INTO the EYE
An investigation into the deepest and darkest nooks of the GW Universe
By Mike Brandon [November 2006]
Welcome to the seventh volume of ‘Into the Eye’, a look into the finer parts of the GW
hobby.
Negative Cover?
As should be immediately evident
from the picture, this particular article is
inspired by the PC game Dawn of War. Now
whilst the conversion of turn based rules into
Real Time Strategy seems plausible, and of
course it worked exceptionally well, taking
'rules' used in a real time strategy environment
and converting them back across seems
somewhat incompatible. In particular I'm
looking at cover. Within Dawn of War, Cover
is split into Light and Heavy, depending on the
terrain, and this gives a bonus in terms of armour to the unit. In short it can take more damage, the more
cover it is in. Not particularly realistic but it works in terms of an actual RTS mechanic (of course it has the
same effect in post 2nd editions of 40k and is consequently very unrealistic). 2nd edition also uses light and
heavy cover and incurs a +1/+2 to hit bonus when shooting as you will be familiar.
Dawn of War also included a new type of cover, being negative cover, in this case, troops moving
through difficult and slow moving ground such as a river or rubble, or in a particularly exposed area such
as between two large bits of ground (creating a 'killing area') incur extra damage whilst they are moving
through it. You can see this effect in the picture with the shields with crosses through them above the
offending units heads, note it also applies to the Leman Russ in the background. The issue here is, can this
ruling be introduced to 2nd edition 40k? I have pondered several types of ruling. Reducing toughness whilst
being in such ground, is very unrealistic and harps toward the post 2nd editions of 40k, so the most obvious
thing to do is use the same modifier rule as for over cover types. So....Units shooting at troops in
Negative Cover receive a +1 bonus to hit.
The second issue on negative cover is what defines Negative cover. You could simply define
particular area of the battlefield to be negative cover such as the area immediately before a trench/bunker or
an clearing in some woods, basically agreeing with your opponent beforehand. As an actual rule however it
requires a more clear definition. The most obvious one would be to use troops in difficult terrain as being in
negative cover, although this poses issues when the difficult terrain is in fact cover, such as tank traps,
boulder, trees etc. However my colleague Luke Greensmith came up with a coherent ruling for my
scrambled musings, being that troops in difficult terrain that gives no cover counts as being in negative
cover. These areas would include rivers, swamps etc.
Finally, why bother with adding this rule, well firstly it can have as little or much effect as you
want and thus need not intrude too much on your games. Secondly it is based on an already existing and
functional rule being cover. Thirdly, it adds an extra element of tactical realism to your games, creating
'killing areas' and particularity volatile ground and thus adding emphasis to holding ground and making use
of overwatch etc. In conclusion, we will be making negative cover a formal adoption within the confines of
the OGC 40k Rulebook and I also encourage you to try this rule out within your own modifications of the
2nd edition system.
NEGATIVE COVER
Units within difficult terrain are particularity vulnerable if no cover is available, and counts as
being in Negative Cover. Units shooting at units within Negative Cover receive a +1 bonus to hit.
Strange Visions
New creatures for the battlefields of the 41st Millennium
Jayne Cobb
This month, the hero of Kanton, the man they call....Jayne
Cobb. From the Sci-Fi series 'Firefly' and film 'Serenity'.
Jayne brings along his weapon, that being his gun Vera
and a loyal following of Mudders to the 41st Millenium.
Jayne could be press-ganged into Imperial service
or accept a price for a job in a skirmish scenario...ie
Necromunda.
Troop Type
M
WS
BS
S
T
W
I
A
LD
Save
Points
Jayne Cobb
4
5
6
4
4
3
5
3
9
6+
80
Mudder
4
2
2
3
3
1
2
1
5
-
6
Weapons – Vera (an Autogun with Strength 6 and -3 save mod.), Laspistol, Combat Knife and
Frag & Krak grenades
Armour – Flak Armour (6+ save, increased to 5+ VS Blasts)
Special – Jayne has the following skills
*
: Counter Attack, Combat Master [Bar
Brawler], Killer Reputation, Crack Shot,
Rapid Fire/Vera, Marksman, Escape
Artist, Armourer, Weaponsmith.
Jayne can be accompanied by up to 20 Mudders who must form a squad with him
at all times. The Mudders are equipped with Spades and Stubguns.
*
Skills referred to in Into the Eye are from Necromunda. Some transfer into 40k whereas others are confined to only being
applicable within a Skirmish environment. You can find the Necromunda Skills list in the Necromunda Rulebook at
Dawn of War is available on PC, the screenshot is from the expansion 'Winter Assault'.. You can read a review of Dawn of War
Jayne Cobb is from Joss Whedon's Firefly and Serenity. Sci-fi I would strongly suggest watching as its pretty darn
good!