Hello everyone,
I'm going to collate all post 2007 FAQ and then add this to a newer and eventually official BFG FAQ 2010.
Please help by putting up
General Rules questions unanswered by the 2007 FAQ or are unclearly resolved in official material.
There are two other topics, one for fleet specific questions and ordnance questions.
Fleet Specific Questions:
http://www.sg.tacticalwargames.net/forum/index.php?topic=1345.0Ordnance Questions:
http://www.sg.tacticalwargames.net/forum/index.php?topic=1362.0I will be adding answers to the questions by editing this first post.
If an answer has the term ‘needs HA ruling’ it may change before publication.
Thank you very much for your help,
RayB HA
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Basic RulesGame Turns: A game turn is both player turns, so a game that lasts eight turns has had sixteen player turns.
Premeasurement: You may premeasure movement and range unless all players agree not to. Note: To aid in premeasuring use a couple of empty flying bases with bearing compasses dropped over the stems.
Secrecy of Fleet Lists: If your opponent wishes to see your fleet list during the game you must show it to him or her. Note: If you both agree you may keep your fleet lists secret until the end of the game. (Needs HA Ruling)
Secrecy of Subplots: Subplots are rolled for in front of your opponent. If you both agree you may keep your subplots secret until the end of the game. (Needs HA Ruling)
Orders/LeadershipReload Ordnance and Movement: Movement is unaffected by the reload ordnance special order.
Brace For Impact and Shields: Assuming there is no special rule or refit you will never get brace saves for hits against shields. (This is in the Rulebook on page 23)
Movement, Shooting and Blast MarkersFlying Bases Overlapping and Stacking Squadrons: As ships can overlap by flying over/under one another it is possible to stack ships. The drastic weakening of their shield strength usually discourages this, but it is completely legal. When ships overlap it is common practice to remove the models from their flying bases. To keep things clear it is usually best to have a few stemless flying bases around with a straight line draw from the central hole to the bases edge to indicate direction.
Halving Weapons Strength: When a ship’s or squadron’s weapons are halved for whatever reason total up the combined strengths before halving or splitting firepower. (Needs HA Ruling, and rewording)
Multiple Gunnery Weapons: If a ship or squadron has multiple types of gunnery weapons, like Bombardment Cannons, Heavy Gunz or Standard Weapons Batteries, they may be fired simultaneously. Calculate the dice on the gunnery table separately for each type of gunnery weapon. This means you do not suffer gunnery shifts due to blast markers caused by other members of the same squadron in the same shooting phase. The order in which these weapons hit is up to shooting player, so Bombardment Cannons can hit after weapons batteries have taken down shields for instance. (Needs HA Ruling)
Splitting Weapons Fire Against a Single Ship: You cannot split your fire at a single target!
On The Line Shooting: When shooting and the arcs are on the line in between arcs, whether it be the attacking or defending ship the shooting player chooses which arcs to use.
***Remove from FAQ as is answered in another point: A vessel is considered to be moving through blast markers even if it is moving away from blast markers it is in contact with at the beginning of the movement phase, such as blast markers in contact due to a previous round of shooting.
Ships with Blast Markers in Base Contact: A ship in base contact with a blast marker counts as being in contact all around it. If a ship is in base contact with a ship with a blast marker but the blast maker does not touch it’s own base it does not count as having a blast marker in contact as well.
Blast Markers and Multiple Bases: When a ship has multiple bases in contact and its shield goes down, the blast marker may be placed anywhere on this ships base potentially taking down other ships shields. This has no limitation to the number of ships shields the blast marker can take down.
Blast Markers Caused by Exploding Escorts in Base Contact: When an Escort is destroyed you replace it with a blast marker, this blast marker is placed as centrally as possible. As a blast marker is smaller than a small flying base it is only possible to take down a ships shield with this blast marker if their bases overlapped.
Area Effects and Special WeaponsNova Cannon Template: The correct dimensions of the Nova Cannon template are a 5cm outer diameter with the holes diameter at 1.2cm. The Nova Cannon’s dimensions can be found on Games-workshop’s small green blast template where the Nova Cannon’s perimeter is marked with a 2, this does not include the width of the line. Use the larger hole in the centre of the template if there are two sizes.
Nova Cannon Blast and Holofields: Although Holofield saves are taken against a direct hit from a Nova Cannon where the hole is over the base, they are not taken against the blast template. If this save is successful the effect of the Nova Cannon is reduced as if only the template were touching the base. No blast marker is placed. Therefore if the template touches a ships base with holofields it will always cause at least one point of damage, unless the ship is braced. (Needs HA Ruling)
Ramming, Boarding and Base sizeRamming and size: There are four sizes concerning the leadership check to ram. From biggest to smallest: Defence>Battleship>Cruiser>Escort. The worst this test can be is on 3D6 and the best it can be is on one D6, so an Ork Rok would try to pass a leadership check on 3D6 against an escort, cruiser or battleship.
Ships Exploding due to Ramming: If either ship is destroyed and explodes due to ramming the explosion is resolved at that moment. The other ship will always be in the explosion. If it was the rammed ship that exploded it is easier to finish the ramming ships movement as normal, but remember unless it has special rules to navigate blast markers it will be slowed by blast markers from the explosion.
Boarding in the Enemies Turn: You may not initiate a boarding action in the enemies turn. (Needs HA Ruling)
Boarding Values and Turret Strength: Turret strength is not part of a ships boarding value. So if the ship is defending and has a bonus, like the mark of Khorne’s doubling of the value, the turret strength is added after and is not affected by this.
Boarding Value and Boarding Modifiers: The boarding value is your remaining hits (plus turrets if you’re defending) which may offer a +1, +2, +3 or +4 boarding modifier. You add this modifier and any others you have to your single boarding dice, as does your opponent. The winner is the player with the highest modifier+D6 (boarding dice), causing damage equal to the difference of these totals.
Multiple Boarding Actions and Race Modifiers: Race modifiers are only counted once, so if you had a Chaos Murder class cruiser with a normal Chaos crew and a Devastation class cruiser with a Chaos Space Marine crew boarded an Imperial cruiser they would get a +3 race modifier, +1 from being chaos and +2 for having any ships with a CSM crew.
Hit and Run Attacks, Critical and Catastrophic DamageMultiple Fire Criticals: Damage from numerous fire criticals is cumulative. E.g. if a ship had 3 fire criticals and failed to repair any in the end phase it would suffer 3 points of damage.
Multiple Thrusters Damaged Criticals: A ships speed is only affected once by multiple thrusters damaged criticals. Note: All thrusters damaged critical must be repaired to regain the ships speed.
Placement of Exploding ships Blast Markers: When placing these blast markers they may not overlap with each other but may overlap with blast markers previously placed. First place a single blast marker exactly where the ship was then place as many blast markers from the explosion as possible in contact with it, this should give you eight blast markers in total. If more blast markers were caused place them in contact with the ring of blast markers surrounding the first.
Moving Drifting/Blazing Hulks: The owning player moves his drifting Hulks in which ever order he wishes. Roll for blazing hulks exploding at the end of the movement phase rather than the end of its movement. (Needs HA Ruling)
Drifting/Blazing Hulks and Blast Markers: Drifting/blazing hulks are unaffected by speed modifiers and are not damaged by blast markers. (Needs HA Ruling)
Drifting/Blazing Hulks and Gravity Wells: When a drifting/blazing hulk enters a gravity well it must make any extra turns that are conferred to it towards the centre of the gravity well. In the case of a Space Hulks gravity well the drifting/blazing hulk makes its compulsorily turns as above and is merely removed from play if its base makes contact with the Space Hulks base. In addition if it were a blazing hulk, roll once on its catastrophic damage table before its removal. (Needs HA Ruling)
SquadronsShooting at Squadrons: When shooting at a squadron you have to shoot at the closest target first. This is an intended game mechanic. The only ways to shoot at a more distant member of a squadron is with gunnery weapons if the ship has more left modifiers on the gunnery table or has weaker armour where only the hits that could not hurt the closest target hit it. If because of weaker armour, armour ignoring weapons cannot exploit this rule.
DisengagingCelestial PhenomenaFlying Bases and Terrain Interaction: With the exception of Gas/Dustclouds, which act as large blast markers, a ships stem must pass within the perimeter of celestial phenomenon to be affected by it.
Leadership Check to Traverse Asteroid Field: You must pass a leadership test to traverse asteroid fields or suffer D6 damage. In the case of capital ship squadrons, test for each ship that moves through the asteroid field, each ship that fails suffers D6 damage.
***ER: In the case of escort squadrons, take a leadership test for each ship that moves through the asteroid field, each ship that fails suffers D6 damage. (Needs HA Ruling)
Asteroids and All Ahead Full: When traversing an asteroid field on All Ahead Full you must pass a leadership check on 3D6 instead of 2D6 or suffer the usual D6 damage.
Shooting at Asteroid Fields: Asteroid fields are treated as minefields if you wish to shoot at them. You must first pass a leadership test to shoot an asteroid field even if it is the only possible target. (Needs HA Ruling)
Asteroid Shield Impacts: Blast markers are not placed when asteroid impacts take shields down, however the ship will act as if it has moved through blast markers that turn. (Needs HA Ruling)
Ships Exploding Inside Asteroid Fields: If a ship explodes, including when due to the D6 damage from failing a leadership test to safely navigate an asteroid field, the explosion will hit all ships and ordnance within the asteroid field but none outside the field. Blast markers from the explosion are scattered throughout the asteroid field, each player taking it in turns to place a blast marker. Note: You don’t roll for the range of the explosion. (Needs HA Ruling, and consideration)
Ships Exploding due to Gas/Dustclouds: If a ship having 0 shield strength explodes due to the gas/dustcloud, the explosion will originate at the point the ship entered the cloud.
Ships on a Planetary Template: When a ship is on a planetary template the template does not block its line of sight or any ships line of sight to it. If multiple ships are on a planetary template they can all see each other.
This is an abstract rule, if you and your opponent wish you may declare whether you are going over or under the planet, where the planet blocks line of sight between these two plains. (Needs HA Ruling)
Torpedoes on a Planetary Template: Torpedoes are only destroyed when they come into contact with the templates edge. So it is possible to launch torpedoes while on a planetary template but they will be removed when they touch its edge.
Multiple Radiation Bursts: Only one radiation burst can happen per turn even if multiple radiation burst were rolled for. Note: You roll every turn until the end of the game for radiation bursts, making it possible for a radiation burst to occur every turn from one radiation burst result on the Flare region or Mercurial zone generators.
Fighting Sunward: This effect only occurs in the Flare Region, Mercurial Zone and Inner Biosphere. To determine if you are shooting sunward place the bearing compass over the firing ship with the arrows parallel with the sunward edge. If the target is within the arc facing the sunward edge you are shooting sunward. (Needs HA Ruling)
Transports and Planetary DefencesTransport Variants in Scenarios: The Transport variants are only intended for the Convoy scenario, and may only be taken in other scenarios if stated in the scenarios rules. (Needs HA Ruling)
Escort Carriers taking Orbital Mines: This is not allowed!
Shooting at Minefields: Treat minefields as ordnance for purposes of target priority.
Defences and Blast Marker Removal: You remove D6 blast markers from each defence in each end phase after all other actions in the end phase.
Ramilies Class Star Fort and Massed Turrets: The Ramilies Quadrants may not mass turrets with one another given their limited lines of sight. (Needs HA Ruling)
Ramilies Class Star Fort and Ramming: When ramming the Ramilies you may pick to ram any quadrant your ships base comes into contact with. (Needs HA Ruling)
Ramilies Class Star Fort and Boarding: Only an Ork Space Hulk can board a Ramilies, if it does so it is up to the Ramilies player to decide if additional quadrants beyond the one (or ones in the case of bases overlapping) in contact take part.
The Ramilies can always board back in its own turn against any enemy in contact, and once again can decide how many quadrants are involved.
Ramilies Class Star Fort and Quadrants treated as Asteroid Fields: When a quadrant is destroyed its quarter of the flying base is treated as an asteroid field, this cannot damage the other quadrants!
General Fleet Restrictions and OptionsFleet Commanders: A fleet with a total points value of more than 750pts must be led by a Fleet Commander, unless specifically stated otherwise in the fleet list.
Fleets of Escorts and Fleet Commanders: If your fleet list doesn’t allow you to field a Fleet Commander on an escort you must have a capital ship in a fleet of more than 750pts.
Single Escort Squadrons: A squadron of a single escort may be taken in a fleet as long as there are no other escorts in the fleet. Note: If there are other restrictions due to the fleet list, such as a minimum of six escorts in a squadron, these restrictions cannot be ignored.
Class Variants: Some ship classes have variants listed in their notes, such as the Imperial Dauntless being able to exchange its lances for torpedoes. Unless specifically noted as unique you may take multiple duplicates of any class variant.
Reserves: For every three battleships, cruisers or escorts chosen from a fleet list, you may also pick one ship of the same type from another fleet list belonging to the same race. For this purpose, the races are Imperial Navy, Space Marines, Chaos, Eldar, Craftworld Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks, Necrons, Tyranids and Tau.
Reserves with specific requirements such as a battle cruiser requiring two cruisers to be fielded has these requirements fulfilled as if it were part of the primary fleet list.
Upgrades (excluding Fleet Commanders and Characters) and refits may only be taken from the fleet list the ship belongs to. E.g. a Chaos Vengeance Grand Cruiser upgraded as a Daemon ship could be taken as a reserve for the Chaos Incursion fleet list but may only have characters or a fleet commander from the Incursion fleet list.
Some fleet lists have access to ships from other races, these may not be taken as reserves.
