Could I get your thoughts on this:


Random Planetfall

Before the game, during the Five Minute Warm Up (6.1.3) is ideal, divide the table into six equal areas and label them from 1 to 6. On a tournament sized table these areas would be 60cm by 60cm (2 feet by 2 feet). Units with the Random Planetfall special ability will land in one of these six areas randomly determined by the roll of a D6 over the course of the game. If a formation has multiple units with the Random Planetfall special ability then roll a single D6 for all of the units to determine which area they land in.

In any turn a formation of units with Random Planetfall may be activated in the normal activation sequence. Nominate the formation, declare the action, and take an action test. This action test is taken with a -3 modifier. No other modifiers may be applied aside for those listed in the Action Test Table (1.6.2). If the formation fails the action test it does not take a Blast marker but may not land this turn. If the formation passes the action test roll a further D6 to determine which area the formation lands in.

Place a marker in the center of the area the formation landed in, this marker will then scatter 2D6cm in a random direction just like Planetfall (4.4). Formations may then setup normally so long as all units in the formation are within 15cm of the marker and at least one unit is within 5cm of the marker. Any units being transported are allowed to disembark immediately on landing, or stay on board and disembark later. Landing or disembarking counts as movement for the purposes of triggering enemy overwatch fire. Once all units are landed and disembarked remove the Random Planetfall marker.

Units entering play by Random Planetfall are destroyed if they land off the table or in impassable terrain. Units that land in dangerous terrain must take an immediate dangerous terrain test (1.8.1). Units that land in an enemy zone of control must immediately move out of the enemy's zone of control on their activation unless the formation took an engage action, in which case the assault proceeds as normal once the Random Planetfall marker is removed.

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Dave

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Squats 2019-10-17

Ok... I'll take the bait. I know you're speaking somewhat in snark, but you've made the point more seriously in previous debates.

The short response on this: sampling error within the fluff -- the defeated Phase III invasion is just not a good story, so it doesn't get written...

As I understand it, the goal of a tournament army list is foremost to build an army that is balanced for tournament play.  Certainly fluff may inspire such an army... but it cannot be the basis for it; and, it might be noted, fluff is much better as a basis for scenarios than tournaments.

Very little of the fluff actually depicts the sort of semi-meeting engagement that is the stereotypical tournament game. I general, I think that tournament army lists are useful tools, despite the fact that the fluff doesn't necessarily describe them.

It would benefit the Tyranids too much.  This time their advantage would be strategic instead of tactical and they would be consolidated around objectives early on.

Besides, you don't want their deployment to be tied to the Tournament scenario.  What if you weren't playing a tournament game, how would you define their drop?  You couldn't.

It has to be something built to the relative size of the table or distances relative to each other.  Or random.  I'll keep toying with some ideas.

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author of Syncing Forward and other stories...

It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I've got my Milkbone underwear on.

Units that land in an enemy zone of control must move immediately out of the zone of control-

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author of Syncing Forward and other stories...

It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I've got my Milkbone underwear on.

I'll agree to that. 15 cm is pretty devastating.

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"I don't believe in destiny or the guiding hand of fate." N. Peart

I think the "no landing in enemy ZoC" is the same effect as how Drop Pods can be "moved off" by enemy ZoCs.

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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Good point Mosc. I guess my biggest worry with this is what happens when a formation lands in the middle of another while taking an advance action and they can't get all their units out of ZoC? Or worse, they take a sustain and land right on top of them .

We could just have it redirect as per Planetfall but that's not very Random and seems rather gamey. Besides, there's plenty of fluff about the spores landing right in the middle of a formation and tearing things to pieces. I'd rather those unit in ZoC not be able to carry out their intended action unless it was an engage. Or maybe we force every formation activating for Random Planetfall take an engage action?

On the spore size, if we went down to the orbital barrage where would it be centered? I guess we could just as easily limit the formation to deploying with an orbital barrage template.

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Dave

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NetEA Tournament Pack Website

Squats 2019-10-17

We *are* playing a game here...  

Why don't the Drop Pods' landing rockets burn away any enemy resistance when they land?  It's the same effect, the spores "landing and tearing into the enemy" is just an engage action... there's also fluff of  Bugs getting shot apart as they try to tear out of their spores.

I'd like things to work "within" the rules as much as possible.

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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

The drop pods landing rockets I think would be accounted for in the deathwind, and the getting shot apart as they tear out of the spores would be the overwatch on landing/disembarking.

I think the above works pretty well within the rules with the exception of the ZoC thing on a non-engage action. So what's your suggestion on that then?

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Dave

Blog

NetEA Tournament Pack Website

Squats 2019-10-17

Here is a crazy idea.

In the rulebook, the rules for planet falling say that each unit scatters from the designated point and that they then have to move back into coherence in their next turn.

Marines cheat and all drop from the same pod, but why do tyranids have to?

So a tyranid drop will have each stand (or possible cluster to save time and dice rolling) scatter from the drop coordinates, makingit much riskier to drop near the enemy.

The bio acid burst spores could be brought as an upgrade which has a 2BP disrupt attack, but since it is dropping as well, it will scatter separately.

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Tyranid air marshal

Tyranids swarms are often populous (20+ stands). That's 20+ dice rolls... for each swarm...   Please, no !  

I think that your idea is the best idea for giving that random feeling, but Hoyjn's concerns are valid.  That is a lot of scatter dice rolling!  

ePilgrim told me a story how back in the old days they used to drop bits of paper from a hat to determine a scatter.  It seems rather low tech but it does give you an idea of how far the game has come.  Still, that would have worked beautifully.

Is there some way to group those scatters, maybe into 3-units per scatter die?

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author of Syncing Forward and other stories...

It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I've got my Milkbone underwear on.

Oh, I remember those pesky eldar drops from 30cm. With practice my opponent managed to get a pretty tight deployment most of the time. One rule I was happy to see go away!

So, no comments on my idea?  

I know there's no randomization, but with a limited number of drops per turn and no "deathwind" attack, I think it would be balanced AND give the feel of "it's raining 'nids" we're trying to achieve.

At say, 100 points per Hive Ship, you'd have to pay 400 points for 2 (or 3) drops per turn over the course of the game. And perhaps a few 1PB Orbital Bombardments as well.

Mycetic Swarms could be very simple things like "2-3 Warriors with 8-12 Gaunts", so their impact would not be too strong.