"40k 8E Overwatch fire question" Topic

Trying to make sure I understand the overwatch rule and how it relates to the weapon types.

Let's assume a 5-man Space Marine squad, which comes standard boltguns, pistols, and grenades.

A unit being charged that does NOT already have an enemy unit within 1" can fire overwatch. (But if it has pistols, can it always fire overwatch?)

To do so, it makes a normal shooting attack, but needing 6's to hit.

So overwatching SM's can throw a single grenade and then open up with their Rapid Fire double-attacks, right?

Except maybe flamers? Don't those always hit? (So, do NOT be the first unit to charge someone with flamers – you'll eat d6 S4 attacks from that alone…)

Am I reading this right? So our hypothetical SM unit has this behavior:

When first charged, they can throw 1 frag grenade, double-fire 3 boltguns, and the leader can fire his pistol, with all dice thrown requiring a 6 to hit, but doing their normal damage.

If charged by another unit, 5 pistol shots will be fired in overwatch.

And while it's still stuck in, the SM's can fire their pistols during their own shooting phase, before piling in and meleeing some more. (Assuming a melee goes longer than one turn, which may not be common?)

Thanks!

Don't have my rule book in front of me as I am on the road (not driving and texting btw) but yes that sounds correct. And yes charging a unit with a flamethrower in it is a bad idea as my son learned when his Halequins charged one of my SM tact squads so equipped. The only thing that kept it from being a whipe out was the Harlequins 5+ invulnerable saves.

Yikes!

Homework (specifically unfinished homework) concerns are going to keep me from playing this weekend after all.

But I did pick up that $8 USD "getting started" book+miniature at the FLGS so I could at least have a hardcopy of the rules and some fun art to look at. They didn't have the indices (strangely), so I might have to head to one of the online stores for those.

As I have posted on the threads titled "My Take on 8th" this version of the game has gone a long way to bring me back to the fold. I have missed 40K with all its over the top mythic cycle grim dark where there is only war trope.

So far I seen little to not like. Pistols and flamers actually being viable weapon choices again is one of my likes. Now there are some issues. Go online and put in Smite Spam in 40K. Smite is the ubiquitous psyker power that is low cost psyker test but causes D3 mortal wounds, as in wounds that you cannot save-period! Seems some clever Imperial Guard…oops Astrum Militarius (yeesh) player figured out that they could take lots of cheap psykers and spam smite the hell out of his opponent. That was an oversite. I suggest anti psyker units and lots of heavy firepower. Smite that.

Easy answer to "smite spam", go tell the prat to find a new opponent to play with. :D Or eat the psyker spam with genestealers and then tell the prat to go find another twerp like themselves to play against. Unless it was a joke army for fun , just to break the rules, then laugh along while telling them……..well you get my point ;)

To the OP, I'm not sure about a unit which is already in close combat being able to fire overwatch against a new unit charging into combat. The rules say a unit with pistols can fire during the shooting phase but only at units which are within 1". It doesn't say anything about overwatch fire against a new charge. Doesn't seem to make any sense to me.

Scott – thanks for the clarification. I think that's my understanding as well after some more studying. Seems like overwatch is only possible if you're not already fighting someone, but pistols work on your own turn, pretty much no matter whether you're in melee or not.

Kallman – it's partly from your threads that I'm also getting interested in playing 8th.