Squad combat and AoE damage

[Bragallot]

Considering ranged attacks have a chance of hitting both sides if fired at two squads that are in combat, does AoE damage also affect both squads? Or is it possible to take out just one of the squads with an explosion?

[stubby]

Yep - if two squads are in melee then they're all mixed up with each other, and Ranged and AoE attacks affect them equally.

When you fire an AoE attack at two or more squads in melee, figure out how many units are hit by the AoE like normal, according to where they're all standing. The shitty twist is that while this gives you the right number, those aren't necessarily the units getting hit. Distribute the hits one by one between units of each team involved, but don't hit any single unit more than once.

Example: The Akkadians, Bavarians, and Czecho-Slovenian Republik are all in a melee for some reason. Ak has 17 guys in the fight, Bv has 5, and Cz has 3. The Czechs fire a 2d10 artillery into the middle of the fight, because they've only got 3 guys in there, so who cares. Players determine where it hits and measure out the 4" radius. 15 Akkadians units are in this radius, but that doesn't mean they take all the damage. One by one, the players take turns distributing the 15 hits among their own units:

Ak(1) Bv(1) Cz(1) Ak(2) Bv(2) Cz(2) Ak(3) Bv(3) Cz(3)

9 hits in, and now there are no more Czech targets to take damage:

Ak(4) Bv(4) Ak(5) Bv(5)

After 13 hits, there are no more Bavarian targets:

Ak(6) Ak(7)

Like so.

[Legofighter]

Shouldn't it be that all units within the blast radius receive damage? That's what I understand from the rulebook.
Except if it is another case of poor writing.

[stubby]

That's the old rulebook.

[Legofighter]

That old rulebook still makes more sense than the new one, if you want my 2 cents.

[stubby]

That's fine. I'm just bringing the Explosion damage rules into line with the Melee and Ranged damage rules, so that you can just remember one system instead of two or three.

In the new rules, it's always the same, regardless of the type of damage: determine the number of hits -> distribute that number of hits. It'll make more sense with a diagram.

[Zupponn]

determine the number of hits -> distribute that number of hits. It'll make more sense with a diagram.

Here you go.

[IVhorseman]

Damn but he's right though. That diagram works perfectly.

Once one person leaves the rotation, everyone takes turns taking hits until blunt trauma is resolved.

[stubby]