Combined FAQ Updates 2015-04-06

Combined-FAQ-Updates-2015-04-06.docx

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DROPZONE COMMANDER COMBINED FAQ

AND UPDATES (all answers from Hawk Simon)

This is an unofficial document made by a fan, combining the Living FAQ from the Hawk

forum, plus the latest updates to the Main 1.1 and the Reconquest Phase 1 rulebooks.

Version: 6th April 2015

Contents DROPZONE COMMANDER COMBINED FAQ AND UPDATES ...................................................... 1

RULES UPDATE FOR 1.1 EDITION ........................................................................................... 2

Core Rules .......................................................................................................................... 2

UCM Unit Updates ............................................................................................................. 2

Scourge Unit Updates ........................................................................................................ 3

PHR Unit Updates .............................................................................................................. 3

Shaltari Unit Updates ......................................................................................................... 3

RULES UPDATE FOR RECONQUEST PHASE 1 .......................................................................... 3

Core Rules .......................................................................................................................... 4

UCM Unit Updates ............................................................................................................. 4

Scourge Unit Updates ........................................................................................................ 4

PHR Unit Updates .............................................................................................................. 4

Shaltari Unit Updates ......................................................................................................... 4

Resistance Unit Updates .................................................................................................... 4

GAMEPLAY ............................................................................................................................. 5

TRANSPORTS ........................................................................................................................ 10

AIRCRAFT .............................................................................................................................. 12

SCENARIOS ........................................................................................................................... 13

COMMAND CARDS ............................................................................................................... 13


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RULES UPDATE FOR 1.1 EDITION After carefully considering the many pages of debate on the forums as well as talking to players in person, we have decided to take this opportunity to make a few more rules changes to the 1.1 edition. Dropzone Commander is a live game and although this is not something we intend to do often we feel that players will prefer a slightly updated version. You can still use your original rulebook with the aid of this document and the Original Rulebook Errata and Clarifications documents.

Core Rules

Add the Evasion Countermeasures rule to the Core rulebook. This rule is currently found in

Reconquest: Phase 1 and is shown below. Also, a change to the original rule is shown in red.

Evasion Countermeasures (E-X):

These are the simplest form of countermeasures in existence and have been a major factor

on the battlefields since time immemorial. Evasion Countermeasures are simply the benefit

of extreme operator skill or extreme manoeuvrability, allowing the Unit to predict, dodge

and avoid enemy fire. Evasion Countermeasures are represented by a CM value with the

prefix E, followed by a modifier value (e.g. +2). Enemy weapons shooting at these Units

suffer this modifier to their Ac value, to a maximum of 6+. Note that Skimmers normally

possess this ability innately, so will seldom have this rule as a +2 modifier is already

incorporated in the Skimmer rule. If BOTH are present, the effect is cumulative. Weapons

with the Flame special rule ignore Evasion countermeasures.

Entering From Readiness

When entering the table from readiness, if a unit's Mv value is 1" or above and but not

enough for it to enter the board facing forwards, it may be placed on the board facing

forwards with its rear touching the table edge, this counts as moving 1 inch for the purposes

of shooting.

Command Units and Focal Points

When scoring focal points, units of the "Command" category containing a Commander

contribute their full points (including points for commanders). This includes Aircraft.

UCM Unit Updates

Falcon's points cost reduced to 40pts and gains E+2 Countermeasures

Seraphim's Sledgehammer Bunker Buster changes its E to 11

Seraphim's Sledgehammer Bunker Buster changes its Demolisher value to

Demolisher-D3+3


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Scimitar's 'Marksman' Laser changes its MF to 1 and E increases to E11

Kodiak's Tactical Orbital Strike gains Area S

Scourge Unit Updates

Corsair's points cost reduced to 60pts

Slayer's points cost reduced to 50pts

Tormentor's points cost reduced to 50pts

PHR Unit Updates

Poseidon's points cost reduced to 70pts

Neptune's points costs reduced to 40ps

Triton A1's posts costs reduced to 29pts and its Twin Stealth Missile Battery upgrade

reduced to 10pts

Triton A2's posts costs reduced to 18pts and its Twin Stealth Missile Battery upgrade

reduced to 10pts

Menchit's RX-666 Flamethrower changes R(F) and R(c) to 9 and its SH to 8

Taranis's Constellation Missile - Air Burst changes its E to 4

Juno A1's points costs reduced to 20pts

Juno A2's points costs reduced to 14pts

Shaltari Unit Updates

Warspear changes its DP to 2

Thunderbird Gunship's points costs reduced to 38 and gain E+2 countermeasures

Jaguar's points costs increased to 110pts

Ocelot's Particle Cannon changes its MF to 2"

Haven's points increased to 20pts

Braves' points increased to 35pts

RULES UPDATE FOR RECONQUEST PHASE 1 After carefully considering the many pages of debate on the forums as well as talking to

players in person, we have decided to take this opportunity to make a few rules changes to

the Reconquest Phase 1. Dropzone Commander is a live game and although this is not

something we intend to do often we feel that players will prefer a slightly updated version.

You can still use your original rulebook with the aid of this document and the Original

Rulebook Errata and Clarifications documents.


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Core Rules

Evasion Countermeasures and Flame Weapons

Add the following sentence to the end of the Evasion Countermeasures Special Rule.

Weapons with the Flame special rule ignore Evasion countermeasures.

Hovercraft and Disembarking

Add the following sentence to the end of the Hovercraft Special Rule.

Disembarking and not moving further still counts as moving 1 inch for the purposes of

shooting.

UCM Unit Updates

Praetorian Snipers' replace the Digital Ghillies special rule with E+2 countermeasures

Scourge Unit Updates

Destroyer's points cost increased to 50pts

PHR Unit Updates

Angelos' points cost reduced to 37pts

Marcus Barros' RX1-L Railgun (Left Arm) and (Right Arm) changes its SH to 1

Shaltari Unit Updates

Dreamsnare's points increased to 85pts

Resistance Unit Updates

Storm Wagon's points reduced to 25pts

Occupation Veterans' points reduced to 40pts

Freeriders' Sticky Mine changes its E to 9

Berserkers' points reduced to 31pts

Rocket Technicals' points reduced to 10pts


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GAMEPLAY

Q. Am I reading the force roster correctly in that the defense force must contain two

command models at this point level? One for the target Commander and one in the

required purple command battle group?

A. Na, you just get your compulsory choice for free.

Q. If an infantry unit moves into a building where an opponents infantry are already there

and haven't activated, can the person in the building activate them next turn and shoot at

me in the building before entering CQB? If so are there any modifiers in place (Cover etc.)?

A. I can confirm that in the situation you describe, you can't shoot the incoming infantry as

you don't have line of sight to them. You could however go to the windows and fire a last

volley at an appropriate target before you get locked in combat at the start of the following

turn.

Q. Can you use a friendly unit as a target for indirect fire?

A. No, but it can of course scatter onto friendly units!

Q. When using the Totem Warspire as an offensive unit, where do you check LOS from? The

Totem is an impressively tall model.

A. LoS is measured from the middle of the firing model so you would use the middle point,

in all dimensions!

Q. Using smoke launchers does not count as shooting." So can it be used when units

disembark?

A. Yep!

Q. Do commanders count in to the total point value of a unit? Primarily in regards to

counting up the points to see who is in control of a focal point.

A. Yep!

Q. If you have more than one saving throw, like onboard shields and White Nanomachines,

can you make both saving rolls?

A. If you have 2 passive saving throws you pick the best one to use, you don't get to make 2

saving throw rolls!

Q. If Indirect Fire is coming from spotting from a scout, does it suffer the +2Ac if the target

skimmer has moved over 6"?


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A. Yep you still suffer the +2 AC penalty as the skimmer is moving and its harder to hit,

regardless of where the shot is coming from!

Q. If a unit holding an objective is killed in CQB, does it automatically pass the objective to

another unit in the squad, or does the enemy pick it up?

A. If a unit is killed it automatically passes to their fellow squad mates.

Q. If a squad is killed in CQB, and there's another squad in the building, does the objective

get automatically passed to the other squad, or does the enemy pick it up?

A. If the squad is killed it passes to another friendly squad first (it is assumed that they are

involved in the fight or rushing to help and are able to retrieve it before the enemy) and

then if there is no other friendly squad in the building it passes to the enemy.

Q. Does the enemy squad pick up the objective instantly, or at the start of their next

activation? (Let's assume that the enemy squad is the aggressor)

A. If there are no other friendly squads in the building then the enemy squad instantly picks

up the objective but as they have already activated they cant do anything further with it this

turn, including passing it to another nearby friendly unit.

Q. If you have infantry inside a building that is at the walls/windows and it is shielded by a

Warspire do the shots against them still have to pass through the shield?

A. Yep, infantry would get the save as the shot would have to pass through the shield to get

to them!

Q. In the case of an infantry base (like Scourge Destroyers) that have a special weapon rule

of L-1, Is it correct that each base may choose to shoot its Plasma Charger once per game,

per the "L-X" rule (L-1, in this case), but get three Shots in the Turn that the base chooses to

shoot if the base is at full health, two shots if the base has lost one DP, and only one shot if

the base has lost two DPs?

A. You are completely correct.

Q. Do game effects during the specified phase that are not controlled by any player take

place before any command cards are played?

A. Yep, I think that's a fair assumption!

Q. Do walkers get the movement bonus for traveling on their entire move on roads?

A. I can confirm that walkers gain the movement bonus from exceptional ground!

Q. Can I enter a building (there are doors on all sides as its a residential block) and leave it

in the same turn, which would allow me to enter one side and leave the other and

subsequently leave the board with an objective?


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A. The official ruling is NO, you CAN'T do it, you would have to enter, endure a round of

shooting at the building and then exit the following turn, off the board.

Q. Each base of Scourge warriors gets 5 shots when they shoot their plasma rifles. If all 15

warriors (three stands) are shooting at the same target, do I roll for each stand separately,

or do I roll for the whole squad at one time in one big group of 15 dice?

A. You roll 5 dice at a time.

Q. One unit of defenders faces one unit of attackers. Defenders find the objective but are

tied up in CQB. There is a waiting transport outside. The defenders clearly can't escape into

the transport (they're in CQB) but can they pass the objective to the transport?

A. Unfortunately no, you cant get the objective to the transport as you are stuck in CQB.

Q. If unit with a weapon range of CC hits a skimmer, is 2+ Ac modifier is applied like other

weapons?

A. Yep a CC attack against a skimmer that has moved over 6" would suffer the +2 modifier to

hit.

Q. Does the Desolators Ion Storm (wide) hit units that are not in LoS and do skimmers still

get their movement bonus of +2 to Ac?

A. The Ion Storm Generator (Wide) hits all targets in range regardless of line of sight, the

only exception is infantry that are not manning the walls (although there is a chance they

get hit by the falling masonry). Skimmers do get their bonus so the Ion Storm generator

receives a +2 modifier to hit them if they have moved 6 inches or over.

Q. Can ground units (vehicles, infantry and landed aircraft) move through or over other

ground units or must they move around them like impassable terrain?

A. Ground units must move round other ground units when moving, they cant move over of

through them.

Q. On page 21 of the 1.1 rules, it says, "To determine whether a Squad can come out of

reserve, roll 1D6 on the following table when indicated in the turn sequnce ... If the required

value is equalled or beaten, the Squad enters the in Readiness Stage."

On the very next page, in the Turn Sequence, it says: "Each player (in order of Initiative) may

now roll 1D6 for each Battlegroup they have In Reserve, to determine if they can be utilized

this turn."

So, which is it? If I have an Air battlegroup with 2 squads in it that are In Reserve, do I roll

once for the whole battlegroup, or do I roll twice, once for each squad?

A. Ok, I can confirm you roll per squad!


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On page 22, what Dave meant was you roll for reserves by picking a battlegroup, then

rolling individually for each squad in it before moving onto squads in other battlegroups

Q. If a Battlegroup has no active squads, either because they are all destroyed or because

they are all still in reserve, can that Battlegroup be activated?

A. No

Q. Vehicles and Infantry bases within 1" of a destroyed structure can be destroyed, but if

measured from the center of the vehicle, certain vehicles can never be damaged in this way.

Do you measure to the hull of a vehicle for this particular rule?

A. You measure from the edge of the building to the centre of the unit, if it is over 1", then

the unit can't be destroyed by the collapsing building. This will result in some of the large

units in the game being unable to be destroyed in this way.

Q. A Ferrum leaves the board with an objective. What happens to the drones that are

already deployed on the table?

A. The drones are destroyed the moment the Ferrum leaves the table.

Q. Can a Command Card that is to be used "during" a stage or phase be played after a card is

played that is used "at the end" of a stage or phase?

A. No

Q. When replacement Starsprite Drones are deployed from a Ferrum, they do not need to

move into coherency with drones already on the table. Are they still considered to be the

part of the same squad? Can any drones that are in coherency with each other combine

their shots using the focus fire rule?

A. Yes they are considered the same squad and can combine their shots if in coherency with

each other

Q. A friendly unit spots for an IF weapon. To the units view, the target is hull down. Does

the IF shot suffer the Hull Down penalty?

A. No, IF shots come down at such a high angle that they are never affected by hull down

Q. Can the Praeterians disembark from a ground transport onto the roof of a structure and

gain entrance through the use of breaching charges?

A. Yes, although obviously the roof will need to be large enough for a transport to land and

disembark a ground transport

Q. Do AA weapons ignore Evasion Countermeasures?

A. No


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Q. Can aircraft, including Fast Movers, fly over 6" tall structures? Or must they fly around

them?

A. They must fly around them!

Q. Can a Kraken hovercraft (or any hovercraft, for that matter) have an objective handed off

to it? Or does the Transport, in this case a Battle Bus, need to hold onto the objective and

embark on the Kraken?

A. The Kraken can have an objective handed off to it as it is not an aircraft

Q. What Is the Command radius from a scout unit when the Commander is in a non

Command Vehicle?

A. If the Commander is in a non Command vehicle and therefore the Command radius is

halved, then you use the halved radius when measuring from the scout unit

Q. If a Mercury Drone is the only PHR unit within 6" of a focal point at the end of the game,

does the PHR player still receive 1 VP, as per the rules for focal points?

A. Yes

Q. If one or more Mercury drones are the only PHR units within 6" of a focal point at the end

of the game, and there are no other players' units within 6" of that FP at the end of the

game, does the PHR player still receive the additional VPs for having "the most Units in

points cost within 6" of the FP" (v1.1, pg 54)?

A. Yes

Q. If one or more Mercury drones are the only PHR units within 6" of a focal point at the end

of the game, and there are at least one other player's units within 6" of that FP at the end of

the game but the PHR player's Mercury Drones by themselves add up to "the most Units in

points cost within 6" of the FP", does the PHR player still receive the additional VPs?

A. Yes

Q. Does Karl's Command Hellhog still have the "Rare" rule

A. No

Q. One cannot pre-measure range when moving, but can pre-measure range when shooting

to determine if the selected target is in range.

A. Yes

Q. One can pre-measure for movement distances, because it is "another" time, falling under

the category of deciding "not to allow pre-measuring at ANY time", that is, some forms of

pre-measuring are allowed, and it is not specifically prohibited in the Movement section of

the rules.


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A. Yes

Q. One cannot pre-measure Sphere of Influence, because it is expressly prohibited in the

rules on page 38, where it says (within the context of measuring a commander's SoI), "The

target(s) of the Command Card must be within the Sphere of Influence for the card to take

effect.

A. You are allowed to measure SoI in order to check that the card you wish to play is in

range of the target.

Q. Does a Landed Aircraft block Line of Sight and contribute to the LZ is hot rule?

A. Yes

Q. If you are reaction firing at an aircraft because the aircraft has chosen to shoot before it

moves, do both the AA gun reaction firing and the aircraft shoot simultaneously, which

could result in both units being hit, damaged and possibly destroyed by each other?

A. No, the reaction firing weapon fires first, then if the aircraft survives, it may now fire.

Q. A FM enters the board edge within Range of an AA gun that chooses to reaction fire at it,

and the FM is also within Range of shooting its target as soon as it crosses the table edge.

Who shoots first, or do they shoot simultaneously?

A. No, the reaction fire happens first then if the Fast Mover survives, it may now fire.

TRANSPORTS

Q. Does leaving a transport after a crash landing count as an embark/disembark move?

A. I can confirm that if a unit is forced to leave a crashed dropship then it does NOT count as

a disembark move!

Q. A Bear APC is being transported by a Condor drop ship. A squad of infantry is in the APC.

Can the drop ship disembark the APC, the APC disembark the infantry and the infantry enter

a building (assuming all the distances are met of course) all in one activation?

A. The infantry also leave the condor and then leave the bear so they could not then enter a

building as that would be a third disembark/embark move. However, this is where the 2 for

1 combo applies, if the bear is within 1 inch of a building the infantry can exit the bear and

enter the building as 1 move and therefore don't do more than 2 disembark/embark moves

that turn.

Q. Assume that the drop ship starts its activation landed. It takes off, flies to the LZ, lands,

drops off it' passengers, and then takes off again. Is there any 2" deduction here?


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A. I can confirm that if a transport disembarks/embarks units and therefore has only moved

half this turn, that you don't apply the 2" move penalty.

Q. If an aerial transport that is carrying a ground transport that contains infantry is shot

down and the ground transport fails to survive the crash are the infantry dead outright or do

they then test to escape?

A. If the aerial transport explodes in the air, everything is destroyed. If it crash lands then

you make the 4+ roll and in your case, the transport died. Then as the transport died, you

roll on the destroyed ground transport table to see what happens to the infantry inside.

Q. If your APC explodes but the infantry is ok and you are within 1" of an entrance and need

to "place" your infantry within 3" and the enemy is occupying the building you want to

enter; are you allowed to place the infantry (from exploding APC) into the building?

A. You can't disembark into the building from the wrecked transport but if the infantry have

not activated yet that turn, they could enter the building when they do activate.

Q. Can an APC take an objective off the board without the infantry squad inside?

A. The APC can leave the board without the infantry.

Q. If you move a dropship within 3" of the wall of a building which is higher than 6", could

you disembark units onto the roof of this building providing that the Landing zone Template

just touches the wall and the roof is within 3" (horizontally) of the dropship?

A. No, in order to disembark units onto a building roof, the dropship must be able to fully

place the landing zone template on the roof of the building and then they land and deploy

normally. This is the only way to disembark onto the roof of a building!

Q. If you disembark units onto the roof of a building has the disembarked unit fit completely

on the roof, or could some parts hang over provided that the model sits firm?

A. a unit could hang over the edge of a building as long as it is able to deploy onto the

building as per the question above. Remember that hanging over the edge of the building

will present more of your unit to the enemy so you would be less likely to gain cover from

any shots against you.

Q. Do Scourge and Shaltari dropships get the skimmer bonus when landed?

A. Yes, provided they moved over 6"

Q. Is disembarking from a transport a 'move'? And is merely embarking into a transport

within 3" a 'move'?

A. Neither disembarking or embarking onto a transport is considered a 'move' (with regards

to the storm wagon this technically means it can leave the hovercraft and still fire that turn,

however this was an oversite on our part and will be corrected in the next errata by an


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update to the hovercraft rule and will prevent the storm wagon from disembarking and

shooting)

Q. When units disembark from a hovercraft, how is this measured? Is it from the center of

the hovercraft? From any hull point? The ramps?

A. From the centre of the hovercraft as normal

Q. Resistance question! If you have a drill and it scatters off the board what happens

A. The Drill is lost and counts as destroyed (be careful where you choose to place it! )

AIRCRAFT

Q. Can infantry reaction fire against fast movers?

A. Yep, they can reaction fire but they already have to be on the walls (and not fired yet that

turn)

Q. Can you put a flying stand (with an aircraft atop it) on top of a building, as long as the

building is less than 6" high, to represent the aircraft (a Dropship) stopping in that location?

A. Yep you can!

Q. If a unit is lost to a To The Deck die roll, do the kill points go to the opponent?

A. Yep, confirmed!

Q. Shooting at an aircraft in flight then you shoot at it at the 6" right? Do you need to

measure to the point 6"above the middle stem or 2" if it flies low?

A. Nope, you always measure horizontally.

Q. Do aircraft at 6 block the movement lanes of Fast Movers?

A. Nope, it is assumed the fast mover dodges round them!

Q. How is LOS measured to dropships?

A. LoS to dropships is drawn to a point 6 inches above the base, in line with the flight pole, if

you can see that point, you can see them!

Q. Can you move a unit onto or over the base of a flying stand? This would include ground

vehicles and troops and other aircraft moving at lower altitudes.

A. Yes


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SCENARIOS

Q. Do Infantry units aboard a monorail take Fortitude tests if they lose a CQB?

A. I can confirm that you don't take fortitude tests while on the train, no matter if you are at

a station or not!

Q. When using the Monorail, are Command Cards played before, during or after the

Monorail moves in the Cleanup phase?

A. The official ruling is this: the train moves first, then command cards are played!

Q. The Defensive force does not allow aerial units, however longbows MUST take a Raven-A

each. Thus, they cannot be included in a Defensive force.

A. For the purposes of the defensive roster, Longbows are allowed to be taken without their

transports

Q. Does a player who is searching for a Piece of Intel remove the marker for that Piece of

Intel from the game if he rolls a 2-5, or does he leave the marker there and the other player

then has a chance to get a legal Unit to search for that Piece of Intel, too?

A. Yes. If a player rolls a 2-5 when searching for Intel, the Intel marker remains and their

opponent may roll if they are in the building, later in the game!

COMMAND CARDS

Q. When the Quick Thinking card activates a unit, does that activation include the unit's

transport?

A. Yes!

Q When the Quick Thinking card activates a unit, can the card be played on the transport so

the squad can be activated?

A. Quick thinking can only be played on a squad, however for the purposes of THIS card, the

transport counts as a squad so yes, and in the case of a heavy dropship/transport then both

squads on board can activate.

Q. If so, is it enough that the transport are within sphere of influence or must both squad

and transport be within sphere of influence

A. Yes

Q. When using a Command Card that makes it harder to be hit, does the Scourge ion storm

cannon's acc get modified?

A. Yes


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Q. The Shaltari Scout Gate Drone card allows them to materialize a dematerialized squad.

Does the squad have to be dematerialized at the start of it's activation?

A. Yes, as the card states that you must play it when a dematerialised friendly squad begins

to complete its actions.

Combined FAQ Updates 2015-04-06

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Transcript of Combined FAQ Updates 2015-04-06