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Ok, looking at the rules for shooting, it is possible for an entire unit to be shot to bits if just a single model is visible. So in a 10 man unit, if one if visible, they all can die because normal wound allocation takes place.
However, with line of sight rules, only models that have LoS to at least one model may fire. So only one model would be able to fire at the opponent, but they can all die. That doesn't seem right to me. If you can be killed because your unit is deemed to be in constant motion then why can't the whole unit shoot based on that same assumption?
Does this seem odd to anyone else? I hear 4th ed did things differently that made more sense. Can anyone please help make sense of this?
Thanks in advance,
-Pav

I couldn't tell you, but Design Philosophy, the GW podcast(?) with Mr. Johnson and Alessio might be able to. If I had to speculate, I would guess that they were attempting to encourage agressive play, such as the same logic that makes a Terminator who takes cover behind a tree die from a lasgun if the tree doesn't stop the shot (a big change from 3rd to 4th way back when). GW makes the rules based on the way they want the game to flow and shape, not what makes sense. If you'd like a game where you can only kill what you can see, and troops in cover are quite hard to shoot up, I would reccomend Flames of War. It's a great system. Hope I was somewhat helpfull.

by the same token, you can have 51% of your squad out of line of sight, and the rest with clear shots, allowing you to take shots at the enemy but still benefit from a cover save when recieving return fire.

I don't see any problem with these rules in terms of a gameplay mechanic, and that's really the important thing.

Drunkspleen wrote: I don't see any problem with these rules in terms of a gameplay mechanic, and that's really the important thing.

Exactly what i was trying to convey. Thank you.

pavonis wrote: Ok, looking at the rules for shooting, it is possible for an entire unit to be shot to bits if just a single model is visible. So in a 10 man unit, if one if visible, they all can die because normal wound allocation takes place.
However, with line of sight rules, only models that have LoS to at least one model may fire. So only one model would be able to fire at the opponent, but they can all die. That doesn't seem right to me. If you can be killed because your unit is deemed to be in constant motion then why can't the whole unit shoot based on that same assumption?
Does this seem odd to anyone else? I hear 4th ed did things differently that made more sense. Can anyone please help make sense of this?
Thanks in advance,
-Pav

The reason it needs to work this way is because you get to move with your models and then shoot in the same turn. That gives you the opportunity to set your shots up the way you need before you fire. If all you needed to do was have ONE of your models in LOS of the enemy unit to allow ALL of your firing models to shoot, people would constantly position their units in a way that only a single firing model could be seen. Then, when the opponent's turn rolls around as soon as that unit takes any fire the guy pulls that one model in LOS and now every other enemy unit has no shot at that unit for that turn anymore.

By having the rules set up this way it also rewards players for putting their units in areas that have wide open lanes of fire as opposed to just hiding all but one behind a building. But by leaving the casualty removal rules more abstract it allows for a very uniform cover and casualty rule to be applied.


And to put it into fluff terms, yes the guys standing behind a wall can't see the enemy and so won't shoot, but if the enemy can see at least one guy in the target unit they open fire at that guy and the hail of firepower they unleash can indeed punch through walls and ricochet to strange places killing guys that aren't currently visible to them.