Search light usage

[Phosis]

Hi

 

Scenario: Dawn of War deployment, opponent's first turn.

 

Enemy chaos dreadnaught with 2x DCCWs and 2x twin-linked bolters rolls for Night Fighting against my Dreadnaught which is 40" away and declares using searchlight. Rolls crappy distance and can only see about 18" towards me. Opponent proceeds to fire 9 Lascannons from Obliterators into my dreadnaught without using Night Fighting rules, claiming that it's "Illuminated" because the dreadnaught.

 

Incorrect usage?

[Brother Captain Ed]

Pretty much the opposite of correct.

 

Searchlights still need to see you in order to be used.

[Phosis]

That was my argument after the game, and I didn't know what else to say against "Show me where it says that"

[dswanick]

That was my argument after the game, and I didn't know what else to say against "Show me where it says that"

The sequence of events ::

1> Select a unit to shoot with (your opponent selected his dreadnought). [bRB, Pg.15]

2> Declare what is being shot at whom, check line of sight (you opponent did this). [bRB,Pg15]

3> Roll to see if the firing unit can see the target unit due to Night Fight special rule (Your opponent failed his Night Fight roll as such the dreadnought may not fire). [bRB, Pg.95]

4> If the firing unit had detected the target your opponent would have carried on with the shooting phase steps 2-6.

 

Since he didn't his dreadnought couldn't shoot and therifore didn't illuminate the target unit and the Oblits would have still needed to use the Night Fight roll to see the target.

If a vehicle has a searchlight it must still use the Night Fighting rules to pick a target but, having fired at that unit, will illuminate it with the searchlight. For the rest of the Shooting phase, any other unit that fires at the illuminated unit does not use the Night Fighting rule.

 

P.S. - It's not your job to show him where he can't do something, it's his job to show you where he can.

[JamesI]

If I recall correctly, searchlights did not used to require seeing with night fighting. If you had a searchlight you could use it and therefore not need to roll.

 

This is not the case now. If you want to illuminate something with a searchlight, you have to see it.

[Vindicatus]

Think of it this way:

 

You can't illuminate a target with a light if you don't know it's there. Night Fighting is essentially a mix between "I think I saw something there," and "I saw him, but the darkness is screwing my ranging up" - Searchlights don't do jack until you finally range in a target by successfully 'seeing' it and firing on it, thus bathing it in light at the correct range (once you've found it) so that others may do the same.

 

 

If you roll to see it, and successfully do so, they count as illuminated after firing on that target. But, because of the way light works, so do you. In a scenario like that, had he not failed his night fighting roll, he would have lit the target up and it would have been fine to shoot with the oblits - similarly, his dread would be painted as illuminated for the next shooting phase too (unless they round-filed this at some point - been a while since I went digging for Night Fighting).

[4RC71C FOXX]

I agree with what Vindicatus has said, in the BA codex (and I believe the other books with this wargear option in) it says: "must still use the night fighting rules to pick a target but, having acquired a target, will illuminate it"..."a vehicle that uses a searchlight, can be targeted during the following enemy turn as if the night fighting rules were not in effect"

 

Therefore, if you can roll to successfully see an enemy unit you can illuminate it (you can't point your torch at someting you can't see), meaning that unit can be shot at without needing to roll for night fighting by other units you want to shoot at it. In your opponents turn, any of your vehicles that illuminated an enemy vehicle will be able to be shot at without needing to roll for night fighting distance.

 

FOXX

[Brother Captain Ed]

P.S. - It's not your job to show him where he can't do something, it's his job to show you where he can.

 

Also, this.

[Phosis]

Thanks. It's very important that I have some extra ways to explain the right way to use this, considering Dawn of war will be 1/3 of the games I play in the upcoming tournament probably.