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I picked IA: Apocalypse up at the local Battle Bunker today. So the big question I have is "Why is Drop Pod included?" More importantly why does it have completely different rules than the current rules (not that the current rules are consistenet)? Not just a little different... way different, but the price is the same as Dark Angels drop pod. Different capacity, no weapons, flyer, open topped. Is this a preview of how drop pods are going to be handled in 5th edition or is this just going to be a different option for using drop pods? What am I looking at? How confusing. Somebody needs to standardize these drop pod manufacturers.

GW lost the STC pattern for pods, so they are just making it up as they go along....

Well someone correct me if I'm wrong, but FW has had different rules for Drop Pods since IA2. They even preface it by saying the current (read: GW's) rules are stupid, don't make any sense, and are more than a little bit beardy (though not in so many words). So now they're flyers to give you a sporting chance of obliterating the little blighters mid-drop (because lord knows once they hit the ground, such a chance is slim to nil).

Kinda nice to see that FW is still sticking to their guns on this one, even though it doesn't make alot of sense in Apoc...

AlexCage wrote:Well someone correct me if I'm wrong, but FW has had different rules for Drop Pods since IA2. They even preface it by saying the current (read: GW's) rules are stupid, don't make any sense, and are more than a little bit beardy (though not in so many words). So now they're flyers to give you a sporting chance of obliterating the little blighters mid-drop (because lord knows once they hit the ground, such a chance is slim to nil).

Kinda nice to see that FW is still sticking to their guns on this one, even though it doesn't make alot of sense in Apoc...

I'll correct you:

When FW published their original DP rules in IA Vol2, the only "Drop Pod" rules in 40K were those allowing all Space Marine units to use the Deep Strike special rule.

Since they felt that rule didn't work well when you actually had a Drop Pod model being used (as FW was selling) they came up with their own rules for using DP models which used a modified version of the FW flyer rules.

To be frank, the rules are ridiculously complex like the rest of the FW flyer rules and I'm glad that GW scrapped them in Apocalypse.


As to why Warwick lost his head and included the regular Drop Pod rules in IA: Apocalypse, who knows?

I'd suggest sending him an email since he usually does respond.


@ptlangley:

Do these drop pods in IA Apocalypse still have any special rules attached to them, or do they just say they're flyers?

The DP comes out of reserve just like any other aircraft and is placed anywhere on the table it is sealed (AV12), next turn it must land at least 36" away from its starting position, just like a flyer. Roll scatter die and a D6, hit is a hit arrow scatters the D6". It pops open (AV10) and is treated as a moving open topped vehicle for troop deployment. So I am assuming that means that you can assault out of it. It doesn't say anything about if you scatter into other troops so it is still deficient. You would think on the 4th or 5th iteration of the rule for drop pods you would have pretty tight rules... oh well.

It is classified as a flyer, once it lands it becomes both immobile and open-topped. Seems like there is a hole since if it is still a flyer, does that mean you still deduct 12" from range and need 6's to hit... well that is ridiculous but I am sure someone will be saying RAW and trying it.

ptlangley wrote:It is classified as a flyer, once it lands it becomes both immobile and open-topped. Seems like there is a hole since if it is still a flyer, does that mean you still deduct 12" from range and need 6's to hit... well that is ridiculous but I am sure someone will be saying RAW and trying it.

And technically if its a flyer it is destroyed as soon as it suffers an immobilized result. That seems to be the appropriate RAW solution to that problem?

As for me and my mates, we are using the 4th Ed rules, with the SM Codex.

Anything else just adds topping to an already over-loaded Pavlova.

Alpharius - who would of thought that it would be so hard making up rules for an immobile flyer... I mean other than the fact that of all the vehicle classifications those two are pretty much mutually exclusive.