Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

The rules for the heavy weapon platform in a guardian squad strike me as kind of silly... the weapon seems to mean absolutely nothing, and I think RAW allows for Guardian squad to fire their weapon from either end of the squad - in a 20 man squad, that could be more than 40" apart!

Imagine a line of guardians, numbered 1 through 10. I believe that if guardians 1 and 10 are the heavy weapon crew, then either one may legitimately fire the weapon.

Quotes of relevant rules: "It [the platform] has two guardians as crew, and must stay in coherency with at least one of the crew" - so all 3 models needn't be together

"One crewman may fire the platform instead of his shuriken catapult, the other may shoot with his own weapon freely" - better than IG weapon teams in terms of wording, still no indication that a crew member must be in coherency with the weapon to fire it

"Line of sight and range are always drawn from the firing crew member" - which is what gave me the idea to put the crew on opposite ends of the squad

"The platform model itself is always ignored, including when measuring ranges to the unit. It is essentially a marker; assume that the fun is actually carried by the crew member that is firing it"

So by RAW, the platform is an entirely meaningless model, incapable of engaging in close combat or of firing a weapon, or of being a casualty or of effecting range. What we're left with then are rules that state two models in a unit of 10 are allowed to fire a heavy weapon, but no rule stating that they have to be near each other or any other kind of limitation.

It's not game breaking, but it's neat and could give some flexibility to an otherwise relatively poor choice.

I believe you are correct and I agree, not game breaking. I think I added an additional rule (in my head I suppose) that whenever I was firing my platform weapon, it was within 2" of the firer. There have been times I've put the weapon between the two firers to get the best lane of fire, but it's not been a big deal. However, what I'm doing looks like my own personal rule, and not what is actually in the book.

On the same note, I've had someone complain about me doing this tactic. It's well within the rules (and more restrictive the way I'd play it), but some folks didn't like the fact of getting two weapons effectively being able to fire one weapon from different LOS. Then could be just whining, though.

I agree with the assessment. I think that based on the requirement that the platform stay in coherency with a crew member, most folks are going to expect that guy to be the firing model. One of those "technically correct but going to get you funny looks" things. I don't think I'm going to be taking advantage of this one.

Hm, good find. I'll keep an eye out for that.

"My army cant do that, so yours shouldnt either"

I see nothing wrong with, say, having one platform crew on one side of the 10 man line, and one on the other. The rules do explicitly state that the platform itself is a non entity as far as game play, it just is a marker to indicate exactly what weapon they are equipped with. The crew are not told to remain within coherency of either one, just to remain in coherency of the unit they are in.

Perfectly legitimate (and non game breaking) to me.

It is advantageous to do so, but then again, so is having 4 heavy support choices in a IW army. You dont see IW generally taking less than 4 HS slots because they feel they are cheesy. (and to you, the reader, if you are an IW player that takes less than 4 HS choices, youre a good man. I dont think I would be able to restrain myself if I had the chance.)

Given that Guardians die in droves when sneezed at, it's not really that big of a deal.

Some other questions:

Can the weapon marker keep unit coherency? That is, does you unit become non-coherent if you have 2 guardians 4" apart from each other and the platform inbetween?

What happens if it's sitting in the front of your unit and you get assaulted? What if, heaven for bid, you base it on a really large base? What do engaged enemy models do?

I think the sticking point is "Must be in coherency with at least one crew member". If that sentance weren't there, the rule would be entirely un-ambiguous, but that implies a degree of intent that makes the whole thing seem a little sketchier.