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Ok, this one just confuses me.

 

Here is the situation.   IG or Armored company picks a Basilisk, and purchases the 'indiret fire' option.  

 

The wording goes

Indirect Fire:  the Earthshaker can fire 'indirectly' at targets it can't see in the same way as a mortar or Whirlwind.  Earthshakers that fire indirectly obey the normal Earthshaker cannon rules, except that they become Barrage (ie, Guess range) weapons with a range of 36"-240".  Note that the minimum 'guess' for indirect fire is 36"

 

Now, my question is.   Does the cannon only fire indirect in the cases where it cannot see the target?   Can it still fire directly if it DOES have LOS to the target.   At least, in my interpretation, that is how it reads.  The first sentance says to me that it only functions indirect if there is no LOS, otherwise it fires direct.

 

-Hans

 

 

Without going too much into the RAW of this it is the commonly understood convention that the cannon has the choice to fire directly or indirectly.

The RAW argument is that there are other weapons that set a precedent. For instance: Missile launchers can fire Krak or Frag missiles. Basically this is two different weapons with two different statlines, but the player can choose which one to use per turn. The rules for these weapons don't say they "become" the other type of weapon when chosen, but that is exactly what happens. So, by the RAW The Earthshaker "becomes" a different weapon with a different range that can fire indirectly when using it that way in a turn. An Earthshaker remains as it is listed normally when firing directly.

[edit]  Of course, it's been scientifically proven that the prettier your models are, the more you can get away with rules ambiguities.  So you should never have a problem anyways!

Yeah, that's what I figured as well, but I wanted to see the opposing arguements and be prepared for them. I can also see a solid arguement for it being one or the other, but not able to switch between the two. I'm still ironing out a few details on my list, and that is one of them.

And thanks for the kind words. Slowly I'm forming things up as I can snag deals here and there. Still about a half-dozen vehicles to buy though before I have a proper armored company to use.

-Hans

The wording for the Basilisk with its indirect fire capability has been roughly the same since the last codex (that's like 7 or 8 years I think).

In that time I have never, ever, ever had anyone complain about me firing both ways in the same game. Chaos players do the same thing with the Defiler.

I think you can rest assured that you can fire either way and no one will give you any problems.

Does the cannon only fire indirect in the cases where it cannot see the target?

All that the 'Indirect' feature does is make the weapon fire as a Barrage weapon.

The Barrage rules actually cover both firing with LOS and without. So if the weapon fires as a Barrage weapon, you follow the Barrage rules, which detail a different scatter distance for a target in LOS, and a target out of LOS.

So yes, upgrading to Indirect still allows you to fire direct, since a Barrage shot at a target in LOS is exactly the same as a regular Ordnance shot.

Except you can move and fire with direct shooting. Can't move and fire ordnance barrage.

That, and it's range is doubled. It is extremely rare to need to do it, but during super floor battles it may come up that you want to fire at something in LOS but outside of 120" (and within 240"). When this happens you must still fire it like a barrage weapon (so no moving), but with LOS (only roll 1D6).

I also don't have my Armoured Company up to where I want it.  I've had the same 5 tanks sitting in their boxes for months now.  I just can't stop painting guardsmen!

Of more concern to me is the MINIMUM range when you fire indirect. The 36" minimum can be a decent handicap if the bad guys get in too close and you can't fire direct.

-Hans

Oh Definately! This is probably skewing more towards tactics but one of the greatest uses (in my opinion) for the Basilisk is to force your enemy into a diagonal corner than you on 6'x4' tables. Most opponents are all too aware of the minimum range on the Basi so when it goes down in a corner the corner directly across from it is where the opponent will put his units that don't like to get Earthshakered (usually everyone). Unfortunately for him, the rest of your army is set up on the opposite corner in a refused flank. The lone Basi will not survive the game but forcing your opponents deployment is sometimes worth the sacrifice.