As you probably already know TLoS (True Line of Sight) is one of the many mechanics changes in the new 5th edition of Warhammer 40K. The confusion that this is causing is mind numbing. I didn't realize that so many people would be unable to grasp the simple and literal fact - if you can see it, you can shoot it.
To clarify any debate I've posted an excerpt from the actual rulebook.
"Line of sight literally represents your warriors’ view of the enemy " "Line of sight must be traced from the eyes of the firing model to any part of the body of at least one of the models in the target unit (for ‘body’ we mean its head, torso, legs and arms). Sometimes, all that may be visible of a model is a weapon, an antenna, a banner or some other ornament he is wearing or carrying (including its wings and tail, even though they are technically part of its body). In these cases, the model is not visible. These rules are intended to ensure that models don’t get penalised for having impressive standards, blades, guns, majestic wings, etc." "Firing models can always draw line of sight through members of their own unit"
Furthermore let me state that AT (Area Terrain) poses ZERO effect on TLoS and only now pertains to cover saves and difficult terrain movement.
LOS has been a strange thing in 40K. I don't remember there being any wierdness with LOS in RT and 2nd Ed. But when I reentered the hobby in the final year of 3rd Ed I found things had gotten out of hand. The "If I can see anything I can shoot it" mentality was in full swing.
ReplyDelete4th Ed LOS seemed to be designed to end that kind of silliness. Giving models a size category and using the base as the defining characteristics for the location of infantry models was a reasonable way to go about it. The only fuzzy part for me was sorting out how height categories were effected by raised terrain features.
In 5th, TLOS isn't all that different from 4th in practice... If the model is on the standard base, And the majority of them are in the "typical" pose for the model, there won't be much of a problem. If you can see through terrain you can shoot through it. Seems reasonable. The fear is that folks will go strange and try to work the system through "extreme modeling". Anyone who actually goes to the trouble is quite likely to end up without anyone willing to play them. So the problem solves itself.
I'm hoping that as 5th Ed hits the shelves and we get some experience playing it won't be such a big deal. And we'll all just get back to enjoying the experience.
-DavicusPrime