Shooting: Target Selection (Ver. 0.52)

Here's the rules covering Target Selection, the basic visibility levels, splitting fire, etc. Have a look!
The next section will cover all the various types of terrain and their effects on visibility. So it will be a lot more complicated. :)

(Also note that I've re-purposed the 'Exposed' keyword here for visibility purposes. It will no longer mean what it used to mean in terms of a to-hit modifier.)

Edit: Never mind, after eating lunch I figured out how to put it back in. :)

Edit: Edited again to make the TacCom rule much simpler. Now it simply doubles the Awareness of other units. Which is much cleaner and eliminates a lot of potential headaches.

Shooting: Target Selection

Before you can fire your unit’s weapons at the enemy, you must be able to see them first. This section covers the basics of model/unit visibility and target selection.

Eligible Targets

Any enemy unit that is in Line Of Sight to the firing unit’s leader may be targeted for shooting. An enemy unit is considered to be in Line of Sight if any of it’s individual models are visible to your unit’s leader.

I See ‘Em Sarge!

If an enemy unit’s models are not visible to your unit’s leader, but are visible to one or more of the other models in your unit, then you may still be able to target that enemy unit; but it will be more difficult. Roll a Ld check for your unit.

If the Ld check is passed, the trooper who saw the enemy shouted loud enough for his unit leader to hear him. That enemy unit may be targeted as normal. If the Ld check is failed, then the enemy unit may not be targeted that turn.

Note that this roll, passed or failed, does not commit you to firing at that enemy unit. It only determines whether the enemy unit can be targeted. Your unit will later select it’s target(s) from amongst all visible enemy units.

Visibility Levels

There are 5 basic levels of model visibility in M42. These are:

1. Visible
2. Exposed
3. Obscured
4. Concealed
5. Hidden

Whether you can see a particular model, and the unit it’s a part of, will depend on their level of visibility. The details of how each type of terrain affects visibility, is detailed in the Terrain and Visibility section of the rules.

Visible

If an enemy model is Visible, then you can see, and target, that model anywhere on the table. So long as it’s within the range of your unit’s weapons.

Exposed

In reality, battlefields are not as perfectly flat as a gaming table. Normally, the members of a unit will use the small imperfections in the terrain to their advantage. Crouching low, and using every little rise or dip in the field to conceal themselves.

Sometimes though, a unit must move quickly. Trading careful, stealthy movement for speed. Or the terrain that they’re crossing might be paved, hard-packed, or otherwise difficult to hide in. In which case they will count as Exposed.

Exposed units are, like Visible units, able to be targeted from anywhere on the table. In addition though, the Awareness Range of the firing unit will be doubled when targeting an Exposed unit. Due to their lack of care in their movement.

Obscured

Obscured models are more difficult, but not impossible, to see. An Obscured model may be targeted normally, unless that unit has Gone-To-Ground. In which case the unit may only be targeted if it is within the firing unit’s Awareness (Aw) Range.

Concealed

Under normal circumstances, Concealed models can’t be seen or targeted at all. Unless they have moved At The Double, or are within your leader’s Awareness Range.

Hidden

A hidden model is one which is completely behind a solid wall, tall hill, or other non-moveable terrain feature. To determine whether a model is hidden, bend down and look from just behind the head of your unit’s models, out towards the enemy model. If you can physically see the enemy model, then it’s not hidden. If you can’t see the model at all, then it is hidden.

Hidden models cannot normally be targeted unless they are within your unit’s Awareness Range.

Splitting A Unit’s Fire

A unit may split it’s fire amongst any any visible enemy units. When rolling To-Hit, simply declare which of your models are firing at the current target. Each model in your unit may only fire at a single target during the same action.

You don’t have to declare all of your unit’s targets in advance, but once you have rolled to hit with all of your declared models at a particular enemy unit, you may not target it again during that same action. If you have already fired at all of your unit’s visible targets, and you still have models left in your unit which have not yet fired, then those models will not be able to shoot for the remainder of that action.

Special Rule: TacCom

If a unit has been provided with the proper communications gear, it can share targeting information with the other squads in it’s Task Force.

When the leader model of a unit with the TacCom special rule targets an enemy unit, you may place a TacCom marker on that enemy unit in leu of the leader’s normal shooting.

On a successful Ld check, any other friendly units with the TacCom rule may double their Awareness Range when attempting to target the marked unit.

All active TacCom markers are automatically removed at the Beginning of the Reaction Phase.

Special Rule: SquadCom

In some units, every trooper is able to communicate with their leader via a helmet link, telepathy, or other means. This makes it much easier to get the leader’s attention during the heat of battle.

A unit with the SquadCom special rule does not require a Ld check in order target an enemy unit that is visible to a unit member, but not the unit’s leader.

Edit: Added this next bit because it's required later for the terrain rules, and because it didn't fit in those sections.

Target Model, Firing Model

As we move into the rest of the Shooting sections, especially those on terrain and it’s visibility effects, it will be helpful to first define a few terms, to simplify the wording of these rules.

For the remainder of the Shooting rules, ‘Target Model’ shall describe any model, in an opposing unit, which a player’s unit is currently attempting to either target, or actually shoot it weapons at.

By the same token, ‘Firing Model’ shall refer to any model in a unit which is attempting to either target, or actually shoot with it’s weapons, a particular enemy model.

When the shooting rules simply refer to a ‘Model’, it should be understood that the reference can apply to either a Target Model, or a Firing Model equally.