we were talking and we found that using the table could balance the victory condition.
anyway we had a good game and we are our building up our forces including some armour,
 keep on with your good work!

[Agis]

1. For the Blast effect is the distance the radius? The picture on pg 24 implies it is - if so a Blast/4" heavy artillery actually covers an 8" area - is this correct?
A: Yes!
2. With the Indirect trait can I target a point of ground instead of a model?
A: Yes! Just as the rule says: “Select a Target Point anywhere between half the weapon’s range and its maximum, which is where the shot may land – the Target point does not have to be in Line of Sight of the firing unit as with normal shooting actions.”

3. Since artillery does not have the Indirect feature this means the model with the command ability must see the target correct?
A: The commanding unit must see the initial target point. See Page 21: “However - the initial Target Point must be in the commanding unit’s Line of Sight. There is no minimum range for this attack.“
4. I had a section of 5 Grenadiers caught in a British Heavy Artillery strike. I had my opponent roll 5 pairs of dice picking the highest from each pair to apply as damage - does this sound right? Since the Grendiers were in the open each die that came up 4+ caused 2 hits correct (2xD6+2)?
A: Yes. 2 Hits normal save apply.

5. My damaged section has 3 Grenadiers remaining and 2 suppression markers. They are fired upon by a British HMG which places 2 more suppression. Since the section does not see if it breaks till the action is complete am I correct in saying that I stop placing suppression markers at 3 with no further effect or does that 4th cause a critical hit even though the section has not "broke" yet?
A: See Page 11 4.1.1 Becoming Shaken: “You should completely resolve the attacking unit’s action before checking to see if the target unit breaks.”
4.1.3 does only apply if the unit is already shaken!

Finally I am looking at running this at a local game convention in a couple months and need was curious if you have much experience playing this multi-player? Does it work well? Does the initiative system bog it down much?
A: Worked fine so far. Maybe limit the points per player.

[tiberius_mannius]

Thanks again!

[Agis]

"However - the unit can claim Broken LoS. "
i don't understand this:
the shooting is toward the  unit, so if i have at  least a target soldier in the open i can shoot without modifier (the position of leader and half +1 of trooper is only for claiming cover).
A: Please read the Broken LoS rules as a subpart of LoS! Quote from P. 17: “LoS is checked from model to model, ...”

the unit in reserve can came all from 2° turn or must follow the table  at page 54 point 15.4? we played without it  and all  the unit in reserve entered at the end of turn 2, with the -1 on activation granting the  safe move , having the enemy units already completed their activation (sometimes losing activation roll can be a good thing!). at the end we were talking and we found that using the table could balance the victory condition.
A: When using the Reserve rule you must use the table under 15.4!

[Agis]

Q: The rules state that no unit can enter the CR of an enemy unit, on pg 18 that a unit spots automatically hidden enemies that are in CR. So if i have a team that wants to assault a hidden enemy team can i move in CR, spot automatically and then assault or (if i cannot enter in their CR) must i take a spot action to assault them?

A: Good catch!  
It is impossible to assault a hidden enemy unit simply by moving into it. If you want to assault a hidden enemy team you have to spot it (1 Action) than take another action to perform the assault.
Or you perform a move action into the hidden units CR and automatically spot it. After that you have to perform a Close Combat action to attack the enemy within CR.

Edit 2011-07-16:
The rule stands as it is. Even hidden units have a CR! We have discussed it very careful. It is possible for a unit that is using the Ambush ability to be revealed inside CR of a hidden unit.
Example: A unit hides in a terrain feature that was also used by the opponent as the location for his ambushing unit. The ambushing unit is revealed and is placed inside the CR of the hidden unit. The hidden unit is automatically spotted by the ambushing unit.
Future rules additions may also result in similar situations.

[Agis]

Rule book Changes 2011-07-16:
The following clarifications are added:
Page 23 - 7.22 - Weapon Team:
Weapon Teams may only shoot if at least one crew member is still alive (the unit still has one HP or more). The weapon and the crew act as one unit, they are taking their actions together. Weapon teams may decide to not use the main weapon (a weapon with the Blast/X", Flame, Scoped or Set Up/X Weapon Feature) in which case they may use their hand weapons normally.

Page 37 - 11.9 - Shooting from Open Transport Vehicles
Up to half of the mounted models (rounding down) may fire from an open transport vehicle with a –1 penalty to their Damage Dice if the open transport vehicle takes a Shoot Action. It is not possible to shoot a weapon with the Blast/X" or Flame Weapon Feature from an open transport vehicle. Weapons with the Scoped or Set Up/X Feature may be shot but cannot benefit from these features.
Example: A German Panzergrenadier squad has mounted a SdKfZ 251/1. The SdKfz 251/1 is an open vehicle with the Transport/10 Special, so half of the squad = 5 Panzergrenadiers may shoot in addition to the vehicle. One Panzergrenadier has a Panzerfaust and two are equipped with a MG-42. The Panzerfaust is not useable because of the Blast/X” Feature. The MG-42 can be used but can only use 2xD6+1 Damage Dice each.
P.80, Political Officer Command Attachment - Weapon Team Ability is removed

The ebooks are already updated at the Wargame Vault and all customers should have received an email about the change. The LuLu version is also updated.

[Agis]

German Technical Manual Changes 2011-07-16:
Page 10: The PaK 38 does not count as a big gun.
The ebooks are already updated at the Wargame Vault and all customers should have received an email about the change.

[Agis]

Panzergrenadier Field Guide Changes 2011-07-16:
The following clarification is added to page 7:
“A Panzergrenadier Squad that is mounted in two SdKfz 250/1 Halftracks counts as a vehicle unit. Please keep chapter 10.8 “Vehicle Unit Leader and Coherency” of the Victory Decision “World War II” rulebook in mind. You must nominate one SdKfz 250/1 Halftrack as unit leader, which is always the model which carries the Unteroffizier.
A Team can dismount and split from the vehicle unit by using the Fire Team ability.”

The ebooks are already updated at the Wargame Vault and all customers should have received an email about the change.

[Dargoth]

Ok so:
red - my friend's human wave
gray - my squad with mg42  this baby does wonders when deployed
green - forest (the topmost bar is 1")
Q: I shoot - what happens in each of those situations (can/can't shoot cover/broken LoS etc)
I know that the question might seem retarded (especially that you already answered similar question) but I want to be 100% sure that I understand.

[Agis]

The following answers presume that you and your opponent had agreed before the game that the green area is a soft cover providing, LoS blocking terrain element.
The terrain 1”deep x 4”wide (1st pic) and 4”deep x 4”wide (2nd – 4th pic).
No unit is hidden. All models are in Range.

OK? If so all of the examples can be answered with P.17 3rd paragraph of the rulebook.

Pic 1 and 2 – The Soviets are behind a LoS blocking terrain – LoS is blocked - no shooting possible (P.17 3rd paragraph  - of the rulebook).
Pic 3 – The Soviets are now in the terrain element. Presuming they are more than 2” away from the edge of the terrain LoS is still block - - no shooting possible (P.17 3rd paragraph  - of the rulebook).
Pic 4 – LoS is not blocked, since the Soviets are within 2” of the MG facing edge of the terrain.

Hope that helps.