Honosbinda
Senior Member
I think that A4.32 is NOT where I want to look for rules about units that are NOT brokenI think A4.32 is where you want to look, not in the smoke grenade rules.
So, An infantry unit tossing smoke grenades/planting DC with its last mf while in bypass is voluntarily ending it's move in bypass -- I think that's clearly NA.
You think A4.43 is implying a weapon can't be dropped because Demo charges and smoke grenades can be placed? Isn't it just the opposite? If you can place a Demo charge, you can drop a weapon (like say, a demo charge, for instance). You were relying on realism earlier... I think you're pretty clearly on the wrong side of realism on this point.
This points to how poorly organized these rules are in this case.
Indeed, you have correctly pointed out that such units cannot voluntarily end their move in bypass. This rule should be under rule A4.3 for clarity. The rules for A4.32 should be about broken units only, not good order units.
Further, the OP's query about being able to move backward or not should not have to be interpreted in a rather poor example diagram.
A4.43 discussion: for clarity, what I am saying is that the allowed actions in A4.43 are to place smoke and DCs. 'Dropping SWs' is not indicated as an allowed action while in bypass. So, no, it's not the opposite as you think. We aren't supposed to write in rules about things that are not written in the rules (ideally) so by that interpretation we can't say that such dropping is allowed in bypass. Furthermore, placing demos and smoke cost MFs. Dropping SW handily through the window while passing by the obstacle costs 0 MFs. Don't think so.
(It would make a lot more sense to allow dropping of SW for 0 MF only at the start of a unit's movement phase, not during it, but that's for another discussion)
A4.43 discussion continued: here, it's you who is on the wrong side of realism arguments, because I daresay that dropping a SW should costs some MFs when done through a window or hurled through the trees to the units inside the hex and thereby, as you say, getting 'absorbed' into the hex. In fact, my realism argument is that this shouldn't be allowed at all -- but if allowed, it shouldn't cost zero movement factors.
What's your counter-argument?
I'd also like to point out that units spread out in a location/obstacle rather than bundled in specific vertex are more likely -- a lot more -- to be able to effectively place DC or smoke. Frankly, I don't think either of these should be allowed in bypass, either. Bypass is a tight manuever around obstacles, not a battle manuever. Maybe heroes or leaders could be allowed to place DCs in such circumstances, but in this game it requires, for some reason, an entire squad to blanket the hex with smoke.
How are they going to do that from a vertex point? They would need to be deployed in regular formation.
Putting aside this minor debate, the whole set of rules A4.3 should be organized more effectively to clarify these matters. The whole write-up of A4.3 is what my British wife would call a bodge job. A reference in A24.1 regarding smoke placement in bypass wouldn't hurt, either. Same for A24.3 wrt DC placement.
This isn't a Perry Sez situation, this is a 'Playerz recommending to Perry what he should do to fix the rules section' situation