8th Ed. guardians special rule - bolt thrower part

[miturian]

So, I'm a bit confused about how the "guardians" rule works with bolt thrower shots. Intuitively, I would assume that it meant that the slann can't be sniped with a bolt thrower. That would make a lot of sense, what with the automatic LoS! and so forth.

but that's not really what it says? to me it looks like if the slann is standing directly behind the guy to get shot first, he'll get hit too? or does the LoS! come into play there? otherwise it's like the bolt thrower rule only saves characters in the first rank? ('cause they wouldn't have the guardians rule).
I really wanna read it as "slann doesn't get hit by bolt thrower", but is that a valid read?

 

[n810]

remind me, how does the guardian wording go ?

 

[borkbork]

Yeah, Slann does not get hit by a bolt thrower. Not entirely sure what happens when the unit drops below 5, but normally the Slann does not get hit by bolt throwers.

 

[miturian]

remind me, how does the guardian wording go ?

A model with the Mage-Priest Palanquin special rule who is in base contact with a model with the Guardians special rule automatically passes any 'Look Out Sir!' rolls he is entitled to make. If this combined unit is hit by a bolt thrower, the shot always hits the model closest to the bolt thrower that has the Guardians special rule. If this hit results in a casualty, resolve a hit against the next model in the bolt's path each time a casualty is caused.

 

[n810]

.... sounds like it hits a temple guard and then the next one does a "look out sir" for the slann if he is in the path of the bolt ..?

 

[pendrake]

Why don't cannon balls work the same way....?

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

Why don't cannon balls work the same way....?

Bolt throwers use normal shooting rules (i.e. Ballistic Skill shooting), which can not hit a character in a unit (of the same troop type) so long as there are five or more rank and file models in the unit.

Cannons do not use normal shooting rules, they are classified as a shooting attack that uses some form of a template (the bouncing path of the cannonball is considered a template). As a result they have a different set of targeting rules governing them. These attacks can hit a character in a unit consisting of five or more rank an file models, but the character benefits from a look out sir roll so long as he is of the same troop type as the unit.

 

[pendrake]

....makes notes for Lizardhammer.TM

 

[rantapanda]

Hmm. If I put a Scarvet on a cold one in a unit of 5 skinks, a bolt thrower cannot hit my SV, can it?

 

[NIGHTBRINGER]

Hmm. If I put a Scarvet on a cold one in a unit of 5 skinks, a bolt thrower cannot hit my SV, can it?

"If there are fewer than five rank-and-file models left in the unit (or the character is of a different troop type) there is a chance that any characters in the unit could be hit - the controlling player decides who is hit, but must allocate one hit on each models before he can add a second hit on a model..." (BRB p. 99)

So a single-shot bolt thrower can't hit your Scar-Vet cowboy in a unit of skinks unless you choose him as the target. A repeater bolt thrower firing 6 smaller repeating bolts could hit your Scar-Vet if it scored 6 hits (since 5 could be allocated to the skinks, but the 6th would have to be allocated to the Scar-Vet).

Note however, that a cannon or a stone thrower would be able to snipe your character without the benefit of a look out sir roll in the setup you described above because he is of a different troop type than the skinks.