Hi Everyone
A question came up yesterday on scatter and elevation. So we had a super mutant aviator firing a missile launcher at Piper and both models were on elevated highway terrain pieces.
The shot missed by two so scattered orange to Piper’s left from the point of view of this pic, that takes the missile over the rails of the highway. The question now is does the missile scatter orange then fall to ground level and explode or does it scatter orange and explode in mid air still hitting Piper.
Pic to show the situation.
I’m not sure if the rules have an answer for this specific situation (though someone please correct me if I’m wrong about that). If it happened in one of my games, I’d be inclined to say that “the missile simple sails passed and goes into the distance (no damage to anyone)”, as the mutant wouldn’t have been aiming down at the ground, but I know not everyone would be satisfied with that
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Yeah I don’t think it is covered in the rules so could be a good candidate for the next faq. James will be along with an answer at some point I’m sure.
it would scatter orange as per normal then the rules say if this would put it out of LOS you have to draw a straight line back to the shooter and it hits the closest thing it goes through from the firer if that helps
Thanks, where in the rules is that covered? I know there’s the special restriction for non grenades that has been faq’d to actually say grenades but can’t find anything on non grenade scatter other that they go on the random direction and travel the distance shown on the card.
Yeah that is the bit that has been changed with errata it should say if the weapon has the grenade icon not if it has not
What the Errata is clarifying is that Grenades bounce from where they where targeted at while other AOE must be able to reach there from the shooters location
I disagree. Yes it refers to drawing a line from the firer and (for grenades only) you resolve the effects at the point terrain is touched. There is nothing there to say for non grenade attacks you need to have line of sight to the new scattered location. With the errata in mind it does seem to confirm that unlike grenades the shot would scatter over terrain, the question is simply just does the rocket explode in mid air or does it fall to ground level then explode.
Lets wait for James Sheahan to come on to clarify for you
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The errata adds in some missing text that describes what line to draw if the scattered weapon has a Grenade icon (as the rule book only mentioned if it didn’t have a Grenade icon). If it has the Grenade (Thrown) icon, a line is drawn from the intended target to the new location. If it does not have the Thrown icon, a line is drawn from the firer to the new location. If the line goes through an obstacle, it stops there.
Scatter is viewed from above and resolved in two dimensions at the same height as the intended target location so isn’t affected by height drops. In the case of a grenade going off the edge of an overpass, it would explode out in mid-air on the same level as the intended target (assuming it didn’t scatter far enough to reach a new surface on its level) in the same way a missile would.
Small differences in height between the target location and final location should make no difference, i.e. the final position is slightly lower or higher. Everyone has different terrain so it’s not possible to legislate exact measurements and just needs applying some logic with your opponent.
Hope that helps.
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It certainly does, thanks for the insight James.
I love how quickly James always replies with a clear and concise answer. I’ve never seen a game dev be this open with their player base before.
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Agreed, it’s what really sets Modiphius apart from their competitors
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Thank you. I’m very grateful for your appreciation. I’m always keen for players to understand the rules of a game I’ve designed so they can get on with the important part of having fun playing the game. The more players who know the rules, the more the community can pass on that knowledge to new players and each other too. Plus, it’s nice to do a quiz where I know the answers… 
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