I think that I know the answer to this one, but wanted confirmation.
A squad that has 6 soldiers with ARs (FP2) and 2 soldiers with MG SAWs
(d8)
in it and all elements fire at a target (combined fire), will roll 4 dice: 1
die for quality, a d12 for the ARs, and 2 d8s for the SAWs (p.35 top of 2nd
column).
Page 37 indicates that if a SAW is to be fired seperatly (not combined with
small arms fire), it requires a seperate fire action.
Could the same squad, as above, fire the small arms and then fire the SAWs
together (both SAWs at the same target) in one turn?
It would seem logical that the small arms would get 2 dice (quality and
firepower) in one action. And that the SAWs would get 3 dice (quality and 2
firepower) in the second.
In a similar vein, if a squad has 2 targets does it take 2 actions to fire at
both targets (or can you have part of the squad fire at one and the other fire
and the second in the same action)?
> On Thu, 18 January 2001, "Bell, Brian K (Contractor)" wrote:
> A squad that has 6 soldiers with ARs (FP2) and 2 soldiers with MG SAWs
<<snippage>>
> Could the same squad, as above, fire the small arms and then fire the
This is an area that is implied, but not stated, in the rulebook. In similar
situations, this is exactly how I've handled it. The SAWs can fire with one
action, and the rest can fire with the other. Or any combination you want, so
long as no weapon fires more than once per activation.
> It would seem logical that the small arms would get 2 dice (quality
Yep, Quality + D12 for the small arms, and Quality + D8 + D8 for the
SAWs.
Of course, you might be better off doing two attacks at Quality + D6 +
D8. The likelihood of suppression is a little less, but the likelihood of
casualties is greater. There's not a lot to choose between the two attacks,
though.
For an even greater chance of casualties, try Quality + D12 + D8 + D8 by
firing them all at once! Of course, you would only be laying down 1
suppression marker if you missed, though.
In similar cases, I've split fire to drop a couple of suppression markers, and
concentrated fire when the target already has one or two suppressions (going
for casualties, instead, in this case).
> In a similar vein, if a squad has 2 targets does it take 2 actions to
If there are two targets, it takes two actions. I believe that is specifically
mentioned in the rules.
Thanks!
I only found it described by weapon: "...no weapon may fire more than once per
turn..."(p.33) and "...the player may decide to have some squad members...
fire at one target, while he uses the other action to make the squad's missile
launcher fire at another target..."(p.15). But all examples I found of
different targets were where the squad used a different type of weapon for
each of the attacks.
Which led me to several options: 1) It takes a seperate action for each
target. This makes the most sense and agrees with your view. 2) Split fire may
not be done with the same weapon type out of the same group. This would be a
harsh restriction and is pretty silly since you can do it for different
weapons types. 3) Split fire may be accomplished by a unit for the same
action. But is not consistant with the charge of another action when support
or heavy weapons are fired seperatly.
Now another related question: Am I correct in assuming that any one unit may
only make ONE attack against any ONE target in an activation?
I.e. the SAWs in the previous example could not fire at the same target as the
small arms if they were being fired independantly (not combined fire).
If I am correct, it is per activation or turn?
What is the difference? If a unit is reactivated, can it perform another fire
action? If so, can it target the same unit it targeted before?
> -----Original Message-----
[snip]
> If there are two targets, it takes two actions. I believe that is
> On Fri, 19 January 2001, "Bell, Brian K (Contractor)" wrote:
> Thanks!
You're welcome!
> I only found it described by weapon:
Here is a passage that describes the intent. Page 15, under Actions and
Activations (two paragraphs above the part you quoted in your message):
"An ACTION... is the unit doing ONE THING such as moving, firing etc. Some
actions are carried out by the entire unit (i.e. movement), while some only
concern the unit leader (eg. communication attempts) or a
special weapons trooper (eg. firing a missile at a point target) - in
all cases, however, one action is taken up irrespective of how many unit
members it directly involves."
The implication is that firing half the squad at one target is an Action for
the squad, even though only half the squad did it. Firing at the second target
is a second Action, again even though only half the squad fired.
> Now another related question:
The rules state that a weapon may only fire once per turn. This was corrected
by Mike Elliott soon after SG2 came out to state that a weapon may only fire
once per ACTIVATION.
However, they CAN fire at the same target. The SAWs in your example could fire
at a target on their own, and then the rest of the squad can fire at the same
target. However, each fire would take up one Action.
There is a question as to whether you allow this kind of split fire. I believe
Tom B. doesn't. It is not, however, specifically disallowed in the rules and
ability to split fire is implied by the rules.
The end result is that split fire takes up two Actions. It has a higher
probability of a suppression result, but it has a lower probability of
inflicting casualties.
Once a unit is reactivated, it gets to fire again. This is the reason for the
correction from what's in the book. The book states that each weapon may only
fire once per turn. However if a squad is reactivated with a Transfer Action,
then the squad gets to fire again.
thanks for the discussion. this cleared up similiar
questions/misconceptions I had.