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This has come up in our FLGC. We have SW & GK/BA -players, who use drop pods. Their opinion is, that they can disembark 6" measuring from the opened hatches, which gives them a huge advantage. Our (enemies ) opinion is, that you measure from the hull (like vehicles). Plus, when the pod explodes, then they insist, that it´s measured from the hull.

a) Is there a FAQ on this matter?
b) If not, how do people normally play pods in these scenarios?

any opinions much appreciated (normally, the puppies land from the sky with three pods...annoying...)

General consensus is you measure from the hull for disembarking.

You measure from the hull, as that is what the rules for Open Topped transports tell you

I play Drop Pods and always allow my opponents to decide if the doors count as hull or not. Once I point out that while they would be able to measure range to the tip of the door (meaning they could shoot the pod from farther away) but I would be able to exactly what your friend claims he can do, my opponents have all always decided that they would rather play it so that doors are NOT hull. I think the sporting thing to do in this case is to let the non pod player decide how he wants it, although the conventional arrangement is that doors do NOT count as hull.

In our group we measure from the hull. But also in our club there are no TFG that try stuff like this on you.

Wouldnt pack up my stuff if someone argues badly about it but i also wouldnt play against him again.

This has come up before.
Best practice is to ignore the doors.
If you don't, the footprint of the pod makes them almost unusable without mishapping.

If your opponent wants to measure from the tips of the doors for disembarkation, make sure he's counting the doors for everything else.

The general consensus is that the doors are ignored for all purposes. So you would measure everything to and drom the hull in that case. However that is just a convention, a sensible one at that.
If you are going to count the doors as hull for one purpose, for example disembarking, then you should count them for all other purposes as well, including shooting at it, placement during DS and so forth.

Essentially decide before the battle the door's status and play accordingly.

Measure from the hull, ignore the petals.

Just to chime in - ignoring the doors is the general consensus - *however* the rules basis on it has never been clear, and never been FAQed. If you're using, or facing, pods be sure to bring it up before deployment.

If you disagree with him you could point out that you don't measure from the tip of a door with any other vehicle. Would he?
Also the suggestion to say "alright it counts for disembarking, but for everything else too then" seems right.

While the "general consensus" is that you measure from the Hull.

The rulebook says differently.

The Open Topped Transports section of the BRB on Page 82 says the following:

"Open-topped vehicles do not have specific Access Points. Instead, all of the vehicle is considered to be an Access Point (regardless of any base they may have)."

Emphasis mine.

Still, most folks, including myself will ignore the doors.

We measure from the hull.

If players were to insist on measuring from the doors, I'd then say that they're in play, and must be used in all instances as the hull of the pod. Scatter, targeting, everything.

another way to pitch it is that many players hate dealing with the doors that never seem to line up right to be closed and opened, so they glue them shut... if this has been determined as acceptable, and determined to not be modeling for advantage to block line of sight, then the only place you can measure from is the hull/base.

This is why I have models that are the size of pods sans doors... They're just a huge pain with the doors out for play purposes.

 B0B MaRlEy wrote:
If you disagree with him you could point out that you don't measure from the tip of a door with any other vehicle. Would he?
Also the suggestion to say "alright it counts for disembarking, but for everything else too then" seems right.

Hehe. I like this guy!

Model your side doors on your rhinos and land raiders with hinges so that they can swing down.

 kronk wrote:

 B0B MaRlEy wrote:
If you disagree with him you could point out that you don't measure from the tip of a door with any other vehicle. Would he?
Also the suggestion to say "alright it counts for disembarking, but for everything else too then" seems right.

Hehe. I like this guy!

Model your side doors on your rhinos and land raiders with hinges so that they can swing down.

Those vehicles are not "Open Topped" so that wouldn't work.

Irrelevant. For non-open-topped, you measure from the doors.

if your doors stick out an extra inch or two because you hinged them, then it's the same argument as the first post in this thread.

However, mine post was made in jest, so it's not really worth arguing over.

 kronk wrote:
Irrelevant. For non-open-topped, you measure from the doors.

if your doors stick out an extra inch or two because you hinged them, then it's the same argument as the first post in this thread.

However, mine post was made in jest, so it's not really worth arguing over.

The problem is that the "doors count" player has actual rules to back up his position as I have quoted earlier.
The "doors do not count" argument does not have any rules to back it up. It stems from the previous edition where, I believe it was FAQ'd as such.

40k-noob wrote:

 kronk wrote:
Irrelevant. For non-open-topped, you measure from the doors.

if your doors stick out an extra inch or two because you hinged them, then it's the same argument as the first post in this thread.

However, mine post was made in jest, so it's not really worth arguing over.

The problem is that the "doors count" player has actual rules to back up his position as I have quoted earlier.
The "doors do not count" argument does not have any rules to back it up. It stems from the previous edition where, I believe it was FAQ'd as such.

Right, so if the doors of a vehicle count, then you can measure from them to disembark, as the doors are the access point on a Rhino or Land Raider.

If the Drop Pod's doors can be open so can the Land Raider or Rhino's doors.

 DeathReaper wrote:

40k-noob wrote:

 kronk wrote:
Irrelevant. For non-open-topped, you measure from the doors.

if your doors stick out an extra inch or two because you hinged them, then it's the same argument as the first post in this thread.

However, mine post was made in jest, so it's not really worth arguing over.

The problem is that the "doors count" player has actual rules to back up his position as I have quoted earlier.
The "doors do not count" argument does not have any rules to back it up. It stems from the previous edition where, I believe it was FAQ'd as such.

Right, so if the doors of a vehicle count, then you can measure from them to disembark, as the doors are the access point on a Rhino or Land Raider.

If the Drop Pod's doors can be open so can the Land Raider or Rhino's doors.

Did you read the section i quoted? It is specific to Open Topped vehicles, it does not apply to all vehicles. I will post it again so you wont have to scroll up.

40k-noob wrote:
The Open Topped Transports section of the BRB on Page 82 says the following:

"Open-topped vehicles do not have specific Access Points. Instead, all of the vehicle is considered to be an Access Point (regardless of any base they may have)."

Emphasis mine.

Is a Drop Pod an Open Topped vehicle? Yes.
Are the doors part of the Drop Pod vehicle? Yes.

Therefor they count as access points.

I read the section you quoted, coincidentally the doors (Access point) of a non open topped vehicle work in the same way.

"When a unit disembarks, place the models one at a time, using the following method: place the first model in base contact with one of the vehicle's Access Points" P.79

The rules for non open topped vehicles say that you have to measure from the access point, which is the door...

So the same applies for the doors of a Land raider.

I still say you ignore the doors due to the rules on Page 71, on Vehicles and Measuring. They don't just apply to shooting. They also apply to movement. Also, only "wings" are listed as a specific exception to 'decorative' things and counted as part of the hull (pg. 73).

Doors I see as largely decorative (even decorations can block LOS) and thus not part of the hull.

 kronk wrote:
Irrelevant. For non-open-topped, you measure from the doors.

No, you measure from the Access Point. The door is just the thing that covers the Access Point when it's closed.

The difference with Open Topped transports is that unlike in 5th where you were allowed to measure from any point on the hull (which is what stopped the pod doors from counting) in 6th you are explicitly allowed to measure from any point on the vehicle.

The pod's doors are arguably not part of its hull... but they are part of the vehicle.

My house has an access port. It's a door.

4 actually. 3 doors and a garage door.

In the event of a fire, I suppose you could count windows.

In the event of a tornado, I suppose it could become open topped.

 insaniak wrote:
The difference with Open Topped transports is that unlike in 5th where you were allowed to measure from any point on the hull (which is what stopped the pod doors from counting) in 6th you are explicitly allowed to measure from any point on the vehicle.

The pod's doors are arguably not part of its hull... but they are part of the vehicle.

Fair enough. I expect its another oversight by GW then. RAW you'd be able to measure from the doors, as it does say "Instead, all of the vehicle is considered to be an Access Point (regardless of any base they may have)." What is gross then is that you'd ignore the 'decorative' doors for measuring if you are 1" or more from an enemy model based on the rules on page 71.

This also means that a Deffrolla adds a couple inches to a Battlewagon's disembark range by default.

Made me think, don't ork vehicles get that upgrade that's basically a boarding plank? If you do your drop-pod disembarking from the tip of the doors, what would prevent me from sticking a really huge boarding plank on my trukk (like 12" long) and charge you on the first turn? It's part of the vehicle,so it's alright,isn't it?Oh? It'd make me TFG? How's your doors adding a good 5" not making you one?

 B0B MaRlEy wrote:
Made me think, don't ork vehicles get that upgrade that's basically a boarding plank? If you do your drop-pod disembarking from the tip of the doors, what would prevent me from sticking a really huge boarding plank on my trukk (like 12" long) and charge you on the first turn? It's part of the vehicle,so it's alright,isn't it?Oh? It'd make me TFG? How's your doors adding a good 5" not making you one?

One is following the rules (kind of, there is no permission to physically alter your model once it is in play, so unless you place the DP with the doors already open...). The other is the very definition of modelling for advantage.

Yeah you're right on that. Let's stick with the official boardin' plank in the box. Just stick it in the front. Gain 4". Enjoy.

 kronk wrote:
My house has an access port. It's a door.

Unless you morph through the solid door, the access port is the doorway. The door is just what you use to seal it when you're not walking through it.

 insaniak wrote:

 kronk wrote:
My house has an access port. It's a door.

Unless you morph through the solid door, the access port is the doorway. The door is just what you use to seal it when you're not walking through it.

Tell me how you measure from the "portal" on your rhino. There is a 1/8" to 1/4" thick door there. Do you subtract 1/4" from your deployment?