Rules clarifications

For an AoE weapon, do you roll separately to attack each model within the AoE, or one roll (per attack) which each model separately defends against?

Under the Inquisition Relics table there are two entries that have the wording "Once per scroll taken." If that soldier had only the one relic, is this the same as "Once per game"?

This is on page 87 of the 2.1 rules.

@Kontuz, yes that is correct. “Cover Fire” whether by order or by weapon trait can be used to shoot at a target directly or at an area in general and is always a -1 initiative mod to hit all targets rolled against.

Thanks for the answers.

For question 3, I meant to say those weapons that work out attacks like "Cover Fire", for example the Heavy Bolt Repeater. Could you target the ground in a fire action to try and bring additional figures inside the area of attack?

4) That’s a great question and something I failed to clarify. How I’ve played it it is you may declare your targets as you shoot. Choose a target, fire weapon one, see the result, choose a new target (or same), fire weapon two, see the result.

Great questions! Hope to see more games from you in the future!

Hey Kontuz! Glad to hear your playing! That scenario sounds like a ton of fun! Here’s some answers to your questions:

1) Yes. That word “Rally” on the quick reference sheet is supposed to mean “Mend”. Good eye! I will fix it shortly.

2) No. Assault Speical Action is only for Assaulting and can not be used to move. Since you can premeasure, and measure freely in general, there should be no need to give an Assault Action that you know will not reach.

3) If the “Fire” order must be treated like a “Focus Fire”, then that’s that, and, per “Focus Fire” rules, the shot can only be at a single target. Thus, no, “Focus Fire” cannot simultaneously be “Cover Fire”.

I have some questions from a quick play through I did this weekend. I figure it's best to keep questions and answers it in one thread.

1) In the Core Ruleset v1.1, on pg 12 under special actions it mentions the Rally order, did you mean Mend order?

2) For Assault special action, can a figure freely move instead of charging into combat? If not, can it declare an assault even if it would not have a high enough movement value to reach its declared target?

3) For weapons whose fire mode counts as focus fire, must they directly target a figure, or can they target a spot on the ground like with the focus fire action?

4) For mechs and those with the Weapons Mastery skill, are both targets selected at the start, or can you wait until you determine the result of the first fire before allocating the second?

I had fun with the short 3 figure 36 UC "reprogram the central terminal" scenario I threw together.

Haha, no worries! Thanks for the clarification

Oh yes! Not walking wounded. My bad- I forgot that I had reworded that rule a while back (used to be -2 Initiative for everything. Harsh.) So yes, you are correct: read walking wounded as it is in the rule book, and that does not affect psychic abilities.

Thanks, that helps a lot.

Does walking wounded impact initiative for everything - close combat (if they are charged, because of course, they can't run/assault to initiate close combat), shooting, dodge rolls, and psychic abilities? The core rules under 'Walking Wounded' (pg10) say that the -2 Initiative modifier applies when the soldier executes a ranged attack, but doesn't mention applying this modifier in any other situation (that I can see).

Psychic abilities, since they are not always ranges attacks—indeed most are buffs, mechanic manipulation, and hexes—they’re roll is a different mechanic entirely, except that it just so happens they can be attempted at the same times a weapon could be fired. So the only negative modifiers are movement or walking wounded (which always impacts initiative for everything). The only positive roll modifiers can come from relics or alpha skills. Hope that helps!

Hey there,

Another question came up after today's game. What initiative modifiers do you apply to using psychic powers?

Psychic abilities are used as part of the 'fire', 'advance', or 'focus fire' orders. However, do they count as 'ranged attacks' for the purposes of applying initiative modifiers?

For example, the rulebook specifically states that psychic powers receive a -2 initiative modifier if cast as part of an 'advance' order, just like regular ranged attacks. However, do they share the other modifiers that ranged attacks have - from walking wounded, having the high ground, and targeting an enemy within half range?

Thanks for your help - still enjoying the game!

Awesome!

And yeah- close combat is only really impacted by a weapon’s initiative mod for cc (if it even has one) and additional wounds mod. No other ranged attack rules apply. Just go for the jugular! Haha

Yeah, it was close, and most importantly, left me excited for the next game!

Oh, I see. In that case, because you're making a 'combat roll' not a roll to 'hit', does the electrified rod's special rule regarding damage come into play? In close combat, does the electrified rod do damage as normal, or does it's special rule come into play, and just do 3 straight damage?

Good to hear it wasn't just our dice (or some rule misinterpretation) then. I do like how close combat works too. It can be risky, but it's nice going in to know that chances are, someone is going to die!

Sounds like a fantastic game! That’s definitely close, leaving only 2 soldiers left to 0. Points wise, depending on who was left in his warband, even if you got tabled, it may have been only a small victory. Sounds like a blast!

Whenever you’re in close combat you’re making “combat rolls” and not “attack/dodge rolls” so the mechanic is different. Each player only rolls 2D6, adds their modified initiatives and then applies the difference in wounds against the losing model’s health value. It’s pretty much that simple. So “attack rolls per target” doesn’t apply in close combat. Just one roll per player, per round of cc.

Hitting big in Starfall is not uncommon, as the same mechanic to hit directly impacts wounds applied, but that’s why the “armor” value is there and never depletes. It softens the blows with each new successful hit. But yes, the combat mechanics are intentionally on the “deadly” side to make maneuvering, table control, and psychic strategy that much more rewarding. And Starfall overall is more fluid, more action packed and quicker than most of its peers. Not too much waiting around and it definitely doesn’t drag out. Haha. Stoked to hear more!

Ah, I see how that works.

Another question about the electrified rod popped up during today's game. Do you apply its two attack rolls per target while in close combat? If so, how does that work? Does the opposing player roll to dodge the second attack if he doesn't have a second attack himself? Or does the opposing player roll once, leaving you to roll two separate attacks against that single roll?

Anyway, we had a good time. The rules were easy to get a hang of, the combat was surprisingly brutal (maybe it was just our dice, or the big Coven guns, but most of the time we either missed, or hit big!), and no one felt like either side had any unfair advantage from the get-go, even though we didn't really know what we were doing while making our warbands.

In the end my poor Dark Path force was tabled by my brother's Coven, but he only had two models left, so it was a close(ish) game! Looking forward to the next game, where hopefully I'll be able to figure out the tactics a little more.

Yes, while moving, still measure directly point to point. This basically only matters when you plan on landing your soldier higher than where he started. Also, jet packs get to negate fall damage because you still ignore terrain rules while falling (moving). ;)

Definitely share your bat reps and thoughts after a few game for sure! A great spot would just be under the campaign section of the forum. :)

Excellent, thanks for clearing that up.

Here's another one I'd like to make sure we play right - jetpacks 'ignore all terrain rules' (which I interpret as basically being able to move over anything). But do you measure the vertical movement as part of the jetpack move?

I'll make sure to check back in and post my thoughts after a couple of games

Hey Lach! Stoked to hear you’re playing the game soon and enjoying the ruleset! This spot is totally cool for rules questions. Feel free to just keeping asking your questions as comments to this post.

For electrified rod, and any weapons described similarly, it is you initial interpretation which is correct. It simply skips armor altogether and regardless of the 2D6 roll, it applies -3 wounds only and directly to health per attack roll hit.

Hope that helps! Do be sure to share your games here, there and everywhere! Enjoy!