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No, only while models are ON elevated positions. If you're targeting a model THROUGH an elevated position, they still block line of sight.

In the next update, we're clarifying LoS, separating objects into one of three categories:

Clear - The object never provides cover or blocks line of sight. Rivers and Trenches are the prime example.

Obscure - drawing line of sight through 2" or less of this object (including other obscuring objects) only provides cover. More than 2" blocks line of sight. While a model is on or in an Obscuring Terrain, it still provides cover/blocks. Forests, Low Walls, and Barricades fall under this category.

Block - This object flat out blocks line of sight regardless of thickness. While a model is on/in Blocking Terrain, it does not provide cover/blocks. High/Castle Walls, Models (with their own rules regarding this), and Smoke Bombs fall under this category.

Edited to provide some examples.

How many hand do you need to throw the satchel charge, the grenade, the Hperian fire and the smoke bomb? It looks like they are zero-hand weapons.

I think there should be a keyword for zero-hand weapons, because the lack of a keyword is always confusing.(Are they fogot it? Are we forgetting something?)

Also, is that intended if the last activating model throws the smoke bomb it gets immediatly removed after it's activation?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
More smoke bomb: "Models under the template are not attacked" means as long as the template has a model under it the template considered to hit and will never deviates?

How much of a model's base has to be under the template to be considered being under the template?

Only weapons and Shields have Hand Tags. Banners, Armor, Horns, and Accessories do not have Handedness.

Yes, a smoke bomb is removed at the end of a turn, regardless of how long it has been on the table.

Correct, a smoke bomb does not deviate if a model is under it.
Any amount of the model's base counts as being under the template. Ill get this clarified.

Can you ninja-smoke with a smoke bomb then? You drop it under your model, possibly shoking it, but until the end of the turn they are protected from charges and shots.

Yes. Although a model could still walk into close combat, through the smoke.

Is that intended that units on mounts can hide behind low walls? Or can you hide a siege weapon behind a low wall?

Yes, Cavalry can hide behind low walls. Consider it representing them ducking off their mounts (Even siege tortoises.)

We'll put a note in that Siege Weapons cannot 'duck'.

I have some ideas for the cards.

The cards are too similar to each other and it can be easier to find the one that you looking for with some clear distinctions. You will probably not going to confuse yours with the opponent's because your cards are going to be on your side of the table, while your opponent's on the other, but it would help for easy army building based on cards, tracking activations or finding the card for a model between 10 or so same looking cards.

I think the cards should use some color coding. for example Hero cards could have yellow background instead of the current red/orange, exemplars, non-unique exemplars and weapon teams(and so on) should also have different colors, since it would be a clue about how you activate them.

If a unit is a cavalry, it should have a special mark on it's ES column to indicate that this unit will not loose all of it's ES while rushing.
A similar mark should be used on MS column on heavy cavalry and on the RS column on light cavalry to indicate that these values do not change if the unit rushes.

There could be a distinction if an ability is a deployment, a free reaction, a passive or an aura ability - especially if it's an upon death ability. It's so easy to forget those.

The banner beneath the model's portrait is too bright (at least on Vandalands) and it enforces the feel that the portrait is just a cutout put on the picture of the banner. It doesn't feel like a proper portrait. On the Cult card shown earlier, it's too dark. It's not going to be good especially since the Cult units are also dark.

Here is an idea: The player who has more squads in game, have a big advantage!

So, last match I was ended up with two squads while my opponent had five. Even if he won the "who goes first" roll, he still had three activations in every turn after I finished all of mine.

Armor refreshes between activations but armor only protects against damage and not from other tactical advantages like positioning. And since he has three moves left after I finished all of mine, he always was able to have better positioning than me, since he already know how I positioned my units for the turn.

I believe this gives the advantage to the player with the more squads. I'm not sure if this is a problem, but it might worth mentionning.

Squads are not fixed, you can break up your squads to create additional activations.

The new PDFs are out! There are exciting, interesting changes. Conceptually I find exemplars costing your choice of resource to be a good thing. Plus...completely new entries, yay!


Also, because I have been meaning to ask, are the Soqotran Corsairs Meerkats?

 Galen wrote:
Also, because I have been meaning to ask, are the Soqotran Corsairs Meerkats?

Yes.

Yeah, but if I have to break my squad that doesn't going to help.

I mean I can break up my rat raiders, but I loose their number advantage. And if you activating one-by one it's really obvious what you are doing and your opponent can also start breaking up his squads to keep up with you.

We feel these are legitimate strategies. You are not just fighting your opponent's armies. You're fighting your opponent.

Deciding when to sacrifice a single model to make the attacker get stuck in close combat; Or breaking off a larger detachment forces your opponent to split their attacks, or if you charge with a detachment, they have to choose to make charge reactions, or ignore them, taking the hits, so they can attack another target later.

Okay then. If that's an intended strategy...

The book should mention this I think.(maybe it does, I haven't read the latest one)

By the way I like the new version. The item costs in the unit pages are a really nice touch. Now only if those Vandaland exemplar minies where out yet...

What parts should I focus on while I'm reading the book?

These are some things I want to go over just to make sure I've interpreted the rules correctly.

-The Poisonous Spores Ammo, and Spore tokens in general affect both friendly and enemy models. Engaging 'spored' enemy models in melee will infect my models the instant one of the enemies dies, affecting all models within 5".

-Hyena witch doctors (and all models) can use both heroic and tactical actions in the same activation.

-When a tactical or heroic action affects a squad the effect is applied to each model currently in the squad even if they activate seperately in the next turn.

-Seige weapons always activate individually and cannot activate with horde squads or in multiples unless a special rule states otherwise.



Do you guys use any special techniques to denote which model is in which squad at a given moment? I can see it getting confusing if two squads of the same unit type start overlapping and an enemy uses a whole squad effecting ability.

Poisonous Spores: yes

Both tactical/heroic questions: yes

Siege: this was changed for 2.0. The operator limit is the squad limit for activating with a siege weapon. (Unless stated otherwise) you can only activate one siege at a time.

No specific rules for identifying separate squads.
Suggested techniques: put a band of color on the bases of models with a certain load out, or a feature on the models (a shoulder pad, bedroll, satchel, etc.)

I can't wait to play the new version. This time I'll print out the cards!

About Arctos Nevsky

His Ragnarok says: If Arctos began the game with at least 5 Hamsters in his Squad, when the last one is slain, Arctos gains the Northern Berserkers rule.

Are you have to mark the Hamsters you start with and even if you re- and re-squad those hamsters those are that count? What if you assign Nevsky to a different squad or replace the fallen squadmates?

Is it intended to not work with Viklanders?

Apparently you added the new 'Facation Decks' whatever those are. I am interested to see what the other updates are. How close do you feel it is to completion?

Casey's Law wrote:Apparently you added the new 'Facation Decks' whatever those are.

Faction Decks = Decks of Cards for Each Faction

Casey's Law wrote:How close do you feel it is to completion?

Rules-wise pretty close, but we're wanting to go in and rewrite/expand the fluff which will take awhile.

Matt will be beginning on Aquitar when we get back from CMON Expo on Monday.

WhiteRoo wrote:I can't wait to play the new version. This time I'll print out the cards!

Glad to hear.

WhiteRoo wrote:About Arctos Nevsky

His Ragnarok says: If Arctos began the game with at least 5 Hamsters in his Squad, when the last one is slain, Arctos gains the Northern Berserkers rule.

Are you have to mark the Hamsters you start with and even if you re- and re-squad those hamsters those are that count? What if you assign Nevsky to a different squad or replace the fallen squadmates?

Is it intended to not work with Viklanders?

Ragnarok will be rewritten slightly to clarify that he gains Northern Berserkers when _All_ friendly hamsters are dead, both Berserkers and Viklanders, as long as 5 of them started in a squad with Arctos.

 Cyporiean wrote:

Casey's Law wrote:Apparently you added the new 'Facation Decks' whatever those are.

Faction Decks = Decks of Cards for Each Faction

Haha, yeh I got that.

Casey's Law wrote:How close do you feel it is to completion?

Rules-wise pretty close, but we're wanting to go in and rewrite/expand the fluff which will take awhile.
Matt will be beginning on Aquitar when we get back from CMON Expo on Monday.

I'll download it in a bit and see how it's shaped up. Are you taking the fluff in any new direction or just expanding in the same style? I think it could be much more engaging.

We let Alf take a crack at the writing and as an English Education major in university he sent it off to one of his professors to make it the dryest history text in the world!*

*- the above is a joke.

 Casey's Law wrote:

I'll download it in a bit and see how it's shaped up. Are you taking the fluff in any new direction or just expanding in the same style? I think it could be much more engaging.

Matt has changed the writing style a bit, take a look a the 'Main History' section right after the world map/before Aquitar's section.

Some factions will see some rewriting, most of it will be treated as not so much being retcons, but misinformation within the setting.

"Hey guys, I just got back from the Orient, and everyone there has blue hair and is 20 feet tall! I swear! Here have some 'ohpeeeum'. It's great."

Otherwise it will be simply rewriting with the same intent as the original information, or expansion to fit the new 8"x11" page size.

About the Vandaland Standard Bearer:

Does he gets the flags free? It doesn't mentions that he is, or he isn't. Does he gets all of them? Do I have to buy the flags separately? But they are not in his upgrade equipment list or he has some rule that allow him to have more flags.

It sounds like he do get those free, but 0/10/10 for all the flags is a little bit suspicius.

While we are here, the book is unclear about if non-unique exemplars are allowed to carry equipment. It says Heroes and Exemplars can have them, but I don't remember it to mention that non-unique exemplars are not exemplars. The little grey box on page 30 should mention this.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sniper:

I can't really follow how "Attack roll over as normal". I'd suggest at least the example text should walk the reader trough the process. I think it would be something like "The remaining successfull hits apply on the target squad as normal ranged attacks do." (Attack roll over will not get to be mentionned until 8 more pages)

Also, my problem with the Sniper ability is once the attacking squad has it, as long as the target squad has a special model in it just attacking with normal ranged attacks is redundant. I believe if all the excess attacks would automatically be threated as miss it would be a tactical decision if the squad should snipe and cause one casuality but that's a special model or kill several models but not the special one.

Alternatively the attacker could decide how many attacks he going to use to snipe with and how many for normal ranged attacks.

For example the target is a squad of rat raiders and the attached Standard Bearer. If the attacking models have the Sniper ability, there is no point not using it. You take out X enemy models anyway but using or not using Sniper to attack only makes the difference if the Standard Bearer is one of them or not. There is really no strategy in that.

If you would have to decide that some number of guys will try to take out the Standard Bearer while the rest just shoots on the squad, at least you would have to decide how much you want that Standard Bearer dead. One guy might miss, two still but the chance is smaller, or you snipe him with everybody because you really want that one rodent dead and don't care about the rest of the rats. or how many of them will stay alive.

 WhiteRoo wrote:
About the Vandaland Standard Bearer:

Does he gets the flags free? It doesn't mentions that he is, or he isn't. Does he gets all of them? Do I have to buy the flags separately? But they are not in his upgrade equipment list or he has some rule that allow him to have more flags.

The Standard Bearers do not have every Banner at once, they just has the ability to each turn apply the effect of one to their squad. They do not need to separately purchase banners, and the banner effects apply to no one but their squad, but the banner does effect the whole squad regardless of how far out they stretch. Each turn they select a banner effect to give, but they cannot use the same banner effect twice in a row. The Drummer, Hornblower, and Roland work the same way, just with Horns instead.

 WhiteRoo wrote:
While we are here, the book is unclear about if non-unique exemplars are allowed to carry equipment. It says Heroes and Exemplars can have them, but I don't remember it to mention that non-unique exemplars are not exemplars. The little grey box on page 30 should mention this.

We'll clarify this.

 WhiteRoo wrote:

Sniper:

Sniper is basically just reversing the range combat resolution rules to being that the attacker picks which models are hit rather then the defender.
Its not always in the best interest to go after the NUE/Exemplar instead of the full squad, and that is your decision as a commander to tell your snipers what to shoot at.

 Cyporiean wrote:

Sniper is basically just reversing the range combat resolution rules to being that the attacker picks which models are hit rather then the defender.
Its not always in the best interest to go after the NUE/Exemplar instead of the full squad, and that is your decision as a commander to tell your snipers what to shoot at.

Then it might be more clear if that's how the ability would be defined. Like: Sniper - Instead of the Defender, the Attacker distributes the damage on the target squad. The Attacker still has to follow the damage distribution rules(page XX) while doing so.

Altough the current version only allows this until the first unit dies.

About the cards

I think the top of the back side of the cards should have a box that shows the unit's name.

With that you could see the unit's name and costs in the same side so the cards would be more useful during army building.

Also when you print and cut the cards out it would be less puzzling to find the front and back sides.

What is the design thought behind the new unit based equipment cost system? And why it got changed?

I like the new system, just asking.

With the conversion of so many units to stance/style/training (term still being worked on) special rules, very few models had the original upgrade system. So keeping a regular cost on the equipment was far less important.

So this way we were able to tailor each of the upgrade models to fit better within the faction, filling in gaps in army building.