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Me and a few friends are new to 40k and have a rules question.



Say my space marines are in the windows of a building like this, with a rear opening. Can my opponent shoot me through the windows, or is he forced to attack the building. I personally thought the space marines would just duck out of gunfire. Does being in a building count as being in a secure encapsulated building and shooting out of tiny gun slits?

thanks for the help

"Buildings" are specific terrain type and function like immobile transport vehicles (they have Armor Value and transport capacity and such). You only use Building rules if you actually nominate a terrain feature to be a building.

If you didn't make the terrain piece a Building then its just normal terrain and you use True Line of Sight to shoot at units on the terrain.

Is it cheesy for ruined buildings like this to be considered buildings with really big windows. Or is it entirely up to your group.

Thanks for answering.

Its up to your group

CaeldorSkies wrote:
Is it cheesy for ruined buildings like this to be considered buildings with really big windows. Or is it entirely up to your group.

Thanks for answering.

You can play it however you want, but that building, 99.99% of games will be concidered ruins (4+ cover to units in)

You need to agree whilst creating the battlefield how each piece of scenery works to avoid later disagreements. No unfair surprises for either player!

On a related note, when shooting at a unit obscured by, but not inside, ruins is it normal for that unit to have a 5+ cover save, not a 4+?

Ruins are specifically 4+ cover save in the rulebook. I came across this same issue on a previous thread.

Buildings have a transport capacity, Armour value and hull points so can be shot at and assaulted and made to collapse. Ruinss are just fancy terrain that has no transport capacity no armour value and as such cannot be shot at, assaulted or destroyed.

nareik wrote:


On a related note, when shooting at a unit obscured by, but not inside, ruins is it normal for that unit to have a 5+ cover save, not a 4+?

That is a rule from a previous edition. (but I think it's a good one so it would make a sensible house rule)

 Scott-S6 wrote:

nareik wrote:


On a related note, when shooting at a unit obscured by, but not inside, ruins is it normal for that unit to have a 5+ cover save, not a 4+?

That is a rule from a previous edition. (but I think it's a good one so it would make a sensible house rule)

How so? You get a 5+ cover save for being 25% obscured by difficult terrain, which ruins are. As far as I can tell the 4++ only applies to models inside the ruins.

The ruins entry doesn't cover models obscured, only those inside the area. As such are you suggesting models obscured but not inside ruins don't get a cover save? Or are you saying you get a 4+ for being obscured too? If so why?

nareik wrote:On a related note, when shooting at a unit obscured by, but not inside, ruins is it normal for that unit to have a 5+ cover save, not a 4+?

Scott-S6 wrote:That is a rule from a previous edition. (but I think it's a good one so it would make a sensible house rule)

Erm, no, it's the current rule. Only models in ruins ('in' being defined as that model or some part of it actually standing on the piece of scenery) gain the 4+ cover save. A unit obscured behind but not actually in ruins would receive only an ordinary 5+ cover save.

 Mr. Shine wrote:

Erm, no, it's the current rule. Only models in ruins ('in' being defined as that model or some part of it actually standing on the piece of scenery) gain the 4+ cover save. A unit obscured behind but not actually in ruins would receive only an ordinary 5+ cover save.

Only thing is there's the bit under vehicle cover saves with the Fire Dragons shooting at the Rhino which says "the Rhino is obscured and will receive a 4+ cover save from the ruin". So while it is not explicitly stated that you get a 4+ for being behind ruins, it is implied. So even that I ask my opponent before playing.

You get the cover save of the object obscuring you. Which is 4+

A heads up, 40k rules can be seperated over multiple pages in the rulebook. Don't take 1 page of rules as gospel as another will overight it. Sounds dumb? Yeah, that's GW for you.

I've given it some consideration and I suppose the 25% obscured rhino gets a 4+ for the following reason:

In order to be able to claim a cover save (as a vehicle) 25% obscure is required. if 25% obscured by ruins but not on base 5+ save, if 25% obscured by ruins and on base 4+ cover. If on base but not 25% obscured then no cover save (for vehicles).

Either that or it is 4+ for 25% and for on base?

ryuken87 wrote:
Only thing is there's the bit under vehicle cover saves with the Fire Dragons shooting at the Rhino which says "the Rhino is obscured and will receive a 4+ cover save from the ruin". So while it is not explicitly stated that you get a 4+ for being behind ruins, it is implied. So even that I ask my opponent before playing.

That bit goes against what the rules actually say on the matter, unless we consider the Rhino is actually obscured by and in the ruins, which would make it correct.

nosferatu1001 wrote:
You get the cover save of the object obscuring you.

Do you have some support for that?

99% of the time, a ruin like that will just be treated as a 4+ cover save. The "marines just hiding and keeping out of sight" is represented by the rule "Gone to ground" in which you can reduce the power of your shooting to receive a +1 to your cover save. If the enemy fires a weapon that penetrates your 3+ armor, it can be very useful to keep the same save by going to ground in cover.

Typically, buildings are only given real "building" rules if they're purchased fortifications brought as part of your army.

However, cover is by definition a lot less useful to Space Marines than other armies, because they have that solid armor save to rely on.

 Mr. Shine wrote:

ryuken87 wrote:
Only thing is there's the bit under vehicle cover saves with the Fire Dragons shooting at the Rhino which says "the Rhino is obscured and will receive a 4+ cover save from the ruin". So while it is not explicitly stated that you get a 4+ for being behind ruins, it is implied. So even that I ask my opponent before playing.

That bit goes against what the rules actually say on the matter, unless we consider the Rhino is actually obscured by and in the ruins, which would make it correct.

nosferatu1001 wrote:
You get the cover save of the object obscuring you.

Do you have some support for that?

You are kidding me right? The big picture of the rhino sitting behind the un-based ruins, with the caption reading "More than 25% of the front of the Space Marine Rhino is hidden by
the ruin – the Rhino is obscured and will receive a 4+ cover save from the ruin." doesn't convince you?