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Situation: Walkers on floor 2 and 3 of a 4 story ruin not blocked by LOS. BA Libby 4 inches in front of both and can see both. BA uses Blood Lance. Does the line extend "up" to touch both? Does the line only go forward from the model on the plane of the libby? Can the line be angled to hit both? does it work like a template where it can only hit 1 level at a time?

We played it as a like that can be angled but doesn't extend up or downN just through.

Lines are not planes; they are one dimensional.

It does not have to be along the table, however.

I dont recall the terminology exactly, but IIRC it states "Any model under the line drawn" or something similar to that, meaning yes,it would hit both of them. as long as they both are actually under the line itd hit them both.
What I want to ask is, how on Earth did two walkers get on two different floors of a building?

blood lance wrote:I dont recall the terminology exactly, but IIRC it states "Any model under the line drawn" or something similar to that, meaning yes,it would hit both of them. as long as they both are actually under the line itd hit them both.
What I want to ask is, how on Earth did two walkers get on two different floors of a building?

Turns out you don't recall it inexactly either not that I blame you, I had to look it up to check.

The wording is "Extend a straight line, 4D6 [inches] long, from the Librarian's base in any direction - this is the path taken by the Blood Lance. Any enemy unit in the lance's path..."

so the correct solution is the way the OP says they chose to play it, you can angle it however you want to hit elevated units, but it will only hit the units directly in the path of the line.

I have a related question, if a line attack like the necron death ray where it says any units "friendly or enemy under the line" would placing the line across the top of the ruins then hit every model under the line even if they were on the floors below it?

No, a point above the battlefield is not a point on the battlefield.

I read it as similar to JotWW in that regard.

I am under the impression that "any direction" means any direction on the board. Otherwise, you can Jaws across ruins as well.

Except for the fact Jaws specifies you draw a line along the table.

So you cannot fire a death ray into a ruins above the first floor at all the your saying? That seems a bit odd, would it also mean that models in a ruins above the first floor do not count as being on the tabletop/battlefield/table surface for all purposes, so for example a SM librarian would not be able to use gate of infinity if he were on the second floor of a ruins as he is not on the table top but rather is above it?

kirsanth wrote:No, a point above the battlefield is not a point on the battlefield.

I read it as similar to JotWW in that regard.

Wouldn't this interpretation mean the Death Ray can't actually hurt anything unless they are in a ravine though?

I think it's a reasonable interpretation with regards to JotWW where the rule specifies the board, rather than the battlefield. The board is a very solid and defined thing, it's the surface on which the game is being played (and as the line simply has to "touch" enemy models, it doesn't have the same issue as the Death Ray). But I think it's reasonable to say a much more representative idea such as the battlefield includes the air above the table, given how many models fighting in the battle can occupy that space, and that's before even getting into multi level ruins.

Well, if, and its a big if, the first point has to be on the table top, the second point can be anywhere. Its not bound by the "limitations" of selecting the first point.

Drunkspleen wrote:

kirsanth wrote:No, a point above the battlefield is not a point on the battlefield.

I read it as similar to JotWW in that regard.

Wouldn't this interpretation mean the Death Ray can't actually hurt anything unless they are in a ravine though?

I think it's a reasonable interpretation with regards to JotWW where the rule specifies the board, rather than the battlefield. The board is a very solid and defined thing, it's the surface on which the game is being played (and as the line simply has to "touch" enemy models, it doesn't have the same issue as the Death Ray). But I think it's reasonable to say a much more representative idea such as the battlefield includes the air above the table, given how many models fighting in the battle can occupy that space, and that's before even getting into multi level ruins.

That what I was trying to comment on with my comment earlier, the battlefield definition is much less descriptive than even tabletop or table, and most people wouldn't argue(in an actual game not on the dakka forums) about you using a piece of wargear(locator beacon, Chaos Icon, chronometron, etc) or an ability(gate of infinity, etc) that required you to be on the table while you were on the second floor of a ruins.