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So, me and my buddies have been playing a few months and we have come across this issue a couple of times now:

My friend's VC Banshee makes my 30 skaven slaves flee (usually with 10 LD, but it has happened). He pursues with his Banshee and catches up (even with scurry away). Following the Caught! rule all 30 slaves (or Stormvermin for that matter) are now dead. I find that the rule makes sense that way when you read it in the book, but it also seems like a somewhat unfair thing (especially against vampire counts) - so the question is: does single units follow the Caught! rule the same way as a larger unit would, and thus strikes down all 30-40 units fleeing?

Thank you in advance.

Fluff needs to stretch your imagination but yeah its true. If a unit breaks from combat the 'breaker' can pursue the 'breakee' regardless of number of characters, I've seen rat swarms run down Gutstars. It happens, next time don't break

The unit is destroyed as per normal. Although slaves are destroyed automatically when they flee anyway, so it's a moot point.

From a fluff perspective don't just assume the unit is killed to the last man. It simply represents the unit not taking any further part in the battle. It's possible that they are dispersed or disrupted to the point where they will not rally and just leave the field in tears.

Well, try to see it realistically. Let's say your unit isn't completely destroyed, and only a few models(let's say 25%) are caught. What are the chances of them returning into battle and have a determining role on the outcome of the battle?

There's multiple ways of looking at it. If they "ran" from combat to an inferior force and get caught. They might get so demoralized they simply keep on running, too embarrassed to take part anymore. Or hating your general or his comrades so much for his incompetence.

I was at an American Civil War battlefield when I was a kid. And one of the tour guys was giving a speech on what had happened and he had an anecdote from some decades ago.

They were outlining how the Confederate Army had lost and retreated. An ancient guy stepped forward and said, "that's not what happened. I was there!" And the tour guide was like, "I'm sorry, but this is what our history books tell us." And the Confederate soldier, who was well into his 90's said, "we didn't retreat, we ran like hell!"

And it was true, because if you look at how long it took them to march to the battlefield. It was like 3 days or something. And in retreat, they had crossed that same distance in like 1/5th the time. So...they might simply run away too far and too fast to get back to the combat.

Once unit cohesion is broken, it is difficult for the unit to 'reform' and become a fighting force again. Breaking from combat requires a roll to rally for that reason. Breaking from combat... and having your opponent keep up and cut down many of your comrades makes it practically impossible. The survivors scatter... and the unit is destroyed, even if a majority of the individuals within the unit survive.

I like to think of Breaking as the front models in the unit (the command, any characters who might have lived to then be broken in combat) finally taking their licks, whilst the battered rear ranks free themselves from taking more wounds and run away.

..but also, as said above. The Banshee could never catch the Slaves. Because Slaves don't roll to flee. They are automatically removed from play, because they always run off so bad that there's never any hope of them rallying.

Warpsolution wrote:
..but also, as said above. The Banshee could never catch the Slaves. Because Slaves don't roll to flee. They are automatically removed from play, because they always run off so bad that there's never any hope of them rallying.

If the slaves fail the terror check, they do indeed flee. If the banshee charges far enough (2D6+6"), she does indeed wipe them out.

-Matt

 HawaiiMatt wrote:
If the slaves fail the terror check, they do indeed flee. If the banshee charges far enough (2D6+6"), she does indeed wipe them out.

I suppose the line where the Banshee "pursues" the Slaves threw my line of thinking off. Seemed to imply that the Banshee wasn't moving before the Slaves fled (if you're running headlong into someone, and they turn and run, your not so much pursuing them as you are continuing your previous action). But yeah, that is another, altogether more likely, scenario.

Warpsolution wrote:
..but also, as said above. The Banshee could never catch the Slaves. Because Slaves don't roll to flee. They are automatically removed from play, because they always run off so bad that there's never any hope of them rallying.

They are only destroyed that way if they are beaten in combat. If they fail a terror check and flee, they just flee like normal. But he did mention pursues, so in this case, you are correct. But I believe he wasn't asking about slaves but about how fleeing units are caught.

HawaiiMatt wrote:

Warpsolution wrote:
..but also, as said above. The Banshee could never catch the Slaves. Because Slaves don't roll to flee. They are automatically removed from play, because they always run off so bad that there's never any hope of them rallying.

If the slaves fail the terror check, they do indeed flee. If the banshee charges far enough (2D6+6"), she does indeed wipe them out.

-Matt

Nosreme wrote:

Warpsolution wrote:
..but also, as said above. The Banshee could never catch the Slaves. Because Slaves don't roll to flee. They are automatically removed from play, because they always run off so bad that there's never any hope of them rallying.

They are only destroyed that way if they are beaten in combat. If they fail a terror check and flee, they just flee like normal. But he did mention pursues, so in this case, you are correct. But I believe he wasn't asking about slaves but about how fleeing units are caught.

Ohhhhhhh, ok, I was really confused. He didn't mention terror in the OP, did he? The whole time I've been thinking that a single Banshee defeated 30 Slaves in combat, causing them to flee, at which point the Banshee pursues, catches, and kills them all. But a Banshee beating 30 slaves in combat is almost impossible unless the slaves are ranked up in a really silly way (like 30 models side-by-side or something).