Rattler:
I’m very new to FB, so excuse me if I screw things up way out of proportion.
Okay, so I’ve read the rules for the blunderbuss, and I understand that it is basically fired like a 12" long template that’s as wide as the front rank and hits on 4s.
So, I only have 10 models to use as blunderbuss troops ATM. So if I put 4 in the front 2 ranks, and 2 in the back rank, is the strength of the shot 5? (2 complete ranks, a partial rank of 2)
Also, I had a question on hits with the blunderbuss. I understand that you roll for all of the models in the “fire zone”. Take this for example:
I have one rank of 4 blunderbuss troops facing 100 evil stickmen (who are all within 12" range). I’m going to shoot. I would then roll 100 dice with 4s to hit, at strength 3.
Now, if I were to have 2 ranks of 4 blunderbuss troops (twice as many), I’d still only shoot 100 shots, but at strength 4?
That just doesn’t seem very right to me, if 4 blunderbuss troops can fire as many shots as eight…but the rules don’t really specify. I don’t see anything particularly about rolling for each individual unit…but I’m not really sure how it all works out.
Thanks for your help.
EDIT: Oh, and sorry if this in the wrong section.
Sobek:
You have to have a rank of 4 or more to get the rank bonus to strength, so in your example, they would be strength 4 shots.
Blunderbuss’s don’t fire shots, they fire shrapnel, grapshot, multiple pellets, etc… they don’t fire a single “shot” hence the template. The Strength bonus immitates the extra shrapnel or flak or what have from the other Blunderbuss’s being added to the original. So instead of a thin cover of sharp bits coming at you, you have a thicker cover that pieces in more places.
Edit: Blunderbuss’s in the real world were sometimes loaded with multiple pellets of lead, and then shot. They did this because the wide muzzel of the blunderbuss, while making it easy to load, decreased the accuracy of single shots.
Rattler:
So adding more models really does nothing to the amount of shrapnel flying through the air, it just increases the strength of it?
torn:
Actually i was curious on a similar point, although its probablies in an errata somewhere, when firing at a unit does it hit all models under the fire-zone or just the front rank.
And as for a stand and shoot charge reaction at what point in the enemies move do you make your shot? Im assuming its when they have declared their charge, but if it isnt id love to know
Sobek:
So adding more models really does nothing to the amount of shrapnel flying through the air, it just increases the strength of it?
Thats the same thing; with one rank, your already hitting everything since it is shrapnel your firing. Your projecting a cone no matter how many Blunderbuss' it is since your firing shrapnel. More Blunderbuss' behind increases the ammount of shrapnel in the air, which hits just as many targets. You could interpret that as more attacks or higher strength, either way the current rules work.
metro_gnome:
um well its not a cone… its a rectangle…
^^^
IIIIII
IIIIII
IIIIII
BBBB
BBBB
BBBB
more models assist in that the rectangle grows in width…
so a 12US BB unit blasts 4 models wide… while an 18US blasts 6 models wide…
and both are at S5…
Rattler:
Thats the same thing; with one rank, your already hitting everything since it is shrapnel your firing. Your projecting a cone no matter how many Blunderbuss' it is since your firing shrapnel. More Blunderbuss' behind increases the ammount of shrapnel in the air, which hits just as many targets. You could interpret that as more attacks or higher strength, either way the current rules work.
Sobek
That makes more sense then before, Sobek. I was just trying to get past the fact that 5 BBs have the exact same effect as 7. It does come together for me better now (fluff-wise).
Hashut’s Blessing:
A rank must have at least 4 models to count for +1S. This is because there is the same chance of being hit, just the amount you’d get hit by is more, thsuly, higher strength. As to stand&shoot, you do the shooting before they move, unless they are out fo range and then it’s only those in the front rank the same width as your shot. Normal shots, it hits ALL under the fire zone. The only thing that effects this is a hill or building or something similar.
AGPO:
Think of blunderbusses as a rectangular template which extends 12" directly in front of the unit. Any modelunder the template is hit on a 4+. One question I would ask is, are friendly models hit, and if so can i still fire if there is a friendly unit in the fire zone. The template rule-of-thumb would suggest that they are hit, but they are missile weapons not war machines and thus can’t target allies.
metro_gnome:
yes they are hit…
but do to the FAQ you may not fire if the BB unit is aware o their presence…
if the BB unit was firing upon a unit of goblins say…
and the template extended past the goblin unit and clipped the edge of your wolboy unit…
then that model would be hit on a 4+… but if the unit lies in the BBs LoS then they may not fire at all…
Arashi:
Maybe OOT, and have probably already been asked before, but which size is recomended to use for a BB unit? I mean, yeah, it would be ideal to have an ilimited big unit, but as for rank bonus strenght/rank changes from 4 to 5/ mobility? It�s not too unusual to loose because you got flanked everywhere since your units were oversized.
wallacer:
which size is recomended to use for a BB unit?
Arashi
I use them in units of 20. Then they're a decent combat unit as well.
Sobek:
I like units of 15 or 18, gives you your three ranks for Str 5, and usually can hold up well enough in combat.
AGPO:
I go for units of 20 myself
yes they are hit…
but do to the FAQ you may not fire if the BB unit is aware o their presence…
if the BB unit was firing upon a unit of goblins say…
and the template extended past the goblin unit and clipped the edge of your wolboy unit…
then that model would be hit on a 4+… but if the unit lies in the BBs LoS then they may not fire at all…
metro_gnome
This seems pretty foolish to me. First of all, blunderbusses CAN be aimed in a manner of speaking, nd it seems a bit odd that you couldn’t just point the blunders towards the target unit and not your allies. Second, why would chaos dwarfs worry about shooting a few hobbos. They’re certainly twisted enough to kill their own kin as well to save their own skin. I suppose its the cleanest way of doing things, but it still irks, especially since blunders often only get 1 or 2 shots a game, and these are now pretty easily cancelled out by a cunning enemy
metro_gnome:
whatever… its what the official FAQ says…
Q. Can you fire Chaos Dwarf blunderbusses if there is
a friendly unit in combat with an enemy in the zone of
fire?
A. No, only Skaven can shoot when there is a chance of
hitting their own units.
warhammer is a game of rules… not a game of “what i think should happen”…
AGPO:
Although if you read the authors notes in every rulebook (not including 7th edition here as I don’t own it) it says the game is what you make of it. Besides, I was simply saying I didn’t think it a very good rule, which surely is a judgement any gmaer can make, especially if they have valid reasons. Its not as if I’m demanding its changed is it?
torn:
Usually players change rules in the middle of the game for reasons such as making it more realistic, or simply to add to the narrative that is unfolding, such as allowing a player a re-roll if i makes the game better, or saying the unit thats a quarter inch away might as well be in charge range.
If the fire zone of the blunderbusses was just clipping the base of a friendly unit i cant any of my opponents dissallowing my fire, and if friendly units under the fire zone were hit as normal i can see the opposite of complaints!
Hashut’s Blessing:
Just got 16 more blunderbussers bringing the total to 22 and one with a hat swapped for helmet. So, I’ll use a unit of 22 or 23!