Oqui Doqui's Battlefleet Gothic Pages -- Andy Chambers Answers a Few Preliminary Questions

Since April 2, 1999, readers have sought the answers of Andy Chambers, GW personage, to Oqui Doqui's Battlefleet Gothic queries.

Andy Chambers plays BG amidst allegations that he "just does not understand the spirit of the rules."

Oqui Doqui doth do the Gothic thing. His initial reading and first game raised some questions, and so he contacted the game's designer with the following questions. (Oqui Doqui subsequently realized that some of the questions asked were stupid ones, meaning that his scribe, Quchiquchiqu, had misinterpreted his perfectly logical queries. Quchiquchiqu has been denied BAYWATCH rights for a month, and these questions have been deleted.)

His sublime majesty Oqui Doqui queries thusly:

If Tyranids weren't working in the playtests, as rumored on the 40k list, perhaps a rethinking of the mechanics would be fruitful, as sentiment seems general regarding their inclusion. Many see the hive as the greatest "maritime" threat to the Empire.

The human, Andy Chambers, answers in this fashion:

Errr, we have done no rules or development for Tyranid ships in Gothic at this stage (though we hope to in the future), I'm afraid that the rumours are just plain 'ole cow manure.

OD: On to the questions. 1) May a vessel move through torpedoes without their attacking the vessel? It seems so. The rules a) specify that the torps must move onto the base of the ship and b) torp attacks are contemplated only during the ordnance phase, when the *torpedoes* move.

AC: The way I play (which isn't the way the rule is written unfortunately): When a ship contacts Ordnance the ordnance attacks it, who moved into who is not important, otherwise it is completely illogical. Again the rules for brace for impact specify the shooting and ordnance phases but I allow ships to (try to) brace at any time - it's also relevant vs asteroid fields, ships exploding and so on. There's no game balance issues here -- the braced ship will always have to pay later by reducing its fp and not using special orders in its next turn.

OD: 2) Opinions are divided on failed special order checks. My reading indicates that, if any one ship fails a test, no ships in the fleet may subsequently test for the entire turn. The language seems absolutely clear on this. Some say that despite the clarity the rule is meant to apply to that one vessel only.

AC: Once one ship fails no more checks may be taken for the whole fleet just like it says. The confusion may arise from the fact that some people think a ship can be given more than one special order per turn (the rules don't specify otherwise) suffice to say they can only have one order at a time.

OD: 3) Precisely how are blast markers placed when one firing ship gives multiple hits? The illustrated example seems to indicate that the first one is placed centered squarely on the LOS, the second being placed adjacent on the bearing most facing the firing ship. Is this the intent?

AC: Place one BM on the firing line and then start to envelop the ships base, each BM being placed in edge contact to one already present. The firer can decide which way round to go (though it makes very little odds in most cases).

OD 4) When a ship moves through blast markers and suffers possible damage, is it the stem or the base that must move through the marker? If it's base, that makes blast markers quite deadly, as it's virtually impossible to avoid doing so unless hit by an attack from abeam. Of course the rules specify base with respect to movement deduction (on the last page of the rules book, I believe) and shields (in the blast marker section), but I've been stubbornly ruling that it's the stem with respect to damage to avoid dramatic effects.

AC: Base. However only a ship with the shield collapse critical or a shield value of 0 (ie Eldar or ordnance) is vulnerable to damage.

Oqui Doqui however notes to the readers that this also includes, say, a cruiser that has just had both its shields blasted down by enemy fire in the immediately preceding fire phase, as the blast markers will still be there in base contact, reducing its shield value to zero as it moves.

OD: By the way -- if a ship fails its command check in the movement phase, may no other ship in the fleet brace for impact during the ordnance phase (if an enemy spread is finally making its way into range)? I know that's exactly how it reads, but was curious for a confirm.

AC: I refer the honourable gentleman to my earlier reply on BFI.

OD: ps -- Good call, not making torpedoes homing weapons. Makes things very entertaining and World War I/II-esque.

AC: Thanks, I thought so too.

Andy is happy about the positive reception that the game has received. He asks that players try to settle their questions in their groups if possible so that he can dedicate his time to further developing BG and other GW projects.

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