Freedom of Movement due to Leader

[Houtje]

When reacquainting myself with the Night rules, I got stuck on the following when it comes to units gaining Freedom of Movement. In JR VanMechelen's Bring On the Night, the four ways this can happen are listed as follows (v2, p. 15):

1. LOS to known enemy unit.
2. Attacked by enemy (EXC: OBA/Sniper)
3. Stacked w/ Good Order SMC w/ FoM at beginning of MPh
4. Best Leader rolls < ELR after an attack

My confusion is wrt the third one. The article says (p.11): "A unit also gains FoM if it begins its MPh stacked with a Good Order SMC who has Freedom of Movement;" and then gives an example of how this is supposed to work (I haven't included the picture, but the description should suffice):

"A squad is which [sic] does not have FoM in 2AA8 with a Good Order SMC who does. Another squad is in 2AA6, also without FoM. The DEFENDER realizes that if he moves the first squad first, it gains FoM because it begins its MPh stacked with a Good Order SMC. If he moves the SMC first, the squad does not gain FoM because while it began the MPh stacked with the SMC, it did not begin its MPh stacked with the SMC (review the ASOP section 3 for an explanation of the difference between the MPh and a unit's (its) MPh). The DEFENDER moves the squad first, then moves the SMC into 2AA6. Now he moves the squad in 2AA6. Since 2AA6 has started its MPh stacked with an SMC with FoM, it also gains FoM. If 2AA6 had a SMC without FoM, the SMC from 2AA8 would grant FoM, and the SMC from 2AA6 could now move and grant FoM to yet another Location."


Apologies for the lengthy quote, but it serves to show how JRV thinks this should work, and I've played it that way as well. However, when trying to match this with the rulebook (the latest electronic version, btw), I couldn't. E1.21 says (my emphasis):

"If a Good Order SMC is allowed to move in its MPh, any unit that begins the MPh with it, in the same stack, is allowed to move also (and need not move with it)."

This seems to make it explicit that units can gain FoM only by starting the MPh stacked with an SMC that is free to move in that SMC's MPh; in other words, you cannot have a 'free' SMC move in with a not-yet-free unit and by doing so give that unit FoM (because that unit did not begin "the Mph with it, in the same stack").

So, I cannot understand how the example of the SMC moving to 2AA6 and there 'freeing' the squad (and all the rest of the example) might be correct.

The v2 of the article is still the most recent one, I think (could be wrong). So, what am I missing? Is JRV correct? (And if so, how? I.e. by what rule?)

Thanks, this confusion is keeping me up at night!

(Edit: I searched FAQs etc. for this, but found nothing.)

 

[ScottRomanowski]

"Bring on the Night" first appeared in Backblast #1, Fall 1994, which was before the ASLRBv2, and predates this errata changing "its" to "the" in ASLRBv1:
E1.21 Change "its MPh" in line 13 to "the MPh". [An95w; An96; Mw]

Perhaps that section was not updated. ASLRBv2 has "the MPh", so this errata was incorporated. The article was correct before that errata and ASLRBv2, but now is not correct.

 

[Houtje]

Thank god! Well, thank Scott. I mean: that takes away all confusion. It is replaced by shame, however, since I now realize that I cheated in playing Posts 9-11...