Berserkers and Return to Normal

CTKnudsen

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I recently ran into a situation regarding berserkers and return to normal, and am wondering if we played it correctly.

A berserk squad charged toward a distant stack of enemy units. As it did so, it discovered a closer but previously out of LOS stack of broken units. As per A15.431 it immediately declared that stack it's new target and made it into that Location unscathed. TPBF did no damage in the AFPh, but during the ensuing rout phase the enemy units attempted to surrender, which was automatically rejected by the berserk unit, invoking no quarter. Due to other units and some unfortunate LOS, the brokies routed to the adjacent hex and then died for failure to rout.

Since the berserk unit had enemy units in LOS (in its Location) at the end of it's MPh charge, but had not eliminated "all (but at least one) Known enemy units in its Location with either TPBF (halved) or FT during the AFPh or CC", we played it that the unit retained its berserk status at the end of it's turn. Was this correct?

At the start of its next MPh, there were no enemy units in LOS of the still-berzerk unit. We interpreted the phrase "in the interim" in the third-to-last sentence of A15.431 to mean that the berserk squad would charge it's original target location, even though that hex was out of LOS and no longer contained any enemy. Correct, or should the squad have lost it's berserk status at the end of the previous turn?
 

Robin Reeve

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TPBF did no damage in the AFPh, but during the ensuing rout phase the enemy units attempted to surrender, which was automatically rejected by the berserk unit, invoking no quarter.
On this point, Berserkers refusign a surrender don't generate No Quarter, as only Good Order units do.
A20.21 RtPh: Any broken Infantry unit during its RtPh that is both ADJACENT to Known, Good Order, armed enemy Infantry/Cavalry and unable to rout away from it or only able to rout while being subject to Interdiction or resorting to Low Crawl (regardless of how it actually routs or if the possible unconcealed Interdictor is Known to it), will surrender to that enemy unit as its prisoner instead
BTW, were all enemy units in the Berserker's Location broken?
 

CTKnudsen

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On this point, Berserkers refusign a surrender don't generate No Quarter, as only Good Order units do.
Huh, that's good to know, and makes sense. Didn't end up changing anything much, though, either in the moment or in the 2 turns that followed, which is good.

BTW, were all enemy units in the Berserker's Location broken?
Yes, they were.
 

Vinnie

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Units will never try to surrender to berserkers and if a stack of broken units tries to surrender they do so as a stack.
 

klasmalmstrom

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...At the start of its next MPh, there were no enemy units in LOS of the still-berzerk unit. We interpreted the phrase "in the interim" in the third-to-last sentence of A15.431 to mean that the berserk squad would charge it's original target location, even though that hex was out of LOS and no longer contained any enemy. Correct, or should the squad have lost it's berserk status at the end of the previous turn?
The Berserk unit would charge towards the last Location occupied by an enemy unit in LOS...
 

CTKnudsen

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So barring the no quarter issue we essentially played it correctly, then? I am pretty sure that besides the broken stack the only other unit in LOS of the berserk unit at any time was the one in the original target location.
 

klasmalmstrom

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So barring the no quarter issue we essentially played it correctly, then? I am pretty sure that besides the broken stack the only other unit in LOS of the berserk unit at any time was the one in the original target location.
It sounds like the broken units with died for failure to rout was the last enemy units in the Berserker's LOS though.
 

CTKnudsen

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Ah - true enough! So the berserk unit should have charged the adjacent hex, stopped there, and lost berserk status at the end of the MPh, at which point it could have advanced in the APh as per normal.

Thanks Klas!
 

Philippe D.

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Seems OK, provided the broken units really died for Failure to Rout (or routed far enough that they were out of LOS of the new charge hex).

The Berserkers in the broken units' hex don't prevent them from routing away, and they are not immediately in Failure to Rout on their first hex - they are allowed to remain adjacent if they are leaving the enemy's hex. So they could possibly rout further. When the berserkers charge their last know location, they might come into view and become targets again.
 

klasmalmstrom

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The Berserkers in the broken units' hex don't prevent them from routing away, and they are not immediately in Failure to Rout on their first hex - they are allowed to remain adjacent if they are leaving the enemy's hex.
They are not allowed to remain ADJACENT - but they are allowed (indeed must) to rout to a hex ADJACENT.
 

Brian W

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I think ADJACENT location, not hex are more appropriate in the above posts, but the question and the answer.
 

CTKnudsen

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What had happened was that his units in Location with my berserker routed ADJACENT, then proceeded to die for failure to rout thanks to my other visible units.
 
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