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So we had an issue yesterday while gaming...

Two guys were facing off, Orks vs Nids. The ork players battlewagon went down and his lootas went to ground to help nullify some of the nids shooting. The nid player then assaulted into cover (the exploded wagon) to try and take down the lootas with his broodlord... well, in a stroke of dumb luck, the lootas managed to take down the broodlord (who had 1 wound left) before it attacked. But this issue arose;

Are the lootas now able to act as normal after they won the assault? There was no other models attacking them, and being as they went to ground, normally they can't do anything... but does the assault bring them out of it? The rule book didn't help at all, but we ruled that (using common sense) your guys wouldn't stay gone to ground after getting charged by a big mean alien bug @_@... Help!

The Go to Ground rules (p24) state that the unit cannot do anything until the end of its following turn, but reacts as normal to things like morale tests and assaults.

That is, they still fight the assault as normal, but still retain their 'gone to ground' status until the end of their following turn. So, in your case the Lootas win the assault but still can't do anything else until the end of their next turn.

They'll still be able to make Defenders React and Consolidation moves, IMHO, as these are reactions by being 'affected by enemy actions', but they won't be able to move in their following turn.

Personnally I would say that you are no longer gone to ground because you have had a consolidation move. Here are the possible outcomes.

Either:

1/ The combat is a draw in which case the unit has no longer gone to ground as it is locked in combat.

2/ You loose and flee in which case you are running not gone to ground

3/ You are wiped out.

4/ You win the assault you then get your consolidation move so you can now move freely.

The only thing that will remove the gone to ground status is if you have to fall back. If you are assaulted and win it doesn't remove the gone to ground. It just lets you fight as usual.

These would be your four outcomes:

1/ Drawn combat. The unit is locked in combat but has still gone to ground. This means if somehow the enemy models were removed from the combat before then end of your next turn your guys still wouldn't get to do anything. (Maybe a blast scatters killing the last of the enemy models, then your guys can't declare an assault that turn.)

2/ You loose and fall back. The gone to ground is removed.

3/ You are wiped out.

4/ You win the assault, consolidate, and have still gone to ground so cannot do anything till the end of your turn.

The rules are not specific on it I would apply common sense and say that if you move and consolidate you have moved away from eating the dirt and are now up and fighting again. This is another case of poor rule writing. I'm sure if you ask GWAR who is the expeert he will say the same thing as Cheexsta however I think this is one were in friendly games you apply common sense. Just my opinion.

Ed, a few things:

First, nothing in the rules states that fighting in close combat removes the 'gone to ground' status of the unit. The rule is specific in that the unit can react to enemy actions as normal (so Defenders React still works) and can fight in close combat. So, they fight the close combat and might win, but that alone doesn't remove the restrictions of having gone to ground.

The only way to remove the 'gone to ground' status is by reaching the end of their following player turn or by falling back.

As for common sense, I don't know. Imagine you're in a squad that has been pinned by enemy sniper fire, before being charged by someone with a bayonet attached to his lasgun. You punch him in the face with your powerfist and he dies. That sniper hasn't magically disappeared; the threat is still there, so you return to your positions of cover (or take the opportunity to find a better position of fire) until you feel safe enough to emerge.

Common sense argument refuted. Your turn

Also - how did the broodlord go last?

UNits that have gone to ground do not benefit from cover when being assaulted.

nosferatu1001 wrote:Also - how did the broodlord go last?

UNits that have gone to ground do not benefit from cover when being assaulted.

The OP mentioned that the Broodlord assaulted over the wreck, which is difficult and dangerous terrain.

Cheexsta wrote:

nosferatu1001 wrote:Also - how did the broodlord go last?

UNits that have gone to ground do not benefit from cover when being assaulted.

The OP mentioned that the Broodlord assaulted over the wreck, which is difficult and dangerous terrain.

And as Nos said, if a unit has gone to ground, the enemy do not suffer the penalty of striking at I1.

Ack, I need to put on my hat of remembering. You are both right, of course.

Cheexsta wrote:Ed, a few things:

First, nothing in the rules states that fighting in close combat removes the 'gone to ground' status of the unit. The rule is specific in that the unit can react to enemy actions as normal (so Defenders React still works) and can fight in close combat. So, they fight the close combat and might win, but that alone doesn't remove the restrictions of having gone to ground.

The only way to remove the 'gone to ground' status is by reaching the end of their following player turn or by falling back.

As for common sense, I don't know. Imagine you're in a squad that has been pinned by enemy sniper fire, before being charged by someone with a bayonet attached to his lasgun. You punch him in the face with your powerfist and he dies. That sniper hasn't magically disappeared; the threat is still there, so you return to your positions of cover (or take the opportunity to find a better position of fire) until you feel safe enough to emerge.

Common sense argument refuted. Your turn

Common sense argument not refuted you stated a sniper and a guy with a bayonet so that's not the situation. The squad see's they are going to take some incoming fire and go to ground suddenly they are attacked in close combat by a brood lord they kill it and then move they look around and think hey we've just hacked this bug to pieces and then walked however far why not move a bit further and then shoot.

Anyway you can't apply logic to these situations as it is a game. But my point still stands your consolidation move has broken the fact that you have gone to ground the enemy shooting phase is over you can move normally. I can completley see your argument however that the Orks have had the benefit of a coversave without the penalty of not doing anything else for a turn however the player should not have bothered to assault them as they are completley redundant for another turn if they stay gone to ground.

Ed_Bodger wrote:

Common sense argument not refuted you stated a sniper and a guy with a bayonet so that's not the situation. The squad see's they are going to take some incoming fire and go to ground suddenly they are attacked in close combat by a brood lord they kill it and then move they look around and think hey we've just hacked this bug to pieces and then walked however far why not move a bit further and then shoot.

Anyway you can't apply logic to these situations as it is a game. But my point still stands your consolidation move has broken the fact that you have gone to ground the enemy shooting phase is over you can move normally. I can completley see your argument however that the Orks have had the benefit of a coversave without the penalty of not doing anything else for a turn however the player should not have bothered to assault them as they are completley redundant for another turn if they stay gone to ground.

If you can't apply logic to these situations as it is a game then your first paragraph giving a fluffy reason as to why the gone to ground would be removed is invalid.

Pinning a bunch of people and assaulting them isn't redundant, it is a good way to go first when you don't have grenades and a high initiative.

Your point doesn't stand about the consolidation move breaking the gone to ground since the only things that break gone to ground are the end of your next turn or a failed moral test causing you to fall back.