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Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find it in the previous posts.

My dad has started to get interested in 40k recently and he's started learning the basics of the rules. He brought up an interesting idea while we were talking that there should be some sort of BS bonus for a unit that stays stationary for a turn or two while firing at the same team. This would represent the unit "drawing a bead" as it were on the unit so that their weapons hit with greater accuracy.

What are your thoughts on this. The more I thought about it I realized that it made a lot of sense. The bonus doesn't have to be to BS either, it could be some other sort of benefit for putting yourself at greater risk while lining up the perfect shot.

how does that get implemented?
subtract 1 from your saves to add one to your BS?
and not move for the turn?

it might be too much to just sacrifice an entire turn of moving and shooting just for one awesome shot next turn

+1 to BS and re-rolls for fails?

It seems like a neat idea, but it would just add to much complexity to the game. Besides, the benefit for staying still is being able to fire a heavy weapon.

agreed, using an aiming bonus would seem overpowered when applied to a heavy weapon

It's an interesting idea.

I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

You should think through in detail how it works and how it interacts with other rules.

For example, would it stack with Tau Markerlights?

Give it a go as a house rule in friendly games.

The way I envisioned the idea working was if the unit stayed still for a time they would get some sort of bonus, doesn't have to be BS it could be to range and or some other benefit. This bonus would of course have a penalty more than just not moving. It could be that you lose a bit off your save since the opposing units have longer to aim at you as well. Or perhaps if the unit that is drawing a bead could lose some of their WS or maybe a unit that fired on the unit taking aim would gain some BS in return since its a lot easier to hit a stationary target.

I'm not trying to push this idea or anything I just wanted to stimulate a conversation about it.

Evilclown wrote:The way I envisioned the idea working was if the unit stayed still for a time they would get some sort of bonus, doesn't have to be BS it could be to range and or some other benefit. This bonus would of course have a penalty more than just not moving. It could be that you lose a bit off your save since the opposing units have longer to aim at you as well. Or perhaps if the unit that is drawing a bead could lose some of their WS or maybe a unit that fired on the unit taking aim would gain some BS in return since its a lot easier to hit a stationary target.

I'm not trying to push this idea or anything I just wanted to stimulate a conversation about it.

The problem with that is what about units that aren't "drawing a bead" or "aiming" that also don't move? Would they have the same penalties for firing at a stationary target? Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of getting an aiming bonus for firing at the same target if your unit remains stationary.

I also like the idea of a stationary unit in cover getting a bonus to the save after the first turn to represent being "dug in"...

Unfortunately, the 40K system is a bit static when representing a combat simulation - something that other systems are better suited to do and have done successfully. Stargrunt II has rules for both situations, IIRC.

Hi all.
It is possible to add limited modifers to BS etc, similar to WH BS mods if you want to.(-1 if firing over half maximum range.-1 for light cover. -2 for heavy cover.-1 if firing unit moved.+1 for large target.etc.)

GW has been trying to distance 40krules from WH rules even though most of the game mechanics are shared.
Unfortunatley this has lead to 40k having very abstracted rules , as WH seems to 'nab' most of the sensible rules options first!

And as the abstraction increases, the amount of exceptions to bring game play back to expectaions increases too.
This means even more (poorly defined rules) to cover the very simple gameplay.

I would suggest looking at alternative rule sets,(some are free to down load on the net.)
To get ideas , or even find a rule set more suited to your playing needs!

Happy Gaming ,
Lanrak.