Warhammer 40,000 3rd Edition
Additional Q&A
by Jervis Johnson
Q: Do you calculate the outnumbering ratio before or after casualties are inflicted?
P: All morale check modifiers are based on the situation at the time the test is taken.
Q: May a tank being assaulted by infantry fire it's guns if it can't/won't move away
P: Yes it can.
Q: Can the troops assaulting the tank be fired upon?
P: Yes they can, but watch out for those template weapons!
Q: Is the 50% modifier for Morale checks is applied if the squad is below 50% at the instant the check is made?
P: See answer above.
Q: Does the C: SM rule for Combi-Weapons apply to all Combi-Weapons?
P: It will do, but for the time being use the rule from the list the army was picked from.
Q: Are WraithLords treated as normal infantry for all intents and purposes, save those specifically cited in the rules?
P: Yes
Q: Can only squads that say "may be transported in a wave serpent" embark upon one?
P: Yes
Q: For the purposes of embarking in a Chimera or Wave Serpent, if two squads are down to half numbers or less, may they both get in?
P: No
Q: Do biovores:
A) Guess range?
B) Test for pinning on a shot that explodes upon landing?
C) Count as ordinance?
P: Yes, no, no.
Q: If you make a sweeping advance into a vehicle on your turn may a
tank:
A) Fire at the troops as they assault (Normal sweeping advance rules)?
B) Move away?
C) Have to wait until after the tank has been attacked in HtH before can leave?
P: Yes, yes, no.
Jervis Johnson
Q: If, when entering from Deep Strike, the template lands in such a
place as to require you to place models within an inch of the enemy, do you:
A) Place models within an inch of enemy
B) Place a many models as you can
C) Scatter again
P: B). Any that can't be placed are lost, unless you agree to house rules otherwise beofre the game begins.
Q: If a unit making an advance after a unit of Space Marines losing a combat catches them, are the Space Marines destroyed?
P: No.
Q: May I fire into units making a Sweeping Advance in the opponent's shooting phase?
P: No.
Q: VP are given seperately for Characters and the Squad they are with.
How do the following cases work out
SM characters w/ Command squads in the planetfall scenario?
IG command HQs with "free" guardsmen
P: Sorry, don't understand this question!
Q: Are the costs for Imperial Marine Predator sponsons per sponson or total?
P: In total (i.e for the pair).
Q: What does the cost in the listing of the transports mean, anyway? In several cases it has been pointed out as different then the cost in the army lists.
P: It should have been deleted. Early version of the list had the costs here instead of in the entry on the army list.
Q: Does a commissar's leadership project 12" in the same way as an officer if he is in a command squad/HQ?
P: Only if the officer is dead andthe Commissar has taken command of the unit.
Q: May troops assaulting a vehicle or dreadnaught be fired upon?
P: Yes to the vehicle, no to the Dreadnought.
Q: When you assault, do you assault the closest model with each of your models, in the same manner as charging in the second edition rules?
P: No. You must move into base contact with an enemy model if you can. You must travel by the 'most direct route', which means if you can engage a model by moving in a straight line you must do so in preference to 'swerving' or 'zig-zagging' round an unengaged enemy to get at someone further away. The reason for doing away with the 'closest model 'rule is that it means you can choose which direction to charge in, which can be important if surrounded.
Q: How does Runesight effect a D-Cannon?
A) It doesn't
B) You can re-roll scatter
C) You can re-guess range
P: A)
Q: Can you be forced to make multiple pin checks in a turn, or a pin check and a morale check?
P: Yes
Non-rules questions.
Q: Will the hand flamer ever really exist again?
P: May be as an optional rule in Chapter Approved.
Q: Can you get the model guys to make the rest of the IG specials and captain/colonel figures?
P: Well, no, not really. It's up to them not me!
Q: Which (if any) of the current regiments are the new IG plastics going to be? (I realize these aren't really your department, but closer to it then I am)
P: It's top secret at the moment, so you'll just have to wait and see!
Jervis
Q: We found an ambiguous rule last night - hard to believe huh? - Anyway, in one place it says that infantry can use krak/melta against vehicles and in another it says that dreads in H2H are treated like infantry..
Question: Can infantry use Krak/Melta bombs on dreads? Makes a HUGE difference...
P: Check out page 91, 'Immobolised Dreadnoughts in Close Combat', where you will find all of your questions answered (well, all of your questions about using krak/melta bombs on Dreadnoughts, at least).
Jervis
One of the guys here came up with a question last night. Look at the rule on page 76 - the first paragraph.
It states that if an independent character has joined a unit and that unit is falling
back, he cannot leave the unit until it regroups.
That brings up the following questions:
Q: - if the unit cannot regroup (because it is now below 50% of original strength, for example), does that mean the character is swept along with it off the board as it continues to fall back?
P: Yes it does. The only way it can be stopped is if n enemy unit assaults it, and it passes the Leadership test for being assaulted while falling back ( see p72).
Q: - if the unit falling back is subsequently eliminated (by fire, for example), can the character then test for regrouping by himself?
P: As long as he is an independent character, yes
Q: - if a unit is wiped out by fire except for the character, does he have to take a morale check as if he were the last guy, including the modifier for being under 50%?
P: As long as he is an independent character, no
Q: - Can he then regroup without worrying about the rule for being below 50%?
P: As long as he is an independent character, yes
Jervis Johnson
Q: Does Disembarking before a vehicle moves count as movement for the models?
P: Yes it does, so you can't fire heavy weapons, rapid fire weapons can only shoot once, etc.
Jervis Johnson
Q: Dear fellows, while reading the 'Fair?' thread I stumbled upon a question; a multi-wound creature suffers instant death if hit with something big enough, right? But what if he's on a bike and gets this +1 T from the bike... What T shall be used for the wounds taken? His natural T or his boosted T?
P: You should use the models _original_ toughness for working out instant kills, before any modifiers for things like bikes, war gear or other special abilities are taken into accout (for example, in Codex Chaos taking the Mark of Nurgle will add +1 to the models toughness, but you'd use the original toughness for outright kill purposes). This keeps a lid on players bumping up the toughness of multi-wound characters, making them very difficult to kill. It's not mentioned specifically anywhere in the rules, so we'll be putting a not about it in Chapter Approved in White Dwarf in the near future.
Jervis Johnson
Q: When a successful assaulting squad makes a sweeping advance, the "Shooting in Close Combat" rules, on page 69, raise a few basic questions. First of all, can only the squad that is being assaulted shoot at the squad making the sweeping advance, or can any squad shoot at the squad making the sweeping advance?
P: Any squad can shoot.
Q: Second, and probably my most important question, how do you resolve blast markers and template weapons against the squad making the sweeping advance?
P: Using the normal rules.
Q: In particular, what happens to the models that are in base-to-base contact that are hit by blast markers and template weapons? Does it only affect the actual models covered by the template/blast marker, or does it extend to models they are in base to base contact with?
P: Only models under the template will be effected.
Q: I assume that if blast markers are allowed, then the rule that allows blast markers to be moved will allow them to be moved over enemy troops as long as the blast marker covers the same number of sweeping advancing models?
P: That is correct.
Q: The "Partial Contact" rule on page 68 makes it clear that models which remain stationary to use rapid fire or heavy weapons cannot join their comrades in the assault. By this same reasoning, does this mean that models which are charged in a sweeping advance may not fire their weapons as if they had been stationary and therefore count as if they had moved during the movement phase for the purposes of determining how their weapons fire during the shooting phase?
P: No. The models can use their weapons as long as they don't move (and if armed with bolters they could rapid fire).
Q: When the unengaged models move in to help their comrades under the "Partial Contact" rule, do they count the +1 attack for charging?
P: No.
Q: When a new squad joins a hand-to-hand combat melee already in progress for several turns, does that new squad get to cound the +1 attack for charging?
P: Yes
Jervis Johnson
Q: Must a unit that buys a transport be inside of that transport at the start of the game?
P: No.
Q: Can that transport subsequently pick up a different unit of the same or different type?
P: We've had a long discussion about this at the Studio just now, and feel that the best solution is to say that a transport vehicle may *only* transport the unit it was bought as an upgrade for. Characters that join a unit with a transport may be carried in it too, as long as they will fit, of course. Vehicles that are not bought as an upgrade but which have transport capability (i.e. Land Raiders and Falcons) can carry anybody they like. This is a deliberately harsh ruling, designed to stop players treating transports as some form of 40K taxi service. Consenting players should feel free to come up with their own house rules for a more lenient version of this rule, but should avoid just allowing transports to pick up anybody and move them about, as this can lead to some very beardy exploitation of the rules.
Q: Can Assault weapons be fired from inside of a vehicle? Specifically, how are flamers handled in this situation?
P: Yes. Just place the flamer template against a firing port, hatch or door, this being assumed to be the location where it is being fired from.
Q: Just to be crystal clear, must a transport vehicle fire at the same target as the unit it is attached to? What if the original unit is inside the vehicle?
P: No, no. They are seperate units, although they only take a single 'slot' on the force organisation.
Q: Are the sponson costs listed in the 40K book and C:SM PER weapon (i.e. 2 lascannon sponsons on an Annihilator costs 50 points) or for the pair (i.e. 25 points for above). I thought I knew the answer on this one, but I saw a contradictory post (supposedly) from Jervis that said the cost was for the pair.
P: The costs for sponson weapons is for the pair. I wouldn't put it past myself to have given a wrong answer in the past (I know, I know, it's hard to belive that I occasionally make a mistake :)), but this is the double-checked and cross-referenced, 100 percent certainly correct answer!
Q: What is the current estimated date for the Necron/C'tan codex? Is it really some time in late 2000?
P: I've said it before, I'll say it again, don't trust anything you read about release dates set further than, say, three or four months in the future. I don't, so I won't confirm or deny this rumour as *I* don't trust the information I've seen!
Q: Is there any truth whatsoever to the rumors of the Eldar super-snipers that instantly kill on wound rolls of 6?
P: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you...
Jervis Johnson
Q: A squad is in a Razorback. The squad has a veteran seargent with an auspex. The Veteran seargent rolls, and locates the lictor hiding in the trees. He tells his squad to shoot at it. Can the gunner of the razorback, bought as part of the squad, shoot at the lictor?
P: The answer, strictly by the rules, is no. The Razorback is a seperate unit, although bought as an upgrade for the squad, and therefore can't benefit from the Auspex. Note that this applies to all transport units, which are included in the unit entry to save you from using up a 'slot' in the force organisation in order to get the vehicle.
Jervis Johnson