Did my first demo game and have a few questions.

[Mastergunz]

Hey guys, so I did my first demo and it went great. Lots of rules checking but that is to be expected when learning a new game. Built 2 forces approx 1600 TV apiece (BatRep coming soon). A few questions came up with myself and the players though. I searched the rule book but wasn't able to find a definitive answer so here it goes;

 

1. The rules state that only 1 combat action may be done per turn/per model. Does this combat action include all direct fire weapons or all indirect fire weapons (i.e. A 'tator has 2 MAC's, a GM, and a R10) each turn? Can I fire all 4 weapon systems each turn provided I have an active target lock and LoS? If I fire the GM and R10 indirect can I fire the MAC's at a different target at the +1 modifier?

 

2. For its TV the Specter has kind of a glass jaw but since its a fire support CAV I guess that is to be expected. Since it can't really stand toe to toe with a Dictator it should be kept behind cover obviously but will this hinder its effectiveness? I was running the Specter A with the 3 x R5 instead of the 1 R15. If I am reading the rules correctly an indirect fire shot cannot use the Salvo option for the additional weapons bonus but can still technically use Salvo? What would be the point vs just rolling 3 R5's?

 

3. Looking at the Tiamat this thing can bring some serious hurt on anything unlucky enough to be tagged but is basically defenseless below 12 inches. Obviously having a dedicated escort for it is ideal but failing that or CCV is it capable of defending itself?

 

4. There were a few instances of a 'Tator getting astounding numbers on its MoS. Just so I am understanding combat resolution correctly can someone please verify the following example;

 

-'tator B fires both MAC's at the short range band (12") getting a pair of 9's. Wizzo gives it +1,Target Lock gives it +1 (provided it is successful), and the base damage for the MACs is 6. So the total numbers are 17. If the targets armor is 7 then 17-7 is 10 which is 3 points of damage. So both MACs deal 6 points in one hit causing a piloting check and model state: stunned correct? 

 

5. Due to the initiative system does all damage get resolved immediately thereby potentially taking away a models ability to be used that turn if it is destroyed before it has had a chance to active? Is this why return fire is an option? Or does all fire and damage/states taken occur at the end of the turn and take effect the following round?

 

Thanks for any help guys!

 

-Gunz

[CAVBOSS]

Gunz, glad the demo went well and I hope everyone had fun. Let me tackle your questions for you…

1. The rules state that only 1 combat action may be done per turn/per model. Does this combat action include all direct fire weapons or all indirect fire weapons (i.e. A 'tator has 2 MAC's, a GM, and a R10) each turn? Can I fire all 4 weapon systems each turn provided I have an active target lock and LoS? If I fire the GM and R10 indirect can I fire the MAC's at a different target at the +1 modifier?

-- The combat action allows you to fire all of your direct fire or all of your indirect weapon systems at once, either individually (roll for each one) or as a salvo (one roll for all). You cannot mix direct and indirect fired weapons in the same activation.

2. For its TV the Specter has kind of a glass jaw but since its a fire support CAV I guess that is to be expected. Since it can't really stand toe to toe with a Dictator it should be kept behind cover obviously but will this hinder its effectiveness? I was running the Specter A with the 3 x R5 instead of the 1 R15. If I am reading the rules correctly an indirect fire shot cannot use the Salvo option for the additional weapons bonus but can still technically use Salvo? What would be the point vs just rolling 3 R5's?

-- Most fire support models are not built to be and remain the sole target for the big guns. You need to use terrain to break LoS or get your guys in there to give them something else to fire on. You can fire indirect with no modifiers for not having LoS so there no “hinderâ€.
You can salvo fire indirect weapons, it just doesn’t help the strike point roll. If you catch a model in your AoE you will get a +2 (for firing 3 R5s) to your combat roll.

3. Looking at the Tiamat this thing can bring some serious hurt on anything unlucky enough to be tagged but is basically defenseless below 12 inches. Obviously having a dedicated escort for it is ideal but failing that or CCV is it capable of defending itself?

--It cant. It has no direct fire weapons and must keep range on its targets, have someone protecting it or hope its CCV (for basically being a big hunk of a machine) will save its bacon. Maybe a variant exists that rectifies that. ïŠ

4. There were a few instances of a 'Tator getting astounding numbers on its MoS. Just so I am understanding combat resolution correctly can someone please verify the following example;

-'tator B fires both MAC's at the short range band (12") getting a pair of 9's. Wizzo gives it +1,Target Lock gives it +1 (provided it is successful), and the base damage for the MACs is 6. So the total numbers are 17. If the targets armor is 7 then 17-7 is 10 which is 3 points of damage. So both MACs deal 6 points in one hit causing a piloting check and model state: stunned correct?

-- Firing both MACs at short range (and provided you used your first action for a target lock) and not salvo, you would roll twice (in this case 9 and 9) you add a +1 for both wizzo and target lock, making the modified rolls 11s. The target point number for short range is 6+ so both are hits. You take the Margin of Success (the amount you rolled over 6) of 5 add the RAV for the weapon (a 6) for a total of 11 each. Compare this amount to the targets armor (lets say in this case it was another dictator b with AV of 8) for a difference of (3). Comparing to the damage chart each shot did 1 point of damage.

5. Due to the initiative system does all damage get resolved immediately thereby potentially taking away a models ability to be used that turn if it is destroyed before it has had a chance to active? Is this why return fire is an option? Or does all fire and damage/states taken occur at the end of the turn and take effect the following round?

-- Damage takes place at the end of the current ACTIVATION, so if you enemy activates before your model and they kill him during their activation then you are done. If you declared return fire earlier you get to shoot at your current stats during that activation and then are removed from the board.

Hope that makes sense, as always ask more questions and I will answer away!

[Mastergunz]

Ah, I see now. That explains why things were dying so quickly, lol. Ok, got it now. Thanks Jon!

 

-Gunz

[Mastergunz]

OK, another question that came up. Is there a bonus to attacking from the rear?

[PatrickK]

Not really. But the other CAV has to sacrifice an action to turn I believe.

[CAVBOSS]

No...but depending on the enemies facing you may mess up a line of sight. With a 90 degree facing change and a 180 degree firing arc, its hard to avoid a shot though. :)

[Mastergunz]

Reagrding 'target locks', page 57 is the only place I could find reference to the action in the 'field notes' section for how it works. If I understand it right a target lock is a 'free' action in that you don't have to roll for it, just declare it? If that is the case what is the point of the SA: TAG on a CAV if they already have a non-Los target lock ability? Does SA:TAG give them a free target lock if they have LoS to the target?

 

Thanks,

Gunz

[CAVBOSS]

Target lock is a non-repeatable action that uses a model's onboard radar to actively acquire and lock on to a target. It costs 1 AP but there is no roll, once you announce it and spend the action point, you have a target lock.

 

TAG uses a laser and requires a direct LoS to the target. It uses a special action to activate. It is required for laser guided munitions and unlike a targeting radar cannot be blocked by a model using an ECM device. Also a TAG can be shared by the entire force group (unlike radar and EST which is only good for the squad). Lastly, infantry can mount a TAG device to help acquire a target.

 

Guided Missiles can use either system in order to fire, but it gets not targeting comp bonus when using a TAG.

[Mastergunz]

Ah, OK. That all makes sense. So in a nutshell its a non blockable target lock option as long as there is LOS.

 

Now, does a target lock remain in effect once established? I.e. unless the attacker/defender falls under an ecm bubble from a friendly unit or until destroyed?

[CAVBOSS]

All target locks remain in effect until the beginning of a model's (the one that initiated the action)next activation. Of course if either model is destroyed or in the case of TAG the LoS is broken, they are immediately removed.

[Mastergunz]

Got it, thanks!

[Grey_Elkhound]

I know this topic is a year old at this point, and I'm hoping the answer #4 in CAVBOSS's response is to a previous incarnation of the rules, or I'm playing wrong.

 

In the CAV:SO Hardback, Step 5A  for resolving Ranged Assault, says,

"If the combat roll was a "hit", the attacker will add the Margin  of Success [from the Strike Point Roll] to the RAV of the weapon system that was used. This combined value is then compared to the defender's AV. If equal to or greater, refer to the ranged assault damage table (see p.62) and apply the result as indicated."

 

The table on pg. 62 makes no mention of AV or RAV, just MOS. 

 

I've been playing that if MOS + RAV is greater than or equal to the AV, then you use the original strike point MoS as the Damage Indicator on the first column of the Ranged Assault Damage Table. Am I doing this wrong?

[CAVBOSS]

Grey, If I'm understanding you correctly yes you are doing it wrong as the example in #4 is correct. I will need to check a book later to be understand what you are stating.

 

But ranged combat is:

 

Roll 2d6 vs final target point roll number (range, etc). If equal or great than required number take the MoS and add to the RAV of the weapon, subtract the defenders DV and use that result to determine damage from the ranged damage chart.

[Grey_Elkhound]

Ok, Thanks!

 

The Header on the Damage Table Columns are MoS & the Resulting Damage.  We had been checking for penetration using the MoS + RAV vs. the AV Rating, and if the hit exceeded the Armor, we used the initial MoS number rolled for the table result.