Making a Save on a 1 & Unit Coherency

Question

Good Morning / Evening!

The following 2 situations have come up a few times in previous battles and would appreciate some clarification.

1.Model A, with a range value of 3, is attacking Model B, which has a RtN of 6.

The combat solution has been decided, giving Model B a +2 Defensive CS bonus.

Model A rolls a 3, achieving a hit with a CRN of 6.

Model B now needs to make their save and their total bonuses, including Toughness(2), Armor(2), and CS(2), equal 6. This means that even on a roll of a 1, Model B cannot fail this save.

The question I had is does the “Impossible Attack” rule apply here?

As written, it seems that making an impossible attack is only applicable when the target’s RtN or MtN is too high before the attack is made.

The reason I question this is the inclusion of the line “or their combat Solution bonus is significant,” which made me think that it could be applied in situations where you could hit a model, but the model could not fail the save, meaning they would still fail their save on a 1.

2. Concerning model coherency. Does every model need to be within 2” of at least one other model belonging to the squad, or do they need to be within 2” of every other model of the squad at all times?

Thanks in advance and apologies in advance if I have overlooked something simple.

Jack Rocchio · Accepted Answer

Impossible Attacks occur on a hit roll of 6, and only in a situation where doing so is still not enough to force a 'real' save. This may be due to any combination of Attributes and modifiers, but in the example above, it was merely a bad roll that resulted in the target having an infallible save. In order for an Impossible Attack to occur, you must roll a 6 on the hit dice and still have an insufficient CRN to hit/harm the target.

As for squad coherency, I can't imagine that you have to be within 2" of every model in your squad. The wording is a little awkward, but I'm confident you can space yourself without worry.

Jack Rocchio · Answer

@Ashe In that situation, the attack would be resolved as an Impossible Attack. Apologies, it seems I was not clear enough in my first response.

Ashe · Answer

Thanks for the response!

I was thinking the same on coherency, but just wanted to be sure.

But, I do still wonder about the first example though. Lets say it is a little different and Model A has a Range value of 2, meaning that without a CS bonus they would score a CRN of 8 on a roll of a 6. If Model B has Toughness (5) and Armor (2), meaning they would save on a 1 still, even though the maximum possible roll was achieved by the attacker. Would this be working as intended then, meaning that Model A just does not have enough skill to wound such a tough target?

Which I would be fine with, just wondering as it seems at odds with the spirit of the impossible attack rule wanting a way for a lucky shot to make it's way through.

Ashe · Answer

Excellent! Thanks for the responses as always 😀

natfka · Answer

Good Questions.

Jack has that correct on impossible shots.

Overall in your example model A needs to get an advantage over their opponent (like high ground and being stationary) to equal out the combat situation. Otherwise they are trying to make very difficult shots and need to roll a 6 for impossible shots.

Essentially if you have a massive Armored Giant with a toughness of 8, its still possible to get a wound in if you do cannot do so no matter how high you roll with an impossible shot.

Coherency is also correct. Any model in the squad is fine. that would be a little crazy to get all members of the squad within 2" of each other.