I’m back to encourage Hawk Wargames‘ Dropzone Commander, and this time around I am going over the Skimmer rule (p.42). For more great articles and rules tips, check out the Tactics Corner.
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| p.42 of the Dropzone Commander Rulebook that is! |
First, here is a video I explain it in. It is 99% audio, so feel free to give a listen while you multitask, or scroll on past and I will hash it out in text.
As you may of guessed, Skimmers skim just above the ground and may move over Impassable and Tough terrain without penalty, as long as the terrain feature is less then ¼” high. However they do need something to propel off from, so Insubstantial Area Features, such as vegetation, that are over ¼” high count as impassable.
Skimmers are quick and agile and become tricky targets to hit while moving. Because of this, weapons shooting at a skimmer that has moved 6″ or more in it’s previous activation suffer a +2 to their Accuracy (Ac) rating, to a maximum of 6+. You do not count the 3″ you receive from embarking/disembarking when calculating if you have moved at least 6″. AA weapons do not suffer the +2 Ac penalty.
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| PHR Angelos |
Skimmers do not actually have to move 6″ to claim this bonus, and may be said to be driving in circles or swerving back and forth. The rules say to declare this, but my local group, as well as others I’m assure, assume a skimmer is claiming this bonus whenever possible. This will change if Hawk ever gives a skimmer a weapon that has a Move and Fire (MF) rate of less than 6″.
The times you cannot move the 6″ required tend to be when you are embarking/disembarking. Units may only move half their Movement value (Mv) when embarking/disembarking, and most all skimmers do not have a Mv of 12″ or more. This makes skimmers most vulnerable the turn after they have disembarked.
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| Shaltari Caiman |
I covered this rule, because I have seen it asked multiple times, in multiple places, if this rule is applied until the end of turn, or until their next activation. The correct answer is until the skimmer activates again.
Thanks again for reading/watching. If you have any suggestions for good Dropzone Commander noodle-scratchers, please leave a comment (wherever on the web you found this, I will find the comment). I’ll be back next time to cover Transports, Embarking, and Disembarking.