During our first Space Hulk session, I had a few misgivings about the rules. More specifically, the lack of clarity in a few exceptional circumstances.

In a bid to make it clearer for myself and anyone else that might stumble across these posts, I’m making a plea to anyone out there that might be able to explain this stuff!

I also wanted to take a few photos to show off just how beautiful this game is – such exquisite quality!

Let’s start with some basic stuff that will make me look stupid:

Close Assault

Close Assault - can the Terminator still shoot?

The rulebook states:

A model can take a close assault action to attack a target in the square directly in front of them. It costs 1 Action Point (AP) to take a close assault action once the model is in position.

The important word for me here is “can”. Given that there is no benefit to a Terminator engaging a Genestealer in Close Assault (perhaps unless he’s carrying the Heavy Flamer), can the Terminators shoot at the Genestealer as normal or are they forced to perform a Close Assault action (or expend 2 AP in order to move back and shoot) if they wish to attack?

In the same vein, if the Terminator is in Overwatch (where you get to shoot every time an enemy performs an action in your Line of Sight) and assuming he doesn’t die, does the Terminator get to shoot after every time the Genestealer attacks, given that the Genestealer performed an action in his Line of Sight?

The rules state that a Space Marine can shoot as long as he has Line of Sight to the target, so I assume that what I’ve written above is all correct and above board.

Close Range - Can the Terminator shoot the diagonally-adjacent Genestealer?

If I’ve understood that right, let’s take a look at similar scenario. With regards to movement, the rules state:

A model or blip cannot move through another model, blip or closed door. A model also cannot move diagonally if this means it would pass between two squares containing a wall or model.

Now that specifically talks about movement; there’s no mention of what options are available when it comes to attacking. Obviously the Space Marine can’t engage the diagonal Genestealer in Close Assault as you can only Close Assault models directly in front of you, but can the Space Marine shoot at him or is his Line of Sight blocked by the wall to his right and the Genestealer in front?

I’m inclined to think the answer is no. If the Space Marine can’t move to that diagonal forwards square, I assume he can’t shoot there either.

What do you guys think? Have I got this right? Thanks for reading and please leave a comment below if you can shed some light on this!

Next time: Overlapping Overwatch!